Chapter 199 How about buying some swampland
A pungent smell of fireworks penetrated his nose, and Frederick jumped out of bed in shock, looking around to see where the fire was.
There was no fire in the bedroom, and there was no sound of shouting for fire outside the door. Outside the window, there was only smoke blown by the wind.
He walked to the window and opened it, and found that a fire was burning in the swamp in the distance, and thick smoke blocked the sky.
It’s just that the farmers in the manor didn’t care at all and went about their work slowly and leisurely.
After Frederick washed up, his servants took him to the dining room for breakfast. Françoise had already arrived and was slicing the baguette, which foreigners called the "Indestructible Spear of Gaul" into slices.
Françoise saw him and said: "Come and have breakfast, I don't know if you can get used to it."
The eating habits of the two places are different, Fred In the past, Lie's breakfast was indispensable with various sausages, and milk was essential. But here at Françoise's place, breakfast only consisted of bread, jam and tea. There was also milk, but it was added to the tea to make milk tea.
Françoise spread amber applesauce on the slices of bread and put it on the plate in front of Frederick and said: "This is the applesauce I made myself, you can try it. "
"Since you discovered microorganisms and invented the use of necromancy magic to preserve food, more and more people are learning this magic."
Frederick picked up the slice of bread and took a bite. The freshly baked bread was still warm and soft, and the taste of jam was very sweet.
“It’s delicious.” He kept nodding.
Françoise immediately said: "I will prepare it and send it to you in the future."
"Okay." Frederick replied.
Breakfast time is often also the time to arrange work in the manor. Soon the housekeeper brought the village chief of the manor over to explain what the fire outside was about.
There are many mosquitoes and venomous snakes in the swamp outside the manor, and there are also various dangerous animals in the mud. People and livestock dare not approach. Wild animals have a narrow escape from death if they enter, causing great trouble to pedestrians and caravans.
Nowadays, reeds and other plants in the swamps begin to wither in autumn, so local people burn them on fire to reduce the number of poisonous insects, otherwise caravans will not dare to approach next year.
The weeds are not burned out, but they grow again in the spring breeze. Next year, reeds and other plants will grow in the ground again, and insects will appear again. However, without the protection of tall plants, returning migratory birds will easily eat them.
Generally speaking, a swamp will be burned every two or three years, and this year it is the turn of the land around the manor.
Françoise said to Frederick very depressedly: "I still want to play chess with you today, but I can't stay in the house."
Seeing that the new owner was unhappy, the village chief immediately said: "If you want to play, you can go to the beach now. You can pick up a lot of crabs, as well as beautiful shells and conches."
"The wind comes from If it blows from the sea, it won’t be smoked.”
“Really?” Françoise asked immediately, “Can you pick up conch?”
The village chief immediately assured that it was. real.
Françoise turned to Frederick and asked: "How about we go to the beach and play, maybe we can also pick up lobsters!"
The expression on Frederick's face was the same as that of the village chief. He wanted to laugh, but he was holding back.
“Why are you doing this?” Françoise found something wrong with Frederick’s expression.
Frederick explained: "Lobsters live on the bottom of the sea and they do not come ashore."
"How could this be?" Francoise pouted and said, "Lobsters Don’t they have big claws just like crabs? Why don’t lobsters land when crabs land?”
Frederick burst out laughing and saw Francoise’s mouth pouting even more. It was amazing, and he immediately said: "Because the lobster's legs are too thin compared to its body, and I don't have the strength to walk on the shore, so I can only crawl on the bottom of the sea."
Françoise thought about the lobster she had eaten last night and thought it made sense.
At this time Frederick remembered something and asked the village chief: "Whose land is those swamps outside?"
The village chief replied: "Who would want that kind of land?" It’s a rotten land. I heard that no one would buy 10 hectares for one gold coin.”
Frederick became depressed when he heard this. He thought someone would buy the swamp and pump it for water development, so that he could sell it. Horsepower steam engines and water pumps were no longer available. As a result, no one wanted to do this kind of long-term business.
There is nothing I can do if I want to buy land. The current land sales in the lowland areas are the fruits of war victory for the nobles of the Kingdom of Gaul. They are exclusive. People from other countries except them can only watch, let alone People from the losing side. Reclamation of swamps was not technically a problem for Frederick, and some swamps in Wesson were being transformed.
The first and most important step is to reduce the water source in the swamp and reduce the water level, including digging water diversion channels, building embankments, digging drainage channels, and installing drainage equipment.
Drainage is quantitative. Wheat has the highest yield when the underground water table is buried 1 to 1.5m deep. Barley has the maximum yield when the underground water table is buried 0.6m deep. You only need to remove the water that is not deep in the swamp. Drain it, and finally let the water level drop to a sufficient depth below the ground.
The second step is to plow the land to increase the air in the soil, eliminate methane, hydrogen sulfide and other substances produced by anaerobic bacteria, and promote the reproduction of aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter. If necessary, you can sprinkle some foreign matter Aerobic bacteria are introduced into the soil, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied at the same time. If the soil is too sticky, it can be improved by spreading sand.
The third step is to sow plants with rhizobia bacteria to further improve the land, and then it can be cultivated.
When Frederick came back to his senses, he found that Françoise had finished breakfast and was looking at him with a smile on her chin with one hand on the table.
"You are very charming when you think." Françoise said with a smile, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Frederick replied, "In I think those swamps can be transformed into farmland.”
“Let’s go to the beach after eating.”
The sea is not polluted at this time, and the beach is clean and beautiful. The villagers would also come to drive away the sea, but today the leader was coming and they were all driven away.
Frederick was sure that Françoise rarely went to the beach before. The old village chief sent his granddaughter, a girl named Lilu who was about the same age as Frederick, and was taking her to dig sand on the beach. Find prey.
Françoise had a great time playing and showed off to Frederick every time she dug something.
Frederick muttered about making a fortune, recalling the videos he had watched of going to sea, and soon the barrel was full.
Françoise’s servants set up an awning on the beach and hung a wind-proof curtain. They also brought kitchen utensils and cooked them here.
After a seafood dinner, Françoise was a little tired and took a nap in the shed.
Frederick came to the seaside and picked up beautiful shells and conch along the way.
Lilu followed her grandfather’s teachings and followed the leader wherever he went. She followed Frederick to help get shells.
Frederick chatted with her one after another, and learned that she lived in Amstel with her parents on weekdays, but recently the Rhine Principality traveled to Amstel via Amstel. There were many troops in the Elbe River and the security was not very good, so I came to stay with my grandpa for a few days.
“What do you want to do for a living in the future?” Frederick began an industrial investigation.
“Go to sea!” Lilu said excitedly, “In the future I will build the largest fleet in the world and do business in every port!”
Frederick couldn't help but smile when he saw her eyes shining with excitement.
But Lilu immediately said dejectedly: "There are a lot of things to learn before going overseas to do business. You need to find a companion, apply for a license, and buy a boat. All of these require money. I don't have that much money."
Frederick smiled and saw half of a scallop with red edges and yellow background on the beach in front of him, so he picked it up, took out his dagger and pierced a hole in the root.
There is a gold necklace around his neck, and the pendant is a double-headed eagle medallion. He sells it for money when necessary, so he puts the scallop on it.
“This is for you.”
Lilu's hands were carrying wooden buckets containing shells and conches, so Frederick helped her hang the shell necklace around her neck.
Frederick said: "In the future, when you feel that you are capable of going to sea, bring the necklace to Weissenburg City and find me, and I will provide an investment as your starting capital."
Lilu was stunned, her face suddenly turned red, even the roots of her neck were red, she lowered her head and responded softly.
Frederick felt that his behavior just now was frivolous and a little embarrassing, and he didn't feel like saying anything to avoid getting more embarrassed, so he and Lilu continued to pick up shells in silence.
There are many brightly colored conches on the seaside. They are the size of a finger, with a smooth back and a high bulge, and a narrow opening in the abdomen.
Frederick picked up a lot and planned to put them into bracelets and take them back to give away.
(End of this chapter)