Chapter 193

Linhu Village!

The autumn sky was high and the air was crisp!

In the past, the children in the village would follow their elders out onto the lake to catch fish and play in the water; it was very lively.

In the open space of Linhu Village, groups of youths were standing there practicing horse stances and standing stakes.

"This won't do. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, how will you compete with others when you enter the Wu Tang in the future?"

Gu Fei walked past these youths one by one. For those whose posture was not correct, he would unleash a barrage of words. And on the chairs at the very front sat two middle-aged men.

These two were martial artists who had walked out of Linhu Village. Although they were only at the Open-Acupuncture stage, they were more than enough to teach the youths of Linhu Village the martial arts training before entering the Wu Tang and to lay a foundation.

The two of them worked as guards for those escort agencies in the county town, earning ten taels of silver a year, while returning to Linhu Village, the village only gave them three taels of silver, but both of them had no complaints.

Not only because they had feelings for the village, but also because Linhu Village was different from before.

The current Linhu Village was already the liveliest place within a ten-mile radius. Every day, countless matchmakers entered Linhu Village to act as matchmakers for the youths of Linhu Village, and many of the women's family backgrounds were quite good.

Facing this situation, it was hard for the parents in Linhu Village not to be moved. However, Zhao Canghu had issued an order that the children of Linhu Village could not marry before the age of seventeen, and not even an engagement was allowed.

All the children in the village, if they wanted to practice martial arts, could come to the ancestral hall. The village prepared meals every day, with meat and rice to their fill.

Besides practicing martial arts, the children also had to set aside one hour every day to read and learn calligraphy.

The latter was a suggestion put forward by Lin Chen.

Knowing that the village head was paying to arrange for the youths in the village to polish their bodies in advance, Lin Chen had made such a suggestion.

The Great Liang had no civil service examinations, but reading could allow a person to understand principles and, even more, broaden their horizons.

While the youths were practicing martial arts, a carriage also drove into the village and stopped not far away.

Seeing a carriage enter the village, the youths' attention was attracted, and they secretly peeked over. During this time, many big shots had come to Linhu Village, but few had ridden in a carriage.

The powerful and wealthy of the Great Liang were almost all martial artists, and most of them rode horses; carriages were mostly used to transport goods or for female family members to ride in.

"Who is this? Why did they bring a carriage into the village? Could they be here to find Lin Chen? I'll go and persuade them to leave."

Gu Fei muttered when he saw the carriage stop not far away. Yesterday, the village head had already given instructions that no outsiders were allowed to enter the village recently, it seemed because Lin Chen was in seclusion practicing and could not be disturbed or distracted.

"Don't... don't act recklessly!"

The two middle-aged men sitting on the chairs looked at the man sitting on the tall horse leading the way in front of the carriage, rubbed their eyes in disbelief, and the next moment, after looking at each other, they stood up from their seats abruptly, as if their bottoms had been burned by fire.

"Jiang... Lord, I... did not see wrong, did I?"

"No... won't see wrong. Lord Jiang's appearance has not changed."

The two middle-aged men whispered. After confirming that they hadn't misidentified the person, their expressions were very excited, and they hurriedly ran toward that side.

"Jiang... Lord, what Lord Jiang?" Gu Fei was a bit stunned and muttered, but then he thought of something, his eyes shrank suddenly, and the next moment his eyes widened, unable to believe his own guess. Was it really that Lord Jiang?

There were many lords with the surname Jiang, but there was only one Lord Jiang who had a connection to Linhu Village, and that was the existence most admired and looked up to in the hearts of the youths of their generation in Linhu Village.

They had grown up listening to the elders in the village recount the deeds of this Lord Jiang.

"Lord Jiang?"

The two middle-aged men hurried to the front of the carriage. One of them spoke, and although he was greeting, there was a hint of uncertainty in his words.

"You are Zheng Xuan?"

"Lord Jiang still remembers me?"

Zheng Xuan was very excited. After so many years, Lord Jiang actually still remembered him.

Seeing the other party's excited appearance, Jiang Duanchao's mouth twitched imperceptibly. How could he not remember?

Back then, this guy hadn't bullied him less in the village.

Seeing Zheng Xuan, Jiang Duanchao had originally thought that he would likely give him a spear thrust, but he discovered that the resentment in his heart was gone, leaving only a hint of awkwardness, but his mind also recalled his youth in Linhu Village.

"Lord Jiang, wait a moment. I will go notify the village head."

Teng Xing, who was on the side, finished greeting and ran away hurriedly. He was four years older than Lord Jiang and hadn't had much contact with Lord Jiang in the village, so he wasn't particularly familiar. In his view, it was more appropriate for Zheng Xuan to accompany Lord Jiang to talk, while he went to notify the village head and Lin Chen.

"Village head, village head..."

From far away, Teng Xing shouted loudly. Zhao Canghu apologized to Jia Nanzhu and Liu Ru on the side: "Two lords, there might be something happening in the village. I will go handle it."

"Teng Xing, what's wrong?"

"Lord... Lord Jiang has returned to the village."

"Lord Jiang?"

Zhao Canghu was also stunned. Jiang Duanchao had returned to the village?

Jia Nanzhu and Liu Ru, who were a few yards away, heard the conversation between Zhao Canghu and Teng Xing clearly.

"Lin Lin Shidi Liu, your Canglan Wu Yuan's actions are so fast?"

Jiang Duanchao was a martial artist from the Jiangnan Circuit, and his performance back when he was at the Wu Tang was very eye-catching. At that time, he was already at the Martial Administration Hall and knew Jiang Duanchao's situation very well, knowing that Jiang Duanchao had come out of the Canglan Wu Yuan.

At this point in time, Jiang Duanchao chose to return to Linhu Village; to say that the Canglan Wu Yuan had no hand in it was absolutely impossible.

"This subordinate doesn't know. Is Senior Brother Jiang also from Linhu Village?"

Liu Ru's face showed surprise. He really didn't know that Lin Lin Shidi Jiang was also from Linhu Village; he had only mentioned when writing back to the Wu Yuan that Lin Lin Shidi Jiang's daughter and Lin Chen's relationship seemed unusual.

If he had known Lin Lin Shidi Jiang was from Linhu Village, he would have long since found Lin Lin Shidi Jiang to come to Linhu Village together.

"Your academy has put in the effort. Since Jiang Duanchao has come, you and I will go see him too."

Jia Nanzhu didn't mind the Canglan Wu Yuan's small move of playing the emotional card; if it were him, he would do the same, mobilizing all the connections that could influence Lin Chen's decision, which precisely showed the Canglan Wu Yuan's importance placed on Lin Chen.

"Old village head, the two of us will accompany you."

With Jiang Duanchao's return, Zhao Canghu was also feeling a bit uneasy in his heart. He was the one in the village who knew best Jiang Duanchao's perception of the village. Back then, he had played a game of "killing with kindness," forcing Jiang Duanchao to seek benefits for Linhu Village, and now he was truly a bit afraid to see Jiang Duanchao.

Hearing Jia Nanzhu speak, his heart was immediately put at ease.

Jiang Duanchao's return this time was definitely not to find trouble; he was here for Lin Chen. Since that was the case, there was nothing to be afraid of, not to mention that these two lords were here.

"Go notify Lin Chen as well."

…………

A quarter of an hour later, Linhu Village was incomparably lively.

Lord Jiang has returned to the village!

This news spread throughout the entire Linhu Village in a short time, and all the villagers who learned the news ran toward the open space in front of the ancestral hall at the first opportunity.

In the hearts of the villagers of Linhu Village, although Lin Chen was very promising, the first promising one was still Lord Jiang.

Perhaps Lin Chen in the future could catch up to Lord Jiang, but for now, in the hearts of the villagers, Lord Jiang's status was still irreplaceable.

The Lin family.

Lin Mu was washing fishing nets. Although the Lin family didn't lack the little silver from fishing, Lin Fu was used to fishing, and it was too uncomfortable for him to rest without doing anything. Lin Fu and Lin Liang, father and son, would still go out onto the lake to fish every day, but most of the catch was taken to boil fish soup for the youths in the village who were polishing their bodies.

"Younger sister-in-law, Lord Jiang has returned, and the people of our village have all gone to the village entrance to welcome him."

Second Aunt walked into the Lin family's door hurriedly and shouted to Lin Mu.

"Lord Jiang?"

It took Lin Mu a few breaths to react to who Lord Jiang was, and she hurriedly put down the fishing net: "Lord Jiang has returned, then I will go welcome him too."

When Lin Mu married into Linhu Village, Lord Jiang had already gone out to study martial arts. She hadn't seen this Lord Jiang's face, but in Lin Mu's heart, Lord Jiang was also a benefactor of their Lin family.

Without Lord Jiang allowing the youths of Linhu Village to enter the Wu Tang for free, Chen'er wouldn't have had the money to go to the Wu Tang, and there wouldn't be the good life the Lin family had now.

By the time Lin Mu followed Second Aunt to the open space at the village entrance, the entire Linhu Village's villagers were already surrounding it in three layers inside and three layers outside. However, when these villagers saw Lin Mu coming, they also very understandingly made a path for her.

"That must be Lord Jiang, truly powerful."

Lin Mu couldn't come up with any adjectives; she just felt that this Lord Jiang was very dignified, more dignified than any official she had ever seen.

Because of her own son, she had seen many high officials, and officials like the County Magistrate or even the Prefecture Governor were all inferior to this Lord Jiang.

"That little girl is so pretty."

Second Aunt's gaze fell on a young girl behind Jiang Duanchao. Lin Mu followed her gaze and couldn't help but nod: "She must be Lord Jiang's daughter; she really is beautiful."

This temperament, this appearance... it wasn't something the girls in the village could compare to... even the young ladies of the wealthy families in town couldn't compare.

Jiang Duanchao looked at the enthusiastic villagers surrounding him, and he also felt a bit guilty in his heart. He had no good feelings for Linhu Village, and seeking benefits for Linhu Village was also because he had been tricked by Zhao Canghu, but he hadn't expected these villagers to be so grateful to him.

He felt ashamed to receive it.

This made his perception of Zhao Canghu in his heart a bit better. Although this old guy had tricked him, he had also established an image for him in front of the villagers.

Zhao Canghu could also feel that the look Jiang Duanchao gave him no longer had the sharpness from before, and he also let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had kept a hand back then and established a good image for Jiang Duanchao in the eyes of the villagers.

When he caught a glimpse of Lin Mu standing in the crowd, he immediately introduced her to Jiang Duanchao: "Lord Jiang, let me introduce you. This is Lin Chen's mother."

Jiang Duanchao's gaze followed the direction of Zhao Canghu's eyes and also saw Lin Mu. His expression didn't change much; she was just an ordinary village woman with nothing special about her, but he hadn't expected her to be able to give birth to a young genius like Lin Chen.

But what Jiang Duanchao hadn't expected was that after Zhao Canghu introduced Lin Mu's identity, his precious daughter behind him actually took the initiative to walk toward that side.

"You... you are Lin Lin Shidi's mother, right?"

"I... I am."

Lin Mu hadn't expected that this Jiang family daughter, who was as beautiful as a fairy, would actually take the initiative to walk up to her and even speak to her.

"I often hear Lin Lin Shidi say that his mother is so good to him, and she makes him all kinds of delicious food. Many times, he said it until I wanted to eat it too."

Jiang Qing smiled brilliantly, and those dimples bloomed, revealing silver-white jade teeth, making Lin Mu almost stare in a daze.

This... if such a beautiful girl could be her daughter-in-law, that would be great.

"Younger sister-in-law, Miss Jiang is talking about Lin Chen."

Second Aunt on the side saw Lin Mu in a daze and hurriedly pushed Lin Mu's waist. Lin Mu then reacted and asked in a panic: "Miss Jiang, are you very familiar with Chen'er?"

"Yes, Lin Chen and I both came out of the Jing Shui Wu Tang. Auntie, you can just call me Xiao Qing or Qing'er."

"That... that wouldn't be good, you are the Jiang family daughter..."

"There's nothing not good about it. Lin Chen and I are senior and junior fellow apprentices, and you are equivalent to an elder. It's perfectly normal for an elder to call someone by their name."

Lin Mu hesitated for a moment: "Then I'll call you Xiao Qing."

Qing'er was too intimate; Lin Mu knew that was what the elders in her family called her, and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to call her that.

"Either is fine, just whatever makes you happy, Auntie."

Jiang Qing smiled sweetly and was about to continue speaking, but Jiang Duanchao on the side was feeling a bit jealous. His own precious daughter had never smiled at him like this, yet she smiled so sweetly at an outsider.

"Qing'er, Father will introduce you to some of the elders in the village."

"Auntie, then I'll go over first."

Hearing her father's words, Jiang Qing greeted Lin Mu and then walked back gracefully.

"Younger sister-in-law, the relationship between this Miss Jiang and Lin Chen is probably not simple."

Second Aunt whispered in Lin Mu's ear after Jiang Qing turned and walked away.

"Miss Jiang said they are senior and junior fellow apprentices."

"How could it be as simple as just senior and junior fellow apprentices?" Second Aunt didn't believe it was that simple. Her younger sister-in-law was a bystander who was confused, but she had seen it clearly from the side. This Miss Jiang's attitude toward her younger sister-in-law didn't look like her attitude toward an ordinary elder.

If they were just ordinary senior and junior fellow apprentices, would she need to have this kind of attitude?

Besides, if they were just ordinary senior and junior fellow apprentices, with Chen'er's personality, would he talk about his mother?

"Everyone, don't gather together; disperse. Later, the village will set up a banquet to entertain Lord Jiang. Everyone remember to come."

Zhao Canghu saw that so many villagers staying here wasn't a good thing, so he opened his mouth to disperse the crowd, and then asked Jiang Duanchao: "Lord Jiang, you should be here to offer sacrifices to the ancestors this time, right? The ancestral hall in our village has been renovated, and it's very convenient to offer sacrifices to the ancestors now."

Offer sacrifices to the ancestors?

Jiang Duanchao gave Zhao Canghu a sidelong glance. My Jiang family's ancestor tablets have already been taken out of the ancestral hall; whose ancestors am I offering sacrifices to?

But in front of so many people, especially seeing the expectant looks of these villagers, Jiang Duanchao couldn't bear to refuse: "Let the village head arrange it."

Hearing Jiang Duanchao agree, Zhao Canghu's old face bloomed with a smile. Lord Jiang has also come to offer sacrifices to the ancestors, so the price of the spirit tablets and plaques in the ancestral hall should also rise; in the future, it will be two hundred taels for one spirit tablet.

ps: Didn't write ten thousand words today, didn't have enough time. Three updates tomorrow, there will be one update at dawn, the time will be around two o'clock.

(End of chapter)