She wasn’t opposed to rescuing the Emperor, nor did she mind helping him relocate the capital—provided the Prince of Donghai truly would leave the capital.

When Zhao Hanzhang finished writing the letter, her palms were even slightly sweaty.

Would the Prince of Donghai really leave? Departing the capital two years early.

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze was heavy. Only after a long while did she seal the completed letter and hand it to Fan Ying: “It’s late. You should go rest. Tomorrow, you’ll preside over affairs at the Governor’s Office.”

Fan Ying didn’t quite understand: “Governor, your incognito visits today should have been sufficient. Why do you still need to go tomorrow?”

Zhao Hanzhang said: “Just one day—how much can we see? Oh, and have the elderly and children at Yushan Hall distribute more bean sprouts. Don’t make them go to the fields to move bricks anymore.”

Many didn’t even have decent shoes on their feet. Some children’s feet were so swollen from the cold that Zhao Hanzhang feared those feet would be permanently damaged.

She said: “Merchants have started coming to Nanyang Kingdom, haven’t they? Try to buy more fabric and have all the elderly, weak, women, and children at Yushan Hall who can make shoes do so. How is the ready-made clothing shop I asked you to establish coming along?”

“Following your instructions, I handed everything to Yin Sheng. There’s been no news yet.”

Zhao Hanzhang immediately set a deadline: “I want an answer before dark tomorrow. Tell Yin Sheng—if he can do it, he does it. If he can’t, he should rest at home and I’ll have someone else take over.”

She was most fed up with the Great Jin’s sluggishness.

Fan Ying acknowledged the order.

Early the next morning, Zhao Hanzhang again dragged Fu Tinghan out to the fields. The two were quite interested in this. Though it was hard work, when they bent their heads to dig and load mud, their minds were relaxed, and they could think about many things.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t know what Fu Tinghan was thinking, but she thought about much: the path Yuzhou would take in the future, what step she wanted to reach, her relationship with the Zhao clan, with the Great Jin court, with the Emperor and with Gou Xi, even her relationship with this world’s aristocratic families and scholar-gentry, as well as her relationship with this era’s common people.

Whenever she thought about these things, her mind became very active, and she couldn’t help thinking more and more. But in the end, she always returned to the beginning.

What did she want to do?

What kind of world did she want to create, and what step could she reach? If she were lost midway, could the system she created continue?

If not, what would the people of this world face?

She had witnessed the most beautiful world, experienced the best systems, enjoyed the happiest life. But now everything she saw was the chaotic times only her predecessors had witnessed—devastation everywhere.

Yet what she considered the best things, the best systems, might not necessarily suit the present. If they weren’t suitable, the destruction they caused might not be any less than what existed now.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t want to make this chaotic world even more turbulent.

As she shoveled mud and tossed it into bamboo baskets, the assumptions in her mind were constantly overthrown, then rebuilt, overthrown again, and rebuilt again.

She watched the people around her quietly complaining about the cold, yet when they raised their heads, their faces were full of hope as they joked with those beside them: “I spent all ten copper coins I got yesterday on grain. The Governor’s Office really didn’t deceive us. Taking the wooden tokens to buy grain, the price is indeed cheaper. With my ten coins I could buy eight sheng.”

“I bought some too, but didn’t spend it all. I kept five coins, planning to save them to buy some fabric later. It’s so cold this year—I want to make a quilt cover.”

“By the time you save enough money to make a quilt cover, winter will be over. Better to grab two handfuls of thatch to cover yourself with.”

“Thatch costs money now too. Where can you find thatch outside anymore? It’s all been cut by those little brats from Yushan Hall.” They spoke carelessly about the refugees at Yushan Hall. “Those brats are really vicious—they grabbed all the thatch and firewood from the nearby mountain forests.”

“I heard they live well. That female Regional Inspector is kind-hearted—she gives them porridge and steamed buns every day. Just watching makes me envious.”

“Then why don’t you join Yushan Hall? Hahaha…”

“I’d like to, but I’m neither old nor disabled. How could I get in?”

He lowered his voice: “I’m thinking of abandoning my child at Yushan Hall…”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll abandon mine too when I get back.”

Zhao Hanzhang, who had been listening intently: “…”

What systems, what grand plans for the future—she forgot everything. The shovel in her hand changed direction mid-air and struck directly at their buttocks.

The few who had been chatting excitedly immediately jumped up, shouting: “What are you doing? Who is it?”

They turned around and saw it was Zhao Hanzhang. Their brows furrowed angrily: “What are you doing? Looking for a beating?”

Zhao Hanzhang immediately bounced behind Fu Tinghan, saying weakly: “Husband, they’re bullying me!”

Fu Tinghan glanced at her, then said to the men: “If you don’t work honestly, I’ll mark you as failing.”

The men’s faces flushed red, and they couldn’t help saying angrily: “You’re showing favoritism!”

Fu Tinghan didn’t deny it, nodding: “That’s right, I am showing favoritism. But even with favoritism, marking you as failing is reasonable—you weren’t working honestly, just chatting.”

“How were we not working? We were clearly chatting while working.”

“That just proves you weren’t being serious,” Fu Tinghan said. Seeing they wanted to argue further, he waved his hand directly: “Say another word and I’ll mark you as failing right now.”

The men could only hold back. Fu Tinghan was their team leader—he had this authority. If they were marked as failing, their wages would be deducted.

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang emerge from behind Fu Tinghan, smiling at them: “I heard people say the Regional Inspector will scatter the people from Yushan Hall and send them to various places. So people sent to Yushan Hall won’t necessarily stay in Nanyang Kingdom, and definitely won’t only be in Luyang County.”

The men’s expressions changed, and they fell silent, no longer mentioning abandoning their children at Yushan Hall.

Zhao Hanzhang snorted. Wanting her to raise their children for free? What were they thinking? She was so poor her pockets were empty—was that even possible?

The children currently at Yushan Hall—every single one of them was being put to use. Except for those under three who couldn’t even walk steadily, she employed them all.

Five-year-old children were assigned to watch the younger ones. Those seven and above were tasked with watching children, sprouting beans, tending fires, cooking—whatever work they could do, they did.

Otherwise, would she hire additional people to cook for all these workers?

Those meals were basically all prepared by the elderly, weak, women, and children from Yushan Hall. Besides that, some even needed to come to the construction site to move bricks.

Because there were so many people, the foundation was being dug very quickly. This barren field changed appearance daily. By the second day, everyone had dug the foundation down considerably and began driving wooden stakes, placing stones…

The weather was cold, so everyone worked quickly. By the morning of the third day, the houses Zhao Hanzhang’s group was responsible for were more than half built—extremely fast progress. As far as the eye could see, all the houses were either completed or more than half finished.

Today was New Year’s Eve. The construction site would close one hour earlier than usual, but wages would be paid as normal. Everyone could take their wages home to celebrate a good New Year with their families.

Everyone rushed through the work at hand while eagerly waiting for the time to arrive.