The village chief glanced at Old Lady Li. The two had exchanged a few words earlier, so he knew what was going on. He then stepped forward and spoke to Lord Zhou.

"Don't worry, Lord Zhou, our village can definitely afford the silver. It's just that we're new here and we're not familiar with where to find good craftsmen or buy timber and stone. We hope you can give us some pointers."

Lord Zhou nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "When recommending someone, one should not avoid relatives. I do have a good candidate, my brother-in-law. He is a scholar, but he has loved these odd jobs since childhood. He has been disciplined by his family many times, but unfortunately, he never changed his ways. Now that he is older, his family has given up on him. He often travels around and has made many acquaintances with craftsmen, and he is also familiar with purchasing. If everyone trusts him, I will have him come over tomorrow?"

“Alright, we trust Lord Zhou’s recommendation.” The village chief readily agreed, which pleased Lord Zhou as well.

His brother-in-law isn't bad, he's just too unreliable. Sending him here to suffer for a month might help him curb his eccentricities.

That was settled. Lord Zhou still had errands to run, so he went back to Xindu with Mr. Wen under the setting sun.

Everyone busied themselves preparing dinner, but their minds were preoccupied with where the 1,200 taels of silver would come from.

After the meal, the village chief, Uncle Zhao, Old Lady Li with her three sons, and Liu the镖头 (bodyguard) and others gathered together for a short meeting.

Jiayin, being young, nestled in her grandmother's arms, obediently munching on a spring cake while secretly listening to the commotion.

This Spring Festival cake was bought by Madam Cui. It tastes a bit like the mung bean cake of later generations. It has a dry texture, which is perfect for her to nibble on it little by little.

The village chief spoke first, asking Old Lady Li, "Young lady, you said earlier that Young Master Ye wanted to help the village?"

Old Mrs. Li nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "I mentioned the construction of the valley in casual conversation. We didn't have enough money, and Young Master Ye said he had some and wanted to lend us a few hundred taels. But I didn't agree. First, Young Master Ye doesn't earn money easily either, fighting with the barbarians every day, risking his life. Second, our place is a big piece of fat meat, and who knows how many people will be envious of it in the future."

The old lady sighed, "I discussed it with Young Master Ye. We decided that these few hundred taels would be considered his investment in the village. He would share the profits with the villagers in the future, and this place would also be considered his property, just to intimidate outsiders."

The village chief tapped his pipe, agreeing wholeheartedly, "Young lady, you're right. Young Master Ye has already helped our village so much; we shouldn't trouble him further without giving back."

Uncle Zhao lost a lot of weight due to his injury and poor diet and accommodation, but his spirits were still good.

At this moment, he also said, "Yes, Young Master Ye originally had a connection with your family. Actually, it would have been enough to just take care of your family. But he saved everyone's lives at the dock, delivered food, and came to visit. If we take his money for nothing, it would be shameless of us."

Grandma Li was satisfied with what she heard and continued, "Young Master Ye finally agreed to what I said and promised to put our Broken Gold Beach under his name. Although it has reached the ears of the Emperor, if someone wants to scheme against us, the Emperor won't really do anything to those powerful families for the sake of a small village like ours. On the other hand, Young Master Ye has military power and... status, so no one dares to provoke him easily."

"Young Master Ye is such a kind person. We can never repay his kindness."

"Yes, as everyone saw today, the valley is absolutely stunning once it's finished. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who will be envious. Young Master Ye is a military marquis; if it were his property, no one would dare to touch it."

Everyone was happy. After setting the general direction, they started discussing how to distribute the profits.

Old Lady Li continued, "Young Master Ye said that these two hills, valleys, and riverbanks were all allocated to our village by the imperial court. He only has a nominal position and contributes some silver, so he can't share the silver with the other villagers. In the future, a portion of his share will be taken out for the village's use."

The village chief was anxious. "Young Master Ye is too kind. Without his help, we wouldn't have this mountain."

"That's right, if you ask me, it would be better to give Young Master Ye a share of the profits as well."

Everyone was talking at once, and the discussion lasted for more than half an hour. By the time they finally managed to get everyone together to talk, night had already fallen.

Bonfires flickered in the valley, illuminating the hopeful faces of the villagers.

The village chief took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Young Master Ye will invest money with us to build the valley. Construction will begin as scheduled tomorrow!"

"Really? That's wonderful! Young Master Ye, you've saved our lives!"

"Young Master Ye is truly a great benefactor to our village. We must thank him properly in the future!"

When you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up before you.

The villagers cheered as if they had been lifted from hell to heaven.

The village chief waved for everyone to be quiet, and then spoke.

"Young Master Ye is helping us so much because the Second Brother's family lent us a helping hand when he was in trouble. Now that Young Master Ye is willing to lend us money, it's also a way of repaying the Second Brother's family. We're all benefiting from this!"

He waved his pipe with his remaining arm and said, “As the old saying goes, even close brothers should keep clear accounts. We’ve been supporting each other and fled here together. We’re like family. Nobody wants to ruin our relationship over an unfair division of money. So, now that the geese haven’t come back, we need to discuss whether to steam or boil them, and how many pieces of meat each family will get.”

"The village chief is right, that's how it should be."

"Yes, we can't let money ruin our relationship."

The villagers spoke up, recalling the struggle for survival in the mountains and the despair they felt at the dock. Everyone cherished the peace and stability they had now, and the good days that were right before them.

The village chief was very pleased to hear this, and then he told them the result they had agreed upon.

"Here's what we've decided, everyone. This capital of 1,200 taels is for building the valley and houses for each family. So, it's divided into 100 shares, 12 taels per share. Each family can buy as many shares as they can afford. I estimate that everyone can buy about 25 shares. The Li family can buy 20 shares, and we'll reserve 5 shares for Mr. Wen and Madam Cui. If they don't want them, we'll give them to the Li family. The remaining 50 shares will all be covered by Young Master Ye."

Seeing that everyone was a little confused, Li Lao Er stepped in to explain, "Simply put, it means that you get a share of the silver based on how many shares you buy. For example, if your family buys two shares, and the valley earns a thousand taels of silver a month, your family will receive twenty taels."

"Oh, I see. Then we understand. It's like everyone pooling their flour to make a pancake; whoever contributes the most flour gets the biggest pancake in the end," a woman said loudly.

Everyone laughed. "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"If you had told us earlier that we would be dividing the pie, we would have understood long ago."

The valley, which had been somber just moments before, became much more lively because of a large flatbread.

The village chief, both amused and exasperated, quickly waved his hand to stop the joking around and said, "Grandma Fu Niu discussed this matter with Young Master Ye before. Young Master Ye said that since our valley will be under his name from now on, no one will dare to bully us. He will still take the initial investment, but since the mountain and valley belong to our village, he doesn't want to share the profits equally or take advantage of the village. Therefore, based on the amount of money invested, he will share a portion of his profits. We elders discussed it and decided we couldn't let Young Master Ye down."

"Therefore, we've decided to use this portion of the profits to build a courtyard for Young Master Ye. Any surplus will be used to build a school for the children. When we see the house, we'll remember how kind Young Master Ye was to us, and when our children grow up to be successful, they can be like him, protecting our home and country!"

"Yes, Uncle Village Chief is right!"

“Young Master Ye has always treated us exceptionally well, so we can’t treat him unfairly.”

“Yes, if we build a courtyard, our village will also have Young Master Ye’s home.”

The villagers responded loudly, their hearts filled with gratitude.

The village chief waved his hand, "If everyone agrees, that's fine. Remember what we said today. Don't come back later when it's time to divide the money, spouting sour grapes and talking nonsense. Saying this person got too much, that person got too little. Anyone who dares to ruin our relationship, I'll personally drag them back to the mountains to feed the wolves!"