Chapter 639: A Helping Hand
The Tower of Haulon is off-limits to anyone but Haulon, so I can’t help with selecting the materials. I’ve got a bit of free time now.
Whenever I find myself with some spare time, I inevitably start stockpiling food. Life on the uninhabited island has left its mark on me.
So, it’s time for grinding flour! Baking bread! Making dried fish! I need to stock up at Kanum’s House, just in case they take away my [Storage] or this place.
I’ve made some miso and soy sauce, but I only have the soybeans from the [Food Storage]. Soybean cultivation hasn’t really taken off in this world.
It seems there aren’t any nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil to send nutrients to the soybeans, or maybe it’s that there’s not enough sunlight during the time they need it. The land just doesn’t seem suitable.
I’ve managed to grow a little, but the yield from each plant is low, making it inefficient. No wonder it hasn’t spread. With food overall being scarce, people prioritize quantity over flavor.
The nitrogen-fixing bacteria that coexist with peas are thriving, though. They seem to be everywhere in the soil, and I often spot spirits that look just like them.
I’m experimenting to see if soybeans can thrive in Amijin’s land. There are plenty of other crops I want to grow, but as a Japanese person, I can’t overlook soybeans.
Speaking of which, while I was searching for soybeans, I stumbled upon a type of bean called Zolfini. It only grows in certain areas. It thrives in poor soil with good drainage, but it seems it’s not that simple; it’s still a tricky bean to cultivate.
These beans have very thin skins, and if you cook them slowly over low heat for more than three hours, they retain their shape while turning creamy inside, making them incredibly delicious.
At the watermill, I always have the spirits help me with grinding the flour, which makes it a breeze. I just leave the bag of whatever I want to grind, and they pour it into a large wooden funnel above the stone mill.
Then, they pull a string to let it drop slowly onto the millstone. They seem to enjoy the task of pulling the string and dumping the ground flour into the bag.
I leave the grinding to the spirits and focus on baking in the oven attached to the watermill. This isn’t one of those small ovens I made at Kanum’s House; it’s a massive one that can bake dozens of loaves at a time.
This place has the kind of facilities that could sustain a small village. The original spirits probably intended for me to be the lord with subjects.
Usually, I bake in the smaller oven at home, so I’m not used to this volume.
I start by burning firewood in the oven to create glowing coals. Normally, preparing the bread dough comes first, but not today.
I knead the dough and place it in round molds. The spirits gently poke the dough, and it instantly puffs up to fill the mold.
Typically, the fermentation time varies with temperature, making it tricky and time-consuming, but thanks to the yeast spirits, it happens in an instant!
At first, they over-fermented the dough, making it sticky, and I thought they were just playing tricks on me. But they were actually trying to help. Once I showed them what I wanted, they got better and now achieve the perfect fermentation in no time.
It might have started as mere curiosity, but now they’re excellent assistants in baking bread.
I adjust the coals with a fire poker and place the dough inside. After one more adjustment of the coals, I just have to wait for it to bake.
“Keep watch for me, will you?”
『……！』
I get a salute in response, like a “Roger!” from the little coal spirits, different from the ones that helped with the fermentation. I leave the heat management to them!
I’m also making dried vegetables, fruits, pickled vegetables, and syrup-soaked fruits. I’m cranking out as much as I can and storing it in the [Storage]. I plan to swap out what’s stored underground at Kanum’s.
I’m changing the barrels for balsamic vinegar and transferring olive oil from the storage jars to the kitchen.
It feels like I’m wrapping up all the tasks outside of the fields and orchard. Oh, I need to make some dried noodles too.
Without the spirits’ help, I would have spent a lot of time on daily chores just to get by.
Eating takes just a moment, but preparing food takes a lot of time. When you think about the cultivation process, it’s truly a challenge.
I’m being helped by the spirits, but normally, you’d have to hire employees and pay them.
I give the spirits magic power as thanks. It seems that not only does giving them magic power help, but recognizing and respecting their nature makes them a bit stronger too.
Maybe I should add some trees and flowers around the watermill to make it more comfortable? If fallen leaves and dead branches get into the waterway, it’ll become a hassle to maintain.
At first, when I saw the multitude of spirits sticking to the windows, I never thought they could coexist so peacefully.
I wonder if the Ex-Staff has made communication easier? Now, I can’t imagine a world without spirits.
There are many with strange forms, some without any will, and even those with will that fundamentally don’t mesh with humans.
But they’re true to their nature, and I think that’s a good thing.