Be a lord in the world of Indian mythology

Chapter 90 Dalit Development Project

The servants' thoughts had no influence on Vijay's will.

From then on, all projects in Mittal Village were launched in full swing, and a huge amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources began to operate at high speed.

To meet the needs of a series of projects such as building the city, repairing waterways, and digging sewers, Mittal Village began to continuously purchase various tools, stones, timber, cloth, grain, and metal components from outside.

The servants and carriages traveling back and forth between Mital village and Harappa city day and night to make purchases, and every transaction required real money.

The gold coins that the Mittal family had previously accumulated were being consumed like water, and their once abundant treasury was rapidly shrinking.

Currently, all investments are focused on infrastructure, manpower, and materials. Various industries are just starting out. Logging, mining, handmade jewelry, and sporadic trade have not yet generated stable revenue, and there are no revenue channels to "recover" from losses.

Vijay knew in his heart that relying solely on his accumulated wealth was not a long-term solution.

The village is now undergoing extensive construction, causing a great stir, and neighboring villages have long coveted this steadily rising territory.

If there is only spending and no income for a long time, the fullness of the treasury will inevitably be revealed, which will attract more covetous people and bring disaster to Mital Village.

After much deliberation, Vijay decided to restart his business.

Commerce was the foundation of the Mittal family's wealth in the past. Using normal business travel as a cover, they could generate revenue, fill the gap in expenses, and create the illusion of external funding sources, thus dispelling any curiosity from outsiders.

Having made up his mind, Vijay strolled out of his residence and slowly patrolled the village roads.

Today, Mittal Village is no longer the chaotic place it once was. Large areas of old and dilapidated houses have been demolished one by one, and everywhere you look, you see busy figures.

Vaishya and Shudra craftsmen each performed their duties, leading a large number of Dalits to clean up old houses and dismantle materials that could still be reused.

Everyone had a clear division of labor, and no one wasted materials. Any items that could be used for construction were carefully sorted, categorized, and stored in a centralized location.

Those completely rotten and useless broken bricks, tiles, and rotten wood were moved to an open space outside the village for disposal.

The entire village is orderly, and each site is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted. Once the complete plan is implemented, new houses will be built.

As he walked, Vijay saw Bim standing in front of the supply camp, meticulously registering the goods being transported, checking the quantity and labeling the categories.

Anan, a Vaishya merchant, stood guard by the makeshift general store, busily tending to the goods and greeting visitors.

Vijay raised his hand and waved to the two of them, signaling them to come over.

When Bim heard the Lord's call, he immediately put down the account book in his hand and quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.

Anan also quickly stopped what he was doing and ran over.

Anan comes from a merchant family. He is quick-witted and has the shrewdness and resourcefulness typical of businessmen. Although he doesn't like to do manual labor himself, he is extremely good at overall planning and calculating profits and losses.

Since submitting to Mittal Village, his loyalty has consistently remained above 80, making him one of the most reliable among the new servants.

Vijay was well aware of this and never minded his minor laziness.

Once the two were standing still, Vijay got straight to the point: "I've summoned you here today to formally restart the trade routes and form our own caravans. What are your thoughts? What feasible ideas and arrangements do you have?"

After a moment's thought, Bim spoke first, tentatively: "Master, is it that you want to..."

Vijay raised his hand to interrupt him: "The Eastern trade route is not urgent for now. There are many things to do in the village right now, so it is not advisable to travel long distances. At this stage, we should only form short-distance caravans to trade between a few towns in the surrounding area and get the trade route running again."

Bim breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Short-distance trade was indeed a good idea, as it had low risk and flexible scheduling. He immediately accepted the order.

Vijay then turned his gaze to Anan: "You have traveled extensively and have a wide network of connections. You are most familiar with the trade routes, products, and market conditions of the surrounding cities and states. I will entrust this matter to you. Tell me your plan."

Anan's eyes lit up instantly, his joy at returning to his old trade was hard to hide. He composed himself and explained clearly and logically: "By Brahma above, if Master only engages in short-distance trade in the surrounding area, there are plenty of routes to choose from."

The first route involves purchasing basic supplies such as salt, cloth, iron farm tools, and everyday pottery from Harappa and transporting them to Mohenjo-daro. Harappa's basic products are in high demand in Mohenjo-daro, and a round trip, after deducting taxes and labor costs, can yield a net profit of 10% to 20%. Its advantages lie in its short distance, stable supply, and extremely low risk, making it suitable as a primary route for starting a caravan. Continuing north to the central cities is also a viable trade route.

He paused briefly before continuing with the second route: "The second route goes through the southern city of Golden Harbor. Golden Harbor is a hub for seafood, rare seashells, and exotic textiles—goods rarely seen in inland city-states. By transporting inland grains and dried and fresh fruits to the harbor, and then purchasing seafood and exotic specialties to resell back to the northern city-states, profits can exceed 50%!"

"Besides," Anan changed the subject, talking about the western trade route, "I used to travel to the western tribal territories in my early years and got to know many merchants who lived there. Grain, cloth, and handicrafts from the inland areas were extremely scarce among the western tribes. By exchanging them for animal hides, exotic animal bones, and wild medicinal herbs, and then reselling them, the profit could be as high as 60% or 70%."

"The western tribes are fierce, but as long as we establish connections beforehand and adhere to the rules of trade, we can cooperate for a long time."

Vijay listened quietly, secretly surprised.

He originally only intended to use short-distance trade as a cover and to subsidize his expenses slightly, but he did not expect that Anan had so many trade routes and connections.

What was even more unexpected was that Anan was willing to reveal all his most treasured trade routes and connections. For a merchant, these trade routes and connections are the real treasures. The fact that he was willing to hand them over shows that he is now truly attached to Mital Village.

Vijay patted Anan on the shoulder, his face showing approval: "Very good. The route you have planned is very thorough. I will allocate all the manpower, vehicles, goods and guards needed for the caravan for you. You are in complete control of the operation. First, hand over the affairs of the general store and start preparing for the caravan immediately."

Anan was overjoyed and immediately knelt down, his voice filled with excitement: "Shiva, please bless me! Thank you for your trust, Master! I will do my utmost to manage the trade routes and earn a steady stream of gold coins for you!"

"There's one more thing," Vijay added, "When selecting manpower for the caravan, in addition to capable guards, accountants, and porters, be sure to choose a group of reliable and steady young men to train with the caravan!"

Vijay looked at Bim and said, "We cannot rely on the help of others for long. We must cultivate Mittal's own business talents to prepare for reopening the trade routes to the East in the future. You and Bim should work together to carefully select talents."

Anan and Bim both accepted the order. After receiving their instructions, they turned and left. One handed over his work and prepared the caravan, while the other assisted in selecting personnel. Each performed his duties and acted extremely quickly.

Not long after the two left, Shu Hu strode in from outside the village.

He was tall and had a steady gait. His face showed confidence in completing the mission. When he saw Vijay from afar, he quickened his pace, walked up to him, knelt on one knee and bowed: "Master, as you requested, I have selected two hundred people with different characteristics from all the Dalits in the village. They are all gathered at the training ground outside the village, waiting for your inspection."

Vijay was slightly taken aback, his heart filled with surprise.

The total number of Dalits in the entire Mittal village has long exceeded five thousand, scattered across dozens of settlements and hundreds of work sites, making the screening scope extremely wide. I never expected Shu Hu to be so efficient.

He was filled with satisfaction and gestured for Shu Hu to stand up: "Well done, take me there to see."

The two walked side by side toward the training ground outside the village.

Before he even reached the edge of the field, Vijay could see a dark mass of people in the distance.

Two hundred Dalits stood scattered in the open space, mostly leaning against tree trunks or earthen slopes, or sitting on the ground, looking listless and exuding an aura of numbness and despondency.

Prolonged oppression and suffering have instilled in them a negative mindset of "it's okay to be alive, it's okay to die," leaving them with no expectations for the future.

Upon seeing this, Shu Hu immediately stepped forward, loudly reprimanded everyone, and urged them to stand up and line up.

The shouts rang out, and the crowd slowly began to move. Their movements were sluggish and their steps were slow. Even when they managed to form a line, they still hung their heads and looked listless.

Vijay's gaze swept across the queue, and everyone instinctively lowered their heads, stretched their necks forward, and exposed their vital organs to show absolute obedience and dare not show the slightest intention to resist.

Vijay approached and slowly walked through the queue, carefully examining each person.

Just like the selection criteria used by Shu Hu, these two hundred people all had obvious non-human and alien characteristics: some had long, pointed ears and sharp claws on their fingertips, resembling feline beasts; some had skin covered with fine blue scales and long, flexible limbs, indicating they were of aquatic blood; some had bodies far more robust and muscular than ordinary people, with broad bones and innate superhuman strength; and some had beast tails and heterochromatic eyes, with all sorts of peculiar forms.

Among them, several people have particularly prominent alien features. Their physical form and limb structure are nearly 70% similar to those of alien beasts. From a distance, they look like mutated monsters. Even though they have uniquely gifted physical talents, years of torment have long since worn away all their wildness and sharpness, leaving only a submissive shell.

Vijay stopped and stood at the front of the line. He spoke loudly, his voice carrying clearly throughout the training ground: "From this day forward, you will be separated from ordinary laborers and will no longer engage in the most arduous manual labor. From now on, you will be able to eat plenty of rice, drink sweet spring water, and have complete clothing to cover your bodies."

After he finished speaking, only a few people in the queue slightly raised their eyes; most remained numb and motionless, as if Vijay's promise was nothing more than air.

The long period of suffering made them unable to believe the sudden preferential treatment; in their minds, the lord's kindness was often accompanied by even more cruel exploitation.

Vijay understood this from the occasional glances they cast, so after a moment's thought, he added, "To have a better life, you have to offer value. I don't need trash!"

"The one among you who performs the best and makes the greatest contributions will become my personal servant and have a higher status and position."

These words finally stirred a slight commotion in the crowd, and a faint glimmer of light finally appeared in their long-suppressed eyes.

Food, clothing, and social status are things these people at the bottom of society never dare to dream of in their entire lives. As long as they show a little loyalty, obey their master, and make contributions...

The latter doesn't say anything, but haven't these things been what they've been doing for thousands of years?

It's just that all those previous efforts went unnoticed.

Now that a noble master is finally paying attention to him, even if only a tenth of what he says comes true, no!

Even if only one ten-thousandth of the promised amount can be fulfilled!

For these Dalits, it also presented a possibility of some source, which stirred a slight impulse within their closed-off minds.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly changed!

Seeing this, Vijay turned to Shuhu and instructed, "Go to the training ground and fetch a few standard training stakes."

Shu Hu accepted the order and soon brought several thick and sturdy solid wood training stakes, which he placed steadily in the field.

Vijay pointed at the wooden stake and said to all the Dalits who were prostrate on the ground, "This is your first test. Come over here and use all your strength to destroy the wooden stake in front of you. Show me all your power."

These words caused the entire room to fall into dead silence once again.

Talk is one thing, doing is another.

In their past experiences, let alone intentionally damaging their owner's property, even accidentally breaking a tile or stepping on a straw would result in severe beatings, or even death...

In their memories, countless companions or family members were slaughtered simply because they passed through the land the lord would travel through, or left behind a foul odor somewhere.

Every Dalit has seen this scene!

At this moment, the lord actually ordered them to destroy the wooden stakes on their own initiative. Everyone was so frightened that they didn't dare to take a step forward.

"Whoever can break this wooden stake will have rice and meat for dinner tonight!"

Vijay has set a price!

Vijay could clearly hear the sound of swallowing, but when he looked in the direction of the sound, he only saw a row of heads bowed down.

After a long stalemate, Vijay waited for a demonstrator to step forward, but he didn't get one.

The task ahead is arduous and the road is long!

Vijay sighed deeply again and pointed to a tall man in the line with sharp cat claws on his fingers: "You, step forward."

The Dalit trembled, his legs went weak, and he cautiously stepped out of the line, each step feeling like walking on a knife's edge, not daring to linger on the ground.

It wasn't until he got closer that Vijay could see what this Dalit looked like. His face resembled that of a Brahma's child, and his bare chest was covered with deep whip marks that revealed the bone. The burn scars on his sternum and ribs were even more shocking.

His survival was purely due to his tenacious will to live.

His fingertips were sharp and clawed, capable of easily slicing through flesh and tearing through armor...

At this moment, several fingernails had already broken off. Vijay could tell that the fingernails seemed to have been pulled out by the roots, or even chopped off.

Faced with the wooden stake in front of him, he timidly reached out his hand and gently rubbed the surface of the stake with his fingertips, without even scraping off a single speck of wood.

Vijay watched this scene and sighed deeply.

Fear had completely imprisoned his power; his innate, extraordinary talent had been sealed away by years of oppression.

He knew in his heart that these people possessed extraordinary talents and boundless potential, but awakening their fighting spirit and guiding them to regain control of their own power was destined to be a long and arduous road.

But Vijay was still confident, after all, there was endless joy in fighting against fate and fighting against people.

He had seen examples like this before!