Chapter 17: Journey Through the Middle Ages

Chapter 17: Journey Through the Middle Ages

After the inspection and site selection, Louisa stayed at Swan Manor for a few more days, treating it as a 'rural retreat'. Perhaps the nobility of that time would find rural life in the manor quite dull, and city dwellers would even despise the ignorance and barbarism of the countryside. But in Louisa's view, the court and the manor were quite similar; both were quite boring.

Perhaps the living conditions at the court were slightly better, but the manor was more leisurely and the environment was cleaner (the population density at the court was too high, and given the sanitary conditions and awareness of that time, the hygiene conditions were almost too grim to contemplate)!

A few days later, Louisa left, and her next visit to Swan Manor would be in late autumn, when the sugar beets were ready for harvest.

By this time, the farmers at Swan Manor had discovered another benefit of growing sugar beets: its farming season slightly overlapped with that of grains. Although there were still spring plowing and autumn harvests, they were subtly delayed compared to grain planting and harvesting. This had always been a major issue when the lord's demesne also grew grains!

The manor steward had to ensure the production of the lord's demesne, and it was necessary to impose heavy labor duties. However, the serfs were always concerned about their own allotments. Even under the authority of the manor steward, they would conserve their energy when working on the lord's demesne, saving it for their own fields—commonly known as 'shirking work'! As the saying goes, 'For every policy, there’s a workaround.'

"Is this the refinery?" Louisa examined the sugar refinery built on the wasteland.

The building itself was quite ordinary, but to prevent fires (sugar boiling required constant fire), it was entirely constructed of brick and stone. Surrounding it were high walls to prevent outsiders from peeking in... In the future, those who would often work here, apart from those who already knew sugar-making, would be the bonded laborers of Swan Manor.

Bonded laborers were a type of serf, and unlike ordinary serfs, they generally did not have their own allotments. Apart from the vegetable garden behind their cottages, they mainly worked on the lord's demesne. After all, the lord's vast demesne could not be entirely cultivated by other serfs' labor; basic manpower was needed to maintain it.

Bonded laborers had a stronger feudal dependency on the lord and a heavier servile nature. Other free farmers and serfs in the manor generally had little interaction with bonded laborers. So, from a confidentiality perspective, using bonded laborers was indeed better. The walls outside the refinery were also to prevent others in the manor from peeking and spreading the details of sugar-making.

Of course, these measures could only delay the leakage of the secret. This exclusive business would not last long, and Louisa was mentally prepared for that.

Entering through the only gate of the sugar refinery, a large open space in front had a pond dug out. Both ends of the pond were connected to a river flowing through the manor, so it was a flowing pond. When the harvested sugar beets were brought in, they would first be washed in the pond to remove the soil, then transported to a massive stone press to be crushed into a pulp.

This massive stone press was entirely copied from the apple cider-making facility, carved from a single piece of stone, about the size of a small pavilion. When activated, it would be driven by oxen or horses connected to a shaft, turning a stone roller to crush the sugar beets on the press into pulp. A canopy was built above this facility, presumably to allow it to operate normally even in the rain.

Apart from these, there were only four rows of houses inside the walls. These four rows of houses did not seem to focus on insulation, as the window openings were quite large, and there were only window openings—indeed, there was no need for insulation here. The sugar-making season would have furnaces burning all day, and the people working inside would not feel cold! And by the time real winter came, the work would probably be done, as this was a seasonal job!

Louisa walked into the first row of houses and found a 'juice press' right at the entrance, also modeled after the one used in apple cider-making. However, with her modern knowledge, Louisa had made some improvements. For example, she replaced the force-bearing parts of the juice press with harder metal components, even if it increased the cost.

Do not underestimate this change; just this one improvement could squeeze the sugar beet pulp more thoroughly, extracting much more juice! And it would also be faster.

This row of houses was an 'open-plan room,' completely open, and standing by the juice press, one could see all the way to the other end. Opposite was a row of nine-eye stoves, much larger than the ones Louisa had built in the castle courtyard, capable of boiling more sugar at once. There was no need to worry about the sugar boilers not adapting; after their experience in the castle courtyard, they had always used these larger stoves for secret sugar boiling.

Then, at the innermost side, was the 'sugar refining' operation table, used for stirring and rubbing. This was also quite large, allowing a circle of people to operate simultaneously. Additionally, the barrel packing area was nearby, and the finished sugar could be packed into small wooden barrels. They would be temporarily stacked to the side, waiting for specialized personnel to transport them out.

Apart from the first row of houses, the other three rows were the same. Behind the three rows of houses, there was still open space, providing room for future expansion of the sugar refinery. But for now, it was just used to store a lot of firewood, prepared for sugar boiling.

The sugar refinery was quite simple, and Louisa quickly finished her inspection. The next day, the workers with previous sugar-making experience also arrived. They would be the backbone of this sugar refinery and would live at Swan Manor for a long time, though with more freedom than in the past year.

After all, the sugar refinery had started operating, and bonded laborers had joined in. There was no point in imprisoning them anymore. As long as they lived in Swan Manor like the bonded laborers, it would be fine.

As the sugar beets in the manor were harvested, a continuous stream of sugar beet heads was transported to the sugar refinery. There were so many that they could only be stacked against the wall and covered with straw mats—initially, the efficiency of the sugar refinery was not high, as there were too few experienced backbone workers. They could only lead a group of bonded laborers to work together. That is, only one row of houses was in operation.

Only when the initial group of bonded laborers learned the process could they split off to start a second group. At this point, new bonded laborers would join and receive training...

When the chimney of the sugar refinery continuously emitted smoke, anyone nearby could smell a strong, sweet aroma. Initially, others in the manor did not know what was being produced. Which of these farmers could afford 'sugar'? Even if they occasionally saw it in the market, the smell they encountered could not compare to the rich, sweet aroma during sugar boiling.

"...Miss Louisa, the estate auditors have arrived!" While Louisa was overlooking the direction of the sugar refinery from the manor villa, a maid came in and said something to Madam Hugo, who then came to report.

From the manor villa, the sugar refinery beyond the woodland was not clearly visible, only the prominent 'chimney smoke' from the sugar refinery could be faintly seen. As for the smell, no matter how strong the sweetness was, it had its limits. However, under the psychological effect, Louisa seemed to smell a hint of sugarcane sweetness, similar to the ancient black sugar she had bought online in her previous life.

"Estate auditors? Yes, the autumn harvest has ended, so they should be here." Upon hearing about the estate auditors, Louisa immediately realized.

Once the autumn harvest was over, the year's yield was basically clear. So after a short rest, the manor’s tenants often dealt with the relatively leisurely autumn tilling while, under the arrangement of the manor steward, sent the surplus produce from the lord’s demesne to the town market for sale—transporting these goods was another of the serfs’ obligations.

As for the manor’s administrative staff led by the manor steward, it was the opposite; they would face the most intense moment of the year, facing the auditors’ scrutiny.

The estate auditors were sent by the lord and would inspect various manors after the autumn harvest. Swan Manor was close, so the estate auditors arrived early.

Every year when the auditors come to the manor, they are accommodated in the manor villa. Of course, they are not given the best rooms, as the best rooms are, in principle, reserved for the lord (the room where Louisa is currently staying). Even if the lord does not come, the good rooms must still be kept for the lord.

"The steward would like to ask the young lady if the auditors can be accommodated in the mansion," Madam Hugo said softly.

The West never had the strict gender segregation seen in ancient China (even though women were also expected to be 'chaste'). For example, in many small castles, there are no extra rooms, and after dining in the hall, guests would sleep there. At the same time, the host family would also live in the hall (the hall was often the warmest and most comfortable place), which shows the prevailing customs.

So in theory, the auditors could naturally stay in the manor villa, but that is only in theory. Even without the issue of gender segregation, the divide between nobility and commoners is still strong. For instance, it is not uncommon for a noble to dislike being disturbed and to book an entire inn for themselves, leaving no room for others.

"Oh, forget it, let the steward find another room for the auditors," Louisa paused briefly before shaking her head.

This is not her being pretentious, insisting on occupying the entire mansion alone (with her entourage), but rather for her own safety—it’s hard for those not living in this era to imagine that even noblewomen are not completely safe in their father's castles. At this time, there is no concept of 'private space,' and the fact that everyone lived together in the castle hall is proof of this.

Even in very beautiful castles, private bedrooms are rare, usually there is just a small room on the side for the lord's wife. Minor children of the lord could live in the attic (mainly daughters), but the attic itself was accessible to everyone else.

For example, Louisa's room in the Brudo court, called a room, was actually a semi-public space. There was no door, only a doorway, and maids and servants came and went without asking at the door like modern people would...

At this time, if a knight of some status entered the resting place of a noblewoman with the intent to assault, the outcome hinged entirely on the lord's attitude. If the lord was displeased, he could punish the knight. But if the lord himself did not see anything wrong with it, there might be no follow-up—most lords did not see anything wrong with it, even if the noblewoman was his daughter or sister.

The only exception was the wife, as obviously the lord did not want to be cuckolded.

Louisa did not want to gamble on whether the auditor had any intentions or the ability to 'offend' her, so that was that.