The Strongest Man’s Fake Wife Wants to Live Chapter 39

The Wibus purchased in bulk filled the large warehouse of Namoi Castle.

Dozens of carts arrived one after another, and the Wibus piled inside formed a hill, layers upon layers of green leaves and stems.

When the warehouse doors were opened, the entire interior was green, as though they had accidentally wandered deep into a forest.

The soldiers who saw it were all left speechless.

“My goodness, are you saying we have to plant all of this…?”

When one soldier muttered in dismay, the soldiers around him exchanged glances and began whispering among themselves.

“All of that? Are you serious?”

“I thought we were only planting trees…”

“Hah, now medicinal herbs too?”

Although they dared not openly show their exhaustion, their voices were tinged with irritation.

One of the soldiers made a grim guess.

“If all of this is our job, it’ll take months…”

“She might as well be telling us to drop dead.”

Their anxious murmurs quickly filled the warehouse.

Then, light footsteps could be heard among them.

It was Pesha.

With an expression that looked almost bored, as though she had just heard a silly joke, she said,

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t your job.”

At the sight of their lady, the soldiers hurriedly lowered their voices, but their dissatisfaction from moments ago was still palpable in the air.

Pesha, however, did not seem to care in the slightest.

“I’m going to mobilize everyone in Swapro.”

At her clear, distinct voice, the murmuring soldiers fell silent for a moment and hesitated as they processed what she meant.

Even Rebecca, who usually took most things calmly, looked surprised.

“You intend to mobilize the entire territory for this?”

Pesha nodded confidently.

“Yes. Not a single person will be left out.”

How was that even possible?

For the territory’s residents, their livelihoods right in front of them were far more important than an abstract ideal like purifying the territory.

So no matter how much they were forced by order, if they were made to plant grass that had nothing to do with their livelihoods, their dissatisfaction would surely explode.

Rebecca simply could not think of a way to mobilize everyone without causing unrest.

“Are you planning to pay everyone wages, perhaps? Even though we made a great deal of money this time, the expense would still be considerable.”

Pesha quietly let out a laugh.

“Pay them?”

Rebecca stopped short at the sight of her smile.

“Why would I pay them?”

“What?”

Her question sounded innocent at first glance, but on closer inspection, there was not the slightest hint of hesitation in it.

Rebecca’s mind became even more confused.

“Then how exactly do you intend to get people to do this? Simply ordering them to…”

Pesha walked over to a corner of the warehouse and picked up a bundle of small seed pouches that had been neatly stacked together.

“Look.”

The seeds inside the small pouches were only about the size of a fist, but once planted, they could cover an entire field.

“I’m going to distribute these seed pouches to every household in Swapro. There’s no limit. They can take as many as they want.”

“Won’t they simply sell them, or leave them unused without planting them?”

“They won’t. There’s one condition.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes as she looked at her.

“What condition?”

“I’m thinking of granting five-year tenancy rights to the land to anyone whose land is confirmed to have been purified after planting Wibus.”

“……What?”

“It’s land they purified themselves of. Of course they should be rewarded. For five years, that land will belong to them. They can harvest whatever they want and sell the produce however they please. As long as they pay their taxes properly. I’ve already received permission from the lord.”

This time, Jane’s eyes widened.

The people of Swapro had spent all this time risking their lives mining ore near the Abyss.

To them, ‘income without danger’ was something they had never even imagined.

They had to risk their lives just to make a living, and that had become such an ordinary part of their lives that they no longer questioned it.

But now, things could be different.

If a system was established in which those who purified more land became wealthier, planting Wibus would naturally become a new livelihood for the territory’s residents.

“Isn’t that easy?”

Pesha casually tossed the seed pouch she was holding at Rebecca.

Rebecca caught it reflexively, and Pesha winked at her.

“Even without forcing them, people will cultivate their own territory themselves. That’s the method I had in mind.”

 

***

 

The late-summer heat had taken a step back.

The high sky grew clearer with each passing day, announcing the approach of autumn.

On a peaceful, clear day in Swapro, a single carriage slowly rolled toward the plaza along the neatly paved stone road running through the center of the main street.

The crest of House Namoi was emblazoned above the carriage door, but there was practically only one person who used the carriage.

Their lord usually rode a horse instead of taking a carriage whenever possible.

“Isn’t that the lady’s carriage?”

At someone’s shout, everyone along the road turned their heads at once.

The road leading to the workshop district instantly came alive.

Merchants poked their heads out, their coat hems fluttering, miners got to their feet and waved, and even children who had been carving pieces of wood stopped working and ran to the roadside.

“It’s the lady! The lady is coming!”

At the child’s brief cry, everyone became even more excited.

Some hurriedly picked flowers and made small bouquets, while others straightened their clothes and waited for the carriage to stop.

By the time the carriage reached the entrance to the plaza, Pesha carefully lifted the curtain at the sound of the commotion.

When she looked outside, more than dozens of territory residents were smiling brightly and cheering toward her.

“My lady! Thanks to the workshop, we don’t even have enough hands to keep up with all the work these days!”

“We can buy twice as much wheat on market days now!”

“Thanks to you, my child can go to school without us worrying about tuition anymore!”

At the lively faces and heartfelt welcome, Pesha slightly hunched her shoulders, looking embarrassed.

“This is getting a little embarrassing…”

But at the same time, she felt something warm stirring in her heart.

They were genuinely happy.

The crowd had gathered so thickly that the carriage could hardly move, so Pesha had it stop for a moment.

Then her maid Audrey asked worriedly,

“My lady, are you getting out? You were on your way to the workshop.”

“It’s fine to take a little time. These people don’t look like they’ll keep the road clear unless I stop to acknowledge them.”

Audrey reluctantly told the coachman to stop and opened the door.

As Pesha stepped onto the ground, someone emerged from the bustling crowd holding a bouquet of flowers.

“This is our small token of gratitude, my lady.”

A single red wildflower had been placed among white, soft wildflowers.

It was clearly handmade and rather simple, but that made the sincerity behind the gift all the more apparent.

Pesha held the bouquet tightly in her hands and hugged it to her chest.

The laughter of children over her shoulder, the murmuring of adults, the shouts of merchants. Thanks to the changes they had gone through, everyone seemed so different from before.

“My lady, my husband got a job at the jewelry workshop. Now, every market day, he says we can buy two bags of wheat and dried fruit.”

“My son says he wants to learn jewelry-making too. He used to do nothing but get into fights without a care in the world.”

The more praise poured in, the more Pesha smiled, yet somehow she felt awkward about it.

She had never imagined that one small idea she had started simply to survive could change people’s lives this much.