All races revere me as the Heavenly Emperor, solely because of my nine disciples!

"Hahaha... The Zhou family appreciates everyone's kindness!"

"Firstly, it's still unknown whether the news is true!"

"And now, if this matter is reported to the county magistrate, he will certainly not remain indifferent. Don't worry, those thieves won't amount to anything!"

"My Zhou family will handle this matter ourselves, so there's no need to trouble you all!"

Uncle Fu laughed heartily, cupped his hands in greeting to everyone, but showed no intention of asking for their help.

"In that case, we will not disturb you any longer!"

"With so many people, it's inevitable that some will have inappropriate thoughts. Let's leave first. Uncle Fu, please feel free to call us if you need anything!"

Upon hearing this, everyone said goodbye without further ado and left.

Clearly, these leaders also knew that human nature is unpredictable.

The Zhou Family Tulou is right in front of us. If anyone decides not to alter it, it will indeed be troublesome. It's best to leave first.

"Thank you everyone, please take care!"

Uncle Fu clasped his hands in thanks and bowed again.

Once everyone had gone far away, Uncle Fu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The anxiety that had been building up quickly subsided and settled back into my stomach.

"Uncle Fu, the villagers are so kind, why do you refuse and not ask them for help?"

"Although it was dark and I couldn't see clearly, I estimate that there were at least three or four thousand people just now. All the able-bodied men from within a hundred miles had arrived."

"With so many people, wouldn't it be better to scare away those bandits?"

At this moment, Zhou Baoyu finally spoke, looking at Uncle Fu with some confusion.

"Oh, you child!"

"My dear young master, how can you be so naive?"

"How can you be sure they're not with Liu Dadu and his gang?"

"If we invite them for help at this time, shouldn't we make it easy for them and invite them in for a meal?"

"What if they really have malicious intentions? What will happen to our lives?"

Lai Fu had a headache and looked at Zhou Baoyu, giving him a lecture.

"But it's obvious they're not all in cahoots. Otherwise, with so many people, they could have easily fought their way in, so why would they have left?"

Do you think they have bad intentions?

Zhou Baoyu said with some dissatisfaction.

"It's best if you don't have bad intentions, and it's even better if you leave obediently!"

"But what if?"

"Young master, oh young master, my dear young master!"

"Remember this saying: 'Do good deeds and don't worry about the future' is true. But people's hearts are unpredictable; it's better to be safe than sorry!"

"You wanted to do good deeds, and I didn't stop you, did I?"

"Even if you're a spendthrift, I accept it despite my reluctance?"

"Why? Because you'll at least gain some reputation, and everyone will trust you, so it's not a complete loss!"

"But you must understand one thing: before doing good deeds, you must protect yourself first!"

"It's better to overthink things than to overestimate the selfishness and self-interest in people's hearts. Not everyone is as innocent, kind, and righteous as you!"

Uncle Fu had a stern expression and kept patting Zhou Baoyu's chest, hoping that he would take his words to heart.

After hearing his words, Zhou Baoyu fell silent.

Although he didn't have the same complicated thoughts as Uncle Fu, he had to admit that Uncle Fu was right.

After all, when people are starving, they're capable of anything. Not everyone is as tolerant as he is.

"But Uncle Fu, what should we do if this news is true?"

After a long while, seeing Uncle Fu turn and leave, Zhou Baoyu quickly followed.

"What else can we do but hand it over to the authorities?"

"You all stay home and keep watch. I'm going out right now to go to the government office and find the county magistrate to ask him to mediate and help!"

Uncle Fu waved his hand and, unable to wait any longer, left the Tulou that very night, heading straight for the county town.

This time, Uncle Fu dared not take a detour. Instead, he went first to a valley and, when he came out, he was already riding a fast horse.

When he arrived in the county town, it was still dark.

There was no curfew in the county town. Uncle Fu arrived at the county magistrate's residence with a series of knocks, which alerted the magistrate.

"what?"

"Song Sichen has some nerve. Does he want to be ungrateful?"

"Back then, when his mother was seriously ill, it was Brother Zhou who invited a doctor and spent a lot of money to cure her!"

"Now look what's happened. He committed a crime himself, causing his mother's death. It's only been a few years, and he's already forgotten all that? He even dared to rob Brother Zhou's goods?"

Upon hearing Uncle Fu's report, Magistrate Qin Min flew into a rage!

"Master Qin, my master's life depends on you. Do you think you could do something to get the nearby counties to send troops to escort this batch of grain?"

"This concerns the life-saving food supplies for tens of thousands of people!"

Uncle Fu frowned and pleaded.

"Hehehe... Uncle Fu, you overestimate me!"

"Still trying to negotiate and get some troops from the nearby counties? I can't even guarantee that Dingyuan County will send troops!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Min smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with deep worry!

"What do you mean?"

"Do they intend to take advantage of the chaos?"

Uncle Fu immediately became alert.

Although he already had his own ideas, he still couldn't help but feel nervous when he heard Qin Min's words.

"Uncle Fu, you're an old hand at this, surely you know what 'three years in Qingzhou Prefecture, ten thousand taels of silver' means?"

"In recent years, there have been frequent disasters in various places, so there have been few opportunities to make money!"

"Right now, those officers and soldiers are all starving, and they've become so lazy!"

"With such a major event happening so suddenly, and so much food involved, do you expect them to give it away for nothing?"

Qin Min looked helplessly at Uncle Fu and said something realistic and hurtful.

"But Master Qin, my Zhou family did this all for the sake of the people!"

"Not to mention Dingyuan County, which of the surrounding counties isn't relying on the Zhou family's grain to survive?"

"Is there really no reason or logic to it right now?"

Uncle Fu couldn't help but clench his fists and grit his teeth.

"Hehehe... Uncle Fu, how can you be so naive?"

"Your Zhou family does good deeds, what does that have to do with them?"

"If this batch of grain falls into the hands of bandits, they can seize it back in one fell swoop, and then divide it however they want, with all the benefits in their hands!"

"But if they intervene and protect it, even if they get something in the end, it will just be shared equally among all the people. They won't have enough to eat, and they won't get any real benefit!"

"Try to reason with them!"

"We're all seasoned veterans. Do you think profit is more important, or reason and emotion?"

Qin Min sneered. His words seemed to be aimed at Uncle Fu, but his eyes kept flashing as he spoke.

Clearly, he was also trying to find a solution.

However, this method is by no means easy to come up with.

"Are we just supposed to let them take advantage of us?"

Uncle Fu gritted his teeth and said.

"Forget it, I can't control the other counties. I'll just notify them and let them do whatever they want!"

"But leave this county to me!"

"If County Lieutenant Zhang Zhao dares to speak to me, don't blame me for turning my back on him!"

"I have my own ways of dealing with him!"

"As for you, don't you have some friends in the martial arts world? Let's see how many we can get. Let's do our best to protect this batch of grain!"

With a soft sigh, Qin Min patted Uncle Fu on the shoulder and said solemnly.

"But in this county, there are only about two hundred soldiers, which is far from enough!"

Uncle Fu couldn't help but say.

"Then you think of a solution?"

Qin Min shrugged.

Uncle Fu was speechless for a moment. He knew that Qin Min was telling the truth. He had truly tried his best.

But right now, are there any other options we can think of?

Even if he could contact a few friends in the martial arts world, how many people could he gather?

"Alright, Master Qin, this old servant will take his leave now!"

Taking a deep breath, Uncle Fu didn't have time to bother him any longer. He said goodbye and left immediately!