The first batch of wheat planted in Border Town finally ushered in the harvest day.
Under the scorching sun, the serfs used sickles to cut the wheat stalks, bundled them up and transported them to the other side of the river.
Roland knew that the process from ear to kernel was a very tedious one. Before mechanical farming tools and combine harvesters became popular, the wheat needed to be separated, cleaned, screened, and dried manually. Now, he once again witnessed this process.
After the wheat stalks were transported back to the camp, the serfs spread them flat on the ground to dry, and then used a variety of tools: wooden sticks, stones, and rakes, to repeatedly beat the wheat stalks and ears, so that the caryons could be peeled off. This process often lasted for three or four days. In Roland's memory, in the countryside, oxen or donkeys were used to pull the stone mill to press the wheat stalks back and forth, which not only saved a lot of effort, but also made the peeling process more uniform.
It had to be said that the level of agriculture in Border Town was really too backward.
After beating, it was time to turn the situation around. If there was no fork, they would use a wooden stick instead, or they would directly grab the wheat stalks with both hands and throw them into the sky, just like stir-frying vegetables. After the early beating, most of the caryons had been broken, and this process separated the fruit from the wheat stalks.
The threshed wheat stalks actually had many uses. After being crushed, they could be returned to the field, used as livestock bedding, or made into fodder and paper. But Roland had no time to develop the green industry at the moment, so he could only watch the serfs pile the wheat stalks by the river and burn them all. In the next few days, gray smoke fluttered over the town all day long, comparable to the previous cement powder pollution.
At the same time, the two spindle-shaped islands of the Redwater Bridge had also been cleaned up, and the construction of the water retaining wall was carried out as planned. The foundation piers were prefabricated in the same way as the main bridge. First, concrete columns containing shaped steel and steel bars were poured in the open space, and then "weight reduction hoisting" was carried out. Finally, Lotus was responsible for sinking it into the soil, leaving only half of the steel plate exposed, waiting to be connected to the bridge.
Therefore, during this week, Roland basically wandered between the Redwater Bridge and the threshing ground, and his skin was tanned a lot.
After the wheat stalks were forked out, there was only a layer of wheat grains and husks left in the threshing ground.
The serfs swept them together and piled them up into hills, then stood on the hills, scooped up the mixture with shovels, and threw it into the open space in front of them. Because the husks were much lighter than the fruits, they fell farther to the ground when the wind blew. Therefore, the grains were scattered under their feet, while the husks and debris were scattered far away. Using this method, they collected the grains step by step.
Of course, it was impossible to completely clean the chaff, and in the process, the grains would be mixed with mud and gravel. Therefore, Roland made up his mind to prepare a batch of farm machinery for next year's harvest. He probably couldn't make a combine harvester, but a sheller was quite easy to make. He just needed to replace the stone mill with a millstone, install a screen under it, and use a blower to separate the broken chaff.
When the plump wheat grains were evenly spread on the threshing floor, it seemed as if the entire northern bank of the Redwater River was dyed with a layer of gold. Looking at these golden fruits, Roland's heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Regardless of whether the harvested grain was enough to fill the stomachs of more than 10,000 people, at least for Border Town, this was a memorable day.
From today onwards, the grain in his territory would gradually change from being completely dependent on imports to being self-sufficient.
After drying for three days, the wheat entered the stage of bagging and weighing.
"Your Highness, this time we had a great harvest!" That afternoon, Barov excitedly ran into the office. "According to the preliminary statistics of the City hall, the yield per mu of each responsible field is at least four times higher than in the past, and the highest is currently six times higher. In this way, this year's harvest is enough to fill the stomachs of the subjects."
"Really?" Roland couldn't help but laugh. "It seems that the newly built granary in the Castle District won't always be empty."
"Do you know what this means?" The expression of the City hall director seemed to be even more excited than Roland. "Border Town only needs to add another 2,000 farmers to meet the food consumption of 50,000 to 60,000 people! This is incredible. Border Town can completely expand into the largest city in Graycastle, no … "He paused for a moment." The most magnificent city on the continent! "
In this era, the main reason why the urban population could not increase was the low production capacity of grain. A large city like King's City, which had a population of more than 20,000, already required dozens of villages to provide food for it. Each village had a population of about 1,000 to 2,000. If half of them were engaged in farming, the total number of people would be 20,000. In other words, the grain produced by a farmer could not only feed himself and his family, but also one city resident at most.
This was the so-called invisible constraint on productivity. It was hard for Barov to imagine that after mechanized farming was popularized, the output of just one person would be enough to feed tens of thousands of people. The main reason why Border Town could achieve such a great harvest without the promotion and development of agricultural technology was the Golden Ones modified by Leaf.
Using as few farmers as possible to feed as many people as possible, liberating human resources from the farmland and putting them into industrial production, this was the strategy that Roland had decided on from the very beginning. Now that the Ministry of Agriculture had obtained the best planting process, and in the coming years, iron farming tools and machinery would be used in farming, the per capita output would definitely increase.
…
In the evening, Roland held a bonfire speech by the Redwater River. Time seemed to have returned to that dusk four months ago. It was still the same bonfire, the dense crowd, and the last trace of the afterglow on everyone's faces. The only difference was the expression on everyone's face. Compared to the fear and uneasiness they had felt when they first arrived, their faces were now brimming with joy and unconcealable expectation for the harvest.
Roland waved his hand downward, and the scene immediately quieted down. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the prince to fulfill his promise.
"I know what you want to hear." Roland did not follow his usual practice of first putting his name and title. Instead, he said straightforwardly, "I can also tell you without a doubt that the promotion rules announced before are still valid and will continue!"
His words ignited the atmosphere. The crowd could not help but shout. Many people knelt down and praised the prince's benevolence. "Long live the Lord! Long live His Royal Highness! "
"After the grain has been handed in, the promotion list will also be announced," Roland waited until the cheers subsided a little, then continued, "City hall will be responsible for the arrangements after you become free people. You can choose to continue farming or find another job in the town."
"In addition, from next year, as long as the harvest meets the promotion standards, even if the output is not among the top, you can still become free people. In other words, as long as you work hard, you can definitely get rid of the status of a serf. As I said, labor creates wealth, and labor changes fate. " He paused for a moment and looked around. "I hope that one day in the future, there will be no more serfs in Border Town, and everyone can become my real subjects."
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