If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Sir, is it really possible that Magistrate Chen can find some grain?"

The Qingyang County officials who had just been having a meeting at the county government office were now sitting around in a private room. Although there were starving disaster victims outside, it did not affect the fact that the table inside was full of fish and meat.

"Hmph, absolutely impossible. That grain from last time was probably his last bit of capital. Now, not only Qingyang County, but the entire Jinshan Prefecture has no surplus grain, unless he can pay a high price. But isn't the county government's money under your control?"

As Peng Zhenguo spoke, he looked at another person on the table. This person was the head of the county government's household affairs department. All the money in Qingyang County was under his control. Everyone sitting here was his man. So he was not worried at all that our county magistrate could misappropriate the county government's treasury to buy expensive grain.

“What you say is true, sir. Who cares if the sky falls or the earth collapses outside? That’s the magistrate’s problem. We should just drink and have fun.”

“That’s right, Your Excellency. This sudden influx of disaster victims is truly a blessing from heaven. We should just wait and see how he handles it.”

"Hahaha, well said! Let's drink, let's drink!"

After being flattered by a group of people below, Peng Zhenguo seemed to have already envisioned himself as the magistrate of Qingyang County, and happily raised his glass repeatedly.

. . . . . . .

A few days later, a batch of grain appeared in the county town. Upon receiving the news, Peng Zhenguo smashed the cup in his hand to pieces.

"Investigate! Investigate immediately where this grain came from."

This batch of grain was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Peng Zhenguo. Thinking back to just two days ago when they were laughing and joking, Peng Zhenguo felt like a clown.

"Lord Chen, I underestimated you..."

------

Niujia Village

"Niu Er, how is the recruitment of local militia progressing?"

Since Zhou Wu has now been labeled as part of the county magistrate's clique, in this officialdom where it's either friend or foe, Zhou Wu has no choice but to go down this dark path. Zhou Wu doesn't care much about whether someone is the county magistrate or not, but compared to Peng Zhenguo, County Magistrate Chen is indeed much better than him. At least in terms of treating the people, he is genuinely doing his job.

"Brother Wu, the selection of all members for the local militia has been completed. Please give instructions."

"Alright, you intensify your training, and arrange for the blacksmith to rush the production of weapons and equipment. We must form combat capability as soon as possible. If bandits are rampant in Qingyang County, we must eliminate these bandits as soon as possible and restore a clear sky to Qingyang County."

"Yes, Brother Wu."

Niu Er had already spread the word a few days ago that the Qingyang County militia was recruiting soldiers with generous benefits. The notice received a positive response, and then they selected soldiers according to the military training program that Zhou Wu had previously set out, such as the five-kilometer run and obstacle course.

Three hundred men were now standing in front of Zhou Wu. It must be said that although the people at this time were generally malnourished, they were all hardworking people and each of them was a strong and muscular man.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the Qingyang County Militia. I am your commander, Zhou Wu, and this is your deputy commander, Niu Er. I won't say much more. I'll take care of the logistics and ensure you have enough to eat and receive your pay on time. Just focus on training. Only in this way can you shed less blood when you go to the battlefield."

"The first thing I will do after our village militia is formed is to allocate some money to improve the training camp. I know that there are more than a dozen of you crammed into one dormitory room, but please bear with it for a while. This situation will change soon."

Zhou Wu's words immediately won everyone's applause. As the head of the village militia, Zhou Wu did not make a big show of things as soon as he took office, nor did he preach any grand principles. He was very practical and simple: provide food and lodging.

"Okay, let's proceed with the queue training."

The military posture training was strongly requested by Zhou Wu. Niu Er didn't understand at first, wondering what was so interesting about just standing there. It wasn't until his thirty original men had finished training and their demeanor and spirit had improved significantly that Niu Er began to take it seriously.

Zhou Wu left the training to Niu Er and turned to leave the training camp.

The matter of trading with the Moon Man Kingdom was also put on the agenda, but Deng Yuanliang was stumped by what goods to purchase and transport to the Moon Man Kingdom.

"My lord, although gold and silver jewelry are of high value, the profit margin is actually very low. After all, the price of those things is what it is, and they are not exactly a specialty of the Great Dragon."

"That's right, something with high value but low profit is definitely not going to work."

Zhou Wu also agreed with Deng Yuanliang's point of view. Just as the two were struggling with this problem, Zhou Wu suddenly noticed the porcelain cup that Master Niu was drinking water from.

"I've got it! We can buy porcelain."

Zhou Wu's words were like a wake-up call.

"That's right, how come I didn't think of that? Our Dalong is the birthplace of porcelain. Although Yuenan also has locally produced porcelain now, in terms of craftsmanship and quality, it is absolutely incomparable to our Dalong porcelain."

The two hit it off immediately and decided on porcelain.

Soon, Deng Yuanliang contacted a porcelain workshop in Qingyang County. However, contrary to Zhou Wu's expectations, Deng Yuanliang directly took over the workshop and turned it into Zhou Wu's business. This way, the cost was lower and he would not be held hostage by others.

Then, the workshops were arranged to work overtime to fire various porcelains. Since they were to be sold to the Moon Man Kingdom, Deng Yuanliang did not have the same high quality requirements as he did for the Great Dragon Kingdom.

Three days later, the shipyard delivered its first batch of three giant ships: the two sister ships of the Bull Demon King and the Bull Demon King itself. The ships were loaded with all kinds of porcelain produced in the village and headed towards the Moon Man Kingdom.

Zhou Wu was still waving goodbye at the dock when someone announced that the county magistrate had arrived.

"What is he here for?"

Zhou Wu never expected Peng Zhenguo to come to Niujia Village, but he was certain that it wouldn't be anything good.

Zhou Wu guessed correctly. If the grain was delivered to the county town, it would be easy to find out that it came from Niujia Village, which meant it must be Zhou Wu. Peng Zhenguo naturally wanted to have a good talk with this "accomplice" of Magistrate Chen.

"Greetings, Mr. County Magistrate."

Peng Zhenguo, the county magistrate, and Zhou Wu, the head of the local militia, were both at the lower ninth rank. However, considering that the other was a seasoned veteran within the system, Zhou Wu took the initiative to lower his stance.

"Commander Zhou, please don't stand on ceremony. I'm here today mainly to see what's so special about Niujia Village under your jurisdiction that it can provide so much grain to the county government to alleviate the pressure of the disaster."

As expected, it came. Although Peng Zhenguo had a smile on his face, Zhou Wu could clearly sense that there was something more to his words.

"You flatter me, Your Excellency. It's not that I have any special abilities; it's just that the villagers of Niujia Village are hardworking and make a living off the land and water."

"Oh, so how do you make a living off the land and water?"