Heavy snow pressed down on houses, walls collapsed, and houses collapsed.
This was one of the most tragic things for the poor.
Wang Kunpeng was now standing in front of his old house with collapsed beams and collapsed walls, kneeling on the ground and wailing.
Half a year ago, when Zhou Qingfeng arrived in Fushun, he recruited Wang Kunpeng to his side. He originally thought that this was a leisurely job, but who knew that there would be endless trouble and disaster – every time Zhou Qingfeng made a big move, the people who followed him would be in big trouble.
Previously, Zhou Qingfeng led a team to attack Fushun horse market, and afterwards, Fushun guerrilla commander Li Yongfang sent troops to retaliate against the villages that participated in the looting. Although most of the villagers left with He Zhuo of the Yehe tribe, there were still many villagers who stayed behind – most of these people were dead.
Later, Li Yongfang used the face of Guo Buyi and Ma Chengta to overlook this matter. But the officials of Fushun City would not easily let go of such an opportunity to extract profits – the villages that participated in the looting were looted many times, the fields were divided, and the houses in the village were also occupied. Those who were lucky enough to escape were also hunted down, and had to live like a mouse and hide everywhere. For example, Wang Kunpeng.
In half a year, Wang Kunpeng had changed from a young scholar to a thin and weak beggar. Today was New Year's Day, and he wanted to go back to his hometown to worship his ancestors. But his original village was unrecognizable, and his Wang family's old house was empty, and even the house was crushed by the heavy snow, and there was no place for him to stay.
Sob sob sob … Wang Kunpeng sobbed as he picked up the ancestral tablets from the ruins. These tablets were smashed to pieces, and could not be put back together. He gathered the rotten wood in his hand, and wanted to hang himself.
Death would be the end of everything.
He wanted to die, but he was afraid of death, so Wang Kunpeng could only cry. He hadn't even eaten a hot meal for the past few days. He was so hungry that he felt dizzy. In the end, he didn't even have the strength to cry. He could only whimper a few times.
Now that the weather was cold, if Wang Kunpeng kept crying like this, even if he didn't starve to death, he would freeze to death. This was a very common thing. Everyday in Fushun, poor people with withered hands and feet could be seen dying at the foot of the wall. They were commonly known as' starving people '.
Dizzy from crying, Wang Kunpeng heard a series of footsteps behind him on this snowy day. It seemed that many people were standing in front of his house. Then, a loud voice shouted, "Hey, are you dead? Since you're not dead, let me ask you something. How did this village become so dilapidated? "
Wang Kunpeng didn't want to respond, but the voice sounded familiar. He turned his head and saw a number of people standing in front of the collapsed door. They wore thick leather coats, sturdy leather hats, scarves on their faces, and even gloves on their hands. Their bodies were wrapped tightly and looked warm.
"There's no one in the village anymore," Wang Kunpeng replied weakly. He wanted to stand up, but found that his legs were frozen numb. When he tried to use force, he fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.
The person who asked the question took a few steps forward and stretched out his hand to pull Wang Kunpeng up from the ground. He said, "Brother, you're wearing too little. You'll freeze to death."
"I only have this set of clothes," Wang Kunpeng said as he sobbed again. It was said that men don't cry easily, but he was really at the end of his rope.
The person who asked the question carefully looked at Wang Kunpeng's face and suddenly exclaimed, "You're Wang Kunpeng?"
Wang Kunpeng had lost a lot of weight. His cheeks were sunken, but his eyebrows were still visible. When he heard the stranger recognize his name, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who are you?"
Hahaha … The person who asked the question took off his leather hat and said happily, "I was thinking about where to find an acquaintance when I returned to Fushun. I came back to this village to take a look, but there wasn't even a ghost. But I met you, Brother Wang. "
When Wang Kunpeng saw the face in front of him, he immediately raised his finger and scolded angrily, "Zhou, you actually dare to come back? You destroyed our entire village, and I'm like this now because of you. You still dare to come back? "
The person who came was naturally Zhou Qingfeng. When he arrived at Fushun Pass, he climbed over the side wall and entered. He was familiar with the way to find the village that had robbed the horse market in Fushun with him. However, the village had long been ruined. The houses had collapsed, and there were no signs of human habitation. He was surprised to meet Wang Kunpeng, who had once been his personal attendant.
Facing the agitated Wang Kunpeng, Zhou Qingfeng's joy at returning to Daming immediately faded. He knew that he had caused too much trouble back then and had offended too many people. The officials in Fushun couldn't find trouble with him, but they would definitely seek revenge on those who had followed him. Clearly, Wang Kunpeng was one of them.
"Brother Wang must have suffered a lot." Zhou Qingfeng was now taller than Wang Kunpeng. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "The past can't be undone. I can make it up to you now."
"Make it up to you?" Wang Kunpeng was still holding the broken pieces of wood from the ancestral tablets. He stiffened his neck and shouted, "I won't follow you anymore even if I die. Every time you're in trouble, you run away and leave me to suffer. Because of you, I was captured by the Brocade Guard, tortured by the East Faction Guards, and chased by officials. Now my family has been destroyed, and my ancestral home can't even be preserved. You're simply a jinx. "
Thinking that Wang Kunpeng had indeed not had a good time following him, Zhou Qingfeng felt even more guilty. He nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I've let you down. I don't want to order you around anymore. The weather is cold, so I'll give you a set of winter clothes. "
Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand, and someone behind him brought Wang Kunpeng a set of thick and warm leather clothes and even leather boots. They were all made of fine fur and felt heavy in his hands.
With the winter clothes in hand, Wang Kunpeng discovered that there were twenty or so people pulling a sleigh and following Zhou Qingfeng outside the house. He really wanted to throw the winter clothes in his hands to the ground and show that he didn't accept charity.
But Zhou Qingfeng shouted to his subordinates behind him, "Go to the village and find a few houses that we can still live in. We'll stay here for the day. Gather firewood and boil water for cooking. When we're full, we'll think of a way to enter the city. Right, give this brother Wang a share as well. Let him eat until he's full. "
When the strong-willed Wang Kunpeng heard that he was going to be given food, his rumbling stomach immediately growled. He was so hungry that he felt sore. He wanted to refuse but found that he couldn't open his mouth. The thought of filling his stomach overshadowed all gratitude and grudges.
Looking at Zhou Qingfeng's subordinates, they each performed their own duties and quickly got to work after receiving the order. These people had followed Zhou Qingfeng through hardships and education. They were the best part of Ehekulun's more than one thousand slaves. Everyone was nimble and had great teamwork.
In less than an hour, the abandoned village was once again filled with smoke and fire. A large iron bucket was used to boil soup, and a large iron pot was used to steam rice. There were a few specialized cooks in charge of the meals. It was very efficient. The other subordinates who accompanied him tidied up the houses in the village that could be lived in. The small leaders commanded the scene in an orderly manner. They spoke loudly and methodically, making people feel comfortable just by looking at them.
The strong-willed Wang Kunpeng still changed into his winter clothes under the urging of the cold wind, especially his leather boots. Once the soles of his feet were warm, his whole body felt much more comfortable. He was so hungry that his stomach hurt. Naturally, he was attracted by the few cooks who were cooking. He stood at the side and stared blankly. The more he looked, the hungrier he got.
Zhou Qingfeng laughed and said happily, "These cooks are treasures. I didn't expect them to be so useful. Two of them are even female Zhenrens. Although they can't read no matter how much I teach them, they are honest and obedient. They save me a lot of trouble. Whether it's marching to war or crossing mountains and ridges, with a few good cooks, the morale of the whole team is guaranteed. "
Zhou Qingfeng's cooks not only knew how to cook, but they also thought of ways to find ingredients. This was really amazing. He praised them again and again.
Wang Kunpeng, on the other hand, was paying attention to the cooking utensils in the hands of the cooks. Whether it was the large iron bucket or the large iron pot, they were all rare and expensive items. Moreover, the spatulas that the cooks used were all made of metal. There were also about ten smaller pots and bowls. It could be said that they had everything — these things were rare even in a rich family.
Originally, they used clay vats for cooking. However, those clay vats were too heavy. They were inconvenient to carry and even cracked when they were cooking soup. At that time, the cooks were all so scared that they knelt in front of Zhou Qingfeng and trembled. However, Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand and didn't care. He got a set of metal cooking utensils and cooking utensils from the technical school's canteen in the time and space isolated island.
To be able to eat hot soup and rice every day in the winter, this was the magic weapon that Zhou Qingfeng used to maintain the team's morale and cohesiveness on the way back. He also set up a basic rule in his team — to make sure that his subordinates had enough to eat and wear warm clothes. This kind of difficult task was not scary. Otherwise, any team would be like a plate of loose sand.
Hunting in the winter was very difficult. However, on the way back, Zhou Qingfeng passed by many rivers. He cut through the ice to fish and stored a lot of fish. Because there wasn't enough cooking oil, the fish could only be stewed. Waiting for the hot soup to boil, Zhou Qingfeng personally called for his subordinates to drink the soup.
Wang Kunpeng also held a metal bowl and drank the hot soup in small mouthfuls. In the soup, there were some wild onions and mushrooms that were picked in autumn and dried. The smell was fragrant and appetizing. He had been hungry for a few days. He didn't even know how long it had been since he had eaten hot food. At this moment, a mouthful of hot soup was accompanied by tears. It was clearly a happy occasion, but she couldn't stop crying.
After the hot soup, there was wild vegetable rice. Zhou Qingfeng didn't think it tasted very good, but Wang Kunpeng felt it was more and more delicious the more he ate. He ate four or five bowls in one go. He ate until his throat was choked and his eyes rolled back, but he still didn't let go of the bowl. Zhou Qingfeng's subordinates didn't laugh at him when they saw his table manners. They just patted him on the back and advised him not to eat too much. Otherwise, he would die.
With the winter clothes and the hot soup and rice, Wang Kunpeng's stubbornness was digested along with the food. He suddenly lowered his head and felt sad and uncomfortable. After eating this meal, what about the next one? He could endure the next meal, but what about the one after that?
Zhou Qingfeng had just eaten his fill and arranged for his subordinates to take turns to rest and guard. He walked towards Wang Kunpeng and wanted to ask about the current situation in Fushun. But before he could speak, Wang Kunpeng said to him, "This … Young Master."
Ah … Hearing Wang Kunpeng being so polite, Zhou Qingfeng grinned. He searched his body and took out a silver ingot and gave it to Wang Kunpeng. "When I first came to Fushun, Brother Wang helped me a lot and caused a lot of trouble for Brother Wang. I think Brother Wang is short on money now. Give this silver to Brother Wang to subsidize your family. "
It wasn't a lot of silver, but Wang Kunpeng didn't want to take it. He turned around and said, "Young Master, I … I was wrong. I …, I …. "
Wang Kunpeng stammered for a long time but didn't know what to say. Zhou Qingfeng said, "Now that I have returned to Fushun, I will no longer live under someone else's roof. I want to recruit talented people and expand my business. I wonder if Brother Wang can let bygones be bygones and help me again? "
Zhou Qingfeng's words were calm and magnanimous, and his words were sincere. He knew Wang Kunpeng very well. Now that he was in need of talent, taking the initiative to recruit him would give him face.
In the face of survival, what was there to fuss about? Wang Kunpeng's mouth trembled and he couldn't speak clearly, so he just kept nodding. This was like boarding Zhou Qingfeng's pirate ship again, but he felt at ease in his heart. At least he didn't have to starve.
Zhou Qingfeng asked Wang Kunpeng about the current situation in Fushun City and arranged for him to get to know the other members of his team. He introduced Old Man Sun, Sun Ren, Cai Zhiwei, and the others. Everyone in the team sat around the campfire and chatted at night. It was a happy and harmonious atmosphere.
At night, Wang Kunpeng and Cai Zhiwei were arranged to stay in the same room. Cai Zhiwei's painting boy, Jinge, was curious about this person who suddenly joined the team. Before going to bed, he asked him when he met the leader.
Wang Kunpeng was also curious about how Cai Zhiwei and the others got to know Zhou Qingfeng. When he learned that everyone in the team followed Zhou Qingfeng in Ehekulun, he suddenly straightened his chest and said, "I'm old friends with Master Zhou Shao. I followed him two months earlier than you."
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