Chapter 12

Just as Du Qian was wincing and stomping his foot, Zheng Qian was pulling Li Si, who was equally bewildered, hurriedly toward the crowd that had been standing in the cold wind for a long time.

Considering that Li Si had grown up in Xixi Village since childhood and was very familiar with everyone, it should have been easy for him to communicate. So when the two of them came before the hundreds of anxious villagers, Zheng Qian simply gave Li Si a brief instruction to relay the chieftain’s orders verbatim.

Seeing the dazed Li Si nod stiffly, Zheng Qian did not pay much attention. After all, a simple task like passing on a message, which required no technical skill, should not be messed up by Li Si. Once everything was arranged, Zheng Qian quickly went to the back yard. He still had to organize the manpower to thoroughly search for the hidden household items as instructed by the chieftain.

After Zheng Qian left, the only one left who knew the inside story was Li Si, apart from the henchmen maintaining order.

Facing the crowd of villagers who were trembling with fear and had been chilled by the cold wind all night, Li Si opened his mouth but did not know where to start. This was not entirely Li Si's fault. Even experienced bandits like Du Qian and Song Wan could not fathom Wang Lun's intentions and were greatly surprised by the grain distribution tonight. How much more so for Li Si, who had only recently joined the mountain and had a simple mind and no experience with major events!

At this moment, Li Si himself was in a daze, and the words he spoke were jumbled, causing the villagers to be even more confused.

When Li Si told the villagers to each carry ten stones of grain, they thought the chieftains wanted them to help transport the grain for the bandit camp. Although they were somewhat reluctant, they remembered the fate of the village head and his son, who had been killed in the village. They had already submitted in their hearts. Although the village head and his son deserved their punishment, who could guarantee that the chieftains on the mountain would not act capriciously and start a massacre?

Moreover, the weather was extremely cold, and the villagers, dressed in tattered clothes, could hardly bear it. They thought to themselves, "If we help carry the grain, we might as well help carry it. It's better than angering the bandits and inviting disaster!" Farmers had nothing but their strength. Thinking of this, they all silently hoped that Li Si would remember their village ties and speak well of them to the chieftains, so that the bandits would not cause them more trouble and would let them return home to their families after the grain was distributed.

After thinking this through, the crowd finally moved. There was no need for the bandits to urge them. They were familiar with the route and headed straight to the place where they used to pay the imperial grain. Soon, they all arrived at the village head's granary. No one needed to force them; they all stepped forward, took the heavy grain bags from the bandits who were carrying them out, and found empty carts outside the granary to load the grain onto.

This scene left the small henchmen, who were originally responsible for transporting the grain, stunned. However, when they saw Zheng Qian walking briskly from outside, they all suddenly understood. It turned out that these villagers were coerced by Headman Zheng to work for free. Some clever henchmen leaned against the wall to avoid work, while others, who were more mischievous, began to shout orders and boss people around. The villagers, who were used to being bullied, lowered their heads and endured it silently.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Qian, who had arrived leisurely, was both amused and exasperated.

He was a former accountant, not a pure bandit like Du Qian and Song Wan. In his spare time, he had read a few books, so he had some idea of Wang Lun's intentions. Therefore, when he first heard that Wang Lun was going to distribute grain, he was not as surprised as others. He had a vague feeling that his benefactor's actions could not be measured by ordinary bandit rules.

However, the scene before him left him greatly shocked! Just by the way the henchmen were shouting at the emotionless villagers, he keenly realized that something had gone wrong!

This doesn't look like distributing grain at all; it looks more like tormenting people!

Knowing that something was amiss, but not having time to think it through, he quickly shouted, "Stop! Stop! Everyone, stop!" Seeing Headman Zheng speak, the small henchmen quickly joined in, ordering the villagers to stop their actions.

Ignoring the puzzled looks of the crowd, Zheng Qian, in a hurry, thought that to solve the problem, he needed to find the source. He quickly found Li Si in the crowd and loudly demanded, "Li Si! I want to know, what did you tell the villagers just now!"

Seeing the chieftain on the mountain frowning and questioning Li Si, the hundreds of villagers below the steps were all very confused and looked at Li Si in unison.

Suddenly, seeing the attention of hundreds of people focused on him, Li Si, who had never been the center of attention in his life, felt a sudden panic and stammered, "I... I told the villagers to each carry ten stones of grain, t... this... this is what the... the chieftain ordered!"

Seeing his state, Zheng Qian easily guessed what had happened. Suppressing the urge to beat Li Si, he asked again, "Carry grain, carry grain, where exactly are they supposed to carry it? Did you explain it clearly?"

Li Si was startled and immediately blushed, feeling ashamed and lowering his head, "I... I didn't explain it clearly..."

Zheng Qian, at a loss, thought to himself, "Brother! Please, explain it clearly to the villagers again!"

Li Si, his face red with embarrassment, quickly turned to the villagers and loudly explained, "E... Everyone, I... I didn't explain it clearly just now. O... Our chieftain means that each villager should carry ten stones of grain home, a... as a token of our chieftain's goodwill!"

Li Si's words were like a bomb that exploded in the crowd with a "buzz."

Ten stones! That's a thousand catties of grain! (Song catties, equivalent to about 1,200 modern catties). Even a family working hard for a year, after paying rent, might not have that much grain left! And now the chieftain on the mountain was giving each household ten stones of grain. Was this a dream!?

Some people immediately pinched their arms hard to make sure they were not dreaming. Feeling the sharp pain, they were overjoyed and thought: This thousand catties of grain, if mixed with wild vegetables and other grains and used sparingly, could feed a family of ten for a whole year! Thinking of this, the overjoyed villagers could not contain their complex emotions and all knelt down to the most respected-looking Zheng Qian, expressing their deep gratitude and praying for his blessings.

To his surprise, Zheng Qian was frightened and quickly dodged. He loudly clarified, "It's not me... it's not me... it's the order of our chieftain Wang! I'm just here to distribute the grain; it has nothing to do with me!" At this moment, he was inwardly cursing, "These people are trying to get me in trouble! If the chieftain hears that I am accepting the villagers' worship here, what will happen!?" Thinking of the serious consequences, he was almost furious and shouted at the helpless Li Si, "Li Si! What are you doing standing there! Why are you making me suffer like this!"

Zheng Qian's shouting at Li Si did not satisfy him, so he also scolded the surrounding henchmen who were watching the commotion. "What are you all doing? This is no time to stand around and watch! You should be helping!" The henchmen, seeing that Headman Zheng was really angry, did not dare to be lazy. Two of them quickly ran over to help each villager up, pulling them to their feet.

Finally, when all the villagers were up, Zheng Qian's face improved. He thought he needed to take some measures to remedy the situation. After a moment's thought, he suddenly looked up and ordered the henchmen, "Go, lend the ox carts to the villagers, and help them! Ten stones per family, deliver to each household. Hurry up and come back!"

The henchmen, who were now fully engaged, quickly went to the warehouse to load the grain onto the carts. The villagers, seeing this, were stunned for a moment but then joined in to help. In no time, the hundred ox carts at the warehouse entrance were all loaded. Zheng Qian, without even looking at Li Si, found a few experienced villagers to lead the way and called the henchmen to drive the carts, delivering the grain to each household.

Li Si, with a guilty look, hid in the crowd, making sure to stay at least ten paces away from Zheng Qian to avoid further trouble.

The long convoy of ox carts moved through the ancient and desolate village, the moonlight shining on the fields, the Milky Way stretching across the sky. Along the way, the henchmen and the villagers helped each other, creating a harmonious scene.