The Bachelor Crisis

Can you just plant Wheat Seeds and then wait to eat steamed buns and dumplings?

That's impossible.

After Zhang Yang spent 21 Fragments of Hope to get enough seeds, he realized he was still missing farming tools.

At the very least, he needed a plow for tilling the land.

So, without further ado, Zhang Yang exchanged for two more crude Iron Plows.

As for the oxen to pull the plows, he couldn't very well make the farmers do it; their average stats were only F+.

So he called over four Elite Spearmen. With their E+ strength, equivalent to five adult Earthlings, they were no worse than a large water buffalo. Brothers, I'm counting on you for this tough job.

Once he confirmed nothing was overlooked, Zhang Yang fled as if escaping, under the reproachful gazes of the four Elite Spearmen. This farming business was truly terrifying.

Next, Zhang Yang went to the Level 5 Residential House. Here, he finally found great comfort, because he could hear the joyous laughter of children from far away. It was more soothing than any elixir.

He first checked its attributes from the outside.

Residential House: Level 5 Capacity: 20 households Current Population: 98 people.

Elders (45+ years old): 6 people, first-generation residents, cannot be recruited.

Adults (30-45 years old): 40 people, second-generation residents. Female heads of household cannot be recruited. Male heads of household can be recruited as Lumberjacks, farmers, Artisans, hunters, Butchers, etc. Forcibly recruiting them as new recruits will decrease their loyalty and reduce the population.

Young Adults (16-29 years old): 29 people, third-generation residents, all can be recruited. However, if females are recruited, the population birth rate will decrease.

Adolescents (12-15 years old): 11 people, third-generation residents, cannot be recruited.

Children (4-11 years old): 8 people, fourth-generation residents, cannot be recruited.

Toddlers (0-3 years old): 4 people, fourth-generation residents, cannot be recruited.

Warning: Village reproduction requires attention. Before the sixth-generation residents reach adulthood, new blood must be injected, otherwise unexpected events will occur.

Current Villager Loyalty: 50 (Note: Villagers' desire to have children is related to loyalty, Village Prosperity, and Livability Index. When loyalty exceeds 80, Village Prosperity exceeds 100, and Livability Index exceeds 20, every couple will have three children during their childbearing years, with a high probability of survival.)

"Interesting."

Zhang Yang did some calculations. Ignoring the first-generation residents, and starting from the second-generation residents:

There were 20 males and 20 females, who altogether had 40 children, consisting of 24 males and 16 females.

Currently, among the third-generation residents, six pairs of males and females had married and had 12 children, who were the fourth-generation residents.

Of the remaining 28 third-generation residents, assuming a one-male-one-female marriage structure, there would be 8 bachelors.

As for the 12 fourth-generation children, the ratio was 7 males to 5 females, which wasn't very friendly.

Therefore, he had to find a way to expand the population no matter what.

"So, for now, let's build a new Residential House. It's too crowded here. Among the second-generation residents, there should still be many couples who can have a third child. And with a more spacious Residential House and better conditions, many third-generation residents could also get married and have children."

"However, the requirements for having a third child are not low: Villager Loyalty must reach 80, Village Prosperity must exceed 100, and the Livability Index must exceed 20."

Zhang Yang pondered, then quickly opened the Village Building Order panel.

The calculation method for Village Prosperity was: 1 point of prosperity for a Level 1 building, 5 points for special buildings, an additional 5 points for each level up, and 2 points of prosperity for each level increase of a building's level. 10 points of prosperity would only increase the Livability Index by 1 point.

He currently owned a Level 1 Training Ground, a Level 1 Barracks, a Level 5 Residential House, a Level 5 residential field, a Level 5 Great Horned Deer Barracks, and a Wood Demon Tower. So, the total prosperity was 40, and the Livability Index was 4. He clearly had a long way to go.

"Then, I'll recruit 8 Artisans, 8 Lumberjacks, 2 Butchers, and 2 cooks first."

Zhang Yang quickly recruited these 20 second-generation residents. They were all able-bodied men between 30 and 45 years old, legitimate heads of their households. Forcibly recruiting them as new recruits was certainly inappropriate, which was why it would reduce loyalty.

But recruiting them for ordinary professions was perfectly fine; it was about supporting their families.

In other words, if he were to recruit new soldiers, he couldn't pick those with families.

As Zhang Yang successfully recruited them via the Village Building Order, 20 able-bodied men successively walked out of the Level 5 Residential House, unfortunately, all empty-handed, without even an axe.

Fortunately, they all came with basic skills for their respective professions. For example, Lumberjacks had Lv1 logging skills, Butchers had Lv1 butchering/skinning skills, and cooks had Lv1 cooking skills.

The Artisans' skills were generally similar to Zhao Tiezhu's.

"It's truly starting from scratch, building from nothing."

Sighing, Zhang Yang could only once again take out the grey-quality Fragments of Hope. Experimentally, he acquired 16 saws, 16 axes, 8 hammers, 8 chisels, two boning knives, two cleavers, two large iron pots, and 50 kilograms of salt.

This used up 20 Fragments of Hope.

After equipping them with these tools and arranging for the two cooks to prepare lunch, he sent the eight Lumberjacks to cut wood in the nearby forest, as skill improvement required practice.

Then, Zhang Yang took the eight novice Artisans to find Zhao Tiezhu. The expansion of the Fortress could be temporarily halted; the immediate priority was to build another Residential House. After all, this wasn't a game; having children truly required a ten-month pregnancy.

And these Artisans couldn't just build structures with a few materials like in games. They had to be taught how to cut wood, how to lay foundations, how to make mortises, and how to rivet. Zhang Yang also had to figure these things out himself, so one could imagine how terrible he felt.

But despite feeling terrible, every foundation and every detail of the village determined future success or failure, and he dared not be careless.

The new Residential House was located west of the hillside, 150 meters from the Fortress, 100 meters from the Training Ground, next to the first Level 5 Residential House, with a 10-meter road gap left in between.

Yes, Zhang Yang could plan these things well.

"You need to lay a good foundation first. The few of you, dig straight down along the lines I've drawn. For the depth, use your height as a guide, and make sure it's precise!"

Following the standard for a level 5 Residential House, Zhang Yang first outlined a large square, marking 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 Artisans, follow me. The rest of you, come over too. First, go quarry some stone. Wait, shouldn't I be firing bricks first? That's what all those transmigration novels say—"

Zhang Yang's forehead was starting to sweat. He was genuinely feeling unsure.

"Never mind that. Let's quarry stone first. A towering building starts from the ground up, and I understand the importance of a good foundation."

Leading dozens of people, he rumbled past the Training Ground and saw the instructor, Qin Ge, sitting leisurely in his room, watching the rain, looking quite poetic.

This annoyed Zhang Yang, so he asked, "Can you help me train Artisans?"

"Village Chief, I cannot. I can only train new recruits," the instructor, Qin Ge, replied with a smile. But Zhang Yang felt there was an unspoken meaning behind his words.

"Then, who can train Artisans?"

"Reporting to Village Chief, higher-level Artisans can. But rather than finding a high-level Artisan, you might as well cultivate them yourself."

The instructor, Qin Ge, answered very formally, but one thing was off: he always had a strange smile, as if he were watching a joke unfold.

So, Zhang Yang cursed under his breath, "MMP," and simply tried a different approach.

"I'll give you 1000 energy points. Help me figure something out. You can moonlight as a mercenary anyway, so this small problem shouldn't be an issue, right?"

"1000 energy points!" Hearing that number, the instructor, Qin Ge, seemed to perk up immediately. "Village Chief, you are truly wise. My mother was an excellent Artisan apprentice, and I grew up immersed in it. I probably still remember some general tips. Wait, what do you intend to build, sir?"

"A 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 it, that's not my concern."

"You mean, you'll help me build it?" Zhang Yang was surprised. He had thought this guy would pull out a family heirloom blueprint.

"That's right. Besides this method, there doesn't seem to be any other way to teach them. Practice makes perfect, after all!" The instructor, Qin Ge, looked utterly innocent.

"Alright, it's a deal!"

Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief. If he had to personally guide these Artisans through building a house by trial and error, it would probably take at least ten days, and he still needed to quickly sort out the Iron Wall Battle Rune.