He Zifeng stayed comfortably at home for two days. Little He Ran could pick up a lot of wheat ears every day. He Zifeng and Qiu Yu were both people who could spoil their children, so they played along with him. They made a small stove at home with old bricks, grabbed a handful of peanuts and a few wheat ears from the small kitchen and roasted them on it. After roasting, they peeled them open and ate the inside.
Not satisfied with just that, He Zifeng went to find some vegetables and meat, discovering that everything could be grilled. Especially meat with seasoning on it, it was quite delicious.
Xiao Heran is a bit addicted; he wants to get everyone to grill food every day.
It just so happened that a butcher in the neighboring village had some mutton. After buying it, they went to the riverbank, found a smooth stone, washed it clean, and then roasted it on it.
The whole family became addicted to it, and Qiuyu even kept the stone so she wouldn't have trouble finding it next time she wanted to eat it.
Xiao Heran, standing nearby, wholeheartedly agreed.
When He Zifeng sent the child away, autumn was already quite late; the next time would be the Lunar New Year.
Qiu Yu was worried that the child would be cold, so she prepared extra warm clothes. She was always a little uneasy when the child wasn't by her side.
He Zifeng went to work.
When he arrived at the yamen, everyone was there, and they all had all sorts of reactions as they looked at He Zifeng.
Sure enough, Constable Zhu assigned the task of collecting taxes, and He Zifeng's team was assigned to Lingshan Village.
We need to collect fifty dan of grain. If there's no grain, we can exchange it for silver; silk or cloth will do. They've been short of paying for several years, and the debt accumulated over the years will eventually amount to two hundred dan, which is about one hundred taels of silver.
They even threatened that if anyone else did what they did last year, they would send more people to suppress them by force.
Upon hearing this, everyone else gasped. This was a death order. Failure to deliver would surely result in bloodshed.
The surrounding villages have all seen this, and if they all follow suit, they won't be able to survive.
Whether it's killing the chicken or making an example of the monkey, we need to take action this time.
After everything was finished, He Zifeng kept Zhu, the head constable, behind for a talk.
Everyone is guessing that He Zifeng must be scared now and is thinking of a solution.
Even Constable Zhu himself thought so, so when He Zifeng finished speaking, he was stunned. Was this all He Zifeng had asked him to say?
Officer Zhu repeated what he had just said: "You mean, you want to redeem the villagers from the mine."
He Zifeng hummed in agreement.
Officer Zhu had no idea what he was up to.
There's a death quota at the mine, and the ransom money ends up in the pockets of a few managers. They're not afraid of people coming to ransom them; they're afraid of them not coming.
Officer Zhu said, "Let's go, let's go and tell them." So they went over there.
Upon hearing that the fat officer was going to redeem all nineteen people from Lingshan Village at once, at five taels of silver each, that would amount to ninety-five taels of silver. Even if the brothers divided it among themselves, each of them would still have twenty or thirty taels of silver. He was overjoyed: "I knew you were an extraordinary man. Since you've asked, I'll definitely help you."
He Zifeng then paid the money. This money, a total of one hundred taels of silver, had been placed with him by San Shun beforehand. The remaining five taels were his reward for his hard work.
Soon, he took these ragged people back home.
These people had been beaten and scolded for years, and now their faces were numb. Even after being rescued, they had no expression and sat in the carriage, not knowing where He Zifeng was going to take them.
He Zifeng was driving the carriage outside.
There were nineteen people crammed into three carriages. Only the youngest one said, "They're not planning to kill us, are they?" His voice was trembling with tears.
He only wanted to protect his family, but he was captured and forced to do hard labor here.
I really want to go home.
This statement caused some people to react, but they quickly returned to their lifeless state.
Five taels of silver per person? Who would spend that money to buy useless peasants like them? I've heard that five taels of silver can buy a clean and respectable servant in the brothel.
They'll definitely be taken to a worse place.
The older men, who called him Uncle Le, said, "If you're dead, you're dead. Let's be reborn properly in the next life, and not be so tired."
The group fell silent. After a while, San-shun got into the car but didn't lift the curtain. He was also feeling heavy-hearted, having finally redeemed his people.
They arrived at Lingshan Village, and after the carriage came to a stop, they disembarked, and the driver drove the carriage away. When they got out of the carriage, they were greeted by the entire village of villagers.
These lifeless young people took a long time to react.
Then, tears started gushing from his eyes like a spring.
"Mother, your unfilial son kowtows to you."
"Brother, I never thought I'd see you again. It would be worth dying for."
"Yingmei, why are you waiting for me? We agreed that if anything happens to me, you'd find someone to marry, okay? Be a good girl..."
All the emotions that had been building up burst forth in that instant.
Even the village chief was in tears. Looking at the young men's tired and thin bodies, he knew how much they had suffered. He had prepared a few words, but now he couldn't say anything. He could only repeat one sentence: "It's good that you're back!"
Then they quickly told each family to take their children away. There were three orphans, so San Shun took them to the village chief's house first. Hot water had been prepared for them to wash up, change their clothes, and then burn their old clothes, which would be considered a farewell to the past.
The once bustling village entrance was now deserted except for the village chief, whose eyes were still brimming with tears. He knelt down before He Zifeng, saying, "Our entire village remembers your great kindness and virtue. When we get back, I will build a monument in your honor and place it in our village ancestral hall for generations to come."
He Zifeng helped him up. But he burst into tears. When their ancestors chose the site, they chose a bad one. Over the generations, the village has become increasingly desolate. Not to mention that crops can grow in the fields, not even weeds can grow. How can they pay taxes to the government? Last year, they were kicked to the ground by several yamen runners, and the young men of their village got into a fight with the runners.
The village chief was also filled with hatred, wishing he could sacrifice his old bones and break them, just to keep the village alive. Later, the situation escalated, and all the young people in the village were taken away. He was too ashamed to face his ancestors.
However, things took a turn for the better.
After settling everyone in, San Shun went to find his father, only to hear him weeping bitterly. He knew his father must be recalling painful memories of the past. He quickly comforted him, saying, "Father, what will our benefactor think if you do this? Today is a day for family reunion, please don't cry."
Upon hearing this, the village chief wiped away his tears, took a few deep breaths, and said, "I'm getting old, and I've developed a habit of crying easily." He then opened the small box beside him, inside which were neatly arranged one hundred taels of silver. This was for taxes. He then took out five taels of silver, saying, "This is for you to buy some wine."
He Zifeng received another bonus a few days ago. He knew they didn't have much money left in their accounts.
He said, "Keep these five taels of silver."
The village chief said, "There are many people coming to perform sacrifices before the New Year, so our whole village can stay busy for a while. Once the heavy snow closes the mountain, we won't be able to leave. At that time, the whole village will learn how to make things." The more they studied, the more they realized that what they had made before was only superficial.
San Shun explained to He Zifeng that the entire village was pooling its resources, everyone was eating together, and all profits were put together. After a while, wages would be distributed according to skill level, since the whole village was eating from the same pot.
In the past, people ate coarse food and wild vegetables, but now they can eat meat at every meal.
The village chief now knows that although they can make some money, they can't operate every day. They're busy for three to four months a year. But even in those three to four months, they can make a fortune. They now rely entirely on the Taoist priests to make money.
They planned to refine their skills further, hoping to build a century-old craft village once they gained a reputation. After sharing the profits with He Zifeng and the others, the rest were used to pay for tuition and practice. Even with money, no one mentioned building houses. Only in this way could the business last.
Upon hearing this, He Zifeng said, "That's right."
As they were talking, two constables approached. One was a large man, and the other was Siye. Although they were the clerk's men, they had a decent relationship with all the other officers in the yamen. Seeing He Zifeng there, the large man said, "Brother He, I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle things here, so I thought I'd come and lend you a hand. What do you say? If they're not behaving themselves, don't be polite." These two men were carrying swords.
While verbally offering help, they were also essentially acting as a supervisor.
He Zifeng said, "No need for help, I've already received the money."
Both men were taken aback, then Siye chuckled and leaned closer, saying, "Brother He is truly amazing." He then asked what had happened, as he needed to find out more. He still had to report to his advisor.
The village chief said a few simple words, which greatly shocked the two constables. They were astonished that the village had come up with a solution in such a short time.
He then hurried back. When He Zifeng handed over the one hundred taels, the entire yamen entrance was stunned.
When the county magistrate heard about it, he personally summoned He Zifeng and commended him. Not only had he handed over all his dues for the year, but he had also recovered the bad debts from the past – a truly commendable achievement. The magistrate said, "The position of deputy head constable is yours. No one else can change it. At the end of the year, go to the accounting office and get ten taels of silver. In the future, you'll still be the one to share my burdens!"
In the clerk's room, separated by two walls, a look of shock crossed his face: "He really paid it all?" That couldn't be possible; even people in the county wouldn't have an easy time raising that much money. "Did he pay for it himself?"
Siye said, "They found a way to make a living; the whole village makes funeral supplies, and they're incredibly exquisite." He was quite impressed. He knew what the village used to be like, but now it was completely different. They had drastically changed everything, achieving a complete reversal. And in such a short time! Amazing! Siye glanced at the clerk and said, "And what about He Zifeng's contribution…?"
The advisor was in a bad mood: "He really got off easy this time!"
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