The dozen or so young fellows escorting Thirty-Two all received rewards, then helped their families move as quickly as possible.

The two sculptors also rushed home. Their wives and children were moving, so the sculptors hurried over to take on the heavy work, smiling as they said, “We paid the artisan registration fee for thirty years, so we never have to take shifts in the official workshops again.”

Their wives were overjoyed at first, but soon looked worried. “Our children will be rotating workers too. Once they grow up, they’ll have to take shifts.”

The two sculptors laughed. “What’s the big deal? We’ll just help the Deity make more statues, and we’ll set aside the artisan registration fee for our sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons too.”

Their wives then beamed happily. Before, life was unclear and gloomy, with no future in sight, but now, it felt infinitely bright and hopeful.

Thirty-Two accompanied Mr. Wang, slowly entering the brand-new Hakka roundhouse. It had a sturdy foundation, thick fortress walls, and internal partitions made of metal coated with thick paint that clanged when struck. The newcomer Mr. Wang looked utterly bewildered.

This isolated village, whose name he hadn’t even heard of, actually had the resources to build such an intimidating fortress.

“With you teaching here, sir, there’s no need to worry about bandits,” Thirty-Two said triumphantly. “Not long ago, bandit chief Supreme Bright King led over a thousand rebels to attack, but we at Gaojia Village defeated him. And as for the fierce bandit Wang Er, well, you saw how close he is to us at Gaojia Village. Here, you can sleep soundly without any worries.”

Mr. Wang listened half-skeptically yet half-convinced. Seeing how impressive the fortress was, he couldn’t help but feel partly reassured.

It was noon now. Many villagers started cooking, with aromas of rice, flour, and even chicken and cured meat wafting through the roundhouse…

Mr. Wang couldn’t help but swallow hard. Although he was a scholar, he was quite poor. He hadn’t married and rarely ate well. Smelling the chicken and pork made his mouth water.

He couldn’t resist asking, “Third Lady gave me quite a lot of silver, but I don’t see a marketplace here. Where can I buy food?”

Thirty-Two laughed loudly. “The Deity is asking to hire you, sir, so naturally, He is responsible for your meals.”

Mr. Wang was deeply puzzled. “The Deity? Who is that?”

Thirty-Two didn’t explain. He pointed toward a distance where Gao Yiye was trying hard to remain poised. “That’s the Saint Lady. I’ll take you to see her, and she’ll arrange all your living needs right away.”

Mr. Wang had to brace himself and approach Gao Yiye.

Before he could speak, Gao Yiye smiled faintly. “The Deity already knows you’ve arrived. Please follow me.”

Mr. Wang was utterly baffled but followed Gao Yiye.

Gao Yiye led him to a courtyard with houses surrounding an open space. She pointed to one room. “You can stay here for now, sir, and we’ll set up desks and chairs in this courtyard area for teaching reading and writing.”

“As for your daily needs, you need not worry at all. Just step inside to see.”

Mr. Wang curiously stepped into his room. Looking closely, he saw half the space filled with piles of rice, flour, oil, salt, and cured meat. Even if he ate his fill every day, it could last him a year or more.

“This…all this is for…me?” Mr. Wang stammered.

“Yes! The Deity said if you teach here with peace of mind, you’ll surely get more benefits later.”

…

Meanwhile, a dozen miles away in the mountains:

Wang Er led his most loyal subordinates back to their hideout.

It was called a hideout, but it was really just a large cave. Inside, there were no proper furnishings, only a few jumbled-up grain carts, with dry grass spread on the ground. His bandit army of several hundred rebels lived temporarily in this crude cave.

Their spirits weren’t high; the harsh conditions wore people down, and living like this for long could mess with their minds.

Wang Er held up the salt bag Thirty-Two had given him and announced loudly, “Brothers, look what I’ve brought back. A whole bag of salt!”

Everyone cheered!

Second Leader Zheng Yanfu and Third Leader Zhuang Guangdao hurried over, faces lit with excitement. “We’ve got salt?”

Wang Er laughed heartily. “Third Lady from Gaojia Village gave it to me—a big bag full, enough for us for quite a while.”

“And Gaojia Village sent it again?” someone whispered from the bandit army group.

“That village sure is rich.”

“Hmph, they gave us flour before, now salt. It seems they’ve still got plenty in store.”

“They must have even more good stuff there.”

The direction of their chatter was off.

Wang Er’s brows furrowed deeply. He whipped around and glared at the speakers. Sensing their leader’s displeasure, they ducked their heads back and slunk into the deeper parts of the cave.

Wang Er backed off and told Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao to distribute the salt, then walked over to lie down fully clothed.

Zheng Yanfu glanced sharply at Wang Er. Seeing him apparently asleep, he pulled Zhuang Guangdao aside and whispered, “Third Brother, don’t you think our leader is too biased toward Gaojia Village?”

Zhuang Guangdao shrugged. “Gaojia Village did Wangjia Village a favor. The night before we rose up, they sent dozens of barrels of flour to Wangjia Village. Knowing the leader’s personality, he’d take their side.”

Zheng Yanfu murmured, “That village is rich and wealthy, full of grain and salt, yet because of our leader’s bias, we can’t touch it. Last night, brother Yang who went out to loot came back saying he had a dozen fat sheep lined up—but our leader let them go just because they were from Gaojia Village.”

Zhuang Guangdao said softly, “I heard about that too. If we’d taken those ten-odd fat sheep, we’d have gotten way more than this little salt. It would’ve been a huge haul.”

Zheng Yanfu chuckled darkly. “Seems we’re thinking alike again, Third Brother. So, are you in?”

Zhuang Guangdao also grinned. “Of course I’m in!”

Zheng Yanfu suggested, “We’ll need to avoid the leader and anyone from Wangjia Village.”

Zhuang Guangdao replied, “In a few days, we’ll pick the right moment and make up an excuse to coax the leader into taking the Wangjia Village folk north. Once he’s far enough away, we’ll strike Gaojia Village hard.”

Zheng Yanfu cautioned, “I’ve heard that village has high fortress walls. Not long ago, Supreme Bright King got wrecked beneath them. Dozens of his troops came to join us. Any great ideas, Third Brother?”

Zhuang Guangdao said, “Supreme Bright King was an idiot who only knew hard charges. We’re smarter. Get me a long rope. At night, I’ll sneak up the wall alone, take out the sentinel, then open the gate from inside. We’ll flood in and catch Gaojia Village off guard. That way, everything in the village will be ours.”

Zheng Yanfu was thrilled. “That’s a brilliant strategy, Third Brother. Let’s do it. After it’s done, our leader won’t be able to say much. Just like when we strung up the wives and maids of those wealthy families in Chengcheng County in all sorts of positions—once it’s finished, he can only glare and fume.”

Zhuang Guangdao nodded. “You bet it will.”

Their plan settled, both felt confident and shared a smug laugh. But as they turned, they saw Wang Er standing right behind them, face twisted in anger. “Second Brother, Third Brother, this is outrageous…”

He was about to roar at them when, unexpectedly, Zhuang Guangdao and Zheng Yanfu pulled out daggers simultaneously and lunged at him.