I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 235 The First Baby

“My lord, I have informed Baron Ponce, and he said he will personally lead a team to Knightsburg to transport the stone next time.”

Inside the Deer Hall, Ryan had just brought back a cartload of stones and was sitting at the lower end of the table reporting on the results of his trip.

“You know Baron Ponce’s personality. When he heard that our manor was the new pilgrimage site, he almost came back with me on the spot.”

“He and Peter should have a lot in common.”

Luc couldn't help but laugh out loud when he thought of old Pons.

Ryan had always been in charge of transporting the stones, often taking Jill and the others back and forth. Knight's Castle was short-handed, and Luke had been worried about the dangers on the road. Now, it was their turn to come to Knight's Castle to trade themselves.

"In order to interfere in Berry's territory, Earl Kahn will definitely come to Knightsburg under the pretext of escorting a caravan. With Pons and David joining in, the wine market in the south will be opened up."

Luc closed his eyes with slight relief.

"Have all the stones been transported to Blackridge Valley?"

"Yes, sir, the waterwheel is installed, all that's left is to light the fire and start the kiln!"

"Good! Have Jason start production immediately." Luke stood up excitedly, eager to see what the new furnace would produce.

"But before that, we need to go to Jill's house."

Luc put on his clothes, "I hope Amy's baby will be born safely."

……

In the Middle Ages, childbirth was like a trip into the arms of Satan.

The midwife, specially summoned from Maconshire, and several Ward women had already pushed Amy into the house, while Jill paced back and forth outside, praying for God's blessing.

"Master, you've arrived!"

Standing before Giles' gate were not only Kohler, but also old Eck, Robert, many free farmers, and even Brother Lynn.

After greeting everyone, Luc walked up to Gilles.

"how's it going?"

"Ah, it's the master." Jill reacted slowly and said worriedly, "He's been inside for a while now, but we don't know what's going on."

They need to avoid interfering with women's childbirth.

“Amy has always been in good health, nothing serious will happen to her, and Brother Lynn is also protecting you.”

After offering Gil a few words of comfort, Luc looked around.

I'm not sure about other places, but at Luc Manor, to ensure a sufficient workforce, he specifically set aside a small portion of honey to help Amy with her production. Production is strenuous work and requires replenishing energy. Secondly, it also served as reassurance to the others.

Amy wasn't the only one pregnant at the manor; other expectant mothers were also watching her with bated breath, hoping she would have a good start.

However, aside from ensuring that the linen had to be boiled for sterilization and finding plenty of plantain and dandelion for backup, Luke couldn't really help much with this.

"Sir Luke, I have something to tell you."

At this moment, Lynn called Luke out.

"The medical techniques you entrusted to me for research are showing some promise."

"Oh?" Luke raised an eyebrow. "Tell me quickly."

"First, there's garlic. I discovered that juicing garlic and mugwort together can repel mice."

"What? It has that effect?" Luke's eyes widened in surprise.

The reason he kept more cats was because of the recent rat infestation. He didn't expect Brother Lynn to have come up with a rat control solution so quickly.

"Brother Lynn, you did a great job!" Luke praised without reservation.

"No, it's all thanks to Peter, plus a bit of luck," Lynn said with a modest smile.

"In addition, there's black nightshade, which can treat some skin diseases." Listening to Lynn's detailed description of the skin diseases, Luke suddenly understood.

eczema.

Black nightshade flowers can treat eczema.

"but."

Lynn suddenly changed the subject, saying, "However, compared to herbs, I think it's more suitable as a poison, which is why I called you out. If you accidentally eat the immature roots, you might vomit and have diarrhea."

"What should I do with the black nightshade flowers?"

Luke closed his eyes, lost in thought.

"Master, it's a birth! Amy has given birth! Mother and child are safe!"

“Well done. Go and get some money to reward the midwife. Also, Jill, I'll grant you two weeks' rest to take care of your wife!”

Ignoring the grateful Gil, Luke whispered to Lynn, "Write it into your medical book, but the black nightshade is too dangerous, leave it to me."

Lynn gave Luc a deep look and nodded, "Okay."

After settling Jill and the others in, Luke led Ryan to the iron furnace, where Jason was peering inside, his eyes fixed on the furnace.

Brick kilns are not a panacea; they can easily explode if the firing temperature is too high, so careful observation is necessary.

Fortunately, Luke was very experienced in this area, and he told Jason to stop firing as soon as he noticed the inside turning white.

After waiting for a while, the group watched as the waterwheel roared and the bellows pounded, and the huge furnace burst into flames, spewing out large amounts of thick smoke.

Ryan looked at the iron-smelting furnace in front of him with some awe. After a while, Jason picked up an iron shovel and suddenly lifted the base, then used a ceramic basin to catch the liquid slowly flowing out of the V-shaped base.

"molten iron."

Luke gritted his teeth and actually boiled it into water!
"Quickly, bring the mold!"

Luke quickly instructed Ryan and another apprentice to take the molds that had been made earlier and lay them out one by one.

Jason carefully carried the molten iron and poured the visibly hot liquid onto the clay mold through the ceramic guide tube with a sizzling sound.

"Alright, sir, now all we need to do is bury it in the sand and let it cool naturally."

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure from the molten iron was too strong. Looking at the scalding hot iron, he felt as if he were being tempted by a demon, and he had an urge to plunge into it.

"Carburizing shouldn't be necessary this time."

Luke pursed his lips. With molten iron, aside from anything else, just in making farm tools, all that's needed is to create the tool model and pour the iron directly, without having to go through the tedious process of before.

Of course, we need to see the results before drawing conclusions.

"The process of forging the steel still requires further research."

"Perhaps for now we can use both brick kilns and earthen kilns, with brick kilns for mass production of farm tools and earthen kilns for specialized iron sword manufacturing. As for steel, we'll see if there's a better way."

Luke wasn't in a hurry. Whether it was high-carbon iron or low-carbon iron, it could be turned into steel, but it would require more cost and effort. He just needed to figure out an easier way.

Moreover, I have a preliminary direction, such as decarburization is definitely more convenient than carburization!
After instructing Jason to keep a close eye on the molten iron, Luke rushed back to the sheepfold at Knightsburg and urinated on the stone there.

Pull up your pants, and soon you'll see a flock of sheep crowding around, taking turns licking the urine off the stones.

"Sir, you're amazing! Even the sheep lick your piss!"

Upon seeing this, Robert immediately showered him with flattery.

Luke shooed the guy away impatiently. All animals need salt, and Luke didn't want to bring back the salt stone for the animals to lick for the time being, so he simply let the livestock have their fill of salt from urine.

"Tell the textile mills, pottery factories, wineries, and dyeing plants to ramp up production! The market is about to open!"

(End of this chapter)