Elena's territory

Charcoal

The rainy season is approaching, and the crops in the fields have been harvested one after another. Before the rainy season officially begins and winter sets in, I have two months to prepare and need to burn enough charcoal for experiments and use.

The earthen kiln is built like a house, but instead of bricks, we use stones, and unlike the houses built by the slaves, there's no wooden framework. With the experience of building houses, the construction of the kiln is quicker. 
"What are you trying to do?" Alistair asked. He couldn't understand my various actions. 
I was eating bread with honey, enjoying it thoroughly, and said, "I'm making charcoal." 
Alistair sat opposite me and asked patiently, "What is charcoal?" 
I replied, "... It's wood that burns longer?" 
Alistair: "Burn wood to make wood that burns longer?" 
I blinked at Alistair, "More or less, I guess?" 
Alistair then asked, "What is charcoal used for?" 
I said, "It has many uses. In winter, it can be used for heating without much smoke. It can also turn pig iron into a spongy solid. Wood is a good thing! It can be made into furniture, and it can be burned into charcoal. But I don't know which kind of wood makes the best charcoal. I'll have to do a lot of experiments..." 
I rambled on, and Alistair listened quietly. 
When I finished, I realized Alistair had been watching me the whole time, so I said a little embarrassedly, "Actually, I can't explain it clearly." 
Alistair smiled, and when he smiled, the simple room seemed to become more luxurious. 
"It doesn't matter, I like listening to you talk." Alistair looked into my eyes intently. He's so beautiful; those eyes are like perfectly colored gems or a shimmering lake. 
I swallowed and recited in my mind, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form."

Then Chi Yan tore off a piece of bread for Clest, "Want some? With honey. The cook said there's only a little honey left." 
No one keeps bees, so honey comes from wild hives and is very expensive. This bit of honey was bought by the former lord from a merchant at the end of last year at a high price. 
Alistair took the bread from my hand. The bread had a fragrant, sweet smell and a soft, glutinous texture, making it a delicious food. After taking a bite, Alistair said, "This bread is excellent." 
He's now very much looking forward to seeing what else I can come up with.

The slaves officially moved into the mud houses they built themselves. They used straw to make beds, and even when it rained at night, the houses stayed dry and warm. They had no fire, so after dark, they could only move by the moonlight that shone through. 
"It's so warm," Roger lay on the dry straw he had laid himself. He shared the house with a few other slaves, and they chatted before bed. 
"The Lady had us make round houses." 
"That's too small; even a child couldn't fit in." 
"No slave has it better than us! We get two meals a day, and the Lady even gave us houses!" 
"Hope we can live like this forever." 
The female slaves were small in stature, so more of them could fit into one house. They covered the entire house with straw, and all the women and children slept together. When the children slept, the male slaves would pull the female slaves over, and it would be time for the adults. 
The slaves were also whittling wood with stone knives by moonlight. They loved making crafts, although most of what they made were useless things, they did it enthusiastically. The dwarves would carve the wood into various shapes, but since the tools were limited—a stone knife can't do fine work—the finished products weren't very pretty. 
Inside the castle, the servants envied the slaves—slaves could live in square houses, but the servants still had to sleep in leaky, damp corridors! In the past, slaves could only sleep in the fields, so the servants felt sleeping in the corridors was the happiest thing in the world. Now that the slaves could sleep in houses, they still could only sleep in the corridors. 
The steward noticed the thoughts of the servants. 
Although he also thought slaves shouldn't live better than servants, he also felt that a qualified servant shouldn't question the Lord's decisions. 
"Do you want the Lady to build houses for you too?!" The steward scolded the servants, "Living in the castle is an honor for you! If you don't want to live in the castle, then get out! Go live in the slaves' houses, become a slave!" 
The servants shivered under the steward's scolding, not daring to speak. 
The steward had a cold look on his face, "If I hear any more complaints, I swear I will grant that person's wish and let them live in the slaves' houses." 
The servants hunched their shoulders. 
The steward snorted coldly and walked away with his head held high. 
Only then did the servants breathe a sigh of relief. 
The cook was among them. She hadn't complained, but she had heard others complain, so she also suffered this undeserved calamity. 
"Don't tell me these things anymore!" Anna was angry. As the cook, she held power over the kitchen and had a high status among the servants, "I want to serve the Lady wholeheartedly. I am willing to sleep in the corridor!" 
After saying this, she also snorted and left. 
The remaining servants were all very frightened. They feared being kicked out of the castle. Once they were kicked out, they too would become slaves. 
Every year, many slaves died, so many. Slaves weren't even buried, and they had no graveyards of their own. 
I belatedly noticed that the servants had become very strange these past two days. They were more respectful to me. 
—No, it wasn't respect, more like fear. 
And this fear was deep. They didn't even dare to make any unnecessary movements in front of me. 
Previously, the servants would talk to me, sometimes even daring to look up at me. Some of the younger servants would blush and express their affection with their eyes. 
"What's wrong with them?" I asked the steward, baffled. "I haven't done anything scary lately, have I?" 
The steward said seriously, "Their thoughts have gone astray. I've already disciplined them." 
Me: "... What thoughts?" 
Could it be that these servants finally want to gain freedom and overthrow me, their landlord? 
If that's the case, I need to think about how to protect myself. 
However, the steward shook his head and said, "They actually want to live in the same houses as the slaves!" 
Me: "... Oh." 
The steward was heartbroken, "How can they live in the slaves' houses! It's too disgraceful!" 
I drank some water and thought to myself, actually, I also want to live in the slaves' houses. 
Who would want to live in this damp, leaky stone "castle"? 
The steward: "I am proud to live in the castle!"