Chapter 115: Land

By the end of the sixth month, Dongjiang Town was in utter chaos. People along the Liaodong coast and on the islands fled in droves — some to the Later Jin, some back to the islands, some to Shandong. The number of Dongjiang refugees reaching Weihai peaked; together with those bought in previous months, there were now over five thousand. Among them, nearly two thousand were able-bodied men. Those who arrived in the sixth month were even more emaciated. Liu Minyou organized some of the earlier Dongjiang refugees into many small groups to care for the weak in the shanty area. Many Dongjiang acquaintances met and could not help but weep bitterly.

The news of Mao Wenlong's murder was now known to all. Today happened to be the third seventh-day after his death. Some of the earlier Dongjiang refugees had received their wages and pooled money to buy incense, candles, and firecrackers from Weihai Guard City, setting them off crackling and popping outside.

Wang Lu-shi spat in front of her own door, looking with disgust at the smoke rising outside the fortified village. Her husband Wang Huzi was now in charge of armor and cold weapons, already drawing four taels a month, plus three taels as a master craftsman's wage. Wang Lu-shi calculated their savings — by year's end they would have seventy or eighty taels. She planned to build a three-courtyard mansion at year's end and had already picked a plot in the residential area. Who knew that as soon as the Dongjiang people arrived, the residential area planned by Mr. Liu was entirely turned into shanties, and her plot fell through. So she detested these Dongjiang people intensely.

Tan Family's Wife came over carrying a small basket. Seeing Wang Lu-shi, she took out a piece of sugar cake and gave it to her. Wang Lu-shi took it and ate, asking, "Tan Family's Wife, where are you going with that? Surely not to give it to those Dongjiang people."

"Bah, I wouldn't give it to them even if they paid me silver." Tan Family's Wife said bitterly, "All my chickens were stolen last night."

Wang Lu-shi said in surprise, "I didn't hear any dogs barking at night."

"Of course they didn't bark — the dog was stolen too. It must have been those Dongjiang people. I made a round of the shanties this morning and didn't see anyone eating meat. I'll have to go look again tonight. If I catch them, I'll definitely..."

Wang Lu-shi slapped her hand and lowered her voice: "Keep it down. Mr. Liu and Lord Chen both said no bullying the Dongjiang people. If caught, they'll dock their relatives' wages. Otherwise I'd have gone to curse them long ago."

Economic measures were the most effective. Tan Family's Wife could only shut her mouth in resentment. After a moment, she still couldn't help saying, "Sister-in-law Wang, look what this place has become. Around the latrine pits it's all filth and piss, people just dump it from far away."

"Isn't there a fine for that?"

"What silver do the Dongjiang people have? They've got nothing but a worthless life left. What fine can you collect? Even the wooden sign about fines was stolen — probably turned into a shanty by now."

"These wretched scoundrels."

Tan Family's Wife's husband was a carpenter, useful for both military and civilian goods, and their income was quite good. Her plans for a big house had likewise come to nothing. The more the two talked, the angrier they got. Wang Lu-shi shook her head vigorously twice and cursed, "Do you know what's the most hateful thing about them?"

"What?"

"A household that just arrived a few days ago — they saw my Huzi coming out of the workshop, grabbed him, and wanted to give him their daughter as a concubine, hoping to latch onto us old fort households. Bah, don't they look at what sort of character they have."

Tan Family's Wife was dumbstruck. This hadn't even occurred to her. If Carpenter Tan really wanted to take a concubine, she couldn't stop him either. She couldn't help asking, "Did your Huzi agree?"

"He didn't, actually. But I think it's because he thought the girl wasn't good-looking. If she were pretty, he might well have done it."

At this, Wang Lu-shi suddenly smiled. Tan Family's Wife said, puzzled, "And you can still laugh? One more little wife is enough trouble for you."

Wang Lu-shi lowered her voice mysteriously: "I heard that when Mr. Liu went to inspect the shanties, those Dongjiang people either wanted to acknowledge him as godfather or marry their daughters to him as concubines. Scared Mr. Liu so much he doesn't dare go to the shanties anymore."

"Hahaha!" Tan Family's Wife doubled over laughing. Wang Lu-shi laughed too as she watched her. When Tan Family's Wife straightened up, she added, "I say those Dongjiang people have lard smeared over their hearts. Mr. Liu is the Star of Literature descended to earth — as if he could fancy the likes of them."

Tan Family's Wife laughed until her face was bright red and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. She listened a good while before saying, "Mr. Liu doesn't even have a principal wife yet, and already so many people are offering concubines. Those Dongjiang people really have no sense. With so many women in our fortified village, no family has dared propose to Mr. Liu. What kind of man is Mr. Liu? He runs the fort in perfect order, he's literate and good with numbers, and his heart is kind. Calling him the Star of Literature even sells him short. He should at least find a daughter of a gentry lord."

Wang Lu-shi was about to continue when her eyes suddenly fixed behind Tan Family's Wife, and a look of disdain appeared on her face. Tan Family's Wife followed her gaze — it was Lord Chen's maidservant, the infamous Xiao Jiahua. All of them who had come in the first batch knew this Xiao Jiahua. They had shared a boat to Dengzhou, and on board everyone thought she was the young mistress. The whole boatload of people had been ordered around by her. Xiao Jiahua disembarked at Dengzhou and then vanished without a trace until she returned in the latter half of last year. By then Lord Chen had already married the Zhao family's young lady, and word spread that this Xiao Jiahua was merely a maidservant. Only then did everyone recall that Lord Chen had indeed never said she was his concubine — it was all Xiao Jiahua's own claim. Later it was said that Xiao Jiahua returned to Lord Chen's residence to work as a maid and was very unwelcome there. Lord Chen was often away, and the maids and serving women in the house were mostly brought by the Zhao family. No one gave her a good face, and consequently the fort households looked down on her too. Many fort households came out as armchair prophets, claiming they had long seen that Xiao Jiahua was no young mistress. A man of Lord Chen's caliber, a hero of the age — how could he fancy such goods.

Wang Lu-shi recalled that she had once emptied her chamber pot for her, and felt as sick as if she had swallowed a dead fly. When Xiao Jiahua passed by the door, she coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and spat it on the ground.

Xiao Jiahua acted as if she hadn't heard, pursed her lips, and walked on with her head held high, her expression as haughty as when she had been a concubine. Only after she left the street did she turn her head and spit on the ground, muttering a curse under her breath. A resentful look crossed her face, but she quickly resumed her proud demeanor and continued all the way to the eastern side of the shanty area. That was where the last-arriving Dongjiang refugees lived. She held her hands carefully, cradling the things inside her sleeve pocket.

At a dugout shelter, a group of refugees was laying thatch on a large shanty. Nearby sat a crowd of emaciated, big-headed children, staring blankly toward the fortified village. The moment they saw Xiao Jiahua's figure appear, they suddenly burst out in cheers, jumped up, and surrounded her, calling out chaotically, "Aunt Xiao!"

Xiao Jiahua raised her hand smugly and said loudly, "Today I'm not playing aunt. Call me something else."

"Granny!!" "Granny!!"

"Go on, go on, something else."

A chorus of childish voices answered, "Sister Xiao!"

Only then did Xiao Jiahua beam with delight. She pulled two large oil cakes from her sleeve. The children shouted with joy in unison and spread their hands before her. Xiao Jiahua tore the oil cakes into small pieces, placed them one by one into the children's hands, and then watched with narrowed eyes as they finished eating.

A little girl who finished first wiped her mouth and said to Xiao Jiahua, "Sister Xiao, it was so tasty. I want more."

Xiao Jiahua patted her head and said, "This is what your sister saved from two days' breakfasts. Where would I get more?"

The little girl said, disappointed, "Oh, it's so nice where sister lives. Even maids can eat oil cakes."

"Nonsense. Your sister is a concubine, not a maid. Don't listen to what people say. Sister has more good things." After saying this, Xiao Jiahua took a paper packet from her bosom. The children stuck out their tongues and crowded their heads in to see what it was.

Xiao Jiahua carefully held the paper packet in her hand and unwrapped it layer by layer. The children's heads crowded closer and closer, almost touching her hand. Finally the last layer opened, revealing a small pile of white, sand-like stuff.

"Sister, what is this?"

"White sugar." Xiao Jiahua pinched a tiny bit between her fingertips and placed it in the girl's palm. The children all stared blankly at the girl. The little girl pressed her mouth to her palm and ate it, pursed her lips, and looked at Xiao Jiahua with a smile.

Seeing this, the other children all spread their hands. Xiao Jiahua distributed it one by one. The children all wanted to eat first and fought to stretch their hands closer. A little boy nearby, impatient, shoved forward and knocked the paper packet right onto the ground.

"Aiya!" Xiao Jiahua's expression changed, and she raised her hand to swat the little boy. The surrounding children all jumped in fright and shrank away. Xiao Jiahua's hand stopped in midair. The little boy's mouth twisted, about to burst into tears. Xiao Jiahua hurriedly lowered her hand.

"Quick, help pick it up. Sister had such a hard time stealing this sugar." The children all dropped to the ground, searching carefully, picking up the sugar grains one by one. Every time they found one, they squealed with delight and placed it in Xiao Jiahua's hand.

When no more could be found, Xiao Jiahua distributed the sugar, now mixed with dirt, to them. She stood up, clapped her hands, and said to the children, "You're not allowed to take any to give to others. I only give it to children. Adults are the worst — don't let them eat any."

"Alright!"

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Not far from these children, in a slightly better shanty, Liu Minyou stood at the doorway watching them. This was his temporary office, where he handled refugee matters. Although he detested Xiao Jiahua, her behavior today made him feel she was not entirely worthless.

He turned back to Dong Yu and Huang Side behind him and said, "The farmland in Weihai was agreed from the start to be distributed to the original farming households. You combat soldiers already draw monthly pay — why do you still want land distributed first?"

Liu Minyou's expression was not particularly good. Every time Dong Yu came, he brought a pile of lists. Huang Side had originally been his student, sent to teach at the Wendeng camp school, but Chen Xin had taken him to be a training officer, leaving only five teachers in the school.

Dong Yu said in a low voice, "We feel that since the combat soldiers often go to war, if they don't have a secure harvest, their minds won't be entirely settled."

Liu Minyou cut him off: "The farming households have been opening land in Weihai for two years, with only food and no monthly wages. What harvest do they have? Can their minds be settled?"

Dong Yu was timid. Rebuffed by Liu Minyou, he immediately shrank back. Huang Side, being Liu Minyou's student, had originally planned to let Dong Yu lead the charge while he chimed in from the side, but seeing Dong Yu's state, he had to step up himself. He cupped his hands to Liu Minyou and said, "Mr. Liu, we were thinking that of these three thousand mu, we could first allocate some to the veteran soldiers. Some were wounded during the bandit suppression and have retired. Giving them something to fall back on would set an example for the new recruits, so they'd be less afraid in future battles."

Liu Minyou shook his head: "Huang Side, when you were in my class, you were a farming household yourself. You often said how hard the farming households worked, all waiting for land distribution. And now you've changed so quickly? Soldiers eat on army rations, their monthly pay has never been docked, their food and clothing have always been prioritized. When have the farming households ever had meat to eat in a single day? Armor and weapons are all made to the highest standard, and yet you still come to talk about being afraid in battle. I truly do not understand."

"We are worried that after the veterans retire, they'll have no means of livelihood."

"If veterans retire, they become just like farming households — they should open land as they ought. If they have ability, I will also arrange for them a concurrent post in the fort with new monthly wages. How can they directly seize the cultivated fields that the farming households have already opened? If wounded soldiers lack the ability to work, I will make arrangements for them after they retire. That has nothing to do with your current demand for land."

Huang Side had just become the chief training officer and was bent on securing benefits for the army, increasing the soldiers' goodwill, and consolidating his own position. Hearing this, he said urgently, "Sir, the army is a matter of great importance. Even if the farming households don't farm, they can spend silver to buy grain. Moreover, Lord Chen always says that being a combat soldier is the most honorable duty. Without combat soldiers, these farming households could not farm in peace..."

Liu Minyou shouted, "Enough! What distinction between noble and base is there in the duties of the world? Without combat soldiers you can't farm? Which task is without use? Without people farming, everyone starves to death. Without people making clothes, what do you wear? Without people forging iron, what do you use? Here with me, there is no such thing as the most honorable duty. The farmland in Weihai and Wendeng can only be distributed to the farming households according to the original plan."