fake gentry

Silent all night.

Xie Hong emerged from the cave with dark circles under his eyes, and the other refugees bowed to him.

A thin mist drifted in the early morning, enveloping the open space in front of the peach grove, while the distant sound of a babbling brook could be heard.

He had only slept for a short while as dawn approached, and now he was starving.

With a complicated look, Chen San stood by Liu Chong, who was shirtless and practicing slashing with a knife outside the peach grove, while Chen San held his sword and served him.

Chen San didn't actually monitor him, but he always felt like he was being watched.

He is free, but not truly free.

The team and the boy were buried somewhere, but no one knows where.

The dead are gone, but I must live well.

The refugees lit another fire and placed a clay pot on it. Inside the pot was leftover porridge from the night before, mixed with spring water. After stirring it up, it became hot water for rinsing the pot. They also added some millet, cleaned offal, and wild vegetables.

Xie Hong broke off a peach branch about the thickness of a chopstick, put it in his mouth, and chewed it as he walked to the upstream of the stream. He scooped up water to wash his face, brushed his teeth with the peach branch, and then used the water as a mirror to tidy up his headband and scrub away the grass stains and mud from his long sleeves.

Yes, it still looks good.

After tidying up, he went into the cave, picked out a pottery jar, washed it clean, grabbed two handfuls of millet, rinsed it clean, filled it with water, placed it on the charcoal fire, and then sat in front of the pottery jar, simmering the millet porridge.

You still need to eat.

These refugees were incredibly pitiful. All their supplies consisted of those jars and two boxes. One box contained more than half a box of moldy millet, and the other contained dozens of pairs of straw sandals, a few slightly worn brown clothes, and two new straw mats, one of which Xie Hong had used.

Not long after, Liu Chong followed Chen San over.

"Did you sleep soundly, Mr. Xie?"

Xie Hong snapped, "Get out of here! Let your master speak to me."

Chen San knew why Xie Hong was angry, but he wasn't offended. He just smiled and stepped aside.

There has always been a wall higher than the sky separating the gentry and the common people. This is the cruelest iron law of society today, even more ruthless than racial segregation!

Commoners couldn't even speak directly to the gentry.

Liu Chong glanced at Xie Hong, then suddenly thrust the thing in his hand forward.

"Here you go."

He spoke in a harsh tone, as if he were sulking.

Xie Hong glanced at the Han sword that had accompanied him through his transmigration and enabled him to achieve two kills, then pretended to be indifferent and said, "Continue to keep it safe for me."

"Who will keep it for you!"

Liu Chong raised his voice slightly, then realized he was being too loud and quickly lowered it, turning his face slightly to the side: "You can keep your things yourself."

Xie Hong smiled and took the sword, then slowly asked with a smile, "Are you willing to give it back to me?"

Liu Chong suddenly turned his head and glared at him, his ears already red. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something about having backbone, but in the end, he snorted at Xie Hong with an arrogant look: "This sword is nothing special. I will definitely find a better one."

After saying that, he turned and walked away without looking back.

Xie Hong finally understood.

This kid wasn't very old, probably only fifteen or sixteen. He had a bitter and resentful look on his face, as if the whole world owed him something, but he insisted on acting like a mature man.

Xie Hong was seven or eight years younger when he transmigrated, but he only looked like he was sixteen or seventeen. The information explosion more than a thousand years later gave him insight that no one in this era could match.

To put it bluntly, Liu Chong is a somewhat immature, impulsive, and easily angered teenager who has to keep his feelings hidden.

These are the people who are easiest to fool; they chose the wrong target from the start.

Chen Sanchao bowed to Xie Hong and said, "Please don't be offended, Young Master Xie. My husband has been in a bad mood ever since the incident."

Xie Hong noticed that Chen San's attitude towards him seemed to have changed a little, becoming more respectful.

He stood up and said with a smile, "I won't hold a grudge against a child."

Chen San looked around and tentatively asked Xie Hong, "Young Master Xie?"

Xie Hong glanced at the other person sideways: "What's up?"

Chen San said softly, "Young master, would you like to be the leader of these people?"

Xie Hong gave a cold laugh: "What would I be if I became your husband?"

Chen San bowed solemnly to Xie Hong, saying, "My young master wishes to take you as his elder brother."

Xie Hong couldn't help but glance at Chen San, a sneer rising in his heart. This old silver coin was really interesting; he was starting to test him.

Why would I give up being a member of the Xie family of Chenjun to become a leader of displaced people?

What is this old man suspecting me of? Do I not look like a member of the Xie family?

Little did he know that Chen San had automatically transformed him from a minor actor into a top star.

"I, Xie Fengzhi, cannot learn from Dao Huigong."

Dao Hui Gong was Xi Jian. In the fifth year of Yongjia, when Han Zhao captured Luoyang, Xi Jian became a refugee and even dug up rats to eat. However, in just three years, he gathered tens of thousands of people. Five years ago, when Sima Rui became emperor, Xi Jian was summoned, appointed as General Longxiang, and enfeoffed as the governor of Yanzhou.

There is a story called "Xi Gong Holding Rice in His Mouth". It is said that during a famine, he took his nephew Xi Mai and his nephew Zhou Yi to beg for food at other people's houses. The other people really couldn't afford to give him any, so they only let him go alone. So he ate the food and then held it in his mouth to take home. He then spat it out to feed his two children.

Chen San seemed to have anticipated Xie Hong's refusal, smiled and nodded, then turned to invite all the refugees to breakfast.

Commoners ate only two meals a day: breakfast around 8 or 9 a.m. and dinner around 5 or 6 p.m.

Xie Hong's millet porridge was also ready. The taste was not only bland, but it also had an indescribable feeling of being stuck in his throat. However, he could only grit his teeth and drink it all up.

After finishing half a pot of hot porridge, my hunger was finally relieved.

He washed the jar clean and put it back in the cave. Then he found Liu Chong and Chen San: "Master Chen, all the grain we have is that little bit of millet in the box, right?"

Chen San remained silent, but Liu Chong's expression shifted slightly.

Xie Hong sighed, "How many days will that little bit of millet last? How will you survive without salt?"

Chen San remained silent, and Liu Chong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Xie Hong looked at him and patiently guided him: "Brother, have you ever thought about it? There are plenty of wild animals in these mountains, but without food and salt, how long can you last?"

"I have a way to solve everyone's food and clothing problems once and for all."

Upon hearing Xie Hong's words, the refugees immediately became somewhat agitated.

Chen San remained silent for a long while, then looked directly at Xie Hong and asked, "Young Master Xie, do you really have a solution?"

Xie Hong casually waved his sleeve: "I guarantee that within two days, everyone will have enough to eat and wear."

Liu Chong looked at Chen San again, but Chen San's face remained expressionless.

Xie Hong felt a little uneasy. Would his plan proceed smoothly?

This old silver coin is indeed no ordinary person, further demonstrating that Liu Chong's identity is not simple.

Just as Liu Chong was about to speak, Chen San interjected, "I'd like to know what Xie Langjun's method is?"

Last night, Xie Hong racked his brains for most of the night and finally remembered that in fifty or sixty years, a monk named Huiyuan would build Donglin Temple on Mount Lu, with thousands of monks. They would find something on Mount Lu that would not only become an important food for the monks' cultivation and health preservation, but also become a tribute!

That thing is—honey.

According to the "Mingyi Bielu" (Records of Famous Physicians), among the mountains in Jiangnan, the rock honey from Mount Lu is the best, white as ointment and exceptionally sweet.

Decades later, Mount Lu would become one of the leading honey-producing areas in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It must still be producing honey now, it just hasn't been discovered yet.

There are no precise historical records of the price of honey in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but artificial beekeeping was extremely rare in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and honey was almost entirely obtained from wild bees. The "Jin Code" had a clear reward system.

The honey craftsman who collects ten bushels of honey will be rewarded with ten bushels of grain if he can boil an additional two liters of honey.

One hu is one shi, which is about 120 jin in modern terms.

Xie Hong could easily deduce the approximate price.

In other words, a pound of honey could sell for a thousand to two thousand coins, equivalent to the price of two or three bushels of rice, enough to feed these thirty-odd refugees for ten days.

This isn't a condiment, it's the ultimate luxury item.

Xie Hong looked at Chen San calmly and said, "I have a way to find rock honey. I spent a few days wandering in the mountains and found that this place is rich in rock honey, and it is comparable to tribute. You all know what tribute is, right? It's what the emperor eats."

The refugees' eyes lit up.

They certainly knew about honey, and they understood the significance of the words "tribute."

Liu Chong and Chen San exchanged a glance.

If they can actually get their hands on honey, they can settle down, then take in more refugees, grow in power, and wait for an opportunity to rise up as leaders of the refugees.

Liu Chong looked at Xie Hong with burning eyes: "Are you telling the truth?"

Chen San frowned: "Rock honey isn't easy to find. Even honey gatherers might not have a harvest for ten days or half a month."

Xie Hong smiled but remained silent.