Farming

After the men were struck from behind with clubs, An Weiyan watched the others lift them up and carry them away.

At the sight, An Weiyan's expression relaxed slightly.

Whatever else might be said, there were still a few decent people in this town. He had not borrowed money to buy all this grain for nothing.

After Uncle Fu beckoned, those who had remained turned and left one by one.

He wondered whether Uncle Fu had dealt such harsh blows to the townspeople because of the Earth God.

Overall, though, this was a good thing for An Weiyan.

An Weiyan kept watch for another hour or so before he could no longer fight off his drowsiness and went back to sleep.

The next day, the first thing An Weiyan did after waking was return to the town.

The townspeople had long since woken, their stomachs growling with hunger.

After all, they had only had porridge, and they had been starving for so long that their bodies instinctively urged them to eat as much as possible.

The residents squatted outside, glancing toward the yamen from time to time, all wondering why the county magistrate had not gotten up yet.

Would there be no food today?

The children nearby were gazing so eagerly that their eyes all but wore out.

Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, An Weiyan finally pushed open the yamen doors with a creak.

When An Weiyan walked out and glanced over those present, he immediately noticed their expectant expressions.

It seemed they had been up for a long time.

An Weiyan's expression remained unchanged at the sight. "Set the pots up and boil some water. Everyone, wash your hands and faces. From now on, you must all do this before eating."

The commoners were somewhat puzzled by An Weiyan's words, but since the county magistrate had said so, they all voiced their assent.

The county magistrate's rules were a little strange, but having food to eat was a good thing.

Water began heating in the dozens of large pots nearby. An Weiyan had several sacks of rice brought out and the rice poured into the pots.

He estimated that a hundred sacks would only feed the townspeople for ten days or so. After those ten days, he would have to buy more rice.

A hundred thousand yuan would probably only last a little over two months.

Looking at the people before him, each starved to skin and bones, An Weiyan sighed inwardly.

He had to find a way for these commoners to support themselves.

"Right, I could bring over some vegetable seeds and have them grow their own. There shouldn't be any problem growing some vegetables this season."

An Weiyan looked up and saw the sun in the sky.

But the sight of that sun made his brows furrow slightly.

The sun here seemed a little different from the sun in the main world.

An Weiyan could not quite put his finger on the difference. His overall impression was that it did not seem quite as scorching as the one in the main world.

The main world's sun was bright and scorching, as though it would bake everything into a puddle, while the sun here always looked a little like a sun sinking behind the western mountains.

"Is it because of the geographical location, or because of the position of the planet beneath my feet in this world?"

An Weiyan thought it over but could not arrive at an answer, then chuckled to himself.

This world itself was already rather abnormal. Comparing its sun to the main world's was a little foolish.

Seeing the commoners busy at work, An Weiyan returned to the yamen and told everyone not to disturb him unless necessary, then hurried back to the main world.

He then bought some vegetable seeds and several bags of fertilizer.

When growing vegetables, having fertilizer or not made a tremendous difference.

After buying these things, An Weiyan returned to the yamen. When he emerged, everyone looked over at him expectantly again.

Their behavior made An Weiyan pause.

Only after taking a closer look did he realize that the food was ready, and they were waiting for him to return and give the order.

Otherwise, they did not dare start eating.

At the sight, An Weiyan was somewhat surprised that people driven mad by hunger could follow the rules so strictly.

But after glancing at Uncle Fu nearby and thinking it over briefly, he guessed that this was probably Uncle Fu's doing.

Uncle Fu probably still commanded considerable respect in town.

"Everyone, start eating."

An Weiyan waved a hand, signaling for them to get moving.

At his words, the commoners immediately grew excited, then hurried to serve themselves and start eating.

Every one of them dug in with tremendous enthusiasm. Although each only had a single bowl of plain rice, they ate as though they were feasting on delicacies from the mountains and seas.

After everyone had finished eating, An Weiyan cleared his throat and spoke.

"Everyone, come over here. I have some tasks to assign."

An Weiyan called everyone over, then took out the seeds.

"These are seeds I brought, vegetable seeds. They can be planted this season too. A few of you, clear a plot of land and get these seeds planted first."

An Weiyan addressed the commoners before him.

Hearing this, the commoners present immediately felt a surge of joy.

If they could farm for themselves and have something to eat, that would naturally be best.

But after their initial delight, they began to hesitate.

An Weiyan clearly saw their hesitation. "What is it?"

"My lord, the land outside has lain abandoned for a long time, and the soil has grown barren. I'm afraid it'll be hard to get anything to grow."

A woman stepped forward and spoke.

She had farmed before herself. How could she not know what the land outside the town was like?

An Weiyan immediately understood when he heard this. That was no great problem.

With the fertilizer he had brought, they would simply need to apply more when the time came.

"It's fine. I'll take care of that."

An Weiyan waved a hand, indicating that they need not worry about it.

He then selected a group to go out and clear the land, while some of the others began tidying up the town.

The town's dilapidated houses were to be torn down where necessary and cleaned where appropriate. At the very least, the town needed to look somewhat lived-in.

Only then would it be able to attract more people in the future.

Once everything had been arranged, An Weiyan left the town again and saw the land the group was clearing.

At the sight, An Weiyan sent people to bring over the fertilizer and began teaching everyone how to apply it according to the instructions on the bags.

None of them understood what was in the bags, but since the county magistrate had given these instructions, they all got to work.

The fertilizer was scattered over the soil, and the seeds An Weiyan had brought were sown as well. Besides some vegetables, there were also corn and sweet potatoes.

As for whether the harvest would be any better, they would only know when the time came.

Regardless of anything else, An Weiyan had assigned dozens of people to the task, and the plot they cleared was by no means small.

These commoners were particularly enthusiastic about clearing the land, looking as though they did not want to stop for even a moment.

The sight stirred some emotion in An Weiyan. The commoners of feudal dynasties never shirked when it came to farming, yet once a dynasty reached its later stages,

It always became a scene where those with land did not labor, and those who labored had no land. On top of that, harsh taxes and levies drove these commoners into a corner with nowhere to turn.