novel-bin Chapter 3 Robbery
Chapter 3 Robbery
As evening approached, the weather remained muggy.
Meng Chen got off the donkey cart and hurried home, but his mind was on Yan Jiasanlang's purpose.
There is a large pond to the west of Niujia Village. Legend has it that it was created by a dragon falling from the sky and smashing it, hence the name Laolongtan (Old Dragon Pool).
People say that once you cross the Old Dragon Pool, the entire land belongs to the Yan family. This refers to the Yan family.
The Yan family hadn't been wealthy for very long; they were just an ordinary family with only fifty or sixty acres of land, which could only be described as relatively well-off.
Twenty years ago, a blind fortune teller passed by and said that Laolongtan was a good place and that a great person would surely emerge from it in the future. Master Yan then had an idea, because his eldest son was named Yan Long, which was somewhat related to the name Laolongtan.
This Master Yan was usually a stingy and miserly person, but this time he went all out and took out his savings of many years to send Yan Long to the county town to learn martial arts.
Unexpectedly, Yan Long was a promising talent. Within two years, he passed the martial arts examination and gained the favor of a nobleman. He transformed himself into an official and became a high-ranking official.
After gaining power, Yan Long began to give back to his hometown. Taking advantage of the situation, Master Yan bought up land and built a new house.
Master Yan had three sons. His second son, Yan Hu, and third son, Yan Bao, were born after Yan Long learned martial arts. However, they were neither good at literature nor martial arts and had no future. Nevertheless, with Yan Long's help, the second son went to the county government to work as an official, while the third son stayed in his hometown.
Now the Yan family is becoming increasingly powerful, having acquired three or four thousand acres of land and taken in many tenant farmers. Although they are not considered top-tier landlords in Qingshui County, they are now a prominent new family in the Daze Township area.
The Yan Sanlang that the crooked-mouthed uncle mentioned earlier is Yan Bao, the third son of the Yan family.
Speaking of which, not only Meng Chen knows Yan Bao, but everyone in the surrounding area knows him.
Unlike his elder brother Yan Long, this man was not successful. Although he failed in martial arts, he loved horseback riding the most and often led a few penniless hangers-on to run wild in the fields. Therefore, many people knew him.
Moreover, this man is arrogant and domineering. He often tramples other people's fields when he rides his horse. However, he has been pampered by Master Yan and his elder brother since childhood, so no one dares to argue with him.
Meng Chen had only run a few steps when he saw a group of villagers gathered in front of his house, discussing a tall white horse.
There was also a mule cart with several bags of grain piled on it.
Meng Chen slowed his pace, wiped the sweat from his face, and approached step by step.
"The Meng family's child is back!" a villager shouted, and everyone turned to look at Meng Chen.
The villagers' faces were weary from just finishing the wheat harvest, and their eyes were mostly blank, but their desire to watch the spectacle remained undiminished.
"You're finally back!" An elderly man in his fifties quickly stepped forward, grabbed Meng Chen's arm, and whispered, "They're carrying knives, so be careful what you say. Let's settle this slowly."
The old man's surname was Niu. He was the village head of Niujia Village and was related to everyone in the village. He was always a kind and amiable person.
Meng Chen nodded and stepped forward, only to find that his old wooden door had been broken open.
There were three shirtless hangers-on in the courtyard, all idlers from nearby villages. They were covered in sweat, which showed that they were the ones carrying the grain.
Three other people sat under the old jujube tree. Two of them were yamen runners, each carrying a knife. The third person sat in the middle, about eighteen or nineteen years old, of average appearance, wearing a light robe, with a knife at his waist and a folding fan in his hand.
This person is Yan Bao, the third son of the Yan family.
Yan Bao had already heard the commotion outside the courtyard, but he didn't seem to care much and didn't even look up.
After a while, Yan Bao saw that the newcomer remained silent, and finally raised his head. He saw that the newcomer was a little younger than himself, with a face and arms tanned dark by the sun. He was carrying a tattered straw hat, wearing worn-out straw sandals, and his hemp clothes were covered with wheat awns. He looked like a peasant begging for food in a mud hut.
But the boy didn't bend over, didn't force a smile, didn't act obsequiously or servilely, and didn't even have the ignorance that other farmers had developed from years of hard work.
The village head tugged at Meng Chen's sleeve, as if urging him to bend over and force a smile. When Meng Chen didn't react, he looked at Yan Bao and said, "Sanwazi, the Meng family's child is back. Let's talk things over face to face."
He used the familiar terms of address from his fellow villagers, intending to build rapport, but Yan Bao waved him off impatiently.
"Uncle Lao Niu, we're all from the same village, and I didn't want to make things ugly, but we should all be reasonable—" Yan Bao took out a land deed from his sleeve and said, "Last year, the Meng brothers' father went to repair the river and never returned. Around the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the Meng brothers came to my house, saying that my second brother works in the yamen and they wanted my brother to help them transfer him back from the river. This can't be fake, can it?"
This is indeed true. At the end of last year, Meng Chen went to the Yan family, hoping to ask Yan Hu, the second son of the Yan family, for help so that his father could return home. However, he did not meet Yan Hu; it was Master Yan and Yan Bao who agreed to help.
Reassigning the river workers who were serving corvée labor was not a big deal. With Yan Hu's father and brothers vouching for him, and being fellow villagers from Laolongtan, Meng Chen naturally believed them.
Of course, Meng Chen knew that the Yan family would never help for nothing. So, with the intention of asking for a favor, he thought of selling some surplus grain to the Yan family. But unexpectedly, Master Yan suddenly had a change of heart and said that it was getting cold and that Meng Chen should keep the surplus grain for the winter. He would send two acres of new wheat to the Yan family next year.
Two mu of land can yield about two hundred jin of wheat, and the price was not low, but Meng Chen didn't think much of it. He just felt that he was asking for a favor, so he accepted it and even wrote a receipt.
At this moment, Meng Chen remained silent, waiting for Yan Bao to speak.
The courtyard was very quiet, both inside and out. The cicadas on the old jujube tree had stopped chirping, and only the distant cooing of birds could be heard.
Yan Bao tossed the land deed aside, put it back in his sleeve, and continued, "My second brother works in the county government. When fellow villagers come to us for help, how can we not help? But the Meng brothers' father lives a hundred miles away in Chunshui River. Not to mention the expenses of traveling back and forth, my second brother will also have to use his connections. Shouldn't this debt be placed on the Meng brothers' shoulders?"
Still, no one answered.
Yan Bao remained calm and continued, "Back then, the Meng brothers couldn't come up with the money, so they promised to give up six mu of land from our family. Alas, my eldest and second brothers work in the government and are rarely home. My father can't stand seeing his filial sons. The Meng brothers gave up their land to save their father, but my father couldn't bear it, so he said it wouldn't be too late to hand over the land after the wheat harvest this year."
Yan Bao's words were reasonable and well-founded, but while the country folk may be ignorant, they are not fools! Could rescuing a river worker from service cost six acres of land? Besides, land is the farmer's foundation; who can just casually allow it to be given away? How could they face their ancestors after death?
"Sanwazi, I know about this. The boy told me that what he promised your family was this year's harvest from two mu of land." The village head held up two fingers, looking incredulous. "Besides, everyone in the village was watching this year's wheat harvest. The Meng family only had one male working, and your second brother couldn't even get his father back!"
"Uncle Niu, you're old, you might have misremembered!" Yan Bao pulled out another piece of paper and handed it over, saying, "It's in black and white, signed and sealed. The Meng brothers said they'll acknowledge this debt regardless of whether they can bring the person back!"
"Even if he were stupid, he would never do something like that!" He took the IOU, buried his head in it, and then looked up. "I can't read, my dear grandson, read it to me!"
An eight- or nine-year-old child stepped forward, took the paper, and began to read it aloud. His voice was childish and innocent, but the contract clearly stated that regardless of whether Meng's father could be rescued, the six mu of land belonging to the Meng family would belong to the Yan family, to be handed over after this year's wheat harvest. As for the harvest, half would go to the Yan family, and the other half would be used by the Meng family.
After listening to what was being said, he frowned and looked at Yan Bao, saying, "Isn't this just robbing people? We're all fellow villagers, you..."
The village head was about to speak again when Yan Bao interrupted him with a smile, saying, "Uncle Lao Niu, I heard that your grandson is studying in town and is quite favored by the teacher?"
Upon hearing this, the village head's expression changed, and he remained silent, simply holding his grandson in his arms.
"Hey, Sanwazi." Just then, a man walked into the courtyard. It was Old Chen. He fanned himself with his straw hat as he said, "If you ask me, you're even worse at doing things than your father! If it were your father, he would have waited until that Meng kid had applied the manure, turned the soil, and sown the seeds before harvesting. That would have been much easier, and he would have gotten away with it all!"