Village Head Su finally returned to Xianglu County with his wife.
After learning that Jiang Jin had taken Donghu Commandery, he had been eager to come back and have a look. However, all his children and grandchildren were in Gefeng—some working and others attending school.
Besides, Donghu Commandery had still been somewhat chaotic at the time, so he waited a while before returning.
Some villagers came back with him. They, too, were reluctant to leave their homeland behind, especially since Gefeng was not very far from Xianglu.
Now that the entire Donghu Commandery belonged to their lord, it was safe, and they could return to Gefeng whenever they wished.
Along the way, they encountered several patrols of the Jinyang Army, which gave them an overwhelming sense of security.
They were no longer fleeing for their lives as they had been before. They had managed to save up some money, so they stayed in the city at night.
Although the counties in Donghu Commandery had only recently been conquered and had yet to be rebuilt, the government was highly efficient. General stores and inns had already opened. The conditions were still crude, but they were far better than sleeping outdoors.
As soon as they arrived in Xianglu County, Village Head Su could not wait to return to his former village.
Along the way, he saw countless farmers working the fields. The peaceful and tranquil atmosphere made him feel as though he had passed into another lifetime.
This land, once trampled beneath the iron hooves of the barbarians, was finally beginning to flourish again.
“V-Village Head Su?” Just as he was thinking this, he heard a hesitant voice call out.
Village Head Su turned around and saw a young man standing in the fields, watching him timidly. It took him a moment to remember.
“You… You’re Du Lin of Harvest Village?”
Du Lin was overjoyed. “Yes, it’s me!”
Village Head Su was stunned. If he remembered correctly, Du Lin had only been in his twenties. Yet now his hair was completely gray, and his body had grown thin and gaunt.
Then he understood. Not everyone had been as fortunate as he was, encountering their lord.
Still, simply surviving already made Du Lin luckier than most. And it was not too late for him to meet their lord now.
Village Head Su smiled and asked, “Are you working in the lord’s fields now?”
Du Lin nodded. He was delighted to run into someone he knew. But when he noticed that Village Head Su looked healthier and even younger than before, he was astonished.
“You look really well. You even seem younger than you used to.”
Village Head Su smiled. “We were fleeing when we happened to encounter our lord, so we followed her to Gefeng.”
Du Lin was dumbfounded. “You—you met the lord?”
Village Head Su’s face filled with pride. “That’s right. We were fortunate. At the time, we had been planning to head south.”
Du Lin was filled with envy. “Your village really was lucky.”
Village Head Su shook his head with a smile. “You’re lucky too. You’ve encountered our lord now.”
Du Lin gave a bitter laugh. His family had numbered twelve people, but only three remained. How could that be called luck?
However, if the Jinyang Army had not taken Donghu Commandery, the three of them probably would not have lasted much longer. By that measure, they truly were fortunate.
“You were in Gefeng before?” asked a woman standing beside Du Lin curiously. “I heard that people in Gefeng live extremely well. Why did you come back?”
Village Head Su smiled as he explained, “No matter how good Gefeng is, it still can’t compare to one’s own homeland. Besides, doesn’t the government offer loans for building houses? I wanted to come back and see about rebuilding ours.”
His savings from the past year or so would have been enough if he were building a simple earthen house as he had before.
But he had grown accustomed to brick-and-tile houses with cement walls, bright glass windows, and warm heated walls and kang beds. Now, there was no way he could go back to living in his old house.
This was probably what the books meant when they said that it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury back to frugality.
Du Lin asked in surprise, “The government will really lend us money to build houses? That’s a huge sum!”
He had heard government officials mention this policy, but he had not quite believed it.
Besides, his current life already felt wonderful—almost too wonderful to be real.
He worked for the government and received wages. He could even draw part of his wages in advance.
The general store in Xianglu County sold rice and other grain at reasonable prices. He had taken a month’s wages in advance and used them to buy his allotted rice, grain, salt, and oil. With the money left over, he had bought cloth and made himself a set of clothes.
Village Head Su said firmly, “Of course. If the government says it can be done, then it can be done. You probably don’t know this yet, but the houses in Gefeng come with heated walls and kang beds. They’re completely warm in winter.”
Du Lin’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
The Jinyang Army had occupied Xianglu County for some time, so they had naturally heard about such houses.
They had heard that all the houses in Xianglu County would eventually be rebuilt and equipped with heated walls and kang beds like those.
With his limited imagination, Du Lin could not picture what such a house looked like. It all seemed rather unreal. But after hearing Village Head Su speak of it, he suddenly found himself filled with anticipation.
Village Head Su nodded. “Mm. Is your current house still livable? If it’s in very poor condition, I suggest borrowing money from the government to build a new one.”
“You’re working the government’s fields now, so your wages should be fairly good. You’ll definitely be able to pay it back.”
His words made Du Lin itch with longing, but he still hesitated.
Village Head Su smiled. “There’s no need to rush. Quite a few people from Su Family Village are planning to borrow money from the government to build houses. You can take a look at ours first. If you think they’re suitable, you can build one too.”
In Gefeng, Yun Ci held the weapons district design Jiang Jin had drawn, his face full of amazement.
“Brilliant—absolutely brilliant!”
He looked up at Jiang Jin. “This is quite a large project, though. It will take a considerable amount of time to complete.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “With enough people, it should be finished within a year.”
To her, someone who could build an entire city in roughly a month, a year truly was a long time.
“The docks should be built first,” she added. “That will make transportation more convenient.”
Yun Ci agreed. Speaking of the docks reminded him of the shipyard.
“Has construction on the shipyard begun?”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “The cementworks and brickworks were only just completed. We also need to arrange the construction of the smithy.”
Yun Ci knew about the smithy. He had been the one to arrange for the blacksmiths to be sent there.
“The iron mine is simply too far from Xianglu. It’s inconvenient,” he said helplessly.
At the mention of this, Jiang Jin sighed as well. “We’ve already begun searching for iron deposits around Donghu Commandery. If there aren’t any, then there’s nothing we can do but transport the iron from here.”
“Some standard iron tools can be forged here and then shipped over. As for items that need to be specially made according to conditions on-site, there’s no way around it. They’ll have to be forged according to the requirements at the actual location.”
Yun Ci nodded, then asked with a smile, “My lord, are you planning to attack Ze’a Commandery or Liuxiang Commandery next?”
Jiang Jin had already made up her mind. “We’ll take Liuxiang Commandery first. There’s no rush. We’ll move once the new recruits have finished their basic training.”
The main reason for attacking Liuxiang Commandery first was that her coal mine was located in Qinghuai County.
As her territory continued to expand, the population and number of troops grew as well. Whether for iron forging and smithing or for the people’s need for coal, demand was rising sharply. She had to secure control of the coal mine before she could feel at ease.
Time passed, and before long it was June. Just as Jiang Jin was preparing to move against Liuxiang Commandery, she received a message from Xie Nanxiao.
He first reported on the work at Keyuan Island, including the construction of the docks and the naval barracks on the island.
Suitable locations for planting rubber trees had already been found, and the tree farmers were planting them on a large scale.
In addition to training, the naval soldiers on the island had to help with the planting as well.
The second matter Xie Nanxiao reported was rather interesting.
The First Prince had sent Hua Yuanyi and a civil official named Mo Song. They were already on their way to Fengzhou, intending to discuss cooperation with her.
As if to give her a show of force, he brought five thousand troops as an escort this time. They traveled by water, an imposing procession stretching as far as the eye could see.
