I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 164 Blacksmith Jason
"Cough cough cough-"

The hot, thin soup slowly flowed from the corner of the man's mouth. After just a few sips, he choked on it and couldn't stop coughing.

The boy quickly patted the man on the back, and seeing that he was feeling better, he picked up the bowl and continued feeding him.

"No, don't give it to me Jason, eat it yourself."

"Don't worry about me, I've already eaten."

The young man wiped the corner of the man's mouth, thought about it and didn't put it in his mouth, then forced a smile and said.

"Silly boy, do you think I don't know Smith? He's a good man, albeit a bit grumpy. But taking you as his apprentice is a great reward for us."

"But he's not a pushover. The snowstorm is coming, and food will be very expensive next year. He won't risk starving his own family just to provide you with two meals."

Looking at the silent Jason, the man tried to raise his arms, which were as thin as dry wood, and pushed the wheat paste, saying, "Eat."

Jason slowly walked out of the shack. He finally ate the bowl of oatmeal, but his mood became even heavier.

Holding the empty bowl, which looked like it was being licked by a dog, he walked towards a conspicuous building inside the wall. Before he got close, he heard a familiar curse suddenly rang out: "Are you taking a walk, you stinking monkey? Hurry up and stretch your legs like a woman and come over here to swing the hammer at me! Damn it, why did I accept you, you damned fellow?"

Smith had a fierce expression on his face. He pounded the red-hot iron and roared at Jason. Seeing Jason trotting over, he glanced at his father's face, paused, and calmed down a bit, but still said stiffly, "Did you go to deliver porridge to your father again?"

"Yeah." Jason nodded and took the iron sheet, unwilling to talk more about this topic.

"Excuse my bluntness, young man, but your father won't live long. What you should do now is eat that bowl of rice yourself and then find a good place to bury him to prevent him from being taken away by wild wolves. Also, work hard for me to make money and donate it to the monks so that his soul can go to heaven."

"No need to pay, my father will go to heaven."

"Ha! How can a serf like him go to heaven if he hasn't cleansed his sins?" Smith sneered. Everyone is born with original sin and must give enough pennies to the church after death so that they can communicate with God and wash away their sins to gain eternal life. This is what all the monks he has seen say, and Smith believes it without a doubt.

Seeing that Jason didn't say anything, Smith didn't say anything more. He and Jason's father only had a little old friendship and couldn't interfere too much in his private affairs.

The only sound in the blacksmith shop was the thumping of forging.

"Wait, why are there swords again? Isn't the war over?" Jason picked up an embryo and suddenly spoke in surprise.

"Furman's entourage just came over and said they need to urgently craft a batch of new weapons."

"But aren't we going to make hoes and plows?"

Cooper Castle does not produce iron. All iron is purchased from outside. This batch of iron is very small. If weapons are made, farm tools will not be made.

Without farm tools, what should we do for spring plowing next year?
"Why do you care so much? Just focus on forging your iron!"

Smith glared at Jason. His family was not a free farmer, so why should he care about this?
Jason sniffed his nose and stopped talking. He didn't care about this, but suddenly recalled a scene in his memory: the monks of St. Martin's Abbey accepted the Finney that Jason's neighbors had finally gathered to wash away their sins, but turned around and used it to buy a batch of cider for themselves.
……

"Master, have a drink of apple wine~"

Ryan gently filled a cup of warm and fragrant cider for Luc, and then, without hesitation, filled a cup for himself, drank it down, and took a sip of satisfaction.
"It's delicious, much better than kvass, sir. Didn't you say that if we wait a few years for the apple orchard to mature, the wine we make will be even better than this? I can't wait to taste it~"

Luc sipped the hot wine, looked at Ryan who was lazily, and nodded with a smile, "No problem, I'll let you have a taste first."

The apple orchard has grown a lot. No longer seedlings, they have not only successfully withstood the snow disaster, but also turned a disaster into a blessing in disguise, eliminating many pests hidden in the soil. It is estimated that they will grow even better next year.

Whether it was because of the alcohol or other reasons, Ryan suddenly felt a little sleepy. After greeting Luke, he left the castle and returned to his cabin to sleep.

Luc watched Ryan leave, quietly downed the remaining wine, and then told Lisa to store the bottles. With the disaster, all alcoholic beverages had to be brewed in small quantities. It was estimated that this would be the only drink available until next autumn. An hour ago, Ryan finally brought all the food back to the manor.

Excluding 150 pounds of waste grain, the total of more than 1,800 pounds of rye gave Luc enough confidence, and the big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

As long as we eat sparingly, we should be able to make it until spring.

Luc was now extremely glad that he had forged the identity of a Cluny Church grain transport team, otherwise this batch of grain might really be swallowed by David. Even so, Luc still paid an extra 100 pfennigs before getting all the grain back.
As he expected, the snowstorm also hit David's village.

"Well, the wooden wall can't be repaired for the time being, and there's not enough food."

Luc looked out the window. The wooden wall was half built. There were towering walls in front of the Knight's Castle and on the left side. It looked very imposing at first glance.

Of course, this is only relative, compared to the Knight's Castle which originally only had a few dilapidated thatched houses.

Eugene did not die, but was transferred back to the Knight's Castle to work as a groom. Miller's fever was not serious, and he was well-nourished, so he was fed some hot food and survived. The sled was also successfully found on the road, and surprisingly, there was no damage. It seems that little Maiman's craftsmanship is really good.

Now with the addition of this batch of grain, the impact of the snow disaster has been gradually erased, except for a small loss that has been discovered.

—Like the wild grapevines on the other side of the river.

I'm afraid most of them are dead.

"Grapes are a good thing and shouldn't be wasted. I'm going to send someone out to collect some seeds tomorrow and plant some land next year!"

After the disaster, we naturally have to look to the future.

Luc got back on track with the development of the estate.

First of all, regarding arable land, Luc planned to cultivate enough farmland in the north and west of the existing arable land to support the survival of forty people as public land of the manor.

Luc calculated that if an ordinary village wanted to support a family by farming, each family would probably need ten acres of land.

That's an average of two acres per person.

But Luc has fertilizers and advanced farm tools, and its output is five times that of other areas. So forty people only need about forty acres of arable land.

That way, when they grew their own rye and lettuce, they could get enough to survive and pay their taxes.

Moreover, the year before, Luc had planned to collect only one-tenth of the tax, a true one-tenth, without any additional miscellaneous donations.

And after three years of cultivation, the public land will become their own land, and they will be transformed from serfs to real free farmers.

This was not because Luc was merciful, but because he was just fulfilling his promise. Besides, it was impossible for a manor to be populated entirely by serfs.

Where did the serfs come from?
Of course it’s the future population.

Luke will never stop absorbing population. At least the salt mine and the iron mountain need people. Oh, and there are no blacksmiths yet.

Therefore, those who came later were serfs unless they made extraordinary contributions.
However, in return, everyone in the manor also has the obligation to participate in the construction of public facilities and cultivate their own fields.

Yes, the existing nearly forty acres of land will all become Luc's private land!

"Well, the lighting on the hillside is good, so we can grow grape vines." Luke said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)