Chapter 226: Technological Breakthrough

Su Lun did not care much about the spread of sugar beet seeds. Even if they obtained the sugar beet seeds and successfully grew sugar beets, the juice extracted from the sugar beets would still produce bitter brown sugar.

The raw material used for white sugar in the south was sweet cane, a plant very similar to the sugarcane from his previous life. Those people thought that Zhenbei City could produce white sugar in large quantities because they used different raw materials, so they paid great attention to sugar beets and even sent many people to steal the planting techniques.

What they did not know was that the planting techniques in Zhenbei City were based on the strong influence of the Harvest Altar. If they planted sugar beets using Zhenbei City’s methods, the results would not be very good. Moreover, sugar beets took much longer to mature than sweet cane. Growing sugar beets in the south offered no advantage at all.

When those who planted sugar beets discovered that they could not produce white sugar, and that the maturation period of sugar beets was more than half a year later than that of sweet cane, they realized that the sugar content in sugar beets might not even be high. Sugar beets accumulated sugar to protect against frost, but the south had a warm climate. There, sugar beets essentially turned into radishes.

Su Lun exchanged some spice seeds with Frodo and then allocated about ten acres of farmland for planting. It was not that Su Lun did not want to plant spices on a large scale, but Frodo only had this many spice seeds.

Some of the seeds were not suitable for the northern climate. Su Lun planted several commonly used ones, such as Sichuan pepper, fennel, chili, and cumin. Spices like star anise, cinnamon, and pepper could only be purchased from the south. It was said that the Red Dragon Queen of the Southern Isles controlled over eighty percent of the spice trade. Rumors claimed that several small islands in the Southern Isles were covered with spices and were called the Spice Islands.

The profits from the spice trade each year made several neighboring countries envious, and they all wanted a share. However, these countries feared the Red Dragon Queen’s powerful strength and her legions. An Ancient Red Dragon, at the very least, who was also skilled in various spells, could single-handedly defeat a team of Legendary Wizards.

Even the Paladins, who always claimed to oppose evil, automatically ignored the existence of this Red Dragon Queen. In the prime material plane, an Ancient Red Dragon proficient in spells basically represented the peak of power. Even if a divine avatar intervened, the outcome would be uncertain.

Su Lun also felt envious of this Red Dragon Queen. She occupied a key hub of maritime trade, controlled the spice trade, and possessed astonishing strength. She was simply a winner in life—no, a winner in dragon life.

The spices planted last year were now growing very well. The chilies had already turned red and would be ready for picking in at most half a month. The remaining cumin was also growing well. The Sichuan pepper was still a small sapling and would not bear fruit until next year at the earliest.

The other spices were also growing well. In just a year or two, Zhenbei City would also produce some spices. Although it could never compare to the Red Dragon Queen’s Spice Islands, her climate and geographical location were just too advantageous.

When Su Lun was pioneering his territory, he had once considered heading south. After all, the southern seas had numerous islands, and there was even a legendary island of gold and silver. However, the slightly better islands in the south were already occupied, and with a big boss like the Red Dragon Queen nearby, Su Lun felt very insecure. Perhaps with the help of the System, he would eventually catch up to that Red Dragon Queen, but that would be far in the future.

To protect these spices from theft and damage, Su Lun specifically built a manor here. He included the spices and about a thousand acres of surrounding land within the manor and built a wall to enclose the area. He also stationed Soldiers to guard it.

Spices were still very expensive. Although they were not sold by the grain, their prices were no cheaper than white sugar. The most expensive ones were pepper and cinnamon, among others. The spices Su Lun planted, except for cumin, were cheaper than those.

Su Lun planned to continue expanding the spice planting area, aiming to plant the entire thousand-acre manor.

Zhenbei City’s farmland also grew a lot of wheat. This wheat was mainly supplied to Su Lun himself, and any surplus was sold. After all, many of the Caravans passing through were wealthy, and they naturally would not eat potatoes. Refined flour was the best choice.

The remaining land was planted with barley, oats, soybeans, and some other grains. Some of these were used for brewing, and some for feeding livestock. Of course, some were also used for oil extraction. There were not many types of vegetable oil in this world, with olive oil being the most common. However, olive oil was scarce and expensive, so Su Lun found a substitute: soybeans. He planned to grow soybeans for oil extraction.

Besides being used for oil extraction and feeding livestock, soybeans could also be used to make tofu. Although he had forgotten the specific method for making tofu, he could research it slowly. Perhaps he could once again taste the smooth and refreshing tofu brain from his previous life—a flavor he had not experienced in a long time. Then, he could have one bowl sweet and one bowl savory, even drink one and pour out another.

The farmland in Zhenbei City was increasing every day. Whether in his previous life or this world, food had always been very important. Especially since Zhenbei City was continuously receiving large numbers of immigrants, a great deal of food was needed to feed these people.

After inspecting the farmland, Su Lun specifically visited the academy he had established. The academy was now very different from its initial state. At first, these Scholars stayed because of Su Lun’s threats. After living here for a while, these Scholars found that, apart from restrictions on personal freedom, other aspects were much better than their treatment in the Northern Provinces.

Most importantly, Su Lun paid them very well. On average, a Scholar earned one hundred and fifty Gold Nars per year, plus benefits including white sugar, Rum, refined flour, tea, and more. Altogether, it amounted to no less than three hundred Gold Nars per year.

Such good treatment completely overturned the perceptions of those Scholars who initially thought this was just a harsh, cold land and planned to make a quick profit and leave. It was important to know that back in the Northern Provinces, even though they were Nobles, they often just scraped by.

After adapting here, besides teaching literacy and arithmetic, these Scholars began offering other courses. Of course, most of the basic-level officials who came to study only took the foundational courses before leaving, though some would find time to continue learning.

After checking the school, although teaching basic knowledge was already quite good, they still faced a shortage of teachers. Su Lun planned to continue commissioning Caravans to hire Scholars at high prices. As for how those Caravans persuaded the Scholars to come, he did not care. However, once they arrived, they would not be allowed to leave until they had taught for several years. Of course, Su Lun would definitely pay them high wages.

Apart from the shortage of personnel, another problem at the academy was the lack of books. They had to rely entirely on the books the Scholars brought with them. Su Lun had already sent Ji En’s Caravan to purchase more, and he estimated the issue would be resolved upon their return.

Another problem was paper. The academy had no cheap paper. Parchment was too expensive—a single sheet cost much more than a sheepskin. The students still practiced writing on sand trays and wooden slips. The paper-making workshop in Zhenbei City had been experimenting to produce a sturdy, cheap paper that could be written on smoothly.

Su Lun heard from their reports that they had made some progress. The paper-making materials they used before produced paper that was too soft and highly absorbent, making it completely unsuitable for writing. Following Su Lun’s instructions, the craftsmen tried several types of trees to make paper.

After leaving the academy, he went directly to the paper-making workshop. Since the paper-making workshop started producing paper, paper had become very popular. After all, not all Nobles liked sharing a coarse hemp rope or the same wooden stick.

Once paper was introduced, it received widespread praise among the Noble class.

Since Su Lun last built the paper-making workshop and produced a batch of paper, the workshop had expanded significantly after this period of production. The number of craftsmen had doubled, with half of them producing toilet paper and the remaining workers experimenting with new materials.

The raw materials for paper-making had shifted from wood to tree bark, with other materials like linen cloth added. Through this period of experimentation, the workers had divided the paper-making process into several steps.

The first step was boiling, turning the raw materials into a paste. The second step was pounding, repeatedly hammering the boiled materials to finally obtain pulp. Then, the pulp was mixed with water to form a slurry, which was scooped out layer by layer. At this point, the paper had taken shape and only needed to be dried and peeled off to become usable paper.

Although the process seemed simple, obtaining a sheet of paper was not easy.

After dozens or even hundreds of experiments, and trying the bark of various trees and plants from the Northern Wasteland, the paper-making workshop finally produced a barely usable paper.

This paper used the bark of a common tree from the Wasteland as the raw material, mixed with linen cloth and several other materials. The final product was not pure white but somewhat yellowish.

In his previous life, this kind of paper would have been practically unsellable—yellowish, coarse, and somewhat thick. Despite its many flaws, this paper was relatively cheap and could be written on without major issues, making it perfectly usable.

Just as the paper-making workshop successfully produced this paper, Su Lun heard the prompt from the System.

“Congratulations, host. The paper-making technology has successfully advanced. Mastery of paper-making techniques has improved.”

[Paper-making Technique: Using materials such as tree bark, linen cloth, and fishing nets, through boiling, pounding, sheet-forming, and drying, produces paper that can be used for writing. Territory civilization progress +10, territory culture +10, learning ability +5.]