VCAM 37

Chapter 37

 “The Farm’s Hidden Problem”
(Kai and Rutia’s Summer Vacation Arc – Part 6)

A few days after their lively day at the beach,
Kai joined Rutia and her brothers on an inspection tour of the duke’s vast farmlands.

“This is one of the largest agricultural areas in the entire duchy,” Rutia explained proudly, holding a parasol above her head.
“The townsfolk take turns working here throughout the year.”

As far as the eye could see stretched green fields of wheat and vegetables.
Bathed in the summer sunlight, the landscape looked bountiful at first glance.

“Dang, that’s quite the view. Reminds me of the rice paddies back home,” Kai said.
“Rice paddies?”
“Yeah, fields where you grow rice. It’s called inasaku—well, never mind that.”

But the faces of the farmers working the fields looked grim.
One middle-aged farmer hurried over to Rutia and bowed deeply.

“Lady Rutia… forgive us. The harvest is poor again this year.”
“What… truly?”
“Yes. It’s nearly thirty percent less than last year. At this rate, we won’t survive the winter.”

Rutia’s expression clouded.
“How could that be…? What’s the cause?”
“We don’t know. We’ve used fertilizer as always, and the irrigation has been steady.”

The farmers all murmured their confusion.

Kai crouched down and scooped up a handful of soil.
When he rubbed it between his fingers, it crumbled dry and light.

“Hmm…”
Kai frowned slightly.

“Kai?” Rutia leaned closer.

“Miss, this soil’s too weak. All the nutrients are gone.”
“What? How can you tell?”
“Just from the look and feel of it. But that alone ain’t much proof.”

Saying that, Kai pulled a piece of chalk from his bag and began writing equations on a nearby board.

“Wait, you’re writing formulas… in the middle of a field?!”
“That’s just how I roll.”

He expressed the relationship between soil moisture, nutrients, and yield as a simple equation.

“x = nitrogen, y = moisture, z = sunlight hours. Multiply those and you get an approximate yield. Now if you plug in the current values… see? y is way too low.”

The farmers gawked.
“I–I see! When you put it into numbers, it’s easy to understand!”

Rutia’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward.
“As expected of my husband! He can even command the fields with numbers!”
“I ain’t commanding anything! I’m just analyzing!”

Her older brother Wilhelm crossed his arms.
“Indeed, the soil is drier than last year. Perhaps less water is flowing from the river channels.”
Julius nodded.
“If that’s the case, simply adding more fertilizer will only make things worse. The balance between water and nutrients must be maintained.”

Kai smiled and drew another formula.

“Exactly. The key’s the ratio. Keep the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium near a 1:1:1 balance. And if we build a system to stabilize moisture…”

The farmers murmured among themselves.
“Such an idea would never have occurred to us.”
“The teacher can save not only our children but our farmlands too.”

Rutia blushed proudly beside him.
“See? My husband can even save the duchy itself!”
“I ain’t saved nothin’ yet! The real work starts now!”
“But you will save it, won’t you?”
“…Well, I reckon we’ll manage somehow.”

Hearing that, the farmers’ eyes filled with hope.

That evening, in the ducal manor’s dining hall—
After hearing the report, Lady Eleonora raised her glass gracefully.

“Professor Kai, you have given light to our people.”
“Ain’t done anything yet, really.”
“No. Even words alone can bring hope to those who need it.”

Rutia smiled beside him, naturally serving food onto his plate again.

“Husband, let’s go to the fields together tomorrow. I’m sure it will succeed!”
“Stop callin’ me that… but yeah. If we’re doin’ this, we’ll make it work.”

Quietly, Kai made up his mind.

(I’m a teacher, after all. It’s my job to teach—not just the students, but the people too.)