Chapter 127 She returned to take her place...
The refugees below the city gate clasped their hands together, their faces filled with gratitude: "Thank you so much for taking us in, sir. We have no way to repay you in this life, but in the next life we will serve you like an ox or a horse to repay your kindness."
Zhilan looked down at the crowd for a moment, but in the end said nothing, only sighed softly.
"Let's go! Let's go down first."
Fu Jun said, "Guard Fang and I will handle it. Just to be on the safe side, don't take any risks before we find out the true identities of these troublemakers and give them an opportunity."
Zhilan's eyes softened, but she asked helplessly, "You're always worried about me, but aren't you worried about your own safety?"
Fu Jun dismissed it: "I'm just an ordinary citizen, I can't have any impact or pose any threat to them. I'm probably the safest among us."
"Besides, didn't you already have Guard Fang secretly protect me? Even if you don't believe I can protect myself, you should at least believe in Guard Fang's abilities, right?"
In fact, Fu Yun would prefer that Zhi Lan return to the palace first. She had been out of the palace for most of the day, and once she returned, she would probably have a lot of government affairs to deal with.
He didn't want her to work too hard, and he didn't want to see her stay up all night dealing with official documents again. Seeing her so tired and stressed made his heart ache, and he wished he could take her place and let her have more free time.
The guard Fang also advised, "Master, what Young Master Su said is absolutely right. The situation is still unclear, and we must be on guard. You should not get involved personally. Lord Ye will be here soon, and I will work with Lord Ye to help Young Master Su settle the refugees properly."
"Very well, as you two say, I will patiently wait here for your results."
Fu Yun and Guard Fang breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Zhi Lan had finally stopped insisting on her own opinion.
As they turned to leave, Zhilan added one last thing: "Go ahead and do your thing. Don't worry about the refugees. Even if you can't handle them properly, don't be afraid that they'll cause trouble. Since I'm personally overseeing this place, I'll make sure they don't stir up any more trouble. Just remember, I'll take care of everything. They can't do anything to you."
Fu Jun gave a helpless smile: "Okay, I understand. Don't worry, I'm not an easy person to talk to, and I will never suffer a loss in this kind of thing. They are just some troublesome people, but I can handle them."
Zhilan's smile deepened, and her expression relaxed considerably: "Very good. Since you can handle it, I won't say any more. You all hurry down and don't let this interfere with our business."
Fu Yun nodded, glanced at Guard Fang, and gestured for her to get to work.
"Then, Master, please rest here for a moment. We will take our leave first."
Zhilan waved her hand, signaling her to stop dawdling and hurry up and leave.
When Fu Yun and Guard Fang descended the city tower and arrived at the city gate, the carpenter and bricklayer had already been invited to the scene.
Fu Yun immediately led them aside and explained his demands to them in detail.
After explaining the situation to the carpenters, he asked Guard Fang to find someone to bring over bundles of preservative-treated wood, as well as dozens of large planks and wooden cartwheels that could be found in ancient times. All of these were hauled to an open area far from the city gate.
In ancient times, resources were scarce, but open space was plentiful.
Once all the timber had been delivered, Fu Yun guided the carpenters to assemble all the timber into 6x3 planks, and then splice them together on all four sides to form a complete wooden house of about 18 square meters. The height of the house was controlled at 2 meters, the top was also sealed with timber, and wooden wheels were attached to the four corners of the bottom for easy pushing, pulling or moving of the prefabricated house.
These easily assembled houses are actually prefabricated houses frequently used in the modern construction industry.
Prefabricated houses are characterized by their simplicity, quick assembly and disassembly, ease of transportation, and convenient relocation.
Suitable for placement on hillsides, grasslands, deserts, riverbanks, and various open spaces, it is ideal for use as a temporary site.
Fu Jun originally wanted to get some temporary tents, but considering that ancient tents were mostly used by the military and would not easily end up in the civilian market.
There are so many refugees here that even if we prepare more tents, we still can't accommodate so many people.
It would be better to use prefabricated houses. If one floor is not enough, another floor can be built on top of the original one. Although multi-story prefabricated houses are more expensive, they can be moved according to needs and can be moved wherever you want. They can also be used multiple times in different locations. They are convenient and practical, and are tailor-made for refugees. They are also the best choice for the current situation.
While Fu Yun and the carpenters were working hard, the refugees were all drawn to the commotion and cast curious and inquisitive glances their way.
Those who always deliberately caused trouble quieted down after being warned by the people on the city wall.
It's likely that those words intimidated them, making them afraid that if they continued to cause trouble, something might actually be discovered.
Fu Yun considered that it was already afternoon, and that it would be too slow to make progress with only two or three craftsmen. Even if they worked overtime all night, they would not be able to finish the temporary accommodation for so many refugees.
He told Guard Fang about his worries and asked her to bring more people to help, but Ye Lan returned at that moment.
She was somewhat bewildered by the bustling scene outside the city gate, and for a moment thought she had gone to the wrong place.
Fang, the guard, explained the whole story to Ye Lan in a few words. Shock and disbelief flashed in her eyes. After learning that there were not enough people, she immediately arranged for more than a dozen chefs and about twenty soldiers to help with the physical labor.
With the help of these people, they worked until 11 a.m. and finally completed the construction of more than 30 prefabricated houses.
Each 6-meter-wide prefabricated house can accommodate four 1.2-meter-long prefabricated beds, and each bed can sleep two people. Based on this calculation, it would be about 19 prefabricated houses on each side.
The open space outside the city gate was large enough to accommodate the main road leading to the city gate. After arranging two rows of prefabricated houses on both sides, it did not feel crowded at all. On the contrary, it made the open space seem even more spacious. These prefabricated houses only occupied a small area.
No wonder ancient battles were often described with the grand phrase "the army is at the gates of a city." The fact that such a large area was not planned must have been to reserve a place for the two armies to fight.
After settling the refugees in, Cheng Jincheng, Lu Zhisheng, and the others came to Fu Yun's side.
They actually arrived as early as 5:15 PM, but waited until now because they didn't want to disturb Fu Yun.
Today's training camp activities were successfully completed, and almost everyone who participated in the competition registered and became a member of the training camp.
Fu Yun patted Cheng Jincheng and Lu Zhisheng on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work."
Cheng Jincheng laughed and said, "Brother Lu and I are fine. After all the contestants have registered, our role has become less important. We just need to explain the competition process and precautions, call 'start,' and keep an eye on the first person to cross the line."
General Qian and her men had a much harder time. They had to maintain order at all times, keep the contestants in check, and ensure they could compete honestly without taking shortcuts or cheating. With her around, things were much easier for us.
Lu Zhisheng replied gently, "As Young Master Cheng said, General Qian has indeed helped us a lot."
Fu Yun suggested, "Why don't we invite General Qian and the others to a meal together to express our gratitude?"
Cheng Jincheng said, "I'm afraid it won't work today. They left in a hurry after the opening ceremony of the training camp. They must have military affairs to attend to."
Fu Jun nodded, roughly knowing what they were busy with.
"Let's wait until they finish what they're doing before we talk about it."
Fu Yun led Cheng Jincheng and Lu Zhisheng through the city gate. He was thinking of having them wait there while he went up to the city wall to say goodbye to Zhilan when he saw Ye Lan walking down from the city wall.
She first glanced at Lu Zhisheng's face for a moment, then looked at Fu Yun and said in a low voice, "Master has something to tell you."
Fu Yun knew that she had probably found out something, so she said to Cheng Jincheng and Lu Zhisheng, "You two have been busy all day, so go back first! Don't wait for me. I probably won't be ready here anytime soon either. Anyway, I'm staying nearby now, so it's convenient to come and go."
When Cheng Jincheng heard Fu Yun say that, he readily agreed: "Okay, we'll head back first. You should also go back as soon as you're done with your work."
"This..." Lu Zhisheng hesitated, "Wouldn't it be... for Young Master Su to go back alone..."
Ye Lan comforted him, "Young Master Lu, there's no need to worry. Master will arrange for someone to send Young Master Su back."
Lu Zhisheng was relieved: "In that case, I'll head back now."
Ye Lan said, "I'll have someone send you two back."
Cheng Jincheng quickly waved his hand: "No need, there's no need for two grown men like us to see you off. We can go back on our own."
Ye Lan frowned slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but Fu Yun intervened to smooth things over: "How about this, it's so late tonight, Lu Zhisheng shouldn't go back, but stay at my place with Cheng Jincheng. This way, we can avoid the problem of Lu Zhisheng walking alone at night. What do you think, Commander Ye?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Lan stopped insisting: "That's very good, then let's arrange it this way. Be careful on your way back."
Cheng Jincheng and Lu Zhisheng both nodded in agreement with the proposal.
After watching the two leave, Fu Fu and Ye Lan turned and went up the city wall.
Upon stepping onto the city wall, they immediately saw Zhilan with her back to them, quietly looking down at the refugees below.
Hearing the noise behind her, Zhilan turned around, her gaze fixed intently on Fu Jun, her voice filled with heartache: "You've worked so hard."
Fu Yun smiled and shook his head: "I'm not tired. It's the masters and the soldiers who helped carry the heavy objects who suffered."
Zhilan said gently, "They have worked hard, and I will not treat them unfairly. However, I still have to thank you. It was your idea to build temporary houses that helped me a lot."
When Zhilan praised him, Fu Yun didn't know how to react, so he quickly changed the subject: "Did you ask Ye Lan to call me up because you found out something?"
Zhilan's smile faded slightly, and her expression turned solemn: "Indeed, we have found some clues."
Fu Yun patiently awaited Zhi Lan's next words.
"You should have heard about the Wang family massacre three years ago, right?"
Fu Yun nodded: "I've heard that the current head of the Wang family is a relative of the maternal family."
Zhilan said, "That's right. The current head of the Wang family is the cousin of the former head of the family from the outer city. According to our secret investigation in Yinzhou, we found out that the Wang family was not actually wiped out. The former head of the family had a daughter. Because her father's ancestral family had no female infants, she was raised by her maternal grandfather from a young age and was groomed to be the next head of the family. She was the only candidate to take over the Wang and Sun families. Unfortunately, she was still young when the Wang family suffered a massacre. When she was unable to take charge, the former head of the family's cousin brazenly took her place."
Fu Jun understood: "So the background she fabricated before was indeed false. She came back to take back everything that belongs to her."
Zhilan said, "That's probably one of the reasons."
Fu Yun continued, "If her goal is to seize the family business, then what is the purpose of her charity porridge distribution? Does she think she can use public opinion to force the current head of the family to step down? It can't be that simple!"
Zhilan frowned slightly: "That's also what we find strange."
Fu Yun then asked, "What about her companion who accompanied her in distributing porridge? Have you found out their identities?"
Ye Lan continued, "We've checked. This person is an orphan who has been homeless since childhood, constantly moving around. He's done all sorts of dirty and hard work to support himself."
Fu Yun asked curiously, "Logically speaking, these two people come from completely different backgrounds and have grown up in vastly different environments. How could they become such good friends at first sight?"
He pondered for a moment, a possibility dawning on him, and pressed on, "Has she ever been a bandit before?"
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