Chapter 47: The Design of the Squat Toilet

Early the next morning, under Beila's service, Luoning put on a relatively simple training outfit.

Compared to the tension of yesterday, Beila appeared much more composed today, and her movements were significantly more proficient. It is believed that in another period of time, she will be able to become a qualified personal maid.

Luoning walked out of the dressing room, "Jialun, go notify Maiken, tell them to get ready, and later follow me to continue patrolling the territory. Today our direction is the west, to survey the tail end of the Wushan Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"Very well, My Lord, I will go notify them right away!" Jialun ran off happily.

As soon as Luoning stepped out of the main building, he saw Steward Chahaer and Administrator Wilson waiting at the entrance, and between the two of them was a large vat.

Seeing the lord come out, the two stepped forward and offered their morning greetings.

"My Lord, the large vat you asked for last night has been prepared."

Chahaer had gone to great lengths yesterday trying to find a larger ceramic vat, but unfortunately, after searching back and forth, he had not found a larger one.

With no other choice, he could only move a water vat over to be used for now.

Luoning circled the ceramic vat twice, "It will barely do, it's just a bit small."

Chahaer looked a bit embarrassed, "My Lord, this is already the largest one in the castle."

"Can larger ones be made?"

Luoning gestured, "Are there people in town who do this kind of work?"

This...

Chahaer shook his head; he did not know the people in town and could only look at Wilson, as this native-born man was much more familiar with Shanlin Town than he was.

"There are, My Lord!"

Wilson said, "I remember that the Blacksmith Kalesi in town knows how to fire pottery."

"Then have him fire a few large vats for us."

Luoning asked again, "How is the census going? Have you encountered any problems?"

"My Lord, the progress is smooth so far. Yesterday I already registered over nine hundred people."

This was the first task Wilson had received, and he performed it with great care and diligence; yesterday, apart from eating and drinking, he had not stopped to rest once.

"There are no major problems, it's just that the remaining residents don't live very close together, so counting them requires running around, and it won't be as fast as yesterday."

"That is fine."

Luoning was very satisfied with Wilson's work efficiency, "Chahaer, assign a common horse to Wilson so that we can save our Administrator's energy and speed up his work."

"If you are provided with a horse, how much longer do you think it will take to complete the census?"

"This..."

Wilson hesitated; he did not know how to answer this question.

If he said the time was too short and he failed to finish, that would not be good;

but if he said the time was too long, it would make his work efficiency seem low.

"A day and a half?"

Wilson weighed it for Along while and finally gave this timeframe.

"My Lord, I will try my best to give you an answer by tomorrow afternoon!"

Luoning nodded; a day and a half was quite fast.

"You handle it as you see fit. If the time is not enough, you can extend it slightly. But you must ensure that there are no errors in the results. Efficiency is important, but the results are more important!"

Wilson's expression was serious and earnest, "Please rest assured, My Lord, Wilson will always keep your requirements and instructions in his heart!"

After some instructions, the topic returned to the ceramic vat in front of them.

Luoning took out the parchment with the Squat Toilet design he had drawn last night and handed it to the two of them to look at, "This is the toilet I designed, and I plan to promote it in Shanlin Town."

Wilson and Chahaer looked at each other; neither had expected the lord to take out this thing to show them.

"My Lord, please forgive my offense!"

Steward Chahaer spoke up in the line of duty, "Such filthy matters should be left for us servants to handle. As the master of Shanlin Town and the noblest person here, you should not be dealing with topics that carry such odors."

Although Wilson did not have the courage to speak up as directly as Chahaer, it was clear that he completely agreed with this statement.

Although this was his first time serving as an Administrator, his thirty-plus years of experience told him that nobles and lords were noble; how could they consider the issue of excrement?

"I have my own ideas."

Luoning looked at the parchment in his hand; this Squat Toilet was actually the kind of toilet from the countryside where he grew up on Earth—

A large vat buried in the ground, with two wooden boards placed on top, one on the left and one on the right; people who wanted to use the toilet would just stand directly on the boards.

Oh, right, there would also be a stick placed in the large vat; this was the so-called "shit-stirring stick."

Collecting feces in this way could be considered natural fermentation, and they could be used directly to fertilize the crops.

"I hope that one day in the future, every household in Shanlin Town will have a toilet like this to collect their feces."

Luoning began to explain to his Administrator, "Of course, it is not possible to promote this right now, so I plan to start with our castle."

He looked at Chahaer, "You must choose a place, build two first, and put up a shed for them, so that the castle servants can use them! Instead of collecting the feces as you do now and then sending them outside the castle to be dumped."

"My Lord, I understand what you mean."

Chahaer bowed and replied, "But I do not understand why you want to collect these things? My Lord, this matter is beneath your status!"

To tell the truth, as a steward, Chahaer himself did not want to manage this matter.

"This is fertilizer, and it relates to my future plans, so you only need to cooperate with me fully."

Since things had reached this point, although Chahaer still did not understand, he did not continue to advise against it. Regardless, he was a servant of the castle; giving advice was his duty, and being responsible for execution was his obligation.

"I understand, My Lord. I will do my best to carry out every task you command!"

"We will have a harvest."

Luoning smiled, and he began to speak to the Administrator again, "During the census, you need to help me find a few experts at farming; I need them to serve me for a period of time. In addition, I need you to prepare two mu of empty land for me; I plan to develop it into an experimental field."

Wilson listened earnestly to the Baron's instructions from beginning to end, from the design of the toilet to the collection of feces, to finding farming helpers and the two mu of empty land, and he even mentioned the word "fertilizer."

He already slightly understood the Baron's ideas.

"My lord, you are truly different; this is the first time I have seen a lord who cares so much about farmland!"

Wilson exclaimed, "I believe that with your help, Shanlin Town will welcome a bumper harvest every year!"

Luoning's eyes lit up; he had not expected the Administrator to understand his objective.

This was good; at the very least, when assigning tasks in the future, the other party would be able to keep up with his train of thought as quickly as possible.

"Alright, the reason I called the two of you here today was for this matter; you may continue with your work."

After giving his instructions, Luoning took the lead and walked out of the castle; he was going to begin patrolling the woodlands.

Chahaer watched his master's departing back, then looked down at the ceramic vat before him and consulted with Wilson.

After a while, he nodded as if he understood, "Our master is indeed as you said, different from the rest!"

As an Administrator who had only been on the job for one day, Wilson did not know much about Luoning's past experiences, as Pulinsite had not widely publicized the matter of the Marquis's eldest grandson being stripped of his inheritance rights.

But judging from the testing and task assignments yesterday to this plan today, Wilson felt that the Baron was a very pragmatic, realistic person who pursued efficiency and results.

Following such a person, as long as one worked diligently to get things done, not to mention anything else, the daily salary of ten copper coins was secure.

"Steward, quickly take me to fetch a horse; I want to speed up the census!"

Wilson nodded to Chahaer, "I feel that once this matter is finished, there will still be many things waiting for me to do for the lord!"

"Haha, very well, Mr. Administrator!"

Chahaer offered a compliment, "With your help, the lord's Shanlin Town will definitely get better and better."

Hearing such praise, Wilson was in a very good mood.

However, he also knew Chahaer's status; as the castle's Steward and the Baron's former personal manservant, he certainly belonged to the group of close confidants.

One must maintain a good relationship with someone who is close to the Baron, so the two began a round after round of mutual flattery.

(End of this chapter)