On the second day of the military merits banquet, Art, accompanied by Cooper, left Wood Fort and headed south after breakfast, intending to inspect Valley Land before his departure.
Valley Land had changed its appearance; in early winter last year, it was still a desolate area, but now it was slowly transforming into fertile farmland.
Two large tracts of farmland were divided by a river, extending on both sides, with the grayish-black soil reaching the edge of the tender yellow wild grass.
Five or six farmers were carrying cloth bags, re-sowing wheat seeds in the fields, while others were carrying water in wooden buckets between the fields and the river to irrigate the wheat.
Art and Cooper left the valley and headed straight for the gentle slope next to the Valley Mouth.
Several farm women and children who were reinforcing the fences around the gentle slope quickly came forward, curtsied, and greeted their "Lord" upon seeing Art's arrival.
On the gentle slope, less than thirty feet high, several thatched huts had already been built.
Lawrence's wife was making a fire and boiling water in a temporary wooden shed, while clear water that had boiled in another clay pot nearby was now lukewarm.
Another farm woman picked up the clay pot filled with warm water and walked towards the farmland below the gentle slope; the people who had been busy in the fields all morning urgently needed clean, hot water.
"Good day, My Lord," Lawrence's wife, though still thin, had a healthier complexion.
She rose and bowed her head in greeting when she saw Art and the others approaching the kitchen.
Art nodded in acknowledgment and asked, "Catherine, where is your husband?"
"Reporting, My Lord, Lawrence went to the southern wasteland with a few members of the Fort Guard early this morning.
Knowing you were coming to Valley Land, he said he wanted to catch a few wild rabbits for you to taste."
"Hmm, then I must thank him properly."
Art leaned down to look at the clear water in the clay pot and asked Lawrence's wife, "Catherine, do you know that Baron Antayas has already recaptured Ars堡?"
"I know, Lawrence told me that you helped the Baron recapture Ars堡.
Several brothers from the Patrol Team also died in the battle to reclaim Ars堡."
"Catherine, tell me honestly, do you want to return to Ars堡?"
Lawrence's wife stood up from beside the fire, asking nervously, "My Lord, did Lawrence anger you? I beg your forgiveness."
As she spoke, she made to kneel.
Art quickly helped her up and said, "Lawrence has always done very well.
I was just thinking that you might prefer to return to Ars堡 to live, as it is your homeland after all."
"My Lord, in Ars堡, we were merely free farmers who rented land from the Lord, living only slightly better than serfs.
Now here, we can rent more land, pay less agricultural tax, and you have also given Lawrence a job.
We are willing to stay here and become your subjects."
"Good, Catherine, Lawrence already told me these things yesterday; I was just asking you again.
Since both of you feel this way, then stay here with peace of mind and work for me; I will not treat you poorly."
"Alright, first, lead us to see the granary."
Catherine agreed, placing the half-burnt piece of firewood in her hand into the fire, and led Art towards a tightly enclosed storage shed made of logs in the middle of the open ground.
The small door of the storage shed was secured with an iron lock brought back from Wincheston Manor.
Catherine took out the key from her waist, unlocked the iron lock, and pushed open the wooden door.
The storage shed was not large, only about eight feet square, and inside were several layers of wooden shelves.
Each shelf held several bags of grain, and the top shelf contained a large bag of salt and dried smoked meat.
"My Lord, these are the food reserves for everyone in Valley Land.
There are also eight hundred pounds of hulled wheat.
Lawrence goes to Wood Fort every half month to collect grain from Old Butler.
All this grain is stored here, and I keep the key.
I also cook for everyone daily."
Art entered the small storage shed, opened a bag of wheat, reached in, grabbed a handful, and examined it.
The wheat was well-preserved with no signs of mildew.
He put the wheat back into the bag, clapped his hands, and said to Old Butler and Catherine, "You must take good care of this grain.
Firstly, to prevent theft; secondly, to prevent rats from eating it; and thirdly, to prevent it from getting damp and molding.
This grain is the lifeblood of all the farmers."
"My Lord, rest assured, everyone values the grain more than their own lives; nothing will happen to it."
"That's good.
Let's go look at the huts."
He said, walking towards the larger huts.
The huts on the gentle slope were built rather hastily.
Art entered the largest one, which had been simply divided into seven or eight small rooms by the farmers using rags.
In the center of the hut was a ground stove, but as the weather was gradually warming, there were only some burnt ashes in it.
The furnishings in the room were simple and messy, with broken clothes, pots, buckets, bowls, and plates brought by the farmers scattered everywhere.
In the corner, there were also some containers for excrement and urine, and the entire room reeked.
Fortunately, the hut was crudely built, allowing air to circulate, otherwise, it would have been unbearable.
"Cooper, I told them not to relieve themselves indoors, why does it still reek so much?"
Art asked, covering his nose, in a tone of reproach.
Old Cooper looked helpless and said, "My Lord, I have already had a large pit dug below the gentle slope and covered with a thatched shed for everyone to use, as you requested.
However, these people are not noble lords; they are accustomed to relieving themselves anywhere.
Moreover, it was cold in winter, and no one wanted to go out.
They are not Soldiers, so I cannot force them to change."
"Regardless of whether they are noble lords or not, this has nothing to do with nobility.
It's too easy for germs to breed this way."
"My Lord, what are 'breeding germs'?"
"Sigh, never mind, we'll talk about it later!"
Art had no intention of discussing such anachronistic topics with Cooper.
Art covered his nose, took a quick look, and then left the hut to inspect the farm tool shed and the livestock shed.
The livestock shed was already empty; the animals that had diligently tilled the land all spring had been led back to Wood Fort, where they would receive better care.
Just then, Lawrence, who had been out hunting, returned to the gentle slope with a few young, strong farmers.
Lawrence and the others carried two wild rabbits that had been beaten to death with sticks.
Lawrence handed the rabbits to Catherine, instructing her to roast one with honey, and then came over to Art's side.
"My Lord, you are truly early."
"Yes, I'm leaving at noon, so I had to come to Valley Land early to see.
Is all the land planted with wheat now?"
"Yes, My Lord, all the cultivated land has been planted.
Now everyone is supplementing the wheat seeds in areas where the initial sowing was sparse.
Moreover, we have also planted peas, onions, and some miscellaneous vegetables in the slightly more barren areas to the west of the gentle slope, so we will have vegetables to eat in the summer and autumn."
Art glanced at the west side of the gentle slope, where the weeds had already been replaced by the tender sprouts of various vegetables that had just germinated.
"My Lord, should I call all the farmers back now?" Lawrence asked.
"No, let everyone hurry and finish their work in the fields.
There's still a lot of work to be done at Wood Fort, so let's not delay them.
I only came this time to check on the situation here and to hear if you have any urgent needs that I can bring back when I leave."
Lawrence lowered his head, thought for a moment, and replied, "My Lord, we have grain and huts here; we are already very satisfied.
It's just... it's just..."
"Just what? You can speak freely; if it's something I can do, I will definitely find a way to make it happen," Art said.
"My Lord... it's like this..."
It turned out that after the banquet yesterday, Lawrence returned to Valley Land and told the farmers that Art would be coming to visit them.
At that time, several farmers had asked Lawrence if Lord Art could build a simple small church so that these people, adrift in a foreign land, could find spiritual belonging and the light of God.
Art did not rush to answer after listening but instead asked, "Lawrence, I heard from Old Butler that you built a small hut for yourself.
May I come and sit at your place?"
"It would be an honor.
Please!"
Lawrence stepped aside, leading Art and Cooper to a slightly more refined small hut behind the large hut.
"My Lord, this hut was built by Old Butler and Bard for me.
It's a bit small, but it's quite sturdy."
Art and Cooper entered the small hut; it was much tidier than the large one.
The hut was also built with miscellaneous wood and thatch, but the surrounding wooden walls were completely airtight.
A ground stove was dug in the center of the hut, but now a small wooden table was placed on top of it.
On the wooden table, a small clay pot and several sets of wooden bowls and utensils were neatly arranged.
Under the wooden table were three low stools.
Inside the wooden table, directly opposite the rustic door, was a wooden bed covered with soft, dry straw, and on the bed were a wool felt blanket and several clean linen short shirts.
Lawrence invited Art and Cooper to sit at the table.
Art gestured for Lawrence to sit down as well and said to the two of them, "Both of you are people I trust.
I want to say that I am not planning to build a church here yet, for three reasons.
Firstly, everything here is still in its initial stages of construction, and everyone must devote all their time and energy to developing the valley.
Secondly, this place does not belong to any lord's fiefdom.
We can quietly cultivate the land here without anyone collecting taxes or bothering us.
However, no matter what, our cultivation of this land is not legally sanctioned, and I do not wish to attract too much attention.
If we wanted to build a church, we would have to request priests or clergymen from the Tinietz diocese, and then this would no longer be an unknown land.
Those greedy lords and nobles would not sit idly by while this fertile land is continuously occupied by a commoner without a territory.
Originally, Lord Pierre allowed us not to pay taxes because he thought I was cultivating wasteland outside the dense forest; they all knew that those places could not yield a single grain of harvest.
Thirdly, once the church gets involved here, we would have to pay the church's tithe, and these taxes would have to be paid by the farmers."
Of course, Art would not tell Lawrence the fourth reason—while he outwardly appeared devoutly religious, believing in God and the gods, he knew deep down what kind of disaster those clergy, whose hearts were filled with selfish desires and greed, would bring to this paradise.
Moreover, this was an era where divine authority reigned supreme, and wherever the church went, it was easy to generate many unnecessary troubles.
Therefore, before he legitimately acquired this "territory" and found "suitable" clergy, he would not allow the church to interfere with this valley.
Lawrence and Cooper carefully pondered Art's words.
Although they also wanted to build a church to pray to God for atonement, if building a church would affect the future development of the valley, then they would not agree to it either.
Seeing that the two had largely accepted his idea, Art continued, "Of course, I also know that everyone hopes this place will become a land of the Lord, so I suggest that in your free time, you can organize everyone to prepare for the construction of a temporary small church, located within Wood Fort.
However, for now, I do not plan to invite a priest to reside there.
Once it is built, Cooper can lead everyone in some prayers; as for mass, regular prayers, and confession, those are not necessary for now.
We can discuss them later once I find a suitable priest."
Cooper, full of doubt, asked, "My Lord, can I... is this really acceptable?"
"With God in your heart, every place is heaven.
Let it be so; how you explain it to the fort residents is up to you."
Next, Art, led by Lawrence and Cooper, went to the farmland to check the soil and the wheat sowing conditions.
He then chatted with the farmers in the fields, encouraging everyone to work hard under the leadership of Old Butler, Lawrence, and Scott, so that they could live prosperous and stable lives sooner.
At noon, Art and Cooper ate a meal of roasted rabbit meat with the farmers in Valley Land.
In the afternoon, Art returned to Wood Fort, took Ron Simon and the "foolish Soldier" Jason, who had been "returned" again, and left Wood Fort.
