Chapter 417: Hardship and Misery

The moment the sum of fifty taels was mentioned, both Ding Hong and Ding Zhi trembled again. A bitter smile spread across Ding Hong's face as he said, "The grain we toil for a whole year over here, the salt we risk life and limb to gather — after deducting what we eat and use ourselves, selling it all off wouldn't even fetch two hundred taels. And we still need to buy medicine and emergency supplies, still need to pay tribute to all the lords. Master Jin, you toss it out without so much as blinking. It really is..."

His tone was laden with deep feeling. Zhao Jin laughed and said, "We meet by chance like drifting duckweed. I can't expect you to believe whatever I say, but I can give you something to hold onto. Do this job well for me this time, and no one in your Ding Family Enclosure will have to live such bitter days anymore. If you trust that, then do it well. If you don't, that's only natural."

How could words spoken at a first meeting be trusted? But Zhao Jin didn't have that much time to win people over. He was placing a heavy bet all at once — if the other party was willing to gamble on it, then everyone would be happy.

Ding Hong stared at Zhao Jin a while longer but gave no reply, only saying, "Master Jin, you've toiled all day. Rest well tonight. If you need anyone to attend to you, just say the word."

This reaction was within expectations. Zhao Jin did not press further, but Ding Zhi grew anxious. Ignoring that Zhao Jin and the others were still present, he blurted out urgently, "Uncle!"

Ding Hong had already risen to his feet. At this, he was about to glare, but seeing the expression on Ding Zhi's face, he turned back and said, "Master Jin, the Grass Nest isn't small, but every way out has eyes watching it. Outcasts and drifters like us with no status can't even leave. We used to be able to traffic salt, but three teams from the village that went out to sell salt never came back. This place is dangerous ground. If I were you, I'd turn back sooner rather than later."

At this point, Ding Hong hesitated again and added, "Salt isn't convenient to carry out. If Master Jin truly wants to buy, come again next time."

Zhao Jin stood up, waved a hand dismissively, and said with a smile, "I never planned to take salt with me this trip anyway. Keep this silver for now. I'll come to collect the goods when the time comes. But what about the matter of a guide?"

Hearing these words from Zhao Jin, Ding Zhi directly reached out and tugged at Ding Hong. Zhao Jin didn't know the exact details of daily life in the Grass Nest villages, but he could see clearly — they were desperate for silver.

"Tomorrow morning, someone will come to guide Master Jin away. Master Jin, please retire early." Ding Hong had finally given the answer they wanted.

A smile lingered on Zhao Jin's face as Ding Zhi and Ding Hong left the tent. Only then did his expression turn solemn. Before anyone else could speak, Zhao Jin said, "Those horse bandits who attacked us today — would they also attack the salt peddlers of this Ding Family Enclosure?"

The Grass Nest bandits they had interrogated had confessed themselves that they waylaid salt peddlers inside the Grass Nest. It was unclear whether the missing teams from Ding Family Enclosure had any connection to these armed bands.

"... Logically speaking, with Ding Family Enclosure sitting right by the road, they must have dealings and ties with these bands — collusion is even possible. It shouldn't be..." Liu Yong mused hesitantly.

A rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow. Besides that, roadside villages like this actually served as stopping points for the armed bands — providing them with intelligence, supplies, even reserve manpower. Matters of storing and fencing stolen goods went without saying.

If they had been plundered without mercy, Ding Family Enclosure would not have survived this long.

"... Didn't those captives say they were originally resting and reorganizing outside, and only got greedy when they saw how much wealth we were carrying? That means before that, they weren't operating inside the Grass Nest..." Ji Xiang followed up.

"Could there be another force at play?" Dong Bingfeng also voiced his doubt.

If there was another power besides the mounted bandits, the situation would become far more complicated. For Zhao Jin and his group, venturing deep alone, they could not afford the slightest carelessness.

"No need to overthink it. Apart from the Grass Nest bandits, the Feng family also has influence here. Who knows if others have their hands in this. We just focus on our own path. If real trouble comes, we fight if we can win, and if we can't, we can still run." Zhao Jin concluded.

With the carts, they could set up a defensive position and neutralize the charging impact of mounted bandits. Each man had two horses — if anything happened, they could immediately mount up and flee. Not to mention that the men Zhao Jin led were superbly equipped and fiercely combat-capable. Against a large enemy force, victory was not guaranteed, but escape certainly was.

Nothing more was said that night. After arranging the watch rotation, everyone rested. They all slept in their clothes, weapons placed within arm's reach. Having been through so much already, no one felt fear or worry. It was just that before drifting off, each of them felt a certain heaviness in their heart.

The next morning, neither Ding Hong nor Ding Zhi appeared. Instead, that young man came. He looked to be in his twenties, but in truth he had just turned seventeen. His name was Ding Jun, and he was Ding Hong's son.

"This humble one will guide you lords!"

"Are you familiar with this area?" It would be normal for Ding Hong to know this region well, but how much could a seventeen-year-old know?

Seeing the doubt from Zhao Jin and the others, Ding Jun's face immediately flushed red. He loudly defended himself, "Lords, do not look down on this humble one! I've been following my father everywhere since I was ten. In this vast Grass Nest, there aren't many who know it better than I do!"

That doubt had been more in the vein of teasing. If Ding Hong dared send his own son to guide them, he must have his reasons. Moreover, this Ding Jun was the head of the young men in Ding Family Enclosure, a person of some importance — this wasn't a case of casually tossing out some nobody to placate them.

According to Ding Jun, if they continued northeast from Ding Family Enclosure for half a day, they would reach a junction of three roads. Following one of those roads for the better part of a day would bring them to a small stockade of over a hundred households.

"There are villages and stockades along those fork roads. You can reach them before nightfall. But those places deal mostly with the Liu Family Estate and don't lack much. You lords might not find any business there." Ding Jun explained very clearly.

The questions Zhao Jin had asked Ding Hong the previous night invited suspicion. They themselves were armored and armed, drenched in blood, and looked out of place. Still, they were taken for a merchant caravan or a salt-buying and salt-collecting outfit. Salt peddlers and salt smugglers dealt in desperate, deadly trades — carrying weapons was not strange. It was just that the equipment of Zhao Jin's group was a bit too fine, exceeding anything the people of Ding Family Enclosure could comprehend.

Zhao Jin did not say where they were going. He merely gave orders to pack up and cook. This day on the road might be very long; breakfast had to be hearty.

The meal was no different from the day before — a thick, sloppy porridge boiled from coarse grain and bran. The only difference was that the two salted lamb legs from yesterday had been chopped into small pieces and tossed in. This surprised Ding Jun greatly. He could of course tell that Zhao Jin and his companions were the leaders of this group, and he had assumed those two lamb legs would be eaten by them alone. He hadn't expected Zhao Jin to share them with everyone.

Coarse grain, bran, and dried vegetables were naturally hard to swallow. But with the small chunks of salted lamb leg meat added, the flavor improved considerably. As the thick porridge churned in the pot, it gave off a rich, savory aroma.

The residents of Ding Family Enclosure all stayed inside the earthen walls. Aside from those delivering fodder and supplies, no one else showed their faces. Yet while breakfast was cooking, three children sidled over.

The three children were all small, likely none older than ten. Thin and tiny aside, they looked as if they hadn't washed their faces in days. They wore tattered, ill-fitting leather robes and timidly edged toward the pot, swallowing their saliva incessantly.

"Go back, go back!" Ding Jun went over and shooed the children away. The three of them immediately scampered off, but after running a few steps, they turned back to stare longingly.

Ding Jun didn't seem like a good-tempered man, but he wasn't rough or loud with these three children.

"Two teams went east to trade for salt, one team went west to sell salt. None of those three teams came back. These three kids are from two of those families. Now they sleep a day at one house, eat a meal at the next. Everyone looks after them, sure, but in the end, they're not their own children. It's just... how it is."

"What about their mothers?" After hearing Ding Jun's explanation, Dong Bingfeng asked offhandedly. The men went out to trade; the women stayed home.

Ding Jun gave a bitter smile and said, "Our place here doesn't have so many rules. If you've got the strength, you go work. Buying and selling salt earns a bit more for the family, so the whole family goes out together."

Everyone's faces darkened somewhat. It wasn't hard to figure out — these three children were already orphans. Zhao Jin was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and called out, "Come here, come here!"

The three children, who had been pausing and shuffling along, immediately turned around. They first looked at Ding Jun. Ding Jun just smiled. The three children hurriedly ran over. Zhao Jin personally served them three bowls, filled to the brim, deliberately scooping up as many meat chunks as he could.

The wooden bowls and spoons were Zhao Jin's own. From the looks of it, if they hadn't been given spoons, the three children would have just used their hands. They wolfed the food down. In this Ding Family Enclosure, getting a taste of meat was surely no easy thing. The children beamed with delight.

"You've taken good care of them," Zhao Jin remarked. The three children had come poking their heads around because no one was stopping them. Looking at the clothes on their bodies — though old and tattered, they were wrapped snugly enough to keep out the cold. Though their faces had a famished pallor, it was no worse than anyone else in the village. This showed that Ding Family Enclosure did look after these three orphans.

Ding Jun said with considerable pride, "We all came over from Shandong. Having finally found a place to settle down and make a living, of course we look out for each other. My father said we'll raise these kids until they're grown."

The children ate happily, and the men of Zhao's Camp ate with relish too. Liu Yong finished his meal quickly, then went over to the cart and rummaged out a small bundle. From it, he took three pieces of pastry. The three children had already scraped their bowls clean — the wooden bowls they'd used looked cleaner than if they'd been washed — and were hesitating over whether to ask for another serving.

Liu Yong gave the three pieces of walnut cake to the children. The three children's eyes immediately went wide. Each of them carefully took a tiny bite, and every face broke into a beaming smile. They didn't eat it all at once; instead, they tucked the pastries into their shirts.

It wasn't strange that Liu Yong had pastries with him. That bundle of his even contained rouge and face powder. He always had to be prepared for all kinds of situations along the road.

The three children were overjoyed. Besides the pastries, someone also filled their bowls to the brim again, and they fell to wolfing it down once more.

Yet the children's joy left Zhao Jin and the others feeling deeply unsettled. Liu Yong had already reached a hand into his shirt, looking as if he was about to pull out silver.