In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

"Is this a map?" Su Li asked in surprise after seeing what Zhao Zexuan had taken out.

Zhao Zexuan nodded, then spread out the map and carefully examined it, beckoning Su Li to come closer for a closer look.

Seeing Zhao Zexuan open the map for her to see, Su Li asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll leak something so important to you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zexuan looked up at Su Li solemnly and said, "You won't."

Upon hearing this, Su Li relaxed, leaned forward to examine it carefully, and then asked, "The mountains and landforms recorded on this map are very detailed. Having this map will make the journey much easier."

Zhao Zexuan nodded and said, "I obtained this map from the Pei family yesterday. The information recorded in it is more detailed than what I had before."

Su Li nodded and said, "Maps are very rare, especially such detailed ones."

“We made a deal with the Pei family, each getting what they wanted. This map is indeed worth its weight in gold,” Zhao Zexuan said.

Upon hearing this, Su Li inquired, "The departure route should be discussed with the generals. Is there something you want to tell me that you asked me to stay behind?"

Zhao Zexuan nodded, pointed to a location on the map, and said, "We are here now. We will head southeast towards Lingnan. We will pass through about a dozen cities along the way."

Upon hearing this, Su Li frowned immediately and said, "We need to pass through so many cities? But isn't it chaotic outside? Will the cities along the way be guarded by the imperial army?"

Zhao Zexuan shook his head and said, "No, it will most likely be swallowed up by various forces."

“The flood came suddenly, and the dynasty collapsed too quickly. Now, various local forces are fighting for territory. It will be extremely difficult for us to pass through these dozen or so cities,” Zhao Zexuan said.

Upon hearing this, Su Li frowned and said, "Then what should we do? Looking at the map, this is the shortest route to Lingnan."

Zhao Zexuan nodded, and after a long silence, he said, "So I'm thinking of finding a suitable place to settle down not far from here, a place that's easy to defend and difficult to attack. We won't continue on our way."

Upon hearing this, Su Li looked up in shock and stared at Zhao Zexuan for a long time without saying a word.

Zhao Zexuan sensed Su Li's doubts and explained, "I've thought about what you said last time. Considering the situation down the mountain, finding a suitable place to settle down is the best option right now."

Su Li nodded, naturally agreeing with Zhao Zexuan's decision, but she asked with some curiosity, "Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

Zhao Zexuan shook his head and said, "Not yet, we have to wait until things are finalized before we can announce it."

Upon hearing this, Su Li looked at Zhao Zexuan and asked, "What kind of place are you looking for?"

"I haven't decided yet, but it must be safe enough," Zhao Zexuan said.

Upon hearing this, Su Li nodded, also agreeing that the safety of the location was very important, but she added a requirement: the land must be open and suitable for planting.

"Judging from the current situation, the number of people in the team will only increase, not decrease. You need to find a position that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The most important thing is everyone's safety. With so many people, food is the first problem to solve," Su Li said.

Zhao Zexuan nodded, indicating that he would consider it.

……

Finding a suitable place to settle down along the way is just Zhao Zexuan's initial idea. There is no conclusion yet on where to settle or how to do it, so this matter has not been publicized for the time being, and Su Li has not revealed a word about it.

Early in the morning, Zhao Zexuan had other things to arrange, so he left the tent quickly. Su Li also immediately went to arrange the cotton that had been picked the day before after having breakfast.

Cotton cannot be used directly after being picked; it needs to go through several processes. What she needs to arrange now is the cotton processing steps.

After a night's rest, Aunt Liu and the others regained their energy and were now gathered together processing the chestnuts they had picked the day before, each of them working with remarkable speed and efficiency.

When Su Li arrived, Aunt Liu and the others had already removed the chestnuts from the thorns and were preparing to open the shells as well.

They had picked quite a few chestnuts in the chestnut grove, and the pile of them together was quite impressive. When Aunt Liu and the others saw Su Li arrive, they quickly made room for her and said, "Su Li, come and sit here."

Seeing that Aunt Liu and the others were already working together to open the chestnut shells, Su Li quickly said, "Aunties, you're so fast. I'm holding you back."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu and the others laughed and said, "We were too excited last night and got up a little early."

Seeing everyone peeling the cotton, Su Li joined in to help, saying as she worked, "Do you aunties know where we put the cotton we picked yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu immediately replied, "I know, it's in the tent behind us. We store it in the tent because we're worried that the dew in the mountains will wet the cotton."

Hearing this, Su Li nodded and then said, "The cotton we picked also needs to be processed. Pick out the cotton seeds and let the remaining cotton dry in the sun."

"That makes sense, so we plan to process the cotton after we finish processing the chestnuts we have. We figured the cotton seeds would be hard to pick, so we'll leave it for last," Aunt Wang said with a smile as she worked nearby.

There was a lot of cotton harvested this time, and picking out the cotton seeds was a heavy task. If only this many people were working, it would take a long time.

These days, the aunties in the village have helped a lot, and Su Li has seen it all. She can't just do nothing in return for their help; she must reward them clearly so that it will last.

There are diligent people and lazy people in the team. Some people do more work and some do less. There are no conflicts yet because things are not settled yet. But once things are settled, the accumulated conflicts will erupt one by one. It will be too late to deal with the problems then. Rather than having a headache about this later, it is better to set a plan now.

Having made up her mind, Su Li smiled and said, "The aunties worked hard all day yesterday, and they came here early today to help again. Thank you for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang and the others waved their hands and said, "It's no trouble at all, it's all our duty."

The village aunties are very kind, which is something to be happy about, but this cannot be taken for granted indefinitely. Things need to be done in a certain way, so Su Li said, "Aunties, I want to tell you something."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu and the others immediately asked seriously, "What is it?"