Fantasy Lord: Starting with Daily Information

Chapter 72: The Reservoir and the Joy of Harvest

Thor had no idea that his father had prepared yet another substantial gift for him, including a Grand Knight as support. After seeing off Rachos Assad, Thor threw himself entirely into the construction of his territory once more.

With two wars concluded, the external threats—especially from the surrounding pioneering territories—had been thoroughly eliminated. Notably, Baron Valmy and Baron Graton had each sent their own “hostages,” ensuring that there were no more issues within the territory.

With the external threats resolved, Thor could fully focus on building his domain. The first step in constructing his territory was naturally the clearing of new land. 

The Maine Valley was vast, housing not only three noble lords and seven pioneering lords but, strictly speaking, including the Emerson family, there were five more pioneering lords, though they were somewhat distant from the Maine Valley.

The reason why so many pioneering lords had gathered here, and even enough to give rise to three noble lords, was primarily due to the vast and empty northern extension of the Maine Valley. The Maine River had carved out a massive bay area with flat terrain and fertile soil, perfect for large-scale farming. The closer to the river, the more fertile the land became.

Over time, sediment deposits had turned this area into a highly suitable plain for farming. If it weren’t for the threat of flooding, this region could easily give rise to several more noble lords.

To clear large tracts of wasteland, Thor knew he first had to solve the region’s water issues. He had long had an idea for this.

The best solution was undoubtedly to build a reservoir.

Yes, a reservoir.

In Thor’s previous life, reservoirs were typically “water conservancy projects for flood control, water storage, and flow regulation. They could be used for irrigation, power generation, flood control, and fish farming.”

Though this era didn’t have electricity, using a reservoir’s capacity to store floodwaters, reduce peak flow in downstream channels, and mitigate flood damage was certainly feasible. Additionally, the reservoir could support some degree of fish farming, creating new economic outputs.

Thor hadn’t acted on this idea earlier because the upstream territories belonged to Baron Valmy and Baron Graton, and he hadn’t had enough manpower.

Now, those were no longer concerns.

Thus, Thor soon organized over a thousand slaves and dozens of knights, while also mobilizing forces from Baron Valmy and Baron Graton’s territories, to begin constructing a reservoir upstream in the Maine Valley.

A large workforce was gathered, and the grand construction soon commenced.

Though Baron Valmy and Baron Graton were somewhat reluctant, they had no choice but to comply under the terms of their contracts.

While the reservoir was being built, large tracts of wasteland downstream, around Eagle Ridge, were also being cleared.

There were still more than six months until the next flood season. With the power of this extraordinary world, the reservoir could be completed within six months at most, ensuring that the area would be safe from floods and allowing land development to proceed without worry.

As the land was being cleared, the first batch of grain was harvested.

The composting techniques from his previous life had clearly made a significant difference in this world as well.

The wheat planted in the initially cleared land yielded a bountiful harvest.

The slaves and freemen were all excited as they gazed at the full heads of wheat on their land, unable to contain their joy.

"Oh my heavens, this is unbelievable!"

"Three hundred pounds, it’s actually three hundred pounds!"

"Goddess of Life bless us!"

"Our lord is truly remarkable!"

In the fields, the slaves and freemen were filled with excitement, their eyes shining with joy.

The wheat harvest had far exceeded their expectations.

In their memory, a yield of two hundred pounds per acre was considered good. But now, the yield had reached three hundred pounds—nearly double—leaving them in disbelief.

Some even felt as though they were dreaming.

In the castle.

"Three hundred pounds?"

Thor frowned slightly and sighed.

He had done his best to apply some of the techniques from his previous life, but the world was different after all. Without modern fertilizers, wheat yields couldn’t reach the levels they did in his previous life.

They weren’t even close to a tenth of that.

In his previous life, wheat yields in northern regions could reach about 1,100 pounds per acre, while in southern regions they typically ranged from 800 to 1,000 pounds.

Here, an acre was nearly twice the size of an acre in his previous world, and a pound was roughly equivalent to a pound there. So, the yield per acre here was only about 150 pounds—a pitiful amount.

"My lord, this is already a very high yield."

"In the Frostmoon Province, our family’s yield was only two hundred pounds."

"Sometimes it wasn’t even 150 pounds!"

Ren was still excited, looking at Thor with admiration.

"Alright, go and organize the storage of the grain. Make sure it’s dried and stored properly."

Thor didn’t dwell on it further and quickly gave instructions.

With the harvest in, it meant a large stock of grain was available. In the Northern Province, grain was a precious commodity.

Recently, his biggest expense hadn’t been slaves. Although slaves had cost him a significant amount of gold, it was nothing compared to the continuous consumption of grain.

If this harvest hadn’t come in, he would have had to consider purchasing more grain.

Even though Rachos’ trade network provided a steady supply of gold, it might not have been enough to sustain the territory’s needs for long.

With this harvest, however, there was no longer such urgency.

Thor could continue developing at a steady pace.

Although he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the grain yield, he had cleared a significant amount of land, and more was being cleared. It was foreseeable that there would be a steady stream of produce in the future.

The territory could now barely achieve self-sufficiency.

"It seems I need to find a way to improve grain yields as much as possible."

"In this world, it seems the elves can achieve that!"

Thor murmured to himself, recalling some information he had found in his previous readings.

Compared to humans, elves were undoubtedly the darlings of nature, possessing the ability to make plants grow rapidly and transform quickly.

If he wanted to increase production further, relying on the methods from his previous life clearly wasn’t feasible. The world was different, and the current results were already the best he could achieve.

To increase yields, he would have to rely on the methods of this world.

Thinking of elves, Thor also remembered the half-elf girl.

However, he wasn’t sure if the half-elf girl possessed this ability. After all, she was only a half-elf, not a full-blooded elf.

Moreover, she hadn’t fully submitted to him yet.