CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 70: WILD STRAWBERRY WINE

Luo De didn’t waste any words with Prophet Bai Shuang.

He had Us bring the Gray Stone Leader and Giant Wood Leader to him, and Luo De said to them,

"As long as you work honestly with me, I’ll provide you with a steady supply of black bread, how about that?"

Luo De didn’t mention the word slave, emphasizing work and bread.

"Good, good, good!"

After listening to Us’s translation, the Gray Stone Leader nodded heavily in agreement, followed quickly by the Giant Wood Leader.

They were now like meat on a chopping block, having bread to eat was already the best outcome.

Luo De liked the Gray Stone Leader’s answer and instructed, "Then have your people choose someone smart from your tribe, and move your tribe to Frost Leaf Town."

Prophet Bai Shuang had brought most of the grown men out from the tribe, so Luo De wasn’t worried about those sent back not returning.

The Gray Stone Leader and Giant Wood Leader exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, then made up their minds,

"Alright!"

Due to language barriers, the Gray Stone Leader had already learned to use nodding as the most straightforward form of communication.

During this raid, nearly all the strong men from both tribes came out; if others stayed in the mountains, half would die in the winter.

Better to come out together, at least there would be work to do.

With the two leaders being straightforward, Luo De wasted no words and had them select people immediately.

Once the tribespeople headed into the mountains, Luo De handed over the matters here to Us, letting him receive the migrating wildmen.

Not that this hunter was particularly outstanding, but he was the only one who could communicate with these wildmen.

And Luo De let Gang Le lead these wildmen slaves at the back while Luo De himself hurried back to town first.

There was still a pile of work left to handle in Frost Leaf Town; Luo De couldn’t afford to wait.

Just as he returned to the manor, little Milly ran up to give Luo De a firm hug.

Luo De patted her little head and bent down to hold her in his arms.

Beside him, Avril handed over a cup of honey flower tea, smiling as she asked, "Did everything go well?"

"Yeah."

Luo De downed the honey flower tea in one gulp and said, "Those wildmen are obedient as long as you give them some black bread.

Just wait, we’re one step closer to reclaiming Razor Plain."

"No rush, take your time, I’ve been doing quite well here."

Avril took the cup with both hands, "I’ve been learning herbalism from Luna recently, and Vivian is learning swordsmanship at the salt mine every day."

"Yeah, finding something to do is good."

Luo De nodded and casually encouraged, "Keep it up!"

Right now, Luo De’s head was full of thoughts on how to arrange these slaves.

According to Prophet Bai Shuang’s estimation, the combined numbers from those three tribes came to over two hundred.

Just arranging a place for them to live required careful planning.

Luckily, it’s summer now, a campfire outside would suffice for sleeping, with at most a few mosquito bites.

The wildmen have thick skin, and aren’t afraid of these.

While Luo De was pondering, Milly suddenly hugged his neck,

"Big sister wants to help..."

"Who? Help with what?"

Luo De suddenly realized Milly was referring to Avril.

The noble lady was elegantly composed; even when her thoughts were exposed, Avril didn’t hide them but smiled and said,

"Watching you busy every day, I just want to help with something, anything to make things easier for you."

Actually, Avril could do quite a lot.

A noble lady, her learning was incomparable to that of commoners.

Even being literate alone made Avril learn things faster than others.

But Luo De thought that, since she’s a baron lord here to enjoy life, he couldn’t treat her like any subordinate and order her about.

Therefore, unless necessary, Luo De didn’t arrange for Avril to handle things.

However, if Avril volunteered, he could let her handle some daily tasks.

"Thank you, Avril, I’ll think about it while you keep busy."

Luo De smiled and thanked Avril, putting down Milly, then called for Lawrence and Otto to gather in the hall.

Luo De hurried off, leaving Milly and Avril behind.

Milly reached out and tugged on Avril’s skirt, "Keep it up..."

Avril bent down and picked up Milly, smiling as she said, "Let’s go then, we’ll read herbal books and learn the words."

...

...

"Pick out the slaves who can farm, and when those wildmen return, have them follow Otto to weed."

In the hall, Luo De instructed Lawrence, "Remember to assign those wildmen some simple tasks, they can’t handle anything too complex."

"Let Tasa help you, he can understand the common tongue and speak a little."

"Partition an area for those wildmen to live, there are about three hundred people in total."

"Take note, don’t group them together, it’s best to divide them into various places."

Having come to Frost Leaf Town, Luo De couldn’t let them maintain their tribal form.

Otherwise, if any conflicts arise, these wildmen can easily gather together to cause trouble.

So the first step Luo De must take is to scatter them.

Once the timber houses are built, arrange for the wildmen to live with other slaves, allowing them to be gradually assimilated by the slaves.

When the tribal concepts in the wildmen’s minds disappear, they can fully integrate into Frost Leaf Town.

"No problem, my lord,"

Lawrence responded and hesitantly asked, "But living the slaves together with those wildmen, will it be okay?"

"It’s better if problems arise early so we can resolve them sooner."

The problems were inevitable.

In the mountains, those wildmen had no fixed rules, mostly doing as they pleased.

Upon arriving at Frost Leaf Town, they would surely do things crossing the borders of Empire and territory laws.

A whip would certainly be unavoidable, execution possibly even.

But these initial days are the best time to set the rules.

The wildmen having just started enjoying daily black bread would certainly be more obedient.

"Alright, I understand what to do."

Lawrence shifted his tone and informed,

"While you were away these two days, the merchant convoy from Border City delivered 4,340 pounds of fabric scraps, which I settled directly with copper coins, spending 1,300 copper coins."

"Additionally, sold four large barrels of strawberry wine, exchanged for four oxen."

Lawrence reported the recent happenings to Luo De one by one.

"Katie’s wine is brewed so quickly?" Luo De was somewhat surprised.

"Wild strawberry wine ferments quickly, it doesn’t intoxicate. It’s all about the sweet and sour fruity aroma; some noble ladies quite like it."

Wild strawberries are very common in the Northern Wilderness Mountains, with plenty around mid-June, where thirty women can harvest over a thousand pounds in a day.

These wild strawberries are small, lacking in both fertilization and breeding improvements, tasting rather sour, though the fruity aroma is strong.

Luo De had watched Katie making strawberry wine with his own eyes.

After removing the stems and mashing the strawberries into pulp, pour them into a wooden barrel, add some honey and raisins, and then cover with ventilated cloth and let it ferment slowly in the cellar.

Initially, the strawberry pulp needed daily stirring for fermentation; after about ten days, the residues were filtered out for continued fermentation.

Back then, Luo De even gave some advice, telling Katie to rinse the barrels and brewing tools with boiling water to avoid mold contamination.

Lawrence continued to explain, "Berry wine needs more time, probably not drinkable until autumn."

Luo De nodded; the wine prices were good, they needed to brew more.

Berries like blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries mature late, just starting production.

By autumn, wild grapes and sour apples could also be used for brewing.

"Katie also mentioned that with fruit wine ready, your tavern can open."

"Let her set a date then."

Luo De casually replied.

Gang Le had earlier requested to open a tavern, hoping Luo De would support in providing a venue.

Frost Leaf Town lacked entertainment activities, opening a tavern would provide everyone with a relaxing place to unwind.

Thus, Luo De decided to invest personally, opening a tavern in the town.

Katie would be primarily responsible, with not only a salary but also shares in the profit.

As for the location, it would follow Border City’s layout, in the front yard of the inn.

"Let Katie select a few bright kids as apprentices because future operations shouldn’t rely solely on her."

"Alright, my lord." Lawrence nodded in agreement.

Instructed and arranged everything, Luo De stood up,

"Everyone can get busy, I need to feed the dragon."