Chapter 70: Involution
Feng Chang was quite ambitious and actively performed well as soon as he entered the village.
Pei Qinghe looked at Feng Chang approvingly: “Good, you try it first.”
Having received Pei Qinghe’s permission, Feng Chang felt inspired. Before heading to the fields the next morning, he first gathered more than twenty refugees together and solemnly announced the assessment rules: “I will record everyone’s daily farming situation one by one. We will tally every seven days, with rewards for the top three. The bottom three will be punished.”
The refugees had eaten their fill for several days and were full of energy, with no one opposing.
Only the Bearded Man muttered: “Someone like me with little strength will be at a natural disadvantage.”
Feng Chang had sharp ears and immediately said: “Strength varies, so there is indeed some natural gap. As long as everyone works diligently, anyone with eyes can see it, and no one will be punished.”
Feng Chang then carefully assigned tasks to everyone, dividing the refugees into groups, each working a piece of wasteland. Soon they were working vigorously.
Seeing this spectacle, Gu Lian frowned: “This Feng Chang has more wits than a beehive. On just the second day, he’s already making small moves to suppress us. Hmph! Don’t even think about getting your way!”
Originally, the women had been working together, but at Gu Lian’s command, they also dispersed. Having stayed in the village for several months, they had eaten enough to gain strength and were familiar with farming. Supporting the ploughing ox to pull the iron plow, their speed was not slow at all.
Pei Jia soon noticed something was off: “Huh? Why is the farming speed so much faster today?”
Pei Yi was sharper than Pei Jia and whispered: “Last night Feng Chang went to see Sixth Sister, and early this morning he gave a speech to the refugees. I think this Feng Chang is no ordinary person. We two need to be careful not to be outdone by a newcomer.”
Pei Jia puffed out his chest: “We two followed Sixth Sister earliest, and even changed our names. What does Feng Chang have to compete with us!”
By evening, when Feng Chang took out the paper for recording work, Gu Lian’s eyes sparked with anger, and Pei Jia and Pei Yi’s faces also darkened.
Feng Chang looked straight ahead and presented this page of paper to Pei Qinghe: “For the whole day today, my team of twenty-five people cultivated a total of forty-eight mu of wasteland. The three who put in the most effort in farming are listed separately at the front. The last three weren’t intentionally lazy; they just have less strength.”
Seeing the dark faces of Pei Jia, Pei Yi, and Gu Lian, Pei Qinghe was amused inside and first praised Feng Chang. Feng Chang was not smug and said this was all just his duty.
Feng Chang walked with steady steps to line up for dinner.
Pei Jia and Pei Yi hurried forward, each reporting their own farming situation for the day. Gu Lian was not willing to show weakness and also stepped forward: “Sixth Sister, starting tomorrow, I will also record work for the women in the team.”
Is being literate such a big deal?
She had been literate since childhood, later married and had children, and while traveling far with her husband, they encountered mountain bandits. Her husband was killed, she was taken to the mountain stronghold, and lived worse than pigs and dogs for several years. Now with a new life where she could hold her head high, she cherished it deeply.
No one was going to suppress her.
Not only did Gu Lian record work for the women, she also borrowed two oil lamps in the evening and taught the women to read in the house. One woman was unwilling: “After farming all day, my eyes are too tired to open, and now we have to read and write at night. I can’t take it!”
Gu Lian glared at her: “Sixth Sister is a person with great ambition and will continuously recruit refugees in the future. Anyone can farm. Reading and writing increases knowledge and broadens horizons, which is how you can catch Sixth Sister’s eye.”
“Pei Yun, Pei Yan, and the others practice martial arts during the day and read at night. We need to work hard to keep up with them.”
That woman sneered: “I don’t have such big ambition. Being able to eat enough and later recruit a son-in-law would satisfy me.”
Gu Lian spat: “Useless mud that can’t be helped up the wall! Is there nothing in your brain besides men? I can’t control what you do later, but for now, you all have to listen to me and read.”
Pei Qinghe focused on the big picture and did not interfere in trivial matters. These more than ten mountain bandit women were all managed by Gu Lian.
The other women chimed in, criticizing this unmotivated companion. The woman did not dare to go against the crowd and shut her mouth dejectedly.
The village was so small that the news of Gu Lian teaching literacy soon reached Pei Qinghe’s ears.
Pei Qinghe was quite satisfied and specially praised Gu Lian in front of Feng Chang, Pei Jia, and others.
Feng Chang hummed to himself.
Teaching reading? He was a proper private tutor!
Pei Jia and Pei Yi had headaches and, upon returning to the thatched hut at night, looked at each other and sighed together.
Zhao Hai had become a son-in-law and had already moved out. This house had four men living in it.
Doctor Bao saw Pei Jia and Pei Yi like this and was somewhat surprised: “What’s wrong with you? Did you do something wrong and get punished by Sixth Sister?”
Pei Jia sighed with a bitter face: “Not that. Pei Yi and I farm every day as usual. But the new Feng Chang is up to no good, acting like he’s drunk chicken blood every day—supervising the new refugees during the day and teaching them literacy at night.”
“Gu Lian is the same. She works fiercer than men during the day and leads a bunch of women to read at night.” Pei Yi couldn’t laugh either, holding his chin in worry: “What are Pei Jia and I going to do? We don’t know a single large character. Won’t we be suppressed by them from now on?”
Doctor Bao sympathized while secretly rejoicing. Luckily, he was the only divine doctor in the village.
Fang Datou’s eyes turned, and he came up with a bad idea: “If you want to learn literacy, go find Sixth Sister. She teaches Pei Family Members military books every night. We three all have the surname Pei—why can’t we go?”
Pei Jia immediately corrected him: “Pei Yi and I have the surname Pei; you have the surname Fang.”
Fang Datou argued confidently: “I already told Sixth Sister that from now on I’ll be called Pei Bing.”
The three spat together.
Fang Datou chuckled: “Whether it works or not, let’s try first. If Sixth Sister chases us away, we come back.”
Doctor Bao was tempted—idling anyway—and went along shamelessly.
In Pei Qinghe’s thatched hut, the candlelight was bright.
Pei Yun had gone to the county office and Beiping Army to deliver gifts, then to Shi Family Fort, and had not returned. Pei Yan and the other women sat cross-legged, concentrating intently on the military books.
This military book was passed down in the Pei Clan. It was burned during the raid on the family, and Pei Qinghe recited it from memory. Pei Xuan, Pei Feng, and the other children practiced writing during the day by copying the military book. Now everyone had a copy.
The four big men stood outside the door, huddled together, hesitant and stammering—now as timid and guilty as they had been confident in the thatched hut before.
Pei Qinghe knew at once what was up: “You all want to learn literacy too?”
The four nodded together.
“Having this idea is good.” Pei Qinghe thought for a moment and smiled: “I’m too busy. Have my mother teach you for half an hour at night.”
