Chapter 470: Opportunity to Turn Around and Cruel Oppression, Frost-Ash Society Branch

Zhang family courtyard, side room.

Zhang Qinggu was sitting at the wooden table, on which lay a piece of rough paper filled with small characters. He wrote the signature, then carefully stuffed the paper into a yellow envelope, and finally wrote the last line on the envelope:

【Yan Ling Juncheng, Chen Military Advisor Mansion, Servant Room, Zhang Yuchuan receives】

After writing the recipient, Zhang Qinggu exhaled violently, recalling the whole process of answering Xia Hong's questions in the main room just now, a flush of red rushed onto his aged face again, and his pupils were full of excitement.

He is sixty-seven years old this year.

According to the normal lifespan of the Cold-Resisting Realm, he has thirty more years to live.

But that is under normal circumstances. He is a slave, living in Qingwu Village from childhood to adulthood, collecting, mining, hunting, and planting without limit year after year, and cannot get sufficient resource supply, so his body has long been unable to bear the burden.

According to his estimation, he has at most seven or eight years of life left.

"28 years ago, I risked my old life to act as a Cold Beast bait for the jurisdiction, and only then did I break through to the Cold-Resisting Realm thanks to the reward. Not only did I successfully extend my life, but I also took off my humble status and entered the slave status, which allowed me to build a private courtyard in the village, marry a wife, and give birth to two sons;

Worked diligently for decades, eldest son Shanhong and youngest son Shanhe grew up, married and had children, and gave birth to three grandchildren for my old Zhang family;

It's a pity that good times didn't last long. Thirteen years ago, the two sons heard about my deeds and, in order to fight for a civilian status for their children and grandchildren, risked their lives to go to the Lu Su field to collect seeds for the jurisdiction. As a result, the couple died, leaving only me and three grandchildren.

Now the three young grandchildren have all grown up. Unexpectedly, God is so kind to my old Zhang family, giving me another chance to turn around and change my fate!"

Zhang Qinggu suppressed the excitement in his heart, finished saying these words in a low voice, then turned his head to look at the main room, and continued: "As long as the Lord can take a fancy to Zhu'er and Hong'er and is willing to buy their slave status and take them by his side, the future of the two granddaughters will be settled.

Yuchuan's aptitude is better than theirs. Staying in the prefecture mansion as a servant of a wealthy family seems bright, but in the end, he is a slave without a master, and there is no future. It is better to come back and see this Lord. If the three siblings can all be taken a fancy to, then they won't have to be like the old man, wasting their lives in this slave village, never to turn around."

Zhang Qinggu was not willing to be ordinary when he was young, otherwise he wouldn't have risked his life to be a Cold Beast bait. It can be said that he worked hard to turn around all his life, not only for himself but also for his family, and even his two sons were influenced by him.

It's a pity that the two sons didn't have his good luck, and in the end, they met with disaster.

But even so, Zhang Qinggu never gave up the idea of changing his fate. From a year ago, he was willing to spend a huge sum of more than 5,000 taels of silver to clear all the joints and painstakingly send his eldest grandson to the prefecture mansion to be a servant, which can be seen.

People in slave villages, theoretically, shouldn't have private property. But firstly, there are policies and countermeasures, and secondly, the jurisdiction probably also has the idea of giving hope to people in slave villages, so they usually turn a blind eye to it. Therefore, most people can save some money as long as they are diligent and steady.

But the quantity, naturally, cannot be too much.

More than 5,000 taels, that was almost all the savings Zhang Qinggu had saved bit by bit from his teeth for a lifetime.

You know, he has the cultivation of the late Cold-Resisting Realm and 6 mane of strength, and the cost of taking off his slave status is only 3,000 taels; the two granddaughters have the cultivation of the Earth-Digging Realm, and the cost of withdrawing from the status is even lower, only 500 taels.

Theoretically, with this money, he could directly withdraw his slave status, and because his strength already has more than 5 mane, he meets the standard for entering civilian status. He only needs to pay a very low fee to get rid of his slave status and become a normal citizen of Chen Cang.

But the problem is, he is so old, what can he do if he enters civilian status?

A year ago, his three children and grandchildren were all fifteen years old and had lost the qualification to enter the status with their father and grandfather. In fact, even if they had this qualification, he wouldn't choose to do so.

Once they enter civilian status, everything they possess in the slave village will be taken back by the jurisdiction, including this small courtyard he spent half his life building, and they cannot live in the slave village afterward and must find their own way out.

A little old man of sixty or seventy years old, taking three Earth-Digging Realm children and grandchildren, where can he find a way out?

Going to the prefecture city is a way out, but the mountains are high and the roads are far. Whether they can walk there is one thing. People like them, grandfather and grandchildren, with no foundation and no strength, even if they really reach the prefecture city, they can't live a decent life.

The tax standard for commoners is 50 taels per month; once payments are missed for three consecutive months, the household registration book is immediately revoked, and they are cast back into the lowly status, after which they can only engage in lowly occupations.

More than 5,000 taels of silver made Zhang Qinggu save for a lifetime. A tax of 50 taels of silver per month is harder than climbing to the sky for him, not to mention adding three children and grandchildren, which is 200 taels, which is even more impossible.

Now that he is nearly seventy, he naturally has no heart for the ambition of his youth. He has no hope for his own future, but the three children and grandchildren are different. The eldest grandson Yuchuan is only nineteen this year, and the two granddaughters are even younger. They are still young and have a broad future.

Therefore, after many trade-offs, Zhang Qinggu finally gave up on withdrawing from the status and decided to use this 5,000+ taels of silver to plan a good way out for his eldest grandson.

That is, send him to the prefecture mansion to be a servant.

A servant seems to still be a slave, but compared to those of them living in slave villages, whether it is living conditions or future prospects, it is a world of difference, especially as a servant in a wealthy family. Even the things that flow out of the master's fingernails are enough for you to use endlessly, and sometimes one step to the sky is just a word from the master.

Eldest grandson Zhang Yuchuan, firm in character, flexible in mind, and good at coming, the most critical thing is that his aptitude is not bad. He broke through the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm at the age of fifteen and began to use beast blood to reshape his skin. Limited by the supply of resources, the year before last, at the age of seventeen, his basic strength rushed to more than 90,000 jin, but he still hadn't broken through.

At that time, Zhang Qinggu knew that the old Zhang family finally had a genius.

The eldest grandson's battle body aptitude is conservatively estimated to be superior, and it might even be a supreme battle body. Such astonishing talent, coupled with a character good at drilling, is the core reason why he was willing to spend a huge sum of money to send him to the prefecture mansion to be a servant.

In the past year or so, the eldest grandson did not disappoint him.

He would send a letter back every three months. According to the latest letter sent back last time, he had just broken through to the Cold-Resisting Realm with superior battle body aptitude, his strength reached 2.8 mane, and he is now a personal servant of a young master in the mansion, now a first-class servant, with a monthly salary as high as 30 taels.

Zhang Qinggu's strength is mediocre, but having lived for so many years, his experience is not low. In his early years, he also harbored dreams of getting ahead and spent several years venturing in Yan Ling Commandery City. Therefore, he knows very well that in a hereditary noble family like the Chen estate, even servants are divided into seven ranks. The first rank is basically the personal servants of the estate's nobles, equivalent to the master's confidants. In the eyes of many, this is no different from getting ahead.

Ever since the news that the eldest grandson had become a first-rank servant in the Chen estate reached Qingwu Village, the people in the village administration were much more polite to him. Those filthy people who used to like to get handsy with his two granddaughters also put away their crooked thoughts.

"Yuchuan continues to stay in the Chen Mansion, and his future is not small, but in the end, he still has to look at the master's face. Let him ask for leave to come back and try his luck. Even if he fails, it doesn't matter. He can just go back to the Chen Mansion. That young master of the Chen Mansion, no matter how high his status is, can never compare to this Lord Hong..."

Through the process of questioning in the main room just now, Zhang Qinggu already knew that the Lord he accidentally bumped into was named Hong Yu.

The name is secondary. The key is that Zhang Qinggu remembered very clearly that when he was collecting in the snow forest last night, Hong Yu flew to him in the air.

"Traveling in the air is a great ability that only Xianyang Realm powerhouses have. The master of the Chen Mansion, Lord Chen Military Advisor, is also only at the Xianyang Realm cultivation level. If he can rely on this Lord Hong, the future of Yuchuan, Zhu'er, and Hong'er will definitely be limitless!"

Zhang Qinggu's expression was moved. Seeing that the sky outside was already bright, he stuffed the envelope into his arms and walked toward the jurisdiction in the village.

All jurisdictions in Chen Cang have messengers. Messengers will come and go regularly according to the distance. All letter delivery must be passed through them. The cost is generally calculated according to the distance. The minimum is 3 taels of silver, and if there is an emergency, extra money must be added.

The entire Qingwu Village hasn't had an urgent letter for several years. Zhang Qinggu naturally didn't have that financial power, so after the letter was sent, he could only wait for the opportunity of the messenger to come and go regularly before it could be slowly delivered to the prefecture city.

"Today is August 8th. According to normal calculations, Yuchuan should not receive the letter until mid-October. Asking for leave as a servant might not be so easy. Just wait patiently at home. That Lord's injury is very serious and should not leave for a short time. I hope Yuchuan can be as fast as possible."

After sending the letter, Zhang Qinggu returned to the courtyard full of hope. The main room was given to that Lord, and he had already moved to the side hut with the two granddaughters.

The two granddaughters only had the cultivation of the Earth-Digging Realm and were sleeping during the day, so he didn't disturb them. As soon as it got dark, he immediately went to call the granddaughters up.

"Zhu'er, Hong'er, from now on, you two sleep for two hours during the day and go to wait in Lord Hong's room at night. No matter what orders there are, you must do them all. Do you understand?"

Zhang Yuzhu and Zhang Yuhong were not young anymore, so how could they not hear the hints in their grandfather's words, and they blushed instantly.

"Grandfather..."

Seeing that his two granddaughters, though full of shyness, showed not the slightest hint of resistance in their eyes, Zhang Qinggu was stunned at first, then immediately thought of that lord's true face after washing away the blood and filth, and he reacted at once.

But after reacting, he didn't show any smile, just sighed slightly in his heart, and continued: "You go! Whether you can grasp it depends on yourselves."

Hearing the heaviness in his grandfather's tone, the sisters nodded. Then the older sister Zhang Yuzhu thought of something and asked in a low voice: "Grandfather, we are preparing to collect Lu Su recently. Five days later is the day we go to work. We have to go to the Lu Su field to make fire and cook for others. This side of the Lord..."

"Don't worry, I just came back from the jurisdiction and have already asked for leave for you two. You don't have to go for the next two months."

Hearing that they didn't have to go to the Lu Su field, the two girls were full of joy.

"Your eldest brother has achieved success in the prefecture city, and the people in the jurisdiction don't dare to offend me anymore. Asking for leave for you two is not easy."

Hearing their grandfather mention their eldest brother, the two girls were full of pride. The younger sister Zhang Yuhong asked with longing: "Grandfather, eldest brother has been away from home for almost two years. Didn't you say last night that you would write to him and ask him to come back? When can he come home to see us?"

Zhang Yuchuan was the only son of the eldest son Shanhong, while Zhang Yuzhu and Zhang Yuhong were the two daughters left by the youngest son Shanhe. Although the three siblings were cousins, they were all raised by him, their grandfather. The three grew up together since childhood, and their feelings were closer than those of siblings.

Zhang Qinggu knew that the younger granddaughter had always missed her brother. In the past, he avoided answering this question, but this time it was different.

He smiled and said: "It should be soon. I have already put the letter at the jurisdiction. If it goes smoothly, he will be home in November."

Hearing that their brother was coming back, the two girls were full of surprise, and then under Zhang Qinggu's urging, they walked toward the main room.

Just as the Zhang Qinggu family of three was full of hope.

In the main building of Qingwu Village, Zhang Long, the village chief and jurisdiction manager, was sitting in the main seat, looking at the crowd below, full of difficulty.

"This year, the Lu Su harvest in the Hezang vassal town was poor, causing the price to rise by more than 30%. The prefecture city just issued a document to all places, raising this year's Lu Su collection task by 20%. Last year, our entire Lu He Valley handed over a total of 260,000 jin of Lu Su, so this year the minimum must be 312,000 jin. Averaged over 16 villages, each village must pay an average of 19,500 jin. This is the minimum number."

"19,500 jin of Lu Su, are you kidding? The Lu Su collection period is only 80 days in total, and it can only be done during the day. Our entire village currently has 198 Cold-Resisting Realm slaves. Averaged out, each person has to collect about 100 jin, which means each person has to collect at least 1.2 jin or more per day. Is it possible?"

"It's only two hours during the day. A single Lu Su produces at most 0.2 jin, which is equivalent to collecting six to seven plants in two hours to reach the standard. Not to mention the effort, most people can't bear the Green Fire Poison and Black Fluorescent Insects. By then, not much Lu Su will be collected, and a lot of people will die, making it even more difficult next year."

"Absolutely impossible, it's fundamentally impossible. Not to mention our Qingwu, among the other fifteen villages, whoever can do it, I will go to the Lu Su field to sleep for a night."

Slap!

"Alright, all of you shut up. This manager wants to hear you come up with ideas, not let you tell me how difficult it is. Don't I know it's difficult? The prefecture city has officially issued a document to the Lu He Valley Great Camp. If you have the ability, go to the prefecture city to shout. What's the use of shouting here?"

Seeing the voices of the crowd getting louder and louder, all saying it couldn't be done, Zhang Long slapped the table and interrupted them angrily.

Chen Cang's management of slave villages is not very strict. Usually, the village chief and the jurisdiction manager are held by the same person, responsible for implementing the orders issued by the prefecture city jurisdiction, and the main task is naturally to hand over various materials to the prefecture city.

The area where Qingwu Village is located is called Lu He Valley, with a total of 16 slave villages. For the convenience of management, the Yan Ling Prefecture jurisdiction set up a great camp here, stationing 5,000 prefecture guards, and specifically stationed a 100-person squad in each village, specifically commanded by the jurisdiction manager.

The village chief is the person with the highest prestige in the village, and his strength is generally the strongest. Coupled with the title of jurisdiction manager, and holding a 100-person prefecture guard armed force, the deterrent power is naturally not small.

So Zhang Long opened his mouth angrily, and everyone closed their mouths immediately.

Seeing everyone scared and not opening their mouths, knowing that they couldn't come up with any useful suggestions, Zhang Long calmed down his emotions and continued to speak solemnly:

"Since the prefecture city has ordered, we can only think of ways to complete it. I just came back from the Lu He Valley Great Camp, and the managers of each village have discussed a method.

This year's Lu Su indicators, relying on the normal harvesting methods of previous years, are definitely not going to be completed. In extraordinary times, only extraordinary means can be used!

Each village has decided that this year, not only must we collect during the day, but also at night. The specific time is the first two hours after dark.

For the next two months, stop all collection and hunting activities in the village, call all the Earth-Digging Realm limits, so that there will be enough manpower. Let the Cold-Resisting Realm lead the team, and see the situation first. If there is hope of completion, then there is no need to move people. If it is still not enough, then call the Earth-Digging Realm..."

As Zhang Long slowly said the method, the expressions of everyone in the room instantly became much gloomier.

The Lu Su field is not a fun place; collecting Lu Su is an extremely dangerous thing. In previous years, only the Cold-Resisting Realm was allowed to go, and the mortality rate was as high as 20%. Letting the Earth-Digging Realm go, this is the first time in history.

Seeing the gloomy expressions of the crowd, Zhang Long's heart skipped a beat, but thinking that if the task was not completed, he would likely lose his position, he immediately hardened his heart, and his expression became much firmer.

In an environment like the Ice Abyss, normal plants naturally cannot grow. Lu Su, a precious crop with higher edible value than beast meat, is not simple from origin to growth law to harvesting.

Lu Su roots and stems are fragile and afraid of wind, so they must be planted in places without wind, or at least where the wind is very weak. Although the volume of a single plant is large, the yield is surprisingly low, so planting in small quantities is useless. It must be planted in large areas. Large open areas without strong wind are basically as difficult as climbing to the sky in the Ice Abyss; ===== CHAPTER 471 =====