Chapter 124: A Reward of One Thousand Taels!

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: A Reward of One Thousand Taels!

"Huh? Could this man bring silver to the village? He wasn’t the God of Wealth." Everyone was even more confused.

The Village Chief was dumbfounded. "Is the Goddess planning to kidnap this person and have his family send silver over?"

Yun Zhen rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She wasn’t a bandit.

Mr. Kong patted the Village Chief’s shoulder. "What nonsense are you spouting? Is the Goddess that kind of person? We have enough to eat and drink now; there’s no need to kidnap someone for a ransom to survive!"

The Village Chief looked embarrassed. "Goddess, I had the wrong idea. Please forgive my ignorance."

Yun Xiu raised his doubts. "Zhen Niang, the heavy snow has sealed off the mountain. How did this man make it to Taoyuan Village? And what do you mean he can bring us silver? He’s wearing clothes just like the ones you brought from the Immortal Realm. Did you bring him from there? Why did you knock him out?" Yun Xiu voiced what everyone was thinking. Everyone present wanted to know the answer.

Yun Zhen didn’t keep them in suspense and explained the whole story clearly. "Dad, Village Chief, I brought him over from the Immortal Realm. He’s actually a murderous bandit, extremely wicked and ruthless. Not only did he kill a young man, but he also wiped out his own sister’s entire family. The murdered man’s wife offered eight hundred taels to track down the killer, and the government officers in charge in the Immortal Realm have also put up a bounty of two hundred taels to find his whereabouts.

"If I hand him over to the government officers in the Immortal Realm, I can collect the bounties offered by the victim’s wife and the government officers—a full one thousand taels of silver!" Yun Zhen was already getting excited.

"What! One thousand taels!" the crowd exclaimed in shock.

"I heard that the woodwork made by Carpenter Zhao and Hunters Wang, as well as the crochet dolls made by Aunt Cui Lan and the others, were sold by the Goddess to the Immortal Realm, earning over ten taels of silver a day. To think that by helping the government officers of the Immortal Realm catch a criminal, the Goddess could get one thousand taels in a single go!" Everyone was profoundly shocked. Before the snow disaster, earning a few taels of silver a year was enough to be considered a very wealthy family in the village. After the disaster struck, the Goddess sold crochet dolls and woodwork, making over ten taels a day to buy rice, flour, and meat, allowing the villagers to live like immortals. Just what kind of concept was one thousand taels of silver! They had never seen such a sum in their entire lives. Even Yun Xiu was astounded!

The Village Chief hurriedly shouted behind him, "What are you waiting for? Go back and get some ropes! Hunters Wang, you take a few strong young men and keep an eye on him. Don’t let him escape and ruin the Goddess’s great plan!"

"Alright!" Hearing that this person could earn them one thousand taels, Hunters Wang immediately ran back for a rope and tied the unconscious hulking man up like a zongzi dumpling.

"Uncle Wang, you have to be careful. This is no ordinary person. I heard from the people in the Immortal Realm that he’s been a madman since he was in his mother’s womb!" Yun Zhen warned.

Hunters Wang patted his chest and promised, "Goddess, rest assured. Let alone a madman, even if he were a wild boar weighing hundreds of catties, he wouldn’t be able to escape from my, Wang ManCang’s, hands!"

Yun Zhen nodded. "Thank you for your hard work tonight, Uncle Wang and uncles. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take him back to the Immortal Realm and hand him over to the government officers. Once we get the bounty, we can build new houses after the snow disaster passes.

"Every family will get a large courtyard!"

Yun Zhen couldn’t handle it alone; she needed Brother Zhao’s help. However, Brother Zhao had already gotten off work and gone home by now, so she would tell him tomorrow morning.

"WOO-HOO!" Hearing that they were going to build large courtyards, everyone yelled in excitement.

The Village Chief made the arrangements. "Tonight, Hunters Wang, Zhou Dashan, Chen Mazi, Er Gou, and Da Yong will keep watch. You can pick a few more people to take turns guarding this man through the night. Don’t all fall dead asleep."

"Don’t worry, Village Chief!" The men called out were glowing with vitality.

Yun Zhen suggested, "Keep a couple of shovels and pickaxes handy. If he resists, just knock him out. As long as you make sure he doesn’t die, it’ll be fine." She was afraid that if the man died, the victim’s wife and the government officers wouldn’t pay up.

"Rest assured, Goddess, we absolutely won’t let him get away," Zhou Dashan said loudly.

Hunters Wang nodded. "Forget about one thousand taels; even for a hundred taels, we’d watch him like hawks."

Zhang Dayong chimed in, "Even for ten taels, we’d watch him well!"

To them, silver was the most important thing! Yun Zhen looked at the hot-blooded men, and her heart settled down. The feeling of being targeted by an extremely wicked and ruthless bandit was not pleasant. Her back was covered in cold sweat, and her mind was still a bit tense. "Let’s go home."

Everyone carried the thoroughly hogtied man back to the village.

"The Village Chief and the others are here! Look, they seem to be carrying something. Could that dark mass be a wild boar? Didn’t they just say the Goddess ran into trouble? Maybe the Goddess was charged by a wild boar on her way back." The people who had been waiting at home all ran out to look.

"Huh, why doesn’t it look like a wild boar?"

"Oh my goodness! It’s a person!"

"Village Chief, why did you carry a person back?" When her daughter had encountered trouble at the village entrance, Yun Duo’s husband and the Village Chief had gone to check. Yun Duo had been waiting anxiously with her granddaughter in her arms, and she was stunned to see them carrying a person.

Someone looked utterly confused. "The heavy snow has sealed off the mountain, and the road out of the village is completely blocked. The snow on the mountain is taller than Hunters Wang. How did this person get to our village, and why was he brought back completely hogtied by everyone?"

"Could this person mean us harm? The Village Chief isn’t a cruel man. If someone accidentally wandered into our village, the Village Chief would even treat him to a meal. Why would he be tied up and carried back?"

Lest the villagers ruin the Goddess’s great plan, the Village Chief pointed at the man being carried by Hunters Wang and the others and declared, "This person comes from the Immortal Realm. He’s a monstrous bandit who not only murdered someone but also wiped out his own sister’s entire family. The murdered man’s wife offered eight hundred taels to track him down, and the government officers of the Immortal Realm offered two hundred taels to catch him. Fortunately, the Goddess intervened and brought him to our village. By taking him back to the Immortal Realm tomorrow and handing him over to the government officers, the Goddess will be able to collect the bounty from the victim’s wife and the government officers—a full one thousand taels! I’ve arranged for Hunters Wang and a few others to watch him. Everyone else stay in your houses and don’t run around, lest you ruin the Goddess’s great plan!"

Yun Zhen followed up, "After eating, everyone should return to your rooms and stay warm. Don’t go near him. He’s been a madman since he was in his mother’s womb, and he could hurt you!"

BOOM! The crowd was thunderstruck!

"What? A monstrous bandit, and a bounty of one thousand taels!"

"The Goddess is truly amazing! She can even subdue a madman!"

"One thousand taels of silver! Can we really get one thousand taels of silver?"

Yun Zhen smiled at everyone. "It is one thousand taels. With one thousand taels, not only will our lives be much better, but when the snow disaster ends, we can also build a large courtyard for every household and dig a well for every family!"

"I definitely won’t run around blindly and ruin the Goddess’s great plan!"

Yun Duo stepped forward and said, "Hunters Wang, you guys must keep a close eye on him. You absolutely cannot let him escape, or else the one thousand taels will be gone."

"Don’t worry!"

Hunters Wang and the others carried the man into the meeting room. They stoked the fire in the stove until it was roaring, and each brought a quilt from home to sit around the fire, tossing the unconscious man to the side.

During the meal, the Village Chief asked, "Goddess, should we give him a bite of hot food?"

Yun Zhen shook her head. "Missing one meal won’t starve him to death. If he’s full, he’ll have the strength to struggle. Just to be safe, only give him a sip of water."

The Village Chief passed the message to Hunters Wang. "Don’t give him anything to eat, only allow him to drink water. Otherwise, if he gets full, he’ll have the strength to struggle. It’s one thousand taels of silver! If he runs away, the hearts of everyone in the village will be broken!"