Chapter 275: Moving People
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Your family has quite a lot of kids.” Bowen curiously sized them up as he asked, “Aren’t you cold dressed like this outside?”
Zhang Wu smiled bitterly. “These are all the clothes we have.”
How could they not be cold? If Mu Yangling hadn’t woken them up, they might have already become corpses.
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu were from the village where they stayed earlier. Their parents had died when they were very young. First, Zhang Wu’s parents passed away when he was six years old, after which he was raised by his uncle, Zhang Liu’s father. However, in just three years, Zhang Liu’s father died when he went out to do hard labor. Zhang Liu’s mother raised them for two years before committing suicide due to hardship when Zhang Liu was nine years old.
Therefore, the two brothers had always relied on each other. The villagers had helped them before, and they had also gone to the county to beg. They would pick up scraps during the autumn harvest and beg for a bowl of rice when they worked for others in the fields in spring. The two of them had managed to survive until today by living this way.
However, life was especially difficult this year. First, there was the drought in early summer. The grains harvested in the fields was not even enough to pay taxes, so the villagers naturally did not have any excess rations to support them.
The alms they received in the city also became less and less. On the day Mu Yangling entered the village, they had been starving and digging up the undead grass stems to eat.
Their faces were sallow. The two of them were thin and weak, but they looked old. It was all because of years of hard labor. Actually, Zhang Wu was only 18 years old this year, and Zhang Liu was only 16 years old. In Mu Yangling’s previous life, they would merely be two high school students. Yet, they had already experienced too much.
They only wanted to steal Mu Yangling’s sheep because they truly were at their wit’s end this time.
However, after watching for a day and a night, they still lacked the guts to make a move. They could not get over the hurdle in their hearts.
Zhang Wu had said that the two of them had been helped by many people along the way as they grew up. Although they didn’t know much, they knew right from wrong. Back then, when he was squatting behind the tree and his consciousness became more and more blurry, he’d felt that perhaps dying wasn’t so bad. At the very least, he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass his parents, uncle, and aunt.
When Zhang Wu said this, Zhang Liu lowered his head in shame. It was because he couldn’t stand the hunger that his cousin wanted to steal Mu Yangling’s sheep.
“Then why are you following us now?” Mu Yangling crossed her arms and looked down at them. “I remember giving you five taels of silver. If you use it sparingly, you should be fine when spring arrives soon.”
Face reddened with shame, Zhang Wu took out the piece of silver that was still warm from his body and stuffed it into Mu Yangling’s hand. He said uneasily, “I-I’m sorry.”
With that, he pulled his younger brother to bow to Mu Yangling and turned to run.
“Stop right there!” Mu Yangling called out to them. She frowned as she looked at their feet, which were only clad in straw sandals. She felt cold for them.
Mu Yangling could not sit back and do nothing. If the two of them ran away like this, they would freeze to death in less than three days even if they did not starve to death.
She handed the silver back and said with a relaxed expression, “Take it. Go to the city and find something to do. You’re all grown up. It shouldn’t be a problem for you to support yourselves.”
Zhang Wu hesitated for a moment before glancing at his brother. In the end, he still took the silver. He bowed gratefully to Mu Yangling and said with reddened eyes, “I’ll use this money to buy tools for forest conversion. I’ll definitely convert two acres of land before spring. At that time, we’ll have the money to buy seeds and won’t starve to death in winter. Miss Mu, don’t worry. We’re strong and will return the money to you one day. But where can I find you when I have the money?”
“If you use money to buy tools and seeds, what will you eat and wear?” Mu Yangling said angrily, “This is for you to live. Since you live so close to the county, can’t you find work in the city? With your limbs intact, there’s plenty of work that you can do.”
If they planned to farm land converted from forestland, Mu Yangling felt that before they could start farming, they would have already started to starve to death.
“How can it be that simple?” Zhang Liu shouted, “Competition is tough for people who wish to become apprentices. In order to snatch a spot as an apprentice or assistant shopkeeper, People make use of connections and bribes. We don’t have anything, and everyone in Three Springs County knows that we’re beggars. No one will use us.”
Zhang Liu’s eyes were filled with tears as he said, “Two years ago, my older brother helped out at the grain store, helping them carry grains and sweep the floor. In short, he fought to do all kinds of dirty and tiring work. He just wanted to be an apprentice. He didn’t ask to be paid. He just asked for three meals a day, so that he could eventually have a way out.”
“But after four months of carrying grains and doing all sorts of dirty and tiring work, all he got was a black bun every day and nothing else. My brother merely probed if he could become an apprentice, and they chased him out and even beat him up. Nobody would even hire him to do manual labor. We only thought of stealing because we really have no way out. In my opinion, it’s better to farm. All we need to do is serve the land. It won’t scold us, hit us, or despise us. Brother, don’t you think so?”
Zhang Wu nodded repeatedly and looked at Mu Yangling eagerly. He tightened his grip on the silver in his hand, afraid that Mu Yangling would take it back.
Mu Yangling held her forehead with a headache. After looking up at the time, she waved her hand. “Alright, let’s talk about this later. Coincidentally, I need someone’s help here. The two of you can follow me for now.”
Zhang Wu’s eyes lit up. He pulled Zhang Liu to kneel on the ground and kowtowed to Mu Yangling and the others three times. “Young Misses and Young Master, don’t worry. We’ll definitely work hard.”
Before Mu Yangling could stop them, she grabbed the back of their collars and picked them up. “Alright, stop kneeling. Also, don’t call our Young Miss and Young Master. Just call me Miss Mu. Our family doesn’t raise servants.”
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu looked at Mu Yangling in a daze. “Isn’t Miss Mu going to take us in?”
Mu Yangling shook her head repeatedly. “You’re all children of good families. It’s not as if you sold yourselves away previously. What right do I have to buy your indenture? Alright, help me herd the sheep on the way.”
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu opened their mouths. Zhang Wu really wanted to tell Mu Yangling that they actually wanted to sell themselves away, but rich families wouldn’t take them in. Everyone in Three Springs County knew that the two of them were beggars, so they associated things like stealing and fighting with them. That was even though they had never done anything bad since they were young. Well, except for wanting to steal Miss Mu’s sheep.
However, if they did not sell themselves to the rich families to be servants, they could only sell themselves to the mines. That kind of lifestyle was worse off than being a beggar or dying.
However, seeing that Miss Mu had already herded the flock of sheep to the main road, the two of them wisely did not explain and followed behind to help herd the sheep.
Bowen and Xiuhong climbed into the carriage and sat down, feeling a little drowsy.
“Have you guys been to Xingyuan Prefecture before?” Mu Yangling asked as she walked behind.
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu shook their heads repeatedly. “We’ve never left Three Springs County.”
Mu Yangling didn’t quite understand this. “Xingyuan Prefecture isn’t far from Three Springs County. It’s only a day’s walk. If you pack up and go to Xingyuan Prefecture from here, who will know who you are there? You’ll slowly find a way out.”
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu fell silent. Like most people, they feel fear and aversion to unfamiliar places. Most people in Three Springs County had never been to Xingyuan Prefecture, so they naturally did not have such thoughts.
Mu Yangling could only remain silent. It was said that humans had great ability to adapt. Why couldn’t these two adapt to circumstances?