When Miao Shijie and Han Tao came to Zhao Yuan's house in Xiaheba, Zhao Yuan's family, Xiao Zhaozhuang's children, Shao Meng's brothers, Jia Yu and Yao Yuan's families were divided into four tables and were having lunch.

"Why are you here, is something wrong?" Seeing a few people coming to the house, Zhao Yuan put down his chopsticks and asked.

"My lord, Steward Han has found some problems, and after we discussed it, I would like to report it to you." Miao Shijie replied.

"In a hurry?" Zhao Yuan asked with a serious expression.

"If you have a food problem, you will eat first, and we will report to you after eating." Han Tao said.

"Ying'er, who are they?" Su Xiaoyun asked Meng Ying softly.

"It's someone from the cement workshop, maybe there's something going on over there, mother, you eat, I'll go to the kitchen and get a few sets of dishes and chopsticks." Meng Ying said, ready to get up and go to the kitchen.

"Madam, you eat, I'll just go get it." Lin Xia, Yao Yuan's daughter-in-law, who was sitting at the table next to her, got up and said.

"You haven't eaten yet, let's eat some together, come, let's move a little and squeeze it." Zhao Yuan said with a greeting.

"Okay, let's try the adult's meal today." Miao Shijie and the others were not polite, and found vacant seats at several tables and sat down.

"This is my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, and they are Miao Shijie, the commander of the workshop army, Han Tao, the logistics manager, Zhang San, the manager of the cement workshop, and Mr. Su Qi, the account room." After a few people sat down, Zhao Yuan introduced.

"Hello old man, good old lady." Miao Shijie and the others hurriedly shouted and nodded to the others at the table.

"Okay, good, eat quickly, the guy is really in good spirits." Meng Ji said with a smile.

"You're welcome, eat first, come, you can taste my family's cooking skills." Zhao Yuan smiled and beckoned a few people to eat.

"We're really blessed, the food at the adults' house is good." Miao Shijie said with a smile.

"Eat more if it's delicious, Brother Yuan, do you want to drink some wine?" Meng Ying handed the dishes and chopsticks brought by Lin Xia to the four of them, and asked Zhao Yuan again.

"I won't drink at noon, and I'll talk about things later." Zhao Yuan waved his hand and said.

The children of Xiao Zhaozhuang and Luoluo sat at two tables, eating lunch very noisily, but after Miao Shijie and a few people came, the children were much quieter all of a sudden.

"Luoluo, those two people in front of you are really majestic, and they are still wearing armor, are they the second brother's subordinates?" Tiezi Zhao Xiantie asked.

"Yes, they are Uncle Miao and Uncle Han of the Workshop Army, you don't see my uncle wearing armor, he is more majestic than them." Luoluo said proudly.

"Second brother still has armor, why didn't we see it?" The big head Zhao Xianyu said in surprise.

"Uncle put it in the barracks, the armor is so heavy, and you have to oil it on it." Luoluo said.

"Star, Xiaobao, have you seen it too?" Zhao Bo, who was sitting next to Xiaobao Xingxing, also asked softly.

"Well, I've seen it, I originally wanted to wear my brother-in-law's armor, but it was too big and heavy to wear." Meng Xiaobao said angrily.

"I've also seen the owner go through, and so does the little girl." Star confirmed.

"I decided, I'm going to follow Brother Guo and them to practice martial arts, and I'm not going to study." Suddenly, Zhao Xiantie slapped the table and said.

"The fifth grandfather won't let it." Luoluo said on the side.

"That's it, we can finally go to study, Tiezi you can't go, and the fifth uncle won't beat you." Zhao Chuanqiong said.

"I'll go to the second brother and say, as long as the second brother agrees, my father will agree." Zhao Xiantie said firmly.

"My uncle will definitely not let me, Uncle Tiezi, don't think about it." Luoluo argued.

"But Luoluo, you see that your Uncle Miao is so majestic." Zhao Xiantie said enviously.

……

After lunch, after the dishes on the table were removed, the father-in-law Meng Ji's family was in a hurry to go back, Zhao Yuan asked Miao Shijie and a few people to drink tea and wait for a while, and first send Meng Ying to his father-in-law's family.

"Dad, mother, eldest brother, sister-in-law, you are too anxious, wait for a while and then leave, even if there is something at home, you are not in a hurry for a while." Meng Ying complained while cleaning up fish, meat, vegetables and other things for her father's family.

"Atom has something to do, we can do something if we go back sooner, it's getting dark early." Su Xiaoyun said.

"Don't take so many things, there are a lot of things to eat at home now, and you can keep them here." Sister-in-law Wei Qiumei saw Meng Ying putting things on the donkey cart and stopped her.

"It's nothing, father, mother, eldest brother, sister-in-law, and our Xiaoying, we'll come over in two days." Meng Ying said reluctantly.

"Okay, let's go first, you can also get busy, you don't need to send it." Meng Ji said to Zhao Yuan.

"Big brother, you drive slowly, or Xiaoying will stay here to play, you see him crying." Meng Ying said.

"Sister Luoluo, stay, play." The little one cried.

"He's too small, he still pees at night, it's too troublesome to stay here, don't cry, Xiaoying." Sister-in-law Wei Qiumei shook her head.

"Then you go slowly."

"Grandparents, uncles, aunts, and Xiaoying's younger brother, goodbye." Luoluo waved her hand and said.

……

After sending his father-in-law's family away, Zhao Yuan walked into the house, and didn't let a few people go to the study, just drank tea at the dinner table and started chatting.

As for Luoluo and Xiao Zhaozhuang's group of children, they followed Yao Yuan and Jia Yu's family to the farm, saying that they were going to see Zhao Yuan's donkeys and horses.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Taking a sip of tea, Zhao Yuan asked.

"My lord, it was my negligence, originally I saw that there was so much food in our granary, and I wanted to eat enough, but this time there are more than 2,000 people, and the food in the granary is like running water every day, and there is a lot less at once, and then calculate, there is a problem with our food supply." Han Tao said.

"Yes, I took a careful inventory with Steward Han, our food is only enough to eat for a month and a half at most, although the transport team basically has grain delivered every day, but if the next heavy snowfall and the grain transportation is blocked, our food may not be enough." Zhang San also said.

"I've taken a rough look at our food reserves, they should be sufficient?" Zhao Yuan wondered.

"The main thing is that those guys are too edible, although our workshop army has a large amount of training, and everyone eats a lot of food, but that group of bandit captives eat more, my lord, you said again that as long as they are obedient and don't rebel, we will let them eat enough, no, there will be a problem with the supply of food." Miao Shijie smiled bitterly on the side.

"Is it really that edible?" Zhao Yuan hesitated.

"It's so good to eat, I've seen it, and it's not just that I don't mean to eat it, I can understand why they want to be bandits and bandits, it's because they can eat too much, they can't eat at home." Han Tao said angrily.

"One of the advantages of this is that the most rebellious people, now we don't have to worry about them running away." Han Tao also said with a wry smile.

"Is there anything you can do about this?" Zhao Yuan asked.

"Yes, yes, but it costs a lot of money, and we can buy some of the grain from the grain store of the ten thousand people. Also, this year, Wan Da's family has saved a lot of food, can you find them to turn around first? Han Tao asked.

"During this time, let the transport team increase the amount of food sold from the outside, the gap should not be very large, during this time in winter, according to the production situation of the cement workshop, appropriately reduce everyone's labor, so that the food should be able to save some, and then it is not enough, first buy from the Wanjia grain store, if there is still a gap, I will go to Wanda to find a way." Zhao Yuan said after thinking about it.

"Okay, but my lord, I think you treat those captives too well, we should limit their food and let them eat like this, after a long time, our cement workshop can't stand it." Zhang San said cautiously.

"I have counted, and you know, although this group of people is our prisoners, but except for some of them, most of them will be like the rest of the cement workshop in the future." Zhao Yuan shook his head and said.

In this era, the biggest resource is actually human resources, with people, especially those who can use them easily, other problems can always be solved.

Although the food problem has always been the biggest problem affecting the development of this era, fortunately, now, Zhao Yuan has a plan to open up land, and by next year, the situation will be alleviated.

"Since you're here, I just have something to say." After talking about the problem of food, Zhao Yuan said.

"Your Excellency, please speak."

"Next year, I plan to buy a large amount of wasteland to open up the wasteland and grow grain, and next year, in addition to the regular escort tasks, other people will take turns to help me clear the wasteland for three months, and then the Workshop Army will also reclaim some fields to supply the interior." Zhao Yuan said.

"There is no problem, as long as the adult gives an order, we will fight wherever we want!" Miao Shijie and Han Tao stood up and said loudly.

The development of the workshop army to the present, it can basically be said that it is Zhao Yuan's private army, within the workshop army, Zhao Yuan has absolute authority and is the most respected by everyone, which is not only because Zhao Yuan provided good treatment to the workshop army, but also related to the training and education in peacetime.

"In my house, you don't have to be so formal, just sit down. After the New Year, Shijie, you will send a small team of elites first, and I will send a small team from the scout team to follow the people I arranged to check and buy land in various places. Zhao Yuan said.

"Yes!"