The shop is full of people from the fort, so it's okay to put the knife there.
Besides, there is not much point in him staying here. He needs to understand the situation of the tribe as soon as possible.
Upon hearing this, Wei Mingyuan agreed, "Then I'll have to trouble Wu Niang to lead the way."
Wei Xiyin waved her hand. "My niece has only just returned, and she took the Crow Mountains directly to the fort. She knows no more about the current appearance of the county town than my third uncle does."
The planning of the county town was left to Uncle Jiu. Yesterday, when Uncle Jiu came back, she was at the research institute and the two did not meet. Afterwards, Uncle Jiu hurried back to the county town.
The uncle and niece left the blacksmith shop together.
When I came out, I met Wei Mingze at the gate of the fort. He was transporting supplies out with his men.
Wei Xiyin pointed at the rows of carts piled high with grain behind him and asked, "Seventh Uncle is going to the county town too?"
"Yes." Wei Mingze nodded. "The public kitchen in the county town has been built. I'm just about to go there to deliver food. I'll also register and distribute food to the three thousand Wei family soldiers."
"Thank you, brother." Wei Mingyuan nodded.
He already knew that his clan had monopolized more than 200,000 dan of grain from the Yizhou granary, and that the current grain reserves were sufficient, so he did not refuse.
Since we have met, we will naturally go together.
It's sunny outside again.
The once lush greenery gradually turned yellow, losing its tender appearance, withering and falling, clinging to the ground, already wilting. The small pond at the edge of the field revealed the mud beneath, cracked by the sun.
All changes in the county are caused by the weather.
At the edge, high city walls are rising quietly, enclosing the entire Ling County. Strong light shines on the rammed earth walls, and the thin floating sand on the surface is directly illuminated by the sunlight and falls down.
In the distance, many people were working in the high temperature. Their faces were flushed by the sun, and the backs of their clothes were soaked with sweat, with a large area wet.
Carts carrying materials passed by one after another.
The three of them walked on the smooth official road, looking at everything around them.
The uncle and niece chatted as they walked, mainly talking about the current situation of the fort.
Wei Mingze said, "Wu Niang probably doesn't know yet, but the crops we planted in the spring a few days ago are all ripe. The clan has organized people to harvest them, and the yield is quite good, even higher than what we got from our ancestral fields."
Wei Xiyin asked, "Good yield? How much is that?"
Wei Mingze flashed a smile. "Millet yields nearly one zhong per mu, soybeans two dan and eight dou per mu, mung beans a little less, one dan and two dou per mu. The rest of the vegetable seeds grow at different speeds, and the public kitchen sends people to pick them every day, so it's hard to calculate."
Wei Xiyin was shocked. It was only that little bit higher?
Wei Mingyuan on the side was also very surprised. He didn't expect that the newly cultivated Wangtian field would have such a high yield.
You should know that one zhong is six shi and four dou, and one shi is one hundred and twenty jin. Doesn’t nearly one zhong mean more than one thousand jin?
However, Wei Xiyin quickly understood, "We rely on the weather for our livelihood. We benefited from the rapid growth of plants in spring, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve such a high yield in the future."
"That's right," Wei Mingze said. "Everyone thinks so too. But if an ordinary family can get an acre of land and plant various beans, millet, and vegetable seeds in the spring, it will be enough to last the whole year."
"Even now, good farmland is hard to find. People have traveled all over Ling County and haven't found many usable fields." The river water along the border is polluted, and zombies are roaming everywhere. Except for a few farmlands halfway up the mountain or in remote areas, the rest of the fields are no longer suitable for cultivation.
The terrain on Crow Mountain is uneven and there is not much land that can be reclaimed. All the land that can be reclaimed in Ling County has been reclaimed.
As the Wei family army led their men back and brought back some survivors, the population of the fortress had reached 18,000. Now there were too many people and too little land, and the little farmland was not enough to be divided.
Upon hearing this, Wei Xiyin glanced at his indifferent Third Uncle and spoke carefully, "In that case, we need to expand our territory and take over the territory of Yimu County."
"It's mainly near the Crow Mountains over there, and some remote farmlands with no villages nearby." Expansion requires people, not only labor for construction and troops to clear out the surrounding monsters, but also people to garrison and patrol.
With so many mouths to feed, the yield per mu has indeed increased, but if there is no land for cultivation, what is the use of a high spring yield?
Wei Mingyuan understood what she meant. "That's exactly what we should do. Tomorrow, let the Wei family army obey the clan's orders and go out to work."
Seeing Third Uncle's understanding, Wei Xiyin smiled at him, "There's no rush for expansion. Let's first arrange everything in Ling County. Besides, it's the dry season now, so even if we reclaim the land, it's too late."
She turned to look at Wei Mingze and said, "By the way, Uncle Seven, have you planted more crops in the fields after the harvest?"
Wei Mingze smiled bitterly, "Of course I planted it, but the springs on the mountain have dried up, and there's no water to irrigate the fields. It looks like not only will we have a harvest, but even the survival of the crops is a problem."
Wei Xiyin thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we start building the shed now? It can be used in the winter anyway."
She remembered that there was no autumn last year, and the summer went straight into winter.
Considering the cold winter, they should make preparations as early as possible.
"However, the shed does not need to be sealed on all sides now. It is mainly used to block the sunlight. Some large trees can be transplanted to the edge of the field to also serve as a shade." After all, the temperature on the mountain is lower, so it is enough to avoid direct sunlight.
Wei Mingze replied, "Okay, I'll discuss this with your uncles when we get back."
While they were talking, they had already reached the gate of the county town.
Zhang Qi, who was guarding the city gate, bowed quickly and said, "Greetings to the young lady, Third Master, and Seventh Master."
Logically speaking, Wei Xiyin was the younger generation, but the guards put her in front when they saluted.
The two uncles nodded in agreement without any displeasure.
Following them were carts of grain transported into the county town and sent to the county's public kitchen. Because the Wei family army was stationed here, the clan needed to transport nearly 5,000 stones of grain today.
Wei Mingze stared at the grain and continued, "I haven't told Wu Niang about the grain stored in the underground palace yet. This year's new grain harvest, millet, and soybeans totaled over 6,000 dan. Aside from leaving some for the clan leader and the three clan elders, the rest has been stored in the underground palace. Everyone in the fort is still eating the old grain in the granary."
Wei Xiyin understood what he meant.
Food also has a shelf life. In order to prevent the food in the underground palace from spoiling, the old food must be consumed first.
She did not forget that there were still 20,000 shi of grain left in the granary and had already sent people to move it.
But now the population of the fort has reached 18,000. Even if each person consumes 1-2 dou of grain per month, the total amount of grain consumed each month is more than 8,000 dan. In addition, some positions will receive additional grain. Based on the consumption of 10,000 dan per month, the remaining grain can only support more than two years.
This is on the premise that no survivors will be accepted in the next two years.
Therefore, they must ensure that the yield per mu catches up with the consumption rate within two years.
Otherwise, the monsters will continue to grow stronger and the weather will become more severe in the days to come, and it will become increasingly difficult to endure.
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