In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

Having solved the core technical problem, Qin Shaolang turned to another key figure—the carpenter Sun Mu.

Sun Mu looked more scholarly than Wang Tiezhu. He was tall and thin, and kept his head down, appearing somewhat timid. When he saw Qin Shaolang approaching, his body tensed up even more.

"Are you Sun Mu?"

"Yes...yes, Master." Sun Mu's voice was barely audible.

"Can you build houses?"

"Yes...I know a little. I used to repair roofs for wealthy families, and...I also worked on beams and pillars."

"Very good." Qin Shaolang's style remained simple and direct. He used a twig to draw a simple square on another open space. "I want you to bring people to build houses, like this one."

The graphic on the ground is very simple; it's a rectangle divided into two small rooms, with a small extension drawn on the outside, like an eave.

"This...this is..." Sun Mu was completely bewildered. This house was too simple; it was practically a wooden box.

"I call this kind of house a 'standard barracks.' It's three zhang long and one and a half zhang wide. The frame is made of wood, and the walls are made of wooden planks. For a more elaborate setup, you can fill the gaps between the planks with mud mixed with dry grass. The roof is initially covered with tarpaulin and thatch."

Qin Shaolang spoke slowly, but every word was crystal clear.

"My requirements are simple, only three. First, speed. I need to see enough barracks for a hundred people to live in as quickly as possible. Second, uniformity. All the houses must be built to the exact dimensions I drew. Third, replicability. As the chief craftsman, you must not only know how to build them yourself, but also teach others. I want every man in the valley to eventually be able to build such a house by hand."

Sun Mu was stunned.

Fast, standardized, and replicable...

He had been a carpenter all his life and had only ever heard his employers demand that the beams and rafters be carved and painted, striving for perfection. He had never heard of such a strange request.

This doesn't look like building a house, it looks more like... an army setting up camp!

But he dared not ask, and could only nod frantically: "I...I understand, I've got it."

"What tools do you need? Ask Wang Tiezhu to forge them. How much wood do you need? Take some men to chop it down. If you don't have enough manpower, ask Chu Wu for some. I want to see the skeleton of the first barracks erected before dark."

After Qin Shaolang finished speaking, he stopped looking at him and turned to walk to the other side of the valley.

He arranged everything with swift and decisive efficiency, like the chief designer of a precision instrument, placing every part in the most appropriate position.

On the other side of the valley, a stream babbles.

Su Jin was leading the group of women and children in cleaning.

These women and children had endured countless hardships along the way, their bodies covered in filth and scars, their eyes filled with numbness and fear.

Su Jin didn't say anything profound. She simply asked Su Tang to bring a basin of clean, warm water, wrung out a cloth, and wiped the face of a little girl whose face was covered in mud.

Her movements were very light and gentle.

The little girl was initially trembling with fear, but after feeling the warmth and gentle pressure of Su Jin's hand, she gradually relaxed, her big, dark eyes looking at her timidly.

"Don't be afraid, wash your face clean, and you'll have hot porridge to drink soon." Su Jin's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a spring breeze, dispelling some of the gloom in everyone's hearts.

The other women, watching this scene, gradually relaxed their tense nerves.

They were all unfortunate souls, sold from one hell to another unknown place. They thought that an even deeper hell awaited them.

Unexpectedly, the owner of this place, though seemingly indifferent, promised them that "they would be well-fed if they worked." And the owner's wife was so gentle and kind.

A woman couldn't help herself; she hugged her child and began to sob softly.

The crying was like a prelude; soon, suppressed sobs joined together. They weren't crying about their current grievances, but rather about the desperate days of displacement and hopelessness in the past.

Su Jin did not stop them; she knew that these suppressed emotions needed an outlet.

When the crying subsided, she said softly, "Alright, stop crying. Life goes on. Here, as long as you're willing to work, you won't go hungry. Cheer up, everyone, and get yourselves cleaned up first; the children are starving."

Under her reassurance and guidance, the women began to help each other wash themselves and change into the coarse cloth clothes that Qin Shaolang had prepared beforehand. Although simple, they were clean and tidy.

When a steaming pot of mixed grain porridge was brought over, all the children's eyes lit up.

Su Thojin personally cooked to ensure that every child and woman received a bowl.

Holding the warm earthenware bowl and drinking the hot porridge that could dispel the chill, many women's eyes welled up with tears again.

This is hope.

A bowl of hot porridge is the most tangible hope they can grasp at this moment.

In the valley, everything was operating with astonishing efficiency.

The men were divided into several teams. One team followed Wang Tiezhu to the foot of the mountain to explore and prepare to dig the foundation for building a blast furnace; another team followed Sun Mu to the forest to cut down trees and prepare to build barracks; and the rest, led by Chu Wu, reclaimed new wasteland to prepare to plant crops for the winter.

Qin Shaolang stood on a high ground in the middle of the valley, taking in the whole scene.

His face remained expressionless, but a light of "control" shone in his deep eyes.

A self-sufficient base with rudimentary industrial capabilities is being created from scratch in his hands.

However, he knew better than anyone that what he was seeing was just the beginning.

A huge problem is looming.

"Brother Qin!" Chu Wu ran over, covered in sweat and beaming with excitement. "Everyone's registered! Forty-two strong men, all capable of working! Blacksmith Wang and Carpenter Sun both say you're a god descended to earth!"

Qin Shaolang ignored his flattery and simply asked, "How much grain do we have left?"

Chu Wu's smile froze, and he stammered, "Well... we spent a lot on buying people before, and the rest... if we eat sparingly, it should last... maybe ten more days?"

"More than a hundred mouths, ten days?" Qin Shaolang's voice was calm, but it made Chu Wu feel a chill.

"If we eat our fill, we won't last five days." Chu Wu's voice trailed off.

Qin Shaolang remained silent.

He can design blast furnaces, plan barracks, and use knowledge ahead of his time to crush the world.

But he couldn't conjure up food.

The problem of feeding more than a hundred people was like a heavy mountain pressing down on us.

Those who slack off can be kicked out, but you can't let the workers starve. If a famine occurs, the order he has just established will collapse instantly.

"Organize manpower and, starting tomorrow, intensify hunting and gathering. All the older children should follow the women to the hillside to dig for wild vegetables and gather wild fruits. Bring back everything edible."

"Yes!" Chu Wu replied immediately.

"This is just an emergency measure." Qin Shaolang's gaze fell on the distant, rolling mountains. "Relying on the mountains for sustenance is not a long-term solution. We must have our own output."

Chu Wu scratched his head: "If we clear the land and plant now, the earliest we can harvest is next summer."

"I'm not talking about what grows in the ground."

A meaningful smile curved at the corners of Qin Shaolang's lips.

He turned around and looked at the direction Wang Tiezhu was planning to build the blast furnace. His voice was not loud, but it was full of unquestionable decisiveness.