The Caravan Departs

Don't find this unbelievable.

The same was true in the Western Middle Ages on Earth in my previous life.

Back then, they had no sugar, so they used honey as a substitute. They would even explicitly list how many barrels of honey they possessed in their wills to prove their wealth.

It wasn't until the Crusades that they first discovered the existence of solid sugar in this world.

At first, sugar was incredibly precious; they even used it as a miracle medicine to treat coughs, fevers, sore throats, and various other ailments. During the Black Death, people even used granulated sugar as a treatment...

"You don't need to thank me, My Lord!" Vivian was somewhat bewildered by Nalant's excited expression. In her eyes, she had merely found a type of wild fruit that couldn't even fill one's stomach.

"My Lord, if you need more, there should be plenty more of these 'little trees'... su... sugarcane in the surrounding woods!" Vivian added.

"There's plenty more? Vivian, take me to see them, quickly!" Nalant grew even more excited.

Following Vivian's lead, Nalant began searching through the nearby grass and, sure enough, found quite a few patches of wild sugarcane growing in clusters.

Because they were wild, the sugarcane was somewhat scattered, but according to Vivian, these weren't all of them; sugarcane could be found in many places throughout Storm Territory.

Hearing this, Nalant nodded with a smile and stopped trekking through the brush.

Much of the sugarcane wasn't fully mature yet—it needed at least another month to grow—but he wasn't in a hurry. He needed time to figure out how to process it anyway.

When they returned to the original spot, the little girl Sherry had finished communicating with the bees and came running over, her face full of excitement.

"My Lord, look! This is the king of the bees!" Sherry ran up to Nalant, opened her palm, and presented a massive bee to him. It was the queen of the hive.

"Well done, Sherry!" This was a double blessing; it meant that from now on, he would not only have sugar to eat but honey as well.

Moreover, harvesting such a large hive might prove quite helpful for dealing with Quinte's camp in a few days.

Afterward, Nalant had two guards assist Sherry in carefully lowering the massive beehive.

In this world, beekeeping technology was virtually non-existent; if you wanted honey, you had to find it in the wild.

But now, with Sherry, Nalant could move the entire hive to the castle without any concerns.

The next morning, in the castle courtyard, three carriages loaded with goods waited to depart.

This time, Nalant was sending twelve men to accompany the caravan to Tulip City.

Aside from Quick and his first squad of guards, the other person was the steward, Thomas.

Since Anthony was dead, he was the only one left who was literate and familiar with Tulip Castle.

Thomas would be replacing Anthony to report the territory's development to the Count and would also provide an explanation for Anthony's death.

"My Lord, I shall be off! While I am away, please take care of your health!" As the steward, Thomas was very conscientious about the castle's affairs. Since this trip would likely take about ten days, he was quite reluctant to leave.

"Don't worry, Steward Thomas. Just see that things are handled according to my instructions!" Facing such concern from his steward, Nalant felt a bit awkward. Thomas wasn't a beautiful woman; if it had been a beautiful stewardess acting so reluctant to part, he certainly would have offered a warm hug.

"Yes, My Lord!" Thomas, completely unaware that he was being shunned, replied with lingering reluctance.

"Quick, the safety of the caravan is in your hands! Also, remember what I told you to purchase, especially the leather armor!" After speaking with Thomas, Nalant looked at the fully armed Quick.

The leather armor was meant for Vivian's squad. Since they were likely to make a good profit this time, he couldn't let them go into battle wearing rags and hemp cloth anymore.

"Yes, My Lord. Quick will ensure the safety of the caravan and complete the tasks you have assigned!"

"Very good! Then set off! I shall wait for your return in Storm Territory!"

"I swear my life to your service, My Lord!" Quick stood straight as a ramrod and struck his chest hard with his left hand—the universal military salute of this world.

After the salute, Quick looked toward the caravan and waved his hand. "Everyone, move out!"

After the caravan departed, Nalant went straight to his study.

"System, I want to draw a prize!"

Last night was the Night of Meteors, but without the system's forecast, Nalant didn't dare use the search function again.

After all, under normal circumstances, the probability of a meteorite birthing a sprite was extremely low. It was considered lucky for a barony to see two sprites in a year. If Nalant kept trying to search, the probability of his energy points going down the drain was ninety-nine percent.

However, while he couldn't get a sprite for the time being, the prize draws wouldn't stop.

Nalant urgently needed to increase his strength to deal with the situation at the Buffer Zone camp.

As the large wheel appeared, Nalant clicked the start button without hesitation.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining one Intelligence Fruit!" The draw yielded results quickly; this time, Nalant received a purple fruit that looked like a plum.

"It's an Intelligence Fruit! Well, at least it's better than that charm fruit!" Although he wasn't entirely satisfied, Nalant accepted it; at least it was better than the last one.

As he took the fruit out, a fragrant scent wafted toward him, and Nalant popped it straight into his mouth.

"Whoa!"

The sensation brought by the Intelligence Fruit was completely different from the Strengthening Fruit. As the juice of the fruit slid into his stomach, Nalant felt his entire body jolt, and then his mind became crystal clear.

If his brain had been like a single-core processor computer a moment ago, after consuming the Intelligence Fruit, he had instantly upgraded to a dual-core processor.

His mind was not only sharper, but his vision of the surrounding world also became clearer.

"Is the effect really this potent?" Nalant hadn't cared much for the Intelligence Fruit initially, thinking his own brainpower didn't need supplementing, but at this moment, he only wanted to say: Hmm, delicious!

The law of "true fragrance" had been fulfilled; Nalant suddenly remembered the Blazing Triple Slash secret technique he had previously only half-understood, so he took out the parchment.

"Haha! The Intelligence Fruit is truly impressive; everything has suddenly become clear! Ultimate move, here I come!"

"Your humble servants Peter, Kali... greet you, My Lord!" Inside the castle hall, Vivian walked in, accompanied by several stonemasons and carpenters.

Nalant did not mince words; he handed over a design drawing he had sketched out the previous night.

In this world, aside from castles, towns had yet to see the invention of something like a toilet.

The stonemasons and carpenters took the drawing with great care and began to examine it.

"Well? Can you build this structure?"

"Replying to My Lord, according to your drawing, building the structure is possible. However, partitioning it into small, individual cubicles and digging trenches underneath—I fear it would be uninhabitable!" one of the bolder stonemasons replied cautiously.

"Hmm, you don't need to worry about those details. You only need to ensure the quality of the construction. Oh, and this toilet project is to begin immediately. For any materials or manpower needed, discuss it with the captain of the guards!"

"I want three of these toilets built in Wheat Leaf Village and one in Misfortune Village!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

Afterward, Nalant handed the management of the toilet construction over to Vivian.

At the same time, he arranged for Vivian to issue his first decree: starting tomorrow, serfs were strictly forbidden from dumping their excrement wherever they pleased.

Those who violated this would receive ten lashes, and repeat offenders would be hung in the square for public display.

Of course, Nalant had also considered the difficulties the serfs would face before the toilets were completed.

He gave instructions that the serfs could dig a pit to bury their excrement, allowing it to dry and ferment, so that it could be dug up and used later.

Once he had finished giving his orders, Vivian took the craftsmen to the front courtyard to discuss the toilet construction, while Nalant headed to the back garden to continue practicing his Battle Qi secret technique.