They claimed to hire villagers with food, but in reality, the tiny village lacked even a place for games or activities, and the villagers had very limited options. For several days, the six maintainers silently followed them around the entire village, only to find that the daily activities they received were limited to a few things.
They dug soil to repair houses that could be blown apart by a gust of wind, carried water to meet their daily drinking needs, and cut down dead trees that would never be completely cut down for firewood. But having lost the prestige of celebrating the scholar's success, the villagers no longer offered free hospitality and, as if on guard against something, kept their distance from strangers in the village.
The maintainers thought of helping them dig some soil and fetch water, but who knew that doing the same thing would always result in the maintainers getting hurt.
Even for the smallest scratch, the villagers reacted dramatically, as if the bleeding fingertip was about to die, their faces full of pity, and the next moment they distanced themselves from them again.
The six hesitant men could only turn their attention back to food, since the villagers hadn't really had a proper meal in the past few days, except for drinking more hot water.
The village was small, so Du Lanshan specially borrowed a wooden table and placed it in the courtyard. He piled the food on the table, and the delicious food, which was still warm before entering the spatial dimension, was placed on the table, emitting a steaming aroma that immediately filled the air above the entire village.
Even the villagers, who were drinking the wild vegetable soup, couldn't help but show their drooling eyes. This included the refined young scholar, who tried his best to avoid eye contact, but his subconscious sniffing and swallowing still revealed that he was not indifferent to the treatment of having plenty of meat and fish at every meal.
Despite their poverty, the villagers did not fawn over the food. Their integrity was not just due to their gaunt appearance, but also to their genuine determination not to accept charity.
When Lianlian held up a bowl of steamed eight-treasure porridge and waved it at a girl in a friendly manner, the girl quickly turned her head away from around the corner, and the remaining villagers scattered and ran away as well.
Everything seemed to have reached a stalemate. Tai Er rolled up his sleeves, started munching on sweet corn, and said irritably, "At worst, we'll just cross that bridge again. After all, we have skills; we can't kill any demons or ghosts!"
The older woman patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, and then suggested, "How about we pay a certain amount of rent every day to get closer to the villagers?" It seemed that the villagers were genuinely simple and honest, not just putting on an act.
Of course, the rent for those three dilapidated mud-brick houses was enough to feed the young master who was oblivious to the hardships of life; the other villagers were still separated from them by mountains and rivers.
Although the young scholar was eating with grease dripping from his mouth, he carefully put away a jar of eight-treasure porridge. He was completely clueless about the maintainer's questions and could only speak in archaic language, seemingly of no great use.
The only thing we can glean from his words is his apprehension about the wealthy village in the forest.
The six maintainers are once again at an impasse.
Du Lanshan and Tai Er exchanged a glance and quietly followed the scholar who was carrying the eight-treasure porridge out. They saw him turn several times and arrive at the most secluded room in the corner of the courtyard.
They recognized it as the butler's quarters.
Then, their whispers drifted over. "Father, please drink! It's not porridge, but it's more filling than porridge!" The scholar's voice was weak and soft, while the steward lowered his voice and asked a different question, "Did they ask anything?"
There was silence in the room. It must have been the scholar who nodded, so the steward sighed, "What a tragedy!"
"Father, can't we drive them away?" the scholar asked, frustrated and resentful.
"Drive them away? If the other side needs replacements, who will take their place? Besides, who can get out of there?"
"If they stay too long, they'll have nowhere to vent their anger, and we'll be the ones who suffer!" The scholar slammed his fist on the table.
"It's all the same fate as pigs and sheep!"
A sigh escaped the quiet air, and the two remained silent, the only sound being the slurping of their porridge.
After returning, Du Lanshan told everyone about the conversation between the two men who were actually father and son, but were actually the butler and master.
Luo Cheng frowned. "Are they all pigs and sheep? Livestock in the pen? Hiss!" He gasped. "They're waiting for the festival so they can slaughter us and eat us!"
Moreover, they will inevitably be the first to be slaughtered, since they are all muscular and chewy.
"Judging from what the scholar said, other maintainers must have come to this village before. Because they stayed for too long and had nowhere to vent their anger, the villagers became the ones who suffered the most." The older woman pointed out the key point, "This is also one of the biggest reasons why the villagers seem friendly to us, but in reality, they avoid us."
It's not hard to guess the nature of some of the defenders. There are good and bad people everywhere. Relying on their superhuman skills, and in a village surrounded by beauties yet like an isolated island, it's not hard to guess what kind of oddballs will emerge among the increasingly crazy people who can't find a way out.
The reason why the villagers wouldn't strike first when the demons were newcomers and knew nothing was probably to avoid being held accountable by the demons on the other side.
These villagers must have their own way of dealing with things to survive.
"If trying to get close to them doesn't work, then we'll continue the transaction. If someone accidentally lets something slip, that'll be our way out."
The next day, Du Lanshan approached the steward and asked him to recommend some villagers to help make sandbags and punching bags, in exchange for food. The eldest sister and Lianlian used the same method to hire female villagers, asking them to teach them embroidery while they worked.
Pretty female villagers sat around the village entrance, patching and mending rough cloth. This way of exchanging labor for food made them more carefree and energetic than usual. They chatted and laughed, adding a touch of brightness to the earthen-yellow village and creating a beautiful scene of their own.
The older woman was a very shrewd person. She quietly found out some important information and pieced together the clues from the scattered pieces of information.
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