Section 51: Eliminate the three evils

The problem with the cement is that it is the most worrying thing for Yun Ye. Without any testing equipment, it is only possible to estimate by experience, which gives the kiln workers a great deal of autonomy. However, the most important thing about standardized production is not to be arbitrary.

Early in the morning, the foreman of the cement kiln came to report that the cement that came out of the kiln last night was not sticky. He made a cement test block, and now, after six hours, it has become powder when he pinches it with his hand, so it is basically unusable.

When asked about the reason, the foreman mumbled and couldn’t explain it clearly. Yun Ye didn’t ask again, but just put on a hemp shirt and went to the kiln. The kiln workers were all crouching on the ground and not speaking. A guy who looked like an official was mumbling. It was a bit far away and it was hard to hear what he was saying.

“You blind dogs, useless trash, you can’t even make a good kiln of cement, what use are you?”

“Thank you, sir. Originally, we only added 3,000 catties of fuel to each kiln, but you insisted on adding 5,000 catties the day before yesterday. The fire couldn’t penetrate the stone, so it naturally burned up. It’s unreasonable for you to scold us now. The manager has gone to see the governor. We’ll see how you explain yourself when the time comes.”

As soon as he heard it, he knew it was the old man from Yun’s village. Since the governor broke the leg of the village head of Hu’s village, they have not been afraid of the government. Everyone walks sideways in the village. When they see people from other villages greeting them, they just pass by with a snort. Everyone has become a killer. No one dares to talk back except them.

Xie was embarrassed and about to lose his temper, but when he turned around and saw that Yun Ye was standing behind him, he calmed down.

“You go back to the Ministry of Works. If Zhang wants to know what happened to the cement, he should send someone who doesn’t give orders indiscriminately, and bring back the compensation for this kiln. This is the Yun family, not the Ministry of Works. If you want to play the official, go back and play.”

After saying that, he ignored the head of the kiln and said to the kiln workers, “What are you doing? You listen to other people’s blind commands? It’s no big deal to waste a kiln of cement. In order to make you remember, don’t listen to other people’s nonsense. Everyone in Yun’s village will be docked 20% of their salary, and everyone outside will be docked 10%. If there is anything like this again, you will be sent home directly. Do you understand? Now, everyone go to work and rebuild the kiln.

None of the kiln workers hated Yun Ye, but they glared at Xie Zhanggu, who had cost them their wages. Especially the people from Yun Village, none of them felt that they had been deducted more than outsiders, but only that they had lost the face of Yun Village.

It is a very laborious task to load the kiln. The temperature in the cement kiln is still very high, and everyone is sweating. Some of them, not knowing the danger, even took off their masks and were scolded by Yun Ye. He didn’t want them to get silicosis in the future, which is a deadly disease.

When the fire was lit, it was already noon, and Yun Ye rushed home covered in dust. He was already in a hemp robe, and he didn’t look like a marquis anymore. His face was covered in black and gray, and he didn’t look much different from the other kiln workers.

When the kiln workers finished work, it was a major sight in Yun’s village. Hundreds of gray-faced men walked with their chests open, barefoot, and laughing and talking recklessly, swearing and talking about sex, all the way.

“This young man, someone has invited you.” A bearded man stopped Yun Ye and started a conversation.

“I wonder what this big brother wants to ask?” I was happy to chat with the kiln workers, so I asked casually.

“Is this the residence of Yun Ye, the first of the three evils of Chang’an?” The man asked in a deep voice. At this time, Yun Ye took a closer look at the man in front of him. He was dressed as a warrior, with a strip of green cloth tied around his head, and a wide rib-pressing belt tied around his waist. He carried a long knife on his back, looking awe-inspiring.

When the villagers heard him say this, they were all a bit dumbfounded, not knowing what this idiot was up to. Several of the kiln workers who were acting as his bodyguards quietly separated Yun Ye from the big man.

“Don’t be afraid, I came here to get rid of the evil. Four days ago, I was sleeping in a temple in the wild and heard a woman crying at night. I went to check it out and saw more than 30 women and children crying very sadly. There were guards around the temple. I heard them mention the name of the evil thief Yun Ye from time to time, so I rode a fast horse for a thousand miles to meet this evil thief.”

“I didn’t want to ask around in the capital, but I was almost outraged when I found out that this evil thief was actually the leader of the three evils in Chang’an. Today, I will not let the evil thief escape. I only need to tell you where the evil thief is, and my son will definitely eliminate the evil for you.” He spoke with such righteousness and such a majestic air.

Yun Ye was so angry that he passed out.

A hundred or so men pressed the guy called Xitong under them, tied him up with a belt, and for a while, they punched and kicked, and the sticks and clubs flew about. Even the old woman on the side of the road came up and kicked.

Yun Ye drank a big gulp of water and then recovered. He looked at the big man who was struggling to get free, and asked, “Where did you learn that Yun Ye is a bandit? Did those women and children say it themselves?”

“You evil thieves, you are accomplices to the tiger, even if I go to the underworld, I will not let you go.” As a result, he was beaten a few times and stopped crying. He only said angrily, “Someone will step on the uneven road. I miscalculated. I didn’t expect that the whole village was full of thieves. If you can loosen me, let’s fight one-on-one and see if I can’t twist off your dog’s head.”

His words were vicious, and of course he was beaten up again. It was not a good sight on the street, so Yun Ye had the strong man carried into a room and tied firmly to a chair.

“I am the Yun Ye you are looking for. I am the famous Yun Ye, the first of the three evils of Chang’an. I just don’t understand. We have no grudges from the past or the present. Why did you find me and want to kill me?”

Xi Tong’s eyes were about to burst open, and his body suddenly fell forward, slamming his head into Yun Ye. Yun Ye’s body flashed, and he fell to the ground headfirst. There were two more teeth on the ground, and he twisted his head hard, opening his mouth wide with blood, and a heavy mouthful of blood sputum sprayed over, staining Yun Ye’s clothes with red spots.

Yun Ye suddenly stopped being angry, and he didn’t let anyone hit him again. He asked the old man who had hurriedly arrived to help him up, and wiped the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief.

“If I’m not mistaken, you met the orphaned Lu family. His entire family was executed, and more than 160 male descendants were killed. They were also sent to the Department of Education. Do you know who rescued them?”

Xi Tong’s expression did not change. He sat in the chair with a dignified air, quite authoritative, and kept his mouth shut.

Yun Ye continued, “It was me. I took the risk of being blamed by the emperor and sent them away. Now, do you understand that you’ve been looking for the wrong person?”

“You’re being evasive. You’re one of the three evils of Chang’an. How could you be so kind?” Xitong is a one-track mind. He will stick to the principles he initially believes in for the rest of his life. He is a firm idealist. His world is relatively simple, so his understanding of the world is also simple. What is bad must be bad.

“You need to ask around in Chang’an to find out how I got the reputation of being one of the three evils of Chang’an. Things are not as you think.” Yun Ye admired this kind of person, and he always did. You can say that he is not smart, or that he is stupid, but you should never doubt his determination. Uncompromising is the characteristic of this kind of person.

He waved his hand, signaling Lao Zhuang to let him go.

“Lord Hou, this man has evil intentions. He will be beheaded if he is sent to the authorities. You must not be soft-hearted.” Lao Zhuang hurriedly advised Yun Ye not to let the tiger go back to the mountains.

“There are fewer and fewer people like this. He can ride a horse for a thousand miles to avenge the deaths of a group of women and children he doesn’t even know. He has the demeanor of a great hero of ancient times. It’s not a bad thing to let him go. Do you also believe that your husband is a villain who does evil deeds?” Yun Ye waved his hand and said to Xitong, “If you find out the truth, I really deserve to die a thousand deaths. I’m waiting for you to kill me.”

After saying that, he lifted his leg and left. The family didn’t know what a mess it was in. Yun Ye was afraid that his grandmother would get sick if she knew.

Lao Zhuang had no choice but to let Xi Tong go, and said to him with a bitter smile, “You’re damn lucky to have met my lord. If you had met someone else, your skin would probably have been peeled off to make a drumhead. Go around and ask people. Who wouldn’t say good things about my lord? If it weren’t for him, do you think these people would still have the strength to walk? I dare not say that the lord has given thousands of people a way out. It’s not bragging. With people like you in the world, I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.” After saying this, he kicked the knife back into Xi Tong’s hand, handed it to him, and said, “If you want to kill my lord, kill me first. This time, my lord was generous, but next time I will definitely make you regret being born into this world.”

Xi Tong said nothing, dragging his lame leg, step by step, out of the door. The road was lined with angry villagers, and he also sensed that something was wrong. He wanted to find out how a Lord in a dusty hemp robe could be so bad.

The family was in an uproar. The sound of her grandmother crying and wailing could be heard from the backyard all the way to the front yard. Her grandson was her heart’s treasure, and even the slightest injury would be the death of her. Upon hearing that there was an assassin, she fainted twice before she woke up and began frantically searching for her grandson. She was confused.

Yun Ye quickly ran over, hugged the old lady and said it was nothing, just a joke, and glared at the nosy housekeeper.

The old lady felt around Yun Ye’s body for wounds and asked questions for a long time before she came to her senses. Then she started crying again. Having many women in the family is a hassle. This one stopped, and the other came. It was endless. Fortunately, Yun Ye was used to it and went to take a bath by himself, leaving them to cry.

After taking a bath, they found Lao Zhuang and Liu Jinbao kneeling in the front hall. The old lady was beating them with a bamboo stick, beating them without mercy. The two idiots didn’t know how to hide, and they just endured the beating.

“Grandma, calm down. You mustn’t get angry and harm your health. I will definitely bring them with me when I go out in the future.”

After hearing the grandson’s promise, the old lady put away the bamboo strips and asked Yun Ye about the cause and effect. After learning the cause, she was also dumbfounded and couldn’t figure it out. Her grandson was obviously the best child, so how did he become the three evils of Chang’an, or the first of the three evils?

At this time, Xitong, who was standing on the hill outside Zhuangzi, secretly vowed that if Yun Ye was wronged, he would use his life to make up for it. If Yun Ye really deserved to die, he would kill him and then kill himself to repay him for letting him go.

A gust of mountain wind blew by, as if to blow away this thick, unbreakable, most foolish and noble feeling.