Chapter 31: A Moment of Peace

In the evening, when Xu Shichang smugly boasted to his family about the new position he had secured, Xu Yunzhou simply said, “They won’t come.”

Xu Shichang shot him a glare and retorted, “What, you think eating tree bark tastes good? Being a wild man is fun? If they were being dragged off to be mere foot soldiers, I could understand their refusal. But now that General Bai admires them, they’ll be treated well if they go. What’s there to be unwilling about? They should be grateful for the opportunity!”

Xu Yunzhou fell silent. He was no longer the Xu Yunzhou of the past. No matter what Xu Shichang did, he wouldn’t bother trying to persuade him anymore.

It turned out that a father was not only someone to respect but also someone who could be sold out.

That night, Taoyuan Valley finally enjoyed some peace. Tian Mi arranged for people to take turns standing watch. Once everything was settled, she went to check on Xu Feiyan and Zhou Er’s injuries. Both had woken up and were eating. Xu Feiyan was still chattering away, clinging to Aunt Bai and acting spoiled.

Aunt Bai suppressed the urge to smack her and said gruffly, “Eat more so you’ll heal quickly!”

Tian Mi couldn’t help but smile. This girl really had no sense of propriety—daring to bounce around Aunt Bai’s heartstrings like that.

Meanwhile, Zhou Er was boasting to his father about how he had spotted the enemies charging toward them from atop the wall.

“Good heavens! They were carrying huge logs and charging like they didn’t care about their lives. Arrows couldn’t even stop them. It was only when the Mighty Girl set the fire that we managed to hold them back.”

The eldest uncle eagerly chimed in and asked, “Mi’er, how did you treat their injuries? Especially Zhou Er’s—it looked pretty serious!”

Tian Mi replied, “Uncle, he was lucky, really. The main thing was stitching it up. He just can’t afford to injure it again. At least for the next half a month, he needs to avoid any strenuous movement.”

The uncle nodded solemnly. “I already told his family to keep an eye on him. Saving him wasn’t easy.”

Hui came over to support Tian Mi and said, “You’ve been working hard these past couple of days. Go rest now! Uncle Xu and Yuanying will take care of the rest.”

Tian Mi, feeling the exhaustion catch up to her, nodded and agreed.

That day and night passed peacefully. Everyone believed the enemy wouldn’t return. The people of Fengqiu Village, ever resilient, picked up their hoes and went out to clear more land again. It was hard to deny their optimism—they always seemed to think of farming whenever they had the chance.

Even the injured young men joined in to do light tasks like picking stones and pulling weeds.

Uncle Xu lent them a couple of donkeys and horses to help with their work. However, they treated the animals like treasures, only allowing them to carry supplies. For heavier tasks, like uprooting tree stumps, they dug around the roots first before letting the horses pull.

Cattle and plows were still needed for clearing land elsewhere, so they were told to wait. The villagers were overjoyed and thanked them profusely.

Tian Mi was boiling medicine at home. Her second cousin, Chen Miaomiao, and Huang Minghui were all helping. Then, Erniu, who was on watch duty, came running over.

“Sister Tian Mi, the enemies are here again! But this time, there are only two of them—and one of them is Uncle Xu.”

Why is he here? Tian Mi instructed, “Go call Uncle Xu and my father.”

Two people remained on watch at the back of the hill while the rest came down. Seeing the people of Fengqiu Village had gone out to clear land, Uncle Xu and Tian Dabiao led the others to join them.

They piled the stones they collected in front of Huang Yuanying’s shed. Given Huang Yuanying and Zuo Zhengfeng’s contributions over the past few days, everyone had started treating them like their own. They even planned to build a house for Huang Yuanying and make a large wooden board for him to teach everyone how to write. Writing on that tiny stone slab before had been too much of a burden for Mr. Huang.

Yes, now everyone referred to Huang Yuanying as Mr. Huang.

Such simple and kind people! Huang Yuanying and Zuo Zhengfeng couldn’t help but feel warm inside.

Yet here came the government officials again, causing trouble. Uncle Xu and Tian Dabiao, simple-minded men, didn’t overthink things. But Tian Mi, unfamiliar with the situation here, turned to Huang Yuanying, who had worked in the county office before, for help analyzing the situation.

Tian Mi said, “Mr. Huang, the government has sent people. We don’t really understand their intentions. Could you come listen with us and see what they want?”

Huang Yuanying was more than willing. Smiling brightly, he said, “Of course, I’d be honored. They’re likely here to stop the fighting and negotiate a surrender.”

If they wanted to stop fighting, that was fine. But as for surrender? Tian Mi wasn’t interested. She had no desire to tie herself to Bai Dongyuan’s sinking ship. A man who could sell out even his own father—what wouldn’t he sell?

Huang Yuanying noticed that Tian Mi seemed to be in thought and then said, “The Prince of Yu has lost the people’s favor. Right now, the situation isn’t suitable for them. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, once the drought passes, a large army will be sent here. At that time, there will surely be a bloody war.”

Tian Mi smiled and nodded, saying, “Thank you, for clearing that up for me. Our people in Taoyuan Valley only care about farming. In the future, we’ll make a bit of money and become rich, that’s enough for us! Everything else doesn’t concern us.”

Huang Yuanying chuckled inwardly. This girl was radiating confidence, and being a wealthy man or woman was enough for her!

Uncle Xu and Tian Dabiao came over to join them.

Uncle Xu said, “Mi’er, I’ve discussed it with your father. We’ve already fulfilled our duty to Big Brother’s family. His matters are no longer related to us, and we won’t associate with him anymore. If there’s an issue, we’ll speak from the wall, but we won’t let them come in.”

Tian Mi nodded. These two were clear-headed. The lives of over two hundred people in Taoyuan Valley couldn’t be taken lightly.

The four arrived at the wall. Cui Daniu was still on lookout duty. Seeing them, he greeted them and continued his watch.

Outside the valley, two people stood in the open space: Xu Shichang and Dong Haibo.

Tian Dabiao asked, “Who are you, and what is your business?”

Xu Shichang was enraged. He had always carried himself with an air of superiority before these people. Now, they saw him and didn’t invite him in to greet him, pretending not to recognize him. How dare they disrespect him? He shouted, “Tian Dabiao, are you blind? Don’t even recognize me? You ungrateful wretch, have you forgotten how my father raised you?”

Tian Dabiao was about to speak, but Uncle Xu said, “I only remember you causing trouble when you went to take the exam. It was Big Brother who took a knife for you and saved your life. When your whole family was robbed by bandits and had no food or water, it was Big Brother who brought your family to safety. If anyone is ungrateful, it’s you. My father raised Big Brother, and Big Brother has never let us down.”

Xu Shichang was left speechless.

Dong Haibo, seeing the atmosphere cooling, said, “We are under General Bai from Qinghe County. General Bai has heard about you all and respects talent. He wants to invite you to work with him.”

Tian Mi replied, “We are just people hiding in the mountains during these troubled times. We won’t cause trouble, hurt others, and we don’t want to get involved in anything. Gentlemen, please leave.”

Xu Shichang looked at the people above. He barely recognized this as Tian Mi, but her voice was still familiar. He shouted, “Don’t be so ungrateful! General Bai sees potential in you. If you join him, he will give you a chance. If you don’t listen to advice, once the army arrives, what will you do? What’s there in this valley? What are you, wild people? Once winter comes, who knows how many will freeze to death!”

Tian Mi hated Xu Shichang’s behavior, as if he couldn’t understand people’s words.

Tian Mi said, “If you don’t leave, don’t blame us for being ruthless with our blades and arrows.”

Dong Haibo was also angered. He had never liked them since coming here. He had killed so many of their people, and now they dared to show him disrespect. He had lived over thirty years, always being treated with respect, but now he was being looked down upon by a bunch of peasants. Was his face not worth anything?

“A bunch of ungrateful wretches, just wait,” he spat.

He had already reported to General Bai, and if the general didn’t send an army to deal with these peasants, it wasn’t his concern. He was just venting his anger.

With a few harsh words, he turned and left.

Xu Shichang, unwilling to give up, said, “Second Brother, Dabiao, General Bai really values you. He truly wants to promote you. Yunzhou and I are both in positions in the county office because he values us. He treats us with great courtesy.”

Uncle Xu replied, “Big Brother, leave. Our views don’t align, and we cannot work together.”

Xu Shichang, suppressing his anger, said, “Second Brother, I’m doing this for you. You need to understand that General Bai commands over thirty thousand men. Can your small valley stand against that? A wise man knows when to yield. Don’t bring disaster upon yourselves. This isn’t a joke.”

Yes, Bai Dongyuan’s army of hundreds of thousands wasn’t something to take lightly. But was it worth it for a small valley? He wasn’t crazy.

Tian Mi didn’t believe he would go to such lengths for such a small valley. She wasn’t worried about their small group.

She said, “Go ahead.”

She finished speaking and turned with everyone to leave, no longer paying attention to Xu Shichang.