Chapter 24

Wang Ju took out some sugar frost and scattered it among the children.

The grayish-brown sugar frost was considered the worst of its kind; the purer the purple, the better. However, such sugar frost was very expensive, with one catty reportedly costing nearly one guan of money.

It wasn't granulated sugar, but rather large crystalline chunks, nor was it rock sugar. Instead, it resembled hard fruit candy. Wang Ju had once tasted a piece, and it might not have been as good as fruit candy, but the children in the village were overjoyed, each one sucking on the sugar frost and jumping around.

Wang Quan walked over and said, "Daniu, come with me."

He led Wang Ju to the back of the village and pointed to a cave being constructed. "This will be your new home in the future."

Wang Ju looked at Wang Quan with suspicion.

Coming here had completely overturned Wang Ju's understanding of caves.

The cost of building a house could vary greatly. If one wanted to build a mansion like the Humble Administrator's Garden, it could cost ten thousand guan. However, building a simple thatched hut like Wang Ju's was very cheap, costing less than one guan, with materials like mountain rocks, soil, and wood readily available.

However, building a cave was not so simple.

First, it had to be sturdy, or it could collapse at any time. Second, it had to be bright.

Excavating the foundation was a massive project, especially in this era, where it could take a lifetime or even several generations to dig the foundation in front of a cave. Unless all the villagers put aside their lives to work hard for your family, it would be difficult. After much effort to shape the hillside into a cave face, the cave itself still needed to be dug. This required careful labor, as rushing could cause the soil to collapse due to high moisture content. Moreover, the digging technique was crucial; if the center of gravity was uneven, even with wooden supports, the cave would eventually collapse.

After the cave was built, it needed to be smoothed out, with the walls scraped smooth and flat. Then, it was plastered with yellow clay mixed with chopped wheat straw. Wealthy families used blue bricks and lime, making it more beautiful and sturdy, but the cost would be higher. Finally, the mountain wall was constructed, and doors and windows were installed.

Even a simple cave cost ten times more than Wang Ju's dilapidated thatched hut.

Therefore, only half of the villagers in Wang's village had moved into caves.

However, having a cave had many benefits. First, it was warm in winter and cool in summer, so Wang Ju no longer had to worry about how to survive the winter. Moreover, it was durable, with many caves lasting for centuries. If built well and maintained, a cave could last for a thousand years. Unless the soil and water conditions were extremely poor, causing frequent heavy rains, floods, landslides, and mudflows, the cave would not be eliminated. However, during the Song Dynasty, the soil and water conditions would not deteriorate to such an extent.

There was also a faster way: hiring many people to dig the foundation, using fire to bake the cave, and using blue bricks, glutinous rice powder, and lime to plaster it, with the strongest wood for supports. This would cost several times more. It seemed that this cave was being built in this manner, with countless villagers carrying and transporting materials to quickly excavate the foundation on the hillside.

Wang Quan explained, "The Zhu family contributed some money and silk, and the villagers are grateful to you, so they provided the labor. However, it will take another month before you can move in."

"The Zhu family?"

"After you left, the Zhu family sent servants to manage the project. What about Er Lang?"

"He will be back in a few days..." Wang Ju understood. The Zhu family probably saw that Zhu Jun had changed and planned to send him here in the winter, but he couldn't stay in the thatched hut, which would be too cold.

So, they spent a good amount of money to build this cave, probably several dozen guan, but what was that to the Zhu family? Moreover, it showed their goodwill.

So, let it be built.

Wang Quan then asked, "Daniu, did the Black Bee Bandits have any treasure?"

"There might be a few places where they hid stolen goods, but there's no treasure."

"Then why did the news of the Black Bee Bandits' treasure being found in the Western Mountains spread? Your second uncle and a few strong men from the village also went there."

"Black Bee Bandits' treasure..."

...

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Two groups were fighting in the valley, wielding machetes, sickles, and wooden sticks. There weren't many people, totaling less than twenty.

At that moment, another six or seven people rushed out from the side.

The balance of power immediately shifted.

The smaller group was beaten and fled with bloody heads.

"We should take a detour," Wang Ju said. But in his heart, he thought, this is the border wilderness.

After hearing the news, Wang Ju led a few strong men from the village to search for his second uncle.

Treasure, what a joke.

The so-called treasure was a fabrication by Wang Ju. There might be a few places where stolen goods were hidden, but it was more likely that they had set up a fake treasure.

However, countless people had flooded into this mountainous area, and there were frequent conflicts, almost involving their group several times.

After searching for three days, they finally found his second uncle and his group. Surprisingly, they also saw Zhu Qing leading the Zhu family's people in this area.

But by then, the area was in chaos, with more and more people flooding in. Wang Ju also saw some soldiers patrolling.

"Second Uncle, Mr. Zhu, what's going on?"

"A few days ago, I heard in the village that the Black Bee Bandits, under the strict pursuit of Cheng Gong, had split and started moving their treasures out of the mountains. Due to the uneven distribution of loot, several factions fought each other. Hearing this, the soldiers came, and the villagers from various villages also came. The Black Bee Bandits fled, but the mountains were so vast that the soldiers couldn't cover everything. So, the soldiers and the villagers were searching. They even found many gold, silver, copper coins, and other valuable items, including furs, pearls, jade, medicine, and spices. I even found a piece of silver."

Wang Wei finished speaking and pulled out a piece of silver, about two taels.

"Some people found even more, so villagers from all directions gathered here to search for the treasure."

The treasure had not been found yet.

However, they could occasionally pick up some valuables on the road. Everyone was poor, so they fought over them. Those who got something were overjoyed, while those who didn't gathered others to fight back or seek revenge. This was why Wang Ju saw many conflicts along the way.

"Treasure?" Wang Ju and Zhu Qing exchanged a glance. They knew too well.

"Sixth Uncle, take two people back and immediately tell the village not to send anyone here. Also, be careful on the way and avoid conflicts."

Because of the Tang Dynasty's policies for resettling the Hu and Qiang, the area north of Yanzhou became the most ethnically diverse region. Even after Li Yuanhao captured Jinming Fort and took or captured many tribes, the area remained extremely complex, with Qiang, Tibetan, Hu, and Han people. Large-scale massacres often occurred between them. If it weren't for the presence of many soldiers and the threat of Western Xia, the massacres would be even worse.

The treasure was unlikely to exist, but the danger here was real.

"Sixth Uncle" Wang Liuzi took two villagers back.

"Let's go back too," the second uncle felt something was wrong.

"No, let's stay here and see what happens," Wang Ju said, pulling Zhu Qing to a nearby hilltop to observe.

There were many people around, and Wang Ju even saw a few officials in green robes.

Zhu Qing said, "Those are officials from Baoan Military City."

"Shao Zhijun?"

"No, Shao Zhijun is a sixth-rank official and should wear green official robes."

"Why did Mr. Zhu come here?"

"The senior master felt something was wrong and sent me to check. I just met your second uncle and was asking him about the situation."

"Why are the Black Bee Bandits doing this?"

"I'm not sure either. If it's fake, it's a huge operation, costing thousands or even tens of thousands of guan."

"Mr. Zhu, I have a question. It's said that General Di met the emperor, who advised him to use medicine to remove the 'Xia' character tattooed on his face. What kind of medicine can remove it?" Wang Ju was very curious.

In this era, there was no laser or advanced medical technology. Could the 'Xia' character tattoo be removed?

"Yes, but it's quite troublesome. First, you use a file to scrape the skin, specifically the 'Xia' character, then apply ointments to heal the skin. This process is repeated over time. However, it's very painful, or it won't work. The ointments contain many precious ingredients, which are expensive. The entire process can take four to five months, or even half a year."

"So, it can be removed."

Zhu Qing nodded.

"Then why don't these bandits leave?"

That was the question.

If the tattoo couldn't be removed, it would be a problem. The army's serial number tattooed on their foreheads would be noticeable wherever they went. But if it could be removed, the world would be their oyster.

They could go to Western Xia, where they would be treated well. If they had talent, they would be valued, not just by Grand Tutor Zhang Yuan, but by many fallen scholars from the Song Dynasty who were given important roles.

If they found Western Xia too poor, they could disperse and remove the tattoos, then escape back.

Don't ask about the cost of the medicine.

A single robbery could net them at least a thousand guan. How much wealth had Yu Feng and his gang accumulated over the years?

With money in hand and no restrictions on the movement of civilians in the Song Dynasty, there were many refugees and fugitives in bustling cities.

So, they could settle down and live a happy life as wealthy men.

They had options, but they couldn't stay.

They were originally soldiers with access to information, so their raids were always successful.

Without that information and with the government's intense pursuit and merchants offering huge rewards, staying here was a death sentence.

So, Wang Ju couldn't understand why they were still here.

PS: Thanks to "Ten Minutes of Waiting" for the 588起点币 (Qidian coins) reward.