When she went out of her lab, she headed straight to the living room where she knew the team would be hanging out in, if they were there.
Her eyes zoned immediately on the two babies on the cot, and her world exploded with color.
"Hmmhgggh!" Her babies brightened up and extended their little chubby hands at the sight of her.
Her heart warmed and she took them from the cushion and into her arms.
"I really neglected you…" she sighed with a bit of regret, before placing wet smooches on their smooth faces.
They giggled and everyone in the room smiled.
"Well, they will understand. You did it so they don't miss out on the wonderful tastes we grew up with." Sheila said, "The next generation would surely love you for it."
Althea chuckled at this, "Shall I put my name in the history books, then?"
Sheila laughed. "Of course! It would definitely be easier to teach kids since they'd love sweets!"
Speaking of the next generation, the children—Maya, Theo, and now Horus —were watching the adults with interest as they played building blocks, creating quite the tall structure.
The adults soon started to discuss grown-up stuff, boring the kids, and they ran outside and went back to the playground.
The playgrounds—consisting of slides, swings, monkey bars, etc.—were gifted by Baron's team. They were placed in the gardens by the flowers, and the children loved them.
Even Horus, who tried to maintain a serious I'm-an-adult face, tried the slide many times. Of course, all with an unchanging face, even on his way down the slide.
It was cute in its own way.
Anyway, the success of the playground prompted Althea to order a few larger sets, to be placed on several parks around the territory.
There weren't many children now, but she would like to think there would be in the future.
She believed that the territory would eventually be filled with the laughter of children—adding another dab of color to the territory.
While the energetic kids went out, her babies, on the other hand, were laid on the soft blanket on the floor. As soon as they landed, they immediately tried rolling.
Althea giggled and helped them out, and she wondered who would be able to roll on their own first.
"So… what did you dish up this time boss?" Harold asked, and Althea lifted her head to him at the question.
Althea smiled proudly. "We will be able to increase production of Terranian plants, to the degree of the refresh rate here." She said, "Things would only get better."
Harold was very happy. Although the seasonings they made using local ingredients were good, how could it defeat the formulations that had undergone thousands of years of the perfection process?
"I rented another factory to create fertilizers this time. I'm planning on mixing it with compost to see the effect." This meant they couldn't handle this in the same factory as the existing herbal mixture factory.
Sheila nodded, immediately knowing what to do. "I will also send hiring notices."
A lot more people would be very happy about the new openings. Although there were plenty of people going outside, there were even more who could be used more within the walls—especially those who simply couldn't handle the monsters without eventually losing a limb.
Of course, they'd have to be upfront about the product being handled.
"Add 20% to their wage, compared to employees of the same level," Althea said after a thought.
Sheila agreed. "Got it!"
Althea smiled, happy that she had such reliable teammates. Because of this, she could now focus on her kids who in their own way were vying for her attention.
For instance, Little Meatball drooled all over himself trying to call her, while Little Pepper's little arms were extended in her direction, cute tiny hands opening and closing repeatedly.
As she laughed and hugged the kids, feeling their warmth and softness. They stayed just like that for a while
With the babies in her arms, she took a look at her territory stats.
[TERRITORY STATS
Status: Level 2 Village
Area: 3,142,000 square meters
Residents: 965 (121 permanent, 844 temporary)
Total Population: 1524
Base Resources:
Wood: 9200/10000
Stone: 6100/8000
Money: 14282 Gold, 109963 Silver, 389497 copper
Reputation: 70
Buildings: Village Center (Lv2) , Weaponry Shop (Lv1), Defensive Wall (Lv3), Warehouse (Lv2), Farm (Lv1) , Training Hall (Lv1), BathHouse (Lv1)
Bonus Building: Custom Building
Building Slots: 7/7 (+1)]
The territory now had close to a thousand people, over half of which were citizens. It shouldn't take long for the next upgrade. Anyway, whether she wanted to upgrade or not, she'd have no choice but to face it anyway.
Well, at least she'd open up new buildings. Judging from the options upon leveling up, they should be pretty good.
She didn't think that she'd be inferior to level 2 villages even if she had just upgraded.
Based on what the NPCs told her, she was doing very, very well, considering they've only been in existence for less than a month.
They didn't think it was possible, actually.
In fact, rather than fear of hostile villages, she was more looking forward to encountering other territories now—as long as they were friendly—because the market would be wider, and they could add an even higher profit margin.
If done well, it would only improve their already thriving economy. An improved economy meant a better life and more resources for the creation of superior defense systems!
And because the defense system was so good, it would give way to the improvement of everything else inside its scope—not just the economy and lifestyle.
Even when they were currently closed off to the world, the economy of the territory was already very healthy—a good part was due to her and Baron, who hired a good bulk of the population, increasing overall spending power.
It was just that the money from other territories must be much bigger. Not to mention, most of the plant seeds she bought didn't exist here—at least not in the area. She was looking forward to seeing more varieties in the future.
Althea placed the children back in the stroller, ready to take them out for an afternoon walk. After a moment of consideration, she decided to head to the factory area, to check on their progress.
"Aren't you tired boss?" He asked. After all, she had been stuck in her lab for a day!
"No. I'm plenty energized right now." She said with a smile, "I'll just rest earlier when I feel tired."
"Oh…" Harold said and looked conflicted. He decided to just join her in the end and show her the status of the factories under him by the way.
As they walked, the two chatted about the innovations and revivals that would follow.
"You seem to already have ideas on what to add to our sauce and condiment selection…"
Harold smiled, his old face had already visibly looked younger, very happy and content.
"I feel proud when I see all the stalls and stores using our products, and I feel proud of seeing the happy faces brought by our flavor." He said, "I feel young again, and with such a heavy purpose in life."
Althea looked at the grandpa figure in amusement. But her eyes also brightened at the prospects that they would be bringing the territory.
It was said that food was the symphony of flavor that united a society, while spices were the notes that harmonized a culture.
With a wider variety of raw materials, the wider the creations the people could create, and the more colorful the people's lives could be.
She was going to give a safe haven to the people, and she also wanted to give them a platform to show off what they could do.
The territory would only get better and better, never stagnant.
Just as it should be.