Building an iron furnace is a very time-consuming task, even with two more townspeople helping to mix the clay; it still took over five hours to complete.
It was Luo De's first time making such a furnace, so naturally, his speed couldn't match that of a blacksmith.
Once the blacksmith's furnace was built, Luo De immediately used the system to inspect his furnace.
[Name: Fragile Iron Furnace]
[Grade: Green Excellent]
[Enchantment: Refined Blast Furnace]
"Just as I thought!"
Luo De breathed a sigh of relief and enthusiastically flicked the wet clay off his hands.
As long as the townspeople follow his orders, it counts as his participation.
This way, Luo De wouldn't have to personally build a furnace every time he smelts iron!
But Luo De likes to see things through to the end; since he started, he would finish setting up his subordinates' furnace.
Naturally, without any unexpected issues, Luo De's furnace also came with enchantment entries.
"The pig iron smelted from these two furnaces can only be used for forging weapons and equipment, not for sale."
Luo De solemnly gave orders to the two blacksmiths.
As for forging and repairing farm tools, it could only use the previous iron materials.
Next, Luo De didn't participate in the charcoal burning. Otto had already reported in the morning that the town's manure had been cleaned.
Luo De had to patrol the town well to see if that wealthy farmer had done the job right.
Punishment wasn't the point.
Right now, Luo De needed people who could get things done around him. If Otto wasn't up to the task, he needed to be replaced promptly.
"If I remember correctly, Martha is a widow, right?"
After leaving the blacksmith shop, Luo De suddenly recalled his promise to Hammer and said to Durant, "Try introducing her to Hammer."
"Will that work... They have quite a big age gap."
Durant cautiously commented.
Hammer was only twenty-four years old, while the mother of three, Martha, was already thirty-six.
"You don't understand, Durant."
Luo De chuckled lightly, "It's called meeting the strongest him in the most yearning age."
Saying this, Luo De suddenly realized something and whispered, "Durant, don't tell me you have an eye on Martha?"
Martha, though a mother of three children, had a voluptuous figure, wide hips, and exuded the allure of a mature woman.
The folk customs of the Broken Rock Empire were bold and open; being married wasn't necessarily considered a disadvantage.
If not for Martha still nursing her youngest son, she would be very popular as a woman who could still bear children.
Facing Luo De's teasing, Durant lowered his head without speaking.
Luo De keenly noticed that Durant glanced at his severed hand.
It seemed this knight was feeling inferior due to his deficiency.
But Luo De didn't think Durant was any less because of it.
"Durant, as the Chief Knight of my territory, if you have a woman to take care of you, you can serve me better."
Luo De suddenly looked at Durant seriously and said sternly, "So you better pick a wife yourself soon, otherwise I'll have to assign one."
Since you feel inferior, I'll use the lord's authority.
Actually, Luo De didn't like forcing matches, but such an excellent knight as Durant should have children.
Then sixteen years later, Luo De's territory would have one more knight.
"Lord Baron..."
"Gang Le, do you have a wife?"
Luo De directly interrupted Durant and looked straight at Gang Le.
Durant understood, this meant the Lord would no longer leave room for discussion, and he could only helplessly give up.
"Hey, running around with my brothers doesn't suit having a woman or family."
Gang Le grinned and said, "I'll think about it when I'm tired."
Luo De nodded in agreement, then said, "You can consider settling down with me."
"Noble lord, I don't have money to buy land and build a house, hahaha!"
"These aren't problems for you."
Luo De looked ahead, "Gang Le, I'm inviting you; you can take your time to reply."
Gang Le was a powerful warrior, able to hold his own against Durant in battle without practicing any breathing technique.
Though he ultimately lost, he was still outstanding among everyone, including the guards.
It's worth mentioning that in this world, knights signify not only honor but also power beyond ordinary people.
Knights would cultivate breathing techniques to enhance their physical qualities, such as strength, stamina, and reaction speed.
According to their strength, they are roughly divided, from low to high, into Knight's Squire, Junior Knight, Intermediate Knight, Advanced Knight, Top Knight, and Legendary Knight.
Durant is an Intermediate Knight, so even with one hand severed, he can still defeat Gang Le.
Of course, except for Legendary Knights, all other ranks of knights are still just "human".
—No matter how strong they are, they cannot single-handedly defeat a well-trained and well-equipped legion, especially when there are strong archers involved.
But Legendary Knights are an exception.
It's said that a Legendary Knight can kill ten men with one sword strike, and even take the head of an enemy general amidst thousands of troops.
However, this is written in the history of the Empire. In reality, the Broken Rock Empire has no such Legendary Knights, and no one in the entire world has heard of any.
"Master, do you not mind my lowly background as a mercenary who fought for gold coins?"
Gang Le bowed his head, his smile somewhat strained.
"You don't fight just for gold coins."
Luo De looked at Gang Le and asked, "Weren't you a squad leader in the Border City Defense Team before? You even dreamed of becoming the Commander of the Garrison Army."
Gang Le put away his smile, a bit surprised.
That was something from the past, something he never mentioned since he retired, except when he murmured under the influence of alcohol.
It seems this noble master had investigated him before.
No wonder he was so generous.
"That was just youthful nonsense, I forgot about it long ago."
Gang Le scratched his head, then came to his senses,
"But I will seriously consider the suggestion."
"Don't think too long, I'm not always in need of people."
Saying this, Luo De quickened his pace.
As they talked walking around the town, they indeed didn't see any dung, but the ground showed marks of being thoroughly scraped.
However, some places still had the smell of urine because the old urine had permeated the soil over the years.
Luo De did not nitpick or punish Otto for the smell of urine.
Outside the town, they saw piles of dung.
[Two tons of manure fertilizer collected, entry unlocked: Master of Fertilization]
As Luo De approached the pile of dung, the entry completion prompt appeared.
Luo De then opened to check,
[Master of Fertilization (Blue): The compost pits you built or participated in building have a fermentation speed increased by ten times.]
[Next entry: Cultivate five thousand acres within the territory, unlock: Lord of Crops]
Truly worthy of being a Master of Fertilization!
Fresh manure cannot be directly used in the fields. It must undergo placement or compost fermentation, otherwise, it will "burn" the crops to death.
Hot weather is more conducive to composting, taking roughly two to four months.
But in the Northern Wilderness, where it gets close to zero degrees at night, it often takes seven to ten months, even if spring is warmer, at least six months for fermentation.
However, with the Master of Fertilization entry, Luo De can complete the fermentation of the manure in less than a month.
For the May spring plowing in the Northern Territory, it's just in time.
"But to cultivate five thousand acres, this amount of fertilizer is not enough."
The dung piles in front of Luo De were not big, about three tons each.
There were fourteen such piles, so estimating all the manure combined, it was about forty tons.
Compost also requires adding some straw, sawdust, wood ash, and soil, at a ratio of two to three times the manure.
After accounting for water evaporation, the final remaining fertilizer would be only about eighty tons.
And in this era without chemical fertilizers, each acre requires 1-3 tons of organic fertilizer.
Even using one ton of fertilizer per acre, for five thousand acres, that's an astronomical figure, not achievable by relying solely on the people of Frost Leaf Town.
"Otto, tomorrow find thirty men in the town to dig pits, and find thirty women to go into the mountains to collect hay, as well as decaying leaves, the more the better."
If the manure isn't enough, Luo De can only increase more organic matter.
Perhaps his Master of Fertilization entry can also speed up the decomposition of ordinary dead leaves.
"Tell them to do a good job, not only is there labor credit this time, but also a meal at noon!"
"No problem, they'll be happy to do this job!"
Otto, who wasn't punished for the manure, responded cheerfully.
He's now immune to Luo De's odd commands, as long as there's no scolding or hitting, he's willing to do anything.
Luo De turned and instructed Durant, "Have Lawrence pick ten slaves to dig silt in those muddy pits nearby, also as much as possible."
Durant nodded and turned to convey the order.
Without enough manure, Luo De can only opt for intensive cultivation on some of the fields.
He was calculating in his mind exactly how much fertilizer was needed to produce 300,000 jins of grain, and at the same time, pondering where to get more dung.
Luo De truly didn't expect that one day he'd be troubled by manure.