“Hu Zi, your mother’s waiting at home. Hurry back so she doesn’t worry,” Jin Feng said. “Rest and recover at home. You got injured on the escort job, so it counts as a work injury. I’ll keep paying your wages during recovery. Come back to work when you’re fully healed.”
“Wages during recovery?” Some of the escort team men, hearing this, felt a twinge of envy for Hu Zi.
Why wasn’t it me who got injured? Then I could lie at home for a few months and still get paid.
“Brother Feng, how can I accept that?” Hu Zi waved his hands. “I took your money to escort the goods safely. Getting my leg broken by bandits is my own failure. You didn’t blame me for losing the goods and even paid for my treatment. That’s already more than enough. How can I take wages for not working? The money you gave my mother is enough for us to eat well for a year or two. If I’m still not satisfied, what kind of person does that make me?”
The other men nodded in agreement.
Jin Feng couldn’t help but marvel at the simplicity of people in this era.
Hu Zi’s injury would be considered severe in the 21st century. Jin Feng would not only have to cover treatment but also pay substantial compensation.
In Dakang, however, the common people were so oppressed that they were content as long as their employer paid wages on time.
“Hu Zi, this isn’t just about you. From now on, this will be a permanent rule for the escort team. If anyone’s injured on the job, I’ll take responsibility,” Jin Feng said. “If you’re crippled, the factory will support you. If you die, there’ll be a pension for your parents until they pass and your children until they’re grown.”
He had mentioned this when forming the escort team, but no one took it seriously.
In Dakang, no employer was this generous.
In their simple worldview, escorting goods was like guarding a caravan. Jin Feng paid them, so they were expected to deliver the goods safely. If something went wrong on the road, it was their responsibility, not the employer’s.
An employer like Jin Feng was one in a million.
Jin Feng could have followed other employers’ practices, but he chose not to.
With his abilities, he could earn endless wealth openly. There was no need to exploit blood-stained profits from struggling labourers.
It might seem foolish, but Jin Feng decided to follow his conscience.
“Brother Feng, with those words, I’d follow you through fire and flood,” Liu Tie said, wiping his eyes and pounding his chest.
“Me too!” the other men echoed, some raising their hands to swear.
Whether they were sincere or just going along, Jin Feng didn’t care.
Noticing the carts piled with cornbread, pumpkins, and other items, he smiled and asked, “What’s all this?”
Most people in Xihe Bay and Guan Family Village ate at the textile factory’s canteen, leaving their grain for the elderly and children. Few ate cornbread anymore, and Liu Tie wouldn’t bring such things back from the county.
“This is all thanks to you, Brother Feng,” Liu Tie said with a grin. “News of us wiping out the Iron Jar Mountain bandits has spread across the nearby villages. When we passed through other villages, people put things on our carts, saying thanks for killing the bandits so they can live better for a couple of years.”
“Not just the villages. The county magistrate posted a notice at the city gate about it. Now, who doesn’t give a thumbs-up when they see someone from Xihe Bay?”
“Yeah, when we went to eat today, the shopkeeper, hearing we’re from Xihe Bay, gave us extra meat in our soup.”
“The cloth merchant charged two qian less silver per cart of hemp, and the workers were much more diligent than before.”
The escort team chattered excitedly.
In this era, whether farmers or city shopkeepers, everyone hated bandits.
Especially in the areas controlled by the Iron Jar Mountain bandits, people were overjoyed at the news, happier than during New Year.
Even if other bandits tried to take over, it would take a year or two to claim such a large territory.
This meant that for the next couple of years, no bandits would dare demand tribute from the surrounding villages and towns.
The court’s taxes and the bandits’ tributes were two mountains crushing the common people, with the bandits’ burden often heavier.
While court taxes were fixed, bandits set their own tributes, which could double in a good harvest year.
With one of these mountains suddenly gone, the people felt a great relief, able to breathe easier.
It was only natural they felt grateful to Xihe Bay for eliminating the Iron Jar Mountain bandits.
“Brother Tie, when you’re out and about, keep an ear open. If you hear of bandits planning to collect tribute, let me know,” Jin Feng said.
“Brother Feng, are you planning to take this on?” Liu Tie stopped walking. “That could stir up trouble with other bandits.”
When one band of bandits is wiped out, new ones quickly take their place.
Of course, unless the new bandits were foolishly overconfident, they wouldn’t dare demand tribute from Xihe Bay or Guan Family Village or intercept their escort teams.
But if Jin Feng occupied the Iron Jar Mountain bandits’ territory and refused to collect tribute, it would break the bandits’ unwritten rules, angering every bandit in Jinchuan County.
In Liu Tie’s view, there was no need for this.
“Don’t worry about them,” Jin Feng said. “The textile factory will expand further, and we’ll need more people, likely from nearby villages or even other towns. That’ll inevitably lead to conflicts with bandits. Better to squash their ambitions now.”
Jin Feng, who dared to overturn the table of an official backing bandits, cared little for what bandits thought.
“I agree with Brother Feng. Those bandits are lazy parasites. Why should we pay them tribute?”
“Exactly. If we can wipe out Iron Jar Mountain, we can take out other bandits too!”
“Right. If anyone dares set up a stronghold west of Jinchuan, we’ll crush them!”
The escort team voiced their support for Jin Feng’s decision.
Even the veterans behind Tie Chui clenched their fists in agreement.
Liu Tie gave the men a stern look and asked, “Brother Feng, are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Jin Feng nodded slowly.
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out,” Liu Tie agreed.
Just as Jin Feng was about to speak, a commotion erupted from the village.
Then Xiao Yu ran out from an alley, her black hair dishevelled, one straw sandal missing, looking utterly distraught.
“Xiao Yu, what’s wrong?” Liu Tie rushed over, gripping his firewood knife.
Jin Feng frowned slightly.
Xiao Yu, born into the village head’s family, lived better than most farmers and rarely worked in the fields under the sun. She was considered a beauty in Xihe Bay.
Could it be that, with life in the village just improving, someone was already causing trouble?
