Chapter 37: Deep Understanding

"Is that so? I was just saying this wolf skin had some flaws and I dared not give it as a gift, but since you say so, today I must give Brother Wang one no matter what. Brother Wang, please do not disdain it; this might save a life. For us bandits who practice chivalry, it is truly useful; it can defend against assassinations!"

Li You stood up and stuffed the wolf skin from Guan Hongxin's hands directly into Wang Qiong's hands.

"This... how can this be done? I cannot take it, how can I take it, absolutely not... ah, how can this be done?"

Wang Qiong pushed and shoved with his hands, but the more he pushed, the more the wolf skin burrowed into his chest... finally, he said with a comfortable expression, "Master Li, straightforward, a man of righteousness!"

"From now on, we stir the ladle in the same pot. Hey, saying this, do you not consider me, Li Mou, a brother? I actually want to learn the skill of that great spear of yours, Brother Wang. I heard your great spear is wielded with such tiger-like vigor that even if Lin Chong were reborn, he could not compare."

As Li You spoke, he put his arm around Wang Qiong's shoulder, instantly acting like iron brothers who had visited brothels and killed people together, as if the slight unpleasantness from just moments ago had long since vanished into thin air.

Wang Qiong also felt comfortable inside, thinking secretly that Master Li was indeed a great talent capable of persuading the Grand Master to fight for the empire, and that when speaking to us rough people, his tone was exactly like that of a local native, not at all like those big-brained scholars who constantly spout "zhi hu zhe ye" and nitpick words.

Every word was like a glass bead, delighting Wang Qiong's heart and making him unable to resist wanting to get close to him.

Wang Qiong was actually a performer of the Four Gates in the past; to put it plainly, he sold his skills in acrobatics and juggling. The tricks he performed were actually shallow kung fu. As for the great spear he played with? It was a flower spear; it looked dazzling, but it was actually useless, full of mere flourishes. If Li You saw this on a real battlefield, playing like this would have stabbed his teammates to death long ago.

Li Qinxiang and Guan Hongxin saw all this and could not help but feel heartache that such good wolf skin was being given away, but they also held Li You in higher regard in their hearts. With such magnanimity and spirit, was he truly just a mountain bandit?

"The meat is ready!" Liu Quezi shouted happily towards Li You.

Most people were already gathered around the two iron pots, but under the management of Dang Xiongxin and Xiang Hu, they sat in an orderly fashion, leaving a ten-meter square area. In the very center was a large cutting board propped up by wooden planks; one meter to the left and right were two large pots, and surrounding them were two large piles of bonfires.

As soon as the wolf meat was done, Liu Quezi immediately shouted to Li You. The others did not dare to snatch food as they usually did; one by one, they looked at Li You with longing eyes. Even Xiao Juzi and Xiao Niang, as Song Baishun had instructed, were sitting upright and proper.

Ultimately, Li You was a scholar with an official title, and when it came to dining etiquette involving scholars, there were many more rules. From the "Zaifu" chapter of the "Book of Rites" in the Han and Zhou dynasties, to the "Tang Guo Shi Bu" of the Wu Zetian era, and then to the "Dongjing Meng Hua Lu" of the Song Gaozong period, the banquets involved show that the rituals of dining are far more complicated than playing Go. More importantly, for hundreds or thousands of years, they have never really been abolished.

When to eat? What to eat? How to eat? Who decides these things for the hardworking common people?

But the problem is that these grains were grown by us mud-legs from the fields! They grew them, yet they had no say; instead, the scholars who do not labor set the regulations, and they feel this is natural and right.

Corrupt Confucians use so many principles of etiquette as frameworks, subtly deepening the imprint of ritual. The heavier the imprint, the deeper the thought control, and the more stable the Jiangshan under their buttocks becomes.

Since everyone today owed a favor to Li You, naturally they did not want to offend the taboos of scholars, so they appeared very cautious.

"Let's go!"

Li You patted Wang Qiong's shoulder and quickly walked over; Wang Qiong had been craving it for a long time.

Li You had eaten boar meat earlier, but he had not dared to eat freely then, so now his appetite was still huge.

Seeing Li You approach, the miners fell silent instantly. Reflecting the firelight, they looked at Li You with expressions of joy, respect, or awe.

"Hey, I say everyone, what are you just staring at? Could it be that my face is more appetizing than wolf meat? Hehe, I actually stole a bite today, my belly is very full. Uncle Liu, Aunt Wang, scoop the cooked meat onto the cutting board, then put two more pots of meat on to cook. Finally, add black roots and wild vegetables to make meat soup. Today, we will all have full bellies!"

Li You shouted these words to the miners and salt slaves.

The crowd immediately cheered. Among the miners, Xiang Chu and Xiang Qiang were so hungry they could not resist and habitually tried to rush to the edge of the pot to snatch food, but Dang Xiongxin spotted them and kicked them back with one foot.

Li You saw this too, but he did not blame them; he had experienced the feeling of being too hungry, and it was truly worse than death.

The "Book of Revelation" in the Bible prophesies that before the end of the world, the "Seven Seals" will be opened. The first four seals are depicted by later writers as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse representing Plague, War, Famine, and Death. From this, it can be seen that hunger is a disaster universally feared by humanity.

He walked to the side of the cutting board, picked up the Xuanhua axe lying on it, rubbed salt lumps vigorously over the cooked meat once more, and then spoke: "Come, I will distribute the meat to everyone. Those with coarse clay jars, clay shards, or stone slabs, take them. Come one by one; the young and the old go first. Those with nothing come last; by then it will be cool, and eating it with your hands will be perfectly fine."

Wang Qiong and the other two, along with Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin, were naturally not included in this line; Li You let them stand by the cutting board and cut and eat whatever they wanted with their own knives.

Since Yu Zhengchun, Xiao Juzi, and the other children had already eaten and were not so hungry, Li You temporarily ignored them. The first to come up were Liu Quezi and Aunt Wang; the two of them were the oldest.

Li You smiled at them, cut the best meat for them, filled a sand jar to the brim, then personally scooped a bowl of soup for them. Both were extremely grateful.

Especially Aunt Wang, whose eyes moistened as Li You called her "Aunt Wang" again and again. Such a warm and affectionate address was something she had not heard in a long time. Thinking of this, she could not help but remember her unfortunate son; could he eat meat in the Cao household? Immediately, tears fell like rain.

Next were the Dang villagers led by Dang Xiongxin and the Xiang clan led by Xiang Hu. After serving them, Li You specially gave Xiang Hu an extra bowl full of wolf bones and meat, saying: "Take this to Xiang Ying. Once he eats meat, he will recover quickly!"

Xiang Hu's eyes turned red; he mumbled a reply and hurriedly left.

At the same time, he served Lv Yi, Qi Jingkun, and others, and also asked Yu Zhenchun and Hei Liuzi to deliver theirs.

As each person came up, Li You spoke a few words to them; he called the elders "brother" and the younger ones "younger brother." Li You's mouth was as sweet as if it were filled with honey, and he had memorized almost all the members of the bandit group.

However, among the miners and salt slaves, even Wa Qingyun only remembered Dang Xiongxin, Xiang Hu, Song Jinyin, and a few others; he did not know the names of the rest. Therefore, this distribution of wolf meat was not only an opportunity to win over some hearts again, but also a great chance for Li You to gain a deep understanding. Information is always the most important thing!

Furthermore, since Cao Er and Wu Zhuge could not be relied upon, Li You definitely needed to keep a backup plan. He wanted to try to slowly build a team from these miners and salt slaves.