Qin Huai and others had been repairing the city walls, and the land was only opened up in the spring, so time was very tight.
Fortunately, this land is by the river, and the sandy soil is soft. The tribe may lack other things, but it has an abundance of cattle and horses.
Even if these oxen have never pulled a plow, they can pull a cart. With people from the tribe leading the oxen, they can cultivate ten acres in a day.
Planting grain depends on the season; we can't continue sowing now, we have to wait for the autumn harvest.
But the land reclamation continues, and by next year, more than a thousand acres of fertile land will be available.
Qin Huai and the others were quite envious.
The flat land here stretches as far as the eye can see, and any land that can be cultivated is of excellent quality.
Being near the river means abundant water and fertilizer; if we plant crops there, the people of Mida City will never run out of food.
But Qin Huai and the others were a little uneasy. Once the wall was finished, the Di people would be able to open up the land, and what could they do then?
When Qin Huai asked Song Liyun about the future plans, Song Liyun smiled and said, "Uncle Qin, these lands need people to manage them, and there are still many things to do in the city. I'm only worried that you can't conjure up three heads and six arms. How can you be worried about not having any work and being idle!"
She wasn't just saying that to appease him. Song Erlang was leaving, and the Di people didn't understand these things about the land. Qin Huai and the others needed to teach them as soon as possible so that the Wu Dynasty people wouldn't be used to farm anymore.
The construction of convenient water conservancy facilities in the city should also be put on the agenda.
The river is five miles away from Mida City.
The city's water supply now relies on ten oxcarts transporting water around the clock, especially the large bathhouse, which is a major water user and requires five carts for dedicated supply.
Furthermore, wastewater used in the city is often discharged into ditches indiscriminately, and since there are fewer people and less time for it to seep into the ground quickly.
Given enough time, and with winter approaching, it might pile up into an iceberg.
There are also public toilets...
So Qin Huai and others, along with several members of the Di tribe, began to improve the facilities in Mida City, digging deep drainage ditches to prevent freezing.
The irrigation canal from the river to the city was also under construction, and Song Liyun didn't want to keep using an oxcart to haul water.
Although the Mida River freezes over in winter, wooden waterwheels can still be used for most of the year.
The town of Suijin has waterwheels, and the Uda tribe in Kara Mountain has windmills; we should also include them here.
However, since there are no skilled craftsmen, Zhao Tingduo will have to call over the artisans from Kara Mountain.
In addition, Song Liyun also instructed the city's guards to dig water cellars for various merchants to facilitate water storage.
She is a pessimist and has a habit of storing things in a lot of space.
Not only did he carry various daily necessities with him, but he also wanted to fill the city lord's mansion with fodder before he felt at ease.
Now that there are no wells or springs in the city, her first thought is to store water in the cellar, enough to last at least a month's worth of supplies for the city.
Fortunately, Zhao Tingduo wasn't in the city; if he knew, he would definitely laugh at us.
In winter, cattle and sheep on the grasslands eat snow to quench their thirst, and people can also get water from the snow. There is no need to fetch water from the river, so naturally there is no habit of storing water.
However, Song Liyun is now the highest leader in Mida City.
Everyone did exactly what she said, without even a question.
As a result, horse races continued outside the city, while construction projects were in full swing inside the city.
Song Liyun advertised for workers, offering them salt, tea, cloth, grain, and other goods as compensation. Soon, some Di people stopped watching the spectacle and began to come to the city to work.
In this spring, the entire Di tribe living in the Mida River Valley seemed to have entered a different world.
Aside from herding livestock, the young people talked about competitions, farming, and going to the city to work every day.
The old man looked bewildered and angry.
They are accustomed to migrating across the grasslands with their livestock during the summer and winter seasons.
The young people in the tribe don't want to leave anymore; they want to settle here, where they can enjoy leisure and entertainment, and buy what they need from time to time.
Families within the various tribes of the Di people were beginning to split, with even a once-close-knit family showing signs of dividing.
Amidst the shift between old and new ideas, Mida City's reputation was both praised and criticized, yet it also gained increasing popularity.
Zhao Tingduo and Song Liyun only learned about this a year later.
The people's will is what it is, and there's nothing they can do about it.
In Zhao Tingduo's view, his subjugation of the various tribes was not about controlling everyone's way of life.
The suzerain tribe's management of its subordinate tribes involved mediating conflicts between them, having the authority to deploy troops and purchase cattle and sheep, but it was unable to resolve conflicts between two generations.
Song Liyun hadn't expected the clash of ideas to happen so quickly.
As she anticipated, it would be several years before anyone would change their lifestyle.
As it turned out, Mida City's equestrian competition alone captivated the hearts of young people.
When Zhao Tingduo returned from Hecheng half a month later, he saw that the city was dusty and digging ditches and pits everywhere.
Tents lined up one after another outside the city, drums and gongs resounded, and shouts of encouragement were deafening. The scene was a sea of people, a far cry from the quiet and lively atmosphere before I left. I could hardly believe my eyes.
Even the city lord's mansion has changed, and Song Liyun has arranged a schedule for a group of children.
In the morning, everyone, regardless of age, does chores together at home, eats breakfast, and goes to school for an hour.
Song Liyun prepared a different set of learning materials for them.
In addition to learning the script of the Wu Dynasty, they also had to learn simplified Chinese and elementary arithmetic.
There were no musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, or songs; everything was focused on practicality.
In the afternoon, the work involved beautifying the environment of the city lord's mansion.
As soon as Zhao Tingduo entered, she saw Song Liyun leading a group of boys digging and leveling the flower beds.
A few little girls were wobbling and carrying soil, laughing and playing around.
Zhao Tingduo quickly stepped forward, took the hoe from Song Liyun, and brushed the mud off the hem of her skirt.
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