I Love Farming

Ch47.1 - Widespread Reputation (Part One)

The freeman farmer took the Lord’s words as golden rules. The sow didn’t get better very quickly. The freeman farmer found the Lord’s cattle herder to borrow some milk and mix it with a little water to feed the piglets.

When the piglets were born, they hadn’t been able to eat their fill. As soon as they tried to suck on the sow’s tits, the sow pushed them away. The piglets did this repeatedly, but they only managed to suck a little milk. But at the very least, they were fed some cow’s milk. Under the freeman farmer’s sincere care, the sow’s inflammation gradually recovered. With its calcium also supplemented, its motherly instincts instantly surged. Thereafter, it began to actively arch around the piglets to feed them. The piglets immediately abandoned the cow’s milk and squeezed under the sow’s belly.

“We must be grateful to the Lord. If he hadn’t condescended to come with me, our sow and piglets would have died,” said the freeman farmer. Before, he wasn’t sure whether the pigs could survive and whether there would be someone willing to borrow him some milk. He was also worried about how he would repay the person from whom he borrowed milk, because the piglets might die a premature death.

But with the Lord’s commands, the entire situation was subverted. He was able to boldly borrow milk from others, and the sow soon recovered without expending much milk. 

The freeman farmer proudly told his neighbors what happened. Everyone came to touch his sow with envy. Although the Lord had not touched the sow, he had seen it a few times, and it had been diagnosed and treated by the Lord. To them, this was already considered the Lord touching it.

“Look, the sows that the Lord diagnosed are special. Look at its nose and its belly…”

Everyone was boasting.

The freeman farmer proudly said, “After the piglets wean, I’ll take half of the piglets to the Lord.”

In fact, as per the Lord’s instructions, the Lord’s pig herder only accepted one pig. Everyone looked at the freeman farmer in jealousy. Outside of expectations, he managed to invite the Lord over to his house. In the future, they would surely have to constantly pay attention to his house in the future.

Here in Northumberland, everyone now all knew that it wasn’t the pig herder who could cure pig diseases but the Lord.

If Cui QiChao wasn’t the only Lord in the fief, they might’ve secretly given him a nickname related to pigs. Fortunately, they didn’t. Otherwise, Cui QiChao would find that very difficult to accept.

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We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Before the autumn harvest arrived, Cui QiChao’s mansion at the bottom of the highlands was built.

The structure of the Siheyuan was different from that of the castle. There were many rooms and several large yards. Tables, chairs, flowers, and plants were placed within the hollowed-out areas. There were also no walls on both sides of the corridor, so it was impossible for the slaves to live in the walkway like how they did in the stone castle.

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Before it was built, the servants and slaves didn’t know what the house would look like. They thought that there would be sheds in the yard. Later, they found that there weren’t any sheds built, contrary to their expectations. The Lord planted a lot of plants along the walls of the courtyard and placed potted vegetables all around. Even after someone led some water into the pond, the sheds still weren’t built. All the servants wilted. Where would they stay then? 

The steward said with a sullen expression, “You’ll all sleep in the servant’s quarters.”

A commotion was caused in the castle. Everyone felt a little nervous when they moved out. After all, they had lived in the castle for a long time. Many people actually envied the slaves who lived in the huts adjacent to the castle. Which one of the servants didn’t do a better job than the slaves? But they weren’t given a hut to stay in.

Now, all was well. They didn’t have to stay in huts. They could just stay in their rooms!

The Lord said that most of the bulky grains were still stored in the castle. People would have to take turns guarding the castle. Their old abode couldn’t be abandoned, since it might be really useful in the future. That place was still very sturdy. Meanwhile, the grains for everyone’s daily needs and consumption were stored in a cellar in the Siheyuan. 

In this way, although the overall scale of the new Siheyuan wasn’t as large as the castle, it wasn’t crowded inside at all. And the slaves now possessed their own craft. The Lord gave them wood and asked them to turn the wood into boards. The women then wrapped them up, turning them into bed frames.

On everyone’s first day of living in a new place, many people didn’t sleep at night.

Since morning, they had been adapting to their new life here. The wind here wasn’t as strong as compared to the castle, and there were more windows. They were larger in size as well. Sunshine seemed to be able to reach everywhere in the house, as long as you didn’t close the windows. But no one was willing to close the windows until nightfall.

As soon as one opened a window, one could see the plants that the Lord had people fill the exterior with. Plants were even trailing down the roof. They didn’t know what garden design was. They just knew that they felt very happy whenever they looked at it. 

Lance also assisted the Lord in transporting many small potted plants to the Siheyuan and asked them to put them on the windowsill.

Although the inner wall of the stone castle was gray, as soon as a window was opened, it was like they were appreciating a painting, like the entrance to another world. The sunshine and wind also swept in the fragrance of flowers.

At night, one could close the wooden windows again. However, because there were gaps in the wooden windows, everyone had tapestries to keep them warm. These tapestries were all brought from the castle, but because the house wasn’t as cold as the castle, less people needed to use tapestries, and those extra tapestries became unnecessary. In this way, the cold air was isolated from the outside. There was no need to light a fire in autumn. However, when winter arrived, it would be extremely cosy for them to light a fire in the fireplace.

The servants were excited about their rooms, while the adults were a little worried about their safety. This place was considerably comfortable, but no deep trenches surrounded the house. This caused everyone living here to feel frightened. 

The next day, they woke up amidst the fragrant scent of the flowers and the birds’ twittering. Nevertheless, there were a few adults who couldn’t help but propose to the Lord to make the walls taller.

“If we raise it higher, the wall will cover the sun,” Cui QiChao coldly refused. Afterward, he continued to supervise the carpenter to make a recliner for himself.

Once it was finished, he would put it in the yard. The yard was set up like a garden. Of course, strictly speaking, it should be considered a vegetable garden. Cans were stacked on the wooden shelf, and vegetables were planted layer by layer in the ground. This lack of unwasted space caused everyone to marvel.

It was difficult to get a suntan in the castle. In addition, because Cui QiChao was of a different race from the other people in the fief, Cui QiChao’s skin color here was as white as snow. If he had the conditions to, he would have chosen to become slightly more tanned. 

The vines in the house could climb all the way up to the walls surrounding the house. The farmers in the village were very curious about it. They couldn’t resist passing by the Lord’s house again and again to look at it. When they almost bumped into the door, they would take a few glances inside the house.

No one had ever seen such a residence. They could still imagine what the interior of the castle was like, but what exactly did the interior of the residence look like?

A brave man asked the village head and the Lord Priest what the Baron’s house looked like on the inside.

It was said that there were square lattice-shaped courtyards surrounded by rooms. Even servants lived in stone rooms. The courtyards were colorful, and a fragrant scent emanated everywhere inside. This was not only because of a special toilet and the newness of the house, but also because the Lord said he had developed medicinal water that prevented the invasion of demons. It was said to be extremely great to use for showers. 

(In fact, the medicinal water was created because Cui QiChao finally found herbs that could improve immunity. In addition, there was no shortage of water in the house, so he could finally get rid of the odor emanating from his body.)

To the people, it was strange that a place didn’t smell. They also wanted to personally experience the strangeness of the Lord’s house.

So, the people passing by began looking at the door with expectant eyes. When it occasionally opened, they could see the yard inside. It really was full of colors. There were all kinds of plants, herbs, vegetables, and even flowers on the wooden shelves.

Instead of shuttling through dark corridors like in the castle, the servants walked along the bright corridors and from yard to yard. They were in a much better mood, and their mental outlook became stronger by the day. 

The people outside looked inside and thought that these people truly looked merry.

Soon, people in the fief followed suit and planted plants around their humble houses. Some commonly used plants were herbs, wildflowers, and even grass that could be used to feed the pigs. They now had more leisure time than in the past, so they also had time to compare each other’s small flower beds.

Everything that came from the Lord’s house became trendy. Everyone was used to it. At first, they followed the Lord to kill insects, grow vegetables, conduct irrigation, and feed pigs. These types of flowers might only look beautiful to them, but who knew whether they had uses other than pleasing the eyes?

In any case, due to the placebo effect, many people claimed to be in better spirits. 

Because Cui QiChao now lived closer to the people, it was easier for everyone to bump into the Lord’s servants. The servants were all clean and had no dirt on their faces and hands. It was said that they washed themselves with medicinal water to prevent the devil from approaching.

This was certified by even the priest. His cough was said to have become much better after washing himself with the water. Everyone wasn’t surprised. Ever since the Lord came, when did something the Lord did have bad effects?

Look, the sow in that guy’s family used to be paralyzed, and their piglets were starving. But they escaped from the devil’s palm after the Lord’s guidance. Anyway, people and pigs don’t seem to be very different. During winter, they had to hold their pigs to keep warm and live on pigs.

Thus, everyone couldn’t wait for the Lord to promote the planting of those medicinal herbs. No one doubted this, because the Lord would certainly share it with them. When that time came, he would also share how, and how often exactly they should use them. 

No one knew about the specifics at the moment, but it was said that the servants washed their faces and hands when the sun was at its highest. As for their bodies, they also washed themselves with cooked medicinal water. Although this would waste some of their time, the farmers all made an appointment with each other to set up a pot in the village square in the future. Everyone would contribute firewood for sharing.

Without Cui QiChao urging them to, these people became particularly eager to rub themselves clean.

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The nickname Cat Abuser Baron brought endless trouble. Today, Northumberland welcomed a group of guests. It was a real noble guest; not a traveller from afar, nor a robber, nor a territorial Lord bordering Northumberland. 

The Lord, who was named George, was also a baron. This title of nobility he bore originally belonged to his wife, but after they got married, the title was transferred to him. George came to Northumberland with some knights, servants, and a box of gifts.

There were few ordinary visitors during this era. Cui QiChao felt that this situation was abnormal and seriously welcomed George.

Before coming to Northumberland, George knew only a little about the way Cui QiChao governed. When he passed by the roads, he saw how strong and full the grain was. Since the autumn harvest season was nearing, they had begun to sprout. He was amazed at how Northumberland’s land had become so fertile in just two years. The Gods really cared for this place.

Moreover, George found that other than the castle, Cui QiChao built a house in the lower lands. George didn’t know whether Cui QiChao was planning to live there permanently or temporarily. The environment in the house was very elegant and exotic, causing his gaze to linger on the house. Even the servants in the house looked strange and clean, like some southern nobles who loved bathing. 

George was much older than Cui QiChao. After the two exchanged greetings, Cui QiChao asked someone to serve tea before dinnertime.

George revealed his intentions without beating around the bush. Because the church wanted to set up a trading place and George didn’t have many knights in his territory, he wanted to head there together with his neighbors, one of which was Northumberland, to accompany him to the trading place. The neighbors knew that Northumberland would not take the initiative to invade them, and Cui QiChao was a relative of the archbishop, so George naturally liked him.

“I have no problem with that. When the trading place opens, we can form a team together,” Cui QiChao agreed without thinking. Baron George’s knights were unthreatening. Their knights could wipe them out casually.