Chapter 184
184 Let Him Escape
Li Yu nodded and thought about the route Tu Gang confessed. She thought to herself, “Lack of manpower is a big problem. In the entire county office, other than me, only Xu Dong and Ruyi have offensive power. It’s already not bad that Zhou Jia, Yang Wei, and Tiezhu can protect themselves. I hope Shen Wu can lend us some people. We can follow that bandit to scout the way tonight.”
Ruyi brought the old woman and the woman to Li Yu and said to her, “The old woman’s surname is Liu and her name is Xing. The young one’s surname is Zhang and her name is Tao. Old Madam Liu used to cook for Squire Liu in town. Zhang Tao was sold by her husband’s family and knows how to do housework and simple needlework.”
Li Yu looked at the two people kneeling on the ground and said gently, “The two of you can get up! Old Madam Liu will be in charge of the food on the stove. The kitchen and stove have to be cleaned up. When you’re free, help clean the house, understand?”
Old Madam Liu bowed. “I understand, Madam.”
“Aunt Zhang, you’re in charge of sewing, washing, and cleaning the house, understand?”
Zhang Tao bowed and said, “I understand, Madam.”
“Ruyi, tell them the rules of the house,” Li Yu said as she stood up and walked to the backyard.
After Zhou Jia and Scribe Tu taught Tiezhu how to prepare the notice twice, they asked Tie Zhu to take it and stick it on a broken wall. They also asked Tiezhu to recite it loudly in front of the broken wall. After Tiezhu stood there and recited the content of the notice a few times, curious citizens slowly surrounded him.
After everyone stood there and listened to Tiezhu recite twice, a tall man said to Iron Pole, “Little brother, is the government office really recruiting officials? What kind of people are they recruiting? What are their requirements? Do you have a salary?”
The tall man asked a few questions in one breath. Tie Zhu pointed at the notice and said, “Lord Zhou said that first, we have to recruit a total of 20 men under the age of 30 with clean backgrounds and strong bodies. Second, they have to have the testimonials of the neighbors, the elders, and the village head. All of them can sign up.” As Tie Zhu spoke, he stood up straight and puffed out his chest. “Third, as long as they can defeat me, they will be accepted. Based on the current situation of the county office, the salary of each bailiff is temporarily set at 300 copper coins a month. When the county office is on the right track, the salary will be increased again.”
The man looked at Tiezhu and thought to himself, My kid is much stronger than this child. I’ll let him try when we get back and fight for a way out now! After thinking about it, the man squeezed out of the crowd and left in a hurry.
An old woman sneered and said, “Do the government offices have money to pay salaries? Didn’t you see how badly destroyed the city walls are? I wonder when they will start to repair them. And this county office, tsk tsk! I think it’s most likely to coax people to work for nothing.”
A man who looked like a shopkeeper glanced at the old woman. “Even if they work for nothing, they will still be from the government office. People will look up to them wherever they go. If you don’t understand, don’t spout nonsense. I have to go back and let my son try.” After saying that, the shopkeeper left in a hurry.
The old man berated, “You damn old woman, can’t you think of something better? Why are you talking nonsense here?”
“If you’re so capable, don’t go home for dinner.” The old woman pouted and turned to leave.
One of them pointed at the notice at the side and said, “What’s written on this?”
Tiezhu replied loudly, “It says here that His Majesty empathizes with the people of Qingchuan and specially decreed that from this year onwards, taxes will be exempted for five years. I hope that everyone can spread the news.”
“Really? I have to go back and publicize it.” The man took two steps before turning back to Tiezhu. “Little brother, does His Majesty know? Those two strongholds also want to collect food!”
Mr. Qian walked out from behind Tiezhu and cupped his hands. “Brother, think about it. Who can be stronger than His Majesty? With His Majesty backing everyone, why should we be afraid of two groups of thieves?”
Someone in the crowd scoffed at Mr. Qian’s words. “Sir, you make it sound so nice. His Majesty is so far away from us. How can he manage a place so far away? If he really could, those soldiers from a few years ago wouldn’t have met their end for nothing. Also, this county office wouldn’t have been burned down, and the county magistrate wouldn’t have run away! Everyone, let’s wait and see! Don’t lose your lives for nothing.”
“Yes! Yes! Let’s wait a little longer!” People discussed and slowly dispersed.
Zhou Jia stood at the door and looked at the people who were scattering away. Then, he looked at the dilapidated county office and swore to himself, “If I don’t govern Qingchuan County well, I won’t leave no matter how difficult it is.”
After a day, there was an endless stream of people in front of the broken wall. The news of the Qingchuan County exempting taxes and recruiting officials also spread. Those with some knowledge were busy finding people to vouch for their children so that they can earn a decent living as soon as possible.
Zhou Jia returned to the opposite side where Li Yu told him about catching the bandits of the Green Dragon Stronghold and her idea to follow the bandit to find their nest. Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu and said worriedly, “Yu’er, the bandits are cruel and vicious. It’s too dangerous. I’m worried. Forget it!”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and promised, “Xiao Xi, don’t worry. With my skills, I’ll be fine. I went up the mountain to find the route. When the people we borrowed from Shen Wu and Shopkeeper Chu arrive, we’ll catch them off guard and destroy the group of bandits. We can also use the gold and silver in the bandits’ nest to build the city wall and the county office.”
After Zhou Jia heard Li Yu’s words, he smiled and lovingly scratched the tip of Li Yu’s nose. “You! You don’t even know where the bandits are, and you want to snatch their gold and silver to build the city wall and the county office.” Zhou Jia was extremely reluctant to let Li Yu take the risk. He said sadly, “It’s all my fault for being too weak and not being able to kill the enemy with you. It’s better to let Ruyi go with you so that you can take care of each other.”
Li Yu tiptoed and kissed Zhou Jia’s tightly furrowed brows. She smiled and said, “Alright, don’t belittle yourself. You’re even ranked on the Golden Ranking List! This is something I can’t do. Just looking at those books gives me a headache. Look, we match perfectly.”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s smiling face and lowered his head to peck her red lips. “Yu’er, I think that with your aptitude, you won’t be worse than me if you go to school.”
Li Yu giggled at Zhou Jia’s praise. “Then aren’t you lucky to have a wife who’s good at both martial arts and literature!”
Zhou Jia replied seriously, “Yes! I’ve made a killing.” The two of them hugged each other and stayed together for a while. Only when Yang Wei entreated the two of them to have a meal outside did they leave the room.
After dinner, Li Yu said to Tu Shi Yu, “Mr. Tu, do you know the location of the Green Dragon Stronghold?”
When Scribe Tu saw Li Yu asking about the Green Dragon Village, he said worriedly, “I only know that we leave from the west city gate, which is on the west mountain. But I don’t know the exact location. Madam, why are you asking about the location of the Green Dragon Village?”
Li Yu smiled and replied, “I’m just a little curious how hidden their stronghold is. Why can’t those soldiers find it after searching a few times?”
Scribe Tu said angrily, “Those soldiers were here to cheat us of our food and drinks. If they go up the mountain for a walk after eating and drinking their fill, it will be considered a report. Everyone in Qingchuan County knows that the soldiers and bandits are all in cahoots.”