I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 11 Uncovering a Layer of Soil

On the hillside, slaves carried logs, working hard to build Rhodes' manor.

Rhodes planned to have six cabins: his own main house, a dormitory for his guards and servants, a guest room for Gaunt and his brothers, and two more to be used as storage.

There were originally three rooms in the courtyard, but three more need to be built, as well as a cellar.

Under Lawrence's supervision, the slaves worked with great enthusiasm.

Not far from them, in the open space outside the courtyard, the townspeople surrounded Otto, making a noisy commotion like boiling water.

They cannot cultivate the land, gather wild crops, or fish in the river.

Everyone in Frostleaf Town was bored out of their minds.

Although they lacked knowledge, they all understood the principle of "sitting idle and eating away one's fortune" by watching the wooden buckets filled with wheat gradually become shallower each day.

When they heard that they could get free breakfast and lunch for working, everyone rushed to sign up for Ou Tuo.

This way, the family's food consumption can be reduced by more than half.

As for the so-called work points, most people didn't care about them.

Can the lord return the grain he took?
It's more practical to eat it.

This angered the farmers who hadn't been able to register.

"Oto, I am stronger than your son, why don't you want me?" The strong farmer, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall, complained indignantly.

"You're too late, there are already enough people," Otto said nonchalantly.

This further angered the strong farmer.
"That won't do! Why should your son register first? That's not fair!"

"Yes, it's unfair!"

"The lord told you first, so of course your son can register first!"

"Your son isn't even as tall as the wall, but if he can do it, so can I!"

"Oto, you have plenty of grain, so don't try to take it from us..."

……

Other townspeople who hadn't registered chimed in to lend their support.

Otto was not a lord after all, and this time Rhodes did not send him any guards. The townspeople were not afraid of him and took the opportunity to vent their previous grievances.

Of course, Otto didn't handle this matter well either.

In this era, issuing orders is not like in Rhodes' previous life, where everyone would know if a message was sent in a group chat.

In a normal territory, there would be messengers who would relay messages down the chain of command.

Kelude is currently just a makeshift team, and Otto naturally has no experience either.

He relayed the lord's order to a few friends, asking them to spread it throughout the town, but by the time many received the message, it was too late.

Especially the physically strong men felt that they deserved this kind of work even more.

The barrage of criticism threw Otto off balance, but his sons remained defiant and confronted everyone aggressively.

"What's all this commotion about?"

Just as a fight was about to break out, Durant's serious voice rang out.

Everyone turned around and saw Rod and Durant appear before them.

"Good day, my lord."

The townspeople bowed their heads in respect and stepped aside to make way for them.

Rod stared at Otto with a questioning look and said coldly, "Can't you handle such a small matter?"

Otto quickly jogged forward, bowed, and said, "I'm so sorry, my lord, I didn't expect so many people to be willing to serve you..."

"You mean my people all hate me?"

"No, no, you've misunderstood..."

Rod ignored Otto and focused his gaze on the townspeople. "Do we have any grudges against each other?"

"No, my lord."

"No."

The townspeople responded, but their voices sounded somewhat lacking in confidence.

Rod smiled and said, "So, are you all willing to work for me?"

"Of course I'm willing!" "I'm willing, my lord!"

"It's because Auto is preventing us from serving you!"

This time, more townspeople spoke up, and their voices were louder.

"Alright, I now need fifty men to till the land and ten women to cook, with the same treatment as before."

"I me me!"

"I have strength!"

"My cooking is the best!"

……

Rhodes' words were like a brick thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up countless responses.

Rod waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, then looked at Otto.
"For digging holes and turning the soil, we prioritize those who are strong and powerful. For collecting dead leaves and weeds, we require those who are quick on their feet and familiar with the mountain paths. Do I need to teach you that?"

"You, you're right!" Otto echoed fearfully.

"I'll give you one more chance. If you mess this up again, you'll be in for a beating."

Rod glanced at Otto, then turned and left without waiting for a reply.

Behind them came cheers such as "Well done, lord!" and "The lord is truly amazing!"

Rhodes wasn't pleased to hear this; he just felt that these people were too honest, easily swayed by a little bit of benefit and a few words.

This immediately transformed the class conflict into an internal conflict among them.

When Rhodes bestows some favors upon them in the future, these people will forget that Rhodes once took 60% of their property.

Of course, in the end, it was the fact that the nobles of this era exploited people too much that made Rhodes seem less ruthless.

The farming method in Shuangye Town was originally broadcasting. When the harvest was good, each mu (unit of land area) could yield 100 jin (unit of weight) of rye, but when the harvest was bad, it would only yield 50 or 60 jin.

This involves not only crop diseases and pests, but also thieves such as rats and sparrows.

If crops are planted year after year, the soil will become barren, leading to a reduction in grain production.

When Rod arrived, the previous sowing method of scattering seeds could not be used; instead, normal cultivation methods were adopted.

After removing the barren land and adding cultivation techniques such as fertilizer, irrigation, and weeding, Rod estimated that the yield could be increased to 200 jin.

If you select the best and plumpest seeds, the yield should be able to increase to 250 to 300 jin (1250 to 1500 kg).

To be self-sufficient, it would conservatively require 1,000 acres of land.

Therefore, Rhodes ultimately decided to cultivate 1,000 acres of high-quality land with meticulous care.

Of course, the other farmland will still be cultivated, but without the addition of fertilizer.

After all, as a lord, Rhodes needed to have food reserves, and he also needed to fulfill the requirements for becoming a crop lord.

However, the amount of fertilizer needed for a thousand acres is still astronomical.

To make up for the lack of excrement, everything usable would be scavenged.

Not only the withered grass and fallen leaves, but even the soil mixed with the humus layer.

Fortunately, even ten-year-old children and sixty-year-olds can do things like gathering grass and digging soil. In order to collect more fertilizer, eventually everyone in Frostleaf Town embarked on the business of gathering grass and digging soil.

Furthermore, in order to improve efficiency, Rhodes distributed all the farm tools he had seized from the Jinsha caravan, leaving none behind.

The townspeople of Frostleaf Town swarmed like locusts, scraping the ground in the mountains and forests.

The forest, which was originally full of natural charm, now looks like a city about to undergo a sanitation inspection, and has been swept clean.

During this process, the townspeople discovered the habitat of birds such as sparrows, and piles of bird droppings were dug up along with the droppings.

As for those ponds and mud pits filled with silt, a layer of mud was stripped away, revealing the hard soil underneath.

Rhodes was still regretting that there was no swamp in his territory, otherwise he wouldn't have to worry about fertilizer.

Based on the knowledge obtained from the system, Rhodes sent people to valleys and river bends to collect debris from the weathered granite, then crushed it into fine powder and sprinkled it into the composted fertilizer at a ratio of 100 kilograms per ton.

Weathered granite contains potassium, although it cannot compare to the potassium fertilizer of the previous life, it can still improve the soil.

While the townspeople were collecting these materials, Rod was also busy, and he started composting as soon as the cesspool was dug.

For the first composting, Rod will stay on site to provide instruction.

But looking at that viscous mixture of yellow and black, Rhodes swore he would never do it himself.

(End of this chapter)