"Second." Jiang Jin tapped a route on the map. "The population of Fengzhou is too small. Along this journey, you can spread the word about our Gefeng."
This felt a bit like missionary work, with the ultimate goal of drawing more people to Gefeng.
Even the most fragrant wine fears a deep alley, let alone a remote and once notorious small city like Gefeng.
Normally, no matter how desperate the refugees were, they wouldn't think of coming to Gefeng.
Therefore, she had to actively promote the city's new look.
Gefeng was temporarily stable. It was time to absorb more people and talents, uniting all the forces that could be united.
Chen Xi looked at Jiang Jin with a face full of admiration. While others could only see one step ahead, she was already planning a hundred steps out.
And she was merely a fourteen-year-old girl who had not yet reached her coming-of-age ceremony. He could not even begin to imagine what kind of magnificent figure she would become once she fully matured.
Leaning back in her chair, Jiang Jin continued, "Third is gathering intelligence. We have been in Gefeng for over half a year now, and we have no idea what the situation is like in the other provinces and counties."
Two days later, Jiang Jin stood at the city gates to see off He Li and Chen Xi's expedition.
For this mission, she dispatched fifty Dragon Shadow Guards and one hundred and fifty Jinyang soldiers, along with over twenty articulate and business-minded young men and women.
As the weather gradually warmed, through the joint efforts of the military and the civilians, Gefeng had finally cleared most of the wasteland that needed to be reclaimed.
Mu Qing and Mu Wanbai were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. They were constantly occupied with raising seedlings, sowing seeds, fertilizing, and composting.
Because the foundations for the outer city were being dug, the surrounding peripheral areas took up a lot of space. For now, they had only opened up about three thousand mu of land in the central area.
The two sides of the outer city combined added up to around five thousand mu, which was not a small area.
A while ago, Jiang Jin had found an opportunity to bring out a massive amount of crop seeds.
These included wheat, potatoes, soybeans, rice, sweet potatoes, cotton, rapeseed, sugar beets, and chili peppers.
She didn't just want to grow food; she also needed to press oil, extract sugar, and make clothing.
Originally, she had wanted to plant sugarcane because of its high yield and sugar extraction rate, but the northern lands were not very suitable for it, so she chose sugar beets instead.
Since most of these crops did not exist in this era, Jiang Jin personally taught Mu Qing and his granddaughter one by one, explaining the growing habits and fertilizer needs of each plant.
Looking at the sweet potatoes, Mu Qing was full of marvel. "My Lord, are you saying that the leaves of this sweet potato can also be eaten?"
Jiang Jin confirmed, "The sweet potato is a treasure from top to bottom. The leaves can be eaten by people, or they can be used to feed pigs, er, I mean swine."
Mu Qing was speechless. For some reason, that sounded incredibly strange, making it feel as if they were eating the same food as the swine.
Jiang Jin's voice continued, "Later on, these sweet potatoes can be processed into sweet potato starch, which is much more durable. If stored properly, keeping it for a few years won't be a problem at all."
Mu Qing's face flushed with excitement. "And the yield per mu is so high! Truly... truly, the heavens are blessing our Gefeng."
Jiang Jin then pointed at the cotton seeds and said, "The north isn't actually very suitable for growing cotton. Cotton is a temperate crop; it requires abundant sunlight, a warm climate, and moist soil conditions."
Saying this, she sighed. "But our conditions are limited. As you can see, our population in Gefeng is growing, and we need cloth. We need cotton to keep warm."
Mu Qing naturally knew the habits of cotton, and he understood even more how crucial cotton was to the current Gefeng.
Before he could offer any words of comfort, Jiang Jin changed the subject. "Fortunately, these cotton seeds have been enhanced and improved. They can still be planted in the north, though the yield might be a bit lower."
When she mentioned the yield was low, it was relative to the 25th century. For this world, her cotton yield was actually terrifyingly high.
Mu Qing was overjoyed. "That is good, that is good."
Remembering something, he added, "My Lord, you do not need to worry too much. We can still use hemp for weaving. I have borrowed quite a few flax and hemp seeds from the Sun family."
Gefeng had nothing of its own, and while her spatial dimension contained almost every kind of agricultural seed, it completely lacked hemp seeds.
Fortunately, the Sun family originally made cloth. Not only did they have hemp seeds, but they also had silkworm eggs.
However, Jiang Jin currently had little interest in raising silkworms to weave silk. The costs were high and the efficiency was low; she only wanted more practical, mass-producible cotton and hemp.
Returning the favor, Jiang Jin rented a large factory building in the industrial zone to the Sun family so they could raise silkworms and weave cloth.
Wild mulberry trees did not have high environmental requirements, so there were quite a few growing in the north. Raising silkworms was entirely feasible.
The Sun family originally wanted to rent land to plant hemp and mulberry trees to facilitate and expand their weaving business.
But after thinking it over again and again, they ultimately did not bring it up.
He knew very well that the land in Gefeng was meant for saving lives.
Such a massive project like building the city walls was undertaken just for farming; what right did he have to make such a request now?
In any case, he had saved a large amount of money, goods, and grain, which was enough for his family to live on. In such chaotic times, he did not seek to make a fortune, only to find peace and stability.
Now that he had rented the factory building, he had a silkworm room, a weaving workshop, and wild mulberry trees. By raising silkworms and making cloth on a small scale, he would just earn whatever he could.
Mu Qing added, "There are also wild hemp plants in the mountains. Once they mature, we can harvest and use them as well."
Jiang Jin nodded. "Mm, keep an eye on that."
Time flew by like a shuttle. The area outside Gefeng City seemed to change every single day, the entire land radiating a vibrant vitality.
He Li and Chen Xi's group ran into some acquaintances when they were still two days' journey away from Daqing Commandery.
It was not that Chen Xi intentionally remembered them, but rather that their faces had left too deep an impression on him. It was none other than Xiaohua and Wu Qing, who had previously been entangled with Zhao Feng.
Only, right now they looked rather disheveled. Not only were their clothes thin, but their expressions were also filled with panic. They were hurrying along as if someone were chasing them.
Their numbers seemed to have dwindled significantly, and those who remained were almost exclusively the elderly, the weak, women, and children.
Chen Xi found it a bit strange. Just as he was about to stop them and ask what was going on, Xiaohua noticed him.
"You, you are from the group that Young Master Zhao joined?"
Back when Xiaohua was looking for Zhao Feng, Chen Xi had been watching the commotion from a distance. His aristocratic demeanor had caught Xiaohua's eye immediately.
However, he was not her type. She preferred someone like Zhao Feng, who looked mighty and strong.
Chen Xi signaled for his group to stop. "That is correct. And where might you be heading?"
Wu Qing hurriedly stepped in front of Xiaohua. "What is wrong?"
Xiaohua secretly rolled her eyes, pulled Wu Qing aside, and searched through Chen Xi's group with her gaze.
Chen Xi knew exactly who she was looking for and secretly sighed to himself; the word love truly hurt people.
Xiaohua quickly withdrew her gaze. Without answering Chen Xi's question, she asked, "Where is Young Master Zhao?"
Chen Xi's attitude was very gentle. "He did not come this time. Where are you coming from? Why are you heading back?"
Xiaohua's mood visibly dropped. After a few breaths, she finally said, "We went to Daqing Commandery before, but it is not very peaceful over there either, so we... we just left again."
It was only after they arrived at Daqing Commandery that they realized the area was far from peaceful, with battles breaking out every few days. Fortunately, they had settled in the commandery's central county, which was relatively safer.
However, this fragile peace only lasted until the new year. Following the new year, the Jiaoren launched a massive offensive against Daqing Commandery, causing a severe shortage of military forces.
Not only did the local authorities confiscate the farming tools they had brought with them—reportedly because Daqing lacked sufficient weaponry and needed their iron to forge arms—but they also began forced conscription. Her eldest brother was the first to be taken away.
Less than ten days later, her second brother was also dragged off to the army.
Word reached them that the fighting on the front lines was incredibly brutal and that the forced drafts would likely continue. The only males left in her family were her father and two nephews, who were barely seven or eight years old.
Left with no other choice, they had to flee. Fortunately, they were not the only ones escaping Daqing Commandery; many of the refugees were locals who knew the right escape routes, and her family managed to make it out by following their lead.
