In the last ray of sunshine in autumn, faint smoke drifts out from the ventilation opening at the top of the roof.
Green smoke is like mist, swirling in the valley, and the whole village is filled with the faint aroma of pine wood.
The bacon smoked with pine wood has a unique flavor, especially the pheasant in the pine forest, which has a faint pine aroma in your mouth and is quite popular in towns.
In Hozenplotz's house, a lot of chicken and sausages hang like grapes on the wooden poles hanging from the roof beams above the fire pit.
Frederick looked at the wooden house curiously. He was not very familiar with the wooden houses in the village and thought it would be difficult to build. After asking today, he realized that he was wrong. It is not difficult to build a house that meets the requirements of the villagers.
The houses in the village all have the same shape, with round walls six or seven meters in diameter and high and pointed roofs, which look like a fairy tale.
The process of building a house is relatively simple.
First peel off the bark of a thick wooden stake and put one end on the fire to burn a layer of charcoal. The charcoal will not rot easily when inserted into the ground.
These pillars are inserted into a circle and lined with wrist-thick logs in the middle to form a wall, which is about as high as an adult's waist.
The red clay that can be seen everywhere is mixed with hay to form mud, and is applied layer by layer on the walls to seal and keep warm.
Then use a dozen long logs to build a peak, and fix it with a ring of wood near the top. This is the main beam of the roof. Between the main beams, use thin wood to build auxiliary beams, the first beam of the roof.
It’s ready.
First lay a layer of thin wood chips coated with cheap slime glue on the beam for waterproofing, lay a thick layer of hay for insulation, and make a "?" structure ventilation opening on the top, and the roof is ready.
The interior is simple, just pave it with stones and dig a hole in the middle to serve as a fire pit. Buying furniture is a bit more troublesome.
Dig a drainage ditch around the house outdoors, then build a toilet, and you're basically done.
Hozhenplozzi finished feeding the Ami donkey he was responsible for, and when he returned home, he found Frederick looking curiously at the magic lamp on the beam.
This lamp is the latest dandelion shape, a little more expensive than ordinary magic lamps, and it lights up the house brightly.
When Frederick saw him coming in, he asked: "Is this lamp new?"
For the villagers, lighting is not an urgent problem, and cheap oil lamps are enough.
Huo Zhenplozi became nervous. The master knew what he did before, and he was afraid that he would think that he had done those things again.
"I did some business." Huo Zhenplozi said, "I found some herbs on the mountain, dried them, ground them into powder, and sprinkled them. The smoke from the stove can kill the bugs in the house. The village chief asked me to do it.
I sold it to other villages and made some money."
"The village chief and I went into the city that day and thought it would be convenient to have such a lamp to take care of the donkeys at night, so I bought it."
“I use it myself on weekdays, and sometimes I borrow it for a night if my neighbor wants to sew clothes or something.”
Frederick nodded and saw that the paste in the pot was cooked, so he asked him to start the meal.
Dinner is a pot of multigrain paste composed of barley flour, pea flour, chestnut flour, etc., with some lard and salt added. The taste is indescribable. Now people in the village can only eat this.
Frederick brought a few sausages, Hozenplots grilled two and hung the rest.
While eating, Frederick asked: "How do you feel about living here?"
Huo Zhenplozi immediately replied: "Thank you for your grace, I live a good life here."
Frederick asked again: "How much land have you been allocated?"
Huo Zhenplozi shook his head and replied: "I don't want much land, I just want some pasture to feed the donkeys."
"The ground here is full of red mud, and nothing can grow."
"The village chief said, just plant some vegetables in the ground."
"There are many pine trees here. We will plant pine trees in the future and sell the wood, rosin, pine oil and pine nuts to make money."
"The village chief also said that he will try to raise chickens and pigs in the village next spring, and also plans to grow mushrooms."
Frederick nodded slightly, thinking highly of Thomas.
The area south of Weisenland is mostly red soil and limestone mountains. It is not very good for growing crops. There are only two products: pine and lime.
In Frederick's latest plan, a cement plant will be built in a slightly northern area with more limestone next year, and then he will accumulate construction experience through Archbishop Victor's monastery.
"It seems Thomas did a good job." Frederick said.
Huozhenplozi echoed: "The village chief is very smart and knows a lot of things."
He pointed to the bacon on the fire pit and continued: "The Harvest Festival will be in a few days. The village chief bought chickens early and asked us to make bacon. If we sell them in the city two days before the festival, we can make more money than usual.
”
"Wait until after the Harvest Festival to buy chickens and make bacon. Just in time to sell them before the Winter Spirit Festival, I can make more than usual."
Frederick nodded with satisfaction.
The annual Harvest Festival here is on November 11. On this day, villagers will dress up beautifully and parade in the fields holding cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and other animals made of colorful straw to celebrate the year's harvest.
Winter Spirit Festival is the winter solstice. After this day, the days become longer and longer. It is the beginning of the New Year for the Church of Light and is also the biggest festival of the year.
The supply of meat before the festival exceeds demand in the city, and foods such as pinewood smoked chicken with special flavor are even more expensive.
Frederick said: "Then you can make a lot of money this winter."
Huo Zhenplozi said: "At least it's enough to pay off the debt."
Frederick frowned and asked: "What debt should I pay? Whose debt is it?"
He has repeatedly issued prohibitions on taking advantage of new residents through loan sharking and other means, and has set a maximum limit on borrowing interest. Now he is a little sensitive when he hears Huo Zhenplozi saying that he must pay off his debts.
Huo Zhenplozi pointed to the roof and said: "When we first came, the village chief took our driver to the city to find an adult named Ao Xiang, and borrowed a few small water trucks and saws on credit. Otherwise, our house would not be built.
Not that fast."
"He also found a friend named Ba, and bought a lot of white stuff on credit. After these things were boiled and applied to the wood chips, they would not be afraid of water, and they would be used to make roofs without fear of leaks."
"This cost a lot of money, and now our village has to sell wood and bacon to pay back the money."
Frederick quietly drank the last bit of mushy in his bowl, thinking that there was nothing wrong with it.
The construction funds of each village are very limited and can only guarantee the minimum standard. Therefore, funds can be raised by selling excess wood cut during land reclamation to make money.
Thomas just borrowed the money from his connections at Weisenberg University and paid it back slowly. He added another method of repaying the money by selling bacon, which did not violate the relevant regulations.
Frederick put down the empty bowl and asked again: "Are there enough clothes for winter?"
Now, except for Thomas and Gunter, who wear their own clothes, everyone in the village is given clothes. Each person has two sets of shorts, short-sleeved T-shirts and thick socks, as well as long pants, long-sleeved T-shirts and vests.
A cotton vest, a jacket and a military coat, and a pair of slime rubber shoes.
Because the fabrics are purchased from different places, they come in a variety of colors. Only military coats are made of cheap blue fabric.
"I have never had such good clothes to wear in winter before." Hozenplozzi took out his military coat from the box. Frederick checked it and found that the thickness and weight were acceptable.
Frederick breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they had no problem with food, clothing and shelter.