Chapter 70: 70 Using the Curved-Plank Plow

Chapter 70: 70. Using the Curved-Shaft Plow

After his brief meeting with the village heads and group leaders, the specifics of how the tasks would be executed and supervised fell to Wilson’s responsibilities. Accompanied by Chakhar and Gallon, Ronning himself headed to Kalers’s forge to take a close look at the completed curved-shaft plow.

The forge remained as cluttered as it had been last time, with broken bone tools, pottery, stone implements, and other items scattered haphazardly everywhere. Only a small cleared space in the center held the finished curved-shaft plow. Had Chakhar not informed Kalers beforehand that the lord would be visiting today for inspection, Kalers likely wouldn’t have bothered clearing even that central spot.

“Lord, you’ve finally arrived!”

Kalers and his son Bal greeted them from afar. “We assembled the curved-shaft plow yesterday, just waiting for you to test its effectiveness!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Kalers.”

Ronning maintained a friendly smile. “I’m also eager to see your achievement. Lead the way, quickly.”

Under the guidance of Kalers and his son, Ronning entered the forge and immediately spotted the curved-shaft plow placed on the small clean patch of ground in the center. His eyes lit up as he strode over, examining it carefully from front to back, then crouching to inspect the plowshare. Its shape and size closely matched what he remembered.

“Kalers, people in town say your forging skills are excellent, and today I finally witness it!”

He couldn’t help praising the man. “This curved-shaft plow achieves nearly ninety-nine percent of my design—very impressive!”

With the lord’s affirmation, Kalers’s tense mood relaxed, and he secretly felt proud of his craftsmanship, though he remained humble in speech.

“Your design drawings were so clear, Lord. I simply followed them.”

Ronning grasped the front end of the plow handle and lifted the curved-shaft plow slightly. Though it had some weight, as a mid-level knight, it felt trivial, effortlessly lifted.

“It’s a bit heavy for ordinary people.”

He examined the plow body and asked, “Do you have estimates for the weights of the iron plowshare and moldboard, and the wooden plow body?”

Kalers knew this well and promptly replied, “Lord, the plowshare and moldboard likely weigh five pounds, forged from five pounds of iron. The plow body is birch wood fetched by Chakhar and William’s son, weighing roughly a hundred pounds.”

Ronning glanced at the plow body. “Truly William’s son—the plow body is well-made too.”

The young lad Bal beside him couldn’ hold back. “Lord, I helped him make it!”

Before he finished, Kalers hurriedly covered Bal’s mouth, looking apologetically at Ronning. “Lord, please forgive Bal’s rudeness.”

Ronning chuckled. “Bal, right? How old are you?”

Bal freed himself from his father’s hand and loudly answered, “I’m thirteen, Lord!”

“Excellent, your skills are also great!”

Ronning smiled. “Learn forging well from your father, and oh—also master making the plow body. I might need your help in many ways later.”

Speaking so much with the lord thrilled Bal. After the lord’s encouragement, he firmly nodded. “Lord, I will study diligently!”

Kalers’s trade would eventually pass to Bal, and Ronning indeed hoped the lad would deepen his forging skills. From his experience buying wrought iron in Herding City, he realized this world’s iron-smelting technology wasn’t as advanced as he imagined. The so-called wrought iron was actually spongy iron, reduced from ore at low temperatures. Smiths used this wrought iron to forge various tools, weapons, and armor.

This method worked for forging weapons, as demand was relatively smaller, but for mass-producing farm tools, it would exhaust the smiths. To solve this, the specific approach was to produce liquid iron, pouring molten iron into molds for direct shaping, enabling large-scale, batch production of farm tools.

But observing Kalers’s forge, with its open furnace and modest leather bellows, Ronning doubted achieving higher smelting temperatures easily. Clearly, Ronning needed to apply his knowledge again. First, design a bellows, then redesign the furnace to raise temperatures enough to produce pig iron. He noted this task and then instructed everyone, “Let’s go test the curved-shaft plow’s effectiveness.”

Bal had long been impatient, hastily carrying the yoke. Ronning signaled Gallon and others to help Kalers carry the curved-shaft plow outside. In the nearby fields, Chakhar had already arranged for a herdsman to bring one of the castle’s black water buffaloes.

Under Ronning’s direct guidance, everyone hastily mounted the yoke on the buffalo’s neck and connected the yoke to the plow beam with linen rope.

“During use, adjust the plow arrow’s position based on soil conditions to ensure the plowshare contacts the land at a proper angle.”

Ronning personally adjusted it, setting a rough position, then signaled the herdsman to start.

Upon the lord’s command, the herdsman lightly flicked the whip. Hearing the instruction, the black water buffalo began moving forward. The buffalo’s pace wasn’t fast, but its strength was great, pulling the curved-shaft plow forward under the rope’s traction.

Initially, the herdsman struggled to control the plow’s direction well, coupled with nervousness and unfamiliarity, so plowing was poor. But having some experience, after multiple adjustments, he finally achieved smooth ploughing.

Kalers, Chakhar, Gallon, and others following closely behind exclaimed in awe.

“Heavens, it ploughs so deep!”

“Not only deep, but looks incredibly smooth, much easier than several people pulling a light plow!”

Before becoming a manservant, Gallon had farmed and plowed land, using either a hoe or light plow, whether by human force or ox-pulling—none could be done by one person and one ox alone; he always had helpers nearby. But now, one herdsman with one ox could easily plough this thirty-meter-long plot!

If bystanders were excited, the herdsman operating it was even more amazed—he felt holding not a plow, but a divine instrument!

“This is... truly unbelievable!”

The herdsman trembled intensely—he only needed slight directional control, walking behind. Though it still consumed some energy, compared to previous ploughing, this method was far lighter!

After finishing one row, while directing the buffalo to turn and slightly controlling the plow handle, he easily achieved turning under the ox’s pull. Such effortless, convenient operation stunned him further.

“Look, so many earthworms!” Bal crouched nearby, pointing at the active earthworms on the soil surface, shouting excitedly.

Earthworms appeared during ordinary labor, but never as many as now. Ronning wasn’t surprised by this phenomenon, since the curved-shaft plow dug deeper than light plows or manual ploughing, plus the moldboard shattered soil clumps, fully turning out earthworms inside.

What concerned him more was soil quality. He crouched beside the plowed furrow, pinching the soil—quite moist, observing its black appearance and numerous earthworms, clearly indicating rich fertility.

Evidently, the land quality in Mountain Forest Town was decent, explaining why casually planting barley yielded ninety pounds per acre. He patted the soil, stood up, and asked the herdsman, “How do you feel using the curved-shaft plow?”

Though the herdsman had seen the lord during his earlier “employment,” facing the lord directly now still made him nervous. After pondering a moment, the herdsman voiced his feelings.

“Lord, this is the most miraculous, unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

He exaggerated, “Operating a light plow usually needed two or three people, but just now I alone could operate it easily—not only faster, but especially energy-saving!”

The herdsman surveyed this fallow field. “If I had to cultivate this land alone, it’d likely take two or three days, but now with this curved-shaft plow and this ox, Lord, I guarantee finishing in just one day!”

Though the herdsman’s description was exaggerated, Ronning understood the curved-shaft plow indeed brought farmers great convenience and efficiency, reducing ploughing and cultivation difficulty.

Now, it was about how to mass-produce it.

End of Chapter