parentshiftbook Chapter 302 Winter Planning
Chapter 302 Winter Planning
Chapter 306 Winter Planning
Richard stood alone in a corner of the garden, holding a wine glass.
The light here is dim, far from the hustle and bustle of the pavilion, and far from the nobles who are still exchanging pleasantries.
He was admiring a lone icethorn plant in the corner.
This icethorn plant isn't growing very well; the edges of its petals are a pale yellowish tinge, and its leaves are somewhat curled.
Unlike the flowers grown in the systematic nursery, they are free from insect damage, withered edges, and blemishes.
However, sometimes imperfection is also a kind of beauty, and Richard, deep down, loves all things beautiful.
This could be considered one of his quirks.
He loves flowers, both their unrestrained exuberance in full bloom and their serene tranquility in withering.
He likes small animals. Not their docile nature after being domesticated, but the sneaky way squirrels steal pine cones and the fierce, competitive spirit of birds arguing on the branches.
He likes young girls, for no particular reason other than their beauty, but not the kind of beauty that comes from being trained in etiquette and manners.
Rather, it's their vibrant and lively beauty—the way their eyes crinkle when they smile, their cheeks puff out when they're angry, and their ears turn red when they're shy.
The same is true of the black pine forest; it possesses a beauty that has been imbued with the passage of time, a beauty that reflects the vicissitudes of life.
Strolling through the black pine forest, you can feel the touch of time caressing the earth.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of pine needles, the bottom layer of which had rotted into mud. Stepping on it made Richard feel as if he were walking in an autumn hundreds of years ago.
Like a 30-year-old vintage, its value lies not in how delicious it is, but in the fact that it has gone through 30 years, and every drop of the wine contains the rich flavor of time.
The new wine made from iridium crops is far superior to ordinary wines in both quality and price, but it lacks the aroma of time.
The same goes for the black pine forest.
The pine trees grown in the system's nursery can grow to maturity in eighteen days. They have straight trunks, smooth bark, and even the annual rings are neat and orderly, like they were printed.
good looking.
Neat and orderly.
But it lacks the soul of nature and the vicissitudes of life after battling against wind and rain.
In order not to destroy this natural beauty, he later specially transformed 100 acres of farmland in the city park in the outer city to plant pine trees, thus moving the demand for timber out of the black pine forest.
He would be extremely unwilling to see the Black Pine Forest completely cut down, even though the reason was absurd.
However, Richard suddenly remembered something.
When he was driven out by the Wolf and decided to become a pioneer lord, the Wolf granted him the Chiffon Wasteland and provided him with a batch of iron tools.
Among those tools, the most common was the logging axe.
Karl had also suggested that the team could camp in the black pine forest, which would make it easy to obtain timber and provide ready-made cover.
But Richard refused, because he wanted to activate the farm attribute on Chiffon Wasteland.
Looking back now, the count gave him so many woodcutting axes, perhaps not just for chopping wood and starting a fire.
It's possible that the empire was already planning its overseas expansion at that time.
Earl of the Wolf was implying to him: before Frostfoil makes its move, kill as many of your hundred serfs as you can, hurry up and do it.
Moreover, if Shuangmo really takes action against the Black Pine Forest, it will inevitably bring in a large number of workers to carry out the work, which will require a lot of resources for people and horses to eat and eat.
At the beginning of the land reclamation, all Qi Feng needed to do was serve the workers and the supervising soldiers and resell some daily necessities to make a fortune.
After figuring this out, Richard sighed. Why couldn't Old Deng just say it outright? Why did he have to keep everything hidden?
That makes sense, after all, this involves a war that could threaten the entire nation, so it has to be kept secret. Being able to hide a clue among a bunch of logging axes is already considered a great favor to him.
It now appears that the cleansing of the forces of light in the North mainly involved eliminating spies, and not just the churches, but perhaps also a number of spies from other factions.
Perhaps it was the forces behind these spies who attacked the Sky Eagle heir and the major tribes of the Cape Region.
Richard shook his head, picked up his wine glass and took another sip. The problem now was how to stop Shuangmo.
There is a solution. If Frostfox really needs a large amount of giant timber for shipbuilding, he can provide it to the other party.
Systematically planted pine trees won't work; they grow too fast and only reach five or six meters in height, making them unsuitable for use as keel beams.
Only the magical mystic tree can do that.
That thing is over twenty meters tall, with a straight trunk and hard wood—it's even magic wood, more than enough to build ships.
But that would be too high-profile.
Chiffon already had enough of a large number of unicorns, but if he casually pulled out several thousand magical trees that were over twenty meters tall, he himself wouldn't know how to cover it up.
It can't be that after the polar ice cap thawed, it drifted ashore with the ocean current and he picked it up like a fish, can it?
However, if Frostfowl doesn't get the amount of timber it needs, there's no solution to this problem. Even if we manage to acquire the Black Pine Forest through other means, it won't work.
If force is used to stop it, it would be hindering Xingchen's plan for a war that would destroy the entire empire, and Qi Feng would have to take on the entire empire by himself in no time.
Richard sighed and downed the rest of the wine in his glass.
He didn't want to rebel, he really didn't, because it was too tiring, and there were too many things to worry about and let go of.
To be honest, Qi Feng had several meetings where the heads of various departments waited for him in the Lord's Hall until their legs went numb.
He was still fast asleep, embracing his maid, oblivious to the world around him, sometimes not getting up until late morning.
An autumn breeze swept through the garden, and a golden osmanthus petal fluttered into a wine glass. Richard scooped it up and held it in his hand, lost in thought.
It's already mid-August, and the harsh winter in the far north is just around the corner. By then, forget about cutting down trees; even standing in the wild for a while will be unbearably cold.
Even if Shuangmo really wanted to touch the Black Pine Forest, it wouldn't be possible to do so this year; the earliest would be next spring.
In other words, he has a whole winter to plan how to protect the black pine forest, so there's no rush for now.
Thinking of this, Richard placed the empty cup on the stone railing and was about to turn around when a soft voice came from behind him.
"Your Excellency Viscount"
Richard turned around and saw the Marquis of Amethyst's third daughter, Daly, standing a few steps away.
The evening breeze lifted the hem of her light blue skirt, revealing her fair ankles. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before mustering the courage to approach.
"The banquet is about to begin, I've come to inform you." Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.
Richard nodded, his gaze lingering on her face for a long time, and smiled, "The Marquis is right, Miss Deli is indeed very beautiful."
Daisy's cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile.
The two chatted casually for a bit, mostly about how wonderful the flowers in the garden were, but how wonderful they were.
Daisy's voice was soft and gentle, as if she were afraid of saying something wrong, carrying the shyness and nervousness unique to young girls.
Richard dealt with the situation while muttering to himself.
As a nobleman, he was never short of beautiful women, whether male or female, so he didn't quite understand the "prince falls in love with Cinderella" stories told by bards.
Would a high-ranking person who grew up in luxury and was surrounded by countless ladies from prestigious families fall in love at first sight with a village girl who cooks and whose hands are covered in calluses all day long?
Outrageous!
His good relationship with the maids was something that developed over time, and he was also quite sentimental, so he cared more about people who had crossed paths with him in his life.
"Your Excellency?" Daisy called softly when she saw him lost in thought.
Richard snapped out of his daze, smiled slightly, and raised his arm.
Daisy paused for a moment, then understood, blushing as she gently placed her hand on his arm.
The two walked along the flower-lined path toward the brightly lit Golden Lion Castle; it was time to attend the autumn harvest banquet.