Quinn
I watched as Aldric and ten other men left, along with Liam who had volunteered to join the monster subjugation team, and Vincent and Theo. Once they were out of sight, I turned on my heel and went inside the great hall. There, I requested, with the aid of Uncle Colt with his loud, commanding voice, that everyone put on their jackets and head outside. When the hall was cleared of people, I summon my magic circle, and within moments, the glass windows were replaced, this one double-glazed. Done, I dusted my hands and allowed everyone to re-enter. Uncle Colt, Mr. Morton, Allan, and most of the men couldn't stop marveling at the windows.
One of the men, a Mr. Robert Lamont, said, "How do you get two glass windows in like that, my lady."
I chuckled. "Magic?"
About an hour later, Uncle Colt, Mr. Morton, Allan, Mark, Eden, and I were trekking through the snow, headed toward the main storage buildings, which were a ten-minute walk away from the great hall. I saw that one of the building's stone walls were black with soot, undoubtedly from fire, and parts of the walls had crumbled, but not the other.
Mark led us into the damaged one and showed me the inside. The space was large, the same size as a big warehouse, and filled with what could only be ashes, remains, of what once were supplies—wheat and rye and barley, the staples of Norsewood, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions, and more.
"We salvaged what we could," Mark said. "And have moved those into another storage closer to the kitchen and great hall."
I nodded and then asked, "What about the other building? The one next to this one? Why isn't that one damaged like this one?"
Allan answered that. He said, "That smaller one we used to store the livestock feeds. It has not been touched by the enemy. They saw no benefit in expending time and effort in those when they could destroy our livestock itself."
Was that why I hadn't seen any animals, such as cows or pigs or even chickens, around? A good way to cripple the people of Norsewood, I supposed. Obliterating their supplies and livestock and let them suffer and slowly starve to death. How horrible. I was surprised they didn't think to poison the water wells, too.
I surveyed the area once more, knowing there was nothing more that could be salvaged here. To Mark, I said, "Can you please show me that smaller storage next door?"
He nodded, and we filed out.
Though this storage was smaller, it was still the size of a decent warehouse, and I wondered how much animal feed they had in here. Too bad we couldn't make good use of it until we replenished the livestock, and that'd have to wait until spring when travel was possible.
Mark unlocked and then opened the double door, and the moment I stepped in and eyed what was before me, I thought, holy shit, I spoke too soon.
Piled high from floor to ceiling was a type of grain—very familiar-looking one, and I rushed forward, my heart racing with excitement.
Behind me, Allan said, "It's hard cultivating them, but that part of our land close to the Northern Alps is not much good for the likes of wheat or barely or rye. Considering our circumstances, I think it's good, economically speaking, to try something else when spring comes."
I bent down and gathered a bunch in my cupped hands, chuckling. "Don't! Please don't stop cultivating these."
"But they're not economically sound, my lady," Allan said.
Mr. Morton said, "There's no market for them, lassie. No one would even buy them as chicken feed when they can use corn, which is widely available and cheap."
I spun around and said, "Then I will make them economically sound. By the way, what do you call these grains?"
"Rice," Eden said.
"The name is even the same," I said, looking closely at the grains.
These were the short varieties, and I wondered if they were like the Japanese or Korean rice. If so, they'd be perfect for sushi and kimbap and would go great with any sort of Asian dishes when steamed, especially when they were so moist and soft.
I turned my attention to the vast pile again and asked, "How much do you think is in here?"
"That much," Allan said, "usually last for at least five years as livestock feed."
"I see," I said. "It's quite a lot." I bet this could just feed Norsewood for the next two years as a staple. Grinning, I asked, "So to be clear, this is of no use without livestock?"
Mr. Morton nodded. "Until we get them again, which won't be until spring..."
"Lady and gentlemen," I said as I allowed the grains to fall through my fingers back onto the pile. "I'm going to be turning this mountain of rice into something we can eat."
"Something we can eat?" Eden asked. "But it's livestock feed."
"Then I think it's no longer just livestock feed," I said. "I'm going to use my magic to remove the hulls and mill the rice."
"Can rice be milled, too?" Mark asked.
I nodded. "It's grain, after all." Then I raised my hands and summoned my magic. A massive circle appeared and glowed, and within moments, every single grain of rice rose in the air and then when they came down into a pile again, they were perfectly white, leaving another pile of husks on the other side.
Eden said, "Oh, my." She rushed forward and inspected the grains. "They're so white."
"The husks can be used as animal feed," I said. "Now, let's get some of this wonderful rice and start cooking. It's just about time to start preparing dinner."
"If we can really make rice something that's consumable by humans..." Allan said, his eyes wide, as if he had just seen the light for the first time.
I chuckled. "Is Norsewood the only region in Athol that grows rice?"
Uncle Colt said, "Not just Athol, lassie, but the whole world. Norsewood is the only place in the world that cultivates rice."
Really now, I thought, a Cheshire grin on my face. I said, "Then it looks like we have a monopoly on rice."
Half an hour later, I had everything set up in the great hall—massive pots for rice cooking, magic portable stoves, more iron pots for making the main dish, and the ingredients. Of course, I won't be using my magic to instantly make food this evening.
I stood on a makeshift platform, some stacked wooden boxes, and once everyone assembled, Uncle Colt's loud voice echoed, "Quiet, everyone! Lady Quinn will make a small speech now."
Cheeks heating up crimson, I said, "Thank you, Uncle Colt."
"Pleasure, lassie," the man said.
I cleared my throat, and facing my audience, I said, "Hello, everyone, I'm Quinn Fairchild, Lord Aldric's bride."
"My lady!" one voice echoed from the back.
"My lady," another came, along with a hand waving.
I chuckled and then continued. "I know it's a rough start to our meeting, and I know it has been difficult for everyone for the past month, for the past years, in fact. Now, I'll get straight to the important matter at hand. I know that most of the supplies have been destroyed by the unknown enemy, but we've discovered that rice is not one of them. From now on, we'll be using rice as our staple until the other grains become abundant again."
There were echoes of comments, mostly confusion and doubts as to whether rice was edible by humans.
I said, "Where I came from, rice was one of the major staples for humans' consumption, and I will show you how to cook it. Also, we'll need volunteers in preparing the meals. For tonight, we'll make Japanese chicken curry served with rice, and for dessert, we'll have chocolate cake."
"Oh, chocolate cake," Maria said loudly. "Delicious!"
The women and children turned to Maria, and Jonah asked, "Is chocolate cake that nice?"
Maria nodded. "Oh, yes. It's made by the same ingredient as hot cocoa."
At hearing that, the children started jumping up and down and chanting, "We want chocolate cake. Please, we want chocolate cake."
I chuckled. "Yes, yes, but first we need to prepare our dinner. Whoever volunteers will get double the serving of chocolate cake." I couldn't believe I was bribing for help with chocolate cake.
"Me, I'll help!" It was Max.
"Me, too," Rosie said.
"Me, three," Josh jumped up and down with his hand up in the air.
"Me, four," Declan said.
"I'll help, too," Hannah said, and then more women and teens, and even some men, put their hands up. Of course, the children were the loudest, though I doubt they'd be of any help. More of a hindrance, I suspected.
Now, on to the next topic. I said, "This is winter, and we'll be stuck inside for the next two to three months. Since the hall is too small to fit everyone in comfortably, I have permission from Aldric, I mean Lord Norsewood, to make a temporary shelter. Now, it won't be anything fancy, but there'll be a unit for each family. Since we need to know how many families there are here, and how many people in each family, we need to register everyone in our system before I can start working on the floor plan. We'll set up a station in here tomorrow, so if you could please come up and get yours and your family members registered, that would be wonderful." I paused and looked around, noting excitement as well as confusion as to what this meant.
I continued. "Once again, since we're stuck inside for a good period of time, for our physical and mental health, we need to keep ourselves busy, and to do that, I'll need to know what you usually do during this time of the year. I think it's also a good idea if you can make suggestions. For example, I'm thinking of having classrooms for teaching and learning, both children and adults, to promote self-improvement and activities."
A hand went up. "What type of teaching and learning will we be doing, my lady?"
"Good question," I said. "I know not everyone is literate, so I'm thinking of teaching everyone how to read and write, both in the common and divine language." Which was basically English.
There were a lot of noise at hearing this.
I said, "There are many advantages in knowing how to read and write. You already know that only nobles and the very wealthy are literate, and personally, I don't think that's fair. From where I came from, almost everyone is literate and attending school is free up to a certain age. Parents, don't you think if your child is educated, then they'd have a better chance out there in the world?"
Goodness, I didn't even know why I had to sell the idea of an education to them like this, but it couldn't be helped when I saw the uncertainty in their eyes. I guess as low-class commoners, becoming literate was so against the norm in this world that even the mere suggestion itself frightened them.
There was some nodding of the heads, however, which pleased me. Hannah said, "I'd like my children to be educated, my lady. If they're allowed the opportunity, I'll be glad to have them attend lessons."
"Me, too," another mother said.
"I want to learn," Max said, putting his hands up.
Rosie nodded her head. "Me, too."
More raised their hands, expressing their interests, and I couldn't be happier at the outcome.
I chuckled in delight. It looked like classrooms would need to be added to the floor plan of the temporary shelter.
I said, "Then tomorrow, we'll set up another station where you can inform us of your suggestions. Now, let's prepare dinner."
I stepped down from the hazardous platform and was just turning to the cooks when the door at the end of the hall opened, allowing a gust of cold air to invade the warm space. Men, women, and children in ragged clothing, looking cold and haggard, came filing in. These must be the civilian the rescue team brought back. Mark, Frances, and a few other people immediately went to aid and guide them to sit close to the fireplace so they could warm themselves up while the maids handed out mugs of hot cocoas.
There were fifty new arrivals, and to be honest, I hadn't a clue how the rescue team managed to fit that many into three minibus carriages, probably stacked them in like a can of sardines, but they managed, and I applauded them for that. They seemed nervous and felt out of place and looked around in curiosity, though some recognized and knew the others who were already here, and soon, there was animated chatting, and the hall was filled with loud noises once again. Hence, we began with the cooking.
I retrieved bags of rice out of my magic storage. When I poured some into the pots, heads were gathered, and eyes were marveling at the white grains.
"First we wash the rice," I said and summoned my water magic circle. Once the pots were filled with water, the volunteers started scrubbing the grains between their hands and some stirred the pots with big wooden sticks. "We wash two to three times until the water is clear," I said as they scooped and drained the water into wooden buckets. "We can use that water for something else. We won't throw those away."
Once the washing was done, I said, "We'll fill the water up to about here." I used the easy technique Dad had taught me, the Asian way, which was to measure with your finger. "Place your finger at the top of the rice and if the top of the water is around the first line, it's perfect. Or simply add twice the amount of water as you do with the rice. For example, one cup of rice will need two cups of water."
Once the rice was set to cook by turning on the portable stove, we switched our attention to making the Japanese chicken curry. The other half of the volunteers had already prepared the ingredients I had magically conjured such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and onions. The delicious aroma quickly filled the hall once the onion was being sautéed and browned and the chunks of chicken were added and started sizzling.
"Once the chicken is brown, we can add the vegetables and water," I said.
"It's brown, my lady," Mrs. Burton said.
"Let's add the vegetables," Mrs. Irene March, the second cook, said.
The chopped vegetables were added into the pots and gentle stirring ensued.
"Now I'll add in the water," I said and summoned my magic with water flowing into the pots. Afterward, the cooks pulled the lids onto the pots, leaving a little space to allow steam out.
"Let's leave those to simmer," I said.
"My lady, the rice is boiling!" another cook shouted.
I walked over, as well as everyone else, to inspect the rice. Already, the aroma was filling the room. Strangely enough, I always liked the smell of rice cooking.
"Once boiled and the water is gone, we can lower the heat," I said, and then turned down the dial on the stove. "We'll leave it for another ten to twenty minutes, and it'll be done."
While we waited, I summoned my magic circle, and because they probably instinctively knew what was happening, the children came scurrying over on their little legs and swarmed around me, waiting expectantly.
The magic circle glowed, and on the table, trays of chocolate cakes materialized, along with pots of chocolate custards.
The children started jumping up and down again, their fingers pointing at the tray of cakes, as they chanted, "Chocolate cake! Chocolate cake!"
Frances, Eden, Sara, and the other mothers chuckled at seeing their children so lively. I bet they weren't like this before, and of course, Eden started crying at the same time. That woman seemed to tear up so easily.
Frances said, "You can't have dessert until after you've finished your curry rice."
I turned to Frances and burst out laughing. Curry rice. She used the exact name the Japanese had for the dish. I said, "That's right; no dessert if you don't finish your curry rice first."
"I'll finish my curry rice," Jonah said.
"Me, too," Leo said.
"Me, three," Max said.
"Me, four," Declan said.
Finally, the curry had enough time to simmer and the meat and vegetables were tender, so I instructed the cooks to open the lids.
"Break the curry roux, put them in the pot, and stir them in gently," I said as I turned off the heat.
"Oh, look, it's melting," Mrs. Burton said.
"And it smells amazing," Frances said.
I said, "I think it's time to serve."
Lines were formed as people started picking up plates, not food trays this time. The children, eager to impress, lined up as well, and the adults, amused, allowed them to go first.
"Thank you," Abi said, barely able to hold on to her plate.
"Thank you," Alex said, and then the two toddled after their big brother Jonah, while their nursemaids followed behind with their own plates. Once the children and the elderlies were served, everyone else finally had the chance to taste rice curry.
There was a lot of oohs and aahs and mmms as they had Japanese chicken curry served with rice for the first time. Looking around, I felt a sense of satisfaction that everyone, even the new people who looked absolutely astonished at seeing such a luxurious meal, seemed to enjoy the food, and more so, the rice since I wanted to make it a big hit as a new, additional staple in this world. I glanced around and noted that it wasn't just me, but it appeared Uncle Colt, Mr. Morton, Mark, and Allan as well.
"My lady, this is really rice?" Allan asked. He looked stunned, and why wouldn't he be? It was one of the best staples, after all.
I said, "That's right. It's rice."
"I can't believe we have had this right under our noses, and we've never done anything with it for hundreds of years," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Uncle Colt said, "I must say, I could eat this every day and I wouldn't be tired of it."
Mark asked, "Are there more ways to serve rice, Quinn?"
I nodded. "Oh, definitely. There are many more ways to serve rice. There's rice risotto, but that'd require a different type of rice, of course, and there's paella, rice porridge, fried rice, and there are more different types of dishes that can be serve with rice like this curry."
"I see," Mark said, looking both amazed and dazed at the same time.
When Allan stared at his plate while eating, I knew the gears in his brain were turning. Yes, Allan, if we somehow can introduce this to the public, we'd monopolize the market and turn the world on its head. I imagined gold coin signs were appearing in Allan's eyes. I could just bet if that was possible, Norsewood would become one of the wealthiest regions in the world.
Suddenly, a loud noise caught my attention, and I saw the children come running up to me, Abi and Alex amongst them.
"I finished the rice curry," one said. "Look. Clean plate."
I burst out laughing. They were eager, weren't they. I said, "All right, let's have chocolate cake."
I personally served them the cake, placing a square piece on a small plate and then ladled the thick chocolate custard on top. "Here you go," I said, handing the plates to Abi and Alex.
"Thank you," the two little darlings said, and then they toddled off to where the other children were.
Soon after, there were a lot of tears as well as laughter while eating the chocolate cake, and I had to shake my head. The Norsewood people sure did have a strange way of showing their happiness.