Chapter 10

Now, Marianne entered the shed with the orphans, all dressed in the same simple work clothes, to clean the chicken coop. Here, Marianne realized she had underestimated the animals' abilities.

"Why! Why do you only attack me! This! You! Stop it! Ahh!"

The six lively chickens, with their white feathers mixed with glossy blue ones, instantly identified the weakest among the children. Among the children who had fetched brooms, only Marianne was singled out, being chased around, pecked at, and hit with their wings.

At first, the orphans, who had been reserved, did not laugh, but gradually they could no longer hold back and burst into laughter. Eventually, they were laughing so hard that they were holding their bellies and tears were streaming down their faces.

Marianne, covered in feathers and droppings, looked sullen as the orphans comforted her. In the end, she was chased out of the shed with the words, "We'll do it, so you don't have to."

Thanks to their daily physical labor, the orphans easily finished the cleaning. Now, they were eagerly eating the ham and egg sandwiches and meat vegetable soup prepared by the maids.

"Delicious," the youngest girl sighed in delight.

"Really, do we get such delicious food every day?" A skinny boy asked, his mouth full of sandwich.

"Of course. But if you slack off, your wages will be reduced, so please work hard to take care of them," Marianne said, and the children nodded, glancing at the jar of copper coins.

"Oh! She's laying an egg!"

Sure enough, one of the hens was already laying an egg.

"I'll give you the eggs, but you must record the number of eggs on the paper here. It's part of the research on how many eggs are laid."

"Can we take the eggs home?"

"Yes. If you want to give them as gifts, just let Tom or me know, and we'll boil them for you. I want you to work hard to encourage more eggs."

Gifts! Something they had never received or given before! Imagining the joy of giving them to their friends made them grin.

"You don't have to go into the shed, Miss. We'll do it," one of the orphans said.

"R-really? I'm not afraid of chickens, but if you say so, I'll leave it to you."

A giggle spread among the orphans.

The orphans worked diligently every day. Eventually, they began to share the well-paid job with other orphans, taking turns instead of monopolizing it. The number of orphans taking turns working grew to twenty.

Twenty large glass jars, filled with copper coins, became the children's first-ever property.

The orphans, who had been pale and thin, now had better complexions, and the pimples on their bodies had disappeared. They gradually learned manners and proper speech.

As Marianne had predicted, the orphans' physical condition improved significantly compared to the previous orphans due to better nutrition.

The number of chickens, which were kept in a corner of the earl's estate, gradually increased to fifty, thanks to the orphans' suggestion to hatch chicks. The number of orphans involved in their care also increased, and the chicken farm was moved to a location away from the earl's estate, complete with employee dormitories.

Marianne's hypothesis, "A study to improve nutrition and physical condition through the consumption of meat and eggs," was confirmed, becoming one of her cards for the future management of her estate.

Lady Florence, the earl's wife, joined the research, reminiscing about her days caring for her younger siblings.

She, who had taken care of chickens and goats for her family in addition to horses at her own home, proved to be a practical lady. She bought a pair of goats for the orphans and taught them how to care for them.

When the baby goats were born, the goats could be milked. Goat's milk, delivered by the orphans, became a popular product among mothers in the city who lacked sufficient breast milk. The orphans' cash income increased even further.

This marked the beginning of the "Marie Farm," an independent support facility.

At Marie Farm, Tom, the gardener, taught the children who showed aptitude for gardening, bit by bit.

Some of the girls who took care of the chickens became maid apprentices.

The maids, who were properly trained at the earl's estate, were welcomed by merchants and wealthy commoners, creating a flow where they graduated and passed on their jobs to younger orphans.

Some children showed interest in cooking. The young cooks were eager to teach, motivated by the desire to be useful to the young lady.

Marianne's experiment, which started with six chickens, expanded rapidly due to the orphans' enthusiasm. A simple vegetable garden was also created under Tom's guidance, enriching their meals.

□ □ □ □ □

"The results are even better than I expected!" Three years after the start of the research, nine-year-old Marianne proudly boasted to Prince Alexandre, who had come to visit the farm.

However, even after three years, she was still identified as the weakest by the chickens and was not allowed into the chicken coop, despite being the farm manager.