The group gathered around the map again and started dividing the plots of land.
To develop the wasteland, just having people wasn't enough. They also needed tools. Food wasn't a big problem, since they were already providing for forty to fifty thousand soldiers.
Each army left five thousand men behind to guard, so around twenty thousand remained in Chen County.
The others split into two teams: Red Wolves and Green Sparrows, Yellow Tigers and White Foxes.
The deputy generals would lead the soldiers out.
"For now, we'll plan to depart in half a month. We'll stick to that timeline for now. With this many people going out, we need to prepare the tools for land development."
Food could be prepared immediately, but finding enough iron tools for such a large group wasn't easy.
Many common households actually had iron tools.
Thinking about this, General Yves told the commanders, "Start by collecting iron tools from the households in Chen County. It just happens that the autumn harvest is almost finished."
Also, this year there wasn't much rain. Many places didn't produce much grain, and some areas didn't harvest anything at all.
"Commander, farming tools are a lifeline for these families. It might be hard to take them just like that."
As for making the people work the land, that would come later. First, the soldiers needed to clear the way. After that, the common people could take over the farming.
Others began offering suggestions.
"I think we can use food in exchange for borrowing tools from households that aren't using them right now."
"Commander, since it's currently the off-season for farming, maybe we can recruit the people to help with the land development."
Everyone shared their opinions and ideas.
"Old Xu, I think your plan is doable. We're going to give food to the poor anyway. Might as well get them to work for it."
The soldiers would still need to go. They'd handle the early stages, using military wagons and iron tools to clear trees, rocks, and other obstacles.
Then the common laborers could farm the cleared land.
Also, anyone who contributed significantly during the land clearing would be given land as a reward.
They kept discussing, and before they knew it, it was already evening. During the meeting, servants brought in some noodles. They quickly ate and went back to talking.
But this was only the first day. They were still discussing basic ideas, so no final decision was made yet.
General Yves told each commander to go back and write out their plans.
---
Sophia had already given instructions to Ronin, and he acted quickly.
He found a local farmer who specialized in growing potatoes. These new-generation farmers had studied agriculture in college, worked in big cities after graduating, but weren't satisfied with that life. They quit their jobs, returned to their hometowns, used their knowledge to grow crops, helped develop local farming, and promoted their produce using online platforms.
Ronin had found this contact online, drove out to check the quality of the potatoes, confirmed the price, and arranged for the delivery.
Sophia had told him earlier that the potatoes needed to be cheap and in large quantity.
After understanding the situation, Ronin asked, "Do you have anything cheaper? As long as they're edible."
The farm owner looked a bit stunned, as if wondering if Ronin was joking. After asking so many questions and doing a full inspection, now he was asking something like this?
Still, he thought seriously for a moment and said, "Actually, yes. Older potatoes cost about half the price. Do you want those?"
Ronin paused and asked, "The new potatoes cost one yuan per jin, right? That's for wholesale and needs a minimum order of ten thousand jin?"
The farm owner nodded.
"So if the older potatoes are half price, that's 0.5 yuan per jin. What's the minimum order for that price?"
"At least eight thousand jin."
"How many old potatoes do you have in total?" Ronin asked.
Even though the farm owner was now more suspicious of him, he still replied honestly, "About seventy to eighty thousand jin."
Most people who come here to buy potatoes are doing wholesale. They drive out and sell them from roadside stalls. Potatoes can be stored for a long time, but no one really buys this many old potatoes. They don't sell well.
As soon as the farm owner finished speaking, the tall man in front of him started making a phone call. He repeated exactly what they had just discussed.
"Yes."
"That's right."
"Okay."
After a few short responses, he hung up and said to the farm owner, "We'll take all your old potatoes. When can you deliver them?"
Earlier, Ronin had already chatted with Mr. Rao, the farm owner, so the man knew Ronin was also from the same city.
"Can you take them tomorrow?" the farm owner asked quickly.
Even though he hadn't shown any impatience before, now that Ronin really wanted to place an order, his attitude became much more enthusiastic.
Ronin nodded. It had only been about three or four days since the last food supply delivery.
The rule was to deliver food once a week. There were still three days left until the next scheduled delivery, so tomorrow would be just fine.
They started signing the contract and paid a deposit.
Once the contract was signed, Ronin called the store that had been supplying rice and flour before and asked them to delay their next delivery until next week. From then on, deliveries would be every two weeks.
Once that was done, Ronin got ready to leave.
Mr. Rao quickly stopped him. While Ronin was on the phone earlier, Mr. Rao had asked someone to go into the house and bring something out.
It wasn't anything expensive. It was a tray of eggs from his own chickens, about thirty in total.
They weren't worth much, but it was a thoughtful gift. These kinds of free-range eggs were hard to find now.
Ronin didn't take them right away.
Sure enough, Mr. Rao asked, "Ronin, are you guys specifically buying old potatoes?"
Ronin answered directly, "Yes. The boss wants cheap and large amounts of food. Why? Didn't you already sell yours to me?"
Mr. Rao nodded. "Yes, mine are all sold. But I'm not the only one around here growing potatoes. If you still need more, I can help collect them for you next time."
Ronin thought about it and realized that was a good idea.
The boss had given a weekly budget of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan for food. The more they could buy with that budget, the better. As long as it was enough to fill stomachs, it didn't need to taste perfect.
He did some quick math. The 76,000 jin of potatoes they just bought only cost 38,000 yuan, so there was still at least 62,000 left in the budget.
So Ronin said, "Alright, start collecting in the next two days. Still at 0.5 yuan per jin. Deliver them the morning after tomorrow to the same address."
"As much as I can find?" Mr. Rao asked.
Ronin thought for a moment and said, "No more than 100,000 jin this time. If you collect more than that, deliver the rest next week. We'll set a time then."
Mr. Rao was very happy to hear that.
In this area, there were lots of people growing potatoes. It would take some time to collect everything.
After handling the matter, Ronin took the tray of eggs Mr. Rao had given him and drove home.
They didn't raise many chickens at home now, so they usually had to buy eggs outside.
Back in the village, he didn't go home right away. He first went to see Sophia and report on his work in person.