Elena's territory

The hope

I purchased some livestock from other lords. Taking care of the animals isn't too tiring, especially since there aren't too many of them. Each day, it's just a matter of feeding them some grass and cleaning up their waste, so I had the steward assign a group of children to the task.

The children of slaves are also slaves. Though they are young, the previous lord wouldn't have supported them for free. From the time they could walk, they were expected to work. The task of cutting grass was given to the adult slaves.

The good news is that none of this batch of livestock fell ill; they're all quite healthy. Around this time, I also instituted a rule that no one—whether slaves or servants—could drink unboiled water anymore. All water had to be boiled first. The servants were fine with this, but the slaves didn't have the means to comply—they didn't have clay pots, nor could they start fires. So, I ordered the servants to boil water and provide it to the slaves.

The slaves had no objections—it was a relief not to have to go to the river for water, and it didn't interfere with their work. They were also used to following the orders of their lord without question.

I've come to realize that this territory is actually quite good. It has mountains and rivers, and it can be self-sufficient. Aside from the risk of landslides during the rainy season, there aren't many dangers. The only real issue is locust plagues. This territory has suffered from frequent locust infestations, leading to poor harvests year after year.

I need a way to prevent the locusts, but for now, I can't think of any solutions. I'll take things one day at a time and revisit the problem after winter.

In addition to requiring everyone to drink boiled water, I also asked the servants to bring their families to the estate. Although the servants are technically mine, they are of higher status than slaves. Most of their families are commoners, but due to poverty or being unable to support extra children, they sent their children to serve the nobility.

By having their families join them, the servants no longer need to travel to visit their parents. But once their families arrived, the question of where they would live arose.

The servants, however, were excited. They only got a few days a year to visit home and see their parents. Moreover, their families were poor, and each year they worried that their parents might not survive until the next time they returned. Most of them had siblings, but the sisters were usually married off early so they wouldn't be a burden to the family. As for their brothers, the servant role was typically reserved for one child—the others either begged on the streets, worked as laborers at the docks, or toiled in the fields.

But being a laborer wasn't easy either. For a half loaf of dark bread a day, countless people would gather at the docks before dawn hoping for work.

Jared is one of the male servants who has been with the estate for five years. He is the youngest in his family, with two sisters who are already married. His parents live in the slums, and every time he returns home, he hands over all the money he has saved. His older brother worked at the docks until he lost a leg in an accident. Now crippled, his brother can't work, and the family's situation has worsened. His two sisters are often beaten by their husbands for secretly bringing food to their parents.

Their parents and brother can't bear to tell the sisters to stop visiting, for without the food, they would starve. No one would hire two elderly people or a cripple.

On this day, the servants were excused from work so they could go to town and bring their families to the estate. Of course, they couldn't ride in carriages; they had to walk, but none of them complained—how could they, when they were given the chance to bring their families to live under the care of a generous lord? Was there any lord more compassionate than their lady?