Chapter 15: Gla.s.s house

One week had pa.s.sed after I became the village chief.
There is no movement in the empire. It’s probably looking desperately for the culprit who struck the supply base.
Due to that monster killing dozens of people with just 1 person, it is necessary to strengthen defense and not a single soldier could be spared elsewhere.

But, being not so far away, soldiers came to the village.
They have to make up for the supplies which I took. It’s natural to have to try and compensate by levying additional tax.
Moreover, the magic stones pocketed by the captain are not enough. It will be more important to make up for the other portion.

Now, the villagers are constantly monitoring the empire due to my instructions.
Of course, other than measures against the empire, I gave various instructions for surviving winter. Group of men that simultaneously training with crossbow and hunting wild boars in the mountain, while for women, its nothing but cranberries and maple leaves. In addition, edible wild plants and mushrooms that can be preserved are collected, and meat received are made into jerky.

The result of hunting is more than the average years thanks to the crossbow, and we have more surplus than usual.
The one that is particularly important is the cranberry. With numerous uses, no matter how much we have, it’s insufficient. Because it is impossible to be grow it once autumn ends, I frantically acc.u.mulated it.

Other than being a doctor and village chief, I myself had many things changed in order to enrich the village.
Today, I showed a part of what I was trying to make to Lucie.

“Syril, What is this building made with transparent walls?”

I heard Lucie saying with an astonished expression.
Today, I was showing Lucie a prized possession made next to the workshop outside the village.

“This? A gla.s.s house. Powerful light from the sun pa.s.ses through the clear ceiling, and the inside is heated since heat cannot escape. Conversely, it does not let the cold air escape either, but that is alright because it is constructed that way.”

“Syril is incomprehensible each time he explains something.”

“It is warmer than outside in this building. If you just understand that, that is sufficient.”

This is a greenhouse that I built. I made it using the power of dwarf as usual.

“Then, what is that red sphere?”

“That is the fire magic used as a subst.i.tute for heating. It keeps absorbing the mana of fire from surrounding and keeps burning. It is convenient because there is a limit even if I say a gla.s.s house is warm.
It will maintain until it self destructs when the magic structure loosen. When a first-cla.s.s magician uses it, it lasts one month.”

Of course, I am a super first-cla.s.s magician. This magic was activated in my dwarf form that has a high affinity to Mana of Fire. It can maintain for 2 months.

Yesterday in a day, I plow the earth, bake clay and made brick to prop up stuff, made a gla.s.shouse with quartz gla.s.s and deployed 3 fireball magic within the gla.s.shouse.

A typical one is 50m lengthwise, 8m in width and 2m in height. This size is the easiest to handle. and it’s also the limit my magic can make.
Though the outside temperature is about 10 degree Celsius, it is maintained at more than 20 degrees Celsius inside the gla.s.shouse and is warm.

And, there is a special gimmick in this gla.s.shouse.
When mana of water is loaded, water is sucked up from underground and appears to shower from the sky by going through iron pipe, and equipment to sprinkle water instantly has been installed.
The ball made with magic of fire isn’t extinguished from this much.

“Syril, why was this made?”

“Naturally, it is to grow crops. Are crops not growing due to the cold? Inside this, it’s about similar to spring, and crops will grow even though it has become slightly cold.”

“Oh, since it does not becomes cold, it is able to grow inside here. But if it starts snowing, it will be impossible. It is probably just a little over 3 months until the first now of the year.
Is there a plant that can be harvested by then?”

“Of course. I can harvest these in 3 months that I found when I attacked the supply base.”

Saying so, I empty the wooded box which has been carried importantly.
It was fully packed with potatoes in there. There are 2 wooden boxes, and each one is about 20kg.

The best temperature for growing a potato is said to be 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. Hereafter, it will steadily become colder. With the right temperature, potatoes can be harvested in 3 month. In low temperature which slows growth, it will take about half a year. In order to avoid that, I made a gla.s.s house.
And when this gla.s.s house becomes popular, I hope the village will be able to grow some crops even in winter.

“Syril, this is the fruit of the devil right?”

“That’s right. You understood well.”

Potatoes in this era, has been avoided and is named the fruit of a devil. Having been found in the supply base of the empire, it can be said to be considerably lucky.

“That, grandma said to absolutely never eat it ”

“Well, since its poisonous, one might die from it if one is unlucky.”

That’s the reason that potato was called a fruit of a devil and isn’t propagated.

“You must not grow that!”

“Since I’m not unskilled, it’s okay since its a excellent crop.”

I smile while saying so.

“The fruit in itself does not have poison. Only the bud that is grow is a deadly poison,
Look, this kind of green fruit? Something like that is poisonous. People who do not know of the fruit of devil well will eat it unconcerned, and be tormented by abdominal pain, diarrhea and sometimes death.”

There are few human beings that understand letters in this word, and accurate information is not handed down in hearsay stories. Due to that, everyone thought eating potatoes would cause harm to health.

With the danger of the bud and so called information, when one suffers from eating a potato, and the pain is accompanied by such words, it is considerably easy to spread causing potato to be unpopular.

“But its no good, with the danger of dying when one is unaware.”

Lucie says anxiously. Although I understand that feeling, with at most 200 people, information will be able to spread properly in the elf village.
In addition, there is a reason that they must be grown no matter what.

“Still, to tell the evil truth, other than being able to harvest in merely 3 months and being nutritious, above all it is delicious. There is no such plant elsewhere.
To have plentiful for winter, I have no choice but to rely on this.
Frankly, there is not enough surplus in the case of emergency stockpile now, and from my reading, there will be trouble afterwards if there is not enough emergency stores for the elves to tide through.
Evidence is better than debating, since you will know its goodness from eating it, look, i cooked one.”

“Do i have to eat it?”

“You don’t have to, but I want Lucie to eat it.”

“Uuu, I got it,”

Just before leaving, I handed the still warm steamed potato to Lucie. Salt is the only seasoning.

Lucie who received that, shouted out enthusiastically before stuffing her cheeks.

“Ah, its soft and flaky and tender tasting, I may come to like this!”

“Right? And the quant.i.ty of crops is also extremely different from wheat. Roughly, planting this would yield about 20 times increase. Besides, it is easier to grow compared to wheat.
It’s really an excellent crop.”

In this era, it takes considerable labor to increase wheat planted by 5 times.  The potato is overwhelmingly superior in comparison.

“That’s amazing. If planted in this big gla.s.s house, that would be enough to get through winter. I already crushed the wheat field for next year, should I grow the devil’s fruit?
Wheat takes 10 month to harvest, and almost everything is lost after threshing, compared to this devil’s fruit is much better.
With part from 2 boxes, strictly only harvesting all in this building, there might be enough quant.i.ty to be sprinkle onto the village’s field from next year onward. You should hurry up with that.”

I smiled wryly and said.

“The fruit of the devil, I said its actually called potato right?
Basically when one gets sick, there are a lot of situation when all will get the same illness. Since potato has to be grown, at that time, food in the village will run out.
That’s why when growing potatoes, there must be an ironclad rule to grow it in the situation where potatoes are completely wipe out and we are still fine.”

There are plenty of examples where villages and towns that has potato as a staple food perished. The famous one is in Ireland during the 19th century.
While various factors are involved, due to large scale spreading of disease for the potato, in just 4 years nearly 30% of 1.5 million Irish people who depended on potato as a staple food died from hunger, and a dire consequence of 40% of 2 million people fleeing overseas as refugees.
Although the potato is excellent, with explosive propagation saving tens of millions of people, but at the same time killing tens of millions of people.

A typical disease is the hollow stalk disease. No matter how one struggle, it is not possible to completely guard against it, at times just on one occasion might cause the annihilation of the whole potato field. If one is dependent on potato for food, the entire village will face a famine in no time.

One must not miss its disadvantage just because its convenient. Since I’m taking care of all the lives in the village, I must not fail.

“There is a pitfall in everything.”

“There are still others. Since the potato absorbs too much nutrients from the soil, successive growing on the same location would half the harvest. In addition, parasitic worms in a potato is burdensome, and the countermeasure is to not grow potato for 2 years on a plot of land that has just done it.”

Although I do not understand this world, potatoes are part of Solanaceae family and burdensome parasites called nematode occurs within them. This fellow clings to the roots of the potato and lays countless eggs.

Although there is no influence on the body, production would decrease sharply if an outbreak is permitted once, and the potatoes does not grow at all if it increases too much. In addition, even without parasitism, this fellow can survive for 10 years or longer in it’s egg state.

So once potatoes are harvested, plants of Solanaceae family is not planted for 2 years. By doing so, while the land where too much nutrients was absorbed recovers, outbreak of the parasite is prevented.
Still, since the eggs remaining on the ground lives for more than 10 years, their number increases little by little, sooner or later it becomes impossible to harvest potatoes in that field anymore.
In land that is known for sure these guys do not exist, if it’s possible to grow potatoes without parasites, measure will not be necessary. However that’s impossible in the present world.

“Even if its possible to harvest in 3 months, it’s painful to not be able to use it for 2 years.”

“Meanwhile, normally a different crop is usually grown. Parasites only live off crops of the same kind as potato.”

“Normally…, are there any other ways?”

“An opposite way of thinking. Discarding the land which potatoes has been raised once. You know, land is excessive. One just has to set up another gla.s.s house. It is possible to construct the gla.s.s house and plow the soil in a single day.”

So, there is no problem if it’s grown on uncontaminated land.
However, when those guy’s habitat enlarges along the soil, it will be the same wherever it’s planted. And because the bottom of this gla.s.s house could be made with bricks and set 3 m below ground, it could be isolated from the outside.
Moreover, without heat draining from the soil with this measures, there is the target of improving the effect of heat insulation too.

No matter to what extent these guys can propagate in this gla.s.s house, as long as it can’t get out from this gla.s.s house, potatoes can be grown in a new field in peace.

“Only Syril is able to do such a thing….. but indeed every time a gla.s.s house is put up, sooner or later land is used up and it’s wasteful.”

“Of course, I can reuse it. they are weak to water. while growing potatoes in a different location, water will be filled to exterminate them.”

And it’s also because I’ll fill it with water, that’s why I had undergone the trouble of intentionally covering the underground with bricks.

“And after they have died, water is released and dried, from then on its fine to use it as you please. Those guys, even if you say they are weak to water, they will keep living for 3 months. In addition, during summer and spring, it will be in effective if the water temperature is not high. Anything below, it will not die.”

And, this method was also finally discovered on earth in 2013.
A clear extermination method was not discovered till then.
From 1400, measures have been continuously sought, and finally in 2013 an effective measure was discovered, the fear of parasites can be understood when I think about it.

“Its a parasite that’s as frightening as it’s persistence, isn’t it. Ah, I see. the gla.s.s house is for that reason right? Because it’s warm here, it can be exterminated at any time.”

“You understood it well. That’s right. only here, these persistent guys are not very difficult.”

As far as I know of the bad things, although it isn’t in the top 3, it falls within the edge of worst 100.

“And so with the long introduction completed, let me plant the potato. Planting will be done in a done if it’s done by 2 people.”

I throw the contents out of the wooden box while saying so. Then, potatoes with sprouts are scatted around the area.

“Hey, those place in that box have not start budding yet?”

“That was done deliberately. Planting it that way is better. I expose all of them, except those that Lucie ate,  to sunlight for budding so that it can be planted anytime.”

By the way, this work was done in the workshop on the outskirts of the village.
Exposed to the outside sun in the day, it was allowed to germinate.
Incidentally, in order to increase the harvest even a little, I when through the painful effort of dividing larger potatoes into 4 quarters while not injuring the growing bud to increase seed potatoes.

Thanks to that, the total number of seed potatoes made is 402. .
The soil was prepared by earth magic yesterday and 7 lines of soil ridges that rises above was done in intervals every 70cm, and from the ridge on the right edge, a seed potato was planted every 40cm.

And with 2 person silently continuing to plant potatoes, somehow it manage to end before the day turned completely dark.

The seed potatoes ran out at the 3rd of the 7 lines. Land was wasted. Even though I would put it on all 7 lines if there were more potatoes….
However, there is not helping it when there is nothing to plant. At the next opportunity after this harvest, the necessary amount needed to fill the gla.s.shouse will be planted.
Anyway, this ends today’s work.
Wiping my sweat while smiling, my eyes matched Lucie’s.

“It’s over, Syril.”

“Thank you, it wouldn’t be finished with 1 person.”

As expected, without damaging the buds growing from a seed potato and planting a seed potato every 40cm is difficult to do with magic, and manual labor is necessary. I might go mad if I planted 400 seed potatoes alone.

“What should I do after this?”

“Pull out a weed if it grows, removing insect when it comes near and scatter fertilizers about when it has grown to certain extent. It’s fine to leave it unattended after that. Because the stem yellows before long, harvesting by pulling up the roots will be done when its so. A large quant.i.ty of potatoes are made under the soil.”

By the way, I am producing the fertilizer now,
After thinking about the balance of phosphorus silicon and pota.s.sium as it is necessary to keep the soil acidic, it is not left to an amateur. Fertilizers made unskillfully is harmful.
I will be just in time one month later, when additional fertilizer is needed.

“Just that much?”

“That’s right.”

“And furthermore, it can be harvested in 3 months?”

“When the temperature is 20 degrees, the same as spring, harvesting is in 3 months. When it’s cold, it takes longer.”

“Even infringing on danger, I’m tempted to crush the wheat field and make it a potato field. It’s too easy. This.”

Lucie who was usually tormented by wheat uttered her innermost bitterness.
I can understand her feelings. Despite the appearance, wheat takes a reasonable amount of effort. Still, it’s better than rice.

“Syril, why did you not tell everyone?

“This is the first time growing potato. When expectations are not met, they will feel disappointed. Basically, I will take care of it alone myself.”

Although a tiresome matter is tiresome, but one way or another I can do something about a potato.

“You are not alone. I’m here. We’ll surprise everyone by working hard with 2 person.”

“Sorry..”

“No, I’m glad Syril is relying on me.”

And like this, we return home while pray that 2 person’s potato will grow up safely.
If this is done, meals of the village will become considerably better too.