Restart the Disaster of Another World

Sanqiao Village

Today, the villagers had just gone down to the fields to work when someone in the nearby field started shouting at the top of his voice.

"Hey, Lao Qian, come here for a moment."

"What are you doing? I'm busy!"

"I have something to ask you!"

Lao Qian put down his hoe and walked over. "What's the matter?"

"Didn't you go to town to sell eggs the other day? I heard that a prefect has come here. Is that true?"

Old Qian scratched his head and said, "This... I don't know. I only know that many strangers have come to the city recently, but I don't know who they are."

"The news in the village is so backward that we don't know these things."

"Then how did you know that the new prefect was coming to our place?"

"That's exactly what the people in the town said. The prefect came that day and passed through our Anhe County. There were more than a dozen carriages and hundreds of guards. It was a huge crowd and a spectacular sight."

"Wow, he brought so many people? No wonder the county magistrate was not driven out of Hezhou."

"Bah, you guys still call him the prefect, you guys are all cannibals, you're no better than beasts."

"Oh, that's not the case. Maybe this is a good thing!"

"What's good about that? Haven't you heard that most good officials are honest? Which of those who came before has a good life? They are all bad."

"That's true."

As the two were talking, there was a loud sound of horse hooves coming from the front. A dozen horses came galloping from a distance, raising a cloud of dust.

The young man in the lead was wearing a red cloak, had fair skin, and looked very eye-catching.

Looking back, everyone couldn't help but exclaim... The people in the field were instantly panicked and dared not move.

When had the people in the village ever seen such a scene?

Village Chief Qian's fields were right beside the road. Jing Yao pulled the reins and leaned forward slightly: "Old man..."

Seeing this, Wen Yu kicked Jing Yao and reminded him, "Watch your words!"

Jing Yao coughed lightly and quickly changed the topic: "Old man, is this Sanqiao Village?"

Village Chief Qian's legs were shaking so badly that he could hardly stand. He even stuttered when he spoke: "Yes, yes."

Jing Yao dismounted neatly, then asked one by one with his hands behind his back. "The old man is weeding."

"Yes, it is."

"Hey, don't shake, don't be nervous, I just want to ask you something, I won't hurt you."

Wen Yu: "Don't be nervous, old man. We are not bad people."

Village Chief Qian secretly glanced at Zhou Lin and the others, still feeling a little scared, and couldn't help asking, "Then, who are you?"

Wen Yu had lived in the village before, so he knew that the villagers were not very brave. They were afraid of the ordinary tax collectors who looked unimpressive. The Imperial Guards were an elite force, and they were not on the same level as those soldiers. Not to mention the villagers, even the common people in the capital were scared when they saw them. He waved his hand to let Zhang Quan and the others stay away, and then replied: "That's my brother, and this is my brother-in-law. Those are my family guards. We came from outside to investigate some situations. You don't have to be afraid."

Wen Qun also echoed: "Yes, Grandpa, don't be afraid, we are really not bad people!" After that, he turned his head to look at Jing Yao and said seriously: "Ayao, it's all your fault. You scared the old man!"

Hearing Wen Qun say this, Jing Yao suddenly felt very innocent, but it was difficult to refute, so he could only nod helplessly, indicating that he knew he was wrong.

When Village Chief Qian saw Jing Yao admit his mistake, his fear was relieved and his tense nerves relaxed. He looked at the group of young people in front of him and felt that they had no ill intentions, so he gradually grew bolder and asked curiously, "What do you want to know?"

Seeing that Village Chief Qian was no longer so scared, Wen Yu asked gently, "We are preparing for spring ploughing. What did you plant in the fields in previous years?"

Village Chief Qian scratched his head, recalled the past, and replied: "We usually grow sorghum rice."

"Sorghum?" Jing Yao frowned, puzzled, "Don't we grow rice and wheat?"

Village Chief Qian sighed deeply, shook his head helplessly, and sighed: "I can't grow it!"

At this time, the villagers nearby also spoke up. It turned out that due to the water source problem, the village had not had water for a long time, causing the entire village to be in a state of drought. There are more than 90 households in Sanqiao Village, but there is only one well for water supply.

Jing Yao looked around and found that although the farmland at the foot of the mountain was flat and vast, the surrounding mountains were not connected, but rose one after another. The color of these mountains was dark brown, and the stones were particularly conspicuous.

He jumped down from the ridge, walked into the field, borrowed a hoe from the village chief Qian, and dug hard. As expected, the soil was very dry. Even after digging more than ten centimeters deep, the soil below was still as dry as the surface layer.

Jing Yao had rich experience in agriculture. He didn't need to dig deeper to know that the reason the land was so dry was because the cracks in the ground were so severe that it could not retain water.

Sorghum is a crop that is very drought-resistant, so it is the only crop that can grow well here. If you try to grow rice or wheat, you may not be able to harvest any grains, and it is even a question whether it can grow at all.

"Ayao." Wen Yu waved at him and asked, "Is this place suitable for growing millet?"

Rice is best grown in soils between sand and clay. Jing Yao has extensive experience in farming and can be considered an expert. He nodded, but then sighed and said, "Although it can be grown, it's still not suitable because it's too dry."

After all, rice needs plenty of water to grow well. If there is a lack of water, then everything will become difficult.

Brother Zhao looked very friendly, and several people around him also said that not only could rice not be grown in their place, even wheat was difficult to grow.

In the spring, there is an occasional drizzle, so the wheat can still grow. But once spring is over, the situation is not optimistic. Although summer is usually considered a rainy season, this statement does not apply here.

"It's going to be dry later! There's often no rain for half a month." The old woman said with a sad face, "The wheat won't grow well."

After a year of hard work in planting crops, catching insects and weeding, getting up early every day to clean up the weeds, and returning home under the full moon, carrying the hoe and not daring to rest for even a single day, in the end, the wheat stalks were empty and there were no ears, and no grains of wheat were harvested.

It is said that if you work hard, you will get something in return, but this is not entirely true. Beans could not be grown, so the villagers switched to growing sweet potatoes. The clothes these people wore were all gray and they looked very skinny.

Wen Yu stood up and pointed to the south: "Is it in that direction?"

One of the men nodded: "Yes."

Wen Yu nodded thoughtfully.

After inquiring about the situation, Wen Yu and his group walked around the village again, with Village Chief Qian following them.

The poverty of this village was beyond their imagination. Zhou Lin and several other people from the capital had lived in the most prosperous place since childhood. Suddenly seeing those low and simple thatched houses built with mud, they couldn't help but frown.

Even the poorest families in the capital have toilets that are much better than the ones here.

There were some children playing on the roadside in the village. Jing Yao looked at them and felt as if he had come to the outer city shantytown at the end of the world. These children were barefoot, skinny, unkempt, with rough hair, and the clothes they wore... It was simply indescribable.

It's already March, but the weather is still very cold, only a few degrees. If you dress like this in winter, it's no wonder that people freeze to death every year.

Wen Yu's heart was heavy, he frowned, his heart was full of worry and uneasiness. He looked at the road ahead, and seemed to see endless difficulties and challenges waiting for them.

Several children were playing happily, but when they saw Wen Yu and his group coming towards them, their expressions suddenly became tense. They stopped playing and stood quietly on the side of the road, with a hint of fear in their eyes.

These children were obviously afraid of strangers. They stared at Wen Yu and others closely, not daring to move easily. Their bodies trembled slightly, as if they were trying to restrain their inner fear. But despite this, they did not choose to run away, but just stood there silently, staring at this group of strangers with timid and curious eyes.

Wen Yu sensed the children's nervousness, so he slowed down his pace and tried to look more friendly. He smiled and nodded at the children, indicating that he meant no harm. However, the children remained alert and did not dare to relax easily.

Wen Yu realized that the people here might be wary of the outside world due to their past experiences or environment. He knew that it would take time and patience to win the trust of these children. He decided to communicate with them in a gentle and friendly way, hoping to gradually break down the barriers between them.

A distinguished person had come to the village, and the news spread quickly. Everyone came out of the yard and onto the village road, craning their necks to look around curiously.

There is only one well in the village, and people are still queuing up to draw water.

Wen Yu watched from the side for a moment.

Lao Qian is the village chief of Sanqiao Village. He invited Wen Yu to his home for a visit.

Village chief Qian's house is quite big, with a large yard outside surrounded by loess walls. There is a large chicken coop in the corner of the yard, with a few hens clucking inside.

When Wen Qun heard this voice, he was very excited. His eyes were shining. He looked up and said to Jing Yao, "Ayao, I want to go see the chickens and ducks. Is that okay?"

He loves watching these little animals the most. When he was in the village, he liked to run to the farm.

Jing Yao let him go.

Wen Qun spread his legs and skipped to the chicken coop. He stretched out his little hand to touch the coop, then looked inside through the gap.

"Wow! So many hens! What are they doing?" Wen Qun shouted excitedly.

Jing Yao walked over with a smile, stood beside Wen Qun and looked at the hens in the chicken coop.

"They are looking for food, and the baby chicks will be born soon." Jing Yao replied gently.

Wen Qun's little face was full of curiosity and anticipation. He moved closer to the chicken coop and carefully observed the movements inside.

"Can I touch them?" Wen Qun turned and asked Jing Yao.

Jing Yao hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, reminding him to be careful.

Wen Qun carefully reached out his hand and gently stroked the feathers of a hen. The hen seemed to feel his kindness and did not resist.

"Its fur is so soft, so fun!" Wen Qun laughed happily.

Jing Yao looked at Wen Qun's innocent smile and felt extremely warm in his heart.

Jing Yao accompanied Wen Qun for a while, then stood up and went with Wen Yu to discuss important matters with Village Chief Qian. The two came to the door of Village Chief Qian's house, knocked on the door and entered. Wen Yu directly explained the purpose of his visit: "Village Chief Qian, we are here this time in the hope of hiring some villagers."

Village Chief Qian was very surprised that such a big shot would come to the village to hire people. He said, "I wonder what kind of work you two adults want to hire the villagers to do?"

"It's actually very simple. We own a piece of land and we need someone to help us cultivate it." Wen Yu replied calmly.

"Farming?" Village chief Qian was stunned. He had never heard of anyone hiring people to farm. Moreover, the land in Qingyang County had been almost barren in recent years and many places had been abandoned. Was this idea really feasible?

Wen Yu nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, it is farming. Our fields are large, so we need to hire some people to help us plant."

Village Chief Qian frowned slightly and said worriedly, "My Lords, the land in Qingyang County is almost incapable of growing crops now. What should we do if we plant crops but get no harvest?"

"Don't worry about that. We have it in mind." Jing Yao knew that the county magistrate suspected him, but he didn't care. Instead, he said confidently, "Village Chief Qian, you can rest assured about the harvest. Since we have come to the village and come to you, it means that we have a solution to the current situation. What do you have to worry about?"

Even though his secret was exposed, Village Chief Qian remained calm and did not reveal any flaws. He smiled and responded, "You two masters are right. I was overthinking. I wonder how many people you two immortals want to recruit?"

Jing Yao smiled slightly, with a confident light in his eyes: "Not many, fifty people are enough."

Hearing this number, Village Chief Qian heaved a sigh of relief, and a look of relief appeared on his face. Fifty people, this number is indeed not a lot, for their village, it is just a small fraction. After all, their village has hundreds of people, and a mere fifty people will not have much impact on the village.

Wen Yu knew that he couldn't force the villagers to do anything, so he said in a friendly manner: "Village Chief Qian can discuss this with the people to see if everyone is willing to participate in this matter. We don't force anyone, and if someone doesn't want to, it is their free choice. As for the result, just give us an answer tomorrow morning."

Village Chief Qian nodded repeatedly to express his gratitude: "Thank you both for your understanding."