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"Two thousand taels?"

Lu Xiande's expression changed.

That's a full two thousand taels of silver!

If the villagers were to farm, how long would it take them to earn that much money?

They were practically eating the flesh of everyone in Qingshan Village!

Lu Huaiyi, Lu Zhen, and others were also furious.

Everyone started to panic, and many people were stunned, as if they had been hit on the head.

Many men gripped their hoes, veins bulging, breathing rapidly, their eyes practically spitting fire as they glared at the ill-intentioned thugs.

If it weren't for someone holding them back tightly, they might have rushed out and risked their lives.

Two taels of silver per person? Many families couldn't even save two taels of silver after growing a year's worth of grain!

"Two thousand taels of silver! Are you trying to force us to our deaths? Many of us have worked our whole lives for nothing!"

Lu Huaiyi's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.

"Work for free? What does that have to do with us? If you don't pay us, don't blame us for coming to collect it ourselves! If you don't pay us, even if we burn down the house and kill everyone, the money is still ours!"

Wang Feng said in a sinister tone, his eyes fixed on Lu Huaiyi's neck, and he smiled maliciously.

The others also revealed bloodthirsty eyes.

This should have been done a long time ago!

They're just a bunch of country bumpkins, what's there to be afraid of?

"Why are you asking us for money?!"

In the crowd, a young man of sixteen or seventeen couldn't help but shout, and was then pulled back by others.

Wang Feng seemed to have heard a joke, paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Why? Because of the knife in my hand!"

He roared and looked around at the villagers of Qingshan with disdain.

What future can a mob of rabble have?

"See what this is?" He sneered, drawing the knife from his waist. There seemed to be a hint of dark red on the sharp blade.

"This is the blood from the few people I just killed today! What was the name of that village again? Oh right, Xiahe Village. I bet a lot of you here are from Xiahe Village, right? Tsk tsk, they asked me why they had to pay, so I killed a few people to show them what I'm capable of with this knife in my hand!"

"What, you're not convinced?"

He gave a cold laugh.

The expressions of the villagers changed slightly.

Xiahe Village?

Several women who had married into the village from Xiahe Village showed expressions of panic and worry.

Lu Xiande took a deep breath, slowly stepped forward, placed his hand on Lu Huaiyi's shoulder, and shook his head at him.

Then, he looked at Wang Feng and asked, "I wonder if the two taels of silver you mentioned is for a year's expenses?"

"Hehe, old man, don't worry, we Flying Eagles Caravan aren't bad people. Once we've taken the money, we naturally won't touch you anymore. We still have that much professional ethics! Now, I'll only give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you haven't received two thousand taels of silver by then, even if you're short by a single coin, I'll kill one of your people!"

He grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth that sent shivers down one's spine.

He waved his hand behind him, and one of the thugs took out an incense stick, lit it, and stuck it in the ground.

Sweat beaded on Lu Xiande's forehead as he turned and shouted to the crowd, "Fellow villagers, now go home..."

He found a few old men, whispered a few words to them, and then began to call everyone to head back.

Only a few burly men remained at the scene, their eyes warily fixed on Wang Feng and his dozen or so bandits.

Not long after, before an incense stick had burned out, Lu Xiande and his men placed two thousand taels of silver on the open ground.

"Two thousand taels, not a penny less, brave sir, please count it!"

Lu Xiande's voice sounded tired.

Wang Feng nodded to his men, and four men stepped out of the group, grinning as they walked toward the money.

There were silver ingots, silver notes, and loose silver, but even more copper coins.

After counting for a while, the group nodded: "Sixth Brother, no problem."

Wang Feng then revealed a kind smile: "Old man, you guys are smart enough not to mess with me like the previous villages. They couldn't see the situation clearly and insisted on fighting me. Not only did they lose people, but they also had to pay every penny. Why bother?"

He laughed heartily and waved to his men, "Brothers, collect the money and let's move on to the next place!"

Lu Chen stood beside Lu Huaiyi, watching the group of more than ten people stride away with arrogant and domineering manners, laughing loudly.

The three men on horseback glanced at the houses in Qingshan Village and the crowd still standing there, smiled slightly, and turned to leave.

After they all disappeared into the distance, Lu Huaiyi squatted on the ground, panting heavily, clenched his fist, and slammed it into the ground in great resentment.

"Grass!"

He gritted his teeth and cursed, his eyes turning red.

Two taels of silver per person means that a family's entire year's work will not only be in vain, but their savings from previous years will also be completely depleted.

Some elderly people living alone or families in difficulty who have lost their breadwinner simply cannot afford that much money.

"Grandpa De, things are bound to get more and more chaotic these next few years. I've heard that there have even been rebellions in some places to the north! I think that during this busy farming season, after it's over, or even in the next couple of days, we should send more people to the nearby county towns to buy weapons—gun barrels, bows and arrows, knives, and the like. I'll pay for it. And it would be best if we could stock up on plenty of grain too!"

Lu Chen said to Lu Xiande.

The others were startled upon hearing this.

"Rebellion?"

Their expressions changed drastically.

"Xiao Chen, is this...is this true? Is there really a rebellion?"

The people were clearly very worried and afraid of the rebellion.

War is no laughing matter.

In times of peace, who would want war?

Who knows when our families will be destroyed!

Lu Chen nodded and continued, "I just mentioned to Grandpa De that many people probably can't afford the two thousand taels of silver this time, so I'll help everyone cover part of it. For those families that are really not well-off, I'll pay for it first as a loan, and they can pay it back later when they have the money."

"Furthermore, I plan to establish an award. Anyone who masters the basics of martial arts will receive two taels of silver. If they reach the Bronze Skin Realm, I will award an additional ten taels of silver! I will also cover half of everyone's expenses during training, such as food, meat, and medicine!"

Lu Chen had previously told Lu Xiande that he could contribute one thousand taels of silver as a loan to the village, which would have to be repaid later.

In addition, he can pay for all the food and weapons.

In this way, the villagers will not only feel indebted to him, but may also be more motivated to practice martial arts.

I don't need this money myself. If I'm short of money, I can just borrow some from a bad person.

The main thing is to increase your life points!

That's what he cares about most.

"Xiao Chen, where did you get so many...?"

Lu Huaiyi subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

How can you let a child pay for it?

Xiao Chen is so young. Even if he has money, you can't take it from him!

"Alright, Huaiyi, I've already discussed this with Xiaochen. Don't worry about how the money came about! Explain Xiaochen's good intentions to everyone in the village, and tell them not to worry too much about the money! Also, regarding the award Xiaochen mentioned earlier, the village can't refrain from contributing; the village will cover half! Everyone, practice your martial arts diligently and strive for a breakthrough as soon as possible!"

Lu Xiande is very decisive; when it comes to spending money, he doesn't hesitate at all.

At that moment, he understood.

Since chaos is on the horizon, a village with armed forces would naturally be much safer.

Otherwise, we'll just be like we are today, completely at the mercy of others!

Lu Huaiyi and the others remained silent, their hands gripping their weapons tightly, veins bulging, as they breathed heavily.

"Dad, Xiao Chen, don't worry, we will definitely work hard, we'll train like crazy!"

Several respected elders from the village, along with Lu Xiande, expressed their gratitude to Lu Chen.

If it weren't for Lu Chen, they really wouldn't know the strength of martial arts practitioners, nor would they know what kind of damage those bandits could cause, nor would they know how powerful they were. In the end, someone would definitely rush up and fight the bandits to the death.

Moreover, Lu Chen's thousand taels of silver did indeed save his life.

"Xiao Chen, I won't say much more. Although you are a junior, you are also the village's savior. I will explain these things to everyone in the village!"

Lu Xiande patted Lu Chen on the shoulder, deeply moved.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Grandpa De, I'm a member of the village too!"

He paused, then continued, "The matter of weapons and food I mentioned needs to be arranged as soon as possible! Also, I was thinking, should we build a fence or wall at the village entrance to enclose the village? That way, it will be safer in the future."

The group of people seemed to be deep in thought after hearing Lu Chen's words.

"Let's not stand here anymore, let's go to the ancestral hall and discuss this together!"