Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

There were few large farms in the southern suburbs, as the expanded military base was adjacent. The wealthy landlords hated the scorching earth beneath their feet, fearing even the slightest taint of those armed officers. If the officers truly resolved to seize land, who would dare oppose them? Zhang Jingwei quietly built a massive farm on this scorched earth, a place everyone shunned. Previously, it had been a gift from his father-in-law to grow peppers; the newly acquired farm in the southern suburbs had become a vast, bustling "living factory" for Liu Guanjin.

Nearly two thousand acres of land were divided by wooden fences like a chessboard, with seven or eight square "grids" spread out in the lightly scented spring air. Each section had a prominent farmhouse, guarding the most spacious courtyard in the center.

As soon as Zhang Jingwei set foot in this territory, a strong, overbearing odor assaulted his nose. He instinctively covered his mouth and nose, his brow furrowed. "It stinks! This smell is too strong!" he muffled his voice behind his hands, sounding rather embarrassed.

Liu Guanjin was standing beside several small piles of manure, steam still rising from the tops. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with an apologetic smile, "Master, please forgive me for turning the piles today, so the smell is a bit strong."

"Why pile it up? It just ruins the peace and quiet around here!" Zhang Jingwei turned his face away in disgust, as if the smell had substance and would stain his clothes.

"Once it's fully matured, it becomes excellent fertilizer," Liu Guanjin pointed at the dark brown pile, his eyes filled with the stubbornness typical of a farmer. "Press it under the loess, and in no time, the soil will become shiny and oily black, and very fertile!"

Zhang Jingwei suddenly realized: "Oh, organic fertilizer!" When this new word came out of his mouth, it seemed that the dung pile also had a bit of academic air.

"That's right! Chickens and geese are all treasures." Liu Guanjin nodded. Although he didn't know the true meaning of Zhang Jingwei's words, he still agreed.

"What about the duck manure?" Zhang Jingwei asked subconsciously.

Liu Guanjin grinned: "Duck shit is too watery and watery. It doesn't form a ball. It's hard to pile up and hard to cook. It's not very tasty."

"Ugh!" Zhang Jingwei's stomach churned, his throat rolling. He waved his hands hastily, his face pale. "Stop it! Stop talking! Hurry up, where are your eggs?"

Liu Guanjin hurriedly led him deeper into the courtyard. After passing several rows of farmhouses, a vast courtyard suddenly appeared before him. Zhang Jingwei had initially assumed this was Liu Guanjin's residence, but upon closer inspection, he was stunned—the courtyard was filled with stacks of wooden racks, each pile neatly stacked with eggs, like a small mountain. Each pile was strictly limited to about twenty eggs, Liu Guanjin explained. Any more, and the eggs at the bottom would likely crack.

In the center of the yard, a long wooden trough brought fresh water, flowing slowly through it. Beside the trough stood a glass-shaded oil lamp. The light shone through the clear glass, reflecting the slowly flowing water and illuminating the focused faces of several workers beside the trough. They were carefully lowering eggs to the water's surface, examining them closely by the light.

"What's the point of this?" Zhang Jingwei was curious.

"This is 'reflecting water,'" Liu Guanjin pointed at the faint image of the inside of the eggshell illuminated by the light. "The eggs that have matured and are capable of hatching are picked out and sent to the inner room. The dead embryos and incomplete eggs that don't show any signs of hatching are piled outside and are purchased by the military camp."

"Awesome!" Zhang Jingwei blurted out. This novel method obviously piqued his interest.

Liu Guanjin took off his coat and hung it up in the outer room. "Master, shall we go into the inner room and take a look?"

"Take off clothes before entering the room?" Zhang Jingwei was surprised.

"It's too warm inside to wear outer clothes." Before Liu Guanjin finished speaking, he had already lifted the thick straw curtain.

A scorching heat suddenly rushed out, carrying with it the thick smell of moisture, hay, and the subtle fishy smell of countless lives brewing. Zhang Jingwei was caught off guard and was knocked back by the heat. He took a half step back before he could steady himself. It was still chilly outside in spring, but it was already like a midsummer steamer in here. Dozens of heaters were lined up along the wall, the fires were carefully adjusted, and there were air vents above, obviously for precise temperature control. The entire greenhouse was unusually clean, and several hired workers were skillfully spreading new straw between the warm beds. The warm beds were divided into several layers, the bottom layer was filled to the brim, while the upper layer was a little sparse.

"Chickens are delicate and harder to care for than ducks and geese, so eggs are placed downstairs, where they provide plenty of warmth," Liu Guanjin pointed out. "Duck and goose eggs are on the upper level. There are also eggs from other birds, which are stored in a separate room."

"Awesome!" Zhang Jingwei exclaimed heartily again, his eyes darting around the warming room, as if he had seen countless furry little lives hatching. "Where's the chicken coop? Lead the way, I have to see it!"

"Master, please wait a moment," Liu Guanjin stopped him, "You need to change your shoes first." He pointed to several pairs of shoes with strange styles on the wooden shelf in the corner. The uppers were thick and shiny.

"Change shoes?" Zhang Jingwei felt even more curious.

"They're made from melted fish glue mixed with pigskin tanning," Liu Guanjin handed over a pair. "Put them on so you can step into the muddy chicken coop without getting your feet wet. More importantly, they can keep out the 'disease' from outside."

"Oh! Quarantine!" Zhang Jingwei's eyes lit up, and he took the heavy shoes as if they were treasures. "Guan Jin, you can do it! Awesome! I never thought you were such a talented person!"

The attendant beside him, Mu Tou, made a joke and said, "Change your shoes, Master. Does he really think you are 'sick'?"

Liu Guanjin smiled innocently and didn't argue. He simply took a bundle of mugwort and lit it in a clay pot. The pungent and bitter smoke immediately spread, enveloping the three of them with an ancient and pure feeling.

"No, you don't understand, Mu Tou." Zhang Jingwei took a deep breath of the slightly pungent moxa smoke and looked at Liu Guanjin with admiration. "This is serious 'disinfection'! Guanjin, you are so thoughtful, awesome!"

"Master, be wise," Liu Guanjin explained in a deep voice as he carefully smoked the soles of several people's shoes and the corners of their clothes with moxa smoke. "When people are sick, they can seek medical treatment and fight back. But if these flat-haired beasts are infected with the epidemic, a large number of them will fall down overnight, and there will be no hope of recovery. Prevention is more important than anything else."

"Well said!" Zhang Jingwei nodded vigorously. At this moment, his anticipation for the chicken coop had overwhelmed the last bit of discomfort with the smell.

When the tedious and solemn mugwort fumigation was finally over, the three of them, wearing thick rubber boots, lifted the straw curtain leading to the final territory.

Suddenly, a vast expanse of clamor bursts before my eyes! A sturdy fence, nearly ten feet high, encloses a vast expanse of several acres. On the compacted earth, hundreds of sturdy chickens run and leap, some lowering their heads to peck, others flapping their wings for a short flight, their feathers gleaming reddish-brown and golden in the afternoon light. A vibrant, bustling din crashes into my eardrums: the clucking, cooing, and fluttering of wings merge into a sea of ​​clamor. In the corner of the fence, several experienced workers sit on low stools, holding half-grown chicks on their knees. With one hand, they hold their tiny heads, and with the other, using a pair of special scissors, they neatly snip off the tip of their sharp beaks with a "click." The chicks struggle briefly before being released, unaware and merging into the torrent of running chickens.

Zhang Jingwei stood at the entrance, his gaze slowly sweeping over this vast, bustling, even somewhat primitive, yet tightly controlled scene of life. The warm odor of the chicken coop, mixed with the smell of earth and hay, assaulted his face, but he didn't cover his nose again. He took a deep breath of this rich, tangible aroma.

Liu Guanjin handed Zhang Jingwei a pair of gloves covered in wood ash. At the prompting of several workers, Pan Jianwei grabbed a handful of chicken feed and scattered it on the field.

The flock of chickens rushed like a tide, the wind whipping from their thousands of wings swirling dust and grass. The chick, its beak newly clipped, stumbled into the current, lost in thought for a moment before instinctively pecking its way along with the current. The tip of its tiny beak, oozing blood, left a faint mark on the muddy ground, which was then instantly flattened and covered by countless chaotic claw marks.

Zhang Jingwei's eyes lit up and he fed the fish even harder.

I just visited one chicken coop. According to Liu Guanjin's description, there are more than fifty such chicken coops. The three million eggs listed in the approval document are only those that can be hatched. If the "dead" eggs that cannot be hatched are included, that would be a full six million!

Zhang Jingwei shouted "Awesome" three times in a row, "Awesome, awesome, so awesome! Guan Jin, I want to reward you. I'll buy you a house in the city, the kind with two courtyards."

Liu Guanjin immediately evaded the question, "No, I'll just live here. There are many farmhouses left behind by the former landlords. I'll just live here and feel more at ease."

Zhang Jingwei was unwilling to let his large-scale livestock farmer suffer any injustice. "How can that be? You won't be able to find a wife if you stay here."

Liu Guanjin's face flushed immediately. "This... let's talk about it later."

Zhang Jingwei suddenly had an idea and raised his eyebrows and asked, "How about I betroth my wife's personal maid Douya to you?"

Liu Guanjin's tired eyes suddenly lit up. "Ah? Really?"

Mu Tou put his arm around Liu Guanjin's shoulders, pounded his chest and said, "Hahaha, Dahai has been thinking about that little girl for a long time. If he promised her to you, he would probably come to fight with you."

Mu Tou's words made everyone burst into laughter.