Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

With this row of mining machines here, it would be strange if they didn't notice it.

"Boss, you're back!"

Chen Xiao rushed over and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zhou Feng.

Although their skills and equipment are unmatched by people in this world, this is not a foreign land, but another world altogether.

With Zhou Feng gone for so long, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Although their status here is definitely not low, if something happens to Zhou Feng, they will be trapped in this ancient world forever.

If given a choice, who would willingly give up everything and go to a strange world?

"I'm back!"

Zhou Feng gestured towards the row of machines behind him: "These machines have all been installed and tested in this world. We can use them as soon as we bring them over. This will further improve our mining efficiency."

"yes!"

Chen Xiao looked back at the row of steel behemoths, his eyes lighting up.

With these modern mining equipment set up here, it's like a game-changer. Plus, there's no need to use our outdated smelting equipment; we can just transport the ore back directly.

"How far have you progressed in mining this copper mine?"

As Zhou Feng walked toward the house halfway up the mountain, he asked.

"The reserves are larger than expected, but previously we could only rely on manpower every day, which was inefficient. Your batch of machinery arrived just in time. Once the equipment is installed, the daily output is expected to increase several dozen times."

The two talked as they walked to the largest wooden house.

The room was simply furnished with a long wooden table, a map of the mining area on the wall, and several boxes of canned goods and bottled water piled in the corner. It was where Chen Xiao usually rested.

However, the important thing now is the new function of the double portal. When Chen Xiao learned about the existence of the portal, he immediately became excited: "You mean, in the future, we won't need you to come here; we can directly teleport the minerals back to this world through the portal?"

"Yes!" Zhou Feng nodded: "You can choose someone to bind with teleportation permissions, and then the mineral resources accumulated here can be directly teleported back. Someone in this world has already made the arrangements."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xiao said, "I'll choose Liu Xiaohai."

Zhou Feng raised an eyebrow at him: "Why didn't you choose yourself?"

Hearing this, Chen Xiao grinned and said, "Boss, you've forgotten our plans in the Song Dynasty. My identity is still useful there, but it's not very useful here in Japan. Liu Xiaohai is different; he practically wants to live on that tank now."

"Back in the Song Dynasty, we were all descendants of Yan and Huang, so we would have some reservations when doing things. But here in Japan, he can do whatever he wants, so he is more suited to stay here."

Zhou Feng nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

After Chen Xiao called Liu Xiaohai in, he immediately bound the teleportation permission to Liu Xiaohai.

The three of them arrived at the location where the ore was stored in the mining area. Liu Xiaohai stood there as Zhou Feng instructed, his mind racing.

A few seconds later, the dozen or so tons of ore piled up in the corner disappeared neatly from the ground, as if they had never existed.

"Alright, from now on you will be in charge of transporting the ore at the mine. We'll ship out the ore in batches as we collect it. Don't worry about the situation in this world, the warehouse they've arranged for us is huge."

Liu Xiaohai's face flushed with excitement, and he rubbed his hands together, nodding repeatedly.

Isn't this teleportation ability much more fun than driving a tank?

He desperately wants several tons of ore to be sent in so he can teleport it away.

Just as the three were talking, shouts of battle erupted from the outskirts of the mine, causing Zhou Feng to frown: "What's going on?"

Chen Xiao looked somewhat embarrassed: "Boss, it's nothing serious. Recently, we've raided several more manors and villages, capturing a lot of tenants to work for us. Later, the surrounding landlords and powerful families discovered this and joined forces, sending people to raid us every few days."

"You can't handle them?"

"We can handle it, we can handle it."

Chen Xiao chuckled: "With the guys we have, we're not afraid of anyone coming from the entire island of Japan. But these people are all able-bodied young men, so killing them all would be a bit of a waste."

Listening to his report, Zhou Feng walked to the map hanging in the room and glanced at it briefly: "These areas marked in green, are they the ones that have already been captured?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Chen Xiao's tone carried a hint of self-satisfaction: "We've brought back all the able-bodied men from the nearby manors and villages to mine, while the elderly, women, and children stayed behind to cultivate the land. When the harvest comes, we can be self-sufficient here!"

Zhou Feng remained silent for a few seconds, then his gaze fell on Chen Xiao's face. They stared at each other for a long time, making Chen Xiao feel a little uneasy.

"Comrade Chen Xiao, do you think the cost of feeding the people on this island of Japan is too high for our world?"

Chen Xiao was taken aback by the question: "No...not high."

With the world's food reserves, the islanders on the island of Japan alone could be fed by more than a single province, let alone the entire nation.

If we only consider the young and middle-aged men who were captured and forced to mine, then the consumption would be even less.

"You know the cost is low, so what's your motive?"

Zhou Feng stood up, walked to the window and looked out. The Japanese laborers in the mine were hunched over, carrying stones.

"Our relationship with the Japanese pirates is self-evident. But Comrade Chen Xiao, you need to understand this: how much can these people move in a day if they're hungry? How much can they move if they're well-fed?"

"Our world isn't short of food. Even if I transport 10 tons of rice at a time, how much would it cost? With those 10 tons of rice, how much benefit could these Japanese pirates generate by working themselves to the bone? It's easy to do the math, isn't it?"

Chen Xiao nodded somewhat awkwardly, a layer of sweat beading on his forehead: "The leader is right... I was indeed a bit narrow-minded."

He understood this simple principle, of course, but when he saw those Japanese pirates, he didn't want them to have any good life.

"It's not that I'm narrow-minded. I want to kill all these things just looking at them. But our biggest task right now is to get more resources for this world. Improving efficiency is the real priority. If all else fails, we can just sink them all into the sea after we finish mining here."

"Yes! You're right!"

Chen Xiao nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After explaining themselves, the two stood by the window, looking at the hillside outside the mining area, where they could vaguely see some figures moving about.

These were all servants of the landlords and powerful families. The leader held several iron swords, while the others carried simple weapons such as bamboo spears and wood-chopping knives, and they were baring their teeth and howling.