Qi Xiuwen ran around every day, repairing canals, directing people to measure the land, dividing it into sections, and allocating manpower to do the tilling work.

The leader said that the next step is to irrigate and grow grain.

October is the wheat planting season.

You can also plant some rapeseed.

We should also plant some high-yield Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, and radishes.

Once everything is ready, it will be about time.

At this time, the wheat yield was not high, only about 400 jin per mu, mainly due to insufficient fertilizer and poor seed quality.

It's too late to breed new varieties this year, so we can only use some of the grain we bought earlier for planting.

Shenxi summoned Qi Xiuwen, a handsome young man who had become quite tanned.

"Many things don't require you to do everything yourself; you should train the people under you."

Shenxi cherishes these talented individuals under his command; they are few and far between.

We can't let these talented people get overworked.

"Xiuwen knows that we haven't been able to select many capable people yet!"

This is not surprising, as most knowledge was held by aristocratic families, and it was already considered good if ordinary people could read a little.

"The day before yesterday, I met some old farmers and they had a very good conversation. They have a lot of insights into farming. Everyone has their own expertise, so let's leave the farming to the farmers!"

Qi Xiuwen almost slapped his forehead, but his innate manner of self-cultivation wouldn't allow him to do so.

The commander is right; he's a bit too picky about who he chooses.

They specifically choose based on how much reading one has done.

After Wang Datong massacred the entire county, almost all the aristocratic families and wealthy households were killed or wounded. How many scholars would he have left to choose from?

Even if scholars were to manage farming, they probably wouldn't be able to manage it well.

Qi Xiuwen immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Chief."

Chen Xi smiled. The common problem of young masters from aristocratic families is that they cannot connect with people from the lower classes. Just like computers, they can see each other through the screen, but they cannot understand each other.

"We should not be bound by conventions when recruiting talent. We should use anyone who has some talent, regardless of their background."

Shen Xi stopped short of revealing the truth, knowing that Qi Xiuwen was intelligent enough to understand it immediately!

"What a brilliant idea to recruit talent without being bound by convention, sir. Xiuwen understands."

"How much land have ordinary people cleared out now?"

The ground had hardened due to the drought and needed to be reclaimed.

"It already covers 10,000 mu."

"That's quite a lot. It seems that having more people does make a difference." Bian'ai County has a total of 80,000 mu of land. After removing the mountainous areas and the poor soil, only half of it remains.

Qi Xiuwen smiled broadly: "The commander has transferred 10,000 refugees from the forest, so there is plenty of manpower."

After a month of living in the forest, the refugees had explored almost the entire woodland belonging to Bian'ai County.

Everything that can be dug up and eaten, everything that can be picked, should be cleaned up.

At this time, don't mention forest protection laws or animal protection laws to Shen Xi. They don't exist in this era. Besides, in chaotic times, the first priority is to protect people.

These refugees not only had food, but also had the experience of living in the jungle and battling wild animals, making them physically quite fit.

During this process, the people of Chenxi will lead them and teach them some martial arts. If there is not enough food, they will also provide some subsidies.

When the month was up, the staff had decreased by one-fifth, but everyone was still very energetic.

This is similar in nature to military training.

After they came out, these people threw themselves into the intense work of reclaiming the land.

That morning, Shenxi and Zheng Ankang were practicing their skills when a messenger came in. Seeing Shenxi practicing, he waited nearby.

Shenxi was always focused on practicing his skills and paid no attention to it.

After the training was over, he noticed the messenger in the corner and asked, "What is it?"

The messenger then came over and saluted: "Sir, a newly arrived refugee requests an audience."

Shen Xi took Di Yingxue's handkerchief, wiped her sweat, and asked, "What's wrong?"

He said he recognized one of the pictures in the bulletin board.

Chenxi became interested, and after more than half a month, someone finally recognized the crop in the picture.

"Bring it in."

Chenxi went to the changing room, quickly washed herself, changed her clothes, and then went to the reception room.

A middle-aged woman dressed in rural attire sat awkwardly in a chair.

Several temporarily hired waiters stood by and had already brought the man tea and snacks.

But she didn't dare use it.

As soon as Shen Xi entered, the waiter immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Commander!"

Chen Xi nodded, then approached the woman with a beaming smile: "Auntie, did you say you recognized the crop in the picture?"

The woman stood up as the waiter bowed; she had long heard that the leader was young but very dignified, like a god descended from heaven.

Although she was faced with a smiling young girl, she still dared not act rashly.

She bowed to Chenxi in the same manner as the waiter, saying, "It's me. I know one of them."

Di Yingxue had already spread the picture book out on the large table, and Chen Xi pointed to it and asked, "Which one do you recognize?"

The woman pointed to one of them: "This is it."

Chen Xi's eyes lit up.

Golden corn is also a high-yield and drought-resistant crop.

If the seeds are selected well and planted properly, the yield can reach more than 1,000 catties per mu, and even more than 2,000 catties per mu with very good land and seeds.

Chen Xi was slightly excited: "Where have you seen me before?"

Seeing that Chenxi was not fierce, but even somewhat kind, the woman relaxed: "In the remote mountain valleys of my hometown, a few years ago, a fellow villager got some seeds from somewhere, planted them for two years, but the yield wasn't good, so he stopped planting them."

"Poor production?"

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