I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 57: The Campaign Against Lice

Luc's prediction was correct. Two days later, the rain did stop, and the bright sunlight replaced the dark sky. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadows.

It was on this day that Luc dragged Ryan out and said sternly to him, seeing his reluctant expression:

"Listen carefully, today we are not going to do anything else but wash our clothes and then wash our bodies, hair, beards, and everything else!"

"Master, do you really need to take a bath? Bathing can cause illness."

Ryan looked at Luc's solemn expression and felt that the master was making a big deal out of nothing.
Lice and fleas are common on everyone. For so many years, I've just endured them. Why do I have to take a bath?
In fact, it’s not that Ryan doesn’t like taking a bath, but no one in Frank likes taking a bath.

The tradition of bathing was not only not disliked in the Roman Empire, but was strongly sought after, and various bathhouses emerged one after another.

But after the fall of Rome, the custom of bathing became a despised phenomenon.

Nowadays, people generally believe that bathing can lead to human depravity, such as becoming more licentious. Some even say that bathing can bring bad luck and disease.

But this was not the peak period of not taking a bath. After a plague swept across the continent a few hundred years later, taking a bath became something that people were afraid to talk about.

Hearing Ryan's words, Luc took a deep breath and didn't deny his point. He just patted him on the shoulder and said, "Ryan, remember the last time we were in the monastery? I prayed to God after I went in. Bathing won't bring us disease because we are blessed by God. It will only drive away the hateful lice and fleas. God answered me, answered me through the mouth of Abbot Pierre."

"Really?"

Ryan's eyes widened, half believing and half doubting.

Of course, he couldn't go to verify it, and he also trusted Luc very much. After all, Luc had created too many miracles in his eyes, but he only got a response from God. This made Ryan subconsciously feel that something was wrong.

"Alright! I'm the master and you're the slave. I order you to quickly boil a pot of hot water!"

Luke pushed Ryan away in annoyance. Seeing that the other party finally went to boil water, he collected a bunch of plants and started burning them to make ash.

Ryan was right about one thing.

Lice and fleas are now the norm, and like rats, they can never be killed off. As long as you live in a thatched bed, they will always be there.

Luc actually had a lot of them on him, and he gradually got used to them over the long days.

But self-adaptation and seeing with your own eyes are completely different things. Just like sometimes when you get a cut on your body, if you don’t see it, you won’t feel any pain at all. Only when you notice it, will you feel the pain.

Similarly, when he found out that Ryan had picked out the lice and strangled them to death, Luc suddenly felt an indescribable discomfort all over his body, as if ten thousand fleas were jumping around on his body!
Burn the wood ash, take a container and fill it up, go to the edge of the forest to cut down a branch, saw it in half, and then plane it with a plane to make a simple pestle.

After the rain subsided, the river naturally receded. Luke found a smooth stone slab and moved it to the stream. He took out a pig-bristle brush to clean the dirt on it, then used his experience in weaving straw raincoats to weave a thatched skirt for himself. Then he took off all his clothes, slapped them on the stone slab, wet it with stream water, pinched out a handful of wood ash and sprinkled it on it, and swung the pestle to beat it continuously.

Linen clothes are very absorbent and soon became heavy. The cool stream water, which is not hard, seeped into the fabric. A few faint black spots flashed across the cold stream water and the smooth stones. Luc could guarantee that they were fleas without a doubt!

This is what was captured by the naked eye, and there are probably many more that have not been discovered.

After repeatedly beating and rubbing it many times until it was almost clean, Luc straightened up, rubbed his sore muscles, and shouted to Ryan:
"Come to me when the water boils. Then wash your clothes well, just like I did. Your thatched skirt will be ready at the same time!"

Ryan heard the shouting and came over, imitating Luc and beating his clothes.

Turning around, Luc tied the clothes in the middle of the sunny trees with peeled vines, then took some of the ash away. Instead of taking a shower first, he picked up the wooden thorns made by Ryan, lowered his head underwater, and began to scratch his hair.

Luc first thrust the wooden splinter into his hair, then pulled it outwards. A searing pain shot through his head. He gathered the splinter to the ends of his hair, and a crackling noise followed. Lice, dander, dandruff, grease, and other substances previously hidden within fell away like snowflakes.
Luc closed his eyes and mouth tightly, fearing that a little bit of hair would fall in. When the hair was almost collected, Luc filled a wooden basin with hot water, soaked it, and then washed it carefully with wood ash.

Actually, soap is the best cleaning product, but Luc lacks the right materials, such as shells. After all, this is not the seaside and it requires a lot of oil.
After washing his hair, his body was much easier to deal with. Using a resin-coated wooden stick dipped in fine sand as a scrubbing tool, Luc plunged into the stream and used the last bit of wood ash to wash his body thoroughly clean.

A lot of mud and dirt floated away along the stream, and Luc felt refreshed, as if his body was lighter.

But Luc did not forget that whether it was washing clothes, cleaning hair, or taking a bath and scrubbing mud, the fundamental purpose was to kill lice.

After finishing his personal hygiene, Luc dragged a pile of thatch into the house, spread sand on the floor and around it, then spread the thatch on top and lit a fire. The sand prevented the wooden house from being burned.

"For a short time, I should be free from lice."

The task of eradicating lice is a long and arduous one, and things like this will happen again in the future.

Luc sighed tiredly and turned around just in time to see Ryan stepping into the river with a grin on his face, washing himself.

……

After people have temporarily satisfied their personal survival needs, they will naturally strive to further improve their quality of life.

If Luc did not have a warm and solid shelter and plenty of delicious food, he would never have bothered to maintain personal hygiene, just as a dying person does not care whether he has fleas on his body.

Robert felt like he was going to die.

Especially after experiencing a heavy rain, the weak virus carried by the rain seemed to penetrate into his mind, making his forehead gradually feel hot.

The three hazelnuts left in his arms were his only food. In fact, he was already close to the forest, and there must be a lot of nuts in the forest, but he might not be able to eat them.
Robert actually didn't care much about his own death. He just turned his gaze to his crying wife, revealing deep apology.

"Mary."

Robert stretched out a hand, and the middle-aged woman who heard the call quickly held it tightly with both hands.

"Mary, leave me alone and take the children with you. Remember to be careful. There is food in the forest, but there may also be wild animals."

"Don't say that, dear. You won't die yet. God will protect you. Let me carry you on my back and continue on my journey. You'll get better if you find something to eat!"

Mary held Robert's hand tightly and her tears fell as she spoke.

Robert smiled bitterly and shook his head. He heard two miserable cries. He slowly turned his gaze and looked at the two children who were crying bitterly after hearing what their parents said.

Who likes death?
If his wife could carry him away, Robert would certainly not refuse, but in that case, Mary would not be able to take better care of the two children.

"Mary, take good care of Miller and Julie. They are still too young. If possible, find a manor on the other side of the forest and settle down there."

"Poor Robert, have you forgotten what kind of people those lords are? If you die, how could they allow a woman like me to live with two children under ten years old?"

Mary's desperate words made Robert's eyes turn sad, and he remained silent for a long time.

(End of this chapter)