The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Chapter 170: Untouchables

"This is Erhe's eldest daughter-in-law, this is Sanhu's wife Xiuzhi. And this is..." In an instant, five or six women rushed into the room. Dahai's wife introduced them one by one.

Iron Ox's mother looked at these younger members of her own family with a beaming smile, handing each of them a silver bracelet.

"Dou, don't stand there! We've been traveling for ages and haven't eaten yet, and neither have you! Tie Niu, have them bring the stuff in, let's have a proper meal first."

Since her own mother had long since passed away, Tie Niu's mother naturally began to make arrangements.

"Yes!" Zhang Tieniu nodded and told the guards to bring in the meat, vegetables, grains, and other things they had brought.

"Mother, you and Xiaowan, take out the snacks and candies we brought. Share them with the little mud monkeys."

"Dahai, prepare the tea set and make some tea. I brought all the tea leaves with me!"

"My two sisters-in-law, take a few wives and hurry up and cook."

Because of the truck, the Zhang family brought quite a lot of things today. They had two or three hundred catties of grain, including wheat flour, cornmeal, and rice. They also brought half a pig and some rare vegetables.

Seeing this, the women were overjoyed. They immediately got to work. The courtyard was filled with laughter and lively chatter.

These tasks couldn't be done by men, so Zhang Tieniu stayed with his grandfather and uncle, drinking tea and smoking.

"Our house hasn't been this lively in a long time!" Grandpa Xu said, puffing on his cigarette and squinting at the children running around the yard. A happy smile spread across his face.

"Uncle, now that Lord Shen has taken charge of Shandong, he has implemented rent and interest reductions and eliminated exorbitant taxes. People's lives have improved a lot in various places, so why are you still living such a hard life here?" Zhang Tieniu asked, puzzled.

“Hey! I’ve heard about this too. But what does it have to do with us landless fishermen? We still have to pay our taxes and set sail!” Xu Dahai shook his head.

“In previous years, although life was tough, we managed to get by. The year before last, we heard that the Kong family was wiped out by bandits and fled to our Dushan Lake.”

"Those officials detained us all, forbidding us from fishing on the lake, and they also requisitioned grain and boats to suppress the lake bandits. After two or three months of this, they didn't catch many bandits, and every family was wiped out. Quite a few people died in the lake!"

“Your second aunt died back then because she couldn’t afford medical treatment. If your grandfather hadn’t sold a boat, we don’t know if our family would have survived until now! Sigh!” Xu Dahai shook his head.

“In the past two years, our family has grown, and we’ve taken out all our savings for our funerals and bought a new boat. After a year of hard work, we can barely make ends meet! Sigh!” Xu Dahai sighed deeply, his wrinkles deepening.

"But as far as I know, there are factories everywhere in Shandong now, and there are more workers. Your fish should be able to fetch a better price, right? The Marquis has also abolished many exorbitant taxes, so how come your income has become so low?"

“The market price is high! But what does that have to do with us fishermen? Every trade is regulated. All the fish here have to be sold to Cao Bao. He says a price per kilogram, and that’s the price per kilogram.”

"Anyone who dares to sell fish privately will be arrested and their boat seized by the patrol officers. They won't let you get away without skinning you alive."

"This is illegal and against the law! Won't you report it to the authorities?"

"Where can I sue him? The county government! Ha! Cao Bao is the county magistrate's brother-in-law, who dares to sue him!" Xu Dahai smiled bitterly.

"Well, Ruan Erwa next door refused to accept the verdict and filed a lawsuit. His leg was broken, and he's still lying in bed waiting to die!" Xu Dahai shook his head and said.

“Tie Niu, we fishermen are different from you! Since the Ming Dynasty, we have been of low social status. We cannot go ashore, we cannot farm, we are not allowed to study... Our ancestors could only fish.”

"Although the Qing Dynasty has changed and abolished the status of lowly people, not much has really changed. Who cares about our lives? Fortunately, my eldest sister married into your Zhang family, so she no longer has to suffer like this!"

Zhang Tieniu took a drag of his cigarette, his heart heavy.

This isn't right, something must be wrong! The Marquis said he wanted all the people of Shandong to live a good life, and he wouldn't stand by and watch so many fishermen go hungry.

The lunch was exceptionally lavish, with fish and meat. There wasn't time to steam buns, so the women made flatbreads. They also steamed a large pot of what was considered a rare treat: rice.

The little kids held their bowls, shoveling rice into their mouths while their eyes were fixed on the large chunks of fatty meat on the table.

Zhang Tieniu brought out the fine wine he had brought and poured it for his grandfather and uncle, who both drank with great relish. They hadn't tasted such good wine in many years!

The whole family ate to their heart's content, except for Zhang Tieniu, who remained silent.

"Uncle, come with me to the next door to see that Ruan Erwa? I want to know what's going on with him!" Zhang Tieniu said suddenly after taking a deep drag on his cigarette after finishing his meal.

"Tie Niu, what are you doing? You can't get involved in this mess. Cao Bao is all-powerful in Dushan Lake. You can't bring him down; you'll only bring disaster upon yourself!"

"Tie Niu, you've finally become a military officer. Don't do anything foolish! Officials protect each other in the bureaucracy. You're just an officer from out of town; you can't touch them!" Xu Dahai was sweating profusely and kept waving his hands.

"Heh! A mere ninth-rank inspector dares to cover up everything? Uncle, do you know what official position Brother Tie Niu holds now?" Qiu Xiaojun hadn't dared to speak until now, but seeing his brother-in-law about to get involved, he finally spoke up.

"Commander! Do you know? Brother Tie Niu is now a commander with more than a thousand soldiers, equivalent to a guerrilla general in the Green Standard Army. Let alone a mere patrol inspector like him, even the prefect of your Yanzhou Prefecture would have to treat Brother Tie Niu with utmost respect!" Qiu Xiaojun said disdainfully.

"Ah! Tie Niu, is what he said true?" Xu Dahai was taken aback, never expecting his nephew to be so capable.

"Uncle, don't be afraid! I don't take these inspectors and magistrates seriously. Now that I've encountered this matter, I have to step in and do something about it!"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to them right now. Actually, this kind of thing isn't under our military's jurisdiction, but I can investigate and report the situation here to the Marquis!"

“Someone will take care of them then!” Zhang Tieniu nodded confidently.

"Alright! That would be great!" Xu Dahai nodded. He got up, rolled up a few flatbreads, picked up a bowl of meat, and led Tie Niu and the others to the next room.

"Erwa's family, how is Erwa? We've come to see him!" A familiar voice came from outside the dilapidated outhouse.

The stubble-faced, thin man on the bed propped himself up; "Who is it? Who's talking outside?"