Chapter 179: A Severe Problem
Black Forest Island’s main officials were usually scattered across places like Lingang Village, Broken Wave Bay, Forest Village, and the mines.
This afternoon, all of them gathered at Forest Village Castle, making the place much livelier than usual.
Whether it was Kaelon, a squad Captain, or the clerks and assistants among the Civil Officers, they all interacted on a daily basis.
Now, gathered in twos and threes, they were sharing recent news from around Black Forest Island.
Some were discussing a recent dispute between farmers, some were talking about what Demon Beasts they had slain in Thorn Valley or the Hot Spring Mountain Range, and others were just chatting about their families, like how mischievous their children were.
"The Baron is here!"
Owington came over in advance to make the announcement, and the great hall immediately fell silent.
Then, the people who had been talking in small groups all went to the entrance to greet him.
When Duane appeared, they all bowed and offered enthusiastic greetings.
Duane smiled and nodded in acknowledgment as he walked to the main seat at the head of the hall and sat down.
"Everyone, please be seated."
He looked at the number of people in the hall, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
Before he knew it, he already had over twenty subordinates reporting directly to him.
"Julian, I see a few new faces under you. Care to make an introduction?"
Standing to General Affairs Consultant Julian’s side were three new faces: two men and one woman.
"My Lord, these are the ones who were promoted after nearly half a year of evaluation, as per your instructions."
Julian answered respectfully, "This is Liss, the Population Registrar, who is in charge of matters concerning population, household registration, and labor recruitment."
A slender woman, who looked to be close to thirty, immediately bowed. "Greetings, Baron!"
Duane nodded. "She’s our first female official, isn’t she?"
Julian explained, "Yes, my Lord. Very few people on the island are literate. Liss is not only literate, but she’s also quite good with statistics."
Duane wasn’t concerned about her gender; as long as she did her job well, that was all that mattered.
He inquired, "The year is almost over. Have you compiled this year’s statistics for births and deaths on Black Forest Island?"
Liss took a deep breath.
’I’ve heard descriptions of the Baron’s personality from people like Julian and Ralph,’ she thought. ’He likes his subordinates to be serious and dedicated. So, when I heard this question, I knew it was a test. Fortunately, I was prepared.’
"Yes, Baron. This year, there were 836 newborns, but 210 of them died, leaving 626 survivors."
"Including those 210 infants, the total death toll on the island for the year is 936 people."
"After you enacted a series of tax reduction policies this year, there are approximately 1,238 women who are currently pregnant."
Liss concluded, "Next year, the number of newborns on the island should see a significant increase!"
Duane listened, his brow furrowed.
’According to Liss’s report, 836 births and 210 deaths... that’s a shocking infant mortality rate of nearly 25%! I knew conditions were poor and the mortality rate was high, but I hadn’t expected it to be *this* high. I have to take action. Any reduction, no matter how small, will be a victory.’
Below, seeing the Baron’s delayed response, Liss thought she hadn’t answered well enough and immediately grew anxious.
The others, especially the two other newcomers, became even more nervous.
It was exactly like defending a thesis in front of a panel of supervisors; their palms grew sweaty with tension.
After a long moment, Duane spoke, easing the tense atmosphere considerably.
However, the question he asked next was extremely pointed.
"A mortality rate of nearly 25% is too high!"
He looked at Liss. "Have you compiled statistics on the causes of these infant deaths?"
Liss’s heart skipped a beat. She really hadn’t compiled statistics on that question.
However, as a mother of three herself, she had some understanding of the matter.
She managed to calm herself. "Baron, although I haven’t compiled statistics on this, I am a mother of three. Generally speaking, there are three main causes of newborn death."
Duane was a little surprised; he hadn’t expected her to have three children.
"Go on."
"First, a small number die during childbirth."
"Second, some babies are born frail and weak. If the mother is malnourished after birth and the family lacks food, the infant becomes even weaker and can easily die."
"Third, a very large portion of infants die from infections and diseases."
Duane nodded slightly. "You’ve answered well. But next time, I expect you to have investigated this issue beforehand."
Liss breathed a sigh of relief. "I will follow your instructions!"
Duane looked at Julian, his expression grave, and said:
"Newborns are the future of Black Forest Island. A 25% mortality rate is too high. We must take measures to improve this!"
Julian started to say that the mortality rate was like this in many places, that even in the Royal Capital, it was only slightly lower.
However, he immediately remembered how different the Baron was and knew that such an excuse would be useless.
"Your tax reduction policies will allow the people to obtain more food. I believe the number of deaths due to lack of food should decrease significantly. As for the other two reasons..."
He said pensively, "It’s difficult to find a good solution. After all, Ronald is the only proper doctor on the island."
But Duane shook his head in disagreement. "There must be something we can do!"
"Liss, you are to record the process of childbirth among the island’s women in detail and submit a report to me."
"The rest of you need to investigate and research aspects like training for childbirth, hygiene during the birthing process, living environments, and drinking water sanitation to minimize external factors!"
As the Lord, Duane certainly didn’t need to worry about things like hygiene for himself, but it was a different story for his subjects.
’Their houses can’t even shelter them from the wind and rain. In such a harsh environment, how could a baby not get sick?’
"This is a very serious problem!"
Duane stressed the gravity of the situation again. "Without a sufficient population, Black Forest Island cannot develop in the long term, nor will we have enough Warriors to expand our Territory and conquer Thorn Valley and the Hot Spring Mountain Range!"
"I’m giving you one year. If this problem hasn’t improved by the end of next year, Liss, you will certainly be out of a job as Population Registrar!"
"Julian, even though you’re an old-timer who came with me, you will be punished as well."
Liss immediately fell deathly silent, lowering her head, not daring to speak.
Even Julian grew tense.
’To be honest,’ he thought, ’since arriving on Black Forest Island, things had gone very smoothly for me. There was a lot to do, but I hadn’t felt much pressure. But today, I’m finally feeling the full weight of it.’
"Rest assured, my Lord. I will proactively work to make improvements in the areas you’ve indicated and will definitely lower the infant mortality rate next year!"
Duane looked at Ralph. "If this requires resource support, you all are to discuss it amongst yourselves. Provide support where you can. The situation of infants starving to death is absolutely not to be tolerated!"
Ralph nodded in agreement. He knew he’d have to pay close attention to this matter too, or he might be implicated if something went wrong.
Duane thought of the matter concerning the Holy Radiance Court and realized this was a good opportunity to bring it up.
"On my trip to the Royal Capital, I invited a Light Mage to come here. Her Healing Magic will lessen the threat of disease to our people."
’I need to weaken the Holy Radiance Court’s influence,’ he thought, ’so I have to be careful with my words.’
"Ralph, gather some people to sweep out Daniels’s castle, rename it the ’Medical Sanctuary,’ and spread the word so the public knows."
Julian and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
’Having a Mage with healing abilities will be a great help in our efforts to lower the infant mortality rate.’
Duane had originally wanted to tell everyone to keep their distance from the members of the Holy Radiance Court, but on second thought, he decided it would be better to tell Julian, Kaelon, and a few others privately and let them spread the word.
"Although the Medical Sanctuary will have its own dedicated Defense Team, it is still under my supervision."
Duane looked at Kaelon. "If they don’t follow my rules, even if it’s inside the Sanctuary, you are to intervene if anything unusual happens. However, be careful to avoid direct conflict."
Kaelon nodded. He had already learned some details from Raymond and knew that the so-called Medical Sanctuary was actually a branch of the Holy Radiance Court on Black Forest Island.
"Alright, let’s continue with the introductions for the other two."
Julian gestured and introduced the next person. "This is Savin, the Materials Manager, responsible for managing all kinds of supplies, including weapons, armor, and farming tools."
"And this is Hodder, the Tax Administrator, who will assist Ralph with tax collection. They were also promoted after an evaluation."
Savin and Hodder bowed deeply and offered their greetings.
They were both terribly nervous, afraid that Duane would test them like he did Liss with questions they couldn’t answer.