Chapter 108: Harvest Season
Entry-level knowledge of tea manufacturing made Duane’s methods much more professional.
The second batch of Hot Spring Mountain Tea he produced not only had a fragrant aroma, but drinking it also rewarded him with +0.1 attribute points.
Unfortunately, the number of fresh tea leaves he had picked was limited. To quickly improve his tea manufacturing skill, Duane sent Owington to find more.
During this process, the Male Servant learned a great deal about the mountain tea from the local populace.
The farmers thought the tea trees were useless and hindered crop growth, so they had chopped them all down. As a result, there were none in the fields or around the houses, but plenty could still be found in the mountains.
Not having to go all the way to the Hot Spring Mountain Range to pick them made things much easier.
Owington, along with a few other servants, brought back a large basketful in a single morning.
However, when Duane used these fresh leaves for tea manufacturing, his Skill Level for Hot Spring Mountain Tea did not increase.
After thinking it over, he could only conclude that there was a difference between the Hot Spring Mountain Tea and the wild tea they had just gathered.
This proved not only that Hot Spring Mountain Tea was an Extraordinary herb, but also that the tea trees growing in the Hot Spring Mountain Range were somehow different.
Given this, Duane had no choice but to have people pick fresh tea leaves from the Hot Spring Mountain Range for his manufacturing.
During this time, he also used the knowledge in his mind to craft the tools needed for tea manufacturing, such as bamboo platters, winnowing baskets, and drying cages.
Of course, tea manufacturing and tool crafting were only a part of his life.
Now that Duane was an Advanced Warrior, he needed to learn and master seven Combat Techniques as quickly as possible: Storm Fist, Breaking Army Slash, Vortex Slash, Swift Step, Gale Slash, Shield of Defense, and Bursting Impact.
Considering that increasing the Skill Level of his Combat Techniques required live combat—and also needing to oversee the mine’s road repairs, track-laying, and rail cart construction—he was often seen in the Hot Spring Mountain Range in the days that followed.
He was there to supervise construction, but he also frequently ventured into the mountains to find beasts and Demon Beasts for combat practice.
「Half a month later.」
Perhaps it was the new atmosphere brought by the new Lord, but Black Forest Island experienced a bumper crop, the likes of which had rarely been seen.
In the paddies, heavy heads of grain bent the rice stalks, their plump kernels visible to the naked eye.
During the busy harvest season, everyone—men and women, old and young—went to the fields, taking up sickles of all kinds to reap the rice.
The Black Soil family was among them.
His was an ordinary serf family from Broken Wave City. With three children and his parents, they were a household of seven.
To feed such a large family, they had been renting farmland from the Broken Wave Gang for many years.
In past years, after turning over their quota of grain and setting aside seeds for the next planting, precious little was left for them to eat.
Everyone in the family was constantly hungry. Their first thought upon waking each day was how to find food.
This year, however, was different.
Though the sky was just beginning to lighten, Black Soil and his father had already been toiling in the fields for over an hour.
Just then, his mother and his wife arrived with their three children, bringing breakfast.
"Father, let’s eat breakfast before we get back to it!" Black Soil called out.
His father was getting old, and he straightened his stooped back slowly at the call.
The two sat on a raised path between the paddies, eating a piece of a specially made black flatbread.
It was dry and difficult to swallow, mixed with grass roots and even leaves. They could only force it down with water. But this was their daily ration, and a meal they couldn’t always count on having.
"The harvest is good this year!"
Black Soil’s eyes filled with joy as he looked out at the fields of grain, chewing hard on the tough bread.
"It is, much better than in years past!"
His elderly father also said, "For a big family like ours, life should start getting better!"
Hearing this, the eyes of the three children—two of whom were still very young—lit up with excitement.
"Then, Father, Grandpa, does this mean we can have rice porridge every day from now on?"
The little girl chimed in after her brother, "I want to have rice porridge, too! I don’t want to eat wild vegetables and grass roots anymore!"
Tears welled in the eyes of both Black Soil and his father as they listened.
"Yes, of course we can!"
Black Soil picked up his daughter. "Baron Duane is in charge of Black Forest Island now. With him here, our good days are just beginning!"
"Yes, the Baron is a truly good Lord!"
In years past, they had to pay a head tax of 70 Copper Coins. That might not sound like much, but it was on top of surrendering half their harvest and still not having enough to eat.
On top of that, they also had to perform forced labor. Life was bleak and hopeless.
Now that the new Lord had arrived, he not only lowered the head tax for adults but also exempted children from it entirely. He even reduced the grain tax to thirty-five percent.
Black Soil was renting twenty mu of land, and he estimated he would now have over four thousand pounds of grain left for his family.
With that much, they could do more than just have rice porridge; they might even be able to eat steamed rice on occasion.
Moreover, if they wanted to earn money, they could now sell their labor to the Lord, doing jobs like quarrying stone, paving roads, and felling trees.
After all, any work they did for Monbodt or the Broken Wave Gang in the past had been for free. The idea that they could now actually earn a few copper coins was astonishing!
At first, most people thought it was too good to be true.
But then people started actually getting paid, and everyone realized the Lord truly kept his word.
And so, this population of once-numbed farmers and serfs felt a yearning for a better life ignite within them.
"Alright, back to work!"
Black Soil put his daughter down. "After we’ve harvested this rice, we’ll plant some late-season rice and vegetables. From this day forward, we’ll be able to eat our fill!"
His father picked up a sickle made of some unknown material.
"Our family’s land is a little small. Didn’t the General Affairs Consultant say we could apply to clear some wasteland? I think we should consider it."
Black Soil hesitated. "I want to, but the mountain forests to the south are dangerous. There are always beasts and Demon Beasts there."
"’Fortune favors the bold!’ the old man retorted. ’The Baron has men patrolling and standing guard there. They’re even preparing to build one of those... fortresses. Even if Demon Beasts show up, someone will be there to hold them back. We’ll have time to escape!’"
The old man bent his back and resumed reaping, speaking his mind as he worked. "The reclaimed land is rent-free for the first year. For the next two, we only have to pay a ten-percent tax. After that, it’s treated like the land of the Free People, with a tax of less than twenty percent. We’re sure to come out ahead!"
Perhaps it was those two words, "Free People," that struck a nerve. Black Soil fell silent for a moment before nodding with determination.
"Okay. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the village elder and apply to clear the wasteland!"
"Good. You’d better be quick about it," his father added. "I’ve seen several other families apply already. Don’t wait until there’s nothing left for us!"
In truth, the Black Soil family’s story was just a small snapshot of life on Black Forest Island.
Others who yearned for a better life and had the courage to take a chance were making the same decision.
They would be the first to reap the benefits of the new policy.
The sound of their conversation gradually faded, replaced by the RUSTLE and SWISH of sickles reaping grain.
Black Soil’s mother and wife led the children into the fields as well.
Children will be children, however. The two little ones had barely cleared a small patch of their own before they dissolved into giggles and play-fighting.
The sound of their laughter drifting through the golden fields made the harvest scene all the more heartwarming.
As their Lord, Duane wanted to see for himself how the harvest was progressing.
So, he set aside half a day to visit the fields.
He might not have noticed if he hadn’t come, but one look was all it took for his brow to furrow in concern.
It wasn’t that he was dissatisfied with the yield. Rather, it was the farmers’ harvesting efficiency that made him frown.