77: Chapter 0077 Family Village

"Shibao Border Army Family Village?"

At the entrance of the village, those very words were written clearly upon a wooden plaque.

The entire village appeared to have been renovated and expanded; although the houses weren't large, they were arranged very neatly in rows.

"Military Counselor Wei, this is the garrison where we settled the dependents after our Shibao Border Army relocated here."

"However, Brother Lin felt that the term 'garrison' lacked a sense of homeliness, so he changed it to 'Family Village'."

Wei Dongxue and the other generals came to a realization; it turned out they were here to inspect the living conditions of the military households' families.

The Great Gan's control over military households was very strict.

Generally, they lived near the army, engaging in farming and labor; during times of war, they would also be drafted into the military.

It was certainly impossible for their living conditions to be comfortable, as these were all temporary settlements.

Therefore, when the soldiers saw this clean and tidy Family Village, they were all quite curious.

Because there were too many people, General Zhao Kuan had Qin He and several other commandants lead the tour in batches.

As they stepped into the Family Village, the first impression Wei Dongxue and the others had was—clean!

It was far too clean!

Every household, though their houses were only built of mud walls, straw, and wood, had front and back yards that were exceptionally tidy.

Some families had planted vegetables, while others were drying dried fish.

Groups of women were working together with a clear division of labor—washing clothes, weaving cloth, making fishing nets—each attending to their own duties.

"General Zhao, why is it that since I entered, I haven't seen a single latrine pit?"

Wei Dongxue voiced the question that many had.

The so-called 'hun' was a combination of a toilet and a pigsty, where human waste would drop directly into the pigsty for waste utilization.

In the rural areas of Great Gan, most toilets were constructed this way.

"Oh, in our Family Village, we use public toilets. Everyone, please follow me."

Zhao Kuan smiled and led the group to a massive, square wooden shed.

Inside were dozens of small cubicles separated by wooden planks.

"This 'public toilet' was personally designed by Brother Lin. The left side is for men and the right side is for women, completely separated."

"All filth is excreted here into an underground 'Septic Tank' and is cleaned out uniformly on a regular basis."

"We started building this on the very first day the Border Army arrived. Since we had many people, it was dug quite quickly."

Everyone was greatly surprised. This was a toilet? There was almost no smell at all!

"Could we... perhaps..." Wei Dongxue felt embarrassed to say it.

"Oh, please feel free to use the facilities, everyone! If you need guidance, just ask!"

Zhao Kuan had a face full of pride; this was one of the 'ace infrastructures' of their Border Army Family Village!

"Guidance won't be necessary..."

Wei Dongxue gave an awkward smile and couldn't wait to go inside and experience it.

The other generals also rushed in; even those who didn't need to go wanted to squeeze out a bit.

Once inside, they discovered that every wooden door could be locked.

Because the squatting pits were very deep and there was a slope below, the waste disappeared quickly.

After their toilet experience, everyone felt it was novel and refreshing!

"General Zhao, I have never seen such a clean toilet. How was this achieved?"

Zhao Kuan smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Actually, it's nothing much. Brother Lin specifically found people to flush it with water every two hours."

"It's called 'Cleaning,' meaning to keep things clean. They can earn a daily wage for it."

"Including the yards of every household, there are also dedicated people responsible for Cleaning, and they can all earn money."

"Many elderly people who have nothing to do are now working as cleaners. Although it's only a hundred wen a month, they are very happy to do it!"

"Crucially, once the elderly earn money, the younger generation in the family won't look down on them, and there are fewer arguments."

Everyone marveled at what they heard. Such a method existed?

In fact, if one calculated carefully, it didn't cost much money, but the improvement in the quality of life for the families was far too obvious!

Afterward, the group passed by a schoolhouse.

Dozens of children were sitting inside, using sand trays and tree branches to write characters.

"Eh? Why are there girls in here as well?"

Wei Dongxue discovered that there were not only boys but also girls in the schoolhouse.

"Because the schoolhouse in our Family Village doesn't charge money; both boys and girls can come to learn characters and read."

"You see, to save costs, we use sand trays directly instead of paper, brushes, and ink."

"Brother Lin said that as long as they recognize the characters, it's fine. Recognizing characters means they can read. As for whether their handwriting is good or not, that can be dealt with later."

Wei Dongxue deeply agreed, yet he was still puzzled. "But women cannot take the imperial examinations, so why are they studying here? Are their parents willing?"

Generally, young girls would learn to do housework from a young age; after all, there was no future in studying.

"Because they can earn money!"

"What?"

"Brother Lin said that as long as they pass the monthly exam, regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl, they will be given 50 wen."

Zhao Kuan smiled and shook his head. "Think about it, can these little girls earn 50 wen by doing housework at home?"

"If Commander Lin spends money like this, can the army afford it?" Wei Dongxue asked curiously.

"At first, I was also worried about that, but later I realized I was thinking too simply."

Zhao Kuan explained, "With the Cleaning, the public toilets, and the cooks who prepare meals for the whole village during the day..."

"...and with the children all attending school, the female dependents have a lot of free time."

"You saw it just now; the women are busy weaving cloth, making nets, and farming."

"The things they produce are taken to the market and sold, with the profits split fifty-fifty. These are all industries of the Border Army."

After hearing this, Wei Dongxue and the others were suddenly enlightened!

"Commander Lin has turned an entire village into something that operates with the discipline of an army!"

They were beyond impressed by Lin Xiao's ingenious arrangements!

Just as they were about to finish their tour, an archery range outside the Family Village left the soldiers dumbfounded once again!

Because those practicing archery were not soldiers, but a group of young girls dressed in colorful, vibrant clothes?

"Sister Su, this is really fun!"

"That's right, with just a light pull, it shoots so far?"

The soldiers discovered that what the girls were holding were crossbows of a design they had never seen before.

Generally, crossbows with great power were very difficult for women to draw.

However, these women could easily draw a crossbow, and with one bolt fired, they easily hit the target a hundred meters away!?

Wei Dongxue and the others were slack-jawed and hurried to ask what this weapon was.

"Oh, this is the Compound Crossbow we recently developed. The goal is to allow the elderly, the weak, women, and children to be able to draw a bow and shoot arrows, giving them the ability to protect themselves."

"However, the rate of fire for this thing is too slow. Brother Lin hasn't decided yet whether to produce it in large quantities."

As Zhao Kuan was speaking, Su Wansha, dressed in men's clothing, walked over.