"It's fine," Li Xingteng replied dryly, then immediately started organizing people, pitching in on the scene as well—it was obvious he was trying to win everyone over.
Since someone was handling things, Zhou Zhengping let Li Xingteng take the lead and went over to Zhou Bai and her mother, saying, "It feels great having someone help out."
"You really admire him?" Ding Qiurou knew Zhou Zhengping well—he just opened his mouth and she immediately saw what he meant. "Yesterday you said he was scheming and deliberately testing us. Now you've changed your mind?"
"He is scheming, sure, but as long as he's on the right path, I don't see a problem," Zhou Zhengping chuckled lightly. "Having more people like him would be even better for the territory."
Zhou Bai listened to Zhou Zhengping's words and instantly got what he meant. She also thought it'd be great to have more folks like that—if someone helps get things done, she'd have a much easier time as Lord.
Tool men! Who doesn't love them?
"That's true, but there aren't many like him. Most others are just trying to survive," Ding Qiurou said. "There are plenty willing to go out, but some people with money just don't want to leave, staying inside the territory all day. Honestly, nobody can force them, and everyone has their own way of living."
She thought for a moment and added, "If you want people to work, you have to offer them something good. Like when you buy up those materials with a high price—people then are happy to hand over their unused stuff. If you really want someone to be as proactive as Li Xingteng, you need to figure out what they want and give them what they need."
Zhou Zhengping listened and praised, "My wife's right!"
Then he looked at Zhou Bai, "What about you? Any thoughts after hearing your mom's advice?"
"Yeah, I've got some ideas. What Mom said is true: if the territory is built up well, these problems are solved. If we have better weapons and equipment, lots of people wanting to get stronger will want to buy them. I could even set rules: only those who contribute to the territory get to buy or sell. That'll push them to do the territory's tasks; if the territory has a wide product range, the wealthy won't be able to resist spending. If they have enough money, spending counts as a contribution. If not, they'll figure out a way to earn more… So the core issue is developing the territory. The stronger the territory, the more they'll feel connected to it." Zhou Bai said helplessly, "But we have to take it step by step. For now, I can't make the territory do whatever I want."
Zhou Zhengping nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right. Step by step—the foundation of the territory is basic. The better the territory gets, the more people'll want to stay. As long as we have people, why worry about them slacking off?"
Ding Qiurou watched the father-daughter act and smiled gently. "Since we're taking it slow, you two shouldn't overthink it. I just traded for a bunch of good stuff—should I make you something tasty?"
Her biggest wish was to take good care of her husband and daughter. As long as they're happy, so is she.
"You go ahead. We'll stay here a bit longer," Zhou Zhengping hurriedly said.
After all, lots of new people had arrived—and most were wounded—so keeping an eye out was a good idea.
"Alright," Ding Qiurou nodded and headed toward their home.
On site, thanks to everyone's efforts, all the wounded had now received some basic treatment.
Except for those who really couldn't move, the rest started to head over to the Lord Mansion to collect their Identity Tokens. After that, they either bought or rented a house to rest.
As for those who couldn't move, they spent some money to get help.
Since yesterday, none of them had managed to rest properly—tonight, they could finally relax a bit!
The newly built residences from Zhou Bai were quickly occupied again! They sold quite a lot of other goods too.
After spending for ages, Zhou Bai finally got some payback. From now on, every time new people arrive, she'll get "rich" again.
Glancing at her account, Zhou Bai's lips curled up—making money really is the best feeling!
Seeing his daughter grinning like an idiot, Zhou Zhengping just couldn't even look at her.
Zhou Bai noticed Zhou Zhengping's helpless stare and quickly reined in her expression, changing the topic. She asked about Zhou Zhengping's rescue earlier today—she'd seen how miserable those people looked, so she guessed it was no simple matter. Nobody asked for details, afraid to poke at fresh wounds, so she could only get the story from her dad.
Zhou Zhengping told her what had happened, especially about the demon beasts leveling up after eating humans.
After listening, Zhou Bai frowned, "After you went out, I kept watching the map, and there was no sign of those demon beasts at all. They were tracking that group of people. Since they could hunt down people like that, and our territory's right here, chances are the demon beasts will come for us too. Maybe today's influx of residents is partly because of this."
Zhou Zhengping immediately furrowed his brow tightly.
Just then, Li Xingteng came over with his people to find Zhou Zhengping, having finished up everything.
"Everyone's settled!" Li Xingteng said, still a bit pleased. It felt great commanding people and getting their gratitude.
"You're really impressive, and you handled things very clearly," Zhou Zhengping said sincerely, knowing Li Xingteng's style. He'd thought of everything, and honestly, Zhou Zhengping couldn't outdo him in this area.
"Nah, it's all thanks to the team, and we are the Guard Team, after all! Helping out the territory more is just what we should do." Li Xingteng replied with a smile. He was warming up to Zhou Zhengping—this teammate seemed pretty good.
"Working with you, I'll finally get a break."
"I think I'll have it easy too. Anyway, anything about the territory, we'll discuss together—we all want the territory to keep getting better!" Li Xingteng continued.
Zhou Zhengping nodded, then glanced out at the pitch-black night and said directly, "Tonight, our two teams will take turns on night watch. That batch of demon beasts we ran into earlier is a bit odd."
"Alright." Li Xingteng thought back on the scene and nodded unconsciously.
What they saw today was just brutal, so it left a deep impression on him.
Besides, the territory hired them as Guard Team probably expecting something like this. Better safe than sorry!
Zhou Bai watched as Zhou Zhengping made the decision about night guards in just a few words, and understood his intent: when you don't know what's coming, defending the territory is the only real option.
But for some reason, a sense of foreboding crept up in Zhou Bai's heart.
**
At night, the Guard Team took turns watching the territory gate.
But out of their sight, dark shadows gathered, slowly creeping toward the territory.