kscans

Chapter 67 - End Village (Part 2)

As mentioned before, if one were to attempt large-scale animal husbandry in the countryside, monsters would treat it as an all-you-can-eat buffet and run rampant. However, small-scale breeding was a different story. So, what could be raised on a small scale and still turn a profit? The answer the pioneer farmers arrived at was a type of goat that produced high-quality animal hair. Examples like Angora goats and cashmere goats exist on Earth, and a similar breed exists here in the Forea World. It was an item unbefitting for a mere pioneer village to raise, but fortunately, the lord was an understanding and progressive individual, so the villagers' wishes were granted. Luckily, this gamble paid off, and the money from selling the high-quality animal hair was able to improve the villagers' lives. End Village was well-off among pioneer villages of similar size. So she had thought. Until she saw Yuri's abandoned village.

Completely unaware of Dona's complex feelings, Yuri's eyes were sparkling as he looked at an outside village for the first time. In that respect alone, he was just a normal child of his age.

"This village raises goats, I see."

"Yes. As long as we only keep a few, it doesn't attract monsters too much. We raise Amir Goats, as they're a type of livestock that can produce a decent profit in small numbers."

"Amir Goats?"

"You don't know of them, Yuri-kun? They have soft, glossy hair, and that hair sells for a high price."

"Ah, I see."

Yuri himself did not have the capacity to raise livestock, but he knew that in his previous world, animals like Angora and cashmere goats were raised for their hair. He also spun the hair of monsters to make woolen fabrics. So, Old Man Audel's explanation made perfect sense to him. Yuri had considered livestock, but if he were to leave the village like this time, the problem of their care would arise. After all, he was currently the only resident in his village. While having a ready source of cloth material was appealing, Yuri had no choice but to give up. Of course, it seemed that even in End Village, they acquired everyday cloth through trade. The woolen fabric from Amir Goats was apparently too much of a luxury for everyday use.

"With goats, do you also use their milk and dung?"

"No, we can't expect much from those. They only produce milk while raising their young, and it's difficult to preserve. As for the dung, there isn't enough to go around for all the fields."

"Oh? You don't process it into cheese or anything?"

"No. You need a calf's stomach to make cheese, don't you? In a small village like this, we can't afford such a luxury."

"What? You can make cheese without using rennet, you know."

"What did you say?"

In Europe of his past life, cheese made with rennet, which is taken from a calf's stomach, was mainstream. However, in other regions, cheese was also made by coagulating milk using acid or plant-based enzymes. This was the source of Yuri's question, but it seemed that in this world, or perhaps in this country, such methods of cheesemaking were unknown.

"Hmm, to think you can curdle it with vinegar."

"If you strain the fluffy stuff through cloth and then press it together, it becomes a sort of cheese. It might be a little different from the cheese you're used to, though."

As he was explaining the acid coagulation method, the villagers, their interest piqued, gathered around in droves. Food is a matter of interest anytime, anywhere, Yuri thought, strangely impressed. The conversation naturally flowed into a discussion about food.

"Oh, you have a bread oven here. I'm envious."

"You don't make bread, Yuri-kun?"

"For some reason, my village doesn't have an oven. I suppose for one person I could bake at home, but the kamado in the house where I live and sleep isn't very good for baking. It's also a hassle to go to another house every time I have a meal."

Perhaps because he was Japanese in his past life, Yuri was not particularly attached to eating bread, and his staple foods were mainly noodles, suiton dumplings, and porridge made from cracked barley. If he had rice, he would have done whatever it took to secure it, but from a quick look, it did not seem that End Village grew rice either. For Yuri, this upcoming trip to Laurenzen also held the purpose of searching for information about rice.

"Well, perhaps what you eat are those Lycoris dumplings, Yuri-kun?"

"Oh, yes. I eat those too. Though I eat more wheat these days."

Starch from Lycoris, Dag, and Shika still regularly appeared on his daily table. When he mentioned this, the villagers somehow leaned forward.

"?"

"Well, you see, when I told the villagers about the Lycoris dumplings... um..."

It seemed that Dona had gone around bragging about the Lycoris dumplings. Because of that, the villagers' interest in Lycoris starch had grown more than expected.

"Just as you said, Audel-san, I brought a little as a sample..."

The raw material was, after all, a poisonous plant. Although he had thoroughly removed the poison, it would be a disaster if something happened. He had not planned on bringing any, but Old Man Audel had begged him to teach everyone in the village, so he had brought a small amount as a sample. He showed them the Lycoris root for explanation and detailed the method of detoxification. The Lycoris in this world, unlike the red spider lily of his former Japan, also reproduced by seed. In other words, there was a possibility that the strength of the poison could change with heredity. Therefore, he stressed the importance of thorough detoxification, repeating it until he was blue in the face. Of course, his threat that you could die if you were unlucky seemed to have considerably dampened the villagers' enthusiasm, except for the three who had actually eaten the dumplings. In place of Lycoris, the villagers showed interest in acorns from trees like Dag and Shika. Like Lycoris, these could also have their astringency removed, and it was easier to secure a large quantity. Most importantly, the fact that they would not die even if they failed to remove the astringency seemed to have captured the villagers' hearts. Fortunately, these acorns grew near the village as well. A few eager villagers who had heard the story from Old Man Audel last month had tried taste-testing the still-green acorns after soaking them in water and had apparently gotten a favorable impression.

"It might be good to cultivate them like a hedge. The fallen leaves can be used as fertilizer, and they could also provide shade and a windbreak, don't you think?"

"I see. It won't happen overnight, but in the long run, it seems there would be many benefits."

From there, Yuri, as asked, went on to talk about how to use the bounties of the mountains and fields, concepts like natural farming and beneficial insects, companion planting, and the three main elements of fertilizer. Much of this information was new even to the villagers who had been engaged in agriculture for many years. Many were half in doubt, but with Old Man Audel and the other two having actually seen Yuri's fields, the villagers' attitude gradually became more enthusiastic. The content Yuri was teaching was quite advanced, but it would probably be good to try a few things.

As they were listening to Yuri's lecture in this manner, a corner of the village suddenly became noisy.