Chapter 890: I still have to go pick up junk

Upon hearing this, everyone was first stunned, then burst into laughter.

Lin Xi turned and ran toward her own courtyard, shouting as she ran, "A Dai! Come help Mother light the fire!"

A Dai answered with a sound, turned and was about to run.

"Wait for me, A Dai!" Tuan Tuan slipped from Luo Zhenjiang's arms, ran over and took A Dai's hand: "Let's go together!"

The two little girls sprinted after them.

"There's still stew cooking on my stove!" A woman grabbed her husband and ran back.

"Mother just steamed a batch of buns! I'll go get them!"

Many more people said they couldn't wait, and bolted for their own homes.

Lin Jiang raised his hand to signal: "Everyone, come to my house; the meal will be ready soon."

Everyone followed him into the small courtyard.

Not long after, the square table at Lin Jiang's home was filled with dishes: bamboo shoots stewed with chicken, taro cake, steamed fish... steam rose, giving off aroma.

Everyone sat around the table, starving, and picked up their chopsticks to eat.

Tuan Tuan's cheeks puffed up as she held up a piece of taro cake and offered it to her father: "Dad! This is delicious, try it!"

Xiao Yuanhang took it and rubbed her little head.

The courtyard was filled with people, and outside as well, surrounding the small courtyard tightly.

Someone softly called out: "Chief Jia, ask them—where are the Red-haired Ghosts?"

"Exactly! The cannon fire was so loud, but then there was no further movement."

"Just now we heard horse hooves and thought the Red-haired Ghosts had arrived!"

"Red-haired Ghosts?" Tuan Tuan, mouth full of steamed fish, mumbled: "They left long ago!"

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Shan's eyes widened: "They left? Where did they go?"

Tuan Tuan swallowed the fish in her mouth: "They fled by boat!"

"They left before dark!" She pointed at Xiao Yuanhang: "Father didn't let them take anything!"

Everyone turned to look at Xiao Yuanhang in unison.

Xiao Yuanhang smiled slightly, and Xiao Ze said: "This is the War God, Prince Ning."

Lin Jiang was the first to react, stood up, walked to the table, and knelt with a thud: "I pay my respects to Your Highness, Prince Ning!"

Lin Shan hurried over and knelt beside him.

The courtyard fell to its knees with a rustle: "It turns out he's not a general, but a prince!"

"Good heavens! Our village not only received an imperial prince, but also a prince!"

"Please rise," Xiao Yuanhang said as he stood and gestured, "no need for excessive ceremony."

Only then did Lin Jiang and Lin Shan rise and return to their seats at the table.

The villagers helped each other up as well, their eyes toward Xiao Yuanhang filled with awe.

Someone asked softly: "Little girl, you just said they weren't allowed to take anything—what's going on?"

Tuan Tuan chattered on, vividly recounting everything that had happened today in Deep Port.

"Good!" Lin Shan slammed his fist on the table: "Let them run off naked!"

"Satisfying! So satisfying!" The villagers, upon hearing this, all felt immensely gratified.

Xiao Ningxun proclaimed loudly: "Fellow villagers, the items we've seized haven't yet been fully counted."

"Once we clean out the Governor's Office tomorrow and finish tallying everything, we'll inform everyone of the total and how to distribute it."

Everyone in the courtyard cheered in unison.

Xiao Ze laughed: "Now there are no Red-haired Ghosts left on the island; everyone can sleep soundly."

Many villagers couldn't help but tear up: "They're gone! Finally gone!"

"We've finally made it through!"

"We'll never be whipped again! Long live the Imperial Court!"

Everyone shouted in unison: "Long live the Imperial Court!"

Lin Jiang looked at the villagers, weeping with joy, and his own eyes grew moist.

Xiao Ze's face was full of emotion.

After the shouting subsided slightly, he looked at Lin Jiang: "The Red-haired Ghosts fled in haste, leaving the Governor's Office in disarray, unable to prepare meals, so we came uninvited and imposed ourselves."

"Tomorrow at noon, we still need to ask Chief Jia Lin to come to the Governor's Office."

Lin Jiang nodded repeatedly: "Certainly! Certainly!"

He paused: "Since we can't cook, we certainly can't rest; why don't Your Highness and everyone stay the night at my place?"

Xiao Ze shook his head: "No need; we're too many for any household to accommodate, so we'll stay at the inn tonight."

Lin Jiang didn't insist either; after the villagers finished eating, Luo Zhenjiang carried the sated and drowsy Tuan Tuan out of the small courtyard.

The villagers saw them off to the village entrance, watching them mount their horses and ride away under the moonlight to the inn, then dispersed.

Upon entering the inn, Shopkeeper Ye saw the crowd's delight and hurried to prepare the guest rooms.

Luo Zhenjiang gently placed the sleeping Tuan Tuan on the bed and lay down contentedly beside her.

The others, however, got no rest, sitting together in a circle.

Xiao Yuanhang looked at Xiao Ze with a solemn expression: "According to Xun Er, Your Highness once promised them five years without taxes, and thereafter never to increase them."

"This is no trivial matter; we should first seek the Emperor's edict before making a decision."

Xiao Ze hesitated for a moment: "Officials here differ from elsewhere; the locals include both Han civilians and natives, who have suffered under the Red-haired Barbarians for thirty-eight years."

"If we wish to quickly stabilize the people's hearts, this is the best method."

Xiao Ningchen and Feng Zhou both nodded simultaneously: "That's a reasonable point."

"If we act without seeking imperial edict," Xiao Ningxun, understanding his father's meaning, said, "there will likely be officials in the court who will criticize this move; please, Your Highness, think it over."

"But, if we request an edict," Xiao Ningyuan glanced at his third younger brother, then at Xiao Ze, "this back‑and‑forth could take over a month."

"If anything changes, Your Highness has already spoken; would we then break our word?"

Xiao Ze slowly lowered his head, remaining silent.

A moment later, he lifted his head and smiled: "We're all tired today; let's rest for now."

The others fell silent and rested, except Xiao Ze, who stayed awake through the night.

The next day, before noon, Lin Jiang was already standing outside the city gate of Hot Orchid.

He lifted his head, gazing at the silent, towering castle.

The tricolor flag had long disappeared, while a red battle flag fluttered in the wind atop the walls.

He had once knelt before this gate, pleading on behalf of villagers who could not pay taxes; his knees went numb, yet no one came out to speak a word, only the passing red‑haired foreigners stared at him through their nostrils.

The castle he once regarded as a phantom now had two smiling soldiers posted at its gate.

Just as he was about to step inside, a voice called from behind, "Lin Jiazhang!"

He turned his head and saw Cai Tong and Ma Lian leading a horse toward him.

He greeted them: "You've come as well?"

Cai Tong smiled and nodded: "The Seventh Prince asked us to come here at noon; presumably he wishes to discuss tax exemption with us. Lin Jiazhang, are you as well?"

Lin Jiang nodded: "Indeed, our good days are finally arriving."

Ma Lian looked at Lin Jiang and politely bowed his head.

Lin Jiang felt a stir in his heart.

Han citizens and natives, having guarded against each other for so many years, were meeting amicably for the first time.

The soldier at the gate laughed: "Please, come in quickly; the Seventh Prince and the Prince are waiting in the first‑floor hall of the Governor's Office."

The three stepped through the gate, and the scene on the Training Ground made them all halt in their tracks.

The soldiers were marching in formation, their shouts crisp and resonant, invigorating to watch.

The ground had already been swept spotless, not a single leaf remaining.

"Uncle Lin! Uncle Cai! Uncle without clothes! You're all here!"

A clear, crisp child's voice rang out.

The three looked up and saw Xiao Tuanzi sprinting toward them, her tiny short legs kicking rapidly.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi followed closely behind her, each cradling a chaotic pile of items—goose‑feather pens, cracked bronze mirrors, pipe mouths… everything imaginable.

Tuan Tuan ran up to them, looking up with her little face: "This place is so fun! I've been playing for ages!"

Cai Tong glanced at the items in Xiao Er's and Lu Qi's arms, his eyelids flickering: "Gentlemen, are these to be discarded?"

"Discard?" Xiao Er and Lu Qi shook their heads in unison. "These were just picked up by the miss; how could we throw them away?"

"Exactly!" Tuan Tuan nodded: "These are the treasures I just found!"

"Tre‑…asures?" Cai Tong and Lin Jiang looked back and forth, seeing no treasure among the junk.

Lin Jiang glanced behind her: "Where's Gang Leader Luo? Why isn't he with you?"

Tuan Tuan pursed her little mouth: "Uncle Luo is building a stove!"

"Building a stove?" the two asked in unison.

"Yes!" Tuan Tuan said earnestly, "There's no stove here!"

"Uncle Luo has been working on it since early morning; otherwise I'd have nothing to eat!"

Finishing, she tugged at Xiao Er's and Lu Qi's sleeves and ran forward: "I still have to go pick up more junk!"

"You all hurry inside! Third Elder Brother and Dad have been talking in there for a long time!"

The three watched her bouncing away, smiled and shook their heads, and walked toward the Governor's Office full of hope.