mtl008 Chapter 1214 The Face-Changing Master Gouwa
Chapter 1214 The Face-Changing Master Gouwa
Led by Zhong Shushan and the younger generation of villagers with the surname "Gou," Shen Zheng and her group headed towards the mountain pass on the west side of Wangyue Mountain.
As night deepened, Gouwa and the others, holding torches, silently led the way.
"Lord Shen, Lord Jiang, we're almost there." Zhong Shushan suddenly spoke, pointing to the pitch-black area to the right and saying, "Turn right ahead, and you'll see the pass."
Shen Zheng looked in the direction he was pointing, and in the thick, inky night, the mountain shadows were blurred.
The wind howled past, as if weeping and lamenting. Shen Zheng took the lantern from Hua Duo and used its faint light to survey the surrounding terrain.
If she's not mistaken, the locusts will reach the border of Fuzhou by noon tomorrow at the latest, entering Fuzhou from the southwest of Wangyue Mountain, specifically from Wangyue Village. To successfully lure the locusts to the pass and wipe them out in one fell swoop, they must complete their deployment tonight.
The lack of supplies, inadequate lighting, and insufficient manpower are all problems they are currently facing.
"Zhong, the village head," Shen Zheng said to Zhong Shushan, looking around. "How many able-bodied men are there in the village?"
Zhong Shushan quickened his pace to catch up, and after thinking for a moment, replied, "Reporting to Lord Shen, there are more than 500 able-bodied men in the village."
More than five hundred?
Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming stopped in their tracks at the same time.
"How come there are only five hundred or so?" Jiang Zhiming looked at Zhong Shushan first and asked in confusion, "I remember that your Wangyue Village is considered a large village in the surrounding area. There are more than ten major surnames, so there should be at least eight or nine hundred young men, right?"
Jiang Zhiming implied that Zhong Shushan had lied about the number of people.
Zhong Shushan was so frightened that his knees buckled, and he immediately tried to kneel down before Jiang Zhiming: "Lord Jiang, please investigate! I would never dare to lie in front of you and Lord Shen!"
"What exactly happened?!" Jiang Zhiming and Zhong Shushan stared at each other in disbelief.
How could a large village, free from both natural disasters and man-made calamities, suddenly lose three or four hundred able-bodied men for no reason?
Zhong Shushan was so anxious he was almost in tears: "But...but there are really only a little over five hundred able-bodied men in the village..."
A young, middle-aged man?
man?
Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming looked at Zhong Shushan at the same time and said in unison, "Who told you that 'young and middle-aged' only refers to men?"
Thinking back to the scene in the rice paddy, Shen Zheng asked, "Don't the women in your village work in the fields? But I clearly saw that almost half of the people harvesting rice in the fields were women."
At this moment, Zhong Shushan realized that he had said the wrong thing.
"Yes, yes..." He wiped the sweat from his brow, bowing slightly as he followed behind Jiang Zhiming. "What you two gentlemen say is correct. Including the women, there are indeed over eight hundred able-bodied men in the village..."
Jiang Zhiming glared at him secretly and ordered, "After Lord Shen has surveyed the terrain, immediately gather all able-bodied men and have them set up the pass with Lord Shen!"
“All of them?” Zhong Shushan immediately thought of the rice in the field.
If all the labor force in the village is transferred here, who will harvest the rice?
You have to understand that even a short time of missed rice harvesting right now is a huge loss for them!
"Lord Jiang..." Zhong Shushan wanted to discuss with Jiang Zhiming and ask if it would be possible to get just 500 people.
Five hundred young adults is a lot, and that's the bottom line he'd give.
But before he could even open his mouth, Jiang Zhiming interrupted him: "If we allow the locusts to enter Fuzhou, not only will your Wangyue Village and Wangyue County suffer, but the entire Fuzhou Prefecture, and even Liuyang Prefecture, will be in trouble! With the bigger picture at hand, can't you tell what's more important?"
"Click——"
No sooner had Jiang Zhiming finished speaking than Gouwa, who was leading the way, stomped hard on the ground, breaking a dead branch in two beneath his foot.
He looked at the dark road ahead, his eyes filled with mockery.
These officials are all the same.
The so-called "overall situation" and "what is more important" are just excuses to conscript them to work for free.
If the locusts aren't driven away and the rice in the fields can't be harvested—it will all end up in the locusts' bellies—then all the officials will just say, "Oh well, I've done my best, but there's nothing I can do..."
In the end, it is only these farmers who "think of the bigger picture" who suffer the most, endure hardship, and starve.
Farmers?
Big picture?
Gouwa felt that these two words were completely unrelated, and only these hypocritical officials could say them without batting an eye.
"Achoo—" Jiang Zhiming sneezed, staring at the back of Gouwa's head: "You little brat, are you cursing me in your heart?"
Gouwa paused slightly, pretending not to hear, and continued walking forward.
"Hey—" Jiang Zhiming pointed at the back of Gouwa's head and asked Zhong Shushan, "This kid's name is Gou, Gou... Gou what?"
Zhong Shushan felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and before he could answer, Jiang Zhiming snorted, "Forget it, who cares what kind of dog it is. There's one more thing, listen carefully."
Gouwa and the others secretly slowed their pace, wanting to hear what other outrageous demands Jiang Zhiming might make.
"If this locust eradication fails, the government will make up for all the rice lost by Wangyue Village in the past few hours." Jiang Zhiming glanced at Shen Zheng, and after Shen Zheng nodded, he continued, "If the locust eradication is successful, Lord Shen will give you an extra reward. Everyone who participates in the locust eradication will receive two catties of high-yield rice seeds. In addition, the Fuzhou government will also provide silver to help the village build a road to the county town."
Jiang Zhiming said "if we fail," but in his heart he felt that with Shen Zheng in charge, the locust eradication campaign was bound to succeed.
Zhong Shushan and Gouwa suddenly stopped in their tracks, frozen in place.
If you fail, there will be compensation.
If you succeed, there will be a reward.
And the reward was something they desperately wanted... a high-yield rice variety?!
"Gouwa!" Gouwa turned around, then slid to his knees, kneeling directly between Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming, his face full of urgency: "My lords, my name is Gouwa! I am fifteen years old this year and am already the strongest laborer in the family. I hope that you will allow me to participate in locust eradication and do my part for the manor!"
Gouwa performed a face-changing act for Jiang Zhiming in front of everyone.
Jiang Zhiming leaned back, dodging the torch in Gouwa's hand, and chuckled softly, "You brat... alright! Get up and lead the way. You'd better behave yourself tonight, you hear me!"
Gouwa instantly understood the meaning behind his words, quickly stood up with his torch in hand, and said with a fawning expression, "Please come with me, gentlemen. It's dark and the road is slippery, please be careful... There are rocks ahead, please watch out... A puddle! I'll carry you across..."
Half a moment later, under Gouwa's careful protection, Shen Zheng finally stood at the pass.
The cliffs on both sides are as steep as if cut by a knife, and in front of you is a pitch-black passageway. Looking up at the sky, it appears narrow and long due to the pressure from the cliffs, creating an immense sense of pressure.