Could he plant the wheat seeds directly, then simply sit back and wait for steamed buns and dumplings?
That was impossible.
After spending 21 Fragments of Hope to obtain enough seeds, Zhang Yang discovered that he was still missing the tools needed for farming.
At the very least, he needed a plow for tilling the land.
So, while he was at it, Zhang Yang exchanged for two more crude Iron Plows.
As for the oxen to pull them—he couldn't exactly have the farmers do it, could he? Their average attributes were only F+.
So he called over four Elite Spearmen. With E+ Strength, each was equivalent to five adult men from Earth. They were no weaker than a big water buffalo. "Brothers, sorry for the trouble."
After making sure he hadn't missed anything, Zhang Yang fled as though escaping for his life beneath the resentful gazes of the four Elite Spearmen. Farming was truly terrifying.
Next, Zhang Yang went to the Level 5 Residential House. There, he finally found some great comfort, because he could hear the children's joyous laughter from far away. It felt even better than taking an immortal pill.
He first inspected its attributes from outside.
Residential House: Level 5 Maximum households: 20 Current population: 98 people. Elderly (45 and above): 6 people, first-generation residents, cannot be recruited. Adults (30–45): 40 people, second-generation residents. Among them, the housewives cannot be recruited, while the men can be recruited as Lumberjacks, farmers, craftsmen, Hunters, cooks, and so on. If forcibly recruited as recruits, their loyalty will drop, and the population will decrease. Young adults (16–29): 29 people, third-generation residents. All can be recruited, but recruiting women will lower the birth rate. Adolescents (12–15): 11 people, third-generation residents, cannot be recruited. Children (4–11): 8 people, fourth-generation residents, cannot be recruited. Infants (0–3): 4 people, fourth-generation residents, cannot be recruited. Warning: Pay attention to the village's reproduction. Before the sixth-generation residents reach adulthood, fresh blood must be introduced. Otherwise, unexpected events will occur. Current villager loyalty: 50. (Explanation: The villagers' desire to have children is related to loyalty, Village Prosperity, and the Livability Index. When loyalty exceeds 80, Village Prosperity exceeds 100, and the Livability Index exceeds 20, every couple will have three children during their childbearing years, with a high chance of survival.)
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"Interesting."
Zhang Yang did the math. The first-generation residents could be ignored, so he began counting from the second generation.
There were twenty men and twenty women, who had given birth to forty children—twenty-four boys and sixteen girls.
At present, six pairs of men and women among the third-generation residents had married and given birth to twelve children. These were the fourth-generation residents.
Of the remaining third-generation residents, twenty-eight remained. Assuming a marriage structure of one man to one woman, eight bachelors would be left over.
As for the twelve fourth-generation children, there were seven boys and five girls. That ratio was rather unfriendly.
So no matter what, he had to find a way to expand the population.
"For now, let's build a new Residential House. It's too crowded here. There should still be plenty of couples among the second-generation residents who can continue having a third child. And with a more spacious house and better conditions, many third-generation residents will be able to marry and have children as well."
"However, the requirements for having a third child aren't low. Villager loyalty must reach 80, Village Prosperity must exceed 100, and the Livability Index must exceed 20."
As Zhang Yang pondered, he quickly opened the Village Building Order panel.
The calculation for Village Prosperity was as follows: one Level 1 building added 1 point of prosperity, while a special building added 5 points. Each level gained added 5 points, and every increase of one building level added 2 points of prosperity. Ten points of prosperity were required to increase the Livability Index by 1 point.
He currently had one Level 1 Training Ground, one Level 1 Barracks, one Level 5 Residential House, one Level 5 residential field, one Level 5 Great Horned Deer Barracks, and the Wood Demon Tower. His total prosperity was therefore 40, while his Livability Index was 4. The road ahead was truly long and arduous.
"Then let's recruit eight craftsmen, eight Lumberjacks, two butchers, and two cooks."
Zhang Yang quickly finished recruiting the twenty second-generation residents. They were all able-bodied men between thirty and forty-five years old—the undisputed heads of their households. Forcing them to become recruits would obviously be inappropriate, which was why it would lower their loyalty.
But recruiting them for ordinary professions was completely fine. They had families to support, after all.
In other words, if he wanted to recruit recruits, he couldn't choose people with families to feed.
Now that Zhang Yang had successfully recruited them through the Village Building Order, twenty able-bodied men gradually emerged from the Level 5 Residential House. Unfortunately, they came empty-handed—not even a single axe among them.
Fortunately, they already possessed the basic skills of their respective professions. For example, the Lumberjacks had Level 1 Logging, the butchers had Level 1 Butchering/Skinning, and the cooks had Level 1 Cooking.
The craftsmen's skills were more or less the same as Zhao Tiezhu's.
"They really are starting from scratch, building everything with their bare hands."
With a sigh, Zhang Yang could only take out gray-quality Fragments of Hope again. Through trial and error, he obtained sixteen saws, sixteen axes, eight hammers, eight chisels, two boning knives, two kitchen knives, two large iron pots, and fifty kilograms of salt.
That used up another twenty Fragments of Hope.
After equipping them with these tools and supplies, he assigned the two cooks to prepare lunch and sent the eight Lumberjacks to cut wood in the nearby forest. In any case, raising their skills required proficiency.
Afterward, Zhang Yang took the eight junior craftsmen to find Zhao Tiezhu. The fortress expansion could be put on hold for now. The urgent task was to build another Residential House. This wasn't a game, after all—having children truly required ten months of pregnancy.
Moreover, these craftsmen couldn't build one structure after another with a few random materials, clanging away like characters in a game. They first had to be taught how to cut and shape timber, tamp down foundations, make wooden joints, and rivet things together. Zhang Yang had to figure out these aspects himself as well. It was easy to imagine how terrible he felt.
Terrible as it was, every foundation and every detail of the village would determine its future success or failure. He didn't dare take it lightly.
The new Residential House was chosen on the western side beneath the hill, 150 meters from the fortress and 100 meters from the Training Ground. It was next to the first Level 5 Residential House, with a ten-meter-wide road left between them.
Well, these were things Zhang Yang could still plan properly.
"The foundation has to be laid first. You few, dig straight down along the lines I drew. As for how deep to dig, use your own height as the standard. Pay attention and make it precise!"
Using the opposite Level 5 Residential House as a standard, Zhang Yang first drew a large square and marked out a two-meter-wide foundation ring-beam area. Then he had ten soldiers grab shovels and dig furiously. They were much faster than an excavator—as long as they didn't dig in the wrong place.
"All the craftsmen, come with me. You few, come over too. Let's gather some stones first. Wait, shouldn't I burn bricks first? That's how all those transmigration novels write it—"
Zhang Yang's forehead began to sweat. He was genuinely feeling guilty.
"Forget it. We'll quarry stones first. A towering building rises from level ground. I understand the importance of laying a solid foundation."
As he led several dozen people rumbling past the Training Ground, he saw the instructor surnamed Qin sitting leisurely inside the building, calmly watching the rain. He looked positively poetic.
This irritated Zhang Yang, so he asked, "Can you train craftsmen for me?"
"Village Chief, I can't. I can only train recruits." The instructor, Qin Ge, replied with a smile, but Zhang Yang somehow felt there was more behind those words.
"Then who can train craftsmen?"
"Reporting to the Village Chief, higher-level craftsmen can. But rather than find a high-level craftsman, you would be better off cultivating them yourself."
Qin Ge, the instructor with that surname, answered stiffly and formally. The only unpleasant thing was that he always wore a mysterious smile, as though he were watching a joke.
Zhang Yang cursed inwardly, MMP, and simply tried a different approach.
"I'll give you 1,000 energy points. Think of a way to help me. You can even moonlight as a mercenary, so this little problem shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"1,000 energy points!" Upon hearing that number, Instructor Qin Ge immediately seemed three times more energetic. "Village Chief, you are truly wise. My mother was once an outstanding apprentice craftsman. I was exposed to it from childhood and probably still remember a few superficial techniques. Wait, my lord, what are you planning to build?"
"Level 5 Residential House."
"Level 5? Impossible, Village Chief. I can only help you build a Level 3 Residential House. As for whether they can learn from it, that's none of my concern."
"You mean you'll build it for me?" Zhang Yang froze. He had thought this fellow would pull out some inherited family blueprint.
"Of course. Apart from this method, there doesn't seem to be any other way to teach them. True knowledge comes from practice!" Instructor Qin Ge looked utterly innocent.
"All right, it's a deal!"
Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief. If he had to personally lead these craftsmen in figuring out how to build houses, it would probably take ten days or more to get anything done. And he still had to hurry and complete the Iron Wall Battle Rune.
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