Chương 109: 108: More Farming

Rest of Mai Zack and Baddon got to work building their cabins as soon as the first load of building supplies made it out to us. The Bishop had sent one of his labor crews out to stay at Weston, and Wizard Johnstone, who I hadn't spoken with in months, made sure that an Order Trade Guild team was always free to bring us all the materials we needed. I got to speak to a man named Tristan, who had been on the potato crew. He was one of the laborers who had evolved to Tier 2.

I was fascinated as I got to learn about his three subclass options: Infrastructure Specialist, Industrial Laborer, and Foreman, which would give bonuses to people who worked under him. He chose Infrastructure Specialist, which would help him build roads and bridges more quickly. I tried to hire him away from the bishop, but he just laughed and said he valued his life too much to do that. That had definitely sounded ominous, but I was aware the bishop wasn't a warm and cuddly man.

Luckily, he was on my side as long as I was furthering his and the emperor's plans. I'd intended for Baddon and Delyth to take the first newly built cabin, but somehow Delyth managed to convince us that Laeth, then the two older men, should get their own cabins first. I was aware she just wanted to stay in the farm manor as long as possible, but neither Emily nor I wanted that confrontation just yet. I got the corn, and then the beans planted, and the tractor performed as it should.

I was still concerned that my seals in the fuel pump never got above the yellow warning stage, but I was still a long way from being able to do anything about that. I should get at least 22, 000 bushels of potatoes this year. The System, and the emperor had bought up and hidden my potato yield from last year. That meant that I would get around 65, 000 XP with the 1XP per bushel for the average number, plus 3XP for each bushel above the average. I'd get 7, 000 XP for my wheat, 13, 000XP for my corn.

The red beans had a similar estimate to wheat for production at twelve bushels per acre. I hoped to do at least thirty. This was one where I hoped to gain on the yield and crop loss side. I knew that even modern-day crops didn't do much higher than thirty. If that gave me an extra 2, 000 between the beans and the barley, I'd be close to 90k XP for the year. I'd likely choose both second-tier skills, but I probably wouldn't even get to level 30 this year.

With each new level requiring 25% more than the previous level, I needed 152, 615 to get to level 30. Circuit Restoration would let me create new control modules and sensors out of mana even if they'd already been destroyed. Mechanical Rebuild or Improvised Fabrication would let me take apart and rebuild components, and take damaged mechanical components and fix them using materials I had on hand, respectively.

Unfortunately, it meant I probably had plenty of time to think about which skill would be best to take at level 30. It was almost certainly a choice on the physical side. It also gave me a huge amount of respect for people like Tieg and his crew. They had accumulated a couple million XP to get to level 40. Jac and Bryce both insisted on getting turns riding in the cab of the tractor with me. They got a real kick out of the air conditioning and fancy seats.

They didn't bother riding on the back of the cab, just took turns riding in the cab, then they went back to whatever else they were doing that day. My three actual Farmhands didn't grumble much about that. Much being the key word there. They all got their XP as long as they were riding somewhere on the tractor. The fact they got XP for planting over 300 acres without actually having to do the normal back-breaking labor meant that even if they did want to complain, they didn't have a leg to stand on.

Both older men were like kids in a candy store as I showed them how to raise and lower the hydraulics and change the seed output rate using the computer monitor in the cab. They also loved how the joystick and automatic throttle system worked. We planted the four bean fields, as well as the three remaining corn fields. I was still strongly considering planting an apple orchard in the fall, but I wasn't one hundred percent on that yet.

As I sat in my tractor thinking about 22, 000 bushels of potatoes, I think the implication of how much money I'd make really hit me for the first time. I'd spoken with the bishop about what they'd be willing to pay me for the potatoes this fall. He and the emperor had promised me ten gold per bushel. That was a pretty good discount from the twelve gold they brought on the open market, but it was still 220, 000 gold! I'd purposefully put that thought out of my mind until that point.

I'd even been worried about dipping below 19, 000 gold for my reserves. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. If I got to ten plots which was 1, 000 acres, I would qualify as non-titled landed gentry. I could already run for the colony legislature now that I owned land, but as landed gentry, I'd automatically qualify for a spot. Emily needed us to be at 1, 000 acres in order to evolve her Bookkeeper class.

It was one of the few classes that still had a very clear evolution track, mostly because you had to be fantastically wealthy to buy 1, 000 acres, so anyone who was that wealthy was almost assuredly someone who those in power would be happy letting evolve. With 135, 000 gold still left over after buying those plots, I could act as a bank for any of my workers who wanted to buy their own plot or go into business for themselves.

From what I'd been able to figure out, banks often charged 25% or more annual interest and required contracts for indentureship if someone wasn't able to pay back their loans. I'd charge either very little, or nothing at all. I still had some hope that I could finagle homestead spots for Stephen, Sean, and Laeth using my connections to the bishop. I was not above that. Bryce made his first batch of spruce beer. Most of the people on the homestead enjoyed it. My opinion was decidedly more mixed.

It was too sweet for me to truly enjoy it, but at least it had a citrusy flavor that cut through the sweetness a bit. Bryce was champing at the bit to get his hands on some honey from our new hives so he could make mead, but I couldn't stand the stuff. I'd had a honey Kölsch in the past that was mead-level sweet that I actually enjoyed, but I think the hops and carbonation helped offset the sweetness. Oh well, I didn't have to be the target audience for all the beers.

I certainly let Bryce know I was looking forward to a brown ale and something with some hops in it. I wasn't one of those guys who wanted an IPA with triple-digit IBUs, but I wanted something. I definitely wouldn't ask Bryce to name them something like hopgnosh, or tricerahops. I swear every hipster beer on the West Coast had a hop pun. On the topic of the bees. My Beekeeper class was only level 2, but it was a fun support class to dabble in.

Jac ended up doing a lion's share of the work because he was much higher level, and he really loved the hobby, but I still put some time in with the hives. It was another one of those rare classes where there weren't subclasses to choose from. An entry in the secret Almanac said that they believed that Beekeeper had been a subclass of a larger insect-based class in the past, but it didn't say what the other insects were. I shuddered to think of someone controlling a colony of ants or beetles or something.

Beekeeper had the best roster of perks I'd ever seen in a class. All ten of them I had access to would have been cool to have: Pollinator's Touch Crop yields increased by 5% within range of your maintained hives. 2. Calm Presence Domestic insects are less likely to become agitated around you. 3. Efficient Extraction Gain 10% more honey and wax from hive harvests. 4. Queen's Insight You can immediately identify the health and productivity of a hive. 5. Thick-Skinned Bee and wasp stings deal 50% less damage. 6.

Hive Keeper Bee colonies under your care suffer reduced winter losses. 7. Sweet Scent Wild pollinators are more likely to settle near your property. 8. Waxworker Items crafted using beeswax receive a small quality bonus. 9. Seasonal Awareness Improved awareness of flowering cycles and nectar availability. 10. Busy as Bees Hive-related tasks require 10% less time to complete. I immediately chose Pollinator's touch.

Since the potatoes didn't actually grow from pollination, they didn't benefit from the perk, but the rest of my crops did. I found out that you could only upgrade the perk by one percent after the first time, but if Jac was going to stick around for the long term, it still might be worth it to take that to nine percent. I would leave Beekeeper as my active support class whenever I wasn't actively doing Alchemy for that 5% bonus to my other crops. Jac's bonuses were already geared around helping the hive.

With as amazing as the perks were, I found it hard to believe the empire didn't just give the class out to help with crop yields. I was sure it was another power play thing with the nobility. They got to artificially keep yield averages down to increase their own prices. The two skill options had cool names too: Hive Steward - You can sense the condition of your hives and diagnose areas that will allow for increased production of honey and wax.

If your hives are at peak efficiency you will gain up to 10% more honey and wax. You will also reduce the risk of disease and queen loss by up to 10%. Swarm Keeper - You are able to influence where your bees will focus their attention. This skill can help direct bees to specific flowering areas. You can more easily capture wild hives and keep your bees in check while moving hives from area to area. (Note: You cannot command your bees. You are subtly influencing where they may go.) I chose Swarm Keeper for my first skill. —————————————————- The history of hops in the Albion Empire is of particular interest to this humble brewer. In 530 CE during an early round of peace talks between the first man to achieve the System title of Emperor, Arthur III, and the Elf, Langlass Lord of the Black Forest. Langlass was so appalled by the flavor profile of the Angleland Empire's ale that he ordered the transfer of hops to Angleland as a condition of the peace deal.

Langlass is said to have stated, "I must never be subjected to such swill again lest I be forced to strike down the wretch who had the gall to claim this as beer!" From the diary of the renowned brewer and System Priest, Joseph Groll.