After Yang Haiyan finished speaking, she looked at Niu Da.

Niu Da thought for a moment.

Although he was the head of the family, this matter concerned the future of the entire family, so he said, “Madam, I need to ask my family.”

Yang Haiyan understood and replied, “By the way, we are not in a master-servant relationship. It’s more like I’m the owner of the restaurant, and you are my hired manager; we are in an employer-employee relationship. Therefore, if you follow me, you will still be good citizens and will not be registered as servants.”

She knew that people in ancient times placed great importance on the distinction between registered servants and good citizens, and this environment forced them to do so.

Thus, Yang Haiyan clarified this point.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Niu Da breathed a sigh of relief.

No one wanted to be a servant if they could be a good citizen. “Yes, I understand. I will go home and discuss it with my family first.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “There’s no rush; you can respond to me tomorrow.”

Niu Da said, “Alright, I’ll go to town tomorrow to give you an answer.”

Yang Haiyan nodded.

She came here specifically for this matter, and after they spoke, she returned home.

After Yang Haiyan left, Niu Da closed the estate’s gate and went back home.

Niu Da had two sons and two daughters, and both his sons were already married.

However, even though his two sons were married, their family had not split up, as it was uncommon in ancient times for elders to divide the family while they were still alive.

When Niu Da, who usually spent his days in the estate, returned home, his eldest granddaughter called out, “Grandfather, why are you back?”

It was the busy spring season, and Niu Da’s wife had taken all the family members to the fields, leaving only Niu Da busy in the estate.

Niu Da said, “Go to the fields and call your grandmother and everyone else back. Tell them that grandfather has something to discuss with them.”

Niu Da’s granddaughter, Niu Hua, responded, “Alright.”

Niu Hua ran quickly and soon brought Niu Da’s wife and the others back.

As they arrived at the doorstep, Niu Da’s wife asked, “Old man, Xiaohua said you have something to discuss with us. What is it?”

Niu Da’s eldest son said, “Yeah, Dad, what do you want to discuss?”

Niu Da’s second son added, “Dad, whatever it is, you just make the decision. We don’t have any objections.”

That was always how it had been, and Niu Da’s second son chuckled innocently.

Niu Da replied, “This matter is quite important. I want to hear your opinions since it concerns our family’s future. Let’s talk inside.”

Hearing that it was related to the family’s future, the Niu family members became curious.

For ordinary families like theirs, what important matters could there be?

However, seeing the serious tone of the family head piqued their curiosity.

Once they entered the room, Niu Da said, “The situation is like this…”

He recounted what Yang Haiyan had said, “What do you all think? We currently have three choices: one, we don’t go; two, I go alone; three, our whole family goes.”

Niu Da’s wife immediately said, “Of course we should go! Old man, have you lost your mind? In the countryside, we can’t earn even one tael of silver a month, let alone five hundred wen.

It’s hard to find work in town, and the county town is far away. Now, the madam can give us one tael of silver a month, plus a two hundred wen food allowance. Moreover, we can set aside a piece of land in the estate for our family to farm. What are we worried about?”

“Think about it, old man. We can earn more than just that one tael of silver. If we leave, we can rent out the fields to the villagers. The rent could bring in several taels of silver a year. That’s practically our income,” Niu Da’s wife calculated, as she controlled the family’s finances.

After hearing this, Niu Da turned to his sons and daughters-in-law, “What about you?”

Niu Da’s eldest son said, “What my mother said makes sense; I think we can go.”

Niu Da’s second son added, “I will follow Dad and Mom’s decision.”

Niu Da’s eldest son’s wife said, “We can earn money, and we can also build relationships. Our boss is a great general, so if we work for the general, others will look up to us.”

Niu Da’s second son’s wife added, “What the eldest Sister-in-law said makes sense. With this connection, our children might even get to work under the general in the future.”

After the Niu family discussed it, without waiting for the next day, Niu Da went to the county town that afternoon.

Military Camp

Han Zhen was very busy.

Qin Fang had already submitted the list of recommended candidates for the Thousand Household Command, and Du Ke directly appointed Han Zhen to that position, with Wei Wu as the Hundred Household Command.

This meant that both Han Zhen and Wei Wu were occupied.

When Han Zhen heard that Yang Dahua had arrived, he thought she had come to deliver lunch.

After arranging a few matters, he went to the back door of the military camp.

“Dahua.”

Seeing the dark circles under Han Zhen’s eyes, Yang Dahua felt a bit sorry for him. “You’ve been so busy these past few days, haven’t you?”

Han Zhen comforted her, “It’s nothing. Busy is good. Why are you here?”

Not seeing her bring a lunchbox, he figured she wasn’t there to deliver food.

Yang Dahua explained her purpose and then shared her thoughts: “I’ve inquired a bit at the bank… What do you think, husband?”

She then recounted the methods of borrowing money and the relevant interest rates she learned about.

After Yang Dahua finished speaking, Han Zhen looked at her in surprise.

Until now, he had always viewed Yang Dahua as virtuous, frugal, kind-hearted, and hardworking.

However, he had never seen this side of her before—boldly considering borrowing money to take over Yang Haiyan’s shop and estate.

This was not something he would have expected from the current Yang Dahua.

Noticing Han Zhen’s gaze was somewhat different from before, Yang Dahua felt a bit shy. “Husband, what’s wrong?”

Han Zhen smiled and said, “Nothing. I think your suggestion is excellent. I can spare some time to go to the bank with you now. Once we sort out the borrowing, I’ll return.”

He had to admit that borrowing money to take over the shop and estate aligned with his own ideas.

In a legitimate bank situation, owing money to friends was less favorable than borrowing from a bank.

When money was involved among friends, there would always be some discomfort in their interactions.

Ten days later, in mid-March, the court issued orders regarding the reassignment of General Qin Fang and four others.

Upon hearing Qin Fang mention the place, Yang Haiyan was taken aback. “Yunxiang County?”

Seeing her surprised expression, Qin Fang asked, “You know Yunxiang County?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “I know. I’ve only read about it in books. I saw it mentioned in a geology book, but it was only briefly noted. Yunxiang County is a county town in Ren Prefecture, which is relatively small compared to the other eighteen prefectures of Qi Nation. Moreover, Ren Prefecture is located in a remote area and is quite poor.

Additionally, it’s recorded in the history of Qi Nation that twenty years ago, Ren Prefecture was the territory of the Prince of Liang.

The Prince of Liang was the younger brother of the former emperor. After the prince passed away, the court took over Ren Prefecture, and it has not been separated since.”

Qin Fang said, “Poverty isn’t a problem. It’s better that the court has taken over; otherwise, as a member of the court and the emperor’s subject, I would need the consent of the local prince to do anything, which could lead to complications. So, I prefer to deal with matters in ungoverned territories.”

Yang Haiyan felt that Qin Fang’s reasoning was quite valid.

However, she said, “Husband, regardless of the situation, you should first send someone to inquire. Find out who is currently in charge of Ren Prefecture, and understand the situation in Yunxiang County—whether it’s about the powerful, the wealthy, or the poor; we need to gather all the details.”

Qin Fang reassured her, “Yanyan, don’t worry. The court has given me three thousand barbarians to settle, so I’ll write up the situation tonight and let Kun Shi take Tan Shan and Huang Huzi to investigate tomorrow.”

Yang Haiyan felt quite assured about Qin Fang.

Although he was young, he had been the eldest brother since childhood, which made him act prudently.

Early the next morning, Qin Fang called Kun Shi, Tan Shan, and Huang Huzi to give them instructions.

Ren Prefecture, Yunxiang County

“What do you think about the imminent reassignment of General Qin?”

The speaker was a middle-aged man, not too old, looking about thirty-five or thirty-six.

He was tall and quite thin, with a somewhat unhealthy complexion.

This middle-aged man was Yang Shunlei, the magistrate of Yunxiang County.

Yang Shunlei had passed the imperial examination and ranked second in the second class.

This was his second year as magistrate of Yunxiang County.

It was common for magistrates to be reappointed unless they achieved particularly remarkable accomplishments; otherwise, magistrates in remote, impoverished places were usually reappointed without issue.

An old man remarked, “The court hasn’t sent a city defense general over for years. Suddenly sending one this year, could there be other intentions?”

The old man was the deputy magistrate of Yunxiang County and a local resident.

Before Yang Shunlei was appointed magistrate, he had already held the position of deputy magistrate.

There’s a saying that goes, “Iron-clad barracks have flowing soldiers,” which in the case of the deputy magistrate means a stable deputy with changing magistrates.

Yang Shunlei asked, “Old Song, what’s your opinion?”

Old Song, named Song Wenbing, was the chief clerk of the county.

The magistrate, deputy magistrate, and chief clerk formed an iron triangle in any county.

Song Wenbing replied, “According to the court documents, General Qin is here to settle the barbarians, but after settling them, why would he stay? We don’t understand this matter. However… if we have a city defense general in Yunxiang County, it might be a good thing for us.”

Yang Shunlei sighed, “I hope it’s a good thing. We need to investigate the background of this airborne city defense general. I’ll write to my classmate to inquire about the situation. Uncle Bai, I’ll leave the matters regarding the general’s residence to you.” Uncle Bai was the county’s elder, well-respected due to his age and status.

Deputy Magistrate Bai replied, “Sir, don’t worry. I’ll send someone over… no, I’ll personally go to renovate the general’s residence. However, I can only repair what needs fixing; if it goes too far, our county treasury doesn’t have that much silver.”

Yang Shunlei thought this made sense, “Then we’ll do the repairs as you say. The county treasury doesn’t have that much silver, and you can’t fatten up with a swollen face.”