On the hillside east of Frost Leaf Town.
The howling cold wind slipped through the collar into Luo De's chest, making his already cold heart even colder.
"Is this cultivated land?"
Luo De couldn't help but exclaim in a questioning tone.
Looking around, the pale yellow land was overgrown with wild grass, with roots faintly visible inside.
If it weren't for the tattered scarecrow ahead, this would be nothing but a wasteland!
Luo De frowned, bent down, and grabbed a handful of yellow soil. His palm was full of clumped soil, and with a squeeze, it turned into fine powder.
"What a waste of land!"
Without needing systematic knowledge, Luo De could easily tell that this was land impoverished by years of not fertilizing and not fallowing.
Not to mention the wild grass, the soil starting to harden was no longer a question of fertility. If this continued, even fallowing wouldn't return it to its original state.
These people are both lazy and ignorant.
"So the wasteland along the road below the town is also arable land, Otto?"
Otto was one of the seven wealthy farmers, having accumulated quite a bit of land through years of labor.
With four sons, his wealth had surpassed that of the hanged mayor.
Of course, that was before Luo De collected taxes.
"Yes, my lord."
Otto, standing to the side, nervously rubbed his clothes and answered cautiously.
From Luo De's glacial cold tone, Otto had already realized the lord's displeasure, although he didn't know the reason.
Very well then.
Yesterday, as I walked along the road, I wondered why there were crooked ditches in the wasteland.
It turns out they were the Northern Territory's cultivated lands.
What an eye-opener.
"Otto, do you harvest bountifully farming on such lands?" Luo De couldn't help but ask critically.
"A few years ago it was okay, but it's been getting worse these past two years."
Otto cautiously reported, "If we really can't harvest any crops, then we can only open up new fields."
"Others farm for two years and fallow, while you directly abandon cultivation."
Luo De was amused by their folly.
Fools have their own ways of being fools.
Luckily, the Northern Wasteland is vast; otherwise, these people would surely starve!
"My lord, may I ask what 'fallow' means?"
Luo De had no interest in explaining knowledge to these fools and asked directly, "Are all cultivated lands like this?"
"You mean..."
"The clumped yellow land, covered in weeds, are all like this?"
"Some are not," Otto replied.
"Now clear a two-meter-wide strip of land around this plot, leaving only soil, no weeds.
Then, start a fire from the edges and burn all the weeds inside clean."
Burning weeds produces ash that can add natural fertilizer to the soil, improving its structure, while the flame can burn all the insect eggs hidden in the grass.
The two-meter-wide strip is a firebreak, preventing the fire from accidentally spreading into a wildfire.
However, if there is enough cultivated land, Luo De plans not to farm this plot again but to let it lie fallow for a year first.
"Not just this plot, but all cultivated land in the town should be treated this way!"
Grass ash is natural fertilizer, so Luo De doesn't care whether the land is barren or not; he wants to burn them all for proper nurturing.
"My lord, I'm sorry to be presumptuous, but the reason for doing this is..."
The wealthy farmer added quickly after seeing Luo De's unfriendly gaze, "I have no objections, but if all farmers are to do this, it's better to have an explanation."
"Explanation?"
Luo De snorted coldly, "My land doesn't need to be explained to anyone; those who don't comply can go die!"
Take care of the land like this and still have the face to ask for an explanation?
A group of ignoramuses breaking through the bottom line of this era, wanting an explanation?
Bah!
Farmers on Blue Star would see this and start swinging hoes at their heads!
"And, immediately seize everyone's seeds. From this year onward, all arable land will be unified in planning and cultivation!"
"Tell everyone I won't let any citizen of Black Pine Ridge starve; I guarantee it with the honor of the Tulip Clan.
But if anyone dares to reclaim farmland privately again, I'll strangle them with my own hands!"
Luo De certainly wouldn't strangle one of his citizens so lightly.
But Luo De also understood that the Northern Wasteland's problem wasn't poor land; it was these people's minds!
Therefore, Luo De decided not to reason with them any longer, opting to manage them with the most primitive system instead!
Wait until they finally wise up, then open up land leasing.
Luo De's angry voice stopped Otto from speaking further, and all he could do was nod frantically with apprehension.
His mind was full of thoughts about Matt, who was hanged the previous night, and the criminals displayed in the town that morning, praying he wouldn't end up like that.
Especially when Luo De spoke the next sentence, Otto's heart sank into the abyss of cold darkness.
"Now, take me to find a piece of land that hasn't been cultivated."
"Esteemed lord, all the land around here has been cultivated. For new land, you have to go far..."
"What?"
Luo De wanted to get angry, but the situation rendered it futile.
Now, to unlock an entry, he needed to personally cultivate an acre of farmland.
According to the game's system rules, all farmland buildings erected before his arrival didn't count; they needed his personal involvement after he arrived to unlock entries.
If that's the case, then does it mean that the existing land is all barren?
Luo De felt that his hypothesis was reasonable and commanded Otto to lead him to a piece of land that looked fairly decent.
Then Luo De had Otto gather a dozen people, and as instructed before, establish a firebreak at the edge of the field, carefully burning all the weeds.
Next, under the stunned gazes of the people, Luo De spit into his hands, rubbed them together, picked up a hoe, and began to till the soil.
"Noble lord, what are you doing?!"
Gang Le was so startled he almost dropped his axe!
Even if it were him, a mercenary, to till the land, it shouldn't be Luo De the lord doing it!
"What else could my action indicate besides turning the soil?"
Luo De straightened up, glanced at Gang Le, "Do I look like I'm eating now?"
With that, Luo De resumed swinging the hoe.
Just now, Luo De had been checking the progress of unlocking the entry in the system.
The gray bar representing progress had a tiny green sprout, proving Luo De's approach was correct.
The rest was just hard work.
"What are you all standing around for? Quickly help the noble lord till the soil!"
Gang Le couldn't stand it any longer, spitting out the wild grass in his mouth to pick up a hoe, but was refused by Luo De.
"You save your strength to protect my safety, while the others go burn the weeds on the other fields."
"In any case, no one is to touch the land I'm working on."
"Hiss..."
Gang Le couldn't help scratching his head, unable to figure out what was going on.
But now no one dared to defy Luo De's orders, so all followed the instructions obediently.
Cultivating land was more effort-consuming than imagined. You couldn't just raise the hoe and stick it into the ground directly; otherwise, after a few minutes of hard labor, you'd be exhausted.
Plowing also required experience; you had to maintain a certain frequency, progress gradually, and when you felt a bit tired, it was best to stop and rest a while before continuing.
As an illegitimate child, Luo De had farmed at Tulip Castle, and this plot of land wasn't new, so it cooperated relatively well.
There were no stones in the land, and the snow had just melted, providing ample moisture. It only took half a day to complete an acre of land.
[Successfully cultivated the first acre of territory, unlocked entry: Knowledge of Fertile Soil]
[Next entry: Collect two tons of manure fertilizer, unlock: Master of Fertilization]