chsdbacks Chapter 13 Looting
Chapter 13 Looting
Lin Yan retreated from the side of the grain shop and walked all the way to the back of the dilapidated temple on the street corner before stopping.
At this very moment, the murmurs of the displaced people were still echoing in his mind.
The mountain is closed.
He was branded a traitor.
Repair the Yellow River irrigation canal.
None of them will escape.
He originally thought that after paying the donation, he could have some peace and quiet for a while, even if it was only for a month or even just ten days, so that he could at least catch his breath.
But now they have no intention of letting them live at all.
These people's hearts are blacker than coal!
Lin Yan opened his eyes and looked at the sunlight filtering through.
"Either die, or..."
He didn't say the second half of his sentence, but in fact, he had already made up his mind at that moment.
Lin Yan walked around from behind the dilapidated temple and headed north along the alley.
To the north is the back of the town, where small businesses and individual merchants live. Further out are fields, and beyond those fields are endless mountains.
Zhou Dahu's house is located on the north side, near the base of the wall.
He lived in a three-courtyard house, which was considered a mansion in this town.
Lin Yan quietly climbed over the low wall behind him.
With the perception of "Viewing the Mountain" spreading out, Lin Yan could see Zhou Dahu's entire courtyard clearly.
Zhou Dahu is not home tonight.
That bastard is still sitting at the donation point, collecting money from those homeless people.
Thinking of this, Lin Yan's face inevitably darkened.
He crouched low as he crossed the courtyard and found the location of the west wing.
This is Zhou Dahu's private vault.
Lin Yan glanced at the brass lock on the door and curled his lip. Then he reached out and gently twisted it, causing the lock beam to tilt. With another pull, the entire lock fell off.
He pushed the door open and went in.
The room was dimly lit, the windows were boarded up, and only a little light leaked in through the crack in the door.
But this did not prevent Lin Yan from seeing the things in the room clearly.
There was a shelf against the wall with some porcelain vases and bronzes on it. They looked valuable, but Lin Yan didn't recognize them and had no interest in them.
He went straight to the sacks in the corner.
The first sack contained brown rice.
Judging by its size, it must weigh at least fifty or sixty pounds.
The second sack contained mixed grain flour.
The third sack contained coarse salt, but in those days, this sack of salt could be exchanged for an acre of land.
Lin Yan carried the three burlap sacks out, wrapped them twice with coarse cloth from the yard, and tied them into a large bundle on his back.
As long as he carries these three bags home, at least until spring tomorrow, his family will no longer have to worry about food.
He rummaged through the items on the shelf again, took two pieces of silver and put them in his pocket.
It's not greed, it's that if Zhou Dahu keeps this money, he'll use it to harm people.
Lin Yan was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something.
He stood at the entrance of the private warehouse, looking at the dog-tethering post not far away in the yard.
No.
Simply taking things isn't enough.
Zhou Dahu has lost so much grain and silver; they'll definitely search the whole mountain for it.
If so much food suddenly appears in my house, I won't be able to explain it at all.
We need to muddy the water.
Lin Yan placed the bundle in the courtyard before turning back to his private storehouse.
Standing at the door, he thought for a moment and then took out the brocade pouch that Steward Zhao had left behind from his pocket.
Lin Yan threw it on the ground and deliberately kicked it under the shelf, leaving half of it sticking out, making it look like it had fallen in a hurry.
Then he took out a few more things from his pocket.
The few pieces of silver and the few marked copper coins found on Wang Agou's body.
He scattered these things on the floor of the private storeroom, one here and one there, making them look as if they had been turned over.
Lin Yan stood in the center of the room, looked around, and nodded in satisfaction after confirming that no one had noticed him.
In this way, the brocade pouch will most likely attract the attention of Accountant Su.
When the group of them starts making a fuss, the issue of food won't be a problem for Zhou Dahu anymore.
He shouldered his bundle, climbed over the wall, and walked along the wilderness towards Black Wind Ridge.
【Viewing the Mountain】 allowed him to avoid all routes where he might encounter people.
When Lin Yan returned to the cave dwelling, it was already past noon.
He placed the bundle on the kang (a heated brick bed) and untied it.
Chen was stunned when she saw the white rice and flour.
"Yan'er...this...where did this come from?"
"Mother, don't ask anymore." Lin Yan squatted down, divided the grain into several small jars, and hid them in the deepest part of the kang (heated brick bed). "These days, the price of grain in town has tripled. Coarse rice is three thousand wen per shi (a unit of dry measure). Our little money is simply not enough."
Chen's face turned pale.
"And these..."
"Borrowed." Lin Yan didn't look up. "Someone owed me a favor, and I paid it back."
Mrs. Chen opened her mouth, looked at her son's back, and didn't ask any more questions.
She wasn't stupid; she knew these things couldn't have been borrowed.
But she knew even more that everything her son did was for the sake of the family.
"Brother." Lin Xiu squatted by the kang (a heated brick bed), her small hands touching the bag of flour, her eyes shining like stars. "Is this flour? Is it really flour?"
"It's made with wheat flour." Lin Yan turned to her and smiled. "In a couple of days, I'll steam some wheat flour buns for you."
"real?"
"real."
Lin Xiu was so happy she almost jumped up, but Chen grabbed her and pressed her back down onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Keep your voice down," Chen said in a low voice. "Don't let anyone hear."
Lin Xiu covered her mouth, but her eyes still crinkled into crescent moons with laughter.
Lin Yan hid everything and stood up to stretch his shoulders.
"Mother, I might have to go out again tonight."
Chen looked at him, her lips moved, and in the end she only said one sentence: "Be careful."
Lin Yan nodded.
What he didn't tell his mother was that he was going into the mountains that night.
They weren't going to collect bones; they were going to hide.
The things I did at Zhou Dahu's house today will soon be discovered.
The town will definitely be in chaos for a while, so he needs to take his family to avoid the turmoil.
But he can't leave now.
Leaving now would be tantamount to admitting guilt without being asked.
He had to wait until the water in the basin was completely murky before he could slip away in the chaos.
The accountant's full name was Su Wenyuan. He worked as an accountant at the Qingfengxiang Trading Company in the town for twenty years.
He hadn't met many important figures in his life, but he had handled a lot of money, which honed his keen eye for talent.
He can tell at a glance what's valuable and what's worthless.
Today at the donation collection point, when he saw those few copper coins with chips, his heart skipped a beat.
That notch wasn't just ordinary wear and tear; it was a mark of the Black Sand Gang.
The Black Sand Gang is the largest underground force within a hundred miles. On the surface, they deal in medicinal herbs, but in secret they do all sorts of shady things.
How did their marked money end up in the hands of a bone collector?
Su Wenyuan didn't make a fuss at the time, but after his shift ended, he quietly followed Zhou Dahu.
After receiving the donated silver, Zhou Dahu, as usual, went to a restaurant and drank two ounces of liquor before leisurely returning home.
Su Wenyuan was waiting at the alley entrance.
Before long, Zhou Dahu's house was turned upside down.
Zhou Dahu's roar could be heard even two streets away.
"Which bastard dared to rummage through my warehouse—"
Su Wenyuan frowned and strode over.
The door to Zhou Dahu's house was wide open, and several servants were kneeling in the courtyard, not daring to raise their heads.
Zhou Dahu stood at the door of the west wing, his face as red as a pig's liver, clutching the broken brass lock in his hand, trembling with anger.
"Master Zhou."
Su Wenyuan cupped his hands in greeting, "What happened?"