Woodcutter Gang's Recruitment Drive

Two months later.

Inside a general store in the small town, Zhou Ye removed the wind scarf from his face. This kind of scarf could shield against the mountain winds while also concealing one's identity to some extent, making it standard equipment for those who ventured into the mountains.

Shopkeeper Ding was taking stock of the goods. The remaining 127 bamboo rat pelts, along with some less valuable squirrel pelts, rabbit pelts, and other furs, came to a round total. In the end, he gave Zhou Ye thirty-one taels of silver.

Once the transaction was complete, Zhou Ye pointed to the two grass sacks beside him and smiled. "Shopkeeper Ding, thank you for what happened last time."

"It was nothing. Hehe."

"These two sacks contain some mountain specialties. They aren't worth much, so please accept them! And this wolf pelt is a small token of my appreciation as well."

In truth, the two grass sacks contained one salted deer leg, two salted chickens, and a whole sack of salted fish. Of course, there was even more salt than fish.

"How could I possibly accept that?" Shopkeeper Ding said politely, beaming. That wolf pelt alone was probably worth several taels of silver.

"Please don't refuse. The mountains are high and the roads are long; I hope we'll have another chance to work together someday!"

"Uh..."

Shopkeeper Ding's expression turned complicated. He was both delighted and regretful.

Listen not only to the words, but to the tone beneath them. Little Brother Zhou probably would not be coming back again, and he would be losing this major customer. He must have come here especially to thank him.

With a long sigh, Shopkeeper Ding shook his head with a bitter smile. "Ah! Perhaps that's for the best. Li Residence's way of doing things truly... truly is far too overbearing. Little Brother Zhou, then I wish you a safe journey!"

"Thank you!"

That was indeed the case. Zhou Ye had made a special trip to express his gratitude for Shopkeeper Ding's kindness back then. But he definitely would not return to this lousy place. There was simply no need to take that sort of risk.

After bidding farewell to Shopkeeper Ding, Zhou Ye put on his wind scarf and hurried to a secluded spot outside the town. A shoulder pole there was loaded with firewood, and there was also a sack containing five live pheasants tied up inside.

He was preparing to head to the county city. Before setting out, Zhou Ye had deliberately chosen some rather shabby clothes. Only when he reached the area near the mountain pass did he conveniently chop this firewood.

Things like firewood and pheasants were not rare, and generally did not arouse anyone's envy. Zhou Ye planned to disguise himself as a woodcutter, hoping to learn more about the county city.

More than an hour later, Zhou Ye carried the shoulder pole and arrived at the county city gates once again.

Yet just as he was about to enter, several soldiers at the gate stopped him. "Hey, hey, you! Who allowed you to carry firewood into the city to sell?"

"Uh?" Zhou Ye was utterly baffled. The county city had rules like that? Without firewood, what were the people in the city supposed to burn?

Just then, a man dressed like a street thug came over from the side and said with a grin, "Brother, all firewood and charcoal trade in the city is handled by our Woodcutter Gang. Without our permission, not even a single stick of firewood may enter the city."

Zhou Ye suddenly understood. So the gang had stepped in and monopolized this trade.

That said, Zhou Ye did not care whether it was monopolized or not, and he had even less desire to clash with these people. So he asked, "Big Brother, then how should I sell it?"

"At our Woodcutter Gang charcoal shop, of course. From now on, you can only sell to us. How about this? I'll take you there."

"Oh, oh!"

From the street thug's introduction, Zhou Ye learned that his underworld nickname was Big Dog and that he was one of the Woodcutter Gang's core members.

The Woodcutter Gang was one of the county city's major gangs, and its members were mostly mountain folk. There were not only woodcutters, but herb gatherers who collected medicinal plants, hunters who hunted game, and so on. It even included some mountain villagers living in the forests. Of course, some mountain folk did every profitable kind of business there was; they were simply a group of people who lived off the mountains.

The Woodcutter Gang's main business was monopolizing all firewood and charcoal entering the city. They also had their own charcoal yards, hunting parties, and the like. As for medicinal herbs and other mountain goods, the Woodcutter Gang also had shops that bought them, but they did not force the matter. The profits in those goods were simply too great for any one gang to swallow alone.

Naturally, as a gang, they also had all sorts of gray and black businesses.

"Little brother, so you're also a mountain savage... mountain villager?"

"Yes! I got lost in the mountains before and lived there for quite a long time. I finally managed to find a way out."

"It's fine. You don't need to say more. There are plenty of mountain villagers like you." Big Dog did not seem to care. Indeed, many commoners, unable to endure the harsh taxes and levies, eventually fled into the mountains and became mountain villagers—the so-called mountain savages.

Following Big Dog, Zhou Ye arrived at a charcoal shop. After weighing them, the firewood came to over a hundred jin, and he was paid 113 copper coins.

"Little brother, may I ask your surname?"

"You're too polite. My surname is Zhou."

"Good. Little Brother Zhou, are you interested in joining our Woodcutter Gang? There are many benefits, and you only need to pay 200 copper coins each month." Big Dog introduced it enthusiastically.

"Ah?" Zhou Ye was greatly startled. Strange things happened every year, but could they really recruit people like this?

To be honest, though he did not care about the 200 copper coins, Zhou Ye was quite resistant to joining a gang. They were nothing but a pack of bloodsuckers. All they knew was how to bully the good and oppress the weak; they never did anything decent.

After considering it briefly, Zhou Ye declined tactfully. "Brother Big Dog, I'd like to find a place to live first. Once I'm settled in the county city, I'll consider it again?"

"That works too. But you want to find a house? I can introduce you to a broker. As it happens, I'm free right now, so how about I go with you and ask around?"

"Uh...?"

Zhou Ye was momentarily speechless. He did not even know what to say. This Brother Big Dog was truly enthusiastic! So enthusiastic that Zhou Ye could barely take it.

But on second thought, having a place to live in the county city was exactly what he wanted. At the very least, he would have somewhere to stay in the future, and sooner or later he would move out of the mountains anyway. Living in the county city would be quite good.

"Then... all right! Sorry to trouble you."

Perhaps he was simply helpful by nature, or perhaps he was particularly keen on recruiting people. On the way to find a broker, Brother Big Dog introduced quite a bit about the Woodcutter Gang.

The Woodcutter Gang had roughly more than three thousand core members. Its outer members numbered in the tens of thousands. Including their families, they boasted to the outside world that they had a hundred thousand people!

As for outer members, they were the sort who got recruited just now. They paid 200 copper coins each month and could use the Woodcutter Gang's name when dealing with others.

In the final analysis, it was a disguised form of protection money. Whether they participated in the Woodcutter Gang's activities was entirely up to them. They were quite free; in truth, they were ordinary people paying protection money, with nothing more than the added layer of gang affiliation.

Of course, there were some benefits. For example, when facing oppression from other gangs, things would be a little better. At least other gangs would not go too far. Selling goods or buying things at Woodcutter Gang shops came with a slight discount...

They could even avoid some conflicts in the mountains if they happened to encounter other Woodcutter Gang brothers. As for whether that was actually useful, only heaven knew.