Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 157 Gathering
"Shan Nong Daily! Shan Nong Daily! Xi Liang surrenders, the Turks become vassals, and the Tatars are granted titles!"

"Shan Nong Daily! Shan Nong Daily! No rain in summer and autumn, severe drought in Jiangnan! Tens of thousands die from fever!"

Hearing the newsboy's shouts, people nearby turned to look.

Chai Boshi, who had come to Luoyang to report back, walked toward the girl selling newspapers.

"Give me a newspaper."

"Fourth Miss, give me a newspaper."

Just as Chai Boshi opened his mouth, he heard someone behind him call out something like "Miss". He turned around and saw a short-haired scholar dressed as a scholar.

Wen Shumo and Chai Boshi met eyes, and Wen Shumo nodded politely.

Chai Boshi smiled and said, "You are too kind, young master."

Wen Shumo knew he had misunderstood. "I am Wen Shumo from Jiangnan. I came first, please, sir."

Chai Boshi did not misunderstand. "Young master, you are too kind. I am also a Han Chinese, but this fourth young lady must be from the mountains. She looks different."

498 handed over two newspapers, saying, "Here are your newspapers."

After giving Chai Boshi the newspaper, 498 looked at the document and ink strangely.

"Why do you come to my place to buy newspapers every day, Mr. Wen? You don't even live here. Isn't there a newspaper shop on the next street?"

The clerk politely replied, "Because in some places, newsboys don't say a word, they just sit there on a chair and sell newspapers. Only you, Miss Fourth, shout the most enthusiastically, so I've gotten used to walking a few extra steps to buy one."

Chai Boshi rarely came to Luoyang. Upon hearing this, he laughed and said, "I see. If it were me, I would also be willing to come here to buy newspapers."

498 blinked. "I see. But we used to shout 'I'm selling newspapers!' If we didn't shout, who would buy newspapers?"

Wen Shumo smiled and said, "Newspapers in the city sell very quickly, and the supply can't keep up with the demand. I heard that many people were shouting for them at the beginning, but they sold out quickly and it wasn't difficult. Some people even want to charge more money to buy a newspaper, or they save it for rich people. Unlike Miss Si, if you come here later, there really won't be any left."

498 shook his head. "I'm not like them. If I get caught, I'll be in big trouble. I heard that discipline is very strict now, and the Emperor has promoted many judges and censors."

Wen Shumo and Chai Boshi both smiled when they heard this, but when they noticed that the man next to them was also smiling, they were both startled!
"Where does the young master hold his post?"

Chai Boshi had a feeling that, having served as an official for many years and dealt with many officials while also handling various cases, he had gained some insight into many things.

The clerk replied casually, "Just do something."

The two men, number 498 and 498, wanted to chat here, so he impatiently urged them, "Don't stand here, I need to finish selling the newspapers quickly, I have a lot of things to do!"

"Yes." Wen Shumo smiled and walked to the side.

Chai Boshi followed along, and the two sat down in front of a stall.

"Five fried dough sticks and a bowl of bean soup, please."

"I'll have the same."

Chai Boshi smiled, and the burly man sat down and picked up a newspaper, looking at the news.

The news isn't new, especially since most of the events involving the Jiangnan region, which is about 1,600 to 1,700 miles away, happened two or three months ago.

Agricultural News:

The drought in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Hunan provinces lasted for months, the rice flowers withered, the fields cracked like tortoise shells, tens of thousands died of heatstroke, people dared not go out during the day, and people died of thirst.

The Huainan region is not affected for the time being because it has no arable land. However, since it is also an arid area and water conservancy projects have not yet been built, the Ministry of Agriculture believes that it is not suitable to resume farming in this area at the moment.

The Northwest is experiencing a prolonged drought, while the plains provinces are lush with vegetation, and water resources and the ecosystem are gradually recovering. The drought and locust plague have been effectively alleviated. In order to prevent the drought in the southern regions from spreading to the Huanghuai provinces, 10 million mu of winter wheat will be planted in the plains provinces this year, and 100,000-household teams will be mobilized for resettlement.

The population of Shan Nong Province is too large, approaching three million. In order to make room for children to play, the population will be stabilized at less than four million. Some people from the Northwest and North China regions will be relocated in advance to return to their hometowns and join the Wanhu Team to reclaim wasteland.

To address issues such as grain turnover and water resource allocation in advance, herders and agricultural workers in various regions should pay close attention to local rainfall. If there is a drought in the spring, livestock should be moved immediately and in an orderly manner, depending on the amount of rainfall and the number of livestock in each region at that time.

……

Chai Boshi watched for a while, and at that moment the waiter brought over tofu pudding and a plate of fried dough sticks.

In ancient times, oil was scarce, and buying oil was expensive, so people were reluctant to use good flour to fry dough sticks.

But just like pooling money to buy beef, which amounts to one percent of a cow, buying a few fried dough sticks to satisfy a craving isn't a big deal.

You can only find these fried dough stick stalls in the city, and they use the kind of family-reused hot oil that's been used repeatedly.

Nobody cares about the color of the fried dough sticks; they've long been used to this color.

Chai Boshi put down the newspaper, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.

At that moment, a couple in their twenties sat down at the next empty table.

The man had short hair and wore decent but ill-fitting mountain farmer's clothes, making him look unlike a mountain farmer.

The woman was clearly from a wealthy family, but she gave off a somewhat down-on-her-luck vibe and seemed rather dull and reluctant to speak.

"Six fried dough sticks and three bowls of tofu pudding, please."

Wang Daoji looked around and focused his gaze on the more conspicuous Chai Boshi and Wen Shumo.

Upon seeing the newspapers beside the two men, Wang Daoji politely bowed to Chai Boshi.

"Brother, I came in a hurry and didn't buy a newspaper on the way. Could I borrow it to read? This meal is on me."

Chai Boshi looked up at him, and was about to speak when Wen Shumo suddenly said, "Brother Wang?"

Wang Daoji and Fang Huairui looked at the document and ink, slightly hesitant.

Wen Shumo said helplessly, "I am Wen Shumo. What brings you to Luoyang, Brother Wang?"

Wang Daoji quickly remembered Wen Shumo and his wife, and said awkwardly, "I came to see what's going on and find a way out. Some things have happened, and things are tough at home now. We can't just do nothing and wait for things to fall apart."

Wen Shumo nodded, about to say something, when Chai Boshi across from him smiled and said, "It's fate that we met. Take a look, no need to be polite."

Wang Daoji hurriedly said, "Thank you, brother."

Because of his own family matters, Wang Daoji was embarrassed to reveal his name.

Wen Shumo was also aware of the Wang family's affairs, and he nodded politely to Wang Daoji and Fang Huairui.

We weren't very familiar with each other before, and now we're just casual acquaintances.

Everyone got a haircut, and it seemed like there was a distance between them.

Wang Daoji glanced at the newspaper, quickly focusing on the agricultural section, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

Fang Huairui asked softly, "What's wrong? Is it bad news again?"

"It might be a good thing." Wang Daoji pursed his lips, trying to smile and comfort his wife who had been suffering and being scolded along with him recently.

Fang Huairui quickly became curious. Was this a good thing?

"how much is this?"

A child's voice came from the side. Fang Huairui looked over and saw three short-haired children standing in front of the fried dough stick stall, looking at it longingly.

The vendor noticed that the three children were quite young, with short hair, wearing trousers and thin-sleeved long shirts.

"Fried dough sticks cost four coins each, and tofu pudding costs seven coins a bowl."

Mu Lin patted his pocket, and just when the vendor and Fang Huairui thought the child had no money, he took out a silver coin.

"Is this okay?"

Both Wen Shumo and Wang Daoji stared at the one tael of silver in Mu Lin's hand.

While eating, Chai Boshi noticed the expressions of several people nearby and turned around to see the one or two taels of silver in Mu Lin's hand.

One tael of silver is equivalent to one thousand coins, which is not much for the people present.

However, a child with one or two taels of silver in his hand either stole the money or came from a very wealthy family.

Mu Lin's voice was a little timid, and the two boys behind him were also looking nervously at the couple who sold fried dough sticks and tofu pudding.

The boss immediately put on a stern face and said, "Let me see, did you steal this money?"

The shopkeeper took the silver tael, and the three children all looked nervous and scared.

The boss immediately said, "Call your parents here! How can a child this young be so badly behaved? This is outrageous!"

With no adults around to help the three children, in the midst of the chaos, Mu Lin shouted, "Run!"

Niu'er and Zhu'er quickly followed and ran after them.

Calling in the parents would be too much of a nightmare for three little kids.

Seeing the three children run away, the shopkeeper stuffed the money into his pocket and cursed rudely, "You little brats, you're not learning anything good!"

Chai Boshi smiled and said to the boss, "You scoundrel, you've gotten yourself into trouble. Those three kids all speak with a northern Shanxi accent, so they're probably real mountain farmers, not fake ones with shaved heads."

The boss stared blankly at Chai Boshi, then quickly forced a smile, "How could that be... How could a mountain farmer not know money or how to spend it?"

Wen Shumo and Wang Daoji also found it strange, and somewhat agreed with their boss's words.

Chai Boshi said with a smile, "Real mountain farmers all have their food and lodging provided. They don't come to Luoyang; there's nowhere to spend money there."

The vendor selling fried dough sticks was so frightened that his mouth trembled. The silver in his arms was hotter than the oil in the pot.

***
The three children ran for two blocks before finally breathing a sigh of relief when they saw that no one was chasing them.

"Where is this place?"

"do not know."

"Ask someone."

The three children looked around dejectedly.

Mu Lin instructed the two of them, "Don't tell anyone about this."

"Hmm!" Neither Zhu'er nor Niu'er wanted to talk about this embarrassing matter. Just as the three of them were at a loss, they heard shouts from nearby.

"Shannong Daily! Shannong Daily! Only two copies left, buy them quickly!"

The three children saw a woman of similar age selling newspapers ahead of them, so they walked over to her together.

The 498, who was two heads taller than the three children, saw the three children.

"Want to buy a newspaper? Two copies for ten coins. Do you have that kind of money?"

Mu Lin nodded quickly, then shook his head just as quickly.

498 glared at the three troublemaking boys, "Which team are you from?"

"1001," Mu Lin said, indicating his squad.

Si Jiu Ba frowned and carefully examined the three children.

"You're lying, isn't 1001 located in a rural area of ​​Wuzhou Mountain?"

Mu Lin replied, "No, I was working in Tongzhou a while ago."

Si Jiuba immediately perked up, "I used to live in Tongzhou too. You're from the rural area of ​​Nongzhou, right? I live in Tongzhou city."

Mu Lin argued, "I'm in Tongzhou City."

“Me too,” Ai Niu said to her sister.

Seeing that they didn't seem to be lying, Si Jiuba asked curiously, "I'm Si Jiuba from Team 115. Do you know Team 115?"

All three children shook their heads.

Ai Zhu said to Mu Lin and Ai Niu, "She sells newspapers."

After being reminded, Mu Lin quickly said, "I know a woman surnamed Jin who sells newspapers in Tongzhou. Later, she was replaced by a man."

"That's our captain. He doesn't sell newspapers anymore, all he does is boss people around," 498 casually remarked, then immediately asked, "What are your names?"

"Mu Lin".

"Zhu'er."

"Ox".

Because everyone called them that, Zhu'er and Niu'er didn't realize they had surnames, and when asked their names, they subconsciously said what they thought they were.

Surnames are irrelevant to most children, and 498 also abandoned surnames.

Seeing the three little boys with names, using their names instead of numbers, 498 finally believed that they were Team 1001.

That is, the earliest group of mountain farmers, not the naturalized mountain farmers like myself who were later incorporated.

To this day, Sijiuba still remembers that he and his younger siblings are Han Chinese, not true mountain farmers.

"Are you here to buy newspapers? I'll give you two copies for free. They're on me, no charge."

Si Jiuba happily handed them the newspaper, pleased to have met these three mountain farmers.

Mu Lin shook his head. "We're lost."

"How did you get lost?" asked Si Jiuba curiously.

Ai Zhu said, "We went to buy fried dough sticks just now, and the owner took the money and said we stole it. He also said he was looking for our dad. We were scared and ran away, but we got lost."

Filled with righteous indignation, Si Jiuba rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let's go! I'll take you to that place that sells fried dough sticks to get revenge for you and get your money back!"

Mu Lin whispered, "You can't beat him."

"Hmph!" Si Jiu Ba said arrogantly, "I can summon a lot of people with just a shout! Come on, don't be afraid, the mountain farmers are the bosses here!"

Three little boys followed the teenage girl as she walked forward.

Many people on the street recognized Sijiuba. Seeing Sijiuba walking angrily forward, they laughed and said, "Sijiuba, what are you doing? Looks like you're going to hit someone."

They were just teasing the little girl, but she suddenly shouted, "Go and fight them! Let's go! Someone is bullying us mountain farmers' children! Let's teach them a lesson!"

An adult who sells newspapers nearby came over and asked, "Who bullied you?"

Upon seeing the man, 498 immediately exclaimed, "496! Let's go beat him up!"

As an adult, Sijiu had no interest in children's affairs and casually said, "No, I have things to do."

498 said angrily, "I'm going to report you to the captain! You saw the mountain children being bullied and you just stood by and did nothing! Coward!"

Sijiu was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't really ignore it, so he asked, "Who harassed you again? They said a few words to you, and you're going to hit them."

"It wasn't me!" Si Jiu Ba immediately put a hand on Mu Lin's shoulder and pushed the much shorter boy forward. "Those three were bullied by the fried dough stick seller! The fried dough stick seller stole their money and bullied them! We, the people of Shan Nong, must protect the people of Shan Nong!!"

"Anyone who doesn't help the mountain farmers is a traitor to them!"

Si Jiuba shouted loudly on the street. Her voice was loud, and she considered herself a mountain farmer. Her angry words attracted the attention of passers-by on the nearby street.

Li Tangqing, who had brought her son and grandson out for dinner, also noticed what was happening here. She came over to watch the commotion and looked at Sijiuba and the three children who looked very scared.

496 looked at the three children dressed as mountain farmers and said, "They look unfamiliar. Kid, who's your father? Which team are you from?"

Mu Lin was almost crying from fright. "My dad's name is Mu Chuanliang, from Team 1001."

After Mu Lin spoke, Ai Niu said, "My dad's name is Ai Dake, and he's also from Team 1001."

Ai Zhu chimed in, "Me too."

The pronunciation of 1001 is yao ling ling yi, not yi wan ling yi or yi ling ling yi.

Because of the pronunciation issue, only a few people know that this is the original team, now the Royal team.

Li Tangqing also didn't know how early this number was, but she could clearly sense that this matter was going to escalate.

"What's wrong with these young men? I am the magistrate of Luonan County. If anything has happened, I will take care of it for you."

Li Tangqing stepped forward not to uphold justice for the mountain farmers, but because he was worried that the conflict between the mountain farmers and the Han people would escalate and cause unnecessary casualties among the Han people.

If a conflict arises between mountain farmers and Han Chinese, or if a child from a mountain farmer is bullied by an adult Han Chinese merchant, it is bound to escalate.

Upon realizing this, Li Tangqing immediately stepped forward to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

As soon as Si Jiuba saw an old man come out, he immediately said, "A fried dough stick vendor robbed them of their money!"

Li Tangqing thought the vendor wouldn't rob you in broad daylight, so she said to the three children, "I was just thinking of getting some fried dough sticks too. I'll take you guys to buy some later. How much money did that guy rob you of?"

Mu Lin felt his pockets and took out the money he had saved up to treat his brothers to a meal.

"So many." Mu Lin took out one and gestured.

Seeing Mu Lin take out a tael of silver, Li Tangqing roughly guessed what was going on.

"Did you not have any change? We use copper coins to eat here. Did the owner ask you a few questions because he couldn't make change? What did he say?"

Mu Lin whispered, "They asked us if we stole the money, and they even wanted to find my dad. This is the money I saved from working. My mother-in-law gave it to me because she said it would be easier to manage."

Li Tangqing smiled and said, "It's alright. I'll take you to get your money back and make the boss treat you to a few more fried dough sticks as an apology. Where is that person?"

Mu Lin shook his head. "I forgot. We ran for a while and got here. We got lost."

Li Tangqing smiled and said, "You've just arrived in Luoyang, haven't you? I can roughly guess where you're staying. I'll take you back first, and then I'll have the fried dough stick vendor bring you some fried dough sticks and a bucket of silver to apologize. How about that?"

It was no secret that King Wu had entered the city, but Li Tangqing knew that Beiji Wu hadn't left the city at all recently.

Although Mu Chuanliang and Ai Dake had little presence in the Wu Dynasty, Li Tangqing, as a member of the civil service system, knew that these two were among the top-ranking commanders of the civil service.

These two were not good at fighting on the battlefield, nor did they have any talent in Luoyang. They had always been in Qingzhou to stabilize the production of gold mines and salt and tea, or to handle some matters in Wuzhou.

The matter is already very clear. What Li Tangqing needs to do is downplay this issue and reduce the conflict between the mountain farmers and the Han people.

None of the three children wanted to cause trouble, and they all wanted to go home as soon as possible, so they all nodded quickly.

Si Jiuba, who wanted to avenge his three children, was even more eager to fight and prove that the people of Shannong should not be bullied.

Li Tangqing said to his son, "Go and ask which vendor overcharged you by an extra tael of silver, and tell him to close his stall and stop doing business."

Li Tangqing then said to the three children, "If you don't want to see him, I'll have someone bring back the fried dough sticks, food, and the money as an apology to you. How about that?"

None of the three children wanted to see that person and they all wanted it to end quickly, so they nodded hastily, "Okay!"

Li Tangqing smiled and said, "Alright, come with me, I'll take you back. The rest of you, disperse. Don't gather together, and don't follow us to the steward."

498 and 496 wanted to follow, but Li Tangqing refused. They could only watch as the three of them went to the government office area and talked to a few patrolling guards. Then the three children ran into the alley and went home.

Li Tangqing was relieved after seeing the three children go home, and then went to deal with the frightened street vendor.

Chai Boshi, Wen Shumo, Fang Huairui, Wang Daoji, Li Tangqing, Li Anmin, Li Xun and others met on the bustling street, along with Sijiuba and Sijiuliu, who had followed along to watch the excitement.

There were not only these few people on the street, but also many men and women who came to watch the excitement.

There had been friction between the mountain farmers and the Han people, but it was all minor skirmishes. Most of the mountain farmers were Han people who had surrendered a few years ago, and they had never fought against the Northern Wu in the north and south, nor did they have any relatives among the mountain farmers.

As time goes by, more and more people will come to believe that they are from the mountain farms.

Team 1001 are definitely true mountain farmers, and the one being bullied is the son of a thousand households in the northern plains. When it comes to standing up for their master and showing off their power, hundreds or even thousands of people will quickly come to their aid without any organization.

"Who is bullying us mountain farmers?!"

"He's a Han Chinese! Kill that Han Chinese!"

"Han Chinese are all unscrupulous merchants! What kind of skill is it to bully children?!"

"Press his face into the oil pan!"

As soon as Li Tangqing returned here and glanced at the few people around her son, she noticed that short-haired soldiers and civilians wearing trousers and jackets were gathering around her.

(End of this chapter)