But everyday life seemed to be like this, bland and uneventful, with no major excitement. Thinking of being able to benefit the common people, Hu Lanfang felt a little more at ease.
If we're talking about excitement, nothing was more exciting than their transmigration.
A hot pot meal gave birth to three super-rich individuals, two of whom were from her family. And these three people were now calmly fighting over a piece of conch meat, as if they were too poor to afford it and wouldn't be able to eat it if they didn't now.
Hu Lanfang found the current situation a bit surreal.
Oh well, no matter how surreal it was, it couldn't be more surreal than the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Ice disasters, floods, zombie outbreaks... what else couldn't she accept?
Gu Qingcheng continued to chat, saying that she planned to recruit more people next and set aside a piece of land in the west of the village for the pharmaceutical factory, hiring at least 200 strong young workers.
Currently, the village labor force was insufficient, so she planned to have the Dapeng and Xiaopeng brothers go down the mountain after their wedding to recruit people everywhere.
The Dapeng and Xiaopeng brothers were skilled at operating boats, so she also planned for them to take the opportunity to train a larger crew of sailors for future use.
Now, due to rising water levels, land routes between villages were gradually being cut off, and most villages could only rely on boats for the transportation of goods and personnel.
Sailors and experienced boat captains had become sought-after individuals.
Earlier, Gu Qingcheng had foreseen this situation, which was why she enthusiastically recruited the Dapeng and Xiaopeng brothers, who were good with water and boat handling. As expected, they were now proving useful.
Upon hearing this, Hu Lanfang said, "The brothers just got their marriage certificates. Shouldn't you let them enjoy their honeymoon? If not a honeymoon, at least a honey-week?"
"Haha, I'm not in a hurry. They do need a vacation for their honeymoon," Gu Qingcheng replied.
She managed the village's affairs and development, while her mother managed social interactions. The two complemented each other well.
Anyway, she still had enough medicinal herbs in her spatial storage for two to three years, and medicinal herbs were also being consciously cultivated in large quantities on the mountains of Phoenix Village. Resources were not yet in a state of panic or crisis.
Gu Qingcheng also planned to have the Dapeng and Xiaopeng brothers persuade the high-altitude villages to cultivate medicinal herbs on a large scale, and they would exchange grain for the herbs they grew.
She didn't choose the low-lying villages because they would eventually be flooded. If they cultivated medicinal herbs halfway and then the fields were flooded, it would be a wasted effort.
Gu Qingcheng was not worried about this deal falling through, because with the exchange of grain for herbs, no village could refuse such temptation.
Compared to gold and silver, grain was the true hard currency in this era.
Mi Guo also did not expect that a small hot pot gathering would lead to such a large industrial chain. He was increasingly unable to understand his sister.
He originally thought his sister was just an ethereal being who could occasionally conjure up divine delicacies he had never tasted, and that she was also a skilled archer. He never imagined she had such a good business acumen!
Mi Guo once again felt an insurmountable gap between them.
How could he have known that Gu Qingcheng didn't actively want to do so much? She also wanted to lie flat, but the system wouldn't let her, constantly issuing one tempting mission after another.
If Gu Qingcheng were to describe herself, she would be like an old ox with a carrot tied in front of its eyes, driven forward to turn the millstone.
Gu Qingcheng got Ge Hong drunk with a jar of lychee wine.
Ge Hong found the wine easy to drink but didn't expect it to have such a strong kick.
In the end, Ge Hong was carried home by Mi Guo.
Although Mi Guo was young, he was very strong. Carrying Ge Hong was no problem at all.
Ge Hong's house, though cluttered with medicinal herbs piled everywhere, making it difficult to move, was quite clean in the bedroom because the village public service had people clean it.
A large wooden bed was covered with thick bedding, and there was a stove for warmth in the room.
Mi Guo added large pieces of wood to the stove to increase the room temperature and ensure Ge Hong wouldn't freeze. He then carefully covered him with the quilt and placed a pot of hot water on the bedside table in case he woke up thirsty in the middle of the night.
After doing everything he could, Mi Guo closed the door and left.
The fireplace in the room had a dedicated chimney, so there was no need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Gu Qingcheng was quite meticulous in terms of house construction. If she hadn't reminded them, Southern craftsmen would never have thought of installing a stove and a chimney in a room.
The next day, Gu Qingcheng summoned Dai Fa and instructed him to select 100 strong young men from the village to clear the vacant land in the west of the village to prepare for the construction of a pharmaceutical production base.
She also said that a portion of the profits from the pharmaceuticals produced by the future production base would be allocated to the public service for operating expenses, and all village officials would receive increased welfare benefits.
Gu Qingcheng intended to donate her own profits for this part of the public service expenditure. After all, money wasn't of much use to her; having "satisfaction points" was enough. Therefore, these decisions didn't need to be written into contracts; it was fine as long as she was willing.
With such good news, Dai Fa was naturally very enthusiastic. He knew that Gu Qingcheng never spoke carelessly; when she intended to do something, she was sure to have a plan.
At Dai Fa's command, 100 strong young men were recruited to level the land on the west mountain.
This involved clearing weeds, cutting down small trees, building roads, digging mountains, and constructing houses. With many hands, the work was done efficiently. The village public service provided guaranteed meals, with rice and meat at every meal, which fueled the high spirits of the young men. Within a month, the houses were all leveled and ready.
Gu Qingcheng also mobilized Ge Hong to take time to train the workers for the pharmaceutical factory.
Ge Hong said that these workers needed to have a basic understanding of literacy to be able to produce medicine properly. Therefore, Gu Qingcheng set up written and oral examinations, and finally Ge Hong personally selected 30 suitable workers.
If these 30 individuals were to work in the pharmaceutical factory, they would each receive a monthly remuneration of 50 jin of rice, 20 jin of meat, and half a jin of salt.
This compensation was considered the highest welfare benefit in the village. The young men were desperate to get a job in the pharmaceutical factory.
Setting aside other benefits, the welfare of 50 jin of rice and 20 jin of meat was already very attractive. It was equivalent to one person working to feed the entire family, so who wouldn't want to join the pharmaceutical factory?
However, the requirements were very high, so in the end, the best of the best were chosen. The 30 young men who remained were all literate and intelligent individuals.
Some of the young men were originally illiterate, but after attending classes at the school in Phoenix Village for a year, they learned basic literacy. They never imagined that this opportunity would arise.
This also made the villagers of Phoenix Village see the benefits of reading and literacy.
Parents who previously thought that their children reading and writing was less valuable than cutting grass or herding cattle now unhesitatingly sent their children to the village school to study.
After all, school was free, so why not?
In Mi Guo's eyes, his sister Gu Qingcheng's actions were like playing a chess game, with each move leading to a coordinated response.
Mi Guo silently observed from the side, filled with profound admiration.