This wasn't about joining a gang, where the more people, the better.
This was a martial dao world, and still a chaotic era. An ordinary person with no strength, no ability, saying they wanted to follow him, for Tran Mac, could only be said to be a burden.
After all, if he agreed, then he would be your underling, you his big brother; you'd have to look after him somehow.
And previously, Truong Ha had thrown in his lot with Vuong Hi; now he turned around saying he wanted to follow him...
"I... I..." Truong Ha "I"-ed for a long time, yet couldn't say anything coherent after that. As a farmer in Phuc Trach Village, his greatest ability was farming, being able to endure hardship, and having a good deal of brute strength. But this kind of person was everywhere.
Tran Mac shook his head, saying, "Considering you told me that matter just now, I'll give you one jin of corn. Go on. As for following me, there's no need."
Tran Mac stood up, issuing an order to see the guest out.
But Truong Ha suddenly knelt down, saying with a tremble, "Bro Mac, I... really want to follow you! Please accept me! I just need a few mouthfuls to eat."
Now, with the heavy snow sealing the mountains, there was fundamentally no way to go hunting. Even if he could go up the mountain, he alone couldn't catch prey. Grain prices had risen so high, and entering the city also required an entrance fee. If this continued, his family of five wouldn't even be able to survive this winter.
Tran Mac stared at him a few more times, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "You say you can't articulate your abilities. Then let me ask you, are you ruthless?"
"Ruthless?" Truong Ha was stunned, not understanding what Bro Mac meant by these words.
Is Bro Mac testing me?
"I... My heart isn't ruthless," Truong Ha thought for a moment and said.
"You can go," Tran Mac waved his hand.
"My heart is ruthless! Ruthless..." Truong Ha hurriedly said again.
"Ruthlessness isn't spoken with the mouth, but relies on strength and action. Do you understand?" Tran Mac said softly.
Truong Ha: "???"
"Figure it out yourself. I'll give you one day. If you understand, then come find me again."
Tran Mac went into the house, measured out one jin of corn for Truong Ha, tossed it to him, and had him leave.
...
Nighttime.
After the intimacy like fish in water, Han An Nuong, tormented until she was soft as mud, snuggled into Tran Mac's embrace.
Tran Mac placed one hand on her "millstone," the other measuring Han An Nuong's willpower, sighing at the vastness of her will; men couldn't compare.
To be honest, Tran Mac liked beautiful faces, but figures that were slightly plump, looking a bit fleshy.
Which is the so-called "full-figured."
That "bony beauty" type, he didn't much care for.
Uncomfortable to hug was one thing; during "competition," it was also a bit pokey and painful.
"Sister-in-law, in this midwinter, you and I hugging each other can save quite a bit of charcoal fire." Under the quilt, the two hugged together, warm and comfortable, unafraid of the cold outside, avoiding the need to heat the bed.
But Han An Nuong heard a different meaning in these words, shyly retorted, "Uncle, don't tease me."
"How am I teasing Sister-in-law? I cherish Sister-in-law, still not enough." Tran Mac pecked Han An Nuong's face, then hugged her, letting her lie prone before the window, leaned down beside Han An Nuong's ear, and whispered, "Sister-in-law, while the hour is still early, let me take Sister-in-law to find those fairies in the sky again."
"Uncle ah..."
...
The cold wind howled; goose-feather snow had been falling for a day, showing signs of stopping.
Phuc Trach Village was enveloped in darkness. Besides the whistling of the cold wind, there was no other sound.
Suddenly, a sky-high blaze rose up, like a candle lit in the darkness.
It was now past midnight.
By the time the blaze was discovered, it had already been burning for a quarter of an hour.
Tran Mac and Han An Nuong had just finished clinging together and fallen asleep when a clamor of sounds came from outside.
"Not good! A fire!"
"Someone come quickly! The Lu family is on fire! Quick, save people!"
"..."
"The Lu family is on fire?"
Han An Nuong sat up with a start, threw off the quilt, opened the window to look.
The Lu family wasn't too far from the Tran family. Han An Nuong saw the blaze not far away at a glance and said in surprise, "It's really on fire!"
Tran Mac also looked from the side, his eyes narrowed. He then patted Han An Nuong's shoulder and said, "Sister-in-law, you rest first. I'll go see what exactly happened."
"Okay. Uncle, go quickly and return quickly."
...
The Lu family's house, unlike the Tran family's, was two thatched huts. Once wet, it wouldn't take long to burn to nothing.
By the time Tran Mac rushed over, the Lu family house had already burned down. A group of villagers surrounded it. Before them were two charred corpses burned beyond recognition.
"This midwinter, how could it catch fire?"
"Ai, Old Mistress Lu and Lu Tam were just burned alive like that."
"Luckily Bro Thuy arrived in time and rescued Hu Nhi, otherwise Hu Nhi would also have been burned to death."
"Isn't that so? But Old Mistress Lu and Lu Tam were both burned to death, leaving Hu Nhi alone. Ai..."
The villagers discussed animatedly.
"Bro Mac is here?" Someone suddenly called out.
"Bro Mac."
"Bro Mac."
"..."
Tran Mac walked over. The villagers beside him all nodded and greeted him, their faces showing respect.
Tran Mac saw Truong Ha, his face sooty. Squatting before him was a wailing child, precisely Lu Tam's son, Hu Nhi.
Tran Mac looked a few times, mainly glancing at Hu Nhi, then left.
Returning home, Han An Nuong hurriedly greeted Tran Mac and helped him get into bed: "Uncle, hurry in. I'll warm you up."
After Tran Mac got under the quilt, Han An Nuong, not minding the iciness on Tran Mac's body at all, placed Tran Mac's hands in her bosom, blowing on them to warm them, then said, "Uncle, what happened to the Lu family? Was the fire put out?"
"All burned to nothing," Tran Mac said.
"Ah!" Han An Nuong was shocked: "Then Lu Tam..."
"Lu Tam and Old Mistress Lu were both burned to death. Only Hu Nhi is alive," Tran Mac continued.
Han An Nuong: "..."
After all, they were fellow villagers. Scenes of life and death, hearing about them would inevitably bring some sorrow.
...
The next day.
The Lu family house was completely burned down; naturally, no money was left.
For Lu Tam and Old Mistress Lu's funeral affairs, naturally, there was also no money to handle them. In the end, several old folks in the village discussed it, called a few able-bodied young men, dug a pit in the mountain, erected a grave marker, and cursorily buried the two.
Actually, this kind of behavior was illegal. After all, the mountain belonged to the government. If one wanted to be buried on the mountain, one had to pay money to the government, and this sum wasn't small.
So why in TV dramas are there so many plots of selling oneself to bury one's father?
However, this belonged to "the people are helpless, the officials don't pursue."
As long as no one reported to the officials, the government also wouldn't care.
After all, the dead are paramount.
As for Little Hu Nhi, no one cared.
One more person meant one more mouth to feed.
The villagers themselves didn't have enough to eat; how could they manage an outsider?
...
In the afternoon.
Tran Mac was practicing his saber in the courtyard. Truong Ha came looking for him again.
Tran Mac knew he would come.
When men talk, Han An Nuong also wouldn't be around.
After Truong Ha entered the house, he immediately said, "Bro Mac, can I follow you now?"
"Your comprehension isn't bad, but it still doesn't satisfy me," Tran Mac said.
Truong Ha: "..."