14 – You don’t like this forest, turn it over. (2)

In Europe during the Middle Ages, or wherever they were, there were generally fewer people than the land available for cultivation.

Therefore, there were a lot of forests with trees that were thicker than necessary, or fields that could be fertile if only the river was turned a little bit.

It’s just that all the lords know that, but the situation of the serfs is that they earn today and die tomorrow, so they couldn’t afford to order them to pioneer.

Besides, the serfs had to clear farmland more than necessary anyway, so they were only ripped off by taxes and there was not much left, so they didn’t show their motivation.

But now I have enough food to give them, and a lot of rewards to give them.

Therefore, if you can make a factory by pioneering the land, and make only what you think in the factory properly, you will be able to see tremendous profits.

What I’m trying to do is to grow crops that can change the flow of the times.

So I sent all my new serfs into the forest to cut down trees and turn the area into fields.

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More than 1,000 people were divided into several groups.

One group had trees cut down and carried.

“No matter how much you cut down, the trees are endless!”

“How much do you need to cut?”

“Until the tree dies. Stupid watt.”

“… Tyler works. Tyler cut down the tree.”

Another group had the remaining trees uprooted.

“I dug with a shovel, but I can’t see the end…”

“You idiot, didn’t I tell you to put the lid on the big pot and start the fire?”

“ah…”

“Hey, it rides well…”

The rest of the group plowed the field with farm implements borrowed from Windheim.

“The plow goes out!”

“Hey, hey! Change Yellow Cow!”

As I was looking at the serfs who acted well as I thought with a pleased expression, Balt tapped me on the shoulder and asked.

“Boss, why are you making a field in a place like this? Isn’t there enough empty land to grow crops by just channeling water without pulling trees?”

As he said, in our territory, besides the forest, there are plenty of lands that can be farmed by opening a little waterway.

Because the size of the territory itself is very large, but the number of serfs to cultivate the land is very small.

So even if I brought in 1,000 new serfs, half of Windheim’s population, there was enough untapped land to give these serfs.

Therefore, as Balt said, there is no need to exploit this kind of land.

So, at that, I nodded and said.

“right. It’s as you said, Balt.”

“Then why are you building a field in a corner like this?”

I said with a meaningful smile.

“Balt, because what I’m trying to make right now, I can’t let anyone know how to make it. And I won’t be farming here. As you said, there is still a lot of land left.”

Upon hearing that, Balt said with a serious expression.

It’s as if I’m going to slash and kill him if I say something wrong.

“Bocchan, in that case, are you going to make poison here? Or some banned drug…”

“If you’re going to make something like that, why bring you? It’s not like that. It’s easy to make, but I’m going to make a lot of money.”

“how…”

While Balt was looking at me suspiciously, Ella brought the snacks and sandwiches I bought for her.

“Master, take a rest.”

“Thank you, Ella.”

“It is already lunchtime. The serfs won’t eat it, but…”

“No, we made arrangements for you to eat porridge made from wheat and barley. When I work like this, I have to feed three full meals. Otherwise, I will run away.”

“Is that so? No, what kind of guts do you have for a serf who was barely sold…”

“And those who work there are now my serfs. And I can afford it, so shouldn’t I give?”

Hearing those words, Balt nodded, and Ella looked at me with her eyes shining.

“Well, as you said. Give them something to eat and they will follow.”

“The owner is kind. I’m sure the serfs will like it too.”

Then, while we were eating our sandwiches, a wagon came in containing porridge for the serfs.

As the steaming pot approached, the serfs began to rush in front of the wagon one by one.

“Hey, I’ll eat first.”

“Since I am more hungry, let me eat first.”

“Ha, this old man, let’s eat some first.”

As the serfs tried to stand before each other to receive food, a reliable middle-aged serf woman pulling a wagon knocked the pot with a wooden ladle and said,

“I brought more than enough to eat, so there is a line. No, when I was in Nantes, the nobles who couldn’t even eat lunch, let alone dinner, are cheap. Poor price.”

The serfs, who had been arguing for their turn, immediately lined up in an orderly manner.

There were also serfs whistling and whistling as if it hadn’t happened.

Then, the serfs who worked in the field filled large wooden bowls full of porridge and started serving them in order in line.

The serfs began to smile as they received it.

“hehehehe, the lord of this territory gives you something to eat even if you make the work dirty and difficult.”

“Yeah, if it were a different territory, they’d only make you work and not give you anything to eat, but there are a lot of them.”

“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve eaten three meals a day… It’s the first time in my life. I couldn’t even eat two meals a day… To be able to live in such an affluent estate is like luck rolling in through me.”

The serf who was serving food to the serfs who were eating porridge while talking like that shouted.

“If you want more, come out! because there’s a lot The lord told me to take care of you as much as you eat as much as you work hard!”

As soon as he had said that, several serfs lined up to receive more porridge.

The serfs, who had received a lot of porridge, laughed and began to drink the tasteless porridge.

Often, there were some who burned their mouths from eating too fast, but nonetheless, all of them had happy faces.

It has been really rewarding to see that things are going the way I envisioned, on my own, and that so many people are not starving as a result.

**

After nearly two months of construction, I was finally able to reclaim a part of the forest and build the factory I was thinking of in that place.

The place I designated is near the river, so I can use tools like a water-powered waterwheel or a water-powered hammer that use the flow of the river.

“Ha, it was really long. It was long…”

“It’s only two months. young master.”

“It’s two months, but it seems like it took a year. In the morning, he would work in Windheim, or come here in the afternoon to supervise the work of the serfs… There was no time to rest. Right, Ella?”

When Ella heard that, she nodded in confirmation of my words.

Seeing Ella like that, Balt sighed and said,

“Ella, the young master’s hardships are self-inflicted. Entrusting such construction to me or another bailiff and only having to come once a week…”

As the saying goes, if it is a moderate construction, even if the scale is large, you can leave it to Bayleaf or Balt and come only once a week.

No, even if it’s only once a month, I tend to come regularly.

Usually, nobles who have received such a village as their territory often do not come to their territory even once a year.

“But I can’t help it. These guys are kids who don’t know when they’ll be treated badly if I don’t look after them.”

“It is.”

“Bocchan is kind.”

Balt listened to Ella’s words and made a meaningful expression for a moment, but let’s not ignore it.

And I went to the representative of the serfs.

“Okay, the project is well done… I’m satisfied. Did you collect the rest of the serfs as I ordered?”

“Yes, I have them all together. young master. By the way…”

“What cares?”

Hearing this, the serf representative hesitated before speaking.

“Then why did you call us? Even if we did something wrong…”

I waved my hand and said.

“No. Thanks for the good work. The reason why everyone gathered here today is to hold a festival in the sense that they have worked hard, even if it is small. The Windheim guys are probably grilling pork right now. Let’s all share it in the town square.”

Hearing this, the serf representative looked at me wide-eyed.

“It’s a festival…?”

“It is literally a festival. You went through a lot of trouble building this factory, and in the meantime, you went through a lot of digging and making fields. Eat to your heart’s content.”

The representative of the serfs was told to eat as much as he wanted because he had worked hard, but in fact, he had other purposes as well.

The serfs of this world, or just all the peasants of these rural villages, are usually of a disposition to avoid outsiders.

So, if you ask them to be close from the beginning, rather than being friendly, they covet each other’s rice bowl or are wary of being taken away.

Therefore, it is better to keep them far away from each other.

But anyway, the newly brought serfs and the serfs who had been living in Windheim before were all people of the territory who lived in my territory.

If possible, no, we must create a relationship in which each other acknowledges and coexists.

To do that, you need to make a good first impression…

The best way for him is to get to know each other by eating and drinking.

Why is it that college freshmen who have only met for one day and office workers sometimes get along well with each other from the next day when they drink?

After I got a little farther, the other serfs in the back started cheering as if the serf representative had gathered the other serfs together and told me my story.

“hurray!!”

“Long live the lord who feeds me well and makes me play hotly when he lets me play!!”

“From the time I turned 15 until now, your older brother cultivates the farmland handed down by my parents in the village, so he said he didn’t need you… I was treated like a nerd… Thank you, lord.”

“Good job, good job burning the damn tree roots and eating them!!”

I pretended not to hear and just walked away slowly.

**

And that evening a festival was held in front of the plaza in front of the Bayleaf House in Windheim.

Perhaps because it was a large party with thousands of serfs living in the estate, it was so packed with people that there was no room to set foot even though it was a fairly large square.

There is a pot full of miso soup that is indispensable for a rural festival, several roast pigs, bread mixed with wheat and rye flour, barley bread, fruits, etc…

Sober but delicious dishes were lined up.

People sitting at long desks and enjoying cooking started talking to each other.

From obscene rumors such as “Women in the village are fine” and “Girls need to have big buttocks” to trivial chatter such as who is getting married.

I didn’t get along well at first, but after a few drinks, the serfs I’d brought along also began to sing and put their arms around each other.

It’s a song sung by drunken men, so you won’t understand what it is.

As I was looking at that scene with a smile, Ella, who was standing next to me, said,

“Master, would you like a glass of wine?”

“yes.”

Ella heard that and poured her a glass of wine.

This wine was bitter in taste and had almost no fruity notes.

How can such a taste exist in the world?

So I grimaced and expressed my displeasure to Ella.

“Ella, what the hell is this wine? It’s really bad.”

When Ella heard that, she didn’t know what to do.

“sorry. Master… The villagers said it was the best wine they had made for the lord… They said it took a lot of hard work to make… They told me to bring it… I thought it was as good as the expensive wine you drink.”

… Well, even if she had been trained as a maid.

Originally, maids don’t need the ability to distinguish high-class food like wine, so this is usually done by butlers…

And no matter what the villagers said, it was a wine made with care for me.

So I said with a smile.

“There is nothing wrong with Ella. I was just surprised at how different the taste was.”

“is that so?”

“Have a glass of Ella too. It tasted a bit bitter.”

When Ella drank the wine, she grimaced like I did.

Then Ella and I wrote each other, but continued to drink wine with the respect and gratitude of the serfs in it.

**

And a few days after the festival…

Balt suddenly flew into my bedroom and said,

“Bocchan, something big happened!! Bandits have appeared!”

…. Damn why is this happening again?