Chapter 27 Wilderness

It was drizzling the day brother Dao and Zhu Zhongba left. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold and they didn’t spend too much time making farewells brfore they slipped inside the woods——the leaves can keep the rain from hitting them directly and there is no lightning to worry about on drizzling days.

But Lin Yuan did not have the people work on the walls today since there is no shelter from the rain on the farmstead. If they catch a cold, with the lack of medicine they would just have to rely on their immune system. But some people may have a good immune system and can recover after a few days but others have weak immune system and would not make it through the fever. Lin Yuan is not willing to ignore lives for just one day of work.

So, this day is a rare resting day.

When the rain stopped, quite a lot of people gathered out in an open field and set up a fire. They chatted while around the fire pit. No matter the difficulty experienced, as long as they endured it, the people’s faces will still have smiles.

The men even competed on leg balancing for fun. The soil has yet to be turned so it is quite hard, if they were to fall it would indeed hurt.

People are social creatures, gathering together makes them feel safer.

“Young master.” Er Liang brought over a cotten coat, “put on another just in case.”

Lin Yuan does not refuse, putting on the coat he asks Er Liang:”Are there wilds in the area?”

Er Liang often follow the hunting team up the mountains so he knows:”Yes.”

Lin Yuan asks again:”Are there people?”

Er Liang nods again:”Yes, they are all refugees, both men and women who live in shacks they put up.”

Lin Yuan nods:”Call over second brother Yang, tell him I have something I need to discuss with him.”

“Accept people in from the wilderness?” Yang Zi’an rubs his chin, thinking for a bit:”It’s not impossible, only they might not be manageable.”

Currently the people in the farmstead had either been following brother Dao and Yang Zi’an originally or people with dependents. And for their families they would not dare to have errant thoughts.

Another type is of servant origins and they don’t care for anything but eating fully, dressing warmly and having work to do. They will do anything they are told to.

But the people in the wilderness is different.

Some could even be of bandit origins and that could only bring trouble.

Lin Yuan says:”I will personally discipline them.”

He had managed people under him before. But dealing with these people require a different method.

Shift their attention and hate, push out a target. The target being the least compliant out of all of them. Have him manage the rest.

The people under him will curry favor with him, some will be afraid, others will have resentment.

Once the resentment has reached a breaking point, Lin Yuan will then be able to step in.

Of course, he hopes that there won’t be uncompliant people.

At least not at the time being where everyone must be on the same side and tightly tied together into a rope.

Once there is any loosening, the rope will break.

Lin Yuan also knows that in times of upheaval, to keep his hands clean completely is not possible. But he hopes that day will come much later.

Yang Zi’an looks in puzzlement at Lin Yuan. In his belief Lin Yuan is not someone who can harden his heart. Have him discipline the people?

Lin Yuan only sighs:”It’s not like I want to.”

But he has no choice.

In the end they took 20 people with them to the wilderness. The wilds, or wilderness are places where the imperial court does not govern over. The people who flee their hometowns and become refugees cannot enter cities. Some stay outside the city walls waiting for the wealthy to provide charity for them or the day they might finally enter the cities.

Some people cannot handle living outside the city walls and treated like pests that need to be shooed away. They couldn’t even dig up wild herbs outside the gates so they go into the wilderness. Other than the winter, during other seasons they can find food to eat. If they are lucky they can even catch a wild animal.

Yun Niu is one of the people in the wilderness. She forgot how old she is already. She thinks it might be 15 pr 17, she is unclear.

Her parents are both dead and so in order to survive she sold herself to different men. Some men would give her some wild herbs. Some just pulled on their pants and left. She grabs their leg and reminds them they did not give food. But those men unwilling to give food would just kick her away.

But she survived.

Her fellow villagers who fled with her are almost all dead.

Now only one is left, lying in their shack and relying on the food Yun Niu brings back to struggle on whilst at death’s door.

Yun Niu fed her some tree bark and some water, saying to the woman:”Today no one hit me.”

The woman’s voice sounds like worn out bellows:”That’s good.”

Yun Niu thought of something and smiles:”Today someone told me, when his shack is set up he wants me to live with him.”

The woman says:”That is also good.”

Yun Niu chuckles softly.

“Yun Niu!” A man shouts from outside, “I brought some grass roots for you!”

That is something edible! Yun Niu’s eyes glowed, and went outside.

The man likely resisted a long time, seeing Yun Niu he immediately pulled her pants down and carried out the business on the ground.

Around them people passed by. Some would pause and watch, thinking once the man finishes they can also get a piece, and they don’t need to give food. Some people are already used to these sights, walking by without much expression.

When the man got up Yun Niu pulled her pants up and grabbed tightly on the grass roots, baring her teeth at the watching men:”What are you looking at? If you want to do it bring food! Or else I’ll bite off your thing!”

The men are not afraid of her but they also don’t want to waste energy on her either, leaving now that they discover no advantages to be had.

Yun Niu once again went inside her shack. It was given to her when she slept with one man for several days and did not ask for any food from him.

She hummed a song from her hometown as she chewed on the grass root. She also fed some to the woman laying.

The woman coughed twice:”Yun Niu, leave me out in the mountains.”

Yun Niu also lay down, she shakes her head:”If I leave you there you will die.”

The woman smiled with difficulty:”I will die anyway, if you don’t put me there I will just waste your food.”

Yun Niu is upset:”Young lady, Yun Niu should be caring for you.”

The woman fell silent and did not say anymore.

Yun Niu had always been protecting her. She is the daughter of a landowning family, Yun Niu her servant girl. When fleeing, her parents ran ahead holding onto her younger brother and she became separated from them.

After she was raped, her lower parts became numb and began discharging lochia. Yun Niu carried her on her own back and hid in the mountains. The whole way avoiding others in search of a place to settle.

With a place to settle, Yun Niu began doing business.

Yun Niu often gets hit, sometimes there was not a piece of unblemished skin on her body.

The woman thinks sometimes, why are they still living, why not just die cleanly.

Yun Niu says:”My parents told me, it’s better to hang on to living than die.”

So the woman forced herself to endure.

She doesn’t want to make Yun Niu sad.

“Young lady, Yun Niu can’t eat anymore……” Yun Niu talks in her sleep.

A tear fell from the woman’s eyes. Yun Niu must have dreamed of before. Before when she was still a young lady of the landowning class with servants who served her and endless fine grains and meat to eat. She always had Yun Niu eat more, thinking her to be too skinny.

The woman held in her sobs but the tears could not be stopped.

TN: A bit depressing in this chapter, but it’ll get better when Lin Yuan comes!