Growing Sugarcane

Dobby had heard of sugarcane, coffee, and rubber—the first two, at least.

But they were all specialties of the southerners. Such things were rarely found in the northern kingdoms, let alone cultivated there.

"Master." Dobby looked at the somewhat troubled Orendo and offered a suggestion. "If you truly want these things, I can seek out the Kul Tiras merchants who trade in Southshore. They often do business with the southerners and may be able to meet your needs."

"It's worth a try." The idea of growing cash crops in his own fields could not be realized immediately.

Thinking this, Orendo asked again.

"After our wheat is harvested, where do we mainly sell it?"

"After the tenants pay their taxes, aside from the grain kept for the manor's own consumption, most of it is sold to traveling merchants from Lordaeron or Kul Tiras."

"Mostly Kul Tiras. They do not grow much staple grain themselves. Wheat from Hillsbrad is highly sought after throughout all the human kingdoms," Dobby said softly.

Orendo nodded. "All right. I have no more questions for now. Go take care of your work."

"It is getting late. Master, please rest early." Dobby withdrew respectfully.

After Dobby left, Orendo walked out of the bedroom and stood in his private little courtyard.

He looked up at the star-filled sky and the White Lady Elune seated at the center of the heavens, then used Elune's position to find the pitiful Blue Child tucked away in a corner.

After admiring Azeroth's night sky for a while, Orendo found everything around him empty and silent.

The dew was heavy at night in the Hillsbrad region. After standing outside for only a short while, his shoulders had grown damp.

Not wanting to catch a cold, Orendo returned to his room.

Lying on a mattress covered in soft, comfortable, tanned Hillsbrad mountain lion hide, Orendo stared at the ceiling.

Since he was here, he might as well settle in.

Azeroth had once been a world that filled his dreams. Being able to leave his own mark upon it—

It could be considered the fulfillment of his childhood daydreams and fantasies.

This was a world with magic.

It was truly marvelous.

With a relaxed and cheerful mood, he accepted that he was now Orendo Seferosa and drifted off to sleep.

That night.

Orendo dreamed.

He dreamed that he dominated Dalaran, became one of the great figures of the Kirin Tor, subdued the Scourge with one hand, and shut the Dark Portal with the other.

Azshara stood to his left, Aegwynn to his right, Tyrande before him, and the Windrunner sisters behind him.

For some reason, though, the faces of all the other beautiful women of Azeroth were blurred in his dream.

Only Aegwynn at his right looked vaguely familiar—beautiful, cold, and deadly.

In the dream, she cast Orendo a chilly glance.

Then Orendo woke up.

It was dawn.

The gentle morning sunlight of Hillsbrad streamed through the window he had forgotten to close the night before, casting mottled shadows across the floor.

Breathing in the fresh air of the country manor, Orendo stretched lazily on the mattress and let out a comfortable groan.

If not for the fact that this was disaster-ridden Azeroth, where a powerless human could easily get killed by some random kobold by the roadside—

Orendo truly wanted to live comfortably like this, spending his whole life in idleness and contentment as a well-off country noble.

If the threats of Azeroth were not constantly hanging over his neck like a blade, who would willingly work so hard to become a mage?

He knew that Azeroth's history was about to become exceptionally brutal, and Orendo was forcing himself to become diligent.

After breaking free of the terrifying seal of his warm bed, Orendo discovered something while washing up—this was not an industrial society, and there were no convenient toothbrushes or toothpaste.

Even a noble young master like him could only brush his teeth with a powder of sea salt and charcoal, using gauze to scrub them gray before rinsing them clean.

Commoners simply went their whole lives without brushing their teeth. By the time they reached their forties or fifties, nearly everyone had a mouthful of rotten teeth, and oral problems plagued them for the rest of their lives.

What was toothpaste made of again?

Toothpaste on Earth was mainly made with fluoride. Did Azeroth have fluoride? Or rather, what was Earth's fluoride called in Azeroth?

Toothbrushes, on the other hand, were easy enough to solve. Pig bristles could be used to make them—the kind with relatively good quality and relatively high prices.

Pigs existed in Azeroth, so naturally pig bristles existed too.

After finishing his wash amidst these random thoughts, he stepped outside and did a few chest stretches in the sunlight. A new day had officially begun.

There was only one month left before he had to report to Dalaran, and Orendo was greatly looking forward to his future life in the kingdom of magic.

Before that, however, he needed to settle some matters at the manor, such as what to plant.

Everyone from Earth knew that if farmers wanted to get rich, they could not rely solely on growing grain. Azeroth was no different. Growing grain could only keep one fed and clothed; it would not make anyone rich.

Orendo's plan was to reserve only a small portion of the land under his domain for grain to maintain self-sufficiency, while using all the remaining land to grow cash crops.

For the time being, he had chosen sugarcane as the cash crop he would cultivate next.

First, because the climate and soil of the Hillsbrad region were obviously suitable for growing sugarcane.

Second, because high-quality white sugar refined from sugarcane was practically a luxury at this time in this world. It was expensive, and only the wealthy and nobles could afford it.

Moreover, the leftover bagasse from refining sugarcane could be used to make alcohol, and the resulting rum could also be sold for money.

Unlike coffee, which only some nobles and mages might be willing to buy to refresh themselves.

So, just after enjoying a delicious breakfast, he summoned the steward Dobby and explained his idea.

"Dobby, before I leave for Dalaran, I want to make a trip to Southshore. Try contacting the Kul Tiras merchants. I hope to obtain sugarcane seeds from them."

"Young master, do you wish to grow sugarcane on our land?" Dobby asked.

"Yes."

Dobby nodded without asking why Orendo wanted to grow sugarcane.

When a qualified steward received an order from his master, the only thing he should do was obey, then do everything in his power to accomplish it.

That was the steward's philosophy taught to Dobby by the previous Seferosa family steward—Dobby's father.

"Actually..." Dobby said softly, "I checked this morning. We have about fifty pounds of sugarcane in our storeroom. Jobby bought it from Southshore half a month ago, intending to use it as an ingredient for sweet bread."

Sweet bread was a premium food popular throughout the Hillsbrad region, affordable only to nobles and wealthy merchants.

It was a type of bread made from the finest high-quality wheat flour mixed with honey and sugarcane juice, then baked.

Its fragrance was enticing, and it was deeply loved by noble ladies and young misses. At noble banquets, it was a dessert specially served to the ladies and young misses.

The Seferosa family was neither too great nor too minor a noble house. At times, they also needed to hold banquets and invite the nearby nobles to attend.

The sugarcane had been prepared for such banquets.

"Fifty pounds? That's a bit too little. It won't plant much." Orendo pondered for a moment, then said, "Still, it can be used for experiments."

"Experiments?" Dobby did not understand.