How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 110.1
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The problem of frying oil, which had been a subtle worry, could be resolved much more easily than expected. Introducing the batatas was good news, but a more fundamental countermeasure seemed necessary, so it was just when I was pondering this way and that about how we could pull up Hezekia’s production yield.
Suddenly, my thoughts hit upon the existence of the oil beans brought in from the Continent of Taurraka. Since its very name was ‘oil’ bean, it seemed we would be able to utilize this crop quite usefully.
After organizing the plan to a certain extent, I gathered Tristan and the vassals before the conference table in the office and resolutely proclaimed.
“Your Excellency. It may be difficult to believe, but I have devised a new method for cultivating crops.”
“……”
The Grand Consort, who had never once gotten dirt on his hands, talking about a ‘crop cultivation method’ of all things, so everyone must have found it absurd and ridiculous. After a brief silence passed, Tristan nodded his head with a face that told me to go ahead and speak.
“Implement it as such.”
“Do not be like that and just listen to it first… Yes, pardon? What did you say?”
“I said to implement it just as the Grand Consort planned. Is there any opposing opinion?”
When I blankly asked back while merely blinking my eyes in bewilderment, Tristan instead questioned the vassals. Lord Mildred bowed his waist and replied.
“There is none, Your Excellency.”
“It is a matter over which the Grand Consort, Your Highness, has agonized, so how could it not go well? Please merely bestow your command.”
“……”
Is this right? Without even listening to what kind of plan it is?
Following Lord Mildred, even Chief Butler Wilhelm, who was past the point of being cautious and was downright fastidious, chimed in to help, leaving me even more flustered.
“Even so, you should at least listen to it……”
Because I was anxious after all, I checked with Tristan once more, but only the same answer came back. Rather, the vassals urged me to quickly hand down the instructions.
Well, since all’s well that ends well……
While still dazed, I began to explain the contents I had envisioned during this time. Rather than something I devised, to be exact, it was merely to the extent of slightly modifying contents I had picked up and known from my previous life.
“So…… The problem of Hezekia is the weather, but more than anything, is it not the point that the soil quality for each farmland is not good and is barren? Since the fertility of the land easily exhausts, planting wheat every year was an overstrain to begin with.”
Because of that, they were in a situation where they could not properly utilize the land they had managed to clear, and would let it lie fallow at the drop of a hat. The vassals each nodded their heads with heavy faces.
“However, we will divide the farmland into four parts to plant a different crop in each, and change the crops the following year. It may sound like a troublesome matter, but because the nutrients drawn from the ground differ for each crop, we will become able to continue farming without any fallowing.”
“Even if that is so, is it not the same that we must let the farmland rest eventually? Of course, we will be able to use it a bit longer than when cultivating only wheat, but…… If it is not wheat, there are not many things to make into food. If we plant useless crops, would it not be a waste?”
Tristan, who had been listening quietly, pointed out. Smiling broadly, I shook my head.
“Do we not have the batatas? Because the batatas is a root crop, unlike wheat, it utilizes underground nutrients effectively. As for another auxiliary crop, we can just plant barley or oats. Compared to wheat, it draws far fewer nutrients, so the burden on the ground is small.”
“I am not sure. I do not know if the peasants will be willing to make horse feed into their food.”
These people do not know the greatness of oatmeal. I do not know how to inform them that grains are far more nutritious than wheat or rice. Actually, since oatmeal doesn’t taste good……
“We need livestock feed anyway, so oats can be cultivated for feed purposes.”
Inevitably stepping back, I compromised. At any rate, the core of this plan was neither oats nor barley.
“Lastly, it is important to plant oil beans in the fourth year. The more you plant beans, the more it recovers the fertility of the land. Nitrogen… no, that… it absorbs the bad energy of the ground that increases while growing the crops.”
Previously, legume crops did not grow wild in Hezekia. However, as it happened, while visiting the Continent of Taurraka, we obtained ‘oil beans’ through barter, and they were already in the middle of cultivating them experimentally in a portion of the estate.
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