135 Suppression and Harvest-Kidnapping All of Humanity(A light rain falls in the early morning.)

The next day.

February 19, 0001, marked the eighth day of Wu Qingchen’s return to the medieval world.

Taking roll of the headcount, the villagers who had come to perform their corvée labor stood densely packed, while the serfs, supervised by the bailiffs, had already taken their places in the muddy common land early in the morning.

It was already quite bright, and the church bells had rung for the second time.

Beneath the large tree, Espier, the chief bailiff, paced back and forth at a leisurely pace.

The villagers gathered in small groups of twos and threes, discussing animatedly, full of envy and yearning for the wonderful prospect of buckwheat stalks bearing more grain.

Many of the serfs within the common land also had topics of their own.

For instance, the serfs belonging to the strip-land managed by Andrew had naturally formed a circle.

"Lucien, you stick with me later! If we stay together, we'll definitely get to eat beans!" The champion group from yesterday’s final round of cooperative division of labor began recruiting members for today’s first round of work.

"Don't listen to him! Is eating beans during the first round in the morning anything rare?" Another former teammate immediately intercepted: "Lucien, listen to me. Kyle and I have already discussed it; he'll pick up things, I'll load stones, and you come over to clear the stubble. Let's keep racing for the fastest time! Let's keep grabbing the choice of tasks first!"

"How exhausting is clearing stubble!" The first serf immediately pointed out the intercepted person's dark motives: "All the easy jobs go to the two of you, leaving Lucien to do the grueling work? Lucien, come over with me! I'll let you load the stones!"

"So what if it's a bit tiring?" The interceptor retorted: "Can just being easy fill your stomach? Lucien, as long as you're willing to come over, the beans for the first round in the morning are guaranteed, and we're confident about the second round too!"

Hearing companions who, just a few days ago, had been suffering from starvation just like themselves, tossing around the word "beans" at every turn, the serfs a little further away who had missed out on this stroke of good fortune burned with envy, their mouths watering and a fiery hunger gnawing at their bellies.

"Kind Lord Andrew!"

"I want so badly to work for Lord Andrew!"

"Yeah, sigh, why didn't the steward assign us to Lord Andrew?"

"I heard York and those guys get to eat beans every single day."

"Really?"

"Really, they eat beans every day in the livestock shed! If we harvest beehives in the evening, we can even bring a share back to our families!"

"Ah, I wish so much to work for Ross!"

Even irrelevant serfs held such expectations, so one could easily imagine the level of stifled frustration burning in the chests of the four fellows who had originally secured a good deal, but due to the good habit of liking to use their brains, had been classified as bad assets and weeded out.

"Bah, two bowls of beans and they've forgotten who they are!" Brandon spat bitterly.

"Two bowls of beans isn't much... but eating them every day..." Martin touched his belly. "It really makes people envious."

"If you're envious, go on then!" Brandon glared at Martin. "Go on, go and ask if Lord Andrew still wants you! You—"

"Enough," Rory stepped over and blocked the two of them. "Forget it!"

As he spoke, Rory subtly gestured behind him without changing his expression.

Brandon and Martin looked over and discovered that the commotion on their side had already drawn the attention of the other serfs.

Meeting the gazes of these serfs, Brandon and Martin swallowed hard in unison.

"See that?"

When the other serfs finally looked away, Rory lowered his voice. "Things are already like this, and you two are still fighting—"

"These cowards—no, these bastards!" Brandon lowered his voice as well. "It's only been a day or two, and they actually dare to look down on us!"

"Of course they can afford to look down on us." On the other side, Terrence first pointed to his own aching, numb legs, and then pointed to companions massaging their shoulders and beating their backs. "The way we've been working these past two days has all been seen by them."

"Yeah, it's fine for now," Martin said worriedly. "In a couple of days, once they're even better fed and we're even more exhausted, it'll be even harder to endure..."

Thinking of how, while they were working these past two days, all the other serfs only needed to put in a little over half their strength and could still enjoy beans once in a while, whereas the four of them had to squeeze out every drop of milk they'd ever drunk and frequently suffer the bailiffs' cudgels—

"Those bastards... Antoine, beasts!"

When uttering these words, whether it was because he wanted to chew up and spit out the objects of his hatred or out of anxiety over the consequences of serfs who had been repeatedly bullied turning the tables, Brandon's teeth chattered and clicked together.

"No need to worry too much either," Rory said slowly. "Even if everyone is a bit tired... as long as the four of us stick together, they probably still won't dare to do anything."

"Right!" Brandon nodded heavily. "Together!"

"Together!" Terrence nodded with a solemn expression.

All three of them turned simultaneously to look at Martin.

Martin hesitated.

"Martin, can't you even endure a few days?" Terrence frowned. "You better think carefully. Once we get through these few days of summer corvée labor, Lord Andrew will—"

"That's right!" Brandon showed rare patience, joining the ranks of persuasion. "Once Lord Andrew leaves, where will you find any beans? Where will you find these perks? As long as the four of us stick together, are we afraid we won't be able to score some easy work?"

"Speaking of which..." A sudden thought struck Rory. "You know, yesterday, the buckwheat in the village produced a lot more grain."

"We know."

"Everyone knows."

"Such a big deal, of course we know."

The three replied thus.

"The Reverend Master also said over by the strip-land yesterday that they're going to continue moving the beehives. You guys know that too, right?"

"We know that too." "We heard it."

The three continued to nod.

"Buckwheat producing extra grain, continuing to move beehives..." Rory suddenly smiled faintly. "With such important matters, will Lord Andrew go?"

"Ah! That's right!" The eyes of all three lit up simultaneously: Once Andrew left, would the strip-land he was responsible for remain the same as before?

"And," Rory continued, "you know who moved the beehives, right?"

"Ross." "It's Ross." "Ross, kind-hearted Ross."

Although Wu Qingchen was also one of the reasons why the four of them had to work harder and suffer more beatings, whenever the four mentioned Wu Qingchen/Ross, they felt no resentment at all; instead, they harbored a vague sense of gratitude.

Mind you, if it weren't for Wu Qingchen/Ross treating the village's injured plow oxen, a vast portion of the work in the common land that should have been done by oxen would undoubtedly have fallen upon the shoulders of the serfs, using human labor to do the work of robust livestock. By the end of the summer corvée labor, there was no telling how wretched the serfs of Eccles Village would have become.

By then, even if several dozen fresh piles of fertilizer magically appeared in the common land, it wouldn't have been surprising at all.

"Right, it was Ross who moved the beehives." The smile on Rory's face grew richer. "Then, when they continue moving the beehives, even if Lord Andrew doesn't have to go, what about Ross? Could he possibly not go?"

"As long as Ross leaves..." Brandon couldn't help smiling as well. "Lord Andrew won't find it so easy to deal with us."

"That's wonderful!" Terrence nodded vigorously, while also feeling a lingering fear. "Ross is finally leaving."

"Hey!" Martin suddenly pointed behind the three of them. "That's not right! They're coming! Both Ross and Andrew are here!"

Following the direction Martin pointed, the three spun around swiftly.

Amidst the watchful gazes of the serfs who liked to use their brains, the serfs who hadn't managed to score good deals, the serfs under Andrew's charge, and the numerous villagers present, the bailiff-head, the clerk, Andrew, and Wu Qingchen/Ross appeared at the corner of the common land path, escorted by more than a dozen bailiffs.

"Ross, you guys go ahead quickly. Don't keep the two masters waiting too long."

Beneath the large tree, having seated himself on a round stool dragged over by a bailiff, the clerk and bailiff-head began tending to their tasks, while Wu Qingchen and Andrew continued forward, preparing to select the serfs required for the large-scale relocation of the beehives.

"Quiet down, everyone!"

Leading several bailiffs up to the dozens of serfs under his charge, Andrew waved his hand, and the bailiffs swung their cudgels through the air with a whistling sound, instantly quieting the serfs.

"No need to look."

Looking at the crowd of serfs peering about in front of him, Wu Qingchen said slowly, "That's right, we didn't bring any beans today."

Having uttered these words, Wu Qingchen stood quietly, waiting for the serfs to digest the statement, and then slowly display suppressed expressions of confusion, grievance, disappointment, and sadness.

This was an excellent opportunity to farm favorability and expand his influence.

Harvesting feelings after suppression was what truly left a deep impression.

"However..." Following the observation methods taught by the training team's instructional unit, and noticing that the emotions of most serfs had fermented sufficiently, Wu Qingchen continued, "Today, there is an even better matter entrusted to you."

"These past few days, all of you have worked very hard, and you've put in a lot of effort."

Adjusting the expression on his face, Wu Qingchen spoke in his gentlest voice, "Now, the Reverend Master needs some manpower to help move beehives. I think you lot are quite capable... That's right, your summer corvée labor has been changed to moving beehives."

Moving beehives!

They didn't have to work in the common land anymore!

They didn't have to leave a drop of sweat with every single step, nor trail blood with every single footstep in the common land!

Who in the village didn't know how wonderful life had become for York and the other three in the lord's livestock shed!

After a brief, disbelieving silence, the serfs erupted.

Virtually all the serfs cheered. Several serfs leaped high into the air, and most of them grabbed the person beside them tightly, repeatedly asking whether they had heard correctly.

Wu Qingchen stepped aside slightly, allowing the enthusiastic atmosphere to further intensify the excitement, joy, and gratitude these serfs felt toward him.

"Alright, that's about it." Wu Qingchen walked over to Andrew. "Let's get ready and head over."

"Huh?" Andrew asked in surprise. "Aren't we still short a few people?"

The other serfs, who had fully witnessed yet another stroke of unmitigated good fortune falling from the skies, how could they not realize that these people had struck gold once again?

Hearing Andrew's words, the rest of the serfs instantly erupted into a frenzy once more.

"Ross, me, me!"

"I beg you, Ross!"

"Ross, choose me! I'll listen to whatever you say!"

"Kind-hearted Ross, take my son with you..."

Countless requests, pleas, and entreaties surged overwhelmingly toward Wu Qingchen's direction.

Soon, I will truly be able to help them...

Wu Qingchen told himself over and over in his heart.

refusing to look into the eyes of these serfs any longer, Wu Qingchen turned around with difficulty and slowly shook his head. "No, we have enough."

"That's not right!" Andrew stood on tiptoe and peered a few more times. "We're definitely short a few people. Um... one, two, three, four—we're short four!"

"Aren't there four right over there?"

As Wu Qingchen spoke, his arm pointed toward the direction where Rory, Terrence, Brandon, and Martin were standing.

Clearly hearing the conversation between the two, the four individuals pointed at by Wu Qingchen widened their eyes abruptly.

"Ah!" Andrew widened his eyes as well. "Why choose them?"

"Why shouldn't I choose them?"

"These four are absolute sluggards!" Disgust covered Andrew's face.

"Is that so?" Wu Qingchen asked with a smile. "On the first day, didn't they all work all the way to the second tree branch?"

"Um... yes." Andrew nodded reluctantly.

"On the second day," Wu Qingchen continued to ask, "when they worked, weren't they much more diligent than before?"

"Uh... yes." Andrew had no choice but to continue nodding, then shook his head violently. "But that was because of Antoine's cudgel!"

"Regardless of the reason," Wu Qingchen said, "at least during these past two days, they haven't shirked a single bit of the work belonging to them... Therefore, replacing their summer corvée labor in the common land with moving beehives should include them as well."

Keeping a close eye on the conversation between Wu Qingchen and Andrew, upon hearing this, both the group of serfs who had missed out on the good fortune once again and the joyous group of serfs gradually grew silent.

Tears instantly welled up in the eyes of Rory, Terrence, Brandon, and Martin.

These emotional people—these moved people—did not know that in another world, there were two long-circulated maxims.

First: Do not worry about scarcity, but rather about inequality.

Second: Rather than deploying virtue, deploy past faults.

If these four weren't used, and people were chosen from the remaining unparticipating serfs, how could one avoid resentment from those who weren't selected?

If these four weren't used, when moving beehives, to whom should the dangerous and exhausting tasks be handed?

By the way, there were also some additional fringe benefits:

Harvesting feelings after suppression was what truly left a deep impression.

At this very moment, were there any people more grateful than these four fellows, more willing to go through fire and water for Wu Qingchen without hesitation?