Volume 4: How big is the heart, how vast is the earth Chapter 129: Suspension
The second story of "Travels of a Gourmet Hunter" is still set in St. Bridget.
The beginning of this story is very cliché for people on Earth, especially Chinese, at least it is a cliché that has been popular for thousands of years: a mysterious man who claims to be a gourmet hunter passes by a small town. Most of the land in the town belongs to a noble family. A noble lady is recuperating in the manor and has a romantic encounter with a mysterious man who passes by.
If the mysterious man is replaced by a scholar taking an imperial examination, any Chinese person can easily make up the rest of the story and its ending...
But Xiao Yun is obviously not interested in writing about a noble lady falling in love with me, so after the romantic encounter, the plot takes a 180 -degree turn: the beautiful noble lady, who is frail and moves like a willow in the wind, falls in love with the mysterious and powerful gourmet hunter at first sight and starts pursuing him, but the protagonist frowns and looks disgusted, even saying that the other party has no gratitude for food, has the conditions to have enough food and clothing but wastes food and indulges himself into a skinny pole. Such an excessive woman and a tough guy like him who pursues the ultimate gourmet food in life have no future? !
The noble lady was confused. When Isaac read this part, Arnold and Alex who were listening to the story were also confused...
The storylines and legends in this world are full of plots where poor boys date rich girls and noble young masters fall in love with pretty maids. As for the YIN, it's almost the same in every world; but no one has ever seen such a fresh and unconventional reaction as this gourmet hunter.
This is not the end. The food hunter's next move is beyond the comprehension of the people in this world: he took the noble lady to see how the poor peasants on the farm outside the town lived. The family lived in a small thatched mud house with the sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks they raised. The children had no pants to wear and had to sleep with pigs to keep warm at night. The noble lady was shocked...
The gourmet hunter accused the noble lady of not caring about the development of the farm and the food and clothing of the poor farmers as the owner of the farm, and of being picky about the fine food that the poor farmers could not eat, and scolded the noble lady until she burst into tears...
In the end, the gourmet hunter finally had a little bit of sympathy for women. He bought a fat pig from the poor farmer, slaughtered it, and made two sweet and sour dishes for the noble lady, one sweet and sour pork tenderloin and one sweet and sour pork ribs. This part was both a cooking tutorial and a personal addition. The gourmet hunter used fruit acid instead of vinegar to cook the tenderloin. During the cooking process, he once again complained about the noble lady's lack of concern for the development of her own territory and her ignorance of the popular seasoning vinegar in St. Bridget. He also told her where to buy the most appetizing vinegar...
It is unprecedented to make an advertisement so hardcore.
The most outrageous thing is that this chapter still uses at least 2,000 words to describe how delicious and tempting these two sweet and sour delicacies are. The picky noble lady eats with a big appetite and does not care about her image. She even falls in love with the food hunter who is sharp-tongued, has a bad temper and refuses to follow the ordinary path...
Of course, this relationship still had no result. After teaching the tearful noble lady a lesson, the gourmet hunter pulled down his hood, said "I'm just a gourmet hunter passing by" and left in a cool manner, waving his sleeves without taking a cloud with him...
"They still haven't told us who he is!!" Arnold howled, holding his head.
Ali, drooling, leaned over to the window and looked out at the street with anticipation: "Which store can launch sweet and sour spareribs as soon as possible?"
"This story is purely to make the Snow Wolf Tribe jealous!" Isaac said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "This Ayun has no intention of writing a serious travelogue at all!"
I have to say, Isaac found the highlight...
Arnold and Alex were not interested in the Elf Ranger's Journey to Teaching People How to Farm. After listening to the gourmet hunter's story, they patted their butts and left. Isaac could calm down and appreciate it slowly.
Isaac stood up after reading half of it, his face full of astonishment - can water be used to grow food without fields? The poor in the city use potted water for hydroponics or use narrow spaces such as courtyards, corners, windowsills, and roofs to grow emergency food?
Although Isaac was born in a good family, as the second son in the family, he was not favored by his parents. When he grew up, his father, who had a title, gave him a thousand gold coins and sent him away. Although Isaac did not fall into a hard life afterwards, he did see the life of the poor, so he understood very well how important the knowledge taught by the elf ranger Crest was in this chapter - apart from anything else, the lower city of Valentine was crowded with poor families. If these families could also make the best use of space to obtain emergency food, it would be a great achievement.
Reading carefully word by word, Isaac felt more and more that it was feasible... In this chapter, Crest gave detailed instructions on how the poor people in the cities of the Dwarf Kingdom could use the existing conditions for planting. As long as there is a space that can be exposed to sunlight, it can be used for hydroponics even if it is not next to the ground. The instructions also clearly explain how to prepare the hydroponic nutrient solution during the cultivation process (see Chapter 25 on homemade phosphate fertilizers), how to dilute it into clean water for use, how to change the water, etc.
If there is vacant land or space around the house, even if it is just a palm-wide window sill, you can use wooden boards to make long cultivation containers, fill them with soil, and plant onions and garlic. In the soil cultivation part, Crest also introduced ways to increase the yield of crops. The well-rotted black soil of fallen leaves in the woods and the earthworm soil dug from the wild are both good soil for crops. (Xiao Yun was going to write about manure, but Evelyn strongly dissuaded him... Using this thing is too black magic style and not suitable for early publicity)
According to this textbook, the areas in front of and behind the houses and even on the roofs of the houses of the poor in the city can be utilized. A hardworking housewife can provide her family with at least several hundred kilograms of emergency food (sweet potatoes, potatoes, and taro) every year - but don't say that sweet potatoes are cheap and don't need to be planted. You have to know that many poor people struggling to make ends meet have no money at all!
"This chapter of the story can solve the dining table problem for many poor families!" Isaac couldn't help but admire it. After a while, he shook his head and lamented, "It's a pity that people who need guidance can't even see this travelogue."
The poor at the bottom of society couldn’t even get enough food, let alone learn to read. Even if they could read, it was a problem whether they could afford to buy the “Travels of the Mainland”… The price of a travel book was two silver coins! A total of 100 copper coins! This money was enough for a family of three to eat and use for a month!
Isaac hired three maids to clean and cook in the small building he rented. Each maid's monthly salary was only a few silver coins, which was just enough for two meals of wine for the adventurers. Even so, when Isaac spread the word about recruiting people, the union in Valentine's Lower Town brought a dozen people for Isaac to choose from... For people in the Lower Town, jobs in the Midtown are very popular.
Isaac stood there silently for a while, then walked out of the room with the travel journal in his arms, went downstairs to call three maids from the lower town, and found an excuse to tell them a story.
The three maids were all relatively older, with the youngest being in her forties. This was a deliberate choice made by Isaac when he was selecting the maids - the members he recruited were all young men, and he didn't want disgusting things like forcing maids to happen in his team's base.
The three maids were very confused as to why their master wanted to read them stories from books, but this job was related to whether their families could have enough food and eat well, so they did not raise any objections. They sat down on the wooden chair next to the sofa with their hearts in their throats, and listened to Master Isaac start reading the adventure story of the elves and the snow wolf in the dwarf kingdom. Just halfway through, the three women in the lower city were shocked... They were not completely ignorant of travel notes, but didn't they describe stories about how brave adventurers hunted powerful monsters, earned huge fortunes that they could only imagine, and fell in love with beautiful princesses?
Even if adventurers help the poor, they only help beautiful girls... and the so-called help is always related to fighting for justice or robbing the rich to help the poor. After getting the thanks of the common people with just a few clicks of their fingers, they leave in a carefree manner. How can there be stories about living in the homes of the poor and teaching them how to grow food?
Although they felt it was very strange and incongruous, they couldn't help but get caught up in the story in the travelogue, especially the detailed descriptions of growing onions, garlic, sweet potatoes and potatoes. They were so excited that they couldn't wait to hear them... They could afford sweet potatoes and potatoes because they worked in the central city, but it was more difficult for them to buy auxiliary ingredients such as ginger, onion and garlic. Especially ginger, people like them who were relatively well-off in the lower city could only buy a small piece a month, and each time they would cut a thin slice and put it in the soup for seasoning. Most people simply couldn't afford it - they also had a small piece of land on the windowsill and in front of and behind the house, so they could grow ginger, onion and garlic themselves. How much money would that save!
After Isaac finished reading it, he saw that the three maids looked very focused, so he smiled and said, "This travelogue explains it in great detail, but I have no experience in planting, so I don't know if I can grow crops by doing what he said. What about you? Do you know anything about this?"
The oldest maid nodded quickly, her wrinkled face smiling: "I used to work on a farm. It sounds reasonable. The flowers grown by noble gentlemen are only this delicate." After a pause, she said embarrassedly, "Master Isaac, can you tell us again how ginger, onions and garlic are grown? I'm worried that I'm not smart enough and can't remember all the details..."
"Of course." Isaac turned back and read the paragraph about ginger, onion and garlic again. "If there's anything you don't understand, I can read it again."
“No, we’ve made a note of it.” The older maid waved her hand quickly and said happily, “It’s amazing that the soil that earthworms have drilled and the water soaked with leftover bones can make crops grow better. My daughter lives in a nearby town. She has a nice yard at home. If she can plant ginger and garlic there, her life will be much better.”
"Yes, I want to plant some in my house too." The other two maids echoed excitedly.
"The elves and the snow wolves are the best at planting that I have ever seen, just like the legendary tauren. If you follow their instructions, you will definitely get something in return." Isaac was very happy to be able to help them, and said happily, "The elves and the snow wolves wrote this knowledge into the travel notes without reservation, hoping that more people in need can see it. If your relatives, friends, neighbors, and neighbors also need this knowledge, I hope you can pass it on to them on behalf of the elves and the snow wolves."
Women are easily moved by sincere emotions. The three maids nodded and said that they would teach the knowledge they had memorized to the people around them.
"Master Isaac is such a good man." After Isaac left, the three maids couldn't help but gather together and sigh, "This is the first time we've seen a young master !"
Isaac gets the Good Guy Card x3...
St. Bridget's Travels in the Continent was published a few days later than Valentine, the northern commercial center. Prince Carlisle read the new edition of the travelogue devoutly, and immediately summoned the prince and two princesses who followed the prince to deal with practical affairs, and asked them to arrange people to promote family planting technology in the country.
"This... If everyone grows ginger and garlic at home, won't it affect our country's spice business? Your Highness, we should ban the distribution of this travelogue in the country." Prince Hilbott flipped through the travelogue and immediately said with dissatisfaction.
Carlisle frowned, said nothing, and looked at his two sisters sitting beside him.
The eldest princess was rather cowardly, while the youngest princess was lively by nature. In the past six months, she had been favored and loved by Carlisle, and she had regained her confidence and pride as a royal daughter. She raised her little chin and said cutely, "Brother, the spices in our country are all grown on farms and estates. If those common people without land can affect the spice trade of St. Bridget by growing some ginger and garlic at home, doesn't that mean that our spice trade is particularly unstable?"
Carlisle smiled approvingly and nodded slightly, while Prince Hillbottom looked embarrassed.
"But...what if those commoners sell the ginger and garlic they grow in the market? Wouldn't that disrupt the market order?" Prince Hillbottom had been severely criticized by Carlisle before he reluctantly agreed to let the princess participate in politics. Now he was particularly dissatisfied with the little princess's ignorance and said with a long face, "If we want to promote family planting, then these commoners will have to pay more taxes."
Carlisle was really unhappy this time, and he scolded with a stern face: "Prince, please be careful with your words!"
Prince Hilbott looked displeased: "Your Highness, what did I say wrong?"
"Not to mention how much ginger and garlic the city residents can grow in their cramped quarters, even if they sell the ginger and garlic they grow to earn some extra income, what's the problem? Hardworking people should live better than lazy people, isn't that natural? As a member of Ferdinand's royal family, how can you be so narrow-minded?" There were no outsiders in the hall, and Carlisle was too lazy to save face for his cousin of the same generation. "You can't even accept that common people earn a few copper coins, so does it also make you uneasy to sleep and eat when nobles wear silk and satin and eat delicacies from land and sea?"
Prince Hilbot was ashamed and angry, but he couldn't refute - if Carlisle spread this last question, his reputation among the nobles would be ruined... Especially those nobles who made their fortunes through maritime trade, who would even care about a few copper coins. Wouldn't Hilbot bear a grudge against them for the gold coins they had worked so hard to earn?
This issue of "Travels on the Continent" triggered a wave of hard work and wealth creation among the people in St. Brigitte's, which was promoted by the royal family and also caused quite a stir in other countries and regions.
You should know that there are many smart people in this world. There are many who can combine the two points of turning mountains into terraces mentioned in the previous issue with the use of decomposed fallen leaves and earthworm soil to increase crop yields mentioned in this issue. Of course, most of the people who have discovered this will not publicize it to the outside world, but secretly start experiments in their own territories...
As the "home court" in the travelogue, the Dwarf Kingdom naturally paid attention to the contents of the travelogue after the Elf Ranger's Travels became widely talked about.
The dwarf king, who had just turned 100, was at his prime. This top warrior, who had been famous on the continent for decades, laughed after flipping through two issues of the travel journal: "Are the forest elves trying to help the Snow Wolf Clan become famous? Are they planning to support the Snow Wolf Clan?"
The content of the travel notes is undoubtedly fabricated. The rule of the Dwarf King in the Western Continent is unquestionable. If elves and snow wolves really entered the country to instruct the Dwarfs on terracing technology, the Dwarf King would have received the news long ago.
The Dwarf King was not offended by the fact that the Forest Elves and the Snow Wolf Tribe used their own land as a model for guidance. The Western Continent was recognized as the region with the worst agricultural development and the least suitable for agriculture on the Bloomfield Continent. Plateaus and mountains were widespread, and most of the country was mountainous and desert. Several generations of Dwarf Kings diligently promoted agriculture according to the experience taught by the Tauren, but they could only maintain a population of tens of millions in the country. If there were more, they would not be able to support them.
If this travelogue had mocked the Dwarf Kingdom's backward agriculture throughout, the Dwarf King would have surely picked up his artifact hammer and come to cause trouble... But since not only did they not mock them but they also provided a solution to the problem of tight farmland, the Dwarf King would surely appreciate it.
At the command of the Dwarf King, an army was immediately dispatched to the southern mountainous area of the Western Continent in the snowstorm to launch a large-scale terrace reclamation plan. The southern mountainous area with the most suitable climate for farming is just as described in the travel notes: seven mountains, two rivers and one acre of land. The local grain output can barely sustain local consumption, let alone transport to the country. The Dwarf King is going to take a gamble to see if the solution proposed by the forest elves and the snow wolf tribe can solve the problem of food supply in the kingdom.
“If food can really be produced, supporting the Snow Wolf Tribe cannot be left to the forest elves alone.” The Dwarf King stroked his beard, his eyes flashing… Even though the protagonist of the travelogue is a forest elf, the Dwarf King, who has been dealing with the forest elves for a long time, knows very well that those green-skinned, pointy-eared creatures simply don’t have such ability—the Elf Mountains that span the continent block the connection between the Western Continent and the Northern Continent, and most of the land in the Elf Forest is also mountainous. All the forest elves can do is to use the few flat lands to grow food as much as possible. They do not live in extremely cold areas, and their population is only a few hundred thousand more than that of the snow elves.
In other words... the Dwarf King could guess with his knees that it was the Snow Wolf Tribe that came up with the real solution, and the Forest Elves were the protagonists only because the Snow Wolf Tribe was not important enough.
This also made the Dwarf King wonder: "How did those orcs become so smart? Did they find their heritage? But this doesn't make sense. The heritage of those orcs is how to fight, not how to teach people how to farm!"
Unable to figure it out, the Dwarf King gave up thinking about it... Last year, he bought a lot of soy sauce produced by the Snow Wolf Tribe through the forest elves, which greatly alleviated the problem of salt shortage in the Western Continent - four copper coins per pound of soy sauce is enough for a dwarf family to use for a month. Compared with the salt shipped by the Lamia Caravan, which is priced in silver coins, this price is really the most conscience. The Dwarf King has a good impression of the Snow Wolf Tribe in this matter, and he will not feel anything even if the Snow Wolf Tribe really finds back the inheritance.
"Travels of the Gourmet Hunter" and " Travels of the Elf Ranger and His Snow Wolf Friend" attracted widespread attention from readers of different levels after only two issues. The shock and changes caused by the latter still need time to brew, but the former has changed the dining habits of countless people in just two months - those who love stimulating food are loyal fans of cold rabbit, and those who love sweet and sour tastes can't stop eating the magical sweet and sour cuisine; third-rate cooks and even ordinary housewives and maids can make new dishes according to the meticulous recipes that can beat conventional food, making many people exclaim that what they used to eat was pig food...
Obviously, two recipes are not enough to satisfy the foodies who have discovered the new world. There are also many people who are curious about what magical agricultural technologies the Elf Ranger Crest and the Snow Wolf Man Hongye can spread. With everyone's expectations and eager anticipation, the time has finally come again for the release of "Travels of the Continent" -
"Apology: Because the author Ayun from the Snow Wolf tribe has been out collecting materials and has not returned on time, this issue of "Travels of the Gourmet Hunter" and "Travels of the Elf Ranger and His Snow Wolf Friend" will be suspended for one issue."
"puff--"
Countless restaurant owners and chefs who lined up in front of the bookstore before dawn vomited blood.
“[Silence]——”
The adventurers who made their living by reading these two travel notes cursed in their hometown dialects with various accents.
“Cough cough cough cough cough——!!”
In St. Bridget's Palace, Prince Carlisle coughed loudly and uncontrollably.
“…”
In the Dwarf Kingdom, the Dwarf King, who was holding the travel notes in one hand, had his facial muscles twitching, and his thick, short fingers grabbed the handle of the artifact hammer at his waist.
In the Elf Forest, the Royal City of Stephens, the Elf Queen sat on the sofa in an elegant and plain home robe. She opened the cover of the travel journal and stayed there for about three seconds.
"Is it because Ananas has given too many orders to the Snow Wolf Tribe that leaves Ayun with no time to write?" Her Majesty the Queen looked at the lady-in-waiting with displeasure.
"Uh..." The female official was speechless... She had a lot of things to do to assist the queen, so how could she have so much leisure time to pay attention to a small country town like Ananas?
Today, the Fire Tribe is still bustling with activity.
Xiao Yun sat cross-legged on the kang, holding a charcoal pencil in one hand and a steel ruler in the other, slowly drawing the design plan for the third phase of the tribe's expansion on bark paper. He stretched out his voice and said, "So I tell you, inspiration is very important. If you can't make it up, you can't make it up. You can't be impatient, you can only wait, otherwise you will get nothing even if you are impatient, do you understand? Making up a story is not like drawing a blueprint or doing construction. You can always get a result by working hard. How can you be impatient with this stream of consciousness stuff~~~~~"
Evelin, who was sitting opposite the kang table, looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears…
"Besides, the first two stories have already shown the sincerity of our elves and snow wolves. Readers can already understand our generous style of not hiding anything about gourmet agriculture. What does it matter if we take a break for one or two issues? Bloomfield is so big, I don't believe that anyone will come to trouble our cubs. Okay, don't get in my way. It's spring and we're starting construction again. I have to finish this plan quickly. I'm very busy!"
“You want to take another break?!” The exhausted Evelin was a step slower to understand the meaning of Xiao Yun’s words, and was immediately terrified.
"That's nothing. Others who have suspended publication for a few years are living a comfortable life. I'm only planning to suspend publication for two issues, which is already very moral." Xiao Yunhun said nonchalantly.
Evelin took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “It’s better not to… Teacher Ayun, this suspension has already caused the Bards Association to be extremely anxious. The number of letters sent to various branches scolding them is terrifying—suspending the publication for two issues will cause trouble!”
Xiao Yun laughed and said, "It's none of my business. I'd rather my fellow Taoist die than let myself die."
It's just a delay in submitting the manuscript, no big deal! Even sending razor blades can't get to him! He doesn't believe that someone would come all the way to block him!
Full of confidence, Xiao Yun devoted himself to the tribal work and directed the new labor force who had just adapted to the work rhythm. When the team of soldiers who went out for training returned with the good news that a group of people from the central tribes would move in and integrate after the spring, Xiao Yun immediately began to write a plan for the construction of the new district and was very busy - the new district must be built, the fields must be expanded, the drainage and flood prevention work must continue to be extended, and the work classification must be more in-depth and detailed. Every bit of effort in the tribe must be used to the best effect, and any waste of human resources must be resolutely put to an end!
Work makes people depressed!
They worked happily until the spring when the snow melted. Xiao Yun immediately organized people to expand the fields on both sides of the river and cultivate them. They would not stop until the farmland was endless. Just as he was excitedly leading everyone to work hard to reclaim the land, a group of black elves emerged from the ground and blocked the way of the reclamation team.
"Fuck, did they find out that we were draining water into the underground world?!" Xiao Yun's heart immediately started beating fast when he saw that those black-skinned guys with pointed ears all had unfriendly expressions.
"Where is Ayun from the Snow Wolf Clan? Who is Ayun from the Snow Wolf Clan?!" The big-breasted dark elf in the lead shouted loudly with a dark face.
Mumu Ding, who was carrying a triangular plow in wolf shape at the front, had no intention of protecting Xiao Yun. He turned to look at Xiao Yun with confusion.
The busty dark elf immediately dived into the crowd and slid to Xiao Yun's front. She angrily pressed her slender finger against Xiao Yun's nose: "So it's you - weren't you out collecting materials? You big liar!!"
Xiao Yun: “???”
