At noon, in the main hall of the County Magistrate’s Office’s rear courtyard.

Six Gang underlings sat on chairs, looking somewhat dispirited even after washing up. They stared nervously at Cheng Zongyang, who sat in the seat of honor.

"You’ve all worked hard."

Cheng Zongyang said with a warm smile:

"I know traveling has been difficult lately. But the Gang will not treat you unfairly. No matter the outcome, you will receive the promised rewards."

"Thank you, my lord!" the six men responded in unison, standing and bowing with cupped fists, their faces alight with excitement.

The original promise was that after they returned from their reconnaissance mission, they could become Martial Artists as part of the first batch of trainees.

Now, hearing Cheng Zongyang himself confirm it, they felt it was a sure thing.

Cheng Zongyang then pulled their excited thoughts back to the matter at hand, saying:

"Now, tell me about the situation in Qingfeng County, and everything you saw and heard along the way. I need to understand the specifics."

"Then let me speak first," said a young man seated on the far left, as he stood up.

But just as he was about to speak, Cheng Zongyang suddenly asked, "What’s your name?"

The young man was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "My lord, this lowly one is called Li Mingshi."

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly. "Go on."

"My lord..." Li Mingshi spoke quite methodically, reporting on their journey to Qingfeng County.

Cheng Zongyang listened with a frown as Li Mingshi concluded with what happened after they entered the city.

It was tragic.

Qingfeng County was in an even worse state than Jade Peak County.

With no Government Office to rule and no powerful families left, Qingfeng County had descended into chaos after the Outsiders left.

It was nowhere near as stable as Jade Peak County.

Of course, if Li Lu hadn’t formed a Gang and quickly taken control of the granaries and various districts, Jade Peak County’s fate would likely have been no better.

Afterward, as he listened to the others fill in the gaps, a complete picture formed in Cheng Zongyang’s mind.

Once he had a clear understanding, Cheng Zongyang had Li Xian take them to rest.

After the men left, Cheng Zongyang began to ponder alone.

His final conclusion was simple—Jade Peak County was probably in for trouble.

First, Qingfeng County was about to run out of food—or perhaps, it already had. Although the drought had passed, the war had forced Da Liang to retreat, and the Foreign Race hadn’t bothered with disaster relief after their pillaging.

Therefore, the starving people of Qingfeng County were bound to leave.

They might go south, north, west, or east.

But if they headed south, the pressure on Jade Peak County’s food supply would increase, and so would the number of destabilizing factors.

Of course, that in itself wasn’t a problem for him; he could just kill anyone who dared to cause trouble. The main issue was the food supply.

According to his plan, once the summer harvest came in and the common people had food in their hands, he would distribute seeds. After that, he would hand over the management of external affairs to Li Lu.

From the very beginning, he had poured so much effort into Jade Peak County precisely because he didn’t want it to end up like Qingfeng County—a dead, deserted city.

That would be a disaster for him and for the future development of the Cheng Family.

It is easy to scatter people, but difficult to gather them.

Once Jade Peak County became a dead city, it would take years to restore its former prosperity, even after the war ended. This would be tantamount to delaying the expansion of the Wilderness World!

Right now, he just had to wait a little over two more months. Once the summer grain was harvested, the food problem would be solved.

Then, by leaving behind seeds for the winter harvest, his seed plan would be successfully completed.

After that, he would temporarily leave the County Town and wait for the war to end before returning.

As for Tiantuan Village and the shops in the County Town, as long as Li Lu was around, no one could take them. And even if someone did, he could get them back!

So he wasn’t worried.

’I’ll take it one step at a time,’ Cheng Zongyang thought, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He prepared to enter the Wilderness World to expand his territory.

The County Town’s problems weren’t something he was taking on out of sheer altruism. The situation involved many of his own interests, and he couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong.

Leaving the County Magistrate’s Office, Cheng Zongyang returned to his residence.

"Steward, if anyone comes looking for me, tell them I’m in seclusion. Any business can wait until I come out," Cheng Zongyang instructed Zhang Chuchu.

"Yes, Young Master," Zhang Chuchu replied.

He entered his study, locked the door from the inside, and appeared in the small cottage in the marketplace.

Cheng Zongyang stood at the cottage doorway, his mood improving considerably as he gazed at the vibrant, thriving crops outside.

These crops outside were basically all being cultivated for their seeds.

After the harvest, they would have to continue expanding the planting area, but with so few people, they couldn’t manage much farmland.

There were only 16 people now. With so many other tasks to do, they were still short-handed.

’Looks like I need to get more Low Tier Crystal Stones. It would be fine to remold some ordinary personnel as well. It’s a waste of their Talent to have these people constantly underutilized here.’

Just then, Luo Dingran, who was walking out of the Preservation Warehouse, saw Cheng Zongyang at the door. He hurried over, bowed with cupped fists, and said, "My lord."

Cheng Zongyang glanced at him and nodded slightly. "The sweet potatoes and potatoes should be about ready by now, judging by the time."

Luo Dingran followed his gaze and smiled. "They are indeed almost ready. Li Xingyun said the yield should be quite high, so we can expand the farmland on a large scale afterward."

Cheng Zongyang said, "We don’t have enough manpower, do we."

Luo Dingran replied, "That’s right. That’s why I was thinking of requesting to purchase Low Tier Soul Crystal Stones." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Cheng Zongyang: "How many?"

Luo Dingran: "That is for you to decide, my lord. However, for the subsequent expansion of cultivation, Li Xingyun and the others suggest we should increase our numbers to around thirty people."

Cheng Zongyang immediately fell silent. He quietly glanced at his Points balance.

——

Points: 45082

——

During this period, harvesting all the fish in the first pond yielded 3,745 Points. They were then sold on consignment for one Point each, bringing the total yield to 7,490 Points.