Who understands? He traveled through time with a high-spec spatial ability.

In the end, the two fought until Feng Lao lost to Xuan Yi in a struggle for half a stick.

Old Feng, still furious, lifted the curtain and came in to complain to Qiao Jingjing. "Qiao girl, this boy has no respect for his elders at all, trying to take things from this old man."

His white beard was still smeared with cumin and chili oil, and his exaggerated, glaring expression was truly comical.

Qiao Jingjing laughed and said, "You've come to the wrong person if you want justice. Your master is over there."

Tantai Zhou remained silent, and the mouths of the two men seemed to be sealed shut, becoming like sawed-mouth gourds.

The two subordinates' argument over stuttering made him instantly feel inferior to Qiao Jingjing.

"By the way, what kind of land is around Tongguan?" Qiao Jingjing continued her previous question.

Tantai Zhou thought for a moment, "It should be sandy soil,"

"After deducting the 300 people who are coming, how many laborers are left? You should have a farm over there, right?"

He nodded: "There are two estates, which were bought to settle these people. It's just that the soil there isn't suitable for growing crops, otherwise it wouldn't be so difficult to make arrangements."

Five thousand people is a considerable number, though not a huge number. As the saying goes, "Food is the first necessity of the people," and the most basic requirement for feeding so many people is to ensure they have enough to eat.

Based on the minimum subsistence standard, each person needs to consume at least half a jin of grain per day, which amounts to 15 jin per month and 180 jin per year. Five thousand people would consume 900,000 jin of grain per year!

If you add meat, vegetables, and other foods, the amount becomes even greater. Besides food, these people also need clothing, medical care, and medicine, among other things.

Even if each person only spends 8 taels of silver per year, 5,000 people would still cost 50,000 taels of silver a year. And these are just the most basic expenses; if there is war or natural disasters or man-made calamities, the cost would be even greater.

The imperial court provided each wounded soldier with 10 taels of silver as compensation. Tantai Zhou did not confiscate this money but allowed the wounded soldiers to keep it themselves.

Tantai Zhou grew up in the palace, and as a prince, he lived a life of comfort and ease.

He had never experienced what it felt like to not have enough money, nor did he know how difficult it was to make money.

After he joined the army, he made many merits and received many rewards. In addition, the court always turned a blind eye to the gold and silver treasures that he seized from the enemy during the war, tacitly allowing him to keep them or distribute them to his brothers.

These all became sources of his wealth. But even so, he still faced enormous financial pressure.

Tantai Zhou had a group of trusted confidants, numbering over a thousand. These people were extremely loyal to him and willing to go through fire and water for him.

Their treatment was much better than that of ordinary soldiers, with a monthly military pay of at least ten taels of silver.

As a result, Tantai Zhou had to spend more than 100,000 taels of silver every year just to support this group of confidants.

In addition, Tantai Zhou also had 80,000 soldiers to support. These 80,000 soldiers were all regular troops with strong combat capabilities, and they also required a lot of money and energy.

Every year, it costs more than 200,000 taels of silver just to pay them their military salaries, plus various food supplies, weapons and equipment, training expenses, etc., which adds up to more than 300,000 taels of silver.

All things considered, it would cost more than 400,000 taels a year.

You wouldn't know the extent of these costs until you calculated them; the results were shocking.

After learning about the situation at the border, Qiao Jingjing silently counted the number of sweet potato, potato, watermelon, peanut, and cotton seeds in her space.

A village that can accommodate more than 5 people must be quite large. Sandy soil is best suited for growing these few things, and these are also the foundation of their livelihood.

Having sweet potatoes and potatoes means having staple foods and vegetables; cotton can solve the problem of clothing and keeping warm; watermelons can be sold for money; and peanuts can be pressed into oil, which also yields a considerable profit.

The peanut cakes after oil extraction can be eaten by people or fed to livestock, thus solving the problems of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation all at once.

Qiao Jingjing then thought of the handcarts that modern elderly people use to go grocery shopping. The design is very simple and can be improved and made from wood, making it much more convenient for these people to carry things when they go out.

How many trusted men do you have in Runan?

Xuan Yixin calculated for a while and replied: "There are 120 people who can completely extricate themselves."

Qiao Jingjing said to Tantai Zhou, "I'll help you out this time, since you gave me three hundred men."

After the sixth day, gather 10 people here. Just ensure they are obedient enough to follow orders; nothing else matters. If my plan works, you must give me permanent priority in all border business dealings.

From now on, let's plant more of these things in the space, and leave plenty to grow. By the time they set off, we should have accumulated quite a few. Let's set off now while it's still cold, so these seeds won't rot along the way.

She wouldn't do this without getting any benefit in return. Helping him this time is also helping herself; if she wants to expand her business nationwide in the future, she'll need people in many different places.

Tantai Zhou had no problem with this request; he was eager to give her more. "These are not my strengths, so I'll have to trouble Jingjing."

Qiao Jingjing drank her fill of water there, went back to say goodbye to her family, and was about to go into her room when she saw Lin's hesitant expression, and knew that she had something she couldn't decide on.

"Mom, just tell me what's on your mind. There's nothing we can't talk about."

Lin immediately came over and pushed Qiao Jingjing to her room.

“Jingjing, Huang from the second wife's family came to me, crying her heart out. She knelt down and kowtowed, saying she knew she was wrong. I didn't believe her at first, but she swore on Er Ya's future that she had really changed and wanted you to forgive them.”

Qiao Jingjing's face darkened. She hadn't had a chance to deal with them for the past six months, but they had suddenly appeared on their own.

forgive?

I don't think about it!

Forgiving you without holding a grudge is something only a saint would do. She just doesn't want to waste time on this kind of person right now and chooses to do more important things. It doesn't mean she has forgotten about the bullying.

"Mother, don't pay her any attention. Something's fishy going on. The fact that someone like her would curse a child only means that she's plotting something big. Don't let her fool you."

Lin's greatest virtue was that she listened to her daughter and didn't make decisions on her own. Hearing her daughter say this, she simply said, "Mother understands. Even if she kneels to death, I won't care."

Qiao Jingjing was happy that her mother was less troublesome, saving her from so many arguments. "She wouldn't want to die. People don't get up early for nothing. She just noticed the gap between her family and others during the New Year and felt unbalanced."

Actually, she thought of another reason, but she didn't tell Lin so as not to worry her.

It looks like she'll have to get some time to come out and take revenge.

In the second room of the old house, Huang Shi and Qiao Er Ya were whispering to each other. Huang Shi was applying a handkerchief to her forehead.

He cursed, "You shameless wretch, you think you're so weak you deserve my kneeling? One day I'll make you pay a hundredfold. You shameless slut!"

Qiao Erya said anxiously, "Oh, Mother, stop scolding! Has your aunt accepted your apology?"