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The Qin brothers, Xu Zheng, Yang Wei, Zhang Xian, and others were preparing to encircle and eliminate Qinglong Village.
Xue Xu, who had been invited to Qingxi Village, asked Lu Songli, “Aren’t you worried that they’re going to encircle Qinglong Village and you’re not going?”
Xue Xu had excellent observation and insight. After spending a night there, he had formed a certain guess about these people’s identities. Moreover, even though it had only been one night, he could tell that Lu Songli held significant influence among the men with decision-making power, akin to an advisor.
This discovery was surprising to him. How could a woman possess such wisdom? However, the men’s respect and trust in her were enough to prove her ability and excellence.
He knew that men were very practical. If she didn’t possess absolute skill and if her decisions weren’t beneficial to the entire group, the men wouldn’t respect or trust her.
“I’m not worried. We’ve already made a detailed plan. Even if something unexpected happens, I believe in their adaptability.” Young and with room for trial and error, making mistakes isn’t feared. Lu Songli preferred to let them grow through their experiences.
“Boss Xue Xu, I’m quite curious about you. Why don’t you talk about your background?” Lu Songli asked with a smile.
“Hehe.” Xue Xu chuckled.
While Lu Songli wasn’t involved in the encirclement of the bandits, she was busy herself. She was currently leading people to set up a fire kang (a traditional Chinese heating bed) at Village Chief Chen’s home.
For Xue Xu, they had arranged for two young guards from the escort agency to watch him but didn’t restrict his freedom. However, Xue Xu stayed with Lu Songli instead of going anywhere.
On this journey, Lu Songli truly experienced what it meant to be in a sparsely populated area. After having seen the land support a population of over 1.4 billion, the current tens of millions made the population density seem very sparse.
In this era, it was common for people to freeze to death. It wasn’t rare to hear of someone dying from the cold overnight, either in their homes or on the streets as a vagrant.
When she discovered that the area around Gunzhou still didn’t have this essential winter heating device, Lu Songli decided to teach them the technique of setting up a fire kang. Her only aim was to help them survive the winter as best as possible.
While setting up the fire kang at Village Chief Chen’s home, many villagers from Qingxi Village came to join in the activity.
With many hands making light work, after working for most of the morning, the fire kang was finally set up. The Chen family was now burning it to dry.
During this time, Lu Songli took the opportunity to check if the smoke was escaping properly and if it was flowing through the designated pipes.
Someone touched the kang and said, “Hey, this fire kang is getting really warm!”
“Does it really work? Won’t it be cold at night?”
“I don’t think it works. People still die in winter. Why bother with these outsiders’ tricks?” Some stubborn elders thought this way.
Others disagreed, “I think as long as there’s a fire burning, it must be effective. It’s already warm now, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and they’re teaching us for free. Why not give it a try?”
“Even if it’s free, isn’t there a waste of effort? Won’t it waste food?” The elder frowned.
“Grandma, have you become so frugal?”
“Let’s just try it. If it doesn’t work, we can dismantle it. Even if we take it apart, the bricks can still be used.”
“Yeah, we’ll know if it works after sleeping on it tonight.”
After the inspection, facing these suspicions, Lu Songli didn’t say much. They would know the truth after tonight.
After exchanging greetings with old lady Chen and Village Chief Chen, Lu Songli returned home, followed by Chen Chang’an and Xue Xu.
After the discussion with Lu Songli, the people of Chen’s family had already decided to let Chen Chang’an go with them.
It wasn’t difficult to convince the people of Chen’s family. The ones who cared most about Chen Chang’an were probably old lady Chen and Village Chief Chen. They were reluctant to part with Chen Chang’an. However, the Chen family had no shortage of children. In four or five years, Chen Chang’an would get married and have children, all of which required money…
With Lu Songli’s willingness to provide ten taels of silver as upbringing fee to the Chen family, the family members had already made their decision internally.
Perhaps seeing that the path Chen Chang’an was taking was a good one, the Chen family wanted Lu Songli to take another child with her, but Lu Songli refused.
First of all, this opportunity was earned by Chen Chang’an himself. If he did well, he deserved to be rewarded. If she casually agreed to take another child, it would be unfair to him. Besides, she wasn’t in the business of taking care of other people’s children.
When Lu Songli returned, old lady Chen followed along. As the child was about to leave, she wanted to spend more time with the child.
Upon their return, Old lady Chen once again anxiously advised them to turn back and not take the road through Tonghua County.
Xue Xu didn’t leave either. He sat by the fire roasting peanuts. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Lu Songli with some schadenfreude.
Lu Songli said, “Granny, you don’t need to worry about this. It won’t be long before the Qinglong Bandits ceases to exist.”
They would definitely eradicate the Qinglong Bandits. Not to mention the distant future, even in a short while, her parents and others would be taking this road to Pingzhou. If they didn’t eliminate the Qinglong Bandits, and her parents, siblings, nephews, and nieces fell into their hands, she would have nowhere to cry.
Qin Sheng and the others were already in action. Even if she revealed this information now, it wouldn’t hinder them.
Old Lady Chen didn’t believe it at all, “Girl, how is that possible? Our Cangshan’s Qinglong Bandits is very powerful, even the government can’t handle them. The Qinglong Bandits has been in Cangshan for more than ten years, that’s solid evidence.”
Nie Yunniang, who was holding her daughter on the side, asked curiously, “Has the Qinglong Bandits really been around for so many years? Then, have none of the county officials in Tonghua County, as well as higher-ranking officials, cared about it?”
“They do care. It’s just that the bandits of the Qinglong Bandits are too powerful. Moreover, since ancient times, which place hasn’t had bandits and outlaws? Faced with bandits and outlaws, even the court has no way to deal with them. They are like weeds in the field. If you clear them out this year, next year, when the harvest is poor, a bunch of people will rush in to become bandits and cause trouble in the village.” Some villagers couldn’t make a living and went to Cangshan, either due to illness or poverty, selling their fields. Some of the farmers under the management of the bandits lived better than the honest and decent common folks.
Isn’t this like a wildfire that cannot be extinguished, but grows back with the spring breeze?
From birth to death, in the lives of the common people, the existence of bandits and outlaws had become a common occurrence.
Old Lady Chen’s thoughts were shared by the majority of the villagers in this area.
Lu Songli knew that banditry had always been a social ill from ancient times to the present. In some places, local officials even colluded with bandits and outlaws to exploit the common people. For those with minor offenses, they would accept their bribes, but these bribes were all from the sweat and toil of the people.
Even if the county officials were changed, or even if the emperor was changed, the banditry might be alleviated, but it would never be eradicated.
Lu Songli said, “Have you ever thought about living in a place without bandits and outlaws?”
Everyone looked at her, including Old Lady Chen, Chen Chang’an, Xue Xu, Nie Yunniang, and others.
“Is there such a place?”
“Are you kidding, madam?”
Facing the crowd with expressions as if hearing a fantasy story, Lu Songli fell silent.
In the future, great men, before the establishment of the country after the War of Resistance Against Japan, once mobilized the army to vigorously eradicate banditry. Since the decision to revolutionize, great men have always had zero tolerance for social ills such as banditry, using thunderous means to eliminate them.
Therefore, Lu Songli felt that there were no problems that could not be solved, only people who did not want to solve them. Those who want to solve problems have been committed from the beginning, while those who do not want to solve problems will be in vain even if given a hundred years.
Seeking the great in the dangerous, seeking the small in the great, seeking the large in the small.