What Once Seemed So Ordinary

What Once Seemed So Ordinary

Today marked Romain's thirtieth day in Sigg Town.

Sigg Town was hit by a heavy rainstorm.

Over the past month, this land had seen three or four rains, but they had all been light, only enough to dampen the ground. They had little effect on farming or labor and remained within Romain's tolerance.

Farmers were accustomed to working in the rain.

But today's rain was much heavier, as though the entire world had been shrouded in a hazy veil of mist.

The spring rain fell endlessly, fine as needles and cow hair, dense and unbroken.

Even after half a day, there was no sign of it weakening.

For once, Romain went back to sleep.

He had not rested during the past month. Every day had been packed full—plowing fields, chopping trees, or cutting vegetables. The workload had been immense, yet fulfilling, and he had seemed to possess endless energy.

But that was only an illusion. This body of flesh and blood still needed rest in the end.

After waking, Romain rinsed his mouth and headed straight for the hall.

Lunch that day consisted of braised cod, roasted suckling pig, stewed wild rabbit, buttered bread, onion soup, cheese, dried fruit, and more.

Aaron and Green sat in their chairs in boredom, neither seeming to have much appetite.

The endless drizzle had affected them as well, and for once, neither trained nor honed their martial skills.

Gevra, however, was unaffected by the weather. Standing on tiptoe, she stretched out her little hands and strained to tear off the crisp skin of the roasted suckling pig. Without a word, Aaron nudged the pig on the large platter toward her, finally allowing Gevra to grab hold of it.

She tore off a huge piece of crackling, then narrowed her eyes in delight as she happily ate it.

When she saw Romain arrive, the little girl immediately ran over and offered him the crisp pigskin in her hand as though presenting a treasure.

Romain merely patted her on the head, took his seat at the head of the table, picked up a piece of buttered bread, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He casually handed the cup of milk beside him to Gevra. "Drink more milk."

Gevra nodded, cradled the cup in both hands, and took small sips.

Romain had originally planned to level up his livestock farming skill.

Livestock farming was the main way to increase the output of meat, eggs, and milk.

Mol's household had two dairy cows. After Romain arrived, Mol had promptly sent Origin Manor a large amount of wheat and other provisions, along with a dairy cow and livestock such as pigs and sheep. That was why Origin Manor did not lack milk.

But in Romain's eyes, how could having only enough to meet the needs of a few people count as not lacking milk?

Improving the livestock farming skill was not difficult. He only needed to feed forage grass to cattle, sheep, and the like, while tending to their daily needs.

But livestock farming and crop cultivation were both long-term industries. They would not show results in the short term and required a long period of development.

Romain was currently desperately short of funds.

He needed to make a large amount of money as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he would not be able to keep selling dreams to those ignorant peasants.

Based on his estimate of the construction speed, it would take at least another half month to level the road before they could begin mining rock salt and refining it.

The road reinforcement work would not be completed for another two months.

The lime they had fired so far was nowhere near enough to pave the road.

Romain had no choice but to find another way to tide over this period of financial shortage—and give himself something to do in the process.

After lunch, Romain gave all the leftovers to the male slaves, maids, and the others.

Then he said to Aaron and Green, "If you two have nothing to do, come help me out."

Green complained, "You really never stop."

He had thought this spring rain would at least dampen some of Romain's enthusiasm.

"It's very simple."

Romain led the two of them to gather every container they could find, then took several hundred jin of wheat from the granary.

They washed and soaked the wheat in wooden basins and wooden barrels.

"Lord Romain, what are you doing?" Gevra bent over with her hands on her knees, watching Romain's movements curiously.

Romain smiled. "Making something to eat."

"Can I eat it?"

Romain said with a smile, "That depends on how you behave."

"Then I'll help too—" As Gevra spoke, her foot suddenly slipped, and she crashed right into Aaron's back as he crouched there washing wheat.

Aaron had been squatting on the balls of his feet. The impact struck his back, and his knees instantly hit the ground. He plunged headfirst into the wooden barrel, splashing water all over Romain.

Green tried to move farther away from them, but at some point a wooden basin had appeared behind him. He stepped on it, and the basin flipped up into the back of his knees. Caught off guard, Green immediately fell backward.

Splat~

Gurgle, gurgle~

The Wooden Basin spun in a circle before landing upside down on the ground with a slap.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Gevra stared at the chain of disasters she had caused. She was so frightened that she did not dare move at all, her eyes filled with anxiety and fear.

With the expression of a child who had done something wrong, she looked toward Romain.

Romain kept a straight face as he said, "...Not bad. You took down three knights with ease. I'll reward you with candy in a few days!"

He had not wanted to laugh.

But when he saw Aaron pull his head out of the Wooden Barrel, his hair covered in droplets and grains of wheat, along with Green's sprawled, belly-up frog-like pose, Romain could no longer hold it in and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha!"

Green sat up from the mud. Seeing how miserable they all looked, he first could not suppress a grin, then began laughing as well. Aaron pressed his lips together, desperately maintaining a serious and composed expression as he tried to control his trembling shoulders, but he ultimately failed and had no choice but to join in. At that moment, the three of them seemed like complete idiots, yet their hearts were filled only with joy and ease.

A fine drizzle fell outside, slanting across the sky, but hearty laughter rang out from within the granary, carrying farther and farther before fading away amid the swaying wind and rain...

No matter how many years passed, Gevra remembered that spring rain and those laughs.

All her panic and fear quietly vanished without a trace. The corners of her lips lifted unconsciously, and she smiled along with them.

That spring rain lasted astonishingly long.

It rained for three full days before the skies finally cleared, leaving the air fresh and invigorating.

The spring rain also brought vigorous life to the land. It thoroughly soaked the soil, and the plants began growing with all their strength. The crops in the fields changed by the day, fully nourished by the fertilizer.

Seven days later.

Romain poured the filtered, slightly cloudy sugar syrup into a large iron pot.

Gevra continuously picked up firewood and tossed it beneath the pot while Romain kept stirring the syrup inside. The sugar syrup simmered for nearly two hours.

In the end, a thick, paste-like substance gradually formed.

Using a wooden spoon, Romain transferred the paste into Wooden Barrels that had been prepared beforehand and sealed them away.

Then came the second pot... the third pot... the fourth pot...

That day, a rich, sweet fragrance drifted through the air across more than half of Origin Manor.

Romain used two or three hundred jin of malt and several hundred jin of barley starch, eventually boiling more than six hundred jin of malt sugar in the large pot. It was sealed in twenty Wooden Barrels, each holding thirty jin.

There were still dozens of jin of malt sugar left over, which he stored separately for Origin Manor's own use.

Once it cooled naturally, the previously somewhat runny malt sugar immediately became thick and sticky.