When the old man heard Li Yuan’s words, he could only nod and praise Li Yuan’s benevolence.
It was truly rare to find someone who could trust others so completely nowadays.
Seeing that the mountain girl had already walked away, Li Yuan got up, shouldered his carrying pole, and headed towards the training ground outside the county town.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the training ground, Li Yuan looked at the straw sheds prepared by the Military Governor's Office for the Soldier Families to spend the night.
He could only shake his head helplessly.
Those straw sheds were originally used by the Military Governor's Office as temporary resting places for soldiers during drills.
Aside from a straw roof, they had no surrounding walls, meaning they were open on all four sides.
At this time of year, the night wind was quite chilly.
Even with his robust health, there was no need for him to risk catching a cold by sleeping there.
Li Yuan currently carried a good amount of silver with him, and he had also purchased a load of supplies, which needed to be carefully guarded.
After some thought, Li Yuan found an inn near the training ground.
An inn was a lodging place for porters and traveling merchants to rest overnight.
Although the conditions were simple, they were much better than a straw shed.
Li Yuan spent 10 coins to rent a comfortable bunk and had a good night's rest.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, several hundred Soldier Families had already gathered at the training ground.
Li Yuan had not arrived late.
He saw that he was not the only one carrying a pole; many Soldier Families, just like Li Yuan, carried their purchased supplies on poles, with meat and wine gourds hanging from one end and grain from the other.
Everyone looked joyful.
Li Yuan simply ate a pancake for breakfast.
As the sun rose slightly, several teams set off under the leadership of officials from the Military Governor's Office.
Under the Qingyuan County Military Governor's Office, there were a total of five General Fortresses: Xihe Fort, Kaoshan Fort, Dishi Fort, Qingshui Fort, and Wusong Fort.
Each General Fortress, in turn, had several Soldier Family villages under it.
The Qingyuan County Military Governor's Office would first send these selected Soldier Families to their respective General Fortresses.
Then, the General Fortresses would dispatch personnel to distribute them to their corresponding villages.
By noon, Li Yuan’s group arrived at Xihe Fort.
Although Xihe Fort was not far from Li Family Village, this was his first time visiting it.
Looking around, what was called a General Fortress was essentially a larger town.
Unlike ordinary towns, General Fortresses were built with sturdy, tall rammed-earth walls.
These Soldier Families were first brought to the General Fortress’s garrison yamen, where they registered their names and military household information.
After registration was complete, several Military Fortress Commandants, dressed in armored coats, came out and shouted loudly, “Those going to Heilin Village, follow me!”, “Those going to Xiahe Village, come here!”
Li Yuan found the Military Fortress Commandant leading the team to East Village and joined his group.
This Commandant was a short, stout Fat Man with squinting eyes.
Seeing that everyone was present, he asked, “I heard that a strongman was selected among you today. I wonder who it is?”
Li Yuan quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “It is this subordinate.”
The Commandant saw that it was a handsome young man and nodded, laughing heartily, “Not bad, our Xihe Fort finally has another fierce warrior!
All right, everyone, follow me.”
East Village was not far from Xihe Fort; it was only about half an hour’s walk.
In the afternoon, the 15 Soldier Families assigned to East Village arrived outside East Village.
The Commandant stopped and said, “Today, there is a strongman among you.
According to regulations, he has the priority to choose a household.
So this…”
Li Yuan quickly stepped forward, bowed, and saluted, “My name is Li Yuan.”
The Commandant nodded, “Then I’ll give you two Quarter of an hour to enter the village and choose a household first.
Any household in the village with a lantern hanging outside their gate, bearing the characters ‘Welcome’ (gōngyíng - respectfully welcome), is a household eligible for this selection of new male household heads.
Those with red lanterns hanging outside their gates are superior households.
Those with green lanterns are inferior households.
Once you have chosen a household, take down their household plaque from beside their gate and hand it to me for registration.
After registration, you, Li Yuan, will be the male head of that household.
Do you understand?”
Li Yuan quickly cupped his hands in affirmation and, shouldering his carrying pole, walked into East Village.
Walking on the dirt road in the village, Li Yuan looked around.
This village looked as poor as his own Li Family Village.
All around were courtyards enclosed by low fences and short earthen houses within the courtyards.
The houses were mostly straw-roofed; not a single one was a brick-and-tile house.
Some houses had lanterns hanging outside their doors.
Green lanterns were more common, while red lanterns were very few.
This was normal, as generally there were not many superior households in a village.
As he walked, Li Yuan looked into a courtyard with a green lantern.
The courtyard was small, with only one straw-roofed earthen house inside.
A worn wooden table was set in the courtyard, with some crude food and wine on it.
Behind the wooden table, a dark, thin woman was kneeling, yawning.
Li Yuan shook his head and walked another dozen steps forward.
Ahead was a residence with a red lantern.
Looking through the fence, he saw a delicate-looking woman serving food onto a table in the courtyard.
Not only was there wine and meat, but there was even a river fish.
The earthen house of this household was also much larger than the one with the green lantern he had just passed.
Li Yuan nodded; it seemed the difference between superior and inferior households was quite significant.
He walked past a few more households, all looking similar.
The women had prepared the welcome feast in their courtyards and knelt behind the tables, awaiting the husband assigned by the officials.
And the ebony waist token in Li Yuan’s hand granted him the right to prioritize the selection of a house and a woman in the village.
Within these two Quarter of an hour , as long as he found a house and woman he liked, he could take the household plaque from that family’s door and hand it to the Military Fortress Commandant waiting at the village entrance for registration.
Then, the woman and the house within that household would all belong to Li Yuan.
