Gold Mine and Sowing

Gold Mine and Sowing

According to the large map, this Salt Mine was only forty kilometers from Sigg Town in a straight line.

If they were willing to spare no expense, it was not impossible to quickly clear a route for mining and transport.

More importantly, the salt deposit was very shallow. There was no need to dig a hundred meters deep; at most, digging ten-odd meters would be enough.

It was practically an open-pit Salt Mine, which was quite rare.

They had found a Salt Mine, but Romain was not completely satisfied.

He was a Lord. To develop his territory, he needed a great deal of resources to support it.

Because he had no capital, he did not even have the confidence to go out and rob people yet. He needed to keep building up his strength and raise a professional army.

And resources came from labor and production.

If there was no salt, then he would look for other resources:

If the mineral veins were poor, then he would hunt wild beasts and use their pelts to accumulate initial capital;

If the fur trade could not last, then he would develop light industries—textiles, livestock farming, handicrafts, brewing, shipbuilding, and cash-crop cultivation.

In any case, he had to boost the economy. Only with an economy could he convert it into military strength.

Only with military strength would he dare to go out and rob people, giving them two solid punches.

And every one of these industries required enough labor to keep running.

Farming might be the foundation of everything, but it could not bring in greater wealth.

Romain hoped even more to find a large Gold Mine or silver mine that was easy to exploit. Failing that, a copper mine or iron mine would do. He truly was not picky.

Most extraordinary resources in this world came from such mineral veins.

If he wanted to get rich overnight, then mining was the only way!

Nothing was more important than mining, except farming.

After that, the three continued onward.

Romain found traces of another Coal Mine, but it was located deep within a mountain. It would be difficult to exploit and require too much labor, so he chose to abandon it.

This entire stretch of land belonged to him.

Romain felt he had every right to be selective and choose the best mining sites.

Progress through the wilderness was difficult. At times they crossed sparse plains, at times perilous ridges and valleys, and at times damp marshes. Even on horseback, they could not cover more than seventy or eighty kilometers in a day.

Romain's goal was clear: to search for steep terrain, highland valleys, and similar places. Due to geological structures, mineral veins were highly likely to appear in such terrain.

Before nightfall, Romain set up a temporary camp beside a stream. He used flint to light a bonfire and roasted the wild boar meat from the day. His technique remained a terrible sight to behold; a little cooking experience could not instantly turn Romain into a master chef.

Green chose to eat dry rations.

He thought to himself, This isn't a picnic at all. It's clearly a dark-cuisine workshop.

Night fell, but the bonfire continued to burn.

Its bright, warm flames drove away the darkness and wild beasts.

Romain covered Gevra with a wool blanket, while he and Green leaned against tree trunks and slept in their clothes.

Both of them were sturdy enough, and their clothes were quite thick, so they were not worried about catching cold.

At dawn the next day, they set out once more.

Throughout the day, Romain kept illuminating the map and resource map.

In the end, he found three stone quarries and a Gold Mine.

Yes, a Gold Mine!

Romain stared at the Gold Mine marker on the map.

This Gold Mine might not have much output and could only be considered a small mineral vein. It was located in dangerous terrain, within a ridge valley, and would be difficult to exploit... but it was still a Gold Mine.

Mining these veins would require vast amounts of manpower and material resources.

Romain let out a soft breath and steadied his mindset.

Taking too big a step made it easy to split your pants.

There was plenty of time ahead.

Having achieved his goal, Romain led Green and Gevra back.

They did not return to Origin Manor until the afternoon of the third day.

The Maids, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward to help them unload their things.

At the dining table, Romain told Seth about the Salt Mine.

This rare burst of excitement lit up the usually rigid Old Steward.

He had thought much further ahead than Green had expected.

Sigg Town's main output was grain for sale. If they truly discovered a Salt Mine, then Sigg Town would gain another pillar industry.

This was no longer development—it was instant wealth.

The coastal regions of this land lacked sufficient sunlight for salt drying, while inland salt-producing areas had always been scarce.

Behind the successful exploitation of a salt-producing area often lay the game of several powerful nobles.

Yet now, Sigg Town had actually discovered a Salt Mine... the potential profits were immeasurable.

Romain, however, said, "The Salt Mine can wait. We're preparing to sow tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." Seth seemed distracted, still considering just how significant that Salt Mine was and what consequences it might bring.

There would be no problem in the short term, but in the long term...

Would Grand Duke Armor-Splitting need to intervene when necessary?

Romain did not know what Seth was thinking. He merely nodded.

It was Romain's nineteenth day in Sigg Town.

Before the sun had fully risen, Romain gathered all able-bodied laborers, Stewards, and guards in Sigg Town.

He also had the selected high-quality seeds and fermented fertilizer transported to the fields by Ox Carts, horse-drawn carts, and other vehicles.

Then, before everyone's eyes, Romain personally demonstrated the specific details and steps of sowing.

Manure was a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. It improved the soil structure, making it loose, soft, and well-aerated. This not only benefited the growth and development of crop roots, but also improved the soil's ability to retain water and nutrients.

Romain used row fertilization and Fertilizer-Supported Sowing—burying the fertilizer nine centimeters deep in the soil, then sowing the seeds three centimeters deep, with the fertilizer supporting the wheat seeds from beneath.

The fertilizer below would provide part of the nutrients these wheat seeds needed while sprouting and taking root.

Romain demonstrated the approximate amount of seed and fertilizer to use.

One hundred tons of fertilizer sounded like a lot, but when spread out, each mu of land received only a hundred jin of fertilizer. It was actually far from enough.

Good steel had to be used on the blade. Using row sowing and row fertilization would make the best possible use of the Humus Fertilizer and avoid waste.

And having five jin of fertilizer supply the nutrients for one and a half jin of wheat seeds was extremely tight in Romain's view. By modern planting standards, at least several dozen jin of Humus Fertilizer were needed to support one jin of wheat seed. But he had no time to compost more fertilizer, so he could only hope that this fertile soil would be able to sustain those seeds.

Of course, while the wheat was growing, Romain would apply an additional round of fertilizer according to its growth, probably another fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty jin, to ensure the wheat would not starve to death during its later stages of growth.

There was no rush for that. After setting the standard sowing procedures, Romain had Mol and the Stewards supervise the matter—really, it was not difficult. It depended on whether one was willing to put in the effort.

The standard for every mu of land was thirty jin of wheat seed and at least one hundred jin of fertilizer.

It took more than half a day to finally notify everyone.

First came the assignment of tasks. Those carrying fertilizer carried fertilizer, those transporting wheat seed transported wheat seed, placing them in advance on each mu of land. As for how many mu each person was responsible for, this method of allocation was not complicated. It was similar to the earlier deep plowing; everyone was merely one link in the collective labor.

As long as basic execution was ensured, efficiency could be greatly improved.

Under the commands of Seth, the Stewards, Aaron, Green, and the others, the seven or eight hundred people began working in an orderly fashion.

This was a mode of production the farmers of this era had never experienced before.

As for Romain himself, he had long since gathered the eighty farmwomen responsible for lunch and personally led them in preparing the meal at the edge of the fields.

He had over two hundred jin of the previously smoked, air-dried, and salt-cured wild boar, wolf, deer, bear meat, and other meats chopped into large chunks and thrown into huge iron pots.

Those huge iron pots had been forged by the blacksmith Laxus over several days using the remaining Iron Ingots, at Romain's request.

Mol had the Slaves bring over a hundred jin of salt from home.

Ever since learning that Romain had found a Salt Mine on land thirty or forty kilometers away, the Agricultural Officer had unhesitatingly contributed all the salt he had accumulated and stored at home.

Romain was responsible for chopping the meat and vegetables, generously scattering large handfuls of salt over them.

The flames beneath the pots burned fiercely, and a rich aroma of meat gradually spread far into the distance. It made the farmers, who were laboriously bending over to sow seeds and apply fertilizer, salivate, and their hands moved noticeably faster.

After adapting over the past few days, they also knew who that lunch was being prepared for.

It was not until nearly one in the afternoon that Romain announced the end of the morning's work.

Everyone lined up to receive their food.

By then, the second pot of meat was also ready, steaming and fragrant.

Every Wooden Bowl received a large chunk of meat, a generous ladleful of salty meat broth, and plenty of whole-wheat bread.