Chapter 59: Beginning the Construction of Earthen Walls

Li Yuanjing and his companions returned to Quanzi Village by the next morning.

The heavy snow still showed no sign of stopping, and the mountains were almost completely sealed in white. This meant not only that all roads were blocked, preventing outsiders from reaching Quanzi Village, but also that the villagers themselves, faced with such weather, would not venture out. Thus, Li Yuanjing and his party were granted the time and space they so urgently needed to handle the aftermath of their affairs.

Li Yuanjing was generous; every person who had followed him on the journey received a handsome reward of one or two taels of silver, even Liu Gang was not left out. At this point, Liu Gang’s respect for Li Yuanjing bordered on reverence. He realized he could no longer remain in his old post in Luzhen Town, and so he straightforwardly proposed to sell himself into slavery to Li Yuanjing.

But Li Yuanjing refused this offer. Whatever Li Yuanjing said to him after that, Liu Gang left in high spirits, bowing repeatedly in gratitude as he departed.

With the old Village Chief, Zhang Kun, Zhao Zengjin, and others continuing to play the role of mediators and keeping things in order—especially regarding the deaths of the three unlucky souls—Li Yuanjing at last returned home at a leisurely pace.

He had just received word that Wang Youdao had arrived the previous morning and was staying in the temporary quarters of Li Yuanjing’s textile workshop. After a brief bath and a change of clothes at home, Li Yuanjing did not even have time to enjoy a few intimate moments with Yu Niang before he went to see Wang Youdao.

“How did it go, Yuanjing?” Wang Youdao looked as though he hadn’t slept for days, his eyes bloodshot and heavy with fatigue. The moment Li Yuanjing entered, he seized his hand anxiously.

“I did not fail you,” Li Yuanjing replied, gripping the old man’s hand firmly before discreetly withdrawing and producing the receipt written by Master Yishui.

Wang Youdao accepted it eagerly, scrutinized the handwriting, and then his weathered face lit up with uncontrollable joy. “This is indeed Master Yishui’s hand, without a doubt!” he murmured.

Unable to contain his excitement, he embraced Li Yuanjing and said, “Yuanjing, I will never forget what you’ve done for me this time. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won’t disturb your rest. When all is settled, we will have a proper gathering!”

Soon after, Wang Youdao departed in haste with his dozen followers, paying no heed to the fearsome snow sealing the mountain, nor even asking Li Yuanjing for the details of what had happened. Watching him go, Li Yuanjing couldn’t help but narrow his eyes thoughtfully. What could have happened to make Wang Youdao so frantic, so heedless of everything else?

Unfortunately, with travel and communications both at a standstill, even if Li Yuanjing wished to investigate, it was impossible to hear word from Wang Youdao’s side for the time being.

Before long, Zhang Kun and Zhao Zengjin came to report on the subsequent events in the village. The families of the three ill-fated men, faced with such circumstances, had neither the will nor the means to change anything. They were especially grateful when Li Yuanjing provided them each with three taels of silver as consolation, calling him a man of great kindness.

This left Li Yuanjing feeling somewhat uneasy, and he wondered if those three had been out of their minds. They were not strong wolves to begin with, and yet, at a time of such upheaval, they had chosen to leave the pack—what was that but courting death?

But Li Yuanjing was no philanthropist, and he could not allow a few reckless individuals to ruin everything for everyone else. He sent Zhang Kun and Zhao Zengjin off to rest, then returned home and pulled Yu Niang close for a well-earned respite.

The next morning, the snow finally ceased. The village and the distant hills were transformed into a world draped in silver. At dawn, Li Yuanjing led the old Village Chief, Zhang Kun, Zhao Zengjin, and others to deliver condolence money to the families of the three unlucky men. The families were deeply moved, kneeling repeatedly to express their gratitude.

After they left, seeing Li Yuanjing still weighed down by gloom, the old Village Chief clapped him hard on the shoulder and said warmly, “Yuanjing, you are a man destined for great things; you can’t afford the weakness of mere sentiment over these worthless fellows. Hundreds of lives are counting on you.”

Only then did Li Yuanjing begin to let go, and he smiled, “Uncle, I’ll put it out of my mind. But in the future, if there’s any way we can help these three families, I’d still like to do my part. You can’t scold me for that.”

“You rascal,” the old Village Chief said, both gratified and moved, walking side by side with Li Yuanjing.

After a few steps, Li Yuanjing asked, “Uncle, now that we’ve prepared everything, can we start building the earthen wall in this weather?”

The old man was momentarily stunned, then broke into a delighted grin. “Of course we can! We farmers are not so particular about such things. Besides, we lack for many things, but not firewood. We’ll just heat the ground and waste a bit more work time. Yuanjing, do you want to start today?”

Li Yuanjing nodded with a smile, “Yes, Uncle. I want to begin today! In a few days’ time, when the officials finish collecting the autumn taxes, Master Ma from Lengshan will come to collect the protection fee. I’d like to cover the cost of building the wall myself—or at least most of it! That way, the villagers will have money in hand and won’t worry about paying the protection fee, nor be forced to sell their sons and daughters, bringing about human tragedy.”

“Yuanjing…” The old Village Chief was truly overwhelmed, his face flushed with excitement, and tears streamed down his cheeks. “From now on, whatever you say in Quanzi Village, we will do!”

Li Yuanjing and the old Village Chief quickly reached an agreement, and before noon, the grand project of constructing the village’s earthen wall was underway.

Li Yuanjing was not frugal in the least. He gave nearly ten taels of silver to Zhang Kun, Zhuzi, Kui, and Xiangzi, sending them to Iron Ox Town to buy grain. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to spend more, but that the town’s stock was limited; if he tried to buy a hundred taels’ worth at once, it would arouse suspicion and bring trouble.

Even with ten taels, they couldn’t buy pure white rice; they had to mix in wheat, millet, and other grains so as not to draw attention, and it was also more economical.

The old Village Chief had long since planned for the village’s earthen wall, and the few master craftsmen in the village were well aware of what needed to be done. Even Li Yuanjing’s late father, Honest Li, had likely considered this more than once in his lifetime. But it was only with Li Yuanjing’s rise that these plans could finally be put into action.

After detailed discussion with the Village Chief and the craftsmen, Li Yuanjing made a few improvements to the plan without altering the overall scheme. Normally, other villages—like Dazigou—built their walls on flat ground, relying on height alone to keep danger at bay. But after careful thought, Li Yuanjing decided to have a moat dug around the outside of the wall, five or six meters deep and seven or eight meters wide.

With the wall rising to a height of seven or eight meters and the moat adding further depth and width, the village’s defenses would be greatly enhanced. It wasn’t that Li Yuanjing didn’t want to go all out and build a full moat, but the wall was made of rammed earth mixed with lime and reinforced with wooden supports—such walls would not withstand constant moisture. There was no way to fill the moat with water, especially with the risk of it freezing in winter.

The village would have two large gates, one to the south and one to the north, and a small gate by the spring on the east side for the villagers to fetch water. This new arrangement would dramatically improve their defenses, and with Quanzi Village’s natural advantages, even a thousand enemies might not easily breach its walls.

As for the earth dug out from the moat, though not suitable for the wall itself, Li Yuanjing had another use for it. After consulting with the Village Chief and the craftsmen, they decided to use it to fill in the small hill near his home. Once leveled, Li Yuanjing’s house would stand as the highest point in the village, towering twenty meters above the other dwellings. Not only would this expand his estate for more workshops, warehouses, and lodgings, but it would also bring his home to a new level of safety.

By evening, as Zhang Kun and the others returned with the grain, every laborer—man or woman—who came to work received their first day’s wages. The entire village was in an uproar; the people were so invigorated, it was as if they had been injected with pure vitality, wishing they could toil through the night and work Li Yuanjing into bankruptcy.