With Howling Heaven guarding him, Chen Chuanwen's trip to the county town to purchase grain went without a hitch; six hundred taels of silver were exchanged for a full three thousand catties of grain.
Looking at the bags of grain being unloaded from the donkey cart, Chen Changsheng finally felt at peace.
This grain was enough to feed their family of five for three years; the problem of grain shortages due to the drought was considered solved.
Summer gradually passed and the day of the autumn harvest arrived, but the farmers, who in previous years would have had a bountiful harvest, all had bitter expressions.
With a year of severe drought, this year's autumn harvest naturally yielded nothing. Families that still had stored grain could still endure the days.
However, families that were usually short on money and grain were naturally going bankrupt. Forced by desperation, they could only sell their land for grain to maintain their livelihoods.
The influential families everywhere were hoarding grain; they had been waiting for this day for a long time. Every year after a natural disaster was the time for them to feast on fat meat.
They used extremely low prices to acquire the farmers' fields, earning a fortune until their lands spread across the countryside. For instance, the Liu Family had already acquired fifty percent of the land in Kaoshan Village by this time!
Farmers who lost their land, in order to seek a way to live, could only take their rations and become refugees, looking for a place that could sustain them—whether it was government disaster relief or becoming servants for wealthy families, as long as they had something to eat.
Because the County Magistrate of Longwei County ordered disaster relief, many refugees rushed here. Under the sudden surge in population, the security environment near the county town suddenly became complicated.
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"Uncle, do you think this household on the mountain has grain?"
Below War Horse Slope, where Chen Changsheng's house was located, two refugees dressed in rags were secretly sizing up the Chen Family's large courtyard.
"Grain? Grain is worth nothing!"
A white-haired old man spat and then looked into the mountain forest with piercing eyes.
"See that medicinal field up on the mountain? The herbs there are all four or five years old. Each one is worth over ten taels of silver. With such a large medicinal field, how much silver must that be!"
The old man looked greedily at War Horse Slope. His name was Zeng Li, and he was also a Martial Artist. Although his Realm was not high—only the Flesh Refining Realm—and he was old, with his vitality depleted and his combat power greatly reduced, his insight had not diminished.
He had originally fled his hometown after committing a crime, disguised as a refugee. Upon arriving at Kaoshan Village, he immediately set his sights on Chen Changsheng's medicinal field.
After he went to the trouble of inquiring about the Chen Family and learned that they also had a young Martial Artist, he had originally intended to give up on this piece of fat meat.
At that moment, Liu Jinshan made his move. Liu Jinshan sent someone to find him, telling him that the Chen Family's Martial Artist was in the county town and would not return, and told him to incite the refugees to act together.
Hearing this, Zeng Li could no longer restrain his thoughts. He was not a good person to begin with, nor was he an honest refugee seeking survival; naturally, he wanted to earn a large amount of silver to live a luxurious life.
Thus, Zeng Li agreed to the Liu Family's request and returned to the refugee gathering point near Kaoshan Village to start inciting people.
As a Martial Artist, he had solved many problems for the refugees during their journey of wandering, so he naturally held considerable prestige among the refugee group.
Furthermore, the refugees were all penniless; with such an opportunity to make a fortune before them, they naturally would not let it go. Even if something went wrong, the law does not punish the masses; if they turned around and fled, no one would be able to find them.
Today, Zeng Li had specifically brought people to scout the area. If nothing went wrong, tomorrow would be the time for them to storm the Chen Family's medicinal field and rake in a large amount of silver.
While Zeng Li was scouting there, the Liu Family was similarly plotting.
"The greatest asset Chen Changsheng's family has right now is that medicinal field halfway up the mountain. We'll have the refugees go and rob his medicinal field, cutting off his family's source of wealth!"
"That fierce tiger of the Chen Family, Chen Chuanwu, may be able to fight, but he can kill those refugees as he pleases. Regardless, it's those refugees who did it; what does it have to do with our Liu Family!"
Liu Jinshan took a gentle sip of hot tea and spoke unhurriedly, looking as if everything was under his control.
"Father! You are truly brilliant! Chen Changsheng surely won't expect that his family's most valuable medicinal field would instead be the root of their misfortune!"
Seeing his father finish speaking, Liu Hongtu hurried to flatter him. In truth, over the past year, Liu Jinshan had reduced the amount of money he gave him, preventing him from continuing his life of debauchery!
"Second Son, how is your contact with Black Tiger Ling going?"
Liu Jinshan ignored his eldest son's flattery and turned to look at Liu Xingye.
"Father, I have already coordinated with Black Tiger Ling. As soon as the refugees cause a disturbance, he will charge into the Chen Family and capture Chen Changsheng alive!"
Ever since Liu Xingye lost to Chen Chuanwu, he had wanted revenge every single moment; his entire being had become much more gloomy, and he spoke with a streak of ruthlessness now.
"Second Son, you've done well! Black Tiger Ling is a Martial Artist of the Bone Tempering Realm. Chen Changsheng won't escape this time. As long as we capture Chen Changsheng, that fierce tiger Chen Chuanwu won't be able to act fierce anymore!"
"Isn't Chen Chuanwu filial? We'll just grab hold of his weakness!"
Liu Jinshan's eyes were full of calculation. He absolutely would not allow another martial arts powerhouse to emerge in Kaoshan Village. In his view, Kaoshan Village had long been the Liu Family's territory!
"Exactly! Father! With Chen Changsheng in our hands, we can lure that fierce tiger out of the city. I hope that when the time comes, I'll be allowed to kill that little brat with my own hands!"
Liu Xingye said excitedly, a cruel and fierce smile appearing on his face, as if he could already see the scene of Chen Chuanwu surrendering and being at his mercy.
"Don't worry, the entire Chen Family is doomed to die. Second Son, you shall avenge yourself against Chen Chuanwu personally!"
Liu Jinshan shook his head slightly at his second son's obsessive appearance. He knew that Chen Chuanwu had become his Heart Demon and hoped that after his second son took his revenge personally, he would be able to step out of the shadow.
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Although Chen Changsheng did not know of the Liu Family's plot, he also felt a faint sense that something was wrong while on the mountain.
Howling Heaven was patrolling the mountain, and although it intentionally hid so as not to be discovered by outsiders, Howling Heaven had reported several times that refugees were quietly approaching the foot of the mountain.
With his large family and estate, Chen Changsheng faintly felt that the refugees might be planning to 'eat the wealthy'!
After all, his family had not organized any kind of armed force; there were only three long-term laborers in the household.
The news that his family were Martial Artists was well hidden and had not spread. This made it easy for others to see them as soft targets, a wealthy family to be preyed upon.
"Chuanwen, go to the village and find Master Wang Yong. Tell him we've just slaughtered two more pigs and want to invite him and his disciples over for a meal!"
Chen Changsheng felt uneasy and thought it best to invite more hands to be on guard. After all, no matter how well Howling Heaven could fight, if a refugee riot broke out, he couldn't very well have Howling Heaven kill all of the hundreds of refugees!
"Huh? Father, why are we inviting Uncle Wang for no reason?"
Chen Chuanwen was currently practicing martial arts in the courtyard. Hearing Chen Changsheng's call, he hurriedly wiped his sweat and walked over, asking with some confusion.
"Lately, there have always been refugees lurking about. I have a faint sense of unease. Those refugees wouldn't be planning to 'eat' our Chen Family, would they?"
"Calling Master Wang Yong and his disciples over is also a precaution. If nothing happens, that's fine, but if something does, we'll have people to help!"
Chen Changsheng told Chuanwen of his worries and conjectures. Chen Chuanwen was quite alert and said with a frown:
"Father, you're right. And our family indeed lacks manpower. Why not take this opportunity to pick a few of Uncle Wang's disciples to stay at home as guards!"
Chen Changsheng nodded. The eldest son had been taught by Wang Yong, and Wang Yong's disciples were all Senior and Junior Brothers with the eldest, so they were naturally closer. However, the Chen Family had too many secrets, so they still needed to plan carefully!
"Let's get past this hurdle of the refugees first. We'll take our time with the matter of guards; there's no rush!"