When the news that Chen Laoda's wife had driven the people from Lianmeng Village reached the ears of the Chen family, they were already used to it, but Chen Kai was both amused and exasperated.
However, at this moment, good news arrived.
That means there is no widespread epidemic spreading in their area for the time being, so they don't need to flee for the time being. After all, no one wants to leave their homeland unless it's a matter of life and death.
The villagers breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news, but they were still worried about food. If a famine struck, they would still flee to more prosperous areas.
However, the villagers who went out to gather information brought back bad news.
In one village, someone was found to be infected with the plague. Although it was only one person, the entire village was surrounded and burned down.
Upon hearing this, Chen Kai was also in a daze, feeling an indescribable sorrow. In ancient times, human life was truly cheap as grass; an entire village was burned without a second thought…
The order to burn the village was not given by the county magistrate, but by a general who was passing through the area with his troops.
The county magistrate pleaded for leniency, but to no avail. After the village was burned down, the general left.
I heard that a village was burned down. Everyone was very scared, but they were also very glad that they had not contracted the plague.
Just then, Xiao Bao's second older brother ran over, excitedly shouting, "Good news! Good news!"
"The imperial court has issued a notice that disaster-stricken areas can be exempted from taxes for three years."
Although everyone survived this disaster, they lost all their savings, food, and shelter, and they didn't know how much longer they could hold on.
Chen Kai and Xiao Tian had already guessed that the imperial court would exempt them from taxes. However, with war still raging, it was impossible to expect the imperial court to provide disaster relief.
This country is truly beset by internal and external troubles; I wonder if it can even survive until they grow up.
Xiao Bao's second brother continued, "Uncle, I heard that many people from Peach Blossom Village are going to go out to transport grain from other places."
"They are hiring people now, providing them with food to ensure they don't starve, and if the grain is delivered back, they will be given priority to sell some to them at a low price."
“My dad wanted to go after hearing the news, but my mom scolded him, and now he doesn’t dare to mention it.”
“I also think my mother was right to scold us. Why rely on others? They might die out there without even knowing how they died.”
Chen Kai said, "We really can't go out. It's better to rely on ourselves than on others. Go and call Bai Yu over here. Tell him you have a way to solve our current predicament."
Xiao Bao's second brother asked excitedly, "Uncle, do you really have a way? What is it?"
Just then, Er Ya, who was passing by, heard this and immediately ran over, saying, "Uncle, you have a way to solve the problem, why tell outsiders? Isn't it enough for us to know it ourselves?"
Chen Kai said helplessly, "Even if I told you this, you wouldn't understand. Only scholars can understand it. It's your fault for not studying hard enough."
Er Ya didn't care about all that; she wanted to hear it first.
Chen Kai couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he simply told her about the Anping Village reconstruction plan that he had discussed with Xiao Tian. Er Ya, as expected, didn't understand and looked at Chen Kai with a blank expression.
Actually, Chen Kai had this idea when the Chen family held a sports meet: to let Anping Village take the route of tourism development. However, the project was too large, so it was not proposed for the time being.
Anping Village, now devastated by a hailstorm and a rainstorm, has no other choice but to do this; they are determined to fight to the death.
Of course, such a large project requires a lot of manpower and financial resources, and it will also take a long time.
Therefore, what they need to solve now is the problem of farming and housing construction. Only when they have food will everyone have hope.
He wants to create a brand new Anping Village that focuses on farming and construction, supplemented by tourism.
They didn't expect everyone in Anping Village to follow their orders, but they hoped they would listen to their advice. House construction and farming were within their plans, and as for other areas that needed to be renovated, they just needed to refrain from causing trouble.
After Bai Yu arrived, Chen Kai asked directly, "Bai Yu, have you read 'The Essential Techniques for the Common People'?"
Bai Yu shook his head, and Chen Kai continued, "The new sled we made before was based on the 'Essential Techniques for the Common People,' which contains a lot of knowledge about farming..."
To avoid being questioned later, he decided to use "Qimin Yaoshu" as a shield.
"There's also something called a waterwheel in the book. With this, irrigation becomes very convenient..."
Chen Kai talked a lot, painting a rosy picture, leaving Bai Yu completely bewildered.
After a short while, Bai Yu reacted and said excitedly, "Chen Kai, wait a moment, I'll go back and get some brush, ink, paper and inkstone. Draw out everything you just mentioned, and we'll study it together to see if we can make it."
Seeing that Bai Yu was about to leave, Chen Kai immediately stopped him, saying, "I have something else to say."
"Bai Yu, do you want our village to become rich, so that before next autumn harvest, we can have income without having to go out to find work, so we won't starve, and we'll even have some left over..." Chen Kai painted a rosy picture for Bai Yu.
Chen Kai gave a general overview of the new construction plan for Anping Village, outlining the positive aspects in a grandiose manner, which successfully persuaded Bai Yu.
After hearing Chen Kai's plan, Bai Yu immediately ran home. He wanted to tell his grandfather the good news as soon as possible. It was a great way to make money for the whole village, and it had to be implemented quickly.
Chen Kai was extremely gratified to see Bai Yu so anxious. People who have been educated have a broader perspective than his own Er Ya, who couldn't even understand what he was saying.
Er Ya noticed her uncle staring at her, so she asked, "Uncle, are you going to clear the land?"
Chen Kai nodded and said, "Go!"
Even if he had many ideas, solving the problem of food and clothing was more important right now.
The former farmland has now become wasteland, and if we want to harvest grain, we have to reclaim the land.
At that time, most families in Anping Village were still repairing their houses, but their entire family went out to reclaim wasteland.
Their family was considered relatively well-off. Although part of the house was damaged, with Chen Lao Er around, it was repaired quickly.
The Chen family's oxen, donkeys, and new sleds were all put to use, and many people would come over to watch during their rest time, all of them envious.
Old Man Chen felt that housing wasn't a big problem; the key to survival was getting food, as food was the foundation of life.
While greenhouse vegetables can also produce a yield, the variety of vegetables that can be grown is limited. It's better to grow grains in the ground for higher yields.
Chen Kai was surprised that Ma Zhen was so down-to-earth when doing farm work, and that he got along very well with the Chen family.
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