I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 29 Parsnip

With the experience of red deer, Luc quickly completed the drying of pork and the making of pigskin. During this period, Luc did not forget to repair the chicken coop.

The weather was getting colder, and Luc had stopped showering. He inevitably smelled of sweat, but no matter how pungent the sweat odor was, it was not as overbearing as the black and white chicken droppings.

Taking advantage of the nice weather, Luc and Ryan renovated the chicken coop:
The original chicken coop was not big, but there was no need to expand it. There were few pheasants, so a smaller one would be better at storing heat.

First, the outside of the chicken coop was thickened with wood and stone to protect it from wind and cold, and then sand was laid inside to prevent moisture. After all, the humidity in winter would make the chickens even colder. Then a layer of thatch was laid to keep them warm.

Then Luc asked Ryan to build a wooden basin for the chicken coop. If you want to keep the pheasants warm, feeding them hot water frequently is a good choice.

To be honest, in this day and age, even drinking hot water has a cost, such as consuming firewood.
So next spring, Luc planned to build a cave to cut wood, make charcoal and make earthen bricks.

After completing the above steps, build a wooden door to isolate the cold wind, and the chicken coop renovation is complete.

In fact, when pheasants spend the winter in the wild, the environment is far harsher than this. They find a sheltered bush or rock and dig a shallow hole under the snow to make their nest.

The reason why the two pheasants were almost frozen to death was simply because Luc's previous chicken coop was leaky on all sides. They wanted to find a place sheltered from the wind, but there were fences all around blocking their way. They couldn't escape and could only endure it.

After a simple repair, Luc drove the pheasants in the house to their original chicken coop. He thought everything would go smoothly, but he didn't expect that the couple would become addicted to living in Luc's house. They kept circling and crowing in the house for a long time and refused to leave.

They are not stupid. There is a fireplace in Luc's room and it is warm every day. Who would want to go out and freeze?
In desperation, Luc had to catch the two pheasants one by one and throw them into the chicken coop.

Luke clapped his hands and prepared to continue shoveling the chicken manure out of the cabin. At this moment, Ryan suddenly ran out from the forest excitedly.
"Master, guess what I found!"

From a long distance away, Ryan ran and shouted at the top of his voice. He was going to collect apples. The apple trees still had fruits in this season, and the cold even concentrated the sweetness of the flesh, making it more delicious to eat.

Seeing Ryan's ecstatic look, without waiting for Luc to ask, Ryan, who had just stood beside Luc, gasped for breath and couldn't help but said:
"Master Parsnip, I found Parsnip!"

Parsnip?
Looking at Ryan's excited eyes, Luke frowned little by little. What was that?
Seeing Luc's puzzled look, Ryan was a little surprised: "Master, have you never seen parsnip?"

"It's white and long."

Ryan gestured to the appearance of a parsnip: "It has umbrella-like leaves on the top, and the bottom is like... like a radish!"

“My family used to dig parsnips in the winter when bread wasn’t enough.”

"Of course, we don't have many parsnips where we are, so we can't dig many each time."

“But just now, I found a whole field of parsnips at the end of the apple tree!”

Ryan danced with joy, and Luc roughly understood it.
——This guy discovered a new vegetable!

Ever since they felt the food was unbalanced, after dealing with the wild boar, Luc and his companions continued to collect various fruits and vegetables. They dug wild vegetables such as dandelions for several days, but still couldn't put together a full wicker basket. Now, when they heard that Ryan had found some parsnips, Luc couldn't sit still anymore. He picked up the wicker basket and rushed to the forest with Ryan.

The broad-leaved mixed forest where Luc was located grew naturally into several pieces. The apple trees were deep in the dense forest in the southeast direction. Wading through the forest to the edge, following the direction of Ryan's finger, there were indeed large umbrella-shaped leaves blooming there.

Looking around, Luc vaguely remembered that he had been here before, but he might have been too busy looking at the apples to notice the parsnips. Of course, he didn't recognize it at that time.

Ryan trotted forward, grabbed the leaves with both hands, and pulled hard. A vegetable that looked like ginseng and radish was held in Ryan's hand.

The roots, covered in mud, are covered in small pits and exposed to the sun.

"It's as spicy as an onion when eaten raw, but when pureed or roasted it becomes incredibly sweet and delicious!"

Ryan held the parsnip above his head, his grin widening like a guy holding a corn. It was no wonder Ryan was so happy. Luke considered parsnips a vegetable, but in Ryan's eyes, they were a staple food, even a substitute for flour in some cases. Moreover, their sweet taste alone was enough to make people love them.

Sweetness, or sugar, has always been a luxury in feudal society.

Especially now, looking around, whether you are in France or England, sugar can even be used directly as currency, and its value is several times higher than that of salt.

Plus, parsnips also contain a certain amount of starch.
All in all, it was a very good meal!

"Well done Ryan, it seems I made the right decision buying you from John."

Even without Ryan, Luc believed that he would discover parsnip sooner or later, but he would not be stingy with his praise for Ryan.

During this time together, Luc could see that this young man was very hardworking and able to endure hardships. Although he had experienced many disasters, his qualities were still good.

"I am willing to serve you, sir!"

"Let's not waste any more time digging. I have a feeling the next snow is coming!"

"Okay sir."

There were a lot of parsnips, so in order to collect them faster, Luc simply pushed a wheelbarrow to transport them. Half a day passed, and it took him seven or eight trips to transport most of the parsnips.

Looking at the remaining one-tenth of the parsnips, Luc and Ryan returned to the cabin with satisfaction. The way to survive is to keep some seeds so that they can continue to grow next year. Luc will not do anything like exhausting the resources.

Before retreating, Luc subconsciously glanced to the side and stopped in his tracks. In Ryan's puzzled eyes, Luc smiled and said:

".It seems today really is our lucky day. Look, what's that over there?"

Ryan squinted his eyes, and this time it was his turn to be puzzled.
There was only a green thorny plant in the direction Luc pointed. Ryan scratched his head. He recognized what the plant was, but he didn't understand why Luc said he was lucky.

"Master, those are nettles. They hurt when they touch you."

"I know."

Luc stroked his beard and said, "But it can also be eaten."

“Can I eat it?!”

Ryan's eyes widened. In his previous village, winter nettles were used as a criminal tool by the knights to punish disobedient serfs. As long as the nettles were slapped on the opponent's exposed back, the opponent would scream in pain in an instant.

Therefore, nettles have always been a symbol of bad luck, and no one would associate them with the word "eat".
However, Luc understood that nettles were indeed edible. Apart from anything else, in the winter when supplies were scarce, they were definitely sufficient to be used as vegetables to supplement nutrition after being boiled soft.

Luke took off the animal skin and used it as gloves to pick wild nettles. Ryan was right. Touching the nettles was like being stung by a wasp, so he had to be careful.

This time Luc didn't pick many, because judging by Ryan's expression, he definitely wouldn't eat any.

At night, a fragrant vegetable broth made with chopped parsnips, a small amount of dried meat, and some wild vegetable roots is served.

The sweet aroma of parsnips mixed with the rich meat is very appetizing.

The two of them devoured the delicious broth in no time, and the sky changed color.
December is officially here.

(End of this chapter)