Chapter 45: The Strange Seal

“If you’re taking me to the construction site,” Meizi asked, her voice thick with suppressed anger, “did Mother tell you to say that?”

“What are you thinking? I just got home and just saw Mother; when would she have had the time to instruct me?”

Meizi gritted her teeth. “Then how could it be such a coincidence!”

“I don't understand what you're talking about.”

“The village head ran home several times saying there weren't enough laborers and that another person from each household had to be sent. Since Second Brother’s legs and feet aren't good, he suggested Chunmei go. Chunmei refused and told Mother to let me go in her place.

I saw that even though Mother didn't agree right then and there, it was only a matter of time. I thought to myself, if Mother actually opened her mouth to ask me, I might as well just bash my head against a wall and die.

I didn't expect that before Mother even had a chance to speak, you would say it.”

“Look at how you're overthinking this!” Zeng Laoda had not expected his good intentions to be misunderstood by his wife. “I just wanted you to eat your fill, and I wanted to save some grain for the family. I am acting solely for the sake of this family—am I in the wrong?”

Meizi wiped away her tears. “You are acting for the sake of the family, but I am not a member of this family.”

“Sister-in-law!” Zeng Laosan, who lived in the adjacent room, had heard their entire conversation clearly.

He circled around the door and squatted in front of Meizi. “Don't suspect Big Brother. It was I who begged him to take you. If I am lying to you and causing you harm, may I die a horrible death. Please, believe us.”

There was nothing to believe, and nothing not to believe. In this world, a woman's fate was always decided by men.

Early the next morning, while packing her bundle, Meizi slipped a pair of household scissors inside.

She could not decide how she would live, but she could decide how she would die.

***

Mao Chunfang was eating a pancake rolled by his wife and was about to head to the front office to handle official business when he saw several village heads crowding in front of the Registrar's office.

“What’s going on?” Mao Chunfang found the village heads very familiar. “Aren't you supposed to be recruiting laborers in your villages? What are you doing here at the county magistrate's office?”

Hearing his voice, the village heads hurriedly knelt and bowed to Mao Chunfang.

“Reporting to the Magistrate, the labor quotas for our respective towns have been met. The laborers were taken away last night by the soldiers from Beishan County. We have brought the certificates from Beishan County specifically to report to the Registrar.”

“What certificates?” Mao Chunfang strode over and picked up a thick stack of slips from the Registrar's desk to inspect them.

The slips did indeed come from Beishan County and bore the Beishan County seal, but what exactly was engraved on this seal?

What kind of thing was "Infantry Captain and Temporary Registrar of Beishan County, Zhang Yuan's Seal"?

Who on earth had engraved such a long string of characters!

Below the seal, the number of people was written; some slips listed two hundred people, others four or five hundred. Behind the slips were the rosters of the conscripted laborers.

“Magistrate,” an elderly village head asked, “is there a problem with these slips?”

“Who was the person that stamped these for you?” Mao Chunfang’s question made the village heads' legs go weak with fear.

One village head said frantically, “He said he was the Registrar of Beishan County. The laborers who returned yesterday can testify; those people were indeed officials and soldiers from Beishan County.”

“Could it be that the laborers conspired with the Yan people to commit fraud?”

“Impossible. No matter how you look at them, those people didn't look like Yan people.”

“The Yan people kill our Great Liang people on sight. Why would they trick so many people into going there?”

“Sir, don't frighten them,” the old Registrar spoke up. “The slips are indeed from Beishan County, and the people were certainly taken by Beishan County. You all just need to come to me for registration.”

“Then the Magistrate says this seal...”

“The seal is indeed somewhat unusual, but that doesn't stop it from being valid.” The old Registrar took the slips back from Mao Chunfang. “Sir, if you don't eat your pancake soon, it will be stone cold.”

Mao Chunfang looked at the clerk assisting the Registrar. “Come here.”

The clerk set down his work and followed Mao Chunfang into the inner room to talk.

“What changed overnight? How did the numbers suddenly become sufficient? And how did Beishan County know people were going to be sent, and even brought slips to collect them? Do you know anything about this?”

“I heard a bit just now,” the clerk said, pouring tea for Mao Chunfang. “Yesterday, Beishan County gave the laborers a holiday and allowed them to go home.

As soon as the laborers returned home, they spoke of how wonderful the food was in Beishan County. At first, others didn't believe them, but those laborers had indeed grown stronger and sturdier, and they even brought back large bowls of millet porridge for their families.

Who in the winter can afford to eat like that? Those with little grain or those with a craving for food followed them, and suddenly the labor quotas for every village were met.”

Mao Chunfang finished his pancake and wiped his hands. “This Meng Changqing has some cunning ideas. If our county's numbers are met, the other counties should be about the same.”

He asked again, “How many people left our county yesterday? Why was the report delayed until this morning?”

“About two thousand people, both men and women,” the clerk replied. “The people were picked up after nightfall yesterday, which is why they came to report this morning.”

“After nightfall? It sounds like they were acting like thieves. Are those slips truly legitimate? Is there no blood on them?”

“If you are uneasy, Sir, you might as well go to the city gate. The people from Beishan County are still there collecting more people.”

“Let's go! Let's go see!”

Mao Chunfang was about to head out, but he was delayed for quite some time by a case involving a robbery.

By the time he reached the city gate, it was already the hour of the Snake (around 9:00–11:00 AM).

Looking from a distance, he saw a large crowd blocking the city gate, with people continuously heading that way. The county soldiers guarding the gate were much more solemn than usual.

“Look, so many women.” Zeng Laoda protected Meizi as they walked forward, positioning himself between her and the strangers. “When the time comes, you'll be grouped together and will do lighter work.”

“Big Brother, you're lying. Where is there any light work at a construction site?” Zeng Laosan said. “You all say carrying soil is easy, but my shoulders are about to be crushed inward.”

The further they walked, the more people there were, and the less space there was to move forward.

The three members of the Zeng family had no choice but to stop.

“Why aren't you moving forward?” Zeng Laosan tapped a tall man in front of them. “Why is it blocked here?”

“It's not blocked; it's just not time yet.”

“What do you mean it's not time?” Zeng Laoda asked.

“The officials from Beishan County said to wait another two quarters (about 30 minutes) for the people to arrive in full, and then everyone will move together.”

Zeng Laosan said with surprise, “There will be escorts on the way back, and maybe we can even ride in a carriage?”

“You can,” the man said, glancing back at Zeng Laosan. “But with your build, I doubt you'll be able to. The carriages are entirely occupied by women.”

“Then my sister-in-law can ride!” Zeng Laosan said.

The man asked again, “Which county are you from?”

“We are from under Liangzhou.”

“Those from Liangzhou can't ride. There are people from even further away than you; the carriages are filled with people from Hongjia County and Quping County.”

Zeng Laosan wanted to say more, but Zeng Laoda held him back. “Stop talking. It's not much further from here to the site. Let's find a place to sit and rest.”

Just as the three had found a place to sit, they saw several people riding high-strung horses pass in front of them.

“Who were those people?” Zeng Laosan asked.

“How should I know?” Zeng Laoda said. “Just rest for a bit. You didn't eat breakfast; aren't you hungry?”

Mentioning this made Zeng Laosan feel aggrieved.

They had brought back two bowls of rice, and his mother had heated them up this morning, wanting them to eat before they left. However, his second sister-in-law had stopped them, saying they would naturally have food once they arrived at the site.

Even though the food was right at their lips, they might not have eaten it anyway, but the second sister-in-law's interference was truly disheartening.