Chapter 119. What is our main problem right now?

"Alright, so all we need to do is get more resources," Carlos said out loud in annoyance. He had had enough of all these scarcities, and now it was time to do it his way.

"I have listened to all of you about how to make things work, but I will be honest, everything is going very slowly." Carlos spoke bluntly.

He had called a meeting just now where every member of Ironroot was present to listen to him.

"What do you think is our main problem right now?" Carlos asked and everyone kept looking at him.

When Mira was about to speak, Brann made an excited grunt and raised his big hand.

"ME! ME! ME!"

"Hm? You are not a problem, Brann. I mean, you do make things difficult sometimes, but still, you are great." Carlos spoke while sighing. He did not know his troops were thinking like this.

"NO! Me answer!"

"..."

Everyone tried their best to hold out their laughter and they did, a serious conversation was a serious conversation.

"Okay, go on."

"Main problem is STRENGTH! Need better armour! Need better plans! NEED TO BUST MORE HEADS IN!!" Brann shouted with both hands up, and all the Bearkins got excited too and started to chant.

Carlos got a headache just by the thought of making them calm down now. With how big they were, one would expect maturity, but they were anything but mature.

"SILENCE!" Kaia spoke with cold eyes, and every Bearkin went silent.

Carlos looked at Kaia as if she was an angel and smiled, "You are half right, Brann."

"We do need more strength but more than that, we are a production territory and right now, there is one problem that is keeping us on the edge."

"UGHH just use simple words!"

"Food, you bastard! Food is the problem!" Carlos got hyper too as Brann’s energy was a little infectious.

"What? WE won’t get food today??" Brann asked in shock and Carlos had to smack his head this time.

"Brann, silence for this meeting, just listen, okay?" Carlos spoke and Brann nodded with a sad expression.

The conversation was serious, and Brann was not letting it be like that.

"We need to make as much food as we possibly can. And for that, I want all the Farmers to hear me out." Carlos spoke on the right topic now.

All the Farmers had serious expressions, and two of them had their tails wagging as they waited.

"Right now, we will take as much vacant land as we can get and turn it into agricultural land. For the next few days, I want you all to focus on what is important. FOOD."

The farmers nodded their heads seriously.

Rowan was the first one to speak after Carlos finished.

"We can make more farmland, but we need to do it properly. The new plot is still being planted and the old fields need someone to look after them too."

"I know," Carlos said. "That is why I called everyone here. I am not asking you to do everything alone."

He looked around at all the people gathered near the Lord’s Hut.

For some reason, everyone was looking at him very seriously now. Even Brann was trying to look serious, though his stomach made a loud sound at the same time.

Carlos ignored it.

"I still have one Territory Expansion Token," he said. "I have been saving it for a long time because more empty land did not feel useful before. But now we have farmers, water, tools and people who can protect the place."

Rowan looked a little surprised.

"You want to use it now?"

"Yes. We need more space. Not just for wheat either. If Cosmic finds oil seeds or something else useful, I do not want to be standing around saying we have nowhere to grow it."

Mira nodded slowly at that.

"Oil would help a lot," she said. "But do not expect a new field to fix today’s meals. The kitchen will still use what we have until the crops grow."

"I know that too," Carlos said, then looked at Brann. "Before you say it, yes, you will still get your five meals."

Brann’s sad face disappeared immediately.

"GOOD!"

Kaia covered her face for a second.

Carlos opened the Territory panel.

--

[Territory Expansion]

[Territory Expansion Token: 1]

[Each expansion increases available territory by 300 square meters]

[Select direction]

--

A transparent map of Ironroot appeared in front of everyone.

The southern side glowed faintly beyond the current boundary. It was flat land like the rest of Ironroot, with short grass and scattered stones. Carlos could already see that it would take work before anyone could grow something there.

Kaia stepped closer to the map.

"South is better," she said. "It stays behind the houses and the existing fields. East is too open, and I want north free for more military buildings later."

Rowan looked at the same side for a moment.

"The soil should be usable. Not good at first, but usable after we clear it."

Carlos did not need to think for long.

"South."

The token disappeared from his inventory.

The golden boundary around Ironroot moved slowly. It passed over the empty ground, then stopped after taking another large section of land into the territory.

--

[Territory Expansion confirmed]

[Territory Area: 2,700 square meters]

--

For a few seconds, nobody moved.

Then Brann walked toward the new land, looked at the grass, then looked back at Carlos.

"We break stones now?"

Carlos smiled.

"Yes, now you can break stones."

The Bearkin looked happier than he had during the whole meeting.

"Finally!"

Before Brann could run forward with his hammer, Kaia tapped the back of his armor.

"You break the big stones when Rowan tells you where. If you destroy the soil, I will make you clean it with your hands."

Brann froze.

"...Rowan tells Brann where."

Rowan gave a small nod, like this was the correct answer.

Carlos turned to the others.

"Rowan, you decide which part gets cleared first. The two new Farmers work with you until they understand the work properly. Tarin and Sela stay at the cucumber bed. Elias keeps checking the fields we already have. Boro stays with Hearthpod One."

Each of them nodded when their name was called.

"Mira, keep the food count strict. If we have extra, it goes into the reserve first. Do not let me agree to another stupid trade because I get excited about some resource."

Mira gave him a look.

"You are finally saying that yourself? Good. I will remember it."

"Kaia, keep the Bearkins and the Militia around the workers. We have more people outside the walls now."

"Understood," Kaia said.

Carlos looked at the new land one more time.

It was still just grass, stone and dirt.

But Ironroot had started with less than that.

He opened his message panel and sent Cosmic a message.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - I used the last Expansion Token. Find oil, oil seeds or anything that can help us produce it later.

[Carlos Goldwin] - Send every proper listing to me first. Mira decides what we buy.

[Cosmic Merchant] - Bro, you used it now? Good. I will look for something real.

--

Carlos closed the panel and walked toward the southern boundary with everyone behind him.

For the next few days, Ironroot would work their butts off to make as much food as they could.

Not because the system had told them to, but because if they wanted to keep growing, then food had to come first.