Chenxi asked many more questions about medicine, and the boy answered fluently, sometimes even offering some unique insights.
Shenxi felt much more at ease. With a team of several hundred people, having such a real doctor was much better than her being a mediocre one.
Chen Xi raised his voice and said to the group, "If anyone feels unwell in the future, you can contact... By the way, what's your name?"
"Fang Chenyan".
"Yes, anyone who is feeling unwell can see Dr. Fang Chenyan. He is a very skilled doctor."
Who says children are useless? Eleven or twelve-year-olds are definitely medical experts at this age.
Those who were with Shen Xi earlier were naturally convinced. Although they didn't understand what the boy said, it sounded profound, and they could tell he was someone who knew the way.
So the word got out, and hundreds of people were even happier when they heard it, walking with a spring in their step.
Upon arriving at their destination, following Chenxi's instructions, everyone picked up shovels, spades, and picks to dig and excavate. These farming tools were extremely precious to farmers, as ironware was already scarce, and even when fleeing famine, they were reluctant to lose it. Moreover, these items served as effective weapons for self-defense along the way.
At the beginning of the famine, there was still the only oxcart in the village, which belonged to the old village chief. However, halfway through the journey, the old ox passed away, and it became too difficult to push the oxcart, so it had to be abandoned. The old village chief was heartbroken for a long time.
At first, there were quite a few carts, but most of them were abandoned along the way. When they arrived here, the only two remaining carts were left outside before they escaped into the mountains. Later, when they were getting horse meat, they managed to carry them back into the mountains with great difficulty.
At this moment, Chenxi called over Zhao Rong, who was working, and said, "You know how to set traps, don't you!"
"meeting!"
"Alright, call all your brothers, and I'll call a few more to set some traps. It'll be safer, and we might even get some game."
Chenxi called over several able-bodied men, along with Zhao Rong, Zhao Peng, Zhou Ren, Zheng San, Cui San, and Xiao Kong. They circled the area within several miles of the kudzu field several times, carefully observing it. Then, he instructed these men to set traps in some places.
Zhao Rong and the others were all hunters, and they were all deeply impressed by Chen Xi's well-organized guidance.
A young girl who had never hunted before, under her guidance, set traps that were clearly better than those of the hunters. Following someone like that was definitely the right thing to do.
There's a trick to setting traps in Chenxi. After observing for so long, he's already carefully studied the footprints of various animals. Although there aren't many, he might still be able to catch them.
Following Shen Xi's instructions, Fang Chenyan led the children and some women and elderly people who were not strong enough to search for medicinal herbs in the surrounding area. Medicinal herbs could not be found only when needed, as it would sometimes be too late, and some of them needed to be processed and dried.
Just as everyone was busy, a voice exclaimed, "Wow, this must be the King of Kudzu!"
"How heavy must this be, given its size?"
"I think it weighs about 200 pounds!"
Chenxi's eyes lit up. It really was the King of Kudzu Roots, weighing around 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), dug out by many people.
"Let's stop digging here for today. Digging too much will cause us to lose moisture and we won't be able to eat it. Let's set up camp here for now!"
Although kudzu can be pressed to extract water and then dried for storage, it's not feasible to do so for the time being. Even if everyone participates, we can't get too much.
What we produced today, besides some that we ate, is enough for these people to work on today to extract the water and then air-dry and preserve. The rest can be dealt with tomorrow.
Chenxi needs to obtain more food in a very short time so that he can survive a locust plague.
The food served at noon and in the evening was the same: horse meat and kudzu root. As for the little food left over from each family, Chenxi didn't care. If the allocated horse meat and kudzu root weren't enough, people could eat extra from their own homes. If they didn't have any, they would have to go hungry. For normal people who didn't have a particularly large appetite, the amount of horse meat and kudzu root was enough.
Yes, Chenxi has already distributed food according to the amount. Everyone who participated in the labor received food. The share for young and strong people was slightly larger, while the share for women, children, and the elderly was smaller. This was unavoidable. In this kind of collective life, food was still scarce at this time, and it was impossible to just take food at will.
But after the people distributing the food finished, a loud voice rang out: "Why wasn't I given any food?"
Chenxi looked at that person: "Uncle Li, everyone who participated in the labor today got a share, but you didn't. Did you not do any work?"
While everyone was working, Chenxi made sure to have people remember who was working, who was slacking off, and who wasn't doing any work. Although those who worked hard would receive a share regardless of how much they did, those who didn't work hard or didn't work at all would definitely be punished.
Li Si's expression changed, but he remained defiant: "Who said I didn't work? I'm covered in dirt. Who told you I didn't work?"
No one dared to admit it, but Chen Xi wasn't going to listen to that: "I saw it. What, Li Si, are you trying to cause trouble?"
Li Si tilted his head and said, "You made a little girl the village chief, and you're acting like you have a big deal out of it. It's all because you're the one who gets food. Otherwise, why would you be the village chief? If you don't give me food, what kind of village chief are you!"
Shen Xi raised her eyebrows and glanced at the crowd. She knew that some people would definitely be dissatisfied. If it weren't for the food, they wouldn't have let her lead.
"Who else disagrees?"
Shen Xi's face darkened. Although she was small, she had a commanding presence.
Today, not only did Li Si not receive any food, but several others did as well. Some of them were lazy and would dig a few times, then rest for a while, then dig a few more times, and the food they received was pitifully small. Although they didn't shout as loudly as Li Si, they were all saying, "How can we accept not being given food?"
Shen Xi wasn't going to tolerate that, and her voice grew even colder: "You want to eat without working? There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you don't want me to be your leader, you can get out. If you don't want to get out, then you'd better listen to me. If you cause any more trouble, don't blame me for being impolite!"
The old village chief strongly supported Chen Xi and also spoke up: "Li Si, and you guys, did you hear what the leader said? If you don't listen, you'll all be fired!"
Many people, for the sake of food, were unwilling to offend Chen Xi and advised him, "Li Si, behave yourself. If you work hard tomorrow, you'll get food."
Li Si was a scoundrel, and after being instigated by the Wang family patriarch during the day, he flew into a rage upon hearing this: "Whoever feeds me is my mother! What kind of person is she if she doesn't give me anything? Believe me or not, I'll fuck you to death!"
Shen Xi's face darkened, and he slowly said, "Say it again!"
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