Chapter 1482: Chapter 468: Turning Points and Brutal Oppression, Frost Ash Association Branch, The Start of the Uprising (Part 3)
Zhang Yuchuan is the only son of the eldest son, Shan Hong. Zhang Yuzhu and Zhang Yuhong are the two daughters left by the youngest son, Mountain River. Although the three siblings are cousins, they were all raised by their grandfather, growing up together with a bond closer than blood siblings.
Zhang Qinggu knew that his little granddaughter had always been thinking about her brother. In the past, he would avoid answering this question, but this time was different.
With a smile on his face, he said, "It should be soon. I’ve already sent the letter to the Subordinate Bureau. If everything goes well, he will be home by November."
Upon hearing that their brother was coming back, the two girls’ faces were filled with joy, and only under Zhang Qinggu’s urging did they head towards the main house.
.........
Just as Zhang Qinggu’s family of three was filled with hope.
In the main building of Qingwu Village, the village chief and Subordinate Department Chief Zhang Long sat at the head position, looking at the crowd below with a face full of difficulty.
"This year, there’s been a shortage of rice in the Hezang Feudal Town, leading to a price increase of over thirty percent. The County City has just sent orders to all places, raising this year’s rice collection target by twenty percent. Last year, our entire Lu River Valley submitted a total of 260,000 pounds of rice, so this year, at a minimum, we need to submit 312,000 pounds. Spread across 16 villages, each village needs to submit an average of 19,500 pounds, which is the minimum requirement."
"19,500 pounds of rice, are you kidding me? The rice collection period is only 80 days, and we can only work during the day. Our village currently has 198 Cold Resistance Level slaves, which means each person has to collect about 100 pounds. Each person needs to collect at least 1.2 pounds per day. Is that even possible?"
"The day only has two hours, and one rice plant can produce a maximum of 0.2 pounds. That means we need to collect eight plants in two hours to meet the standard. Not to mention the effort, most people can’t withstand the Green Fire Poison and Black Firefly. By then, not much rice would be collected, and a lot of people would die, making next year even harder."
"Absolutely impossible, there’s no way to achieve this. It’s not just us in Qingwu; if any of the other fifteen villages can do it, I’ll sleep in the rice field for a night."
......
Bang!
"Alright, everyone shut up. This Manager wants to hear your ideas, not how difficult it is. Do you think I don’t know it’s hard? The County City has already issued an official order to the Lu River Camp. If you have the guts, go shout at the County City. What’s the use of shouting here?"
Seeing the crowd getting louder, all saying it couldn’t be done, Zhang Long slammed the table and angrily interrupted them.
In Chen Cang, the management of the Slave Village isn’t too strict. Usually, the village chief and Subordinate Department Chief are held by the same person, who is responsible for implementing orders from the Subordinate Bureau of the County City, with the main task being to submit various materials to the County City.
The area where Qingwu Village is located is called Lu River Valley, with a total of 16 Slave Villages. To facilitate management, the Subordinate Bureau of Yanling County set up a camp here, stationing five thousand County Guard Army soldiers, with a hundred-man team rotated to each village, led by the Subordinate Department Chief.
The village chief is the most prestigious person in the village, generally the strongest too, and with the title of Subordinate Department Chief, they also control a hundred-man armed County Guard Army. The deterrent force is not small.
So when Zhang Long spoke angrily, everyone immediately shut their mouths.
Seeing everyone intimidated into silence, knowing they couldn’t offer any constructive suggestions, Zhang Long calmed his emotions and continued in a deep voice:
"Since the County City has ordered, we can only find a way to complete it. I just returned from the Lu River Camp, and the chiefs of each village have come up with a plan.
This year’s rice target cannot be achieved through normal harvest methods from previous years. In special times, we need special measures!
Each village has decided that this year, we will collect rice not only during the day but also at night, specifically the first two hours after dark.
For more than two months, all gathering and hunting in the village will stop, and those at the Earth-digging Realm Limit will be called up. This way, we’ll have enough people, and the Cold Resistance Level will lead the teams. We’ll see how it goes. If it’s hopeful to complete, we won’t need to mobilize more people. If it’s still not enough, then we’ll call on those at Earth Digging as well..."
As Zhang Long slowly explained the plan, the expressions of everyone in the room turned even more somber.
The Rice Field is not a fun place; harvesting rice is an extremely dangerous task. In previous years, only Cold Resistance Levels were sent, and the mortality rate exceeded twenty percent. Letting those at Earth-digging go is unprecedented.
Seeing the somber faces, Zhang Long’s heart sank, but realizing that failing to complete the task might cost him his position, he immediately hardened his heart, his expression becoming much more determined.
In an environment like the Ice Abyss, normal plants naturally cannot grow. This precious crop, rice, with edible value even higher than Beast Meat, from its origin to its growth and harvesting, none of it is simple.
Rice root is fragile and afraid of the wind, so it must be planted in a windless place. At the very least, the wind power must be very weak. Although a single plant is large, its yield is alarmingly low, so planting a small amount is useless. It must be planted in a vast area. Finding such a place without strong winds in the Ice Abyss is virtually impossible.
Furthermore, it requires sunlight but fears cold, so on the one hand, it cannot be enclosed. On the other hand, ditches must be dug in the rice field for burning coal stones for warmth, which requires a vast amount of coal stones. Therefore, the surrounding area where it is planted must have coal mines of astonishing reserves.
Finally, as a crop, it naturally needs water for irrigation. In an environment like the Ice Abyss, finding running water is already hard, and safe running water is even harder to find;
