Unlike Qiu Liao's bustle, Dong Si felt nothing but utter comfort. He had scrounged quite a few treasures from the county office, all packed neatly into wooden crates, ready to be taken away whenever the Lord decided to leave.
Once the bodies outside the city walls were dealt with, there should be another tidy profit coming his way. Just thinking about it made him chuckle gleefully.
At the moment, he was directing people to clean up and repair the most luxurious shop in the county town.
Well, it used to be the most luxurious. Now, that was out of the question.
This place used to be a large inn, with a two-story storefront in front and several courtyards in the back.
Unfortunately, no one had lived here or taken care of it. Roof tiles had fallen off, the ground was covered in snow and filth, and there were a few human skeletons lying about.
The windows had also been torn out, letting gusts of wind blow in, carrying with them a strange, foul stench.
In fact, the entire town of Lin County reeked of a peculiar odor. If it smelled this bad even in winter, one could only wonder how the locals had endured the summer months.
Lin County now belonged to Jiang Jin. Aside from everything else, a general store and a medical clinic—things the people needed for daily survival—had to be opened up first.
Dong Si planned to do a simple renovation on this inn and turn it into a general store. The shop next door would serve as the medical clinic.
Up on the city wall, Wang Tong swung his shovel, knocking off the snow and ice stained with blood, then shoveling it off the wall.
He was wearing clothes stripped from corpses by the Jinyang Army. They weren't very warm, but it was still better than being barely clothed before.
He looked up at the Jinyang soldiers who, like them, were busy hauling away bodies. He couldn't quite put a name to what he felt—it was like being in a dream.
They had been prepared to die when the city fell. And things had indeed unfolded the way they'd expected—the city did fall. But the ones who marched in weren't the Manyi tribesmen. It was this army called the Jinyang Army.
After entering the city, there was no burning, no looting, no killing. They just registered everyone's household information, then handed out clothes, explaining these had been taken off the dead.
At noon, they were even given vegetable porridge. Hot food that warmed the stomach... and warmed their hearts.
All they had to do in return was help clean up the city wall.
He didn't know where the Jinyang Army came from, nor which faction they belonged to. But he hoped the Jinyang Army would stay in Lin County forever.
The people around him were also working hard. Though their bodies were still weak, they put in every ounce of effort, terrified that the Jinyang Army might think they weren't doing a good job and stop giving them work.
The Jinyang Army had said they'd get another meal tonight.
And if they came back tomorrow, they'd start earning wages. They said the general store in Lin County would open up soon, and then they could go buy things there.
They could even buy on credit, and the debt would be deducted from their pay later.
"Whoa, what is that?" A cry of surprise cut through everyone's thoughts.
The crowd looked up and saw a long convoy of supply carts heading toward Lin County.
A Jinyang soldier nearby smiled and explained, "The one riding the horse at the front is our Lord. From now on, he'll be your Lord too."
"The carts should be carrying grain, salt, oil, and other supplies. Didn't I tell you? The general store will be open soon. You all keep working hard, and once you get your wages, you can buy grain and clothes."
One of the bolder villagers dared to speak up, "The Lord is... well, awfully young."
He'd almost said "why is the Lord a woman," but was quick enough to catch himself and change his words.
Whether the Lord was a man or a woman was not something a commoner like him could question.
Besides, so what if she was a woman? It was this woman who had saved them.
The soldier puffed up with pride: "Of course. Our Lord is incredibly capable. You'll see for yourselves in time. In short, as long as you stay honest and hardworking, better days are coming."
The villagers all nodded eagerly. If life could be like this afternoon—even just one bowl of vegetable porridge—they already thought that would be the best life possible.
They looked at the Jinyang soldiers with envy—whether it was their clothes, their complexion, or their build, they were all remarkably well off.
Dong Si saw Jiang Jin returning and was overjoyed. "Lord, you're back?"
"I wonder if the warehouse at the county office has been sorted out yet?" Dong Si looked at the long convoy with some concern.
The old grain storage in Lin County had long been destroyed.
These supplies would have to be temporarily stored in the county office's storerooms and granary.
Jiang Jin waved a hand dismissively. "As long as it doesn't snow, we'll manage. Leaving them outside for one night won't hurt."
"But I did bring back some potatoes and cabbages this time. We still need to dig a root cellar as soon as possible, or they'll freeze."
It was only just the start of winter, and the temperature was probably just a few degrees below zero—not yet at the coldest point.
Dong Si nodded in agreement, but also winced slightly: "With the transport all the way back, I wonder if anything's already frozen?"
A thought struck him, and his eyes lit up as he pointed to the building being repaired.
"This backyard kitchen has a cellar. I checked it earlier—it's pretty big. How about I have some people clean it out? We can store as much as it'll hold."
After all, this used to be an inn, so they'd needed to keep a lot of grain on hand. The cellar wasn't small.
Jiang Jin nodded. "Sure. And the building needs to be fixed up quickly too—it might snow again at any time."
Once the storage arrangements for all the supplies were settled, the sky had grown dark. Jiang Jin hurried over to the temporary medical clinic.
By now, most of the wounded had already been treated. When they saw her, they were all excited: "Lord!"
Jiang Jin looked at everyone with genuine sincerity. "You've all worked hard. Focus on recovering—don't worry about anything else."
She then turned to Suo Qian, Liu Mi, and the others and instructed, "The supplies have all arrived, including quite a few herbs. Go through them and see what you need."
"Also, make sure the wounded get proper meals. Meat, vegetables, grain—we have plenty. No need to worry," she added.
Suo Qian nodded. "Lord, don't worry."
Only then did Jiang Jin go to see Ye Shang and the others.
Ye Shang had already regained consciousness. Seeing her, he moved to rise and bow, but Jiang Jin quickly motioned him down. "No need for formalities."
Ye Shang's eyes were slightly red. "Lord, I did not fail the mission."
Seeing only three people present in the room, she didn't show any reaction on her face and simply nodded in acknowledgment. "You did well."
Ye Shang said solemnly, "It was our duty."
Jiang Jin turned to Liu Mi and asked, "How are their injuries?"
Liu Mi sighed. "They need a long period of rest. Besides the sword wounds and arrow injuries, they also have extensive frostbite. With the cold weather now, it's very unfavorable for recovery."
Jiang Jin thought for a moment. "Let me ask the construction team later and see if we can add a heated wall to the clinic."
Liu Mi smiled. "That would be wonderful."
Then she added with a hint of nostalgia, "It really is true that it's hard to go from luxury back to poverty. Before, when there were no heated kangs or heated walls, I never thought much of it. But now, after just one year, going back to this icy-cold living feels completely unbearable."
Suo Qian teased, "Ain't that the truth—isn't that why Elder Qiu asked for a kang to be built for him?"
They all laughed, and the mood lightened considerably.
That evening, Jiang Jin held a meeting at the county office.
She looked at Zhou Sui. "Of the five undercover agents arranged for Lin County, did two make the ultimate sacrifice?"
