Chapter 6: The Opportunity to Learn Martial Arts

Chapter 6: The Opportunity to Learn Martial Arts

Even with the visit from the esteemed guest, the workload in the village remained unchanged, not lessening in the slightest.

Li Zhuangtou and his son sent out another batch of chicks and ducklings, and even slaughtered a pig, but the villagers only got to eat the offal, while the two sides of meat were taken away.

The large manure pit, which had been a source of frustration for a long time, was also partially dug up by outsiders, and Meng Yuan, Tie Niu, and the other able-bodied men were sent to help with the manure-digging.

These matters, though not significant, were not insignificant either, but they were still not enough to topple Li Zhuangtou.

After seven days, Li Zhuangtou suddenly went crazy and gathered people to go outside the village to fertilize the fields.

The field was about ten acres, already cultivated land, but without winter wheat. Li Zhuangtou claimed that it was newly acquired land by the Empress Dowager, and they needed to plow it now and plant spring wheat after the spring season.

Meng Yuan was surprised. During the winter, it was a time for rest and recuperation, and even diligent farmers didn't go to the fields.

However, Li Zhuangtou didn't treat the villagers as people at all, and he was afraid that the oxen would lose weight and fetch a lower price, so he didn't allow them to be used.

Including Meng Yuan and Tie Niu, a total of eight people were working, all of whom had family members.

"If we're going to work as hired laborers, what good will it do us?" Meng Yuan still preferred castrating testicles and didn't want to plow the fields.

"Brother, you'll be rich and honored, but don't forget about Tie Niu." Tie Niu sniffled, his nose running.

Meng Yuan smiled and agreed.

That evening, after finishing work and returning to their residence, Jiang Laobo couldn't help but sigh.

"Li Zhuangtou is not a decent person. How can he treat artisans like this?" Jiang Laobo's face was filled with guilt as he said, "It's because of me and Tang'er that you're held back. If not for us, you'd be in your prime, and there's nowhere you couldn't go. You wouldn't have to endure this exploitation here."

"It's fine. I'm young, and working a bit more is no big deal." Meng Yuan comforted him, then spoke in a low voice, "Jiang Laobo, these past few days when you go out to work, inquire about the origin of that piece of land."

Meng Yuan had also asked about it when he passed by the villagers while working, but they didn't know who the land belonged to. They only heard that it belonged to a wealthy family in town.

Li Zhuangtou claimed the land was newly purchased by the Empress Dowager, but as the festival approached, who would sell land without reason? It was either because they couldn't go on any longer or were forced to do so.

Considering the Empress Dowager's previous actions, implementing the three-meal system, personally distributing reward silver, and allowing nearby villagers to enter the mountains, it was clear that she was compassionate towards the poor and weak and understood the ways of the world, not just pretending to be righteous.

Therefore, Meng Yuan felt that the land was probably not the Empress Dowager's, but rather, Li Zhuangtou and his son were using the name of the Imperial Mansion to forcefully take the land, and it was not appropriate to directly approach Miss Xun Mei, as she might find it unnecessary and develop a dislike for it.

"Nowadays, we can only turn to Li Zhuangtou for help. We have to give it a try." Elder Jiang spoke earnestly, already calculating the silver in his mind.

The indenture of sale fetched nine qian, and Xun Mei received a reward of three taels of silver last time, totaling three taels and nine qian.

After taking two taels, Elder Jiang insisted on bringing Meng Yuan along, but Jiang Tang wanted to follow, only to be scolded and sent back by Elder Jiang.

By now, the sky was completely dark, and someone in the village was walking a dog and beating a gong to patrol the night.

Li Zhuangtou lived in a separate courtyard behind the main hall of the village. At this moment, the lights were still on.

Upon knocking and entering, they saw Li Zhuangtou, his eldest son Li Dabiao, and his second son Li Xiaohu, all having a meal.

"Greetings, Zhuangtou," Elder Jiang began, his smile a bit forced as he tried to be polite. "I heard that the Imperial Mansion is recruiting children to learn martial arts. My grandson-in-law is quite capable, and I was wondering if he could have the opportunity to learn something? That way, he can return to protect our village in the future."

"Elder Jiang, I'm not trying to disrespect you," Li Zhuangtou said as he put down his chopsticks. "The village is already short on people. If I let someone go, the work might never get done."

"I know how hard it is for you to manage the village," Elder Jiang said, taking out some money from his sleeve. "Please accept this as a token of our appreciation."

"Agreed! It's not easy for you either! I'll report the name of the young castrator, and you can go back to work. Just wait for my message!" Li Zhuangtou took the silver, initially pleased, but his expression suddenly changed. He picked up his chopsticks and knocked on his second son Li Xiaohu's hand, angrily saying, "You take a look and eat a bite, but you're already putting down your chopsticks?"

Li Xiaohu replied indignantly, "My brother takes two looks before eating a bite, and you don't say anything to him?"

"You eat yours, and let him choke to death!" Li Zhuangtou cursed.

Meng Yuan and Elder Jiang exchanged glances, witnessing Li Zhuangtou's greed. He took so much, and yet he was stingy not only with the villagers but also with his own family.

Five days later, Meng Yuan worked tirelessly outside the village, plowing the fields and applying manure. He had finished more than half of the over ten mu of land, but Li Zhuangtou still hadn't given any news.

That day, after returning from outside the village to their residence, Elder Jiang mysteriously pulled Meng Yuan aside.

"I met a wandering traveler outside today, and he asked about the land," Elder Jiang whispered, being extremely cautious.

It turned out that the over ten mu of land belonged to a wealthy family named Yan in Clearwater Town. After the autumn, Yan's husband passed away, leaving behind only his widow and young daughter.

Yan's brother-in-law wanted to take advantage of the situation and buy the manure from the village at a low price, so he colluded with Li Zhuangtou. Naturally, Li Zhuangtou was willing and used the Imperial Mansion's name to find a corrupt official they were familiar with. In the end, they bought the land at a low price and even found a buyer for the manure.

"That widow and her daughter are still without a place to stay, and the townspeople say that the Imperial Mansion forcibly bought the land. They say that our Empress Dowager is pretending to be kind," Elder Jiang sighed.

Meng Yuan understood clearly. Even if the Empress Dowager was pretending, she would never allow a mere livestock farm's Zhuangtou to take over such good land. This must be Li Zhuangtou's decision, borrowing the power of the Imperial Mansion.

However, Li Zhuangtou was indeed cunning. This matter didn't involve any villagers, and if it weren't for Elder Jiang's earnings, it would have been difficult to discover. If a few more months passed, perhaps no one in Clearwater Town would even mention it.

As Meng Yuan was pondering how to use this matter to deal with Li Zhuangtou, Jiang Tang rushed in, saying that Zhao Datou and his son had arrived.

Zhao Datou's eyes were red with anger, and Tie Niu looked wronged.

Meng Yuan first asked Jiang Tang to leave, then asked Zhao Datou what had happened.

"Li Zhuangtou is not honest. He took the money but didn't do the work," Zhao Datou said angrily. "His second son, Li Xiaohu, has already gone to the Imperial Mansion! Some of the village guards' children also went! When I went to confront him, he said the Imperial Mansion didn't need people anymore!"

"This..." Elder Jiang widened his eyes and asked, "Did he return the money?"

"How could he? He's looking down on us. I even owe him one tael!" Zhao Datou's eyes were red with anger.

Elder Jiang coughed repeatedly in anger, sighing, "They say you become what you eat. People like us who endure hardship can never become the elite. We need to eat people to achieve that."

Hearing these words, Zhao Datou sighed, clenched his fist, and left with Tie Niu, feeling helpless.

Jiang Tang entered at this moment and saw that Meng Yuan and her grandfather were silent, so she also kept quiet.

After a long while, Elder Jiang spoke, "Meng Yuan, the Zhuangtou is the most powerful person in the village. Even if we know about his dark deeds, we can't do anything. Being a castrator won't make you rich, but at least you can have a stable life."

Meng Yuan shook his head slightly.

If one is bullied and humiliated, they become obedient and dare not resist, enduring silently. What's the difference between that and castrated livestock?

Meng Yuan had worked hard in the village and never slacked off. But since Li Zhuangtou wanted to block his path to success, Meng Yuan could only overturn this broken village!

Meng Yuan decided to castrate Li Zhuangtou.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end