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The instant Leo laid eyes on Bobak, the image that popped into his mind was that of Teacher Yuan.
And the golden paddy fields full of rich harvests behind him!
In contrast, in the fragmented memories of the original owner, Leo, the scene of the wheat fields in his hometown in the Northern Region was simply dismal.
The sparse rye was sprawling haphazardly, with about a dozen shriveled grains on each ear of wheat.
The yield was even lower than that of the weeds and wild barnyard grass in the paddy fields of his past life!
The backward agricultural techniques and crops that were not adapted to the environment were both important factors restricting the development of the Northern Region.
In the sparsely populated Northern Region with vast land, not every place was suitable for reclaiming wasteland. Except for the large stretches of farmland on the plains of the Anzerno River Basin, most of the areas further north were grasslands and forests.
In many parts of the Northern Region, it took one acre of land to support just one person, but the labor cost of reclaiming one acre of land far exceeded the income brought by this acre of land.
Not to mention that the yeomen with limited grain stocks couldn't afford it, even ordinary village heads and minor knight lords couldn't either. So they could only earn a living through nomadism, fishing, and hunting from generation to generation.
Just like the Great Northern Wilderness in his past life, geographical conditions, social factors, timing, and religion all constrained the development of agricultural civilization.
But can you really say that the Great Northern Wilderness isn't suitable for farming?
It's just that the technology and productivity aren't up to par.
Bobak could see through Leo's little thoughts at a glance.
In his hundreds of years of life experience, he had seen this kind of person and situation all too often.
Every ambitious, capable, and aspiring person, upon seeing him for the first time, would think about how to make use of his knowledge.
If he was swayed by a few words like Freya every time he reached a strange settlement and worked his butt off for others, then his five hundred years of life would have been a waste.
Moreover, his five-hundred-year life experience and the elven ancient scrolls that were tens of thousands of years old both told him that the more humans learn, the quicker the world will be destroyed.
But the insights and thoughts of this human kid in front of him were really quite interesting.
So he dropped the idea of leaving early with Freya and instead continued to shoot the breeze with Leo with great interest.
The two talked from day to night, and then from night to dawn. They moved from in front of the settlement campfire to the hearth in the lord's mansion, having an exchange covering various fields.
Knowledgeable Bobak knew a great deal about the history, geography, and religious cultures of various races. With just a brief rundown, he quickly made Leo, a visitor from another world, clearly understand his own situation.
Previously, he had no clue where he was, what kind of place he was in, or which rung of the food chain he was on. All his efforts were solely for survival.
This was extremely painful for a modern person.
Without a proper worldview, there's no proper outlook on life.
If you don't have the slightest understanding of this world, it'll be really hard to find your own life orientation. This will make people feel at a loss and even unable to find the direction of effort, and could only drift with the tide.
Why didn't the farmers in the remote mountain villages in the last century go to the bustling world to make a living?
Because they had no understanding of this world and no means of survival.
If Leo had no understanding of this world, he could only continue to live as an old farmer in the River Bend.
And Leo, because of the theoretical knowledge and thinking logic that did not exist in this world, occasionally said a few words that gave Bobak new insights.
After talking throughout the night until daybreak, Ulyan couldn't bear it any longer and went back to sleep. Olivia and Little Mouse, however, insisted on staying. They were dozing off lying beside Leo.
As for Freya, she fell asleep in front of the settlement camp's bonfire and was carried on her teacher's shoulder into the stable.
As soon as day broke, Freya, who had an excellent sleep schedule, rushed in from outside, shouting, "Teacher! Teacher!"
As soon as the excited girl rushed into the lord's mansion, they heard the wooden boards creaking miserably.
Leo and Bobak shouted in unison, "Get out! Get out!"
Currently, the sawmill is still under construction, and there still aren't enough wooden boards in the lord's mansion to build floors. The entire mansion was empty, except that stairs had been built around the hearth, and some temporary corridors were built with old wooden boards and branches taken from the wagons.
If it hadn't been for Bobak's calming spell, while chatting with Bobak, Leo would also have to endure the sound of the one-horned wild boars running and roaring around the stone walls of the mansion through the wooden stairs.
These thin wooden boards and small branches clearly couldn't bear the terrifying weight of Freya. With three feet on the creaking boards and one foot lifted, she froze on the spot.
Amid the unison shouts from Leo and her teacher, Freya took a reluctant step forward.
With a loud "boom", the entire wooden bridge leading to the hearth completely collapsed. Freya let out a scream as she fell into the hidden floor, and was immediately nuzzled around and howling by five one-horned wild boars that came running at the sound.
Leo and Bobak both slapped their foreheads in unison.
Under Leo's concerned gaze, Bobak comforted him, "It's okay. She won't get hurt."
"So, is this the reason you taught her to turn into a giant bear?"
Bobak nodded silently.
Teach her the bear transformation spell but not how to transform back. She's invulnerable and won't die from a fall. It doesn't matter if she gets lost!
Perfect!
Because of Leo, Bobak stayed in River Bend for three whole days.
Although he didn't bring earth-shattering changes to River Bend as Leo had fantasized, through magic, knowledge, or some artifact, he didn't refuse to teach them anything at all.
At least he told the villagers how to soothe and tame those restless one-horned wild boars.
He also provided treatment for the injured and disabled militiamen in the camp by the way.
He even strengthened the lord's mansion with druidic magic.
The construction of the 300-square-meter lord's mansion was still a bit beyond the craftsmanship of Valery's artisans. Moreover, the group of villagers under him couldn't fully meet his requirements.
So, some unreasonable structures and defects in the lord's mansion were immediately noticed by Bobak.
He slightly waved his fingers, and vines and roots emerged from the beams of the lord's mansion, wriggling like living creatures and quickly burrowed into another beam, integrating the entire supporting structure of the mansion.
He also told Leo that the land in River Bend was already fertile enough. There was no need to fertilize it in the first year. Instead, they should focus on the drainage and ventilation of the land.
In the second year, they could go to the nearby forest to dig forest humus for fertilizer, and in the third year, they could go to the swamp to dig peat as fertilizer.
It was only when the soil fertility was insufficient after years of continuous cultivation that they needed to use manure compost to improve the soil.
Leo felt frustrated. So, all these days I've been dealing with excrement for nothing?
But he also knew that farming wasn't about applying more fertilizer. All aspects of factors were important, and everything had to be adjusted according to local conditions.
In this aspect, the help he can offer is much less than that of an experienced old farmer.
On the second day after Bobak arrived, the wild folk tribe got the news. Elder Zurvan, together with a group of wild folk hunters and druid believers, hurried to the River Bend to pay their respects to their Earth Walker.
Because of the presence of Bobak and his disciple Freya, both the wild folk and the villagers in the River Bend Territory were very amicable. They exchanged quite a few gifts with each other, making it a rather nice friendly gathering.