fifth form

Chapter 1832 Negotiation
Zhang Xuezhou felt a little guilty, but for the people in Zhangjiazhuang, no one had any opinion against him.

Being able to take the risk of sending the people of Zhangjiazhuang out of a heavily guarded place like Huainan was already a huge help, and no one would ask for more from Zhang Xuezhou.

Many people are worried about whether Zhang Xuezhou will be retaliated against or forced to work in a mine.

Many people were delighted to see Zhang Xuezhou appear outside Chang'an City.

Everyone followed him out of Huainan in the dark, and many of them even saw Zhang Xuezhou's appearance for the first time.

The crackling flames illuminated a group of bronze faces, reflecting the joy on each face.

Some fish hung with straw ropes were not scaled, but were wrapped in wood ash and thrown into the fire. Two small animals were skinned and gutted, and a few pieces of meat were chopped off and thrown into a large clay pot.

The cleaned wild vegetables were stuffed into the pottery jar with their roots. When Xu Yuan brought a bag over and put a spoonful of millet in it, dinner for many people was basically ready.

It takes five pots of this kind of clay pot to barely feed everyone.

The amount of food distributed among everyone was not much, but no one was discouraged. Instead, everyone's eyes were bright and energetic.

The people in Zhangjiazhuang have often suffered from hunger in the past, and some even cried because of hunger, then fell asleep due to hunger, and continued to cry because of hunger when they woke up. The current situation is very bad, but the people of Zhangjiazhuang are good at hunting, and Xu Yuan can identify various wild grasses and vegetables, so no one has starved to death so far.

"We have limited physical strength and lack tools. Currently, we have only reclaimed more than 50 acres of land. After this batch of grain is harvested, it is very likely that we can make porridge to survive the winter," Xu Yuan whispered.

"here you go!"

Zhang Xuezhou patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder.

Xu Yuan’s arrangement was excellent.

If we return to the essence of the agricultural sect, this school hopes that people will have enough food and warm clothing, and Xu Yuan is personally taking action to make things happen one by one.

Xu Yuan did not return to Chang'an City to get money to solve the problem, but he used his knowledge to help many people survive these months.

Zhang Xuezhou was glad that he had met such a friend, and he usually treated Xu Yuan well, which led to the result of today's drinking and eating.

"We can solve the problem of food and drink, but we have to find a way to get some cloth to make clothes so that it won't be too cold when it snows in winter," said Xu Yuan.

"You've thought it through. This matter is easy to deal with!"

Zhang Xuezhou collected grain and bought pigs, but he really didn't think about issues such as clothes and shoes.

Everyone was wearing tattered clothes. When they were freezing at night, they could still hold on to a handful of hay to get by. But when the winter snow came, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult to endure.

It was not without reason that Xu Ji sought to migrate southward.

Food, clothing, housing and transportation are the most basic survival needs. If Xu Ji and Xu Yuan could solve this problem with their bare hands, there wouldn't be so many people who were hungry and cold every year in the Han Dynasty.

"It would be best if we could buy a large cauldron or pottery for cooking. This small pottery is not enough. Some people have to wait until very late to eat, so we need some containers. We either eat with our hands or use containers that others have used. In addition, drinking water is inconvenient. I think drinking water in a pottery jar for a while can help people avoid getting sick!"

"Makes sense!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would do these things tomorrow.

"Fortunately, there are no one- or two-year-old children in our village, otherwise this would be really difficult!"

"There were some things in the past, but I just encountered some problems!"

Babies were born in Zhangjiazhuang village in the past, but due to the isolation in the Huainan district, couples are not allowed to live together, so they have been unable to have children in recent years even if they wanted to.

After all this time, there are almost no newborns in Zhangjiazhuang.

When some women's golden childbearing age has passed, they cannot have children even if they want to.

Now we can only hope that the younger generation of men and women will have enough food and clothing and continue the next generation.

Zhang Xuezhou thought that after the people of Zhangjiazhuang had stable food and accommodation, even if they were willing to have children, there would only be more than ten children in the village. In fact, the people of Zhangjiazhuang were locked up by Huainan State, and their village was almost destroyed. Now they were just emitting some embers when they gathered together.

"You also have to be mentally prepared. The main hunters in your village tend to be between fifty and sixty years old. The older they are, the less work they can do." Xu Yuan whispered in his ear, "Personally, I suggest planting more land, and strive to plant a thousand acres of land. This way, at least you won't starve to death!"

"Disaster!"

The sound of Xu Yuan and Zhang Xuezhou's conversation could be concealed from ordinary people, but Xu Ji, as a cultivator, could hear it clearly.

As he listened to their discussion, he felt that it was very difficult to live a good life by working hard on the farm.

The thousand acres of wasteland that Xu Yuan calculated was the maximum number of acres that the people of Zhangjiazhuang could work and cultivate, but this calculation was to think of everything in the best possible way.

Any drought, flood or insect plague can destroy everything. It is very unreliable to rely on the weather to make a living by farming.

He couldn't help but join in the discussion and whispered a few words.

Only through debate and discussion can the right direction be found. The back and forth debate between the two made Zhang Xuezhou completely give up farming to support his family. Even if he wanted to do this, Zhang Xuezhou could not put all his hopes on farming.

"Let's see if we can get involved in some business that requires a lot of manpower, and try to make some money by buying low and selling high!"

"It takes a lot of capital to run this many people, and business requires a keen eye. This is a bit difficult!"

"Think about it carefully and discuss it more when the time comes!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded in a low voice.

He had thought of many plans, and Rong Tianding had also thought of many plans.

But imagination and actual execution are two different things.

For the people of Zhangjiazhuang who are good at hunting, even farming work is difficult to do well. They need Xu Yuan's guidance step by step to figure out how to grow good millet.

It is almost impossible to get these people to engage in business, and their relatively high age also means that their job opportunities are extremely limited.

Zhang Xuezhou could only walk and look.

He had just returned to Chang'an City. Before this, he lacked understanding of business ventures suitable for multiple people, and now he could not make a conclusion.

He even thought about taking over the bankrupt cloth shop and dyeing factory because of Sang Hongyang's business practices, but Xu Yuan's words reminded him that Zhang Xuezhou and others were young and receptive and could do all kinds of things, but that didn't mean others could learn them.

Moreover, these people are older and it is almost difficult for them to change their careers.

The people of Zhangjiazhuang have been hunting for most of their lives. Most of them can only do the hard work of mining ore in Huainan. Only a small number of people are engaged in coin minting, forging, and weaving. These related industries are monopolized in various places. Even if someone is good at blacksmithing, it is difficult to get involved.

If the people of Zhangjiazhuang were to die in poverty and starvation, he would certainly not be able to accept the decision of asking so many people to come to Chang'an City.

But if Zhang Xuezhou were asked to support more than a hundred people, he currently lacked the confidence.

"Here outside the city of Chang'an, under the feet of the emperor, only the emperor can help them change their fate!"

"The Son of Heaven?"

Zhang Xuezhou cannot solve the problem, but there are people in Chang'an City who can solve it.

No workplace wants older people, starting one's own business is unrealistic, and being self-reliant is equally difficult.

Xu Ji reluctantly mentioned a possibility in a low voice.

For the monks of the Agricultural Sect, they seldom come to Chang'an City, nor do they like the ever-changing imperial court.

But if one wants to find a problem solver who is better than the cultivators of the Agricultural Sect, then undoubtedly only the emperor of Chang'an City is qualified, and only Zhang Xuezhou, who is close to the emperor, can find a relevant solution.