Chapter 23: Estate Construction

Upon returning to the new settlement, half a month had already passed. Marina managed things well; she directed the nearly 400 people in an orderly manner.

The spring planting in the new settlement was complete. Water conservation facilities were progressing according to Ace’s design, with irrigation canals being dug and water wheels being built. The slaves were engaged in intensive farming on the cultivated land, somewhat clumsily using oxen, iron plows, and hoes.

The new settlement was currently a large construction site, with the master’s residence and the slave living area being rapidly built. Under Ace’s design, the slave living area consisted of four-story residential buildings. Slaves would be compulsorily formed into new families, with each household getting a 40-square-meter apartment unit, which could be built with the city-state’s current construction technology.

Inside the smelting workshop, the slave in charge of managing all the artisans was named Sissy. He was originally a Freeman of the city-state, but due to his inability to repay debts, he ultimately surrendered himself as payment and became a debt slave. He was about 40 years old and physically strong.

“Sissy, forge a batch of iron tags, round, with a hole on the edge, about half a thumb in size. Forge 500 first. These will be identity proofs for the slaves on the estate. The front will have a number and a name. Everyone will have to wear the iron tag on a string around their neck from now on,” Ace told Sissy.

“Yes, Master. The iron tags should be finished the day after tomorrow,” Sissy did not really understand the use of these iron tags, as every slave already had a slave brand.

Ace did not elaborate much. The entire estate was gradually getting on track. He planned to promote a group of capable slaves to establish the Estate Affairs Office, responsible for handling the daily affairs of the estate, directly reporting to him and Marina. The first task of the new agency was to register all slaves, establish files, and issue identity proofs.

The household registration system was very important. Mastering all the information on the slaves would undoubtedly make management more effective.

He planned to have the debt slave Carson be responsible for setting up the Estate Affairs Office. Carson came from Norton, a northern city-state in Salia, and was originally a Freeman who wrote a beautiful Bird Script.

He had served as a scribe in the jury court in Norton. After accidentally running over a Citizen with a carriage and being unable to pay compensation, he was sentenced to be sold as a slave in a foreign land.

Carson had proactively approached and recommended himself to Ace not long after Ace returned to inspect the cultivated land.

He couldn’t stand the hard work of intensive farming. He had originally thought farming was easy, involving slash-and-burn and simply waiting for nature to provide the harvest. He did not expect to have to hoe the fields every day and complained bitterly.

So, when he heard the Master was inspecting, he cleaned himself up and risked a severe whipping to request an audience with Ace.

Ace saw that Carson’s speech and conversation were orderly and thoughtful, and he had systematically studied law. Such talent was rare, so Ace kept him by his side to serve as a secretary first.

In the following weeks, Carson successfully completed the tasks Ace assigned: he did not offer unnecessary opinions, had strong execution skills, was easy to work with, and understood law. Ace simply put him in charge of establishing the Estate Affairs Office.

He also allowed Carson to freely choose personnel to prepare the Estate Affairs Office. If he performed well, he would serve as the Estate Manager after the Estate Administration Office was established. If he did poorly, he would be sent to farm immediately after the preparation was complete.

Carson was initially confused after being sold as a slave in a foreign land, believing his life was over. Since farming was supposed to be easy work, he found a way to stay and farm.

Who knew that the Master had actually improved the farming method? He was exhausted every day. Carson also realized that this method, called intensive farming, along with the use of oxen and iron plows, had been recorded in some ancient texts and should greatly increase yield. He believed the Master was definitely a man of culture who understood agricultural knowledge, and since he was also a man of culture, he would surely be useful to his new master. After some thought, he recommended himself.

After he smoothly became the Master’s secretary, the more tasks he executed, the more he felt that this Master had great vision. He accidentally learned that the Master was also a famous city-state scholar. He shamelessly begged to look at the Master’s work, Logic Book (Volume One), and was astonished, recognizing the Master as a divine person, truly a favorite of the Goddess of Wisdom as rumored.

Carson was only 30 years old, in the prime of his life. Even as a slave, he still had ambition: to be second only to one person and above a hundred others among the slaves.

Establishing the Estate Affairs Office was his biggest opportunity. He was very cautious in selecting personnel for the preparation. Registering everyone and establishing files was essential for Ace’s great estate management plan, so he could not treat it lightly. The Estate Affairs Office would be responsible for the operation of the entire estate in the future.

The registration work was carried out in full swing. Carson also entered the view of all the slaves through the registration work, becoming a prominent figure on the estate. Ace saw that he was working hard and showed no obvious selfish motives. Since no one else was available, Ace formally established the Estate Affairs Office, with Carson serving as the interim Manager, reporting directly to Ace and Marina.

Ace gave Carson a large volume of parchment as a future management guide, titled Ace Estate Five-Year Development Plan, asking him to read it within a week and report his future management ideas. Carson cherished this volume of parchment, studying it day and night, and was greatly astonished.

The Master’s comprehensive plan was to close the gates and establish a small independent city-state. This happened to comply with city-state law; as long as he didn’t evade taxes, owned no more than 3,000 slaves, and didn’t build city walls exceeding 5 meters, it was completely reasonable and legal.

The plan detailed that the entire estate would eventually be built into a large town with a permanent population of nearly 3,000 people, with city walls not exceeding 5 meters, and a fishing port built at the river estuary outside the town.

The Master planned that next year, slaves would gain almost all the rights of Freemen on the estate, provided they did not change their servitude relationship or leave the estate. He required Carson to draft the Ace Estate Statutes to confirm this.

According to city-state law, the Master has the right to manage his slaves in any manner, so these statutes targeting slaves would be valid.

The land outside the settlement was divided into a planting area and a livestock area. The planting area was divided into food crop areas, growing the city-state’s staple food, wheat, and cash crop areas, growing grapes, olive trees, and various vegetables. The livestock area raised cattle, sheep, and horses, and a mining facility would be built near the iron mine.

The area inside the settlement would include the Master’s residence, public facilities, residential areas, industrial areas, and a commercial area.

The public facilities would be clustered in the city center, including a flower square, the Estate Affairs Office, a hospital, a school, and a public library.

The industrial area would be in the northeast of the city, containing a wheat processing workshop, a brewing workshop, a smelting workshop, a meat curing and processing workshop, an oil pressing workshop, and a fur processing workshop, all managed by the Estate Affairs Office and sold to the city-state for higher revenue.

The residential area would be in the south of the city, which would be divided into three tiers in the future: high-end villas, mid-range garden apartments, and low-cost dormitory blocks.

The commercial area would be located on the outskirts of the city center, and rich shopping venues would be established there in the future.

Carson read the plan excitedly. It contained a string of coined words. The Master was indeed the genius who wrote The Dictionary; the coined words were so precise. He could hardly believe that this was a development plan for an estate. Even if someone used this plan for a city-state, it would be perfectly fine.

If the estate was built step by step according to the plan, he, Carson, would be second only to one person and above thousands of people in this emerging estate-city, which was very exciting.

Ace listened to Carson’s words of praise and his understanding of the plan, deeming it acceptable. As a former scribe, Carson’s skills, once honed, would be competent for managing 3,000 people.

Ace was not so foolish as to liberate the slaves. That would not only fail to gain gratitude but would also undermine his basis for rule, classifying him as an anomaly in the city-state and costing him authority on the estate.