Chapter 945 - 125: Expansion of the Half-Elf Autonomous Region and Large-Scale Agriculture
Since Vandar brought up agricultural production, Su Li naturally paid great attention to this aspect.
He immediately said, "Then let’s talk about the results of your efforts in promoting farming and mulberry cultivation."
Vandar had been doing this statistical work recently, and upon hearing this, he reported it in great detail, like recounting a treasured collection.
"My Lord, the agriculture in our territory can be said to be thriving, especially the staple crops you value most. For instance, wheat in regions like Maiden’s Ring and Jorn Shallow Bay have yields of 300 to 400 pounds per acre."
"This harvest season, we have gathered over 54.2 million pounds of grain, 77.2 million pounds of vegetables like carrots and cabbages, 4 million pounds of textile crops like cotton and ramie, and over 1.8 million pounds of cash crops like beets and rapeseed."
"Additionally, a total of more than 23,000 cattle, sheep, and pigs were sent to market throughout the spring. We raised over 1,300 poultry and collected over 260,000 eggs of various kinds."
"Spices and fruits are to be harvested in the autumn, so these statistics are not yet complete. However, we have an extremely abundant harvest of medicinal herbs, totaling 320,000 pounds this season."
Listening to Vandar’s itemized report, Su Li couldn’t help smiling broadly. This is what a territory should be! Compared to the same period last year, it is practically a hundredfold increase.
The total of various grains and vegetables is over a hundred million pounds!
Su Li said with a smile, "It seems like our territory’s status as the Border Grain Storehouse has truly taken shape. With so much grain, there’s no way our territory can consume it all, so there will definitely be a surplus to provide to the surrounding Dwarf Clans."
Vandar nodded heavily and said, "Moreover, these figures mainly account for the outputs from Jorn Shallow Bay and various manors. The territory also contains many emerging villages, Knight Manors, and outposts in the Blood Pine Forest. We can’t fully account for them all with our manpower, but the absolute yield is immense. Our territory’s reputation as the Border Grain Storehouse is well-deserved."
Well-deserved? This description is just perfect.
"Additionally, there’s a very important point: our territory to the west has gained a large amount of area and farmland, and in the next harvest season, the yield will undoubtedly increase further."
"A current focus of our Dawn Church is sending priests and nuns to the western villages and outposts to expand the influence of the Dawn Church while accounting for local agricultural outputs."
Su Li, also concerned with this issue, asked, "How many villages have we added to the west?"
"As of now, our Dawn Church has recorded an addition of 3 castles. These castles are Knight Castles with walls reaching over 8 meters, not those stone houses hastily built in the Border Development Territory. We’ve added 8 such stone houses, corresponding to 8 villages, plus another 5 natural villages, 17 Knight Manors, and 25 farms, ranches, and outposts."
Su Li quickly calculated: at least 3 Kingdom Knight’s Territories, 13 villages, 17 Knight Manors, and 25 outposts.
That’s quite a lot. Even if each village and manor averages 20 households, that’s over 500 households, with a population close to 2,500 people.
The land they cleared is at least around 30,000 acres. This can’t compare to Jorn Shallow Bay, the result of Su Li’s painstaking efforts, where during each planting season, at least several hundred Half-Elfs, equipped with Half-Elf mechanical farming tools, alongside dozens of Dawn Church priests, contributed to the production.
Thus was born Maiden’s Ring, the Holy Land of the Dawn Church!
And at this point, Su Li couldn’t help but ask, "Are there any special presences in the new territory?"
"Yes, my Lord," Vandar said with a hint of admiration, "We discovered a renowned Half-Elf family, the Brandsnap Clan, on the fertile lands to our west."
"The Brandsnap bloodline can be traced back to the oldest agricultural families of the Half-Elfs. They have a deep affection for fertile lands and what grows on them. These Brandsnap Half-Elfs are slow to speak after thinking deeply and are known for their laziness. In fact, they are best suited for the slow-paced farm life where the sun and seasons dictate life’s rhythm rather than clocks and watches; where everyone works together for the common good, without much concern for personal space and private property. In many ways, those cheerful and lazy Brandsnap Half-Elfs, with their honest faces and slender fingers, are the archetypical Half-Elf images often satirized in the Marle Castle newspaper."
"The Brandsnap Half-Elfs, living in rural areas, small villages, and farms, work like farmers, brewers, or artisans, crafting fine things with their delicate and skillful fingers. Some Brandsnap Half-Elfs choose to serve as servants for wealthy merchants or nobles, tending to beautifully manicured courtyards and gardens or serving in kitchens. Their love of planting means they are excellent herbalists and pharmacists, though the herbs they grow have both recreational and medicinal uses. Those living in more densely-populated urban settings are willing to take on any job, preferably ones that yield much for little effort. Thus, in Marle Castle, many Half-Elf thieves and pickpockets belong to the Brandsnap Clan."