The Demon Lords-Chapter 606 - 99 Day-to-Day Life_2

Therefore, in the Shengle military camp, speech with a Yan region accent was rarely heard.

Since they could not gain reinforcements from the local area, everything had to be planned from the ground up. Siniang and the blind man adopted this approach, employing extraordinary measures for extraordinary times.

Uncomfortable as Yu Huaping was, he was a man of the street, instinctively disliking constraints and preferring freedom. Yet, he had little to complain about, as there were no refugees or beggars on the streets.

Anyone in the city who was able-bodied, regardless of gender, could find work. Outside the city, in the cluster of workshops, there was a severe labor shortage. It was nearly impossible to live idly, be impoverished, and rely on relief in this city.

Meanwhile, school-aged children could attend private schools for free. Medical clinics also offered extremely affordable treatments.

The benevolent rule of ancient sage-kings, so often praised by scholars, was probably no more than this, Yu Huaping thought.

In the city, the biggest money-squandering den was also run by the General's Mansion. It was a huge restaurant that catered to everything from daily family feasts to high-level welcome banquets.

Behind the restaurant was Shengle City's largest, and only, 'red tent,' whose prices were clearly marked, catering to customers of all spending levels.

Shengle, it could be said, was the only city without privately-run brothels. There was simply no need. Siniang was truly adept at managing these affairs; all the rules were well-established, and she even arranged for physicians to conduct regular collective health check-ups.

The girls themselves were willing to come; after all, they had protection here.

Of course, some madams wanted to "start their own business."

The outcome was their arrest; the madams and their girls were all thrown into the city prison.

Yu Huaping knew the soldiers of Shengle City received high salaries, comparable to the Jingnan army. This seemed like an unbearable burden.

But look: after the salary was distributed to the soldiers, their expenses in the city—such as food and visits to the red tent—all went to industries owned by the General's Mansion. It often happened that half the monthly salary issued would flow back within two weeks. Completely breaking even was impossible, of course. But with the money circulating this way, the actual cost of the salaries wasn't as burdensome as it might have seemed.

As he walked, Yu Huaping arrived at the East Gate.

Two hundred armored soldiers stood guard there. The City Gate Captain was a Barbarian who spoke the Xia language, albeit with a heavy accent. He commanded one hundred Barbarian soldiers and one hundred Jin soldiers.

Upon Yu Huaping's arrival, the Barbarian captain, whose name was Jin Shuke, proactively offered him a pastry. The pastry bore the mark of the General's Mansion, indicating it was bought from a pastry shop run by the General's Mansion.

"This is for you." Jin Shuke placed the pastry in Yu Huaping's hand.

Yu Huaping nodded. Only then did he recall that a few days ago, someone among the garrison soldiers had suggested they all chip in for a gift. Their captain's wife had just given birth, and everyone felt they should make a gesture of goodwill.

Jin Shuke's wife was a wild woman he had bought from the city's slave monopoly market, which was also run by the General. Only slaves bought and sold through this market with signed contracts were protected by the General's Mansion. The General's Mansion did not recognize privately traded slaves. Indeed, there had been cases where runaway slaves, bought through private deals, were declared free because they lacked a contract bearing the General's Mansion's official seal.

In the eyes of his subordinates, this Barbarian unit had always been General Zheng's trusted foundational troops, and Jin Shuke, one of the earliest three hundred Barbarian soldiers, was a key Barbarian commander. His current status was already very high, to say nothing of his future. They thought that, setting aside the extravagance of marrying a little lady from Xiahang in Yan State, he could have at least married a woman from Jin land.

But he hadn't; he had married a wild woman.

In private, some of his Jin soldiers would joke about it. Barbarians really do have strange tastes, they'd say. A Barbarian marrying a wild woman—it's like a scoundrel eyeing a mung bean; they just hit it off, a perfect match in their eyes!

However, Jin Shuke always remembered the scene when he accompanied his master in attacking their first Qian people's stockade.

In that Qian stockade, there was a small 'red tent' with women inside.

The Barbarian soldiers had stared at those women, their eyes practically bulging, nearly drooling.

But Jin Shuke had noticed the displeasure in his master's eyes at the time.

Therefore, Jin Shuke didn't dare touch women from Qian State or Yan State. It was best not to touch women from Jin land either. So, he bought a wild woman slave.

This wild wife of his proved her worth: she gave birth only five months after he bought her.

She gave birth to three sons at once, which made Jin Shuke ecstatic.

Yu Huaping was aware that many of the Jin people under Jin Shuke thought him a bit foolish. It's obvious those kids aren't his own flesh and blood! they'd say.

But Yu Huaping understood that in Barbarian culture, as long as a child grew up with you and inherited your surname, that child was considered your "child," a part of your lineage.

When Barbarians went to war, they would kill male enemies taller than a cartwheel. They believed that boys who had already grown to that height could not be assimilated, whereas younger children posed no such problem.

Jin Shuke's happiness was genuine. He might have even suspected the wild woman was already pregnant when he bought her, Yu Huaping mused, and probably felt he'd gotten an incredible bargain instead!

However, no matter how they privately teased or joked about this superior of theirs, he was, after all, their superior. So, everyone was tactful enough to chip in for a collective gift.