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In Xuzhou, Tao Gongzu continues to support Liu Bei with great effort, providing food supplies and other materials at low prices or through non-returnable loans. The truth is, the very existence of Xuzhou is the real reason why Liu Bei is faring so well. Otherwise, given the current efforts in developing Mount Tai, life would be much tighter, especially now with over three hundred thousand additional mouths to feed…
Chen Xi has already started arranging for people to try raising chickens and ducks, whether for meat or to deal with the locusts that appear roughly every two years. Anyway, let’s start on a small scale and then, once successful, deliver a large number of seedlings. With about eight hundred thousand people, which is roughly two hundred thousand households, distribute about two million to raise, and hopefully the locusts will suffer a tragedy. Let’s hope so.
Anyway, in Chen Xi’s mind, one million chicks cost only three hundred thousand coins. If things fail, probably no one would notice. After all, a few books can sell for that much, right? And if it succeeds, it would most likely increase the happiness of the residents. Having meat to eat is always a good thing in these times, and being well-fed usually leads to cultivating Qi. Having a little Qi is always better than having none at all…
Chen Xi got down to business and posted notices looking for people skilled in raising chickens, first letting them raise a few hundred to test. It was unexpectedly found to be easy to raise them. Upon further thought, it seems like all the life forms in the world have evolved over four hundred years. Although their outer appearances haven’t changed much, their energy levels have indeed risen.
But that makes sense, too. If energy levels hadn’t risen, just eating the low-energy animals and plants of the past, it would probably be very difficult to refine Qi. After all, martial arts are based on being well-fed. If you’re not even getting enough energy to sustain life, how can you refine higher levels of energy from the outside world? That’s a joke. Evolution hasn’t gotten that far yet, and besides, isn’t that a plant’s ability?
Since raising them turned out to be unexpectedly easy, Chen Xi felt much more relieved. Ten chicks per household, and four people per household was enough. Less than four people - no matter, and more than four calculated as four. Then something very odd happened: every family in Mount Tai became one of four people. Indeed, it was easier to count numbers this way.
As for the number of chicks, there were nowhere near enough. Chen Xi could only resort to the no-brainer method of hatching chicks with a heated bed. As for what a 40-degree temperature feels like, how to control it, that’s no longer his concern. With so many people, there will be someone who can accurately gauge temperature. The same goes for which eggs can hatch; there are always knowledgeable people for that.
After taking care of these matters, Chen Xi finally understood why there wasn’t large-scale chicken and duck farming in ancient times. The reason was simple: there weren’t enough breeding stocks.
A million eggs capable of hatching chicks were not difficult to gather by collecting them from around the area. The problem was that a hen could only hatch about twenty-odd eggs at a time, and the hen had to be strong. Just think about how many hens that would require—it was headache-inducing.
Leave the professional work to the professionals. However, even so, Liu Bei’s gazes at Chen Xi were pretty strange. Considering that Chen Xi, who hailed from a noble family, understood these things seemed utterly unreasonable, let alone this kind of technology with a huge impact on people’s livelihoods. It would make more sense if he were ignorant about it.
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Chen Xi completely ignored the looks from his colleagues. After all, he had already become something of a legend, and he didn’t mind becoming even more legendary. However, what Chen Xi was curious about was whether, just as having a large number of people might lead to the emergence of some super valiant generals like Lyu Bu and Zhao Yun, or having many horses might result in monsters disguised as horses like Red Hare and the Night Illuminating Jade Lion, the same might happen with chickens. Chen Xi was quite interested and wondered if he could breed a super chicken among his ranks...
Thinking about a super chicken at the Inner Qi Manifestation Rank did seem rather cool. Holding this thought, Chen Xi distributed all the chickens that had grown slightly bigger than his fist and were fully feathered. He didn’t say they couldn’t be eaten, but Chen Xi knew well what these people were thinking. The impoverished People of Mount Tai, who were hardly able to afford a meal, now saw a bright future ahead; they surely wouldn’t consume their hope.
As for the extra chickens, Chen Xi handed them all over to the chicken-raising expert who had been recruited through a public notice. That man had now become a servant of the Chen Family. Chen Xi kicked him out of the city to take care of the flock of chickens, with the feed provided by Mount Tai. However, when the time came, all the chickens would have to be given to the Mount Tai Army for a meal. Helplessly, they were left with only roosters. To this day, Chen Xi still couldn’t understand how those people managed to pick out nine hens and one rooster when the chickens were only the size of a fist.
By the time Chen Xi had arrived at Mount Tai, he had already had people start researching vigorously, and there was finally some progress. The white porcelain with floral patterns that Chen Xi wanted hadn’t appeared yet—it wasn’t even guaranteed that they could have all been white porcelain—but they finally produced some experimental pieces. He also had them researching glass-making. After so much time, they only managed a few sets of colored glasswares, each in different hues. The only clear glass had cracks all over it, but luckily, it didn’t leak and was barely usable. Still, even such items were proclaimed by Liu Bei to be ingeniously crafted.
Well, if they were considered ingeniously crafted, Chen Xi promptly had the kiln sealed without saying another word. Now they were out of production, and it was better not to release finished products if the skills weren’t sufficient. It was enough to know the direction for research. As for those few prototypes, Chen Xi took three sets for himself, and the rest were given to Liu Bei.
Regarding the porcelain cups and teapot, Chen Xi only took six pure white cups and a teapot, leaving the rest for Liu Bei. As for whom Liu Bei wanted to grant these gifts to, that had nothing to do with Chen Xi. Anyway, there was no problem using such shiny objects to deceive people.
In short, the items currently in Chen Xi and Liu Bei’s hands were considered unique treasures of their time, perfect for forging alliances or deepening friendships, which, at least in Liu Bei’s opinion, was precisely what they were. Therefore, the very next day, Liu Bei reluctantly presented Chen Xi with that transparent glass that, despite countless cracks, was still watertight, which Liu Bei himself regarded as an ingeniously crafted work.
Chen Xi received the glass cup amid the envious looks from Lub Su and others, feeling that even using it to drink water would be embarrassing. He thought it would be best simply to place it somewhere casually. In the past when materials were abundant, such cups would have been thrown away, right? How dare they present such shoddy workmanship, the manufacturer’s thick skin must be comparable to a city wall.
As for the other glass cups and porcelain, Liu Bei chose the best set and had it sent to Chang’an on a fast horse. The rest were given to Kong Rong and Tao Qian as gifts, while Gongsun Bogui would be better off receiving provisions—it was more practical...
Liu Bei was now puzzled as to why Hua Xiong had not yet returned. As for believing that something might have happened, Liu Bei didn’t entertain the notion. Let’s set aside Hua Xiong’s strength for the moment; the four thousand elite soldiers under his command were, in Liu Bei’s view, simply tenacious to the point of madness. After a significant battle, despite a thirty percent casualty rate, they could still fight as if nothing had happened. Who would dare provoke such an army? Besides, as long as an army’s formation remains intact, with some training, they could maintain the valor and combat power of the previous formation.
However, considering Chen Xi’s habitual preparedness, Liu Bei did not inquire further. At least Chen Xi had never harmed him before. Perhaps there was some delay. Liu Bei comforted himself with this thought, thoroughly unaware that Hua Xiong was currently suppressing bandits in Yongzhou.
