Chương 159: Do you know how many copper coins a bag of rye flour costs?

Marcus wholeheartedly agreed with Roland's words.

He looked at the fox-eared Laura statue in the center of the square, pondering to himself.

If Roland were to appear in the capital's newspapers in her current fox-girl form, or attend some high-society social events...

It's likely that some nobles would actually spend huge sums of gold coins to purchase this wooden statue.

At the same time, Marcus also sensed the message contained in Roland's words.

"Miss Roland, you just mentioned the group's financial problems. Is it related to food?"

Roland nodded readily.

"That's right. Grain merchants in the old port area have recently been hoarding grain, driving up prices, and artificially creating famine."

"In order to help the starving victims, I had to completely stop the group's external operations and save food."

She revealed a devout and solemn expression, opened her small mouth, and immediately began to label him with a big accusation.

"This behavior is an absolute blasphemy against the doctrines of the Church of Light."

"These despicable grain merchants are creating disaster and spreading death; their heinous acts are comparable to those of necromancers!"

Roland was very cunning; she shifted the grain merchants' target from herself to ordinary people and began religious condemnation.

To make herself appear more genuine and indignant, she even activated a long-dormant skill.

[Incendiary Speech] Her tone became increasingly impassioned, even attracting the attention of some employees passing by.

People followed Roland, listening to her words, their faces showing anger.

This scene caused Marcus and several of the richly dressed monks to break out in a light sweat.

Roland narrowed her eyes, seemingly guessing something, and simply stopped and faced Marcus.

"Mr. Marcus, have you been to the market?"

"Do you know how many copper coins a small bag of rye flour costs these days?"

She stretched out her small hand, which was covered in black stockings, and spread her five fingers.

"Fifty copper coins..."

"Fifty copper coins! That's not even enough for a dockworker to earn!"

She stretched out her right hand, clenched it tightly, and then flung it outwards, her pretty face filled with anger.

"In my opinion, these despicable grain merchants should be burned and purified by the light until they are reduced to ashes!"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers cheered and waved their fists.

The delivery drivers who had delivered relief Krabby Patties to famine-stricken slums were especially moved.

In an instant, large crowds gathered on both sides of the church tour group, resembling a parade.

Marcus's forehead was covered in even more beads of sweat.

He quickly approached Roland, speaking in a very low voice.

"Miss Roland, Miss Roland."

He called out twice in succession, trying to calm Roland down from her agitated state.

"Our main focus right now is sightseeing, so it's not appropriate to make such a big fuss. Let's disperse these people first."

"Besides, we've come here to solve the food problem, so let's not make too much of a fuss and alert the local grain merchants."

Roland turned her head and looked at Marcus, whose momentum had weakened, and immediately regained her composure.

She smiled and nodded as if nothing had happened.

"Mr. Marcus, you're right. We should prioritize the inspection and visit. I'll have the maids disperse the crowd right away."

"Sorry, I got a little agitated just now. After all, what those grain merchants did was truly inhumane, wouldn't you agree?"

Marcus Gan laughed and echoed.

"Yes, yes."

……

About five minutes later, at Roland's command, the crowd dispersed and returned to their relaxed and entertaining holiday life.

Although they were happy to listen to Roland's speech, the allure of the holiday was also quite strong.

It could even be said that they were among the first low-level laborers in the empire to receive and enjoy holidays.

Even in their childhood, they had never experienced such carefree playtime.

The crowd scattered like birds and beasts, but before leaving, they all bowed to Roland.

As the crowd dispersed, Marcus and the others visibly relaxed and continued their tour of the Roland Group under Roland's guidance.

After what had just happened, the group only briefly visited the hot water workshop and the Krusty Krab factory before heading straight to their main destination for the day.

The greenhouse dome of the Roland Group.

The greenhouse dome occupies a huge area, so much so that nearby staff dormitories had to be relocated.

The greenhouse dome looks like a giant bowl upside down on the ground.

The outer wall is made of transparent gilded glass, while the interior is supported by magical oak.

These oak trees were not created by the Tree Lady, but over time they will gradually be taken over by the Tree Spirits.

At that time, the entire greenhouse will be like a living thing, possessing the ability to self-repair and build.

The group entered through a gate made of vines, and were greeted by a vast expanse of neatly arranged wheat fields.

These wheat fields were completely different from any they had ever seen before.

They had only ever seen fields cleared in the countryside.

Limited by manual surveying, topographical factors, and land consolidation.

In rural areas, fields are always crooked and irregularly shaped.

Even the fields of farm owners and large estates are constructed into strip-shaped plots according to the terrain.

But Roland's greenhouse dome is different.

Inside the enormous dome, the terrain had been artificially smoothed out using magic.

The square patches of wheat fields are arranged like chessboard squares.

Straight paths, constructed from planks and vines, replaced the crisscrossing field ridges.

The heating pipes are hidden beneath the road, radiating out like the veins of a leaf, providing continuous heating for the greenhouse.

These pipes will raise the soil temperature to over five degrees Celsius and periodically provide irrigation water at around twelve degrees Celsius.

At this moment, a large number of employees are walking on the ridges of the fields, dealing with weeds and tending to the wheat.

Near each square wheat field, a work team was busy at work.

Led by the southern orcs who were skilled in farming, they diluted the manure produced in the composting workshops with water and then evenly spread it into the wheat fields using simple sprayers.

Busy yet orderly, it also carries the slow-paced atmosphere unique to rural areas.

The whole picture is like a hybrid of pastoral idyll and industrialized production.

From afar, it looks like an endless expanse of wheat fields; up close, it resembles the roaring assembly line of a factory in the capital.

Sister Theresa, who had a good relationship with Roland, stared wide-eyed in surprise at the scene before her.

Marcus and his companions were utterly bewildered; the nobles of the capital, who never lifted a finger, had never witnessed such a spectacle.

They stared in shock, their mouths agape, unable to speak.

It took Marcus a while to come to his senses.

He looked up at the greenhouse dome in the sky, then at the pipes on the ground, and then at the neat and uniform wheat field in the middle.

He hesitated, and could only manage to utter one sentence.

"How much... how much will this cost?!"

He turned to look at Roland as if she were the biggest sucker in the world, his voice trembling.

"Miss Roland, you went to so much trouble to build such a large greenhouse and hire so many employees, just to grow this cheap wheat?"

"And what you're growing is the unpalatable southern barley."

"This is such a waste of money!"

[There are only two hours left until Chinese New Year! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Meow OVO~]