The entire day was spent with the villagers registering.

Each group had two families, and although there were over 600 households, Qin Fang arranged for eighteen people to handle the registrations, representing the eighteen towns.

Once one person’s designated area was filled, the next person would take over.

This meant each person needed to register about 34 or 36 households.

This way, they would be able to complete the registration in just one day.

Standing next to Qin Fang, Yang Haiyan observed the villagers being registered. “Everything is going smoothly. Tomorrow, when the town leaders come to the meeting and take these people back to settle them, the task of accommodating the villagers will be successfully completed.”

Qin Fang replied, “Yes, and next, we’ll select soldiers and establish the Yunxiang County military camp. Hopefully, things will continue to progress smoothly.”

Yang Haiyan held his hand, their fingers interlocked. “They will. Life here will only get better.”

Qin Fang nodded, his expression softening as he looked at her. “Once things settle here, I’ll write to my parents and let them know about the situation. If they’re willing, I’ll invite them to live here. The general’s residence is spacious enough to set aside a courtyard for them. If they’d rather stay back home, I’ll give them some money to build a large courtyard where my father, mother, and grandparents can live comfortably.

“And then there’s Shouye, who should be ready to find a wife by now. If our family’s situation improves, he’ll feel more confident and be able to marry a suitable girl. So, I plan to build him a courtyard as well. If my parents decide not to move here, it’ll be difficult for me to take care of them myself, so Shouye will need to take on that responsibility.”

In the past, he hadn’t had the means to build a house for his brother, but now, with a monthly salary of 120 taels and a reward of 5,000 taels, it was a simple matter.

Since his brother would be taking care of their parents in his stead, he felt it was only right for him to contribute.

Yang Haiyan had no objections.

Her parents-in-law were easygoing people.

In modern times, people valued freedom and often didn’t like living with their in-laws because of generational differences and concerns about interference from mothers-in-law.

But ancient times lacked the entertainment options of today, so living close to in-laws didn’t bother her, as long as they weren’t under the same roof.

Besides, she understood Qin Fang well and knew he had good judgment.

This was his money that he’d earned himself.

She wasn’t the type to want him to spend everything on their household.

Taking care of one’s parents was a man’s duty, and a man who only looked after his own household while neglecting his parents would be lacking in character.

She believed that within reason, financial support for family members was not only acceptable but necessary.

She also had no issue with Qin Fang assisting his brother, as long as it didn’t go beyond her boundaries.

Ancient values were different from modern ones; back then, people emphasized family ties and shared roots.

Yang Haiyan said, “That sounds good. If they don’t want to stay here permanently, we can always arrange for them to come visit for a few days. By the way, I wonder how our old house is holding up. We bought three acres of barren land back then. Even after building a house, there should be plenty of open space left. We could build Shouye’s and Shoucheng’s houses next door and enclose the entire area with a big wall. From the outside, it would look like one large residence, but inside, there would be three separate courtyards. It would be convenient for each family to live independently but still feel like they hadn’t separated.”

Qin Fang agreed, “Good idea. I’ll discuss it with my parents when the time comes.”

The next morning…

By noon the previous day, the eighteen town leaders had received a message from Magistrate Yang, requesting their presence for a meeting at the county office the next morning.

Without any specifics about the topic, each town leader speculated, with some expecting good news, others bad.

However, none of them knew that all the town leaders in Yunxiang County had been summoned.

So, when they saw familiar faces at the county office’s entrance, they were quite surprised.

“Isn’t that Old Yu? It’s been a long time!”

“Oh, Old Liu is here too!”

“Chief Jin, I heard your daughter-in-law recently gave birth to twins. That’s wonderful news. Congratulations!”

A group of well-acquainted town mayors gathered outside the county office and started chatting.

Some whispered, “Looks like all the mayors from Yunxiang County are here today. I wonder what’s going on.”

“I have no idea, but it must be something important for the whole county; otherwise, they wouldn’t have called us all here.”

“Well, that much is obvious,” said one mayor, sounding dismissive. “What we don’t know is what exactly is happening. With such a show of force, it’s clear it involves the entire county.”

“When the official came yesterday, I tried asking around, but no one seemed to know anything.”

“Same here, I also tried to inquire.”

“Have you heard anything about the General’s residence?”

“Is there even a need to ask? Everyone knows that some time ago, Liang Wang’s mansion was renovated and turned into the General’s residence, even the nameplate was changed.”

“Well, your information is outdated. Yesterday, someone already moved into the General’s residence.”

“You all are behind. The general himself returned the day before yesterday.” The mayor who spoke was from Fuliu Town, the closest to Yunxiang County.

Since Fuliu was near the county, he was always the first to know the news.

After noticing activity outside the county, he had people observe the situation, and that’s how he knew the general had returned two days ago.

The Fuliu mayor guessed that the reason the county magistrate had gathered them all was likely related to the general.

But even though he had this suspicion, he didn’t say anything.

After all, matters involving officials weren’t something commoners like him could openly discuss.

“Do you know anything about the General’s wife buying up a lot of land recently?”

“Is that so?”

“Oh yes, the land here in Yunxiang County is quite cheap. But why would the General choose our county?”

“No idea, but I think having a general in our county is a good thing. If the general could—”

At that moment, Deputy Magistrate Bai emerged from the county office. “Is everyone here? Eighteen town mayors in total.”

Bai’s family had lived in Yunxiang County for generations, making him a true local.

Many of the mayors had worked with him before, so they were familiar with him.

One of the mayors stepped forward and greeted him, “Cousin.”

Indeed, this deputy magistrate and the mayor were cousins, their fathers being brothers, sharing the same grandfather.

Of the eighteen mayors, only this one knew the details of today’s meeting because his cousin had given him some inside information.

But, of course, he wasn’t going to spill the secret—it could put his cousin in danger.

Deputy Magistrate Bai nodded. “If everyone’s here, follow me. The General and the Magistrate are waiting for you.”

At the mention of the General’s presence, everyone quickly fell silent and stopped gossiping.

Bai led the group to a side hall in the county office.

As they reached the entrance, Bai announced, “General, Magistrate, the eighteen town mayors have arrived.”

County Magistrate Yang glanced at General Qin, who nodded.

Magistrate Yang then said, “Let them in.” Since the county office was Yang’s domain, General Qin naturally did not overstep his authority.

Deputy Magistrate Bai responded, “Yes, sir.”

He led the eighteen mayors into the hall. As soon as they entered, they all lowered their heads, nervous.

Though they were leaders in their own towns, some with considerable authority, they weren’t foolish.

In front of high-ranking officials, they knew to act humbly.

Magistrate Yang addressed them, “You’ve likely heard about the renovation of the former Liang Wang Mansion into the General’s residence.

The man standing beside me is General Qin Fang, appointed by the imperial court as a Fifth-Rank Wude General. He has brought over 3,000 surrendered barbarians from the Yongzhou border.

The court intends to resettle these surrendered barbarians in various parts of our kingdom, and Yunxiang County will take in some of them. General Qin will also be stationed here as the defense general of our county.”

While many of the mayors had heard about General Qin’s appointment, the news of resettling surrendered barbarians was new to them.

It had not been disclosed beforehand.

But the fact that General Qin would take up a position here was widely known, especially since the General’s residence had been renovated.

There would have been no need for such repairs if the General weren’t planning to stay.

In unison, the eighteen mayors bowed and said, “We greet the General and the Magistrate.”

General Qin spoke, “No need for formalities. I have only one thing to say: Since these barbarians have surrendered, you must treat them as citizens of our kingdom. If any of you discriminate against them and cause tensions between the kingdom and the barbarians, you will be held responsible, and the court’s punishment is something none of you can afford.”

The court’s decision to settle the barbarians away from Yongzhou had its reasons.

While the people of Yongzhou might harbor hatred due to past attacks, the citizens of other regions, having never suffered directly, bore no such animosity.

After all, if the harm wasn’t done to oneself, the pain wouldn’t be felt.

The eighteen mayors felt a chill. Such a crime was indeed something they couldn’t bear.

One wrong move, and their entire careers could be ruined.

Though managing the resettlement of barbarians would be troublesome, they dared not express dissatisfaction. “Yes, thank you for the reminder, General.”

Magistrate Yang then explained the resettlement plan: Each town would take 34 or 36 households, and within each village, only two or four families would be settled.

This distribution wasn’t too burdensome.

Afterward, General Qin and Magistrate Yang led the eighteen mayors outside the county gates.