Chapter 37 - The Horror of the Whip
Grass ash as a kind of rural application especially wide fertilizer, it is not only cheap and good, and very easy to get, in rural areas as long as not lazy people, almost every family will have it.
Grass wood ash is the ash formed after burning firewood, belongs to the loose texture of quick-acting potash fertilizer, generally contains to the effective potassium, also contains calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron elements. Grass ash in agricultural production is mainly used as potash fertilizer, it also has cold, sterilization, inhibit the occurrence of pests and diseases, promote crop stalks and enhance crop resilience and other aspects of the role.
Of course, this was one of the few methods of fertilizing that Edward knew, and it was something he knew from working with his grandparents back in Edward's time, waiting until he was old enough to go to school and then never doing farm work again.
As soon as Edward thought of Grass Ash, he remembered his family far away on the other side of the world, and his mood could not help but begin to sink, while Howard, seeing his majesty in this state, consciously left the study, leaving Edward alone with his head bowed in deep thought.
Howard left the study and went straight to Lucy and Luna's house, looking at the dilapidated mud and straw house and at the dirt road, which was in a vile state because of the rain, and spared himself the impulse to knock on the door.
"Old Jack! Come on out!" Howard shouted with all his strength, but unfortunately it was not loud enough to be heard. After all, he was used to being pampered, and besides, he was already weak, and the sound he made was relatively too much.
"Old Jack! Old Jack! Old Jack!" Howard resisted the cultivation of a gentleman, and shouted like a plebeian, which made the heart of the frail Lord Steward, almost break.
At that moment Jack, who was eating, had a keen ear for some vague shouts, as if calling for his father, and by the sound of his voice it seemed to be that of Howard's steward.
"Dad! Someone is calling for you outside the door!" As if knowing that there was a high chance of being scolded for interrupting his father's meal, he added, "It seems to be the Lord Steward calling for you!"
Old Jack, who was eating, expressed his anger at his son for interrupting his meal, but as soon as he heard that it was the beloved Lord Steward calling out to him, he hurriedly dropped his bowl and ran out in a hurry.
His wife, who was also eating on the sidelines, knew the importance of the matter and put away the rest of his bread to save for his return!
Howard butler felt his throat is almost shouting, that dilapidated house still did not have a single movement, as if when he shouted the words bar does not exist in general.
At this time, the butler's heart had already regretted, he was just to reflect the respect for the old Jack, accurately to reflect the respect for the Luna sisters, it was rare to come to see him in person, I did not expect that he would be faced with such an embarrassing scene, making him in and out of the dilemma.
Just at that moment old Jack opened the poor wooden door and relieved Howard's steward's embarrassment, which was a sacrifice to keep up a gentlemanly demeanor, I suppose!
Seeing old Jack come out at last, Steward Howard inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, took a white handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his forehead delicately, and resumed his calm and composed
The look-alike, that gentleman Howard, is back.
"Lord Butler! How can I trouble you to come in person?" Old Jack had been an overseer for a few months and was no longer the foolish serf who only knew how to work, "It is I who should be looking for you, do you have any orders?"
Howard nodded noncommittally, not answering Old Jack's question, and gave a direct order.
"Old Jack, you gather all the men and women, male and female, who can walk, now!"
"Don't need you to do any heavy lifting, just to gather weed for our King Edward, the more the merrier!" Howard knew what old Jack was going to ask and took the lead, not wanting to stay too long in this filth filled place.
"Okay! That's it, you get busy!" Howard could not stay a moment longer, and withdrew hastily, not forgetting to turn back to Old Jack with a reminder.
Old Jack couldn't figure out the pettiness of the grown-ups; wasn't it just a bit of muck and excrement?
What? Excrement? Damn! Old Jack cursed at the sight of the yellowish-brown stuff on the soles of his straw shoes, and couldn't help but feel irritated.
"Oh! God! Damn it Jack, didn't I tell you to stay away from home before pulling? I see you're in need of a beating again!" Old Jack cursed at Jack, who was eating inside the house, and then rubbed at the weeds in an attempt to wipe them clean.
Jack, who was eating, buried his head in the water-soaked black bread without a word. The mother next to him just smiled and stroked Jack's head without saying a word, Lemmy saw his brother being scolded from the sidelines and couldn't help but over grabbing his hand and comforting him.
"Hey! Shawn, call up the ones in your family who can run and meet us at the tanning bed!" "Hal! Grab your family that can run and meet at the tanning bed!" ...
Old Jack called out on the artificial system, house by house, for they were not far apart, and in less than ten minutes twenty-three families of serfs were assembled in the tanning-ground.
Old Jack stood in the middle of the tanning-ground, surrounded by his neighbors, each looking at him with respect, and including his two fellows and his wife.
"Gentlemen, our Lordship, His Honorable Majesty Edward, has commanded us to gather him weeds, the more the merrier! This is an honor for us! We should use all our strength to fulfill the task!" Old Jack's words were filled with perseverance, "Whoever is lazy, don't blame me for whipping him with a leather whip!"
With that, he flung the leather whip he held in his hand, which Steward Howard often used to punish disobedient serfs.
Of course, this group of serfs have been living in the manor for generations, and the disobedient ones have already been euthanized long ago, and the ones that remain are the obedient ones! This whip hasn't been used for almost ten years, but its deterrent effect is still quite sufficient.
When the people around them saw the whip, they couldn't help but remember the horrors of the whip that they had heard from their fathers and nodded their heads in unison, showing fearful expressions.
Jack knew his father wouldn't beat him with a whip, but deep down he was still scared.
"Hey! Jack! Do you remember our secret base?" "Of course I remember, we played a lot!"
Jack was puzzled by his partner Mir's question and wondered why he asked it knowingly.
"Hey! Can't you see there's a lot of long weeds there? What's it called Lu?"
"I think they're called reeds!" Jack remembered after Mir's reminder that there were a lot of reeds near his and Mir's base.
"That way, we can both play there for a while, and move a lot of reeds afterward, and your old man won't find out!" Mil whispered furtively in Jack's ear, with an uncharacteristically pleasant expression on his face.
"Here's the deal! I'll bring Lemmy and you bring your sister Vina!" "That's fine, but make sure they keep it a secret, yo!" "Of course!" Jack agreed with great alacrity, and once he remembered how little work there was to do and how much fun he could have, Jack's instantly forgot all about the whip.