From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 445: Chapter 446: Utterly Despicable People

Ancient Wen Heng was already mentally prepared. Aside from the guards assigned to his personal protection, he had sent everyone else to the nearby prefectures and counties to procure as many winter supplies as possible.

After all, the rations for the twenty-some people here had to be secured.

After getting the lay of the land over the past few days, he had learned that although Lu City was considered a prefectural capital, it was genuinely destitute.

Furthermore, the several counties under its jurisdiction were often harassed and plundered by bandits, making survival a major problem, let alone paying taxes.

As soon as he took over, he not only found the government office’s treasury completely empty, but even the rats in the granary were starved to skin and bones.

In the Capital, those self-interested officials must have known about the situation here, which was why they all considered this position a hot potato. Now that they had finally passed it off, no one was willing to take it.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "I was mentally prepared before I came. After all these days, I’ve come to accept the situation.

I’ve already had my men do their utmost to prepare supplies. We’ll just focus on getting through this winter first."

Zhou Shixiong patted his shoulder. "It’s good that you can think that way, Brother Gu. It’s just a pity I wasn’t in Shangjing that day, otherwise I would have never let you come here to suffer this hardship."

"Isn’t this perfect then? We brothers can be together again," Ancient Wen Heng said, rubbing his smarting shoulder. "But Brother Zhou, could you go a little easier next time? I’m just made of flesh and blood."

Zhou Shixiong said, "Then you should get some proper exercise. Stop with that frail scholar act. You can’t get anything done that way."

Ancient Wen Heng was quite curious about those bandits. With Zhou Shixiong here this time, he could get some better answers.

Zhou Shixiong was also eager to give Ancient Wen Heng a better understanding of the situation, so he shared everything he had learned about these bandits over the years.

The more Ancient Wen Heng listened, the more he was convinced they were the Japanese islanders. ’So they had their eyes on this land this far back in time?’

’His mind couldn’t help but flash to Boss Kang’s assessment of that small island nation: "Japan is the most capricious of nations. Its people are utterly base, knowing nothing of gratitude in this world. They only cower before martial might... Therefore, one must never show them the slightest kindness."’

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Being so passive in the long run isn’t a solution. Brother Zhou, have you ever considered a permanent fix?"

Zhou Shixiong grabbed his hair. "My family has defended this place for generations, and now I’m the only one left. Every time I think about it, I wish I could drink their blood and chew their bones.

But these Japanese are cunning. They don’t land in just one place. On top of that, we also have to guard against the Russians, so we simply can’t spare enough troops to defend the entire coastline.

Because of this, the people of this border city have suffered greatly. The population has been steadily declining over the years. If this continues, it will truly become a barren land."

Over the years, everyone who could flee has fled, making this land increasingly destitute. When those bandits can’t plunder enough supplies for the winter, they turn their sights on Lu City.

Ancient Wen Heng had seen the geographical map and knew this was true. "We can’t just passively take a beating. We have to find a way to beat them into submission, or give them a taste of their own medicine. Only then will they not dare to try anything again."

"Sigh, to be honest with you, Brother Gu, my father thought of that too. He even led his soldiers to build ships. Unfortunately, not long after they set sail, those bandits, being excellent swimmers, actually drilled through the hulls from underwater. Most of the soldiers who went were buried in that sea.

My father was only able to return safely because he was escorted by a few loyal officers. Thinking of the losses from that time, my father would be filled with regret for a long time. Every single one of them was an elite soldier and a fine commander."

"..." Ancient Wen Heng wasn’t ready to give up so quickly. "There has to be a way."

Zhou Shixiong didn’t want to dwell on the heavy topic either, so he turned and asked about the recent situation in the Capital.

After Zhou Shixiong left, Ancient Wen Heng tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

Also unable to sleep was Jin Qianqian, who was thousands of miles away.

The escort agency she had previously commissioned came to inform her that the escort team they had promised to send to Lu City could no longer make the journey.

This year’s winter was much colder than previous years. It had already started snowing in many places. Even if merchant caravans were in a hurry to transport their goods, they wouldn’t dare choose this time of year, and could only wait until after the spring thaw to try again.

Thinking of those several cartloads of living supplies, how could Jin Qianqian not be anxious? All she could do now was hope that her "Senior" had made preparations in advance; otherwise, this winter would be truly difficult to endure.

「Kao Mountain Village」

Gu Datian and the others spent several consecutive days on the mountain, cleaning up each family’s ancestral graves and buying incense to perform rites.

They found a Feng Shui master, and there was indeed an auspicious day for moving the graves in about ten days’ time.

However, in the past few days, the weather had turned bitingly cold, with freezing rain constantly falling from the sky. It was simply unrealistic to even think about moving the graves at this time.

In addition, there were still so many ancestral tablets to be carved. Gu Datian and the others discussed it for half a day and decided to wait until after spring. They couldn’t risk getting sick just to rush things now; that would be a greater loss.

After keeping vigil at the Li Family home for a few days, Gu Dashishi left for the county seat the moment Li Bingkun was buried, not even staying for the farewell meal.

The nephews of the Li Family didn’t try to make him stay. For days, their uncle-in-law had done nothing but find fault, either complaining that the food wasn’t to his taste or that something wasn’t done well enough.

His lordly airs made him quite the spectacle for the villagers.

If it weren’t for their aunt’s sake, the brothers really would have just thrown him out. It was bad enough that he was no help, but he was also constantly making trouble.

Luo Gang, on the other hand, was busy bustling about with another young servant. In his words, if he didn’t handle his mistress’s father’s funeral properly, he wouldn’t be able to answer to the Old Madam when he returned.

Even if they were unworldly, the Li brothers understood. The Gu family wasn’t run by this son-in-law, but by their very own aunt. This made the brothers feel much more at ease.

In fact, Luo Gang had privately instructed the young servant not to reveal what the "old master" had been doing. Otherwise, given how protective the Li Family was of their own, there was no way Gu Dashishi would continue to be treated as a guest here.

When he learned he would have to spend the New Year in Bainiao, Gu Dashishi’s entire face darkened.

The few Silver Taels he had brought with him were long gone, and his unfilial sons had handed all the Silver over to an outsider to manage. This left him cooped up in the inn all day, not daring to recklessly spend a single copper coin.

As people born and raised in Bainiao, the Gu Family were far more familiar with this land than the current residents of Kao Mountain Village.

Taking advantage of the time before heavy snows sealed off the mountains, Gu Datian prepared to lead everyone into the hills to gather the wild chestnuts, walnuts, and other things they knew of from the old days.

They had specifically asked the current villagers of Kao Mountain Village and learned that, being unfamiliar with the area, they hadn’t dared to venture deep into the mountains over the years.

Besides, these things were ownerless, so Gu Datian and the others felt no guilt in taking them.

Gu Datian and his group were not secretive about the purpose of their trip.

When Village Chief Huang learned of their plans, he shamelessly came to their door.