Amian was awakened by a commotion.
"Ah Mian! The person who stole our chickens has been caught!"
Amian hurriedly put on her jacket and then a floral skirt, and rushed to the backyard in a few steps.
The quiet night was over, and villagers who had heard the noise came running to see what was going on.
The third son of the Meng family was seen holding a young man by the collar with his left hand, while his right hand was pounding the man's back several times. Yuan Hua was in pain as if he had been hit by a train engine, but at this moment he showed unexpected toughness.
Apart from a few initial cries of pain, he gritted his teeth and refused to utter a sound of begging for mercy.
"You dare steal our hen! We didn't catch you last time, but you tried again this time!" Meng Jing cheered loudly from the side.
It turned out they were dealing with a thief. The villagers who had come to stop trying to dissuade him, especially since he was an outsider.
At that time, theft was a very serious crime. If reported to the authorities, one would at least lose a hand or foot, and could even die at the slightest mistake. The poorer the area, the more people abhorred such petty thieves. The villagers were extremely careful with their resources, and they were even more furious when they heard that a hen that had just started laying eggs had been stolen.
Lu Amian, who had previously thought her life wasn't worth a few pears, squeezed into the crowd and saw Yuan Hua vomit blood.
"You... why don't you just beat me to death today..."
Without even blinking, Meng Chijian threw another powerful punch.
With each punch, the villagers' chatter gradually subsided, leaving only Yuan Hua's intermittent breathing and the dull thuds of each punch hitting bone.
No one dared to step forward and try to persuade them.
Meng Chijian's right fist was stained with blood, and his face was ashen, making him look like a demon.
Is he going to beat someone to death?!
Suddenly, a seven or eight-year-old child in the crowd burst into tears.
"Meng Chijian, stop!" Lu Amian shouted.
The villagers were actually quite grateful for the words, as if they had returned to the human world, and their voices of discussion, persuasion, and complaints resumed.
Meng Chijian did not let Yuan Hua go, but simply raised his head, his eyes dark and deep.
"If you kill him, no one will pay compensation!"
Villagers: ...
Is that really the reason?!
Amian walked up to Meng Chijian, grabbed his hand, and rubbed his knuckles twice. "Doesn't it hurt?"
"..." Meng Chijian then released Yuan Hua and turned his face away. "No, it's not my blood, it's his nosebleed."
Ah Mian said, "We can't let him get away with this. We need to find some thick hemp rope that's been soaked in water and tie his feet together, so he can only walk, not run. After we tie him up, he'll have to work for our family to pay off the debt, and he can also go to my second brother's house to help with the autumn harvest. Our hen is worth a hundred coins on the market, and it could have laid eggs for five years and hatched chicks. In five years, it could have earned at least one tael of silver... He'd have to work for us for a whole year!" She was being very generous with her punishment.
By saying this, she was essentially asking Yuan Hua to be her servant for a year.
During the day, his feet were bound with a piece of hemp rope, and at night his hands and feet were bound and he was locked in the woodshed.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hua suddenly shouted, "Go ahead and kill me! Kill me now!"
Maybe if he dies, he can travel back in time.
The villagers, who were initially afraid of Meng Chijian, now realized that this seemingly innocent young woman was actually the real mastermind behind everything! Appearances can be deceiving!
They actually drove the prisoner to the point of wanting to die.
Meng Chijian stopped hitting her and obediently let A Mian lead him to wash his hands.
At this moment, Yuan Hua was utterly despondent. He could only have his hands and legs tied and be dragged into the woodshed.
Unlike modern society where scissors and kitchen knives are readily available, sharp objects were scarce at that time. In addition, the hemp rope had been soaked in water, so even a dull wood-chopping knife would need to be sharpened for a while before it could be cut.
They provide one meal during the day, but the food isn't very good; it's mostly vegetable juice, sweet potato, and wheat porridge, which can be a bit harsh on the throat.
Yuan Hua was also renamed "Five Coins". After eating, he had to clean up the dishes and wash them, then quickly feed the chickens and donkeys (he thought the donkey food was similar to his own food!), and then Meng Chijian escorted him to work in the fields of Meng Erge's house.
In the summer, people have to carry water and sometimes operate waterwheels, which are all hard and tiring jobs.
At first, Yuan Hua wanted to die, but the surveillance was too tight, and she couldn't find an opportunity. After doing this for over a month, she actually... got used to it...
Not only that, sometimes you can also get an egg or a few pieces of tofu to eat.
Human beings have an amazing ability to adapt.
Moreover, he discovered that the Meng family wasn't actually as he had imagined. Meng Chijian treated his wife very well; whenever there was food in the house, he would put it in A-Mian's bowl first. While others ignored A-Mian's strange ideas, Meng Chijian listened attentively.
A-Mian said she was going to sell food, but before she had earned a single penny, Meng Chijian made two new small wooden buckets and a large iron ladle.
The small wooden buckets were just the right size to be placed on either side of A-Dou's back. Since it was the first time selling them, and they didn't know how well they would sell, A-Mian didn't dare to prepare too many.
A-Mian used her savings to do this business. She bought fifty coins worth of pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and another ten coins for dogwood and chili peppers. She mixed them with a basket of wild mushrooms she had picked and stir-fried them in a large pot. She also steamed more than thirty mixed flour buns. In total, she spent more than eighty coins. It was only because the Meng family had some seasonings and other ingredients on hand that they could have made it. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to buy all of this.
Upon arriving at the destination, A-Mian instructed Yuan Hua, "Five coins! Go to the dock and shout that there's fresh food for sale outside the blacksmith's shop today! Only five coins!"
Yuan Hua had considered resisting during this time, but the world was vast, and where could he go? Besides, being watched by Meng Chijian every day, he couldn't find an opportunity. Now, for the first time, he was allowed outside. Although the rope under his feet was only wide enough for small steps, if he really wanted to escape, it wasn't impossible...
"Oh, take this steamed bun. I've put a spoonful of vegetables in your bowl. Go call for more after you finish eating. Don't be lazy." A-Mian then told Yuan Hua to go eat at the door.
Yuan Hua thought she'd need to eat her fill to have the strength to escape—but the moment her lips touched the food, she paused, then wolfed it down. The mushrooms, soaked in meat gravy, didn't overpower the dish; instead, they had a unique and delicious texture—not meat, but even more substantial, yet with a subtle elasticity. Not only that, but she also found three more slices of meat, which she devoured, tears welling in her eyes.
This might be a person's instinctive reaction after not eating meat for months.
"Oh, why are you eating so deliciously?"
"This smells so good! Judging by the aroma, it must taste amazing..." A passerby stepped forward and asked, "Young lady, how much is this food?"
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