A gleam flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes. Granted.
Placing Yun Ci in the grocery store was naturally a waste of his talents, but since he was getting on in years and had mobility issues, Jiang Jin couldn't make too many demands of him.
Now that he was volunteering to take on more responsibilities, she was naturally delighted. She had been worrying about a shortage of manpower, and the weapons workshop was a crucial area.
Jiang Jin tapped the table. In that case, once the industrial and military zones are built, Elder Yun, you will be in charge of the military zone.
The residential area was bustling that night. Families with members who had free time had secured their houses in the morning and were slowly moving their belongings into their new homes.
Some families had everyone working, so they began moving as soon as their shifts ended, unwilling to wait a moment longer. After all, they didn't have many possessions anyway.
Jiang Jin was very considerate; not only did she allow them all to finish work an hour early, but she also specially dispatched a company of soldiers to help them.
This single room is quite nice, and the heated brick bed is large enough. If we put a partition in the middle, it will be just right for the two of us. An old woman sat on the bed, her wrinkled face breaking into a wide smile.
A tall man in the room gave a low response as he placed a cauldron on the stove.
Although the house was a single room, it had a stove indoors, albeit a single-burner one. The room was quite spacious and very practical.
They were the mother and son whom Jiang Jin had rescued when they were being robbed by the Quzhao people. The man's name was Sun Bu.
Mother, when I have some free time, I'll go up the mountain to get some wood and make a table and some stools.
The old woman, Sun Bu's mother, waved her hand. There's no rush for those, take your time.
She weighed her words carefully. Bu, do you want to join the army? Now that I'm settled, you should go the next time they recruit soldiers.
Sun Bu paused in his movements. Ever since Jiang Jin had saved him, he indeed wanted to become a soldier. Every time he saw the soldiers training in the city, he felt envious.
He envied that they could train in various skills, and even more so that they could go into battle against the barbarian enemies.
But he couldn't; his mother only had him left.
You don't need to worry about me. I can walk with a cane now, and besides, I can weave rattan baskets to sell to the grocery store and earn money. No one knows a son better than his mother, and Sun Bu's mother naturally knew his concerns.
She had given birth to two sons and three daughters. Their life before hadn't been wealthy, but they could barely scrape by with half-full stomachs.
After the barbarians came, her husband died, her eldest son died, her youngest daughter died, and her two other daughters were taken away.
Her leg had also been broken by the barbarians. She hated them, but there was nothing she could do.
Bu was her only remaining son now. Although she was filled with hatred, deep down, she didn't want him to take risks.
Being a soldier wasn't that easy.
One careless mistake, and his life would be gone.
But if Bu wanted to go, she would support him. She didn't want to become a burden to her son.
Sun Bu shook his head. I'm doing just fine working in the construction team.
He was tall, strong, and hardworking, so he was quickly promoted to a squad leader. Previously, he received two catties of grain a day, but today, the higher-ups announced that starting this month, wages would be paid. Converted, he would earn 230 copper coins a month.
He had thought countless times how wonderful it would be if his father, brother, and sisters were all still here. Life now was truly good; as long as he worked, he could eat his fill.
Sun Bu's mother sighed. Just live according to your own wishes, you don't need to worry about me. I heard that once that commercial district is built, people can do their own business. I'll see if I can do some small business then.
The grocery store also bought some daily necessities, but the scope was limited; they didn't accept just anything.
Listening to his mother's rambling, Sun Bu showed no impatience on his face; instead, he relaxed entirely.
Looking at the clean and refreshing room, he felt a sense of peace in his heart. This would be his home from now on. No, he could work even harder and strive to rent a small courtyard.
As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the bugle call from the military camp resounded through the city, along with the chanting of soldiers training.
The city's commoners woke up to these reassuring sounds. Soon, countless plumes of cooking smoke rose from the residential area, brimming with the lively atmosphere of everyday life.
After Jiang Jin finished practicing a set of fist techniques and some saber skills in the courtyard, Liqiu and Guyu had already prepared breakfast.
Before she could even start eating, Yun Chengxuan ran over. Aunt, I'm here to keep you company.
Jiang Jin: ...Add an extra bowl and chopsticks.
Liqiu covered her mouth and chuckled, hurrying to fetch another set of tableware.
Yun Chengxuan laughed mischievously. Aunt, where are you planning to go after breakfast?
Ever since they had occupied Gefeng, everyone had been very busy. Only Yun Chengxuan had nothing to do, either heading into the mountains, learning saber skills from Zhou Sui, or following Jiang Jin around.
Speaking of which, everyone occasionally having meat to eat was all thanks to him. Not only did he hunt the prey in the Ges Mountains, but he also scoured the deep mountains around Gefeng.
The increased number of livestock being raised in Gefeng now was all to his credit. Sometimes, Jiang Jin even wanted to make him a swineherd.
I'm planning to go check out the Heidan mine. It had been several days since the coal mine was discovered, and the buildings should be mostly completed by now.
However, she didn't get to go. Just as Jiang Jin arrived at the county office, she saw Xie Nanxiao rushing in.
My Lord, a squad of Quzhao soldiers has been spotted to the southeast. There are over 500 of them, and they are driving about 300 Han commoners along. It's highly likely they are human rations.
Human rations? Jiang Jin frowned, her gaze turning sharp and cold.
When the barbarians marched or traveled long distances without food, or when it was inconvenient to carry provisions, they would capture Han commoners to travel with them. This kind of walking food was known as human rations!
After all, transporting grain required manpower and resources, whereas for human rations, they only needed to hold their weapons and drive them forward, killing and eating however many they wanted.
They would slaughter them all the way to their destination. If there were any leftover human rations upon arrival, the barbarians might release them if they were in a good mood, or simply kill them off if they weren't.
Xie Nanxiao's expression was equally grim. Yes, judging by their direction, they should be coming from the east.
Jiang Jin pondered, Could they be heading to Zhou County? Preparing to send reinforcements to deal with us? But this small number of people won't make much of a difference.
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. I don't know, but they have over a hundred cavalrymen and dozens of horse-drawn carriages.
Jiang Jin's eyes lit up. As a poor person who had started from scratch, she was truly impoverished. Almost all her belongings had been acquired through plundering, especially horses, which couldn't exactly be grown in the fields.
Do we know what's in the carriages?
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. I don't know.
Assemble the troops, let's go take a look. Whether it was a delivery arriving right at her doorstep or the human rations, she was very interested.
Zhou Sui and Yao Ji arrived very quickly.
Xia Chanyi was also there, looking somewhat worried. Could this be a tactic by the Quzhao people to lure the tiger out of the mountain?
Jiang Jin smiled confidently. No.
Xia Chanyi had been busy training troops recently and was unaware of her arrangements. Jiang Jin had deployed reconnaissance soldiers within a 30-li radius of Gefeng City, so she had a fairly good grasp of the enemy's movements around Gefeng.
The autumn wind rustled; the weather in late October was already getting quite cold.
A group of ragged, panic-stricken commoners was being driven forward. If they walked even slightly slower, the cavalrymen behind them would shoot arrows at them, and screams of agony rang out from time to time.
After running for an unknown amount of time, a wide, rushing river twenty to thirty meters across appeared ahead. Looking at the turbulent waters, the commoners stopped.
The Quzhao soldiers' carriages and infantry also came to a halt, sitting or standing around to rest, watching with mocking eyes as the cavalry drove the Han people toward the river.
A cavalry commander, holding a bow and arrow, shouted loudly, Get in!
