Chapter Twenty: The First Step in Reforming the Kingdom

Time flew like an arrow, days and months passing swiftly. In the blink of an eye, more than a week had passed since Mo Fangyuan had reclaimed the mine.

A few days ago, the mine resumed operations, and numerous ores were excavated, providing much-needed raw materials for the manufacture of metal goods in the Block Kingdom. With these minerals, many of the kingdom’s pressing issues were quickly resolved.

Now, Mo Fangyuan was dealing with another significant challenge within the Block Kingdom: housing.

The members of the Farmland Guard had grown tremendously from the battle to reclaim the mine. As a result, they now handled ordinary monsters with ease and dispatched them far more efficiently. This meant they could protect larger areas of farmland during the day, leading to increased grain harvests.

With the two greatest crises in the Block Kingdom—food and safety—alleviated or resolved, Mo Fangyuan finally turned his attention to the issue of housing.

Truth be told, it wasn’t merely obsessive compulsiveness that made him want to tear down those “matchbox” houses. These crude structures consumed vast swathes of the city’s space and created countless dark alleys and passages, perfect spawning grounds for monsters and a constant threat of unnecessary casualties and losses.

If he didn’t address the problem now, it would only become more complicated in the future.

“What should I do…” Mo Fangyuan wanted to build unified houses in the Huaxia style, but that was too resource-intensive—each building would cost one to two times more than ordinary structures. “Ahem… better not.” He couldn’t afford to waste precious resources on construction; the Block Kingdom was still desperately poor.

“This one might work…” He needed something spacious, compact, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. Mo Fangyuan racked his brains, searching for the most suitable housing design.

“Got it!” Suddenly, he remembered a kind of building he’d constructed once, out of boredom.

This building was a special fusion of modern apartment blocks and residential flats, combined with a touch of Gothic style—a unique dwelling that Mo Fangyuan had designed himself. Capable of housing many people, pleasing to the eye, and occupying a reasonable footprint, it was the ideal solution in his mind.

“You’re the one!” With no better ideas for now, Mo Fangyuan decided on this design.

“Hm, Block People don’t have to worry about sanitation, water can be generated infinitely, so the kitchen needn’t be large… bedrooms…” After spending so long in this world, Mo Fangyuan had successfully cured himself of procrastination. Once he had a framework, he set to work, pen flying across the page as he drafted his plans.

“Captain Yali, does this mean we can start working tonight?” a young member of the Farmland Guard asked excitedly.

Mo Fangyuan had tirelessly promoted the idea that labor was honorable and work brought happiness. Now, many sincerely believed in this value.

“I heard that working in the Farmland Guard means you get housing in the central district!” an older member joined in.

Seeing her comrades so eager, Yali’s lips curled into a faint smile, her heart full of gratitude for Mo Fangyuan.

Room and board provided. They’d never enjoyed such benefits when protecting their villages before, and their hearts brimmed with thanks to Mo Fangyuan.

“All right, all right—time for training!” Shooing away the cheerful group, Yali crouched down, her golden cowlick standing upright as she tilted her head.

“His Majesty is so good to us, it’s almost embarrassing… how can I ever repay him?” As she thought, her face flushed, the cowlick on her head twisting and turning as if she’d thought of something inappropriate. Meanwhile, Mo Fangyuan, engrossed in his designs, had no idea what was happening in the central plaza.

“What the hell is this thing?” Mo Fangyuan gripped his quill, feeling a little exasperated. It was just about passable for writing, but for drawing… The building on the paper looked so distorted that even he couldn’t make sense of it.

“Sigh! No ruler, no compass…” He could, in theory, fashion these tools himself, but the world’s rules were different here; without the relevant craftsman profession, he couldn’t make proper tools.

“Damn it…” Carelessly, the quill slipped, drawing a long, jarring black line across the page.

Suppressing his frustration, Mo Fangyuan forced himself to continue sketching the wretched blueprint. With endless tweaks and corrections, the day eventually passed.

That evening, Mo Fangyuan didn’t patrol the farmlands—others had taken over his duties.

“Now this finally feels like being a king!” After a modest supper, he retired early. Counting back, it seemed he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in over a month.

“No help for it; this world doesn’t know biology.” In the old world, such exertions would surely have killed him.

“Captain, you’re amazing! That was a whole squad of monsters!” Somewhere in the farmlands outside the city, a young warrior stood atop a zombie’s corpse, shouting to his squad leader.

The Farmland Guard was divided into three squads of three, each with a squad leader in charge of the other two. Lin Ye was one such leader.

Unlike other immigrants, he was a native of the Block Kingdom. He had personally witnessed the kingdom’s journey from famine to prosperity, growing into a great nation of two hundred people under Mo Fangyuan’s rule. He revered his king, hoping to become His Majesty’s bravest champion through his own efforts.

He was not alone—most residents shared similar dreams, to varying degrees.

“All right, stay alert. Let’s keep going—our farmlands need our protection.” Lin Ye patted the young warrior’s shoulder.

“Haha, it’s fine! With you as captain, a dozen zombies are nothing!” Lin Ye just smiled, saying nothing.

Only he knew the real reason for his strength. As a child, his curiosity had led him deep into the kingdom’s distant Black Forest—a notorious lair of monsters, as any clear-headed person would know. But he had been so young…

Just recalling the swarming, pitch-black masses of monsters made Lin Ye’s face go pale. Luckily, he’d encountered a mysterious block there—a yellowish cube covered in countless question marks. By breaking open this enigmatic box, he’d obtained the Assailant’s Potion, gaining the power needed to escape death’s clutches.

“The Instigator… what exactly is it?”

A look of confusion crossed Lin Ye’s handsome face.

He had the Instigator’s Potion, and after shattering that question-marked block, he’d acquired follow-up potions as well—but to absorb them, he had to succeed in strange trials within another world.

“Old Fu, do you get it?” Mo Fangyuan gestured over his blueprints.

“Your Majesty, this, this…” Old Fu, the village chief, stared blankly at the incomprehensible mess of lines. What on earth was this supposed to be?

“Right, just like this… and this here… then there…” Mo Fangyuan tried to explain, but quickly realized he couldn’t understand his own drawing.

“Sigh…” At a loss, Mo Fangyuan decided to personally oversee the construction.

“Here, yes, right here—use logs to build…” In the Block World, science and engineering held little sway; Mo Fangyuan cared nothing for foundations or gravity. If it looked good and was convenient, that was enough!

Four floors above ground, one below. The basement served as storage for residents; the four upper floors were residential, with two units per floor. Each unit consisted of three bedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen—a standard “five-person home” as Mo Fangyuan decreed.

The building occupied seventy-five squares. The main materials were planks, supplemented with stone bricks—all inexpensive resources.

Under Mo Fangyuan’s direction, the first “Fangyuan-style residential block” rose in the northern district. Tall and beautiful, it stood out like a crane among chickens, attracting countless admiring gazes.

Before long, the newly completed building was surrounded by a curious throng. They whispered and chattered in amazement at its grandeur.

Never before had they seen such a spacious and elegant structure. The people were utterly entranced.

“It seems I’ve succeeded.” Mo Fangyuan saw the longing in their eyes—the yearning for a better living environment. This was precisely what he had hoped to inspire.

“My dear subjects! I am your king, Mo Fangyuan!” Seeing his moment, Mo Fangyuan stepped forth to address the crowd.

“As you can see, this building is meant for people to live in. As long as you work diligently and produce more goods, you will all have the opportunity to live here—an opportunity that will last a lifetime…”

For a population largely illiterate, his speech was direct and simple: work hard, work overtime, and so long as you perform well, you’ll have a chance to live in such a home.