Farming in the Magical World

Although he still had questions, Frank took the conscription manual and left the study.

Inside the study, Lanny watched Frank's retreating figure leave before taking out another sheet of paper from the drawer, preparing to begin writing the "Cast Ridge Security Guard Training Manual".

This was prepared for Tim, and it was written around the same time as the Caster Ridge Security Guard Recruitment Manual. He had considered the training issue when he was writing that recruitment manual.

He plans to follow up on it himself for a while, but later he will still have to rely on Tim to train these people.

It's difficult to think about these things comprehensively in your mind; you have to write them down to record them.

Given his current paper usage habits and frequency, parchment is a considerable expense every month. He just looked at the drawer and the thick stack of parchment he used to have is almost empty.

Although we already know that the parchment we are using is tax credit from Black Mountain Village and we don’t need to buy it, it is still a huge waste to keep using it like this.

Thinking to myself that I should go and see what's going on with Granny Mei later, I should have found something after being away for a few days, right?

Having made his decision, he turned his attention back to the task at hand, knowing that things had to be dealt with one by one.

Thanks to the various predecessors who had traveled through time, the training methods for the security guards were not difficult, and he already had a general idea.

First and foremost is adequate nutrition, ensuring that every team member is well-fed, with the addition of some meat and sufficient salt, which will allow these team members to experience a qualitative leap in physical fitness.

Don't underestimate this point. In societies with abundant resources, people may not feel it as deeply, but based on his understanding over this period of time, few of his people actually have enough to eat for three meals a day, let alone meat and sufficient salt.

Secondly, rigorous training is essential to develop muscle memory in everyone, ensuring they don't panic on the battlefield. Only when everyone can execute actions directly from memory upon receiving instructions from the leader or squad leader can they be considered to possess a certain level of combat capability.

Finally, and most importantly, sufficient ideological work is needed. Everyone must fully realize that they are protecting not only Lanny, the nobleman, but also their families, their property, and their land. Then Lanny will believe that such a force will not easily collapse.

He did consider using the powerful tactic of granting land ownership as a reward, but after careful consideration, he felt it was inappropriate and gave up on the idea.

First of all, his status was inappropriate; a baron's position in the kingdom was too low. Although he was responsible for all matters concerning the territory, changing land ownership would be a fundamental threat to the kingdom, and the kingdom would never stand idly by. How could a mere baron resist?

He still wanted to be a happy little nobleman, not a brainless one.

Then, the actual situation simply doesn't allow it.

Castel Ridge is a hilly area with little arable land. Even if some were distributed, the amount given to the guards would be minimal and unlikely to have a significant motivating effect. It would be better not to distribute any land at all. It would be more practical to simply reward them with money.

He looked at the parchment in his hand again, went through it in his mind, and found that there were no major oversights. Only then did he put the parchment in the drawer, put down the quill pen, stretch, and close his eyes to relax.

He had barely lain down when he suddenly remembered what he had been thinking about earlier. He stood up wearily, left the study, and went downstairs to Granny Mei's room. He sighed inwardly; it seemed the road to becoming a happy little nobleman was still long.

Grandma Mei was arranged on the first floor, not with the maids, but in a separate room some distance away from them.

Some of Granny Mei's strange behavior made him uneasy, and he didn't dare let her get too close to the maids. But since they were all on the first floor and there were no protective measures, this arrangement was just for peace of mind.

As for the workshop, it hasn't been arranged yet. Anyway, there's no need for a large space at the moment. Later, he plans to cut off another section in the backyard and put Grandma Mei's workshop there for easier security and management.

As he pondered these things, he gradually walked to Granny Mei's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice called from inside, followed by a series of footsteps heading towards the door.

"This voice doesn't sound like that of an old woman with white hair at all. Her makeup isn't quite right. By the way, how did she get that white hair? Is there hair dye here?" Just as he was thinking these random thoughts, the half-closed door was opened, revealing Granny Mei behind it.

"Sir, is there something you need from me?"

Lanny smiled slightly, strolled into the room, and casually said, "You were out for a couple of days, and I was wondering if there was any progress on what I asked you to do, so I just came to take a look!"

Melissa led Lanny to the only chair in the room, shrugged, and offered a half-hearted apology, "I don't have any hot drinks here, sorry," before pointing to the items on the table and introducing recent events.

"After talking with you, I looked for some plants similar to what you described, those with relatively long fibers, such as this wormwood, this spike grass, and this sedge. I'm currently trying them out..."

As she explained, Lanny looked at the several plants on the table, which all appeared to be herbaceous plants.

Lanny sighed inwardly, thinking, "I was just using grass as an example, are you really going to use grass? Couldn't you try some shrubs or tree bark?"

Unexpectedly, he had wronged the person, because the person then continued, "Over here, there's some tree bark—cypress bark, silver pine bark, birch bark..."

It turned out that Granny Mei had categorized the things she had collected into categories such as plants and bark. However, she was probably experimenting with plants at the moment, as these were the plants on the table, while the bark had been placed aside.

Although he didn't voice his doubts, Lanny awkwardly touched his nose and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Granny Mei had a keen sense of things. She glanced at Lanny with some curiosity, wondering what the young lord was embarrassed about. Could it be that she had spoken too fast and Lanny hadn't understood her?

So he gradually slowed down his speech and raised his question, "Sir, I didn't quite understand what you said about the fermentation process before. Could you explain it again?"

Listening to an elderly woman with white hair speaking her native dialect from another world in a strange accent made Lanny feel extremely uneasy.

The manufacturing process he had previously discussed with Granny Mei was a combination of the local animal paper manufacturing process, with some steps he remembered added to his description.

When it came to the step of retting hemp, he really didn't know how to express it. There was no word for retting in Andrew's language. After thinking for a long time, he simply used his mother tongue from another world. This caused Granny Mei to speak it in a strange tone, but it had a strange sense of familiarity.

Shaking his head to clear the jumbled thoughts from his mind, Lanny sorted through his memories again and slowly began to describe the fermentation process.

"The main method of composting is to lay the plants to be treated in a container and place it in a cool, shady place, layering plants and sprinkling water, then layering more plants and sprinkling water again, keeping the plants moist. The main purpose is to decompose the parts of the plants other than the fibers, leaving only the fibrous parts..."

Although Lanny's explanation was rather rough, Grandma Mei listened very attentively, occasionally raising her own questions or questions.

"What kind of water is it? Are there any requirements? Are there any size restrictions for the container?... ..."

After Lanny finished recounting his memories, he found himself struggling to keep up with Granny Mei's questions, appearing somewhat overwhelmed. After all, he had never done related work in the other world, and his understanding was extremely limited.

"Sir, why is the fermentation time set at fifteen days, instead of ten or twenty days? Is there any necessary connection between them?" Melissa looked at Lanny with a thirst for knowledge.

Upon hearing this question, Lanny almost broke out in a cold sweat. How would he know fifteen days? It was just a short video, not something he said himself. "Uh, well, I think it mainly depends on the temperature. If the temperature is high enough, it's not impossible to shorten the time. You know, when the temperature is high, microorganisms are more active and can decompose the organic matter more quickly, leaving only the fibrous part..."

"Microorganisms? What are those?" Upon hearing a term she had never heard before, Melissa's eyes lit up, and the wrinkles on her face seemed to become less noticeable.

"Haha, microorganisms, um, well, look, the weather's pretty nice today, I think I need to go check out the backyard..." Realizing he'd let something slip, and with the old woman staring at him with bright eyes, he got up to run away, but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Sir, you still haven't explained to me what microorganisms are. What are they? They sound like they have a big impact on the fermentation process. If you still want me to make this straw paper for you, I hope you can explain it to me." Granny Mei's face didn't show any agitation, but the threat in her words was uncompromising, leaving Lanny speechless with anger.

Of course, he could get up and leave without a second thought, and he figured that Granny Mei wouldn't be able to stop him. However, considering that he had finally found someone with such a strong research spirit, it would be a real shame to give up so easily. So he could only sit down again and think about how to answer her questions.

His eyes lit up, and suddenly he had an idea.

She leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and said mysteriously, "Can you keep this a secret? What I'm about to tell you is knowledge that cannot be spread casually. If anyone finds out that you know this, you will face punishment under the kingdom's laws. Are you sure you want to know?"

He had thought that Granny Mei would back down after hearing such a statement, but to his surprise, she became even more interested and nodded firmly, "I'm not afraid, sir, please tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Uh... there's nothing I can do about it, I can only lie to you.

He apologized to the other person in his heart, then lowered his voice again and said mysteriously, "Do you know that there is magic in this world, and there are magicians, great magicians, and some magical creatures. These microorganisms are a kind of magical creature. They eat the fibrous parts and leave the plant fibers behind. However, they are very sensitive to temperature. The higher the temperature, the more active they become."

"So, that's enough for you to know. Commoners aren't qualified to know anything about magic!"

Grandma Mei, who had been looking very nervous with bright eyes, thought she was about to hear some huge secret. However, as Lanny continued to speak, her expression gradually changed from curiosity, disbelief, and suspicion to looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"Uh, you don't believe me?"

Lanny could easily read the other person's expression. He knew he had been exposed for lying, and his face turned bright red with embarrassment. He wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground.

"Could it be that she knows about magic? That shouldn't be possible!" Thinking of this, he began to recall the strange things about Granny Mei again, and he became somewhat uncertain.

But now he was in a difficult position and couldn't admit it immediately, so he could only swallow hard and try to save face.

"Of course I believe you! How could I not believe you? The lord has revealed such a secret, how could I not believe you?" Granny Mei said this, but her expression was practically telling him to point her finger at him and say he was talking nonsense.

But for some reason, she didn't expose Lanny. She just gave him a few perfunctory replies and then changed the subject, saying, "Didn't you just say you had something to take care of? I'll excuse myself from seeing you off. Take care, sir."

Hearing the other party's words, which were almost like kicking him out, Lanny didn't know how to argue and fled the room in a disheveled state.

Lanny was extremely embarrassed after being kicked out. He returned to his study and sat down, still feeling awkward for a long time, his face burning.

But as he sat down and gradually calmed down, he recalled the strangeness of Granny Mei and felt that she was not so simple. She was definitely not just a country woman or an old woman.

While her unusual appearance could be attributed to her desire to appear old and ugly in this turbulent world for safety, her reaction to magical knowledge was highly suspicious.

"Could it be that she also knows magic? Judging from her performance just now, the chances are very high!"

"Grandma Mei, oh Grandma Mei, who exactly are you?"

Lanny stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought...