Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 33 Borrowing Food
Arctic Wu not only doesn't want to repay the money, but also doesn't want to waste food.

On their way to Old Man Li's house, they encountered the Zhang family members who were carrying things home.

Old Zhang and his family, along with his wife and son, returned with a cart full of willow branches. When they saw Beijiwu, they greeted him from afar.

"Master Wu."

Beijiwu watched as Old Man Zhang pulled the cart over, and Old Lady Zhang pushed the cart beside him, along with several teenagers and children.

The car was filled with a jumble of things, including willow branches and some unidentified wild grass.

"What are you doing back here?" Arctic Martial asked casually.

Old Zhang said with a smile, "I went up the mountain early this morning to cut some willow branches, licorice, and astragalus. I'll use the willow branches and wheat straw to weave winnowing baskets and grain bins. I'll exchange the medicinal herbs for some money later to supplement my family's income."

Arctic Military discovered that the taxes here might be problematic.

Under favorable weather conditions, things are barely manageable, and things have just stabilized, with not much pressure.

If the natural climate is bad, or if there are natural disasters, wars, or other events that lead to increased taxes, then the country will collapse immediately.

Regardless of the amount of tax, whether one can survive depends not on the amount of tax paid, but on how many people can ultimately remain.

Seeing that there were no outsiders nearby, Beijiwu asked, "What if you work yourself to death for a whole year and still can't survive? What do you do then?"

When Old Man Zhang heard Beijiwu ask this, he laughed and said, "Then he must have sold his son and daughter. If you want my wife, I'll give her to you for free."

Aunt Zhang stood to the side and smiled.

Beijiwu said directly, "I feel like the taxes here are too high. Ai Dake is one thing, but he's too spineless. Mu Chuanliang and your families also seem to have problems. I'm saying, what if we work ourselves to death and still can't make a living?"

Old Zhang's smile vanished. He fell silent for a moment, then quickly smiled indifferently and said, "If you can't survive even after working yourself to death, you won't be farming here. You should just run away."

"This year is alright, but in years when it doesn't rain all year, we have to rush to escape famine before the summer harvest is ready, otherwise we won't have the strength to run away."

Old Zhang possesses remarkable survival wisdom, a wisdom common to people of this era.

Before you sense something is wrong, you should cut your losses and save yourself.

For example, tell your two daughters to get out of there quickly, so they don't drag their family down with them.

Beijiwu then asked, "What happens to people who don't pay taxes? I see many people are terrified."

Old Zhang's expression clearly darkened upon hearing this.

“If you don’t pay taxes, you’ll definitely be killed. When a grain official first came with his men to collect grain, you had to treat them like royalty, serving them the best food and drink.”

“If you offend these people, they’ll go back and call the government troops, and that will be troublesome. The government troops will come on horseback with knives, guns, and bows and arrows. Anyone who offends them will die, and everything in their home will be gone in no time.”

"It wasn't just about collecting taxes; it was similar when conscripting men. Back in other villages, there was a young kid who didn't know any better and deserted. When the soldiers came, they chopped off his parents' hands. In the end, they dragged him out of the cellar and cut off his hands, feet, and tongue. Nobody dared not to join the army."

Beijiwu roughly understood the intensity of the government's suppression and said with a smile, "There are already people in my family serving in the army. There's no war now, so there are fewer taxes and soldiers."

Old Zhang sighed, "Over the years, there's hardly anyone left. Almost everyone's dead."

When Beijiwu saw someone passing by, he said to Old Man Zhang, "You should weave a few more baskets, because my family is short a few."

Old Zhang smiled and said, "Okay! I'll send it to you in a couple of days."

After saying goodbye to Old Zhang, Beijiwu kicked down Old Li's door and swaggered into the yard.

Beijiwu explained his purpose to the terrified old man, Li.

"I will pay back the money your family owes. If anyone comes to collect the money, tell them to come to me." Bei Jiwu instructed Old Man Li, "Your family of three can't possibly eat all that grain. Besides, you already have more than 20 mu of land with grain. Now you're taking away what I gave you. My family is about to starve to death. We're all from the same village. How can you bear to watch my family starve to death?"

Old Li said with a bitter face, "But...but the county owes...money."

“There’s no ‘buts’,” Beijiwu said directly. “You’ll still be living in the village in the future, so I’m here today to put your mind at ease. I’ll help you pay back the few taels of silver you owe to outsiders. For now, we’ll keep this grain for ourselves.”

“I’m not taking it all. Your family has over thirty bushels of grain at home, and you three are the only ones who can keep it. Even if you die, you can’t keep it all.”

“I will take ten bushels of grain. Your family can keep the grain harvested this year for your own consumption. The grain I leave for you is the safe grain, so you can eat with peace of mind and sleep soundly.”

"Otherwise, if everyone in the village knows your family has grain, can you sleep soundly?"

Aunt Li dared not throw a tantrum; people in this era rarely had the audacity to lie down and cause trouble in the face of officials and powerful figures.

Especially knowing that Beiji Wu has taken several lives, not even a shrew, let alone a shrew, would dare to act out in front of him.

To protect himself, Old Man Li had no choice but to agree, "Alright, Master Wu, you can take it."

Beijiwu nodded. "I'll write you an IOU later."

Old Man Li and Aunt Li both gave an awkward laugh, thinking it was just a casual remark.

At a time like this, Li Niu, the son, didn't dare to utter a single word.

Beijiwu said, "Start moving the grain now! Move ten shi of grain! The three of you help each other, that way it will be faster. The reason I didn't call the others to help me move the grain today is because if the people from Beitian Beigong Lao Ma's family come, your family's grain will have to be shared with them."

“I’m doing this for your own good, and I’ve considered everything. Now that your family is carrying grain to my house, people will believe your claims of poverty, and no one will covet your grain.”

Beijiwu's kind words left Old Man Li and his family with unspeakable suffering.

After sincere communication, Old Li and his family had no choice but to accept their fate and took Beijiwu to the grain depot to load up their food.

Beijiwu carried two loads of grain out, and Old Man Li followed behind, pushing a wheelbarrow with two loads of grain.

Aunt Li and Li Niu also followed, carrying a bushel of grain.

Four people walked from the east side of the village to the west side.

Upon seeing this, the villagers on the road called out, "Uncle Wu, what's in this basket?"

"The grain was borrowed from Old Man Li's house," Bei Jiwu said with a smile. "I'll borrow some more later, otherwise my family won't have enough to eat."

The three members of the Li family all lowered their heads in shame, looking as if they were extremely unwilling.

The villagers, seeing the family's misfortune, also knew that Beijiwu's family had food to eat again.

Others knew this, and the women of the Arctic samurai family soon found out as well.

Xidan, who was feeding the cattle at the gate, saw Beijiwu returning with a load on his shoulders and shouted happily into the yard.

"Mother! The master has brought back grain!"

Although he couldn't see what was in the load, Xidan immediately determined it was grain.

The woman in the courtyard quickly came out to greet him, and when she saw Beijiwu's happy and carefree expression, she immediately felt relieved.

What a capable man!

(End of this chapter)