Chapter 52: Chapter 25: Bearing the Burden
Fang Rui looked at the table full of food and sighed internally. ’Governmental officers really have it good. The main course is Sorghum Flour, and there are even cornmeal buns. Compared to the common folk who have to skimp on even wheat bran, this is so much better!’
"Brother Fang,"
Jiang Ping’an said, a little jealous, "My wife... I’ve never seen her be as warm to anyone as she is to you..."
Fang Rui laughed. "That’s just because Sister-in-law is kind-hearted and warm. She sees I’m young and is just looking out for me!"
As he spoke, he picked up a clay pot of yellow wine from the basin and poured a cup for Jiang Ping’an. He had brought this wine himself—a fine, aged yellow wine that he had asked the Third Lady to find for him.
SPLASH!
The wine entered the cup with a crisp sound. Its color was clear, its aroma mellow and fragrant.
"Good wine! This is the good stuff!"
Jiang Ping’an’s eyes lit up with desire as he praised it, "Especially in times like these, getting your hands on such fine wine is no easy feat!"
"I knew Brother Jiang had a taste for it, so I had to pull a few strings to get this aged yellow wine..." Fang Rui, of course, wasn’t going to say he got it easily.
It was the same old principle: the more you make someone aware of the difficulty, the more they’ll remember the favor.
"Brother Jiang, have a taste!" He made an inviting gesture.
"Then I must savor it properly!"
Jiang Ping’an raised his cup and took a sip. The aged yellow wine was rich, mellow, and fragrant in his mouth, with a long, lingering aftertaste that made him squint his eyes in satisfaction.
He let the wine settle in his stomach, then popped a fennel bean into his mouth. The flavor... Tsk, tsk. It was a feeling fit for an Immortal!
Fang Rui poured himself a cup as well and started the conversation, "The world is getting more and more chaotic... On my way here, I passed the market and saw someone getting robbed in broad daylight..."
"Things like that are happening all the time, and there’s nothing to be done about it. Don’t be fooled by this official uniform I’m wearing. The gangs, the wealthy families—we can’t afford to provoke them. We just can’t!"
"The world really has changed. It never used to be this chaotic..."
As Jiang Ping’an spoke, he looked at Fang Rui with envy. "When the world is in turmoil, nothing is better than knowing martial arts for self-defense!"
"It just gives you a little more power to protect yourself than the average person. You must know this already, right? To ordinary people, someone like me is a big shot, but..."
Fang Rui shook his head with a bitter smile. "When you get right down to it, what do we really amount to? If we’re swept up in the great chaos, our families can be shattered and we can lose our lives in an instant. A single grain of dust from this era, when it falls on the head of a common person like us, becomes an unbearable weight!"
"Well said! Words like that call for a toast!"
Jiang Ping’an praised him enthusiastically and clinked cups with Fang Rui.
Of course, Fang Rui felt, ’This guy is just looking for an excuse to drink.’
A cup of aged yellow wine went down.
Jiang Ping’an grew more talkative. "I don’t think this chaos is going to die down. It’s not impossible that one day it’ll spread to the county seat..."
"If you rise to power in the future, I hope Brother Fang will look after my family a little!" he said, grabbing Fang Rui’s hand.
Fang Rui was intentionally trying to befriend Jiang Ping’an, and wasn’t Jiang Ping’an also trying to build a good relationship with Fang Rui?
An Entry Grade Martial Artist might not be much in ordinary times, but in a chaotic world, anything is possible. Who knows, one day he might just rise to power.
’What’s more, this man shows extraordinary promise and is socially savvy. With a bit of luck, he could soar to great heights!’ Jiang Ping’an thought to himself, looking at Fang Rui. ’You can see it just from how he is with my wife. It’s only been a few days, and they’re closer than real siblings. If the age difference wasn’t so great, I’d probably even suspect...’
Naturally, Fang Rui had no idea what Jiang Ping’an was thinking.
If he had known, he would have undoubtedly retorted in his head, ’You’re the one who shows promise! Your whole family shows promise!’
"Don’t worry! Don’t worry!"
Fang Rui readily agreed. "If we become rich and powerful, let us not forget one another! The same goes for you, Brother Jiang!"
As they became flushed and merry with wine, their feelings were so earnest... they almost wished they could become sworn brothers right then and there.
Perhaps it was because of their heart-to-heart talk, or perhaps it was because he was half-drunk, but Jiang Ping’an finally started to let slip some important news—the first he’d shared in days.
"Daze Prefecture, the Taiping Bandits are causing trouble... In our Changshan County, the bandit leader’s name is Li Xuantong... Li Xuantong, from a poor family, tended a landlord’s cattle as a boy... Exceptionally gifted, born with Innate Divine Power... At thirteen, he was bullied by the landlord. Without ever having practiced martial arts, he beat to death an Entry Grade Martial Artist who served as the landlord’s retainer..."
"Later, he went up the mountains and became a bandit, where the chief took a liking to him and taught him Martial Arts. After he started training, his progress was a thousand miles a day... Then, with the great drought this year, he raised the banner of rebellion. Now, he’s the leader of his own stronghold, and his strength has even broken through to the Middle Grade..."
"He’s the one who devised the plan to feign a minor defeat, luring the pursuing Official Army into Eagle’s Beak Gorge, and then used the terrain to annihilate the first wave of their forces..."
’This guy has the template of a protagonist!’
Fang Rui thought to himself, a glint in his eye. He sighed, "When a chaotic age is coming, monsters are sure to emerge!"
"Indeed! Even with reserve troops, I don’t think the situation looks good. Brother Fang, if you have the means, you should start stockpiling grain early!" Jiang Ping’an confided.
"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Jiang."
Fang Rui’s heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. "Come, Brother Jiang, drink! Drink!"
...
「An hour later.」
Slightly tipsy, Fang Rui declined Sister-in-law Jiang’s invitation to stay and left under the scorching afternoon sun.
By the roadside, cicadas screeched themselves hoarse from the treetops, and unknown insects joined in the racket, creating a clamorous din. Pedestrians on the road hurried along with worried looks.
After leaving Jiang Ping’an’s house, Fang Rui shook his head, his eyes instantly clearing. He pondered Jiang Ping’an’s words, contemplating the current situation and... his escape plan.
’Stockpiling grain? My family has been doing that for a while. We already have about a thousand jin.’
Of course, less than half of that was Sorghum Flour; the majority was wheat bran. Back when they started stockpiling, grain was still cheap. A single large coin could buy five or six jin of wheat bran. Such a price would be impossible now!
Even so, for the Fang Family, this was a huge amount. If they ate sparingly, it could last them three to five months without a problem.
’As for things like oil, eggs, meat, and beans, we’ve only recently stockpiled some soybean oil, but nothing else. It seems I’ll have to stock up on more, even if the prices are a bit higher.’
As for leaving Changshan County?
With Fang Rui’s cautious nature, he had naturally already considered the worst-case scenario and weighed this option.
The question was: if they left Changshan County, where could they even go?
Outside the city?
That was out of the question.
’There’s still some order in the county seat now. Outside the walls, it’s already a complete mess, with no law or restraint... Even with my martial skill, if I left the city, I couldn’t guarantee I could protect Mother and Ling’Er and keep them alive.’
It came back to the same point: Lower Three Grade Martial Artists were just a bit tougher and stronger than normal. They could still be surrounded and killed by ordinary people.
This was also why Fang Rui had not yet gone looking for trouble with Lord Hu and the Tiger Gang.
’Never mind the Tiger Gang, they have strength in numbers. And Lord Hu? He carries a high-quality Broadsword. If he managed to land one hit on me in a vital spot, even a Seventh Grade Martial Artist would die!’
’Even if I launched a sneak attack, and the chances of success were high, one little accident and it’s game over! I don’t get a chance to start over.’
Fang Rui would not take that risk.
’You never see a jade vase clashing with an earthenware pot. No rush, no rush. I’m not in a hurry. Slow and steady wins the race. I have plenty of patience.’
’Once I break through to the Middle Grade, I’ll make that damn tiger pay... But for now, back to the escape plan.’
Go to another county seat?
It wouldn’t necessarily be any better than Changshan County.
’The Prefecture City, on the other hand, is a decent option. But it’s not easy to manage.’
’Going by ourselves, just finding the way would be a problem, not to mention bandits and the like. It’s more dangerous than traveling to the countryside. We most likely wouldn’t even make it to the Prefecture City.’
’The best way would be to follow a merchant caravan, but it’s hard to find one specifically heading to the Prefecture City. And even if we did, we’d have to pay a fortune to join them...’
’Besides, if we were to travel with a caravan, it would be best to have our own carriage... But horses are especially hard to buy in times like these!’
So, fleeing sounded nice in theory, but in reality, the costs involved were simply beyond what an ordinary family could afford.
’Forget it. I’ll continue stockpiling grain, but I need to focus more on beans, oil, meat, and eggs.’
’I can keep the Prefecture City as a backup plan. I’ll slowly ask around about caravans, save money... and I need to figure out how to buy a horse, even a nag would do...’
Fang Rui decided on his plan.
...
「Evening. The afterglow of the setting sun stained the entire sky a blood-red.」
The kitchen.
CLANG! CLATTER!
Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was cooking dinner.
In the courtyard, Fang Ling and Nannan from the Third Lady’s House were jumping and hopping about, playing together.
The evening breeze blew gently.
Fang Rui sat on the threshold, his gaze soft as he watched it all.
He didn’t tell Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family or Fang Ling about the news from Jiang Ping’an, nor did he mention his thoughts about an escape plan.
Telling them would only make them worry for nothing, and he would also have to worry about them accidentally letting it slip and causing trouble.
’If this peaceful moment requires someone to carry a heavy burden from behind the scenes, then I’m fine with that person being me...’
Fang Rui closed his eyes, bathing in the evening breeze, enjoying this luxurious moment of peace.
...
