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

Chapter 40 An unexpected gain
three days later.

On a sunny afternoon, Rod saw Manxiu off.

He promised Menshu that he would leave with a full load of goodies the next time he came.

I also hope that Manxiu can bring some slaves, high-quality slaves like craftsmen.

Manxiu readily agreed and then began his journey home.

All the slaves devoted themselves to the construction of the canal.

Rod wanted a fishpond with flowing water, the most basic configuration of which was two water channels, one for water inlet and one for water outlet.

As for the location to build the water inlet, Rod had already decided.

In the bend of the upper reaches of the Azure River.

The river is located at an outer bend, where the water flow is strong and fast, resulting in minimal siltation. Therefore, there will be no siltation when a canal is built there in the future.

At the same time, the terrain there is higher than most farmland, but not higher than that of Frostleaf Town.

This way, the water can flow down naturally, and even if the water level rises in the future, it will not threaten the town.

The other outlet channel also serves as a flood discharge channel, specifically designed to prevent the water level in the fishpond from rising too high and overflowing the farmland.

The flood discharge channel is half a meter lower than the bank of the fishpond. When the water level in the fishpond is too high, the water can flow away along the flood discharge channel, bypass the farmland, and flow back to the river bend.

Of course, nets will be installed in the flood discharge channel to prevent fish from escaping.

On the other side, a dam will be built at the river bend inlet to create a buffer zone and prevent the risk of future flooding.

Rhodes ordered the slaves to dig continuously from the river bend towards the fishpond, and the 1.5-meter-deep trench meandered forward like a giant python.

Rhodes returned to his familiar blacksmith shop and continued forging armor-piercing arrowheads.

For over ten consecutive days, thanks to Rhodes's tireless efforts, twenty more arrows appeared in the box beside him.

At this moment, a new message interrupted Rhodes.

After a long and arduous search by Gangle and his team, the pack of Steppenwolves was finally found.

After a fierce battle, almost all of them were slaughtered, and the wolf king was riddled with holes by seven armor-piercing arrows.

The wolf king's enormous size is astonishing. It is nearly three meters long and more than one and a half meters tall at the shoulder. Its dark gray fur has silver stripes and shimmers with a glossy sheen.

When the wolf pack was wiped out, the wolf king even tried to escape, but was surrounded by Aleya and others who were lying in ambush behind him, and eventually died from the armor-piercing arrows.

These things alone would not have stopped Rhodes from digging the irrigation canal and made him personally come to the habitat of the Steppenwolves.

What attracted Rhodes was a purple gem, larger than a pigeon's egg, that Gunther and his companions found in the Wolf King's Cave.

Another extraordinary gem.

Unlike the rhombus-shaped Life Gem, this purple gem was like a smooth pebble, slippery yet cold to the touch, and Rhode shivered as soon as he touched it.

Despite how cold it was, Rod still managed to pry it off the stone wall.

Even if a gem fell into a cesspool, Rhodes would still retrieve it.

After Rhodes obtained the extraordinary gem, he also learned about its details.

The Spirit Gem enhances mental perception when worn and allows the wearer to absorb surrounding free magical energy, thus improving physical constitution.

Rhodes roughly knew about magical energy, the energy used by spellcasters when casting spells.

But Rhodes didn't know what would happen if he absorbed magical energy.

The Life Gem can directly improve the efficiency of Rhodes' breathing technique, so this magical energy, after improving his physique, should also indirectly increase his speed.

Or perhaps it mutates like the wolf king?

Humans and wild animals have different bloodlines and physical constitutions.

Will I become a male wizard?

Rhodes was confused, yet also held a sliver of hope.

If I had Avril Lavigne's ability to create clones, I wouldn't just be a 'radio station'.

Of course, Rhodes came in person not just to see this purple gem.

He wondered if places where extraordinary gemstones appeared might also contain other minerals because of the gemstones.

The answer is no; the system simply identifies this place as a stone mine.

Rod thought this might be a tomb, so he led Gunther and the others to dig around the area for most of the day. They did manage to unearth an ordinary skeleton, but they didn't find a lavishly constructed tomb.

In the end, I had to give up.

Ryan led his hunting party to continue clearing the surrounding wild animals, while Gunle led twenty slaves to mine the salt.

The journey to the salt mine was long, so in order to improve transportation efficiency, Rhodes decided to refine the salt locally and transport the edible salt back directly.

The salt used in this era was far less refined than that of Rhodes' previous life. Salt was simply ground, filtered, boiled, and dried before it could be consumed. The refining process was not a secret either, and many nobles had learned it.

Avril had also studied, while Vivian instructed the slaves on how to work.

Rod only gave some instructions in town, such as carving large stone pots for boiling and drying, which are corrosion-resistant, will not be corroded by salt water, and can be used for a long time.

After processing the wolf carcasses, they harvested another twenty-three wolf pelts, nearly a thousand pounds of wolf meat, and more than three hundred pounds of internal organs.

The wolf pelts were processed and kept for exchanging goods, the wolf meat was all cured and dried into jerky, and the offal became a snack for the slaves.

Although it has a strong fishy smell, this kind of real meat gives you more energy to work, so no one dares to complain about it.

In this era, food was precious, and no one would waste a single grain of it; even after the meat was deboned, it was used to make soup.

With Rhodes around, the bones used for making soup will have to be smashed and composted.

Of course, wolf skin, wolf meat, and internal organs do not include the wolf king's body.

While the wolf king's pelts are not as good as those of a wyvern, they are enough to make one or two excellent leather armors. When combined with chainmail, their defensive capabilities are not to be underestimated.

Rod has been holding a grudge ever since his dream of spicy mixed vegetables was shattered last time.

The wolf king's internal organs are certainly not as good as those of a wyvern, so Rhodes had no choice but to settle for second best.

The guards set up a large iron pot in the manor, added firewood to heat it up, poured in wild boar oil to melt it, put in the seasonings and chili peppers to fry, and then put in a large basin of chopped wolf offal and wolf meat slices to stir-fry continuously. They added salt, ale, and enough water to stew it.

Rhodes personally handled the entire process, leaving everyone in the manor dumbfounded.

They had never seen cooking done this way before.

Stews also existed in this era, but they were very simple.

Chefs usually put the ingredients directly into a large pot and simmer them slowly, adding the seasonings directly instead of sautéing them in oil first, like Rod.

But nobody's stupid—the aroma already wafted from the big pot while the ingredients and chili peppers were stir-frying the offal.

Even before the pot was boiled, the guards were already intentionally or unintentionally circling around it.

The moment the wooden lid was lifted and the pot was opened, steaming hot air carrying the aroma of numbing spiciness billowed out, and the fiery red broth inside the pot boiled and made a "gurgling" sound.

Rod couldn't wait to scoop out a small bowl. The scalding hot and familiar spicy and savory aroma rushed straight to his head, making him want to take a long breath.

cool!

Rod quickly grabbed the flatbread and placed it in the bowl. After absorbing the rich broth, he paired it with the tender and bouncy wolf offal. In just a couple of bites, the whole bowl was gone.

Although Rhodes lost his aristocratic elegance at this moment, he gained happiness!
The guards around him couldn't help but swallow hard, and Durant couldn't help but purse his lips.

Rhodes, of course, couldn't keep this joy to himself, so he immediately waved for everyone to get started.

In the blink of an eye, a large group of people surrounded the steaming iron pot, slurping and eating with great enthusiasm.

Martha noticed how much everyone enjoyed it and begged Rhodes to teach her this cooking method.

Rod didn't hold back, patiently explaining the key points and precautions to her.

After learning how to cook, Martha taught the other women who cooked, and the slaves also got to eat spicy wolf offal.

Half a pound of wolf offal can be used to make a big pot of spicy soup, with some wild vegetables as side dishes, served with black bread.

Many slaves fell in love with the dish, and no one complained about the fishy smell and stench anymore.

With spring planting nearing its end, Rhodes checked his progress as a [Crop Lord], which showed 4,351 acres of land.

There are more than 640 acres of land needed to unlock the entry.

Can Rhodes tolerate this?
Even if Black Pine Ridge is left with only saline-alkali land, Rod will still make up for it with these 640 acres!
Of course, there is still plenty of land in Black Pine Ridge.

They pieced together the scattered land around Shuangye Town to grow vegetables, and then reclaimed another 300 mu of land on both sides of the irrigation canal for cultivation.

Although this will delay the planting time, it is necessary for the sake of the entry.

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(End of this chapter)