On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

After returning to the county government office, Lin Zhen ordered people to send the seafood to the kitchen for cleaning and processing, and also gave specific instructions.

"Everything is cleaned up! I'm going to cook for myself later."

"Ah? My husband, are you going to cook for us yourself?" Huanbi looked at Lin Zhen curiously.

In her impression, her husband doesn't seem to be able to cook.

Lin Zhen responded with a smile: "Of course, your husband is a good cook!"

As they talked, the two of them came to the kitchen.

Lin Zhen tied on an apron and skillfully picked up the knife to cut fish, cut shrimps, and wash crabs with smooth movements.

Huanbi didn't have time to be surprised, and helped pass the seasonings and add firewood. The two of them worked together in perfect harmony, and the atmosphere in the fireworks was full of warmth.

Soon, the table was filled with delicious seafood dishes.

Steamed crabs, braised fish, boiled shrimps, and the last one, stir-fried sea cucumber with green onions!

Lin Zhen was shocked when he saw the sea cucumber.

Because he had never seen such a big sea cucumber! It was almost as big as a baby's arm.

There are restaurants in Beijing that sell sea cucumbers, but they are scarce and not widely accepted. Furthermore, fresh sea cucumbers are difficult to transport from the coast to the mainland, so they are expensive.

But now, Lin Zhen was drooling with greed.

He asked Huanbi to sit down as well, and the two of them prepared to enjoy a grand feast.

Unexpectedly, just as Lin Zhen put the sea cucumber into his mouth, Sun Ping came.

Seeing the table full of seafood, the country bumpkin stared with greed: "Prince, where did you get these delicacies?"

Although Lin Zhen was somewhat reluctant, he still asked him to sit down.

"Sit down and have a taste. This is what Huanbi and I caught today. It's very fresh."

Sun Ping took a seat, picked up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, chewed it for a few times, and praised it highly: "Wonderful, your cooking skills are much better than the chef in our county government office."

"That's natural."

Everyone was laughing and chatting while eating.

After three rounds of drinks, Sun Ping put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Lin Zhen solemnly, "Sir, are you saying that all these things were brought back from the seaside?"

"Yes, that's why I told you to work hard to develop the sea! There are far more things in the sea than on land. As long as you work hard, Wuqing County will no longer have to worry about hunger, and it will even become prosperous soon. What I said that day still counts. You can ship all the seafood to the capital and sell it to me."

"I understand your advice. Tomorrow I will issue a notice encouraging the people to go to the beach, and I will also find some good swimmers to try sailing out to sea!"

Speaking of taking a boat, Lin Zhen's eyes lit up.

"One more thing. I plan to build a shipyard by the sea, specializing in the production of large seagoing vessels, and place it within the industrial zone. This way, not only will the people be able to catch more seafood and develop the fishing industry, but we can also trade with other places, spreading Wuqing County's reputation even further, and everyone's life will become more prosperous."

Sun Ping nodded heavily upon hearing this. "Your Highness is absolutely right. However, shipbuilding is a massive undertaking. It requires a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, as well as skilled craftsmen."

"I've considered all of this. As for manpower, we can recruit from among those Nan Chu captives. If that doesn't work, we can always recruit from those cult remnants. As for material resources, we can use local materials. I saw earlier this day that there's plenty of timber and iron ore along the coast. Financial resources are even less of a concern. I'll provide the initial investment, and once the fishing and industrial zones develop, we won't have to worry about funding. As for craftsmen, we can send people to the surrounding counties to find them and hire them at a generous price. As long as we work together, we can definitely build this shipyard."

Sun Ping showed admiration: "Your Highness has made thorough considerations. I admire you."

......

In the following days, Wuqing County was busy.

Hou Chun and his team were stationed in Guangming Village to oversee the election of village chief and ensure fairness. The villagers were enthusiastic and voted in droves, and in the end, the oldest man in the village, Ge, was elected village chief.

At the seaside, Lin Zhen personally led people to survey the terrain and select a site for the shipyard.

He consulted many experts, read ancient books, and comprehensively considered factors such as wind direction, water current, and water depth, and finally selected a harbor.

This place is sheltered from the wind, has suitable water depth, and is close to timber production areas, making it an ideal place to build a shipyard.

At the same time, notices recruiting craftsmen and preparing supplies were posted all over Wuqing County and surrounding counties.

As soon as the notice was released, many skilled craftsmen came to apply for the job, including many old masters with many years of shipbuilding experience.

Lin Zhen personally interviewed and selected a group of skilled and experienced craftsmen to form the core team of the shipyard. He also ordered Hou Chun to select young and hardworking people from among the captives of Southern Chu and the remnants of the cult to serve as laborers in the shipyard.

Tomorrow is the day when the industrial zone is officially established. Lin Zhen and others came back from the beach and saw many people busy repairing the road on the way.

The road is now very different from before. It is all rammed with cement and leads straight from the seaside industrial area to the county town. It is very spectacular.

These are all beautiful scenery on the road of reform.

Lin Zhen walked over, and as soon as he got close, a soldier ran over to salute him.

"See Crown Prince."

Lin Zhen looked at the bustling road construction scene in front of him and asked, "How is the road construction going? Are there any special circumstances?"

The soldier straightened his back and shouted back, "Prince, the problem is that there's not enough cement, which is causing the slow progress. Everything else is fine."

"Well, don't worry about the cement. The industrial zone has already started ramping up production. Has anyone been causing any trouble recently?"

"No, but these prisoners like to slack off and slack off whenever possible. I have punished several of them for this."

"Don't be too harsh on them. Let them rest when they need to. Road construction won't be completed in a day."

"Yes!"

As they were talking, it was lunchtime and soldiers came over carrying large buckets of porridge and steamed buns.

Lin Zhen walked over and took a look, and his heart suddenly turned cold.

If they just eat these things, won’t these young men in Nanchu rebel?

How can you work if you don’t have enough food?

Before he could open his mouth to ask, he saw a Nanchu soldier rushing over and kneeling in front of Lin Zhen with a plop.

"My Lord, you have to help us! They don't give us enough to eat. We only have this little porridge and steamed buns every day. How can we have the energy to work?"

"Yes, Prince, we prisoners are human beings too!"

"At least give us some salt, right? Several of our brothers have already fainted from lack of salt."

When Lin Zhen heard this, he became furious!

He turned abruptly, his face terribly gloomy, and glared at the soldier with a sharp gaze, shouting, "How dare you withhold the soldiers' rations? What's your intention?"

The soldier, along with several people in charge of logistics, turned pale with fear and knelt down to beg for mercy with a thump.

"Prince, please spare us! We don't want to, but the county only gave us this little food. Not only are they hungry, but we're also hungry!"

"Sir, we're not being stingy on purpose. We simply don't have that much food to eat!"

Lin Zhen turned back to look at the Nanchu soldiers: "Is what they said true?"

"This..." The Nanchu soldier lowered his head: "It's true, they do eat the same thing as us."

It seems that there is not enough food.

There is no way. There is more wheat and less grain in the north. The land has been cultivated for thousands of years, and the yield is extremely low no matter what is planted.

If you want to feed these prisoners well, you have to pay for it yourself, and it will take at least a year.

"Forget it. I'll solve the food problem as soon as possible. Go tell the fireman to take out all the meat so that the brothers can have a full meal today."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the Southern Chu soldiers were overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow to Lin Zhen again, shouting, "Thank you, Your Highness! Your Highness is so wise! I promise to work hard in the future!"

Lin Zhen raised his hand slightly, signaling them to stand up: "Everyone, stand up, work hard, and I will give you freedom in three years."

"Thank you, my Lord!"