“Census? Isn’t that exactly what I was planning to do? Looks like the Smog Mission updates its content based on my actual situation… New variety of tulip, what does that mean, is it going to give me a kind of magic potion?” Edward Thompson speculated.

The Tulip family’s rise was all thanks to tulips.

Tulips are not just flowers, but also magic potions—magical medicinal ingredients. Magic potions are important auxiliary materials for practicing magic and battle aura. Among the tulip-based potions, in Edward Thompson’s memory, the most valuable one could fetch a sky-high price of ten gold coins.

A new variety of tulip, if it produces a magic potion, would absolutely be a powerful weapon for revitalizing the economy.

Even if it’s not a magic potion, offering it to Tulip Castle and letting the family’s tulip great sprite assimilate it would still increase the sprite’s potential for evolution and development.

“So, next, I need to strongly push for the census! A small town with at most one or two thousand people—what’s so difficult about that? Henry Clark has really let me down. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll supervise it myself.”

One or two thousand people isn’t much bigger than a school back in Edward Thompson’s hometown. Having served as student council president, Edward Thompson still had a lot of confidence in his own abilities.

……

But for Henry Clark, this was an extremely tricky task.

During the handover, he had asked the previous administrative officer, a knight sent by the count. This knight had only done one thing in Flower Town—collect taxes.

He didn’t care about anything else. In fact, the knight himself had barely ever come to Flower Town, leaving one of his squire knights to manage things in his stead.

The squire knight here also only did one thing—collect taxes, and ignored everything else.

Flower Town’s taxes included peanuts, milk, wheat, barley, oats, tomatoes, and tulips. The Count of Coral Island collected taxes every three months, taking away the vast majority of the already meager crops produced in Flower Town. After collecting taxes, the knight would no longer concern himself with Flower Town.

A poor and remote place like this was nothing compared to the bustling Coral City.

So, Henry Clark sat in the dilapidated administrative office of the small town, looking at his only four clerks and six patrol members, and felt that the census was an impossible task.

“None of you have ever read a book or learned a single character? Is there not a single literate person in the whole town?”

One of the clerks said awkwardly, “Sir, there’s no school in the town, and we’ve never left…”

A patrol member with a ruddy, alcoholic nose said, “Maybe the old cobbler can read. He came from another island. I saw a book in his house, a really thick one, and I even flipped through it. There were little drawings inside. But the old cobbler beat me up. He’s blind, but his shoes are really sturdy, and he hits hard too.”

A blind man—Henry Clark didn’t even consider the old cobbler.

Since there was no one literate, he could only say, “At least you can count, right? Each of you go to a hamlet and count how many households and people there are!”

This should have been a simple task, but after a day, when the clerks and patrol members came back to report, Henry Clark felt like he was going crazy.

He shouted, “What? Peanut Hamlet has 18 households and 56 people? Mr. Teacup, are you joking with me?”

Mr. Teacup, full name David Teacup, was a clerk, looking conflicted. “Sir, I’m not! I counted several times, but I don’t know if it’s right. The number is different every time.”

Peanut Hamlet had 23 households and 92 people—this was the number Henry Clark had personally counted when Edward Thompson rescued the peanut fields.

He really couldn’t understand how David Teacup could come up with 18 households and 56 people.

No need to think about it.

The numbers for the other hamlets were definitely nonsense too.

Thinking of this, Henry Clark waved his hand helplessly. “Alright, stop reporting. Keep those numbers for your own amusement. Go get my horse, I’m going to the castle to see Baron Edward Thompson.”

Riding to the castle, Henry Clark exaggeratedly complained to Edward Thompson, “You have no idea, those clerks and patrol members can’t even count from one to ten! There’s no way to rely on them to complete the census. Edward Thompson, I’ve already written a letter and am just waiting to send it. Maybe we can wait for them to arrive before doing the census.”

“How long will that take?”

“Don’t worry, Edward Thompson, we have plenty of time, don’t we?”

“I can’t wait.” Edward Thompson tapped his fingers on the table. “Mr. Carter, is there anyone in the castle who can read?”

Carter bowed slightly and said, “Master, I can read and write, Thomas can too, and hmm, Mrs. Mason should be able to as well.”

“Then, please ask Mrs. Mason and Thomas to come over. Also, help me call Mr. Marcus and my four squire knights. I remember they can all write.”

Once everyone had gathered, Edward Thompson announced to the group, “Now, let’s put aside our current tasks and help me complete the census of Flower Town. The town, Mushroom Hamlet, Peanut Hamlet, Tomato Hamlet, Barley Hamlet, Wheat Hamlet, Flower Farm, Dairy Farm—each person is responsible for one hamlet.”

Chapter 13: Black Tulip