Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 18 The Small Team (Please continue reading)
A thin mist hangs over the small mountain village in the early morning.

In the Zhao family courtyard, everyone woke up and began their new day.

Unlike other families, since Zhang Xian arrived, the Zhao family's habits have gradually been influenced by him.

Breakfast and lunch were normal dietary habits for ordinary farming families in the Han Dynasty.

Breakfast is eaten around nine or ten in the morning, consisting mainly of filling and energy-rich foods to provide for the physical labor required throughout the day.

Feeding usually takes place around four or five in the afternoon. It usually involves reheating the leftovers from breakfast and adding some wild vegetables and grains just to fill one's stomach. Families with the means may also cook some porridge.

Then it's just a matter of waiting until the next day to repeat the process.

This was the normal diet of people at the bottom of society in the Han Dynasty.

When Zhang Xian first arrived in the small mountain village, he was the same. At that time, he ate and used the Zhao family's food, so he naturally had to follow the Zhao family's habits.

But after receiving a considerable amount of supplies from the Guo family, he started to revert to his old habits.

We have to pick them up, he's really hungry. He's been working non-stop every day, and if he doesn't get enough food, not only will he not be able to improve his skills, but he might also pass away.

"Master, shall we steam sixty wheat cakes again today?"

As Zhou Cui carried firewood into the kitchen, she asked Zhang Xian, who was drying towels, as she passed by.

"No, just steam thirty, the rest can be steamed like this."

Smoothing the towel, Zhang Xian pointed to a pumpkin at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Cut it into pieces, make them even, and steam it like a wheat cake."

This is the pumpkin he cracked open last night, took out the seeds, and planted. Today is the perfect time to try it out. It weighs about 20 pounds, which should be enough to make 30 pancakes.

As for why so much food is prepared in the morning, well, that's of course...
"Brother Yun, are you ready yet? Let's go out."

Zhang Xian called out to Zhao Yun, who had returned to the inner room.

"Brother Xian is here. How far did you run today?"

"Running around the village a few times should be enough."

Zhang Xian, while tidying up his shoelaces, casually replied that the small mountain village was not big, with only about sixty or seventy households.

There are only about seventy buildings adjacent to each other, and running around them is only about five or six kilometers.

The two jogged out side by side, and as they passed a house, they would call out, and one or two other young men would run out of the house to join them in their morning exercise.

Over the course of more than twenty days, Zhang Xian had managed to bring almost all the teenagers in the small mountain village into his circle.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to complete the upgrade of the [Commander] skill.

The extra food steamed in the morning is used for this purpose; it's all prepared for the young men in the village.

Otherwise, if there's no benefit, why would anyone follow them? Why waste their energy for nothing?

Similarly, Zhang Xian prepared food for them in exchange for some benefits. During the morning exercise, he would also organize the young men in the village. In this way, the experience points of the commander and physique would also increase.

More importantly, once the land deeds are obtained and the wasteland can be cultivated, the construction of the estate will be inevitable. With land, the security forces will naturally follow.

These young men from the small mountain village all have some skill in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. After recruiting them to serve as guards of the village and giving them some training, he will have a ready-made armed force.

As for whether the people in the small mountain village are willing to follow him.
Obedience training has already begun.

Daily drills and morning exercises, along with maintaining formations, cultivate obedience and good habits. As long as these young men are willing to eat an extra meal every day, Zhang Xian isn't worried about anyone wanting to follow him.

Compensation is everything!
After running around the village, Zhang Xian found himself with more than twenty young men from the small mountain village behind him.

Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were also among them. The running group was divided into two lines, led by Zhang Xian's two underlings. His job was to give orders to his two underlings, who would then relay them to Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan.

The morning exercise queue remained relatively intact throughout.

After three laps, everyone looked normal, and there was no sign of heavy breathing. After five laps, everyone, including Zhang Xian, started to pant a little.

After seven laps, everyone was still able to keep going and no one fell behind. Zhang Xian couldn't help but marvel at the physical fitness of the people in the small mountain village.

After eight laps, Zhang Xian took a deep breath and walked slowly to relieve his fatigue.

The people behind them were doing the same thing, except that they were all heading in the same direction: towards the Zhao family's courtyard, the only house in the village with smoke rising from its chimney.

"Brother Xian."

"Brother Xian."

"Brother Xian."

"."

The insistence on remaining quiet during morning exercise is released like a floodgate afterward.

One by one, the young men from the small mountain village came over to greet Zhang Xian.

After eating Zhang Xian's food and listening to his stories seven days ago, the young men gradually began to regard Zhang Xian as the leader.

Looking at these faces, the oldest no more than seventeen or eighteen and the youngest only fourteen or fifteen, Zhang Xian nodded in response to each one.

"Tiger Cub must have been exhausted yesterday. Will the fields be ready for spring planting?"

"Stone, didn't you say your little sister wanted to participate in morning exercises? Why didn't I see you bring her today?"

"Hey, what about you? Your father's illness."

The group strolled along, but all gathered around Zhang Xian, who chatted in detail about what had happened to each of them recently.

He would lend a hand whenever he could. He had been helping to cultivate Huwa's land every day recently, and he was also helping Heizi's father recover from his illness.

It can be said that he knows more about the family affairs of these twenty-odd young men in the small mountain village than they do.

Whether you call it having ulterior motives or being overly ambitious, at least he was genuinely trying to resolve the issues in each family.

This has led to the young men in the small mountain village now regarding him as their leader.

Even the villagers now hold him in high esteem.

It took about seven or eight minutes to walk back to the Zhao family's courtyard. The fatigue from the morning run was completely gone, replaced by a feeling of comfort all over my body.

At the entrance of the courtyard, Zhang Xian stopped in his tracks, and the group of young men behind him also stopped on their own, including Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan.

That's just a habit.

Looking at everyone, he waved his hand and said, "You all still remember the rules, right?"

The young men nodded: "We remember."

Zhang Xian smiled and said, "That's good. After dinner, go up the mountain in pairs to collect a bundle of firewood. If you can't form a team, just bring back half a bundle."

"Furthermore, if anyone brings their own firewood here again like yesterday, don't blame me for talking to you again. What, do your parents not need firewood at home?"

The young men all laughed when they heard this, and their eyes all turned to look at one person, who immediately blushed.

"Well... I was late going up the mountain yesterday, wasn't I?"

(End of this chapter)