Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 189 Hard-working Talents

In the afternoon, a torrential downpour struck Champa County.

One hundred men and women gathered in a spacious longhouse that resembled a factory.

The longhouse is over thirty meters long, five or six meters wide, and occupies nearly two hundred square meters.

The entire structure is built with wooden pillars and palm leaves, without formal walls or a roof, only covered by woven palm leaves.

The bed is very simple, made of a few wooden stakes embedded in the ground to form a hammock, which children, men and women use to sleep and rest.

The ground is damp, all from rainwater falling from outside or the roof.

In the middle of the house was a hearth. Young Liu Jingshun used a flint given to him by a mountain farmer to help a group of villagers who were still using a fire drill to start a fire.

Fire is a sacred object, especially during the wet rainy season, when the fire in the hearth must burn continuously.

The elderly women and children from the neighborhood brought clothes that had been stripped from the corpse and made a bed for the "leader".

A naked woman held a long tree branch high in both hands and tore open the roof above the fire pit, revealing a place from which smoke was coming out.

The ensuing rain made her quickly put down the stick again, continuing to endure the smoke from the wet wood.

A woman who had given birth to several children sat by the fire pit and began roasting cassava and a type of flour-based fruit the size of a coconut.

They had no shortage of food, only of fire, tools, and safe shelter.

Liu Jingshun went to the door to avoid the smoke.

The weather here is unbearable. When it rains, it's stuffy and hot, and you sweat constantly. The air feels like it's frozen, and there's only a little breeze near the rain.

The house was dull, gloomy, and quiet.

"I want to go home."

Several people at the door looked at the person who was speaking, and Liu Jingshun also turned around to look.

He was a man who came here and went on a killing spree before falling seriously ill and lying in bed for two or three days without getting better.

Liu Jingshun was not familiar with this man. He was a quiet man who didn't like to talk much. He was around twenty years old and his hometown seemed to be in a county.

The man struggled to get up from the straw mat he was lying on.

The shed was dark and stuffy, filled with a damp, rotten, and foul smell.

The local women are used to this, quietly squatting to the side watching the scene, or lying in hammocks made of hemp rope.

The initial excitement lasted less than a day; now these naked women no longer attract these men.

At this moment, these vigorous men remained silent and motionless in the dilapidated house amidst the torrential rain, their eyes cold and indifferent.

Liu Jingshun had heard that some government soldiers and bandits would rape and then kill women.

"I want to go home."

The man picked up the spear, whose owner he didn't know, and walked towards the door with both hands gripping it.

The women on the street got up and made way for him.

Liu Jingshun remained silent. The men around him were squatting, sitting at a distance, or lying on haystacks, embracing each other and looking over, waiting for something.

The dangerous silence frightened the women around her; they remained as docile and obedient as they had been the previous two days, doing whatever they were told.

But that doesn't change everything.

Zhang Biao, who was squatting by the door, spat outside, stood up, and said, "Sun Kun, are you out of your mind? In this heavy rain, why are you going home?"

Sun Kun gripped his spear with both hands and shouted at the people in front of him, "Get out of the way! I want to go home!!"

Zhang Biao and the others looked at the crazy young man; they had frequently encountered this kind of situation during their six months of military service.

Some wanted to go home as soon as they entered the military camp, while others cried and begged to go home after marching for a month.

They either endured it, or they were killed by the military leader to establish his authority.

"Make way, let him go."

Liu Jingshun coldly gave the order, bypassing Sun Kun's position and giving the doorway to the man with a persistent high fever.

"Damn it!" Zhang Biao cursed, then walked to the other side, telling the man who wanted to go home to die.

People who were in the way at the door moved aside.

Liu Jingshun was young but could kill several people by himself. He was also a hunter who grew up in the mountains. It was obvious that this was not his first time killing someone when he went to the battlefield.

This was Sun Kun's first time killing someone. Once on the battlefield, he went berserk, shouting and yelling, and didn't know how to conserve his energy when killing.

He doesn't participate in drinking and eating meat, he doesn't boast or bully others, he doesn't engage in massacres or stealing women, and he even refuses the women that are given to him.

He may be a good person, but nobody likes him.

We don't usually bully this person because there are many people who are easier to bully than him.

Those people are all dead.

Sun Kun will be here soon too.

The delirious Sun Kun quickly walked to the door.

Outside, the rain was pouring down.

In the distance were unfamiliar and desolate houses, obscured by a completely obscured curtain of rain.

Sun Kun only took two steps outside before turning back.

He still gripped the spear in both hands, his confused head glancing at Zhang Biao and the others, then at the woman hiding in the shadows inside the house.

"These women! Kill them and we can leave! We can go home!"

Sun Kun shouted loudly, holding the gun in both hands and stabbing at the nearest little girl.

He had only one thought in his mind: to kill these women of different races!
Come back home!

After they were all killed, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and he could see the big willow tree at the entrance of the village again, and return to his old mother, wife, and children.

In a daze, Sun Kun believed that the big trees and muddy road outside were the familiar trees and soil at the entrance of his village, his hometown.

My hometown is very close. With a little effort, I can return to the hometown I long for, and be with my elderly mother, young wife, and children.

"kill!!"

Sun Kun let out a fierce roar, his hands and body radiating an indomitable momentum as he thrust at the demons blocking his way home!
Suddenly an arm reached out in front, and the red tassel and the wood of the wooden spear were tightly grasped by a hand.

Liu Jingshun snatched Sun Kun's weapon with one hand and kicked the man out the door.

Sun Kun's arm could no longer grip the slippery spear, and the spear was pulled from his hand by a tremendous force.

The man's thin body flew three or four meters, landing in the torrential rain and collapsing into the dirty mud.

"You can leave if you want, but get out of here!!" After saying this, Liu Jingshun suddenly realized he couldn't control a group of people older than him, and immediately cursed, "These are gifts from the Shan Nong people! They ordered me to stay here and guard this place! Without their orders, you'll all die if you go back!!"

Liu Jingshun looked at Zhang Biao and said, "Check if he's dead."

Zhang Biao was somewhat frightened by this young man who was so ruthless at such a young age, so he quickly went out to take a look.

"Lord Centurion, it seems he's not dead yet, but I think he's about to die. He can't get up on his own."

Liu Jingshun said coldly, "Bring him in. We're all brothers, and I won't stand by and watch him die."

"Bring him in, put him near the fire to keep warm, and if he survives, everything will be fine."

"If we don't survive, then so be it."

Liu Jingshun wasn't being kind; rather, like many people his age, he simply didn't want to cause trouble.

Upon hearing Liu Jingshun's order, several men dragged the man, who had collapsed in the rain at the doorway, back inside and placed him near the fire.

Liu Jingshun walked over, squatted down, and stripped Sun Kun of his wet clothes, then threw a few dry clothes and animal hides over him.

"Lord Centurion, is it possible for him to survive?"

Zhang Biao, Li Cheng, and the others walked over and looked at Sun Kun, who was dazed, with wet hair and a deathly pale face.

Liu Jingshun replied calmly, "Let fate decide."

With no time to worry about the man who was most likely to die, Liu Jingshun looked at the other wounded.

"Eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, eat on time. If you're well-fed, you won't get sick. As long as you behave well, I'll feed you and won't treat you as a burden."

Upon hearing this, the wounded soldiers quickly dropped to the ground with their hands on the ground.

"Thank you, Commander! Thank you so much, Commander!"

Following the advice of the mountain farmers, Liu Jingshun reminded them: "Don't touch women until you get better. Just sleep more and you'll feel better when you wake up."

“If you’re feeling alright, don’t waste your time on women all the time. Come on over, let’s warm up by the fire, tell each other stories about our hometowns, and chat casually. We’ve been through thick and thin together, and we’re still not familiar with the situation of the brothers around us. Come on over, sit down, and let’s chat casually.”

"Zhang Biao, you can start by speaking."

Liu Jingshun gathered everyone together, and they all sat down near the fire.

Zhang Biao laughed and said, "What's there to talk about? My name is Zhang Biao, but everyone in the village calls me Zhang the Tiger and wishes I were dead."

Liu Jingshun asked, "You're not young anymore, haven't you gotten married back in your hometown?"

Zhang Biao laughed nonchalantly, "I have an older brother who inherited all the family's land. I think this place isn't bad at all. I've already slept with three women! Hahaha!"

The women were roasting food and meat near the fire, a task soon taken over by Liu Jingshun and several men.

The women then took matches and went to another hearth in the house to start a fire and cook, cutting rice and taro into pieces and putting them in an earthenware pot.

The group sat casually, roasting cassava, wild birds, and fish while chatting.

Young women automatically approached the men, pressing their soft bodies against them.

The earthenware bowl placed near the fire was heated by the flames, and Liu Jingshun fed it to the unconscious Sun Kun.

“I’ve already talked about women, so everyone should behave themselves. We’re free now, so we can go and see who slept with which woman. I’ll be your witness, and if any of these women get pregnant, whose child will be called whose father.”

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this, and then, as if playing a game, they split into more than a dozen families.

There were quite a few pretty women among those who weren't chosen. Liu Jingshun said to the wounded soldiers, "I'll assign you two women to take care of you. You'll have someone to boil water, cook, clean the house, and warm your beds."

The five wounded soldiers exclaimed happily, "Thank you so much, Commander!"

Liu Jingshun said directly, "These women are ignorant, and you can't be ignorant like them. Now you all have your own women, and you should support your own women. But we also have to follow the rules. No matter if they are your women or not, you can't kill them."

"Everyone here is one of my people. From now on, anyone who lays a hand on women and children like Sun Kun will be making trouble for me!"

Liu Jingshun scanned the group of people.

A group of men, each with a woman on one side, were well aware of how formidable this young man was.

Whether you want to stay here or go home, you have to listen to this man.

"Yes, sir!"

More than a dozen men ate meat, drank hot soup, talked, and laughed from time to time.

The women and children in the neighborhood were also quietly sharing the cooked and roasted grains.

It got a little cooler in the evening, and the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

Liu Jingshun gradually learned the secret to being a village chief: obeying the orders of the mountain farmers!

As long as many things are presented as orders from the mountain farmers, the rest of the people will obey.

The mountain farmers would regularly send some supplies over.

Liu Jingshun had excellent hunting skills and knew that there was no shortage of food in the vicinity, so he didn't care about the rice and grain sent by the mountain farmers.

However, without the help of the mountain farmers, it would be difficult for him, a mountain dweller, to be a good leader of this group.

Sun Kun's death did not cause any emotional reaction; it was treated like a dead rat, and people threw it out to be burned.

***
At the gate of Linyi County, Liu Jingshun led more than ten people out and gave instructions to two people to guard the gate.

"You two can stay by the fire at the door. If anything happens, one of you can go back and call me."

After Liu Jingshun finished speaking, Zhu translated it for a group of women.

The people responsible for guarding this place were Zhu Suo and the wife of another man who had surrendered.

The two women, along with the other women, arranged the pile of stones and fuel for the fire, and then put down the taro they were carrying. The two women were responsible for guarding the doorway, while the other women went out to work together.

Washing clothes, gathering fruit, digging wild vegetables, cutting bamboo... these women are born to do chores, but they are not suited for fighting and are no match for those men.

Zhu Suo and another man, Qu Xing, were also unsuitable for combat. One of them was responsible for cutting bamboo, and the other for patrolling.

Liu Jingshun patrolled the city, collecting usable tools, food, jewelry, and clothing that the navy and army had not previously discovered.

The entire county now has fewer than two hundred people, and they are mostly women and girls.

There were very few boys, no more than five, and they were all very young children.

As dusk approached, several people from Linyi County cautiously approached the entrance.

The group hid in the nearby tropical rainforest and observed for more than ten minutes. After confirming that the city was safe, they carefully walked over.

"Grandma Zhu, have the soldiers left?"

Ou Xiong spoke to Zhu Suo's wife from a distance of several meters.

Granny Zhu replied, "They didn't leave. The county magistrate stayed here. He made us all work, and he didn't kill us or beat us."

Ou Xiong cautiously looked around the county town.

"Just like before? No more killing the rebels?"

Granny Zhu said angrily, "If they've all been killed, who else will be killed? If we behave ourselves, the officials won't kill us."

Ou Xiong held a higher position in the city than Zhu Suo, and was also much more powerful than Zhu Po.

However, as a minor leader, Ou Xiong shamefully fled, taking his family with him to hide in a nearby swamp.

Swamps are the best place to hide from government troops. If the troops are not familiar with the terrain and climate, they will get lost and drown.

As a result, the soldiers only attacked the city and did not wander around the forest villages and rural tribes outside the city, giving many people the opportunity to escape.

The area had been under the rule of the court before. The main reason for this rebellion was that the court levied too much tax and killed several tribal leaders, which led to the rest of the people rebelling together.

Now that all those who opposed him have been killed, the Ou Xiong people just want to live a peaceful life and are willing to pay taxes in exchange for protection.

After witnessing hundreds or thousands of deaths, most of the participants and survivors were left with only fear.

Ou Xiong asked cautiously, "Are you really not going to kill us?"

"I won't kill him." Zhu Su peeked out from the city wall and said happily when he saw Ou Xiong, "Come in, I'll go down and take you to see the county magistrate. The county magistrate is hiring people to work, and he wants everyone to come back quickly."

Upon hearing that a new county magistrate had come to govern them, Ou Xiong knew that the matter was over.

Ou Xiong's woman didn't believe this and looked at the county town where many people had died with fear.

Traces of the battle and killings from the day before yesterday can still be seen on the earthen walls of the county town. At that time, the soldiers dragged the men and women of the county to the earthen walls and beheaded them one by one.

The earthen wall was covered in blood; just one glance at it could give you nightmares for days.

Zhu Suo's women and the women in the city all went into hiding, not knowing how many people died that day.

Ou Xiong and the others had all seen it, and they saw the mounted soldiers leave before they dared to return.

"We'll die out there sooner or later, so we'll listen to the officials!"

Ou Xiong gritted his teeth and took a gamble.

Firstly, since he had not participated in the rebellion or the battles before, those people certainly wouldn't recognize him.

Secondly, it has been raining frequently lately, making life miserable in the forest and increasing the risk of dying outside.

Thirdly, the fact that Zhu Suo and a group of women survived gave Ou Xiong some confidence.

Zhu came down from the earthen wall and looked at Ou Xiong's wife, daughter, brother, and sister-in-law.

"Where is your son?"

"He's still in the mountains. I'll bring him back when everything's alright."

The bear was still a little uneasy, but at least it didn't turn around and run away.

A safe county town is extremely important to these people.

It's not safe outside. Not only can the Northerners not stand those poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, but Ou Xiong and his men also have to risk their lives to deal with all sorts of unexpected events.

Zhu led the group inside and reminded them, "You must kowtow to the county magistrate. He said that all the women here must obey him. If you behave, you won't get beaten."

Ou Xiong nodded.

It's common knowledge that court officials are inhumane; there's nothing surprising about it.

The local indigenous leaders were also not treated as human beings, and there was a strict distinction between the rank and status of the villages and tribes in Linyi County.

It is perfectly natural for the powerful to rule and enslave the weak.

It's just like humans enslaving wild animals; it's perfectly normal.

The consequence of resistance is death.

The cruelty inflicted by various tribes and mountain strongholds was even greater.

During the period when Linyi County was under brutal rule, everyone was used to having a "King" above them.

Anyone who disobeys this king will be cruelly killed by him.

The king has been killed, and his men are either dead or have fled.

The people of Linyi County are still making a living using the survival rules of the old era.

They have always been a group that has been enslaved; now it's just a different group.

If they hadn't met the mountain farmers, most of them wouldn't have survived.

Liu Jingshun will only be assimilated by a group of bandits.

Now Liu Jingshun has discovered a more advanced group of mountain farmers. From learning various rules and regulations upon enlisting to following the mountain farmers' advice on converting prisoners, and with the mountain farmers also stationed in the northern county town, these bandits who have just returned from the battlefield have been suppressed.

In his attitude toward the people of Linyi County, Liu Jingshun heeded the advice of the mountain farmers.

The Shan Nong people are known for their kindness, and Liu Jingshun wanted to present himself as one of them. Although the term "presentation" didn't exist in this era, Liu Jingshun knew how to disguise himself to infiltrate certain ethnic groups and avoid being mistaken for an outsider.

At the entrance of the longhouse, the oldest man, Old Man Li, still held a machete, but he used it to cut bamboo.

"Lord, I think it's going to rain here. I'll make you a straw hat. I know how to do that."

Old Man Li was already quite old and had married two wives, and he knew that whether he could go back depended on Liu Jingshun's future.

Now everyone here listens to this young man, and even Old Man Li is afraid of this ruthless man who has taken many lives.

Liu Jingshun casually said, "Since you know how to make bamboo hats, why don't you teach those women how to make bamboo hats? How many bamboo hats can you make by yourself?"

"That's right, haha! I'll teach them once I've mastered this," Old Man Li agreed with a smile.

Liu Jingshun looked at him.

"Since you're idle and have nothing to do, you can just make two straw hats every day. We won't ask you to patrol or go hunting. Just stay in the city and watch the house."

Old Man Li said happily, "Yes! Thank you for your kindness, Commander!"

Li Cheng was sitting at the door helping to chop bamboo when he looked up at the street and said, "Master, someone else is here."

Liu Jingshun turned around and looked at the indigenous family walking towards him.

Liu Jingshun placed one hand on the hilt of the longsword at his waist, and he was wearing a blood-stained army robe.

I'm not standing here to wait for someone; I'm looking around at the buildings to figure out which direction to evacuate in case of an attack tonight.

The chances of a night raid here are slim, and the main force here has already been wiped out, so there is no decent resistance.

However, it's always good to be careful.

There are two things to note.

One is poison arrows. The people here can make those poisoned weapons, and the probability of death after being hit is extremely high.

Then there are elephants.

“Your Excellency! This is Ou Xiong who has run away. This is his family, including his younger brother Ou Ya.”

Zhu began by introducing the family.

Ou Xiong knelt on the ground and kowtowed, carefully lowering his head as he said, "Greetings, County Magistrate. I am Ou Xiong from Linyi County. I am willing to pay taxes, and I am willing to give money and women. I beg you, County Magistrate, to allow us to continue to settle down and farm in the city."

Liu Jingshun was slightly surprised, "You can speak our language?"

Ou Xiong hurriedly explained, "Many of the Nine Immortals can speak Northern Mandarin. When we exchange things with the Nine Immortals, many of the men can speak it."

Liu Jingshun felt that the future was not so hopeless. First of all, the language barrier was not too serious.

"Alright, you can go home now. This place is under my jurisdiction. According to the rules of the imperial court, this place belongs to me. I won't charge you any money, but everyone must hand over their grain here. I will distribute it to ensure that no one starves. The mountain farmers have always exempted their own people from taxes and will even give you food."

Ou Xiong felt that this young man was indeed easy to talk to. "Your Excellency, my son is still outside, and my family has a water buffalo that we rely on for plowing the land. I'll go and get it now."

“Go ahead.” Liu Jingshun gave him some trust. “If you meet anyone else, just tell them that you can come back here to farm and work now. The traitors are all dead. As long as you come back and live a peaceful life, I won’t hold it against you for what happened before.”

“If you come back now, the house will still belong to whoever it was before, and the wife will still belong to whoever it was before. If you come back late, I will have to redistribute the property.”

“No matter how much land you had before, I will allocate some land to you to cultivate, as well as houses and women, depending on the circumstances of your return.”

Liu Jingshun calmly gave instructions on various matters, but his heart was filled with excitement.

Relying on the orders and presence of the mountain farmers, Liu Jingshun had his own village, countless women, and a rich hunting ground full of prey!

We don't need to pay taxes to the people in the county, nor do we need to deal with the government troops!
Moreover, once you become a commander of a thousand households, the position can be inherited, and the family name will truly belong to the Liu family!
Even if 99.9999% of people are unwilling to inherit the family business here, sometimes you can still find talented people who are capable but have never enjoyed a good life, and who are ambitious but have a narrow vision.

If Liu Jingshun spent a few days in a city in the southeast or north, he would never consider becoming a lord here.

Being able to adapt to the climate here doesn't mean you're willing to endure hardship here.

Liu Jingshun, who rarely takes a bath, has a very hard life since childhood. This not only honed his skills in killing and hunting, but also made simple things like having enough to eat and having someone to play with his greatest satisfaction in life.

Due to the order to shrink the Arctic Army, the mountain farmers also abandoned the tropical climate in the south, and a large number of Han soldiers and mountain farmers went north to the area north of the Hanoi Delta to escape the summer heat.

Liu Jingshun soon lost the support of the mountain farmers, but this turned out to be exactly what he wanted.

"It's better if you don't come; I'll stay here and be the king of the mountain!"

Liu Jingshun ate the roasted cassava handed to him by the woman next to him, contentedly taking shelter from the continuous tropical downpour outside in the damp shed with hundreds of others.

If you don't die today, you'll die tomorrow.

The rivers in the rainforest never run dry, and the hot and humid climate makes it very easy for various mosquitoes, flies, and bacteria to breed. Hundreds of flies swarm around you while you eat, and you can always see many Indian honeybees on your food.

Local food comes from diverse sources, and many of the foods people eat are naturally contaminated with toxins.

Not only are there various wild animals and strangely shaped fruits, but even the staple food cassava is poisonous.

Even non-toxic food can become poisonous overnight in this climate.

It's impossible for people to catch prey every day; having anything to eat is already a blessing. In such a primitive climate, it's simply impossible to eat cooked food every day.

Unless there are many people, which is necessary for farming and solving the problem of food, a small population is a test of physical strength and talent.

People with poor digestive systems would have died on their way here.

Zhang Biao and the other old men also collapsed one after another, only Liu Jingshun, a true mountain dweller, quickly adapted to the local climate.

Some people can live alone in places teeming with poisonous miasma and mosquitoes for over a decade, while others die within two or three days in the rainforest.

Most of the army troops who came this time belonged to the latter category.

This place is 100% rotten land for the mountain farmers who are mainly from the dry and arid climate of the north.

The mountain farmers have no shortage of food, and the mineral resources here are not as good as those in the north. In addition, there is the deadly rainforest climate, poisonous insects, snakes and rats, as well as the long rainy season and the hot and humid environment where you are covered in sweat after doing a little work.

There's no industrialization to speak of in a place like this, and as for three rice harvests a year... that's like doing farm work three times a year?
In any case, farming is a losing proposition in the Mountain Farming Kingdom now, and after the grain tax was abolished, few people are willing to farm anymore.

Such a good place should be left to future generations to cultivate; this generation doesn't want to farm anyway.

They were already complaining bitterly about migrating back to their hometown from Luoyang; if they were to be migrated here to fill in the border areas, they would have disappeared on the way.

Lingnan was already very difficult, Jiaozhi County was even more difficult, and Champa was a terrible place that was already very difficult. It had just been through a war, and was plagued by plague and malaria. There was also language barrier and insufficient supplies. No one wanted to come here to develop the area without suffering.

(End of this chapter)