I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 114 Fine White Bread (25)

The low wooden shed was open on the north side, and rays of sunlight filtered through the cracks in the wooden wall. Layers of light specks filtered through the diffuse dust and hit the spider webs in the corners. As soon as you stepped into this simple house, the floorboards creaked.

“It seems that we need to renovate it in the future.”

Luc stood outside the house, looking around the water mill and muttering to himself.

The original mill was designed to accommodate only two people and was therefore very simple, but as the population grew, it had to be renovated.

Luke was checking the situation at the mill when Ryan's voice suddenly came from the mill:
"Master!"

"The flour is ground!"

As soon as the voice fell, Ryan personally ran out with a bulging sack in his arms, put it down next to Luc with a thud, and said excitedly in a dull voice: "Master, this is 80 pounds of wheat flour!"

The construction of the isolation zone lasted for three days. Perhaps because they found that they were really provided with food and accommodation, the refugees were very motivated and did not try to cheat for the time being. With Old Ek watching them, Ryan was naturally freed, and the two of them turned their attention to Xiaomai.

He picked up a handful of fine white flour after the bran was removed, let the flour slip through his fingers, and nodded with satisfaction. After eating black bread for so long, he could finally eat white bread!
"Let's go back and ferment!"

Eating has always been one of the greatest enjoyments for human beings.

I couldn't wait to go back to the house, put the flour in the corner, and then knead the dough in the same way as making black bread.

Unlike usual, this time the bread is mainly for enjoyment, so Luc plans to be more refined.

He counted out ten eggs from the basket to the side, cracked each one and mixed them into the flour, stirring the egg liquid constantly. A slight fishy smell lingered in his nose. His flock was growing, but even with more than ten hens taking turns laying eggs, ten eggs was still a lot of work.

Seeing Luc's extravagant appearance, Ryan couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He knew very well that with the master's character, he would definitely have a share of white bread.

"Ryan, go get the butter!"

After the churning was finished, Luc was still not satisfied and asked Ryan to move out the stored butter.

After the two goats gave birth, they began producing milk again. Thanks to a year of careful feeding, the milk was even more abundant than last year.

Most of it is made into cheese and butter.

Ryan came running over without saying a word, holding a pottery jar. Luc opened the lid and scooped a spoonful, adding thick butter into the dough. The egg mixed the two well, and the white dough turned brown in an instant.

"It would be even better if there was sugar."

Luc shook his head regretfully, added a small amount of water and rubbed it, scraped off the dough lumps stuck on his hands, and smiled with satisfaction.

“After fermenting three times, you can bake it!”

Ryan nodded frantically. Although he hadn't eaten it yet, he couldn't imagine how delicious it would be with so many seasonings mixed in.

Let the dough ferment quietly while Luc and Ryan took a look around.

Because they had to cut a path through the forest, some squirrels were often disturbed during the tree-cutting process and crawled around along the fallen tree trunks. Occasionally, a few unlucky ones were caught by the crowd and became their extra food that night.

The easy-to-clear weeds and shrubs have been cut down, and now they are working together to cut down trees. Jill and Hans were specially called back to join in. I believe that it won’t be long before they can officially start digging ditches.

Among the new victims, one person stood out very clearly.

Luke looked at a familiar thin man in the forest, who was the first refugee to speak.

Sweat kept pouring out of his head as he worked extremely hard.

"His name is Paul, right?" "Yes, sir. His is the largest family among the refugees. Besides him, his wife and father are still alive, and they have two children."

"Well, tell Old Ike to keep an eye on Paul. If he behaves well, have him take George's place. I have other plans for George."

"it is good!"

Clearing land is a physical job, so in addition to adding fish and meat to every meal, the oat porridge should be thicker, and nuts and wild vegetables should be mixed in in large quantities to ensure that people can eat enough.

In order to get more fish, in addition to fishing nets, Luc also made a batch of fishing rods for the three old men.

Most of the fishing nets are thrown into the river to form a river net to trap the swimming fish. Apart from casting and collecting the nets every day, the three old men's workload is not large.

So he carved a fishing rod out of willow wood, which has good elasticity, and wove a fishing line at the front end of the light rod with pig intestines and nettles.

Seriously handing them the fishing rods, Luc's current system is very direct: anyone who fails to complete the day's work or slacks off will face a reduction in food supply.

In order to fill his stomach, one of the old men even had to paddle a raft to the other side to fish every day.

But even so, Luc could see that the fish population was decreasing day by day.

"We're fishing too hard, and if we keep doing this, sooner or later we'll run out of fish."

Luc took a deep breath. It seemed he needed to build a fish pond for the winter.
Fortunately, every now and then, everyone would have a meal of black bread mixed with bran.

Ever since the last powerful man of the Megwen family issued the unethical decree that the mill belonged to the lord, in order to save pennies, farmers would try to go to the mill as little as possible to grind flour. Most of the wheat grains were boiled and eaten directly. In addition, there were also regulations of the Forest Law. This is why everyone thinks Luc is kind.

Only wealthy commoners living in large towns would buy whole wheat bread from specialized bakers on special holidays.

Yes, thanks to this decree, baking bread became a profession in the city, and it had a high status.

Ordinary people can only stand outside the window to make purchases and are not even allowed to enter the door.

A few days later, the dough finally fermented successfully three times. The shadow of the sundial reached five o'clock in the afternoon, and Ryan came to the baking oven with a bread dough that had been cut into about six pieces.

The children who were not on duty at the lookout tower added coal downstairs. At night, as everyone returned to the manor one after another, Ryan happily brought a bowl of steaming bread back to the house.

Inside the temporary shelter, which was far inferior to their former home, the refugees outside were drinking hot porridge, while two people inside sat facing each other at a wooden table lit by a grease lamp, looking at the sumptuous dinner before them:
The golden bread exudes fragrance, and the eggs and butter form a crispy crust on the surface. Gently cut it open, and the delicate and elastic bread instantly covers the wooden knife.

In front of each person, there was a bowl of thick soup with coarse salt, fresh wild leaves and dried shredded meat.

Luc picked up a ceramic pot and poured two cups of goat's milk. A few nuts were floating in the white goat's milk that had been heated and filtered to remove the residue.

Ryan's saliva unconsciously filled his entire mouth. After Luke moved his mouth first, he couldn't help but grab a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

First it feels crispy, then soft and smooth. Before swallowing it, I picked up the goat milk and took a big sip. The mellow milk aroma instantly jumped on the taste buds. The fine-grained nuts and tender bread complement each other to form a unique taste.

Ryan, who had already eaten a lot of good things, continued to eat voraciously, mumbling, "Master, I swear, this is the most luxurious and sumptuous dinner I have ever had!"

He was answered by the sound of Luc chewing rapidly.

Eat and drink well, and have nothing to say all night.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw Ryan waiting for me.

"Master, the wooden fort is built!"

(End of this chapter)