Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 72: Benefits of the Cottage

Chen Gu thought that all the people in the village were men, so he simply asked, "Just tell me how much three thousand sets of linen clothes cost?"

"If it's ready-made clothes, you can give me four thousand taels of silver!" Bian Shichun didn't waste time and gave a more reasonable price.

Chen Gu directly counted out ten silver notes and handed them to Bian Shichun, "In addition to three thousand sets of ready-made clothes, I also want six thousand taels of silver worth of linen. Thick linen, strong and warm!"

"Haha, you think long-term. It's only been a short while since the weather got hot, and you're already thinking about keeping warm." Bian Shichun smiled and shook his head, but still took the silver note.

Lao Nian, who was standing next to him, was filled with emotion. He clasped his fists and bowed to Chen Gu and said, "Thank you, Young Master. It is a great honor for us brothers to follow you!"

"It's good that you have this intention. This is what I should do." Chen Gu looked at the young men pulling the boats on the shore and said with a smile: "When they get to Fobao, as long as they don't say we are cheating, it will be fine!"

Lao Nian told those young people that they were serving the imperial court. If they went to Fobao and found out that they had become bandits, no one knew how they would feel.

In fact, if Chen Gu wanted to know, he could find out by returning to the mountain village now. Scar, Sanlang and other villagers who stayed in the mountain village were now left in the mountain village, and there were about a hundred people in total.

After all, these young people who came from far away from their hometowns came to seek refuge with their acquaintances, so Chen Gu naturally had to hand them over to his acquaintances.

So, let’s leave it to their acquaintances to appease them.

If one excels in study, whether it is literature, martial arts, or various craftsman skills, as long as he has achieved success in learning, Chen Gu will also give him high rewards.

We will spend the night here tonight. Towing is not about the time, but about the distance. As long as we arrive at the destination, we must stop to rest no matter how early it is. If we have not arrived at the destination, we must continue on our way no matter how late it is.

Bian Shichun returned the rifle to Chen Gu and asked the craftsmen in his family to ride horses back to his hometown by land.

Chen Gu took the rifle, wiped it with a tung oil towel and said, "I'll tow the boat for free, and you can treat my brothers to a good meal!"

Sailing against the current was very slow, and it took only one day to reach Baishachang. Although it was just past four in the afternoon, it was still early, but Bian Shichun had already ordered a rest.

Of course, Chen Gu could choose to hide it from them first, and just say that this was a training camp established by the imperial court. He would bring them here for a certain period of training on the grounds that their abilities were not yet sufficient to become a soldier.

If that happens, they will be completely doomed. They don't need too many, just one or two such people who secretly collude with the court, and the losses to the stronghold will be immeasurable.

Therefore, Chen Gu planned to confront them right from the beginning. In addition to letting their acquaintances appease them, he also provided them with certain benefits, such as free food and accommodation, skills learning, and a monthly salary of 500 Wen.

Otherwise, without any acquaintances to comfort them, and having gone from serving the imperial court to becoming bandits, Chen Gu was very afraid that they would cause trouble. At that time, whether Chen Gu suppressed them or let them go would probably not be a good choice.

However, Chen Gu was worried that his kindness to them would make them recognize and trust the imperial court. In this way, even if they learned the truth in the future, some of these people would still be loyal to the imperial court.

"I'm helping you bring the person back, okay?" Bian Shichun said unhappily, "I've done my best by not asking you for money, but you're trying to extort a good meal from me. I can't afford to treat so many people!"

"You're so stingy. You don't know any culture at all, and you even claim to be from a wealthy family!" Chen Gu said with a look of disdain.

"Oh, everyone's money comes from the wind. You can make hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in a big deal, but I earn my money one copper coin at a time. If I treat eight or nine hundred people like you to a good meal, it would be enough for me to hire a dozen farmhands to work for a year. We can't afford it!" After saying this, Bian Shichun shook his head repeatedly, then took his men ashore and left.

"Okay, you're so cruel. Please help me buy ten pigs. You are familiar with this place. I'll give you some silver!" Chen Gu shouted.

"Then you go ashore and wait. Farmers will come here with pigs soon!" Bian Shichun waved his hand without looking back.

Chen Gu had no choice but to carry his rifle box and get off the boat with Lao Nian.

There are rows of straw huts built by the dock, which are specially used for accommodation of trackers. There are also clay pots for cooking. These are all purchased free of charge by the local Cao Gang. For this, the imperial court will give certain tax exemptions to the registered Cao Gang members.

Everything is quite complete, but you need to buy the fuel yourself, which comes in two types: firewood and coal.

Lao Nian would negotiate for such matters himself and quickly settle everyone.

When everyone was preparing to cook, they were told to just boil some water first. Shangguan had already sent people to buy ten pigs, so everyone could have a good feast.

Suddenly, everyone cheered. Ten pigs were not a lot, but everyone could get at least half a pound of meat. Together with the internal organs, bones and so on, it was definitely a full meal.

Everyone sighed that it was worth the trip. Although the journey was hard, as long as there was a reward, it was good.

Chen Gu also asked Lao Nian to spread the news of distributing clothes, which made everyone even happier. You know, a set of clothes, even the cheapest linen clothes, would cost one or two taels of silver just to buy the cloth.

In other words, they had already earned two taels of silver before they even did any work. Together with the wages they earned from pulling the oars from Yichang to Chongqing, they had already earned five taels of silver.

They certainly couldn't earn three taels of silver just by pulling the oars, because Lao Nian kept subsidizing their food and drink along the way, so they made a pure profit on this trip.

After a while, a farmer came over with a pig and a large scale. He tied two ropes under the pig's belly, hung the pig on the scale hook, lifted it up, weighed it, calculated the bill and paid the money, and then immediately took the pig over to bleed it.

There was no shortage of butchers among the eight or nine hundred people, and their skills were very good. A few of them pulled the pig over and controlled it a little, and the pig was stabbed on the neck while it was still standing.

Clay pots filled with water and salt are placed one by one to collect the pig blood. After it solidifies, it is cut into pieces and a few pieces are put into a clay pot of boiling water to soak. A little salt is added to make a pot of pig blood soup.

The pig hair here hasn't been shaved clean yet, but people over there have already started drinking the soup. Let's drink a little first to fill our stomachs.

Pig hair is also useful. Not only will the imperial court purchase it, it can even be sold to foreigners.

Because the bristles of our domestic pigs are forked, they are the best material for making brushes, especially for cleaning gun barrels. Only the bristles of our domestic pigs are the best.

Eating meat and drinking soup put smiles on everyone's faces and made Chen Gu feel that the dozens of taels of silver he had spent were well spent.

(End of this chapter)