In the global desert, I have a spring of spiritual water.

It's been upgraded!

An extra acre of spiritual land has been created!

Yesterday, Chen Chuan discovered that the so-called nourishment of his subjects was actually very simple: just ensure that the people in his jurisdiction had water to drink and were not thirsty.

Two days before the water supply to Taipingzhuang was restored, many of the residents who were in a semi-dehydrated state had not yet recovered. Today, no one in Taipingzhuang is in a semi-dehydrated state anymore, and the conditions for upgrading to nourish 10,000 citizens have been successfully met.

However, advancing to the next level is a bit difficult, since one has to support 100,000 subjects, which is no small number in this Great Desert Era.

Human settlements named with "Zhuang" (village) like Taipingzhuang and Daxingzhuang likely have a population of no more than 3.

Inhabited areas with a population of over 100,000, they are basically county towns. For example, Tongzhou County, which is closest to Taipingzhuang, has a permanent population of around 200,000 to 300,000.

The capital of Shanghe County, Shanghe City, has a population of over one million, making it the most populous inhabited place in the Shanghe County region.

We're short-staffed!

It seems we need to encourage people to have more children!

Chen Chuan silently made plans in his mind.

However, relying solely on having children to increase the population is too slow; expanding territory is the fastest way!

If they want to expand their territory, they need strong power to support them. At present, Taipingzhuang is too weak and even its self-defense is a problem.

Therefore, the primary task at present is not to expand territory, but to ensure the survival of Taiping Village and strive to improve our own cultivation and the overall strength of Taiping Village.

The population issue couldn't be resolved in a short time, so Chen Chuan started researching that one acre of spiritual land.

As I scanned the area, information appeared before my eyes.

Primary Spirit Field

Maturity time for common crops: 3-10 days

Maturation time of rare and precious herbs: 30-100 days

(Note: Different crops have slightly different ripening times; crops grown in the Spirit Field clone take twice as long to ripen.)

Awesome!

Upon seeing the information about this acre of spiritual field, Chen Chuan was utterly shocked.

Ordinary crops mature in as little as three days. With this acre of spiritual land, there's no need to worry about hunger anymore. As long as he's alive, with water and land, he can survive anywhere.

I'll try it out in a bit and see how it goes.

After withdrawing his consciousness from the spiritual spring space, Chen Chuan strode to the front courtyard of the government office and found Zhu Xu, the director of the Agricultural Affairs Department: "Director Zhu, what kinds of crop seeds does your Agricultural Affairs Department have?"

"Grains, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, winter melons, and sunflowers."

Zhu Xu rattled off the existing seed reserves with great familiarity, explaining that the crops that could be grown in this era were all extremely drought-resistant and were all improved versions.

Of course, there are also some precious vegetables, but they cannot be grown in a place like Taipingzhuang.

"Give me some of all the seeds."

Chen Chuan planned to throw all these seeds into the spirit field to conduct experiments and see if they could really mature in as little as three days as the introduction claimed.

"good!"

Zhu Xu didn't know what Chen Chuan was going to do, but he naturally wouldn't disobey the new manor lord's orders, so he quickly sent someone to fetch some seeds.

"By the way, does the Agricultural Department have any rare or precious seeds?"

Chen Chuan asked again.

"Rare and precious materials?"

Zhu Xu thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "Does Cistanche deserticola count? There are a few here."

Give them all to me!

Chen Chuan was planning to conduct experiments, so he took whatever he could get without giving it much thought.

He hurriedly returned to the backyard with the seeds and a few sprigs of Cistanche deserticola he had obtained from Zhu Xu.

However, Zhu Xu couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, the master's kidneys are already failing at such a young age."

"If my two daughters became her concubines, wouldn't they be living like widows?"

Zhu Xu had such concerns because the most potent effect of Cistanche deserticola was its aphrodisiac properties.

Chen Chuan, on the other hand, was a notorious playboy, and he probably ruined his health while in Shanghe City.

"Old Zhu, what brings the Master of the Manor here to see you?"

Just as Zhu Xu was lost in thought, Zhang Xu arrived at his office.

"He asked me for some seeds and a few sprigs of Cistanche deserticola."

Zhu Xu told the truth.

"Cistanche deserticola?"

Zhang Xu caught the key information and then remarked, "Young people are always prone to indulging themselves, so it's normal for them to take a break."

"Old Zhu, do I still need to talk to your foreman about your daughter becoming a concubine?"

"Use it!"

"How can we not use it!"

"Brother Zhang, you need to hurry up with this!"

Zhu Xu naturally didn't want to give up the opportunity to curry favor with the powerful; he was determined to become the manor lord's father-in-law.

The backyard of the government office.

After returning to his room, Chen Chuan's consciousness once again entered the spiritual spring space, and he then sowed all the seeds he had obtained into that one acre of spiritual field.

Moments later, tender green shoots broke through the soil.

Chen Chuan's eyes widened in surprise. Although he had just seen the introduction, reading the text and witnessing the crops grow with his own eyes were two different things.

This growth rate is ridiculously fast!

After withdrawing his consciousness from the spiritual spring space, Chen Chuan took a stroll around the backyard of the government office. In the desert era, land was never in short supply, so the government office occupied a very large area.

The backyard, as the owner's private residence, has three courtyards. Chen Chuan lives in the main house of the second courtyard. Geng Hu and Kong Deshui currently live in the first courtyard, while the third courtyard is unused. The courtyard is empty with a few oddly shaped stones. It is estimated that the previous owner wanted to create a garden, but in this remote and impoverished Taiping Village, the cost of building a garden is simply too high.

This three-courtyard complex covers an area of ​​about one and a half acres. Chen Chuan directly placed his one-acre spirit field clone here, intending for Qian Mei to personally lead people to manage it.

As Chen Chuan was quietly making plans, Kong Deshui approached him: "Young Master, there are no servants or maids in the manor. I've found a slave trader who has quite a few men under his command. You can choose a few."

"Human slave trader?"

Upon hearing this word, Chen Chuan paused for a moment before realizing that Kong Deshui was referring to human traffickers. In feudal dynasties, buying and selling people was mostly legal, and the same was true in this era.

Families without water or food would sell their children, giving rise to human slaves. In this era, human slaves typically moved between several nearby towns and counties.

Chen Chuan had just been thinking that Qian Mei had no help, so Kong Deshui's arrival was just in time.

"Let's go take a look."

Chen Chuan followed Kong Deshui to the first courtyard. Kong Deshui was the butler he had brought with him, and the task of building the "team" was originally his responsibility.

"Master Chen, I have long admired your name."

"My name is Xu Mazi. I hope you will take good care of me when I pass through Taipingzhuang in the future."

As Chen Chuan entered the courtyard, a dark-skinned man with pockmarks covering half his face greeted him with a broad smile.

"No problem."

Chen Chuan waved casually as a greeting.

"Master Chen, all the goods I brought this time are of the highest quality. Please take a look."

Xu Mazi didn't waste any words. He clapped his hands, and immediately two young men led a string of men and women into the courtyard.