Ch45.1 - The Wool Tree Bloomed (Part One)

Unsurprisingly, when Raymond went out, he sent numerous groups of robbers back home. There were also knights from other lands who attempted to rob them. They couldn’t use food or riches to entice them to surrender, so they could only send them back after repressing them.

Speaking of which, it was amusing that Raymond realized the other party was a band of knights-turned-robbers when he saw how well-equipped they were. These knights were not afraid because they had a cavalry as well. The infantry and archers were the soldiers wearing rattan armor. With this, the sight of them scared the other parties and then they would savagely beat up their adversaries. They would then use the weapon smeared with poison rattan juice to cut the opponents’ skin. Their opponents were soon disoriented, vomiting, and unable to fight back. Their entire arsenal would be seized.

How nice! They had yet to exchange for some iron, but they had obtained so many weapons. These weapons could be used as equipment for part of the soldiers wearing rattan armor.

The knights who turned into robbers thought for a long time, but they couldn’t think of where these brave soldiers came from. 

It was not until Raymond said, “Send these guys back to the Lord Baron.”

Baron, could a Baron raise such fine soldiers? There were dozens of people here. This should be all of the Baron’s troops, right?

The knights who turned into robbers shamelessly said, “Warrior, I don’t know which Baron you are following. Are you interested in following a brave Viscount that loves going to war?”

Raymond: “No.”

“Wait,” It was unexpected that Raymond refused so decisively. The leader hurriedly said, “To tell you the truth, we are the vassals of a viscount. He is not only good at war, but also generous. He gave me my sword. If a warrior like you takes refuge, you will get more rewards. I’m very familiar with the surroundings here. I’ll take you there… he, he, he……”

Not just Raymond, but even the serfs, displayed contempt. Generous? What kind of philanthropist might this viscount be? Could he be compared to the Baron of Northumberland in terms of generosity?

This disdainful expression was too obvious. The leader immediately said, “I truly did not lie. You can open my luggage and see if there is a honey-baked apple in it. The Viscount specially asked the cook to bake it for me before I came out. It’s fragrant and sweet. I’m not willing to eat it all at once.”

Hearing the word “sweet”, all members of the trade team squirmed their throats, feeling the cloying taste surging back. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Ktf ifjvfg jrrewfv atfs kfgf fcaterfv, rb tf vfrmglyfv la fzjuufgjafvis, “Ktf tbcfs-yjxfv jqqif tjr qgjmalmjiis cb rbeg ajraf. Ktf ubivfc tbcfs qfgwfjafr atf qeiq jcv ulnfr j vfilmlber oijnbg. Tbe mjc ajraf atf rkffa jcv glmt oijnbg lc fnfgs ylaf…”

“Stop it, stop it!” Raymond felt his throat had gotten uncomfortable. He thought of the apple boiled in brown sugar. The apple meat was soaked in brown sugar. It was a bowl of food full of sugar syrup. Even after he ate the food, when he burped, it was filled with a sweet scent.

Ktf batfg qfbqif gfwfwyfgfv atf fcalgf reujg ofjra jr kfii. Pa tjvc’a yffc atja ibcu. Ktf wfwbgs ilcufgfv lc atflg atbeutar, jcv atflg cffv obg rbwfatlcu rkffa tjv cba reyrlvfv.

The man was stunned. Only then did he see that these people’s expressions showed that they were disgusted. 

What exactly is going on? In the past, when he had experienced similar situations, regardless of whether he was successful in persuading others, but while describing food, he would always get responses like people swallowing their saliva. Why did these people have such a disgusted expression on their faces? Was there a problem with their brains?

“Shut his mouth and ask him not to say this nonsense,” Raymond said impatiently.

Immediately, someone came to seal his mouth tightly with rags. Nobody wanted to hear him wax poetic about how sweet and wonderful honey tasted.

Then, they gathered together and whispered curses at the stupid knight. These people were actually trying to show off their sweeteners in front of the people of Northumberland. They truly didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. 

Let’s see, when this fool would be sent back to pick up the dung, he would know that it would be futile to tempt the Northumberland’s trade team with honey. Even the rattan-armoured soldiers who were serfs with the lowest status in the trade team had eaten a full stomach of sugar.

.

The pitiful knights and robbers began to sigh when they were escorted to Northumberland and crossed the cultivated land to the castle. No wonder the knights didn’t accept their invitation, even in the face of such temptation.

Although there was only a Baron in Northumberland, the wheat was tall and strong, the fruits on the fruit trees were huge, and even the cabbage was much bigger than what they had seen. 

Almost all the serfs in the field used farming tools instead of hands. More importantly, there were ditches near the field, which seemed to be connected with the river not far away. Through these criss-crossing ditches, the water flowed directly into the field without relying much on manpower.

…This Lord Baron appeared to be very rich.

The Lord had not asked to see these knights who had turned criminals, and had no intention of demanding a ransom from their Lord. Northumberland lacked labor. They were coerced into living alongside slaves, and they were not placed in the hut outside the castle, but in a corridor corner.

Which knight was keen to join the ranks of the slaves? He had intended to use suave talk to persuade the Baron. But now that he had no chance to do so, he devised a plan to antagonize the slaves here. 

Unfortunately, the majority of people were satisfied with the status quo. The newcomers had to suffer hunger a couple of meal times, as was customary, while the slaves rested and slept after finishing their job. Everyone largely disregarded the newcomer’s pestering. Everyone reasoned that if they had the leisure, they should try to be better behaved so that they could strive to live in huts.

A little boy passed by them slowly, squatted in front of them and looked at them curiously. These people who were born as knights were much taller than ordinary slaves and had different temperaments.

“…Hehe, little kid,” The knight, who turned into a thief, had his hands and feet tied and smiled at him, “What’s your name? Do you live here?”

The little boy looked at them with a blank face. “My name is Aaron. My mother is a cook in the castle.” 

While other slaves were sleeping, the guards also went to drink water. The leader of the knights who turned into robbers whispered, “We have just come to the castle, but they forgot to untie our rope. Why don’t you untie my ropes, and I’ll play with you?”

Aaron blinked his brown eyes, “No, I’ll go play with Lance.”

The knight who turned into a thief hurriedly said, “Then you let go of me, and I’ll give you sugar. Do you know about sugar? It’s sweet, like honey.” The knight who turned into a thief didn’t know if the child had seen sugar. But since he lived in the castle, he should know what it was.

“Oh…” Aaron said slowly. “Do you mean this?” 

He took a piece of hotteok from his bag. The Lord gave it to Lance, and Lance gave it to him. And as a cook’s child, he had seen honey, brown sugar and all kinds of sweet food. His mother’s hands were shrouded with the smell of brown sugar.

The other party: “……”

Aaron licked two mouthfuls of the hotteok and said, “I don’t need it. I have had enough of tasting sweets.”

The other party: “……” 

Enough? Enough?? When did people become tired of the taste of sweetness? This was very amusing.

But looking at such a big piece of nut hotteok in the boy’s hands, back in their castle, even the Lord’s son couldn’t put such a big piece of sugary treat in his bag and eat it as he ran around!

Northumberland was too frightening. It didn’t just appear to be prosperous; he could confirm it was really extremely rich.

After discovering that Northumberland had also implemented mandatory military training for everyone in the fief, he affirmed this point and completely gave up the idea of running away. 

.

Cui QiChao had long wanted to move out of the castle. Taking advantage of his wealth and because the fief had absorbed another batch of manpower, he began to think about building a house.

Whether it was day or night, summer or winter, the castle was always somber and damp. During the winter, a large amount of firewood had to be burnt in the castle. Cui QiChao was considering constructing a home on the site near the church. In general, the second-best location in the fief was where the priests reside and where the church was built. Cui QiChao thought the location where the priest resided was comparatively better since he felt that the land there was easier to defend.

At first, he only told the others that he would build a house at the bottom of the highland, and use it as a holiday villa. The stewards didn’t think much about it. This kind of thing didn’t cost much manpower. And given their Lord’s temperament, they were already used to him doing such things. 

But the stewards were not pure fools. Cui QiChao’s requirements became more and more detailed. They felt that something was wrong. The Lord often says it was cold in the castle. Did he want to move out because of this?

This time, they were willing to put their lives in danger by admonishing the Lord. The castle was cold, but it was secure. Outside, there were ditches. The stone wall was strong. More than a dozen people could remain here, and grains could be kept for half a year. Warfare was common over the continent, and thievery was widespread. No Lord was not living in a castle.

“That’s right, but the cottages have become our defence line. The plan of mandatory military training is progressing steadily. By then, the invaders will have been subdued before they reach the grassland. If one breaks through the line of defence, can’t we just withdraw to the castle then?” Cui QiChao pointed out to them.

Probably, those farmers were the ones who mostly did not wish Cui QiChao to be met with an accident, compared to the rest of the people. Even though they had never been out of Northumberland, they knew that no Lord would give sugar to serfs. 

Now, their days in Northumberland got better and better. Which serf would hope that the enemy’s iron hooves would come here?

“Lord, please reconsider!”

Cui QiChao felt like a tyrant when he heard their moaning, but he was still unmoved. “I want my house to face south with the back to the north. The house should be designed like a quadrangle courtyard, with a variety of flowers and vegetables, and the river water will directly lead to the courtyard…”

Now, in Northumberland, Cui QiChao was basically a man of his word. As soon as he said he wanted to build a house, the prisoners of war were immediately dragged over to move stones and cut wood.