AWDC Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Returning Home to Toriholi

Our family was once again living in Toriholi, just like before. My house in Toriholi was, as always, next to Tom’s. Although I held a position in the capital and was forcibly made an Earl by Elliot, and thus officially joined the ranks of the nobility, I wanted to return to my old life in the village. My residence remained as it was, a part of Toriholi’s residential area, and not at all like a typical Earl’s mansion.

This was also related to the development and history of Toriholi Village. Toriholi Village, once a poor village, had succeeded in developing the Datar Plateau, expanding and flourishing, and now possessed some of the most fertile farmland in the country. Therefore, Roy (currently John) managed it as a magistrate, while I oversaw the agricultural development. The area of land managed by Roy and me far surpassed the holdings of other nobles. The wheat produced from it was equivalent to that of dozens of ordinary nobles combined. Roy and I held more power than ordinary nobles. And when the Robertson family became Marquises, and I became an Earl, Roy also became a Viscount. At that point, we discussed how to handle Roy’s and my territories.

“Dividing the Datar territory would not be good for the future of the Robertson family.” I believed that the Robertson family possessing both Toriholi and Datar would be comparable to the Midland and Gregg families.

“Wouldn’t that make it impossible to maintain appearances as nobles?” The lord was concerned about Roy and me, who had developed Toriholi Village.

“Instead of land, it would be fine to compensate us with a salary.”

That was what Roy and I felt. To maintain appearances befitting nobles, we didn’t need land.

Furthermore, I decided not to be particular about my residence as a noble. Compared to when we had just gotten married, the family had grown, and we had come to have servants, so we had to expand the house. However, I didn’t change the gate or the fence. We had a guest room and a reception room, but they were more like those of a merchant in the capital than a noble. They were about 10 tatami mats in size, without elaborate ornaments or furniture, a practical house, so to speak.

“Your house doesn’t look like a noble’s mansion at all,” Elliot had said when he first came to my house in Toriholi. Even though he said it so bluntly, I didn’t feel any malice because it was him.

“How was the hotel service?” I asked gently.

“It was quite good. The room’s design and service were impeccable.”

“Then, even if I don’t improve my house, you can stay comfortably in Toriholi,” I said, and Elliot stopped commenting on the small size of my house.

Important guests could stay in the hotel’s VIP rooms. The house was for the family to live in, and I didn’t think we needed anything more than that.

However, now that the Robertson family had become Marquises, more people would be visiting from all over the country. For that reason, we would eventually need facilities like a guesthouse. But in the current situation, with the government in the capital being hostile, there was no need for that for the time being.

In any case, I lived in the same house as before and interacted with the neighbors in the same way.

Of course, Tom and Cathy next door welcomed our family’s return home just like old times.

“I’m so happy to see familiar faces returning like this.”

“That’s right, Toma’s children have all grown up healthy and big.”

“Speaking of which, aren’t Tom’s children all adults now too?”

“No, they’re still only half-grown.” Even as he said that, Tom’s face was beaming.

Tom’s sons had all become carpenters, the eldest and second sons had already married and built houses nearby, and the youngest son was about to get married soon. Tom’s construction company had become the largest in Toriholi, and his sons were involved in its management. He had raised them all himself, so it was understandable that he would be proud.

The children quickly got used to life in Toriholi.

Tom and his wife doted on them like grandchildren, and the lord and his wife were equally fond of their real grandchildren. Also, Krim’s house had children who were a little older.

So, the children would often go to play at Tom’s or Krim’s place next door, or at the lord’s mansion.

And when I occasionally returned home, they would all try to sit on my lap.

“That’s not fair, only big sister gets to sit there!” “Weren’t you just being held by Papa?” “Hey, Papa, fold some paper for me!”

I had four children: Marina, Robin, Allen, and Jessie, two boys and two girls. Each of them wanted to monopolize me, since I was rarely home.

I was kept busy dealing with such children.

Indeed, even after returning to the village, I was often away from home due to the coal mine development and other projects. So, whenever I had free time, I would play with the children and sometimes teach them origami.

Come to think of it, my eldest daughter was already 13, and it wouldn’t be long before she stopped coming near me. I wanted to have as much physical contact as possible until then.

Right now, she was going to the lord’s mansion to learn etiquette. Since I was oblivious to noble etiquette, I wanted to make sure that the children at least learned it properly.

“The young lady has become even more refined,” the servant attending her said.

To me, she was just a tomboyish and precocious daughter, but she seemed different to others.

When Marina was born, I had been flustered by the unfamiliar task of raising a child. Marina’s crying at night had kept me up, but by the time the younger children came along, I had gotten used to it. I think I had left the younger children more to their own devices, but it’s impossible to raise all children equally. I truly feel that children grow up fast.

After spending a day providing family service like that, it was night and I was alone with Margarita.

“You must be tired today. The children were very happy,” she said with a smile.

“I’m the one who’s grateful to you for always taking care of the children.”

“Thank you. But, please don’t push yourself too hard.”

I couldn’t say anything when she said that.

“If the coal we’re developing now goes well, the village will get even better, and you’ll have an easier time too.”

I usually tried not to talk about work, but I wanted to make Margarita happy, so I blurted it out.

The coal mine development was progressing smoothly.

We had laid rails from the coal mine to the village, and coal could now be transported by rail carriage. From there, we started supplying the village households with easy-to-use forms such as briquettes and coal balls.

The excavated coal was bituminous coal, which was immature in carbonization and generated smoke and odor when burned, so it was disliked as it was, and no one would use it. By mixing it with clay, wood pitch, and other materials, we suppressed the generation of smoke and odor. The briquettes were kneaded and solidified into a cylindrical shape, with more than 10 small holes running vertically to make them easy to burn. We also made a stove to match the shape of the briquettes. It was a Japanese-style brazier. It was also cylindrical, and the fire could be adjusted simply by opening and closing the air intake at the bottom. The top of the stove was also designed so that the pot could be placed stably and the heat would circulate throughout the pot.

I immediately had Margarita and Cathy try it out.

“This is easy to use. It burns for a long time, so it’s not as troublesome as stoking firewood, and it’s good that you can adjust the heat,” Cathy approved.

We made it so that briquettes could be used for long cooking, and coal balls could be used for short cooking.

Furthermore, we developed a coal stove. It was made of cast iron and had a round body, with a structure that allowed coal to be loaded from the top and ash to be removed from the bottom.

“Papa, this is so warm.” When we turned on the stove at home for the first time, the children were overjoyed. Seeing their happy faces made me feel that the hard work was worth it.

The stove was still expensive, and it was necessary to install a chimney, so it would take time for it to become widespread, but eventually every house would have a chimney.

Cutting down wood from the distant forest was hard labor. Women and children could carry out small, withered branches, but cutting down living trees and making them into firewood was difficult even for grown men. Specialized woodcutters would cut down trees from distant mountains and transport them using horses. More than anything, once the trees in the forest were cut down, there would be no more wood for firewood there for more than ten years, and they would have to go even further away. The cost would continue to increase, and the nearby forests would disappear.

In comparison, the eastern coal mine had abundant reserves and would take a long time to be exhausted.

Above all, once we connected it with rails, it would be easy to transport. For these reasons, coal would eventually become the main fuel, replacing firewood and charcoal.

While working on the coal development, two years had passed since I returned to the village.