Farming and Raising Pigs

A gentle breeze swept across the hills, and the long reed grass swayed in the wind. Three ox-carts left deep ruts as they rolled across the meadow. Nelson, sitting on one of the carts, said to Linda beside him, "Once we bypass this hill, we will reach the fief granted to us by my lord. There are lakes, forests, streams, and pastures there. We can hunt and fish—you are bound to love it."

Linda closed her eyes, leaning lazily against Nelson's broad shoulder with the drowsy air of someone who had not yet finished sleeping. After a long moment, she replied leisurely, "A fief isn't going to run away. Was there really any need to rush over here at the crack of dawn? Lord Victor is holding a roundtable meeting today, after all."

Nelson said awkwardly, "It was Old John and the others; they couldn't wait to come and take a look. We'll leave shortly and won't get in the way of the lord's business."

Victor had granted Nelson three hundred square kilometers of land, and the members of the Battle Bear Mercenaries were the most excited of all. Before dawn today, Nelson had been rudely dragged out of bed by a dozen veteran mercenaries clamoring to see his territory. Having no choice, Nelson had procured three carts and brought these disabled old mercenaries along just to look at the scenery. Yet, Nelson's feigned casual tone brought a smile to Linda's face.

"Stop putting on an act. There was no need for you to make this trip personally; you have plenty of subordinates, and you could have had anyone lead the way."

Nelson chuckled and said, "You're no different. It's not like you've never been to that land, yet you came the moment you were called."

Linda was momentarily rendered speechless, then she grew exasperated and pinched the soft flesh around Nelson's waist. The moment she applied pressure, her fingers were bounced away by Nelson's muscles, and she couldn't help exclaiming, "There's something moving inside your clothes!"

Nelson scratched his head. Ever since he practiced the Recumbent Bull Secret Form, all the muscles in his body had seemed to come alive. If he didn't control them, they would react naturally like this, and only when he mastered the secret form to the point of complete mental control could he eliminate the phenomenon. However, Victor had warned him never to mention the secret form to anyone.

"How could there be something inside? You definitely didn't sleep enough. Come, lean on me and sleep a bit more," Nelson coaxed hastily.

Glancing at Nelson suspiciously, Linda obediently leaned back against her husband's shoulder and closed her eyes to rest. After a moment, she said, "I still remember you telling me that you would become a baronet within thirty years. I never expected that only twelve years would pass before you actually pulled it off."

"Actually, that was just a tall tale I told to trick you into marrying me. Back then, you were the prettiest girl in the mercenary corps, and plenty of eyes were on you. At that time, I didn't have the strength I do now. I never thought you'd foolishly believe it, and now you've foolishly become a baronet's lady," Nelson laughed triumphantly.

"I have no desire to be your baronet's lady. You should marry a noblewoman and have a bunch of children. If your wife is willing, I'll be your personal maid; if she isn't, I'll be your mistress," Linda said indifferently.

Becoming a baronet was the absolute limit an ordinary person could hope to reach, yet attaining a baronetcy was exceedingly difficult. Many knights were merely baronets—for instance, Bruce had once been a landed baronet—while probationary knights were not even baronets at all. Securing a baronetcy as a commoner was exceptionally difficult. Nelson's strength was comparable to that of a powerful knight, but he had never imagined he would truly become a baronet, let alone a landed noble with a hereditary fief.

Although a baronet was the lowest rank of nobility, they were recognized nobles nonetheless. Now, Nelson was a true nobleman, and a landed one with a hereditary territory at that. Consequently, Nelson was qualified to take a noblewoman as his wife. In fact, many impoverished noble daughters were willing to marry landed baronets, and even female probationary knights with no hope of stepping into the Bronze rank were happy to enter such a union. A three-hundred-square-kilometer hereditary fief was the maximum limit for a baronet, making him even more respected than a court baron.

Just as Linda had said, a landed baronet should marry a woman of knightly blood so that the family could flourish and prosper—many new families were born this way. Yet Nelson remained completely oblivious to Linda's careful considerations, and he said boisterously, "Leaving the matter of marrying a noble lady to our sons. You just focus on being Lady Landel."

"You big blockhead!" Linda grabbed Nelson's ear with tears in her eyes.

"What are you crying for? A baronet is no big deal; I'll achieve even greater things in the future," Nelson said dismissively.

"Ha! A baronet is no big deal? What, are you going to become a baron next?!" Linda was so exasperated she laughed.

"I can't say for sure, but I believe in Lord Victor. Mm, Lord Victor is no ordinary noble; his way of thinking is different from others. What others value, he ignores, and what others ignore, he values. We just need to follow the lord," Nelson replied.

"I never knew you understood Lord Victor so well. Then tell me, what does the lord value?" Linda asked curiously.

Nelson thought for a moment and said, "The lord values us."

"Us?" Linda's eyes rolled, and she asked again, "Including those unfamiliar commoners? Were they really all gathered by you?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Nelson patted his chest and said firmly.

"Hmph! All able-bodied men, not a single woman or child among them?"

"In that situation, how could I possibly take in dead weight? I didn't take any commoners with children and women," Nelson said with a straight face.

Linda gazed at Nelson's resolute face, then rested her head back on his shoulder with a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Her husband might not be considered a clever man, but he was certainly no fool.

A moment later, the ox-cart came to a halt. Nelson and Linda stood before a lake. It was neither too large nor too small, about fifteen hundred mu in area, and across the lake lay dense forests and rolling hills. It was early morning, and a thin mist drifted over the lake surface, while the clouds at the horizon and the green trees on the hills were faintly reflected in the water. With sparkling ripples and a clear sky, Linda couldn't help taking a deep breath.

"How beautiful."

"The soil here is fertile and the water supply is abundant, though there are a few too many hills. Along the lake shore and mountain streams, we can reclaim over fifty thousand mu of arable land at most. Hmm, the forest is vast, containing plenty of high-quality timber, along with lots of game and berries. I just don't know if there are any mineral veins deep in the mountains. I'll have to send someone to scout it out," Nelson said with immense satisfaction.

"Once the lord's territory gets on track, we can recruit tenants and build a villa right by the lake shore," Nelson turned to look at his wife and said, "Linda, don't drink Bluegrass Soup anymore. Let's have a few children, and when they grow up, I'll bring them hunting."

A mercenary's life was drifting and precarious with no guarantee of tomorrow, leaving no conditions to raise offspring. The two of them had been together for years without children of their own, but things were different now. Linda nodded gently and said, "I'll listen to you."

"Haha, having children is great!" Old John dragged his prosthetic leg over, ignoring Linda's blushing glare of annoyance, and continued, "You two make a few strong lads, and we old fogies will take charge of drilling them ruthlessly."

"Pbah! In your dreams." Hearing that Old John wanted to drill her sons, Linda panicked, even though she wasn't pregnant yet.

"Seriously, kid Nelson, you're a baronet now. We old fellows want to make a living under your command—just give us a bit of land," said the veteran mercenary Iron Hook.

"What? Did Lord Victor mistreat you? You're the lord's vassals; without his permission, that's treason," Nelson smiled.

Old John shook his head and sighed, "The Goat Inn is gone, causing the lord a loss of several thousand gold sols. We old cripples have no face to remain Lord Victor's vassals. We'll just return those lands, and if it puts you in a difficult spot, we can just be commoners under Lord Victor."

These old fogies still had such fiery tempers, though they wouldn't have been mercenaries if they didn't. Nelson thought to himself, but aloud he said, "As if it's that cheap! Not to mention losing several thousand gold sols in damages, even the two master chefs were poached by the House of York. You lot had better honestly go back and work for the lord."

A dozen veteran mercenaries exchanged glances, and one of them couldn't help asking, "We don't know how to farm; what kind of work can we do?"

"Hehe, anyway, I won't let you old things off easy. When you get back, go find Barrit, and he'll make arrangements." Nelson scooped Linda up and bolted, shouting as he ran, "We're heading out first, remember to go find Barrit!"

In the blink of an eye, Nelson had vanished from sight, leaving only Linda's laughter behind.

"That brat Nelson, hasn't even finished explaining things and he runs faster than a rabbit," Old John complained bitterly.

When Nelson and Linda walked into the meeting room, it was already packed with people. Although the table was round, Victor sat at the head position. To his left sat Lilia, while the two empty seats to his right were reserved for Nelson and Linda. Down the line sat Morin, Benson, Butts, Dean, Philo, Kent, and George—all village leaders under Victor. Among them, Benson and Butts had previously been demoted, but because they executed Victor's mission of rounding up the mountain people, they had now returned to the management tier.

Once Nelson and Linda were seated, Victor spoke up, "Everyone is here, let's get straight to the point. Lilia, report on the current situation of the territory."

"Yes," Lilia replied in her melodious voice, "Currently, our population stands at 1,495 people, including 572 commoners gathered by Baronet Nelson, 570 members of the work-point system, and 353 women and children. In the camp, we have 120,000 pounds of wheat seed, 240,000 pounds of ground potatoes, 10,000 pounds of salt, 200 sheep, 70 oxen, 40 dairy cows, 35 warhorses, and 7 packhorses. That is all."

"Good, we have a total of 1,142 able-bodied men. So Nelson, Linda, how many men do you need?" Victor asked the two of them.

Nelson's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "My lord, at least 150 men."

"Too many. At most, I'll give you 100 men, and these individuals must be selected from the tenant population," Victor decisively rejected Nelson's request.

The strength of the alchemical militia was comparable to that of probationary knights. With several hundred alchemical militia members, the security of the territory was not an issue at all. The only reason to rebuild the guard force was to cultivate qualified officers.

Victor then told the village leaders, "I am assigning 100 people to each of your village groups, also giving priority to selecting members of the work-point system. You have only one task: to reclaim arable land. The remaining commoners have another purpose."

Dean asked nervously, "My lord, doesn't the brick kiln village need to resume production?"

"The brick kiln village, the carpenter village, the flax village, including the hill camp—I have arrangements for all of them," Victor shook his head and said, "We must concentrate our forces to reclaim 20,000 mu of arable land and plant crops across all of it during the Water Season."

Morin gave a dry cough and said, "My lord, our seeds are not enough. 20,000 mu of arable land requires at least 1 million pounds of wheat seed."

Victor nodded and said, "I know. Plant as much wheat seed as we have, and plant ground potatoes on all the remaining arable land."

"Plant ground potatoes everywhere? My lord, shouldn't we plant some forage grass like alfalfa? The water supply here is plentiful; as long as we irrigate diligently, forage grass grows very fast, making it extremely suitable for raising cattle, sheep, and horses. Besides, with our small population, there's completely no need to plant only ground potatoes," said village leader George.

Victor said sternly, "As a viscount with a vast territory, I have only a little over a thousand subjects, which doesn't even match a barony. Do you think I will be satisfied with this population? During this ant plague, lords in the western part of the kingdom lost a great deal of their crops. I believe that food will be scarce for the next two or three years, which may trigger a wave of refugees. Therefore, we need more food! As long as we have enough food, we can take in more refugees."

"Ground potatoes can serve as rations, and their leaves are just like forage grass—cut them down and they grow right back. Although cattle, sheep, and horses don't eat ground potato leaves, wild boars do!"

Humans in this world raised cattle, sheep, and horses, but not wild boars. On the one hand, the economic value of wild boars was far lower than that of cattle and sheep; apart from meat and fat, they produced no milk, and their hides had no value. On the other hand, wild boars had a varied diet, reproduced quickly, possessed fierce temperaments, required no feeding, and were ubiquitous in the wild. Due to the lack of large-scale water conservancy facilities, human arable land was limited; even in developed human territories, the area of the wilderness far exceeded that of the cultivated land, providing wild boars, beasts, and monsters with ample living space. To prevent cattle and sheep from being preyed upon by wild beasts, people cultivated forage grass and kept them enclosed near villages. As for wild boars, they were objects of human hunting—in fact, many nobles took pleasure in hunting wild boars.

Yet Victor could see the advantages of wild boars: they ate almost anything, including ground potato leaves which cattle and sheep rejected. Wild boars grew extremely fast, yielding hundreds of pounds of meat and lard after being raised for a year, and wild boar manure also made fine fertilizer.

After the ant plague, millions of mu of land had been left vacant in Victor's territory, making it perfect for growing forage grass and grazing cattle and sheep. The large beasts in the territory had already been wiped out by the alchemical battle mastiffs, and the only animals competing with cattle and sheep for food were wild boars. With hundreds of alchemical militia members, Victor's control over the territory was second to none. Therefore, Victor intended to plant ground potatoes, pen up wild boars, and herd cattle and sheep.

In fact, based solely on the produce of the territory, the mountains, and the flat lake, Victor could sustain over 3,000 people. But that was far from enough. Victor needed more people, at least enough to reach the minimum standard for a viscountcy, which was over 10,000 people. Following the established mode of development, this would take over twenty years. Taking advantage of the food shortage caused by this ant plague, Victor felt he could achieve this goal within two to three years. Before that, he needed abundant food supplies, and ground potatoes and wild boars could solve this problem.

Consequently, Victor had re-planned the agricultural production system. Gathering, hunting, and fishing would meet short-term needs; planting ground potatoes and raising wild boars would meet medium-term needs; planting wheat and grazing cattle and sheep would meet medium-to-long-term needs. Victor believed that once this production system was established, the population ceiling of the territory would greatly surpass that of an ordinary viscountcy.

"I will arrange for the commoners to fish, hunt, and gather wild fruits to meet our daily needs. And all you need to do is plant crops and raise pigs in peace!"