Ch.200Spring

As the mystical winter that had painted the world in pure white gradually receded, the warmth of spring began to arrive.

Perhaps because the cold wave itself had been brought on by the influence of mystery, the world’s chill disappeared with unbelievable speed, replaced by the warm spring breeze.

Snow melted in an instant, and rivers that had been frozen solid briefly formed a thin layer of ice before flowing freely again. As the biting cold vanished, animal activity gradually increased, with creatures awakening from hibernation and prowling about, famished after their long sleep.

Beyond this, as the weather—which had become unnecessarily cold due to mysterious influences—rapidly warmed, the world softened, and threats born from winter’s harshness began to disappear one by one.

Elemental spirits, whose manifestation in the physical realm could no longer be maintained in the natural environment, naturally vanished. As the mystery of life regained its power, the frequency of undead hordes diminished.

Of course, monster activity increased several times compared to winter, and with the milder weather, thieves and bandits resumed their activities as well.

Amid these complex developments that couldn’t simply be categorized in one direction, the world began to transform from a desolate landscape of only black and white to one gradually brightened by the colors of flowers.

Thus, it was truly the perfect spring.

And with the arrival of spring, several incidents—or perhaps “events” would be a better way to understand it—occurred in the village.

The most influential development was, naturally, the formation of the logistics network that Father had promised last year in exchange for taking on personnel.

On one side of the river, which had previously only been used for fishing, a small port designed by the dwarf craftsman Magni was constructed at an incredible pace thanks to golem armor and intermediate labor.

This port, adequately sized for small vessels to come and go, had docks that could accommodate four ships, along with warehouses and simple facilities for those engaged in fishing, forming a small community.

Given the not insignificant distance between the village and the river, specialized professions had developed for port management and fishing.

Of course, the permanent population making their livelihood at this small port was only about 50 people, and since more than half of them commuted between the village and the port, the actual resident population was merely around 20 people.

Still, given the port’s small size, this population was sufficient for maintenance.

Rather, the port’s scale was perfectly appropriate considering the village’s size, and since the logistics network wasn’t yet very active, it was essentially closer to a small fishing village.

Large nets and boats were used to catch fish, resident hunters eliminated hostile creatures (monsters) that appeared, and the processing of fish and monster by-products took place on site.

Perishable fish were mostly gutted first. If the fish were large, the meat was filleted and processed; if small, they were simply beheaded and then preserved through salting, smoking, or drying.

These smoked and salted fish were particularly popular preserved foods in the village, being meat products, and simultaneously served as excellent and inexpensive sources of protein.

Of course, some fish were consumed whole by roasting, but inadequate preservation and distribution techniques had drastically increased the rarity of unsalted fish.

Anyway, beyond fishing, the logistics network was quite substantial despite being in its early stages.

The main imports were various products that couldn’t be self-produced at the village level, while the current main exports were rock salt from the open-pit salt mine and furs.

Rock salt was always in steady demand as a traditional source of salt for inland regions, while furs, being symbols of wealth for commoners, could fetch extremely high prices.

Furs in particular were so popular that they sold out immediately, to the point where there was now consideration of capturing foxes and other animals for fur farming.

With “animal affinity” solving the biggest challenge of taming in such wildlife farming ventures, this could potentially become a full-fledged business if the feed issue was resolved.

Meanwhile, along with the development of the logistics network came changes in the village population.

The first change was that residents who had been staying in the village as “interns” successfully completed their internship period and officially joined the village after receiving land allocations.

As a result, the village population officially rose to around 320 people, with additional immigrants including port managers who would form the backbone of the village’s logistics network.

Currently, the total village population stands at 350 people. While most primarily engage in farming, they also work in various other jobs during their spare time to earn wages.

For example, quarry or salt mine work is always available, though demanding. Port or construction work, while less strenuous and thus more popular, isn’t always available.

While the village’s population and labor allocation were becoming more flexible, situations couldn’t always turn out in our favor.

Perhaps the most critical issue the village had faced in recent months was the food shortage that typically occurs in spring.

Similar to what we might understand as the “barley hump,” this occurs before the autumn crops are harvested, at a point when most of the previous autumn’s harvest has been consumed.

The crops planted in autumn still need about a month to fully grow, while the previous autumn’s harvest has mostly been consumed over winter—truly an extreme situation.

In my previous life’s homeland, people would forage for wild edible plants including mountain herbs during this period, and in severe cases, even strip and eat the inner bark of pine trees.

Fortunately for us, the village didn’t heavily depend on grains for food, so we didn’t particularly need to worry about food shortages in this situation.

Fish and aquatic monsters could be caught from the thawed river. Hunting wild animals and gathering edible plants from the forest was entirely possible.

Wild leeks, common during this season, were often eaten roasted with their skins peeled off, and even without hunting or gathering, the village had sufficient food sources.

The chicken coop, now with over 80 chickens, provided eggs daily. Vegetables like turnips and cabbages grew in kitchen gardens. Cow’s milk and sheep’s milk, when collected, amounted to quite a quantity.

Moreover, since Magni had taught us how to cultivate nutritious “dwarf mushrooms,” it was honestly difficult to imagine how anyone could starve to death at this point.

Additionally, if necessary, we could always purchase grain with money through our established logistics network.

One major reason for the regular occurrence of the “barley hump” famine in the Joseon Dynasty was certainly the timing of agriculture.

They practiced double cropping, harvesting rice and planting barley between September and October, but by the time rice supplies ran out, the barley wasn’t yet ripe.

However, an even more fundamental cause of this “barley hump” was the lack of road networks for distributing goods.

Frankly, Joseon produced enough grain to feed its entire population, but without means to transport it, famines occasionally occurred.

With summers like Africa, winters like Siberia, and the addition of the maddening monsoon climate, building roads on the Korean Peninsula was incredibly difficult, leading to the “barley hump.”

But in our village, if grain became scarce, we could simply pay in full through the port.

With sufficient money, payment was purely a matter of will. Although grain prices were quite high during this season, compared to villages with no supply at all, the very fact that we could purchase it, even at high prices, was a blessing.

In truth, while we called it a food shortage, thanks to the consideration of allowing various preserved foods to be purchased with “ledger currency,” not only was grain scarce, but our tables actually became more abundant.

Thus, apart from these major village-level issues, there were more important matters arising from purely personal relationships.

“…Ah.”

The most shocking thing for me was realizing that I had already long ago committed to a passionate threesome… Yes.