I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 113 Time Scale (15)

Three days later, some fishing nets and straw raincoats were woven and hung aside to dry for use.

Everyone began to carry out formal work step by step!

The old man who had no tools asked the other children to follow them to fish. One-eyed Gil and Amy became the reluctant leaders and each took their people to the mountains.

Robert was in a particularly good mood today. He woke up in the morning full of energy and went out with his head held high. Mary, who was about to take little Charlie to herd sheep, saw him and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Why are you smiling so happily this morning? Is there something good going on?"

"Of course."

Robert washed his face. This was Master Luke's rule, and he had gradually gotten used to it. He shook off the water droplets on his face and said proudly, "You forgot, I'm now the captain of the first pioneering team!"

In order to better open up the wasteland, Luc divided the eighteen farmers into two teams, led by Robert and George respectively.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Is that why?"

Seeing Mary's disdainful look, Robert made an expression that said, "You really don't understand anything." "You are as stupid as a groundhog in Provence!"

"Can't you see how much the adults value us?"

Robert looked around and lowered his voice mysteriously, saying, "Think about it. There are so many things to do in the forest, but Master has put you in charge of all the livestock. Julie is Master's maid, and even Miller has three followers."

"Since you value us so much, can't you see that our family is thriving?"

"family?"

Mary looked at Robert in disbelief. "Dear, that's because we followed you very early on, and we're just slaves. How can we have any family?"

Family, that is a name only used by noble lords.

Is Robert crazy?

Seeing Mary still indifferent, Robert said angrily, "Why don't you understand? We have an advantage because we arrived early! After the land is cleared, the master will divide the land among everyone for rent. Do you think that with Master Luc's status as the first slave and his current position, he can get more land?"

Mary used a rattan whip to drive the sheep out. The strong smell of goat and the dust that flew up covered her body. Little Charlie wagged his tail to gather the sheep. She thought for a moment and said, "I think there should be more."

"Isn't this right!"

Robert also picked up his axe and said hopefully, "These new refugees don't know that you are a man favored by God, and they don't know how much food this land can produce. If I can rent the land, I don't ask for the same output as you, but I will be satisfied with half of your output. If you can still help you raise livestock, maybe we can eat eggs in the future, and we can even sell Miller's pottery for money!"

Seeing Mary looking thoughtful, Robert picked up his farm tools and went out.

From the very beginning, he decisively followed Lord Luke, and later, before arriving at Ward Village, he judged that the population would increase.

Robert now feels more and more that his decision is absolutely correct.

Walking quickly to the field, Old Eck was already standing there. Soon all the farmers gathered there one after another. Robert glanced at the unfamiliar faces around him, and an inexplicable sense of superiority arose in his heart.

Everyone started by watering and weeding the vegetable garden and orchard. About half an hour later, Luc, who had just finished breakfast, also came over leisurely.

"Good day, my lord!"

Everyone greeted him.

Luc responded briefly, and then without further ado, directed two groups of farmers to cut down trees from the east and west sides towards the north.

Yes, cutting down trees.

When it comes to how to cut down trees and create farmland, Luc's method is simple and crude, which is to build an isolation zone!

Just set fire to the forest!

After all, if a large area of ​​dense forest is cut down manually, it will take an unknown amount of time.

The dozen or so acres of land he owns now are his private property, as are the fields he reclaims. He’ll leave it at that for this year, but he does plan to rent out the land he reclaims next year.

Only by renting it out can a real manor be created, can there be so-called tax revenue, and can people's hearts be at peace.

And I would no longer be responsible for their food rations. Creating a buffer zone was no easy task. They needed to carve out a twenty-four-acre area in the forest, clean the roots of the felled trees, prevent the fire from spreading throughout the forest, and dig a circle of trenches. This was bound to be a long and arduous process.

To make things easier, Luc rode around the forest for a week, marking out the thinner trees and grassy areas where he could hoe the vegetation.

Ryan held the knight's sword in his hand and inspected the progress of everyone. There was no guarantee that some of the new refugees would be cunning and dishonest, so they needed to be supervised for a while.

Luc watched everyone working and slowly walked back to the house.

Speaking of which, I have indeed been fully unemployed and only need to control the general direction.

But in the end I found that I was a bit naive.

It is true that ordinary labor no longer needs to be done, but in the absence of professional talent, some things really have to be done by oneself.

Like a sundial.

The Burgundy region still adheres to the twelve months established by Charlemagne, but many people still use the church bells to determine the specific time of the day.

Luc took a wooden block and cut off two inches of thickness.

The difficulty in making a sundial does not lie in the material, or in other words, it is not necessary in the short term. Stone sundials can withstand wind and rain for a long time, but it is not impossible to use wood for the time being.

The real difficulty of the sundial lies in drawing it.

He kicked the unruly log aside and found a piece of charcoal and a hand-length rope.

Tie a wooden peg to one end of the rope and drive it into the center of the log. Then stretch the rope to its straightest point and tie the other end to the charcoal.

Luc held the charcoal and walked around the center of the wooden nail in a circle on the log, and a complete circle appeared before his eyes in an instant.

The excess wood was shaved off with a chisel and then finely polished with a plane, and a two-inch thick disc with a four-inch radius gradually emerged.

Looking at the wooden nail embedded in the center, Luc touched his chin and was in a dilemma.

Having a disc alone is not enough; it also needs to be precisely divided into twelve equal parts to represent the twelve hours of the day.

Luc didn't have a protractor, so after thinking for a while, he decided to use the dumbest but most convenient method.

He found a pile of wooden sticks, placed them in a cross shape on the disc, crossed two others diagonally to form a cross, and finally stacked another cross on top. He kept adjusting the two crosses at the back, measuring the distance between them with a thin rope until they were almost equal. He then picked up the charcoal and made twelve black dots on the edge of the disc.

Looking at the twelve equal parts that looked similar to the naked eye, but there were definitely some differences, Luc nodded slightly.

There is a little error, so there is a little error.

Follow the same method and draw twelve dots at the back, and the following steps will become extremely simple.

Luc drilled a hole through the center of the disc, inserted a stronger and longer wooden nail, and drew the familiar clock scale on the twelve equal parts, and on the other side, drew it counterclockwise.

By evening, about half of the half-mile-long isolation zone had been cleared, but of course this was only the surface; the roots had not yet been dug out.

Luc looked up at the starry sky and found the position of the North Star among the stars. He asked Ryan and Old Eck to quickly tilt the sundial. After several adjustments, the middle wooden nail was firmly aligned with the North Star.

"Master, how do you use this thing?"

Ryan patted the sundial, not quite sure how to use this strange thing.

The master always manages to create tools that seem baffling but ultimately useful.

"Its shadow will be longest at the spring and autumn equinoxes."

Luke stopped talking halfway because he suddenly realized that Old Eike and others did not understand the 24 solar terms.

It is a pity that the 24 solar terms are not applicable to the Burgundy region.
"I'll teach you slowly. Now, let's go see if the wooden fort is missing anything. Ms. Dusi is almost at Cooper Castle."

(End of this chapter)