Chapter 245: The Autumn Levy (Part 10)

“If Uncle is willing to come forward, your nephew is willing to be the vanguard and run errands,” Huang Bingkun said with great enthusiasm.

“Good, I’ll trouble you with that then.”

Huang Bingkun took his leave, full of energy. He stood on the street for a moment to compose himself, then decided to first go back to the county school to contact his classmates. With everyone’s collective wisdom, they could draft a moving and eloquent petition to impress Liu Dalin.

The scholars were all educated and reasonable people. In every dynasty, scholars were the pillars of the state. He firmly believed that the scholars of this county were also such pillars.

However, the scholars at the county school were not very enthusiastic about this matter. No matter how much Huang Bingkun said this was a major issue concerning the entire county, most of them remained hesitant. Some said it was a matter for their elders and it was not appropriate for the younger generation to interfere. Others, upon hearing they were to submit a petition to the Australians, turned pale with fear and simply said nothing. As for the scholars from poor families, they were even less interested in this proposal. Their families didn’t have much land to begin with. In their simple and practical view, what if they offended the Australians and their subsidies were cut off? They had finally gotten this stipend, their families could breathe a little, their wives and children could eat a few full meals, and if they saved a little, they could buy some cloth and a few pounds of meat at the end of the year to improve their lives.

Huang Bingkun talked until he was hoarse, but apart from a student from the Li family in the county town, named Li Xiaopeng, he received no one’s support, let alone help in writing the “petition.” Li Xiaopeng’s family could be considered a “hereditary family” in the county. His ancestors were from northern Anhui and had once followed Zhu Yuanzhang in conquering the country. They had become minor officials here and had since settled down. The Li family had long been one of the wealthiest in the county, not because of the amount of land they owned, but because they had for a long time monopolized the “manure sections” in Lingao county town.

The owner of a manure section was responsible for cleaning the residents’ excrement. Although this business sounded foul, the owner didn’t have to do the work himself. He hired manure collectors from the surrounding countryside, and didn’t even have to pay them wages—the manure itself served as payment. The collected manure and garbage were sold to farmers as fertilizer. This income was not only stable but also highly profitable. In a county like Lingao, where industry and commerce were extremely underdeveloped, this was a significant business. The Li family also used this to engage in rural usury, accumulating considerable wealth.

With money comes land. The Li family also had about a thousand mu of land in the countryside, so the matter of tax collection was of personal interest to them. Secondly, Li Xiaopeng harbored great hostility towards the Australians. His family had always been considered the wealthiest in the county. Although the Gou family had a great deal of money, they were ultimately not presentable and couldn’t boast about it. Since the Australians arrived, several newly rich had suddenly appeared, especially Lin Quan’an. A poor man who suddenly became rich couldn’t help but show off. And because he traveled all over the island to procure various industrial and agricultural materials for the transmigrator group, he had gained some worldly knowledge. In terms of consumption and enjoyment, he had become the number one person in the county, which made Li Xiaopeng very resentful.

He was also a restless person who loved to stir up trouble. He had already found studying at the county school boring. Hearing that this matter could embarrass the Australians, he immediately expressed his willingness to help.

Li Xiaopeng’s writing was not very good, but he had many friends. With a single call, he could gather forty to fifty people. Huang Bingkun felt that although these idlers were not very useful, they could at least add to the numbers—the country folk were timid, and he was afraid some might get cold feet at the last minute and not dare to come.

Seeing that he had little success at the county school, Huang Bingkun decided to first lobby among the few large households in the city. He immediately asked for leave from Wang Ci.

Leaving the county school, he was hurrying down the street. The corner of the Confucian temple was very deserted with few pedestrians. Huang Bingkun was walking along, minding his own business, when he was suddenly tripped. Fortunately, he had some martial arts training and a stable stance, so he only stumbled a few steps before regaining his footing. He saw a beggar sitting at the corner of the wall, with disheveled hair and tattered clothes. A bamboo pole lay across the middle of the alley.

Because the Australians did not allow beggars, anyone who begged in their territory, no matter how pitiful they pretended to be or actually were, would be arrested by the police station. The sick were sent to the hospital for treatment—to give the first batch of medical students practice—and the healthy were sent directly to the labor reform teams to work. The number of beggars in the county had decreased significantly. The remaining ones had flowed into the county town to continue their profession, where the Australians did not interfere.

Huang Bingkun said angrily, “You beggar, why are you leaving your bamboo pole lying around?” He wanted to give him a few kicks, but he had important things to do and no time to argue with a beggar.

The beggar, however, was not afraid. He slowly retracted his bamboo pole. He raised his head slightly, and his grimy, dark face, whose skin color was indistinguishable, broke into a smile.

“Brother Bingkun, it’s been a while.”

Huang Bingkun was greatly surprised. The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t place it at the moment. He looked at the man again. The dirty face had several scars running across it, looking quite disgusting. But the features were very familiar. He hesitated and called out, “You are—”

“Gou Chengxuan!” The beggar smiled, a smile uglier than a cry. “What, you don’t recognize me?”

“It’s you?! …Why are you back in the county town…”

“Shh, not for outsiders to know!” The beggar made a hushing gesture. Seeing that he was about to ask another question, the man whispered, “The Fubo Temple behind the Confucian temple. I’m there.” Then he drooped his head and fell silent again.

Huang Bingkun looked around. There were no pedestrians. He quickly left.

His heart was pounding: Gou Chengxuan was back in Lingao!

Although the entire Gou family had a bad reputation, Gou Chengxuan was no exception. This man was proficient in lending money and gambling, a master of the family “business.” Although he might not have virtue, he had talent. He had managed to pass the scholar examination. After that, the Gou family’s arrogance grew even more. Gou Chengxuan rarely came to the county school—he had no interest in it and knew he was not well-liked by the instructors. Apart from occasionally showing up to say hello, he was rarely seen. Because of his bad impression of the Gou family, Huang Bingkun had never given Gou Chengxuan the time of day.

Just the day before yesterday, he had seen a notice at the county school. The Guangdong Provincial Education Commissioner’s office had sent a document to the Lingao county yamen, stripping Gou Chengxuan of his scholar title. Given the actions of the Gou father and son, stripping him of his title was a cause for public celebration. He just found it strange—it had been almost a year since the Gou family’s fall and the disappearance of the father and son. Why had this document suddenly arrived now?

He hadn’t expected Gou Chengxuan to be so bold as to dare to sneak into the county town! Huang Bingkun’s heart tightened—what was he doing back in the county at such a risk? He must be seeking revenge against the Australians. He hadn’t thought Gou Chengxuan had such guts! Although he had always looked down on this person, he now had to admire his courage.

In reality, Gou Chengxuan had returned to the county out of desperation. Since his father had gone to the mountains of Lingao to seek refuge with his sworn brother, the bandit Hu Lan’yan, he had been living in seclusion in Qiongshan County—Zhu Cailao’s men had been looking for them. At first, his father had sent a letter once every month or two, but then the letters had stopped completely. He had inquired for a long time without any news, until he heard from merchants that Lingao was suppressing bandits and they had been wiped out.

Gou Chengxuan was frantic with worry. First, his father’s whereabouts were unknown. Second, when they had fled in a hurry, they had not brought much money with them. The money spent on their activities in Qiongzhou Prefecture and Guangzhou was already mostly gone. Seeing that his funds were running out and he was about to be homeless, Gou Chengxuan had no choice but to risk returning to Lingao.

He couldn’t go to his wife’s family in Lingao. Gou Chengxuan and his wife had a bad relationship. He had married her on a whim because of her beauty. Soon after the marriage, he grew tired of her. On D-Day, his wife had returned to her parents’ home. If he went to his father-in-law for help now, he would probably be tied up and sent to the Australians to be beheaded.

He could only think of going to his mother’s family. Even if they couldn’t take him in, they could at least give him some money. He just didn’t know if the ‘Kunzei’ had been thorough and wiped out his mother’s family as well. Gou Chengxuan disguised himself as a beggar and snuck into Lingao. He was very careful along the way. When he reached his mother’s family’s home, he begged at the door and was finally able to meet his relatives. But he didn’t dare to stay there; it was definitely a place the ‘Kunzei’ were watching closely. If they launched a surprise raid, he would be a turtle in a jar.

Finally, he decided to return to the county town. He had heard that the ‘Kunzei’ rarely went to the county town, and it was still the same as before. He had been a local tyrant in the county and was familiar with every corner. He could find a place to hide.

But he had too many acquaintances in the county town—many of his former cronies among the yamen runners. These people turned their backs on friends faster than they turned the pages of a book. They might sell him out. In the end, Gou Chengxuan steeled himself, cut a few scars on his face, and shaved his eyebrows completely. He had already lost a lot of weight from worry and fear, and after roughing it on the road, his face was dark and sallow. With this disguise, he was confident that acquaintances wouldn’t recognize him at first glance. Only then did he sneak into the county and take shelter in the Fubo Temple behind the county school. The Fubo Temple was dedicated to Ma Yuan and was a very deserted place among the county’s many “official shrines.” It didn’t even have a Daoist priest to tend to it, only some beggars who took shelter there.

To his great surprise, he found the Lai brothers, who had originally been in his family’s service, in the temple. Since the fall of the Gou family, the two brothers had lost their livelihood. In the past, when they worked for the Gou family, they had been arrogant and overbearing. After their fall from grace, with the wall down, everyone pushed. No one was willing to help them. The two brothers had been idle since they were young, didn’t know any trade, and were unwilling to work hard. They had thus become beggars.

When the master and servants met, they immediately embraced and wept. Normally, Gou Chengxuan had no particular affection for these two brothers, but now, as fellow fallen people, he felt a great closeness to them. The Lai brothers were not very bright. Seeing their young master return, they urged him to seek revenge.