In any case, we spent a bit more time in the greenhouses before we went into the fields that had different crops or seeds planted which were in different stages of growth—though there were a few plots that looked recently harvested. It was one thing to see a specific type of thing in a greenhouse or a variety of plants in it, but seeing a whole field with farmers and water buffaloes just hits differently with me.
It reminded me of the rice fields we'd pass by en route to the provinces of Quezon but there was one thing that's much more amazing was the rice terraces we had in one of the provinces in Baguio City.
Basically, it was a man-made structure to carve out portions of a mountain to have parts of it where we could plant rice, wheat, or anything else in that regard.
It also had its challenges because the farmers wouldn't be able to use tractors or those fancy machines to help them but hard labor was a normal thing on those parts. Furthermore, scaling up and down the mountain was an everyday thing for them so their cardio was through the fucking roof, and I didn't even mention they'd sometimes carry heavy bags—sometimes even balanced on their heads—without issue.
'I've also been hearing interesting stories about that place…'
With that said, in regards to this place, it's safe to say that Sal's territory was still way~ too fucking big to protect each side and corner at all times but since having complete control of the farmer's association and with the number of the dead in this location even fewer compared to Cuervo Heights, it just might work. Granted there were still a few variables she'd still have to take into account, but it was also safe to say that almost everything was under control.
In any case, as much as we'd love to munch on fruits and vegetables, it didn't take long before we made our way to their ranch which had an abundance of farm animals.
But yeah, it was pretty obvious that everyone's nose puckered as their eyebrows scrunched because there was also this large composting area right next to it that collected all of the farm waste in several large vats.
I chuckled as I shook my head, "Really? You'd prefer rotting corpses from this?"
"IT STILL STINKS!"
"But you can wash them and cook them for later! Think Lucas, think!"
"And no jokes about my nickname here, alright? Trust me, I KNOW!"
"B-But—"
"SHUT IT, I KNOW THERE'S A HIDDEN 'T' OVER THERE!"
"Hah! I didn't even think of that!"
But yeah, after walking a safe distance away from the composting area and after getting used to the animal smell, one particular glutton with blonde hair and a particular giant whom I'd refrain the comparing to one of the animals present sniffed out the smoke house of sorts and sprinted away carrying almost all of our dipping sauces.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP~"
Surprisingly enough, Quinn carried Nancy in her arms before sprinting away because whiplash was a thing and I doubt Nancy would get off scot-free falling 7 feet or getting dragged along with her frame.
Sebastian shook his head, "They're already going to the— *sigh* That was supposed to be the last part of this area but anyway~ Here's the way to the slaughterhouse—"
"Wut?"
"C-Can we skip that?"
"Please, no…"
"S-Shouldn't we go to the barn or one of those stables first?"
He never looked so disappointed, "Excuse me? V-Very well, we'll skip the slaughterhouse so you all could play with the animals first. Any takers though? Anyone? Please?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
I chuckled as I nudged him with my elbow, "I'm afraid you won't be able to show them how to butcher a whole cow, huh?"
His ears perked up, "How'd you know?"
"I had an inkling but I'm also a little sad I wouldn't be able to show you what I can do with my katana."
"Oh? Can you perhaps cut them in half?"
"In one swoop, sure. Though I could still it cut surgically, but it couldn't be compared to wielding a very sharp and flexible knife."
"That is true…"
"It's so satisfying cutting through all that bone without resistance…"
"Oh? That is some technique, I would really love to see that—"
To our surprise, there was one particular person who was very much interested in what we were talking about, and she—Elsa—quickly dragged us into the slaughterhouse while everyone else—including Mauro—peeled off to play with the animals. Furthermore, even Isaac who I 100% thought would come with us was more interested in seeing a horse up close.
Sal's ranch had horses, sheep, goats, chickens, quail, ducks, rabbits, cows, etc., basically almost every farm animal plus extra but I did see a huge-ass bull running solo in its own enclosure.
Mauro was eyeing it a little suspiciously as the doors were closed behind us but as the outside of Sally's estate looked rural as rural goes, the inside of this slaughterhouse looked like a fucking laboratory. Everything was just white and so, so clean, and the smell of the animals was replaced by strong cleaning products.
"This place is… wow…"
Elsa pulled on us even more, "Stop admiring the scenery, we have to go further in!"
"L-Lady Elsa, my shirt…"
"What about it?"
"S-Stain…"
"Oh, Jesus fucking Christ! Get over it!"
In any case, Elsa led us to one of the storage spaces where whole cows were hanging by hooks and there was a moment where I thought we'd be training with them like this certain guy that had a semblance to a bell pepper and kept saying, "Adrian~ Adrian~" over and over again.
"I thought this place would be you know… freezing?"
"Are you serious? We have ethanol but we can't run the freezers 24/7… it's stupid… We store them here for a bit and we either smoke them or dry-age them so they'd last longer."
"You guys know how to make Pemmican?"
Sebastian and Elsa tilted their heads sideways at the same time, "A what?"
"Basically a way to prepare dried meat and depending on the recipe, it could last years."
"R-Really?"
"Yep."
"I would very much like to learn from you after this. I'll replace the knowledge with several of our finest cuts of meat."
"You don't have to do that, it's very easy—"
"Yeah, Sebastian! He's doing it for free, why'd you offer—"
"Then we'll take it from my own collection—"
I shook my head, chuckling, "I already said—"
Elsa cut in, "Hold up, since when did you have your own collection?"
Sebastian let out an innocent smile, "Since time immemorial, my lady. But enough about that, shall we?"
"Hmmrgh… Fine! But before that, c-can I borrow yours first? I-I really want to try swinging it on a whole cow—"
Sebastian interjected, "My lady, that's a treasured blade, if I recall correctly… One chip and—"
I waved them off, "No worries, as long as you don't strike hard on that hook, it'll be fine."
"See?" Elsa turned to Sebastian gloatingly.
"V-Very well…"
In any case, Sebastian put some covers on the flooring first before he pulled a whole, skinned cow in the middle of this room so we could do some practice swinging. It usually involved bamboo but this lady of ours was too excited to be able to play with a real authentic blade made by a grandmaster blacksmith.
But yeah, she looked so giddy when I pulled my katana out of its scabbard and handed it to her, handle first, and she quickly assumed a stance as she stood in front of the hooked cow.
To my surprise, she didn't strike at the huge slab of meat from the get-go because she regulated her breathing first before striking diagonally—holding the katana with both hands—with her whole body.
"HAAT!"
And to her delight, half of the cow's body fell to the plastic covers and Sebastian was already applauding her for the amazing feat.
It wasn't easy to cleave a cow in half with one strike, especially with its size—and if it was a regular deadhead, I assumed that any regular human would still find it difficult but a whole cow was a whole different story. However, I stopped her from jumping in celebration as I flicked her forehead, grinding the celebration to a halt and prompting a serious reaction from the butler.
He wasn't too happy for me "attacking" her lady in broad daylight but he couldn't believe his eyes when I showed him Elsa's right hand.
"T-That's—"
It wasn't apparent from the first look but it was now tender and starting to get more and more swollen. Furthermore, it appears that the injury also affected her forearm.
"Does this hurt, too?" I asked as I pressed on some spots on her forearm.
"O-Owww…"
"You understand why I flicked your forehead now?"
"I-I don't—"
"You know some techniques but you still forced it. You're lucky it doesn't look like you broke your arm. Still, we need to get this checked out."
Sebastian looked apologetic as he turned to me, "Please, follow me…"
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