Chapter 27, Different Worlds

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The welcome banquet was lively, and though the reception wasn't of the highest standard, it was practical and generous.

To welcome the two thousand new laborers, Viscount Autres had 50 cattle, 100 sheep, and several chickens slaughtered without hesitation, plus the chefs carefully prepared bread and vegetables.

There was no way around it; there were many mouths to feed. As a good lord, Viscount Autres naturally invited all the common people to join the large feast.

While 50 heads of cattle might seem like a lot, the cattle of 19th-century Africa were all naturally reared and not very large to begin with, and certainly not the genetically modified beef cattle of later generations, so the yield of meat was not particularly high.