Liu Yang searched everywhere before finally finding Lü Tu in a refugee shack. Lü Tu was squatting on the ground, teasing a little girl.
He stepped forward and whispered, "Brother, I've bought the grain and stored it in the warehouse in your new courtyard."
Lu Tu got up, went outside the shack, pointed to a place and said, "The grain doesn't need to be stored at my house. In the next few days, build a proper warehouse in that spot. There are only two requirements: it must be large and it must be rainproof."
Liu Yang glanced at the refugees with some concern: "Won't the food be stolen if we leave it so close by?"
Lu Tu laughed heartily: "I just want them to know how much grain I have, so they can feel at ease staying here and working. Besides, it's inconvenient for them to keep coming to my house, especially since your sister-in-law is pregnant."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang exclaimed with delight, "Congratulations, brother! Congratulations on completing the Emperor's mission to induce childbirth ahead of schedule!"
Lu Tu nodded: "From now on, you and Liu Hu will select 10 people from the military slaves to be in charge of guarding the warehouse. Going to the city to purchase grain will also be your job. If you need money, just go to your sister-in-law."
Liu Yang's mouth was practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin: "Thank you so much, brother! I will definitely live up to your expectations! I won't make the same mistake again."
Lu Tu pointed to his back: "Are you feeling better? Do you have a fever?"
"No! I'm tough and healthy, it's just that I have to sleep on my stomach these past two days, but this has taught me a lesson."
"That's good. It's okay for people to make mistakes; what's important is knowing how to improve!"
Liu Yang nodded thoughtfully: "Brother, I understand. I'll gather the military slaves to carry out the task right away."
"Okay, go ahead."
Life in both villages has begun to get back on track, especially after the construction of the expressway between them, which has made travel between them more frequent.
Lu Tu planned to use the existing infrastructure of the two villages to house the refugees and military slaves in this open space between the two villages.
He planned to build this place into a territory that belonged solely to him and was not under the jurisdiction of Wuchuan Prefecture.
Although information is currently very scarce, he learned from talking to the refugees that the situation in the south is becoming increasingly chaotic.
Not only is the White Lotus Sect causing havoc everywhere, but peasant uprisings have also broken out in various places, though they were quickly suppressed by the army of the Great Yu Dynasty. The only peaceful place right now is the northern border.
Years of natural and man-made disasters have led to widespread suffering, and the number of displaced people will only increase in the future.
He initially positioned this place as a gathering place for refugees and military slaves, so that he could select some capable people from among the refugees and train them into elites.
With his current strength, things in the south are still too far off; for now, he can only focus on self-preservation.
Especially the Wuhuan people who keep coming to harass him, and especially the two he killed earlier who were from the Saili tribe, they are particularly vengeful. It will probably not be long before the Saili tribe comes to take revenge.
Lu Tu gazed at the vast northern horizon, feeling as if a sharp sword was hanging overhead, watching over him so that he dared not stop for even a moment.
Just as he was about to leave, the little girl he had just teased came running over and hugged his leg.
She looked up with her dirty little face and asked, "Lord Lü, could you give my mother a little more food? My mother is sick."
Lu Tu rubbed the little girl's head: "Where is your mother?"
“Look, let’s move the woods over there in the woods.”
Then the little girl called out into the woods, "Mother!"
The childish voice was incredibly penetrating, causing half the women in the woods to turn around in unison. This is the instinct of motherhood; even if they know it's not their daughter's voice, most women will instinctively turn around when they hear the word "mother."
A young woman, dressed in thin clothes and with a pale face, was startled when she saw Lu Tu standing next to the little girl. She quickly dropped what she was doing and ran over.
When she arrived before Lü Tu, panting, her face flushed with illness. She immediately prostrated herself before him, pleading, "My lord, please spare my daughter. She's just a child and she said something wrong."
The little girl helped the woman up, wiped away her tears with her short sleeve, and comforted her, "Mother, the adults were very kind to me. They even gave me some steamed buns just now."
The woman breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this and hugged the little girl in her arms: "Have you thanked the adults yet?"
“The little girl said thank you.”
Lu Tu looked at the woman and said, "Get up. Am I really that scary in your eyes?"
The woman then stood up, but still dared not straighten her back, and explained without raising her head, "No, sir, I was afraid that the child would not know the rules and would talk back to you."
The woman coughed violently as soon as she finished speaking.
How long have you been coughing?
"It's been half a month, sir."
What kind of work can you do?
The woman hesitated before looking up at Lü Tu: "I used to run a small food stall in my hometown of Longcheng. I know how to make simple meals and do needlework."
Lu Tu saw that she was not very old and had a fair complexion, especially her eyes, which showed that she was a kind-hearted person.
Whether it was because Lü Tu was about to become a father or something else, he suddenly felt compassion for women.
He nodded and said, "Then you and your daughter can live in my old house from now on. You can cook for my two wives every day, and I'll pay you the same treatment as a soldier."
Upon hearing this, the woman's eyes widened in disbelief, tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the little girl's head.
The little girl hugged the woman's leg tenderly, saying, "Mother, don't cry. I still have half a steamed bun here. I specially saved it for you."
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