After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1125 - 1107: Don’t Abandon Food for Fear of Choking

The girl’s toes curled up, trying to hide them under her pants, but her pants were pulled up, leaving her ankles exposed, so she could only blush and lie in front of Zhao Hanzhang, "Wearing, I’m wearing them..."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and said, "She is wearing them."

Only then did the old man relax.

Soon, villagers brought firewood from their own stacks, building a fire in the open space. Others brought wheat straw and rice straw, spreading them on the ground for Zhao Hanzhang to sit on.

Zhao Hanzhang understood that although she had been promoting the use of stools and tables for several years, people were still accustomed to sitting on the ground. Most importantly, the country was in a state of recovery, and many families couldn’t even afford beds, let alone tables and chairs.

She was not fussy and directly grabbed a handful of straw, twisted it into a circle, placed it on the ground, and sat down.

The villagers, seeing that she sat just like them, relaxed a lot and rolled some straw and sat around the fire.

Zhao Hanzhang invited Zhao Zheng and Zhao Rong to sit as well, and then instructed Zeng Yue and the others to skin the deer and chop the meat, saying, "Keep two deer, but skin and debone the rest. Roast the deer legs later, and chop the rest to make soup."

Zeng Yue agreed and led the trusted aides to the riverbank to skin the deer.

Wei Xian quickly brought several cauldrons and earthenware pots. Despite Wei Xian’s family being well-off, they still couldn’t afford a pot and used cauldrons and earthenware pots at home.

Looking at the cauldrons and pots set up, Zhao Hanzhang calculated that if she could ensure each household had an iron pot within two years and brick houses within five years, it would be a great success.

Wei Xian, along with the villagers, quickly set up three more fires nearby, placed the cauldrons and pots over them, poured water inside, and named several villagers to go home and fetch some cabbage.

The villagers happily ran home to get them.

Zhao Hanzhang turned her gaze back to asking the villagers when they had moved in, from where, whether they felt cold, and what they used for warmth at home.

She asked, "How many times have you ventured into the mountains this year? Have you been able to hunt there?"

The villagers enthusiastically responded, painting a positive picture, telling Zhao Hanzhang that they were doing well, much better than the year before.

These people had settled here last summer. They managed to plant one season of crops, the court exempted the poll tax, and during the harvest, there were neither marauding troops nor war, so they had some grain. Unfortunately, there were two drafts before winter, leaving them with little stored grain, just enough to last until spring.

Someone cautiously asked Zhao Hanzhang, "Will there be a draft tax this year?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "The Xiongnu rebellion has been quelled, and now there are no battles north of the Central Plains, so there will be no draft tax. This year, everyone should diligently farm the land and strive to store more grain."

Zhao Hanzhang looked past them at their houses and smiled, "Once you have grain in storage, raise families and have children for the country, and perhaps the government will reward you with houses."

Everyone took Zhao Hanzhang’s words as a joke and chuckled along.

At this moment, they remembered only Zhao Hanzhang saying there would be no draft tax this year.

Zeng Yue and the others moved quickly. As soon as Wei Xian set up the fire, they finished skinning the deer. Zeng Yue chopped off two legs, brought them over, hung one leg over Zhao Hanzhang’s fire, and gave the other to the trusted aides.

Wei Xian immediately brought over two small bags of grain and asked, "Great General, how should we cook these noodles and wheat?"

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Clean the wheat and simmer it with meat and bones in the pot. Boil it longer, and it’ll taste better."

"As for the noodles, make a paste with meat broth. Let everyone bring their bowls, and we’ll enjoy a hot meal today."

Wei Xian happily agreed and immediately called the villagers to bring their bowls and chopsticks, and more food items. They couldn’t let the Great General provide everything; they should contribute something too, making the meal enjoyable and abundant.

Thus, someone brought wheat, someone brought rice, and others brought cabbage, pickles, etc.

Zhao Hanzhang looked at Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng took a trusted aide with him to receive the vegetables and, after careful consideration, only took a handful of grain from each household, returning the rest.

The villagers dispersed, leaving only Zhao Rong and a few others by the fire. Only then did Zhao Hanzhang ask them, "Do you now have answers to the questions you asked in the mountains?"

Zhao Rong and the others shifted their gaze back, faces flushed. Zhao Rong stammered, "They all respect Third Sister so much. Is it because Third Sister doesn’t want to disappoint them?"

Zhao Hanzhang sighed at this and said, "Ah, you’ve studied too thoroughly, yet missed the point. Uncle Cheng is right; you should study more at the Imperial College."

"But reading alone isn’t enough. I notice your university’s curriculum isn’t very packed. After school starts, take three days each month to assist at the county government and engage with the people," Zhao Hanzhang said, "You need to see and feel the hardships of the people, not just with your eyes, but with your heart."

"Though Zhao Zheng is younger, he is more mindful than any of you," she finally gave the answer to the question, "Look at their feet, and their faces."

Zhao Rong and the others looked, noticing their feet and felt cold. Among the villagers, only about ten people wore cloth shoes; most wore strips of cloth over straw shoes, and many were barefoot.

Walking barefoot on the snow or in the cold wind seemed unbearable to even consider.

Wouldn’t they freeze to death like this?

But looking at their faces, they seemed warm and welcoming. Since arriving in the village, their smiles hadn’t faded.

Earlier, someone had joyfully told Zhao Hanzhang, "There’s a village over there, built late autumn the year before last. They came just half a year before us, planted an extra season of crops, and stored two baskets of grain for New Year. This year, with no draft tax, we can also plant winter wheat, surely storing two baskets of grain too."

Zhao Rong, who often helped the county government with statistics, knew the two baskets of grain were unthreshed, totaling only about two hundred jin, yet why were they so happy?

"In such weather and circumstances, people would freeze and starve," Zhao Hanzhang said, "The mountains and marshes might be their only source of livelihood, so banning the people from there to prevent any mishaps is like stopping eating for fear of choking."

Of course, she knew there would still be accidents, people trapped by those traps might die, but she couldn’t cut off the livelihood of many for the sake of preventing potential accidents.

"You all heard earlier, Lu Si and his group hunt in groups of five families each time, and they share the game among all. Twenty families in five groups, getting even a thumb-sized piece of meat means survival to them."

"Life is already so fragile, why should we cut off their means of subsistence?"

Zhao Rong’s face turned bright red, unable to respond.