EBE Chapter 438 Suspicion
Chapter 438 Suspicion
Scarface nodded in agreement, “Of course. Whether you go to turn yourself in or not is entirely up to you, and when you go is also up to you.”
"If some people are unwilling to turn themselves in to the authorities and insist on staying on the mountain, I will not force them. However, once we have earned enough money by planting medicinal herbs for a few seasons and turned our lives around, I will lead everyone down the mountain to buy land and expand our medicinal herb fields."
Those whose names have been cleared can come down the mountain with me to plant medicinal herbs. Those whose names haven't been cleared will have to stay on the mountain, and they can no longer be bandits and robbers. If I discover them, don't blame me for not showing any mercy for our years of brotherhood; I'll deal with them according to the old rules, and I won't let them off easily.
"what?"
The crowd erupted in uproar and heated discussion.
"Good heavens, so Big Brother was planning to go down the mountain to buy land and grow medicinal herbs. Those rich families have a lot of land, and they can sell their grain harvest for a lot of money every year. If Big Brother and Hu Zi go down the mountain to grow medicinal herbs, they will definitely be able to sell even more money."
"Of course! Grain is only worth a few dollars, but medicinal herbs are very expensive. The price difference for just one season is many times greater. If you do a rough calculation, you can make a fortune just by growing medicinal herbs for a year."
"Your words are so tempting! After clearing my name, I can go down the mountain to grow medicinal herbs and become a respectable person. I can earn more money than I can ever spend. Isn't that wonderful!"
“My parents are still alive. If I can turn myself in and confess, after I've atone for my sins, I can earn money by growing medicinal herbs with my older brother, and then I can take care of them and bring them to live with us so that others can support them in their old age…”
"Yes, yes, my mother is still alive. She's in poor health and has no one to take care of her..."
As they talked about their families, the defenses they had built up against the fear of being sentenced by the authorities gradually crumbled. They began to think that spending a few years in prison and no longer having to carry the stigma of being a shady bandit was the only way to become ordinary people again.
So one by one, people started to stand up and declare that they would turn themselves in.
Uncle Liang was the last to step forward and said, “I’m not young anymore, and my legs are crippled. I don’t know if I can come out alive if I turn myself in to the authorities. I’ve killed someone and avenged my daughter. My worthless life should have ended long ago. It’s been worth it to have lived a few years of humiliation on this mountain.”
Although it's said that it's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death, carrying a criminal charge is like being a rat in a gutter, hated by everyone. Living such a shameful life is meaningless. Going to the authorities to turn myself in is like counting me in too."
Of the seventy or eighty people, only a dozen or so remained where they were, too afraid to turn themselves in.
Those who were unwilling to go hesitated and said, "Brother, the crimes we committed are not minor, and we are not as carefree as you guys, so we won't go with you to join the fun."
To put it bluntly, they're just afraid of dying!
Scarface stopped trying to persuade him and said firmly, "Since you've already made your decision, let's get this straight up today. Once the medicinal herbs are harvested and the money is exchanged for silver, we'll divide it among ourselves. After this is over, those of us who should go down the mountain to turn ourselves in can do so, and those who want to stay on the mountain can stay. The brothers won't reveal your whereabouts."
However, from this day forward, if you commit any further offenses, it will be none of the brothers' business after you come down the mountain. Whether the authorities hunt you down or you continue to roam free, we will have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
The dozen or so people looked at each other, feeling somewhat uncertain.
In the past, if the sky fell, there were tall people to hold it up. If anything happened on the mountain, the eldest brother would step forward to handle it. The eldest brother would lead people down the mountain to turn themselves in. What would the rest of them do if they encountered something again?
"Big brother, aren't you going to abandon your brothers from now on?"
"Our brotherhood of so many years, is it really going to end like this?"
They looked at each other, some reluctant to leave Scarface's protection.
A fierce glint flashed in one of the men's eyes as he pointed at Lin Xiaotang. "Brother, it's all because of this brat that you're parting ways with the brothers. Before, we, a hundred or so brothers, were together. We shared meat, wine, and money. We shared happiness and hardship. Life was so carefree and comfortable back then."
Since she came up the mountain, she first tied up more than ten brothers and threw them in front of the government office. Then she started planting medicinal herbs and clearing their names. Now she's instigating everyone to turn themselves in. In my opinion, she's definitely a spy sent by the imperial court to undermine us.
"Yes, yes, this vixen must be a spy sent by the government. She's here to harm the brothers."
"Now that you mention it, it seems to be true. She was just a young girl who went into the bandits' den without fear. She gave us ideas on hunting and fishing, led people to dig up medicinal herbs to sell for money, and even taught us how to grow medicinal herbs. Where in the world can you find such a good thing?"
"That's right, that's right. Her real goal is to get us arrested by the authorities. Brother, don't be fooled by her."
Lin Xiaotang never expected that those people would not only refuse to come down the mountain to surrender themselves and start anew, but also suspect that she was a spy sent by the government.
That's hilarious!
She said with a stern face, "Since you doubt my identity, then let me ask you, which county magistrate would be willing to send his own daughter as an undercover agent? Or which high-ranking official in the imperial court would be willing to gamble with his own daughter's life and reputation by sending a young girl to do something that even grown men would not do?"
Huo Qi nodded, agreeing with Lin Xiaotang's words.
He spoke up in support, "Xiao Tang and I went to the capital together. She risked her life to save me from my enemies. If it weren't for her, I would have been tortured to death by that beast Chu Mu long ago. She is not only kind, but also righteous."
Her parents run a restaurant in the capital. We stayed at her restaurant, and her family arranged all our food, clothing, and lodging. Before we left, her father even brought a lot of farm tools, food, and drinks for his brothers. Have we all forgotten about that?
People can misunderstand, and they can make mistakes, but you should never doubt someone against your conscience.
Some people countered, "Since her family owns a restaurant and runs a business, and knows many influential and wealthy people, why would she condescend to come back here and suffer on this mountain?"
"No matter what, her status and her actions are mismatched; there's definitely something wrong with her!"
Lin Xiaotang closed her eyes, feeling somewhat disappointed in those people.
She said, "We've been together for several months, ever since I suggested that we work harder to solve the food shortage on the mountain. We've eaten together, worked together, and chatted together. Have I done anything that would make anyone suspicious?"
Big Beard had long been fed up with this. It was one thing for these people to be afraid of death and unwilling to turn themselves in, but they even slandered Xiao Tang. It was simply despicable.
He said loudly, "We only got the medicinal herbs, seeds, and farm tools for free because Xiaotang arranged for them. If it weren't for her idea to let us hunt, fish, and gather mushrooms on our own, we would have been starving long ago. It was only after Xiaotang came up the mountain that our lives became better."
"If she were a spy sent by the imperial court, she would have notified them to come up the mountain and surround us long ago. Why wait until today and go through all this trouble?"