The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon hearing that attendant's comment, the man who had just arrived in the Dry City frowned and asked fearfully. "And how does the salary change now? Did it decrease?"

She then smiled and answered him. "No, sir. Now the value varies according to the level of cultivation of the farmers, in the following order: between levels 20 and 25, the monthly salary is 50 low-grade crystals; between levels 26 and 29, 77 crystals; those between levels 30 and 33, 167 crystals; between levels 34 and 37, 250 crystals; and finally, those between levels 38 and 39, earn 334 crystals per month."

Hearing this, the man opened his mouth in shock as his pupils contracted tightly. 'How can this be? 334 crystals for a farmer? I thought the previous 40 and 100 crystals, for Spiritual Beginners and Spiritual Warriors, respectively, were pretty good!' He thought for a moment as he tried to process the information.

And that indeed was a pretty high payout for farmers, considering the average value of the products produced by this service.

However, Minos was not losing here, as it might seem. After all, this wasn't just a random, unreasonable salary increase.

Previously, the administration of the local agriculture department did not know how much the farmers' productivity differed, given the different levels of cultivation. Therefore, they had established the previous payment of 40 and 100 crystals per farmer, mainly taking into account the region's reality.

On average, most farmers in the north of the Central Continent were people with White talent, most of whom were below level 30. As a result, not many people who passed that level continued in this type of activity.

Consequently, the salaries paid to these professionals were, in general, lower, as these people did not use high amounts of crystals in their training. As a result, people like that were generally more willing to accept less favorable working conditions, like  low wages.

On average, these professionals earned from 30 to 60 low-grade crystals per month, varying between the 3rd and 4th stages of cultivation. That is, of course, considering only those individuals hired and not enslaved!

And with that, the Agriculture Department had used these values ​​to determine the amount to be paid to local farmers.

However, even if the local payouts were better than elsewhere in the region, this still wasn't enough. At least not for those cultivators in the 4th stage of cultivation, who could often do other jobs, that is, earn more.

Many non-spiritual professions in this world placed a high value on the level of their employees, as stronger people could do more and more efficiently. And this became quite visible in this region of the continent, where 3rd stage cultivators did not have many options. In contrast, 4th stage ones could be seen in dozens of different areas.

And that effect had had consequences for the Dry City's farmers!

Previously the government of Minos had noticed that few farmers remained in this area after reaching the upper levels of the 4th stage. In general, there were only a few farmers above level 35!

And this was reasonable. For people above this level, getting jobs that paid more than 100 crystals a month was not difficult!

Thus, the incentive for stronger people to continue in local agriculture or join it was tiny, and this was limiting agricultural development!

After all, the inhabitants of the Dry City continued to increase in level, given the services offered by the city. In contrast, the arrival of new inhabitants could not supply the necessary workforce!

Due to this, the study had been designed and carried out in the previous months.

With this, the local agriculture department had made the necessary discoveries and understood how much each farmer deserved to earn, taking into account their cultivation levels.

And the government would lose nothing with this increase in wages!

Obviously, stronger individuals could produce more, and because of that, they would receive a salary equivalent to that difference.

In fact, no one was losing before, as those stronger farmers didn't work harder than the others. They could do this since they were faster. However, what happened was that for these individuals, when they finished the work that was typically done each day, they would simply leave!

Therefore, even the strongest people usually worked the same amount as other farmers. The only difference was that they finished in less time!

As a result, the change in the amounts paid to farmers resulted in no additional cost to the public coffers. Farmers would now be compensated for a monthly number of hours rather than by planted area.

"Regardless of their level of cultivation, local farmers need to work 8 hours a day." The attendant explained as she saw the shocked expression on the man's face in front of her.

And after hearing this, the man finally composed himself and spoke again. "Okay, since that's the case, I'd like to apply for a farmer's position. What needs to be done?"

"First, you need to be a regular citizen of the city. Have you registered with the immigration department? If so, I'll just need your identification."

"OK. I have already done that. Here it is." He promptly responded by handing over the identification he had received when making his local registration.

After that, that woman included this man's ID in the Department of Agriculture's registry. That was basically to get him assigned to one of the agricultural fields, ensure that he was indeed a contract farmer who fulfills his responsibilities.

On the other hand, she also recorded some information in the identification of this man so that other services in the city could identify him as a farmer. That was necessary for him to validate his time of service in the base located in the agricultural's stations spread across the fields.

For every 100 hectares of fields planted, there were large barns, along with the necessary buildings. After all, farmers had to stop and go to the toilet, drinking water, occasionally eating, confirming their presence, etc.

And all of this was located in these stations, where the harvested food was temporarily stored.

Finally, after completing the registration of this man who had just arrived at the Dry City, the attendant gave him back his identification and began to explain. "All right, Mr. Esmond. As a level 28 cultivator, you will be able to collect 77 low-grade crystals once every 30 working days."

"If during a given month you are missing a day, then you will only receive your payment after completing the 30th day of service. In other words, even if you registered here today, this does not guarantee you will receive your first salary on the same day of the next month."

"OK."

"That said, you need to go to one of our posts that are in the agricultural fields. There, if you have never planted before, you can learn what you need. It's not difficult, but new farmers still need to train for about a week, so that grave mistakes don't happen."

"I was a farmer before. Does that change anything for me?" He asked without showing surprise. After all, such a thing made sense.

The difference between everyday foods and spiritual medicines was just mainly the amount of energy stored in the medicines. In addition, of course, there was also the maturation time.

However, there was a substantial similarity to the manipulation of common medicines and foods. The two could lose their properties if they were handled in the wrong way!

Therefore, there was a need to know how to plant, care for, and harvest.

But that wasn't that difficult, and anyone could learn how to do that about planting common foods. Only for the medicines that had more restrictions on this procedure, alchemists generally had more participation in such a thing.

The receptionist then responded. "Yes. But you still have to take the tests to prove your knowledge of this. If you pass, then in a day at most, you can start work."

"I understand. You said I have to go to one of those posts in the fields. Where exactly do I have to go?" He asked as he remembered that, as he was getting ready to leave.

The receptionist then responded quickly. "Any post. Only after you pass the test to be able to start planting will you be assigned to a specific post."

"OK. Thanks for the information."

After that, the newcomer to the Dry City left that building to settle this matter. He was very excited to start working in this city and couldn't wait for it.