New Trickster

  Zhang Lao Shi fell to the ground, staring blankly ahead, his eyes having lost their focus, with only the tragic scene of the Li brothers from two years ago flashing before his eyes again and again.

  That's what happened to the Li family, in the end the man was taken away by the government and never heard from again, the woman and children disappeared after begging for food with a basket, the original house and courtyard collapsed in the cold wind, finally becoming a habitat for foxes and wild rabbits, and the only few acres of river beach also became Zhang's property.

  At this moment, he was kicked hard on the body. When he looked up, Zhang Lao saw that Guan Jia's mouth was opening and closing like a fish in the river, but he couldn't hear anything.

  Then I felt myself being lifted up and bound by many ropes on my body, and then I was thrown onto the carriage with my feet off the ground.

  When looking back at the difficult times, I saw my aunt softly falling down in the autumn sun, and Xiaoyan unknowingly pounced on her mother's body, opening her mouth, probably crying.

  As the carriage swayed, Zhang Lao Shi had become as numb as a wooden stake, his eyes gazing at the sky also slowly losing their luster.

  The sunshine should be bright and warm, why is it dull in my eyes? The autumn wind at this time should bring the scent of fruits and wheat from the fields, gentle and refreshing, making people drowsy, why does it feel abnormally cold and stinky instead?

  Zhang Lao Shi can now only shiver, a cold shiver that emanates from his bones.

  Suddenly, he clearly heard the familiar voices of children in his ears. With great difficulty, he turned his head and saw two little boys who were helping with household chores running towards him from afar, waving their sticks wildly. He also saw a group of vicious slaves rushing up, brandishing knives and guns.

  "Ah, no, don't come over here..." Zhang Lao's heart screamed silently, but now he was so paralyzed with fear that he didn't have the slightest bit of strength to make a sound, even whispering softly was just an extravagant hope.

  Before he fainted, he saw his two sons being beaten down by the arriving yamen runners and village braves.

  Everything returns to darkness, that golden autumn, those mountains of wheat, those rich prospects, those wishes for a full house with children and grandchildren, everything returns to darkness.

  As the sun was about to set, Lü Shi and Zhao Da Hai walked home with San Er, laughing. This time in the mountains, they had a bountiful harvest. San Er's archery skills were unmatched, Zhao Da Hai's strength was extraordinary, and Lü Shi was humble and eager to learn. This was the most perfect combination on the hunting grounds today.

  Three people returned to the village, and the game they had obtained was already too much to carry on their backs. Along the way, they were thinking about how to make these wild flavors into a delicious dish, paired with steamed buns made from new wheat, what a wonderful day it would be?

  However, when I just entered the village, I felt that the atmosphere in the village was not right. The cheerful villagers who went out of the village in the morning were gone, and the carefree laughter of children was replaced by a dead silence. Looking around carefully and listening carefully, there were still faint sounds of crying coming from behind the tightly closed courtyard doors.

  Lü Shi and Zhao Dahai exchanged a glance, and in their hearts they both cried out: "This is bad, something's happened." Without saying another word, they hastily rushed to Zhang Laoshi's courtyard.

  The gate was wide open, and at a glance, the whole yard was in disarray. From the house to the gate, there were golden wheat grains scattered all over the place. Rushing into the yard, I saw that the main room, which was originally piled high with wheat, was now empty.

  Zhao Dahai let out a loud roar and kicked open the door of the kitchen. What entered his line of sight was Zhang Jia's wife lying on the ground, Xiao Ya pounced on her mother's body, crying to the point of exhaustion.

  Zhao Dahi took a step forward, picked up his exhausted goddaughter, and shook her, asking urgently: "Xiao Ya, quickly tell your godfather, where is your father? Where is your brother? What about our wheat?"

  The child is still young after all, how can he bear such tossing at this time. Seeing his relatives in front of him, he cried loudly again for a while, but couldn't say a word.

  Lü Shilian hastily stepped forward, snatched Xiaoyu from Zhao Dahan's hands, and held her in his arms. Then he turned to San'er, who was following behind him in a daze, and said: "Quickly help your mother up, hurry and find some cold water to wake her up, let's ask what happened?"

  San Er came back to his senses at this time, and quickly helped his unconscious mother up, then found a bowl of cool water to pour down her throat.

  Under the stimulation of a bowl of cold water, Zhang Jia's wife slowly woke up and saw Lv Shihe and his brother Zhao Dahi with anxious faces in front of her. At that moment, she saw her loved ones and burst into loud sobs.

  Zhao Dahi was an impatient man, and at that time he loudly said: "Sister-in-law, don't just cry out loud, what exactly happened? How did the war horses become like this in just one day?"

  The more they urged her, the more Zhang's wife cried out in grief, and Zhao Dahu was so anxious that he ran around in circles, but didn't know what to do.

  Lü Shijian saw the situation and hastily bowed his head to comfort Zhang's wife in a soft voice, "Sister-in-law, don't be sad for now. With Zhao brother and me here, nothing bad will happen. Quickly tell us what happened, and we'll think of a plan."

  After being comforted by Lü Shi in a soft and gentle tone, Zhang Jia's wife finally stopped crying and recounted the entire incident in a stuttering manner.

  After asking about everything, Lü Shi couldn't help but plop down onto the kang, his heart filled with only sorrow and desolation, sitting there stupidly for a long time without speaking.

  Then he grasped his own hair in desperation and tears of regret flowed profusely.

  This is the consequence of one's own actions, this is the aftermath of being self-righteous and thinking that one can maintain the interests of Zhang Lao Shi's family, yet not considering how treacherous people's hearts can be at times.

  At first, I thought I was right in the matter of the windmill and used various means to force the Zhang family's tyrant to bow their heads. Not only did the windmill play its role, but it also brought tens of thousands of yuan in income to the Zhang family. I thought this would change the fate of one person, one family, but unexpectedly, the Zhang family was just compromising temporarily. After the harvest, they really settled accounts with me, and the way they did it was ruthless and absolute, beyond what a 21st-century person like me could imagine.

  Zhang Laoshi was taken into the water dungeon of Zhangjiabao, and as he was leaving, the steward of the Zhang family spoke up, saying that without 200 taels of silver, there would be no chance of redeeming him.

  But from Zhao's sister-in-law's intermittent narrative, it was also learned that Zhang the steward said that he could use the land left by his ancestors as a price of 50 taels to make up for part of it, and then take out the windmill drawings to make up for 20 taels. Calculating this way, they still owed Zhang's family in Zhangjia Village 130 taels.

  One hundred and thirty taels, for a farmer like Zhang Lao Shi, even one hundred copper coins are a huge fortune. As for Lv Shi, from head to toe, all he has is this hemp shirt. Not to mention two hundred taels, he doesn't even have two copper coins. Until now, he hasn't seen the shadow of silver, it's simply an astronomical figure, no, it's a cosmic number.

  Zhang's two younger brothers, who were also his apprentices in disguise, had been tied up by the county yamen runners and taken to the county prison for resisting arrest and trying to rescue their father. The pretext was that they were gathering a crowd to rebel against the imperial court.

  What a crime is this? This is a capital offense, throughout the ages, an unpardonable crime that has always been considered treason.

  How could this be? Lü Shi was hitting his own head.

  Because Zhang's family took him in, they were able to use his knowledge to build a windmill, which allowed them to irrigate their fields on time and reap an extra three to five dou of grain. As a result, the three young sons did not become orphans, and Zhang's wife and daughter-in-law did not die of starvation and become nameless corpses in some ditch. However, his arrival ultimately pushed them into an even more desperate situation: Zhang Laoshi would soon be thrown into the dark dungeon of Zhangjiabao to languish and die, while the two young sons would eventually lose their heads as a warning to others.

  Is this change? Am I still rejoicing in this change, if it's said that I came to this world to bring change to the people in it, isn't this change even more sorrowful? What should I do? What can I do?

  "Brother, can you think of a way?" Zhao Dahai's loud voice brought Lü Shi back to reality. It was already sunset, and he didn't know when the courtyard had been lit up with torches, and this small courtyard was packed with all the old, weak, women and children from the village.

  Lü Shì woke up in pain, blaming himself for being unable to solve the problem. The matter arose from his own momentary stubbornness, so he had to think of a way to salvage it. He was indeed a carefree person, but since the trouble originated from him, he had to take full responsibility for it. This was duty, and also the burden of a man.

  Get up, walk into the yard, Lv Shi takes a look at the time, especially notice that this yard is really just old, weak, women and children, not even one strong young man, what's going on? This Zhangjia Village originally had one or two hundred strong young men.

  Zhao Dahai saw Lü Shi's confusion and said with a sigh: "It's all because of the old thing in Zhangjiabao, who reported to the county that our village had a good harvest. The county magistrate was delighted and assigned this year's grain tax deficit to the people of Zhushan Village. Look at these old men and women, their grain has been taken away, and the men have already been arrested by the county yamen and taken to the county as hostages. They also sent a message saying that if they don't pay the silver and grain within a month, they will be sent to the border as soldiers."

  As soon as his voice fell, there was a burst of crying in the whole courtyard.

  Is it to be sent to the border? Those who are recruited will surely meet a fate of nine deaths without a burial, where can they still see their loved ones? In this chaotic world, man-made disasters are worse than natural ones, bullying the common people until there is no way out. What's left is just this family with a few miserable lives, the greatest hope is that the whole family dies together in this chaotic world, what else can be hoped for? Now even this small wish cannot be fulfilled, how can one not wail and weep?

  Lü Shi felt the sorrow of his fellow villagers and the despair in their cries.

  Now that the backbone of the family is gone, the women and children who are left regard Lv Shi as their savior, all rushing to him in the hope that he can come up with a plan to rescue their loved ones from danger.

  Lü Shi must think of a way to rescue his relatives from their predicament.