CHAPTER 216: CHAPTER 216: A FAMILIAR FACE

Jiang Jiao sat in the second mule cart, and in no time, they arrived at Gu Jinli’s house.

Just after getting off the cart, Jiang Jiao called out, "Elder Gu, Brother Dashan, niece Xiao Yu, I have brought you some people."

The Gu family was in the middle of lunch when they heard the voice, and everyone except Gu Jinxiu came out.

Gu Jinli, leading Brother Cheng, ran out of the courtyard, opened the gates, and upon seeing Jiang Jiao, smiled and said, "Second Uncle Jiang, have you brought back the people? That was really quick, come in quickly."

Jiang Jiao laughed and said, "It’s already been several days, if I didn’t come back now, would the soybean oil workshop even be able to open?"

From Tianfu County to He’an Prefecture, it would take about five days on foot. However, their household had horses and mule carts which could run fast. By pushing it and sleeping less for four hours, they could reach the prefecture in a day.

Gu Jinli hurried to compliment Jiang Jiao. Jiang Jiao, even more delighted, turned to the three mule carts behind him and said, "Hurry up, don’t dawdle, come down quickly."

Shortly after, the people in the three mule carts clambered down.

There were around twenty people in this group, men and women of varying ages, from sturdy adults to children of a few years. Each one was skinny as a rail, dressed in ragged coarse hemp clothes, without shoes, all barefoot. Their hair was a disheveled mess, their faces darkened and covered with patches of dark red scabs, the result of frostbites.

They each hunched over, not daring to look people in the eye, but their curiosity about the new environment made their gaze involuntarily drift to the side.

Seemingly trained, after sneaking a few glances, they quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look around any further.

Third Grandma saw these people and immediately started to wipe her tears, "They’re so thin, I reckon they haven’t had a full meal in over half a year."

Third Grandma thought back on the days they had fled famine, and also about her daughter Fuyan’s family. Where was her Fuyan now? Was she, like these refugees, as thin as a skeleton?

Thinking about this, Third Grandma cried as she ran to the kitchen, wanting to bring out all the edible things they had at home to feed them.

Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui also had tears in their eyes. Just over three months ago, their families were no different from these refugees.

Third Grandpa saw these refugees and sighed deeply in his heart. It was all the drought’s doing; if there had been no drought, the farmers wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

"Ah Jiao, you’ve worked hard. Bring them into the yard," Third Grandpa said, stepping aside to clear a path for Jiang Jiao to lead the twenty-odd refugees into the courtyard.

"Okay," Jiang Jiao complied, leading the refugees into the courtyard, and pointed to them, saying, "Line up properly; this will be your master’s house from now on. If you want to stay, if you want to eat, then you must behave properly. Answer whatever you’re asked, do whatever you’re told to do, understand?"

"We understand." The refugees answered in unison, though most of their voices were weak, with only a few louder ones.

Third Grandma had already brought the food to the courtyard and said to them, "Don’t just stand there..."

"Third Grandma, let them eat later," Gu Jinli knew Third Grandma meant well, but in this era, as the master of the house, one had to keep their servants in line and couldn’t be too good to them.

Being too good to the servants would embolden them; not to mention being sneaky and lazy, it would not be surprising if they plotted against the master’s family later.

Even though Gu Jinli came from modern times, she knew that each era had its own rules, and if those rules were broken, her family could be the ones to suffer in the end.

Hearing this, Third Grandma hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Gu Jinli turned his head to look at Jiang Jiao and asked him, "Second Uncle Jiang, among these people, are there any who know martial arts?"

Jiang Jiao said, "Yes, I’ve specifically purchased some people who know martial arts for you, but there are not many, only three. People adept at martial arts are too few."

He pointed to three people among the refugees, "Old Zhu, Liu Daguang, Wang Yongfu, you three step forward."

The three refugees whose names were called took a step forward and stood out. Liu Daguang, compared to Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu, was a step slower and hesitated before stepping forward.

Seeing this, Gu Jinli didn’t say anything, but simply said to the three of them, "Our family also fled from famine. We will not look down on you. Now I have a few questions for you."

Liu Daguang, after hearing this, was first taken aback, then he, who had been bowing his head, immediately raised his head and looked down upon Gu Jinli, his previous submissiveness gone.

Gu Jinli sneered inwardly and looked at Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu. Seeing they were still bowing their heads, nervously clutching at their clothes, he was quite satisfied.

She pointed to Liu Daguang and said to Jiang Jiao, "Second Uncle Jiang, I don’t want this man in my family, let him roll away."

Liu Daguang, upon hearing this, was not worried at all; instead, he sighed in relief. He used to be a government official at the county government, living on official food, but later his hometown county was struck by military disaster, and fearing death, he fled with his wife and child.

Initially, he wanted to settle down in the Prefecture, but he hadn’t expected the military disaster to be so severe. He and his family fled all the way, and along the road, his wife and child were mistakenly wounded by stray arrows and could not survive their injuries.

He escaped alone to He’an Prefecture, and along the way, he lost his household registration documents. Reissuing them required money, which he did not have, and being extremely hungry, he had no choice but to sell himself.

He saw that Jiang Jiao was decent, and listening to him speak with the servant, this man was also the son of a County Magistrate. Thinking of selling himself to that household, he could work at the County Captain Mansion for a few years, familiarize himself with the County Magistrate’s family, redeem himself, and with the County Magistrate’s connections, enter the government service as before in his hometown.

Who could have imagined that Jiang Jiao buying him was actually to send him to the countryside?

What kind of future could there be in this wretched countryside?

This household head was also a refugee, a whole family of peasants; he’d rather die than work for this family.

Jiang Jiao saw the expression on Liu Daguang’s face and was also very annoyed. Initially, he brought Liu Daguang to the Gu Family because he was good at martial arts and knew the rules from working at the county government, appearing to be a good man.

It turned out that he had misjudged and bought someone with too many thoughts.

Jiang Jiao looked at Liu Daguang with a sneer, then turned to say to Gu Jinli, "Alright, since Xiao Yu doesn’t want him, then Second Uncle Jiang will just sell him to the mines."

Sell him to the mines!

Liu Daguang, when he heard this, was so scared he almost wet himself. With a thud, he quickly knelt down, "Elder Jiang, Elder Jiang, please don’t sell me off to the mines, I am willing to stay with this family, willing to work here!"

"Too late, who do you think you are? To pick and choose your master as you please?" Jiang Jiao said to Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu, "Dislocate his arms for me, and drag him aside."

"Yes." Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu were so hungry that they were weak, but Liu Daguang was also starved. The two quickly subdued him, and with two cracking sounds, they dislocated Liu Daguang’s arms. Then they took the rope Jiang Jiao threw over, tied up Liu Daguang, and dragged him aside to the entrance of the courtyard.

Gu Jinli saw that the two handled themselves well, and since they had been very well-behaved from the moment they got off the mule cart to entering the door, she was rather satisfied with them and continued to question them.

While Gu Jinli was asking questions, Third Grandma had been staring at the group of refugees. Originally, she was sympathizing with the hardships they had suffered and couldn’t help but take a few more glances. However, as she watched, she suddenly realized that among the group of refugees, there was a frail-looking young man who seemed somewhat familiar.