CHAPTER 138: CHAPTER 138: THE EVIL DEEDS OF LANDLORD QIN

Zhao Zhitong and the others listened in shock, their eyes wide. After a moment of stunned silence, Zhao Zhitong spoke again. "Uncle, don’t be afraid," she said. "My friend here has many books at home. The books say that judges aren’t afraid of power or danger and will punish the wicked for the people! We want to file a complaint with a judge. He will surely punish Landlord Qin!"

Qiao Muchen, who was pulled along, nodded emphatically in agreement.

The farmer looked at Zhao Zhitong, then at Qiao Muchen, and finally asked uncertainly, "Are there really such judges in this world?"

Zhao Zhitong nodded emphatically. "There certainly are!"

Seeing the farmer was moved, Zhao Zhitong quickly winked at Qiao Muchen. He instantly understood, took out pen and paper from his bag, and spread them out on a roadside stone.

Seeing this, Wei Shulan immediately brought out the inkstone.

The farmer, witnessing this, was surprised again. "You can write?"

At this, Zhao Cheng proudly nodded. "Yes, Uncle. Rest assured, my younger brother and sisters here all go to school and have excellent grades. They can write."

The farmer finally nodded, truly believing them now.

All his ancestors had been peasants, and reverence for scholars was carved into his very bones. Even though these were just a few young children, the moment he heard they were scholars, he unconsciously stooped respectfully before them.

Zhao Zhitong also nodded proudly. "Uncle, please tell us about Landlord Qin’s misdeeds. We’ll write them all down, prepare a formal complaint, and submit it to the judge!"

The farmer sighed, sat down by the roadside, and slowly began to recount everything he knew. "As far as I know," he started, "the Qin Clan’s roots in Anyang County run very deep. Ever since I was a child, the Qins have been the landlords here. Their family dominates this area, oppressing us common folk and seizing our farmlands..."

As he spoke, the farmer was overcome with emotion and tears welled in his eyes. He had clearly suffered greatly from their oppression.

As the farmer began his narration, Qiao Muchen was already writing on the paper. Zhao Zhitong chose the right moment to ask, "Uncle, if Landlord Qin seized your lands, how do you survive? Does he give you any money?"

Upon hearing this, the farmer grew agitated. He slapped his thigh and cursed, "Their family is a band of tyrants! Give money? They’d never! First, they’d slap our family with some trumped-up charge. Then, they’d bring a group of household retainers to our home, smashing things and demanding compensation. How could we possibly have the money? If we couldn’t pay, we had to use our land to cover the debt! That’s how they’ve seized who knows how much land. In our village, eighty percent of the good fields were taken by the Qin Clan this way!"

Hearing this, the children stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with indignation.

Zhao Zhitong felt a deep sense of empathy, as the Qin Clan was currently using the same tactics against her own family. Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu were also reminded of the recent events concerning their own family.

Little Zhao Zhitong’s face puffed up in anger. "Hmph! They’re truly despicable!"

The farmer sighed and wiped his tears. "And that’s not all," he continued. "He’s done far more wicked things! After he seized our fields, we common folk had no land to live on. All that awaited us was starvation.

"Then, at that very moment, Landlord Qin would step forward and recruit us to work on his estate, to till the fields for him!

"Of course, we knew there was nothing good to be gained from tilling his land. But what choice did we have? We’d already been pushed to a dead end. Only by agreeing could we enter his estate and catch our breath!

"Sigh! We were clearly tilling our own land, yet if we didn’t do a good job, we’d be beaten. And if we did do a good job, when it came time for harvest, all the grain had to be handed over to the Qin Clan. We only got to keep one-tenth of it. An entire family would work themselves to death all year round, and still not have enough to fill their stomachs..."

The farmer grew more agitated as he spoke, his eyes burning with fury at Landlord Qin’s atrocities.

Zhao Zhitong and the others were equally incensed. By the time the farmer finished his account, Qiao Muchen had filled an entire page with notes.

The farmer glanced at the document on the stone, his belief in them growing stronger. "Will this be enough?" he asked.

Qiao Muchen blinked, thought for a moment, and said, "It should be, I suppose."

However, Zhao Zhitong recalled scenes from TV dramas she had watched in her previous life. "Do we need to add a handprint, or a signature, or something?" she asked.

The farmer, unafraid that they might be swindlers, immediately nodded. "Alright!"

It seemed he truly could no longer bear to live under Landlord Qin’s oppression.

Since they had no red ink paste, they used regular ink instead, and the farmer pressed his handprint onto the paper.

Qiao Muchen carefully blew the ink dry, then neatly put the document away in his bundle.

As the farmer was about to leave, and they were exchanging farewells, Zhao Zhitong asked, "Uncle, do you know of anyone else who has been bullied by Landlord Qin? If we all band together, united as one, we can definitely defeat the landlord!"

The farmer thought for a moment, then pointed ahead. "Turn left at the intersection up there," he said. "There’s a patch of woodland. The Qin Clan recently bought it and are currently clearing it. Most of the workers there are probably from the estate. You could go take a look."

Zhao Zhitong thanked him profusely. After bidding the farmer farewell, the children excitedly hurried off in that direction. Seeing this, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu shouted as they quickly chased after them, afraid the younger ones might get lost.

After running for some distance, they indeed spotted a small path leading into the woods on their left. Without a second thought, Zhao Zhitong and her group charged straight onto it.

After running a bit further, they finally saw several peasants in coarse clothing, sweat towels wrapped around their heads, laboring with their hoes.

Zhao Zhitong’s group stopped, and Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu caught up. Zhao Cheng took Zhao Zhitong’s small hand. "Little Sister, you can’t run anymore," he said. "There are probably Qin Clan household retainers supervising here. It’s dangerous, understand?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zhitong nodded obediently, but it was clear she hadn’t truly taken his words to heart; her face showed no fear at all.

By now, the peasants had noticed them. Thinking they were children looking for their family members, they all looked over towards Zhao Zhitong’s group.

The supervising household retainer also spotted Zhao Zhitong and the others. Similarly assuming they were just some family’s children, he yelled at the peasants, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Stop looking around and get back to work! Don’t you want to eat?!"

The peasants flinched in fear and quickly bowed their heads, resuming their work without daring to look up again.

After shouting at the peasants, the household retainer glanced at Zhao Zhitong’s group once more before walking off to patrol other areas.

This is a good opportunity. Zhao Zhitong thought for a moment, then said to Qiao Muchen and the others, "The household retainer is gone. Let’s use this chance. We’ll split into two groups and ask around. We should talk to as many people as we can."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

So, Zhao Zhitong finalized the questions they would ask, briefing Zhao Yue and Wei Shulan. Then, the four children split into two groups and set off.