Big Boss – Chapter 81

To Please

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned. Ye Youqing didn’t understand at first, but when she turned around and saw Ah Chi’s astonished expression and the sudden redness of his eyes, she was taken aback.

She looked towards Shi Li and saw that she too was equally shocked. Then Shi Li got up, pulled Ah Chi from the bench, and carefully examined him.

“Zhou Hong?” she asked.

Ah Chi had only ever seen Shi Li after she had disguised herself. This was the first time he saw her true face, and he was even more astonished.

“Shi Li…” he whispered softly, then turned his head to look at Ci Ke, his lips moving slightly.

Suddenly, he staggered, dragging his injured leg, and struggled to walk in front of Ci Ke. He stared at her for a long time, trembling as he lifted her face. He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak, and for a long while, he couldn’t say anything.

“Brother?” Ci Ke said again, her eyes wide open. She covered Ah Chi’s scarred hand with hers, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, and blinked hard.

When she opened her eyes again, the man was still standing in front of her, not disappearing. Ci Ke didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. She quickly took Ah Chi’s hand away and looked down at his leg.

“I thought you were dead, how did you…” Ci Ke stammered, mixed with sobs. She bent down to check Ah Chi’s leg, but Ah Chi hurriedly stopped her.

“Ci Ke, why is it you? Why were you the one brought back to the mountain stronghold?” Ah Chi was suddenly filled with fear, tears welling up in his eyes, which were very similar to Ci Ke’s. “Shouldn’t you be in the capital now?”

“This is a long story.” Shi Li suddenly spoke from the side. She approached with some concern, squeezed Ah Chi’s shoulder, and motioned for him to sit down.

If you looked closely, you would see that his legs were trembling constantly.

Only then did Ah Chi support himself and slowly sit down. Ye Youqing was very surprised but couldn’t get a word in. Now she hurriedly stepped forward, holding Ci Ke’s arms, and motioned for her to sit down as well.

“Ye Youqing,” Ci Ke suddenly grabbed Ye Youqing’s hand, “am I dreaming?”

Without waiting for Ye Youqing to answer, she continued urgently, “At that time, all the men in the Zhou family were conscripted and sent to the frontier. Two years later, news came that the team had encountered a landslide outside the pass, and half were dead or injured. My brother was in that team…”

Her eyes quickly became blurry, tears rolling down the fine hairs on her cheeks. She turned her head to stare at Ah Chi, examining him closely.

“Brother,” she said tremblingly, as if she suddenly believed this fact. She took her hand off Ye Youqing’s sleeve and held Ah Chi’s hand.

Ah Chi’s hands were trembling like a sieve. He looked at his sister, whom he hadn’t seen in years, and lovingly wanted to touch her head, but hesitated and stopped in midair.

“Those who were exiled to the frontier were all branded, naturally considered inferior. They were often beaten and humiliated in the camp. I endured in silence, but they still broke my leg together,” Ah Chi said softly. He moved his leg with difficulty and continued, “After the landslide, because I walked slowly and lagged behind, I wasn’t injured. I took the opportunity to escape into the mountains and left the army.”

“But because of this branding on my face, I wasn’t accepted by society, and I didn’t dare return to the capital. I could only wander around, doing manual labor whenever my leg wasn’t too painful, just to get by. Two years ago, I passed by this place and was captured and taken underground. I haven’t been out since.”

As Ah Chi spoke, he lifted his messy hair covering his forehead, revealing a mark that had faded significantly.

“Thinking about it, it’s already been seven years…” he said mournfully.

Ci Ke, across from him, listened to his understated words and was already in tears, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. The emotions of joy and sorrow intertwined, making her feelings very complicated.

“Brother!” He finished speaking and suddenly moved off the bench, kneeling in front of Ye Youqing, “I didn’t know that the person who almost got defiled by the Second King was my own sister. I was truly foolish. If it weren’t for you saving her, I would have regretted it forever!”

“This great kindness, I…”

Ye Youqing didn’t have time to stop him from kneeling and quickly reached out to pull him up, placing him back on the bench with sincere fear and trepidation: “No, no, no, you’ve never met Ci Ke before, how could you be foolish? Besides, you helped us in the underground. Otherwise, it would have taken us much more effort to get out.”

“In the future, please don’t call me that. Just call me by my name,” Ye Youqing hurriedly added.

“Why?” Ah Chi, now Zhou Hong, asked tearfully and confusedly.

Ye Youqing was momentarily speechless and couldn’t tell the truth, so she changed the topic softly: “You and Ci Ke haven’t seen each other for seven years. You must have a lot to talk about. I think we should delay the meal and move to a room first, have some tea brought in, and take it easy.”

Zhou Hong clasped his hands in gratitude, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his thumb, and no longer showed his usual frivolous and cheerful demeanor.

After sending the two into the room, Ye Youqing and Shi Li quietly withdrew, standing outside the door, looking at each other silently.

This matter was too bizarre. Who would have thought that Ah Chi was actually Ci Ke’s brother? But now, thinking about it carefully, that inexplicable sense of familiarity made sense. Standing under the scorching sun, Ye Youqing couldn’t help but sigh.

“After seven years, his features have changed a lot, and his face was mostly dirty. I felt he was familiar, but I didn’t dare to think he was Zhou Hong,” Shi Li said with a long sigh, “Back then, as the son of General Zhou, he practiced martial arts from a young age. He was quite prominent in Bianjing, with a cheerful and ambitious personality, and should have been a pillar of the state.”

Ye Youqing nodded, sat down again, and ate hastily without tasting the food.

As soon as she put down her bowl and chopsticks, she saw someone coming from the foot of the mountain. Bowing his head, he said to Ye Youqing, “Miss, Old Liu invites you over.”

Ye Youqing got up when she heard this, instructed Shi Li to look after Ci Ke, and then followed him.

It was still the room from yesterday. The air inside was much fresher, no longer mixed with the stench of blood like last night. Old Liu was sitting on a chair, his face now clean, and the tangled mess of hair had been neatly tied into a bun on top of his head, half black and half white.

His beard had been trimmed, looking much tidier. However, without the cover, half of his face revealed a grayish complexion, confirming his previous statement about his poor health.

When he saw Ye Youqing, he smiled kindly and stood up to greet her.

“Miss, please sit. Did you rest well last night?”

“Old Liu is too polite,” Ye Youqing politely sat down as instructed by Ding Cheng, who was beside her, “I slept very soundly.”

“I asked you to come today because we have found out where the ores have been going all these years, as you mentioned yesterday.” Old Liu said, taking a dirty, mottled booklet from the side and handing it to Ye Youqing, “This was obtained from several traitors in charge of affairs. It records the production and destinations over the years.”

Ye Youqing’s heart stirred, and she carefully flipped through the pages with her fingertips.

The room was very quiet. As several people watched Ye Youqing’s originally calm expression gradually show some agitation, her finely arched eyebrows furrowing, they couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

“Miss, have you noticed something?” Old Liu also frowned and leaned forward to ask.

“How many men does the Iron Cavalry have now?” Ye Youqing didn’t answer directly, but asked softly.

“Excluding the imprisoned traitors, there are only 351 left. The first mine only holds the captured civilians, and the rest are scattered in the other three mines. Apart from the deception, they haven’t been mistreated, so few are injured.” Ding Cheng responded loudly from the side.

“No wonder the Second King wanted to capture civilians for labor. With the low price he’s selling these ores for, to sustain this mountain stronghold, a high annual output is required.” Ye Youqing shook her head and said.

Moreover, according to what Ye Youqing knew, the Qi Dynasty now had state-operated salt and iron, and private smelting of iron was strictly forbidden. Anyone caught would be executed, just like the previous salt smugglers. However, due to the bloated state-operated institutions and not very high production, more than half of the iron was used for military purposes, so the price of iron among civilians was extremely high, and it was very difficult for ordinary people to afford iron tools.

In such a situation, local gentry privately smelting and selling iron emerged. The price was much cheaper than the state-operated ones, allowing them to make a huge profit. Moreover, the northern court had difficulty extending its reach, so this situation intensified .

The iron ore that the Iron Cavalry have sold over the years must have ended up in the hands of these wealthy gentry.

Although the Iron Cavalry are well-trained and their tactics are cunning, they don’t have much business acumen. Moreover, the Second King, while treacherous, is not very clever. He only focuses on extracting as much as possible, without even raising the price.

The only thing they’ve done well is maintaining secrecy. Their transactions over the years have been as circuitous and flexible as military operations, never revealing the location of the mines.

“Old Liu, may I say something?” Ye Youqing looked at the ledger, her phoenix eyes slightly raised. “Instead of trading ore with these wealthy gentry, why not smelt the iron and sell it ourselves? The profit would be much higher.”

“And there’s no need to pursue excessive ore output. Rotational mining would suffice. After all, they are Iron Cavalry, and the remaining time can be spent on training.” Ye Youqing spoke earnestly.

“Smelt iron?” Old Liu was somewhat surprised. “But we’ve never tried that before…”

“If Old Liu trusts me, we can give it a try. I will cover the cost of building the furnace. If it succeeds, the brothers won’t have to work so hard.” Ye Youqing spoke gently but with a tone of certainty, as if she had a well-thought-out plan, making one instinctively want to believe her.

Old Liu pondered for a long while, finally nodding. “We certainly haven’t thought as thoroughly as you have. Since you’ve suggested it, we’ll follow your lead.”

Ye Youqing smiled, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then got up to leave.

As the woman’s slender figure disappeared outside the door and the door closed, Ding Cheng beside him bent down and spoke, his expression worried. “Old Liu, although Miss Ye has done us a favor and is the descendant of our master, she is still a young woman. If she…”

Old Liu glanced at him, making Ding Cheng fall silent.

“What about being a young woman? When you and I were her age, we wouldn’t have had her courage to infiltrate a bandit stronghold alone.” Old Liu shook his head. “Moreover, although she is young, she is mature in mind and speaks convincingly. You don’t have her knowledge.”

Ding Cheng blushed with embarrassment.

“If she can indeed help us, it would prove that she is the competent descendant King Si Rong mentioned, capable of leading the Iron Cavalry. Then I can die in peace.” Old Liu muttered.

Ding Cheng listened with his head lowered.

“Enough. Now that we finally see daylight, help me outside to enjoy the sun.” Old Liu said cheerfully, getting up with support from the chair and leisurely walking out the door.

At the same time, under the scorching sun, Ye Youqing quickly ran back halfway up the mountain. Shi Li was still sitting in the shade, frowning while eating a bowl of cooling bitter melon.

“They haven’t come out yet?” Ye Youqing asked worriedly, listening for any sounds inside the door.

“No, but don’t worry, the crying has stopped.” Shi Li said, handing half of the bitter melon to Ye Youqing. “Have some, it helps with the heat.”

Ye Youqing quickly shook her head, refusing, and paced outside the door.

As she walked, she suddenly remembered something, sat down beside Shili, tilted her head, and asked in a low voice, “Can Zhou Hong’s leg still be treated?”

Shi Li’s expression turned complicated, and she spoke softly, “His leg was never completely broken, and it healed somewhat on its own. But because it never received proper treatment, it has become deformed and recurrently painful. If he is well cared for, although it can’t be fully restored, at least he won’t suffer from the pain anymore.”

Ye Youqing nodded, somewhat uneasily looking through the door into the void. “Tomorrow, I plan to go back to Weizhou. Ma Xiao used to be a blacksmith. I want to ask her some questions.”

“And find a proper doctor for Zhou Hong to take a good look at his leg. If it can be treated, all the better.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Li suddenly put down the half-eaten bitter melon, looking at the cold and somewhat uneasy woman in front of her. She smiled teasingly and said:

“Since he is Ci Ke’s brother, it’s only right that you try to please him more.”