When the few of them arrived at the reclaimed land, they were greeted by the enthusiastic work of the slaves.
Every squad was busy with their work.
Some were picking up stones, some were cutting trees, some were pulling roots, and some were lifting up the earth with their swords.
Seeing that Jack and the others had arrived, everyone stopped and greeted them loyally.
After a night of bonding, most people accepted where they were.
After all, Jack was genuinely nice to them.
At the very least, he treated them as a person!
They saw hope!
This was very important.
Only when they saw hope would they put in all their effort to fight for their future.
Jack nodded at everyone.
But looking at their efficiency, he could not help but frown.
This was a country with over a thousand years of history.
Although it was not a high-tech civilization, why was the development of agriculture, the foundation of the country, so slow?
Jack looked at the ground. Someone had turned the soil with a branch that was chopped off a tree.
There were also people who used iron tools to loosen the soil.
There were also people who used shovels the size of a palm to dig through the soil.
If it was land that had already been reclaimed, there was no problem in doing so.
But this was an island.
In the dark soil, there were countless tree roots. After years of growth, no one knew what the tree roots in the soil looked like!
Under such circumstances, not to mention branches, even iron tools would be hard to use.
Not to mention their primitive method of overturning the ground!
If this continued, not to mention ten days, even half a month or a month would not be enough to reach Jack's goal!
Thinking of this, Jack's face showed deep disappointment!
"Can you reclaim 3,000 acres of land in 10 days?" Jack asked Regiment Commander Enger.
Enger paused, unsure of what Jack meant.
Therefore, he said carefully, "I think… I think it should be possible."
"Should?" Jack could not help but repeat, before he asked: "Who's in charge of this reclamation?"
"It's Chelman. I'll call him right away," the regiment commander said quickly, then called for someone to get Chelman.
Jack asked: "So what is Chelman's background?"
He did not know if the agriculture in this world was poorly developed or if the person-in-charge was useless.
"Reporting to the President, Chelman was once a noble who owned the most land on the West Coast. Under his leadership, the food produced by his land was supplied to the mouths of most of the towns. He is an experienced talent." Enger explained in detail.
Jack nodded without commenting.
Soon, Chelman was called over.
When Chelman saw Jack, he hurriedly ran over and shouted, "President, welcome to the land that we are reclaiming."
Jack nodded and asked: "How's it going?"
Upon hearing Jack, Chelman revealed a confident expression and said, "Don't worry, Mr. President. Because you have liberated all the slaves, you have shown them the hope of the future. Now, they are full of vigor and are very fast at reclaiming the land."
"As of now, one-third of the trees in the land have been cleared. The cleared land has already been arranged for people to cultivate."
"Mr. President has good foresight. The land here is very fertile. Once the land is reclaimed, not only will we be able to become self-sufficient in food, but we will also have a huge stockpile."
When Chelman finished, everyone except Jack looked pleased.
"Chelman did well. Your efficiency is excellent. You are indeed the best noble on the West Coast." Regiment Commander Enger could not help but praise.
Steve, the butler, could not help but nod.
As the Earl's butler, he had seen the development of many lands.
But in the current situation, Chelman's arrangements were very reasonable.
He should be able to accomplish Jack's request soon.
Steve complimented: "Not bad, Chelman. You're doing a great job. At least in my experience, there's no one more efficient than you at this job."
Hearing that his achievements were praised by the regiment commander and butler, the smile on Chelman's face overflowed.
He had his own dreams.
In this place where there were many urgent things to do, food was the most urgent matter in everyone's hearts.
Once he fulfilled the expectations of the President, he would definitely gain his favor.
At that time, he might be able to get rid of his identity as a slave and reach a high position here!
Hence, Chelman humbly said, "Officers, you have praised me too much. All of this was built under the beautiful system of the President. If not, I'm afraid that I would not have been able to make everyone work with such great passion!"
"However, please rest assured. I will try my best to fulfill the President's request."
The butler and commander nodded in agreement.
The earlier he completed the president's mission, the higher his evaluation would be.
"Are you sure you can finish the 3,000 acres of land in 10 days?" Jack asked.
"3,000 acres in 10 days?" Hearing this, Chelman was stunned.
Chelman explained: "I'm sorry, Mr. President. I'm very sorry. The land here is more problematic than I thought. Countless tree roots have severely affected the speed of our reclamation. I hope you can give us some more time."
Hearing Chelman's words, everyone could not help but be stunned for a moment.
They gave the compliment because they thought Chelman was able to fulfill the President's request.
If he could not complete it, what was the point of bragging?
"How much time do you need?" Jack asked plainly.
Chelman was silent for a moment before he said through clenched teeth: "Two months, just two months. I'm sure I can complete it."
"Two months?" Jack's face darkened.
His food reserves would not last that long.
Furthermore, the sea was not safe. He had to quickly free these people to work on the safety of the island.
Otherwise, when the enemies came, with his dozens of Silver Swordsmen, it would be impossible to stop them!
Seeing the President's expression, Chelman quickly knelt down and said, "One month, one month, just one month. It will definitely work, President."
Looking at Chelman kneeling on the ground, Jack was very disappointed!
It was no wonder that despite the Noah Continent being so big and having so many people, it had always lacked food to feed everyone!
The reason was that this world did not value agriculture enough!
Jack shook his head and said: "That is too long, Chelman!"
"President, this is already the fastest. I believe that no one can be faster than me." Chelman quickly said.
Then, he looked at the butler and said, "Sir Butler should be able to testify that the situation here is very severe. Even if everyone maintains their strong passion, in order to properly plow this land, they have to do it with all their might!"
Hearing Chelman mention himself, Steve, the butler, was taken aback. He did not want to say anything, but then he remembered his duty and said, "Mr. President, Chelman's right. It's very difficult to cultivate a wasteland, especially in a place full of trees. The average time it takes a country to complete an agricultural cycle is six months from the beginning to the planting of grain."
"Chelman's speed is indeed very fast!"
...