There was quite a lot of cooked gypsum left in the warehouse by the alchemist of the previous Lord. Jasmine had initially intended to make tofu directly, but given the current soybean reserves of the castle, if she pressed it into tofu, it was not certain that everyone could be engaged a small piece.
It would be better to make it into soybean pudding, which contained more water; she could distribute a bit more to the slaves, and it was easier to swallow and would warm their bodies faster.
Although she could not let the slaves eat freely, barely sipping enough liquid to be full was still possible.
"Angus, you come here and help me grind the soy milk." Jasmine called the Cow-headed man, who was intending to go move stones with the other slaves, over to her, and then she called the female chef over as well.
The beans soaked for a night had absorbed enough water; every single seed was round and plump, becoming very soft, so grinding them did not take much effort.
The female chef had previous experience grinding wheat flour. Jasmine only pointed out a few places that needed attention. Combined with the Cow-headed man doing the work, one person was responsible for adding water and beans evenly, and one person was responsible for using strength to push the millstone. A stream of milky white liquid flowed out, and the work went quite smoothly.
The soy milk that had just been ground had the characteristic strong raw smell of beans. Putting it into a large pot and boiling it until it bubbled furiously would do.
Jasmine also took down an oak barrel that was originally used to store wheat in the warehouse, washed it clean, and then used boiling water to rinse it for simple sterilization. It could then be used as a utensil for making the soybean pudding.
Making soybean pudding took more time than Jasmine had estimated. The fragrance of the cooked soy milk wafted throughout the courtyard.
By the time the soybean pudding had finished setting, the slaves had already built a small section of the stone and mud perimeter wall according to Jasmine's requirements.
The craftsmanship of the slaves was limited. Even though Jasmine had drawn out the boundaries, the perimeter wall they built was not straight, with bulging and sunken spots.
But Jasmine did not mind. As long as this perimeter wall was solid and could demonstrate its effectiveness, that was enough.
Wait until she had money later; she would hire professional masons to build a better perimeter wall.
Mm, this matter was still just a beautiful, distant dream for the current Jasmine.
However, Jasmine observed all morning and still discovered a bit of an interesting difference.
The practical ability of the two Dwarves in that group of slaves seemed to be a bit stronger than the ordinary slaves.
The perimeter wall they built was straighter; the stones were stacked tightly, and the mud plaster was smooth.
Even the wooden bowls Jasmine had assigned the slaves to make yesterday, the Dwarves made better than the ordinary slaves.
Furthermore, the Dwarves even knew how to use stones to grind the wooden bowls. The rims of the wooden bowls were incredibly smooth, and the wood grain appeared clearly without a single splinter, unlike some slaves who made rough wooden bowls that would cut one's mouth with splinters if used carelessly.
Jasmine thought for a moment, then called the two Dwarves to her presence.
The two Dwarves were frightened, their limbs trembling. Coming before Jasmine, they kowtowed and immediately wanted to prostrate themselves, but they were stopped by Jasmine a step beforehand.
In order not to scare these two Dwarves, whose courage seemed not to be very great, Jasmine softened her voice, trying to speak to the two Dwarves as if chatting casually: "The handiwork you two do seems not bad, very skillful. Did you also do work like this before?"
The two Dwarves looked at each other and obediently answered the Lord's question: "Respected Lord, we have never done any handicraft work before."
The two of them had been slaves of the Black Dragon territory since they were small, growing up amidst orders and servitude. Whatever work the other slaves did every day, the two of them also did that work.
The daily work of a slave was fixed; it was just heavy manual labor, so where would there be space for a Dwarf to display dexterity?
However, one of the two slaves paused for a moment, secretly glanced at Jasmine once, and carefully answered: "But our father, it is said that before becoming a slave, he used to work as a blacksmith in a large town. He was very proud of his hands."
That old man, when he was alive, very much liked to take this story out to boast to the two brothers whenever night returned. His eyes would light up when telling tales of fire and iron, different from the other slaves with their numb expressions.
The Dwarf brothers had been locked in this small place since childhood; their knowledge was not much, added to the worship of their father, so naturally, they believed whatever he said. But their father had never taught the brothers the blacksmith trade because there were no tools, and being slaves, they also did not need any supreme skills.
Jasmine heard this, and her eyes lit up. Although she had been shaken until dizzy by the carriage on the way to the territory, she had not forgotten to listen for the basic situation of this world from those escort knights.
People who could serve as Temple Knights traveled north and south, and their experience was all very rich. Jasmine's understanding of this world mostly came from their idle chat.
According to the knights' words, the Dwarf race were all natural-born blacksmiths; their bloodline mingled with fire and metal. Their children, from the moment they knew how to get down on the ground and run, had already started holding iron hammers.
Logically speaking, a race with such special skills very rarely fell into becoming slaves. Unexpectedly, in her desolate territory, there were Dwarf slaves, and there were even two of them at once.
Although the Dwarf brothers were not like other Dwarves who had received proper education from their clansmen since childhood, from the wooden bowls they made and the perimeter wall they built, one could know that these two Dwarves still inherited a certain talent from their ancestors in terms of practical ability.
Jasmine's eyes rolled a round, and an idea sprang up: "I want the two of you to help me make some things that require meticulousness. I do not know if you two are willing?"
The Dwarf brothers looked at each other, then raised their heads to look at Jasmine with joy, their eyes burning hot: "Please proceed as the Lord commands; we are ready to do everything."
"I do not know what item the Lord wants us to make?" After hesitating for a moment, one of the two Dwarves carefully asked, his voice revealing clear nervousness.
Jasmine smiled mysteriously: "Wire snares."