Goddess Kaleidoscope

By the standards of a baronial estate, the fiefdom that King Durand granted to House Cork was so rich it could only be described as "filthy rich"!

According to the kingdom's noble laws, feudal lords had the right to freely levy taxes on their own territories. The specific tax rate and the types of taxes to be levied were entirely up to the lord, and even the royal family could not interfere arbitrarily, since this was the main source of income for the vast majority of feudal lords.

According to the old lady's understanding, most lords usually only levy two types of taxes: one is a fixed poll tax, ten copper coins for adults and five for children; the other is income tax, which is levied proportionally, with agricultural populations paying grain and non-agricultural populations paying money. Generally, a 50% tax rate is the norm, and a rate not exceeding 70% is not considered tyrannical. As long as the rate is below 40%, one can be known as a virtuous ruler who "loves the people".

This demonstrates just how high the public's tolerance for the ruling class is!

Given the wealth of Pine Tree Town, the old lady felt that 40% tax was enough. In fact, in order to quickly win over the people, she even suggested that the tax be reduced to 30% in the next three to five years.

But this morning, Lude took the initiative to talk to Srina about economics, which gave the old lady some new ideas.

In Ludd's view, the lords' tax collection was actually quite outrageous. This exaggerated percentage was exactly what the rulers had gradually tested to find the bottom line of exploitation that the common people could accept! As long as their whole families didn't starve to death, these lower-class people who were used to being submissive to the nobles would not rise up in rebellion.

Much of the money and grain collected was stored in treasuries and warehouses by the lords, without being used for infrastructure development or even spent. It simply sat in the warehouses gathering dust and mold.

Perhaps in the eyes of these misers, letting ordinary people have money means that their own money will decrease, which is even more painful than losing money!

When ordinary people are too poor, not only do they suffer, but the local economy is also negatively impacted.

If no one is buying, where will the market come from?

So since the old lady took the initiative to consult him, Lude had a good chat with her about economic topics, and also gave a lesson to the other lords present, hoping that they would take it to heart.

Lude himself wasn't exactly an economics expert, but having transmigrated from modern society, he had absorbed many things through his own experiences and observations, naturally making him far more knowledgeable than a bunch of feudal lords. Moreover, he was the one who single-handedly developed Pine Town, so facts speak louder than words.

Most importantly, Lud's words were not simply to get these lords to pay less tax, but to tell them how to develop the local economy so that they could earn more money than they collected from taxes!

Thanks to Lu De's diligent management, the local productivity of Songshu Town is now more than sufficient for self-sufficiency, thus creating conditions for developing foreign trade. Lu De's business of miraculous medicines accounts for the majority of Songshu Town's foreign trade.

After all, this is a monopolistic and highly profitable industry. Only their family has the ability to produce similar miracle drugs on a large scale. Even if other sects can make them, it would be difficult for them to compete with the Medicine God Sect in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Secondly, there was the spice business, which was also controlled by Ludd. The church owned 3,600 acres of fertile land, more than half of which was used to grow spices. All the other individual farmers combined did not grow as much as they did.

These two big deals allowed Lud to earn tens of thousands of gold coins a year, and because he was a religious figure, he didn't even have to pay taxes to the lord.

Lud himself knew that while it was perfectly reasonable for him not to pay taxes and was protected by the kingdom's laws, the fact that he was making a fortune while the lord could only watch helplessly inevitably caused some resentment in his heart.

So it was both a gesture of goodwill and an attempt to win her over; Lu De intended to invite the old lady to invest in his spice factory, which he was currently setting up, so they could make money together.

Lude's proposal greatly appealed to the old lady, after all, the Baron's family was not yet wealthy, and the old lady was kind-hearted and unwilling to exploit the people within her own territory. As for the economic insights, although she didn't quite understand them, the Duke and Earl present were all intrigued and asked Lude many questions, leaving the old lady unable to get a word in edgewise.

It is not hard to see from this that Luther's point of view must have its unique aspects, otherwise these two big shots would not have reacted in that way.

Recalling her experiences during the day, and what her family had seen and heard after arriving in Pine Town, the old lady couldn't help but feel moved. The gods had indeed not abandoned her and her orphanage, but had arranged for such a saint to help them. She was grateful to Rudd and couldn't help but feel respect for the god behind him.

"Perhaps I should convert to the faith of the Medicine God..."

Meanwhile, at the temple, Ludwig was also awake. After talking with Marigis, he asked Shanes to take Fran, who had been released from his descent, back to school. He then went to the statue of the God of Medicine in the hall and called Hume, who was "on a business trip" thousands of miles away, to inquire about her situation.

Prior to this, Lud had been researching how to more effectively utilize divine magic to achieve some actions that the locals considered very "blasphemous." So he thought of some special functions of the idols and tried to make use of them.

Lude knew long ago that the idols could actually be used as teleportation points for the corresponding gods, and could also be used as cameras and megaphones. So Lude slapped his forehead and wondered if the miniature idols could be used as cell phones.

Without further ado, they happened to have some miniature statues (figurines) on hand, which Ludwig immediately used for experiments. He had Hume take one out so they could keep their distance and conduct a communication test.

Since Hume is still sealed and cannot use most of his divine abilities, the idol that Rudd gave her belongs to Aina. Aina then remotely invokes the idol in Hume's hand so that she can see and hear what Hume is saying and then relay it to Rudd.

The test proved that Ludwig's idea was feasible, but the call could only be initiated by Aina. Hume could not call Aina on his own, since she could not use her divine power at the moment, even if there was a statue of her in the temple.

Another point worth noting is that remote séance can cause quite a commotion the moment the divine consciousness connects. Mortals may not be able to detect it, but it will resonate with other nearby statues of gods, making other gods aware of it.

So, on this trip, Hume and Fallen Leaf made an agreement with Ludd that regular communication would still be done using the flock of ravens that Hume kept, but every three days at midnight, Ludd would have Aina initiate a remote séance to communicate with Hume regularly, so that she could bring Aina's statue to a suitable place to perform the ritual.

At Lude's request, Aina initiated a remote séance, instantly attaching her divine consciousness to a statue thousands of miles away.

"Master, I've connected over there."

After using the summoning ability, Aina's eyes instantly went blank, and only her mouth could move. This was mainly due to the distance and the fact that Aina wasn't quite used to using this kind of supernatural power yet; she would get used to it gradually.

More than a month ago, Hume set off for Flamewood City in the south of the kingdom, the stronghold of the Black Hand Brotherhood. Rudd had previously used the labyrinth to set up a trap, causing the necromancer Dick and the Navarro family to fight to a standstill, attempting to incite infighting within the Black Hand Brotherhood and weaken this underground order.

Meanwhile, Lude accelerated the training of his goddesses, aiming to help Aina, a promising candidate, break through to the third tier as soon as possible.

Because Kumirard had previously revealed to Rudd that the "fake" the Black Hand Brotherhood worshipped had already reached the threshold of the fourth tier using the "Spark" in her hand. Once she breaks through to the fourth tier and reaches the same level as the sealed Hume, then it will be uncertain who is the fake of whom!

So time is tight, because nobody knows when the counterfeit product will break through, so we have to find a way to disrupt their progress.

So Hume's trip there, besides scouting enemy positions, was also to secretly stir up trouble and exacerbate their internal conflicts. And judging from the intelligence Hume reported back, things were indeed quite lively there recently.

After all, the eldest son of the Navarro family was assassinated and turned into a living dead whose soul had detached from its body. The necromancer who caused him to become like this was nowhere to be found. The furious Navarro patriarch wished he could kill all his enemies!

End of this chapter

The distance between Pine Town and Flamewood City almost spans the entire Kingdom of Duran. If it weren't for Hume, even with his strong sense of justice, Lud would not have dared to provoke a cult thousands of miles away at this stage.

The fake god of thievery is currently at the third tier, still a lower-level god, but according to Kumirad, the other party had already reached the threshold of the fourth tier several years ago, but had not been able to break through.

Once the opponent truly crosses that threshold, the leap from the third to the fourth rank will be a qualitative one, giving the mid-level god an overwhelming advantage over the lower-level god.

Therefore, Lud's time was not very long. He needed to get Aina to break through to the third tier before the fake Thief God broke through to the fourth tier, and Shanis and the three sisters to be close to the third tier. Now he also needed to add Marigis. Then, he would take the initiative to attack by taking advantage of the "divine number".

Therefore, Lude has been working extremely hard during this period, devising a series of plans to increase faith collection. Several goddesses are included, and there are also "collaboration events" between them, all in order to enhance their own strength as soon as possible.

On the second day of the food festival, according to the festival schedule set by Lude, the highlight of the day was the first "Chef King Competition" in Pine Town. Lude directly copied many variety shows on Earth that focused on "culinary skills competition".

The competition was held in groups of five, with participants registering with the organizers. Since this was the first edition, all twelve participating teams were local, with seven of them comprised of members from Brewster College's culinary department – ​​making it feel like a final exam.

To enhance entertainment and spectator appeal, the competition was held in the town's central square, with twelve open-air kitchens set up in advance for spectators to watch the chefs prepare their dishes. Furthermore, the kitchens were spaced out, so there was no need for onlookers to learn the techniques.

The judges responsible for tasting and scoring the competition, Ludwig, directly invited a group of distinguished guests who had come to witness the event, including Ludwig himself, the young baron and the old lady, Hamilton and Debra of the Three Towers, Earl of Ramley and Duke of Gamelin, Viscount Gulig, the patriarch of the Steel Whip Clan, and High Priest Winig, as well as Bishop Ural of the Cult of War who had arrived that morning, making exactly ten judges.

The competition is divided into three rounds. In the first round, the organizers will provide a topic and specify an ingredient for each group to prepare a dish. In the second round, a bunch of blind boxes containing various ingredients will be prepared on-site, and each group will choose one and create a dish on the spot. The third round is the final and grand finale, where each group will have free rein to create their best signature dish.

The winning team will each receive a "XXth Annual Chef King Medal" blessed by divine magic, along with a generous prize of two hundred gold coins. The second and third place teams will receive one hundred and fifty gold coins respectively. This prize money is no small sum for ordinary people.

If Lud hadn't set up a bunch of entry requirements and preliminary rounds beforehand, probably everyone in town who could cook would have been scrambling to try their luck.

For safety reasons, all food for the entire competition was provided by the temple, which was the organizer. There were also three high-ranking priests, Lud, Winnig, and Ural, who were at least bishops, on site. Even if someone was poisoned, they could be saved on the spot!

It's worth mentioning that Ludwig deliberately incorporated a significant religious atmosphere into the competition. Each group had to prepare one large and ten small dishes, a total of eleven. The ten small dishes were for the judges to taste, while the large dish was to be offered to the gods who would bless them with a bountiful harvest this year, placed on the altar in the center of the competition venue.

How can a harvest thanksgiving festival not highlight the element of "gratitude"?

The competition officially started around nine o'clock in the morning. The judges sat on the judges' table, which was second only to the altar in height. They could overlook the open-air kitchen and the huge crowd of spectators around the competition venue. They chatted leisurely while waiting for the chefs to serve their dishes.

The lords present had all seen their fairies, but those "rustic" events couldn't compare to the Thanksgiving Festival in Pine Town. It was not only high-end and classy, ​​but also had a wonderful festive atmosphere. They were thinking about whether they should hold one on their own land when they got back.

"Seriously, this activity is much more interesting than watching a bunch of rough guys wrestle in the mud. I can already smell the stew."

"Hehe! I heard that it's recently become fashionable for your country, Duke, to have women wrestling in mud pits."

"Gentlemen, please be more reasonable at this time. There are many people watching below."

On the judges' panel, Ludwig, sitting between the Earl and the Duke, wore a smile on his face, but inwardly he couldn't help but think that these two were indeed old rivals. Even though they both had the intention to reconcile, whenever they met, they would still follow their long-standing instincts and not miss any opportunity to be sarcastic or sarcastic.

Especially Earl Ramli. Before this, Lud had always thought of him as a refined, easy-going, wise and brave nobleman. But when he met Duke Gamelin, he was so sharp-tongued that it was a complete surprise.

It was only a long time ago that Lude learned that the feud between the two was far more than just a power struggle. Both of them had been to the Holy Shield City, the stronghold of the Cult of War, for study. Duke Gammelin, relying on his good looks and superior flirting skills, was always able to win over the girls the Earl had his eye on first.

Although the Earl later returned to his own territory and found true love to spend his life with, he clearly could not easily let go of this experience from his youth.

So, to prevent the two from arguing, Lud simply sat between them to act as a firewall, while Sharo and Rodriguez stood behind them, ready to rush up and pull their respective fathers back at any time.

Below the judges' panel, the twelve teams were busily working. For the first competition of the first season, Lu De didn't give them any weird challenges. The designated ingredient was pork. Most of the six non-student teams chose to make barbecue because it could effectively suppress the pork's own gamey smell.

In contrast, the six student teams, having all studied under Ludo, possessed far more expertise in handling ingredients and cooking techniques than the local chefs. This competition was inherently unfair from the start, a stage specifically prepared by Ludo to promote "hometown cuisine" in another world.

To ensure the competition would achieve his desired outcome, Lude secretly engaged in numerous underhanded tactics. However, his methods weren't bribing the judges; instead, he privately provided each participating chef team with a copy of his treasured recipe, to be used as their signature dish in the third round of the competition.

End of this chapter

The judges didn't have to wait long before chef group number seven was the first to complete their dish: a fragrant and spicy charcoal-grilled pork belly. The group's head chef had been running a food stall in the food street just yesterday; his signature grilled meats were highly praised by diners for their perfect cooking techniques.

As soon as the roast meat was served, Hamilton, who loved spicy food, picked up his fork and devoured his portion in a few bites, eating faster than the two short people at the next table. After finishing, he still had a look of unsatisfaction on his face.

"Don't poke this grilled meat with a needle!"

Upon hearing Hamilton's cryptic comment, Debra immediately cast an undisguised look of disdain. The subsequent remarks from the two dwarf brothers, however, prompted Debra to roll her eyes.

"I think it's good too!"

"..."

Lu De glanced at the three of them and knew they were just ordinary eaters. He thought to himself that he hadn't expected them to be like real gourmets and give their opinions. Moreover, the charcoal-grilled pork belly was indeed only average. The heat control was not bad, but the use of spices was too simple and crude. It was just spicy!

The next few dishes were also prepared by "non-academics," and the cooking methods were similar. The fancy roasted pork was only different in the choice of cut and the use of spices. The appearance of chili peppers was so high that Ludd was speechless and Hamilton was overjoyed.

After all, Pine Town is the only spice-producing area in the northern part of the kingdom, and this year has seen a bumper harvest of chili peppers. Chili peppers are a rather unpleasant condiment; their spiciness can suppress the original flavor of ingredients to the greatest extent, but while masking shortcomings, they will also cover up the good parts.

The first few dishes were a bit of a letdown for the judges, except for Hamilton and the two dwarfs who seemed to enjoy them. The other judges, especially the ladies who couldn't handle spicy food, simply took a small bite politely and put the food aside.

Fortunately, after waiting for more than an hour, the academy group, on which Lude had placed high hopes, finally brought out a different kind of dish.

"Huh? What's this? Is it white bread?"

"Madam, this is called a meat bun."

The first group from the academy to take the stage presented each judge with a steaming hot bun, arranged in a very French-style plating manner. The accompanying dipping sauce dishes also thoughtfully included the academy's first-ever soy sauce and vinegar.

Steamed buns aren't exactly a new thing locally; Lud had made them last year and would occasionally serve them as "holy communion" to believers who got up early to pray at the temple. But at Brewster College, it's the first dish that first-year culinary students have to master.

However, steamed buns are currently only popular in Songshu Town, and a few lords from other places find them quite novel.

Under Lude's personal demonstration, everyone followed his example, breaking the steaming buns in half and dipping them in the two different sauces. They were immediately amazed by the soft texture, which was completely different from bread, and it was a perfect match for the pork filling with its rich broth.

"Hmm! This food called meat bun is much more interesting than the previous dishes. I would give it a nine out of ten."

"It's not too spicy, but it would be even better if it were spicier."

"You bald bastard who only knows how to eat spicy food, shut up!"

"I have fur now!"

After experiencing a series of overly spicy grilled meats, Roubaozi won unanimous praise from the judges with its relatively mild flavor. Its total score suddenly surpassed the previous six groups, temporarily taking the top spot on the leaderboard, making many onlookers outside the venue hungry.

The college teams that followed successfully steered the cooking competition back onto track with a variety of dishes that had almost turned into a "barbecue contest." These young students also cleverly prepared several extra dishes for the other participating teams to taste, ensuring their defeat was fair and just.

Ultimately, braised pork won the first round of the competition. This "hard dish" from Earth even won over Hamilton, who had previously been judging based on spiciness, and gave it the highest score of ten.

After a short break, the second round of the competition began immediately, with ten wooden crates containing different ingredients being brought into the competition area. The crates were numbered, and the head chefs from each group drew lots to determine which crate corresponded to their chosen number.