bookbashuk Chapter 115 I Have a Dream
Chapter 115 I Have a Dream
Blackthorn Territory, covering approximately 2000 square kilometers, is equivalent to the area of a county on Blue Star.
The entire Blackthorn Territory has over 100,000 inhabitants, scattered across Blackthorn City, Waterfront City, Fortress of the Forest and surrounding villages.
Good things don't go out, bad things pass thousands of miles.
News of Blackthorn Keep changing hands, Baron Calvin's disappearance, and the prophet of Silverdew Settlement taking over the land spread like wildfire throughout the territory.
Some were fearful, some watched from the sidelines, and many more were numb.
After all, what do the affairs of the upper class have to do with those of us at the bottom?
At dawn, on the construction site of Hanhe New City, many large iron pots were set up on the temporarily leveled open space, and wisps of smoke rose from them.
Doge stood in front of a small mountain of sacks, his gray-green face full of seriousness.
Before him were emergency supplies: piles of flour, fresh fish, and fresh meat.
Doge put in a lot of effort to gather all these fresh fish and meat.
"I must do what the gods have instructed." Dog muttered to himself, his tail wagging unconsciously as he thought about the praise he would receive from the gods.
In addition to the establishment of the goblin farm.
Lynn's list of livestock to raise has already been implemented.
Many of the species chosen from the Magic Forest have already been domesticated.
【Woolhoof pig: an omnivorous wild animal with soft, curly hair and large hooves.】
It has a docile temperament, grows rapidly, and can reach 200 pounds in six months. Its meat is evenly marbled, and its curly hair can be used for textiles.
Fei Yangyang: It is larger than a regular goat, with snow-white wool but black skin and short horns.
It runs extremely fast, making it an athletic star among sheep, and its meat is exceptionally tender, juicy, and springy.
Bronze-feathered chicken: A chocobo with bronze-colored feathers and a robust body.
Egg production is moderate, but the meat is firm and chewy, making for an exceptionally flavorful soup. A key characteristic is its strong disease resistance; it is virtually undemanding in terms of feed.
Diving ducks: with wide webbed feet, they are good at foraging in swamps and shallow waters.
It has a short growth cycle, ready to eat in forty days, and its fat is evenly distributed, making it suitable for baking.
......
There are several other types.
These creatures, which Lynn calls economic species, will become the source of meat for Hanhe New City in the future.
When Lynn arrived at the construction site with Sylvia, Vera, Lia, and Amber, there were already quite a few recruited or curious citizens gathered around.
Most of them were dressed in rags, looked emaciated, and had eyes that were a mixture of wariness, curiosity, and deep weariness.
Upon seeing Lynn and his group, the crowd stirred slightly, but no one dared to step forward.
"Let's begin." Lynn rolled up her sleeves.
This time I made roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).
Sylvia took a deep breath and walked to the pile of flour.
Following Lynn's instructions, I began kneading the dough.
Warm water, flour, and a pinch of yeast.
The materials used as evidenced the astonishing sight of the onlookers.
They had never seen such white and fine flour.
On the other side, Vera was processing fresh meat.
Vera swiftly sliced the fresh meat into even, thin slices.
Amber is used for processing fresh fish.
Leah quietly washed the vegetables, the water gently flowing around her fingertips, separating the dirt automatically.
Lynn personally took charge of cooking.
Heat a pan and sauté the chopped fatty pork until the oil is rendered.
The aroma of oil wafting through the air made the hungry people start swallowing their saliva frantically.
Add scallions and ginger, stir-fry until fragrant, then add diced lean meat and fish, stir-fry until golden brown.
Add salt, a little sugar, and a dash of soy sauce.
The rich aroma of soy sauce mixed with the fragrance of meat, like an invisible hand, seized the stomachs and souls of everyone present.
"What's this smell..." someone murmured to themselves.
"It smells so good... even better than the aroma wafting from the lord's banquet..."
Sylvia transformed the dough into round cakes in her hands, then baked them on a lightly oiled griddle until both sides were slightly golden brown and puffed up.
Lynn cut the baked pancake in half, then scooped up a large spoonful of meat sauce and stuffed it into the pancake.
The meat juices instantly soaked into the inside of the pancake.
The first roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) was made.
Lynn handed it to the nearest old man.
He looked to be in his fifties, but was probably only in his thirties or forties. His back was hunched over like a shrimp, and his clothes were so tattered that they couldn't cover his ribs.
The old man took it with trembling hands; the scalding heat almost made him drop it.
He looked at Lynn, then at the fragrant food he had never seen before in his hand, and his throat bobbed violently.
"Eat up," Lynn said.
The old man couldn't resist any longer and took a big bite.
Time seemed to stand still.
His withered mouth chewed laboriously, but his eyes widened more and more.
The pastry is soft and chewy, the inner layer is soaked in meat juice, and the meat is savory and rich with bits of lean and fatty meat...
Every flavor was assaulting his already numb taste buds and barren culinary memories.
In his entire life, all he had ever eaten was hard black bread that could kill someone, thin vegetable porridge that reflected his image, the occasional bland and tasteless wild game he poached, and those moldy beans.
It's incomparable to this.
This is not food.
This is... a miracle.
The old man held the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) high in the air with both hands.
It's as if this isn't just a simple roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), but something sacred.
His tears welled up without warning.
So happy!
To be able to eat such delicious food.
He dared not eat in big bites anymore, but instead nibbled at each bite, chewing each one for a long time, so that he could savor the flavor for longer and let the taste linger between his lips and teeth.
This scene caused an uproar among all the onlookers.
"It looks delicious!!"
"Of course it's delicious! With such white noodles and so much meat, how could it not be tasty!"
"This stuff is probably even tastier than the white bread those noble gentlemen eat!"
"My Lord Prophet, could I have one too?"
The sound of people swallowing their saliva could be heard constantly as they lined up, eagerly anticipating their turn for the next roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).
Sylvia sped up the pancake making, Vera and Amber frantically chopped meat, and Lia silently handed the finished roujiamo (Chinese meat sandwiches) to trembling hands.
Of course, it wasn't just them who were working; Lynn also had Dog arrange for a number of chefs from other ethnic groups.
The construction site has been turned into an open-air canteen.
The sounds of chewing, swallowing, satisfied sighs, and suppressed sobs...
One after another.
A thin, young mother broke her roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in half and stuffed the half with more meat into her arms to her child, who was looking at her expectantly.
The child wolfed down his food, while she only ate a small bite of the half that was almost nothing but crust, yet she smiled as if she owned the whole world.
An old soldier with a missing arm was eating when he suddenly put down his food, covered his face with his only remaining hand, and his shoulders trembled violently.
He thought of his fallen comrades and those days of hunger and cold, never imagining he would be able to eat such delicious food.
After most people had eaten, or at least tasted, the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), the construction site gradually quieted down.
But the atmosphere became even more tense—
It was a silence born from a sense of satiation, followed by a renewed fear of the unknown future.
Finally, a middle-aged man, who seemed a bit bolder, wiped the grease from his lips, hesitated, and spoke, his voice dry:
"My lord, the Prophet... is this... is this my last meal before I'm beheaded?"
The crowd fell silent, and everyone looked at Lynn with the same fear in their eyes.
Yes, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Lunch is still so delicious!
The bosses give you a nice meal, isn't that just a way to get you to risk your life?
Lynn looked at the faces etched with suffering and put down the spoon in his hand.
He walked to a slightly higher mound of earth and glanced at the crowd.
"Last meal before death?"
He repeated it, his voice carrying clearly through the morning air.
Lynn pointed to the remaining meat sauce in the pot, to the dough in front of Sylvia, and to the people who had eaten their fill but still had doubts in their eyes:
"No."
"This is just a meal."
"A very ordinary, very ordinary meal."
"In the future, this will be a very ordinary meal that only costs a few copper coins, can be bought from a street stall, and then eaten while walking home."
A gasp of disbelief rose from the crowd.
A few copper coins?
This kind of heavenly food? How is that even possible?!
"You must think I'm lying because you think it's impossible." Lynn smiled, a smile that had an infectious, comforting quality.
"But please believe me, believe in me, the prophet."
"I stand here today to tell you, and to everyone on this land—"
His voice rose, carrying a power that could penetrate the heart:
"I have a dream."
"I dream that one day, on this land we all live on, every child will wake up in the morning not to the pain of hunger, but to the aroma of hot food coming from the kitchen."
"I dream that one day, every farmer, after sweating in the fields, will return home to find not cold, hard black bread and thin vegetable soup, but freshly baked white bread and fragrant stew."
"I dream that one day, this roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) will no longer be something precious and rare in your eyes; it will be just like the air you breathe, an ordinary part of life."
"I dream that one day you will discuss which roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) is juicier or which baozi (steamed bun) is more fragrant, instead of crying over a bite of meat like we do today."
The crowd fell silent, every pair of eyes fixed on the young man on the mound.
They couldn't understand all the words, but they understood the scene he described—
This is an ordinary day without hunger, with choices, and full of the warmth of everyday life.
"I have a dream."
Lynn's voice deepened, his gaze seemingly piercing through the crowd before him, looking towards a more distant future:
"I dream that one day, on this land, a person's worth will not be measured by his noble title, his bloodline, or the gold in his pocket, but by his diligence, his wisdom, and what his hands can create."
"In the future, knowledge will not be enjoyed exclusively by nobles."
"A commoner's child, if he is willing to learn, can enter a bright school and learn to read and write, arithmetic, and even the mysteries of magic."
"His fingertips will touch the patterns on the parchment, his eyes will read the trajectory of magic. This is not entertainment at a lord's table, but a right that a person is born with."
"In the future, babies will not be priced at birth."
"Boys will no longer be enslaved, and girls will no longer be used as bargaining chips."
"A mother's tears will not fall on a nobleman's bed, and a father's spine will not be broken by lack of food or taxes."
"In the future, people will not be divided into high and low, noble and base, based on their bloodline."
"The child who toils in the mud will no longer have to kneel and kiss the stains on the lord's ring; the girl who hunches over at the loom will no longer have to tremble as she walks toward the lord's bedroom in the dead of night."
"Commoners are not born to be treated as livestock, and nobles will pay for murder. Yes, the same law will weigh all souls like a balance, and justice will shine equally on thatched roofs like sunlight through the stained-glass windows of a castle."
"No, there will be no nobles in the future."
"No man is born to wear chains, no man is born to hold a whip."
"We are born equal, and every one of us has the right to pursue freedom and happiness."
"Please believe in this future."
"When the lord's horses trample your wheat fields, when the priest pronounces the original sin of your soul, when the vows of marriage are defiled by the nobleman's right of first night—remember these voices."
"We are born equal, regardless of social status."
"Our bones are made of the same substance, and our blood flows at the same temperature."
"This land does not belong solely to bloodlines and crowns, but to all those who labor, love, and dream on it."
"When slavery and oppression come again, I hope you will be able to say that sentence aloud."
"I was born as a human being, and I am equal to you."
"This is my mission as a prophet, my dream, and the future I want to give you." Lynn opened his arms, as if to embrace everything before him and the blueprint for the future.
Lynn stepped down from the mound of earth, walked to the front of the crowd, and met the eyes that had just been filled with fear:
"This future needs you."
He stopped, his voice like a bell tolling in everyone's heart:
"so……"
"Are you willing to use your own hands to join me in building this dream and reaching this future?"
"Are you willing to fight for this, so that your descendants may forever bid farewell to the hunger and despair you once experienced, and live in a world where white flour buns and meat soup are no longer a rarity, and where every hardworking person can obtain dignity?"
Dead silence.
A deathly silence that lasted for several seconds.
Then, the middle-aged man who had asked the first question suddenly stepped forward. His face was still greasy, his eyes were red, and his chest was heaving violently.
He knelt down on one knee with a thud and roared with all his might:
"My Lord Prophet!!"
"I'm willing!! My bones, my life! From today onwards, they belong to you! You tell me where to smash them, and I'll smash them there!"
Like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
The second, the third, the tenth, the hundredth...
The crowd, like wheat fields bent by the wind, knelt down in unison.
The roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, gathered together and pierced the sky.
"My Lord Prophet! Please allow us to dedicate our strength to you!"
"For white flour buns! So that the children can have enough to eat!"
"So that I won't go hungry again!!"
"For freedom."
"For equality and happiness."
......
The shouts grew louder and louder, tears streamed down people's faces, and flames burned in their eyes.
Sylvia forgot to make pancakes, and covering her mouth as she looked at the crowd kneeling before her.
Vera clenched her fists, her emerald green eyes gleaming.
Leah stood quietly behind Lynn, her platinum-gray eyes reflecting her brother's tall and straight back.
Amber is still cutting fish.
Ok.
Cats are like this.
Lynn stood before the kneeling crowd, the perfect sunlight shining upon him, making him seem to possess a divine aura.
[Revered Prophet, your ideals of freedom, equality, and happiness resonate deeply with the hearts of the common people, and your influence among them is rapidly increasing. However, these ideals are eroding the foundation of the human nobility's rule, and their favor towards you is declining sharply.]
[Hint: This will lead to war.]