There was nothing suitable in the kitchen to wash pig intestines, but wood ash from the stove also had alkaline properties and was very effective for cleaning; the only drawback was perhaps that it would dye the beautifully white intestines pitch black during the washing process.
Wood ash also had disinfecting and antibacterial effects; as long as the slime and foul smell of the intestines were washed away, Jasmine did not mind that slight aesthetic flaw.
Jasmine had decided, her eyes determined, so even the Old Butler could not object further.
The female cook had to join Ox-Head in taking the intestines out of the wooden basin. They stripped away the filth inside the intestines first, then scooped up ice-cold well water to rinse them roughly. After rinsing, they went back to the kitchen to grab a handful of fine wood ash, squeezing it hard into the intestines and scrubbing thoroughly, changing the ash continuously two or three times like that until the slime was gone, which was considered finished.
There was no iron wok in the castle for stir-frying. Although meat boiled in plain water dipped in salt was a rare delicacy for slaves that they might only eat once a year, for Jasmine, who had not eaten good food for a long time, she still wanted to have slightly higher requirements.
Even though a wild boar could not make a grand imperial feast, it at least had to be processed in a way that was somewhat palatable to her.
Ox-Head had great strength and was also very agile with a cleaver. Jasmine told him to cut down the half of lean pork and place it on the wooden cutting board, mincing it into meat filling, then told the female cook to go to the warehouse and take all the remaining meager wheat down to grind into flour for immediate use.
Before the Old Butler could open his mouth to complain about using up all the wheat, Jasmine explained a step ahead: "Rest assured, this flour is to make wrappers for me to eat, not for the slaves."
"That's right, this morning I saw the vegetable soup had only a few sparse stalks. do we have a private vegetable garden here?"
"Yes, right behind the kitchen. Does My Lady want to drink vegetable soup this noon as well?" The Old Butler was surprised; he hadn't seen Jasmine eat many bites of the bland vegetable soup this morning.
"Go pick some. We can make some meat and vegetable pies to change the taste." Jasmine really didn't want to eat tasteless, dry bread that broke her teeth anymore. Taking advantage of the fresh meat, naturally, she had to make a bit more food. Even though meat wouldn't keep for long in this hot weather, at least for the next two or three days, Jasmine wouldn't need to worry about what to eat.
Thinking this, Jasmine was also curious and intended to go see for herself what edible vegetables were left in the garden.
The vegetable garden was not far from the kitchen, just a few steps away. Looking at the loose soil, it seemed to have been reclaimed directly from the old castle's rose garden. The cultivation method was just like the fields outside; the vegetable garden was not laid out in proper rows either. Seeds were scattered messily on a flat piece of land. Perhaps the scattering was uneven, as there were places where vegetables grew thickly, crowding each other, and places where vegetables grew sparsely, exposing the soil.
The only point better than the vast fields outside was that there were not many weeds in this small vegetable garden. There must be someone taking care of it and weeding frequently, so the situation where weeds outgrew the crops did not occur.
But the vegetables here did not develop very well either; they were all thin and small, with fragile leaves, looking malnourished and lacking water.
Moreover, observing carefully, one could see the edges of some vegetable leaves had turned yellow and curled up, and some leaves clearly had traces of being gnawed messily by small animals.
The varieties of vegetables were not many. One type was the cabbage Jasmine ate this morning, but the cabbage at this time did not grow in the shape Jasmine was familiar with; instead, every single leaf was spread out wide.
The other type was also a vegetable Jasmine knew: carrots.
The people here planted carrots mainly not to eat the roots. Because they hadn't been bred for later generations, the carrot roots at this time were not big. Added to the barren soil in the vegetable garden, lacking fertilizer and careful care, the best-growing roots were only as big as a thumb, with rough skin and many secondary roots.
Therefore, growing these carrots was just like the cabbages; it was mainly to eat their leaves.
Carrot leaves had a characteristic aroma. Although slightly pungent, if one knew how to process them, they were also a precious source of green vegetables in this situation of scarcity.
Jasmine looked at this messily growing vegetable garden and felt a headache coming on. Weeds grew crowded with crops, and the land was dry and cracked.
It seemed that to improve the territory's life, she had to start by modifying the territory's farming methods first. The soil needed to be reworked, fertilized, and the vegetable beds re-planned more scientifically.
Otherwise, no matter how much effort was put into plowing, the harvested crops could not allow everyone in the territory to eat three full meals every day, let alone store up for the harsh winter.
But these matters were not urgent; she would solve lunch and dinner today first, then calculate.
Only with a full stomach would limbs have the strength to work.
The carrots hadn't fully grown, so Jasmine naturally wouldn't pull them up at this time. She and the Old Butler only picked the outer leaves, moving carefully so as not to shake the roots, leaving a few young leaves in the middle for the carrots to continue developing.
The cabbages were similar, but the taste of cabbage was not as strong as carrot, and it was sweeter, so it was destroyed the most by small animals and insects.
Many leaves had been eaten into tatters. Jasmine decisively pulled up all the plants that were not developing well or were too heavily infested with pests, leaving open space for other healthy cabbage plants to develop.
Because the area of the vegetable garden was not small, picking one round yielded two baskets full of fresh green vegetable leaves.
"My Lady, surely we cannot eat all these vegetables in one meal?" The Old Butler punched his back, which ached from bending over for too long, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Although he was the Lord's loyal servant, he still held the title of a lowest-ranking Baron and was a member of the aristocracy. The Old Butler naturally had never done any exhausting farm work; having to bend down to pick vegetables under the sun today was truly a challenge.
"It's fine. The territory has so many people, everyone is at the age where they eat and grow, are you afraid it will spoil?"
Jasmine picking so many vegetable leaves was, of course, not for her to eat alone. she really couldn't stand the sight of the slaves, with their sallow faces and skin wrapping bones as if they would starve to death at any moment.
Watching them walk unsteadily like shadows, she felt pained.
Those people currently all belonged to her in name; they were her property and also her responsibility.
Jasmine felt responsible for nourishing her subjects well.
Although she temporarily could not help the slaves escape their slave status due to the kingdom's strict regulations, deep down, she did not truly regard these people as talking tools.