Chapter 16

Near evening, they finally arrived at the place.

He saw a village nestled between several small hills, with endless wheat fields in front and a tributary of the Wei River winding past; one look and it was a village with excellent feng shui.

In the sunset, golden wheat waves rolled, a scene of pastoral beauty.

"This is Guishui Village."

Sha Lifei led the way with his horse and introduced: "There is an ancient spring on the mountain in the village, hence the name. The biggest landlord in the village is Squire Lu."

"This Squire Lu is extraordinary; I heard he was a big merchant in the capital. After making money, he returned home to buy fields. See that? All the fields in front of us are his."

"The key is that he is generous. I don't know how many people are eyeing this piece of fat meat; if it weren't for my wide connections, you would only be able to go compete with the wheat harvesters from Longyou..."

The wheat harvester trade existed in Guanzhong, but more came from Longyou.

People there could endure hardship, worked hard, weren't picky about food, and were more welcomed by the hosts; they could be called the "roll kings" among wheat harvesters.

"Hero Sha is tough!"

"I said it, following Hero Sha, we won't suffer..."

Everyone praised him, and Sha Lifei became even more smug.

…………

That Squire Lu's house was at the east end of the village.

Just as Sha Lifei said, it was a truly big household.

The courtyard was overall "Hui" shaped, brick and wood structure, four courtyards and three entrances, surrounded by high walls, and even the blue bricks on the base outside had exquisite brick carvings.

Gatehouse, memorial archway, horse-tethering stakes—everything was there.

In the sunset, it was full of grandeur and antiquity.

The biggest landlord in Li Family Fort, Li Huairen's house, only had two small courtyards; the wheat harvesters had never seen such a luxurious formation and all clicked their tongues in wonder.

"Good heavens, how much money must this be..."

"I've really gained insight this time..."

Clearly, there was more than one team working for this Squire Lu.

He saw that outside the big courtyard gate was an open space, bigger than a threshing ground, which seemed to have been sprinkled with water and flattened with a stone roller.

Willows were planted around it, looking very grand.

At this moment, several groups of people had gathered in the open space, carrying bedding, with sickles tucked in, squatting on the ground, either chatting idly or puffing away on large tobacco pipes.

Sha Lifei ordered everyone not to run around, then came to the big gate.

Standing there was a thin old man, neatly dressed, wearing a small cap, with white hair, wearing black wooden-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, followed by several servants.

Sha Lifei seemed to recognize this person, went up, bent over, cupped his fists, and said with a flattering face: "Steward Lu, these are my people."

"Why are you a day late?"

"Something happened on the road."

"Alright, wait for the master to finish his lecture before arranging..."

The two were talking there, while Li Yan looked around.

His eyes were sharp, and coupled with his knowledge of many Jianghu tricks, he immediately saw many things.

The group on the right came from Longyou, their accent was a bit different, and the leader was clearly also a saber-wielder from Longyou, not young, wearing a sheepskin jacket in the hot weather.

Although his hair was white, his arms were knotted with muscles.

Looking at those hands, he should have practiced some Eagle Claw techniques.

The several servants behind Steward Lu seemed to have no stance, but each one was burly and had sharp eyes, clearly being bodyguards who watched the house.

According to Jianghu slang, they were the "branch point" of the "hanging" trade.

This type of person, whether engaged in bodyguarding or protecting shipments, had to have real skills and be proficient in Jianghu rules; none of them were pushovers.

Assuming the posture of a servant, they were clearly going to be raised for a lifetime, not temporarily hired.

This Lu family was much wealthier than an ordinary squire...

"Squire Lu is here!"

Accompanied by a servant's singing, a group of people walked out of the big mansion.

Leading them was, naturally, that Squire Lu.

He saw that this person was tall, born fair and fat, kind-faced and benevolent, with a long black beard hanging to his chest, and coupled with a brocade outfit, he looked very grand.

Besides the bodyguards, he was followed by two women.

One was dressed in white, with a refined and beautiful appearance; the other was dressed in red, with a somewhat enchanting face, fair skin, and a beauty mark on her chin.

Their temperaments were different, and they weren't old; compared to the Squire Lu beside them, they were about the same age as his daughter.

But anyone could see that these were mostly concubines.

In the square, most were farmers digging for food in the dirt; even those saber-wielders who often visited brothels had never seen such beautiful women, and their eyes went straight.

Sha Lifei swallowed his saliva, turned around, and whispered a reprimand: "All of you be disciplined, don't look, let alone think; whoever dares to make a fool of himself and lose the job, see if I don't kill him!"

Hearing this, the wheat harvesters lowered their heads one after another.

Sha Lifei still knew the weight of things; in the distance, there was a group of wheat harvesters whose leader even stared straight and drooled, unable to manage the others.

When Li Yan saw this, he felt something was strange.

Logically speaking, in order to avoid suspicion, the concubines in the inner courtyard of a big household rarely met guests in the front courtyard, let alone faced so many people.

But this Squire Lu didn't seem to care and even seemed a bit smug.

Facing everyone, he stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "Fellow villagers, I, Lu, have returned to my roots. Although I have set up some family property, I am not a heartless rich man. Snatching grain from the dragon's mouth during the summer harvest, fellow villagers, work hard, and the Lu family will definitely not let everyone suffer. White flour steamed buns and lamb offal soup—eat as much as you want!"

"In addition, I will give two liters of wheat as pay per mu of land."

"However much you can work, I will give that much!"

The wheat harvesters below widened their eyes upon hearing this.

In the past, cutting one mu of land only gave one liter of wheat, a little over two jin.

Many times, the pay would be deducted.

And this Squire Lu gave two liters directly, and white flour steamed buns and lamb offal soup—eat as much as you want!

Although it was offal, it was still meat!

"Squire Lu is benevolent!"

The wheat harvesters immediately bent down to thank him one after another.

!.

"Hahaha, thank you, thank you."

Squire Lu smiled and cupped his hands, then turned and entered the mansion with his people.

That Steward Lu stepped forward, his expression sinking slightly: "The master is kind-hearted, but rules cannot be ignored."

"White flour steamed buns are enough, but you can only eat them, not take them..."

"No private entry into the inner courtyard; if there is anything, please report it. Whoever dares to step over this door privately, don't blame the old man for being ruthless..."

"Those who are lazy or secretly hide things will be sent to the authorities..."

"Work at the Yin hour every day, and you can only rest after the threshed wheat is stored in the warehouse..."

This steward was also very capable, arranging everything in an orderly manner.

The wheat harvesters nodded in agreement one after another.

Although the rules were strict, the pay was high.

They hadn't had such good luck in previous years...

After some arrangements, the wheat harvesters were led toward the end of the village.

There, simple sheds had been set up in advance.

They would be here for a period of time, working from dawn to dusk, and every day, besides working, they would eat and sleep, without a moment of leisure.

Although it was bitter, the summer harvest season was like this; otherwise, how could they earn money?

And beside the sheds, more than ten large pots had been set up.

Snow-white lamb bone soup was rolling, and the cut lamb offal was rolling up and down.

Several layers of large wooden steamers were filled with the fragrance of wheat.

The wheat harvesters came from all directions, had been on the road for several days, and had been filling their stomachs with cold water and mixed-grain cakes; smelling this scent, they instantly drooled.

They scrambled to line up, holding large bowls, squatting on the ground and eating fiercely.

The servants arranged by Steward Lu laughed: "Everyone, eat as much as you want, but one thing: don't eat until you get sick, or you won't be able to work tomorrow."

One old wheat harvester laughed: "Little brother, rest assured, although we are farmers, we can distinguish between eating full once and eating full every day."

"Hahaha..."

The people eating around burst into laughter.

They felt happy in their hearts; meeting this host, there was really nothing to say.

Even Li Yan was no exception.

He had been to the temple fair in Lantian County, but the lamb offal soup there was for poor people to eat and wasn't particular at all.

On the grease foam, sometimes there would be sheep wool and flies, so how could he stand it?

And this Lu family cook made food that at least looked clean, and the lamb offal soup was also poured with chili oil and green onion and coriander.

With white flour steamed buns, it was truly beautiful!

Young people naturally had big stomachs, and Li Yan was still practicing martial arts and increasing his skills, so after eating five large steamed buns and drinking four bowls of lamb offal soup, he wiped his mouth, put down the bowl, and walked toward Sha Lifei.

Because of the previous events, everyone had been walking in silence along the way and hadn't had time to say much; now that they were settled, it was just the right time to ask about the itinerary.

Sha Lifei was bragging with several saber-wielders.

Seeing him come over, he seemed to have guessed what he was going to ask, but changed the subject and said with a cheeky smile: "Fellow travelers, let me introduce you. This is Li Yan; his father was famous—you must know him: the Sick Tiger of Guanzhong!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan felt unhappy in his heart.

He didn't come out this time to roam the Jianghu.

Even if he wanted to make a name for himself, he wouldn't borrow his father's name, let alone need Sha Lifei to talk too much.

But since things had reached this point, he could only smile and cup his hands: "Greetings, seniors."

That old Longyou saber-wielder wearing a sheepskin jacket was squatting on the ground smoking; hearing this, he nodded and said in a hoarse voice: "I've also heard of Tiger Master's name; he was righteous, it's just a pity... sigh."

Others also echoed: "Little brother looks extraordinary; in the future, he will definitely be a famous figure on the Guanzhong road."

The Jianghu is like this; everyone knows how to say nice things.

As long as it doesn't involve competition for benefits, most will compliment each other.

But a young man squatting on the ground in the distance sneered: "Tsk tsk, Li Hu's son, coming out to roam the Jianghu so early—his hair hasn't even grown out yet, right?"

"The Jianghu wind is big and the waves are big; don't sprain your waist..."

(End of chapter)