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Chapter 222: Comprehensive
Zhu Jie and Zhu Feng must have done a lot of preparation after they separated the night before. Now that Zhu Yu and the other three were on Zhu Feng's side, he did not react in surprise. He just asked the servants to get a few more felt blankets and other things and put them in the car.

"It's colder over at Sunrise Ridge than in the capital. My second sister is a girl after all, so she should stay warmer in the tent at night." Zhu Feng explained as he saw Zhu Yu watching him add those things.

"Second brother, you've been so thoughtful." Zhu Yu smiled at him gratefully and pointed at the empty carriages behind him. "What are those empty carriages used for?"

"Sunrise Ridge has always been the most arid and water-scarce area in Shuodi. The people there often face the prospect of having no harvest. If we only start collecting food there for canal construction, the local people won't dare disobey King Shuo's troops, but that will undoubtedly increase their burden."

Zhu Feng pointed at the empty carriages and said, "I'll bring a few empty carriages with me ahead of time. I'll buy grain gradually as I go. This way, the amount we buy in each place won't be too large, and it won't have a big impact on the lives of the local people. We'll still be able to collect enough food."

Zhu Yu nodded in understanding and secretly looked at Zhu Feng.

In the past, she only knew that although her second brother and her eldest brother were almost the same age and looked very similar to Zhu Cheng, their personalities were completely different.

The eldest brother is flamboyant and strong-willed. He is usually quite domineering and likes to act decisively. I heard that he is also very high-profile in front of the master, and no matter what he does, he can easily attract other people's attention.

The second brother Zhu Feng is much more gentle and thoughtful, but he doesn't like to talk about everything. Most of the time he does things silently. Unless his father Zhu Cheng occasionally asks about something or who wrote a certain article, he rarely takes the initiative to speak up.

Zhu Yu only knew that Zhu Feng was a prudent and thoughtful person before, but he didn't expect that he would consider things so comprehensively and take into account whether the lives of the people of Shuo Country along the way would be affected.

This quality has never had the opportunity to be discovered in the past.

Soon everything that needed to be prepared was ready, and the group finally set off more than half an hour after Zhu Jie left, embarking on the road to Sunrise Ridge.

Except for stopping to rest and buy food, they rushed all the time. Many times, they missed the nearby county town in order to hurry on their way, so they had to stay overnight in a post station or simply set up a tent in the wilderness.

The further they went towards Sunrise Ridge, the colder it became in the mornings and evenings. When they needed to spend the night outside, Zhu Feng would ask someone to find some firewood and start a fire. On the one hand, the fire could scare away nearby wild animals, and on the other hand, it could be used to keep warm and bake food.

When they first set out, Zhu Feng was still somewhat reserved in front of Lu Qing.

It's not his fault. The reputation that his brother-in-law had heard of in the past was so different from his actual self.

He originally thought that his half-sister was being married off to a dandy, slick-tongued, and glib-tongued man. However, when he actually met Lu Qing, he discovered that this man exuded an awe-inspiring pride from head to toe. It was a natural feeling that could not be compared with the forced "dominance" of his elder brother Zhu Jie.

As they interacted more frequently during the journey, Zhu Feng gradually discovered that despite Lu Qing's arrogant attitude on their first meeting, he was actually quite modest in private. He was also very caring towards his younger sister and was very kind to him. So, during their rest stops, the two of them gradually became familiar with each other, and Zhu Feng gradually relaxed in Lu Qing's presence.

After walking for three or four days, they finally arrived at the Sunrise Ridge area.

After arriving there, Zhu Feng arranged for his men to set up camp while sending people to gather the craftsmen who were going to dig the canal.

Like the people in the Black Stone Mountain area, the people of Shuo State on the Sunrise Ridge heard that King Shuo had instructed the second son to come and start building a canal. It wouldn't be long before sufficient water would be brought into Shuo State from the Jin State. They would no longer have to worry about having no water to irrigate their fields when they needed it most. They were immediately overjoyed and eager to participate.

The local people were very motivated. Many of them were not selected when the team was initially recruited, but they later went to help on their own initiative. Not only did they not ask for any wages, they didn't even need Zhu Feng and his team to provide them with food. They just rushed over with a big pancake in their arms.

Although the place where the canal was dug was quite remote, with no village or shop nearby and no houses to be found within a few miles, the number of people who took the initiative to participate was increasing day by day.

The canal construction site was in full swing. Lu Qing and Zhu Yu would also help out, keeping an eye on the situation while helping out.

Unlike the area around Black Stone Mountain, there seemed to be no shortage of young and middle-aged men in the Sunrise Ridge area. However, they also discovered another thing, that is, none of the people in this area who came to work seemed to have very suitable tools. Therefore, although many people came, the construction progress was very slow.

Zhu Feng also realized this very quickly. He picked up a broken hoe from the ground, weighed it in his hand, held the broken piece in front of him, and looked at it carefully for a while, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

Zhu Yu came up to him and looked at the broken hoe blade in his hand: "Why... why is this hoe so rough and not durable?

Second brother, I see that no one here seems to be holding any useful farm tools, and they are all crudely made..." Zhu Yu asked Zhu Feng with some concern, "Is there something wrong with the iron mine in Shuo Country?
Could it be that the iron ore has been mined out and Shuo Country has no more iron ore to use?"

"No, our Shuo Kingdom has enough reserves of black iron, not to mention iron ore, to sustain mining for several generations. There's no such thing as what you said.

What's more, last month, my grandfather's Pang family delivered a large batch of weapons to the imperial court on time. Both the quantity and quality were in perfect accordance with the requirements. There weren't any issues, and everything was working perfectly. "Zhu Feng immediately denied Zhu Yu's speculation, but his expression was also filled with confusion. "It's just... I've never seen such shoddy forging techniques!"
Most people in Shuo Kingdom have made a living by mining and smelting for generations. Even the blacksmiths in ordinary county towns have much better blacksmithing skills than those in other places.

I've traveled extensively with my father since I was a child, and I've never seen such unsightly ironware anywhere."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a strange noise nearby. A few people looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the pickaxe in the hand of a middle-aged man was also broken. He was holding the broken-end pickaxe in his hand and sighing.