6kv Chapter 76 City Hall
Chapter 76 City Hall
In the morning in Iron Anvil, a cold mist shrouded the town. Busy workers yawned, each breath seeming to exhale steam as they hurried along the potholed streets toward their respective jobs.
With half a loaf of black bread stuffed in his mouth, Evan jogged all the way from the refugee resettlement area. His face was tense, and he ignored the angry curses behind him as he ran into the attic next to the square, panting heavily.
For the natives of Iron Anvil Territory, this place used to be just an uninhabited little building. Because some free people who couldn't survive had slit their own throats inside, many people regarded it as a terrifying forbidden place, and there were rumors that something indescribable roamed there.
But now, this place has become the city hall of Anvil Territory.
Although it only governs a small town, Vilan was too lazy to give this administrative team another name, so he simply called it the City Hall.
And the one in charge of managing the city hall was naturally the most learned and knowledgeable old Hans.
In the past, Hans was all alone. Occasionally, he could call Llorente and the guards to help him, but most of the time, he had to take on multiple roles and was often the busiest person in Anvil Territory.
But now he has become the director in charge of 30 people. Ever since Lord Vilan sent that group of civil servants in, Hans has had a good taste of power.
He no longer needs to do most things himself; he only needs to distribute the tasks, and these civil servants can complete them for him.
Although these guys often make a mess of things, which greatly annoys Hans.
During the training sessions over the past few days, he has lost his temper more than once, even making a female civil servant cry.
Hans felt wronged. He had only pointed out the other person's problems at work, and he didn't seem to be very mean.
Fortunately, the training period has finally ended, and these civil servants have made some progress. At least they have put aside their original preconceived notions and have begun to learn to do things in the way Lord Vilan thinks.
Today marks the first day that civil servants officially begin their duties.
Evan swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and rushed into the city hall, quietly sidling up behind his colleagues, hoping his lateness wouldn't be noticed.
But the next second, Hans' angry voice came, "Evan, you're late on your first day of work, one point deducted from your performance review."
"No!"
Ivan's face fell, and he immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.
Performance evaluation is a terrible system invented by Lord Vilan.
Along with performance evaluation, there are also a whole host of other terms such as attendance, weekly reports, monthly assessments, and anonymous peer reviews.
These were things that neither Ivan nor even Hans had ever heard of.
But I must say, some of them are really useful.
For example, attendance is a factor. Being late will affect attendance and thus performance scores. Those who fail to meet monthly performance targets will lose all bonuses and have their wages deducted.
If performance is unsatisfactory for three consecutive months, you may even be fired.
This strict system put all civil servants on edge. Clearly, Lord Vilan disliked those who slack off and did nothing; he preferred those who could get things done.
Therefore, when Evan was deducted one performance point on his first day of work, his colleagues only looked on with relief.
"Thank goodness I wasn't the one who was late."
Evan was extremely upset. If the rooster hadn't crowed on time, he wouldn't have been late at all.
"Alright, from today onwards, we are all colleagues at the City Hall. Lord Vilan requires us to serve the Lord and the town wholeheartedly, so there are still many things waiting for us to do today."
Hans tapped on the wooden board hanging in the hall and wrote down today's tasks on it with charcoal.
"Kevin, take five temporary workers and continue to collect data on the resettlement of refugees. We need to collect information on all newly received refugees. I need to know the total population of Anvil Territory tonight."
"Grace, take three temporary workers to maintain order in the square and make sure that the magic cores collected by the people are all in good condition, especially the sorting work. There must be no mistakes."
"Güller and Lister, you two form a team, pick people at will, and be specifically responsible for the town's water supply problem. You need to find all the rivers and wells, and also plan the most reasonable water intake scheme. Oh, and you also need to do a good job of publicizing it. Lord Vilan said that we must ensure that every household has a kettle and that the water must be boiled before drinking."
"..."
Hans organized the work methodically, especially the 10 regular civil servants, each of whom was responsible for leading a team, while the temporary workers were clerks. They had been trained for several days, so while Hans was making arrangements, the people below were taking notes with quill pens.
When it was Evan's turn, Hanston paused, "Evan, you also need to form a team with 5 temporary workers to investigate all the roads in Anvil Territory. You can ask Scarface the Hunter for help; they have already drawn up a map that can save you a lot of time."
After Hans finished speaking, he glanced at everyone and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
"I have it!" Ivan raised his hand without hesitation. "Mr. Hans, what specific steps does the road inspection need to take? Or rather, what is its purpose?"
Hans gave Ivan a meaningful look. Although the guy was annoying in some ways, his abilities were undeniable.
"Lord Vilan said he needs a map of all the roads and paths in Anvil Territory, including the distribution of intersections, starting from the town. He needs a complete plan on how to widen the town's roads and connect every area."
After Hans finished speaking, many people subconsciously gasped.
Good heavens! What is Lord Vilan doing?
Are they building a road?
But isn't the road in Anvil Ridge already sufficient? Is it necessary to waste time widening it?
Ivan frowned, looking thoughtful.
Seeing that he didn't quite understand, Hans waved his hand, "Lord Vilan will be at the workshop this afternoon. You can go to him yourself. This matter is very important to him, and I don't think he will blame you."
……
Evan quickly assembled his group, with himself as the leader. Of the five temporary workers, three were natives of the Anvil Territory and two were Casalan refugees.
All six of them were completely baffled by the task, but soon, Evan made his first decision—to go find Scarface first.
After all, Vilan wouldn't go to the workshop until the afternoon, so he couldn't waste the morning; obtaining the map drawn by the hunters was also very important.
Not only him, but most of the city hall's civil servants and temporary workers also went out on business, and they were all more eager than the last.
This scene deeply moved Hans; Lord Wieland's performance-based attendance system was absolutely correct.
Without the pressure of performance, how could these civil servants from free citizen backgrounds have such high motivation?
At that moment, Hans finally understood what Wieland had said: "The territory can only develop rapidly if the civil servants are kept in line."