After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Fu Tinghan calculated the time and manpower needed from when the trees were felled to the construction of houses. After a glance, Chang Ning ordered everyone to stop what they were doing and first go into the forest to fell trees. Only after each group had prepared the necessary timber for building their houses would they be allowed to clear land for farming.

So the refugees still had to camp outdoors at night.

Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan were inspecting the countryside. Seeing the sun would soon set, they realized they couldn’t return to the county town tonight, so they decided to stop at the nearest settlement point.

The team leader in charge of this group saw Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan and immediately ran to greet them, saying, "Lady, Mr. Fu."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, smelling the aroma of food, and asked, "What’s for dinner tonight?"

The team leader grinned and said, "Bread!"

Mixed grain bread, gray in color but fairly soft. Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan queued up to receive two each, along with a bowl of vegetable soup.

Zhao Hanzhang found a patch of grass to sit on, reserving a good spot for Fu Tinghan, and then asked a young man nearby who was eating intently, "Is this enough to eat?"

The young man looked up at Zhao Hanzhang, not recognizing her, but he knew Fu Tinghan who was walking over and immediately stood up, somewhat shyly calling out, "Mr. Fu!"

Fu Tinghan nodded as a greeting and introduced Zhao Hanzhang, "This is the Lady, our County Lord."

The young man’s eyes widened, wanting to set down his bowl and bread to bow to Zhao Hanzhang but reluctant to put them on the ground.

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "No need for ceremonies, sit down and talk."

The young man dared not sit, only crouching timidly to the side.

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Is this amount of food enough?"

Two pieces of bread with a bowl of vegetable soup certainly wouldn’t suffice for a young adult, but the young man thought the treatment was good and nodded, "It’s enough."

Zhao Hanzhang finished eating the two pieces of bread and drank half a bowl of soup but still felt hungry, not even half full. She was skeptical.

Fu Tinghan glanced at her and handed her one.

Zhao Hanzhang pushed it back, "You eat it, you need to be full."

Fu Tinghan smiled at her, shoving the bread into her hand, "Hurry and eat; If we encounter wild animals at night, I’m counting on you to protect us."

Zhao Hanzhang then broke off a piece, taking only half and returning the other half to him while nibbling on it, saying, "It would be nice if wild animals come, just so we can add to our meal."

With over two hundred people here, they’re not afraid of wild animals.

However, speaking of wild animals, Zhao Hanzhang still turned and asked the young man, "Do you encounter wild animals when camping outdoors?"

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"No," the young man said, "we can hear wolves howling at night, but we make fires and have many people, so they don’t dare to approach."

Feeling a bit uneasy but not daring to turn away, the young man glanced at his comrades and replied quietly, "We occasionally catch a rabbit or pheasant in the mountains."

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Zhao Hanzhang responded, "That must be a very pleasant experience."

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang not opposed to their hunting, the young man felt relieved and relaxed a bit, "Not always successful, just occasionally."

After dinner, while it wasn’t yet dark, everyone dispersed to cut thatch, chop firewood, and gather wood.

Zhao Hanzhang saw many piles of firewood around, both dry and being sun-dried, and asked, "Is this firewood prepared for winter?"

"Yes," the team leader replied, "Chief Clerk Chang said the new thatched huts wouldn’t be very warm, instructed us to prepare lots of firewood, and told us to make charcoal for winter storage, but we don’t know how to make charcoal, so we only stockpile firewood."

"Making charcoal..." Fu Tinghan wrinkled his nose and said, "I know how, but it causes a lot of air pollution."

The team leader became excited upon hearing this, his eyes brightening as he looked at Fu Tinghan.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "For now, make sure they don’t freeze to death, but the charcoal kiln should be far from where people live. This season mostly brings north and west winds, so have them build the kiln on the southeast side, avoiding the wind direction."

The smell of burning charcoal isn’t pleasant; prolonged exposure can cause illness.

Fu Tinghan nodded, "I’ll draw out the charcoal kiln later. However, I only understand the principle; they need to experiment to figure out the actual process."

The team leader happily agreed, aware that Mr. Fu was well-learned, having read numerous books, and the rumor was that there was nothing he didn’t know.

Yet everything he learned came from books, never having done anything hands-on himself.

Thus, what was made required further refinement by others.

But that was already impressive; to think he knew how to make glass, bricks, and even paper just by reading...

So now their greatest wish was to achieve merits and earn money, so their children could study in the future.

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Not hoping to be as skilled as Mr. Fu, but having even a fraction of his ability would be enough.

Though their children haven’t taken shape yet, it’s best to be prepared.

Seeing them busy, Zhao Hanzhang pulled Fu Tinghan along into the forest, wanting to see if they could catch rabbits or other animals for a snack later.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to many people living outside the forest, many had been caught recently, so their walk yielded no sightings.

Feeling regretful, Zhao Hanzhang was about to head downhill when she noticed a gap where one could overlook below and clearly see this vast field.

Zhao Hanzhang walked forward to look down.

Fu Tinghan approached, "This location is excellent; during wartime, a watchtower could be built here."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, pointing below, "This settlement spot is chosen well; see, the distance from here to that village isn’t far, and once our settlement village is built, the two can frequently visit each other."

As the sky darkened, fires began below, with twenty people gathered around one large fire, making eleven fires in total, the central one reserved for Zhao Hanzhang and her group.

The soldiers used leaves as padding, added a layer of thatch on top, covered themselves with two layers of thatch, spending the night comfortably.

To build the thatched huts, they had begun cutting thatch after dinner, having cleared the nearby area, now started heading up the mountain and beyond it to cut.

Once the dragged thatch dried, everyone rested and would casually weave it, leaving it aside for future use in building houses.

Zhao Hanzhang was interested in their camping method and followed along, laying down after spreading some thatch.

Lying down initially felt fine, but soon the chill from the ground crept in.

Fu Tinghan also felt it; though padded with leaves and thatch, the cold couldn’t be kept at bay.

He immediately got up, pulling Zhao Hanzhang up, taking his cloak to spread on the thatch, ensuring she lay back down.

Zhao Hanzhang, thinking Professor Fu was frailer than her, insisted on offering half the spot to him.

Fu Tinghan glanced at the team leader and others secretly watching and declined, "I’m not cold; you should sleep."

Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t sleepy, saying to Fu Tinghan, "Chang Ning suggested using willow and cattail fluff to make bedding; using pure cotton is expensive, and there’s not enough. But Mr. Ji wrote, observing celestial phenomena, predicting this winter could be very cold, possibly as snowy and freezing as last year in Yingchuan."