Let Father and Mother Starve, but Never Eat the Seed Grain

"Gao Yiye!"

At Li Daoxuan's shout, Gao Yiye immediately raised her head respectfully and looked up at the sky.

Once she raised her head, Li Daoxuan could see her face clearly. Her features were delicate, her cheeks slightly flushed. She really was a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, she was less than a centimeter tall, so however beautiful she was, he couldn't...

Ahem!

Getting carried away there!

Li Daoxuan said, "Have Gao Chuwu make a trip to the County Seat and ask San Shier to help find a few skilled craftsmen to come to Gao Family Village."

Gao Yiye promptly answered him and called Gao Chuwu over.

After a few words of instruction, Gao Chuwu and the three young men who had accompanied him to the County Seat last time ate their fill, packed some dry provisions, and set out for Chengcheng County.

Li Daoxuan picked up his Lego bricks again, intending to use them to build a temporary wall for Gao Family Village. There was no need for a complicated design. He simply fitted the bricks together one by one into a long strip, then gently lowered that strip into the box and arranged it around the outskirts of Gao Family Village...

The villagers were still gathering firewood when they suddenly heard a roar of wind and thunder, and the earth trembled.

They looked up to see enormous, strangely shaped, multicolored objects descending from midair and landing around the village. Before long, all of Gao Family Village was enclosed by a ring of gigantic "city walls," with only an empty gateway left open...

The walls were actually two zhang high, and their thickness was imposing too. Only the material seemed a little strange. It wasn't as hard as stone, and a blade seemed capable of cutting into its surface.

"Whoa! What's happening?"

"Doesn't it feel like Gao Family Village has suddenly become Gao Family City?"

"What sort of strange walls are these?"

"They're rainbow-colored!"

As the villagers buzzed with discussion, Gao Yiye climbed the "steps" onto the "city wall." Standing high above the gateway, she called out to everyone, "These walls were bestowed upon us by the Heavenly Deity. In the days ahead, large numbers of bandits may cause trouble. The Heavenly Deity wants us to make a wooden gate to seal the entrance and take turns standing guard. If bandits attack, we'll take up our weapons and put on iron armor to protect ourselves."

The villagers hastily answered, "We shall faithfully obey the Heavenly Deity's instructions."

Li Daoxuan watched quietly. The villagers soon assigned some people to fell trees and make the gate. Their craftsmanship was crude: they cut down trees as thick as an arm, stripped off the branches, laid the trunks side by side, and bound them together with grass ropes...

At the same time, under the village chief's direction, the villagers also established a rotation for guard duty.

Two villagers took the bows and arrows seized from the bandits and stationed themselves above the gateway. Striking "sentry" poses, they actually looked the part.

Good. Now the village had a basic ability to defend itself.

As long as these people weren't stupid, they could hold the gateway to the death when bandits appeared and keep them out of Gao Family Village. If they could hold out until he arrived, everything would be fine.

Now he just had to hope Gao Chuwu's trip to the County Seat would yield something.

Meanwhile, outside the County Yamen in Chengcheng County.

San Shier had changed into a clean, tidy long gown. He cupped his hands toward the yamen runner guarding the entrance. "I..."

The runner said expressionlessly, "The County Magistrate has given orders. If you come, you're not to be admitted, no exceptions."

San Shier smiled. "I'm not here to see the County Magistrate."

The runner was thoroughly puzzled. "Then what are you here for?"

San Shier said, "I just wanted to ask whether anything important has happened lately. When I was the Secretary here, I treated you well. Surely giving me a little news wouldn't be asking too much? That's what we call 'remembering kindness and repaying it.'"

The runner thought it over carefully. Well, the way this Secretary affected a theatrical tone for the last four characters of everything he said was rather annoying, but he was a decent man and had helped him before. There was no harm in sharing a little information.

He lowered his voice. "Then I'll give you a tip. The day before yesterday, the County Magistrate sent several teams out to collect grain from the villages. You objected at the time, Third Master, and the County Magistrate threw you out. You remember that, don't you?"

San Shier said, "Of course I remember it clearly. You might say it's 'carved into my bones and engraved upon my heart.'"

The runner said, "Those teams went to Gao Family Village, Wang Family Village, Zheng Family Village... But the team that went to Gao Family Village didn't bring back a single grain."

San Shier thought, With the Heavenly Deity guarding that place, it would be a miracle if you collected any taxes. I'm afraid the officials sent there must have taken quite a beating.

The runner continued, "The team that went to Zheng Family Village brought back a little tax grain, but not the full amount. The last team, the one that went to Wang Family Village, got the most. They beat those lowlifes in Wang Family Village and set an empty, rundown house on fire, frightening the villagers until they were shaking. Then, under cover of darkness, they barged into the lowlifes' homes and seized their seed grain as taxes."

At this, San Shier's heart lurched. He said urgently, "Seed grain? You robbed them of their seed grain? Good heavens, is that something you can take? Haven't you heard the saying, 'Let father and mother starve, but never eat the seed grain'? You actually dared to seize that? You... this... this is simply 'marching backward and acting against all reason.'"

The runner looked utterly unconcerned. "Who cares whether they starve? The court is pressing hard. If we can't collect the taxes, the County Magistrate will be in trouble. And if he's in trouble, all of us brothers will suffer with him."

San Shiyi grew frantic. "It's over! Wang Family Village will probably rebel."

The runner sneered. "A bunch of lowlifes-where would they find the guts to rebel?"

San Shier dared not waste another moment at the County Yamen's entrance. He took to his heels and ran home. Once there, he told his wife, children, maids, and servants, "Quick, quick, quick! Pack up! We're leaving the County Seat and taking shelter elsewhere. This is what we call 'taking to our heels and vanishing.'"

His wife, a plump middle-aged woman, was astonished. "Run away? Why would we run away?"

San Shier said rapidly, "Three years of severe drought have left the people unable to survive, yet the County Magistrate sent men to seize the farmers' seed grain. This is going to cause serious trouble. We have to leave now. If we're even a step too late, we may end up suffering alongside the County Magistrate. This is what we call... oh, there's no time to think of a phrase! Just pack up and run!"

Even after hearing this, Madam San remained entirely untroubled. "What's so frightening about a few villagers rebelling? Even if they rebel, they'll just take to the hills as bandits. Surely they won't attack the County Seat?"

San Shier lowered his voice. "You don't understand! Wang Family Village isn't an ordinary village. There's a man there who came from Baishui County to stay with relatives. They call him Wang Er of Baishui, and he's a renowned hero throughout the area. Once he starts wielding his staff, dozens of men can't get near him. His reputation carries tremendous weight in all the surrounding villages. If he leads a rebellion and raises his arm with a rallying cry-good heavens, it'll be a disaster. Chengcheng County and the dozens of villages and towns around it will probably all be in serious trouble. In short, a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. I'm no longer working at the County Yamen anyway. Getting far away is the right thing to do."