Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Zhao Sheng’s loach and tofu is just one of the dishes he has developed. What he wants most is to develop soy products and form an industry in Shigang Village.

Especially one kind of food that is difficult to imitate - protein meat!

That’s right, in fact, the method of making protein meat is not difficult. The key lies in the heating problem during the puffing process.

Therefore, he wanted to build a set of propellers, and they had to be made of metal.

Mr. Zhao knows very well that the production of protein meat is not a one-time thing, and the most critical link is the precise control of the puffing process.

To overcome this problem, he planned to build a unique set of screw propellers and use metal casting molds to ensure their stability and durability.

However, the difficulty lies in the design of the screw in the middle. It not only has to perform the transmission function, but also needs to ensure uniform speed during the puffing process to accurately control the puffing time of the food.

It is said that the three things needed for time travel are wine making, salt making and soap making.

It’s a pity that Zhao Sheng didn’t make wine. For a time traveler like him, making wine is not difficult, but food is so scarce that it would be a waste to use food to make wine.

It's not that soap can't be made, but in this era, people basically eat animal fats. If you use this stuff to make soap, it won't even be enough for eating, and you're using it for fun? If someone finds out, they'll definitely beat you to death.

So, Mr. Zhao still considered the people's livelihood issues and immersed himself in the ocean of design drawings, revising and improving them over and over again.

"I heard that Zhao County's city wall is going to be repaired. I wonder if this will involve forced labor again to complete the work, and how much bluestone will be needed?"

Mr. Zhao's sudden question about the city wall of Zhao County really made Zhao Guangyi confused.

"My dear nephew, I won't hide it from you. First, our county government has no money. Even if the corvée comes, it's nothing more than a casual repair using water and soil. How can we afford to purchase bluestone? Besides, our Zhao County doesn't produce these things!"

Zhao Sheng heard this and smiled, pinching his nose, saying that the city wall of the surrounding villages in Zhao County could be divided into sections and calculated first, and then reported to the gentry in each village, asking them to complete it on schedule and unify the quality of the project to one standard.

If it's not done well, you can only redo it.

Zhao Guangyi's eyes lit up at Zhao Sheng's proposal. He thought it made a lot of sense. In the past, the construction of city walls mostly relied on fundraising, so this time it would inevitably require some negotiation.

"Well, I'll go with you to look at the city wall when I have time, and then I'll help you come up with a repair plan. If anyone thinks it's not done well, I'll just build a section first and give them a sample."

"Well, nephew, your idea is great. I'll send a car to pick you up and take you to Zhao County when I have time. We'll discuss how to repair the city wall."

After hearing what Zhao Guangyi said, Zhao Sheng smiled secretly in his heart. He knew that there was no salary for corvee labor in ancient times, and even people had to bring their own rations for meals.

If the city is not repaired at a high quality level, it will simply force the people into a dead end.

A few days later, Zhao Guangyi really sent a car to pick him up and take him to Zhao County.

The situation in Zhao County was even worse than that of Woniu City. Except for the gate tower, the city walls had basically collapsed. Moreover, the city gates were never closed, and even if they were closed, they were useless.

Most of the people climbed over the collapsed city wall to take a shortcut.

This was also caused by years of war, coupled with the poor local economy. Most of the annual corvée labor was used to repair rivers for flood control or water storage, and there was no money to repair the city walls.

"My Lord, I bet you don't want to repair the city wall. Even if you do, it would just be piling up the collapsed dirt. It might look like it's there in the winter, but it will definitely collapse when the spring rains come."

Accompanied by the county magistrate and several gentry, Zhao Sheng also noticed something and said this bluntly. Everyone looked at each other with an expression of shame and embarrassment.

"My dear nephew, we had a city wall here in Zhao County before, but after a major battle, the city was basically destroyed and the people died. It was completely unable to withstand the attacks of the barbarians."

"The county magistrate is right. Even if we spend a lot of money on this, it will be in vain!"

The gentry all spoke on behalf of the county magistrate, but in fact they just didn't want to pay more money. Anyway, when a war broke out, they would run away faster than anyone else.

"How about this? I'll bring the people from Shigang Village to repair the city gate, which is fifty paces long. The county government will allocate me a gate, materials for a wall, and ten days' worth of coarse grain. Besides the people from Shigang Village, we'll also recruit some of our own for corvée labor."

When Zhao Sheng said this, he saw some refugees outside the city, and he wanted to take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

The gentry and the county magistrate were shocked by Zhao Sheng's words, but they didn't know where he got the courage to say so. The matter of the city gate was simple, the old city gate was still there, and it was nothing more than adding a layer of boards from the inside. As for the stone, it was a difficult matter.

After all, such conditions are already a very reasonable price, and Zhao Guangyi is also looking forward to what the results of the renovation will be.

Zhao Sheng did not mess around with them. He made a list and asked those who did not have the materials to buy them directly with money. Anyway, the money was provided by the wealthy businessmen and gentry in the city.

The next day, outside the west gate of Zhao County, someone set up several large pots, all of which were filled with coarse grain porridge, but it was very thick.

The most important thing is that next to the porridge, there is a large bowl of food as white as jade, with a silky texture and a salty taste. People who drink porridge can get a portion to eat.

In just one day, about fifty steps outside the west gate, there was a wall about three meters high. It was just a single wall with a square stone step every ten steps.

The city gate was also repaired with huge stone bricks close to the original city tower, and it blends seamlessly with the stone walls on both sides.

At night, there were guards outside the city walls to prevent anyone from causing damage.

Another day passed, and the inner wall was repaired in the same way as the outer wall, except that there were more steps on the left and right to reach the wall.

The weather had been dry for the past few days. On the fifth day, Zhao Mingming and his men mixed the collapsed soil with the white lime they had brought and poured it into the cracks between the city walls.

Three days later, Zhao Sheng sent someone to the county to invite the craftsmen in charge of the construction to come for inspection.

When Zhao Guangyi and a group of wealthy businessmen and gentry saw the city wall built by Zhao Sheng, they were amazed at its solidity. It could not be conquered by ordinary siege weapons, and the most important thing was that the manufacturing cost was so low.

"County Magistrate Zhao, you have inspected the samples of Shigang Village, so our corvée work this autumn is now complete."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zhao Shenglai hid his achievements and fame and ran away!

"Mr. Zhao, don't leave in such a hurry. If you leave the boards here like this, we won't be able to make the rest even if we pay twice as much. How about we pay and you organize the people to do the work?"

The wealthy businessmen also knew that Zhao Sheng had a close relationship with the county magistrate. Since he couldn't escape the job this year anyway, he might as well do him a favor.

"That's the thing, but I don't have enough manpower. A city with four squares needs at least 8,000 people, if not 10,000. We can't keep repairing it like this. If winter comes, it will be difficult to carry out repairs."

The wealthy businessmen all understood what Mr. Zhao said, but no one wanted to spend extra money in vain.

"I'll offer you a compromise. You pay half the money for the materials, and the rest can be offset with grain. After all, if we want to complete the project quickly, relying solely on corvée labor won't work."

After saying this, he gave Zhao Guangyi a meaningful look.

County Magistrate Zhao Guangyi was not in this position for nothing. He immediately understood the meaning of this. This was to make use of these refugees and solve the difficulty of distributing porridge at the same time.

It's easier to get things done if you have connections, money, and the support of the county government.

On the third day, the elderly and weak refugees were organized to help cook porridge and meals around the city, while the young and strong were responsible for carrying bricks.

The people of Shigang Village were responsible for teaching these craftsmen how to use white lime to build walls.

At this time, a strange thing happened in Shigang Village. The women in the village pushed tofu and bean sprouts into the city to sell.

In September, there are not many vegetables, and tofu and bean sprouts are rare. The rich families in the city will buy up all the vegetables when they come into the city.

Zhao Sheng, who had nothing to do, began to study the production of dried tofu, especially tea-dried tofu. This kind of food is both convenient and durable, and is a rare food.