On the official road returning from West Mountain Industrial City to Jin City, Xia Huai'an and Main Bookkeeper Zhou rode side by side. The autumn sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the parasol trees along the road, casting mottled light and shadow on the bluestone pavement, like a flowing ink wash painting. The cart wheels rolled over golden fallen leaves, making a crisp "crunch" sound, startling a few foraging sparrows that fluttered towards the harvested rice fields in the distance.
Main Bookkeeper Zhou took out a piece of xuan paper covered with numbers from his bosom, the paper trembling slightly in the autumn wind. With his brow furrowed, he tapped his fingers gently on the surface: "Master, the calculations are done." His voice was somewhat hoarse, "Twelve million mu of paddy fields, based on current farming efficiency, will require at least one million five hundred thousand laborers."
Xia Huai'an reined in his horse, and the warhorse snorted, its breath condensing into mist in the slightly cool air. Looking at the farm laborers working in the fields in the distance, he said in a deep voice: "Even with the addition of more than one hundred thousand head of draft cattle, we still need one million two hundred thousand people." His fingers unconsciously stroked his riding crop, the leather making a faint friction sound.
Chapter 180