Chapter 19

The milk from the Cow Farm was one of the few luxuries of Flower Farm. Before, it had been made into powder and given to the Earl of Coral Island every three months as a tax.

After Liszt came, the milk was delivered to his castle every day.

There were ten cows in total.

Among them, three were too little to produce milk, two were too old, and one was male. Only four adult cows could make some milk every day. Perhaps because of their bloodline and their lack of food, the milk production was low.

“Big Flower makes twenty kilograms of fresh milk every day, Little Flower makes four, Big Black makes five, and Big Yellow is now on hiatus,” said the manager, who appeared quite weary despite not being very old.

Liszt approached one of the cows. The cow was quite docile and simply continued eating the grasses.

“Are you keeping the cows that no longer produce milk?”

“Strong has to ensure that all the cows are bred. He has to be kept. Toddler Flower, Toddler Black, and Toddler Yellow are too little and can only make milk next year. Old Flower and Old Back are already old. We’ve reported the matter. They can be butchered for meat anytime,” said the manager respectfully.

Toddler Flower, Toddler Black, and Toddler Yellow were the adolescent cows.

Little Flower and Little Black were the cows that just reached maturity.

Big Flower, Big Black, and Big Yellow were the cows in their prime.

Old Flower and Old Black were the senior cows.

Strong was the name of the bull.

Liszt remembered Carter telling him that the two old cows of the farm could be butchered for meat whenever. Cows that no longer made milk were a waste of food, merciless as it might sound.

No parties were going to be held in the castle for now, and the meat was sufficient. So, the two old cows could still be kept on the farm.

“Are the grasses in the farm enough for the cows?”

“Yes, my lord. We have ten cows, but we have 150 acres of meadow.”

“Manager, how many meadows do you think are needed to feed ten cows?”

“My lord, every cow requires ten acres of meadow, but since we often graze them outside, eight acres will be enough.”

“Eight acres for one cow, meaning eighty acres in total. In that case, Mr. Goltai, let’s replace the other seventy acres of grass with clovers for a start.”

“Not a problem. I’m on it.” Goltai patted his chest.

Goltai had a sense of crisis after Liszt showed his determination in the census project. He finally changed his attitude, because he realized that Liszt was a noble who preferred doing things over entertainment. To get more power, he had to change his style.

…

Liszt spent the next two days feeling Dudderson and inspecting the peanut insect.

The third day was rainy.

Rains were most precious in spring. All the villages pushed agriculture forward. The clovers had been sowed, and the corns were ready to be planted. As for the field of thorns, he had to wait for Marcus to return and search Thorn Hill.

On the fourth day, after he had lunch in the castle, Carter came to his study in a hurry and said, “My lord, Mr. Marcus is back. He’s requesting to enter the castle.”

“Bring him in.”

“Lord Baron, Marcus greets you!” Marcus, covered in dust, brought the technique books that Liszt expected.

One of them was Furious Fire that Liszt was familiar with, and the other was Dragon Drill taken from Tulip Castle.

Accepting the books, Liszt asked, “How did the earl and the baroness respond to my letters, Mr. Marcus?”

“Here are their responses, as well as ten Neldas for selling the furs of the Rampant Earth Dog.”

“Please have a seat, Mr. Marcus. I’ll read the letters first.”

He opened the letter from the Earl of Coral Island first. The thick paper could not contain much information, so the letter was brief. Leewilliam Tulip replied that someone would be sent to assimilate the black tulip and negotiate about the franchise.

Also, he agreed to purchase a batch of assets that Liszt was in dire need of as advance payment of the deal.

The other letter was from the Baroness of Falcon Town. Lvera congratulated him on the discovery of a new tulip and would come with the earl to trade for assimilation with assets.

Their letters were formal and did not have many feelings. After Liszt’s mother, the earl’s first wife, passed away, her children drifted apart from each other. The earl was even more dissatisfied with Liszt after he was disappointed.

Things are better this way. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it if they were too close. Liszt had many complicated feelings.

Putting down the letter, Liszt asked gently, “Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Marcus. Is there anything new on your journey?”

“Coral Island is as peaceful as usual. However, there is indeed something about your mother’s family, my lord.”

“My mother’s family?”

Liszt almost forgot that his mother was born to a noble family, too. He asked, “What happened to Taro Castle?”

“Martial Master of Tulip Castle, marquis of Red Crab Island, has resigned as the commander of the royal fleet due to illness and returned to Red Crab Island. The earl is preparing to send someone to visit him. His envoy will probably discuss it with you later.”

“Maybe.” Liszt searched his memories and recalled Taro Castle.

Archduchy Sapphire was a country of islands, which were given to different nobles. Red Crab Island, one of the islands, belonged to the Taros. The lord of the place was the hereditary Marquis of Red Crab Island. Now, the title belonged to Merlin Taro, Liszt’s grandfather.

The Taros got their family name from the taro big elves that they raised.

Their castle was Taro Castle, a fortress far more splendid and extravagant than Tulip Castle.

Marquis Merlin had one son and two daughters, named Mesiro, Melinda, and Melisa.

Melisa Taro was Liszt’s mother.

Marquis Merlin saw Leewilliam Tulip’s extraordinariness when Leewilliam was only a viscount and married his second daughter to the guy. She gave birth to Levis, Lvera, and Liszt. Even to this day, Liszt celebrated his grandfather’s birthday in Taro Castle every year.

However, after Leewilliam married a new wife, the Taros and the Tulips were gradually estranged.

However, Marquis Merlin was Liszt’s grandfather.

As a junior, he was obliged to visit his grandfather now that his grandfather was ill.