Thirty-Two stared down from the fortress wall at the crowd eagerly begging to become labor offenders. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Letting out a sigh, he tilted his head back and earnestly recalled how the Deity had always handled such situations in the past.

His course of action became clear.

He had the fort gate opened and walked out to stand before the group of people clad in rags. “Esteemed folks, you might not understand. A ‘labor offender’ refers to a criminal who must use labor to atone for their wrongdoing. They are all criminals.”

Hearing this, the group froze in stunned silence.

Several seconds later, metaphorical lightbulbs lit up above their heads as they grasped an idea.

A young man raised a stick. “Steward! If I beat you till your head’s bleeding right now, would that make me a criminal? Then I could atone through labor?”

Thirty-Two stumbled backward several steps. “What, are you fools? Stop! What I meant is—you upstanding civilians have no need to perform the tasks meant for criminals. I shall arrange different work for you.”

The crowd gasped in unison, “Ya!” Their faces lit up with joy.

Thirty-Two cleared his throat forcefully, “Cough! Cough! Cough!” to regain control of the situation. “Gaojia Village has plenty of work requiring physical labor. We need many short-term laborers. Since you wish to come here and work, of course, we have no reason to refuse you. Hmm… let’s settle the wages first, then discuss the tasks…”

Their eyes widened as one, faces brimming with anticipation.

Thirty-Two spoke first: “For starters, we will provide food and lodging.”

“BOOM!” The crowd cheered as one. “Food provided!”

Thirty-Two shook his head with a smile. “Look at you; how lacking in ambition. Getting so excited just hearing about food. Cough. Board and meals are the labor offenders’ terms. But you are not criminals; you are ordinary short-term laborers. So besides food and lodging, we must also pay you wages.”

The crowd cheered again: “Plus wages?!”

Thirty-Two added: “The wages won’t be high, mind you.”

The crowd chanted: “Low wages!”

Eh? Wait. That phrase wasn’t worthy of cheers.

The group froze mid-cheer. All celebrations ceased abruptly. Sheepish grins spread over their faces.

Thirty-Two announced: “The wages will amount to twenty pounds of flour, two pounds of pork, and two liang of salt per month.”

The crowd stared blankly once more: This is what he calls ‘not much’? Good grief! Isn’t this too much? Already more than I dare believe!

“BOOM!” Renewed cheering erupted: “Low wages are wonderful!”

“Lord Li is truly benevolent!”

“Such a good Steward!”

Thirty-Two shook his head, smiling. He turned his back to the refugees so they wouldn’t see his face. His mouth involuntarily stretched wide into an ear-to-ear grin that he could barely suppress.

Back when he worked as secretary for Zhang Yaocai, the common folk always cursed him. He had wanted to help them but was powerless. Now, seeing a whole crowd celebrating with joy over just a few words from him—it felt genuinely wonderful.

Thanks to the Deity, giving me the confidence and the power to be a good man for once.

After finishing his silent laugh, Thirty-Two turned back around. He deliberately stretched his face long to project authority. “Wages settled, let’s discuss the work.”

The crowd chorused: “We’ll do any work. Absolutely any!”

Thirty-Two stated: “Good. Then it’s cement mixing and cement road paving.”

A thick cloud of question marks floated above the crowd’s heads: “??? ??? ???”

Thirty-Two beckoned: “Follow me. I shall teach you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Tan Liwen’s head popped out from behind him: “Dong Weng, minor tasks don’t require a master’s effort; leave such matters to me instead.”

Thirty-Two slapped his head, nearly forgetting that he wasn’t the clerk but the one who had employed the clerk.

Hurriedly, he mumbled: “Clerk Tan, arrange food and lodging for these people. Teach them to mix cement for road paving. Make sure to handle it properly.”

Tan Liwen bowed and then beckoned to the crowd: “All of you, come with me.”

The group followed Tan Liwen and went away.

Thirty-Two grinned again: “Heh heh heh, ha ha ha, this is what we call ‘every family has enough’.”

Li Daoxuan shifted his gaze from Thirty-Two and began focusing on Tan Liwen.

Clerk Tan was arranging food and lodging for that group. Food was simple; just grabbing a bit of food from the warehouse on the watchtower’s second floor was enough to fill them up. But lodging became a problem.

After all, they were newcomers without recommenders like the craftsmen had. Clerk Tan dared not let them live inside Gaojia Fortress, fearing that if a few unscrupulous types were among them, the fortress residents might be at risk.

He couldn’t help glancing toward the plastic houses outside the fortress where the labor offenders lived, pondering: Should he house these temporary workers with the labor offenders? Yet that might not be wise either.

Li Daoxuan sensed his hesitation and thought to himself: Gaojia Village’s reputation had spread. Future external exchanges would increase, and more people might volunteer for labor. If things continued this way, they really needed to consider accepting immigrants.

They must set up an area to absorb outside immigrants!

It couldn’t be too far from the fortress, for that would hinder his observation.

Nor could they occupy the farmland around Gaojia Fortress.

He kept clicking “north, south, east, and west”, scanning within his line of sight for a suitable spot. He quickly found one: by the bamboo grove southwest of Gaojia Fortress, a rocky slope with thin soil unsuitable for farming. In the rock cracks, tender green grass shoots emerged, a gift from his “rain” days earlier.

“That’s the spot!”

Li Daoxuan took out a big sample box sent by Ningyang Toys, pulled out a dozen plastic houses, and positioned them toward that rocky slope…

In an instant, rows of colorful houses stood tall on the slope.

Villagers heard strange noises from that direction and turned to look. Thirty-Two and Clerk Tan saw the new houses and understood at once: the Deity was providing housing for the refugees.

“The Deity is benevolent!”

Everyone promptly bowed grandly to the sky.

Only the newcomers stood dumbfounded, unsure of what happened.

Though they couldn’t grasp it, they felt deeply impressed.

Clerk Tan chuckled: “After living here a few days, you’ll get it. Come with me, let’s sort out your new house assignments.”

As he walked, he instructed his assistant: “Head to the artisans’ well and tell the blacksmiths to make a few iron pots and kitchen knives for these newcomers, so they’ve got gear for cooking.”

“Also, swing by the bamboo weaver to fetch some bamboo baskets or bamboo baskets and the like for their use.”

“And visit the carpenter for some custom beds…”

Listening to his meticulous arrangements covering every detail, the refugees thought to themselves: They had truly come to the right place. At Gaojia Village, even folks like them were cared for so well — what a fine place indeed.