Chapter 54: Reconstruction Plan

Inside the slightly worn and aged hall of the lord's residence, Carlo furrowed his brow slightly. After a brief moment of contemplation, he slowly spoke:

"Village Chief Gervais, that idea you just brought up, I think it is entirely viable. To be honest, farming is something I really don't understand very well, so from now on, I will have to rely entirely on you all. It is just..."

Carlo paused, turning his gaze toward Nicola with a hint of inquiry in his eyes:

"Regarding the population status of our two villages, I believe we urgently need much more detailed data and information. Specifically, what is the exact total population? How many of them are male, and how many are female? What proportion do the elderly and children make up? Furthermore, how are the serfs and freeholders categorized, and what are their respective areas of expertise? In addition, the types of land are quite complex; besides what was mentioned earlier, what are the precise figures for their acreage? This information is to us as the foundation is to a tall building—of paramount importance. We must find every possible way to figure it all out clearly."

Nicola wore a troubled expression. He raised a hand to scratch his somewhat messy hair, his entire face brimming with a sense of helplessness as he smiled bitterly in response:

"My Lord Carlo, in the past, who would ever think to compile statistics on these things? To suddenly demand such detailed data now is truly as difficult as ascending to the heavens. At present, we only know a rough estimate, and even that required a great deal of effort to barely figure out."

Carlo's expression instantly turned serious. He gazed intently at Nicola and said with earnest gravity:

"Village Chief Nicola, I know it won't be easy, but this is precisely the key to rebuilding our domain."

Having said that, Carlo turned toward the doorway and shouted loudly:

"Charles, Charles!"

At that moment, Charles was leisurely leaning against the doorframe, holding a massive melon in both hands and eating it with great relish. Hearing Carlo's majestic and commanding shout, his whole body gave a violent start, and the melon in his hands almost slipped and fell to the ground. He hurriedly set the melon aside, frantically wiping the remaining melon juice from the corners of his mouth with his clothes, and then trotted all the way into the room. His face flushed bright red, his eyes filled with tension and unease, and he stammered:

"My Lord Carlo, did you... did you call for me?"

Seeing Charles looking so flustered, the corners of Carlo's mouth couldn't help but curve upward slightly, revealing a faint smile laced with a touch of teasing:

"Charles, I've heard quite a few rumors about you. They say you used to be extremely quick-witted and clever. Especially during that time when the French cavalry detachment approached, the performance you displayed truly astonished me and made me look at you in a completely new light!"

Charles's throat bobbed slightly as he nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. His feet instinctively snapped together, and he stood up straight, hurriedly explaining:

"My Lord, given the situation back then, I had no choice. After all, as a mercenary from Brabant at the time, my primary duty was to consider the interests of Brabant."

Carlo nodded slightly, a gentle smile still lingering on his face, and said softly:

"Charles, don't be nervous; I'm not blaming you. I have an important task for you. I know you excel at gathering information, so handling statistics should be no problem for you. I want you to immediately work together with the two village chiefs to carefully investigate all the data regarding the population and arable land of both villages."

Upon hearing this, Charles instantly perked up, a spark of excitement flashing in his eyes. He abruptly straightened his back, puffed out his chest slightly, and announced in a confident and loud voice:

"My Lord, rest assured! Although I, Charles, may not have great abilities, when it comes to gathering information and compiling statistics, I still have quite a bit of confidence. I will definitely make sure every single detail is thoroughly understood and give you a satisfying result!"

Carlo walked back to his seat at a leisurely pace, his gaze sweeping slowly across Nicola and Gervais, and said:

"The two village chiefs, the matters of replanting and restoring production are left to you. We will adjust our plans as we gather the statistics. However..."

Carlo paused slightly, a trace of mystery revealing itself in his eyes:

"I have an even more important job that needs to be started immediately."

***

Nicola hurriedly stepped forward a short distance and slightly bowed:

"My Lord, please give your instructions."

Carlo said unhurriedly:

"This job doesn't require too many able-bodied laborers. Have the idle people in the village go out and collect tree bark—bark from paper mulberry or mulberry trees will do. You must select fresh bark that is free of insect damage and rot. Also, if there is any idle flax, ramie, or other hemp materials, broken linen cloth, or old fishing nets, collect them all. Once you've gathered enough, find a large water tank, cut them into small pieces, add slaked lime amounting to about one-tenth the weight of these materials, and have someone stir it from time to time. Once you've set this up, come tell me after fifteen days."

By the large wooden table in the lord's residence, Nicola was filled with doubt, unable to understand what Carlo was up to, but he still nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, My Lord Carlo, we will definitely accomplish this. However, my lord, may I ask what you plan to use these for? And how much do you need?"

A strange gleam instantly flashed across Carlo's eyes as he raised his head slightly:

"I plan to make paper! And naturally, the more, the better!"

"Make paper?"

Hearing this, everyone present gasped in astonishment, their mouths dropping open involuntarily as they looked at each other in blank dismay, their faces filled with incredulous expressions. In this era, parchment and vellum firmly occupied the mainstream position as writing materials, and their exorbitant prices forced ordinary commoners to keep their distance. Although cotton paper and hemp paper did exist, their prices were still beyond what an ordinary family could afford. Only the great nobles and the church had the ability to use them, and their manufacturing techniques were guarded like treasures by those Italian republics, tightly controlled and never leaked to the outside world.

Reyesaliter widened his eyes, staring at Carlo with absolute shock:

"Carlo, I always thought your family merely came from a lineage of blacksmiths. I never expected you to possess such magical skills! I've only ever heard that the process of papermaking is extremely complex. To think that you actually know how to make paper—it's simply incredible!"

The corners of Carlo's mouth twitched upward, pulling a sly and triumphant smirk. His thoughts drifted swiftly back to the knowledge-packed "honor student universe" of his pre-transmigration days:

"Papermaking is nothing more than child's play! Back in later generations, even a primary school student could probably tinker this out. Look at these medieval folks—spinning around in circles over manorial economics all day long, knowing nothing of physics or chemistry, which is why they make simple things seem harder than ascending to the heavens. If you tried to teach medieval people this papermaking craft hand-in-hand, it would probably exhaust them to death, and they still might not learn it. To be honest, this civil-use trinket can't make much money; my primary reason for making it is just to wipe my backside. If I can manage to make some quick cash on the side by the way, that would be great, too. If someone is dying to learn it, fine—pay some tuition fees, and I'll mercifully teach them. If someone manages to steal the technology away from me, that would be even more fantastic, because then I wouldn't have to break my back making my own toilet paper to wipe my rear end. In my past life, I was a super-awesome senior mechanical engineer; developing machinery and driving the progress of productive forces—that is my true forte. But right now, with only two pathetic little villages, even if I have all the talent in the world, I'm bound to suffocate from frustration. I'd better figure out how to live comfortably first."

He thought to himself inwardly: "It's a good thing the original owner's background makes it convenient for me to fabricate lies."

He swept his gaze across the crowd and calmly stated:

"Papermaking? Hehe, it is no difficult task! I come from Florence, after all—a place full of wonder and mystery where any bizarre and strange thing can happen."

Carlo knew deep down that in the matter of domain reconstruction, he could actually participate in numerous aspects. After all, as a modern man, bizarre thoughts and ideas swarmed through his mind like a multitude of stars. But now, with subordinates available to command and do the work, he could simply move his lips as a noble young master, and this feeling was simply wonderful beyond words.

The preliminary soaking process of paper production required a significant amount of time, so after pondering for a moment, Carlo decided to first tackle other matters. As a former senior mechanical engineer, Carlo possessed unique and profound insights into productive forces and industrial innovation, along with the corresponding knowledge reserve and capability. He understood in his heart that nothing could be rushed; the enhancement of productive forces inevitably required steady and step-by-step progress.

For the time being, Carlo didn't feel any pressing sense of urgency to build a flawless domain. Deep inside, simply enjoying life to the fullest was the true meaning of existence. However, if one wished to indulge in the enjoyment of life, certain essential daily necessities were naturally an indispensable prerequisite. Take soap, for instance—most of the soap sold on the market nowadays was produced in Castile. Not only was its price astonishingly high, but compared to modern techniques, it was simply worlds apart. The color was pale and dull, the scent was singular and unappealing, the lather was pitifully scarce, and the texture was as hard as a brick, leaving Carlo filled with dissatisfaction and disdain. He secretly resolved to make soap with his own hands, with the sole original intention of being able to take a comfortable bath. As for what benefits this soap might bring to the domain, he hadn't given it much thought at first.

At present, the granaries were mostly empty, and Carlo, acting as the "de facto" young lord of the domain, smoothly commandeered the largest and best-conditioned granary to use as his workshop. He instructed Nicola to assign a few serfs to him to serve as their "labor-service rent."

Carlo walked into the granary with confident strides and began methodically directing the serfs to tidy it up:

"All of you, clean this place up properly! My tools are to be placed in that corner over there, and the materials are to be stacked in this area. Don't mix them up, did you all hear me clearly?"

The serfs looked at each other in confusion, though a trace of bewilderment lingered in their eyes, they still swiftly busied themselves according to Carlo's instructions.

Carlo had pondered how to treat these serfs. No matter when or where, a pushover would never be respected. In the Middle Ages, which practiced the law of the jungle, this was even more true; Carlo had to make himself appear capable and intelligent so that he could be respected by more people. If he were too gentle and kind to the serfs, it actually wouldn't benefit either Carlo or the serfs. As a "noble young master," as long as Carlo could ensure that his serfs had food to eat, that would be the greatest kindness he could show them.

Although Flanders did not have the abundant olive resources of the Mediterranean coastal cities, its soil was extremely fertile, and animal fat resources were quite plentiful. While directing the serfs, Carlo secretly calculated the various materials and steps required for soap making, a look of expectant a smile occasionally gracing the corners of his mouth. It was as if he could already see the wonderful scene of being able to use soft, comfortable, and pleasantly scented soap in the near future.

In stark contrast to this pleasant yearning, the surrounding ragged and exhausted serfs were working mechanically. Perhaps they could never imagine the novel and distant things residing in the heart of this young lord.