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

When Zhao Sheng first captured the refugees from Zhao County and forced them to repair the city wall, many of them were resistant.

After working for a few days, they found that there was food and drink, and the work was not too heavy, so everyone became very enthusiastic about repairing the city wall.

The wealthy families and some big businessmen in the city also noticed the business opportunities, especially in firing bricks for city walls. This was not difficult, but if they wanted to fire bricks of the same size as those used by Zhao Sheng and his team, they would always fail to achieve the desired result.

Later they found that the method of making white lime was not difficult. After repeated research, they also produced a unique white lime.

In fact, white lime is the ancient version of cement. Zhao Sheng uses the calcination method, while the merchants in the city use the exposure method. The effects seem to be similar, but in fact, once the strength is compared, there is a world of difference.

"Sir, those merchants have been secretly learning our method of making white lime. Do you think we need to keep it secret?"

Zhao Sheng looked at Zhao Erniu who was with him. He was not only sticking to him, but also absolutely loyal to him.

"Erniu, haven't you ever thought about who leaked these formulas?" In response to Zhao Sheng's question, Zhao Erniu answered truthfully, "I have thought about it too."

"I suspect it was my father's doing!"

Zhao Sheng looked at the honest Zhao Erniu and smiled. "Don't worry about who leaked it. The people doing this work are from Shigang Village, and you and Uncle Youfu's family are responsible. What's your father's fault for doing this?"

After saying this, he looked at Erniu who was still thinking and continued, "This method is the capital for survival for our village with no grain production. Moreover, I gave it to you to give you a way to survive. What does it have to do with me?"

A word awakened Zhao Erniu, who instantly understood the weight of the words. His face turned as red as a ripe sand date, and he frowned and glared, as if he was about to rush out and kill his father.

"Forget it. As long as you tell everyone this, your father will immediately understand what he did wrong. You can't quarrel with him."

The laws of the Zhou Dynasty were somewhat unreasonable. Sons were not allowed to beat or scold their parents, otherwise they would be beaten with a stick and exiled a thousand miles away.

Therefore, Zhao Sheng would not ask Erniu to do such a stupid thing. Of course, if Zhao Youcai persists in his delusion, it will not only be the people of Shigang Village who will not tolerate him.

He had been expelled from Zhao Village. If Shigang Village could not accommodate him, it would mean that he would have no village to go to in the future. The ancients valued trust, and no village would be willing to take in such a person.

Thanks to the active participation of refugees and corvée laborers from nearby villages in the construction of the city wall, the new city of Zhao County not only looked brand new, but was also half a zhang higher than before.

When Dingzhou County learned about this, it sent people to watch. The merchants who were interested immediately made a gesture and offered the gray bricks and white lime they had developed, claiming that the white lime used to build the city wall of Zhao County was the same material as theirs.

Zhao Guangyi also knew the intentions of these merchants, but the future repair of Dingzhou city wall had nothing to do with him, so he didn't want to offend these merchants.

Besides, Zhao Sheng also told him that if anyone asked about the city wall in the future, he should just ask how much it cost and not force anything else, because doing so would not achieve any merit and might even cause trouble.

……

After the city wall of Zhao County was completed, the refugees were once again left with nothing to do and had to wait for handouts from the county government.

During this period, Zhao Sheng also asked people to pay attention to and observe the diligent people among the refugees, as well as those who were weak but not lazy, and privately invited them to Shigang Village, so as to give them some hope of survival.

As the saying goes, God rewards hard work!

After hearing this, the refugees followed them to Shigang Village one by one.

There happened to be a vacant space in the kiln site of Shigang Village. Not only the cave dwellings, but also the sheds made by brick makers outside were built with the extra bricks, which became their temporary residence.

Among the refugees, Zhao Long took special care of an orphan according to Zhao Sheng's wishes. After obtaining Zhao Sheng's opinion, he was adopted by Zhao Sheng in his own compound.

Zhao Long served in the military and learned martial arts. In his spare time, he also taught these children how to keep fit.

There are many girls among them. Zhao Zhen usually takes them to do some strange things at home. From a distance, they seem to be sitting there doing nothing. If you want to get close, you will be scolded by Zhao Erniu.

The boys Zhao Long brought with him didn't have any heavy physical work to do. There were a few stone mills in the yard, and they would form groups of boys and push the millstones for fun every day.

The farmers outside, along with the refugees, were still digging soil, selecting stones, and accumulating fertilizers. They were mixing the selected soil with the fertilizers, and no one could tell what they were doing.

The weather is getting colder. There is black coal in the area west of Zhao County, but the villagers of the Zhou Dynasty will not use it to burn because many people have died there in the past.

After Zhao Sheng learned about this situation, he asked the refugees to transport the coal back, and those who did manual labor would also be given meat to eat.

The refugees and villagers were puzzled, and the county magistrate Zhao Guangyi even came in person for this matter.

The kiln that originally burned bricks had stopped burning long ago because it was winter, but it was filled with black coal. There was also a large amount of coal piled up in the open area outside.

"My dear nephew, this black coal cannot be used. It is poisonous and has killed people!"

Zhao Guangyi was afraid that Zhao Sheng didn't know these things, so he hurried to tell him the dangers of coal.

At this time, Zhao Sheng was in the temporary housing of the refugees. He selected a kind of white stone, mixed it with the stones previously used to make bricks, and built a strange stove with white lime.

The stove is not big, and a large pot can be placed on it. There is a gap on the left and right sides, which is blocked with bricks. I don’t know what it is used for. There is also an air duct for dust removal at the bottom.

"Okay, County Master. I'm going to burn the poisonous coal you mentioned here today. If the people in the house believe me, this room will be theirs to live in from now on. If they don't believe me and freeze to death, it won't be my fault."

Zhao Sheng's words were indeed somewhat infuriating, but as the county magistrate, he did not dare to get angry with him, and could only say: "I will accompany you. I don't believe you can poison this place to death."

When Zhao Zhen heard that her brother was going to burn poisonous coal, she ran over with tears in her eyes.

Seeing his little sister's sad look, Zhao Sheng pulled her into his arms and said, "Don't be afraid. Brother has never joked about his own life. This coal is no longer poisonous now. I just burned it for them to see."

Light the fire and put the coal balls in. After burning for a while, the stove is full of coal. The red flames are burning, and the water in the big pot above it quickly boils.

"Put the meat in..." Zhao Sheng ordered. He didn't know where the mutton came from, but he threw it all into the pot.

The house was filled with the men who had accompanied Zhao Sheng to his death, and at this moment, the only smell was the aroma of mutton.

They looked at Zhao Sheng and had no idea what was put into the pot. It looked like leaves and bark. The most peculiar thing was a kind of snow-white sand.

"My dear nephew, if I'm not mistaken, that snow-white thing should be refined salt!"

Zhao Sheng smiled without saying anything and handed the remaining cloth bag to Zhao Guangyi.

Zhao Guangyi pinched out a handful with his hands and put it in his mouth. The pure and pungent salty taste made him sure that this was really salt.

"This, this is salt, such fine salt, and without any bitter taste."

Mr. Zhao still smiled without saying anything, because this salt was the surface salt discovered in Shigang Village. After being refined by him, it has now become completely edible refined salt.

There is a brick flue in the room, and the smoke from the burning coal balls is discharged along the flue. It is only October now, and even in the north, it is not yet the season to freeze to death, but the temperature in the house is still very hot.

What makes people feel even hotter is the mutton in the pot in the middle. The tempting aroma makes everyone in the room drool.