Chapter 104: Dealing with the Show-off

Wei Xikang remained silent for a long time. Watching the state of the commoners, he felt tormented, yet a voice in the depths of his heart kept telling him something.

It hadn't been like this before. When his Imperial Father was in his prime, the people of Da Qian lived in peace and contentment; it was only the current wars and natural disasters that left them starving and displaced.

Now, he had to find an excuse to soothe his inner unease, even if it meant deceiving himself!

Only when they walked until the refugees became sparse did Jiang Jinshi say, "I'll take you to another place."

"Where to?" This time, Wei Xikang took the initiative to ask, fearing that the next place would bring him more shocks.

"A nearby village!" Jiang Jinshi decided to take this opportunity to check on Liu Family Village and Da Jiang Cun. Mother Liu had told him two days ago that she was worried about her two brothers and the elders at home.

Jiang Jinshi knew well that she wanted him to help her brothers' family, but she feared burdening her son, so she hadn't spoken the words aloud.

Since that was the case, it was better to take this chance to go and see. In any case, once he got his hands on Shi Xian Shan, he wouldn't be afraid even if the number of people multiplied several times over.

Moreover, mining toxic salt stones required a large amount of manpower; making preparations in advance meant he wouldn't be short of hands when the time came.

Jiang Jinshi brought Wei Xikang to Da Jiang Cun. As soon as they entered the village, they saw Uncle Jiang Cai leading the villagers in training.

The elderly and children of Da Jiang Cun had all been sent to Yangguangzhai, but Jiang Jinshi had not yet given up on this village, so he had Uncle Jiang Cai lead dozens of people to garrison it.

"Little... Big Boss, you're here?" Jiang Cai signaled for the team to continue training and stepped forward to greet Jiang Jinshi.

Jiang Jinshi nodded, "How has it been lately?"

"Uh! No progress!"

Mentioning this, Jiang Cai felt a bit embarrassed. During the time they had been here, no merchant caravans had passed by at all, and the villagers of other villages had no money or grain, so they had gained absolutely nothing.

This result did not surprise Jiang Jinshi. Even on the official roads, there were no gains; the probability of them robbing money or grain here was close to zero.

"Oh! Recently... people from nearby villages have been asking us about you!" Jiang Cai suddenly remembered something and said to Jiang Jinshi.

After Jiang Jinshi's careful questioning, he learned the origin of the matter. The several villages near Da Jiang Cun had always intermarried, so the villagers of Da Jiang Cun had many relatives in the other villages.

This led to news always leaking out. Although they didn't say that the people of Da Jiang Cun had all become mountain bandits, they still revealed quite a bit of information.

People from other villages knew that the current Da Jiang Cun could eat their fill at every meal. As long as one worked for Jiang Jinshi of Da Jiang Cun, the whole family wouldn't go hungry, and they could even receive monthly wages!

The people who leaked the news were also at their wits' end. At first, they just wanted to show off in front of their relatives, but later, people came begging to join in the work.

They couldn't bring themselves to refuse, but how could they make such a decision? They could only say that everything required Jiang Jinshi's personal approval.

This spread from ten to a hundred, and the surrounding villages all knew Jiang Jinshi's great name. At first, some were skeptical and went to ask their relatives in Da Jiang Cun. After receiving affirmative answers from the sidelines, the authenticity of the news was finally confirmed.

"Uncle Jiang Cai, do you know who leaked it?" Jiang Jinshi was expressionless. He didn't think this was a huge matter, but he would choose to handle it seriously to prevent similar things from happening again.

Looking at it on a small scale, this was just a personality problem of liking to show off. Looking at it on a large scale, what if it was the secrets of Yangguangzhai that were leaked?

For example, the process and formula for salt production!

Even though Li Xinyue had already taken some precautions, she dared not say that there would be absolutely no leaks, so this was a good opportunity to kill the chicken to warn the monkey.

"I know. After all, there aren't many people in Da Jiang Cun right now." Jiang Cai had been suppressing this matter, wanting to wait for Jiang Jinshi to make the decision himself, as he didn't know how to handle it either.

"Hmm! Call everyone here."

Hearing Jiang Jinshi say this, Jiang Cai knew that this matter would definitely not end well, and he hurriedly turned to call the people.

When everyone was gathered in front of Jiang Jinshi, Jiang Jinshi stood with his hands behind his back and began: "Everyone is living a good life now, and you are happy, so I am happy too, but...

I have said before, do not reveal anything about Yangguangzhai to the outside!"

Hearing this, the expressions of several people in the crowd turned ugly.

Jiang Jinshi continued: "Everyone has relatives and friends, and it is normal to want to help. I pay you monthly wages; I don't care how you use this money. You can completely use it to help your relatives and friends, instead of showing off and telling others what you are doing!"

"Li Feng, step forward!" Jiang Jinshi looked at one person.

When Jiang Cai told him who this person was, he was speechless for a moment. Could it be that because Li Feng was related to Granny Li's family, the 'loudspeaker' attribute was a family gene?

Li Feng was in his thirties, and his parents and children were all at Yangguangzhai.

"Big Boss, I know I was wrong!" The first sentence Li Feng said when he walked out was an apology. Just now, when Jiang Jinshi was speaking, he knew this was aimed at him.

"Hmm! Since you know you were wrong, then go up the mountain and bring your parents and children down!" Jiang Jinshi stared at Li Feng, leaving no room for sentiment.

"Big... Big Boss, what do you mean?" Li Feng was clearly stunned. In his view, this was just a small matter; wouldn't it be over after he apologized in public?

"Didn't hear clearly? I said, take your family down the mountain; Yangguangzhai doesn't need you anymore! Your monthly wages will be calculated up to today, and I will give them to you without missing a single coin!" This time, Jiang Jinshi spoke very clearly, and let everyone hear it distinctly.

Li Feng was shocked and said anxiously: "Big Boss, I didn't control my mouth, but this is just..."

"Just a small matter? Or do you want to say that even if you have no merit, you have worked hard?" Jiang Jinshi interrupted what Li Feng was about to say, and then his tone clearly carried a trace of anger.

"Think carefully about what merit you have up to now, and what qualifications you have to make mistakes, even if it's just a small mistake!" After saying this, Jiang Jinshi prepared to turn and leave.

This time, Li Feng was truly panicked. He couldn't go back to his old life! Moreover, how could he explain this to his parents and children?

"Big Boss, I was really wrong, forgive me this once!" As he said this, seeing that Jiang Jinshi did not stop, he hurriedly stepped forward to try and block Jiang Jinshi.

Jiang Cai stepped in front to stop Li Feng and said in a deep voice: "Li Feng, we are all from the same village, don't make it too ugly."

Several people in the crowd clearly breathed a sigh of relief. They were all people who had relatives ask about Jiang Jinshi from the sidelines. Although they hadn't leaked much, they were still worried about being implicated.

Jiang Jinshi had intentionally let these people go. He believed that with Li Feng's fate laid out here, they wouldn't dare to talk too much in the future, and might even take the initiative to restrain their own families. ===== CHAPTER 105 =====