As the undead calamities swept through the various seedy areas of Saint Joseph Street, Ji Tang and Zhao Zhenzhen, late to the scene, finally arrived at the gates of Indahl with the logistics team.
Since Lord Yang and Rex had brought along all the town hall staff and most security squad personnel, with a small number left to guard Weisshem, Ji Tang and Zhao Zhenzhen had no choice but to temporarily hire many townsfolk to help with loading and transporting goods. This was also why they had arrived so late.
After connecting with the town hall officers in the camp and getting an update on the battle situation, Zhao Zhenzhen, who was really adept at grassroots work, immediately reorganized the available officers into groups and issued new orders.
Over two thousand undead pillaging... or rather, conducting a targeted crackdown in the city, would inevitably cause unrest among the city's residents.
The undead were non-human creatures after all, and the brothels, clientèle, and gamblers that were targeted were all locals. With a basic sense of empathy, the city's inhabitants might sympathize with the targeted lawbreakers and feel disgust, aversion, and fear toward the undead; these emotions, coupled with anxiety and tension, could easily escalate into panic and unrest—big trouble would ensue if that were to happen.
The officers' mission was to ease city folks' tension, bridge relationships, and dissolve any antagonistic sentiments they might have toward Weisshem.
As the proprietors and patrons of Saint Joseph Street's club district were crammed into wagons and sent to prison, Officer Barton and two colleagues, with a group of newly contracted local youth, drove several cargo-loaded high-chassis iron shell carriages (previously mentioned modified tractors) grandly to the Free Market, some 500 meters away from the bar district.
Due to the territorial war, the Free Market was very quiet, and most vendors did not dare to set up stalls (fearing looting), leaving the usually bustling market square empty except for a few vegetable vendors huddled at the edge.
After parking the carriages, Officer Barton and his colleagues quickly organized the youth to unload and set up stalls.
These young workers, accustomed to labor, were more agile than the typical farmer and had thicker skin than those farm folk, who had never left their villages. With the stalls set up, Barton confidently let them disperse to nearby streets and residential areas to promote their wares.
Johan, the freckled Sanchi, workshop apprentice Tommy, and Bobby, who used to run errands in the bar district, all signed work contracts and came to Barton, whom they were familiar with. When Zhao Zhenzhen allowed the officers to choose their own teams, Barton gathered these young men to his side.
Eager not to let down Officer Barton's expectations, the youthful four picked up trays of sample products and promotional items like denim clothes, thermoses, and bedding sets and sprinted to nearby streets.
Due to the chaos in the neighboring bar district, the streets near the Free Market were unusually quiet, with many people afraid to leave their homes. Johan and the others had to brazenly knock on doors and shout toward the windows.
"Anyone home? Weisshem's affordable goods are back on sale! Only 20 copper coins! Thick fabric clothes, bedding sets, and thermoses are restocked, plus the newly launched Taranthan sweet cakes!"
The impact of the Weisshem merchant team's visit to the city the previous day was still fresh in the minds of locals. Despite knowing the streets weren't peaceful today, many still peeked out from their homes...
Quick-witted Sanchi, upon seeing curious locals willing to appear, immediately thrust the sample tray into their faces and enthusiastically hawked.
"Try it out, ma'am! Free samples of Taranthan sweet cakes, delicious and affordable, unbelievably tasty!"
Locals seldom passed up freebies, and coupled with Sanchi's enthusiastic and irresistible charm, many housewives hesitantly sampled a small piece...
Then, the eyes of these housewives lit up.
This so-called "Taranthan sweet cake" was actually a secret weapon Yang Qiu had spent a long time brewing—expired mooncakes.
"I just passed by there on my way home from work!" the flustered husband explained. "That's not important. What's important is what I just said, those undead are rampaging in the streets! Can't you focus on the main point!"
"What does the new lord targeting those rich bar owners have to do with you? Did you get even a single copper from all the money that those bars make?" the wife retorted fiercely.
The husband was livid now. "Why can't you just use your brain? If even those large bars of the rich can be robbed just like that, what about us, people without connections or backing?!"
The wife was also very furious, and her long-standing grievances erupted. "Just look at our home; the most valuable thing is the bicycle you bought when we got married, and even my sewing machine is an old heirloom passed down from my mother. Are these things even worth robbing? Or would those undead come and kidnap me to be their wife?"
The husband immediately choked up.
Living in the city wasn't easy; a small bag of bread cost 5 copper and a tiny bottle of butter was over 20 copper. If it wasn't for the recent harvest season making grains and vegetables cheap, ordinary families could only afford a full meal at noon and usually just had mashed potatoes to fill their stomachs in the evening. Common households would hardly have any extra money to buy furniture.
The wife shook open the recently folded denim clothes and continued in annoyance, "The nice men from Weisshem said it's going to get cold soon. They wanted people who have to work hard even in winter be able to buy one or two sets of warm clothes, sparing a thought for families like ours who don't have money. They offered such a thick set of clothes for only 20 copper. And you, you still think the new lord from Weisshem wants to rob your junk. I've never heard anything this ridiculous!"
It was only then that the husband noticed the thick blue men's outfit held by his wife, and he immediately felt sheepish...
He had already seen people wearing this 20-copper Weisshem outfit on the streets. Although the style was a bit strange, it must be said that the quality of the clothes was indeed better than all his clothes combined. The design with many pockets was also very suitable for men to carry small tools.
Such quality clothes, even if sold in a secondhand clothing store, would be priced in silver coins. Yet, the people from Weisshem were selling them to the public for only 20 copper coins per set. To say that the new lord from Weisshem would rob people of their money and possessions indeed seemed far-fetched.
Seeing her husband soften and even smile at her appeasingly, the wife's expression slightly eased. She took out a Taranthan sweet cake wrapped in wax paper from the basket and handed it to her husband. "I bought this with the leftover money from the clothes. Take it with you to fill your stomach when you're not busy in the afternoon."
Through the wax paper, the husband smelled the fragrance and couldn't help but smile gratefully at his wife.
At lunchtime, in addition to corn soup and sliced bread, there was an extra dish of thickly filled sweet cakes cut into triangles...
Similar situations occurred in many of the common households in Indahl.
People, regardless of the realm they were in, had strong resilience. As long as they could continue living, people could endure religious indoctrination, high-pressure governance, immense burdens, and exploitation.
As long as there weren't malicious individuals scheming to exploit public opinion, maliciously forcing ordinary, already vulnerable people to fight and struggle for the wealth and honors of others, the tolerance and acceptance of the masses far exceeded what many so-called "experts," "non-profit organizations," "public intellectuals," and "civil rights/religious activists" could imagine.
History on Earth had proven countless times that there was no such thing as irreconcilable conflicts between the masses. Chinese people, who had suffered from invasions, adopted Japanese orphans left behind after World War II, while Christians extended their hands to help persecuted Muslims.
The truly irreconcilable conflicts were between politicians, between interest groups, and between civil rights activists or religious figures over the distribution of benefits.
Just having a new lord and some intimidating undead neighbors wasn't something worth risking their lives over for the vast majority of Indahl's citizens, who already had little choice.
Of course... Yang Qiu wouldn't give opportunists the chance to exploit "public opinion" either.