Chapter 1594 IF Scenario: What if Shen Tang woke up earlier (Part 8)
Qin You watched with great interest.
He couldn't resist nudging a colleague halfway through.
When he elbowed him and got no reaction, Qin You turned his head to look.
Wei Lou pressed his hand to his forehead for some reason, seemingly feeling unwell. Qin You, out of consideration for their past work together, offered a polite inquiry.
"What, you cried because of her stupid behavior?"
Putting everything else aside, Shen Tang's behavior, by the standards of contemporary warlords, was undeniably incredibly stupid—a wasteful spendthrift. With money, grain, and land, instead of focusing on building up his army, he was stuck here playing house with the tenant farmers. What good was appeasing these tenants? Even bundled together, they weren't as useful as a single brave warrior. And if things went wrong, these people would be the first to flee. Giving them precious food was less effective than throwing it into the water; at least that would make a splash. Despite the mockery, Qin You still quite liked Shen Tang; she was a kind person.
Qin You couldn't help but sigh, "There's no need to get so angry. Anyway, it's not our family's wealth that's being spent... Tell me, if the family we encountered back then had been someone like her, the world would have been at peace long ago. Where would this inhuman world be now?"
Your perspective is determined by your position.
Qin You, being a member of the warlord faction, certainly couldn't stand Shen Tang's foolish actions; if he were her subordinate, he'd be furious. But for these emaciated tenant farmers and their families, he would only wish there were more such sages, ideally everyone.
Wei Lou lowered his hand, clenching his back teeth.
The muscles in his cheeks were taut, as if he was holding back something.
The tenants paid no heed to their thoughts; their expressions were dazed, as if they couldn't understand human speech. They never dared dream of such a wonderful dream—could the landlord's land be theirs to cultivate forever? Only 30% of the land would be rent? And this 30% rent would decrease later, not increase? Free farm tools? Farm tools for free? Good heavens, they'd even build irrigation canals and reservoirs for them?
It's fake, it's fake, it's fake.
What good intentions could a weasel have when it offers New Year's greetings to a chicken?
Can--
Someone's rough, chapped hands reached for the cloth wrapped around their body.
They remembered that these cloths were also given by the new master.
Although the cloth was given to them to cover their shame and avoid attracting the attention of the wealthy, and although a bolt of cloth was divided into two pieces for women and one for men, the cloth was indeed free. Back home, they could resew the roughly torn cloth back together to make new clothes.
Most tenant farmers never actually wear a new piece of clothing in their entire lives.
This alone makes her infinitely better than her former employer. So, is it possible that she will also fulfill the other promises she made?
Without being reminded, tenants began to weep and kneel in despair.
Shen Tang: "Sigh, if you cry any more, my heart will break."
She helped up the nearest pair of tenant farmers' children.
Ask them their age.
"Damn it, one is five years old and the other is six years old, but they are not even three feet tall. When I touched their wrists, there were only bones and no flesh." In Shen Tang's memory, children of this age were all over a meter tall, and those who were well-nourished could be 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall and weigh 40 or 50 kilograms.
Shen Tang ordered that all the tenant farmers be counted.
Make a special note of the children from each family.
Few members of the Gongxi clan are capable of this kind of work.
Shen Tang choked for a moment, then turned her gaze to Wei Lou: "Lord, you are a scholar with a literary heart, don't you have the ability to handle such matters with ease?"
Wei Lou: "I am not a female strategist."
"I have money, name your price!"
Wei Lou: "..."
On one side, Qin You was both envious of Wei Lou making another fortune and jealous of Shen Tang, this wealthy woman who could pave the way with money. He also regretted not having studied more diligently when he was a clerk in the army. If he had mastered this skill, he would be the one making a fortune now.
Wei Lou took a deep breath and refused any offer of money or food.
"Wei is only one person, and I'm afraid he's not capable of handling this task."
Shen Tang rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, feeling utterly overwhelmed: "Don't the Wenxin Scholars have a way to do the work of several people? I've heard some high priests say that the Wenxin Scholars' words are incredibly magical, allowing one person to have an external avatar. Isn't that a solution? If all else fails, does Your Majesty know any unemployed friends? If you help me introduce them successfully, I'll give you a generous reward, and I promise I won't go back on my word."
In fact, the landlord whose property she confiscated also had several literate accountants, but Shen Tang had been too rough with her actions. She looked around for available people and found none suitable: "Why don't we ask the tenant farmers if they know any who can read?"
Tenants weren't always tenants.
There were also unfortunate men whose families fell on hard times and who were forced to sell themselves into servitude.
After asking around, they only managed to find one.
Their literacy level was just barely above illiterate.
On the third day, Wei Lou, his face dark, tossed Shen Tang a letter and a pile of newly compiled tenant lists. The lists were simple, but the workload was immense. Shen Tang wanted the lists to keep a record, so she would have a basis for distributing seeds, farm tools, and relief supplies later. In a moment of enthusiasm, she made a bold promise: no matter how difficult, she had to grit her teeth and not let her pride be tarnished.
"Wow, Lord Jun is really amazing."
Without the aid of office software, being able to complete these tasks in just three days is simply a favorite of the boss!
Wei Lou wasn't buying any of that flattery and said coldly, "I just want to know how you're going to fulfill your grand ambition from that day."
Putting aside other factors, even a small-scale irrigation canal or reservoir requires the recruitment of thousands or tens of thousands of workers. Even if she could attract that many laborers with money, the construction time would still be measured in years.
Shen Tang: "What's so difficult about that?"
Wei Lou disliked people boasting the most: "What's so difficult about this? Hehe, Your Majesty really knows nothing. Even if you use absolute force to wipe out this family and confiscate their land and private property, you will still be a commoner and have no right to conscript labor."
"Oh, you mean this? Aren't there two thousand strong men from the Gongxi clan?" Shen Tang's answer exceeded Wei Lou's expectations, and the most explosive thing was yet to come. "If all else fails, there's still me, isn't there? The other day, Yun Da and I dug such a deep pit. How long would it take to dig a reservoir with all our strength? Others don't have my strength, but they have the advantage of numbers and high work efficiency."
Wei Lou: "..."
His mind went blank for a moment.
He thought Shen Tang would spend money to hire laborers, or even kill the local magistrate and become the magistrate himself to conscript laborers. He never expected that Shen Tang would roll up his sleeves and send his elite troops to work, and even plan to work in the fields himself. Isn't something a little off?
Shen Tang didn't think anything was wrong at all.
A small project that two thousand people could finish in ten days or half a month is instead dragged out for three to five years by tens of thousands of people working in a daze. Isn't that insane? During this period, these tens of thousands of people may also face the risk of death from overwork, and we have to pay compensation to the families of the deceased. Isn't that making things worse?
Shen Tang considers himself a normal person.
"Which is more expensive, managing two thousand people for ten days or half a month's worth of food, or managing tens of thousands of people for three to five years? Even a three-year-old can do this math."
Wei Lou shouldn't try to fool her into paying more money.
She looked at Wei Lou warily, refusing to be brainwashed.
Wei Lou sneered: "...Would the Gongxi clan agree to that?"
The Gongxi clan indicated that they would agree.
In their view, it's just a change of scenery for singing, holding hands with their fellow tribespeople as they head out to work, and after a long day of work, chatting and laughing as they go home for dinner—a truly fulfilling day. The high priest will preside over a blessing ceremony, ensuring they remain energetic throughout the day.
Everything in the outside world was new and exciting to them.
The tribe's territory was isolated, with no place to even go boating on the lake. Now, they were going to build a reservoir where people could fish.
Shen Tang also held a meeting with the High Priest to allocate manpower for land reclamation.
To absorb more people, more arable land was needed, and the land owned by the landlords was far from enough. There was an abundance of manpower to reclaim wasteland, but the challenge was how to cultivate the newly reclaimed land to make it fertile and put it into use immediately after reclamation.
Ji Mo Cong: "It's not difficult."
The high priest's divine power itself could stimulate crops.
Otherwise, those tribesmen whose farming skills were limited to "lush grass and sparse bean sprouts" would have long since starved to the bone.
Where else can one accumulate so many granaries like a hamster?
"We cannot rely too much on your abilities."
There are only five high priests; they cannot be mass-produced.
What Shentang needs is a lower threshold and a larger quantity.
She rested her chin on her hand, her mind racing with ideas on how to control pests and fertilize the crops. Ji Mo Cong and the others dared not disturb her, but Wei Lou watched the spectacle with amusement—in his opinion, it would be more effective to simply find a skilled farmer than for her to rack her brains.
A flash of inspiration struck Shen Tang: "Hey, I've got it!"
Wei Lou looked in the direction of the sound.
Shen Tang asked, "Can a scholar with a literary heart be struck by lightning?"
Wei Lou: "In terms of character, they all deserve to be struck by lightning."
Shen Tang strode over her desk and approached Wei Lou with lightning speed: "I'm not going to waste my breath on you. I'm talking about whether there are any words of power that can generate lightning! As the saying goes, 'Thunder and rain bring crops,' the essence of which is that lightning electrolyzes elements in the air, which are then dissolved by rainwater to form natural nitrogen fertilizer needed for farming. Instead of waiting for God to grace us with his presence, we might as well actively create thunder and rain to fix nitrogen!"
Wei Lou: "..."
"Grow some nitrogen-fixing crops, like soybeans and peanuts."
Shen Tang paused as she spoke.
"Of course, farming methods are also very important. We can guide tenants on how to rotate crops, such as wheat, corn and soybeans, which is a cycle and can greatly reduce pests and diseases. In this way, even newly cultivated fields will become fertile after a few cycles."
Wei Lou asked a question that made Shen Tang's vision go black.
What is corn?
He knew about soybeans; it should be called "shudou" (菽豆).
I've also heard about wheat, but it's not widely cultivated.
Corn was the only thing he had never heard of.
Shen Tang: "...Sigh, the task is arduous and the road ahead is long."
First, clear the land and get struck by lightning; then, use farmyard manure as well.
As for the rest, for now we can only follow the local farming practices and wait until she can find a way to obtain stable crop seeds.
The most urgent task is to recruit new employees and expand the company's scale!
Wei Lou wasn't her strategist after all. Shen Tang wanted to poach Wei Lou from Ji Sunyin's company and make him work entirely for her, but unfortunately, Wei Lou wouldn't agree. She wouldn't do anything that involved coercion.
Fortunately, he had helped her write a letter some time ago, and the target didn't live far away, so she decided to try her luck: "Lord Jun, your friend must be as capable as you, right? One person can do the work of several, right?"
Wei Lou looked over coldly.
Shen Tang was not intimidated at all, and sighed softly: "Otherwise, it really wouldn't be worth my three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage. It's not that I'm being harsh, but it's just that not everyone can be treated like Master Ge. If the strategist who comes out after three visits is a novice, wouldn't that drag down Master Ge's level?"
Mount Tai is a typical victim of this.
Wei Lou: "..."
Sometimes I really want to tear Shen Tang's gossipy mouth apart.
It's said to be not far, but that's only in terms of the speed of a martial artist; an ordinary person wouldn't be able to get there in less than ten days or half a month. When Shen Tang and his party arrived with gifts, the gatekeeper told them that the master had gone on a long journey.
Shen Tang: "..."
It really wasn't surprising at all.
However, she is somewhat different from Liu Bei.
She was much luckier than Liu Bei.
At the foot of the mountain lay a city, dilapidated and desolate, yet still home to over ten thousand permanent residents. Shen Tang decided to stay for a couple of days, and also post notices to recruit talent. Shen Tang stated his requirements, and Wei Lou and the others fell into a long silence.
"Are you sure you want to write it this way?"
"Otherwise what? Is there a problem with writing it this way?"
Shen Tang picked up the cloth, on which was a large "Hiring" sign, next to which was a line of smaller words: "Join us, find the unique you, and achieve the self that everyone admires." Job posting 1, job requirements; Job posting 2, job requirements; Job posting 3, job requirements... Below were contact addresses and contact persons.
She looked at it several times.
There were no typos, and the salary and address were not wrong.
It's a standard job posting.
Shen Tang said, "Go, post it. I want it like this."
Wei Lou: "..."
Even if Shen Youli visited the hermit's cottage thirty times, she might not be able to persuade him to leave his seclusion. However, this was none of his concern; he was only responsible for collecting money and doing the work—he would only do the work for the fee he received. He had hoped to see Shen Tang make a fool of himself…
As it turned out, things didn't go as planned.
The next day, someone found the temporary lodging at the address. The person who came was a young man with a youthful appearance and a somewhat unconventional demeanor.
"I've heard that the master has hired a martial arts master?"
Wei Lou didn't know the young man's cultivation level, but judging from his posture and aura, he was definitely not a simple person: "Hmm."
Hearing the commotion, Shen Tang personally came out to conduct the interviews.
"Name?"
"Luo San, courtesy name Bert."
"Huh? Robert?" This name piqued Shen Tang's curiosity, and she asked, "Do you have a younger brother named Luo Zhongshu?"
Luo San shook his head: "I only have one younger sister in my family."
Shen Tang: "Your sister's name is Luo Lin?"
"No." Luo San, being good-natured, didn't get angry at Shen Tang's two nonsensical questions, but simply answered honestly. He really needed some generous treatment right now to avoid the limelight.
Shen Tang: "...It's a bit of a pity."
Luo San asked, "Is the Queen looking for someone?"
Shen Tang gave a vague reply, as she couldn't very well say that the name Robert reminded her of Robert and J.K. Rowling.
Sigh, nobody understands her joke, she's really embarrassed.
Luo San's abilities perfectly matched the requirements in Shen Tang's recruitment poster, so he was immediately hired, and his monthly salary would be paid on time and in full by the middle of the following month. If Luo San needed anything, he could exchange it for an equivalent amount of rice. Nothing else was available, but food was plentiful.
"Does Bert have any reservations about the job?"
Luo San shook his head: "I will obey my lord's orders."
Overjoyed, Shen Tang said "good" three times in a row.
Luo San was a kind-hearted man. He immediately asked, "Has the lord recruited enough people? I have some fellow villagers who meet the lord's requirements. Should we let them give it a try as well?"
Shen Tang's eyes lit up, and she waved hurriedly.
"Come on, come on, everyone come on, we can't have too many."
＿|￣|●
The seller hasn't given me the revised cover yet.
It'll be September 1st after midnight, and the little monsters at home can finally be sealed away in the kindergarten daycare! ヽ(°▽°)ノ
(End of this chapter)
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