Chapter 47 Inspecting the Vale

The day after the military merit banquet, after finishing his breakfast, Arte set out from the timber keep toward the south in the company of Cooper, intending to inspect the valley before his departure.

The valley had already taken on a new appearance. At the beginning of last winter, this place was still a barren wasteland, but now it was slowly transforming into fertile arable land. Two large plots of farmland, separated by a river, extended on both sides. The dark gray soil stretched right to the edge of the tender yellow wild grass. Five or six farmers carried cloth bags, reseeding wheat in the fields, while others shuttled back and forth between the cultivated land and the river, using wooden buckets to carry water to irrigate the seeds.

Leaving the valley, Arte and his companion headed straight for the gentle slope beside the valley entrance. Several female farmers and children who were reinforcing the fences around the slope hurried forward, curtsying and greeting their "Lord" upon seeing Arte arrive.

Several thatched huts had already been built on the gentle slope, which was less than thirty feet high. Lawrence’s wife was tending a fire to boil water in a temporary wooden shed, while the clear water in another clay pot nearby had already cooled to a lukewarm temperature. Another female farmer picked up a clay pot filled with warm water and walked down toward the fields below, where the people who had been busy all morning were in urgent need of a clean, hot drink.

"Good day, my lord." Although Lawrence’s wife still looked thin, her face had gained some color. Seeing Arte and the others walking toward the kitchen area, she stood up and bowed her head in greeting.

Arte nodded in acknowledgment and asked, "Catherine, where is your husband?"

"Reporting to my lord, Lawrence took a few men from the keep guard out to the southern wasteland early this morning. Hearing that you were coming to the valley, he said he wanted to catch a few wild hares for you to taste."

"Well, then I must thank him properly."

Arte leaned over to glance at the clear water in the clay pot and asked Lawrence's wife, "Catherine, do you know that Baron Antayas has recaptured Alsburg?"

"I know. Lawrence told me. It was you who helped the Baron recapture Alsburg. Several of the border patrol brothers also lost their lives in the battle to retake Alspurg."

"Catherine, tell me the truth: do you want to return to Alsburg?"

Lawrence's wife stood up from beside the fire and asked anxiously, "My lord, did Lawrence make you angry? I beg your forgiveness." With that, she made as if to kneel on the ground.

Arte quickly helped her up and said, "Lawrence has always done a very job. I was just wondering if you might prefer to live back in Alsburg, since it is your homeland after all."

"My lord, in Alps we were only free tenant farmers renting land from the lord, living just slightly better than serfs. Here, we can rent more land, pay fewer agricultural taxes, and you even gave Lawrence a job. We are willing to stay here and become your subjects."

"Good. Catherine, Lawrence already told me this yesterday; I was just asking again. Since both of you feel this way, stay here in peace and work for me, and I will not treat you unfairly."

"Alright, take us to see the granary first."

Catherine agreed, placed the half-burnt piece of firewood back into the fire, and led Arte toward a tightly constructed log storehouse in the middle of the clearing.

The small door of the storehouse was secured with an iron lock brought back from Winchester Manor. Catherine took the key from her waist, unlocked the padlock, and pushed open the wooden door. The storehouse was small, measuring about eight feet square, with several layers of wooden shelves inside. Each shelf held several bags of grain, while the top shelf held a large bag of salt and smoked bacon.

"My lord, these are the food reserves for everyone in the valley, along with eight hundred pounds of shelled wheat. Every half month, Lawrence goes to the timber keep to collect grain from the old steward. All this grain is stored here; I keep the key, and I cook for everyone every day."

Arte entered the small storehouse, opened a bag of wheat, reached inside, and grabbed a handful to inspect. The wheat was well-preserved without any mold. He put the wheat back into the bag, patted his hands, and said to the old steward and Catherine, "You must take good care of this grain. First, prevent anyone from stealing it; second, keep mice from eating it; and third, protect it from dampness and mold. This grain is the lives of all the farmers."

"Rest assured, my lord, everyone regards the grain as more important than their lives, and we won't let anything happen to it."

"That's good. Let's go take a look at the huts." With that, he walked toward the large thatched huts.

The huts on the gentle slope had been built rather hastily. Arte walked into the largest one, where the farmers had used rags to simply partition off seven or eight individual rooms. In the middle of the hut was an earth stove, but as the weather was gradually warming up, there were only some ashes left in it.

The interior furnishings were crude and messy, littered with the farmers' tattered clothes, pots, barrels, bowls, and plates, along with utensils for collecting excrement in the corner. The entire room reeked abominably. Fortunately, the huts were crudely built and drafty on all sides, otherwise the stench would have suffocated someone.

"Cooper, I told them not to defecate inside the houses. Why is it still reeking like this?" Arte said, covering his nose in reprimand.

Old Cooper looked helpless and said, "My lord, I already had people dig a large pit down the slope and covered it with a thatched shed for everyone to use, just as you requested. But these people are not nobles; they are used to doing their business wherever they please. Besides, the winter was cold and nobody wanted to go outside. They are not soldiers, and I have no way to force them to change..."

"Whether they are nobles or not, this has nothing to do with nobility. If this goes on, it will easily breed germs..."

"My lord, what is a germ?"

"Ah, never mind, we'll talk about it later!" Arte had no intention of discussing such cross-era concepts with Cooper.

Covering his nose, Arte took a brief look around before leaving the hut to inspect the farm tool shed and the livestock shed. The livestock shed was already empty; the animals that had diligently plowed throughout the spring had been led back to the timber keep, where they would receive better care.

At this moment, Lawrence, who had gone out hunting, also returned to the gentle slope with several robust farmers. Lawrence and his men carried two wild hares that had been beaten to death with clubs. Lawrence handed the hares to Catherine, instructed her to prepare a honey-glazed roasted rabbit, and then came over to Arte.

"My lord, you've come very early."

"Yes, I'm heading out at noon, so I had to come early to check on the valley. Has all the land been sown with wheat?"

"Yes, my lord, all the cleared farmland has been sown, and now everyone is reseeding the spots where the initial sowing was sparse. Furthermore, we planted peas, onions, and some mixed vegetables in the slightly poorer soil on the western side of the gentle slope, so we will have vegetables to eat during summer and autumn."

Arte glanced toward the western side of the gentle slope, where the weeds had been replaced by newly sprouted green shoots of various vegetables.

"My lord, should I call the farmers back now?" Lawrence asked.

"Never mind, let everyone finish their work in the fields. There is still plenty to do at the timber keep, so let's not distract them. I came this time just to check on the situation here and to hear if you have any urgent needs that I can bring back when I return."

Lawrence thought for a moment and replied, "My lord, we have food and huts here, and we are already very satisfied. Only—only—"

"Only what? You can speak your mind. If it can be done, I will definitely find a way," Arte said.

"My lord—it's like this..."

It turned out that after the banquet yesterday, Lawrence had returned to the valley and told the farmers that Arte would come to visit them. At that time, several farmers asked Lawrence if they could request Arte to build a simple small chapel, so that these people drifting in a foreign land could find spiritual belonging and the blessing of the light of God.

Hearing this, Arte did not answer immediately, but instead asked, "Lawrence, the old steward told me you built yourself a small hut. Can I go sit at your place?"

"It would be my honor. Please!" Lawrence stepped aside, leading Arte and Cooper to a slightly more refined small hut behind the large one.

"My lord, the old steward and Bard helped me build this hut. It's a bit small, but it's sturdy enough."

Arte and Cooper entered the small hut, which was much neater than the large one. The hut was also constructed of scrap wood and thatch, but the wooden walls on all sides were windproof. An earth stove had been dug in the middle, but now a small wooden table was placed over it, neatly displaying a small clay pot and several sets of wooden bowls and tableware. Under the table were three low stools, and opposite the wooden door against the inner wall was a wooden bed covered with soft hay, topped with a woolen felt blanket and several clean, washed linen tunics.

Lawrence invited Arte and Cooper to sit at the table. Arte motioned for Lawrence to sit as well, and said to the two of them, "Both of you are people I trust. I want to say that I have no intention of building a church here yet, for three reasons. First, everything here is newly established, and everyone must put all their time and energy into developing the valley. Second, this place does not belong to any lord's fief. We can quietly farm here without anyone coming to collect taxes or plotting against us. However, cultivating land here is illegal, and I don't want to attract too much attention. If we want to build a church, we must ask the Tynets diocese to send priests or clergy, and then this would no longer be an unknown land. Those greedy lords and nobles would not sit idly by and watch fertile land be occupied for long by a commoner without a fief. Lord Pierre allowed us not to pay taxes because he thought I was clearing wasteland outside the dense forest, where everyone knows not a single grain grows. Third, once the Church intervenes here, we must pay the Church tithe, and these taxes must be borne by the farmers..."

Of course, Arte would not tell Lawrence the fourth reason: while he appeared outwardly devout in his worship of God and the deities, he knew all too well what kind of disasters clergy filled with self-interest and greed could bring to this paradise. Moreover, this was an age ruled by theocracy, and where the Church arrived, unnecessary troubles easily followed. Therefore, before rightfully acquiring this "fief" and finding "suitable" clergy, he would not let the Church meddle in this valley.

Lawrence and Cooper carefully chewed over Arte's words. Although they also hoped the valley would become a land of God, if building a church would hinder the future development of the valley, they would not agree to it either.

Seeing that the two of them had basically accepted his idea, Arte continued, "Of course, I also know everyone hopes this will become a place favored by God. Therefore, I think you can organize everyone in your spare time to prepare for building a temporary small chapel, right inside the timber keep. But for now, I don't plan to invite a priest to station here. After it's built, Cooper can lead everyone in some prayers. As for mass, prayer, and confession, those are not needed for now, until I find a suitable priest later."

Cooper looked doubtful and asked, "My lord, I—can this work?"

"If God is in your heart, everywhere is heaven. Let's do it this way; figure out how to explain it to the garrison residents yourselves."

Next, led by Lawrence and Cooper, Arte went to the fields to inspect the soil and the sowing of wheat, and exchanged a few words with the farmers in the fields, encouraging everyone to work hard under the leadership of the old steward, Lawrence, and Scott, so that they could soon lead a prosperous and stable life.

At noon, Arte and Cooper shared a meal of roasted rabbit with the farmers in the valley. In the afternoon, Arte returned to the timber keep, gathered Ron, Simon, and the "foolish soldier" Jason—who had once again been "returned"—and departed from the timber keep.