EBE Chapter 406 Offering Ideas for Reorganization
Chapter 406 Offering Ideas for Reorganization
The bearded man was overjoyed and chuckled to himself.
“Great, great! Let’s start planting medicinal herbs tomorrow. We can sell them for money, buy a house, get married, and have two big, healthy sons. Then my mother can die in peace.”
Scarface slapped the bearded man across the face and spat, "Look at you, so pathetic!"
The bearded man curled his lip, somewhat unconvinced, and said, "Isn't carrying on the family line a major life event? If we weren't in this robbery business, why would we still be bachelors?"
Besides, what's wrong with wanting women? He doesn't gamble or visit prostitutes, and it would be foolish for him not to take the opportunity to marry.
Uncle Liang and the scholar were also very happy. With these medicinal herb seeds and farming tools, they would no longer have to rely on the money they robbed to make a living. They could clear land on this mountain, plant medicinal herbs, and earn money through their own hard work. Gradually, they would be able to live a normal life.
Qu Xiao was always taciturn and never said a word of unnecessary nonsense. But today, when he saw these truckloads of medicinal herbs, seeds, and farm tools, his expression changed, and even his eyes brightened.
"There are actually several kinds of these medicinal herb seeds?"
Lin Xiaotang said confidently, "That's right, we can plant several kinds of medicinal herbs. Let's see which ones have a high yield on the mountain, and we'll plant more of those next year."
Qu Xiao saw a cart full of branches and asked in confusion, "What are these branches?"
"This is a gardenia tree. It can be propagated by cuttings and is easy to grow. Planting it on the mountain requires no manpower to maintain it. You only need to clean up the weeds under the tree regularly. It's a very profitable business."
Everyone was surprised and delighted to hear this, as they had never heard of such a convenient medicinal herb before.
Qu Xiao said excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's start planting medicinal herbs tomorrow. We'll earn money with our own hands, and we won't have to rob anymore or hide from the authorities."
Lin Xiaotang twitched her lips, somewhat reluctant to discourage him.
Although they will start planting medicinal herbs from now on and earn money through legitimate means, there are still hundreds of bandits on this mountain, and each of them has some kind of criminal record. If they were to appear openly in public, the government might not let them off easily.
However, if he voluntarily confesses and turns back from planting medicinal herbs to live a normal life, the government should give him a lenient sentence.
“Brother Qu is right. We have enough food to last for a while, and we can start large-scale planting of medicinal herbs tomorrow.”
Scarface gave the order that everyone should rest early and get up early the next day to cut weeds, clear land, and plant crops.
After working for half a month, they finally cleared out half of the sunny hillside and planted it with medicinal herbs, with gardenia trees planted around the medicinal field.
During this period, some lazy bandits, unable to endure the daily labor, voluntarily resigned and left the mountain.
The remaining seventy or eighty men were mostly strong, capable, and obedient to Scarface's commands; even their banditry had gradually dissipated.
A small group of people, who had long been homeless for various reasons, now follow Scarface and Lin Xiaotang to make a living on the mountain. They not only have a place to live and food to eat, but they also have a way to earn money. They are more united than before.
There were more than a dozen slippery guys who didn't want to go down the mountain and were too lazy to work, and they spent their days lecherously eyeing Lin Xiaotang.
Lin Xiaotang went directly to Scarface and asked him to tie up those people and throw them in front of the government office. Some of them were the ones who had beaten her father to death, so this was her way of avenging her father.
At first, Scarface disagreed, but Lin Xiaotang appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, recounting all the things she knew those people had done.
“These people have no remorse and no intention of starting anew. Everyone is exhausted from a day's work, and they slack off, which is one thing, but they don't even cook for us. Are we going to support idlers on this mountain?”
Big Beard had long disliked those people. When his elder brother was around, they would put on an act, but when his brother wasn't around, they couldn't even be bothered to pretend anymore. They spent their days eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, and didn't do anything serious. He was thoroughly annoyed by these people.
“Brother, Xiao Tang is right. We are already short of food on the mountain. If everyone wants to eat, they have to work. Why should they pretend to be lazy and not do anything?”
Scarface thought for a moment and said, "But when we got together, we swore an oath of blood, promising to share both good times and bad. No one is allowed to deal with the government, let alone betray their brothers behind their backs. I can't bring myself to tie them up and throw them in front of the government."
Lin Xiaotang advised, "I understand what you mean. And since you are in the position of the head of the family, you should set a good example and not cause internal strife or betray your brothers. But the basis of your oath is to share the good times and the bad. They failed to live up to that word 'share.' When everyone was working hard together to find a way to get rich, what were they doing? They were slacking off!"
"Considering the cases they've been involved in, these individuals have a lot to carry, and they're all major cases. They've been unjust to their brothers, heartless to their relatives, and merciless to those they've harmed. People like them shouldn't go unpunished. Not turning them over to the authorities is already showing them mercy."
If the government arrests them in time and punishes them, it will be considered as eliminating a scourge for the people.
The bearded man nodded vigorously and said, "Brother, Xiao Tang is right. We haven't committed any major crimes. At most, we've only done theft and robbery. If it weren't for their idea to kidnap the Xue family boy, we wouldn't be in this situation where we're wanted by the authorities everywhere."
That's a good point!
Scarface remained silent and pondered for a moment.
This group of people came together by chance. Some of them had committed serious crimes that were punishable by death, while others had only committed minor offenses. Even if they were caught by the authorities, they would only be detained for a few days before being released. The scholar, on the other hand, was completely framed. If there was evidence to prove his innocence, the one who was arrested would be the villain who framed him, and the scholar could be reinstated for the imperial examinations.
If this group isn't cleaned up, they'll be stuck together forever, unable to live an upright life or a decent existence.
Perhaps we should listen to the little girl.
Those who are heinous and unrepentant should be eliminated. The remaining people should work together to grow medicinal herbs and achieve something in the future. Then the government can give them a chance. They can donate money to the court to atone for their sins. Perhaps the court can even give them a chance to reform and start anew.
He took a deep breath and made up his mind, saying, "Let's do as Xiaotang says. However, this matter is very important. Let's discuss privately which people we should eliminate and try to take them down in one fell swoop to avoid causing trouble."
The bearded man's face lit up with a smile. Those who had taken countless lives, were full of malice, and had black hearts and rotten lungs, were not well-behaved even on this mountain. They did nothing but drink all day long, or go down the mountain to find women, and they even formed gangs to bully their brothers. According to him, it would be better to just kill them and be done with it.
But now they want to live normal lives and can no longer shout and kill, so it would be great if they could get things sorted out by following Xiaotang's method.