After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1124 - 1106: Lu Village

Lu Village is located not far from the foot of the mountain, about five miles away, built next to an abandoned village.

Beside it is the collapsed old village, where mud walls and wood are mixed and crumbled to the ground, and not far away are low houses made of a mix of bricks, mud, and thatch.

Although there are several brick kilns around Luoyang, their production capacity is far from meeting the needs of the people.

After all, there are too many people to resettle, and apart from the people, military camps need construction too.

To survive the winter, even thatched huts had to be built first, so after the first group of refugees could help each other build brick houses, the majority built were thatched huts.

This Lu Village, built first, is near a river, which Zhao Hanzhang glanced at. It should be water from a stream coming out of the mountains, and it forms a large pond nearby before following the river channel out.

There are many reeds by the river and the pond, so it continues its old name of Lu Village.

This is information from Zhao Hanzhang’s memory. She knows no more.

But Zhao Zheng, the Luoyang County Captain, knows. He squeezed to Zhao Hanzhang’s side and whispered in her ear: "Third Sister, this village has a total of sixty-two households and one hundred and six people."

Zhao Hanzhang frowned upon hearing this, "How come there’s not even two people per household?"

Zhao Zheng responded with a "Hmm," saying, "Many families survived with only one person, and knowing the court would allocate land, they were unwilling to merge households."

He pointed to the only brick structure and said, "That is their village elder’s house. I remember his name is Wei Xian. He had extra resources, so he built a brick house."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, approvingly said, "Good memory. Let’s go take a look."

She signaled everyone to follow.

Before entering the village, Lu Si was already up ahead with a deer on his shoulders, standing at the village entrance, shouting for a while. Several doors opened, and people poked their heads out cautiously, swaying as they came out. Seeing so many people at the village entrance, they quickly shrank back.

Lu Si shouted again. Seeing people dared not come out, he called, "Don’t be afraid, everyone; this is the Great General who has brought us a deer."

At the mention of Zhao Hanzhang, someone immediately poked their head out again to look, and spotting Zhao Hanzhang standing among the crowd, their eyes lit up instantly, and they ran out.

"It’s the Great General! It’s the Great General!"

Children immediately turned and ran back towards the village, shouting as they went, "The Great General is here, the lady is here, the Great General is here—"

More and more villagers came out, gathering around.

Zeng Yue and the others put down the game, carefully guarding around Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang, smiling, asked them, "What were you doing at home?"

Villagers immediately answered in a jumble: "Warming by the fire inside..."

"Eating inside the house..."

An elder, with white hair and a hazy gaze, warmly asked Zhao Hanzhang, "General, have you eaten? Would you honor my humble abode with a meal?"

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "I haven’t eaten yet. Seeing it’s not early, I’ve come to borrow fire and pots from you."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at Zeng Yue.

Zeng Yue immediately retrieved a small burlap bag from the horse.

As Zhao Hanzhang was about to hand it to the elder, a clean young man in coarse linen ran forward, bowing repeatedly as he squeezed through the crowd, "I apologize for not welcoming the Great General from afar."

This person was quite different from the village folks, as his linen clothes were intact, he wore cloth shoes, and his hair was neatly combed.

Two young men and a woman, dressed similarly, followed him, and the villagers instinctively made way for them.

Zhao Zheng said, "This is their village elder, Wei Xian."

Zhao Hanzhang looked Wei Xian up and down, noticing he didn’t seem older than Lu Si, then looked at Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng nodded slightly at her, and Zhao Hanzhang’s face broke into a gentle smile. She nodded, saying, "You look sturdy. Have you served duty this winter?"

"Yes," Wei Xian proudly said, "My family provided two for the conscription."

Zhao Hanzhang was surprised, "You provided two? Isn’t only one required per household?"

Wei Xian replied, "Extra provides full wage packages."

Zhao Hanzhang immediately understood it was to earn the full wages. She was full of admiration, turned the burlap bag in her hand, and stuffed it into his hands, saying, "As the village elder, I’ll entrust this matter to you."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "Please find us a few pots, some wood, and a spot where they can build a temporary stove."

Wei Xian hastily tried to return the bag, "Great General, it’s Lu Village’s utmost honor to host you. How can we let you provide food? The village still has rice and grains to host the Great General."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I know you have it as well, and I know your enthusiasm, but the Zhao Family Army has prohibitions against taking even a needle or thread from the people. I, as the head of the Zhao Family Army, cannot knowingly violate the rule."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at her trusted aides.

Immediately, two aides handed over two bundles of branch cuttings, saying, "We cut these from the mountains, but they’re not dry wood, so it’s hard to start a fire. We need your wood; these green branches need airing for some time before use."

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang even bring wood for exchange, Wei Xian knew he couldn’t persuade her, so he accepted the bag and led the villagers to make arrangements.

The villagers saw and heard this, and looking at Zhao Hanzhang, admiration grew in their eyes. They moved closer, asking Zhao Hanzhang, "How does the Great General feel?"

"Great General, are you thirsty? I can get you some hot water."

"Great General, we didn’t get to congratulate you and Mr. Fu on your marriage in town, but we now wish you both a long life together."

Zhao Hanzhang responded to each one, searching the crowd to find the old elder again, walked up to him, held his hand, and with a smile, asked, "Elder, how old are you?"

The elder’s cold hands were wrapped in a pair of warm hands, and he instantly felt his heart enveloped with warmth, quickly responding, "I am forty-eight this year."

Zhao Hanzhang paused in surprise, looking him over again, finding his hair completely white, deep wrinkles around his eyes, his eyes lifeless and glossy, which she recognized as likely from prolonged crying.

She couldn’t help licking her lips, suppressing the complex emotions in her heart, and raised a smiling face, "Good, good..."

Zhao Zheng immediately took off her cloak and handed it over. Zhao Hanzhang received it and placed it over the elder, smiling, "Who else do you have at home?"

The elder replied, "Only a granddaughter."

He waved towards the crowd, and a poorly dressed, barefoot girl came forward, clumsily saluting Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at their feet; the elder wore straw sandals, his feet red all over.

He seemed to notice something, eyes narrowing slightly towards the granddaughter, frowning as he asked, "Xiangcao, are you barefoot again?"