188 Shi Village
In the Green Dragon Stronghold, Tu Gang limped to the dam at the top of the mountain and lay on a pile of straw. He looked at Zuo Qing, who was cultivating, and thought about how to trick Zuo Qing into agreeing to take revenge.
After racking his brains for a long time, he suddenly thought of something.
“Our brothers will be going down the mountain to collect food in ten days. I can bring our brothers to exact revenge!”
After Tu Gang thought about it, he went back to get a basin of warm water and carried it to the dam where Zuo Qing was cultivating. He wet the handkerchief and handed it to Zuo Qing, saying obsequiously, “Big Brother, we’ll be collecting food in a few days. My old horse is still at Little Peach’s house! I want to go down the mountain with Uncle Cai and the others to exchange for my old horse. What do you think?”
Zuo Qing took the handkerchief and looked at Tu Gang’s fawning expression. He knocked him on the head and smiled. “Kid, have you taken a fancy to another woman in the city?”
Tu Gang staggered from Zuo Qing’s slap. After he stabilized himself, he gave a thumbs-up and smiled. “Big Brother’s kung fu has improved again. When will Big Brother lead us to conquer Tiger Head Stronghold? Our Green Dragon Stronghold will be the largest lair.”
Zuo Qing smiled smugly at Tu Gang’s flattery. “Kid, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. On account of what you said, when we collect the grain, you’ll go down the mountain with Uncle Cai.”
“Thank you, Big Brother.” Tu Gang bent down and took the cloth towel Zuo Qing handed him. After washing it, he eagerly waited on Zuo Qing.
Zhou Jia and Scribe Tu went to the Shi Family Village at the edge of the city. Most of the families in the village had the surname Shi. Zhou Jia saw that almost every family in the village had thatched houses. Only the village chief’s house was slightly better. Half of the roof was covered with tiles, but it had been some years since the roof work was done.
The village chief’s wife wiped the stool before bringing it to the courtyard. She placed it there in fear and bowed. “Sir, please sit. We don’t even have a good stool in the countryside.”
Zhou Jia sat down with a smile and said politely, “It’s fine, Aunt. When we migrated a few years ago, we sat on the ground and slept in the cave! Everyone, sit!”
After the village chief and the elder sat down carefully, they complained with a bitter face, “Sir, although the harvest this year was a little good, only 40% of it fell into our hands. After a year of hard work, every family can’t eat enough, and the children are so hungry that they’re only left with a layer of skin.” The village chief wiped his tears. “Sir! Anyone in Qingchuan City who has some family background and connections has moved to a foreign village to make a living. We don’t have the ability, and it was difficult to leave our hometown, so we stayed. During the drought, only 20 families migrated and came back. Together, there are only 30 or so families. There aren’t enough people to work. We do not dare to bring our good-looking girls out. The bandits don’t leave us a way out!”
Zhou Jia looked at the village chief and the elders. They all looked miserable and thin. His heart was filled with bitterness. He stood up and bowed to the village chief and the surrounding villagers. “Everyone, believe me. Delay for a few days before you hand the food to the bandits. I will think of a way to relieve everyone’s worries and let everyone live a peaceful life.”
When the village chief and the elder saw Zhou Jia bow to the two of them, they hurriedly bowed as well. The elder of the Shi family said to Zhou Jia with a trembling voice, “Sir, we can delay it for half a month at most. We don’t dare to push our luck!”
Zhou Jia thought to himself, “In half a month. Xu Chun should have returned with reinforcements. Even if he can’t make it in time, Yu’er, Ruyi, Xu Dong, and my mediocre skills should be able to protect the food in the village.”
After Zhou Jia thought about it, he said to the elder in a low voice, “If you believe me, send someone to tell the scribe that I will bring people to protect everyone’s food on the day of the handover.”
The elder’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He stared at Zhou Jia and said, “Can you really protect us?”
Zhou Jia said in a certain tone, “Gather everyone in the village and don’t split up. It shouldn’t be a problem to protect your village.”
The elder stood up straight with his walking stick. “Alright, Lord Zhou is different from those officials in the past. I will believe you this once. I will get someone to tell you on the first day.”
Zhou Jia held the elder and said firmly, “Alright, let’s work together to resist the enemy.”
The elder and the village chief bowed and thanked him. “Alright, I thank Lord Zhou on behalf of everyone.”
Zhou Jia stood up and cupped his hands. “It’s my duty to protect you. Elder Shi, Village Chief Shi, it’s getting late. We’ll take our leave.”
Xu Dong and Scribe Tu also stood up and cupped their hands in farewell. Village Chief Shi and the elders sent Zhou Jia and the others out of the village and watched the carriage leave before returning to the village.
Village Chief Shi said to the elder, “Great Ancestor, are we really going to to do as Lord Zhou says?”
The elder held his walking stick and looked at the rice that had yet to be harvested. “I think this Lord Zhou is not on the same side as those wretched officials in the past. If we are blackmailed by the wolves on the mountain, we will only die. Let’s take a gamble and let the children eat their fill.”
Village Chief Shi rubbed his flat stomach and recalled the situation when he was full. “Yes! Let the children have a taste of being full.”
When Zhou Jia returned home, he saw Li Yu leading people along the courtyard wall and filling it with sharpened bamboo. He knew that Li Yu had started to guard against the bandits and started to get busy.
Manager Ouyang woke up from hunger and realized that he was still in the endless darkness. He seemed to have heard a faint voice and hurriedly shouted in a hoarse voice, “Is anyone there? Please say something! What do you want? Tell me!” Everyone was busy setting up the trap, so no one paid attention to Manager Ouyang’s shouting.
Li Yu and Zhou Jia led Ruyi towards the cell. Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, Ruyi said that the mountain bandit called Tu Gang lied to you and didn’t tell you the exact route?”
“Yes, I didn’t expect to not scare that guy. Looks like I have to give them a hard time before they tell the truth.”
When the few of them arrived at the entrance of the cellar, Li Yu glanced at Ruyi and gestured below. Ruyi understood and said to Zhou Jia loudly, “Young Master, Madam asked me to make an iron brush… until he turns into a complete skeleton.”
When Steward Ouyang heard footsteps and voices, he was delighted. Someone was finally here. He pricked up his ears and realized that the voice was coming from above. He heard Ruyi talking about how to use an iron brush to scrub people into bones. He was so frightened that he shouted, “Someone! Help! Let me out!”
Zhou Jia also felt a chill when he heard this. He raised his foot and walked into the cellar. He looked at Manager Ouyang and asked coldly, “It’s not impossible to let you out. Tell me first, why did you come to Qingchuan?”
Manager Ouyang quibbled, “Sir, I’m just a passing merchant delivering goods to the Green Dragon Stronghold’s leader. Please let me go.”
188 Shi Village
In the Green Dragon Stronghold, Tu Gang limped to the dam at the top of the mountain and lay on a pile of straw. He looked at Zuo Qing, who was cultivating, and thought about how to trick Zuo Qing into agreeing to take revenge.
After racking his brains for a long time, he suddenly thought of something.
“Our brothers will be going down the mountain to collect food in ten days. I can bring our brothers to exact revenge!”
After Tu Gang thought about it, he went back to get a basin of warm water and carried it to the dam where Zuo Qing was cultivating. He wet the handkerchief and handed it to Zuo Qing, saying obsequiously, “Big Brother, we’ll be collecting food in a few days. My old horse is still at Little Peach’s house! I want to go down the mountain with Uncle Cai and the others to exchange for my old horse. What do you think?”
Zuo Qing took the handkerchief and looked at Tu Gang’s fawning expression. He knocked him on the head and smiled. “Kid, have you taken a fancy to another woman in the city?”
Tu Gang staggered from Zuo Qing’s slap. After he stabilized himself, he gave a thumbs-up and smiled. “Big Brother’s kung fu has improved again. When will Big Brother lead us to conquer Tiger Head Stronghold? Our Green Dragon Stronghold will be the largest lair.”
Zuo Qing smiled smugly at Tu Gang’s flattery. “Kid, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. On account of what you said, when we collect the grain, you’ll go down the mountain with Uncle Cai.”
“Thank you, Big Brother.” Tu Gang bent down and took the cloth towel Zuo Qing handed him. After washing it, he eagerly waited on Zuo Qing.
Zhou Jia and Scribe Tu went to the Shi Family Village at the edge of the city. Most of the families in the village had the surname Shi. Zhou Jia saw that almost every family in the village had thatched houses. Only the village chief’s house was slightly better. Half of the roof was covered with tiles, but it had been some years since the roof work was done.
The village chief’s wife wiped the stool before bringing it to the courtyard. She placed it there in fear and bowed. “Sir, please sit. We don’t even have a good stool in the countryside.”
Zhou Jia sat down with a smile and said politely, “It’s fine, Aunt. When we migrated a few years ago, we sat on the ground and slept in the cave! Everyone, sit!”
After the village chief and the elder sat down carefully, they complained with a bitter face, “Sir, although the harvest this year was a little good, only 40% of it fell into our hands. After a year of hard work, every family can’t eat enough, and the children are so hungry that they’re only left with a layer of skin.” The village chief wiped his tears. “Sir! Anyone in Qingchuan City who has some family background and connections has moved to a foreign village to make a living. We don’t have the ability, and it was difficult to leave our hometown, so we stayed. During the drought, only 20 families migrated and came back. Together, there are only 30 or so families. There aren’t enough people to work. We do not dare to bring our good-looking girls out. The bandits don’t leave us a way out!”
Zhou Jia looked at the village chief and the elders. They all looked miserable and thin. His heart was filled with bitterness. He stood up and bowed to the village chief and the surrounding villagers. “Everyone, believe me. Delay for a few days before you hand the food to the bandits. I will think of a way to relieve everyone’s worries and let everyone live a peaceful life.”
When the village chief and the elder saw Zhou Jia bow to the two of them, they hurriedly bowed as well. The elder of the Shi family said to Zhou Jia with a trembling voice, “Sir, we can delay it for half a month at most. We don’t dare to push our luck!”
Zhou Jia thought to himself, “In half a month. Xu Chun should have returned with reinforcements. Even if he can’t make it in time, Yu’er, Ruyi, Xu Dong, and my mediocre skills should be able to protect the food in the village.”
After Zhou Jia thought about it, he said to the elder in a low voice, “If you believe me, send someone to tell the scribe that I will bring people to protect everyone’s food on the day of the handover.”
The elder’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He stared at Zhou Jia and said, “Can you really protect us?”
Zhou Jia said in a certain tone, “Gather everyone in the village and don’t split up. It shouldn’t be a problem to protect your village.”
The elder stood up straight with his walking stick. “Alright, Lord Zhou is different from those officials in the past. I will believe you this once. I will get someone to tell you on the first day.”
Zhou Jia held the elder and said firmly, “Alright, let’s work together to resist the enemy.”
The elder and the village chief bowed and thanked him. “Alright, I thank Lord Zhou on behalf of everyone.”
Zhou Jia stood up and cupped his hands. “It’s my duty to protect you. Elder Shi, Village Chief Shi, it’s getting late. We’ll take our leave.”
Xu Dong and Scribe Tu also stood up and cupped their hands in farewell. Village Chief Shi and the elders sent Zhou Jia and the others out of the village and watched the carriage leave before returning to the village.
Village Chief Shi said to the elder, “Great Ancestor, are we really going to to do as Lord Zhou says?”
The elder held his walking stick and looked at the rice that had yet to be harvested. “I think this Lord Zhou is not on the same side as those wretched officials in the past. If we are blackmailed by the wolves on the mountain, we will only die. Let’s take a gamble and let the children eat their fill.”
Village Chief Shi rubbed his flat stomach and recalled the situation when he was full. “Yes! Let the children have a taste of being full.”
When Zhou Jia returned home, he saw Li Yu leading people along the courtyard wall and filling it with sharpened bamboo. He knew that Li Yu had started to guard against the bandits and started to get busy.
Manager Ouyang woke up from hunger and realized that he was still in the endless darkness. He seemed to have heard a faint voice and hurriedly shouted in a hoarse voice, “Is anyone there? Please say something! What do you want? Tell me!” Everyone was busy setting up the trap, so no one paid attention to Manager Ouyang’s shouting.
Li Yu and Zhou Jia led Ruyi towards the cell. Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, Ruyi said that the mountain bandit called Tu Gang lied to you and didn’t tell you the exact route?”
“Yes, I didn’t expect to not scare that guy. Looks like I have to give them a hard time before they tell the truth.”
When the few of them arrived at the entrance of the cellar, Li Yu glanced at Ruyi and gestured below. Ruyi understood and said to Zhou Jia loudly, “Young Master, Madam asked me to make an iron brush… until he turns into a complete skeleton.”
When Steward Ouyang heard footsteps and voices, he was delighted. Someone was finally here. He pricked up his ears and realized that the voice was coming from above. He heard Ruyi talking about how to use an iron brush to scrub people into bones. He was so frightened that he shouted, “Someone! Help! Let me out!”
Zhou Jia also felt a chill when he heard this. He raised his foot and walked into the cellar. He looked at Manager Ouyang and asked coldly, “It’s not impossible to let you out. Tell me first, why did you come to Qingchuan?”
Manager Ouyang quibbled, “Sir, I’m just a passing merchant delivering goods to the Green Dragon Stronghold’s leader. Please let me go.”
