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

Chapter 7 Do You Have a Dream?

[Knowledge of Fertile Soil (White): You have a clear understanding of the characteristics and fertility of the land, can determine what types of crops are suitable for planting, and can identify which herbs might grow naturally in the surrounding area. Your observation skills are increased by 10%.]

A flood of information rushed into Rod's mind, all of it knowledge about land features and crops.

It includes not only the characteristics of fertile soil and its possible locations, but also knowledge on how to improve soil nutrition, and so on.

The most noteworthy feature is a set of standards for scoring land fertility; as long as the score is above 60, the corresponding crops can be cultivated.

"It works even better than I expected!"

Rod breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly impressed.

With the [Knowledge of Fertile Land], Rhodes can accurately determine which existing farmlands can continue to be cultivated and which must be left fallow.

In addition to crops, the information also includes the growth and cultivation information of various herbs, so that herbs can be collected accurately when hiking.

Even if Rhodes doesn't go himself, he can teach others to improve collection efficiency.

Rhodes stood still and looked around. The land around him was rated 69 points for wheat and 78 points for rye.

It was similar to the result of Rod's visual judgment, but more accurate.

Rod immediately ordered people to mark the farmland, and then quickly ran to the land that he had previously thought was barren to take a look.

Wheat cultivation received a score of 52, and rye cultivation received a score of 65.

Then the third plot of land, the fourth plot of land...

It took another day for Rod to run all over the hillside, classifying the surrounding farmland according to whether it could be cultivated and whether it could be cultivated as wheat or rye.

Of course, there are still farmlands in the more distant wastelands that Rhodes needs to inspect, while the land in the town will be left for growing vegetables.

Classifying farmland is only the first step; this year, when cultivating Rhodes, we can't let them just sow seeds.

Therefore, the first thing Rod did upon returning to town was to order his companion, Otto,
"Pass down the order to collect all the excrement in the town and dig a pit outside the town to store it in a centralized manner."

Otto instinctively wanted to ask why they were collecting that feces, but remembering the scolding he had received earlier, he immediately shut up and simply nodded respectfully in response.

"From now on, no one is allowed to dump manure buckets or defecate anywhere in the town. Anyone caught doing so will be fined fifty catties of rye!"

Rhodes's order wasn't just about unlocking the next entry; it was also about creating a clean and normal living environment for himself.

Yes, that's normal.

In this era, there is no concept of toilets, and people are used to defecating anywhere.

At night and when it's cold, they would defecate in wooden buckets and then dump it indiscriminately, resulting in puddles of urine everywhere on the streets, some of which were also filled with feces.

In noble castles, where servants keep things tidy, it's a bit better, but in densely populated towns, the problem is much worse; in the summer, the air becomes filled with a stench and flies swarm around.

Fortunately, the weather in Frostleaf Town is still cool, and the ground has just thawed, so there is no scene of urine flowing everywhere.

otherwise--

Rhodes will never allow that scenario to happen in the future.

“If we go outside the town every time, we might not be able to hold it in…” Otto couldn’t help but whisper.

"Dig several pits in various parts of the town, build a wooden fence to block them, and use them specifically for excretion and dumping of excrement!"

Rod glanced at Otto and said irritably, "You're all human beings, don't you want a clean and tidy living environment?"

"Think about it, you're right, Your Excellency."

Otto nodded repeatedly.

This time, he genuinely agreed.

Everyone hates that stinking excrement, but no one has thought about solving it, nor has anyone had the ability to do so.

"You have one day. We will assign you two soldiers. You can find the workers yourself."

Rod looked at Otto seriously.

"If there's a pile of shit on the street the day after tomorrow morning, you can expect to be whipped!"

"Don't worry, it will be cleaned up thoroughly!"

Otto patted his chest and guaranteed it.

After a long day of running around on various hillsides, all Rod wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.

But the sour smell on his body was unbearable for him. He wanted to take a hot bath but there was no hot water available, so he had to ask Gunle to tell the slaves to quickly boil a pot of water.

“You need a butler and a servant; three are not enough.”

Gunther reminded him.

Rhodes nodded in agreement. Now, the three slaves who originally belonged to Matt's household were in charge of serving the guards and providing Rhodes with meals.

Slaves don't care who their masters are, as long as they have food to eat and aren't beaten.

However, the workload of three slaves in feeding more than twenty people was quite heavy, so Rhodes did not blame anyone for the lack of hot water.

Rhodes originally planned to finish building the manor before adding more people, but now it seems the matter of servants will have to be brought forward.

At least two people need to be found to take care of your daily needs.

"Good day, Your Excellency,"

As Rhodes was pondering this, Lawrence walked over with a stack of records.

"You have completed the tasks of collecting taxes and conducting population statistics that you assigned."

"It was completed in just two days, that's quite fast."

Rod took the record and looked at it.

The record above shows that there are a total of 358 people in Frostleaf Town, including 99 eligible adult males and 97 adult females.

There are 15 elderly people over 60 years old and 147 children under 16 years old, including 97 children under 9 years old.

This is an overview of the records, followed by details for each family.

"Great, Lawrence, I really like your statistical method."

Fifteen-year-olds are considered adult laborers, while those between fifteen and ten are considered half-laborers in this era.

At the same time, due to poor food, people over sixty years old have decreased physical strength and can only be considered as weak laborers.

In this era, the natural lifespan of ordinary people is fifty to sixty years, and very few live to be over sixty.

Of course, exceptions include Cavaliers like Durant.

Rod glanced at the various families' assets; most of them weren't too poor.

After all, the absence of a domineering lord over the years has allowed the townspeople to accumulate some wealth, especially in terms of grain.

The population is simply too small.

"Are there any people who pay taxes but still don't have enough to eat?" Rod asked.

Paying taxes is about establishing rules, but it shouldn't mean letting people starve.

Otherwise, who would stay here?
If Rhodes wants to expand, he needs to stabilize the townspeople before recruiting more people.

"some!"

Lawrence pulled out a piece of parchment as if presenting a treasure, and reported, "The families under this line don't have enough food for three months."

Especially this last family, a mother and her two daughters with a child, only had fifty pounds of rye left, probably not even enough to make porridge.

Rhodes read it carefully and nodded in approval.

"Lawrence, you're smart; you know what I want."

"Thank you for your appreciation."

Lawrence had a big smile on his face.

He understood that although Rhodes appeared fierce, as a lord he did not want his people to starve to death.

Otherwise, Rod wouldn't have spent the last two days since he arrived, constantly working on the farmland.

Therefore, after completing the statistics, Lawrence immediately marked the families who might not be able to afford food.

"You said I did a good job before, so you'll charge me less gold coins..."

Lawrence rubbed his hands together expectantly.

"Don't worry about that, I don't want any of your ransom."

Rod waved his hand generously, and Lawrence's eyes lit up with surprise.

“Thank you very much, Your Excellency Baron, you are the most generous lord in the Shattered Rock Empire…”