Above the mage

Chapter 357 First Plenary Meeting

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, Grant, wearing a fur hat, walked along the ridges of the Golden Radiance Farm, checking on the growth of the wheat ears.

More than half a year has passed since the first Northwest Barley No. 1 planted.

As far as the eye can see, the wheat fields, some green, some yellow, and some a blend of green and yellow, stretch as far as the eye can see, like a vast ocean.

Compared to ordinary barley, Northwest Barley No. 1 has an extremely superior feature: it requires only extreme cold and low temperatures to grow, with ice replacing sunlight as an essential element for its growth.

In the North, both extreme cold and ice elements have been present for a long time.

This means that Northwest Barley No. 1 can be planted any day of the year, 360 days a year.

This is a unique advantage.

Therefore, the planting area of ​​Jinhui Farm has expanded extremely rapidly.

Grant walked to a golden wheat field, which had been planted early and was almost ready for harvest.

He crouched down to examine the barley in the field. The ears of barley were thick and full, and there were a great many of them. They were even larger than the barley he had seen before.

There was no need to harvest or weigh it; Grant knew that this wheat field was bound to yield a bumper harvest.

All of this is thanks to Minister Flora.

Thanks to her efforts, the successive generations of Northwest Barley No. 1 have been progressing continuously and rapidly, and the yield per mu has now increased to 160-180 kg.

Compared to the beginning, the yield per acre has almost tripled.

The area of ​​farmland reclaimed by Jinhui Farm has reached 300,000 mu.

Although many fields have only been cultivated and not yet planted, it is only a matter of time.

Before our king ascended the throne, Phoenix's only field, that volcanic land, did not produce enough food for the ice-blooded mages in the tribe.

Such a huge change has occurred in just eight months.

The thought of this made Grant feel like it was a dream, so exaggerated it seemed unreal.

In this state of mental wandering, he suddenly heard a commotion and noise.

Grant stood up in surprise and looked in the direction of the sound.

Then he saw a familiar but long-absent figure riding on his pet snow wolf, heading into the city, with Elder Gain accompanying him.

Grant was taken aback for a moment, then his expression turned to surprise.

Our king has returned!

Phoenix, City Hall.

The first thing Gaode did after returning was to hold the first general meeting of the Zhenbing Tribe here.

Although it's called the entire senior management team, the actual number is not large.

The group consisted of War Mother Sunafa, two ministers of the Ministry of Agriculture, two deputy directors of the Public Security Bureau, three fourth-ring elders of the Zhenbing Tribe, and Damon.

Damon wasn't considered a high-ranking official.

However, given that the Department of Education is one of only three municipal departments in Phoenix, and is headed by Gao De himself, it is indeed necessary for someone to attend and report on the specific teaching situation at No. 1 High School during the two and a half months that Gao De was absent.

Sunlight streamed through the windows into the conference room on a snowy day.

Gao De and Sunafa sat in the main seats. He glanced around the room, frowned slightly, and thought to himself, "We are really short of people!"

With just a handful of people, it was far from what Gaode had envisioned a proper city hall to look like; it couldn't even be called a makeshift team.

Even a makeshift troupe is still a troupe.

To get the city hall to take shape, the most important thing is the education work of the Ministry of Education.

This is also why Gaode Maps established a presence in the Ministry of Education early on.

"Everyone, please report on the recent situation of your respective departments," Gao De said slowly, seeing that everyone had arrived. "Let's start with Damon."

"Yes, Your Highness." Damon's guardian quickly stood up and bowed, his expression still somewhat restrained and awkward.

After all, in terms of status and position alone, he was absolutely not qualified to attend this meeting; he only benefited from the fact that the Ministry of Education currently lacks talent.

He unfurled the paper roll he had prepared beforehand. The roll had become somewhat brittle due to the northern cold. He carefully unfolded it and earnestly reported to his superior:

Phoenix First High School currently has 39 Level 2 teachers and offers three basic courses: Common Language Literacy, Esperanto Literacy, and Elementary Mathematics, with a total of 3569 students.

"Two teaching campuses have been completed and put into use, with a capacity of more than 8,000 students, and a new campus is under construction."

"The most pressing problem at the First High School right now is a severe shortage of teachers. It is roughly estimated that there are over 50,000 school-age children in Phoenix, but with only 39 teachers, the current number of students is already close to its limit. If the number of students increases further, the quality of teaching cannot be guaranteed."

"Another issue is the Common Language Reading and Writing course, which I am currently teaching alone, and it cannot even meet the needs of the existing students."

"However, I have organized other Level 2 teachers to learn Common Language with me in the evenings. Because everyone has mastered the language, the learning progress is very fast. I expect that in another one to two months, they will be able to teach," Damon added.

Due to limitations in teacher resources and the quality of teachers themselves, the curriculum currently offered by Phoenix No. 1 High School is primarily focused on general education.

The literacy courses in the Common Language and the Esperanto language need no further explanation; they are the most basic literacy courses and the foundation of education.

As for elementary mathematics, it is a textbook personally compiled by Gao De, which includes basic knowledge of measurement and Arabic mathematical reading and writing as well as simple calculations.

The content is very simple, because if it were difficult, even the teacher wouldn't know how to do it.

Gao De pondered for a moment, his fingers lightly tapping the table, making a crisp sound, and then he slowly spoke:

"Construction of the new campus continues, with the initial goal of accommodating 100,000 students, ensuring that as long as there are enough teachers, we can immediately organize the enrollment of school-age children."

"As for the teacher issue, I will find a way. In addition, Damon's initiative to organize other teachers to learn the common language on their own is commendable." He nodded slightly, not hesitating to praise Damon.

To be honest, the student-teacher ratio at Phoenix 1 High School is currently severely unbalanced.

With 39 teachers supporting 3569 students, the teacher-student ratio is close to 1 to 100. However, the current course load is relatively small and the teaching content is relatively simple, so it is still manageable.

But this is certainly only temporary; the subsequent education of monks and skills training will definitely need to be put on the agenda.

Before that, the teacher issue must be resolved as soon as possible.

We're short-staffed. We're short-staffed.

Gaode once again expressed its amazement.

That's how it was in the early stages of construction; there was a shortage of capable people everywhere.

After reporting on the situation at Phoenix No. 1 High School, Damon left the room on his own initiative.

Next came the real high-level meeting.

"How's the situation at the Ministry of Agriculture?" Gao De glanced at the little figure floating in mid-air, sitting cross-legged in the air, and smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty, I will report on the situation at the Ministry of Agriculture."

Grant glanced at Flora and stood up to volunteer, saying that although Flora was a pillar of the Ministry of Agriculture, she couldn't remember those complicated numbers.

"Jinhui Farm has now cultivated 31 mu of land, and thanks to Minister Flora's efforts, the yield per mu has increased to 160 to 180 jin."

Upon hearing Grant mention her name, Flora maintained a calm demeanor, her delicate face remaining unchanged. However, the pair of small, exquisite wings on her back seemed to uncontrollably open slightly.

Not only Gaode, but everyone present noticed Flora's joy, but they all tacitly kept quiet about it and continued to sit upright.

"With such a high yield per mu, the current amount of land is enough to fully meet the food needs of all the people in the tribe. However, nearly 150,000 mu of the 310,000 mu of land is still uncultivated."

"Although the number of farmers in Jinhui Farm has reached 20000, it is not enough to cover such a large planting area."

"However, with the support of the War Mother, we are continuing to expand our numbers, and we expect to reach 40,000 within two months."

"Currently, the Zhenbing tribe consumes about 25 kilograms of barley per day, while the Jinhui Farm produces about 21 kilograms of barley per day. We should soon have surplus grain."

Grant spoke slowly, and every word was clear and forceful.

"In addition, as per your request, we are also expanding the area of ​​the Golden Radiance Farm to prepare reserves for the tribe's future food trade and expansion."

"Your Majesty, I wonder if we should implement a fallow land program?"

"Very good, the yield per acre has doubled compared to the beginning. Thank you for your hard work, Lady Flora." Gao De first praised Flora highly before getting to the point:

"Northwest Barley No. 1 can be planted in all seasons. What we need to do now is to continuously expand the planting area. There is no need to arrange fallow for the time being. The snowfield land has never been planted with crops, so the fertility is sufficient. We don't need to worry about this problem for the next few years."

"In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture has two more tasks to complete."

Gao De paused for a moment, then continued, "First, we need to build grain warehouses to store grain. Second, we need to build mills. Barley has a rather coarse texture, so it needs to be ground into flour. The northern border is cold and windy all year round, which is perfect for building windmills."

"My King."

Deputy Minister Grant hesitated for a moment, a troubled look on his face, before raising his question: "No one in the tribe has the skills to build a windmill, and the wood needed to build a windmill is not currently available in the North."

"I know," Gao De nodded and said slowly, "You choose the site first. I will take care of the craftsmen and timber needed to build the windmill. As for the warehouse, we can start construction now."

"Okay." Since Gao De had said so, Grant naturally had no other objections.

Next up was Caitlin to give the report.

She stood up, her posture upright, her eyes revealing a sense of determination and competence.

"Your Highness, ever since the news of Northwest Barley No. 1 spread, the number of rats in Phoenix and around Golden Radiance Farm has been increasing."

"As you said, we mobilized the power of the masses to help us carry out the investigation, and we did catch many rats. However, due to limited manpower and too many things to take care of, it is inevitable that some will slip through the net."

"In addition, in the past two weeks, six small tribes have merged into our Zhenbing tribe, and these outsiders have clashed with our Zhenbing people several times."

"Although we arrived in time to prevent the conflict from escalating and punished both sides, it was ultimately a temporary solution that did not address the root cause of the problem."

Gao De narrowed his eyes slightly.

This was expected.

Firstly, different tribes have different cultures, customs, and traditions. Just like in a university dormitory, roommates from all over the country will have various conflicts due to differences in habits, let alone between tribes.

Secondly, there is the issue of identity. The original inhabitants of the Zhenbing tribe instinctively feel a sense of superiority towards these newly joined small tribes, and at the same time, they feel that these outsiders have taken away the tribe's resources for nothing, which makes them resentful.

The newcomers, on the other hand, lack a sense of belonging, which leads to a sense of alienation.

However, the problem was not difficult to solve. After thinking for a moment, Gao De made a decision: "When the Ministry of Agriculture expands the scale of the farm, it should give priority to recruiting young and middle-aged people from these newly joined small tribes and let them participate in the labor."

Once they grow the food, they will naturally develop a sense of belonging, and the people of our Zhenbing tribe will no longer feel like they're just there to freeload.

As for the issue of cultural customs, it will be easily resolved once the teacher issue is resolved.

When children from different tribes go to and from school together, their relationships will naturally begin to integrate.

"Is there anything else to report?" God noticed that Caitlin hadn't sat down.

"The Sheriff's Department currently only has fifty staff members, which is far from enough," Caitlin hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "If possible, I would like to apply to expand the Sheriff's Department's staff to two hundred."

"Okay." Gao De nodded without hesitation, approving Caitlin's application.

He was even somewhat pleased, at least someone had begun to offer their ideas and improve the municipal system based on the actual situation at work, instead of simply waiting for him to issue orders: "You submit your application first, and we'll discuss and designate the specific plan with Zhan Mu later."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Caitlin said happily, then bowed again. "My report is complete."

"Well done, thank you for your hard work." Gao De clapped his hands twice to show his encouragement.

The saintess, who was originally the guardian of the snowfield, seems to have fully adapted to her new identity and has begun to devote herself wholeheartedly to the construction of Phoenix.

This is an excellent example.

"My King," Sunafa said after a moment's thought, "the three departments of the city hall have all finished their reports. After half a month, I took the initiative to signal my willingness to accept other tribes, and we have already absorbed six small tribes. At this moment, there are still envoys from three small tribes and one medium-sized tribe in the city, expressing their desire to join our Zhenbing tribe."

This was clearly good news, but Sunefa was somewhat worried. "My king, do you really intend to gather all the Aes people who are willing to join the Zhenbing tribe?"

"Why not? The food shortage will be resolved soon," Gao De said with a smile.

"The food shortage can indeed be resolved, but there are just too many tribes, large and small, in the North. If this continues, it is estimated that by the end of this year, the population of Phoenix will soon exceed 200,000 to 300,000. This has already far exceeded Phoenix's current capacity to cope."

"I'm not afraid of having a lot of people, I'm afraid of not having any," Gao De said without any concern. He continued, "Moreover, my next step is to prepare for a complete redevelopment and reconstruction of Phoenix."

"Release the message that before the end of this year, all tribes hoping to obtain stable food and shelter can report to the Zhenbing Tribe and apply to join. We need to emphasize this year as the key time point." He thought for a moment and then added.

The reason for adding a time point is not really to set a limit, but to make the whole thing more credible and create a sense of urgency.

It's like a pie falling from the sky; few people would dare to eat it, fearing there might be a trap. But if you have to get up early to queue for a pie, then the queue will be packed with people.

(End of this chapter)