You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 61 Poultry and Livestock
For example, domestic pigs are omnivorous animals that can be free-range and are very easy to raise.

Of course, the cost is also high.

Piglets are quite expensive, have a long growth cycle, don't get much nutrition, and due to the issue of domestication, they only grow to about 100 pounds at most, which is incomparable to wild, thousand-pound pigs.

Only well-off people like carpenters, blacksmiths, stewards, and guards would raise various kinds of livestock, and then slaughter them for food once they grew up, which was considered a way to improve their lives.

Ordinary farmers don't raise pigs to slaughter and eat.

After all, they don't have any extra income.

Humans have various survival needs to live.

What if you have no other source of income besides farming?
The only option was to raise these livestock to adulthood and sell them to local officials or visiting merchants in exchange for various daily necessities.

Livestock were not only extremely valuable assets to them, but also a measure of social status.

For example, a family that can afford to raise pigs and sheep will never be too bad off. They have a stronger ability to withstand risks, and if something goes wrong, they can sell the pigs and sheep and survive for a long time.

Moore is quite efficient.

He immediately notified everyone to bring the livestock to Origin Manor that day.

This was unexpected for Roman—he had thought the guy would go door-to-door to buy them.

Once they've been released, it's difficult to bring them back, and we certainly won't let them lead all their livestock back.

So the entire afternoon, the threshold of the Origin Manor gate was worn down by people walking around it—or rather, there was no threshold, no gate, not even a fence.

Roman's Origin Manor is an open-air estate; the entire basin belongs to him, and the surrounding mountains are his walls.

Today, Roman received over a hundred domestic pigs, three hundred sheep, over a hundred geese, over four hundred ducks, and over a thousand chickens, spending a total of over fifty gold coins.

In order to resolve the acquisition issue quickly, his acquisition price was artificially inflated compared to the market price.

For example, the price of an adult domestic pig was 1.2 to 1.4 silver coins, and not all domestic pigs were adults; Roman bought them for 1.5 silver coins.

For those domestic pigs weighing less than 1 jin, one silver coin was also given as appropriate.

For example, a sheep weighing seventy or eighty pounds might be worth a maximum of nine copper coins.

Roman bought all the sheep for 9 copper coins, and even sheep weighing less than 50 jin would be offered for 6 or 5 copper coins.

Roman didn't haggle, lest these fools think the lord was stingy and they were losing money.

Just give them money; if they don't have cash, they can use salt instead. One chicken can easily be exchanged for four or five pounds of salt. Once the farmer gets the salt, he can resell it to the merchant. If he doesn't want the salt, he can write an IOU. Roman still has some credit.

In short, the chaotic scene lasted for three or four hours.

Everyone went home satisfied.

Only Roman was caught off guard by the scene of livestock and dung scattered everywhere, and cursed Mohr inwardly for being brainless.

Fortunately, those farmers were clever enough to tie up the legs of the cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese with straw ropes or bark ropes, preventing them from running around or flying everywhere.

Roman had no choice but to lead his men to slaughter all the chickens, ducks, and geese, not even sparing the newborn chicks.

Green and Aaron fought until they were covered in blood, with chicken feathers flying everywhere.

The main group of people at Origin Manor consists of over three hundred underage children.

Under Roman and Seth's command, some started the fire, some added water, some plucked feathers, some disemboweled animals, and some cleaned the entrails... Even five- or six-year-old children had to carry firewood around.
Finally, the naked chickens, ducks, and geese were hung up with ropes to air dry, and their entire bodies were coated with a large amount of salt.

Large livestock such as pigs and sheep were temporarily confined to livestock sheds and kept alongside slaves.

The number of people in charge of the livestock sheds has now increased to 100.

They slept in the livestock sheds every day, just like slaves.

To be precise, sleeping in a livestock shed was not considered abuse; it was a normal phenomenon in that era.

Because they are responsible for the food and hygiene of the oxen and draft horses, their work is very demanding, and if they live too far away, they cannot take care of them in a timely manner.

The amount of feed consumed by each animal is enormous, not to mention the manure that needs to be cleaned up. A single ox produces twenty to thirty pounds of manure every day—and Roman even makes them transport all the manure to a designated place for composting.

Draft horses need to eat oats or grains. Having about a hundred people to care for the cattle and horses is the limit.

If we cram in so many livestock now, the situation will get out of control.

Roman had no choice but to order his neighbors and children to help out.

The neighbors refer to the cattle and horse slaves living under the livestock sheds, and the children refer to the many underage calves and horses.

On the estate, they not only had to learn letters and numbers, but also do what they could—making batches of maltose was one of their tasks, and in return, they could sneak a few bites.

The work on the farm wasn't very strenuous, and the food was plentiful, making it much better than their previous life at home.

After working on this until dark, Roman sent the children home.

……

It's the 71th day since Roman arrived in Sig.

As dawn broke, more than a hundred cooks began to get busy.

As Roman requested, breakfast consisted of a bowl of mixed vegetable soup with salt and rye flour, and the usual three slices of black bread.

A bowl of mixed vegetable soup weighs only seven or eight ounces.

After breakfast, the farmers began the work of repairing and reinforcing the road.

The process of paving with raw concrete is not complicated and is easy to master.

The only concern is the ratio of lime to clay, gravel, and wheat straw.

This is not a big problem.

It's simply a matter of adding more flour to more water or more water to more flour. Spread it out as you stir, and it will naturally become even.

Roman set up a road sign 500 meters away.

The road sign will remind them that they can finish their work for the day once they get here.

If it can't be repaired, then someone will die.

But this herd of cattle and horses has quite a bit of potential.

These idiots may be stupid, but they are really hardworking and willing to endure hardship. As long as they can fill their stomachs, they will do any job.

Once they are familiar with the work, they can increase their workload, gradually raising the target from 500 meters to 600 or 700 meters. Given the lack of suitable tools, their efficiency is already extremely commendable.

Roman took down 50 chickens that had been killed yesterday in the morning.

After drying overnight, the chicken skin hardened slightly, and it was taken to the mess camp.

After the cooks prepared breakfast, ate their own meals, and washed all the wooden bowls and plates, they began preparing lunch.

They basically have no free time.

In addition, they also have to allocate manpower to take care of children who cannot walk and the elderly—the elderly are basically non-existent, and those who only eat and do not work will be naturally eliminated; the main care recipients are children under five years old.

Agata is a special case; her child is still breastfeeding, so she was also placed here.

“Agata, have someone chop up these chickens; they’re part of lunch.”

Roman stood by the camp, waved to the somewhat familiar white-haired female slave, and then pointed to the carriage behind him.

Agatha was surprised that Roman actually remembered his name.

She has been in Sige Town for more than half a month and has basically adapted to life here. Her only feeling is that it doesn't feel like the life of a slave.

Although they had a lot to do, the food was very good, no one mistreated them, they had new clothes to wear, and they could get two pounds of milk from the manor every day to feed Vera, which was unthinkable in the northern lands.

She replied meekly, "My lord, I understand."

(End of this chapter)