Most miners were hardened criminals sent to work in the mines.
As such, the miners were generally numb and unfeeling, with sallow faces, bodies covered in whip scars, stiff movements, and mouths tightly shut, lest they waste a sliver of their strength by speaking.
However, Princess Xin Yue was surprised to find that the miners lining up to get their food were remarkably different.
Instead of being numb and unfeeling, their eyes were bright and full of hope and determination.
Their faces were not sallow, but rather showed anticipation and joy.
Though their bare upper bodies were covered in grime, it was evident that there were no open wounds from whip lashes, with only a very few individuals bearing a handful of marks resembling bruises from wooden sticks.
And their mouths were chattering incessantly as they queued with their bowls and chopsticks.
With her cultivation in the Body Refining realm, Princess Xin Yue could easily overhear snippets of their conversations.
A miner in the front asked, "Comrade, what do you think this lunch will be? Will it be like yesterday's?"
"We've been here for over a month now, can we stop talking like we just arrived?" the miner behind him replied with a hint of helplessness.
"Heh heh, it's just that this kind of life is simply too wonderful. Even after a month, it still feels like a dream."
"I have to agree with you on that point."
Their conversation drew the attention of other miners in the queue, who chimed in to join the discussion.
"Exactly! Back in our own country, we had one watery meal and one dry meal a day, constantly starving and freezing, and we had to fight for our lives. Who knew that becoming prisoners of the Yun Yue Kingdom would actually lead to us being well-fed? Although digging is hard labor, we get to eat dry rice and dishes every meal, not to mention a thumb-sized piece of meat and an egg! It's something we wouldn't even dare to dream of!"
"You're mistaken about something!"
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Of course you did. We don't have this treatment just because we became prisoners of the Yun Yue Kingdom. Don't you remember how we were treated when we were first captured? Nearly half of our sixty thousand brothers died in less than a year. Why are we living this prisoner's life now? There's a difference between prisoners, you know. Do you know why?"
"Uh... is it because of the Prime Minister Chu who defeated us?"
"Heh, you're not as dull as you look. Before Prime Minister Chu took charge of us, life was bleak. We ate poorly, did heavy labor, and were beaten daily until our skin split open. If we got sick, we were just left to die."
"Indeed! Prime Minister Chu is the best! Speaking of which, since the one who defeated and captured us was Prime Minister Chu, why didn't he send us to dig mines directly back then? If that were the case, so many of us wouldn't have died."
"You don't know the full story. The Prime Minister Chu who led troops against us back then was not yet the Prime Minister of the Yun Yue Kingdom. Many things were not up to him. It was only after he became the Prime Minister of the Yun Yue Kingdom that he had the authority to deal with us."
"Then why is Prime Minister Chu treating us prisoners so well?"
"Who knows? Perhaps he has some motive, or perhaps he's just kind-hearted and can't bear to see us live the way we did before. Regardless, as long as we remember that we get three meals a day, eat our fill, and have meat, that's enough. All of this is thanks to Prime Minister Chu. Remembering that is sufficient!"
"That's right! I'm uneducated, so I just need to remember who treats me well."
"Life as a prisoner of Prime Minister Chu is better than our lives before! I feel honored to be a prisoner of Prime Minister Chu!"
"Hahaha~"
The miners nodded in agreement and then continued to chat and laugh about other things.
Some complained that while everything else was good, there were no women around. The person who said this was immediately met with a barrage of criticism.
Having heard enough, Princess Xin Yue turned, her eyes filled with surprise, and asked, "Why are you able to make prisoners so grateful to you?"
Chu Chen scratched his face, a little embarrassed. "It's not exactly gratitude, it's probably just that they're well-fed and clothed?"
"But this Princess remembers that the Chen Kingdom has a lot of arable land. Shouldn't the grain production be considerable? How could the people not be fed? Shouldn't every household have farmland?"
"I'm not sure about that. I'll find some people to ask."
Chu Chen wasn't entirely clear on this either, as his scouts hadn't gathered information on this aspect.
Soon, Chu Chen had five captured miners brought over and asked, "We heard you mention earlier that the Chen Kingdom has abundant farmland, yet the people are not fed. Why is that?"
The five exchanged glances, feeling a bit apprehensive, knowing that the two before them were likely important figures and not daring to answer carelessly.
Seeing this, Chu Chen reassured them, "You don't need to be afraid. Just speak freely. If you speak well, you'll be rewarded with palm-sized pieces of meat at every meal for a month."
"Really! I'll tell you!"
Upon hearing about the prospect of large pieces of meat, the five immediately began to answer in a jumble, much to Chu Chen's annoyance.
He waved his hand and said, "One by one. You first."
"Reporting to sir, it is true that our Chen Kingdom has abundant farmland, and every household has a few mu of poor land. However, farming relies on the heavens' favor. If the weather is bad, it's normal to have no harvest for the entire year and no food to eat."
"Esteemed sir, our Chen Kingdom's fields previously lacked the Yun Yue plow and waterwheels, resulting in low yields. After paying taxes, if we didn't eat sparingly, we might not have food until the autumn harvest."
"..."
The five answered in turn, and Princess Xin Yue and Chu Chen finally understood the reasons.
After the five were dismissed, Princess Xin Yue said, "Even though the Chen Kingdom has more farmland, and every household has land, and the officials are relatively upright, the common people at the bottom still live a hard life."
"Mm, but that was last year's situation. This year, as long as the Chen Kingdom isn't foolish, they should also imitate the Yun Yue plow and waterwheels and popularize them domestically."
Chu Chen nodded and smiled, "However, even with doubled growth, that will only be reflected in next year's autumn harvest."
"Hehe, it seems that the Yun Yue plow and waterwheels you invented, Chu Chen, are quite powerful. Not only have they doubled our Yun Yue Kingdom's yield per mu, but even surrounding countries are eager to imitate them."
"It's just a bit annoying that they don't even inform us before imitating."
Towards the end, Princess Xin Yue became a little angry, but she also understood that these two items were too easy to imitate. As long as someone saw them, they could explain them to a painter and have a complete drawing made.
Then, craftsmen could easily build them, as there was no technical difficulty involved.
"It's alright. The lives of the common people in this world are too hard. It's a boundless good deed for surrounding countries to imitate and promote them."
Chu Chen was unconcerned. The Yun Yue plow and waterwheels were just the beginning. Later, when the imperial court was more enlightened, he planned to introduce more advanced farming techniques, which would not be so easy to imitate.