"Alright, help me haul that piece over there. brian, tell your subordinates to hold that wall in place. I need steady hands. You said that you and your defence force can handle it, right?"
"Calm down, Sean. Keep in mind that we volunteered to help here. I know that your carpenter's family is the one in charge but don't forget that most of us don't have any clue what your plan is. The best we can do is do heavy labour."
"Stop arguing, you two. We have a lot of work to do. We need to finish this as soon as possible."
"We do indeed, that is why we are starting with your farmlands. Next should be bron's pasture. Hey, be careful with that part. It still isn't stable yet."

Heavy. We have been building a wall for some time now. After the meeting, we jump started the project to increase the defences of the village. The very first place we decided to fortify is the farmlands. This is our source of food and the place which may decide our life or death if we are cut off from the outside world.

"Hey, Please keep the fighting up there to a minimum. It's not exactly encouraging that the people who are building the wall above us are getting into an argument like this. Think about us who have to dig up a moat."
"Don't worry, we are still keeping an eye out for dangers. Safety is always the priority in the jobsite."
"I would rather you hold onto it rather than just look. We have to start at the very base of the wall to make sure it doesn't collapse, so every rock that tumbles down rains down on us."
"As long as we follow the plan then this wall won't collapse. Just ease your mind and keep digging. You have a professional miner with you and you are also equipped with armour you made yourself."
"If you trust your plan that much then switch places with me and try to keep your composure while pebbles constantly pelts you like rain."

It turns out, I was made to be part of the people who will dig out a moat. Why? It's because smiths have good arm strength and endurance, as most have believed.

My endurance and stamina is there but my strength isn't really that high. Well, I am comparable to a beginner miner but compared to the defence force who have been training regularly, I lose out a smidge.

"Don't worry about them. Just focus on what you are doing. I'll take the delicate work near the edge. Just follow the others on expanding the moat."
"Thanks Priscilla."

Our professional miner is as kind as always. It is true that I am just blindly digging and hitting around me. She is the one making sure the digging won't suddenly cause the soil at the base of the wall to crumble. Also, if for some reason that it did, the most likely to survive being hit by a falling wall would be her.

Even if I didn't successfully become a miner, I did look up on what they do and what they need to do when I took the test. Other than the knowledge on where and when to hit, the most important thing is to be tough. Tough enough to withstand an assault of golems. If a single punch causes you to faint then you better buck up because when you visit the mine and a golem smashes you, you won't survive long enough to see the stars.

It can't be helped, I have to be patient while working. I'm the one who suggested the moat after all.

*Crash*

"Err, sorry."
"This is why you need to pay attention!!!"

"Oh, welcome back everyone. How was the farm wall?"
"We finished a good chunk of the work. We should be finished tomorrow."
"It would go faster if the walls don't fall down on us though."
"I said I was sorry."

I guess I now know that Sean, the head of the carpenter's family, and Brian, the leader of the defence force, don't get along. If those two are working together then I need to expect a little argument that would eventually lead to projectiles flying who knows where.

"You two are the same as always. Anyway, We are just about to finish packing up the essentials for the people who will be evacuated to the town. I'm still trying to contact my friends who live in the city if they have a place for them to live. It would be safer there than the city but it is also far away."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous? The farther the place the less safe it would be, since we don't know where the bandits are."
"Don't worry, even though it would be better for them to live in the city, I won't force it if it takes too long for my friends to respond. I was just thinking that it might be better for the children to attend an academy while we are experiencing this rainy day. You know, making the best of the situation."
"Good idea, village chief. There is an academy in the jade town but the city should be better. How do we cover the cost for it though?"
"I also took care of that. The Elder's council decided to donate to small villages. We receive a bit of money because of the bandit tide. It's not much but the best part of it is that children can enrol free at any academy, except the private ones."

I guess this is the elder's council's way to pacify the villagers, while at the same time a way to bolster the workforce and defenders.

There is a good chance that we would experience a lot of losses during these times. They would either die or be injured so hard that they can't work at their full capacity.

I see this as a preemptive restructuring of the working class.

"We should finish packing soon. The only thing left now is the goodbyes. We will set off in a couple of days. We will postpone the work to prepare for the children's trip. Take this time to be with your family. The break will last for some time since I want the defence force to escort the children to their destination."
"You heard the village chief! We, the defence force will also be taking a break. Except for the lookouts, we will postpone training and drills in the meantime."
"I'll have to cancel some of the work I have. I'll need to contact them to inform them that I need to reschedule."
"Village chief, I need to finish some commissions. I want to use the downtime we have to finish it all in one go, so I might seclude myself until I'm done."
"Ah, yes, you don't have family here, so you don't have anyone to spend the time with. Do you want me to introduce you to some single ladies?"
"I'm fine, village chief. I just want to finish the commissions that I have. There is a bulk order that I accepted."
"No problem, take this time to finish your business. You are just starting your reputation in your business. You can't let up during these starting steps. Very well, go do what you need to do."
"Thanks. See you all in a week or so."

Good, now that we have a lot of time off, I want to sneak off and buy a lot of materials. I'll sneak off and buy a lot of materials.

Once the bandits are here, I imagine that the price of everything would rise like no tomorrow. I might use a lot of my reserve money but it's better to spend it now rather than later when everything is high priced.

Also, to get them as cheap as possible, I would have to travel very far, outside the region ‘far’. I might encounter the bandits but if I just need to outrun them. It doesn't matter if some of them catch up with me with their speed, I just need to make sure I can run longer than all of them.

It might be dangerous but this will pay off if it succeeds.