Exile after Divorce? Empty the Scumbag Husband First!-Chapter 279 - 271: With Many Small Sunrooms Assembled, We Can Grow 100 Acres of Grain

Chapter 279: Chapter 271: With Many Small Sunrooms Assembled, We Can Grow 100 Acres of Grain

And each of the small solar greenhouses had a fire path below, a heat-gathering wall above, and a layer of horse manure piled up on the soil layer to generate heat and keep warm. This ensured that the crops inside grew with sufficient warmth.

The heat-gathering wall, however, would need to be made temporarily.

Longchang Mountain was rich in resources. Back then, besides discovering gold and iron mines, she also found a place with many quartz sand mines.

She had stored some in her space.

She told her aunt, "These quartz sands can be turned into glass. Although we don’t have a large cutting machine, given the current conditions, as long as we make glass, we can cut it into smaller pieces. It’s not necessary to be as large as a greenhouse."

"By piecing together multiple small solar houses, we can also plant hundreds of acres of grain."

Her aunt had seen glass before. After she rebirthed into this new world, she had seen countless new and interesting things.

But she didn’t know how to make it: "Can these quartz sands alone make it? Surely other conditions are needed too."

Ruan Mian nodded, "This is just the raw material. With these, after high-temperature melting and cooling to shape, we can make it. Although the purity of the finished product might not be high with current conditions, it’s good enough."

"Once we get back, I will choose a site and have some villagers go to the land I cleared to dig the fire path as preparation."

"I’ll have another group construct a kiln. Once this kiln is ready, it won’t just be used for glass making, but can also smelt more ore, which will surely benefit our village." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Speaking of the cleared wasteland, her aunt couldn’t help but laugh, "Yuan the Fourth and his group really did find the right place."

Her aunt gave a thumbs up in approval.

"Everyone in the village trusts you. If we increase wages a bit, manpower surely won’t be a problem. You keep an eye on the farming first, and I’ll handle the logistics for selling our produce."

"Since we have the conditions to cultivate, our target shouldn’t just be the garrison. I’ll negotiate with the disaster-stricken towns in Liao Lie, including our Northern Great Jing towns."

"As long as we can export the grain within a certain timeframe, we can undercut those profiteers selling high-priced grains! Once people aren’t worried about food, they’ll have the energy to purchase our warm clothing! But will there be enough time?"

Ruan Mian calculated, "With the irrigation from the spiritual spring water, normal crops will yield faster. For fast-growing fruits and vegetables, it could take half a month, while slow ones might take over a month."

Her aunt snapped her fingers, "That timeframe is manageable. Worst case, we use the grain from your space to sell to distant towns, so no suspicions trace back to your space."

The two agreed without hesitation, and with a plan in mind, Ruan Mian immediately executed it after returning to the residence.

First, she talked to Mr. Xue and some village leaders about growing crops in the solar greenhouses. Though there was some skepticism, everyone chose to believe her without exception.

"Miss Ruan, since you’ve thought of a solution, we’ll do as you say! Now is the time to treat a dead horse as if it’s alive. Whether or not we can grow it, we have to try, or we’ll just be sitting ducks in winter with insufficient grain."

"That’s right, that’s right. Miss Ruan, if you need people, I’ll go door-to-door in the village today to gather manpower for you."

Ruan Mian was deeply grateful. Early the next morning, she led a few strong men from the village into the depths of Longchang Mountain to find the quartz sand mine.

They loaded several carts of raw material and returned, unloading them before repeatedly quarrying again.

Ruan Mian prepared ample hand warmers, clay coal, and thick down jackets for them in advance.

She even prepared ear muffs for them.

Shaoxi and others were tasked with making food and drink at home, and Yun Xiu was sent to deliver them.

Meanwhile, she stayed in the village and selected a site near the planting area to build the kiln.

She explained the plans and construction details to the villagers, directed them to make bricks, and after two or three days, seeing the villagers comfortable with the tasks, she went to the planting area and instructed Yuan the Fourth and his group to excavate the fire paths according to the plans.

Yuan the Fourth and his group were initially forced to cultivate land, but Ruan Mian provided them with enough food and clothing and even taught them to build houses and heatable brick beds, which was much better than the days under Chen Bozong’s control.

So they were willing to labor for her willingly.

While the three groups worked separately, Shaoxi and others ensured logistic support.

They made sure hardworking villagers had enough good food, for strength is needed for hard work.

When Cui Zhu worried about the grain shortage, Ruan Mian reassured her, "Don’t worry. Once the solar greenhouses are built, we’ll be able to grow plenty of fruits and vegetables; even vegetables previously only harvestable after the spring thaw can be grown too."

"We definitely won’t be short on grain by then."

Hearing this, Cui Zhu was not only amazed they could grow it, but also incredulous about growing crops previously only possible in April or May, "Really?"

"When has your lady ever deceived you?"

Naturally, Cui Zhu chose to believe her.

However, with Ruan Mian busy running around lately, Mrs. Zhang was noticeably worried.

Every night, she would see lights in her room late into the night, and every morning, Ruan Mian was up early. Since Ah Huai left, she was no longer upset, but the more composed she seemed, the more worried Mrs. Zhang was.

She’d mentioned it to Mr. Ruan multiple times.

"Now that Song’er is missing, and Mianmian has suffered this blow, my heart just can’t be at ease."

Mr. Ruan comforted her, "Mianmian being able to immerse herself in all sorts of things might actually be a good thing."

"With so many tasks, she won’t have energy to dwell on sad matters. If our grain issue is genuinely resolved, Mianmian will have made an enormous contribution to our neighbors."

"Ah Huai’s spirit in heaven would surely be proud of her too. Speaking of Song’er, with Mianmian taking on such a huge endeavor, plenty of people will be grateful. Consequently, asking for more help finding Song’er increases the chances."

Mrs. Zhang wiped her tears gently with a handkerchief, "You’re right, we... at this moment, should be their mainstay. We must stay strong."

They had endured so much hardship before, and they couldn’t falter on this matter.

Ruan Mian deliberately chose the kiln location at a windy point near the planting area, and she built a simple bellows to utilize the strong wind to raise the temperature inside the kiln.

For the smelting process, considering winter temperatures, she also constructed a simple rest room near the kiln.

The brick bed inside remained warm long-term, with ample clay coal supply. When the kiln fires up, the surrounding area within a meter would also warm up some.

These tasks were demanding, but fortunately, so many villagers were willing to trust her. With everyone working together, the foundational work would be completed in no time.

Once the kiln was ready, a few strong men loaded the quartz sand into the baozi-shaped kiln.