Boundless Family Upgrades For The Deadbeat Lord

”Two weeks?”

Harlan nodded carefully.

Raymond looked back at the field. For the first few seconds, fourteen days sounded painfully slow. Fifteen hectares wasn’t exactly an entire province. Back on Earth, machines could probably process land like this at a speed that would make the current operation look prehistoric.

Then he actually paid attention to what was happening in front of him. There were no combine harvesters, no tractors, no proper transport wagons.No paved roads and no large supply of healthy horses.

Almost every crop had to be cut, picked, bundled, sorted, carried, loaded, and transported by human hands. Worse, those human hands belonged to people who had spent more than a year starving.

Even after one month of food, most of them still couldn’t work continuously for long periods without becoming exhausted.

Raymond let out a slow breath.

”Fourteen days is acceptable,” he said. ”But do not turn that estimate into some ridiculous competition. I want the harvest completed quickly, yes, but speed is secondary to keeping people alive.”

Gideon nodded immediately.

Raymond continued, his eyes fixed on the workers. ”If someone becomes dizzy, rotate them out. If someone’s hands start shaking, give them water and food. If anyone collapses, work in that section stops until we know why. I don’t care if it costs us half a day.”

Harlan hesitated slightly. ”My Lord, if we slow the work too much, we may lose some produce.”

”We still have time before the real winter settles over us,” Raymond replied. ”What I do not have is an unlimited supply of people. A spoiled basket of tomatoes can be replaced. A dead farmer cannot.”

The two men went silent. That answer seemed to affect them more than Raymond expected.Harlan lowered his head deeply.

”Understood, my Lord. We will not push anyone beyond what their bodies can handle.”

”Good.”

Raymond gave both of them a satisfied nod, then looked toward the southern edge of the basin where the transport teams were working.

His expression froze. Several crude wooden wagons stood near the edge of the field, already loaded with grain, vegetables, and crates of produce.

The wagons were ugly things, built hastily from recycled timber, reinforced with rough iron strips wherever the town blacksmiths had managed to find enough material.That wasn’t what bothered him.

What bothered him was what had been attached to them.

Raymond slowly narrowed his eyes.

One of his Bronze Rank Knights was standing in front of a massive wagon piled high with corn. A thick rope had been looped across the warrior’s armored torso like some enormous harness. The knight leaned forward slightly and began pulling.

The wagon moved effortlessly.

Another Bronze Knight was dragging a cart loaded with bundles of wheat.

Farther away, one of the Silver Rank Knightshad been assigned to an even larger wagon carrying vegetables, sacks, and several wooden crates stacked so high that the entire thing looked dangerously unbalanced.

The knight wasn’t struggling. He wasn’t even breathing heavily. He was walking at the pace of someone taking an afternoon stroll.

Raymond stared in complete silence.

A faint ache formed behind his eyes.

”These men could probably tear through a castle gate with their bare hands,” he muttered under his breath. ”And I’m using them as horses.”

Gideon glanced at him. ”My Lord?”

”Nothing.” Raymond rubbed his forehead.

What a complete waste of military power.

Then another thought occurred to him.

He watched the Silver Knight pull the overloaded wagon farther down the road.

The bastard was actually moving faster than any horse Raymond had seen since arriving in this world.

Raymond’s lips twitched. They’re better than horses.

That somehow made the entire situation feel even worse.

He stood there for another moment, suffering internally while one of the strongest fighting forces in the Zulor Region casually hauled onions toward town.

Eventually, practicality defeated dignity.

Raymond sighed. ”Fine. At least they’re useful.”

The transport operation continued steadily throughout the morning.

Loaded wagons left the basin one after another, moving along the dusty road stretching back toward the town roughlya kilometer away. Once the produce was unloaded into the temporary storage facilities, the same carts returned empty to be filled again.

From the elevated basin entrance, the entire movement looked strangely organized.

Wagons moved toward town. Empty carts came back.

Workers filled baskets.

Baskets filled wagons.

Guards moved between sections.

Harvest teams rotated.

For the first time, Raymond could actuallysee the beginnings of a supply chain forming.

Farm.

Transport.

Storage.

It was crude, slow, and embarrassingly dependent on superhuman knights pretending to be draft animals, but it worked.

And that was enough.

Several hours passed before Raymond finally decided there was no longer any reason for him to remain personally involved. Gideon and Harlan were handling the harvest well.

Boris’s guards had the perimeter secured, and the summoned knights were dealing with transport and heavy lifting.

Raymond called the two farmers over.

They wiped the sweat from their faces and walked toward him.

Raymond placed one hand on Harlan’s shoulder and the other on Gideon’s.

”I’m leaving the harvest in your hands.”

Both men immediately straightened.

”I want this completed quickly, but remember what I said. Do not exhaust the workers for the sake of finishing one day earlier. Rotate them whenever necessary, and make sure everyone eats and drinks during the shifts.”

Harlan nodded firmly.

”If a magic beast appears, alert Captain Boris immediately. Do not try to handle it yourselves. And if the wagons begin falling behind, slow the harvesting teams down instead of piling fresh produce outside where it can spoil.”

Gideon gave a serious nod.

”We understand, my Lord. You can leave the basin to us.”

Raymond looked between them for another second before giving each shoulder a firm pat.

”I know I can.”

The two farmers bowed.

Raymond turned toward the distant town.

”I need to return to the castle. Lily should be returning soon, and unfortunately, foodisn’t the only thing that keeps people alive during winter.”

With that, Raymond began walking away from the basin.

Behind him, the harvest continued without slowing.

Sickles moved through golden wheat. Baskets filled with vegetables. Crude wagons creaked beneath heavy loads while armored knights pulled them along the dusty road toward town. From a distance, the long procession looked like a line of busy ants carrying everything they could gather back toward their nest before winter arrived.

Raymond glanced over his shoulder only once.

The green oasis was slowly being harvested section by section, while the barren wasteland surrounding it remained unchanged.

For the first time in decades, the people of Althoff were not gathering scraps simply to survive another day.

They were gathering a harvest large enough to prepare for tomorrow.