It Hit Off at Once

Pan Yun said, "Cai Sheng definitely won't be County Magistrate anymore, but no one knows what the next County Magistrate will be like. They probably won't settle scores after the autumn, but I'm guarding against the yamen finding excuses to trouble you.

"Among you, at least four hundred are on their list. But they surely don't know who the remaining thousand-plus are. Still, just in case, tell Song Dalin too. Make sure everyone understands: when you go back, behave yourselves and rein in your tempers. Don't go throwing your weight around and fighting viciously, only to drag your brothers down in the end."

Wang Xiaojing agreed, then asked, "What about the brothers whose names are on the list?"

Pan Yun said, "Either lie low and pray that Heaven sends you two good County Magistrates in a row. Given time, everything will fade; after five or six years, it will all be over. Or you move away, to another place."

Wang Xiaojing said, "Neither is realistic."

"The last way is for you people who rebelled to leave. Don't go home; act as though you're dead. After enough time passes, they'll naturally see you as scattered apart, no longer one family."

Wang Xiaojing immediately said, "We want to leave too!"

Pan Yun raised a brow.

Wang Xiaojing leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Junior Martial Uncle, the brothers only went to work in the mines to earn money. There isn't enough land at home to farm, and even if we go back, we'll have to find other work."

Wang Xiaojing's family had once counted as rich peasants, but they did not own much land either. They kept one ox, and his grandpa, grandma, and parents could all work the fields. If they squeezed things a little, they could free up two laborers.