Zhao Cheng patted Niu Ergui on the shoulder. "Not enough. Nowhere near enough."
Niu Ergui's bamboo-pole-thin frame trembled under the pats. "No, come on, Brother Tie! Brother Tie, at least name your price!"
Zhao Cheng raised an eyebrow, regret showing on his heroic face. "That's a family heirloom. I'm not selling it."
Niu Ergui grew anxious. "Don't be like that, Brother Tie. We can talk about the price. Just name it."
Zhao Cheng thought it over, looking troubled. "Well, I really can't bear to part with it. But you've been my friend since we were little. Unless... you offer enough to make my heart leap and leave me unable to refuse."
Niu Ergui froze. As he furrowed his brow and pondered, Zhao Cheng had already left.
He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. "If I don't have enough, that's fine! I'll save more!"
Saving money was painful. He had a fortune at his disposal, yet couldn't spend it. But when he thought that one day he might be able to buy that Jade Ring, he was filled with motivation.
Zhao Cheng returned home. After rinsing off by the well, he went inside and changed into another coarse hemp garment.
Then he lifted a plank beneath the bed and took out a Jade Ring.
The ring was round and flat, with a hole in the center. Cloud-and-thunder patterns were carved into its surface. The material was hard yet warm to the touch, with an oily sheen. Its engraved lines were sharp and orderly, giving it a simple yet dignified appearance.
There were a few worn marks on the lower inner edge, likely tiny abrasions from its previous owner wearing it for a long time.
Zhao Cheng gazed at it quietly for a long while. He couldn't shake the feeling that a Jade Ring of this quality shouldn't be here, let alone in his hands. It was utterly out of place in this house, even in this village.
"Mother said this thing had something to do with my birth. Could my deadbeat father have been some noble who wandered here?"
"Maybe. An ordinary person couldn't have afforded something like this."
"But there isn't even a special mark on it. I'd have to be crazy to use this thing to prove my identity. I'll just treat it as a keepsake from Mother."
East of Huaiyang Village, at the Village Head's residence.
Zhao Cheng swaggered inside and called out, "Uncle! Is dinner ready?"
Before the words had even left his mouth, a clatter erupted inside, as if chickens were flying and dogs were leaping.
He faintly heard his aunt complain in exasperation, "Why's that little freeloader here again?"
"Steam another pot. Just steam another pot..." A dark-skinned, bearded, middle-aged man emerged from the house, shaking his head with a helpless sigh. He saw Zhao Cheng's beaming face and sighed again. "You've been coming by a bit often lately. Have you eaten all your family's rice again?"
Nearly all the money and grain he'd earned over the years as Village Head had ended up in this boy's stomach. Forget his wife—his own heart ached over it. Just seeing Zhao Cheng gave him a headache.
"I ran out ages ago." Zhao Cheng stepped inside, smiling at his aunt's long face. He brought out the hand he'd been hiding behind his back, revealing a bloody wild rabbit. "Aunt, I brought meat this time."
The troubled, helpless look on his aunt's face softened a little as she took the rabbit, still holding a pot and bowl. "At least you've got a bit of conscience."
When she carried the rabbit into the kitchen, Zhao Cheng turned to Zhang Yu. "Uncle, I want to enlist!"
Zhang Yu glared at him at once. "Nonsense! You're only fifteen. What do you mean, enlisting?"
Zhao Cheng had already thought it through. "I'm tall enough, and I'm strong enough. I'll become a Great Qin Elite Soldier as soon as I enlist. Just help me get registered. What's the problem?"
Zhang Yu shook his head and glared. "Impossible! Don't even think about it!"
Zhao Cheng glared back. "I can't get enough to eat here!"
The Village Head's eyes bulged even wider. He hopped angrily. "I gave you the best-irrigated fields, and I even stew meat for you now and then. Everything I've earned over the years has gone into your belly, and you say you can't get enough to eat!? Where's your conscience!? Where's your decency!?"
Zhao Cheng replied, "Exactly. I can't get enough to eat, and you can't save anything. If I go eat the army's food, we'll both be better off. What's the problem?"
The Village Head was furious. "You really are..."
He hadn't finished when a bloody piece of rabbit meat flew through the air and landed with a splat on Zhao Cheng's face, cutting off his tirade.
His aunt's fierce, sharp voice rang out.
"You little brat, have you gone stupid from hunger!? We're so close to Nanyang, and we fought Han just two years ago. Another battle could break out at any time. You want to enlist now and get yourself killed!? Your belly might be full by then, but you'll be a corpse that died with a full stomach!"
As she spoke, she carried a huge basin of rice and slammed it onto the table with a bang. "Eat! Your uncle may be useless, but he won't let you starve to death. Eat! If you want to enlist, wait a few more years!"
Zhao Cheng took the meat off his face and watched his aunt hurry back into the kitchen to bustle about. He didn't bring up enlisting again.
He sighed inwardly. It was precisely because they'd fought just a few years ago that he needed to enlist quickly.
As he expected, Han State would soon be forced to cede Nanyang Commandery. Once Qin State took Nanyang, it would have the means to begin its campaign to destroy Han and push east!
If he didn't hurry now, wouldn't he miss a golden opportunity?
After the meal, he approached Zhang Yu alone twice more, but was refused both times.
"When millet ripens, its heavy heads bow low; cut it best before the morning dew dries..."
In the blink of an eye, mid-autumn arrived, and it was time for the harvest.
The fields were golden, their plump millet heads hanging low. Even the autumn wind carried the scent of a bountiful harvest.
Taking advantage of the morning, before the dew had dried and while the grains were less likely to fall, Zhao Cheng busily harvested the millet. He bent over with a sickle in hand, gathering the stalks with his left hand and cutting across their bases with his right. Every small bundle he cut, he tied with thatch or hemp cord, ready to dry.
[You killed one stalk of yellow millet and seized nine days of lifespan!]
[You killed one stalk of yellow millet and seized seven days of lifespan!]
[You killed one stalk of yellow millet and seized eight days of lifespan!]
[...]
Amid this busy work, the ground suddenly began to tremble faintly.
Zhao Cheng straightened and looked into the distance. A black dragon was winding its way from the north along the official road.
His heart tightened. He hurried to higher ground and peered closely.
As they drew nearer, he could make out many details of the Great Qin army. He was stunned. "So this is... the Great Qin Elite."
Hooves thundered like muffled thunder. Black war banners embroidered with golden black birds snapped in the wind. Long spears stood like a forest, Black Armor gleamed coldly, and the faint clink of colliding armor rang out in an unbroken stream.
At the very front, the cavalry rode tall horses, armed and armored. A fierce Killing Intent rolled off them.
Behind them, a disciplined elite force advanced like a moving iron wall, crushing forward. The air was thick with a murderous aura, the iron-and-blood scent left by countless battles on the field.
Only after the Qin Army disappeared beyond the horizon did Zhao Cheng come back to himself.
"They're heading for Nanyang Commandery!"
Zhao Cheng realized what it meant. "Nanyang Commandery, Nanyang Commandery..."
"Qin State is going to take Nanyang. The destruction of Han is imminent. Wartime conscription standards will be relaxed. The conscription order will probably arrive before long!"
Zhao Cheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Just as he had expected, three days later, an official courier galloped into the village. A copper gong rang urgently as a clerk wearing a black gauze cap swung down from his horse and took the conscription order from a bamboo tube.
"Order for the early autumn of the sixteenth year of King of Qin: all male commoners aged fifteen or older who have not yet been registered must bring their household documents to the County Court for verification within three days. Anyone who dares to conceal such men will be waist-severed; the Village Head will be held jointly responsible! In addition: those who join the army will be granted one rank of nobility. For every enemy head taken, one qing of land and a hundred shi of grain will be awarded..."
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