“They don’t have identity plaques, and their household registrations have been cancelled. They can’t go back,” Qing Mulian said.
The identity plaque was akin to a 21st-century ID card. After paying taxes each year, a tax-paid stamp was added to the plaque. Without it, one was considered a vagrant.
Once these women were sold, their families would certainly stop paying taxes for them.
If they only missed a year’s tax, it could be resolved by paying double, but a cancelled registration was much harder to fix.
“Master, do you know? When their parents sold them, not only did they not get money, but they had to pay the brokers!” Qing Mulian said mournfully. “Because their parents couldn’t afford their share of taxes, they paid brokers to find people to pose as bandits and kidnap them. This way, when cancelling their registration, they could pay much less in fines. If these women go back, the most likely outcome is their parents drowning them.”
“Then let them stay here for now,” Jin Feng sighed helplessly. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll discuss it with Dongdong later…”
“Discuss what with me?” a clear voice came from the doorway.
Jin Feng turned to see Guan Xiaorou and Tang Dongdong entering, followed by Constable Zhang and a few female soldiers.
“Why are you here?” Jin Feng asked, surprised.
“We were worried about you… Constable Zhang was coming, so we tagged along to check,” Guan Xiaorou replied, head lowered.
“Isn’t this reckless? What if you met bad people on the way?” Jin Feng scolded, frowning.
“Iron Tank Mountain and Cat Mountain were the only major bandit groups west of Jinchuan County, and both have been wiped out. With Constable Zhang and Alan and the others, who would dare rob us?” Tang Dongdong said. “Xiaorou was just worried about you.”
“I’ll deal with you two later!” Jin Feng pointed at them, then turned to Constable Zhang. “What brings you here, Constable?”
“This morning, I got word that the Iron Tank Mountain bandits were attacking Xihe Bay. I went to warn you, but by the time I arrived, it was over. I heard you came to Iron Tank Mountain, so I came to see if you needed help,” Constable Zhang said, his expression complex.
His first thought upon hearing the news was that Jin Feng was done for, but when he reached Xihe Bay, he learned the bandits were the ones defeated. The village head had cleared away the iron caltrops and heavy crossbow bolts from the threshing ground. Zhang racked his brains but couldn’t figure out how Xihe Bay’s ragtag group of old and weak had defeated hundreds of bandits.
It wasn’t until he reached Iron Tank Mountain that he realised Jin Feng had secretly recruited and trained dozens of Iron Forest Army veterans.
Even so, he found it unbelievable.
“Thank you, Constable Zhang, but the fighting’s over. If there’s nothing else, I won’t keep you,” Jin Feng said, gesturing toward the door.
Something felt off to Jin Feng. The fact that Constable Zhang arrived right after the fight with the bandits raised his suspicions.
Even if Zhang was genuinely acting on Qing Huai’s behalf to help, Jin Feng didn’t want to get entangled with officials.
“In that case, I won’t disturb you further,” Zhang said, clearly annoyed by Jin Feng’s dismissal. He clasped his fists and turned to leave.
But at the doorway, he paused. “Oh, I almost forgot. I visited Master Zhou before coming, intending to plead for leniency on your behalf, but it seems that’s unnecessary now.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Constable. Next time I’m in the county, I’ll be sure to thank you properly,” Jin Feng said with a smile. “I hope you’ll do me the honour.”
“No need for that. But I think it’s better to resolve conflicts than to deepen them. Master Zhou has the Zhou family backing him. I suggest you avoid clashing with him,” Zhang said. “If you’re willing, I can arrange for you to meet him, sit down, and talk things over. How about it?”
“No need. I’ve nothing to discuss with him. If Master Zhou wants to see me, he can come to Xihe Bay,” Jin Feng said coldly, gesturing again for him to leave.
He was now almost certain Constable Zhang was acting as Master Zhou’s mouthpiece.
Zhang sighed and left.
“Looks like he’s betrayed Brother Qing Huai!” Qing Mulian, also sensing Zhang’s shift, said. “I’ll arrange for someone to investigate him thoroughly.”
“Indeed, we should check him out,” Jin Feng nodded slightly.
“By the way, Brother Feng, I heard you say you wanted to discuss something with me. What was it?” Tang Dongdong asked curiously.
“Dongdong, it’s about this…” Qing Mulian explained the situation with the women to her.
“I thought I had it rough, but they’re even worse off,” Tang Dongdong sighed. “But I think they shouldn’t spin thread. Making soap would be more suitable for them.”
“Why?” Guan Xiaorou asked curiously.
“I don’t know how soap is made, but the process should be simple, right? Otherwise, with Brother Feng’s personality, he wouldn’t bother doing it himself,” Tang Dongdong said with a smile. “There’s only one path up and down Iron Tank Mountain, and these women don’t want to leave. Having them produce soap here is perfect, isn’t it?”
“That’s quite fitting,” Jin Feng nodded slightly.
Tang Dongdong’s observation and intelligence were impressive.
But she didn’t know that while soap-making was simple, replicating it was harder than copying a spinning wheel.
Besides oil, the other key ingredient was caustic soda.
Caustic soda’s history of use on Earth was relatively short, and in Dakang, aside from Jin Feng, no one knew what it was or how to make it.
Jin Feng could make it himself once or twice, but as soap production scaled up, the demand for caustic soda would grow. He couldn’t spend all his time in a lab making it, could he?
What would be the point of his rebirth then?
Sooner or later, the process for making caustic soda would need to be shared.
Tang Dongdong’s suggestion to produce soap on Iron Tank Mountain was good for maintaining secrecy.
“Mulian, go talk to the women and see if they’re willing to work for me.”
“Dongdong, Sister Xiaorou, you two go with her. I’m not familiar with the factory, so you’ll explain things better,” Qing Mulian said, pulling Tang Dongdong and Guan Xiaorou along.
“Alright,” Guan Xiaorou glanced at Jin Feng and nodded slightly.
Tang Dongdong naturally didn’t object.
The three women, accompanied by a few female soldiers, left Liu Jiang’s courtyard. Passing the woman tied at the entrance, Qing Mulian paused and asked, “Master, what about this vile woman?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Jin Feng shook his head.
The bandits could be killed, but most of the leaders’ wives were also pitiful women who had been bought. Jin Feng hadn’t yet figured out how to handle them.
