You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 2 There is a slack season in the village

'Po Han Wu' chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

"It's all because those thieves from Xingzibao were too ruthless. Guan Pu showed no mercy. The money in my hands didn't even last overnight before it all went into the pockets of those murderers."

Guanpu is gambling. Although it was explicitly prohibited in the Song Dynasty, it was very popular among the common people. From high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone liked to play a few rounds.

He was a gambler, a womanizer, and often got things for free.

In addition, there's the nickname "Po Han Wu".

Chen Shao has basically confirmed that this man is very likely Han Shizhong.

Liu Guanglie laughed and punched him lightly, then told the maid to bring him a seat.

“This is my cousin Chen Shao. He bought the credit you earned at Tianjiang Mountain.”

“Brother Shao, this is Han Shizhong, everyone calls him Han Wu the scoundrel. He's the soldier I told you about who was the first to behead someone.”

Chen Shao felt somewhat ashamed, realizing that his military achievements were indeed bought from him.

"So it's Brother Han. I've heard so much about you."

Han Shizhong didn't care at all and tore off a chicken leg to chew on.

Seeing Chen Shao's strange expression, he laughed and said, "Young man, don't be so formal. This credit is yours. At least you'll get some money. It's better than letting that scoundrel surnamed Xin take it."

Liu Guanglie laughed and said, "That's true. If my family didn't take credit for this, I'm afraid you wouldn't even see a single penny of Han Wu's contribution."

Han Shizhong chuckled twice and continued eating.

His mouth was covered in oil from eating, and he picked up the wine jug on the table and drank from it, not caring who had used it.

Li Guijie was somewhat disgusted and quietly left, leaving only the three of them to continue drinking.

Chen Shao was interested in making friends with them, but he soon realized something was wrong.

Despite Han Shizhong's seemingly open-minded words and unreserved attitude towards food and drink, there was a subtle sense of detachment in his tone and expression.

After thinking about it carefully, Chen Shao roughly figured out what he was thinking. Although Liu Guanglie, a son of a military family, was generous, he helped him pay off his debts.

However, he openly discussed the matter of falsely claiming military merits and even mocked him with words.

Clearly, these sons of military families did not take the lower-ranking soldiers seriously. Even someone as fierce as Han Shizhong, who was always the first to charge into battle, slaying enemy generals and capturing flags, could not bridge the gap between military families and ordinary soldiers.

Han Shizhong has suffered too many losses, so he is either disheartened or harbors resentment.

After drinking for a while, Liu Guanglie, unable to hold his liquor, slumped over the table.

Li Guijie helped him into the bedroom.

Chen Shao and Han Shizhong also got up and left together.

Once outside, Chen Shao, seeing no one around, looked at Han Shizhong, who reeked of alcohol, and took out his money pouch from his waist. "Brother Han, I feel really bad about taking credit for the military merits this time. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know."

Han Shizhong gripped the money pouch tightly and loudly refused, saying, "Brother, take it back quickly! We've already paid! What are you doing?"

Chen Shao smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, turned, mounted his horse, and left.

He actually had quite a bit of money in his purse, and this time he planned to ask Liu Guanglie for help so that his cousin could find a way out for him.

Unexpectedly, the original owner's aunt had already made a move.

Chen Shao certainly didn't expect this small favor to win over someone like Han Shizhong, but at least it would lessen his resentment at Han Shizhong for taking credit for his military achievements.

This guy is destined for great things, so leaving a good impression is never a bad thing.

Holding the money pouch, Han Shizhong looked at his retreating figure with some surprise. His eyes flickered, and then he spat with a smile before turning around and disappearing into the neighboring courtyard.

Along the country lanes, a refreshing evening breeze blew through the fields, where harvested brown soil and yellow-green wild grasses mingled, and wisps of white smoke rose from the furrows, indicating that someone was burning straw.

His village was built along the river, facing north and south, with hillsides on both sides and a Peach Blossom Stream flowing through the village. The water was calm, shallow and clear.

Farmers cultivated fields on both banks of the river and diverted water for irrigation. In their spare time, some would cast nets to catch fish, others would use fishing rods, and still others would set up bamboo cages with bait inside to lure fish and shrimp into the nets.

When the farmhands saw him return, they worked even harder, even though there was hardly any work left to do.

Chen Shao rode his horse along the path between the fields, as if inspecting his own small plot of land.

All you can hear is the gurgling of the water, and all you can see is the shimmering light on the surface.

Some women who were stealing wild vegetables would quickly lower their heads and dart away when they saw him, but Chen Shao didn't care.

In these difficult times, the wild vegetables these people steal from their fields might just be the life-saving food for their families.

Actually, he just wanted to sober up and practice his riding skills.

The Chen family's land was all earned by the original owner's father and his generation through hard work and battles on the battlefield.

Logically speaking, with these land properties, even without any ambition, he could have become a wealthy country gentleman.

Relying on his knowledge from his previous life, he could plagiarize a few poems, accumulate some fame and fortune, and then get married and have children. It sounds pretty good.

Unfortunately, this was the Northern Song Dynasty, and Zhao Ji was the emperor.

Although it is unknown how many more years until the Jingkang Incident, Tong Guan has been in charge of the Northwest for so long, so it is estimated that his days are numbered.

Tong Guan was a scoundrel, ambitious but incompetent, single-mindedly trying to prove that he, as a eunuch, was more manly than any man with a penis.

He acts all high and mighty on ordinary days, but when faced with the truly formidable Jin soldiers, he immediately cowers. With the Northwest in this eunuch's hands, he and Zhao Ji will eventually wipe out the Western Army.

The sky gradually darkened.

The farmhands packed up their tools and prepared to go home; at this time, most people went to sleep as soon as it got dark.

Firstly, they didn't have money to buy oil for lamps, let alone candles; secondly, they wanted to conserve their energy, since they only ate two meals a day.

Upon seeing Chen Shao approach, everyone straightened up and greeted him from horseback.

Chen Shaoyue dismounted and walked with them into the village surrounded by high rammed earth walls.

These farmhands were generally older; in the Northwest, the young and strong had to join the army.

These are all people who survived on the battlefield.

Chen Shao remained calm and casually steered the conversation towards military achievements.

"I have a friend who scaled the city walls at night on the front lines, beheaded two enemy soldiers, and cut down the city's protective felt. What kind of military officer do you think someone with such achievements could get?"

An old farmhand whispered, "It's hard to say. Does the master's friend have connections?"

Chen Shao scratched his head, speechless.

Another servant said, "If you have connections, you can become a commander or a military officer by virtue of such military achievements. If you don't have connections, you can still become a junior officer of the eighth or ninth rank by spending money."

"If you have neither connections nor are willing to spend money, then you'll most likely have your military merits stolen and end up with nothing."

They were all archers among the local militia, and they knew this kind of thing inside and out. They spoke about it without missing a single detail. Wasn't Han Shizhong the third type?

Chen Shao remained silent, pondering to himself which category he belonged to.

My aunt was a concubine of the chief steward of Fuyan Road.

You say she has connections, but she's a concubine; you say she doesn't, but she's from the Liu family.
In Chen Shao's memory, this aunt was doing quite well in the Liu family.

Should we subtly remind her not to forget to send a gift to that old scoundrel Tong Guan?
Chen Shao immediately shook his head, guessing that his aunt had thought things through more thoroughly than he had.

Just as everyone was about to leave, a cry for help, mixed with sobs, suddenly came from the nearby thatched hut.

The group quickly gathered around and saw Dong, a woman from the village, sitting on a pile of dry hay, wiping tears from her face.

She was holding a very burly, fat boy in her arms. The boy was short and stocky, and his body was like a millstone.

The boy's face was bluish-purple, like an eggplant, and he was curled up in Dong's arms like a shrimp.

His neck, tilted back, bulged with menacing blue veins, and his eyes rolled back, making him look like a dead fish.

Chen Shao immediately saw what was going on. He stepped forward, grabbed the chubby boy, put three fingers under his sternum, and placed his left fist against the indentation.

The chubby boy's back was pressed tightly against his chest, and the vibration of his spine could be clearly felt. Then Chen Shao pushed upwards with his right arm, and the boy suddenly spat out a whole date with a muffled sound.

After being rescued, he lay on the ground, panting heavily.

When the people around him saw that he was alright, they all started joking and teasing him again.

"Madam Dong, has Dong Dahu gone to steal dates again?"

The dates on the ground were right there; there was no way to deny it. Dong Shi secretly glanced at Chen Shao, and seeing that he didn't say anything to blame her, she became a little bolder. She put her hands on her hips and scolded, "High school sophomore, even the master didn't say anything, so you think you're so great!"

With tears still glistening in her eyes, she was unexpected to turn on people and start cursing so quickly; she was indeed a bit shrewish.

“We’re all starving and emaciated, but your son is as fat as a ball, and who knows how much he’s secretly stolen from the master.”

"You're talking nonsense!" Dong Shi was afraid that Chen Shaoxin would believe her, so she quickly cursed, "You black-hearted, rotten scoundrel, your withered wife has no milk, and your son is a rat-headed wretch, and you still want to frame me! May lightning strike your stove!"

After saying that, he proudly puffed out his chest.

Indeed.
Very capable.

Upon hearing this, Madam Gao, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, immediately became indignant and rolled up her sleeves, ready to scratch her.

Having recovered, Dong Dahu saw his mother fighting with someone and ran over to help.

As soon as he arrived, everyone around him scattered. This simpleton was clumsy and slow-witted, but he was incredibly strong.

Sometimes when the oxen in the village got sick, we'd let him pull the sled, and he'd plow the fields faster than the oxen.

Chen Shao, with a stern face, shouted, "Have you made enough of a scene?!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Dong quickly grabbed Dong Dahu and told him to come and kowtow to Chen Shao.

Fearing that Chen Shao would pursue the matter of her and her son stealing fruit, she knelt down even faster than her son, her fierce and domineering demeanor vanished, and she wiped away her tears with a sob.

“Master, my husband Dahu was so hungry that he picked up a few dates from the ground in the yard.”

Dong Dahu, bewildered, also knelt down, staring blankly at his mother. "Mother, didn't you tell me to pick the dates? Why did you say you picked them up from the ground?"

The people around burst into laughter again. Feeling embarrassed, Mrs. Dong raised her hand and slapped her son.

Dong Dahu looked aggrieved. Although he was honest and straightforward, he was extremely filial and didn't dare to talk back even after being slapped.

Chen Shao couldn't help but chuckle. He glanced at the wooden stake that Dong Dahu had just broken with a punch and said, "Everyone, disperse. There's not much work to do in the fields right now. Tomorrow I'll invite a martial arts instructor to the manor to teach some spear and staff techniques. Anyone who's free can come and learn."

(End of this chapter)