The man coming down the mountain tugged at the bundle on his back, his face full of disdain, and said, "There's nothing on the mountain, just endless work every day. I don't know what you're after."

Hearing him say this, the others echoed his sentiments.

"Everyone else is risking their lives to get out, but they insist on running to this godforsaken place."

"Pah! A bunch of ignorant bumpkins!"

"That's right, they only give us two meals a day, and we're never full."

"It's not as good as the days when we used to hunt."

The group climbing the mountain was exhausted and hot, and even when they heard the villagers complaining, no one paid them any attention.

Everyone has eyes. After entering Longtan, the fields of the nearby villages are full of lush green rice, which is all food that can fill our stomachs.

The leader told them that as long as they could grow food, they would have enough to eat and houses to live in.

These days, people often fight tooth and nail for a bite to eat.

They were originally farmers, but they couldn't stay at home anymore, so the whole family came out to find a way to make a living.

A hunched middle-aged man walking at the back of the group couldn't help but say, "I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue, as long as we have food to eat."

A kind-hearted older woman advised, "There's chaos and war outside, be careful when you go out!"

"We're heading to Nanzhou Prefecture. It's bustling there, much better than staying in the mountains," the mountain dweller said proudly.

This was something they had planned long ago; they wouldn't even go to Yongqing City or Shigong City.

The kind-hearted woman wanted to persuade him further, but her husband glared at her, grabbed her arm, and quickly walked forward.

"Hurry up and leave. You can't reason with a damned devil. Don't meddle in other people's business."

The mountain people turned pale upon hearing this and tried to find someone to ask, but the person avoided them like the plague.

Everyone sighed and shook their heads in silence, continuing towards the mountain stronghold. There was no point in saying anything more; these people had never experienced the cruelty of the outside world, and they would only regret it when they hit a wall.

A timid woman, pale-faced, clung tightly to her child, shrinking back and afraid to leave. Even before hearing of the chaos of war, she had felt a sense of dread about the unknown future.

"Dad, are we still leaving?"

"Let's go! To Nanzhou Prefecture. I refuse to believe that I, with my own hands and feet, will starve to death!"

After finishing his sentence, the man strode down the mountain.

The boy following behind them turned around and glared fiercely at the mountain stronghold. He was determined to make a name for himself and show them!

Lin Yinan was dressing Yun Shijiu, who had just taken a bath, in the room when Qianwu came to report.

She quickly dressed Yun Shijiu, told Qianxia and her sister to stay in the house to look after the children, and then followed the guards to the open space where the crowd had gathered.

Chen Shi, supporting Lin Shuo, had already arrived and was whispering something to the guards who came to meet them.

Lin Yinan glanced at the huge crowd, which numbered over a hundred, many of whom were easily recognizable as northerners.

They are tall, with narrow eyes and high noses, and their appearance differs slightly from that of people from the south.

Lin Shuo had already finished coordinating with the secret guards and was holding a thick stack of papers in his hand.

"Anan, the guards who went out reported that they bought forty-two people in total, and there were fifty or sixty refugees who came with them. What do you think we should do with them?"

"There aren't many houses in the stronghold. They're all for the soldiers now. We'll build temporary shelters outside for them, and then we'll choose a place to build new houses for them."

Lin Shuo nodded; he had the same idea. After all, as Chi'an developed in the future, they would still need to send people to be stationed here regularly.

"How will they solve their food problem?"

Lin Yinan frowned slightly, staring into the distance, silently making plans in her mind.

Food is not a problem, but we can't just let the mountain people's appetites grow like we did before; we still have to make some sacrifices.

"We'll take care of the people we buy. As for those who come on their own, we'll hire them for a while and see how they go. If they're good, we'll keep them; if they're not, we'll let them go!"

"Is it a monthly allowance or a grain ration?"

"The hired ones will be paid 450 copper coins per month. At the end of the month, they can ask for the money in silver or exchange it for grain. The price of grain will be calculated based on the purchase price." Lin Yinan paused and continued, "As for the people we buy and those in the mountain stronghold who have signed indentures, they will be paid 300 copper coins per month, with food and lodging provided."

"Isn't that too much?"

The world outside is in a bad state; people are lucky if they can even put food on the table. Lin Shuo is afraid that Lin Yinan will drain his savings.

"If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it. Second Uncle, we're aiming for long-term development. And the most important thing for development is people," Lin Yinan said with a smile.

Lin Shuo frowned in thought, "You're right, Second Uncle has misunderstood."

"Let's settle them in today. You can take a register and register the people first."

The two were talking from a distance, so the people in the crowd couldn't hear them and kept glancing at them.

Lin Shuo turned to Chen Shi beside him and instructed him to find someone to bring over tables, chairs, paper, ink, and inkstones.

Lin Yinan stepped forward, cleared her throat, and said, "Those who have signed the indenture, please come to my left. The rest of you, please stand to my right."

No one knew what she was doing, and the group only started moving after a short while.

The number of people in the purchased queue was obviously much higher than expected.

Lin Yinan waved a stack of papers in her hand, "Please stand in the correct lines. Those who haven't signed the indenture should not stand in the wrong line."

"Can those who haven't signed a contract of servitude sign one now?"

Someone in the crowd was shouting.

"Those who want to sell themselves can talk to us later. Now, please line up properly so that we can register later."

Chen Shi and his bodyguards quickly brought over the things Lin Shuo needed.

Before registration began, Lin Yinan explained the terms of service for those who sold themselves into servitude and those who were employed, which immediately caused a stir among the crowd.

Everyone is calculating whether it's more worthwhile to sell themselves into servitude or to be hired.

Soon, only a dozen or so people remained in the team that continued to choose to hire.

Lin Yinan looked closely and quickly noticed something. The families they had chosen to hire were probably quite well-off, as there were large and small bags of luggage on the ground.

The guards cooperated in registering the individuals and then had the families who chose to sell themselves sign indenture agreements.

With everything settled, the first team recruited by Chi'an arrived.

Soon, the soldiers who remained behind led them to another open space in the village to settle them.

Lin Yinan did not settle them with the previous mountain people to avoid any conflicts.

In addition to bringing back the people, the secret guards also purchased a lot of fruit trees in Huaizhou City, which will take a few more days to arrive.

There was a shortage of manpower in Chi'an. Lin Shuo was only good at planting, so the next day Lin Yinan led his guards to various hilltops to choose a suitable place to build a house.

Finally, she found a flat hillside after she emerged from the woods.

Lin Yinan decided to build everyone's houses in this place.