A week later, Border Town ushered in the last month of autumn in a heavy snow.
Roland looked out from the office window, and a black figure swayed on the snow-white roof. This was a task that the townspeople had to do every day, shoveling the snow from the roof to the ground, so as not to overwhelm the roof.
As of today, it has been exactly one year since he came to this world, but the autumn of the previous year was far from being so cold, and he couldn't see so many neat and dense houses from here.
It is not surprising that the town at that time was a wasteland that was about to be abandoned. Except for a circle of decent-looking wooden houses around the square, beyond that, there were all dilapidated mud houses and thatched houses. The residences of the nobles are also mostly concentrated in the square area. The only stone road leads to the castle from there. In addition, the whole town can no longer see a flat ground, and there are human and animal excrement everywhere. .
Now all the roads here have been replaced with water-stable roads. Even if there is no surface layer, it is a hard road with excellent quality. The dark lines divide the silver-white town into many squares of different sizes. The spacious main road is on both sides. It is a planned commercial area in the future, and the periphery is a residential area.
In addition, the industry in Border Town has gradually taken shape, or, in other words, it has finally changed from workshop-style production to a production line that can cycle itself. Of course, it is limited to steam engines. The blast furnace area can produce iron ingots that meet the processing requirements, while the steam plant can process them into parts. The blacksmiths are no longer unfamiliar with all kinds of machine tools, and at the same time they have brought a large number of apprentices. Although those extremely high-precision steam machine tools have to be manufactured by Anna, it is an extremely rare progress for them. After all, before this, these people had only touched the hammer of the blacksmith, or they were miners and hunters.
For the time being, it is better to regard it as produced by the workers relying on their own strength.
In addition, there is the production of bullets and gunpowder, all of which are arranged by ordinary people. The firearm still needs to be handled by Anna herself. The reason is not the lack of processing machines, but the fact that the blast furnace in the town cannot make steel with stable quality, which has been listed by Roland as an urgent problem to be solved in the next stage.
The achievements in chemical engineering are far more surprising, presumably because there was not much hope, so any result is a pleasant surprise. Now that sulfuric acid and nitric acid have begun mass production, and chemical explosives have also emerged, as long as the output of bullets can be increased, it is not too difficult to change to a new generation of repeating guns.
It doesn't matter if the production method is backward, for the current situation of the town, it is more important to solve the problem. After Bai Zhi's ability has stabilized and his magic power can be precisely controlled, the chemical industry may usher in a new peak.
The most important thing is that no matter which production, or education and construction, Border Town is now tending to a benign development stage. As long as there is enough time and more and more educated populations, breakthroughs in various fields will be faster and faster.
It took a year to turn a barren land into what it is today, and he felt a full sense of accomplishment from the bottom of his heart.
Standing by the window and looking at the town, Roland felt that he could look at it all day.
At this moment, a melodious bell sounded from the northwest.
That was a warning of an evil beast attack.
After the demon month, the alarm bell will go off about every three to four days. However, the First Army was already proficient in dealing with this situation, and it was no longer necessary for Roland to go to the city wall to supervise the battle. Thinking that a year ago, if he hadn't been in the sight of the militia team, there was no guarantee that they would not throw their weapons and flee.
"The evil beast is here again, should I go take a look?" Nightingale's voice came from his ear.
"Well," Roland nodded, "be careful."
"Don't worry, they can't touch me."
Then he felt a slight heat in his cheeks, and his voice disappeared.
Roland shook his head helplessly. Probably on such a snowy day, the witches were also bored. They said they were observing the situation, but they were actually looking for something to do. Especially the few fighting witches that Tilly brought, they would always go to the city wall to watch the battle as soon as possible, waiting for those mixed-species demonic beasts that can rush to the wall, so that they can show their skills. After learning about this, Nightingale also became interested, and she would go with her when the alarm bell rang. Perhaps she wanted to compete with the other party to see who was the strongest battle witch.
Roland sighed in the bottom of his heart, but he never saw her so focused on studying.
However, since fighting side by side can improve the understanding between witches and ordinary people, he is too lazy to stop it. The current revolver rifle is good for ordinary evil beasts, but it is still a little powerless in the face of wolf-lion hybrids, and powerful witches sit on the scene. , which can effectively stabilize the defense line and reduce the possibility of troop casualties.
So far, the First Army has not had a single case of death.
The departure of Nightingale made his heart move. The fighting witch had her own activities to relieve boredom, and the auxiliary witch would not have so much fun. Probably, it's time to create some new entertainment.
Thinking of this, he called Soraya.
"Your Highness, is there a new task for me to complete?"
The painter named Border Town who has made a major contribution seems to be in good spirits, the freckles on his face have faded a lot, and his smile is full of youthful vigor that cannot be concealed.
Her active inquiry made Roland suffocate slightly. Why did he suddenly feel a guilty conscience in his heart
"Uh, have you been busy with your work lately?"
"No, why do you ask that?" Soraya brushed the ends of her hair on her forehead, "There have been a lot fewer people working in factories recently, and I can finish the coating in half a day, so The alchemist Mr. Kemo was busy for a while while making those strange metal boxes." She paused, then tilted her head and smiled, "But compared to the days when I stayed in the mutual aid club camp, I prefer the fullness now. life, and I am very happy that my ability can help you.”
Hmm... that smile is so dazzling.
Roland couldn't help feeling a little guilty, "Cough, I called you to draw some new cards."
"More Gwent decks?"
"No, you guys are probably tired of playing," he waved his hand. "After all, the rules are very simple. If you know the cards in the opponent's hand, there won't be much change."
"Well, also..."
"Look, the new card is like this, it's very simple," Roland took out a piece of white paper and drew a rough sketch, "It is divided into four suits, and then counts from one to thirteen, and finally adds a king and Queen, there are fifty-four cards in all."
Soraya's ability has made great progress now. She directly uses the sketch as the base and quickly draws a card with a hard base coating, "How do you play this?"
"There are many ways to play it, but let's start with the simple ones first." Roland tried the feel of poker, and immediately regained the feeling before crossing. During the Chinese New Year, the most common thing for a family to do is to sit in a fire bucket, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and play poker all night until the firecrackers are lit during the day to welcome the arrival of the new year.
Compared with Mahjong, another traditional entertainment, poker has no requirements on the venue. It can be started with a board on the lap, and the gameplay is rich. It is probably the most popular game in the world.
"Go and call Anna," Roland said with a smile, "I will teach you to fight landlords.".
(.)
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