Chapter 0036: The Honest and Simple Villagers, Who Can Deceive Without Blushing
That night, Jiangdu Xian was brightly lit.
Blacksmiths climbed ladders to repair the city gates, while carpenters worked through the night to hastily construct roadblock barricades. The townspeople gathered in small groups, hunched over and whispering with bowed heads, repeatedly murmuring phrases like, “Must smile, must be enthusiastic, must deceive them properly.”
The Yamen Runners and Government Soldiers also huddled together. One soldier, with a stern expression, forced a grin, only to be smacked on the head by his superior who scolded in frustration, “Smile properly! What if you scare them away?”
After the recent mountain flood incident, the people of Jiangdu Xian were now united and highly cohesive, holding blind trust in Governor Liang. Even if they found the tasks assigned by the governor somewhat strange or even a bit deceitful, they believed officials were surely wiser and more capable than uneducated commoners like themselves. They simply followed orders without question!
The next day, the first wave of refugees from the eastern counties arrived at Jiangdu Xian.
Expecting the city gates to be tightly shut like in other counties, they were surprised to find the gates wide open. Under the shaded entrance stood elderly women and matrons, their arms carrying straw baskets filled with steamed buns and flour.
Beaming, they waved enthusiastically and called out, “Fellow villagers, you’ve arrived! Oh, you must be starving after your journey! Heaven has no eyes—quick, come in and have some buns to fill your stomachs!”
The faint, savory aroma of steamed buns wafted through the air. The refugees, hollow with hunger, couldn’t help but swallow hard, thinking to themselves that Jiangdu Xian indeed had ample provisions. They had come to the right place!
“Everyone, hurry into the city! Once inside, you can eat your fill!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, and the refugees surged toward the city gates. Some even dashed straight for the elderly women and matrons with the straw baskets.
They were simply too hungry, too desperate for those buns.
Unexpectedly, two lines of Government Soldiers rushed out from the city gates, brandishing swords and blocking their path. The cold gleam of their blades reflected under the scorching sun, forcing the refugees to retreat in fear.
What was this about?
Initially frightened, the refugees soon grew resentful. They glared angrily at the soldiers, furious at being barred from entering.
Weren’t they told they could enter and eat buns? Why were they being stopped?
Already on the brink of starvation, exhausted and parched from their arduous journey, and now denied the hope of survival just within reach, the refugees grew increasingly agitated and restless.
As they prepared to confront the soldiers, the leader of the troops—a man with a fierce demeanor—forced an awkward and unnatural smile. Pointing to either side, he strained to use the gentle tone he had practiced the night before and reminded them in a pinched voice, “Register your travel passes first, then enter the city.”
Puzzled, the refugees looked to the sides and noticed several wooden tables set up. Behind each table sat a young scholar, brush in hand, ready to record the refugees’ temporary travel passes.
Eager to enter the city quickly, the refugees hurried to the tables and provided their names and places of origin for themselves and their families.
The scholars recorded this information and handed the temporary travel pass to the family. Meanwhile, the patrolling government soldiers shouted in a looping chant as they made their rounds, “Keep your travel passes safe! Those without passes won’t get steamed buns or a place to sleep! Keep your travel passes safe! Those without passes won’t get steamed buns or a place to sleep!”
The refugees: […]
How strange. This chant almost sounded like a curse.
They quietly secured their travel passes, fearing someone might snatch them away.
The first wave of refugees, numbering nearly two thousand, entered the city in an orderly fashion. Upon entering, they saw oilpaper-covered piles of steamed buns lining both sides of the road. A dozen burly men who resembled butchers stood behind elderly folk and women, guarding these bun stalls with fierce yet “strained” smiles.
Had there not been ordinary citizens present, the refugees might have wondered if their hunger-induced dizziness had led them into some bandit stronghold.
The elderly and women pressed two steamed buns into each refugee’s hands, enthusiastically saying, “Fellow countrymen! Eat well and drink well! Later, take a stroll around the city—though there’s not much to see. But you can chat with our Jiangdu Xian folks to relax your minds!”
The refugees took the buns and began devouring them ravenously, barely noticing the excessive enthusiasm of Jiangdu Xian’s residents. They nodded hastily in acknowledgment before moving further into the city.
Indeed, there wasn’t much to see in the city. The streets were sparse with vendors, and due to recurring mountain floods, many corners remained cluttered with uncleaned debris and grime. However, numerous locals roamed the streets, eagerly waving and approaching anyone they saw. “Fellow countrymen, you must have suffered greatly on your journey! Don’t worry, now that you’re in our Jiangdu Xian, treat it as your own home! Governor Liang will surely arrange proper work for you, allowing you to earn honest money and eat clean food!”
The refugees felt overwhelmed by their fervent hospitality. “Huh? What work? What money? Aren’t we just getting relief grain and land to farm?”
Having come from eastern counties where Yu Ji Mountain blocked river flows and drought had killed the soil, these refugees were accustomed to receiving relief grain bags during famines. Those with skills would seek new livelihoods, while others would reclaim wasteland for farming—though most eventually got sent back home.
These days, peasants rarely had any savings. Having land to farm and enough food to survive the winter was all they asked for.
But judging by the Jiangdu Xian residents’ words, it seemed they could work for wages?
“Ah, fellow countrymen! Our land here isn’t farmable yet! It’s all flooded and needs to dry out first!” A villager shook his head with a laugh. “Don’t worry about that! With our Governor here, you won’t starve! After all, our Governor is someone protected by the Mountain Deity!”
Mountain Deity? What Mountain Deity?
As the refugees puzzled over this, they saw a group of rosy-cheeked children playing past, their clear young voices singing a rhyme:
“In Yi Province dwells a Mountain Deity,
Who pities all living beings.”
He entered the Governor’s dreams at midnight,
To impart wisdom to Governor Liang.
‘Torrential rains will arrive,
Mountain floods will descend.
Avoid Yu Ji for three days,
To save countless lives.'”
“The Governor heeded the warning,
The mountain floods indeed came.
Yu Ji Mountain blocked the waters,
Cleverly saving many lives.
The Governor, keen of mind,
Prayed to meet in dreams again.
The Mountain Deity returned to his dreams,
Asking, ‘What troubles you, sir?'”
“This mountain might be pushed aside? This river might be split apart? East and west unevenly divided, countless people suffer from its torment! The mountain immortal laughed heartily, praising such bold thinking, with a single pointing gesture, all methods came forth!”
“This mountain shall be pushed aside! This river shall be split apart! Divert the flow east and west, the Land of Abundance will arise!”
The refugees listened in utter confusion and couldn’t help but ask, “What does this ballad mean? What mountain immortal? What salvation? What ‘all methods,’ and what ‘Land of Abundance’?”
“Oh dear, you really don’t know? I thought you came here to help precisely because you’d heard about this!” The man slapped his thigh and enthusiastically explained to them, “Our Governor Liang, some time ago, was visited in a dream by the mountain immortal of Yi Province! It’s said he can teach him the method of Splitting Mountains and Rivers to control the Min River floods! Just split the Min River into two channels, then carve a watercourse through Yu Ji Mountain—the east will have water for irrigation, and the west will no longer suffer from mountain torrents!”
“What?” The refugees were shocked, completely unable to believe it. “Really? Splitting mountains and rivers—how could humans accomplish such a thing?”
“Hey now! Don’t you doubt it! Tonight at dusk, right at the government office entrance, there will be scholars arranged by the governor to give lectures—and what they’ll teach is precisely this method of Splitting Mountains and Rivers!” The man’s tone was full of pride. “As long as you understand it, you can even get steamed buns!”
In the past, the refugees might have been more interested in Governor Liang being visited by the mountain immortal, but now, driven by hunger, they were far more interested in the steamed buns. They immediately thought to themselves: We must go see at dusk—what exactly is this all about!
After spreading the message, the villager quickly slipped into a corner and lightly patted his chest.
This was his first time tricking people—hopefully it went alright?
Suddenly, several sounds came from nearby. He quickly turned and discovered other villagers also hiding in the shadows, patting their chests with guilty expressions.
Hearing the noises, they exchanged glances and couldn’t help but burst into laughter again.
So it turned out they weren’t the only ones feeling guilty! Everyone was like this!