A day had passed since Ed returned to the castle, and he had been in his room perfecting the methods for planting peas and cultivating the land. He wanted to make them as simple as possible so that everyone could understand them.
Of course, the Parchment is still very precious now. Ed wouldn't scribble or make changes on the precious Parchment, even though the ink could be wiped off. He still wrote on the ground with charcoal.
Having memorized the method, Ed arrived at the castle's main hall.
Standing in the hall were Old Butler, Little Maid, and a robust middle -aged man named Roderick, the castle's carpenter.
"Good afternoon, My Lord," the three said in unison, except that Adelaide seemed to be missing two words.
Old Butler remained as respectful as ever, standing properly.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Ed greeted politely, then sat down at the long table in the hall.
Ed looked at the three people still standing and said, "Don't stand there, come and sit down." Ed pointed to the empty seat opposite him.
Upon hearing Ed's words, the Middle-aged Man Roderick seemed somewhat uneasy.
Old Butler Marcus remained standing there with his head down, while Little Maid Adelaide then went to add firewood to the fireplace.
Ed was a little angry, but he quickly calmed down and said again, "Come and sit down, everyone. From now on, you must sit down for all meetings. Marcus, remember that."
Old Butler quickly took out his parchment ledger and wrote down Ed's words. Then he sat down in the first seat below Ed.
Seeing Old Butler sit down, the middle-aged man, still somewhat uneasy, sat down at the very end of the table opposite Ed.
After adding the firewood, Little Maid saw that the two of them had sat down, so she ran over to Ed and sat down one seat away.
" Marcus, you must remember what I'm about to say carefully, and then go to the village to relay it the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, My Lord, I will remember your words perfectly."
"1. Change the current land system of one plot being cultivated and another being fallow: divide all land into three plots, two for cultivation and one for fallow. The two plots for cultivation are divided into spring cultivation land and autumn cultivation land, which are rotated annually."
2. The pea seeds used for this spring planting must be plump and free of insect holes. The same seed selection method must be used for the next spring's pea harvest. Furthermore, this spring's peas should be intercropped with barley or oats.
3. Collect livestock manure, wood ash and human excrement, mix them together and let them decompose, then spread them in the field before sowing.
4. After sowing, sprinkle wood ash to prevent insects and send personnel to manually remove insects.
5. If the pea yield decreases, no spring planting tax will be collected, and all harvested peas, except those reserved for seed, will be distributed equally among all households.
Ed had barely finished speaking when Old Butler's voice rang out: "Ah! My Lord, food is running low in the castle. Although there are only a dozen or so people in the castle, if we don't harvest peas in the fall, we'll all starve."
Old Butler had clearly concluded that Ed would not receive the fall pea tax.
Judging from his opinion being expressed without being asked, Old Butler was indeed somewhat anxious; he was a loyal servant.
" Marcus, do as I say. If there are no taxes, I'll find another way."
"Yes, my Lord …" Butler Marcus wanted to say something more, but he held back.
Ed felt that this plan shouldn't just be communicated verbally; it needed a formal decree. Regardless of whether it was necessary, Ed insisted on doing so, even though no one in the village was literate.
" Butler Marcus, write my plan in a parchment, make sure it's square, and go now," Ed instructed Old Butler.
"Yes, my Lord, I will do it right away."
A moment later, Old Butler returned to the hall, which shows that Old Butler was a very skilled person.
Looking at the Parchment document in front of me, Old Butler's handwriting was beautiful, and the Parchment was also very well cut.
But Ed always felt something was missing.
"Hmm! Right, it's missing a red circle."