Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 313: Chapter 233: Resident Life_1

For a small town to rely on agriculture as its pillar industry, it must meet a specific condition: abundant land with a sparse population, ensuring a high average of arable land per person. Otherwise, the town would struggle to sustain itself, let alone export agricultural products.

This was Hamlet’s situation previously. Besides the farmsteads controlled by farm owners, many fields surrounded the town. However, after a series of disasters, these lands had all been divided among the farm owners and the mayor.

This continued until Lance’s arrival, who pushed for reforms, leading to the measurement and distribution of a portion of the land to the town’s residents.

This portion of land was subject to a 30 percent tax, and the residents had no trading rights. Essentially, the land was leased to them.

Although they had to surrender a significant amount, this was already a huge break for those people.

Before Lance’s arrival, the arrangement was a three-to-seven split. Seventy percent went to the farm owner, and with an additional ten percent religious tax, only twenty percent remained in their hands.

No matter how hard they tried, they could barely survive. Having enough food to feel full was a luxury.

If they encountered problems and had to sell their land, they would inevitably become a serf to some farm owner. This meant completely losing everything, being reduced to beasts of burden, and their lives effectively over.

Now, Lance had eliminated all miscellaneous taxes and the religious tax. Consequently, the remaining seventy percent went directly into their own pockets.

This was why the majority of people supported him. Ultimately, it came down to their own self-interest.

However, agriculture was only enough to scrape by. To truly strengthen Hamlet, the focus had to be on infrastructure.

The largest undertaking was urban reconstruction, a project that benefited the majority of the townspeople.

This process created numerous employment opportunities, providing people with work and wages.

Professional craftsmen formed construction teams. Their wage system was more formalized, with payments typically made monthly.

As part of the reforms, Lance also standardized their compensation. Originally, meals were provided because they had no money for food. Now that they had money, Lance discontinued this provision, letting them buy their own food.

Only by doing this could internal demand be stimulated, circulating their money back into the economy through food purchases.

Otherwise, without avenues for spending, the value of money would decrease. Hoarding money would hinder the town’s economic development.

This also applied some pressure, preventing them from becoming complacent or slacking off.

Few people opposed this. Joining a construction team offered stability, with year-round projects, providing a more secure income compared to farming, which was susceptible to droughts and floods.

However, the benefits were limited to this. Simply receiving wages on time was already better than most jobs of that era.

In this era, the current level of productivity made it impossible to support other social security systems. Even an industrialized society would struggle to sustain such systems, and Lance wasn’t foolish; he knew this was unrealistic.

Sometimes, being one step ahead of the times is genius, but being two steps ahead makes you a madman. Pushing too far, too fast, leaves no room to maneuver.

Of course, these policies and benefits were only available to official residents. Most refugees were required to work for Hamlet unconditionally for one year and maintain a clean record—free of serious offenses—before they could gain official status.

Whether to gain official status or simply to survive in these chaotic times, they willingly became like beasts of burden, shouldering Hamlet’s future on their backs.

To integrate this group, Lance developed three new farms. He relocated most refugees who lacked special talents to these farms, assigning them to clear and cultivate the land—tasks they were most familiar with.

However, after the land surrounding Hamlet was measured and cataloged, only a small portion had been distributed. A large area still required tending.

For this reason, Lance allocated plots of this land to refugees who had not yet gained official status, allowing them to cultivate it.

Cultivating land requires meticulous care. Moreover, Hamlet was already providing these refugees with grain rations to sustain them.

Therefore, Lance promised they could keep twenty percent of their harvest as food rations. The principle was simple: the harder they worked, the greater their harvest, and thus the more they could keep. This was intended to spur their motivation.

Everyone knew these already cultivated lands were superior, so ordinary refugees were generally not eligible for these allotments.

Only soldiers’ families, individuals with records of outstanding performance, or those who had rendered meritorious service were eligible to apply. Thus, these allotments were distributed as rewards.

These individuals were also allowed to stay in Hamlet and were not required to go to the other farms to clear new land.

This meant some people had considerable free time during the agricultural off-season. In a still-developing Hamlet, allowing them to wander idly could easily lead to problems.

To address this, Lance allocated a certain number of spots in each construction team for day laborers. These positions involved tasks like hauling materials—jobs requiring strength but no specific skills—and were paid daily.

These day laborers were not part of the formal construction team structure, and their daily wages were consequently lower.

A regular worker might earn three copper coins a day, while these laborers earned only one or two, depending on the task’s difficulty. However, for refugees with no other source of income, even this small amount was precious...

The sun blazed fiercely over Hamlet, its scorching rays beating down on the outdoor workers. Sweat streamed down their bodies, causing a stinging pain on their skin.

More unsettling than the physical discomfort, however, was how this weather reminded many of the great drought, stirring a sense of fear in their hearts.

Only when the bell rang for the midday break could the workers temporarily lay down their tools.

Everyone hurried to the large wooden barrels. When they turned the taps, it wasn’t ale or wine that poured out, but fresh water.

They all knew this was no ordinary water. It was purified, so drinking it wouldn’t cause illness or stomach aches.

Drinking ordinary, untreated water often led to gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea and vomiting, or even parasitic infections. The fundamental reason was that such raw water failed to meet sanitary standards.