Chapter 141 Standard Breeding
"Hao Tian is ruthless, the world is in chaos, what's the point of being sad? She is someone who can accomplish great things. Without experiencing the pain of heartbreak, without experiencing love, hate, and separation, how could she understand that this world is beyond repair? Only by changing the world and rebuilding the sky can all the Li Zhaodis in this world have a way to survive."
Feng'er frowned, feeling that there was an unspeakable anger hidden in Jiang Yongkang's words.
Jealous of the world and hates customs.
There was strong hatred in his eyes.
Especially at this moment, he seemed to unleash all his restrained edge, stinging people's eyes.
However, Feng'er thought about Jiang Yongkang's experience. His whole family was harmed by people in the imperial court. He had great talent but was exiled to Qianzhou. It was inevitable that he would become cynical.
Noticing the movement of people in the house, Feng Er stood up in surprise: "The city lord has come out!"
Xu Zhenying didn't wear much. The Zhou Dynasty did not develop a cotton industry, and people relied on single clothes or furs to keep warm. She had a man's bun and wore a fur coat, looking like a handsome young man.
Feng'er wanted to go forward, but for some reason, she paused.
She keenly noticed that Xu Zhenying seemed to have changed.
Her eyes were red, obviously she had been crying.
But her eyes were more determined than ever before, like a sword drawn from its sheath, with an edge that no one could withstand!
There was even a moment when Feng'er felt inexplicably frightened.
Xu Zhenying opened the door and saw Feng'er and Jiang Yongkang outside the room.
Both of them looked at her expectantly.
She glanced at him briefly, then looked away. The cold light in her eyes faded away, and her face was still as gentle and calm as usual. It seemed that she had no idea that she had just experienced the heart-wrenching pain of separation from life and death.
Her voice was a little hoarse, "Feng'er, I'm a little hungry."
Feng Er immediately said happily: "City Lord, please wait. I will ask someone to make you something to eat right away."
Later, only Xu Zhenying and Jiang Yongkang were left.
Their eyes met, the wind passed without leaving a trace, and the long wind lifted a strand of hair on Xu Zhenying's forehead.
Her tone was calm, as usual, but with a hint of murderous intensity. "Starting tomorrow, Mo Jinchun will select two hundred men, and you will select five hundred. I will lead the team in training."
Jiang Yongkang's eyes were filled with joy. He clasped his hands together and said, "Yes!"
Xu Zhenying turned around.
She glanced at the moon and chuckled, "The moonlight is so beautiful, but... the world is so rotten!"
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The next day, Xu Zhenying took a look at the newly built chicken coop.
Everyone in the Xu family knew about Li Zhaodi's affairs, and they also knew that Xu Zhenying was in a bad mood in the past two days. Therefore, they were a little scared and acted more cautiously.
But Xu Zhenying acted as if nothing had happened, still talking and laughing, just like usual.
Ever since Xu Zhenying distributed food to the common people in the city, the rich families in the city became obedient and no longer dared to show up to her.
The people in the city also respected her very much.
However, the few people following behind Xu Zhenying didn't dare to breathe, and their voices were even softer than usual.
The chicken coop had just taken shape when the carpenter started arguing with the students.
The students only worked for one day before they almost quit and ran to Fang Xun to make trouble.
Fang Xun also smiled and agreed to let them change their jobs, and let them choose between growing leeks, farming, and raising pigs. The students did not fall for it, knowing that they did not have many choices, so they could only continue working with tears in their eyes.
It’s just that the carpenter, the chicken-raising woman, and the students all had their own ideas, and after two days of arguing, the roof of the chicken coop was finally built.
Xu Zhenying originally wanted to build the chicken coop as soon as possible so that the children in the city could get more protein. But today, he found that the construction period was so delayed.
The women complained that no one listened to them.
The students complained that the chicken coop Xu Zhenying described was too unbelievable and difficult to build.
The carpenter had no idea what they needed.
Apart from building a prototype of a chicken coop, the three parties spent the rest of the time engaged in a war of words.
Now that they had met Xu Zhenying, the three parties each argued for their own reasons and made a lot of noise, which was quite lively.
After listening to the reasons of the three parties and seeing that they were arguing endlessly, Xu Zhenying could only act as a peacemaker. He first fully praised the enthusiasm of the three parties. Sure enough, when the three parties heard it, they all looked excited and were even more motivated.
Feng'er and Xu Yinxi behind him both said they had learned it.
Next time when you work with your subordinates, you must first criticize them and then praise them. Your words must be spoken beautifully, and your shortcomings must be mentioned second.
Xu Zhenying first said to the carpenter, "Please make a chicken coop first. It doesn't have to be too big, just big enough to fit a chicken."
The carpenter had gone to collect rice with his children yesterday. His attitude towards Xu Zhenying had changed drastically, and he looked flattered. "You are so polite, Lord. If you need anything, just tell me. I already made the chicken coop, but these ladies said it was too small."
The carpenter took out the finished chicken coop from the corner.
Xu Zhenying didn't mind the dirtiness and just picked it up. He said to the group of scholars, "Bring the blueprint here so I can see it."
The leader was called Liu Jianlin. Having witnessed Xu Zhenying killing the entire Chen family, he was now somewhat terrified and no longer as arrogant as before.
As soon as he heard Xu Zhenying's instructions, he immediately took the blueprint and laid it out. "City Lord... We've been studying the chicken coop you drew for a long time, but we can't figure it out. Why did the City Lord leave such a small space for the chickens to move around? If they can't move around, will it affect the taste of the meat?"
Xu Zhenying nodded. "Yes, it will have an impact, but this kind of chicken has a softer texture and doesn't need to be stewed for as long. It's suitable for children or the elderly with weak teeth."
Seeing the puzzled expressions on Liu Jianlin's faces, and figuring they had never seen modern centralized chicken farming, she became more patient. Picking up a wooden stick from the ground, she pointed at the blueprint and explained, "This chicken coop must not be too big. It means the chickens won't have room to move around. This way, they'll move less but still eat the same amount of feed, which will help them grow quickly and won't be so dry. This cage is the perfect size, but we won't do it this way. The chicken coop should be divided into rows based on the size of the house, with two or three layers of cages in each row. The cages should be connected in series, leaving no gaps in between, with one chicken in each cage. Can you think of a quick and cost-effective way to do this?"
The carpenter slapped his head and said excitedly, "Oh, now that you've put it that way, I understand. There's no need to make the cages one by one. We can just make them in a row, find a gap, and insert them side by side. This will save a lot of time."
This carpenter has a pretty sharp mind.
Xu Zhenying nodded and asked with a smile, "Uncle, what's your name?"
Seeing Xu Zhenying being so polite, the carpenter was actually very nervous and said, "My lord, my last name is Lu. You can just call me Carpenter Lu."
Xu Zhenying, always generous with his praise, encouraged him, "Carpenter Lu really gets it right. That's exactly what I mean. Let's round up all the chickens in the city. We need to maintain adequate temperature and humidity in the shed, ventilate it promptly, and clean it up regularly. The chickens will grow very quickly, and if we're fast, we can have a batch ready in just 60 days."
"Sixty days?" Not only Carpenter Lu was surprised, but the people behind Xu Zhenying were also extremely shocked.
Each of these women has two or three chickens. Ordinary chickens usually take four or five months to grow up, but Xu Zhenying is so good that she shortened the time by half in one go.
Some people saw Xu Zhenying's youth and thought she was inexperienced, so they subtly warned her, "My lord, it takes an ordinary chicken five or six months to grow up. Isn't two months a bit too hasty?"
Xu Zhenying shook his head. "I just want you to shorten the time. Otherwise, why would I spend so much manpower and resources to build this standardized chicken coop? If it's just about raising chickens, I can find a few women. Which woman in the Zhou Dynasty hasn't raised chickens? Why should I find these scholars to work with these aunts? I just want to control the time it takes for the chickens to be slaughtered. And the eggs. These scholars are smart and can write. You have to do experiments on yourselves to study under which conditions the eggs are most likely to hatch chicks. Later we will expand the chicken coop and the scale of breeding, and continuously shorten the time. At least we have to give all the children in the city one egg a day. This task is no easier than charging into battle."
When Liu Jianlin and others heard this, they were shocked at first, and then they felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
But some ignorant people questioned: "This method is good, but it's a bit too cruel. Confining the chickens in this small space, not letting them move an inch, and then slaughtering them when they are mature, this is too inhumane."
These words made everyone present look surprised.
Before Xu Zhenying could say anything, a woman mocked him, "I see you've been eating for only two days and you're already farting. You call that cruel? If you want to be cruel, then don't eat. You're faster than anyone else when it comes to picking up your chopsticks. Now, to say you're cruel is simply... well... what is it..."
"Hypocritical!" a woman said, immediately attracting everyone's laughter. "Oh, Aunt Zhou can even speak idioms~"
"They say a scholar is useless. You think that's cruel, but I think your parents only cared for your body and not your brain. That's the cruelest thing!"
Xu Zhenying was stunned and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Are all the women under Old Liao's command so sharp-tongued?
Wow, this is the legendary person who can argue for a whole day without repeating the words!
The young man was scolded until his face turned red, but he was too embarrassed to argue with a group of women, so he could only bow his hands and beg for mercy.
Xu Zhenying said, "You're right, it's cruel. But survival is the instinct of every animal, including humans. Until people have enough food and clothing, they can't think about anything else. This is what they call the economic structure determining the superstructure."
Liu Jianlin was startled, then asked without hesitation: "May I ask, Lord City Lord, what is the superstructure?"
Xu Zhenying coughed softly. "You can understand 'superstructure' as the realm of thought. What this means is that if ordinary people are hungry, you can't expect them to have any moral thoughts. Only when the granaries are full can they understand etiquette, and only when they have enough food and clothing can they understand honor and disgrace."
Upon hearing this, the scholars' faces immediately turned to joy, and they couldn't help but ask, "Is the city lord also a scholar?"
"I've only read a few books, but I'm not very knowledgeable. I'll need your help in the future." Xu Zhenying's face flushed. Seeing that the scholars were about to ask him more questions, he quickly changed the subject. "In short, you must take this matter of the chicken coop to heart. You are now pioneers in breeding, and your breeding is completely different from the breeding outside. I need you to break new ground and work together sincerely to quickly experiment with the conditions that make chickens lay eggs and eggs lay chicks the fastest. When you do experiments, you must develop the habit of recording, such as the temperature of this group of experimental subjects, how many pounds they have grown, and how long it took. Even seemingly insignificant details must be recorded so that you can control the variables. Whether the 15,000 people in Lan County can be self-sufficient in food depends entirely on you!"
This pie is painted...
Not to mention those women, even Liu Jianlin and the others were excited.
Yes, they all raise chickens, but they are not ordinary chickens!
The city lord said that they are pioneers in chicken farming!
Xu Zhenying continued to make promises while also putting pressure on them. "You guys have to work harder. A team was formed over at the pig farm yesterday to figure out how to get pigs to market quickly and without smelling bad. They have a lot of talented people there, all elite soldiers and generals. Fang Xun will also be the person in charge, specifically overseeing this matter."
Fang Xun, who suddenly became the person in charge of pig farming, was confused.
What’s going on? He was just in charge of food, but suddenly he became a pig farmer?
Xu Zhenying did mention the pig farming thing to him, but he didn't ask him to be fully responsible for it.
Besides, he was lying in bed last night and was still feeling lucky that he was not caught and forced to raise pigs. How come he became the person in charge today?
Fang Xun naturally didn't dare to refute Xu Zhenying in front of everyone. He was speechless and could only bite the bullet and said, "Yes, the city lord has come up with a method to quickly increase pig production. We have set a goal to increase the weight of each pig by 20 kilograms per month!"
Good job!
Everyone present gasped.
Twenty pounds a month, what kind of goal is that?
Due to the limitations of castration technology, not many people raised pigs during the Zhou Dynasty. Not only was the pig's lifespan slow, but the pork from mature pigs also had a strong, unpleasant odor that could not be masked no matter how it was cooked.
Moreover, uncastrated pigs are very aggressive and can easily hurt people when they are in heat. Therefore, ancient people were more accustomed to eating mutton than pork.
As a seasoned foodie, without pork, half of the joy in this world is missing. Spare ribs, pork belly, pig's trotters, which one is not the best in the world?
Although Xu Zhenying had never personally slaughtered a pig, he had seen others doing so in the countryside when he was a child. The scene was…unbearable to watch…
All she remembers now is that piglets must be castrated about seven days after birth, otherwise the mortality and infection rates will increase significantly.
"Really? 20 kilograms? My family has never raised pigs, but I heard Aunt Li, who raises pigs in our village, say that pigs grow slowly, so it will take at least several years."
"My lord, this pork is not worth eating. It's very smelly. I can smell it from far away. I can't eat it at all. I can use it to make oil."
Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "The pigs I have people raise are different. Not only do they grow fast, but they also have no smell. You'll know when the time comes."
She looked at Liu Jianlin and the others again, the smile on her lips even more meaningful. She patted Liu Jianlin on the shoulder and said kindly, "Master Liu, raising chickens is a job that requires patience, care, and perseverance. This may be a bit difficult for you. If it really doesn't work out, just give up. The people of Lan County don't have to eat chicken. When their pig farming team's pigs are ready, we'll eat pork. As for providing nutritional supplements for the children of Lan County, let's not talk about it."
Before Liu Jianlin could say anything, the scholars behind him immediately looked insulted, practically slapping their chests and swearing a military order: "City Lord, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us? Well, we insist on raising chickens, and not only that, we want to raise them well. Didn't their pig farming team boast about increasing their weight by 20 kilograms a month? How can we let ourselves fall behind? Okay, we'll do as the City Lord says and strive to have the first batch of chickens ready by the 60th!"
The women immediately expressed their opinions: "My lord, these guys are right. We in the chicken farming group can't let anyone look down on us! It's just chicken farming, sisters. Let's show off our skills. The women of Shangshui Village are no worse than anyone else!"
Xu Zhenying quickly applauded and praised sincerely, "In this way, the task of ensuring Lan County's grain self-sufficiency is now handed over to you all! If you can truly increase livestock production, I will definitely reward you handsomely!"
After this conversation, the women were no longer afraid of Xu Zhenying.
Although most of them were Lao Liao's subordinates, everyone could see that Xu Zhenying was more capable and polite than Lao Liao, and his attitude towards farmers like them was no different from that towards this group of scholars.
Although she chopped off the heads of more than a dozen people yesterday, and this ruthless method was frightening, but now she thought again that the Chen family bullied men and women and were not good people. Moreover, the Chen family's food had been distributed to them, which made them surprised and happy, and they were grateful to Xu Zhenying.
After finally meeting Xu Zhenying, a brave woman pulled her aside and asked, "City Lord, didn't you say we would divide the land when we entered the city? When will we divide it?"
A woman nearby pulled her aside, signaling her not to ask too many questions, or she might get into trouble.
But Xu Zhenying didn't get angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, auntie. I, Xu Zhenying, am a man of my words. I said we'll get our land divided once we get to the city, so naturally we'll have to divide it. I also know that this is what everyone is most concerned about. I've told you all about it today. If anyone asks about it, please help pass on my message to calm everyone down and avoid endless speculation, which would only be detrimental."
The woman immediately agreed happily.
Not only the women, but everyone in the chicken coop pricked up their ears to listen to Xu Zhenying's arrangements.
"I think you've all seen that we've only been in the city for a few days, and I've just solved the food problem for everyone. We have to do this one thing at a time. The most important thing for us when we enter the city is to get enough food. After that, we have to consider the safety of the city defense. There are so many refugees outside, and many of them are in groups. What if bandits attack? Are you willing to go back to the days of fleeing like before?"
"Of course I don't want to. I will fight to the death with anyone who comes to rob Lan County!" A woman's eyes turned red, not knowing what she was thinking about.
"We finally have a roof over our heads. No one can drive us away!"
"The city lord is right, the city's security comes first!"
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