93 Chapter 93
◎The Lamplighter◎
A new well in Liugou Village.
Uncle Da Zi and Xiang Jinghui gathered by the well, chatting animatedly, sometimes speaking so fast that others could not understand them at all.
One is an experienced old craftsman, and the other is a young imperial censor who has integrated the technologies of various salt fields in Shu. Both sides have their own ideas on the excavation and transformation of salt wells, but at the same time, their ideas will intersect.
The more Da Zishu looked at Xiang Jinghui, the more he liked him. He liked scholars in the first place, and he liked them even more when this scholar had rich theoretical knowledge and was not an amateur in guiding experts.
The two men felt like they had met too late. They ignored everyone else throughout the process and their plans and ideas for digging a new well coincided.
"Xiao Yan, you're really good," Uncle Da Zi patted her shoulder. "From now on, the salt fields will belong to you young people."
Xiang Jinghui said modestly, "I am not very knowledgeable and have many questions to ask Master Zhou. I hope you will be generous with your wisdom."
Being called "Mr. Zhou" made Zhou Da feel relaxed all over. He didn't understand what "not stingy with pearls and jade" meant, but he knew it was a compliment to him.
As expected of a scholar, what he says is pleasant to the ear.
"Great, great," Zhou Da said with a smile. "Then let's dig a well first?"
The new well has been dug for half a month, and Xiang Jinghui is in charge of the command. The well wall is being dug smoothly. If a few more layers of soil are dug down, a large amount of brine will definitely be produced.
The reason why it was said that there was something wrong with Xinjing's feng shui was to invite Zhou Da from Baisha Village and try to find out the secret of Baisha Village from him.
Unexpectedly, the buy one get one free deal also brought out a cook who looked like he had been tortured.
In order to buy more time for the princess, Xiang Jinghui kept talking to Zhou Da about the issue of digging salt wells. In order to ensure that Bai San could receive better treatment, Zhou Da was equally generous and would spend a long time studying every little problem.
Both sides are "masters" of digging wells, so it is quite easy to fool the rest of the people.
As for the well carver, why not take a break for half a day?
After most of the day, Yan Dafa brought people to check the progress. Seeing the well carpenters sitting aside to rest, he became furious and started cursing.
"What are you cursing about?" Zhou Da interrupted his barking. "Do you know what it means to sharpen the knife before you chop wood?"
Yan Dafa: “…”
This gentleman doesn't dare to yell casually.
The stiffness after anger made his face extremely distorted, so ugly that Zhou Da's eyes hurt. He quickly turned back to look at Xiang Jinghui and wash his eyes.
"If you don't want me to supervise you, I'll go back to the village now."
"Uncle Da Zi was joking with me," Yan Dafa immediately stopped him, forcing a smile. "I wasn't targeting you just now. I just saw them being lazy and accidentally disturbed you."
"I told them to take a break. If you yell at them, you're yelling at me. Is there a problem?" Zhou Da glanced at him.
Yan Dafa: "No problem, no problem, please continue."
He was about to take his men away when Xiang Jinghui stopped him, "Master Yan, can you please have a word with me?"
Last time, Liugou Village got a young craftsman who was proficient in well digging. What can they get this time?
Yan Dafa was not only not impatient, but was quite looking forward to it.
He readily followed the advice and took Xiang Jinghui to a remote and deserted place, then asked nonchalantly, "What are you talking about?"
"What does Master Yan think of Uncle Da Zi?"
"He is a recognized master in the salt field, and I admire him very much." Yan Dafa spoke truthfully.
Xiang Jinghui got straight to the point: "Great minds think alike, Master Yan. If Uncle Dazi could stay in our village, wouldn't it be more honorable for you to appear before the ambassador's office in the future?"
The chief inspectors were also secretly competing with each other. Whichever village's salt well could produce more salt would be favored by the ambassador's office. If they could be recommended and become an official in the ambassador's office, their ancestors would be very proud.
Doesn’t Yan Dafa want to do that too?
Previously, because of Uncle Da Zi, Baisha Village's treasure, the village chief was highly valued by the ambassador's office. If it weren't for that incident...
"He was born and raised in Baisha Village. How could he stay here?" Yan Dafa had no hope.
"No matter which village he is from, he is the cook of our salt field after all. There are transfers between government offices, so it's not that we can't 'transfer' him." Xiang Jinghui coaxed.
"Hiss," Yan Dafa took a breath, his eyes gleaming, "You really dare to think that."
Xiang Jinghui smiled and said, "It depends on whether Master Yan dares to do it."
There is no need to say much about the benefits of keeping Uncle Da Zi. Just thinking about the flattery and filial piety from the other people who always ask for loans, Yan Dafa would wake up laughing even in his sleep.
He pretended to be reserved: "How do you do it?"
Xiang Jinghui whispered the plan into Yan Dafa's ear, and Yan Dafa's brows furrowed at times, then beamed. When it was over, he asked suspiciously, "Can it really work? Will Cao Shengcai go crazy?"
"Is Master Yan afraid of Mr. Cao's urging?"
"What am I afraid of?" Yan Dafa glared at her. "I'm just afraid of damaging the relationship."
Xiang Jinghui shook his head and said, "When Uncle Da Zi stays in Liugou Village, we can be as friendly as you want. Even if General Cao urges people to come and rob Uncle Da Zi, you don't need to worry. I heard that many young and strong men in Baisha Village have been tortured beyond recognition. Some are sick and some have died. Even if General Cao urges all the kitchen staff in the village to come, they can't defeat us in Liugou Village. Don't you agree?"
The logic was indeed correct, and Yan Dafa was confident that he could win the fight, but—
“If there really is a commotion, what will happen if the ambassador’s office is held accountable?”
"You are the one who is righteous. By then, the entire Liugou Village kitchen staff will stand behind you and support you. Uncle Da Zi will also support you. Even the kitchen staff of Baisha Village will put all the blame on Mr. Cao. In front of so many people at the salt farm, what else can the Ambassador's Office do?"
Of course, it is to keep things quiet.
If the matter can be settled peacefully at the lowest cost, the Embassy will not burden itself at all.
Mr. Cao is bound to bear all the blame.
Although his actions were also instructed by the ambassador's office, so what? Would the ambassador's office hold all the stove owners in two villages accountable for a small general collection?
Do you still want to increase salt production?
He keeps urging people to do their jobs even if they can't do it well, so naturally there will be more people waiting to do it.
Yan Dafa figured out the key, and slammed his thick hands hard, "Yan Shan, Yan Shan, I didn't expect that you are not only proficient in well digging, but also have such a sharp mind."
"You have been so kind to me, and I want to do my best to repay you."
These words made Yan Dafa feel elated, as if he were a great and selfless savior, his light shining everywhere.
"Yes, let's follow your plan."
The setting sun was blood-red, and the cooks at the salt field were returning home from work.
Mr. Cao from Baisha Village urged the cooks to go home and close the door like he was driving sheep, and he couldn't help but stop when he passed by the village entrance.
"Uncle Da Zi and Bai San haven't come back yet?"
"without."
"It's getting dark," Cao Shengcai said with a fierce look on his face, "Go get some people to bring Uncle Da Zi and Bai San back."
The subordinates accepted the order and headed for Liugou Village, but returned to report after a while.
"Master Cao, Mr. Yan won't release us."
"What did you say?" Cao Shengcai was eating when he heard the words and threw his bowl and chopsticks onto the table with a loud thud. "Why won't Yan Dafa let me go?"
How dare he?!
The subordinate trembled with fear and stammered, "Boss Yan said that the problem with the new well has not been solved yet, and Uncle Dazi will have to help for a few more days. He is old, so he doesn't have to go back and forth, so he arranged a room for him and someone will take care of his meals."
"Yan Dafa is so bold, trying to steal my people." Cao Shengcai sneered, "Where's Bai San?"
"Doctor Xu from Liugou Village said that Bai San's injuries are quite serious and he needs to stay for treatment and cannot come back."
"Good, very good, you all come to shit on my head." Cao Shengcai laughed in anger, "Don't even think about eating, grab your weapons and go to Liugou Village!"
Night falls and the stars shine brightly.
The young and strong cooks of Liugou Village gathered around a house, staring coldly at the two people in the yard.
These two men were the men under Cao's command who had carried the stretcher during the day. In order to carry Bai San back before dark, they ignored Jiang Qing's warning and kicked Xu Qinglang's door hard, which made the ladies in Liugou Village see it and went home to call for men.
"Bullying Doctor Xu is just making things difficult for us!"
"If you continue to disturb Doctor Xu's treatment, I'll make you come in upright and leave sideways!"
The strong men surrounded the two men but did not take any action, but their gloomy looks were enough to scare them to death.
If two people were to face off against a village cook, there would be no chance of winning!
"Hold your head!" Jiang Qing, "using the power of the tiger to bully others," shouted sternly, "Get down in the corner!"
The two of them could only do as they were told.
inside the house.
Bai San's hand had regained feeling, and the color had faded considerably. He struggled to get up from the bed, knelt, and said, "Doctor Xu, you saved my life. I cannot thank you enough. If you need me, Bai San, in the future, please let me know!"
Before this, he had already told Xie Mingzhuo everything about Baisha Village. Although he didn't recognize the person before him, every time someone knew the secrets of Baisha Village, there was more hope for the village.
Xu Qinglang sighed inwardly. Her own family had suffered injustice and had to flee because of it. She could empathize with such injustice and darkness, and felt both sympathy and regret.
Mr. Bai is a good person, but being a good person seems to have a harder time in this world.
Why is this?
When the last ray of light in the sky was lost in darkness, Xie Mingzhuo blew the fire stick to light the candle on the incense table.
The light was as dim as a bean, but it was enough to illuminate the entire room, and it also made her beautiful eyes and eyebrows even more brilliant, more dazzling than the stars in the sky.
Xu Qinglang suddenly felt moved.
How could she forget that Lord Meng was the light-bearer in this turbid world.
"Bai San, do you dare to risk everything and demand justice for President Bai?" Xie Mingzhuo asked.
Bai San said without hesitation: "Of course!"
I don't mind risking my life, I'm just afraid that I won't get justice even if I lose my life.
"Okay." Xie Mingzhuo's eyes flashed with fireworks as he spoke calmly and solemnly. "In a few days, find an opportunity to leave the saltworks while the chaos is going on. Go to the ambassador's office and file a complaint to protest your injustice."
Bai San was stunned for a few breaths, then gave a bitter laugh: "You think too highly of me. There are soldiers guarding the salt fields, how could I escape?"
He Cuiniang was able to escape only because they mobilized the entire village and made a feint to the east and attack in the west to divert the guards.
"There will be opportunities when the time comes." Xie Mingzhuo said confidently, "Let me ask you one question: do you dare?"
"Dare!" Bai San said firmly, "I dare!"
Xie Mingzhuo sincerely encouraged him, "Well done! As long as you can reach the ambassador's office, you will definitely get justice."
"But..." Bai San looked embarrassed, "I can't read, let alone write a petition."
"That's easy." Xie Mingzhuo lowered his voice, gave instructions, and then asked, "Can you do it?"
"able!"
The moon was above the willows, and the salt field fell into silence. Only the stove where salt was boiled during the day still retained some warmth.
Cao Shengcai led a large group of men and rushed to Liugou Village with great momentum, but unexpectedly, a row of young and strong men were already standing at the entrance of Liugou Village, waiting for them.
"Yan Dafa, what do you mean?!" He glared at Yan Dafa, who was among the young and strong men, and shouted angrily.
Yan Dafa was calm and composed. "So it was Mr. Cao who urged me. It's so late. What brings you here?"
"Don't try to talk nonsense with me. If you didn't know I was coming, would you have blocked me here?" Cao Shengcai snorted coldly. "Yan Dafa, I know exactly what you want to do. Have some shame. How can you be a hero if you kidnap someone?"
"I don't understand." Yan Dafa was surprised. "I'm just discussing something with the cooks. Why do you come up and curse at me? It's unreasonable."
Cao Shengcai was furious, his voice rising high: "Yan Dafa! Zhou Da is from my Baisha Village! I want to take him back!"
"Didn't we agree to lend him to help? Why are you so stingy? I will definitely send him back after I'm done, okay?" Yan Dafa said soft words, but the iron rod in his hand kept hitting his palm.
The young and strong men around them were holding sticks and staring at them grimly.
On the other hand, the people on my side are all lazy and slacking, and we don’t have the advantage in numbers. If we really fight, we will definitely lose.
Cao Shengcai knew that he was impulsive and shouldn't have brought only such a small number of people to challenge, but before he came, he never thought that Yan Dafa was so bold and had such a thick skin as a city wall.
"Yan Dafa, just wait!"
He left a harsh remark, turned around and led his men back to the village.
The next day, the salt fields were focused on salt production during the day and fighting was not allowed. Cao Shengcai waited until midnight and took hundreds of young and strong men to rush to Liugou Village again.
He deliberately chose the middle of the night to catch Liugou Village off guard. It was so late, Yan Dafa must have gone to see Zhou Gong long ago.
Most of these hundreds of young and strong men were thugs he recruited after taking office, specifically to supervise the cooks in Baisha Village. Now that most of them have been brought here, only a small number are left in the village.
Even if only a small part is left, with so many precedents, I believe the cooks in Baisha Village will not dare to make any waves.
He walked to the entrance of Liugou Village in high spirits. Before he got close, he saw a dark crowd at the entrance.
Except for the elderly and children, all the able-bodied men and women in the village came out and gathered at the village entrance waiting for people to come.
Yan Dafa smiled and waved, "Boss Cao, what brings you here?"
“…”
The fighting power of the ladies in Shu is also extraordinary. Even though the number of young and strong men on both sides is similar, with the addition of the ladies to Liugou Village, Cao Shengcai will have no chance of gaining any benefits.
He hated Yan Dafa so much that he wanted to rush up and beat him up, but he still had his wits about him.
If you lose this fight, not only your face but also your substance will be gone.
No, he had to hold back and not lose to Yan Dafa.
Mr. Yan can only call on these people, but he is different, he can still find help.
Cao Shengcai uttered harsh words again and took his men away.
On the third day, the salt field was as busy as usual. The smoke from boiling salt heated up the entire field. The cooks were all red and sweating profusely. They did not get a break until nightfall.
This time, Cao Shengcai did not wait until midnight. As soon as it got dark, he led hundreds of young and strong men, along with the chief cooks and cooks from the neighboring village, and marched towards Liugou Village in a large group.
He wanted to see how Yan Dafa could stop him since he brought nearly four hundred people with him this time.
Yan Dafa really couldn't stop it this time, but he still had a backup plan.
When the two sides were fighting fiercely, some people ran to the next village for help. Everyone was in a salt field, and they knew each other every day. It was impossible not to care about the three villages involved in the fight.
You have to mediate a fight, but you also have to watch the fun.
There are also differences in the closeness and distance between villages. When Liugou Village was beaten, the neighbors who had always been on good terms with it could not sit idly by, so they led dozens of cooks to come and show their support.
The east wind prevails over the west wind.
Cao Shengcai quits. You want to call for help, right? I’ll call for help too.
As a result, more and more villages got involved. Some villages originally just wanted to watch the fun, but they were hit by stones or clods of earth from someone, and they immediately became angry and rolled up their sleeves to beat up anyone they caught.
The fighting situation escalated again.
Only the cooks in Baisha Village kept their doors and windows closed and did not take a step out.
Bai San had been recuperating for three days and his injuries were almost healed. Taking advantage of the chaos, he returned to Baisha Village and hid behind a haystack. He shouted to the night watchmen, "Hurry up! Master Cao is about to be beaten to death! Go to Liugou Village and save him!"
The patrolmen all knew that Master Cao was going to get his revenge, so they believed it immediately and hurriedly gathered their brothers to rush to Liugou Village.
Bai San easily returned to the village and went straight to the "traitor's" home. He tied him up when he was caught off guard and blocked his mouth and ears.
If he were not a traitor, he would not have been caught by Cao Shengcai.
Time was running out and he had no time to go home. He directly caught a chicken from the traitor's chicken coop, cut its neck, poured a large bowl of chicken blood, and found a large piece of white linen from the cupboard. He put it in his pocket and ran out.
The traitor is in tears.
My chicken! My cloth! Damn Bai San!
Bai San carried the chicken blood and a white cloth, and went door to door collecting bloody fingerprints. If they couldn't write, they would just press their fingerprints.
When the villagers heard that he was going to take the "petition" covered with bloody fingerprints to the ambassador's office to file a complaint, they all tried to dissuade him.
Bai San quickly explained, "I've found out everything. The princess' carriage will arrive at the ambassador's office tomorrow. As soon as the princess arrives, I'll file a complaint and protest my injustice!"
The villagers were skeptical, but since he spoke so firmly, they all put their fingerprints on the document.
Some people were so indignant that they even wanted to bite their fingertips to leave their fingerprints, but were stopped by Bai San.
"Someone told me that the Bai family has shed enough blood, and we don't need to bleed anymore."
Hundreds of fingerprints were scattered on the white linen, like shrill and hopeless cries in the snow.
Bai San carefully put away the "petition", said goodbye to his fellow villagers, and ran straight out of the salt field.
Liugou Village.
The fight continued to escalate, and most of the villages in the salt field were involved. It was dark, and it was no longer possible to tell who was fighting whom.
Anyway, as long as I get punched, I have to fight back. The anger and suppressed pain that I have nowhere to vent on a daily basis will all pour out tonight.
The noise was so loud that it alarmed the guards at the salt field.
The guards had to send personnel to separate the fight, but they were no match for the fight of thousands of people. In the end, most of the guards were dispatched.
The salt field was poorly guarded, which was a good opportunity for Bai San who was preparing to escape.
With hope filled with blood, he rushed out of the salt field without looking back and ran towards the ambassador's office.
Xie Mingzhuo stood in the dark, watching him go away safely, then turned around to look at Xiang Jinghui.
The night was dark, but her eyes were the only ones that seemed exceptionally bright.
"Xiang Yushi, we will be apart tonight. Please take care."
Xiang Jinghui knelt on the ground, his voice choked with sobs: "Your Highness, I respectfully bid you farewell. I pray that Your Highness will be blessed with good fortune and a long life."
"Get up," Xie Mingzhuo said with a smile, "We'll see each other soon."
Xiang Jinghui stood up, tears flashing in her eyes. She brushed them away with her sleeve, and her vision became clear again. The stars and the moon seemed to be reflected in her pupils.
Your Highness, have a safe journey.
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