Over the next few days, Zhang Cai's family was occupied with digging the well. Luckily, by the sixth day, the long-awaited water was finally dug up, and they managed to complete this difficult task before the onset of winter. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As Zhang Cai was busy paying the well-diggers, Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers were busy repairing the path from the field to the well platform. Gloomily, winter clouds settled overhead and tiny snowflakes, shaped like salt granules, began to fall from the sky. The much-loved and loathed winter days for the farmers had finally arrived.
With the first snowfall, the cold wind became even more biting. The New Year was drawing near.
Zhang Cai was very satisfied this year. He had acquired more land for his family and dug a well, which would help ensure a stable water supply even during droughts. With proper care, this land should become the main source of food for the family. Thus, as the New Year approached, Zhang Cai instructed Guo Sufei to prepare some extra New Year's goods so the family could celebrate the occasion properly. His mother-in-law was getting older, and with each passing year, her health was deteriorating. She spent half of the day lying in bed, not knowing if she would make it to the next New Year. Thinking of his own parents and how kind his father-in-law had been to him, Zhang Cai couldn't help but eagerly anticipate a happy and fulfilling New Year.
It was easy for a farming family to prepare for the New Year. An abundant feast meant having a variety of dishes, but the quantity of each dish was quite limited. Most of the dishes were dried wild products that had been prepared and stored throughout the year, with only a few items purchased from distant markets by Zhang Cai. Due to his mother-in-law's declining health, Zhang Cai bought some food items that they had never seen before. This made Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers envious, and they couldn't wait for the New Year to come so they could have a taste. Meanwhile, Guo Sufei, in addition to preparing for the New Year, spent most of her time visiting familiar relatives in the village and sometimes nearby villages to inquire about her eldest son's marriage prospects. Judging from the varying expressions of frustration and joy on her face, it seemed that things weren't going as smoothly as anticipated.
Time flew by as Zhang's family busied themselves with various tasks, and the New Year was just around the corner.
On the day before the New Year, as everyone was gathered around the stove, discussing the upcoming harvest, the situation in the fields, and Zhang Xiaolong's future wife, they suddenly heard a commotion and shouting coming from outside the village. Everything seemed to be in chaos.
"Could it be bandits raiding the village?" A thought immediately popped into Zhang Cai's head. However, that didn't seem likely. Guo Village was small and poor, so the bandits living in the mountains nearby never bothered with such a desolate place. Regardless, Zhang Cai couldn't afford to take any chances. He called for his three children, grabbed some iron tools, like hoes, and cautiously stepped outside. From behind the half-height wall of the Zhang family home, he could see people gathering and talking in the village, some running, but none of them were strangers. Although everyone looked panicked, there was also a hint of relief and even schadenfreude in their expressions. Zhang Cai was puzzled and instructed his kids to go back inside and put down their makeshift weapons. He then ventured out to find out more information. Zhang Xiaolong and his brothers weren't content with staying idle, so they too snuck outside and mingled with the other young people in the village.
There were many villagers gathered in groups, standing or sitting, all discussing the same matter. Zhang Cai approached a group of old men, who were smoking and talking loudly while making grand gestures. He spotted Blacksmith Liu, a familiar face, and patted his shoulder, asking, "Old Liu, what's going on? Why is it so chaotic?" Blacksmith Liu was silently puffing on his pipe, but when he saw Zhang Cai asking for information, he tapped the ashes from his pipe, filled it with fresh tobacco, carefully lit it, and inhaled deeply. Then he said in a somber tone, "Old brother, do you know about the bandits eighty miles north of our village, the ones who have taken over Xicui Mountain?"
Zhang Cai replied, "Of course, they're the biggest thieves within a hundred-mile radius of us. How could I not know about them? But they usually focus on the wealthier areas to the north, so what, have they come to our village?"
Blacksmith Liu took another puff of his pipe and said, "Yeah, do you remember a while ago when Mr. Wu from Xin Village dug a well and found a treasure?"
Zhang Cai suddenly realized, "Could it be...they..."
Zhang Cai didn't bother asking anymore as he already knew the reason for the commotion. A fortune such as the one Mr. Wu found should have been kept secret, for now, the bandits had set their sights on it. What good could come from this?
Seeing that Zhang Cai had stopped asking questions, Butcher Guo squeezed in and said mysteriously, "It's not just that. At first, Mr. Wu tried to deny the whole thing and refused to admit it really happened. The bandits gathered all of his family members, several dozen of them, in the ancestral hall and searched his house from top to bottom. Finally, they found the treasures hidden in a vegetable cellar and the bottom of the well. Furious that Mr. Wu had deceived them, the bandits set fire to the ancestral hall, burning all those people alive—none of them escaped. Fortunately, Xin Village is only slightly better off than ours, so the bandits didn't harm anyone else. As they left, they warned the villagers to be careful and not to report the incident to the officers, lest they want to join the others in death."Blacksmith Liu said: "Fortune and misfortune come suddenly, a few days ago they thought they were rich, but now their whole family is wiped out. How tragic!"
Butcher Guo continued: "Well, not everyone is gone. Mr. Wu's sister-in-law came to our village yesterday to visit her parents and didn't go back today. She escaped by chance. Just now, someone just informed her about the tragedy and she sent someone to check it out. Also, according to the messenger, when the bandits left, they took a woman with them on horseback; her face was unclear, but she was probably Mr. Wu's daughter who caught the bandits' fancy and was taken to the mountain, perhaps to be the bandit chief's wife."
Zhang Xiaohua and his two brothers had been standing behind their father, listening to the villagers talking. They felt a sudden chill in their hearts. They had heard stories about the evil deeds of bandits before but had thought they were just stories. Now it happened so close to them. They knew Mr. Wu, who had even taught Zhang Xiaohua a few characters when he was a child. Now he was burned to ashes. Although they didn't see it with their own eyes, they still felt sad and frightened. Zhang Xiaohua unconsciously touched the bracelet on his left wrist, thinking secretly: "Fortunately, I didn't dig out any real treasure. Even if I did, I would never tell anyone so as not to bring disaster to myself and my family." Innocent men possessing precious stones risk danger; this bloody truth deeply struck the young lad's heart.
The three brothers wanted to go to Xin Village to see what had happened, but Zhang Cai did not agree. After all, New Year was approaching, and going to such a bloody scene would be bad luck for the coming year. Moreover, the Wu family in Xin Village was now scorched earth, a sight that would make anyone afraid. The officials should be there by now, and going there might even bring more trouble.
As they continued talking, the villagers dispersed. After all, other people's lives had come to an end, and they still had to live their own lives. They understood the principle of "cleaning the snow in front of their own door." It was getting dark, and their New Year was approaching too. It was time to sort out their mood and focus on their own affairs.
Zhang Cai and the three children went back home and told their mother-in-law and Guo Sufei what had happened in Xin Village. The two women were shocked and prayed to heaven, hoping that the dead souls pass on early to a new life, and, hoping that their family would never encounter such tragedies. Even when it was getting dark and the oil lamp was lit at home, Zhang Xiaohua's grandmother kept murmuring, "Fortune and misfortune come in an instant, fortune and misfortune come in an instant."
This New Year, Guo Village was far less lively than in previous years. Under the nightfall, only the children played with lanterns, carefree and unaware of the world's dangers; they enjoyed their innocent nature. Most of the villagers, like Zhang Cai's family, ate a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, tied up the loose ends of their work, and anticipated a sweet and happy new year with a hint of melancholy at heart. Thinking of Mr. Wu's encounter and the law of the jungle in this world, they inevitably wondered, "Will I be the next victim?" Looking at the vast world, they didn't know how to protect their own family's stability.
On such a lively New Year's night, it quietly passed. Zhang Xiaohua did not know whether the villagers experienced happiness, joy, harvest, or sweetness in their dreams, but his dream was filled with twinkling images, which seemed a little clearer with each passing moment.
The farmers' New Year is actually quite simple. Apart from visiting each other, there is only the market in Lu town. Starting on the third day of the New Year, there is a street in Lu town where the surrounding villages gather for some lively "markets." Everyone wears new clothes, brings their family, and carries a slightly full money pouch to enjoy the New Year atmosphere.
Except for Guo Sufei, who stayed at home to take care of Zhang Xiaohua's grandmother, Zhang Cai with his three children went to Lu Town for the market.
Lu Town is located 30 miles south to the Guo Village.
There aren't many streets in Lu Town, and there isn't much excitement to share on ordinary days. But on rare occasions like the New Year's market, everyone brings out the energy saved up over the years, and a bustling scene unfolds in a street in Lu Town. This is a north-south street, quite wide, apparently the main street of Lu Town. There are many shops on both sides of the street, and business is good no matter what they sell. The doors are wide open, with countless people coming in and out. The shop assistants inside and outside the shop greet passing customers, and many peddlers carry their own small businesses and set up on the street, constantly shouting loudly to attract the passing crowd. On ordinary days, if shop assistants saw someone blocking the entrance, they would surely ask them to move, but today was an exception. Everyone was out trying to make a living, and for the sake of New Year's fortune, they would not turn red-faced and lose harmony; they even wished each other good luck when they met.
As a result, the already crowded streets became even more congested. Zhang Xiaohua, who came to the market with his father and brothers, didn't know where to look.