Chapter 3

Night fell.

Mato Village.

Zhang Yu and his two companions were squeezed into a small room.

On the table was a pot of boiled wild vegetables, which Yang Xin and her brother were enjoying with relish.

The appearance of this brother and sister was a microcosm of the life of the people in Pingchuan County, who were now even losing the most basic conditions for survival.

Once winter came, it was unimaginable what kind of life the people of Pingchuan County would have to endure.

As a modern person, Zhang Yu found the wild vegetables, which were cooked without any seasoning, not even salt, dry and hard to swallow.

So he only ate a little bit.

Yang Xin had already prepared a room for Zhang Yu.

That night, Yang Xin slept in the same room as her brother, fearing that Zhang Yu might make some excessive demands, but he did not.

It was a very peaceful night.

At dawn the next day.

Zhang Yu was the first to get up. He started testing the crossbow in the courtyard.

After wasting a few hemp ropes, the accuracy of the crossbow reached eighty percent.

It could easily pierce through a wooden stake as thick as a wrist.

With this, he could enter the mountains.

Zhang Yu put on two crossbows and quietly entered the mountains.

Due to the laws of the Da Qi Dynasty, common people were not allowed to carry knives or other lethal weapons, so hunters had basically disappeared.

The wild game in the mountains had almost reached an overwhelming level.

And because no one hunted them, these animals were not very afraid of humans. Zhang Yu had to get very close to them before they would run away symbolically.

Zhang Yu strung both crossbows and aimed at a rabbit not far away. He pulled the trigger, and the arrow accurately pierced the rabbit's body.

The rabbit's legs kicked wildly a few times, then it was still.

Zhang Yu hung the rabbit on his waist and continued searching in the mountains.

Finally, he found a group of deer grazing.

As bottom-of-the-food-chain animals, the deer were very alert. Zhang Yu concealed himself and slowly approached.

Then he aimed the arrow at the lead deer.

The lead deer seemed to sense the danger, suddenly stopped eating, and looked up at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu instantly pulled the trigger.

The arrow instantly pierced the lead deer's chest.

The lead deer let out a mournful cry and fell heavily to the ground. The other deer scattered and fled.

This lead deer weighed at least three to four hundred pounds.

If it were Zhang Yu's body from his previous life, he could have easily carried it down the mountain, but his current body was extremely weak.

He did not greedily take more, just skinned the deer, cut off the four legs, and carefully cut out the four thickest tendons, then went down the mountain.

Unexpectedly, the time passed quickly. When Zhang Yu returned to Yang Xin's house, it was already noon.

Zhang Yu's sudden departure had worried Yang Xin greatly.

If the county magistrate disappeared at her place, it could cost her her head.

She paced back and forth in the courtyard, occasionally looking at the gate.

When she finally saw Zhang Yu's figure, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face, but she quickly retracted it when she realized it was inappropriate.

"I told you! How could he disappear?" Yang Guan sneered.

He had seen the change in his sister's expression.

A little bit of kindness and she was bought, truly unambitious.

Zhang Yu quickly entered the courtyard.

Seeing the deer legs and rabbit on Zhang Yu's back, the brother and sister were instantly shocked.

"Where did you get the deer legs?" Yang Guan couldn't help but swallow, having never eaten meat in his life.

"I hunted in the mountains. Find some wood and start a fire; today we'll eat roasted deer legs." Zhang Yu called out.

Yang Guan, no longer caring about his prejudice against Zhang Yu, immediately went to gather a large pile of wood.

A big fire was lit, and Zhang Yu used the charcoal to roast the deer legs, placing the deer tendons nearby to dry slowly.

Soon, the fragrant smell of roasted deer meat spread throughout Mato Village.

Without salt, Zhang Yu used wild peppers from the mountains, as small as fingernails, as seasoning, evenly sprinkling them on the deer legs.

After adding some spices,

The aroma that spread was a fatal temptation to Yang Xin and her brother.

It also attracted many adults and children from Mato Village.

Zhang Yu glanced around and saw only the elderly, women, and children.

The strong men were mostly in the army or serving as laborers.

The children were all under eighteen years old, as the law of the Da Qi Dynasty stipulated that men over eighteen had to serve in the military.

So in a year, civilians like Yang Guan would inevitably have to join the army.

The villagers were crouched on the wall, looking at the fragrant deer legs and swallowing their saliva.

The rabbit meat was the first to be roasted. Zhang Yu divided it into two pieces and handed them to Yang Xin and her brother.

"Eat while it's hot. Today's meat, you can have as much as you want."

Zhang Yu's action made the brother and sister look at each other in surprise.

But after a moment's hesitation, they put the roasted rabbit meat into their mouths. The taste of meat, combined with the pepper, wildly stimulated their taste buds.

A quick taste soon turned into a ravenous feast.

In no time, the rabbit was finished, and they looked eagerly at the almost roasted deer legs.

Zhang Yu turned to look at the children who were under eighteen.

An idea formed in his mind.

In the current Pingchuan County, although Zhang Yu was the county magistrate, the command of the five hundred guards was in the hands of the Zhao family.

The Zhao family also had five hundred servants.

To bring down the Zhao family, what he lacked most was manpower.

The deer meat was quickly roasted.

Zhang Yu cut off three large pieces and started feasting with Yang Xin and her brother.

More and more villagers gathered outside the courtyard.

After eating enough, Zhang Yu cut the deer meat into many small pieces and went to the wall.

He loudly asked, "Do you want to eat meat?"

The villagers looked at each other. Many of them had never left the village, let alone seen the county magistrate.

"Yes!" A boy about the same age as Yang Guan mustered the courage to say.

Zhang Yu immediately placed a piece of deer meat in the boy's hand.

"Do the others not want to?" Zhang Yu asked again.

"Yes!"

This time, the voices came one after another.

Zhang Yu quickly distributed the deer meat in his hands.

"Do you want to always have meat to eat?" Zhang Yu asked again.

The villagers, still hungry, all gave a positive response.

"Boys aged fifteen to seventeen, if you are willing to follow me and eat meat every day, come in!" Zhang Yu looked at the crowd with a determined gaze.

Soon, the first boy who spoke pushed open the gate and walked in.

With this example, many boys followed.

But a large number who wanted to come in were held back by their parents.

In the end, a total of 27 boys entered the courtyard.

Zhang Yu did not stint, roasting all four deer legs and distributing them to these boys, but it still seemed not enough.

"Do you dare to follow me? Do you dare to do some big business?" Zhang Yu asked these 27 boys.

"As long as there's meat to eat, why not?" the first boy boldly said, the taste of the meat truly unforgettable.

"What's your name?"

"Zhao Xin!" Zhao Xin stood up straight and said, "I'm an orphan. As long as you give me something to eat, I'll follow you."

The others also echoed, and upon inquiry, all 27 boys were orphans.

The Da Qi Dynasty had been at war for years, and orphans like Zhao Xin were numerous.