Three, White Water King Two

  Zhu Yuanzhang walked a short distance with an air of uncertainty, emerging from among a large pile of dilapidated earthen houses and thatched cottages to arrive at the most important place in the entire courtyard - the dining hall.

  All the long and short workers in Ma's family who couldn't fill their stomachs received wages in the form of food, with those who worked more getting two more steamed buns and a bowl of thin porridge, while those who worked less got two fewer steamed buns and a bowl of thin porridge. So the strong ate more, the diligent also ate more, and the weak and lazy had nothing to eat.

  Zhu Ba was undoubtedly the weak type, he couldn't plow the land, couldn't cultivate the fields, couldn't chop firewood, and finally had to choose the lightest job of herding cattle. As a result, he earned the least food and often went hungry, struggling to make ends meet.

  Zhu Yuanzhang was a diligent person, after ascending to the throne and becoming emperor, he could be called a model worker. Every day, he handled official duties that were at least equivalent to several tens of people's workload. As for the original owner of this body, he also looked down on him, thinking he deserved to starve to death.

  As he walked to the entrance of the dining hall, he smelled the aroma of porridge and mantou. Sure enough, it was these two things again, not enough to fill his belly, but just enough to keep him from starving. This was the treatment they received from the Ma family. Don't get angry, if you don't want to work anymore, then you won't even have this little bit of food to eat. The past two years had already seen a severe drought, with barren land stretching for thousands of miles everywhere. Being able to scrounge up this much food at the Ma household was already considered not bad. Some people who couldn't even get into the Ma household lived more miserable lives than they did.

  He had just walked to the door of the dining hall when he suddenly heard a cold voice, in a strange tone, saying: "Zhu Ba, you lazy killer, do you know how to come back? I thought you had run away with that big yellow cow."

  This was the voice of Qi Guan Shi, and Zhu Yuan Zhang looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a man in his forties standing in the corner, wearing an ugly black robe. The man's face was even uglier than his clothes, with his features all scrunched up, his eyebrows crooked and his mouth askew - he didn't look like a good person at all.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had learned to restrain his own momentum, he did not want to offend Qi Guan Shi at this time, because his body was very weak and he had no power in his hands. At this time, he was at a disadvantage, if he confronted Qi Guan Shi, it would only be harmful to himself, with no benefits. In his previous life, he was able to rise from scratch and build a vast empire, one of the main reasons being that he was good at judging the situation and timing. Enemies who couldn't be provoked for the time being should not be provoked, wait until you have the strength to take revenge.

  Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head and said, "Qiguan Shi, I was herding cattle on the mountain when I accidentally fell and hit my head, and I fainted. When I came to, it was already late, so I returned a bit later... Look at my hair, there are still blood clots congealed on it, it's really not that I wanted to slack off."

  He glanced at the blood clot on his head, snorted coldly: "As expected, you cracked your head open, never mind, I won't take you for a cow thief. However, you didn't bring the cows back on time, which slowed down this afternoon's plowing progress. It's just the right season for spring plowing, one afternoon's worth of work, how much land can one cow plow? You should be able to calculate that. These losses will be deducted from your wages, so there won't be any dinner for you tonight, scram."

  Zhu Yuanzhang furrowed his brow, feeling annoyed in his heart, but the ups and downs of his previous life had taught him not to act impulsively. Skipping a meal or two might be tolerable, but offending Qi Guan Shi would make it impossible for him to stay in this place any longer. He couldn't leave this household now because no one understood better than he did that the coming drought would worsen with each passing year, and more people would starve to death every day, eventually becoming the final straw that would bring down the empire.

  With his current weak body, he can't do anything after leaving this house and will only starve to death on the streets. At least here, he should think of a way to nurse his body back to health, think of a way to earn some money, and then venture out into the world again.

  He believes that with his own ability, he can absolutely improve his life. In the mansion of a wealthy landlord, there are many rights and wrongs, and it won't take long for him to wait for an opportunity to change his status.

  Zhu Yuanzhang did not argue, but in a calm and serious tone said: "Qiguan Shi, I came back late today, it's indeed my mistake, the work wasn't done well, there shouldn't be any excuses. But I'm really hungry, today's headache is caused by hunger, if you don't let me eat this meal, I might not make it through tonight, even if I force myself to get through tonight, tomorrow I won't have the energy to work again. My death is a small matter, but because of my death, leaving Qiguan Shi with the reputation of treating subordinates harshly, and spreading to Master Ma's ears wouldn't sound good either..."

  "Huh?" Zhi Guan Shi was taken aback, not because of the content of Zhu Ba's words, but because he dared to speak. This honest and low-key fool, how did he suddenly become a different person today, daring to lecture me at length about conditions?

  He narrowed his small eyes and carefully sized up Zhu Ba in front of him, only to see that he was still the same old self, with a vacant expression, thin as a rake, and tattered clothes... But today, there was an extra spark in his eyes that was not usually seen. This look, it seemed like what the old man said about a fool gaining wisdom, could it be caused by that fall on his head?

  But even if he's a fool who has gained wisdom, he's still a useless long worker. Qiguan Shi coldly snorted: "You have all sorts of reasons? Because I'm afraid you'll starve to death, so I have to give you food, where is the logic in that? If every single long and short worker, regardless of whether they work well or not, I gave them food, Master Ma would really look down on me."

  Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Qiguan Shi, you're right. If the work isn't done well, it's not worth eating. I agree with you on this point. But helping each other in times of need is a common human sentiment. You help me out this once, let me have a meal tonight, and tomorrow I'll make up for all the work that was left undone today... Da Huang Niu owes how many fields unplowed this afternoon? I'll take responsibility to plow them all."

  "Huh?" Zhi Guan Shi was slightly taken aback again, this kid... really has opened up his wisdom. Listening to him speak, his words are clear and logical, first expressing agreement with what I said, revealing that he doesn't want to offend me, then adding his own conditions, making me feel like it's not out of place when I hear them. Just this one point, the other stupid long workers can't compare to him.

  It's hard to find someone as clever and eloquent as Zhu Ba in these rural villages, where most people are uneducated and speak bluntly, often offending others without realizing it. Even Qi Guangshi himself couldn't grasp the art of speaking so skillfully, so when he heard Zhu Ba's words, he was immediately impressed: "This guy is really clever!" In his 15 years working at the Ma family's estate, he had never met a long-term worker who could speak so well; this guy might just prove useful in the future.

  Since it's useful, starving to death is clearly not worth it! Qiguan Shi shifted his body to one side, opening the door to the dining hall and letting Zhu Ba walk in. He then bellowed at the cook by the stove: "Give him something to eat!"

  The cook wife raised her head and asked: "Still a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun as usual?"

  "Give him two bowls of porridge and two mantou, let him eat his fill today. I see he's got a cut on his head that's bleeding, take care of him a bit, give him some extra food...I'm a very benevolent person to my subordinates..."

  "Thanks, Qi Guan Shi." Zhu Yuanzhang didn't rush to take the food, but instead made a fist at Qi Guan Shi before turning around and walking towards the cook.

  "Hey, kid's not bad. If you had grabbed the food first instead of thanking me, I'd have to reevaluate my attitude towards you. There are many smart people in this world, but not every smart person can be used by me. Only those who know when to advance and retreat, and remember the well digger when drinking water, are talented individuals worthy of cultivation. With a satisfied wave of his hand, Qi Guan walked out of the dining hall."

  Zhu Yuanzhang held two bowls of porridge and two steamed buns, and slowly sat down at the table. He didn't stretch out his hands to grab food and stuff it into his mouth like those starving people, because that wouldn't do any good for his body.

  He knew very well that the hungrier he was, the slower he had to eat, or else a mouthful of food might get stuck in his throat and choke him to death, or if he ate too fast, he would throw up and waste the hard-won food.

  He slowly tore open the steamed bun, pulled off a piece about the size of his thumb, dipped it in porridge, and slowly put it in his mouth, chewing carefully and swallowing slowly, one mouthful at a time, until he had swallowed all the porridge and the steamed bun into his belly.

  The dining hall wasn't just him alone, there were several long and short workers sitting in the corner, a few people looked at him sideways, seeing his extremely slow eating, one of the long workers couldn't help but say: "This guy must be starving to the point where he doesn't even have the energy to eat, how can he eat so slowly?"

  "What a fool! Tomorrow he'll have to herd cattle and also make up for the land that the cattle didn't plow today, or else he'll be exhausted to death?"

  "How strange! He actually managed to reason with Qiguan Shi, is he someone who can be reasoned with? Not only did he succeed in reasoning with him, but also got Qiguan Shi to add dishes for him, what kind of reasoning is this?"

  "Shh! Don't speak ill of Qiguan, or you won't be able to stay here..."

  Everyone was discussing it, but Zhu Yuanzhang pretended not to hear and just slowly ate his own food.

  At this time, a loud and clear voice suddenly came from the corner of the wall, shouting loudly: "During mealtime, there are always mice chattering in your ears, you are annoying or not? All of you shut up for me." This loud shout was so powerful that the window paper seemed to vibrate with a humming sound, all the noise was suppressed, and the dining hall became quiet. The several long and short workers who were discussing in low voices just now closed their mouths together, and they didn't dare to make another sound. Although it had calmed down, the loud shout from just now still echoed faintly in the ears for a few seconds...

  What a great momentum! He's got the makings of a brave general. Zhu Yuanzhang praised him in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw that in one corner of the dining hall sat a dark-skinned giant with a sturdy build, long arms and legs, and a fierce look on his face.

  In Zhu Ba's memory, there was a man named Wang Er, who was also a long-term worker of the Ma family. He had a generous and impulsive personality, loved to fight for justice, and was a good fellow. His job in the Ma family was chopping firewood, and he also worked as a bodyguard to protect the courtyard. Usually, no one dared to offend him, even Qi Guan Shi had to be afraid of him three points.

  However, Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked to see this person, and it turned out that his memory treasure also had this person, but the person he knew was completely different from the one Zhu Ba knew.

  This man also has a famous title in history - Wang Er of Baishui.

  The pioneer of the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty was this man...

  Note: In the first year of Chongzhen, on November 17th, Wang Erjue, a civilian from Baishui County, raised the righteous flag and gathered a crowd to attack Haotong in Pucheng and Zichuan Town in Hancheng. Then, Wang Jiaxin from Fugou and Wang Suo from Yichuan rose up together, attacking cities and forts, killing officials. Anse High Yingxiang and Hanshan King Daliang also gathered crowds to respond, with Yingxiang claiming himself as the Chuan King and Daliang claiming himself as the King of Daliang. This marked the beginning of the great peasant uprising at the end of the Ming dynasty.