Chapter 9

The red horse carried Liszt through the muddy land to Peanuton, a settlement much smaller than a village. A couple of grass cottages were scattered around the place.

“What are you waiting for? Kneel before your lord!” The clerk of the settlement knocked on every door quickly.

Those who lived here were all serfs.

They got out of their leaky houses. Their faces were numb, and they were at a loss outside of the doors. It was not until the clerk scolded them that they knelt and paid tribute to Liszt.

The adults were all obedient.

But a few kids raised their heads and observed Liszt with their big glittering eyes now and then, until their parents slapped them and forced them to lower their heads.

“Who’s the manager of Peanuton?” asked Liszt.

Goltai was silent on his horse, as if it were not his business. He had no idea who the manager was. The clerk replied, “It’s George the Crippled.”

“Bring him over.”

Very soon, the clerk returned with an old man whose legs were partly disabled. He was wearing patched clothes and seemed ready to drop dead at any moment.

“My lord, Old George is here.”

The clerk nudged the old man, trying to make the old man bow, but the old man was too nervous to do anything.

Liszt waved his hand at the clerk and said gently, “Old George, don’t be nervous. I am Baron Liszt Tulip, lord of Flower Town. I’m told that something is wrong with the peanuts in your place. Show me your farmlands, and let’s see if we can solve the problem.”

“Oh, baron… my lord…” Old George stammered, “I’ll lead the way… Thank god… Peanuton is saved… Our lord is here for us!”

Old George, excited, walked much faster.

Liszt inspected the farmland before, but he never really observed it until now. The land was divided by ravines. Different serfs worked on different parts of the land.

Ninety percent of the yields belonged to their lord, or Liszt, and the remaining ten percent was their food.

The land was damp. It was obvious that the serfs had irrigated a lot, but water could not bring the peanuts back to life.

Wiping his tears, Old George said anxiously, “My lord, we watered them three times a day, but the peanuts are still dying. Only Archie’s land is still good now, but some of the leaves are turning yellow, too.”

Old George pointed at the land at the center of Peanuton for Liszt.

The central part of the land was green and looked much healthier than the surroundings.

Liszt got off the horse and plucked a withered seedling. He was about to observe it, when Goltai suddenly commented, “Liszt, you shouldn’t do the dirty work. Let the serfs do it for you.”

Although he was an unappreciated knight, he despised civilians more than common nobles did.

Liszt ignored him and simply observed the seedling, trying to figure out the reason.

He was not an agronomist, but he was no stranger to agriculture. The peanuts in the two worlds had similarities and differences. However, he could tell that malnutrition was the cause of the problem.

“Have you fertilized the land with ashes or feces?”

“What?” Old George was confused. “My lord, we water them three times a day!”

Liszt asked, “You didn’t use any fertilizer?”

Stunned, Old George asked back, “What is fertilizer?”

Liszt was rendered speechless by his ignorance. “How have you been growing peanuts?”

Old George elaborated in detail. Basically, they burned the wild grasses in spring and sowed peanuts, before they watered the crops and cleaned the weeds. For generations, they had been growing the plants in such a way. Only the nobles could use elves to influence the plants and increase the yield.

Liszt couldn’t help but shake his head.

Without fertilizer, even the best land would turn barren soon. The farmland before him was almost a desert now. No wonder the peanuts were dying. They were being starved!

However, Liszt had a new question. “Why are the peanuts starving now when they never starved before?”

According to Old George, they had been growing peanuts in the same way but never had any similar crisis. So, the malnutrition of the farmland probably had a different cause.

What is the reason?

He looked at the greenness at the center and considered carefully.

Suddenly, he remembered the reward of the mission—an elvish insect for saving the peanut plantation. Based on the reward of his first mission, Liszt felt that he would probably pick up an elvish insect instead of getting one from nowhere.

An elvish insect as the reward… malnutrition of the peanut lands… Liszt stood straight with an answer. I’m afraid that the elvish insect that I’m to be rewarded with is the cause of the malnutrition. Elvish insects are born from plants. This elvish insect is probably a peanut elvish insect.

Waving his hands, he asked everyone to go to the center.

They soon reached the center of the farmland where the seedlings were still exuberant. Liszt searched his memories. Elvish insects, which looked like silkworms, were mostly collected from the buds or sprouts of plants.

Different elvish insects had different patterns.

Right now, he had four elvish insects: a tulip one, a thorn one, a millet one, and a clover one. Elvish insects required suitable lands. Goltai was still searching for places that were best for the elvish insects.

Groping for a moment, Liszt failed to find any peanut seedling that had an elvish insect.

This peanut insect will probably be miscarried due to the lack of nutrition. Liszt clenched his hands. Elvish insects represented productivity. He couldn’t afford failure.

Thinking about that, he said to everyone, “I think I know the reason now. Old George, cure the land according to my instructions.”

“Thank you, my lord!” Old George cried in joy.

Goltai asked in surprise, “Liszt, you really found the source of the problem? I didn’t know that you were a great farmer. What’s jeopardizing the peanuts?”

“I can’t tell you yet. You’ll know in a couple of days.” Liszt did not share the reason because he was afraid he might be wrong. It would be a joke if no elvish insects were around at all.

Therefore, he had to cure the peanuts first.