He was happy that out of twenty-three books stored in the study room, one was a picture book that detailed a story of a knight saving a princess from a big bad dragon, where the hero had to go through an unstable bridge to withstand a dragon's breath and then run away on a donkey with a princess to save her.

Josh went through the picture book for the ninth time when Leo entered the study room.

“Milord, the carriage is ready for your visit to the villages.” With a slight bow, Leo said.

“Leo, forget about that for now. Can you teach me how to read?” Josh replied, feeling annoyed that he even had to ask someone to teach him how to read when he was close to twenty years old.

“Milord, I could try, but I believe it’s best to wait for the Guide to arrive. They will know better,” Leo replied.

“Alright then, I guess I'll wait for the guide. For now, let’s go visit the villages.“ Returning the picture book back to its bookshelf, Josh stepped out to follow the butler.

They left the manor through the west gates. There, they met a couple of guards who were to accompany them on their journey. They introduced themselves as Bert and Bart.

Josh himself sat in a wooden carriage with Leo as coachman and guards following along. Two workhorses pulled the carriage. They were large and heavy draft horses with strong muscular builds. Their coats were leopard-patterned in black and brown.

These horses look at least twice as large as any horse I’ve seen before.

As they were riding on a dirt-trodden path towards Daim Village, Josh appreciated the sights where the last signs of winter were leaving, with serfs all around him preparing fields for plowing and repairing bits and pieces around their farmlands.

“Leo, what kind of crops will they grow here?“ Josh asked to satisfy his curiosity.

“Milord, the serfs grow various grains, vegetables, and beans,” Leo explained respectfully. “But they all must grow between ten to twenty-five bushels of grain to fulfill their contractual obligations, Milord.”

“And how much land does one serf usually have to work on?“

“That would be fifty to hundred fifty acres, Milord,” Leo answered his Lord's inquires with his eyes still on the road.

If I remember correctly from my history lessons, that’s way more than back on Earth.

He continued studying the serfs working in the fields, noting that for every field they worked on, another one was left unattended.

“Why are they only working on every other field?” he asked Leo.

“Milord, it’s to allow for the essence to return to the land. Next year, they will swap places on which field they are working on.” The old steward replied.

So they do know that you can’t continuously grow the same crop in the same spot.

“I might know a way to improve it. It’s called Norfolk four-course system,” he reminisced about his history teacher who was fanatic about how much that invention changed the agricultural world back in 18th century England.

“I don’t really know the specifics of it, but it usually went in a way that farmland was split into four quarters: one quarter was growing wheat, the second quarter was growing turnips while third quarter was growing barley, that left the last quarter growing clover, they rotated each year so if this year they grow wheat there next year they will be growing turnips the one after that barley and then clover before going back to wheat.” Without running out of breath, Josh explained to his Steward the system that revolutionized farming back on Earth.

“Milord, do you want our serfs to swap to this method?” his face creased with worry. Leo asked.

“As I’m not really sure about the details, I want to swap one-third of our farmers this way for now to test it out as I believe it will improve the living conditions of our people very much; the excess of growth will allow us to keep much more livestock,” Josh answered, then his eyes widened with sudden realization – that he hadn’t seen any of livestock yet.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Hold on, do you even have any livestock here?” he hastily added.

“Milord, I believe there is some livestock kept here, just not too much, as feeding them is an expensive endeavor,” Leo replied.

“Great, then I will want one-third of the farmlands to switch to using Norfolk's four-course system,” Josh added, mimicking the formal tone with his face breaking into a grin.

You shall do as I say. As I am your Lord.

“Milord, I will ensure myself that it’s done this spring,” Leo replied.

Before long, they found themselves stopped by guards at the checkpoint by the entrance to Daim Village for inspection. It only took a couple of words from Leo for them to be left alone and let through the gates.

“Milord, shall we go meet this village chief, or do you wish to explore for now,” Leo asked his Lord.

“For now, let’s just explore the village and then meet the village chief. I want to visit all four villages today, so let’s not overstay.” Josh replied.

With how bustling it is, it’s definitely more of a town than a village here.

He suddenly gasped as he gazed upon the church of Sol. Its marble building alone looked more expensive than the whole village combined, and its golden sun by the entrance more than his manor. It was such a weird sight seeing a building so grand amidst timber houses of serfs and stalls selling snacks.

As they continued rattling along the cobble-stone roads, they entered the artisan area, where a smithy, pottery, and a mill stood, looking much better than the serf houses from before. The people living in this area even had some color to their wardrobe rather than dull brown or grey, as some wore yellow or blue shirts.

You can feel the wealth disparity between the citizens and serfs just by looking.

“Leo, I think we should go meet the village chief now.“ Thinking he’d seen enough of the village for now, Josh asked his steward.

“As you wish, Milord,” Leo replied as he changed direction of the carriage.

Before long, they were in front of a large stone house, not any smaller than his own manor. As they disembarked from the carriage, Leo told the guards who accompanied them to keep the carriage and horses safe as they wouldn’t take too long.

“What sort of village has stone buildings,” Josh uttered with no one but himself to hear.

As he was walking through the stone halls, he noted various citizens working on paperwork, commanding serfs to do their bidding, and other kinds of bureaucratic work.

“Milord, Daim Village Hall is responsible for all four villages' taxes and reports for the manor,” Leo said, seeing his gaze filled with curiosity.

Great, it will be easy to strangle if there is any corruption.

He just nodded to confirm that he appreciated Leo’s comment.

He looked at the plump frame of the village chief as he approached them, his small beady eyes darting around nervously, his outfit black and red portraying his status as a wealthy individual, his fingers adorned with various rings from silver to platinum.

The chief bowed as he stood by Josh and introduced himself.

“Milord, I am Gaius, the chief of Daim Village. My pleasure to meet you.” He wiped the sweat on his face with a handkerchief as soon as he finished introducing himself.

“Pleasure to meet you, Gaius; I’m your new Lord Josh Brookes,” Josh replied.

As they chatted, he noted a woman exiting the Village Chief’s room, her body half-exposed and filled with bruises. With displeasure, he looked at the village chief to bid his farewells.

“As I have plenty more to do. We will be taking our leave now,” he said formally, his voice barely concealing the contempt he felt for the man. “Thank you for your time, Gaius.”

The village chief, oblivious to contempt, gave a curt nod. “Safe travels, Milord,” he replied as he bowed slightly to bid farewell.

I don’t know if I can trust Leo on this. The man clearly is corrupt and a violent prick. I can’t wait for Guide to get here.

With deep thoughts, he left the village hall and embarked on a journey to see the rest of the villages under his command.

He was surprised by how roundabout roads were. Even though all four villages fall under the same command, barely any trading was done between them. You had to take a road for twenty miles to travel the required ten miles to the village in the south. Whispering Woods Village.

As they entered the Village, it was more of the same as in Daim Village, but just a bit poorer. The village chief of Whispering Woods Village left a way more fashionable impression for Josh as he was a staunch old man that has been living in the village for the past sixty years and had over fourteen children. He noted that there were way fewer citizens in proportion to serfs in this Village as well.

Since he had two more Villages to visit, he didn’t take his time and embarked on a journey once more towards Blackthorn Village to the northeast of Whispering Woods Village.

The road once more stretched out, which made the journey take longer. As they arrived at Blackthorn Village, the sun was already a couple of hours away from setting, and he was snacking on dried jerky. He wasn’t hungry. But hours of riding a carriage for sure took a toll on his bullocks. To not waste any more time, they just took a quick look and saw that it was basically a carbon copy of Whispering Woods Village, just a bit smaller. With the Village having no chief at the moment, as their last one died just a week ago, they didn’t really have to meet anyone of importance.

While they were riding towards their last visit spot, Shallow Lake Village, A guard whose name was Bert, or was it, Bart? Started shouting.

“Goblins! Protect the Lord.”

Goblins?

With a shock at a familiar yet unfamiliar name, he stepped out of the carriage as soon as his gaze landed on them he felt disgusted. Their green-grey skin was filled with rotting pores, their eyes were sharp like snakes, their maws filled with rotten teeth, and their hands held a rusted dagger or a bow if they stood further away. Around thirty of them surrounded the carriage.

Josh, unable to withstand the strong urge to vomit from disgust, let out the jerky from before right in front of the carriage.