Chapter 43: Arriving Home at Nightfall to the Sound of the Whole Village's Dogs Barking

Zuo Datou saw off the last batch of laborers for this shift. Stepping out of the kitchen, he noticed someone not far away wearing an indigo cotton padded jacket and a face covering, looking around. Such attire could only mean...

"Lord Meng." He stepped forward and bowed.

"Is there enough food?"

"Yes, thanks to your advance instructions," Zuo Datou reported. "But the amount of grain used today is much more than usual."

"That is normal," Meng Changqing said. "You've worked hard. Once the middle shift finishes their work, you'll be able to relax a bit."

"We practiced in the military camp; it was much more tiring than this. It's fine," he replied.

Since there were few laborers, Meng Changqing had originally intended to have the night shift work a full eight hours. This would have effectively turned the night shift into the morning shift, allowing the original morning and middle shifts to rotate forward.

However, although the number of laborers was small, they worked well, and the progress on the city wall construction was well ahead of schedule.

Meng Changqing decided to let the night shift take a full shift off instead. This way, all three shifts could rest for twelve hours, while the construction site was only idle for the four least efficient hours.

The Zeng brothers blended into the crowd, walking toward the direction of the Yangmen County city walls.

Before they had walked far, they saw the people ahead stop. "What's happening?" Zeng Laosan was blocked by the people in front and couldn't see the situation.

"Don't push! There are soldiers blocking the way."

"What soldiers?" Zeng Laoda felt a surge of panic, wondering if the soldiers from the two sides had failed to coordinate—one side wanting to let people through while the other refused.

While he was speculating wildly, Zeng Laosan was already squeezing through the crowd toward the front.

Zeng Laoda had no choice but to brace himself and follow, apologizing to those around him while reaching out to grab Zeng Laosan.

"This is the County Magistrate's intention. Our Beishan County is providing vehicles and troops to escort you to Yangmen County."

Peering through a gap, Zeng Laosan saw a soldier leading a horse, which was pulling a large flatbed cart. The cart looked large enough to hold quite a few people.

"Officer, we've come to work; we don't have any money on us!" Many people assumed the County Magistrate was finding new ways to collect money from them.

"We don't want your money!" the soldier leading the horse roared. "The County Magistrate is acting out of kindness. He fears you might encounter bandits on the road, so he has us escort you. He also fears your feet won't be strong enough for the long journey, so he has us hitch a cart to transport you."

The soldier swung his whip, startling the people near the cart into leaning back. "Listen up! Those on the long journey who are young, get on the cart. If anyone else wants a seat, even if you ask, I won't give you one!"

Zeng Laosan recognized the man leading the horse; he was the guard who frequently delivered their meals.

Knowing the man was easy to talk to, he stepped forward and asked, "Officer, my home is in a village under Liangzhou. Can I ride?"

"Get on." Zeng Laosan was young and slight of build, so he naturally met the criteria.

Seeing this, some people began measuring their own stature. Those who were roughly the same size as Zeng Laosan also climbed up, and the soldier leading the horse did not drive them away.

Seeing that the crowd had gathered sufficiently and no one else was coming from behind, the soldier knew that everyone from this shift who was going home was present. He then led the horse and cart forward, with armed soldiers guarding both sides of the crowd.

It was the first time in his life Zeng Laosan had ridden in a cart. Squeezed together with many others, he found it very lively.

His eldest brother was not so lucky and could only walk behind the cart.

The soldier leading the horse frequently turned back to chat with them.

"Our County Magistrate wants to dig a well near the kitchen. When you get back, ask around to see if anyone knows how to pick a good spot. If someone can find a precise location and we actually dig up water, the County Magistrate will give a reward of one tael of silver."

One tael of silver!

Zeng Laosan tried to count it on his fingers but couldn't make sense of it.

He only knew that at the rice shop, a liter of husked millet cost four wen. One tael of silver was...

He looked up and asked Zeng Laoda beside him, "Brother, how many wen is one tael of silver?"

"At current silver prices, it's one thousand wen."

"One thousand wen... then how much millet can that buy?"

Zeng Laoda wasn't good at these calculations, but Qian Baoshan, sitting at the other corner of the cart, spoke up: "Grain prices aren't high this year. One tael of silver can buy three *dan* of millet."

Only then did Zeng Laosan have a concept of it. Three *dan* of grain—if his family ate sparingly, it could last them half a year.

"It's a pity I don't know how to pick a spot."

He didn't know how, nor did he know anyone in that field, but among his traveling companions, others had taken interest.

Once the soldiers delivered them to within Yangmen County, they stopped escorting them.

Zeng Laosan got off the cart and caught up with his eldest brother to continue the walk home.

As the sun in the sky grew increasingly westward, the two men quickened their pace. No matter how fast they walked, it would be dark by the time they reached the village. Fortunately, there were many fellow villagers traveling with them, so they weren't afraid.

As soon as they entered the village, the village dogs began to bark.

Thinking thieves had entered the village, people came out with sticks to investigate, only to find they were their own villagers, and they even spotted their own children in the crowd.

"Oh! The people who were taken for labor service are back!" someone shouted, and almost the entire village woke up.

Every household opened their doors to recognize their kin.

After the initial surprise, the crowd regained their senses and asked, "Did you run away?"

Hearing the news, the Village Head arrived at the gathering spot and cursed with a dark face, "Have you lost your minds! You just ran off without a care, and now the whole village will be implicated because of you!"

"Uncle Qian, don't be anxious, we didn't run away," Zeng Laoda said. "The construction site has a twelve-hour break during the shift rotation, and the officers permitted us to come home to visit."

"That's right," the returning laborers echoed. "The soldiers even personally escorted us to Yangmen County. If you don't believe us, you can go ask."

"Hey, we've been delayed on the road for so long, and we can't stay home for more than a few hours anyway. Let's get home quickly; don't stand here catching the cold wind."

"Right, right, let's get home quickly."

Seeing that they were telling the truth, the Village Head couldn't scold them further. Though he was suspicious, he could only wait until tomorrow to see.

Among the onlookers, the Zeng brothers found their other siblings and their mother and pulled them toward home.

"Brother, is what you said true?" Zeng Lao'er walked home with a limp, leaning on a crutch.

Zeng Laosan interjected, "How could it be false? Let's get home quickly; we brought something good."

As soon as they arrived home, Zeng Laosan urged his eldest brother to take the items out of the bundle.

The family rarely lit lamps, but they did so now to see what had been brought back.

As the cloth bundle was unwrapped, something else was revealed wrapped in cloth. Zeng Laosan reached out and opened it, revealing two bowls of solid millet rice held together by a bowl.

"Where did this come from?" the Zeng mother asked with a trembling voice. "Whose things did you steal?"

Zeng's second sister-in-law swallowed hard, thinking that even if it was stolen, they must never return it.

The family ate nothing but watery porridge every day; since winter began, she hadn't had a single bite of millet rice.

"Mother, this wasn't stolen," Zeng Laosan explained. "It was given by the construction site."

"Given by the site?" the sister-in-law asked. "The place where you work... they have millet rice to eat?"

"Yes," Zeng Laosan said. "As long as you work, you get three meals a day."

The Zeng mother grabbed her eldest son. "Is it true?"

Zeng Laoda nodded. "It's a good place to work. The guards are easy to talk to, and the site needs women too. I want to bring Meizi along next time."