Chapter 26: Hunting in the Mountains

"Brother Zhang, you are helping me connect with clients, and I cannot let you run these errands for nothing. As long as the connection is through you, I will give you a ten percent commission on every catty of peanuts. In other words, if a catty of peanuts sells for three hundred wen, I will give you thirty wen as a commission."

Zhang Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. "Brother, you are generous!" He raised his bowl. "Let’s finish this!"

The two of them downed their drinks in one gulp.

"I hope Brother Zhang will keep me in mind in the future and find me a few more big clients."

"That goes without saying!"

Now that his interests were tied to Lin Feng’s, how could he not put effort into finding more business?

"Brother Zhang, let me ask you something."

"Go ahead, brother."

"I heard that the villages and towns in Pingzhou of the Great Chu Kingdom are implementing a mandatory marriage policy. Is there any truth to that?"

"It’s true. To tell you the truth, my brother-in-law is the Village Head of the Town Patrol Office, so I know a bit about the government’s affairs." Zhang Yuan had stopped treating Lin Feng as an outsider and spoke freely.

*Damn, so he’s the brother-in-law of the town magistrate!*

"Our Great Chu Kingdom and the Great Lie Kingdom have been competing for supremacy for years, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Later, both sides began to conscript female generals and soldiers because the number of male soldiers was dwindling.

In the thirty-plus years since the founding of the Great Chu Dynasty, Pingzhou has never really been at peace. It’s either harassment by the Great Xia Kingdom or invasions by the Southern Barbarians, which have wiped out most of the men in Pingzhou. That is why the government’s implementation of mandatory marriage is a last resort."

"Will it be implemented in other provinces and counties as well?"

"Not for now, but my brother-in-law says it will happen sooner or later."

"Surely that wouldn't apply to the county and provincial seats, right?"

"It’s mainly for the villages and towns. There is no mandatory marriage policy in the county and provincial seats for now, but once you reach a certain age, you must get married—that goes for both men and women—and you are absolutely not allowed to remain single.

So, if you haven't married by the age limit, the local government will intervene. However, the county and provincial seats are different from the villages; the gender ratio is more balanced, and there are more options, so people can usually find someone suitable to marry on their own."

What Village Head Li told him about the marriage policy in the county and provincial seats was a bit different from what Zhang Yuan said, but Lin Feng naturally trusted Zhang Yuan more, as he was the brother-in-law of the Village Head.

Either Village Head Li really didn't know, or he was deliberately trying to scare Xiao Die so she would marry early—preferably to his son.

With that, Lin Feng had a clearer picture. It seemed there was a way to resolve Tian Xi'er's situation after all.

"Brother Lin, you are so concerned about this matter—are you afraid of being forced into a marriage? With your skills, why not just go to the city and buy a house to live in when the time comes?"

"That makes sense," Lin Feng laughed. "Brother Zhang, you really know a lot."

"As I said earlier, I work at the Patrol Office, and the Village Head is my brother-in-law, so being close to him, I naturally know a few things from above. But Brother Lin, please don't tell anyone about my relationship with the Village Head."

"Why is that?"

"My brother-in-law is a very upright man. He doesn't want too many people to know about our relationship, saying he doesn't want to be accused of nepotism."

"That seems a bit extreme. Appointments for positions below the level of county clerk or station master aren't part of the official imperial civil service; the county magistrate makes the call. Not to mention the Town Patrol Office—surely the people under your brother-in-law are recruited by him personally? When hiring, you have to hire capable people or your own people; that’s the only way to help him handle affairs better."

Zhang Yuan nodded. "You're right. My brother-in-law hires almost exclusively capable people. He let me into the Patrol Office because I have martial arts skills and made me the squad leader of the patrol office; otherwise, even my sister couldn't have helped me."

Lin Feng smiled. "Your brother-in-law is truly upright."

"He is exactly like that. He is also strict with the law and never tolerates mistakes by his subordinates. If it were me, he wouldn't just show no favoritism; he would sometimes punish me twice as hard." Zhang Yuan sighed. "Having a brother-in-law like him is worse than having none at all! Let’s not talk about him anymore. Drink this bowl, and I’ll be off. Let’s talk more later."

"Should I have Liu Xi deliver the goods tomorrow, or..."

"I’ll deliver them for the next day or two, and then I’ll have a word with the managers of the teahouse and restaurant. After that, Liu Xi can go and deliver them... Three hundred wen per catty, right?"

"What price do you think is appropriate, Brother Zhang?"

"Three hundred wen is fine."

He had originally been giving them three hundred and twenty wen and taking twenty wen as a commission, but now that he could get thirty wen from three hundred, he certainly wouldn't insist on three hundred and twenty.

In fact, if he sold them for three hundred and twenty, he could earn fifty wen per catty. But if Lin Feng found out he was skimming from both sides and got angry, refusing to work with him, that would be a disaster. Zhang Yuan didn't want to lose Lin Feng, his source of income.

Besides, he wouldn't have to deliver them himself anymore; he could just sit back and collect the money. Why wouldn't he want that?

After Liu Xi and Xiao Die finished wrapping the spiced peanuts for Zhang Yuan, Lin Feng gave him the three hundred and sixty wen commission for the twelve catties. Zhang Yuan left with a beaming smile.

The next day, as expected, the rain did not stop, so it was impossible to set up the stall.

Lin Feng sent Liu Xi to escort Xiao Die to Pear Fragrance Pavilion to deliver the spiced peanuts. Tian Xi'er had come over early, and since there was nothing to do, he sent her home as well.

She shouldn't have cried last night; at least her eyes didn't look like swollen peaches.

It might also be because her second brother and sister-in-law hadn't returned due to the rain. Her second sister-in-law was the one most concerned about her situation, and as long as she wasn't around, the matter wouldn't be discussed as the most important issue in the Tian household.

Seeing that the rain had eased slightly, Lin Feng threw on a worn-out coat, put on a straw hat, grabbed his bow and arrows, and decided to go hunting in the mountains.

Although animals tended to be quiet on rainy days, Lin Feng understood their habits and knew where they liked to nest and hide. So, for him, it was actually easier to catch prey in the rain.

However, animals like wild rabbits were hard to catch in the rain, as they would surely be huddled in their burrows.

Wild boars liked to nest on the shaded side of hills in spring and summer because they feared the heat, and pheasants liked to hide in dense weeds...

Sure enough, Lin Feng soon spotted two pheasants taking shelter from the rain in a patch of weeds and shot them dead.

Not bad; these two pheasants made the trip worth it.

But he wasn't satisfied yet and continued to search for prey along the dense forest and mountain slopes.

Suddenly, he faintly caught sight of two white animals. Because they were far away, he couldn't see them clearly. White? Wild mountain goats?

No, wild mountain goats couldn't possibly appear in a place like Jiangzhou; they lived in highland regions.

A white tiger? That was even more impossible.

Lin Feng crept toward the target and finally saw clearly. It was people!

Two people wearing white clothes!

The two were lying on the mountainside, motionless.

Were they dead?

Seeing two corpses appear inexplicably in the deep mountains and old forests felt inexplicably eerie.

*I should just leave!*

Just then, he suddenly saw one of the "corpses" move slightly.

Lin Feng wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and took two more steps toward them to see more clearly.

The corpse definitely moved again.

Were they alive? Or was it a reanimated corpse?

"Save... save... save us..."