Chapter 462: The New Labor Offender
Chapter 457 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens showing developments: Chen Ergou trailed behind Qi Cheng as they toured the âcell.âHe was immediately stunned to... Keep reading!
Chen Ergou trailed behind Qi Cheng as they toured the âcell.âHe was immediately stunned to discover that living conditions here werenât half bad!
Qi Chengâs cell was a four-person room with four straw mats laid out on the floor. Interestingly, each of them had spare clothes neatly stacked beside their sleeping spotsâcotton clothes, not coarse hemp.
This was downrightâŚ
The sheer disbelief hit Chen Ergou like a slap to the face. Even in normal times, peasants only wore hemp and could never afford cotton garments. Often, an entire family shared just one presentable outfitâthe one who went out wore it.
So how could prisoners here wear cotton clothes, with two sets to spare?
Was this some kind of sick joke?
Stunned, Chen Ergou blurted out: âWhereâd you get cotton clothes?â
Qi Cheng: âThe Deity gives them to us.â
Chen Ergou: âDeity?â
Qi Cheng turned to face the wall and bowed.
Pasted on the cell wall was an illustrated print of the Dao Xuan Deity. The Gaojia Village publishing house mass-produced these for distribution everywhereâespecially prisons, where âideological reformâ was prioritized. Nearly every cell had one on its wall.
Qi Cheng explained: âErgou, this is the Dao Xuan Deity. He punishes the wicked and protects the kind. We owe the food we eat and the clothes we wear to his mercy.â
Unconvinced, Chen Ergou dismissed this as nonsense.
But just then, he sensed the Dao Xuan Deityâs painted gaze flicker ever so slightly, as if its pupils had moved.
âWhoa!â Chen Ergou stumbled backward, heart hammering against his ribs. âBrother Qi Cheng⌠his eyes moved. They just moved!â
Qi Cheng: âLong life and great blessings. Isnât that entirely ordinary?â
He even looked faintly pleased as he added: âBack when my sin weighed heavy, the Dao Xuan Deityâs eyes never moved. Now I labor fiercely and repent tirelessly. My debt lessens daily. Now, he visits sometimes with just a glanceâproof he witnesses my transformation firsthand.â
He had no way of knowing that âsynchronized viewingâ was a feature the Dao Xuan Deity acquired recentlyâthis hadnât been possible before.
Fear still rattled Chen Ergou, but when he fixed his gaze on the portrait again, the paper god sat motionless. Had it been real, or just terror twisting his sight? For now, he pushed the thought aside.
Still, he dared show no further disrespect. One might doubt the divine, but one must never dishonor it.
âThwack⌠thwack⌠thwackâŚâ
A rhythmic rapping echoed across the prisonâthe sound made by sticks striking hollow bamboo.
To Chen Ergou, this noise signaled only one thing: War is coming.
Every time marauding bandits attacked a settlement, village patrols raised alarms this exact way. The bamboo drumbeat summoned farmers to heave hoes from sweat-cool earth, ready to kill or be killed. And since Chen Ergou belonged to those very banditsâthose hungry ghosts haunting the empireâs seamsâhe knew the sound meant resistance. Violence would unfurl bloody blossoms.
Reflexively he dropped into fighting stance. Scrambling for weapons met empty airâonly then did his memory snap tight: he surrendered. He was collared cattle now. Chains weighed heavier than stolen swords.
Qi Chengâs eyes, however, glinted eagerly: âItâs mealtime. Come on.â
Chen Ergou: âHuh?â
He patted his belly. Yes, truly hungry. After surrendering at Yanâan, the government handed themâwhat?âone liang? two? of dried grain per man before marching thousands through Huanglong Mountainâs cruel slopes toward this place. Theyâd nibbled hardtack until wrists ached. To claim they werenât starving? Lies.
Chen Ergou: âThey feed us here?â
âOf course,â said Qi Cheng. âWould I still stand otherwise?â
âI guess not.â
Already Chen Ergou dismissed âprison foodâ as watery gruelâsustaining life without ever filling hollow stomachs. Something to swallow, not savor. He followed the shuffling procession emptying from cells: some men prison-ragged, others just-captured rebels, tens of thousands marching toward the mess hall. At the entrance, they formed an orderly long line.
He and Qi Cheng entered early and stood near the front. Peering past swaying shoulders, Chen Ergou spotted women hauling giant cauldrons and wide pans between steaming vats.
He didnât need vision to predict gloop thin as snot. Unwholesome sludge. Hungerâs cruel tease.
ExceptâŚ
As he moved closer, the tubs overflowed with steamed buns made from fine white flour.
Chen Ergou froze. He gaped. Only landlord heirs tasted such luxury. Commoners scarfed coarse cornbread. Who could afford flour this pure?
At the sight, Qi Cheng nodded knowingly. âThis means backbreaking labor waits today. We eat well to endure better.â
One serving woman confirmed: âExactly! I overheard the Head Guard say, âSend every strong-backed male out. Lay railroad tracks today.â Shifting logs? Hauling iron? Brutal. So better we fuel you properly.â
She thrust two buns at Qi Cheng before waving at the bewildered Chen Ergou. âCome get yours. Why stare dumbstruck?â
Chen Ergou blinked. âThis⌠trulyâŚ?â
The woman laughed: âFalse promises? Hardly. Three thousand joined todayâyouâre one? Novices never grasp our rules. Eat all you want. Come for secondsâor thirds! But waste even one crumb? Forget eating tomorrow. Punishment by hunger.â
Heat flushed Chen Ergouâs neck. He felt peasant-stupidâlike a wide-mouthed frog gaping at imperial carriages. But⌠two precious flour buns slid beneath his nose. Pride bent its head. Humbly he accepted: âGood sister⌠two might not fill me. Three, perhaps?â
She chucked an extra bun his way.
One bun gripped in each hand, and he bit a third. For some reason, dampness pricked his eyelids.
They ate fast.
Perched atop a watchtower, Zhong Gaoliang, the Head Guard, surveyed the crowdâthe human sea. Ranks of guards stiffened around him. Prison security evolved stricter now. Especially todayâthree thousand untamed newcomers meant doubling every precaution. Near the walls stood Cheng Xu, commanding a full cohort of village guardsmen.
Zhong Gaoliangâs shout rang over the noise: âHurry it up! Finish in the time it takes one incense stick to burn! All young adult men rally at the front gates! Today you lay rail track. Exhausting? Yes. But preferable to battle.â