The first light of day cast its radiance through the windows of the Castle's chamber, illuminating Aron's countenance. At the touch of the sunlight, he stirred from his repose. Raising himself upright and kneading his shoulders, he let out a mighty yawn, still wearied from the exertions of the previous day. His entire body ached with soreness, yet he remained resolute in his purpose.
After hastily dressing in loose-fitting attire, Aron commenced his usual daily workout routine, which extended for more than an hour. Upon completion, he was drenched in perspiration and experienced total exhaustion throughout his well-built body. After indulging in a twenty-minute bath, he finally felt at ease and ready to commence his daily responsibilities.
Aron's transformed demeanor had surprised both his kin and the household staff. Previously, he had rarely engaged in waking up early, exercising, consuming meat, or taking an interest in the realm's affairs. However, following his recovery from the flu, Aron emerged as an entirely different person in the perceptions of those familiar with him.
It's possible that this perception is not entirely inaccurate, as Aron's mind now held two distinct sets of memories. However, Aron himself was uncertain if he remained the same person he was before, only now enlightened by the memories and knowledge of Hueng Min, or if he was actually Hueng Min himself inhabiting Aron's physical form.
The question of whether he was truly himself or Hueng Min inhabiting his body was insignificant. To him, he was still Aron Von Fargo and he possessed the knowledge to transform his family's land into a modernized empire. Despite the tremendous effort and time it would require, he was determined to fulfill his destiny of leading the Barony of Fargo into the modern age.
As the heir, Aron held minimal power in the Barony and could no longer conceal the origins of his innovative ideas from his skeptical father. Despite his father's distrust, he had commissioned an expert in architecture and economics to assess the feasibility of Aron's designs, but the specialist had yet to arrive. Aron had no choice but to continue educating himself about the realm's matters, hoping to gain further insight into the development of his plans.
In the Castle's library, the young lord chose to have his meal and reviewed crucial details about the overall history of the Barony. However, his discoveries were disheartening. Despite the Barony's strategic location and rich soil, the von Fargo family's Barons had not fully taken advantage of it. He silently expressed his disappointment as he shut the records and pondered over his next move.
Aron's dissapointed wasn't due to petty mistakes but due to von Fargo family incompetence as the household had not taken advantage of the Barony's potential despite its strategic location and fertile lands. As he closed the records in the library, he silently criticized his ancestors for their lack of foresight. He mused to himself that leaving a group of men who were trained in warfare to govern such a large territory with thousands of people was a recipe for disaster.
The Only Positive things that he got by skimming through the Family Records was the discovery of the extent of his family's lands, as he learned that it not only included Modern Plymouth but also stretched northward to Yelverton and westward to Ivy Bridge, encompassing the entirety of Wembury. He was surprised to find that the coastline was longer than he had previously thought.
In addition, Aron discovered that the Barony had not established a proper trading port despite having a vast coastline. Instead, the ports were only semi-functional fishing ports, and a majority of the coastline remained undeveloped. However, this revelation did not discourage Aron. In fact, he saw it as an opportunity to justify his plans of building a trading port along the Barony's coastline.
Despite being strategically located, the region had not invested much in the trading sector, relying on local land routes for trade. The economy was primarily based on subsistence agriculture, and the castle town lacked any Major industry, resembling more of an backwards agricultural village. Aron found it frustrating to learn about how backward the barony was, and the realization gave him a headache.
Despite the primitive state of his family's land, Aron knew that there were some advantages to the situation, such as the large unused coastline. On the other hand, the undeveloped settlements were a disadvantage that he needed to address. Regardless, he was fully aware that he had a daunting task ahead of him to lay the foundations of his plans, and he was ready to put in the work to make it happen.
But, Sigh not everything can be done in a single day.
As Aron now had to address his problems to make that happen he needed to go to the castle town, He had two purposes in his visit today. One was to form a trusty relationship with the local Peasants, and another was to buy tallow and lots of it. He was going to invent Jjangsaum even if it killed him; he was sick and tired of bathing with just hot water, he would rather use some herbal water even if it wasn't there.
Thus Aron decided to get up and head to the castle town, though it was unwanted for the Guards to let their young master venture out alone considering his past sickness Aron still managed to get himself out of the castle by using simple persuasion to the Guards
"Inform, Father that his Son has gone to see our lands personally"
Aron instructed the guards before mounting a horse from the Stable, Aron gave a closer look at the horse he was riding and realized that it was a thoroughbred native to the region. However, he also noticed that there were only around 35 horses in the castle stable, and even fewer thoroughbreds. It seemed that these horses were highly valued and prized possessions in this castle.
Aron, or Hueng Min, had a strong affinity for horses. This was partly due to Hueng Min's upbringing as his father was a horse breeder and he had spent most of his childhood in his father's farm with horses.
As Aron came out of the Castle gate Aron started galloping downhill to head the Castle town named Sutton
Upon arriving at the nearest farm in Sutton, Aron noticed a man in his late twenties diligently preparing the fields for planting. As it was the beginning of spring, it was a crucial time to start the planting process. Aron took notice of the man's hard work and decided to approach him.
"May I ask what your name is?" Aron inquired of the man who was hard at work.
The man was taken aback by Aron's question and looked around to see if he was addressing someone else. Realizing that he was the only one nearby, he pointed at himself and responded with a slightly open mouth, surprised that a person of noble birth was speaking to him, a mere peasant.
"Yes you, what is your kind name?"
"Milord, I am called Everett," the man replied with a slight bow of his head.
Aron took a moment to ponder over the man's name, and then smiled warmly at the thin and puny farmer as he paid him a compliment.
Aron greeted the man with a smile and introduced himself as Aron. He expressed that it was a pleasure to meet Everett and complimented him on his name, saying that it suited him well.
Everett couldn't believe what he was hearing. The fact that the Baron's son and heir said that it was a pleasure to meet him, a lowly peasant, was beyond his wildest dreams. He accidentally spoke his thoughts out loud and immediately cringed, expecting some kind of punishment or reprimand.
"How can it be a pleasure to meet a lowly peasant like me?"
Aron's smile grew wider as he realized that the peasant class had such a low sense of self-worth. But all of that really didn't matter to him as He had come to the farm to show his "kindness", which was an excellent way of establishing trust in the Young Master's "Benevolence". He explained to Everett that his work was crucial and that the Baron appreciated his efforts.
To be clear, Aron genuinely appreciated Everett's hard work and dedication, which he felt was often undervalued in society. He had seen many examples in his previous life where connections were more important than hard work and competence, and he respected those who were able to provide for their families under difficult circumstances. Despite the challenges faced by medieval peasants, Aron admired Everett's work ethic and saw the value in what he was doing.
After listening to the Baron's son speak so kindly to him, Everett was completely taken aback. Aron was well-known in the region, even among the peasant class, and Everett had expected him to be haughty and aloof. But when he met Aron in person, he found him to be quite the opposite.
Aron could see that Everett was amazed by his behavior. Thus, he shifted the direction of the conversation in his favor.
Tell me, Everett, have you ever thought of diversifying crops instead of using two crops?"
Everett was taken aback by the young lord's question, as it seemed to him that Aron knew little about agriculture, something that Everett's family had been engaged in for generations.
"Milord, considering your presence, if we were to use crop diversification fields, then the soil would erode and eventually be useless."
Aron's smirk showed that he was impressed with Everett's response. He realized that Everett wasn't just a farmer who blindly followed tradition without understanding the reasoning behind it. Instead, Everett was an educated farmer who had a deep understanding of the underlying principles of crop cultivation. Aron felt a sense of respect for Everett's knowledge and expertise in his field
.
"If I were to tell you that if you created a field system aided tillage cereal,rooty vegetables, legumes and herbs. Would it not solve such a problem."
Aron wanted to see if Everett was open to new ideas and had the ability to innovate. He suggested a rotational system with tillage separated into categories of cereal, root vegetables, different kinds of cereal, and herbs. Aron believed that such a system could solve the problem of soil erosion. By doing this, he was testing Everett's knowledge of his craft and seeing if he was open to new ideas. Aron was looking for men who could think outside of the box and implement new technologies for him. To his surprise, the first farmer he met seemed to possess these qualities.
As Everett pondered over Aron's suggestion, he realized that the young lord was right. While they were already using the dual crop system with legumes to enhance the soil, crop diversification could potentially be the key to sustaining their agriculture system year long, while also maintaining soil fertility and supporting livestock breeding. Everett felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of implementing this new technique, and he thanked Aron for opening his eyes to the possibilities.
The impoverished farmer looked at Aron with a newfound sense of admiration. However, what Aron said next left him stunned.
"So you approve, then come, let us introduce this innovation together."
Aron expressed his pleasure at Everett's approval and proposed that they work together to introduce this innovation. He then dismounted from his horse, rolled up his sleeves, and grabbed a hoe, standing alongside Everett and working alongside him to introduce the agricultural revolution that would transform the Barony of Fargo. The sight of a nobleman working hand in hand with a peasant was truly shocking to the other farmers who were passing by, and they were amazed at how the two men worked together seamlessly.
Despite his inherent weakness, Aron worked tirelessly throughout the day, alongside the poor farmer, to plow and sow the field. By the end of the day, the four-field system had been successfully implemented on this particular farm. Although Aron was exhausted beyond his limits, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The life of a privileged noble was not suitable for a man like him. Everett could hardly believe what had just happened. No one in the village, not even his family, would believe that he had plowed and seeded a field with the Baron's son and heir. Thus began an unexpected friendship between a humble peasant farmer and a young lord that would endure for a lifetime.