Struggle in the Steam Age

"The attacks of the jackals will indeed cost us part of the reindeer." Viscount Surrey told Lawrence in detail about the most important common problems encountered by the reindeer breeding industry before the coal mines in the area were discovered.

"However, with the cover of a strong building, the nomads can also bring a lot of casualties to the group of jackals when they attack, so the number of jackals who came to attack has decreased in recent years. Quite a lot."

Viscount Surrey observed that this situation is actually a very reasonable thing, because although the jackals have an iron head, they have an intelligence similar to that of a civilized race. Losing one's life for the high probability of taking a bite is obviously an obvious thing that is not worthwhile.

So this is the reason why so many people are willing to keep them somehow nomadic in the wild when coal mines are excavated.

Compared with the busy but still dangerous coal mines, the work of herding reindeer is less profitable, but at least safer and easier at the same time.

After chatting for a while, the Viscount Surrey and the men in the house went to check the spaces in the mountains, while Sefil accompanied the pregnant Isabella in the living room drinking tea and chatting.

"I actually thought about renting out those spaces to those coal miners who came to my territory." As he walked through the tunnels leading to those spaces, Viscount Surrey said helplessly.

"It's a pity that those who manage coal mines think it is unacceptable for workers to spend an hour or two on the road every day, and as a coal mine, there is no shortage of cheap fuel for heating-well, here it is. Space."

At the end of the corridor, a huge cave hall about three stories high stood there. Unlike the caves where Lawrence and the others were in before, this huge space may appear warm as spring because it is far from the cold weather outside.

But something bad is that he can feel that this room is very humid, and may not be suitable for human living.

"There are some tiny cracks around these caves," said Huck the Dwarf. "Therefore, the water vapor emerging from the underground hot springs in this area will enter this space through those cracks, and then condense here to make the whole space humid."

"It seems that the amount of water in this place is indeed too much." Lawrence walked a few steps toward the depths of this space, only to find that water was dripping from the ceiling of the cave to his body. "But that doesn't mean that this place can't do something."

"It's planting some fungus or moss." There was an expression on the face of the dwarf Huck that I had thought of this a long time ago. "I thought so, but you should know that there is often sulfur in hot springs, so rely on this thing. The edible fungi grown out carry a strong sulphur smell, and even you humans will be poisoned after eating it."

"Of course I know this, but someone planted a special fungus on my island." Lawrence remembered a special fungus that he and Nora had prepared for the Loka fish under his command.

At that time, the group of Loka fish found an underwater volcano on New Sauer Island, so they approached Lawrence, hoping to help them find out if there are any creatures that can grow in that high-sulfur environment.

For those underwater creatures, an active volcano can be said to be the core of a rich region. Can attract a large number of plankton, and then nurture a large number of seafood.

Correspondingly, the temperature of the water around the volcanic craters will rise to a level that ordinary creatures cannot approach. At the same time, a large area of ​​surrounding space is filled with acidified seawater and various creatures full of sulfur.

In this case, Nora and the people from the agricultural church naturally studied a section about plants and microorganisms that can be grown in this type of area.

Although they did not screen out edible crops that could grow in that area in a short period of time, they still managed to find some organisms with certain economic value.

"Look, it's this kind of thing." Lawrence said as he took out a small test tube from the space bag, and in the test tube there was a small group of yellow fibers soaked in some kind of yellow-green liquid.

"What's this?" Huck the dwarf asked after putting his eyes closer to the little test tube. "This thing looks like—a ball of thread?"

"Almost, this is a special kind of fiber." Lawrence said as he reached into the space bag again, then took out a golden handkerchief from it and handed it to the dwarf.

"This hand roll is made of this fiber. You can take a look and feel the fiber."

"My hands can't feel the quality of this kind of thing." After taking the handkerchief, the dwarf smiled and stretched out a callused and scarred hand to Lawrence, and then handed the handkerchief to Viscount Surrey.

"So Robert, come and appreciate this thing. I think a nobleman should be better at handling these things."

"--Alright, let me see." Viscount Surrey, who knew that he should have come forward at this time, smiled and took the handkerchief in the dwarf's hand, and then his face changed suddenly.

Because Viscount Surrey clearly felt that the handkerchief in his hand was not only light, but also very smooth. It felt like top-quality silk.

But he can swear that the material of this thing is definitely not silk, because he has a lot of silk clothing, and those materials look very different from silk.

"What the **** is this?" Holding this piece of textile and looking at it several times, and even after carefully looking at the oil lamp not far away, Viscount Surrey asked Lawrence in a suspicious tone. To.

"I have a lot of silk products in my hand. In addition to the ones produced by New World, there are also a batch of top-notch silks imported from far away Aurora. But they look obviously different from yours."

"This is not silk, but a kind of fiber formed by fungi." Lawrence did not sell anything, but directly stated what the source of this thing was.

"The place where this kind of fungus is suitable for growth is humid and full of various sulfides, and there should be no too strong sunlight. I think your place should be very suitable except for the bottom of the sea."

"Uh, it fits." Looking at the huge cave in front of him that looked very dark because there were only a few oil lamps, Viscount Surrey paused and then handed the handkerchief to Lawrence.

"By the way, can you talk about the specific situation of this thing? For example, how should this thing be farmed?"

"In fact, this thing grows more like planting." Lawrence said after taking the handkerchief.

"After placing the strains on some organic medium ~www.ltnovel.com~ they will slowly grow in this high sulfur and humid environment. After more than half a year of cultivation, this thing will grow to approximately It is as long as a palm and a half, and it can be harvested at that time."

"Does this thing consume a lot of manpower?" Viscount Surrey asked seriously. "You know there are not many people in my territory, so if I consume too much manpower, it may be difficult for me to promote this industry."

"Not much at all, otherwise I wouldn't recommend this to you." Lawrence said, shaking the small bottle containing the bacteria in his hand.

"At least that group of mermaids can manage a one-hectare plantation with only five or six people. Although their management plan is a bit too rough, it also shows that this thing is indeed easier to raise from another aspect."

"But I need to remind you that the length of the fiber of this thing is already a palm and a half, and it is also very difficult to weave two fibers together because the fibers are very smooth and soft."

Looking at Viscount Surrey with a happy face, Lawrence felt that there were some things that needed to be reminded. "So unless some extraordinary power is used, this fiber can at best be a little gadget."