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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobto
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In medieval Europe, no, in any place during this era, there were usually few people compared to the land that could be reclaimed.
Therefore, there were a tremendous number of fields that could become fertile land just by slightly twisting the stream of a river, in addition to excessively lush forests.
It’s just that even though all the lords knew this, they didn’t have the leisure to order the peasants to reclaim the land because the peasants were in a situation where they would die if they earned today and ate tomorrow.
Moreover, the peasants also didn’t have the motivation because even if they reclaimed more farmland than necessary, it would only be taken away as taxes and not much would be left for them.
However, I now have enough surplus food to give them, and I have many rewards to give them.
Therefore, if I can reclaim the land, build a factory, and properly produce what I have in mind in that factory, I can see tremendous profits.
Because what I’m attempting is to cultivate crops that can change the flow of the era.
So, I sent all the newly arrived peasants to the forest to cut down trees and turn that area into fields.
I divided the number of people, which exceeded a thousand, into several groups.
One group was made to cut and carry trees.
“No matter how much we cut, there’s no end to the trees!”
“How much do we have to cut?”
“Until all the trees are gone. Stupid Watt.”
“… Tyler works. Tyler cuts trees.”
Another group was made to pull out the remaining tree roots.
“I just dig and dig, but I can’t see the end…”
“Stupid, I told you to cover it with a large earthen lid and set it on fire!”
“Ah…”
“Wow, it burns well…”
The remaining group was made to plow the fields with farming tools borrowed from Windheim.
“The plow is coming out!”
“Giddy up, giddy up! Plow, Plow!”
As I was looking at the peasants moving well as I thought, with a satisfied expression, Varso tapped my shoulder and asked.
“Young master, why are you making fields in such a place?
Aren’t there enough empty lands where you can grow crops just by making a waterway without pulling out the trees?”
As he said, in our territory, there are plenty of lands where we can farm just by slightly opening a waterway, not necessarily in such a forest.
Because although the size of the territory itself is very large, the number of peasants to cultivate the land is very small.
So, even though I newly brought 1,000 peasants, which is half of the population of Windheim, there was more than enough uncultivated land to give to these peasants.
Therefore, as Varso said, there is no need to deliberately reclaim such land.
So, upon hearing those words, I nodded my head and said.
“That’s right. It’s as you said, Varso.”
“Then why are you making fields in such a remote place?”
I said with a meaningful smile.
“Varso, what I’m trying to make right now is something that absolutely must not be discovered how it’s made.
And we won’t be farming here. As you said, there is still plenty of land left.”
Upon hearing those words, Varso spoke with a serious expression.
With an air as if he would cut me to death if I said the wrong thing.
“Young master, then are you perhaps going to make poison here?
Or some prohibited drug…”
“If I were going to make such a thing, why would I bring you? It’s not that.
I’m going to make something that’s easy to make but makes a lot of money.”
“What on earth…”
Around the time Varso was looking at me with a suspicious gaze, Ella came with the cookies and sandwiches I bought for her.
“Master, have these while resting.”
“Thank you, Ella.”
“It’s already lunchtime. The peasants won’t be able to eat, but…”
“No, I’ve arranged for them to be able to eat porridge mixed with wheat and barley.
At times like this, they need to be fed three meals a day.
Otherwise, they’ll run away.”
“Is that so?
No, with what audacity do those peasants, who were just sold, dare…”
“And those guys working over there are now my peasants too.
And I have the means, so shouldn’t I share it generously?”
Upon hearing those words, Varso nodded, and Ella looked at me with shining eyes.
“Well, as you said.
They will follow if you give them food.”
“You are kind, Master.
I’m sure the peasants will like you too.”
Then, while we were eating the sandwiches, a cart carrying the porridge for the peasants came in.
As the steaming pot approached, the peasants began to gather in front of the cart one by one.
“Hey, I’m going to eat first.”
“I’m hungrier, so let me eat a little first.”
“Ha, let this elder eat first.”
As the peasants tried to stand in line first to receive food, the sturdily built middle-aged female peasant who brought the cart tapped the pot with a wooden ladle and said,
“I brought enough for everyone to eat and still have leftovers, so just line up.
You guys who couldn’t even eat lunch, let alone dinner, in Nantes, what audacity.”
The peasants who were fighting over the order in front and back immediately lined up in a relatively orderly manner.
Some peasants were even whistling, as if they hadn’t done that.
Then, they began to distribute the porridge to the peasants who worked at the site, filling large wooden bowls in the order they lined up.
The peasants began to smile as they received it.
“Hehe, the lord of this territory makes us work like hell, but he gives us good food.”
“That’s right, in other territories, they only make us work and don’t give us food, but there are many like that.”
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve eaten three meals a day…
The first time in my fucking life.
I couldn’t even eat two meals a day…
To be able to live in such an abundant territory, it’s like lady luck has rolled in.”
As the peasants were chatting and eating porridge, the peasant who was distributing shouted.
“Come out if you want to eat more!
There’s plenty.
The lord said to generously take care of your eating as long as you work hard!”
As soon as those words ended, many peasants began to line up to receive more porridge.
The peasants who received a lot of porridge began to gulp down the porridge that would have no particular taste, smiling.
Occasionally, there were guys who burned their mouths from eating too hastily, but nevertheless, they all had happy expressions.
It was really rewarding to see that with my power, things were going well as I thought, and as a result, many people were living without starving.
**
After about two months of construction like that, I was finally able to reclaim a part of the forest and build the factory I had in mind in that place.
Since the location I designated was near a river, I would be able to use tools like water-powered mills or water-powered hammers using the flow of the river.
“Finally, it was really long.
So long…”
“It’s only been two months, young master.”
“You say two months, but it feels like a whole year.
In the morning, I had to take care of Windheim’s affairs, and in the afternoon, I had to come here to supervise the peasants’ work…
There was no time to rest.
Right, Ella?”
Upon hearing those words, Ella nodded, affirming my words.
Seeing Ella nodding, Varso sighed and said,
“Ella, it’s the young master’s own fault for having a hard time.
Such construction work could have been entrusted to me or another bailiff, and he only needed to come once a week…”
As he said, if it’s a decent construction, even if it’s large-scale, I can just entrust it to the bailiff or Varso and come only once a week.
No, even if I come only once a month, it’s considered frequent.
Because it’s common for nobles who receive such a village as their territory to not even come to their territory once a year.
“But it can’t be helped. These guys are kids who don’t know when they’ll be mistreated if I don’t look after them.”
“That’s true.”
“You are kind, Master.”
Upon hearing Ella’s words, Varso momentarily made a meaningful expression, but let’s pretend we didn’t see it.
And I went to find the representative of the peasants.
“Yes, the construction is well done… I’m satisfied.
Did you gather the rest of the peasants as I ordered?”
“Yes, I gathered them all, young master.
But…”
“What is concerning you?”
Upon hearing those words, the peasant representative hesitated and then said,
“But why did you call us?
Could it be that we did something wrong…”
I waved my hand and said,
“No.
Thank you for doing a good job.
The reason I had everyone gather here today is to hold a festival as a small token of appreciation for your hard work.
The guys from Windheim should be grilling pork right now.
Sharing and eating together in the village square.”
Upon hearing those words, the peasant representative looked at me with wide eyes.
“A festival…?”
“Yes, a festival.
You worked hard building this factory, and you worked hard digging the ground to make fields in the process.
Eat to your heart’s content.”
I told the peasant representative to eat their fill because they worked hard, but there was actually another purpose.
The peasants in this world, no, just all the farmers in such rural villages, usually have a tendency to avoid outsiders who come from outside.
So if you tell them to get along from the beginning, rather than getting along, they become vigilant of each other, coveting each other’s rice bowls or fearing they will be taken away.
Therefore, it’s better to keep them far apart from each other unless it’s unavoidable.
However, in any case, the peasants I newly brought and the peasants who have been living in Windheim are all the people of the territory living in my territory.
If possible, no, they must be made to recognize and coexist with each other.
To do that, we need to make a good first impression…
And the best way to do that is to have them eat together, drink alcohol, and become friendly.
Because even college freshmen who have only known each other for a day, or office workers, sometimes become close like brothers the next day after drinking.
As I moved a bit away, the peasant representative seemed to have gathered the other peasants and conveyed my story, and the other peasants behind began to cheer.
“Hooray!!”
“Long live the lord who not only feeds us well but also lets us have a blast!!”
“Since I turned 15, until now, my older brother in the village cultivated the farmland inherited from our parents, saying that I wasn’t needed…
I was treated like nothing more than a good-for-nothing… Lord, thank you.”
“I did a good job working, I did a good job burning those damn tree roots!!”
I just slowly took steps, pretending not to hear.
**
And that evening, a festival was held in front of the square in front of the bailiff’s mansion in Windheim.
Since it was a large feast where several thousand peasants living in the territory gathered, the fairly wide square was so densely packed with people that there was no room to set foot.
There were pots full of unknown stew that cannot be omitted from a rural festival, several whole roasted pigs, bread mixed with wheat and rye flour, barley bread, fruits, and so on…
Simple but delicious dishes were laid out in abundance.
People sitting at the long table enjoying the food began to chat with each other.
From lewd talk such as which village woman is nice, that women with big butts are good, to small talk such as who is getting married.
At first, they didn’t mingle well, but the peasants I newly brought also began to put their arms around each other’s shoulders and sing as the alcohol went down their throats.
I couldn’t understand what they were singing because it was a song sung by drunk middle-aged men.
As I was watching such a scene with a smile, Ella, who was standing next to me at some point, said,
“Master, would you like a glass of wine?”
“Sure.”
Upon hearing those words, Ella poured me a glass of wine.
This wine tasted bitter and had almost no fruity aroma at all.
To think such a taste exists in the world…
So I frowned and expressed my dissatisfaction to Ella, saying,
“Ella, what on earth is this wine?
It tastes really bad.”
Upon hearing those words, Ella looked at a loss and said,
“I’m sorry, Master…
The villagers said it was the best wine they made to give to the lord…
That it was a big struggle to make…
They told me to bring it to you…
I thought it would be as good as the expensive wine you drink.”
… Indeed, even if she received maid training.
Originally, maids don’t need the ability to discern high-quality foods like wine, so it’s usually the butlers who do this…
And since the villagers made this wine with sincerity for me, no matter what, when I think about it again, it seems quite nice.
So I smiled and said,
“It’s not your fault, Ella. I was just surprised because the taste was different.”
“Is that so?”
“Ella, you should have a glass too.
It’s a bit too bitter.”
When Ella also drank that wine, she frowned like me.
Then Ella and I continued to drink the wine that was bitter but filled with the peasants’ respect and gratitude.
**
And a few days after the festival ended…
Varso suddenly flew into my bedroom and said,
“Young master, we have a big problem!!
A group of bandits has appeared!”
…. Damn it, why is this kind of thing happening now?
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