Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 29 The Woodcutter's Gang's Recruitment

Two months later.

Inside the small town's general store, Zhou Ye removed the face shield from the mountain wind. This type of face shield not only protects against the mountain wind but also serves to conceal one's identity, making it a common piece of equipment for those who venture into the mountains for adventure.

Manager Ding was taking inventory of the goods. There were 127 bamboo rat pelts left, along with some squirrel and rabbit pelts—furs that weren't particularly valuable. He rounded it up and gave Zhou Ye 31 taels of silver.

After the transaction was completed, Zhou Ye pointed to the two straw bags beside him and said with a smile, "Manager Ding, thank you for what happened last time."

"It's alright. Hehe."

"These two bags contain some local specialties from the mountains, they're not very valuable. Please accept them! And this wolf pelt is also just a small token of my appreciation."

Actually, in those two straw bags, there was a salted deer leg, two salted chickens, and a whole bag of salted fish. Of course, there was more salt than salted fish.

"How could I possibly accept that?" Manager Ding said politely with a smile. That wolf pelt alone should be worth several taels of silver.

"Please don't refuse. The journey is long and arduous; I hope we'll have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future!"

"Well……"

Manager Ding's expression became complicated. He was both surprised and regretful.

Listen to the implication: this young man, Mr. Zhou, probably won't be coming back, and I'll lose this big client. He likely came specifically to thank me.

With a long sigh, Manager Ding shook his head with a wry smile: "Ah! That's for the best. The Li family's actions were indeed... indeed too domineering. Brother Zhou, then I wish you a safe journey!"

Thank you!

That's true. Zhou Ye came specifically to express his gratitude for Manager Ding's kindness back then. However, he definitely wouldn't come back to that shabby place. There was no need to take that kind of risk.

After bidding farewell to Manager Ding, Zhou Ye put on a shawl and hurried to a secluded spot outside the town. There, he found a full carrying pole laden with firewood and a bag containing five live pheasants.

Then they prepared to head to the county town. Before setting off, Zhou Ye deliberately chose rather worn-out clothes. And when they arrived near the mountain pass, he took the opportunity to chop some firewood.

Things like firewood and pheasants are not uncommon and generally don't arouse envy. Zhou Ye decided to disguise himself as a woodcutter so he could learn more about the county town.

More than an hour later, Zhou Ye, carrying a carrying pole, arrived at the city gate of the prefecture again.

However, just as they were about to enter the city, they were stopped by several soldiers at the gate: "Hey, hey, I'm talking to you. Who gave you permission to carry firewood into the city to sell?"

"Huh?" Zhou Ye was utterly puzzled. How could there be such a rule in the county town? If there was no firewood, what would the people in the town burn?

Just then, a ruffian-looking man approached and said with a grin, "Brother, our woodcutter's gang has the whole business of firewood and charcoal in the city. Without our permission, not a single piece of firewood is allowed into the city."

Zhou Ye suddenly realized. It turned out that the gang had intervened; they had monopolized this business.

That said, Zhou Ye didn't care about monopolies, and he certainly didn't want to clash with these people. So he asked, "Brother, how much do I need to sell it to?"

"To our woodcutter's charcoal shop? From now on, you can only sell to us. Here's what we'll do! I'll take you there."

"oh oh!"

According to the rogue's self-introduction, his nickname in the underworld was Big Dog, and he was a core member of the Woodcutter's Gang.

The Woodcutter's Gang was a large organization in the county town, mainly composed of mountain hermits. It included not only woodcutters, but also herb gatherers, hunters, and even some mountain dwellers. Of course, some of these hermits did all sorts of business to make money; they were essentially a group of people who relied on the mountains for their livelihood.

The main business of the woodcutters' gang was monopolizing all firewood and charcoal entering the city. They also had their own charcoal yards and hunting teams. As for herbs and other mountain products, the woodcutters' gang also had shops that would buy them, but they didn't force anyone to. This was because the profits from these items were simply too high for any single gang to handle.

Of course, as a gang, there must be other gray and black industries involved.

"Young man, so you're also a mountain barbarian... a mountain dweller?"

"Yes! I got lost in the mountains and lived there for a long time. It was a lot of trouble finding the way out of the mountains."

"It's alright. You don't need to say anything more. There are plenty of mountain people like you." The big dog seemed unconcerned. Indeed, many people, unable to endure the exorbitant taxes and levies, eventually fled into the mountains and became mountain dwellers. They were what were known as "mountain barbarians."

Following the big dog, Zhou Ye arrived at a charcoal shop. After weighing, the firewood weighed over 100 jin (50 kg), and he paid 113 coins in the end.

"Young man, what is your surname?"

"You're too kind. My surname is Zhou."

"Alright. Brother Zhou, are you interested in joining our Woodcutter's Gang? There will be many benefits, and you only need to pay 200 coins per month," Big Dog enthusiastically introduced.

"Huh?" Zhou Ye was taken aback. Strange things happen every year, but could they really recruit people like this?

To be honest, although he didn't care about the 200 yuan, Zhou Ye was quite resistant to joining a gang. They were a bunch of vampires. All they knew was how to bully the good and honest; they would never do anything good.

After a moment's consideration, Zhou Ye politely declined, saying, "Brother Big Dog, I'd like to find a place to stay first. I'll consider it again after I'm settled in the county town."

"That works too. But you're looking for a place to live? I can introduce you to a broker, right? How about this? I happen to have some free time now, I'll go with you to ask around?"

"Well……?"

Zhou Ye was slightly speechless; he didn't know what to say. This Big Dog was really enthusiastic! So enthusiastic that even he was a little overwhelmed.

But then I thought, having a place to live in the county town would actually be just what I wanted. At least I'd have a place to stay, and I'd eventually have to move out of the mountains, so living in the county town would be quite nice.

"Well... alright! Thank you for your help."

Perhaps it was his warm-hearted nature, or perhaps he was particularly keen on recruiting people. On the way to find the broker, this Brother Big Dog told us a lot about the Woodcutter Gang.

The core members of the Woodcutter's Gang number around 3000. The peripheral members number in the tens of thousands. If family members are included, they claim to number 100,000!

Speaking of the peripheral members, they are the ones who recruited people earlier. They pay 200 coins a month and can use the name of the Woodcutter's Gang to the outside world.

Ultimately, it's just a disguised form of protection money. Whether you participate in the woodcutters' gang's activities or not is entirely up to you. It's quite free; you're basically just ordinary people paying protection money, with the added layer of gang affiliation.

Of course, there are some advantages. For example, it's slightly better when facing oppression from other gangs. At least they won't go too far. Buying goods from the Woodcutter Gang's shop offers slightly better deals…

Even in the mountains and forests, it could help avoid conflicts if you encountered other woodcutters. As for whether it would actually be useful, only time will tell.