Lord of Rot

"Lord, this is the place."

Leech brought his men and followed Little Limpy to the location of the "white earth."

The place was located southeast of the castle and Porcupine Territory, not far from the sea, downstream of the territory’s winding river.

Jagged rocks jutted out from the ground, making the terrain uneven and difficult to walk on.

Little Limpy’s heart was pounding with anxiety. He knew he had made a huge mistake. For the task of curing salted duck eggs, everyone had tried different methods. They all knew the Lord placed great importance on this delicacy. It could be said they weren’t just curing duck eggs—they were curing their own futures!

Would they spend their whole lives as apprentices in the castle, or could they cure a unique salted duck egg and catch the Lord’s attention at the dinner table?

The Lord often gave generous rewards whenever Mister Barrel developed a new specialty dish. Since the apprentices had arrived at the castle, they had seen Mister Barrel receive at least five "Old Daddies" as a reward, and it hadn’t even been a full month yet.

Developing new dishes was the true path forward for the chefs of Porcupine Territory.

However, there was one crucial difference. As the sole head chef, Mister Barrel could use any ingredients he wanted for his research. Furthermore, his culinary skills were so superb that his creations might taste bad, but they were never inedible. The young servants were always happy to help finish off any failed experiments, so nothing went to waste.

For the apprentices, trying to emulate Mister Barrel was a huge risk. Making a good dish would certainly earn a reward, but a mistake would guarantee a scolding.

This was exactly why the kitchen apprentices had been getting yelled at so much recently. They wanted to stand out and create a dish the Lord would love, but the results were often disappointing.

On a whim, Little Limpy had found this white earth and added many of his own ideas and culinary research to the mix. He wasn’t the only one; the other apprentices had done the same. The difference was that their salted duck eggs had turned out perfectly, while Little Limpy’s had turned into black eggs.

The process had been a disaster, but the outcome was unexpected. The Lord hadn’t commented on his salted duck eggs at all, but he seemed very interested in this strange white earth. This left Little Limpy completely baffled.

"Just as I thought. It’s limestone!"

Leech was overjoyed. This bluish rock was indeed limestone, and some of it was already a white powder.

Limestone wasn’t particularly valuable, but the role of lime in development and construction was undeniable.

It could also be used to make glass, act as a desiccant, and more. But as for the specific methods... he had no idea. That’s right, not a clue.

’In my past life, I was just an ordinary person. If my family hadn’t been from the countryside, I probably wouldn’t even know how to use a plow. As a child, I’d spent my time catching bugs in the fields—the kind that supposedly point north, south, east, and west—before my elders would call me over to do chores.’

’I never would have gone out of my way to learn things that an ordinary person wouldn’t use in daily life.’

’But that isn’t important. All I have to do is give my ideas to the people under me, and they’ll figure out how to develop them based on their function and general design.’

Examples included the birth of the first egg tart on the Lu Leiyi Continent, the waterwheel, the watermill, the beehive, and the honey extractor that the craftsman was still researching.

’The hardest part of development isn’t the manufacturing; it’s having a solid, achievable idea.’

After affirming his own importance in his mind, Leech said, "Carry a few of these rocks back."

"Yes, sir!"

Back at the castle, Leech had his men dig a large pit in the courtyard.

The young maids, having finished their work, watched curiously from a distance, not daring to get any closer.

The male servants dug the pit and filled it with water.

As squires, Carrot and Little Joel started a fire, broke the large bluish rocks into smaller pieces, and threw them into the flames to be heated.

Leech couldn’t help but recall a poem, "Song of the Lime," and the three chemical equations associated with it.

’My apologies to my teachers from my past life, but I can only remember one of them.’

Quicklime + Water = Slaked lime.

’What were the others again?’

After heating for a while, the small rocks turned white.

"Throw them in the water," Leech ordered. "Be careful not to get splashed."

"Yes, sir!" Carrot used a pair of wooden tongs to pick up a rock and drop it into the water.

HISS!!

BUBBLE BUBBLE!

The water steamed and bubbled, looking extremely hot.

Gelan, who had just rushed back after finishing his business outside, happened to walk over. Hearing that the Lord was conducting a new experiment, he approached out of curiosity and saw this very scene.

One by one, the white rocks were thrown into the pit. Upon hitting the water, they rapidly disintegrated.

"Stir it," Leech commanded.

The two Knight squires obediently stirred the lime in the watery pit, watching as the hard rocks transformed in the water.

"Lord, th-this... is this some kind of Magic?!"

’Yeah, it has to be Magic!’

Who would believe that a solid rock, after being burned by fire, would suddenly become afraid of water?

Leech smiled. "Find a few masons. Tell them they can try using this. It’s called slaked lime. Have them mix it with sea sand and pebbles."

"It’s time they saw something other than rice paste and yellow mud."

’Time to give them a little shock from the world of science.’

’Any more than this would be pushing it. My knowledge base is too limited.’

"Yes, my Lord!"

Leech turned and left with a calm and casual air, leaving behind an enigmatic figure for the onlookers to ponder.

The remaining slaked lime would be left for the masons to study. They would figure out what it could be used for.

"Gelan, how are things progressing?"

"I have already sent people to Iron Stone City, my Lord," Gelan said, following behind Leech. "They should be back soon with the things you need."

"Have the masons recruit apprentices."

Leech emphasized, "They *must* recruit apprentices!"

"Yes, sir!"

The people of this world placed great importance on their crafts and skills, and they rarely took on apprentices. The saying "teach the apprentice and the master will starve" was a common reality.

There were even cases where a dying old craftsman would entrust his wife and children to his apprentice, having the apprentice marry his wife, all to keep the craft within the family.

But in Porcupine Territory, such traditions were unimportant. He needed to cultivate talent quickly.

Establishing schools wouldn’t work.

Never mind the Lu Leiyi Continent, which was as backward as the Middle Ages. Even on Earth in his previous life, how many people in his parents’ generation were denied an education even if they had the chance? Even if school was free, sending a child to study meant one less person at home to watch the other kids and do chores. Families would rather have their children stay home to collect chicken droppings, babysit, or dig for wild vegetables in the fields than let them go to school.

Was it because they didn’t know the benefits of schooling?

Of course they knew. Schooling could lead to success and a good job.

But their environment, their limited perspective, and the harsh realities of life forced them to be shortsighted.

The situation on Lu Leiyi was even worse. More than half the people in Porcupine Territory were slaves—they were merely Leech’s private property.

If Leech opened a school and told people to attend... he wouldn’t be the only one to think he’d lost his mind. Probably everyone in Porcupine Territory would think he’d lost his mind.

But becoming an apprentice was different. It was a job. It paid money, and the future prospects were better than being a farmer.

"Let them study the slaked lime for now," Leech said.

Then, he summoned Little Limpy again.

Little Limpy had discovered the limestone, which was worthy of a reward. But it was also an undeniable fact that he had tried to get ahead by wasting the Lord’s property.

He would be transferred out of the kitchen to become a mason’s apprentice.

Hopefully, his "dog-shit luck" would continue to shine in the construction team.

Leech didn’t forget to make a grand promise to Little Limpy. If he could master all the skills of a mason and even surpass his teachers, Leech would consider making him captain of the construction team.

Little Limpy didn’t know what a "construction team" was, but the title of "captain" sounded like a path to success!

He accepted this outcome with great excitement, along with the reward of a single Silver Moon "Old Daddy."