After noon, the temperature outside was a little warmer, and even with a little reluctance, Emily put away her textbooks and went to the school building. In any case, she is also a teacher at the α Academy, and although she doesn't teach very seriously, she can't be compared to the students.

In the past, she still needed Jiang Feng's supervision to complete her homework, but now she doesn't need Jiang Feng to assign homework. Although this change made her feel a little lost in her heart, thinking that she had been able to help Jiang Feng, her heart was still more happy than worried.

Soon after Emily left, Yi Ran looked at the wall clock on the wall, put down what she was holding, and said goodbye to Jiang Feng. She now lives a fairly regular life, spending the morning lazily, going to the cement kiln in the afternoon to set fires, and sitting in bed meditating until she falls asleep in the evening.

Knowing that with her current strength, she couldn't help her companions too much even if she went back, but she settled down. No longer asking about the portal all day long, but according to the plan Jiang Feng made for her, she seriously improved her abilities.

Sitting next to the desk, Jiang Feng was holding a pen in his hand, and he was meticulously writing and drawing something on a piece of parchment.

At this moment, footsteps came from the corridor outside the door.

Buck, who was the captain of the Wizard's Tower Guard, knocked on the door of the study and gave a knightly salute.

"My lord, Du Wei asks to see you."

Stopping the pen in his hand, Jiang Feng spoke.

"Let him in."

"Yes." Buck nodded scrutinously and turned away.

After a while, Du Wei, dressed in a fur coat, stood at the door.

Just looking at the snowflakes on his fur collar and his red nose, it was not difficult for Jiang Feng to guess that he had just arrived here, and he had rushed here non-stop.

Without too many pleasantries, Jiang Feng got straight to the point.

"How's it going?"

Before leaving the Thorn Wastes for the Eastern Desert, he gave Du Wei the task of promoting drought-tolerant crops and asked the town hall to help him. Of the seeds that Captain Kairut brought, the most common were potato tubers. Genetically modified potatoes have been strengthened to adapt to drought and low temperatures, allowing for good harvests even in thorny heaths.

Although Jiang Feng planned to focus on the development of industry in the Thorn Wasteland, and some of the grain was imported from the southern city-states, this did not mean that agriculture was completely abandoned. To develop industry, you first need a sufficient population, and if you rely entirely on imports for food, the development of the thorny wasteland will never escape the shadow of famine.

Especially the flow of refugees is getting closer and closer, the rebels who retreated to Brass Pass have burned almost all the villages along the way in the north-central part of the kingdom, and those refugees who have fled from the north are naturally unlikely to stay in a military fortress like Sardinia Castle, whether they end up going to Warland or the southern city-states, Boulder City is an unavoidable choice for them.

This is a problem that even witchcraft cannot solve.

"The first winter potato seeds have been planted, and if nothing else, the first crop can be harvested at the beginning of spring next year." Du Wei hurriedly said.

"It's best not to have accidents," glancing at Du Wei, Jiang Feng continued, "How much is the planting area?" ”

"A total of five thousand acres of land, mainly in the villages around Boulder City," said Du Wei hesitated, "There is a lot of resistance to the promotion of this crop, and if it weren't for the guarantee of the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce that they would buy back the fruits of these crops at the price of twenty UBS per kilogram, and provide seeds for free, almost no farmers would be willing to grow these things in the field." ”

Winter is a fallow period, and there are hardly any people planting in the fields.

Although the world's agriculture has not evolved into a systematic discipline, most experienced farmers still have a vague idea of the fertility of the land, knowing that if the land is constantly farming, the land will gradually fail to grow crops.

Again, braving heavy snow to farm is indeed not an easy task.

Land fertility is actually very easy to solve, and the most important thing for an island like Crocodile Island, which is often inhabited by migratory birds, is phosphate ore. That kind of stuff is not only one of the raw materials for making explosives, but can also be used to make fertilizer.

Improving the cultivated land environment of the thorny wasteland and introducing drought-tolerant crops is one thing, and chemical fertilizers are also sooner or later.

"Don't worry about this for now, wait until the spring of next year, when the first crop is harvested, those people will naturally be tempted when they taste the sweetness," Jiang Feng said disapprerovingly, "Is there anything else to report?" ”

"One more thing." Du Wei nodded, paused for a moment, and then continued, "Just the day before yesterday, the kingdom sent a royal advisor and an earl to the steel mill to inquire about the purchase of muskets and ammunition. ”

Glancing at Jiang Feng cautiously, Du Wei continued, "The price they offered was two thousand UBS per musket, and the first batch of orders totaled five thousand muskets, and the ammunition was calculated separately by kilogram. The stakes are high, and I don't dare to make a decision on my own, so let them wait......"

Hearing Du Wei talk about this, Jiang Feng immediately reacted.

I almost forgot about it.

When he was in Sardiinburgh, he promised Flynn to sell him a batch of "fire-breathing iron rods", but he didn't expect to come to his door so quickly.

Without making a decision immediately, Jiang Feng thought in his heart for a moment and asked Du Wei's opinion.

"What do you think of the price they offered?"

"If you only think about profits, the price they offer is fair, and the profit margin is much greater than the profit margin we sell armor and swords." Du Wei said cautiously, "After all, it doesn't take too much iron ore to build a musket, and the production line is ready-made. And the gunpowder they consume in the future will also have to be purchased from us, which is a lot of income. ”

From the perspective of the president of the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce, he still wants to make this business very much. The more silver he can earn, the more he can prove his abilities, and the more he will be able to show his worth in front of the wizard.

It's just that the only thing he is not sure about now is what Jiang Feng's attitude is towards those firearms.

After all, in his opinion, those weapons were so powerful that they could even make people misunderstand whether the flames that erupted from the barrel of the gun were not the power of witchcraft.

However, Jiang Feng's next sentence dispelled his concerns.

"If you can make money, then take it." His eyes rolled slightly, and after thinking for a moment, Jiang Feng continued, "By the way, I'll take them to see our smoothbore guns again and ask them if they're interested." If you're interested, see what price is right and talk to me when the time comes. ”

Du Wei was slightly stunned, obviously Jiang Feng's reaction was a little inconsistent with his expectations, but he quickly reacted and bowed.

"Yes."

"Let's not talk about that, it's just so that you're here, and I have something to do here. Remember that machine in the factory? ”

As long as it's a person, you won't forget it after seeing it.

I don't think that thing can bring much to the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce, though

“…… Remember," Du Wei nodded, a little confused, "does it have anything to do with that thing?" ”

"Of course," a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, Jiang Feng patted the parchment on his hand, "Remember when I told you that the value of that thing is comparable to an inexhaustible silver mine?" Take this drawing to Fielding, and soon you will understand how humble I was when I said that. ”