I Love Farming

Dylan, a serf, was teaching his youngest son, John, to weed. They knelt in the ground with their backs to the sky and their feet in the dirt.

On the continuously cultivated land, there are always more weeds, but the continuous weeding work has to be carried out. Now Dylan has a new laborer in the family.

And, yesterday——Dylan felt a little happy just thinking about it. His youngest daughter, who was originally staying at home, used the time when she was not cooking to go outside to collect cow manure, plus her own pig manure and sheep manure. , The accumulated weight was exchanged for a handful of oats from the steward.

This is for nothing. Although oats are far less valuable than wheat, if you replace them a few times, the wheat owed to the lord by killing insects last time can be offset, and maybe you can earn more.

But it's just Dylan's good wish. They know more than they know about such a good thing. All the families in the manor took action. They first scraped up all the feces in the house and gave them to the master, and then the children who didn't work at home went out. Looking for feces, all the feces on the road were scooped up by wooden shovels.

In places where there are many people, there is no trace of feces. At least Dylan didn't step on it on the way to the land today.He thinks there are woodlands, pastures and other corners, which are full of manure pulled by livestock.It's a pity that the farm work is so heavy, otherwise he could let his sons pick it up too.

——Who will think about why the master is willing to exchange oats for everyone's excrement? If there is any advantage, hurry up and take advantage of it. What if the master repents one day? I heard that his temper is not good.

Dylan was thinking about it when he heard his younger son call out, "Father, my feet."

The serfs had no shoes, and they were barefoot no matter they were at home or working.Dylan looked at his youngest son's feet, and there were blisters on them. He sighed, "Didn't I tell you, be careful of the three-leaved devil daisies, their juice will make you blisters."

People's views on grass are complicated. When the devil daisy grows in the field and is difficult to remove, it is the product of the devil. When it is used by the herbalist to boil medicine, it becomes a holy thing, it is chamomile.Just like the clover that grows outside is nothing, but after being planted in the ground by the master, it becomes something that everyone is curious about and yearns for.If the herbal medicine for treating bugs is eaten by livestock, it is the devil vine that poisons livestock.

Dylan taught his son the various weeds that needed to be pulled, and here they all bear the prefix of the devil, from devil daisies to devil leaves and devil berries.

The most vigilant thing is undoubtedly poisonous weeds. In fact, weeds are not enough to endanger the lives of humans and animals.If the poisonous wheat is not pulled out in time, when it grows up, it looks similar to wheat, and if it is taken away together, it will cause poisoning to the eater.

The youngest son is learning bit by bit. Seeing the new laborers in the family grow up slowly, Dylan rubbed his waist in relief.At this time, Alva from the next door called him.

"Dylan, will you borrow the weeding tools from the lord?" Alva asked.

Dylan was at a loss, "What kind of agricultural tools for weeding."

"It seems that Zhuangtou hasn't told you yet. He told me this morning that the master asked the craftsman to make farm tools that can weed weeds. I borrowed them from him. You only need two handfuls of beans for the whole summer." Alva saw that he had mastered Di What Lun didn't know, immediately ignored the work at hand, and spit and talked with his hips on his arms.

"Zhuangtou said, it's a good thing, and the craftsmen hug it to sleep at night. After using it..." Alva didn't know what to do, and said indiscriminately, "After using it, we don't have to kneel to pull weeds."

Dylan was moved. If he could work standing up, his back would feel much better.But two handfuls of beans are enough for two meals...

"Have you ever seen such a farm tool? The craftsman went to the forest to chop wood for more than ten days to make it." Alva said, "We can borrow one with Joseph and Joey and use it in turn."

If four families borrow together, it will be much easier. Dylan was moved and said, "Let's find Joseph and Joey to see those farm tools."

After finishing the farm work, Dylan went to look at the new farm tools with his friends. Many serfs had the same idea and surrounded the farmer and the farm officer.

"My God..." Dylan saw the farm implements. They were divided into two types. One was fan-shaped, with many teeth and a long handle, and the other was smaller and had teeth, but had no handle and was only tied with a rope.Most of the two kinds of agricultural tools are made of wood, and there are only two pieces with sharp iron sheets wrapped around their teeth.

Zhuangtou tied one of the ropes to his feet, then carried it, stepped on the ground, rubbed out the weeds, and then dug them into the soil. All the serfs immediately made envious sounds.

What a good thing this is, it can be used standing up, and it will form a large piece with one rub.Larger weeding tools are better. They can be used to rake on the ground with your hands. Iron-coated ones are especially useful. They can rake out a large area of ​​weeds in one go. Even after repeated use, this piece of weeds is gone.

"The iron-covered plowing tools can only be used in the master's field. If you want to borrow them, you need two handfuls of wheat, and after the master's land is used up. As for these wooden ones, they are much cheaper. You only need two handfuls of beans " Zhuangtou said.

Alva was wrong!

He said that the function of these tillers is only to make people stand and work, but in fact, everyone can see that after using the tillers, the action of weeding will be much faster.Any veteran, not a novice like Dylan's youngest son, who couldn't even recognize a devil's daisy, could cut weeds at least three times faster.

And the price is just two handfuls of beans.

The serfs almost swarmed up and asked the head of the village to lend them the plowing equipment.

Because there are few farm tools but many people, everyone is willing to give up those beans, and several households have to work together.

"Don't worry, the artisans are still working on it. The master said that when the crops are harvested this season, if the harvest is good, he can consider selling the field tools to you." Zhuangtou's words were full of temptation, "As long as there are very few, very few There is little wheat. In the future, when repairing farm tools, we will only need very, very few beans."

Not to borrow, but to sell.Although I don't know if the "few" wheat is deceiving again, but just think about how much effort you can save during weeding when you can own such a farm tool by yourself.

Not to mention, Zhuangtou also revealed just now that those iron-coated field tools with better weeding effect are used in the master's field. Who is lucky enough to be able to use this field when farming for the master? device?

In fact, some freedmen with relatively well-to-do families are already thinking about whether they should send some oats to the agricultural officer and the head of the village, so that their families can use the few iron field tools.

……

Dylan happily returned with the field cultivator. He made an appointment with Alva, Joseph, and Joey. Each family took turns to use it for one day. If it broke, the four families would take it to repair together.

The next day, when Dylan was experimenting in the field, he asked his sons to pull out the remaining weeds behind him. He and his eldest son took turns to complete the work that used to take a whole day. done.

When he was saving, Dylan re-thatched his thatched hut and went to the forest to collect firewood.In the afternoon, I will calmly do the work my master ordered me to do, which is to pile up soil by the river and dig ditches.

This canal should be connected to the master's land, especially the white soil that can't grow crops.

While digging the soil, Dylan heard a commotion. He raised his head and saw a very handsome nobleman dressed in silk, accompanied by the head of the village, the agricultural officer and others, riding a horse to the scene.

Although no one has said it yet, Dylan has already guessed that this unlucky lord should be the new lord of Northumberland, the baron.

The serfs bowed deeply, saluted the owner of the land, and guessed in their hearts what the master came to do.

You must know that we have not seen the baron a few times before, and it is definitely not by the field, but when the master goes out to play and hunt, he sees it from a distance, and he is not even allowed to approach.

Although the new lord was handsome, he was unsmiling, so that everyone dared not make a sound. He lifted a heavy cloth bag from his waist and threw it on the ground. The cloth bag was loosened, revealing many beans and oats inside.

The new lord ordered: "Set firewood and cook these into mush. If the aqueduct can be dug to where I am standing before the sun goes down today, everyone can eat a bowl of mush."

A bowl of mush!Almost everyone's eyes lit up, which might be a little more than the beans they handed in to rent Yuntian Qi!

In the past, when doing this kind of work, it was not very important, and when it belonged to the lord, it was inevitable that someone would be lazy quietly.Today, there is no need for anyone to use sticks to spur them, they just encourage each other to work hard.

Before the sun went down, the serfs had dug the aqueduct to the place next to Cui Qichao's horseshoe, and the accumulated soil and grass could be used to build an earth dam.

Under the expectant eyes of all the serfs, Cui Qichao said, "Send them the paste."

The servants pretended to be a mess and gave the serfs to eat. If the bowl was not enough, they would take it with their hands and eat it.Everyone wolfed it down, and there was not even a little bit of leftovers. Although the oatmeal and bean paste were rough and dry, the serfs could only eat this, and usually they were reluctant to eat black bread, or even could not eat it.

Some serfs couldn't even eat enough beans at home, only a little, and the bean paste was not as thin as at home, and they tasted like a rare delicacy.

Cui Qichao looked at these sallow, emaciated serfs who were devouring voraciously, and sighed from the bottom of his heart, his love for the people was greatly stimulated.If possible, he would even like to treat all the serfs on the estate to eat wheat bread, but, at this moment, it is purely whimsical, and he can only provide a meal of oatmeal and bean paste.

On the way here, he also saw the houses of the serfs, which were just huts made of wood and thatch on a slightly flat ground, and the family animals lived inside.No wonder, these serfs are also called hut farmers.

This is just the first step.Cui Qichao thought, one day, he will increase the production so that all the farmers in the territory have wheat bread to eat, oats?Feed the horse!

Today, the serfs working by the river rarely went home with a full stomach, and a bowl of mushy cold water. They tasted the long-lost feeling of being full.

Dylan said to his neighbors: "God must bless our Lord Baron, I have never seen such a kind and great man."

The neighbor wanted to laugh at him, did the baron need him to pray for him, but after thinking about it, he shut up.Dylan was right, the gentleman gave them a good meal.

……

But in the minds of all the stewards, the baron is still a bit crazy and absurd.

Just to increase the speed of canal repair, after forcing craftsmen to make weeding tools, he wasted a bag of oats and beans and gave them to the serfs for free.The beans collected when renting farm tools returned to the stomachs of the serfs before they were warmed up!

What's even more frightening is that the master seems to have more than vague ideas about rewarding today.

Fortunately, the master is also very kind to them.

"Tomorrow, I'll ask the cook to cook a pot of fish soup for everyone," Cui Qichao said.

Everyone was excited. Ever since they tasted the barbecue that the master asked the cook to make, they never forgot it.However, fresh pigs and sheep are not killed every day in the castle, and the master's barbecue must be made of fresh meat.

The master is not keen on hunting, but he will watch the cook make vegetables every day, but the portion will not be too much each time.Even if the master is not on a vegetarian day, he basically eats vegetables, so they have the nerve to share a spoonful and a half.

·

Like the agricultural officers of previous days, the cook at Northumberland Castle was full of joy.

Her mother, who was able to become a contracted cook in Northumberland, was because she used a whole kipper and a passing southerner in exchange for a recipe for making broth.It's not enough to have good cooking skills, you have to have special recipes, otherwise, why did the gentlemen choose you instead of others?

But now, the Baron didn't replace her even though he was dissatisfied with her. Instead, he taught her several delicious recipes, which she firmly remembered and would pass on to her children in the future.This will become the new reliance of the cook.

Today, the baron ordered her to cook two more dishes, one was grilled trout, without exception, and asked her to wash her hands first.This is the only place where the cook has some complaints. The master likes to abuse cats, and even asked if there are any new cats caught in the territory. Unfortunately, the cats seem to be possessed by demons, and they run away so fast. Few people in the wilderness can caught.

The master seemed a little disappointed, he was reluctant to torture the cat to death once, and always brought the cat with him, pinching it at any time to make the cat scream.I prefer to let the cat go and let it run around in fear.

The evil cat bumped into her every time as if on purpose, causing her to wash her hands frequently.The body after washing is not holy enough, but it is also very unknown to come into contact with the evil black cat, and in front of the master, the cook can only choose to wash her hands.Fortunately, she went to church a few more times for this.

The baron personally weighed two handfuls of herbs and asked him to put them into the cleaned fish maw. The cook carefully noted the types and quantities of herbs, half of lemon balm, half of oregano leaves, and a little sliced ​​ginger. AM, then put on the grill again.

The outside of the church is full of rosemary and thyme. Sprinkle the dried rosemary and thyme powder on the grilled fish, and the spicy taste will permeate, and penetrate into the dry, crispy skin.With the permission of the master, it can also be added some salt.

When it's done grilling, squeeze a whole slice of lemon on top of each fish.The burnt-yellow grilled fish exudes a strong aroma, and every servant who passes the kitchen has to stop and smell it a few more times before he is willing to leave.

It is also grilled fish with the same spices, but the grilled fish made by the chef's own recipe does not have such a taste.

What made the cook even more excited was a dessert made of goat milk, which she had never heard of or seen—because it would take a long time before people in the Middle Ages tasted a mixture of fruit and oatmeal, called pudding However, the pudding made of custard and other things similar to this kind of double-skin milk was invented later.

Because the master often needs goat milk recently, the slaves who shepherd the sheep will specially prepare fresh goat milk for the master, boil a can of fresh goat milk with some hard-earned sugar from outside, let it cool down and mix it with egg whites Stir and then steam for a while.During this time, the cook kept counting in her head, and she didn't remember to count until the master said it could be taken away, and then she took the jar away.

When the jar was opened, the goat's milk inside was congealed and frozen, and some raspberries were added to it.

With the permission of the master, the cook was able to taste the milk jelly, and was immediately fascinated by the rich milky, smooth and tender taste. Just a little squeeze, they will burst open, and the sweetness of the raspberry is sour. The sweet taste and unique flavor make people almost reluctant to swallow it.

This is what dessert should taste like... The cook thought in a daze.

On the long dining table, there were several big plates piled up with fish and a jar of goat milk jelly, which attracted everyone's attention. They all knew that the master spent half a day in the kitchen just to watch Let the cook make these two dishes.

Cui Qichao started first, dividing the fish into his own plate, "Everyone please go ahead."

After he finished speaking, the stewards all started their hands together, and at the same time, they stretched out the tableware to the ginger slices on the grilled fish.

Although grilled fish is delicious, ginger from another continent is even more rare, and you can earn money if you eat it.In terms of diet, the new baron is generous and particular, and has won unanimous praise from everyone.

Although no pepper is added, a little salt, appropriate amount of herbs, and lemon juice have already made the grilled fish extremely attractive. I don’t know how the cook controls the temperature. The fish is still fresh and tender.There is hardly any fishy smell, the lemon balm and lemon juice have neutralized the nasty fishy smell, leaving only the fishy smell.

The crispy fish skin squeaks when bitten, and the spicy aroma makes people want to eat the broth on the side, but if you compare it, you will find how fishy and tasteless this bowl of broth is.The terrible thing is that they used to eat with gusto.

The agricultural officer thought to himself, even if it is for the grilled fish, I am willing to serve the baron forever... Oh no, there is goat milk jelly.

He scooped a large spoonful of this special goat milk jelly. The milky white milk jelly is dotted with bright raspberries. The delicate and smooth milk jelly is enjoyable when it slides over his tongue without any effort, which makes his teeth a little loose get relaxed.There was also sugar added here, and he could tell that milk and sugar were the perfect combination, so he thought he must ask the master to allow him to take a bite for his wife and daughter.

That night, the farm officer became the greatest person in the family.Because the generous baron allowed him to take home a whole bowl of goat milk jelly, his wife and daughter went crazy for this, and the wife even pulled him by the collar to force him to promise to maintain the baron's favor.

……

The boring medieval people lived in a sparsely populated manor, and the entire castle had limited conversations every day. Since the arrival of the new baron, there were so many things for everyone to talk and think about, and they were even a little too busy.This barren life is enough for them to blow up the recipe that even the lord thinks is a bit rough.

After Cui Qichao bathed in the grateful eyes of his subjects, he was about to take a real bath.

The church has always preached that people who do not take a bath are holy. In the south, including Northumberland, the weather is hotter, so the frequency of the nobles' bathing will be higher, that is, from four times a year to ten times a year. Well... civilians can't afford to take a bath.

Most nobles still hate bathing, and even if they have to, they end it quickly.Even if they enjoy bathing in their hearts, these people usually hide and hide, which seems to be a bad habit.

He should be thankful that the Black Death did not break out when he arrived, otherwise it would be impossible to degenerate.

The cruel baron wants to be a person with hard-to-change bad habits. He asks the kitchen to boil water for himself to take a bath every few days. He is even very distressed that there is no bath in this castle, and even the tub is new, probably from the previous baron. I'm not keen on taking a shower, just wipe it off with a wet towel and it's done.

The rough wooden barrel must be covered with fine cloth, otherwise the wooden thorns will make you turn red after washing.Cui Qichao heard the sound of scratching from the wooden barrel, and when he looked around, it was Xiaobai who was scratching the wooden barrel.

"You'd better not take a bath so often, you will get sick easily without a hair dryer." Cui Qichao said, "Lick it yourself."

noob:"……"

Lick yourself? ?

Xiaobai took a few steps back, dashed, jumped, and stomped, borrowed strength from the wooden barrel beside him, turned around and grabbed the wooden barrel, climbed to the edge of the barrel, and jumped forward.

Boom!

It sank and landed between Cui Qichao's legs.

Cui Qichao: "..."

Shouldn't it be time to do as the Romans do and really abuse cats?

The author has something to say:

Cui Qichao: Is it you, Xiaobai, who have drifted away, or is it that I, Diablo Shennong, can't hold the sickle?