Chapter 775: Ore Is Not Easy to Find

Changzhi hurriedly prepared to kneel and admit his guilt, but Baifeng interrupted his movement: "Since that is the case, I will arrange a task for you. You people in the Ministry of Agriculture who are responsible for animal husbandry, go conduct a public opinion survey to see how everyone feels about the taste of this meat. Do they think it tastes good right now?"

"If they all think it is okay, then this matter can be shelved for the time being. If they can obtain meat without having to scramble for it, provided it is determined that it can be rationed through tickets, would they want the taste of the meat to be better?"

"You must investigate this clearly for me; do not be slack in your duties. Furthermore, I can clearly tell you that castration not only makes the meat of livestock taste better, but they can also gain weight faster, reach the standard for slaughter sooner, and their wild nature will be smaller."

"In this matter, the only difficulty lies with you veterinarians. Now, the delivery of livestock is not a difficult problem; they can basically give birth on their own. You probably don't encounter many cases of dystocia in a year, right?"

"Veterinarians are necessary, and you must continue to train more. But since your treatment has been provided and the manpower has been increased, I must also apply some pressure on you."

"Regardless of the public's opinion, from now on, you must start figuring out how to perform castrations. If you don't know how to cut, then go dissect carcasses, learn from experience, and figure it out yourselves."

"At the very least, you must ensure that I get to eat delicious meat. As the master of the entire nation, do I not have the right to eat better-tasting meat? Look at what I am eating for lunch right now—it is all vegetarian dishes. I should be able to make some demands, right?"

Sweat poured down Changzhi's face like rain, but he also knew that Baifeng would not punish or scold him any further; the scolding was already over. He hurriedly replied: "You certainly have the right. The entire Huaxia belongs to you. No matter what you ask to be done, we will strive to complete it for you."

This brief meeting ended hastily in a not-so-cheerful atmosphere. The orders Baifeng gave them had to be executed immediately. The first public opinion survey had to be done, and the Ministry of Revenue also had to formulate specific plans.

Yulong decided to listen to Baifeng and lighten his own burden. So, after returning, he immediately went into his office and lay on the desk to continue his nap. Furthermore, he decided to install a bed in the office, just like his father had. It would be best to create a small partition like that, which could be used for receiving guests and also allow him to sleep more comfortably at noon.

At this time, the construction progress of Xiao Town was also extremely rapid. The city wall of the entire town was already over a meter high. It was no longer easy for a person to jump directly over it, and its defensive capabilities were already beginning to take shape.

The Laborers of the Xuanyuan Tribe were now astonished by the financial resources of Huaxia. With so many of them, they spent every day here chopping trees, digging soil, and building walls. Apart from a small number of women who would go out to forage, and some Soldiers who occasionally went out to hunt a few carnivores to supplement their meals, no one else did the work of collecting food.

Yet even so, Huaxia never lacked a bit of food for them. Every meal allowed them to eat their fill. At fixed times, people from Huaxia would also pull cart after cart of grain to deliver here, as if Huaxia's grain supply had no bottom, and the people of Huaxia did not consider at all that these people were eating too much.

Because the results for the two strange stones brought back last time had already come out, the transparent stone was mica, which was almost useless. It was only necessary to pick out the most transparent and best ones to bring back to use as medicinal materials; there was no need to search for and collect them in large quantities.

As for the green stone, it had been confirmed to be copper ore, and the copper content was extremely high. Before the first shipment was sent to Huaxia and the results were known, Che had already issued a reward system, encouraging everyone to search for it. As long as they could find it, they could be issued extra grain.

This caused the quantity of copper ore in Che's hands to increase greatly, many times more than what was sent back last time. But this also meant that the amount of grain he rewarded was also very large. If this kind of stone were completely useless, then these rewards would have been given in vain. Although Huaxia was not short of that bit of oil dregs, the problem was that the effort required to transport it here was too great.

But fortunately, the second transport team brought him a piece of great news: this kind of green stone was indeed extremely important copper ore. This undoubtedly gave Che a much stronger shot in the arm.

Everyone who knew the inside story was also more optimistic about the future of Xiao Town. Having only a Saltpeter Mine did not count as a very good place; there were not many places in Huaxia where saltpeter could be used, and other tribes did not need this thing.

However, the significance of copper in this era was self-evident. Even thousands of years later, copper ore would still be very important. In his joy, Che dispatched more Soldiers to a grassland they had been eyeing for a long time to hunt more yellow sheep. He decided to give everyone, including those from the Xuanyuan Tribe, an extra meal. Although all he could give them was meat soup with a very bland taste, this could also be considered a collective celebration.

The gray-tufted grass, an inconspicuous plant, was also determined to be useful, which counted as an unexpected joy. After selecting some that had already withered and yellowed, they were packed together to be brought back. The most important copper ore was already so heavy that a single cart could not hold it all. The Soldiers who came to escort it were all very happy; they did not complain about the quantity at all and even felt it was a bit too little. It would be better if there were more ore than they could haul away.

But this wish was clearly dashed. Che's main energy was still on construction. For the collection of copper ore, he could only rely on those working Laborers. Whatever they could dig out while working and digging soil was what they got.

He had not yet figured out the distribution pattern of the ore; it was as if there was no pattern at all. Next time, not only should he bring people from the Ministry of Agriculture, but he should also bring a team of people who understood mineral exploration to find the distribution pattern of this ore, as well as its reserves, to plot a wider path for Huaxia.

Now the speed of ore collection had suddenly slowed down. The areas where everyone mainly operated had already been turned over many times. The ore that could be found had basically all been found. Even if those numerous Laborers deliberately searched for it, the amount of ore they could hand over to Che every day continued to decrease.

Che now only hoped that this good thing would not be so short-lived. Only if it could be found continuously and in sufficient quantity could it be considered a truly good thing.