Green Water Farm

After listening to the two supervisors, Victor expressed his approval of their work attitude and methods.

When he asked to visit the farm, both managers wanted Victor to see the farms under their charge first. Victor chose one of them and followed him to his farm.

"Viscount, this is the farm I'm in charge of. Within Red Ginseng Territory, it's called Green Water Farm because there's a small river here called Green Water River, which eventually flows south and joins the Blackwater River. The entire farm is built on both sides of this river."

Victor, mounted on his horse, looked at the farm location the steward had pointed out.

The vast wheat fields had just been harvested, and there were still many wheat stalks left to be collected, bundled up in the middle of the fields.

In the distance, you can see a winding stream with wheat fields on both sides and a farm settlement enclosed by earthen walls in the middle.

"Sir, this Green Water Farm covers an area of 16 square kilometers, making it the largest farm in the entire Red Ginseng Territory. It is also the most well-built. Because of its abundant water resources and irrigation canals, it raises a lot of livestock and mainly grows wheat."

The steward rode ahead on horseback, with Victor following behind him. Victor was accompanied only by a squad of guards.

The road leading to the farm was too narrow and poorly constructed; it was a simple rammed earth road, barely wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through. This was the current state of affairs in Red Ginseng Territory; the infrastructure across the entire territory was very poor, with most roads being rammed earth roads, and all of them very narrow. The road in front of us was already considered relatively good.

The steward was quite talkative, and he kept talking the whole way, but Victor didn't mind. The steward knew everything about the farm, which showed that he was indeed very capable, no wonder he was among the first batch of people sent here.

"Sir, I plan to widen the roads throughout the farm before the winter wheat is planted this year. If possible, I would also like to cultivate some farmland and build some irrigation canals."

After I arrived, I discovered that the farm's design and planning hadn't reached its full potential and still had great room for development. With sufficient manpower and resources, I'm confident I can double the farm's arable land area within two years. Combined with our territory's agricultural tools and improved seeds, yields can be increased by at least 1.5 times.

"You can go ahead and do it. Red Ginseng Territory will definitely be merged into Golden Sunflower Territory in the future. Just treat it as your homeland and develop it."

"That's wonderful, Your Excellency. With your words, I feel much more at ease. It's such a waste to let such good land go to waste!"

"If you need anything, you can talk to Steward Boon. He will agree to anything that helps with the construction."

"Perfect timing, Your Excellency. I would like to request a batch of serfs and grain from Steward Boon."

This farm has more than 1,400 serfs, most of whom are young adults between 20 and 30 years old. The male-to-female ratio is about 3:1. About five years ago, Red Ginseng Territory sold a batch of female serfs. In the last two years, due to the poor market conditions, no more female serfs have been sold, so the male-to-female ratio is not so high.

Moreover, the serfs here don't have high demands for marriage. Long-term oppression by the Red Ginseng Family has made them accustomed to this state, and they are all numb. Many of them have no desire for life, and they have no intention of listening when you talk to them about the future.

When I first came here and faced these situations, I was at a loss. It wasn't until I started repairing the houses with these serfs that I realized they weren't without desires, they just didn't dare to think about them.

I led them in repairing the houses, providing them with at least three catties of wheat daily as rations, along with ample salt and oil. These serfs worked very hard, demonstrating that they did desire a better life; it was simply that facts were more readily accepted than words.

"You're right. The situation in Golden Sunflower Territory cannot be copied here. Both my grandfather and my father were considered to be among the better noble lords in terms of their treatment of serfs. The serfs in Golden Sunflower Territory have always lived a good life, at least they can make ends meet."

Therefore, when I started agricultural reforms, I was able to gain the approval of the serfs thanks to the influence of my father and grandfather, which made the entire reform process go smoothly.

The serfs here have never experienced a good life; they can't even guarantee their basic needs. If you want them to obey and follow you, you must offer them something tangible and visible.

"Your Excellency is right, that's exactly the situation."

The farm is in much better condition now. When I first came, it was really dilapidated. This is already considered one of the better conditions in Red Ginseng Territory.

Such a fertile land, turned into this mess by them, Your Excellency, I think we acted too late!

Victor just smiled when he heard what the steward said, after all, he knew that before last year, he had never thought of expanding his territory within the duchy.

Seeing that Victor did not reply, the steward continued walking forward. They had already walked all the way to the settlement inside the earthen wall. The steward pointed to the houses in the settlement and said, "Sir, you see, these houses were just built. They were built according to the common farmhouse structure in our territory, using materials from the Red Ginseng Territory's internal warehouse and cement transported from within the territory."

The warehouse of the Red Ginseng Territory was piled with a lot of timber, much of which had not been air-dried and was already moldy and rotten, which was a real pity.

I led the serfs to clean up some of the usable houses and use them to build dwellings. We've just completed 20 so far, and I plan to house ten people in each. The plan is to build a total of 150 houses before winter, and with the repairs to the existing houses, we should be able to accommodate 3,000 people.

After listening to the steward's words, Victor looked at the newly built house in front of him. It seemed that no one had moved in yet, as the whole house was still very empty and without any furniture.

"3000 people, and you only have 1400 right now. Are you planning to have Steward Boon fill the rest for you?"

"My lord, I am just making plans in advance. Steward Boon can give me as much as he can. If he can give me more, I can continue to build. Anyway, there is plenty of land and materials, and I can build quite a few more houses."

Continuing along the roads within the settlement, Victor saw a group of serfs building a house. When their foreman approached, the serfs stopped what they were doing and bowed.

The foreman stepped forward and stopped them. "You all better work properly. I've told you several times, concentrate on your work. The one building the roof beam, stand still so you don't fall."

He turned to Victor and said, "Sir, the serfs here used to be managed too strictly. They were required to bow to the stewards. I have been trying to change this, and things are just starting to look up."

"It's okay, these things take time."

At least according to Victor's observation, these serfs bowed very seriously and were very respectful to the steward. This was by no means perfunctory, which shows that the steward had a high reputation among the serfs.

This at least proves that the supervisor was indeed working diligently, and the living conditions of these serfs should have improved considerably. Although their clothes were still very worn, judging from their spirits, they were at least well-fed.

By the time Victor arrived, he had gained a certain understanding of the manager's work and was very impressed with it.

"May I have your name?"

The steward, not knowing why Victor would ask such a question, quickly replied, "Sir, my name is Kallio."

"Kallio? Good name. Do a good job. I'll talk to Boon."