Chapter 7

After finishing dinner, Yang Rui couldn't help but call Xiaohui offline. The game had been running for almost 24 hours, and Yang Rui was worried that Xiaohui's body wouldn't be able to handle it! In the previous life, Xiaohui was extremely obsessed with "The World War," and at that time, Yang Rui was still running a fish stall. He would always prepare meals and call Xiaohui to eat on time.

"Xiaohui, is the game still fun? But don't get too addicted and exhaust yourself!" Yang Rui served the food and placed it in front of Xiaohui, not forgetting to remind her.

"Ah! Brother, it's amazing! It's just like the real world..."

Xiaohui gestured excitedly, clearly genuinely happy!

"Hehe, I'm glad you like it!" Yang Rui gently poked Xiaohui's nose and reminded her to eat. He originally wanted to ask what Xiaohui was doing in the game, but decided against it. As long as she was happy, he didn't want her to bear too much pressure.

"Brother, which state were you born in? Why don't I come find you... I'm in Liangzhou now, with vast grasslands that seem to have no end, and lots of horses. I heard you can capture them to ride... Why don't you come find me... I haven't had enough fun yet. The sky here is so pure, with clouds like cotton balls..."

Xiaohui continued to talk about her in-game experiences while eating, her face beaming with happiness.

If not for Yang Rui's strong insistence, Xiaohui would have wanted to go back into the game after dinner. He forced her to rest.

The next morning, Yang Rui woke up at 6:30, as usual, he prepared breakfast for Xiaohui, and then quickly ate a few bites before logging in. Most of the NPC villagers in the game followed a daily routine, and Yang Rui saw that the villagers in Daxishan Village had already started their activities. He gathered everyone to begin the day's work.

Out of the 25 villagers, Yang Rui first left 10 to build thatched huts, preparing for the new refugees that would appear today. The village had already reached its housing limit, and leaving 10 people was to ensure that a thatched hut could be built quickly to accommodate the new refugees. These 10 people were led by the brothers Chen Ping and Chen Li.

The rest were all led by Yang Rui to develop the wasteland. Once the land was developed and the thatched hut builders were free, they would join the new refugees to plant sweet potatoes, which should keep up with the schedule.

Actually, there were many other areas that needed manpower. The wild fruits discovered by Wang Hai still needed to be picked; the lumberyard needed to be built in advance, otherwise, the current wood supply wouldn't last long; and the militia camp and market should also be built as soon as possible.

Once the basic market was built, materials could be bought or sold throughout the county, and both players and NPC villagers could use it, which would help coordinate scarce resources. The militia camp could promote level 10 characters to 1st stage militiamen, which was crucial!

"System Announcement: Congratulations to Russian player Peter of the Slavic civilization for establishing the second territory in the game—Petrograd. Special reward: 100 reputation points to player Peter, and the title of Second Best Territory for Petrograd!"

As the sun rose higher, when Yang Rui led everyone to complete the development of three to four acres of land, another global system announcement sounded in his ears. Indeed, the Russian player had established a village!

This was the top territory in the previous life! Although Yang Rui's presence had changed this fact, it was undeniable that the development speed of this Russian territory was very fast, which made Yang Rui feel a bit of pressure.

"Lord, the construction of three thatched huts is complete. Chen Ping has already taken five people to pick wild fruits as you instructed. The remaining five people, plus the three new refugees, are here. Please give your instructions!" Chen Li arrived at this moment and reported with a bow.

The wild fruits discovered by Wang Hai were similar to food. Before the system update, every four days was a maturity cycle. If not picked in time, they would be wasted, so Yang Rui temporarily assigned five people to pick them.

"Good job!" Yang Rui responded, handing a bundle of sweet potato seedlings to Chen Li, "Take these eight people and start planting the seedlings."

It seemed that there wouldn't be a "massive refresh" today. By mid-morning, only three refugees had appeared, and at this rate, only about ten refugees would appear in a day. Yang Rui looked at the three new refugees and felt a bit disappointed.

As Yang Rui had expected, the system only refreshed 10 refugees for Daxishan Village throughout the day! 10 was just the starting number for the system, so did the 10% increase in refugee refresh rate refer to a 10% increase in "massive refresh" rate? Yang Rui was a bit puzzled.

Despite the fewer number of refugees refreshed, the absolute number was still much higher than before. So, the day's work was quite productive. They cleared and planted 11 acres of wasteland with 1,100 sweet potato seedlings; built three thatched huts, which could accommodate five more people; picked over 40 units of wild fruits (the yield of wild fruits was not related to the number of pickers but to their quantity and quality); and Wang Hai discovered another small patch of wild fruits during his patrol.

Currently, Daxishan Village should not face a food shortage, but the wood consumption was severe. The upcoming basic buildings would require a lot of wood, such as the shipyard needing 100 wood, shipbuilding also requiring wood, and the militia camp needing 150 wood!

Therefore, on the third day, Yang Rui assigned 10 people, led by Chen Li, to build two thatched huts and then construct a lumberyard in the northwest forest. A basic lumberyard could produce 2 units of wood per person per day, and if not built in time, it would definitely affect the progress of the next infrastructure projects.

Chen Ping was still assigned to lead five people to pick the wild fruits discovered by Wang Hai, while the remaining people, led by Yang Rui, continued to develop the wasteland and plant crops. By the end of the day, with the help of the new refugees, the remaining 1,200 sweet potato seedlings were all planted, and the total area of sweet potato planting reached 30 acres!

Yang Rui initially estimated that if the yield of sweet potatoes could reach the average of food production, then 30 acres of sweet potatoes would be enough to support the livelihood of about 70 people! Before the system update, the average yield of crops was about 10 per acre, so 30 acres would yield 300 units. With each person consuming 1 unit per day, a four-day cycle would be enough for 75 people.

Currently, the population of Daxishan Village, including the 13 new refugees on the third day, totaled 48 people. It seemed that 30 acres would be enough. However, the yield of sweet potatoes was still unknown, and the village's population would definitely increase daily. Moreover, during the period before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the entire system would be in a state of food shortage! Food production could not be relaxed!

On the fourth day, Yang Rui decided to fix the groups and tasks for the villagers. Not managing a household, one doesn't know the value of firewood and rice. After several days of handling the village's affairs, Yang Rui was already quite tired. There was no suitable person to help him manage, and although Wang Hai could do some things, he wasn't one of his own. The brothers Chen Ping and Chen Li could only lead specific tasks, so he had to fix the villagers' tasks.

"Chen Li, from today, you will be in charge of the lumberyard. I will assign 20 people to you, and the new refugees for the next three days will also be assigned to the lumberyard!" The maximum number of people in a basic lumberyard was 100, and Yang Rui needed a lot of wood for the next construction projects, so he assigned more people.

"Yes, Lord!" Chen Li responded and led the 20 people away.

"Chen Ping, I will also assign 20 people to you. Your task is to continue developing the wasteland and planting crops. The first batch of sweet potatoes will mature tomorrow, so remember to save seeds and plant the newly developed land with sweet potatoes!"

"Yes, Lord!" Chen Ping also accepted the task and left.

"Wang Hai... Sir, please continue to help gather the new refugees, register them, and explore the surrounding resources!" At this point, only Wang Hai and a few other villagers were left. When giving instructions to Wang Hai, Yang Rui hesitated again. There was a difference between his own people and outsiders!

"The rest of you, follow me to continue building thatched huts and other structures!"

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