The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 208: Da Qi

Another autumn had come. The old forest on the outskirts had long been abandoned by people, and the vegetation had grown dense and wild again.

In the south, autumn was a deep green hue with patches of gold and red. Six or seven men carrying cloth bags were traversing the wilderness. One of them asked another, “Dashan, are we really going to find a buyer outside?”

“Yes, there are always people waiting at the edge of the mountains for transactions. If they like what we have, they’ll find a way to get it into the city and trade it for what we need. They will, however, press down on the prices of our goods.”

The two speaking were none other than Chen Dashan and his eldest brother-in-law, Zhou Dalang.

Along with the two of them were Lu Erlang, Zheng Dalang, an uncle from the Feng family, Dong Ge’er’s father, and Shi Daniu, who was already fifteen this year.

The things they grew and raised in the deep mountains were their own. Chen Youtian and the others had helped make weaving looms, so they could weave cloth. Salt, however, was difficult to come by. In the second year after entering the mountains, someone desperately needed salt, so they managed to trade some mountain goods for it, promising the person who helped a reward.

The mountain dwellers weren’t just them; clearly, others had started doing this long before. Gradually, a black market had formed in the mountains, some distance from the city of Shezhou.

With this black market, life for the mountain dwellers became much more convenient. They grew melons, beans, and vegetables, and raised chickens. Though they lacked rice fields, they could still fill their stomachs with beans grown on the mountain. Furthermore, with skilled hunters like Shen Lie and his group, their lives were even more comfortable than in the first year or two after fleeing to the mountains.

The produce and livestock were their own, with no taxes, no service obligations, and no fear of being conscripted at any time. The villages banded together to practice martial arts, and no ill-intentioned outsiders dared to make trouble. How could they not feel at ease?

This was Chen Dashan’s third trip outside. He had always taken care of the Yue family. Previously, when buying salt, he had to bring some for his father-in-law. Zhou Laizi was too embarrassed to always rely on his son-in-law’s favor, so this time he had prepared some goods in advance and sent his eldest son along for the trip.

Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang were familiar with the route, having been out before. They headed toward the usual black market near Shezhou. However, this time something was odd—there wasn’t a single person to be seen where there would normally be several.

“Is something wrong?” Lu Erlang asked in confusion.

“Go look around the nearby area.”

The group split up and scattered. After about half an hour, they returned, having found no one.

Chen Dashan was puzzled. “If they moved, they shouldn’t have gone too far. Who would be able to find them if they moved far from the city?”

Everyone was at a loss. Dong Ge’er’s father hesitated and said, “Could it be that the officials are investigating?”

Everyone looked at each other, and Feng Liuniang’s uncle said, “That can’t be. They’re too busy fighting over territory to worry about us.”

Chen Dashan thought for a moment. “You all wait here. I’ll go check near the city gate.”

—

Shezhou City had strict guards at its gates. Chen Dashan observed from a distance. In addition to the patrolling soldiers on the city tower, there were also guards at the gate, who checked anyone entering or exiting. However, compared to his previous visits, something seemed different.

It was the stance of the soldiers.

The soldiers he saw this time were definitely not the same ones he and Shen Lie had seen months ago. No, they weren’t even from the same unit; their discipline and demeanor were entirely different.

Another noticeable change was a new dirt wall built not far from the city gate. There were three or five people standing by the wall, seemingly watching something. Seeing that the soldiers showed no signs of intervention, Chen Dashan relaxed and walked over.

It turned out to be a notice board.

This kind of board used to be set up outside the county office in Qiyang County. Now it was placed outside the city gate?

Chen Dashan looked at the several notices, old and new, posted on the wall. The words were quite well-written, but he couldn’t read any of them. He turned to the people nearby. “Brother, what do these say?”

The person he asked was in no better position to help. Looking toward the city gate, they said, “We don’t know either. They said that afternoon some officials will come to read them out.”

Chen Dashan: “…”

He rubbed his forehead and turned away.

—

“Did you come back?”

“What’s the situation?”

A few people waiting in the mountains stood up and came over.

Chen Dashan puffed his cheeks and said, “Daniu, come with me.”

Shi Daniu, suddenly called out, was confused but didn’t question it. The people in the mountains had great respect for Shen Lie, Sang Luo, and Chen Dashan, so he just followed after placing down his things.

Chen Dashan led him to the notice board. “Aren’t you literate? Look at this and tell me what it says.”

Shi Daniu looked at the wall full of notices and was stunned. A few people waiting for the officials to come and read the notices exclaimed, “This young man can read?”

Seeing Shi Daniu’s coarse cloth attire, they looked at him with surprise.

Shi Daniu, feeling a bit embarrassed and nervous, blushed deeply. “I—I can read, but not very quickly. I haven’t learned much.”

He might not be as literate as his younger cousin.

He was embarrassed to say this.

Chen Dashan urged him, “Read as much as you can. Just read the words you recognize.”

Shi Daniu nodded, picked the oldest and most worn-out notice, and began to read slowly, “Ping Li Shiwei Da… I don’t recognize these two words.”

“Zi… I don’t recognize the next four words either.”

“Skip what you don’t recognize.”

“Govern… thieves exchange…” He stopped for a moment and continued reading, “…Yu Li…;… Shou;… Be… by;… none…”

At this point, Shi Daniu couldn’t continue reading. “Brother Dashan, I don’t know enough words.”

Chen Dashan was also helpless. He took Shi Daniu and looked at the other notices. “Look at this one.”

“Encourage farming, but I don’t know the third word.”

Out of the five notices, Shi Daniu stumbled through reading a little over a hundred words. Unfortunately, Chen Dashan and the others, piecing together the information, still couldn’t understand what the notices were about. They didn’t have the status to wait for the officials to read them, so they returned to the mountains to wait for the people who helped with buying and selling.

By mid-afternoon, they managed to get some salt and also asked the person who helped them about the newly posted notices outside the city.

They learned that Li Shiwei was a person’s name, the King of Chu, who was recently defeated by the Qi King’s generals.

The man said, “We’re now under the Da Qi.”

Oh, so there’s been a new emperor. Wasn’t this the one that Shopkeeper Xu mentioned last year who had some ability?

Seeing that Chen Dashan and the others didn’t react much, the man said, “Don’t take this lightly. It looks like our new emperor might unify the world. Qin, Wu, Yan, and Chu have either surrendered or been defeated. Now only the Chen Kingdom in the capital remains as an opponent. It’s only a matter of time. Haven’t you noticed that there are fewer people running errands for buying and selling now? It’s becoming harder to make a living. Have you seen the notices? They’re specifically put up outside the city to call the mountain people back. The earliest notice even had a deadline. If you stay hidden in the mountains and don’t come out, you’ll be considered bandits and face risks.”

Chen Dashan’s eyes flickered when he heard about the notices. He asked, “Brother, what do the notices say?”

The man replied, “One is an amnesty decree for Li Shiwei, another is a decree encouraging farming, and there’s also one abolishing taxes and corvée labor. I don’t know the rest. I can’t read, so I only heard about it.”

Hearing this, Chen Dashan lowered his eyelashes and handed over the sweater of cured meat that wasn’t traded yet. “Brother, help me with one more thing. The notices outside the city should also be posted inside the city. Could you find someone who can read to copy them down for me? This meat is for the paper and labor costs. Once you bring me the copied notices, I’ll give you an additional reward as thanks. How does that sound?”

The man weighed the cured meat in his hand, which was at least six or seven pounds. Seeing Chen Dashan had another bag like this, he asked, “Will mine be the same amount?”

Chen Dashan smiled. “Don’t worry, it’ll be exactly the same.”

The man was pleased. “Alright, wait here. I’ll go buy paper and ink and find someone to copy it for you. I’ll be back in at most an hour.”

—

Chen Dashan and his group carried over twenty pounds of salt and returned to the village after spending seven days. He had five neatly stacked sheets of paper in his arms.

This time, Zhou Dalang, Zheng Dalang, Dong Ge’er’s father, and Feng Liuniang’s uncle stayed in the village. They sat around a small stone table at the village entrance, waiting for Shi Daniu to bring people over.

Everyone knew there were many literate people in the village.

It was lunchtime, and Shi Daniu had gone around the village to call people. When they heard that Chen Dashan had brought back five notices, everyone from Shen Lie, Sang Luo, and the Xu family came out to hear about it. Even the illiterate Old Man Chen, Old Man Lu, Mrs. Chen, and Mrs. Lu all came out to listen.

Wei Qinghe, Wang Yunzheng, the Xu family, Shen Lie, and Sang Luo each took a copy, quickly read through them, and then exchanged them for another look. Their eyes all brightened.

From the five notices combined, it appeared that the Da Qi had taken over about sixty to seventy percent of the world. The several issued edicts were mainly aimed at bringing the displaced people back to their land. The notices mentioned how newly annexed people would be allocated land, the remission of corvée labor, and that no additional corvée duties could be imposed without separate decrees.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions became more serious, especially the older folks like Old Man Chen, Old Man Lu, and Feng family’s uncle. They hurriedly asked, “Did it mention how the land will be allocated?”

“Is the corvée labor really exempted? For how many years?”

“Is it really peaceful outside?”

“The war isn’t over yet. Will they draft people again?”

Questions were fired one after another.

Shopkeeper Xu and the others exchanged glances, unsure how to answer. First, the notices didn’t specify the exact duration of the exemptions, and second, the previous emperor of the Da Qian Dynasty often had beautifully written decrees but lacked effective implementation.

He looked at Chen Dashan and the others who had been outside and asked, “What was your impression of this trip?”

The others who had stayed in the mountains hadn’t seen much of the outside, so it was finally Chen Dashan who answered, “The countryside was deserted, and we didn’t have much contact with the city. However, the man who helped us with buying salt seemed quite confident that this Da Qi emperor could also defeat the Chen Kingdom.”

Shopkeeper Xu then looked at Shen Lie and Sang Luo. “What do you think?”

Shen Lie instinctively looked at Sang Luo. Sang Luo lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then said, “I think you should go out and investigate further. This emperor is taking substantial measures; it seems like policies aimed at stabilizing and pacifying the people. Also, look at this.”

She placed the notice she was holding on the stone table and lightly pointed to a line of text, saying, “It orders the provinces to recommend scholars who are proficient in classical studies, to select scholars through examinations… and to establish schools in provinces, counties, and villages.”

Knowing the history of her own time, Sang Luo understood what this meant. The monarchy was attempting to challenge the power of the gentry and introduce a third party into the resources traditionally controlled by the gentry.

Weak emperors wouldn’t dare or be able to undertake such actions, but this Da Qi emperor, Sang Luo’s gaze fell on the small words at the end of the notice: “In the third year of Wuding, August 19.”

The country had only been established for three years. If what Shopkeeper Xu learned last year was true—that this emperor held military power, was iron-fisted, and now advocated for agriculture and education—then Sang Luo felt that perhaps this was truly the time for them to leave the mountains and return to the fields.

The others didn’t fully understand Sang Luo’s words, but the few who had studied diligently sensed that their opportunity might indeed be approaching when they saw the edict in Sang Luo’s hands.

The older ones, like Wei Qinghe, and those more mature, like Wang Yunzheng, considered the implications more deeply. Younger ones, like Shen An and Xu Wenbo, were more excited. After reading the edict, they looked at Sang Luo with surprise and excitement, asking, “Sister-in-law, is the new government going to establish schools?”

Sang Luo smiled and nodded, “Yes, not just establishing schools. This means commoners’ children will also have the opportunity to make a living through education.”

Families with children in school were immediately excited. Lu Erlang approached eagerly, carefully holding up the edict, and called Shen An with visible excitement, “Xiao An, come and read this for your uncle.”

Old Man Chen, Old Man Lu, Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Lu, and Gan Shi, along with others who barely understood, nodded and urged, “Yes, yes, Xiao An, read it to us.”

Shen An wasn’t daunted at all. He smiled and picked up the edict, reading it word by word. His youthful voice was clear and articulate, and as he read, the elegance of the emperor’s decree came through. Even though Mrs. Chen and the others only understood part of it, they still enjoyed the beautiful sound of his reading, not daring to interrupt. They waited until Shen An finished before asking him to explain what it meant.

While the group was lively and bustling, Wang Yunzheng was still visibly excited after listening to the reading. He turned to Shopkeeper Xu and said, “Uncle, perhaps you should consider reaching out to your old friends to learn more about the situation outside.”

With the establishment of state schools and the selection of scholars through examinations, how could he not be thrilled after years of study?

Shen Lie also looked at Sang Luo and said, “Should I accompany Shopkeeper Xu to check things out?”

Shen Lie hadn’t thought too much about it. He enjoyed reading, primarily because it allowed him to spend time with Sang Luo, but he hadn’t considered it deeply beyond that. What he was more concerned about now was providing a stable and happy life for Sang Luo. This was their third autumn living in the mountains, and if the situation outside was indeed stabilizing, the options available if they went out now would be much greater.