I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 34 Fishpond Plan
The border town is far away, so it's faster to mine salt directly than to buy it.

Shallow rock salt is relatively easy to mine; it can even be broken off directly without tools.

The method for purifying rock salt ore is relatively simple. After crushing, large pieces of soil and gravel are filtered out using coarse linen cloth with large mesh. The second step is to boil and filter the ore, and finally boil it again for crystallization.

The three simple steps yielded salt that, while not the fine salt Rhodes ate in his previous life, was of good quality for this era and could meet his daily needs.

Rodin Gunther was primarily responsible for oversight and transportation.

"Your brothers have to make a choice: continue as mercenaries or stay and become citizens of Frostleaf."

Rod said to Gunle, "There's no other way. This kind of thing has to be done by someone you trust, and I only trust you."

Only those who are willing to stay in Frostleaf Town can do these things.

If none of them are willing, Rhodes can only choose some trustworthy people from other places.

“Yes, I understand.” A rare thoughtful expression appeared on Gunle’s face.

"You can be more generous."

Rod added, "Don't rush. Tomorrow, go find Raine and take your brothers to the northeast to clear out the ferocious beasts along the road."

Sometimes wild beasts are more troublesome than bandits, so Rhodes has to eliminate these troubles in advance.

He didn't want to have a headache when things came to a head.

"Okay, then I'll go find him first."

Gunle nodded and turned to leave.

Rod then took out an agreement, got up, and went into the nearby cabin.
Avril, who was embroidering something at the table inside, turned around after hearing the noise.

She gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

"Good day, Baron Rhodes."

Good day, Miss Avril.

This was an agreement between Rhodes and Avril; until Razor Plains was reclaimed, she would be addressed as "Miss."

Are you getting used to living here?

"Yeah, that's good. It's much better than Razor Plains."

Avril smiled shyly, "It would be even better if there were a little more honey every day!"

Avril has a sweet tooth, and as soon as Rhodes returned to Frostleaf, he gave her a jar of honey, which she finished in a week.

"The town doesn't have much honey left, so I'll have someone buy some."

Rod actually wanted to keep bees, but beekeeping in the north would present great challenges in the winter.

"You should also have a maid by your side. How about that little girl, Susan?"

Susan was the little girl they brought back from the hunter's cabin together.

“Sure, I’ll do whatever you say, Baron Rhodes,” Avril said sweetly.

"You can tell me if you need anything. If I'm not around, just talk to Lawrence."

Rhodes had never actually met any noble ladies and knew nothing about their needs.

There's no tutorial like this in Manor Story either.

After a brief chat, Rhodes didn't waste any more words and simply placed the animal hide on the wooden table.

"Look, Miss Avril, this is what we discussed that day. If there are no problems, you can stamp it."

"No need to look, I believe you."

Avril took out her stamp, pressed it onto the red wax ink, and stamped it without hesitation.

Rod smiled and nodded, then stamped the seal with his name on it without hesitation.

He then put the agreement away, got up, and closed the door.

"Now that we're allies, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Please tell me."

“My subordinate, Gunle, that guy who’s as strong as a bear, is going hunting in the wilderness, and I want your clone to go with him.”

Rhodes returned to his chair and said in a low voice, "You are connected to your clone and can send me messages at any time."

Rhodes wasn't monitoring Gunle, but rather worried they might encounter danger, and also wanted to test how useful Avril's abilities really were.

“Great! Vivian doesn’t like staying still anyway, this is perfect for letting her go out and have fun!” Avril readily agreed.

"Then please tell her to make sure she wears a mask."

Rod instructed.

"Uh-huh,"

Avril looked at Rod and asked, "Are you planning to develop the salt mines there?"

"Ok?"

Rhodes was a little confused.

Although he didn't deliberately hide it, Rhodes didn't tell Avril about the existence of the salt mine.

“I saw the salt mine in Susan’s package. I guess there’s a salt mine at the cabin?” Avril offered her explanation.

"Ah."

Rod nodded in approval, his impression of Avril completely refreshed.

Noble ladies are indeed smarter than ordinary commoners.

"In the future, I may need your clone there to help me deliver messages."

"no problem."

Avril said, "I'd be happy to help you." "Then you should rest, I have other things to do."

"Wait a minute."

Avril stopped Rhodes, who was getting up to leave, picked up the leather bag in front of her, and handed it to him.

"Here, this is for you."

Rhodes looked down at the leather bag, which was embroidered with dragon claws and tulips—his own badge.

However, the embroidery and design of this leather bag are much more exquisite and beautiful than anything I could make myself.

My own was at most a draft, while this one in front of me is the official, finalized version!
Such a badge is befitting of aristocratic bearing.

"The badge on your bag last time was a bit ugly, so I embroidered a new one for you."

Avril tilted her head and smiled a little shyly, "I might not remember it quite right. If you think anything is wrong, I'll help you revise it."

"It's already very good, much prettier than the one I drew myself."

Rod put the leather bag away and said earnestly, "Thank you, Miss Avril."

"These are all the little things I can do. I'm glad you like them."

"like very much."

Rod smiled and nodded.

Without further conversation, Rod said a brief goodbye to Avril and left her cabin.

After the manor was completed, the slaves had no new jobs assigned for the time being.

Rod couldn't support them for nothing, so he immediately decided to start the irrigation canal project.

The town of Shuangye has thousands of acres of farmland, much of which is on hillsides, so the irrigation canals naturally cannot cover all of it.

The initial plan was for Rhodes to plan the shortest route to bring water from the river bend, and then dig a reservoir relatively close to Frostleaf Town.

Of course, the so-called reservoir is also the fishpond that Rhodes wanted.

Rod was so eager for the fishpond.

It can be used for irrigation, fish farming, and even bathing in the summer.

More importantly, it can also unlock terms related to the aquaculture industry.

Once the reservoir is completed, water will be channeled to other farmland, and more irrigation canals will be built.

For those areas at higher elevations where irrigation canals cannot be drawn, water can be carried manually or waterwheels can be built for irrigation.

Things will be much simpler then.

That's all for later; the most important thing to do now is to dig a reservoir.

Rhodes' initial plan was to make the building 20 meters wide, 30 meters long, and 3 to 4 meters deep, with shallower edges and a deeper center. This preliminary work would be enough for the slaves to do for two months.

The first reservoir is located in a depression between two hillside farmlands, with a length and width of over sixty meters, which is more than enough even if the fishpond is expanded in the future.

This depression is full of damp, muddy soil, and Rod estimated that it would probably flood during the summer when there is a lot of rain.

This kind of soil is easy to dig, and once dug up, it can be transported back to the town and composted.

The damp, sticky mud reeked of decay. A dozen or so barefoot slaves stood in a circle in the depression, bending over and rhythmically shoveling mud up and throwing it onto the bank.

boo——

The toes were pulled out of the sticky mud with a dull thud.

"Damn mud!"

Martin grumbled as he vigorously shook the mud off his feet.

Old Tom straightened his back and joked, "Did you eat too much black bread this morning? Look at your physique, bigger than a wild boar, tsk tsk tsk..."

"Shut up, you old man! I'm just strong!"

Martin raised his arm and confidently pressed his biceps, only to find them limp.

Old Tom shook his head. "Forget it, you're not as hard as this old man."

"Hahahaha!"

The slaves suddenly burst into laughter.

The slaves were very happy to have new jobs.

When there is no work, the daily food allowance is halved.

Only when things get busy will there be enough food, and in the evening you can even get a small cup of ale.

The slaves have gradually figured out the temperament of their noble lord, Rhodes.

As long as you work hard and don't slack off, you'll have the food and drink you deserve, and you won't be bullied for no reason.

They no longer harbor the same deep resentment as before.

After all, isn't it all about working somewhere?

"Humph."

Only Martin was sullen.

"Look down on me? Last time I was selected as a reserve soldier and received recognition."

Martin muttered to himself, then lowered his head and continued working.

A shovel scooped up a puddle of mud, and a plump loach was wriggling in the mud, trying to escape.

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(End of this chapter)