Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 42 Reputation
A grain transport team of more than ten people was marching in a grand procession.

A wheelbarrow can carry three to five shi of grain, and less than ten wheelbarrows plus three oxcarts would be enough to carry about sixty shi.

It may not seem like much, but it's not a small amount either.

At noon, Murong Hu, who was selling cucumbers near Guanlu, saw a large group of people approaching from afar.

Murong Hu thought it was a carriage from the post station.

Typically, only post stations could quickly mobilize carts and livestock to transport grain and deliver messages.

As the group drew closer, Murong Hu noticed that the young man at the head of the group on horseback looked somewhat familiar.

Short hair...

Murong Hu quickly confirmed that this was the kid who owed Hu Gua money yesterday.

They seem to be from some kind of mountain peasant tribe.

Arctic Warrior rode his horse closer to the melon seller.

"Hey melon seller, were you selling melons here yesterday?"

Upon hearing Beijiwu's question, Murong Hu looked at the elderly men and burly men riding horses beside him, their expressions grim.

Although the group that had just been slapped still didn't dare to unite and take down Arctic Martial, their faces no longer held the casualness and arrogance they used to have; instead, they all looked very hostile.

After all, it wasn't just them who got beaten up; even their wives and parents were assaulted by Arctic martial arts...

Neither Han culture nor non-Han culture could tolerate such a thing.

If they weren't truly outmatched, this group would definitely have teamed up to kill Arctic Wu.

The problem right now is that they can't win, so the group can only suffer in silence.

In Murong Hu's eyes, these people didn't look like honest business people or honest farmers.

If it were a group of farmers tilling the land, or a passing merchant, Murong Hu certainly wouldn't be afraid.

A person who goes out to do business must have some ability and courage.

But in the eyes of these twenty-odd fat-headed men, one could vaguely see some murderous intent and hatred.

"Yes! It was me. I saw you yesterday."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Hahaha! It really is you. You Hu people all look alike, I didn't recognize you."

Murong Hu was embarrassed, but he still tolerated the kid.

After making fun of others, Beijiwu readily dismounted and said, "I owed you some cucumbers yesterday, so I'll give you a bushel of grain. These cucumbers are for our brothers to use to quench their thirst."

Murong Hu breathed a sigh of relief, only then remembering that this mountain farmer seemed to have the surname Beiji.

"Okay, thank you, Grandpa Arctic."

Beijiwu said, "I am the chief of the Shan Nong tribe. Even if you are not a member of the Shan Nong tribe, you can still call me chief."

As he spoke, Beijiwu glanced at the others and saw that his men were all wearing straw hats that covered their short hair. He angrily said, "Have you forgotten the etiquette of the Mountain Farmers? When you see guests or friends, you should take off your hat and hold it in your hand as a sign of friendliness!!"

"Take off your hat! Take it off quickly!"

Arctic Martial shouted threats at a group of beaten-up underlings.

Driven by violence, a group of men took off their hats, revealing short hair or bald heads.

Under the blazing sun, many people's cheeks felt hot and burning.

Upon seeing the dozen or so short-haired men, young and old, Murong Hu quickly came to believe in the existence of the Shan Nong tribe, a rare race.

Beijiwu approached a man who looked dejected and reached out to take a basket of grain off a wheelbarrow.

"Look, this is all top-quality wheat, absolutely no bad stuff mixed in. Our mountain farmers are a well-known people who value integrity."

Murong Hu looked at the basket of wheat and nodded happily: "Good! I trust the clan chief, no need to look!"

It was just a few cucumbers; Murong Hu thought that a few pounds of grain would be enough.

Beijiwu traded a basket for a basket of cucumbers, then distributed them to more than ten people. Each person took a few cucumbers and they were all gone.

"Get on the road!"

Beijiwu set off again on horseback, eating cucumbers as he headed towards Tiger Head Town.

Murong Hu watched the Arctic Martial Arts team walk away, and after they had gone a few dozen meters away, Murong Hu quickly stuck one hand into the wheat basket.

The other hand followed suit and went in too!
Quickly dig out the innermost wheat with both hands to take a look.

I checked several times and the wheat was all good, with no rotten stuff mixed in, no stones or moldy wheat.

Murong Hu stared in disbelief at the wheat in his hand.

Is this how the mountain farmers conduct business?
Murong Hu quickly believed this.

"The men in the mountains are honest, unlike those cunning and cruel Han people who only know how to deceive!"

***
The road wasn't far, and we'd already finished eating all the cucumbers but still hadn't arrived.

Beijiwu rode his horse quietly toward Tiger Head Town. When he was almost there, he saw two knights running toward him.

Those two cavalrymen gave off a bad vibe at first glance.

One of them looked like a younger brother, wearing a gray headscarf and a rather tattered coarse cloth shirt on a hot day, riding a strong Mongolian horse.

Ashina Bingzhen glanced at Beijiwu, then looked at the farmers nearby who didn't look too happy.

At this time, the farmers all wore straw hats, both to shield themselves from the sun and to cover their ugliness.

"What are you looking at? Looking for a fight?" Beiji Wu spoke first, frowning as he sensed the offense from the appraising gaze of the man on horseback in front of him.

Not only Beiji Wu felt offended, but Beigong Dingbian and others also felt offended.

Bei Gong Dingbian urged, "Master Wu! That bastard's eyes are infuriating, let's beat him up!"

Ashina Bingzhen frowned, not wanting to pay attention to this group of short-haired bastards.

He wanted to leave, but the road was narrow and he couldn't avoid the bastards.

"Who are you?" Ashina Bingzhen stopped his horse, gripping the reins tightly to prevent it from moving forward, and coldly rebuked, "I am Ashina Bingzhen, son of the Khan of the Yunzhong tribe of the Turks! How dare you offend me?!"

Bei Gong Dingbian and the others were frightened and clearly became afraid.

Just as Ashina Bingzhen showed disdain, he saw the bird-like appearance of Beijiwu.

Arctic Martial has always been like this. Occasionally, he'll be a little more agreeable after receiving favors from others, but most of the time, he won't listen to anyone even when begging.

I've been more agreeable lately, mainly because I feel more comfortable.

Anyone who makes Arctic Martial Arts uncomfortable will be made uncomfortable by Arctic Martial Arts.

"Look at you! I don't care if you're a Khan or not, you're just looking for trouble. You're not letting me pass until I give you an explanation!"

Ashina Bingzhen rode his horse around in circles, trying to keep the horse from moving, and glared angrily at Beijiwu.

"You bastard! I didn't want to bother with you, but you insisted on courting death! It seems that without bloodshed, you lowly commoners have no idea how powerful the Ashina family is!"

Beijiwu laughed and said, "What are you talking about, you brat? If you've got the guts, then come and try!"

Ashina Bingzhen was not afraid of these Han Chinese dressed as peasants at all, and raised his knife to charge at Beijiwu.

"Hahaha~" Beijiwu glanced at the nearby cavalry, then pointed at the man charging towards him and laughed.

Ashina Bingzhen heard Beiji Wu's laughter and became even angrier!

This man in his thirties from the grasslands used all his strength to slash at the Arctic weapon.

Arctic Warrior's weapon is a staff, which can also be considered a long spear without a spearhead.

The wooden stick was gripped from the horse's back, and the spear tip, carrying the stick, accurately struck Ashina Bingzhen's wrist. Then, the spear retracted like a nimble snake and struck Ashina Bingzhen's shoulder and chest.

Ashina Bingzhen tried his best not to cry out, but his body was propelled by the horse's strength and he was directly struck on the ground by the wooden stick.

The curved sword in his hand fell to the ground, and even the horse beneath him was grabbed by the reins by the boy.

Arctic Martial felt only the horse's power dragging him along. Hitting people was effortless, but the horse's strength far exceeded that of the horse beneath him.

Seeing that someone else's horse was about to take his horse away, Beijiwu quickly dismounted and reached out to pull back the two unstoppable horses.

Seeing this, another cavalryman quickly shouted in the steppe language, "Don't hurt my master!"

At this moment, Beiji Wu was struggling to grab two horses that were about to run away. After taking a few seconds to control them, he saw the man who had been causing trouble stand up.

Ashina knew very well that he couldn't outrun these people, so he directly refused his subordinates' offer of help and looked at Beijiwu with a serious expression.

"I am no match for you. Before you kill me, I want to know your name!"

"Arctic Martial Arts".

Arctic Martial controlled the horse, looked at it, and then looked at the junk horse he had borrowed.

Ashina Bingzhen, seeing that Beiji Wu had no intention of killing him, asked, "Are you a Han Chinese or a Hu (non-Han)?"

"I am a mountain farmer." After saying this, Beiji Wu looked at Beigong Dingbian and the others.

Bei Gong Dingbian and the others looked at Bei Ji Wu with great reluctance, acting like shy young girls who were unwilling to make a move.

Ashina Bingzhen asked, "What is the Mountain Farmer tribe? I have never heard of it."

Beiji Wu laughed and said, "They are a tribe that lives in seclusion in the mountains and farms. My name is Beiji Wu, and I am the chief of the Mountain Farmer Tribe. These are my tribesmen. We are on our way to pay taxes in the town ahead. What do you do?"

At this moment, Bei Gong Dingbian and the others reluctantly took off their hats, revealing short hair.

Ashina was genuinely surprised by the hairstyles of these dozen or so short-haired men and subconsciously believed in the existence of the Mountain Farmers.

Beijiwu laughed and said, "We mountain farmers will take off our hats to greet our friends. Here's your horse back. I have other things to do today and don't want to fight, otherwise you would be dead by now."

Ashina Bingzhen looked at Beijiwu's smile, placed one hand on his chest, lowered his head, and admitted, "I did lose. Thank you for letting me go. I should thank you."

The grace of not being killed is indeed something to be grateful for, especially when you're not completely safe yet; saying some nice words can increase your chances of survival.

Beijiwu laughed and said, "It's alright. We became friends after our fight. You're so poor you don't have any money. Let's ride away on horseback."

Upon hearing this, Ashina Bingzhen reached into his robes and pulled out a leather bag.

“Here are five gold leaves, worth fifty taels of silver. I will use them to meet the hero of the mountain farmers!”

Bei Jiwu took the money bag, and Bei Gongdingbian and others nearby also gathered around curiously to take a look.

Beijiwu saw that there was still silver inside, so he poured out five gold leaves and put them away, then threw the money bag and silver back.

These gold leaves were mainly used for rewards or border trade, and were gifts from nomadic nobles or the imperial court to surrendered generals.

However, Beiji Wu was unaware of all this and happily said, "Alright, I'll remember you! You remember this too, I am Beiji Wu, the chieftain of the Mountain Farmer Clan!"

Ashina Bingzhen breathed a sigh of relief. This time, his father had settled in the Wen Dynasty, and Ashina Bingzhen went back to handle tribal affairs.

These people are clearly not targeting us, nor are they Han Chinese.

"Brother Wu, could you escort me to Yunzhong County? I am willing to give you a hundred head of cattle and sheep, and a hundred taels of gold and silver!"

(End of this chapter)