1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 4 Brothers and Brothers Respect
"The Peng brothers are fighting again!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, a bunch of young bullies who only know how to bully their own kind."

"The Peng family and the Liu family were so ruthless when they fought over water two years ago. The Peng family's water source in the back mountain wouldn't have been so easily taken over by the Liu family."

"They've really disgraced us peacemakers!"

"Going back six generations, they all had the same father. How come there's such a big difference between the Peng Xianzhong family and the Peng Xin family?"

"The plague god is also stupid. The Peng family is so immoral, why didn't he come after the Peng family, but instead clung to the Peng family?"

Ah~ the Peng family was such a good family. The pillars of the family either fled or died, leaving only two half-grown children, and now they're stuck with such a heartless bunch of relatives. What will become of them…?

"Hey? Isn't that Minister Peng?"

"Isn't he already dead? I saw him lying in the coffin with my own eyes yesterday! Could I have been mistaken?"

"It's him, it's him. The plague god was still careful and didn't take him away too."

The villagers of Qingfeng Village gathered in Peng Gang's courtyard, watching the fight and commenting on the Peng family.

A sharp-eyed villager noticed Peng Gang standing out from the crowd and was so surprised that he dropped the bowl in his hand, spilling the purple porridge made of sweet potato slices mixed with rice all over the ground.

During the late Qing Dynasty, due to the surge in population, the conflict between people and land intensified, and by the mid-Qianlong period, the average arable land per person was still 4.25 mu.

By the end of the Daoguang era, the average arable land per person had dwindled to less than 2 mu.

During the Kangxi era, the price of rice was 800 to 900 wen per shi (a unit of dry measure). By the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras, the price of rice had skyrocketed to 3,000 wen per shi, and this was only the price of grain during normal seasons.

During famine years, grain prices will only be higher.

In response to the food crisis, the Qing government issued an edict to all provinces to widely cultivate sweet potatoes to satisfy hunger.

The general population was forced to rely on high-yield, low-nutrient crops such as sweet potatoes and corn for survival. As a result, the average height of the population dropped to a historic low.

Looking around, Peng Gang noticed that the average height of the male villagers in Qingfeng Village was around 163 centimeters.

His height of 173 cm makes him quite eye-catching in a crowd; it's hard not to notice him.

When Peng Gang heard villagers talking about him, a barely perceptible smile flickered across his lips.

His father, Peng Xin, had been a village tutor in his early years, and his family had always had a good reputation in Qingfeng Village.

With so many villagers witnessing him still alive, Peng Xianzhong and his family should think twice before they try to harm him, and whether they can silence the public afterward.

It's unlikely that these villagers will step forward to help the siblings, but they can at least say a few words of justice.

"A bunch of idiots! You've all been fooled by this kid! Use your brains and think about it! Who only charges 10% rent? Are you running an almshouse?"

Are you going to continue making our family a laughingstock in front of the whole village?! You've completely disgraced the Peng family!

Peng Xianzhong's gaze swept over the bruised and swollen Peng brothers and the disheveled Peng family daughter-in-law, and he stamped his foot in anger.

Peng Gang suppressed a laugh. This family was truly amicable, treating their own brothers so cruelly.

What's outrageous is that they fought each other for half a day and didn't even notice that the eldest son's and fourth son's families were missing.

Of course, it's also possible that they discovered it a long time ago but simply chose not to say it.

With two fewer people from each household, the remaining four households can get a larger share of Peng Gang's family's assets.

"How dare you play tricks on our brothers!"

The belatedly realizing their mistake, the brothers from the same clan, for once, united and, disregarding the pain in their wounds, charged at Peng Gang with fierce determination to regain their dignity.

Peng Gang shielded the trembling Peng Yi behind him, showing no sign of backing down or fear: "What? So many villagers are watching, in broad daylight, do you want to kill me? I'm infected with the plague, whoever goes any further might catch it."

Normally, Peng Gang, with his physique, would not be afraid of these injured members of his clan at all.

However, he was still recovering from a serious illness and was quite weak, so he would definitely suffer a loss if they started fighting.

Upon hearing Peng Gang's words, the family members who had been so aggressive just a moment ago, wishing they could devour him alive, began to avoid this plague god and took a few steps back.

Getting infected with the plague is no joke; it can really kill people, and it might even spread to your family.

They coveted Peng Gang's farmland, but they valued their lives more than the farmland.

Peng Xianzhong glanced at his good-for-nothing sons, then squinted his triangular eyes at the gap between the two white curtains that separated the front and back halls.

He seemed to have discovered something and told his men to leave the front hall first.

Are my eldest son's and fourth son's wives here with you?

After the family members had all left, Peng Xianzhong sternly questioned Peng Gang, "Weren't you all waiting in my house to eat my family's bloodline?" Peng Gang coldly replied, "Now you've remembered you're missing two sons?"

Peng Xianzhong strode towards the back hall and indeed saw that the eldest son and the fourth son had their mouths gagged with rags and were tied to the two beams in the back hall, one on each side.

Peng Xianzhong reached out to untie the eldest son's wife, but Peng Gang, who had followed him to the back room, drew a short dagger from his waist and held it to the eldest son's neck.

"Peng Gang! How dare you commit violence?! Aren't you afraid of facing legal trouble?!" Peng Xianzhong's face turned red with anger.

"A lawsuit? I caught those two thieves last night, red-handed, so they definitely have to face legal trouble," Peng Gang scoffed.

"You are so slanderous!"

“You, as the father, know your son’s character better than I do.”

I'm going to arrest you and take you to the authorities!

"Meet with the magistrate? So many villagers are here today as witnesses. And I am Mr. Liu's prized student. Whose story do you think the magistrate will believe more after we meet with the magistrate?"

"Peng Gang! Don't go too far! I am your clan chief!" Peng Xianzhong shouted angrily, pointing his finger at Peng Gang's nose.

“Peng Xianzhong! It’s your family that’s gone too far! My brother and I have never provoked you.” Peng Gang retorted.

In feudal times, it was considered extremely impolite to address elders by their given names, as it was a taboo to use the names of monarchs or relatives directly.

Respect is mutual. Since Peng Xianzhong acted disrespectfully as an elder, Peng Gang has no obligation to respect him. People with such depraved morals do not deserve respect.

"What do you want?"

As Peng Xianzhong calmed down, he gradually regained some rationality, and his attitude softened somewhat.

Peng Gang's words make sense.

This matter is entirely their own fault.

If the matter escalates to the county court, the county magistrate will most likely side with Peng Gang.

“Take all of your family members and get back to your original family. Return everything that doesn’t belong to your family,” Peng Gang said.

"Release them, and everything is negotiable." Peng Xianzhong's attitude softened, and he was no longer as tough as before.

“No discussion! You can rest assured, I am a man with a bright future ahead of me, and your two worthless sons are not worth me getting involved in a murder case,” Peng Gang replied outright.

Release them? Dream on. With your family's meager reputation, what if you go back on your word after releasing them?
“You caused my brother’s injuries. Each of your six branches of the family should pay one string of cash as medical expenses for my brother. My dog ​​was poisoned by your eldest branch, so you should also pay three strings of cash.”

If you pay these nine strings of cash, I will settle this matter with you privately.

Since his own family members were bullying him in his own home, Peng Gang naturally had no intention of letting it go peacefully.

They have to compensate for what they owe.

"Six strings of cash for a consultation? You're trying to hire an imperial physician, aren't you?" Peng Xianzhong shouted angrily.

He always felt that Peng Gang was like a different person. The Peng Gang of the past was refined and gentle, and didn't reek of money like this. Why is he now talking about nine strings of cash?

Peng Gang's dog was well-cared for and worth three strings of cash, but a consultation fee of six strings of cash was unheard of for Peng Xianzhong. In the countryside, the consultation fee for a renowned itinerant doctor to come to your home was at most one string of cash.

"Too much?" Peng Gang said with a sly smile.

"You scared my little sister so much that she wet the bed, and I haven't even asked you for her medical fees yet."

"Nine strings of cash it is! We'll compensate you!" Fearing that Peng Gang would change his mind and demand an exorbitant price, Peng Xianzhong didn't bother to haggle and quickly agreed.

"Get lost!" Peng Gang waved impatiently at the annoying old man in front of him.

Peng Xianzhong, like a deflated balloon, slunk out of the back room.

Seeing Peng Xianzhong come out of the back room, Liu Fang shamelessly stepped forward and said with great joy, "Father, they signed the document?"

"Draw your mother's head!" Peng Xianzhong, seething with rage, slapped the sixth wife across the face. "What are you all standing there for?! Do you want me to hire a sedan chair to carry you all home?! Go home!"

After his family left, the villagers who had been watching the commotion gradually dispersed, and Peng Gang finally enjoyed a rare moment of peace and quiet.

He put away the ox-tail dagger, its hilt soaked with sweat, and was about to close the courtyard gate when two disheveled, unkempt, emaciated, and barefoot boys of about fifteen or sixteen years old appeared before him.

Peng Gang thought they were beggars coming to his door for food and was about to call Peng Yi to bring two sweet potatoes to send them away when one of the beggars, carrying a vegetable basket and with moist eyes, spoke first: "Master Peng, we would like to kowtow to Mr. Peng."

　根据澳大利亚维多利亚州公共档案局对出生于1810~1849年的1492名入境中国劳工身高统计，平均身高为163~164公分左右。

　　Most of these laborers were from Guangdong. People from Guangxi at the same time should have been of similar height to those from Guangdong, perhaps a little shorter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)