Chapter 283: A Great Harvest

After the war ended, Luoning still did not follow the main force, but instead rode the dragon alone back to Wubei Territory.

Four days later, the dragon folded its wings and landed on the "landing pad" behind Zhaozebao.

"Go do as you please; I'll call you if I need anything."

Watching Kaierluosi leave, Luoning walked into the courtyard.

At this moment, the entire courtyard was quiet, without a single soul in sight. If it weren't for the fact that there were no fallen leaves and the surroundings were clean, he would have thought the place had been abandoned.

"Where is everyone?"

Luoning called out: "Ailin? Black Tiger?"

Black Tiger had the keenest nose and was usually the first to come out, but at this moment, there was no sign of it.

"Master, you're back!"

Finally, a head poked out from a corner of the courtyard; it was the maid Beila, who was wiping her apron with both hands, seemingly washing something.

"My Lord, you've finally returned!"

She excitedly trotted over and performed a series of bows.

There was no master in the castle, and even after noble Transcendental beings like Aierlong and Jennie had left, the servants didn't know whom to serve and could only find things to do for themselves every day.

Fortunately, with the recent autumn harvest grain collected, the servants were busy helping to store the grain under the leadership of Administrative Chief Wilson, so they weren't too idle.

"Oh, it's Beila~"

Luoning smiled and looked the maid up and down.

Unknowingly, this maid had joined the castle for a year now; compared to before, Beila was no longer thin and weak, and her complexion looked quite healthy.

As for her figure, despite wearing a maid's uniform, it still looked quite pleasing.

Joining the castle to become a personal maid was a lucky thing for Beila; not only did she eat well, live well, and dress well, but when she left the castle and returned home, her relatives and friends envied her, and some even asked if she could become the Lord's lover.

It was just a pity that the noble Lord seemed uninterested in women.

But at this moment, being looked at like this by the Lord, Beila couldn't help but blush, feeling nervous, and hurriedly asked: "Master, what do you need me to do for you? Prepare hot water for washing, or have the kitchen prepare lunch? Or..."

Luoning waved his hand; why take a bath in the middle of the day?

"Have the kitchen prepare lunch, and also go notify Jialun, tell him to call Wilson, Chahaer, and the others over."

"Oh, right, where is Ailin? Why isn't she in the castle?"

Beila's nervous mood finally eased; the Lord hadn't changed, and as expected, he wasn't interested in them.

"Miss Ailin was probably too bored, so she rode Black Tiger to Ziguo Village two days ago. Oh, right, My Lord, Miss Ailin said she has become an Intermediate Mage!"

Luoning's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected that not long after Jennie became an Advanced Mage, her daughter would also have a breakthrough.

"This is truly a happy event. When Ailin returns, I will host a banquet for her to celebrate her breakthrough."

A fourteen-year-old Intermediate Mage; this talent was not a bit inferior to Buleidun's.

As long as she cultivates well, she will likely become an Advanced Mage before the age of twenty.

As Beila notified Jialun and the others, soon all the servants in the castle and the officials of the territory knew that the Lord had returned.

"Master, welcome back!"

Jialun ran over at the first opportunity. Ever since Chahaer was transferred to be the Financial Officer, the duties of the Steward had gradually fallen to Jialun, and this former personal manservant had also met his own opportunity.

"Long time no see, Jialun. I called you over because I want you to handle a matter."

Luoning pointed to the rice ears placed on the bluestone floor. "This is a type of grain called 'rice', similar to wheat and barley. I need you to remove the grains for me, then dry them, pack them in Linen Cloth bags, and store them in a dry place to be kept as seeds."

From the front line to Zhaozebao, Kaierluosi's flight speed was enough for one day.

The reason he took so many days to return was precisely because he had made a trip to the Zhaoze to harvest the ripe wild rice.

"You can rest assured and leave it to me!"

Jialun thought this was special grain Luoning had brought back from the front line and didn't ask any further questions.

Luoning gave some more instructions. With only this little bit of wild rice, he estimated there were at most a hundred pounds of seeds. To promote it on a large scale in Swamp Town, it would likely require several years of cultivation and selection to obtain more seeds.

Therefore, he called for Wilson and had him arrange manpower to prepare to develop a rice paddy in the Zhaoze.

For Wubei Territory, rice was a new thing, and its planting method was completely different from wheat.

To grow rice, one could only rely on the half-baked level of someone like Luoning to try.

Although Luoning only knew a little, no matter how bad it was, it wouldn't be worse than the wild environment.

These rice plants could grow and mature in the wild; now that they were given a better environment, there was no reason for them to die.

"My Lord, the autumn harvest work is now completely finished. Although the farmers haven't rested for a moment during this time, all the wheat has been harvested. After a short rest, we will soon begin harvesting the barley."

Administrative Chief Wilson was reporting the autumn harvest situation: "Under your guidance on cultivation techniques and fertilization methods, the average yield per mu of wheat this time has increased from the original 105 jin to 178 jin now!"

He couldn't help but marvel; in all the years he had lived, the grain had never had such a bumper harvest as this year.

When harvesting, almost every farmer was grinning from ear to ear, and what they talked about every day was either praising the Lord's wisdom and greatness, or saying things like "Follow the Lord, and you'll have enough to eat."

Luoning nodded slightly.

Such a yield per mu would naturally be terrible in modern times, but that was the result of the widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

A yield of 178 jin per mu was already very good.

Wubei Territory planted more than 34,000 mu of wheat during this spring plowing; according to this yield per mu, more than 6 million jin of wheat would be harvested this year!

Plus there were more than 38,000 mu of barley fields that hadn't been harvested yet...

Perhaps this year, the total grain production of Wubei Territory could exceed 10 million jin!

Luoning laughed, "It's a harvest year!"

"Yes, Master. If we can have such a harvest every year, our Wubei Territory can earn quite a few gold coins every year by selling grain abroad!"

Ever since taking on the role of Financial Officer, Chahaer had been thinking about money every day.

"Master, this year's yield per mu has increased, and this is all thanks to the technology, tools, and draft cattle you provided. I think the castle should collect this profit, so should we increase the tax rate?"

This was something Chahaer had been thinking about recently.

However, the matter was of great importance, so he dared not make the decision himself and could only wait for Luoning to return to ask him.

"Seeking greater revenue for the castle is good, but our population policy has just been promulgated, and for you to think about changing taxes now is not very appropriate."

Luoning rejected the other party's proposal.

Changing orders in the morning and rescinding them in the evening is not a sign of maturity, and it will also invite dissatisfaction from the populace, which is very unfavorable for Wubei Territory to attract outsiders.

Furthermore, Luoning was encouraging childbirth; if the territory's people cannot even get enough to eat, how can they give birth to children for you?

"We must let the people of the territory know that by planting more grain and harvesting more grain, they can live better; only then will they have greater motivation."

"My Lord is right!"

Wilson echoed, "Although the farmers have been tired these days, they all have smiles on their faces, and they are working more actively and energetically than in the past."

Chahar sighed, "I also know this is not good, but the territory's expenses are very high; currently, the monthly wages are at least over two hundred gold coins, and the workforce is still expanding, while several industries are still in a state of self-sufficiency..."

He was afraid that if there were no money one day, he would not know how to explain it.

"You don't need to worry about the money."

Luoning was quite open-minded; they were still in the investment stage, and he would not refrain from spending the money in his hands out of stinginess.

"Wushan Castle won this war, and we have gained a huge harvest."

Wilson and Chahar looked at each other; they had been somewhat apprehensive when they arrived, as the Lord had returned alone, and they did not know whether this war had been won or lost.

Now, hearing these words, they finally set their hearts at ease.

"Therefore, do not worry about spending too much money, as long as it is of value."

Luoning said with a smile, "Starting from today, recruit more new people, because soon there will be more things for you to handle."

"My Lord, are you saying?"

A thought emerged in Wilson's heart.

He was originally just the Administrator of Shanlin Town, and at that time, Luoning had told him to learn more, watch more, and do more; and look, in the blink of an eye, he had become the Administrative Chief of Wubei Territory, managing the administration of four towns.

Now that the Lord said this, could it be that there is new territory again? (End of chapter)