Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 265 Going Home
Since commercial activities resumed, things have become more complicated in various places.

Arctic Martial Arts has too many things to do, and the issues it needs to handle are becoming increasingly complex.

The mountainous agricultural kingdom, which is in dire need of rebuilding, needs to address the issue of order, and Arctic Military had already given advance notice to dozens of households.

Do not return within a year. The climate in China has not yet recovered, and we still need food supplies from outside.

Some of the craftsmen and technicians, as well as the officials who went out earlier, can return sooner rather than later.

The only son in the family can come back first; the train ticket is free, and all he needs to do is get the approval slip written by each household.

Return in an orderly manner.

The territory of the Mountain Farming Kingdom is large enough to accommodate 300 million people. Currently, there are less than 10 million people in the entire world, and the Arctic Martial Arts Academy will not refuse those people their return.

Jiang Cao walked in while Bei Jiwu was dealing with something.

"Your Majesty, Sister Li Hong would like to ask you how to arrange a young lady's marriage."

Beijiwu casually said, "They're still young, and there haven't been any suitable ones in the past few years. Let's wait until they're over eighteen. The weather will be better in a couple of years, and people from outside will come back, so there will be more choices."

Jiang Cao nodded and said, "Yes, this servant will go out and report."

Beijiwu didn't speak, and after Jiang Cao left, he started thinking about something.

Eighteen years have passed since I was eighteen, and I am now thirty-six years old.

I am physically healthy and feel the same as before.

"It feels like these eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"It can hardly be called a peaceful and prosperous era; we encounter major disasters that are rare in a century almost every year."

"Technological levels have improved a lot. Now there are more and more steam engine factories and more steam trains."

"The speed will get faster and faster in the future, and assembly line factories will begin to scale up."

"The combined steam harvester has been developed, but it has no use. It has been continuously improved and simplified since its development."

"This awful weather, let's get through this quickly."

Bei Jiwu was in high spirits and continued to issue instructions and make adjustments to the post-disaster reconstruction work sent from various places.

The five-year dark period gave engineers and scientists unprecedented time to develop, a period comparable to fighting a world war.

In particular, factories, production teams, coal mines, railways and other fields have produced a number of technological innovators.

The power of gunpowder increased, steel smelting technology improved, and the steam engine underwent numerous improvements.

The engineers who went out will gradually return and work together to create a better Shan Nong Kingdom.

However, the lifespan of this generation is also a problem, and it may take more than a hundred years to recover from the damage caused by the volcanic eruption.

Arctic military also needs to find a successor for this country in advance.

This matter is very troubling for Arctic Martial Arts.

He has many sons and daughters, but none of them satisfy Beijiwu.

For the sake of stability, it should be given to the eldest son.

He's in good health and can stay stable.

Beijiwu's considerations for his successor are twofold: good health and no reckless behavior.

I don't ask for the country to last forever, I just hope it can last for a hundred years.

I would be happy if my eldest son was healthy enough to have a son, or if I had a grandson who would satisfy me.

Beijiwu stood up and went out for a walk to clear his head. Suddenly, he remembered that he had made an appointment with the young newspaper seller outside the palace a while ago.

"Let Xiulan and Xianglan take Sijiuba home for one night, help her get dressed, and take her to the city bathhouse tomorrow. The city bathhouse will open the day after tomorrow."

Beijiwu gave instructions to the female official, and all of them were given some care and consideration for the entire city.

The female official went down to make arrangements and asked a palace maid to deliver a message to the lady of the Arctic Wu family.

As the sun rises and temperatures increase, water resources will become more abundant.

There's no longer any need to conserve water; the probability of major floods in various regions will only increase.

Using reservoirs and groundwater in advance can help alleviate flooding.

Moreover, the crops planted next year are all cold-resistant and drought-resistant, so their demand for water resources is not high.

Arctic Martial Arts University is considering how long it will take to restore soil fertility and improve the vast farmlands damaged by volcanic ash.

After get off work, although he wouldn't give 498 any special treatment, Beijiwu still gave this young woman who had been waiting for a long time a decent treatment.

The palace maids and concubines also came to help with the dressing up, and said shy things to the young lady.

Everyone in the palace needed a good omen, and the auspicious occasion of 498 was a lighthearted event that everyone was happy to participate in.

The red wedding dress and dazzling fireworks dispelled the gloom in the sky and also heralded new life.

***
Because things had reached a very bad point, the world was moving in a positive direction. With the help of steam trains and messengers, people from Tibet and the Western Regions were gradually granted permission to return home.

Some of those with wives and children decided to stay, while the majority of the rest boarded trains home.

21-year-old Li Xun got off the train with his luggage on his back and followed the crowded passengers into the unfamiliar Luoyang Station.

As he followed the crowd from the concrete building to the opposite exit, Li Xun glanced back at the green train that was parked there.

Li Xun then walked towards the exit and entered a large hall where he saw various signs.

Luodong Entrance
Luonan entrance
Luobei entrance
Los Angeles entrance
Luoyang entrance
Shipping import
Lounge
咨询处

Transfer station entrance
Li Xun headed towards Luonan County, where his home was located.

Squeezing through the noisy, crowded throng, Li Xun spotted two women standing and waiting near the exit curtain in this relatively quiet spot.

A woman in her thirties, and a young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties.

Li Xun looked at the women from his memories and walked towards them.

Li Yan and Zhao Ning both saw the tall young man walking towards them and looking at them.

Li Anmin's concubine, Zhao Ning, turned her head and continued looking at the station, while Li Yan ignored the young passerby.

"Second Aunt, Sister."

Li Xun stopped and called out, pursing his lips and revealing a smile.

Zhao Ning and Li Yan stared in astonishment at the tall young man, who was over six feet tall, unable to believe that he was their family member.

"Are you Li Xun?" Li Yan was still a little skeptical, but after looking closely, she immediately exclaimed happily, "It really is you! How come you've grown so tall? You're even taller than me!"

Li Xun smiled and said, "Father hasn't finished his business in the Western Regions Province yet, so he sent me back first."

When Li Yan saw her younger brother return unharmed, she couldn't help but shed tears. "It's good that you're back. I thought you were suffering outside. I'm relieved to see you're alright. Let's go home."

"Okay." Li Xun and his family were speechless. He no longer had the willfulness of his youth from a few years ago and had become much more obedient.

Looking at her tall younger brother, Li Yan said happily, "I'm now a head taller than you! What do you eat outside to grow so tall?"

Li Xun replied, "We eat steamed buns and meat dishes. Our troops raise camels. It's much darker there than in Luoyang. There are only four or five hours of daylight a day. When I first arrived, it was always dark. It only started to get better this year."

Li Yan smiled and said, "The food in Luoyang is also good. I have met His Majesty. His Majesty opened the gates of the imperial city. My second aunt and I go to the temple every month to pray for you and Father!"

His biological mother had died long ago, and Li Anmin had married a new wife.

Li Xun smiled but didn't say anything; he already knew a lot of things from the newspapers.

The three of them lifted the curtain and went out. At 2 p.m., there were many horse-drawn carriages parked near Luoyang Station, all there to pick up people and deliver goods.

Li Yan was the one talking in the car. She looked at Li Xun and started talking.

"I thought you wouldn't be back until next year, but the city notified us this morning to come to the station to pick you up."

Li Xun replied, "When we arrived, the railway had just been built to Gansu and Longxi. We rode horses in the dark for more than half a year, and it snowed several times along the way."

"It will be fine when I get back!" Li Xun said excitedly. "I took a high-speed train with an average speed of 65 kilometers per hour. It was named by King Wu and is called the Flying Luoyang Man. It runs like it flies and I'll be back in three days."

Li Xun then asked, "How is Grandpa?"

Li Yan smiled and said, "I went to Xiacheng, which is 500 kilometers away. I should be back by the New Year. Why isn't Dad coming back?"

Li Xun replied, "Father is handling matters of the commune. His Majesty said that a group of people will return this year first. I am the only son in the family, so I came back first. The rest of us will have to wait one or two years. Otherwise, we will have nothing to do when we come back, and it will also affect the food rations of the rest of us."

The smallest organizational structure for mountain farmers is not the family, but ten households.

Ten households, one hundred households, one thousand households, ten thousand households, team, King Wu.

Li Xun was among the first few groups to return. Following Li Xun, people from Shan Nong Province and Gui Nong Province also returned to their hometowns by car.

Arctic Martial Arts is still not optimistic about next year's harvest. To be on the safe side, 70% of its personnel have been left outside, with a batch returning each month, and all of them will be brought back within two or three years.

Some people returned by train, while others returned on their own. In particular, some people from the Gui Nong province need to manage a large number of livestock, which need to be brought back slowly, otherwise the pressure will be too great.

In November, large quantities of late-maturing rice and potatoes from Annam province began to be shipped out, solving the food shortage in Southeast and Southern provinces.

Because of the sparse population, the excellent preservation of technology and seeds, and the stronger organizational capacity compared to before the disaster, food recovery was much faster than expected.

The mushrooms, insects, rats, wild grasses, tree bark, river clams, and other things that were originally grown were quickly abandoned by people out of disgust.

The ocean is now a stagnant pool, stinking and foul-smelling.

People living by the sea die quickly, and the entire coastal area has become a dangerous zone.

After the inland regions became capable of producing grain, the people of the Lingnan and Annam regions returned to the Central Plains, no longer needing to endure the southern climate.

After his men all fled, Liu Jingshun no longer wanted to be the King of Nanyang; he wanted to go to Luoyang and live as an ordinary person.

However, Arctic Martial Arts University would not agree to such a capricious demand and refused, prioritizing the overall situation.

(End of this chapter)