Chapter 549: Rotten Beast Meat, Provoking Public Anger |
The resource endowment of Evergreen Valley is extremely poor.
How poor is it exactly?
Even beast meat is considered a luxury.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult for those in the Digging Realm to team up and hunt some low-level Frost Beasts. For those in the Warmth Realm, hunting mid-tier Frost Beasts is even easier. With enough people and sufficient strength, even high-tier Frost Beasts can be killed.
But the prerequisite for hunting is the presence of Frost Beasts.
The reason Evergreen Valley is called Evergreen Valley is because it is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with low-lying terrain. The cold air has difficulty sinking down, so the temperature here is considerably higher than the outside world, and the valley's vegetation is predominantly green.
Frost Beasts are cold-loving creatures, as can be seen from their more frequent activity during the daytime.
The overall temperature of Evergreen Valley is higher than the outside world, so Frost Beast resources are naturally extremely scarce. As a result, beast meat, beast blood, and even beast bones, beast pelts, and other such materials have all become scarce resources.
Rarity increases value, especially since beast meat and blood are essential resources for cultivation. Due to the lack of Frost Beast resources, the villages in Evergreen Valley have no choice but to purchase from merchants in Qinghua City to meet their needs.
As for beast blood, that goes without saying.
Evergreen Valley is already impoverished, with very few channels to earn silver. Yet, the price of beast meat is so high. Because they are poor, they cannot afford beast meat. Without beast meat, their strength cannot improve. Without improved strength, they cannot go out to hunt Frost Beasts. Thus, a vicious cycle is formed. The core reason for Evergreen Valley's overall weak strength probably lies here.
Let's not even talk about the Lumberjack Realm and Earth Digger level cultivators; they have basically all tasted beast meat, but certainly not too many times. As for those hundred or so in the Warmth Realm, wanting to eat their fill even once is also very difficult.
Therefore, hearing Zhang Hai say he had prepared beast meat stew, and then seeing those ten steaming cauldrons, everyone present reacted this way.
"Sure enough, they're all just barbarian lowlifes, appeased by ten cauldrons of beast meat..."
Seeing the expressions of the laborers, although Zhang Hai's eyes were full of disdain, thinking about these ten cauldrons of beast meat still caused him uncontrollable heartache.
One cauldron held 600 jin, ten cauldrons meant 6000 jin. If this batch of beast meat were taken to Qinghua City to sell, it would be 3000 taels of silver. Now, it had to be used to placate these lowly, vulgar scum. Naturally, he felt uncomfortable inside.
But thinking about how this road construction was related to whether his father could return to Qinghua City, he forcibly suppressed the displeasure in his heart. A smile surfaced on his face as he looked at the laborers and slowly began to speak, "For this official road construction, Qinghua City has given a ten-day deadline. My father said today's meal is a reward for everyone's work clearing the snow paths last night. For the next ten days, as long as you can complete the progress on schedule, every evening, there will be a serving of beast meat stew!"
Gulp...
As the aroma of the beast meat stew slowly drifted out, many laborers in the area had already started swallowing their saliva. Once Zhang Hai's words were spoken, the expressions on everyone's faces began to turn excited.
As long as they completed the progress on schedule, there would be a serving every evening!
Actually, when these laborers were conscripted, they all brought their own rations. After all, there had been conscriptions before. When the city's officials demanded they work, they never provided meals; this was already the norm.
But beast meat is not just food.
It is also a cultivation resource. Eating beast meat can improve strength!
"Is what Young Master Zhang says true?"
"As long as we complete the progress on schedule, there's a serving every evening?"
"This is beast meat stew! Such large cauldrons, each must hold at least a few hundred jin, right? A serving every evening would cost a lot of money!"
"If we can really get a serving of beast meat every day, then this work is worth doing!"
………………
For ordinary people living in Evergreen Valley, being able to eat a stable serving of beast meat every day was a good fortune they wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Now, Zhang Hai had actually made such a promise. How could everyone's hearts not be stirred with excitement?
"Of course! What kind of person is my father? Would he deceive you? Since he said it, he will definitely do it. The premise is that you must complete the progress, ensuring the official road is fully constructed within ten days!"
The deadline given by Qinghua City's Finance Department was actually half a month. Father Zhang Yiqing directly shortened it by a third, changing it to ten days. The purpose was naturally to curry favor with the Finance Department.
From Red Tiger Ridge to the Bone-Erosion Path, the total length is about eighty kilometers. Completing it in ten days means eight kilometers of progress per day. Relying solely on Tiger Tail Village's thirty thousand-plus laborers is definitely not possible. Even adding the forty thousand laborers from the other four villages of Red Tiger Ridge, the feasibility is actually not great either.
The beast meat incentive is just the first move. Grandfather Zhang Kuang has already dispatched his Prefectural Guard Army to continue conscripting laborers from the southern villages. As long as enough people participate, half a month is definitely not a problem.
"Good! As long as Young Master Zhang keeps his word, we will definitely put in extra effort!"
"It's just road construction, right? It's just manual labor in the end. As long as we get beast meat, we have plenty of strength!"
"Brothers, why make a fuss when there's beast meat? Eat the meat, then get to work!"
………………
Seeing the laborers' emotions calm down as they began to gaze longingly at the ten large cauldrons, the contempt in Zhang Hai's eyes grew even thicker. But he still masked it well, then smiled and waved his hand behind him.
"Everyone, rest assured, we will definitely keep our word. Brothers, bring all ten cauldrons down and distribute the stew to everyone. Eat first, and after you've eaten well, we'll officially start work!"
As he gave the order, the ten large cauldrons were immediately carried down.
The laborers all carried their own utensils. Under the direction of Tiger Tail Village's managers, they began forming long lines, waiting to get their share of the stew.
Watching the laborers' faces full of smiles, Zhang Hai shook his head slightly, a cold sneer echoing in his heart.
Ten cauldrons are 6000 jin, 3000 taels of silver. Over ten days, that would be 30,000 taels worth of beast meat. How could these people expect to eat beast meat every day?
The daily construction progress is still up to them to decide. Father Zhang Yiqing said last night that at most, they would only spend 10,000 taels to buy beast meat, which is about 20,000 jin.
Calculating it, even if these laborers work their hardest, they'll get beast meat for at most three days. For the rest of the time, they can forget about it.
"The Finance Department only allocated 150,000 taels of silver in total. Just purchasing the road construction materials will cost 120,000 taels, leaving only 30,000. 10,000 for greasing palms, so Father can keep at most 20,000. Allocating 10,000 to buy beast meat for these people is already showing great mercy. No, I need to find a way to skim a bit more..."
A flicker of greed passed through Zhang Hai's eyes. Father had entrusted the beast meat procurement to him; the entire 10,000 taels were in his hands. As long as he could find a way to embezzle a bit more, he could still make a little profit.
The laborer teams also had their hierarchy. Naturally, the hundred or so Warmth Realm leaders were at the front of the line. They quickly got their bowls of beast meat stew from the managers and gathered nearby to start eating.
"Pah... this, what is this?"
"It's rotten! This meat tastes rotten in the mouth!"
"Is this beast meat?"
…………
A sudden disturbance arose in the area. The first batch of people who ate the beast meat suddenly had a violent reaction. They spat out the meat in their mouths, clearly finding it hard to swallow. Then, looking at the bowls in their hands, their expressions turned extremely ugly.
There were supposedly 6000 jin of beast meat, but tonight there were over thirty thousand laborers present. So when Tiger Tail Village's managers distributed the meat, each person only got one ladleful, mostly broth, with very little meat—just about one mouthful.
With just these two liang of meat, chewed a few times and gone, the fact that everyone had such a reaction was enough to show there was a big problem with this beast meat.
But Zhang Hai didn't react immediately. He thought the laborers were trying to cause more trouble. Anger rose on his face as he said sharply, "What are you all shouting about nonsense? You've been given meat to eat, and you still want to cause trouble? Looking to die?"
The few Warmth Realm cultivators who had just made noise were immediately intimidated.
However, someone still stepped forward, cupping his hands and saying, "Young Master Zhang, it's not that we want to cause trouble. The meat in the cauldrons has a problem. If you don't believe us, taste it yourself!"
"Ugh..."
"This meat really is rotten!"
"It's putrid meat, take a closer look..."
"It really is, this meat even has wormholes."
"Ugh, there are maggots!"
……………………
As more and more people who had gotten the beast meat tasted it, Zhang Hai finally realized something was wrong. He hurriedly walked over, snatched a bowl from someone's hand, brought it close to sniff, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.
There really was a problem!
The Ice Abyss is an extremely cold environment. As long as beast meat is stored normally, it generally shouldn't rot. But some special circumstances cannot be ruled out, so occasionally rotten meat does appear.
Generally, once beast meat rots, it has no value whatsoever. There might be no abnormality while cooking, but once eaten, people would immediately notice.
Although Zhang Hai didn't eat it, a close sniff told him this beast meat had been stored for over three years and hadn't been kept in a suitable low-temperature environment. It clearly even had wormholes.
"Impossible! The beast meat was taken from the village warehouse. It couldn't be over a year old. This..."
A few suspicions arose in Zhang Hai's heart, but before he could think further, his thoughts were interrupted by the laborers' furious, resentful roars.
"So the ten servings of beast meat are just this kind of rotten meat?"
"This beast meat probably isn't even wanted if sold to others, yet they give it to us to eat, and still want us to exert our strength to build the road?"
"This no-cost business, isn't Young Master Zhang afraid of divine retribution for doing it?"
"Build the road my ass! Last night's snow clearing was just free help for them. No matter what, I'm not staying here anymore. Let's go back, go back."
………………
Seeing the crowd below growing increasingly agitated, Zhang Hai's heart panicked.
Although the official road construction was Tiger Tail Village's responsibility, they weren't the only ones involved. The other four families of Red Tiger Ridge, as well as Qinghua City, which had set up a temporary Administration Office in the southern part of Evergreen Valley, were also conscripting laborers to build the road. So multiple locations were cooperating and proceeding simultaneously.
If these thirty thousand laborers left, and Tiger Tail Village's assigned section wasn't completed on time, the responsibility would be huge for all of Tiger Tail Village's managers, including his father Zhang Yiqing.
So he absolutely could not let these people leave!
But this beast meat was indeed rotten.
How was he supposed to explain this to these people?
Zhang Hai's inner frustration gradually began to grow. The laborers' chattering threats to leave continued, making his mind even more chaotic.
"Stop right there!"
Finally, seeing people actually start turning to leave, Zhang Hai could no longer remain silent. He directly roared angrily at those few who were about to leave.
"This beast meat was probably tampered with. I..."
"Young Master Zhang, stop with the hypocritical explanations. You just killed Leader Zhu and brought out ten cauldrons of beast meat to trick us. Isn't it just because Tiger Tail Village is strong, trying to force us to work for free?"
After Zhang Hai called out to stop that person, he immediately tried to explain. But before he could finish, a middle-aged voice from the crowd interrupted him.
His expression stiffened, and he prepared to speak.
"We helped you work for fifteen hours, haven't even had a drop of water, and then you bring out ten cauldrons of rotten beast meat for us to eat. Only your Tiger Tail Village could do such a thing. If you want us to help build the road, you're dreaming!"
"I've also been to Qinghua City. For official road construction, the city's Finance Department allocates funds, and everyone gets some wages. You embezzling our brothers' silver is one thing, but you won't even give us a single bite of beast meat, feeding us these ten cauldrons of rotten meat instead. Are you even human?"
"Shameless! Brothers, no matter what, we won't build the road for them. Let's go!"
"That's right! Let's go back! Tiger Tail Village is going too far. If this really blows up and reaches Qinghua City, I don't believe all the officials in the city are blind!"
"Go, go, go! Everyone, leave!"
………………
Someone was stirring up trouble.
Why the beast meat had rotted, Zhang Hai had no time to think about now. Hearing the continuously provocative, inciting words coming from the crowd, he immediately realized.
His expression changed several times in succession. He stared into the crowd, roughly identifying the few speakers from the direction of the voices. Pointing at them, he roared angrily, "You... you... and you... you few, step forward right now!"
"What, Young Master Zhang wants to keep killing people?"
"Kill a few more, intimidate everyone, and then force us to keep working on empty stomachs!"
"Brothers, if we don't resist now, next time it won't just be about work. There have long been rumors that Caiqiu suffered a defeat outside. The 200,000-strong army that passed by two hours ago is heading out to fight someone else. What if, halfway through building the road, the enemy attacks? Will this Young Master Zhang, or Caiqiu, care about the lives of us common folk?"
"No wonder so many troops are heading south. So that's why..."
"I've heard too. If two armies clash, and we help Caiqiu build the road, then when the other side breaks through, they'll definitely slaughter us all!"
"Risking our lives to build their road, and we can't even get a bite of beast meat. What are we doing this for? I won't do it! I absolutely refuse! Let's go!"
……………………
The crowd began to retreat!
These laborers were really about to leave.
Fury shook Zhang Hai's heart. His face alternated between pale and flushed. Seeing the crowd beginning to retreat on a large scale, he suddenly drew his blade and charged out, heading straight for the few people he had first named.
Thud...
For some reason, he had only run forward about ten meters, not even getting close to those few people, when five or six people inexplicably pressed toward him.
Zhang Hai thought these laborers had eaten the guts of a bear or leopard to dare attack him. The anger in his heart grew even fiercer. He drew his blade and casually slashed out.
Thud... thud... thud...
A series of five or six blade strikes flashed out. Those six people who had pressed toward him were instantly cut in half by him.
After killing them, Zhang Hai froze instantly.
The six corpses on the ground were actually four frail-looking women and two young boys, at most thirteen or fourteen years old.
Of course, it wasn't just him who froze.
There were also the laborers who had just been preparing to leave.
The laborers closest to the scene saw the six corpses on the ground, then looked up at Zhang Hai. Their breathing instantly grew heavy.
Many people further back didn't understand what was happening. When they moved closer and clearly saw the scene, their breathing also immediately became rapid.
Killing people was naturally nothing to Zhang Hai, but seeing the laborers' eyes fixed on him, his heart still trembled violently. Two words inexplicably floated into his mind:
"It's over!"
He had incited public fury.