Even in 21st-century Korea, childbirth is an incredibly challenging ordeal.
Especially on the continent of Almania, where dicine and nutrition are underdeveloped.
One could even exaggerate slightly and say that if you give birth ten tis, there's a chance one of those tis you might die.
“Nobles, rchants, serfs—everyone is sensitive when it cos to childbirth, right?”
Even if a woman survives the perilous task of childbirth, her body often weakens considerably.
Regardless of whether she’s noble or poor, seeing a fragile new mother evokes concern.
This is when seaweed soup, which is effective for postpartum recovery, cos in handy.
“It should be well-received. How popular must it be if so postpartum care centers serve seaweed soup three tis a day?”
I sat on a chair near the hearth, watching it bubble and boil.
The soup filled the room with the unique savory and salty aroma of seaweed.
When paired with rice, it makes a hearty al in a snap.
It’s a pity there’s no kimchi, but just the thought makes my mouth water.
“My lord—or rather, young master—let handle the cooking. You should rest.”
Normally, a noble young master—or a lord of a village, for that matter—doesn’t cook.
At most, the rare exception might roast an animal they caught themselves over an open fire.
“No, Chloe.”
Across the entire continent, there’s probably no one but who can cook seaweed into a al.
It’s been simring for about 20 minutes now, so let’s take it off and try it.
“Bring over two bowls and two spoons, please.”
“Aren’t you the only one who’s going to eat, young master?”
Typically, noblen dine alone on delicacies.
But sharing a al with soone is always better.
Especially if that soone is a beautiful woman.
So, on less formal occasions, I take the opportunity to enjoy good food with Chloe under the guise of pampering her.
Naturally, I also aim to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
After all, if you’re always thinking about making money and developing products, your brain will explode eventually…
“Let’s eat together.”
As I ladled the seaweed soup into the bowl, the distinct sll of the ocean wafted up.
To , it was a fragrant aroma, but Chloe looked slightly apprehensive.
As a serf, she probably wasn’t picky about food.
But that didn’t an she had no reservations about unfamiliar dishes.
“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”
Chloe nodded, acknowledging my comnt.
“It looks like a bunch of thin, green cloth scraps floating around. It’s weird, like, almost…”
She didn’t finish her thought because it was food I’d made for her, but I could guess what she was thinking.
Probably looks like sothing only heretics would eat.
Seaweed soup is a dish enjoyed mainly by Koreans and Japanese people. Other foreigners, just seeing it, find it strange.
To the uninford, it might seem like a soup with bits of green plastic floating around.
If I don’t carefully package this dish with the right words, I know how it’ll be received.
Other nobles would surely call a monster selling bizarre ingredients.
Of course, I had prepared for this kind of reaction.
“Actually, this seaweed is used as a very special dicinal ingredient in the East.”
“This seaweed from the sea?”
Chloe tilted her head in confusion.
“When I was young, I read in my father’s study that there’s edible seaweed that grows between the rocks by the sea. In a country called Joseon, they use it as a health tonic for new mothers.”
In Almania, there’s a mystique and curiosity about the mysterious East.
People even believe in legends of Prester John, a king from the East who worships Deus and rules a city made entirely of gold.
So, every noble has been scamd at least once by soone selling dicinal herbs, art, or jewels supposedly from the East.
Hearing that it was an Eastern dicine, Chloe seed to relax her guard.
“I was put off by the way it looked like seaweed, but if it’s dicinal, that’s impressive.”
Taking a spoonful, I found it tasted just like the seaweed soup I rembered.
Ah, if only I had so dried fish to add to it, it would be even better.
“It’s savory and tastes good. Give it a try, Chloe.”
She hesitated with the unfamiliar dish but eventually took a spoonful.
She probably expected it to taste strange at first, given how she squinted her eyes.
“It’s nutty and tasty.”
One spoonful, then another.
She kept eating daintily, like a squirrel nibbling on an acorn.
“I thought it would taste bitter since you said it was dicine from the East, but it’s delicious.”
Hearing her complint my first attempt at making Korean food in another world gave a little boost of pride.
“If you mix this with rice, it’s even better.”
I scooped so warm rice and mixed it into the soup.
Chloe smiled as she tasted the combination of hot rice and seaweed soup.
“You should try it too, young master.”
There’s no way this combination could taste bad.
The savory taste of seaweed, paired with pure white rice.
Even the people of Tuscany would find it hard to resist.
When I tasted it, it was so delicious that I almost exclaid out loud.
“This should appeal to the nobles too.”
The only problem is that it looks a bit strange, but if I market it as a dicinal herb from the East, people will line up to buy it.
An Eastern dicine, good for new mothers, extrely rare.
If I can prove its benefits, it’s sure to sell.
“Now, I just need to see how effective this ‘dicine’ really is.”
They say you should strike while the iron is hot.
I’ll start testing it right away on the new mothers in the village.
In the village of Bio, there was a lot of interest in their new lord.
In a world without newspapers, their usual news involved gossip about the neighbors’ cowshed falling down.
Compared to other lords, Fabio was visibly different.
And that difference alone made him a subject of intrigue, especially for Maria, a newlywed local.
“I think our lord is a good man.”
Even behind closed doors, people speak ill of their rulers.
So it’s not surprising to hear gossip about the lord.
“Right? No one else cares for us lowborns like he does.”
“I don’t understand why he’s giving us so much food just because we’re having kids.”
To Fabio, childbirth might not be a big deal, but in the Tuscany Empire, having children isn’t seen as remarkable.
Nobles, rchants, or serfs alike, won—especially wives—bear between five to seven children on average, and sotis even ten.
“He gives us salted at, flour, and barley powder. It’s more than enough.”
Fabio provided supplies to mothers who were over nine months pregnant or had given birth within the last two months.
They received four servings of salted at, flour, and barley powder.
The reason for the four servings was simple: if they didn’t, the mother wouldn’t get enough nutrition before and after childbirth.
“How was that woman when she had her baby?”
Maria asked, rubbing her slightly rounded belly.
“It’s not much, just really painful on the day itself.”
The woman advising Maria laughed slightly.
“Don’t be scared. Everyone does it. And these days, don’t we have the young master making sure everyone’s washed with soap water? No one’s dying anymore.”
“Right, I haven’t heard of anyone dying lately.”
It was no exaggeration to say that in this village, it was common to hear about won dying in childbirth.
One in ten births would result in the mother’s death.
So, a small church in the village held a funeral every two weeks for a mother who had died during childbirth.
“And that seaweed, the one the lord says is a precious Eastern dicine, is remarkable.”
It was a seaweed that villagers ate reluctantly.
Pregnant won on the verge of delivery ate it at least once a day.
“They say you can’t go to the bathroom well after giving birth, but after eating that, it helps with that, and you feel better right away. I was up and about in two days.”
Of course, Fabio couldn’t bear to see them in such a state.
He insisted that won who had given birth stay ho and rest for at least two weeks.
“I think that Eastern dicine seaweed is amazing. After giving birth, I felt better right away. I wonder if I should steal so and give it to my husband too.”
“Indeed…”
“That’s why, Maria, you should eat so too. It’s good for you.”
Fabio had planned to sell the seaweed as an expensive tonic for new mothers, just like in Korea.
But in the village, it was already known as a cure-all.
Fabio imdiately went to see the Duke.
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TL note:
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