The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Pan Lin genuinely had no idea about his family situation.

He started robbing as soon as he was old enough to understand things—stealing money, food, and women. He would take priority over the women he had taken, and then that was the end of it.

Pan Lin did only two things in his life: rob and enjoy, and then rob again. He didn't care how the women he robbed and abused fared, whether they were pregnant, how they lived after becoming pregnant, or how they raised their children.

So when he heard that a son named Pan Tao was requesting an audience, he was visibly distracted.

He genuinely doesn't remember.

Pan Ren also stood there stunned for a long time before saying, "I remember now, isn't it the seventh brother who was kidnapped by the He family? Two years ago, we went to Shanyin to rob, but the He family received the news in advance and set up an ambush. We couldn't beat them and ran away, and the seventh brother was left behind."

Pan Lin frowned and said, "Now that you mention it, I remember, but wasn't Seventh Brother captured by the He family? How come he suddenly came back? Could he be a spy sent by the He family?"

Pan Lin is no naive young man just entering society; now he trusts no one but himself, not even his own son.

These days, even your own son isn't trustworthy. Besides, Pan Tao has been missing for two years. It's been so long that he's almost forgotten he even has a son like Pan Tao. I bet Pan Tao has almost forgotten he even has a father like him.

Therefore, Pan Lin absolutely refused to believe that Pan Tao had come to visit his father.

Besides, Pan Tao was a prisoner of war captured alive by the He family, and his status was equivalent to that of a slave. The Jiangdong gentry had very strict control over slaves, so how could they possibly give a slave a chance to escape?

Unless it is returned voluntarily.

In conclusion, Pan Tao's return is definitely not to rekindle their father-son bond, but to take his life.

Pan Ren laughed and said, "Whether they are spies sent by the He family or not, we'll know if we just call them in and ask them."

Pan Lin nodded and said, "Bring Lao Qi in."

Even if it's a matter of life and death, you have to see him first. He's back now, you can't just hide from him, can you? What would that look like?

Wang Tao quickly carried a shovel and hoe, along with a saw, into the room. He bowed to Pan Lin and Pan Ren and said, "Father, elder brother, I'm back."

Pan Lin stared at Wang Tao for a long time before asking, "How did you get back? Did the He family suddenly take pity on you and let you go?"

No one knows a father better than his son.

Wang Tao knew what kind of person his father was and how paranoid he was, so he quickly said, "No, I ran away from the Han Army Steel Plant. When I came back, I also took a few farm tools from the steel plant."

Pan Lin glanced at the farm tools on his shoulder but ignored them, and continued to ask, "Weren't you captured by the He family? How come you're in the Han army? Which Han army, Liu Bei's or Sun Quan's?"

The Han Dynasty is not yet over. To these mountain bandits, the Wei army, the Han army, and the Wu army all belong to the Han army, and there is no difference.

Wang Tao continued, "It's like this: after I was captured by the He family, I was given to Young Master Zhou Xun as a wedding gift. Some time ago, Young Master Zhou Xun led us to attack Guan Xing, and then Young Master Zhou Xun and I were captured by General Guan Xing."

"After that, General Guan Xing built a steel plant in Wushang. I was assigned to work in the plant. Actually, working in the steel plant was pretty good, but I missed my sister. Father, how is my sister?"

You have to be strategic when dealing with your father. If you just say you came back because you missed him, Pan Lin definitely won't believe you.

If you don't even believe it yourself, how can you believe this old thief?

Therefore, you can't just play the emotional card directly; you have to take a roundabout approach from other angles.

“This…” Pan Lin scratched his beard, hesitatingly saying, “It should be, probably, pretty good, right?”

He has so many daughters, who knows which one Wang Tao is talking about?

Wang Tao rolled his eyes and said, "My sister's name is Pan Rong, and she's the fifth child in her family."

Pan Lin slapped his thigh and laughed, "You mean Rongrong? I married her off to the young chief of Guangtong Village last year. I even went to Guangtong Village for her full-month celebration last month. Do you want to go and see your great-nephew?"

There were also intermarriages among the various villages of the Yue people. As the chieftain of the Yue people, Pan Lin's daughter naturally had to marry into a nearby village.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tao said, "Never mind, I'm relieved that my sister is alright. Father and brother, you can continue. I'm going back to work; otherwise, my salary will be docked."

What the heck? Deducting my salary?

The word "salary" was a completely new concept to these bandits.

Seeing Wang Tao really turn and leave, Pan Ren said anxiously, "Wait, didn't you sneak out? Why are you going back? Aren't you afraid of getting your legs broken?"

When did the Han army become so merciful to prisoners of war? They only deducted wages for those who escaped.

Wang Tao proudly said, "I am now a subordinate of the King of Hanzhong. Unlike Sun Quan and Cao Cao, we value humane management."

Pan Lin: "..."

It's only been a few years, how come there are so many new terms? Are all the armies of the King of Hanzhong so bizarre?

Wang Tao put down the hoe on his shoulder and threw down the saw in his hand, saying, "Father, please take these farm tools to my sister. Consider it a gift from me to my nephew. Goodbye, Father."

Pan Lin was at a loss for words, so he quickly reached out and said, "Wait a minute, why are you in such a hurry to go back to your own home? At least have a meal and chat."

He jumped over the table and ran to the farm tools. He hooked the hoe with his toe, swung it a few times to test its feel, and then swung his arm and smashed it hard against the ground.

With a loud thud, a hole the size of a palm was dug in the ground, making Pan Lin's eyes light up as he exclaimed, "This hoe is incredibly sharp!"

It's worth noting that the floor of the room was specially compacted, and its hardness is almost comparable to that of stone.

If you can dig a palm's depth into such hard ground, imagine how hard it would be in soft farmland?

Even bandits like them farmed, only coming down from the mountains to rob during the off-season or autumn harvest. Therefore, Pan Lin was also a farmer, and his love for farm tools was no less than his love for weapons. Such sharp farm tools were just what he wanted.

If a mountain stronghold had thousands of such hoes, why would they bother with robbery? They could just cultivate the wasteland and feed themselves.

Thinking this, Pan Lin tossed the hoe to Pan Ren, hooked the shovel, and skillfully used it to pry open a small pit in the newly dug hole.

Finally, Pan Lin turned his attention to the woodworking saw, picked it up, strode forward, stepped onto the table with his left foot, and then bent down to pull the saw teeth against the edge of the table.

As sawdust flew everywhere, a two-centimeter saw mark appeared on the originally flat tabletop, and it quickly extended.

Even Pan Ren couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up, stepped forward, and elbowed Pan Lin aside, saying arrogantly, "Father, step aside, I'll handle this."

After saying that, he grabbed the saw handle and started pulling. In less than a quarter of an hour, the table, which was only a foot and a half wide, was sawed in half. The father and son each grabbed half of the cut surface to examine it. Looking at the even saw marks on the cut surface, which resembled a work of art, they exclaimed in surprise.

Pan Ren exclaimed in shock, "Dad, this is so sharp! With this thing in hand, chopping wood will be so much easier!"

“Who says otherwise?” Pan Lin excitedly grabbed the saw and kissed it twice before turning around and hugging Wang Tao’s neck, laughing, “Seventh brother, tell your father about your steel mill, is it full of these things? How many exactly?”

Farm tools are productivity, and farmers have no resistance to them.

Wang Tao shook his head and said, "I can't say. The steel plant's secrets cannot be revealed."

Pan Lin: "..."

I'm your father, and you're telling me this?

People are inherently wicked. If you confess voluntarily, they'll suspect there might be a trap involved, wondering if your eagerness stems from ulterior motives.

But if you refuse, he will beg you desperately out of fear of losing you.

Pan Lin was like that; seeing that Wang Tao wouldn't speak, he immediately became upset and said unhappily, "What kind of talk is this? We're father and son, can't you tell the difference between close and distant relatives? Speak up, speak up!"

Wang Tao shook his head again.

Pan Lin was furious and was about to reprimand him with a dark face when the sentry came in again and bowed, saying, "Commander, young marshal, two guests have arrived from outside the mountain. They say they are Wu generals Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke, and they have important matters to discuss with you, Commander."