Lin Jinyue sighed, "General Gu, how long do you think it will take before they attack?"

Gu Shao's expression was grave. "At the latest, two months. So, you really can't sell us the crossbows?"

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm willing to pay a high price."

Lin Jinyue shook her head. "To be honest, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust Xie Hong. I can provide all kinds of military strategies and training methods, but not crossbows."

These crossbows have been improved generation after generation, and some of their parts were purchased from the system store.

That's why it has such great power.

Otherwise, if it's made of wood, it will wear out very quickly.

But Lin Jinyue didn't rule out the possibility of anything being said, as there would be many more situations where she would need Gu Shao's help in the future.

Lin Jinyue and Gu Shao signed a purchase contract, and the wealthy families also donated money to Gu Shao.

Even if their village only produces these war-related items, it will be enough for their villagers to live on.

After discussing it, Lin Jinyue and Ding Ruiming were both very happy.

One is that the village now has a large new workforce.

Another reason is that he has achieved a great deal of political success. With these more than a thousand households, and with further development, he is expected to be promoted once the war is over.

Ding Ruiwen added with a smile, "Miss Lin, it's inconvenient for so many of you. I'll go back with you to register and make a list, so you don't have to make several trips back and forth."

These words surprised Old Master Ji, Old Master Yun, and Madam Liu.

When these wealthy people usually go to someone for a favor, they have to urge them three or four times, and sometimes they even have to give gifts, but the person may not even accept the gifts.

This time, things turned out differently. The county magistrate, worried that it might be inconvenient for them, made a special trip for them.

Grandpa Ji hurriedly said, "Thank you for your trouble."

He then ordered his men to row back to prepare things.

Lin Jinyue quickly said, "Oh, no need, no need. I'll take the county magistrate to eat hot pot, barbecue, snacks, and stir-fries."

Ding Ruiming burst into laughter.

This little girl really knows his taste.

The matter was quickly resolved, and everyone went to Sihailou Restaurant for a meal. Ding Ruiming then went back with them.

At this point, Gu Shao began to solicit donations to have a stele carved.

Back in Shawan County, Lin Jinyue looked at the endless stream of people on boat after boat and felt a chill run down her spine. She wondered if the small commercial building could accommodate so many people.

Upon arriving in Shawan County, Ding Ruiming was completely stunned.

It hasn't been long since he last visited Shawan County, and high-rise buildings have sprung up everywhere.

From a distance, he would believe it if you said it was a county town.

Whose village has several large brick and tile houses?

Which farmers hang long strings of dried cured meat in front of their houses?

The aroma of the food filled the air; it was said to be a large pot of food prepared for the workers.

Goodness, even this communal meal smells so good!

Magistrate Ding even wanted to poach people to his county office.

Lin Jinyue first had her father entertain Ding Ruiming, while she gathered all the maids and servants who were preparing to settle down in an open space.

Lin Jinyue shouted through a megaphone, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment and listen to me!"

"From now on, you will all be people of Yunhe Village. Yunhe Village does not allow signing indenture contracts. Therefore, you can choose to continue to be employed and work for others, or you can go to our Yunhe Village workshops."

These words shocked everyone below.

I originally thought that even if I changed the indenture, I would still have to be someone's slave.

Who would have thought that they could leave their master's house and find other ways to make a living?

Among the maids, only the first-class maids and the second-class maids received more money and served their masters.

Those maids and servants were basically treated like slaves, subjected to insults and abuse from their masters at will, and there was even a hierarchy among the maids.

The Ji family, for example, has good masters who are good-tempered and don't easily get angry with their servants.

But those head maids, those maids who had gained favor with their masters, all looked down on others and would beat and scold them at will when they were in a bad mood.

Those maids and servants naturally wanted to be free, since their monthly wages were not high.

Lin Jinyue's next words were like a bombshell.

“In our village, even the lowest-paying job, once you get the hang of it, can earn you six or seven hundred coins a month. If you have a skill, like painting, embroidery, or how to make pastries or sweet soups… anything that sets you apart from the average person can earn you even more money.”

“You can think about whether to continue with the employment contract or find work in our village. If you’re unsure, you can ask the villagers for advice.”

"If anyone is interested in working for our village, come here to register. We'll see what skills you have so we can assign you jobs."

At this point, someone raised a question: "But, but if we don't continue to be maids, where will we live?"

Lin Jinyue said, "Yesterday, I had the carpentry workshop make beds overnight. There are probably quite a few people staying in one room, about twenty or thirty people, but the room is quite big, it's over there."

She pointed to the tall buildings not far away: "Everyone can make do for a while. Once the new buildings are completed, the dormitories will be improved."

But she also mentioned that she couldn't let people stay for free; after all, the carpenters worked all night, and she couldn't expect them to work for free.

Lin Jinyue then said, "Fifty coins per month for one bed."

Most of the maids lived in large communal sleeping quarters, with a dozen or twenty people sharing one room.

Everyone started doing the math in their heads. Lin Jinyue had said that their workshop provided meals and they could earn at least six or seven hundred coins a month, which would save them quite a bit.

Then we can upgrade to something better and more expensive, or we can build a new house directly.

After Lin Jinyue finished speaking, she left in a hurry and went to find the village's literate statistician.

I copied the simplified village rules again a few days ago.

If these maids were illiterate, someone would read the words aloud for them.

When there are too many people, things can easily get chaotic.

Magistrate Ding was walking around when Lin Jinyue approached and was immediately grabbed and questioned about various things.

Ask about potatoes, and also about the newly sprouted cotton seedlings.

Lin Jinyue said with a smile, "Potatoes can be promoted, but it will take some time. I have agreed with General Gu to provide them first. I'm afraid we can't provide too many seeds in the short term. We'll have to wait for the next batch."

The two walked and talked when they heard Ding Ruiming's stomach growl.

He was genuinely excited; every time he came to Yunhe Village, it was like digging for treasure.

I forgot I was hungry as I walked.

Lin Jinyue said with a smile, "Let's go eat something first. We can walk slowly, there's no rush."

The registration process began the next day.

Some people started registering their household registration, while others started registering their special skills.

Things are all quite complicated.

But Lin Jinyue was overjoyed.

Once a certain number of people have joined, they can receive a big gift package.

Five hundred people have registered by the end of the morning, and there are still more than a thousand people to go.

Chen Mazi and his family from the neighboring Chenjia Village also took advantage of the chaos to settle down, and Magistrate Ding simply turned a blind eye.

What they didn't expect was that a group of uninvited guests would arrive that afternoon.

Lin Jinyue went outside to take a look and saw that it was Xie Hong's subordinate.

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and waved to the villagers: "Go do what you were doing, I'll take care of this."