From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 703: Chapter 705: Going Down the Mountain

"Dafu, I’ll go help them clean the game." Lai San found staying in the cave suffocating; he’d rather do something to pass the time and keep his mind from wandering.

"They should all be back soon, right?" Lai Dafu glanced at the sky. Only a faint trace of the evening glow remained. Usually, in situations like this, everyone would rush back to the cave before dark. "Don’t bother running back and forth. If you miss them on the way, it’ll just be a wasted trip."

Lai San crouched beside him and helped tend the fire. Even though they had caught game today, most of the meat would be traded with the villagers at the bottom of the mountain for supplies. They rarely got to eat it themselves.

Just like today—their meal consisted merely of wild mountain greens, dried vegetables, and a smattering of coarse grains.

He stoked the flames and asked curiously, "Dafu, if you could go back to living in a village, would you?"

"What’s the point of going back? We’re all undocumented now. Even if a village was willing to take us in, where would we live? What would we eat?" Lai Dafu pinched a small bit of salt from a clay pot and carefully sprinkled it into the coarse grain mush.

"What if we had household registrations and land?"

Lai Dafu cast a sidelong glance at him. "It isn’t even dark yet, and you’re already dreaming. If things were really that good, I’d pack up and leave this very instant."

Lai San was just about to share the news he had recently received when footsteps sounded from outside the cave. Everyone was back.

Because of Zeng Xiaowang’s injury, the men didn’t return laughing and joking as they usually did. Instead, their footsteps sounded heavy and somber. Entering the cave and seeing Lai San, they didn’t even greet him as customary. They simply went about their business, hanging up the dressed wild boar meat they had brought back.

"Has Xiao Wang woken up yet?" Zeng Dawang asked, his face etched with worry. If he hadn’t been afraid of sitting around and letting his imagination run wild, he wouldn’t have stepped a single foot out of the cave today.

It was just the two brothers depending on each other for survival. If Xiao Wang couldn’t pull through this time, he would be completely alone in the world.

"I went in to check on him just now. His color isn’t looking good, and he hasn’t woken up," Lai San said softly.

"Mr. Wu, I want to take Xiao Wang down the mountain to see a doctor." Zeng Dawang’s eyes were full of pleading. He knew the group didn’t have much silver on them, but they had just caught fresh game. If he could take it down the mountain, Xiao Wang might just have a chance to live.

Following his words, several men glanced at the wild boar meat hanging in the cave. They knew what he was thinking, but no one made a sound. This wild boar meat might be their only source of livelihood for the foreseeable future, but Xiao Wang’s condition couldn’t wait either.

Seeing that Wu Xiaoliu remained silent, Zeng Dawang offered a bitter smile, lowered his head, and said no more. Not too long ago, Ergou had lost his life over a mere cold. When it came to his younger brother, he likely wouldn’t escape the same tragic fate.

Lai San felt terrible, but possessing nothing of value himself, there was nothing he could do to help. Suddenly, recalling what his aunt had told him at the foot of the mountain, his eyes lit up. "Mr. Wu, why don’t we all go down the mountain!"

"What good is going down the mountain? We don’t even have a place to stay. Are we supposed to go beg in town?" Wu Xiaoliu was feeling increasingly agitated himself. The number of men under his command was dwindling. They originally had over twenty people; now, only a dozen or so remained. If they lost any more, they wouldn’t even dare to stay on the mountain.

"That’s not it," Lai San hurriedly relayed the information his aunt had gathered. "If the news my aunt found out is true, we won’t have to be bandits on this mountain anymore.

"Honestly, even though they call us bandits, we’ve never actually robbed anything. Rather than surviving up here by hunting and trading with the villagers below, we’d be much better off going back and living as honest men.

"The rainy season is almost upon us. If we keep staying in this cave, our bodies won’t be able to take it."

Wu Xiaoliu looked up at him. "I’m just afraid it’s an excuse concocted by the government to trick us. Those officials would be doing us a favor if they didn’t fleece us dry; why would they ever shell out money to help us settle down?"

Zeng Dawang, however, grabbed Lai San’s hand in sheer excitement. "Is what you’re saying true? Will the government really give out settlement silver upfront?" As long as they had silver, Xiao Wang could see a doctor immediately, which meant he still had a fighting chance.

"It should be true. I don’t know the exact details, but I was thinking of going to try it out Ming Tian." Lai San was somewhat uncertain himself, as he hadn’t gathered the information firsthand. He cast a cautious glance at Wu Xiaoliu. "My aunt was originally going to take me today, but I needed to bring the exchanged salt up for everyone. I also wanted to let you all know and see what you thought.

"If everyone is uneasy about it, I can go check it out first. If it’s true, you all can follow.

"But if I don’t come back, I’ll accept my fate."

Opportunities like this were exceedingly rare. If he didn’t at least try, Lai San knew he would never be able to forgive himself. He had hidden in these remote, densely forested mountains for long enough. He wanted to live out in the open, just like the other villagers.

"It’s never as simple as you make it sound. We are all people with no backing or support. If we set up our own households, whenever conscript labor is required later on, every single one of us will be forced to the frontlines."

Living out in the open was a massive temptation for everyone present, but they had to think about the long-term consequences. Even if they were given land, the various labor conscriptions alone would be enough to cause them endless headaches.

Lai San, however, had a more open-minded perspective. "So what? Up here on the mountain, we live not knowing if we’ll see tomorrow. No one knows who will be the next one lying in the cave like Xiao Wang. I want to go down and take that gamble."

Those who had been hesitating fell silent; they all felt that Lai San’s words made sense. It was an unknown future either way, but the allure of going down the mountain was simply too strong.

After a hasty dinner, just as everyone was getting ready to sleep, Wu Xiaoliu finally spoke up. "Ming Tian, Lai San will go down first to take a look. If the government is truly handing out land and household registrations, then we’ll all go back."

Hearing Mr. Wu relent, the rest of the men breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Zeng Dawang, however, couldn’t wait. "Mr. Wu, I want to carry Xiao Wang down the mountain together with me Ming Tian."

In the past, he might have waited, but given Xiao Wang’s current condition, he simply couldn’t afford to.

"...Do as you wish," Wu Xiaoliu said. He didn’t have much power to help right now; naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to stop him either.

The next day, just as the sky began to turn a hazy gray, Lai San and Zeng Dawang placed Zeng Xiaowang on a bamboo stretcher they had worked through the night to build, preparing to head down the mountain.

As they were leaving, Wu Xiaoliu took down two cuts of meat and placed them beside Zeng Xiaowang. "If the government won’t take you in, find a doctor. See if you can trade this for a couple doses of medicine."

Zeng Dawang nodded heavily. The words of gratitude caught in his throat, so with red-rimmed eyes, he simply followed Lai San down the mountain.

"Mr. Wu, do you think they’ll bring back good news this time?" a subordinate beside him asked, watching with hopeful eyes as their figures disappeared down the narrow path.

"Let’s hope so." Wu Xiaoliu’s feelings were complicated.

If they returned to the foot of the mountain to live normal lives, his position as boss would be completely useless. He had always been too soft-hearted; while other bandit camps had surplus grain, his group constantly struggled just to put food in their pots.