At that moment, the village chief returned after learning about the situation, his face full of joy as he announced to everyone:
“Folks, we are now in Shangliu Village of Baima County, Changning Prefecture, Xuannan Province!”
“Half a month ago, the imperial court already ordered every prefecture and county to take in refugees like us unconditionally. So unless something unexpected happens, we should be able to settle down here in Baima County.”
Hearing this, everyone burst into cheers, bright smiles lighting up their faces.
Although the young man couldn’t fully relate to their feelings, he still understood their happiness.
“So you little baldhead are refugees fleeing famine. That’s really pitiful. Why don’t you just settle in our village? Our village is great.”
A Ming pouted and ignored him. He had already said his name was A Ming, yet this guy kept calling him “little baldhead.” So annoying!
The youth instead found him amusing and grinned mischievously. “Little baldhead, little baldhead, I’m calling you little baldhead anyway.”
“Third Brother, he’s bullying me! Beat him up for me!”
Ye Jianwu immediately swung his fist toward the youth.
“Oh? You’re serious!” The youth swiftly dodged to the side. “Then let’s have a match.”
Very quickly, the two began exchanging blows.
Ye Jianwu had never received formal training and relied only on brute strength, wildly throwing punches. Naturally, he couldn’t compare to the youth, who had trained under a master for years.
Still, Ye Jianwu was incredibly strong, and in a direct fight he surprisingly managed to hold his own for a while.
But before long, the youth discovered Ye Jianwu’s weakness and swept his leg out, knocking him to the ground.
Patting his hands smugly, the youth said proudly, “Well? Pretty good martial arts skills, right?”
Realizing he truly couldn’t match the other boy, Ye Jianwu looked guiltily at A Ming.
“Third Brother, it’s okay. In my heart, you’re the strongest.”
Then A Ming glared at the youth with his childish, high-pitched voice. “My Third Brother might not be stronger than you now, but I believe he’ll definitely surpass you in the future!”
The youth snorted. “Tch, I’ll be waiting for that. Oh right, this young master’s name is Zhao Zichen. Kid, what’s your name? You’re pretty strong—seems like you’d be suited for martial arts.”
Ye Jianwu rolled his shoulders and slowly but firmly spoke his name:
“Ye Jianwu.”
“Hah! With a name like that, you absolutely have to practice martial arts! So, interested in becoming my junior disciple?”
(Daoist Qingyun: You rebellious brat, did you ask for my opinion first?)
Before Ye Jianwu could answer, He Wanqing interrupted them.
“Children, we’re leaving.”
It turned out the village chief had decided to take everyone to the county town immediately to register their household records. After all, the sooner things were settled, the more at ease everyone would feel.
After learning this, Village Chief Zhao of Shangliu Village personally led them there.
Before long, the large group headed toward the county town.
Zhao Zichen’s eyes rolled mischievously as he lifted his legs and followed along.
Along the way, everyone was incredibly excited, chatting noisily among themselves.
He Wanqing’s family also began imagining their beautiful future lives.
Halfway there, Zhao Zichen quietly moved to Village Chief Zhao’s side.
“Dad.”
Village Chief Zhao widened his eyes. “You little brat, why did you follow us here?”
“Hehe, just came to watch the excitement. Dad, where do you think these people will be assigned?”
“How would your father know? I’m not the county magistrate.”
“Then Dad, can I discuss something with you?” Zhao Zichen flashed a big toothy grin.
Village Chief Zhao snorted. “What are you up to this time? Running around all day without doing anything proper.”
Zhao Zichen puffed his cheeks unhappily. “I haven’t even said what it is yet. How do you know it’s improper?”
“Fine, hurry up and say it.”
“Dad, can you talk to the magistrate and have him assign little baldhead’s family of five to our village?” Zhao Zichen secretly pointed toward He Wanqing’s family.
The bald head was extremely noticeable, so Village Chief Zhao found them immediately.
Seeing it was a widowed mother with four sons, he looked puzzled. “Give me a reason.”
Zhao Zichen scratched his forehead and thought for a moment. “That little brother is pretty fun, and his third brother is really strong. I fought him and almost didn’t win. Plus, they actually dare to raise a wolf.”
After pausing briefly, he added, “Anyway, they just really suit my tastes. Dad, please agree. I rarely ask you for anything. Besides, our village has lots of wasteland. If not them, another family will be assigned there anyway.”
“Fine. I’ll mention it. But whether the magistrate agrees or not isn’t up to me.”
“Come on, Dad, what kind of relationship do you and the magistrate have?” As if he didn’t know—they were close enough to privately drink and chat together in little taverns.
Village Chief Zhao shot him a sideways glance, and Zhao Zichen immediately shut up.
Shangliu Village was not far from the county town. It took less than half an hour to reach on foot.
When such a huge group entered the town, the guards immediately became alert.
“Stop! What are you people doing?”
Village Chief Zhao quickly stepped forward to explain. “These people are refugees fleeing famine from Zhenxi Province. I’m bringing them to see the magistrate and arrange settlement.”
With Village Chief Zhao’s guarantee, the guards allowed them in, though they still sent one guard to accompany them.
The moment they entered the town, everyone felt the strong atmosphere of ordinary city life.
After staying deep in the mountains for so long, suddenly seeing so many strangers made many people tense up.
He Wanqing felt the same way.
Sure enough, people couldn’t stay isolated from society for too long. One still needed the bustle of human life from time to time.
The closer they got to the county yamen, the fewer street vendors there were. By the time they arrived at the main entrance, the area was completely quiet.
“Village Chief Zhao, what’s all this?” Upon seeing so many people, the yamen runner became wary, only to realize there was an acquaintance among them.
“These people are refugees fleeing famine. Is the magistrate available right now?”
“Yes. I’ll go announce your arrival. Please wait a moment, Village Chief Zhao.”
The group quietly waited outside.
The solemn atmosphere of the county yamen made even small children too nervous to breathe loudly.
He Wanqing, however, wasn’t afraid at all. In fact, experiencing a “county yamen tour” for the first time made her rather curious. She wondered whether the inside looked like the ones portrayed in TV dramas.
Meanwhile, A Ming tightly held onto A Lan and refused to let him touch the ground, afraid he might anger someone and cause trouble.
As for the other three boys, nothing showed on their faces, though only they themselves knew the turmoil inside.
Before long, the yamen runner returned.
“Village Chief Zhao, the magistrate requests that you and the leader of these people come inside. Everyone else will wait here.”
The village chief gave everyone a reassuring look before following Village Chief Zhao inside.
Zhao Zichen desperately signaled to his father with his eyes, but unfortunately the older man never looked his way.
His father still remembered, right?
The waiting process was agonizing.
As time dragged on, everyone gradually grew restless.
After all, before hearing the final result, anything could happen.
Just before the crowd began to descend into chaos, the figures of the Baima County magistrate and the two village chiefs appeared before them.
Soon, the yamen runners publicly announced each household’s assigned village and distributed new household registrations to the heads of each family.
When Zhao Zichen heard that little baldhead’s family had indeed been assigned to Shangliu Village, he nodded in satisfaction.
Mm, his father really was reliable.
He Wanqing’s family simply assumed it was coincidence and didn’t think much about it.
However, besides their family, the families of Eldest Brother Ye, the village chief, and Widow Liu were also assigned to Shangliu Village. The rest were scattered among various villages under Baima County’s jurisdiction.
The villagers being split apart was actually something everyone had expected.
After all, this was the standard method used to prevent refugees from gathering together and causing unrest.
Therefore, everyone obediently accepted the arrangements.
Afterward, Magistrate Guo said to Village Chief Zhao, “Old Zhao, I won’t send government officers with you this time. Please take care of these people for me.”
“Alright, I’ll take them and leave first.”
Soon, Village Chief Zhao led the group of over twenty people away from the county yamen.