Han official!

Chapter 109: Fermentation Room
"My two or three sons followed the elder to the feast."

Guo Jie waved his hand and said, "I and the imperial guards are still inspecting the public lands to see if anyone is harboring a fugitive from the county seat. The county head has said that if we don't bring him back within three days, you and I will be flogged twenty times."

The military official nodded solemnly and quickly understood what Guo Jie meant.

Zhang Qian is gone.

The military leave officer was needed to bring the material officer to hold back the chieftain and hundreds of armored county soldiers in the Rizi residence.

Public land?

When Chang heard the word "public land", he suddenly understood.

No wonder the military official insisted that the fugitive was hiding in Shuqi.

It turned out that they were going to the towns in the countryside to ask for other gifts under the pretext of chasing the fugitive officials.

Public land refers to the output of gardens, ponds, lakes, gardens, mountains and swamps, aquatic products, fishing taxes, salt and iron, and gardens.

The commander secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then knelt in the guest room with more than ten officers to have a banquet. Although these people were ordinary soldiers, they were soldiers from Chang'an and should not be neglected.

He watched Guo Jie and the other two leave in a pretentious manner, seemingly inspecting the public fields to see if there were any fugitive officials hiding.

In fact, it is to collect valuable properties in Shuqi.

As long as she is not here to rescue my daughter who was kidnapped by her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Let him be.

Anyway, it’s not that Captain Peng lost any money.

The chief brought the military official and the material officer into the guest room, knelt behind the table, and ate together. He briefly explained the purpose of the county governor sending the military official.

The three elders of the county felt slightly relieved.

Shuqili is located in Balingyuan, with dense gullies and blocked roads.

It is not known yet whether Guo Jie was promoted to the head of the county residence.

Otherwise, the three elders of the county would have been scared out of their wits.

The three elders of the county still believed that the head of the county residence was a guest of the Dou family, a relative of the emperor. Doctor Du was busy with his son's marriage to Dou's wife all day long and had not sent anyone to Shuqi for many days.

The concubine abducted by Chang'an was sold to Dai State, and the matter was delayed.

The three elders of the county were unaware that the county chancellor had been replaced, and they thought that he was still from the Du family of the Western Road, and regarded Guo Jie as one of their own.

"father."

The village official was cautious and followed from a distance. He saw Guo Jie and his men heading towards the northwest corner.

He hurried into the guest room and said, "The military official from the county government office and the imperial guards are heading towards the fermentation room."

The military official and the ten officers were shocked.

Could it be that he was discovered?

The military official and ten material officers held a ceramic bowl of millet wine in one hand and a ring-handled sword at their waist in the other.

"It doesn't matter."

The three elders of the county waved their hands and said, "Your uncle is the county magistrate. The military officers of the county government and the temple obey your uncle's orders. This trip to capture the escaped official is simply to get some gifts. The jute in Shuqi is quite famous. When the military officer left the town, he gave him some hemp."

A jingzi is the amount of hemp, equivalent to a bundle.

Hemp is used to make linen, which is equivalent to silk used for weaving.

Hemp is ramie.

It is divided into green jute and yellow jute. The jute in Shuqili is of high quality and is considered a famous local product in Balingyi.

When the three elders of the county mentioned the jute in Shuqili, a look of complacency appeared on their faces. They glanced at the material officer, who seemed a little unhappy, and said impatiently, "You are always suspicious of everything you do. Don't offend the junior officials in Chang'an. It's a rare visit from the county government, so it's reasonable for them not to bring some local specialties."

The military official's expression relaxed.

It seems that they were misunderstood as corrupt officials who demanded extra gifts.

The village official thought to himself, could it be that I am really suspicious?

He had no choice but to leave the guest room and walk towards the fermentation room in the northwest corner again, and continue to follow Guo Jie.

A large amount of river water is needed to retting hemp in the retting room. There is a tributary of the Bashui River in the northwest corner of Shuqi Village. This village is built along the water. A wide river passes through the village wall in the northwest corner and flows towards the ravine farther away.

Ramie can grow without soil. Its colors are green and yellow. Some plants can be harvested twice or three times a year.

Two harvests means two harvests a year, and three harvests means three harvests a year.

The ramie in Shuqili is harvested three times a year. The three elders of the county rely on the famous jute and harvest it three times a year, and sell it to the nine markets in Chang'an, and even to the Jinshi in the west of Luoyang City and the Nanshi in the south of the city.

Make a lot of money.

Guo Jie came to the fermentation room in the northwest corner and saw a river about two and a half meters wide, nearly five meters wide. There were many thin strips like rattan soaking in the water, as thick as a middle finger. They were the harvested ramie.

There are several simple buildings built by the river.

Ji means warehouse.

The warehouse is supported by four pillars, has no foundation stone, and is topped with a roof made of reeds and thatch.

Some villagers, with their upper bodies naked and only wearing linen trousers, were carrying bundles of ramie, throwing them on the water, and then carrying them up after soaking them.

Move it in front of the woman in the linen skirt.

Women tear off the outer skin of ramie, which is like rattan, and the yellow skin is jute.

The bare rattan is no longer useful, but there is no need to waste it. The flexible rattan can be used to weave boxes, baskets and other utensils and sell them for money.

The women picked up the hemp spindle next to them, a tool used to spin hemp, pressed down the hemp skin, and separated the hemp skin into thin strands, preparing to twist the hemp thread and weave yarn.

However, before spinning the hemp, the hemp skin needs to be dried in the sun.

After drying in the sun, the hemp skin continues to be soaked in water. It can only be soaked for twenty ke (five hours) before it can begin to be broken (xi), that is, using a hemp wheel to separate the hemp skin into thin threads.

Guo Jie's arrival alerted the villagers. They wiped their calloused hands on their linen hakama, ready to draw the dagger at their waist at any time.

The villagers' eyes were wandering and their expressions were nervous, and they looked at a rammed earth storage building from time to time.

The warehouse used to store ramie has only four pillars and is windy on all sides, with almost no shelter.

The storage building was different. It was surrounded by thick rammed earth walls, the door was locked, and there was only a small hole in the window for ventilation.

Even a small child could not climb out of the window.

"boom!"

Wei Guang smashed the Jinwu in his hand directly on the back of a resident and glared at him, saying, "I am a cavalry officer from Chang'an. If you dare to look at me again, I will dig out your eyes."

A red and swollen mark instantly appeared on the villager's thin back, and he almost fell into the water surface where hemp was fermenting next to him.

Many villagers have heard of Tiqi.

He was a scourge to his village, feared by the villagers, and envied by them when they were young.

They were often detained by the Tiqi and taken to Sihu Prison.

Balingyuan was isolated from the outside world, and the ignorant residents mistook the Tiqi for a military marquis in charge of thousands of regular soldiers in two groups.

According to the corvée service of the Han Dynasty, villagers had to serve until they were fifty-six years old. The highest-ranking official he had ever seen in his life was a military marquis who was in charge of thousands of regular soldiers while serving.

In the eyes of the local people, the young man from Wuling, whom the military marquis dared not provoke, was captured by the imperial guards and thrown into the Sihu Prison.

The status of the Tiqi was higher than that of the military marquis.

The villagers were immediately frightened and trembled, remembering that they had been beaten and scolded by the squad leader, who in turn was beaten and scolded by the team leader in charge of fifty people, and above the team leader was the village chief in charge of a hundred people.

Above the tunchang is the quchang who is in charge of 500 people.

Above Qu Chang was a military marquis. The villagers were so frightened that they were as silent as a mouse, shrinking their necks and continuing to carry the ramie. They dared not look directly at Guo Jie, but could only glance at him from the corner of their eyes from time to time.

Guo Jie walked towards the rammed earth storehouse, stood beside the window, pretended to collect valuable local products, and leaned on the window to take a look inside the storehouse.

Although it was broad daylight, the warehouse was dark and it was impossible to see what was hidden inside. From time to time, a humming sound could be heard.

You can't see inside the warehouse from the outside.

Guo Jie, who was standing at the window, could be seen by people in the warehouse.

A man in the storehouse saw the stranger suddenly appear, wearing the official robe, and struggled hard, trying to make a sound to attract Guo Jie's attention.

"Haha."

The village official approached with suspicion and saw Guo Jie standing at the door of the silage storage room. He was horrified and forced a smile. "The storage room only has some hemp millstones, spinning wheels, and shuttles for spinning flax. There aren't many valuable local products. The superior official wants some jute. Tell me as soon as possible. I will send five people to get it immediately."

Damn!

The most unruly concubine among the abducted concubines was hiding in the fermentation room storage room.

The skin is fragrant and soft, and the quality is ginseng red.

More feminine than women.

My father was going to offer it to King Dai in order to plot against the three elders of the county.

It must not be discovered.

"Little brat!"

Guo Jie glared at him and shouted, "Du Dicheng sent me here to apprehend the fugitive. It's already been stipulated that if we fail to recapture him within three days, we will flog him twenty times with a cane. So, will you flog him for me, or will your father?"

With a look of greed on his face, he whispered, "Jute, spun from ramie, cannot be exposed to water, and even more so, it's afraid of being eroded by wind and rain. This storehouse is so solidly built, it must contain a lot of jute. You and I, brothers, can each take away at least a dozen warps of jute. Open it!"

"Shang Li!"

The village official hurried forward to stop Guo Jie, sweat dripping from his forehead. "You can't open it! If your uncle finds out you've opened the storehouse without permission, he'll probably give you thirty lashes, not to mention twenty."

"boom!"

Guo Jie kicked the clerk in the chest and said rudely, "Shut up! If you dare to stop me from arresting the fugitive again, I will arrest you and throw you into the county jail as an accomplice of the fugitive."

"Ok!"

The clerk groaned, unable to catch his breath, and fell to the ground, twitching continuously. He was almost kicked to death by Guo Jie.

The residents around were startled and rushed over to help, but no one shouted that there was a thief.

From the conversation between the two men, the villagers could tell that Guo Jie was one of the Du clan members of the Western Road, and was just a greedy and corrupt official who came to demand jute under the pretext of arresting people.

The residents were secretly delighted.

The jute in Shuqili was indeed famous. Even the senior officials in Chang'an and the imperial guards would come to ask for a batch of jute.

Guo Jie looked at the twitching clerk and sneered inwardly, "When you rescue the abducted and sold Xijun, your fate will be the same as that of Du Yicao's only son."

Slit their throats and throw them into the dense ravines.

The body was eaten by wild dogs.

"Boom!"

Wei Guang smashed the lock of the storehouse door with the Jinwu club in his hand and rushed in. "Sister. Hmm? Who are you?"

In the dim warehouse, there was only a woman covered in dirt. Even though her body was covered in mud, it still couldn't hide the delicate and fair skin and her charming appearance.

The only drawback is that her breasts are a little small.

However, the woman's beauty is more charming than the morning glow and her sleeves are as beautiful as brocade. Just one look from her can make a man breathe faster.

Especially the most eye-catching thing about a woman is her pair of foxy eyes.

Glancing at the man.

My bones became crispy in an instant.

Very charming.

"Wei Guang!"

The woman called out Wei Guang's name, her voice as clear as an oriole: "Open your dog eyes and see who I am."

Guo Jie was standing at the gate of the storehouse. Seeing the charming appearance of the woman, he was wondering if she was Wei Guang's elder sister Wei Junru.

"scare?"

Wei Guang's face was filled with fear, as if he was frightened, and he quickly retreated to the door of the storage warehouse.

Then, he realized that his actions were wrong, and he looked embarrassed: "Chong Huangrou, do you know where my sister is hidden in Shuqi, or in the storage room of the fermentation room?"

There are two rammed earth storage buildings near the fermentation room, and the Insect King Rou is imprisoned in one of the storage buildings.

There is also an airtight storage warehouse on the other side of the river.

Insect Emperor Rou?
Guo Jie looked at the beautiful Chong Huangrou and suddenly realized that it was no wonder that so many descendants of nobles and marquises coveted his body.

She is indeed more charming than a woman.

He was glanced at by the foxy eyes of the Insect Emperor Rou.

No matter how strong your concentration is, your heart will still beat fast and your breathing will feel hot.

"Give me a sword."

Chong Huangrou gnashed her teeth and said, "Your eldest sister, Wei Junru, is being held in the city's ammunition room, just across the Fenma River. There are a number of five people guarding nearby, holding short bows coated with drugs. Be careful not to get captured by these five people."

The Chonghuangrou's voice was clear and melodious, and her angry voice sounded like a woman's coquettish voice.

Guo Jie shook his head, threw a two-foot-long sword over, and moved away from the door of the storage warehouse, not daring to have too much contact with Chong Huang Rou.

There was a well near the storage tank. Chong Huangrou took the two-foot sword thrown by Guo Jie and walked to the well. She washed the dirt off her body, revealing her fair and tender skin, which was half wet again.

More and more smart and charming.

Guo Jie immediately shifted his gaze and looked towards the other side of the Xuma River, searching for the ammunition chamber behind the inner wall.

He is a straight man and doesn't like this.

"Stop that man."

When the village official saw Chong Huangrou being released, he was shocked. "Hurry up and call the people! Call Wu and all the villagers here! If the government finds out about this looting and selling, no one will escape being forced to work for a whole city day. Go and knock on the big cauldron in the fermentation room!"

"puff!"

Guo Jie threw the ring-handled knife in his hand, which pierced the clerk's neck and killed him on the spot.

"Noisy!"

Guo Jie said murderously, "We've found the people. No need to hold back. Kill them! Kill these damned plunderers!"

Mang Tong and Wei Guang immediately rushed towards the villagers and rushed to the side of the cauldron. They kept hitting the villagers' heads with iron hammers and golden guards, smashing the heads of the villagers who tried to knock on the cauldron one after another.

Guo Jie strode forward, stepped on the corpse of the village official, pulled out the ring-handled knife that pierced his neck and was nailed to the yellow earth ground, and began to slaughter the villagers living near the Fenma River.

The women were terrified. They screamed, trembled, and lay on the ground, not daring to move.

Chong Huangrou washed herself clean, tore off a piece of linen, wiped her body casually, and ran towards the residence of the three elders of the county with a two-foot sword in hand.

Guo Jie warned, "Captain Peng is hosting a banquet at the entrance to the guest house with over a hundred county guards. You should be careful. It would be better for you to follow me and rescue Wei Junru before arresting the three elders."

"Need not."

The Insect Emperor clenched his two-foot-long sword tightly, his eyes glaring at her. "I'd be remiss if I didn't avenge this. I can't wait a moment longer. I'm going to slaughter those old, incompetent dogs who kidnapped my wife right now!"

(End of this chapter)