"What?"

He scratched his head sheepishly, "What kind of oil is this?"

Jing Zhe pointed to the rice sack behind him and said coldly, "Don't tell me you're out buying rice in the middle of the night!"

"Hehe," he chuckled foolishly, "I told the chief about the young chief's training, and he scolded me. He also told me to learn more from the young chief, because I can't fall behind in my training!"

"What does this have to do with you running down the mountain in the middle of the night?"

"The chieftain said that if the young chieftain doesn't mind the heat during the day, he'll come down the mountain to practice his skills, so he must practice at night too! I'm busy during the day, so I thought I'd carry a bag of rice down the mountain to practice at night! I didn't expect the chieftain to be so right, the young chieftain is indeed practicing his skills!"

"..."

Practicing martial arts in the middle of the night? Anyone who believes that is a complete idiot!

Jing Zhe stared at Han Han's round face, which made it hard to tell if he was acting or not, and sneered inwardly: He's either pretending to be stupid or he's really stupid, but his older sister is probably not stupid.

He ran away three times, and each time he happened to run into the simpleton who was being sent down the mountain by her. He couldn't believe it was a coincidence!

But there was no point in arguing with this simpleton; there was no escaping anyway, so he simply turned around and prepared to go back up the mountain.

"Young Master..."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Hanhan called out to him, but before he could say anything more, Jing Zhe interrupted him impatiently.

"Let me tell you, my luggage is also very heavy this time, not much heavier than yours, so you don't need to exchange rice bags with me again!"

"..."

Looking at Jing Zhe's resolute back, which was slightly unsteady, Hanhan shook his head. The young chieftain, a mere scholar, must be quite tired after going up and down the mountain for three consecutive days. He had originally intended to help him carry his luggage.

But the young chieftain is the young chieftain; he doesn't even need his help!

sharp!

Thinking it over, Hanhan quickly followed.

...

On the third day of his trip to Mangshan, Jing Zhe was in an extremely bad mood.

When Hanhan brought the food, he had a dark face and didn't even bother to say a word.

While others were waiting patiently at the foot of the mountain, his escape not only wore out his shoes but also meant carrying rice for others. If he ran away again, he would be truly foolish.

Not long after the meal, Lu Li, whom he hadn't seen for several days, appeared in his room.

Upon entering the room and staring at Jing Zhe's dark face, he burst out laughing.

"What, not going to practice today?"

Now that things have come to this point, it's clear that her three previous escapes were all within her expectations.

Since that's the case, Jing Zhe didn't bother to hide anything from her. He shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Fine, I'm not pretending anymore. I'm coming clean. I'm going to run away!"

Seeing Lu Li's smile gradually fade, Jing Zhe felt a sense of triumph and excitement. "You can keep an eye on me three times, but can you keep an eye on me forever? Given the chance, I'll still run away!"

"Is Jingzhou really that good?"

Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then said softly.

"It's not a question of whether it's good or bad, but whether it's suitable or not!"

Jing Zhe stood up, stared at her beautiful peach blossom eyes, and continued, "Just like you martial artists all think about upholding justice, what's the point of me studying for so many years if I don't pass the imperial examinations?"

Lu Li frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing this, Jing Zhe pressed his advantage, saying, "Also, when you first went up the mountain to become bandits and rob corrupt officials, wasn't it all for the benefit of the people? But have you ever thought about how many people you could actually help?"

"If I could pass the imperial examinations and become an official, I would be helping the people of that city and region. Wouldn't that be much better than what you are doing?"

Lu Li pouted, "But the court is already corrupt from top to bottom. I'm afraid that even if you pass the imperial examinations, you'll end up like those corrupt officials! It's better to stay in the mountains; at least you won't turn bad!"

"..."

The current emperor of Anguo is so obsessed with poetry that some people can even enter the court and serve in government based on their poetry skills, leading to increasing chaos in the court.

Now, things have reached the absurd point where matters of state are handled by ministers, and all that's needed is a notification to the emperor.

If things are already like this in the government and the public, the situation below is unlikely to be much better.

Therefore, within the territory of Anguo, there are countless corrupt officials, and honest officials like Jing Zhe's father are extremely rare. Even if there are, they will be ostracized by others, which is why his father was demoted in the first place.

Officials are inferior to bandits, which is why the bandits of Mangshan, led by Lu Li, looked down on the imperial court.

"But how will we know if we don't try?"

"Give it a try?"

Lu Li sneered, "Do you think being an official is child's play? Mangshan isn't big, with only a little over two hundred people. Just maintaining their livelihoods requires my utmost effort. Managing the people of a city is not as easy as you think."

Upon hearing her words, Jing Zhe suddenly had an idea.

"Big sister, you're stopping me from going to Jingzhou because you're afraid I won't do a good job, right? How about we make a bet?"

"bet?"

Lu Li glanced at him and asked curiously, "How do we bet?"

"Let's bet on whether I can make these two hundred-plus people on Mangshan live a good life! If I lose, I will never mention going to Jingzhou again!"

"good!"

Lu Li also became interested and immediately asked, "But how should this auspicious day be calculated?"

When she agreed, Jing Zhe was overjoyed.

For a time traveler like him, it would be incredibly easy to create some inventions that would allow two hundred bandits to live a good life!

He didn't answer Lu Li's question immediately, but instead asked, "How much do we spend in a month on the mountain?"

"About five taels of silver!"

Lu Li thought for a moment and then said casually.

"Only five taels!"

This number struck Jing Zhe as somewhat unbelievable.

He had a basic understanding of the purchasing power of that era: one tael of silver could buy a thousand catties of rice. There were more than two hundred people on the mountain, and even if they only ate rice, it would still cost three or four taels of silver.

Do you think oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, meat, and vegetables don't cost money?

Seemingly understanding Jing Zhe's doubts, Lu Li explained, "You should have been to the back mountain. We have fields and vegetable gardens there. When the harvest is good, we can basically grow enough to eat. We only need to buy what we need on the mountain, so we don't spend much."

"What about the meat?"

"There are chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep raised on the back hill!"

"..."

Jing Zhe had indeed seen the livestock raised on the back mountain, but how many were there? How could that be enough to feed more than two hundred people?

So he voiced his question.

"It's not like it's a holiday or festival. Who would dare to eat meat on ordinary days? The chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep we raise are enough to feed us during the holidays!"

Lu Li tilted her head back, looking completely at ease.

This completely overturned Jing Zhe's understanding of mountain bandits, especially the line "Who would dare to eat meat normally?" which she said so naturally.

This is hardly a bandit king.

He's clearly a country bumpkin!

But being a bit rustic is a good thing; it means one has limited knowledge and is easily satisfied.

Jing Zhe squinted, a mischievous grin on his face.

————

(Thank you so much to everyone who voted, added to favorites, and commented! I'm a newbie and I'm incredibly grateful!)