I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 56 Raincoat
Raindrops were falling outside the window. Luc sat in a reclining chair, stroking the white cat while facing the wooden table and thinking quietly.

A grid-like chessboard was drawn on the table with charcoal. On the chessboard were two camps made of sticks and pebbles, which were fighting each other, inseparable.

"Master, have you thought about it? I'm about to make a five-piece~"

Ryan supported his chin with a slight smile on his lips, looking very happy.

Little Charlie was squatting at his feet, and Ryan put his left hand on the black dog's head, pressing the center of Little Charlie's eyebrows with his fingers from time to time, causing it to lick Ryan's palm with its tongue.

Hearing the urging, Luc pulled his warmed palm out of the white cat's arms, hesitated for a moment, and placed the stone on the corner of the table. He sighed helplessly: "What the hell, I actually got beaten by a guy like you once."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ryan's joyful cry came from the other side.

"Master, you've won so many games, it's normal for me to win once~"

Ryan happily put away the chess pieces quickly. He finally won once, which gave him a boost of confidence. He couldn't help but want to play another game.

Luc turned his gaze back to the window, his expression gradually becoming worried.

"Master, are you still worried about the weather?"

Ryan also looked out the window when he saw this. Ever since the thunderstorm when Henry came, there would often be sudden heavy rain in the following days, which would then disappear quickly.

But it has been raining non-stop since the day before yesterday.

The lingering raindrops, though not particularly large, were heavy enough to prevent people from traveling. So Luc took out the simple game of Gobang to while away the time.

During this time, Luc happened to take inventory of his supplies and found that they were already abundant:

Apart from the large amount of flour, the weapons alone included a fine steel knight sword, a short sword, a dagger, a mattock and an armed axe, a leather shield, a bow, and twenty iron arrows.

The armor included a rusty half-length short-sleeved chain mail, a set of leaky leather armor, and a pot helmet.

As for clothing, there were three sets of linen shirts and breeches, two rabbit hats, two pairs of pigskin gloves, two deerskin coats, and two pairs of deerskin boots.

Tools: Chisels, hammers, planes, saws, hoes, sickles, etc. with handles wrapped in pigskin.

In addition, there were some scattered property such as a horse, a broken saddle, stirrups, a pair of pheasants, four goats, not to mention some eggs, cheese, vegetables, etc.
"In Provence, it often rains this month, so you don't have to worry too much, sir."

"That's true, but this is Burgundy."

Luc stood up. In Luc's original memory, such long and frequent rainy days usually occurred around June.

Thinking of this, Luc couldn't sit still. He took down a yellow rain gear from the wall, put it on and prepared to go out and take a look.

"Wait until I come back!"

In order to avoid giving himself the impression of "deserting at the critical moment", Luke instructed Ryan not to erase the chessboard when he left.

I walked out of the wooden house wearing rain gear, and heard the sound of water dripping from the eaves. When I chose the location of the wooden house, I deliberately chose a relatively high position, so the rainwater flowed downwards and did not form a puddle in front of the house.

Stepping onto the muddier ground, Luc had to admire his own foresight.

Since the night when Henry was attacked by heavy rain, the two of them cooked a bowl of hot soup to warm themselves overnight, and then spent a day drying the linen clothes.

So Luc came up with the idea of ​​making a raincoat. After returning from Cooper Castle, apart from building the house, he used all his spare time to weave this set of thatched raincoats.

Thatched rain gear is rather simple, consisting of only two parts: a thatched roof and a straw raincoat.

There were no palm trees in this mixed broad-leaved forest. In order to find materials for making raincoats, Luc wandered around for a long time and finally found a thatch with leaves much longer than ordinary thatch on a dam not far from the Agate River.

After pulling up the plants one by one, the roots under the soil were indeed big and white, which made Luc very satisfied.

After plucking enough thatch, dry it in front of the house and flatten it. After drying, the thatch will be soft and tough, perfect for weaving straw raincoats. Then use a knife to remove the roots, rub the soft leaf stems to soften them, and wet them with water before weaving.

In advance, Luc had asked Ryan to measure the width of his shoulders with a piece of wood. A straw raincoat is actually a kind of clothing, so it is important to measure the body before fitting the clothes.

Luke first took out three bundles of straw and intertwined them together, twisting them together to form the basic shape of a straw rope. Then, as the rope lengthened, he continued to add new straw. Every time the rope became longer, Luke tightened it with both hands to ensure it was strong.

Tie a knot at the end of the straw rope, and the straw rope is completely finished.

With the rope, it is natural to weave clothes on the straw rope. The softened straw is actually for better weaving. Start from the collar of the raincoat. Pick up some straw and twist the upper part into a short rope. Hook it with your hand and tie a knot in the rope. Then grab a few pieces of straw and twist them into a short rope. Repeat the previous action to continue weaving the knot. Tie a knot at the intersection of the two ropes, leaving a diamond-shaped hole.

Then add a strand of straw at the bottom and continue weaving.

This process repeated itself, and the prototype of a large straw raincoat with diamond-shaped holes gradually emerged.

Layer by layer, a sturdy and durable rainproof device is finally created.

After it was hung and needed to be dried, Luc started to build the thatched roof.

The thatched roof is very easy to make. Use rattan to weave a circular frame for the top of the head, then weave the thatch tightly vertically on the outside, trying to leave no gaps, and then wrap it with straw rope to secure it.

At this time, Luke was wearing a straw raincoat hanging from the back, with a thin rope tied around his neck and the front as close as possible. He bent down slightly and walked towards the fenced yard on the right in the wind and rain.

I first checked the condition of the stable. The shed was well protected from rain and there was nothing serious.

Walking into the fenced yard, the chicken coop was also in good condition. To be on the safe side, Luc put two stones on both sides of the coop to prevent the thatch on the top from being blown away by the wind. The two pheasants were gradually domesticated and huddled together. Perhaps it would not be long before we could consider letting the hen hatch a brood of chicks.

When we got to the sheep pen, the situation was quite different.

They had only focused on building the sheep pen and fence and had never even built a roof. Now, with the heavy downpour, they were forced to move them to the shed where they had previously dried meat, and then built a row of wooden fences around it. Now, seeing Luc coming, the two female goats, each leading a lamb, bleated non-stop.

Luc ignored him and walked straight to the old house that was no longer inhabited and had become a place to store fodder.

After feeding the livestock, Luke turned and walked towards the river bank.

The crackling raindrops fell from under his hat, and Luc's trouser legs were already wet, flecked with mud. He stopped a dozen yards from the Agate River, watching the rising tide. It had changed its usual calm flow, now surging downward, swallowing up the shallows on both sides and turning the emerald green water a bit turbid.

Luke exhaled a breath of foul air, his eyes revealing a solemnity. His previous bad thoughts became more and more serious. If the rain continued like this, it might burst the dam sooner or later!
At the thought of the dam bursting, Luc couldn't help but shudder.

In fact, the location of the wooden house and the fields where I built it were far away from the Agate River, but only close to a branch stream.

However, once the dam breaks, it may not be 100% safe even if the distance is a little far.

Then how much of the supplies that you have worked so hard to obtain can you keep?

I reached out my hand and felt the rain gradually getting lighter.

Thankfully, the rain looked like it was stopping.

"But since we've discovered this hidden danger, we need to address it in advance. But building a riverbank is far from being accomplished by just two people."

Luke sighed and thought that maybe he should recruit more people.

Turning back to the house, I saw Ryan scratching his head with thin wooden splinters. The densely packed wooden splinters were made by Ryan with great difficulty. He made holes one by one on a wooden board and then glued it with fish glue. It took Ryan countless nights to complete this delicate work.

Thin wooden splinters brushed past my head, leaving behind a layer of grease and a few disgusting lice.
Ryan didn't find it disgusting, and reached out to strangle them one by one. Seeing Luc coming back, he smiled, then handed over the wooden thorn and said, "Master, do you want to shave it too?"

Then he strangled another one and complained, "It's been raining so frequently lately, and there are obviously more lice and fleas. My body is itching more than usual. I don't know when the rain will stop."

(End of this chapter)