I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 100 When the Snow Melts
The cold wind was howling and the mountains were covered with heavy snow.

The mountains and forests are covered in silver.

Hiding in the cabin, Luc drank warm water soaked with apple slices, looked at the fine snowflakes and murmured, "It's snowing heavily this year."

"Yeah, luckily we came back early, otherwise we would have been trapped in the mountains with this snow."

Ryan dripped rapeseed oil onto the hot stone slab by the fireplace and added two slices of thinly sliced ​​air-dried meat.

After the dehydration process, the air-dried meat became firmer and the taste became richer. The unique aroma filled the closed room. Ryan took a deep breath and showed an intoxicated look.

"Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest."

Luc sighed in a language Ryan couldn't understand, then stood up and helped himself to two slices of dried apple.

The dried apples only brought a small amount of fragrance to the warm water, but in the winter when vegetables were scarce, Luc was already very satisfied.

Last winter, if it weren't for the parsnips, the two of them probably wouldn't have been able to eat a single vegetable. Coupled with the dryness of the winter, their fingers were covered with countless thorns.

"The grains should be growing well after the spring."

Luke smiled and said, "Especially those 20 pounds of wheat. If we can have the same yield as last year's rye, ha, Ryan, we can immediately abandon black bread and eat soft white bread."

"Master, you are now a true knight of Burgundy. White bread is worthy of your status. I will give up. I am very happy to have black bread."

Ryan looked longingly. Who wouldn't like to eat better food? But Ryan had never eaten white bread in his life, so he couldn't imagine what it would taste like.

"Master, the meat is ready!"

The stone slabs conducted heat well, and the wild boar meat was fried in a short while. Ryan sprinkled coarse salt on it, turned around, opened the boiling pottery pot, poured the oat porridge mixed with nuts and wild vegetable roots into a bowl along with the breadcrumbs soaked in it, and handed it to Luke.

The coarse salt was a batch that Luc bought again in Cooper Castle, and he bought it specifically from the baron, after all, no one else had it.

Ten pounds of salt cost Luc eight pounds
He knew that the baron must have paid a premium, but it was enough to show how precious salt was.

Luke was not a fast eater. Ryan wolfed down half of his meal. Looking at Luke's face, he hesitated for a moment and said,

"Master, you will marry Miss Baldwin in six months. I think we should move out after the winter is over."

When the cabin was built, it was originally intended to accommodate just the two of them, and the space wasn't very large. Now that Luc was getting married soon, Ryan couldn't possibly live here anymore.

Luke put down his knife and fork, was silent for a moment, nodded and said: "Well, it's time for you to have your own house."

Luc thought for a while and said, "How about this? When the snow is almost melted, we'll start building your house. We'll build it where the shacks used to be in Ward Village. We'll tear down those shacks and build another wooden house, right inside the fenced yard."

"No, no, no, just stay with Old Ek and the others and build a thatched roof." Ryan waved his hands repeatedly.

"Alright! I'm the lord, I have the final say. Build a wooden house. Half the height of mine and one-third the width will do. You're my retainer, after all, so you can't build the same house as the serfs. And don't mess with old Ekbi. He's old and nostalgic, and he doesn't want to alienate himself from the people of Ward Village. Otherwise, his house wouldn't be so shabby."

Looking at Luc's resolute look, Ryan was finally moved and accepted it.

"Master, do you think you need to expand your cabin?"

After finalizing his own residence, Ryan suddenly looked around the cabin's furnishings and made a sudden suggestion.

"More expansion?"

Luc frowned. He would be very busy in the next six months. Not to mention the spring harvest and flour grinding, he also planned to plant a batch of apple trees.

That’s right, Luc is planning to plant a fruit orchard!

After all, there are too few apple trees growing in the wild. If the area of ​​apple trees can be expanded, cider production will also increase significantly. Luc currently does not have the ability to mine salt, so he needs to cultivate some of his own pillar industries besides charcoal. In addition, Twerf Bridge also needs to be managed.

The Twerf Bridge is some distance away from the mountains and forests. Luc plans to build a small hut there and send people to collect the bridge toll. He will go there to collect the toll once a month.

The personnel have been selected.

Still Hans.

Of course, if Shanlin is busy with construction and lacks manpower, other people will be sent to replace this big guy for a while.

There is no special reason, Hans is just too capable!

Take the sheep pen that Luc repaired a few days ago after returning to the manor. Ordinary sheep sheds only have fences and roofs to facilitate goats to breathe and graze, but this is not possible in winter. Although goats will huddle together for warmth, if there are no walls, they will most likely get frostbite.

So on the morning of the first day after returning, he had just told everyone the news that he had been awarded the Knight of Burgundy, and in the afternoon the fence of the sheep shed was torn down.

The sheep shed was re-enclosed with stone walls instead of fences, leaving only a small corner door. The roof was extended twice as long, leaving only an arm-length gap between the roof and the wall. Rows of wood were stacked in the gap and covered with warm thatch.

In this way, the sheep house can basically block wind and snow, and will not be easily damaged by freezing unless there is a sudden snowstorm.

During this process, Hans almost single-handedly performed the most tiring jobs, such as quarrying and logging. This was with the remaining strength after five days of trekking.
Luke thought about Ryan's words and shook his head: "The internal layout can be modified, for example, we can build another double bed, but let's forget about expanding it. We don't have enough time."

"Besides, the size of the cabin is sufficient for now."

"Master, I don't think so." Ryan touched his chin and disagreed with Luke's words:

"Master, have you ever considered that Ms. Baldwin might not come to the manor alone? She might have one or two personal maids to take care of her daily life, cooking and washing. After all, these tasks can't be left to the peasant woman or me. So, I think it's likely that Ms. Baldwin will let them live in the cabin, and if that happens, the cabin might not be spacious enough."

Luc was silent for a moment.

".A knight's daughter who has lost her domain still has servants?"

"Well, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. It's possible that she has hidden some of her father's property."

Luc sighed. To be honest, he didn't care much about the wedding and hadn't really thought about this matter in detail.

But after Ryan reminded him, he realized that he had been negligent.

As he was already an official knight, it was not uncommon for his wife to have a dedicated servant.

Luc once asked Pierre two questions in the monastery. The first question was about the fiefdom, and the second question was about Douse!

The question is simple, Du Si, why would you marry me?

The answer is very simple. Pierre and Berry have already hinted to Duce that they are determined to take her father's territory.

Either she cooperates obediently and keeps her father's title and a portion of the cash, or nothing happens and the church and the baron will join forces to wipe out this extinct family.

Luc rubbed his temples. Should he build another house next to the wooden house and let Du Si's maid live in it?
It would be better to just expand it directly.

"How to expand it? Do you have any ideas?"

Luc finished the meat in two bites, put down his knife and fork, and finally asked Ryan who was clearing the table.

"Master, my idea is to follow Baron Berry's example and expand your cabin upwards, turning it into a three-story wooden fort. The top floor will be for you and Lady Baldwin to live in, the second floor will become the servants' living quarters, and the first floor will be the living room and kitchen. Later, we can expand the cellar behind the house to make it a true integrated wooden fort. What do you think?"

Ryan was in high spirits. "Of course, time may not be enough, but that's okay. My house can be built later, and I can stay with Old Eck for a while."

(End of this chapter)