Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 99 - 3: Torrential Rain

Chapter 99: Chapter 3: Torrential Rain

Roman had been in Sige Town for 158 days.

The first major storm of the summer had arrived.

Although it was noon, the entire sky had darkened.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, intermittently illuminating the land.

Crash!

The rain poured down furiously.

The whole world was enveloped in a misty vapor, with the raindrops densely packed and fiercely pelting.

The storm directly swept away the lingering heat that had plagued this basin for many days.

Roman stood at the entrance of the manor, his brows furrowed as he looked out at the rain-drenched world.

Origin Manor was well located, exceptionally sturdy, and situated on higher ground, completely resistant to the storm’s assault.

He had notified Sige Town to prepare for the rain the day before.

But how much time would this delay him?

It was uncertain whether the "Spring Plan" would be postponed until next summer.

Thinking of those laborers just staying at home doing nothing made Roman pace anxiously back and forth.

He had to admit, the storm wasn’t without its benefits, at least he wasn’t sweating profusely anymore.

Some extraordinary resources could negate the effects of extreme cold and heat.

Such gemstones were generally expensive, costing several gold coins or even tens of gold coins, and their primary function was like a natural air conditioner. With many wealthy people around, those scarce items wouldn’t end up in the hands of a minor noble like himself.

Grand Duke Riptide was immensely wealthy.

But as his illegitimate son, he had only gained a ruby at birth.

Roman didn’t much care for material comforts.

However, his Angel Envoy crucially needed these extraordinary resources.

Both Attribute and Skill required specific resources to improve.

Attributes could be enhanced using extraordinary metals, whereas Skills could only be improved with rare gemstones and crystals.

But now, in the initial development phase, instead of using dozens of gold coins to enhance the Angel Envoy’s meager strengths, it was better to spend those resources on construction.

Now, to elevate Aaron and Green’s attributes to the Fifth Rank Transcendent wouldn’t be as effective as having five hundred workers.

Thinking of this, Roman started to get flustered and agitated again.

He could accept Daken’s failure, although those slaves would have greatly satisfied his need for labor, but doing business always involved risks, and it wasn’t exactly realistic to expect everything to go smoothly.

His expression was tense, and his brows wrinkled as he paced back and forth.

Some people in the hall were frightened by his demeanor.

Aaron and Green exchanged glances.

Green signaled to Aaron with his eyes.

Aaron shook his head.

Aaron also gestured with his chin, indicating Green.

Green shook his head too.

Gwivelle and Kao, watching them make faces at each other, were somewhat puzzled.

Dick and Jet couldn’t train because of the storm.

But both maintained a stable mindset, sitting in a corner each, meditating.

Finally, Gwivelle mustered the courage to say, "Lord Roman, would you like to eat something?"

Outside, as if night had fallen, the clouds were ink-stained and thunder roared.

Inside Origin Manor’s hall, light still radiated.

Several candles flickered, providing illumination to prevent total darkness.

Having just eaten, Gwivelle had thought Roman might take her to do something interesting during the rainy day, just like last time.

But Roman was in a foul mood, which brought Gwivelle’s spirits down as well.

Roman turned and saw that the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat gloomy.

He knew the importance of maintaining good relationships with those loyal to him; if they couldn’t understand each other, how could they be willing to die for him?

Roman pondered briefly, his tense expression easing as he showed a slight smile, "No need to eat, I’m considering the progress of the road construction."

He selectively dealt with things calmly, relieving many people.

Seeing that the person in charge had an inexplicably solemn expression, they couldn’t bring themselves to be happy.

Dick said, "Don’t worry, these kinds of torrential rains usually dissipate by tomorrow and won’t affect much."

He had been here for ten years and had some authority to speak.

But when Roman looked at the "Breathing Story" and saw that it was still forecasting torrential rain for tomorrow, he knew Dick was bound to be proven wrong.

He didn’t dismantle the mature knight’s facade.

Jet said indifferently, "But for some people, that is not the case."

A storm could change many people’s destinies.

...

The torrential rain that had persisted for two and a half days finally ended.

This basin had a developed water system, its meandering rivers intricate and complex.

During this storm, those rivers turned into torrents, flooding disastrously and flowing into the Bro River, which swelled and submerged many low-lying areas, transforming them into marshlands.

Both Sige Town and Origin Manor were located upstream.

The mountain’s alluvial plains were relatively higher in elevation and escaped unscathed, the torrents ultimately flowing out through a gap in the basin.

After the storm had ended, Roman wanted to immediately gather everyone!

He wanted them to take advantage of the clear, cool weather after the rain to cut wood and repair roads!

But when he arrived at Sige Town...

He found the place in complete disarray, the ground muddy and low-lying areas full of water.

Many shacks and farmhouses had sustained varying degrees of damage due to the torrential rain.

Some thatched roofs had been washed away, leaving sparse cover;

Some earthen walls had disintegrated due to soaking, exposing their inner framework;

Even worse, entire houses had collapsed into piles of rubble...

Those farmers who had barely survived the storm stood in front of these ruins, dazed.

They were accustomed to such events but were still somewhat taken aback.

Every summer, the storm would cause many houses to collapse, necessitating rebuilding; after a few or several years, they would again become dilapidated and collapse in some storm...

The cycle repeated itself, again and again.

Things had always been this way.

They could only patch things up.

Because rebuilding a house was costly and not everyone could afford it every year.

In an era of backward agriculture, most of their strength had to be spent on the land; even building shelters had to be squeezed in between their time and money.

They had to pay masons to work, stacking clay and stones into walls and buying robust wood from the steward. Affording each item might be manageable, but the combined costs were daunting.

Therefore, even if the farmhouses looked ready to collapse, those farmers who were hoping for the best would only repair rather than demolish and rebuild or move out.

If a house really fell, they’d try to escape with their families before it collapsed.

If they failed to escape and got buried, it wasn’t a big deal; it wasn’t certain death.

If they died, there was nothing to be done; it was natural selection.

In past years, they had time to rebuild their farmhouses, slowly gathering materials to construct new homes from wood, clay, and stone.

But did they have such time this year?

Their lord was constantly urging them to do various tasks, arranging everyone’s duties clear and straight even on scorching hot days, demanding they work.

They were willing because working meant they had food to eat.

But if they didn’t hurry to rebuild their homes, where would they sleep in the future?

Even if only a few dozen households’ homes had collapsed, it meant hundreds were homeless.

Being homeless meant sleeping in the wilderness.

With houses, they had a foundation; they were part of civilized humanity, not beasts in caves or weeds in the wild.

"Lord Roman, what brings you here?"

Moor came forward to greet him upon hearing the news.

The lord didn’t like stepping into Sige Town, probably because he found it dirty and foul, likening it to a pigsty full of dung.

He didn’t care much, probably used to it.