King of the North: My Lord's Diary Weekly Summary

Wayne slept in.

When he put on his armor and stepped out of the wooden house, it was already broad daylight.

The cold wind outside made him feel a little dazed for a moment—unbeknownst to him, this was already the fourteenth day since Wayne had transmigrated to this world.

The open space in front of the watchtower was much quieter than yesterday. Most of the troops had obviously already set off, leaving only a few wooden houses that were not yet fully completed, as well as some neatly stacked building materials.

By the campfire, Ronald leaned against a log, reading a manual about the Northern Regulations that he had obtained from Duke Quintu, bathed in sunlight.

Veteran Hank, along with the three cavalrymen who had accompanied him the day before, sat around a small stove made of stones, heating up breakfast soup in an iron pot. The rich aroma of grains wafted through the air with the rising steam.

Upon seeing Wayne emerge, everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Lord Wayne."

Ronald closed the booklet and straightened up.

"Morning, my lord."

Hank grinned and handed over a wooden bowl of hot soup.

"morning."

Wayne took the warm wooden bowl and nodded to everyone.

Some people prepared hot food, while others stood guard. This feeling of being cared for and supported warmed his heart.

He took a sip of the soup; the coarse oats mixed with a little salty minced meat were simple yet enough to dispel the morning chill.

"Was Wright leading a group to clear the land?"

he asks.

"Yes, sir."

Hank replied, "We set off at dawn, taking most of the villagers and soldiers with us, and also taking a lot of tools."

They said they wanted to clear out that piece of riverbank land they'd liked yesterday before winter arrived.

Wayne nodded. Wright was always reliable and considerate—he didn't continue the carpentry work while Wayne slept, but instead led the team to handle other matters.

The new farmland was on a grid northeast of the outpost, located on the plains west of the Icemark River, adjacent to the hills in the central part of the northeast region.

The hills provide good visibility, and currently, they appear to be relatively safe, making them suitable land for priority reclamation.

"Let's set off too."

Wayne finished the rest of the soup in a few gulps and handed the wooden bowl back to Hank: "Let's go to the village and take a look. You five can come with me."

"Take your weapons."

Horse hooves trod across the forest path, the snow gleaming blindingly white in the sunlight.

The road leading to the village was clearer than last night, obviously because someone had cleaned it.

As he approached the village entrance, Wayne saw the expected welcome.

Seven or eight villagers were "busy" in the snow near the village entrance; some were pretending to repair the fence, while others were sweeping the already clean path.

Upon seeing Wayne's cavalry, they all paused in unison, then quickly dropped what they were carrying, knelt on the cold snow, and bowed their heads.

"My lord..."

Wien reined in his horse and glanced at the group of people. They were dressed in thicker clothes than the average farmer, and although they were of different ages, they were all robust.

Several of them glanced at him furtively, then quickly looked down; others appeared more fearful and obedient.

Wayne understood and nodded slightly.

It seems that both the village chief, Tiki, and the wealthy old Gordon made a statement.

Get up.

Wayne's voice was flat: "The autumn harvest is the priority, what are you kneeling for?"

"Someone please lead the way; I want to go take a look at the fields."

The kneeling villagers looked at each other, seemingly exchanging quick glances.

Soon, a dark-skinned, thin man who looked the most honest and unassuming, around forty years old, was pushed forward.

He awkwardly patted the snow off his knees, not daring to look up: "Sir... I'll show you the way."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Niqiu... no, it's Niqiu."

The man was so nervous that he could barely speak.

"Okay, Nichu, let's go."

Wayne urged his horse to slow down, while Nicholas trotted ahead to lead the way.

Ronald and Hank spread out slightly, remaining vigilant.

The village's farmland is mainly located on the west bank of the Icemark River, adjacent to a narrow plain carved out by the river.

The land was roughly divided into plots of varying sizes, most of which were covered with withered straw and unmelted snow, but some plots had already been harvested, revealing dark soil.

"Sir, our village... now mainly consists of these few large fields."

As Nicholas led the way, he stammered as he introduced, "The fattest patch by the river, about... over thirty acres, belongs to Mr. Gordon."

The large fields to the south belong to a few households in the village; the remaining scattered fields belong to the other households in the village.

Further east, beyond the river, lies the foot of the mountain, mostly rocks and wasteland where nothing grows.

Wayne looked in the direction he was pointing.

Old Gordon's plot of land was indeed conspicuous, being the largest in area, with the gentlest terrain, and close to a water source.

The other farmers' land is scattered on the south side, with small and irregular plots, some of which are mixed with uncluttered shrub roots.

Then there's the Ice River, and across the river, a blurry rocky slope and sparse hardy shrubs; further on, the snow-capped remnants of the Tuwu Mountains rise abruptly from the ground.

"What are you planting?"

Wien asked.

"It's mainly hard beans and rye, and some cold-resistant root vegetables."

Nichu replied, "We've harvested some beans, but the rye needs to be dried for two more days before we dare to thresh it."

The snow came early this year, a bit too soon…

Just then, voices and the rustling sound of metal rubbing against straw came from a bean field being harvested ahead.

Wayne saw Anke—the steady veteran he had assigned to lead the harvest team.

Anke and a dozen villagers were wielding brand-new iron sickles, skillfully cutting bean stalks.

The other villagers and soldiers he brought were scattered in the fields, working and resting respectively.

Upon seeing Wayne, Anke immediately stopped what she was doing, wiped her sweat, and quickly walked to the edge of the field to greet him.

At the same time, he made two coded hand gestures.

"Safety".

"The weapon is not here."

Wayne nodded slightly.

Anke meant that the village was relatively peaceful at the moment, but the headhunter Barton was not there.

All of this was within his expectations—the two groups of villagers at the village entrance were probably the village chief and wealthy households expressing their stance to him.

Headhunter Barton and carpenter Morris, however, seem to have chosen a different approach.

"Thank you for your hard work, Anke."

Hurry up and harvest the grain, and be careful.

Wayne said to Anke.

"Yes, sir!"

Anke straightened her body.

The group continued along the ridges of the fields and soon arrived at the banks of the Icemark River.

The water flow here is much gentler than at the upstream cliffs—and correspondingly much wider, estimated to be over a hundred meters long.

The clear, emerald-green river reminded Wayne of XJ Lijing from his past life.

The other side of the river was indeed desolate beyond recognition—but in Wayne's eyes, this barren land, which covered more than ten square kilometers and accounted for two-ninths of the entire southeastern region, also had the potential to become a treasure trove.

Based on his experience of the flashes of his pickaxe along the way, he knew that such wastelands near mountains often contained iron that had not yet been discovered by their lords.

The holographic card appeared and disappeared in Wayne's palm, following his will.

Nicholas noticed Wayne's gaze and didn't understand why his lord cared so much about the wasteland across the way, but he still explained, "My lord, that land is extremely barren and completely unusable. Moreover, it's close to the mountains and forests, so there might be wild animals there—"

"Are there any boats in the village?"

Wayne asked.

"There were a few before, but most of them were dismantled. Now... maybe only Morris has them..."

Sir, would you like to go see it?

He's the village's master craftsman; he's home today, and it seems he's working on a project.

Wayne smiled and nodded.

"Perfect timing, let's go and meet that old carpenter first."