ã€ŠThe Only Favourite Ugly Husbandã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Lived Only to Starve to Death

    Chapter 1 ¨C Lived Only to Starve to Death

    Hexi Vige is a small vige in the west of Hecheng County.

    Hecheng County is thend of fish and rice located at the south of the Yangtze River. It is very rich. The Grand Canal, which spans from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital city, also crosses He Cheng County, making it very prosperous. Hexi Vige is close to the county town, making the vigers¡¯ lives naturally very good.

    Today is a big day for Jiang Chengxiang, the third son of Jiang¡¯s family, a wealthy household in Hexi Vige. The vige is even more lively.

    The Jiang family sits on 15 mu of good paddy fields, 10 mu of fine mulberry forest, plus 10 mu of drynd. Old Jiang very skilled at butchering pigs and sheep, so the life of a family is naturally not bad.

    You know, Hecheng County is not a sparsely popted area. There are many people but littlend, but thend is fertile. Because the rivers cross it vertically and horizontally and are not far from the sea, there are no droughts or floods. Generally speaking, as long as you are willing to take care of thend, the harvest in the field will not be bad. Usually, people that have seven or eight mu of paddy fields plus a few mu of drynd can already achieve a good life.

    The Jiang¡¯s third child studied in the county school. Although he did not even pass the entrance examination for young students, he found a good job two years ago because of his literacy. He went to work at the county pier every day. As long as he recorded how many bags of rice and pieces of clothes were carried byborers on the dock, he could be paid two or three times as much as theseborers.

    Because he gained a little face, he can introduce the men of the vige as aborer on the dock in their spare time, and he has a lot of prestige in the vige.

    Today, for Jiang¡¯s third son wedding, one after another, the people in the vige took their best tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks to the Jiang family so that the Jiang family could hold the wedding with dignity. There was not enough space in the Jiang residence, so some families also gave their own family halls to assist them in weing their guests.

    Dressed in a brand-new red robe adorned with big red flowers on his chest, Jiang third son, with a high-spirited appearance, weed Zhu Shufen, the youngest daughter of the Zhu Xiucai family, back from the neighboring vige.

    Zhu Shufen is the daughter of the schr, and she is very good-looking. All the men in the vige were envious that Jiang¡¯s third son was able to marry her. The people who spoke to Jiang third son came forward one after another to congratte him, and the joy on Jiang¡¯s third son¡¯s face added to him a few more points.

    The wedding was very lively and respectable. The Jiang family killed two pigs yesterday and bought back a lot of fish. There was a bowl of pork, a bowl of pig blood soup, a bowl of pig¡¯s tail and a bowl of steamed fish on each table plus a lot of seasonal vegetables. The tables are full.

    There are thirty tables for the Jiang family¡¯s rtives and friends, as well as for the people who came to help from the vige. After the lunch, there is another meal in the evening, making the atmosphere lively.

    A rtive of Jiang¡¯s family grabbed some tea leaves and put it in a bowl. With a gourddle, he scooped a spoonful of boiling water from the iron pot, washed the tea, and looked at the smiling old man standing by the tea bowl. ¡°Uncle Jiang, where¡¯s Eldest Jiang? His brother got married. Why haven¡¯t we seen him? ¡°

    The families in the vige get married early, and there are no shortage of grandparents in their thirties. They generally looked older, looking like in their forties or fifties, and they could be regarded as long lived when they reach their sixties and seventies. But old man Jiang is still very strong and stands tall although he is nearly fifty years old. When he heard someone ask about the eldest son, his brows wrinkled. His eldest son was a good worker. At this time, he should be at home to help. Why hadn¡¯t he seen him today?

    Puzzled, old man Jiang went to the kitchen to find his mother-inw. ¡°Mother, where¡¯s the eldest one?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he fall into the river a few days ago? He became ill. I asked him to go to the old house at the western end of the vige, ¡± Old Madam Jiang said. Her drooping eyes were full of dissatisfaction. ¡°Even if he falls into the water, he should have been better after three or four days. I think he is justzy. After today, I will take good care of him!¡±

    Old man Jiang was not in charge of family affairs, and he was also very displeased with the eldest Jiang. When he heard his mother-inw say so, he frowned. ¡°That unproductive bastard!¡±

    Old man Jiang reprimanded the eldest Jiang and soon left him behind. He got busy with Jiang third son marriage.

    Everyone celebrated the happy event in a lively manner,pletely forgetting the eldest son Jiang, who had never had much presence.

    In the western part of Hexi Vige, there are several dpidated houses where the Zhao family, that has a very bad life in Hexi Vige, resides in a piece ofnd, which is next to the Jiang family. The dpidated dirt house was handed down by the old generation of Jiang¡¯s family. The House is so run-down that it has long been uninhabitable. But right then, a man was inside, lying on the ground.

    When Jiang Zhen woke up, he felt dizzy and felt a pain in his stomach.

    For a moment, he could not see what was around him. He blinked several times before his vision became a little clearer, Then he saw the broken roof and shining sun through the hole.

    Wasn¡¯t he dead? How can he feel the cold and pain again?

    Even if he had survived, he should have been in the hospital by now. How could he lie in such a dirty and messy ce?

    Jiang Zhen instinctively felt that something was wrong. He wanted to jump up from the ground, but he couldn¡¯t even move.

    Jiang Zhen almost fainted again because of his heavy body and severe stomachache. At that moment, his head ached and some memories that did not belong to him suddenly poured into his mind.

    The memories belong to an ancient man.

    This ancient man, like him, was surnamed Jiang, but his name was not Jiang Zhen. They called him Jiang Zhenwei. He was the eldest son of the family, and the vigers generally called him Eldest Jiang. He was born on the fifth day of May. May is the evil month. This day is ominous. Therefore, the term, ¡°suppressing evil,¡± is used on this day to stave it off.

    It is said that children born on this day will interfere with their parents, and eldest Jiang indeed ¡°interfered¡± with his parents.

    The day before Eldest Jiang was born, old man Jiang was taken away for military service. His parents were no longer alive at that time, and Lady Jiang¡¯s family was far away, so she had to give birth alone at home. It was difficult to give birth to her first child by herself; she almost lost her life that night.

    After birth, old Lady Jiang remained unattended and was hungry for a day. After that, she had to get up to cook and clean the soiled clothes and bedding. She couldn¡¯t sit for a month at all.

    She never knew how difficult it was, being alone at home and having to take care of a child. From the beginning, Madam. Jiang did not like her eldest son and decided that her eldest son was a star of suffering.

    It¡¯s just that old man Jiang left for military service, and he was bound to die outside. At that time, if the child died, Madam. Jiang would certainly be driven out of the house by Jiang¡¯s uncle and he would seize the field. Although she wished she could drown Eldest Jiang, Mrs. Jiang still pinched her nose to feed him.

    But it¡¯s only limited to feeding.

    Mrs. Jiang often beat and scolded Eldest Jiang. She ate and drank well but only gave him a mouthful of leftover food. When she went out to work, she tied the eldest Jiang to a straw rope at home. She never wanted to touch this star of suffering.

    When old man Jiang returned from military service five yearster, the eldest Jiang, who was already five years old, was thin and small and could not even talk.

    When old man Jiang came home, life became easier for the Jiang family. Old man Jiang brought back some money to buynd, and he would butcher pigs and sell them at home during the holidays. Old men Jiang was still a good silkworm farmer. In the end, the Jiang family finally became the richest family in the vige.

    But for Eldest Jiang, life was no easier.

    Old man Jiang has always been concerned with his work regardless of his family¡¯s affairs. He would not interfere with the disobedient children disciplined by his wife, and Eldest Jiang, who can¡¯t speak clearly, did not please him at all.

    One year after old Jiang came back, the second son in the Jiang family was born. Two yearster, the third member of the Jiang family was also born, and two yearster, a little Jiang sister was born. These three children were born and raised by old man Jiang. He loved them very much. What about olddy Jiang? When she gave birth to three more children, her family was doing well enough that they can eat and dress warmly. Old man Jiang even hired an old woman in the vige to wait on her. She live afortable life and fell in love with these three children.

    For a long time, the second brother, the third brother and the Jiang sister were the darlings of the Jiang family, but the eldest boss is the existence that the Jiang family dislikes.

    At a young age, Eldest Jiang had to take his brother and sister and work in the field. That¡¯s not all. Madam Jiang was even reluctant to let him have enough to eat. If they had eggs and fish at home, he would never have a share.

    Because he was beaten and scolded and squeezed out of the family from an early age, the oldest Jiang child became quieter and quieter. He only knew how to bury his head in his work. Because of this, when he was sixteen or seventeen years old, he was basically doing all the farmwork for the family.

    He was diligent and did a good job with the farmwork, and the Jiang family still had money, so naturally, some people were willing to act as a matchmaker for him. But old man Jiang had the money to send the second and third brothers to go to the county town to study, and he also had the money to make new clothes for the Jiang little sister, but he did not have the money for the eldest Jiang to marry. This wasted timested for 10 years.

    This day, the eldest Jiang is 26 years old and is one of the oldest bachelors in Hexi Vige. When a man in the countryside has not gotten a wife at this age, he can¡¯t expect to marry a woman for the rest of his life.

    Eldest Jiang became more and more silent and had not said a few words in a year. In addition to working and sleeping, like an invisible man, the rest of the Jiang family had a prosperous life.

    Jiang¡¯s second son married his wife two or three years ago, and now, he has a son. Jiang¡¯s third son is eighteen this year, and today he is getting married. The Jiang¡¯s daughter is sixteen years old. Countless people for ten miles and eight townships want to marry her.

    And eldest Jiang is dead.

    Madam Jiang had him prepare a lot of things for the third Jiang son¡¯s marriage. A few days ago, Madam Jiang asked the eldest Jiang to catch fish. Eldest Jiang can do farmwork. He learned to kill pigs with Mr. Jiang, but he knew nothing about catching fish. When he was young, he didn¡¯t have a chance to y like crazy like the other children in the vige. He couldn¡¯t swim and fish at all. But he dared not ignore Madam Jiang¡¯s words and went into the water after all.

    While catching fish, the eldest Jiang identally fell on the water and nearly lost his life. Later, someone in the vige saw him and saved him, but he developed a high fever the next day.

    If anyone in the Jiang family had a fever, even if they did not invite a doctor, they could rest in the house and eat good eggs and fine grain served to them. But when the eldest Jiang had a fever, Madam Jiang asked the unlucky second son was asked to use his cart to push him into an abandoned house of the Jiang family and he was left alone.

    Jiang burned with fever so badly and he was thrown into a ventted room, and that was all. Madam. Jiang was so busy preparing for the third son¡¯s wedding that she forgot to deliver food to the eldest Jiang.

    Eldest Jiang starved to death.

    He was hungry before, when he was catching fish, and he was hungry for three days in that worn-down house. The dripping water from the roof did not reach him, so he starved to death.

 Chapter 2 - That boy is handsome

    Chapter 2 ¨C That boy is handsome

    Receiving such memories, Jiang Zhen felt extremely constricted and had a nauseous feeling that he could not swallow or spit out.

    This Jiang family is really annoying. While giving all his family¡¯s work to this Eldest Jiang, they can still curse at him and think that he is the star of suffering.

    Jiang Zhenwei was so evil that, as a 26-year-old man, he was crushed to such an extent that he didn¡¯t even know how to resist! They know he¡¯s doing all the work at home. Can¡¯t even he get some food to eat and fill his stomach? Even if you don¡¯t put up a fight, nowadays, when you are so hungry and someone passes you by, cry out for help so you will not lose your life!

    Jiang Zhen, who was always unwilling to suffer losses, could not understand Eldest Jiang¡¯s actions, but after a moment of anger, he became silent.

    He guessed that this Eldest Jiang did not want to put up a fight and was, as a result, forced to suffer problems within his mind. That should be the case.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know much about mental illnesses, but after careful consideration, he found that many of the symptoms Eldest Jiang exhibited were simr to depression, which was often mentioned.

    Jiang Zhen, a rough old man who had lived for a long time, could not understand the feelings of ¡°depression,¡± but he was not unfamiliar with psychological problems. He had even seen a psychiatrist himself.

    In the past, he was in the special forces. When he was on a mission, he was used to have a lot of blood on his hands, and his life was different from that of ordinary people. When he retired from the army, he was afraid that people like him would have problems when they returned to ordinary society directly. So he asked the psychiatrist to chat with him and help him adapt to normal life. He had to say that those psychiatrists are really useful. At least, he was not so violent when they brought him back into society.

    It was also the psychiatrists who helped Jiang Zhen understand psychological problems.

    Eldest Jiang had not said a word in a year. He was silent. He was starving to death and did not cry for help. It was clear that he had psychological problems. He didn¡¯t want to live anymore.

    Also, forced by family members to be like this, how can normal people want to live?

    Jiang Zhen was a little annoyed at the thought of this, but at the moment, he had no time to think about Eldest Jiang¡¯s matters. He just wanted to live now.

    While he was rescuing people before, he had received two bullet wounds and several knife wounds. But he didn¡¯t go to see the King of Yama. Now he has a chance to live again. Vaguely hearing a voice outside, Jiang Zhen immediately began to cry for help. ¡°Help!¡±

    He was so thirsty that he was unable to move his throat, and this body had not spoken for a long time. Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice was not very loud. It was so small and hoarse that he was disgusted with himself.

    But soon, there was a deep but very pleasant voice outside, asking, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    As the voice rang out, the other person marched towards the house. At the sound of his footsteps, Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief andy on the ground peacefully without any further struggle.

    The broken-down house had no doors at all, so it was blocked by reeds tied together and opened as soon as it was pushed. After the visitors pushed the reeds in, Jiang Zhen saw the other person¡¯s appearance.

    It was a young man in his early twenties. He was very tall, dressed in coarse cloth, dark but handsome with thick eyebrows and big eyes; and he had a deep scar on his brow, which added to his manliness . . . He is Jiang Zhen¡¯s favorite type of man.

    That¡¯s right. Jiang Zhen likes men. Unfortunately, he was embroiled in the army his entire past life. He couldn¡¯t hit on his brothers. Later, he died not long after he retired from the army, so he could not find himself apanion.

    ¡°Give me something to eat.¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at the other¡¯s appearance and weakly asked for help. Although the man¡¯s looks was to his taste, right now, he wanted something that could fill his stomach.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang? Why are you here?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at the man lying on the ground and frowned. ¡°Today is the day the Jiang¡¯s third son is getting married, you . . . ¡± Jiang¡¯s family is very lively nowadays. Why is Jiang Zhenwei lying alone in a broken house?

    ¡°Give me something to eat,¡± Jiang Zhen said again. He was so dizzy that he almost fainted again.

    Zhao Jinge also saw that Jiang Zhen¡¯s situation was not quite right. After taking a look at Jiang Zhen¡¯s clothes, his voice became even angrier. ¡°Are you still wearing the clothes you were wearing when you fell into the water? Your family . . .¡± He looked at Jiang¡¯s crumpled clothes and the dpidated hut before him and thought that, even though he had been beaten in the head and bleeding, he had never shouted in pain. But now he asked for food at his own initiative. . . He couldn¡¯t help sighing.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten anything these days?¡± Zhao Jinge picked up Jiang Zhen from the cold and wet mud and quickly ced him on a pile of straw inside the thatched hut. Then he said, ¡°I¡¯ll get you something to eat.¡±

    After that, Brother Zhao Jinge left without looking back.

    He moved so fast that the man had disappeared in the blink of an eye, but Jiang Zhen was relieved. He found out from the memory of Eldest Jiang who this man was and knew that he would not deceive him.

    That man is called Zhao Jinge, a child of the Zhao family living near the thatched cottage. It was Zhao Jinge who saved Eldest Jiang after he fell into the water. Unfortunately, he saved the Eldest Jiang¡¯s life, and in a twinkling of an eye, it was ruined by the Jiang family. Eldest Jiang was dizzy and could not move. The Jiang family did not even change his clothes. As a result, how could he not have a fever?

    After Jiang Zhen remembered Zhao Jinge¡¯s identity, he had a better impression of him, but he went further along the memory of Eldest Jiang. And suddenly, he learned something extraordinary.

    He crossed over, but not to any of the dynasties he knew. The ce where he is right now is called Daqi, and it has existed for hundreds of years that ordinary people, who have not gone to school, arepletely unaware of the previous dynasties and of the war. Of course, that is not the point.

    The point is . . . in addition to men and women, there is another kind of person in this ce known as ger.

    ording to the birth poption, about 50% are men, about 40% are women, and the remaining 10% are the ger.

    They look the same as men, but they have a cinnabar mole between their eyebrows. They are much weaker than men. They are as small as women and can have children like women.

    Because of this, for a long time, gers are raised like women, raised to marry, and their status in Daqi is the same as that of women.

    And this Brother Zhao Jinge is a ger.

    Some men can have children in this ce . . . It must be said that Jiang Zhen was shocked. He learned about Zhao Jinge through Eldest Jiang¡¯s memory.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s father, Zhao Fugui, is an ordinary farmer in Hexi Vige. He married a woman surnamed Liu from the same vige. His life was not good or bad. He had two children in total. His eldest son, Zhao Jinhu, is a man, and his second son, Zhao Jinge, is a ger.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s parents fell sick when he was a child, but with his brother, life was very good. When he was six or seven years old, his parents had already told him to have a good marriage. Although it was much more difficult for a ger to have children than women, it was not easy for a countryman to have a wife. Even the gers are scrambled after.

    However, in this world, there are always all sorts of idents.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s brother, Zhao Jinhu, drowned when he was sixteen years old while swimming down the river. When he was fished out, he had already lost his breath for some time.

    The son, who had grown up, has disappeared. Zhao Fugui and his wife have been hit hard. Liu became even more ill and nearly died. In their helplessness, the Zhao family could only sell the few acres ofnd they own to treat Liu¡¯s illness.

    The Zhao family¡¯s lifestyle has fallen sharply. At that time, the family that had been engaged to Zhao Jinge suddenly backed out from the engagement. The family¡¯s son had a good woman, and they would soon see the children. What¡¯s more, the Zhao family was in a very bad situation at that time, and they didn¡¯t want to marry such a drag.

    Zhao Jinge was only twelve years old at that time, and his brother was dead. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t do the same work as in the past. In order to support his family and cure his mother¡¯s illness, he followed Zhao to work everywhere. When he was busy with farming, Zhao would take him as a part-time worker.

    Generally, both of them are thin and small, just like women, but Zhao Jinge worked all day long and looked more and more like the men, being even stronger than ordinary men.

    After the death of his eldest son, Zhao Fugui thought it would be easy to recruit a man for Zhao Jinge to go with them and continue the Zhao family line.

    Families with many sons in the countryside are often unable to arrange a daughter-inw for every son. Men who have not given their family a daughter-inw will work at home all their lives, In the future, they will be given to the children of their brothers. They will not have a warm bed, and yet, if they are too old to do anything, they will probably be driven out by their nephews. Compared to being an old bachelor, many men are more willing to go to other people¡¯s homes, even though their children will not bear their surnames, they are their own children. And then, they can sleep with a wife in their arms!

    Therefore, although it¡¯s a bit disgraceful to be a son-inw, there are still many old bachelors willing to be son-inws, even those with better family backgrounds. Some poor male bachelors at home take the initiative to find a person to choose. The shame of being a son-inw is better than being hungry at home.

    However, the Zhao family is not well-off. Zhao Jinge is not a woman. He is a ger who looks like a man.

    Most men still like women. It¡¯s not impossible to see a couple like Zhao Jinge, but Zhao¡¯s family is still very poor. Since they still go hungry after joining Zhao¡¯s family and there are no women to warm their beds, those old bachelors are naturally reluctant to join Zhao family.

    Zhao Jinge left it like that.

    Last year, Zhao Jinge, 24, who is old and single, living in the countryside, knows that he has no hope of marrying a man. He can¡¯t marry for his parents. He simply cut off his cinnabar mole with a knife, andpletely treated himself as a man. This year, he went to a rich family to work as a longtimeborer. Though earning money, since his mother, Zhao Liu, remains in poor health. from time to time, he has to spend some money on medicine. His family will also alwaysck money.

 Chapter 3 - Going back to the Jiang family house

    Chapter 3 ¨C Going back to the Jiang family house

    Zhao Jinge came out of Eldest Jiang¡¯s broken-down hut and went back to his own house.

    The Zhao family¡¯s acres of paddy fields have all been sold, but there are still more than one acre of drynd left. They grow potatoes and vegetables, and their house is right next to this ce.

    Zhao Jinge stepped into the house and smelled the aroma of food. At the same time, his mother, Zhao Liu, also weed him home. ¡°Jinge, you are back?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have any work to do today, so I came back first.¡± Zhao Jinge said that he had done almost all the work, so he had spoken to his employer and came back early. He nned to turn over hisnd and nt something in the afternoon.

    ¡°Jinge, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Zhao Liu looked at her youngest son¡¯s tough face and the deep scar on his eyebrow. She felt sad. If it wasn¡¯t for Jinhu, how would Jinge suffer so much?

    He¡¯s a ger who wants to support his family like a man.

    When Zhao Jinge saw his mother¡¯s appearance, he knew that she was thinking too much. He could notfort people. He just said, ¡°Mother, do you have anything to eat?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Mother made sweet potato porridge,¡± Zhao Liu said, lifting the lid of the pot.

    In the pot is orange sweet potato porridge. The porridge is made with sweet potatoes and a bit of rice. As for the steamer rack, there is arge bowl of pickles.

    They usually eat two meals a day, and these are basically what they eat.

    Zhao Liu wanted to get a bowl for Zhao Jinge, but Zhao Jinge grabbed a big porcin bowl first and filled the bowl with porridge. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll go out.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Liu asked puzzled.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang asked me for something to eat.¡± Zhao Jinge walked towards the door.

    Eldest Jiang, the one who hasn¡¯t spoken for years, still wants to eat? Zhao Liu¡¯s face showed her surprise, and she said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Jiang family having a wedding? Will he have nothing to eat? The Jiang family gave meals when they invited their neighbors to help them prepare yesterday. The people who went there said that they had a very good meal. Why did Eldest Jiang want food from others?¡±

    ¡°He is lying there. I guess he hasn¡¯t eaten for days.¡± Zhao Jinge pointed to the road that led to the broken-down thatched cottage about half a mile away from Zhao¡¯s house and strode over there after he had spoken.

    Zhao Liu was shocked when she heard her son¡¯s words. The dpidated hut had not been inhabited for a long time. What had happened to Eldest Jiang, who had just fallen into the water a few days ago? Moreover, these days, she clearly had not heard anything, nor had she seen anyoneing from Jiang family.

    This Jiang family is too hard on Eldest Jiang.

    Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t help sighing, but by that time, Zhao Jinge had already carried the bowl inside the thatched hut.

    Jiang Zhen was very weak at the moment, barely supporting himself. When he saw Zhao Jinge return, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally saved.

    Zhao Jinge did not know Jiang Zhen¡¯s thoughts. He entered the house to support Jiang Zhen, and he ced the porridge bowl to his mouth.

    The sweet taste of sweet potatoes made Jiang Zhen want to eat the porridge in one bite, but considering his physical condition, in the end, he still ate slowly in small bites.

    The porridge was no longer hot, but it was still warm. Jiang Zhen felt like he hade back to life after the bowl of porridge was eaten.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiang Zhen thanked Zhao Jinge for the bowl of sweet potato porridge and water, but it made his throat bitter.

    ¡°No.¡± Zhao Jinge watched Jiang Zhen drink up the porridge and immediately let Jiang Zhen go. He let Jiang Zhen lie in the hay pile and asked, ¡°Would you like me to help you go to Jiang¡¯s house?¡±

    Hearing the words, ¡°Jiang house,¡± Jiang Zhen felt a tightness in his chest. This sentiment does not belong to him, and it seems that Eldest Jiang is still unwilling.

    ¡°They don¡¯t care about me.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge again. ¡°The Jiang family . . . what are they doing now?¡±

    ¡°Today is your third brother¡¯s day of marriage,¡± Zhao Jinge said with a puzzled look at Jiang Zhen. When Eldest Jiang mentioned Jiang family, he was too distant.

    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Jiang Zhen once again thanked him.

    Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s thanks twice in session. He was a little embarrassed and asked, ¡°Are you full? Shall I fetch you another bowl?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll go home after getting more rest,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He couldn¡¯t eat so much at the moment.

    ¡°Um,¡± Zhao Jinge answered, ¡°then I¡¯ll go first.¡±

    Zhao Jinge left soon, and Jiang Zheng closed his eyes.

    Perhaps because of the fever, his eyes were so sore that even opening them was a burden. After closing them, he finally felt better.

    Jiang Zhen was powerless, but because of his strange experience, he was drowsy and wanted to fall asleep when he suddenly felt that the door had been opened again.

    He listened to the footsteps twice. He was already familiar with them. Who was it if it weren¡¯t Brother Zhao Jinge?

    After entering the house, Zhao Jinge¡¯s saw that Eldest Jiang was sleeping, his eyes closed. Zhao Jinge¡¯s footsteps could hardly be heard. He came to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side and covered him with some straw. He alsoid bundles of straw around Jiang Zhen.

    Country people often rely on straw to warm themselves up in winter. When the bed is covered with thick straw, they regard it as a mattress. Zhao Jinge was afraid that Eldest Jiang was too cold to cover himself up.

    Zhao Jingeid down the straw and left again. Jiang Zhen, however, could not help but find the memories of Zhao Jinge in his mind.

    Jiang Zhenwei, in fact, had originally thought of Zhao Jinge. Knowing that his parents would not let him marry, he wanted to go to the Zhao¡¯s house as a son-inw and marry Zhao Jinge.

    His life in Jiang¡¯s family was very difficult, so he did not care about Zhao¡¯s family situation at all. Zhao Jinge was ugly, but he did not care. But although he had this idea, he could not speak or dare to speak. So until he died, nobody knew about this except himself.

    This Eldest Jiang¡¯s life is a bit of a mess . . . The more memories Jiang Zheng uncovered, the more annoyed he was. Instead, he did not care about those people in the Jiang family. As soon as he packs up his belongings, he would go directly to the Zhao family and rely on Zhao Jinge.

    Of course, that¡¯s a bit shameless . . . Jiang Zhen pondered that he still had to take good care of his health as soon as possible and then think about other things. Food is very important if he wants to be healthy.

    Jiang Zhen thought about what to do next, smelled the scent of straw, and finally fell asleep.

    When Jiang Zhen woke up again, it was already dark.

    He had been dying before, but after drinking a bowl of porridge and sleeping, he had recovered, but his hands and feet were still weak. . . This body¡¯s constitution is still good, but it had been through too much hardship before and it still falls short.

    Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and stood up and walked out of the hut.

    It¡¯s still cold that day. He doesn¡¯t want to spend the night in this thatched hut.

    With his memories as a guide, Jiang Zhen went all the way back to Jiang¡¯s house.

    Now it¡¯s veryte, but the Jiang family is still awake. Jiang¡¯s family had been at its busiest with Jiang Chengxiang getting married. They waited until the wedding was over, and they tidied up their home again before they had time to sit down and eat together.

    After the banquet, Madam Jiang shared some of the various dishes they served to people who came to help them and kept a lot for herself. Now the food is being eaten by the whole family.

    ¡°Little sister, don¡¯t you like chicken wings? Here you go.¡± Madam Jiang clipped a chicken wing with chopsticks to give to Jiang Xiaomei and put two chicken legs in an empty bowl next to her. ¡°Yuan Wen likes to eat chicken legs. I specially kept them hidden in the house and did not serve them on the table. I will give them to him when he wakes up tomorrow.¡±

    Yuan Wen is the only grandson in olddy Jiang¡¯s family. He is two years old. Since he was born, he has been the sweetheart of old Madam Jiang. Now he is asleep.

    Jiang Chengwen, the second eldest son of Jiang¡¯s family, put a piece of pork in his mouth with chopsticks and suddenly remembered. ¡°Where is the eldest?¡± Today, the third married. He was so busy that his feet had not touched the ground, but Eldest Jiang had not shown his face . . .

    Jiang Chengwen also studied for two years when he was a child, but he did not like reading and did not want to continue after two years. Since he had stopped studying, he was supposed to cultivate the fields, but Eldest Jiang was so capable that, even though he was now twenty years old, he could not do any work. He went to the fields only twice.

    Today, when Jiang Chengxiang got married, he just helped to lift the table and serve the dishes. He could not bear it. He could no longer stand it andined about Eldest Jiang. If Eldest Jiang had been here, how could he be required to do these jobs?

    ¡°The debt collector doesn¡¯t know where the hell you are going, so don¡¯te back if you can!¡± Old Madam Jiang said, her face with its drooping eye corners looked extremely mean.

    When Jiang Zhen entered the house, he happened to hear such a remark, and there was another burst of indignation in his heart.

    It was not his emotion. He would not get angry with such a remark.

    ¡°Big Brother?¡± Jiang Xiaomei was the first to see Eldest Jiang.

    Among so many people in the Jiang family, Eldest Jiang¡¯s favorite is Jiang Xiaomei. Although Jiang Xiaomei likes to bezy and delicate, she is the only person in the Jiang family that will take Eldest Jiang¡¯s opinion into ount. For example, during the New Year¡¯s festival, the family has made some dumplings and other kinds of food. Madam Jiang refused to let Eldest Jiang eat them, and no one else would think of giving them to him to eat, but Jiang Xiaomei will take some to Eldest Jiang.

    Only Jiang Xiaomei would call Eldest Jiang as elder brother. Jiang¡¯s second and third eldest brothers had always directly called Eldest Jiang ¡°Eldest.¡±

    Jiang Zhen took a look at Jiang Xiaomei, who was gnawing on chicken wings. His eyes fell on the other members of the Jiang family, and he remembered all their looks and demeanor.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead, little beast! There¡¯s no one at home who¡¯s not busy!¡± When olddy Jiang saw her eldest sone in quietly, she immediately cursed at him angrily.

    Jiang Zhen looked at her coldly. ¡°I had a fever. I spent three days lying in the thatched hut on the western side. I was hungry for three days, and no one delivered a meal.¡±

    Eldest Jiang used to bow his head all day, but Eldest Jiang looked up and revealed to them his appearancepletely so that one could clearly see his thin face and cold eyes.

    Old Madam Jiang is cold-hearted when she looked at her eldest son. However, she does not care about his feelings and continued to curse at him, ¡°Little bastard, you dare to talk back to me. You are such a big person, do you have to be fed?¡±

    As soon as old Man Jiang saw that Jiang Zhen looked haggard, he was still a little ufortable. But after hearing the scolding of olddy Jiang, he frowned again. His son has been acting strangely all day, and now he¡¯s ming them? Even if you¡¯re hungry, don¡¯t you know how to squeak? Does such a big man need his parents to deliver meals to him?

    Madam Jiang continued to scold, and had she not been eating still, she would have found a stick to beat him with. But both Jiang couple and Jiang Xiaomei looked at Jiang Zhen in some surprise¡ªThis man actually spoke? And such a long sentence?

 Chapter 4 - Scolding you to death

    Chapter 4 ¨C Scolding you to death

    Jiang Zhen turned a deaf ear to Madam Jiang¡¯s scolding, but once again he was clearly aware of Madam Jiang¡¯s position in this family.

    If Eldest Jiang was idle andzy, it would be not surprising that he would be rejected by his family. But, as a matter of fact, most of the physical work in this family is being done by Eldest Jiang.

    Over the past two years, Eldest Jiang always felt that he was sore and his footsteps were heavy, and he could not keep up his spirits to do anything, but at the request of his parents, he still worked in the fields all day long. He never spoke, nor did hemunicate with others. He had a hard and muddled life. The only constion was that Jiang Xiaomei asionally shouted, ¡°Brother,¡± and paid a little attention to him.

    ¡°You bastard . . .¡± Old Madam Jiang was still cursing, but Jiang Zhen suddenly went forward and sat down at the table then took the chopsticks and began to eat.

    ¡°Who gave you permission to eat at the table?¡± Old Madam Jiang was already angry, but when she saw Jiang Zhen sitting at the table, she became even more angry.

    By the way, for a long time. Eldest Jiang was not allowed to eat at the table. After everyone finished eating, and he washed the dishes and he ate some leftovers. asionally, when there were no leftovers, he was left hungry.

    Fortunately, when cooking in an iron pot, there is always a hard and unpleasantyer of scum, which kept Eldest Jiang from starving.

    Jiang Zhen could only eat with chopsticks and didn¡¯t listen to old Madam Jiang¡¯s words. Without taking his rice bowl, he only kept on eating vegetables. Because his body had not fully recovered, he didn¡¯t dare to eat too much meat, so he ate half-meat and half-vegetarian dishes.

    But old Madam Jiang could not stand it. She stood up and robbed Jiang Zhen of the dishes and chopsticks in his hand. ¡°This dish is for tomorrow. Who allowed you to eat it?¡±

    With that, the thin old Madam Jiang also stood up and took a broom from the side to hit Jiang Zhen.

    When old Madam Jiang stood up, Jiang Zhen stood up with her . . . He took the big bowl with two chicken legs, and put arge bowl of rice into it from the rice bucket. He piled up the bowl to the top.

    ¡°Boss, what are you doing?¡± Jiang Chengwen saw his eldest brother unexpectedly take the chicken leg left for his son to eat and frowned. As soon as his voice fell, he saw Jiang Zhen hold the bowl in one hand, grasped the corner of the table with the other, and directly overturned the table.

    The wooden eight Immortals table fell to the ground, the porcin bowls on the table broke into several pieces, and the dishes were mixed on the ground.

    Jiang Xiaomei was stunned, chopsticks still in one hand and chicken wings in the other. Old Man Jiang, who was sitting opposite Jiang¡¯s boss, was the first to bear the brunt after the table was overturned. His clothes were covered with vegetable soup and oil, and he was so angry that he could not speak. Even old Madam Jiang, who was about to hit someone with a broom, froze.

    Eldest Jiang had always been quiet. They all thought that he would probably be beaten without saying a word.

    ¡°Goddamn it, you dared to lift the table. You turned against us!¡± Old Madam Jiang, holding a broom, rushed to Jiang Zhen. There was a lot of good stuff on that table, and now she had lost half of her dishes and a lot of dishes were broken. She was so distressed that she could hardly breathe.

    Eldest Jiang would stand at her beck and call, but Jiang Zhen would not. He took the big bowl with two chicken legs and a bowl of rice, got rid of Old Madam Jiang and went into the Jiang family¡¯s storeroom where Eldest Jiang¡¯s resides.

    ¡°Son of a bitch, you¡¯re going against the sky!¡± Old Madam Jiang chased him and was about to go into the storeroom to hit people, but Jiang Zhen has already bolted the door. How could Old Madam Jiang get in?

    She could not get in but was able to swear outside, and every word that sprang out of her mouth was like it was not her son in the room but the enemy who killed her family.

    But in fact, Jiang Zhenwei never hurt her.

    When Old Man Jiang went to join the army, it had nothing to do with him at all. Even if she hadn¡¯t given birth to Jiang Zhenwei, she might have been robbed ofnd by Uncle Jiang, because, after five years of military service, everyone thought her husband was dead.

    Later, Madam Jiang¡¯s life got better and better, and she could not get rid of her rtionship with Eldest Jiang. Jiang Zhenwei was bent on making his mother treat him nicely and, so, listened to wherever she said.

    Listening to the sound outside, Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart burst into a sullen rush, which made him inevitably grumpy.

    With a sneer, Jiang Zhen pulled out a machete from the storeroom and opened the door in a few steps.

    ¡°Little beast.¡± When old Madam Jiang saw the door open, she opened her mouth to curse him but stopped abruptly.

    There was a knife, a big knife right in front of her face. In the dark light, it seems murderous. If she rushed forward quickly, she might have been cut in the face by the knife.

    ¡°You scold. Keep scolding. Come on!¡± Jiang Zhen took the knife and took a step forward with a sneer.

    Old Madam Jiang subconsciously drew back and looked at Jiang Zhen as if she had seen a ghost. ¡°You, you . . .¡±

    ¡°You can continue to scold if you have the ability. Do you believe that I will not cut you to death?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at old Madam Jiang with ruthless eyes. In fact, he was quite violent. When he first retired from the army, he was bullied by a few short-sighted people. He always had the impulse to break other¡¯s necks. Thanks to the brainwashing education of psychiatrists in the army, they had been unable to kill civilians in order to protect the people, and he did not be a homicidal maniac and even lost his life in order to save people.

    Old Madam Jiang was arrogant at home, but she had not dared to point a knife at others. Now she saw Jiang Zhen holding the knife in a vicious manner. Her legs shook, and then her legs weakened, and she fell to the ground. For some reason, she felt that her son was really going to kill her.

    This little bastard!

    ¡°You¡¯d better leave me alone!¡± Jiang Zhen waved his knife, went back to the room with a cold hum, and mmed the door again, leaving only the rest of the Jiang family outside to look at his door in shock.

    This . . . This . . . Is this man still the honest Eldest Jiang?

    Old man Jiang was a butcher and was very strong. He had just been sshed with the dishes. He wanted to teach his eldest son a good lesson, but when he saw the knife and heard his son¡¯s cold voice, he didn¡¯t dare move.

    Jiang Chengwen; his wife, Huang Min, and Jiang Xiaomei were even more afraid to move and stood there foolishly.

    ¡°That bastard . . .¡± Old Madam Jiang was still in a state of shock, but when she opened her mouth, she cursed others, and after cursing, she could not help shaking.

    ¡°Cough, well, today is the third wedding night. Let¡¯s not quarrel so that the third wife will not see this joke,¡± old man Jiang said, looking at his second son. ¡°Chengwen, you and your wife go back to your rooms. Don¡¯t wake Yuan Wen up with such a big noise.¡±

    Old man Jiang gave old Madam Jiang a signal, and the frightened old Madam Jiang calmed down.

    She was so angry that she wanted to beat up her eldest son, but she was still afraid of what had just happened.

    Wait till tomorrow to clean up that little bastard! Old Madam Jiang got up from the ground and saw the mess in the hall. She was so sad that she quickly told Jiang Xiaomei, ¡°Little sister, little sister! Go and pick up those dishes, especially the meat. They can still be eaten after we wash them!¡±

    The Jiang family was a rich family in Hexi Vige, but they could not afford to live in a brick house. Their house was built with earth. Although the beams were covered with tiles on top, the ground below was still mud. Those dishes fell on the muddy ground and can¡¯t be eaten without washing.

    ¡°There were only a few bowls in the family, and he broke several at once. Why doesn¡¯t the debt collector just die?¡± Old Madam Jiang saw several pieces of broken porcin bowls and only felt pain in her heart.

    Jiang Xiaomei was usually very popr at home, but this time, she did not dare to say a word. She silently tidied up the food that can be eaten and fed the pigs food that cannot be eaten. She followed Madam Jiang for most of the hour to wash the dishes before going to bed.

    Jiang family went to bed, and there was no movement outside. Jiang Zhen was finally able to sleep in peace.

    Just now, after driving Old Madam Jiang away and bolting the door, he copsed to the ground. This body was really useless.

    It is most urgent to take good care of my health.

    There was no bed in the storeroom, but there was a lot of straw in the corner, and this was Eldest Jiang¡¯s bed.

    Thend in the south of the Yangtze River is fertile, and every family grows rice. Apart from the Zhao family, which is so poor that they have to eat sweet potato every day, the average household has two meals of rice and porridge. The firewood used for cooking is mainly straw.

    The Jiang family had a lot ofnd and a lot of straw. Eldest Jiang dug a hole in the straw pile in the Jiang¡¯s storeroom and lived there. He would not freeze, but it was a little ufortable to sleep like this.

    Jiang Zhen has the memories of Eldest Jiang. After returning to the Jiang¡¯s house, he wanted to take the bed of the old Jiang couple. After all, old Madam Jiang would not treat herself badly, and their bed would befortable to sleep in. But he still didn¡¯t do that because Boss Jiang used to live in a grocery room with a knife, and for now, he needed to have enough deterrence.

    Old man Jiang was a butcher. He had two knives on hand. One was a sharp knife that is used to stab a pig in the neck. It was less than a foot long but two fingers wide. The other was a machete that could cut up pig bones. It was as thick and heavy like an axe. That knife is the one Jiang Zhen used to scare people.

    Jiang Zhen got into the thatched pile, put the knife beside him, and fell into a deep sleep. He only woke up when the light shone through the paper window.

    After a night¡¯s sleep, Jiang Zhen felt that his whole body was much more rxed and stronger. He got out of the straw hole where he hadid several rags and slowly began to eat the bowl of rice he had picked up before he overturned the table yesterday.

    The ancient rice was not as clean aster generations, but the rice of the Jiang family was rtively good. On the other hand, Jiang Chenwen and Jiang Chenxiang did not like to eat brown rice, but the Jiang family raised several pigs. Brown rice can be used to feed pigs.

    Jiang Zhen slowly chewed the rice in the bowl, ate a chicken leg and almost swallowed all of it in one breath. Then he went to the stack of straw to continue to rest.

 Chapter 5 - Donâ€™t mess with me

    Chapter 5 ¨C Don¡¯t mess with me

    Jiang Zhen was resting inside the house, but outside, the rest of the Jiang family had already met their new daughter-inw.

    There aren¡¯t many people who can write and read in the south of the Yangtze River, so it is very difficult for them to pass the schr¡¯s examination. Jiang Chengxiang new wife, Zhu Shufen, is the daughter of a schr, and her father, Zhu Xiucai, is expected to be elected in the examination. Because of this, the Jiang family attaches great importance to the marriage, not only paying arge amount of money to marry her but also holding her in high regard.

    But even so, Shufen was still not happy.

    Last night, she was trying to talk to her husband on her wedding night. There was a lot of noise outside. Her mother-inw kept insulting her brother-inw like a shrew.

    Even if her brother-inw was out of his mind and could not speak or do things, her mother-inw should be embarrassed to behave like that.

    After pursing her mouth, Shufen first looked down on old Madam Jiang, but she did not show it on her face. She still appeared gentle and courteous.

    ¡°Shufen, I made you sugar eggs. Eat.¡± Old Madam Jiang put a bowl in front of Zhu Shufen. Inside the bowl are two poached eggs boiled in brown sugar water.

    On the first day, Jiang Chengwen¡¯s wife, Huang Min, married into Jiang¡¯s family, she got up early in the morning to help olddy Jiang cook, but she did not get to eat sugar eggs. Now that she saw the treatment of her sister-inw, she could not help but feel a little angry. But olddy Jiang did not pay attention to her and invited Zhu Shufen to eat meat. She alsoined again about Jiang Zhen. ¡°The table was overturned yesterday, and all the good dishes fell on the floor. I had to wash them and cook them again . . .¡±

    Zhu Shufen wanted to stretch out her chopsticks to eat chicken, but when she heard this, she took them back. Yesterday, her mother-inw scolded for a long time, and she understood the context. She lost her appetite when she thought that the things on the table had been picked up from the ground.

    Zhu Shufen didn¡¯t want to eat anything at the table anymore. She used the chopsticks to eat the eggs in her bowl. At the same time, she felt likeining again. There was too little sugar in the sugar water, and the sugar was not sweet enough. As for the eggs . . .

    Zhu Shufen took a bite, the uncooked egg yolk flowed out, and her face changed. ¡°Why is this egg not cooked? As I said before, I like cooked egg.¡±

    Zhu Shufen knew Jiang Chengxiang before her marriage. Jiang Chengxiang would send her something from time to time. At that time, he sent her boiled eggs, and once, Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s eggs were not boiled thoroughly. She told Jiang Chengxiang that she did not like to eat eggs that were raw and uncooked.

    After that, all the eggs sent by Jiang Chengxiang were well-cooked, but how could they bring her such eggs today?

    ¡°Half-cooked egg tastes better,¡± old Madam Jiang said. The third had told her that his wife wanted to eat well-cooked eggs, but poached eggs would use more firewood to fully boil, so she took them out when they were almost done and packed them in a bowl.

    What¡¯s more, eggs are obviously more delicious. Jiang Xiaomei liked to eat half-cooked eggs. If she could eat an egg asionally, she had to wait for her to prepare a meal before putting them on the steamer. She steamed them half-cooked with the hot air bellow.

    Zhu Shufen pushed the bowl in her hand to Jiang Chengxiang and refused to eat the sugar eggs.

    Old Madam Jiang regarded this scene with some disapproval and dissatisfaction but still said, ¡°Shufen, if you do not like to eat them like this, I will cook for you a boiled eggter.¡±

    ¡°Eggs, eggs!¡± Jiang Yuan Wen, the only grandson of the Jiang family, knocked his bowl with a spoon and asked olddy Jiang for food.

    ¡°There must always be eggs for our family, Yuan Wen. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Old Madam Jiang had always loved her grandson the most.

    Although there was a little unhappiness, everyone in the Jiang family was able to meet the new daughter-inw.

    Zhu Shufen ate something then went back to her room with Jiang Chengxiang. Old Madam Jiang asked Jiang Xiaomei to tidy things together and asked, ¡°The one who has jumped into the river hasn¡¯te out yet?¡±

    No matter who Madam Jiang scolded, he was the only one who was called like that.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see hime out,¡± Jiang Xiaomei said. Thinking of what happenedst night, she couldn¡¯t help but feel frightened.

    Old Madam Jiang was also frightened by what had happenedst night. She didn¡¯t sleep well all night. Now she looked at the direction of the storeroom with a gloomy face. ¡°He can nevere out. It¡¯s best if he starves to death in it!¡±

    If Eldest Jiang was not feeling well before or was not busy with farming, he would asionally lie motionless in the house for a day without eating or drinking. Jiang Zhen did not leave the storeroom afterst night, which made Madam Jiang think of the past, and she was not very afraid of him.

    She is his mother. Does the guy who has no balls really dare to kill her?

    With this in mind, Madam Jiang wanted to go over and rattle the door again.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Just as Madam Jiang was about to teach her eldest son a lesson, the newlywed Jiang Chengxiang suddenly entered the kitchen.

    ¡°What is the third son doing here? This is no ce for you men toe,¡± Old Madam Jiang said, but shepletely forgot that all the work in the kitchen, such as washing dishes and pots, was done by Eldest Jiang after he came back from the field.

    The only reason that Eldest Jiang didn¡¯t cook was because Old Madam Jiang was afraid he would steal food.

    ¡°Mother, I have something to tell you,¡± said Jiang Chengxiang. ¡°In the future, when you make eggs for Shufen, they must be cooked. She doesn¡¯t like to eat uncooked eggs. In fact, she likes scrambled eggs best.¡±

    ¡°She is too choosy. Where can I get so much oil for her scrambled eggs?¡± Olddy Jiang disgruntledly muttered. It is good enough to have eggs to eat, how much oil is needed for scrambled eggs? Eggs are already the greatest food!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it alright to spoil her little in the family?¡± Jiang Chengxiang smiled and said, ¡°There is also big brother. Mother, don¡¯t always catch him and scold him all the time. It¡¯s so ugly. Yesterday, we heard your scolding from the bedroom. Although Shufen did not say anything, but I was very embarrassed. Her parents¡¯ arguments are usually as short as a single sentence.¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± Old Madam Jiang frowned. ¡°She will give me the cold-shoulder?¡±

    Old Madam Jiang was told off by her son; her heart was on fire, and she was not happy with Zhu Shufen. But she thought that she is the daughter of Master Xiucai, so she needed to give her face. After that, she wanted to find trouble with her eldest son, but thinking about her daughter-inw, she did not do so in the end. She just chattered on and on about the two chicken legs that were supposed to be left for Yuan Wen.

    However, thinking that Yuan Wen did not get to eat chicken legs, old Madam Jiang, who was rarely generous, steamed six eggs in one breath while cooking.

    When the meal was ready, Madam Jiang ate one by herself. When she arrived at the table, she gave Jiang Yuan Wen two eggs, Zhu Shufen two eggs, and the rest went to Jiang Xiaomei.

    Old man Jiang did not like to eat dry eggs and sat at the table, picking fat meat to eat. Huang Min looked at her brother-inw and sister-inw with jealousy. With mother-inw staring at her, it was impossible for her to take a bite of the eggs her son was eating.

    ¡°Are you eating?¡± The crowd was about to eat when a hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

    When the Jiang family looked over, they saw a tall, ck, thin, and angry maning towards them with a sharp knife attached to his waist and a big knife in his hand and looking at them menacingly.

    Old Madam Jiang subconsciously wanted to swear, but when she saw the knife in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand, she could no longer make a sound in her throat. Old man Jiang was also a little stupefied, and the others were even more afraid to greet Jiang Zhen.

    Honest Eldest Jiang, how did he be like this in the twinkling of an eye?

    For a moment, there was no sound in the room.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with this scene. When he saw that the eight members of the Jiang family had filled the eight seats next to the eight Immortals tables, he sneered at Jiang Chengwen. ¡°Second son, make way.¡±

    Jiang Chengwen saw Jiang Zhenweist night. When he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s cold words, he subconsciously gave way and pulled away Huang Min, who was sitting next to him.

    Jiang Zhen sat down and put the knife on the table.

    This knife, which can easily cut off the bones of a pig¡¯s leg, was very heavy. When it was ced on the table, the whole table was in shock . . . Jiang Zhen pressed his left hand on it and did not let go, but his right hand took Jiang Chengwen chopsticks and picked the cooked vegetables to eat. Then he went on to eat Jiang Chengwen¡¯s bowl of rice.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, if you want to eat, why won¡¯t you take the bowl yourself?¡± Old man Jiang killed pigs and had been a soldier who has seen the world. At that time, he finally came back to his senses and red at Jiang Zhen, who had driven Jiang Chengwen away.

    Jiang Zhen simply buried his head into the bowl while eating and did not respond to the words of old man Jiang. His action made old men Jiang forget his fearst night.

    ¡°Bastard, I¡¯m talking to you!¡± Old man Jiang pped his hands on the table, and the dishes on the table shook.

    ¡°You son of a bitch, you give me so much trouble yesterday and still dare to eat at the table today. I will beat you to death!¡± Old Madam Jiang went to find the broom again.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, what¡¯s the matter with you? Shufen has just married in. Can you stop making trouble?¡± Jiang Chengxiang had not seen Jiang Zhen holding a knifest night. He was not afraid of Jiang Zheng at all. ¡°You are too disgraceful!¡±

    Jiang Zhen ate very quickly, put three or two bowls of rice into his own mouth. After eating, he stood up.

    Why do these people like toasting instead of drinking fine wine?

    Standing up, Jiang Zhen suddenly picked up his knife and chopped the table. He only split one side of the wooden table: ¡°Have you forgotten what I said yesterday? Curse me again and I will cut you to death!¡±

    This time, the dishes on the table were not only shaken but were even directly overturned. Old man Jiang¡¯s rice bowl fell to the ground and broke in half.

    Old man Jiang was so angry when he stared at him. The new daughter-inw was right next to him. He didn¡¯t want to show weakness, so he stood up and said, ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to your father like that?¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at him coldly, pulled out his knife from the table, and while moving aside, cut off the broom handle held by olddy Jiang.

    The knife almost cut her own hand! Old Madam Jiang screamed uncontrobly. Jiang Zhen gave her a cold look but suddenly reached out and snatched the two eggs for Jiang Yuan Wen, who was sitting next to Jiang Xiaomei, and held them in his arms. Then he robbed the two eggs for Zhu Shufen. Finally, he took a look at Jiang Xiaomei. Even the egg in Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s hand was not left behind.

    Five eggs were all packed in his arms. Jiang Zhen raised his foot and kicked the table over again. ¡°You¡¯d better not mess with me in the future!¡±

    He had not nned to do anything to the Jiang family. He even thought that if these people were good enough, he would take a few rest and recuperation meals in the Jiang family and leave the Jiang family when he was well. But what was the result?

    He just had a meal at the table, and these people were making a lot of noise.

    They don¡¯t let him eat well, so he doesn¡¯t have to let them eat well too.

 Chapter 6 - Giving benefactor eggs

    Chapter 6 ¨C Giving benefactor eggs

    With a knife in hand, Jiang Zhen left from the gate of Jiang family house.

    On this side of He Cheng County, most families eat three meals a day. Of course, if the family is poor, they can only eat two meals a day.

    Everyone gets up at dawn in the morning, do some work first, and then eat the first meal of the day at around seven o¡¯clock. This is basically just porridge for most households. Of course, a wealthy family can eat it in a different way.

    After eating, they will continue with work, and towards noon¡ªthat is, around twelve noon¡ªthey will have the second meal. Families with enough basic food will have a dry meal. When food is insufficient, they will continue to eat porridge.

    And in the evening, they will eat another meal. Most farmers¡¯ meal in the morning is porridge.

    Although they eat three meals a day, the most important one is the noon meal, which Jiang family had just eaten.

    Because they were too busy until thete hours yesterday, the first meal of the Jiang family today was muchter than usual. And because the morning meal was the dry meal cooked for the guests yesterday, they were not very hungry, so the second meal was dyed by an hour. Jiang Zhen looked at the sky and estimated that it was a little bit after two o¡¯clock at the moment.

    Waking up after one day and night of rest and after eating well, he finally feels well-rested. Jiang Zhen now has a little strength, so now he does not feel tired, carrying a big knife of about ten kilograms. But after lying down for a long time, his body was very sore.

    The wind in early spring was a little cool, but this body was not afraid of being frozen. It was well adapted . . . While turning around the memories of Eldest Jiang in his mind, Jiang Zhen observed the situation around him and began to understand the world.

    This area is a in. As far as Jiang Zhen can see, he saw only a small hill, which was not very high at all. At the same time, it has arge poption and many rivers.

    Although Jiang Zhen did not know Daqi¡¯s history, he felt that the environment here was almost the same as that of ancient China.

    This Hexi Vige does not only have a river but also several ponds. The fields are full of vegetables, such as lettuce, and at a distance of two or three hundred meters, the houses, which are the residences of Hexi vigers, are scattered far from each other.

    Right then, the sun was high. On the stone steps by the river, several women were washing vegetables or washing clothes while talking.

    They saw Jiang Zhen walking by the river, but no one wanted to say hello to silent Eldest Jiang. When they saw Jiang Zhen holding a big knife, they only asked those around them, ¡°Eldest Jiang is holding a knife. Who wants to have their pig killed?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard about that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow and see if someone is killing a pig. I¡¯ll buy it a kilo of meat.¡±

    ¡­

    Several women said a few words to others, so some people followed Jiang Zhen. However, instead of killing pigs, Jiang Zhen turned to the thatched hut that belonged to the Jiang family. It was where he hadin before.

    The hut was a little far from the other vige houses, so when the Jiang family had money, they moved away, leaving only straw and bundles of mulberry strips.

    Apart from the fact that the house was too broken-down, Jiang Zhen liked it very much. It is quiet and Zhao¡¯s family house can be viewed not far away.

    Carrying a bundle of straw from the house to the door, Jiang Zhen sat down and put the knife next to him.

    Sitting alone was boring. After thinking about it, Jiang Zhen found another bundle of mulberry strips and began to peel them.

    In order to make mulberry trees grow bigger and easier to pick, the families that breed mulberry trees cut all the branches of mulberry trees every year. When the skins of these branches are peeled off, some people will buy them for several copper tes. The thin wooden poles with thick branches, like straw, are used to build a fire for cooking.

    The old Eldest Jiang did not know what the mulberry bark was for. But Jiang Zhen could guess that most of the mulberry bark was used for making paper.

    In ancient times, if you could make paper by yourself, you would have a means of making a living. However . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s understanding of papermaking was limited to the point the teacher had told him about the four greatest inventions during a lesson in history and the asional exnations he gathered from reading a bookter. But he did not know the details, not to mention, he was currently poor and broke.

    How to support myself in the future? Kill pigs?

    In the past, Eldest Jiang worked with old man Jiang and learned how to butcher pigs. The pig butcher was also responsible for turning over pig intestines and other dirty work. Old man Jiang had not done it for a long time and let Eldest Jiang do it by himself. These jobs have little technical content. Jiang Zhen turned over those memories, trying to learn, but he also knew that it would be very difficult to live a good life on that alone.

    Forget it. The first thing to do is to be a long-term worker. Isn¡¯t Zhao Jinge living by being a long-term worker?

    Jiang Zhen slowly peeled off a pile of mulberry strips and was about to walk back when he saw Zhao Jinge walking along the road in front of his door.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge!¡± Jiang Zhen shouted and stood up.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise and walked towards Jiang Zhen, but he stopped a few steps away and said, ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    After asking, he said, ¡°Eldest Jiang, how are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all right. Thank you yesterday.¡± Jiang Zhen, took out two eggs and passed them to Zhao Jinge. ¡°For you.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t take your eggs. A bowl of sweet potato porridge is not worth it.¡± Zhao Jinge refused immediately. His family did not have a surplus food to raise and feed chickens. Eggs and simr things were very expensive to him.

    ¡°These eggs are not used to return sweet potato porridge but to repay you for your life-saving grace. Is my life not worth two eggs?¡± Jiang Zhen wanted to shove the eggs towards Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge subconsciously avoided it and paused then said, ¡°You keep it yourself. It will help mend your body.¡±

    ¡°I still have more. Look.¡± Jiang Zhen took out three more eggs and showed them to Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in astonishment. He also knew that Eldest Jiang had been neglected by his parents. Where did this man get five eggs now?

    ¡°You saved me once yesterday, and you rescued me from the river once before. You can¡¯t help this, but you must let me repay you.¡± Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and tucked two eggs in his hand.

    Jiang¡¯s figure is very tall. Eldest Jiang height is also quite high in this vige. Zhao Jinge is about the same height as him, his hands are also very big, so the two eggs can be easily held.

    Jiang Zhen grabbed his rough hand and suddenly felt a little confused, but before he could understand his mood, Zhao Jinge had already thrown off his hand.

    Jiang Zhen looked up and saw Zhao Jinge say, ¡°Thank you,¡± and left without looking back.

    Originally, he wanted to say a few more words to Zhao Jinge, but Jiang was a little stunned, but he soon realized, Zhao Jinge seems shy?

    While whistling, Jiang Zhen hid the remaining three eggs in the thatched cottage and nned to give them to Zhao Jinge the next day.

    He had already eaten two chicken legs today, and no matter how much he ate, he probably couldn¡¯t absorb it. It was better to chat with Zhao Jinge using the eggs.

    And . . . this body of Jiang Zhenwei, though it still has some deficiency, it still is somehow nurtured. How about Zhao Jinge¡¯s body? The Zhao family did not have enough food. Zhao Jinge used to work around the city as a short-time worker. His health was no better than that of Eldest Jiang.

    Having met his life-saving benefactor, Jiang Zhen picked up his knife and went back to the Jiang house, intending to go back and wait for dinner.

    At that time, Zhao Jinge had already returned to his home while holding the two eggs. His attitude was rather strange.

    He once saw that a beautiful woman in the vige was sent eggs by an admirer, but ever since he grew up, no one had ever sent them to him.

    But Eldest Jiang¡¯s egg delivery must be different from those of those people. He is no different from a man now, and everyone else treats him like one.

    ¡°Jinge, you are back?¡± Zhao Liu saw her son and weed him with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Um,¡± Zhao Jinge answered and gave her an egg, ¡°yesterday I gave Eldest Jiang a bowl of porridge, and he gave me two eggs.¡±

    ¡°How is a bowl of porridge worth two eggs? Give them back soon.¡± Zhao Liu felt that this eggs should not be epted.

    ¡°He also said thank you for saving him,¡± Zhao Jinge added.

    Speaking about that, Zhao Liu felt that taking eggs was nothing. ¡°Yes, he should thank you. If it hadn¡¯t been for our Jinge, Eldest Jiang would have drowned.¡± As Zhao Liu said this, she thought of the way the Jiang family did not say a word of thanks that day, and she was somewhat dissatisfied. ¡°Although Eldest Jiang was silent all day, he is still a reasonable one, and his mother was too much. Jinge, you saved her oldest son that day. I can¡¯t believe she doesn¡¯t even know how to thank you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zhao Jinge said. When he saw Eldest Jiang drowning, he remembered his brother who drowned, so he wanted to go into the water to save him. He had not thought about repayment.

    ¡°What is nothing? You saved his life. If you are in y, he should have left his life in your hands,¡± Zhao Liu spoke out.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Zhao Jinge interrupted his mother. Who is willing to marry him?

    Zhao Liu saw it and sighed again. Since he had dug out the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, the people in the vige actually viewed Jinge as a man. He saved a big man from the water, and no one thought that that was wrong.

    It would be nice if Eldest Jiang would join the family. Although the man is not talkative, he is honest and willing to work. He could live a long life. Unfortunately, a few years ago, when some people in the vige helped them to visit Jiang¡¯s family, old Madam Jiang refused.

    She knew that olddy Jiang wanted to keep the eldest Jiang at home for work, but she could not say anything about it to an outsider.

    Zhao Liu felt lost but still served a bowl of porridge. She peeled an egg and brought it to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Mother, you eat this porridge. You¡¯re not in good health. You should eat a few eggs to make up for it,¡± Zhao Jinge said, cutting the remaining egg with a knife. ¡°My father and I will be fine.¡±

    Zhao Liu could not refute her son. In the end, she ate the egg. Zhao Jinge also cherished his half of the egg.

    While eating the egg, he inevitably thought about Eldest Jiang, and then he felt something was wrong.

    Today¡¯s Eldest Jiang spoke generously and clearly and kept his head up straight, as if he has be a different person from before.

 Chapter 7 - The Second Uncle Of The Jiang Family

    Chapter 7 ¨C The Second Uncle Of The Jiang Family

    Jiang Zhen, carrying a knife, slowly returned to the Jiang house and saw arge number of people gathered at the gate of Jiang¡¯s house.

    The vigers of Hexi Vige basically built a few houses to the south as amodations. These main houses often have smaller houses behind it, either thatched houses or storerooms. There were many children, so they often built a more structures behind the houses to serve as living spaces for their children.

    The Jiang family has four main houses facing the south¡ªtwo for the Jiang old couple; the third one for the second son, in the east; and another one for the third son, in the west. The second house in the west is the hall house, the ce where the Jiang family ate.

    There was no house behind the hall, only a courtyard. There was also a well next to courtyard. Next to the courtyard, there was a storeroom, a kitchen, and Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s house. In northernmost side is a thatched house and a pigsty.

    Ordinary people have no money to build arge courtyard to wrap around the front and back of the house, but every household will have drying area, and the gate of the hall will never be closed during the day. Right then, Jiang Zhen saw a dozen or so uncles of his family smoking and chatting at the drying area of the Jiang family, and some people were gathered together to watch the fun at the drying area of their neighbors.

    These people, I¡¯m afraid, are waiting for me . . . Jiang Zhen knew this, but he was not afraid and walked forward. When he approached, he found that olddy Jiang was crying to those uncles, and in the hall, the dishes that he had knocked over that afternoon had already been cleaned up. A Jiang rtive, who knew a little about carpentry, was working there with some Jiang butchers to repair the table.

    He split the wooden table with a knife and kicked it hard. The wooden Eight Immortal table was obviously worn out and broken.

    ¡°Stinky boy, you daree back!¡± With the support of a group of Jiang family uncles, olddy Jiang forgot what she had been scared about before. She stood up, hating Jiang Zhen so much that her teeth itched.

    This ¡°debt collector¡± did not know what was going on. Yesterday, he came back like a changed person. Today¡¯s uproar made his family lose so much face. How could he have not drown the other day?

    Considering what had happened before, Madam Jiang¡¯s eyes were filled with bitterness.

    After Jiang Zhen grabbed the eggs and kicked the table over, the rest of the Jiang family became confused.

    They were all frightened. Zhu Shufen, who had just entered the house, immediately began to cry and then shouted that she wanted to live in the county town. Jiang Chengxiang had been working in the county town all this time. Although it was a half-an-hour walk to Hexi Vige, he was impatient about walking back and forth every day and so rented a house in the county town.

    In the beginning, there was reason Zhu Shufen was willing to marry Jiang Chengxiang. Jiang Chengxiang promised her that they will live separately from the Zhu family in the county town. Although the Zhu family did not have much money because Zhu Xiucai wanted to study, Zhu Shufen grew up pampered and was unwilling to wait on her rural mother-inw.

    She was very unhappy with the environment of the Jiang family. Now when she saw Jiang Zhen swinging a knife in front of her, she wanted to live in the city at once.

    The new daughter-inw was going to leave a day after she got married. Olddy Jiang felt very embarrassed, but Zhu Shufen was determined to leave. She couldn¡¯t stop her. She watched Jiang Chengxiang and Zhu Shufen pack up their things and went away. Zhu Shufen didn¡¯t n on living in the countryside since the beginning. The bed frame and bedclothes that she brought along with her were simply carried to the city, but she didn¡¯t need to collect them at all. They didn¡¯t have much to pack at all.

    Old Mrs. Jiang cleaned up the dishes on the ground, sent away her son and daughter-inw, discussed it with old man Jiang, called for several of Jiang uncles, and made up her mind to teach Eldest Jiang a good lesson.

    There were many families living in Hexi Vige, and there are more than 10 families surnamed Jiang. They were rted to old man Jiang, but when olddy Jiang went out to cry for help, a lot of people came.

    Although these people learned from Madam Jiang how abominable Eldest Jiang had been, they didn¡¯t really take it seriously. What can Eldest Jiang really do? They were all clear about it. He was weak and easy to bully. He was beaten and neverined. Some of them were the same age as Eldest Jiang, and when they were young, they had bullied him, such as robbing Eldest Jiang hard of cut grass or pushing him down the ditch.

    Eldest Jiang would pull a knife at his parents? Is that a joke?

    Most of the table was chopped by Jiang butchers, who split it with their own knives.

    These people were standing around Jiang¡¯s drying area, chatting, and were very rxed until they saw Jiang Zhening from a distance with a knife on his person.

    The men were still the same people, but they did not know why the current Eldest Jiang was making their hair stand up.

    ¡°Little viin, you¡¯re back!¡± A voice rang out, and with it, a thin old man with a long pipe came out, frowning at Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen knew the old man. He was his grandfather¡¯s brother and Jiang¡¯s uncle and a butcher brother. He should call the other party, Second Uncle. Living up to seventy years old was rare. The second uncle in Jiang¡¯s family was over seventy years old. He was the oldest person in the vige, so he took himself very seriously.

    The second uncle looked at Jiang Zhen with a cold hum and slowly smoked his pipe. Then he continued, ¡°Bad boy, did you throw over your dishes at home? Did you cut the table? I heard you robbed some things?¡±

    ¡°Second Uncle, who is it if not him? There were only a few bowls in our house, and he threw them over. And the table, it was a good one. He just split it like that!¡± Olddy Jiang pointed to a pile of broken porcin at the door.

    In the countryside, every family only had a few bowls. If one of them fell to the ground, it was enough to be distressed for a half a day. But right then, a pile had fallen off, not to mention that olddy Jiang was distressed. Even her second uncle and the others looking at her felt distressed for her.

    ¡°He¡¯s still pointing a knife at us. He¡¯s trying to kill two old masters!¡± Madam Jiang said again.

    ¡°Vige viin, is what your mother said true?¡± The second uncle looked at Jiang Zhen coldly. Among the younger generation of children in the vige, the one he disliked the most was the eldest Jiang. When other young people saw him, they all respectfully called him, ¡°Second Uncle.¡± This man never called him that. When he bumped into him, he just bowed his head as if he hadn¡¯t seen him. Just seeing him made him angry.

    Jiang Zhen felt that it was still necessary for him to exin. After all, he was a reasonable man.

    ¡°I fell in the water a few days ago and was thrown into a broken-down cottage in the west in the end. I could not get up because of the fever but didn¡¯t even have any water to drink for a few days. If it weren¡¯t for the good person who had given me a bowl of porridge, I would be dead.¡± Jiang Zhen spoke in a faint voice about Jiang Zhenwei¡¯s experience. He felt that his chest was full of the strong feelings of resentment. ¡°I felt nothing. I was used to it. But when Ie home yesterday, they didn¡¯t even give me a meal. I turned over the table from carelessness.¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s in remark drew the sympathy of the majority of the people present. The vige head of Hexi Vige, Jiang Ping, who is a generation apart from old man Jiang said, ¡°Butcher Jiang, Eldest Jiang is also your son. You can¡¯t be so inattentive to him. This child almost drowned, and you left him alone. It¡¯s too much.¡±

    Hexi Vige is close to the county town; thew in the vige is insignificant. The vige head had little power. Usually, when the vigers quarrel, theye to him to resolve it. Olddy Jiang did not take Jiang Ping seriously.

    ¡°It¡¯s just falling in the water. When I married my third child in those days, I was busy all day long. When did I have time to take care of him? Isn¡¯t he already good?¡± olddy Jiang said.

    Butcher Jiang had a nickname, ¡°Old Knife,¡± and his temper was not good. He did not like this son. He was very disgusted with his son¡¯s actions these past two days. Now, he said, ¡°This bastard doesn¡¯t take us seriously as his father and mother. Howe it our fault in the end? He¡¯s such a big man. Do we have to cater to him when he wants to eat or drink?¡±

    At this point, Jiang Ping became silent. Although he sympathized with Eldest Jiang, it was other people¡¯s house matter, so he could not be too speak out about it.

    The tobo leaves in the second uncle¡¯s pipe had gone out. He tapped a few times on the peach tree by the house, poured out the ash from the pipe, and said to Jiang Zhen, ¡°Evil boy, kneel down!¡±

    Jiang Zhen frowned and looked at him without saying anything.

    ¡°Kneel down and kowtow to your parents to apologize, and then take 20 hits from the sticks. When that¡¯s over, remember to be filial to your parents in the future!¡± Second uncle Jiang said it, but there was no ancestral temple in Hexi Vige, and no lynching had ever happened been done before. However, second uncle Jiang had heard of such things in other viges, so he used this rule now.

    Kneel down and be hit by a stick twenty times . . . What if you break him? Jiang Ping frowned immediately. As for the rest of the people, some gloated over the other person¡¯s misfortunes while others showed sympathy.

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Old madam Jiang felt that it was not enough.

    ¡°So you want me to kneel and kowtow?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly asked.

    ¡°Yes, kneel down!¡± the second uncle said again. His pipe struck the to peach tree full of peach blossoms.

    Jiang Zhen sneered and went straight for the second uncle. He grabbed his clothes and directly picked up the skinny old man. ¡°If you want to kneel, go kneel on your own!¡±

    After saying that, Jiang Zhen directly pushed him down and grabbed the pipe in his hand.

    ¡°You . . . You . . . What do you want?¡± The second uncley on the ground, looking up at the tall Jiang Zhen foolishly.

    ¡°You said to respect the old and love the young. I won¡¯t hit you.¡± Jiang Zhen stepped over the second uncle with a pipe in one hand and a knife in the other, then he went to the other people present, smiling, and for some reason, the man standing opposite him could not help but feel the coldness in his heart.

    ¡°I already died twice, once when I fell in the water andter when I died of hunger. I¡¯ve died twice, and I can¡¯t afford to be a loser anymore.¡± Jiang Zhen smoked the pipe hard while looking at someone about the same age as Eldest Jiang and who had bullied him before. He kicked that man and then kicked him again on the crotch. ¡°If you came to cause me trouble again, I will kill you. One life is not worth much, and I have nothing to lose!¡±

 Chapter 8 - Beating people up and killing chickens

    Chapter 8 ¨C Beating people up and killing chickens

    Hexi Vige is located in thend of fish and rice. It has always been rich and has no natural or manmade disasters. It is also very close to the county town. People who live here are not violent. When vigers fight with each other, it is usually the ¡°if you push me, I will push you¡± sort.

    Jiang Zhen came up and beat his prestigious second uncle up. These people could not help but feel foolish. After Jiang Zhen kicked a sturdy man on his crotch and that man wailed, they all became white-faced.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s body had not fully recovered as of yet. But when he was on a mission before, he was still able to fight with drug lords after being shot. Now he had to deal with a group of farmers. What is so difficult about it?

    Even if he couldn¡¯t fight hard, he could exploit other people¡¯s weaknesses . . . like the crotch, couldn¡¯t he?

    As he spoke, Jiang Zhen walked toward those people. The knife in his hand was shining with cold light. People almost unconsciously took a step backward.

    Their way of life had always been soft; they were fearful of pain and afraid of death. Right then, Jiang Zhen was deadly.

    These people were called for by olddy Jiang in order to reprimand the eldest Jiang, but they didn¡¯t want to fight with him. When they saw the knife in Jiang Zhen ¡®shand, they all wanted to run away.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, are you crazy?¡± Jiang Ping was the head of the vige, so he still had some courage to speak out.

    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy. But if you don¡¯t give me a way to live, I¡¯ll fight like hell with you!¡±

    Jiang Zhen smiled at these people, but in the next second, he saw a man who had bullied Eldest Jiang before and kicked him in the crotch. The man saw other people suffer, but he was too excited to run away. As a result, Jiang Zhen put down his leg and threw ashes at the back of the former bully¡¯s neck with the pipe.

    The second uncle¡¯s pipe was made out of bamboo as thick as a thumb. And its bottom section was specially shaped to a certain hardness. Jiang Zheng smoked then directly stunned the other man with the pipe, which made him fall to the ground.

    ¡°You . . . You will get in a lot of trouble . . .¡± Even Jiang Ping was frightened.

    Jiang Zhen did not speak and continued to walk towards them. Naturally, he did not kill the person who fell down. Before, when peeling mulberry strips, he got a good idea as to the level of strength of his body. Right now, a blow to the back of the man¡¯s neck could make a person faint but never die.

    All the men retreated.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Butcher Jiang, holding a door bolt, suddenly rushed towards Jiang Zhen and tried to hit him with it.

    Jiang Zhen had been paying close attention to the situation around him. Of course, it is impossible for him not to know the action of Butcher Jiang. He threw his pipe and knife to the ground. He first evaded the bolt, moving to the side, then grabbed it and then pushed and pulled it, snatching the bolt directly out of Butcher Jiang¡¯s hands.

    He jabbed Butcher Jiang with the door bolt, making him fall down.

    With the door bolt in hand, Jiang Zhen looked coldly at the people around him with a sneer and said, ¡°Do you want to fight again?¡±

    Of course not! People around him shook their heads.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, you can¡¯tmit a crime . . .¡± Jiang Ping¡¯s voice shook.

    ¡°If no one provokes me, of course, I will not do anything. If anyone provokes me, I wille into their house at night. Clean knives will go in, and red knives wille out!¡± Jiang Zheng looked around, and his eyes finally fell on old Madam Jiang. ¡°Your neck, I guess it¡¯s a little easier to cut off than a pig¡¯s neck.¡±

    When olddy Jiang shouted for people and called for some men, some of the women took their children to Jiang family¡¯s house to watch the hustle and bustle. At that moment, several children were frightened and burst into tears.

    The people standing in front of Jiang Zhen also wanted to cry right then.

    This Eldest Jiang is absolutely crazy. If they offend him, they might really be killed by him.

    If you had a good life, who was willing to offend a madman for the sake of others? A timid man hiding behind Jiang Ping took the lead in running. Then another uncle in Jiang¡¯s family also ran away. Then the vige head, Jiang Ping, hurriedly left. He also had a wife and child. He must take good care of his family.

    The man who covered his crotch and cried in pain was a neighbor of the Jiang family. He was brought back by his father. Even the second uncle did not dare pick up the pipe that Jiang Zhen had thrown on the ground and just slipped away.

    Jiang Zhen picked up the knife on the ground and held it along with the door bolt. And ignoring the men who had fainted on the ground, he strode inside the house.

    He crossed the hall and went back to the storeroom to sleep. He did not want to see that the few rags and clothes of Eldest Jiang had been cut and thrown into the courtyard.

    Jiang Zheng frowned and went out again. Then he mmed the door bolt in front of old Madam Jiang. ¡°Where¡¯s the key to the third house? Take it out!¡±

    Old Madam Jiang had been frightened again. She was subconsciously going to pick up the key but stop right then. ¡°What do you want to do? You can¡¯t enter the third house!¡±

    Jiang Zhen was a little impatient. He simply shed the knife into the wall above her head and said, ¡°Give it or not?¡±

    Old Madam Jiang sat down on the ground; her legs went soft. She trembled and cried out, ¡°Little sister, little sister, bring the key from my bedside . . .¡±

    Country people usually leave their houses unlocked. During the day, the doors are open, and at night, when they return to the rooms, they bolt the door. But the Jiang third son had always been fastidious, and his house also had a copper lock.

    Jiang Xiaomei brought the key, and Jiang Zhen swaggered and opened the door to Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house and entered the clean new house.

    The knife for cutting pig bones was a bit heavy after all . . . When he entered the room, Jiang Zhen threw the knife to the ground, bolted the door, rubbed his wrist, and began to look at the room.

    Zhu Shufen¡¯s dowry was ced in the city, but Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house was stillplete with a chest of drawers, a bed, two boxes, and some small things.

    Madam Jiang came in earlier to tidy up the bedclothes, and the bedding on the bed had been put away. Jiang Zhen pulled out a set of clothes from the box andid it on the bed. He took off his clothes, found a set of Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s clothes, and put them on. Then he went to bed to rest.

    Quilted clothes were all used by others, but Jiang Zhen never picked them, but he didn¡¯t care at all. Of course, if he had money in the future, he would surely have to find new clothes to wear.

    People in Hexi Vige raised silkworms. Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s quilt was light and made of soft silk. It¡¯s very warm. Jiang Zhen fell asleep not long after lying down. Atst, he woke up because his stomach was too hungry, and by that time, it was already dark.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house had gate it front, but there was a small door behind it. From that small door, you can get to the courtyard.

    Without taking the big knife, Jiang Zhen went out from the small door to the courtyard with the sharp knife for killing pigs. He nned to go to the kitchen to find something to eat. As a result . . . there was not a single grain of rice in the kitchen.

    Obviously, olddy Jiang hid everything he could eat.

    This scene was not unfamiliar to Eldest Jiang, who sometimes worked outside untilte. And when he came home, he was faced with an empty kitchen. In the end, he could only go to the field to find some lettuce and radish and then go back to the storeroom to sleep or just go to bed hungry.

    When Jiang Zhen recalled that, his heart burst in sadness.

    Not only did the eldest Jiang leave his memory to him, but his soul did not seem to have left yet. When it happened to someone else, the man must have felt nervous. Jiang Zhen did not take it seriously. He just patted his heart and then walked towards the Jiang¡¯s chicken coop.

    Jiang family raised chickens. Old Madam Jiang originally raised six chickens. But for Jiang third son¡¯s marriage, she killed four. At this time, there were only two hens that had just begun toy eggs.

    When the vigers raised chickens, they are basically raised in fenced ces. The vige was full of people Every household who killed chickens and eat meat could not hide it from others, so there was no worry about someone stealing it.

    In the evening, everyone would put the chickens back into their own henhouse, not letting it be caught by a weasel or a wild cat at night. Right then, two chickens of the Jiang family were in the henhouse.

    After dark, the chickens were particrly quiet and easy to catch. Jiang Zhen opened the chicken nest, reached out, and caught a chicken, and then directly wrung its neck.

    In the kitchen, he started a fire and boiled water. Jiang Zhen plucked chicken. He heard olddy Jiang moving behind him.

    It was very dark, but there was a fire in the kitchen, and it was also bright. With that light, olddy Jiang saw Jiang Zhen feather-shedding a chicken inside.

    With a cry of distress, old Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Zhen in disbelief. ¡°Where did you get the chicken?¡±

    ¡°Caught it in the chicken coop.¡± Jiang Zhen looked up and smiled at Madam Jiang.

    ¡°You killed a chicken! You . . . You . . .¡± Old Madam Jiang put her hand over her chest and pointed at Jiang Zhen. In Jiang family, don¡¯t mention chicken, even if they want to eat eggs, they have to get her permission. Jiang Zhen had right then killed the chicken she intended toy eggs!

    He¡¯s crazy!

    Old Madam Jiang was just about to swear. But suddenly, she remembered what Jiang Zhen had done during the day and she stopped talking.

    Her eldest son is really crazy! It was foolish of her to forget the two chickens and just thought about hiding the grain.

    ¡°You¡¯d better leave me some food in the kitchen in the future or else . . . Next time I¡¯m hungry and have no chicken to eat, I¡¯ll kill the pigs in the backyard,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    Olddy Jiang froze. She could put food and chickens in her house and lock them up, but she could not drive two pigs into her own house, could she?

    The sh of fire in the oven made Jiang Zhen look very gloomy. Madam Jiang suddenly remembered her legs and ran away.

    After a while, she came back, threw down a bag of rice, and said with trepidation, ¡°You can¡¯t eat all of the chicken . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m tired of eating chicken alone.¡± Jiang Zhen took the bag of rice, scooped a bowl into the still boiling water, then sat down and continued to pluck the chicken.

    The sadness lingering in his chest had disappeared. Jiang Zhen looked at the chicken and thought of Zhao Jinge, whom he favored.

    Tomorrow, he¡¯ll send the man a chicken leg.

 Chapter 9 - Continuing to flirt with the benefactor

    Chapter 9 ¨C Continuing to flirt with the benefactor

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s ability to survive in the wild was strong enough to handle a chicken. After a while, he cleaned up the chicken feathers and removed all the internal organs from the chicken¡¯s belly.

    Rural people don¡¯t want to waste chicken intestines, even chicken blood. But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have the heart to deal with chicken intestines. He simply threw them aside. If olddy Jiang wanted them, let her handle them by herself.

    However, Jiang Zhen would not deal with chicken intestines, but for the first time, he washed the chicken liver and threw it into the pot with the porridge.

    In modern times, because of high cholesterol, a lot of people don¡¯t eat chicken liver, but now . . .

    Jiang Zhen was sure that consuming animal internal organs would be good for his body.

    Animal internal organs are high in calories and fat, rich in vitamins and trace elements, many of which he currentlycked.

    After throwing the chicken liver into the pot and boiling it, Jiang Zhen dug out two pieces of chicken breasts, cut them into shreds and boiled them with the porridge. Then he put the remaining pieces of chicken in a shallow earthen pot and steamed them on the steamer.

    Jiang Zhen cooked the porridge for a long time then boiled and drank it. Finally, he found another earthen pot and put it in Jiang third son¡¯s house for tomorrow. As for the chicken . . . he took both legs and wings and left a chicken skeleton in the kitchen.

    When olddy Jiang would see the chicken skeleton the next day, she would probably be angry again. But overall, all these years, when had she not reluctantly given only a bite of chicken bones to Eldest Jiang? He was now rewarding his grievances with virtue.

    Jiang Zhen went to sleep again.

    Jiang Zhen slept all the time until he woke up. He woke up and chewed a chicken wing and the cold chicken porridge.

    He cooked a lot of porridgest night. After eating some for himself, he still had a lot of porridge left. Two chicken legs and the remaining chicken wings were put into the earthen jar filled with porridge. Jiang Zhen took the earthen jar in one hand and the knife in the other and left Jiang house again.

    This time, instead of going to Jiang¡¯s broken hut, Jiang Zheng kept going south.

    There was a big river on the south side of Hexi Vige. There were many boatsing and going on this river. It is said that water transport was from this river. There was a pier in He Cheng County, where the people came and went and was very lively.

    But there was no wharf here, but there were a lot of trees by the river.

    This forest did not belong to anyone, and the vast fields north of the forest belong to the richest man in Hexi Vige, Zhao Dahu.

    Zhao Dahu and Zhao Jinge are both surnamed Zhao. They were also family members, but their connection was very distant. At least, Zhao Jinge did not receive any preferential treatment.

    Zhao Jinge used to follow Zhao Fugui to do short-term work for Zhao Dahu¡¯s family. But now, he had be a long-term worker of Zhao family.

    Short-term workers earned more per day and had more work to do. They were often stared at by their owners from dawn to dusk. Long-term workers got lower wages but had a more stable and rxed work environment.

    Of course, that was only rtively. From the memory of Eldest Jiang, Jiang Zhen learned that the long-term workers here had to not only work in the field but also do the housework for the main family. Eldest Jiang once saw Zhao Jinge washing clothes for Zhao Dahu.

    Moreover, the family of Zhao Dahu was somewhat stingy; the masters of long-term workers should give something to eat, but they couldn¡¯t bear to give Zhao Jinge a little grain so that Zhao Jinge has to go home for dinner every day.

    This master¡¯s home was really not good, but for Zhao Jinge, it was the best choice. At least, while he worked for Zhao family, he could take care of his family¡¯s house.

    Jiang Zhen came to the woods at the edge of the canal, picked up some dead branches, and dug a hole in the ground. Then he put the pot on the fire and boiled it.

    After cooking for a while, Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Jingeing this way.

    The family of Zhao Dahu eats three meals a day, and when they eat at noon, they send Zhao Jinge out every time or let him work in the field, let him chop wood or carry water.

    That day, Zhao Jinge held a small axe. It looked like he came to chop up firewood.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang?¡± Zhao Jinge was surprised to see Jiang Zhen, and his eyes were attracted by the delicious porridge in front of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Come on. Have porridge,¡± Jiang Zhen called.

    ¡°No, I have to work.¡± Zhao Jinge slightly frowned. ¡°Eldest Jiang, I heard that you beat up the Jiang family elders yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zheng admitted it directly, but his heart was tight. If Zhao Jinge was old-fashioned, he would have to think he had done something wrong. He was afraid that he and Zhao Jinge might not have a future.

    ¡°You . . . Be careful,¡± Zhao Jinge said. Offending the elders of the n was not a good thing for the eldest Jiang.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge and rxed. He was worthy of his attention and concern for him.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and went elsewhere.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly stood up and pulled at Zhao Jinge. ¡°I can¡¯t finish my porridge. You stay and eat with me.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was caught by Jiang Zhen and subconsciously struggled but could not break free.

    ¡°Won¡¯t you give me a chance to pay a debt of gratitude?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already given the eggs.¡± Zhao Jinge looked awkwardly at Jiang Zhen, who was pulling at his hand.

    ¡°Is my life worth two eggs?¡± Jiang Zhen insisted and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t sit down and eat, I¡¯ll follow you all the time, follow you back to the vige, and follow you to your home.¡±

    ¡°You . . .¡± Zhao Jinge was shocked by the words of such a scoundrel like Jiang Zhen. He was impatient and anxious. He sat down after thinking.

    ¡°I made this porridge. It tastes good. Eat more.¡± Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge stayed behind, smiled and gave Zhao Jinge a ceramic spoon from Jiang house.

    ¡°Where did you get the chicken?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at a pot of chicken porridge in front of him and subconsciously swallowed his drool. When he was a child, his family still had a good life. They would kill a chicken for the holidays, butter, his family became poorer and poorer, so he couldn¡¯t eat chicken. He only bought a chicken for the Lunar New Year and counted the number of pieces to give to his guests.

    ¡°Caught it inside the chicken coop.¡± Jiang Zhenughed and saw Zhao Jinge looking at him with a puzzled expression. He added, ¡°After all these years, you know what those people in my family have done to me. This time, I almost died. Isn¡¯t it right for me to eat chicken to improve my body¡¯s health?¡±

    Zhao Jinge thought about it. No one else knew about it, but he knew. Eldest Jiang was almost starved to death before. Moreover, the Jiang family was rich, and that day, Jiang Chengxiang was full of good food. This time, it¡¯s really proper to give Jiang Zhenwei a chicken.

    ¡°Eat it.¡± Jiang Zhen took a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in one hand. He scooped a spoonful of porridge with a spoon and half-chopped chicken liver with chopsticks and stuffed it into Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth.

    Zhao Jinge was suddenly fed. His whole body froze. He didn¡¯t dare to chew the chicken liver and his hands trembled.

    If it hadn¡¯t been for the sun and rain that made his skin dark every day, he would have showed a big red face that instant.

    Jiang Zhen saw his shock and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Can you see anything at night?¡± In rural areas, many people suffered from night blindness due tock of vitamin A, and Eldest Jiang was lucky enough to have it.

    ¡°Yes . . . It¡¯s a little blurred.¡± Zhao Jinge slowed down because there was something in his mouth, and his voice became a little muffled. He liked chicken liver, or as long as it¡¯s all meat, but right at the moment, he can¡¯t taste the chicken liver in his mouth.

    ¡°Eat more chicken liver and pig liver, and you¡¯ll be able to see clearly in the future . . . I¡¯ll try to get it for you in a few days¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise. What else did the eldest Jiang n to give him to eat?

    Jiang Zhen smiled and said, ¡°You are my benefactor, and I should repay you.¡± It was best to make a promise.

    Naturally, Jiang Zhen let Zhao Jinge feel that he was thinking about something more but also finally calmed down. ¡°You really don¡¯t need to¡ª¡±

    ¡°And I have something else to ask you about¡± Jiang Zhen interrupted Zhao Jinge¡¯s words.

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°I want to live separately. If there are no idents, I¡¯m going to live in that shabby hut next to your house. I¡¯ll be alone then. You must help me a little¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    He will certainly leave the Jiang family in the future. At first, he thought about whether to pack up his things and live with the Zhao family immediately after he left the Jiang family, butter, he felt that that would be a little shameless.

    He didn¡¯t even have the ability to support his family, so he was ashamed to go straight to his wife¡¯s house. What¡¯s more, when he was there, it would tear up his face with the Jiang family. If he ran to Zhao at that time, he would certainly make Zhao Jinge family staying in the vige difficult.

    He can do whatever he wants. But he can¡¯t involve his wife¡¯s family. So first talk about love and take care of his health, and then he can think of something else.

    His body was too shabby at the moment. It would be a shame if he couldn¡¯t hold out for half an hour.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen has never been able to get a wife to warm his bed. He could not help but nce at Zhao Jinge now and then countless times. The more he saw, the more satisfied he was, and liked him more.

    ¡°You want to live separately?¡± Zhao Jinge saw the haunted look of Jiang Zhen¡¯s and felt ufortable.

    ¡°Well, I want to leave the family and not be their workhorse,¡± Jiang Zhen said. As soon as his voice fell, he felt a joying from his chest . . . Again, these emotions left by Eldest Jiang came out. As a matter of fact, this old Jiang still has a little emotion left in his body, which was one of the reasons why Jiang Zhen cannot immediately introduce himself to Zhao Jinge as a pillow. But he didn¡¯t care too much about it. He had a hunch that when he messed around for a while, Eldest Jiang would probably be able to leave with peace of mind.

    Although Zhao Jinge¡¯s family was poor, his parents had been very good to him, and he had never been ustomed to Jiang family¡¯s bad treatment of Eldest Jiang. He did not feel that Eldest Jiang wanting to live separately was doing something wrong. ¡±That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you then.¡±

 Chapter 10 - For a few Months

    Chapter 10 ¨C For a few Months

    In the countryside, living alone is often difficult and leaves one vulnerable to bullying.

    Because of this, women or gers, who had decided to live in their mother-inw¡¯s home, like to find those who had more brothers. If Eldest Jiang separated from his family and was not married after he went back from working in the field, he may not even be able to eat a hot meal, so he really needed some help.

    And if he had been assigned to the shabby hut of the Jiang family, wouldn¡¯t he be closest to the Zhao family?

    Zhao Jinge epted Jiang Zhen¡¯s reason. When he ate porridge, he felt peace of mind. But Jiang Zhen kept staring at him. He moved slowly and urged him to eat more, which, in the end, made him a little ufortable.

    ¡°I wille to you if you get in any trouble in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen also gave another chicken leg to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Here. Take it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to give me chicken legs.¡± Zhao Jinge quickly refused. Being able to eat some delicious porridge was already good enough. He had thought that he was going to work hungry.

    ¡°I¡¯ve eaten more than half of this chicken. What is chicken leg for me? Don¡¯t I already have one? Eat quickly.¡± Jiang Zhen put the chicken leg on Zhao Jinge¡¯s lips, and then saw Zhao Jin¡¯s whole body froze up again.

    Zhao Jinge finally ate chicken leg, and then Jiang Zhen gave him a chicken wing, saying that there was no meat in the chicken wing, so he did not like to eat it himself.

    Zhao Jinge could not refuse Jiang Zhen directly. He could only put the chicken wings into his mouth.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge sweetly eating; he even chewed up the small bones in the chicken wings. He ate the other chicken leg in a good mood.

    The two men ate a pot of chicken porridge clean. Although Zhao Jinge had tried not to eat the shredded chicken in the porridge, but he ate a chicken leg and chicken wing that was attached to the wing root, and he also had oily water in his stomach.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied that he could feed Zhao Jinge so much. He washed the pots clean and asked, ¡°What else do you want to do?¡±

    ¡°I have to cut firewood,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°I will apany you, Jiang Zhen.¡±

    ¡°No . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge subconsciously refused. What did Jiang Zhen want to do? Why did he refuse?

    Jiang Zhen was reluctant to chop firewood with his sharply sharpened bone-cutting knife, so he did not use the knife. Instead, he climbed a camphor tree and stomped on the branches with his feet.

    Half of the trees on this side are camphor trees. The branches of this kind of tree have always been very brittle. Jiang Zhen could easily trample off this section of branches; it wasn¡¯t long before he got many branches down.

    Zhao Jin bowed his head and chopped down the branches of Jiang Zhen as he cut down the trees. The dead leaves of camphor trees reced by new leaves fell one after another, and many of them fell on him.

    Jiang Zhen looked down at him and saw the lines of his body after he bent down because his clothes were tight. Suddenly, his mouth was dry and his movements stopped.

    Zhao Jinge could not hear any movement. He looked up and saw Jiang Zhen staring at him. He felt like there was a fever rising to his face. Why did he eat porridge in the same pot with Boss Jiang just now and let Boss Jiang feed him chicken liver?

    For a long time now, Zhao Jinge had thought of himself as a man, and he usually grabbed a meal to eat with the other long-term workers, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the same with Eldest Jiang

    Neither of them spoke, but the atmosphere between them was somewhat subtle.

    When Zhao Jinge cut enough wood and was about to leave, Jiang Zhen stopped him. ¡°Jinge.¡±

    Zhao Jinge looked at him in a puzzled way, and Jiang Zhen added, ¡°I don¡¯t by the name of Jiang Zhenwei. Later, I want to be called Jiang Zhen . . . Don¡¯t call me Eldest Jiang in the future. Just call me Jiang Zhen.¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded. ¡°Jiang Zhen.¡±

    Jiang Zhen smiled at him.

    Zhao Jin looked at that smile; his heart beat a little faster. He bowed his head and walked away quickly.

    Watching Zhao Jinge with arge bundle of firewood on his back, Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows and whistled.

    ording to what he observed today, Zhao Jinge is 100% fond of men, and now, he should have a little interest in him. Also, this man is ger who thought he would marry a man. He does not like men who can like women that way.

    This Zhao Jinge was really made for him. He would have a wife soon. No, it shouldn¡¯t be long before he can marry himself off.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t mind joining the Zhao family at all.

    There were always some people who thought that it¡¯s a bit shameful to marry into a family, but in his eyes, the men who thought that way had no ability on their own. If a man had the ability and his children didn¡¯t use his surname, others would only feel that he was in love with his wife. Who would look down on him? Those men who were not capable themselves worry about that all the time. They would look at their own face more than the sky. They would not be able to earn face outside and me their families.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t seem to be able to do anything now.

    While touching his nose, Jiang Zheng went home while shaking the earthen pot in his arm.

    People in the vige were very busy. Jiang Zhen met many men and women working in the fields along the way, and some children were mowing grass or . . .

    Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows and looked at a group of children gathered near a ditch not far away.

    There were rice fields on the side of the Hexi Vige, and every household has dug water drains. The ditches were full of water all year round, and naturally, small fish and shrimps lived in it.

    Jiang Zhen went through his memories and discovered that the small children here liked to catch fish in the ditch. When they went home, they let their mother steam them on the steamer and eat it as a dish.

    The vast majority of the people in Hexi Vige seldom eat meat. For example, Zhao Dahu¡¯s family eat it three or four times a month, but small fish and shrimp were not scarce. But because everyone was generally very busy, this activity could not be done every day. They only do it once in a few days, and it went basically into the mouths of the children.

    If you want to mend your body, you need to think of these things in the future.

    When Jiang Zhen returned home this time, the house was quiet.

    It was clear that, after he had made trouble, the people in this family had be peaceful for the time being.

    Instead of going back to his room to sleep, Jiang Zhen moved a bamboo chair and waited for dinner in the hall so that neither Jiang Chengcai nor his wife, who were waiting for dinner at home like him, dared stay in the hall but hid in the hall with their precious son in their arms.

    Jiang Xiaomei was assigned with cooking and feeding pigs by Madam Jiang. She did not dare to hide in the house and had to work in the kitchen, trembling.

    Although Jiang Xiaomei was the best person in Jiang¡¯s family to Eldest Jiang, she was not too good to Eldest Jiang. She often pushed her work on Eldest Jiang. Because of that, she was now afraid of Eldest Jiang.

    While Jiang Xiaomei was cooking a pot of porridge, the sky had darkened, and old Jiang and old Madam Jiang came back with hoes on their shoulders.

    When they saw Jiang Zhen, their faces were not very pleasant. Madam Jiang was even more eager to swallow Jiang Zhen. She just saw that Jiang Zhen had a knife in his hand. She did not dare sh with him. Instead, she scolded the Jiang family¡¯s second son, who came out of the house after hearing the news of their return. ¡°You are really capable. Watching your parents work hard outside and just stayingzy at home. I¡¯m really guilty of raising a group of debt collectors!¡±

    Old Madam Jiang meant to scold Huang Min. Jiang Chengwen and his family had never worked very much. She never scolded them before. Today, she scolded them in order to scold Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen knew all about it but nodded approvingly at Madam Jiang. ¡°Mother, you¡¯re right. Chengwen is a real debt collector. If I give birth to such a bastard, I would kill him with a stick.¡±

    Old Madam Jiang¡¯s face looked wonderful.

    ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t you say you couldn¡¯t eat without working? Second brother, don¡¯t eat this meal,¡± Jiang Zhen said while taking a big bowl of porridge from the pot.

    The Jiang¡¯s porridge was very thin. It¡¯s covered with porridge soup. When hedled porridge with a long-handled wooden spoon, he scooped down to the bottom. After scooping up porridge, he poured the porridge soup back into the pot.

    Jiang Zhen filled himself a bowl of porridge without any porridge soup and sat down at the table.

    On the table, there was a bowl of salted lettuce, a bowl of pickles, a bowl of boiled cauliflower.

    That was basically what Jiang family dishes looked like, and of course, like Jiang Yuan Wen, he would eat another egg.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t pick it either. He snorted on the porridge bowl and kept eating lettuce and cauliflower with chopsticks.

    He ate so fast that olddy Jiang felt sick when she saw him eating there all the time.

    This fellow was born to be overbearing, not only did he not work, but also chooses to eat at home.

    Olddy Jiang kept cursing Jiang Zhen in her heart, but Jiang Chengwen didn¡¯t dare eat at all. He and his wife slipped into the kitchen with their son. Atst, they could fill a bowl of porridge. After eating, they slipped back to their room.

    When the Jiang family was throwing a wedding, Huang Min took some dishes and hid them in their house. Although the porridge was not very thick, it would be good in addition to other dishes.

    When Butcher Jiang looked at his second son¡¯s posture, he felt that there was too little iron to be steel at that moment. He couldn¡¯t help looking at Jiang Zhen again. ¡°Eldest Jiang, have you done enough? Stop fussing tomorrow and go to fields with me!¡±

    Before, in order to do Jiang second son marriage, they had no go to the field for five or six days, leaving behind a lot of work.

    Those acres of mulberry fields should be fertilized, and those vegetable fields should also be nted . . . The weather was getting warmer, and all vegetables and flowers were blooming. In addition to nting seeds, the other older vegetables had to be pulled from the fields and reced with other kinds of nts. Besides, the drains must be opened, and rice would also start raising seedlings.

    In the past it was all done by eldest Jiang. Jiang butchers didn¡¯t have to worry about these jobs. They were basically all done before he thought of them. They could do some of them if they wanted and less if they don¡¯t want to. But now, Eldest Jiang doesn¡¯t go to work.

    The farmwork could not be pushed back. Butcher Jiang and Madam Jiang can only go to the field by themselves today. Now, after a day¡¯s work, Butcher Jiang felt that his waist was going to be broken.

    ¡°No.¡± Jiang Zhen did not raise his head either. ¡°I am in poor health right now, and I will need to rest for a few months at least.¡±

 Chapter 11 - Rubbing off a layer of mud

    Chapter 11 ¨C Rubbing off ayer of mud

    ¡°For how many months?¡± Butcher Jiang started to be angry with Jiang Zhen. This guy was obviously fine. How could he rest for a few more months? He¡¯s dreaming!

    ¡°Yes. The second brother strained his waist when he cut ricest year, and he hasn¡¯t gone to the fields anymore. I walked between the juncture of life and death, and I should rest for a few months. Why don¡¯t I rest it for two years?¡± Jiang Zhen put down the porridge bowl and looked sincerely at Butcher Jiang.

    Butcher Jiang was so angry that his face turned ck. Jiang Zhen did not stop. He looked at olddy Jiang again. ¡°Mother, I want to eat something good for my health. In the future, you should go to the county town to buy some chicken and meat every day. You don¡¯t have to buy too much. Just give me half a kilo of meat a day.¡±

    You don¡¯t want to work but still want to eat white rice and half a kilo of meat a day? Old Madam Jiang was shocked. Even the son of thendlord¡¯s family could not eat like that.

    ¡°You-You . . .¡± Jiang butchers wanted to fight with Jiang Zhen again, but when he thought of the people who had been knocked unconscious by Jiang Zhen yesterday and looked at the table that had just been mended in front of him, he still didn¡¯t dare to go against Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Forget it. This request was not very suitable. There is no meat to sell here. It is too unkind for you to go to the county town to buy it every day. In the future, just boil two eggs a day for me,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°There is only oneying chicken in the house. Where do we get two eggs a day?¡± Madame Jiang immediately asked that and was distressed at the thought of the chicken that the eldest Jiang had killed and eaten.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you to figure it out. If you don¡¯t give me two eggs a day . . .¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the overly biased couple in front of him and gave a cold hum.

    Jiang Zhen had hands that were stained with blood and had murdered people. He did not know whether he was really murderous, but he knew that, as long as his feeling cooled down, he would not say a word but also give people tremendous pressure.

    When he was in the army, people called him Chief Jiang because he was the ruthless and the toughest one in the army . . . He, who had no father or mother, could do things more carelessly than others.

    Sure enough, after looking at Jiang Zhen, Butcher Jiang, who had killed a lot of pigs and thought he was a cruel man suddenly gave up and subconsciously moved his eyes away.

    After Jiang Zhen exined the matter and had dinner, he picked up the knife and nned to go back to his room to go to bed. But after a few steps, he turned back and said, ¡°By the way, the porridge I just ate will be prepared for me tomorrow morning.¡± I also want to eat two bowls of rice like this at noon. If I don¡¯t have enough to eat, I can only kill chickens and pigs.¡±

    After dropping such a sentence, Jiang Zhen returned to his room and mmed the door shut.

    Jiang Zhen went to bed early as usual. Because he went to bed too early, he woke up in the middle of the night.

    He wanted to go back to sleep, but he suddenly smelled a sweaty odor, which came from him . . .

    ¡°. . .¡± Jiang Zhen remembered that he had not bathed after crossing over. He had eaten, slept, and eaten again all day because he was too hungry and tired, and he had not noticed this odor at all.

    Jiang Zhen felt embarrassed when he thought of his smell when he went to cultivate feelings with Zhao Jinge yesterday.

    It wasmon for him not to bathe for ten days or even a half months when he was on a mission, but he always wanted to keep the image of cleanliness and tidiness in front of the man he liked.

    As a result, Jiang Zhen could not continue sleeping. He rolled out of bed and found a clean set of clothes in third Jiang¡¯s son wardrobe. He took it into the courtyard.

    Jiang dug a well in the courtyard, next to it was built a small shed covering an area of no more than two square meters. The Jiang family bathed and wiped themselves in this shed.

    Jiang Zhen first lit firewood and boiled hot water for himself on the stove. He flipped through his memory, went back to Jiang third son¡¯s house and found some fat beads that could be used for bathing.

    There was no soap on the south side of the Yangtze River. Themon people in the countryside basically wash with water while shampooing was picking leaves and then rubbing these on one¡¯s head to wash it. But Jiang third son was very fastidious, and if he had spare money on his hands, he would buy fat beads to use.

    When he left, he didn¡¯t take away the remaining fat beads, so it was a good deal for but Jiang Zhen.

    When he found the fat beads, Jiang Zhen went to the shed to take a bath.

    He did not know what to do with the fat beads. He felt it was difficult to use. He could not help but miss the modern soap.

    He used to keep his hair buzzed, so he didn¡¯t need shampoo at all. The bar of soap could wash him clean from beginning to end. But then what? He found Eldest Jiang¡¯s hair difficult to deal with.

    But he couldn¡¯t cut his hair yet . . . Although it was all nonsense to him, he still needed to behave within a certain range. If he was too independent, he may get in trouble.

    Of course, if he ever got stronger and got a chance, he will be willing to act independently.

    Jiang Zhen took a full bath for an hour, washed off several pots of water, and rubbed countless pieces of mud from his body.

    After washing, he even had a feeling that he had lost a few pounds of weight and felt veryfortable.

    Changing into clean clothes left by third Jiang, Jiang Zhen felt that he must have be a lot more handsome and could not help whistling again.

    Combing his wet hair to the back of his head, Jiang Zhen left the shed where he took a bath, and as soon as he went out, he met old Madam Jiang, who got up early in the morning.

    At that time, it was still dark, anddy Jiang could not see clearly, so when she first saw Jiang Zhen in Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s clothes, she thought that her third son was back, but soon she remembered that her obnoxious eldest son was living in the third son¡¯s house at the moment.

    Old Madam Jiang never looked closely at her eldest son. She hated the man since he was a child. She felt sick after one nce, and she always felt that her eldest son was very ugly, but at the moment . . .

    It suddenly dawned on her that her eldest son looked good.

    He no longer hunchback his all day. He looked tall and straight. His originally sad face was covered with a smile that makes him look bright.

    This man is really her eldest son?

    The olddy muttered a little in her heart, but the idea disappeared after only one turn in her mind.

    The beaten up and scolded people one day suddenly could not bear the anger from such a thing. There was still a precedent to find. In the past, in their vige, there had been beaten and scolded wife. One day, she suddenly killed her own man with a knife.

    When she thought of that, the olddy Jiang who wanted to scold Jiang Zhen for wasting firewood shut her mouth and did not dare to say anything.

    Jiang Zhen was toozy to talk to olddy Jiang and returned to Jiang third son¡¯s rooms.

    He wiped his hair with a cloth towel, and when his hair was not so wet, Jiang Zhen spread his hair and went outdoors.

    It was very rude for a schr at that time to spread his hair, but in the countryside, no one would think about it.

    When Jiang Zhen left the door, he went to the thatched cottage of the Jiang family. When he got to that ce, he found the three eggs he had hidden the day before yesterday.

    Boiled eggs could be kept for a few days, but it was not good to keep them for too long. Jiang Zhen was waiting near Zhao¡¯s house with eggs, and when Zhao Jin came out, he stopped Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jiang . . . Jiang Zhen?¡± As soon as Zhao Jinge went out, he saw Jiang Zhen and his face showed surprise.

    ¡°Jinge.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen and suddenly found that Jiang Zhen was a little different again today. A few days ago, although Jiang Zhen looked a lot different, he was still a dirty countryman, but today¡¯s Jiang Zhen was almost like the people living in the city and even made him feel a little ashamed of himself.

    ¡°To see you.¡±

    When Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he could not help but be a little happy, but soon felt that it was not so good.

    ¡°Did you eat?¡± asked Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I ate porridge,¡± Zhao Jinge said that because Zhao Dahu¡¯s family did not give rice, so his mother usually cooked an extra bowl of porridge the night before. He drank that bowl of porridge in the morning before going out.

    ¡°Eat porridge, take a few pees, and it¡¯s gone. Here, have an egg,¡± Jiang Zhen said, taking out an egg, and started peeling it off.

    ¡°No!¡± Zhao Jinge is about to leave immediately. He just ate the chicken given by Jiang Zhen yesterday. He couldn¡¯t eat Jiang Zhen¡¯s eggs again today.

    ¡°If you go any further, I¡¯ll shout.¡±

    Brother Zhao Jinge stopped and looked seriously at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Jiang Zhen, it¡¯s not very good of you to do so.¡±

    ¡°I just want you to have an egg. What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± said Jiang Zhen while putting the egg directly into Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth.

    Zhao Jin¡¯s mouth was stuffed with an egg. He couldn¡¯t say what he wanted to say, but he frowned tightly, or because he had dug out the cinnabar mole in the center of his eyebrow, he looked as if he were frowning.

    When he dug out the cinnabar, it should¡¯ve hurt, right? Jiang Zhen reached out and touched the center of Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyebrows.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face showed a look of panic. He nced at Jiang Zhen, subconsciously stepping back a few steps, and then he turned and strode forward.

    After walking for a long time, Zhao Jinge calmed down.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s behavior made him feel strange, but he did not hate it. Jiang Zhen. Is he going to make do with me in the future?

    Zhao Jinge had self-awareness, and didn¡¯t think that Jiang Zhen would like him, but if Jiang Zhen wanted to make do with him, it was still possible.

    Jiang Zhen did not please his parents. After separation, he was estimated to be given nothing. In the future, he could never marry a good wife, so he could only find a defective woman or simply find a widow, if they wanted to be with him.

    He could work although the work of his family was not good. He could make a do. For Jiang Zhen, it was already must be pretty good, and their Zhao family, although there was nond, they at least had a good house.

 Chapter 12 - Separating to find you

    Chapter 12 ¨C Separating to find you

    The more Zhao Jinge thought, the faster his heartbeat became, and the ce where he had a cinnabar mole was still fevered.

    He rubbed his hand on the scar between his eyebrows several times, and he exhaled a long breath.

    Ever since he became a grown-up, it was the first time anyone had expressed affection towards him. He was a little ttered, and at the same time, he felt a little flustered.

    There was really nothing good about him, so was it possible that he actually misunderstood what Jiang Zhen meant?

    What¡¯s more, why did he just turn around and walk away? Would Jiang Zhen be unhappy and misunderstood when he left him like that?

    In fact, he was quite satisfied with Jiang Zhen. He had been working hard for so many years, and he was also a little tired. Naturally, he hoped that someone would apany him on his road in the future.

    Zhao Jinge thought a lot. Before he knew it, he had walked to the bamboo grove near Zhao Dahu¡¯s residence.

    Just then, he was suddenly held by a hand.

    Zhao Jinge was startled. When he was about to pull his own hand away, he saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s face and quickly lowered his raised fist.

    ¡°Jinge, let me give you two more eggs.¡± Jiang Zhen gave Zhao Jinge the remaining two eggs. He followed Zhao Jinge all the way. Zhao Jinge facial movements were naturally all before his eyes.

    Zhao Jinge . . . It¡¯s obviously interesting to him too.

    He had thought it would take a while to catch Zhao Jinge, but he didn¡¯t expect to make such fast progress.

    Jiang Zhen has never been a slow person. He always wanted to cut the Gordian knot at once, but he thought he had many things to deal with at the moment. The old Jiang Zhenwei was still in his own body. In the end, he put up with it. ¡°Jinge, when I¡¯ve lived separately, I need to talk to you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen did not say what he had to say to him, but Zhao Jinge also had a guess and immediately took the eggs and put them away.

    ¡°I¡¯m going home for porridge.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge, turned around, and returned to Jiang family house.

    Zhao Jinge stuffed two eggs into his arms and continued to walk to Zhao Dahu¡¯s family house, but his heart was always disturbed.

    Other women in the vige would always be humbled, and someone would always help them do some work or give them something, but he had never been treated like that. And now that he had eaten Jiang Zhen¡¯s eggs and chicken, he felt a little embarrassed.

    Because of that uneasiness, when the world was doing its work, Zhao Jinge found out that the basket he had made with bamboo strips was on the ground. He grabbed the loaches he found while he cultivated the field and put it in his basket.

    Hexi Vige had many paddy fields and many ditches, and loaches were also very numerous. Loach tasted delicious and not very fishy. Even if you only put a little salt and steamed it, it would turn in a good dish, so it was very popr.

    It took a lot of effort to catch the loaches, that is, when the loach plowed the ground, you could see the holes drilled out by the loach and needed to dig them up with painstaking effort. But it was still not likely that the loach could be caught. Moreover, when the weather got hot, after raising rice seedlings and transnting rice seedlings, the rice fields were full of water. Only one or two of the loaches could be caught in the ditch.

    Zhao Jinge usually has a lot of work to do, so he didn¡¯t have much time to mess with these. But when he was particrly gluttonous or when he wanted to replenish his mother¡¯s body, he would go fishing in the river or find a way to catch loach.

    But today, as he plowed the ground, he found and carefully picked up the loaches. Once he found it, he put it in the basket behind him.

    Because of that, he plowed the ground very slowly that day, fearing that it would be dark when he finished all the work.

    But even so, he kept looking at the loaches.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    When Zhao Jinge worked in Zhao Dahu¡¯s family house, Jiang Zhen returned to the Jiang family.

    When he got back, old Madam Jiang had just finished cooking the porridge. He snatched two bowls of porridge full of rice. One bowl was put aside to cool off, and the other was quickly eaten.

    While eating, he did not forget to remind olddy Jiang, ¡°What about eggs? Don¡¯t forget my two eggs!¡±

    Olddy Jiang was too angry to look at his face, but when she saw Jiang Zhen carrying a big knife that did not leave his hand, she could only hold back her anger and said, ¡°I will cook the eggs at noon.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Give me two boiled eggs at that time. They should bepletely boiled.¡± If she changes it to another cooking method, who knows if Jiang olddy will not try to cut off some of eggs?

    Olddy Jiang was really going to cut off some eggs for her precious grandson to eat, but when Jiang Zhen said so, she dared not think about it again and was reluctant to boil a few more eggs when she had no eggs at home. In the end, she could only stare indignantly at Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care what Madam Jiang thought, so he went back to his room to go to bed when he had enough to eat.

    He got up in the middle of the night to take a bath, and since he was tired, he should have a good night¡¯s sleep.

    Jiang Zhen slept until noon, ate two eggs and two bowls of rice, went back to his room and stretched his muscles for a while, slept, and then woke up in the evening.

    He already talked to Brother Zhao Jinge once in the morning, but he missed him a little again. Jiang Zhen immediately pondered about that and waited till dinner to see him again.

    Even if he could not see anyone, he was willing to walk around the Zhao family house.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Zhao Jinge caught loaches in a basket that day.

    After winter, the loach, which usually was the size of a finger, was thinner, but catching half of basket of it was enough to feed someone. Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth curled up, and then the day started to turn dark.

    Rubbing his shoulders, Zhao Jinge took the farm tools and went to the main house of Zhao Dahu¡¯s family.

    Originally after returning the farm tools, he could go back home, but Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t expected that while putting the farm tools down, Zhao Dahu mother¡¯s would say, ¡°You caught loaches? Leave it here. Tomorrow we¡¯ll have it for dinner.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was stunned and then said, ¡°Olddy, these loaches are useful to me.¡± He used to catch something asionally, and if they wanted it, he would give it to them. After all, the food of his family depended mainly on his work from Zhao Dahu. But today, he intended to take the loaches to Jiang Zhen.

    Madam Zhao did not expect Zhao Jinge to refuse. She became angry. ¡°This is my field loaches! This is my family! Zhao Jinge, put the loaches down and go!¡±

    Zhao Jinge frowned, and the scar he made with his own hands became deeper. The loach in this area had always been owned by whoever caught it. How could it be it be owned by the one from whosend he caught it in?

    He was a ger, and his family did not have any close rtives, so Zhao Jinge had always been kind to others and never offended others, but today . . .

    ¡°Olddy, these loaches are of use to me,¡± Zhao Jinge reiterated.

    ¡°Well, you Zhao Jinge, you can¡¯t even give up a few loaches. You don¡¯t want to work anymore in my house, do you?¡± Olddy Zhao became more and more angry. She never liked Zhao Jinge, who did not marry well but worked. Right at that moment, Zhao Jinge did not listen to her, and she became even more angry.

    Zhao Jinge hung his head but stood straight and was unwilling topromise.

    Madam Zhao was about to attack, but Zhao Dahu finally came out. ¡°Mother, if he wants this loach, let him take it back. There is no shortage of loaches in our house.¡±

    Zhao Dahu has been watching them but didn¡¯t want to interrupt. Basket of loaches, who would not want it? But Zhao Jinge was too stubborn that he would probably refuse to leave the loaches. In order to avoid quarrelling and driving Zhao Jinge away from long-term work by his mother, he could only step in.

    Although long-term workers were easy to find, but he liked Zhao Jinge, who worked hard and did not sneakily steal. The long-term workers who he could pay less money and food were not easy to find. Zhao Dahu does not want to change people.

    Although Madam Zhao did not want to, she still listened to her son¡¯s words. She stared at Zhao Jinge fiercely. ¡°Take your muddy loaches. Get out!¡±

    Zhao Jinge returned home with half of basket of loaches then took out two eggs from Jiang Zhen that he had not eaten.

    ¡°Where did you get so many things, Jinge?¡± Zhao Liu looked puzzled at the eggs and loaches.

    Zhao Jinge opened his mouth. He was embarrassed to say that the egg was given to him by Jiang Zhen. He also felt embarrassed to say that he had caught the loaches and wanted to give some to Jiang Zhen. In the end, he said somewhat ufortably, ¡°Someone gave me three eggs for the loaches. I have eaten one egg. Mother, I will kill the loaches. You cook it, and I will bring a bowl to him.¡±

    It¡¯s not umon to barter for things in the vige. It¡¯s a little strange that loach should be cooked. But with a half basket of loaches, they can make two bowls and take one bowl for that someone, which was not bad.

    When Zhao Liu believed Zhao Jinge¡¯s words. She nodded. ¡°Good.¡±

    Zhao Jinge breathed a sigh of relief, gave the eggs for his parents to eat, and drank the bowl of porridge left by his mother, then he went to kill the loaches.

    Loaches were slippery and not easy to kill, but he had a lot of experience. Soon after killing them, Zhao Liu had already made a fire. Seeing that he killed the loaches, she threw them into the pot to cook.

    ¡°Loach is best cooked in oil and soy sauce, but unfortunately, there is no such thing at home.¡± Zhao Liu sighed and put a little salt into the pot of loaches.

    The loaches were quickly cooked, and there were two bowls of it. Zhao Jinge left one shallow bowl on the side and walked outside with the other full bowl. He wanted to give it to Jiang Zhen. But when he left the door, he was stunned.

    He wanted to give the loaches to Jiang Zhen, but now . . . How was he going to find Jiang Zhen? I can¡¯t take the loaches to Jiang¡¯s house, can I?

    Zhao Jinge wanted to send some food to Jiang Zhen before, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about how to send it. It wasn¡¯t until that moment that he felt it was wrong.

    Carrying a bowl of loaches, Zhao Jinge unwittingly came to Jiang¡¯s ramshackle hut.

    ¡°Jinge, our hearts are connected to one another. As soon as I got here, I saw youing out of the house.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Jinge.

    After hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice, Zhao Jinge saw a dark figure in front of him, and his face turned inexplicably hot.

 Chapter 13 - Eating loaches together

    Chapter 13 ¨C Eating loaches together

    It was already dark, and obviously, he was very close, but Jiang Zhen could not see the appearance of Zhao Jinge clearly. But even so, he was still very happy.

    After such a long time, Jiang Zhen was finally in love. He felt like a little boy and reached out for Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. As a result, he didn¡¯t catch Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand but met, instead, with a still hot bowl.

    ¡°You have something to do?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, ¡°Do you want to bring food to someone? I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for you.¡± Zhao Jinge handed the bowl in his hand to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen had sent things to Zhao Jinge. On one hand, he was repaying him for his kindness. On the other hand, he took a fancy to Zhao Jinge, but he really did not expect that he would still be able to get Zhao Jinge to give him something in return. After all, from beginning to end, he only gave him five eggs and some chicken.

    ¡°For me? What is this?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s loaches. I caught it when I plowed the ground.¡± Zhao Jinge was somewhat embarrassed. Such things as loaches could be caught everywhere. Loaches from the farm were worthless; the value was definitely not as good as eggs and chicken.

    Jiang Zhen felt very happy but also a little guilty. He didn¡¯t spend any effort to get the eggs and chicken. In his opinion, it was really nothing, Zhao Jinge, who gave him loaches, could only slowly catch it. I am afraid Zhao Jinge spent a lot of effort.

    When he thought of it that way, he had done too little for Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like it,¡± Zhao Jinge said when he saw Jiang Zhen had not spoken.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m happy.¡± Jiang Zhen wanted to hug this person in front of him but felt that it was a bit too early. In the end, he just grabbed Zhao Jinge¡¯s other hand. ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going back.¡± Zhao Jinge was startled. In the dark, the touch was magnified indefinitely. Although he only held his hand, he felt his hand getting hotter and hotter, and his body could not help but begin to sweat.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± Jiang Zhen dragged him to the thatched hut not far away.

    Jiang Zhen found many good things in Chengxiang¡¯s house, including several candles. He found a piece of candle and blocked the candlelight with the stone that was near it, so he could look at Zhao Jinge.

    The candlelight was very weak, but Jiang Zhen could still see Zhao Jinge¡¯s appearance and also see the bowl of loaches in his hands.

    Zhao Jinge looked very much to his taste, but in fact, he was very rustic and the loaches in his hand was not even a bit a seller, but Jiang Zhen still liked to watch him more and more.

    Even though he had experienced life and death several times, he suddenly crossed to a different world. It was very difficult to ept it at the time; the feeling of dying was even more painful. It was Zhao Jinge who saved him.

    It had been a few days since he crossed to this world. Jiang Zhen had no sympathy for other people, but Zhao Jinge was different.

    It can be said that, in this world, the only person he epted was Zhao Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand with his left hand but soon released it. He took a mulberry twig from the side and broke it and turned it into two chopsticks. After that, he sat down again and held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand again.

    When Zhao Jinge hand was suddenly released, his heart felt tight. Now he was held again, he felt that his hand seemed to be burning. He even started to worry about it. He worked all day, and his hands were full of calluses. His hands were not smaller than Jiang Zhen¡¯s. Would Jiang Zhen dislike it?

    Jiang Zhen did not think so at all. He pinched Zhao Jinge¡¯s hands a few times, taking advantage of it. He took a loach into his mouth with the chopsticks and then he used the chopsticks to push one into Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth.

    The loaches, only cooked in salt, didn¡¯t taste so great, but Jiang Zhen was never a picky eater. In addition, this was what Zhao Jinge especially caught for him to eat, so he thought that it was extremely delicious. But after Zhao Jinge opened his mouth and ate his loach, he couldn¡¯t help blushing.

    If he knew, he would have told his mother not to add oil . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious,¡± said Jiang Zhen. The loach also had bones in the middle. He ate up the meat on one side of the bones. He ate one part and gave the other one to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°You eat. I don¡¯t have to¡ª¡± Zhao Jinge quickly refused. The loaches were given to Jiang Zhen by him. He could not eat half of it himself.

    ¡°What is the point of dividing between you and me? We¡¯ll eat together in the future,¡± said Jiang Zhen. As soon as his voice fell, he felt that the hand he was holding tremble slightly.

    Aware that Zhao Jinge wanted to leave, Jiang Zhen directly suppressed him. ¡°Eat before you go!¡±

    Zhao Jinge really wanted to go, but was worried about Jiang Zhen. He was worried about hurting the other and afraid that he would turn over that bowl of loaches. He was too afraid to struggle. ¡°You let go of me!¡± Hadn¡¯t Jiang Zhen always been very dull that he dared not speak to anyone? How did this happen?

    If they were both seen like this, the spittle and nails of the vigers would drown them!

    Zhao Jinge knew very well that it was wrong for him and Jiang Zhen to do so, but he did not know why, but he was not very angry.

    He never understood why those oily, thick-skinned men could always find their wife quickly, but now, he was vaguely aware.

    ¡°I will let you go, but you can¡¯t leave, or I¡¯ll chase you to your house,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He actually wanted to kiss him. Unfortunately, Zhao Jinge was too shy. If he really tried to kiss this guy, he would definitely run away. He could only hold back for now.

    However, though he was restrained, he has already regarded Zhao Jinge as his own man. Of course, it was no problem for him to be with Zhao Jinge.

    In this ancient times, even the rich people lived lessfortably than modern people, but if he could find someone to apany him for a lifetime, Jiang Zhen would feel that living in this ancient time was not bad.

    Anyway, he stayed in the army for a long time. He had no Inte addiction at all. He didn¡¯t feel that he couldn¡¯t live without high-tech products, like mobile phones.

    Zhao Jinge did not dare to go in the end. Then Jiang Zhen took a bite for himself and for him; they finished the bowl of loaches together.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen did not want to leave. Zhao Jinge was silent, and the two sat silently for a while until the candle was finally finished and went out.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± Zhao Jinge stood up, holding the empty bowl.

    ¡°I will go back too.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Tomorrow at noon, I will go to the ce where we cut firewood together to find you.¡±

    Zhao Jin nodded and thought that Jiang Zhen might not be able to see it, so he said, ¡°Good.¡±

    When the two men said yes, Zhao Jinge looked at the dark figure of Jiang Zhen before he went home. Jiang Zhen waited for him to leave. He picked up the pig knife from the side and went home in a particrly good mood.

    How nice to have a date with someone today, not to mention that I have also an appointment for tomorrow!

    But . . . Jiang Zhen looked at the knife in his hand and suddenly felt that there was something wrong with his image.

    He couldn¡¯t always hold such a big knife to meet Zhao Jinge every time, but he really needed weapons that could deter others.

    Thinking about that, Jiang Zhen went to the vige¡¯s bamboo grove in the dark.

    He cut off two bamboos with a knife, and he went home with them.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen still got up early, and when he got up, he still didn¡¯t go to work. He sat in the yard and began to deal with the two bamboos that he brought backst night.

    He chose the thinner one, cut it off, made one about his own height, sharpened its head, and made it look like the same weapon.

    If there was such a sharp bamboo at hand and his opponent was holding a knife, there was no need to be afraid. After all, the knife was short while the bamboo pole was long. As long as he did not let people get close to him, he could definitely use his bamboo pole to remove other people¡¯s knives. The sharpened head above can also be used to puncture holes in others.

    Of course, the most important thing was that it would not attract strange eyes. And when he went out with bamboo pole, it would be much lighter than a knife.

    When one bamboo pole was ready, Jiang Zhen began to cut the other bamboo pole.

    He chopped the bamboo pole very thickly. First, he cut off tworge bamboo tubes, then he made two plugs made out of woods. Then he began to make other things with the remaining bamboo.

    Jiang Zhen made two pairs of bamboo chopsticks and two cups from the smaller bamboo tube above. When he wanted to do something else, he found that he could not do anything else. He had to cut off a few more bamboo tubes and put them away for future use.

    Having finished all of these, Jiang Zhen took a porridge and rested, and by noon, he asked for two eggs and two bowls of rice.

    The dishes eaten in this ce were all without any oil and water. Not to mention, from the two bowls of rice, Jiang Zhen only ate one bowl this time; the other bowl he packed into the bamboo tube. About the eggs, he also ate only one and put away the other.

    After doing that, he went to the kitchen to fill a bamboo tube with hot water. Then Jiang Zhen went out the door and left for his date.

 Chapter 14 - When the flirting is progressing

    Chapter 14 ¨C When the flirting is progressing

    Zhao Jinge has been waiting in the woods for a while and has even cut some firewood.

    When he saw Jiang Zhening, he coughed softly and looked down uneasily at his patched clothes.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t think he was attired worse than Jiang Zhen, but now . . . Jiang Zhen did not know why but he felt that he was not worthy of the other person.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten yet, have you? I brought you something to eat.¡± Jiang Zhenughed. In modern times, at the beginning of date, he would have treated him to a big meal, but now, he could only bring brown rice and eggs to Zhao Jinge. When he earned money in the future, he must let Zhao Jinge eat and drink well.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not used to eating at this time of day.¡± Zhao Jinge gave a refusal quickly. Even if Jiang Zhen was rtively rich, still, he was not used to eating other people¡¯s food. Not to mention, most of the food Jiang Zhen had saved for him came from his own mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought it all. You can¡¯t not eat it.¡± Jiang Zhen was very persistent, and after experiencing holding handsst night, as soon as he reached him, he took Brother Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and then refused to let it go.

    It was a darkst night. Zhao Jinge had be used to being held, but not in broad daylight.

    People who became husband and wife also did not held hands in broad day . . . Zhao Jinge wanted to struggle, but he could not get rid of the hand holding him. He could only look left and right in fear of discovery.

    Jiang Zhen thought it was very interesting to see him like that but could not bear to let him worry too much. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one wille. Even if someonees, I¡¯m sure I would know in advance.¡± The vignce he developed in the army had not disappeared. Even though he has lost a lot in all aspects because he had swapped bodies, but it was enough that he could keep an eye on the situation around him while he was having an affair.

    No, it¡¯s not an affair. He¡¯s dating someone openly and honestly.

    In the end, Zhao Jinge was still a little uneasy. He simply took Jiang Zhen to arge clump of bamboo by the canal and sat down.

    Ruo is a local kind of bamboo that had very thin stems andrge leaves. People on this side of the Yangtze River wrapped zongzi with its leaves. Ruo grows in clumps and can reach to an adult¡¯s chest level in height. Because the leaves were very dense, the two could hide their figures very well. The children in the vige liked to drill into the bamboo bushes and set up a hideout within, so they could never be seen from outside.

    Thisrge clump of ruo bamboo beside the canal did not belong to anyone, so nobody took care of it. The leaves were not as big as those nted by the people of Hexi Vige in front and behind their houses. They were not suitable for making zongzi, so no one woulde to pick ruo leaves. The children were not allowed to y on this side of the canal, so it was very quiet here.

    Surrounded by ruo bamboo, Jiang Zhen took out the bamboo tubes he brought with him.

    One bamboo tube was filled with rice, another bamboo tube with hot water and an egg. These things were absolutely extravagant for Zhao Jinge. He didn¡¯t want to eat, but how could he refuse Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t eat it by yourself, should I feed you like I didst night?¡± Jiang Zhen, who was eager to try, looked forward to feeding Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I will eat!¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly said. He didn¡¯t know how he had eaten the loach that Jiang Zhen fed himst night, but now, in broad daylight, he would absolutely allow that again.

    Remembering what happenedst night, he actually wanted to run away, yet he was reluctant to do so.

    Zhao Jinge treasured food very much. Obviously, he could not even eat a mouthful of vegetables, but now, eating that mouthful of brown rice, he seemed to be eating some sort of delicacy. His face was full of satisfaction.

    With Zhao Jinge eating, Jiang Zhen was even happier than him. Jiang Zhen had been staring at Zhao Jinge, making him unable to hold his chopsticks properly.

    In the end, Zhao Jinge still refused to eat all the rice in the bamboo tube. Jiang Zhen did not persuade him anymore. Looking at him with a smile, he ate up the rest of the rice with the chopsticks Jinge had previously used, which made Zhao Jinge¡¯s face feel hot again.

    Then Jiang Zhen began to peel the egg.

    ¡°You fell into the river before, and you¡¯re still not well yet. Don¡¯t give me that egg. Eat it yourself,¡± said Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I ate one at home,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He somewhat regretted that he had eaten half of the food at home. He should have known better and brought it all here to eat with Zhao Jinge instead.

    ¡°You can have another one too.¡± Zhao Jinge was very persistent.

    ¡°Why not half for each of us?¡± Jiang Zhen divided the egg in half. Seeing that Zhao Jinge was still unwilling to eat it, he simply threatened him again, ¡°If you won¡¯t eat it, I will kiss you right here.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Zhao Jinge was so frightened that he trembled. Kissing! As a result, before he could recover from the shock, his mouth was stuffed with half of the egg.

    Zhao Jinge hastily took out the halved egg from his mouth.

    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s exchange again and then eat? I want to eat what you¡¯ve stuffed in your mouth.¡± Jiang Zhen handed over his half of the egg and wanted to exchange it with Zhao Jinge¡¯s half.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face turned ck, and even though he tried to restrain himself, the embarrassment shown on his face could not be hidden in the end.

    Is Jiang Zhen flirting with me? How can he flirt with such a tall ger as me, who is bigger than those skinny men?

    Zhao Jinge was too embarrassed to return his half of the egg. In the end, he had to slowly eat it, but when he finished eating it, he still said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, don¡¯t bring me food in the future.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Jiang Zhen refused directly. He knew that food was very precious in these days. Zhao Jinge did not want to ept the food he sent him, but he could not watch his future wife starve all day.

    What¡¯s more, in fact, he did not treat himself harshly. Even though he had split some of his food with Zhao Jinge, he himself still ate enough. After all . . . he also wanted to quickly improve his health and prove his pride on his wedding night.

    ¡°Jinge, I really have no shortage of food. If you don¡¯t believe me, go to the vige to inquire about it. Now Jiang family does not dare to starve me,¡± said Jiang Zhen. ¡°What¡¯s more, you saved my life. What kind of food do you want to eat? You should tell me clearly. I must take care of you for you¡¯re my own.¡±

    When did Jiang Zhen be one of his own? Zhao Jinge wanted to refute this, but after thinking about it, he didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    If he said that, Jiang Zhen would misunderstand, and then he wouldn¡¯t like to live with him. What if he went to find someone else?

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you food in the future, and if you don¡¯t eat it, I¡¯ll be angry,¡± said Jiang Zhen. And he also added, ¡°Also, if you don¡¯t eat my food and think about returning it . . . If you really want to do that, when I see you outside, even if you really want to repay me, I will return it to you again.¡±

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge said a lot of words to each other before Zhao Jinge went back to work. When Zhao Jinge left, he began wandering around the field.

    He thought of catching small fish and shrimp to supplement his health. Yesterday, after Zhao Jinge gave him loaches, this idea became even stronger.

    He¡¯s not going to do farmwork these days, so he might as well find a way to get some meat.

    Just as he was thinking about it, a frog jumped in front of Jiang Zhen.

    There were many frogs in Hexi Vige. In Eldest Jiang¡¯s memory, frogs sang constantly at night in the summer. However, while the people here did not forbid children from catching fish and shrimp, they were not allowed to catch frogs. Even the adults themselves would not go and catch them.

    It was not because frogs were not delicious. In fact, people here call frogs pheasants, which meant frog meat was as delicious as chicken.

    There were two reasons why adults didn¡¯t catch frogs. One was that, when they killed frogs, frogs acted like they were holding their heads with their forelimbs. That made the ordinary people feel like killing frogs was very cruel, and the other reason was that frogs eat bugs.

    From Eldest Jiang¡¯s memories, people already knew that frogs could catch pests. Because there were no pesticides and they depended on frogs to catch worms on the fields, people became particrly friendly to frogs.

    Jiang Zhen saw the frog, and although he felt greedy, after thinking about it, he still decided not to catch it in the end.

    In the south of the Yangtze River, the climate was humid and hot. There were so many worms, and children were often made to catch bugs. Under such circumstances, he should not harm the frogs that could remove insects.

    But if frogs couldn¡¯t be caught and eaten, anything else was fine.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s ability to survive in the wild was very strong. When they first trained, they had been thrown into the mountains with a mouthful of food. Later, when they went out on a mission, they encountered all kinds of difficult conditions.

    Jiang Zhen had eaten worms, earthworms, and everything that could be eaten. Of course, if conditions permitted, he would never eat them again.

    After walking around all afternoon, Jiang Zhen caught a snake as thick as a baby¡¯s arm.

    He actually saw other snakes, but they were too small to have any meat after winter, so he let them go and finally grabbed the biggest one and killed it with the sharp butcher¡¯s knife.

    With the sharp knife hanging on his waist, the bamboo pole in one hand, and the snake in the other, Jiang Zhen went to the river.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, did you catch a snake? What a big snake it is!¡± Some people were washing rice and vegetables by the river. They saw Jiang Zhening. One of them was a thin white man.

    The man was thin and small but very good-looking with big eyes under his curved willow eyebrows, pink cherry lips under his small nose, and his skin was not as dark and rough as the others in the vige. It was, instead, white and tender.

    He looked just like a woman, and he¡¯s wearing flowing clothes that looked simr to a skirt . . . Jiang Zhen felt strange when he saw him, but when he saw the red cinnabar between his eyebrows, he realized that this man was a ger.

    He knew that there were ger children in this ce and that Zhao Jinge was a ger, but Zhao Jinge looked no different from a man, so he gradually forgot about it. Now, seeing such a girly man, he realized it again.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, I¡¯ve got e on my face recently. I need to eat a snake to clear it. Give me your snake.¡± The ger stared at the snake in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand and smiled at him.

    Hexi Vige people did not eat frogs but ate snakes, and they even believed that if you have skin problems and so on, just eat snake meat to cure it.

    Of course, the snake that the ger in front of Jiang Zhen wanted was not really for the sake of curing a pimple. He was only gluttonous for meat.

    The snake that Jiang Zhen caught was very long. When cleaned and deboned, it could give around three or four kilograms of snake meat. So anyone able to eat it would be absolutely satisfied.

    With this in mind, the voice of the ger softened a little further. ¡°Eldest Jiang, give me your snake.¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Jinge ate the meal delivered by Jiang Zhen that noon. He had something in his stomach and was in a good mood. He worked very quickly in the afternoon, and just then, he had finished his work and was ready to go home.

    On his way there, he nned to go to the river for a moment to wash his hands and feet before returning home. But he didn¡¯t want to see the best-looking ger in the vige asking Jiang Zhen for something.

    Jiang Zhen was very generous; he was willing to give him eggs and chicken legs to eat. Now he was asked by this ger to give the snake, most vigers would give it to him.

    Although he had been working all day, because at noon he had eaten, Zhao Jinge did not feel tired at all and was full of spirit. But at the moment, after hearing the voice of that ger, he suddenly became depressed, only feeling that his whole person had be very tired.

    After retreating a few steps, he stood behind a few trees and waited in frustration for the next development.

 Chapter 15 - The other ger

    Chapter 15 ¨C The other ger

    He Qiusheng was the ger who spoke to Jiang Zhen.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s family was also very poor; in fact, it was in a simr situation as Zhao Jinge¡¯s family.

    Zhao Jinge family was poor because Zhao Liu was in poor health. Zhao Fugui sold theirnd to fund her treatment. Meanwhile, He Qiusheng family was poor because He Qiusheng¡¯s father was addicted to gambling.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s father loved gambling so much that he couldn¡¯t help gambling his money away. Although the bets were not too big, he still lost all of his family¡¯s profit and valuables every year. Finally, he even lost his fields, and the He family¡¯s situation fell sharply.

    Neither of the two families had any money, butpared to Zhao Jinge, He Qiusheng¡¯s life was like skypared to earth. It was because there were many people in He Qiusheng¡¯s family.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s father could not support the wall with mud, but He Qiusheng¡¯s two brothers were practical and willing to work, not to mention that his father had several brothers.

    His uncles were very disgusted with He Qiusheng¡¯s persistent father. They were reluctant to take care of him but were still willing to help their nephews. He Qiusheng and his two brothers grew up well.

    But now that He Qiusheng¡¯s two brothers were all grown up, these days, life at home was slowly getting better.

    He Qiusheng was also growing very well, which made his life especiallyfortable.

    Although He Qiusheng is just a ger, he still looked better than the most beautiful girl in the vige. Naturally, He Qiusheng was loved by many since he was young, and the boys in the vige were especially willing to take care of him.

    When he went out with others to cut grass, he did not have to do it. Others gave it to him, and all he had to do was call out a few sweet cries to his brother.

    When he went fishing with others, he did not have to go into the river. Someone will give him the biggest fish they had caught, and all he had to do was give them a smile.

    In Hexi Vige, He Qiusheng has always been supported by the boys his age. But he was still young. He sent out a message that he will wait until he will be sixteen before he will consider any proposal. Hence, if not for that, many family rtives would have already broken into discussions with the matchmakers.

    Yes, He Qiusheng was not yet sixteen but only fifteen years old, ten years younger than Eldest Jiang, so these two people didn¡¯t have much contact before. Eldest Jiang had no deep impression of him. Such a beautiful ger. Eldest Jiang then did not dare to take a closer look.

    It was the first time Jiang Zhen saw the so-called good-looking ger. He couldn¡¯t help but take a few more nces. But after looking at him, he was a little disappointed. He had always liked strong and handsome men, and He Qiusheng . . . Not only did he look like a woman, but he behaved like a woman, which was really not to Jiang Zhen¡¯s taste.

    ¡°Big brother Jiang, can you give me the snake you caught?¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen staring at him, He Qiusheng showed his smile towards Jiang Zhen, and his voice was sweet again.

    He did not like Eldest Jiang, but the snake he caught made him feel greedy, so he wanted to get the snake from Eldest Jiang, and he did not feel that Eldest Jiang was unwilling.

    An old bachelor like Eldest Jiang would usually give him what he wanted if he asked for it.

    ¡°You want this snake?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Qiusheng looked at Jiang Zhen and blinked big eyes full of longing.

    ¡°This snake weighs about five kilograms. It¡¯s value is the same as a chicken. If you have a chicken and trade it with me, I¡¯ll give you the snake,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s face suddenly changed. He didn¡¯t expect that Eldest Jiang to refuse him. He also thought so beautifully¡­ It¡¯s just a snake. The old bachelor wants to trade a chicken for it?

    Jiang Zhen came from modern times. There, a kilo of snake meat costs one hundred yuan while chicken is ten yuan a kilo. He did not think there was anything wrong with exchanging snake meat for chicken. But for He Qiusheng, saying such a thing was definitely illogical.

    Could snakes caught outsidepare to chickens raised at home? Even if Jiang Zhen was carrying a chicken, he would not ask for it because he felt that no one would be willing to give it to him.

    The men in the vige often sent him things¡ªloach, eel, everything you can fish¡ªeven eggs would be given, but no one would send him a whole chicken. After all, for the vigers, chickens were important property of the family.

    ¡°You want me to exchange it for a chicken?¡± He Qiusheng asked again, but he also thought that he might have misheard.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to exchange, get out of my way,¡± Jiang Zhen said again and went to the river to wash the snake. He never looked at He Qiusheng again.

    For the first time, He Qiusheng was treated so indifferently by another. He was so angry that he gave Jiang Zhen a vicious look. ¡°Humph! Who cares for your snake!¡± After that, he left without looking back.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, you¡¯re so hard-hearted. You don¡¯t care about such beautiful ger,¡± the middle-aged woman who washed vegetables next to him said. Although He Qiusheng liked to take small advantages for love, he still had a sense of propriety, and he only took things from unmarried men, so the vigers do not hate him because he¡¯s also quite considerate.

    That ger was unlucky to have such a father in the house. There was nond in that poor family, so there was nothing wrong about asking others for food.

    Jiang Zhen did not say anything; he did not think that He Qiusheng was beautiful. What was more, he was still waiting to cook this snake and eat it with Zhao Jinge. What would he give it to that inexplicable person? Of course, if somebody wanted to trade chicken for it . . . He preferred eating chicken, which was rtively oily, to snakes, which had slightly tougher meat.

    Peeling off the snake skin and ripping off the intestines, Jiang Zhen washed the snake clean.

    Snake gall was considered a good thing in Hexi Vige, but Jiang Zhen was not interested in it, so he gave it to the middle-aged woman next to him and asked the woman to take it back to her grandson.

    When Jiang Zhen returned home with a big snake, old Madam Jiang and Jiang Xiaomei were cooking dinner while Butcher Jiang was talking with Jiang Chengwen. He asked Jiang Chengwen to go with him to the fields tomorrow.

    It was obvious that, after he refused to work in the fields, the Jiang family had a little too much farmwork to do.

    Of course, that had nothing to do with Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have a knife today, but with a snake in hand, Butcher Jiang still did not dare to call him out to do things. Jiang Zhen, without knowing what farmwork should be done, sat at the threshold and waited for dinner to be ready.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Jinge walked away from the river quietly while Jiang Zhen was washing the snake and returned home.

    Instead of going to the river to wash his hands and feet, he scooped up water from his own tank with gourddles. After washing, he stared at his reflection in the water.

    If he were a man, this appearance would be too rough for the townspeople, but it was not bad in the countryside. He face was quite satisfactory in the countryside, but he was a ger.

    Jiang Zhen even acted like hooligan towards a ger like him and said he wanted to kiss him . . .

    Jiang Zhen refused He Qiusheng.

    Although Jiang Zhen did not necessarily refuse He Qiusheng for his sake, Zhao Jinge was still very happy at that moment, but he did not dare to show it on his face.

    He tried to keep his face straight, and then he saw from his reflection that he was frowning. Not gentle at all! He suddenly felt a little discouraged.

    ¡°What are you doing, Jinge?¡± Zhao Liu saw her son staring at the water tank with a bitter and hateful expression and shouted.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Zhao Jinge said, ¡°Mother, there is no water in the tank. I¡¯ll go and pick some more.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Zhao Liu nodded and agreed. There were many rivers on their side of the country. For washing clothes and vegetables, they have always gone to the riverside, but the water for cooking was prepared in a water tank. She was not in good health and could not walk all the time, so she used water in the tank to wash dishes and vegetables.

    When Zhao Jinge passed by several families in the vige while carrying a bucket from the river, he heard someone talking about Jiang Zhen, so he stopped again.

    ¡°The eldest Jiang really changed himself. I heard he not only doesn¡¯t work now but also eats and drinks two eggs a day!¡±

    ¡°Jiang family used to treat him too harshly, otherwise, how could they have forced him into this?¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s gone a little too far. How miserable his mother cried today. She frankly said that she raised this son for nothing.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t raise Eldest Jiang so much either . . .¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s still the mother of Eldest Jiang. Who would use a knife against his own mother? That¡¯s too much.¡±

    . . .

    People talked about it one after another although they felt that Jiang Zhen¡¯s actions were excusable, but they also felt that his parents had done too much.

    When Zhao Jinge heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Zhen was really eating well and did not save food to give him, which made him feel less guilt.

    Zhao family still had porridge in the evening. Recently, the weather had been a little bit hot. The vegetables in the field were blooming. They should be eaten early. The dishes were boiled vegetables in arge bowl.

    After drinking two bowls of porridge and eating arge bowl of green vegetables, Zhao Jinge was full.

    After eating enough, Zhao Fugui took out the money he earned from working as a short-time worker these days and gave it to Zhao Liu.

    The Zhao family was reluctant to light themp. After Zhao Fugui said that he had earned money from the short-term work he had done these days, he went back to bed with Zhao Liu. Zhao Jinge should also go back to his room to sleep. But in the end, he unexpectedly opened the door and went out to the Jiang family thatched cottage.

    ¡°Jinge, are you waiting for me?¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice suddenly rang out again. Zhao Jinge turned his head and saw Jiang Zhen with two bamboo tubes.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen . . .¡±

    ¡°Jinge, I caught a snake today. Shall we eat together?¡± Jiang Zhen shook the bamboo tube in his hand.

    After today¡¯s dinner, he went to Jiang¡¯s kitchen and chopped the snake into pieces and cooked it.

    Olddy Jiang hid all the soy sauce, rapeseed oil, and so on, and there was only a little salt left in the kitchen. He was toozy to ask her for seasoning, and he nned to cook the snake casually. As a result, olddy Jiang kept on talking outside the kitchen, dismissing him for burning snake meat and using too much firewood.

    Then . . . Jiang Zhen used a knife to force olddy Jiang to take out the vegetable and soy sauce.

    He took out the snake meat that had been boiled in water for a while, put oil in the pot first, then stir-fried the snake meat slightly, and finally added soy sauce and a little water to boil it for a period of time . . . Jiang Zhen made a pot of fragrant snake meat though his cooking skills were mediocre.

    Then he took the snake meat back to his room and left nothing for the rest of the Jiang family.

    Jiang Yuan Wen, the darling of the Jiang family, cried because he didn¡¯t get to eat snake meat. Olddy Jiang had scolded him from outside the room. Jiang Zhen was annoyed to hear it. He simply locked the door to the room with two bamboo poles and went out to find Zhao Jinge.

    At first, he was still a little worried. He was worried that Zhao Jinge was asleep and he could not call him out of his house. He did not expect to see Zhao Jinge from afar.

    Once again, Jiang Zhen dragged Zhao Jinge into the thatched cottage.

 Chapter 16 - Fat and healthy

    Chapter 16 ¨C Fat and healthy

    Jiang Zhen brought two bamboo tubes of snake meat but did not give Zhao Jinge any of the bamboo tubes on the spot.

    If he gave Zhao Jinge a bamboo tube now, then they each would be holding a bamboo tube and eat snake meat in silence. So how would feelings develop?

    Together with Zhao Jinge, they sat down in the same ce as yesterday. Jiang Zhen opened a bamboo tube, took out a pair of chopsticks, and fed Zhao Jinge a piece of snake meat.

    Today, Jiang Zhen did not light candles; the surroundings was much darker than before, but Zhao Jinge could clearly feel the person next to him.

    ¡°I cooked this snake meat. Try it.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice sounded, at the same time, a piece of snake meat was put on Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth.

    The smell of the snake meat was very tempting, but it was a tempting smell Zhao Jinge could still resist. He could only think about He Qiusheng, who had asked Jiang Zhen for the snake before though Jiang Zhen did not give it to him to eat. Suddenly, he could not wait to taste the snake meat.

    Zhao Jinge opened his mouth and ate the snake meat. Then he saw Jiang Zhen eat one on his own.

    The snake meat was a bit tough. Zhao Jinge chewed for a while and then took back his hand only to remove the bone from inside. After that, he felt embarrassed.

    Zhao Dahu¡¯s children were not allowed to eat with their hands.

    Jiang Zhen did not pay attention to this small action. When he saw Zhao Jinge had finished eating, he took another piece to feed Zhao Jinge. ¡°Is it delicious?¡±

    ¡°Delicious.¡± He had also eaten snake before but never had such delicious snake meat.

    When Jiang Zhen heard Zhao Jinge¡¯s words, he deliberately leaned close to Zhao Jinge¡¯s ear and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you more tomorrow.¡±

    Zhao Jinge felt that hot air was blowing on his ears, which made his hands and feet tremble a little. When he calmed down, he finally had the strength to chew the snake meat in his mouth and asked the question that had puzzled him for a long time. ¡°He Qiusheng asked you for a snake before. Why didn¡¯t you give it to him?¡±

    ¡°How do you know that He Qiusheng asked me for the snake?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, but his heartbeat was a little funny. He had already formed the habit of checking the situation around him at any moment. At that time, Zhao Jinge was hiding behind a tree, but he naturally found him out. After all, in this world, the person he was most familiar with was Zhao Jinge.

    But he didn¡¯t want to expose it from the very beginning; after all, it would be a good performance. Of course, even if Zhao Jinge was not there, he would still perform well. Such a thin ger is really not his type.

    ¡°I . . . I heard about it.¡± Zhao Jinge bowed his head and had no confidence when he spoke.

    This man couldn¡¯t even tell a lie. But Jiang Zhen also liked that. ¡°That He Qiusheng is not as good as you. Does not who I am, so of course, I did not give him your snake. In the future, all my things are yours.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was showing loyalty, but Brother Zhao thought he was talking nonsense.

    This man unexpectedly said that He Qiusheng was not as good-looking as he was . . . Are his eyes okay? But thest sentence was true.

    He Qiusheng couldn¡¯t see Jiang Zhen in that way, so He Qiusheng wasn¡¯t the one for Jiang Zhen . . . Well, Jiang Zhen knew that, so it¡¯s normal not to give him the snake.

    In exchange for what he had alreadyboriously taken, even if Zhao Dahu¡¯s son, who had been acknowledged as an uing schr, had asked him for it, he would refuse even if Zhao Dahu¡¯s son were the most capable man in Hexi vige.

    When he thought of it that way, Zhao Jinge figured it out, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about it. After eating a few pieces of snake meat, he thought that he¡¯d better send something to Jiang Zhen. ¡°I will catch eel and send it to you in a few days.¡± Before his brother¡¯s death, his family had not needed to worry about not having enough food to eat; his father would often take them to find the eel.

    It took some time to do that, so when they did it, they often got up early in the morning and stayed at the riverbank for half a day to catch two or three eels.

    They used to have leisure time and had good moods but those days were gone.

    ¡°You have to work. Don¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll just catch it.¡± (Jiang Zhen)

    ¡°Will you?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. Eel fishing also needed a bit of skill.

    ¡°Just learn slowly. I¡¯ll dig ditches first.¡± Jiang Zhen ate another piece of snake meat. Most of the fields there were paddy fields. Because they all grew rice, the edges of the fields were ditches.

    There were loaches in the fields, and the ditches along the fields were also not without them. When people here wanted to catch fish or loach from the ditches, they usually chose a section of a ditch, which was then blocked by mud on both sides, then they used gourddles to scoop water from the ditches. Then they could casually be able to catch fish, shrimp, loach, and eel. They could even see soft-shelled turtle once in a while.

    These wild and pollution-free things were very valuable in modern times; however, they were not very valuable in this time. Some fish were too small to take home and could only be caught to be eaten by ducks.

    Jiang Zhen had this idea for a long time, but he hadn¡¯t had time to do it before.

    ¡°You¡¯re not in good health . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in good health. Would you like to check?¡± Jiang Zhen could not help but begin to flirt with Zhao Jinge again.

    Zhao Jinge did not understand. ¡°Check what?¡±

    Jiang Zhenughed. When heughed, his breath reached Zhao Jinge¡¯s ear, making him blush again. At the same time, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was something wrong with Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge ate all the snake meat in the two bamboo tubes together. When they left, Jiang Zhen left Zhao Jinge¡¯s bamboo basket.

    There was not much food in the Zhao family. It was spring now, and it was the time for a much more serious food shortage. He used to go to sleep hungry at night, but today, he had snake meat in his stomach and was particrly satisfied when he fell asleep.

    It¡¯s just that he was full, but his parents were hungry, which made Zhao Jinge feel guilty.

    Because of that guilt, after Zhao Jinge got up early the next day, he scooped up the watery part of the rice porridge and left all the rice grains in the pot behind.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen was busy fishing out the rice grains in the pot, eager to get dry rice out of the pot of porridge.

    Speaking of it, this ancient porridge was totally different from modern porridge cooked in a high-pressure cooker, electric cooker, or even a stew pot.

    The pressure cooker can boil all the grains of rice, but the ordinary iron pot on the farm were not able to do this. Not only did it take a long time to cook, but it also took some time to steam.

    Who had so much time to spend cooking porridge? Not to mention the firewood it consumed was too expensive . . . As a result, the porridge cooked by people in Hexi Vige was often a pot of rice soup with many boiled rice grains.

    In the past, Eldest Jiang always drank porridge soup with a few rice grains, but now, Jiang Zhen specializes in fishing the grains of rice out of the soup.

    After eating enough in the morning, Jiang Zhen went out to dig ditches to catch fishes. However, olddy Jiang was so angry that she wanted to kill her eldest son.

    Speaking of which, this ancient porridge ispletely different from the porridge cooked in a pressure cooker electric cooker or even a braised pan in modern times.

    A pressure cooker or something, it can boil up all the grains of rice, but the ordinary iron pot in the farm wants to do this. It will not only take a long time to cook, but also a period of stuffing.

    Who has the time to spend so much time cooking porridge? And that would be too much firewood. As a result, the porridge cooked by people in Hexi Vige is often a pot of rice soup with many boiled grains of rice.

    In the past, Boss Jiang always drank porridge soup with few grains of rice, but now Jiang Zhen specializes in fishing for grains of rice.

    After eating enough in the morning, Jiang Zhen went to dig ditches to catch fish, but olddy Jiang was so angry that she wanted to kill her eldest son.

    It¡¯s just that she¡¯s just a vige woman, and she dared to swear and beat people, but she didn¡¯t have the guts to kill, not to mention a vige woman with what kind of ability, could she kill Jiang Zhen?

    At present, it was still cold, and although the children in the vige will try to catch fish with somes and bamboo baskets, there were still a few people who do so, so the ditches in the vige had not been damaged. Jiang Zhen harvest in the morning was also good. But there was no big fish in the ditch, there were, basically, just small finger-sized loaches. Jiang Zhen busied himself for half a day, and the biggest fish he caught were only a few two-finger-width crucian carps.

    Crucian carps are small but, when steamed, tasted really good, were very tender. Other small fish . . . such small fish tasted best when fried in oil it. But these days, every family was short in oil; they were already reluctant to add a few drops of oil to steaming fish, so who was willing to use oil to fry worthless small fish?

    Jiang Zhen threw the uneconomical fish back into the ditch, dug up the ce where he had blocked it with mud, and put the bamboo basket containing small fish and shrimps in the bamboo bushes by the canal.

    When olddy Jiang cooked the meal, Jiang Zhen filled two bowls with rice from the pot, and put two eggs in his arms. But he did not eat them. He took the snake meat that he had not eaten yesterday and went to find Zhao Jinge to eat together.

    When Jiang Zhen came to the canal with several bamboo tubes, Zhao Jinge was already waiting for him.

    Zhao Jinge did not sit idly and waited for Jiang Zhen. When Jiang Zhen came, he was chopping firewood, and his strong body was exposed to Jiang Zhen through his movements.

    In fact, Zhao Jinge did not have a lot of muscles. He could not get enough protein and did not specialize in muscle-building training.

    But his body did not have any additional fat and clearly hid a strong force within.

    ¡°Here you are.¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge immediately stood up and fixed his eyes on Jiang Zhen.

    When Jiang Zhen met Zhao Jinge¡¯s gaze, Jiang Zhen became slightly agitated. He looked at the past in a more unbridled way and let Zhao Jinge move his eyes away.

    Jiang Zhen had a lot of experience with casually eating cold food in the wild. He used to eat dry food with hisrades-in-arms when he went out on a mission, but he had never felt so happy as he was today.

    Although the food did not taste good at all, he still thought it was delicious.

    Zhao Jinge originally did not want to eat Jiang Zhen¡¯s lunch although Jiang Zhen brought a lot of things, but he usually drank four big bowls of porridge. Jiang Zhen himself definitely could finish two bowls of rice.

    But Jiang Zhen always had a way to get him to eat.

    When Zhao Jinge did not want to eat the egg that he gave him, Jiang Zhen suddenly said, ¡°You should eat more and fatten yourself up. Big-assed gers are good for breeding,¡± he said while looking at Zhao Jinge¡¯s butt.

    Now Zhao Jinge¡¯s ck face turned red.

 Chapter 17 - Taking good care of yourself

    Chapter 17 ¨C Taking good care of yourself

    Zhao Jinge managed to eat the egg.

    He ate very little that morning, but he was very full at noon under the care of Jiang Zhen, so he was particrly full that afternoon.

    But although he was very energetic and worked very fast, his mind was not on his work but on something else.

    After digging out his cinnabar mole, he regarded himself as a man and made up his mind not to marry. Even though he had recently nned on spending the rest of his life with Jiang Zhen, he forgot of matter of having children. But now Jiang Zhen mentioned it.

    Zhao Jinge felt guilty.

    The fertility rate of ger was closely rted to the color of their cinnabar. The brighter the color of cinnabar moles, the higher the fertility rate of the ger, but his cinnabar mole had always been dull until he dug it up.

    At the beginning, the old man of the vige said that it would be difficult for him to have children like this, which was one of the reasons why he couldn¡¯t marry out. Jiang Zhen should also know about this. Did he want him to take good care of himself so he specifically mentioned it today?

    It¡¯s hard for me to have children because I¡¯m ugly. Now I¡¯m also so old. I really need to take good care of myself. Otherwise, I may not be able to have children in the future.

    After working for a long time, thirsty and tired, Zhao Jinge wanted to scoop up some water to drink but stopped his movements.

    Families in the vige paid attention so as to not let their women and gers drink fresh and cold water for fear that it might damage their bodies. He¡¯d better not drink.

    After sitting for a while, Zhao Jinge began to work again.

    Jiang Zhen did not know that, because of his flirtatious words, Zhao Jinge thought hard about it.

    In fact, he had no idea that he would have children in the future.

    Before crossing worlds, he never thought of having his own children. After crossing worlds, although he knew that Zhao Jinge was a fertile ger, he did not think too much about it. ¡°Well fed and good for breeding¡± was nothing but casual talk, just to see how a shy Zhao Jinge looked.

    After having dinner with Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen went to pick up the fish he had caught in the morning.

    The fish had been thrown into the basket by him, and many of them had already died, but the loaches and other things were still alive . . . When Jiang Zhen got to the river, he began to scrape the fish scales and cut the belly with a sharp knife used to kill pigs, and cleaned up the small fish.

    The fish were easy to tidy up, but the loaches were too slippery and very troublesome to deal with. Jiang Zhen did not pay attention to it and even let a loach escape into the river.

    Loaches were not killed in many ces; they were boiled directly for a few days. But here in Hexi Vige, loach heads were cut off with a knife and washed before eating. As for the method . . .

    The loaches were dropped on the mud beside him, one by one, and Jiang Zhen cut off all the loaches heads with his sharp butcher¡¯s knife.

    Although the dead loaches were still slippery, but at least they would not escape. Then he needed to cut open their bellies and squeeze out their intestines.

    After dealing with the loaches, Jiang Zhen handled the eel that he had caught, which was small but thick, and he also cleaned some misceneous things.

    The snake brought home yesterday was cooked for himself, but today . . . Since he had regarded Zhao Jinge as his wife-to-be, then Zhao Jinge¡¯s parents were also his parents, so of course, he would show filial piety.

    As far as he was concerned, he had always respected the old and loved the young. If olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang had not gone so far, he would have never used a knife to threaten the two old people.

    Carrying a bamboo basket, Jiang Zhen went to Zhao Jinge, who was digging in the field.

    The man who was working looked very tempting to him. Jiang Zhen wanted to cuddle with him for a few moments, but he was able to bear with his impulse in the end. He just took out the bamboo tube he had filled with water and gave it to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Come, drink some water and rest.¡± Zhao Jinge¡¯s lips were dry and he was probably thirsty.

    Zhao Jinge was really thirsty. After receiving the bamboo tube from Jiang Zhen, he drank it all up (or drank bottoms up). He thought that he should bring boiled water from home to drink tomorrow.

    After watching Zhao Jinge finish drinking the water, Jiang Zhen collected the bamboo tube and gave him the bamboo basket. ¡°This is for you.|

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Jinge opened the lid of the bamboo basket and looked inside. Then he saw that the small basket was full of fish and shrimp inside.

    ¡°Take it home and cook it. Even if the taste may not be too good, you need to eat more.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Take it. I can¡¯t finish all of this alone.¡±

    ¡°Okay . . .¡± When Zhao Jinge thought about the need to take care of his body, he nodded and asked, ¡°Are youing over tonight?¡±

    ¡°I will!¡± Jiang Zhen immediately said and looked at Zhao Jinge in joy. He did not expect Zhao Jinge to take the initiative to make an appointment with him.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll cook itter and save some for you,¡± said Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s eat togetherter.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s mood improved, and he could not help but want to kiss Zhao Jinge. Unfortunately, someone mighte by at any time, and he could only give up on his n with regret.

    Zhao Jinge smiled and looked at something in the bamboo basket. Somehow puzzled, he said, ¡°Why did you put the stone crab inside? It¡¯s not good enough to eat. You can only feed ducks with it.¡±

    ¡°Eating this is good for your health,¡± said Jiang Zhen. Zhao Jinge said this because crabs that lived in the river and in ditches were just a littlerger than a dor coin.

    This crab crawls everywhere in the countryside and likes to hide under the stones near the water, so people in Hexi Vige call them stone crabs. They are so small that they don¡¯t have any meat at all, so no one eats them. They catch it for the purpose of feeding them to ducks.

    However, Jiang Zheng thought that such crabs should be able to supplement the body¡¯s calcium needs, so he did not throw them away but kept them.

    Since Jiang Zhen said it was good to eat it, Zhao Jinge secretly decided to catch few himself for him to eat more.

    Thinking of thest time Zhao Dahu and his family asked for loaches, Zhao Jinge did not carry the bamboo basket on his back when he finished his work to return the farm tools.

    After returning the farm tools and helping Zhao Dahu with some work, he put his hidden bamboo basket on his back and went home.

    ¡°Dad, Mother, I¡¯m back.¡± After returning home, Zhao Jinge gave the bamboo basket to his mother.

    ¡°Did you catch fish, Jinge?¡± Zhao Liu looked at the bamboo basket and asked in some surprise that her son had time to catch fish during work.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it. It was Eldest Jiang who caught it for me,¡± Zhao Jinge said, bowing his head somewhat sheepishly.

    When Zhao Jinge mentioned Eldest Jiang, he felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart, hoping that his parents would him ask a few more questions. But Zhao Liu did not think much about it at all. ¡°Is he thanking you for saving himst time? He knows how to be grateful.¡±

    Zhao Liu continued, ¡°But recently, his mother scolded him every day in the vige . . . If you see him, please persuade him with few words. They are still his father and mother.¡±

    In the past, when Eldest Jiang was bullied, the people in Hexi Vige sympathized with him, but when he suddenly became strong and became the one who bullied, olddy Jiang became the object of sympathy instead.

    But Zhao Jinge felt that olddy Jiang deserved it. He could not help but feel aggrieved for Jiang Zhen in his heart, but he could not speak and did not refute his mother.

    ¡°There is no oil in our house. Otherwise, the fish would be delicious . . .¡± Zhao Liu sighed. If the fish were too small, cooking would smash its small body, so she steamed it and ate the loach and eel. Zhao Jinge insisted on eating the stone crab, so she cooked it in a pot with the salted vegetables.

    There was no seasoning and not even a drop of oil. Fish cooked this way had a fishy smell, but the people here eat fish all the time; they no longer care about the fishy smell.

    Zhao Jinge had good teeth. He could chew those steamed little fish without picking out the bones. He could chew and eat up the fish whole in one swallow. With the serving of pickles, he ate three bowls of porridge in one breath.

    He also ate a lot of stone crabs, all of which had no meat in their shells, but they were delicious when chewed with their shells.

    Father and Mother Zhao also ate some small fish but especially left some salted vegetable, eel, and loaches for Zhao Jinge to bring to Eldest Jiang.

    As Zhao Jinge had simr thoughts, he nodded in agreement. But instead of carrying a bowl to Jiang family house, he waited at the thatched cottage. As a result, he had not waited long when Jiang Zhen came.

    They split the eel and the loaches.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there is too little seasoning and no oil . . .¡± Jiang Zhen ate a piece of eel and sighed. At the same time, he began to think about getting some oil for cooking.

    It¡¯s just . . . in ancient times, there was very little oyster oil and the output of vegetable oil was low because of its poor oil extraction technology, and he really could not afford to buy it now.

    Jiang Zhen could now say that he had nothing, and even his body was notpletely well-nourished, so he let go of these thoughts for the time being.

    As for the future . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes fell on the canal. He always thought he had to find a way to earn some money to support himself, and the job that was more suitable for him in this world, he was afraid . . . was to be a businessman.

    He did not have the skills to earn his living in ancient times, and he could not do anything else than to do business. Fortunately, it was not as difficult as inter generations to do business in these times. The so-called traders only had to exchange goods between two ces.

    In the days that followed, Jiang Zhen had lived a very simr day-to-day life.

    In the morning, he tried to find all kinds of food that he could eat, had lunch with Zhao Jinge at noon, and then wandered around in the afternoon to continue to find what he could eat.

    The small fish and shrimps, which many people in Hexi Vige despised, had good nutrition. After eating them for a few days, Jiang Zhen¡¯splexion was much better. Zhao Jinge¡¯s whole body also looked refreshed. But all the ditches of Hexi Vige were cleaned out. That summer, the harvest of children in the vige were estimated to be much poorer than in previous years.

    At that time, with the arrival of the Qingming Dynasty Festival, the members of the Jiang family became more and more intolerant of Jiang Zhen.

    This eldest Jiang didn¡¯t work every day but still had to eat and drink well. Why?

    One morning, after Jiang Zhen went out, Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang called Jiang Chengwen into their house. Then they discussed with Jiang Chengwen how to deal with Jiang Zhen.

    Olddy Jiang now hated Jiang Zhen, who scolded her all day long, even more. She scolded for a while before saying, ¡°It¡¯s not enough for this son of a bitch to eat eggs every day, he even robbed the pot ofrd from home yesterday. Why don¡¯t he just die?

    As old Madam Jiang thought of the pot ofrd, she felt very distressed. She used her chopsticks to scrape a little bit ofrd to cook when she be greedy. In the end, her eldest son actually took the whole pot ofrd away . . . She still didn¡¯t know even now whether therd had been eaten by him yet.

    ¡°Mother, what is the use of your scolding? Let¡¯s think about another way to deal with him!¡± said Jiang Chengwen.

    ¡°We must teach him some lessons, so he will work in peace again,¡± said old Jiang. Olddy Jiang had always blindly hated her eldest son. These days, however, old Jiang was well aware of his eldest son¡¯s good side.

    Before, when his eldest son was willing to work in the fields, when had he needed to work so hard?

    The three of them talked for a long time but couldn¡¯t think of any good way. Finally, Jiang Chengwen said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let the third brother think of something? He¡¯s the smartest.¡± Both Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang went to school at the beginning. And the result was Jiang Chengwen didn¡¯t learn anything useful, but Jiang Chengxiang learned a lot of skills andter found a job in the county town. Gradually, Jiang¡¯s family began to listen to him in regards to many major events.

    ¡°Yes, let Chengxiang help us make up our minds,¡± Butcher Jiang said and suddenly remembered another thing. ¡°We haven¡¯t been to the county town for a long time. Let¡¯s go there today and deliver some food to Chengxiang and then buy a pair of candles for the ancestral worship.¡±

 Chapter 18 - Discussing countermeasures

    Chapter 18 ¨C Discussing countermeasures

    Jiang Chengxiang lived in the county town and had enough ie to support himself, so instead of giving him money, old man Jiang often sent him grain, vegetables, eggs, and various other things, so that Jiang Chengxiang did not have to spend money on rice and vegetables at all. However, recently, there had been a lot of things going on in the Jiang family. Jiang Zhen behaved like a master at home every day and scared them so much, they forgot to send things to Jiang Chengxiang.

    Now that a decision had been made, Butcher Jiang began to pack the things he wanted to give to Jiang Chengxiang.

    He needed to give more grain now, after all, his third son had now gotten a wife, so he needed to take enough for two people to eat. He should also take more vegetables. It¡¯s not worth it to spend money to buy them from others except for these two things. In the past, every time Butcher Jiang went to the city, he would bring some fish, shrimps, and eggs, but this time, it was all gone.

    There were only two chickens left in the house. Jiang Zhen killed one and said he had to eat two eggs every day. From where would they have any extra eggs left for Jiang Chengxiang?

    There were also fish and shrimps. In the past, it was Eldest Jiang who had done all the work in the field. Butcher Jiang was free to look for fish and shrimps. Now that Jiang Zhen is unwilling to do any work, old Butcher Jiang had be exhausted. How could he still have time to catch fish?

    Finally, only vegetables and grain were packed, and Butcher Jiang set out.

    After carrying the load for half an hour, Butcher Jiang arrived in Hecheng County.

    The canal ran through Hecheng County. There was also a big dock, making the whole country town very lively. Butcher Jiang came here from time to time, but he was still a little embarrassed when he looked at the people busilying and going.

    The houses in the county town were all made of wood, built closely together by the river, but there were also walkable roads on the river bank. Butcher Jiang walked along the road paved with blue stone, and it was not long before he came to a small wooden hut.

    Hexi Vige was not far from Hecheng County, so Butcher Jiang arrived at Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s in time for lunch.

    Jiang Chengxiang was responsible for keeping records of the passage to and from the dock. Because the coolies on the dock would take a break at noon to eat something, he could also go home for lunch. He was at home at the moment. Seeing Butcher Jiang, he immediately weed him in. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Dad,e in and have some water to drink.¡± Zhu Shufen took out her ck tea, made arge cup of tea and greeted Butcher Jiang.

    Butcher Jiang often came here. He put down his load to sit down, then he said, ¡°Chengxiang, Father brought you some food.¡±

    ¡°Dad, did youe again with cargo? Come by boat next time or you¡¯ll be too tired,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said in concern.

    ¡°Yes, Dad. Aren¡¯t you exhausted when youe all this way?¡± As she spoke, Zhu Shufen went to see what Butcher Jiang had brought.

    After checking it, Zhu Shufen¡¯s expression could not help but change. At the beginning, she was willing to marry Jiang Chengxiang for many reasons. One of them was that Jiang Chengxiang lived alone in the county town and did not have to send money home, but the family would send him food from time to time. There was never a shortage of eggs and fish.

    But now what? Where did the eggs go? What about the fish? Only worthless vegetables were sent!

    The Jiang family even had a big uncle behaving like a madman.

    Zhu Shufen had a feeling that she had been deceived, and she was suddenly unhappy.

    However, although she felt unhappy, Zhu Shufen did not say anything and did not show it, and Butcher Jiang naturally did not know his daughter-inw¡¯s little thoughts.

    Seeing his most promising youngest son, Butcher Jiang could not help butin about the family¡¯s disgusting eldest son.

    ¡°Son, your big brother is really abominable. Is there any way you can make him more obedient?¡± Butcher Jiang had talked about every ¡°evil deed¡± that Eldest Jiang had done and finally asked this.

    After Jiang Chengxiang got married, he returned to the county town. These days that he finally lived with his wife, he didn¡¯t want to return home.

    However, although he did not go home, he was still thinking about his family; and in his opinion, even if Eldest Jiang had nearly died once, he would still be weak in the future.

    As a result . . . he had been causing trouble all these days and had not stopped yet?

    Eldest Jiang, when did he get so daring?

    After hearing what Butcher Jiang had to say, Jiang Chengxiang was full of disbelief and asked for more details. And when he heard the whole story clearly, he finally rxed and said, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. This matter is easy to solve.¡±

    ¡°Is it really so easy to solve?¡± Butcher Jiang frowned. ¡°Your eldest brother has be fierce. If things go on like this, we won¡¯t be able to live at home!¡±

    ¡°Dad, I think he¡¯s just bluffing. None of you got hurt from the beginning to the end, right?¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. ¡°He was probably angry in his heart, so he became domineering and threatening at home, but he will still not dare to really do anything.¡±

    ¡°Even if he is just bluffing, we have to find a way to deal with him, and we can¡¯t beat him . . .¡± Butcher Jiang sighed.

    ¡°We can scare him too,¡± said Jiang Chengxiang with a confident look on his face. His eldest brother was just a crude farmhand who couldn¡¯t read or write. In his opinion, it was too easy to deal with such a person.

    At present, there were two ways to deal with his eldest brother. One is to threaten him to leave and drive him out of the house . . . But that was definitely not possible. What if his eldest brother really agrees in a fit of anger?

    Although Jiang Chengxiang was not old, he could see things very clearly and naturally knew that it was good for him to leave Eldest Jiang at home.

    Eldest Jiang was not married and would not have children in the future. Staying at home was for him to help his two brothers and work for a lifetime for free . . . Although this was unfair to his big brother, it was good for him, and people . . . were selfish.

    Because of this, Jiang Chengxiang did not want to talk about a separation from the family, so he had to use another method, which was definitely easier to use than threatening Eldest Jiang to leave.

    ¡°How do you want to scare him?¡± asked Butcher Jiang.

    ¡°Dad, I know a government officer in the county town,¡± Jiang Chengxiang began to speak slowly. What ordinary people fear most these days? Wasn¡¯t it the government? Many people obviously had never done anything bad but still did not dare to pass through the gate of the government and prefer to take a long detour.

    Bringing a government officer back home will certainly frighten his eldest brother.

    ¡°Would the officer be willing?¡± When Butcher Jiang heard the words ¡°government officer,¡± he could not help trembling in his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m on good terms with him, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be willing,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. The officer he was referring to was the one in charge of the dock. They had drank wine together several times and their friendship was quite good. He was sure the man would agree to do him a favor.

    What¡¯s more, it¡¯s also a way to get along with others by asking for a little help and giving a red envelope afterwards.

    Jiang Chengxiang said a few more words to Butcher Jiang and then left with him for lunch.

    Although Zhu Shufen¡¯s father was a schr, she was not from a very rich family, so she would do all the work at home. Before Butcher Jiang arrived, she had already prepared lunch.

    A te of garlic leaf tofu, a bowl of egg and vegetable soup, and a bowl of fried vegetables looked simple, but because she put more oil than olddy Jiang, the taste of the vegetables was far better than that of olddy Jiang¡¯s.

    Butcher Jiang was happy and ate three bowls of rice in one breath.

    It¡¯s a good thing I prepared the evening meal as well while I was cooking lunch today, otherwise I might not have enough to eat, Zhu Shufen thought to herself and became a little unhappier again.

    When a guest was present, she had to serve the guest first, so she only served herself half a bowl of rice. She thought Butcher Jiang would leave something to eat anyway, but as a result, he was not polite at all and ate everything.

    Looking at the cleanly scraped out pot, Zhu Shufen, who had not had enough to eat, got mad.

    How could Jiang Chengxiang not know what his wife was thinking? Instead, he smiled and said, ¡°Those who do manualbor in the countryside eat a lot. My mother can drink four bowls of porridge.¡±

    Zhu Shufen red at Jiang Chengxiang and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say your father would bring you eggs every time? Why not this time? I¡¯ve ran out of eggs at home. I need to buy them tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Something has happened at home recently, but it will be alright in the future . . . Shufen, when you go out to buy meat, buy roast chicken today. I¡¯ll invite someone to a meal in the evening,¡± said Jiang Chengxiang. He nned on inviting the officer to his house for dinner this evening and go back home tomorrow.

    His big brother, he had to take care of him.

    . . .

    Jiang Zhen did not know that Butcher Jiang had gone to the county town to discuss with Jiang Chengxiang about how to deal with him.

    He was quite satisfied with his recent life. The mood of the original owner basically did not affect him these days. He had already gained enough understanding of the world, and his rtionship with Zhao Jinge was being cultivated well . . . In a few days, he will bepletely separated from the Jiang family and would be able to live his own life.

    Jiang Zhen was in a good mood and had good luck.

    This morning, he caught a hedgehog while wandering around. This animal was quitemon in Hexi Vige, but because there was no further process needed in order to be eaten, he nned to take it back to Zhao Jinge and ask him if he wanted it.

    As a result, halfway there, someone stopped him and wanted to trade fish for the hedgehog.

    In the south of the Yangtze River, there was a kind of people who had nond of their own, no house of their own, and only had one boat. They lived on boats and earned their living by fish or ferrying. They are called boat people.

    Jiang Zhen preferred to call them fishermen.

    Although ordinary people in Hexi Vige could catch fish, they did not make a living by catching fish. These fishermen lived entirely by catching fish. Of course, they would also use fishing boats to help people transport goods in order to make money.

    In the river on this side of Hexi Vige, there was such a family of fishermen living on fishing boats. They were a family of a man and a ger in their thirties and two children. They usually caught fish withs and by putting some earthworms in their special bamboo baskets. They then put the bamboo basket into the river to lead the fish to these bamboo baskets; after the fish went in, they pulled it up.

    Jiang Zhen had no work to do these days and asionally went to watch them catching fish, trying to learn how to catch it himself, but he had not spoken to them, so he was somewhat surprised when he was asked to stop.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you fish for the hedgehog. Will you trade it for fish?¡± asked the man on the fishing boat who was in his thirties.

    ¡°Trade,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation and was a little curious. ¡°What do you want to do with the hedgehog?¡±

    ¡°A hedgehog is good for the stomach,¡± the man said. ¡°My wife has been having a stomach ache a lottely.¡±

    Jiang Zhen had seen the man¡¯s wife once, but he only remembered that he was a very thin man and he hadn¡¯t seen his face clearly. Now he knew that this man was going to give the fish to his wife, so he gave the hedgehog to the other person. The man gave him a heavy silver carp weighing several kilos.

    These days, Jiang Zhen only caught small fish and shrimps, he had never caught such a big fish, so he immediately decided to give the fish to Zhao Jinge to show off.

    As a result, after a few steps, Jiang Zhen saw a boat stopping by the river. At that time, the Jiang family¡¯s third son and a man dressed like a public servant jumped off the boat.

 Chapter 19 - Keep fighting

    Chapter 19 ¨C Keep fighting

    ¡°Big brother?¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen carrying a fish, Jiang Chengxiang cried out uncertainly, showing surprise on his face.

    On the second day of his marriage, he had seen Jiang Zhen lose his temper, but he didn¡¯t take it too seriously. But now . . . his eldest brother was almost like a different person.

    Jiang Chengxiang was surprised at his first sight of Jiang Zhen and then was disgusted at the second sight when he saw that his eldest brother was wearing his clothes.

    Before, he heard from Butcher Jiang that his eldest brother has moved to his house, but he had not thought that the man would wear his clothes. Jiang Chengxiang never liked others touching his things, and for a moment, he was disgusted with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Chengxiang, this is your big brother?¡± the man brought by Jiang Chengxiang looked at Jiang Zhen with a smile.

    This man¡¯s name was Yang Jiang, and he was indeed a government official.

    The government officer¡¯s position in Hecheng County was basically handed down from generation to generation, from father to son. Because of this job, he could easily get some oil or water. As a result, government officers generally have a good life, and they often continue to do so for several generations, making them quite rich.

    But this Yang Jiang was different; he likes to gamble. He always loses all his money and has a bad life. Because of this, when Jiang Chengxiang asked him to help frighten some people, he was willing toe and make some extra money.

    ¡°Yes, this is my eldest brother.¡± Jiang Chengxiang looked again at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Big Brother,e home with us.¡± Old Madam Jiang would make a scene after being wronged by Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Chengxiang was reluctant to do so. He did not want the vigers to see this jest.

    Jiang Zhen took one look at Jiang Chengxiang and another look at the official next to him and frowned.

    He had a faint feeling that something was wrong.

    Although he has acted recklessly these days, he has not gone too far. In fact, there were more people who acted more excessively in the countryside than him¡ªdrinking, gambling, ruining the family¡¯s property, beating their wives, families driving out old people from their homes and letting them die by themselves, harming neighbors, or stealing chickens . . . In Hexi Vige and the viges near Hexi Vige, there were many much worse people than him.

    And for such people, everyone will say a few words at most because most of these people are vicious and no one dared to offend them, so Jiang Zhen never stood up for himself at all, but now . . . What did Jiang Chengxiang want to doing here with a government officer?

    Jiang Zhen took a defensive look at Jiang Chengxiang then slowly rxed. The soldiers alwayse to subdue any situation, so there is no need for him to hide.

    With a fish in one hand and a bamboo pole in the other, Jiang Zhen fell far behind Jiang Chengxiang and Yang Jiang while they walked towards the Jiang family house.

    ¡°Your big brother doesn¡¯t seem easy to mess with,¡± said Yang Jiang, leaning closer to Jiang Chengxiang.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a false pose, big brother Yang. If you take the lead, you will easily take him down,¡± Jiang Chengxiangplimented Yang Jiang.

    ¡°Of course.¡± On Yang Jiang¡¯s face was an expression of gloating. He added, ¡°Yesterday¡¯s roast chicken was delicious.¡±

    ¡°Big Brother Yang, let¡¯s eat again tonight!¡± Jiang Chengxiang immediately said that there was a good family roast chicken shop in Hecheng County where the roast chicken was fried in oil and then burned with special brine. The taste was exceptionally delicious and the price was not cheap. However, he was always willing to spend money for good rtions with others and did not feel bad about it.

    When the three of them entered the vige, they attracted many people¡¯s eyes because Yang Jiang was dressed in the Yamen official clothes, and because of this, nobody dared toe and say hello.

    After a short time, they arrived at the Jiang family house.

    ¡°Third son, you¡¯re back! Your Excellency, pleasee in!¡± When olddy Jiang saw Jiang Chengxiang and Yang Jianging with him, her face lit up. Then she gave Jiang Zhen a look of pride and disgust.

    Obviously, these people are going to do something today! Just as Jiang Zhen thought of it, he heard Jiang Chengxiang say, ¡°Jiang Zhenwei, you kneel down before your parents!¡±

    I guessed it right . . . Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Chengxiang but did not kneel down.

    Jiang Zheng did not kneel. Jiang Chengxiang, who wanted to suppress him with this momentum, frowned. He also felt vaguely that something was wrong. But when he saw Jiang Zhen standing there motionless, he thought he felt wrong. He looked at Jiang Zhen in an earnest manner and said, ¡°Big Brother, do you know what you have done wrong?¡±

    ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Chengxiang calmly.

    ¡°Big Brother, you are father and mother¡¯s son. You shouldn¡¯t point a knife at your parents. This is disobedience andck of filial piety!¡± Jiang Chengxiang said.

    ¡°The punishment for disobedience andck of filial piety is beheading.¡± The government official had been watching the drama before him, but at this time, he looked at Jiang Zhen and said that darkly.

    ¡°Do you have the guts to stab me now, you debt collector!¡± old Madam Jiang shouted to Jiang Zhen. ¡°Tomorrow, I will go to the yamen and tell them that you are disobedient and unfilial. Let the officers arrest you and chop off your head!¡±

    ¡°Eldest, you¡¯d better admit your mistakes today, or we¡¯ll be rude!¡± Butcher Jiang also added. After chatting with his youngest son yesterday, he learned that when children were unfilial, the parents could sue their children at the yamen. He did not want his eldest son to die, but he decided to use this method to teach his son a good lesson and make him obedient again.

    Jiang Zhen knew that these people should only be threatening him. If it was only the Jiang family threatening him, he could certainly make a scene, but now there was a government officer.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s ability to find the government official showed that he had some connections in the county town. If he made a scene at this time and firmly denied his mistake, the Jiang family may actually sue him for disobedience and unfilial piety, which, in ancient times, was indeed a felony.

    But to not cause a scene? Did he really want to allow the Jiang family to suppress him?

    Now that he was not afraid of the government official or charges of disobedience andck of filial piety, did Jiang Chengxiang have any means to get ahold of him?

    Many thoughts shed through Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind. At the same time, the feelings belonging to Eldest Jiang appeared again.

    There was fear and anger in that mood. The man who had been mistreated by his own parents for more than twenty years still had persistence after his own death.

    He did not work for a period of time after he had nearly died. He ate a chicken and some eggs at home. Now these people even went after his life regardless of their blood ties . . . You can imagine in how much pain Eldest Jiang was.

    ¡°Will you be using me of disobedience and unfilial piety?¡± Jiang Zhen raised his head and nced at the faces of the people in front of him, remembering all their expressions in his heart.

    ¡°Big Brother, if you keep making trouble, father and mother will sue you for disobedience and for being unfilial!¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. Everyone was afraid of the yamen in this vige. He was clear how afraid everyone would be if caught by the yamen now. He only needed to wait for his elder brother to turn soft.

    It¡¯s just that things didn¡¯t seem to go the way he thought. Jiang Chengxiang looked at Jiang Zhen with some pride but found that there was no expression of fear on his face and his face was still cold. For some reason, Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s heart gave a thump and his body felt a little cold.

    ¡°A jinx like you should be caught and beheaded!¡± olddy Jiang said. Because of the presence of the government official, she was no longer afraid of Jiang Zhen. She even hoped that the government official would really take Eldest Jiang away. Without this jinx she surely would have a better life in the future.

    Madam Jiang really wanted to kill him . . . When Jiang Zhen saw this, his heart was filled with grief and indignation. This was not his own emotion. What he wanted to do was to spread his full anger.

    ¡°Well, disobedience is being unfilial, is it? Then I will show you some right now!¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said, as soon as his voice fell, he threw the fish in his hand towards olddy Jiang¡¯s face.

    When the fish fell on olddy Jiang¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t help screaming. At this time, Jiang Zhen held the sharpened bamboo pole he took with him every day these days and then jabbed it at Zhen Jiang.

    When the bamboo pole hit olddy Jiang, it directly swept her to the ground. Jiang Zhen stabbed the sharpened end of the pole in Butcher Jiang¡¯s leg.

    The sharp bamboo pole pierced Butcher Jiang¡¯s leg. The bleeding made him cry out in horror.

    Jiang Zhen, however, did not show any mercy. He hit him on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s sudden anger shocked Jiang Chengxiang and the official, who stood foolishly and couldn¡¯t respond at all. Jiang Zhen was already looking at them by then.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes were very cold. Jiang Chengxiang trembled unconsciously after meeting his eyes. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to use me of disobedience and unfilial piety? I¡¯ll just kill you first.¡± Jiang Zhen sneered and directly stabbed Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Jiang Chengxiang thigh was stabbed, and a bloodstain suddenly appeared. He looked at Jiang Zheng in horror. He didn¡¯t expect Jiang Zheng to actually do it.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Yang Jiang pulled out a knife from his waist and looked at Jiang Zhen in horror. When ordinary people see a government official they became like quails, but this man dared to do it! ¡°Don¡¯t you want to die? I¡¯m going to put you in jail! ¡°

    ¡°You want to arrest me? Then I¡¯ll kill myself first.¡± Jiang Zhen hit Yang Jiang with the bamboo pole.

    Yang Jiang, with a nearly two feet long waist knife, wanted to cut Jiang Zheng, but Jiang Zheng had already distanced himself from him. How could he cut him down now?

    As a weapon, the bamboo pole was notparable to a knife in some respects, but in some ways, it was better than a knife; at least, it was long enough.

    There was some distance between them. Yang Jiang could not cut him with the knife, but he could hit Yang Jiang with the bamboo pole.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s bamboo pole hit the knife in Yang Jiang¡¯s hands, making it directly fly out, then he hit Yang Jiang with the pole again.

    If it was in modern times, Jiang Zhen would never fight against a police officer simr to that of an ancient yamen officer because it was an easy way to get killed.

    If hemitted a crime in modern times, he would be caught in less than two days, and he couldn¡¯t fight modern weapons through physical force alone. In this case, of course, he couldn¡¯t foolishly confront the police.

    But these were the ancient times.

    Although artillery was already used these days, it would only be used in the army. In most ces, it was not bad for soldiers in the army to have a knife, and he was not afraid of others who use a knife against him at all!

    There was not even a camera here, which meant that, even if hemitted a crime, as long as he ran far away and was not recognized, he could start over somewhere else.

    In fact, it was also very simple to run, although in ancient times the traffic was inconvenient, it was also inconvenient for those officials!

    Of course, Jiang Zhen had no intention ofmitting a crime or escaping. He was still waiting to marry Zhao Jinge.

    He now . . . just wanted to beat up these people who didn¡¯t have good eyes.

 Chapter 20 - Threats and bluffs

    Chapter 20 ¨C Threats and bluffs

    Chapter sponsored by Lalorena on Ko-fi. Remember to thank her in thement section!

    Jiang Zhen knew very well that Jiang Chengxiang returned with a yamen official to threaten him into being obedient.

    But if he didn¡¯t listen; it was not just a threat. They did not hold the slightest affection for him. They did not regard him as a son or brother at all. They just wanted him to work for the Jiang family house. If he refused to work for them, as he did before, they would really go to the yamen to sue him.

    It was useless for him to give in first and then find fault with them. If he was not careful, this family might kill him, so he will start first.

    Thinking this way, Jiang Zhen continued to beat Yang Jiang up. He had a proper hand and would not seriously hurt Yang Jiang, but he would definitely make it painful for him.

    ¡°Spare my life! Spare me. It was Jiang Chengxiang who asked me to scare you. I didn¡¯t mean to arrest you!¡± Yang Jiang soon began to call for help.

    He Cheng County had always been peaceful. When he worked as a yamen officer in He Cheng County town, he rarely needed to use a knife, so his skill was naturally verymon. At this time, he could not beat Jiang Zhen at all, so he had to keep begging for mercy.

    Jiang Zhen really stopped, not because he begged for mercy, but because olddy Jiang got up again.

    Soon the bamboo pole swung again. Jiang Zhen directly swept olddy Jiang to the ground again and red at Jiang Chengxiang, who wanted to get up and save Yang Jing.

    Jiang Chengxiang trembled after meeting Jiang Zhen¡¯s cold stare and became too afraid to move. Hey obediently in the mud, surprised and frightened. His older brother, who would not move even when others pped him on the face, how did he suddenly be so scary? He seemed to have a murderous aura . . .

    With a sneer, Jiang Zhen picked up Yang Jiang¡¯s knife, stepped on Yang Jing¡¯s chest, and put the sharp knife to Yang Jing¡¯s neck. ¡°You want to arrest me? Charge me with disobedience and unfilial piety?¡±

    ¡°No no! I¡¯m definitely not going to arrest you!¡± Yang Jing said and repeatedly begged for mercy, but his heart was full of hatred. He had never suffered such a humiliation since he was a child. When he returned to the county town, he would not allow the Jiang family to look good!

    Yes, Yang Jing not only hated Jiang Zhen but also the other members of the Jiang family. The leader of the Jiang family was clearly a madman. Jiang Chengxiang also asked him to scare him. What was his intention?

    Jiang Zhen stepped hard with his foot and sneered, ¡°You¡¯d better not try to catch me. Otherwise . . . as long as you don¡¯t kill me and let me escape, I¡¯ll find you and tear you apart!¡± It¡¯s hard to beat a group of yamen officers, but at the same time, it was easy to escape from a group of yamen officers. All you had to do was run faster than them, so Jiang Zhen was not worried at all.

    Yang Jing, whose chest was trampled on, felt that he couldn¡¯t breathe. Hearing Jiang Zhen say so, his mind became even more surprised.

    This Jiang Zhen was quite capable. If he caught him, and he ran away . . .

    ¡°No, it¡¯s too easy to chop a person in eight pieces. I always prefer to watch people cry and beg. If I put bamboo sticks under your fingernails, your expression would look so beautiful.¡± Jiang Zhen deliberately showed a cold smile to Yang Jiang¡¯s face and bluffed, ¡°Of course, it would not be enough. Skinning is interesting. I will tie you up and start peeling from the back of your neck to your ass, then slowly peel the remaining skin off with a knife . . . Don¡¯t worry. Although you¡¯re a little fat, making you difficult to peel, I am quite skillful. I will skin you cleanly.¡±

    With that, Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes wandered around Yang Jiang¡¯s body, as if weighing where to start peeling.

    Yang Jing, who had always thought about getting revenge afterwards, suddenly, before Jiang Zhen¡¯s gaze, wouldn¡¯t dare to think about anything anymore. ¡°You . . .¡± He shivered, and atst, he only made one shaky sound. After seeing the sharp knife for killing pigs that was at Jiang Zhen¡¯s waist, he was even more shaken, so he was incontinent.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think it was enough. ¡°Rest assured, after dealing with you, I won¡¯t let go of your family . . . I have this iron hook. It is used to hook up the pig upside down after killing it. It¡¯s convenient to open the stomach to take out the intestines. Tell me, if I hook up your parents with this iron hook . . . will it be fun?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen went on a mission in the past, he met some abnormal people and learned some of their expressions. He added some details of the ancient punishment he had seen with hisrades in arms, even describing it in detail. If he had really done such a thing, it would be really shocking and scary.

    Just saying it with his own mouth, he felt disgusted, easily making people scared of him . . .

    Yang Jing has been so frightened that he was about to faint. Butcher Jiang, his wife, and Jiang Chengxiangy motionless on the ground.

    How could they not have known before that Eldest Jiang was so terrible? If they had known this, they would have never offended him.

    ¡°At your age, you should have children, right? In fact, there are many ways to deal with them . . .¡± Jiang Zhen continued to recall all kinds of ancient punishments to frighten them. At the same time, he made a shallow cut on Yang Jiang¡¯s face with his knife.

    It didn¡¯t matter if it was Yang Jing¡¯s parents, wife or children. Although he liked gambling and ying around and was usually not good to his family, they were still his family after all. Hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he fainted directly after thinking about his wife and his pale and plump son.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about him anymore and went directly to Jiang Chengxiang. ¡°Third brother, I have always remembered that every time you got into trouble when you were a child, you said it was my fault. Making problems for me. Do you remember? Once Aunt Huang gave me a qingming dumpling. I thought it would be delicious, but you snatched it, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it several times. Later, you told our parents that I robbed your dumpling. In the end, father pped me twice, making me dizzy for half a month . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen said a lot of things and smiled softly at Jiang Chengxiang. ¡°Those things, I originally intended to let them go, but you wanted to kill me . . . Don¡¯t you think I should teach you a lesson? How about cutting off the thing down there and serving it to you to eat?¡±

    With that, Jiang Zhen¡¯s knife scratched Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s lower abdomen.

    Jiang Chengxiang almost fainted as well. Jiang Zhen smiled gently, but the more he smiled, the more frightened he felt.

    Olddy Jiang never treated eldest Jiang as her own son, but she was very fond of Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang. Seeing and hearing this, she became even more afraid. She wanted to save her youngest son. She suddenly stood up and rushed towards Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen had been paying close attention to them. Before she got close, he kicked her and grabbed her bun, cutting it off with his knife. ¡°If you are so restless, I¡¯ll cut off your head next time!¡±

    When Jiang Zhen cut her hair bun off, old Lady Jiang thought she was going to have her head cut off. She was so scared that her whole body turned soft, making her unable to move for a while.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do anything to you. Why did you have to fight me?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the people around him who have fallen to the ground and sighed.

    When the Jiang family heard this, they all thought that he was lying to make himself feel good, but Jiang Zhen knew that he was telling the truth.

    He used the knife to scare the Jiang family, which was all a bluff. From the beginning to the end, he didn¡¯t n to do anything to the Jiang family.

    Even though he had been thinking about splitting up, he didn¡¯t intend to take anything from the Jiang family.

    He was not eldest Jiang, but Jiang Zhen. He was a foreign soul, and he himself felt he was not qualified to get money from the Jiang family.

    ording to Jiang Zhen¡¯s original n, he wanted to make some trouble at the Jiang family house, eat and drink well for a period of time, and let eldest Jiang rest peacefully after appeasing him, then separate from the Jiang family, and leave the Jiang family house to find Zhao Jinge.

    He didn¡¯t want the fields of the Jiang family; he didn¡¯t want anything from the Jiang family. In his own future, he would leave on his own.

    It¡¯s just that the Jiang family insisted on giving him such a gift.

    Covering his chest, Jiang Zhen felt the tumultuous anger of eldest Jiang. Jiang Zhen felt really disgusted with these Jiang family members.

    He pped Yang Jing face with the back of his knife to wake him up. Jiang Zhen said to the people in the room, ¡°I have food and drink now, and I live afortable life, so I didn¡¯t kill you to make trouble for myself, but you are even trying to kill me . . . Since I don¡¯t have a good life, I¡¯m not afraid of you. We can die together!¡±

    ¡°All the people in this family will be buried with me. No one can escape! Third, I know where your father-inw Zhu Xiucai and his family live. When I kill the Jiang family, I will kill them too.¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang looked at Jiang Zhen in horror, but Jiang Zhen ignored him and stepped on Yang Jing again. ¡°And you just want someone to arrest me. Let¡¯s see who will die then!¡±

    At the beginning, Yang Jing really wanted to find someone to catch Jiang Zhen after he got away from here. But at this time, he no longer dared to have this idea.

    He could not 100 percent guarantee that he would catch Jiang Zhen and kill him. If this man had a chance to escape, his family . . .

    Damn, Jiang Chengxiang! He even let him deal with such an evil star. This is clearly trying to kill me!

    Yang Jing did not dare to hate Jiang Zhen anymore. Now, he hated Jiang Chengxiang, who dragged him into this mess. Without Jiang Chengxiang, he would be eating and drinking in the county town at this moment!

    All the people in this room were afraid of what Jiang Zhen would do. They were relieved when they heard Jiang Zhen say he would not kill them. Just then, outside the Jiang family house came the voice of the vige head, Jiang Ping, ¡°Eldest Jiang, what are you trying to do? Stop it!¡±

    Jiang Chengwen, the second son of the Jiang family, was not onlyzy but also timid. When Jiang Chengxiang and Butcher Jiang agreed to frighten Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t want to participate. Instead, he kept watching while hiding.

    Then he saw Jiang Zhen knock everyone down.

    He was so scared and frightened. He didn¡¯t dare to go in and try to save them. So he ran to the vige and called over many strong men and the vige head, Jiang Ping.

    Jiang Zhen had been very calm these days. Although he had threatened some members of the Jiang family before, he didn¡¯t really hurt anyone. People in the vige were not particrly afraid of him. After Jiang Chengwen went out to call people over, there came arge number of people carrying bolts, poles, or other things.

    The door of the Jiang house was opened, and the scene inside became clear at a nce. When Jiang Ping saw it, he immediately became startled.

    Olddy Jiang¡¯s hair was all over the ground. Butcher Jiang and Chengxiang were wounded on their legs. A man dressed as a yamen officer was trampled under Jiang Zhen¡¯s feet. This . . .

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, you are crazy. You even fought against an official!¡± Jiang Ping was frightened. If he offended a yamen officer, this meant offending the government. When people start to have that opinion about Hexi Vige, their whole vige would be miserable!

    ¡°So what if I just did it?¡± Jiang Zhen pulled up Yang Jing from the ground, not afraid of therge group of vigers outside. ¡°What are you doing around me? Don¡¯t try to catch me, or I¡¯ll slit his throat with a knife and kill him.¡±

    Jiang Zhen took Yang Jing as a hostage, which proved to be very useful. Jiang Ping and the vigers surrounding the Jiang family did not dare to do anything at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I, Jiang Zhen, am a madman. You¡¯d better not provoke me, or I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Of course, it is troublesome to kill you one by one. What if I took the knife to the county yamen and cut down people with the knife and told the town lord that all the people in our vige took part in it?¡±

    In ancient times, if one personmitted a crime, it would bring bad luck to the whole family and even to the whole vige.

 Chapter 21 - I want to separate from this family

    Chapter 21 ¨C I want to separate from this family

    People in Hexi Vige were frightened by Jiang Zhen.

    Some of them were also brave and ruthless, but none of them were as reckless as Jiang Zhen.

    Go to the yamen? How dare he even think about it!

    The vigers in Hexi Vige saw that Jiang Zhen¡¯s temperament had changed. They could not provoke him again, so they just wanted to stay far away from him to avoid getting involved.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, if you have something to say . . .¡± Jiang Ping, the Hexi Vige head, said in a soft voice. He really thought that Jiang Zhen had be crazy and turned into a madman . . . They¡¯d better not mess with him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I was saying to you?¡± Jiang Zhen smiled in a friendly way to the people before him.

    But those vigers of Hexi Vige didn¡¯t find his smile friendly at all and thought that this smile was horrible, making some people even unconsciously lower their heads.

    The event on this side of the Jiang family was even greater than thest time, and the people in the vige basically came to watch the excitement and tightly surrounded the Jiang family house.

    Ordinary people would certainly be afraid when seeing this scene, but Jiang Zhen was calm.

    He was not afraid of these vigers. These people thought that the life of the yamen officer was in their hands. But regardless, he still had the ability to climb the roof and escape. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to be a fugitive, and he always wanted to live a good life in the vige. It was expected, as he had now found someone who was willing to let him in.

    It was a pity that, at this time, there had to be such a scene, messing up all his ns.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, can you let the official go?¡± Jiang Ping asked again. Jiang Zhen¡¯s knife reached Yang Jing¡¯s neck, making him shiver. Jiang Ping was afraid that Jiang Zhen would identally hurt Yang Jing. This jinx who was able to do anything to his parents and dared to fight against a yamen officer, they couldn¡¯t let him really kill people!

    ¡°I can let him go, but I have conditions,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Elder Brother, if you have any conditions, just say them. Just don¡¯t kill anyone!¡± Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly said.

    Just before, Jiang Zhen stabbed him in the thigh with the bamboo pole, and he was bleeding, but his wound was not very serious. In fact, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to kill, so he naturally was lenient.

    However, although this wound was not very serious, Jiang Chengxiang now had that feeling of ¡°my life is over.¡±

    Who was Yang Jing? This was the man who he had tried hard to get close to! It didn¡¯t matter if Eldest Jiang beat him, but he beat Yang Jing . . . I don¡¯t want to think about it. He knew that Yang Jing woulde to seek problems with him in the future . . . Now, Jiang Chengxiang was only hoping that Yang Jing would spare him in the future for the sake of his efforts to save him now.

    ¡°I already said it.¡± Jiang Zhen chuckled. ¡°I want to separate from you.¡±

    Separation? Jiang Chengxiang was stunned. Before, he had thought of threatening his eldest brother with separation, but he didn¡¯t expect that his big brother¡¯s condition would be the same after he had taken advantage.

    Why would his eldest brother want to separate from them? If he left the Jiang family, where would he go to eat in the future?

    Now, he had a ce to eat but was still holding Yang Jing hostage to force them to separate their families, mostly trying to split up their family fields . . . Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at Jiang Zhen in horror.

    If thend of the Jiang family be divided by Jiang Zhen, he was afraid that they would soon change from a wealthy family to a very ordinary one in the vige. And he will certainly not be able to live such afortable life in the future.

    ¡°All right, separate and get out of this house!¡± olddy Jiang shouted, wanting to get rid of this star of disaster.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Butcher Jiang shouted at his wife. Even in this situation, this woman dared to shout at Eldest Jiang. She simply didn¡¯t want to live any more.

    At the sight of his eldest son with a knife on the yamen officer¡¯s neck, Butcher Jiang felt great regret.

    He always knew that his wife was very bad to his eldest son, but he indulged it because he was not close to his eldest son, and he gave up on him a long time ago.

    It cost money to marry and raise a son. He thought it was enough to have two sons to start their own family and inherit the family name. So he just didn¡¯t care about his eldest son, allowing him to be treated badly and be an old bachelor. He intended to allow him to work for the family for the rest of his life. This way, when his two younger brothers separate from each other, they could get a little more money and not be poorer because of the property division. The eldest son, because he would not have his own children, of course, wouldn¡¯t need to be given a share of the property. As a result . . . things reached this point.

    If he had known this, he would have been nicer to his eldest son.

    ¡°Eldest, the separation is always a matter of good discussion . . .¡± Butcher Jiang eased his breath. He didn¡¯t want to be separated from Jiang Zhen, but he didn¡¯t dare to stop him. He hoped that Jiang Zhen would ask for less things.

    Yes, Butcher Jiang has decided to split up the family. He didn¡¯t dare to stay at home with such a lunatic.

    ¡°Big Brother, what do you want?¡± Jiang Chengxiang asked. As long as he thought about Jiang Zhen splitting the property, his heart became painful to the point of it dripping blood. But he must agree with Jiang Zhen¡¯s request in order to save Yang Jing. After all, this was the only way to make Yang Jing less angry with him.

    Jiang Zhen could naturally see the thoughts of the Jiang family and found it somehow funny. These people . . . they really deserved it.

    If they settled quietly down, he would leave the Jiang house in a month¡¯s time. Although they would lose aborer, they would not lose money . . . But now. . . Now he should get some benefits from the Jiang family, and as for the yamen officer . . . it was enough to let the Jiang family drink the pot they made themselves.

    ¡°Let¡¯s divide the family like other families do,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    In Hexi Vige, there was no rule about parents dividing the family property. When their sons be another family¡¯s rtives, they would divide their families. But when a family had several sons, the family property will be divided into several parts. Then they will only set the rules on how much food and money each son will give to their elderly.

    ording to these rules, Jiang Zhen can receive something after dividing the five mu of paddy field and six or seven mu of drynd. Even if Butcher Jiang and his wife would share money, so muchnd was already worth a lot of money.

    ¡°Eldest, you¡¯re not even married. You can¡¯t do that.¡± Butcher Jiang said in a low voice that all the bachelors in the vige live with their brothers . . . Of course, he was mainly reluctant to give upnd to Jiang Zhen. Thend price on this side of Hecheng County was high. One mu of paddy field can be sold for 22 silver coins or more, and the drynd can be sold for 15 silver coins at least. Jiang Zhen wanting such a big share is simply going too far!

    Old Madam Jiang was even more reluctant. In her opinion, Jiang Zhen was born by her, so it was her right to beat and kill him. Why should she give him anything? But before she could say anything, Jiang Chengxiang covered her mouth.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t let me get married, how could I be married?¡± Jiang Zhen sneered. Who knows how much Eldest Jiang wanted a wife?

    Butcher Jiang felt regret again. Why didn¡¯t he marry off Jiang Zhen? That way, they not only would get a bride price, but also push this disaster to someone else.

    ¡°But if you don¡¯t want to split it that way, we can do another division,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    This so-called another division is not going to give you more, is it? Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s heart beat like a drum, but Butcher Jiang asked, ¡°What kind of division?¡±

    ¡°I was born and raised by you, but you have killed me once before, and it will cost you,¡± said Jiang Zhen. ¡°Before I was 15 years old, I had been eating at home but also needed to work. I did a lot of work . . . This work should be worth your favor of parenting. I don¡¯t want anything else from you.¡±

    What does Jiang Zhen mean? He doesn¡¯t want anything?

    The people present looked at Jiang Zhen puzzled. At this time, Jiang Zhen added, ¡°After I was 15 years old, I was basically doing all the work in the family fields. You can say that I was working as a long-term worker for you. It has been a whole decade since then. I don¡¯t want anything else. Just pay me for my long-term job.¡±

    In Hexi Vige, the head of the family should cover long-term workers¡¯ meals. In addition, he should also pay for their work.

    Zhao Jinge worked as a long-term worker in Zhao Dahu¡¯s house. No matter what the food was, Zhao Dahu¡¯s house must give him some food. In addition, they will also pay him for his work at the end of the year.

    This year¡¯s copper coins have a value simr to the dor before Jiang Zhen¡¯s crossing. ording to the memory of Eldest Jiang, pork is sold for about a dozen copper coins a kilo, whole grain is a few copper coins a kilo.

    A silver coin or two are worth about a thousand dors.

    Of course, in view of the imperfection of the ancient market, people basically did not have any money in their hands these days, so the wages were generally very low. It was very kind of a host family to pay a long-term worker for one year¡¯s work five or six silver coins. Generally, they would only pay three or four silver coins and the rest was paid in copper money and grain.

    ¡°I have been a long-term worker for ten years, but I don¡¯t want much. Just give me 40 silver coins. In addition to farming, I have done a lot of work at home. You have to give me for that another five sacks of grain,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He didn¡¯t want to have anything more to do with the Jiang family in the future, and he didn¡¯t want to provide for old Butcher Jiang and his wife in their old age. Naturally, it would be impossible for Butcher Jiang to divide his family property equally, so he might as well draw a clear line and leave.

    Jiang Zhen sincerely didn¡¯t want much. He can only buy two mu of paddy field for 40 silver coins. People in Hexi Vige all thought he was very kind, but the Jiang family didn¡¯t seem to be very happy.

    They had thought of Jiang Zhen as a long-term free worker for the rest of their lives! How could they possibly let Jiang Zhen leave with 40 silver coins and five sacks of grain? 40 silver coins! Where do they get so much money?

    However, even if they don¡¯t want to see Jiang Zhen¡¯s face anymore, when they looked at Yang Jing in his grasp, they could onlypromise.

    ¡°Big Brother, we¡¯ll give you everything you want. Just let go of Brother Yang quickly!¡± Jiang Chengxiang agreed to Jiang Zhen directly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°You want to go back on it?¡± Jiang Chengxiang was surprised.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± said Jiang Zhen, ¡°but you wanted to hurt me this time. I must getpensation for it. On the west side of the vige, there is a thatched hut. It should also be given to me. In addition, you will renovate the thatched hut for me and clean it up! When you have made it livable for me, I¡¯ll let him go!¡± said Jiang Zhen, patting Yang Jing¡¯s face with his knife.

    Before, Jiang Zhen dared to live in the Jiang family house because the Jiang family didn¡¯t have the ability to kill him. Even if they wanted to poison him, they couldn¡¯t get the colorless and tasteless poison in order for him not to find out. But now, he had offended a yamen official, so he had to prevent others from plotting against him and couldn¡¯t live with the Jiang family any longer.

    Because of this, Jiang Zhen directly asked for the separation from the family. As for the Jiang family, let them make a house for him . . .

    He offended a lot of people, and in order not to affect Zhao Jinge, after the separation, he can¡¯t live in Zhao¡¯s¡¯ house immediately. He can only live alone for now.

    Thinking that his rtionship with Zhao Jinge might be forced into secrecy and the marriage would need to be postponed, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mood suddenly became even worse, and at the same time, he gave Jiang Chengxiang a sinister look.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s heart shook, and he became worried. The house in the west of the vige was really run-down. It will take a lot of time to clean it up. If Jiang Zhen doesn¡¯t let Yang Jing go during this period of time, he was afraid Yang Jing would suffer and hate him..

    But now, what can they do but listen to Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°Jiang Chengxiang, what are you still doing here? Go and get that house ready!¡± Yang Jing shouted. He still had a knife near his neck. The Jiang family needed to hurry up and get things done!

 Chapter 22 - The Jiang family raise money

    Chapter 22 ¨C The Jiang family raise money

    Jiang Zhen tied Yang Jing¡¯s upper body firmly with a rope and took Yang Jing into the kitchen. Then he ate the biggest meal since arriving to this world. After all, after so much trouble, he was hungry.

    Olddy Jiang had already prepared lunch a long time ago. It was probably because Jiang Chengxiang woulde back today and bring the yamen official back that she made it quite rich.

    A pot of delicious white rice was cooked in the big iron wok, and on top of the steamer rack was a bowl of bacon, a bowl of steamed eggs, a bowl of garlic, and uncooked green vegetable tofu next to it.

    Jiang Zhen ate an egg every day these days. At night, he and Zhao Jinge would eat some small fish and shrimps together, but they haven¡¯t eaten meat for many days. When he saw the bowl of bacon cut into thin slices and steamed, he smelled the aroma of meat and felt he could eat the whole pot of rice with bacon.

    With chopsticks, he stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth and immediately got a bowl of rice.

    Those little fish and shrimps that are boiled without oil and salt, they really don¡¯t taste good. Although he ate them every day for his own body¡¯s sake, he has been fed up with them for some time, but this bacon is different . . .

    With bacon, Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice in one breath before he reluctantly put the chopsticks down. Drinking porridge all year round, Eldest Jiang¡¯s stomach has shrunk, so he could have two more bowls of rice, but eating too much would affect his actions. So in the end, he endured it.

    Anyway, with the yamen officer in his hands, he didn¡¯t have to worry about not having enough to eat.

    During Jiang Zhen¡¯s meal, in the drying yard outside the Jiang house, the Jiang family were discussing with the vige head and some other vigers what to do next.

    All of them had the same ambition to not let the outside world know that Jiang Zhen had kidnapped a yamen officer, let alone report it to the other officials. If they angered Jiang Zhen, Jiang Zhen would make things even worse!

    In this case, they could only try their best to meet Jiang Zhen¡¯s conditions.

    ¡°Forty silver coins! Even if our family sell me we would not receive 40 silver coins!¡± Olddy Jiang sat on the ground crying for help. She really didn¡¯t want to pay.

    The Jiang family had a good life, and their family was well off, but 40 silver coins. . . they couldn¡¯t take it out at the moment.

    A few months ago, their family still had 60 silver coins, but Jiang Chengxiang took 30 for the bride price, and spent another 20 to buy all kinds of things in order to be able to marry decently. In this moment, olddy Jiang only had 7 or 8 silver coins in her hands.

    ¡°I still have some silver at home. I¡¯ll get itter. We need to gather enough money to give him anyway,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. After all, Yang Jing was still in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Third, how much money do you have?¡± Butcher Jiang asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much money in my hands, but Shufen does. I should be able to get 10 silver coins,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. His work pay in the county town was not low, and he received two silver coins every month, but he had only worked for two years in total, so he naturally hadn¡¯t saved much silver. When he married Zhu Shufen, the Zhu family originally set the bride price at 40 silver coins, but olddy Jiang was only willing to pay 30, so he had to pay the remaining 10 silver coins himself.

    In the end he had no money, but Zhu Shufen did.

    Butcher Jiang immediately became upset. ¡°You have only 10 silver coins. Your mother and your second brother are estimated to have 10 silver coins together. Where can we find 40 silver coins?¡±

    ¡°This knife killer is trying to kill us! How can you be paid for working for your own family?¡± When olddy Jiang heard Eldest Jiang expose his family, she cried even more. She didn¡¯t want to take money out at all.

    In the past, Jiang Chengxiang would certainly coax old Madam Jiang at this time, but today he was not in the mood at all.

    Bowing to the people around him, Jiang Chengxiang said, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, our family can¡¯t take out 40 silver coins at this moment. I wonder if we can borrow some from you?¡± When he discussed this matter publicly, he had already decided to borrow money from the people around him.

    All the people in the vige were here. If one family lent some, the other families would lend too. As long as they raised the money now, they would be able to repay itter.

    ¡°Chengxiang, I¡¯ll lend you five silver coins,¡± the vige head Jiang Ping said. ¡°I¡¯m just a farmer. There are still several little boys in my family. I can¡¯t take out any more.¡±

    If he was not the vige head, and if he was not scared that Eldest Jiang would kill the yamen officer, Jiang Ping would not take out five silver coins.

    Obviously, it was the Jiang family who was so bad to Eldest Jiang that they forced him to be a madman. How could they still be allowed to not take out the money?

    When Jiang Ping opened his mouth, several other Jiang family members more of less agreed to lend money. Most of them were willing to lend 2 or 3 silver coins, and a few ¨C only 1 or 2.

    In a short time, including the Jiang family¡¯s own 20 silver coins, they put together 37 or 38 silver coins.

    Those in the vige who had a good rtionship with the Jiang family were willing to lend money, but those who had a very general rtionship with them were unwilling to do so. Who knows how long it would take for the Jiang family to repay the money when they borrowed so much this time?

    However, even if they were unwilling to lend money, they were willing to contribute with something else. A viger who often went to work at the dock said, ¡°Jiang Chengxiang, my family is poor, and I don¡¯t have any money, but I have a lot of strength. That shabby thatched hut in the west of the vige ispletely uninhabitable. I am afraid you will need to rebuild the walls before moving in. I¡¯m good at it.¡±

    ¡°He takes money and still asks for the house. That bastard really has a thick face!¡± olddy Jiang cursed again.

    Thend in the west of the vige was neitherrge nor fertile. It was usually nted with vegetables and beans, and the thatched cottage had been uninhabitable for a long time. For the Jiang family, neither of these two things were worth anything, but even so, olddy Jiang was reluctant to give them to Jiang Zhen.

    In fact, Butcher Jiang was also reluctant, but he was really afraid of Jiang Zhen . . . With a sigh, Butcher Jiang took some people to the west of the vige to have a look. But before he could speak, he saw Jiang Zhen dragging Yang Jing out of the kitchen.

    ¡°If I had known that bastard would be so hateful I would have given birth to him in the toilet and drowned him in a basin of water!¡± Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t see Jiang Zhen, so she still scolded him, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he just die? His life is like a gue!¡±

    ¡°Stop talking!¡± Butcher Jiang shouted at olddy Jiang and looked at Jiang Zhen nervously.

    Jiang Zhen pulled Yang Jing and looked at the people outside with a smile. When olddy Jiang saw him, her voice stopped abruptly, as if she was being strangled.

    ¡°I remembered that the cottage was too dpidated, and it would take a lot of effort to renovate it. You¡¯d better build for me a new house next to it. There should be two big houses facing south, and there should be no shortage of iron pots in the thatched house facing north . . .¡± Jiang Zhen made a lot of demands, and finally said, ¡°You¡¯d better not try cutting corners. If you don¡¯t do a good job, I may have to cut off a few pieces of meat from this official.¡±

    After that, Jiang Zhen took a knife and made a few cuts on Yang Jing¡¯s face.

    Yang Jing, who had his face cut open by Jiang Zhen, which made his whole face bloody, looked extremely miserable and let people believe in Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    This evil star really dared to cut human flesh!

    ¡°Elder Brother, we will build the house for you. If you have something to say, just say it, but don¡¯t be impulsive . . . ,¡± Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly said and felt deep regret. If he had known that his eldest brother was such a man, he would not have offended him.

    ¡°If you want me to talk well, then hurry up and do something!¡± Jiang Zhen said coldly. ¡°By the way, my household registration, make an independent one for me. I don¡¯t want to have any rtionship with your family!¡±

    Seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s fierce appearance, Jiang Chengxiang subconsciously stepped back a few steps.

    Jiang Zhen was in a good mood when he looked at his doglike look. But when he looked up, he unexpectedly saw Zhao Jinge looking at him outside the crowd.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    He was going to tell his Jinge that he¡¯s actually a very reasonable person. Was it toote?

    Jiang Zhen was a little worried but soon his heart calmed down. Zhao Jinge looked at him worriedly without a trace of disgust or hate.

    He knew that his Jinge liked him very much and would not hate him.

    Jiang Zhen wanted tough. He coughed twice before he could contain hisughter. In the end, he didn¡¯t show a sinister expression anymore to frighten people; instead, he pushed the tied up Yang Jing into Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house and said to the people outside, ¡°I¡¯ll sleep for a while. You¡¯d better get things done for me quickly!¡±

    With that, Jiang Zhen mmed the door shut.

    Zhao Jinge looked at the closed door worriedly. Jiang Zhen, that guy actually stirred trouble with the yamen officer. Is he going to be ok?

    Zhao Jinge was working for the Zhao Dahu family as usual today, but when he was halfway through his work, he suddenly heard that something had happened to the Jiang family.

    What happened to the Jiang family? Will Jiang Zhen be alright? Even if he didn¡¯te to talk to him, he would always walk a fewps in front of him. At noon, Jiang Zhen, who would usuallye to call him for dinner, didn¡¯t even show his shadow today. Zhao Jinge could not help but worry.

    No longer in the mood to work, he informed the Zhao Dahu family and went back to the vige, only to see the doorway of the Jiang family surrounded by a lot of vigers.

    Before he could find out anything, Zhao Jinge saw Jiang Zhene out of the hall with a yamen officer, and it was the yamen officer who had suffered a lot . . .

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Zhao Jinge watched Jiang Zhen enter Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house and asked a ger who hade to see the excitement.

    ¡°It seems that the third brother Jiang brought a yamen officer back home and wanted to put the eldest Jiang in jail. As a result, the eldest Jiang caught the yamen officer.¡± The ger looked uneasily at Zhao Jinge, who was almost like a man, and sighed. ¡°What can be done now? There is a person who fought a yamen officer in our vige. Do you think those government officials, who wille to our vige, will collect more taxes in the future?¡±

    ¡°This eldest Jiang is too much. He not only fought against his father, mother, and brothers, he even started a fight against the yamen officer!¡± someone interrupted next to them.

    ¡°Yes, this man is too much! I don¡¯t think olddy Jiang is wrong either. He¡¯s really a jinx. No wonder olddy Jiang wanted to find a yamen officer to catch him,¡± someone whispered.

    ¡°Keep your voice down and don¡¯t let that evil star hear you!¡± someone whispered timidly.

    All of them lived together. Until now, none of them had been afraid of Jiang Zhen.

    People in the vige were worried about offending the people in the yamen and getting in trouble. But when Zhao Jinge heard their words, he was worried about Jiang Zhen and was disgusted with the Jiang family.

    What should he do now? Should he visit Jiang Zhen? Help him out a little bit?

    ¡°Jinge, what are you doing here? Come home with me.¡± Zhao Liu also came to see themotion. Unexpectedly, she saw her own son here. She took Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, took a few steps forward, and said, ¡°Eldest Jiang is crazy. He even fought with the yamen officer. Let¡¯s go back quickly, so we won¡¯t be caught in this trouble.¡±

    Zhao Jinge saw his mother¡¯s thin body tremble, so he stopped himself from walking toward Jiang Zhen and turned back.

    ¡°Jinge, don¡¯t go out with Eldest Jiang anymore and don¡¯t take his fish. We can¡¯t afford to offend such evil stars.¡± Zhao Liu dragged her son home. After walking for a long time, she said this to her son.

    My son has been very close to Eldest Jiang these days, but he can¡¯t do that anymore.

    ¡°Mother, he¡¯s not a bad guy.¡± Zhao Jinge could not help defending Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Mother saw it today. He can kill his own father. . . We can¡¯t afford to have such a person in our family. It¡¯s better to stay far away.¡± Then Zhao Liu added, ¡°And . . . no one in our vige likes him now.¡± They could never go against the vigers.

    Zhao Jinge moved his lips but remained silent. For the sake of his parents, he can¡¯t go to meet Jiang Zhen in the daytime. But. . . why not go over at night?

 Chapter 23 - Stockholm syndrome

    Chapter 23 ¨C Stockholm syndrome

    Jiang Zhen was taking a nap.

    He recently developed the habit of taking naps. He fell asleep soon after lying down, and he slept particrly soundly.

    Noticing this, Yang Jing, who was tied to a box by him, finally put his heart at ease. He could finally take a breath.

    Before that, everything was a nightmare for him. How could he be so unlucky as to provoke such an evil star?

    Yang Jing was no longer afraid, seeing Jiang Zhen sleeping so soundly. He inevitably raised his hopes up. He . . . Could he take this opportunity to escape?

    He really didn¡¯t want to stay with this man. He just wanted to run away and nevere back.

    As a yamen officer, Yang Jing often dealt with the viins in the county town and learned some skills from them, such as escaping from ropes . . . Of course, he was not particrly skilled.

    It took him nearly half an hour to free one of his hands. When Yang Jing finally untied the rope on his hand, Jiang Zhen was still asleep.

    As long as he could escape from this house, he could run away . . . Yang Jing slowly stood up and moved to the door . . .

    At the same moment, he suddenly felt a cold wind blow pass by his ear, then a cold light shed, making a bang sound, and a knife was stuck beside the hand he wanted to use to open the door.

    Looking at the sharp knife, Yang Jing trembled uncontrobly. He slowly turned his head to look at the bed in the room. Sure enough, he saw Jiang Zhen, who had been sleeping in the bed a moment ago, his eyes open, looking at him, grinning like a demon. ¡°Want to escape?¡±

    Yang Jing¡¯s legs turned soft, his body directly fell to the ground. It had not been easy to gather the courage to try to escape.

    He didn¡¯t dare to run; he would never try to run away again!

    If he ran again, the man would stick the knife in his head!

    Jiang Zhen, who revealed his unique skill of throwing knives, yawned and got up from the bed.

    He lookedzy, but when he walked to Yang Jing¡¯s side, he suddenly burst out, kicking Yang Jing directly to the ground and even kicking him several times in a row.

    There were three reasons why Jiang Zhen never showed mercy when he hit Yang Jing. One of the reasons was that Yang Jing was not a good man. On one asion, when Eldest Jiang went to deliver things to Jiang Chengxiang, he saw him extorting merchants and punching and kicking a farmer who went to the city to sell eggs.

    The second reason was that this man was round and fat, making him resistant to beating . . . In ancient times, the medical conditions were not good. Olddy Jiang, who he had kicked before, was thin, making him afraid that he would identally kill her, but there was no need to worry about identally killing Yang Jing.

    As for the third reason . . . After he beat this man so many times, he would certainly be afraid to cause him trouble in the future, but he would definitely try to cause trouble for the other members of the Jiang family.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy to make some trouble for the Jiang family.

    After leaving a lot of footprints on Yang Jing, Jiang Zhen pulled the knife off the door and patted Yang Jiang on the head. ¡°Be obedient, okay?¡±

    Yang Jing nodded repentantly.

    Jiang Zhen had enough sleep. He found a clean set of clothes and put them on. Then he kicked Yang Jing again. ¡°Stand up and go out with me.¡±

    Yang Jing¡¯s legs were so soft that he could not stand up after trying several times. Jiang Zhen frowned, lifted him up, and went to the patio of the Jiang family house.

    The Jiang family went to work, and the rest of the vigers didn¡¯t dare to wander in front of him. So now there was no one here . . . No, there were some people actually.

    ¡°Come out!¡± Jiang Zhen shouted towards the house.

    There was no movement in the house, and no one came out. Jiang Zhen became impatient. ¡°If you don¡¯te out, I¡¯ll kick down the door!¡±

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said this, someone came out of the room trembling. She called out with a pale little face, ¡°Big-Big Brother . . .¡±

    The person hiding in the house was Jiang Xiaomei. She thought that as long as she didn¡¯t make any noise, Jiang Zhen would not find her. Unexpectedly, she was still discovered by Jiang Zhen . . .

    Jiang Xiaomei lowered her head and trembled in fear of being hit by Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t hit her but said, ¡°Go boil water!¡±

    Hearing those words, Jiang Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief and hurried off to boil the water.

    Jiang Zhen knocked Yang Jing on the head with the back of his knife and let him lie in the corner. He found the fish he had traded for the hedgehog this morning and picked it up.

    He scraped off the scales with the knife, dug out the fish intestines, and chopped them into pieces . . .

    Seeing Jiang Zhen cutting fish with the knife, Yang Jing couldn¡¯t help lowering his head and hunching his shoulders in fear that Jiang Zhen would chop him off after cutting the fish.

    Jiang Xiaomei was also afraid. The water in the pot was boiling, but she didn¡¯t dare talk or move. She continued to add firewood to the stove.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with the attitude of these two. He stood up and went to Yang Jing¡¯s side, habitually kicking him again. Then he said, ¡°Get up and wash yourself!¡± Yang Jing had peed in his pants after being scared by him, which made him stink.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yang Jing nodded and became afraid again. This guy asked him to clean up. . . For what?

    Yang Jing usually ate and drank well. Although he was not a big, fat man, he was still very big, but at this moment, he would do anything to make himself look small.

    He hurriedly went to the kitchen to use hot water. He cleaned himself ording to Jiang Zhen¡¯s requirements, and at the same time, the more he washed himself, the more desperate he became.

    The evil star suddenly let him take a bath. He couldn¡¯t suddenly be so kind-hearted . . . Is it for the sake of skinning?

    Yang Jing was so scared that when Jiang Zhen gave him Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s clothes after he had washed, he had a sense of happiness that couldst him for a lifetime.

    Holding the clean clothes, Yang Jing was ttered and surprised to be allowed to wear them. Unconsciously, he felt a sense of gratitude.

    Even though he was not tied up, Yang Jing did not dare to run away. After taking a bath and getting dressed, he even obediently came after Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Go and wash your clothes!¡± Although Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know his thoughts, he didn¡¯t take it very seriously.

    Yang Jing immediately washed the clothes he had just taken off. He seldom washed his own clothes. Atst, after several pots of muddy water, he finished washing and clumsily hung up the clothes.

    ¡°Come here. I¡¯ll tie you up!¡± Jiang Zhen said after he saw he had finished cleaning himself up.

    Yang Jing obedientlye over and, without struggle, let Jiang Zhen tie him up.

    Yang Jing is really very obedient, making Jiang Zhen not hate him too much. He even said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you are obedient, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    As long as I obey, I don¡¯t have to die! Yang Jing looked at Jiang Zhen and felt grateful.

    Before, Jiang Zhen had not discovered Yang Jing¡¯s feelings of gratitude but now he got a hunch.

    He was either beating or scolding this man, but he was still looking at him gratefully. What was wrong with him?

    It seemed that there was such a phenomenon? What was it called . . . Stockholm syndrome?

    Humans could be tamed, raped, and might even develop feelings for the abuser . . . It seemed that there have been cases in which kidnapped people had helped their kidnappers in turn.

    Jiang Zhen had only heard about this condition, but now . . . looking at Yang Jing¡¯s clever performance, he suddenly found out that this man seemed to have this syndrome.

    This man was really mentally ill! But it was still a good thing for him. Instead of hating him, Yang Jing was grateful to him, and it was estimated that he would work harder to cause trouble for Jiang Chengxiang in the future.

    Jiang Zhen whistled and his mood became particrly good. Of course, he did not rx his vignce or change his attitude towards Yang Jing because of this.

    After tying up Yang Jing, Jiang Zhen asked Jiang Xiaomei to light a fire and began to cook the fish by himself.

    Today, he didn¡¯t have a chance to give Zhao Jinge fish, so he had to cook and eat it by himself . . .

    ¡°Little sister, do you remember? In the past when we cooked fish at home, I wasn¡¯t even allowed to have the fish heads to eat,¡± said Jiang Zhen suddenly. ¡°Atst, when you had finished eating, there was still some fish soup left. I took the mixed rice and wanted to eat it. But second brother unexpectedly took the rice to feed the cat. I could only go hungry . . . Oh, I¡¯m not even as good as a cat in this family.¡±

    Eldest Jiang really had no ce in this family. Even if his brothers and sister couldn¡¯t eat well, they would certainly be able to eat enough. What about him? He often only watched his younger brothers and sister eat and pick up the rice they had dropped on the ground.

    He lived with no dignity because no one had ever given him any dignity since he was a child.

    Jiang Xiaomei lowered her head and didn¡¯t dare to speak. She couldn¡¯t remember the specific situation Eldest Jiang just described, but even if there had not been a hundred of them, there were at least 80 simr situations in all these years.

    Old Madam Jiang hated Eldest Jiang very much. They didn¡¯t like him. In fact, she didn¡¯t like this big brother either.

    ¡°That¡¯s my father and mother and I put up with everything, but a few days ago, I already died once, so I decided not to bear it any longer.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled coldly. ¡°From now on, I am done with this family.¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei lowered her head again, but Yang Jing remembered what Jiang Chengxiang said about Eldest Jiang before.

    ording to Jiang Chengxiang, his eldest brother was so stupid, he couldn¡¯t even marry a wife, but ording to what he saw today . . . it was clear that the old people of the Jiang family were so biased that they forced Eldest Jiang to be like that.

    That damned Jiang Chengxiang, after driving his eldest brother crazy, he even pushed him into this firepit! Yang Jing hated Jiang Chengxiang even more. Jiang Zhen was satisfied to have a piece of fish to eat. The words he said were meant for Yang Jing.

    That night, Jiang Zhen ate half a fish and two bowls of rice and took the extra rice and the rest of the fish back to his room.

    The house he wanted couldn¡¯t be built well for a while, so he took Yang Jing back to his room and decided to stay with him for a few more days.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give Yang Jing dinner. At night, he slept on the bed, and Yang Jing was thrown in the corner by him. However, Yang Jing didn¡¯t show the slightest dissatisfaction.

    If Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t kill him, he would be grateful! Now he hated Jiang Chengxiang for being too slow to save him quickly!

    If Jiang Chengxiang, who was workingte at night, knew Yang Jing¡¯s thoughts, he would feel very aggrieved. He was busy all the time without the slightest dy!

    Jiang Zhen said that he would not let Yang Jing go until the house was built. People from Hexi Vige had been working hard, building the house since that afternoon.

    To build houses here, they needed to dig up several ditches first, hammer them with stone and mud so as to make a solid foundation, then put two boards, fill mud between the boards, and beat them constantly to make a mud wall.

    Although the wall was made of mud, it was very solid because of itspactness. It would not be damaged for hundreds of years and would still keep warm in winter and cool in summer.

    In fact, it took a lot of effort to hit the mud wall, but the whole vige was working together, making the speed so fast that the house had already taken shape.

    Zhao Jinge stared at the several walls and the busy people not too far away from his home for a long time. After making sure that his parents were asleep and no one noticed him, he turned around and disappeared in the night.

    He was going to find Jiang Zhen to see if he needed his help.

    Because of today¡¯s events, people in the vige said that Jiang Zhen was not easy to mess with. They all thought that Jiang Zhen turned into a madman, but he still thought that Jiang Zhen was not a bad person.

    If Jiang Zhen was really a bad person, how could he share half of his food with him whenever he got something to eat? He was only pushed too hard by the Jiang family.

    It was not long before Zhao Jinge came to the vicinity of the Jiang house. He went around the house and finally tapped on the window of Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house.

 Chapter 24.1 - Kissing secretly

    Chapter 24.1 ¨C Kissing secretly

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s experience in the special forces in his previous life had made him develop a particr skill. He could always fall asleep quickly and wake up immediately after there was movement.

    When he needed to, he could quickly fall in a deep sleep . . . Even if he didn¡¯t sleep for a few days, he would wake up refreshed after a short nap.

    He used this skill to aplish many tasks excellently, and now he woke up to the first knock on the window.

    But Yang Jing, who was thrown in the corner by him, was hungry, cold, and slept ufortably. He had no intention of waking up at all at that moment.

    Getting up from the bed, Jiang Zhen quickly went to the window and opened it.

    Zhao Jinge, who gently tapped on the window three times, was about to knock again when he saw that the window had just been opened. It was too dark for him to see the face of the man before him, but from the familiar scent, he knew it was Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°You . . .¡± Zhao Jinge wanted to ask Jiang Zhen if there was anything wrong, but before he could ask, Jiang Zhen reached out and covered his mouth.

    Feeling his mouth covered by Jiang Zhen¡¯s rough hand, Zhao Jinge blushed and forgot what he wanted to ask for a moment.

    ¡°Shhh . . .¡± Jiang Zhen asked Zhao Jinge to not make a sound and then he touched his face. He propped up the window and quietly went outside.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house was on the east side of the Jiang main house. When you look from the window facing east, you would see a small mulberry field. On the other side of the mulberry field resided another family. At that moment, the male master of that family was helping build Jiang Zhen¡¯s new house, and the female master had long gone to bed with her child.

    After Jiang Zhen jumped out of the window, he pulled Zhao Jinge into the mulberry field and walked north.

    The gate of the Jiang family house faced south, and there was a river not far from their gate. If you walked half a mile north from the gate, you would reach a pond. There was not much to see on this side of Hexi Vige except for the water in the river.

    The pond behind the Jiang family house was neither big nor deep. In it water bamboo and water chestnuts were nted and many trees grew around. Some of the trees had some of their roots stuck in the pond.

    Jiang Zhen pulled Zhao Jinge by the hand and lead him into a small bush formed by several trees.

    This was the favorite yground of the children from the vige during the daytime, but there was nothing but frogs at night.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you came to see me.¡± Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and couldn¡¯t help stroking it several times.

    He didn¡¯t feel that his actions were wrong, but he knew very well that, in the eyes of the vigers, he should not have done something like that to anyone but his partner.

    The culture of this ce was simr to that of ancient China. Many people had this idea that children were the property of their parents. Therefore, even if parents were no longer good to their children, they could only ept it and even had to remain filial.

    Compared to stories of filial piety, like burying their son in order to serve his mother, Eldest Jiang had a good life. At least, he had been raised, hadn¡¯t he?

    No matter how much people in the vige sympathized with him before, after what happened today, he was afraid that everyone would stay away from him . . . Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care what others thought of him, but he was a little afraid that Zhao Jinge would hate him.

    Fortunately, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy, but Zhao Jinge was now full of guilt. ¡°I . . . I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    He was worried for his parents, worried that the vigers would drive his family out, that the yamen officer would make trouble for his family. When Jiang Zhen was fighting against the whole vige, he only dared toe to see him at night . . . Zhao Jinge felt extremely ashamed.

    ¡°What do you have to feel sorry about?¡± Hearing Zhao Jinge¡¯s apology, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help butugh. He and Zhao Jinge really have to stay low during this ambiguous period. He just took his small hand. He couldn¡¯t let Zhao Jinge¡¯s family suffer because of him, could he?

    He was not afraid of being excluded or being taken revenge at, but it was impossible not to care about Zhao Jinge and his parents. And now, he had no ability to protect them at all.

    Zhao Jinge did not feel relieved at Jiang Zhen¡¯s words but felt even guiltier. The meaning expressed by Jiang Zhen a few days ago was obvious enough. Although he was embarrassed to respond and didn¡¯t say anything to Jiang Zhen, they actually had a tacit understanding. But now that Jiang Zhen was in trouble, he could not advance or retreat with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk with my parents. We can move away. . .¡± Zhao Jinge suddenly came up with a way.

    However, before he had finished speaking, he was gagged by something. . . But this time, it was not a hand, it was Jiang Zhen¡¯s mouth!

    Zhao Jinge was stunned. His whole person trembled lightly, and the trembling grew stronger and stronger.

    Jiang Zhen unexpectedly kissed him. How can Jiang Zhen kiss me!

    This can only be done after you get married. It¡¯s¡ªEven if you get married, you don¡¯t have to kiss!

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Jiang Zhen patted Zhao Jinge with worry. The kiss he gave him just now could be considered to be very pure. He didn¡¯t even put in his tongue, only their lips were touching. As a result, Zhao Jinge was so stiff, he (JZ) couldn¡¯t even think about using his tongue, and he was also shaking like this . . .

    Bing like this after just a little kiss, after entering the bridal chamber, Zhao Jinge would not just faint, would he?

    At that moment, Zhao Jinge finally regained his mind and also restrained his own subconscious trembling. He was always scared that, after growing old, he would never be close to anyone . . .

    What¡¯s more, Jiang Zhen agreed to move out?

    ¡°Jinge, you don¡¯t have to move. But for the time being, we can¡¯t let others know that we¡¯re together.¡± Jiang Zhen patted Zhao Jinge on the shoulder. In ancient times, xenophobia was very serious. Moving to another ce could make their situation even worse . . . What¡¯s more, Zhao Jinge¡¯s parents had lived here for most of their lives, and they certainly wouldn¡¯t want to move out.

    As an adult man, he couldn¡¯t let his wife go wandering around and suffer with him. Of course, if he had a few hundred silver coins, he would take them away immediately.

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge, who was kissed a while ago, was still in a trance.

    ¡°I beat the Jiang family and fought with a yamen officer today. They will definitely retaliate against me. I can stand up to them when I am alone, but I would be afraid If you were with me . . .¡± Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and kept petting it. ¡°I would be afraid that you and our parents would not livefortably.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen said the first sentence, Zhao Jinge listened carefully and agreed with him. As a result, when Jiang Zhen¡¯s mouth opened again, he said ¡°our parents.¡±

    Zhao Jinge be confused again.

    ¡°So it¡¯s better not to let other people know about our rtionship for the time being. But you can rest assured, in a few days, I can make sure no one will dare to bully the people around me,¡± said Jiang Zhen, but then added that he couldn¡¯t guarantee making a lot of money and doing great things in the future. But gathering several subordinates and bing a bully in the countryside, who no one will dare to bully, shouldn¡¯t be a problem, he thought.

    Zhao Jinge was motionless. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know if he had heard even one word he said.

    When Jiang Zhen saw this situation, he held Zhao Jinge¡¯s face and kissed him on the mouth again. He thought it was necessary for him to kiss Zhao Jinge more to make him get used to it. After all, every time he kissed and touched his wife, his wife stood stiff like wood, didn¡¯t he?

    Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge and said a lot of things before he let Zhao Jinge, who was obviously a little dizzy, go back. When the two separated, he also said, ¡°Rest assured, Jinge, I¡¯ll live very close to you in the future. Then we can see each other every day.¡±

    The Jiang¡¯s shabby house was half a mile away from the Zhao family¡¯s house, which was about 250 meters away, making it no problem for him to climb into Zhao Jinge¡¯s window every night.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t speak. He was dizzy at the moment and was even too confused to understand his own thoughts.

    Jiang Zhen not only didn¡¯t answer him but also molested him. It should make him angry, but in fact, he wasn¡¯t angry but a little happy.

    It seems a little shameless of him to think so . . . But he was just so happy.

    Zhao Jinge walked slowly, and it was not until he got near his home that he sobered up. He and Jiang Zhen. . . In the future, they should hide so that no one could see them together.

    He didn¡¯t want to do this in his selfish heart, but when he thought of his parents, he knew it was the only way for now.

    The Jiang family had many members and even more rtives. They couldn¡¯t take Jiang Zhen, and may even not dare to touch him, but his parents . . . In recent years, his father¡¯s health had been getting worse and worse, and his mother¡¯s health had never been good. If something happened to them because of his rtionship with Jiang Zhen, he would never be able to forgive himself.

    Zhao Jinge returned to his room andy down.

    He always used to fall asleep immediately, but right then, he stayed up all night.

 Chapter 24.2 - Kissing secretly

    Chapter 24.2 ¨C Kissing secretly

    Of course, Zhao Jinge was not the only one who didn¡¯t fall asleep that night. In fact, apart from Jiang Zhen and Jiang Yuan Wen, who was only two years old, most members of the Jiang family couldn¡¯t fall asleep.

    Jiang Chengxiang and Butcher Jiang were busy building a house for Jiang Zhen. Jiang Chengwen and Huang Min ware both distressed because of the silver. As for old Madam Jiang, she scolded Jiang Zhen directly at the ce where the house was being built.

    When the sun set down, all the people in the vige who helped build the house went home to sleep. However, the Jiang family got together again and discussed for a long time. In the end, they couldn¡¯t figure out what to do.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house was upied by Jiang Zhen. He could only go to the vige head Jiang Ping¡¯s house for half the night. Just after dawn, he went to the county town together with Jiang Ping.

    He was going to get money from Zhu Shufen and go to the yamen with Jiang Ping to separate Jiang Zhen¡¯s household registration from the Jiang family¡¯s and transfer thend ownership he had promised to give Jiang Zhen.

    From then on, Jiang Zhen would have nothing to do with the Jiang family.

    He wanted Jiang Zhen to obediently continue to work for the Jiang family. What was the result? After a round of trouble, he had not only lost his troops but also lost a battle, allowing Jiang Zhen to take money out of the house.

    Sitting on the boat and looking at Hecheng County in the morning light, Jiang Chengxiang was extremely bitter in his heart, but even so, when he got to this ce, he got off the boat and limped to work.

    With every step he took, the wound on his leg hurt, but even so, his heart hurt even more.

    * * *

    That night, Jiang Zhen slept very well. When he got up in the morning, he ate the leftover fish fromst night.

    Yang Jing, sitting beside Jiang Zhen, watched him eat and could only swallow his saliva.

    He had a good family background. He hadn¡¯t gone hungry since bing an adult, but now . . . Yesterday morning, after eating pancakes and fried dough sticks, he hadn¡¯t eaten anything until now. He had been hungry for a long time!

    Jiang Zhen knew that he must be hungry but still ignored him. Yang Jing was a strong man; it would be better to starve him for several meals to make him weaker.

    After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Zhen thought about Zhao Jinge, who he had just kissed twicest night. After thinking about it, Jiang Zhen said to Yang Jing, ¡°If you don¡¯t try to run away, I won¡¯t tie you up. How about it?¡±

    ¡°I will not try to escape!¡± said Yang Jing.

    ¡°I dare you to . . . If you dare to run away, I will chop you,¡± said Jiang Zhen. ¡°I¡¯m a good butcher. It¡¯s easier to cut off human balls, which are on the outside. The balls of pigs are notpletely exposed like human ones.¡±

    Yang Jing trembled, tightened his legs, and even said hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t untie me. I think it¡¯s very good to be tied up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good. I¡¯m going to take you out. It¡¯s not good to tie you up all the time,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He then shed towards Yang Jing with the knife.

    Yang Jing could only make an ¡°Ah!¡± sound, only to find that he wasn¡¯t hurt at all. The knife only cut the rope around his hands. Yang Jing¡¯s feelings towards Jiang Zhen once again changed a little.

    ¡°Go!¡± Jiang Zhen kicked Yang Jing in the leg, not noticing Yang Jing¡¯s change of mood at all. Of course, even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t care.

    Jiang Zhen took Yang Jing to see the construction of his house, only to find out that the walls of his house were built almost two meters high.

    This house was built in a square shape, but in the vige, there was no specific house type at all. However, the foundation was very solid, making it look very secure.

    Since it was the ancient times, Jiang Zhen was no longer picky, making him quite satisfied with the house. So he looked at his father standing next to him and said, ¡°When the house is built, make all the ingredients and iron pots ready for me. Move here the bed, furniture, and other things from Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house.¡±

    The vigers in Hexi Vige basically used iron pots in their homes. The ones with good family conditions would have tworge iron pots at home. One was used for cooking the main dish and the other was used for cooking the other dishes. In poorer families, there was only one iron pot at home. It was often necessary to prepare dishes in turn when cooking.

    The Jiang family has two iron pots, which were also considered one of the most important properties of the Jiang family. Jiang Zhen asked for one directly as well as all of Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house furniture in one breath.

    ¡°You . . .¡± Butcher Jiang was very reluctant, but when he saw Jiang Zhen ying with the knife, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    Olddy Jiang, who scolded him before, was too afraid to say or do anything upon seeing Jiang Zhen. She could only look at him angrily with a head of chopped hair that could no longer be tied up.

    ¡°What are you staring at? Why don¡¯t you get to work?¡± Yang Jing was no longer tied up but was still afraid to make any move and followed Jiang Zhen. When he saw the dissatisfied sight of the olddy Jiang, he couldn¡¯t help shouting, looking very fierce.

    Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t understand why the official invited by her little son would yell at her, but she was currently afraid to fight against her own family and she didn¡¯t dare fight against an outsider, so after being scolded, she didn¡¯t dare to refute him.

    As for the rest of the vigers . . . they looked at Jiang Zhen in awe. The yamen officer actually listened to him. How fierce was Jiang Zhen?

    Those who didn¡¯t see Butcher Jiang and Chengxiang being stabbed by Jiang Zhen yesterday became afraid of him. From viger to viger ordingly, Jiang Zhen¡¯s image increasingly became more ferocious.

 Chapter 25 - The house is built

    Chapter 25 ¨C The house is built

    Jiang Zhen came out to see his new house, but his true intention was to meet Zhao Jinge.

    However, Zhao Jinge went to work at Zhao Dahu¡¯s family house early in the morning. In the end, he didn¡¯t get to see anyone at all, not even Zhao father or mother.

    Zhao Fugui went out to work early like Zhao Jinge, as for Zhao Liu, she was too afraid toe out. She closed the house door and never left her house.

    Touching his nose, Jiang Zhen felt a bit awkward, then he thought, For the vigers, I¡¯m afraid I have already be almost like a monster.

    It¡¯s reasonable to say that when so many people were gathering to build houses, the women in the vige woulde to have a chat, and the children woulde to y, but in fact, this time . . . Jiang Zhen never saw a child or a woman around when he came here.

    Even the men who worked here, when he came, all of them worked harder and didn¡¯t dare say even a word.

    These people worked so hard that he might even be able to move in to his new house tomorrow . . . Thinking of this, Jiang Zhen asked Jiang Quan, the eldest son of the vige head, who was arranging for others to do things not far away, ¡°When can I live in this house?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow. You will be able to live there tomorrow,¡± asked by Jiang Zhen, Jiang Quan hurriedly replied. Seeing that Jiang Zhen¡¯s face was not good, he quickly changed his words, ¡°We¡¯ll work harder. You may even be able to start living here tonight.¡±

    ¡°Well, just get it ready for me for tomorrow. Where¡¯s your father?¡± asked Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°My father went to the yamen to get your household registration.¡± Jiang Quan did not dare hide it from Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I see. Bring it to me as soon as it¡¯s ready,¡± Jiang Zhen said and then waved at Jiang Quan, allowing him to leave. He was still penniless and dressed in other people¡¯s clothes, but that attitude . . . it was just like that of the Jiang family members towards him before.

    Jiang Quan didn¡¯t even think there was anything wrong with it. People in their vige were now afraid of Jiang Zhen. After Jiang Quan left Jiang Zhen¡¯s side, there was even a man beating at the mud wall who pulled Jiang Quan to ask, ¡°I want to take a piss, can I go? This way, Jiang Zhen won¡¯te to hit me, will he?¡±

    After Jiang Zhen came, they all wanted to run away, but they were afraid that Jiang Zhen would make trouble for them, so in the end, they didn¡¯t dare to run and had to stay and continue working.

    Fear is contagious. When a group of people get together, they do not be bolder but, instead, more afraid.

    Under Jiang Zhen¡¯s supervision the house was built very quickly. By lunchtime, several walls had already been put up.

    When the walls were finished, the next step was to frame the doors and windows, and then put the beams in order to make the roof.

    At this time, there was another problem.

    When people in the countryside build houses, they must prepare the wooden beams, doors, and windows as early as possible, but the Jiang family never intended to build a house for Eldest Jiang. The houses for Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang had already been built, so naturally, they couldn¡¯te up with the wood needed for building a house.

    What about someone else? Although some people in the vige had prepared all these things, they had to build their own houses, so they were naturally reluctant to give them to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Quan, who was in charge of building the house, could not get the wood he needed from Butcher Jiang, so he could only look at Jiang Zhen in embarrassment.

    Jiang Zhen had already moved a chair and sat down. At that time, he sneered. ¡°If the house is not built, it will not be built. It doesn¡¯t matter if I continue to live in Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house when the people from the yamene to find me.¡± Saying that, Jiang Zhen kicked Yang Jing, who was standing beside him, again.

    Butcher Jiang used to dislike his eldest son because he could not handle his own affairs and didn¡¯t speak. But at that moment, he felt that his then silent son was actually quite good.

    All the people from the vige who came to help looked at Butcher Jiang, and some of them even med him. If the yamen officer didn¡¯t return quickly, would the people from the city arrest them all? Butcher Jiang, why don¡¯t you know how to get things done quickly?

    Butcher Jiang ground his teeth and could only limp around, asking the vige people if they had suitable wood. He was willing to pay for several pieces.

    Worrying about Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge went home especially at noon and was just in time to hear Butcher Jiang asking if anyone had wood suitable for making beams at home.

    Zhao Jinge subconsciously said, ¡°I have . . .¡± His brother was already sixteen when he died and his family was preparing to build a house for him, so they saved some wood. His father also gathered many stones and piled them behind their house.

    Later, when his eldest brother had an ident and his family be poor, they also had the idea of selling the wood. However, every family could cut trees and prepare the wood themselves. Because they could not sell the wood for money, they could only keep it at home.

    In the end, Butcher Jiang bought wood from the Zhao family. Zhao Jinge helped him move it piece by piece. When he came to the ce where Jiang Zhen¡¯s house was being built, his eyes drifted to Jiang Zhen.

    He had been looking at Jiang Zhen, but when his gaze really met Jiang Zhen¡¯s, he immediately rushed to lower his head.

    Many people in the vige were like Zhao Jinge, so no one thought his behavior was strange. A man who had a good rtionship with Zhao Jinge said, ¡°Jinge, you think Jiang Zhen is terrible too, right? Luckily, I haven¡¯t bullied him before.¡±

    Zhao Jinge answered vaguely with his head lowered silently. He was not afraid of Jiang Zhen. But after seeing Jiang Zhen, he couldn¡¯t help thinking about what happenedst night, making the blood rush to his face.

    He could not bear to see Jiang Zhen at the moment.

    As soon as Zhao Jinge finished moving the wood, little sister Jiang came and said timidly, ¡°Can . . . You can eat.¡±

    ¡°Food is ready?¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at Jiang Xiaomei then shouted to the people present, ¡°All of you, follow me to eat, and eat enough to fill your stomachs. No need to be polite.¡±

    When he finished speaking, he also nced around the circle of people. ¡°Who dares not to go . . .¡± Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t finish this sentence, but the threat in his eyes was clearer than ever.

    Others only thought that Jiang Zhen wants everyone to eat more of the Jiang family¡¯s food. Only Zhao Jinge, who was about to leave, was moved. Was this Jiang Zhen¡¯s way to have dinner with him?

    These days, Jiang Zhen has been telling him that he couldn¡¯t go hungry and always brought him food. Although they couldn¡¯t talk right now, Jiang Zhen still remembered to take care of him.

    Zhao Jinge felt warm in his heart, but the people around him didn¡¯t think much about it. They put down all the different tools in their hands and followed Jiang Zhen to the Jiang family house. Some people didn¡¯t even dare to go to the toilet, afraid that Jiang Zhen would think they were leaving.

    He was a guy who even dared to beat a yamen officer, and the same official who used to be so powerful now didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound in front of Jiang Zhen.

    The party soon arrived at the Jiang family house where three tables had been set up, which olddy Jiang borrowed from her neighbors.

    When someone in the vige wanted to build a house, everyone else would help. There was no need to pay for it, but they must make sure that they could eat their fill. . . Chicken, duck, and pork might not be served, but there must be at least two bowls of fish and eggs while the vegetables couldn¡¯t just be boiled but must be stir-fried in oil.

    However, olddy Jiang only prepared pickled vegetables soup, boiled cauliflowers and vegetables; these vegetarian dishes unexpectedly did not even have tofu.

    Olddy Jiang was a face-saving person. In the past, even if she was stingy, she did well on such a big event. But today, not only did the family have to give all their money to Jiang Zhen, but they also needed to borrow a lot from other families. How could olddy Jiang be willing to spend money to buy fish and eggs in this situation?

    Everyone in the vige knew about the Jiang family¡¯s situation, so they didn¡¯t say anything. Jiang Zhen sneered, ¡°You¡¯re going to give me these?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left at home,¡± old Madam Jiang said.

    ¡°That¡¯s your business. I want to eat meat!¡± Jiang Zhen said, holding the waist knife belonging to Yang Jing and pointing it directly at him.

    This knife didn¡¯t even touch Yang Jing, but it still made him stumble.

    Realizing that if he did notply with the evil star¡¯s wishes, he would suffer, Yang Jing didn¡¯t hesitate to shout at olddy Jiang, ¡°Old woman, bring meat quickly!¡±

    Olddy Jiang was startled by Yang Jing and rushed to cook. She had no ce to buy fresh meat at the moment, but there was some bacon at home.

    Not long after, olddy Jiang brought up a bowl of bacon and scrambled eggs.

    Sure enough, he had to force the Jiang family . . . The fried eggs with bacon were very fragrant. Jiang Zhen wanted to give Zhao Jinge some of them, but he also knew he couldn¡¯t do it in front of everyone. Not able to give them to Zhao Jinge, he took a big bite.

    Yang Jing stood beside him swallowing, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t speak, so he didn¡¯t dare open his mouth to eat. He just felt that he was going to faint from hunger.

    Yang Jing, the government official, stood there unable to eat, which made the vigers tremble and feel scared.

    Noticing this, Jiang Zhen took a bowl of boiled cauliflower to Yang Jing. ¡°You eat this!¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give him a proper meal, but Yang Jing was already satisfied with the bowl of boiled cauliflower. He even felt that that bowl of cauliflower, which was short of oil and salt, was the best one he had ever eaten . . . He was really hungry.

    Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice then took the rest of the eggs and fried bacon back to the room. He was ready to take a nap.

    Before taking a nap, he carefully put the fried eggs into his bamboo tube.

    Yang Jing saw this scene, but he didn¡¯t know what Jiang Zhen was going to do, and he didn¡¯t dare to ask. He could only shrink in the corner of the room, holding his stomach and remaining silent.

    A bowl of boiled cauliflower was not enough; he was still hungry now. Fortunately, the house would be built soon . . .

    After swallowing down his saliva, Yang Jiang suddenly missed his wife.

    When his wife got married to him, he found she was not beautiful but not ugly either. However, she became fat after giving birth to two children. She always asked people around him to not let him gamble and drink. Gradually, he became more and more annoyed with her and didn¡¯t even want to go home. He didn¡¯tck food or drink outside, and he had good friends, not to mention howfortable life was. What was the point of going home?

    But now, Yang Jing became homesick.

    Although his wife was fat, she cooked very delicious food. His two children were also very clever and his parents treated him well . . .

    If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Zhen¡¯s threat to kill his family, he wouldn¡¯t have remembered the good times with his family, and the more he remembered them, the more homesick he became.

    To tell the truth, his wife was very devoted to him. If she knew that he was suffering here, she would surely find a way to save him. As for his lover, he was not the only lover of the little widow. She may not even remember him.

    And his two children . . .

    Yang Jing had never cared about his two children before and knew nothing about their daily lives, but now, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder at Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude towards his own parents.

    If his two children were not raised well and became someone like Jiang Zhen, what would he do when he became old?

    Even if they do not be like Jiang Zhen, but like himself. . . Yang Jing suddenly remembered that, after he became a yamen officer, he had never taken money home.

    He was suddenly ashamed.

    Next time he had money, he must take it home and teach his two children well . . . Of course, the most important thing was to let his wife make him a pot of braised pork coupled with delicious white rice to eat two bowls!

    Yang Jing swallowed again.

    At this time, Jiang Chengxiang finally returned home from town.

    Exhausted, he entered the house and dejectedly sat down on a chair.

    When he and Jiang Ping went to the county town to help Jiang Zhen with his household registration, they didn¡¯t encounter any trouble. Because of the corv¨¦e and military service, they were all based on the same household registration, so in the yamen, they were eager to help them separate the households. But when he went to his house to get money, he got in a huge fight with his wife.

    Zhu Shufen refused to give him money and kept crying. He tried talking and begging her for a long time, but she remained unmoved . . . Later, he was really helpless. He cruelly robbed Zhu Shufen¡¯s ten silver coins from the bottom of her box.

    Zhu Shufen be furious. Before he returned home, she already packed up and went back to her family house.

    There were a lot of things on his side . . . Jiang Chengxiang had a headache.

    Forget it. There was no use thinking about it anymore. He¡¯d better settle Jiang Zhen¡¯s problem first and then go get Zhu Shufen back.

    After taking a nap, Jiang Zhen went to the ce where the house was being built and stared at it. By the time he had dinner, his house had almost been built, but it was still empty. The stove had not yet been built, and there was no furniture.

    Jiang Zhen was still very satisfied with this progress. What¡¯s more, Zhao Jinge, who came back from working in Zhao Dahu¡¯s home, also came to help and wandered in front of him for a long time.

    Unfortunately, before dinner, Zhao Jinge made an excuse and went home to cut firewood, so he would not go with the others to the Jiang family for a meal.

    However, he was sure that Zhao Jinge would stille to see him tonight . . .

 Chapter 26 - The county town receives the younger brother

    Chapter 26 ¨C The county town receives the younger brother

    That night, probably due to hunger, Yang Jing had been unable to sleep, tossing and turning . . .

    Jiang Zhen was tired of it. He went to him in a few steps and immediately knocked him unconscious, then tied him up again.

    Before, Yang Jing was able to break free from the rope he had tied, because he had tied it carelessly, deliberately giving him a chance to escape in order to intimidate him. But now . . .

    Jiang Zhen tied Yang Jing in such a knot, that even if the person who taught Yang Jing how to untie ropes came in person, he would not be able to untie it.

    After all this, Jiang Zhen got out through the window, nning to wait outside for Zhao Jinge.

    He had left some fried bacon meat and eggs for Zhao Jinge and was waiting to feed him.

    As soon as he got out, Jiang Zhen saw a man standing motionless not far away. Who was it if not Zhao Jinge? He didn¡¯t know how long he had been standing outside.

    This shy man dared toe to find him on his own ord? Jiang Zhen felt amused. He pulled the man towards the pond area again, cradled Zhao Jinge¡¯s face with his hands, and kissed him on the mouth. ¡°I knew you woulde to me.¡±

    Zhao Jinge, with a wooden expression, didn¡¯t speak. At this time, he clearly felt that there was a kind of heating from the ce Jiang Zhen had just kissed, which eventually spread all over his body, so that he did not want to move.

    No, there was still a ce that wanted to move . . . Feeling that the thing in his crotch was ready to move, Zhao Jinge felt so ashamed that he just wanted to jump into the pond to drown himself.

    He . . . So that¡¯s it?

    If his parents knew he was seeing someone in the middle of the night, it would still be like this . . .

    Zhao Jinge sat motionless beside Jiang Zhen; his thoughts drifted away until he smelled fried bacon.

    ¡°Come on. Have some scrambled eggs with the meat.¡± Jiang Zhen put a chopstick of eggs into Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth and then gave him another mouthful of rice.

    Zhao Jinge slowly ate it and put his heart at ease.

    Jiang Zhen should be with him wholeheartedly. In that case, it was okay for the two of them to be close to each other. They would eventually get married in the future.

    The next day, under Jiang Zhen¡¯smand, all the furniture in Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house was moved to his new house along with arge iron pot and pots and pans from the Jiang family.

    With just a little tidying up to do, the new house was ready to be moved in . . .

    Jiang Zhen guided Yang Jing to look around his house with the knife and then took the vigers who had helped with the building of the house back to the Jiang family¡¯s home for lunch.

    After lunch, Jiang Zhen stretched out his hand to Jiang Chengxiang and said, ¡°The silver and the document, are they ready?¡±

    ¡°This is the household registration document, the silver . . .¡± Jiang Chengxiang looked at old Madam Jiang, who kept the money.

    ¡°Here.¡± Olddy Jiang took out a bag of silver.

    Jiang Zhen weighed the money bag in his hand and said to Jiang Chengwen, ¡°Bring me a scale and weigh it!¡±

    Jiang Chengwen, who had been standing far away, did not expect to be chosen by Jiang Zhen. He felt he was unlucky but did not dare to disobey. He quickly brought back a scale.

    Many people in the countryside had scales at home, but scales were made from stone, so there was some deviation when weighing things.

    The scale in the Jiang family house, when weighing things, would show a weight a little heavier than the actual weight. As a result, the bag of silver that should weigh no less than forty, weighed only thirty-nine.

    Jiang Zhen looked calmly at old Madam Jiang.

    ¡°There¡¯s only 38 silver in the family, there is not even a penny left.¡± Olddy Jiang shivered. After seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s sudden violent behavior, the calmer his expression was, the more frightened she became. She regretted herck of money. She didn¡¯t want to give him forty silver, so in the end, she only gave him a little more than thirty-seven silver, which wasn¡¯t obvious. Who would have thought that Jiang Zhen would want to weigh it?

    ¡°No more silver at home?¡± Jiang Zhen still had that pleasant-looking expression.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no more silver at home.¡± Old Madam Jiang could only maintain her stance.

    ¡°Well then, I won¡¯t force you to lend more money,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    When olddy Jiang heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, her face immediately brightened. Is this evil star really not going to investigate? It was an unexpected surprise to her that she could save three silver.

    Jiang Zhen put the bag of silver into the sack he had already prepared a long time ago and suddenly walked towards the house.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± old Madam Jiang asked, surprised.

    Jiang Zhen had already answered old Madam Jiang¡¯s question with actions. After he rushed in, he grabbed a pig and dragged it out by its ears.

    The pig squealed in bursts; its four hooves were fixed on the ground. It refused to move, but in the end, it could not withstand Jiang Zhen¡¯s strength and was dragged out by him.

    The Jiang family raised three pigs, and Jiang Zhen had coveted them for a long time.

    He didn¡¯t think about killing these three pigs before because he felt that he wasn¡¯t the eldest brother Jiang who had been beaten by the Jiang family. It was not easy for him to take this and that from the Jiang family. But now . . . he can finally kill a pig and eat pork!

    ¡°What are you trying to do? Stop it!¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen dragging a pig, olddy Jiang shouted in panic.

    ¡°Little sister, go get a bucket for the pig blood!¡± Jiang Zhen said to Xiaomei Jiang and ignored olddy Jiang. Originally, he certainly didn¡¯t care about a little bit of pig blood, but recently, he hadn¡¯t had any meat to eat, which made him reluctant to waste even pig blood.

    Jiang Xiaomei stood still and didn¡¯t dare to move. Atst, Butcher Jiang kicked her and said, ¡°Go get the bucket!¡±

    ¡°Boil some water by the way!¡± Jiang Zhen ordered again, then he pressed the pig to the ground, stepped on it with his feet, and said to the vigers around him, ¡°I want to kill a pig and sell pork. You¡¯d better not go away. . . Of course, you can go home to get money.¡±

    Jiang Zhen spoke in a calm voice, but his momentum and the struggling pig under his feet made him look particrly ferocious.

    People who originally wanted to go back didn¡¯t dare to go right then. Of course, some people went home to get money.

    Jiang Zhen smiled and said to Jiang Chengxiang, ¡°Go and fetch a bench!¡±

    The ancient pig had no fodder, and it was often fed grass, so it was light. The Jiang family¡¯s pig was already fattened, but it only weighed about a hundred kilos. He estimated that he could get 70¨C80 kilos of pork after clean up.

    Such a small pig, Jiang Zhen could naturally press it down to death. But even if he could do it, the rest of the vigers couldn¡¯t. Seeing the pig under his feet struggling and screaming but still unable to escape, they all unconsciously took a step back.

    After Jiang Chengxiang moved several stools together, Jiang Zhen picked up the pig and pressed it against the stool. By that time, Jiang Xiaomei, who had seen Butcher Jiang kill a pig before, had ced the bucket under the pig¡¯s neck in order to collect its blood.

    Jiang Zhen stabbed the knife into the pig¡¯s neck. As soon as the handle of the knife turned and cut the pig¡¯s throat, the pig suddenly lost its breath, twitching. Blood gushed out of its throat.

    When he did this, he deliberately let go of his forceful aura and smiled deliberately. This smile was learned from a perverted killer; it was full of satisfaction and enjoyment. There was nothing to look at, but it was creepy to smile with a butcher knife in hand.

    The people around were really scared. Butcher Jiang used to kill pigs in the same manner. Everyone saw that he had never been afraid of killing pigs, but for some reason, when Jiang Zhen killed the pig just now, he made their hairs stand on end and terrified them.

    Jiang Zhen was in a good mood at that moment. When the pig¡¯s blood flowed out, he threw the pig on the ground and suddenly thought that if he had nothing to do, for the time being, he could actually kill pigs . . .

    Eldest Jiang had the skill for killing pigs, which he inherited from his memories. I think that killing pigs is very simple. He had even killed people before, so it was not like he was unable to kill pigs.

    Next was . . . to soak the pig in hot water for a while in order to scrape off the pig¡¯s hair. When the pig¡¯s hair was scraped clean, he needed to open its stomach in order to take out the intestines and then deal with its internal organs.

    There was no technical content in those things. Jiang Zhen skillfully scraped off the pig¡¯s hair with a piece of mshell and then turned his attention to the intestines in the pig¡¯s stomach.

    He was toozy to wash the pig¡¯s intestines, so he only cut off the heart, lungs, liver and stomach, then took out the machete to cut the pig, and divided it into two parts.

    When killing pigs, Jiang Zhen was actually on guard, for fear that someone would attack him at the first opportunity, but at the moment, it was obvious that he was thinking too much . . .

    They did not dare fight him at all, so he butchered the pig in peace.

    The whole pig had been divided into two parts. Jiang Zhen divided each half into three pieces: front legs, torso, and back legs.

    What he did was what Butcher Jiang had done for many years, but his de was unswerving as it cut and his face was still smiling, which made people tremble.

    Although Yang Jiang was released by Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t dare to run away and stayed in ce. Every time Jiang Zhen shed with the knife, his head could not help but duck. For a moment, he was extremely d that he had not provoked Jiang Zhen. At least, he was able to leave the Jiang family house in one piece.

    ¡°Twenty copper pennies for a kilo of pork. Do you want it?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the vigers he had ignored.

    Jiang Zhen looked like he would cut them if they didn¡¯t buy, but everyone was afraid to be the first one to buy.

    In the end, Jiang Ping, the vige head, clenched his teeth and walked forward in the spirit of self-sacrifice. ¡°I¡¯ll buy five kilos.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Zhen cut off the front leg of the pig and removed the big bones from the meat. Then he went with a knife, and after estimating he had cut 5 kilos of meat, he weighed it. ¡°Four and a half kilos. Ny copper pennies!¡±

    There was a butcher in the county town who sold pork every day. He would sell it more expensively on New Year¡¯s day, but usually, he would sell it a little cheaper.

    It¡¯s a normal day. When Jiang Zhen started selling pork at 20 copper pennies per kilo, the vige people felt that it was expensive, especially as they were being forced to buy, making them even more reluctant.

    As a result, when Jiang Zhen sold the pork, he even removed the bones from the meat. That is to say, what he sold was pure pork meat!

    After Jiang Ping, others came forward to buy meat one after another, and the reluctance in their hearts disappeared without a trace.

    Butcher Jiang looked at this scene with a ck face. The pig was so big that he wanted to buy better silkworm eggs from the profits he would have gotten from it. But the result was . . .

    Jiang Zhen soon sold most of the pork. Because he didn¡¯t open his mouth to say he would allow the people around him to leave, those who bought the pork didn¡¯t dare to leave.

    ¡°I¡¯m not selling it.¡± All of a sudden, Jiang Zhen said this. There remained only about ten kilos of meat, bones, and internal organs. He didn¡¯t want to sell it but put them all in a big wooden bucket, waiting to take it home to eat.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t want the intestines.

    Hexi vigers always eat the pig intestines. With theck of food and clothing in ancient times, no one was willing to throw away the oily pig intestines, but this thing was very troublesome to clean, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want it.

    After packing up what he wanted, Jiang Zhen looked at the butcher and said, ¡°This pig didn¡¯t get me two silver, so I also want the eggying chicken at home and other food. Please send it to me as soon as possible.¡±

    In addition to the forty silver, Jiang Zhen had asked for five sacks of grain.

    Five sacks were six hundred kilos. These days, people rarely have the opportunity to eat fats and protein, and they had to do physical work. They ate a lot of food; it was absolutely no problem for an adult to eat two or three kilos of grain a day, but with 600 kilos of food, Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t have to worry about starving for a long time.

    ¡°It¡¯s spring. Where will you get the five sacks of grain from home?¡± Butcher Jiang was so busy gathering money that he forgot about it.

    If there had been no special circumstances, country people were not willing to sell the newly beaten grain after paying the full tax, but they would sell thest year¡¯s grain when there was a surplus and the family had enough food.

    The Jiang family had a lot ofnd, so every year, after the grain in the field had been collected, the harvested grain from the previous year would be sold. So Jiang Zhen knew very well that the Jiang family would certainly be able toe up with five sacks of grain.

    But at the moment, he was toozy to talk to Butcher Jiang . . .

    With a big knife for cutting meat, he went directly to the granary, which was built behind the house. After a few shes with the knife, Jiang Zhen directly opened the granary. ¡°Are you sure there is no grain I want in there?¡±

    After doing this, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have much to say. He went to his new home with a bucket of pork. By the way, he took away all the knives that Butcher Jiang used to kill pigs and cut meat.

    The heavy bone machete was not cheap. The butcher and olddy Jiang were bound to be distressed again.

    But no matter how distressed they were, they didn¡¯t dare to ask for the knives back. They even sent to him five sacks of grain and the chicken that cany eggs that same day.

    Having learned from the past lessons, this time, they didn¡¯t dare to be short on the weight for fear of Jiang Zhen going back and robbing them of the remaining two piglets.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with this and did not look for trouble after collecting the things he demanded. After several days of struggling, he didn¡¯t want to continue struggling.

    Finally, he was separated from this family. Now he could live his own life . . .

 Chapter 27.1 - Climbing the wall in the middle of the night

    Chapter 27.1 ¨C Climbing the wall in the middle of the night

    After he left the Jiang family house with his household registration document and went to the newly built house, the emotion left by Eldest Jiang that had been lingering in Jiang Zhen¡¯s chest disappeared.

    Before, even if this emotion did not affect Jiang Zhen, it still weighed heavily on his heart, but now, Jiang Zhen no longer felt its existence.

    I¡¯m afraid Eldest Jiang has disappearedpletely. Thinking of this, Jiang Zhen was somewhat disappointed. He had gotten Eldest Jiang¡¯s body and memory and was able to live in the ancient times, but Eldest Jiang . . . The man who never had a good life was dead.

    Jiang Zhen sympathized with Eldest Jiang, but he only did so for a short time. He still had a lot of work to do.

    Building houses in the countryside didn¡¯t need bricks or tiles. They all had earthen walls with beams within them, and then bamboo and thatch were used to make the roof. It could be built very quickly. Jiang Zhen¡¯s house was built even faster with the help of the whole vige. Although it was built, it was still not suitable for living.

    There were no blue bricks or te on the ground. An all mud house was already very wet and the newly built mud wall had increased the moisture and humidity by a level. The house was still missing a lot of things.

    Jiang Zhen first prepared a room to store food. Then he shut the chicken he got from the Jiang family in a broken-down thatched hut that had not been torn down, threw a handful of corn at it, and began to unpack his own house.

    Probably in order to build the house for him as soon as possible, the vigers did not add a chimney in the house since it needed a certain amount of skill to build, and the mud stove built for him to cook was very crude. It looked like a circle that can set up a pot, but at least it worked because it¡¯s short and he didn¡¯t have to worry about burning the hut with it.

    From the thatched cottage, he brought back some straw and mulberry sticks and put them into the mud stove to light it, dispelling the moisture in the house and drying the mud stove at the same time. Jiang Zhen thought about it and lit fires all over the house.

    All the doors and windows were open. After the small fires were ignited, the moisture on the surface of the house almost dissipated, and as for the moisture in the mud wall, it did not matter at the moment.

    In fact, the furniture moved from Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s house was not much. Jiang Zhen sorted it out before putting it in the house. Then he found out that he stillcked a lot of things.

    There are tables and chairs in every household. He doesn¡¯t have any right now and stillcks a lot of daily necessities. . . Looks like he will need to go to the county town tomorrow.

    After cleaning up the house, Jiang Zhen went to rebuild the hut behind the house.

    The old hut had a special room, but the toilet in the new house . . . The vigers had just casually dug a hole!

    Jiang Zhen was a little intolerant of such a simple solution, so he nned to change it, or at least he had to dig a passage on the floor leading to the outside and a cesspool, so that his own toilet in the house would not smell.

    Jiang Zhen, who took a nap every day in the past few days, skipped it for the first time. He was in a good mood while digging a pit and humming a song. However, while he was in a good mood, the Jiang family were in a bad mood.

    With so much silver and grain taken away at once, even if the Jiang family was still rich, it would probably take at least two years to recover.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t that bastard just die by a thousand knife cuts?¡± olddy Jiang scolded Jiang Zhen as she rubbed the pig¡¯srge intestines with salt.

    After Jiang Zhen killed the pig, he didn¡¯t leave them even a piece of meat. All he left was a mess, a pile of pig intestines and half a bucket of pig blood. These were good things. Naturally, olddy Jiang was reluctant to throw them away, so she cursed others as she dealt with them.

    Jiang Xiaomei listened silently to old Madam Jiang scolding Jiang Zhen.

    Before, she was very afraid of Jiang Zhen, but now that Jiang Zhen left, looking back, she only found out that Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t done anything to her except snatching her eggs. Her fear dissipated a lot. At that moment, when she heard olddy Jiang swearing, she could not help but sympathize with her eldest brother.

    Her second brother and third brother were married, and each of them spent dozens of silver as betrothal gifts and to make furniture for the wedding ceremonies. For their own wedding banquets, they used several sacks of grain to make wedding cakes. In fact, her eldest brother did not take much.

    However, it didn¡¯t make any sense to think about it now. She might as well think about how to find a good, rich husband . . . A few days ago, she was told by her mother that she wanted to find her a mother-inw, who was willing to pay a higher bride price, so she could use the bride price to pay off her debts.

    Little sister Jiang didn¡¯t have any ideas about using her own bride price to repay the debts of her family. The girls in the vige got married, and their bride price was basically for their parents. Parents already loved their daughter if they would give a couple of silver to prepare some quilts and furniture at the bottom of the box. She now wanted to choose a good one among those who were willing to pay the higher bride price so that she would not have to live a hard life in the future.

    When Jiang Xiaomei was worrying about her marriage, Jiang Chengxiang sent Yang Jing, who had been invited to his home a few days ago, to the county town.

    Along the way, Jiang Chengxiang kept apologizing to Yang Jiang, but Yang Jiang kept ignoring him. After arriving it the county town, Yang Jiang even drew out the knife on his waist pointing it to Jiang Chengxiang. ¡°You get out of here!¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang was just a thin schr; when threatened with a knife like this, he suddenly stumbled, not daring to follow Yang Jing.

 Chapter 27.2 - Climbing the wall in the middle of the night

    Chapter 27.2 ¨C Climbing the wall in the middle of the night

    As for Yang Jing . . .

    He looked at his hand and suddenly found out how his movements were . . . They were so simr to the actions of the Jiang family¡¯s evil star when beating him?

    Thinking of the jinx of the Jiang family, Yang Jing suddenly felt pain all over his body. Although the evil star didn¡¯t hit him too hard these days, he still took a kick from time to time, leaving him bruised all over, so he didn¡¯t have a piece of healthy skin left.

    He was tired and hungry . . . Today at noon that evil star allowed him to eat, but only let him eat a small bite!

    Yang Jing quickly walked home, ready to eat and sleep before thinking about anything else.

    The Yang family had a small yard in the county town. As Yang Jiang entered the yard, he saw his wife feeding the chicken.

    There were a lot of clothes in the yard that he was familiar with, and all the things around him were neatly arranged. His elder son was not here, but the younger one, a four-year-old, was ying with a few pieces of wood in the corner.

    ¡°Yang Jing, where have you been? Howe you didn¡¯te home or go to the yamen in these two days?¡± When Yang Jing¡¯s wife saw him, she let go of the dustpan with millet in her hand and came over, asking, ¡°Did you gamble again? How much did you lose?¡±

    Yang Jing usually became most impatient when this woman unceasingly chattered at him, but those past days he had been suffering, and hearing such concern now warmed his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Yang Jing said. ¡°You go and get me something to eat! Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yang Jing¡¯s wife immediately went to the kitchen to cook.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Yang Jing stopped her. ¡°Stir-fry me a bowl of eggs with bacon!¡± God knows how greedy that evil star was when he ate this dish those days. . .

    Fresh meat still needed to be bought, but bacon was still avable in the family¡¯s home. Yang Jing¡¯s wife soon cut bacon into small pieces and stir-fried two eggs. She also served Yang Jing the leftover rice from lunch.

    With a bowl in his hand, Yang Jing began to eat it up. Only after a few mouthfuls of rice, he felt that his whole person hade back to life.

    ¡°Slow down, don¡¯t eat too fast, be careful of choking, or should I get you another soup?¡± asked Yang Jing¡¯s wife.

    ¡°No,¡± Yang Jing said. He would already have finished eating by the time the soup was ready.

    Just thinking about this, Yang Jing suddenly saw his little son standing not far away, looking at the fried eggs on the table, drooling.

    He was a yamen officer. He earned two silver from the yamen each month, and from time to time, he would also receive filial piety from his underlings. He would share some extra money with his colleagues, and he usually had an ie of more than 10 silver each month. ording to this, his son should eat meat every day, but in fact . . .

    He took the silver to gamble, bought things for his lovers, and ate and drank spicy food by himself. In fact, he never brought money home.

    The children of his colleagues could go to school, but his eldest son who was already seven years old was still ying, covered in mud in the alley.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Go outside and y!¡± Yang Jing¡¯s wife saw her little son staring at Yang Jing¡¯s scrambled eggs. Fearing that Yang Jiang would get angry, she pped the child.

    ¡°What are you doing hitting the kid?¡± Yang Jiang trembled when he saw his wife yelling at his second son. He had already understood what had happened to the Jiang family, and it was all caused by olddy Jiang¡¯s harsh treatment of her own son. He decided to not fall into that situation himself!

    ¡°Come, Ermao! Come to Dad! Dad will give you eggs.¡± Yang Jing smiled at his youngest son.

    Yang Ermao, who hadn¡¯t gotten a proper name, lowered his head and looked at Yang Jing a little fearfully, which made Yang Jing feel a little bad.

    Yang Jing ate half of the bowl of bacon with scrambled eggs. He asked his wife to share the rest with his two children. After that, he took two silver from his pocket and gave it to his wife.

    He had brought the two silver with him before he went to the Jiang family house. Jiang Zhen beat him all the time, but he never stole his money.

    After Yang Jing gave her the silver, he went back to his room to sleep. After a while the smell from the kitchen woke him up.

    That¡¯s the smell of braised pork! Regardless of his sore body, Yang Jiang quickly got up from the bed and went to the kitchen, drooling.

    His wife had bought a pork rib and made a bowl of braised pork. The meat was oily and looked delicious.

    Yang Jing is the only son; his parents spoiled him from an early age, which made him develop a reckless temperament. Usually, when such a bowl of meat is put on the table, he would eat half a bowl alone, but now . . .

    After giving a piece of meat to his two children, his parents, and his wife, Yang Jiang suddenly found out that there was only one piece left in the bowl . . . If he ate a few pieces like usual, someone would be left with nothing to eat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like meat . . .¡± Yang Jing¡¯s wife gave Yang Jing her piece of meat from her bowl.

    ¡°No, you eat it yourself!¡± Yang Jing refused his wife¡¯s offer and stirred the stewed pork soup in his bowl. He ate two big bowls of rice with that one piece of meat. After eating, he was relieved to see that his two children looked a little closer to him when he met their eyes.

    Yang Jing was served at home, but Jiang Zhen was alone at the moment.

    In the afternoon, when he was cooking on the stove, he cooked the pig bones and made a big pot of bone soup. As a result, when he wanted to throw some vegetables in the bone soup and cook them, and then cook a pot of rice, he suddenly found out that . . . he had no rice to cook.

    The Jiang family gave him five sacks of rice grains, but it was all rice with shells, not peeled rice!

    So if he wanted to eat rice, he had to pound it first . . . However, he didn¡¯t have any tools to pound the rice with.

    Forget it. Even if there were no tools, there were still other ways to deshell some rice . . .

    Jiang Zhen put the rice into the bamboo tube and kept pounding it with a stick. He finally made himself a bowl of rice with a few deshelled rice grains inside.

    He scooped half of the pig bone soup in the pot with a gourddle. Jiang Zhen poured the bowl of rice that he managed to deshell into the bone soup left in the pot, then cut the pig liver into small pieces, and threw it into the pot.

    As for the rest of the meat, as well as the pig stomach, Jiang Zhen thought it would be better to eat it slowly, so he took out a can of salt brought from the Jiang family and salted it up. By the time he had salted the meat, he had almost run out of salt.

    It seems that I need to go to the county town tomorrow, Jiang Zhen thought and began to put firewood in the mud stove to cook the pig liver porridge.

    He needed protein and fats at the moment, but vegetables couldn¡¯t be excluded . . . Seeing that the porridge was almost cooked, Jiang Zhen went out and stole a single lettuce from Zhao Jinge¡¯s field . . .

    There was really no other way. Who told the Jiang family not to grow vegetables in this field for him, and other people¡¯s homes were too far away?

    However, the vegetables in the countryside were of little worth. It was actually nothing for him to take a few vegetables from others. Moreover, he nned to give Zhao Jinge half of the porridge.

    Jiang Zhen chopped the stems and leaves of the lettuce and put them into the pot. When the porridge was ready, he finally had dinner.

    After eating the pig liver porridge, Jiang Zhen chewed the bones open.

    Looking at Eldest Jiang¡¯s memory, he learned that when people killed pigs or bought meat and had pig bones left behind, they would not only cook soup with the pig bones but also chop them into small pieces and cook them for a long time. Then . . . apart from the middle part of the bone that couldn¡¯t be chewed and eaten, some bones that could be boiled soft could be chewed and eaten directly.

    When others ate like this, he didn¡¯t want to waste it. After all, his body was a little short of calcium.

    It¡¯s said that bone soup couldn¡¯t actually supplement calcium. Would it supplement calcium, if he chewed the bones directly?

    It was already dark when Jiang Zhen had enough to eat and drink. He lit a fire in his house, and while warming himself, he began pounding rice in the light of the fire, waiting for the night.

    When night falls, Zhao Jinge will definitelye to find him!

    Jiang Zhen happily pounded the rice for nearly two hours. Even with a bamboo tube, he deshelled enough rice to eat for several days. However, he still couldn¡¯t wait to see Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge is noting today? Jiang Zhen frowned and threw away the bamboo tube in his hand. He decided to climb the wall.

    At ten o¡¯clock at night, it waspletely dark and all the vigers were asleep. Jiang Zhen came to the Zhao family¡¯s house and knocked on Zhao Jinge¡¯s window.

    After a while, the window opened. It was obvious that Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯n been asleep either. Too shy toe to see me, but still waiting for me?

    ¡°Jinge,e out!¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep . . .¡± said Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°If you don¡¯te out, I¡¯ll go in.¡± Jiang Zhen pretended to climb into the house.

 Chapter 28 - The county town receives the younger brother

    Chapter 28 ¨C The county town receives the younger brother

    The windows in the countryside were very big, making it actually very easy to climb, but Zhao Jinge was probably doing such a thing for the first time, so his climbing was very unskilled.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to go up to help, for example by holding on to his small waist, pinching his buttocks and so on, but he was afraid that Zhao Jinge would get back at him and ignore him, so he could only endure it for now.

    When Zhao Jinge climbed out of the window, Jiang Zhen took him to his home.

    The fire he had made before had notpletely died out, so Jiang Zhen added straw and mulberry strips to the fire. When the fire became stronger, he also took a few pieces of mulberry strips and put them in the mud stove, intending to heat up the porridge in the pot.

    While Jiang Zhen was working beside him Zhao Jinge looked at him and felt guilty again. After Jiang Zhen started to live alone, he not only couldn¡¯t help him but also let Jiang Zhen cook for him . . .

    Zhao Jinge wanted to get up to help, but Jiang Zhen had finished all the work by himself.

    ¡°Here, have a bowl of porridge.¡± Jiang Zhen handed Zhao Jinge some porridge with pig liver and bone soup.

    Zhao Jinge looked at it and found out that there were a lot of pig liver pieces in this porridge. ¡°You don¡¯t have to keep feeding me . . .¡±

    ¡°I like to give it to you,¡± said Jiang Zhen. It had been two hours since he had dinner and he was hungry again, so he filled two small bowls and ate together with Zhao Jinge, looking at Zhao Jinge from time to time.

    The room was quiet. There was only the sound of the two of them drinking porridge that could be heard, but Jiang Zhen felt very happy.

    He has been living on his own since he retired from the army, and now he finally hadpany.

    Zhao Jinge, seeing Jiang Zhen looking at him, felt ufortable and couldn¡¯t tell the taste of the porridge in his hand.

    ¡°I brought you something,¡± Zhao Jinge said when Jiang Zhen looked over again, breaking the atmosphere in the room that didn¡¯t seem quite right in his eyes.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge took out several small bamboo tubes from his arms and gave them to Jiang Zhen. He pointed to one of them and said, ¡°Here is green rapeseed. Now is not the time to nt it, but if you sow it, it can sprout and then you can eat it.¡±

    After that, he pointed to the remaining bamboo tubes and exined them one by one; they were full of vegetable seeds.

    ¡°Why did you suddenly think of sending this to me?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°This . . .¡± Zhao Jinge hesitated but didn¡¯t speak. In fact, his mother saw Jiang Zhen stealing their lettuce, so he remembered that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have any vegetables to eat now.

    They could eat a lot of food here, and there was no shortage of vegetables all year round. However, people prefered to grow longsting food. They usually nted seeds in the front and in the back of their houses to grow vegetables, which was enough for their own families to eat.

    However, even if other people were not short of vegetables to eat, Jiang Zhen was different. He had no seeds to nt, so he had no vegetables to eat.

    ¡°nt these seeds first, and soon, there will be vegetables to eat. As for these days . . . I¡¯ll bring you some food every day, ¡°Zhao Jinge said again.

    ¡°Did your mother see me stealing the lettuce?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge andughed.

    ¡°It¡¯s not stealing, if you eat a lettuce,¡± Zhao Jinge said. In fact, no one would say anything when the neighbors took some vegetables to eat. After all, it didn¡¯t cost money to grow them in their ownnd. But Jiang Zhen recently took on the title of jinx and startled his mother, when he went to pluck out a lettuce.

    He didn¡¯t care that Jiang Zhen went to his home to get some vegetables, but it¡¯s not good for him to let his mother have a problem with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°OK. I¡¯ll wait for you to bring me some food in the future,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile, holding Zhao Jinge and kissing him on the cheek again.

    He has been kissed before. This time he was only kissed on his cheek, so it didn¡¯t scare Zhao Jinge. But even so, Zhao Jinge felt very ufortable, unconsciously clenching hard the bowl in his hand.

    Jiang Zhen also let go of him. ¡°Drink the porridge. Eating pig liver is good for your health.¡±

    Jiang Zhen took out all the porridge left in the pot and shared it with Zhao Jinge. Then he sent Zhao Jinge back to the Zhao family¡¯s house. When Zhao Jinge climbed into his room through the window and said goodbye to him, Jiang Zhen held his head and kissed him on the mouth.

    Jiang Zhen stayed up a littlete that night, so he got upte the next day.

    He cooked a pot of rice with the rice he had shelled hardst night and steamed a small piece of bacon and a piece of pig liver he had left on the steaming rack all night.

    Ancient pigs didn¡¯t eat feed. They were natural and pollution-free, but in fact, they didn¡¯t taste better than those pigs ofter generations.

    If you think about it, these days, pigs can only eat some grass and don¡¯t gain weight easily.

    I think it¡¯s also true that pigs in these years usually only eat some pig grass and don¡¯t grow fat.

    If you wanted to raise a pig, you couldn¡¯t raise it for more than ten months. The pigs raised this way . . . the lean meat was a bit old, the fat was too little, and the skin was too thick.

    Its fragrance was rich, but this kind of meat was better for a man like him, who was short of oil and water.

    Of course, it might also be that pig breeding was not good enough. Nowadays, one didn¡¯t have a ce to buy a good pig. He had seen the chicken and ducks raised by the vigers before, which were generally smaller than what he had seen in his first live.

    However, even if the meat didn¡¯t taste perfect, it was still meat! Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice with pork in one breath, then filled a bamboo tube with rice and a piece of pork the size of two fingers, wanting to deliver it to Zhao Jinge on the way to the county townter.

    Thinking about going to the county town, Jiang Zhen especially changed his clothes andbed his hair with his fingers, only then did he pack some silver. Before going out, he also went to check his chicken. Perhaps because of the change of ce, the chicken was a little scared and didn¡¯ty any eggs, which made him feel very pitiful.

    Jiang Zhen went to find Zhao Jinge, but he didn¡¯t talk to him. He just looked at him and put the bamboo tube in the grass nearby, so that Zhao Jinge could easily find it and eat it.

    For the time being, he and Zhao Jinge might have to ¡°cheat¡± and behave like they were not close to each other.

    Eldest Jiang seldom went to the county town, but he still knew the way. After all, there was only one way to the county town from the vige.

    Hexi Vige was not far from the county town. Jiang Zhen walked to the town in less than half an hour. Then he saw the county town that Eldest Jiang thought was very prosperous.

    To be honest, Jiang Zhen was disappointed when he saw the county town. He used to travel to those small waterside towns, so he always thought that Hecheng county town should be as prosperous and beautiful as those small waterside towns, but in fact . . .

    From time to time, people would paint and rebuild tourist attractions, but reality waspletely different.

    The roads in Hecheng county were very narrow. Except for the main road in the middle of the town that was rtively wide, the other roads were very narrow. The houses on the street also looked very dpidated . . . Of course, the most important thing was that there was no busy shopping street with shops on both sides.

    Although there were shops on this street, they were really a little shabby in Jiang Zhen¡¯s view.

    Of course, it¡¯s not a good idea to look at this era with the eyes of future generations. Jiang Zhen soon adjusted his state of mind and walked towards the dock not far away.

    It was said that Hecheng county town was the richest among several nearby county towns because there was a dock here, and the most prosperous ces in town were near the dock.

    After arriving here, Jiang Zhen finally saw the ancient city he imagined. At the same time, he also saw his two acquaintances, Yang Jing and Jiang Chengxiang.

    When Jiang Zhen saw them, these two men also saw Jiang Zhen.

    After a night¡¯s rest, Yang Jing reported to the yamen today and went on patrol.

    Now he was so afraid of Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t dare to make trouble for him at all. The crimes he suffered in those few days were all med on Jiang Chengxiang. Not only that, after he came out on patrol, he came to make trouble for Jiang Chengxiang.

    As a result, before he could teach Jiang Chengxiang a lesson, he looked up and saw Jiang Zhen standing not far away.

    Yang Jing¡¯s movements became subconsciously stiff and he had the impulse to turn around and run. But Jiang Zhen had already seen him. If he ran away . . . Yang Jing took a deep breath, and his arrogance disappeared without a trace.

    Walking towards Jiang Zhen, Yang Jing, dressed in a yamen officer¡¯s uniform, subconsciously revealed the expression he usually used when he saw his immediate superior. With a ttering look on his face he said, ¡°Eldest Jiang? What are you doing in the county town?¡±

    Jiang Zhen nced up and down Yang Jing. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing some shopping. Besides, don¡¯t call me Eldest Jiang. Why don¡¯t you . . . just call me boss.¡±

    In the past, Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen didn¡¯t call him eldest brother but followed Butcher Jiang in calling him Eldest Jiang. He was not happy to hear that, because they didn¡¯t respect him at all when they called him this way, but now, he made Yang Jing call him boss with a different meaning, and Yang Jiang did not dare to be disrespectful to him.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    Yang Jiang was very good, not only did he change his address, but he also became very enthusiastic. ¡°What do you want to buy, boss? I¡¯ll go with you. The price will be cheaper.¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t know what ¡°boss¡± really meant, but he didn¡¯t dare to offend Jiang Zhen, so he did what Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded in agreement.

    Yang Jing was relieved to find that this man had no ill feelings towards him and had no intention of beating him up again. Yang Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and then left the dock with Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to buy a lot of things, and the first store he went to was the ce where seasoning was sold.

    ¡°Give me five kilos of salt . . . How much is the salt?¡± When Jiang Zhen was about to buy salt, he suddenly remembered that the price of salt did not seem to be cheap.

    Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t allow Eldest Jiang to touch money, so there was no specific price in his memory, but even so, from her words, he could see that the salt price was not cheap.

    ¡°Forty copper pennies a kilo,¡± the shopkeeper said.

    Forty? The price of salt is twice that of pork? Jiang Zhen was a little surprised and immediately changed his order. ¡°Just give me two kilos of salt.¡±

    The shopkeeper had already begun to take out salt. When he heard Jiang Zhen change his mind, he could not help frowning, but when he looked up and saw Yang Jiang standing next to Jiang Zhen, he immediately smiled and became more enthusiastic about Jiang Zhen.

    It was easy even for children to see a death g. People who do business in this county town were not willing to offend a yamen officer.

    ¡°Shopkeeper Zhang, we are all acquaintances. Make it cheaper!¡± Yang Jing said carelessly, and then Jiang Zhen¡¯s two kilo of salt only costed 70 copper pennies.

    After buying salt, Jiang Zhen wanted to buy vinegar and soy sauce. As it turned out, the vinegar and soy sauce in this shop were all in jars. When the clients came to buy them, they scooped out some of it and put it in their own containers. But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t bring any containers with him.

    Fortunately, Yang Jing was here and the shopkeeper of this shop was very talkative. He asked his son to buy two y pots with wooden corks and filled them for Jiang Zhen with vinegar and soy sauce. Of course, the cost of the y pots was paid by Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen had already spent two hundred copper pennies when he came out of this shop. This was only because he didn¡¯t really care much about food and drink, so he didn¡¯t buy spices or sugar.

    It¡¯s not easy for ancient people to earn money, but because of their low productivity, the prices of goods are very high . . .

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect salt to be so expensive.¡± Leaving the shop, Jiang Zhen frowned slightly. This was still the coastal area and salt was already so expensive. What about the ind then?

    ¡°Boss, in fact, if you didn¡¯t buy it here, there are cheaper ces . . . ¡± Yang Jing said and suddenly shut his mouth again.

    After some reflection, Jiang Zhen already guessed what Yang Jiang meant. Was Yang Jing talking about private salt?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t ask again but said, ¡°I¡¯m going to buy some cloth.¡±

    ¡°The cloth shop is there!¡± Yang Jiang hurriedly showed the way.

    Jiang Zhen was led by Yang Jing to the cloth shop, and behind them, Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s expression was particrly ugly.

    When Yang Jing saw Jiang Zhen and ran after him, he followed them. At first, he thought that Yang Jing would make trouble for Jiang Zhen, but what was the result? Yang Jing not only didn¡¯t try to find trouble with Jiang Zhen but also bowed to him!

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Jiang Chengxiang didn¡¯t understand how all of this happened. Why did everything suddenly change in the twinkling of an eye, just when he married a satisfactory wife and was about to have a beautiful life?

    He thought of his return home in the county townst night. As Zhu Shufen didn¡¯te back and he couldn¡¯t cook, he could only go to sleep hungry. Today, he came to work with his injured leg and was troubled by Yang Jing. Jiang Chengxiang felt unlucky.

    Forget it. What is with this big brother of mine? How can Yang Jiang be so ttering towards him?

    Jiang Chengxiang was very angry, but he didn¡¯t dare to make trouble for Jiang Zhen when he thought of what happened the other day. Finally, he decided he could only go back to the dock.

 Chapter 29.1 - Five ducklings

    Chapter 29.1 Five ducklings

    Jiang Chengxiang was following him. Jiang Zhen knew it. When he saw Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s face bing ugly, he was in a very good mood.

    Jiang Chengwen, one of Eldest Jiang¡¯s two younger brothers, was the first one born after Butcher Jiang returned from the army. Olddy Jiang loved Jiang Chengwen very much. She personally took care of him and, from an early age, gave him whatever he wanted.

    Because of this, Jiang Chengwen was veryzy and couldn¡¯t do anything. In the past, he shouted at Eldest Jiang and didn¡¯t take him seriously, but this didn¡¯t make Eldest Jiang sad. After all, he was used to being treated like that.

    But Jiang Chengxiang was different.

    Olddy Jiang couldn¡¯t take care of both children. After giving birth to Jiang Chengxiang, she gave him to Eldest Jiang, who had never been close to anyone. He liked his younger brother very much. He did his best to take good care of him.

    Although Eldest Jiang was eight years old at that time, he was extremely thin because of malnutrition, but even so, he was very conscientious and did a good job feeding Jiang Chengxiang rice, washing his diapers, and so on. Jiang Chengxiang slept with him, and as long as he hummed a few times at night, he would get up and take Jiang Chengxiang to pee no matter how cold it was. Thissted until Jiang Chengxiang became four or five years old.

    He and Jiang Chengxiang were almost inseparable. Even if he went out to cut pig grass, he would carry Jiang Chengxiang on his back and take him with him. He was afraid that Jiang Chengxiang would fall and starve if he left his sight.

    Because of this, when Jiang Chengxiang was a little boy, the closest person to him was Eldest Jiang. When he saw him he had to be hugged by Eldest Jiang. And Eldest Jiang, because of his brother¡¯s closeness, grew more and more fond of him. As long as his brother was happy, he would do anything he wanted.

    Jiang Chengxiang was close to Eldest Jiang, which made olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang not like him as much as they liked Jiang Chengwen. When Jiang Chengxiang was young, he did not notice this but when he got a little older, he felt it.

    Jiang Chengwen followed olddy Jiang and didn¡¯t have to do any work, and she would only put delicious food in his mouth. He followed Eldest Jiang but never received such treatment. When Jiang Xiaomei was born, olddy Jiang even neglected him.

    When Jiang Chengwen was ying at home, Eldest Jiang would take him to cut pig grass. When Jiang Chengwen had a water fight with other children, he would only stand by the basin when Eldest Jiang was washing clothes. When Jiang Chengwen was given snacks by olddy Jiang . . . Eldest Jiang could only pick up a few sweet mulberries for him.

    Jiang Chengxiang started getting closer to olddy Jiang and tried to get her attention.

    There was nothing wrong with him doing so. Although Eldest Jiang was sad, he wouldn¡¯t try to stop him. After all, Eldest Jiang himself wanted to be close to his mother in his heart. But Jiang Chengxiang unexpectedly even stepped on Eldest Jiang to sell himself to olddy Jiang.

    He would intentionally wet his bed and run crying to olddy Jiang to tell her that Eldest Jiang didn¡¯t allow him to pee. He also lied to olddy Jiang about Eldest Jiang beating him and giving him only things to eat he didn¡¯t want to eat himself. He also told olddy Jiang that Eldest Jiang had robbed him of his food . . .

    Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t like Eldest Jiang in the first ce, so she naturally believed him. Because she felt that Jiang Chengxiang had suffered a lot, she became better and better to him. When Jiang Chengxiang got a chanceter, he even went beyond Jiang Chengwen in her heart.

    Where was Eldest Jiang? Every time Jiang Chengxiang went to cry to olddy Jiang, he would be beaten. Finally, theypletely beat off the little liveliness the child running around the vige had. He was beaten to the ground.

    The original Eldest Jiang was brainwashed. Although he was sad and miserable, he also felt that no one liked him because he was not good enough, so that he could only endure all those sufferings in silence. He didn¡¯t even me Jiang Chengxiang. Later, when he took care of his younger sister, he did a good job and, in addition, became silent.

    But when Jiang Zhen saw his memory, he became disgusted with Jiang Chengxiang.

    Especially . . .

    Before, when Eldest Jiang had fever and starved to death in the broken hut, although it was because of olddy Jiang¡¯smand, that Jiang Chengwen pushed the cart was mainly caused by Jiang Chengxiang saying, ¡°I¡¯m getting married soon. It¡¯s a bit unlucky to live in the same home as a sick person.¡±

    Jiang Chengwen was not good, but Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s heart was ck.

    If it wasn¡¯t for this man¡¯s selfish and unscrupulous ways, he wouldn¡¯t be able, as a young man of less than 20 years of age and with no background or ability, to get a good job of earning two silver a month at the dock.

    That¡¯s why Jiang Zhen targeted Jiang Chengxiang a bit before.

    ¡°Boss, that Jiang Chengxiang . . .¡± Yang Jing also noticed Jiang Chengxiang and asked in a low voice. Although their family had separated, if this evil star still had feelings for his little brother . . . it would make it difficult for him to deal with Jiang Chengxiang.

    ¡°He has nothing to do with me,¡± said Jiang Zhen. He was not Eldest Jiang. Jiang Chengxiang had nothing to do with him.

    ¡°I see!¡± said Yang Jing. Since Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like Jiang Chengxiang, he didn¡¯t have to go easy on him in the future.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at Yang Jing and thought the man had good qualifications.

    Jiang Zhen bought some of the cheapest cloth in the cloth shop. In fact, he intended to buy ready-made clothes, but the cloth shop did not sell ready-made clothes.

    However, the cloth shop still introduced two tailors to him, saying that he could ask the tailors to make clothes, but they would charge for it.

    Although Jiang Zhen got a sum of money from the Jiang family, he still hadn¡¯t started any business to make a living. Forty silver wasn¡¯t much to be spent. After thinking about it, he decided to buy cloth, thread, and needles to make his own clothes.

    He didn¡¯t have the patience for embroidery or anything like that. He could sew a set of clothes from several pieces of cloth and it should be okay . . . Men¡¯s unwillingness to do housework was not because they couldn¡¯t learn or couldn¡¯t do it well. It was simply because they werezy and unwilling to do it. They sewed clothes without pursuing good looks. Sewing a set of clothes, why not just pursue sewing good-looking single women? That would do for them?

    Jiang Zhen always took care of his daily life himself. His meals might not be delicious, but he could also buy some. He didn¡¯t like to do housework, but he could also make his home clean and tidy. asionally, his clothes were worn down so he mended them himself . . . In modern times, he did better as a man than many single girls.

    Of course, if anyone was willing to cook and do the housework for him, he would be very happy . . . Jiang Zhen looked at the cloth in his hand and suddenly thought of Zhao Jinge.

    Now that he came to the county town, he would like to buy some gifts for Zhao Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen wandered on the streets of the county town. As he walked, he bought a lot of things, such as rainproof straw raincoats, bamboo baskets, bowls and jars, and other things.

    Because of Yang Jing¡¯s presence, Jiang Zhen spent less money when he bought things, but he still spent three silver, which made him feel a little distressed. He felt that the matter of making money became urgent.

 Chapter 29.2 - Five ducklings

    Chapter 29.2 ¨C Five ducklings

    After returning to the vige, Jiang Zhen made a detour to the Zhao Dahu family house.

    Zhao Jinge was still working in the fields. When he saw him while plowing thend, he stopped. Jiang Zhen smiled at him and went to the nearby trees.

    After a while, Zhao Jinge followed too.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Zhao Jinge squeezed the hoe handle in his hand. He was a little afraid to see Jiang Zhen. He and Jiang Zhen were very close these nights, which made him feel embarrassed when he saw Jiang Zhen during the day.

    What¡¯s more . . . if they went in the woods like this and someone saw them, they would be despised and wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything against it.

    ¡°I went shopping in the county town today and brought you a gift,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    A gift? Zhao Jinge looked up at Jiang Zhen, surprised and a little at loss.

    When a man in the vige meets a woman or a ger he likes, he will go to the county town to buy some presents for them. If the ger or woman receives them, he can start asking a matchmaker to propose to their parents.

    Of course, there were also people like He Qiusheng who received gifts but didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone about marriage.

    Jiang Zhen kissed me before, and I think he likes me too. This is . . . Did he go to the county town to buy me gifts?

    He once saw a ger or a woman in the vige receive rouge, face powder, a hairpin and a handkerchief given to them by the men who adored them. Jiang Zhen also wanted to give him these?

    He was ugly, so it was good to dress like a man. If he used rouge and face powder like the other gers and hairpins to pin up his hair, it would be very ugly . . .

    If Jiang Zhen sent him something just to find this out, would he be disappointed?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t like these things, but at the same time, he still pondered about how to use them if Jiang Zhen gave them to him.

    Zhao Jinge bowed his head and didn¡¯t speak, and Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what he was thinking at all. He just gave him a bamboo basket. ¡°Here. Find a reason to take them home.¡±

    There was some noise in the bamboo basket, and it was obvious that there were living creatures inside. Zhao Jinge took the bamboo basket and looked inside. In the basket he saw five fluffy ducklings.

    For a while, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know whether he should be happy or depressed.

    At the same time Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Little ducklings can grow up by eating earthworms, snails, and other things. They don¡¯t need to be fed real food. They are very suitable for your mother to raise. They can be used for eggs or meat.¡±

    Jiang Zhen wanted to give a gift that would bring real benefits, so he chose five ducklings after thinking about it.

    In Hexi Vige that was near the water, it was much cheaper to raise ducks than chicken because ducks didn¡¯t need to eat feed, and they would find snails and other things to eat in the ditches.

    However, people prefered to raise chicken. The eggsid by ducks were not as delicious as the chicken eggs with their light egg smell. Also ducks did noty as many eggs as chickens. In addition, ducks oftenid eggs outside.

    Not to mention that ducks did not have as much meat as chicken. The ducks in ancient times were a little small indeed.

    But even so, it¡¯s a symbol of a prosperous life to raise some chicken and ducks at home. However, if the Zhao family wanted to raise chicken or ducks in the past, they didn¡¯t have enough food to raise them.

    ¡°My mother is in poor health . . . ¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Just make a fence to keep the ducks from running away, and it won¡¯t be hard to raise them. As for the food, I¡¯ll bring it to you when I catch some fish and shrimps,¡± said Jiang Zhen. In fact, there was another reason why he decided to send ducklings to Zhao Jinge. He wanted to find something for his mother-inw to do.

    His mother-inw was said to be in poor health, but she didn¡¯t look too bad either. It¡¯s just that Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui were working outside, and she thought about different things all by herself at home and didn¡¯t even go out for a walk. She also ate poorly so her body was weak.

    It¡¯s definitely good for her to keep ducks around.

    ¡°No, I can catch food for them myself,¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly said after pondering for a while. He felt that raising ducks was really a good idea. ¡°When they grow up, we will share them.¡± The ducklings were bought by Jiang Zhen. When they grow, Jiang Zhen should have his share.

    ¡°Good,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed. It will take three months for the ducks to grow up. By that time, he would no longer have to sneak to Zhao Jinge like he did now.

    After giving the ducklings to Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen went back. Looking at Jiang Zhen¡¯s back, Zhao Jinge felt somehow lost.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give him rouge or a hairpin. Was it because he was too ugly?

    However, when his eyes fell on those ducklings, Zhao Jinge smiled again. He and Jiang Zhen nned to spend their lives together because they were suitable for each other. So was he thinking too much? Rouge, hairpins, and so on, could they benefit them like ducks would?

    After receiving these five fluffy ducklings, Zhao Jinge was even more energetic in his work. He picked up some earthworms, collecting them easily when looking down at the soil.

    Ducks love to eat them.

    After work that night, Zhao Jinge walked home with the ducklings on his back. He was in a good mood. Then he saw Jiang Zhen sitting by the side of the road, his eyes fixed on him, as if he was going to strip him of all his clothes.

    Lowering his head, he subconsciously quickened his pace until he entered his family¡¯s house. With a sigh of relief, his heart rate slowly stabilized.

    ¡°Jinge, you¡¯re back,¡± Zhao Liu weed him.

    ¡°Um,¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and gave the bamboo basket in his hand to Zhao Liu. Without waiting for Zhao Liu to ask, he said, ¡°Mother, someone came with chicken and ducklings to sell. I have bought five ducklings. Keep them.¡±

    Zhao Jinge had some money on his hand, and Zhao Liu didn¡¯t doubt his words. She took the ducklings away and said very happily, ¡°I always wanted to raise something for a long time, that is . . .¡± Their family didn¡¯t have much money. Chicken and ducklings cost 10 pennies each. It¡¯s not easy for them to raise them because there¡¯s no food in their family. Even if they bought some, they could only starve them to death . . .

    Moreover, Zhao Fugui always felt that she was in poor health, so he was not willing to let her do much work.

    Zhao Liu touched a few ducklings and took out the earthworms that Zhao Jinge had thrown inside the basket. With a smile on her face, she cut them into small pieces with scissors for the ducklings to eat.

    It was just that her smile soon disappeared.

    ¡°Jinge, recently Jiang Zhen always stares at our house fiercely, and he was staring at you just now. This . . .¡± When Zhao Liu went out to pick vegetables today, she saw Jiang Zhen staring at her not far away. She became scared, and just now, she saw Jiang Zhen staring at her son by the roadside.

    They were a single family that didn¡¯t have anyone to help them. If Jiang Zhen had any bad thoughts about them, what could they do?

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

 Chapter 30 - Crying fisherman

    Chapter 30 ¨C Crying fisherman

    ¡°Mother, Eldest Jiang is not a bad person,¡± Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help saying.

    ¡°Jinge, you didn¡¯t see it. He even dared to fight and scold an official,¡± Zhao Liu said. That Eldest Jiang was the most daring person she had ever seen in her life.

    ¡°That¡¯s because they were going to arrest him,¡± Zhao Jinge said. ¡°He made such a bigmotion before but did he do anything to someone else in the end?¡± When he saw Jiang Zhen beating people before, he didn¡¯t think it was a very good idea, but now, after thinking about it, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t do anything to the Jiang family. He only took some food and silver. . .

    He used to live in the Jiang family house, but he was even more miserable than him who was a long-term worker. Even if the masters of long-term workers were stingy, they still had to give what should be given. If he didn¡¯t have to support his family, he would certainly be able to fill his stomach every day. But Jiang Zhen? When did he have enough to eat? During the busy farming season, those long-term workers could also eat fish and even rice. However, he only saw Eldest Jiang eating raw lettuce, radish, or a cucumber in the field.

    Zhao Liu thought about it too. Olddy Jiang only spent some money in spite of crying for several days. She had actually spent more money on Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s marriage before, but she hadn¡¯t seen her distressed over that.

    However, Jiang Zhen was still frightening . . . ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s stay far away from him. Jinge, you can¡¯t fight against him.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was not a talker and couldn¡¯t speak well, so he could only stay silent this time.

    In fact, he had the intention of telling his mother about him and Jiang Zhen, but he was afraid that his mother would be angry, so he did not dare to say it. Meeting Jiang Zhen in the middle of the night was certainly wrong of him and even a little shameless.

    Zhao Jinge thought it was wrong to have a rendezvous with someone at night, but he still went to Jiang Zhen¡¯s ce that night. There, in the light of the fire pot and candles, he saw Jiang Zhen sewing clothes while looking at old clothes to study.

    ¡°You are sewing clothes?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°Have you sewn clothes before? Can you teach me?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge. He had seen Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s clothes. The stitches were not too tight, and he could copy them somehow, but he needed to be careful when cutting the cloth.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it for you,¡± Zhao Jinge blurted out. He had never seen an adult man make his own clothes. Even if a family consisted only of a single bachelor, he would catch some fish for some olddy in the vige to make her help him make clothes.

    But Jiang Zhen . . . No one would be willing to help him except for me.

    ¡°Just teach me. I¡¯m free these days anyway,¡± said Jiang Zhen. Although he had hit people very hard before, in fact, this body wasn¡¯t in good health at all.

    Eldest Jiang used to work so much all the time. If he didn¡¯t pay attention now, he was afraid he would die before living to his forties.

    That¡¯s why, although he wanted to make money, Jiang Zhen decided to put it off for half a month and think first about what he could do.

    Zhao Jinge could make clothes, but he hadn¡¯t used a a needle or thread for a long time, so he was somewhat rusty.

    However, he still somehow taught Jiang Zhen how to cut the cloth and helped him cut out several pieces. Before leaving, he said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, maybe I can help you do the sewing? I¡¯ll do it in my room, so no one else will know.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was afraid that Zhao Jinge¡¯s parents would find out so he didn¡¯t dare to let him do it, but to be honest, he really wanted to wear clothes made by Zhao Jinge. . .

    ¡°Make me a pair of trousers,¡± Jiang Zhen said. After the pants were cut, there were fewer ces to sewpared to other clothes, so pants were easier to sew and make quickly.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s hands shook when he heard these words. To make pants . . . pants. . .

    Zhao Jinge soon clenched his teeth, took the cloth, and left. When he left, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    He liked to see Zhao Jinge¡¯s shyness; it even gave him a reaction.

    After the trouble with the Jiang family was solved and Eldest Jiang left his body, he couldn¡¯t help but want to get Zhao Jinge in his bed immediately. . .

    That evening, Jiang Zhen solved his physiological needs himself and sighed again. In some aspects this body¡¯s abilities were simply iparable with his original body¡¯s. The speed was also too fast . . .

    However, if he exercised well, he thought he could improve.

    Jiang Zhen slept very well that evening. Early the next morning, he prepared himself some food before going outside.

    Nowadays, when people in Hexi Vige saw him, they would take a detour, but people in the other viges obviously didn¡¯t know about his fame. Now, a person who picked up two loads of goods to sell in Hexi Vige greeted him.

    ¡°Big brother, do you want to buy some incense and paper money?¡± Jiang Zhen was now well-dressed and his temperament was totally different from that of ordinary farmers, so he was greeted very enthusiastically.

    ¡°Paper money?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at him in bewilderment.

    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t it Qingming soon? I¡¯m sure every family should have some!¡± That human sympathy.

    Jiang Zhen calcted the time in his head and found out that tomorrow was Qingming.

    He was alone in this world for the time being, and there was no one at all who he could worship. So there was no need to buy this stuff. Jiang Zhen was just about to leave when he suddenly thought of someone. He spent 20 copper pennies to buy some paper money.

    After leaving the paper money at home, Jiang Zhen went out again with a bamboo basket and searched for small fish and shrimps everywhere. When he passed the fishing boat on the river, he was also greeted by the man who was busily working on the boat.

    The next day was Qingming Festival.

    Jiang Zhen got up early the next morning; he discovered it was raining outside. He hurriedly got dressed and went to check on his chicken first.

    Although the thatched cottage was leaking, it didn¡¯t leak very much. The chicken hiding in a corner not only had not get caught in the rain, but had alsoid an egg, looking like it was in good spirits. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to disrupt it and went back to his house.

    This chicken could defecate anywhere. Some people would lock their chicken in the house to prevent them from freezing at night, but he was not very happy with this solution.

    But since he was now free, it was better to fix the leaking thatched cottage.

    Since it rained that day, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t go out to catch fish. He used the morning to fix the thatched cottage, and in the afternoon he began sewing his clothes.

    He was too impatient to sew the stitches carefully and slowly. When he made clothes, he made them quickly by hand. He managed to make one set of clothes in the afternoon. Of course, it was not surprising that the clothes turned out ugly.

    But in a ce where many people¡¯s clothes were full of patches, wearing such clothes was nothing.

    On that day, in addition to his work, Jiang Zhen went to the fixed thatched house to burn all the paper money he had bought.

    He burned it for Eldest Jiang.

    Jiang Zhen originally thought that, after the Qingming Festival, he would look around to find a way to make a living while improving his health. However, his n could not catch up with the rapid changes.

    After the Qingming Festival, it rained for seven or eight days in a row. It finally stopped for a day only to start raining again the next day, making the whole world moist.

    Jiang Zhen was bored at home for several days. He did all the work he had to do at home, but the rain still didn¡¯t stop.

    In fact, he went out in a coir raincoat, but it was very difficult to catch fish on rainy days. If he got caught in the rain outside and caught a cold, it would be very difficult for him, so he didn¡¯t go outside again. Instead, he relied on pickled pork and rice to eat every day.

    But while Jiang Zhen could have a good rest at home, Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t. Even if it rained, he still had to go to work.

    It was very tiring to do farm work on rainy days, and often, at the end of the day, Zhao Jinge was exhausted. Jiang Zhen took care of him and didn¡¯t call him out at night. Instead, he secretly delivered some food to him at noon like before.

    Probably because of the good food, Zhao Jinge, who always lost a lot of weight in the past rainy seasons, had a rosy face and an excellent spirit this year.

    That day, Jiang Zhen put on the coir raincoat and went out again.

    Recently, when it rained every day, all the earthworms in the fields crawled out. From time to time, many earthworms could be seen on the surface of the dirt road. Jiang Zhen caught them all on his way. When he met Zhao Jinge, he had already caught more than 20 earthworms, which was enough to feed the five ducklings that Zhao Liu kept at home.

    Jiang Zhen came to deliver him food every day. Zhao Jinge was very ufortable at first and wanted to refuse. But now he had learned to ept it; however, he still brought something to Jiang Zhen every day. For example, today, he gave Jiang Zhen a basket full of various vegetables and a few loaches.

    ¡°I caught four or five loaches, but you can also eat them if you steam them on the steaming rack.¡± Zhao Jinge said. He was embarrassed that he had eaten Jiang Zhen¡¯s pork but could only send loaches to Jiang Zhen in return.

    ¡°Um,¡± Jiang Zhen answered. ¡°Come here.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge went to Jiang Zhen and then felt Jiang Zhen hug and kiss him.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned but soon calmed down. At first, when he was kissed by Jiang Zhen, he only felt that something was wrong with his body, but now, he was much more affected by Jiang Zhen, and he slowly got used to it.

    Jiang Zhen liked to kiss, just kiss . . . He looked so ugly, but Jiang Zhen would still kiss him. It was really formidable.

    While thinking about it, Zhao Jinge suddenly felt something slippery on his lips.

    Jiang Zhen had licked his mouth with his tongue!

    This . . . This . . . Was Jiang Zhen not too perverted?

    Zhao Jinge, who never knew that something like French kiss existed, just licked his own lips and was confused once again.

    Seeing him like that, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t helpughing. Then he picked up the vegetables Zhao Jinge had prepared for him and left quickly.

    When Jiang Zhen was going back, he was in a good mood. However, he was only halfway there when he heard the suppressed crying of a man.

    It was not raining hard that day, just a drizzle, but with the sound of the rain, the man¡¯s crying was particrly sad, and the pain evoked was magnified a lot.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to meddle in someone else¡¯s business, but he suddenly found that the crying was a little familiar . . . As he walked to the ce where the sound of crying came from, he saw the fisherman who had traded fish for his hedgehog. He was squatting under a camphor tree, crying. His clothes and hair were all wet, but he seemed to be unaware of it.

    Jiang Zhen had been in contact with the fisherman several times, and he was always pretty quiet. Now he was surprised to see him crying so sadly.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked with a frown.

    The fisherman looked up at Jiang Zhen, wiped his face, and stood up. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°I . . .¡± The man choked. ¡°My wife, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to die.¡±

 Chapter 31.1 - Going to the county town for medical treatment

    Chapter 31.1 ¨C Going to the county town for medical treatment

    Jiang Zhen frowned, then asked, ¡°What happened to your wife?¡± He had seen this man several times these days. He had also seen his two children catching shrimps by the river, but he had never seen his wife. Unexpectedly, he was dying.

    ¡°Sick.¡± The man touched his face again and wiped away the rain mixed with his tears.

    Fishermen didn¡¯t live very well.

    They didn¡¯t have their ownnd or ce to stay. Although they could catch fish and sell it for money, their ie was actually very small, and they could only support a day-to-day existence. Once they got sick, they could only wait.

    At first, his wife just had a stomachache, and he didn¡¯t take it seriously. As a result, he had been vomiting and burning up these days, and he had be very thin. . .

    Yesterday, when it was sunny, he took all his savings and took him to see a doctor. As a result, the doctor said that it would take at least twenty or thirty silver to cure him, but he could not guarantee that it would work. And if they could not cure his illness, then they could only wait for his death.

    He hade here with his boat from far away to earn a living. He had no rtives here and no ce to borrow money from. The only thing he owned worth some money was his boat, but the people who needed a boat here did notck a boat. And nobody else needed a boat . . . Who would buy such a broken boat?

    What¡¯s more, that boat was his home. If they sell it, their family would have no ce to go.

    The fisherman¡¯s name was Wang Haisheng. The wife he spoke of was actually a ger named Sun Xiaoshan. He had picked him up from the river.

    For people like him who have nond of their own or any foothold, and live on a boat, it was very difficult to find a wife.

    People who cherish their children even a little wouldn¡¯t marry their daughters or gers to a person who didn¡¯t have a fixed residence. So Wang Haisheng, like Eldest Jiang, was in his mid-twenties and still hadn¡¯t gotten a wife.

    Then one day while he was catching fish, he saw someone floating from the distance; he picked up a ger.

    This Sun Xiaoshan also had a bitter fate; his mother died early, and his father married another woman, who treated him badly. Later, when he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, he was sold to an old man in his forties.

    After he got married, the old man was nice to him, and he was able to live a good life for a while. However, within two years, the old man died of an illness.

    After the old man died, it was the son of the old man who took charge of the household. It was reasonable to assume that his stepmother should still able to eat well under him; otherwise, he could make him remarry. But the son of the old man had a crooked mind and tried to force him. The wife of the old man¡¯s son became angry, yelled at him to get out and called her family to beat him up.

    He didn¡¯t want to live any longer, so he threw himself in the river. Later, he was fished up by Wang Haisheng. He was very grateful, so he decided to live with Wang Haisheng.

    They had been together for ten years and had two children. The elder one was Wang Yuer, a ger and nine years old this year. The younger one was called Wang Daniu. He was six years old this year and was male.

    In fact, between them, they had another child but they had lost him (due to death, not abandonment).

    Although their family was poor, they had a happy life, but then Sun Xiaoshan suddenly became ill.

    As Wang Haisheng spoke, he cried again, and Jiang Zhen frowned.

    In modern times, people had alwaysined that it was difficult and expensive to see a doctor, but in fact,pared with ancient times, the price of seeing a doctor was already outrageously low, and it was not difficult at all.

    In ancient times, it was really difficult and expensive to visit a doctor.

    There are only a few doctors in Hecheng county. Some of them only knew a little about medicine but it was still difficult to meet them. As for the cost . . .

    The disease of Zhao Liu, Zhao Jinge¡¯s mother, was by no means serious in modern times. But in ancient times the Zhao family, after a period of treatment, had to sell theirnd to see a doctor . . .

    At that time, people in Hexi Vige thought Zhao Jinge¡¯s father Zhao Fugui was really ignorant . . . Which of them, in the countryside, did not suffer from an illness? Wasn¡¯t sellingnd just for treatment nonsense? If Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t sell thend, even if Zhao Liu died, he could still marry some widow to warm his bed. Perhaps she would even be able to give birth to another boy for him.

    In ancient times, ordinary people couldn¡¯t afford to get sick. When they got sick, they could only wait to get better. Wang Haisheng¡¯s wife was ill and needed urgent treatment. He had no money to treat him, so there was no other way but to wait for him to die.

    ¡°Let me take a look,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°You can cure him?¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise. Although he had lived on this side of Hexi Vige for some time, people in the vige excluded him and didn¡¯t keep in touch with him. He didn¡¯te into contact with people from the vige so often, so he didn¡¯t know about Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen looked very magnanimous, so he thought that he knew how to cure some diseases. Most viges don¡¯t have doctors, but asionally there are some people who know a little about herbs.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t speak. Of course, he won¡¯t be able to cure the disease. Although he had learned how to provide first aid before, how to stop a bleeding and sew a wound, the other one had a stomachache and fever.

    If he knew what was wrong with Sun Xiaoshan and there was a modern drugstore nearby, he could get some antipyretic drugs simply by finding out the right symptoms, but he could definitely not take his pulse and figure out what was wrong with him!

    He wanted to see if Sun Xiaoshan could still survive.

    Wang Haisheng secretly looked at Jiang Zhen and saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s expressionless and motionless appearance. His heart calmed down inexplicably and was no longer as sad and desperate as he was at the beginning.

    Wang Haisheng took Jiang Zhen to his boat.

    It was already rainy and humid in the south of the Yangtze River. Although people here were used to this climate, it had been raining heavily recently, which also made them very ufortable. Jiang Zhen felt that the humidity in his home was too high, so he almost used up all the firewood piled up at his thatched cottage to light a fire in order to remove some of the humidity inside his home.

    As a result, his mud house became wet, but the ship was much wetter than his mud house! Among other things, this environment was not suitable for a sick person to live in.

    When Jiang Zhen entered the cabin and saw that there was a moldy fish hanging inside, he was even more speechless.

    Wang Haisheng was also a little embarrassed. Fish had no value to him. He pulled the fish and directly threw it in the river. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to clean up my house these two days . . .¡±

    Of course, it¡¯s also the humid weather that made things go moldy easily.

    ¡°Daddy!¡± Two children came over; their eyes were red. They had been crying before they came inside.

    ¡°How is your mother?¡± Wang Haisheng had cried hard before, but in front of his two children, he was very calm. The family needed his support.

    ¡°Mother vomited again. He also vomited bitter water.¡± The bigger one with a red cinnabar mole in the middle of his eyebrow choked with sobs.

    Jiang Zhen frowned and took two steps inside before he saw the sick ger on the bed.

    At times like these, big families were very fastidious. They would never allow a man to go near a ger in bed, but poor families didn¡¯t care. Wang Haisheng also took the initiative to ask Jiang Zhen to see his wife.

    ¡°Is there any hot water at home? Do you have any sugar?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°There is hot water and some brown sugar,¡± Wang Haisheng said. They usually buy food to eat, so he had a few silver, but not enough to see a doctor.

    When the doctor said that he could only wait for his wife¡¯s death he thought that, at least, he should let his wife eat better before he died, so he went to buy some food. The brown sugar was bought at that time.

    Sun Xiaoshan couldn¡¯t eat the past two days, so they had been giving him hot sugar water, so there was also some hot water.

    ¡°Make some sugar water and add some salt for him to drink,¡± said Jiang Zhen. Once a person who vomited was seriously dehydrated, it would be hopeless.

    ¡°Yuer, go get it,¡± Wang Haisheng said to his elder son and looked at Jiang Zhen. ¡°And then what?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to sell this boat?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly asked.

    ¡°Twenty silver¡ªno, fifteen silver for sale.¡± Wang Haisheng didn¡¯t want to say he had been looking for a buyer before, but even if some people have money, they would rather buynd than buy his boat.

    ¡°Twenty silver, I will buy your boat,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to get the money, and then we¡¯ll go to the county town to treat your wife. I can¡¯t cure his illness.¡±

 Chapter 31.2 - Going to the county town for medical treatment

    Chapter 31.2 ¨C Going to the county town for medical treatment

    Although Wang Haisheng hoped that Jiang Zhen could cure his wife, he did not have much hope. He was not surprised when Jiang Zhen said he couldn¡¯t cure him. However, Jiang Zhen¡¯s willingness to buy his boat made him ecstatic. ¡°You . . . Do you really want to buy my boat?¡± His ship, in fact, was a bit broken . . .

    ¡°Um.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, then jumped off the boat and went to his house.

    He had been thinking about buying a boat since he decided to be a merchant to make money, but he couldn¡¯t row.

    This time, if this matter could be settled, he would not only have a boat, but also a rower . . . even though the ship was shabby.

    When Jiang Zhen returned with the silver, he saw Wang Haisheng, who was in his thirties, standing at the bow of the ship with tears in his eyes.

    Wang Haisheng also knew that his boat was definitely not worth 20 silver. You could get a new boat by getting some wood and finding someone to make a boat. You could get a new boat for 10 silver. So the man who used a hedgehog to trade fish with him was actually helping him.

    Although he was worried about where he would live after selling his boat, Wang Haisheng was still full of hope and gratitude.

    While Wang Haisheng rowed, Jiang Zhen would not row for fear of standing in his way. Instead, he said, ¡°I n to go out and do some businesster, so you can row for me, and I won¡¯t let your family starve to death.¡±

    Wang Haisheng was stunned at first and could not react, but soon, he realized that Jiang Zhen had given him a way to make a living.

    The man who had been living on the boat through wind and rain, now cried again, ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± After crying, he rowed even faster.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they came to the county town.

    Spring rain usually didn¡¯tst long. When they got to the county town, the rain had just stopped.

    Wang Haisheng carried the drowsy Sun Xiaoshan and went ashore together with Jiang Zhen, leaving his two children to watch the house while they went to the pharmacy.

    Jiang Zhen threw him twenty silver. ¡°You go first. I¡¯ll call someone.¡±

    Wang Haisheng did not know who Jiang Zhen was going to call. He took the silver and walked towards the pharmacy quickly, almost running.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at him and went to find Yang Jing.

    It rained today, so instead of going out on a patrol, Yang Jing stayed at home.

    In front of the yamen, they received filial piety from a businessman. The man above took the big share, but those at the bottom could still share some soup and water. Yang Jing took three silver home and asked his wife to buy meat.

    He didn¡¯t like to stay at home before, but these days, since it was raining, he stayed at home every day and suddenly found it quitefortable.

    Perhaps it was because he had been staying at home all day that his wife didn¡¯t talk to him all day long, and his two children were getting closer to him.

    Although his wife was fat, the meat hug was actually quitefortable. She was not worse than the lover he liked before, and he didn¡¯t need to worry about her asking for this and that, and his two children . . .

    These days, his two children brought him water to wash his feet and massaged his back. They were very clever. Yang Jiang looked at them and thought of the scene of Jiang Zhen stabbing Butcher Jiang in the thigh.

    Yang Jing was telling his two children about his heroic attitude in handling cases, when someone knocked on the door of his house. He said, ¡°Damao, open the door.¡±

    Yang Damao soon opened the door, and Yang Jing nced out to see Boss Jiang.

    Yang Jiang, who looked rxed a moment ago, quickly got up from the reclining chair and greeted Jiang Zhen with a smile, ¡°Boss, you are here!¡±

    ¡°Well,e out with me,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen was a bit rude like this. If someone else did this, they might have been driven out by Yang Jiang. But he didn¡¯t dare to drive out Jiang Zhen, so he quickly cleaned himself up and went with Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen first took Yang Jiang to the pharmacy.

    The people in the pharmacy did not take Wang Haisheng, a fisherman with no fixed residence, seriously at all. He might have even been swindled, but it was a different situation when Yang Jiang swung by.

    Even if the people in the pharmacy were not afraid of the yamen, when they saw that Wang Haisheng knew the yamen officer, they would pay more attention when treating Sun Xiaoshan.

    Jiang Zhen thought correctly.

    The people in the pharmacy were not afraid of Yang Jiang, and Yang Jiang was also polite to the doctor in the pharmacy. However, with Yang Jiang around, the people in the pharmacy became much politer to Wang Haisheng. At first, they didn¡¯t allow Sun Xiaoshan to stay in the pharmacy, butter, they even let Sun Xiaoshan live in the patients¡¯ resting room behind the pharmacy.

    Jiang Zhen was not a doctor, so it was not interesting for him to stay there. Seeing that things had been arranged, he didn¡¯t stay but went out with Yang Jing. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the market for a walk.¡±

    The two of them strolled around the market. During that time, Jiang Zhen also found that the market was different from that ofter generations, or rather, the consumption needs of the people from these times were different from those ofter generations.

    These days, the rich didn¡¯t care about spending money casually, but themon people were different.

    Common people who have little money are reluctant to spend money, and when they buy things, they choose low prices over considerations of beauty or tastiness. For example, steamed buns of the same size with the same amount of meat in them, but one is delicious though expensive while the other one is not tasty but cheap. In the end, everyone would go buy the cheap one.

    They don¡¯t pursue quality of life as long as they have enough to eat. It was precisely because of this, that even if Wang Haisheng had a fishing boat and could catch and sell fish, his life was still very ordinary.

    Fish couldn¡¯t be sold at a reasonable price in the county town. Even though it had been raining recently and there were fewer people selling fish, no one would ept an increased price of fish. If they found out that the price of fish had be more expensive, they would simply choose not to buy or eat fish.

    Even regarding pork, people in the county town would take advantage of buying more at lower prices. People who came to the county town during the New Year holidays would shell two or three copper pennies for more expensive pork from the butcher¡¯s shop.

    Of course, the rich were different. They were even willing to spend money that Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t earn in a year just to eat one meal. With Jiang Zhen¡¯s current capital only, it was impossible to do business with the rich; however, the demands of the poor were too limited. Just like the vigers from Hexi Vige, they were basically self-sufficient.

    If he was willing to travel long distances and bring cheap silk and other goods here to the north, he would definitely make money, however . . .

    How was he going to get there? If there was trouble on the road, how would he solve it? What would he eat and where would he live?

    He didn¡¯t know anything, so should he just take the goods and leave?

    What¡¯s more, if he was gone for a few months . . . what about Zhao Jinge?

    After looking around, Jiang Zhen suddenly looked at Yang Jiang. ¡°How much do you know about the ¡®private¡¯ (ck market) salt?¡±

    Last time he bought salt, he spent 35 copper pennies for a kilo of salt. In modern times, that¡¯s thirty-five dors for a kilo of salt.

    How much profit is this? This town is very close to the seaside .

 Chapter 32 - Sea salt and sea goods

    Chapter 32 ¨C Sea salt and sea goods

    ¡°Private salt? You-You-You . . .¡± Yang Jing instantly turned pale and suddenly closed his mouth, looking left and right.

    He was relieved when he found that there was no one near them and then said, ¡°Are you crazy? This is a capital crime punished by beheading!¡±

    Everyone would buy private salt, but the idea of selling private salt . . .

    ¡°I know,¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°so I want to know about the situation from you.¡± Jiang Zhen had some knowledge about the ancient private salt business.

    No matter which dynasty or generation, the private salt business was rampant. There was no other way. Legal salt has always been too expensive.

    They were on the coast, and legal salt was sold for 40 copper pennies for a kilo. Its quality was not good . . . So what about the ind?

    Before, when Jiang Zhen read history books, he happened to see the records of some local officials selling salt for two silver per kilo. It was no wonder that ordinary people weren¡¯t able to consume salt at all, and everyone would buy private salt.

    Of course, although he came up with the idea of selling private salt, he didn¡¯t n on doing it right away or blindly walking on this road. He knew that it would be OK to earn some initial funds by his own skills. It was impossible to make a big profit from selling private salt right at the moment.

    After all, he had no background whatsoever, and today¡¯s salt smugglers . . .

    For such a big profit, even those private salt dealers had all exceptional backgrounds.

    Yang Jing looked at Jiang Zhen a few times, and seeing that Jiang Zhen was very calm, as if they were talking about what to eatter, an idea suddenly came to him. Should I encourage Jiang Zhen to sell private salt, so that he can be beheaded?

    As soon as this idea of Yang Jing was born, he immediately suppressed it.

    Even if Jiang Zhen were to sell salt, those private dealers might not be able to catch him, and it would mean he would be even more vicious in the future.

    That¡¯s what Yang Jing was thinking, but he still said everything he knew about private salt. ¡°I¡¯ve caught this private salt dealer, and I know a little about the inside situation . . .¡±

    Just east of Hecheng County, there was the Hongjiang salt field that belonged to the imperial court, and the nearest official salt supply came from there. But at the same time, most of the close-by private salt also came from there.

    To put it simply, after the salt was produced in the salt farm, some of the salt was sold as official salt while some was sold to private salt dealers.

    As Jiang Zhen thought, no one would remain unmoved by suchrge profits. But ordinary people, even if they were tempted, they only dared to boil some salt for sale secretly. The people who really dared to make a fortune out of it were all big shots with backgrounds.

    They had money and people, captained big boats, swaggered to the salt farm to buy salt, and sent it to other ces. They were very arrogant, but no one dared to check them out.

    ¡°Boss, I won¡¯t hide it from you. We usually catch smugglers who secretly sell hundreds of kilograms of salt. It¡¯s these really big people that we don¡¯t dare to touch. We would even avoid the big people¡¯s subordinates. They are also very smooth when they sell salt. They would even pay the toll when theye to sell salt,¡± Yang Jing said. ¡°The illegal salt dealers in Hongjiang salt field are even more powerful than those in our area. Only those small salt dealers who sell 180 kilograms of salt would be caught and killed immediately. But those who catch them and kill them . . . in fact, most of them work directly for those big smugglers.¡±

    Rural people like Eldest Jiang knew nothing of what Yang Jing said, but in fact, of all the people in this town, the local yamen were very clear about this.

    Speaking of which, why was the legal salt so expensive? Wasn¡¯t it just to make the private salt sell better? As a matter of fact, legal salt and private salt were actually all sold by the same family here.

    The Hongjiang salt farm was another¡¯s territory, and no one was allowed to touch it. Therefore, small traders who dared to go to the seaside to sell private salt would be ruthlessly killed as soon as they were spotted.

    ¡°Before the imperial court reorganized the salt industry, an imperial emissary was busy for several years. In the end, he only found some abandoned sons and outcasts,¡± Yang Jing spoke again. The top-level private salt dealers who control countless salt fields would sell their salt to other families. Those families had few connections. They would probably be just a wealthy merchant, and the court could only find them after conducting an investigation every time.

    Of course, by just finding them, with the confiscated silver, they could already satisfy the court, and one could imagine how much profit there was in this.

    Hearing Yang Jing¡¯s words, Jiang Zhen knew that legal salt and private salt had created a greatwork of interests, and all important officials on this side had been entangled in it.

    Actually, it was not surprising.

    Nowadays,mon people were poor, and the officials, who were secretly trying to raise the taxes which would most likely suffocate themon people, still couldn¡¯t gain much money out of it. If they wanted to make a lot of money, they still needed to rely on those special situations, such as the salt industry.

    And since they wanted to make money from it, no one was allowed to poach from them, so they hit particrly the hard-to-crack-down small-scale peddlers.

    This way, it was very difficult for small peddlers to earn money by getting a few hundred kilos of salt.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to make money, but he really didn¡¯t n to lose his life. After thinking about it for a moment, he asked, ¡°I think there is also seafood for sale at the market. Where did ite from?¡±

    The main seafood products in Hecheng County are salted fish and dried kelp, both of which are not expensive, so people here like them very much. For example, when entertaining guests, they like to stew a bowl of kelp.

    ¡°Boss, if you want to join in this business, it¡¯s not difficult. Just hire a boat to go to the seaside to purchase goods. But if there is no special way, people will take it as a way to sell private salt . . .¡± Yang Jing giggled twice and said, ¡°Anyway, if you go over there, you have to be careful and don¡¯t touch the salt. Of course, if you take three or five kilos, they won¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a way?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°I know some people who sell seafood. If you want to go, you can join them.¡± Yang Jing said. Those who sold seafood were all small peddlers. They were very happy to go together with several additional people, at least for safety reasons.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and settled the matter with Yang Jing.

    After that Jiang Zhen went to the pharmacy again.

    Wang Haisheng was still tending to Sun Xiaoshan. The twenty silver he gave him before was enough to cure his illness. Jiang Zhen greeted him and nned to go home first.

    He did not rush to bring Wang Haisheng¡¯s boat back home just because he had already given him the money. He believed in Wang Haisheng¡¯s character and believed that, after he had taken Yang Jing with him, Wang Haisheng would not dare to run away with his silver.

    Wang Haisheng really didn¡¯t have that idea. When he learned that Jiang Zhen was willing to hire him to do business in the future, he was very grateful to Jiang Zhen. He didn¡¯t want to run away at all. Instead, he took Jiang Zhen to the boat and gave him some fish.

    The fish were not big; they were said to have been caught by Wang Haisheng¡¯s two children in the past two days. They had grown up on that fishing boat since young, and they were already able to fish.

    Naturally Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t refuse. He took the fish and went home.

    It had rained for several days in a row, and all the roads were very muddy and hard to traverse. Jiang Zhen, who walked all the way, not only got his clothes and shoes wet but was also covered in mud.

    Hence, it took Jiang Zhen a lot longer to walk home than usual. When he got home, it was almost dark.

    He scooped water and washed his feet. Jiang Zhen dealt with the small fishes outside his house. He scraped the scales and dug out the intestines. As he was working hard, he saw five ducklings swinging their butts and waving their little wings in the Zhaos¡¯ vegetable field not far away.

    It was not raining now, so Zhao Liu let them out for some fresh air.

    Thinking of this, Jiang Zhen looked around and saw that, not far away, Zhao Liu was holding a cylinder on one side and cutting half of the bamboo on the other side to dig for earthworms.

    People who raised chicken and ducks in the vige often sent their children to dig for earthworms because chicken and ducks grew faster andid more eggs after eating earthworms, but people Zhao Liu¡¯s age generally didn¡¯t do such things.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Liu, who was digging earthworms. He found it a kind of funny, then he cut the fish intestines in his hand with a knife.

    Jiang Zhen took those fish intestines and went to the Zhao family¡¯s fields. Without looking at Zhao Liu¡¯s frightened eyes, he scattered the fish intestines on the ground.

    Zhao Liu was afraid of Jiang Zhen, but those ducklings were not afraid of him. They chirped and soon gathered around Jiang Zhen to eat the fish intestines.

    Jiang Zhen hade backte, but Zhao Jinge came back eventer.

    The reason why the Zhao Dahu family was called a big family in Hexi Vige was that this family had a lot of money,nd, and the long-term worker Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge could still have some free time when the farm was not busy, but when it was busy, he would be busy all the time. Of course, because of his low requirements and his hard work, the Zhao Dahu family would give him something when he was busy farming, like for example the couple of eggs today.

    When he handed the eggs to Zhao Liu, Zhao Jinge went to the patio to wash the mud from his body. When he took a bath, Zhao Liu had already prepared food for him.

    When the farm became busy, the Zhao family would also eat dry rice; otherwise, their bodies wouldn¡¯t be able to support them. In addition to the dry rice, Zhao Liu also used the dry rice brought back by Zhao Jinge to make some egg and vegetable soup.

    ¡°Mom, you can have the egg soup,¡± Zhao Jinge said. Jiang Zhen had sent him a meal at noon, so he had even had meat . . .

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything at home. What kind of egg soup should I eat?¡± Zhao Liu said, but Zhao Jinge still insisted on leaving half a bowl of egg soup for Zhao Liu.

    As for Zhao Fugui, he worked as a part-time worker in a ce that was a little further away, and he wasn¡¯t able toe home these days.

    Zhao Jinge was not very talkative, but Zhao Liu liked to talk very much. While watching Zhao Jinge eat, she talked about their family¡¯s affairs. Of course, she also talked about their current neighbor, Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen came to feed our ducks with fish intestines today. What do you think his intention is? He won¡¯t steal our ducks when they are raised, will he?¡± The more Zhao Liu talked, the more worried she got.

    Old Madam Jiang was a very efficient person. She told the vigers all the things Jiang Zhen had ever done to the Jiang family.

    In other words, people in the vige were now all afraid of Jiang Zhen. They thought that there was something wrong with Jiang Zhen, which was also rted to old Madam Jiang¡¯s behaviour.

    Eldest Jiang never said a word when he was wronged before. Even if they knew that olddy Jiang was not good to him, they didn¡¯t know how bad it had been. Olddy Jiang shouted, so they clearly knew what kind of ¡°evil¡± things Jiang Zhen had done.

    It was only when Zhao Liu heard that Jiang Zhen robbed their chicken, that she got worried.

    ¡°Mother, have you ever seen him steal other people¡¯s chicken?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    Zhao Liu thought about it. Although Jiang Zhen looked everywhere for food, she hadn¡¯t seen him steal other people¡¯s chicken.

    After thinking about this, Zhao Liu remembered another thing. ¡°Jinge, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t grow his own vegetables, and he didn¡¯te to our house to steal these past two days. What kind of vegetables do you think he ate?¡±

    She was worried because of Jiang Zhen again.

 Chapter 33.1 - Former betrothed

    Chapter 33.1 ¨C Former betrothed

    Chapter sponsored by Lalorena and Ann on Ko-fi. Remember to thank her in thement section

    Zhao Jinge was very tired and went to bed early that day, so he didn¡¯t know that Jiang Zhen actually knocked on his window that night.

    After knocking on the window several times and still not getting any response, Jiang Zhen thought that Zhao Jinge might have gone to bed early, so he went back. But the next morning, he got up early and waited for him on the side of the road.

    Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Jinge, but he didn¡¯t talk to him. Instead, he winked at him and asked him to pick up the bamboo tube on the side of the road.

    Inside this bamboo tube was some fish soup that Jiang Zhen had madest night and heated this morning.

    The two of them were now in regr contact with each other, which was simr to cheating. Jiang Zhen had some regrets, but he also found it quite interesting.

    Zhao Jinge took the bamboo tube and looked at Jiang Zhen from afar. When he walked towards the Zhao Dahu house with the bamboo tube in his arms, his steps inevitably became much lighter. After walking for a while, he opened the bamboo tube and began to eat slowly.

    This bamboo tube was still hot; it was obvious that Jiang Zhen wanted him to eat this while it was still hot, so he must not waste it.

    The fish soup in the bamboo tube was cooked by Jiang Zhen. After the fish bones were removed, he cooked the remaining fish meat with eggs. Not mentioning the taste, at least it was nutritious and there was a lot of fish meat to supplement proteins.

    Because the fish soup was cookedst night, it tasted a little fishy, but Zhao Jinge did definitely not dislike it. He soon drank it all up, cleaned the bamboo tube with the boiling water that he brought with him these days, and then drank all the water that had been used to clean the bamboo tube.

    When he got up in the morning, he had a dry meal at home, and now he drank fish soup. He felt his whole body warming up and was full of enthusiasm. He didn¡¯t even feel tired when he worked that morning.

    In the morning, because it wasn¡¯t raining, Zhao Dahu went to the field for a walk. Seeing Zhao Jinge like that, he nodded in satisfaction.

    At first, everyone thought that he was muddle-headed to hire a ger to work as a long-term worker. But now, after several years, everyone envied him. It was true that Zhao Jinge worked hard like a man and took his work seriously.

    But he didn¡¯t know that after he left, Zhao Jinge began to get distracted.

    It was almost noon; it was almost time for Jiang Zhen toe . . .

    Although Zhao Jinge felt a bit embarassed eating Jiang Zhen¡¯s food, he was still looking forward to Jiang Zhening . . . Although he was still working, Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but aim at Jiang Zhen¡¯s usual path.

    However, he didn¡¯t see Jiang Zhen for a long time. Instead, an old woman of fifty or sixty who he was familiar with suddenly showed up.

    Zhao Jinge looked at her for several seconds before he realized that it was a friend of Zhao Liu¡¯s. However, Zhao Liu and this woman had had no contact for a long time, so he didn¡¯t recognize her for a while.

    ¡°Jinge!¡± When the woman saw Zhao Jinge, she immediately walked towards him with a smile on her face. ¡°Jinge, long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Aunt Li,¡± Zhao Jinge greeted the woman. The woman¡¯s name was Li Xiu. She was from the nearby Lijia vige and married in Qiaotou Vige where Zhao Liu¡¯s family lives.

    Before Zhao Liu married, she had a good rtionship with this woman surnamed Li. After her marriage, she still kept in contact with her. Later, the reason for cutting off contact was because the woman surnamed Li told Zhao Jinge about a marriage alliance.

    It was her who told Zhao Jinge¡¯s mother that her neighbor had a son two years older than Zhao Jinge, whose name was Li Zugen.

    Just by this name, one could imagine how precious this Li Zugen was at home . . . and the reason why he was treasured was because three generations of the Li family would be passed to him alone. But Li Zugen¡¯s body has never been very good, and he was very thin.

    The Li family had a very ordinary condition. Li Zugen¡¯s health was never good, and the Li family wanted to arrange for him an early marriage, and it would be better to have a strong ger who could help with the family work in the future.

    When Zhao Jinge was a child, he was very strong and lovely. Once Zhao Liu took him to Lijia Vige to see a y, and Li Liushi, Li Zugen¡¯s mother, was attracted to him. She was also a person from Qiaotou Vige. After she returned home and inquired about Zhao Fugui¡¯s and Zhao Liu¡¯s situation, she was even more satisfied with Zhao Jinge. Then she asked Li Xiu to help her with the matchmaking.

    The Li family came to the Zhao family several times and showed great sincerity. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu looked at Li Zugen and found that, although he was a little skinny, there was nothing wrong with him, so they agreed.

    Their family¡¯s ger was a little too strong, so they were afraid that he won¡¯t be able to marry well in the future. Although the Li family had little money, Li Zugen had no brothers, so there was no need to divide the familynds in the future. The Li family¡¯s son was also thin and small, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to beat their own son.

    The marriage between the Li family and the Zhao family was settled. Zhao Jinge had a fianc¨¦, but that fianc¨¦, who was shorter than him, didn¡¯t like him very much.

    Of course, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know what he liked or didn¡¯t like at that time, but he felt a bit lost asionally.

    Later, when Zhao Jinge¡¯s situation changed when he turned twelve¡ªhis older brother died and his mother got seriously ill¡ªthe Li family withdrew from the marriage arrangement.

    They didn¡¯t want to bear the burden of the Zhao family, and the 14-year-old Li Zugen fell in love with a girl his age age in Lijia Vige as well. The girl was the child left by a married ger in Lijia Vige. The ger died early, and his husband¡¯s family didn¡¯t want to support the girl even though she was a step-child, so they threw her to her grandma¡¯s house.

    This girl¡¯s life in her grandma¡¯s house was very bad. Li Zugen often helped her by giving her things, so she fell in love with Li Zugen and was willing to marry him.

    After annulling his engagement, Zhao Jing no longer cared about the affairs of the Li family. At first, someone would mention Li Zugen in front of him with ulterior motives. Butter, probably because he was pitiful for not being able to get married, no one mentioned it in front of him again.

    Because of this, Li Xiu and Zhao Liu, who were really good friends, ended up in a quarrel for Zhao Jinge¡¯s sake. Then she felt ashamed to face Zhao Liu and stoppeding to the house of the Zhao family.

    Because of the bad rtionship between Zhao Liu and her maternal family, they hardly went back these years, so both sides seldom saw each other.

 Chapter 33.2 - Former betrothed

    Chapter 33.2 ¨C Former betrothed

    Now that he suddenly met Li Xiu, Zhao Jinge was quite surprised while Li Xiu was purely happy.

    ¡°Jinge, I specially came to see you. I am telling you that the Li family have suffered retribution!¡± Li Xiu said to Zhao Jinge.

    She came to see Zhao Jinge because of the misfortune that happened to Li Zugen¡¯s family. Her heart felt so happy that she wanted to share her happiness with Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°At that time Li Zugen wanted to marry that bitch surnamed Xu . . . but now . . . Ha ha!¡± Li Xiu kept talking.

    It turned out that after Li Zugen annulled his engagement to Zhao Jinge, he got immediately engaged to the Xu girl from his vige. At the age of 17, the two of them got married.

    They had a good life at first, and the Xu girl gave birth to four sons to Li Zugen, so the Li family was very kind to her and didn¡¯t let her do any work.

    But nowadays, four sons were not easy to feed.

    The Li family didn¡¯t have much money. Li Zugen and his father were still very skinny. They couldn¡¯t work for others to make money, but could only nt their ownnd. So the life of the family was getting poorer and poorer, and they even had to borrow money for living expenses.

    Later, they couldn¡¯t help it and asked the Xu girl to go to theirndlord¡¯s house and help him with some work.

    In addition to havingnd, thendlord¡¯s family also engaged in the cocoon business. Several viges around them had silkworms and cocoons, which were all sold to their house. They were very rich and their house was built of green bricks and tiles, which were magnificent, but they had no children.

    The Xu girl was very capable of giving birth to a son. Who would not have noticed? Thendlord¡¯s wife was still very young and powerful. She didn¡¯t want to have a young and beautiful girl toe home and seduce her husband. So she agreed to bring Xu, who was around her age, and established how much money she would pay for her to have a son for thendlord.

    Xu agreed as Li Zugen¡¯s family already owed a lot of money at that time.

    In the countryside, this behavior was called concubinage ¨C spending some money to rent a woman to give birth to their own children. When the time limit was up, the woman would be sent back, and the child would stay.

    For a very poor family, it was nothing to ask a wife to be a concubine for several years. Anyway, she woulde back to live with them in the end. When you didn¡¯t have enough to eat, no one cared about chastity at all.

    It was also thanks to Xu¡¯s ability that during those three years, she already gave birth to a son. And when the three years were almost over, she had another one in her stomach.

    Since she became a concubine, she had enough to eat and drink. After getting pregnant with a baby, she was even able to eat meat every day. Later, when the baby was born, she would feed the baby herself, so she ate and drank even better.

    She never had so good a life in the Li family.

    Xu didn¡¯t want to leave, so she went to ask the wife of thendlord to stay.

    Although the wife was not very beautiful, she was much more beautiful than Xu. She was even one or two years younger than Xu. Xu was no threat to her. After thinking about it, she agreed.

    In any case, Xu¡¯s children would be calling her mother in the future, and Xu¡¯s position in the family would only be a bit better than her servants¡¯. Leaving such a vige woman who didn¡¯t know big words would not only not hinder her but would also show her magnanimity.

    In the future, when those children grow up, they will see who they should be close to, that is when they look at Xu, who was married a long time ago and had four sons outside.

    ¡°Then Xu took fifty silver to the Li family and broke off her rtionship with them. Now Li Zugen is being ridiculed! He let his wife be a concubine, and as a result, his wife is gone.¡± Li Xiuughed at Li Zugen.

    Originally, Li Zugen¡¯s wife could make money for her own children, and some people even envied her. Now that Xu ran away, the situation was different.

    Even when Xu had brought back one hundred silver before, they could only buy three or four mu ofnd after deducting what they had already spent. Li Zugen was now dragging along with him his four sons . . . Unless he didn¡¯t buynd but spent this money to buy a women or a ger, there would be no wife to warm his bed in the future.

    And if there was no wife in the family, could it still be called home?

    ¡°If he buys thend, he wouldn¡¯t be able to nt so much. If he uses the money to marry a new wife . . . His family is so poor. What is the use of marrying someone else? And those four sons, now they are fine, but when they grow up, wouldn¡¯t they want to get their own wives? . . . Tut-tut*! (*onomatopoeia for tongue clicking)!¡± Li Xiuer said while gloating.

    Back then, if Li Zugen had married Zhao Jinge, with his ability to work, his family would have gotten better and better and there would have been no need to worry about Zhao Jinge running away.

    Li Xiu came to talk to Zhao Jinge about this, hoping that Zhao Jinge would be happy, but in fact, Zhao Jinge was not very happy.

    What did Li Zugen look like? He had already forgotten. How could he have time to mind his affairs now? But this Li Xiu had been talking by his side all the time, and he didn¡¯t know whether Jiang Zhen woulde or not.

    Zhao Jinge listened carelessly and kept searing around with his eyes. Because he hadn¡¯t seen Jiang Zhen, his heart felt empty and he hoped that Li Xiu would leave early.

    Fortunately, Li Xiu finally finished her news and said, ¡°Jinge, I will go to your house, so you can continue working.¡±

    Li Xiu finally let Zhao Jinge go. Zhao Jinge let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the sun above his head and went to the tree forest at the edge of the canal.

    Usually when Jiang Zhen went there, he would give him a wink outside first, but today, he didn¡¯t, and he didn¡¯t know if Jiang Zhen woulde or not.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen came. Just as Zhao Jinge walked to the forest, he called Zhao Jinge, ¡°Jinge!¡±

    The corners of Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth immediately hooked up.

    Jiang Zhen had been there for a long time. He hid when he saw someone pulling Zhao Jinge for a talk. He didn¡¯t know the woman who spoke to Zhao Jinge, but he thought that she was mostly gossiping, so he didn¡¯t ask any more questions, but took out the food for Zhao Jinge to eat.

    The dish he cooked at noon today was fried cabbage with sliced bacon.

    It was not convenient to eat from a bamboo tube, so he brought a basket with a sea bowl filled with rice, and the cabbage fried with sliced meat covered the rice.

    Compared to the fish soup this morning, the fried cabbage with sliced bacon was really delicious. Zhao Jinge ate arge bowl of rice clean in a short time and thought he could eat another two bowls.

    But food must be saved. Zhao Jinge thought that it was already good to have such an extra bowl of rice at noon.

    When he had enough to eat and drink, Zhao Jinge remembered what had just happened, but he thought it had nothing to do with him. He didn¡¯t want to talk about Li Zugen in front of Jiang Zhen, so he didn¡¯t mention it to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t take Li Zugen seriously at all, but he didn¡¯t know that the Li family had gathered and thought about him.

    Li Zugen was still thinking about Xu, but Xu certainly wouldn¡¯te back.

    Their family consisted of old and small people, and he was supposed to be the family pir, but he was still thin and powerless. It was because of the silver sent by Xu that they had paid off a part of their debts, but they still needed to pay back seventy-eight silver in the future.

    He had worked hard for a year, but he couldn¡¯t even grow enough food for his family. In the future, he would either need to buy morend or food!

    They preferred the former, but who would nt thend after they buy it? Who would take care of the food and clothing of his four sons?

    ¡°I heard that Zhao Jinge still hasn¡¯t married . . . Ugly as he is, he has a lot of strength.¡±

    ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t take his parents with him, our family¡¯s life would be easier after you marry him.¡±

 Chapter 34.1 - Giving a rabbit

    Chapter 34.1 ¨C Giving a rabbit

    It didn¡¯t rain that day. After Jiang Zhen fed Zhao Jinge, he went out again to wander around. He was lucky enough to see a rabbit.

    The grey rabbit was very alert. When he saw Jiang Zhen, he ran away quickly. Seeing this, Jiang Zhen rushed after him.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t able to keep up with the rabbit, but with Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyesight, it was not difficult to follow the trail of the rabbit to find its nest.

    Thanks to the fact that it had been raining for a few days, the soil was very wet and soft, which made leaving footprints very easy.

    Jiang Zhen soon found a small hole near the ridge of the field. After that, he found another hole in the nearby mulberry field.

    There were three holes in the rabbit¡¯s nest. Wild rabbits usually have several holes. As long as you find every hole, it is very easy to catch them.

    Jiang Zhen soon blocked up all the nest holes that should be blocked. There was only one hole left for them to escape from. He started a fire near one of the holes . . .

    Before long, Jiang Zhen caught two rabbits that were smoked out of the nest.

    He took out the straw from the basket and bound the rabbits¡¯ feet. Jiang Zhen carried them to his home, but after a while, he changed his direction, indenting to give one to Zhao Jinge.

    He gave Zhao Jinge meat every day, but his parents never had meat to eat, so Zhao Jinge always felt guilty. This time, he had two rabbits, which he wanted to give for his mother-inw and father-inw to taste.

    When he came back to the ce where Zhao Jinge was working, he winked at Zhao Jinge.

    Of course, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t feel ¡°ttered¡± from his dark face at all. He only knew that Jiang Zhen had winked at him, so they could talk in the woods.

    Zhao Jinge once again did what he should have never done ording to his education ¨C he went to the woods for a rendezvous.

    ¡°Keep the rabbit, marinate it, and you can save it for the Spring Festival.¡± Hearing that Jiang Zhen wanted to give him a rabbit, Zhao Jinge hurriedly refused.

    ¡°Take it and cook it soon,¡± Jiang Zhen stated strongly to Zhao Jinge. ¡°You are very busy with spring ploughing so you have to eat better. Let our father eat better too, or he will not be able to keep up with his work.¡±

    ¡°I always take your things . . .¡± Zhao Jinge was very embarrassed.

    ¡°After that, you are all mine. What¡¯s your worry?¡± Jiang Zhen teased.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned and pondered about Jiang Zhen¡¯s words. Jiang Zhen said that he would be his . . . Was this giving him hope that he would marry him in the future?

    When he first started to keep in contact with Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge had the idea of letting Jiang Zhen marry into his house. After all, Jiang Zhen had nothing at that time, and he had saved Jiang Zhen¡¯s life before, but these days . . .

    These days, Jiang Zhen brought him food every day, even meat. He had gained benefits that Jiang Zhen obtained with his abilities, and he couldn¡¯t say what he originally wanted to say.

    Moreover, his parents were not necessarily looking for someone for him to marry in someone else¡¯s home.

    If his family had a lot of money, his parents would be reluctant to give their family property to others, but now, they were so poor. If he got married, his parents would certainly be willing to do so. Even if he got married, he would bring his parents with him in order to support them.

    Having figured out that Jiang Zhen was so kind to him, because he didn¡¯t want to be a nuisance, Zhao Jinge was more rxed. He epted Jiang Zhen¡¯s rabbit and didn¡¯t feel that there was anything strange about that.

    In the future, they could avoid the bride price, so Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t lose too much. And he could support his parents by working hard.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy to see Zhao Jinge ept his rabbit, but he didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge was thinking about so many things.

    As a matter of fact, he really didn¡¯t think too much about whether to marry or not. In modern times, he had no rtives or reasons to marry. Here, he didn¡¯t treat the Jiang family as his rtives, so he didn¡¯t care about marriage.

    As a matter of fact, his requirements were very low. It would already be nice to have someone to warm his bed.

    After he gave the rabbit to Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen took the remaining rabbit back. Then he saw Wang Haisheng¡¯s boat stop by the river nearby.

    Wang Haisheng¡¯s two children were sitting at the bow and looking around. Seeing Jiang Zhen, they quickly ran to the cabin. After a while, Wang Haisheng also came out. ¡°Jiang . . . Mister Jiang.¡± He didn¡¯t know what to call Jiang Zhen, so he called him by the most honorable name in his opinion.

    ¡°Just call me Jiang Zhen,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Are you back?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back. The doctor said to take the medicine and boil it,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    After hearing that, Jiang Zhen remembered that there was no such thing as hospitalization in these times. The doctor would not leave the patient in the pharmacy at all. Before, Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s stay in the pharmacy for one night was because of Yang Jing.

    Jiang Zhen was very rude to the Jiang family before, but in general, as long as no one bothered him, he was actually very easy to get along with. He asked, ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    ¡°The doctor said that after taking the medicine and taking good care of him, he should get better.¡± Wang Haisheng was happy. After taking the medicine yesterday, Sun Xiaoshan looked much better, and now, he could even talk to him.

    His wife, who he thought would die, was fine now. He was so happy that he could barely hide the smile on his face.

    Jiang Zhen frowned as he nced at the dirty boat. ¡°I have an empty house. You can take your wife there to recuperate. Sick people can¡¯t live well on this boat and they need to be in a clean ce.¡± Back then, Jiang Zhen had asked the Jiang family to build two houses. He lived by himself in one of them, while the other one was still vacant.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t like people living in his home. But if Sun Xiaoshan really lived on the boat, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get better.

    In addition, the boat needed to be renovated.

    Wang Haisheng¡¯s boat was much bigger than the one often used by the vige head¡¯s family to rent to the vigers to get married into, but it was old nevertheless. Maybe it was because it had been raining these days, that the boat smelled moldy, which Jiang Zhen found a bit unbearable.

    No matter what business he would be doing in the future, he would need to rely on this ship to transport goods for a long time. In that case, he didn¡¯t want this ship to be too shabby.

    Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise and delight.

 Chapter 34.2 - Giving a rabbit

    Chapter 34.2 ¨C Giving a rabbit

    He had always been living on the boat, but it didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t yearn for a life like those who lived on the shore. In fact, he had always thought of earning money to buy a piece ofnd on the shore and settle down.

    But how could it be that simple?

    Not to mention that he couldn¡¯t save enough money, even if he did, the vast majority of the viges rejected outsiders like him. The only thing he dared to think about was to marry his ger son to parents-inw on the shore.

    Although Jiang Zhen only asked him to stay temporarily, Wang Haisheng was still extremely grateful.

    Because Sun Xiaoshan was still ill and couldn¡¯t walk, Wang Haisheng carried him on his back. Then they went in a group to Jiang Zhen¡¯s house.

    Along the way, they also met some vigers from Hexi Vige.

    Wang Haisheng had lived here for a long time, so he also knew some people here. But those people came to his life quickly and were very indifferent to him. Because of this, he was worried that after following Jiang Zhen back, someone woulde and tell Jiang Zhen to drive him away.

    As a result . . .

    Wang Haisheng looked around nkly and couldn¡¯t understand why the vigers in Hexi Vige ran away so fast when they saw them.

    Was he that terrible?

    Wang Haisheng didn¡¯t understand what was going on, and the two children near him were also very confused. The children in the vige didn¡¯t like ying with them and had often bullied them before, but they were never afraid of them.

    ¡°Jiang. . . Jiang Zhen, what on earth is going on?¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen puzzled.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Hearing that Jiang Zhen said it was nothing, Wang Haisheng was relieved. When he started to look at the people around him again, he suddenly found that these people looked at him with sympathy in their eyes.

    This . . . What¡¯s going on?

    People in Hexi Vige really sympathized with Wang Haisheng. They believed that Jiang Zhen was a madman now. When they saw Wang Haisheng walking with Jiang Zhen, trembling, they even thought that he had been intimidated by Jiang Zhen, and even that Sun Xiaoshan, who was being carried by him, was beaten by Jiang Zhen.

    After all, this was the guy that dared to fight even with a yamen officer!

    Jiang Zhen put all the valuable things and food in his house. The other house was almost empty, and he asked Wang Haisheng¡¯s family to live there. Then he said, ¡°You should clean up your house first before living there. You should also start a fire yourself. Don¡¯te in my house.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Wang Haisheng nodded repeatedly as he looked at the mud house, which was actually very simple.

    Wang Haisheng had some useful things on his boat but not too many. After going back several times, he brought them all in and soon settled down. By that time, it was almost dark.

    Seeing that it was almost time for Zhao Jinge to return home, Jiang Zhen simply tidied himself up and went to the intersection to sit down and wait for Zhao Jinge.

    As a result, it was Zhao Fugui, Zhao Jinge¡¯s father, who came back first.

    It had been raining in the past few days. Zhao Fugui, who was working outside as a short-time worker, didn¡¯t go back home. When he came back today, he had been walking with his head lowered, but when he saw Jiang Zhen sitting on the side of the road, he was startled and quickened his pace.

    Jiang Zhen touched his nose and continued waiting.

    Later, it was Zhao Jinge¡¯s turn. He was carrying a rabbit in his hand. When he saw Jiang Zhen, he first paused, then lowered his head to avoid Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes and elerated his steps like his father.

    After a while, Zhao Jinge returned home.

    ¡°Where did you get the rabbit from?¡± Zhao Liu immediately asked in surprise when she saw the rabbit in Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Caught it in the field.¡± Zhao Jinge bowed his head awkwardly. Although he did a good job in farming, he was not good at catching things. In fact, he couldn¡¯t catch rabbits at all . . .

    However, Zhao Liu didn¡¯t doubt it. She always thought her son was the best. In this case, it was normal to her that her son was able to catch a rabbit.

    ¡°There are many good things at home recently. I¡¯m very happy!¡± Zhao Liu said with a smile, looking at the five ducklings at her feet and the rabbit in his hand, and then talked about Li Zugen¡¯s family. ¡°Today Xiu came and told me about the Li family. Their family suffered retribution from annulling the engagement. What happened? Their daughter-inw is gone!¡°

    Zhao Liu soon told the story of Li Zugen¡¯s family and criticized them.

    Zhao Fugui had been listening silently, not expressing his own opinions but still nodding from time to time.

    Zhao Liu was very excited when she talked about it, but when she finished, she got depressed again.

    Although Li Zugen¡¯s wife ran away with another person, she also had four sons. No matter how poor their days were now, someone would support them in old age. What about her family¡¯s Jinge?

    Now there are the two of them. Jinge was at least surrounded by some help. What when we are gone one day?

    Jinge didn¡¯t even have a child, and when he got old, there would be no one to take care of him. This . . .

    Zhao Liu stopped talking, and Zhao Fugui was even more silent. At the beginning, he still wanted to find a husband for Zhao Jinge, but he gave up on this idea two years ago. He just wanted to find a mother-inw for Zhao Jinge to let him have a family.

    But their family was too poor, and there were even two old drags, so no one was willing to marry Zhao Jinge at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Mom, Dad,¡± Zhao Jinge said. He wanted to tell them about himself and Jiang Zhen, but his words wouldn¡¯te out.

    Jiang Zhen had offended many people. If his parents knew about them, they would be even more worried.

    Fearing that his son would be sad, Zhao Liu didn¡¯t talk about this any longer but mentioned something else. ¡°My Jinge will be fine. There¡¯s nothing to worry about. But when I look at Jiang Zhen, I feel very scared. Fugui, you don¡¯t know this, but he is always staring at our house. I got up in the middle of the nightst night and saw him hanging around our house!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Fugui was surprised. Zhao Jinge¡¯s heart also skipped.

    Zhao Fugui¡¯s brows wrinkled tightly. ¡°He was hanging around our house at night? He isn¡¯t thinking about robbing our house, is he?¡±

    ¡°Robbing?¡± Zhao Liu was also frightened. ¡°What are we going to do? Our Jinge can¡¯t beat him!¡°

    ¡°Mother, he wouldn¡¯t. I saved his life. And . . . there is nothing worth robbing in our house,¡± Zhao Jinge said, his eyes looking at the rabbit. Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t rob their house; the rabbit was sent by Jiang Zhen.

    And . . . Jiang Zhen hade to see himst night?

    He actually fell asleep without knowing it . . .

 Chapter 35 - Sleeping on the same bed

    Chapter 35 ¨C Sleeping on the same bed

    Zhao Jinge insisted on staying awake that night. When there was no longer any movement from his parents, he got up secretly and went to Jiang Zhen¡¯s ce.

    He has been to Jiang Zhen¡¯s house several times in the evening, which was not strange, but today, after approaching it, Zhao Jinge unexpectedly heard a voice that didn¡¯t belong to Jiang Zhen.

    Is there someone else in Jiang Zhen¡¯s house?

    After Zhao Jinge came home today, he was too embarrassed to look at Jiang Zhen because his parents were nearby. He didn¡¯t know about Wang Haisheng¡¯s family moving in. At this moment, he was a bit confused. Standing there stunned, he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    In the vige, he was always rejected by the others. There was no uglier ger or woman in their whole vige. Since his engagement got annulled in his teens, the others always looked at him with eyes full of sympathy.

    People like him must be unlikable. Jiang Zhen . . . was he bored with him?

    Zhao Jinge felt butterflies in his stomach and was very uneasy, while Jiang Zhen was really a bit annoyed at that moment.

    The mud walls in the countryside were thick and soundproof, but the doors and windows in the countryside were not soundproof, so even if there was a small movement next door, he could hear everything.

    Although Wang Haisheng tried to keep his voice as low as possible when he took care of Sun Xiaoshan, he had good ears and could hear everything. Because the voice was low, he subconsciously listened to it and could fall asleep even harder¡­

    Someone was whispering over there, which was definitely more annoying than the meaningless chirping of cicadas and frogs!

    Jiang Zhen was willing to help others as much as he could. The education he received in modern times made it difficult for him not to starve to death. So before crossing here, he identally received a new life by saving others. But he was still very unhappy because it was too noisy to sleep at the moment.

    Hurry up tomorrow! He must quickly build a house for Wang Haisheng and let him move out!

    Unable to sleep, Jiang Zhen simply left the house and went to Zhao Jinge. Although Zhao Jinge has usually fallen asleep by this time, he might not have slept yet, right?

    Jiang Zhen quietly went out of his house. Just as he walked a few steps out, he saw Zhao Jinge standing there motionless.

    ¡°Jinge?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at him with a bit of surprise. ¡°You¡¯vee to me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge stood there, hesitating as to whether he should take a look, when he saw Jiang Zhene out. He was overjoyed for a moment. ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡±

    Zhao Jinge seldom called Jiang Zhen¡¯s name directly, so it made Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart itch. He went forward and kissed Zhao Jinge¡¯s face directly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to bed early but came to see me sote?¡±

    Zhao Jinge took a deep breath to try and calm down his heart from the joy of seeing Jiang Zhen. ¡°My mother said she saw youst night . . . You came to see mest night? I didn¡¯t even know.¡± When he finished speaking, he felt a bit upset.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you asleep? Unlike me you work so hard every day. You should sleep more,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He especially liked people like Zhao Jinge. He was a bit shy, but he would also express his feelings clearly when he should and would reciprocate the feelings he has received.

    Zhao Jinge was happy to hear that Jiang Zhen cared about him and felt guilty about his misunderstanding of Jiang Zhen. After thinking about it, he simply asked, ¡°You . . . howe there seems to be someone else living there?¡°

    ¡°I¡¯ve lent the empty house to someone else,¡± Jiang Zhen said. It was too dark, and he couldn¡¯t see Zhao Jinge¡¯s expression clearly, but he could still hear something strange in Zhao Jinge¡¯s voice. ¡°Because someone is here, you didn¡¯t want toe inside and just stood here?¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Zhao Jinge responded.

    ¡°It¡¯s really annoying to let them live here. I will make them move out soon,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°There has been a lot of noise over there today, and I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡± Zhao Jinge frowned. ¡°Can¡¯t they be quiet?¡±

    ¡°There is an ill person there, so they can¡¯t be quiet,¡± Jiang Zhen said, dragging Zhao Jinge to the secret ce nearby. Then he told him about Wang Haisheng¡¯s family.

    Zhao Jinge had also experienced illness in his family with no money for medical treatment. He felt guilty about his previous thoughts, and was now more certain that Jiang Zhen was a good man.

    ¡°The ill person wanted to be quiet . . . But you can¡¯t sleep well¡ª¡± Zhao Jinge was about to ask Jiang Zhen if he could sleep on the boat or not, when Jiang Zhen suddenly interrupted him.

    ¡°Jinge, in fact, there is a solution,¡± Jiang Zhen said, and then told Zhao Jinge about spending twenty silver. Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t care about it, which surprised him a little and improved his mood for the better.

    When he was so happy, he couldn¡¯t help trying to tease Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Howe?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep in your room. I¡¯ll climb through the window and leave early tomorrow. I won¡¯t let anyone know.¡± Jiang Zhenughed.

    Zhao Jinge was confused again. At this time, he should push away Jiang Zhen who was standing very close to him. But somehow, he did not do it. He even considered the feasibility of letting Jiang Zhen sleep with him.

    ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t tease you anymore.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge on the cheek again. Isn¡¯t it just a little noise? It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t sleep.

    ¡°In fact, it¡¯s OK,¡± Zhao Jinge suddenly said, clenching his teeth.

    This time, it was Jiang Zhen who was startled by him. ¡°Jinge?¡±

    ¡°You can sleep on the bed, and I¡¯ll sleep on the bamboo couch. There is a bamboo couch in my room,¡± Zhao Jinge said. The so-called bamboo couch was a bed made entirely of bamboo. It was three or four feet wide. It was very cool to sleep on it. People here liked to sleep on a bamboo couch in summer.

    The bamboo bed in his house was bought by his father when he and his brother were young. In the summer, they would move the bamboo bed outside the house for half a night after dinner, and then go inside the house after midnight.

    Sometimes, when he and his brother fell asleep there, his father would not even wake them up. His parents would move the bamboo couch inside the house and let them continue to sleep in the house.

    Later, his brother was gone, and his family was not in the mood to enjoy the coolness outside every day. The bamboo couch was put in his room, usually used to put things on.

    After Zhao Jinge said those words, his hands trembled uncontrobly. Only after a while did he calm down again.

    Jiang Zhen was the best person to him besides his parents and brother. He was also the first and only man to express his affection for him. He had actually already made up his mind to follow Jiang Zhen since then. That being the case, it was nothing.

    Jiang Zhen was both surprised and delighted.

    Zhao Jinge had always been very conservative, and he was aware of it, so it was enough to kiss asionally. Although he already said that he would climb the window, he didn¡¯t really mean to do that.

    Jiang Zhen always knew the right thing to do. As a result, Zhao Jinge was willing to sleep with him.

    ¡°Jinge, you must like me very much.¡± Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. He knew that Zhao Jinge should like him very much, but at that moment, he became aware of it once again.

    Zhao Jinge froze up again when he heard Jiang Zhen say ¡°like¡±. He really liked Jiang Zhen and wanted to hold on to him. He had never had such emotions before, and they had never been stronger than at this moment.

    ¡°I like you too.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge again. He would never lose Zhao Jinge in his life.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s heart jumped, and his face became hot again. ¡°I¡¯m so ugly . . .¡±

    ¡°Where are you ugly?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. ¡°I think you look great.¡±

    Zhao Jinge only felt that Jiang Zhen was lying to him with his eyes wide open, but he was still very happy, which made Jiang Zhen also very happy. In the end, both men stood silently in the dark for a long time.

    Finally, Jiang Zhen said, ¡°It¡¯s time to go to bed.¡± He was an adult man who had lived for 30 years, yet he was as stupid as those little boys when he fell in love . . . He despised himself a little.

    ¡°Um.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and headed for his house. He and Jiang Zhen were still holding hands as Jiang Zhen followed him back.

    He should be afraid of his parents bumping into him, but for some reason, Zhao Jinge was not afraid at all but felt even a little eager. Unfortunately, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu slept very well and didn¡¯t get up at all.

    When Zhao Jinge had gone out, he had left the door open. He entered his house as Jiang Zhen followed him. Then, Zhao Jinge became stiff again.

    ¡°Sleep. I won¡¯t touch you.¡± Jiang Zhen touched Zhao Jinge¡¯s head.

    Zhao Jinge was twenty-five. He himself was twenty-six. If it was in modern times, he would definitely break his word now. It was not a big deal for two people to roll between the sheets. But it¡¯s in ancient times, it was better to put up with it for now.

    I¡¯ve endured it for so many years, and it¡¯s not that long any more.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s brain was still a bit muddled at the moment, so he really went to bed like he was.

    Jiang Zhen noticed this, and found it a kind of funny. He closed the door and the window first and theny down beside Zhao Jinge. He took Zhao Jinge¡¯s quilt cover and slept with him under the same quilt.

    Although he can¡¯t do anything, he really doesn¡¯t want to leave at this moment.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s room was clean and smelled good. He and Zhao Jingey on the bed side by side, and Jiang Zhen had a reaction almost immediately, but he didn¡¯t do anything except hold Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. He didn¡¯t even relieve himself.

    A man should endure when he should. If their wife wanted to do it, as soon as shey next to them, sooner orter, perseverance would be useless.

    Jiang Zhen admonished himself and began to rejoice that the aesthetic standards of the people from that time were all different from his own.

    Zhao Jinge was really too gullible. If someone with the same aesthetic value as him had taken a fancy to Zhao Jinge early on, Zhao Jinge would have been deceived by this person long ago, and he wouldn¡¯t have had a chance at all. Now, of course, he didn¡¯t have to worry about that.

    Jiang Zhen felt that Zhao Jinge was very persistent in some aspects. Since he had chosen him, he would not be with others in the future.

    As long as Zhao Jinge was consistent, he would never do anything to betray him.

    Jiang Zhen thought about it a lot. When he came to his senses, he found that Zhao Jinge had already fallen asleep and his breathing was very stable.

    Should he be better than an animal now or should he be worse than an animal?

    With a light chuckle, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge in his arms, reached inside his clothes and touched him.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s body was not nice to touch because of his poor living conditions and his skin was not very smooth, but he just felt that this person was particrlyfortable to touch.

    There was another person beside him, but Zhao Jinge slept very well that night. When he got up in the morning, he discovered that he and Jiang Zhen were hugging each other. Apart from being a bit embarrassed, he epted it very quickly.

    He had made up his mind to be with Jiang Zhen anyway, hadn¡¯t he? He didn¡¯t know when Jiang Zhen woulde to propose marriage.

    Zhao Jinge woke up very early that morning, but at night, he was being secretly taken advantage of by the other. He was also proud to discover that Jiang Zhen, who was bigger than him, was unable to get up.

    ¡°I should have gotten up earlier.¡± The sound of Zhao Jinge getting up woke Jiang Zhen, who couldn¡¯t help sighing.

    Last night he had promised to get up and leave secretly in the early hours of the morning, but he didn¡¯t wake up. Or he didn¡¯t want to leave until he woke up naturally.

    ¡°My mother won¡¯te to my room. You can sleep a little longer.¡± Zhao Jinge looked just like a regr male, so Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t treat him as intimately as a daughter, let alone enter his house for no reason.

    ¡°Um.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and didn¡¯t get up from the bed; he just watched as Zhao Jinge tidied up his clothes.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t take off his clothes when he went to bedst night. His clothes were a bit wrinkled, so he stretched out his hand and pulled at them. As a result, Jiang Zhen stared at him as if he was going to take his clothes off . . .

    He ran out of the house almost immediately.

    Jiang Zhen watched him leave and listened to the movements from outside. After confirming that Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were in their own quarters, he quietly climbed the window and left.

    Although Jiang Zhen got upter than usual today, it was still only dawn. Nowadays, people went to sleep so early that they couldn¡¯t sleep until the morning.

    When he returned to his residence, Jiang Zhen saw that Wang Haisheng had also gotten up and was busy cooking, while his two children were helping him.

    ¡°You¡¯re up!¡± Wang Haisheng greeted Jiang Zhen. He didn¡¯t know that Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t returned all night. He just thought that he had gone out early.

    Jiang Zhen nodded at him; then suddenly, he was not in a hurry to let him move out.

 Chapter 36 - Ship repair and news

    Chapter 36 ¨C Ship repair and news

    Sun Xiaoshan was not feeling wellst night, but he felt better today and was able to sit up.

    These days, the nine-year-old child could do almost everything at home, so Wang Haisheng asked Wang Yuer to take care of Sun Xiaoshan and took Jiang Zhen to clean up the boat.

    The ship was a little dirty, but it was well cared for. It could be seen that the owner loved it very much.

    ¡°This ship was newly built seven years ago when the previous one got too broken to hold on. At that time, I had some money saved, so I changed it,¡± Wang Haisheng said when he cleaned the ship ording to Jiang Zhen¡¯s requirements, then he said where the ship needed to be repaired and where more shelves could be added.

    ¡°Can you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been dealing with ships for a long time, so I can repair them. I have several tools,¡± Wang Haisheng said. ¡°If I had enough materials and a few more tools, I could build another one.¡±

    When he was a child, he lived on a fishing boat with his parents. At that time, the boat was a bit broken in the beginning and had to be repaired from time to time. When he was looking for someone to build the boat, he watched the whole process and learned something about shipbuilding.

    Wang Haisheng didn¡¯t think that what he could do was amazing. After all, many people who depended on fishing for a living could repair their boats and build them. But Jiang Zhen was surprised nevertheless. He even wanted to ask Wang Haisheng why he didn¡¯t live on this, but he soon realized that in these times craftsmen were worthless.

    Everyone was equal, but knowledge was important. In these times, people didn¡¯t care much about craftsmen. Many people who mastered exquisite skills were ssified as craftsmen, but they had no freedom at all.

    It was true that being a carpenter in the countryside could lead to a better life than being an ordinary farmer, but it was also limited. There were such carpenters in almost every vige already and no neer was epted.

    After learning about Wang Haisheng¡¯s skills, Jiang Zhen specially went to cut down a few trees. After repairing the boat, he made some furniture together with Wang Haisheng. Carpentry was not very difficult. If you didn¡¯t pay attention to appearance, you could easily make some stools or the like.

    People these days liked heavy furniture with fine carvings, but Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng had limited skills, so their furniture was very simple and ugly.

    It couldn¡¯t be sold for money, and some pieces of their furniture couldn¡¯t even be used, which was rted to the wood they had chosen. Not all wood was suitable for furniture making. They didn¡¯t understand it at first. Fortunately, even if that wood couldn¡¯t be used as furniture, they could practice their skills and use it as firewood afterwards.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng had been busy for more than ten days. In those ten days, it rained almost every day, but not all day long.

    In some ces, spring rain was as expensive as oil, but here, spring rain went on and on.

    The days were warm and the rain abundant. Hexi Vige, which was full of green even in winter, looked lusher, and the camphor trees started losing their leaves. After a year¡¯s growth, the old green leaves from the winter would fall from the trees in spring. At the same time, the new green leaves would soon cover the whole crown of the trees.

    For Wang Haisheng¡¯s family, it used to be a very sad time when it rained all day.

    Although the mud house was wet, they could at least make a fire and dry their clothes, but it was very troublesome on the boat. When the clothes and quilts were wet, they could only be used like that.

    Sometimes, some parts of the ship were not well cared for, and even the clothes in the wooden dresser would be moldy and rotten.

    In such an environment, people always got sick easily. One of Wang Haisheng¡¯s children got sick before and died. Because of this, Wang Haisheng was very grateful to Jiang Zhen, who took his family in.

    After finishing his job with Jiang Zhen that day, he took the bamboo baskets he stuffed with earthworms and went to the river to catch fish, intending to give the best fish to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Fisherman, why are you staying with Eldest Jiang recently instead of living on the fishing boat?¡± Carrying back a basket full of fish, Wang Haisheng was suddenly stopped.

    ¡°You are asking me?¡± Wang Haisheng looked at the man and then said, ¡°I sold the fishing boat to Jiang Zhen.¡±

    The man was talking about Eldest Jiang. Isn¡¯t that Jiang Zhen?

    The person who asked Wang Haisheng a question pondered for a moment before looking at Wang Haisheng with great sympathy. Did Jiang Zhen rob this man¡¯s boat?

    Not only did he rob this man¡¯s boat, but now, his whole family seemed to be working for Jiang Zhen. The six-year-old boy dug a basket of wild vegetables and directly gave it to Jiang Zhen.

    The viger who stopped Wang Haisheng didn¡¯t dare to ask any more questions, let alone speak ill about Jiang Zhen. After looking at Wang Haisheng sympathetically, he shook his head and left. However, Wang Haisheng was so confused that he didn¡¯t know what happened.

    If he didn¡¯t understand, he didn¡¯t understand. Wang Haisheng found Jiang Zhen and gave him the biggest fishes in his hands. Jiang Zhen received the fish and gave him rice of the same weight as the fish.

    Wang Haisheng didn¡¯tck fish to eat. In fact, his whole family was tired of eating fish. But they were always short of rice so they thought it was delicious.

    If Wang Hai was tired of eating fish, Jiang Zhen was even more tired of eating fish at this moment.

    In modern times, fried, roasted, sweet and sour, spicy, or steamed, there were all kinds of seasonings and cooking methods, as well as many types of fish. If you let someone eat fish every day for a year, even people like him who were not picky would get tired of it, but the key point was that there was no such condition here at all.

    He hadn¡¯t seen chili at all. Because the oil extraction technologygged behind, oil was very expensive; soy sauce was not cheaper than salt either. But even if it tasted bad, it was still necessary to eat and let Zhao Jinge eat with him.

    Jiang Zhen killed several fishes, choosing one to stream on the steaming rack and salted another one to make salted fish. In fact, people here were all very fond of salted fish. Unfortunately, salt was too expensive, so they usually didn¡¯t use salt for the fish. Jiang Zhen was already considered a big spender.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to give Zhao Jinge food, so he always started a fire separately from Wang Haisheng¡¯s family. He finished making the fish dish that night, eating the head and tail parts himself and leaving the best middle parts, then he waited for the night toe.

    When it got dark and Wang Haisheng¡¯s family next door had fallen asleep, Jiang Zhen took the fish with him and went to meet Zhao Jinge.

    He has been sleeping with Zhao Jinge these days.

    After he was identally seen by Zhao Liu, he was very careful. He used all his anti-reconnaissance skills learned from hisst life so that no one found out that he stole incenses and jades every night.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t steal incense or jade . . . Zhao Jinge was very busy every day, and the two of them were not married yet, so it was naturally impossible for him to really do anything to Zhao Jinge.

    He handed the fish to Zhao Jinge through the window. When Jinge took it, he quietly entered Zhao Jinge¡¯s room. Then he took out a small piece of candle and lit it.

    In the candlelight, Zhao Jinge slowly started eating the fish.

    Zhao Jinge was actually fed up with eating fish too, but it was brought to him to eat by Jiang Zhen. No matter how tired he was or how bad it was, he would eat it clean. What¡¯s more, he¡¯s not an ungrateful person. It was clear to him that Jiang Zhen asked him to eat fish for his own good.

    Although he didn¡¯t get sick before, he often had sore knees and cramps. Recently, those problems had not manifested.

    Zhao Jinge ate fish in silence and didn¡¯t speak. Jiang Zhen looked at him quietly and didn¡¯t speak either. This was because they were afraid of being discovered by Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu, but also because . . . it was good to stay together without talking.

    That night, they chatted with each other under the quilt.

    Jiang Zhen once again made use of his strong self-control. Although he used to live with hisrades in arms, they were all straight, so he never had any ideas about them. But Zhao Jinge was different, he was the person he liked. The person he liked was lying next to him, and he didn¡¯t make any moves. That was also a kind of skill!

    Of course, on the surface, he didn¡¯t move. But in fact . . . God knows how often Zhao Jinge¡¯s tofu had been secretly eaten by him, and Zhao Jinge himself should also know.

    Maybe he didn¡¯t know the first night, butter, when Jiang Zhen moved his hands, he was clearly awake but kept pretending to be asleep.

    Early in the morning, Jiang Zhen left, taking the bowl he had brought with him.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng had almostpletely renovated the fishing boat. They were making wooden boxes by the river when suddenly, an acquaintance came to the riverside. He was wearing a yamen officer¡¯s clothes; it was Yang Jing.

    These days, it was raining all the time, and there was nothing to do in the yamen. Yang Jing was tired of staying at home. He couldn¡¯t help but want to go to the gambling house to y. However, a few days ago Jiang Zhen asked him about a couple of things which scared him. He was not in the mood to go out drinking and gambling with the others.

    But it was so boring and there was nothing to do. In the end, Yang Jing simply ran to the dock in the rain and messed around with Jiang Chenxiang while helping Jiang Zhen inquire about the seafood business at the same time. Now that the Jiangs¡¯ third son had enough trouble and he also learned what Jiang Zhen asked him to inquire about, he came to Hexi Vige.

    Yang Jing¡¯s previous experience in Hexi Vige had cast a psychological shadow on him. He didn¡¯t want toe to the vige and be seen. Therefore, when he saw Jiang Zhen staying by the river, Yang Jing immediately disyed his joy.

    ¡°Boss!¡± Yang Jing greeted Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Any news?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I have news, boss. Those who go to the seaside to buy seafood from town will leave tomorrow. They are also willing to take you with them. If you want to go, you can go to the west of the dock early tomorrow morning to meet them,¡± said Yang Jing.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and asked for some details while Yang Jing carefully told him everything he knew and then said, ¡°People living by the seaside like grain very much. If you have some good grain, you can sell it at a good price.¡±

    Yang Jing spoke a lot, then he finally said, ¡°Boss, I have something to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It is about Jiang Chenxiang. He lost his job.¡± Yang Jing giggled twice.

    No one knew how many people were craving for Jiang Chengxian¡¯s job. It was not easy for him to keep this job like before.

    Although Yang Jing was a yamen officer, it was impossible for him to find fault in a big way. He simply contacted a person who wanted Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s job and helped that person a little . . .

    That man was capable and had an uncle who worked as a steward at the dock and who also helped him squeeze Jiang Chengxiang out. After getting Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s job yesterday, he also gave Yang Jing two silver as a thank-you gift.

    Yang Jing was very proud of it but, at the same time, he looked at Jiang Zhen carefully, afraid of making Jiang Zhen angry.

    However, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t get angry and just smiled. ¡°There are so many fields in the Jiang family. Butcher Jiang and Chengwen can¡¯t possibly nt them themselves. He shoulde back home to help.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Yang Jing nodded repeatedly, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

    After talking with Jiang Zhen for a while, Yang Jing left. Jiang Zhen was thinking about the next day. He went home with Wang Haisheng while making a special detour to the Jiang family house.

    When they arrived near the Jiang house, Jiang Zhen really saw Jiang Chengxiang, who Yang Jing mentioned to him not too long ago.

    Jiang Chengxiang always dressed elegantly andbed his hair meticulously, but now, he looked a bit messy.

    Jiang Chengxiang was having a hard time these days.

    After Jiang Zhen released Yang Jing, he thought his life could gradually return to normal, but the facts proved that he was thinking too much.

    He encountered a lot of troubles, such as Zhu Shufen¡¯s unwillingness to return home with him or someone always picking on him at the dock.

    He still liked Zhu Shufen very much, and even more Zhu Shufen¡¯s family situation¡ªZhu Shufen¡¯s father had great chances of being admitted for the test!

    Because of this, he went to the Zhu family house several times in the past few days, apologizing and apologizing again.

    Zhu Shufen was already married to him, and although the Zhu family were not satisfied with him taking the money from Zhu Shufen¡¯s box, it was impossible for them to take Zhu Shufen back or for Zhu Shufen to leave him.

    As a result . . . just after Zhu Shufen returned, his job was gone!

    He used to earn two silver a month at the dock, so he could livefortably in the county town. But now, he had lost his job and all of his previous savings had been lost to Jiang Zhen.

    In the end Jiang Chengxiang could only bring Zhu Shufen back to Hexi Vige. Otherwise, they might not even be able to eat.

    Now, Jiang Chengxiang, who had just returned, saw Jiang Zhen who had harmed him at a nce.

 Chapter 37 - The matchmaker is here

    Chapter 37 ¨C The matchmaker is here

    Him losing his job had something to do with Yang Jing. Yang Jing was aiming at him. If Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s eyes could carry poison, Jiang Zhen would already be poisoned.

    Although he didn¡¯t have the talent and financial resources to take the examination, he was always proudly thinking of himself as a schr and felt that he could change his destiny and never work in the fields in his life. But now? He lost his job and then. . .

    ¡°Chengxiang, pack up and go to the fields with me.¡± Butcher Jiang came out of the house with a bamboo basket and a hoe on his back, speaking as he walked.

    When Jiang Zhen left home, he stabbed him in the leg with a bamboo pole. Although the injury didn¡¯t kill him, it made him ill and unable to sleep for a few days. His well-being had been poor these days, and he couldn¡¯t do the work in the fields.

    Originally, it was nothing. In the past, when he was busy farming or had the same old lower back pain problem, his farm work had never been dyed. After all, his eldest brother was better than a long-term worker.

    Even if they hired a long-term worker, they couldn¡¯t ask him to work for them at night. But they could let Eldest Jiang work until night.

    But now, his family¡¯s eldest son had run away.

    Butcher Jiang was old and weak. It was understandable that he worked slowly. However, Jiang Chengwen, who was in his early twenties, which was considered the most powerful age for a man, actually worked even more slowly than the old Butcher Jiang!

    Butcher Jiang naturally wanted to scold him, but he hadn¡¯t even started when he simply hid in the house and refused to go out!

    In the past, when Eldest Jiang was too tired and got upte, olddy Jiang would tell the whole vige that he waszy and how bad he was. But when it came to Jiang Chengwen, when he cried out that he was tired, olddy Jiang was reluctant to let him work in the field.

    In the end, olddy Jiang went with Butcher Jiang to the field. Not only that, when others came to ask her why Jiang Chengwen didn¡¯te to work, she also kept on speaking for Jiang Chengwen, repeatedly saying that Jiang Chengwen was too ill toe to work in the fields.

    Whether the others believed it or not, it was certain that the Jiang family¡¯snd would not be fully nted.

    It was precisely because of this that Butcher Jiang called Jiang Chengxiang to work in the fields when he just came back.

    Jiang Chengwen was alwayszy and slippery but had thick skin. He couldn¡¯t be easily asked to work. The butcher was used to it, but Jiang Chengxiang . . . In Butcher Jiang¡¯s eyes, his third son was obedient and filial and was definitely willing to help share the work.

    Jiang Chengxiang had always behaved well in front of outsiders and his parents. He didn¡¯t shirk his responsibility for any work at home. But in his heart, he was unwilling to do farm work. He didn¡¯t want to be a man like Eldest Jiang!

    Therefore, after Butcher Jiang opened his mouth, Jiang Chengxiang didn¡¯t answer but stared at Jiang Zhen not far away.

    When the butcher saw Jiang Zhen, his face darkened immediately.

    ¡°Butcher Jiang, you have two good sons that are unwilling to work in the fields.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Butcher Jiang and said softly, ¡°Now that you are still working, you can support them. But I¡¯m afraid their life will be sad in the future.¡±

    The ancient times were not the modern times where there were machines, chemical fertilizers, and all kinds of pesticides. These days, farmers had to plow and harvest the fields themselves. The fertilizer in the fields had to be made and used by them. When there were too many weeds, they had to pull them out. When there were worms, they had to catch them with their own hands . . .

    Thend here was fertile and the climate was good. The crops grew fast, but the weeds grew even faster, and there were many insects. Didn¡¯t the people from this vige have to go to the fields every day?

    But Jiang Chengwen and Chengxiang . . . These two masters were unwilling to take off their shoes to go to the paddy field! Especially Jiang Chengxiang, who identally saw leeches crawling on his thighs. He couldn¡¯t even eat due to nausea . . . And don¡¯t think about what he usually ate and drank. Someone needed to work hard to grow it.

    Butcher Jiang¡¯s face was ck.

    ¡°They are your only two sons . . . I think you have a bleak future,¡± Jiang Zhen said very sincerely. He was telling the truth, but it was clear that others considered it a curse.

    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about, you knife killer? I would be miserable in the future with you being at home. Without you, I¡¯ll naturally be able to live a good life!¡± Old madam Jiang came out with a frame on her back. She just heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t help scolding him.

    After scolding Jiang Zhen for so many years, it had be a habit. Although she had been dealt with several times by Jiang Zhen, she still couldn¡¯t learn.

    When Jiang Zhen heard this, he took a handful of wet mud from the side of the road and threw it at her without hesitation.

    He had a very good aim. What was supposed tond on Jiang Chengxiang to disgust him,nded on his face, scaring olddy Jiang.

    ¡°Butcher Jiang, I¡¯m telling you for your own sake. Your two sons, you¡¯d better take good care of them. Don¡¯t let him be an old man who couldn¡¯t keep his family¡¯s business,¡± Jiang Zhen earnestly warned the butcher again, and then left.

    When Jiang Zhen went to the river to wash his hands, Wang Haisheng defended him, saying, ¡°That family is really hateful. They even scold you when you were just passing by! You should beat them up!¡±

    ¡°After all, I was born to them, so it¡¯s not easy to fight them,¡± said Jiang Zhen.

    Wang Haisheng was surprised. Thinking about the previous situation, he thought about Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s experience. ¡°That old woman is your stepmother?¡± In his opinion, Jiang Zhen was probably treated badly by his stepmother.

    ¡°No, mother,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°But people think that I beat her, and so they want to kill me . . . She always felt that she had already been very kind to me, if she didn¡¯t drown me in the toilet.¡±

    Wang Haisheng sighed. He had met many ruthless people before, many of whom threw their children in the river because they didn¡¯t have money to support them. But he couldn¡¯t understand such a behavior, and now he sympathized with Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen was a good man and shouldn¡¯t be treated like that by his own parents . . .

    In fact, Jiang Zhen also sympathized with Eldest Jiang. At that moment, he could only wish him a good family in his next life.

    When he got back home, Jiang Zhen took out all the money he owned.

    Because he gave Wang Haisheng twenty silver, what he could use as his starting capital was only ten silver, which was a bit too little . . . After thinking about it, Jiang Zhen specially packed 200 kilos of millet and nned to go to the seaside the next day to exchange it for other goods.

    It was already evening. After the busy work, Jiang Zhen made a meal. He steamed the salted fish with a bowl of garlic to fill his stomach and then waited for the night to fall.

    He would leave early the next day, so he would certainly not be able to sleep in Zhao Jinge¡¯s ce tonight, but he had to tell Zhao Jinge about going out.

    With half a fish in hand, Jiang Zhen entered Zhao Jinge¡¯s room and kissed his face. ¡°Jinge, I have something to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge asked in a low voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m going on a trip,¡± Jiang Zhen said, then he exined that he was going to buy seafood. As a matter of fact, the seaside was not far from the vige. He would set off early tomorrow morning, and in the afternoon, he should arrive at the coast. But he would be dyed for a day or two there, as he nned to find a ce to sell the goods after he buys them, so it would take him at least four or five days.

    ¡°You should find something to do. It¡¯s good to sell seafood,¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. He always thought it¡¯s not good for Jiang Zhen to do nothing every day. Now that Jiang Zhen was willing to find a job, it couldn¡¯t be better.

    ¡°I can¡¯t bring you any food these days. So take some from home and don¡¯t go hungry.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge¡¯s cheek again and held his hand.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t eat before, and everything was alright,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want you to be hungry,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen was not one of those people who could speak words of love very well, but Zhao Jinge had never heard such words either. So no matter what Jiang Zhen said, his reaction was always particrly strong.

    At this moment, he was very happy.

    Zhao Jinge had never been anywhere far. He didn¡¯t know anything about selling seafood, but he knew that it would cost a lot of money to live outside. After thinking about it, he took a small cloth bag from the head of his bed and gave it to Jiang Zhen. ¡°I only have four silver. Take it.¡±

    Most of Zhao Jinge¡¯s money for long-term work was given to his parents, but Zhao Liu still gave him some money for buying and making clothes and buying some things for himself. He never spent that money but saved it all, a total of four silver.

    The money was not much, not even a little, but it was all Zhao Jinge had.

    Jiang Zhen took the money in his hands and felt warm in his heart. After a while, he said, ¡°You are stupid.¡±

    Zhao Jinge frowned and looked at Jiang Zhen. He didn¡¯t understand why Jiang Zhen said he was stupid. As a result, Jiang Zhen kissed him again. ¡°But I like you like this.¡±

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face turned red again when he heard the word ¡°like¡±.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t stay that night, and when he left, he took the silver given to him by Zhao Jinge.

    Before dawn the next day, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng set out. Before leaving, Jiang Zhen locked his house and gave his chicken to Sun Xiaoshan to take care of.

    Over the past few days, Sun Xiaoshan had almost recovered from his illness, but Jiang Zhen had not spoken even a few words to him. It was true that the ger was too introverted and timid, but although he was a little introverted and timid, he was still very nice. Before long he instructed his eldest son to plow all the fields near Jiang Zhen¡¯s residence to help Jiang Zhen grow vegetables and would take the children to dig wild vegetables and give them to Jiang Zhen.

    Of course, he did all of this while Jiang Zhen was not at home. When Jiang Zhen was at home, he basically hid inside the house. He rarely met Jiang Zhen face to face, and he didn¡¯t speak to him.

    Jiang Zhen was helpless, but even if he was a bit grumpy, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He estimated that the ger was like this, because he used to live on a boat and didn¡¯tmunicate with other people.

    Jiang Zhen set out very early. Just before dawn, he had arrived at the ce Yang Jing mentioned.

    At that time, all the concerned people got up early, so when they arrived, they were already there. Jiang Zhen went up to talk with them and checked them all out at the same time.

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Zhen did not fully trust Yang Jing and was even prepared for Yang Jing to set him up. However, it turned out that he thought too much. He knew at a nce that these people who wanted to go at sea with him were ordinary folk who had never seen blood, and at most, they were a little sly.

    These days, only sly people could think of starting a business. Most people only knew how to work hard.

    After chatting with these people for a while, Jiang Zhen got a lot of information out of them. When he knew all that he wanted to know, he stopped talking and left Wang Haisheng to socialize with the other merchants.

    These people who went to the seaside to buy sea goods were not rich people, and they had only 10 or 20 silver of capital. Even their boats were not as big as Wang Haisheng¡¯s boat. Wang Haisheng felt no inferiority towards them and quickly slip into their conversations.

    This time, five boats set out together, and everyone sailed to the seaside together.

    Jiang Zhen had already learned how to row from Wang Haisheng. Now he could help Wang Haisheng to have some rest, making Wang Haisheng even more grateful for his behavior.

    Jiang Zhen rowed for a while. Handling the oars back to Wang Haisheng he asked, ¡°Have you ever been to Fucheng?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Haisheng nodded.

    ¡°What is it like over there?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    Wang Haisheng began to speak slowly.

    Jiang Zhen suddenly asked about Fucheng for a reason. The sea merchants who went to buy goods with them would all go back to their county towns to sell their goods. The price set by everyone was the same, and everyone agreed in advance that the price could not be reduced.

    In fact, it was actually quite good, but it¡¯s also bound that Jiang Zhen, who was the new recruit, would have a hard time earning money and might even have goods left that cannot be sold.

    If they go to Fucheng . . .

    Jiang Zhen listened carefully to Wang Haisheng¡¯s story. Meanwhile, a matchmaker came to the Zhao family in Hexi Vige.

    There were no matchmakers in this vige, but some people liked to match people, and there were many marriages. Over time, if someone wanted to propose marriage, they would go to the matchmaker and make her negotiate in their ce. If the couple got married, they would invite her to have wedding wine and give her a piece of pork weighing at least two kilos without a bone.

    Of course, if the family of the man had money, in addition to pork, he would usually give some money to the matchmaker.

    The person who came to the Zhao family this time was a woman who often served as a matchmaker in Hexi Vige. Her name was He Chunxiang.

    Zhao Liu had also dealt with this matchmaker before, hoping she could arrange a good marriage for Zhao Jinge, but Zhao Jinge¡¯s condition was too poor, so she had never been sessful.

    Later, Zhao Liu gave up her original n of finding her ger son a good marriage partner, so she hadn¡¯t seen Matchmaker He for a long time.

    ¡°Elder Sister He, what are you doing here?¡± Zhao Liu was surprised to see Matchmaker He. A momentter, she was even more surprised. ¡°Is someone going to propose to my Jinge?¡±

 Chapter 38.1 - Proposing relatives and fishing village

    Chapter 38.1 ¨C Proposing rtives and fishing vige

    Zhao Liu asked this with surprise, but soonughed awkwardly again.

    She felt that . . . it was more likely that the matchmaker hade to visit their house than that she was asked to propose marriage for her Zhao Jinge.

    However, the matchmaker just smiled and said, ¡°Yes, someone is proposing marriage to your Jinge!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zhao Liu asked in disbelief. She had never thought that someone would propose marriage to Zhao Jinge after several years of disappointment.

    ¡°Of course it is true,¡± the matchmaker said.

    Constantly rubbing her hands, the smile on Zhao Liu¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be hidden. ¡°Who is it? What is his home situation? Does he want to marry Jinge into his house or does he want to marry into our house?¡± When she asked thetter question, she blushed a little. She was afraid that no one would like to enter her family.

    Sure enough, the matchmaker quickly said, ¡°That family wants to marry Jinge in.¡±

    Zhao Liu was a little lost and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that man like?¡± Although she wanted to tell Zhao Jinge about the marriage, she would not talk about it if the man was too bad.

    ¡°That man is two years older than Jinge, and his family¡¯s life is alright. But his first wife left behind four children . . .¡± When the matchmaker looked at Zhao Liu, she saw that Zhao Liu frowned, so she couldn¡¯t help turning her mouth away secretly.

    In Zhao Jinge¡¯s case, someone who was willing to marry him should already be considered as burning high-quality incense. Zhao Fugui and his wife regarded him as a treasure. A few years ago, she told Zhao Jinge about a marriage to fill a house for a widower, but they were unexpectedly unwilling to do so.

    ¡°There are four children already . . .¡± When Zhao Liu heard this, she was not as happy as she had been at the beginning. It would not be easy for her Jinge to be a stepmother of so many children.

    ¡°These children are still young. If he takes good care of them, when they grow up, they would be no different from their own,¡± Matchmaker He said.

    Zhao Liu was still a little reluctant, but thinking about Zhao Jinge¡¯s situation she endured it.

    Good or bad . . . that guy is not old, is he?

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zhao Liu asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s Li Zugen from Lijia Vige. . .¡±

    ¡°No! Absolutely not this man!¡± When Zhao Liu heard Li Zugen¡¯s name, she got angry. That guy¡¯s wife ran away, leaving a mess, and they wanted her Jinge to take it over? That was very wishful thinking!

    If nothing else, those four sons were not affordable for ordinary people. Four sons! Even if those four sons found a daughter-inw who didn¡¯t want a dowry, how much would it cost to build a house, throw a banquet, and make furniture for so many people? What¡¯s more, was there a wife in this world who didn¡¯t need betrothal gifts?

    In addition, Zhao Liu had always hated the Li family. At the beginning, it was the Li family who asked for an engagement, butter, they were kicked out by them. If Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t engaged to this Li Zugen, they would have chosen another family for him to make an early preparation. How could he still get married now that he was twenty-five?

    ¡°For the Zhao family, Li Zugen is not bad. They have seventy or eighty silver of cash on their hands now . . .¡± Matchmaker He persuaded.

    ¡°No. Never to this man! You get out of here!¡± Zhao Liu got even angrier.

    After saying that, thinking that she might have to rely on the matchmaker in the future, her face softened again. ¡°Elder Sister He, I don¡¯t have a very good temper. I am sorry . . . It¡¯s just that the Li family really won¡¯t do. Even if I say yes, my family would not like them. You can help them find someone else.¡±

    Matchmaker He¡¯s face also looked very bad at the moment. She looked at Zhao Liu with dissatisfaction and sneered, ¡°How is it so easy to find someone new? Your Zhao Jinge looks just like a man. Which man do you think would want to marry someone like this? What¡¯s more, as far as his figure is concerned, it can be seen at a nce that he would have difficulties having children. What¡¯s more, he is already so old, so he may not be able to have a child at all . . .¡±

    Zhao Liushi got really angry right then and drove Matchmaker He out.

    When the matchmaker left, she was annoyed again, and the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt.

    A soft body, buttocks that were plump but petite, and a red cinnabar mole between the eyebrows that were still bright¡ªthe gers who were simr to women, they were the ones who easily had children. But her Zhao Jinge . . . just the opposite. So what the matchmaker saidst was not wrong. But it was precisely because it was not wrong, that she felt sadder and sadder.

    Zhao Liu has always been a sensitive person, and the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt. Atst, the five ducklings kept shouting at her feet, and she regained her senses.

    Zhao Liu took very good care of these ducklings, so none of the five ducklings died. They all lived well and grew very fast. Now they were around Zhao Liu, and they wanted to go out to eat.

    In the past, Jiang Zhen would chop up small fish or fish intestines caught by Wang Haisheng and feed them every day. Even if they did not receive food from Zhao Liu, they would not be hungry, but Jiang Zhen was not here today. Without earthworms, fish, or shrimps, Zhao Liu cut lettuce leaves to feed the ducks. She also looked for Jiang Zhen.

    Strange, why haven¡¯t I seen Eldest Jiang today? Only the two children of the fisherman were digging earthworms to feed the chickens.

    Zhao Liushi had always been very fond of children. She looked at them and went out to dig earthworms with the five ducks. Her original sadness dissipated a lot. But even so, seeing Zhao Jingee back, she couldn¡¯t help the redness filling her eyes.

    ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked bewildered.

    ¡°Jinge . . .¡± Zhao Liu called out. She wanted to cry, but thinking that she shouldn¡¯t make her son sad, she endured. ¡°Jinge, if you are hungry,e and have something to eat.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was really hungry, so he didn¡¯t ask further.

    These days, he had a meal at noon every day. But since he hadn¡¯t had a meal at noon today, he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. Before, he saw Jiang Zhen every day, but suddenly he couldn¡¯t see him anymore, making him miss him even more.

    Zhao Liu didn¡¯t say anything in front of Zhao Jinge, but when Zhao Fugui came back, she still told him about how Matchmaker He proposed marriage with Li Zugen. Of course, she concealed what the matchmaker had said about Jinge being unable to have children.

    Zhao Liu was angry, and Zhao Fugui was also very angry. ¡°Even if Jinge doesn¡¯t marry, he won¡¯t marry him!¡±

    In fact, there was one thing Zhao Fugui never told his family. After the Li family annulled the engagement, he actually went to see Li Zugen once. He wanted to ask them for an exnation for his son, only to hear Li Zugen ndering Zhao Jinge. He said that Zhao Jinge was like a man, and even if he really married Zhao Jinge, he would never want to sleep with him. Zhao Fugui was so angry that he only went home after he pped Li Zugen.

    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t marry him,¡± Zhao Jinge said with great certainty and started thinking about Jiang Zhen again.

    Jiang Zhen had been thinking about Zhao Jinge too.

 Chapter 38.2 - Proposing relatives and fishing village

    Chapter 38.2 ¨C Proposing rtives and fishing vige

    On their way to the seaside and at the beginning of the river, they met people from the Hongjiang salt field who were checking the boats. Atst, they collected the passage fee of two hundred copper pennies per boat and released them. Then they went to a fishing vige by the sea.

    This fishing vige was notrge, with a total of twenty families living there. They relied on fishing for a living, and their life was very poor. They were even poorer than the people in Hexi Vige because many things here couldn¡¯t be bought or grown by them and also because they couldn¡¯t catch fish well every time they fished, so their fish often failed to sell at a good price.

    For these reasons, they receive merchants whoe to the fishing vige to buy seafood very well.

    The merchants who came here with Jiang Zhen were all old acquaintances of the vigers here. When the vigers saw them, they all gathered around them. This was when Jiang Zhen found out that the merchants¡¯ ships were carrying some goods with them.

    They had brought cloth, and small things like oil and sugar, but most of them had brought grain.

    They didn¡¯t sell the cloth and other things, but brought them to the vigers to exchange with them. The food they took was only brought out after they all had agreed with the vigers.

    All the people in the fishing vige went to the familiar merchants to exchange their own things and took them to their homes to see the goods. However, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng, who were strangers, were ignored for a while.

    But obviously, the merchants couldn¡¯t buy all the goods in the vige. After a while, a young man in his twenties came to Jiang Zhen saying, ¡°I have some kelp and fish in my house. Do you want it?¡±

    ¡°Let me see it,¡± Jiang Zhen said. When he listened to the merchants talking with the vigers, he had already learned the approximate price of the things there. Now he just nned to take a look at those goods.

    The man nodded and took Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng to his home.

    There was a lot of salted fish drying in the sun in front of his door. The family¡¯s house was also full of bundles of dried kelp, which gave off a strong smell of sea fish.

    Many businessmen who came here couldn¡¯t stand the fishy smell, so this man looked at Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng with worry. As a result, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng werepletely unaffected.

    ¡°Take a look. If you want, you can exchange grain with me or pay for it with money.¡± That was fair.

    Jiang Zhen looked and found that these goods were no different from those of the others. He paid for most of the salted fish and all the kelp, which made the man look at him with surprise.

    Kelp always sold well during the New Year¡¯s festival, because people in Hecheng county would buy some to improve their dishes¡¯ taste at the end of the year, but there weren¡¯t many people who bought it during the rest of the year.

    Looking at Jiang Zhen, the man hesitated whether to tell him not to buy too much of the dried kelp as Jiang Zhen won¡¯t be able to sell it all. But he was afraid that Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t buy his goods, so in the end, he didn¡¯t open his mouth.

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. He originally thought that if he brought ten silver, it would be too little. As a result, he only used up two hundred kilos of rice and three or four silver to buy all of these goods.

    ¡°Nothing more.¡± It was gone.

    Jiang Zhen heard his words but felt that it was a little bit strange. He remembered that there were many kinds of seafood. How could there be only kelp and salted fish? The variety of salted fish was quite small. The main selling point was that it was salty already. With the price of salt being expensive, in the eyes of many people it was very cost-effective to buy salted fish. Or in fact, it was not that there was nothing else, but that those were things people here didn¡¯t treat as goods?

    Jiang Zhen immediately changed his question. ¡°What do you usually catch when you go out to sea? What do you like to eat?¡±

    Now that the man heard these questions, after thinking about that, he took out a bucket and gave Jiang Zhen a bucket of ms.

    This kind of thing could be seen everywhere on the beach after the tides fell. If you pick it up casually, you would have a pile of it. It¡¯s worthless, and you couldn¡¯t even sell it because it would die before long. It couldn¡¯t be salted and saved.

    Of course, the most important thing was that they were all shells without meat. Nowadays people didn¡¯t like this kind of food very much.

    ¡°Can you take me to pick up some?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Of course, the man didn¡¯t refuse, and took Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng to the beach.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen had been to the seaside and to some undeveloped beaches, so he was not surprised to see the sea, but Wang Haisheng was very curious. He looked at the sea constantly and saw that there were shells on the beach. He also picked up several of them, saying he wanted to give them to his children to y with.

    ¡°After you eat the meat from those ms, the shells can be used for fun.¡± The man that brought them there told them that their children would make toys from all kinds of shells.

    After the tide, there were a lot of ms on the beach, which even looked a little scary. There were so many of them that after a while Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng had picked up a full bucket.

    ¡°Would you like to pick up more?¡± Wang Haisheng asked cheerfully. He liked the beautiful shells of the ms.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and spent a few copper pennies to buy a very fine fishing from the man, which was used to store small fish. Then he picked up more ms and put them in the. It was about three or four hundred kilos.

    Their boat was not small, but they could not carry too many things. They had to store the salted fish and the kelp. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t continue picking up ms but together with Wang Haisheng brought back the things he bought and the ms he picked up to the boat first.

    In addition to the ms from the beach, there were actually crabs and other living creatures, but those crabs were very small, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give them any thought.

    After loading everything on the boat, Jiang Zhen estimated that the load of the boat with salted fish was about 4 or 5 silver.

    The price of these things can be at least doubled when they are sold outside. If they could be sold outpletely, it would still make a good profit, it¡¯s just . . .

    ¡°You¡¯ve bought so many things on your first visit. How long will it take to sell them?¡± The people who came with them looked at Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng with surprise. They were all selling their goods in the county towns near their own homes. Generally, they only bought goods once a month or two, and only at the end of the year would they buy more. These two neers bought such a pile at once. Could they sell it out?

    These people looked at Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng as if they were looking at two fools.

 Chapter 39 - Making money in Fucheng

    <strong>Chapter 39 ¨C Making money in Fucheng</strong>

    In ancient times, information was not smooth, logistics were not convenient, and themon people had very little money, so the majority of merchants did very little business. Although there were also rich businessmen, they were few in number in the end, and in order to make a lot of money they were all basically rted to the government.

    Because of this, those merchants who came together with them to purchase goods were afraid to buy too much. In fact, with the current situation in Hecheng county town, the people could only consume a certain amount of the goods they had bought.

    When Jiang Zhen bought a shipment of goods like this, they all thought Jiang Zhen was crazy.

    Wang Haisheng was also a little worried when he heard their words. They did buy a lot of goods. He felt that they had bought so many things, that they wouldn¡¯t be able to sell them for the rest of their lives . . .

    But at least they were real things that were also very durable. If they couldn¡¯t sell them, they could still eat them themselves.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to travel around and sell at the same time,¡± Jiang Zhen exined but didn¡¯t say that he actually nned to sell in Fucheng. Of course, even if he told these people that he wanted to sell in Fucheng, they probably wouldn¡¯t have understood. There were seafood merchants in Fucheng as well. If Jiang Zhen went there to do business, how could he win against the local merchants?

    ¡°So it¡¯s like this. If you visit more remote viges, you should be able to sell some.¡± He looked at Jiang Zhen and Wang Haishengpassionately. Their business didn¡¯t have a shop, so they had to run around like this . . .

    These seafood merchants stayed in the fishing vige for two days and one night before leaving, and Jiang Zhen took this opportunity to understand the situation of the fishing vige and the private salt he had thought about before.

    The price of salt outside was very expensive, but in this fishing vige, no one makes and sells salt for any reason whatsoever.

    At present, the salt-making process couldn¡¯tpare to that ofter generations. The salt ofter generations is all baked out, and it does not require much manpower or material resources. Therefore, the salt in the supermarket only costs two or three yuan per pack, but it was different at present.

    At present people made salt mainly by cooking. This way, salt production was more troublesome, and firewood was also needed. Because of this, it was easier to control the people from the other side of the salt field and prevent them from making salt. For example, the people from Hongjiang salt field would send people over to this fishing vige from time to time to have a look. If they found out that someone was cutting trees or boiling too much salt, they would kill or capture them. Over time, no one dared to cook too much salt.

    After learning more about it, Jiang Zhen let go of his previous idea of selling private salt.

    He didn¡¯t feel that he was rebellious about wanting to sell private salt, because he didn¡¯t have much sense of belonging to this current dynasty called Qi Dynasty. So he didn¡¯t regard it as his own country at all, and the price of the necessities in life was too high for many people to afford to consume.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t intend to im justice for these people. Originally, he had that idea mainly for the sake of his own life. Simrly, if he had gone back to the sixties or seventies, in order to live a good life, he would probably secretly do some spective things, like selling eggs or food stamps. After all, in essence, he did agree with such a system.

    However, he wanted to sell private salt mainly in order to improve his own life, but he didn¡¯t intend to lose his life. When he found out that the road was too dangerous, Jiang Zhen decided to let it go, but it was still a pity. It was really too easy to make money these days.

    Their small fleet set out again in the early hours of the morning, and when they arrived at the ce where they had been charged a toll of 200 copper pennies before, someone came on board for a check.

    On board came fierce-looking men, and after they got on, they started checking the things on the boat, especially the salted fish.

    Jiang Zhen was relieved to see this. He had noticed before, that no one who went with him had bought too much salted fish. After thinking about it, he didn¡¯t buy too much salted fish either. Now it seemed that he did the right thing.

    ¡°What are you doing with these things?¡± After checking the cargo on Jiang Zhen¡¯s boat, a man stabbed a m with a knife.

    ¡°It was for free.¡± Jiang Zhen reined in his urge and assumed a weak presence.

    ¡°Not for free either!¡± The manughed and then stretched out his hand to Jiang Zhen. ¡°Come on, two silver.¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t say anything and gave the other party two silver.

    ¡°You are new, but you are a fast learner.¡± The man jumped off the boat and left.

    Their small fleet was released, and it was not until then that those who came here with Jiang Zhen mentioned some rules to him, such as when you buy two hundred kilos of salted fish or more, you must provide at least one or two silver, which can only be more, not less.

    These people didn¡¯t seem to reject Jiang Zhen, but in the end they didn¡¯t like him after all. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think it was strange. After all, no one liked people whopeted with them in business. They were already kind to him by taking him with them.

    After saying farewell to those people, Jiang Zhen split up with them. He and Wang Haisheng didn¡¯t n to return to Hecheng for the moment but to travel to Fucheng.

    Jiang Zhen already had an idea about how to sell his own cargo in that seaside fishing vige.

    It was almost a day¡¯s trip to Fucheng from that sea vige. Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng traveled slowly along the river, and in the evening, they arrived in Fucheng.

    Along the way, both Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng were very busy. One of them rowed, and the other one soaked the kelp. At first, they used the traditional method of cutting the kelp into several sections before soaking it. Butter, Jiang Zhen got tired of it. He couldn¡¯t use too much water on the boat, so he simply tied up the dried kelp with a rope and threw it directly in the water, letting it soak in the river first before fishing it out.

    After fishing the kelp up, they took a brush to brush and clean it piece by piece.

    As for why Jiang Zhen did this, it was rted to the way of eating dried kelp and the way people sold kelp at present.

    People who lived by the sea would make dried kelp and sell it to seafood merchants. When the merchants sold it, they would also sell it directly dry.

    However, the handling method of dried kelp was very troublesome. Apart from being soaked for a full day and a night, it also needed to be washed. Dried kelp, when bought, looked very small but it would turn very big after being soaked!

    Often, families couldn¡¯t finish their purchased kelp even after several days; after all, after you eat too much, you would grow tired of it.

    Because of this, in modern times, no matter if in the supermarket or at the vegetable market, kelp is basically sold cut into pieces. Customers buy as much as they want, but at present, everyone only sold dried kelp.

    The dried kelp was ck and grey, and it really didn¡¯t look good. The price of a piece of kelp was not cheap either. If you were to convert it, the price of a kilo of kelp would be the same as that of pork. Even if a kilo of kelp was soaked, there would be a lot of it, but except for New Year,mon people were really reluctant to spend money on it.

    Jiang Zhen was going to cut the kelp and then sell it.

    It takes a lot of work to do this, but if he could sell it, he estimated that he could earn a lot more than selling dried kelp, and it was easier to sell it that way.

    When they arrived in Fucheng and stopped outside the city, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng were busy navigating the boat.

    They soaked the kelp in the river and washed it clean, cut off the parts that didn¡¯t look good, and then cut it into thin shreds. They had been cutting kelp all day, and their hands were sore when they finally cut three hundred kilos of kelp out of only one hundred kilos of dried kelp.

    What¡¯s more, a bundle of dried kelp was originally not enough to fill their boat. But it became much more after soaking it, so much that they couldn¡¯t fit it on the ship!

    The city of Fucheng was veryrge and prosperous and notparable to Hecheng county town at all. Every morning, people from outside the city would pick up their vegetables to sell in the city. Some of them sell on the streets while others ¨C in fixed ces.

    On this day, a boat appeared in the river in Fucheng. Two men came down from the boat and brought out a lot of salted fish and kelp. They were obviously there to sell seafood.

    There are special shops selling seafood in Fucheng and the people there liked to go to familiar ces to buy, so at first no one noticed them or bought things from them until one of them shouted, ¡°Kelp! A bowl of kelp for a penny!¡±

    A penny for a bowl of kelp? How could they sell kelp in a bowl?

    Many people were surprised to see that someone was selling cut small green kelp, which was already clean and looked attractive.

    ¡°How much for this kelp?¡± asked an olddy with a basket in her hand.

    ¡°That costs one copper penny.¡± Jiang Zhen picked up a handful of kelp and gave it to the olddy.

    He put a handful of kelp and it looked like a lot. But when they go home and cook it, they could indeed have a bowl of kelp, and it didn¡¯t weigh much. At least, when Jiang Zhen sold it like this, he would make two or three times as much as if he would sell dried kelp.

    After packing it, the olddy was very satisfied. She was reluctant to buy dried kelp for twenty or thirty coppers, but she was willing to spend one copper to add an extra dish on her table.

    After the olddy took the lead in buying kelp, other people came as well. Most of them asked for one copper of kelp. But some of them wanted two or three coppers of kelp, so they wanted Jiang Zhen to pack more as a discount.

    ¡°If I give you more, I am going to lose money.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and didn¡¯t give others more kelp for free, but he instead took two ms from the side and gave them away. ¡°Take these. You can give them to the children to y with.¡±

    Many people in this city had never seen ms, so they were shocked. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°ms are from the sea. The meat in them can be eaten, but it¡¯s not much,¡± Jiang Zhen said. When he was in Hexi Vige, he always felt like a stranger, and he didn¡¯t like attracting clients with such a smile by nature, but he was short of money now.

    What had he not done on a mission before? Wasn¡¯t it just selling things with enthusiasm? In fact, it was nothing. Of course, he had to do this mainly because Wang Haisheng couldn¡¯t attract customers, and he couldn¡¯t count or calcte money either.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s stall was on the river bank, and their ship was in the river. Now Jiang Zhen was in charge of selling, while Wang Haisheng continued washing kelp.

    They had to soak the kelp for at least a day before they could sell it. Wang Haisheng was now busy with the next day¡¯s business.

    Jiang Zhen picked up a lot of ms and mainly used them as an addition. He even sold some of them for three coppers per kilo. When selling them, Jiang Zhen would say, ¡°There is sand inside. If you want to eat it, you¡¯d better keep it for a few days. Otherwise, you can dig out the meat, wash it and cook it with salted vegetables.¡± People here often cooked mussels with salted vegetables.

    At the end of the day, three hundred kilos of kelp were sold with a lot of salted fish and even half of the ms were sold.

    The price of salted fish they sold was the same as that of others, so they didn¡¯t earn much, but the kelp was very profitable. Although the price was cheap, they still made good money after adding it up. It was just that selling all the kelp would take many days, and they would be very busy during this period of time.

    The night before, Jiang Zhen was so busy with the kelp that he didn¡¯t sleep well. He really didn¡¯t want to work untilte at night. After thinking about it, he simply spent two salted fishes to hire a 12- or 13-year-old boy to help.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen continued to sell kelp.

    The people who had bought a penny of kelp the day before had basically eaten up all the kelp they bought. Some of them bought more today. In addition, they also brought in some new clients . . .

    Within ten days Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng sold all the kelp, but in thest few days, their business was not very good, because the other seafood merchants in the city also learned to wash and cut the kelp before selling it.

    He finally came up with a way to make money, but he could only use it once. Jiang Zhen felt it was a pity, but he was very satisfied after counting the money he had on his hand.

    He had spent about 12 silver on this purchase adding the money spent on travel, but he earned 30 silver in the past few days. In other words, he made a total of 18 silver on this trip, almost earning back the money he had spent for the boat. There was also a lot of sea cargo left on the ship.

    Of course, making money was making money. But they also got tired.

    After Jiang Zhen discussed it with Wang Haisheng, they decided to take a day off before going back. But they didn¡¯t know that during that time, Zhao Jinge¡¯s family had been entangled in troubles.

 Chapter 40 - Going home to face a farce

    <strong>Chapter 40 ¨C Going home to face a farce</strong>

    After Matchmaker He was driven away, the Zhao family thought it was over, but they were wrong. The Li family refused to give up.

    In fact, Li Zugen didn¡¯t want to marry Zhao Jinge. He was very thin and small while Zhao Jinge was a head taller than him. If they were to stand together, others might think that he was the ger. In that case, it would be strange for him to be interested in Zhao Jinge.

    But his family . . .

    Li Zugen¡¯s father was as thin and small as he was, and his mother was not a very hard worker. The eldest of his four children was only ten years old. Although he was small, he ate a lot.

    They . . . couldn¡¯t just sit still when there was nothing to eat.

    If there was another choice, the Li family would certainly not choose Zhao Jinge, but was there any other choice? Under the persuasion of his parents, Li Zugen gritted his teeth and agreed to marry Zhao Jinge. Then they started taking actions.

    After Matchmaker He had a bad start, Li Liu, Li Zugen¡¯s mother went to battle in person. She found the Zhao family,ined and cried, and asked for a marriage between Zhao Jinge and her son.

    Zhao Liu was naturally unwilling, but Li Zugen¡¯s mother was so insistent that she would not give up until she achieved her goal. She came to pressure her every day. And she was different from Matchmaker He. Matchmaker He belittled Zhao Jinge, but she praised Zhao Jinge from the very beginning. She said that she really wanted Zhao Jinge to be her daughter-inw, and she would certainly be nice to him in the future.

    ¡°Jinge is a kid I have liked since he was a child. If it wasn¡¯t for that little bastard in my family who took a blind fancy to Xue, Jinge would have already be my daughter-inw.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anyone better than Jinge within ten miles or even in town. How could he be rejected? You can¡¯t listen to this matchmaker¡¯s nonsense.¡±

    ¡°When Jingees to our house, we will treat him well and never neglect him.¡±

    ¡°Those four children are going to leave in the future. Jinge has entered our family, so I will make sure that his children will be the most importantly ones.¡±

    . . .

    When Li Liu went to the Zhao family¡¯s house every day, she seemed to be very sincere, just like she did when she asked for marriage with Zhao Jinge before. She seemed so sincere that, gradually, the people in Hexi Vige began to speak up for her.

    Although Zhao Liu didn¡¯t like to socialize with others, there were still some people who knew her in Hexi Vige. These days, the Zhao family was very lively. These people came to the Zhao family to watch and help Zhao Liu.

    ¡°Your Jinge can¡¯t stay unmarried forever.¡±

    ¡°Remember that bald old man from the vige who couldn¡¯t marry a wife? He starved to death in the housest year and no one knew.¡±

    ¡°That man was injured and ill. Someone should have helped him.¡±

    . . .

    There was no malice in these people. They were sincere in their persuasion.

    Zhao Liu herself was not such a firm person. She didn¡¯t like Li Zugen much before, but now, after listening to these people talking, she suddenly found Li Zugen to be not particrly bad. Their family was a mess, but somehow, they still had theirnd. As long as Jinge was willing to work, he would not go hungry. Moreover, their family¡¯s son was very thin, so Jinge could always beat him up.

    After Jinge gets married, maybe he can live a good life?

    Zhao Liu thought so, so that night, she spoke to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, the Li familyes here every day . . .¡±

    ¡°Mother, I will not marry him,¡± Zhao Jinge said determined, frowning at the same time.

    When Jiang Zhen went to buy seafood, at first, he said that he would be gone for about five days, but now it had been more than ten days. Why hasn¡¯t hee back yet? He had no one to inquire about news regarding Jiang Zhen. He was worried and was pestered every day by the Li family, so he was in a really bad mood.

    Zhao Liu sighed. ¡°Jinge, mother knows that you would miss father and mother, but you also need to think about your future . . .¡±

    ¡°Mother, anyway, I will not marry Li Zugen.¡± Zhao Jinge was determined.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to be a stepmother or do you hate what their family did before?¡± Zhao Liu asked again.

    ¡°Neither,¡± Zhao Jinge said. That Li Zugen annulled the engagement did not make him feel bad. And as for being a stepmother, he really didn¡¯t feel anything.

    ¡°And why is that?¡± Zhao Liu was puzzled.

    Zhao Jinge hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t like him.¡± I now . . . I like Jiang Zhen.

    When Zhao Liu heard this answer, she was even more puzzled. It took her a while to figure it out. ¡°Do you think he is too thin? Yes, he is also too small!¡±

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t like Li Zugen. Of course, it was not because of his stature, but Zhao Liu thought so, so he epted it and reiterated, ¡°I won¡¯t marry him.¡±

    ¡°Well, Jinge, if you don¡¯t want to marry, forget it.¡± Zhao Liu sighed.

    Zhao Jinge breathed a sigh of relief.

    On the other side, Jiang Zhen put away his stall and casually tasted Wang Haisheng¡¯s cooking. Then he went in the fishing boat full of fishy smell and fell asleep.

    These days, although he hired a child to help him, he was still very tired due to overworking.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t wake up until the sun rose the next morning.

    A few days ago, when he was tense, he was able to hold on. As soon as he rxed, he felt a bit weak. Fortunately, they had a rest day today.

    In order to save money, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng both slept on the boat and usually cooked some rice and kelp for their meals. But today, they were free after earning money, so they didn¡¯t have to treat themselves poorly.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng made a pot of rice and bought some pork and fried vegetables. Theyfortably ate two bowls each.

    ¡°Watch over the boat. I¡¯ll go in the city.¡± After eating, Jiang Zhen said that to Wang Haisheng.

    There was a lot of salted fish and kelp on their ship that they hadn¡¯t sold yet. They were going to take it to Hecheng county town, so the boat had to be watched over.

    Wang Haisheng agreed, and Jiang Zhen went ashore to wander around the city.

    This city was bigger than Hecheng, but he didn¡¯t know by how much. It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s located in the south of the Yangtze River, that¡¯s why there are no tall and towering city walls, and the business seemed very prosperous.

    Jiang Zhen had inquired about the prices of variousmodities in Hecheng before. When he arrived here, he had also inquired about the prices in Fucheng City. When he returned to Hecheng, he could not go back with an empty boat. He should bring some goods back.

    Some things in Fucheng were more expensive than in Hecheng, and some things were cheaper than in Hecheng. For example, the prices of oil and some beautiful fabrics here were much lower than in Hecheng.

    The most profitable thing these days were definitely luxury goods. However, Jiang Zhen simply did not have the capital to buy such goods, so he nned to buy those daily necessities that were cheaper than those in Hecheng and take them back with him.

    What Jiang Zhen wanted most was oil, but at present, the oil pressing workshop was not responsible for preparing oil barrels for those who came to buy oil. For a while, he couldn¡¯t get any oil barrels, so he gave up on buying oil for the moment and went to a dyeing workshop to buy 30 silver worth of fabrics.

    After buying some oil paper, he wrapped all the fabrics carefully and put them on a shelf in the fishing boat. Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. The day was almost over.

    Early the next morning, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng set off for Hecheng, and it was already dark by the time they arrived in Hecheng.

    Since it was getting dark, Jiang Zhen did not rush back to Hexi Vige but slept on the boat all night. Early the next morning, he took the fabrics to the cloth shop in the county town.

    There were two cloth shops in Hecheng, one was a bit smaller, and the other one was a bitrger. These two cloth shops buy cloth themselves, dyeing it in their own stores before selling it. They also sell ordinary cloth with a few simple colors.

    However, they asionally went out to buy goods, so when Jiang Zhen brought cloth to their doors, they epted it, but there was not much profit made. Thirty silver worth of fabrics was sold for thirty-two silver and soon changed hands.

    During this half-month¡¯s trip, Jiang Zhen earned a total of 22 silver. If other people knew about this, they would be jealous to death. After all, Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s previous job earned him two silver a month. Zhao Jinge worked a full year but only earned 3 or 4 silver.

    But in fact, it was not much, and the purchasing power was equivalent to 20,000 yuan in the future.

    After packing the silver, Jiang Zhen went to buy five kilos of pork before going back to Hexi.

    It was noon when Jiang Zhen arrived in Hexi. In the morning, he spent only two coppers for two bowls of porridge at the dock. Right then, he was hungry and homesick.

    Together with Wang Haisheng, he picked up the rest of the kelp and the salted fish. When Jiang Zhen went to the vige, he was thinking about Zhao Jinge. Although he was very hungry, he made a special detour to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house. As a result, Zhao Jinge who always worked in the field at this time, was not here.

    Jiang Zhen went home a bit frustrated. He nned to cook a meal for Zhao Jinge and then go out to find him. But he didn¡¯t expect to see Zhao Jinge near his house.

    He didn¡¯t know why there were so many people gathered around the Zhao family. There was also a short man talking to Zhao Jinge. But seeing that this man actually grabbed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, Jiang Zhen immediately got angry.

    How dare someone flirt with his man! It was time to kill!

    Jiang Zhen was already very unhappy, when he happened to hear someone say, ¡°Jinge, Li Zugen is sincere. You should marry him!¡±

    In a moment, the mes in Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart suddenly turned into a sea of fire. In order to do business in the past half a month, he had been holding down his temper, but now he couldn¡¯t hold it any longer. Jiang Zhen threw down the load he was carrying and rushed over with a bamboo pole.

    Zhao Jinge was actually very angry at that moment.

    He had been working well at Zhao Dahu¡¯s family that day, but unexpectedly, in the middle of his work, a thin man came with his four children. The man approached him, shouting, ¡°Jinge!¡± and his four children came over and called him, ¡°Mother!¡±

    Hearing such calls, Zhao Jinge¡¯s face suddenly turned ck. At the same time, he recognized the man. Who was it if not Li Zugen?

    Although Jiang Zhen sometimes looked shy, his whole body was very robust. But that man was different. He was thin and small, obviously a little creepy.

    The most important thing was that when Jiang Zhen looked at him, his eyes were full of him. He could see him blushing and hear his heart beating, but this person was the opposite. Zhao Jinge looked at this man¡¯s evasive eyes and then at the four children who followed him. At that moment, he was really eager to learn from Jiang Zhen how to beat people up.

    It was just that, although he was pretty strong, he was still a ger. When he was a child, he was detained at home by Zhao Liu, so he had no experience in fighting with the other children his age. Later, when he grew up, he wouldn¡¯t start a fight with others either, so he felt helpless now. And what¡¯s more, he was still followed by four children!

    It took Zhao Jinge some time to tear the four children off himself. Amid their cries, he was scolding Li Zugen, asking him to leave. However, Li Zugen refused to leave and continued pestering Zhao Jinge, making it impossible for him to continue working.

    Seeing this scene, Zhao Dahu, who came to check the field, asked Zhao Jinge to go home to solve this matter. As a result, when Zhao Jinge went home, Li Zugen followed him with his children calling him ¡°mother¡± and saying that they wanted to live in the Zhaos¡¯ house.

    He was going to rely on the Zhao family!

    Zhao Fugui¡¯s workce was a bit far away, so he couldn¡¯te back for a while. In the meantime the vigers advised him to marry Li Zugen . . . Zhao Jinge clenched his fists, already wanting to punch Li Zugen. He didn¡¯t expect to see a dusty Jiang Zhen at this moment.

 Chapter 41.1 - Jiang Zhen comes to take the wife by force

    <strong>Chapter 41.1 ¨C Jiang Zhenes to take the wife by force</strong>

    That day, the Li family came here with the idea of forcing a marriage. Li Zugen took his children to live in the house of the Zhao family. This way, even if Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want to marry him, he would have to! If the Zhao family beat someone up . . . or if the people of the Zhao family hurt someone, it would be the Zhao family¡¯s fault. They could then catch them and ask forpensation. If the Zhao family couldn¡¯t pay thepensation, wouldn¡¯t they have to make Zhao Jingepensate them?

    It was an indisputable truth that evil thoughts originated from poverty. Because people were poor, they would do anything, even losing their collective face. This time, the Li family were going to lose their face.

    Every family in Hexi had a fairly good life, so to them, the behavior of the Li family was a bit shameless. But although they were shameless, Zhao Jinge really couldn¡¯t find a better match than this Li family. Moreover, the Li family came to them every day, so even if they didn¡¯t have anything else, they were, at least, sincere. They thought that they really wanted Zhao Jinge to marry in. What¡¯s more, the two families had been connected by an engagement in the past.

    People in the countryside always believed in persuasion and refused to consider minor points. When they saw the four children without a mother, the people in Hexi tried to persuade Zhao Jinge to agree.

    For a ger like Zhao Jinge, who was manly and was already so old, even if he got married at this point, it wasn¡¯t certain that he could have children, so it was not a bad idea to pick up children that were already there . . .

    Yes, just like what Matchmaker He once said, Zhao Jinge might not be able to have a baby. There were many people in Hexi who thought the same way.

    Although digging out one¡¯s cinnabar mole did not affect fertility, in regards to Zhao Jinge . . . it was more difficult for a ger to have a child than a woman. But he didn¡¯t even look like a typical ger. At first nce, one would assume he was clearly a man . . . Could he really have a baby?

    ¡°Jinge, these children have been crying for such a long time. Take them in to wash their faces first.¡±

    ¡°I have something to say.¡±

    ¡°I think this Li Zugen is very sincere.¡±

    . . .

    The people in the vige all advised Zhao Jinge, and Li Zugen said, ¡°Jinge, I used to be too stupid, I didn¡¯t know your good points. I will change. I will treat you well in the future.¡±

    With that said, when Li Zugen looked at Zhao Jinge, he still couldn¡¯t hide his unhappiness, shifting his eyes evasively.

    ¡°Mother . . .¡± two of the four children called again, but only the two of them were sincere. Xue had been living in thendlord¡¯s house for several years. They hadn¡¯t seen their mother since they were young, so they didn¡¯t have a deep impression of her. Recently, their grandmother said that they could have a good life after they called back their mother, so they were very enthusiastic in recognizing their new mother.

    Before, Zhao Jinge would have definitely pulled the two children off him and clearly stated that he was not their mother, but now . . . watching Jiang Zhen approach, Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t recover in time.

    Li Zugen, seeing that Jinge was not as unyielding as before, only thought he had finally softened up. He knew that someone like Zhao Jinge, who couldn¡¯t get married and was so old and ugly, would like anyone who was nice to him and would definitely not refuse him . . .

    ¡°Jinge . . .¡± Li Zugen was going to grab Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand again, but before he could do so, his hand suddenly started hurting, as if his bones had been broken. ¡°Ah!¡± Li Zugen cradled his hand and screamed, wondering what happened.

    As a result, before he could understand the situation, he was grabbed by the cor and picked up, and then faced a ferocious face.

    Jiang Zhen had already figured out what was going on from the conversations of the people around him. Someone had tried to steal his lover while he was not at home! As soon as he picked up Li Zugen, he threw him out without thinking.

    Speaking about it, Jiang Zhenwei¡¯s body was actually a little shorter than Jiang Zhen¡¯s original body. His original body was 1.87 meters tall, but this body was only 1.78 meters tall at most. But it was the ancient times and most men were shorter than 1.7 meters, so his figure stood out from the crowd.

    As for the man in front of him . . . he estimated that he was shorter than 1.6 meters, maybe a little above 1.5 meters. He wasn¡¯t tall, and in addition he was very thin. Therefore, even if Jiang Zhen had been through a long journey and was actually very tired at that moment, he could still easily throw him out.

    Li Zugen was directly thrown down by Jiang Zhen to the grassy area nearby and couldn¡¯t get up for a while. Right then, the people of Hexi saw Jiang Zhen clearly. No one knew where Eldest Jiang had gone the past few days but now . . . He is back! He hit people as soon as he came back! Howwless! But they . . . couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    The vigers of Hexi originally surrounding Zhao Jinge scattered around, but they didn¡¯t run too far. There was so little entertainment these days that they all wanted to stay and witness what was about to happen. As for the possibility of being beaten up, well, with so many people here, it was impossible for Eldest Jiang to beat them all. At worst, they could still run away when the time came.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Jiang Zhen.

    At that moment, Jiang Zhen took two steps forward, picked up the child holding Zhao Jinge¡¯s thigh in one hand and then directly threw him towards the other two children calling Zhao Jinge ¡°mother¡±. The ground was all mud, so there were no stones at all. He was sure that he wouldn¡¯t break anything or injure anyone, so he was at ease.

    Li Zugen just screamed, and the two young boys were so frightened that they started crying bitterly. The smaller one even wetted his pants.

    Li Zugen¡¯s eldest son was already ten years old. He knew a lot of things. Before, he had just watched his second brother, unwilling to pester Zhao Jinge. After Jiang Zhen suddenly made a move, he even grabbed his younger brother to run away. However, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give him a chance to run away at all. The two other children were also caught by Jiang Zhen and were dropped directly by their father¡¯s side.

    Seeing that Li Zugen was already getting up, Jiang Zhen quickly came forward and hit his chest with his pole.

    Li Zugen was then forced by the pole on his shoulder to lie down again. ¡°You . . . Who are you?¡±

    Li Zugen didn¡¯t understand why he was being beaten up.

    The people of Hexi also didn¡¯t understand why Jiang Zhen was beating up Li Zugen. It was understandable for Jiang Zhen to beat the Jiang family before, but Li Zugen . . . It isn¡¯t because he is in the way, is it?

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know who I am, and you are making trouble at my doorstep? Are you tired of living?¡± Jiang Zhen once again hit Li Zugen¡¯s shoulder with the pole. He deliberately chose a ce that would not hurt permanently but would be very painful, so it made Li Zugen cry out again.

    The people of Hexi looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s house, which was half a mile from here and then looked at Li Zugen. They couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with him. People in the vige knew who Jiang Zhen was, but Li Zugen didn¡¯t know. The closest house to them was actually the house of the Zhao family.

    ¡°Are you from the Zhao family? You hit me!¡± Li Zugen looked at Jiang Zhen in disbelief. Although his mother told him to be careful not to be beaten up, he didn¡¯t think it would happen at all. Zhao Jinge should cry and beg him to marry him. Howe he was beaten up instead?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t agree before, was it probably because he wanted to raise his bride price?

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, I can¡¯t believe you let someone beat me! I insist that you¡ª¡± Li Zugen originally wanted to shout some cruel remarks, but fortunately, while he was in the middle of his speech, he remembered his n. ¡°Zhao Jinge, even if you don¡¯t agree to get married and asked someone to beat me up, we from Lijia Vige won¡¯t give up!¡±

    After being beaten up, they could ask the vigers to help them out and then ask the Zhao family to give them an exnation . . .

 Chapter 41.2 - Jiang Zhen comes to take the wife by force

    <strong>Chapter 41.2 ¨C Jiang Zhenes to take the wife by force</strong>

    ¡°You people from Lijia Vige will not give up? Then let theme to me!¡± Jiang Zhen pushed Li Zugen¡¯s eldest son, who was trying to get up and escape, to the ground. ¡°When theye to my turf, they will need to y hard with me. To death if necessary!¡±

    ¡°This . . . are you Eldest Jiang?¡± asked Li Zugen¡¯s mother, Li Liushi, who had been around all the time. She was shocked before, but at this point she finally returned to her senses, recognizing Jiang Zhen and remembering the rumors going around about Jiang Zhen that she had heard in Hexi these days. Jiang Zhen was an ominous star, and they . . . they shouldn¡¯t provoke him!

    ¡°You are clever,¡± Jiang Zhen sneered. ¡°Who are you and what are you doing near my house? You¡¯re in the way to my home, don¡¯t you know?¡±

    ¡°This . . . This . . .¡± Li Zugen¡¯s mother was actually a very outspoken person, but the shock she experienced at that moment made her look really terrible. She didn¡¯t dare provoke him at all and could only exin, ¡°We are from Lijia Vige. We came to the Zhao family today to propose marriage, and we really didn¡¯t want to block your way.¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t recognize these people before. After all, Eldest Jiang was a man who rarely left his own vige. But now, after hearing Lijia Vige several times, he had already guessed the identity of these people. Aren¡¯t they . . . the family Zhao Jinge used to be engaged to?

    Lijia was not far from there, and Li Zugen would alsoe to Hexi to y when he was a child. When he yed with others, every time he identally lost in the game, he would immediately run back to cry to his mother. Then his mother would go to the other children¡¯s houses and use the other children of bullying her son . . .

    However, Eldest Jiang also had an impression of him, because the Jiang family had also been visited. Of course, it was not him who had bullied Li Zugen, but Jiang Chengwen. God knows how Jiang Chengwen, who was six or seven years younger than Li Zugen, had bullied him . . .

    Jiang Zhen had always known about this family, but he never paid attention to them before. When Zhao Jinge was twelve or thirteen years old, the Li family annulled the engagement. Li Zugen didn¡¯t even count as Zhao Jinge¡¯s ex-boyfriend, so there was nothing to care about. As a result, the family unexpectedly came to visit!

    Jiang Zhen subconsciously nced at Zhao Jinge, and saw Zhao Jinge¡¯s face full of uneasiness . . . Zhao Jinge had a good temper and he was probably frightened by the Li family. As the current boyfriend, it was necessary for him to kill this ex-boyfriend who was trying to get between them.

    Jiang Zhen cheered up and nned to teach this Li Zugen a lesson, but he didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge¡¯s uneasiness was mainly caused by him.

    When he first saw Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge was very surprised and happy, but after a while he became worried. He¡¯d entangled the just-returned Jiang Zhen in this mess. Will Jiang Zhen feel unhappy? There used to be a beautiful woman in the vige who was pestered by a bachelor from another vige, and as a result, her husband beat her up and started disliking her for attracting bees and butterflies. In the end, this made the woman not dare to go out.

    He and Jiang Zhen weren¡¯t married. If Jiang Zhen felt unhappy, he might directly marry someone else. Zhao Jinge grew more and more uneasy as he thought about it and regretted not ending this matter earlier.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what Zhao Jinge felt or thought. He just sneered and said to Li Liu, ¡°Haven¡¯t you already annulled this engagement a long time ago? Your son already has so many children, and he stilles to propose marriage?¡± At first sight, he knew that the four children were that shortie¡¯s offspring.

    ¡°Their mother already married another . . .¡±

    It turned out that this was the case¡ªhis wife ran away and he wanted to start over! Jiang Zhen red and hit Li Zugen¡¯s leg with the pole. ¡°What a beautiful idea!¡±

    ¡°Eldest Jiang, you can¡¯t hit people like this. We haven¡¯t provoked you.¡± Liu Li felt worse when she saw her son being hit than if it were her being hit. She felt so distressed that she was full of resentment towards Jiang Zhen.

    Getting in his way? . . . The countryside was full of muddy roads. Where people trod a lot on, these areas would be called paths. In fact, as long as you didn¡¯t step on other people¡¯s crops, you could walk anywhere. It was clear that this man was looking for a random reason to mess with them!

    ¡°Who said you didn¡¯t mess with me? You are pissing me off,¡± Jiang Zhen dered. ¡°I like this ger, but you even want to rob him from me!¡±

    Before, Jiang Zhen thought about concealing his rtionship with Zhao Jinge because he was afraid of Yang Jing¡¯s revenge and the vigers treating the Zhao family like outcasts. But these days, he became sure that Yang Jing would never dare to take revenge against him. As for the vigers . . . these people even wanted Zhao Jinge to marry someone else . . . He would rather prefer they excluded the Zhao family. Anyway, his father-inw worked outside all day, and his mother-inw took care of the five ducklings every day. In fact, it didn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t interact with the vigers. If someone tried to bully them . . . it¡¯s not like he can¡¯t help out!

    This . . . the ger Eldest Jiang likes? Eldest Jiang . . . does he have a crush on Zhao Jinge? I never thought . . .

    The people in the vige were a bit dumbfounded, but the Li family quickly epted it. No wonder this man hit them as soon as he showed up. It turned out he wanted Zhao Jinge to be his concubine!

    ¡°Do you like Zhao Jinge?¡± Li Zugen asked in disbelief when he heard Eldest Jiang. The current situation was very strange to him. How could such a powerful figure fall in love with Zhao Jinge? He could easily snatch any woman to be his wife, couldn¡¯t he?

    ¡°Yes, I like Zhao Jinge,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°I have a preference for gers with strong bodies.¡± He said it all. Although Zhao Jinge was too thin, he had gained some flesh, which made him more and more satisfied.

    So Eldest Jiang took a fancy to Zhao Jinge for his strong body? Also, if he married such a ger, he would be able to throw all the work in the family to him from now on. This Eldest Jiang didn¡¯t do any work each day. They knew at a nce that he was not willing to work. And right now, he was trying to get someone to help him with his work! And . . . the body was sturdy and would be resistant to beating . . . Maybe he wanted to find someone he couldn¡¯t kill off easily by ident.

    Elder Jiang and Zhao Jinge had no contact before. These days, they alsomunicated very privately, so the people in the vige didn¡¯t know that they had already been meeting secretly.

    Thinking that the Zhao family had always been good-tempered, the vigers even started sympathizing with Zhao Jinge. Then everyone saw that Zhao Jinge stood still, like he was made of wood, as if he didn¡¯t know what happened. Zhao Jinge was really unlucky . . . He was to be pitied, but actually, Zhao Jinge was quite happy.In the past, he and Jiang Zhen had to meet secretly, which made him feel insecure. He had always been afraid that Jiang Zhen would go back on his words, but now . . . Jiang Zhen admitted his rtionship with him. And¡­ Jiang Zhen likes my strong body. Should I start to train more?

 Chapter 42

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know how to deal with the current situation. He seemedpletely dazed; his eyes were full of confusion while Zhao Liu . . . Zhao Liu was entangled with Li Liu until Jiang Zhen showed up. And when he got rid of Li Liu, she hid to one side. Then she watched Jiang Zhen teach Li Zugen a lesson.

    At first, she was a bit grateful to Jiang Zhen. Although she had considered persuading Zhao Jinge to agree to the Li family¡¯s marriage proposal before, the behavior of the Li family today made her very angry, so she was very happy to see Li Zugen get beaten up. Of course, she was still a bit scared. As a result . . . Jiang Zhen unexpectedly said that he had a crush on her Jinge?

    Zhao Liu, who already had red eyes after entangling with Li Liu, suddenly heard such a remark and subconsciously shed tears. She was frightened and a bit surprised. Her Jinge was unexpectedly being liked and pursued. Zhao Liu suddenly cried, which made the vigers of Hexi feel more sympathetic towards her.

    Fortunately, the Zhao family refused Li Zugen before, but they didn¡¯t expect to get in trouble with this evil star right then. That Jiang Zhen was so ruthless towards his own parents that if he really got married to Zhao Jinge, he might drive out Zhao Liu, this olddy who couldn¡¯t do any work and still needed to see a doctor and take medicine from time to time.

    ¡°You-You . . .¡± Li Zugen looked at Jiang Zhen and regretted that he couldn¡¯t speak at this moment. If he had known that there was such an evil spirit around Zhao Jinge, he would not havee to meet him.

    ¡°You? What you?¡± Jiang Zhen patted his face with his bamboo pole. ¡°Don¡¯t you evere near Zhao Jinge again. You know, if I see you in Hexi Vige in the future, I will beat you up at once!¡± The words Jiang Zhen said really frightened the Li family.

    Although Li Zugen yelled that the people from Lijia Vige woulde out to stand up for him, he could only call in a few uncles of his own family at most. It would have been enough to deal with the Zhao family that had no support in Hexi, but now there was this Jiang Zhen . . .

    The people in Lijia were no fools. Who would want to offend an evil star who even dared to beat up a yamen official just to get a wife for Li Zugen? Therefore, Li Zugen and his family might not even be able to persuade their own family¡¯s uncles, so they could only end up being beaten up for nothing at the moment. Speaking of which, had it not been for Jiang Zhen, this Li family¡¯s coercion might really have ended with Li Zugen marrying Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge were honest people. They were not good at talking and could only hide when confronted by someone. They wouldn¡¯t have been able to solve the matter with the Li family by themselves. When Zhao Jinge¡¯s reputation started to be bad, everyone tried to persuade him to marry. In order to not let his parents worry, he might really have been wed forcefully . . . But now . . . Apart from Jiang Zhen¡¯s act of showing up to drive people away, it was Zhao Jinge himself . . . He liked Jiang Zhen in his heart, so he would never agree to marry Li Zugen.

    The Li father and his four sons were thrown out one after the other by Jiang Zhen and finally left in disgrace. Some good people from Hexi also followed them. They were going to Lijia to talk to the people they were familiar with in order to spread Jiang Zhen¡¯s ¡°prestige.¡± However, some people stayed behind, wondering what Jiang Zhen and the Zhao family would do next.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Get out of here!¡± Jiang Zhen frowned, looking around. It was okay to let these people watch the hustle and bustle just then, but now, he didn¡¯t want people watching him.

    The people who were stared at by Jiang Zhen all ran away. Even Zhao Liu wanted to hide in her own house.

    ¡°Mother, wait a minute,¡± Jiang Zhen stopped Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Liu was a bit confused. She looked at Jiang Zhen stupidly. Did she hear correctly? This man called her mother?

    After Jiang Zhen came here, he never called olddy Jiang his mother, but when he called for Zhao Liu, there was no such reservation. Zhao Liu was an ordinary rural woman with many shorings, but she was really much better than olddy Jiang. At least, she really loved Zhao Jinge and didn¡¯t do anything harmful to other people. In the past, when the Zhao family¡¯s situation was still good, she even gave some food to Eldest Jiang when she saw that he was hungry.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring anything back with me this time. You can take these back, Mother, and cook them.¡± Jiang Zhen took out the freshly cut meat, a few salted fishes, and some kelp from the parcel he carried, and stuffed them in Zhao Liu¡¯s hands.

    These things were not light. Jiang Zhen held them easily, but when Zhao Liu held them, she felt her hands be so heavy that she almost stumbled forward.

    Jiang Zhen helped her up and said, ¡°Mother, go back to your house and have some rest. I wille to propose marriage tomorrow.¡± In fact, he also wanted to imitate that Li Zugen and enter the Zhao family. But he thought that the Zhao family would like to have a good talk and a discussion first, so he didn¡¯t want to get involved yet.

    Zhao Liu went inside the house in a daze while Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen hesitantly. The worry and joy in his eyes couldn¡¯t be hidden.

    ¡°Jinge, what do you want as a marriage gift?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. He had given Zhao Jinge five ducklings in addition to the food he gave him. Now that they were getting married, shouldn¡¯t he give them something to wear?

    Zhao Jinge became stiff and hurried to his home. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he didn¡¯t look ahead, but he bumped against the doorframe. Then he finally came to his senses and entered the house quickly, closing the door behind him.

    Jiang Zhen touched his nose and couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, this . . .¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen foolishly and was a bit confused by the current situation.

    He got along with Jiang Zhen for a month and always thought that Jiang Zhen was a good man with a helpful and gentle temper. As a result . . . ly, when they met some difficult clients in the city before, he was angry that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t take it seriously. How could Jiang Zhen suddenly be so . . . fierce?

    ¡°Tell me, what do you have to prepare for a marriage?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. Eldest Jiang¡¯s two younger brothers were married, but because old Madam Jiang never let him have any money on his hand, he didn¡¯t know exactly what to prepare for the marriage. He only knew that a lot of work needed to be done at that time.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same everywhere, so I don¡¯t know. At that time, I took Sun Xiaoshan to make a new set of clothes, bought a quilt, some dishes, ten kilos of pork and a chicken, and we lived together,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    When he saw Jiang Zhen looking forward to getting married, he immediately felt that Jiang Zhen must have be so angry because he lost his temper. If someone were to pester his ger, taking advantage of his absence, he would lose his temper too. And . . . Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t really do anything to those people. Wasn¡¯t he just bluffing? In fact, it was nothing.

    Wang Haisheng recovered some peace of mind, while Jiang Zhen was thinking about how to get married. After pondering on it for a while, it suddenly urred to him that he should not worry about it alone. Knowing from Eldest Jiang¡¯s memories that the Zhao family intended to marry someone into the family, he decided to go to the Zhao family. In this case, the marriage should be considered by the Zhao family.

    Some men would feel ashamed of being humiliated, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t really have this thought. He would just have a child with the surname Zhao birthed by Zhao Jinge.

    In modern times, he didn¡¯t have any family, so he didn¡¯t need to carry on the family line. And when he came here, there was no need to carry on the family name for those of the Jiang family that were no good. Naturally, there was no need to fight for a surname. In addition, there was not much difference between being married into the family and marrying a wife . . . Furthermore, as far as he knew, in the countryside, those families who had brought in their son-inw were generally holding onto their son-inw. Nowadays, the wife could run away and the man could run away as well, even though men were more likely to run away than women who were taught to take care of their families. Of course, there were still men who were being oppressed, like Eldest Jiang, and there were still men who didn¡¯t know how to run away. And the more such a person behaved like that, the easier it was for their family to grow more and more arrogant each day.

    But the son-inw was a big man. He would be the pir of the family. Who could cause him trouble? So now he didn¡¯t have to worry about getting married. He just needed to figure out what gift to give Zhao Jinge.

    While Jiang Zhen went back to his house and pondered over this matter while cooking, Zhao Jinge and his mother looked at each other and were both speechless. After a while, it was Zhao Liu who spoke first. ¡°Jinge, what can we do now?¡±

    Zhao Jinge was silent for a moment, then he finally said, ¡°Actually . . . it would be nice to marry Jiang Zhen . . . I don¡¯t have to be a stepmother. You¡¯ll still live nearby.¡±

    Before, Zhao Jinge had refused to marry Li Zugen, so Zhao Liu didn¡¯t expect that he would be willing to marry Jiang Zhen. Suddenly, when she heard what Zhao Jinge said, she was so stunned that she thought she had heard it wrong.

    After a while, Zhao Liu said, ¡°Jinge, you don¡¯t have to wrong yourself for your parents. If you don¡¯t want to marry, we won¡¯t make you marry anyone. In the worst case, we can move away secretly, then Jiang Zhen won¡¯t be able to follow us.¡±

    Zhao Jinge, who once thought about his whole family moving away, so that he could marry Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Fugui finished his work earlier that day, and went home sooner. As he was going back, he nned to fill their water tank with water and cut some firewood along the way. As a result, when he was walking along Hexi¡¯s river as usual, he suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with the way some people were looking at him and someone even sighed at him.

    What happened to these people?

    Zhao Fugui couldn¡¯tprehend this situation. Then he saw that one passerby left after giving him a sympathetic look before turning his head.

    What on earth is going on? Is it . . . Something happened at home?

    Zhao Fugui got worried and didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer. He hurried back home. As a result, as soon as he arrived at the door, he smelled the strong aroma of cooked meat. Zhao Fugui had eaten fish and eggs in his boss¡¯s house a few days ago because of the busy farming period, but he hadn¡¯t had any meat. At the moment he smelled the meat, he felt that he was drooling. The thing was, how could his family suddenly cook meat? Zhao Fugui habitually pushed the door with his hand, but didn¡¯t want to open it. He was puzzled and knocked on the door. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±

    Zhao Fugui just knocked a few times and the door was opened. Before him stood Zhao Liu, who came to open the door, her eyes red and swollen.

    ¡°Why are you crying? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Fugui asked anxiously.

    ¡°Nothing . . . Come in and have a meal,¡± Zhao Liu said, letting Zhao Fugui enter the house. As soon as Zhao Fugui entered the room, she immediately bolted the door, as if there were robbers outside.

    Zhao Fugui was confused, and it got even weirder when he saw Zhao Jinge sitting at the table that was full of dishes.

    There were five dishes and a soup on the table¡ªa big bowl of braised pork, a big bowl of stewed pork with dried beans, a bowl of steamed salted fish, a bowl of fried garlic, a bowl of fried pork slices with cauliflower, and a bowl of salted vegetable soup.

    Even during the New Year¡¯s Festival, their family would not eat so much. How much meat did they cook? Where did this meate from?

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zhao Fugui asked eagerly. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the situation was not right.

    Hearing Zhao Fugui¡¯s question, Zhao Liu sobbed again.

    Zhao Fugui only felt his heart sink. This is . . . Something big happened?

    ¡°Fugui, Jinge he . . . he . . .¡± Zhao Liu choked up twice before she spoke again, ¡°Jinge said, he likes Jiang Zhen!¡± After that, afraid that Zhao Fugui would not understand, she added, ¡°By the way, Jiang Zhen is Jiang Zhenwei. Jinge said that he changed his name to Jiang Zhen.¡±

    At the beginning, Zhao Liu didn¡¯t want to ept the things Jiang Zhen gave them. She thought of returning the meat and then turning down Jiang Zhen, but unexpectedly, Zhao Jinge said, he liked Jiang Zhen! Her family¡¯s Jinge unexpectedly liked that Jiang Zhen! Zhao Liu was shocked, inexplicably bing sadder, and then ruthless. She cooked everything Jiang Zhen gave her. If it wasn¡¯t for the limited time, there would have been another kelp dish on the table.

    ¡°Jinge likes Eldest Jiang?¡± Zhao Fugui repeated in shock.

    Zhao Jinge bowed his head and felt a little sorry for his parents.

    ¡°What should I do? That Eldest Jiang, is he willing to marry our Jinge?¡± Zhao Fugui frowned. He always hoped Jinge would marry someone he liked. After all, he himself . . . Although he didn¡¯t tell anyone about it, it was because he had fallen in love with Zhao Liu that he went to propose marriage. But that Eldest Jiang . . . the former Eldest Jiang would probably be willing to marry Zhao Jinge. But what about the current Eldest Jiang? His Jinge was probably going to be sad.

 Chapter 43 - Going to propose marriage

    <strong>Chapter 43 ¨C Going to propose marriage</strong>

    Zhao Fugui¡¯s reaction was totally unexpected for Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Liu subconsciously said, ¡°He gave me five kilos of meat, salted fish and some kelp today, and said he woulde to propose marriage tomorrow.¡±

    Zhao Fugui asking that before was, in fact, his subconscious reaction. As soon as he heard that Jiang Zhen was willing toe to propose marriage, he got worried. ¡°Wait a minute. Then Eldest Jiang is not a good match? Won¡¯t Jinge be wronged if he gets married to him?¡± If Eldest Jiang went crazy, what could he do, if he beat up Zhao Jinge?

    ¡°No way,¡± Zhao Jinge whispered. Although he had been worried that Jiang Zhen would start disliking him, he was sure that Jiang Zhen was a good man. Because Jiang Zhen was so good, he was even more worried.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have a piece ofnd, nor does he have a serious business . . .¡± The more Zhao Fugui thought about it, the more worried he got. If Zhao Jinge followed such a person, how would he live in the future?

    ¡°I can work,¡± Zhao Jinge said again. He was young and strong. He could certainly support himself and his parents, and Jiang Zhen now had a boat. Even if he just caught fish and shrimps, he could always support himself. If that really didn¡¯t work . . . he could always eat less.

    Although Zhao Fugui was silent and taciturn, he still knew his son very well. Looking at Zhao Jinge¡¯s appearance, he knew that he was very determined. It was just that, when did his son fall in love with Eldest Jiang? Why didn¡¯t he know that his son had contact with that Eldest Jiang?

    Wait a minute, his son actually had a lot of contact with that Eldest Jiang . . . Zhao Fugui suddenly thought of the small fishes and shrimps his son brought home for a period of time, which were sent by Eldest Jiang. Later, when Eldest Jiang left his family, his son seemed to have broken off contact with him, but in fact . . . After that, his son still brought back some fish and shrimps and even meat, like the rabbit previously. He only thought his son was lucky to catch them, but now it seemed . . . were those things sent by Eldest Jiang?

    Zhao Fugui, who didn¡¯t smoke much, suddenly wanted to smoke. Eldest Jiang had nned to kidnap his Jinge! It was just . . . If his son didn¡¯t get married now, he might not be able to marry in the future, let alone marry the person Jinge himself liked.

    Li Zugen¡¯s family hadnd, but he was dragging his parents and his four children along with him. Eldest Jiang did not own anynd, but in the end, he was alone . . .

    The house was quiet and no one spoke any longer. Finally, Zhao Jinge said, ¡°I will send some meat to Jiang Zhen.¡±

    Jiang Zhen bought such a piece of meat and gave it all to them. He certainly didn¡¯t have anything left to eat . . . He felt it was necessary to send some to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge took a bowl of meat from the table and left home with his head down, forgetting that he had not eaten yet.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were both worried, and Zhao Liu started crying again. Their hard-grown cabbage was going to be eaten by a pig. No, their Jinge couldn¡¯t be called a cabbage but a tree, so . . . the tree they nted was hit by a pig?

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat!¡± Zhao Fugui said. Zhao Liu had already cooked all the meat. At that moment, Zhao Fugui just wanted to eat all the meat.

    On the other hand, when Zhao Jinge found Jiang Zhen with the meat, Jiang Zhen had already eaten a good meal.

    Wang Haisheng went out with him. Because he wanted to leave more capital, he did not pay wages, but gave him food¡ªsalted fish and kelp. Wang Haisheng used the salted fish to exchange for two kilos of pork in the county town. Seeing Jiang Zhen give away all the meat he bought, Wang Haisheng served Jiang Zhen a bowl after cooking the meat at home, so Jiang Zhen ate fairly well.

    When Zhao Jinge came, Jiang Zhen had just taken a bath and was washing clothes. He found out that he had been careless and seemed to have torn the stitching of the cuff. After washing, he needed to sew it all over again.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Zhao Jinge called.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge?¡± Jiang Zhen was surprised to see Zhao Jinge. He had seen Zhao Fugui return home before, so he thought it was impossible for Zhao Jinge toe to him today. Unexpectedly, he saw Zhao Jinge so soon.

    ¡°Have you eaten yet? My mother asked me to bring you some meat.¡± Zhao Jinge instinctively wanted to improve the rtionship between his parents and Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I have already eaten, but what about you? Have you eaten?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zhao Jinge had¡¯t eaten yet. Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge¡¯s expression and knew that he must not have eaten yet. He said, ¡°I cooked too much, can you eat here?¡± Seeing that Zhao Jinge was about to refuse, Jiang Zhen spoke again, ¡°I have something to say to you.¡±

    Zhao Jinge stayed for dinner. Then Jiang Zhen started filling him in, from how he set out to the seaside to how he sold kelp in Fucheng, retelling everything for an hour before he finished.

    While retelling, he also held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hands and kissed them a few times.

    Zhao Jinge had only gone to the county town several times, so he knew nothing about the outside world and was fascinated. He didn¡¯t feel the passage of time. At the same time, he inevitably adored Jiang Zhen and looked at him with sparkling eyes.

    Jiang Zhen was very proud. In fact, if they really wanted to talk about it, Zhao Jinge¡¯s insight was not on the same level as his. They actuallycked amonnguage. But wasn¡¯tmonnguage something that could be cultivated? So he was not worried at all. What¡¯s more, no matter who he looked for these days, they didn¡¯t share amonnguage with him.

    Zhao Jinge stayed with Jiang Zhen for more than an hour before going home. When he went back, he had an empty bowl in his hands and found that the table was empty too.

    ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Zhao Fugui had been waiting for Zhao Jinge toe back for a long time, but he didn¡¯t see him return. He got angry and asked Zhao Liu to put away the food from the table. As a result, when he saw his sone back, he was worried that his son would be hungry.

    ¡°I have eaten,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°It is not good to go to eat at his house without an engagement.¡± Zhao Fugui was a little unhappy.

    ¡°In fact, I have eaten there before . . .¡± Before, Zhao Liu had been too excited, so Zhao Jinge spared her a lot of things. Now that his father and mother were both there, he finally talked about his rtionship with Jiang Zhen.

    No wonder Zhao Jinge, who only had porridge at home, had gotten a little fatter in the past few days. It turned out that someone had been giving him an extra meal at noon. No wonder Jiang Zhen always came to feed the ducks in his family. It turned out that he had bought the ducks for Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen really sent you food at noon every day?¡± Zhao Fugui asked. Because Zhao Jinge emphasized several times that the name of the eldest son of the Jiangs was now Jiang Zhen, he also called him by this name.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Jinge said. In fact, Jiang Zhen also gave him food in the evening, but he was too embarrassed to say it.

    ¡°In this way, he is not bad,¡± Zhao Fugui said. They said that Jiang Zhen was fierce, but he just hit someone and severed rtions with his parents, and he had a reason for that. Before that, the Jiang family had really gone a bit too far.

    Zhao Fugui was more knowledgeable than the other vigers about short-term jobs. In fact, he held some admiration for people like Jiang Zhen. Before, he was mainly worried that Jiang Zhen would be bad for Zhao Jinge, but now it seemed that . . .

    ¡°Our family is poor, and there is nothing to covet. I think it¡¯s because you saved his life, that he wanted to repay you for being so kind and marry you. If you think about it this way, it¡¯s good to marry him. At least, he knows how to be grateful,¡± Zhao Fugui said again.

    He had heard about Li Zugen¡¯s entanglement with Zhao Jinge from Zhao Liu. After hearing this, he was really scared, breaking into a cold sweat. It was impossible that the Li family really wanted to marry his son. They probably wanted to find a strongborer for their own family by targeting his son. In contrast, Jiang Zhen, who sent food to his son every day and didn¡¯t try involving his son in his own troubles, was sincere. Zhao Fugui¡¯s impression of Jiang Zhen got much better.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen found Wang Haisheng and asked him to apany him to the county town.

    You just came back from the county town. Why do you want to go to the county town again? Wang Haisheng was a bit puzzled.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the Zhao family¡¯s house to propose tomorrow!¡± Jiang Zhen said. Although he nned to enter into the Zhao family, he would not just treat himself as a woman and wait for the Zhao family to ask for his hand in marriage. In his opinion, Zhao Jinge was his wife anyway. Proposing marriage . . . that is, he still had to do it! They were going to get married, so he wanted to give something to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°So it is like that.¡± Wang Haisheng nodded and hurriedly stood up, ready to go to the county town with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly stopped him. ¡°Ask your wife what he likes.¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice was not small and Sun Xiaoshan could hear him in his room. Before Wang Haisheng could ask, he walked out slowly.

    Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s child was nine years old, and he was not young. Because they used to live and sleep on a fishing boat, he looked even older than other timid unmarried girls. With his head down, Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s voice was very low. ¡°Before . . . the gers in our vige all liked rouge and powder. And if they get married, they all want the same jewelry . . . It¡¯s usually a silver bracelet . . . or earrings are still good . . . It¡¯s better to pay some more. . .. A new set of clothes is also needed. The color of the clothes can be brighter. They are to be worn on the wedding day . . . Of course, it¡¯s better to give something affordable. Haisheng let me eat a chicken by myself . . .¡±

    Sun Xiaoshan got married more than once, but he was more impressed by the clothes and the chicken that Wang Haisheng bought for him than the jewelry and dowry money that never reached his hands. So he had a better impression of the clothes and the chicken that Wang Haisheng had bought for him. He was already so old, but he had never eaten a whole chicken by himself except for that one time!

    Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s voice was low but Jiang Zhen was able to hear it clearly. When hearing about makeup, Jiang Zhen scoffed. A beautiful girl looked better after dressing up, so it was normal to give cosmetics, but Zhao Jinge . . . It was hard for him to ept that Zhao Jinge, who looked like a tough man, would paint his face white. These days, makeup didn¡¯t have many colors to choose from. They only had white. So this one could be forgotten. And jewelry . . . what jewelry did big men wear? It didn¡¯t make any sense . . . Wait a moment!If he didn¡¯t buy it for Zhao Jinge, he could actually buy some for Zhao Liu!

    He had arade-in-arms who went to his girlfriend¡¯s house to meet her parents. He bought his mother-inw a set of skin care products and a ne for two thousand yuan. When his mother-inw was happy, he was immediately able to marry his girlfriend!

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng rushed to the county town immediately. Because it was already dark when they got in the county town, they slept on the boat all night and went shopping in the city early the next morning.

    Jiang Zhen first went to the ce where jewelry was sold, then after estimating the size of Zhao Liu¡¯s wrist, he exchanged the same weight of silver for a small and lovely silver bracelet, and then gave twenty copper pennies for the bracelet. After that he went to the ce where rouge and powder were sold.

    Zhao Liu stayed at home all day and her skin was very white, so he didn¡¯t need to buy her whitening powder. He just bought a box of rouge and a few boxes of facial ointment, which she and Zhao Jinge could use. Then they went to the clothing store.

    Jiang Zhen took a red cloth and put it on Wang Haisheng. He found it would be a tragedy for people with darker skin to wear red clothes. After that, he gave up buying red clothes and chose some sturdy clothes for Zhao Jinge ording to the color that men often wore here. Finally, thinking that he had to buy something for Zhao Fugui, Jiang Zhen went to buy a pot of wine and a few pieces of meat.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t buy many things, and no matter how ordinary the people in the vige were, they also wanted to propose with such things. However, he refrained from buying too much because he wanted to save some capital for doing business.

    After shopping, Jiang Zhen nned to go back, but when he went by the dock, he suddenly saw many people selling chicken and ducks. Jiang Zhen always thought that the Zhao family should find a way to make a living and thought about it over and over again . . . He thought the best thing for them was to raise chicken and ducks.

    It was almost summer, and he still had his fishing boat. It would not be difficult to feed the chicken and ducks with snails and small fish every day. When the chicken and ducks grew up, they could sell them for money and make some profit. Thinking this way, Jiang Zhen simply bought twenty-five ducklings and five chicken in one go. Because the chicken still had to eat feed, he didn¡¯t buy more.

    By the time they returned to Hexi, it was already gettingte, and many people had already finished their noon meal. Jiang Zhen picked up the cloth and meat he had bought at the beginning, and asked Wang Haisheng to pick up the chicken and the ducks. Apanied by the quacking ducklings, he walked all the way to the door of the Zhao family¡¯s house, which also attracted the attention of the people in the vige.

    What happened to this Eldest Jiang? Why is he taking this flock of chicken and ducks to the Zhao family¡¯s house?

    Even Zhao Liu, who came to open the door, was confused when she heard the noise. Jiang Zhen was carrying a load of clothes and meat. Although it was very ordinary clothes, a bit shabby to bring to his future rtives, it was still at least normal. What was the matter with these chicken and ducks behind him? Never mind that he had sent five ducklings to Jinge before. Why did he bring more when he came to propose marriage?

 Chapter 44.1 - This is my dowry

    <strong>Chapter 44.1 ¨C This is my dowry</strong>

    Last night, after a long discussion, the Zhao family finally worked out a n and set up two requirements for Jiang Zhen. First of all, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu needed Zhao Jinge to provide for their old age. Although Zhao Jinge was a ger, they had only one child after all. Secondly, they nned to ask for ten silver as a betrothal gift. Of course, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu didn¡¯t n to take the ten silver for themselves but to give it to Zhao Jinge as a dowry he could keep at the bottom of his box . . . The main reason for them to do this was to give Zhao Jinge some security. As for the other things, they didn¡¯t have any other demands, that is, it didn¡¯t matter if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to invite people to drink the wedding wine. Anyway, the Zhao family didn¡¯t have many rtives, so it was okay for them to buy the drinks themselves.

    As a matter of fact, they were a bit frustrated when it came to these two demands . . . If they wanted Zhao Jinge to provide for their old age, they could no longer ask for betrothal gifts. But the matter of getting married was all about discussion, so they didn¡¯t mention anything for the moment. Finally, Zhao Fugui decided to ask for the first condition first, and then everyone would discuss it slowly.

    After they made a decision, they felt much more rxed. They got up early in the morning and waited for Jiang Zhen toe to their door. As a result, both Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge waited all morning without going to work, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te. Zhao Liu was so anxious that she asked Wang Yuer, Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s eldest son, only to learn that Jiang Zhen had gone to the county town to buy some things.

    It seemed that Jiang Zhen attached great importance to this marriage proposal. The Zhao family simply continued to wait, and then Jiang Zhen arrived with chicken and ducks.

    Zhao Liu: ¡°. . .¡±

    Forget it. Jiang Zhen was alone and had no parents to help him. It was already good he remembered to bring something when proposing marriage. They didn¡¯t care too much about it.

    Zhao Liu let Jiang Zhen in the house, but as for Wang Haisheng, he was not rted to him, so he put down the load he was carrying and insisted on leaving instead of going into the house.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m here to propose marriage today. I hope you will wed Jinge to me,¡± Jiang Zhen said very sincerely.

    Zhao Liu had always been a bit afraid of Jiang Zhen before, but now, Jiang Zhen looked so calm, she couldn¡¯t get up, and even shed some tears because of Jiang Zhen¡¯s words. Her Jinge, someone hade to propose marriage to him! This Jiang Zhen was more sincere than that Li Zugen. Well, the Li family said nice things, and they said that they really came to propose marriage, but in fact, they came here so many times but didn¡¯t even bring onions!

    ¡°Good, good . . .¡± Zhao Liu wiped her tears and nodded. She wanted to say something at this point, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. She was a bit dazed.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what to do or say at this moment, but he was a little impatient, so he simply took out the things he brought. ¡°Mom, Dad, I bought you something.¡±

    Jiang Zhen first took out the wrapped rouge and the bracelet. After finding out that he had brought a silver bracelet, Zhao Liu was even more satisfied with him. Knowing to buy rouge and jewelry for her Jinge, Jiang Zhen seemed really attentive to him. But . . . wasn¡¯t this bracelet a bit too small? Her Jinge¡¯s wrist was a bit thick. Such a small bracelet wouldn¡¯t fit him . . . Zhao Liu was a bit confused.

    Jiang Zhen gave her the rouge and the bracelet. ¡°Mother, this is for you.¡±

    For me? Zhao Liu was even more puzzled. This was a marriage proposal . . . There was no reason to buy things for the mother-inw . . . Of course, the betrothal gift was given to the mother-inw by default these days.

    ¡°Dad, I bought you some wine. I don¡¯t know whether you¡¯ll like it or not.¡± Jiang Zhen put the meat on the table and gave Zhao Fugui a jar of wine.

    Zhao Fugui had kept a straight face since Jiang Zhen entered their door, but when Jiang Zhen gave him a jar of wine, he couldn¡¯t help smiling.

    Finally, Jiang Zhen gave the cloth to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, I bought you some cloth. It was said that you can make four sets of clothes from it. You can make two for yourself and one set for each of your parents.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was speechless when he took the cloth. Although it was a bit strange to give Zhao Liu rouge and jewelry and such a gray cloth to him, he was still very happy in his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing some small business and need to save some capital, so I didn¡¯t buy much,¡± Jiang Zhen gave the gifts and exined, but he still didn¡¯t mention those chicken and ducks. Letting the Zhao family raise the chicken and ducks, they could talk about itter.

    After listening to Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, the Zhao family started wondering. Did Jiang Zhen say it because he didn¡¯t want to pay the bride price? But that was impossible. The things he bought plus the bracelet were worth at least 6 or 7 silver.

    ¡°There are still ten silver here. Take it.¡± Jiang Zhen also gave ten silver to Zhao Liu. He knew that the Zhao family had no money. Before, Zhao Jinge had given all his savings to him, and they probably had even less money now. But they still needed to spend money for the marriage.

    He didn¡¯t want to worry about the wedding, but he couldn¡¯t let the Zhao family pay for it when they couldn¡¯t even afford to kill a pig. That would be too upsetting for Zhao Jinge.

    The Zhao family didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would still give the bride price. They were overjoyed for a moment, and Jiang Zhen became more pleasing to their eyes. It was just that they had to talk about providing for their old age . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I have another thing to tell you. Jinge is our only child now, so we are going to ask him to feed us in the future,¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    Their countrymen attached great importance to the care of the elderly at the end of their lives. They even thought that, if no one organized a funeral, they would suffer in the underworld after their death. So some people, even if they were too poor, they had to have sons.

    ¡°It¡¯s only right. You have brought up Jinge, and of course, we will take care of you till the end,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Fugui and his wife had raised Zhao Jinge. Of course, Zhao Jinge would take care of them until the end of their lives. There was no doubt about that. In other words, if the butcher and his wife had been a little better to Eldest Jiang, he would have also done that.

    Jiang Zhen agreed at once, and the Zhao family were even happier. The more they looked at Jiang Zhen, the more they liked him. There must be a reason why Eldest Jiang was so fierce before. He was obviously a person who was easy toe along with.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can still work. You don¡¯t need to support us now, and we can still help you with your children,¡± Zhao Liu said. She was suddenly full of hope for the future. At the thought that she could take care of her grandson, she felt much better.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I can work for at least another ten years,¡± Zhao Fugui also said.

    ¡°And the bride price, you don¡¯t need to worry. We¡¯ll let Zhao Jinge take it with him. I¡¯ve saved some money, and Jinge should also have some. We can buy a mu ofnd as a dowry for him, so that you can have a better life in the future,¡± Zhao Liu also added.

    ¡°Wait . . .¡± Jiang Zhen interrupted Zhao Liu¡¯s words.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Liu asked. Doesn¡¯t Jiang Zhen want to buynd?

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bride price but a dowry,¡± Jiang Zhen said arrogantly. ¡°In the future, I wille to your house to live. First, I will give you the dowry, and you can decide if you want to buy something. It¡¯s also good to buynd. There is nothing to lose.¡±

 Chapter 44.2 - This is my dowry

    <strong>Chapter 44.2 -This is my dowry</strong>

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were both confused, and suspected that they had heard wrong. Didn¡¯t Jiang Zhene here to propose marriage? How could he say that he brought . . . a dowry? It was really strange for such a domineering person to say that it was his dowry . . .

    ¡°You said . . . Are youing to live in my house?¡± Zhao Liu asked in disbelief.

    ¡°Yes. Haven¡¯t you always wanted to marry in a son-inw? What do you think of me? As a matter of fact, I wanted toe to your house for a long time, but I didn¡¯t dare to say so before,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were simply stunned by the pies falling from the sky. When they saw Jiang Zhen bring so many things before, they thought it was good for Zhao Jinge to marry Jiang Zhen, but as a result . . . Jiang Zhen was willing to marry in? This . . . This . . . They could continue the Zhao family? They could still have grandchildrenter?

    All of a sudden, Zhao Liu burst in tears, crying louder and louder. Zhao Fugui wanted tough a bit, but resisted, yet the corners of his mouth were lifted, so his expression was very strange. They were all very surprised.

    Zhao Jinge, on the other hand, who was still holding the rolls of cloth, looked at Jiang Zhen in shock. At first, when Jiang Zhen left the Jiang family, he wanted to marry Jiang Zhen into his family, butter, he gave up these thoughts. Yet unexpectedly . . .

    ¡°Ahem (cough)! You don¡¯t need a dowry. We don¡¯t need it.¡± Zhao Fugui took the silver from Zhao Liu¡¯s hands and returned it to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Liu was stunned. She soon wiped off her tears and tried to return the silver bracelet. If Jiang Zhen was willing to marry into their family, it was them who should give Jiang Zhen a bride price and buy things for him. How could they let Jiang Zhen spend his money?

    ¡°It is alright. Just keep it!¡± Jiang Zhen was impatient and pushed the things back towards them. He frowned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any requirements as to how the marriage is going to run. I don¡¯t mind if it is up to you.¡±

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said this aloud, Zhao Liu no longer dared to try and return the bracelet again. But looking at Jiang Zhen, her eyes became very kind. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. You will have a very decent marriage.¡± She would certainly prepare a wedding with splendor, letting Jiang Zhen have some face.

    ¡°Generally, we don¡¯t have much money now,¡± Jiang Zhen said. The little money he earned had now been spent again . . .

    ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t have much money now, so we should save it,¡± Zhao Liu said, immediately changing her mind. Their situation now was not good for a living. If they had the money, they might as well save it and buy somend to leave for Jinge¡¯s children, and give to Jinge¡¯s grandson in the future.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go and have dinner,¡± Zhao Fugui said with a red face. Although Zhao Liu had cooked all the meat yesterday, he had specially saved a portion of several meat dishes for Jiang Zhen today.

    At first, she thought she had done a good job and prepared a good meal, but now . . . Zhao Liu regretted it very much. She shouldn¡¯t have cooked all the meat yesterday, so it could be all freshly cooked today!

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get two more dishes.¡± Zhao Liu said and stood up. She was going to buy some eggs to stir-fry.

    ¡°Mother, no need. I can¡¯t eat anymore,¡± Jiang Zhen stopped Zhao Liu.

    ¡°Well, good.¡± Zhao Liu sat down happily. Why did she think Jiang Zhen calling her mother was scary yesterday? How nice it sounded!

    The whole family ate together and enjoyed themselves.

    Jiang Zhen was hungry and was not polite, so he ate two bowls of rice in one breath. Maybe before, Zhao Liu would have secretly disliked him for eating too much when she saw him eat like that. But now, she couldn¡¯t wait for him to eat more and put more meat into his bowl. ¡°You should eat more. Don¡¯t be polite. Make yourself at home . . . s, you cooked your own food for a few days. It must have been too hard. You shoulde to our house and eatter.¡±

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were already engaged. In the countryside, it was normal for two engaged families to meet casually. So it was also okay to let Jiang Zhene for dinner.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen thought about it, he nodded and agreed. He did so, not because he was toozy to cook, but simply because he wanted to improve the food of the Zhao family. He could bring his own food ande back with some of it every day. This way he could make the Zhao family eat better, which was very good.

    After having a meal, the family¡¯s rtionship became much closer. Jiang Zhen also exined the reason why he bought chicken and ducklings. ¡°In the future, I will catch some fish and snails to feed the ducklings when I have free time. When the ducks grow, we can let themy eggs and sell duck eggs, or sell them as a whole.¡±

    ¡°Can this work? Can we really sell them?¡± Zhao Liu was worried. All the families she knew in the vige basically raised their own food.

    ¡°Yes, they can be sold,¡± Zhao Fugui said immediately. He knew that, as long as he sent them to the county town, he could certainly sell them. Thinking of this, Zhao Fugui felt a bit embarrassed. Before Jiang Zhen arrived at their home, he had already helped them make a living. He had never thought of these ways to improve their life before . . . However, they didn¡¯t have time to catch fish and shrimps to feed ducks before . . .

    Jiang Zhen stayed in the Zhao family¡¯s house until the sky turned ck. In fact, he didn¡¯t want to go back and wished to stay, but it had not been easy to make his mother-inw like him. In the end, he decided to put up with it for the time being. Anyway, judging from the current situation, Zhao Fugui and his wife were eager to marry him to Zhao Jinge immediately. Obviously, he wouldn¡¯t have to bear it for much longer.

    After Jiang Zhen left, Zhao Liu was very excited. Although it was getting dark, she was still in good spirits. She went around the house, and then called Zhao Jinge. She said she would go to the river to wash all the dirty clothes at home and then catch some snails to feed the ducks.

    In fact, there was no need to hurry . . . Zhao Jinge wanted to persuade his mother, but now, he also wanted to do something to calm down . . . so the two of them went to the river to wash their clothes.

    The people who had been watching the Zhao family naturally saw this scene, as well as Zhao Liu¡¯s red and swollen eyes. This . . . They didn¡¯t know what Eldest Jiang had done to the Zhaos to make Zhao Liu cry so bitterly.

 Chapter 45.1 - Fragile bed board

    <strong>Chapter 45.1 ¨C Fragile bed board</strong>

    Featured Image

    ¡°It is already evening and Zhao Liu still came out to wash clothes . . .¡±

    ¡°Before, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge were afraid that the river water was too cold and didn¡¯t let Zhao Liu wash clothes by the river. They even cut firewood to boil water to let her wash the clothes and dishes. And today . . .¡±

    ¡°Zhao Liu¡¯s eyes were red from crying. She was probably driven out by Eldest Jiang.¡±

    ¡°That Zhao Jinge looks dazed and is probably frightened. No matter how much he looks like a man, in fact, he is still a ger.¡±

    ¡°That Eldest Jiang . . . ah!¡±

    . . .

    At that time, all the people in the vige had already gotten off work and had nothing to do, so they chatted with other people from the vige, and there was no doubt that the main topic of their conversations was Zhao Fugui¡¯s family.

    That Eldest Jiang took a fancy to Zhao Jinge. They didn¡¯t know how the Zhao family would live in the future.

    The people in the vige avoided Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge while they were chatting. Therefore, Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know what they thought so far.

    Despite the fact that Zhao Liu¡¯s eyes were very red and swollen, she was very happy and satisfied at this moment. Since the death of her eldest son, she had be a subject of sympathy for the vige, making her more and more reluctant to go out. But now . . . she felt that she was ready to lift her head up.

    When Zhao Liu came out to wash clothes, she had the intention to show off in front of the other vigers. As a result, she was there washing clothes and waiting for the others to ask her about her family, but no one came to ask. Even those who were washing dishes by the river gave her sympathetic looks before leaving without a word.

    Zhao Liu became so gloomy that she wanted to hold back these people and tell them that her family¡¯s Jinge was going to get married and it was a marriage into their house. But with her character, she wouldn¡¯t do that kind of thing, so she could only get more ensnared. Her heart was both happy and confused. Zhao Liu put a lot of effort into washing the clothes, but Zhao Jinge was theplete opposite.

    After Jiang Zhen said something like that, he was a bit dazed and didn¡¯t know what to do. Especially . . . Jiang Zhen even went so far as to say that he had wanted to live in his house for a long time. Did Jiang Zhen fall in love with him a long time ago? Even though he was not confident at this time, Zhao Jinge still believed that Jiang Zhen liked him. After thinking of this, he felt so happy that his heart could almost jump out of his chest. Zhao Jinge suddenly felt that rescuing Jiang Zhen from the river and then bringing him porridge to keep him alive were the best things he had ever done in his life.

    ¡°How agile Zhao Jinge used to be. He is not moving now.¡±

    ¡°The way Zhao Liu washed these clothes seemed like she wanted to tear them up.¡±

    ¡°I guess they feel unwell. How pitiful . . .¡±

    . . .

    The vigers felt more sympathetic towards the Zhao family¡¯s plight. Although they liked to watch how others lived and gossiped about them sometimes, no one would dare go out and rub salt into the wound of the Zhao family when they felt really sorry for them. So . . . Zhao Liu finished washing her clothes with no oneing up to her to inquire about Jiang Zhen¡¯s and Zhao Jinge¡¯s situation. Zhao Liu¡¯s heart became depressed, but in the end, she could only go back home in frustration. However, when she saw what Jiang Zhen had given her, she felt happy again.

    In the past, when they got married, Zhao Fugui had also given her a bracelet. Butter, when the family was short of money, the bracelet was naturally sold, so that she did not have any jewelry anymore. But now, she had another bracelet.

    ¡°Fugui, this bracelet is much prettier than the one you bought for me.¡± Zhao Liu put the bracelet on her wrist and showed it to Zhao Fugui.

    ¡°My bracelet was bigger!¡± Zhao Fugui said discontentedly. He had bought the biggest bracelet he could afford!

    ¡°It was big, but not beautiful!¡± Zhao Liu said. That bracelet was so clumsily made and so thick that it was inconvenient for her to wear it to work, so she didn¡¯t wear it very often in the end. Although the bracelet given by Jiang Zhen was a bit small, it was small and beautiful, and just right. Zhao Liu looked at the bracelet, and the more she looked, the more she liked it.

    Seeing the scene before him, Zhao Fugui¡¯s face turned ck. His wife was going to show off the things given by others?

    However, Zhao Liu didn¡¯t notice and kept praising Jiang Zhen. She took out the rouge that Jiang Zhen had given and with her fingers applied some on her lips. Then she asked Zhao Fugui if it looked good.

    It was already a dark night. What was there to see! Zhao Fugui snorted twice. In fact, Jiang Zhen had neither taste, nor money, so when he was choosing rouge for Zhao Liu, he chose not only the mostmon but also the cheapest one. If it were the modern times and he were to give the future mother-inw the cheapest lipstick, he wouldn¡¯t be able to marry their daughter. But in ancient times, Zhao Liu didn¡¯t even have a box of rouge. So even with such a box of rouge, she still liked it.

    Zhao Fugui¡¯s face got even darker. If he had known that Zhao Liu liked these things that could not be eaten or used at all, he would have spent money to buy a box for her! But . . . if he had given this thing to Zhao Liu before, Zhao Liu would have been angry with him for spending money recklessly.

    After Zhao Liu reluctantly wiped off the rouge from her lips and went to bed, she kept talking about Jiang Zhen. On the other side, Zhao Jinge was also thinking about Jiang Zhen.

    Will Jiang Zhene over tonight?

    Zhao Jinge was restless, fearing that Jiang Zhen would note over because he thought he was already asleep. In the end he opened the window and waited. In fact, he had opened the windowst night too and waited, hoping that Jiang Zhen woulde over. In the end, he waited all night, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te. Later, he fell asleep while in a daze. Because of that, when he woke up in the morning, he was really nervous. He was afraid that Jiang Zhen had just said it casually, but in fact, he didn¡¯t n toe to his family to propose marriage that day. The worry he was bearing was not relieved until he learned from Wang Yuer that Jiang Zhen had gone to the county town. At that time, his heart had dropped to the ground, but it was still beating very fast.

    If Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te to ask for a reward and take advantage of it this evening, he would not be Jiang Zhen. Thinking that he had dropped a bomb at the Zhaos¡¯ house today, he thought that Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu would be too excited and would go to sleepte, so he didn¡¯t dare toe early and finally showed up muchter than usual.

    When he came over, he was worried that Zhao Jinge had already fallen asleep, and so, he didn¡¯t immediately see the open window.

 Chapter 45.2 - Fragile bed board

    Chapter 45.2 ¨C Fragile bed board

    Jiang Zhen easily entered Zhao Jinge¡¯s house and closed the window.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, did you miss me?¡± Jiang Zhen asked in a low voice, throwing himself on the bed and pressing Zhao Jinge down.

    Zhao Jinge was startled by Jiang Zhen. As soon as the othernded on his body, his already unstable bed board suddenly made a creaking sound, which startled both of them.

    ¡°You . . . get out of the way.¡± Feeling that Jiang Zhen¡¯s whole body was lying on him, Zhao Jinge¡¯s face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    This . . . This. . . This position was not right!

    ¡°This is good . . . If I move now, the bed will also move,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Jinge¡¯s bed was only made of wood, and its quality was so poor that it would creak whenever he turned over. Speaking of which, they had better get a solid bed before getting married; otherwise, it would be too inconvenient for him to do things in the future.

    Zhao Jinge flushed and didn¡¯t dare to move. Jiang Zhen bowed his head and kissed him on the mouth.

    In the past, Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge a lot, but he always kissed him very mildly. No matter how many kisses he stole, he would not do much. He would just lie on the bed with Zhao Jinge and, at most, touch a little, which was within Zhao Jinge¡¯s tolerance. But this time, Jiang Zhen put his tongue in Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth.

    Zhao Jingey quietly and was kissed by Jiang Zhen. As a result, instead of kissing him casually as usual, Jiang Zhen bit and licked his lips. Jiang Zhen had also licked him before, so after being licked, Zhao Jinge still didn¡¯t move. But then, Jiang Zhen suddenly pried open his mouth with his tongue and stuck his tongue into his mouth.

    This . . . This. . . What is Jiang Zhen doing?

    Zhao Jinge was confused and subconsciously tried to close his mouth, but then, he identally bit Jiang Zhen¡¯s tongue.

    This was also the first time for Jiang Zhen to give someone a french kiss. While he was working hard, he got bitten. At that moment, he gave a hiss andy on the other side.

    Bang! The bed board suddenly made a loud sound, and it seemed like another piece had cracked? Jiang Zhen looked at the obviously broken bed under his knees, and the corners of his mouth jerked up.

    ¡°Jinge, what was that?¡± Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t sleep at that time. When she heard movement in her son¡¯s room, she couldn¡¯t help but shout her concern.

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just . . . I couldn¡¯t fall asleep,¡± Zhao Jinge said, holding Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand and feeling very guilty. Why did he bite Jiang Zhen? Jiang Zhen had not been bitten by him, had he?

    Zhao Jinge dealt with Zhao Liu and was about to check on Jiang Zhen¡¯s situation when he was gagged again. He didn¡¯t dare to move this time, fearing that he might identally bite Jiang Zhen again, so he justy there silently and let Jiang Zhen¡¯s tongue run rampant in his mouth.

    Jiang Zhen, this guy actually drank my saliva, this . . . Is this bad?

    Zhao Jinge felt a little bad, but there was no denying that he liked this feeling. Jiang Zhen treated him like this, which made him feel cherished and loved by Jiang Zhen. Although Jiang Zhen¡¯s tongue was bitten, Zhao Jinge had been merciful after all, so it didn¡¯t matter. Now he could kiss Zhao Jinge all over.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s body became stiff, and he stopped breathing several times. It was really interesting . . . Originally, Jiang Zhen was very worried about his own poor skills, but now, he suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t have to worry at all. Compared to Zhao Jinge, who didn¡¯t know anything, his skills were absolutely excellent!

    Jiang Zhen had been very busy for a few days, and now, he was more or less tired. Not to mention that it was impossible for him to finish what he started with Zhao Jinge now. So when he had enough kisses, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s sleep.¡± After saying that, he turned over and really fell asleep immediately.

    He had been sleeping on the boat for a few days, but he was still somehow unustomed to it, and now, he finally got in a solid bed! Although the bed board broke, this bed was made from more than ten pieces of bed boards put together; the damage was not great.

    Jiang Zhen slept very well, unlike Zhao Jinge. He was so troubled by Jiang Zhen that he couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Zhao Jinge, who couldn¡¯t sleep,y in the bed for a long time before finally closing his eyes.

    The next day, early in the morning, Zhao Jinge was awakened by Zhao Liu knocking on the door.

    ¡°Jinge, get up quickly and call Jiang Zhen for a meal,¡± Zhao Liu shouted outside the house.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly woke up, and then looked into Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes. Jiang Zhen also woke up beside him at the same time.

    ¡°Jinge, get up quickly. Why are you getting up sote today? What if Jiang Zhen is hungry?¡± Zhao Liu shouted again. ¡°Go and call him!¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    In the end, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t dare to open the door and directly go for breakfast, so he secretly climbed out of the window, went back to his house and waited for Zhao Jinge to call him for a meal. It was so much trouble. He wished he could get married soon.

    Because Zhao Liu knew that Jiang Zhen woulde to have a meal with themter, the porridge made that morning was very thick, and she also specially cooked two dishes.

    She usually had a lot of free time, so she had time to cook. In a situation where oil and salt werecking, her food was much better than that made by Jiang Zhen. For example, the pickled lettuce was crispy and appetizing.

    Jiang Zhen drank two bowls of porridge in one breath and insisted on moving his own food to the Zhao family¡¯s house. He also left some salted fish and kelp for Zhao Liu, then he called Wang Haisheng and went out with him.

    When he went out, Zhao Liu cut the vegetable leaves and started feeding the chicken and the ducklings. She also added some water to the remaining porridge and gave it to them.

    These chicken and ducks could be sold for money when they grew up. She must take good care of them!

    Zhao Liu was full of energy as she thought that what she was doing was for her future grandson. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge were also motivated. Thinking that it would be best to earn more money for the bride price, Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui went out to work early in the morning.

    When everyone was gone, Zhao Liu was left to take care of the flock of ducks. At this time, someone who had a good rtionship with her finally came to visit.

    As soon as the man walked in, he went to poke Zhao Liu¡¯s scar and asked, ¡°Did you get these ducks from Eldest Jiang?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Liu nodded.

    ¡°Why are you . . . raising ducks for Eldest Jiang?¡± the man asked again. He didn¡¯t think Jiang Zhen would be kind enough to give Zhao Liu a gaggle of ducklings. He guessed that Jiang Zhen had just asked Zhao Liu to help him raise them.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Liu nodded. The man¡¯s words were right. She was really raising ducks for Jiang Zhen. What she and Zhao Fugui had would all belong to Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge in the future. ¡°I tell you, Jiang Zhen is really nice. Just yesterday he was¡ª¡± When Zhao Liu was about to raise her hand, wanting to show off the bracelet on her wrist, Jiang Zhen came back with two buckets.

    When the person, who was originally talking to Zhao Liu, saw Jiang Zhen, he ran away quickly and did not hear what Zhao Liu saidter. Zhao Liu, who originally wanted to show off, could only watch the man run away . . .

    ¡°Mother, I went to the river to get some snails and small fish,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Everyone had gotten up early. Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng went to work on the boat at about seven o¡¯clock and spent about three or four hours catching fish. Wang Haisheng¡¯s two children were helping them put snails in a bucket on the shore.

    The adult ducks could swallow the snails in their stomachs and digest them, but the small ducklings couldn¡¯t do it. Zhao Liu had to smash them with a stone before they could be fed to the ducklings. These snails could only be used as feed for a period of time. Now the five newly matured ducks were no longer small and could only be fed small fish intestines, but they needed to be cut up beforehand.

    Zhao Liu took a look and discovered that Jiang Zhen had brought back a bucket of snails and a bucket of small fish. She was so happy that she forgot that she wanted to show off.

    ¡°You just leave it here. I¡¯ll clean it up right away. Ah, I have to wait before cleaning it up. I¡¯ll cook first.¡±

    Because of Jiang Zhen¡¯s presence, Zhao Liu, who did not cook lunch before, was going to prepare lunch now. She also nned to make it a bit richer.

    At noon, after Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice with the meat left unfinished the day before, and several vegetarian dishes that were newly cooked by Zhao Liu, he asked Zhao Liu to pack a bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetables, saying that he would give them to Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Liu was deeply moved and overjoyed. Jiang Zhen was attentive to her Jinge. He would certainly have a good life in the future, so she would be able to rest assured! The next day, she would go and ask the blind man in the next vige to see what the nearest suitable day for marriage was. It would be better to take care of this marriage as soon as possible.

 Chapter 46 - Someone climbed in through the window

    Chapter 46 ¨C Someone climbed in through the window

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t deliberately avoid people when he went to deliver food to Zhao Jinge this time. However, Zhao Dahu¡¯s house was close to the canal, and thend there all belonged to him, so there were generally no other vigers.

    Zhao Jinge had been working all morning and was already a bit tired, but when he saw Jiang Zhen, he felt refreshed again, and the corners of his mouth pulled up unconsciously. He used to secretly eat the rice brought by Jiang Zhen in the woods, but this time, he sat on the ridge of the field and ate it, hoping that others could see them and know that Jiang Zhen was kind to him. However, even if someone saw them, they soon learned that Jiang Zhen had eaten at the Zhao family¡¯s house just then. He did deliver food to Zhao Jinge, but this food was from the Zhao family . . . wasn¡¯t it generosity at the expense of others? Nobody envied Zhao Jinge at all.

    Zhao Jinge was just as upset as Zhao Liu, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t take it seriously. He never cared about other people¡¯s gazes. If he had time to care about what the other vigers were thinking, he might as well use this time to make more money. This was not the modern and peaceful society. In modern times, even if one was poor, they could seek out one of those shelters for food. Here, if you didn¡¯t have money on your hands, you might starve to death. With so little money on hand, he couldn¡¯t feel at ease.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the county town this afternoon,¡± seeing that Zhao Jinge had almost finished eating, Jiang Zhen said to him.

    ¡°To do what?¡± Zhao Jinge was a bit confused.

    ¡°To sell things. Don¡¯t worry. I will be back in the evening.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge.

    What Jiang Zhen wanted to sell in the county town was his remaining salted fish and kelp, as well as the fish he had just caught this morning. He had this n for a long time. The kelp was soaked yesterday and the goods were ready. After greeting Zhao Jinge, he took Wang Haisheng with him.

    When they arrived at the county town, they were just in time for the evening market in the afternoon. At this time, many people had dinner at four or five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, but before that, some of them would go to the street to buy food.

    Jiang Zhen stopped the boat near the dock and started selling a bowl of kelp for a penny, just as he had done in Fucheng before.

    There were fewer people in the county town than in Fucheng, but there were still people who came to buy a bowl of kelp. After all, one penny was really a small amount. Once there were more people who came to buy, others naturally woulde to have a look, even if they didn¡¯t actually n to buy. Now that they hade to see, some of them had to buy the prepared kelp.

    Most people came to buy kelp, but some people bought the more expensive salted fish and fresh fish sold as well ¡­

    In modern times, sea fish was sold frozen, but freshwater fish was sold alive. After all, the taste of dead fish was not good for it would be very fishy, but it was different in the ancient times.

    At present, people basically sold freshly killed fish. They caught the fish and sold it on the street. Even if the fishes were still alive at the beginning, they would die soon, and there was nothing they could do about it. At present, it was not like in the modern society, where water came out when you turned on a faucet. There were no oxygen pumps, that could pump oxygen into the water to keep the fish alive, or big buckets . . .

    If you got a big bucket to sell live fish these days, it would be very troublesome to move it around. As a result, except for some rich people, who paid more attention to it, most people bought and sold dead fish.

    But Jiang Zhen still sold live fish. The live fish that he and Wang Haisheng had caught this morning wasn¡¯t piled on their boat but kept in a fishing. It ensured that the fish wouldn¡¯t die. When they arrived in the county town, they took the fishes out and sold them in buckets one by one. At that time, the fishes were still alive. Wang Haisheng dealt with the sales of kelp, and Jiang Zhen was in charge of selling salted fish and fresh fish, the prices of which were more troublesome to calcte.

    There were many people interested in fresh live fish. After a while, it sold very well.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng were the first people to sell live fish and kelp this way in the country town, so there were many people who bought from them. After selling all afternoon, they ended with a profit of three silver, which meant they had earned another three silver.

    Although kelp sold more, the money was mainly made by the sale of fish since the price of kelp was lower, and the price of salted fish was higher. If they really wanted to make money, kelp was presumably better for business.

    ¡°Is it you?¡± When a voice asked this question, Jiang Zhen raised his head and found out that a sea merchant, who had gone with them to purchase goods, was standing in front of them.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good way to sell it.¡± The seafood merchant looked at the kelp in front of Wang Haisheng with a thoughtful look. There was no doubt that when he got back, he would follow suit and sell it like this. This method was too simple and could be learned easily. Jiang Zhen knew that he had better find a way to do some other business in the future. Of course, he had to have the capital first.

    ¡°How are your goods doing?¡± the seafood merchant asked again.

    ¡°Sold out,¡± Jiang Zhen finally answered.

    Hearing this, the merchant looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise. The profits from sea goods were OK, but they didn¡¯t make much money because they couldn¡¯t sell too much at once. But the goods bought by these two people had been sold out?

    This sea merchant was a bit jealous, but he couldn¡¯t do anything else except for feeling jealous. He didn¡¯t want to row his boat to sell somewhere else. Jiang Zhen had been selling all afternoon in the county town. The rest of the sea goods were almost sold out. If we sell them again tomorrow, he estimated, we will probably sell them all. He packed his things and went back to Hexi before it gotpletely dark.

    When Jiang Zhen arrived at the Zhao family¡¯s house, it was past the time when the Zhao family used to have dinner, but the Zhao family still hadn¡¯t moved their chopsticks. When they saw Jiang Zhene back, Zhao Liu brought out all the dishes that were put on the steaming rack to keep warm, and then called Jiang Zhen to have dinner.

    Zhao Liu was an introverted and careful person and was also willing to devote herself to cooking. Now was a good time to eat garlic. Of course, this garlic didn¡¯t refer to cloves, but to the green garlic.

    Zhao Liu pulled out some garlic, cut off the roots, steamed it with the salted fish, cut the garlic leaves into small pieces, and made a bowl of bean curd with garlic leaves. In addition, she also mixed kelp with cold sauce, fried a te of cabbage, and even . . .

    ¡°What is this?¡± Jiang Zhen looked curiously at the dish on the table, which was a te of fried wild vegetables, but there seemed to be something else in it.

    ¡°I picked some snails and took off their shells to fry them with wild vegetables,¡± Zhao Liu said. She saw that there were many snails, and cooked some of them, picking out all the snail meat, piece by piece, with a needle. She fed the tails of the snails to the ducklings, but the heads of the snails were gathered for cooking, which could be regarded as adding some meat to their dishes.

    Jiang Zhen used to eat snails with hisrades as a night snack, but they all cut the tail of the whole snail and sucked the meat out themselves. He had never eaten snail heads cooked like this. This was definitely a time consuming project.

    ¡°The snails were rtively small. If there were field snails, there would be more meat.¡± Zhao Liu also said that the snails in the river here were only the size of a nail, but the snails in the paddy field could get as big as chicken eggs, so there was more meat.

    Jiang Zhen was particrly satisfied with this meal. After he traveled to the ancient times, he had been eating pretty well in general. But until then, he had not eaten delicious food. He immediately felt that it was a correct decision toe to the Zhaos¡¯ house for dinner. When he makes more money in the future, he must buy more seasonings for Zhao Liu.

    After dinner, it was alreadypletely dark, so the Zhao family lit a small oilmp. But they still couldn¡¯t see clearly, and this being the case, it became difficult to chat, so Jiang Zhen soon said his goodbyes.

    That night, Jiang Zhen slipped into Zhao Jinge¡¯s room once again.

    ¡°The bed board hasn¡¯t been changed yet?¡± touching the bed, Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned and then felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°I forgot . . .¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to change it, don¡¯t. In a few days, I¡¯ll get some wood and make a sturdier bed. Otherwise, it will be too inconvenient,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge was notpletely unaware of this matter. But after hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he immediately blushed. When he came back from work the next day, he took down the broken bed board from his house and checked the rest of the bed boards again.

    ¡°The bed board was so good. Why did it break so suddenly? There are no termites.¡± Zhao Liu looked at the bed board a little puzzled.

    Zhao Jinge looked down and said awkwardly, ¡°I identally used too much force . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, this bed board has been used for a long time after all,¡± Zhao Liu said. ¡°By the way, Jinge, your father and I already had dinner. When Jiang Zhenes back, you two can have a good meal together. You don¡¯t have to wait for us or leave us food.¡±

    ¡°Mom, what are you doing?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    Zhao Liu said happily, ¡°We are going to the next vige to find the blind man to ask for a suitable day for your marriage.¡± When choosing a date for an auspicious day of the zodiac, they had to ask a person who could count these days, and they were generally all blind. The master was blind, and the disciples he took in were blind as well. In fact, this was also a way for those who were blind to live.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Zhao Jinge answered.

    ¡°We may note back tonight. Your father has a friend over there, so we may stay there for one night,¡± Zhao Liu said again. Apart from asking the blind man for an auspicious day of the zodiac, she and Zhao Fugui also would go there to order two quilts and several pieces of furniture. Zhao Fugui¡¯s friend was a carpenter, and if they were dyed for too long, they would note back but rest at his house for a night.

    Zhao Jinge answered again, and Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui went out together.

    The people in the vige they went to didn¡¯t know much about Hexi. At most, they heard a few rumors about Eldest Jiang. So when Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui went to ask for an auspicious day, the blind man was very calm and gave them three dates. Generally, when people came to ask about a date for marriage, they would all choose an auspicious day in several months, but the Zhao family had already stressed out that sooner was better, so the blind man had given them three dates, one was twelve dayster, one was a monthter, and thest one was two monthster.

    Zhao Liu wrote down these three dates, but she had already made up her mind to marry Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen in twelve days. It was better to get married as soon as possible. What if Jiang Zhen runs away?

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui asking for dates went very smoothly, and ordering the two quilts also went very smoothly, but when it was time to finally order some furniture, they encountered a bit of trouble. It was already dark, and it was hard to walk during the night as they might encounter snakes. However, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui still went back.

    ¡°What happened to that friend of yours? He thinks of us as being too poor? Unexpectedly, he drove us out without even saying a few words . . .¡± Zhao Liu looked at Zhao Fugui with dissatisfaction.

    She and Zhao Fugui felt that they could not wrong Jiang Zhen, so they went to find friends to make two kinds of furniture. As soon as they entered the door, they told them that their Jinge was going to marry. The wife of Zhao Fugui¡¯s friend couldn¡¯t wait to drive them out, and Zhao Fugui¡¯s friend didn¡¯t stop them either. Zhao Liu felt extremely depressed. Zhao Fugui was also silent.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they just afraid that we will borrow money from them? We¡¯ve never thought about it. We sold thend a long time ago, and we still didn¡¯t bother them . . . ¡° Zhao Liu said again.

    She and Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t want to trouble people. In fact, they could borrow money at the beginning, butter, after they sold thend, they felt it was not good to borrow money from people, who were not rtives, without reason.

    For so many years, they never bothered them. This time, they also brought money for new furniture but were unexpectedly kicked out. Zhao Fugui was also upset. His friend had a distant family rtionship with him. When he was young, they had a very good rtionship. They helped each other a lot, but now, the man turned his head and didn¡¯t give him any face. It was just that Zhao Fugui was not very good at talking, so he could only remain silent.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find another carpenter tomorrow. The bed board in Jinge¡¯s room was broken by him carelessly. Everything else can wait, but the bed must be bought quickly,¡± Zhao Liu said, suddenly frowning again. She looked in the distance. ¡°Fugui, why is there light in Jinge¡¯s room?¡±

    Zhao Fugui looked from afar and found out that there was light in his son¡¯s room, and the window was still open.

    ¡°This child is not afraid of using up themp oil,¡± Zhao Liu said with some heartache.

    Zhao Fugui was vaguely aware that something was wrong. His family¡¯s Jinge was not one of those who would keep the lights on at night. He pulled Zhao Liu with him and didn¡¯t go any further. He was thinking about something when suddenly, he saw a figure climbing in through the window and then the window closed.

    This . . . This . . . Zhao Fugui was shocked. Zhao Liu was also startled. How could someone get into Jinge¡¯s room?

    ¡°Let¡¯s walk lightly.¡± Zhao Fugui¡¯s face was ck. He was almost sure he knew who had climbed in through the window, and it made him particrly ufortable! They were not married yet!

 Chapter 47.1 - Encountering robbers

    Chapter 47.1 ¨C Encountering robbers

    What Jiang Zhen did that day was the same as the day before. He went fishing with Wang Haisheng early in the morning. After catching fish, he went to the county town with Wang Haisheng and sold the live fish while selling the leftover seafood.

    On that day, they sold another two silver worth of goods. They sold almost all the fish and the seafood, which was worrisome. After all of the goods had been sold, he had nearly thirty-two silver in capital that he had made. Jiang Zhen thought about waiting until his marriage, before he would go to sea in order to see if there were any other businesses he could do.

    When he returned to the Zhao family¡¯s house in the evening, Jiang Zhen told Zhao Jinge about his n and also flirted with him. Because Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui coulde back, Jiang Zhen went back to his residence after dinner. It was not until it was clear that Zhao Fugui and his wife wouldn¡¯t return, that he went to the Zhao family¡¯s house again after waiting for an hour.

    This day, Zhao Fugui and his wife were not at home. When they met, they didn¡¯t have to be afraid to speak like before. Finally, theyy side by side and said a lot of things. As they were talking, Jiang Zhen mentioned something. When he was picking up ms with Wang Haisheng at the seaside, he picked up some pretty shells on the way, but forgot about them, and hadn¡¯t brought them to Zhao Jinge as of yet.

    Zhao Jinge had not seen seashells before and was very interested in them. Jiang Zhen immediately got up from the bed and went home to fetch them. Although Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu had recognized the rtionship between Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen still couldn¡¯t talk affectionately or give gifts to Zhao Jinge in the daytime, so it was better to give some things at night.

    Zhao Jinge thought it was troublesome, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think so at all, so he left to get the shells while Zhao Jinge lit amp and waited for him in his room.

    In the middle of the night, there was no one in the vige, so they didn¡¯t think that they would be seen, but . . .

    Zhao Fugui held Zhao Liu¡¯s hand in the dark, feeling a bit angry. He hoped that Zhao Jinge would marry Jiang Zhens soon. After all, he was very satisfied with Jiang Zhen, but even so, he was still annoyed to see Jiang Zhen climbing in through his child¡¯s window.

    This Jiang Zhen unexpectedly . . . Couldn¡¯t he just wait for a few more days!

    At that time, Zhao Liu had already returned to her senses and got angry. Her Jinge hadn¡¯t married Jiang Zhen yet. How could Jiang Zhen do this?!

    As they walked towards their house, Zhao Liu¡¯s thoughts became more and more tangled. It suddenly urred to her that there was one night she could not sleep, and she saw Jiang Zhen wandering around her home . . . At that time, she thought Jiang Zhen wanted to steal things from her family. But now it seems that . . . Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te to steal things but to kidnap people! No wonder Jinge always spoke for him at that time!

    The more Zhao Liu thought about it, the more depressed she became. Then she remembered another thing . . . Today, Jinge took a broken bed board out of his room, and there was still movement in Jinge¡¯s room the night before yesterday . . .

    Jinge¡¯s sleeping posture was always very good. How could he crush the bed board? So . . . their family¡¯s ger had been unexpectedly flirted with . . . Zhao Liu¡¯s mood was veryplicated. How could Jiang Zhen do that? What if they begot children? The spit of the vigers could drown her Jinge! However, there were some people in her family for whom others would climb in through the window in the middle of the night . . . Zhao Liu did not know why, but she was still a little happy even though she was angry.

    At this time, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui had already reached Zhao Jinge¡¯s window.

    ¡°Jinge, kiss me and I¡¯ll give it to you,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge while holding a shell in his hand. He was actually a very vignt person, but he was now sitting on Zhao Jinge¡¯s bed and hugging Zhao Jinge around his waist. If he could still be alert as usual under such circumstances, he would really be a saint. Of course, he couldn¡¯t be a saint. Cough. He was already hard at the moment . . .

    Zhao Jinge had been very generous towards Jiang Zhen ever since his parents agreed to his marriage to Jiang Zhen. Now Jiang Zhen asked him to kiss him, so he really kissed him. However, Jiang Zhen was still a little dissatisfied. ¡°You can¡¯t kiss like this. Kiss and stick out your tongue.¡± Jiang Zhen was good at seducing.

    Before Zhao Jinge could move, his window was suddenly knocked on, and Zhao Fugui coughed outside. Zhao Jinge, who was thinking about whether to listen to Jiang Zhen¡¯s words and kiss him, froze, and even Jiang Zhen was a bit frightened.

    He went to his future wife¡¯s room in the middle of the night and was caught by his future father-inw and mother-inw . . . This was definitely something that would annoy his father-inw.

    Jiang Zhen was sent out of the Zhao family¡¯s house. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu didn¡¯t say a word to him, but he still felt that he might be unlucky. His hunch was right. After inviting Jiang Zhen out, Zhao Fugui and his wife sat in front of Zhao Jinge and started interrogating him.

    ¡°When did it start?¡±

    ¡°Last month . . .¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Last month, before Jiang Zhen went out to sell seafood . . . Their son and Jiang Zhen, unexpectedly . . . Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were silent. They were very satisfied with Jiang Zhen before, but now . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s too soon to get married in twelve days. It is better to do it two monthster,¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    Zhao Liu also nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, marriage cannot be too hasty. It is better to wait two months.¡±

    The two made up their minds, but after a while, Zhao Liu said again, ¡°Two months is too long. Too many things can happen . . .¡±

    ¡°One month. They will get married in one month¡¯s time,¡± Zhao Fugui said. He couldn¡¯t help but look at Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly . . . Even if there is one, it can¡¯t be seen in another month¡¯s time, right?

    The next day, Jiang Zhen was told by Zhao Liu, who had hoped to marry Zhao Jinge in a few days, that their marriage would be a monthter. At the same time, Zhao Liu also said that, before the marriage, the couple should not meet, so after that, she would not let Jiang Zhene to their house to eat. That was to say, she would deliver the food to Zhao Jinge herself at noon.

    As for the evening . . . Zhao Liu said that she wanted to teach Zhao Jinge something, and she would sleep on the bamboo couch in Zhao Jinge¡¯s room. At the time the weather was already hot. Even if one wore a single garment, one wouldn¡¯t freeze. So there was no problem with sleeping on the bamboo couch.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± He had known this. He should have endured that night. It was said that he could get married in twelve days, but it suddenly became a month, and he couldn¡¯t see Zhao Jinge during that time. A whole month, how could he live to this day? However, he also understood Zhao Fugui and his wife. If he had a daughter and a jerk ended up climbing in through his daughter¡¯s window, he would certainly be very angry and unhappy. He wouldn¡¯t even be so calm and would probably catch that son of a bitch and beat him up.

    Speaking of which, had it not been for his sincere door-to-door courtship, Zhao Fugui and his wife would have never been so talkative and would have given him food in all colors and vors every day.

    After eating all the food Zhao Liu sent, Jiang Zhen thought about it and decided that it would be better for him to go out again. Now that he couldn¡¯t eat Zhao Jinge¡¯s tofu or even see him, he might as well go out to do some business and earn some money.

 Chapter 47.2 - Encountering robbers

    Chapter 47.2 ¨C Encountering robbers

    Before, he didn¡¯t think much about it. He just wanted it to be strong and durable, so he bought some coarse cloth for Zhao Jinge. Butter, when he thought about it . . . If they got married and didn¡¯t have any better clothes to wear, it would wrong Zhao Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen had always been a person who, after making his decision, would act on it immediately. After making such a decision, he immediately found Zhao Fugui and his wife, and told them that he wanted to go and sell some more seafood.

    ¡°You are about to get married . . .¡± Zhao Liu was a bit hesitant. Before, when Jiang Zhen left on a long travel, she didn¡¯t care, but now she couldn¡¯t help worrying. It was so dangerous out there! In the past, some people in their vige went far away, but never came back.

    ¡°There is still a month until then. And I am going to do business and make money in the future. Even if I don¡¯t go this time, I will go out in a few days,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Liu looked at Jiang Zhen and was worried that Jiang Zhen was upset because she and Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t let him meet Zhao Jinge. So he decided to say it out.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, these days . . .¡±

    ¡°It was my fault before. I should have behaved much better,¡± Jiang Zhen apologized. It was not proper for him to climb in through the window. If it wasn¡¯t Zhao Fugui and his wife, who saw him, he was afraid that Zhao Jinge would suffer from the gossip.

    Zhao Liu took a look at Jiang Zhen and said, ¡°Go and talk to Jinge.¡± She didn¡¯t want to stop Jiang Zhen from getting closer to Zhao Jinge, but they weren¡¯t married yet . . .

    Jiang Zhen went to see Zhao Jinge and told him that he was leaving for a period of time. Then the next day, he left with Wang Haisheng.

    Wang Haisheng followed Jiang Zhen and had no sry for the time being, but his wife and children had a house to live in and food to eat, so he was already very satisfied. Although his boat had be Jiang Zhen¡¯s, his family¡¯s life was much better now than before.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng went to the seaside fishing vige again to purchase goods. They bought the same goods likest time, but they didn¡¯t buy as much kelp asst time. At the same time, he and Wang Haisheng went to the seaside to pick up 500 kilos of ms.

    Facts proved that their decision was very correct, because as soon as they arrived in Fucheng, the owner of a restaurant came to them and bought all 500 kilos of ms for two silver per hundred kilos.

    Live seafood was rarely seen in Fucheng. Last time, Jiang Zhen came here with ms and made people realize that this kind of food was simr to mussels but much smaller. The outer shells were also very beautiful. This way, a restaurant found a business opportunity and took the initiative to buy ms.

    ms were the first to be sold out. Jiang Zhen stayed in Fucheng for three or four days selling some of the seafood from the boat, and bought various kinds of goods from Fucheng to load on his boat. In addition, he went to a clothing store to buy cloth, and found a skilled tailor to make clothes ording to his and Zhao Jinge¡¯s sizes. As for Zhao Jinge¡¯s size, how did he know it? For several days, he had cuddled a lot with Zhao Jinge, so it would have been strange, if he didn¡¯t know Zhao Jinge¡¯s size!

    After all that, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng left the city.

    In Fucheng, some things were more expensive, but other things were much cheaper than in the small towns. For example, things like soy sauce, oil, sugar, and other seasonings were much cheaper than in other county towns because there were special workshops on this side of this city. In the countryside, those goods couldn¡¯t be bought as easily. In these times, not all the people living in the countryside were poor, and in almost every vige, there were one or twondlords or wealthy people.

    Jiang Zhen took Wang Haisheng to the viges along the river, and sold the goods on the boat. The main customers they aimed at were these rich people andndlords in the viges.

    ¡°This is the best fabric from Fucheng!¡±

    ¡°Smell this wine and vinegar! It¡¯s from the best workshop in Fucheng that is hundreds of years old!¡±

    ¡°I still have some seafood here. You can also have a look.¡±

    . . .

    Jiang Zhen turned his boat into a small grocery store, because the variety of goods he carried was muchrger than those sold in various viges, and he chose goods of good quality. Later, when he met a county magistrate who had resigned and was returning to his hometown, the ex-official made a bulk purchase of his goods.

    This county magistrate lived in the countryside and had many servants. He also had silver on his hands, so it was inconvenient for him to go out and buy things. Now that someone brought merchandise to his door, he didn¡¯t care, if they were a bit more expensive.

    It had been more than ten days since they left on this trip. Jiang Zhen was very tired, but when he thought that he had earned nearly twenty silver, he became refreshed. After calcting the time, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t hesitate to travel again, and Wang Haisheng agreed with him very much.

    They went back to the fishing vige again, but this time, they bought even less salted fish and kelp. They also asked people in the vige to pick up ms at a price of one copper penny for two kilos. Finally, they gathered one thousand kilos of ms, which suddenly reduced the number of ms on the beach there.

    The ms could be stored for a period of time, and their price was not very expensive. So after bringing the ms to Fucheng, Jiang Zhen soon found a buyer for them, after checking restaurant after restaurant. They finally sold for ten silver.

    They also bought a lot of goods in the town. The ones that were easy to sell prevailed, while the quantity of the less popr merchandise was less. Then, like they did thest time, they swung their boat to the viges to trade.

    With the experience from thest time, they sold their stock faster and earned even more.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the bands to sell so well.¡± Wang Haisheng arranged the headbands and could not help but click his tongue.

    Jiang Zhen had bought some beautiful headbands and some colorful leftover cloth from the clothing shops and the tailors. The price of these things was very low and few people wanted them in the city, but they sold very well in the countryside. One red headband was one copper penny, and one piece of red cloth that was two fingers wide and two palms long was two copper pennies. It was by no means an impressive amount, but the profit was even higher than the profit of selling kelp.

    ¡°Women¡¯s business is the best one,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Most of the women in this vige didn¡¯t have the money to make new clothes and buy new jewelry, but they could afford to spend a penny or two on bright colored small stuff to make flowers out of and wear them on their heads.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, can you give me these strips of cloth?¡± Wang Haisheng asked Jiang Zhen for a few long pieces of cloth.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation.

    Wang Haisheng immediately beamed and said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, do you want to leave some for Zhao Jinge? How beautiful these pieces of cloth are?¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t hesitate to reject Wang Haisheng¡¯s proposal. If he made more money this time, it would be nice to spend some on a silver hairpin for Zhao Jinge, but forget about those bright colored cloth pieces. If Zhao Jinge made them into flowers and wore them on his head . . . He couldn¡¯t imagine it.

    This trip earned him a little more than he expected. Jiang Zhen was thinking about what to buy for Zhao Jinge as a gift, when his boat was suddenly hit by something.

    Now that it was already dark, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng docked their boat on the river bank in order to rest. When they were hit like that, the oilmp on the table turned over.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned and walked out of the cabin, just to find out that his boat was surrounded by two smaller boats.

    There were three people standing on each of the two ships, looking like they had no good intentions. When they saw Jiang Zhen, one of them said, ¡°Hey, you on the ship, hand over your silver and the goods! Otherwise . . .¡±

    This was . . . They had encountered robbers!

 Chapter 48.1 - Robbery and anti-robbery

    Chapter 48.1 ¨C Robbery and anti-robbery

    It was actually quite profitable for Jiang Zhen to buy goods and sell them in various viges, but not many people would choose to do so. At least, none of the sea merchants in Hecheng County who went to purchase goods with Jiang Zhen chose to do so, because it was actually very dangerous.

    If a small merchant picked some goods and sold them only in familiar viges, it might not be dangerous. After all, they all knew each other. People who were poor, such as Wang Haisheng, who used to sail with his old boat to unknown ces, were generally not in danger. After all, even if you robbed them, you wouldn¡¯t get much money. But a small businessman like Jiang Zhen, who came to apletely new ce with a batch of goods . . .

    Most of the people in the world were honest, but there was never a shortage of robbers and bandits, and the bandits liked to rob small merchants like Jiang Zhen the most.

    Small businessmen usually didn¡¯t bring too many people, and it was easy to deal with them. Moreover, they didn¡¯t have much power either. Even if they were robbed, they were not able to make trouble for those bandits and robbers. They could only me their own bad luck if they got killed . . .

    These days, if someone died in an unknown ce, his family could not find him, even if they wanted to. As for reporting to the officials . . . If someone you didn¡¯t know died, who would report it to the officials? Even if it was reported to the officials . . . the government usually threw the body in a mass grave.

    If there was a bandit group that had gathered dozens or hundreds of people, and these people made a lot of trouble, the government might send someone to eliminate them. But if several people came together to rob a small businessman, the government would neglect this matter and would not even try to catch anyone.

    The people who stopped Jiang Zhen this time were a small group of water bandits. They were just ordinary people from the neighboring viges who didn¡¯t like to work in the fields, so they started making trouble. First, they stole chicken or beat a dog. Later, after robbing a small businessman, they found out that the money earned from the robbery was a very quick way to earn money, much better than stealing from the vigers, so they simply became water bandits.

    They had two ships, and they took turns looking for targets in the area. They specially picked this kind of small businessmen who carried goods with them. Although they didn¡¯t get rich from robberies, they could eat meat and fish, drink wine, and live a very happy life most of the time.

    This time, they targeted Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng. They knew that they were strangers at first sight. They had a lot of goods on board, and they also had some money on their hands. If they robbed them, they could make some profit right away.

    ¡°If you obediently hand over all the silver and goods, we will let you live. If not . . . There are already many people who drowned in this river!¡± The chief of the water bandits was already waiting for Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng to hand over all their belongings. Small businessmen like them were basically afraid to resist them. However, Jiang Zhen was an exception.

    Jiang Zhen always knew that the ancient times were more dangerous than the modern times, but he didn¡¯t flinch from it, daring to do business only in the city, because he knew one thing, that is, in the south of the Yangtze River, except for those who specialized in selling private salt, there was in fact no other big group of robbers. There were many powerful families and bigndlords here, and they would not allowrge groups of robbers and bandits to appear on their turf. And those small bandits . . . Jiang Zhen was not afraid of guys who couldn¡¯t even get a steel knife.

    His ship carried not only his homemade weapons but also small things, such as lime powder. Even if he was in danger, there would be no problem to escape.

    ¡°Jiang-Jiang Zhen! . . . What are we going to do?¡± Wang Haisheng asked in a trembling voice. He once met water bandits who were so hungry for food that they wanted to rob him. At that time, he had no money, so he simply let them on board to search, and those people did not find anything useful on his boat. But now . . . they not only had goods on board but also silver and copper coins. The copper pennies alone filled two boxes!

    ¡°What else can you do? Take out the silver quickly!¡± a water bandit roared withughter.

    ¡°They have a nice boat. Let¡¯s take it too,¡± another one said arrogantly.

    The moonlight was very bright that night; the water was very beautiful in the moonlight. But these bandits, who wereughing in the moonlight, were frightening. The leader of the bandits looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s boat and said with a smile, ¡°This boat is not bad! Come down here. We will search you and let you go. Leave everything else behind!¡±

    These people didn¡¯t take Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng seriously at all. As soon as they opened their mouths, they asked for all Jiang Zhen¡¯s belongings.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, and at the same time, he started observing the situation around him. Just then, he suddenly heard some sobs. It sounded like, well, like a woman crying? Jiang Zhen nced at the cabin of the ship that hit him, suddenly startled.

    Taking a bamboo pole from the boat, Jiang Zhen directly stabbed a man on the boat in the belly. Now that it was so hot, these people didn¡¯t wear much. After Jiang Zhen purposely sharpened the bamboo pole, the abdomen of the man suddenly bled.

    In Hexi, Jiang Zhen was very careful when he was fighting others. The medical conditions in the area were very poor at this time, so even a small wound could kill a person, if it identally got infected. Since he didn¡¯t want to kill people, he was careful. But towards such water bandits, there was no need to show mercy.

    The water bandit who was stabbed by Jiang Zhen screamed and fell, unable to move. The people around him were shocked. Before they could respond, Jiang Zhen had jumped on their boat with the bamboo pole.

    Jiang Zhen swept one of them in the water with a bamboo pole and shouted to Wang Haisheng, ¡°What are you doing? Can¡¯t fight?¡±

    Wang Haisheng . . . he really didn¡¯t know how to fight. But it was not like he couldn¡¯t do anything. He also took a bamboo pole and poked with it the people from the other boat when they tried to attack him. At first, he was still a bit scared, but after discovering that the water bandits on the other boat were also afraid of his bamboo pole, he let out a cruel cry, ¡°You bastards, I will kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Compared to Jiang Zhen, Wang Haisheng hated these water bandits even more. He had been living on the water, and he had seen a lot of water bandits robbing and killing people. All these times, he wished that these water bandits would die. Although he had never fought, he had a lot of strength from rowing all year round. At that moment, when his bamboo pole was swinging, they couldn¡¯t get close to him.

    But the bandits also had bamboo poles on their boats. One of them came forth with a pole used to support the boat. However, this time, Jiang Zhen threw his bamboo pole away, grabbing the pole in the bandit¡¯s arms and pushing it back and forth. Then he pulled the pole out of his hands and hit his neck hard.

    These days, not even officers and soldiers received special training, let alone these water bandits. Jiang Zhen let them see blood first, andter dealt with several people in session, which immediately scared the rest of them.

    ¡°There are only two of them. What are you afraid of?¡± the leader of the water bandits yelled at the people around him. He was very tall and fierce, and he was not as afraid of Jiang Zhen as the others. However, even if he was not afraid, the people around him were.

    ¡°They are only two people . . .¡±

    While they were talking, another man was stabbed by Jiang Zhen with his long bamboo pole. They . . . This was a hard hurdle! Of the five water bandits, two were swept in the water by Jiang Zhen and ran away, but the rest were subdued.

    When he fought the leader of the water bandits, Jiang Zhen also received several hits from him, and even fell in the water with him in the end. However, Jiang Zhen could swim. These days, he had adapted to the water, so he took the man down in the end.

    They tied the four captured water bandits together. Jiang Zhen started searching them without hesitation, and let Wang Haisheng go to the cabin from where he had heard something before.

    Wang Haisheng agreed. He carefully lifted the curtain of the cabin and walked in. As a result, he had just entered the cabin, when he ran out in panic. ¡°Jiang Zhen, inside . . . there are people in there!¡±

    ¡°There is someone in there. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Jiang Zhen was a bit confused. The people inside should not be water bandits. Why was Wang Haisheng so afraid?

    Jiang Zhen went over and pulled the curtain, looking around on guard. Then he frowned.

 Chapter 48.2 - Robbery and anti-robbery

    Chapter 48.2 ¨C Robbery and anti-robbery

    In the moonlight, Jiang Zhen found out that in the cabin . . . two naked women were lying inside! The two women¡¯s hands were tied and their mouths were probably stuffed with something. They could only make some intermittent sobs. These two women were definitely not the wives of the water bandits. They were probably kidnapped by those water bandits, and locked inside the cabin, to serve as tools to relieve their desires.

    Seeing the quilt next to him, Jiang Zhen directly covered them and then cut the ropes on their wrists. He also found two candles to light up, which allowed him to see the appearance of the two women.

    One of them was a bit older. He estimated her to be in herte twenties. The other one was a bit younger, twenty years old at most. In fact, both of them were very average-looking, but they were not bad for the countryside.

    The two women grabbed the quilt Jiang Zhen gave them, took out the cloth in their mouths with an ¡°ach,¡± and finally burst into tears.

    ¡°Where are you from? Why are you on this ship?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    The two women were still crying, but after a while, the older one finally said, ¡°My lord, I am from a nearby vige. I was kidnaped when I came to visit my rtives . . . ¡± As she spoke, she started crying again.

    The other woman was still crying. Then the woman continued, ¡°This girl beside me was originally engaged in a small business with her husband. Later, they were robbed and her husband was thrown in the river . . .¡± She was taken earlier, and before, they would let her cook and wash clothes. As for why they looked like that today, it was because they tried to run away and got caught.

    ¡°When you die, there is nothing left. The ones hurting the most are your parents and rtives.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the woman who had not spoken all this time. There was something wrong with this person¡¯s state of mind. Jiang Zhen was really afraid that she wouldmit suicide.

    He couldn¡¯t enlighten people . . . In fact, he felt that it was not the women¡¯s fault that they met this kind of misfortune. But obviously, others would not think so, and even these women themselves would not think so.

    ¡°I have children at home. I don¡¯t want to die,¡± the older woman said, and let the other woman talk.

    ¡°Clean up.¡± Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and left the cabin.

    ¡°What shall we do now?¡± Wang Haisheng asked, seeing Jiang Zhene out, and looked at the cabin with aplex look. As soon as he went in, he was startled, and then he ran out in a hurry. He dared not look at the two women inside at all, but Jiang Zhen stayed inside for a while. This . . . Jiang Zhen has Zhao Jinge. Isn¡¯t that bad?

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow morning,¡± Jiang Zhen said, then took out a knife and walked to the leader of the bandits. He knew a thing or two about extorting confessions by torture.

    After learning that these water bandits had killed people, Jiang Zhen showed them no mercy. He naturally extracted information about different parts when he tortured them, which could be regarded as digging up the full background of these water bandits.

    These water bandits had a nest, but most of the money they snatched from others was carried with them and left on their boat. ording to what they confessed, Jiang Zhen finally found more than two hundred silver and some copper pennies, as well as jewelry in the two ships.

    When Jiang Zhen left the Jiang family house, he had thirty-seven silver on his hands. He spent some, and gave twenty to Wang Haisheng, which left him with a little more than ten silver. It was Zhao Jinge who gave him some money, so he could gather about twenty silver as his initial capital.

    Later, he made some money and used some of it to give a dowry of ten silver to the Zhao family. Now, if he included the merchandise on the board, the total amount was only about sixty silver. Of course, if he could sell all the goods and sell them for a fair price, there would be about seventy¨Ceighty silver.

    He had been struggling for so long that he couldn¡¯t even get a good night¡¯s sleep, but he still had so little silver. Now he just spent one night robbing several water bandits, and all of a sudden, he got more than two hundred silver. If he went back and boughtnd with this money, he could buy paddy fields and another two mu of drnd, then he would never have to worry about going hungry again . . . Of course, he didn¡¯t intend to spend all his money onnd.

    Jiang Zhen moved the heavy silver to his boat and went to see the two women. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± the older woman said to Jiang Zhen. She was grateful to him for saving her, but she was also a bit afraid of him. She feared that she would be imprisoned again, so she wanted to leave quickly.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen would like them to leave soon too. He and Wang Haisheng both had families, so it was not good to keep these two women with them.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and threw a bag of things to them. ¡°This is for you.¡±

    These water bandits had a lot of jewelry on their hands. He didn¡¯t want these things, and it was troublesome to deal with them, so he simply gave them to the two women . . . After all, it was them who had suffered. The two women¡¯s clothes were still on the ship. When they got dressed, they helped each other and left in the night.

    Jiang Zhen looked at the sky and said to Wang Haisheng, ¡°Let¡¯s send these people to the yamen.¡±

    It was best to send these people to the yamen. Of course, he would not do it in person. After all,pared to these miserable-looking people, he himself looked more like a robber at the moment. But he could send them to town and leave a note, couldn¡¯t he?

 Chapter 49.1 - Going home to get married.

    Chapter 49.1 ¨C Going home to get married.

    Ningtang was a small county town. There were only two streets in the county town, the longer one stretched from east to west, and the shorter one stretched from north to south and was called Hengjie by the local people.

    This country town was located in the south of the Yangtze River. There weren¡¯t many river tributaries except for one river running through the whole county.

    The people in the county town washed clothes and vegetables there, so it was always very lively. Some people from the nearby viges woulde to the river by boat after harvesting their vegetables, and would then stop by the river to sell them. Over time, the river had be the county town¡¯s vegetable market.

    Just before dawn, there were many people alreadying to the river. Some were noisy and were quarrelling loudly; many small merchants took out fresh vegetables from their boats to sell. At this time, a boat appeared on the shore, but there was no one on board. Instead, a piece of cloth was hung on the bow of the ship with several words written on it. However, most of the people present could not read, so they could not understand the meaning of those words.

    ¡°What is this ship for?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what are they doing, stooping like that?¡±

    Some people looked at the ship curiously, while others came closer and looked inside.

    ¡°Ah!¡± a cry of surprise echoed, and a man who approached the boat looked inside with a horrified expression on his face.

    The man seemed to be frightened, but it was because of this that more people were attracted and went to see the boat. That was when they discovered that inside the cabin with its curtain liftedy several bloody men who were tied up. This . . . What was going on here?

    ¡°Report it to the officials!¡± Soon someone ran to report to the officials.

    When the people of Ningtang County found the ship and the people lying inside, they immediately reported it to the officials. At the same time, all kinds of guesses about the ship spread rapidly within the county town, but the ones responsible for all this had already left Ningtang.

    It was already daybreak. Jiang Zhen asked Wang Haisheng to row while he cleaned the bloodstains on the boat and sorted out their cargo. Meanwhile, Wang Haisheng had been secretly watching him while rowing the boat very inattentively.

    When Wang Haisheng looked over again, Jiang Zhen looked back and frowned. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    ¡°No-Nothing,¡± Wang Haisheng said hurriedly.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Wang Haisheng. Yesterday, whether he had hit or extorted confessions from others, he did not hide it from Wang Haisheng. Later, when he sent those wounded water bandits to Ningtang on their own boat, he asked Wang Haisheng to carry them. He did that to test Wang Haisheng.

    Wang Haisheng always thought that he was a good man, but he was not like Wang Haisheng imagined.

    ¡°What do you think of what I did before?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I can¡¯t believe you can read!¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen with admiration. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you can read. No wonder you can calcte so fast. You¡¯re really talented!¡±

    The worship in Wang Haisheng¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t be overseen, but Jiang Zhen was speechless. Did Wang Haisheng keep peeping at him just because he thought he could read and write well?

    ¡°I asked you, what do you think of our fight against the water bandits?¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°That . . . All water bandits deserve to die!¡± Wang Haisheng said. ¡°Why did we have to send them to the officials?¡±

    People like him, who had no fixed abode, had always stayed away from the government and liked to solve things by themselves, rather than sending them to the officials. At the same time, they had seen too much in life and witnessed too many deaths. In fact, they were much more receptive to killing than modern people. Water bandits would kill them, so killing water bandits in return was nothing to them.

    Jiang Zhen smiled. ¡°Wang Haisheng, you just follow me in the future. As long as you listen to me, I will let you live a good life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been following you.¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen with bewilderment.

    ¡°Also . . . By the way, call me bosster,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Wang Haisheng agreed, and Jiang Zhen gave him about ten silver. ¡°Take it.¡±

    ¡°This . . . This . . . ¡° Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise. He always thought that he would be working with Jiang Zhen for food and shelter. He did not expect that Jiang Zhen would give him money.

    ¡°You did a good jobst night. It¡¯s for you,¡± Jiang Zhen said, thinking that in the uing days, he must train Wang Haisheng well and nt some ideas in his head along the way.

    This shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. People like Wang Haisheng, who have never been to school or studied, are absolutely easy to fool. Of course, the most urgent thing was to check those bandits¡¯ nest.

    The water bandits had already disclosed the location of their old nest the day before. But it was too darkst night, so Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t go there and look for it until dawn.

    This so-called old nest was actually a house in some remote location. The water bandits lived on the boat during the day, but went there to sleep at night. Most of their silver they carried with them, but the stolen goods were piled there. When Jiang Zhen went in the house and looked around, he had a feeling of getting rich. The water bandits werezy and they were unwilling to sell the goods after stealing them, so there were many goods stacked there. Although a few of them contained food that had gone bad, the rest could still be sold. Moreover, those things were worth more than the cargo on his ship.

    Without hesitation, Jiang Zhen carried all the goods to the ship. Because there were so many things, their ship could hardly fit them all. These goods included cloth, porcin, bundles of candles, and even . . . some books.

    There was not a single book in Hexi Vige, so Jiang Zhen had never read a book since he traveled to this era.

    He sent Wang Haisheng to row, and without anything to do, he opened one of the books and started reading. Then he discovered . . . he couldn¡¯t understand it.

    Jiang Zhen was actually pretty knowledgeable in the army. He not only had a good knowledge of firearms, but also knew three foreignnguages ¨C English and twonguages of Southeast Asia.

    English was hard for him to learn, so he listened to tapes when he was reading at school, and he was forced to learn thetter twonguages because of an assignment. But even if he could speak three foreignnguages, he had never learned traditional Chinese characters.

    And now he had a book in his hands. Not only was it written in traditional chinese characters, but it alsocked punctuation. How could people not know how to write words to form sentences?

    Can¡¯t you just use colloquialism? At least, he could understand the simplified version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the signs hanging in front of those shops in the city could also be guessed. Jiang Zhen looked at the book in his hand and stared at it.

 Chapter 49.2 - Going home to get married

    Chapter 49.2 ¨C Going home to get married

    Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen, and the look of worship on his face intensified. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhen was a schr! He always thought that a schr was out of reach, and he never expected to have one around him!

    On the other side, in the town of Tangning, the county lord frowned at the cloth retrieved from the bow of the boat and the words written on it. ¡°What is written on this?¡±

    Most of the people on the ship were more or less injured. They looked like they had been tortured, but they did not know what had happened to them, who had tied them up, or brought them to the county town . . .

    ¡°My lord, I checked . . . It seems to say, ¡®These people are water bandits, who have robbed many people and killed several merchants, so we came to send them to the officials,¡¯ ¡± the teacher of Tangning said. The words were in such a mess. If he had not met yamen officers who could only write a few words, and a bunch of these were misspelled or missing some strokes, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have recognized them now.

    Come to think of it, the man who caught these water bandits and sent them to the officials was probably a man who had only learned a few words at random.

    The magistrate of Tangning did not take the initiative to catch those small bandits, but he would be very satisfied and happy if someone could catch them and send them to him.

    After an interrogation, it turned out that these people were indeed water bandits who had killed several outsiders before. The county magistrate of Tangning directly sentenced them to death. At that time, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng were still selling various kinds of goods.

    In addition to selling things, Jiang Zhen would also tell Wang Haisheng stories every day. He would spare half an hour each morning and evening to let him exercise, and teach him somebat skills.

    Wang Haisheng was not young. He was ten years older than Eldest Jiang, and it was impossible for him to learn everything he wanted. Jiang Zhen mainly asked him to learn how to stab with a bamboo pole.

    Wang Haisheng was a hard-working man. Although he was tired every day, as long as Jiang Zhen asked for it, he wouldplete his training conscientiously. He was definitely the most obedient soldier Jiang Zhen had ever trained. As a reward, Jiang Zhen bought a kilo of pork every day and cooked it with Wang Haisheng. Now, Wang Haisheng worked even harder.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng spent more than ten days traveling, and hadn¡¯t sold all the goods on their hands, but Jiang Zhen was already nning to return to Hecheng. He was still determined to go back and marry Zhao Jinge! He didn¡¯t want to face Wang Haisheng all day.

    Jiang Zhen had now 320 silver and several boxes of copper coins. In fact, it still couldn¡¯t bepared to the Jiang family¡¯s wealth, then after all, thend owned by the Jiang family was very valuable, but even so, this was not a small sum of money.

    Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng rowed their boat to Fucheng first.

    After arriving in Fucheng, Jiang Zhen first went to pick up his own custom-made clothes, and then to the cksmith shop to buy an iron pot, a kitchen knife, and some farming tools, and then continued to buy soy sauce, sugar, and some other seasonings. This time, Jiang Zhen went on a big shopping spree, spending nearly 22 silver, and buying all the things he needed at home.

    Wang Haisheng looked at the new red clothes on the ship, and felt that Jiang Zhen was like a different person. Before, he bought Zhao Jinge the cheapest cloth, but now he even bought an expensive set of clothes.

    Jiang Zhen did not know what Wang Haisheng was thinking. He was not a stingy person. He didn¡¯t spend money before because he didn¡¯t have any, but now he had money, so he could spend some. He even bought Zhao Jinge a hairpin.

    In the city, some well-born gers were raised by their parents as sons, and they could write and read. They were not girly, and they wore male clothes. They usually used hairpins to pull up their hair.

    Jiang Zhen picked out a hairpin that a ger would use, which was not feminine at all, and it was the most expensive item among all the things he had bought.

    Wth a ship full of goods, Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng set out on their journey home.

    At the same time, the vigers in Hexi Vige were talking about a great event. The Zhao family¡¯s son was going to get married! Although Jiang Zhen said publicly that he was attracted to Zhao Jinge, the vigers didn¡¯t take him seriously. They only thought that Jiang Zhen wanted to rely on the Zhao family and let them serve him.

    Later, when they saw that Jiang Zhen was either eating at the Zhaos¡¯ house or asking Zhao Liu to send him food, they were even more certain of this, and even sympathized with the Zhao family.

    As a result . . . when Jiang Zhen left Hexi and no one knew where he had gone, the Zhao family unexpectedly made preparations for the marriage! At first, some people heard that the Zhao family went to the blind man to ask for a marriage date, and they all thought they wanted to take advantage of Jiang Zhen¡¯s absence to marry Zhao Jinge out and avoid Jiang Zhen. As a result, some people went to Zhao Liu and asked about it, but they were told that Zhao Jinge wanted to marry Jiang Zhen!

    No. No. They¡¯re not going to marry Zhao Jinge to Jiang Zhen, but . . . they want Jiang Zhen toe to the Zhao family¡¯s house.

    This . . . Were the Zhao family crazy? They really dared to think about it? Did Jiang Zhen agree?

    In the countryside, it was normal for poor people to be a son-inw, but no one in Hexi Vige thought that Jiang Zhen would be willing to be a son-inw.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is actually quite good. He is sincere to our Jinge. He . . . He has been thinking about our Jinge!¡± Zhao Liu never tired of talking about it with her friends.

    These friends looked at Zhao Liupassionately, but they still didn¡¯t believe her. They only felt that Zhao Liu was deceiving herself and others. There was a ger in their vige who was like this. Although his family was very poor, he told others that his family was living a good life and eating meat every day. This was . . .. probably the case with the Zhao family.

    The Zhao family were making furniture and quilts. Zhao Fugui did not go to work and kept cleaning the house . . . His family didn¡¯t have any money, if he had not been forced by Jiang Zhen, he would not spend money like this! And Zhao Jinge . . . Zhao Jinge looked like that. How could Jiang Zhen be sincere to him and be thinking about him all the time?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really good. He gave us money,¡± Zhao Liu said, and showed people the bracelet on her wrist. ¡°He also bought me a bracelet.¡±

    ¡°You . . .¡± someone sighed, thinking that Zhao Liu actually knew how to lie again and again. At first, she said that Jiang Zhen wanted to be their son-inw. Since he wanted to be their son-inw, how could Jiang Zhen possibly give her money and buy her a bracelet?

    Zhao Jinge and his parents were very clear. Could Jiang Zhen be so stupid at this time? Moreover, the marriage was almost settled, but no one knew where Jiang Zhen had gone. He was obviously not interested in this marriage at all. So it was mostly Zhao Liu¡¯s nonsense. As for her bracelet . . .

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you still had a bracelet hidden.¡± This man only thought that the bracelet was given to Zhao Liu by Zhao Fugui in their early days. Because it was very small, it was not sold when the Zhao family had the ident.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s face showed a very depressed expression, and she felt even more suffocated.

 Chapter 50.1 - Local bullies

    Chapter 50.1 ¨C Local bullies

    Jiang Zhen had been gone for more than twenty days and had note back yet. Zhao Liu was actually very worried about what happened to Jiang Zhen outside.

    ¡°Xiaoshan, when do you think Jiang Zhen wille back?¡± Zhao Liu asked Sun Xiaoshan, who was helping her feed the ducks in front of her.

    Sun Xiaoshan had been fishing with Wang Haisheng all these years. Although they had no fishing boat at present, he could still catch some fish by using a fishing and a bamboo basket. Today, for example, he brought back two special bamboo baskets containing fish. The bamboo baskets had a big opening, which got smaller and smaller. It was filled with earthworms, and the fish that went in to eat the earthworms wouldn¡¯t be able toe out.

    Hearing Zhao Liu ask this, Sun Xiaoshan paused and whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± As he spoke, he took out the fishes from the bamboo basket and started chopping them.

    Sun Xiaoshan would rather eat porridge from wild vegetables than fish. These days, he went to catch fish and snails only to feed the ducks. However, Zhao Liu was often reluctant to feed the fish to the ducks. Every day, she picked a big fish and cooked it.

    Their family had been eating like this for more than twenty days. Although they were all tired of fish, their health had improved a lot, especially Zhao Jinge¡¯s.

    He thought that Jiang Zhen always asked him to eat fish in order to improve his health. Now that his family had no shortage of fish, he tried to eat as much as possible and looked much better.

    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be in danger, right? Jiang Zhen is very strong, even if he is in trouble, he should be able to resolve it,¡± Zhao Liu kept on talking.

    Sun Xiaoshan was silent and threw the chopped fish to the ducks. Two of the ducks bought by Jiang Zhen died of illness in the past few days, but the rest were growing really well. They were no longer small. They could eat anything and looked very lively.

    In the countryside, when chicken and ducks were raised for a long time, they were allowed to roam freely. By that time, they could find their way home, but the chicken and ducks that were still too young generally would not be released outside. Even if they were let out, they needed to be watched over, so that they would not get lost.

    As Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t go to work these days, Zhao Liu asked him to build two enclosures from wooden stakes behind their house. She kept the ducks in therger enclosure and the five chicken in the smaller one together with the eggying hen that Jiang Zhen got from the Jiang family.

    That hen ate well, and the weather was fine again, so itid eggs almost every day. Zhao Liu saved those eggs per schedule. Only afterying eggs for more than ten days would they be cooked for the family to eat, and the fresh ones would be stored and kept for Jiang Zhen to eat when he returned.

    She was very upset after seeing Jiang Zhen climb in through her son¡¯s bedroom window before, but now, she couldn¡¯t help thinking about it. She hoped Jiang Zhen woulde back earlier to let the vigers know that she wasn¡¯t lying.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te back early, but Zhao Jinge did. Now that he was eating well, he possessed inexhaustible strength. He could finish the farm work quickly every day and then go home early.

    His family did not have much money and could not afford to build another house, but he carefully cleaned up his own courtyard. He also used some mud and painted it all from the outside to make his ce look like new. Today, after he came back, Zhao Jinge looked inside and outside and couldn¡¯t find anything to do. Finally, after thinking about it, he simply tossed his earthen stove outside. He cleaned all the ashes in the stove, moved the iron pot out of the stove, and started scraping the bottom of the pot.

    After cooking in an iron pot for a long time, there would always be a thickyer of ash underneath. In the future cooking would be much slower, so every once in a while, people in Hexi would remove the iron pot from the stove and scrape the ash off the bottom of the pot.

    Zhao Jinge was scraping the bottom of the pot with a piece of bamboo when, suddenly, an olddy came to the Zhaos¡¯ residence. Zhao Jinge nced up and then frowned. The olddy who showed up was olddy Jiang, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mother.

    ording to customs, he should go up and entertain her, but Jiang Zhen and old Madam Jiang were at odds after all, and he certainly didn¡¯t want him to curry favor with old Madam Jiang.

    ¡°What a shameless little bitch, ugly and seducing!¡± olddy Jiang, who saw Zhao Jingeing over, immediately said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless ger like you before. I said before, why did you have to rescue that debt collector when he fell in the river? It turned out that you had already taken a fancy to him. You really have no shame at all!¡±

    Olddy Jiang said a lot of things for some time, which kept Zhao Jinge from responding. At this moment, olddy Jiang continued scolding, ¡°But you are also so ugly, that no one wanted you except for that jinx! I think you would break your own legs just to make people look at you!¡±

    The Jiang family were having a hard time these days, and old Madam Jiang had it even worse. The reason was . . . that Eldest Jiang ran away. Without the strong and agileborer, the work in the Jiang family¡¯s farm had been piling up. However, both Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang refused to go to the fields.

    Jiang Chengwen refused to go to the fields because he was toozy, and Jiang Chengxiang . . . he said he would go to the county town to check if there was anything he could do, so he would leave early and returnte every day.

    At first, even though Jiang Chengwen often refused to work, he would still go to work in the field for half a day. But now, when Jiang Chengxiang didn¡¯t work, he was even more reluctant to work. Finally, all the work in the field had to be done by Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang! They really weren¡¯t able to do it by themselves and had no choice but to call Jiang Xiaomei to the fields! This way, although it took them a long time, they could still finish their work, but in the end, something happened again at their home.

    In the past, olddy Jiang always cooked with Jiang Xiaomei. Now both of them had to work in the field. Olddy Jiang asked her two daughters-inw to cook together, feed the pigs, and also take care of the vegetable garden in front of and behind their house. For the first few days, Huang Min and Zhu Shufen at least prepared the meals, and the pigs were fed, but after a few days . . .

 Chapter 50.2 - Local bullies

    Chapter 50.2 ¨C Local bullies

    Huang Min was said to have been a very diligent girl before her marriage, but now . . . no one knew if it was true, but since she married Jiang Chengwen, she gotzier andzier. Originally, there were many people working for the Jiang family, and as soon as she entered through the door, she got pregnant with a child and gave birth to the first grandson of the Jiang family. Olddy Jiang never let her work very much all that time and her nature hadn¡¯t been exposed, but now . . .

    After only a few days of working, Huang Min was tired. When Zhu Shufen was unwilling to feed the pigs, she did not mind feeding the pigs herself at first, butter, she was not happy about it. Why was Zhu Shufen acting like somedy and walked three feet away from the pigsty when she had to feed these stinking pigs? At the same time, Jiang Yuanwen¡¯s body suddenly started feeling unwell, so Huang Min simply stopped feeding the pigs and said she would take care of her son.

    Zhu Shufen had to cook for arge family alone, and then still had to wash the dishes and wipe the table, and then water the vegetables in the vegetable field outside. Now that Huang Min refused to feed the pigs, this job also fell on her shoulders.

    Zhu Shufen, who had cut a handful of vegetables from the garden and was sorting out the leaves, saw that vegetable worms were writhing on the leaves and couldn¡¯t help feeling sick. She didn¡¯t want to work anymore. She simply threw away the leaves and went back to her room to sleep like Huang Min. If she didn¡¯t have to work, so didn¡¯t she either!

    That day, olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang came home very tired and found out that not only was the stove cold but no one had fed the pigs either. Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang immediately got angry. But Huang Min held her son and said that her son was ill. Zhu Shufen was sobbing there in a low voice, and there was nothing they could do about it.

    These two daughters-inw had their sons to protect them, and unlike the original Eldest Jiang, they couldn¡¯t be beaten or scolded. The days went by very quickly for the Jiang family.

    Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang used to have a good rtionship, but now it was getting worse. Jiang Chengxiang thought that Jiang Chengwen was toozy and ignorant. Jiang Chengwen thought that Jiang Chengxiang looked down on him as much as he did. In the end, they stopped talking. The Jiang family, which used to be happy, now had people quarreling every day, and the people in the vige witnessed many funny scenes.

    Olddy Jiang, who had always been a strong woman, grew even angrier and resented Jiang Zhen more and more. She didn¡¯t dare to go find trouble with Jiang Zhen, and at first, she didn¡¯t even dare to find the Zhao family to make trouble. But after more than twenty days since Jiang Zhen¡¯s departure had passed, her courage grew. So she went to find the Zhao family.

    ¡°You think that this debt collector really thinks highly of you? But he just wants a freeborer. You can just wait and see . . .¡± Olddy Jiang pointed at Zhao Jinge and scolded him incessantly, singling out Zhao Jinge¡¯s every mistake.

    Zhao Jinge got angrier and angrier when he heard this. This old Madam Jiang said that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like him, which made him even angrier. Throwing the iron pot on the ground, Zhao Jinge stood up and said to olddy Jiang, ¡°Do you think Jiang Zhen won¡¯te back? Do you want Jiang Zhen toe to your house and make a scene when hees back?¡±

    Olddy Jiang was a woman in the end, and she was not very tall. She did farm work every day these days, so she looked even darker and thinner. Now, how could she dare to talk back to the tall Zhao Jinge?

    At this time, Wang Yuer, followed by his younger brother Wang Daniu, ran towards their side. ¡°My father is back! My father is back!¡±

    ¡°What about Jiang Zhen?¡± Zhao Jinge asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Uncle Jiang is back too!¡± Wang Yuer smiled happily and narrowed his eyes.

    With a smile on his face, Zhao Jinge stood up and ran out. He couldn¡¯t wait to see Jiang Zhen. Olddy Jiang also ran away quickly . . . She couldn¡¯t wait to get away from Jiang Zhen.

    It was true that Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng hade back, but there were so many things on board the boat that it was difficult for them to directly go home. He and Wang Haisheng stopped the boat by the river near the Zhaos¡¯ house. Wang Yuer, who happened to be ying by the river, went back to ask Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui to help carry the things. Then they started packing up the various goods.

    The people in Hexi could not see the silver Jiang Zhen got, but they could still see the things he had bought and the goods he had not yet sold.

    Where did Eldest Jiang go? How could he bring back so many things? He . . . became rich?

    The vigers all looked at Jiang Zhen in shock, but no one dared to ask. At that moment, suddenly someone came running towards them while calling for help.

    ¡°Help! Help me!¡± A ger stumbled in the distance, and behind him were several men.

    The ger was petite and did not run fast; soon he was caught by a fierce-looking man in histe thirties. The man directly pped him. ¡°Damn it! Your father has already sold you to me, and you still want to run!¡±

    The ger was hit so badly that he burst into tears. This ger was no stranger to the vigers, and even Jiang Zhen knew him. It was He Qiusheng, the most beautiful ger in the vige, who had once asked Jiang Zhen for the snake.

    Jiang Zhen had juste back and didn¡¯t know what happened, but everyone in the vige already knew about it. It all started when He Qiusheng¡¯s gambler of a father got indebted to Liu Heitou from Qiaotou Vige for arge sum a few days ago. Although He Qiusheng¡¯s father loved to gamble, he had no money on his hands and his family¡¯snd had already been sold by him. Under such circumstances, let alone his rtives and friends, even loan sharks were unwilling to lend him money. Therefore, even if he wanted to gamble big, he had no chance to do so. In short, he stole some money from home and continued to lose. As a result, this man borrowed 30 silver from Liu Heitou some time ago and lost it all.

    How could their family pay back 30 silver? Not to mention that Liu Heitou had said that he was not interested in money, but was thinking about a ger. So in the past few months, the amount Father He owed Liu Heitou had already increased to sixty silver. If he didn¡¯t pay it back, it would be 120 silver next month.

    At first, when he got indebted, he kept it hidden from his family, butter, he couldn¡¯t keep it a secret any longer. Liu Heitou came to their house with several of his brothers!

    As soon as these people came to the door, they beat up Father He and He Qiusheng¡¯s two brothers and then asked the He family to pay back the money. The He family had to pay it back within five days, otherwise, they were going to take He Qiusheng and let him be Liu Heitou¡¯s concubine. That day was also the day when they came to take away He Qiusheng.

    There were many men in the vige who liked He Qiusheng, but no one dared to offend Liu Heitou. They could only watch him be taken away by Liu Heitou. However, no matter how bad Father He was, he was still He Qiusheng¡¯s father. If he wanted to sell He Qiusheng, the vigers couldn¡¯t stop him.

    ¡°You¡¯d better be nice to me, or you¡¯ll see!¡± Liu Heitou pped He Qiusheng again.

    Just as Jiang Zhen was now the bully in Hexi Vige, Liu Heitou was the bully in Qiaotou Vige.

    Liu Heitou¡¯s father and three brothers were all bold and ruthless. At present, no one in Qiaotou dared to provoke them. Later, his three brothers got married and had children respectively. In Liu Heitou¡¯s generation, the Liu family had ten cousins. Liu Heitou was the eldest of the ten.

    Life wasn¡¯t easy if there were too many people in the family. Liu Heitou had several younger brothers and sisters, so he often couldn¡¯t eat enough, and his thinking grew twisted. At first, he took advantage of other people in the vige, and then he began collecting debts with his younger brothers in order to make money. In just a short time, he started gaining a ¡°great reputation.¡± There was a reason why he lent money to Father He this time¡ªhe identally saw what He Qiusheng looked like.

    Liu Heitou already had a wife and children and his eldest child was even twelve years old. But He Qiusheng looked so fine that it made his heart itch. And so he lent some money to his father . . . If Father He could not pay, He Qiusheng would be his.

    ¡°Tie him up and bring him back with us,¡± Liu Heitou pushed He Qiusheng to the ground and instructed his two younger brothers. He liked He Qiusheng¡¯s face, but he did not belong to the men who usually admired him. He had no pity for He Qiusheng. He just wanted to have him in his bed as soon as possible.

    He Qiusheng cried even more; he had also thought about his own future. He wanted to find a rich man for his family, and marry him and live a good life in the future. But in the end . . . marry Liu Heitou or die young. He knew that if he were to marry him, he would not have a good life and might even be tortured to death . . . This Liu Heitou once married a woman in order to give birth to a child for him, but she died within two years . . . They said that Liu Heitou not only liked to hit people but also liked to give his woman to his brothers to y with . . . At this moment, He Qiusheng¡¯d rather die immediately.

    Jiang Zhen had also recalled some things about Liu Heitou from Eldest Jiang¡¯s memories. When he saw this scene, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. He wasn¡¯t one to meddle, and he didn¡¯t even have a good impression of He Qiusheng. However, He Qiusheng was only fifteen years old this year, and in modern times, he would still be a minor in junior high.

 Chapter 51.1 - Long goodbye

    Chapter 51.1 ¨C Long goodbye

    People got married early these days, and in Eldest Jiang¡¯s memory two twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls got married. The bridegroom, on his wedding day, had still gone outside to y with his friends and forgot the time, until he was finally called back by his mother.

    If this was a normal marriage, Jiang Zhen would not spare it a second thought, however . . . this was obviously a bully who kidnapped other people¡¯s children. Jiang Zhen had not thought it over when the petite He Qiusheng suddenly moved.

    Although He Qiusheng was unlucky to have a gambling father, his mother and his two brothers were both good and loved him very much. He grew up well and was spoiled by the people in the vige all the time. He had never been wronged since he grew up.

    The sudden encounter of such a thing was really unbearable for the young ger, who usually only thought about how to get a drink or some delicious food from his admirers. If it was not for how notorious Liu Heitou was, or if Liu Heitou had been a little kinder, He Qiusheng might have epted his fate, however . . . the first time Liu Heitou came to their door, He Qiusheng¡¯s two brothers were beaten up severely. Just now, at his home, when he tried to touch him, He Qiusheng struggled a bit and was beaten by him too. It was the first time that He Qiusheng had been hit in his live, and he was really scared. Later, his two brothers got angry and rushed to fight with Liu Heitou. He used this chance to escape from the house, but what happened after he escaped? He was caught again.

    He Qiusheng stared at Liu Heitou in a daze, epting his fate, but when Liu Heitou¡¯s two brothers came to tie him up, he suddenly jumped up and rushed to the river.

    Although the water here was not deep enough to drown, he really wanted to die at this moment. It was better to die quickly than to be tortured!

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Liu Heitou thought he had frightened and subdued He Qiusheng. While scolding him, he let his brother go in the water to catch him.

    When he went out to collect other people¡¯s debts, he saw a lot of things and a lot of people seeking death. He Qiusheng tricked him, when he wasn¡¯t paying attention. He was such a small thing that should immediately be obedient after a beating and several threats against his family. However, before Liu Heitou could take action, Jiang Zhen came up with a bamboo pole.

    He did not know exactly what happened, but after listening to Liu Heitou¡¯s words, he could roughly guess it from the expressions on the faces of the vigers around him. They were scared and angry but didn¡¯t dare to do anything. No matter what, today, he couldn¡¯t let Liu Heitou take He Qiusheng away under his nose.

    This Liu Heitou was not a good man. Jiang Zhen had no intention of showing any mercy, because these things happened in the countryside sometimes. It¡¯s just that Liu Heitou¡¯s skills were . . .

    Jiang Zhen had fought with many people since he came to this ce, and of all these people, Liu Heitou¡¯s skills were the best. As a yamen officer, Yang Jing relied on his uniform to scare people away. His kung fu was just for show. The previous group of water bandits were just a group ofzy and bullying little masters, but this Liu Heitou was different. Liu Heitou had gained his reputation with punches and kicks!

    Against Jiang Zhen, Liu Heitou suffered a minor loss at first, but he was able to fight back very quickly. All his moves were aimed at Jiang Zhen¡¯s key points; he obviously had a very rich experience in fighting. Jiang Zhen immediately got interested. It was boring being able to take people down easily every time. This Liu Heitou was really a strong fighter.

    When Jiang Zhen was on a mission before, he met a man who was born with an iron fist; his fighting style was just like Liu Heitou¡¯s. Without any routine, he was ¡°pragmatic and effective.¡± At that time, Jiang Zhen, who was just a young man, suffered a loss, but now . . . Jiang Zhen had a lot of experience and this Liu Heitou couldn¡¯tpare to that man. In fact, in terms of raw physical strength, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯tpare to Liu Heitou. Eldest Jiang hadn¡¯t eaten anything healthy for so many years, while Liu Heitou had a strong body developed by eating fish and meat all these years. The physical condition of the two couldn¡¯t bepared at all. Fortunately, Jiang Zhen had experience and skills.

    For a while, Jiang Zhen was relying on his flexibility and thorough understanding of all parts of the human body, gaining the upper hand in the fight.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    ¡°You want to die!¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    After Liu Heitou¡¯s brothers noticed that their eldest brother was at a disadvantage, they no longer cared about He Qiusheng and just wanted to besiege Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Ah!¡± However, at that time, Wang Haisheng shouted, holding a long bamboo pole in his thick arms and rushed towards Liu Heitou¡¯s brothers.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let Wang Haisheng practice anything else these days. He only practiced stabbing moves with the bamboo pole, and he also helped him find a very suitable bamboo pole, which Wang Haisheng was holding right now.

    This bamboo pole was not cut too sharp, but it still had a sharp end that could pierce people. Liu Heitou¡¯s brother, whose stomach got pierced, immediately screamed. Wang Haisheng let go of him and immediately rushed to the other man.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen knocked Liu Heitou¡¯s forehead with the bamboo pole and let him drop to the ground.

    ¡°Qiusheng, Qiusheng . . .¡± Just then, two young men with swollen ck-and-blue faces arrived, limping as they walked. They shouted He Qiusheng¡¯s name while wiping their tears. It was He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng, He Qiusheng¡¯s two brothers.

    In fact, unlike He Chunsheng who was born in spring, He Xiasheng and He Qiusheng were not born in summer and winter like their names suggested. They were named this way because it was pleasant to hear and easy to remember.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng really loved He Qiusheng. Even though they couldn¡¯t get married because their family had no money, they never thought of exchanging him for arge amount of bride price for the sake of getting their own wives.

    By this time, He Qiusheng might have already been captured by Liu Heitou, so they naturally were very worried. They hoped that the vigers would save He Qiusheng, but they also knew that such a possibility was unlikely. At the moment, they were both very desperate. They thought that He Qiusheng had already been caught, but they didn¡¯t want to run away. In the end, the situation they faced waspletely different from what they imagined. Eldest Jiang had unexpectedly knocked down Liu Heitou with a bamboo pole!

    Jiang Zhen stepped on Liu Heitou¡¯s chest, changed his grip on the pole and looked at Liu Heitou¡¯s brothers next to him with a sneer. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you shouldn¡¯t cross the boundary? This Hexi Vige is my territory! If you try to kidnap people on my territory, you don¡¯t take me seriously!¡±

    He Chunsheng had also seen Jiang Zhen beat up people before. Back then, he thought Jiang Zhen was terrible, but this time, he thought that Jiang Zhen could not be more majestic. However, he soon returned to his senses and saw his little brother. He Qiusheng was standing in the river, wet and stunned.

 Chapter 51.2 - Long goodbye

    Chapter 51.2 ¨C Long goodbye

    Talking about He Qiusheng jumping in the river, one should take into ount what ordinary rivers looked like.

    Regarding the area closest to the riverbank, as long as no one specially dug it deep in order to wash things or anchor one¡¯s boat, this area was usually very shallow. It could be said that the river in Hexi was about two meters deep in the middle, but the areas on both sides of the river were very shallow and the possibility of drowning was very limited.

    Now He Qiusheng was standing more than one meter in the river, and the water only reached to his waist. He Qiusheng was a bit shocked at this moment. He had just made up his mind to die, but in the blink of an eye, Liu Heitou, who he thought was very powerful, was knocked to the ground . . .

    ¡°Elder Brother, what are you doing?¡± Liu Heitou hated Jiang Zhen very much at this moment, but he had already lost, so he could only grind his teeth and ask.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen from Hexi Vige!¡± Jiang Zhen said while stepping on Liu Heitou¡¯s chest a few more times with his feet. ¡°If you had used your crooked brain, you wouldn¡¯t havee to provoke me. I don¡¯t care about you. If you had used your crooked brain . . . you would have known not to provoke me.¡±

    Hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, Liu Heitou froze. The ordinary vigers around could not see it, but when he was fighting Jiang Zhen just now, he could feel that this man had a more ruthless character than he had. If not, how could this man be so familiar with his ways? Moreover, this Jiang Zhen had definitely killed people and seen blood . . . Liu Heitou hated Jiang Zhen very much, but he wasn¡¯tpletely sure about the situation, and he really didn¡¯t dare to offend such a person.

    Despite the fact that he didn¡¯t take other people¡¯s lives seriously, not even that of the concubines he had taken, he still cared about his wife, children, parents and brothers. Therefore he was afraid of offending ruthless people from outside his vige that could bring harm to his family.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, right? I¡¯ll remember it this time!¡± Liu Heitou said with a ck face. ¡°You let me go! I won¡¯t try to catch this ger anymore!¡± He firmly believed that Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t dare to kill him in public, and Jiang Zhen really didn¡¯t.

    Jiang Zhen let Liu Heitou go, and when Liu Heitou¡¯s brothers saw this, they immediately helped him stand up.

    ¡°If you want this ger, I¡¯ll give him to you. I have others, no worse than this one, but I will still ask you to repay the debt when Ie back!¡± Liu Heitou dropped these words, turned around, and left.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t stop him. Father He really owed Liu Heitou a debt. Naturally, he had to pay his debt, and he did not care about that. Of course, the most important thing was . . . that he was about to get married, and for the time being, he didn¡¯t want to offend therge number of people from the Liu family and get in trouble. Butter . . . he¡¯d better get rid of this Liu Heitou, or he would be uneasy.

    Jiang Zhen put away his bamboo pole and was about to go back to picking up his goods when he saw Zhao Jinge approaching and a smile appeared on his face. He hadn¡¯t seen Zhao Jinge for more than half a month. He really missed him.

    Jiang Zhen was happy, but Zhao Jinge was full of anxiety at this moment. He came rtivelyte. When he just arrived, Jiang Zhen had already released Liu Heitou, and he heard Liu Heitou¡¯s parting words. Looking at Liu Heitou and the others¡¯ appearance, and then at the poor He Qiusheng, who was still standing in the river, Zhao Jinge pulled at his clothes and felt uneasy.

    As soon as he heard the news of Jiang Zhening back, he ran over and forgot to take care of his own appearance. Now, he was not only wearing the rags he usually wore to work, but he also smelled of sweat. Compared to He Qiusheng, he was really nothing to look at, ugly and smelly. No, not only that, there were also ash stains on his hands . . .

    Zhao Jinge felt extremely embarrassed and scared. He knew about this family¡¯s problem. Now that Jiang Zhen saved He Qiusheng from Liu Heitou, was He Qiusheng to be Jiang Zhen¡¯s? Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help thinking like this, and so did the other people in Hexi . . .

    Last time Jiang Zhen came back from outside, someone was bullying Zhao Jinge, so he went to save Zhao Jinge, and said that Zhao Jinge was his man. This time . . . How simr was this tost time? Only this time, he didn¡¯t save such an ugly ger like Zhao Jinge but a beautiful ger like He Qiusheng.

    Jiang Zhen had subdued Liu Heitou and saved He Qiusheng. The He family didn¡¯t want to marry He Qiusheng to Liu Heitou, so they could only give him to Jiang Zhen. After all, other people would not dare to marry him in order not to offend Liu Heitou. And thinking about it . . . although Jiang Zhen had a bad reputation, he was still a bit better than Liu Heitou. Moreover, he was not married yet and He Qiusheng was not so young anyway . . . Of course, there was no room for any other candidates. If Jiang Zhen had fallen in love with He Qiusheng, how could his family resist?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen brought back a lot of things this time, and all of them seem to be very valuable. It is not a loss for He Qiusheng to marry him . . .¡±

    ¡°Did Jiang Zhen take a fancy to He Qiusheng this time?¡±

    ¡°For me, I would also pick He Qiusheng and not Zhao Jinge.¡±

    ¡°The Zhao family was thinking about marriage before, but Jiang Zhen probably doesn¡¯t like their family now.¡±

    . . .

    There were many people whispering around Zhao Jinge. Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help but lower his head. In fact, not only the vigers thought this way, the three brothers of the He family thought the same. Jiang Zhen¡¯s willingness to fight against Liu Heitou was probably because he took a fancy to He Qiusheng!

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng clenched their fists and felt somewhat sad, while at the same time, He Qiusheng had already climbed up from the river. Before, He Qiusheng was also a bit afraid of Jiang Zhen, but this fear couldn¡¯t bepared to his fear of Liu Heitou. After all, Liu Heitou beat him, and Jiang Zhen . . . He had only seen Jiang Zhen beating others. Besides . . . just now, no one was willing to save him, and the men who said they liked him, all stayed away. But Jiang Zhen saved him, which made him develop some different feelings for Jiang Zhen. If Jiang Zhen liked him . . . In fact, Jiang Zhen was much better than Liu Heitou . . .

    ¡°Hello, Eldest Jiang . . .¡± He Qiusheng said.

    ¡°Jinge!¡± But Jiang Zhen had already arrived by Zhao Jinge¡¯s side.

    It had been such a long time since he hadst met him. He really wanted to kiss him, but now there were so many people . . . Jiang Zhen sighed. In the end, he just held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, then caressed it several times before asking, ¡°Did you miss me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge raised his head abruptly and saw Jiang Zhen looking at him with a smile, ignoring He Qiusheng, who had climbed ashore and was still calling for him. He might not have said anything before, but now . . . Zhao Jinge whispered, ¡°Yes.¡± With that, he also held Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand.

    Feeling the strength in his hand, Jiang Zhen wanted to take Zhao Jinge¡¯s palm and kiss it. He tried to restrain himself and said, ¡°Jinge, I bought some things from Fucheng. Let¡¯s pack them up and take them home . . . I also brought you a present.¡±

    As he was talking, he pulled Zhao Jinge to the river; his cold and hard expression had softened.

    At that moment, the people around were stunned. This situation was different from what they thought! Jiang Zhen, he unexpectedly ignored He Qiusheng and took Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand? What Zhao Liu boasted about was not a lie? It was true?

 Chapter 52.1 - I like you too

    Chapter 52.1 ¨C I like you too

    Zhao Liu had always been seriously telling people that Jiang Zhen went to her house to propose marriage to her Jinge, and talking about how good Jiang Zhen was to Zhao Jinge. But no one believed her.

    It was really . . . Zhao Jinge looked like a man. Saying that Jiang Zhen wanted him because he could work, they would believe that. But Jiang Zhen attached great importance to him . . . How could it be possible!

    They always thought Zhao Liu was talking nonsense. When they saw that Jiang Zhen helped He Qiusheng and defeated Liu Heitou, they were even more convinced of that¡ªalmost everyone thought that Jiang Zhen was after He Qiusheng. For a while, their sympathy for the Zhao family reached its peak and since then, everybody sympathized with the Zhao family. In fact, some of them were happy for the Zhao family. They thought that, with this, the Zhao family could finally get rid of Jiang Zhen. However, the final result came as a surprise to everyone.

    After Jiang Zhen saved He Qiusheng, he didn¡¯t even look at him. His eyes were glued to Zhao Jinge, who looked a little gray . . . Is his eyesight really alright? Moreover, Jiang Zhen who usually looked so fierce, while looking at Zhao Jinge looked very gentle . . .

    Jiang Zhen brought back a lot of things. There was a lot of porcin among the goods he snatched from the water bandits. The ceramic crockery was very exquisite, which made it unaffordable for ordinary vigers, so he didn¡¯t sell it. He kept it all, in addition to the various kinds of food he bought from Fucheng . . . He knew at a nce that he could sell the goods he had brought on his ship for several hundred silver.

    Zhao Jinge was surprised when he saw these things. Jiang Zhen paid him the bride price, so he knew that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have much money. Now that Jiang Zhen bought so many things at once, he didn¡¯t spend all his money, did he? However, he brought the goods with them and came back. If he sold themter, he wouldn¡¯t lose money.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made a lot of money this time, so I have bought a few different kinds of food to eat,¡± Jiang Zhen exined.

    ¡°Um,¡± Zhao Jinge answered, and the corners of his mouth could not help but hook up. His original uneasiness dissipated after Jiang Zhen held his hand. Now that he was facing the unbelieving eyes of the people around them, his heart was both happy and satisfied. He didn¡¯t think his mood was right, but he couldn¡¯t help it at all.

    ¡°Eldest Jiang!¡± He Qiusheng, who had already climbed ashore, called again and came near Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He Qiusheng calmed his panicked mood and looked at Jiang Zhen. After a pause, he said, ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±

    Speaking of it, He Qiusheng¡¯s appearance was really good. He was pped twice before, and his face was a bit swollen, but it still didn¡¯t affect his appearance, and even made him look more pitiful. The wet clothes outlined his slim figure andplimented his white neck, which made people want to knock him down.

    Of course, this applied to the other men in Hexi. For Jiang Zhen . . . this was a minor who had just been subjected to a violent attack, which was pitiful but nothing more.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t save you. That man may stille. You¡¯d better find a way to sort things out,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s father was a bastard. If he had the ability to resist, he would never indulge such a father, but it was the He family¡¯s decision . . . All the money He Qiusheng¡¯s mother and his two elder brothers earned over the years had been squandered by this father.

    After that reminder, Jiang Zhen no longer cared about He Qiusheng. He gazed at Zhao Jinge. ¡°Shall we go back?¡±

    Jiang Zhen asked Wang Haisheng to keep an eye on the ship and the cargo, then picked up two loads and gave the lighter one to Zhao Jinge, and carried the heavier one on his own back. Then he walked home with Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jinge, did you get off work early today?¡±

    ¡°Jinge, how are the preparations for our wedding going?¡±

    ¡°Jinge, did you order a new bed?¡±

    . . .

    Jiang Zhen asked questions as they walked, and Zhao Jinge answered them earnestly one by one. In fact, Jiang Zhen kept asking questions mainly because he wanted to talk with Zhao Jinge, but Zhao Jinge replied too seriously, so he also got serious and asked attentively about the wedding.

    When they were halfway home, Zhao Liu also came. When she saw them, Zhao Liu smiled till her eyes narrowed. ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are back! I am so d you are back!¡±

    ¡°Mother,¡± Jiang Zhen called.

    Zhao Liu immediately felt that she was about to float. On the other hand, by the river, Wang Haisheng was surrounded by the people of Hexi at this time.

    ¡°Fisherman, are you and Eldest Jiang doing business together?¡± someone curiously asked.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m working for the boss. I fight.¡± Wang Haisheng smiled.

    ¡°What kind of business is Eldest Jiang doing? Did he make a lot of money?¡± someone asked again.

    ¡°He made some profit,¡± Wang Haisheng said with a smile. These people wanted to ask more, but they couldn¡¯t find the words.

    Jiang Zhen had exined to him that there were some things that could not be said. Some people surrounded Wang Haisheng, while others went to check on He Qiusheng. Most of the people who went to He Qiusheng were his admirers. They didn¡¯t dare to step up before, fearing that Liu Heitou would target them, and it would affect their families. But now, they dared toe and show their concern. However, He Qiusheng didn¡¯t want to deal with them at all. He walked towards He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng and said, ¡°Brothers . . .¡±

    Looking at He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng¡¯s appearance, He Qiusheng started crying again. What should they do now? As long as their father was alive, they would not be able to live a peaceful life . . .

    ¡°Qiusheng, let¡¯s go back first,¡± He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng said to their younger brother. Although Jiang Zhen had chased Liu Heitou away, He Qiusheng was not safe yet. In other words, why did Jiang Zhen just leave? They were worried that Jiang Zhen wanted to steal He Qiusheng away like Liu Heitou, and they even nned to negotiate with Jiang Zhen. But in the end, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even look at their brother! He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng¡¯s feelings were veryplicated.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went back and forth several times to pick up everything from the boat to the Zhaos¡¯ residence. While they were busy going back and forth, there were always vigers around them looking at them strangely. The vigers couldn¡¯t help but look at this situation weirdly.

    They had always sympathized with the Zhao family and Zhao Jinge, who had been targeted by Jiang Zhen, and they thought that the life of the Zhao family would not be easy in the future, but now it seemed . . . How could life be more difficult for the Zhao family? Their life was going to be better from now on.

    Jiang Zhen actually sent so many things directly to the Zhaos¡¯ house! What¡¯s more, they didn¡¯t know what kind of eyes Jiang Zhen had, but so far . . . it seemed that he really had a crush on Zhao Jinge . . . He didn¡¯t even look at He Qiusheng, but liked Zhao Jinge!

 Chapter 52.2 - I like you too

    Chapter 52.2 ¨C I like you too

    The people of Hexi couldn¡¯t understand Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind, and they got a bit confused about whether Zhao Jinge was really unlucky or lucky. Right then, someone thought of something, ¡°Speaking of which, a few days before the third Jiang son¡¯s marriage, Eldest Jiang fell in the water. At that time, it was Zhao Jinge who went down the river to save him. It was really kind of him.¡±

    ¡°Is that why Jiang Zhen is with him? In other words, Jiang Zhen is grateful . . .¡± That was how human nature was. They didn¡¯t recall this before. After all, Eldest Jiang didn¡¯t die at that time, so they didn¡¯t think about the life saved . . .

    ¡°Knowing how to repay gratitude? Jiang Zhen is in great trouble! He offended that Liu Heitou, and in the future, no one knows if the people of Hexi would not be targeted by that Liu Heitou!¡± The second Jiang uncle knocked on the ground with his crutches. He looked very sad and worried.

    When some timid people heard what the second Jiang uncle said, they were worried too and resented Jiang Zhen. However, some young people could not help murmuring, ¡°I think Jiang Zhen is very good . . .¡± What Jiang Zhen did this day made them feel really happy!

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know that some people in the vige had changed their attitude towards him. He was now talking with the Zhaos about everything he brought from Fucheng.

    When they heard these things were for the family, both Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were shocked. They didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would give them something after the ten silverst time, but he brought so many things back this time.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, our family doesn¡¯t even have anynd now, so it¡¯s better to save money. There¡¯s no need to rush to buy these things . . . ¡± Zhao Fugui said because he was a bit worried that Jiang Zhen had spent all of the forty silver that the Jiang family had given him. In that case, how would his family live in the future? It was just that Jiang Zhen was not his child. He couldn¡¯t say too much.

    ¡°Dad, I didn¡¯t spend money. I gained unexpected wealth this time, so I bought some things,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t ask what the unexpected wealth was, but nodded. ¡°So it turns out it was like this. It¡¯s good that you know . . . By the way, the ten silver you gave me, and the money I have saved over the years, I put it all together, so we can buy an acre of paddy field. I have already asked someone to help me look for it. Would you like to go and have a look?¡±

    Zhao Fugui was nning to buy it under Jiang Zhen¡¯s name, and his money was regarded as a betrothal gift . . . Their Zhao family couldn¡¯t take advantage of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to buynd, Dad. Let¡¯s buy more.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and put hundred silver on the table. ¡°First, buy 5 mu of paddy field, and if there is more, buy some drnd.¡± With Zhao Fugui and his wife, together with him and Zhao Jinge, the output from 5 mu of paddy field would be almost enough to feed them.

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Zhen still had two hundred silver on him, so it was okay to buy morend. But at this stage, he still hoped to keep more cash on his hands.

    Jiang Zhen said it lightly, but the Zhao family was shocked, and Zhao Liu jumped up in surprise. ¡°Jiang Zhen, where did you get so much silver?¡± Could it be that the money wrapped in cloth was one hundred silver? Where did Jiang Zhen get it?

    ¡°That¡¯s what I call unexpected wealth. When I was doing business outside, I saved a man from some water bandits. He gave me two hundred silver to thank me,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°This . . . This . . .¡± Two hundred? Even when the Zhao family was in good condition, all their possessions did not add up to two hundred silver!

    The Zhao family couldn¡¯t respond anymore. When they were eating, everyone felt a bit dizzy, and Zhao Liu almost fed rice to her nose. Zhao Fugui also forgot to ask about He Qiusheng and Liu Heitou. However, even this being the case, they still sent Jiang Zhen out of the door and didn¡¯t let him stay the night.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± He wanted to talk to Zhao Jinge too. Fortunately, in another six days, he and Zhao Jinge would get married.

    Zhao Jinge also wanted to talk to Jiang Zhen. Before, when Jiang Zhen ignored He Qiusheng, he thought that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have money to help He Qiusheng pay his debts, that¡¯s why Jiang Zhen ignored him. It turned out . . . Jiang Zhen was actually rich! He had misunderstood Jiang Zhen again . . . Zhao Jinge¡¯s heart had a sense of restlessness and sweetness.

    That night, Zhao Liu went to sleep on the bamboo couch in Zhao Jinge¡¯s house once again. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu had made a new bed for Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen, but they couldn¡¯t sleep together until they got married. Zhao Jinge was still lying on the simple wooden bed and listened to what Zhao Liu told him to do after they got married.

    Zhao Liu usually talked about what should be said, but this time, she didn¡¯t say much. After a while, she seemed to have fallen asleep.

    Zhao Jinge was lying in his bed quietly for a long time. After confirming that his mother should have already fallen asleep, he finally got up from his bed and went out quietly. He really wanted to see Jiang Zhen, even if he was already asleep.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s steps were very light, but Zhao Liu wasn¡¯t asleep at all. When she heard the noise, she opened her eyes in the dark. Looking at her son¡¯s back, she hated that iron couldn¡¯t turn into steel. But after thinking about it for a moment, she just picked up her quilt and went to Zhao Fugui.

    Today, Jiang Zhen shocked their family even more than he did before. It was not only Zhao Jinge and Zhao Liu who couldn¡¯t fall asleep, but Zhao Fugui too. He kept thinking about how well their family would live in the future, and then he heard the sound of a door opening. His son must have run out. Zhao Fugui couldn¡¯t feel depressed anymore. After all, this time, it was his son who ran out on his own initiative, and he couldn¡¯t me Jiang Zhen for this.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen was sleeping very well that night, but he was still very alert. So when Zhao Jinge knocked on his window, he immediately got up from the bed and opened it.

    ¡°Jinge, I have so much to tell you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Me too . . . ¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen had already taken out all the things he nned to give the Zhao family, but the hairpin that he intended to give Zhao Jinge was still on his hands. As soon as he lit a big candle, Jiang Zhen immediately took out the hairpin. ¡°I bought you a hairpin.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was surprised to see this. In the past, Jiang Zhen sent a lot of food and some practical things, but he never gave him jewelry. This hairpin was so beautiful that he didn¡¯t even dare to reach for it . . .

    When Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t move, Jiang Zhen directly grabbed a lock of his hair and put the hairpin on. Jiang Zhen¡¯s hair was tied with cloth, which was rtively easy to tie, but this hairpin . . . Jiang Zhen tried several times and fixed the hairpin on top of Zhao Jinge¡¯s head with difficulty.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s hair was pulled a little, which was a bit painful, but Zhao Jinge was still very happy and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You . . . why are you so nice to me?¡±

    ¡°Because I like you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge paused and finally said with certainty, ¡°I like you too.¡±

    Jiang Zhen suddenly didn¡¯t want to let Zhao Jinge go back. It was just . . . it was better to wait until their wedding night . . . Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and endured again. However, this bargain still had to be taken advantage of.

    ¡°Jinge, shall we go to bed and have a rest?¡±

 Chapter 53 - Going shopping together

    Chapter 53 ¨C Going shopping together

    At first when he brought Zhao Jinge to the bed, Jiang Zhen just wanted to touch him. Although at the beginning it was always kissing and touching only, there were so many ces that could catch fire . . . However, after Jiang Zhen said, ¡°I¡¯ll rub it,¡± he really just dawdled and didn¡¯t go in. Although they didn¡¯t do it to the end, they relieved each other with their hands. Jiang Zhen even used Zhao Jinge¡¯s legs.

    It was nothing for Jiang Zhen, but for Zhao Jinge, the impact was obviously considerably stronger. When they finished, hey frozen and motionless on Jiang Zhen¡¯s bed. It never urred to him that he would do such a thing, this . . .

    When he was a child, Zhao Jinge was told by Zhao Liu that as a ger, he could not let others see his body, let alone let anyone touch that ce. Only after marriage could he let his husband touch it. As a result, before he got married, he and Jiang Zhen . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s scent was all over his body, and Zhao Jinge was in a trance.

    Jiang Zhen was in a very good mood. Although he failed to do it to the end, it was the happiest time of his life. Only then did he realize that it was unbearable to use his hand and five fingers to relieve himself. The only regret was that, because of theck of lubrication, it was a little painful after rubbing it for a long time. But it was not a bad thing, was it? If it didn¡¯t continue that long, he wouldn¡¯t even be hurt. Obviously, after he got better, his endurance would also increase.

    While humming, Jiang Zhen lit a fire to heat the water, and when the water was almost boiling, he asked Zhao Jinge toe over and take a bath. Jiang Zhen wanted to take a bath with Zhao Jinge very much; however, Zhao Jinge refused. He sighed and could only wash separately.

    The two of them had gone a little too far, and both of their clothes were stained. After taking a bath, Jiang Zhen took the clothes and the bedsheets to wash them, but Zhao Jinge stopped him. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    In Zhao Jinge¡¯s opinion, washing clothes should be done by him.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and didn¡¯t refuse. He lit a candle for Zhao Jinge, then moved a stool to sit behind him and helped himb his hair.

    We couldn¡¯t buy ready-made clothes in the county town, but there are some in Fucheng. Before, when Jiang Zhen went to Fucheng, he asked a tailor to make clothes for their marriage and even bought two sets of ready-made clothes. This time, he and Zhao Jinge had changed into one of the sets.

    The fabric of this ready-made garment was verymon, but it was much better than the coarse cloth he used to wear. After Zhao Jinge put it on, he looked more energetic.

    Jiang Zhen wiped dry Zhao Jinge¡¯s hair while talking with him. In the end, they washed their clothes together sweetly.

    ¡°Jinge, this is your pocket money.¡± Jiang Zhen gave Zhao Jinge twenty silver.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it,¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly said. Before, that hundred silver was intended to buynd under Jiang Zhen¡¯s name, so they took it, but now . . . how could Jiang Zhen give him money in private?

    ¡°Everyone should have some money on their hands, so that you can buy whatever you want. You gave me all your savings before. Now I¡¯m only giving you a part of mine, how can you not ept it?¡± After Jiang Zhen epted Zhao Jinge¡¯s money first, he didn¡¯t pay it back because he didn¡¯t have much money. Now that he had money, he had to let Zhao Jinge have some money too.

    ¡°Twenty silver is too much,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Jinge, if you don¡¯t take it, I¡¯ll take you to bed again,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    Zhao Jinge blushed and left with the silver in his hands. He wouldn¡¯t spend this money indiscriminately. First, he would find a ce to hide the money, and when Jiang Zhen needed it, he would give it back to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge sneaked back to his house and found that his mother was no longer in his room. When he thought of what he had done, he immediately felt ashamed. But he didn¡¯t regret it and was very happy.

    ¡°Back . . .¡± When Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui heard the noiseing from the room, their hearts felt overwhelmed.

    There were some people in this vige who slept together in secret before they got married, but they didn¡¯t expect that their lovely son would do the same. They used to worry that even if their Jinge got married, he would be despised or rejected in the bridal chamber. But now, it seemed that they were really thinking too much.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen made you new clothes and gave you a hairpin?¡± Zhao Liu nced at Zhao Jinge and noticed the difference in her son.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded.

    ¡°He¡¯s good to you, and you should be good to him too,¡± Zhao Liu said and found that her son seemed to be holding something. ¡°What are you holding in your hand?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s silver,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui¡¯s expressions became moreplicated, but at the same time they feltpletely relieved. Jiang Zhen was so generous to their Jinge, which showed that he had really taken Jinge to his heart.

    Early the next morning, Zhao Liu got up and started busying herself. She cooked a pot of dry rice, steamed some salted fish on the steaming rack, opened the soybean oil brought by Jiang Zhen yesterday, and then fried arge te of eggs in oil. In addition, she opened a jar of pickled mustard stored in her pantry, cut it into thin shreds and mixed it in the bowl with the seaweed.

    When Jiang Zhen came to the Zhaos¡¯ house, the table was full of dishes. Having been away from home for more than twenty days, although they bought meat to eat, neither Jiang Zhen nor Wang Haisheng was very good at cooking. The food they ate was very simple. The food prepared by Zhao Liu was so delicious that Jiang Zhen could not help swallowing his saliva.

    However, there was still somethingcking in Zhao Liu¡¯s cooking . . . She had been living in the countryside, and had not much contact with any spices or eaten many good things. What she could prepare were only a few homemade dishes using spices and vinegar since other seasonings couldn¡¯t be bought often by farmers, so she didn¡¯t know how to use them. Hence, there was no vinegar in the cold seaweeds.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, Jinge. Today, let¡¯s go to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house first to let Jinge quit his job. Then we can go to the county town again,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    One of the main reasons why he asked Zhao Fugui to buynd was that he wanted Zhao Jinge to stop working as a long-term worker for Zhao Dahu¡¯s family. Although he would be tired working in his own field, at least he could go there whenever he wanted to. He could also just hide at home at noon during the hot summer. He couldn¡¯t do that while he was a long-term worker in someone else¡¯s house.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhao Fugui pondered for a moment and nodded. Jinge used to work as a long-term worker, but this time, he was getting married. He should have children in the future, so it would be good to take care of that first . . .

    Zhao Fugui nodded his head, and the Zhao family together with Jiang Zhen went to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house. By this time, the people in the vige had already gotten up, and many people saw the Zhao family. At first nce, it seemed nothing unusual, but when they looked more carefully, they were a bit surprised.

    Zhao Jinge used to do farm work all day long, which left his body covered in mud all the time. But now . . . he was wearing new clothes and had a silver hairpin in his hair. He looked very lively, and they discovered that he didn¡¯t look as ugly as they thought. Of course, he still looked very much like a man, there was no doubt about that. In other words, if he was a man, even if his family was poor, maybe there would be some women who would like his face and would be willing to marry him.

    ¡°That Zhao Jinge is really beautifully dressed.¡±

    ¡°Then Zhao Liu may be right. Jiang Zhen . . . Maybe he is really good to him.¡±

    ¡°Does Jiang Zhen really want to go to the Zhaos¡¯ house? Although he has nond, he has more money than the Zhao family. How could he want to be married in?¡±

    . . .

    People looked at the Zhao family and Jiang Zhen with bewilderment, wondering what Jiang Zhen was doing. By that time, Jiang Zhen had already brought the Zhao family to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house.

    Jiang Zhen wanted Zhao Jinge to quit his job, and the process went very smoothly. Although the Zhao family had some money, they had no real power. It was obvious that, even though they hired Zhao Jinge as a long-term worker, they didn¡¯t want to offend Jiang Zhen under any circumstances. They were afraid that Jiang Zhen would start giving them a hard time, so they even gave Zhao Jinge that year¡¯s sry even though he only worked for three or four months. Of course, after Jiang Zhen and the Zhao family left, they were very angry, but they wouldn¡¯t let others know that.

    It was hard to find a long-term worker like Zhao Jinge, who worked hard and did a good job. So when Zhao Jinge quit suddenly, it seemed that Zhao Dahu¡¯s family would be busy in the near future.

    After quitting his job, they intended to go to the country town. But before going to the county town, Zhao Fugui proposed to visit the vige head first.

    If their family wanted to buynd, it was better to buy it within the vige. That way, it would be closer to their home. If they wanted to buynd in the vige, they could go to the house of the vige head to ask aboutnd avable for sale at the moment.

    There were very few people in Hexi who wanted to buy or sellnd. Although Zhao Fugui said that he would go to the vige head to inquire about it, he did not have much hope. However, the result was beyond his expectations. In their Hexi there was indeed someone who wanted to sellnd!

    ¡°Since thend of Butcher Jiang¡¯s family couldn¡¯t be nted, he wanted to sell 4 mu of paddy field, and he also happened to be in a hurry,¡± the vige head Jiang Ping said while ncing at Jiang Zhen¡¯s face with a look of surprise.

    Because he was the vige head, when Jiang Zhen did those things before, everyone asked him to reason with him, so he had met Jiang Zhen several times. This experience made him a bit afraid of Jiang Zhen. He also felt that Jiang Zhen was going to be a big bully in the vige, harming the vigers. However, he didn¡¯t expect that he not only didn¡¯tmit evil deeds in the vige, but even stood up when Liu Heitou came to their vige to kidnap people. Now he was even going to buynd for the Zhao family.

    He . . . Was he trying to live a good life with Zhao Jinge? If so, it would be great.

    ¡°Yes, but maybe they wouldn¡¯t want to sell it to us. Vige head, please don¡¯t tell them yet it¡¯s us who want to buy thend,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    It was a bit of a surprise to him that the Jiang family wanted to sell thend. However, no matter why the Jiang family wanted to sell it, he wanted to buy it. He didn¡¯t know what kind of expression the Jiang family would have when they learned he was the one who bought thend.

    The Jiang family was not the only one sellingnd in the vige. There was another family who also nned to sell a piece of drnd. The price for the drnd was divided in different categories. Land that was fertile or nted with mulberry trees wasn¡¯t cheap. It cost at least ten silver per 1 mu ofnd, but somend was very cheap and could be bought very cheaply.

    Thend was veryrge with an area of 20 mu, but one couldn¡¯t grow much on it because there was a bamboo forest with many trees. If they wanted to use this kind ofnd to grow things, they must first dig out the bamboo wood, but that was a very troublesome process. Even if they cleared thend, the soil would not be fertile. Even if they wanted to dispose of this wastnd, no one would want to buy it.

    Thisnd couldn¡¯t sell for a long time, Jiang Zhen recalled, but suddenly thought of something. ¡°There seems to be a small pond in thatnd?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there is a pond. It appears to be about two or three mu. You can actually grow water bamboo and water chestnuts. That is very good.¡± Jiang Ping coughed a few times. ¡°Because there is water over there, the price is not cheap. It costs 40 silver for 20 mu ofnd.¡± In fact, the originally set price was a bit higher, but no one was interested in buying it all this time, so it was lowered, yet the price was still a little high.

    Although thisnd produced bamboo and water chestnuts, there was also an ownerless bamboo forest near Hexi. Who would want to buy this bamboo forest in that situation?

    ¡°I want thisnd,¡± Jiang Zhen said. The people of Hexi didn¡¯t think that thisnd was useful at all, but he thought it was very good . . . especially suitable for raising chicken and ducks. Besides, it was too cheap.

 Chapter 54.1 - Jiang Zhen became rich

    Chapter 54.1 ¨C Jiang Zhen became rich

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what do you want to do with thisnd?¡± Zhao Fugui was puzzled. Although he could dig some bamboo shoots and grow some water bamboo shoots to sell for money, it would not only take time but also a lot of effort and might earn them less than one or two silver a year. What can you do with suchnd?

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good ce to raise ducks,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He didn¡¯t want Zhao Jinge to work as a long-term worker, nor did he want Zhao Fugui to work as a short-term worker, so he found something to do for them. It was a good idea to raise chicken and ducks. This way, in two or three months, the family wouldn¡¯t be short of chicken and duck eggs.

    Zhao Fugui thought that raising chicken and ducks would not require such arge piece ofnd, but thought that it was Jiang Zhen¡¯s silver anyway. He stopped talking.

    After negotiating with Jiang Ping to buy the Jiang family¡¯s paddy fields and that piece of drnd, they considered going to the county town to see if there was any othernd for sale. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu looked at each other and refused to go to the county town.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were going to get married. It was alright to go to the county town to have a look. The better-off families would take their future daughter-inw to the county town to buy some things before the marriage. At this time . . . what would the two old ones do with them? So on the trip to the county town, only Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen went. Before leaving, Jiang Zhen brought some porcin with him.

    There was a porcin shop in the county town, which mainly sold very cheap bowls and dishes. When people went there to buy bowls, the shopkeeper would engrave a mark in the bottom.

    In this era, when people threw wedding parties, they needed to borrow tables, chairs, and dishes from others. After they were done, they needed to return them¡ªafter all, this was one of the most important properties of many families, so they had to be marked.

    Jiang Zhen first looked around the shop and asked about the price of porcin. Then he took out the porcin dishes he had brought for the shopkeeper to see and asked him what price he was willing to pay for it.

    ¡°This porcin is of good quality,¡± the shopkeeper said as soon as he saw the porcin that Jiang Zhen took out.

    ¡°Yes, the purchase price was not cheap,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°How many do you have? If the price is right, I¡¯ll take them all,¡± the shopkeeper said.

    ¡°I have arge number of them on my ship. As for the price . . . Shopkeeper, how about this? You help me contact the buyer and negotiate the price, and then I¡¯ll bring the goods to sell to them. As for the selling price, you¡¯ll take one silver out of ten.¡± Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know the market price of porcin. Most of the people who rashly sold it to the shopkeeper would lose money, so he simply thought of such a way.

    If the shopkeeper wanted a bigger cut, he would definitely raise the price a little higher.

    ¡°This . . .¡± The shopkeeper had never sold anything this way, so he was a bit hesitant.

    ¡°Shopkeeper, you will earn 10 percent out of nothing. Of course, don¡¯t try to fool me. I just want to sell it for a good price. If the price is not right, I won¡¯t sell it at all,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After thinking about it for a moment, the shopkeeper agreed to Jiang Zhen¡¯s request. Although the porcin brought by Jiang Zhen was not particrly expensive, it was still good and pretty rare there.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s porcin was not very expensive, but it was really of good quality. At least, they hadn¡¯t seen much of it there. If he were to show it to the mistresses of several big families in the county town, he was sure he would sell it for a good price.

    With the shopkeeper¡¯s consent, Jiang Zhen left the samples and then told the shopkeeper the quantity of each te in his hand, leaving his own address as well.

    After doing that, Jiang Zhen wanted to take Zhao Jinge to a restaurant in the county town for a meal. There was only one big restaurant in the county town and the food there was not cheap. Just as Jiang Zhen proposed to go, Zhao Jinge refused. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat there. Let¡¯s eat wonton.¡±

    ¡°Wonton?¡± Jiang Zhen was stunned. ¡°Jinge, you don¡¯t have to save my money.¡±

    ¡°I really like to eat wonton. When I was a kid, every time father brought me to the county town, he would buy me a bowl of wonton,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen knew that Zhao Jinge mainly wanted to save money, but he didn¡¯t refuse him. So he took Zhao Jinge to the wonton stall.

    Wonton was divided into two kinds. One was the big wonton with thick skin and meat, which was more expensive and cost six copper pennies for one bowl or ten copper pennies for a bowl with meat. The other kind was the small wonton that was very thin with pieces of meat inside the size of mung beans. This bowl cost only about two copper pennies and usually needed some extra meat buns to satisfy the customer¡¯s hunger.

    Zhao Jinge ordered two bowls of small wonton, and Jiang Zhen asked for ten meat buns, which could be taken back with them in case they couldn¡¯t finish eating them afterwards.

    A bowl of small wonton was worth two copper pennies and a bowl of fist-sized meat buns was worth three copper pennies. Jiang Zhen ate three meat buns with a bowl of wonton in order to get full. Zhao Jinge ate the same amount, so they wrapped the remaining four steamed buns in oiled paper.

    When he brought Zhao Jinge to the county town, he intended to buy something for Zhao Jinge, but Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want anything. After purchasing goods in Fucheng, he couldn¡¯t think of anything else he should buy. Atst, he just bought two kilos of meat and another te of pig liver.

    After buying the pig liver, Jiang Zhen saw that pig¡¯s trotters were cheap, so he bought two more pig¡¯s trotters and asked the butcher to cut them into pieces.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge?¡± a voice could be heard suddenly. Zhao Jinge, who was standing beside Jiang Zhen, turned his head and saw a woman in her thirties standing not far away.

    ¡°Sister,¡± Zhao Jinge called and looked at the woman opposite him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here . . . Do you want to buy some meat but have no money? Do you want me to lend you some?¡± Liu Pandi looked at Zhao Jinge and asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Zhao Jinge refused.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say no. I know your family¡¯s life is not easy. s, you are too old to still find a mother-inw and need to work for another family all day . . . ¡± Liu Pandi said, looking at Zhao Jinge with some pride. However, this close look made her eyebrows wrinkle slightly.

    This Liu Pandi was the eldest daughter of Zhao Jinge¡¯s uncle and was the same age as Zhao Jinge. When she was a child, she was very jealous of Zhao Jinge, who was loved by his parents. When she grew up, she married well in the county town, while Zhao Jinge never got married. She felt more and more superior to Zhao Jinge.

    It was her great regret that Zhao Liu basically cut off contact with her family, so she would casually send Zhao Jinge some food for the Chinese New Year, in order to let Zhao Jinge see how well she was doing.

    Today, when she saw Zhao Jinge, she was happy at first, but soon felt that something was not right. Today, Zhao Jinge was dressed up, looking very lively. There was even a silver hairpin in his hair.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re wearing a silver hairpin! Is my aunt finally helping you find your mother-inw¡¯s family?¡± Liu Pandi asked again. That silver hairpin shouldn¡¯t have been bought by the Zhao family. Zhao Jinge was getting married? ¡°Are you filling in a house or marrying an old man? You are already so old, but that family is willing to give you a silver hairpin. It must be in poor condition, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Liu Pandi seemed to be guessing, but in fact, she was very sure. She thought that Zhao Jinge might marry some stupid madman. If not, why would they buy Zhao Jinge a silver hairpin?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t have much contact with this cousin of his. In fact, at the beginning, he hadn¡¯t discovered that this cousin bore malice towards him, but now he also felt something was wrong and couldn¡¯t help frowning.

    ¡°Jinge, I¡¯ve bought the meat. What else do you want? Let¡¯s go buy it.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and looked at Liu Pandi. ¡°Who is this old woman? Do you know her?¡±

    ¡°This is my cousin,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Oh, she was a cousin. I thought she was an aunt,¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    Liu Pandi was nearly furious. The situation of her husband¡¯s family was really very good for showing off. But she had a powerful mother-inw who was always dissatisfied with the fact that her family had asked for too many betrothal gifts, so she treated her harshly, aging her. But even so, she was still only one year older than Zhao Jinge. How did she be an aunt?

    Liu Pandi wanted to say something more, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t pay any attention to her and had already pulled Zhao Jinge away. Liu Pandi looked at Zhao Jinge¡¯s back and could not help frowning. Could Zhao Jinge really be getting married? It couldn¡¯t be true! She must go back and ask!

 Chapter 54.2 - â€“ Jiang Zhen became rich

    Chapter 54.2 ¨C Jiang Zhen became rich

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t spend so much time in the county town and went back early. Meanwhile, the vige head, Jiang Ping, had already gone to the Jiang family house and talked about the fact that someone wanted to buy theirnd.

    At first, Jiang Ping was worried that the Jiang family would ask who was willing to buy thend, but unexpectedly, the Jiang family didn¡¯t ask.

    ¡°Someone wants to buy it? What is the price?¡± old Madam Jiang asked.

    ¡°Twenty silver for 1 mu ofnd. Yournd is not the best and there are no crops on it, so I couldn¡¯t sell it any more expensive,¡± Jiang Ping said.

    Olddy Jiang immediately hesitated, while Butcher Jiang smoked in silence.

    ¡°Do you really want to sell thend? It¡¯s hard to buynd after it¡¯s sold . . . ¡± Jiang Ping advised them. Land was the lifeblood of the vigers! Except for Zhao Liu who was ill and waiting for life-saving help, or He Qiusheng¡¯s father who owed money due to gambling debts that could potentially get his head chopped off, no one was willing to sellnd.

    The Jiang family didn¡¯t have a lot ofnd before. They had 4 or 5 mu of paddy fields plus a few mu of drnd. It took Butcher Jiang a lot of effort to increase his family¡¯s properties, which they possessed today. Who didn¡¯t envy the Jiang family for having 15 mu of paddy field? Unexpectedly, they were willing to sell 4 mu in one breath.

    ¡°Sell! We want to sell,¡± Butcher Jiang affirmed. He was so upset that he didn¡¯t even ask who wanted to buy it.

    There were several reasons why the Jiang family wanted to sell thend. One of the reasons was that they couldn¡¯t nt it. Rice was very troublesome to grow. First, you have to turn the ground over and over again, and then you have to raise and transnt seedlings, and then you have to keep weeding it . . . In the past, Eldest Jiang and Butcher Jiang went to the fields together. When they were busy, olddy Jiang would nt the rice. But now, they couldn¡¯t nt all thend. Of course, if they couldn¡¯t nt the rice, they could always rent the field to someone else. Some people in the vige had littlend and wished that someone would rent them a field, but . . . Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen had asked them for money.

    The cause of this matter was that Jiang Chengxiang had found a job in the county town, but he needed twenty silver to secure it, so he came home to ask for silver. Butcher Jiang hoped that he could find a good job, so he promised to find a way for him and give him 22 silver. As a result, Jiang Chengwen overheard this and was very dissatisfied.

    In the past Jiang Chengwen went to school for less than two years, while Jiang Chengxiang studied for six or seven years. The Jiang family spent more money on Jiang Chengxiang than on Jiang Chengwen. But after Jiang Chengxiang became sessful, he didn¡¯t give any money to his family.

    Jiang Chengwen thought that they were both the Jiang family¡¯s sons. Butcher Jiang gave Jiang Chengxiang so much money to study and then gave him money to find a job, so why didn¡¯t he give any to him? Then he immediately asked his parents for forty-two silver, saying that he would use it to start his own business.

    Both Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang desperately asked for money, but at the same time, someone came to collect debts. Despite all kinds of mistreatment that Eldest Jiang had suffered, Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang really loved Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang very much. Atst, the couple discussed the matter and decided to sell thend.

    After selling thend, they would give Jiang Chengxiang twenty silver to secure the job, and then they would give Jiang Chengwen forty silver to start a business. The rest would be used to pay off the debts.

    Olddy Jiang had always been full of confidence in her son, Jiang Chengwen. Even though her son waszy, she firmly believed that he would be able to do business and make a lot of money.

    When old Madam Jiang and Butcher Jiang agreed to sell thend, Jiang Ping went to the Zhaos¡¯ house again.

    Jiang Ping was trustworthy. With Jiang Zhen around, Zhao Fugui was not afraid of him tricking his family. He just simply gave Jiang Ping the money and asked him to buy thend.

    Jiang Ping had always been a good man, so he didn¡¯t refuse. He also helped with the purchase of the 20 mu of bamboo forest for the Zhao family.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen got the title deed. He just nced at it and gave the deed to Zhao Jinge. At the same time, the story that the Zhao family had bought thend also spread around Hexi. No, it shouldn¡¯t be said that the Zhao family bought thend, but that Jiang Zhen bought thend for them.

    When Jiang Zhen left the Jiang family house, he had only forty silver on his hands. But now, he alone could buy 4 mu of paddy field! By marrying him, if nothing else, Zhao Jinge wouldn¡¯t have to go hungry in the future!

    Before, people in Hexi were afraid of Jiang Zhen. But now, when they went to see Jiang Zhen again, they found out that Jiang Zhen did nothing terrible. He was even very good to Zhao Jinge . . . Hadn¡¯t they seen Zhao Jinge always wearing new clothes now? The Zhao family also ate meat every day. That Zhao Liu used to be very thin, but now, she not only had a ruddyplexion but also wore rouge!

    For a while, people envied the Zhao family. When they envied the Zhao family, they had to mention the Jiang family and sympathized with them.

    When Jiang Zhen was in the Jiang family, he worked hard and did all the work in the fields, letting the Jiang family live a very good life. But the Jiang family used to pick on him and drove him out. Now that Jiang Zhen had gone to the Zhao family¡¯s house, the life of the Jiang family turned sad while the Zhaos¡¯ household prospered.

    In the past, people in the vige were afraid of Jiang Zhen. When they fought with Jiang Zhen and the yamen was called, they were scared that it would affect them a lot. Now they noticed that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t seem to cause any trouble in the vige, so they no longer feared him. Of course, they were still in awe of him, so no one dared to offend him.

    Many people came to the Zhao family to inquire about the news. Zhao Liu raised her head and boasted proudly about Jiang Zhen, ¡°When thend was bought yesterday, my Jinge wanted to go nt thend. But it turned out, Jiang Zhen refused to let him go and said that he was going to get married soon. ¡®How could you do such rough work?¡¯ So this year, we can only grow one season of rice.¡±

    ¡°Before, when we weren¡¯t well-off, we thought pig¡¯s head meat tasted good. Today, Jiang Zhen went to the county town to send some porcin and brought back a pig¡¯s head . . . Really, such a big pig¡¯s head. How can the few people in our family finish eating it?¡±

    ¡°He also gave me this rouge. At first, he only gave me this box of rouge, but recently, he also gave me a box of eyebrow powder.¡±

    ¡°My Jinge is doing nothing at home all day now. If it continues like this, he will getzy.¡±

    Jiang Zhen overheard the praise and was immediately speechless. Zhao Liu praised him, but also boasted a bit too much . . .

    Jiang Zhen did not let Zhao Jinge farm, but Zhao Jinge was by no means idle. Not only was he cooking all the meals at home, but he also collected snails by the river every day and then raised them in the pond of the bamboo forest, waiting for the ducks to eat themter.

    If Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t stopped him, he would have dug out all the mud in the pond and filled it with thend from the bank of the pond, so they could have a piece of fertilend that could grow crops. However, the feeling of being praised was not bad, so Jiang Zhen went to work with a smile on his face.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s face was full of spring every day, making her whole person seem ten years younger. Meanwhile, the Jiang family were experiencing the opposite.

    Theirnd was bought by Jiang Zhen. This . . . This . . .

    Olddy Jiang¡¯s heart was filled with so much anger that even her liver hurt, and she kept scolding. At first, Butcher Jiang was alright with it. He thought that hisnd was in the hands of his own family and not some cheap outsiders. But as soon as he heard that Jiang Zhen was going to marry into the Zhaos¡¯ house, he trembled in anger. Thend of his family was going to be the Zhao family¡¯s!

    ¡°Mom, Dad, don¡¯t worry. If that Jiang Zhen can make money to buynd, so can I,¡± Jiang Chengwen said to his parents. ¡°In the beginning, Jiang Zhen was doing business with forty silver. He turned them around and made so much money . . . I¡¯m sure I can do it too!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you can do it too!¡± Olddy Jiang said to Jiang Chengwen. After that, her mood improved.

    . . .

    He was about to get married, but Jiang Zhen was still busy. Together with Wang Haisheng, he went to the bamboo forest he just bought and made a bamboo fence, trying to build a chicken coop and a duck coop.

    Ducks were not afraid of rain, so their coop could be simple. But the chicken coop needed to be well-built. This project was not a small one, so Jiang Zhen thought it would be better to do it after he got married. Now his main task was to level thend.

    At present it was only the fourth month of the lunar calendar, but the weather was already hot. Jiang Zhen had only been working for a while, but he couldn¡¯t help taking off his clothes and going shirtless. It wasmon for men to go shirtless, not to mention, no one was around.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Jiang Zhen thought that no one woulde here, but he heard the sound of rustling behind him, and immediately turned his head.

    ¡°It . . . It¡¯s me. ¡° He Qiusheng came out of the bushes.

    After not seeing him for a few days, He Qiusheng looked haggard. He didn¡¯t dare to look at the shirtless Jiang Zhen and lowered his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned slightly and put on his clothes again.

    ¡°I . . .¡± He Qiusheng clenched his teeth and could not speak.

    He Qiusheng came here because his parents had forced him to. He hadn¡¯t suffered many grievances as a child. Although Jiang Zhen saved him and made him have a good feeling for Jiang Zhen, after being ignored by Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t want to stick his hot face on his cold shoulder, but his parents didn¡¯t think so.

    Although Jiang Zhen beat up Liu Heitou, Liu Heitou still wanted their family to pay off their debts. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t help them to solve this problem, that is to say . . . Liu Heitou would stille to ask for the money that his father owed!

    Father He was feeling restless these days. Although he had owed money before, he could send He Qiusheng as payment for his debts. But after Jiang Zhen beat up Liu Heitou, he no longer wanted He Qiusheng but wanted him to pay off his debt . . . Where would all of thise from?

    Father He was afraid that Liu Heitou woulde to make trouble for him, so he told He Qiusheng to go to Jiang Zhen for help. Jiang Zhen could beat Liu Heitou; it should be enough for Liu Heitou to stop asking for the repayment of the debt, right? After all, after borrowing Liu Heitou¡¯s money, he gambled all his money away in Liujia Vige, and many of the people who gambled with him were Liu Heitou¡¯s people. That was to say . . . as it happened, that 30 silver went to Liu Heitou¡¯s pocket again.

    As long as Jiang Zhen went to talk to them about it, he would certainly be able to get rid of his debts! Father He had such an idea, but he didn¡¯t dare to go to Jiang Zhen, so he sent He Qiusheng. After learning that Jiang Zhen boughtnd and had money on his hands, he asked He Qiusheng to snatch Jiang Zhen. He¡¯d better squeeze out that Zhao Jinge and marry Jiang Zhen himself, so that their family would have nothing to worry about in the future.

    He Qiusheng felt very embarrassed, but his mother agreed. He Qiusheng¡¯s mother was a very weak but also a very good woman. She was very good to her three children and her husband. She always regarded her husband as God. Now that her husband got into trouble with Liu Heitou and her family couldn¡¯t solve this problem, she pinned all her hopes on He Qiusheng and asked him to beg Jiang Zhen for help.

    Well, since Jiang Zhen saved He Qiusheng, he must have been fond of him for some time. He was marrying Zhao Jinge only because Zhao Jinge saved him before . . . Mother He thought it would be useful for He Qiusheng to give it a try. However, Mother He didn¡¯t ask He Qiusheng to squeeze out Zhao Jinge. She thought it would be better to be Jiang Zhen¡¯s concubine than Liu Heitou¡¯s. At least, Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t torture his concubine to death. Therefore, she asked He Qiusheng to keep a low profile, when he went to meet Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    He Qiusheng could refuse his father, but he couldn¡¯t refuse his mother¡¯s tears. After that, He Qiusheng came to meet him.

 Chapter 55.1 - Boss Jiang, teach us how to fight!

    Chapter 55.1 ¨C Boss Jiang, teach us how to fight!

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again. He had never had the patience to deal with others unless it was Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, can you help me? My father owes Liu Heitou money. He won¡¯t leave our family alone,¡± He Qiusheng said. He lowered his head, and he felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of his parents¡¯ demands. He didn¡¯t want to steal other people¡¯s men, and he didn¡¯t think he could do it. As for being a concubine . . .

    He used to think that, as long as the man who proposed marriage to him had money, even if he was a bit older or if he wanted to marry him to fill a house, it would be fine, but he had never considered being a concubine.

    In Hexi, even Zhao Dahu only had one wife, but there were a few concubines in the county town. Yet, he heard that the life of the concubines in the county town was very difficult. It was just . . . if he wanted Jiang Zhen¡¯s help, he needed to pay a price, right? Their family had nothing to give except for him.

    He Qiusheng turned around various ideas in his mind, thinking about what to do next, when he heard Jiang Zhen say firmly, ¡°Not helping.¡±

    At the beginning, when Liu Heitou wanted to take He Qiusheng away, Jiang Zhen made a move because he felt that it was not good that He Qiusheng was being taken away as a minor. But it didn¡¯t help He Qiusheng let Liu Heitou write off the ount. Even if he could repeat that situation now, there was no need for him toe up with the money.

    And there was a reason for this. Whether Liu Heitou had deliberately designed it or not, it was a fact that He Qiusheng¡¯s father borrowed money and was not forced to do so. He was in no position to let other people write off his debt. Moreover, he gave Liu Heitou some face this way. Even if Liu Heitou was beaten, he would note to trouble him, if he found he was difficult to deal with. But he still had the help of his family if it went too far. Liu Heitou had a lot of people under him, and they all had a way of making trouble for him.

    Of course, there was another reason why he did that. He didn¡¯t want to be pestered by He Qiusheng¡¯s father. That kind of person, who knew clearly that his family had no money but still borrowed money in order to gamble, had no bottom line. He was capable of anything. If he were to help them pay off the gambling debt this time, next time, Father He would probably dare to borrow money everywhere under his name. When that time came and something happened to the He family again, would he have to help again?

    Jiang Zhen always felt that everyone was responsible for their own life, so when he rescued the two women from the hands of the water bandits, he let them go without saying anything. After he rescued He Qiusheng from Liu Heitou¡¯s hands, he did not care about their family¡¯s debt and let them handle it themselves.

    You can save others once, but not for a lifetime. If you want to live a good life, you still have to rely on yourself.

    ¡°Liu Heitou is vicious. He will kill my father, as well as my brothers and then . . .. You . . . I can do anything as long as you are willing to help,¡± He Qiusheng said, summoning his courage to look at Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I won¡¯t help,¡± Jiang Zhen repeated. Now that he had someone, it was even less likely for him to help. He didn¡¯t want Zhao Jinge to misunderstand and be sad.

    ¡°Why? Why don¡¯t you want to help me when you¡¯re so strong?¡± He Qiusheng couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°No matter how powerful I am, I have nothing to do with you!¡± Jiang Zhen said, ignoring him. Then he directly went to work on the other side. In his opinion, these fourteen or fifteen-year-olds were the most difficult ones to get along with. If it was not necessary, he didn¡¯t want to have contact with them at all.

    He Qiusheng looked at Jiang Zhen, who was ignoring him; he felt frustrated and walked away. He was obviously very good-looking, so why didn¡¯t this Jiang Zhen take him seriously? He wanted to go, but he thought of his mother, who had been wiping her tears these days, and his two brothers, who were already beaten up. He gritted his teeth and chased after him.

    ¡°Brother Jiang, please help me! Can¡¯t I pay you backter? My father borrowed thirty silver. As long as you make Liu Heitou remit the debt, I will pay you fifty silverter.¡± He was good-looking and if he was merciless, even fifty silver would be offered as a bride price!

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even bother to speak this time. It was not a question of silver at all. Olddy Jiang liked making trouble, but at least, she didn¡¯t gamble. But what about He Qiusheng¡¯s father? He was a bottomless hole. The He family didn¡¯t think of any way to deal with this bottomless hole, and kept trying to fill in the money, which would only make this bottomless hole grow bigger and bigger.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, you can beat up Liu Heitou. You are powerful. Please help me!¡± He Qiusheng pleaded again.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it right at the beginning.¡± Jiang Zhen was a bit annoyed. ¡°You better get out of here quickly, or I¡¯ll beat you!¡± When Jiang Zhen spoke, he pointed his axe at He Qiusheng. The cold and gleaming axe pointed at him startled him and he fell to the ground.

    Jiang Zhen left again, but He Qiusheng did not dare to follow him this time. He had no choice but to walk gloomily back to the vige.

    When Zhao Liu came to deliver food to Jiang Zhen, she saw He Qiusheng at a nce and immediately felt a thumping in her heart. She also knew that Jiang Zhen had saved He Qiusheng from Liu Heitou. She wanted to ask Jiang Zhen, along with Zhao Fugui, about that yesterday, but Jiang Zhen gave them one hundred silver and they were so stunned that they forgot. Now . . . He Qiusheng came here to find Jiang Zhen, didn¡¯t he?

    Zhao Liu looked at Jiang Zhen, her future son-inw, and the more she looked, the happier she was. Now she felt that Jiang Zhen was a piece of meat that everyone wanted to eat. He was immediately raised even higher in her heart.

    After passing by He Qiusheng, Zhao Liu quickly found Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen boughtnd with a tree forest on one side and a bamboo forest on the other. Because no one took care of them, the two forests had be too dense. Jiang Zhen nned to cut down some trees and some bamboo, so that thend below could have some sunshine. In the future, he would sweep away the leaves and the bamboo, and nt some seeds, so that green vegetables could be grown. The ducks and the chicken, they all could eat vegetables as well.

 Chapter 55.2 - Boss Jiang, teach us how to fight!

    Chapter 55.2 ¨C Boss Jiang, teach us how to fight!

    Seeing Zhao Liuing, Jiang Zhen stopped his movements and called his mother a bit confused.

    He and Zhao Jinge were about to get married, so why was it still Zhao Liu delivering the meal? Wouldn¡¯t it be nicer if Zhao Jinge was the one to deliver his meal? He found a bird¡¯s nest before and picked up seven or eight eggs from it. He wanted to give them to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, it is time to eat,¡± Zhao Liu said and went to greet Wang Haisheng, who was working on the other side.

    In addition to the meal, Zhao Liu also delivered him water. Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng were really hungry and tired, so they ate and drank the water happily. When they had enough to eat and drink, Zhao Liu finally figured out what she was going to say to Jiang Zhen, but with Wang Haisheng around, she couldn¡¯t open her mouth, so she said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, please show me thisnd!¡±

    Zhao Liu was not a person who could hide her emotions. Jiang Zhen could see everything on her face. Jiang Zhen knew that she had something to say, so he took her to the ce where he nned to build a chicken coop.

    Sure enough, Zhao Liu soon said, ¡°Jiang Zhen . . . What do you know about the He family? He Qiusheng¡¯s father is a waste that can¡¯t even support the walls of his own house. In his good days, he lost all his family¡¯s belongings. Those two boys of the He family are working hard to earn some money to buy food, but as soon as they turned around, he stole the grain and sold it for money.¡±

    Zhao Liu originally wanted to speak ill of He Qiusheng, but He Qiusheng didn¡¯t do anything bad, so she talked about He Qiusheng¡¯s father instead.

    ¡°He is the kind of man that, when you get entangled with him, he will never let you go. When some kind hearted person lent him money once, he kepting every day to borrow more. He even borrowed a hundred copper from our family and still hasn¡¯t paid it back!¡±

    ¡°This kind of person can even sell his own children, so it is best to stay away from him,¡± Zhao Liu said again, racking her brains to talk more about the He family¡¯s bad circumstances.

    ¡°Mom, I know,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He didn¡¯t know why, but looking at Zhao Liu saying that there was something wrong with the He family, he always felt the urge to startughing.

    Zhao Liu finally felt relieved. ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. Please don¡¯t get entangled with them.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was confident. ¡°No way.¡± He didn¡¯t like He Qiusheng¡¯s style at all . . .

    Zhao Liu said all she wanted to say, but then, Jiang Zhen asked, ¡°Mother, do you know anything about Liu Heitou¡¯s family?¡±

    Zhao Liu came from Qiaotou Vige and had the same surname as Liu Heitou.

    ¡°Although I have the same surname, my family has nothing to do with his family. When I got married, Liu Heitou was barely able to walk, and his family was still poor. I didn¡¯t know him very well,¡± Zhao Liu said. Liu Heitou, in her early thirties, had been a troublemaker for nearly ten years. In the following ten years, she had not much contact with her family.

    Jiang Zhen did not intend to ask Zhao Liu anything more. He just spoke to Zhao Liu casually and went to work again.

    Zhao Liu returned home with the basket, thought about it over and over again, and still did not feel at ease. Finally, she pped her thigh and called Zhao Jinge, who was building a mud stove.

    ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. There was only one stove in their family before, and they could only use one iron pot on it. Now that Jiang Zhen had bought another iron pot, he and Zhao Fugui worked together to rebuild the stove.

    This job dealt with mud, and Zhao Jinge was covered in mud at the moment. Zhao Liu looked at her son and recalled what He Qiusheng looked like when she saw him before. She couldn¡¯t help but start worrying again.

    ¡°Jinge, don¡¯t do this. Go and wash yourself and change into the new clothes that Jiang Zhen bought for you, then bring water to Jiang Zhen,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    Zhao Jinge was confused. He just wanted to deliver food to Jiang Zhen, but Zhao Liu stopped him and refused to let him go. How could he deliver water now?

    Zhao Fugui also said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just deliver him water? I still need Jinge¡¯s help here.¡±

    ¡°It must be sent over even If I just delivered some water. Let me help you.¡± Zhao Liu rolled up her sleeves.

    Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t know why, but at Zhao Liu¡¯s insistence, Zhao Jinge took a bath and went to Jiang Zhen with some water.

    When Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge came shortly after Zhao Liu left, he felt the urge tough.

    With Wang Haisheng around, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t flirt with Zhao Jinge. He just gave Zhao Jinge the bird eggs he got and the snake he caught. He asked Zhao Jinge to take it back in order to add more variety to their food. He also gave Zhao Jinge a handful of wildflowers he picked before and asked him to take them back and keep them in a bamboo tube.

    Zhao Jinge came here especially to deliver water and went back soon after.

    Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t help Zhao Fugui at all. She was not in the mood to help either and was waiting for Zhao Jinge¡¯s return. Seeing Zhao Jingee back with a bouquet of flowers, bird eggs, and a snake, she finally felt relieved. Before, He Qiusheng left empty-handed. As expected, Jiang Zhen left the best to her Jinge.

    Wait. Wait a minute. These bird eggs, snake, and these flowers were not all things that Jiang Zhen got in that short time, right? In that case, just now, why didn¡¯t Jiang Zhen give her something? She also left empty-handed . . .

    On the Zhao family¡¯s side, Zhao Liu was just a bit depressed. On the side of the He family, Father He was scolding He Qiusheng that he was no good. He couldn¡¯t even handle Eldest Jiang, who had never seen the world before.

    He Qiusheng¡¯s mother was usually very fond of him, but now that Father He was angry, she didn¡¯t even dare to say a single word.

    She just cried while trying to persuade him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to meet Eldest Jiang once again? Qiusheng, mother really can¡¯t help you . . .¡±

    He Qiusheng didn¡¯t want to lose face. Jiang Zhen had pointed an axe at him. How could he be willing. He refused without even thinking about it.

    When Father He saw this, he jumped up, trying to p He Qiusheng, but was stopped by He Chunsheng.

    These days, the life of He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng was also very difficult. Their resentment towards their father was growing bigger day by day.

    Father He was pushed to the ground, and He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng pulled their younger brother out of the house.

    ¡°Qiusheng, when we went to the county town before, didn¡¯t the son of the bakery owner like you very much? He even came to see youter . . . Marry him. If you go to the county town, Liu Heitou won¡¯t dare to do anything to you,¡± He Chunsheng said. No matter how fierce Liu Heitou was in the countryside, he wouldn¡¯t dare to make trouble in the county town. If He Qiusheng were to go to the county town, he would certainly be able to avoid him. As for their family . . . He Qiusheng was the only ger in their family, so there was nothing to worry about.

    The son of the bakery owner was the best of all the people who liked He Qiusheng, but there was more than one son in his family and the baker¡¯s wife was very young and powerful, so He Qiusheng didn¡¯t want to marry him before. But now . . .

    ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡± He Qiusheng cried again.

    ¡°There is always a way,¡± He Chunsheng said, wiping his eyes.

    In fact, He Chunsheng was also one of the old bachelors who couldn¡¯t get a wife in Hexi. He was already twenty-three years old, but no one had ever talked about marriage with him.

    No, as a matter of fact, there were still some people who had taken a fancy to He Qiusheng and wanted to exchange marriage with his family. But when he heard that He Qiusheng was going to be exchanged for some woman, he kicked them out.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s think of another way! I¡¯ll go find Eldest Jiang again,¡± He Qiusheng said, before his father was troubled by Liu Heitou. Though he really didn¡¯t care about him, he still had a mother and two brothers.

    ¡°About Eldest Jiang . . . Qiusheng, what did Eldest Jiang say when you went to see him before?¡± He Chunsheng asked.

    At home, He Qiusheng did not want to beughed at by his own father, so he only said that Jiang Zhen was unwilling, but now, with his brothers, he told the whole story in detail. Jiang Zhen¡¯s words were repeated one by one.

    He Chunsheng listened. At first, he felt wronged for his brother but finally could not help bing quiet and murmuring, ¡°Didn¡¯t do it right at the beginning?¡±

    It suddenly urred to him that he and He Xiasheng despised the former Eldest Jiang, who was bullied all day and had a life even worse than his and He Xiasheng¡¯s. But now? Jiang Zhen was not afraid of Liu Heitou.

    He didn¡¯t do it right at the beginning . . . Well . . . Could they be as good as Eldest Jiang?

    ¡°Qiusheng, you go to our uncle¡¯s house. I and Xiasheng will figure out a way,¡± He Chunsheng said.

    He Qiusheng was persuaded to go to their uncle¡¯s house by his two brothers. He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng went to find Jiang Zhen together.

    Jiang Zhen was about to finish work and go home, when he saw He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng, and immediately frowned. ¡°You guys are not done yet?¡±

    ¡°Boss Jiang, can you teach us how to be powerful?¡± He Chunsheng asked.

    Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows in surprise. He Chunsheng pulled He Xiasheng and himself to their knees and asked again, ¡°Boss Jiang, teach us how to fight! We don¡¯t want to go on like this anymore!¡±

    With that, He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng kowtowed to Jiang Zhen together.

 Chapter 56.1 - Finally married

    Chapter 56.1 ¨C Finally married

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng knelt before Jiang Zhen and kowtowed again and again. They had been as distressed as headless chickens before, but after hearing what Jiang Zhen said and thinking about what happened to him, the He brothers suddenly felt a sense that a fog dispelling before them.

    Jiang Zhen was often beaten and got almost killed before, but it was not Liu Heitou who did it; it was just old Madam Jiang. Later, Jiang Zhen took care of everything, and no one dared to mess with him. If they could learn as well as Jiang Zhen, would they need to be afraid of Liu Heitou?

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng didn¡¯t know how to be like Jiang Zhen. After thinking about it, they simply went to find Jiang Zhen, hoping that Jiang Zhen could show them a way.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, please teach us,¡± He Chunsheng said again.

    Jiang Zhen looked at the two men in front of him and frowned slightly. ¡°Come here to help me with the work early tomorrow.¡±

    After saying that, Jiang Zhen immediately went back to the Zhaos¡¯ house.

    ¡°Work? Big Brother . . .¡± He Xiasheng always listened to He Chunsheng when they did things. But this time he looked at He Chunsheng curiously. What did Jiang Zhen mean when he asked them toe to work? Did he promise to teach them?

    ¡°We¡¯lle early tomorrow. We need to work hard then!¡± He Chunsheng said to He Xiasheng.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If we want to learn from others, we must work first. And it will still be fine if he doesn¡¯t pay us!¡± He Chunsheng said. At this time, it was not only necessary to find a master to learn from but to also give a gift to show filial piety to their master during the Spring Festival.

    ¡°What about our family? If we don¡¯t go to work, we¡¯ll run out of food,¡± He Xiasheng said.

    ¡°Even when we go to work, don¡¯t we still run out of food?¡± He Chunsheng sneered. He and He Xiasheng worked hard and earned less than a few silver a year. But what about their father? He dared without even blinking an eye to borrow thirty silver from others.

    As it was, their father owed more than thirty silver; he borrowed from everyone he could! But other people saw that they didn¡¯t live well, so they didn¡¯t lend their father a lot of money. They also didn¡¯te to their door to demand for repayment.

    He Xiasheng thought about it, but He Chunsheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Little brother won¡¯t go hungry. He will also give some food to our mother. As for the two of us, we can live by digging up some wild vegetables.¡±

    While He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were discussing this matter, Jiang Zhen had already gone home.

    The eggs and the snake were all braised by Zhao Liu.

    Jiang Zhen bought some soy sauce when he came back. Then Zhao Liu fell in love with braised meat in soy sauce. Recently, all the meat they ate was simply braised.

    The sliced snake meat tasted very good. The bird¡¯s eggs that were cooked first and then peeled and opened for cooking also tasted great with the soup. In addition, there was also a bowl of stewed eggs, a bowl of boiled peas, a bowl of fried garlic sprouts, and a bowl of mustard soup on the table.

    A month ago, the garlic leaves were just right for eating, but since then, the garlic leaves had grown old. Garlic sprouts were growing out, and the garlic cloves below were also beginning to grow out. The tender garlic cloves were not very spicy, and if you liked them, you could make a drink with a piece of garlic.

    ¡°In the past, I didn¡¯t eat like this even during the Spring Festival.¡± Zhao Liu looked at the dishes she and Zhao Jinge cooked and sighed with emotion.

    ¡°We will eat like this from now on.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled.

    ¡°How could that be? You should also save some money. You¡¯d better buy more mu ofnd and leave it to your children in the future,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    Although Jiang Zhen knew that Zhao Jinge was a ger and could have children, he never thought too much about it. So at this time, when he heard Zhao Liu talk about it, he didn¡¯t take it too seriously.

    It was only two days until his marriage, but Jiang Zhen still went to the field early the next morning and saw that He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were already working.

    Jiang Zhen had cut down a lot of bamboo the day before; the two men cut the bamboo in sections and arranged them for the fence.

    ¡°Master,¡± seeing Jiang Zhen, He Chunsheng shouted, and then looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression, hoping that Jiang Zhen would reply.

    ¡°Just call me boss,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were a little frustrated; they thought that calling him boss was somewhat disrespectful. After all, the eldest children in the family would be often called boss by their younger siblings.

    But . . . when they heard Wang Haisheng call Jiang Zhen boss respectfully, they suddenly found that this title seemed to be quite imposing. He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng called out, ¡°Boss!¡± just like this, and Jiang Zhen had two more people under him.

    Jiang Zhen saw that they knew how to protect their younger brother, so he had a good impression of them. Now, after observing them, he found that they were not bad people. Of course, he would take in these two little brothers even if they liked cheating and ying tricks as long as they didn¡¯t have the courage to y tricks on him. With this line of thoughts, Jiang Zhen also pointed out some things to the two men.

    Jiang Zhen always felt that children should be filial to their parents, but they should not be filial to the point of stupidity. Giving money to Father He for his old age was inevitable, but He Chunsheng and his brothers shouldn¡¯t give him money to let him continue gambling. It was not helping him; it was killing him. It was precisely because Father He had such children that he had the courage to borrow money from Liu Heitou.

    On the other hand, parents should behave the same way towards their children. If the children got in any trouble, it was alright to help them. But if they had any bad habits, the parents who not only didn¡¯t stop them but also kept giving them money . . . that was not love for their children at all. It was just harming them.

    Jiang Zhen was not a talkative person, and he wouldn¡¯t say too much on the first day, so he just said two sentences at random.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t give him any money,¡± He Chunsheng said. He really didn¡¯t give his father any money.

    ¡°You knew that your mother would give your father everything, but you still gave your mother money. Didn¡¯t you just want to give your father money through her?¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    He Chunsheng was speechless for a moment. He always thought that giving the money he earned to support his family was the right thing to do, and giving money to his mother was also the right thing to do, but now . . . Yeah, if he didn¡¯t give the money to his mother, he would have kept it himself . . . He and his brother had been working for six or seven years, so shouldn¡¯t they have been able to save twenty or thirty silver?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t continue talking to them because Zhao Jinge arrived.

    ¡°Jinge!¡± When he saw Zhao Jinge, a smile appeared on Jiang Zhen¡¯s stiff face, and he walked towards Zhao Jinge.

    Check also my new novel: Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

    In typical Mary-Sue novel, readers all like the second male lead who only loves the heroine wholeheartedly and is willing to give up everything for the heroine, but the heroine only loves the male lead who once abused her body and heart.

    Readers: Why doesn¡¯t the heroine love the second ML, the demon sect leader?!

    The demon sect leader: This Devil Venerable also wants to know, why do I like her?

    In order to find out why the female lead doesn¡¯t like him, the self-conscious demon sect leader set out to ¡°interview¡± all the characters in the novel.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When a book was dropped into hisp, the demon sect leader discovered the world he lived in was described in it. This book said that after he sacrificed himself for the female lead, the 4th male lead, his silent, loyal subordinate, ckened and attempted to kill her.

    The demon sect leader, Wen Renhe: Yin Hanjiang, this Devil Venerable wants to know why you wanted to kill the heroine.

    Yin Hanjiang was silent.

    Wen Renhe: If you refuse to speak, this Devil Venerable will force you to speak!

    Yin Hanjiang: ¡­

    Wen Renhe: What are you blushing for?!

 Chapter 56.2 - Finally married

    Chapter 56.2 ¨C Finally married

    The He brothers looked very embarrassed. Although they had no intention of marrying their younger brother to Jiang Zhen, their parents had this idea, which made them even more embarrassed when they looked at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned when he saw them. He didn¡¯t expect to see He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng working on his ownnd.

    ¡°If they want to learn how to fight from me, they¡¯ll help with some work first,¡± Jiang Zhen exined.

    After hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s exnation, Zhao Jinge immediately breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. He had thought that He Qiusheng was in love with Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge came here to deliver food, but there was no share for He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng.

    When the He brothers saw that Jiang Zhen not only had a full-to-the-brim bowl of rice to eat at noon but also a bowl of fried garlic sprouts, salted vegetables, boiled broad beans, and stewed eggs, they couldn¡¯t help swallowing their saliva.

    ¡°There are some peas growing over there. You can pick some of them and cook them,¡± Jiang Zhen noticed their expression and pointed in the distance.

    Hearing his words, the He brothers really picked up some peas, put them in a bamboo tube, and threw them in the fire to cook. If the peas and the broad beans were any older, they could just pull out the whole peas and cook them on the fire, but for now they couldn¡¯t do it.

    Peas could be eaten even if they were not ripe. They picked some peas and padded their stomachs with them.

    The He brothers worked for Jiang Zhen for two days, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t teach them anything, and even Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t agree to bring them food. However, two dayster, Jiang Zhen greeted them and asked them to go to the Zhao family¡¯s house for next day¡¯s wedding.

    ¡°Can we go?¡± He Chunsheng looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Zhen said, and then added, ¡°Only you two cane.¡± He felt that both Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge were on guard against He Qiusheng, so he couldn¡¯te. As for why He Chunsheng and his brother coulde . . . it was because there were too few rtives in the Zhao family.

    They invited the vige head, Jiang Ping¡¯s family, Zhao Fugui¡¯s rtive, and several friends. But all of them added up, the total was less than three tables.

    It was a good thing to get married and have some fun. Jiang Zhen invited them, Wang Haisheng, and even Yang Jing, and asked him toe with his wife and children.

    On the wedding day, Jiang Zhen got up before dawn, and after getting up, he started . . . killing pigs.

    The people in Hexi who got married and had better living conditions all killed pigs. These pigs were called Xixi pigs.

    The groom¡¯s family would kill a pig and then send this whole pig to his future bride¡¯s house. The bride¡¯s family would take half of the pig and then send the remaining half back to the man¡¯s house with the pig¡¯s head. Then the meat would be used for the wedding banquet.

    Jiang Zhen thought that his family could not do without this, so he spent money on a pig. Because the weather was hot recently, he didn¡¯t kill the pig a day in advance but killed it single-handedly that morning. That was because there was no other way. There were too few rtives in the Zhao family who could help.

    ¡°It is not good for the groom to see blood . . .¡± Zhao Liu looked at Jiang Zhen and hesitated. How could the groom kill the pig himself?

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It was nice and fat, and that is a good sign.¡±

    Jiang Zhen added water and salt to the wooden bucket with the pig¡¯s blood and stirred it. After stirring the pig¡¯s blood with water and salt, it would condense after a while, then they could boil it with some water and, afterwards, pieces of blood tofu woulde out. Its taste was pretty good. If the pig was killed here, they would usually share some pig¡¯s blood and pig intestines with their neighbors.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhao Liu was tricked and nodded.

    Because there were not many people invited to the wedding banquet, there were only five tables. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t kill any chicken and only prepared some fish.

    With pork and some fish, the wedding reception for him and Zhao Jinge was already very decent.

    After looking around, he found that everything he had to prepare was ready. Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Then he went to take a bath and put on the set of clothes he had asked the tailor in Fucheng to make. Red wedding clothes could only be worn once. In this era, no one in the countryside would wear red clothes, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have them made. Instead, he had two more sets of regr clothes made.

    These two sets of regr clothes were moon-white with a red ent¡ªit was bound to a dark red cloth and tied with a dark red waistband¡ªthat represented happiness.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s waist did not have any extra flesh. When he put on his clothes and tightened his belt, he immediately looked extremely energetic, and so did Zhao Jinge. Of course, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t see Zhao Jinge at the moment.

    Last night, the Zhao family put the new bed, which had been specially made, in the new house. Then Zhao Jinge slept on it with Wang Daniu, Wang Haisheng¡¯s youngest son, to bless the bed.

    Obviously, having Wang Daniu sleep on his new bed in his house with his Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen felt a bit reluctant, but this was the tradition, so he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. In addition, there were also other customs. For example,st night, Jiang Zhen slept in the new house of the Zhaos while Zhao Jinge slept in his house.

    Today, he was busy in the Zhao family residence. After changing into new clothes, he would go from the Zhao family¡¯s house to his own house and then go to Zhao Jinge¡¯s house for the wedding. Then he needed to take Zhao Jinge back to the Zhao family¡¯s ancestral hall for worship. Even if it was a nuisance, a man still needed to do it when he married a woman or a ger.

    At around ten o¡¯clock in the morning, Jiang Zhen set out from the Zhao family¡¯s house to his own. He had no family, so he took a young man Zhao Fugui found for him and Wang Haisheng to wee him together.

    In his house, Zhao Jinge was apanied by Sun Xiaoshan, and a young woman from another vige was already waiting.

    When other people got married, they would still ask for a red envelope in order to open the door. However, Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen¡¯s situation was different, which spared them all of that. Atst, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge back to the Zhaos¡¯ house with ease.

    There was no such thing as a sedan chair with a high roof or a big horse. Jiang Zhen led Zhao Jinge, who was covered in red fabric, and the two of them walked back, worshiped the ancestors, and finally got married.

    There were a few rtives of the Jiang family, but when they went to the hall, many vigers came to watch, and they all whispered when they looked at Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge¡¯s clothes are really beautiful.¡±

    ¡°It was said that Jiang Zhen had these clothes made in Fucheng. Fucheng . . .¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen went especially to buy a pig. The wedding banquet of the Zhao family should be very magnificent.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen has so much money now. It would be no problem for him to marry now. Why did he agree to marry in?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, he is really capable. He used to be so silent in the Jiang family, but now, he has be rich as soon as he left the Jiang family.¡±

    . . .

    The mood of the people present was somewhatplicated, and the mostplicated feeling undoubtedly belonged to Butcher Jiang, who came here especially.

    Jiang Zhen was dressed in a new set of clothes. His expression was not as cold and stiff like it had been before. His whole person looked refreshing and handsome . . . and Butcher Jiang suddenly discovered that, out of his three sons, his eldest son was the one most like him. Speaking of which, it was Jiang Zhen who learned all his craftsmanship¡ªthe butchering of pigs, farming, and everything else.

    Why did he use to think that his son was stupid and, therefore, always hated him? He had always been a neat worker. What was wrong with him?

    Butcher Jiang still disliked Jiang Zhen, but at the moment, he also had some problems with old Madam Jiang, who had always spoken ill of Jiang Zhen in front of him all day. If old Madam Jiang hadn¡¯t spoken ill of Jiang Zhen and about his wrongdoings all day, he would never have hated this son so much.

    Because Butcher Jiang came to the wedding banquet, olddy Jiang also came. But she did not think too much about it and kept telling people that Jiang Zhen was unfilial.

    There were still many people who agreed with her words. Although some people in the vige admired Jiang Zhen, and some even envied him, they also felt that Jiang Zhen was unfilial. It was just . . . Jiang Zhen was so strong; no one dared to offend him.

    When olddy Jiang was saying that, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had already bowed in respect in the hall, and Jiang Zhen was leading Zhao Jinge into their new house. Outside, the banquetmenced.

    The Zhao family had also invited a cook, and now, all the dishes brought to the tables looked very attractive¡ªbraised pork feet, braised kelp stew, braised pork, braised fish . . .

    The Jiang family had not eaten meat for a long time. Looking at all these, olddy Jiang could not move her eyes away.

    She wanted to sit at one of the tables; she was Jiang Zhen¡¯s mother, who could stop her? Maybe she could even bring some food back to little Yuanwen. Olddy Jiang was about to enter when she suddenly saw about twenty people from a distanceing here.

    These people were men and women, young and old, and most of the people in Hexi Vige couldn¡¯t recognize them. But there was one person who they knew, Liu Heitou, who came to Hexi a few days ago to kidnap people.

    Check also my another new novel ¨C Spare Tire is Gone

    The rich second generation Qi Cong was robbed of his body by an unknown traveler at the age of 21, and his consciousness sank into a series of bizarre dreams.

    Three yearster, Qi Cong woke up to find that his family was bankrupt, his studies were abandoned and even his loyal dog boyfriend had left the country. To make the matter worse he heard from his only best friend who was still willing to stay by his side that he was spare tire of phoenix man for three years. He loved this man to death and was willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for him, he even sacrificed his own family properties for the other party. Now that the Phoenix man life was booming he also found his true love and he was so sad that he was trying tomit suicide.

    Qi Cong: swearing. Jpg.

 Chapter 57.1 - Someone is making trouble

    Chapter 57.1 ¨C Someone is making trouble

    After Jiang Zhen beat Liu Heitou up that day, some people in Hexi felt very happy, but a group of people led by the Jiang family¡¯s second uncle were very worried that Liu Heitou woulde to Hexi to find trouble with them. Later, there was no sign of Liu Heitou, and he didn¡¯t show up to make trouble, so everyone was relieved. Nobody expected to see Liu Heitou at this moment.

    Liu Heitou came to Jiang Zhen¡¯s door when he was getting married. Was he looking for trouble? Who were these people around him?

    The people of Hexi got scared. Liu Heitou looked at these people with pity, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He dide to make trouble for Jiang Zhen. It was a great shame for him to be beaten up by Jiang Zhen that day, and he was never a man who let go of his grudges, so he naturally thought about taking revenge on Jiang Zhen. But at that time, he had some scruples.

    When Jiang Zhen beat him up that day, he saw the goods that Jiang Zhen put aside. There were many good things among those goods that he couldn¡¯t buy in the county town even if he wanted . . .

    Jiang Zhen was brave enough to fight him, and he was good at martial arts and could get a hold of so many good things. There was definitely something going on . . . Under such circumstances, Liu Heitou naturally did not dare toy hands on Jiang Zhen hastily. For days, he investigated Jiang Zhen¡¯s affairs. In the past few days, it took a lot of effort to find something about the other person, and he needed to ask people one by one. However, Jiang Zhen was a native of Hexi. Apart from going out twice in the recent months, he had never left the area before. Liu Heitou soon learned about his ventures. Although he didn¡¯t know where he had gone on those two trips, there was no doubt that Jiang Zhen had no background for him to be afraid of.

    At this time, Liu Heitou also thought of the words he had spoken when he was unable to kidnap He Qiusheng, saying that he still wanted to collect the debt from the He family. Back then, he said that to save face and also because he wanted to test Jiang Zhen. And it turned out . . . Jiang Zhen really didn¡¯t have much of a background. Otherwise, how could he have saved the ger and still let him continue asking for the repayment of the debt? He must have known that the He family were by no means able to pay it back.

    Acting that way, it seemed like Liu Heitou didn¡¯t pay attention to Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen¡¯s skills were very good, and it looked like he had seen a bit of blood . . . so Liu Heitou did not dare to target him rashly. However, he had plenty of ways to deal with him. This Jiang Zhen was about to get married, and the mother of the ger he was going to marry was from their Lijia Vige.

    Within Lijia, Liu Heitou could cover the sky with one hand. He didn¡¯t harm people from his vige for no reason, so the people in Lijia listened to him. And so, he could call Zhao Liu¡¯s family toe and go along with him.

    Jiang Zhen led Zhao Jinge into the new house. Zhao Liu also went in, but Zhao Fugui was greeting guests outside. Seeing these people, Zhao Fugui¡¯s face immediately changed. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Zhao Fugui extremely disliked Zhao Liu¡¯s family because these people had never been kind to Zhao Liu. Zhao Liu was the eldest daughter of the family and had two younger brothers and one younger sister.

    Lijia vigers thought their daughters would marry out sooner orter, so they were just really helping their future partners raise them. Generally speaking, they were not very kind to their daughters, but Zhao Liu¡¯s parents were especially bad to her. Although the degree of mistreatment was not as bad as that of olddy Jiang to Eldest Jiang, still, they scolded and beat Zhao Liu up. It was just that many women in the countryside led such a life that Zhao Liu didn¡¯t think this was wrong.

    In the blink of an eye, Zhao Liu was old enough to get married. At that time, her parents told her about her marriage and wanted to marry her off to a bachelor in histe thirties. Of course, there was a reason why this old bachelor couldn¡¯t get a wife even in his thirties, and that was because he was very poor. His family only owned 2 mu of drnd that couldn¡¯t grow anything, so no one wanted to marry him because of his poverty. However, he didn¡¯t go hungry; he went to work for a big family in the county town as a servant. After working like this for more than ten years, he was able to save fifty to sixty silver.

    This old bachelor had been thinking about having a wife for more than twenty years. So when he finally had the money, he didn¡¯t want to buynd but wanted to buy himself a wife. With his situation, anyone who cared about their daughter was unwilling to marry her to him. But some people only looked at the bride price. Zhao Liu¡¯s parents nned to sell her for fifty silver, and the men haggled it down to 40 silver.

    At that time, Zhao Liu was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and naturally, she didn¡¯t want to marry a man who could be her father, but her parents didn¡¯t listen to her at all. Fortunately, Zhao Fugui soon appeared.

    Zhao Fugui was the Zhao family¡¯s only son. Although the Liu family asked for many gifts, the Zhao family borrowed some money from others and prepared forty silver.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s parents did not want to be used of being harsh to their daughter, so they finally agreed to marry Zhao Liu to Zhao Fugui but only after epting the bride price. When Zhao Liu got married, she didn¡¯t even receive a quilt from them. The new clothes were sent by Zhao Fugui, but even these were robbed and sold by them. Zhao Liu came to the Zhao family in her old clothes.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s parents went a little too far away, and Zhao Liu was a bit angry in her heart. But they were still her parents, so she didn¡¯tpletely cut off contact. Later, Zhao Liu¡¯s life was very good and Zhao Fugui was good to her. She let go of her resentment and got along better with her family.

    At some point, Zhao Liu¡¯s second younger brother wanted to marry, and her parents wanted to borrow twenty silver from her. Zhao Liu was unwilling, but her parents kept pestering, cursing, and swearing that they would pay it back in the future. After discussing it with Zhao Fugui, Zhao Liu lent them ten silver. But as it turned out, the Liu family never paid it back, but that was nothing. The rtionship between the two families got worse and worse, and at that time, something happened to the Zhao family.

    After Zhao Liu¡¯s eldest son, Zhao Jinhu, drowned, Zhao Liu jumped into the river to look for him. She searched madly for two hours before Zhao Jinhu was found. By that time, Zhao Jinhu had long ceased breathing. Zhao Fugui also jumped in the water to search for him. Learning that his son was dead, he was tired and sad and didn¡¯t pay attention to Zhao Liu¡¯s health.

    Zhao Jinhu was unmarried and was still a child, so his funeral was very simple. After Zhao Fugui finished it, he discovered that Zhao Liu was burning up and nobody knew for how long.

    After Zhao Jinhu¡¯s ident, Zhao Liu¡¯s family didn¡¯te to see them even once. When Zhao Liu fell ill and Zhao Fugui needed money to let her see a doctor, they unexpectedly refused to return the money and even drove Zhao Fugui out.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s illness was very dangerous. She coughed incessantly and even coughed up some blood. After that, she stayed in bed for nearly a year, and the life of the Zhao family got worse and worse. During that period, Zhao Liu¡¯s family never appeared in front of them.

    After Zhao Liu recovered from her illness, she was still in poor health. From then on, she never went to visit her family¡¯s house again. However, she asked Zhao Jinge to deliver some homegrown dishes every year for the Spring Festival. She was doing it for the others to see and also to embarrass the Liu family.

    The least valuable thing in the countryside were vegetables from the field. The daughter who married out, lived so badly that she could only send her own vegetables for the Spring Festival . . . She was so pitiful, yet the Liu family still refused to pay their debt . . .

    It had to be said that Zhao Liu doing this had made the Liu family lose a lot of face, but it was a pity that the Liu family were shameless and didn¡¯t care much.

 Chapter 57.2 - Someone is making trouble

    Chapter 57.2 ¨C Someone is making trouble

    Now, in the face of Zhao Fugui¡¯s questions, the Liu family were still smiling. Liu Dacheng, the eldest brother of the Liu family, smiled and said, ¡°Brother-inw, aren¡¯t we here for the wedding?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you,¡± Zhao Fugui said angrily.

    ¡°That is your mistake. Jinge is getting married. How could you not invite his uncle? ording to tradition, when he marries, we need to carry him!¡±

    Liu Dacheng went to the tables that had already been set up by the Zhao family, pushed aside a guest, and sat down on the edge of the table. ¡°As uncles and aunts that have the closest rtionship, you have to give me a big red envelope.¡±

    ording to rural customs, if the bride had a brother when she got married, this brother needed to carry her out. If there were no brothers in the family, someone from her maternal family¡¯s side would do it, like the uncle or cousin, and the bride¡¯s family would give them a red envelope.

    But . . . it was customary for a married niece to give a big red envelope. Even when an uncle gave a red packet of 100 copper to his nephew, the nephew or niece only needed to give him 50 copper. Not only that, the uncle from the mother¡¯s side was supposed to help in the wedding preparations!

    In the end of the day, this so-called red envelope was only because some people thought it was too much to ask for both money and help, so they finally gave a small red envelope.

    Liu Dacheng¡¯s statement showed his extreme shamelessness, but they did even more shameless things.

    Liu Dacheng¡¯s wife also sat down, took the things on the table, and ate them. She also said to some men from Hexi, ¡°Zhao Liu is really unfilial. Her son doesn¡¯t even say anything to his family when he gets married. She never knew how to be polite. But now she is getting more and more foolish, making her parents angry.¡±

    ¡°The Zhao family are living such a good life and could even hold such a decent wedding. At the beginning, we only borrowed ten silver from the Zhao family, and she came back and forth for it for ten years. I¡¯ve never seen such a stingy person.¡±

    When the first person opened their mouth, more and more people from the Liu family spoke excessively, and some people evenmented on Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°This Jinge is so ugly. I don¡¯t know how he hooked up with a man who was willing to marry in.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with people . . . Once upon a time, there was an eunuch who was bitten by a dog in our vige. As long as someone is willing to marry, no matter who it is, will you marry?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If not for that, who would want to marry such an ugly and old ger?¡±

    . . .

    These people scolded without restraint, but they also kept eating the food and even took out baskets and casks and started emptying the dishes. They were so fast that the guests invited by the Zhao family could not respond.

    Sometimes in this world, the more shameless you were, the better you could take advantage of it.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Haisheng looked at the people discontentedly and stood up. He used to be a very timid man, but after being with Jiang Zhen for a long time, he was no longer the silent man he used to be.

    ¡°Yes! What are you doing? Stop it!¡± He Chunsheng also stood up, and his brother, He Xiasheng seeing this, stood up quickly as well.

    Although He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng hade today, they had been shrinking in the corner without any sense of presence. They knew that their identity was a little embarrassing. Seeing that the Zhao family had no need for help, they hid in a corner and didn¡¯t say anything. They just wanted to eat the wedding banquet silently and leave. And as it turned out . . . Liu Heitou came!

    Having been beaten by Liu Heitou several times, He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were afraid of him. When they saw Liu Heitou, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit weak and even wanted to turn around and run away. But if they ran away this time . . . wouldn¡¯t all their previous efforts be useless? Their days might be even more miserable in the future.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were trying hard to not run away when they saw Wang Haisheng stand up. Even though they felt embarrassed, they also stood up.

    ¡°Looks like people are still daring to talk to us like that. After my sister married into the Zhao family, she turned a blind eye to us, didn¡¯t she?¡± Liu Dacheng said angrily and overturned a table.

    The dishes on that table had already been eaten or emptied by them, but the tes that were still there were all smashed to pieces.

    Liu Dacheng was called by Liu Heitou to make trouble for Zhao Fugui and his family. When his eldest daughter came back from the county town a few days ago and told them that Zhao Jinge might be getting married, their family didn¡¯t care¡ªthey didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the Zhao family because the life of the Zhao family was difficult. But what they didn¡¯t expect was that, even though they didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the Zhao family, Liu Heitou from their vige unexpectedly came to their door . . . Naturally, they didn¡¯t dare to not listen to Liu Heitou¡¯s words, so they came here to make trouble. And after seeing that the Zhao family¡¯s marriage banquet was so respectable, they were even more eager to find fault.

    The sound of the bowls and chopsticks falling to pieces on the ground was so loud that Zhao Fugui clenched his fist in resentment. Just then, Jiang Zhen strode out of the house.

    Today was his wedding day. Although Jiang Zhen had long regarded Zhao Jinge as someone from his family, he knew how much he cared about these customs. He didn¡¯t regard the wedding as sacred but still calmlypleted the process. After all, this was his wedding, a once in a lifetime wedding.

    He took Zhao Jinge into their new house, and their mother was saying auspicious words. But before he could lift Zhao Jinge¡¯s red veil, there was a loud noise outside. He finished the process at the highest speed, lifting Zhao Jinge¡¯s red veil and drinking a ss of wine. He couldn¡¯t believe that someone dared to overturn his table!

    Jiang Zhen himself had overturned the table of the Jiang family once, but no one was allowed to overturn his own table! What was more, this was his wedding!

    Zhao Jinge had looked forward to this wedding so much that he had been trembling in delight, but someone wanted to destroy it . . ..

    ¡°Looking for trouble?¡± Jiang Zhen scanned the people present, and finally, his eyes fell on Liu Heitou.

    ¡°I heard that you changed your name to Jiang Zhen? Jiang Zhen, your mother-inw . . . Oh, you married in! Then it is your mother, your mother is from Lijia Vige, so we as your rtives havee here to drink the wedding wine.¡±

    Liu Heitou looked at Jiang Zhen with a sneer on his face. In fact, he could havee to make trouble earlier, so that Jiang Zhen could not even pay his respects in the ancestral hall, but he didn¡¯t do that. If Jiang Zhen wanted to marry the ugly ger or go to live in the ugly ger¡¯s house, why should he stop him? He couldn¡¯t wait!

    Liu Heitou looked at Jiang Zhen with disdain in his eyes. Up until now, he hadpletely ignored Jiang Zhen and wanted to see the mess he caused Jiang Zhen. The Liu family were his rtives. When rtives came to his door, what could he do?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Zhao Jinge came out of the house with his eyebrows wrinkled tightly, so the scar between his eyebrows stood out even more.

    Liu Heitou nced at Zhao Jinge and said with a sneer, ¡°Is this the man you married? He is really ugly. He can¡¯tpare with the little ger you savedst time. However, there are still uses for a big man like him. You don¡¯t have to be afraid of breaking him.¡±

    As Liu Heitou spoke, Jiang Zhen had already started taking off his new clothes. He threw his clothes at Zhao Jinge and let him take them. Jiang Zhen grabbed the door bolt and went out.

    If a bad guest came to your door, it was better to fight them out!

 Chapter 58.1 - When the fighting continues

    Chapter 58.1 ¨C When the fighting continues

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s starting speed was very fast, and he hardly gave people time to respond. And the first person he dealt with was Liu Dacheng.

    Since Zhao Liu regarded Jiang Zhen as one of her own, she would naturally talk to him about everything, so she told Jiang Zhen about herself and her family. Eldest Jiang¡¯s memoriesbined with Zhao Liu¡¯s, and from what he could see of the current situation, he could naturally guess the identity of the Liu family.

    To such a person, Jiang Zhen did not feel the need to be polite at all. He waved the door bolt and hit Liu Dacheng on the leg, which immediately knocked Liu Dacheng down. The man, who bragged that the Zhao family couldn¡¯t do anything to him before, screamed in disbelief at this moment.

    Liu Dacheng didn¡¯t know of Jiang Zhen¡¯s ¡°fame¡± in Hexi. When he promised Liu Heitou to make trouble, he didn¡¯t think he would himself be in trouble if he made trouble. As for the possibility of being beaten . . . this was even more unexpected for him.

    The Zhao family was having a wedding today! Even if someone were to make trouble, they should only bear it on such a day . . . What was more, he was Zhao Liu¡¯s brother after all. Even if Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu hated him, with this kind of close kinship, they couldn¡¯t really do anything to him.

    Liu Dacheng always thought that when he came to the Zhaos¡¯ house today, he could just eat, drink, and even get something he could take home. If Liu Heitou was satisfied with what he did, his son might even be able to work for Liu Heitou. However, he guessed only the beginning but not the ending.

    He did get to eat and drink at the Zhaos¡¯ house, but he was beaten just after eating something.

    When Jiang Zhen came out, the Liu family was still saying all kinds of bad things about him and Zhao Jinge, and the loudest one was Liu Dacheng¡¯s wife. Beside her, there was also the woman who made fun of Zhao Jinge when he went with Jiang Zhen to buy meat in the county townst time.

    Jiang Zhen sneered, and after knocking down Liu Dacheng, he kicked Liu Dacheng¡¯s wife on her chest. Her mouth was stuffed full with meat. Jiang Zhen then kicked another man in the stomach, and the man covered his stomach with a cry and immediately vomited.

    ¡°Go and get him!¡± Liu Heitou was also surprised to see Jiang Zhen¡¯s sudden attack.

    Today was his wedding day, he didn¡¯t expect that he wouldn¡¯t care about that and would start hitting people! Besides, was he really not afraid of offending him?

    Liu Heitou looked at Jiang Zhen angrily, but soon, there was a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

    Thest time he went to take He Qiusheng, he only took a few of his cousins with him. None of them were good at fighting and were caught off guard, so they were defeated by Jiang Zhen. But this time . . . Liu Heitou came prepared this time, and he really didn¡¯t think he would lose!

    After Liu Heitou gave the signal, two experienced goons rushed towards Jiang Zhen. The difference between Liu Dacheng and these two thugs was like the difference between heaven and earth. Jiang Zhen really couldn¡¯t take care of them at the moment. He waved the door bolt to keep them away and shouted at Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng, ¡°Are you stupid? You don¡¯t know how to help?¡±

    Wang Haisheng was already looking for a weapon. He grabbed a bamboo pole from the Zhao family¡¯s backyard and rushed to help Jiang Zhen. He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were in a daze.

    When they were younger, they fought with other kids while ying, buy now . . .

    ¡°Go!¡± He Chunsheng gritted his teeth and took a bamboo pole from behind the door.

    No matter what He Xiasheng thought, he always listened to his older brother. Seeing his brother doing it, he also grabbed a bamboo pole and rushed out. It was just that the two of them didn¡¯t know who to hit.

    He Chunsheng nced around, and his eyes fell on Liu Heitou. This was the man who came to their housest time and beat them and even tried to kidnap their younger brother. This was the man . . .

    In the past two days, Jiang Zhen only asked He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng to help them with his work and didn¡¯t teach them anything, but when he instructed Wang Haisheng how to exercise and fight, he didn¡¯t deliberately hide it from them, so they saw how Wang Haisheng exercised every day.

    Wang Haisheng was holding a bamboo pole every day and then rushing forward without much skill, they . . . In fact, it could be done. Holding the bamboo pole, He Chunsheng rushed directly towards Liu Heitou. ¡°Die!¡±

    Liu Heitou snorted coldly and was about to grab the bamboo pole from He Chunsheng¡¯s hand.

    However, before he could snatch the bamboo pole from his hand, He Xiasheng, who was following his brother did the same thing. They hit Liu Heitou hard on the waist!

    Liu Heitou groaned and staggered while He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were stunned. They had no idea that they could hurt Liu Heitou.

    This time, in addition to the Liu family, Liu Heitou had brought six people along. Two of them had already reached Jiang Zhen to hit him while the other four were standing around. After He Xiasheng hit Liu Heitou, the four people rushed towards He Chunsheng and knocked him down with one punch.

    A few days ago, He Xiasheng was also knocked down like this. At that time, he had never been hit like that, so he got confused and only knew how to protect his head with his arms, but this time was different. He Xiasheng, who had already been beaten once, was not as scared as he wasst time. He jumped up, rushed at the person who hit him, grabbed the other person¡¯s arm, and bit him.

    He Chunsheng was also hit this time, but he did the same thing as He Xiasheng and resisted. Each of them was entangled with a goon, and they were about to start fighting again. Wang Haisheng shouted and rushed out, directly knocking down one goon with the bamboo pole!

    At the same time, Zhao Fugui also moved. He knew that his physical strength was not good, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to overpower Liu Heitou and his thugs. Instead, he used his broom to greet Liu Dacheng, who hadn¡¯t gotten up yet.

    ¡°You bastard! I let you start making trouble!¡±

    When his eldest son died, this man said that it was just unlucky for him to die. He didn¡¯t even attend the funeral and would not pay back the money to his elder sister for medical treatment. Now that his Jinge was finally getting married, he even came to make trouble! Zhao Fugui simply hated Liu Dacheng.

    This time, Liu Dacheng was not the only one who came from the Liu family, there was also Liu Ermao, Zhao Liu¡¯s other younger brother, as well as the children of the Liu brothers. Most of the women and children of these people had run away by then, but most of the Men were basically still there. When Zhao Fugui went to beat Liu Dacheng, someone immediately came up to stop him.

    Liu Ermao was strong, so he was able to drag Zhao Fugui away. Unexpectedly, Zhao Liu took a burning firewood from the kitchen and burned him, which forced him to let go of Zhao Fugui.

    Liu Ermao was angry and wanted to stop Zhao Liu but was stopped by Zhao Jinge who had also finished taking off his new clothes. Although Zhao Jinge was a ger, he was not inferior to an adult man in terms of strength. At this time, he was still very angry, so when he fought with Liu Ermao, he had the upper hand during the whole fight.

    That was how the chaos began.

    The ordinary vigers who came to see the wedding scene in Hexi had long run away, as well as most of the guests invited by Zhao Fugui. Only Jiang Ping, who thought that, as the vige head, he needed to stay and observe the situation. He stayed with his son. But he also hid in the house¡ªHere, if the situation gets worse, I can always close the door.

    Of course, Jiang Ping was ready to run away at any time, but his son had his own idea, which was theplete opposite.

    Looking at the fight outside, Jiang Ping¡¯s son was so excited that a stream of blood rose from his chest. He grew up with He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng, so they had some friendship. Seeing that the people from Hexi were at a disadvantage, he quietly left his father¡¯s side and caught Liu Dacheng¡¯s eldest son in a fight.

    ¡°Ay . . .¡± Jiang Ping wanted to stop his son, but it was toote. He clenched his teeth and finally grabbed a piece of firewood chopped by Jiang Zhen and threw it.

    This vige head Jiang had no other skills, but his uracy at throwing things was excellent. In the past, if he wanted to throw something at his eldest son, he would never hit his second son. So now if he wanted to aim at someone from Qiaotou Vige, he would not hit people from Hexi Vige.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen had already thrown away the door bolt.

 Chapter 58.2 - When the fighting continues

    Chapter 58.2 ¨C When the fighting continues

    Such weapons were especially suitable for Liu Dacheng, but they were not suitable for fighting against experienced people. Such weapons were too bulky and exhausting.

    Liu Heitou didn¡¯t want to kill anyone. The people he brought didn¡¯t use knives, and Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t use any sharp weapon either. The two sides fought each other with bare hands.

    These people were very good at fighting, and it was very difficult to find someone¡¯s weakness. However . . . Jiang Zhen was a man who was very good at finding other people¡¯s weaknesses.

    When Jiang Zhen kicked three inches below the navel, one of the people who fought against him suddenly fell to the ground. He couldn¡¯t even scream. After taking care of one, it was easy to Deal with the other . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, how dare you!¡± Liu Heitou looked at Jiang Zhen with a ck face. He really didn¡¯t expect that this man would dare to fight against him. He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng too, these people . . . they used to be frightened by a small intimidation, but now they dared to do this!

    ¡°You too,¡± Jiang Zhen said in a slow breath and went straight for Liu Heitou.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are not afraid . . .¡± Liu Heitou wanted to have a good talk with Jiang Zhen. He believed that if Jiang Zhen knew the consequences of offending him, he would be subdued, but . . . Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to talk with him at all.

    Jiang Zhen knew very well that once he became soft, it would be difficult to gain respectter. And he wanted to be respected.

    Liu Heitou was born in the countryside, so he certainly didn¡¯t have a great background. He probably depended on someone else; he would have to check itter. Now, he needed to teach these people a lesson first.

    People like Liu Heitou, when they saw others give in, would definitely take advantage. But if they were frightened they would no longer dare to do anything.

    Liu Heitou brought the Liu family and six other subordinates this time. He took it for granted that he would win against Jiang Zhen, but he didn¡¯t want to fight Jiang Zhen himself in the end. What was more, he didn¡¯t expect that . . . when Jiang Zhen fought him this time, he would be much more powerful thanst time! Didn¡¯t Jiang Zhen use all of his strengthst time? He was a farmer who had been working in this vige all his life. Why was he so good?

    Liu Heitou¡¯s face showed how startled he was, but Jiang Zhen used all of his skills at this very moment.

    Thest time when he fought Liu Heitou, he had just gotten back from a long journey, so he was tired, but found out that he could deal with Liu Heitou well. Naturally, he would not use all of his skills, but this time was different. Earlier, he had been in good spirits, but now, he was very furious¡ªhis own wedding had been disturbed! Under such circumstances, it was natural that he would fight fiercely.

    Liu Heitou couldn¡¯t resist Jiang Zhen anymore and soon clenched his teeth, taking out a dagger he nned to use in this fight. However, when Jiang Zhen sized him up at the beginning, he could already see that there was a weapon hidden on him. Therefore, when his hand moved, Jiang Zhen already had a countermeasure in ce.

    As soon as Liu Heitou pulled out the dragger, it was snatched by Jiang Zhen. Then Jiang Zhen locked his throat with his arm and put the dagger tip right under his eyes.

    He Chunsheng and the others could no longer resist Liu Heitou¡¯s men. Jiang Zhen was about to be besieged, but his skills immediately reversed the situation. Liu Heitou was in his hands, who would dare to continue fighting?

    Liu Heitou did not expect that he would be defeated so quickly, so he froze in ce. Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t surprised with this situation. If he had not been sure, he would have never dared to do it. He would have certainly taken out the ¡°good things¡± he had hidden in the house.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, let me go!¡± Liu Heitou shouted.

    Thest time Liu Heitou shouted, Jiang Zhen did let him go, but this time, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Let you go? You make trouble when I¡¯m just getting married and expect me to let you go?¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Liu Heitou frowned, but he was not afraid. He didn¡¯t believe that Jiang Zhen would do anything to him this time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything right now, but this will not necessarily be the case in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and cut Liu Heitou¡¯s face with the dagger. The sharp dagger cut through the skin, and blood came out.

    Liu Heitou shivered and felt very cold for some reason. This Jiang Zhen has definitely killed people! Liu Heitou suddenly regretted it. When he first shed with Jiang Zhen, he already knew that Jiang Zhen was not easy to mess with. In this case, why had hee to provoke Jiang Zhen again?

    ¡°I¡¯m in a bad mood right now. Do you think maybe I should do something?¡± Jiang Zhen turned his wrist and peeled off ayer of skin off Liu Heitou¡¯s face.

    People who had been injured knew that it didn¡¯t necessarily hurt much to have a deep cut, but it was very painful when ayer of skin was peeled off.

    At the moment, Liu Heitou was in terrible pain, but he was different from the people Jiang Zhen had dealt with before. He didn¡¯t cry out from the pain.

    ¡°This is . . . What¡¯s the matter?¡± a hesitant voice sounded.

    Jiang Zhen nced up and saw Yang Jing standing not far away with a tangled look on his face. Beside him was the shopkeeper of the porcin shop.

    Jiang Zhen was getting married and had invited Yang Jing, but Yang Jing didn¡¯t want toe early . . . He had lost face in Hexi before; if he hade here earlier, wouldn¡¯t he be a joke? Yang Jing thought that for his own sake he should give Jiang Zhen a gift when he got married, but it would be better toete so no one would see him . . . As for his wife and children, in order to avoid learning that he had not been very brave in the past, it was better not to bring them here. So he went out veryte in the morning, and when he got at the dock, trying to find a boat going to Hexi, he unexpectedly met the owner of the porcin shop, who was also going to meet Jiang Zhen in Hexi.

    Well, Yang Jing didn¡¯t know what was going on. Jiang Zhen was obviously in the seafood business two months ago, but since then, he was able to get porcin that even the porcin shop owner valued highly! He seemed to have made a lot of money . . . He hasn¡¯t be a water bandit and robbed someone, has he?

    Yang Jing thought a lot, but did not know that he really guessed a part of it right . . . Jiang Zhen really did rob someone¡ªhe robbed the water bandits. Yang Jing sighed in secret and came to Hexi Vige with the shopkeeper of the porcin shop. Knowing that this day was Jiang Zhen¡¯s wedding day, the owner of the porcin shop also said that he would like to ask for some wedding candy to eat. But it turned out . . . How could this messy ce be a wedding?

    Yang Jing looked at the way Jiang Zhen held Liu Heitou¡¯s head, inexplicably feeling his face hurt a bit. Back then, Jiang Zhen cut his face with a knife too!

    ¡°Master Yang! It¡¯s Master Yang! Master Yang, I¡¯m Little Hei!¡± Liu Heitou shouted at Yang Jing with a smile on his face.

    He and Yang Jing knew each other, and wasn¡¯t this Yang Jing also the yamen officer who was offended by Jiang Zhen before? Yang Jing was here; he would save him!

    Yang Jing did know Liu Heitou; he liked gambling and often hung around in gambling shops in the countryside. Liu Heitou was one of the top thugs raised by a gambling shop. The gambling shop had some background, so Yang Jing didn¡¯t dare to start a conflict in the gambling shop, but Liu Heitou was just one of the gambling house¡¯s thugs; he didn¡¯t care about him.

    ¡°Little Hei . . . what¡¯s going on?¡± Yang Jing asked, sympathizing with Liu Heitou. Was this the same Liu Heitou he encountered before?

    What¡¯s going on? Can¡¯t Yang Jing see it? Liu Heitou was shocked when he heard Yang Jing¡¯s question. This time, he found that Yang Jing was looking at Jiang Zhen with fear. This . . . Liu Heitou suddenly realized that Yang Jing would not stand up for him. And . . . Yang Jing was even carrying a gift in his hands . . . He was afraid that Yang Jing came here to give a congrattory gift to Jiang Zhen!

    After Jiang Zhen beat the yamen officer up, he was still able to ask the yamen officer to give him a gift? What is going on?

 Chapter 59.1 - IOU and cards

    Chapter 59.1 ¨C IOU and cards

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t speak, nor did he let go.

    When Yang Jing came, he saw Liu Heitou¡¯s look of hatred. But Liu Heitou was afraid that this guy, who didn¡¯t care about ying cards ording tomon sense, would suddenly hurt him. He could only say to Yang Jing, ¡°Misunderstanding. There is a bit of a misunderstanding between us, Master Yang. A misunderstanding.¡±

    Damn it! Jiang Zhen is crazy! After he heard what the people in Hexi Vige said about him, why didn¡¯t he take it to heart? Not to mention that, no matter how upset he was, Jiang Zhen refused to back off and let him go. He only hoped that Yang Jing could make Jiang Zhen release him.

    ¡°He said . . . it was a misunderstanding,¡± Yang Jing said to Jiang Zhen, hoping Jiang Zhen would release Liu Heitou.

    Despite the fact that Liu Heitou called him Master Yang and called himself Little Hei, it was mainly because he feared people from the government. Except for some exotic birds like Jiang Zhen, most people were afraid of the government. However, Liu Heitou was very respectful towards Yang Jing, and Yang Jing didn¡¯t dare to offend Liu Heitou.

    There was a high-ranking official in their county town; he was a second rank senior official in the imperial court, and it was his troublemaker of a brother who owned the gambling shop. The person behind the gambling shop was a county magistrate who no one dared to offend and had to be ttered befittingly. What was a yamen officer like Yang Jing worth? He never dared to argue when he lost money there.

    Although Liu Heitou was only a thug, he was highly valued by the manager of the gambling house. Yang Jing didn¡¯t want to start a conflict with him.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t speak but gave a slight sign to Yang Jing in a ce Liu Heitou couldn¡¯t see.

    Yang Jing was slightly stunned when he saw this, and once again advised Jiang Zhen, ¡°Jiang Zhen, I know Liu Heitou. Since I¡¯m his acquaintance, let him go first, and we can discuss it.¡±

    ¡°I will let him go, but there is nothing to discuss. Leave!¡± Jiang Zhen seemed to give Yang Jing some face and finally let go of Liu Heitou.

    Liu Heitou looked at Jiang Zhen bitterly and left without looking back. He had lost face this time! Even though Liu Heitou didn¡¯t care about losing face as much as Yang Jing, it was hard to ept being treated this way. Liu Heitou took his men and left quickly.

    Jiang Zhen felt that Liu Heitou had malicious intentions towards him, frowned slightly, but was still not particrly afraid.

    Obviously Liu Heitou was a thug, and thugs were never irreceable. Some people needed thugs to help them, but they wouldn¡¯t help them in return.

    Jiang Zhen actually had something to ask Yang Jing, but at that moment, he had to deal with the Liu family first.

    Seeing that Liu Heitou was knocked down and ran away, the Liu family were already scared. It was just that they were previously caught by Zhao Fugui, Zhao Jinge, and the others and fought, so they were all more or less injured, and were now unable to run away.

    Jiang Zhen still had the bloody knife snatched from Liu Heitou in his hand, which looked terrible.

    Liu Dacheng looked at him, clutching his mouth where two teeth had been knocked out and was bleeding. He said, ¡°Misunderstanding, it¡¯s all a misunderstanding . . . We havee here for the wedding.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re all here for the wedding,¡± Liu Ermao said too.

    ¡°You came here for the wedding? Where is your gift money?¡± Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows and asked, ying with the dagger in his hand.

    The Liu family came here to make trouble today, bringing baskets and wooden buckets, which they nned to use to take things away from the Zhao family, but they didn¡¯t bring any money.

    ¡°We forgot to bring it. We¡¯ll make up for it next time, next time,¡± Liu Dacheng hurriedly said. When he spoke, his mouth was not only windy, but also so painful that he was about to burst into tears.

    ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows and asked.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, don¡¯t believe them. These people¡¯s words are just like farts,¡± Zhao Fugui said indignantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Dad. You can ask them to write a debt note.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled.

    ¡°Debt note?¡± Zhao Fugui was slightly shocked. Most of them in the countryside didn¡¯t know how to write or read. Even if they borrowed money, they wouldn¡¯t write any debt notes. At most, when the sum was rtivelyrge, they would find several people as witnesses. For example, in their vige, they would usually go to Jiang Ping, the vige head, and ask him to act as a witness.

    ¡°It will be a debt note,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Then he looked at Wang Haisheng and said, ¡°Go and bring me the pen, ink, paper and ink stone I boughtst time.¡±

    Wang Haisheng nodded and immediately went to Jiang Zhen¡¯s house to take the ink, brush, paper and ink stone that Jiang Zhen had bought when they went to Fucheng.

    When Jiang Zhen found that he didn¡¯t know many traditional Chinese characters, he decided to study hard and bought a set of the cheapest pen, ink, paper and ink stone. As for why he could only ruthlessly buy the cheapest set . . . ink, paper and ink stone were too expensive in this era. That set of brush, ink, paper, and ink stone had never been used by Jiang Zhen and was still brand new.

    Taking these things from Wang Haisheng¡¯s hand, Jiang Zhen went in the house and said to Wang Haisheng, ¡°Tie up the Liu family.¡±

    As soon as Jiang Zhen spoke, Wang Haisheng immediately moved his hands. He Chunsheng, He Xiasheng, and Jiang Ming, Jiang Ping¡¯s son, who had just helped them fight, also went to help.

    Jiang Ping, the vige head of Hexi Vige, had two sons. The elder son, Jiang Quan, helped him supervise the construction of the new house when Jiang Zhen asked the Jiang family for a house. He was married and had a very stable personality; he was recognized as Jiang Ping¡¯s sessor by the vigers. Jiang Ming, the second son . . . seeing that his nose was now dark and blue and his face was swollen yet he was still excited, it was obvious that his temperament was totally different from his father¡¯s and his brother¡¯s. Of course, this was also because he was young. The sixteen-year-old Jiang Ming was full of energy and had nowhere to vent it. It was not surprising that he liked to fight.

    ¡°This rope can¡¯t be tied like this . . .¡± Yang Jing pointed out to several people nearby. He didn¡¯t dare to offend Liu Heitou, but he didn¡¯t care about the Liu family. As for tying people up with ropes . . . although his technique of binding people was not as good as that of Jiang Zhen, he had specially learned it!

    By the time Jiang Zhen had finished grinding the ink andid the paper to write, Liu Dacheng and his eldest son had already been tied up. The others were either children or women, so they didn¡¯t bother to tie them up.

    After a nce at Liu Dacheng, Jiang Zhen said, ¡°I won¡¯t overcharge you with the gift money. Ten silver is enough. Also, ten silver aspensation for breaking things in my family¡¯s house. In the past, you also borrowed ten silver from my family . . .¡±

    Who would give ten silver as a gift? What was more, the damaged things, the food, and the drinks they had, would all add up to two silver at most. But Jiang Zhen asked them to pay ten silver as apensation?

    Liu Dacheng was full of resentment, but he didn¡¯t dare to refute. Thirty was thirty. He could always drag it on. If he really couldn¡¯t, he would let his parents pay. Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t force her elderly parents to pay back the money.

    Liu Dacheng had long been used to avoiding his debts. He was thinking like this, when he heard Jiang Zhen say again, ¡°It all adds up to one hundred silver. I¡¯ll write a debt note, and you can just press your fingerprint.¡±

    ¡°One hundred silver?¡± Liu Dacheng looked at Jiang Zhen in disbelief. How could he owe a hundred silver? It was one hundred silver!

    ¡°Of course, it is 120. How much did you think it was?¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    ¡°We only borrowed ten silver . . .¡± Plus today¡¯s twenty, shouldn¡¯t it be thirty?

    ¡°The remaining seventy are interest,¡± said Jiang Zhen with a frown. ¡°However, I seem to have calcted too little interest for you. When Liu Heitou lent others money, it would double in a month. I can¡¯t be any worse than him . . .¡±

    ¡°It is good. It is good,¡± Liu Dacheng hurriedly said. If they doubled the amount of money every month, like Jiang Zhen said, after the fifteen or sixteen years since he borrowed them . . .

    ¡°As long as you think it¡¯s enough,¡± Jiang Zhen said, writing the debt note directly.

 Chapter 59.2 - IOU and cards

    Chapter 59.2 ¨C IOU and cards

    When Jiang Zhen went to school, he didn¡¯t learn traditional Chinese characters, but for a period of time, his school paid attention to quality education, so he learned some calligraphy.

    In that year, there was a calligraphy ss every week. Although Jiang Zhen often changed it into a Chinese homework ss and didn¡¯t practice any calligraphy at all, he could at least write a word with a brush, and his skills were quite standard.

    ¡°Today, Liu Dacheng and Liu Ermao owe Zhao Jinge one hundred silver,¡± Jiang Zhen read and wrote at the same time, and soon, he finished a decent looking line of writing.

    These words were very simple, like ¡°Zhao¡±. Because it was Zhao Jinge¡¯s surname, he specially used branches to write it several times in a row on the ground, so naturally, there was no mistake. At first nce, he was almost like a schr.

    After the fight, Zhao Jinge felt that it was not good for him to wear only undergarments. No matter how hot it was, he put on his new clothes again.

    When he finished dressing and tidying himself up, he came out of his new house. Jiang Zhen had already spread out his brush and paper to calcte the silver that the Liu family owed him. Hearing that Jiang Zhen made the Liu family pay back one hundred silver, made Zhao Jinge delighted. Then he saw Jiang Zhen could write.

    Jiang Zhen can write! Jiang Zhen can read!

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in shock and was unable to recover from it. After being in contact with Jiang Zhen for a long time, he felt that Jiang Zhen was very powerful, but he didn¡¯t expect that he was even more powerful than he had thought.

    Jiang Zhen even knows how to read!

    Zhao Jinge, who didn¡¯t know a single character, suddenly felt some inferiorityplex againpared to Jiang Zhen, he was really nothing special.

    As for why Jiang Zhen could read . . . Zhao Jinge soon found a reason for him. The Jiang family¡¯s second son and third son had both gone to school. He assumed that Jiang Zhen had watched them and learned something. Jiang Zhen was really powerful. At that time, if his family had let him go to school, he might have even been able to take the examination to be a schr!

    Zhao Jinge believed in Jiang Zhen inexplicably and felt that Jiang Zhen had the ability to be a schr, and other people felt the same way too. Jiang Zhen could read and write . . . It had a big impact on them.

    Even though Hexi was quite rich, the number of literates could be counted on two hands! Even Jiang Ping, the head of the vige, barely knew a few words.

    Zhao Liu was very excited and even more satisfied with her son-inw. Her Jinge was so amazing that he could find such a good son-inw!

    ¡°Come on. Stamp it!¡± Jiang Zhen put the debt note in front of the He brothers and said to Wang Haisheng, ¡°Hold their hands and let them press their fingerprints.¡±

    Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng immediately got to work. At the same time, Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Liu Dacheng, Liu Ermao, right? You¡¯d better pay the money back quickly. Otherwise . . . I¡¯m going to take this debt note to the yamen to sue you. It¡¯s not good to owe money.¡±

    Yang Jing: ¡°. . .¡± You forced people to write a debt note in front of me, and you still want toin to the yamen?

    ¡°If I tell the people in the yamen that I only need fifty silver out of these hundred silver, they would certainly be happy to ask for your debt,¡± Jiang Zhen added.

    Yang Jing said, ¡°Of course!¡±

    When Liu Dacheng and Liu Ermao heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, they felt like crying. When they didn¡¯t have any money, how could they get a hundred silver? Of course, if they were to sell theirnd, it would be enough, but how could ordinary people be willing to sellnd?

    ¡°Alright. Throw them out,¡± Jiang Zhen said. In fact, what he just said had the same intent as that debt note, and that was, from the one hundred silver demanded, he only wanted fifty. So should the Liu familye to pay back the money obediently, he wouldn¡¯t really force them to give him all one hundred silver.

    After the Liu family left, Wang Haisheng and the others started cleaning up the house, and Jiang Zhen talked with the shopkeeper of the porcin shop.

    The shopkeeper of the porcin shop had negotiated a good price with the samples given by Jiang Zhen. In Jiang Zhen¡¯s house, he wanted to quote a bit lower price and get more money himself, but now . . . thinking of Jiang Zhen¡¯s ferocious appearance just now, the shopkeeper of the porcin shop immediately rejected that thought.

    Jiang Zhen was involved, and since he was so ferocious, it would be better not to offend him.

    The shopkeeper of the porcin shop reported the price he had negotiated, not daring to conceal it. After hearing the price, Jiang Zhen was extremely satisfied. The price was much higher than he expected!

    After making an appointment with the shopkeeper to deliver the goods to the county town the next day, Jiang Zhen invited the shopkeeper to stay for the wedding reception.

    ¡°No, I have work to do. I need to go back,¡± the shopkeeper of the porcin shop hurriedly said. He was a little afraid of Jiang Zhen from that moment on . . . Besides, was there any wedding wine left to drink in such a mess?

    When Jiang Zhen heard his refusal, he didn¡¯t try persuading him and sent him out. The cook they had hired had already ran away, so Zhao Liu went to the kitchen to prepare some food herself.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen took Yang Jing to his former house, and asked, ¡°What is Liu Heitou¡¯s background?¡±

    ¡°Liu Heitou is a thug of the gambling house in the county town,¡± Yang Jing directly reported everything he knew, and added, ¡°That gambling shop is not easy to mess with. You . . .¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the style of the gambling house?¡± Jiang Zhen asked suddenly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not bad. If you¡¯ve already lost everything, you¡¯re not allowed to go inside again. They don¡¯t force people to sell their sons and daughters either,¡± Yang Jing said. The people behind the gambling house still needed some reputation, because the gambling house couldn¡¯t do too much.

    ¡°Can you make an appointment with the manager of this gambling house for me?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°Yes, I can . . . Why do you want to meet the man in charge?¡± Yang Jiang asked, confused.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s better Liu Heitou to be in charge of the affairs, even though he causes a lot of trouble and has many thugs, or someone like me?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to rmend himself? In other words, Jiang Zhen was stronger than Liu Heitou. Confronted with such a choice, the steward might really not want that Liu Heitou.

    Liu Heitou privately lent money and gathered a group of people to gamble in Qiaotou Vige. That steward must not like it. Without the gambling house in the background, Liu Heitou was nothing.

    Jiang Zhen gave an exnation but didn¡¯t say that he actually had other ideas. He didn¡¯t like living under others, so of course, he didn¡¯t want to be a thug, but at this moment . . . he actually remembered something.

    After crossing over, Jiang Zhen always felt that he had nothing to exchange for money and no useful skills, but now, he suddenly thought of something. It may not be able to earn him money, but it should make the people in the gambling house think highly of him, and that thing was . . . cards.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know much about gambling, but even so, he knew several card games and could write down all the fifty-four cards.

    In modern casinos, cards were absolutely essential, but here, there was no such thing at all. Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t make money with this idea, but the goodwill gained from the gambling house would be enough . . . Without this method, Jiang Zhen might have to work as a thug to solve this crisis, but this way, it would be different. Of course, the most urgent thing was to eat enough and then go to the bridal chamber.

    Speaking of which, fortunately, Liu Heitou hadn¡¯t destroyed his bridal chamber; otherwise . . . he wouldn¡¯t have let him go so easily!

 Chapter 60.1 - Wedding night

    Chapter 60.1 ¨C Wedding night

    The wedding feast was ruined. The guests who ran away were not expected toe back and even the short-haired cook had run away . . . Zhao Fugui had no choice but to pack up the rest of the pork he had nned to marinate and the dishes that had already been prepared but not put on the table and eat them slowly with his family. Then he went to the families he had invited for the wedding and delivered them some food. As for themselves, what they ate was the food that Zhao Liu prepared.

    Zhao Liu cooked braised pork and stir-fried some vegetables; she soon cleared two tables, and the rest of them ate the meal together.

    ¡°That Liu Heitou maye to find trouble in the future. What are we going to do then?¡± Jiang Ping¡¯s face showed a tangled expression.

    He should be very hungry after such a long time. But just thinking about the troubles they might encounter in the future, he lost his appetite.

    ¡°Dad, what are you afraid of? If hees, let¡¯s fight it out!¡± Jiang Ming said cheerfully.

    When Jiang Zhen beat up Liu Heitoust time, he started admiring Jiang Zhen very much. Today, after everyone repelled the ¡°enemy¡±, his gaze continued to go back to Jiang Zhen constantly with a look of worship in his eyes.

    Looking at his son, Jiang Ping couldn¡¯t help but feel a little frustrated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s going to be alright,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    How can you say it¡¯s going to be alright? Is it going to be alright by simply saying so? Jiang Ping felt sick to the bottom of his stomach, but after looking at Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly thought that this person could be trusted. In fact, Jiang Ping was not the only one who felt this way.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were beaten again today. They were hurt, but they were very happy and full of confidence in Jiang Zhen. They had a feeling that as long as they followed Jiang Zhen they would be more and more powerful in the future, and they would no longer have to be afraid of Liu Heitou! In fact, they were no longer as afraid of Liu Heitou as they used to be.

    As a matter of fact, they also managed to hit Liu Heitou, didn¡¯t they?

    During the meal, He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng didn¡¯t dare talk too much, but after eating and leaving the Zhao family¡¯s house, He Xiasheng immediately looked at his brother excitedly. ¡°Elder Brother, we beat up Liu Heitou and the men under him, didn¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Um.¡± He Chunsheng nodded his head. He was aching all over at the moment, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling excited when he touched his rounded belly. When he thought about what happened before, he was thrilled.

    Liu Heitou had always been the big rock in his heart, but now this big rock had been removed. Actually . . . Liu Heitou was not so frightening, was he?

    When He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were walking home, they met He Qiusheng halfway, who was waiting for them at the side of the road.

    ¡°Big Brother, Second Brother, you . . .¡± When He Qiusheng saw the injuries on his two brothers, he couldn¡¯t help crying.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine! Qiusheng, we beat up Liu Heitou today!¡± He Xiasheng said excitedly to his brother.

    ¡°Really?¡± He Qiusheng was surprised. He heard that Liu Heitou had gone to the Zhaos¡¯ house and knew that his two brothers had also gone there for the wedding. He had been worried all this time, and he didn¡¯t expect that his two brothers would be able to beat up Liu Heitou.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s true. I stabbed him with a bamboo pole, but it was a pity that this bamboo pole was not sharp enough and didn¡¯t stab him to death.¡± He Xiasheng didn¡¯t speak much in front of outsiders, but in front of his younger brother, He Qiusheng, he said a lot. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Liu Heitou finding helpers to fight us, we wouldn¡¯t have been beaten like this.¡±

    He Qiusheng didn¡¯t believe him and looked at He Chunsheng. He Chunsheng nodded with a straight face.

    He Qiusheng immediately looked at his two brothers with admiration. He was always pretty, so when He Chunsheng, who was rtively stable, looked at him like this, He Chunseng couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°Your Second Brother and I beat up Liu Heitou¡¯s subordinates, and all of them were beaten bloody by us!¡± Their teeth were very sharp, so we made their arms bleed! Then . . . they got punched several times.

    Of course, they didn¡¯t need to tell their brother about this kind of detail.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng talked a lot about how they dealt with Liu Heitou and his men, and they also talked about how Liu Heitou was beaten up by Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really fierce. Liu Heitou came to him, looking for trouble, but he beat him up so easily. He didn¡¯t even dare to fart as he left.¡±

    He Qiusheng¡¯s eyes brightened.

    When He Chunsheng saw his younger brother like this, his heart jumped. He knew that Jiang Zhen was not interested in his younger brother, but he was somewhat afraid that his younger brother would have a crush on Jiang Zhen, so he hurriedly said, ¡°That Zhao Jinge is also very strong. He was not inferior to your brother and me in fighting.¡± Zhao Jinge is very good at fighting, so you¡¯d better stay away from them . . .

    He Qiusheng¡¯s mouth curled up. His parents always told him to stay at home and dress up. What is the use of fighting others? Besides, he didn¡¯t want Jiang Zhen! He had a lot of people who liked him!

    Although He Qiusheng thought like this, his eyes couldn¡¯t help reddening.

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng hurriedly started coaxing him, and soon the three of them were talking andughing again, but as soon as they got home, they were scolded by their father.

    ¡°You two stinky brats! I heard that you helped the Zhao family deal with Liu Heitou? Do you want to die? What if Liu Heitoues to trouble our family again?¡±

    ¡°You three debt collectors, the debt I owe can¡¯t be helped, but you are in such a hurry to offend Liu Heitou!¡±

    As Father He scolded them, he picked up a broom and was about to start hitting his two sons. He usually didn¡¯t hit He Qiusheng for fear of damaging his face.

    It had always been taken for granted in Hexi that parents could teach their children a lesson. In the past, even if He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were not happy about it, they were obedient and let Father He beat them, but now . . . He Chunsheng suddenly couldn¡¯t bear it.

    Jiang Zhen was so powerful that he could not only beat up Liu Heitou, but he could also make his rtives so obedient. But they . . . they couldn¡¯t even control their own father, could they?

    ¡°Husband, don¡¯t hit the children . . .¡± Mother He tried to stop her husband but was pped in the face with the broom he was holding.

    The broom held by Father He was made of thin bamboo sticks. When he hit her, this action immediately drew blood on Mother He¡¯s face.

    He Chunsheng¡¯s face suddenly turned ck. He Chunsheng grabbed the broom from his father¡¯s hand, stopping him, and then grabbed his hand. Then he said to his brother, ¡°Xiasheng, go get a rope!¡±

    He was not going to beat up his father, but if his father wanted to beat them and their mother, they would tie him up!

    ¡°Chunsheng, Chunsheng, what are you doing?¡± Mother He, with blood on her face, asked in horror.

    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry!¡± He Chunsheng said.

    Mother He was a timid person and didn¡¯t dare to stop them. She only murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t hit your father . . .¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t fight,¡± He Chunsheng said and then, together with He Xiasheng, tied up their father, who kept swearing.

    When Mother He looked at her tied-up husband, she wanted to let him go. He Chunsheng said, ¡°Mom, if you let him go, should I beat him next time? Xiasheng and I decided to follow Jiang Zhen. You know, he used a knife to stab his father!¡±

    Mother He was shocked, and now, she really didn¡¯t dare free her husband. Father He, who was originally swearing, didn¡¯t dare swear anymore.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about his parents, and if his two sons were to stop caring about him . . .

    ¡°Then . . . do you want to eat? Would you like some water?¡± Mother He asked Father He, but was scolded; however, she was not angry. Then she asked He Qiusheng to secretly give her some cake to feed Father He.

    Although Father He was very grumpy at the moment, he was really hungry and ate the cake obediently.

    Mother He had always been an educated woman who was extraordinarily virtuous. She had always listened to Father He¡¯s words. At first, she was not used to seeing Father He tied up, but after a while, when she saw Father He eating obediently, she couldn¡¯t help saying to her son, ¡°In fact, this is also very good . . .¡±

    He Chunsheng also thought that it was good. They finally didn¡¯t have to worry about their father going out to gamble. In fact, they really didn¡¯t mind raising their father this way. They just hoped that he wouldn¡¯t slow them down and owe money everywhere.

    The He family quieted down, and so did the Zhao family.

 Chapter 60.2 - Wedding night

    Chapter 60.2 ¨C Wedding night

    After lunch, Jiang Ping and the others left. Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge helped Zhao Fugui and their mother clean up the house, and then they left to take a bath . . .

    ¡°Mom, Dad, we won¡¯t eat tonight. You don¡¯t have to call us,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Fugui and his wife, and then just when Zhao Fugui and his wife wanted to ask why he didn¡¯t want to eat, he had already dragged Zhao Jinge into their new house.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu: ¡°. . .¡± Both of them had been sleeping together secretly. Why are they in such a hurry?

    If Jiang Zhen knew what Zhao Fugui and his wife thought, he would have felt very wronged. He really hadn¡¯t eaten Zhao Jingepletely yet! God knew how long he had been waiting for their wedding to do that!

    When they got married, Jiang Zhen was very calm, but now . . . he was a bit nervous.

    Zhao Jinge was the opposite. Last night, when he slept alone in Jiang Zhen¡¯s room, he was so nervous that he almost stayed up all night worrying about this and that. When he got married today, he felt even dizzier. At some point, he felt that he couldn¡¯t even breathe . . . especially when Jiang Zhen lifted his red veil and he saw Jiang Zhen in front of him. At that moment, he only felt that his heart was about to jump out from his chest!

    That was his biggest dream, and today, it hade true. It was a pity that theter development was not what he had imagined, meaning, this development made Zhao Jinge break away from his original emotion.

    At the moment, Zhao Jinge was no longer nervous, only a feeling of satisfaction lingered in his heart, and he was a little embarrassed when he asked, ¡°Why won¡¯t we eat dinner?¡±

    ¡°Jinge, don¡¯t you see what time it is?¡± Jiang Zhen sighed.

    It was about four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. But they just had lunch not long ago, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to eat dinner so soon. In this case, let¡¯s go to bed early!

    Zhao Jinge looked at the sun outside, and his mouth curved up slightly . . . At this time, he used to work for Zhao Dahu¡¯s family.

    Zhao Jinge had already taken a bath, and his body smelled of bath beans. Jiang Zhen hugged him and kissed him.

    When they weren¡¯t married, Zhao Jinge always felt that it was not good to do these things, and he was very shy. He often stiffened up uncontrobly, but now his mood had changed a lot.

    He was married to Jiang Zhen. He could be intimate with Jiang Zhen and even . . . He was already ugly. At this moment, Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t feel ufortable holding something hard or anything else . . .

    Zhao Jinge took the initiative to touch Jiang Zhen¡¯s body.

    Jiang Zhen only felt that the ces where he was touched became numb, and he could not wait to jump him. However, Zhao Jinge suddenly said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, I didn¡¯t expect that you could read. You are so powerful!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen was busy taking off his clothes.

    ¡°Can you teach me how to read?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. ¡°I may be a little stupid, but can you teach me?¡±

    Jiang Zhen was very powerful. Zhao Jinge hoped that he could be a bit stronger too so as to not be unworthy of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°As long as you take care of me!¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He didn¡¯t want to talk about it on their wedding night! Jiang Zhen felt that he was healthy, but for the first time, he realized he was still a bit miserable. But that was mainly because it was his first time . . . The second time, his performance was very good.

    After tossing around like this for a long time, it had turned dark. Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge in his arms and slept for a while. In the middle of the night, he woke him up again. ¡°Jinge, do you want to eat something?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Zhao Jinge answered, and Jiang Zhen got up quietly and went to the kitchen to get some leftovers.

    When they had enough to eat and drink, Jiang Zhen brought him to his third time.

    Before, Jiang Zhen felt that it was veryfortable to use his own hands, but since then, he thought that using his hands was nothing. It was really fun to use the real gun!

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s body looked exactly the same as that of an ordinary man, but there was also some difference. After all, he was a ger; his pelvic bones were bigger than that of a normal man, which made his waist look thinner. Zhao Jinge had big buttocks and a particrly good figure. At the same time, because he was a ger, his body was also particrly suitable for receiving.

    Jiang Zhen had specially bought a box of ointment for lubrication, but in the end, he didn¡¯t need it at all.

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t wait to have another round with Zhao Jinge, but he was already a bit tired, and Zhao Jinge also needed to rest . . . Holding Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen fell asleep with some reluctance.

    When Jiang Zhen fell asleep, Zhao Jinge touched his stomach and couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Zhao Jinge was not young after all, and he knew, more or less, about the things that took ce in bed. Zhao Liu had also told him some things in a secretive manner. ording to Zhao Liu, it was very painful, and he had to put up with it, but . . . Even though it was a bit painful, he was also very happy.

    Zhao Jinge felt a little embarrassed but was very happy . . . He hugged Jiang Zhen and kissed him, then he slowly fell asleep.

    Zhao Jinge was already in good health and took good care of himself these days. He got up early the next morning and went to prepare breakfast for Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen, who originally wanted to be affectionate with him, didn¡¯t hold him back. He just wondered if he hadn¡¯t worked hard enoughst night.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen did work hard enoughst night, and some parts of Zhao Jinge were a bit sore, but he had always been a person who could bear pain. In the past, while he was cutting rice stalks, he identally cut his fingers, but he continued to work without a change of expression. What did it matter if his ass hurt a little bit now? He used to have diarrhea before, and it hurt just like this.

    Seeing that her son had gotten up, Zhao Liu asked Zhao Jinge to cook with her.

    Yesterday, they couldn¡¯t finish the rice cooked at noon, so this morning, Zhao Liu simply used the cold rice to make fried rice with eggs.

    Putting some oil in the pot, she stir-fried the beaten eggs and then put them on the rice. . . Ever since she had grown to particrly love soy sauce, Zhao Liu finally decided to not put salt but soy sauce seasoning instead. Of course, there was also a reason for this. Salt was very clumpy in this era. When cooking fried rice, if they really needed to put salt in, they had to dissolve it in water. Otherwise, it would not be fried rice with eggs, but fried rice with salt. If that was the case, it was better to put soy sauce directly.

    After the meal was ready, Zhao Jinge first filled Jiang Zhen¡¯s bowl with eggs. Seeing that Jiang Zhen had note out of their house yet, he went to the house directly with the bowl.

    He was so happy to marry Jiang Zhen that he was always thinking about doing things for Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen did not get up. On one hand, he was thinking about what to do today, and on the other hand, his breakfast was not ready yet.

    When he lived alone, he was a very diligent person. He got up early in the morning to cook and could sew clothes for himself, but now that someone was serving him, he becamezy. Of course, he still rushed to do the heavy work at home.

    Before, Jiang Zhen always thought it was okay to bezy for a while, but now . . . on the second day of their new marriage, his ger brought their meal to bed and gave him something to eat . . . Forget it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go out and eat,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Well, there is still meat in the kitchen. Shall I heat it up for you?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed.

    With hot fried rice in his stomach, he was immediately in high spirits. After eating, Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge and said, ¡°Jinge,e with me to the county town.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help you with the goods,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    He already knew that Jiang Zhen was going to deliver the porcin to the county town that day. Although he didn¡¯t know how to talk business, he was still strong enough to help him move the goods.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± Honey, you will make me look useless!

    Jiang Zhen insisted on not letting Zhao Jinge work. He took Wang Haisheng and the He brothers, who came early in the morning, and soon moved all the porcin to the boat. Then they all rowed to the county town.

 Chapter 61 - The young master of the Zheng family

    Chapter 61 ¨C The young master of the Zheng family

    The next day, the bruises on He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng¡¯s faces became much more obvious, making their swollen faces almost look like pig heads, but their mental state was good.

    They didn¡¯t leave their father tied up the whole time but released himter. Even so, Father He behaved like an honest person and didn¡¯t dare to make any noise at home.

    Without Father He being noisy, they immediately felt much more rxed and slept very well that night.

    Not to mention . . . they all had enough to eat that day and the day before. The day before, they ate at Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen¡¯s wedding and the day after . . . the He family ran out of rice, but He Chunsheng let He Qiusheng go to their uncle¡¯s house for a meal. But he and He Xiasheng couldn¡¯t. Early in the morning, they went to the Zhaos¡¯ house hungry, thinking that they would starve all day. They didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would give them two bowls of rice to eat, and when they finished eating, they were asked to move the porcin.

    Did Jiang Zhen ept them? Would they be able to follow Jiang Zhen in the future? He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng immediately went to work, and the people on the boat could not help but look at them secretly. Their faces were bruised and swollen like this, but they were still happy. Are they really alright?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t stay on the bow of the boat for long but took Zhao Jinge inside the cabin.

    In order to have more room for cargo, the space for people to rest within the cabin was made much smaller by Jiang Zhen, but even so, he still had two beds¡ªhe really didn¡¯t want to share a bed with Wang Haisheng.

    These two beds were very narrow, less than one meter in width; one was on the left and the other one on the right side of the cabin. There were also containers underneath for storing things, and there were shelves above. For that reason, one could only lie down and not sit.

    ¡°Jinge, do you want to lie down and have a rest?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, the beautiful feeling fromst night made him always want to hug him when he looked at Zhao Jinge.

    How nice would it be for two people to squeeze together in such a narrow bed? He made a curtain out of cloth, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone seeing them!

    ¡°No. Are you tired? Go lie down, and I¡¯ll look after you.¡± Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t pay any attention to the deeper meaning behind Jiang Zhen¡¯s words. Instead, he looked at Jiang Zhen with concern.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . . I¡¯m not tired.¡± So it¡¯s better to push him down directly!

    Jiang Zhen pulled Zhao Jinge to the bed. As soon as heid down, Zhao Jinge stiffened up and breathed faster.

    This was not their house, nor was it their bedroom . . . Zhao Jingey motionless and faced a problem¡ªif Jiang Zhen really tried to do something, should he agree or refuse?

    ¡°Jinge, we are here.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge, who had been nervous the entire way to the county town; they had already arrived.

    There were many rivers in Hecheng County. Some of them were originally there, and some of them were dug out for convenience. There was also a river behind the porcin shop, as well as stone steps leading to the river.

    Jiang Zhen stopped the boat there, picked up the shopkeeper of the porcin shop, and then took the shopkeeper with him to the ce where he had brought his porcin.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, the one who wants to buy your porcin is the steward of the Zheng mansion in the county town. The Zheng family is one of thergest families in the county town. Be careful when you go there,¡± said the shopkeeper of the porcin shop.

    ¡°You can rest assured, Shopkeeper. I will.¡± Jiang Zhen knew how to behave.

    The house of the Zhengs had been there for some years; its main door was facing the street, and its back door, the river. Jiang Zhen and his group, without asking questions, went to the back door.

    It was no longer early, and two servant girls dressed in blue were washing clothes by the river. When they saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s party, they were asked to announce them. After a while, the housekeeper of the Zheng mansion came out with two other servants.

    Before, when Jiang Zhen had gone out to do business, he had gained a lot of experience. He didn¡¯t feel there was anything to this kind of scene, but Zhao Jinge and He Chunsheng were very ufortable, and they didn¡¯t even dare to look at these people, keeping their heads down.

    Jiang Zhen had to do a lot of things today. In fact, it would have been more convenient not to bring Zhao Jinge. But he brought Zhao Jinge anyway. If nothing else, he hoped that Zhao Jinge would see a bit more of the world outside.

    If he only cared about going ahead and kept Zhao Jinge in Hexi, the distance between him and Zhao Jinge would certainly increase more and more . . .

    Holding Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, Jiang Zhen soon let go of him and went up to talk with the shopkeeper.

    Such a big family had its standards of conduct, and the price that had already been negotiated before would not be changed easily. Jiang Zhen only needed to help move the porcin into the warehouse and then he would get the money.

    This time, to speed up the process, even Zhao Jinge helped move the goods, and no one thought it was wrong for him to do so.

    Zhao Jinge, who was fully dressed in men¡¯s clothes, looked just like a man. If someone didn¡¯t know him, looking at his tall body, they wouldn¡¯t even think he was a ger.

    ¡°The warehouse is over there. Just move it there and put it down.¡± Steward Zheng just finished speaking when he suddenly stopped and then saluted in one direction, ¡°Young Master!¡±

    When Jiang Zhen looked over, he saw a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old standing not far away.

    This man must have just got up because he still looked a bit sleepy. He only wore a very bright robe, which was very different from the gray clothes worn by ordinary people in that era. But he still refused to put it on neatly.

    When he heard Steward Zheng¡¯s words, he replied casually, but after identally seeing He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng, he couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°Uncle Zheng, where did these two pig headse from?¡±

    ¡°Young Master, they are here to deliver porcin,¡± Steward Zheng said somewhat helplessly.

    The young manughed again and then left. But before leaving, he said, ¡°Hey, you two, you¡¯d better heal your faces at home before youe out again haha.¡±

    He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng lowered their heads, a bit ashamed.

    However, the young man was probably a nobleman, so they could not afford to be dissatisfied with his teasing.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at them, and then his eyes fell on Zhao Jinge. When he saw Zhao Jinge¡¯s cramped appearance, he suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

    This shipment of porcin sold for more than one hundred silver in total. Apart from the share given to the manager of the porcin shop and the filial respect given to Steward Zheng, in the end Jiang Zhen got 105 silver.

    Jiang Zhen gave He Chunsheng two silver, Wang Haisheng two silver, and then gave the rest to Zhao Jinge.

    One hundred silver was not light, it was actually quite heavy. Zhao Jinge held the silver and was a bit confused. ¡°This . . . This . . .¡±

    ¡°You keep it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When Zhao Jinge went out, he had taken a convenient bamboo basket with him, so he wrapped up the silver and put it in the basket. He didn¡¯t dare to carry the basket on his back now, so he held it in his arms, and got nervous again.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯tfort him. This man¡¯s nervousness would get better slowly.

    ¡°Boss, let¡¯s go back quickly.¡± He Chunsheng was also very nervous. As long as he thought that Zhao Jinge had a hundred silver with him, he got very worried and afraid. He thought that the people around them might do bad things to them and try to rob them.

    But Wang Haisheng was much calmer; he had seen even more silver.

    ¡°No, we still have something else to do,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He thought about it for a moment and asked Wang Haisheng and the He brothers to stay and watch the boat, then he took Zhao Jinge to a shop selling ink, paper, and inkstone.

    This time, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were dressed in their new clothes. Although they still didn¡¯t look like schrs, they would not be looked down upon by others. When they entered the shop, someone immediately came up to greet them.

    Nowadays, there were several kinds of paper, not only rice paper. After Jiang Zhen asked for some hard paper, the shopkeeper immediately took out some hard paper for drawing.

    The price of this paper was not cheap, but it didn¡¯t distress Jiang Zhen, who had some money on his hands at this moment.

    ¡°Jinge, pay,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge as he chose some paper dyes and even picked out a schrly book.

    Such things cost three silver . . . Zhao Jinge was reluctant to take the money out, but after a nce at Jiang Zhen, he still took the money out of the bamboo basket and then carefully put all the things bought by Jiang Zhen in the bamboo basket.

    Zhao Jinge seldom came to the county town in the past, and even if he did, he never dared to go inside many shops. At the moment, he suddenly visited such a shop where only schrs visited, and he also bought three-silver worth of things at once. He suddenly felt that he was apletely different person.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to make cards, and at the same time, Liu Heitou, who let his people apply medicine on his face, also went to the county town.

    He had be the leader of the thugs in that gambling house, and usually, he only needed to let his subordinates watch over the games there. But today, he decided to go there in person.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what this meant . . . Liu Heitou intended to go to the gambling house and ask the people he knew to give a gift to the gambling house manager and inquire about Jiang Zhen.

    If Jiang Zhen actually had any background, he could be recognized by these things, but Jiang Zhen had no background . . .

    After touching his face covered with herbal medicine, Liu Heitou¡¯s eyes shed with a trace of ruthlessness.

    Making cards was not difficult.

    Instead of using Arabic numbers, Jiang Zhen wrote, ¡°1,¡± ¡°2.¡° ¡°3,¡± ¡°4¡± to ¡°13¡± on the cards and then drew patterns with ck and red dyes. Finally, he took out two nk cards that he nned to represent the king and the queen.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen would definitely write ¡°Emperor¡± and ¡°Empress¡± on these two cards, but in that era, it would be absolutely fatal to write so . . . Jiang Zhen wrote: ¡°Tiger¡± with red ink on two cards and ¡°Tiger¡± with ck ink on the others. The king card became the tiger card.

    After that, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge out again.

    He had asked Yang Jing to help him make an appointment with the gambling house manager for a drink. Although it was not yet time, they could go and wait there in advance.

    There was only one restaurant in the whole county town, and it was there Jiang Zhen had made the appointment to meet. Zhao Jinge refused toe to such a ce before, but this time, Jiang Zhen had serious work to do, so he didn¡¯t try to stop him. Finally, he followed Jiang Zhen gingerly in the restaurant and went to the second floor.

    There were no private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant, but the environment was rtively better. As soon as Jiang Zhen went upstairs, he saw the young master of the Zheng family, who he had seen before in the Zheng mansion, sitting idly on a chair, drinking wine alone with his legs on the table.

 Chapter 62.1 - The new manager of the gambling house

    Chapter 62.1 ¨C The new manager of the gambling house

    Jiang Zhen nced at Young Master Zheng and took Zhao Jinge to a seat near the window not far from him.

    It was the first time for Zhao Jinge toe to such a ce, so he was uneasy and curious about everything. He kept looking out of the window.

    ¡°It¡¯s still early. You can stay by the window first,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Would it be good?¡± Zhao Jinge asked worriedly. Apart from them, there were many people here. Would he make Jiang Zhen lose face if he were to stand by the window and stare outside?

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled, but Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t see it at all. If he wanted to look, in his opinion, there was nothing embarrassing about it.

    When Jiang Zhen said this, Zhao Jinge went to the window and looked out with his eyes wide open.

    The restaurant only had two floors, so he couldn¡¯t actually see anything special from this window. But for Zhao Jinge, this was still a very novel experience, as he looked around with relish.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, we are above other people¡¯s heads now,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Puff!¡± Thinking that Zhao Jinge¡¯s behavior was funny, Young Master Zhengughed.

    Jiang Zhen frowned slightly while Zhao Jinge sat down with an embarrassed look on his face.

    ¡°Jinge, let¡¯s y cards,¡± Jiang Zhen, seeing Zhao Jinge sitting restlessly, said to him.

    Zhao Jinge was confused, but Jiang Zhen took out the cards. He left out the tiger cards and straightened out the remaining fifty-two cards before dealing himself and Zhao Jinge five cards each and putting the rest of the cards on the table.

    ¡°This is the simplest way to y. When you have a card in your hands, and the cards on the table areid, you can use a card in your hand to pick up a card from the table. It can be one card or two cards or even three cards. Then you can switch one card from the top of the row to make up for the five cards in your hand, and switch one card, and put it on the table. If it can¡¯t add up to fourteen, you can switch one card from the pile and put it on. Then it¡¯s my turn,¡± Jiang Zhen briefly exined the rules. When he was a child, others taught him how to y. At that time, they called this game ¡°go fish.¡± However, some areas seemed to not y it this way.

    Zhao Jinge was able to do some simple arithmetic, but he was rtively slow. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t teach him, so he stumbled a little bit while Jiang Zhen was the opposite.

    ¡°Seven and three on the table add up to ten. I have a four here. I will switch two cards.¡± Jiang Zhen switched two cards on the table with one and four.

    The rest of the cards were of bigger numbers. Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t have any cards to fish, so he could only switch one to put it on the table. As a result, that card was taken away by Jiang Zhen again.

    Zhao Jinge got very good cards in the first game, and when they started all over, he also found a way.

    There were not many cards, and after all, it was not very difficult to calcte the number of these cards to fourteen. The longer he calcted them, the faster he was getting.

    After three games, Jiang Zhen proposed to Zhao Jinge a different way of ying; this game was suitable for children and was not very attractive to adults.

    ¡°There are only two of us, so we can only y something simple. Let¡¯s try 21,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Twenty-one was also called ckjack and could be regarded as one of the ssical ways of ying cards. Jiang Zhen exined to Zhao Jinge how to y. Then they started ying.

    Before that, Young Master Zheng was just looking at them. Soon, he could not help standing beside them to watch, and thenter, he stood behind Zhao Jinge and said to Zhao Jinge in a very conservative tone, ¡°You need a card! Your cards are too small. Why don¡¯t you add a card?¡±

    Zhao Jinge shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± What if he got one of those big cards?

    Seeing Zhao Jinge like this, Young Master Zheng was frustrated. He wished he could y and do it differently . . .

    ¡°Does Master Zheng want toe and y too?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Young Master Zheng directly sat down beside Jiang Zhen without asking him why he already knew how to y by himself.

    When Jiang Zhen saw this, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll deal two cards first. After you¡¯ve seen them, you can ce a bet . . . I don¡¯t have much money, so you can¡¯t bet more than five coppers at a time.¡±

    Young Master Zhen stopped smiling. ¡°I don¡¯t take coins when I go out.¡± The coins were heavy, so he never took any when he went out. Of course, the servant boy around him would take some, but at the moment, the boy was not there.

    After thinking about it, Master Zheng directly called the waiter and asked him to bring one hundred copper coins. Then Young Master Zheng started bravely adding cards.

    He was very adventurous, so when his first two cards added up to fifteen, he asked without hesitation for another card. This way, he would surpass twenty-one if he were even a little careless. In contrast, Jiang Zhen was very conservative, so soon after, all one hundred copper coins in front of him became his.

    Of course, overall, he didn¡¯t win all the games, he just won more than he lost.

    ¡°Bring some more!¡± Young Master Zheng asked the waiter to get more copper coins.

    ¡°Wait.¡± This time, Jiang Zhen stopped Young Master Zheng.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Young Master Zheng asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can afford to lose.¡±

    ¡°No, the person I am meeting is here,¡± Jiang Zhen said, as he had already heard Yang Jing¡¯s voice.

    Sure enough, after a while, Yang Jing came up the stairs together with a very fat middle-aged man.

    Yang Jing was very respectful to this middle-aged man. ¡°Manager Zhang, pleasee upstairs. My brother is upstairs.¡±

    Manager Zhang was indifferent to Yang Jing, putting on airs, but after he went upstairs, he couldn¡¯t continue doing so. ¡°Young Master?¡±

    Yang Jing also looked with surprise at Young Master Zheng. ¡°Young Master Zheng?¡± This . . . Jiang Zhen was sitting with Young Master Zheng?

 Chapter 62.2 - The new manager of the gambling house

    Chapter 62.2 ¨C The new manager of the gambling house

    He had once told Jiang Zhen about the Zheng family.

    Master Zheng had a brother, who was an official of the second rank in court, and Young Master Zheng was Master Zheng¡¯s only son.

    Young Master Zheng hadn¡¯t gone to school but was quite capable of doing business. That casino was under Young Master Zheng¡¯s control. Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t make an appointment with Young Master Zheng, so he made an appointment with the casino manager, but it turned out unnecessary.

    Jiang Zhen knew Young Master Zheng¡¯s identity. After all, the day before, he had asked Yang Jing in detail. However, he didn¡¯t know that the one who wanted to buy his porcin was the Zheng family.

    At that time, even if he had known it, it would have been useless. After all, as a porcin seller, even if he wanted to have some rtionship with the Zheng family, he would not be able to do so by merely wishing it.

    However, he was lucky. Aftering to the restaurant ahead of time, he saw Young Master Zheng sitting there . . . Jiang Zhen wanted to give the cards to the manager, but now . . . he could gain more benefits by giving these cards to Young Master Zheng.

    ¡°You asked him out? Don¡¯t worry about that. You can keep ying with me,¡± Young Master Zheng said. ¡°What else can we y with these cards?¡±

    ¡°There are dozens of ways to y with these cards,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Does Young Master Zheng want to see the game suitable for the casino or the one suitable for the family to pass the time?¡±

    ¡°I want to see both!¡± Young Master Zheng said without hesitation.

    For the time being, it was impossible for Jiang Zhen to show all the ways of ying. In fact, he himself didn¡¯t remember much. In the end, he demonstrated only two methods of ying, one was Bullfighting, also known as Niuniu, and the other was Fight the Landlord.

    These were only three ways of ying. But after a whole afternoon of ying, they were not bored at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, Young Master Zheng.¡± Jiang Zhen reminded him that he would like to go home for dinner.

    ¡°And . . .¡± Young Master Zheng reluctantly put down the cards in his hand, and then asked Jiang Zhen, ¡°Did youe up with this yourself? How much do you want?¡±

    Young Master Zheng¡¯s real name was Zheng Yi. He was very fond of and very proficient in ying. After ying all afternoon, he had already discovered the value of this set of cards. After pondering for a while, he felt that Jiang Zhen might have attracted his attention on purpose. Of course, if they hadn¡¯t met, Jiang Zhen would have gone to the person in charge under him.

    After taking a look at the manager, who was thinking the same thing, Zheng Yi felt that Jiang Zhen came to them mostly for the sake of money.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, someone taught me this, but I¡¯m sure that only a few of us in Daqi can y it now. But . . . it¡¯s not about money,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want money? So what do you want? Tell me,¡± Young Master Zheng asked. He had never seen these cards before. If he could offer them . . . maybe all thedies in the pce would like them very much. Even if he didn¡¯t offer the cards to them, they were also good for his casino.

    ¡°As a matter of fact, I made an appointment with Manager Zhang today because I offended the people from the gambling shop. With these cards, I want to make amends,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°You offended the gambling house staff?¡± Young Master Zheng looked at Manager Zhang.

    Manager Zhang was also somewhat shocked. Did Jiang Zhen offend them? He knew nothing about it! He had never seen Jiang Zhen before.

    ¡°I beat up Liu Heitou from your gambling shop. He has many people under him, so I¡¯m afraid it is not good for my family,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Who is Liu Heitou?¡± Young Master Zheng asked again. Was there such a person in his gambling shop?

    ¡°Little Hei, the big and young one,¡± Manager Zhang said.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Little Hei . . . You could beat him?¡± Young Master Zheng looked at Jiang Zhen with some surprise. Liu Heitou was one of the best fighters under him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know this, Young Master Zheng, but Eldest Brother is very powerful. He can even defeat ten people by himself. Yesterday, our Eldest Brother was getting married, but Liu Heitou showed up to make trouble. He even brought many people with him, but was still beaten . . . I thought that Liu Heitou would not give up, so I helped him make an appointment with Manager Zheng to resolve things and make peace,¡± Yang Jing said with a smile, praising Jiang Zhen.

    At this moment, Yang Jing had already made up his mind to mix with Jiang Zhen. He was getting more and more convinced that Jiang Zhen was a capable man. Even regarding these cards, he didn¡¯t know how he came up with it. After ying with them, he felt that it was too boring for him to y dice like before.

    Zheng Yi always thought that Jiang Zhen should have been thinking about it for a long time and finally came up with something interesting. So then he found their Zheng family and wanted to rely on this thing to make money, but unexpectedly . . . This man actually beat one of his thugs and wanted to make amends.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a small fight with Little Hei. It¡¯s nothing. What else do you want?¡± Zheng Yi asked again.

    ¡°Master Zheng, I don¡¯t want anything in particr . . . Why don¡¯t you give me a name at the gambling house? You don¡¯t have to give me money or work, as long as you can take care of Liu Heitou,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    Hearing this, Zheng Yi burst outughing. ¡°You¡¯re very interesting. No problem. You¡¯ll be one of the managers of the gambling house in the future, like Manager Zhang, and your monthly sry will be the same as Manager Zhang¡¯s. If you don¡¯t want to be in charge of the gambling house, you can leave it to others. If you like, I¡¯ll leave it to you to take care of the card-rted matters.¡±

    The gambling shop was just one of Zheng Yi¡¯s industries. For him, it was really nothing to let Jiang Zhen be in change, and now it was settled.

    Such conditions far exceeded Jiang Zhen¡¯s initial n. Naturally, Jiang Zhen would not decline the offer. He smiled and thanked him. And just like that, Jiang Zhen became one of the managers of the gambling house.

    Meanwhile, Liu Heitou was talking about Jiang Zhen to the people in the gambling house.

    Liu Heitou had been working in the gambling house for more than ten years and got to know a lot of people. When those people heard that Liu Heitou had been beaten, theyforted him one after another and said they would help him get revenge.

    Liu Heitou thanked them.

    ¡°Chief Liu, who is the one who dared to hit you? What is he like?¡± one of Liu Heitou¡¯s men asked.

    ¡°That man¡¯s name is Jiang Zhen. I don¡¯t know exactly where he came from,¡± Liu Heitou said.

    He suspected that Jiang Zhen had a background, but when he thought about it carefully, he concluded that Jiang Zhen shouldn¡¯t have any background. He was a farmer born and raised in Hexi Vige. What kind of background can he have?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chief Liu. We¡¯re all on your side, and we won¡¯t let him off!¡± someone said to Liu Heitou.

    ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t let him off!¡± the rest of them added.

    Just at this moment, someone from outside ran in. ¡°Manager Zhang is back!¡±

    Hearing that Manager Zhang hade back, Liu Heitou quickly stood up intending to greet him. At the same time, he also wanted to ask Manager Zhang to help him inquire about Jiang Zhen.

    But, as it happened . . . Liu Heitou went out to find Manager Zhang and unexpectedly saw a person he didn¡¯t expect to appear there . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen?!¡± Liu Heitou was shocked to see that man who walked side by side with Manager Zhang and doubted if he had seen right.

    However, he was not wrong. That person was Jiang Zhen and even Zhao Jinge was with him!

    ¡°Little Hei!¡± Manager Zhang frowned at Liu Heitou and said, ¡°Show some respect! This is the new manager, Jiang. From now on, you will treat him as you treat me.¡± Manager Zhang didn¡¯t want to share power with anyone, but he was very clear on Zheng Yi¡¯s character.

    The young master looked very talkative and easy to talk to in general, but if someone didn¡¯t listen to him . . . He remembered the fate of some tantly disobedient shopkeeper. As a consequence, Manager Zhang was kinder to Jiang Zhen. Anyway, as long as he did his job well, he would not be treated badly by the young master.

    ¡°Manager Jiang?¡± Liu Heitou turned silly. What was Jiang Zhen¡¯s background? He¡ªall of a sudden, he became the person in charge of their casino?

    The people who had originally agreed with Liu Heitou to help him get revenge were now silent. Earlier, Liu Heitou said that the man who beat him up was Jiang Zhen, so this new manager was the one who beat him?

    They were all working in the gambling house and they couldn¡¯t offend the management of the gambling house . . . At the moment, some people were even nning to curry favor with Jiang Zhen. He was now in change. There had to be a reason!

 Chapter 63 - Jiang Zhen is a good man

    Chapter 63 ¨C Jiang Zhen is a good man

    Jiang Zhen only showed his face in the gambling shop before leaving with Zhao Jinge.

    It was gettingte and he was in a hurry to return home, otherwise his family would be worried.

    When he walked out of the gambling shop, it was already dark. Jiang Zhen walked for a while, but soon noticed that Zhao Jinge, who was holding the bamboo basket, was a bit out of shape, so he turned around and took his hand.

    Zhao Jinge was started and subconsciously broke free. Fearing that Jiang Zhen would be unhappy, he said, ¡°There are a lot of people here, it¡¯s not very good . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark now, and there¡¯s no one left,¡± Jiang Zhen said, firmly taking Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and by the way taking away the bamboo basket that Zhao Jinge was holding. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Although Zhao Jinge felt a little ashamed to be held by the hand, he could not deny that he was also somewhat happy with it. He bowed his head and followed behind Jiang Zhen, adjusting his pace to that of Jiang Zhen. At the same time, his heart slowly settled down.

    Everything before had been a bit of a shock to Zhao Jinge, but then he was stunned. Jiang Zhen unexpectedly became the manager of the gambling shop . . .

    ¡°Jinge,e to the county town with me tomorrow,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going,¡± Zhao Jinge quickly refused. He hadn¡¯t done much today. Later, while Jiang Zhen was ying cards, he could only hold the bamboo basket and observe them. Not only was he useless but he also made Jiang Zhen lose face. He thought it would be better not to follow Jiang Zhen to the county town.

    ¡°Why?¡± Jiang Zhen asked

    ¡°There is still a lot of work to do at home. Thend we bought hasn¡¯t been nted yet . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng can nt the fields and work at home,¡± Jiang Zhen said, squeezing Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. ¡°There are all kinds of things happening in this county town, and there are many people who would marry young ones. I met a shopkeeper before, his wife was helping him take care of his mother and children in the countryside, but his concubine apanied him to the county town. He only goes back to the countryside once or twice a year and flirts with his concubine. Also there are many women and gers in this county town who are not living well, so they opened their doors to do business at night . . . You should also know what this business is. I heard that Yang Jing often goes there . . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge suddenly opened his eyes wide. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded calmly.

    Zhao Jinge did not want Jiang Zhen to find someone else, but he felt that he was useless and there was a big gap between him and Jiang Zhen.

    He looked at Jiang Zhen with a tangled expression and finally made up his mind. He would follow Jiang Zhen closely, unless he forbade him to do so.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with Zhao Jinge¡¯s attitude.

    At present, the poor basically raised their ger children as women, but he always regarded Zhao Jinge as a man. In his opinion, Zhao Jinge was no worse than the others.

    He could train Wang Haisheng, so there was no way he would not teach Zhao Jinge.

    Thinking about it, Zhao Jinge would surely be better than Wang Haisheng in all aspects. Today, when they yed cards, Zhao Jinge learned it very quickly. What about Wang Haisheng? They had been selling kelp for more than ten days, and he still made mistakes when he wasn¡¯t careful.

    After a while, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge arrived at the ce where they had stopped the boat. By this time, Wang Haisheng was already anxious.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingee back yet?¡±

    ¡°I saw Liu Heitoue to the county town before. Do you think it was Liu Heitou . . .¡±

    ¡°No! Think how powerful our boss is!¡±

    ¡­

    All of a sudden, Wang Haisheng eximed, ¡°Look, the boss is back!¡±

    When He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng looked over, they saw Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingeing back hand in hand and they suddenly felt a little ufortable.

    In their vige, even the weakest little daughter-inw would not let her husband hold hands when they went out. Zhao Jinge was even taller than them. How could he be so sticky with Jiang Zhen? Jiang Zhen was indulging him and he obviously liked Zhao Jinge very much.

    It was a good thing their brother didn¡¯t bother them too much, otherwise . . .

    He Chunsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but Wang Haisheng asked, ¡°Boss, why are you justing back now?¡±

    ¡°I got a job in the county town,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Boss, you found a job in the county town? What is it?¡± Wang Haisheng asked again.

    ¡°Manager of the gambling shop,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Manager?¡± How did Jiang Zhen be a manager after going out for one afternoon?

    ¡°Well, ten silver a month,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    ¡°Ten silver a month!¡± Wang Haisheng looked at Jiang Zhen in worship. He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng were also shocked.

    At the beginning, when Jiang Chengxiang found a job for two silver per month in the county town, he was already one of the most promising people in their vige. Now . . . how could Jiang Zhen get ten silver a month?

    This . . . if he saved up for a year, he would be able to buy five mu ofnd!

    When Jiang Zhen and the others returned to Hexi Vige, it was alreadypletely dark, but up until then Wang Haisheng and the others were still confused.

    Jiang Zhen¡­ he was really amazing!

    The ship slowly approached Hexi Vige and after stopping at the ce where it had been docked before, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge came out of the cabin together. As soon as they walked out, they saw several people on the shore.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Zhao Jinge shouted. It was Zhao Fugui, who was waiting for them on the shore.

    ¡°Dad, what are you doing here?¡± Jiang Zhen also asked, feeling warm at the same time. In the modern era, he was not an orphan, but his parents divorced when he was very young, so he lived with his grandmother.

    Both of his parents remarried and did not wee him. Even his grandmother preferred his stepmother¡¯s children . . . Later, when his grandmother died, those people refused to support him or pay for his high school tuition, so hepletely cut off the contact with them.

    He had never received love from his parents before, but not when he was already an adult he received it from Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu . . .

    In the past, he particrly envied those ssmates who were picked up from school, but now he also experienced it for once.

    ¡°I just came to take a look around,¡± Zhao Fugui said. ¡°Do you want to bring something? You¡¯ve been busy all day. I¡¯ll carry it.¡±

    ¡°No, the porcin is all sold out. We don¡¯t have anything to take now,¡± Jiang Zhen said, following Zhao Fugui as they walked home.

    Before, in front of Wang Haisheng, Jiang Zhen showed off a little, but in front of Zhao Fugui, he didn¡¯t say anything. Yet even if he didn¡¯t say it, Zhao Jinge would.

    Soon, Zhao Jinge said that Jiang Zhen would be the manager of the gambling shop.

    ¡°Gambling shop?¡± Zhao Fugui frowned slightly.

    It was really good to be in charge, but a manager of the gambling house . . . He was afraid that Jiang Zhen would be led astray by the people in the gambling shop. It was just that he couldn¡¯t talk about it in front of Jiang Zhen, so he intended to find an opportunity to mention it to Zhao Jinge tomorrow and let him keep an eye on Jiang Zhen and not let him be addicted to gambling.

    Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t say much, but Jiang Zhen could already guess his thoughts. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. Gambling is not good. I won¡¯t do these things.¡±

    Zhao Fugui was immediately relieved. ¡°Good! Alright!¡±

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge returned home veryte, but Zhao Liu had put the dishes on the steaming rack, and these were still warm. The dishes did not even seem to have been touched, the rice in the pot was still full. Zhao Fugui and his wife probably had eaten the cold rice left over the day before.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already eaten, so hurry up and eat!¡± Zhao Liu said with a smile.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and filled his bowl with rice and ate it. After eating, he took out the silver he earned after selling porcin today from the bamboo basket.

    Although he had spent some money on buying paper, heter won some money from Zheng Yi and others, so at this moment there was still a little over a hundred silver left.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, I have made another hundred silver from selling porcin today. Keep it first, and then go to see if you can buy some morend.¡± Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Fugui and his wife were used to living a hard life and were reluctant to eat good things, but if their family had more money andnd, they would be willing to eat better.

    Another one hundred silver? Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were so shocked that, for a moment, they were unable to recover. Why did Jiang Zhen do something to frighten them from time to time?

    ¡°This . . . This . . .¡± Zhao Fugui was at a loss. ¡°Shall we build a house?¡±

    People in their vige liked to build houses when they had some extra money. They built houses in a very magnificent manner, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think it was necessary.

    Some people in the vige had no money to buy furniture and daily necessities after their houses were built. Although they lived in a big house, it was empty or there were only left in rags. In that case, it was better to live in a smaller house and use the things at home better. In particr, they had to eat better!

    Jiang Zhen refused the proposal to build a house, and Zhao Fugui thought it was also very good ¡°Yes, for now our house is enough, it is better to buy some morend first. With thend, how can you worry about not having a house?¡±

    Zhao Fugui took the money and went back to his room with Zhao Liu, and Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to have a bath. ¡°Jinge, shall I wipe your back?¡±

    Wipe his back? Zhao Jinge was a little embarrassed, but he was reluctant to refuse Jiang Zhen, so in the end he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Jiang Zhen said he would wipe the back but as a result he scrubbed the front too. He also washed the parts that Zhao Jinge had only showed to his husband several times, which made Zhao Jinge wish to dig a hole in the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kiss itter, so I must wash it clean,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile. He was just a novicest night, so he was so excited that he didn¡¯t pay much attention to pleasing Zhao Jinge. But it was different today . . .

    When Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he only thought that Jiang Zhen was talking nonsense. He never expected that after they got in bed, Jiang Zhen would actually taste it.

    Zhao Jinge knew a thing or two about men and women, but he really didn¡¯t know that he could do this with his mouth . . .

    Jiang Zhen was willing to do such a thing to him . . .

    At the end of the day, Zhao Jinge convulsed, softened, and was unable to move¡­

    Then Jiang Zhen turned him over and began enjoying himself. It was not enough to toss in bed once, so after a short rest, he tossed Zhao Jinge while facing each other.

    The excitement of this night was even greater for Zhao Jinge than on their wedding night. Jiang Zhen was also satisfied to see his soft and weak appearance.

    On the other side, Zhao Fugui and his wife, who couldn¡¯t sleep because of the silver, were a bit conflicted.

    Although there was almost no sounding from Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, there were asional creaking sounds . . .

    They were afraid that the new bed would break down in a few years.

    s, they were young and unexpectedly could toss for so long . . .

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had a great time that evening. But Liu Heitou, who stayed in the gambling shop in the county town, felt that he was really unlucky.

    He specially went to manager Zhang and gave him a lot of money. As a result, he got one sentence from Manager Zhang. ¡°The young master values Jiang Zhen very much.¡±

    The young master unexpectedly attached great importance to that Jiang Zhen!

    Who was the young master! That was the person they all were afraid of offending and he actually attached great importance to that Jiang Zhen!

    Liu Heitou felt bitterness in his mouth. How could he not think of offending Jiang Zhen?

    Liu Heitou was the number one thug in the gambling house, but not all the thugs in the gambling house were under hismand. Now they couldn¡¯t help but gloat when they learned he offended the new manager.

    As for the new manager . . . They didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest disobedience or disrespect to the new manager appointed by the young master himself.

    On the second day after his marriage, Jiang Zhen finally woke up and got up before Zhao Jinge, but he still didn¡¯t get up as early as Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui.

    Seeing himing out of the house, Zhao Liu, who was already preparing breakfast, immediately asked, ¡°Where is Jinge? Why isn¡¯t Jinge up yet? Jiang Zhen, go and wake him up! You can¡¯t let him be more and morezy!¡±

    ¡°Mother, he is not awake yet. Let him sleep a little longer,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting more and more outrageous to go to sleep sote,¡± Zhao Liu said with a smile on her face.

    When Jiang Zhen treated Zhao Jinge well, it always made her happy in her heart.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went out, she immediately found someone to show off. ¡°Jiang Zhen is really good to my Jinge. When he got up in the morning, he was reluctant to wake him up.¡±

    ¡°What can I do? My Jinge is gettingzier andzier!¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen doesn¡¯t know how to save money. When he earns money, he gives it to us . . .¡±

    After listening to Zhao Liu¡¯s words, it was inevitable that some people would go back to find trouble with their own men. ¡°Look at the Zhao family! All year round, Zhao Liu doesn¡¯t need to do any work in the field, but she still can eat delicious food at home! And how about Zhao Jinge? He grew up looking like that, and he still doesn¡¯t need to lift his hand. I¡¯m no worse than them, am I . . . I have to take care of the children, do the housework and work in the fields. How can I be with such a person like you?¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know that his letting Zhao Jinge sleepte would trigger a family war among some people in Hexi Vige.

    This day, he didn¡¯t take Wang Haisheng and the others with him. Instead, he went to the county town with Zhao Jinge. Zhao Jinge wanted to learn how to row the boat, so he taught him.

    After they got to the county town, they didn¡¯t go to the gambling house but went to the Zheng family.

    Yesterday¡¯s deck of cards had been taken away by Zheng Yi, who had asked Jiang Zhen toe early today, saying that he wanted to discuss with him how to make these cards and how to promote them. It would be best if they couldn¡¯t be imitated in a short period of time, so they could earn more.

 Chapter 64 - Bullying others

    Chapter 64 ¨C Bullying others

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge rowed their boat to the county town, then they went through the back door of the Zheng house. But this time, they were treated differently. There were a lot of servant girls and young servants passing by, making Zhao Jinge put up his guard. There were really many temptations in this county town, and it had been absolutely right for him toe here with Jiang Zhen!

    There was a second-rank official in the Zheng family, and they were probably the richest family in the county town. Jiang Zhen thought the Zheng mansion would be very big, but after going in this time, he found that it wasn¡¯t the case even though everything around looked exquisite.

    As for why this mansion was not very big . . . It was probably because the county town was only sorge, and there was no freend to expand the area of the house¡ªthose huge gardens could only be built in the countryside.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen thought that the Zheng house was small because he had often seen fences enclosingrge pieces ofnd in the countryside. As a matter of fact, the Zheng mansion was already veryrge inparison to various modern houses.

    The ce where Zheng Yi met Jiang Zhen was a pavilion built above a pond. Today, it was sunny and breezy, so it was pleasant to meet there.

    ¡°Here you are.¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi yawned, stood up from the rattan recliner and sat on a stone bench beside the stone table.

    Although Zheng Yi was a man, his skin was very fair, since he had been raised in prosperity from childhood. Even He Qiusheng, who had the best skin in Hexi, was probably just as fair as him. At the moment, because of his particrly pale skin, the ck circles and the stubble on his face were very obvious.

    ¡°Master Zheng,¡± Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge greeted him casually.

    ¡°Sit down. Let¡¯s talk about the cards.¡± Young Master Zheng put the cards Jiang Zhen had given him the day before on the table.

    The cards were made of white paper, and they already looked a little worn just from ying yesterday afternoon. Now they all looked worn out.

    Obviously, the reason why Zheng Yi¡¯s face had dark circles was because he had yed cards all night.

    ¡°I yed with my mother and my wife for a while after I came back yesterday, and I¡¯ve hardly slept.¡± Zheng Yi noticed that Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes fell on the cards and yawned again. ¡°If they hadn¡¯t fallen asleep by now, they wouldn¡¯t have let me take the cards.¡±

    Before Jiang Zhen could speak, Zheng Yi spoke again, ¡°But really, the card painting is too ugly.¡±

    ¡°. . .¡± Jiang Zhen had no words. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to school and can only draw randomly. It¡¯s already very good to be able to draw like this.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t gone to school?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise. He had sent someone to check Jiang Zhen, but the time had been too short, and the people under him hadn¡¯t replied yet.

    However, even though he did not know Jiang Zhen¡¯s specific situation, after observing Jiang Zhen, he felt he should be a man of good birth and knowledge. He even suspected that Jiang Zhen was a general, which would exin why he could beat up Liu Heitou and why his handwriting was quite ugly.

    Zheng Yi lifted the top card in the pile, and there was the ugly word ¡°Tiger¡± on the card.

    ¡°I¡¯m from an ordinary farmer¡¯s family in Hexi Vige. I haven¡¯t gone to school, but my two younger brothers have. I asionally listened to them, and I am barely able to read,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zheng Yi smiled and said, ¡°Your talent was deeply buried in a peasant household.¡± When Jiang Zhen looked at him, he was neither humble not arrogant. He really didn¡¯t look like a person from an ordinary household.

    After a few pleasantries, the two of them got straight to the point and talked about the cards.

    ¡°The four patterns you drew on them are somewhat in. Do you think it would be better to change them into plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum?¡± As soon as they started, Zheng Yi came up with this suggestion.

    ¡°It¡¯s not elegant to let the four gentlemen appear in the gambling house. It would be troublesome to do. In my opinion, it would be better to use some simple patterns for the mostmon cards. But in addition to ordinary cards, you can also make more delicate cards fordies. They can be painted with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Those two tiger cards can be changed into sun and moon cards. One would be painted with gold and ck and the other would be painted with Chang¡¯e flying to the moon,¡± Jiang Zhen said. The myths and legends of this ce were almost the same as those of the ancient era he knew of¡ªHou Yi shot to the sun and Chang¡¯e to the moon.

    Zheng Yi also thought that ordinary cards should be made rougher and not too delicate. He was reluctant to spoil those gamblers.

    ¡°One more thing is that these cards are very easy to learn. When I release them, it can really attract the attention of the dignitaries. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be long before it¡¯s all over the street, so it won¡¯t be easy to make money,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Their Zheng family could barely be regarded as a schrly family, and they certainly couldn¡¯t bepared with those old families, that had no family business. It was also because of this that their house stayed in Hecheng County, specializing in doing business and getting support from the capital.

    In the same fashion, this would also conveniently open up a new door, so they could earn more. The advantage of making and presenting cards belonged mainly to the capital. Zheng Yi Was hoping to gain some benefits.

    ¡°What businesses does Master Zheng have under him?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. ¡°Master Zheng, it would be better to design a logo for these businesses. In the future, both the shops and the caravans will use this logo, and the back of the cards should also be painted with this logo.¡±

    At first, when Zheng Yi heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he was puzzled. But after some thought, he couldn¡¯t help but apud. This way, those who were the first toe in contact with the cards would recognize their cards by the logo, not to mention their business name would also be widely known.

    This Jiang Zhen unexpectedly opened his mouth and was able toe up with such an idea! However, many of the shops under his name had different names, and it was not easy to unify them. He would need to carefully consider it.

    ¡°These cards can also be given away when we have enough reserves,¡± Jiang Zhen spoke again. In fact, he was not good at doing business, but this wasmon knowledge for modern people, and it was impossible for him not to know it.

    ¡°Then how can we keep the secret?¡± Zheng Yi asked again. He actually had a way to keep the secret, but he still wanted to ask for Jiang Zhen¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Each card can be made separately,¡± Jiang Zhen said. For the moment, the traffic was inconvenient. They just needed to find more printing workshops to make them. Who would make the connection between those cards? ¡°It can also be said it would be used for business.¡±

    Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi talked happily with each other.

    At first, Zheng Yi asked Jiang Zhen to be the manager of the gambling house because he was grateful to Jiang Zhen, and he didn¡¯t expect him to do anything, but now . . .

    ¡°Is Brother Jiang interested in managing a gambling house?¡± Zheng Yi asked, thinking that it might give an unexpected surprise to let Jiang Zhen manage a gambling house.

    ¡°Is Mr. Zheng interested in opening another gambling house?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zheng Yi immediately hesitated. The county town was only so big. If he opened another gambling house wouldn¡¯t it bepeting with his own business?

    ¡°This gambling house wouldn¡¯t deal with the poor, but only with the rich. For example, the cards of plum orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum can be used,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen felt that it was meaningless to take hard-earned money from a group of ordinary people, so he might as well open a gambling shop only for the rich. Jiang Zhen had seen those big casinos before, so he thought about them and mentioned some of it.

    Zheng Yi immediately pped his hands. ¡°Good idea!¡±

    For the poor, several copper pennies were already very valuable, but for the rich, it was different. They were used to spending hundreds of thousands of silver just to buy an antique without even blinking.

    There were many rich people to the south of Yangtze River . . . Although Hecheng County was small, there were also many rich people here, and traveling merchants didn¡¯tck money. As for why there were so many rich people but the county town was not very prosperous . . . Nowadays, people liked to raise their own people to do everything.

    The cooks in the Zheng family¡¯s mansion were much better than those working in the restaurant. There were also people in their mansion who specialized in sewing. When they wanted to buy cloth, they would not go to the shop personally but send someone to make a delivery to their house.

    Not to mention that . . . some rich people even lived in the countryside.

    Hundreds of years ago, an old man came here after ending his career in court. After returning home, he set up a big house in the nearby countryside to be his ancestral home. That house was magnificent. Compared to it, the Zheng family¡¯s mansion was really small.

    ¡°I would build another gambling shop. No, it can¡¯t be called a gambling shop. We have toe up with a better name. This time, you¡¯ll be in charge of it, and you¡¯ll get 30 percent of the profit,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    What he said was extremely generous because it was nothing to him and because he had made up his mind to go to the capital and build a big gambling house simr to what they would build in Hecheng. This meant the gambling house in Hecheng County was just for Jiang Zhen.

    After they talked about it, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge stayed with Zheng Yi for dinner.

    During their talk before, Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t spoken a word, so Zheng Yi didn¡¯t notice him until then and asked, ¡°Who is this?¡±

    ¡°He is my wife,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zheng Yi was somewhat surprised. Gers could also marry and have children, but manyrge families who had only a few people in their families would raise them as men. After that, they may not be able to marry a well-matched woman, but as long as they were willing to spend money and marry a woman whose situation was not as good as their own, there would be no problem.

    Because of this, Zheng Yi had seen gers who could stand on their own feet, but those gers were married to women. He had never seen a married ger walk around. What kind of man would want his wife to appear in public? And . . . the appearance of this ger was really ordinary.

    Although he thought so in his heart, Zheng Yi never showed anything on his face. He liked making fun of people, but he also knew when to behave. In any case, he would neverment on other people¡¯s gers.

    Even though Zheng Yi was very calm, Zhao Jinge was still very uneasy. While eating, he didn¡¯t dare to move his chopsticks and was very restrained. Zheng Yi pretended to not see it when Jiang Zhen picked up food for Zhao Jinge from time to time, which made Zhao Jinge calm down slowly.

    The food in the Zheng mansion was very delicious. Jiang Zhen had never eaten such delicious food since he traveled to this ancient era, which had a lot to do with the fact that the cooks of the Zheng family were willing to use various raw materials when cooking.

    Just this fish . . .

    In Hexi, people ate mostly steamed or boiled fish, but this . . . There was a fish dish fried in oil. After cutting the fish with a knife, they also boiled it in sugar and vinegar. In the Zhao family, it was impossible for Zhao Liu to cook like this.

    Zhao Jinge liked the sour and sweet fish very much, so Jiang Zhen gave him some more. Zhao Jinge was very happy, and when Jiang Zhen looked at him, Zhao Jinge smiled at him.

    That smile was actually very restrained, but when Jiang Zhen saw it, he thought it was very good-looking.

    After dinner, Young Master Zheng suggested taking Jiang Zhen to the gambling house to have a look. Jiang Zhen originally wanted to take advantage of Young Master Zheng¡¯s power, so, of course, he would not refuse him.

    The gambling shop of the Zheng family was called Hongxing Gambling Shop. It was very big and had two floors in total with a yard at the back. Most of the guests entered through the gate, but Zheng Yi took them through the side door and went directly in the courtyard behind the gambling shop. At this moment, there were seven or eight thugszing around.

    Seeing Zheng Yi, these people immediately stood up and bowed down to him. ¡°Master Zheng!¡±

    Liu Heitou was standing in the middle of these thugs. When he saw Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen next to each other, his whole face distorted. The cut made by Jiang Zhen on his face, coupled with his twisted expression, made his whole face look terrible and pitiful.

    ¡°From now on, the person in charge of you is Jiang Zhen,¡± Zheng Yi said lightly at this moment.

    Not only Liu Heitou¡¯s hair was ck, but his face was ck too.

    Zheng Yi didn¡¯t like to stay in the gambling house for a long time, so he soon left. As soon as he left, Jiang Zhen looked at the thugs with a smile.

    ¡°I heard that someone set up a private gambling house outside under the name of our Hongxing Gambling House. I¡¯m going to have a look today. Do you want toe with me?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen said this, he looked at Liu Heitou, which made Liu Heitou¡¯s face turn even darker. It was clear to Liu Heitou that Jiang Zhen was talking about him.

    He started his career as a thug in this gambling shop, butter, he privately gathered a group of people who did not belong to Hongxing Gambling House. Not only that, in order to support these people, he also secretly opened a gambling house in Qiaotou Vige, which belonged to him.

    The Zheng family wanted fame and were not short of money, so this Hongxing Gambling House didn¡¯t deliberately induce others to owe debts. They also weren¡¯t in the business of lending money for exorbitant interests. Anyway, even though they didn¡¯t do such things, they already made a lot of money. But Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house was different. They would lend people usuriously; set people up; and even sometimes when they knew there was not much money in the family, they would force the children of that gambler¡¯s family.

    ¡°Manager Jiang, what do you mean?¡± A man who was at odds with Liu Heitou came forward.

    ¡°I heard people say that someone was fooling around in Qiaotou Vige under the name of our gambling house,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, don¡¯t try deceiving people too much!¡± Liu Heitou couldn¡¯t help saying.

    ¡°If you think I am deceiving people too much, you can leave right away. You will no longer be a person of Hongxing Gambling House. You won¡¯t y under the signboard of Hongxing Casino. No matter what you do outside, no one would care about you.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Liu Heitou with a smile.

    Liu Heitou didn¡¯t dare to leave. He didn¡¯t have any background, but over the years, he had been bullying people and done a lot of evil things. If he were to leave now, the people around him would disperse. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for Jiang Zhen to get him into trouble then?

    He didn¡¯t dare to leave Hongxing Gambling House, so he could only watch as Jiang Zhen gathered all the thugs of the gambling house, including him, and went straight to hisir. This Jiang Zhen really wanted to make it. How was he going to live in Qiaotou Vige in the future?

 Chapter 65 - Closing the gambling house

    Chapter 65 ¨C Closing the gambling house

    Qiaotou Vige was closer to the county town than Hexi, but the vigers there were not much better off.

    It was close to the county town, so some big families from the county town went there to buynd. Gradually, there was less and lessnd in Qiaotou Vige, but there were more and more people, so people¡¯s lives became more difficult. However, as a result, many people started looking for another way out. In Qiaotou, many young men and women went to work in the county town in order to earn money. And since Liu Heitou¡¯s promotion, many people followed him.

    These people who followed Liu Heitou said they were working for Hongxing Gambling House, but Hongxing Gambling House only needed a dozen goons, so how could they make use of so many people? In fact, they were working for Liu Heitou, making Liu Heitou act more and more recklessly. However, Liu Heitou was not stupid. He never extended his hand to the county town and did not go out to offend those who he couldn¡¯t afford to offend.

    In Qiaotou, Liu Heitou was basically the local emperor, so when Jiang Zhen brought him and more than a dozen other people to Qiaotou, Liu Heitou¡¯s men met them immediately.

    ¡°Big Brother!¡± Among the people who took the lead toe was Liu Heitou¡¯s cousin. When he saw Liu Heitou, he shouted and then looked at Jiang Zhen warily.

    He knew Jiang Zhen. Originally, he and Liu Heitou went to kidnap He Qiusheng, but he was beaten by Jiang Zhen. It was just . . . why was this man standing together with their eldest brother today?

    ¡°Where is the gambling house?¡± Jiang Zhen asked one of the goons of the gambling house around him.

    That gambling house thug was a person under Liu Heitou, yet he was not only Liu Heitou¡¯s subordinate, but even more importantly, someone from the gambling house.

    He opened his mouth and weighed everything before he finally pointed in a certain direction and said, ¡°That way.¡±

    ¡°Go!¡± Jiang Zhen took the people to where he pointed straight away.

    Liu Heitou had built a big house on that side of Qiaotou, so the people from the nearby vige had a ce to gamble. It was very different from Hongxing Gambling House and looked messy, but some people still liked going there.

    Hongxing Gambling House was opened in the county town. Even if it was open to ordinary people, many farmers were afraid toe in looking at the tall door. But Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house was different; even if they were dressed in rags, everyone boldly went in.

    It was afternoon, and it was also the busiest time for Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house. Many people with copper coins in their hands went there to lose all their money and feelfortable.

    After taking a nce at the gambling shop, Jiang Zhen, who took some people with him, rushed in straight away.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Liu Heitou¡¯s brother, who had also brought people with him, stopped Jiang Zhen and asked angrily.

    ¡°Liu Heitou, what are your nning?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Liu Heitou with a smile.

    There were several reasons why he had brought them here today. One was because of the gambling house. He and Liu Heitou had a nasty fight before, and the people in the gambling house probably knew about it. At this moment, if he didn¡¯t say something, most of the people in the gambling house would look down on him, so he needed a way to show his authority. And the other reason was to take away these thugs from the gambling house.

    There were a total of nine thugs inside, of whom, three were from the county town. They had something to do with Manager Zhang and they didn¡¯t agree with Liu Heitou, the leader of the thugs. But the rest of them were on Liu Heitou¡¯s side.

    These people followed Liu Heitou¡¯s lead. It was not good for him to keep them, but it was also impossible to drive them all away. So he just brought all of them here to take down Liu Heitou¡¯sir.

    Like Liu Heitou, these people wouldn¡¯t dare to offend the gambling house or leave it. Most of them would follow him, and when they helped him destroy Liu Heitou¡¯sir, they would not be able to stand on Liu Heitou¡¯s side any longer. They had to follow him wholeheartedly because they would be afraid Liu Heitou would get even with themter.

    And there was also the other reason . . . of raising his reputation and letting people know that he was not easy to mess with. Jiang Zhen looked around at the people of Qiaotou Vige, who were in awe of him and in a good mood.

    ¡°Who is that man? Why is Liu Heitou following him?¡±

    ¡°He brought people from Hongxing Gambling House, right? Those people listen to him!¡±

    ¡°This man seems to be Jiang Zhen! He is from the vige of Hexi, the one the Liu family recently scolded at the entrance of the vige every day.¡±

    ¡°Why did hee here? Isn¡¯t he afraid of Liu Heitou beating him?¡±

    ¡°What would he be afraid of? Didn¡¯t you hear? Liu Heitou was beaten twice, both times by him.¡±

    ¡­

    The people in Qiaotou were gossiping, looking at Jiang Zhen with gazes full of awe. This was the man who dared to beat Liu Heitou!

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen was still looking at Liu Heitou with a smile. ¡°Liu Heitou, what do you want?¡±

    Liu Heitou¡¯s expression twisted again. Qiaotou was his territory. He would really like to call someone to kill Jiang Zhen. But he didn¡¯t dare. He really wanted to do that but unless he left his hometown to go outside, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live in Hecheng County. However, he was reluctant to leave everything here behind.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Liu Heitou gritted his teeth and gave a shrill cry that was a bit fierce.

    Jiang Zhen nced at Liu Heitou, then turned to the gambling house thugs behind him. ¡°Get rid of all the people who are gambling inside and take this ce for me!¡±

    Liu Heitou¡¯s brothers and the people he had raised were angry, and they waited for Liu Heitou to give them an order to teach Jiang Zhen a lesson, but Liu Heitou was silent. In the end, they unexpectedly watched as Jiang Zhen drove the gamblers out of the gambling house.

    The people were noisy at first, but as soon as they saw the situation outside, they immediately lowered their heads like quails.

    ¡°I¡¯m the manager of Hongxing Casino. Liu Heitou is a member of the casino. Setting up a private casino outside vites the rules of Hongxing Casino. From now on, this casino must be closed and can¡¯t be opened again,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    In fact, there was no such rule in Hongxing Gambling House. That was why, although Manager Zhang was a little dissatisfied with Liu Heitou making trouble outside, he didn¡¯t care too much. It was just that, these days the rules were made by the people above.

    Everyone in Qiaotou Vige believed it.

    If the assistant of the cloth shop was doing cloth business outside, he would definitely be kicked out from the cloth Shop. It would be the same with Liu Heitou.

    Although Liu Hetou was still friendly to the vigers of Qiaotou Vige, the vigers didn¡¯t like him. Now that he was unlucky, the vast majority of the vigers pped their hands and felt very relieved. At the same time, there was growing awe for Jiang Zhen.

    Liu Heitou didn¡¯t even dare to fart in front of this man, and listened to him . . . Who the hell was he?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t do anything. He let people bring him the ount books and the silver from Liu Heitou¡¯s small gambling house, as he himself leaned against the door and looked at Liu Heitou with a smirk on his face. There was no ferocious expression on his face, but facing him, Liu Heitou could hardly stand it.

    Jiang Zhen had been watching Liu Heitou warily, but he knew that Liu Heitou would no longer resist. If Liu Heitou had been ten years younger, he would have resisted. If he had been so poor that he could not even afford to eat, he would have also resisted. But now, he had already changed. He was reluctant to give up his family business, so he could only helplessly watch others cut the meat from him.

    ¡°The gambling house won¡¯t ask for the money. We¡¯ll split itter,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile to the goons working outside.

    Originally, there were still some thugs who didn¡¯t work hard, but when they heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, they immediately felt like they had been injected with chicken blood.

    Liu Heitou¡¯s cousins looked at him with red eyes. ¡°Big Brother!¡± This small gambling house was the result of their painstaking efforts!

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen is valued by Master Zheng!¡± Liu Heitou said as he clenched his teeth.

    The Liu family all knew Master Zheng. That was a person that even the county magistrate respected. If Jiang Zhen was valued by Young Master Zheng . . . they really couldn¡¯t do anything about Jiang Zhen.

    Although Liu Heitou persuaded his brother, his heart seemed to be dripping blood. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t y his cards ording tomon sense and did things against expectations. He suddenly brought people here today, so that he didn¡¯t have time to make any preparations, let alone hide anything. He had been working hard for a long time, but he might end up being cheated by Jiang Zhen!

    Jiang Zhen was staring at Liu Heitou while Zhao Jinge, who was standing beside him, didn¡¯t know what to do. He followed Jiang Zhen all the time, but he didn¡¯t understand what Jiang Zhen was doing. Up until now, he still had no idea what Jiang Zhen wanted to do. Those thugs were all moving things, and it was not appropriate for him to stand by. Zhao Jinge hesitated for a moment and then went to move stuff with those thugs and look for the silver.

    Growing up, Zhao Jinge had never done such a thing, and when he did it, he somewhat felt tangled. His face stiffened, which made him look like he was a little unhappy when he frowned because of the scar between his eyebrows.

    When those goons saw that Zhao Jinge had been following Jiang Zhen all the time and Jiang Zhen talked to him kindly, they thought that Zhao Jinge must be one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, so they wanted to improve their rtionship with him.

    ¡°Hey, Brother, who are you under Jiang Zhen?¡± There was some humility in the question.

    ¡°You and Jiang Zhen must be brothers, right? You are the same in height and wear the same clothes,¡± someone else came over to ask.

    Zhao Jinge was silent. He was actually Jiang Zhen¡¯s wife whom he had just married. However, at this moment, he didn¡¯t think any of these people would believe him.

    No man had ever taken his newly wed wife to work in a gambling shop and to rob others . . . In fact, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t understand what Jiang Zhen was thinking either. Jiang Zhen used to flirt with him and praise him for being good-looking. He was always happy to hear it, but now . . . Why did Jiang Zhen seem to see him as a man?

    ¡°Brother, what is Jiang Zhen like?¡± these people who saw that Zhao Jinge was silent asked again.

    ¡°Like . . . He likes money?¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Yeah, who doesn¡¯t like money?¡± Those people were satisfied.

    ¡°Brother, if you can help put in a good word for us in the future, we will invite you to a drink next time! There are some pretty little sisters in Qingyang. We will go to them and tell them to sleep with you.¡±

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s whole body froze. ¡°. . .¡± Didn¡¯t he look even a little bit like a ger? In any case, there were too many bad ces in the county town. He had to keep an eye on Jiang Zhen. He couldn¡¯t let Jiang Zhen find someone else. After clenching his teeth, Zhao Jinge continued working.

    Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge was working, but it wasn¡¯t heavy physical work and it was much easier than Zhao Jinge¡¯s previous work, so he didn¡¯t stop him. Even if someone spoke to Zhao Jinge, he didn¡¯t take it seriously. He knew that Zhao Jinge was fond of him, and they were married. Zhao Jinge was merely speaking with someone. Why would he need to care?

    After a while, everything from Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house was brought out. At first, Jiang Zhen thought that he might find some ount books that could be used to threaten Liu Heitou or something. However, facts proved that he thought too much.

    How could a group of illiterate thugs write any kind of ount book? Among them, there was only one person who could read, but he usually only wrote various debt notes. His characters looked even uglier than Jiang Zhen¡¯s. However, in addition to that, more than six hundred silver were found.

    Liu Heitou didn¡¯t like farming, so his biggest source of ie was usually lending money to other people. This six hundred silver was the money he used to lend.

    Jiang Zhen looked at it and then gave those people who followed him to the gambling house, along with Zhao Jinge, fifty silver each. He then collected the rest of the money without hesitation himself and said to Liu Heitou, ¡°Liu Heitou, you can¡¯t continue opening this gambling house. Besides, it is a crime to lend money. You¡¯d better be obedient, otherwise . . . Young Master Zheng will definitely not let you go.¡±

    Liu Heitou clenched his fist and looked at Jiang Zhen. He was already very angry.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen was saying to the people around Liu Heitou, ¡°You followed Liu Heitou in the name of Hongxing Gambling House but in fact, you are not from Hongxing Gambling House at all and no one will protect you in the future, but if you follow me . . . Young Master Zheng ns to open a new gambling house for me to manage, and I am short of people.¡°

    Jiang Zhen, this is going overboard. Coming to my ce to poach my people! The angry Liu Heitou started looking around at the men he had gathered. Suddenly, he found that many of them were excited. As for the people from the gambling house . . . after they took the fifty silver Jiang Zhen gave them, they didn¡¯t look at him at all!

    The thugs from these gambling houses had a good ie, but they were only selling their strength, it was already good to earn five or six silver a month. Now that Jiang Zhen gave them fifty silver at once, they would naturally want to listen to Jiang Zhen.

    Liu Heitou had made so much money. But he usually only bought them a drink, which was really stingy. Why had they been following him?

    Jiang Zhen closed the gambling house, but he didn¡¯t really do anything to Liu Heitou. Such a person couldn¡¯t be forced hastily.

    After saying a few more words to his recruits, Jiang Zhen saw that more and more of Liu Heitou¡¯s men had a change of heart. Seeing this, Jiang Zhen left with Zhao Jinge. On the way, he saw a familiar figure who was secretly running away, and shouted, ¡°Liu Dacheng, don¡¯t forget the money you owe me!¡±

    Then Liu Dacheng ran even faster.

    Jiang Zhen gave his silver to Zhao Jinge. Zhao Jinge, who took the silver, immediately felt extremely hot. He had the feeling that everything happening was unreal.

    When the thugs of Hongxing Gambling House saw this, they increasingly felt that this silent man, who didn¡¯t like talking, should be very well-liked by Jiang Zhen. One of them went up to specially give Zhao Jinge the silver bracelet that was included in his share of fifty silver he received.

    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t forget what I told you! Next time I will invite you for a drink!¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

 Chapter 66.1 - Jiang Zhen is blessed

    Chapter 66.1 ¨C Jiang Zhen is blessed

    It was gettingte so Jiang Zhen did not go back to the county town, but said goodbye to the others, and then took Zhao Jinge back to Hexi Vige.

    ¡°Jinge, are you getting along well with those thugs? They are going to invite you for a drink,¡± after walking for a while Jiang Zhen asked casually.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s expression suddenly became extremely tangled when he heard these words.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen, seeing that Zhao Jinge¡¯s expression was not quite right, got worried. Was there something else to it?

    ¡°They¡­. He said he would invite me to drink flower wine.¡± Zhao Jinge said, somewhat uneasy that Jiang Zhen would be angry.

    Jiang Zhen noticed his mood, but he was not angry at all. Instead, heughed as he grabbed Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen angrily. Jiang Zhen¡¯s reaction was different from what he expected.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect it.¡± Jiang Zhen chuckled. ¡°How could they invite you to drink flower wine instead of inviting me?¡± Zhao Jinge looked very serious, and was very old-fashioned. He didn¡¯t look like someone who would really drink flower wine.

    Zhao Jinge immediately looked at Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen wanted to drink flower wine?!

    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t go and neither will you. We already are a family,¡± Jiang Zhen said. His eyes flickered slightly ¨C those people even wanted to invite Zhao Jinge to drink flower wine¡­. Ha-ha!

    ¡°Um.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. People with families should not drink flower wine!

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, wasn¡¯t what you did today bad?¡± after another couple of steps Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help asking. Was it really OK for Jiang Zhen to rob Liu Heitou like this?

    ¡°I have always been a man who returns the favor, and he always must pay the price of provoking me,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile. He still had a good sense of how to do things. He would never let Liu Heitou jump the wall. The gambling house was really not a good thing and as for other things¡­.

    Young Master Zheng and Manager Zhang hoped he would teach the restless Liu Heitou a lesson.

    Thinking that Liu Heitou had evene to make trouble when he was getting married to Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge thought that what they did today was nothing.

    However, when Jiang Zhen said ¡°return the favor¡± it made him feel a little uneasy.

    It was because of his kindness that Jiang Zhen was so good to him. If it had been someone else to save Jiang Zhen in the first ce¡­.

    However, this was also a good thing. Jiang Zhen would repay his kindness, and he would not abandon him suddenly.

    When he figured this out, Zhao Jinge smiled.

    ¡°Jinge, is there anything you want?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zhao Jinge shook his head. He was notcking anything now, so¡­.

    Zhao Jinge looked at the small silver bracelet that the thug had put in his hand and felt his heart throb. He wanted a child now, a child from Jiang Zhen.

    If they had children, their family would not fall apart.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get something to eat.¡± Seeing Zhao Jinge shake his head, Jiang Zhen pondered for a moment and then knocked on the door of a family house they passed by.

    There were two newly grown up roosters in this family courtyard. Jiang Zhen bought one of them and carried it home.

    Since Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want anything, he would buy something to eat.

    By the time Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge returned, Zhao Liu had already finished preparing dinner.

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll clean up this rooster and we will add another dish in the evening,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Even if Jiang Zhen was rich now, he shouldn¡¯t be so extravagant. Zhao Liu hesitated a little. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it today, I have already prepared steamed eggs with bacon.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s cook it and celebrate!¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°I¡¯ll get the knife.¡±

    Jiang Zhen went straight to get the knife and when Zhao Liu saw he couldn¡¯t be persuaded, she hurriedly went in the house to get a bowl. Chicken blood couldn¡¯t be wasted!

    Jiang Zhen could kill the chicken but Zhao Liu didn¡¯t want to let Jiang Zhen get involved in the business of plucking feathers and cleaning the internal organs of the chicken. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t try to force it either. Knowing that Zhao Fugui and the others were still on the field, he went there nning to help them with the work and then call them for the meal.

    ¡°Jinge, you should keep an eye on Jiang Zhen and not let him spend money recklessly,¡± as soon as Jiang Zhen left, Zhao Liu said to Zhao Jinge. ¡°The future is long. Now that we have spent all our money, what are we going to do in the future?¡±

    ¡°Mother¡­¡­¡± Zhao Jinge took the bamboo basket he was carrying and showed Zhao Liu the silver inside.

    Zhao Liu covered her chest feeling like she could no longer breathe. ¡°This¡­ This¡­ Another hundred silver?¡±

    ¡°About two hundred,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen gave us one hundred silver before, and this time he gave us two hundred silver. We can buy another 15 mu of paddy field and then our family will have 20 mu of paddy field. We will be even richer than the Jiang family!¡± Zhao Liu said.

    ¡°Um.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded.

    Zhao Liu used to think that it was too wasteful to buy a chicken to eat, but now¡­.

    She quickly dealt with the chicken.

    People in Hexi basically filled an iron pot with water to cook the chicken, and when the chicken was cooked, they would take it out and cut it into pieces to eat. They were also reluctant to throw away the water used to boil the chicken, so they basically collected it and used it for cooking. However, if the chicken was cooked like this, it would take at least half an hour. It was too slow, so Zhao Liu decided to cook the chicken in soy sauce.

    The whole chicken was cut into small pieces, and the chicken¡¯s belly was put in the pot to fry for a while. Then Zhao Liu boiled out the oil, turned the cut pieces of chicken and slightly stir-fried them, added soy sauce and water, and waited for it to cook slowly.

    When Jiang Zhen came back with Zhao Fugui, Zhao Liu had already finished preparing the chicken and had asked Zhao Jinge to bring a small bowl to Sun Xiaoshan.

    These days, Sun Xiaoshan went to catch either snails or fish every day. When he caught some, he brought them all to Zhao Liu, who was very grateful to him for it.

    In the evening, there was arge bowl of braised chicken on the table, a bowl of steamed eggs and bacon, as well as beans and fried garlic sprouts cooked with pickles.

    While talking about the chicken, ducks, and the vegetables she had nted at home, Zhao Liu gave Jiang Zhen a chicken leg.

    Jiang Zhen put the drumstick directly into her bowl, and gave Zhao Fugui the onother one.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, you eat them.¡±

    As for Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen gave him two pieces of chicken breast. In modern times, except for those who wanted to lose weight, hardly anyone liked eating chicken breast, but in ancient times, chicken breast was a good thing. After all, it was a whole piece of meat. Of course, for Jiang Zhen, the taste of chicken wings was better when they had enough oil and water.

    Two chicken wings were almost gnawed clean by Jiang Zhen but one of chicken wing was given to Zhao Jinge. ¡°This one tastes best. Try it.¡±

    Zhao Jinge ate the chicken wing with delight, while Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu slowly nibbled on the chicken legs.

    Zhao Liu was still fine. She had not been in the best of health, so in the past, when they killed a chicken as a sacrifice to their ancestors during the New Year Festival, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge often left the chicken legs to her to eat. But Zhao Fugui, he hadn¡¯t eaten drumsticks in decades. He was a big man. How could he eat drumsticks? That was what Zhao Fugui thought, but there was a smile on his face.

    The next day, Zhao Liu started chatting to other people again.

    ¡°Our family¡¯s Jiang Zhen is reallyvish. He bought a chicken on his way back and had to eat it on the same day. We ate almost the whole chicken in one sitting . . . Even so, he still had to give the chicken legs to me and my old man. We said we are already so old, so why should we eat chicken legs?¡±

    The people listening to Zhao Liu were ¡°. . .¡± Who can afford to eat chicken legs these days? You are only showing off! This Zhao Liu talking like that was just too irritating!

    People grew even more envious of Zhao Liu. Then the news reached Hexi Vige that Jiang Zhen of the Zhao family went so far as to take people to close down Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house! Liu Heitou hadn¡¯t even dared to say a word!

    On the day of Jiang Zhen¡¯s marriage with Zhao Jinge, Liu Heitou went to the Zhao family¡¯s house to make trouble, which made many people in Hexi Vige sympathize with the Zhao family, thinking that the Zhao family would meet bad luck sooner orter. As it turned out, Jiang Zhen could even shut down Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house! How did Jiang Zhen suddenly be so powerful? He used to be a dullhead anyone could bully!

    ¡°I heard that Jiang Zhen also became a manager of the gambling house in the county town!¡±

    ¡°I also heard that Liu Heitou¡¯s men are working for him now.¡±

    ¡°Even more than that, even Liu Heitou himself has be his subordinate!¡±

    ¡°I heard that they took a few hundred silver from Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling shop yesterday. A few hundred silver!¡±

    ¡°Now that Jiang Zhen has money, the Zhao family are so lucky!¡±

 Chapter 66.2 - Jiang Zhen is blessed

    Chapter 66.2 ¨C Jiang Zhen is blessed

    These days, it could be said that the people in Hexi were talking about Jiang Zhen every day. Now that they were talking about Jiang Zhen again, they regretted that they hadn¡¯t married their daughters or gers to Jiang Zhen in the first ce.

    Olddy Jiang used to like listening to the neighborhood gossip, but at the moment, when she saw people gather together, she wanted to turn around and leave.

    ¡°From Butcher Jiang¡¯s house, from Butcher Jiang¡¯s house!¡± Someone stopped old Madam Jiang.

    Olddy Jiang stopped with a cold look on her face, and then heard people saying, ¡°From Butcher Jiang¡¯s family, now everyone is saying that Jiang Zhen is a blessed man. Have you heard?¡±

    ¡°He is a star of evil. How can he be a blessed man!¡± Olddy Jiang almost blew up.

    ¡°He is indeed blessed. Think about it. When you were pregnant with him, Butcher Jiang got the chance to join the army. Later, he came back with a lot of money. After he came back, the life of your family got better day by day . . . But after he left your house . . . Tut-tut!¡± The person paused at this point, but the meaning could not have been any clearer.

    Since Jiang Zhen left the Jiang family house, the life of the Jiang family had turned sadder and sadder. There were people quarreling in the family every day.

    ¡°Now that Jiang Zhen has gone to the Zhao family, he became part of the Zhao family. The Zhao family treats him well and his blessing is growing bigger and bigger. . . ¡± the man said again.

    Zhao Liu praised Jiang Zhen outside all day. At a single nce, everyone knew that she was very satisfied with Jiang Zhen. Not only that, Jiang Zhen was also very kind to them. This olddy Jiang . . . she used to scold Jiang Zhen all day, so she was also scolding all of Jiang Zhen¡¯s blessings.

    Olddy Jiang looked at the man¡¯s gloating eyes and was so angry that she left with a cold face and hurried home. As soon as she returned, she was scolded by the angry-looking Butcher Jiang.

    ¡°Why are you running outside when there is still a lot of work at home?¡± Butcher Jiang looked at olddy Jiang in dissatisfaction.

    The second son went out to do business, the third son went to work in the county town, and their two daughters-inw couldn¡¯t be counted on. Butcher Jiang was very tired from his everyday work and became even more dissatisfied after seeing olddy Jiang.

    ¡°I¡¯m not running around! I was going to do theundry!¡± Old Madam Jiang was dissatisfied too. Where was she doing less work?

    The Jiang family members immediately started quarreling again.

    There was also another family that was noisy.

    Since he was tied up by his sons, Father He had been well-behaved for some time. He even helped Mother He with some of the work at home, which made her very happy. But after learning that Jiang Zhen had managed to close down Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house and became the manager of Hongxing Gambling House, the wheels in Father He¡¯s head started moving.

    Jiang Zhen was so powerful. If his son could marry him . . .

    Although He Qiusheng was good-looking, the He family had always lived in a small vige and had never seen much of the world, so they were already satisfied, as long as He Qiusheng could marry a slightly richer person. And wasn¡¯t Jiang Zhen a rich man now?

    ¡°Qiusheng, what a good candidate Jiang Zhen is! You must hurry up!¡± Father He persuaded repeatedly. ¡°Even if you be his concubine, as long as you can get his love, what is the difference between the first wife and the concubine? Zhao Jinge is not only ugly but also old. I also heard that his cinnabar was dim in the past. I don¡¯t know if he can even give birth to a child. If you give birth to a son to Jiang Zhen . . .¡±

    ¡°Dad! Stop it!¡± He Qiusheng was angry and annoyed.

    ¡°Why are you so mean to me? I¡¯m doing it for you. I like Jiang Zhen. He can provide you with several hundred silver!¡± Father He said. Jiang Zhen had be the manager of Hongxing Gambling House. If he could be Jiang Zhen¡¯s father-inw . . .

    ¡°Dad, in Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart, there is only Zhao Jinge. If you talk nonsense again, I will tie you up again!¡±

    When He Chunsheng came home to pick up his things, he heard what his father was talking about and was furious.

    Father He was silent, but the wheels in his head hidden behind his eyelids were still turning.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what was happening in Hexi. He took Zhao Jinge to the county town early in the morning.

    Zheng Yi said that he would open a gambling house for Jiang Zhen to manage, but the gambling house was not yet in sight for now, and Jiang Zhen could only get involved in the original gambling house, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t have to do any work at the moment but was paid a manager¡¯s sry.

    After going around the gambling shop, he told Manager Zhang that there was something going on at home. He was afraid he would not be able toe over for some time.

    Manager Zhang was very eager for Jiang Zhen to stay away from the gambling house, so he was d that something was going on in his family and sent Jiang Zhen away with a smile. Then Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to the docks and bought all the chicken and ducks that were being sold.

    ¡°So many chicks and ducklings, what are you going to do with them?¡± Someone looked puzzled at Jiang Zhan. Jiang Zhen bought more than thirty ducklings and more than forty chicks. No one would raise so many chicks and ducklings, right? How much food did they want to eat?

    ¡°Raise them and sell for money,¡± Jiang Zhen responded casually.

    ¡°How can you sell so many chicken and ducks . . .¡± The man looked at Jiang Zhen in bewilderment.

    Jiang Zen didn¡¯t say anything. But adding up to almost one hundred chicken and ducks, would there still be no room to sell them? It was just enough for a big family throwing a banquet.

    Rowing the boat, Jiang Zhen went home with a brood of chicks and ducklings.

    Those chicks and ducklings they had been raising before were all kept in thend that Jiang Zhen bought. They let them out in the fenced area during the day and locked them in the shed at night. These young chicken and ducks which were still too small were taken care of by Zhao Liu and Sun Xiaoshan.

    Jiang Zhen paid Wang Haisheng, Sun Xiaoshan, He Chunsheng, and He Xiasheng to help them do tasks around and taught the young men some skills every morning.

    Jiang Zhen basically gave these people all the work of rising the chicken and ducks, as well as the work in the field, while he himself took Zhao Jinge with him every day and started gathering Liu Heitou¡¯s former subordinates.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen had a lot of pricks under hismand, but they were all won over by him, so now, he was naturally not afraid of dealing with a group of thugs who couldn¡¯t even read a single word. The only thing he needed to pay attention to was weeding out those who had naturally bad characters and those who wouldn¡¯t fit in his team. Jiang Zhen did all of this for the sake of his own future, but his favorite thing to do at the moment was actually exercising at night.

    Although Zhao Jinge was shy, he was very obedient. He never refused any requests he made, which was simply too much to his liking. Of course, he had no special hobbies and would not make any excessive demands.

    ¡°Jinge, let¡¯s clean up for today. Wait . . .¡± After the meal, Jiang Zhen was thinking about their evening.

    ¡°Ok . . . ¡± Zhao Jinge replied in a low voice and touched his stomach ¨C he didn¡¯t know when he would have a baby . . .

 Chapter 67.1 - -Training his men

    Chapter 67.1 -Training his men

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by Anon and Lalorena

    After fooling around with Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen immediately felt satisfied. He caressed Zhao Jinge¡¯s body over and over again and then embraced Zhao Jinge, so that their bodies stuck to each other tightly.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t refuse him at first, but after being cuddled for a while, he couldn¡¯t help pushing Jiang Zhen away. ¡°It¡¯s too hot.¡±

    Now that the weather was getting hotter and hotter, their mattress was also reced by a straw mat. Under such circumstances, sleeping together was clearly a torment!

    ¡°Just get used to it . . .¡± Jiang Zhen was actually also a little hot, but he just liked holding Zhao Jinge and really didn¡¯t want to let him go. The ces where they touched were wet with sweat. Was that something one could get used to? It was just that Jiang Zhen had such a small request, wouldn¡¯t it be bad for him to decline it?

    Zhao Jinge was hesitating when Jiang Zhen suddenly pressed him down, kissing him fiercely for a while. Then he released him, saying, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll leave you alone. Go to bed early.¡±

    Jiang Zhen wanted to be intimate with Zhao Jinge, but he also knew that should they continue cuddling, Zhao Jinge absolutely would not sleep well, so he gave up on that n.

    These days, Zhao Jinge followed him outside every day, and he was tired.

    Jiang Zheny beside Zhao Jinge and didn¡¯t bother him anymore. Zhao Jinge felt much cooler now, but was somehow lost.

    Just then, Jiang Zhen suddenly reached out to take his hand. Zhao Jinge, even though his hand was sweaty, did not let it go either.

    These days, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to bed early and got up early, but Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui, who were older and already slept less, still got up earlier than they did.

    By the time they left the house, Zhao Liu was already cooking porridge, while Zhao Fugui was feeding the piglets and cleaning the pigsty. Just a few days ago, Zhao Fugui bought two piglets and nned to kill one for the Spring Festival and sell the other one.

    Raising pigs was dirty work, but Zhao Fugui handled it seriously and felt very satisfied. These were his own pigs; this was for his family! As long as he thought of it like this, Zhao Fugui was full of energy. Before, Jiang Zhen wanted him to find someone else to help, but Zhao Fugui disapproved.

    When older people had something to do, it made their bodies healthier. When Jiang Zhen thought of it this way, he no longer insisted on keeping Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu from working. He just brought some meat home every day to make them eat better.

    In modern times, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu, who were in their fifties, should be careful about eating too much greasy food, but it was not necessary in this situation. Nowadays, the people here were reluctant to use animal fat in their fried dishes. The fat content of pork was considerably lower than that of pork in the modern era. As for the chicken and ducks . . . In modern times, many chicken and ducks had ayer of fat under their skin. The wife of Jiang Zhen¡¯srade, whether she ate chicken or duck, would peel the skin before cooking. Meanwhile, in this era, finding a piece of chicken fat in the chicken belly was already enough to make ancient people happy for a long time.

    It was just after dawn, and it was too early to go out. Jiang Zhen took out the sand table he had made himself and taught Zhao Jinge how to read.

    He read the schrly book from that time and then found that many phrases had something like ¡°Heaven¡±, ¡°Earth¡± , ¡°Yellow¡± , and ¡°Universe¡± that he could neither understand nor exin, so he threw that book away and only taught Zhao Jinge numbers and arithmetic. In Jiang Zen¡¯s opinion, counting was just as important as recognizing words. Previously, he watched a schr buy some things, and he simply could not count them.

    Zhao Jinge was older and couldn¡¯t learn as fast as a child, but he was more diligent than a child, so his speed of learning was not slow. However, after seven or eight days, he had only learned seventy or eighty simple words.

    ¡°How do you write ¡®Jiang Zhen¡¯? ¡± Zhao Jinge asked suddenly.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned. He taught Zhao Jinge to read Chinese characters step by step because he did not know many traditional characters himself. He had to learn them himself before he could teach Zhao Jinge, so he forgot to teach Zhao Jinge to write their names.

    As a result, Zhao Jinge asked to learn how to write his name.

    Jiang Zhen smiled, took out a piece of white paper from the side and wrote ¡°Jiang Zhen¡±. He wrote it in regr script, as well as in simplified characters.

    It was only after Jiang Zhen had finished that he noticed that he had inadvertently made a mistake. He wanted to write it again, but after thinking about it for a while, he gave up on this n.

    He nned to learn traditional Chinese characters, so Zhao Jinge could also learn traditional Chinese characters, but if it was just his name, it wouldn¡¯t matter if Zhao Jinge wrote it in simplified Chinese characters.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen¡± in simplified Chinese characters was only slightly different from the traditional Chinese characters.

    ¡°This is my name.¡± Jiang Zhen gave Zhao Jinge the paper in his hand, and then wrote it several times on the sand table to show it to Zhao Jinge. ( https://.google.pl/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws%2Fyfulchaos.prod%2Fimages%2Fwriting.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fyfulchaos%2F2016%2F11%2Fmontessori-sandpaper-sandtray.html&tbnid=Co5N1HVdqU-aSM&vet=12ahUKEwj9xYq7mp3pAhVGlKQKHZmOAkAQMyhNegUIARCgAQ..i&docid=Fir88JlZVcYnRM&w=640&h=399&q=%E6%B2%99%E7%9B%98%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%99%E8%B5%B7&hl=pl&ved=2ahUKEwj9xYq7mp3pAhVGlKQKHZmOAkAQMyhNegUIARCgAQ )

    Zhao Jinge wrote ¡°Jiang Zhen¡± on the sand table, one stroke at a time.

    Seeing his serious expression, Jiang Zhen suddenly wanted to kiss him, but before he could do anything, Zhao Liu shouted from outside, ¡°Jiang Zhen, Jinge, it¡¯s time to eat!¡±

    In the morning, they ate porridge and salted vegetables. Jiang Zhen was a bit hungry and thirsty, so he drank three bowls in one breath. Zhao Jinge¡¯s appetite was not any smaller than his, and he also drank three big bowls in one breath.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen let Wang Haisheng and the He brothers row the boat and took them and Zhao Jinge to Qiaotou. These days, Jiang Zhen basically lived in Qiaotou Vige. He upied Liu Heitou¡¯s gambling house and used it as a ce to train his men.

    In addition to Wang Haisheng, He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng, Jiang Zhen now had a number of subordinates. Among them, there were some from the gambling house and those who once worked under Liu Heitou. Now that they had joined him, they all added up to more than thirty people. Even Liu Heitou himself was among them.

    At the beginning, Liu Heitou was reluctant to follow Jiang Zhen. He could not afford to lose face. However, after Jiang Zhen closed his gambling house that day, he beat him up again the next day and threatened him along the way.

    He wanted to find Manager Zhang to stand up for him, but Manager Zhang didn¡¯t care about it at all. In the end, he had no choice but to follow Jiang Zhen and be one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates.

    A few days ago, he was still a leader, but in the blink of an eye, he became a small soldier in the hands of others. One could easily imagine how frustrated Liu Heitou was. However, Jiang Zhen was always watching him and had to deal with him from time to time . . .

    Seeing Jiang Zhen taking people to Qiaotou from afar, Liu Heitou¡¯s face darkened again.

    Jiang Zhen started training his men again.

    At the beginning, he drew a big pie chart for those who would follow him andid down some rules for them before he started training them, standing in a military posture and walking in a square formation in the morning. At noon, he carried out ideological education, and in the afternoon, they did physical exercises.

    Jiang Zhen had to admit that these people were the hardest people he had ever trained. In modern kindergartens, children already knew how to line up, but people here didn¡¯t. They couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between left and right. At the same time, Jiang Zhen asked them to do some boring exercises, and these unskilled thugs refused.

    But it didn¡¯t stop him from doing it. These people were just people who had no rules or discipline and had never trained. Jiang Zhen felt that if he was in danger in the future, these people would run away in droves!

 Chapter 67.2 - Training his men

    Chapter 67.2 ¨C Training his men

    When he asked them to do those military school exercises, it was not to make their team look neat and be unified, but he hoped that these people could learn how to obey orders and have a bit of team spirit.

    After they gatheted together, Jiang Zhen trained with them again, making them stand up straight and do some unified movements.

    Among these people, Zhao Jinge was the best one. He listened to Jiang Zhen well, and at night, Jiang Zhen asionally even asked him to take off his clothes and stand in the army posture. Naturally, he learned very well. Next was Wang Haisheng and the He brothers, as well as the two men from Qiaotou. As for the rest of the people, their learning was sloppy, and some were particrly resistant.

    ¡°Fuck it! I quit! Jiang Zhen, you are deliberately tormenting me, right? What on earth do you want me to learn from all this?¡± Liu Heitou, who was tossed around by Jiang Zhen, got angry again, swearing while looking warily at Jiang Zhen. If nothing unexpected happened, Jiang Zhen would go up and beat him!

    Jiang Zhen did beat him. He had been fighting with Liu Heitou a lot. Jiang Zhen had figured out Liu Heitou¡¯s style, but Liu Heitou hadn¡¯t figured out his, so Jiang Zhen could defeat him more and more easily. No, it didn¡¯t take long for him to trounce Liu Heitou again, who was beaten up ck and blue, his nose bruised.

    ¡°Liu Heitou, are you sure you don¡¯t want to learn anymore and leave?¡± Jiang Zhen smiled narrowly at Liu Heitou, whose face was again swollen from the pinches.

    Liu Heitou immediately fell silent and obediently returned to the group. At the same time, all the people who participated in the training felt refreshed and did not dare to bezy anymore.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with this situation, which had be a normal thing for this group these days. In fact, he was very grateful to Liu Heitou. Every time Liu Heitou came up to provoke him or urged his men to provoke him, he could trounce them and make them more and more obedient . . .

    What should you do with the disobedient soldiers in the barracks? Of course, just beat them and make them listen! As for the provocative instructor, it was really nothing in Jiang Zhen¡¯s opinion. He used to be dissatisfied with his instructors and wanted to beat them . . . At that time, he was not as strong as he was now, and each time, the consequences were the same as those for Liu Heitou now. But even if he knew he couldn¡¯t beat up the instructor, he still wanted to provoke him. Liu Heitou probably felt the same.

    After beating Liu Heitou, Jiang Zhen continued the training refreshed and didn¡¯t return to Hexi until the evening.

    In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. Jiang Zhen encountered a lot of trouble in the early days of teaching these people, but as time passed, they became more and more obedient. Under Jiang Zhen¡¯s special guidance there were ideas such as ¡°What Jiang Zhen said is reasonable¡±, ¡°Jiang Zhen is really strong¡±, and ¡°They are all adult men and will make a career in the future¡±ing from these thugs. Thus, they trusted Jiang Zhen more and more. In this era most people were living in ignorance.

    When reading historical books, some people in modern times got confused, wondering why ancient people did not resist after experiencing all kinds of injustice. They could not understand why a soldier could control dozens of people who were doing corv¨¦e, and those people didn¡¯t dare to say a word even when they were beaten, scolded, or whipped.

    Jiang Zhen had doubts before, but in this era, he understood the reason. In fact, at present , most people lived in ignorance. It was like when a group of zebras were attacked by lions, and a lion took one of them. After the initial confusion, the zebras rxed again and continued to eat grass and run around. They felt that this was their lot in life, and naturally, it couldn¡¯t be changed by the death of one of their kind.

    It was the same with the people in this era. The vast majority ofmon people had never read a book, and their lives only revolved around their neighborhood. Their lives consisted of farming, eating, and having children, and then letting their sons continue farming, eating, and having children.

    In the beginning, the fact that the Jiang family was able to prosper had a lot to do with Butcher Jiang going away to join the army. Now, these people under Jiang Zhen¡¯smand were all ignorant. Before, they never thought about what they could do or achieve. They just wanted to apany Liu Heitou in eating and drinking and make enough money to afford a bride and buy somend. But now, Jiang Zhen instilled some other ideas in them.

    They were men who could go out and do something big instead of staying in such a small ce and doing things like bullying their neighbors. As long as they had perseverance, one day, they might be able to return home riding a big horse and going to a restaurant for dinner, which would impress people. This world was by no means limited to just the small area of Hecheng County. In fact, it was very, veryrge and boundless.

    With the passage of time, those who were very resistant to training at the beginning gradually started working hard. When they no longer had the mentality to resist, the effect of their training also became evident.

    In this era,mon people lived a hard life, and they were able to bear the hardships. As long as Jiang Zhen gave them meat every day, they were not afraid of suffering or fatigue. Of course, for Liu Heitou it was not rare to eat meat, but he was still afraid of Jiang Zhen. He was afraid of Jiang Zhen, but also unable to defeat Jiang Zhen, and now his own men had be Jiang Zhen¡¯s men . . . Liu Heitou settled down peacefully; he could only speak ill of Jiang Zhen in private.

    However, now that everyone was extremely tired from their training, how many people were willing to listen to him toss and turn and say bad things about Jiang Zhen?

    That day, after the morning training was over, all of them ran to the mess hall. The two people hired by Jiang Zhen had already prepared the meal. It was pork and pickles soup with steamed eggnt and stir-fried amaranth. In the past, they used to rush to grab their meals, but since then Jiang Zhen had established the rule that no matter what they did, they had to line up and follow the rules. Therefore, everyone took two bowls, one for rice and another one for the other dishes, in an orderly fashion.

    Each person had a scoop of pork and pickled vegetable soup. In each scoop, there was a piece of pork the size of two fingers. As for the steamed eggnt and the fried amaranth, there was also one scoop per person. That was what these people ate, and Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge too.

    Letting someone pour the pickled pork soup over the rice, the other two dishes were put in the bowl. Jiang Zhen took the bowls and together with Zhao Jinge found a table to sit down and eat. This ce used to be a gambling house, so naturally, there were many tables. But now these gambling tables had be dining tables.

    After sitting down, Jiang Zhen ate quickly. After a while, he had eaten all his food, and then watched Zhao Jinge eat with a smile.

    Zhao Jinge liked saving the most delicious food forst. After eating all the rice and the stir fry, he put the meat into his mouth and tasted it slowly.

    ¡°One day, my Jinge will be able to eat whatever he wants.¡± Jiang Zhen touched Zhao Jinge¡¯s head.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen puzzled. In his opinion, his life now was already too good to be true. If he could eat whatever he wanted, wouldn¡¯t he just want to eat more meat? And . . . he thought that if they went on like this, they would be poor.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, is it really alright to spend money like this? Do you still have money?¡±

    Although Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t paying his men for now, even if they only had lunch at noon, he had already spent a lot of money in the past half a month. In the future, they would still need to give them money to support their families; otherwise, why should they follow Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It won¡¯t be long before I can make money,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    The people under hismand had be obedient. With such a group of people, would he still need to worry about not making money?

    No one knew when the gambling house promised by Zheng Yi would open, but Jiang Zhen had already figured out another way to make money.

 Chapter 68.1 - Business in the county town

    Chapter 68.1 ¨C Business in the county town

    While Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were trying to figure out how to arrange their subordinates, their subordinates were paying attention to Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    The former boss Liu Heitou was quite different from Jiang Zhen. Liu Heitou asked them to do things and let them make money for themselves, but it was not good for them and if it was good, he would only give it to his cousins and not to them. He was always acting superior.

    Jiang Zhen was different. These days, Jiang Zhen ate the same food as them and was training with them. Even Zhao Jinge was training with them. That made them feel valued and felt less and less reluctant to train.

    ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t realize that Zhao Jinge was a ger. In the beginning, I wanted to invite him to drink flower wine . . . ¡± a thug of the gambling house couldn¡¯t help saying.

    As a matter of fact, Hongxing Gambling House usually didn¡¯t need that many thugs, as long as someone was there to maintain order. After Jiang Zhen asked those people to follow him, he left five thugs who he didn¡¯t want to follow him to watch over the gambling house and then put the rest of them under hismand.

    The man who once wanted to invite Zhao Jinge to drink flower wine was Ding Lian, one of the people he had gotten under hismand. It was only after two days of training with Jiang Zhen that he learned from Liu Heitou that Zhao Jinge was Jiang Zhen¡¯s ger. When he first heard about it, he thought that Liu Heitou was trying to deceive him and didn¡¯t believe it at all. After all, Zhao Jinge really did not look like a ger at all. However, the people in Qiaotou Vige all knew that Zhao Jinge was Jiang Zhen¡¯s ger. Some of them had gone to the Zhao family house to make trouble on the day Jiang Zhen got married, and some had even seen them wed with their own eyes.

    ¡°Not only you didn¡¯t see it, I didn¡¯t expect it either,¡± someone said with humility.

    ¡°Who could have thought he was a ger? He is taller than me!¡±

    ¡°By the way, he is a ger. Why did Jiang Zhen let him train with us?¡±

    ¡°Boss Jiang . . . is all about treating him as a man . . .¡±

    The people were all somewhat speechless, and they were even more sympathetic towards Zhao Jinge. He was obviously a ger, but he was brought to train every day by his husband. This was not a normal life for a ger at all. Jiang Zhen was so rich. Shouldn¡¯t his ger, just like Liu Heitou¡¯s wife, only look after the children at home every day and oversee the women hired by their family to do the work?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t find it hard. This kind of training was nothing to him. It even made him feel closer to Jiang Zhen. He wanted to learn more, so that he could help Jiang Zhen in the future.

    After the meal, Jiang Zhen called those people to gather and began his brainwashing education. He used to take a lot of political sses, and although he hadn¡¯t listened carefully, it was still enough to instill some ideas into these people.

    Jiang Zhen had no patience for long speeches, so he only spoke for a bit, encouraging these people, and then asked them to have a lunch break. After an hour, it was time for the physical training. It was only after fighting these people that Jiang Zhen realized that their physical strength and endurance were really average.

    Near the forest of Qiaotou, more than thirty people had bamboo poles in their hands, and they were swinging them, repeating the movements of their hands over and over again, swinging the poles without stopping.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t teach these people too many skills; he only wanted to improve their coordination and physical fitness, but it was different for Zhao Jinge. He let Wang Haisheng take these people to do some repetitive training while Jiang Zhen taught Zhao Jinge his fighting skills.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s body was softer than Jiang Zhen¡¯s. In Jiang Zhen¡¯s opinion, it would be very suitable for Zhao Jinge to learnbat skills, so he taught him very attentively. He hoped that Zhao Jinge would have the ability to protect himself.

    Fighting skills, of course, couldn¡¯t be just learned by talking about it. Actualbat was required. Jiang Zhen tried to hold back his strength, but in other people¡¯s eyes . . . Jiang Zhen was beating his own ger!

    Their boss liked to train people, even his own wife couldn¡¯t be let go. If one thought about it carefully, only a ger like Zhao Jinge could bear it

    . . .

    When Jiang Zhen¡¯s men saw this scene, they sighed one after another. During their break, Ding Lian went to Zhao Jinge and whispered, ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Zhao Jinge said. Although Jiang Zhen¡¯s strikes fell on his shoulders several times, he held back his strength. It didn¡¯t hurt at all and he didn¡¯t fall to the ground. It was just . . . Jiang Zhen would unexpectedly pinch his ass whenever he fell on him. He didn¡¯t know if the others had seen it . . . As soon as Zhao Jinge thought that someone might have seen such a scene, his face felt very hot.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you are alright.¡± Ding Lian looked at Zhao Jinge sympathetically.

    Jiang Zhen did not know that his men felt sympathy for his wife. He was currently revising the punishment and reward measures. Those who did not do well would be punished, and those who did well would be rewarded. This was stipted at the beginning of the training by Jiang Zhen. But these days, the punishment was basically just running and frog jumping and simr things, and the reward was money or food. However, the content of each stage of training was different, so naturally, these measures had to be slightly changed too . . .

    When he saw Jiang Zhen writing, Zhao Jinge took a branch and also wrote on the ground. He didn¡¯t write anything else except for Jiang Zhen¡¯s name, and then he wrote his own name. Looking at their names next to each other, he felt satisfied.

    That evening, Jiang Zhen disbanded these people very early. Before they left, he gave each of them a bunch of copper coins and clothes ording to their performance.

    The clothes were made from the mostmon coarse fabric, but the style was slightly different frommon clothes. These clothes were provided by Jiang Zhen, who had asked Zhao Liu to find a woman from Hexi to make them these days.

    ¡°Are these clothes?¡± Ding Lian looked at the clothes with surprise.

    In fact, they were not short of clothes, but even so, Jiang Zhen giving them clothes made them somewhat excited, especially those like Ding Lian.

    Ding Lian became a thug because there was no one in his family. Although in the past he earned a lot of silver every month, no one advised him, so he always spent his money carelessly. His clothes and other things, because no one cared, were always dirty and worn till they turned into rags . . . When he suddenly got a new set of clothes with fine stitches, Ding Lian felt somewhat homesick.

    Of course, there were also those who were not satisfied with these clothes, such as Liu Heitou. But being beaten by Jiang Zhen for such a long time, even if he was not happy about it and dissatisfied, he did not dare to protest.

    ¡°You should all wear these clothes tomorrow ande here early.¡± Jiang Zhen handed out the clothes before going home.

    The next day, he was taking these people to the county town.

 Chapter 68.2 - Business in the county town

    Chapter 68.2 ¨C Business in the county town

    Currently, the pace of the whole society was very slow. For example, a letter would take more than a month before it was delivered to its recipient.

    After Zheng Yi got the cards, he was bent on making it big, but he couldn¡¯t prepare that quickly. Half a month had passed, and although many of the lowest grade cards had been printed, the higher grade cards couldn¡¯t be printed and needed to be painted individually. The drawing needed to be exquisite, so the speed was slow.

    Under such circumstances, Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t open the gambling house that he had promised to Jiang Zhen, and he couldn¡¯t let the gambling house be opened in advance, so he simply asked Manager Zhang to send fifty silver to Jiang Zhen and let Jiang Zhen take it easy and wait for a bit longer. He already knew that Jiang Zhen was training people and was eager to do something.

    Jiang Zhen epted the fifty silver, but he didn¡¯t intend to wait while doing nothing. Instead, he asked Manager Zhang if he had a big boat he could rent.

    In the south of the Yangtze River, goods were transported by ships. The Zheng family had dozens of ships,rge and small. Some of these ships were currently in use, but some were avable. After Manager Zhang asked around, he rented arge ship to Jiang Zhen.

    When Jiang Zhen rented the ship, he contacted Yang Jing and asked him to help him contact some merchants who needed their goods to be transported. Jiang Zhen¡¯s way of making money was nothing else but logistics.

    Nowadays, businessmen did business on their own, each doing their own transport, and asionally, they would share ships with others merchants, but for safety reasons and in order to avoid being killed, only businessmen who were very close to each other would do so. In this way, it inevitably led to wasted resources and increased costs.

    But since Jiang Zhen had rented the big ship, merchants could bring their goods on board of his ship, as long as they paid a small fee . . .

    As soon as Yang Jing mentioned it, many businessmen were interested. However, they had to wait until they met Jiang Zhen before making their decision.

    Jiang Zhen went down to Hecheng county town in order to meet the merchants contacted by Yang Jing. Jiang Zhen had rented a courtyard near Hecheng county town where he would meet the merchants.

    Before the appointed time, the businessmen of Hecheng county town went there one after another. The owner of the porcin shop, who had done business with Jiang Zhen before, wanted to go out of town to buy a batch of porcin this time. It was easy to encounter danger if he went there by a hired boat, so as soon as he heard Yang Jing¡¯s words, he was immediately tempted and arrived early.

    As soon as he arrived, he saw a lot of familiar faces. There were also some shop owners among them. One who was familiar with him was a silk trader named Li Mingzhe. All the people around Hecheng county grew mulberry and raised silkworms. This man bought cocoons and sold them every year. He also sold cloth woven by gers and women. Although he never opened a shop, he was very rich.

    ¡°Brother Li, you are also here?¡± When the owner of the porcin shop saw him, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

    ¡°Boss Zhou, long time no see.¡± Li Mingzhe greeted the owner of the porcin shop with a smile.

    ¡°I heard that Brother Li is going to have another addition to his family. Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Together we rejoice.¡± Li Mingzhe couldn¡¯t help smiling at the thought that he was going to have another child.

    The two men exchanged pleasantries, and Li Mingzhe inquired about Jiang Zhen from the owner of the porcin shop.

    He had boats on his hands, but they all had boats. It was very troublesome to send deliveries, not only because of the boats but also because they had to select trustworthy people. So when he heard that someone could deliver the goods on his behalf this time, he immediately came to have a look.

    The owner of the porcin shop had always been living in the county town, and he knew a thing or two about Jiang Zhen, so he immediately told Li Mingzhe what he knew. For example, Jiang Zhen was working for the Zheng family¡¯s young master now, he was a fierce fighter, and he had collected a number of people under hismand.

    When Li Mingzhe heard this, he immediately felt that, if the price was right, he would let Jiang Zhen deliver the goods for him.

    At this time, other merchants had also gathered around the owner of the porcin shop to listen to him. Among these people, many were already excited. Of course, they still had to see Jiang Zhen and check his qualifications before making a decision.

    ¡°They areing,¡± said Yang Jing, who had alsoe to wait early, so at the moment he saw Jiang Zhen and the othersing over, he immediately told the others.

    Jiang Zhen had made a promise to him that he would get amission from this business deal, meaning he would get five silver for every one hundred silver of business earned . . . Under such circumstances, he was very active in promoting this business.

    When the merchants heard Yang Jing¡¯s words, they looked over and saw a group of peopleing from afar. These people were all tanned and thin, dressed in uniforms, looking very energetic, but what attracted them the most was the neatness of their movements! Each of them was only carrying a bamboo pole in his hands, but they all looked more imposing than the yamen officers who asionally went out together on the streets of the county town, wearing swords. Although they had never seen them fight, at a single nce at them, these merchants knew that these people were definitely good at fighting!

    If they encountered such a group of bandits when they went out to do business, they could only immediately beg for mercy, but if these people hade to protect them . . . What bandits would dare toe to steal their goods?

    When those businessmen saw such a group of people, they had already made a decision in their hearts. Then Jiang Zhen also reassured them.

    ¡°These people under mymand are all local people from Hecheng county. They all have families in Hecheng county, so it is impossible for them to leave everything behind and run away. I can guarantee that your people will arrive at their destination safely.¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t beat around the bush either. He spoke directly to the businessmen and then came up with a contract.

    ¡°By the way, this is the contract I have drawn up. You can take a look at it,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s contract was very detailed, it also stated that if there were any idents on the way, he would give them a certain amount aspensation. Of course, if there was an ident caused by a natural disaster, thepensation would be lost. If these merchants caused their own troubles, they would have to ask forpensation from those who had caused the troubles.

    These days, it was not umon for merchants to hire people to protect them; it was also not umon for these people to run away when they were in danger. So it was not umon for merchants to die or lose their goods, to the extent that small merchants could only think of themselves as unlucky. So seeing Jiang Zhen im that he would givepensation should they encounter bandits who would seize their goods, the merchants were both shocked and delighted and couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°This contract, I¡¯m signing it!¡± Li Mingzhe immediately said, and asked, ¡°Regarding the delivery of goods, can I not go?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You can send someone to follow us. If you trust me enough to pay the handling fee over there, I will help you deliver your goods,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Good!¡± Li Mingzhe was very satisfied. He himself did not like running outside. After all, there would always be some element of danger outside. Now that he didn¡¯t need to go, it was better for him than ever.

    Li Mingzhe was the first one to decide to sign, so Jiang Zhen paid a little more personal attention to him. Seeing the name written by Li Mingzhe and the address of Lijia Vige, he was surprised to see the thirty-something-year-old businessman. This person . . . seemed to be the one who had stolen Xue, the wife of Zhao Jinge¡¯s former fiance, Li Zugan . . .

    Jiang Zhen knew about Li Mingzhe, but Li Mingzhe didn¡¯t know about him. To him, it was just a concubine who came to have a baby. He didn¡¯t care about what happened before that concubine walked through his door, much less what his concubine¡¯s former man had done.

    After discussing with Jiang Zhen, he left a deposit of ten silver and asked Jiang Zhen to pick up the goods from Lijia Vige the next day and then left.

    With Li Mingzhe taking the lead, more and more people came to sign the contract and negotiate the terms.

 Chapter 69.1 - Going out together

    Chapter 69.1 ¨C Going out together

    Jiang Zhen was very cautious when he signed the contract with these merchants. He even made it clear that he woulde to see the situation first before he decided whether to do business with them or not. With such prudence, it made the merchants trust him even more.

    While Jiang Zhen was dealing with the businessmen, his men were confused. They used toe to these people¡¯s houses to collect debts, but now . . . they would protect these people¡¯s businesses? It was somewhat weird . . . But even though it felt strange, most of them were happy.

    It was better to do decent business than to be a thug, and when they stood there, dressed like that, people around them looked at them in awe, which felt really great! They vaguely remembered something that Jiang Zhen had said earlier that even though there were many . . . they might actually be able to make something of it.

    Jiang Zhen had been busy all day before he finished writing down the situation and address of all the merchants who wanted their goods to be delivered, then he had a lot to do.

    ¡°Jinge, how are you feeling today?¡± on the way home, Jiang Zhen asked Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge was a bit shocked. That day he didn¡¯t feel anything other than that Jiang Zhen was particrly powerful.

    Jiang Zhen smiled and put his arm around his shoulders, then they walked ahead together. While walking, Jiang Zhen talked with Zhao Jinge. For example, which businessman seemed to be unreliable or which businessman should be taken good care of, and that it could be a long-term business if they were sessful.

    ¡°I have too few people now . . .¡± Speaking of this, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but frown. At the moment, he didn¡¯t even have anyone under him who could read, and it would really be too troublesome for him to do everything himself.

    Jiang Zhen has more than thirty people under him. Is it still too few? Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise.

    In the current era, people seldom had business chains. After all, transportation was so inconvenient that even those big businessmen did not have many people. Jiang Zhen, thinking he had too few people, was really strange to Zhao Jinge. But Jiang Zhen had seen how developed the modern logistics industry was. He had only thirty people now, and he could only work in one line at a time. Under such circumstances, he naturally felt that he had too few people.

    ¡°Jinge, what do you think should be the name of our business?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°It needs a name?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it should have a name.¡± Jiang Zhenughed. ¡°How about . . . we just call it Jinzhen Escort Agency. I¡¯ll teach you how to write it when we get back.¡±

    Although there were escort agencies everywhere in martial arts novels, in fact, in the history of the world Jiang Zhen came from, escort agencies did not appear until the Qing Dynasty, and then they started growing rapidly. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, even many ministers of the central government hired an escort agency to protect them and their mansions.

    At that time, the escort agency became more and more powerful, and in some ces, even the government had to give way to the escort agency . . . Unfortunately, in the end, these escort agencies only flourished during this one dynasty before they disappeared.

    Of course, in the Ming Dynasty, before the Qing Dynasty, there were people who were escorting goods and protected the safety of merchants and even helped people collect debts and beat up people. When these people got together, they set up fists as sign.

    If this Daqi Dynasty continued to develop, it would probably also develop an escort agency. But at this moment, Jiang Zhen led a group of thugs to directly open an escort agency.

    After Jiang Zhen went back with Zhao Jinge, he told Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu that he had opened his own escort agency and would be going outside.

    Jiang Zhen was a man of great ideas and ability, so Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu naturally didn¡¯t try to stop him. After a moment¡¯s silence, Zhao Fugui only took out all the silver that Jiang Zhen had given him before.

    ¡°Take it. You always need to bring more silver with you when you go outside.¡±

    Originally, Zhao Fugui wanted to buynd after he got the silver, but he hadn¡¯t found a suitable plot, so he postponed it.

    ¡°Father, no need. I have some silver on hand, and those merchants already paid a deposit for the delivery of their goods,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    These days, unlike in modern society, they didn¡¯t charge a small fee for deliveries, so he actually charged a lot. ording to his spection, after this trip, after deducting various expenses and paying his subordinates, he would earn at least a few dozens of silver. This money didn¡¯t seem like a lot but it was a start.

    ¡°As long as you have a clear idea, you can rest assured that we will take good care of Jinge at home,¡± Zhao Fugui said, and took another look at Zhao Jinge.

    It had been almost a month since Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge got married. This month, they were very close and were inseparable, suggesting that his son might already carry a child in his belly. When Jiang Zhen went out this time, after he came back, Jinge might have a surprise for him. Even without children . . . now that they had money, they could take this opportunity to take care of Jinge in turn.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu prepared to have dinner.

    Jiang Zhen gave even his men meat to eat. Of course, it was impossible to treat Zhao Fugui and his wife badly. The Zhao family¡¯s meals were very good these days, allowing Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu to eat till they were full, making them even look several years younger.

    This evening, the Zhao family ate duck meat.

    Duck meat had a taste that some people couldn¡¯t stand, but in this era no one was picky about it and Zhao Liu only disliked theck of duck meat.

    Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice with braised duck meat, steamed eggnt, and fried cowpeas. Then he took Zhao Jinge back to their room and continued to teach him how to read and write Chinese characters. He himself was also learning how to read a few Chinese characters. He didn¡¯t want to practice his own handwriting, he just wanted to be able to write correctly so that he wouldn¡¯t need to consult others. He just needed to write slowly ording to the books. The only trouble was that he couldn¡¯t write small characters for the moment.

    In modern times, everyone practiced writingrge words, but in fact, the writing of ancient people was very small . . . It was not easy to write such a small word with a brush that was rtively symmetrical with a thick horizontal character and rtively well-proportioned at the same time. In order to practice his writing, Jiang Zhen even bought more paper and wrote more slowly.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t use paper to practice his calligraphy; he wrote slowly on his sand table. However, he would take the paper that Jiang Zhen used to practice his writing on. Although what was often written out was a ck mess, that piece could still be read; it could still be used to look at to get a feel for it.

    After practicing his calligraphy, Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge and directly pulled him to the bed. Although the weather was getting hotter and hotter, his heart was getting even hotter, and he was reluctant to give up such beautiful bed sports.

    In the early morning of the next day, Jiang Zhen did not rush to take Zhao Jinge out as usual but stayed with him at home for a while.

    When Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu saw this scene, they were a bit confused. They saw that people wearing the same clothes came to their house one after another. These people were all young, in their twenties and thirties, and they were all in high spirits. Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t help ncing at them a few more times.

    Then her expression froze. The one who looked the strongest among these people, wasn¡¯t it Liu Heitou? In the past, when he came to their house to cause trouble, Liu Heitou looked very fierce. But now . . . Zhao Liu suddenly realized that these people were wearing the clothes that she had ordered, the same clothes that Jiang Zhen said he had given to his men . . . This Liu Heitou had really be Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinate! Zhao Liu immediately felt a sense of pride.

 Chapter 69.2 - Going out together

    Chapter 69.2 ¨C Going out together

    After waiting for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge toe out together, Jiang Zhen asked them to straighten the team and then led them out.

    Zhao Liu became even more excited and wanted to talk to someone. She went to find someone to talk to.

    Jiang Zhen went to Lijia first.

    Li Mingzhe had his family¡¯s long-term worker already sort out the goods. After Jiang Zhen had looked at the goods and made sure they were in order, he signed an even more detailed contract with Li Mingzhe.

    ¡°I have a lot of things going on at hometely, so I won¡¯t follow along, but my cousin will go with you and show you the way when you get there.¡± Li Mingzhe was a pretty good talker. After talking with Jiang Zhen about various situations, he even asked Jiang Zhen to stay for dinner.

    ¡°No need,¡± Jiang Zhen refused. ¡°I have a lot of people with me, and I¡¯ve especially invited some people to cook, so it is time to go back for dinner.¡±

    ¡°Then next time we are free, I¡¯ll invite Older Brother Jiang for dinner,¡± Li Mingzhe said, and then personally sent Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge out.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s happening again outside!¡±

    Just then, a woman who looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old hurried in from outside with a child in her arms, her face not looking very good. She walked somewhat in a hurry, but after noticing that Li Mingzhe was sending Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge back, she immediately slowed down.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Mingzhe asked and introduced Jiang Zhen again, saying that the woman was his wife and that the child in her arms was his son.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s nothing important.¡±

    When the woman came in, she said that there was a disturbance outside, but now she kept silent with a smile and asked Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge to stay for dinner.

    Jiang Zhen refused again. Jiang Zhen arranged for his men to carry the goods, and by the time all the goods had been carried on the ship, it was time for him to go. But as soon as he walked out of the house, he saw an acquaintance standing outside.

    It was the very thin and small Li Zugen who he had once beaten up because he was trying to hit on Zhao Jinge. This Li Zugen was very timid, and after being beaten by him once, he never dared toe back, which made Jiang Zhen feel it was quite a pity. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that it would have affected Zhao Jinge if things went too far, Jiang Zhen would have wanted to go to his house to teach him another lesson . . . Of course, he didn¡¯t do that. As a result, just after he got married to Zhao Jinge, he had pretty much forgotten about this person. Right now, he was surprised to meet this person again . . .

    When Jiang Zhen saw Li Zugen and Li Zugen saw Jiang Zhen, his whole body suddenly froze up.

    This Li Zugan, since he was a child, was protected by his parents like a treasure. Because his mother was so fierce, when he yed with others as a child, he had never been wronged or hit. So it was really scary for him to be beaten by Jiang Zhenst time. These days, he didn¡¯t even dare to set foot in Hexi Vige anymore! But even though he didn¡¯t go to Hexi Vige to find Zhao Jinge, this day would stille.

    Li Zugen¡¯s parents also knew that they couldn¡¯t sit idly by, so they used the remaining silver to buy 3 mu of paddy field. Since they couldn¡¯t finish nting them, they rented them out. It was a good idea, but in this way, Li Zugen wouldn¡¯t be able to marry a wife.

    His parents told him to take care of his four children and not to marry a wife. Even if he could live a good life, Li Zugen didn¡¯t want to. He wanted a wife who could warm his bed. But . . . if his Li family couldn¡¯t bring out the bride price, who would be willing to marry him? Li Zugen couldn¡¯t think of a way, so he finally set his mind on Xue, who had abandoned him and the children.

    Although Xue was now a concubine and was pregnant with another child and received good treatment at Li Mingzhe¡¯s house, when Li Zugen went to look for her with their four children pitifully, she became soft-hearted. Speaking of which, as long as Li Zugen¡¯s family life was a little better, Xue wouldn¡¯t want to stay at Li Mingzhe¡¯s house, but she was afraid of poverty. Thinking about the days when there was not enough to eat at Li Zugen¡¯s house and there were always people who came to ask for the repayment of debts during the Spring Festival, even if Li Mingzhe didn¡¯t really like her and her own children didn¡¯t call her ¡°mother¡± here, Xue still wasn¡¯t willing to go back. But even if she didn¡¯t leave, she still felt sorry for her other children, so when Li Zugen came to the door, she gave him some money she had saved and brought stewed chicken from the kitchen to let her children eat.

    Then . . . Li Zugen kept pestering her.

    Since Xue was able to abandon her husband and sons, she was not the kind of person who was willing to be squeezed again and again. She immediately fell out with Li Zugen.

    Li Mingzhe happened to see that scene, but he was very good tempered. He felt some sympathy for Li Zugen¡¯s thin appearance and gave him ten silver.

    This was a mistake! Originally, Li Zugen pestered Xue and hid from Li Mingzhe, thendlord. He didn¡¯t dare to offend Li Mingzhe. But now . . . Li Zugen was suddenly no longer afraid of Li Mingzhe. Compared with Jiang Zhen, thisndlord who was always smiling, was not so terrible. Even when he made a lot of trouble, he just let the long-term worker in the family pull him out . . . From time to time, he woulde to annoy him and receive some money.

    At the moment, Li Zugen came to make trouble, as he did every day, which was why Li Mingzhe didn¡¯t want to go out. His wife was taking care of a child less than two years old and his concubine still had one in her belly. If she was frightened by this meddler . . .

    ¡°Li Zugen, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Seeing Li Zugan, Li Mingzhe couldn¡¯t help but frown.

    Li Mingzhe¡¯s wife, however, was viciously ring at her husband. If it weren¡¯t for her husband¡¯s rotten kindness, how could Li Zugen stick to them?

    ¡°Li Zugen, I¡¯ll have someone take you to the backyard,¡± Li Mingzhe¡¯s wife said.

    She wanted to get rid of Li Zugen first, so she would not lose face in front of others. As a result . . . Li Zugen was now in a daze and was unable to move.

    ¡°Master Li, apart from delivering goods to others, our Jinzhen Escort Agency will also take care of some other work to help people solve their various problems no matter whether it is about their domestic problems or teaching people a lesson concerning their debt. If it is not a problem, does Master Li want some help?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. ¡°This kind of small trouble can be solved by calling someone to beat him at random. Only ten silver will guarantee that he won¡¯t dare toe to your door again . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen was smiling when he spoke to Li Mingzhe and then gave Li Zugen a re.

    People then saw Li Zugen shaking all over before quickly running away.

    Li Mingzhe: ¡°. . .¡± This person who had been pestering him for several days was scared away just by a look?

    ¡°Here, the ten silver you said about earlier . . .¡± Li Zugen¡¯s wife couldn¡¯t help but say. She really couldn¡¯t bear that Li family, feeling as if she did something heinous . . . However, it was Xue who insisted on staying, and it was Li Zugen who promised to borrow his wife¡¯s belly to have children at the beginning.

    ¡°No need, Lady Li. I was just joking.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and left with Zhao Jinge.

    After leaving the Li family, Jiang Zhen took his people to another merchant. He did not like procrastination, and after three days¡¯ work, he moved all the goods to his chartered ship and also found local sailors.

    They were ready to go.

    Early that morning, in order to disy unity Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge changed into clothes simr to their subordinates¡¯, but with more decorations on the shoulders, and then they went out with their things.

    It was at this moment that Zhao Liu noticed something was wrong. ¡°Wait! Jinge is going too?¡±

    She always thought it was Jiang Zhen who was going out alone! As it turned out, her son was going too!

 Chapter 70.1 - Life on board

    <h4>Chapter 70.1 ¨C Life on board</h4>

    When a man went out to do business, how could he bring his ger with him?

    When Jiang Zhen previously took Zhao Jinge out with him every day, Zhao Liu never stopped him because she was afraid that someone would try to seduce Jiang Zhen . . . because He Qiusheng acted like he still had his heart set on Jiang Zhen. With her Jinge following Jiang Zhen, that little goblin should have known when to retreat, right?

    Because of this idea, Zhao Liu had never stopped Zhao Jinge from following Jiang Zhen before, but now that they would travel so far away, how inconvenient would it be for Jinge to travel so far away?

    ¡°Of course, Jinge is going too,¡± Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to say. It would make no sense for him to go so far away from home only a month after their marriage. In modern times, there were a lot of women going around and doing business, and Zhao Jinge, as a strong man, was no worse than them.

    Jiang Zhen also knew that, in other people¡¯s eyes, Zhao Jinge was a ger who only needed to marry and take care of the children at home. But in his opinion, Zhao Jinge was not inferior to those men. Even Zhao Jinge himself was working hard to master various skills and strived to be even better! In that case, he definitely had to give Zhao Jinge a chance.

    ¡°Mom, I want to go,¡± Zhao Jinge said too.

    If he had been raised as a ger at home all this time, he might not have those shocking thoughts, but for a long time, he had been living like a man. These days, when he went out with Jiang Zhen and trained with Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, he was actually having a good time. Of course, the most important thing was that he hoped to be as powerful as Jiang Zhen and do something for him, and not appear so useless.

    Zhao Liu nervously looked at the two people in front of her and didn¡¯t try to stop him.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge left, she looked for someone to chat again and started sighing. ¡°You said that Jiang Zhen was alright, but he even had to take my Jinge with him when he left. He can¡¯t bear to leave him even for a moment . . .¡±

    Don¡¯t think we don¡¯t know how smug you are when you make a face like that! The people listening to Zhao Liu were very depressed, but they actually . . . somehow liked to hear Zhao Liu talk like this. In this vige, Zhao Fugui was an exceptionally good man. Which one of them did not envy Zhao Liu? Now there was another one, Jiang Zhen . . . Even if they were just listening, they were happy in their hearts.

    Listening to Zhao Liu talk about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, someone suddenly mentioned olddy Jiang.

    ¡°Did you know that the second son of the Jiang family has also gone to do business?¡±

    ¡°I heard something. What about it?¡± Zhao Liu asked.

    ¡°Olddy Jiang has been boasting about her second son every day recently. Her second son borrowed a boat from the vige head¡¯s house, saying that he would earn a lot of money when he came back with plenty of seafood.¡±

    ¡°So he went to buy seafood too . . .¡± Zhao Liu sighed. At the beginning, Jiang Zhen had also started his business selling seafood. Now unexpectedly, Jiang Chengwen had also gone to buy seafood.

    ¡°Can you really make money by buying and selling seafood?¡± the man asked again.

    ¡°I think so? But Jiang Zhen said it was very hard. You see, he only did it because he only had little capital and has already quit doing it,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    She didn¡¯t know much about Jiang Zhen¡¯s business, but she heard Zhao Jinge saying it was too tiring to do the sea goods business.

    ¡°So . . .¡±

    Hearing Zhao Liu¡¯s words, some people who had heard that it was a good business to sell sea goods before and also wanted to sell sea goods like Jiang Chengwen immediately fell silent. They had better first see how Jiang Chengwen would do with this business and then decide whether they want to do this business too.

    The Jiang family was very lively at the moment. Jiang Chengwen hade back with arge ship filled with sea goods. He had already calcted that, if he could sell everything, he should be able to earn double! He had bought twenty silver of goods, that was to say, he could earn back twenty silver!

    For a while, when Jiang Chengwen was walking, he was very angry. What about Jiang Chengxiang? After reading books for so many years, he could only earn two silver a month? If it were Jiang Zhen . . .

    Thinking of all the things that people in the vige said that Jiang Zhen had done, Jiang Chengwen did not dare to say he would be more powerful than Jiang Zhen. At least he couldn¡¯t defeat Jiang Zhen in a fight. But he still felt that, one day, he would be able to surpass Jiang Zhen, the eldest brother who had always been ignored by him.

    Olddy Jiang also felt the same way. Seeing the people she knewing to her house to buy salted fish and kelp, she was very happy and couldn¡¯t close her mouth. Her second son was the best!

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know about Jiang Chengwen. At that time, he was already on his boat, ready to leave Hecheng county. Most of those small merchants went along with them, and only a few, like Li Mingzhe, sent other people with them. With so many people and more goods than Jiang Zhen had thought there would be at the beginning, Jiang Zhen rented another boat to fit everyone in.

    The cargo had been checked and loaded on the ship long ago, and that day, Jiang Zhen was just checking again the merchants and the belongings they carried on board.

    Jiang Zhen inspected everything carefully and said that it was for the sake of everyone¡¯s safety, so naturally, these merchants were not the least bit displeased. What merchants cared the most about, apart from money, was security.

    At about nine o¡¯clock in the morning, the two ships left the dock and headed for Fucheng.

    After the ship started moving forward, Jiang Zhen was not idle. He went to see how the sailors operated the ship and also asked Wang Haisheng, the He brothers, and several other people he trusted to learn from them.

    As a matter of fact, the more than thirty people Jiang Zhen took in were all picked by him. If there was something wrong with their conduct, he would exclude them from the very beginning. In fact, Liu Heitou was the most unstable element in the whole group. But this Liu Heitou . . . it was impossible for Jiang Zhen to kill him. If he let him go, he would probably secretly make trouble for him . . . After thinking about it over and over again, Jiang Zhen simply kept an eye on him observing him. With him watching, it would be impossible for Liu Heitou to y any tricks on him.

    However, although there was nothing wrong with these people except for Liu Heitou, Jiang Zhen was still unable to trust all of them, which was reflected in the way he arranged their work for them. Of course, these people probably didn¡¯t see it. The people he arranged to patrol the deck because of his mistrust were even a little proud . . .

    The people on the two boats, wherever they were thugs or merchants, were all natives of Hecheng county. They had basically all been on boats, and they were used to small boats that were unstable. Therefore, although some people were not feeling well, no one was seasick.

    At noon, everyone ate on boat. When Jiang Zhen talked to the merchants before, he also talked about food expenses. They had their meals on board, and these merchants could arrange it ahead of time. They could have the kitchen prepare meals for them, or they could eat what they had brought.

    That day, because it was the first day, almost everyone ate the food they had brought, and only a few people asked for onboard meals.

    Jiang Zhen had asked two women who cooked for them in Qiaotou Vige to prepare the meals on the ship. The taste was average. However, because of his requirements, there were two kinds of vegetable dishes and a meat dish, and there was also soup to each meal, which was considered rich.

    Currently, the mostmon vegetables in Hecheng county were cowpeas, green beans, cucumbers, eggnts, lucerne, and so on. On that day, the noon meal consisted of fried cowpeas, pickled cucumbers, lucerne, and pickled vegetable soup; as for the meat dish, it was braised pork.

    Some merchants who had brought their own food regretted not eating on the boat, so when someone came to askter, they said that they would eat the onboard meal that night. They also learned that they could order some extra dishes on the boat, and so the others ordered a stir fry.

 Chapter 70.2 - Life on board

    <h4>Chapter 70.2 ¨C Life on board</h4>

    During the day, Jiang Zhen had been very busy, but in the evening, after approaching Fucheng, he rxed. Thinking that it was Zhao Jinge¡¯s first time away from home, Jiang Zhen thought about making him eat better, so he went to the galley, or the ce where the cooking took ce, intending to cook two dishes himself. He chose a piece of pork and stir-fried it in the pan with oil, then put in two cloves of garlic and fried it until it was fragrant, and then added the cowpeas to the stir-fry. His cooking skills were not very good, but the cowpeas fried like this were definitely better than the cowpeas cooked by these two women.

    After preparing the meat slices and the fried cowpeas, Jiang Zhen fried a bowl of eggnt with sauce and then went to Zhao Jinge with the rice and the braised meat.

    At that time, the ships they used were not small, but they still could not bepared to those big ships from the modern era, so the ces where people could live were also small. No matter if it was Jiang Zhen¡¯s men or the merchants, they all slept in the same cabin, but Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had a separate cabin.

    The room was small, only about four square meters, but at least no one came to disturb them. Jiang Zhen entered the room with the food and saw Zhao Jinge ying with the abacus there.

    This abacus was brought by Jiang Zhen. When he was a child, he learned a little about the abacus in his math ss. But to be honest, at the moment, except for the one above representing five and the one below representing one, he had almost forgotten everything else. He was going to relearn it, but unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t had the time yet.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are back!¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge immediately stood up.

    ¡°Well, dinner is ready.¡± Jiang Zhen put down his bowl and added, ¡°Tomorrow we will stop at this side of Fucheng for a day. Would you like to go ashore?¡±

    ¡°Are you going?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be a little busy,¡± Jiang Zhen said. After all, it was the first trip out. He had to keep an eye on everything, and he had no time to apany Zhao Jinge for a stroll.

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t go either. I¡¯ll help you,¡± Zhao Jinge said. Although there were some things he didn¡¯t understand, he could do simple things like ordering and other things, so he could also help Jiang Zhen a little.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jiang Zhen went over and gave Zhao Jinge a kiss.

    Zhao Jinge was started, but did not try to avoid it and just said, ¡°Don¡¯t do this. We are on the boat.¡± The soundproofing on this ship was not very good. He could even hear what was said next door . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s just a kiss. We won¡¯t do that. What are you afraid of? Even if we do . . . It will be alright if you keep your voice down,¡± Jiang Zhen teased.

    ¡°Then . . . Then you must also pay attention, and don¡¯t make any noise,¡± Zhao Jinge thought about it and said to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    When he flirted with him, he forgot that Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t make a sound even when he was extremely happy, so . . . They only made noise at night, basically because he moved too vigorously and the bed creaked. But when Zhao Jinge said that, it was somewhat strange . . .

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you move and do it gently?¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    ¡°I?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen puzzled. How could he be the one to move?

    ¡°Eat first, and I will teach youter in the evening,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge started eating in silence, but his heart was beating like a drum. He already had a bad premonition. How could Jiang Zhen know so much?

    Zhao Jinge went out to work with his father from a young age. Because he listened to other people¡¯s dirty talk, he knew more or less about men and women¡¯s affairs. But after spending time with Jiang Zhen . . . Zhao Jinge suddenly found that he seemed to know too little. How could Jiang Zhen know so much?

    Zhao Jinge did not understand, so he ate a few more mouthfuls of food and then asked, ¡°Did you ask this woman to especially cook this? This piece of meat is really delicious.¡°

    ¡°That woman can¡¯t cook something so delicious, so I made it.¡± Jiang Zhenughed.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise and suddenly regretted eating too fast and not tasting it well.

    Although he had eaten a lot of food cooked by Jiang Zhen before, he hadn¡¯t eaten anything made by him since their rtionship was made official . . . Moreover, Jiang Zhen had made it extra for him to eat. Just thinking about it, Zhao Jinge felt satisfied. Jiang Zhen was very good, he had to work harder, so that he could help him.

    Although Zhao Jinge liked to eat sliced meat, he only ate two pieces to taste it, then he stopped moving his chopsticks intending to let Jiang Zhen eat more.

    Jiang Zhen knew what he was thinking, so he put his chopsticks in the bowl and said, ¡°Don¡¯t act like a stranger in the future. If you don¡¯t eat it, I will give it to others to see what you will do.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was shocked.

    ¡°I knew a businessman named Fang before. He was poor when he was young and lived a bad life. His wife was an ordinary vige woman. Later, when he got rich, he bought this and that for her and wanted her to dress up beautifully. However, his wife thought it was just a waste of money. She was unwilling to make more delicious food for him at home. Later, he didn¡¯t like going back home. He went to a restaurant every day and then took a concubine . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen started to make up a story to scare Zhao Jinge. ¡°The concubine wanted rouge and powder today; silk and satin tomorrow; chicken, duck, and fish for dinner; sedan chair and carriage for going out. The money was spent just like water, but the businessman surnamed Fang still liked her because he could livefortably with her. Later, he didn¡¯t even want to see his old wife, so he was afraid to go back. At that time, his wife still thought that even killing a chicken was too wasteful.¡±

    ¡°!¡± Zhao Jinge quickly ate a piece of meat.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen spent a lot of money, and every two days, he would buy a chicken or a duck to eat. He felt that it was quite wasteful, but he thought that all this money belonged to Jiang Zhen, so he didn¡¯t say anything. But . . . if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t buy it, he really wouldn¡¯t buy and eat it. After that . . .

    After scaring Zhao Jinge and finishing the meal, Jiang Zheny down on the bed. He was a little tired after that busy day. Zhao Jinge frowned and took the bowl and chopsticks outside deep in thought. But as soon as he went out, he was stopped.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge!¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± When Zhao Jinge looked over, he found it was one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, Ding Lian.

    ¡°Before, when Boss cooked, was it for you to eat?¡± Ding Lian nced at the dishes in Zhao Jinge¡¯s hands and then looked at Zhao Jinge with aplicated expression.

    At first, they thought that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about Zhao Jinge and didn¡¯t value him, otherwise, how could he possibly let a ger run around and train with a group of big men like them? But as time went on, they soon found out they were wrong. In fact, Jiang Zhen was very good to Zhao Jinge. At least, what Jiang Zhen taught Zhao Jinge was never taught to them. Of course, they didn¡¯t have anything to say about it either . . . it wasn¡¯t like they were Jiang Zhen¡¯s gers. Why would Jiang Zhen teach them something that was so hard?

    However, although they all knew that Jiang Zhen was very good to Zhao Jinge, it still surprised them that Jiang Zhen would cook for Zhao Jinge. Men, especially married ones with their wife still around . . . how could they not let their wife serve them? And even cook for the wife?

    Jiang Zhen was so good to Zhao Jinge, that it was beyond good. It was said that, in order to marry Zhao Jinge, he was even willing to marry in his wife¡¯s family . . .

    ¡°Boss is very kind to you.¡± Ding Lian sighed.

    Zhao Jinge nodded. He also thought Jiang Zhen was very kind to him, so . . . if Jiang Zhen wanted to teach him something in the evening, he would study hard.

 Chapter 71.1 - Preparing to go to the capital

    <h4>Chapter 71.1. ¨C Preparing to go to the capital</h4>

    This time Jiang Zhen took his men and the two boats with him to basically wander around Hecheng County, going to many ces that he and Wang Haisheng had already visited, so it was still rtively safe. But, in the end, it was still the first trip out, and thus, he had to be more careful and had a lot of work to do.

    After a short nap after dinner, Jiang Zhen got up. By that time, their ship had slowly approached Fucheng and stopped at the pier.

    When Jiang Zhen¡¯s men stayed on the ship, they all felt it was quite novel, and no one was bored. But when the ship docked and Jiang Zhen told them to move some of the cargo off the ship ahead of time and arranged for a night watch, some of them were unhappy. That person was, of course, Liu Hetou.

    ¡°It is already nighttime. Why do we still have to work?¡± Liu Heitou asked discontentedly, trying to incite those around him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it. Moreover, you can also quit following me . . . Do you think it will be hard for me to find a few people to work for me?¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at him with a cold smile on his face. He had nothing before, and no one would havee even if he wanted to recruit someone. Coupled with the fact that he was worried that Liu Heitou¡¯s gang would get together and cause trouble for him, he took them in, but in the future . . .

    In fact, it was still better to use hardworking and uining people like Wang Haisheng and the He brothers, who gave their all, right?

    As soon as Jiang Zhen spoke, Liu Heitou¡¯s heart jumped. He himself was a jealous man, so he felt that Jiang Zhen would probably be the same. He followed Jiang Zhen, and there were so many people watching. Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t do anything to him to keep his men from quitting, but if they left from this ce . . . That guy Jiang Zhen had seen blood!

    Liu Heitou suddenly became silent and started working obediently. When the others heard what Jiang Zhen said, they were startled. But when they thought about it carefully, they found that Jiang Zhen was quite right.

    These days, there was no shortage of people, and with the treatment given by Jiang Zhen, it would be easy to recruit people in the future. But they . . . they couldn¡¯t be thugs without this ce. What should they do? These guys started working harder.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with this and thought that the punishment and reward measures should be perfected. In the future, if there were people who did things carelessly, it would be good to directly drive them out. Of course, he didn¡¯t think there would be anyone like that. These people were actually quite obedient now.

    After working busily for more than an hour unloading the cargo from the ship and putting it in the open space, Jiang Zhen went back to the ship and arranged for someone to keep watch over it.

    Zhao Jinge was also helping carry the goods off the ship and counting them. When he returned to their room, Jiang Zhen held his hand and asked, ¡°Tired?¡±

    ¡°Not tired,¡± Zhao Jinge answered. This kind of work was really nothing to him.

    Although Zhao Jinge said that he wasn¡¯t tired, it was still the first time they had gone out. Jiang Zhen did not intend to do anything this evening . . . As a result . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you said earlier that you were going to teach me at night . . . what were you going to teach me?¡± In the darkness of the cabin, Zhao Jinge asked curiously.

    What Jiang Zhen wanted to teach Zhao Jinge, of course, was a way to keep the bed board from rocking. For example, with Zhao Jinge positioned on top of him and moving up and down. Zhao Jinge was very patient. He felt that he had taken the initiative, but in Jiang Zhen¡¯s opinion, he was actually very shy. Of course, having a shy partner wasn¡¯t bad, and Jiang Zhen quite enjoyed teaching Zhao Jinge a bit at times, not to mention that Zhao Jinge was always very cooperative with him . . .

    This time, the two of them really did not make any sound, and only when it was all over¡ª Zhao Jinge had gotten off him when his legs went limp and he knocked on the bed board¡ªthat there was a thumping sound, but this sound was somon in the ship that it would never make anyone suspect anything.

    Jiang Zhen thought it was a pity. Zhao Jinge also thought it was a pity. That position was not very good. After it was done, all those things flowed out, which was really disadvantageous for having a child. Thinking that way, Zhao Jinge touched his stomach.

    ¡°Is your stomach upset? Do you want me to help you clean up a bit?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    He remembered that after it was done, it should be cleaned up; otherwise, it would be easy to get diarrhea.

    When they did it for the first time he was so excited that he had forgotten about it. And so, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t like it. But when he saw that Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t get diarrhea, he didn¡¯t force it either. That was probably because a ger¡¯s body was somewhat different from that of an ordinary man, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see any difference at all.

    ¡°No need,¡± Zhao Jinge said hurriedly.

    How could he clean it up at this moment? His mother said it was best to lie still afterward. Zhao Jinge gave himself a rub andy down. Seeing this Jiang Zhen reached out to touch his stomach, he asked, ¡°Do you think there could already be a child inside?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the vigers said before that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to have children.¡±

    Zhao Jinge felt a little lost. It was not easy to have children as a woman, let alone a ger like him.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Take your time.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge, thinking that it would be fine to not have children.

    It was already very hot today, and it was even hotter in the cabin. Although they were all used to the heat, it was not easy right after their exercise.

    Zhao Jinge took a fan and slowly fanned himself and Jiang Zhen until he fell asleep without realizing it. Jiang Zhen took the fan from his hand and fanned him for a while before throwing it away and going to sleep.

    The next day, all the merchants whose destination was Fucheng debarked. Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen had sent his men to patrol around the dock and bring back a few merchants who were going to their next destination.

    These merchants were all willing to pay some money to take the big boat. After all, in this part of Yangtze River,rge groups of water bandits were rare, which meant that it was very safe to take a big boat.

    Because the cargo had already been moved off the shipst night, that day was actually not as busy as Jiang Zhen had previously imagined. So after lunch, he took some time off to show Zhao Jinge around.

    After telling Wang Haisheng and the He brothers to keep an eye on the boat, Jiang Zhen went out with Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Boss is so nice to Zhao Jinge. I can¡¯t believe he loves his wife so much.¡± Someone came over to talk to the He brothers.

    He Chunsheng nodded and sighed. If he had known that Jiang Zhen was so good, he would have betrothed his brother to Jiang Zhen earlier . . . Unfortunately, it was toote for it now.

    ¡°By the way, He Chunsheng, I heard that you have a ger brother who is very good looking . . . What do you think of me? I swear I¡¯ll love my wife as much as Boss Jiang!¡± the man added.

    He Chunsheng¡¯s face turned ck. This man was so ugly, and he still dared to think about his brother? When he thought of this, He Chunsheng couldn¡¯t help ncing at Liu Heitou again.

    He Chunsheng and Liu Heitou had a big feud, but because Liu Heitou had only brought his own cousins when he went to the He family to kidnap people, He Chunsheng had no conflict with the others.

    Seeing that Liu Heitou was being annoying, He Xiaosheng stared at Liu Hetou all day.

    Being stared at like this . . . Liu Heitou felt quite safe. At least, it meant that these people were not going to tie him up and throw him in the river, right?

    Jiang Zhen went to buy a few pieces of cloth, then found the tailor who had helped him make clothes earlier andmissioned her to make a few gs. If his escort agency was to be opened, there was still a lot of work to do. First of all, the g had to be done.

    ¡°What should be embroidered on this?¡± asked the tailor.

    ¡°Just embroider the word ¡®Zhen,¡¯¡± Jiang Zhen said and then made a few more suggestions.

 Chapter 71.2 - Preparing to go to the capital

    <h4>Chapter 71.2. ¨C Preparing to go to the capital</h4>

    When they left the tailor shop, Zhao Jinge looked excitedly at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Do you really want to open an escort agency?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhenughed. ¡°We can¡¯t stay in the countryside all the time.¡±

    In fact, if it were the modern times, Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t mind being an ordinary citizen. After all, ordinary people had enough to eat and drink and their lives weren¡¯t bad, so they generally wouldn¡¯t encounter much danger.

    But it was the ancient times. If they stayed in the countryside and did nothing, who knew when they would be killed in a catastrophe. Apart from that, in another decade or two, he would not be as strong as he was now. He¡¯d be old and frail. At that time, if there were a draft order, would he be dragged into the army?

    Maybe if he had some money, he could be exempted from military service, but if Hecheng County¡¯s magistrate were to be reced by a money-loving one and he who had no background, how could he keep his family business? Even if none of these things urred . . . This Daqi dynasty had existed for hundreds of years, and it was uncertain when this would change. If there were just ordinary people at this time, they would definitely be ughtered.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s thoughts extended a bit far away, so seeing that Zhao Jinge was puzzled, he spoke to him slowly.

    Zhao Jinge had never thought about this before, but now that he listened to Jiang Zhen, he realized that he had thought too little before.

    ¡°But all of this is just in my head, maybe we won¡¯t run into any problems.¡± Seeing Zhao Jinge¡¯s tangled face, Jiang Zhen put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to eat a sweet bowl of lotus root noodles that looked glittering and translucent, and bought him another pancake to eat. Zhao Jinge wanted to refuse, but thinking about the story Jiang Zhen had told him yesterday, he held back.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen took a bite of his pancake in a good mood. He was no longer as poor as he was at the beginning. He still couldn¡¯t eat delicacies or wear silk and satin, but it really wouldn¡¯t matter if he bought something small to eat on the street.

    Their ship only left Fucheng for the next city the next day, and in the meantime, every aspect of their trip was on track, not requiring Jiang Zhen to constantly keep an eye on it. It was at this time that Jiang Zhen started teaching Zhao Jinge to memorize the multiplication table and to learn Arabic numbers.

    In Daqi, Arabic numbers did not exist or were unknown, but Jiang Zhen thought it was more convenient to learn mathematics with numbers, so he taught them to Zhao Jinge and also gave him a lot of arithmetic exercises in addition and subtraction.

    ording to his experience of learning math when he was a child, if someone wanted to calcte quickly, they needed to practice more!

    In this era, people barely learned math, and to count things they used their fingers. Zhao Jinge had a hard time learning these things, but he never gave up and studied very conscientiously, so he could already help Jiang Zhen in many ways. In a few days, he might even be able to take some matters into his own hands.

    Jiang Zhen taught him with more energy, and at the same time, he himself also studied hard every day, trying not to write as if he was missing arms . . .

    They stayed outside for nearly twenty days on this trip.

    Jiang Zhen originally thought that this trip could bring him a few dozens of silver, but it was not the case. He not only did not make any money on this trip, but he also lost some . . . However, it wasn¡¯t because the business wasn¡¯t profitable. On the contrary, the business made a lot of money. After subtracting costs, Jiang Zhen earned nearly a hundred silver, it was just that, when he started, he forgot to include the fees at the various ces.

    In a few cities, as soon as their boats stopped, several officials would stop to inquire, so a little bit here and a little bit there . . . although each time it was only a few silver, but added all together, it depleted all his profit. But it was also a good start. After doing it once, there would be no need to bribe with silver so much. When someone came over, it would be enough to give a silver or two for them to have a drink.

    When he returned to Hecheng County, Jiang Zhen not only brought back all the merchants he had taken out but also brought back some merchants and their goods from the ces they passed through.

    The two big ships stopped at the dock, and immediately they started loading and unloading the cargo. At that point, Yang Jing came over.

    ¡°Boss!¡±

    ¡°What is the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Yang Jing.

    ¡°Boss, Young Master Zheng asked me to wait for you here. He wants to meet you,¡± Yang Jing said. He had been wandering around the docks for a few days already to finally meet Jiang Zhen today.

    If Young Master Zheng wanted to see someone, he naturally could not be neglected, so Jiang Zhen spoke to his men and immediately set off.

    After going to the Zheng family house and inquiring with the steward, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge entered the Zheng family house once again and then met Young Master Zheng.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s first impression of Zheng Yi was that he was a dissolute boy, but this time, he was dressed neatly and the whole person was very spirited, very different from before. His eyebrows and eyes were full of self-confidence. Apparently, something good had happened to Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi had indeed encountered good things, and he had pretty much already prepared the cards, hiding and tucking away the good things that had been there for two months and could finally see some light. Apart from that . . . he suddenly realized that Jiang Zhen was even more thoughtful than he had imagined. Although he didn¡¯t understand why someone who hadn¡¯t left Hecheng County could have so many ideas, he didn¡¯t care about it all as long as Jiang Zhen could bring him benefits.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are quite clever to think of this way of making money,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng isplimenting me. I¡¯m just making some hard-earned money,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°You might just be making some hard-earned money now, but maybe not in the future,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡®¡®You¡¯ve got yourself an escort agency, haven¡¯t you? I have a business opportunity. Do you want to take it?¡±

    ¡°What kind of opportunity?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, but he had already made up his mind to take it.

    He created this escort agency and even got the gambling house hoping to attract the attention of the young master of the Zheng family.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the capital, and I hope someone will escort me there,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, there should be no shortage of people you could use for protection around you?¡±

    Jiang Zhen was somewhat puzzled. The Zheng n had many servants and subordinates. Zheng Yi, who was going to the capital, was supposed to have no shortage of people to protect him. You know . . . he was originally just trying to take over some business of transporting goods for the Zheng family.

    ¡°You might not know that, but the north isn¡¯t as peaceful as here. And the more people protect me, the better,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    The south of the river was rich. Even if some people had nond, they could still make a living by working for others, but the north was different. In some ces, there were many natural disasters, so there were refugees. And if one was not careful, these refugees who couldn¡¯t make a living became bandits. There were a few water bandits in the south of Yangtze River, but in the north, there were a lot of bandits.

    The Zheng family had a lot of influence in Hecheng County, so nothing would happen when they went out. But if he were to run into water bandits along the way, they would definitely rob him!

    Zheng Yi was a man who cherished his life and, naturally, had to be prepared for everything if he was going to the capital, not to mention . . . he also wanted to talk to Jiang Zhen some more. When he talked to Jiang Zhen before, he had a feeling that he had benefited greatly, and now, he naturally wanted to find out more from Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng can give me this opportunity. I beg for it!¡± Jiang Zhen immediately said.

    ¡°Then go and get ready. We¡¯ll leave in ten days,¡± Zheng Yi said with a smile.

 Chapter 72.1 - Selling chicken and ducks at home

    <strong>Chapter 72.1 ¨C Selling chicken and ducks at home</strong>

    After Jiang Zhen came out of the Zheng house, he went to the docks again. The cargo on both ships had been almostpletely unloaded, and he had to collect some of the subsequent payments and take care of some of the follow-up matters.

    By the time the work was done, it was already dark, so Jiang Zhen was in no hurry to go home but slept on the ship for the night instead. He wasn¡¯t the only one who chose to do so. In fact, except for a few people whose homes were in the county town, almost everyone else stayed behind. People didn¡¯t like walking at night these days.

    After going outside and doing business, Jiang Zhen was in a good mood, so he went to buy some chicken and set up a big iron pot on the shore to cook them. He actually wanted to buy pork, but it was toote, and there was no pork for sale.

    The chicken was cut into small pieces and put into an iron pot to boil arge pot of soup, while in another pot the noodles were boiled. When the noodles were ready, twodles of chicken soup were poured on them, and the hot chicken noodle soup was ready.

    Jiang Zhen ate two bowls, put down his chopsticks, and found that the people in front of him were already talking.

    These people were all men. They hadn¡¯t been out before, but after following Jiang Zhen outside this time, they all yearned for the outside world and even felt that they had be different people.

    The people around them had never left Hecheng County, but what about them? They¡¯d been in Fucheng! Well, if an adjective should be used, it should be that they had be loyal.

    ¡°In another ten days, I¡¯ll take you to the capital,¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said.

    ¡°The capital?¡±

    Wang Haisheng froze, and then he nearly jumped up. What did Jiang Zhen say? He was taking them to the capital? That was the capital city . . . They could go to the capital city?

    ¡°Boss?¡±

    The others werepletely stunned. They suspected they had heard wrong. The capital was the city where the emperor lived, and they heard that the pce was made of gold! How could they go to the capital?

    ¡°It is the capital city. Young Master Zheng asked me to escort him to the capital, and if you guys behave well, some of you will go. And if you don¡¯t behave well, then forget about it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Boss, we¡¯ll do a good job!¡±

    ¡°I . . . Boss, I¡¯ll listen to whatever you say!¡±

    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ve always been very obedient!¡±

    . . .

    Those people gathered around Jiang Zhen excitedly, and even Liu Heitou started secretly ncing at Jiang Zhen. Was it toote for him to start being obedient now?

    Liu Heitou used to be a bully in his vige, so he thought he was already very powerful, but now . . . he suddenly realized that he was actually nothingpared to . . .

    ¡°Be quiet! If you make any more noise, you won¡¯t be allowed to go.¡± Jiang Zhenughed and instructed them with a few more words, ¡°Also, don¡¯t talk nonsense about this, or . . . be careful that I will skin you.¡±

    The people around him stopped talking at once, but their eyes looked particrly bright in the light of the fire.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen first went to return the two boats before heading to Hexi Vige with Zhao Jinge, Wang Haisheng, and the others.

    Jiang Zhen had already handed out the wages he had to give, and Wang Haisheng and the others were very happy with the silver. But Jiang Zhen himself had lost more than ten silver. Nevertheless, he did not take it seriously. Zhao Jinge, however, was a little worried and distressed.

    ¡°Jinge, don¡¯t worry too much. It¡¯s just ten or so silver,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge opened his mouth and said nothing. It was more than ten silver! Their entire household used to be worth only a dozen or so silver in the past.

    ¡°In business, there will always be losses and gains, and no one can guarantee you a profit,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°What¡¯s more, I¡¯m sure, I will be able to earn money next time.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was finally reassured. ¡°Well, I believe you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was so powerful. He would definitely make a lot of money in the future!

    After Jiang Zhen made such a remark, Zhao Jinge was appeased, but when another man said such a thing, the people in his family did not believe it.

    . . .

    ¡°There are always losses and gains in business, and I haven¡¯t lost any money yet! Why are you in a hurry? I am sure I can make money!¡± Jiang Chengwen said to his family.

    ¡°How will you make money? With a house full of seafood? Sell it quickly if you can!¡± Jiang Chengxiang looked at his brother sarcastically.

    When Jiang Chengwen first came with a ship full of seafood, he was very proud. But he couldn¡¯t stand seeing Jiang Chengxiang everywhere and wanted to squeeze him out of the house. However, he was only proud of himself for less than ten days.

    In the first few days, under the publicity of olddy Jiang, people in Hexi, as well as some people from nearby viges, came to the Jiang family house to buy seafood, which sold quite well, and it didn¡¯t take long to earn over three silver. But then, no one came to buy it anymore.

    Kelp and salted fish could be kept for a long time, so people who were familiar with the Jiang family and saw that they were doing business, after buying some, didn¡¯t need to buy sea goods again for months. So Jiang Chengwen¡¯s goods were naturally not sold. But if things didn¡¯t change, it would be a problem. They couldn¡¯t keep this stuff and not sell it, right?

    When the Jiang family saw that they could not sell any kelp for several consecutive days, they became anxious and thought about it over and over again, and followed the practice of those merchants in the county town and soaked the kelp before selling it for copper pennies. However, even after doing this, they still didn¡¯t sell much . . . How many people were there in their vige? Not to mention that many of them had already bought dried kelp.

    Jiang Chengwen had no choice but to take it to the county town to sell. But going back and forth was very hard, not to mention that not much was sold . . . There was already someone else selling sea goods in the county town!

    Jiang Chengwen was originally veryzy by nature. At first, he still worked diligently for a few days in order to make money, but after a couple of days, he became tired and unhappy. Anyway, these goods were kept at home and would not go bad soon. Even if they couldn¡¯t sell them now, it was not a big deal to sell them slowly . . . Thinking like this, Jiang Chengwen did not bother going to the county town to sell them.

    But it was only he who thought it was okay to keep these goods. The rest of the Jiang family knew that it couldn¡¯t go on like this. The salted fish and the kelp could no longer be stored for a long time, nor could they be kept in a pile and left unsold!

    That day, Jiang Chengxiang, who came home, could not stand the smell of fish in the house and talked about it with Jiang Chengwen. As a result, the two men quarreled.

    ¡°Alright, stop fighting!¡± Butcher Jiang shouted.

    ¡°Father, are you just going to indulge Second Brother like this? Aren¡¯t you afraid he¡¯ll squander all the money in the family?¡± Jiang Chengxiang asked.

    ¡°Where have I squandered the money? I took out twenty silver, and at least the goods are here? What about you? You also took twenty silver, but there is nothing to see.¡± Jiang Chengwenughed coldly.

    Jiang Chengxiang looked at his parents and said, ¡°Mom, Dad, don¡¯t worry. When I get paid, I will definitely hand over half of it to the family.¡±

    ¡°You have to hand it in first!¡± Jiang Chengwen argued with Jiang Chengxiang again.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Butcher Jiang said. ¡°Stop fighting! Chengwen, tomorrow we¡¯ll pick the goods and go to other viges together to sell them.¡±

    ¡°On foot?¡± Jiang Chengwen¡¯s brows furrowed.

    ¡°How else do you want to get there?¡± Butcher Jiang was already ready to whip his second son.

    Before, they took advantage of the fact that Jiang Ping knew that the person who wanted to buy theirnd was Jiang Zhen but didn¡¯t tell them. So they had borrowed a boat from Jiang Ping and let Jiang Chengwene back with a pile of sea goods, but they couldn¡¯t borrow Jiang Ping¡¯s boat every day, right?

    Jiang Chengwen was reluctant at the thought of having to carry goods so far, but Butcher Jiang was already angry, so he didn¡¯t dare to disobey him after all.

 Chapter 72.2 - Selling chicken and ducks at home

    Chapter 72.2 ¨C Selling chicken and ducks at home

    Butcher Jiang was also worried in his heart. If he went out to sell goods, how could he do the work in the field? Their family had to raise silkworms . . .

    Originally, although their daughters-inw were women, they could still work. Work such as picking mulberries and raising silkworms was usually all done by women, but as a result . . . Zhu Shufen picked just a few mulberry leaves and said she got bitten by bugs which made her whole body itch, so she couldn¡¯t do it. Then Huang Min also refused to do it, and what made it even worse was that both of them were pregnant.

    It was originally a good thing to be able to have a baby in the family, but now that both of them got pregnant at the same time, it became a problem.

    Butcher Jiang suddenly felt that what the vigers said, that Jiang Zhen was actually born to bring blessings, might be true. If he hadn¡¯t left, how could his family¡¯s life be like this? In fact, the Jiang family was still better off than the vast majority of people in the vige, but it was hard to move from luxury to frugality. After livingfortably for so long, they could no longer stand hard work.

    While the Jiang family was gloomy, the Zhao family was overjoyed.

    After Jiang Zhen and the others went out, Zhao Fugui and his wife, along with Sun Xiaoshan and his two children, concentrated on tending their ownnd and raising chicken and ducks.

    Jiang Zhen had previously asked He Chunsheng and He Xiaosheng to help him nt these few mu of paddy field, and Zhao Fugui only needed to oversee them every day and pull some weeds, and without too much trouble, they were single-mindedly raising those chicken and ducks.

    When the chicken were kept in the woods, they would find their own food, so they only needed to feed them a little grain every night. As for the ducks . . . There were more ducks than chicken in the Zhao family. All the ducks were fed with snails and fish.

    There was a saying here that snails were the winter mussels in summer, which meant it was a good time to eat mussels in winter, and in summer, snails were the fattest.

    It would be summer soon. The river snails did not have a lot of meat, and if you wanted them to be delicious, you had to pour oil over them. In fact, ordinary people did not eat snails often, so asionally, only children had a craving for them. With a few drops of oil, they steamed a bowl of snails.

    For these reasons, river snails were quite easy to catch, and arge number of snails were often attached to the stones on the riverbank, which even meant that after a boat had been docked in the river for a long time, the bottom of the boat would bepletely covered by snails.

    Sun Xiaoshan had been with Wang Haisheng for many years. He might not have enough strength to row, but he was good at catching fish and shrimps. Zhao Fugui used to look everywhere for food when he was young too.

    At first, the snails and the fish had to be chopped into pieces, so that they could be fed to the ducks, butter, the ducks could swallow the snails whole.

    It was unclear if it was because they were given enough food, but the ducks grew very fast and it didn¡¯t take them long to mature. Now, some ducks had even startedying eggs, and they wereying quite a lot of them.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were unwilling to eat duck eggs, so they greeted the vigers and invited the vigers who wanted duck eggs over to buy them . . . As a result, they sold quite well. And this was not surprising.

    For many people things like kelp and salted fish only added some variety to their diet, so in contrast, they preferred chicken eggs, duck eggs, and . . .

    Nowadays, when a woman was pregnant with a child, she wanted to eat chicken eggs and duck eggs to supplement it. After she gave birth to the child, she wanted to eat eggs. During full moon, she handed out red eggs. Also, she had to give eggs on the child¡¯s birthday to the guestsing to their door. Boiled eggs in sugar water was the most enthusiastic reception.

    If you couldn¡¯t eat kelp, you could go without it, but eggs, even duck eggs were a must!

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge came back, someone came to the Zhaos¡¯ house to buy a basket of duck eggs, intending to make salted duck eggs¡ªwhen going out to visit rtives or friends, salted duck eggs were just as good as gifts.

    ¡°Have the ducks at home startedying eggs?¡± Zhao Jinge asked with some surprise.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Zhao Liu smiled happily. ¡°It¡¯s really good to raise ducks. You can start earning money so soon! Even if the ducks couldn¡¯t be sold, the capital can be slowly earned back just by selling duck eggs.¡±

    It actually took them a lot of effort to raise ducks, but both Zhao Liu or Zhao Fugui felt that it was not a problem to spend a little effort.

    ¡°The ducks must be sold,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll go to the county town and sell all the roosters and ducks and buy some more chicks and ducklings in return.¡±

    ¡°No need to buy any more chicks and ducklings. We can just hatch them by ourselves,¡± Zhao Liu said hurriedly. Although they didn¡¯t know how to do it before, they could just learn it.

    ¡°That¡¯s too troublesome. Might as well just buy them directly,¡± Jiang Zhen vetoed Zhao Liu¡¯s proposal.

    Hatching a brood of chicken took days, and it would be too troublesome to deal with, so it would be better to directly buy them. Actually, chicks and ducklings were pretty cheap. As for these roosters and ducks that had been raised, he could take them and sell them to the Zheng family . . . Zheng Yi was going to the capital, so he would definitely not mind buying some roosters and ducks to either marinate them or just load them on the ship for the crew to eat.

    He had previously taken two boats to travel around Hecheng County, which was considered a water county, so that he could from time to time buy food ashore, but if he went north, he would not be able to dock anywhere for days.

    Early the next morning, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui tied up the chicken and ducks they wanted to sell and carried them to the boat. In fact, the number of chicken and ducks they wanted to sell was notrge, only twenty or thirty, but because they were living creatures, they were particrly noisy, as if the cabin was filled to the brim.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, can this really be sold at once?¡± Zhao Fugui asked.

    ¡°Yes, I have connections,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    With only as many of them, if he were to give his men a share, it would all be gone in one fell swoop . . . But it was a job he had given Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu. He could not take the chicken and ducks they had raised to give away.

    When Butcher Jiang and Jiang Chengwen picked some salted fish and kelp and were walking along the river channel, they saw Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui and also heard the conversation between the two.

    Butcher Jiang felt something unbearable fill his heart. It was clearly his son, but he ended up calling someone else ¡°Father¡± so affectionately! Butcher Jiang stopped in his tracks and looked at Jiang Zhen, who ignored him and rowed towards the county town.

    Selling chicken and ducks was just a small matter, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t go to Young Master Zheng but found Steward Zheng and asked him if he wanted to buy chicken and ducks.

    Of course, the Zheng family had a vige in the countryside that would raise some chicken and ducks for them, but for such arge family, there were never too many chicken and ducks. Of course, at present, there were many chicken and ducks.

    These chicken and ducks were sold out all at once because they were very fat, making Steward Zheng quite satisfied, so he directly told Zhao Fugui that the next time there were chicken and ducks for sale, they could be delivered directly to him. In addition, the steward of the Zheng family also wanted duck eggs. The Zheng family had a dedicated fleet of ships, and salted duck eggs were always one of the crew¡¯s favorite foods.

    It was the first time for Zhao Fugui to deal with such a decent man as Steward Zheng. He was so excited that he stumbled over his words, but then he discovered that Steward Zheng was easy to get along with, so he calmed down eventually.

    Steward Zheng was indeed very approachable. He talked with Zhao Fugui with a smile on his face before politely sending Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui away. Then he turned around and told Zheng Yi about it.

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen should have no shortage of silver on his hands and a number of men under him. I didn¡¯t expect that he would even be willing to sell chicken and ducks and get himself covered in duck feathers and chicken shit,¡± the steward said.

    ¡°Yeah . . . He is a man who knows how to be grateful.¡±

    Zheng Yi smiled and became even more satisfied with Jiang Zhen. When the person you worked with knew how to repay kindness, you could rest assured. As for Jiang Zhen being unfilial to his own parents, well . . . after all, it was the Jiang family who had gone too far.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui sold the chicken and ducks, they went to the docks to buy some more chicken and ducklings and also discussed with the people who sold the poultry to let them hatch some more and go to their house to sell them in a few days.

    Jiang Zhen pondered. It should be no problem for Zhao Fugui, Zhao Liu, and Sun Xiaoshan to raise one hundred chicken and ducks.

    ¡°Father, when you raise chicken and ducks in the future, don¡¯t do everything by yourselves. You should trade chicken and duck eggs for snails and small fish with the vigers.¡± Jiang Zhen talked with Zhao Fugui about business.

    Zhao Fugui nodded again and again. Jiang Zhen¡¯s brain was really good! Come to think of it, grain could also be exchanged for eggs . . .

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t be reluctant to eat and drink. Two eggs a day per person is a must,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    ¡°Two eggs a day? How could we eat like that?¡± Zhao Fugui immediately frowned, but was so happy in his heart that he was already nning to share it with Zhao Liu when he came back. Instead of gossiping with the vigers, he chatted with Zhao Liu.

 Chapter 73.1 - Taking more people in

    <strong>Chapter 73.1 ¨C Taking more people in</strong>

    After talking with Zhao Fugui for a long time, Jiang Zhen finally convinced him to eat at least one egg a day. He knew that when he and Zhao Jinge weren¡¯t there, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui would certainly not be willing to buy meat to eat, so he let Zhao Fugui catch fish every day. The big ones had to be brought home to be eaten, and if there were eel loaches, they had to eat them too instead of feeding them to the ducks.

    Eating fish and eggs every day was already enough for elder people . . . Jiang Zhen put his mind at ease and thought that when he left this time, it would be best to prepare more seasoning, oil, and salt at home. When Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu cooked, they wouldn¡¯t spare even the oil.

    Jiang Zhen had already decided to specifically boil a can ofrd that couldn¡¯t be stored for a long time in high summer and leave it at home before setting off.

    While Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui were busy outside, Zhao Liu was preparing food with Zhao Jinge. They killed a rooster, then took out the eel they had caught and kept in the tank. Zhao Liu had discovered a long time ago that Jiang Zhen seemed to be particrly fond of eating eel loaches, so they had specially reserved it for him.

    ¡°Jinge, how are you and Jiang Zhen doing? Is he good to you?¡± Zhao Liu asked her son.

    ¡°Mother, he is very kind to me,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen was really good to him, which always made him fear that one day Jiang Zhen might no longer like him. The other day, he dreamed that Jiang Zhen had turned back into the same Eldest Jiang who didn¡¯t like talking and kept his head bowed all day. He called him over and over again but was ignored by him.

    ¡°So how are you two doing at night?¡± Zhao Liu asked again.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Zhao Jinge lowered his head and blushed.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you make out at night. This way, you can have a baby early,¡± Zhao Liu said. ¡°Speaking of which, it has been two months since you got married, so maybe you already have a baby in your belly . . .¡±

    Zhao Liu spoke cheerfully at first but quickly frowned again. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t it be bad for you to go to the capital with him?¡±

    Jiang Zhen had already told Zhao Liu about them going to the capital. Zhao Liu felt that it would be a good thing for Jiang Zhen to go to the capital, but for Zhao Jinge . . .

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s nothing, right? Which one of the women or gers in the vige doesn¡¯t work until they give birth?¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Some people were kind to their young wives who were pregnant with children and would give them some eggs or something, but even so, those women still had to work. Most familiescked manpower, so everyone needed to go to the fields.

    When he was very busy nting rice seedlings in the past, Zhao Jinge saw a woman with a big belly nting rice. Because both of her legs were stuck in the mud, her waist didn¡¯t need to bend too much and she nted very quickly. Later, she had a stomach ache, so she went home after washing up. After a while, news came that she had given birth to a daughter.

    He used to think that even if he were lucky enough to get married and have children, he would have to work until he gave birth. But now, he was just going out and following the fleet and asionally moving goods, which was really nothing.

    When Zhao Liu thought about it, she also felt it would be fine. The people in their vige were not as delicate as the people in the city. And . . . even though she wanted her son to have a child soon, she was actually just giving lip service and didn¡¯t really have much hope.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Fugui went out in the morning, they brought the chicken and ducks with them, but when they came back at noon, they were reced by fluffy little chicken and ducklings.

    Zhao Liu was now very fond of small chicken and ducklings, so much that she touched them one by one and after lunch, she started tossing food for these small things again.

    Jiang Zhen, on the other hand, called Wang Haisheng and the He brothers from their vige, and then helped Zhao Fugui with his work, such as cleaning out chicken and duck excrements. There were no chemical fertilizers these days, and the chicken and duck manure was a good thing. Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui kept most of it for their own use and gave the remaining half away to others. When giving the manure away, they inevitably had to say a few words.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is very good. As soon as he came back, he went back to work and didn¡¯t even take a break. Fugui wanted to help him, but he stopped him, saying that he would do it.¡±

    The smug look on Zhao Liu¡¯s face made many people envious and jealous.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen has always been hard-working . . .¡± the person who spoke to Zhao Liumented. ¡°Before, the Jiang family had a lot ofnd and not enough fertilizer for it, so he even went to the river to dig pond mud to use as fertilizer, but now, without him . . . tsk, tsk thatnd of the Jiang family, the harvest is reduced by at least one-tenth.¡±

    The mud in the pond could also be used as fertilizer, but it was very tiring to do so and it needed to dry for days, so, usually, no one would do it.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s especially hardworking. I used to think that my family¡¯s Jinge was hardworking, but now . . . I heard that when he went out this time, he even asked Jiang Zhen to cook for him!¡± Zhao Liu scolded Zhao Jinge again. (Yup, scolding, and at the same time showing off XD)

    While they were talking, many people heard them and soon someone smiled at Zhao Liu and said, ¡°Zhao Liu, stop talking. Can¡¯t you see that olddy Jiang is angered by you? Tsk, tsk! She must be having a hard time.¡±

    Earlier, olddy Jiang was also working alongside them.

    Zhao Liu went outside and pissed-off olddy Jiang again while, on the other side, Jiang Zhen, Zhao Fugui, and the others cleaned up the area where the chicken and ducks were raised. They plowed the ground to nt vegetables and separated it with a fence.

    When the vegetables started growing, they couldn¡¯t let the chicken and duck damage them. But when they had grown, they could put them over and let them eat as much as they wanted.

    ¡°Father, the next time you go to the Zheng mansion to deliver chicken and duck eggs, you can also drop off some vegetables,¡± Jiang Zhen said as he finished his busy day¡¯s work and went to clean himself in the river.

    In summer, they all went to the river to wash, and even women and gers were no exception, but even if they had to wash, the young women and gers hid and took turns washing, most of them still wearing clothes, but the older ones . . .

    Jiang Zhen, Zhao Fugui, and the others were washing in the river. Not so far away, some middle-aged women were watching them,ughing and smiling.

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen¡¯s body looks really sturdy!¡±

    ¡°This Zhao Fugui is already so old but still looks interesting.¡±

    ¡°Those two brothers from the He family aren¡¯t bad either . . .¡±

 Chapter 73.2 - Taking more people in

    <h4>Chapter 73.2 ¨C Taking more people in</h4>

    While taking a bath, they didn¡¯t take off their pants. But now feeling these people eying them, they felt that those staring eyes alone could take their pants off . . .

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll send someone to dig a well at home tomorrow,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He was not ustomed to being watched while bathing. Moreover, with a well, it would be much more convenient to wash and cook at home.

    Jiang Zhen took this matter to heart, but the next day, he didn¡¯t immediately go to find men to drill the well because all of his men arrived.

    Jiang Zhen gave these people two days off, and since the break was over, all of them came to him.

    When they went out to see the world, they suddenly found out that the world was so big! They would also get the opportunity to go to the capital . . . The spirit of these people was very different from what it used to be. They also deliberately wore their uniforms and held their heads high as they walked . . .

    The people of Hexi looked at these people in a daze. Even the vige head, Jiang Ping, had amazement in his eyes.

    ¡°Father, I also want to follow Jiang Zhen.¡± Jiang Ming looked at his father.

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Ping was startled and asked promptly.

    ¡°Father, I went to see He Xiaosheng yesterday, and he said they are going to the capital! I want to go too. I¡¯m going to follow Jiang Zhen!¡± Jiang Ming said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fool around! Can you follow him just because you want to? Also, how dangerous it is out there!¡± Jiang Ping admonished his son.

    After being reprimanded by Jiang Ping, Jiang Ming closed his mouth and stopped speaking, but his eyes were still turning.

    Near his home, Jiang Zhen was training his men, when he saw Jiang Ming, who came to introduce himself.

    Jiang Zhen epted him without hesitation. Jiang Ming could recognize a few words, and . . . if the son of the vige head of Hexi followed him, it could bring him great benefits. At least, he did not have to worry about Zhao Fugui and his wife being wronged in the vige.

    Jiang Ming got the set of clothes that day and joined the group. He was a little unustomed to it, so it was difficult for him to move as neatly as the others. But since he was physically fit due to working in the farm all the time, he didn¡¯t fall behind in the training. Of course, it was inevitable to have sore muscles the next day.

    Jiang Ping watched his son follow Jiang Zhen just like that, and only he himself knew how tangled his heart was. On one hand, he didn¡¯t dare to offend Jiang Zhen, but on the other, he really wanted his second son to make a career out of it, so he simply let it go.

    The son of the vige head unexpectedly went to follow Jiang Zhen! When the people of Hexi found out, they were all dumbfounded. Which young man didn¡¯t want to make a career? After finding out that the people working for Jiang Zhen not only ate well but got paid and even had the opportunity to go to the capital, many of the young men in Hexi wanted to follow Jiang Zhen. By then, they had long since forgotten their fear of Jiang Zhen and were only bent on following him to live a good life.

    The number of people who came to Jiang Zhen to introduce themselves immediately increased. Had it not been for the fact that many people in Hexi had bullied Jiang Zhen in the past and were worried that Jiang Zhen would settle the score with them now, there would have been even more people who came.

    Jiang Zhen did not ept all of those people, but after asking them one by one about their situation, he took in seven. This way, he had more than forty people under him.

    It wasn¡¯t long until they had to leave for the capital and time was tight, so the training Jiang Zhen arranged for his men was also very tough, but the neers were determined to go to the capital and surpass the regrs, and the regrs were afraid of being kicked out by the neers. So unexpectedly, they all worked very hard andpleted the training extremely well.

    Jiang Zhen only used military training methods to train the momentum of these people and taught them how to use bamboo poles, all of which was simple and only needed four of five days. The neers got in shape, and the regrs became even stronger.

    At this point, with only three days left until the time agreed upon, Jiang Zhen took his men to the county town, intending to show Zheng Yi these people and help out with something.

    The Zheng family dispatched a total of five ships to the capital this time. Because of the secrecy, the fiverge ships did not stop at the dock where people came and went to the county town, but at a dock that belonged exclusively to the Zheng family. It was there Zheng Yi met with Jiang Zhen and his men.

    Although Zheng Yi had hired Jiang Zhen and his men to protect him, he hadn¡¯t just called on Jiang Zhen but also on the Zheng family¡¯s house guards, so there would be seventy or eighty men on board. He called up Jiang Zhen, but in fact, the main purpose was to talk with him.

    After seeing the people behind Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise. Those scattered and disobedient thugs, their appearance had changed under Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands. Such a group of people might actually be able to protect him. Zheng Yi was looking forward to Jiang Zhen¡¯s next performance more and more.

    In the end, Jiang Zhen was just an ordinary person. Even if he had some ability, he was notparable to Zheng Yi in any aspect. Even in terms of status, he was only a subordinate of Zheng Yi¡¯s, so Zheng Yi spoke to him for a while, gave him a deposit, and left.

    There were already many people who were moving goods, so there was no need for Jiang Zhen¡¯s men to do it. Jiang Zhen continued training his people, and like before, Zhao Jinge also took part in the training.

    Originally, after hearing Zhao Liu¡¯s words, Zhao Jinge had some objections and was looking forward to having a child, so he went to the county town to find a doctor to feel his pulse. However, he was not pregnant.

    He thought that his cinnabar mole was pale and he was already so old, so how could getting pregnant be so easy? Zhao Jinge felt a little lost and took part in the training seriously.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s own efforts and Jiang Zhen¡¯s humble cooking skills had undoubtedly made him the best performer of all, and his skills got much better. However, he hadn¡¯t forgotten that he was a ger and didn¡¯t want to fight against others, so the others didn¡¯t know exactly what he was capable of.

    The day prior to their departure, Jiang Zhen gave his people another day off and let them go home, then he took Zhao Jinge back with him.

    Recently, the family had dug a well, and this well had undoubtedly let Zhao Liu show off again.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge returned, Zhao Liu went to prepare some delicious food again. Because Jiang Zhen had brought back a lot of oil andrd that couldn¡¯t be stored for long in summer, Zhao Liu was ruthless enough to cook some very oil-consuming dishes for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    There were many kinds of fish here and the mostmon among them was the minnow. Of course, people in Hexi didn¡¯t call it by its official name but called it striped fish. This kind of fish usually swam around in groups near the water surface. It didn¡¯t grow big, only to the size of a finger, but the meat was very tender. Because of its small size, people didn¡¯t eat it much, but in fact, it tasted pretty good, more so when fried in oil.

    Zhao Liu cleaned up the minnow and deep-fried it in oil, so that they didn¡¯t have to spit out the bones and could chew it up and eat it whole. It would taste even better when seasoned and then fried.

    Jiang Zhen had been particrly fond of oily dishes since he came here, and Zhao Liu, who was still frying fish in the kitchen, had already secretly eaten seven or eight minnow fishes and fed Zhao Jinge five or six. After Zhao Jinge ate some, he refused to eat anymore.

    Jiang Zhen teased, ¡°Jinge, if you don¡¯t eat, I¡¯m going to kiss you.¡±

    Zhao Liu was in the kitchen and Zhao Fugui was outside, so just thinking about sneaking a kiss from Zhao Jinge at this time made him excited. Thinking this way, Jiang Zhen moved away the fish that he had originally held near Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth . . . He decided to not let Zhao Jinge eat it.

    ¡°You . . .¡± Zhao Jinge, who originally wanted to open his mouth and eat the fish, was dumbfounded and looked towards the kitchen with worry lest Zhao Liu suddenly came out.

    Yes, he who was often kissed was ready to be kissed.

    Just then, someone from outside ran in and said, ¡°Boss, I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re in trouble!¡±

    You guys are indeed in trouble . . . Jiang Zhen, who was thinking about his wife, quickly stood up straight and fed the fish to Zhao Jinge before looking over with a frown. He saw He Chunsheng and He Xiaosheng standing in the doorway with troubled faces.

    ¡°What have you gotten yourselves into?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It was not us . . . It¡¯s our father . . . He owes a lot of money to the gambling house in the county town.¡± He Chunsheng bowed his head in shame.

    He Xiasheng, who was equally ashamed, sneaked a nce at Zhao Jinge. Just now . . . Boss Jiang was feeding him fish?

 Chapter 74.1 - Zhao Jinge beat people up

    Chapter 74.1 ¨C Zhao Jinge beat people up

    Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang hadn¡¯t been good to Eldest Jiang mainly because of superstition. To be honest, they were actually good to their children, at least to the children other than Boss Jiang.

    Jiang Chengwen entered the room full of seafood that could not be sold. Butcher Jiang not only did not me him too much but also packed some on his stretcher and went out every day to help him sell it.

    But Father He was really not good to his children and never took care of them. When He Chunsheng remembered what he had just learned, his big eyes were red with anxiety.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jiang Zhen asked with a frown.

    He Chunsheng immediately started speaking.

    After he and He Xiaosheng had cleaned up after Father He earlier and observed him at all times, Father He became honest for a while. But after they followed Jiang Zhen outside, Father He¡¯s mind started calcting again.

    At first, Father He only seized the grain and the two chickens He Chunsheng had left to his mother and took the money from selling them to gamble. Later, when he lost all the money and couldn¡¯t get any more money, he remembered Jiang Zhen.

    A gambler like Father He, who was capable of anything, wasn¡¯t worried about losing face and had no shame, found Hongxing Gambling House and told them that his two sons were working under Jiang Zhen, so he borrowed money from the gambling house and started gambling there.

    Without any doubt, he lost all his money again. Then Jiang Zhen and the others came back.

    His two sons had returned, made money, and were going to the capital in a few days. Father He suddenly became even more daring . . .

    Before, he only dared to borrow one or two silver, but this time, he directly borrowed twenty silver and followed others to gamble.

    In the gambling house, you were supposed to originally lose nine out of ten bets, and some people with brains might still be able to win some money there. Father He was not smart and had no skills, so he couldn¡¯t even think about it. There was no doubt that twenty silver had gone down the drain again.

    He didn¡¯t tell He Chunsheng and He Xiaosheng about it and even wanted to continue borrowing money. It was only that the thugs in the gambling house told the two He brothers about it.

    ¡°You take care of it yourself,¡± said Jiang Zhen after listening to them.

    ¡°We . . .¡± He Chunsheng froze. He simply didn¡¯t know how to solve it, so he came to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°There is still one day left. If you can¡¯t solve this problem, you don¡¯t need to go to the capital,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    People like He Chunsheng and He Xiaosheng could still be used, but he didn¡¯t want to be entangled with a person like Father He. If these two couldn¡¯t deal with their own father, he would have to give up on them.

    Can¡¯t go to the capital? He Chunsheng was stupefied then pulled He Xiasheng over and said to Jiang Zhen, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Boss. I will take care of this matter.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer, pulled his brother and darted off quickly.

    Since Jiang Zhen epted him and He Xiasheng, they didn¡¯t have to go hungry anymore. Aftering back from the trip this time, they had be the envy of everyone in the vige.

    He Chunsheng was already in his early twenties, and there was someone he liked. Before, he always thought there was no hope for him to marry the one he liked, but now . . . he wasn¡¯t hopeless at all. But if his father kept making trouble, he was afraid that this hope would soon go up in smoke.

    He Xiasheng and He Qiusheng, if they kept going like this, their lives would be destroyed sooner orter.

    When He Chunsheng returned home, he saw his father eating.

    After He Chunsheng went out of the house with Jiang Zhen, he earned money, and with that money, he bought delicious food to bring home. While his mother was reluctant to eat the food, she let Father He eat it.

    ¡°Have you asked Jiang Zhen? He should be able to wipe out that debt, right? He is a manager of Hongxing Gambling House!¡± Father He said. ¡°And you guys, you¡¯re all going to follow Master Zheng to the capital. I only owe twenty to thirty silver, what are you doing with me . . .¡±

    Before Father He could finish speaking, He Chunsheng had already dragged him away from the table. Father He, who was caught off guard, immediately let out a startled cry.

    ¡°Chunsheng, what are you doing?¡± Mother He hurriedly went to help Father He.

    ¡°Mother, Jiang Zhen is going to drive us away,¡± He Chunsheng said.

    ¡°How could that be?¡± Mother He got worried. ¡®¡®Doesn¡¯t he value you guys very much? Why would he want to drive you away?¡±

    ¡°Father is causing trouble everywhere. How can he not drive us away? With such a father, Xiasheng and I won¡¯t be able to find work in the future! We won¡¯t be able to get married and have children either! And Qiusheng, what is the use of his good looks? Even if he gets married, such a father will probably go to his door to borrow money every day. His new family will be annoyed and will probably overwork him to death!¡± He Chunsheng said angrily to his mother.

    The fact that their father was like this had nothing to do with their mother, but he couldn¡¯t understand why his mother couldn¡¯t think of them.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen . . . ,¡± said Mother He. ¡°There must be a way . . .¡±

    ¡°What can be done? Now that he owes Hongxing Gambling House more than thirty silver, can hee up with the money? Do you have money?¡±

    At this point, He Chunsheng became angry with his mother. Although his father went out to gamble every day, he still returned home to eat and sleep. Could his mother really miss the difference in his father¡¯s face when he went gambling? Why didn¡¯t she tell him and Xiasheng about it? And why did she give Father He good food and drink?

    ¡°You have done so much work for that Jiang Zhen. How can he drive you away? That¡¯s not gonna happen! You should go to him and ask forpensation!¡± He Father said.

    As soon as his words fell, He Chunsheng had already pulled him up and walked away with him despite his resistance.

    He Chunsheng directly dragged Father He to Hongxing Gambling House, asked He Xiaosheng to guard him, and then went to find the casino manager, Zhang.

    Before, he wouldn¡¯t even dare to enter the gambling shop, but after going out with Jiang Zhen, he became much bolder and wasn¡¯t afraid to face Manager Zhang.

    ¡°Manager Zhang, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not much of a man, and my father has lost all the money in my family. I can¡¯t pay off the gambling debt he owes,¡± He Chunsheng apologized to Manager Zhang.

    ¡°It is nothing, nothing.¡± Manager Zhang smiled.

    He knew that Jiang Zhen was highly valued by Young Master Zheng, so he was more forgiving of Father He after learning that both of his sons were working under Jiang Zhen. In fact, he was trying to sell Jiang Zhen a favor. As such, he naturally didn¡¯t care if Father He could pay back the money.

    ¡°Manager Zhang, please keep this money in mind. I will certainly pay it backter. Besides, I have one more thing I¡¯d like to ask Manager Zhang to help me with,¡± He Chunsheng said and bowed.

    ¡°What?¡± Manager Zhang showed some interest.

    ¡°I hope Manager Zhang can keep my father as a worker in the gambling house. Manager Zhang, to the outside world, as well as to my father, just say that I don¡¯t want to pay back this money and want him to work to pay it back by himself . . . With so much money, he will probably need to work for twenty years,¡± He Chunsheng said. ¡°My father is only forty years old this year, so he can work for another twenty years without any problem. He can do all kinds of dirty work, and he doesn¡¯t even need to be paid!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a wise man.¡± Manager Zhang was startled at first but thenughed. ¡°Okay. I will let him work for me in the future. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll let someone watch over him.¡±

    Having been in charge of the gambling shop for a long time, Manager Zhang had seen a lot of gamblers. As long as the family was soft on the gambler . . . It was no use for the gambler to make any promises. He would gamble again and again.

    He originally wanted to get rid of this ount and pull some strings with Jiang Zhen or the men under Jiang Zhen, but now it seemed that . . . maybe there was another way.

    Manager Zhang agreed to keep Father He.

 Chapter 74.2 - Zhao Jinge beat people up

    Chapter 74.2 ¨C Zhao Jinge beat people up

    He Chunsheng said thank you before leaving. He took a few steps before turning back and saying, ¡°Manager Zhang, just let him work. You don¡¯t have to be too kind to him. He said before that as long as he can stay in the gambling house, a meal of porridge and pickles will make him happy.¡±

    ¡°Alright. No problem,¡± Manager Zhang said.

    He was trying to befriend He Chunsheng, and after understanding what He Chunsheng meant, he certainly wouldn¡¯t do anything to make He Chunsheng angry. Then to Father He, he would definitely do a good job of teaching him.

    He Chunsheng turned around and told Father He that he had sold him to the gambling house for about twenty years to let him work off the debt he owed the gambling house.

    Father He was startled and wailed that He Chunsheng was unfilial, but He Chunsheng ignored him and went to the gambling house thugs, took out all his savings, and invited them to dinner.

    ¡°My father is a man who has nothing else in his eyes but gambling. Please keep an eye on him. If he wants to gamble, just beat him up. If he borrows money from someone, tell that person that lending money to him is against me. Anyway, I won¡¯t pay it back.¡±

    After saying this, He Chunsheng toasted with the thugs again and told them everything he had experienced. In the end, he added, ¡°Please help, everyone! When Ie back from the capital, I¡¯ll buy everyone a drink.¡±

    He Chunsheng was busy outside for a long time before he returned home. As soon as he got home, he saw his mother looking at him with an uneasy face.

    ¡°Chunsheng, does Jiang Zhen really not want you guys anymore? What can be done about that?¡±

    ¡°Mother, you know it¡¯s no good. Just leave that man alone next time! I gave him to the gambling house to let him pay back his own debts. If you are still thinking of him, don¡¯t live with me and Xiasheng. Go live with him!¡± He Chunsheng said. ¡°Mother, think about it.¡±

    Mother He froze.

    ¡°Qiusheng,e here. Brother has something to say to you,¡± He Chunsheng said to He Qiusheng.

    He Qiusheng was a clever person, so He Chunsheng told him the specific situation, and said, ¡°Qiusheng, Mother is confused. You decide upon your own marriage, but you also have to weigh yourself a little. Xiasheng and I are going to the capital tomorrow. You check for the time being who is suitable.¡±

    ¡°Big Brother . . .¡± He Qiusheng wanted to tell him that he didn¡¯t want to marry, but he couldn¡¯t say it. He should have a n for himself.

    His big brother had gotten his dad out of the way, so he could have some better options.

    The next day it was the time to leave for the capital.

    Since the He brothers had already settled Father He¡¯s matters, Jiang Zhen naturally took them with him.

    The Zheng family prepared several ships in total for this trip to the capital, and it was reasonable that Jiang Zhen¡¯s men could not stay on the main ship. But Zheng Yi insisted that Jiang Zhen and all his men board the main ship. Jiang Zhen and his men were all locals of Hecheng County, and they were no ouws after all.

    ¡°By the way, prepare a separate cabin for Jiang Zhen!¡± After boarding the ship, Zheng Yi gave anothermand and then nced and smiled at Zhao Jinge beside Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Thank you, Master Zheng,¡± Jiang Zhen thanked him.

    The boat Zheng Yi prepared this time was muchrger than the one he chartered before to Jiang Zhen. But it was still a bit crowded in the end because of the number of people Zheng Yi brought with him.

    Jiang Zhen had just put away the things he brought with him when someone came to him, saying that Master Zheng wanted to see him.

    ¡°Jinge, wait for me here. I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge and then followed the man.

    With Jiang Zhen gone, Zhao Jinge was left alone to put things up in the cabin.

    The cabin was still not veryrge, and probably because it had been unupied for a long time, it gave off an unpleasant smell.

    Zhao Jinge was a ger after all. There was no way to keep clean while working in the fields at home, but he still liked to keep himself and his house tidy. So he went out with a bucket of water, intending to get water to clean the cabin.

    This ship was not taking the sea route, and there was no shortage of water, but when Zhao Jinge came to the bow of the boat to fetch water, he was stopped by someone.

    ¡°The ship just sailed and it is in a mess. Where does this watere from? You can figure by yourself how to get it.¡±

    There was clearly water there, but they just didn¡¯t want to give Zhao Jinge any.

    Zhao Jinge frowned but did not argue. He found a rope and tied it to a wooden bucket, drew a bucket of water, and carried it to the cabin to scrub up the bed in the cabin. He even used a knife to peel off some dirt and moldy wood.

    After going back and forth like this for a couple of times, Zhao Jinge finally cleaned the room where he and Jiang Zhen were going to stay, leaving the door of the room open for better venttion while taking out the mat to air.

    He was busy, when suddenly someone came in from outside. ¡°Hello!¡±

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡±

    When Zhao Jinge looked up, he saw a topless man frowning at him.

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll take this cabin. You go live next door,¡± the man said to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already cleaned up this room.¡± Instead of looking at the other man¡¯s body, Zhao Jinge looked at his face.

    It took him an hour to clean this room, and naturally, he didn¡¯t want to exchange it with anyone.

    ¡°You should be ashamed of yourself, brat!¡±

    The man nced at Zhao Jinge and snorted coldly, then suddenly reached out and kicked over the wooden bucket that Zhao Jinge had ced next to him.

    ¡°You . . .¡± Zhao Jinge frowned. The ship had several levels, but the wood couldn¡¯t seal off the water. Therefore, except for the specially separated ces for people to take a bath and wash, the other ces couldn¡¯t have a bucket of water being poured like this.

    However, the cabin they lived in was on the penultimate floor, and there was some water-blocking clutter underneath, so it didn¡¯t matter much.

    ¡°What is the matter with you? Just fetch water and clean it for a half a day like a sissy. What are you doing spilling the water? Do you know what is down there?¡±

    The man was the first toin and also began reprimanding Zhao Jinge. And, within a short time, there were a number of people gathered there, all looking at Zhao Jinge with terrible expressions.

    Zhao Jinge had been following Jiang Zhen these days and seen a lot of things, how could he not understand that these people were looking for trouble on purpose?

    ¡°What do you guys want?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s our turn to ask you what you wanted to do when you soaked everything down there!¡± the leader said.

    These people were indeed here to pick a fight. They were all members of the Zheng family, and they had always protected Zheng Yi. However, this time Zheng Yi unexpectedly assigned many of them to other ships but let Jiang Zhen and his men board the main ship.

    These people were upset, so how could they not pick a fight? In Jiang Zhen¡¯s absence, they went after Zhao Jinge, who seemed to be Jiang Zhen¡¯s right-hand man.

    ¡°Boy, you¡¯re going to lose money!¡±

    ¡°Give up this room!¡±

    ¡°Apologize to us, and it will be over.¡±

    . . .

    When these people looked at Zhao Jinge, they didn¡¯t hide their malice at all, and some of them even came forward and pulled the mat that Zhao Jinge had justid on the ground and stepped on it twice.

    If it had happened in the past, Zhao Jinge would have probably softened his stance and given up the room. But when he thought of Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t want to put up with it at all. If Jiang Zhen came back, he would be disappointed to know that he gave up this room.

    Zhao Jinge looked at these people and took a deep breath. He felt that he should learn from Jiang Zhen . . . Aiming at the nose of the one who hade in first, Zhao Jinge punched him in the face.

    Those people came over and actually wanted Zhao Jinge to fight with them, but Zhao Jinge did not say a word and suddenly struck, which was a bit unexpected. Zhao Jinge moved too fast, and the man was not able to dodge.

    ¡°Boy, you have guts!¡±

    The man covered his nose, which was hit by Zhao Jinge,ughing coldly and moved his hand towards Zhao Jinge as well.

 Chapter 75.1 - He is a ger

    Chapter 75.1 ¨C He is a ger

    With the exception of Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge had almost never fought with anyone. Because the cabin was very hot, many of them were bare-chested, which made him feel extremely ufortable.

    Because of this, after the initial punch that injured their leader, Zhao Jinge was forced to back off several steps into the corner of the cabin. The cabin was not big, and if he were to be surrounded by several people, he would not escape being beaten up!

    Zhao Jinge became anxious and suddenly thought of the various techniques Jiang Zhen had taught him over the past two months.

    While other people only learned how to hold a bamboo pole and stab with it repeatedly, he learned a lot of skills. Jiang Zhen taught him those skills in the hope that he would not be bullied.

    Gritting his teeth, Zhao Jinge raised his head and suddenly kicked towards the man in front of him, hitting him directly in the lower abdomen, right on that spot.

    It was true that Jiang Zhen had taught Zhao Jinge a lot of fighting techniques, but since the main thing that he taught Zhao Jinge was real-life fighting, the first thing he taught Zhao Jinge was . . . the wolf-prevention technique.

    The wolf-prevention technique was also considered a quickbat skill. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like to use it himself, but he taught it to Zhao Jinge and even let Zhao Jinge practice it on him.

    For example, during the twenty days or so they had lived on the ship, Jiang Zhen let Zhao Jinge use the wolf-prevention technique against him, and then he blocked all of his moves and yed with Zhao Jinge using extremely gentle movements like a monkey stealing peaches and other things . . .

    Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen basically did not use their strength when they fought, and Jiang Zhen knew this skill well, so he had never been sessful with this wolf-prevention technique, but the people in front of him were different.

    Zhao Jinge tried his best at the moment, and these people simply did not expect him to use such vicious tricks.

    The big man whose nose had been broken by Zhao Jinge earlier had his whole face already covered in blood. Now that he was hit hard, he immediately started jumping up in ce, clutching his crotch and startling the other people present.

    After the initial shock, they looked even more threateningly at Zhao Jinge.

    The cabin was very small and, in fact, not very suitable for a group fight. The first person who was kicked by Zhao Jinge more or less blocked the route for the others to rush at him, saving Zhao Jinge, who was already leaning against the corner, from being surrounded at once.

    Zhao Jinge knew very well that if he weren¡¯t ruthless, he would definitely take a beating. There was nothing wrong with taking a beating, but he was a ger. If he was beaten by a group of men, his reputation wouldn¡¯t be good at all!

    Thinking this way, Zhao Jinge became vicious and began attacking the people before him with all his might, using all kinds of wolf-prevention techniques alternately.

    Some men might find that using these tricks was too demeaning, but when Zhao Jinge used them, there was no psychological barrier at all.

    He was a ger.

    ¡°This boy is too insidious!¡±

    ¡°He must be taught a lesson!¡±

    ¡°How dare you kick me? Do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°My eyes! Ah!¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s battle results could be called glorious, but in the end, he was only a single person against a bunch of men.

    Although he knocked down several people, he took several punches as well . . . Zhao Jinge used one hand to scratch a man¡¯s face and, immediately after, received a punch on the eye.

    The pain made Zhao Jinge grow more and more ferocious. At that moment, Wang Haisheng and the He brothers who had tidied up their amodations also came over.

    Jiang Zhen was called by Zheng Yi to talk about the cards, and Zheng Yi also told him some things about the capital city.

    It was at this moment that Jiang Zhen learned that the emperor of Daqi was a seven-year-old puppet and that it was the empress dowager, in the shadow, who made all the decisions.

    It was obvious that the Zheng family was not one of those people who would say, ¡°Women can usurp a man¡¯s power only at home,¡± and then get into a fight with the empress dowager, because Zheng Yi indicated that they wanted to please the empress dowager.

    These very exquisite cards would definitely appeal to a woman who lived in the pce and had no pastime.

    No, he empress dowager wasn¡¯t a woman. After listening for another moment, Jiang Zhen realized that the empress dowager, who was now controlling the imperial government, was a ger.

    This information should be of little use to Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen still listened attentively and even took the initiative to ask about the capital and the system within the imperial court.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen like this, Zheng Yi was even more satisfied, and at the end of their chat, he invited Jiang Zhen to have dinner with him and said they could y cards together after eating.

    He developed a strong love for cards recently, but unfortunately, in order to maintain the secret, he couldn¡¯t just find anyone to y with . . .

    Jiang Zhen refused. ¡°Young Master Zheng, my men haven¡¯t settled down yet. I¡¯d like to have a look first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and your ger. You should also check on him too,¡± Young Master Zheng said.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to go and check on Zhao Jinge. Just when he was about to go over there after saying thank you, a little boy suddenly ran to them in a hurry.

    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s bad. We have a problem!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zheng Yi frowned.

    ¡°There is a fight in the cabin! That group at Lu¡¯s side went to trouble Jiang Zhen¡¯s men and got in a fight with the man who always follows Boss Jiang.¡±

    The boy often followed Zheng Yi and knew that Zheng Yi attached great importance to Jiang Zhen, so when he received the news, he hurried over to report it. However, he obviously did not know that Zhao Jinge was actually a ger.

    ¡°What?¡± Zheng Yi¡¯s brows furrowed.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s face changed even more, and he directly rushed out. Jiang Zhen was very fast, and in no time, he arrived outside the cabin where he and Zhao Jinge were to stay. By that time, the ce was already a mess.

    The forty or so of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, who did not have a separate cabin to sleep in, were staying in a big bunk room, which was a bit far away from this cabin, so when Zhao Jinge and those men began fighting at first, they didn¡¯t immediately notice. But soon after, they found out.

    Someone hit Brother Zhao Jinge! Someone was bullying their people! Without even thinking about it, those people got together to help Zhao Jinge.

    When they came, so did the people who were raised by the Zheng family to protect Zheng Yi . . . Just like that, the two sides got into a fight!

    Thankfully, everyone still knew to restrain themselves a bit, so they didn¡¯t use knives, the cabin was too small also, and the fight had just started. They didn¡¯t hit too hard.

    The path was so crowded with people that Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t see Zhao Jinge¡¯s situation. He was so furious that he went up, grabbed a man, thrashed him, and then squeezed in while hitting others.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s men started crying out in pain one after another and tried to besiege Jiang Zhen. However, after Jiang Zhen grabbed a wooden stick, instead of being besieged by them, he forced them to flee.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen¡¯s appearance had raised the spirits of his men and made the fight even more fierce.

 Chapter 75.2 - He is a ger

    Chapter 75.2 ¨C He is a ger

    When Zheng Yi came over, he saw that the group of people he had raised had been beaten to tears.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Zheng Yi shouted.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s men dared to find trouble with Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, but they absolutely didn¡¯t dare to not listen to Zheng Yi, so when Zheng Yi shouted, they immediately stopped fighting.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Jiang Zhen shouted too, and as soon as his words fell, the men under him also stopped.

    ¡°Everybody on the deck. All of you!¡± Zheng Yi frowned, and Jiang Zhen followed, but instead of going to the deck, he went into his cabin.

    Zhao Jinge was really inside.

    Soon after the start of the fight between Zhao Jinge and the others, Wang Haisheng and the He brothers hade over. These three knew how important he was to Jiang Zhen and naturally didn¡¯t dare to let him get hurt, so they had rushed over to protect him. Therefore, although Zhao Jinge had swollen eyes and had received several pinches on his body, it was no big deal. In fact, the people who fought with them looked even more miserable.

    ¡°Jinge, are you alright?¡± Worried, Jiang Zhen rushed to Zhao Jinge¡¯s side.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zhao Jinge said. He was still trying to say something but was hugged by Jiang Zhen.

    This . . . There were so many people here, but Jiang Zhen still rushed to hug him! Zhao Jinge was startled and felt a bit shy, but he was reluctant to push Jiang Zhen away.

    The person who had just been scratched on the face by Zhao Jinge and kicked in a ce that made him see stars couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Damn it! What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The man who had beaten them so badly was actually cuddling with that Jiang Zhen . . .

    ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    Jiang Zhen was not a sticky person and only hugged Zhao Jinge in excitement. As a result, just as he was letting go of Jinge, he heard some person say such a sentence, so without thinking, he punched that person in the face.

    The man roared angrily and was about to hit Jiang Zhen, but Zheng Yi was already at the door of the cabin by this time.

    ¡°All of youe out!¡±

    In a moment, everyone gathered on the deck of the ship.

    Outside, those who came from the Zheng mansion hadn¡¯t been beaten very badly, but mainly pushed and shoved. Except for a few people who had been beaten up by Jiang Zhen after he arrived, most of them were intact. But those who first went to mess with Zhao Jinge as well as Zhao Jinge, Wang Haisheng and the He brothers, they all looked a bit miserable.

    In contrast, those who took the initiative to pick a fight were even more miserable. Several of them had blood on their faces, while others, their crotches felt so painful that they were showing their teeth in a grimace.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    He was not going to observe those people; he would only feel pain after seeing too much . . .

    The first person who was hit in the nose and kicked by Zhao Jinge was Lu Da. This Lu Da was one of the people from the Zheng family, and he was very skillful. Zheng Yi¡¯s father had trained him and made him responsible for the safety of the goodsing and going to the Zheng family. When Zheng Yi wanted to go out, he would always lead the people to protect him, so he had some face in front of Zheng Yi.

    At this moment, Lu Da actually regretted it a bit. He went to pick on Zhao Jinge because he wanted Zheng Yi to know that he and his men were much better than Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, but now . . . With them being beaten up like this, he was afraid that Zheng Yi would be disappointed in them.

    The people around this Jiang Zhen really had some skill! However, since he was already humiliated, it was better to take down this man properly!

    Lu Da immediately said, ¡°Young Master Zheng, it was the one with the scar on his forehead that hit me first! He knocked over a bucket and I only said a few words when he came up and hit me!¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Zheng Yi asked and looked at Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°No. It was him who rushed into my cabin and kicked over the bucket of water!¡± Zhao Jinge argued, ncing somewhat uneasily at Zheng Yi. He was afraid that he would get Jiang Zhen into trouble.

    ¡°You¡¯re full of shit!¡± Lu Da said immediately.

    The people around Lu Da also spoke one after another, ¡°Master Zheng, he started it first!¡±

    ¡°He hit hard!¡±

    ¡°We all got beaten up by him!¡±

    The more these people spoke, the more they felt aggrieved, all of them hoping that Zheng Yi would make the decision for them. Although it was a bit humiliating to not be able to hit back, they were all so miserable, so Master Zheng couldn¡¯t help but give them the go ahead, right?

    Zheng Yi looked at these people and the corners of his mouth twitched. He had met Zhao Jinge before. This man could sit quietly on the side for an afternoon without saying a word and was by no means a troublemaker, not to mention that he was a ger. Knowing this, it was impossible for him to provoke a group of men, so today it was mainly Lu Da and the rest who wanted to teach others a lesson, but as a result . . .

    ¡°Shut up, all of you!¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°A bunch of big men who went to find trouble with a ger and got beaten up like this, and you still think you¡¯re justified, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Zheng Yi felt quite ashamed at this moment. The man under him was beaten like this by a ger . . .

    Lu Da suddenly froze. Ger? Where did the gere from?

    They were going to cry that Zhao Jinge¡¯s actions were too sinister, but now . . . looking at Zhao Jinge, they suddenly had a feeling that they had seen a ghost. So this was a ger with a cinnabar mole? He didn¡¯t look like a ger, and his cinnabar mole was dug out. This person had done it intentionally, right? But . . . just now he was cleaning the cabin. Only a ger would do it.

    Lu Da and the others were stunned, and his other underlings were also confused.

    Just then, Jiang Zhen also stepped out. ¡°Young Master Zheng, I want to have a discussion with these people.¡±

    Was Jiang Zhen trying to teach them a lesson under the pretext of having a discussion with them? Zheng Yi agreed, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Da¡¯s men had been doing too well in recent years and be a little arrogant, so they should be taught a lesson!

    With Zheng Yi¡¯s permission, Jiang Zhen immediately walked up to the people in front of him and said, ¡°All of you,e out.¡± He pointed at Lu Da and several people around him, about seven or eight men.

    These were the people staying in his cabin that Jiang Zhen had seen earlier.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to beat up a bunch of us all by yourself?¡± Lu Da asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Lu Da¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. Before, the space in the cabin was too small, and Zhao Jinge was hiding in the corner. They couldn¡¯t round him up and suffered a loss, but now . . .

    At that moment, Lu Da and the others were eager to regain some of their face, so they stood up and rushed towards Jiang Zhen regardless of the pain in their bodies . . . Then, they were all knocked down by Jiang Zhen even more fiercely than when they fought with Zhao Jinge just now.

    Lu Da was beaten down to the deck and only felt that his face had beenpletely lost.

    Who was Master Zheng? There must be a reason why he valued Jiang Zhen, and this Jiang Zhen definitely had some real skill. Why didn¡¯t he think about it before and still went to provoke Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I¡¯m sorry but my ger was surrounded and beaten. I can¡¯t control the strength of my hand . . . ¡± Jiang Zhen said, facing Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi had heard Yang Jing talk about how powerful Jiang Zhen was before, but he always thought that Jiang Zhen was just a bit stronger than ordinary people. He really didn¡¯t expect Jiang Zhen to be so powerful. Of course, it was still good for him that Jiang Zhen was powerful.

    After pping his hands, Zheng Yi smiled and said, ¡°Brother Jiang is really something!¡± Then he looked at Lu Da and the rest. ¡°Lu Da, take your men, clean the ship and give up your cabin to Jiang Zhen. These people under you should also go to sleep in themon bunk room, and the cabins will be arranged by Jiang Zhen for his men.¡±

    Although Zheng Yi valued Jiang Zhen before, he only gave him an ordinary cabin, while Lu Da lived in a rtivelyrger cabin with windows located on the upper floor.

    Lu Da suddenly felt a bit stifled. Before, he was angry that Jiang Zhen¡¯s cabin was not given to his men, but now . . . his own cabin became Jiang Zhen¡¯s!

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I have a doctor on board. Take your ger to him to have a look,¡± Zheng Yi said again and then left.

    ¡°Thank you, Master Zheng,¡± Jiang Zhen thanked him and took Zhao Jinge away.

    Lu Da looked at Zhao Jinge¡¯s back and then looked at his part that was still slightly sore where he was kicked. He once again felt ashamed and speechless. ¡°It turned out he was a ger!¡±

    ¡°Yes . . . it turned out he was a ger . . . I guess I won¡¯t be able to be so hard on a ger for the rest of my life,¡± Lu Da¡¯s right-hand man said.

    The other people with bruised faces nodded.

 Chapter 76.1 - Zhao Jinge is provocative

    <strong>Chapter 76.1 ¨C Zhao Jinge is provocative</strong>

    All Zhang Yi on board were talking about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, but Jiang Zhen already took Zhao Jinge by the hand and strode towards the cabin where the doctor lived. He walked very fast, which made Zhao Jinge stagger a little unsteadily behind him. This made Zhao Jinge felt uneasy.

    He always worried that Jiang Zhen would be unhappy, and now . . . Jiang Zhen seems really unhappy. What should he do? Why was Jiang Zhen so unhappy?

    As Zhao Jinge followed Jiang Zhen, he became more and more worried. It was only then that he suddenly realized that he had done something stupid. He only thought it would be bad for a ger to be beaten by a group of men, but in fact . . . beating a group of men as a ger would also not be nice to hear about. Moreover, no matter what, being beaten or beating up someone . . .

    There shouldn¡¯t be any physical contact at all! He was a married ger, and he shouldn¡¯t even talk to other men, let alone fight with a group of men who are not dressed properly . . . Would Jiang Zhen mind? Would he dislike him now?

    In their vige, some men get angry when they see their wife talk with other people. Although Jiang Zhen was not like this, he certainly didn¡¯t like him to have physical contact with others.

    Those people were stillughing at him for not looking like a ger, and byughing at him, did it not meanughing at Jiang Zhen?

    The more Zhao Jinge thought about it, the more he regretted it. He lowered his head and didn¡¯t dare to say a word. At this time, Jiang Zhen already took him to the doctor.

    Zhao Jinge had some bruises on his body, but it didn¡¯t hurt. Atst doctor gave him a bottle of safflower oil and asked Jiang Zhen to wipe him.

    ¡°Is he really all right¡± Jiang Zhen asked

    ¡°Nothing wrong.¡± The doctor nced at Jiang Zhen. ¡°But after all, he is still a ger. It would be better for him to fight less in the future.¡±

    Jiang Zhen thought it was because he was careless that he let Zhao Jinge get beaten. This guy didn¡¯t know how to hide or ask for help, which caused his face to look even worse. He took the medicine, thanked the doctor, and took Zhao Jinge to the deck.

    They had no ce for stay for the time being and no ce to apply medicine . . . Jiang Zhen looked at the medicine in his hand and heard Zhao Jinge whisper, ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal first. We will apply medicine after eating. You won¡¯t feel pain anymore.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge, he saw that the other was peeking at him cautiously. One eye was still blue green, making him look like an uneasy little puppy, which made him want to reach out and touch him.

    Jiang Zhen took a deep breath, but he was not as unhappy as at the beginning. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    ¡°Mmm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge saw Jiang Zhen face and bowed his head. He was not really hungry, but Jiang Zhen should be hungry

    Jiang Zhen only thought he was hungry and took him to the kitchen.

    Today was the first day of their journey, and the ship brought fresh vegetables and meat, so the food was pretty good. The food needed to be picked up by oneself. Everyone would take two bowls and get a bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetables. Today, the dish was stewed pork with green beans.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to pick up the food, the food dispenser looked at him angrily and gave him a spoon full of only green beans.

    Jiang Zhen was already in a bad mood. He looked at him coldly and, without any politeness, grabbed the spoon and scooped for himself and Zhao Jinge a spoonful of green beans with meat.

    When the boy, Zheng Yi¡¯s attendant, came over, he happened to see this scene. He immediately wanted tough and then handed the basket to Jiang Zhen, saying, ¡°Boss Jiang, the young master asked me to bring you chicken soup. Besides, Lu Da¡¯s cabin is ready for use.¡±

    Jiang Zhen picked up the basket and immediately realized that Zheng Yi should have asked someone to help them tidy up the cabin.

    Zheng Yi is a big young master. He was going to the capital this time not only with this young boy but also with two personal servant girls. They were used to cleaning up cabins, so the speed of cleaning must have been very fast.

    At this time, the ship was not a modern giant ship, there was not much space on the ship, they also did not have a specialized ce to eat. Most of the people who received the food were just looking for a ce on the deck to squat down and eat.

    Now that the cabin was ready, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge back to their cabin to eat.

    After they left, the young man in charge of food distribution in the kitchen immediately grabbed Zheng Yi¡¯s attendant.

    ¡°Brother Zhuang, what is the origin of this Jiang Zhen?¡±

    Isn¡¯t he just a man hired to protect Young Master Zheng? Why was he so arrogant? Brother Zhuang even brought him chicken soup . . .

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Young Master Zheng attaches great importance to him now. Don¡¯t neglect him, or you will not be able to bear the consequences,¡± the young boy warned.

    The server nodded, so when Jiang Zhen¡¯s men came to get foodter, he didn¡¯t dare to show his temper anymore. There was a piece of meat in every spoonful he dished out.

    Lu Da¡¯s cabin was actually very small, which was about the same size as their previous cabin, which was four or five square meters. But this cabin had windows, which was good for venttion, so it should be very cool at night. There was also a table beside the bed.

    Zhao Jinge put the food on the table, immediately went to open the window, and smiled tteringly at Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s eat.¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s anger had dissipated somewhat. He took out a y pot from the basket the young man gave him, and when he opened it, he found a whole stewed chicken inside. He tore off the chicken legs and wings and poured out half of the chicken soup. Then he gave the rest of the chicken soup to Wang Haisheng and the He brothers, who brought his and Zhao Jinge¡¯s luggage.

    ¡°You did a good job before. Divide it and eat it here before you go.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, boss!¡±

    Although the three of them were injured, Wang Haisheng and the rest did not feel any pain when they saw there was chicken to eat, so they smiled at Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen divided more chicken meat for the three and poured half a bottle of safflower oil out for them. Zhao Jinge could meet the doctor on the ship to check him, but these people under him were only slightly injured, so he couldn¡¯t let them trouble the doctor.

    ¡°Ask all injured people to use the medicine and then gather them on the deck in an hour. The training will not be stopped,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When he used to take the fleet out by himself, he would train his men all the way, he couldn¡¯t stop it now.

    Wang Haisheng picked up the safflower oil and quickly drank the chicken soup with the He brothers. Jiang Zhen turned around and saw Zhao Jinge looking at himself carefully.

    ¡°What are you looking at! Eat!¡±

    Jiang Zhen red at him and put the two torn chicken legs with a lot of meat in the chicken soup in front of Zhao Jinge and then gnawed at the chicken wings.

    Jiang Zhen gave him drumsticks, so he should not be angry, right? In fact, Zhao Jinge thought this food did not taste good, but he was afraid that Jiang Zhen would not be happy, so he ate the food clean.

    In the cabin where Lu Da lived, many articles have been reced with new ones, and the quality was still very good. It was estimated that it was taken out by Zheng Yi.

    After eating, Wang Haisheng and others left. Jiang Zhen asked Zhao Jinge to lie on the new mat that still smelled of grass and then rubbed in the medicine.

    Edited by : Faro

 Chapter 76.2 - Zhao Jinge is provocative

    Chapter 76.2 ¨C Zhao Jinge is provocative

    Although Zhao Jinge had bruises on his body, it was nothing serious. Looking at those bruises, Jiang Zhen became irritated again and his eyebrows frowned even more and more tightly.

    When Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen like this, his heart sank. In the past, when Jiang Zhen faced him, he always smiled and flirted with him from time to time. At that time, Zhao Jinge felt strange and often didn¡¯t know how to face Jiang Zhen. But now . . . He suddenly found that Jiang Zhen with a cold face was the one he didn¡¯t know how to face.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jiang Zhen,¡± Zhao Jinge apologized subconsciously.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Ever since he saw Zhao Jinge get hurt he had been holding back the anger in his heart. Even if he had beaten Lu Da people, this anger could not be extinguished. He hoped that Zhao Jinge could live a good life with him. He didn¡¯t want to see Zhao Jinge get hurt at all, but Zhao Jinge still got hurt just under his nose. This made Jiang Zhen feel frustrated; he was still useless after all.

    At the beginning, he was a little angry with Zhao Jinge for not protecting himself. Those people came to provoke him and didn¡¯t start fighting at first. At that time, Zhao Jinge could have shown his weakness first and then went to find him so that he would not be beaten. But now, seeing the wounds on Zhao Jinge¡¯s body, Jiang Zhen was angrier at himself. If he had been strong enough, no one else would dare to hit Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen med himself, but when Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he felt much uneasier. Why was Jiang Zhen so unhappy?

    Zhao Jinge sneaked a look at Jiang Zhen and found that Jiang Zhen¡¯s face looked very ugly. He suddenly couldn¡¯t ask what he wanted to ask andy on the bed, not daring to move.

    Jiang Zhen rubbed at Zhao Jinge¡¯s wounds, but because of his difort, he didn¡¯t even try to take advantage of this opportunity.

    Zhao Jinge naturally discovered this. In the past, he felt it was strange that Jiang Zhen was always taking advantage of him, but now when Jiang Zhen was not doing so, he was scared.

    Did he do something wrong? Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t seem to like him anymore . . .

    ¡°You rest in the room, and I will go and train,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge as he helped him apply the medicine.

    If someone else suffered such a slight injury, he would definitely let that man continue his training, but Zhao Jinge was his ger. Jiang Zhen was inevitably distressed when he saw bruises on Zhao Jinge¡¯s body. Now that the sun was so strong outside that it could take off ayer of a person¡¯s skin, he was even more reluctant to let Zhao Jinge go out.

    ¡°You wait here for me toe back.¡±

    Jiang Zhen estimated that the time was almost up and left.

    Watching Jiang Zhen leave, Zhao Jinge was lost in thought for a while.

    Jiang Zhen . . . Didn¡¯t he like him anymore? He didn¡¯t even let him train. Did he make him feel embarrassed?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what Zhao Jinge felt. He strode on deck and saw that his men had lined up and were neatly standing at attention.

    When the group scattered, each member looked ordinary, and in terms of individualbat effectiveness, they were probably not as good as Lu Da mens. But when they stood together, they lookedpletely different.

    Uniform clothing and neat movements could issue a strong momentum. These people standing together had such momentum.

    ¡°Attention!¡± Jiang Zhen shouted and then took these people to train push-ups, sit-ups, leapfrog jumps, horse steps, boxing, and so on.

    All aspects of the training program werepletely followed and executed even better than usual. He needed to vent his energy to calm himself down and sober up.

    Zheng Yi had nothing to do on the boat. After hearing that Jiang Zhen was training with his men, he came out to have a look, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

    He had seen Jiang Zhen¡¯s men before, but he had never seen Jiang Zhen training with his men. Now that he saw him, he discovered that Jiang Zhen¡¯s method of training people waspletely different from what he previously thought. But . . . this is undoubtedly a good method.

    Zheng Yi had seen the world and had even seen military officials and soldiers fighting with people, and that kind of fighting . . . It could be said that two groups of disorderly people rushed together, and then the more numerous group broke up the less numerous group, and the winner was divided.

    However, those officers were able to raise some household members, and their soldiers were often a group of mobs. Those family members who depended on them were often very brave and forbidding. Because they ate and lived together, they had a tacit understanding. Jiang Zhen¡¯s men were somewhat simr to those household members.

    This time, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t practice walking in the square, but took his men to do all kinds of physical training. Although he didn¡¯t use a bamboo pole, the training intensity was not low. After the training, he let them fight in pairs.

    For Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, the current intensity of this training was higher than usual, but they were silent when they thought that there were many people watching them on this ship. With their previous experiences, they subconsciously wanted to show the people on the ship what they could do.

    More than forty people gave loud shouts and kept practicing in the sun . . .

    Zheng Yi looked at Lu Da, who had followed him, and his swollen ck-and-blue face. ¡°Lu Da, what do you think of them?¡±

    Lu Da looked at Jiang Zhen and felt that his body hurt again. He gritted his teeth and finally said, ¡°I lost unjustly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to take care of your men too,¡± Zhang Yi said.

    Lu Da held a lot of anger in his heart and was determined to impress Zheng Yi, so he called out to all of his men, ¡°Get ready to practice fighting with me!¡±

    ¡°Big Brother, it¡¯s too hot now,¡± said a man around Lu Da.

    ¡°Yes, Elder Brother. Let¡¯s practice when the weather is cooler.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get sunburned . . .¡±

    . . .

    ¡°There are so many things for you to do!¡± Lu Da was angry.

    Seeing Lu Da¡¯s anger, his people finally went on deck, but they had never lined up, so they looked like a mess.

    ¡°Line up! Line up!¡± Lu Da shouted.

    His people were still in a mess.

    ¡°Training is over. Go!¡±

    On the other hand, Jiang Zhen was trotting toward the cabin, and his men behind him all trotted away with him, going the same way. Before leaving, Jiang Zhen nced at Lu Da in disdain. Lu Da almost exploded.

    After the training, Jiang Zhen went back to his cabin.

    After venting his energy outside, he felt that his whole body was more rxed. He thought of Zhao Jinge¡¯s pitiful look before and couldn¡¯t stop feeling his heart bing itchy heart and began to think about how to ¡°educate¡± Zhao Jinge.

    He needed to talk with Zhao Jinge . . . They were reasonable people and often talked in bed. This time, he could also teach Zhao Jinge a lesson in bed . . .

    As soon as Jiang Zhen thought about marriage harmony, he reflected that Zhao Jinge had been hurt, and these days, he must also have to restrain himself.

    ¡°Jinge . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen opened the door and went inside. He didn¡¯t expect to be hugged as soon as he crossed the door. Then a head bumped him just like this and Jinge¡¯s mouth smashed his, which hurt. He was afraid that would start bleeding.

    Jiang Zhen was still a little unresponsive when Zhao Jinge put his tongue into his mouth again. Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand even moved down from his abdomen.

    When Zhao Jinge did this, with the momentum of someone burning his bridges, his hand trembled a little, but he still put it where he wanted to. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to do such a thing to Jiang Zhen without his request.

    Jiang Zhen was startled at first and could not react in time. Then waiting for his reaction . . . Jiang Zhen pushed Zhao Jinge away, bolted the door well, and then began to untie his trouser belt.

    When Zhao Jinge was pushed away by Jiang Zhen, he felt a little desperate. He was afraid that Jiang Zhen would really dislike him now, but as soon as he looked up, he saw Jiang Zhen unfastening his trouser belt. After Jiang Zhen removed his belt, he took off his trousers.

    This . . . Zhao Jinge, who was ready to be rejected, was somewhat unable to recover.

    Right at that moment, Jiang Zhen was very excited. He felt heated since Zhao Jinge already took the initiative to provoke him. He was not a man if he didn¡¯t clean up this person!

 Chapter 77.1 - Meeting with pirates

    Chapter 77.1 ¨C Meeting with pirates

    Jiang Zhen left, but Lu Da was still training his men on the deck.

    This was the first time he had trained his men. He himself hadn¡¯t received any training as well, so naturally, he missed the point of doing all these. His men were also very noisy. He finally lined them up, grabbing hair and kicking them on the ass, which looked very unseemly. It made Lu Da very upset.

    In his chagrin, the wound on his face looked even worse, and the people around him evenughed. Lu Da almost wanted to give everyone a p, but even Zheng Yi could not helpughing.

    ¡°Master, Jiang Zhen must have trained those people for a long time to do that. Here . . .¡± Lu Da tried to exin to Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen became a gambling house manager two months ago, and only then did he find some subordinates for himself,¡± Zheng Yi said, looking at Lu Da with a smile.

    Lu Da was even more annoyed. He heard that Jiang Zhen had gone to take a bath, so he hurriedly went to the ship¡¯s bathing area. He did see Jiang Zhen¡¯s men but not see Jiang Zhen.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t see Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen at this moment . . . was ¡°busy¡± finishing.

    Jiang Zhen tried his best to avoid the injuries on Zhao Jinge¡¯s body. He did not even take him to bed but only asked Zhao Jinge to stand with his hands on the wall and with his buttocks puckered.

    After seeing this result, he became even more excited and ended up shooting too fast.

    If you got too excited that you couldn¡¯t control it . . . Jiang Zhen was also upset. Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯te yet!

    Just then, Jiang Zhen had found out that Zhao Jinge should have washed his bottom, so he was not polite and took him straight into his mouth.

    Jiang Zhen ended a little fast, and Zhao Jinge had many things on his mind, so when Jiang Zhen left him, he was still a little at loss, then . . . Jiang Zhen did something beyond his expectation.

    Zhao Jinge thought that Jiang Zhen was angry with him. He didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would still be willing to do such a thing . . . He looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise, he shivered and also became a fast shooter.

    ¡°Jinge why are you so enthusiastic today?¡± Jiang Zhen spat out the things in his mouth to the toilet and helped Zhao Jinge to clean up and put on his pants, then he asked with a smile.

    It made a lot of sense to start fighting in the bed and end it in the bed.

    He was not in a good mood before, but right then, he had a good time and feltfortable all over.

    ¡°I . . .¡± Zhao Jinge was a little confused. He was afraid that Jiang Zhen would be angry with him and dislike him, so he seduced Jiang Zhen with all his heart. At that time . . . In fact, he was ready to be treated coldly and even thought that Jiang Zhen might not be happy if he seeded in seducing him

    As it turned out, Jiang Zhen¡¯s reaction took him by surprise . . . No, in fact, Jiang Zhen¡¯s reaction was not too strange . . . This man had always been so kind to him.

    ¡°But you¡¯re still injured, so be careful and don¡¯t mess around next time, okay?¡± Jiang Zhen instructed, adding, ¡°Even if you want to fool around, you have to wait for the injury to heal.¡±

    Well, in fact he was actually looking forward to Zhao Jinge fooling around with him a few times. Thinking like this, Jiang Zhen put his hand into Zhao Jinge¡¯s clothes and touched his chest.

    It was a pity that Zhao Jinge was injured at the moment, so he couldn¡¯t squeeze him casually; otherwise . . . He had always admired Zhao Jinge¡¯s muscles.

    ¡­¡­

    When Jiang Zhen returned to normal, Zhao Jinge began to think more about his words and naturally heard his implication. ¡°You . . . are not angry?¡±

    ¡°Angry?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little puzzled and immediately said, ¡°Still a bit, but don¡¯t worry, I will find an opportunity to teach Lu Da a few more lessons.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was stunned again. ¡°You are not angry with me?¡±

    ¡°You thought I was mad at you?¡± Jiang Zhen was so angry before that he didn¡¯t pay attention to what Zhao Jinge thought, but now, he finally understood why Zhao Jinge¡¯s attitude was so strange and why he seduced him on his own initiative.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little angry! Speaking of this, Jinge, I was going to talk to you about it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly became a little worried again, but soon he couldn¡¯t worry anymore. Jiang Zhen put his hand in his trousers!

    ¡°There were several of them at that time, but you were alone. Why didn¡¯t you know to hide? Even if you didn¡¯t hide, you should shout that you are a ger. If you say that several men try to bully you, they certainly wouldn¡¯t do anything to you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°I only hit people when I am sure I could win. You clearly couldn¡¯t fight them, so why did you fight? I don¡¯t know why you didn¡¯t run first to call me so that we could clean up this people together?¡±

    Jiang Zhen touched as he spoke, then he saw tears in Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyes. Jiang Zhen was startled. ¡°Jinge, what is the matter with you?¡± Had he spoken too harshly? He didn¡¯t think so.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zhao Jinge wiped the tears that came out of his eyes uncontrobly. Now he was just a little too excited, thinking that Jiang Zhen was too good.

    He always knew that Jiang Zhen was very good, but Jiang Zhen was always better than he thought. He is really happy. He was very happy to be with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let me worry about it in future, all right?¡± Jiang Zhen sighed and kissed Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyes. ¡°if you think about it, if I am beaten by a group of people when you are not here, wouldn¡¯t you be sad?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try to escape next time.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. If Jiang Zhen were to be hurt by others, he would be very sad and painful.

    However, Jiang Zhen was so powerful that he certainly wouldn¡¯t be hurt.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen carefully and didn¡¯t know that his eyes were still wet. His eyes were so bright that Jiang Zhen wanted to overwhelm him and do it again.

    However, thinking of Zhao Jinge needed a good rest, Jiang Zhen quickly gave up this idea. At this time Jiang Zhen smelled a stink of sweat from himself.

    There was no other way when the condition was bad. For example, when he was on a mission, he could only bear the stink, but Jiang Zhen still liked to wash himself clean when he could take a bath. Speaking of which, in ancient times, there was no soap that could wash him from head to toe, which made him a little unustomed. He always felt that he had oil on his body and could not be washed clean.

    It was not easy to see soap in the south, but there seems to be a lot in the north. This time he must buy some more.

    ¡°Jinge,e and take a bath with me.¡± Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge and picked up a change of clothes.

    ¡°You go. I¡¯m not going,¡± Zhao Jinge said. A ger could wipe his body in the house . . . the body could be washed with a basin of water, but it was not good for him to go to ces where men bathe on the ship.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When they were on the boat before, while Zhao Jinge took a bath, d Jiang Zhen would usually stand outside, guarding the door.

    Zhao Jinge still didn¡¯t think that it was good, but Jiang Zhen was also thinking for him . . . so carrying the bucket, Zhao Jinge followed after him.

    By the time they arrived at the bath, Jiang Zhen men had already finished washing.

    ¡°Boss, you go and wash, we¡¯ll watch the door for you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll watch it for you outside!¡±

    ¡°You can wash slowly.¡±

 Chapter 77.2 - Meeting with pirates

    Chapter 77.2 ¨C Meeting with pirates

    When the men saw Jiang Zhening, they began to talk while looking at Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, giving them a wink.

    Jiang Zhen was there for some time, but the men didn¡¯t think much about it. They just thought that Jiang Zhen might want to wait for them to finish washing up, so Zhao Jinge could have some privacy in the bath. So at the moment, they were teasing Jiang Zhen and asking whether Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were going to bathe together.

    ¡°My wife, do you want to help me keep an eye on them?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. ¡°Stand up straight, all of you!¡±

    Those people stood straight subconsciously.

    Jiang Zhen went inside the bathing area and carried a bucket of water for Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°You wash first. Call me when the water is gone. I¡¯ll guard outside.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Zhao Jing answered, and when Jiang Zhen left, he washed up. While thinking of their previous ts, his movements stopped.

    Why was Jiang Zhen so kind to him? He obviously had no ability to do anything . . .

    Zhao Jinge has always had a sense of inferiority. He had always been told that he was not good looking and that he will not be able to get married. Everyone looked at him with sympathetic eyes, so it was hard for him not to feel inferior.

    If Jiang Zhen was just like him, that was, an ordinary farmer, after they got married, they would have, like the usual, farm together and raise their children. And slowly, his inferiority would have surely dissipated in time, and he would not feel that he was not worthy of Jiang Zhen at all, but Jiang Zhen was a very thoughtful person.

    Along the way with Jiang Zhen, he became more and more aware of the gap between them, and the inferiority that was engraved in his bones would always emerge. Feeling down for a while, thinking of Jiang Zhen¡¯s kindness toward him, Zhao Jinge soon regained his spirit.

    As long as Jiang Zhen wanted him, he would never leave!

    After Zhao Jinge finished washing, he changed into clean clothes and went out to change ces with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jinge, the boss is very kind to you,¡± someone said to Zhao Jinge, his words full of expressions of wonder.

    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Zhao Jinge answered, standing there proudly.

    He knew that many people around him might not say anything, but deep down, they felt that he was not worthy of Jiang Zhen. But as long as Jiang Zhen was still by his side, there would always be some rumors, so he didn¡¯t care about that at all.

    They all lived on the same ship. There was something about Jiang Zhen that Zheng Yi knew clearly. Of course, this was mainly because he was so bored on the board that he liked to hear all kinds of gossip told to him.

    At the moment, Zheng Yi¡¯s servant boy told him about Jiang Zhen taking Zhao Jinge to take a bath, and he was a little confused.

    ¡°That Zhao Jinge looks very ordinary. I don¡¯t know why Jiang Zhen is so good to him.¡±

    Actually, it was not even amon problem . . . that Zhao Jinge did not even look like a ger!

    ¡°He saved Jiang Zhen¡¯s life,¡± Zheng Yi said with a smile.

    He certainly cannot be like Jiang Zhen, but he couldn¡¯t deny that he appreciated such type of people and liked to use them.

    Zheng Yi liked that Jiang Zhen knew how to repay gratitude very much, but if Jiang Zhen knew his thoughts, he would probably scoff at him.

    He liked Zhao Jinge, and it was true that Zhao Jinge gave him porridge and saved him, but if it had been He Qiusheng, who was a little arrogant and feminine, who helped him, he would have given him some money at most.

    Everyone¡¯s taste was different, and the overall standard for beauty for each era was even more different. Zhao Jinge¡¯s standards were not in line with this era¡¯s! How could he not like such a person who was agreeable to him in every way and was devoted to him?

    After taking a bath and going to the kitchen to ask for food, when he saw that Zhao Jinge was eating sweetly, Jiang Zhen was ready to start again. However, he overestimated his own physical strength.

    He worked for a long time during the day and at night he fell asleep the moment his head touched a pillow,pletely forgetting to mess with Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jingey beside Jiang Zhen, and his heart settled down.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet would also sail at night. Although it would be much slower, it could still be called a day and night journey.

    Jiang Zhen and his men quickly got used to life on the ship, and the only thing that made them unable to adapt was that after the first day, they had no meat to eat.

    Before, when Jiang Zhen had to train his men, they were fed well every day, but now it was out of his hands, so he couldn¡¯t feed them well even if he wanted to.

    Fortunately, the meat was gone, but the rice was enough, and Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t need to reduce the training intensity.

    However, the journey was very tiring and the sun that afternoon was too strong. Jiang Zhen reduced the training time in the end and split it to morning and evening.

    People who performed well during training could sleep in separate cabins assigned to him by Zheng Yi while the others could only live inrge bunkrooms . . . Aftering out with such reward measures, the people under Jiang Zhen worked even harder.

    The big bunks on the ship were not only damp but also smelly. Who wouldn¡¯t want to sleep in cabins?

    Jiang Zhen men were fighting for space for sleeping cabins every day. Lu Da and others were naturally even more reluctant to sleep in bunks . . . He wanted to make trouble for Jiang Zhen, who had ¡°harmed¡± him, but when he saw Young Master Zhenging to talk to Jiang Zhen every day, and even Jiang Zhen¡¯s ger was called over he immediately stopped his thought.

    He even tried his best to bear some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s provocations.

    The young master valued Jiang Zhen far more than he thought at the beginning, and he must not offend the annoying Jiang Zhen in the future!

    It¡¯s true that Jiang Zhen would be found by Young Master Zheng every day . . . to y cards.

    It was very boring on the ship, and Zheng Yi had nothing to do, so he called Jiang Zhen to y cards every day. He also learned several ways to y cards from Jiang Zhen. As for why Zhao Jinge was there . . .

    At first, Jiang Zhen took him because he was afraid that he would be bullied by others, andter, they needed one more card yer.

    ying cards, having four people were the best. Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge, Zheng Yi, and his servant boy just added up to four people and could make a table.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen did not like ying cards very much, and he preferred to learn to read and write when he had time, but Zheng Yi liked it, so he apanied him. However, he still found a way to distract Zheng Yi¡¯s attention . . .

    In front of Young Master Zheng, Jiang Zhen relied on his skill to cheat several times. He first would beat Zheng Yi several times and then showed Young Master Zheng how he cheated.

    ¡°Master Zheng, if you y this card well, you may still be able to be a god of gamblers. Even if you can¡¯t do it very well, your shuffling technique is good-looking and eye-catching enough.¡±

    Jiang Zhen recalled all kinds of movies he had seen rted to gambling and had a deep talk with young master Zheng.

    Zheng Yi also knew that Jiang Zhen was probably tired of ying cards, so he told him so, but he was really curious about it, so he really learned it to entertain himself.

    While Zheng Yi was trying to learn how to cheat and shuffle cards, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge borrowed pen and paper from him to practice their calligraphy slowly.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen also had to answer some questions of Young Master Zheng from time to time when Young Master Zheng was bored; he still had to apany him to y cards.

    Unknowingly, the fleet had been sailing for half a month, farther and farther away from the south of the Yangtze River and closer to the capital.

    During this period, the fleet docked several times to replenish some supplies, and at eachnding, the people on board were able to eat meat.

    However, these days, the fleet could not dock; it was said that this area experienced droughtst year and was not very peaceful.

    ¡°There are quite a lot of pirates in this area, and there are even more sincest year¡¯s drought. However, we went by water on a big ship, so it was basically safe,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Those pirates would also choose easy targets and would generally not start fighting with the big caravans.

    Zheng Yi was very confident, however . . . that night, their fleet was surrounded by a gang of pirates.

 Chapter 78.1 - Capture the ringleader first in order to capture all his followers

    Chapter 78.1 ¨C Capture the ringleader first in order to capture all his followers

    The current location of the fleet was near Guangping Prefecture.

    There are few rivers in Guangping, so when the drought urs, it is particrly serious. Because of this, even if the people here were to take on the life of plunder, they generally became bandits rather than pirates. After all . . . none of these people here could swim. Therefore, Zheng Yi felt that he would be safe. However, they were still in danger.

    The first thing the watch spotted were the pirates¡¯ boats that were in front, and after seeing those, one of them blew on the rm whistle.

    The harsh and miserable sound pierced through the night sky and resounded all over the canal, waking up all the people asleep on the ship . .

    Jiang Zhen rolled over and crawled out of bed. He had heard that harsh whistle before, so he knew its meaning. They were in danger.

    ¡°Jinge, hurry up and get dressed and go up the deck,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge.

    Then in the shortest time possible, he got dressed and hurried up to where Zheng Yi roomed.

    ¡°Master Zheng,¡± Jiang Zhen called out.

    As soon as he finished speaking, the cabin door opened.

    The one who opened the door was Zheng Yi¡¯s servant boy. Zheng Yi was still fumbling with his clothes. When he saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on outside?¡±

    ¡°The specific situation is not clear. I think the first ship discovered pirates.¡±

    Jiang Zhen opened the window of Zheng Yi¡¯s cabin, so they could clearly see what was going on outside.

    Under the bright moonlight, Jiang Zhen clearly saw many dots from torches moving towards them.

    ¡°There are too many pirates. We are surrounded,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    Some shouts came from several other ships and floated into the cabin, but these could not be heard clearly because the wind was too strong.

    In these ancient times,munication was hampered and inconvenient. Right when it was nighttime, even the news from several other ships could not be transmitted easily.

    Zheng Yi was upset for a while, but Jiang Zhen was very calm.

    ¡°Master Zheng, I¡¯vee to ask for help. Can I move freelyter?¡±

    ¡°Move freely?¡± Zheng Yi asked in bewilderment.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving the ship,¡± Jiang Zhen exined.

    He had no experience in directing battles in the water, but he was used to sneak attacks with several men.

    The moonlight was very good that night. Zheng Yi saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression in the moonlight and subconsciously said yes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it right away,¡± Jiang Zhen said, exiting through the window.

    Zheng Yi quickly reached the window and saw that Jiang Zhen had alreadynded on the deck.

    On that deck, Jiang Zhen had gathered more than thirty of his men, arranged them neatly, and as soon as Jiang Zhen went down, he kicked a few of theters.

    Zheng Yi finally put his clothes in order. As he was doing a final checking, Lu Da came in a hurry. As soon as he came in, he became dissatisfied.

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen rooms much closer, so why did he note to protect the young master?¡±

    The young servant boy beside Zheng Yi gave Lu Da aplicated look.

    ¡°Master Lu, Boss Jiang has already been here and left.¡±

    Lu Da¡¯s expression froze. Zheng Yi also looked back at the window. ¡°Jiang Zhen and his men have all already gathered on the deck.¡±

    Lu Da was suddenly embarrassed. He hurried to the window, and sure enough, he saw that Jiang Zhen¡¯s people had gathered on deck.

    But his people . . . Were they the ones rushing out still putting their clothes on?

    As a matter of fact, the people under Lu Da were experienced and have performed very well. They soon came to their respective posts, but they were inevitably messy and did not seem to be as neat as the people under Jiang Zhen.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen actually wanted Lu Da¡¯s men more than his own men; after all, none of his men had experienced a water battle.

    But now that it was done, it was time to try.

    Fortunately . . . arge part of the people he gathered were thugs who dared to do it anyway.

    Jiang Zhen called out several names, and those seven or eight people called out were good swimmers.

    ¡°You will go into the water with me, and others will stay under themand of Zhao Jinge!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± All the people responded in one voice. If they didn¡¯t listen to Jiang Zhen, they would be facing serious consequences for that disobedience, and they were used to listening to Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, protect Master Zheng!¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at Zhao Jinge and asked him to protect Master Zheng. That is to say, Zhao Jinge being closer to Zheng Yi, would also be the safest.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhao Jinge answered.

    He actually wanted to follow Jiang Zhen, but at such times, he would only hamper and trouble Jiang Zhen if he didn¡¯t listen to Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at Zhao Jinge and another at the He brothers. Before many people could reacted and those pirates could approach, he went quietly into the water with his men.

    Those pirates were getting closer to them!

    Most of these ships were small, which made them very fast, and they quickly approached and surrounded not only the Zheng family fleet but also separated the five big ships of the Zheng family.

    ¡°Which brother ising?¡± Lu Da stepped forward and shouted loudly.

    Many pirates would not kill all people in a fleet. As long as these ships greeted them and paid the toll, they would let people go. After all, if they really wanted to kill all the traveling merchants, they would have no business in the future.

    Therefore, Lu Da and Zheng Yi first nned, after encountering this situation, to negotiate with them.

    Soon afterward, Lu Da spoke out when someone from a rtivelyrge ship not far away also shouted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to make friends with us. Our leader said that if you let us keep the ship and cargo, we will let you live. Otherwise . . . don¡¯t me us for dying in this ce without a funeral!¡±

    Lu Da was shocked in his heart. And then the pirate said, ¡°I¡¯ll count to ten, and we¡¯ll start!¡±

    Counting to ten and then doing it . . . The other side had no intention of discussing it with them at all. They were determined to rob them forcefully!

    Zheng Yi went out to trade and had encountered dangers before, but now . . . seeing more and more small boats around him, his face inevitably ckened.

    ¡°Young master?¡± Lu Da looked at Zheng Yi.

    ¡°On guard! Prepare for battle!¡± Zheng Yi said.

    His fleet and other ships were mainly loaded with grain and fabric. If he lost them, then he lost them. But the cards on the main ship, the treasure he wanted to make a fortune with, must not be lost. Moreover, with the current situation as it is, even if he didn¡¯t want to fight, those pirates might not let them go.

    He didn¡¯t know why these pirates would act like this at this time . . .

    Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t understand why these freebooters were unwilling to make peace, but Jiang Zhen knew the reason by then.

    The pirates weren¡¯t close when he brought his men into the water, so no one noticed that he had gone in, and because of this, he was able to bring his men and quietly approached the pirates¡¯ boats.

    Of course, this was also due to the darkness surrounding them and the fact that he was well-prepared.

    In the more than twenty days before Jiang Zhen wandered around Hecheng County, he took a lot of people into the water, and he made a lot of preparations beforeing out this time.

    Right then, the men who were submerged in the water had thin bamboo poles that allowed them to breathe underwater, not to mention that each of them also had a thin line tied to their hands, and his men were led by him to ensure that they would not go astray . . .

    Jiang Zhen came out of the water next to the boat, just in time to hear those baneers discuss their operation.

    ¡°Those five boats look really good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why the boss is interested.¡±

    ¡°With five boats like that, we¡¯ll be able to do even bigger business in the future!¡±

    ¡°These ships are supposedly full of food, so we won¡¯t have to go hungry.¡±

    . . .

    It turned out that these freebooters had been living in the water for a long time, and as their numbers grew bigger and bigger, they became intent on getting severalrge ships; that¡¯s why they disagreed with Zheng Yi¡¯s request for a little toll, intending to wipe out Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet of ships altogether.

 Chapter 78.2 - Capture the ringleader first in order to capture all his followers

    <h4>Chapter 78.2 ¨C Capture the ringleader first in order to capture all his followers

    by Lajna No Comments</h4>

    They also knew clearly that such a cavalcade would not agree to give them all the ships and cargo so the people could leave, so there was no intention of negotiation at all, and they had made up their minds from the start.

    ¡°One, two, three . . . eight, nine, ten!¡± A pirate quickly counted to ten, but before he could finish, hisrades had actually started.

    The freebooters were speaking in dialects, and while yelling words that the people in the Zheng family fleet couldn¡¯t quite understand, they started firing arrows at the big ship. Then they climbed towards the ship.

    Their bows and arrows were actually of poor quality and their archery skills were poor, but even so, people on board still needed to avoid them.

    ¡°Keep sailing and try to break out!¡± Zheng Yi shouted

    ¡°Young master, they can¡¯t break through. They¡¯ve moved into the river channel,¡± Lu Da said.

    The river in front had been blocked, as for the back . . . There were too many boats behind them.

    Zheng Yi was livid.

    In the moonlight, Zheng Yi could see that the small boats near the big boats were filled with people. Those people were greedily watching them. Their eyes were shining in the dark.

    ¡°Can we escape?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    Lu Da paused before saying, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll be able to protect you as you escape!¡±

    Is this the only way to break free? Zheng Yi¡¯s face was a little ugly, but looking at the huge number of freebooters outside, he had to admit that his ship and cargo might really be lost here.

    ¡°Grab food!¡±

    ¡°Kill those traitors!¡±

    ¡°Ten silver for killing a man. Charge!¡±

    . . .

    The pirates shouted, and someone had already climbed onto the boat.

    It¡¯s true that most of the people on this side of Guangping did not know how to swim, but swimming could be practiced.

    After the drought in Guangping Prefecture, some of them came here to be a freebooter. At first, they only robbed some boats, butter, a very capable person came out. He gathered all the water bandits in this area, so they could rob big boats, and soon, sailing and swimming for them got better and better.

    ¡°Young master, you hide behind,¡± Lu Da said.

    After he let Zheng Yi escape, he wouldmand the battle. Then he found out that someone was already fighting with those pirates.

    Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, each with a bamboo pole, stood on the side of the boat. Just as the bandits started toe up, they would poke them with the bamboo pole.

    That sharpened end of a bamboo pole was even better to use than arge knife.

    As for the bows and arrows that the water bandits shot over . . . some people, from no one knew where, got some tables and chairs and wooden boards, so they could also block their heads, faces, and chest.

    They grouped together into groups of three, two with bamboo poles and one with a shield, and actually poked many of the bandits down.

    The bandits who fell down let out screams, and after falling, they also blocked their own people. For a time, no one dared toe from that side to climb up.

    ¡°Lu Da, learn from them!¡± Zheng Yi shouted.

    Lu Da responded, looking over while feeling suffocated. He suddenly realized that the personmanding the defenders was actually Zhao Jinge. Jiang Zhen was nowhere to be seen!

    He was a little confused, but at this time, there was no time to think about Jiang Zhen anymore. The two sides had officially engaged in a battle.

    To those who had seen modern wars, certain aspects of these ancient wars were funny, such as . . . sometimes when one was careless, one might go and cut down one¡¯spanions because one didn¡¯t recognize their own people.

    But the war at this time was also cruel.

    It didn¡¯t take long for both sides to fight, and both already had casualties. The main ship that Zheng Yi was on hadn¡¯t yet been boarded by the pirates, but the other ships had already been boarded.

    A couple of the crew members on the next ship tried to run but ended up being cut down.

    In this era of backward medical care, even just being shed in the arm could be fatal.

    As the screams continued to ring out, Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyebrow wrinkled all the more. He pulled the rope on his hand, bringing those who were following him onward.

    On the other hand, on severalrge ships, the battle situation had be increasingly fierce.

    There were many of those freebooters who couldn¡¯t survive. They didn¡¯t take their lives seriously, they alreay took many human lives.

    Although there were many guards on the main ship, a careless one still allowed pirates to climb up.

    Zhao Jinge, seeing this, gripped the bamboo pole and rushed up with the He brothers.

    It didn¡¯t really feel like it when he used the bamboo pole to poke those freebooters down the ship before, but now . . .

    Zhao Jinge stabbed the bamboo pole in his hand into a pirate and smelled the heavy smell of blood. He felt like vomiting.

    He had killed someone . . .

    Zhao Jinge had never thought that he would kill people before and was stunned for a moment, but soon, he came to his senses.

    He had no idea where Jiang Zhen had gone, and he had to wait for Jiang Zhen to return, and . . . it was either them or him at this point.

    Zhao Jinge nced around and found that many people were as stunned as he was. He said, ¡°All of you, cheer up and kill these people!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡± everyone echoed together.

    By then, they had no time to think about anything else but to kill all the enemies in front of them.

    But there were too many pirates, and there were dozens of people climbing up the main ship.

    Zheng Yi looked at those water bandits and finally decided to make a strong decision. ¡°Lu Da, release the boat and send me away.¡±

    ¡°Yes, young master!¡± Lu Da responded and went to make arrangements.

    Zheng Yi was escorted and soon arrived on deck. Then he saw Zhao Jinge and said, ¡°Zhao Jinge, let¡¯s retreat!¡±

    Zheng Yi didn¡¯t know where Jiang Zhen had gone, but he had just seen the bravery of Zhao Jinge and the people he had with him. In addition, Zhao Jinge was a ger, so he wanted him to retreat with him.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned and then said, ¡°Master Zheng, I will guard your retreat.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Zheng Yi frowned.

    ¡°Master Zheng, I will wait for Jiang Zhen,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    He didn¡¯t know where Jiang Zhen had gone, but Jiang Zhen would never run away. In that case, he will wait here for him.

    A bamboo pole overturned a pirate, and Zhao Jinge¡¯s face was full of perseverance.

    Zheng Yi was startled and suddenly felt a little envious of Jiang Zhen. His wife would never be able to do what Zhao Jinge did.

    At that point, there wasn¡¯t much time to dy. Zheng Yi was thinking of ignoring Zhao Jinge and retreating with his men, when suddenly, the pirates¡¯ screams rang out in the distance.

    At the same time, thergest pirate ship suddenly caught fire, and the pirates cried more and more miserably.

    That was the ship that the pirate leader was on, and before that, there had been someone on that ship driving the freebooters toe and attack the Zheng family¡¯s fleet, but at the moment . . . the main pirate ship was in chaos, and there were people shouting for the boss.

    What . . . What¡¯s going on?

    Zheng Yi stopped his n to escape while at the same time, Jiang Zhen tied up the leader of the bandits.

    Shoot the men before his horse and capture the leader before the pirates!

    Edited by: Faro

 Chapter 79.1 - Jiang Zhenâ€™s medical skill

    <strong>Chapter 79.1 ¨C Jiang Zhen¡¯s medical skill</strong>

    When Jiang Zhen watched some ancient film and television works before, he saw the ancient water battles with all sorts of fighting methods. The list was endless.

    Like what he did, sneaking into the enemy fleet by going into water, there should be such a move as sinking a ship as well. It seemed to be a prettymon urrence.

    Yet these pirates were all useless.

    After all, they were nothing more than a mob, a gathering of refugees. Many of them had never been on a boat before they became pirates. It was already outstanding that they were able to take part in a battle without getting seasick at this point, but they absolutely had no other skills.

    Moreover, they hade to rob a merchant ship for its goods. This time, they took a fancy to several ships of the Zheng family. Under such circumstances, how could they do such things as sinking a ship?

    Because of this, not a single one of these bandits entered the water from the beginning to the end, so Jiang Zhen¡¯s group was never discovered.

    Then Jiang Zhen slowly approached thergest pirate ship within the group of pirate ships.

    Judging from the conversation and attitude of these freebooters, this ship should be where their leader was staying. He still had some prestige among the freebooters.

    Although this ship was not as big as the Zheng family ship, it was not small either. When Jiang Zhen approached it, he wanted to try sinking that ship, but soon found out that it was simply a whimsical idea.

    He was underwater; he didn¡¯t even have a ce to use his strength, nor could he use his strength at all. Swinging a hammer in the water was extremely difficult, so how could he do it? Cut a hole at the bottom?

    It was good that they could anchor themselves to the ship, but if they tried to sink the ship and then float on their own . . . Sure, he could make hole on the side of the ship, but wouldn¡¯t that be just a death wish?

    Jiang Zhen was a bit anxious and was wondering what to do, when he realized . . . the vignce of these pirates was rather poor?

    Maybe it was because this ship was located at the rear, and several merchant ships of the Zheng family had already been surrounded. Maybe because they thought they were safe right then, all the people on this ship had gone to the bow to watch the hustle and bustle, and the stern was empty.

    What made him even more speechless was that someone on this ship had been shouting to let those small boats go to the front and attack the main Zheng ship, so there were no other boats behind the main pirate ship!

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen, with his men, easily climbed onto the big ship, and then attacked several people. Then each of them changed their clothes.

    When they were neatly cleaned up, they approached the head of the pirates, and no one found anything unusual at first. It was onlyter that someone recognized the clothes Jiang Zhen was wearing.

    ¡°Why, aren¡¯t your clothes Xiao Liuzi¡¯s?¡± the man asked suspiciously, and then Jiang Zhen started.

    It ended faster than Jiang Zhen expected. It didn¡¯t take him much time to catch the pirate leader while Wang Haisheng and two others ran to the kitchen and set a fire.

    In this era, all ships were made of wood, so as long as there was oil, they all would burn quickly.

    The pirates were in a state of chaos.

    The battle was over just like that.

    At night, many things could not be seen, but the fire was particrly conspicuous, plus Jiang Zhen had his men yell that the pirate leader had been captured. In panic, the rest of the freebooters immediately ran away.

    They had gathered together for the sake of survival. They had attacked desperately because the pirate leader had made a big profit, and there were people in the rear who urged them all the time. But now . . .

    There was obviously something wrong with the leader, and the people on the merchant ships in front them were quite fierce. They¡¯ve already lost a lot of people . . .

    Because of their different dialects, most of the pirates could not understand what Jiang Zhen¡¯s men were shouting, but this frightened them even more. Some of the freebooters who were far from the Zheng family ships turned to run away.

    These pirates had never received any formal training, and those who were driven to the front were basically the new cannon fodders.

    Those people who saw theirpanions falling from the big boat were already very scared and didn¡¯t want to climb farther up, but right then, they saw the people behind them scurrying away . . .

    Rowing the boat, they also scampered after them.

    The pirates who had climbed on board were still fighting with the people onboard, but those still about to climb had already run away for the most part. Seeing this, Zheng Yi finally rxed.

    He didn¡¯t have to abandon his ship and run away!

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Lu Da, however, was confused.

    Ever since Zheng Yi had appeared on deck, Zhao Jinge had been protecting him, and at that moment, he immediately said with pride, ¡°It must be Jiang Zhen!¡±

    It must be something Jiang Zhen has done! Jiang Zhen is that powerful!

    Zhao Jinge looked at the direction of the fire with a pair of bright eyes andmanded the people under his hand: ¡°Everyone stand in a circle, back to back. Try not to get hurt!¡±

    When facing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge would always have low self-esteem, but when facing these men under hismand, he had no such emotions at all.

    It was the first time for Jiang Zhen¡¯s men to go through a battle, and without Jiang Zhen around, they lost their backbone. Jiang Zhen asked them to listen to Zhao Jinge, and they listened to Zhao Jinge subconsciously. Only when the battle was not so fierce as before that they realized a ger wasmanding the battle.

    ¡°Fuck that! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m being ordered by a ger!¡±

    Liu Heitou couldn¡¯t help but curse but obediently formed a circle with the people around him. He didn¡¯t want to run out alone and be cut to death by the pirates.

    But even so, his head was still hit by a bamboo pole. The one who hit him was He Chunsheng.

    ¡°Liu Heitiu, if you want to die, just say so. There is still a ce for one more corpse in the river for you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen had already approached He Chunsheng and He Xiaosheng and told them to protect Zhao Jinge no matter what. If Zhao Jinge was fine, they would naturally have a bright future, but if something happened to Zhao Jinge . . . they wouldn¡¯t know how to live.

    Because of this, He Chunsheng had been following Zhao Jinge along with his younger brother, and the moment he saw Liu Heitou cursing, he was even more sure to use his bamboo pole.

    Zhao Jinge also looked over coldly.

    The moonlight and the firelight from the ignited ship in the distance reflected on Zhao Jinge¡¯s face, revealing his firm outline of his face and casting a shadow on the scar between his brow.

    His frowning face was cold and stained with a lot of blood, but at the moment, he actually looked even a bit vicious.

    This was a ger who had been out working since his teens and doing it very well. He could even ruthlessly dig out his own cinnabar mole.

    Many men would find it hard to do something like that to themselves; digging out a piece of flesh on their own face was not a simple and easy thing!

    Jiang Zhen had been letting Zhao Jinge train with these people, and Zhao Jinge had done very well and already made these people admire him. Before, they looked down on Zhao Jinge, but in fact, they were mainly unwilling to admit that they weren¡¯t as good as a ger.

    But now . . .

    Looking at the bamboo pole that was still dripping blood in Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, they really admired Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, you¡¯re amazing!¡± Jiang Ming, who came from Hexi Vige, couldn¡¯t help saying.

    ¡°Stop shouting! Get rid of the bandits on the ship first!¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Ming responded loudly, and the others looked at Zhao Jinge with goodwill and admiration.

    Fighting together was the best way to umte good feelings with each other, and right this moment, these people would no longer just treat Zhao Jingo as a ger or as someone who was attached to Jiang Zhen.

 Chapter 79.2 - Jiang Zhenâ€™s medical skill

    <h4>Chapter 79.2 ¨C Jiang Zhen¡¯s medical skill</h4>

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by Gumihou, Smile and Samantha

    Zhao Jinge felt this vaguely and could not help being a little happy. But soon he suppressed it and began to fight with the pirates who were still onboard. Even when his arms were sore, he did not put down the bamboo pole in his hand.

    There were not many pirates climbing onto the main ship remaining. In addition, Lu Da and his men, who had been guarding Zheng Yi¡¯s side before, joined the fight, so before long, all the pirates on the ship had been cleaned up.

    At this time, the freebooters on the river had almost all retreated, and their main ship had been burned down, but there was still some news from there from time to time.

    Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He began to direct his people to clean up the battlefield and asked Lu Da to take people to several nearby ships for support.

    Before, everyone was nervous, and there was nothing but shouting happening on the ship, but now . . .

    ¡°Third! Wake up, Old Three . . .¡± One sailor held another sailor in his arms and shouted over and over again.

    The sailor he was holding was shed at the neck. Although his head did not fall off, he bled out a long time ago, so it was naturally impossible for him to respond to this cry, but hisrade tried to straighten his head over and over again.

    After a long time, he still couldn¡¯t get it right, so he hugged the man and began to cry sadly.

    The teenager in charge of food distribution in the kitchen pounced on the side of the boat and cried out to the dark river, ¡°Dad! Dad! Dad, answer me! Dad!¡±

    His voice, which was already in the middle of changing, sounded even worse, and though he was already hoarse from all that shouting, he still shouted over and over again. Unfortunately, the fat cook who would secretly leave some delicious food for him, it was now impossible for him to call out, ¡°Good boy¡± right then.

    One of Lu Da¡¯s men, who had troubled Zhao Jinge before, had his stomach cut open when he fought with the pirates, and now his intestines spewed out. He covered his stomach and cried in pain, as hispanions apanied him, but he could only keep crying.

    ¡°You go back and tell my wife to find another person to marry . . . We haven¡¯t even had a child yet. I¡¯m going to die. It¡¯s not worth it . . . I . . . ,¡± the man who was covering his stomach said and cried again.

    There weren¡¯t many bandits climbing up the main ship, and Zhao Jinge¡¯s men were all gathered in a pile, so no one died, but still, several of them were injured.

    The most serious among them were two vigers from Hexi who had joined Jiang Zhen¡¯s team not too long ago and were just ordinary farmers rather than thugs. This time, even though they were arranged to work with people with fighting experience, they were still injured in the confusion.

    One of them was stabbed on the side of his waist, and the blood was not stopping, and another had his leg cut so deep that the bone was visible.

    Zhao Jinge found this only when everything was over. He was surprised and immediately found the doctor who had treated him before.

    ¡°It¡¯s hopeless.¡± The doctor nced at the two men and said that without thinking about it.

    Basically, such injuries cannot be saved. Even if they try to save them, it would only be a waste of medicinal materials.

    In other words, the patients with rtively minor injuries might not survive after they were patched up.

    Some of Zhao Jinge¡¯s men immediately began to cry, but the two men were already in a daze and could not speak.

    Both of them were from the same vige as Zhao Jinge. When they suddenly heard that they were going to die, Zhao Jinge could not recover from it, and his face paled.

    The battle had gone on for nearly two hours. It was early summer, and the morning light had already started to shine in the east.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s servant boy came to appease the people ording to Zheng Yi¡¯s orders. Seeing Zhao Jinge¡¯s ugly face in the morning light, he said, ¡°For all people who died, Master Zheng will give fifty silver to their families. Jiang Zhen performed well, and Master Zheng said he would add another five hundred silver to the originally negotiated reward . . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge pursed his lips and said nothing. He had just been trying to hold on, but now . . .

    The heavy smell of blood made Zhao Jinge nauseous while the cries of the people around him also made him feel sick and flustered.

    Also, Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t returned yet, so he didn¡¯t know how he was doing.

    ¡°A boat ising over!¡± someone suddenly shouted.

    Zhao Jinge hurriedly went to the side of the ship and also noticed that a boat wasing their way.

    The people on the main ship were frightened by those pirates and were on guard, but Zhao Jinge immediately distinguished the person standing on the bow of the boat.

    ¡°It¡¯s Jiang Zhen!¡± Zhao Jinge went to the side of the ship and looked down excitedly.

    The one who returned was indeed Jiang Zhen.

    After capturing that pirate leader, Jiang Zhen wanted to use him to threaten those pirates, but he soon realized that it wasn¡¯t a good idea. The main reason was that it was too chaotic, and everyone didn¡¯t quite understand theirnguage well. Moreover, those pirates had already retreated before he could threaten them with their leader . . .

    So the pirate leader was of no use, and Jiang Zhen wanted to kill him but suddenly found that the pirate leader he had captured also had some loyal subordinates, and all of them were brave and good at fighting.

    Jiang Zhen could only bring the pirate leader to fight with these men, and it took a lot of time for Jiang Zhen to return until now.

    Hearing Zhao Jinge¡¯s voice from the ship, Jiang Zhen was relieved, and before the small boat couldepletely close to the big ship, he had already jumped from the bow and grabbed the ropedder, and then began to climb up.

    ¡°Jinge, are you okay?¡± Once he got on the ship, Jiang Zhen asked anxiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zhao Jinge said, but his eyes were sore.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen, those fearful emotions that he had pushed down came out.

    When Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge, he knew that he was indeed fine. ¡°It¡¯s good that you are fine.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, someone is going to die,¡± Zhao Jinge said, his voice changing a little.

    Jiang Zhen had expected some casualties, but he had thought that the main ship would be much safer . . .

    ¡°Show me,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge hurriedly brought Jiang Zhen to the two injured vigers from Hexi.

    There werepanions who helped these two men press the wound to stop the bleeding, but they already lost a lot of blood. Now their faces were so white, they looked like ghosts.

    This kind of injury, in modern times, as long as they were sent to the hospital in time, would be all right, but in this time period . . . Jiang Zhen simply looked at it and realized how critical the situation was.

    ¡°Boss, the doctor said he can only wait for death,¡± Jiang Ming said; there was a sob in his voice.

    He was quite excited when he was fighting just then, but at the moment, he became afraid.

    ¡°Jinge, go and get some needle and thread!¡± Jiang Zhen said, and told the others, ¡°Go and get the stove and clean water. Alsoe here to boil water!¡±

    There was a special stove on board to cook things, but what was the purpose of boiling water at this time? Even if he was thirsty, he should just endure it.

    Everyone was a bit puzzled, but Jiang Zhen said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to see if I can save them.¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know anything about medicine, but people like him had learned a bit about dealing with injuries, even to increase their own chances of survival. They also went to school specifically to learn how to stitch up wounds.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know anything about surgery or medicine, but he knew how to stitch up an external wound.

    Although there was ack of antiseptic and anti-inmmatory drugs, both of them were already sentenced to death by the doctor, so he might as well try to treat them.

 Chapter 80 - Helping people stitch their wounds

    <strong>Chapter 80 ¨C Helping people stitch their wounds</strong>

    Jiang Zhen has always been looking ahead in his work.

    Some people might regret or feel sorry for themselves after a sudden disaster, or even let these emotions affect their work, but he was not like that.

    He had encountered a lot of dangerous things, and this encounter with pirates was really nothing. His top priority now was how to keep his men alive.

    But not everyone was like him.

    ¡°If I had known, I would not havee.¡±

    Seeing the tragedy of the two men, a viger who also came from Hexi and following Jiang Zhen, hugged his injured arm. And as he thought more and more about it sadly, he even began to cry. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die . . .¡±

    Hearing this man¡¯s words, other people¡¯s emotions were also somewhat affected.

    ¡°No one forced you toe, and I have already said that we are here to protect people, and we will encounter danger.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nced at the man.

    Jiang Zhen did say that, but . . .

    ¡°There was no danger before?¡± the man couldn¡¯t help but say. As soon as he said that, he caught Jiang Zhen¡¯s cold gaze.

    He had a lot to say, but now he couldn¡¯t say even one word.

    ¡°When we go back this time, you will stop following me,¡± Jiang Zhen said directly.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said this, the man immediately seemed to choke, and the others also sobered up.

    The man looked around and wanted to find allies, but those thugs who had followed Jiang Zhen for a long time had already been obedient to Jiang Zhen. It was just as dangerous as being thugs before, so they wouldn¡¯t have the same thoughts as he did. If you want to live a good life, you have to pay for it.

    Jiang Ming, who was also from Hexi, said, ¡°It¡¯s normal to encounter danger when you go out. If you go to visit a rtive, you may be robbed. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d better never go out in the future.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything to sacrifice our lives to save anyone today . . . If you were taking someone else¡¯s ship and encountered pirates, would you me that guy for giving you a ride?¡±

    ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t think that the Zheng family pay us a lot of money just to visit the capital, do you?¡±

    Jiang Ming made the man speechless.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Ming and had a good impression of him, but also made up his mind that these people under him must be drilled a bit more ruthlessly.

    The needle, thread, and the stove was soon delivered.

    Sheep intestine thread was not avable, but other threads were not unusable . . . When the water in the stove boiled, Jiang Zhen asked Wang Haisheng to pour some to soak up the salt and sugar into the water. . . Then he threw all the needles and threads into it and boiled them. After that, he poured the boiling water into the pot and let it cool a little and washed his hands clean.

    He still wasn¡¯t doing enough this way, but there wasn¡¯t much more he could do in this condition right now; those two had lost too much blood, and if he didn¡¯t stitch up the wounds soon, they would certainly die.

    Bending some of the thin sewing needles with his hands, Jiang Zhen stitched up the wound directly on deck. The stitching needed to be done in a brightly lit ce, and only the deck met this requirement.

    Jiang Zhen stitched up the man with the injured waist first, and after seeing his wounds, he couldn¡¯t help thinking he was a little luckily; this man at least didn¡¯t wound his internal organs!

    It was just that . . . the rescue was a bitte in the end.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen made his move, their situation drew Zheng Yi¡¯s attention.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±

    Zheng Yi was puzzled. He had just finished arranging things when he saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s men cooking something, which made him puzzled.

    When he got closer and saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s actions, he became even more puzzled.

    Jiang Zhen was . . . feeling bad that his men died and helped sew them up?

    But his two men were still alive, aren¡¯t they? It¡¯s not like this injury was a cut-off arm or leg. There was no need to sew it up.

    There was more than one person who noticed Jiang Zhen¡¯s movement, and everyone¡¯s guesses was simr to Zheng Yi¡¯s.

    The man whose neck was cut in half was surrounded by severalpanions. At this time, someone suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s also use a needle and thread to . . . sew him up.¡±

    When something like this happened, it was the usual practice of the Zheng fleet to dock shortly afterwards and then bury the dead on the spot.

    It really wasn¡¯t good for them to bury theirpanion with an iplete corpse or a too ugly appearance, so they always had to help them clean up.

    Everyone¡¯s mood was down at that thought, and just then, Zhao Jinge suddenly said, ¡°Jiang Zhen is saving people.¡±

    ¡°Saving people?¡± Zheng Yi was stunned. This was a rescue?

    ¡°Nonsense. How can we save people like this? It is only making people suffer more before they die!¡±

    The doctor saw that Zheng Yi was over that crowded area, so he nned to go over and treat the slightly injured people under Jiang Zhen and show off in front of Zheng Yi . . . But it turned out that Zhao Jinge, who saw him as soon as he came over, said that Jiang Zhen was saving people? He scolded him in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is saving lives.¡±

    When Zhao Jinge saw that the doctor disapproved of Jiang Zhen¡¯s action, he was a little upset.

    Although he didn¡¯t know why Jiang Zhen was doing this, let alone whether Jiang Zhen could actually save people, but . . . Jing Zhen said he was helping them!

    ¡°If he is truly unwilling to see his men die, I have some medicine here that can be used for these two, so don¡¯t mess with these things.¡± The doctor was about to get the needle and thread soaking in the water. ¡°And why are you cooking this for? You guys take this stove and better boil some medicine.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it!¡± Zhao Jinge stopped the doctor in a hurry. Jiang Zhen said before that this thing couldn¡¯t be touched or soiled. And the doctor¡¯s hands were stained with blood!

    The doctor thought he had a good enough attitude towards these people, but he didn¡¯t expect them to turn down his kindness again and again.

    At that moment, Zhao Jinge looked as if he was afraid of poisoning, and he suddenly became a little angry. ¡°Yes, he is saving people.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how he can save these people! Don¡¯t get a good man killed!¡± After saying that, the doctor actually turned around to leave.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Zhao Jinge quickly pulled the man around. ¡°Dr. Hu, we have the wounded here to treat.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys able to treat them yourselves?¡± The doctor¡¯s tone was very bad.

    Zhao Jinge was embarrassed. Jiang Zhen was not a doctor . . .

    ¡°Dr. Hu, show them,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    That Dr. Hu was still full of resentment, but Zheng Yi had spoken, so he could only give this person a diagnosis and treatment.

    An injury was something that mainly depended on medicine, and it was both diagnosed and treated. Dr. Hu just took out the medicine and taught people how to use it.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen had already stitched up the wounds for those two and had finally let out a sigh of relief.

    Although Jiang Zhen knew about the doctor who came over just now, he didn¡¯t hear the conversation clearly because he was concentrating on stitching up the wounds. Now that the wounds of the two men were finally stitched up, he said to Doctor Hu, ¡°Doctor Hu, please apply some medicine to their wounds.¡±

    Although the wounds were stitched up, it was best to apply some more medicine on them.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you capable of saving people? Why do you want more of my medicine?¡± Dr. Hu sneered.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned, then he said, ¡°I¡¯m only an amateur.¡± The doctor couldn¡¯t be offended. . .

    ¡°You are quite self-aware,¡± Dr. Hu said, thinking that if it hadn¡¯t been for Jiang Zhen, all the people on the ship might have died, so he took out some good medicine. ¡°Ask someone to apply it. I don¡¯t have much medicine, so save it.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded and gave the medicine to the He brothers. In the twinkling of an eye, he saw a hole in one of the nearby men¡¯s arms. It was bleeding a little, so he beckoned, ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll stitch up the wound for you.¡±

    After sewing up wounds just then, he found the feeling back, so he could help others deal with it.

    ¡°Ah?¡± The man looked at Jiang Zhen nkly. Dr. Hu said he could still be well, and he didn¡¯t want to be a patient of an amateur doctor . . .

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Dr. Hu became angry again. ¡°They¡¯re people, not clothes. How can I just let you sew them with a needle!¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t bother with Dr. Hu. He washed his hands again with bath beans and reced the boiled needle and thread before looking at the men.

    ¡°Want it sewn?¡±

    The needle in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand looked sharp. The man did not dare to let Jiang Zhen do it, but after seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s face, he subconsciously said, ¡°Yes!¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it a bit, but he could only clench his teeth and sit in front of Jiang Zhen.

    Being stitched up a few times . . . It should be fine, right?

    His face was tangled, but Jiang Zhen quickly stitched up his wound after seeing that there was no dirt in it.

    The stitching of the wound was painful, and the injured man couldn¡¯t help but muffle a groan and bite his lips. But it couldn¡¯t be denied that, after the wound was stitched up, it was not bleeding as much as before.

    When Jiang Zhen stopped moving to look at Zheng Yi, he saw Zheng Yi¡¯s thoughtful look.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, can this really save someone?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Master Zheng, I can¡¯t guarantee that, but if there are any wounds on the ship that are bigger and deeper, I can help stitch them up at least to make them bleed less,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He was actually very tired at this moment, but he couldn¡¯t help himself when he saw people dying . . .

    ¡°Master Zhen, Fang Ping wants Jiang Zhen to stitch him up,¡± a voice sounded, and soon, one of the ship guards came with another.

    The person the guard was holding was Fang Ping. It was the same one who had been cut in the stomach before and had thought he would die without even having a child

    ¡°Fang Ping, are you crazy?¡±

    Fang Ping was one of Lu Da¡¯s subordinates. Seeing that he even went so far as to ask Jiang Zhen to sew up his wound, Lu Da¡¯s face showed his disbelief.

    ¡°I . . . I want it sewn up,¡± Fang Ping said with difficulty.

    Before that, Dr. Hu said that he was hopeless. After all, he had such a big wound on his stomach.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t believe that Jiang Zhen could save people, but if he let Jiang Zhen sew it for him, at least his intestines wouldn¡¯t fall out.

    ¡°You asked it for yourself, and I¡¯m not going to stop you.¡± Lu Da looked at Fang Ping in dissatisfaction.

    Jiang Zhen looked at it and found that this Fang Ping was also lucky, and also hadn¡¯t hurt his internal organs.

    Thinking about it, if he had really hurt his internal organs, he would definitely not have been able tost this long. There¡¯s no major blood vessels in the stomach. If he only had a hole in his stomach he would not die for a while. In fact, this guy was in better shape than his two men. A little better.

    Jiang Zhen helped Fang Ping stitch it up, and by that time, Wang Haisheng and the others had already rubbed medicine and fed salt and sugared water to the two heavily wounded people from Hexi.

    ¡°Even if you feed them sugared water, why do you need to add salt?¡± Someone was puzzled.

    ¡°Eating salt can give you strength. Salt and sugared water is best for your body. My wife drinks it every day.¡±

    Wang Haisheng looked at the questioner contemptuously. At first, Jiang Zhen asked Sun Xiaoshan to drink salt and sugared water, and since then, he had decided that the salt and sugared water was a good thing.

    The people around Wang Haisheng nodded at the news, all deciding that the salt and sugared water was a good thing. But when Jiang Zhen heard it, the corners of his mouth twitched.

    However, he soon didn¡¯t have time to think about that and was intent on helping Fang Ping stitched up.

    While Jiang Zhen was stitching up the wound, severalrge ships had already docked and stopped at the shore. It was already dawn.

    It was reasonable to leave quickly at this time, but the bandits had all been scattered, and many sailors on the other ships had died. Many of the ships couldn¡¯t start sailing for a while, so Zheng Yi simply took this time for repairs.

    Because of this, the wounded from the several ships were all moved to the deck of the main ship where Dr. Hu and a few of his subordinates treated them.

    All of these wounded have different injuries and more than a dozen were thought to be hopeless by Dr. Hu . . .

    Zheng Yi took a look at Jiang Zhen, who was stitching up Fang Ping¡¯s wound and sent one of his boys to ask those people if they wanted Jiang Zhen to help them stitch up their wounds.

    A few of those people were still conscious, but most of them were already unconscious, so the decision could only be made by the people around them.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a doctor at all. Can he really help heal people?¡±

    ¡°Let my brother have a try. . .¡±

    ¡°My brother is already dying. It¡¯s better not to put him through that.¡±

    . . .. . .

    Those people had all kinds of ideas, but there were still many who wanted to try. At the time the first person by Jiang Zhen stitched up, the man with the injury in his waist, was out of breath.

    The man¡¯s injury was a little serious, and the wound had been untreated for some time. Although the knife was not sharp enough and didn¡¯t hurt his internal organs, he lost too much blood . . .

    He twitched for a while and then fell silent.

    Wang Haisheng was holding salt and sugar water and wanted to feed him a little, but he didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a thing, so he froze for a moment.

    Jiang Ming and several people from Hexi couldn¡¯t help choking up.

    Many people who originally wanted Jiang Zhen to help them stitch up the wound immediately hesitated.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen had just helped Fang Ping sew up his stomach.

    After fighting for a long timest night, Jiang Zhen was already very tired, and now he was numb all over after squatting on the deck, helping others to sew their wounds.

    He stood up and moved his hands and feet, asking someone to bring two tables and then asked, ¡°Does anyone else want to stitch up the wound?¡±

    The vast majority of people hesitated. What if after letting Jiang Zhen stitch their wound, they would die faster instead?

    Jiang Zhen looked at them and found that there were twenty or thirty people who needed their wounds stitched. He knew very well that he could not save all of them, so he simply looked at a person who was less injured and said, ¡°Do you want me to stitch up the wound for you?¡±

    The man shook his head hurriedly. ¡°Dr. Hu said I could still be saved.¡± He had a big wound, but Dr. Hu gave him medicine and said he might still be saved. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to let Jiang Zhen mess with his wounds.

    He waited for the boy beside Dr. Hu to bandage him up.

    Those who needed stitches, but their injuries were rtively minor and not mortal, were basically unwilling to let Jiang Zhen help treat them. Jiang Zhen had no choice but to continue to sew up the wounds for the seriously injured.

 Chapter 81.1 - Vomiting at the sight of meat

    <strong>Chapter 81.1 ¨C Vomiting at the sight of meat</strong>

    Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t a specialized doctor, he was not even an amateur, and what he has on hand is even more amateur.

    It was destined that he couldn¡¯t help too many people to stitch up their wounds.

    When Jiang Zhen stitched up people¡¯s wounds, people on board kept dying, and the main cause of those people¡¯s death was excessive blood loss.

    Watching everyone around him die one by one, everyone was in a bad mood, and so was Jiang Zhen.

    In ancient times, it was more dangerous than he thought.

    Jiang Zhen clearly realized that he must be more careful in the future, otherwise. . .. In this ce where the medical knowledge was extremely poor, perhaps if you are not careful enough, you will lose your life.

    Jiang Zhen was thinking this when one of the crew members who wanted him to stitch up his wounds quietly stopped breathing.

    Jiang Zhen stopped his movement. regardless of the fact that his hands had been washed white and foamy, he washed his hands again with boiled water twice, and his eyes began to look for Zhao Jinge in the crowd.

    Zhao Jinge has always been glued to him and was always inseparable from him, but now he didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t stay by his side. . .

    Was it because he was scared? When Jiang Zhen looked around, he found that many people looked at him with expressions filled with fear; those who could stand beside him at this moment were very few people.

    After all . . . the way he was stitching someone¡¯s wounds looked bloody and terrifying.

    Jiang Zhen nced around and saw that Zhao Jinge was not far away helping to clean the deck.

    Perhaps sensing his gaze, Zhao Jinge raised his head to look at him, he seemed to be trying to smile, but the atmosphere was too dignified. He soon lowered his head and stopped looking at Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face was a bit pale and he looked very tired, but it was nothing serious . . . Jiang Zhen put his heart at ease and was a bit lost. Zhao Jinge . . . seemed to be a bit scared and didn¡¯t dare to approach him.

    However, it was his first time encountering something like this. It was normal that he would feel ufortable . . . Jiang Zhen slowed down, wanting to stitch up the next person¡¯s wounds, and then he was told that there were no more people who needed stitches.

    The sun rose higher and higher and two hours had passed since the end of the early morning battle, and those seriously wounded who had originally been sentenced to death by Dr. He, how long would they live without being stitched?

    ¡°You go and have a rest.¡± Zheng Yi was a rare person who didn¡¯t dislike bloody scenes. He had been standing there, watching Jiang Zhen, and at that time, he gave Jiang Zhen aplicated look.

    Because of the people who had their wound stitched up by Jiang Zhen, more than three died one after another. The people on board did not think that Jiang Zhen could really save people.

    But he clearly saw that those who had stitched up their wound loss much less blood.

    The vast majority of them were unconscious, but they were still alive. Perhaps . . . Jiang Zhen could really save people by doing this.

    Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen as if he was looking at a baby.

    Jiang Zhen nodded his head; he was indeed very tired and needed rest.

    Jiang Zhen directly took the water and poured it over his head to wash himself then took off his wet clothes and only wore his pants as he walked toward Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge has been paying attention to Jiang Zhen, so at this time, he stopped his movements and nced at Jiang Zhen with some embarrassment.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled.

    Before, he was a little worried that Zhao Jinge would be afraid of him, but now it seemed that his worry was unnecessary. He clearly saw Zhao Jinge blushing at him, but he was not afraid.

    Those who participated in the battlest night went to rest, but Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t but helped outside and waited for Jiang Zhen. Now that he was leaving, no one said anything.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen . . .¡± Zhao Jinge came to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side and walked with him to the cabin.

    ¡°Jinge,e. Let me lean on you.¡± Jiang Zhen extended his hand towards Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge quickly helped Jiang Zhen, and as soon as he steadied him, he heard the sound of vomiting.

    The ones making vomiting noises were the two maids beside Zheng Yi.

    These two maids had been following Zheng Yi and were not injured, but they were frightened by the bloody scene, and the scent of blood made them even more ufortable, so they couldn¡¯t stop themselves from throwing up.

    But even though they¡¯re throwing up, they were still working. At the moment, they were cleaning up the wounded in the cabin.

    Since the end of the battle, Zhao Jinge was feeling very ufortable. He always felt like something was stuck in his throat, and he kept wanting to vomit.

    When Jiang Zhen was stitching up the wound, he felt even worse at the sight of the flesh and blood. He even felt like vomiting himself many times, so he did not go to help Jiang Zhen and even avoided Jiang Zhen when he rescued people.

    How bad would it be if he vomited while Jiang Zhen was there to save the people?

    After trying not to look at the wounded, Zhao Jinge felt much better although he still wanted to vomit, he could at least endure. However, when he heard the two maids vomit, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like vomiting again.

    ¡°Jinge?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned and looked at Zhao Jinge. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zhao Jinge said. ¡°I just feel a little ufortable.¡±

    Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t slept or eaten for a long time, and he had seen a very bloody scene before . . . Jiang Zhen thought of the first time he had killed someone. He also had been vomiting nonstop, so he reassured him, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s all over.¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded and felt a little better when he saw a maning out of the cabin where the sound of the two servant girls¡¯ vomiting came from.

    Someone died, and that person¡¯s death was a bit more gruesome, with his face cut into a bloody pulp. He guessed that two maids just couldn¡¯t stand it at that point and started vomiting.

    Seeing that man, Zhao Jinge felt like vomiting again.

    At first, when the situation was urgent, his symptoms weren¡¯t that serious, but since he had rxed, and Jiang Zhen was by his side . . . Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t stop feeling like vomiting.

    ¡°Jinge . . .¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I killed someone. I . . .¡± Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t restrain himself from remembering those bloody scenes before, and the nausea he had suppressed for a long time also burst out.

    It was not good to keep throwing up like this . . . Zhao Jinge was worried that people would have a problem with him because he was throwing up, but he was just overthinking it.

    Aftering to his senses, there were quite a few people who vomited just like him.

    Discovering that he wasn¡¯t the only one, Zhao Jinge felt much better, but Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but feel distressed when he saw him like this.

    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he had done something wrong.

    In fact, he could actually let Zhao Jinge stay in the vige and wait for him, couldn¡¯t he? Whether it was farming or raising chickens and ducks, those were the things that Zhao Jinge liked to do. If Zhao Jinge stayed in Hexi, he wouldn¡¯t encounter any danger or trouble.

    As for how that might limit Zhao Jinge view . . . he didn¡¯t really care. Should he?

    He also liked watching Zhao Jinge counting a few pennies. . ..

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jingo back to their cabin.

    Zhao Jinge finally looked better, and he no longer felt nauseous.

    ¡°Come, drink some water.¡± Jiang Zhen handed Zhao Jinge a cup of water.

    After drinking the ss of water, Zhao Jinge finally rxed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry . . . I¡¯m so useless.¡± Zhao Jinge felt very embarrassed that he acted like this. His behavior seemed to lose some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s face.

    ¡°You did a good job. Where were you useless?¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge tried to smile, but he smelled blood again whether it was on him or on Jiang Zhen. They both were somewhat stained with blood.

    ¡°Bleh . . .¡± Zhao Jingo felt like vomiting again. Fortunately, he just felt nausea and didn¡¯t vomit the water he just drank.

    Edited by: Faro

 Chapter 81.2 - Vomiting at the sight of meat

    <strong>Chapter 81.2 ¨C Vomiting at the sight of meat</strong>

    When Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Jinge in that state, he couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for him. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a bath and get cleaned up.

    No one was in the mood to take a bath at the moment, and the bathroom was very quiet, allowing both Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen to wash themselves clean. Then they went to the kitchen.

    The teenager who was previously in charge of scooping the vegetables became one of the cooks in the kitchen after his father died and was now making porridge.

    He looked at Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge with his swollen red eyes. He said, ¡°There¡¯s porridge in the pot and pickles over there.¡±

    The iron pot was bubbling with the softly cooked white rice porridge while, not far away, on the table were several pots of pickled cucumber for people who finished their porridge.

    Jiang Zhen was going to serve the porridge but was stopped by Zhao Jinge. Zhao Jinge quickly filled two bowls of porridge and brought some pickles for Jiang Zhen.

    Previously, Zhao Jinge had been feeling nauseous, feeling ufortable and was not even hungry. But now when he saw the hot rice porridge, he felt very hungry and ate very fast.

    ¡°For you.¡± When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were halfway through the meal, the porridge boy suddenly came over and gave them an egg.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the teenager said to Jiang Zhen again and then sat back quietly with red and swollen eyes.

    Previously, his father had fallen off the deck and into the river.

    If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Zhen¡¯s subsequent actions and the pirates¡¯ retreat, he would have lost his life as well.

    Jiang Zhen paused at peeling the egg and put it inside Zhao Jinge¡¯s bowl.

    ¡°You eat too.¡± Zhao Jinge wanted to give the egg to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°How about this. You eat the yolk, and I¡¯ll eat the egg white.¡± Jiang Zhen discovered some time ago that Zhao Jinge preferred egg yolks over egg whites.

    On the contrary, he was just the opposite . . . the yolk was dry, and he would never be able to eat it if it wasn¡¯t apanied by its egg white.

    Zhao Jinge also knew this and separated the eggs to give the egg white to Jiag Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen ate the egg white in one bite before going back to eating his porridge. Zhao Jinge did not eat the egg yolk until he had finished the porridge, then he put the egg yolk into his mouth and ate it contentedly.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were ready to leave after eating, they saw Wang Haisheng and the others.

    ¡°Boss.¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Wang Haisheng and others all said hello. They admired Jiang Zhen very much before, but now when they looked at Jiang Zhen, there was worship and awe in their gazes.

    Jiang Zhen not only fought off the pirates but also dared to deal with other people¡¯s bloody wounds. . . Even now, they felt sick to their stomachs when they thought of these scenes now.

    ¡°Are youing to dinner?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We came to eat and bring some food for the wounded,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and said, ¡°Pay attention to cleanliness. All the water for the wounded these days should be boiled.¡±

    In this time period, people dared to drink water from the river directly, and when they took a bath, they would not boil the water, which easily caused infections.

    Jiang Zhen had warned them about this before, but this time, he emphasized it again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss, we all did it,¡± Wang Haisheng said with some hesitation on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that we listened to you, boss, and followed the method you said to take care of those people whose wounds you stitched up, and as a result, that Lu Da spoke and left all the wounded for us to take care of.¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    There were many wounded on board, and there were no extra hands to take care of the seriously injured. Wang Haisheng and the others had many demands, and Lu Da became dissatisfied, so he simply threw all the wounded for Jiang Zhen¡¯s men to take care of.

    ¡°Can you take care of it?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    In fact, they were quite willing to take care of the wounded . . . Those people were saved by their boss and must be taken good care of; they couldn¡¯t be saved only to be killed by others.

    Although several people who had stitched up the wound by Jiang Zhen had died, most of them were still alive, and Fang Ping, who had a hole in his stomach was still alive. Wang Haisheng and others felt that Jiang Zhen might have created a miracle.

    They wanted those people to survive.

    Wang Haisheng and others ate the porridge and brought the porridge back to the wounded.

    In fact, some people with wounds in their abdomen would be better off if they ate less at this time, but they could not live on only water. They had already lost too much blood, and if they did not eat, they would probably starve to death, so Jiang Zhen did not stop them.

    After eating and drinking enough, he took Zhao Jinge back to their cabin and Jiang Zhen hugged Zhao Jinge as he went to sleep with him.

    Jiang Zhen ended up waking up from hunger, and when he woke up, it was already dark while Zhao Jinge was still sleeping.

    After tidying up himself, Jiang Zhen was about to wake up Zhao Jinge so that they could have a meal together when the cabin door was knocked on so he stood up and opened the door in a hurry.

    The one standing outside the door was Zheng YI servant boy: ¡°Boss Jiang, our young master estimated that you should be waking up soon, so he asked me to bring you something to eat. . .¡±

    The boy said and handed over a heavy food box to Jiang Zhen.

    The aroma of meat drifted out from the food box, making Jiang Zhen increasingly hungry, he thanked him, took the food box and ced it on the table, then started to take the food out.

    Since it had been a few days since they had docked, fresh meat was avable on the ship, but the food was not particrly rich.

    A te of pork with sauce, a te of cold soy bean sprouts, and slices of stir-fried bacon with mushrooms as well as tworge bowls of rice.

    The cabin was small and the table was ced close to the bed. Jiang Zhen had just taken out a few dishes when he saw Zhao Jingo waking up and sitting up in a daze.

    Zhao Jinge was still a bit confused when he first woke up but sobered up after sitting up. Then he saw the te of soy sauce meat on the table.

    The meat . . .

    Zhao Jingo was nauseated and opened the window, so he could vomit outside.

    ¡°Are you still feeling ufortable?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge worriedly.

    ¡°That meat looks a bit disgusting to me,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    After saying that, he felt like pping himself. He actually thought the meat was disgusting!

    Meat was good. He loved meat, but now . . . he actually found it disgusting!

    Zhao Jinge looked at the meat on the table. He used to like eating soy sauce meat, but now he found himself wanting to throw up and had no appetite at all.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He quickly put the soy sauce meat and mushroom fried meat into a food box then asked, ¡°Are you all right now?¡±

    The previous scene was so bloody that he estimated that Zhao Jinge would not be able to eat meat for some time.

    The unlucky boy.

    The wind blew in through the window, blowing away the smell of the cabin, and not being able to see the meat, Zhao Jinge felt much better. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Without the smell of the meat, Zhao Jinge ate arge bowl full of rice quickly with the soy bean sprouts with vinegar sd. After he finished, he still looked a little hungry.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go out and get you something to eatter.¡± Jiang Zhen also ate his meal with the soy bean sprouts, and when he was done, he went out with a food box.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. ¡°I will also go out to wash clothes.¡±

 Chapter 82.1 - Becoming admired

    <strong>Chapter 82.1 ¨C Bing admired</strong>

    Zhao Jinge went out with his dirty clothes in a wooden bucket. Seeing him go far away, Jiang Zhen opened the food box and first ate a chopstick of fried bacon with shiitake mushrooms and then a chopstick of soy sauce meat.

    After several hours of busy work, Jiang Zhen went to sleep after drinking only a bowl of gruel. Jiang Zhen was very hungry, and the oil-free soybean sprouts and white rice just did not make him happy.

    Whether it was bacon or soy sauce, it was delicious, but instead of eating all the meat, Jiang Zhen put it back into the food box and took it to see the wounded who had been stitched by himself.

    The wounded needed to live in a dry and ventted ce and after Jiang Zhen mentioned this to Zheng Yi, Zheng Yi gave up the windowed cabin he used to eat in before to amodate the seriously injured, while those with minor injuries were ced in the upper cabins of several other ships.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen approached the cabin where the seriously injured were living, he found that there were many people around the door, and when they saw him, they all looked in awe.

    Some of these people were Jiang Zhen men and some of them ware unknown to Jiang Zhen, but at the same time no matter who know Jiang Zhen before or not, now when they looked at Jiang Zhen they have worship in their gaze.

    ¡°Boss!¡± Several of Jiang Zhen men shouted loudly, holding their heads high and looking smug, while others looked at them with envy on their faces.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little confused when he saw the situation.

    ¡°Boss, after we moved people here, two died!¡±

    ¡°Boss, the rest seem to be getting better!¡±

    ¡°Boss, do you have the ability to bring the dead back to life?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Several of Jiang Zhen men looked at him eagerly.

    Two more dead? Jiang Zhen helped stitch up the wound this morning to 19 people in total. Several people have died before and with two dead now, there were only thirteen people left alive.

    For Jiang Zhen, this mortality rate was very high, but for others¡­.

    Thirteen of those who had been determined to be certain to die had survived to this day!

    You know, those lesser injuries that Dr. Hu had helped to treat, give medicine and bandages their wounds three has died during Jiang Zhen sleep!

    Jiang Zhen¡­was really too amazing.

    Many people on the main ship didn¡¯t like Jiang Zhen before, but now¡­ thinking that Jiang Zhen might be able to save their lives at a critical moment, they be very enthusiastic about Jiang Zhen.

    And to think that Jiang Zhen was capable of fighting off those bandits¡­ If they didn¡¯t worship Jiang Zhen, who else could they worship?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, stitching up the wounds with a needle can really help to save them?¡± Just as Jiang Zhen was surrounded by people, Zheng Yi also came inside.

    Zheng Yi also had a rest for a while. Now he just woke up and specifically came over to check on Jiang Zhen after hearing from his servant boy that he was up. At this moment, he was looking at Jiang Zhen with great interest.

    ¡°That will reduce the bleeding.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°These people may have a fever next and may not make it through, but at least they won¡¯t die from blood loss.¡±

    ¡°How did youe up with that?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen curiously. What Jiang Zhen did was very simple, which was just sewing up the wound with a needle and thread, it could be said that everyone could do it, but the idea, however, was definitely absolutely novel.

    ¡° Master Zheng, didn¡¯t actuallye up with this method, but I¡¯ve seen others use it.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°When people raise chickens, some of them get bigger and bigger and they will eventually die. After such chickens are killed, you will find a big bag of water in their stomachs. Because the chicken is sick. Everyone will think that such a chicken should be killed and eaten as soon as possible. My mother also thought the same, but I thought if the chicken is sick is shouldn¡¯t be eaten and I wanted to throw it away.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°But my mother couldn¡¯t bear to throw it away, so she poked a hole in the chicken¡¯s belly with a knife, squeezed out the water from the chicken belly and sewed the chicken belly with a needle and thread. Then¡­ this chicken lived.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    What he said was indeed true.

    Zhao Liu raised so many chickens and ducks that there were always some sick ones, and one of them was about to die from hydroperitoneum.

    Zhao Liu was afraid of wasting it and wanted to kill it for her family to eat, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to eat the sick chickens, so he told Zhao Liu to either give it away or threw it away.

    But Zhao Liu didn¡¯t want to do it, she heard that the chicken with this disease could survive as long as the water in their stomach was released¡­ Then she stabbed the chicken and let the water out of its belly.

    When Jiang Zhen saw it at that time, he mentioned in passing that they could sew the chicken belly with a needle and thread, which Zhao Liu really did. Then the chicken really survived¡­.

    ¡°If this method work for chickens, it should also work for people. I don¡¯t know anything about medicine, I just think that if the wound is too big it¡¯s easy to bleed, but if I sew it up, it won¡¯t bleed.¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a good idea!¡± Zheng Yi eximed, in normal times, this method wasn¡¯t very useful, but during the war¡­.

    If such a method was given to those military generals and handed over to military doctors, there would surely be many more survivors from the battlefield!

    Zheng Yi was already starting to think about how he was going to use this method to profit for himself.

    Of course, he will not treat Jiang Zhen badly.

    ¡°Thank you Young master Zheng for your praise.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in and take a look.¡± Zheng Yi said again and brought Jiang Zhen with him into the cabin.

    There were more than a dozen people lying in the cabin, a few of them were drowsy, but most of them were awake, and the one under Jiang Zhen who had a thigh injury was awake.

    These people were badly injured, but looked to be in a good spirit, he one with the best spirit inside was the one whose abdomen had a big hole, Fang Ping.

    This Fang Ping initially asked Jiang Zhen to stitch his stomach, because he didn¡¯t want his intestines to fall out, but unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t die after sewing.

    Not only did he not die, but a few of the people around him with particrly serious injuries did no die either. Wang Haisheng, who was responsible for taking care of them, had been praising Jiang Zhen in front of them.

    It was at this time that he realized that Jiang Zhen was so powerful, that he was not only amazing inbat, but he had also saved Wang Haisheng dying wife.

    In this case, can Jiang Zhen also save him?

    When Fang Ping thought that Jiang Zhen could save himself, he immediately felt that he was getting more and more energetic and stronger.

    He will survive and he will go back and have a son with his wife!

    ¡°Our boss didn¡¯t get the hang of it before and was very silent, then he got the hang of it and he became as strong as a bull and powerful. Before I went out with him, nd encounter bandits, and he captured all the bandits on both boats by himself!¡± As soon as Jiang Zhen entered, he heard Wang Haisheng praising himself, ¡°And this time, he took us to the ship where the bandit leader was very easily and captured the bandit leader and we haven¡¯t suffered any casualties!¡±

    When Wang Haisheng told the story when he first encountered the bandits with Jiang Zhen, he blurred over the fact that there weren¡¯t many bandits on those two boats in total so that those people around him thought that Jiang Zhen had killed the water bandits on the two ships and then this time¡­ their gaze were all filled with yearning.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is too strong!¡±

    ¡°No wonder even higher can beat a bunch of people.¡±

    ¡°It is nice got you guys to follow him.¡±

 Chapter 82.2 - â€“ Becoming admired

    Chapter 82.2 ¨C Bing admired

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    In the gap of sewing wounds, Jiang Zhen told the people around him how to take care of the wounded. The most important thing was to be clean. Therefore, the cabin was very clean, and all the wounded were dressed in clean new clothes.

    There was no doubt that this alone could make people feel happy, the condition of the wounded was good and when they saw Jiang Zhene in, they all looked at him with admiration.

    Before Jiang Zhen, people were convinced by fighting, and only Zhao Jinge and Wang Haisheng worshipped him, he was not used to it for a time being.

    However, he was in a good mood ¡ª¡ª it was always a good thing to be able to save people.

    Jiang Zhen gave the lunch box in his hand to Wang Haisheng: ¡°there is some meat here. You have worked hard, too. Take it and divide it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, boss!¡± Wang Haishengughed happily.

    Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise, then smiled and said: Jiang Zhen, I believe your escort agency will do well.¡±

    He thought he was in charge of Jiang Zhen before and he already attached great importance to Jiang Zhen. But now it seemed that¡­. It was estimated that the Zheng family will not be able to keep Jiang Zhen.

    After seeing the wounded, Zheng Yi said a few words before he left and Jiang Zhen also did not stay here for long.

    Thinking that Zhao Jinge might not have enough to eat, Jiang Zhen went to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge did note to the kitchen for lunch and dinner, so they could only pick up food from the kitchen at this time.

    ¡°The food in the kitchen today is meat.¡± The young man who scooped vegetables opened the pot and showed it to Jiang Zhen: ¡°the stewed bacon with soybeans is delicious.¡±

    Before they went out, they took a lot of soybeans, because this soybean was really a good thing.

    It can be directly used for cooking and can also be used for bean sprouts and some ships with a stone mill could even make tofu.

    Jiang Zhen ordered two bowls of rice in the kitchen, filled a bowl of stewed bacon with soybeans, thought about it and asked for some pickles before he went back.

    Facts have proved that Jiang Zhen¡¯s approach was very prescient.

    On the way back, Jiang Zhen had picked out a little meat from the soybeans to eat, but Zhao Jinge still felt nausea when he saw the bowl of soybeans.

    ¡°I smell meat in it.¡± Zhao Jinge said that he smelled the meat, which had always made him feel very fragrant, but now he did not know what was going on, because it smelled very bad and unbearable.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you outside.¡± Jiang Zhen immediately said.

    When Jiang Zhen took the soybeans outside the cabin, Zhao Jinge felt fine and ate a big bowl of rice with pickles.

    ¡°You¡¯re like this¡­ I guess you¡¯ll have to be a vegetarian for the next period of time.¡± After eating and cleaning up, Jiang Zhen touched Zhao Jinge¡¯s head.

    Zhao Jinge was stimted much more than he thought he would be.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Zhao Jinge was full of pity. He couldn¡¯t eat meat anymore. What a pity!

    As for stimtion¡­.

    Killing someone would be a very stimting thing to do, but Zhao Jinge was now focused on the fact that he had to vomit from time to time so he had no time to think about those bloody scenes, nor did he want to think about those bloody scenes.

    After sleeping for a long time during the day, Jiang Zhen was in a good mood and seeing Zhao Jinge annoyed by candlelight, he couldn¡¯t help kissing him.

    When Zhao Jinge was kissed by Jiang Zhen, he knew exactly what Jiang Zhen wanted to do and blushed a bit.

    He had a sneaking feeling that Jiang Zhen was a little too much to want to do it now, but it was good that Jiang Zhen liked him¡­he wouldn¡¯t refuse anyway!

    What if he refused and Jiang Zhen went to find someone else?

    ¡°Be gentle.¡± Zhao Jinge said, he mustn¡¯t let anyone hear¡­.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡± Jiang Zhen said, in order to not be overheard, his actions of making out with Zhao Jinge in those days were incredibly gentle, and this was¡­ quite interesting too!

    It felt really good to watch Zhao Jinge slowly grind him as he held back.

    Jiang Zhen undid his own pants and slowly entered Zhao Jinge¡¯s body. As a result, he did not move yet when the door suddenly moved.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but curse under his breath and after leaving Zhao Jinge¡¯s body and putting on his pants he tied his clothes around his waist as a cover-up, and seeing that Zhao Jinge also cleaned himself up. Then Jiang Zhen opened the door and asked in a bad tone: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Standing outside was a young man and as soon as the door opened, he looked at Jiang Zhen angrily, ¡°You can obviously save people, why didn¡¯t you save my brother before? , you¡­¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know this person at all so he frowned.

    Jiang Zhen originally wanted to listen to this man and figure out what was going on, but he didn¡¯t expect this person to say something and then extend his fist to hit him.

    This guy came to his door to find trouble!

    Jiang Zhen who was suddenly disturbed and was in a bad mood, seeing this scene immediately became angry and kicked the person out.

    When he saved people before, he had already tried his best to save those who Dr. Hu thought were bound to die, those who were not fatally injured. He also offered to sew wounds for others so when he did not try to save people?

    It was because these people did not trust him before and nowe to his door when some of them died!

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s line of thought was correct, the brother of the man who came was really the one who hadn¡¯t trusted him before and refused to let him stitch his wounds, butter unfortunately died.

    At that time, he had even taken the initiative to ask that person if he wanted treatment.

    At that time, the man was afraid that he would die after being stitched by him, so he was unwilling to let him close the wound, butter the blood wouldn¡¯t stop.

    Just this afternoon, the man died.

    Originally, it was nothing. Death after this type of injury was perfectly normal for these people, but just at this time the younger brother of the men who died heard that those who were more seriously injured than his brother, because Jiang Zhen helped them sew up their wound ware still alive and even ware getting better.

    His brother¡¯s injury was not serious, but he died, but those who were more seriously injured survived¡­. The man was so angry that he came to make trouble.

    After being kicked out by Jiang Zhen, the man jumped up from the ground and hit Jiang Zhen door again: ¡°Jiang Zhen,e out and face me!¡±

    He kicked angrily at the cabin door, and after a while, several people rushed out of the side and stopped him with their hands.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The man¡¯s face was full of anger.

    ¡°What are you doing? How dare you cause a disturbance at Boss Jiang ce! ¡± The person holding him down was very angry.

    Now all the people on the ship admired Jiang Zhen very much, but these men still came to find trouble with Jiang Zhen!

    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for Boss Jiang, you would have already been a dead man fallen under the sword.¡±

    ¡°Your brother was the one who did not want the treatment from Boss Jiang, so what does it have to do with Boss Jiang?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and leave, don¡¯t disturb Boss Jiang rest!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Someone soon dragged the man away, these people weren¡¯t all Jiang Zhen people, many of them were originally Lu Da men.

    When Lu Da heard themotion, he just happened to see this scene, and when he heard these words, his face turned grim.

    Why had all his men defected to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side?

    Lu Da continued to walk in a bad mood and in the middle of this walk he was called over by Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Lu Da, you¡¯ve disappointed me.¡± Zheng Yi said directly.

    ¡°Young Master?!¡± Lu Da looked at Zheng Yi in horror.

    ¡°You were raised by my Zheng family, and I trusted you the most, but look, what have you done? Jiang Zhen is someone I hired, someone I value, and you¡¯re targeting him for your own selfish interests. You even stopped him when he tried to save people.¡± Zheng Yi said: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for him this time, we might all be already dead, haven¡¯t you seen the truth by now?¡±

    ¡°Young master¡­¡± Lu Da lowered his head in shame.

    ¡°From now on, treat Jiang Zhen the same way you treat me.¡± Zheng Yi said, ¡°If you don¡¯t do well, I won¡¯t mind recing you.¡±

    Lu Da was confused.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen found that there was finally no disturbing movement outside the door and was hugging and kissing Zhao Jinge¡­

    when Jiang Zhen woke up the next day, Zhao Jingo was still sleeping.

    It could be felt that the sudden killing of a man had a great influence on Zhao Jinge. Even now when he was asleep his brow was wrinkled.

    Jiang Zhen gently touched the scar in the middle of Zhao Jinge eyebrow with his hand, kissed him on his eyebrows, and then got up and left.

    After leaving the cabin, Jiang Zhen found that their ship was still in ce and did not leave.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen was somewhat surprised, then his heart moved.

    He always had an idea that it would not be easy to follow Zheng Yi, but now he can give it a try.

    Jiang Zhen found Zheng Yi and said what he thought.

    ¡°are you going to fight those water bandits?¡± Zheng Yi opened his eyes wide in surprise when he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    He was still worried that those water bandits woulde to his door, and Jiang Zhen¡­ he actually wanted to fight those water bandits!

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, ¡°The people under me have never been in a battle before, they have too little experience, I want to take them out for practice.¡±

    If possible, it would be best to get some more money.

 Chapter 83.1 - Robbing the pirates

    Chapter 83.1 ¨C Robbing the pirates

    Zheng Yi had no choice but to stop his ship here; it was also a helpless move.

    In the previous battle with the pirates because of therge number of people and guards on the main ship. Even though the casualties on the main ship were not great, the other ships were different.

    At that time, many pirates climbed onto those ships and fought hard. The crews of the four ships, except for the main ship, were reduced by at least a third, and many people were frightened and wounded

    Zheng Yi wanted to leave immediately after the battle, but to do that, he had to atst abandon one of the big ships. However, many people died in this encounter with the pirates, so how could he lose even more goods when he had already lost so many people?

    He was a merchant after all; he¡¯s out to make money.

    But Zheng Yi could only repair the ship for a day and rearrange the manpower. He also allowed his men to bury the dead on the shore and let the wounded have a good rest.

    Zheng Yi had already made some arrangements and had some guards temporarily act as sailors and nned to continue the journey that afternoon. But unexpectedly, at this moment, Jiang Zhen had made such a request.

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Zheng Yi asked. The number of pirates wasrge. It was a good thing to be confident, but if Jiang Zhen, who was unsure, where to go . . .

    If something happened to Jiang Zhen, the rest of his trip might not be easy.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen was very sure that those pirates were all disced people after the drought. Although there were a few more powerful characters among them, they were just brave men. As long as they were well prepared, it was not difficult for him to capture such a group of freebooters.

    Jiang Zhen had thought before that he must not put himself, or Zhao Jinge, in danger in the future, and to do that, he could not only think about avoiding all the dangers, but should also think of ways to be stronger.

    Only when he became strong and the men he had on his hands became strong, can he not fear danger.

    And if I wanted to be strong, I must go out and practice.

    Those pirates just lost the battle, and the pirate leader was also killed, so now they were probably still in chaos . . . Was there a better situation for them to practice in this world?

    Jiang Zhen did not hide his ns from Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, if you go to join the army, you will certainly be a fierce general who defeats more with less,¡± Zheng Yi said, admiring.

    ¡°Master Zheng, if, if I join the army, I may be just a soldier until I die,¡± Jiang Zhen said. How easy was a promotion these days?

    Moreover, what he relied on now was his military experience in modern times, and while he was in modern times . . . at most, he led about a hundred men.

    It¡¯s okay for him to train a group of soldiers, but if you want him to bring tens of thousands of troops . . . He may not be able to take care of it.

    Zheng Yi also knew that it was hard to get promoted in the army without power and connection, so he smiled and said, ¡°I can wait for you here for a few days, but I will have one request for you.¡±

    ¡°Master Zheng, feel free to say it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°You take Lu Da with you and choose some of his men to go with you to help me train them,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Zheng Yi used to think that Lu Da and his men were good enough, but now,pared with Jiang Zhen and his men, he felt they were full of shorings.

    When he paid for Jiang Zhen to join his group, although he attached great importance to Jiang Zhen, to him, Jiang Zhen was actually simr to Lu Da. He even felt that he could have turned Jiang Zhen and his men into guards of the Zheng family like Lu Da. But now, he no longer had these thoughts. Jiang Zhen was much stranger than he thought. It would be impossible for him to be a manager under him, and he estimated that his escort agency will also develop very well.

    He would give Jiang Zhen enough respect and would no longer regard Jiang Zhen as his own subordinate. As such, he hoped that Jiang Zhen could train his subordinates.

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t wait for Zheng Yi¡¯s request. Although most of his men had started as thugs, they were justmon thugs who went around bullying others in the countryside. They were really not too powerful, but the men under Lu Da and Lu Da himself were different.

    Those people had seen blood.

    ¡°Master Zheng, of course, I¡¯d like to take a few more people, but I still want them to volunteer,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He went out this time and took the odd route, but he still didn¡¯t want any disobedient people in his team.

    Leaving Zheng Yi¡¯s cabin, Jiang Zhen went to make preparations

    ¡°There are thousands of those pirates, and this operation is dangerous, so it¡¯s up to you to decide whether to go or not.¡± Jiang Zhen called all of his uninjured men and told them that he was going to fight the pirates.

    ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Wang Haisheng and a few of the people who had gone into the water with Jiang Zhen to kill the pirate leader immediately answered.

    After following Jiang Zhen to kill the pirate leader and save their fleet, they had experienced being worshipped and had people sending them thank-you gifts, which made them excited and delighted.

    They loved the feeling of being admired, so now, they were just dying to have another battle for them to take part in.

    ¡°Boss, we¡¯re going too!¡± the rest of them also shouted. They hated those freebooters, and they also wanted to be the object of envy.

    Wasn¡¯t it just killing pirates? Didn¡¯t they kill some just yesterday?

    They were men, and there were very few who did not want to build up their own careers. Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t even used prizes to encourage these men, and they had already agreed.

    Together with Lu Da¡¯s group, Jiang Zhen finally selected a total of sixty people and spent some time preparing all kinds of useful equipment before leaving.

    Before leaving, he made a special trip to see Zhao Jinge, but he was still asleep . . .

    ¡°Jinge.¡± Jiang Zhen rubbed Zhao Jinge¡¯s head.

    Zhao Jinge opened his eyes in a daze, only to find that it was already dawn. ¡°Is it veryte? I¡¯ll get up in a minute.¡±

    ¡°No, you rest a bit more,¡± Jiang Zhen said and kissed Zhao Jinge again. ¡°I¡¯m going out. Wait for me toe back.¡±

    At first, Jiang Zhen thought of asking Zhao Jinge about going with him, but in the end, he gave up.

    Zhao Jinge felt guilty after killing someone and reacted badly. He was not suited to going with him to kill people again . . .

    Jiang Zhen left after saying that, and Zhao Jinge was busy getting up, cleaning himself up before going out the door. Only then did he know that Jiang Zhen was actually taking people to hunt for pirates.

    Jiang Zhen was going to fight pirates!

    Although Zhao Jinge felt that Jiang Zhen was the most powerful person he knew, and so he was full of confidence in him, he was still worried about Jiang Zhen after hearing about what he is going to do. It made him suddenly anxious.

    Those pirates were vicious, and there were so many of them, what if something happened to Jiang Zhen and the others?

    Zhao Jinge was getting worried and didn¡¯t know if it was because of the memory of the previous battle scene, but his stomach shrank, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling nauseous again.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, are you okay?¡± one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men with an injured arm asked.

    This man was also one of the wounded Jiang Zhen had helped stitch up.

    He originally didn¡¯t want Jiang Zhen to stitch him up because his injury wasn¡¯t fatal, but after being looked at by Jiang Zhen, he subconsciously agreed to it . . .

    Jiang Zhen took everyone he could with him this time, but those injured like him were the ones who stayed behind.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just hungry,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

 Chapter 83.2 - Robbing the pirates

    Chapter 83.2 ¨C Robbing the pirates

    ¡°Then you should quickly go eat something.¡± The man was a little lost again, ¡°Why was I hurt? If I hadn¡¯t been hurt, I could have gone to fight those pirates too!¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded and went to the kitchen in a daze while the other went to where the wounded people were.

    When Jiang Zhen went out this time, he left five of his own men behind¡ªone was the one who was seriously injured, the other four were slightly injured but had issues with mobility. At the moment, those slightly injured people were responsible for taking care of the seriously injured.

    But in fact. . . those seriously injured patients didn¡¯t need their care at all.

    Zheng Yi paid great attention to these people who were seriously injured and had their wounds stitched up by Jiang Zhen. It was to the extent that he actually sent his own two maids over to take care of the people!

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s request was a bit too detailed and tedious for those grown men on the ship, but for these two maids, it was what they expected it to be.

    They served Zheng Yi to wash up, and not only did they use water that had been boiled and then cooled, but this water also had to settle for days before boiling!

    They took care of the wounded with great care, and in addition, the friends andpanions of the wounded also came to help. As a result, Jiang Zhen¡¯s slightly injured subordinates didn¡¯t need to do anything at all. At most, they only needed to watch over a little bit of the severely wounded man in Hoshimura, whose leg had been amputated.

    The man had woken up, and he was full of fear when he first woke up, thinking he was going to die. But after the other patients talked to him, he felt that he would be able to live and was full of confidence in Jiang Zhen.

    That man was still fine after having a hole in his stomach, and he had just a cut on his leg, so what was he afraid of?

    Most of the seriously injured people who woke up were optimistic, but not all of them could survive in the end; some of them contracted fever.

    It was much harder to survive an injury with a fever, butpared to the other side, there were more people with slight injuries treated by Dr. Hu.

    A fever after an injury was a verymon thing, butpared to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side, it seemed that Dr. Hu¡¯s medical skills seemed much poorer.

    Dr. Hu, who was previously determined to think that Jiang Zhen was being foolish, was getting more and more tangled up the past two days.

    When Zhao Jinge went to the kitchen, he smelled meat and felt nauseous again. Fortunately, someone helped him get the simplest porridge and pickles, and he was allowed to take it back to his cabin and eat it. He finally felt much better.

    But this porridge, after all, was very unptable.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t bring him along this time, probably because he felt like vomiting at every turn.

    Why was he so useless? Other people would throw up one day and be better on the next, but what about him? He couldn¡¯t stop throwing up . . .

    If he didn¡¯t throw up, surely he could follow Jiang Zhen and not stay here and worry about him . . .

    After dinner, Zhao Jinge left the cabin, wanting to find Dr. Hu to take a look at him and preferably get some medicine to stop his vomiting.

    He did not know if it was a coincidence or not, but as soon as Zhao Jinge went out, he met Dr. Hu, but before he could go up to talk to him, Dr. Hu looked at him fiercely . . . Zhao Jinge stiffened and gave up on his original n.

    He also remembered that Dr. Hu had questioned Jiang Zhen before. . . This Doctor Hu didn¡¯t seem to like him.

    Zhao Jinge gave up on his n to Dr. Hu, who looked at him before turning around and leaving.

    Life on the ship was something that Zhao Jinge originally enjoyed, and although he was unfamiliar with this life, Jiang Zhen had always been there for him. But right now, Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t here.

    Without Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge only felt that something was wrong and couldn¡¯t lift his body.

    He was not talkative or sociable, and because he was a ger, he did not have much contact with people, but now, he actually felt that there was nothing to do, and he did not even consciously think about it.

    What would Jiang Zhen do if he was in danger?

    Zhao Jinge was so worried, he became restless. As a result, his nausea became even more severe . . .

    Even though he felt nauseated, he did not vomit what he had eaten, and it also affected his action, soter on . . . could he really apany Jiang Zhen to go for training?

    It was just that he was originally ugly, but now, he would not even be able to fight with Jiang Zhen . . . If he continued like this . . .

    The more Zhao Jinge thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Atst, he gritted his teeth and went to find Zheng Yi.

    Zhao Jinge had always been a little afraid of Zheng Yi. He felt that he wasn¡¯t on the same page as a young master like Zheng Yi, and in the past, when he went to see Zheng Yi with Jiang Zhen, he didn¡¯t even dare to speak to Zheng Yi.

    But this day . . .

    Zhao Jinge became courageous and went to find Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Zheng, Master Zheng. . .¡±

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Zhao Jinge¡¯s temperament was something Zheng Yi could see through at a nce, so he was a bit surprised when Zhao Jinge took the initiative to look for him.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen . . . when will he be back?¡± Zhao Jinge asked, looking up at Zheng Yi, his eyes filled with concern.

    So it was because he was worried about Jiang Zhen that he came over . . . Zheng Yi had a good impression of Zhao Jinge, so naturally, he didn¡¯t hide anything at this time. ¡°The specific day is not clear, but it¡¯ll be about two or three days.¡±

    ¡°Two or three days . . .¡± Zhao Jinge eyebrows furrowed tightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Jiang Zhen said he¡¯s confident.¡± Zheng Yi said. Seeing Zhao Jinge¡¯s worried look he added, ¡°Right, he was thinking of you before he left and asked me to send you some eggs to eat.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Zhao Jinge echoed, feeling even worse.

    Jiang Zhen has so many things to do, so he should not bother Jiang Zhen to think about him. It was really too wrong . . . But . . . Jiang Zhen specially asked Zheng Yi to let him eat eggs because he couldn¡¯t eat meat at the moment, right? It¡¯s really not good for him to do this . . .

    Zheng Yi noticed that Zhao Jinge was not in high spirits and soon guessed that it was mostly because Jiang Zhen did not take him with him.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen said he will take people out for two days this time,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°He probably didn¡¯t want you to live with those rough guys, so he didn¡¯t take you with him.¡±

    ¡°if I was me, I would never want my ger or son to live with a bunch of stinky men.¡±

    Zheng Yi said and looked at Zhao Jinge with a mocking expression.

    Zhao Jing quickly bowed his head, but there was no denying that he was much more rxed after hearing what Zheng Yi said.

    While Zhao Jinge was feeling apprehensive on the ship, Jiang Zhen, with his men, hade to the vicinity of their of the pirates.

    These people were freebooters, but they obviously didn¡¯t like water very much . . . So they actually lived in the mountains.

    In Jiang Zhen¡¯s opinion, the management of the pirate vige wasx, and in his view, there were ws everywhere.

    He felt that even if he swaggered up the mountain, no one would stop him.

    Fighting such a stronghold really wasn¡¯t an aplishment at all, but it was good to use it to train his people.

    Two dayster.

    Jiang Zhen with his men was able to steadily attack this stronghold that gathered thousands of pirates.

    It was reasonable to say that there were thousands of people here, and even one of them could have killed Jiang Zhen and his men, but these people . . . they had no fighting spirit at all!

    Thinking of everything that had happened before, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mouth twitched.

    He still had a lot of good tricks to use, but those pirates even ran away . . .

    ¡°Boss, I went to ask people. When those pirates tried to rob us that day, after they escaped from the battle, things became chaotic here. The second leader and the third leader of the vige are all gone, and the rest of the people began to fight for power. As a result, we came at the beginning of the struggle that has yet to give a result . . . ,¡± He Chunsheng said to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°The second and third person in charge are gone?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, a bit surprised. When he killed that pirate leader, he didn¡¯t hear that there were any second and third leaders on that ship . . .

    ¡°Boss, the second and third leaders were all brothers of the big boss. At that time, didn¡¯t we kill a few who were in close pursuit?¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    They were the ones who killed several people that night, but also killing the second and third leader was really unexpected.

    After asking for information, Jiang Zhen finally got to know the specific situation of the pirate stronghold.

    On this side of the river, there were originally many pirates, and they were scattered very widely. Each group of people were in the hundreds or even dozens. Due to the fact that there were also some of the old and young who were not strong, they generally only robbed some small boats.

    But not long ago, the leader of this group of pirates, who was killed by him, stood out and actually unified all the surrounding pirate groups.

    They have made several big robberies in session, and their self-confidence has grown, so they wanted to rob bigger ships and do bigger business. They had never thought that, as soon as they did so, they would run into a hard stubble, and the big boss as well as the second and third leader disappeared altogether.

    The leaders of the previous gang of small pirates had basically been killed by the previous leader, and because of this, the pirate stronghold was leaderless and messed up.

    In the past two days, there had been a lot of people secretly running away from the stronghold¡ªthat is to say, they were all small soldiers, so they didn¡¯t take anything with them. If Jiang Zhen hade hereter . . . maybe even the whole stronghold would be already empty.

    He was lucky . . . After discovering that the warehouse of the stronghold was intact because no one held the key, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mood immediately became much better.

    This time, it could be called a big harvest.

    With this extra money, he could give bonuses to his men, give more pensions to the dead, and maybe even buy some big ships, and then he would not have to charter a boat when he didn¡¯t have to act as a bodyguard.

    And the family. . . When I get back, I¡¯ll build a big house for Zhao Fugui and his wife, and I¡¯ll also make Zhao Jinge get whatever he wants.

    The more Jiang Zhen thought about it, the happier he became, but in the end, he also became a little tangled.

    Speaking of which, why did he feel that he earned more from this ck business than from his serious business?

 Chapter 84.1 - Rescuing a group of people

    Chapter 84.1 ¨C Rescuing a group of people

    There were not so many opportunities to acquire a ck business, so it was better to get down to business than to pin your hopes on it.

    Jiang Zhen only thought about it for a moment then let go of the idea and began to deal with the follow-up of the attack on the pirate vige.

    He arranged for some people to open the pirates¡¯ storehouse and arranged for someone to clean up all the pirates in the vige and gather the people who surrendered together. Jiang Zhen also wanted to see how many wounded there were.

    In Jiang Zhen¡¯s view, the battle against the pirates was not fierce at all.

    Most of them had no will to fight, and the rest ran away when they saw them while many more surrendered and didn¡¯t even dare to run away.

    Of course, they have been through several smaller battles. But because Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t divide his troops and everyone gathered together to take care of each other, not only did everyone gather together to take care of each other but they also had their turn to practice, so no one was seriously injured.

    However, in the eyes of Jiang Zhen, those were only minor wounds, but in the eyes of people at this time, it was definitely a serious injury.

    Before, these injured people might have cried out, but ever since they knew that Jiang Zhen could heal their wounds, their emotions became stronger and some of them were even in the mood to joke around with people.

    ¡°I will let Boss Jiang stitch me. It feels weirdly good.¡±

    ¡°When wee back to the boat, I will let a lot of people see my wound, and some of them might even be envious.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a little painful . . . and the scar in the future will probably look good.¡±

    . . .

    After Jiang Zhen helped a wounded man stitch up his chest wound, he heard these words and became speechless.

    Speaking of which, most of these people were slightly injured rather than seriously injured, which has a lot to do with the fact that the weapons these days were not very sharp. At this time, it took a lot of work to make a sharp knife, and how could everyone have such a sharp knife?

    Most of the weapons held by the pirates were kitchen knives and hoes. For example, the one who was injured in the chest stabbed the pirate with a bamboo pole, and the pirate threw the wood-chopping axe at him before he died thereby cutting him.

    ¡°The wound has been stitched up. You should be careful these days to keep the dirt out of the wound,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    If he told these people about bacteria, they would probably not understand, so he changed it to ¡°dirty stuff.¡±

    If only there was something like alcohol that could be used for sterilizing.

    ¡°Yes! Boss!¡± the man said. Although he was injured, he seemed to be in good condition because of the timely treatment.

    After taking care of the wounded, Jiang Zhen walked towards the warehouse. Along the way, he saw many people who were driven out by his own men. Among them were the pirates and those who were kidnapped by the pirates.

    The pirate vige has been around for some years, so there was a very solid warehouse. When Jiang Zhen passed by, his men were still struggling with the door of the warehouse, but they could not open it.

    This was normal; it was not so easy to split a big wooden door with axes and knives.

    ¡°Chop it in one ce, and after chopping out a hole, use a saw.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen went over, Lu Da was instructing the others on how to get the door open. Obviously, he had some experience.

    As Jiang Zhen approached, he immediately saw therge brass lock hanging from the door, which made a banging sound as the people hit the door.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you unlock it?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have the key.¡± Lu Da looked at Jiang Zhen with a look that seemed like he was looking at an idiot.

    If he had a key, would he need to break down the door?

    Jiang Zhen walked up to him and directly kicked him over, then he searched through the cloth belt he had tied around his waist.

    The experience of the previous life made Jiang Zhen be used to carrying some small things on his body, and this time, he took out a pair of iron chopsticks from his waist.

    The iron chopsticks were sharpened at both ends and not only could it be used as chopsticks, but also for barbecue, for holding hair, and acted as a secret weapon . . .

    Jiang Zhen took it and stabbed it into the keyhole.

    This ancient lock was different from the modern ones and was very easy to open.

    Jiang Zhen never learned any profound skills of lock-picking, but it was still very easy to open such a lock.

    The huge copper lock opened with a click, and the people around Jiang Zhen looked at him with admiration more and more.

    As for Lu Da, who just got up from the ground . . . he suddenly realized that he was an idiot. He had underestimated Jiang Zhen again.

    ¡°Go in and have a look,¡± Jiang Zhen said as he pushed the door open.

    There were many things in the warehouse, including grain, all kinds of goods, and boxes of silver.

    When Jiang Zhen opened one of the boxes, he saw a lot of silver. He was quite calm with his knowledge, but his subordinates looked at him in envy.

    ¡°All those who took part in the operation this time, will take fifty silver first. When we got back from the capital, I will also reward you on merit,¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at those silvers and said directly.

    ¡°Thank you, boss!¡± the crowd shouted together! Fifty silver! They could marry a beautiful wife!

    None of these people were dissatisfied. If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Zhen, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to do such a thing, so what was there to be dissatisfied about?

    Even Lu Da had noints at this time; he still didn¡¯t like Jiang Zhen, but he was still convinced by Jiang Zhen in the end.

    However, Jiang Zhen was a bit torn. How could he take so many things with him?

    Such entanglement onlysted a few seconds before Jiang Zhen focused on those squatting outside.

    There were a lot of people in this vige, and they were mixed. Most of them were pirates made up of refugees from nearby viges, but they also included some other people.

    Most of the local refugees did not know how to swim, so after robbing a few ships, they would leave the crew on board to work for them. Of course, if the people on board have other skills, they would also be left behind.

    Some of them were women and gers.

    These pirates did not kill the women and gers, but had snatched from them their homes or escaped with them. There were about two hundred women and gers in this vige, all of whom were regarded as ythings.

    Now, these two hundred women and gers together with four or five hundred men, who had not even thought of escaping, had surrendered and were watched by dozens of his men.

    Jiang Zhen closed the warehouse door again and began to deal with the people in front of him.

    He asked these people to identify each other and found out that the pirates who had harmed others were all tied up.

    These scared people didn¡¯t dare to lie. The people they identified basically all had the same local ents, and they all looked like they have not been hungry for a long time. From a nce, you would know that they were definitely pirates.

    Then Jiang Zhen let these people, especially the women and gers, decide whether to stay or not. If they wanted to leave, he would give them some money and grain.

    Hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, those whose families were nearby and those who came here with the help of the pirates suddenly moved.

    Jiang Zhen could kill them, so naturally he doesn¡¯t need to lie to them, so . . . they could really go back?

    However, even if the local people wanted to go home, those who were kidnapped did not want to leave at the moment.

    Even if they could get out of this vige . . . who could guarantee that they would be safe? Maybe if they leave this pirate vige, they would be robbed again.

    ¡°Your Excellency, are you from the government?¡± a middle-aged man sitting on the ground next to him suddenly asked.

    This middle-aged man was presumably a big, fat man before. But now, after going hungry for a long time, he became thin and his skin drooped down from his frame, making him look a little funny.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m from the Jinzhen Escort Agency,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    The fat man had never heard of Jinzhen and nced at Jiang Zhen a few times before he said, ¡°My lord, if we don¡¯t leave, can you take us away with you? Your Excellency, if you are willing to take me home, I can pay you a lot of money.

    The fat man looked at Jiang Zhen expectantly, hoping that Jiang Zhen would agree. God only knew how much he wanted to go home!

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation, ¡°but I may not be able to send you home right away. We are going to the capital.¡±

    ¡°My lord, my lord, I¡¯m from the capital, my lord!¡± The fat man jumped beside Jiang Zhen in surprise and hugged Jiang Zhen¡¯s thigh.

    Jiang Zhen hurriedly pulled his leg away and then he heard the man ask again, ¡°My lord, can you give me something to eat? I¡¯m hungry! ¡°

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± He could see that.

    There were a lot of people nning to leave with Jiang Zhen. There are about two hundred men and a hundred women, and they all have one thing inmon, that is, they were all kidnapped by the pirates.

    Besides following Jiang Zhen, they had no other way.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you with me, but you have to work,¡± Jiang Zhen said directly, and then pointed to the other side of the warehouse. ¡°Wait and have a meal first then move everything outside to the ship.¡±

    The ships of those pirates were now his.

 Chapter 84.2 - Rescuing a group of people

    Chapter 84.2 ¨C Rescuing a group of people

    With that, Jiang Zhen pointed to the fat man and said, ¡°Of course, if you can pay us as much as this man, then you are the employers of our escort agency. Not only do you not have to work, but I will treat you well before sending you home.¡±

    Among these people, some of them were as well-off as this fat man and could afford to hire him for money. They didn¡¯t want to work, so they came out one after another to say where their home was and what they did and asked Jiang Zhen to escort them home.

    Jiang Zhen took out a pen and paper to register these people and said that they were already the employers of the Jinzhen Escort Agency. If it was on the way, he will send them home as soon as possible. If it wasn¡¯t, they would need to wait.

    These people had been tortured by the pirates, so how could they disagree now? Hearing Jiang Zhen say so, they all agreed.

    Not all of them were rich and the vast majority of men had been ordinary crew members before, so after eating, they went to work obediently.

    But those women and gers . . .

    ¡°The women and gers can carry lighter stuff, and if they are pregnant, they do not need to work.¡± Jiang Zhen was still very tolerant of these women and gers.

    Many people around Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge train and worked with them. When they were in the countryside, women also needed to work in the fields. Therefore, none of them felt it was wrong when Jiang Zhen said such words.

    In fact, after they were kidnapped by the pirates, they had to work, wash clothes, cook, and grow vegetables . . . It was a lot of work.

    Those days were hard, but they all survived. Now they did not need to be spoiled, and it was really nothing to do some work.

    But . . . among these saved women and gers, there were a few women and gers who were particrly good-looking and even very beautiful.

    They looked very good even after they were kidnapped by the pirates; some of them followed the regr pirates while the others even directly followed the pirate leader and were served by others, but now. . . this guy told them to move the goods?

    These people were suddenly dumbfounded, and one of them who was more daring, dressed in bright clothes and with even some rouge smeared on her face looked at Jiang Zhen pitifully.

    ¡°Master, this ve is not in good health . . .¡±

    Amid the movement of her eyes, she also winked at Jiang Zhen.

    This woman was originally engaged in the business of the flesh. She originally intended to turn into a good person, and so, hooked up with a businessman whoter redeemed her, and she nned to follow the businessman home to be his concubine, but she was unlucky and was robbed on the way.

    Others were crying, but she thought about the way to live. She did not cry or make noise. As soon as she caught the attention of the pirate leader, she actually had a good life.

    She has no ability to live alone. Who knows what would happen to her? Naturally, she made up her mind to follow Jiang Zhen and even wanted to hook up with this person, who was obviously the leader.

    And the result, Jiang Zhen never looked at her or said anything and now . . . he wanted her to move the goods?

    There was nothing this woman could do about it, so she took the initiative to speak.

    When he was called out and heard the four words ¡°not in good health,¡± Jiang Zhen remembered something and stopped the remaining women and gers. ¡°Wait a moment¡±

    ¡°Lord . . . ,¡± the woman who had just called out Jiang Zhen looked at him eagerly.

    ¡°Are there any of you who are good at serving people?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Lord, I am good at it!¡± the woman hurriedly said when she heard Jiang Zhen was looking for someone to serve him.

    And is there anyone better at this job than her?

    ¡°No women.¡± Seeing this woman, Jiang Zhen frowned. He was looking for someone to take care of Zhao Jinge, but the women in front of him did not meet his requirements at all.

    Although his aesthetic appreciation for gers was different from that of the people of this time, his aesthetic for women was still normal.

    This woman has big breasts and buttocks; she looked good and could dress up. She was one of the most beautiful women he has seen since he transmigrated, so how could he feel at ease when such a woman would be beside Zhao Jinge?

    Gers could also marry a wife!

    It turned out that he liked gers! The woman red at Jiang Zhen, feeling suffocated in her heart.

    ¡°Do you have a ger who knows how to serve others?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    There were a few gers who did not want to be spoiled and hide behind other people, and there were also two gers who didn¡¯t care about that anymore and walked out with an extra twist to their buttocks.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen suddenly realized that these people seemed to have misunderstood his meaning. ¡°My wife is a ger. I need to find someone to serve him . . . Don¡¯t need to look good!¡±

    Zhao Jinge always thought that He Qiusheng was very good-looking. What if he fell in love with one of this enchanting ger?

    The faces of these two gers whoe closer changed. What the hell! This man wasn¡¯t looking for someone to serve him but for someone to serve his wife!

    Jiang Zhen originally wanted to find an older ger who could take care of people, but as a result, he swept his gaze around and found that among those people, there was one exceptionally thin and dark one.

    This child looked underage, and he estimated he could one be twelve or thirteen years old, and there was a thirty-something, extremely ordinary-looking woman holding him.

    ¡°You two show me your hands . . . What did you used to do?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m the cook.¡± The woman was disturbed, and the hands she and the boy had stretched out together were covered in thick calluses and burns.

    They were a mother and son who had been kept together by the pirates because the woman was a good cook and had insisted that her son needed to help her.

    ¡°Just the two of you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He had only wanted one person to take care of Zhao Jinge, but now that he thought about it . . . it wouldn¡¯t be bad to have two.

    After choosing the person who would take care of Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen waved his hand and sent the remaining woman and gers to move things.

    The fat man named Luo Tianzhi, who became so thin because of hunger that his skin sagged, nced at Jiang Zhen with envy in his eyes.

    Some of the women in the bandit vige were very good-looking, but Jiang Zhen did not look at any of them. It must be that his wife was even more beautiful.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates looked at Jiang Zhen, a little tangled. Their boss was too unsympathetic. How could he let such delicate women and gers work?

    However . . . after seeing these women and gers dilly-dallying, unable to even carry a small bag of rice, these people became silent again.

    It was really useless to be just good-looking. If they really marry someone like this, won¡¯t they need to pay someone to serve them, right?

    It took Jiang Zhen a day to get the money and valuable goods moved from the pirate vige to several boats belonging to the pirates, then they boarded these boats and headed towards Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet.

    Before going there, he also asked Wang Haisheng to find a small boat and take people familiar with the terrain to go report the pirate situation to the yemen.

    Previously, when Jiang Zhen told them to only tie up these pirates and didn¡¯t kill them, He Chunsheng felt it was quite strange, but now when he heard what Jiang Zhen was nning to do, he understood what was going on . . .

    Just . . . ¡°Boss, if you¡¯re going to report it, why don¡¯t you leave those guys behind?¡±

    If they were going to report it anyway, it would be okay to let the captives stay, right? The yamen will arrange something for them.

    ¡°I¡¯m short on people.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at He Chunsheng. He needed someone to help him sail the boats, and Zheng Yi¡¯s side was also short of sailors. In such a situation, of course, he couldn¡¯t leave anyone behind.

    As for reporting to the government. . . If those pirates were not dealt with sooner orter, they would gather again. He was not homicidal nor did he have an interest in killing all these people. Of course, it would be better to let the government deal with them.

    If the officials were corrupt and didn¡¯t take care of things . . . then it wouldn¡¯t be something he could manage.

    There were no big ships belonging to the pirates, but some of them were still good. In order to amodate everyone, Jiang Zhen chose a total of seven fairly big ships.

    In order not to let Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet misunderstand, Jiang Zhen sent a small boat to inform them in advance.

    The boat was very fast and came back soon after the announcement. In the bow of the boat, Zhao Jinge was standing.

 Chapter 85.1 - Th escort agency making a name for itself

    Chapter 85.1 ¨C Th escort agency making a name for itself

    Zhao Jinge had been waiting for Jiang Zhen. He was so restless that he couldn¡¯t stand still and got on the boat that came with the news.

    Standing on the boat and seeing Jiang Zhen from a distance, Zhao Jinge¡¯s mouth could not help but curl up.

    For the past few days, he had been feeling sick all the time and vomiting, but at the moment, after seeing Jinag Zhen, all those diforts had disappeared.

    Now, how could he think of nausea? He just wanted to see Jiang Zhen even a moment earlier.

    Zhao Jinge missed Jiang Zhen, and Jiang Zhen also missed Zhao Jinge.

    Seeing Zhao Jinge standing on the bow of the boat and looking in his direction, Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes lit up, and he felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart.

    It was definitely a happy thing to have someone wee you and share your joy when you returned home with a full load.

    As soon as the boat approached, Jiang Zhen pulled the ropedder and jumped on the ship,nding beside Zhao Jinge.

    Because of his suddennding, the boat shook violently and became very unstable, making Zhao Jinge almost fall. But before he could fall down, Jiang Zhen had already hugged him.

    ¡°Jinge, I missed you so much!¡±

    Zhao Jinge blushed and couldn¡¯t speak.

    How could Jiang Zhen hug him in public and say all of this? Didn¡¯t he know how to be even a bit shy?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t say anything, but he was happy in his heart. Then he felt that Jiang Zhen touched his head and face.

    ¡°Jinge, did you miss me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded his head inscrutably.

    Jiang Zhenughed. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Zhao Jinge¡¯s head was so low, he would have wanted to kiss him.

    Jiang Zhen hugged Zhao Jinge and didn¡¯t want to let go while many people on therge ship behind him were watching this scene, unsure of what to make of it.

    ¡°Who is this person?¡± the woman who had stepped out before and took the initiative to speak with Jiang Zhen asked.

    The woman¡¯s name was Liu Qianqian. Her hands and arms were aching from helping carry things. Therefore, not only did she not give up her idea on Jiang Zhen but became more and more determined.

    She did not ask Jiang Zhen to marry her as long as she did not need to work but still eat and drink well.

    ¡°Yeah. Who¡¯s this man?¡± an extraordinarily fine-looking ger also asked. His name was Zhao Lingxi. He was originally a person who just got married, but on the way back to his husband¡¯s hometown, he was waid then kidnapped by the pirates.

    He didn¡¯t want to obey the pirates, but after being hungry for a few days, he could stand it. And after doing it once, he became more and more rxed.

    His husband was gone, and he had lived in the den of the pirates for so long. Even if he went back to his hometown, he would only be caught and drowned in shame. He decided to not go back and wanted to find a way to support himself.

    And he felt that Jiang Zhen was a good person to rely on.

    He saw Jiang Zhen when he fought his way up the mountain that day; this man was really brave! He also heard he also killed the pirate leaders. . .

    For such an outstanding person, he was willing to follow even if he had no money. But let alone the pirates¡¯ money, which was now in his hand, there was no way he did not have money.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi looked at each other as if there was a crackling spark between them before they looked at He Chunsheng together.

    He Chunsheng, who was stared at by two such beauties, became so ufortable that he paused before saying, ¡°That is our boss¡¯s wife.¡±

    ¡°Wife?¡± Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi both sneered at the idea; this way of cheating people was just too bad! That person was clearly a man!

    Wait . . . that guy has a scar between his brows. He . . . Maybe he really was a ger?

    Previously, when Jiang Zhen said he wanted someone to serve his wife and was disdainful of them, they thought his wife was as beautiful as heaven, but it turned out . . . it was such an ugly one that looked almost like a man?

    ¡°Our boss¡¯s wife is amazing,¡± He Chunsheng added, knowing that these two were attracted to Jiang Zhen, so he wanted to dispel their thoughts.

    Not to mention, Zhao Jinge was even better at fighting than he was. He even estimated that these two small beauties would be beaten down with one hit.

    He Chunsheng was stating the facts, but Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were both thinking something different.

    This person was powerful . . . That meant he was especially jealous?

    They thought so. He was so ugly, if he were not powerful, how could he not have a bunch of concubines at home?

    However, what is the use of being a ger, no matter how powerful they are? If a man wanted to marry a person and settle them at home, there was no way he could be stopped.

    This means that Jiang Zhen had a lot of feelings for that person, which was more troublesome

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi looked at each other, and both raised their fighting spirits.

    Their previous experience was not glorious; it was estimated that no good family would want to take them as concubines. However, this Jiang Zhen was different. He was born in poverty. He certainly doesn¡¯t care so much about the woman¡¯s past, and his wife was not good-looking . . .

    If they followed Jiang Zhen, they should be able to be concubines!

    Zhao Jinge did not know that someone was already thinking of being a concubine for Jiang Zhen. After being hugged by Jiang Zhen for a while, he pushed Jiang Zhen away.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I am good. What else could I do? I just missed you so much.¡±

    Jiang Zhen squeezed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand a little flirtatiously.

    Zhao Jinge lowered his head again and became a little tangled about whether he should also squeeze Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Jinge, I¡¯ve got a lot of good things this time. Come up and have a look with me,¡± seeing Zhao Jinge like this, Jiang Zhen said.

    Now, he especially wanted to show off in front of Zhao Jinge and let him know how powerful he is.

    Zhao Jinge nodded.

    Jiang Zhen asked Zhao Jinge to climb up the ropedder first, and he followed him. As soon as he climbed up, he saw that Zhao Jinge, who climbed first, was frowning and staring at two people.

    Those two . . . Weren¡¯t they the ones who rmended themselves to serve others before?

    ¡°What are you doing standing here? Why aren¡¯t you working? If you don¡¯t work, you won¡¯t have anything to eatter,¡± Jiang Zhen said bluntly.

    He will not support idle people.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi¡¯s expression froze in surprise, then Liu Qianqian reacted first. She winked at Jiang Zhen as her voice became soft and sweet, ¡°Master Jiang, don¡¯t rush. I¡¯ll go to work immediately.¡±

    When Zhao Lingxi heard the speech, he also smiled at Jiang Zhen and said in a somewhat seductive voice, ¡°Master, I¡¯ll go to work right away.¡±

    When the two of them finished speaking, they left, their thin clothes showing off their figure in front of everyone. Just their back figure was very attractive.

    Instead of admiring them, Jiang Zhen just frowned; there seemed to be something so wrong with what these two people said?

    Jiang Zhen felt that something was wrong, and Zhao Jinge felt it was even more wrong.

    As soon as he came up, two very good-looking people came to greet him, which made him subconsciously alert and unhappy. Then when Jiang Zhen called them to work, it made him feel a little better.

    However, the manner in which these two said they were going to work waspletely wrong, and they even winked at Jiang Zhen!

    Zhao Jinge only felt anger rising in his heart, and he was extremely sour.

    ¡°Jinge, leave them alone,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°They are not serious people, so let¡¯s just stay away from them.¡±

 Chapter 85.2 - Th escort agency making a name for itself

    Chapter 85.2 ¨C Th escort agency making a name for itself

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t discriminate against people like Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, and even if some danger was inevitable, he would prefer that the women and gers be as open-minded as these two.

    But even if he didn¡¯t hate them, it didn¡¯t mean he wanted to have anything to do with them, let alone have Zhao Jinge have anything to do with them.

    What if Zhao Jinge were seduced by them?

    Zhao Jinge first breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, but then he became worried again.

    In their vige, there were also some immoral women, such as a widow. She wasn¡¯t very good-looking, but because she was easy to hook up with, many men in the vige had an affair with her.

    Those men actually despised her, and no one wanted to marry her, but they still wanted to sleep with her . . .

    The more indecent you are, the easier you could hook up with others!

    People in the vige said that it didn¡¯t matter if a man lost his way several times, what they have in their heart was still their wife and family, but . . . As long as he thought that Jiang Zhen might be intimate with others, he was unhappy.

    But he had nothing topare with those two people. . . They were really good-looking. But what about him? He was not only ugly but also thick.

    If those two people wanted to seduce Jiang Zhen . . .

    Zhao Jinge subconsciously had some inferiorityplex, but soon, his fighting spirit rose again.

    Even if Jiang Zhen were to fall in love with someone else in the future, he still hadn¡¯t done so yet and was willing to be with him. He couldn¡¯t let these goblins from outside hook up with Jiang Zhen!

    Even if it were just for a few times!

    Zhao Jinge had many things to keep in mind, and somehow, he forgot about his nausea.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what¡¯s wrong with those two?¡± Zhao Jinge tried to suppress his jealousy and tried to understand the enemy¡¯s situation from Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I rescued them from the pirate vige, but I do not know the details,¡± Jiang Zhen said, then he began to tell Zhao Jinge what happened.

    Zhao Jinge listened very carefully. After listening, he suddenly said, ¡°I am very strong, and I can easily lift a big bag of rice at once!¡±

    He finally had something topare with those two . . .

    Zhao Jinge wanted topete with others? Jiang Zhenughed and squeezed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand again.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t bear you to move rice.¡±

    Training was training, but letting Zhao Jinge carry things . . . he couldn¡¯t let him do it.

    With someone else doing it for him, he wouldn¡¯t even want to do it, so how could he let Zhao Jinge do it?

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to move a few things,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°You should be waited on.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Right, Jinge, I¡¯ve found a boy for you.¡±

    After Jiang Zhen said that, he let his people call over the cook mother and son.

    The pair of mother and son had already cleaned themselves up and put on clean clothes, but they were somewhat restrained.

    ¡°This little ger will follow you from now on, let him do whatever you want. This woman is the cook. You can ask her to cook whatever you want to eat for you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone else to serve me, and I don¡¯t have any work to do, so why would I need to spend money to hire someone?¡±

    Even when Zhao Jinge was busy, he had his own hand and feet that could do the work, so he didn¡¯t need anyone else to serve him.

    Also, the boy and the cook . . . was it because he was vomiting earlier that Jiang Zhen wanted to hire someone to take care of him?

    Zhao Jinge not only felt embarrassed now, he also felt a little guilty that he was so useless.

    ¡°Master . . . Madam . . .¡± The cook looked to Zhao Jinge beseechingly. Her husband was killed by the pirates, and one of her sons died. If Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want them to look after him . . . she didn¡¯t even know where else she could go from here.

    Zhao Jinge became uneasy at this cook¡¯s pleading expression. Jiang Zhen noticed his situation and put his hand on his shoulder, saying to the cook, ¡°I hired you. Just to take care of my wife. Right, go to the kitchen and make something to eat. It cannot be too greasy or have meat. My wife¡¯s appetite is not too good these days.¡±

    The cook became relieved and nodded repeatedly as Jiang Zhen pulled Zhao Jinge back to their room.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t need her to serve me. How about. . . we introduce her to a job?¡± Zhao Jinge said, and then became a little worried again.

    ¡°So many people . . . What can we do with them in the future?¡±

    Jiang Zhen said that he rescued almost three hundred people. So many people would need a lot of food just for one day, right? Zhao Jinge had a sudden feeling that they did not have enough money to spend.

    ¡°Jinge, look at all of this¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly opened a box in the room.

    The silver ingots,rge and small, were piled up in the box.

    ¡°This group of pirates didn¡¯t have a lot of silver, but they still had about fifty thousand silver, and there are even more valuable goods as well.¡±

    When that pirate leader unified the various pirate groups, he also seized the money in their hands and, in this way, saved a lot of money.

    In fact, fifty thousand silver . . . it should be more, but he said it was less just in case Zhao Jingo became frightened.

    However, this amount of money was too much for Zhao Jinge when, in fact, it was not so much. Zheng Yi¡¯s main ship had a pull-out bed that he wanted to give Miss Zheng as dowry, and that bed alone was worth tens of thousands of silver.

    Fifty thousand silver . . . Zhao Jinge became dazed in shock.

    Once upon a time, his entire possessions were worth less than five silver, and now . . . he somehow had fifty thousand silver?

    Zhao Jinge was in a trance, sitting on the edge of the bed, unable to speak.

    Was he in a daze? Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge by the chin and kissed him several times. After discovering that Zhao Jinge still did not respond, Jiang Zhen made a move to untie Zhao Jinge¡¯s trousers.

    At this time, Zhao Jinge finally regained awareness and grabbed his belt in shame and exasperation. Jiang Zhenughed and let go off Zhao Jinge, saying, ¡°Jinge,e on. Let¡¯s go see Young Master Zheng.¡±

    The ship had stopped, and he needed to report to Zheng Yi.

    Jiang Zhen went to see Zheng Yi with a somewhat dizzy Zhao Jinge. He told Zheng Yi about this matter, saying, ¡°Young Master Zheng, I took the money from the pirates, and it was all thanks to Young Master Zheng that these ships and people on board are still here. Young Master Zheng can take it.¡±

    Ships and goods were the most valuable, and this was not difficult for Zheng Yi to understand.

    He still has a lot of ces to rely on. This time, he was just an employee of Zheng Yi.

    Jiang Zhen said so, but Zheng Yi didn¡¯t agree.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, this time, if it was not for you, let alone keeping the goods, even my own life might have been lost. How can I take your things? Your fleet will follow my fleet. When the goods are sold in the capital, you can buy some other goods and bring them back to the south of the Yangtze River.¡±

    After Zheng Yi finished speaking, seeing that Jiang Zhen seemed to have something to say, he immediately added, ¡°Jiang Zhen, I will tell you more. I only did it because I see your value. In the future, we can cooperate again.¡±

    Even if Zheng Yi was rich enough, he would not mind having more money. Of course he also wanted these goods.

    But the value of Jiang Zhen was definitely higher than that of those goods.

    Zheng Yi did not ask Jiang Zhen to give him the ship and cargo, but he dly epted the crew given by Jiang Zhen.

    He was really short on people!

    With a sufficient crew and a night¡¯s rest, the fleet set out again the next day.

    At this time, the people Jiang Zhen sent to report the incident had also returned.

    The people in Guangping Prefecture were in dire straits, and countless people became bandits. Of course, it couldn¡¯t be just because of the drought.

    In fact, to the people of the Guangping Prefecture, human disaster was even more terrifying than a natural disaster, and this human disaster was discovered after this natural disaster appeared.

    In the past few months, almost all of the officials of the Guangping prefectural government were changed.

    The newly appointed officials were initially ambitious and thought of ruling this ce well, but after learning about Guangping Prefecture¡¯s situation, they all felt helpless.

    Themon people had turned to piracy and banditry. If they wanted the army to suppress these bandits . . . Last year when food and sry couldn¡¯t be given, many military generals took their men with them and also became part-time bandits.

    It¡¯s really a nest of officials and bandits!

    A new magistrate of Guangping Prefecture couldn¡¯t help but gnash his teeth as he watched the drowsy officers sitting in the shade of the trees, moving their fans. This life was just too unbearable!

    He wanted these people to do something for him, but they all ignored him!

    The country magistrate was feeling depressed when the staff he had brought with him suddenly came running from outside and rushed towards him with an excited face: ¡°Your Excellency, Your Excellency, that group of bandits from the Western Mountain have been wiped out!¡±

    Because of a big river and arge dock, their country town originally made a lot of money because traveling merchants would stop here. However, since a group of river pirates appeared in the Western Mountain, their ships did not dare to stop at the dock.

    Now that those bandits had been wiped out, it was a great thing!

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± The magistrate jumped up, his face full of disbelief.

    ¡°Seriously! Some people came to report the case and brought a few bandits with them,¡± the staff member said. ¡°They were from the Jinzhen Escort Agency. Those pirates tried to rob the ship they were protecting before they were wiped out.¡±

    ¡°Jinzhen Escort Agency? Not bad, it¡¯s really great!¡± The magistrate was delighted.

    Without the pirates, the docks could be used again. He could collect the defeated pirates and let them work for him, and . . . although everything of value in that pirate vige was probably taken away, those people couldn¡¯t take everything. If he were to dig deeper, he could always get some money so that he would not be unable to call his Yemen officials because he could pay their monthly sry.

    ¡°My lord, let¡¯s go to the West Mountain and have a look.¡±

    The county magistrate was just thinking about it when those Yemen subordinates who had been taking a cool day off came together, their eyes glowing with greed.

 Chapter 86.1 - Love Rivals Defeated

    Chapter 86.1 ¨C Love Rivals Defeated

    After Jiang Zhen sent people to report to the government, he didn¡¯t bother about the follow-up, and Zheng Yi didn¡¯t bother about it either, so they didn¡¯t know that the magistrate almost cried tears of joy after taking the yamen to that pirate vige. The members of the yamen no longer had to go hungry, and the county yamen could finally function normally.

    This had a lot to do with the fact that Jiang Zhen was in a hurry to leave.

    Jiang Zhen was in a hurry to leave, so not all goods of the pirate¡¯s warehouse were movedpletely; only the silver and valuable goods were moved out and loaded onto the ships.

    If it weren¡¯t for the many people on board they had to feed, Jiang Zhen would not even move the grain from the warehouse.

    In this way, he left quite a few things in the treasury. . . and in the pirate vige not only warehouse had things.

    These water bandit homes also had silver and food.

    After the yamen officials arrived, they searched the entire mountain and naturally harvested quite a lot of things. But when they found that the women and children of the pirate vige, as well as the robbed sailors, were all taken away be the Jinzhen Escort Agency, the magistrate couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°This Jinzhen Escort Agency are really good people.¡±

    If they had rescued a group of people, it would have cost them money to resettle them, so now they saved another sum of money.

    After exterminating the pirates, he still got some money and food to feed the people under his rule, the new county magistrate was very happy and helped to promote the Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know about this, but to be frank, he did leave the grain behind intentionally. One couldn¡¯t be too greedy in his life.

    After Jiang Zhen reported to Zheng Yi, he was busy allocating the sailors and giving Zheng Yi the rescued people. By the time he was finished, it was already dark.

    After a few days of sleeping and dining outside, Jiang Zhen was so tired that he cuddled up to Zhao Jinge to sleep in the cabin of the main ship. When they set out the next day, he stayed on the main ship again.

    As a result, Zhao Jinge never saw those two people who coveted Jiang Zhen again.

    He didn¡¯t even eat the food cooked by that cook. Jiang Zhen ordered that person to cook, but there were not enough ingredients on the ship, so thedy cook couldn¡¯t make anything.

    Zhao Jinge was eager to stay on the main ship all the time and not see Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi again, but it was Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship, so it was obviously impossible not to . . .

    That evening, when several ships stopped by the river and decided to take a short break, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to his own ship.

    While Zhao Jinge was still on the guard, Jiang Zhen had already forgotten about the previous incident and was determined to let Zhao Jinge taste the food made by the cook. The cook on the main ship would not cook especially for him, but it was not good for Zhao Jinge to always eat salted vegetables.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen boarded the ship, he ordered the cook to make some dishes, and soon afterwards, the cook delivered the food.

    Although a lot of seasoning had been taken from the main ship, there was not much to eat on board, and Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t eat greasy food, so there were very few things that could be made . . . but even so, the cook still made several dishes.

    A te of boiled river shrimp, a bowl of tea eggs, a bowl of pickled vegetables and mung bean sprouts, a te of cold seaweed, and arge bowl of egg blossom soup.

    ¡°Madam, you can¡¯t eat meat, and I don¡¯t know if you can eat shrimp. If you can¡¯t, I¡¯ll change it,¡± thedy cook said.

    Zhao Jinge could eat shrimp. He felt nauseous when he smelled meat and grease, but the shrimp that had been cooked with ginger slices smelled delicious.

    That cook specially mixed a bowl of vinegar with garlic, so even the vinegar Zhao Jinge smelled was good. He peeled the shrimps dipped in vinegar and could not stop eating.

    ¡°I used to think that nothing could be better than eating shrimp dipped in soy sauce, but I didn¡¯t expect it to taste better in vinegar,¡± Zhao Jinge could not help saying. In Hexi, no one would catch shrimps specially to eat, but they were often identally caught when catching fish.

    Generally speaking, you could catch a few of these things every time, but no one would cook them specially, but children liked eating shrimps very much, so of course, no one would waste them.

    If the people in Hexi were to catch shrimp, they would usually put them in a bowl and pour some boiling water into it and scald it. The river shrimps were not big, so when you scalded them, they would be already cooked.

    After scalding, the children would peel off the shell and eat. People who have some soy sauce at home would pour out a little soy sauce so that the children could dip shrimps into it after shelling them.

    For children, it was very delicious, and Zhao Jinge had always missed eating shrimps when he was a child.

    At that time, his brother was still there, and the two of them put a little rice in the basket before putting this basket into the river. When the shrimps and fishes came into the basket to eat the rice, they would immediately lift the basket. They always caught a lot of river shrimps and ate till they were satisfied. But after his brother died, neither he nor his parents were in the mood to do this.

    People in Hexi will buy soy sauce a few times a year as long as their families were able to get by, but generally, no one would buy vinegar.

    Even when Jiang Zhen made money before and brought home some vinegar, because Zhao Liu didn¡¯t know how to use it, Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t eaten much vinegar.

    It was only at this time that Zhao Jinge found out that vinegar was so delicious.

    ¡°Where did you get this shrimp?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. That te of river shrimps was not easy to get.

    ¡°Some people on the boat can catch shrimps, so I asked them to catch some.¡± The cook immediately said, ¡°If your lordship likes it, you can let them catch some more. There are shrimps in the bank water where we are staying now.¡±

    ¡°Then go and get some more,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°No need to . . .¡± Zhao Jinge was not used to letting others make food for him, so he hastened to refuse.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. Eat more if you like.¡± Jiang Zhen patted Zhao Jinge on the shoulder and said to the cook, ¡°My wife likes eating sweet and sour tastes. Next time, you can try making some sweet and sour fish or something.¡±

    He said something to the cook and let her go, but let her son stay, saying to Zhao Jinge, ¡°His name is Xiao Ruo, and he will follow you from now on.¡±

    That kitchen maid used to be the one who cooked for her master¡¯s family on the ship, and this Xiao Ruo has also done some of the servants¡¯ jobs. Now he was very excited and served Zhao Jinge very attentively and also brought some vegetable dishes for him. But he was refused by Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge felt a little ufortable eating this meal because someone was watching him, but he was still very satisfied on the whole. At least, there were no dishes he didn¡¯t like. He even ate a little too much, especially the shrimp.

    In fact, he wanted to stop after eating half of it, but Jiang Zhen was still there peeling it for him to eat, making him inadvertently eat too much while making Jiang Zhen unable to eat it as well.

    Zhao Jinge was a little embarrassed, but Jiang Zhen was very satisfied. Zhao Jinge got up this morning and retched again, so he couldn¡¯t eat greasy food yet, but if he could eat fish and prawns, then it would be okay if he doesn¡¯t eat greasy food.

    Jiang Zhen still had a lot of things to do, so after he apanied Zhao Jinge for the meal, he left Zhao Jinge with Xiao Ruo.

    Xiao Ruo was not very young, but Zhao Jinge treated him as a child; however, they were able to talk to each other before long. Then, Zhao Jinge asked about the pirate vige.

    ¡±Master was awesome. He came up the mountain with his men and killed several pirates with a single de. He killed several pirates with his hand and even kicked several pirates to death with one foot . . .¡±

    Xiao Ruo was timid, so he and his mother were actually hiding in the woodshed at the time, not daring toe out, so what he said was all nonsense that he had heard others say.

    Zhao Jinge knew this as well; after all, these words were too fake, but he was still happy to hear them.

    It was just that after listening for a while, Zhao Jinge felt that he. . . seemed a little too degenerate.

    Jiang Zhen was busy working outside, and he couldn¡¯t just stay in the room and talk to the boy and no go out, couldn¡¯t he?

    Zhao Jinge thought that he had better go and give Jiang Zhen a hand.

    Zhao Jinge went out, but Jiang Zhen was not on the ship, so he went to another ship.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked Wang Haisheng.

    ¡°There are some marks on that ship, so the boss wants to get rid of them,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    The ships and goods snatched from the pirates were all stolen from their original owners, and some of them still had the original owner¡¯s marks of them.

    Although the original owners had mostly been killed by those pirates, their families might still be there and some of them might cause troubles.

 Chapter 86.2 - Love Rivals Defeated

    Chapter 86.2 ¨C Love Rivals Defeated

    Jiang Zhen actually didn¡¯t think of that, but it was Zheng Yi who reminded him and sent someone to help him check. It was only then that he found out all the marked ces and nned to find someone to rectify them.

    When Jiang Zhen was away, Zhao Jinge suddenly felt a little lost, and his stomach felt very ufortable. However, at this time, he saw Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi.

    As soon as he saw these two men, Zhao Jinge¡¯s fighting spirit immediately rose up.

    He didn¡¯t want to show his weakness in front of these two no matter what, and retching was definitely not the option . . . Thinking that way, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want to throw up.

    No matter how calm the Zhao Jinge appeared to be, he was actually very scared. After all, he thought he was really uglypared to these two people. However, his inferiorityplex could not be seen by others.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi only thought that the frowning appearance of Zhao Jinge looked so ferocious that they did not dare toe forward to speak.

    But . . . today, they were forced to work all day, and if they did not finish, they would have nothing to eat. They really couldn¡¯t stand it any longer . . .

    Even if the work they did was the easiest, they didn¡¯t want to do it anymore.

    In fact, they did have other ideas, such as getting together with someone else. However, Jiang Zhen gave death orders to his subordinates, saying that whoever touched the women or gers on this ship would not be allowed to follow him.

    As a result, how could Jiang Zhen¡¯s men still dare to think about these people? Of course, none of them dared to hook up with any of them.

    They still could hook up with those who were rescued just like them, but it was useless for them to do that!

    These two people really didn¡¯t want to work and even couldn¡¯t work. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even look at . . .

    As soon as they gritted their teeth, they simply came to find Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Madam, just stay here with us and let us serve you.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not clean, and us staying wouldn¡¯t cross you anyway. We can still listen to you, and we¡¯ll do whatever you tell us to do in the future.¡±

    ¡°We can keep an eye on the master, so he doesn¡¯t hook up with the foxes out there.¡±

    . . .

    The two of them showed pitiful looks and begged Zhao Jinge.

    They thought that Zhao Jinge would definitely agree . . . after all, they have already asked about it, and Zhao Jinge was actually not bad-tempered.

    They were both kidnapped by pirates. Even if they became concubines, they couldn¡¯t be too favored. It was definitely a good idea for Zhao Jinge to keep them. They would even help him to deal with other people who wanted to climb up.

    In the future, if Jiang Zhen takes a fancy to other people with good background, Zhao Jinge may even have to give a way. But with them, it would be different. They will help Zhao Jinge drive the neers away.

    The two of them had a n, but Zhao Jinge was a little confused.

    At first, he didn¡¯t understand what the two of them meant and thought they really wanted to serve him, but then he understood it and he couldn¡¯t help getting angry. Both of them want to follow Jiang Zhen!

    Zhao Jinge felt extremely ufortable when he thought that Jiang Zhen might be kind to these two people and touch them.

    He was good-tempered and coupled with his inferiorityplex. Originally, if he encountered this situation, he would be angry in his heart and then stay silent, but now . . .

    Looking at the two of them, Zhao Jinge suddenly said, ¡°Get out!¡±

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were stupefied. Even Zhao Jinge himself did not expect that he would drive people away like this.

    But the words had been said . . . As soon as Zhao Jinge clenched his teeth, he said, ¡°You can¡¯t think of Jiang Zhen. You have to find someone else!¡±

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s tall stature was already oppressive, and the scar between his eyebrows made him look even more frightening. Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi stepped back in unison.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± When Jiang Zhen returned from outside, he noticed themotion.

    Zhao Jinge shut up and stopped talking. He would never tell Jiang Zhen that these two people wanted to follow him!

    At that time, the two of them looked at Jiang Zhen shyly, showing an expression of grievance, as if Zhao Jinge had bullied them.

    ¡°Lord . . .¡± Liu Qianqian even squeezed out tears.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen did not sympathize with them, but instead, he became dissatisfied.

    He knew a lot about Zhao Jinge. He was clumsy and couldn¡¯t speak well, let alone fight with people. Why were these two people doing it? This was. . . did they want to frame Zhao Jinge?

    ¡°Send them both to another ship.¡± Jiang Zhen was toozy to deal with them, so he said directly.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi froze.

    ¡°Brother Jiang, you¡¯re too unsympathetic.¡± The fat merchant whose skin becameid from hunger said,ing out from behind Jiang Zhen, saying, ¡°If you don¡¯t want them, you might as well give them to me.¡±

    ¡°If they are willing to follow you, of course, but in that case, you will pay for their meals,¡± Jiang Zhen said; he already heard that these two people were not willing to work

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not a problem,¡± Luo Tianzhi immediately said. ¡°But I can¡¯t give you money until we reach the capital.¡±

    Jiang Zhen agreed. That Luo Tianzhi was not short of money from just a nce. Even more, he was able to survive at that den of pirates proved that he was very capable. It wasmon fact that after those pirates would rob the ships, they would first kill all the rich men on board, but this man survived.

    When Luo Tianzhi got Jiang Zhen¡¯s consent, he immediately looked at Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, who agreed without hesitation.

    Although the appearance of Luo Tianzhi couldn¡¯tpare to that of Jiang Zhen, they seemed to have no chance with Jiang Zhen, so they could only settle for second best.

    Luo Tianzhi knew their little thoughts, but he didn¡¯t care. He just wanted to have two people serve him along the way. When they arrive at the capital, he could just give them some money to send them away.

    ¡°Brother Jiang, your wife must be very happy that I have epted these people,¡± Luo Tianzhi added. He heard that Jiang Zhen¡¯s wife hade, but he still had not seen anyone.

    ¡°Well, he is very happy.¡± Jiang Zhen looked to Zhao Jinge not far away and then saw that Zhao Jinge quickly converged the smile on his face.

    It was only then that Luo Tianzhi noticed Zhao Jinge and the scar between his eyebrows.

    What an oversight! That was a ger! Luo Tianzhi was a bit giddy as he walked away with the two beauties.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s hobby was really too different . . .

    At the moment, Zhao Jinge¡¯s whole body was filled with joy. It was really great that Jiang Zhen only needed him!

    He didn¡¯t know if it was because he was in a good mood, but in the next few days, Zhao Jinge stopped feeling nauseous, but he still couldn¡¯t stand the smell of the meat and grease.

    However, because the cook did not cook these things for him at all, he had a little chance to have nausea.

    He also discovered that, as long as he didn¡¯t eat meat and oil, he had no problem eating anything else, and he also enjoyed eating fish and shrimp very much.

    Alternately eating fish and shrimps every day, Zhao Jinge¡¯s appearance became excellent. At this time, the fleet stopped at a ratherrge city.

    Previously, due to the pirates, the fleet hadn¡¯t stopped for more than ten days in a row, so this time, Zheng Yi decided to stop here for a while to replenish supplies and to let everyone have a good rest.

    Since the beginning of this journey, Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t been ashore, and now since he was free, Jiang Zhen proposed to take him to shore.

 Chapter 87.1 - Unexpectedly Pregnant

    Chapter 87.1 ¨C Unexpectedly Pregnant

    Whether it was Jiang Zhen or Zhao Jinge, when they came down from the ship and finally stood on the ground, they both felt like the ground was very unstable, as if it was shaking.

    This was the aftermath of staying on the ship for a long time.

    The dock here was quite big, but it was not much bigger than the dock in Hecheng County. But almost all the houses here are bigger than the ones in Hecheng County, and they looked very different.

    However, the biggest difference between the two sides was probably thenguage. The dialect in the south of the Yangtze River was very different from that in the north. At least when men came to talk with them, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t understand a word.

    But Jiang Zhen understood it; the words spoken by the people here were slightly simr to modern Mandarin. As long as they spoke slowly, he could still understand them.

    Watching Jiang Zhenmunicate with that man, Zhao Jinge was struggling a bit again . . . Recently, he had finally memorized the multiplication table; his calction was getting faster and faster, and he could recognize some words, but now . . . He needed to learn to talk again, it seemed.

    He really couldn¡¯tpare with Jiang Zhen in any way. . .

    Zhao Jinge was a bit depressed, but after Jiang Zhen held his hand, he became refreshed, and he squeezed back.

    When Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, he was ready to be shaken off, but unexpectedly, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t . . .

    Since Zhao Jingo didn¡¯t shake him off, Jiang Zhen openly held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand.

    People these days were very restrained, and no one would hold hands on the street, so the two of them attracted a lot of attention.

    Zhao Jinge discovered thister and hurriedly let go of Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand. At the same time, he felt a little dizzy. He didn¡¯t know what was going on recently, but he always wanted to cling to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jinge, let me tell you something.¡± After Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge for a stroll, he suddenly said.

    Zhao Jinge looked over in puzzlement.

    ¡°You can¡¯t stop me when I want to buy somethingter. It will make me lose face, do you understand?¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and looked at Zhao Jinge.

    His mother also said that when they are outside, he should give men some face and talk less . . . Zhao Jinge nodded obediently.

    ¡°Do you have anything you want to eat?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    Zhao Jinge smelled the steamed meat buns and subconsciously bypassed the steamed bun shop. He then pursed his lips, saying, ¡°I want to eat something sweet.¡± He especially wanted to eat all kinds of sweet things these days¡ªbrown sugar wheat cake, sweet wheat dumplings, and bean paste bun . . . all he could think about was them.

    But there were not a lot of things on board, and if the little bit of sugar was used to cook these delicacies for him, it would be too troublesome . . . so he just put up with it and didn¡¯t tell Jiang Zhen.

    When he heard that Zhao Jinge wanted to eat something sweet, Jiang Zhen immediately took him to a pastry shop.

    The cakes there were made of glutinous rice, which look like glutinous rice rolls or sweet bean paste; there were walnut cakes and mung bean cakes as well. They didn¡¯t look exquisite, but they smell very sweet.

    Jiang Zhen tasted all these things more or less in modern times. He didn¡¯t like to eat sweet things, so he didn¡¯t react when he saw them, but Zhao Jinge, who had never eaten any of these things, looked at them greedily.

    When Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Jinge swallowing saliva, he suddenly felt a little heartbroken.

    He didn¡¯t have any money before, so he didn¡¯t let Zhao Jinge eat anything good. He also didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge liked to eat sweet food . . .

    Jiang Zhen was very economical in spending money when he didn¡¯t have any but generous when he had money. At present, he said that he will take kilo of each pastries. In that shop, there were only nine kinds of pastries, so all of the total would only weigh nine kilos.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that things would be spoiled without a refrigerator, he would not even mind buying more.

    Zhao Jinge felt that he should refuse buying so much, but when he thought of what Jiang Zhen said before about saving his face, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    However, what if Jiang Zhen actually said that just to buy for him?

    Carrying all the pastries in his hands, Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen happily.

    He clenched his teeth, and while others were not looking, he hooked Jiang Zhen¡¯s finger with his own finger.

    Jiang Zhen immediately felt that the pastries were worth it.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t get any meat when he ate with Zhao Jinge these days. In fact, he really wanted to buy more meat to bring back, but thinking that Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t eat it, he still endured.

    But Zhao Jinge stopped Jiang Zhen. ¡°Let¡¯s go and buy some chickens. If it¡¯s live chicken, I will be fine with the smell.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went back, they brought a lot of food and several live chickens with them.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, who weren¡¯t able to go out were lying on the bow of the boat and became jealous when they saw Jiang Zhen return with Zhao Jinge and the pastries he was carrying.

    ¡°If my parents hadn¡¯t sold me, I might have been able to marry such a man,¡± Liu Qianqian couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°Who could say.¡± Zhao Lingxi also sighed. His family was engaged in business and has a little money. He used to make eye contact with the little brother from the shop opposite . . . However, his parents wanted to marry him to a schr and even let him be a concubine for a man in his forties.

    If he married the man he liked, he wouldn¡¯t have to leave his hometown and meet misfortune. He and that person were childhood friends, and he was always very kind to him.

    Zhao Lingxi couldn¡¯t help feeling a little mncholic. Of course, they were not jealous of Zhao Jinge only but of all the gers and women with high status and strong temperament who were either killed by bandits ormitted suicide in others words as well . . . They didn¡¯t think they were much better than Zhao Jinge, and they naturally did not dare to reallypete with him.

    Zhao Jinge always liked to save good food forst or eat it slowly. But this time, he couldn¡¯t control his appetite for some reason.

    After buying the pastries, he ate more than a kilo on the way. After returning to the boat, he couldn¡¯t help eating one piece and another, so after a while, the cakes actually became a third less.

    This is . . . When you have money, you can¡¯t help but want to spend money indiscriminately?

    Zhao Jinge felt that he ate a little too much and felt very embarrassed, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong.

    Zhao Jinge had never eaten anything good before. Now that he could finally eat something good, it was natural to eat more. But it was not good to eat too much sweets.

    ¡°Jinge, it¡¯s all right to eat like this once in a while, but don¡¯t eat like this every day. What will you do if you became fat?¡± Jiang Zhen touched Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly. Forget about bing fat, it was easy to get diabetes if you eat too much sweets.

    In modern times, you can at least take medicine if you get diabetes, but it was not the same in ancient times.

    Zhao Jinge be anxious when he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    Yeah, how could he forget about getting fat? If he got fat, Jiang Zhen might no longer like him!

    Zhao Jinge knew that Jiang Zhen liked his muscles very much; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t always touch him. Of course, he should keep this advantage; otherwise . . . What if Jiang Zhen is no longer interested in him?

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to training with you tomorrow,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen nodded. If Zhao Jinge insisted on exercising, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he eat more.

    As the two men said so, Xiao Ruo brought the food to them, and there was a chicken in it.

    The chicken wasn¡¯t greasy, and Jiang Zhen eating chicken had an impact on Zhao Jinge but it was slight. Still, Zhao Jinge was able to eat a little piece of the chicken breast.

    However, he had a heavy tastetely, and he felt that eating in chicken breast was not delicious. He had to dip the chicken breast in the sweet and sour fish soup before he could eat it. Unconsciously, Zhao Jinge ate too much again.

    He must get up early to exercise tomorrow!

    No, he was going to train tonight. That sit-up, wasn¡¯t that the thing what will make his stomach smaller?

    Before going to bed at night, Zhao Jinge insisted on doing sit-ups.

    Jiang Zhen agreed. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll sit on yourp and help you press them. Let¡¯s do it fifty times and do two hundred first.¡±

    Zhao Jinge used to do a hundred at a time, but recently, he was not feeling well, so he hadn¡¯t exercised for some time. It was better not to be too intense all at once.

 Chapter 87.2 - Unexpectedly Pregnant

    Chapter 87.2 ¨C Unexpectedly Pregnant

    With that, Jiang Zhen smoothly touched Zhao Jinge¡¯s strong thigh and went to touch the middle part of Zhao Jinge¡¯s legs.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge had gotten used to being harassed by Jiang Zhen from time to time and quickly came back to his senses, then began to do sit-ups very quickly.

    Zhao Jinge did it so fast that the bed board made a loud noise, and Wang Haisheng and the He brothers who stayed next door became uneasy.

    This noise . . . Boss was very intense ah!

    ¡°I kind of miss my wife . . . Do you guys think I should take him with me next time?¡± Wang Haisheng couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva.

    He Chunsheng didn¡¯t speak. Wang Haisheng at least had a wife, but he didn¡¯t even have a fiancee!

    ¡°The women and gers who were rescued are very nice, but the boss doesn¡¯t allow us to touch them . . . ,¡± He Xiasheng said.

    Since he saw Liu Qianqian, he became fascinated, but Jiang Zhen did not allow them to touch them. In the end, he watched Liu Qianqian follow that fat Luo man helplessly.

    In fact, not only He Xiasheng but He Chunsheng and Wang Haisheng as well became fascinated and couldn¡¯t help feeling excited.

    ¡°if I go to find another woman, my wife will definitely be unhappy. Don¡¯t let him confuse you about him being quiet all day long. If I say a few more words to others, he will be unhappy.¡± Wang Haisheng said, ¡°He used to be very pretty, so this time, when I will have money, I will buy him some rouge and powder. If he dresses up well, he will definitely be more beautiful.¡±

    Hearing Wang Haisheng say that, He Chunsheng looked at him and didn¡¯t care about those women and gers anymore.

    It was better for him to go back and marry the one he liked.

    The three of them were talking when regr sounds from the next door suddenly came to an abrupt end.

    ¡°So soon?¡± Wang Haisheng couldn¡¯t help saying it was a bit short . . .

    He Chunsheng red at Wang Haisheng. This person dared to arrange their boss, wasn¡¯t it fatal?

    But it seemed a little fast . . .

    When he used his own hand, and was a little slower . . . .

    He Chunsheng and the others were wondering about a certain aspect of Jiang Zhen¡¯s abilities, but Jiang Zhen was now looking at Zhao Jinge worriedly.

    Zhao Jinge was doing sit-ups well, but suddenly, his whole body curled up, saying that he had a severe stomachache.

    ¡°Jinge, are you alright?¡± Jiang Zhen asked anxiously.

    Zhao Jinge was speechless for a moment. Seeing his appearance, Jiang Zhen immediately jumped up and knocked on the door of Wang Haisheng and others.

    ¡°Wang Haisheng, get up quickly!¡±

    ¡°Boss?¡± Wang Haisheng got up and looked at Jiang Zhen in bewilderment. What happened?

    ¡°Zhao Jinge suddenly had a stomachache. You and He Chunsheng should keep an eye on him. I¡¯ll go to the main ship and find a doctor,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    So it was a stomachache that made them suddenly stop? It was summer now, so there was no need to wear any clothes. Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng quickly got up and went to the cabin where Jiang Zhen was staying.

    Zhao Jinge was lying on the bed, sweating, his face a little red, and holding his stomach sheepishly . . . They looked away together.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just thought I had a cramp.¡±

    By that time, Zhao Jinge already recovered. He had a sudden stomachache just now, but he was already all right.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to see a doctor.¡± Jiang Zhen said, cramps should note from the stomach, right?

    ¡°I¡¯m really fine.¡±

    Zhao Jinge sat up. He just felt a sudden pain. There was no need to go to the doctor at night.

    He used to work in the countryside, but when he had a headache or something, when did I get a doctor?

    He was not forced to go to the doctor but just took it as a sign that he had eaten too much and exercised, so his stomach and intestines couldn¡¯t take it. However, although he did not force Zhao Jinge to see a doctor, Jiang Zhen did not dare to let Zhao Jinge do any more exercise and went early to bed with him.

    But as it turned out, when he woke up, something happened again. Early the next morning, as soon as Zhao Jinge got up, he threw up.

    Every time he felt nauseous before, it was just dry vomiting, which would get better after a few times, but this time, he actually vomited, not only all the food he atest night but even the bitter bile in the end.

    He was obviously very miserable with tears streaming down, and he looked very embarrassed. Startled, Jiang Zhen turned and ran out to find a doctor.

    Dr. Hu was so tangled up these days that he was about to pull out his beard.

    He had been practicing medicine for decades and thought he was good at it. But he was unexpectedly beaten by a rough man from the countryside a few days ago.

    Those who were injured in the battle with the pirates but had not died at that time,ter died one after another because of a fever, he had treated most of them . . . He has treated more people than Jiang Zhen!

    Dr. Hu had done his best to take care of the wounded, but in the end, he got such a result, which was more or less uneptable.

    How did this happen? Jiang Zhen unexpectedly saved ten of the people he sentenced to death . . . those ten men were in good health, and it was obvious that they would not die soon.

    Was Jiang Zhen really better than him?

    When Dr. Hu thought about the doubts he had these days and the poprity Jiang Zhen had received, he was furious but also a little frustrated and embarrassed. He wasn¡¯t a kind-hearted and benevolent person who helped the world, and he usually had some small intentions, but after receiving the money, he still always tried his best to save people, but in the end, he ended up beingpared to that Jiang Zhen!

    That Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even know anything about medicine, he just used a small trick, so howe he¡¯s suddenly respected?

    Doctor Hu pulled another handful of his beard and then had to admit that Jiang Zhen¡¯s method was really useful.

    Master Zheng asked him to cooperate with Jiang Zhen to study this method, and when it waspleted, he would give a reward, but . . . He was ashamed to face Jiang Zhen.

    When he got up early in the morning, Dr. Hu sighed at first, and as a result, as soon as he sighed, the door to his cabin was tapped and from the outside came Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice. ¡°Dr. Hu! Dr. Hu!¡±

    Doctor Hu stood up and stepped forward to open the door. Then hiding his excitement, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Why was Jiang Zhen looking for him? No matter what, he was able to make contact with Jiang Zhen anyway!

    ¡°Doctor Hu, my wife is vomiting too much. Go and check him.¡± Jiang Zhen pulled Dr. Hu and turned around to leave.

    After throwing up for a while, Zhao Jinge was a bit confused when he saw Jiang Zhen walking away. Because of the bad smell, Jiang Zhen ran away?

    Although he felt it was excusable, Zhao Jinge was still a little sad. Then not knowing what was going on, he threw up more and more.

    After vomiting, Zhao Jinge¡¯s entire body felt like it was empty. He was thinking of exercising before, but now, he couldn¡¯t move a muscle.

    It was useless to be like this . . . Zhao Jinge wiped his face with a handkerchief and tried to pour out what had vomited in the bucket. As a result, he could not help retching again when he saw it.

    Just in that moment, Jiang Zhen finally brought Dr. Hu over.

    At that moment, Dr. Hu¡¯s feet could not stop shaking. Jiang Zhen, who thought he was walking too slowly, carried him and then ran from the main ship to this ship along the thin wooden nk!

    Although the crew were used to walking up and down the nks connecting the two ships all day, Dr. Hu was usually afraid to walk on it, and he was even more frightened at being carried.

    Damn you, Jiang Zhen!

    After Dr. Hu was put down, he couldn¡¯t recover for a while, but Jiang Zhen urged him again, ¡°Dr. Hu, hurry up and check Zhao Jinge.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right. Isn¡¯t he just vomiting? What can I do for this? He must have eaten something bad,¡± Doctor Hu said.

    The crew often drank water that wasn¡¯t boiled and was careless with what they ate on the ship, so it became normal for them to throw up.

    ¡°No, Jinge has been throwing up for some time, and he even vomited bile today!¡± Jiang Zhen was anxious. If only it was a stomachache. If . . . it were psychological problems, he shouldn¡¯t throw up so much!

    Was it serious? Dr. Hu was also a little worried too and reached for Zhao Jinge¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Besides vomiting, what other symptoms did he have recently?¡± Dr. Hu¡¯s expression suddenly became a little strange.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t eat greasy foodtely . . . By the way, he also ate several kilos of sweet cakes in one breath yesterday. Is that because of this?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    Dr. Hu¡¯s expression became even weirder.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen became worried. Zhao Jinge also became particrly nervous. Was there something wrong with him?

    ¡°About two months pregnant. Vomiting is a normal reaction,¡± Dr. Hu said and then added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s as strong as an ox. There¡¯s nothing wrong with him.¡±

    Such a sturdy pregnant ger was rare.

 Chapter 88.1 - Reaching the Capital

    Chapter 88.1 ¨C Reaching the Capital

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by ¨C Saber, Personaltasty1, Gumihou and Smile

    Pregnant!

    Zhao Jinge was surprised and pleased that he was not sick, but pregnant?

    Because he worked with Zhao Fugui at the age of twelve or thirteen, Zhao Jinge had little contact with the women in the vige, and Zhao Liu would not tell him about this things, so he had no idea what other people¡¯s pregnancies were like before he got married.

    After he got married, Zhao Liu did talk about pregnancy, but she didn¡¯t borate on it, let alone the symptoms of pregnancy. She only said that when she was with the child, she really wanted to eat stewed chicken, so he never thought of this . . . Of course, the more important reason for this was that he had always felt that it was not so easy to have a child.

    Didn¡¯t they say it would be difficult for him to have a child?

    But it turns out he¡¯s pregnant? And it has been two months?

    If you threw up like this when you are pregnant . . . so he didn¡¯t throw up because he was scared by the bloody scenes?

    Zhao Jinge rxed for a moment and became happy at the same time.

    Jiang Zhen was a little confused at the moment. This . . . He became pregnant?

    Although he knew for a long time that gers could be pregnant and have children and also used it to tease Zhao Jinge with the matter of giving birth to children; however, because Zhao Jinge was no different from a man, Jiang Zhen never truly thought about Zhao Jinge bing pregnant before.

    After leaving Hecheng County with Zhao Jinge, hepletely forgot about it.

    Before, Zhao Jinge felt like vomiting when he smelled greasy meat, but he always thought it was caused by psychological reasons. It was because he was pregnant?

    Zhao Jinge had a child in his belly. When the child would be born, it would call him father.

    He¡¯s going to have a baby. . .

    Zhao Jinge was pregnant. What should he do? How do you raise a child?

    Zhao Jinge looked exactly like a man. How can a child be born?

    What should he eat and drink when he is pregnant?

    Zhao Jinge wouldn¡¯t produce milk. What would the baby eat after it was born?

    . . .

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart instantly shed with a million thoughts, and he became dumbstruck.

    He knew a lot, but he really didn¡¯t know anything about pregnancy and had only asionally heard a few words from hisrades in arms. For example, if a woman is pregnant, she should eat a diet supplement and she can¡¯t eat too much so the child will not be toorge during birth.

    So . . . did he need to give Zhao Jinge a diet supplement or not?

    Jiang Zhen stood there, his entire body stunned. He was dumbfounded.

    Dr. Hu was originally full ofints about Jiang Zhen, but at the moment, he was suddenly happy and proud.

    All those who felt that Jiang Zhen¡¯s medical skills were better than me,e to take a look now! Come and look at this guy right now!

    He didn¡¯t know anything about medicine, and he couldn¡¯t even tell that his own wife was pregnant!

    Dr. Hu discovered that he was still better than Jiang Zhen in the end, and became extremely rxed. But then he thought about it and felt something was wrong.

    ¡°You, you . . . your wife has been pregnant for two months. Before that, he was fighting bandits while carrying the child?¡± Dr. Hu looked at Jiang Zhen, shocked.

    Jiang Zhen was still unresponsive, still in a state of shock.

    Zhao Jinge came back to his senses and then looked at Dr. Hu.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been pregnant for more than two months? But before I got on the ship, I looked for someone to check if I were pregnant. After I got on the boat, you also checked me and didn¡¯t say I was pregnant.¡±

    It has only been a month since the fleet left Hecheng County. He had been pregnant for two months, howe no one told him before?

    ¡°The first month is shallow. How could you get the pulse?¡± Dr. Hu immediately said. He was not a doctor who specializes in obstetrics; a month¡¯s pregnancy, a doctor could rely on the pulse alone to¡ªActually, those who specialized in obstetrics might not be able to tell a one-month pregnancy.

    ¡°If you want to talk about other gers, after they be pregnant, their cinnabar mole between their eyebrows bes darker. Maybe you can see something else. Haven¡¯t you dug up your cinnabar mole?¡± Dr. Hu said again, touching his beard and humming twice.

    Hearing this, Zhao Jinge became embarrassed.

    He subconsciously looked at Jiang Zhen, hoping that Jiang Zhen would help ask about the pregnancy, only to find that Jiang Zhen looked dazed and clearly hadn¡¯te back to his senses yet.

    Dr. Hu also noticed this and became a bit exasperated. Why was this person still dumbfounded? Didn¡¯t he want to ask him more questions? Then he could also ask about those stitches . . .

    When Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t respond, Zhao Jinge could only ask himself, ¡°I¡¯m pregnant, what do I need to pay attention to now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in good health. You can even fight pirates. What can¡¯t you do?¡± Dr. Hu said. Seeing that Zhao Jinge was embarrassed, he added, ¡°You can¡¯t do any strenuous action anymore. As for eating, as long as it¡¯s not harmful, you can eat what you want.¡±

    Hearing Dr. Hu say that ¡°strenuous action¡± couldn¡¯t be done, Zhao Jinge immediately remembered his sit-upsst night, almost scaring him to death. He was also somewhat lucky that he didn¡¯t follow his usual training, or else . . .

    If he loses this baby, he would regret it!

    Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng who had been listening, when they heard Dr. Hu¡¯s words, they both remembered what happenedst night.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly had a stomachache yesterday. It was definitely the boss who did it too violently.

    Their boss was really . . . he even let the pregnant ger fight pirates and still wanted to y at night . . .

    Of course, this was mainly because he did not know . . . Wang Haisheng gave a sympathetic look at the still dumbfounded Jiang Zhen.

    Dr. Hu was determined to talk to Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen kept standing there dully. Not even speaking . . .

    He sat down for a long time, but finally, he couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. Both Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng felt that the atmosphere was very strange . . .

    ¡°Dr. Hu, I¡¯ll send you back first. Later, our boss will definitely make a special trip to thank you,¡± He Chunsheng said.

    Doctor Hu tugged on his beard and walked away with a wave of his hand. When he wanted to walk from the big ship to the smaller one he always had people change the nks to a more wider one.

    When everyone else had left, Jiang Zhen finally came back to his senses.

    In fact, he heard the words of Dr. Hu and others, but there were just so many things on his mind that he was a bit unable to react.

    Now . . .

    Jiang Zhen stared at Zhao Jinge¡¯s t belly and then sat by the bed and carefully touched it with his hands. ¡°Is there a child in here?¡±

    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re having a baby!¡± Zhao Jinge¡¯s face seemed to shine. ¡°My mother has been worried that I will not be able to have any. I didn¡¯t expect to have it so soon!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how hard I tried . . .¡± Jiang Zhen subconsciously flirted but then frowned. ¡°Jinge, what are we going to do in the future?¡±

    What will we do? Zhao Jinge was little at a loss. Isn¡¯t it just us having and raising a child?

    ¡°After the baby is born, what does he eat? How will we educate it in future? Shouldn¡¯t we be setting a good example for him? Where it would be better to go to school in the future . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen had never considered the problem of children before. Listening to oldrades struggling with the problem of their children¡¯s education, he felt lucky. He felt that he did not have to worry about this and didn¡¯t need to buy a house in a good school district, which was great. But now, he got kids too! He was also having a child in the ancient times!

    There were human traffickers and such in modern times, but truly, it¡¯s much safer than in this ancient times. His children would be born in such an era, andter . . .

    The more he started to think about it, the more his thoughts expanded, but Zhao Jinge had never thought about it that much.

    In the countryside, having more children meant more chopsticks. The only thing that everyone needed to consider was whether, by having too many children, they might not be able to support them in the future . . . But it was their first and Jiang Zhen had money, so there was no need to worry about not being able to support them.

    But although Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t think much about it at first, he inevitably thought about it more after Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    For a while, the room became silent again.

    After only a moment of silence, Jiang Zhen suddenly stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go get you some food!¡± Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t had breakfast yet. It was not good for his health.

    Jiang Zhen quickly ran out, and after a while, he returned with a bowl of sugared water. ¡°Drink some water first. The cook is already making food. It will be ready soon . . . or do you want to eat some sweets to pad your stomach first?¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded and was about to get the pastry, but he was stopped by Jiang Zhen again.

    Jiang Zhen took the package off the pastries and only gve Zhao Jinge two-finger-wide walnut cake. ¡°You can¡¯t eat too many sweets when you are pregnant, so eat less of them.¡±

    He had heard of it before . . . this problem is called gestational diabetes?

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t remember clearly, but he remembered one point, that it, of pregnant person eat too much the child will be born particrly big.

    In modern times, if the child was bigger you could always have a caesarean section, but in ancient times¡­

    A child weighing five kilo or eight kilos, you should know which one is better!

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s skin there was so tight. It was okay if the child was small but if it was too big . . .

 Chapter 88.2 - Reaching the Capital

    Chapter 88.2 ¨C Reaching the Capital

    The more Jiang Zhen thought about it, the more anxious he became. Then he finally decided to go to Dr. Hu¡¯s ce to ask.

    When Jiang Zhen went to Dr. Hu, Zhao Jinge looked at the walnut cake in his hand with some confusion. If he was pregnant, he would not be able to eat and drink well? Why did Jiang Zhen stop him from eating after learning that he was pregnant?

    Although gers, or a woman, in his vige could eat something good when they are pregnant; however, they could only eat eggs with some meat, which were not as good as what he usually ate.

    Zhao Jinge vomited badly in the morning, but it was all right at the moment, so he didn¡¯t pay attention to it any longer. He didn¡¯t feel like vomiting at all but felt very hungry instead.

    After eating the walnut cake and waiting for a while, the cook¡¯s son brought him breakfast. However, Jiang Zhen was still nowhere to be seen.

    Zhao Jinge waited for a while, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯te back, so he decided to eat first.

    Jiang Zhen sent people to buy a lot of things yesterday, so the ship now had a much wider variety of ingredients, making the breakfast very rich.

    The cook cooked porridge, which was filled with green leaves and shrimps that smelled very good. In addition, she mixed two cold dishes and made pancakes.

    The thin pancakes with scrambled eggs and bean sprouts and cucumbers look very attractive because the eggs were fried in peanut oil and did not trigger Zhao Jinge at all.

    One mouthful of pancakes, one mouthful of porridge, and a few mouthfuls of cold dishes, Zhao Jinge almost ate Jiang Zhen¡¯s share. But he finished eating, and Jiang Zhen still hadn¡¯t returned.

    Jiang Zhen was still with Dr. Hu at that time, asking him about all kinds of matters that need to be paid attention to during pregnancy.

    When Dr. Hu first saw that Jiang Zhen really came to find him, he was very happy and told Jiang Zhen that, as long as he taught him how to sew wounds, he would help Jiang Zhen take care of Zhao Jinge.

    After Jiang Zhen agreed, he became even happier and decided to teach Jiang Zhen the method of taking care of her pregnant husband.

    As it happened . . . Jiang Zhen asked too many and too detailed questions! He was good at treating injuries, not obstetrics. There are some things he really didn¡¯t know! Dr. Hu found that he couldn¡¯t answer many questions at all and wanted to beg for mercy, but Jiang Zhen kept asking.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go back and keep an eye on your wife?¡± Dr. Hu finally couldn¡¯t stand it. ¡°He just got pregnant and needs someone to watch over him.¡±

    ¡°Yes . . . I am going to keep an eye on him in a little bit . . .¡± Jiang Zhen had already asked enough questions, and then, he suddenly stood up and went out. After leaving the cabin, he began to run.

    Zheng Yi, who was having breakfast, was surprised to see this from the window of his cabin. What happened to Jiang Zhen? Why was he so unstable?

    As he was thinking this, he saw a scene that was even more unbelievable, Jiang Zhen he even ¡­¡­

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t like going out much before because he thought his nausea was problematic, and he didn¡¯t want to vomit in front of others. But now, knowing he was pregnant, he no longer cared.

    Even subconsciously, he wanted others to see him vomiting.

    When people see it, they would ask him, and then he would be able to tell other people that he was pregnant¡­

    Zhao Jinge was eager to show off, but when he just got out of the door and felt the wind outside, he felt refreshed and didn¡¯t feel like vomiting at all.

    He felt a little lost when, suddenly, someone came to him and said, ¡°Zhao Jinge, it¡¯s not good. Jiang Zhen has fallen into the river.¡±

    Jiang Zhen fell into the river.

    When he came out from Dr. Hu, he was still in a trance. As a result, he stepped on an unfixed board because he didn¡¯t pay attention, slipping and falling down into the river.

    Both ships were in the river, and the people on board had to go back and forth between the two ships using the nk ced between ships.

    If the two ships were of the same height, you could just put up the nk casually, but Zheng Yi¡¯s ship was taller than Jiang Zhen¡¯s.

    If the nk between the two ships were not fixed well and if the crosser wasn¡¯t paying close attention to it, it might still be okay. But if the crosser paid no attention at all, they couldn¡¯t react in time when the entire nk would slide.

    For example, this time, Jiang Zhen only ran two steps when the nk slipped off the main ship, making Jiang Zhen fall into the river.

    ¡°Boss!¡±

    ¡°How did Jiang Zhen fall into the river?¡±

    ¡°Bring the ropedder!¡±

    . . .

    People hurriedly fished Jiang Zhen out of the river.

    When Jiang Zhen, who fell into the river, came up, he didn¡¯t look angry or embarrassed at all. He wiped his face and evenughed out loud.

    This was . . . stimtion?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what¡¯s going on?¡± Zheng Yi, who brought people over, couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°Jinge is pregnant, and I¡¯m a little happy,¡± Jiang Zhen said. After his fall into the river, he returned to his senses and couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    He¡¯s going to be a father! He was going to have a baby! Although he was still worried, he became even happier right then.

    Zhao Jinge was thinking about vomiting to let others know that he was pregnant, but Jiang Zhen just said it like that, so now everyone knew that he was pregnant.

    He also knew that, because he was pregnant, Jiang Zhen was very happy and fell into the river . . . Why was this statement so strange?

    Zhao Jinge has no experience with pregnancy. He was pregnant, but he was also a little worried and afraid, afraid that he would do something wrong and hurt the baby. However, some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s performances were too exaggerated, which made all of his fears and worries disappear.

    ¡°Different bed . . . I haven¡¯t seen anyone in our vige who is pregnant with a child and is not sleeping in a separate bed. The worst-case scenario they will not do that ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°A bird nest? ( edible bird¡¯s nest ¨C https://.google.pl/search?q=%E7%87%95%E7%AA%9D&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjnrIiwupjsAhVCO-wKHeMBA7oQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=%E7%87%95%E7%AA%9D&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCABQsJ0CWLCdAmCYoQJoAHAAeACAAVmIAVmSAQExmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=0XJ4X6eAMsL2sAfjg4zQCw&bih=722&biw=1536#imgrc=eZ39l1j-Qx2e6M) What¡¯s the point of eating such expensive food? Having an egg is good enough . . . It¡¯s not enough eating fish and eggs for every meal?¡±

    ¡°I can walk steadily on this deck . . . At least I haven¡¯t fallen into the river like you.¡±

    . . .

    Most of the time, Zhao Jinge was willing to follow Jiang Zhen, but there are some things he opposed when . . . Jiang Zhen was exaggerating.

    A few days ago, he was all about making love, but since then, he wanted to sleep on separate beds?

    He really liked to eat sweet food recently, and the more Jiang Zhen refused to give it to him, the more he wanted to eat it.

    ¡°Jinge, it is easy to get fat if you eat too much sweets,¡± Jiang Zhen advised. It was not that he didn¡¯t want to give Zhao Jinge food; it was just that Zhao Jinge . . . was too good at eating it.

    Zhao Jinge could eat a kilo of pastries in no time, and if he didn¡¯t watch over him, he would definitely have a problem at stopping from eating.

    Fish, shrimp, and eggs are high in protein and low in fat. He wanted Zhao Jinge to eat more and forget about sweets.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to be fat when you¡¯re pregnant,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°What if you won¡¯t be able to lose weight in the future?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    Hearing it, Zhao Jinge froze. If he were to be a big, fat man . . . would Jiang Zhen still like him?

    Zhao Jinge immediately stopped eating the small portion of dessert allowed by Jiang Zhen.

    Of course, there was a reason for this . . . After confirming that he was actually pregnant, he stopped throwing up. A few dayster, he also stopped feeling sick at the smell of the meat. Then he found out he actually preferred meat to sweets and wanted to eat all kinds of meat.

    It was a pity that . . . Jiang Zhen only allowed him to eat chicken, duck, lean meat but did not allow him to eat any type of fattier meat.

    Zhao Jinge felt a little depressed but even more happy.

    Jiang Zhen watched him eat all day long and was concerned about him. Which woman in the vige could say that her husband cared about her so much? How about gers?

    Zhao Jinge also knew that Jiang Zhen was doing it for his own good, and if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let him eat, he really shouldn¡¯t eat it. He also walked fortyps around the ship every day ording to Jiang Zhen¡¯s request.

    In fact, he really wanted to finish the whole thing fast by running, but Jiang Zhen asked him to walk twentyps in the morning and twentyps in the afternoon . . . Just walking; it was actually nothing.

    When he left, there would always be someone congratting him. Although they couldn¡¯t see it on his face, he was still very happy. At the moment, everything was pleasing to the eye except for those gers and women who wanted to hit on Jiang Zhen!

    Ten days after Zhao Jinge was found to be pregnant, Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet finally arrived at its destination, the capital.

    The fleet could not enter the city, so they stopped at a dock outside the city. After they stopped, someone came to pick up Zheng Yi. After the Zheng family on the capital side received the news of Zheng Yi¡¯s arrival in the capital, they kept sending people to keep an eye on the docks. So the moment Zheng Yi¡¯s fleet arrived, they knew.

 Chapter 89.1 - Settling and selling the goods

    Chapter 89.1 ¨C Settling and selling the goods

    There were a lot of things they had to deal with on this side of the fleet. These people who came to pick up Zheng Yi actually just took him to a nearby house to settle down. The Zheng family had been doing business from north to south, so they bought a house near the dock.

    The house was in the name of Zheng Yi, so he was the master, and he asked Jiang Zhen to take his men to live in the house with him.

    It was actually quite troublesome for them to leave. Although the cargo on board didn¡¯t need to be unloaded for the time being, finding someone to watch the silver was needed. Zheng Yi also took all the cards with him.

    Originally, they had to hire porters to help with many things, but because Jiang Zhen saved many people from the pirates, they had enough manpower in the end.

    After struggling for two hours, Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen respectively organized the team and let their subordinates take the cargo and go to the Zheng family house.

    Looking at the group walking, Zheng Yi called Jiang Zhen, ¡°Jiang Zhen, there is a carriage here. Come with me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master Zheng.¡± Jiang Zhen said, the sun outside was very bright so he didn¡¯t want to let the pregnant Zhao Jinge walk outside.

    The carriage was very delicate and expensive; it cost more money to keep a carriage than to raise a few servants. But, in truth, a carriage was not veryfortable.

    After finding that the carriage was very bumpy, Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge anxiously. If he could not stand the jolting . . . Those people in TV dramas often had a miscarriage, so would it not be good for the road to be so bumpy?

    Jiang Zhen was worried, but Zhao Jinge was totally indifferent.

    He had a reaction as nausea before, but at the moment, he didn¡¯t feel it at all. He always felt that having children was no different from the time he was not pregnant.

    At the moment, Zhao Jinge was looking around carefully at her surroundings and was very curious about the carriage he was riding and the horses that were pulling it.

    Horses were a rare sight at the south of the Yangtze River, and there were very few carriages in the entire Hecheng County, so he hadn¡¯t seen many of them.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, do you like carriages? You can ask Jiang Zhen to buy you one and take it back,¡± Zheng Yi said with a smile. ¡°A carriage is much cheaper here than at the south of the Yangtze River.¡±

    ¡°No need . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly said.

    Jiang Zhen, however, was moved in his heart; a carriage was fine, but a horse . . . he really wanted to have one.

    In modern times, he would definitely not think of raising a horse but would want to buy a good car. But if there were no cars in these times, he could only think about horses.

    Zhao Jinge was obviously very reserved. After Zheng Yi said a few words to him, he stopped chatting with him and talked about something else with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to unload the goods from your ship. After you find the buyer, let them unload it. As for the silver, I¡¯ll leave a warehouse on the bank for you. You can store the money there and find someone to watch over it,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and thanked Zheng Yi. After all, without Zheng Yi lending him a warehouse, he really wouldn¡¯t know what to do with the money.

    He had always thought that in Daqi, silver could be deposited in the bank and then traded with bank notes, but this was not the case at all.

    In this period, there were ces simr to banks and these institutions issued silver tickets, but these could only be used locally. This means that if you wanted to go far away to do business, you must bring real money or goods with you.

    It had to be said that it was because of this thatmerce today was less developed, and there were fewer big merchants.

    The silver that Jiang Zhen seized from the pirates was tens of thousands of silver, and it would take dozens of people to move it. On Zheng Yi¡¯s side, there were even more people responsible for moving goods.

    The carriages were slowly making their way ahead, and behind them, a huge team followed, many of them carrying silver as their load.

    The silver was heavy and inconvenient to move, but it wasn¡¯t without its benefits, at least . . . it wouldn¡¯t be easy to steal away someone else¡¯srge sum of silver.

    Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen talked about number of things, and Jiang Zhen wrote them down one by one. After over a half hour, they arrived at the Zheng family¡¯s mansion.

    The mansion was quiterge with several entrances, and when Zheng Yi arrived, he pointed out one of the courtyards for Jiang Zhen to live in.

    The courtyard wasn¡¯t big, and the houses in it weren¡¯t many, but both Jiang Zhen and the people under him were still very happy.

    No matter how small the houses here were, living here was morefortable than on the ship.

    After living on the ship for so long, God only knew how much they missed life onnd!

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had always had cabins to stay in when they were on the ship, but now they were very happy to live in a yard. When Zhao Jinge looked around and found that the yard had been cleaned up and a new mat had beenid out, he was even more eager to lie down and have a good sleep.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t do that, he was still hungry.

    Zheng Yi asked people to send them some food, including pork, mutton, and fresh vegetables. Jiang Zhen sent some to the ships and cooked the rest, so everyone had a good meal before he took Zhao Jinge to take a rest.

    No one bothered them, and Jiang Zhen slept until dawn the next day, but when he woke up, Zhao Jinge was still sleeping.

    Thinking that Zhao Jinge was very tired along the way, Jiang Zhen did not wake him up but gently got out of bed and went outside.

    He got up a littlete, so the others were all awake and talked in twos and threes while the cook and Ruo¡¯er were washing clothes in the courtyard.

    ¡°Li, is breakfast ready yet?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. The cook¡¯s surname was Li, but he thought it would be not good to call her by her first name, so he kept calling her Li.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s already done,¡± Li hurriedly said and washed her hands in clean water. She needed to serve the meal while it was still hot, so she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about it getting cold, so she prepared the food early.

    Jiang Zhen stopped her. ¡°I¡¯ll just eat in the kitchen.¡±

    Jiang Zhen only let Li be in charge of her own and Zhao Jinge¡¯s meals. He also asked her to cook more food that was good for pregnant people, so recently, she often made soup. For example, what she prepared today was porridge made with chicken soup, scallion cake, cucumber sd, shredded chicken, and braised dried bean curd in soy sauce.

    Jiang Zhen was a little unsatisfied with these things as he took a steamed bread bigger than his fist, ate a bowl of porridge, and ate three scallion pancakes before he finally felt better. Then he took the people out of the house.

    Originally, he only needed to protect Zheng Yi, but now with a lot of goods, he became busy. Fortunately, when he arrived in the capital, Zheng Yi no longer needed protection.

    After Jiang Zhen returned to the ship, the fat man named Luo Tianzhi came over, saying that his family hade to pick him up.

    With someoneing to pick him up so soon, Jiang Zhen felt even more that this person was not simple, but he didn¡¯t look into it.

    Luo Tianzhi repeatedly thanked Jiang Zhen and gave him five hundred silver and gave Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, who had taken care of him for half a month, twenty silver each. He then left Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, who were a little dumbfounded.

    They thought that this fatty Luo epted them as concubines, but they didn¡¯t expect to be only given twenty silver . . .

    But they have been with him for more than half a month, and they could earn twenty silver, which was actually pretty good, but what will they do in the future?

    No matter if they were sailors or rescued women and gers, they could go as long as they wanted to. Jiang Zhen did not restrain them, but almost all of them did not leave. Even Zhao Lingxi and Liu Qianqian had not left.

    ¡°You may stay, but you must listen to me. If you want to leave in the future, you should say it in advance,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    As soon as his words came out, those people didn¡¯t want to leave even more. Only a woman stood up and said, ¡°You . . . will you send us . . . to these dirty ces?¡±

    Gers and women all suffered like this, and the women who left their hometown when their husbands were killed by pirates couldn¡¯t go back to their hometowns. They wanted to follow Jiang Zhen, but they were afraid of being sold into brothels.

    In a brothel, a particrly beautiful woman may still be able to find a way out for herself, but most people here were already ruined. They often didn¡¯t live to the age of thirty, and after death, they were mostly wrapped in straw mats and thrown away casually.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I won¡¯t send you to a ce like that, but you will have to work,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Along the way, Jiang Zhen took care of these women and gers, firmly not allowing the men on the boat to vite them, but he also sent them work to do, such as giving them fabrics for sewing clothes.

    Now hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words and thinking about what happened before, those who wanted to live a good life in the future were relieved. But people like Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were hesitant.

    They don¡¯t want to work, but where could they go if they leave?

    Maybe some people might covet their appearance and ask for them, but what if they would only y a few days and then they were thrown away? What were they going to do when they grow old?

    Liu Qianqian pinched the twenty silver given by the fat man Luo in her hand and finally clenched his teeth and went with the women¡¯s group.

    Maybe something might happen to her if she were to go outside. She might as well follow Jiang Zhen first and then leave after she found a way out.

    Liu Qianqian made a choice, and Zhao Lingxi made the same choice.

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like these two people very much, but he didn¡¯t go so far as to embarrass them, so he just said, ¡°None of you should do less work in the future, and don¡¯t have any crooked thoughts, or I won¡¯t be polite to you.¡±

    The men nodded when they heard his words.

    They could see that Jiang Zhen would not be polite to them. When he said no work and no food, he really did not give food to people who did not work no matter how good-looking the person was.

    His subordinates, of course, still listened to him . .

 Chapter 89.2 - Settling and selling the goods

    Chapter 89.2 ¨C Settling and selling the goods

    Jiang Zhen dealt with these people and then counted the cargo on board. Seeing that it was no longer early, he hurried back.

    As Jiang Zhen was heading back, Zhao Jinge was taking Ruo¡¯er for a walk outside the house.

    People nted a lot of vegetables near the house, and there were several kinds that Zhao Jinge had never seen before. So he found the farmer and talked with him, wanting to buy some seeds so that, in future, his family could eat dishes of more variety.

    When Jiang Zhen came back, he saw Zhao Jinge holding a lump of mud in his hand. On the mud, there were some green leeks.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge paused in his steps, then he showed Jiang Zhen a ttering smile. Jiang Zhen observed him closely and hardly let him do any work. Would he be unhappy to see him getting dirty?

    He kind of wanted to throw away the nt in his hand, but he was reluctant to give it up.

    ¡°What are you doing with that leek?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°This is called leek?¡± Zhao Jinge was surprised and said, ¡°There is no such thing in Hecheng County. I wanted to take it back and nt it.¡±

    When he saw that there were both long and short vegetables in the field and it seemed that he could immediately grow it as a crop after getting cuttings, so he wanted some seeds to take back to sow. But, the farmer did not understand him, so he finally handed over a bunch of vegetables for him . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s good to nt some. I¡¯ll take you to buy seeds next time.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and said, ¡°As for now . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked threateningly at Zhao Jinge, and then he took Zhao Jinge, who was startled by his actions, back to the house for a bath.

    This bath, of course, was not an ordinary bath, but a bath that could hold several people. There was arge bathtub in their house, and it was a pity not to use it . . . Of course, the most important thing was that he saw Zhao Jinge holding a lump of mud with leeks. He didn¡¯t know why, but he couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. Although he couldn¡¯t help it, but, taking into ount the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t do anything in the end but just use someone¡¯s two legs and making Zhao Jinge blush.

    That night, Jiang Zhen atete, eating leeks he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time.

    He still liked the taste. Zhao Jinge, who ate it for the first time, didn¡¯t like it very much, but seeing that Jiang Zhen liked it, he decided to take some seeds back and nt them well.

    For several days in a row, Jiang Zhen was very busy. Going to docks every day, going out early anding backte, leaving only Zhao Jinge at home.

    This was a very normal thing for other gers, but Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help feeling a little lost.

    In the past, he could go out with Jiang Zhen, but now, he had nothing to do all day. However, Zhao Jinge only felt lost for a few days.

    This day, after Jiang Zhen returned, he said to Zhao Jinge, ¡°I¡¯m going to discuss business with someone tomorrow. Will you go with me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge felt that if he were to go along, he might only cause trouble for Jiang Zhen, but he genuinely wanted to go . . . ¡°All right.¡±

    Zhao Jinge agreed, and Jiang Zhen took him outside the next day.

    A few days ago, both Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen were organizing the goods they had and had been asking about the market until this day when they officially started selling their goods.

    They didn¡¯t need to find buyers on their own after informing the dock trade administration what they had in their hands. Many businessmen interested in their goods hade. Some of these businessmen went to Zheng Yi¡¯s side while a dozen or so came to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side.

    Jiang Zhen did not know the local market, but Zheng Yi had asked his shopkeeper to look at his goods and set prices for him, so he would not suffer a loss.

    Jiang Zhen had a lot of mixed goods, and the goods with thergest quantity of them were cloth.

    These merchants were all interested in the cloth, so Jiang Zhen first took them to the ship to look at the cloth. After letting them see it, he asked, ¡°What price are you willing to offer?¡±

    Those merchants looked at each other, and one of them took the lead to walk up to Jiang Zhen. ¡°Master Jiang, my surname is Zhu. I am the shopkeeper of Wanlong Merchant Firm.¡± That shopkeeper Zhu spoke and extended his hand hidden in his wide sleeve towards Jiang Zhen.

    On this dock, negotiating prices were always one on one and then they could bargain directly, and if a seller didn¡¯t know thenguage, they would y with the abacus. However, when a group of people wanted the goods, and Jiang Zhen was ready to sell them, everyone would negotiate the price with their sleeves.

    Merchants have their own set of gestures to indicate their offers.

    The Zheng Yi¡¯s steward talked to Jiang Zhen about this, so Jiang Zhen naturally knew. He reached into the sleeve of the Zhu shopkeeper and touched the other¡¯s hand to ¡°see¡± his offer.

    The price offered by shopkeeper Zhu was a little low, so he was waiting for Jiang Zhen to raise the price so they could have a good talk with their sleeves. But unexpectedly, after Jiang Zhen ¡°saw¡± his price, he quickly reached out and had no intention of negotiating the price with him any longer.

    The shopkeeper Zhu was a little stunned. He looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s face but couldn¡¯t see anything, so he could only add, ¡°Master Jiang, our Wanlong Merchant Firm is very sincere.¡±

    Jiang Zhen had ¡°looked¡± at the price of shopkeeper Zhu and went to see the price of the next businessman, but as it turned out, the price given by this man was even lower than that of shopkeeper Zhu.

    Jiang Zhen quickly withdrew his hand just like before.

    At the beginning, several merchants offered lower prices than Jiang Zhen expected, but soon, it was the turn of the young and petite merchant.

    ¡°My surname is Shen and I¡¯m the head of the Shen family.¡± The merchant held out his hand, and the price he drew in his sleeve was higher than the price set by the steward of the Zheng family for Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll sell it to you.¡± After Jiang Zhen ¡°saw¡± the other party¡¯s price, he immediately agreed, not wanting to bargain. He just wanted to find someone who could do things briskly.

    The merchant surnamed Shen was very young, in his twenties, and with a white and good-looking face; he revealed a surprised expression when he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    His family used to be famous in the capital, but now, it has declined a lot. When it came to business, he ran into a brick wall everywhere.

    It was precisely because of this that he would give a sincere price as soon as he came. But unexpectedly, this man was willing to sell something to him without bargaining.

    ¡°Master Jiang, the price is negotiable,¡± the merchant surnamed Zhu said hurriedly.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to discuss it. I will sell to him.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the merchant surnamed Shen. ¡°Do you want any other goods?¡± It was too troublesome to find buyers one by one, so he might as well sell it to one person.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The youth smiled, revealing two dimples. All the goods Jiang Zhen had were good, so, of course, he wanted to buy them all if he could.

    When the shopkeeper Zhu heard the words, his face changed. Jiang Zhen had so many goods here that he thought he would be able to buy one or two of them, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t buy any at all . . . Of course, what displeased him most was that Jiang Zhen actually sold the goods to Shen Anxin. This Shen family and the Wanlong Merchant Firm werepetitors.

    ¡°Master Jiang, the Shen family is now led by a ger, so can you do business with them at ease?¡± shopkeeper Zhu suddenly said.

    Jiang Zhen listened to that shopkeeper Zhu¡¯s words and looked at Shen Anxin in surprise; the person he was talking business with was actually a ger?

    Jiang Zhen looked carefully and found that Shen Anxin had a faint scar between his eyebrows. He probably dug up his cinnabar mole just like Zhao Jinge but took better care of it, and the scar was barely noticeable.

    ¡°How can a ger do a good business?¡± Shopkeeper Zhu added.

    ¡°Master Jiang, my Shen family has several shops, and I can also bring some silver . . . ,¡± Shen Anxin¡¯s face turned pale as he spoke eagerly. Many people refused to do business with him when they saw he was a ger, and some of them even wanted to take advantage of him. The young boss of Wanlongpany wanted to marry him and take over the Shen family¡¯s property . . .

    Having encountered a lot of trouble these days, he was really anxious at this moment, afraid that Jiang Zhen would go back on his word and not sell to him.

    ¡°Master Jiang, our Wanlong Merchant Firm can offer a higher price than him,¡± shopkeeper Zhu said with certainty.

    A lot of men who were in business looked down on gers, thinking that they should stay at home with their husbands and raise their children. Shopkeeper Zhu was willing to offer a higher price, so Shen Anxin was almost certain that the business would definitely fail.

    He couldn¡¯t help feeling a little desperate.

    ¡°I made a deal with him to sell it to him.¡± Jiang Zhen pointed to Shen Anxin, making an unexpected decision. Just because this man dug out his cinnabar more like Zhao Jinge, he had a good impression of him.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said this, the shopkeeper Zhu¡¯s face turned ck.

    ¡°Shopkeeper Shen is good at hooking people up by touching their hands.¡± With a despicable nce at Shen Anxin, shopkeeper Zhu turned around and left.

 Chapter 90.1 - Big Appetite

    <h4><strong>Chapter 90.1</strong>?¨C Big Appetite</h4>

    That shopkeeper Zhu¡¯s words when he left made Shen Anxin¡¯s face look a bit ugly.

    He was trying to do business properly, but those people always looked at him this way . . . or they didn¡¯t look at him this way and just wanted to attack him with such words and actions.

    Gers could also marry a wife and have children, but they would be under much more pressure than men.

    After shopkeeper Zhu left, the other merchants left one after another, just like shopkeeper Zhu. When they left, they were infuriated by the seemingly smiling Shen Anxin¡¯s appearance.

    But Shen Anxin also knew that he could only bear it.

    When everyone else left, Shen Anxin immediately looked apologetically at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Master Jiang, I¡¯m very sorry for the trouble I¡¯ve caused you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± Jiang Zhen was very calm about it.

    This kind of thing was inevitable. Even in modern times, many women would be attacked like this. Some people even thought that beautiful women used their bodies to do business. However, he felt that the man who thought that way was particrly worthless. When the women did what they could not do, they attacked the women, showing their jealousy and ipetence.

    Shen Anxin felt relieved and wanted to say something, but Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Does Master Shen want to have a look at the other goods?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Anxin smiled at Jiang Zhen, and the dimple showed again.

    Shen Anxin was raised as a man since he was a child. Although he was a ger, his speech and action were quite different from those who dressed as female since childhood. His appearance, also inclined closer to men.

    Among men, he would be considered as the gentle schr type, which he estimated that many people would like, but being a ger like this was definitely not good-looking, but when he smiled, he looked a little seductive.

    Perhaps because of this, as soon as he smiled, he quickly stopped and showed a serious expression.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t notice this little thought of his. There were twenty or so of those merchants with their attendants, so he was afraid they would squeeze Zhao Jinge to the side, so he let him go to the cabin to have a rest. Now that those people have left, he called Zhao Jinge out.

    ¡°Jinge,¡± Jiang Zhen called out, and Zhao Jinge came out from a cabin not far away.

    He walked a bit fast at first, but seeing that Jiang Zhen was staring at him, he slowed down again. Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t let him move too fast . . .

    ¡°Jinge, we will sell our goods to this Young Master Shen. Now, we will take him to see the goods,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± Zhao Jinge was a little stiff as he greeted noble-looking Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin¡¯s gaze swept over Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyebrows and looked at Jiang Zhen in some surprise. ¡°Master Jiang, who is this?¡±

    ¡°This is my wife.¡± Jiang Zhen introduced Zhao Jinge and said, ¡°The other goods are on another ship. If the price you give is right, I will sell them to you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen led the people to thedder and let Shen Anxin climb up from the cabin first before letting Zhao Jinge climb. ¡°Jinge, be careful.¡±

    It¡¯s just adder . . . Zhao Jinge climbed up and saw Shen Anxin looking up at him, so he smiled sheepishly at Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin returned Zhao Jinge¡¯s smile. Because Zhao Jinge was ger, he didn¡¯t take his smile back quickly this time.

    It was also true that Zhao Jinge wouldn¡¯t look at his smile because, at that moment, Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyes werepletely on Jiang Zhen, who was following him.

    Jiang Zhen climbed up from the cabin so fast that Zhao Jinge was standing a bit on the way, so he pulled Zhao Jinge and switched ces with him, standing on the outside of the ship himself then pointed to a ship not far away to Shen Anxin. ¡°Young Master Shen, there are some porcin and wood on that ship.¡±

    After saying that, Jiang Zhen then said to his men. ¡°We¡¯re going over there.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± someone answered the call and quickly ran.

    Between those two ships was a board that could be used for people to walk across, so why not just go over there on it? Shen Anxin was a little puzzled. Then he saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s men quickly lift a nk made of wood three feet wide and then put it between the two ships.

    The original nk was only about a foot wide, but sailors were used to walking on it and didn¡¯t feel anything. Even those merchants were used to walking on it; however, Shen Anxin, who came out to do business after a long time, was a little scared, so he was a little happy at the moment to see this particrly spacious nk.

    Zhao Jinge was also happy, but he was also a little embarrassed. He was sure he could walk on the narrow board safely, but Jiang Zhen insisted on letting people make such a wide nk for him.

    ¡°Jinge, be careful,¡± Jiang Zhen told him again. It left him with psychological shadow that he fell into the river from the nk. But he was not worried that he would fall into the river again but scared that Zhao Jinge would fall into the river.

    Jiang Zhengged slightly behind Zhao Jinge and stretched out his hand behind Zhao Jinge to protect him from falling off the nk.

    Shen Anxin always felt like he was a bit of an eyesore when he followed them.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s porcins were good and bad. Shen Anxin has given different prices, which were very affordable. As for the wood¡ª¡°To be honest with Master Jiang, I don¡¯t have a wood shop under my name so after buying this wood, I¡¯m going to give it to someone else.¡±

    ¡°What price do you give?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    The price given by Shen Anxin was still higher than that given by the Zheng Yi¡¯s steward. He directly quoted the price and said, ¡°There are a few pieces of wood in here that are quite good.¡±

    ¡°OK. I¡¯ll sell them to you for this price.¡± Since the price was right, Jiang Zhen agreed.

    Shen Anxin could sort of see that Jiang Zhen was afraid of trouble, and if you wanted to do business with him, you had to be straightforward.

    Shen Anxin himself was not very good at bargaining, so he immediately felt much more rxed. He gave honest prices for some of the following things, and Jiang Zhen agreed to all of them without hesitation. Both sides also agreed to hand over the money and deliver the goods two dayster.

    ¡°Master Jiang, there is one thing I want to ask Master Jiang for help,¡± Shen Anxin said again.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°In two days, can Master Jiang send someone to the Shen family?¡± Shen Anxin asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need for Master Jiang¡¯s people to help move the goods, just keep an eye on it for me.¡±

    Other merchants would at most be sour but would not think of robbing him of business, but the Wanlong Merchant Firm . . .

    Although they couldn¡¯t really do anything about him, it was not a problem to cause him some trouble. After his father died a year ago, many people were poached from the Shen family, leaving him short-handed.

    ¡°No problem.¡± Jiang Zhen promised to move the silver and goods. He was nning to send someone to watch over it anyway, so now it was just a matter of sending a few more people over.

    Shen Anxin wanted to smile again but held back. ¡°Master Jiang, there¡¯s a nice restaurant near this dock. I¡¯m the owner. I would like to invite Master Jiang for a drink.¡±

    Shen Anxin would not put forward such a proposal before. He had done a business before, learning from others to invite people to drink but was molested by the invited people. The man thought that if he invited them for a drink, he was in love with him!

    Shen Anxin encountered more than one simr bad situation, and for a long time, he was not happy to have any contact with people outside of business.

    However, Jiang Zhen was different. He still had Zhao Jinge by his side, so Shen Anxin extended the invitation.

    After all this work, it was already past lunch time, so Zhao Jinge must be hungry. But the food on the ship was not good, and it would take time to go back to Zheng Yi¡¯s mansion . . . so Jiang Zhen nodded and agreed to Shen Anxin¡¯s invitation.

    Near the docks here, there were many merchantsing and going, so the restaurants here were even bigger than those in Hecheng County.

    After Shen Anxin led the way to the restaurant, he asked, ¡°Do the two of you have anything you would like to avoid?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°I want chicken soup. Jinge likes it.¡±

    The chickens at this time of the year were probably all free-range, and the meat was generally a bit old. But the taste of stewed chicken soup could not be better. Zhao Jinge liked to eat chicken soup very much.

    Around this time, the chicken soup was not greasy and was also, naturally, pollution-free, so Jiang Zhen naturally let him drink it to his heart¡¯s content.

 Chapter 90.2 - Big Appetite

    Chapter 90.2 ¨C Big Appetite

    Shen Anxin ordered a chicken soup, a roast duck, and some stir-fried vegetables; the main dish was duck soup noodles. He also wanted to order a jug of wine, but Jiang Zhen refused.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like drinking, let alone, he was also hungry at the moment . . . He just wanted to have a good meal right now . . . Knowing that duck noodle soup could not be served for a while, Jiang Zhen simply ordered four more steamed buns.

    Chicken soup was the first to be served, so he estimated that this had been stewed before.

    Half of the chicken was put in an earthen pot, so the bottom was crisp, and there were some red wolfberries floating on it, which made it look particrly good.

    Jiang Zhen scooped a bowl of soup for Zhao Jinge and put the drumstick into Zhao Jinge¡¯s bowl.

    The chicken has been stewed for a long time, so the chicken soup was particrly delicious, but the chicken itself was not. Shen Anxin was a little picky eater, so he basically only drank soup and didn¡¯t touch the meat. But Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t dislike the chicken at all.

    Although he liked to drink chicken soup, he thought the most important part in chicken soup was eating chicken meat.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zhao Jinge pointed to the wolfberry and asked Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°This is wolfberry. Eating it is good for your health,¡± Jiang Zhen said. At this time, several fried dishes were brought up, and some of them were also unknown to Zhao Jinge, so Jiang Zhen introduced them to him one by one.

    Zhao Jinge tasted every dish and ate two steamed buns. After the duck soup noodles were served, he ate another bowl of duck noodles. After discovering that Shen Anxin didn¡¯t like chicken, he also fished his half of chicken.

    Although the steamed buns here were rtively small and soft, the amount of food Zhao Jinge ate surprised Shen Anxin. But he soon calmed down because Jiang Zhen ate even more than Zhao Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen ate two steamed buns, but he also had two bowls of duck soup noodles. Atst, he even cleaned up the dishes on the table, and most of the roasted duck went into his stomach.

    Shen Anxin, who only ate one bowl of duck soup noodles and couldn¡¯t finish it: ¡°. . .¡± He came out to eat, but he had never seen anybody eat everything clean before!

    ¡°I¡¯ll order some more,¡± Shen Anxin hurriedly said. Heter realized that it was not good to invite people to eat when there was not enough food on the table.

    ¡°I can¡¯t eat any more,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°I don¡¯t like wasting food.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with the meal. After taking a look at Zhao Jinge and finding he was also satisfied, he made up his mind to bring Zhao Jinge out for a meal again.

    After dinner, Jiang Zhen separated with Shen Anxin and took Zhao Jinge back to the Zheng mansion.

    They walked all the way back, and Jiang Zhen deliberately wanted Zhao Jinge to walk slowly. But Zhao Jinge was used to striding and couldn¡¯t slow down. He sighed and Jiang Zhen followed him.

    As soon as the two of them arrived at the door of Zheng family house, someone ran out of the gatehouse. When they saw Jiang Zhen, he patted his thigh and said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, I¡¯ve caught you!¡±

    ¡°Doctor Hu? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s something!¡± Dr. Hu said. ¡°It¡¯s the technique of stitching up the wound. Young Master Zheng asked us to study it again.¡±

    In fact, Dr. Hu visited Jiang Zhen several times in the past few days. But Jiang Zhen went to the docks every day, leaving only Zhao Jinge to answer the question, and he did not know a lot.

    After the medical research came out, it was beneficial to the country and the people. How could Jiang Zhen not care about it?

    ¡°I have already said what I know,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°But it can be organized in more detail!¡± Dr. Hu said. ¡°Young Master Zheng said that when the timees, this method will be presented in your name, which would be a great thing for you!¡±

    Jiang Zhen thought about it and agreed. It¡¯s really good for him. That is, if something happened in the future, with such merit, others would have to weigh more when they wanted to touch him.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge with him and went to Dr. Hu¡¯s ce. After discovering that Dr. Hu had paper and pencils, he was even more delighted. He took those paper and pencils and let Zhao Jinge practice writing beside him.

    Doctor Hu nced at Zhao Jinge¡¯s ugly handwriting and felt like his good paper was being wasted. However, he asked Jiang Zhen to write his own name on it and to write about the method of stitching up the wound, so he generously gave all those pens, ink, paper, and ink stone to Zhao Jinge.

    Although Zhao Jinge knew that Jiang Zhen was rich now, he couldn¡¯t help wanting to save money, so he was even happier when he heard these words. At the same time, he began to practice his calligraphy carefully so that his handwriting would not be so thick and big.

    Zhao Jinge was very serious and attentive when doing it. So after Jiang Zhen and Dr. Hu talked about wound disinfection, they couldn¡¯t help but focus on Zhao Jinge.

    The appearance of Zhao Jinge practicing calligraphy at his desk was actually a little bit incongruous; after all, his whole person was not verypatible with ink and pen. But he was very serious, using the tip of his pen to carefully write a single character.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at it, and saw his name.

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but feel moved, and he looked at Dr. Hu and said in a low tone, ¡°For a pregnant person, is there any obstruction regarding this matter?¡±

    He had heard hisradesin about their wives being pregnant and having had to go without meat for a year. Since he learned that Zhao Jinge was pregnant, he didn¡¯t dare have bad thoughts but was still thinking about it, so now he even asked about it.

    Dr. Hu, who was studying the medical technique that would benefit the country and the people, was affected¨Chis hand shook and smeared the ink on the paper. This Jiang Zhen really has the nerve to ask!

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking, but it doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t.¡± Jiang Zhen was also a little embarrassed. In fact, it¡¯s okay to let Zhao Jinge use his hands or legs. But how could he not turn into an animal when he saw Zhao Jinge writing there?

    ¡°He¡¯s in good health, and it doesn¡¯t matter if you do it a little lighter. It¡¯s just that, for the first three months, it¡¯s best not to do anything,¡± Dr. Hu said. This matter also depended on the person. Some people were so unstable that they could cough up their children with a few coughs, just like Zhao Jinge. There are some people in the countryside who had too many children and didn¡¯t want more, so they went on great lengths to get them out. But in the end, they had no choice but to give birth and then strangle it.

    Dr. Hu couldn¡¯t help sighing when he thought of what he had seen and heard when he was practicing medicine in the countryside.

    Jiang Zhen remembered that he couldn¡¯t do it for the next three months, but this three months . . . would be almost over in the blink of an eye.

    He didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge was pregnant, but fortunately, they didn¡¯t lose the child. Jiang Zhen felt a little guilty, so he subconsciously looked at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge had just finished writing a few words, and when he stopped writing, he found that the atmosphere was not quite right. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He seemed to have heard ¡°three months¡± or something.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Jiang Zhen said very seriously.

 Chapter 91.1 - Selling out the goods

    <h4>Chapter 91.1 ¨C Selling out the goods</h4>

    When Zhao Jinge heard that nothing was wrong, he went back to practicing his calligraphy.

    Jiang Zhen and Dr. Hu were discussing important matters there, which probably had nothing to do with him

    While Zhao Jinge could still stit still, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t. Despite his serious appearance, he has already begun to think about all sorts of naughty things.

    ¡°Doctor Hu, I¡¯m free tomorrow. Is there anything else you want to know? I will exin it tomorrow so I will go back now.¡± Jiang Zhen said, pulling up Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Ha ha¡­¡± Dr. Hu pulled his beard and said: ¡°All right.¡±

    What else could he do? Even if he stopped them now and not let Jiang Zhen take Zhao Jinge to go, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind will not be on him after that!

    Wait, that¡¯s a strange thing to say¡­ He does not need Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind to focus on him, as long as Jiang Zhen tell him some things rted to the treatment of injuries.

    As a matter of fact, he did not talk to Jiang Zhen about stitching up the wound but chatted with Jiang Zhen, and asionally Jiang Zhen would said a word or two, which ware always very reasonable¡­

    Now, he wanted to dig up all the medical knowledge that Jiang Zhen knew.

    After being pulled out by Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge be a little annoyed and said: ¡°I forgot to take the pen, ink, paper and inkstone given by Dr. Hu.¡± There was still an hour before dark, if he went back to get thing things he could practice calligraphy for a while.

    ¡°You won¡¯t have time to use themter.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge seriously, sizing him up and down.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge was a little puzzled.

    ¡°Just now, Dr. Hu told me something.¡± Jiang Zhen expression was still somewhat serious.

    Seeing this, Zhao Jinge could not help worrying. Did Dr. Hu say something important just now? Was it about him?

    Zhao Jinge was very worried, when he heard Jiang Zhen say: ¡°doctor Hu said that you are in good health, and sex if fine.¡±

    What sex? Zhao Jinge was a little confused.

    ¡°So let go back and don¡¯t waste time.¡± Jiang Zhen held Zhao Jinge hand and scratched Zhao Jinge palm with his finger.

    Zhao Jinge face turned red all of a sudden, and he didn¡¯t understand the word ¡°sex¡± at first, but by now, Jiang Zhen could not have hinted it more clearly.

    This¡­ This¡­

    How could Jiang Zhen ask this?!

    What is there to ask about this?!

    For the people in Hexi vige, it was perfectly normal to have a baby. No one would go to see the doctor and no one would pays attention to this or that like Jiang Zhen.

    As a result, there ware some ims that you shouldn¡¯t eat rabbit meat or the child will be born with three-valved mouth.

    Eventually, because pregnancy was a private matter, the women in the vige have to wait until their bellies get bigger to let others know that they ware pregnant.

    Not only that, the pregnant women and gers still had to work.

    Therefore, Zhao Jinge has always felt that pregnancy and childbirth was perfectly normal andmon, so there was nothing to worry about.

    He saw that other people were still in the same room as their husbands when they were pregnant, but you still thought that they ware fighting with goblins every night.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Jiang Zhen had even said that he would share the bed, he wouldn¡¯t have agreed not to do that ¡­¡­

    He still quite liked doing that with Jiang Zhen ..¡­ and¡­ If Jiang Zhen doesn¡¯t stay with him and goes to someone else instead ¡­¡­ Then he¡¯ll die of grief!

    It¡¯s just, how could he ask someone about it? Wasn¡¯t he embarrassed?

    Zhao Jinge lowered his head, and wanted to dig a hole to bury himself.

    Jiang Zhen chuckled and pulled the shy Zhao Jinge back into the room.

    He was very careful this time and asked Zhao Jin several times if he was not feeling well.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t feel any difort at all, but he felt that Jiang Zhen was dillydalling as he was rubbing himself up and down ¡­¡­

    When they ware done, Zhao Jinge was so hungry that he wanted to get out of bed and eat. As a result, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let him out of bed and bought food to bed wanting to feed him.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    He¡¯s really allright! It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to nt an acre ofnd right now!

    The next day, Jiang Zhen had nothing to do, so he didn¡¯t go out. Instead, he took Zhao Jinge to doctor Hu and asked him to check the pulse.

    ¡°Steady pregnancy.¡± Dr. Hu said, Zhao Jinge health was very good and there is nothing wrong with him.

    Zhao Jinge was all right, so Jiang Zhen was relieved and chatted with Dr. Hu again.

    Near noon, Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen excused themselves and left for a meal.

    As he watched Zhao Jinge leave, Doctor Hu looked at Jiang Zhen and said ¡°Even if your wife is well, he¡¯s pregnant in the end, what are you still tossing him for?¡±

    How did you end up bening in trouble for messing around with Zhao Jinge? Jiang Zhen was a little speechless, Zhao Jinge should also like it very much.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you save a lot of people from the pirates before? I¡¯ve heard that there are others who want to follow you. Why don¡¯t you just find someone? ¡± Dr. Hu added feeling that Jiang Zhen was a little too indifferent to Zhao Jinge.

    What he wanted was normal, but what was he doing tossing around pregnant ger? Jiang Zhen was not out of money to find some relif outside.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Doctor Hu, you think like this? Does your wife know?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Dr. Hu looked at Jiang Zhen in bewilderment.

    Jiang Zhen added: ¡°Jinge certainly doesn¡¯t think so.¡± Don¡¯t think he couldn¡¯t tell. Although Zhao Jnge oesn¡¯t say anything, he was actually jealous.

    He even secretly found Wang Haisheng and asked him to take some beautiful women and gers from the boat they lived in.

    Of course, he wanted Zhao Jinge to be jealous even if he doesn¡¯t need to.

    If he wasn¡¯t jealous, this mean he didn¡¯t care about him.

    Before making out that night, Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge: ¡°Dr. Hu asked me to take care of your body and don¡¯t bother you and find someone else.¡±

    ¡°!!¡± Zhao Jinge abruptly sat up: ¡°I am very strong!¡±

    Jiang Zhenughed.

    Zhao Jinge worked very hard that day. Jiang Zhen was unwilling to move afraid he would hurt him, so he followed what Jiang Zhen had done to him in the past, kissing and touching Jiang Zhen.

    Early the next morning, Zhao Jinge got up and said to Jiang Zhen very seriously: ¡°Dr. Hu treated people on the ship but killed several of them, his skill¡­ you don¡¯t have to listen to him.¡±

    Finally, he added, ¡°He¡¯s not a good man.¡±

    That doctor Hu unexpectedly encouraged Jiang Zhen to find someone else!

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded. ¡°I think so, too.¡±

    His Jinge was so cute!

    Jiang Zhen asked Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng to take people to docks to protect Shen Anxin, but he didn¡¯t go.

    Shen Anxin said that he might run into trouble. Under such circumstances, it would be too dangerous for him to take Zhao Jinge with him.

    As for not taking Zhao Jinge¡­

    Why should he be separated from Zhao Jinge for the sake of Shen Anxin?

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to eat something delicious.¡± Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to the dock early to find some delicious food.

    Without that sudden pregnancy reaction, Zhao Jinge was fond of eating meat again. When Jiang Zhen took him to look for food around the docks, his eyes would always drift to the ce where smell of meate from.

    The way of eating out at this time was somewhat different from that of modern times, and the names of dishes were also different.

    After looking around, Jiang Zhen ended up taking Zhao Jinge into a shop.

    This shop sold a type of meat cakes, in dough was wrapped minced meat with onions, rolled thinly with a rolling pin, and then baked on the inner wall of the special stove. The cakes smelled good and the dough was crisp because it was so think. It was delicious at a nce and in addition, they also sold bean curd dumplings.

    Jiang Zhen ordered two bowls of bean curd, two bowls of dumplings, and four meat cakes. Before he sat at table with Zhao Jinge.

    There was not much meat in the meat cakes and the dumpling stuffing was not all meat but it was mixed with vegetables. After all, meat was very expensive these days. Because of this, Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with the meal ¨C Zhao Jinge needed bnced nutrition.

    Zhao Jinge was also very satisfied, as long as there was meat.

    However, the most satisfying thing for Zhao was bean curd.

    It was very cheap dish, but it¡¯s also avable in Hecheng county, where you could usually scoop up a bowl of tofu, and some pickled vegetables. You could also get spoonful of soy sauce in it.

    But even so, Zhao Jinge wouldn¡¯t go buy it and eat it.

    He actually quite like to eat bean curd, but a bowl of bean curd costed two copper coins, which was just for a little bit of tofu ¡­ he had the money to buy bean curd so he might as well go and make it for two copper coins so everyone in his family could eat arge bowl of tofu.

    Because of this, Zhao Jinge also didn¡¯t want to buy bean curd, especially when the beancurd here costed five copper coins for a bowl.

    But after eating it, he felt it was worth it. This bean curd also had tender tofu, but instead of just giving a spoonful of soy sauce, it put a big spoonful of the sauce that was cooked out.

    That sauce was delicious, and there were several things in it, even diced meat!

    If he was satisfied, Jiang Zhen would naturally be satisfied as well.

    After eating and waiting for a period of time, Shen Anxin brought people.

    Summer was almost over, and they were in north, the weather had cooled down a bit, but Shen Anxin who was neatly dressed was much more hotter than others.

    When Jiang Zhen saw him, he was sweating profusely, and beside him a ger with red cinannber mole between his eyebrows was fanning him.

    ¡°Master Jiang.¡± Shen Anxin greeted Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± Jiang Zhen greeted him as well.

    Carrying goods, there ware a lot of things to do so after the two side greeted each other each became busy.

    Zhao Jinge also knew the cargo on board, so he quickly calcte things, helping Jiang Zhen register the goods.

    Jiang Zhen was busy for a while, and as soon as he looked up, he saw a lot of sweat on Zhao Jinge forehead.

    There is no one around him who could calcte ounts, so Zhao Jinge needed to be busy¡­

    Looking around, he saw that there was a watermelon seller not far away so he directly bought the cart of watermelons.

    He picked out a big watermelon from it, which was of great quality and was piled underneath so it didn¡¯t get hot and asked his subordinates to divide the remaining watermelons.

    He took the big watermelon and went to the shed where he and Shen Anxin could settle ounts and put goods. Jiang Zhen cut the watermelon in half with the dagger he was carrying with him, and asked people to bring spoons and tes from the boat.

    With a spoon, Jiang Zhen dug out the sweetest and seedless heart of the watermelon from the half-cut watermelon and put it on a te, which put on bigger te.

    Shen Anxin was sitting in the shed, seeing him like this he nced admiringly at Zhao Jinge who was counting beside him. While the boy beside Shen Anxin looked at the watermelon in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand with a smile.

    ¡°Master Jiang, this watermelon¡­¡± Seeing that Jiang Zhen had finished, he went over to pick up the te with watermelon.

    In his opinion, there were only a group of rough men here. Jiang Zhen dug out the watermelon so carefully so he was definitely prepared it for his young master.

    Although his young master was raised as men, in the end he was still a ger. In the past, when he was at school, there were men who cozied up to his young master and there was many of them.

    However, before the boy finished speaking, Jiang Zhen had already carried the watermelon te and give it to Zhao Jinge.

    In the past, Jiang Zhen would directly give Zhao Jinge half a watermelon to let him eat enough, but now Zhao Jinge was in a special situation. So it was not good to eat too much watermelon, so he only give him the best part of watermelon to eat: ¡°Eat less, if you will still want it. I buy it for you tomorrow.¡±

    Some people grow watermelons near Hecheng County, but they only nt a little for their own house. Zhao Jinge ate it when he was a child, but never after it.

    The watermelon he ate when he was a child was not very sweet.

    However, the watermelon given to him by Jiang Zhen this time tastes particrly sweet¡­ making Zhao Jinge smile at Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen resisted the impulse to kiss him and just touched his head as he hugged the te of watermelon finally he looked at Shen Anxin: ¡°You can cut the remaining half and eat it.¡±

    Shen Anxin¡¯s life has been very fine since he was a child, that is to say, when eating watermelons it was always cut into the pieces and had all seeds dug up. Only then it was brought to him to eat, but there was nothing here¡­

    The servant boy was little discontented. Shen Anxin took a look at the people around him who even chewed off the skin of the watermelon, and said to boy next to him: ¡°Let¡¯s cut the watermelon and share it with some shopkeepers.¡±

    The young man cut the watermelon a little unhappy.

    At the end of the day, seeing Shen Anxin eating watermelon with watermelon juice on his hands, heined even more: ¡°That Master Jiang, don¡¯t know how to take care of young master. ¡± Preparing a te of watermelon, but not giving it to young master and instead giving it to this tough man!

    ¡°Who I am to him? Why should he care about me?¡± Shen Anxin said ¡°That person was his wife.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The boy looked at Shen Anxin with face full of astonishment, that tough man was a ger?

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know that the boy regarded himself as a tough guy, he didn¡¯t even know that inside of watermelon was sweeter than the flesh outside.

    But he was very happy and excited that Jiang Zhen prepared a watermelon for him to eat.

    He ate the watermelon and then went back to work with great energy.

    There were so many goods that they weren¡¯t able to finish it in day, so they rested in an inn at the dock for a night, and then got up the next morning and went back to work.

    After a long busy day, everyone finally finished all the work that needed to be done and all goods and money were delivered.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with this.

    After the goods were sold out, he didn¡¯t have to worry about this side of the docks anymore, and could take Zhao Jinge to the capital to look around.

    In this ancient times, the capital was definitely thergest city, but he didn;t know how it looked like¡­

    Speaking of which, this could also be regarded as taking Zhao Jinge on their honeymoon, right?

    ¡°Master Jiang, if you have something in stock next time, you cane to me again, and I will certainly give you an honest price.¡± Shen Anxin said to Jiang Zhen, after working for two days he was a little tired, but was in hight spirit.

    He believed that the Shen family would gradually get better.

    ¡°No problem.¡± Jiang Zhen agreed directly.

    Shen Anxin smiled again, and this time he was not busy enough to windrow his smile, making his dimples particrly obvious.

    Shen Anxin¡¯s boy looked back from the carriage and finally couldn¡¯t help saying: ¡°Young Master, that Jiang Zhen is really good to Zhao Jinge¡­¡± These two days, Jiang Zhen was very busy but he still took care of Zhao Jinge everywhere, so he was little envious of what he saw.

    That Zhao Jinge, he was notparable to him in all aspects, so how could he find such a good man?

    ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Anxin nodded and sighed.

    In fact, he was also a little envious of Zhao Jinge, but he wanted to support the Shen family¡­ If he had time to admire people, he might as well do more things.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge ware walking to Zheng¡¯s house together.

    ¡°Jinge, I didn¡¯t do anything in the innst night. You¡¯ll have to make it up to me tonight.¡± Jiang Zhen joked.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. He was still thinking about what doctor Hu had said before and was determined to satisfy Jiang Zhen: ¡°I will do a good job!¡±

    Seeing Zhao Jinge serious expression, Jiang Zhen be excited and took his hand.

    After going back, he must eat Zhao Jinge clean!

    Jiang Zhen thought well, then realized ¡­¡­ he was overthinking.

 Chapter 91.2 - Selling out the goods

    Chapter 91.2 ¨C Selling out the goods

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to get in touch with those bigwigs who were officials, but Master Zheng asked to see him specifically, so he obviously could not get away from it.

    Letting Zhao Jinge went back to their amodations first, Jiang Zhen went to Zheng Yi.

    Compared to the courtyard Jiang Zhen was staying at, the courtyard where Zheng Yi resided could be called luxurious. Even if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know much about goods, he knew that the things in them were probably very expensive. However, all this did not amaze Jiang Zhen.

    Paved te floor, no matter how t it was, was still just te. Compared to all kinds of tiles in theter generations? it was all marble . . . At this time, people could not polish marble as smoothly as inter generations, let alone carve flowers or something else on them.

    As for the nks¡ªhaving seen all kinds of beautiful wooden floors and solid boards there, Jiang Zhen really couldn¡¯t think of them as beautiful.

    As for the luxuries¡ªfor people like Jiang Zhen who did not study antiques at all and do not like them, modern furnishings were actually much more beautiful. Because of this, Jiang Zhen did not show any curiosity and envy at the things in Zheng Yi¡¯s house.

    At the same time, after standing in a military posture for more than a decade, Jiang Zhen stood with his own momentum, and every step was measured.

    Master Zheng came to see Jiang Zhen because of the strong rmendation from his nephew. He thought he was just an ordinary man with outstanding points. He didn¡¯t expect that he would finally see a young man with an extraordinary bearing.

    Although the young man had dark skin, rough hands, and was wearing ordinary clothes, and it could be seen from the details that he did not have a good life in the past, he had an excellent temperament. Judging only from his appearance, he was afraid that no one would have thought that he had been an ordinary farmer before.

    For a moment, Master Zheng even suspected that his nephew had been deceived by a person with ulterior motives.

    It¡¯s just . . . this man, who had approached their Zheng family, gave them many things, but he never cheated them of anything.

    Also . . . in ces like the capital, their Zheng family was really nothing. It¡¯s not worthwhile for this person to cheat them.

    Master Zheng quickly regained his senses and began to talk to Jiang Zhen, and when he spoke, he did not know whether it was intentional or not, but he still used Mandarin.

    The Mandarin of Daqi was very simr to modern Putonghua. Most of the people in Beijing spoke Mandarin.

    After a few days of adaptation, Jiang Zhen has learned this variation of Mandarin. Because he had once spoken Mandarin since he was a child, he actually didn¡¯t even carry a southern ent when speaking it.

    When the Second Master Zheng spoke to him in Mandarin with a Jiangnan ent, he responded with pure Mandarin.

    His Mandarin was much more authentic than that Master Zheng.

    Master Zheng¡¯s expression suddenly became a little subtle.

    Because Zheng Yi had been talking to Jiang Zhen in Hecheng County¡¯s dialect, he did not know that Jiang Zhen could speak Mandarin, so he was shocked for a while. Because he often traveled between the capital and the south of the Yangtze River, Zheng Yi could understand many dialects and could not only understand Mandarin but also speak it a bit. asionally, when he got acquainted with some schrs in the south of the Yangtze River, he would show off his Mandarin.

    He always thought he was talented in this area, but right then . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s pronunciation of every word was at the standard.

    He hadn¡¯t been in the capital for a few days yet, right? How exactly did he learn?

    How did he learn it? Of course, primary school Chinese teachers teach pinyin one by one, and let every student stand up one by one to read literature . . .

    Jiang Zhen also knew that Master Zheng wanted to embarrass him.

    He didn¡¯t want to offend Master Zheng for no reason, but he didn¡¯t intend to put up with being embarrassed by others.

    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s really good,¡± Master Zheng said. ¡°You can speak Mandarin. When the matter of stitching up the wound is reported, I will be able to take you to meet the dignitaries of capital.¡±

    He was smiling and was full of amiability. In just one sentence, he said that all of his previous probes and the embarrassments he caused Jiang Zhen was for his own good.

    Jiang Zhen had seen a lot of such people. There were several leaders above him before who, even if he were to rush in and knocked over someone¡¯s table, would continue smiling despite such amotion, so it wasn¡¯t surprising, nor was he sincerely terrified, because of the other party¡¯s amiable manner.

    Of course, his manners were notcking and even did a good job¡ªthis society was different from that o modern times.

    Master Zheng took in Jiang Zhen¡¯s appearance and secretly marveled at it; his evaluation of Jiang Zhen also rose higher.

    At that moment, he really believed in his nephew¡¯s words¡ªthis Jiang Zhen, he was afraid, was really capable of making a career for himself.

    Master Zheng¡¯s expression became more and more amiable.

    Master Zheng spoke to Jiang Zhen for some time, pulling Jiang Zhen along at first to talk about various things in Hecheng County. Later, he asked about the stitching up of the wounds and the cards, praising Jiang Zhen for his dexterity. After that, he invited Jiang Zhen to a meal.

    The food on the table was very exquisite, but Jiang Zhen, who often stayed in hotels in modern times, was still very calm.

    After the meal, it was already dark, so Jiang Zhen said goodbye.

    Watching him go away, Master Zheng immediately said to Zheng Yi, ¡°This person must be well solicited and can¡¯t be ignored. Do not let others have the opportunity to sell themselves.¡±

    ¡°Second Uncle, that¡¯s what I thought as well,¡± Zheng Yi said. He had always attached great importance to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°By the way, I have a vacant house in the capital surrounded by merchants. You can give it to him,¡± Master Zheng said.

    Zheng Yi nodded.

    The better mansions in this capital would be impossible to buy without some ess, taking a mansion and giving it to Jiang Zhen was indeed good.

    They were expected to stay in the capital for a month or two this time, and Jiang Zhen really needed a ce to settle down.

    When Jiang Zhen went back to his room, Zhao Jinge had already eaten dinner but left some food for him. ¡°Jiang Zhen, Li¡¯s braised pork today is particrly delicious. I¡¯ve saved it for you.¡± After saying that, he added, ¡°This meat is rather fat, so I only ate two pieces.¡±

    Then he nced longingly at the bowl of meat on the table.

    Pieces of pork belly that were two fingers wide and three fingers long were braised in soy sauce and sugar, which was greasy and made people have a good appetite.

    When Jiang Zhen and Master Zheng had dinner together, they were very restrained, so he did not have enough to eat. Right then, he directly asked Ruo¡¯er to serve him a bowl of rice.

    In addition to braised pork, the rice on the table also included winter melon soup, cold tofu, and two stir-fried vegetarian dishes.

    Jiang Zhen took the rice and swept away all the dishes and even picked up thest piece of braised meat and took a bite.

 Chapter 92.1 - Living in the Capital

    Chapter 92.1 ¨C Living in the Capital

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to get in touch with those bigwigs who were officials, but Master Zheng asked to see him specifically, so he obviously could not get away from it.

    Letting Zhao Jinge went back to their amodations first, Jiang Zhen went to Zheng Yi.

    Compared to the courtyard Jiang Zhen was staying at, the courtyard where Zheng Yi resided could be called luxurious. Even if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know much about goods, he knew that the things in them were probably very expensive. However, all this did not amaze Jiang Zhen.

    Paved te floor, no matter how t it was, was still just te. Compared to all kinds of tiles in theter generations? it was all marble . . . At this time, people could not polish marble as smoothly as inter generations, let alone carve flowers or something else on them.

    As for the nks¡ªhaving seen all kinds of beautiful wooden floors and solid boards there, Jiang Zhen really couldn¡¯t think of them as beautiful.

    As for the luxuries¡ªfor people like Jiang Zhen who did not study antiques at all and do not like them, modern furnishings were actually much more beautiful. Because of this, Jiang Zhen did not show any curiosity and envy at the things in Zheng Yi¡¯s house.

    At the same time, after standing in a military posture for more than a decade, Jiang Zhen stood with his own momentum, and every step was measured.

    Master Zheng came to see Jiang Zhen because of the strong rmendation from his nephew. He thought he was just an ordinary man with outstanding points. He didn¡¯t expect that he would finally see a young man with an extraordinary bearing.

    Although the young man had dark skin, rough hands, and was wearing ordinary clothes, and it could be seen from the details that he did not have a good life in the past, he had an excellent temperament. Judging only from his appearance, he was afraid that no one would have thought that he had been an ordinary farmer before.

    For a moment, Master Zheng even suspected that his nephew had been deceived by a person with ulterior motives.

    It¡¯s just . . . this man, who had approached their Zheng family, gave them many things, but he never cheated them of anything.

    Also . . . in ces like the capital, their Zheng family was really nothing. It¡¯s not worthwhile for this person to cheat them.

    Master Zheng quickly regained his senses and began to talk to Jiang Zhen, and when he spoke, he did not know whether it was intentional or not, but he still used Mandarin.

    The Mandarin of Daqi was very simr to modern Putonghua. Most of the people in Beijing spoke Mandarin.

    After a few days of adaptation, Jiang Zhen has learned this variation of Mandarin. Because he had once spoken Mandarin since he was a child, he actually didn¡¯t even carry a southern ent when speaking it.

    When the Second Master Zheng spoke to him in Mandarin with a Jiangnan ent, he responded with pure Mandarin.

    His Mandarin was much more authentic than that Master Zheng.

    Master Zheng¡¯s expression suddenly became a little subtle.

    Because Zheng Yi had been talking to Jiang Zhen in Hecheng County¡¯s dialect, he did not know that Jiang Zhen could speak Mandarin, so he was shocked for a while. Because he often traveled between the capital and the south of the Yangtze River, Zheng Yi could understand many dialects and could not only understand Mandarin but also speak it a bit. asionally, when he got acquainted with some schrs in the south of the Yangtze River, he would show off his Mandarin.

    He always thought he was talented in this area, but right then . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s pronunciation of every word was at the standard.

    He hadn¡¯t been in the capital for a few days yet, right? How exactly did he learn?

    How did he learn it? Of course, primary school Chinese teachers teach pinyin one by one, and let every student stand up one by one to read literature . . .

    Jiang Zhen also knew that Master Zheng wanted to embarrass him.

    He didn¡¯t want to offend Master Zheng for no reason, but he didn¡¯t intend to put up with being embarrassed by others.

    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s really good,¡± Master Zheng said. ¡°You can speak Mandarin. When the matter of stitching up the wound is reported, I will be able to take you to meet the dignitaries of capital.¡±

    He was smiling and was full of amiability. In just one sentence, he said that all of his previous probes and the embarrassments he caused Jiang Zhen was for his own good.

    Jiang Zhen had seen a lot of such people. There were several leaders above him before who, even if he were to rush in and knocked over someone¡¯s table, would continue smiling despite such amotion, so it wasn¡¯t surprising, nor was he sincerely terrified, because of the other party¡¯s amiable manner.

    Of course, his manners were notcking and even did a good job¡ªthis society was different from that o modern times.

    Master Zheng took in Jiang Zhen¡¯s appearance and secretly marveled at it; his evaluation of Jiang Zhen also rose higher.

    At that moment, he really believed in his nephew¡¯s words¡ªthis Jiang Zhen, he was afraid, was really capable of making a career for himself.

    Master Zheng¡¯s expression became more and more amiable.

    Master Zheng spoke to Jiang Zhen for some time, pulling Jiang Zhen along at first to talk about various things in Hecheng County. Later, he asked about the stitching up of the wounds and the cards, praising Jiang Zhen for his dexterity. After that, he invited Jiang Zhen to a meal.

    The food on the table was very exquisite, but Jiang Zhen, who often stayed in hotels in modern times, was still very calm.

    After the meal, it was already dark, so Jiang Zhen said goodbye.

    Watching him go away, Master Zheng immediately said to Zheng Yi, ¡°This person must be well solicited and can¡¯t be ignored. Do not let others have the opportunity to sell themselves.¡±

    ¡°Second Uncle, that¡¯s what I thought as well,¡± Zheng Yi said. He had always attached great importance to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°By the way, I have a vacant house in the capital surrounded by merchants. You can give it to him,¡± Master Zheng said.

    Zheng Yi nodded.

    The better mansions in this capital would be impossible to buy without some ess, taking a mansion and giving it to Jiang Zhen was indeed good.

    They were expected to stay in the capital for a month or two this time, and Jiang Zhen really needed a ce to settle down.

    When Jiang Zhen went back to his room, Zhao Jinge had already eaten dinner but left some food for him. ¡°Jiang Zhen, Li¡¯s braised pork today is particrly delicious. I¡¯ve saved it for you.¡± After saying that, he added, ¡°This meat is rather fat, so I only ate two pieces.¡±

    Then he nced longingly at the bowl of meat on the table.

    Pieces of pork belly that were two fingers wide and three fingers long were braised in soy sauce and sugar, which was greasy and made people have a good appetite.

    When Jiang Zhen and Master Zheng had dinner together, they were very restrained, so he did not have enough to eat. Right then, he directly asked Ruo¡¯er to serve him a bowl of rice.

    In addition to braised pork, the rice on the table also included winter melon soup, cold tofu, and two stir-fried vegetarian dishes.

    Jiang Zhen took the rice and swept away all the dishes and even picked up thest piece of braised meat and took a bite.

 Chapter 92.2 - Living in the Capital

    Chapter 92.2 ¨C Living in the Capital

    Zhao Jinge could not help feeling a little lost, then his mouth was stuffed with a piece of roast pork with its fat bitten off.

    ¡°Go wash up and go to bed,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Hearing the word ¡°bed,¡± Zhao Jin¡¯s face turned red subconsciously.

    Since he married Jiang Zhen, the meaning of the word ¡°bed¡± no longer meant something as simple as sleeping.

    Jiang Zhen was refreshed and in a good mood the next day, and after Zheng Yi came to find him and gave him a mansion in the capital, he was in an even better mood.

    Unexpectedly, one day he was able to have a big house in the capital.

    ¡°The house is sorge that you can live there with all your men,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°As for those sailors you rescued on the way, why don¡¯t you leave them to me, and I¡¯ll arrange jobs for them.¡±

    So many people, it¡¯s not good to keep them idle . . .

    Jiang Zhen agreed.

    He let Zheng Yi¡¯s steward arrange those people and asked him if he could arrange work for the women and gers on the ship.

    He wanted to bring back all the sailors with him but asked the steward to arrange some work for them for the time being. For the women, they had suitable jobs for them in the Zheng family, so it was okay for them to stay there.

    The Zheng family was big and had a lot of avable work, but those women who wanted to stay needed to have some skill . . .

    Within two days, the men rescued from the pirates were all given jobs. There were about a hundred women and gers, but the Zheng family only asked for about thirty of them.

    If they sold them all, the Zheng family could get rid of as many of them as they wanted, but Jiang Zhen wanted them to be independent and have a job that could support them, which was a bit more troublesome. At the same time, many of those women and gers did not dare to follow the Zheng family.

    However, with thirty people less, the rest would be easier to arrange.

    It wasn¡¯t safe to keep these women and gers to continue living on the ship, so Jiang Zhen decided to bring these people to the capital and let them work in the mansion after making sure that the mansion the Zheng family gave him was big enough to amodate them.

    The pieces of ready-made garments these people had made before were quite good, and it was perfectly fine to let them continue doing this.

    ¡°Bring them to the capital as well?¡± Zhao Jinge was a bit displeased when he heard this n of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m too impatient to keep in touch with these people, so you will take care of them,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge immediately cheered up.

    When all the work was finished, Jiang Zhen and his group entered the capital.

    The house given to Jiang Zhen by the Zheng family was not a good one. There were no officials living around, but the ce was veryrge, and it had arge courtyard with three entrances.

    It was the first time that Zhao Jinge had seen such a big house. After looking around, he chose thergest and most luxurious house, which was the main house with the second entrance, for him and Jiang Zhen to reside in. Then he packed all those women into the third courtyard,monly known as the . . . backyard.

    There were a lot of houses in the backyard, and there wouldn¡¯t be a problem to fit in sixty or seventy women and gers there. Zhao Jinge assigned rooms to several of them and then told them that food or meat would be delivered so that they could not leave the yard.

    He was . . . going to keep all these people in the backyard.

    When Jiang Zhen learned this, he couldn¡¯t helpughing and saying, ¡°You should choose some older ones who are honest toe out to do some work.¡± The house was so big that they needed to arrange someone to clean it.

    ¡°Also . . .¡± With a blush, Zhao Jinge went to the backyard again and picked out some who were old or ugly and assigned them to the front yard to clean and cook.

    All the people who followed them from Hexi were brought here by Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen also selected some of the sailors to supplement them. They needed help with the cooking for so many people.

    Neither Liu Qianqian nor Zhao Lingxi left.

    They finally found a job they could do¡ªembroidery. But at the same time, they were worried that, if they were to follow the Zheng family, they would end up in some miserable situation.

    They wanted to climb up to a man for a better life, but they don¡¯t want to be ruined. If not for this, Liu Qianqian wouldn¡¯t have tried to ransom herself to pay back her debt to be free in the first ce.

    Although this Jiang Zhen did not understand amorous feelings, he was at least a decent man and would not harm them. It¡¯s just that, such a man, howe he didn¡¯t like them, but liked someone like Zhao Jinge?

    Whether it was Liu Qianqian or Zhao Lingxi, they were inevitably jealous of Zhao Jinge. Seeing Zhao Jinge tossing back and forth, at that moment, they couldn¡¯t help saying a few sour words.

    ¡°This is to let Master Jiang see a group of crooked melons and split dates every day?¡±

    ¡°Are you so jealous?¡±

    ¡°Even if you shut us up, there are still a lot of beauties out there!¡±

    . . .

    They didn¡¯t dare to say anything excessive, but they still said a lot of unpleasant things. But Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t take it seriously at all. These people were just jealous, why should he care about it?

    However, these people obviously did not give up on Jiang Zhen . . . He must be on guard and must not let Jiang Zhen be seduced by these people!

    After Zhao Jinge took the selected servant out, he locked the front door of the back courtyard with the key.

    There was a side door to the back courtyard. In the future, those people could go through the back door, but wouldn¡¯t be able toe from the front.

    Zhao Jinge did it very simply, but after finishing this task, he inevitably felt a little guilty. In the evening, he confessed to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. If you want to lock someone up, just do it.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and didn¡¯t take it seriously at all.

    Zhao Jinge breathed a sigh of relief. Since he was happy, he kissed Jiang Zhen on the face. And then he was eaten clean . . .

    Although Zhao Jinge was pregnant, he didn¡¯t understand why his pregnancy reaction was gone. His stomach had not grown, and it was impossible to see that he was actually with child. Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude towards him was also natural.

    After living in his own house for two days, Jiang Zhen asked someone to hire a carriage and then took Jinge out to visit the capital.

    Before, Jiang Zhen felt that a carriage was particrly bumpy and difficult to use, but the roads in the capital were paved with te and were rtively t, so using a carriage was not so bad.

    After a while, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge came to a nearby street that was very prosperous. Most of big families in the capital usually did note here to buy things, but merchants, and even some officials with little money, came here to buy everything.

    After paying the coachman, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge out of the carriage.

    There were shops on both sides of the street and the road was full of people. It looked very prosperous. It was the busiest street Jiang Zhen had ever seen since he came to ancient times, and this street, without exception, calmed Zhao Jinge down.

    Jiang Zhen also urged him as he slowly walked forward with him . . .

    Zhao Jinge looked at every new thing and Jiang Zhen walked slowly, apanying him. After walking for some time, they even ran into an acquaintance. That acquaintance was Shen Anxin, who had bought Jiang Zhen goods earlier.

    Shen Anxin was walking on the street with his little servant boy. When Zhao Jinge saw him, he was wondering whether to go up to say hello. But then he saw a richly dressed young maning out next to him and grabbed Shen Anxin¡¯s arm. ¡°Anxin, don¡¯t be so heartless . . . Let¡¯s make up.¡±

    The man came out so suddenly that Shen Anxin froze for a moment and then struggled. ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t know you!¡±

    ¡°Let go of my young master!¡± the boy next to Shen Anxin also shouted.

    However, the man only tightened his grip on Shen Anxin¡¯s hand. ¡°Anxin, we have been together for so long. How can you pretend that you don¡¯t know me?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know you! Let me go!¡± Shen Anxin was terrified. His strength couldn¡¯tpare to this man.

    ¡°You still pretend you don¡¯t know me! After finding a better man, you just want to kick me away?¡± the man said angrily, unexpectedly stretching out his hand to pull at Shen Anxin¡¯s clothes.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed.

 Chapter 93.1 - You owe me money

    Chapter 93.1 ¨C You owe me money

    Shen Anxin, who was entangled, attracted many people who stopped to watch, but no one went up to help him. The bystanders were just watching the hustle and bustle.

    On the one hand, things were developing fast, but on another, it was that man who took the lead, dered that Shen Anxin was his lover.

    Although the scar between Shen Anxin¡¯s brow was very light, if he were to stand together with Zhao Jinge, everyone could immediately point out he was a ger.

    A ger and man bickering and pulling in the street . . .

    Since it was the business of the young couple, people naturally wouldn¡¯t bother about it, and just watched the fun from the side.

    Shen Anxin¡¯s ce was next to a restaurant, and from the second floor window of the restaurant, a young man was looking at themotion below. Watching this scene and hearing Shen Anxin¡¯s cry, his eyes shed a glimmer of joy.

    Next to the man stood a fat middle-aged man who had wanted to buy Jiang Zhen¡¯s goods and ndered Shen Anxin after Jiang Zhen disagreed. It was the shopkeeper of Wanlong Merchant Firm.

    ¡°Young Master, isn¡¯t this not appropriate?¡± Shopkeeper Zhu asked, he knew that the master of the family always wanted the young master to marry Shen Anxin and take control of all the wealth of the Shen family.

    And now his young master was doing this . . .

    This would damage Shen Anxin¡¯s reputation, but it wasn¡¯t good for the young master either!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? I don¡¯t want to marry him!¡± Feng Chenglin, the young owner of Wanlong Merchant Firm said.

    He never liked Shen Anxin. He agreed to marry Shen Anxin because the Shen family was rich and had only a single child. If he were to marry Shen Anxin, the money of the Shen family would be his. But Shen Anxin had been insensitive and had rejected him several times, making him so angry; he no longer wanted to marry Shen Anxin at all.

    Since he no longer intended to marry him, he would just destroy Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin was a ger, so no suitable family was willing to marry their daughter to him. Now when he was found out to have a rtionship with a man on the street, it was even more impossible for him to marry a daughter from a good family. If his affairs were publicized, there would certainly be fewer and fewer people willing to do business with him.

    After the Shen family business copse, they would still be able to swallow up the Shen family little by little.

    Feng Chenglin waited for the next development of this farce when he found that the direction of the travesty had suddenly changed.

    What hadn¡¯t Jiang Zhen seen in the modern times? The man who suddenly came out to pull at Shen Anxin, he knew from just a nce he had nothing to do with Shen Anxin. On the contrary, his purpose was very clear¡ªit was to destroy Shen Anxin¡¯s reputation.

    This Shen Anxin, although he wanted to think of himself as a man, was still a ger at heart. He didn¡¯t have any strength to argue with this scene and cried as soon his clothes were torn.

    ¡°You bitch . . .¡± The man grabbed Shen Anxin clothes and was about to follow the advice of the man who gave him money to do it when he was suddenly seized from his cor.

    ¡°Mr. Zhang, I¡¯ve finally found you! When will you pay back the money you owe me?¡± As soon as Jiang Zhen grabbed the man, he asked viciously.

    When he spoke, he deliberately took on the ent of the capital. No matter where the people were, they would always have more confidence in what a local would say.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The punk, who was named ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± by Jiang Zhen, reached out to push Jiang Zhen away.

    ¡°You son of a bitch, you still want to do it?¡± Jiang Zhen said. Before he finished, he directly pped this man in the face. ¡°You still think owning money is not bad?¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s p was so heavy that the man¡¯s mouth started bleeding. The con man could no longer care about finding trouble for Shen Anxin. If he let go of Shen Anxin, he could fight with Jiang Zhen. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know who you are, Mr. Zhang. You still owe me money!¡± Jiang Zhen saw that he had let go of Shen Anxin so that he could no longer drag Shen Anxin into the fight or tear off Shen Anxin¡¯s clothes. Instead of grabbing him, Jiang Zhen gave him a push and kicked him again. ¡°You dare to owe me money. You really don¡¯t want to live!¡±

    The ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± was suddenly beaten up by Jiang Zhen, and he was powerless to fight back. He was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood, but just like when he was pestering Shen Anxin just then, everyone was just watching themotion. At that moment, people around him were still just watching.

    ¡°Who are you? What do you want to do¡ª¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± asked.

    And before he could finish, Zhen punched him in the mouth, making him swallow the second half of his words. At the same time, Jiang Zhen grabbed his belt and began to strip his clothes off.

    This man just went to pull at Shen Anxin¡¯s clothes, which was executed in a deliberately covert fashion. But Jiang Zhen was different. Jiang Zhen started to strip the clothes off the other man straightforwardly, not covering it up at all.

    ¡°What do you want!¡± the man eximed, clutching at his clothes, showing the same frightened expression as a little girl teased by a bully.

    People around him sympathized with him while others tried to dissuade Jiang Zhen from his act. But by that time, Jiang Zhen had already removed his clothes.

    ¡°Mr. Zhang, don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t recognize you just because you¡¯re wearing different clothes. So I have taken them off!¡± Jiang Zhen said coldly while throwing the apparel he had taken off to the ground.

    The people around thought it was so bad of Jiang Zhen to take off this person¡¯s clothes right on the street and even wanted to stop him. Had it been a hot day today when everyone would wear less clothes, then wouldn¡¯t the man be naked? What an eyesore!

    But after Jiang Zhen really stripped the person of his clothes, the crowd immediately ran out of things to say.

    This person who had been stripped of his outerwear by Jiang Zhen was actually wearing a neat set of clothes underneath.

    The coat that Jiang Zhen had stripped off was shiny and made of good material, but the clothes underneath were coarser and was not as good a material as Jiang Zhen was wearing.

    This man originally looked like a rich gentleman, but when you looked at him now, he was clearly a scoundrel.

    ¡°Where did you steal these clothes? Pretending to be rich again to cheat people?¡± Jiang Zhen gave the person another p.

    He just grabbed this person¡¯s cor when he found that this person¡¯s clothes were a little thick, and he knew that this person was probably wearing another set of clothes inside and wore this set to pester Shen Anxin. Then after stripping him of his clothes . . . it was as expected.

    ¡°This man¡¯s clothes seem to have been stolen!¡±

    ¡°What was he trying to do? ckmail?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really hateful if you don¡¯t pay back the money you owe!¡±

    The people around him now recognized that this man was a liar and sympathized with Jiang Zhen.

    As for Shen Anxin . . . looking at Shen Anxin¡¯s appearance of a rich young master and then taking a look at the bloodied face of the man lying on the ground, they also began to sympathize with Shen Anxin. How unlucky he was!

    A middle-aged woman even said, ¡°Young man, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, young man, are you all right?¡± Another person next to him asked.

    ¡°This man is really hateful. I don¡¯t know where he got this clothes and he still came out to ckmail people.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a good thing someone found out!¡±

 Chapter 93.2 - You owe me money

    <h4>Chapter 93.2 ¨C You owe me money</h4>

    As these people were talking, Shen Anxin, who had been in a state of shock, finally calmed down whileughing bitterly in his heart.

    Where did this person who ckmail people came from? This man wasing for him to hurt him!

    Shen Anxin was scared when he remembered what had just happened, and then he looked at Jiang Zhen gratefully. If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Zhen, he would have been made a huge fool of just now!

    Thinking of the miserable encounter he would have after letting this man have his way, Shen Anxin became more and more grateful to Jiang Zhen. For a moment, he felt that Jiang Zhen was good in every way, and his heartbeat became a little faster.

    His face also heated up, but as soon as he turned his gaze, he saw Zhao Jinge, who had a worried expression. Suddenly, a wave of bitterness arose from the bottom of his heart again.

    But at this time, his little servant boy was still chanting, ¡°Young Master, Young Master, that Jiang Zhen is so strong!¡±

    Seeing that Jiang Zhen was extremely concerned about Zhao Jinge before, the boy already had a good impression on Jiang Zhen, so now he was looking at Jiang Zhen with bright eyes.

    ¡°Rumo!¡± Shen Anxin called out to him.

    The little servant named Rumo stopped talking. He really liked Jiang Zhen, but he also knew that it was impossible for the two of them. He was just a boy, and in the future, he could only marry a steward of the Shen family. A big master like Jiang Zhen, he could only think about him in his heart.

    But . . . ncing at Zhao Jinge not far away, he was a little disgruntled. Why did Zhao Jinge marry so well?

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± At this time, the yamen who patrolled the street hurried over and saw Jiang Zhen, who was still holding the man down. They immediately frowned and surrounded Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen immediately let go.

    ¡°My lord, the one was beaten for his debt.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he did it first.¡±

    ¡°He tried to ckmail people before!¡±

    . . .

    At this time, people around him also helped Jiang Zhen speak.

    In the capital, there were so many yamen officers that people here were not as afraid of government officials as people in other ces. They were even less afraid of the magistrates, so they naturally dared to speak to the yamen officers in a generous manner.

    Those yamen officers rxed when they heard what the people around them said, saying to Jiang Zhen, ¡°Even if he owes you money, you can¡¯t hit people in the street, you know?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Excellency. I will put up with it in the future,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    But ¡°Mr. Zhang,¡± who had been beaten to the ground by him, said, ¡°My lord, I don¡¯t owe him money . . .¡± He didn¡¯t even know this guy!

    However, Jiang Zhen spoke loudly at this time, suppressing his voice, ¡°In fact, I am also worried. This man not only beats people up but also steals other people¡¯s money. Your Excellency, the money bag in his arms does not seem to be his.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± still wanted to yell that he did not steal the money when Jiang Zhen went to him and took the money bag from his arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s mine!¡± This ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± said in a hurry.

    ¡°How could it be yours? This exquisite purse probably belongs to this young master you tried to bully!¡± Jiang Zhen pointed to Shen Anxin.

    The purse taken from the arms of ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± was embroidered with flowers, which was very exquisite. It was indeed not something that could belong to ordinary ¡°Mr. Zhang.¡± However, Jiang Zhen also knew that this money bag should be his, and it was probably the reward given to him by the person who hired him.

    And now . . . this money will be used topensate Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin was not stupid. Hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he quickly responded and said, ¡°Yes, this is my money bag! I wondered why he just came up to me and started tugging. It was because he wanted to steal my money! ¡°

    When Jiang Zhen said this, it was to wash him clean. He knew that Jiang Zhen was a little straightforward, but he really didn¡¯t know that he had such a mind. Jiang Zhen was very considerate for him. Shen Anxin smiled at Jiang Zhen.

    After those yamen officers asked Shen Anxin about him and found out that he was the young master of the Shen family and he gave them a little money for their efforts, they arrested the money-stealing ¡°Mr. Zhang.¡±

    When he was taken away, he was still shouting, ¡°I¡¯m not called Mr. Zhang . . . I didn¡¯t steal the money . . .¡±

    However, he was pped by Jiang Zhen in the face a few times, making his voice really vague, and those yamen officers didn¡¯t bother to listen to his defense so no one took his words seriously.

    In the restaurant next to him, Feng Chenglin¡¯s face turned ck as he watched this scene. Then he looked at shopkeeper Zhu with an ugly face, scolding him: ¡°How do you work? Why did you find someone so unreliable?¡±

    ¡°This . . .¡± Shopkeeper Zhu recognized Jiang Zhen, so his expression was very tangled.

    ¡°How does this Mr. Zhang do things!¡± Feng Chenglin broke the teacup in his hand.

    ¡°Young Master, that person is not called Mr. Zhang,¡± Shopkeeper Zhu said.

    ¡°What is he called if he¡¯s not called Mr. Zhang? He was recognized!¡± Feng Chenglin was exasperated.

    ¡°The one who came up to beat him is that Jiang Zhen, who sold a lot of goods to Shen Anxin,¡± Shopkeeper Zhu said.

    Feng Chenglin¡¯s expression stiffened; he had thought that today was just his bag luck and the person he was was just too unreliable, but he didn¡¯t expect . . . It was that person Jiang Zhen who was against him?

    So the person he asked Shopkeeper Zhu to find was not named ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± and didn¡¯t owe him any money? This Jiang Zhen came out with this just to help Shen Anxin? Feng Chenglin¡¯s face darkened even more.

    When he saw Shen Anxin downstairsughing and talking to Jiang Zhen, he couldn¡¯t help but throw another cup of tea.

    After ¡°Mr. Zhang¡± was arrested, Jiang Zhen went to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Zhao was speechless. ¡°It¡¯s you. Are you all right?¡±

    There was blood on Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands! Zhao Jinge grabbed Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand worriedly and made sure that the blood was someone else before he became relieved. Then he looked at Jiang Zhen admiringly. ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are really good!¡±

    He didn¡¯t see that the man was lying at all, but Jiang Zhen could see it at a nce.

    ¡°That.¡± Jiang Zhen was a bit proud of himself, he also felt quite powerful . . . Thinking in this way, he subconsciously scratched at Zhao Jinge¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Master Jiang, Madame Jiang.¡± Shen Anxin walked over to Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge. ¡°This time, I would want to thank you very much for your help.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a piece of cake. It¡¯s nothing,¡± Jiang Zhen said, letting go of Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand.

    ¡°How could it be so easy? Master Jiang, you have given him punches and a kick.¡± Shen Anxin smiled, revealing two dimples. ¡°Master Jiang and Madam Jiang, may I invite you to dinner?¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯re going shopping,¡± Jiang Zhen refused. He and Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t even brought Wang Haisheng and the others because they wanted to spend time with each other without others, so why should they bring this Shen Anxin?

    ¡°What do you guys want to buy? I¡¯m familiar with the capital, so I can take you here?¡± Shen Anxin proposed again.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t want to buy anything. We just decided to look around. No need to lead the way,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Shen Anxin could see that, at this time, that Jiang Zhen did not wee him, so he took his leave.

    Jiang Zhen left with Zhao Jinge. Shen Anxin stood in the same ce, watching the two of them talking, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little disappointed.

    Since the death of his father, he couldn¡¯t depend on anyone, and life was hard. If someone could protect him . . .

    Shen Anxin quickly smiled bitterly again. His mother kept on urging him to marry. If it were not for his special situation that caused him to be unable to find a suitable woman, he would have his biological child long ago. How could he think about this? Shaking his head, Shen Anxin went back with Rumo.

    This time, it was mostly done by the people of the Wanlong Merchant Firm . . . He had endured many things before, but this time . . . he might need to visit some of his father¡¯s good friends?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about what Shen Anxin was going to do. After he left Shen Anxin, he took Zhao Jinge to a small restaurant for dinner.

    People in Hecheng County would also grow wheat in winter, so Zhao Jinge was familiar with noodles but not liked it, so Jiang Zhen asked for rice instead of noodles.

    As a result, as soon as the two of them had eaten a few mouthfuls, someone came over and said, ¡°Master Jiang, just now ¡­ hero saving the beauty . . .¡±

 Chapter 94.1 - The Ministry of Household

    Chapter 94.1 ¨C The Ministry of Household

    Just by listening to the tone of voice, they could tell that the visitor was unkind.

    Jiang Zhen raised his head and saw a fat young man in his twenties walking towards him

    The young man looked very pleasing, but when you looked at his expression of disgust and resentment, he naturally could not like him at all.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know this man, so when he heard this person¡¯s words, he immediately frowned.

    This fat man was Feng Chenglin. He originally spent money to buy people to y with Shen Anxin. But unexpectedly, he was interrupted by Jiang Zhen. Naturally, he was disgusted and angry with Jiang Zhen.

    After both Jiang Zhen and Shen Anxin left, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. In addition, he heard from shopkeeper Zhu that Jiang Zhen was a small businessman from the south of the Yangtze River with little background, so he came to find trouble with Jiang Zhen.

    It was true that their firm was not a big deal in the capital, but it was no problem to deal with a small merchant from somewhere.

    Even if he really couldn¡¯t do anything to him, he could still scare him. These people from other ces were always easy to frighten.

    Feng Chenglin looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s clothes and a trace of disdain shed in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know from which corner of the road you toad came from, that you jump around so happily without being afraid of being trampled to death.¡±

    Jiang Zhen cared about food, clothing, housing and transportation, but he didn¡¯t care about clothes. In modern times, when he was still in the army, he wore simr clothes with his hair down every day. After he was discharged from the army, he bought several sets of exactly the same clothes and pants. Because of this, he was once mistaken as a person who never changed clothes.

    In ancient times, he didn¡¯t care about his clothes even more. In addition, he didn¡¯t have the time to buy any good clothes after he made money not too long ago.

    What Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were wearing this time was made of fabric they got from the women and gers they rescued from the pirates.

    These are the best clothes Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had ever worn, and the fabric was no worse than the clothes they wore when they got married. But Feng Chenglin grew up in a rich family, so naturally, he didn¡¯t like this clothes with such ordinary fabric and loose stitches. He also looked down on Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge was very happy to eat, so when Feng Chenglin first came over, he didn¡¯t react. But the moment that Feng Chenglin was scolding Jiang Zhen . . . Zhao Jinge looked up angrily, and after noticing the disdain in the other person¡¯s eyes, he even stood up.

    However, at this time, Jiang Zhen pulled down one of his hand and then gave him a few pieces of ribs and some bamboo shoots.

    Zhao Jinge was puzzled, but he did not move.

    ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s time for us to go back.¡± Shopkeeper Zhu came panting at this time, trying to dissuade Feng Chenglin. Although he did not know Jiang Zhen, they paid attention to making money by being friendly when doing business, so there was no need to hold grudges with others.

    However, Feng Chenglin was not willing to let go.

    Although he didn¡¯t like Shen Anxin, but Shen Anxin had rejected him several times, so Shen Anxin smiling at Jiang Zhen made him very angry.

    ¡°Shen Anxin is just like a man, so there is not much to talk. But it is also true he is rich. Some money leaking between his fingers will make even a viin like you learn something.¡± Feng Chenglin added.

    ¡°The young owner of Wanlong Merchant Firm?¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at Shopkeeper Zhu and guessed the identity of the person in front of him. At the same time, he also felt that angry veins were popping up on Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, so he held him down.

    Jiang Zhen sighed lightly.

    At the beginning, when Shopkeeper Zhu became angry that he didn¡¯t sell his goods to him, he asked people to inquire about Wanlong¡¯s business. There were too many noble people in the capital, so he was worried that he would identally offend some nobles.

    ording to the information he found out, this Wanlong Merchant Firm was just a merchant who had done good business. There was no backing behind him, so he needn¡¯t be afraid that those people with important positions would do anything to him.

    And just when he thought he would no longer have contact with this Wanlong Merchant Firm, the young owner of Wanlong Merchant Firm unexpectedly came to trouble him.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen thought about it, Jiang Zhen just knew that the troubles Shen Anxin was entangled with before were probably done by this man before him.

    It was not enough for this man to pester Shen Anxin, now he even wanted to scold him? ¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Feng Chenglin replied, ¡°If you know the truth, you can now apologize to me, otherwise . . .¡±

    Feng Chenglin looked at Jiang Zhen with an expression full of threats. Several girls of the Feng family were married to officials; his own sister was even married to an official on the other side of the docks, so it couldn¡¯t be easier for him to mess with merchants from out of town.

    Feng Chenglin felt a little proud but soon the expression on his face and the pride in his eyes disappeared without a trace.

    Jiang Zhen stood up with a bowl of soup from the table . . . and then poured it on Feng Chenglin¡¯s head.

    This soup was winter melon soup with dried bamboo shoots and ribs. Jiang Zhen had already put all ribs and bamboo shoots that Zhao Jinge liked into his bowl, sso in the bowl what was left was only wax gourd that was not worth money even in Hexi as it was nted by almost every household there.

    Now, that wax gourd fell on Feng Chenglin¡¯s head, and the soup flowed down Feng Chenglin¡¯s face.

    A wax gourd slipped down Feng Chenglin¡¯s face, along his hair until it felt to the ground. Then Feng Chenglin finally came to his senses. ¡°You bastard! How dare you do this to me!¡± He had not been so insulted ever since he had grown up!

    ¡°What? Want to fight?¡± Jiang Zhen mmed the bowl on the table with a bang.

    Feng Chenglin expression immediately froze. He just saw Jiang Zhen beat ¡°Mr. Zhang,¡± who couldn¡¯t even fight back, so he knew that this man was not simple.

    It¡¯s just why Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t do things ording tomon sense? This was the capital, and a merchant from capital was right in front of you. Why aren¡¯t you sincere and fearful? How could he still act so arrogantly?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you fat pig came from, but I just wasted a bowl of soup because of you.¡± Jiang Zhen looked sadly at the soup bowl and then looked in disdain at Feng Chenglin.

    Originally, he didn¡¯t mind being told a few words. But even if he didn¡¯t care, Zhao Jinge cared. When this Feng Chenglin scolded him, Zhao Jinge looked so angry that he seemed to be about to stand up and hit people.

    It was not good for Zhao Jinge to make the first move, so he¡¯d better do it himself.

    ¡°Surnamed Jiang, the capital is not a ce where you can act bossy all you want. Just wait!¡± Feng Chenglin was enraged by Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude, but in the end, he could only endure it for now.

    He didn¡¯t bring any of his people with him this time. Jiang Zhen was not only strong himself but also had someone by his side who was simr looking . . .

    Afraid that he would suffer losses, Feng Chenglin scolded them before turning around to leave.

    All the people in this small restaurant were now looking at Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge. Jiang Zhen was oblivious to those gazes. Jiang Zhen turned a blind eye to those eyes and sat down, saying to Zhao Jinge, ¡°Eat quickly.¡±

    ¡°Oh . . .¡± Zhao Jinge nibbled on a piece of ribs in his bowl, taking two bites before looking at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Jiang Zhen, you were very handsome just now.¡±

    ¡°It was.¡± Jiang Zhen admitted without any hesitation and asked rhetorically, ¡°I¡¯m the most handsome, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Zhao Jinge stopped eating and subconsciously looked around. Finding that other people could not hear what Jiang Zhen said, he only then nodded.

    He thought Jiang Zhen was the most handsome!

    Jiang Zhen immediately burst intoughter.

 Chapter 94.2 - The Ministry of Household

    Chapter 94.2 ¨C The Ministry of Household

    Zhao Jinge began to nibble the ribs again, eating several pieces before raising his head and looking at Jiang Zhen: ¡°Jiang Zhen, why did he say Shen Anxin looked like a man just now?¡±

    After seeing Shen Anxin today, Zhao Jinge had a vague feeling that something was wrong. What this man just said, bought this feeling to a climax.

    ¡°Because Shen Anxin is a ger.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Ger?¡± Zhao Jinge was startled. Shen Anxin came to do business with Jiang Zhen. He was not next to Jiang Zhen when he was exposed by the shopkeeper Zhu, and no one mentioned it to himter so he did not know that Shen Anxin was actually a ger.

    ¡°Yes, he is ger. I forgot to tell you,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He had always had trouble dividing a ger from a woman. After Shen Anxin dug out his cinnabar mole and wanted to be a man, he wouldn¡¯t specifically tell anyone that he was actually a ger and not a man.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t take it seriously, but Zhao Jinge was shocked.

    Shen Anxin was actually a ger!

    No wonder he was acting so weird before!

    Zhao Jinge had a good impression of Shen Anxin, thinking that he was a very powerful and knowledgeable person. Now knowing he was actually a ger; he even admired him a little. But when he thought of what that man had just said, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little ufortable.

    However, he didn¡¯t think that a young master like Shen Anxin would try to steal Jiang Zhen from him. He also thought that Jiang Zhen had always been indifferent to Shen Anxin, so he quickly let it go.

    He had been with Jiang Zhen all the time, and he knew very well that Jiang Zhen had nothing to do with that Shen Anxin. Shen Anxin and Jiang Zhen just spoke a few times politely.

    But even so, Zhao Jinge subconsciously didn¡¯t want to mention Shen Anxin and only asked Jiang Zhen, ¡°Jiang Zhen, for what you did just now, will you be alright?¡±

    The young master who scolded them seemed to be very powerful . . .

    Jiang Zhen was a little worried; he was not familiar with the capital . . . More importantly, there was Zhao Jinge beside him, who was pregnant.

    If that Wanlong Merchant Firm dealt with them like how they dealt with Shen Anxin, they will find someone to deal with Zhao Jinge . . .

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s brows furrowed from just thinking about it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s buy something and pay a visit to the Zheng family,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After Jiang Zhen left the docks and moved to live in the city, Zheng Yi also moved to live in the Zheng family house.

    Two days ago, Zheng Yi even had someone approach him to ask him if he wanted to get to know some people.

    He felt it was troublesome at that time, so he declined. But thinking about it at the moment . . . getting to know some more people would be good for him, and getting closer to the Zheng family would also make others not dare to do anything to him.

    Jiang Zhen did so just after thinking of it so after eating, he took Zhao Jinge to buy something before going to the Zheng family house.

    When they arrived at the Zheng family, Jiang Zhen gave his name and said that he was looking for Zheng Yi. Soon he was taken into Zheng Yi¡¯s courtyard by a servant, but Zheng Yi was not there, and he needed to wait.

    Zheng Yi came back shortly after, and as soon as he saw Jiang Zhen, he smiled and said, ¡°I looked for you several times before, but you weren¡¯t there. Why did youe here today?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to trouble Young Master Zheng.¡± Jiang Zhen was straightforward and got straight to the point.

    Zheng Yi quite liked Jiang Zhen¡¯s directness; it was a good way to talk about things. Pulling a half-dozen friendships before asking him to do something would only displease him instead. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Jiang Zhen thought for a moment and then told the whole story.

    ¡°Wanlong Merchant Firm?¡± Zheng Yiughed when he heard those words.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng knows about them?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I know. Tomorrow, the principal person behind Wanlong Merchant Firm wille to the Zheng family.¡± Zheng Yi smiled again. ¡°Jiang Zhen, I asked you before if you wanted to get to know some people because the Ministry of Household will be making a big move soon.¡±

    Zheng Yi spoke slowly.

    It turned out that due to the increasing expenses of the royal family, the money was insufficient, so the Empress Dowager came up with a way to save money.

    That method was to appoint some imperial merchants. That is, giving some merchants a certain position and then letting them be responsible for purchasing certain items for the pce . . .

    For example, the pce needed a lot of silk every year. They would select the silk merchant and give him the name of imperial merchant so that he would be specifically responsible for this. The merchant naturally would be able to get some rights and buy different things for the imperial family, but naturally, the price could not be higher.

    The Empress Dowager had been thinking about this method for a long time and was nning to implement it soon. The person in charge of the Ministry of Household was currently Master Zheng of the Zheng family.

    Before, Jiang Zhen only knew that Master Zheng was a second-grade official, but he really didn¡¯t know that he was originally a minister from the Ministry of Household.

    However, even if Jiang Zhen did not know about this, he knew something about imperial merchants.

    Even if he hasn¡¯t read the original work of Dream of red chamber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber) he has seen the TV series. Wasn¡¯t the Xue family the Imperial Merchants?

    In the Qing Dynasty, being an imperial merchant was sure to make a person profit.

    Jiang Zhen heard of an imperial merchant, but didn¡¯t know much about it so naturally he kept his mouth shut and said nothing, saying only ¡°If Master Zheng can be an imperial merchant, he will definitely be able to get a lot of benefits.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already decided that I¡¯ll be an imperial merchant.¡± Zheng Yi was somewhat proud of himself: ¡°However, there are only a few chosen and some of others will be selected from the merchants. Tomorrow, the Zheng family will invite some merchants toe over. If you want, you toe and have a look, but you didn¡¯t seem to have any intention to do so and I didn¡¯t want to force you.¡±

    Zheng Yi wanted Jiang Zhen toe, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to. He thought that Jiang Zhen had not done any serious business, so he would not want to be an imperial merchant, so he didn¡¯t ask him.

    ¡°Wanlong Merchant Firm will alsoe?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They¡¯re on the list, but they¡¯re just a small merchant, so it¡¯s almost impossible for them to be imperial merchants,¡± Zheng Yi said and asked again ¡°Can youe tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Naturally,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation.

    At the same time in the Feng family.

    After a bowl of winter melon soup was poured on his head by Jiang Zhen, Feng Chenglin hurriedly went home. Then he found someone to prepare water and washed himself back and forth several times before he finally felt refreshed.

    ¡°Damn this Jiang Zhen. I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s good for it!¡± Feng Chenglin couldn¡¯t help but curse as he let the maid wipe his hair. He made up his mind to give Jiang Zhen some trouble.

    ¡°Who do you want to mess with?¡± a discontented voice sounded.

    Feng Chenglin looked up and saw his father, Feng Jingyuan,ing in from the outside.

    ¡°Dad . . . ,¡± Feng Chenglin called out.

    ¡°ording to Shopkeeper Zhu, you went to mess with Shen Anxin and another merchant today?¡± Feng Jingyuan asked.

    ¡°Dad, Shen Anxin is really hateful¡ª¡±

    ¡°No way! I told you to be nice to him and coax him into marrying you, but you have no patience at all. You are still ying with women outside, losing good food before it could reach your mouth. What did you do to offend him this time?¡± Feng Jingyuan interrupted his son.

    ¡°Dad, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of him!¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to be afraid; his father left him his connection after all. If you push him too hard, aren¡¯t you afraid he will kill you? Or send someone to beat you?¡± Feng Jingyuan said, ¡°Do you know how to stay on the front line of being a man? Even if you want to swallow the Shen family, you need to boil the frog in warm water!

    ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± Feng Chenglin said, when he thought about it he also felt he was a little reckless before.

    ¡°And this merchant out of town, if you go finding troubles with people, are you not afraid this people wille to find troubles with you?¡± Feng Jingyuan asked again.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any ability¡ª¡± Hearing his father mention Jiang Zhen, Feng Chenglin¡¯s eyes shed with disgust.

    Feng Jinyuan looked at his son coldly.

    ¡°Dad, I was wrong. I won¡¯t be so reckless next time.¡± Feng Chenglin began to apologize.

    When his son apologized, Feng Jingyuan¡¯s face softened. ¡°If he has no ability, we will deal with him in a few days. But now, we must be careful.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Feng Chenglin was puzzled.

    Feng Jingyuan exined, ¡°Your father went to countless ces to be an imperial merchant, and this is a critical moment. You can¡¯t make any trouble for me. You have to rein in no matter what.¡±

    As soon as the news came out that the Ministry of Household was going to choose imperial merchants, he started taking action. He already paid a lot, so he didn¡¯t want to get in any troubles at this time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad. I¡¯ll put up with it,¡± Feng Chenglin said.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. By the way, go to bed early today. We have to go to Zheng family house tomorrow,¡± Feng Jingyuan said.

 Chapter 95.1 - Feng Chenglin makes a fool of himself

    Chapter 95.1 ¨C Feng Chenglin makes a fool of himself

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by AhmedLuqmanZaidi and She

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge got an invitation from Zheng Yi, they left.

    Because they had stayed in the Zheng family for a long time, it was alreadyte when they returned to their residence. When they got off the Zheng family carriage, it was alreadyte. As they were about to enter the door, they heard Shen Anxin¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Master Jiang?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge turned around, they found that the passing carriage had stopped and a face emerged from the window, which was not Shen Anxin.

    ¡°Master Shen,¡± Jiang Zhen greeted Shen Anxin.

    ¡°What are you doing here? Were you looking for me?¡± Shen Anxin¡¯s eyes fell on Jiang Zhen, a corner of his mouth hooking up, making his whole person look as if he was glowing.

    After he separated from Jiang Zhen, he went to visit one of histe father¡¯s friends and received an opportunity, making him very happy. Unexpectedly, he met with Jiang Zhen again.

    Shen Anxin focused so much on Jiang Zhen, he subconsciously ignored Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge had never felt ufortable when he got along with Shen Anxin before, but this time, he felt that something was wrong.

    After taking a few steps towards Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge almost subconsciously took Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand.

    ¡°No. We live here.¡± Jiang Zhen pointed to his own house and held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. Not having the time to care for Shen Anxin.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly became so enthusiastic . . . He must have missed him.

    This street was full of merchant houses. The Shen family¡¯s house was four or five houses down the street. Jiang Zhen¡¯s men went there before, which was why Shen Anxin felt that Jiang Zhen was looking for him.

    Finding that Jiang Zhen did note here to find him but, in fact, lived here, Shen Anxin became embarrassed, but also surprised. ¡°Although this house has been taken care of, but no one has lived here before. It turned out to be Boss Jiang.¡±

    Jiang Zhen has a good temperament, but there are also some things he couldn¡¯t hide. For example, his rtively rough skin and his hands full of calluses and thin scars. A discerning man knew at nce that he must be used to doing rough work.

    Also, all his men knew the origin of his identity.

    Shen Anxin had asked about Jiang Zhen before. Although Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates praised him, they also revealed that Jiang Zhen was actually an ordinary farmer before.

    If that was the case, how did Jiang Zhen buy the house here?

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been many days since I got my hands on this mansion.¡± Shen Anxin was full of doubts, but Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t wait to leave. ¡°Young Master Shen, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s talk next time.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded to Shen Anxin and led Zhao Jinge into the house.

    Shen Anxin looked at his back and wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t want to just see him and Zhao Jinge hold hands together, which made him feel lost again.

    ¡°Young Master?¡± Rumo looked at Shen Anxin in concern.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± Shen Anxin said, feeling a little dejected as he went back into his carriage, no longer as happy as before.

    The carriage soon stopped in front of Shen house, and as soon as Shen Anxin got out of the carriage, a woman in her forties greeted him.

    Although the woman was in her forties, she was still slender and had wrinkles on her face had not damage her beauty.

    As soon as she saw Shen Anxin, she asked with concern. ¡°Anxin, how did it go?¡±

    ¡°Mother, I went to see Uncle Jin, and he said he would help me,¡± Shen Anxin said with a smile. ¡°Mother, there is a party held by the Ministry of Household tomorrow, and Uncle Jin said he would take me there.¡±

    By going there, he would be able to meet a few more people, and isn¡¯t it important to know more people when doing business?

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good . . .¡± Shen¡¯s mother hugged Shen Anxin and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to have someone to help you. Anxin, howe your life is so bitter . . .¡±

    Being hugged by his mother like this, Shen Anxin¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but redden.

    Shen¡¯s mother spoke to Shen Anxin with concern and said, ¡°Anxin, I heard that you were robbed of money on the street today?¡±

    ¡°Madam, how would someone try to steal young master¡¯s money? That person was just trying to hurt the young master!¡± Rumo chimed in and quickly told the whole story, then said, ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for Master Jiang, the young master would have suffered a great loss this time!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually so . . . Anxin, you need to thank Master Jiang properly.¡± Mother Shen, looked at her son and couldn¡¯t help shed some tears again. ¡°Anxin, my Anxin . . .¡±

    The mother and the son finally had to hug and then cry.

    Zhao Jinge quite admired Shen Anxin, but he didn¡¯t feel at all that Shen Anxin was having a hard time. After all, he was still the eldest young master and didn¡¯tck anything.

    Therefore, he didn¡¯t even think that Shen Anxin was crying at home right then. When he returned home with Jiang Zhen, he could not help but feel a little sour. Then he looked at Jiang Zhen.

    The more he looked at Jiang Zhen, the more he liked him. It was estimated that he would not be the only one who liked Jiang Zhen . . . that Shen Anxin, did he have thoughts about Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°Jinge, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and felt it up.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    He could never tell Jiang Zhen what he just found out! He didn¡¯t want Jiang Zhen to know what that Shen Anxin was thinking.

    Thinking like this, he even took the initiative to grab Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand and touch it a few times; the more he touched it, the more he liked it.

    Jiang Zhen was so touched that he wanted to take him directly to bed, but he was hungry . . .

    ¡°What would you like to eat tonight? What would you like to eat tomorrow morning?¡± After they went to their room after eating, he would let Zhao Jinge touch everything!

    ¡°Anything will do,¡± Zhao Jing said, not picky at all.

    Zhao Jinge really touched Jiang Zhen everywhere that night.

    Originally, he was afraid to touch Jiang Zhen, but this time, Jiang Zhen took his hand, asking him to touch him all over.

    Then he became more and more sure of one thing¡ªhe must not let Jiang Zhen be taken away by others.

    The next morning, Li prepared wonton and steamed buns for breakfast for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    The filling of wonton was pork mixed with white rice and chopped green vegetables, each with a thin skin and arge filling.

    As for steamed buns, they were not filled with pork. Half of them were filled with mixed tofu, and the other half are wrapped with vermicelli.

    In Hecheng County, there were only three kinds of steamed buns: pork, pickled vegetables and bean paste. For the first time, Zhao Jinge knew that tofu and vermicelli could also be used as filling in steamed buns. He felt it was very strange, but he still ate several of them in one sitting.

    Jiang Zhen also ate a lot of vegetarian buns. He was afraid that Zhao Jinge would gain weight if he eats too much meat, and the child would be too big to give birth to. He did not dare to give Zhao Jinge more meat so he didn¡¯t eat it either.

    After breakfast, they took Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng to the Zheng family house in the hired carriage.

    Of course, what the Zheng family used to entertain merchants was not the main house, but a courtyard nearby.

    The courtyard was built after the Zheng family developed and bought the neighbor¡¯s house. There were not many houses in it, but the scenery was excellent. There was no shortage of pavilions, terraces, and rockeries.

 Chapter 95.2 - Feng Chenglin makes a fool of himself

    Chapter 95.2 ¨C Feng Chenglin makes a fool of himself

    Jiang Zhen came quite early, but there were already a lot of merchants over there with many carriages parked in front of the gate of Zheng¡¯s house.

    The time had not yete, so the merchants who came early couldn¡¯t get in yet. They were left to gather in front of the door to chat.

    Perhaps it was because this side was too lively that it ended up attracting some people who were watching.

    All the merchants in the capital were rich, and those who coulde to the Zheng mansion were even richer. All the carriages they used were better than the others. However, Jiang Zhen¡¯s carriage was hired from the street and the clothes of the four people in Jiang¡¯s Zhen group were very ordinary.

    For a while, they drew the attention of all the merchants waiting at the entrance who then quickly looked away.

    They didn¡¯t know this person, and he dressed in such shabby clothes. He was either a spectator or a servant of some family.

    Jiang Zhen also knew that people liked good clothes and Buddha wanted golden clothes. However, he had not prepared, so he just came over, so as he was watched, he calmly moved to go inside.

    However, at that moment, Shen Anxin came out of the crowd. ¡°Master Jiang!¡±

    When Shen Anxin saw Jiang Zhen, he shouted first and then looked curiously at Jiang Zhen. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    He was waiting here for Uncle Jin, who promised to take him in, but he didn¡¯t expect to see Jiang Zhen here.

    Before Jiang Zhen could answer Shen Anxin¡¯s words, another acquaintance came.

    As soon as Feng Chenglin followed his father to the Zheng¡¯s residence, he saw Jiang Zhen and Shen Anxin standing together. This sight made his face turn very ugly; his fat face was covered by a haze.

    ¡°Shen Anxin, didn¡¯t your Shen family not even have a post? Just following others thanks to yourte father¡¯s kindness and bringing this kind of person?¡±

    Feng Chenglin squinted at Shen Anxin. When he and his father came over just then, someone told them that Shen Anxin had alsoe.

    ¡°Feng Chenglin!¡± Shen Anxin looked at Feng Chenglin angrily, bing a little embarrassed. He didn¡¯t know what Jiang Zhen would think of him after hearing this . . .

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression no longer looked good, and so, Feng Chenglin also spoke to him, ¡°Surnamed Jiang, you really have a lot of courage and know how to exploit others. But don¡¯t you know that only two people can enter with one post? It¡¯s useless for you to climb on him!¡±

    Feng Chenglin did not take Jiang Zhen seriously at all. His father got a list of the merchants who woulde this time and showed it to him before. He was sure that there was no such person as Jiang Zhen on it.

    Feng Jingyuan guessed the identity of Jiang Zhen when he saw his son¡¯s attitude.

    Is this the man who poured soup on his son¡¯s head?

    No matter how many times Feng Jingyuan said that he wanted to be friendly and make money, he was ruthless at heart; otherwise, he would never be able to grow his business so big. He looked at Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge, Wang Haisheng, and the others behind him and nced at Shen Anxin, who was flushed and who was feeling obviously wronged. His face sank.

    The Shen family had been taken as a money bag that was his for the taking . . . But who could someone snatch food from a tiger?

    ¡°Shen Anxin, is this man very happy to serve you? You think so highly of him?¡± Feng Chenglin looked at Shen Anxin again and whispered with malice.

    Shen Anxin blushed and was about to cry but was unable to say anything. Jiang Zhen suddenly took a step forward and grabbed Feng Chenglin by cor and lifted him up. ¡°Keep your mouth shut!¡±

    Shen Anxin didn¡¯t mean anything to Jiang Zhen. However, after being repeatedly linked to Shen Anxin, he became a little angry.

    Zhao Jinge was still here! What would he do if this person said something that Zhao Jinge would misunderstand?

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Feng Chenglin never thought that Jiang Zhen would dare to do it in a ce like this. He was immediately startled, and what frightened him even more . . . He couldn¡¯t believe he was so easily picked up!

    He was picked up!

    He had been fat since he was a child, and it was not easy for others to hold him, but at the moment, he had been lifted up!

    Before Feng Chenglin could regain his senses, the sound of clothing tearing could be heard.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± This man was so heavy!

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The steward of the Zheng family noticed the disturbance and came in a hurry.

    The cloth under Feng Chenglin¡¯s arm ripped. Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand was getting sore, so he put down Feng Chenglin then pulled his clothes for him and then looked at the steward. ¡°Nothing, I was just talking to Master Feng.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked calm as he said, ¡°Master Feng said he was heavy, so I told him he wasn¡¯t that heavy. After all, I could pick it up with one hand.¡±

    Several close by who could see previous conflict with their own eyes could not helpughing.

    Feng Jingyuan¡¯s face became extremely ugly. His son¡¯s disgrace and humiliation, this Jiang Zhen . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s Master Jiang.¡± Before waiting for Feng Jingyuan to say anything, the steward recognized Jiang Zhen. ¡°Our young master asked me to wait for you outside. Pleasee inside.¡±

    Before he came to the capital, Jiang Zhen himself was only a manager under Zheng Yi. In terms of his status, he was no better than this old supervisor, but now this old steward called him ¡°Master.¡±

    ¡°Just a moment.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at the steward and looked at Feng Chenglin before patting his soft face with his hand.

    Before Feng Chenglin, Jiang Zhen¡¯s face waspletely cold, and his voice was even colder. ¡°If you dare to talk nonsense again, see how I deal with you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s strength and steward saying ¡°Master¡± made Feng Chenglin unable to move; his whole body froze.

    ¡°Oh . . .¡± Jiang Zhen chuckled and let go of Feng Chenglin then pulled Zhao Jinge to follow the old steward. Soon, another person came out of the Zheng family house, helped the merchants outside to settle their carriages and then took those merchants inside.

    Many merchants went it, but Feng Jingyuan, Feng Chenglin, and Shen Anxin stayed in the same ce.

    Shen Anxin was shocked, but Feng Chenglin¡¯s face was already dull.

    Feng Jingyuan wanted to p his son at this time, but his son had already lost face and it was not good for them to do anything more shameful.

    He red at his son and looked at his son¡¯s torn clothes. Feng Jingyuan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°What are you doing standing there?¡± Why don¡¯t you go home quickly! ¡°

    He wanted to take his son in and introduce him to other people, but now it seemed impossible.

    Thinking in this way, Feng Jingyuan red at Shen Anxin and said without a smile. ¡°Young Master Shen is really capable . . .¡± That man, Jiang Zhen, unexpectedly knew the Zheng family. Did Shen Anxin find a supporter?

    Shen Anxin was still a little confused at the moment. He had a good opinion of Jiang Zhen before, but he always thought that Jiang Zhen¡¯s background was a little too low, but now . . . What was the origin of Jiang Zhen?

    Shen Anxin was at a loss when he saw his Uncle Jining.

    He reined in his mood and followed Uncle Jin as they entered the Zheng family mansion.

    By this time, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had met Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Yesterday, I forgot to tell you what you need to pay attention to when attending the party, and I didn¡¯t tell you to prepare better clothes. It was my negligence.¡± As soon as he saw Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi said with a smile. His mood was obviously very good.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zheng Yi strangely.

    Zheng Yi coughed lightly and said with a smile, ¡°The cards have been presented, and they liked them very much.¡±

 Chapter 96.1 - Come and play cards

    Chapter 96.1 ¨C Come and y cards

    When Zheng Yi went to the capital this time, he wanted to use the cards to win the empress dowager¡¯s favor. But he was not absolutely sure if it would work.

    If the empress dowager didn¡¯t like it, it would be his defeat; all the cards he prepared in advance would be useless.

    For this reason, Zheng Yi had been under a lot of pressure before. But at the moment, everything is finally over.

    As soon as Zheng Yi entered the capital, he told Master Zheng about the cards, but in the first few days, Master Zheng did not have a chance to show it. It was not until a few days ago when the empress dowager asked him to discuss some business that he could mention to the empress dowager that he had got a very interesting thing from the south of the Yangtze River.

    The Empress Dowager did not say anything at that time. It was only yesterday, when she sent people to find Lady Zheng and invited her to the pce, saying that Princess Ziyi was a little bored recently and was asked to bring some amusing things and apany her.

    Princess Ziyi, a young sister of the former emperor, because of her age difference with the former emperor, she was raised by him and the empress dowager. Now that she was old enough to choose her husband, she needed to start choosing her husband, which made her feel a little uneasy.

    The empress dowager could understand her, so she let people make something interesting for her to y. After entering the pce, the seconddy of the Zheng family apanied princess Ziyi and yed cards with her.

    In the pce, Princess Ziyi could y with a lot of things, but she was tired of building blocks and dolls.

    This Princess Ziyi was not very talented; she didn¡¯t like reading books, let alone ying with nine-linked rings. In the past, when she was bored, she could only do needlework, but now . . .

    Modern people have mobile phones andputers that they can use to learn about the world, but many people would still use it to y cards with people, which showed the charm of cards, not to mention people from these days.

    Nowadays, not to mention mobile phones andputers, even ying a little back and forth there was really too little entertainment . . .

    Princess Ziyi, to no one¡¯s surprise, was fascinated by the ying cards. She didn¡¯t even want to eat on that day.

    When the empress dowager heard that she was in high spirits, she came to see it herself. Then she saw the exquisite cards painted with plum orchids and bamboos, chrysanthemums and with the rather interesting ying method.

    Jiang Zhen provided several ways to y cards, and Zheng Yi gave them enough elegant names.

    For example, in the game of fighting thendlord, he checked many allusions and finally put a literary name to it.

    The first thing the empress dowager and Princess Ziyi learned was the game, fighting thendlord, and they both had a good time. They were so happy that Lady Zheng could not leave the pcest night, so she had to stay in the pce all night.

    Lady Zheng came back this morning, and as soon as she returned, she informed Master Zheng and Zheng Yi that the empress dowager was very fond of the cards and praised the ingenuity of the people who made them.

    This card was undoubtedly loved by the empress dowager. In this way, Zheng Yi was naturally in a good mood at this moment.

    So he let people wait outside for Jiang Zhen to ask Jiang Zhen toe over to exin some precautions, and preparing clothes for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge was something he already ordered yesterday,

    The clothes for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were quickly delivered by the servant; they weren¡¯t shy, but the fabric was extremely good and fitted well.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge changed their clothes, Zheng Yi exined a few things.

    Given that the invitees this time were all merchants, there weren¡¯t many things to be aware of, so after Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge took note of it one by one, someone came to inform them that the merchants, basically, were all here.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go too,¡± Zheng Yi said, leading Jiang Zhen towards the courtyard where those merchants were.

    All of those merchants didn¡¯t know Jiang Zhen, but most of them knew Zheng Yi.

    Many years ago, the Zheng family had been doing business in the capital and in Hecheng Country. After the second master of the Zheng was admitted into the government after taking the imperial examination, they became prosperous, and their business got bigger and bigger . . .

    Seeing Zheng Yi, these people came forward to speak one after another, then their eyesnded on Jiang Zhen, who was beside Zheng Yi.

    This Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi seemed to be extremely close, could it be . . . that he was a big merchant from the south of the Yangtze River?

    This time, the Ministry of Household was looking for an imperial merchant, but the number of positions were not too many. Suddenly, a newpetitor popped out . . .

    These people were a little worried, but when they faced Jiang Zhen, they all showed a smile; this was even so for Feng Jingyuan. No matter howplicated the emotions in his heart was, he was smiling at this time.

    Jiang Zhen always had a faint smile on his face. He smiled and talked to the people present, speaking in very smooth and pure Mandarin.

    It¡¯s easy to notice that he was different from those pampered people by the way he dressed. Seeing that he had extraordinary bearing, people began to specte about his origins.

    As for his skin, it looks weather-beaten at first nce . . . There are many sea merchants in the south of the Yangtze River who went out to sea to do business. They were all weather-beaten.

    This man . . . was he a sea merchant?

    Everyone talked one after another, raising all kinds of spections about Jiang Zhen. Whilemunicating with these people, Jiang Zhen had been paying close attention to Zhao Jinge.

    Such a scene, he could not adapt to it. He was worried that Zhao Jinge would not be able to cope with it.

    Zhao Jinge really couldn¡¯t handle it. After he came here, he felt at a loss and didn¡¯t know where to put his hands or feet.

    But thinking that he could not let Jiang Zhen lose face, he stood straight, stretching out his chest and tucking in his stomach.

    Thanks to the training Jiang Zhen had been giving him to stand in a military pose, he was so upright and imposing that no one dared to belittle him.

    Jiang Zhen was suddenly put at ease.

    Zheng Yi, however, looked at Zhao Jinge in surprise. This Zhao Jinge like Jiang Zhen was somewhat different. When they came to this ce, he was also worried that Zhao Jinge would lose face. He even told the servant to watch over him but as it happened . . . Zhao Jinge actually behaved very well.

    After Zheng Yi found out that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t need their help, hepletely put his mind at ease and went on to do his own business.

    Jiang Zhen, on the other hand, took Zhao Jinge to the corner after talking with people. He didn¡¯t intend to fight for the position of imperial merchant, and as such, why bother socializing with people all the time?

    He might as well take Zhao Jinge to the nearby pavilion to eat some fruits.

    Hexi was located in the south of the Yangtze River, the fruits that could be seen were quite a lot¡ªpeaches, apricots, loquat, persimmons. There were fruits in the vige, but there are many more fruits that Zhao Jinge has never seen before.

    Even the oranges and apples, he had never seen before . . . After all, no one in Hecheng County nted them.

    After Jiang Zhen brought him to the pavilion, he looked curiously at the various fruits on the table.

    ¡°Taste it.¡± Jiang Zhen took an orange and peeled it for him.

    ¡°Is this edible?¡± Zhao Jinge was a little worried.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they put it here for people to eat?¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile.

    It was only after hearing Jiang Zhen say so that Zhao Jinge ate the orange.

    The orange was a bit sour, but it fit his current tastes . . . Zhao Jinge¡¯s eyes brightened.

 Chapter 96.2 - Come and play cards

    Chapter 96.2 ¨C Come and y cards

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by Azi, Shelia, and Anonymous donator.

    ¡°Master Jiang.¡± At this time, Shen Anxin also came over. He smiled towards Jiang Zhen and started to thank him. ¡°Master Jiang, thank you for before. If it wasn¡¯t for you, my reputation . . .¡±

    Feng Chenglin said that in public. Although it had some impact on Jiang Zhen, it wasn¡¯t big. But it would definitely make him unable to face people in the future.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. He was also talking about me that way,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°I still need to thank you, if it wasn¡¯t for Master Jiang, I would have been miserable,¡± Shen Anxin said again; his gaze that fell on Jiang Zhen had even more degree of affection in it.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Shen Anxin acting like this and suddenly felt that the oranges in his mouth were a bit too sour, not tasty at all. At the same time, he also felt a surge of panic.

    Shen Anxin was really much better than him. Compared to He Qiusheng, he could at least work and earn money, andpared to Liu Qianqin and Zhao Lingxiao, his reputation was clean. But what about Shen Anxin? Shen Anxin was rich, educated, and better looking than him . . .

    ¡°In public, he can¡¯t do anything,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°But it still would make me look bad.¡± Shen Anxin looked at Jiang Zhen and lowered his head, a blush on his face.

    ¡°If you want to be a man, don¡¯t be so squirmy,¡± Jiang Zhen, after seeing this appearance of Shen Anxin, reminded him.

    Although Shen Anxin¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t feminine, his personality was somewhat sticky. He was different from Zhao Jinge in the end.

    When Zhao Jinge¡¯s engagement was broken, he was only twelve or thirteen years old and was not as tall as today. When Zhao Fugui took him out to work for someone, he did not hesitate to pull up his trousers and clothes to nt rice seedlings in the paddy field . . .

    At that time, there were idle men in the vige who were teasing him, and boys of the same age who said that he would never be able to marry if he showed his body to others. But didn¡¯t he still work as usual?

    Zhao Jinge always thought he should get married and when he was in trouble, he stuck to it. This Shen Anxin . . . couldn¡¯t he be a bit tougher? If someone yelled something, couldn¡¯t he scold back?

    He was so weak and intent on feeling sorry for himself but still concerned about his reputation . . . It¡¯s no wonder the Feng family didn¡¯t take him seriously and coveted his family fortune. In fact, if he was more open-minded, not to mention that he was a ger, even if he was a woman, no one would dare to bully him.

    Jiang Zhen also knew that Shen Anxin¡¯s character was like this, and it couldn¡¯t be changed, but he still kindly reminded him.

    Shen Anxin¡¯s eyes reddened as he spoke. It would be nice if he was really a man, but he wasn¡¯t; he was a ger. He tried to behave like a man before, but now he just wanted to be someone¡¯s beloved ger. ¡°I know . . . I will change . . .¡±

    ¡°Jinge, do you want to go there to observe the fishes?¡± When Jiang Zhen saw him like this, he became more and more unsure of what to say to him, so he just wanted to leave quickly.

    Zhao Jinge nodded in a hurry; he was eager to take Jiang Zhen away from Shen Anxin.

    Jiang Zhen smiled and was about to take Zhao Jinge to the pond. But at this time, Shen Anxin took a few steps forward and was about to pull on Jiang Zhen¡¯s clothes. ¡°Master Jiang, wait.¡±

    Jiang Zhen subconsciously avoided Shen Anxin and frowned. ¡°Young Master Shen, don¡¯t do such misleading actions in the future. My wife will be unhappy.¡±

    This action of Shen Anxin . . .

    Any more and people would really start to think he had something with Shen Anxin!

    Zhao Jinge should also be jealous, he might not even let sleep in the bed . . . Thinking like this, Jiang Zhen immediately looked at Zhao Jinge.

    At this time, Zhao Jinge felt that orange in his mouth was sweet. Jiang Zhen¡¯s words made him very happy.

    As for Jiang Zhen¡¯s worries . . . he worried too much. Zhao Jinge was now thinking that he should serve Jiang Zhen well, so Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t have the strength to look for someone else.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge happily went to watch the fish, leaving Shen Anxin standing in the same ce, feeling somehow depressed.

    When Feng Chenglin said dirty words to him earlier and Jiang Zhen stood up to him, he couldn¡¯t restrain his heart from beating violently. He knew that he liked Jiang Zhen.

    Although they were not possible, it was fine to just say a few words to Jiang Zhen . . . However, Jiang Zhen did not have him in his eyes.

    Shen Anxin couldn¡¯t say what he was feeling in his heart for a while; he felt sour and bitter.

    This time, Jiang Zhen was just here to go through the motions. He got to know some people and let some people get to know him, but he didn¡¯t fight for that imperial merchant position.

    After discovering this, those merchants became even more enthusiastic towards him.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge stayed in the Zheng family house for a long time. When they left, they didn¡¯t go out for several days, patronizing the training of his men at home.

    These days, the capital was very lively.

    Firstly, because the Ministry of Household Affairs had selected some royal merchants and, secondly, because a new thing hade out from the pce.

    That new thing was called Gentlemen¡¯s Cards because the pattern of the card inside was derived from ¡°plum, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums.¡±

    There were many ways to y, and it was the best way to pass the time. For a while, almost all the upper-ss people in the capital were talking about it.

    Zheng Yi asked the painter to draw a pair of exquisite cards, which were finished in a short time. Meanwhile, the cards in the Zheng family shops also sold very well.

    Sometimes, the easiest thing to circte was something used for ying.

    For a while, almost everyone in the capital was talking about the cards. But when the Ministry of Household Affairs decided on the matter of imperial merchants, not many people paid much attention to it.

    When Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to a nearby shop to buy pen, ink, paper, and ink stone, he heard someone asking if there were any cards for sale in the shop.

    ¡°For now, only the shops of the Zheng family can sell the cards,¡± the shopkeeper who packed things that Jiang Zhen bought answered.

    ¡°So . . . ,¡± the man said, ¡°there is no Zheng family shop nearby, you will need to go to a farther location.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to a teahouse to listen to people telling stories . . .

    The storyteller in the teahouse, who was usually rewarded by talking about books, was actually exining how the cards could be yed. He was surrounded by many people who were listening to him in rapt attention.

    Even when Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge for dinner, there were people ying cards next to them.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± The poprity was higher than he expected . . .

    No wonder the Zheng family would specifically send him a carriage . . . Unfortunately, underneath his hands, there was not even a single person who could drive a carriage.

    In ancient times, where were the very rich and idle people? Without a doubt, they were in the capital.

    It had been three hundred years since the Qi Dynasty had been established, and the number of noble sons and daughters in the capital was increasing every year. Not all of them were promising, so many of them just hung around all day long. However, they were the people who epted the cards the fastest and poprized them in a very short period of time. For a while, many of them stopped wandering around and stayed at home to y cards every day.

    ¡°When we go back, let¡¯s y cards too.¡± On his way back with his pen, ink, and paper, Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen, puzzled. Didn¡¯t Jiang Zhen always say that those who yed around would lose their ambitions, so why did he bring up ying the cards? Of course, he wasn¡¯t very fond of it himself.

    He was no match for Jiang Zhen in every way right now, and he was more willing to learn and practice Chinese characters than ying cards.

    ¡°Whoever loses at that time will take off a piece of his clothes,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face suddenly turned red; he had the feeling of ¡°so it was like this¡± again. Jiang Zhen looked so decent, but he was not serious! And he. . . he even yearned for it.

 Chapter 97.1 - Getting Ready To Leave

    Chapter 97.1 ¨C Getting Ready To Leave

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went home, they couldn¡¯t y cards immediately. They were stopped by Feng Jingyuan and Feng Chenglin, who were at the door of their house.

    In fact, Feng Jingyuan wanted for a long time to find Jiang Zhen and apologize to him, but he could not find him anywhere.

    He went to the dock to inquire about Jiang Zhen and learned that Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi came together from the south of the Yangtze River and he lived in the Zheng family house for a while. After teaching his son a lesson, he began to look for Jiang Zhen, but only found Jiang Zhen¡¯s house that day. He immediately brought his son toe with him. After knocking on the door, he was told that Jiang Zhen was not at home, so he waited near the door.

    Jiang Zhen made a fool of Feng Chenglin twice in a row, so he didn¡¯t want toe here. But after being forced by his father, he still came and he even had to squeeze a smile on his fat face.

    The father and son were both a bit fat, so two chubby people were standing at the entrance of Jiang Zhen¡¯s house were like two door guard gods with the same smile on their face.

    ¡°Master Jiang, I am sorry. I am really sorry. My son was too reckless before and spoke disrespectfully to Master Jiang several times . . . Master Jiang, I¡¯ve brought him here to make amends,¡± Feng Jingyuan said with a smile and pointed to the things held by two servants beside him. ¡°A small gesture of my respect.¡±

    Jiang Zhen had to go to the Zheng family banquet in order not to let the Feng family trouble him. But he didn¡¯t expect that, because of this, the Feng family woulde to apologize to him and send him gifts.

    ¡°Master Jiang, this time, it¡¯s all my son¡¯s fault, so please be generous . . . ,¡± Feng Jingyuan said again, his posture very low.

    He came to apologize, so naturally, he should show sincerity. And . . . after his apology was done, he became acquainted with Jiang Zhen. He might even be able to get a bit of news about the Zheng family from Jiang Zhen . . .

    At first, Feng Jingyuan also thought that this Jiang Zhen wanted to marry Shen Anxin, so he could take over the Shen family property. However, after seeing that Jiang Zhen was valued by Zheng Yi and he had not much contact with Shen Anxin, he realized he was wrong.

    Since that was the case . . . if he had good talk with Jiang Zhen, the two sides might even be able to establish a rtionship.

    ¡°I see,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°I won¡¯t bother to care about that.¡±

    Feng Jingyuan was overjoyed. ¡°Master Jiang, I set up a banquet at the Heavenly Fragrance House¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take this gift, and I won¡¯t bother you or your son as long as he doesn¡¯t mess with me in the future!¡± Jiang Zhen interrupted the other party¡¯s words.

    Since the gifts were already delivered to his door, Jiang Zhen certainly won¡¯t refuse to ept them. But for a banquet and such, let¡¯s forget about it.

    ¡°Somebody, move the stuff in,¡± Jiang Zhen shouted towards his own house and said loudly, ¡°He Chunsheng,e and see the guests off.¡± There weren¡¯t many smart people under his hand, so He Chunsheng was considered ranked pretty high among them.

    Feng Jingyuan was still thinking about pulling strings with Jiang Zhen. But who would have thought that Jiang Zhen would be so sharp and didn¡¯t even let him say a word? He was stunned for a moment.

    At the same time, the door of the mansion that he had knocked on for a long time without reaction opened. Dozens of strong men came rushing out of the house.

    Feng Jinyuan¡¯s heart jumped, and he subconsciously took a step back. Feng Chenglin even hid behind his father.

    So many people came out of the mansion all at once! This Jiang Zhen has called so many people out, is he going to beat them?

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re back!¡±

    ¡°Boss, what should we move?¡±

    ¡°Boss . . .¡±

    . . .

    Those people gathered around Jiang Zhen and talked nonstop.

    ¡°Just those things.¡± Jiang Zhen pointed to the things that the two servants of the Feng family were holding.

    As soon as he finished speaking, someone snatched the things from the Feng servants¡¯ hands.

    Meanwhile, He Chunsheng also came out. With a nce, he saw Feng Jinyuan and Feng Chenglin; he naturally knew who Jiang Zhen wanted him to see off.

    He Chunsheng was indeed quite smart and rtively clever, but he had never served as a servant before. He had no idea how the servants of other families would send their guests off. He was even training before, so his clothes were unbuttoned.

    He Chunsheng, whose clothes were unkempt revealing a lean body full of muscles, arrived in front of Feng Jinyuan and his son, saying, ¡°Master Feng, Young Master Feng, I¡¯m here to see you off!¡±

    Feng Jingyuan: ¡°. . .¡± This person looked . . . like he was going to beat them up if they didn¡¯t want to leave!

    In business, who didn¡¯t nder a person behind their back but still put on a smiling face in front of that person? What the hell was wrong with these people?

    Feng Jingyuan still wanted to talk with Jiang Zhen; however, Jiang Zhen was surrounded by a group of men and had already gone inside. But the voices of his men was still drifting out.

    ¡°Boss, this is all there was. No need to have two people carry it . . .¡±

    ¡°Boss, who are those two? Why did theye to give gifts?¡±

    ¡°They waited for a while.¡±

    . . .

    ¡°Irrelevant people,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Feng Jingyuan could only take Feng Chenglin to leave in the end. After a few steps, he grabbed his son¡¯s hand and twisted the flesh on it. ¡°You loser!¡±

    Feng Chenglin was in great pain, but he did not dare to utter a word. Instead, he asked worriedly, ¡° Dad, what does Jiang Zhen mean by that?¡±

    ¡°He wants to keep well water out of the river.¡± Feng Jingyuan said, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t provoked him before, he probably wouldn¡¯t even bother to pay attention to you!¡±

    Feng Chenglin was also feeling regretful at that moment. What was he doing provoking Jiang Zhen? In the end, he didn¡¯t gain anything good from it . . .

    ¡°Although he doesn¡¯t care, the Zheng family must have had a bad impression of our Wanlong Merchant Firm.¡± Feng Jingyuan frowned, he had wanted Jiang Zhen to put in a good word for him, but it seemed . . .

    Feng Jingyuan left with Feng Chenglin feeling depressed, but Jiang Zhen checked the gift he received.

    There were many kinds of gifts, all of which were valuable, including ginseng, deer antler, and other rare medicinal materials that Jiang Zhen did not know. There were also several kinds of jewelry and ten gold ingots.

    This apology gift could be considered very heavy.

    Looking at these gifts, Jiang Zhen was inevitably moved. He had already sold all the goods he had on hand, so he had more than hundred thousand taels of silver in his hand.

    He was going to use this silver to buy goods to sell in the south of the Yangtze River. But he never thought about what kinds of goods he should take to the south of the Yangtze River. However, now that he saw these things, he had an idea. He could buy some of these furs he thought about before, as well as some herbs, spices, and jewelry. Although these things were expensive and one hundred thousand taels of silver might not be able to buy much. These goods could be sold at great price in the south of the Yangtze River. They could definitely make a lot of money when they were resold.

    After Jiang Zhen thought about what to buy, he went to the treasury of the mansion and calcted his own property. After thinking about it, he simply called all his subordinates and gave them their silver rewards.

    Previously, when he fought in that pirate¡¯s nest, Jiang Zhen gave fifty taels of silver to each person who went with him. However, those who were injured couldn¡¯t go with him, so he supplemented them with a bit of the silver Zheng Yi had given to the injured, except there were people who had silver in their hands, so this time, Jiang Zhen give them their wages and a part of the reward.

    ¡°Tomorrow, you can go shopping in the capital and buy something to bring home, but there is one thing you must pay attention to. You must not make trouble for me,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates all responded, even Liu Heitou, who had been dissatisfied with Jiang Zhen before bing very obedient.

    In the beginning, he was displeased with Jiang Zhen and didn¡¯t miss any chance to provoke him. But as Jiang Zhen became more and more powerful and the gap between them widened, he stopped looking for trouble with Jiang Zhen. He even quickly adapted to the identity of Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinate and worked just as diligently as the others.

    When Liu Heitou used to be a thug in Qiaotou vige, he lived a good life and had a lot of money. But in the end, he was just an ordinary person who had never even left the countryside, but now? He came to the capital and even fought pirates on the way! He felt that his life had be meaningful.

    After being robbed and beaten by Jiang Zhen, Liu Heitiu resigned himself to his fate. But after three months he was actually bing more and more satisfied with his current life and was nning to make a career under Jiang Zhen.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like Liu Heitou, but this person was now very obedient, so he naturally didn¡¯t want to lecture him.

    This time, Jiang Zhen gave each of these people about 50 taels of silver, some of them received more, some less. But this silver was enough for these people to buy a lot of things in the capital and bring them back.

    After being so busy and eating dinner it already becamepletely dark.

    No matter whether it was Zhao Jinge or Jiang Zhen, they had been reading and practicing calligraphy every day all this time.

    Jiang Zhen was now able to read books with traditional characters; however, he still often made mistakes when writing it. As for Zhao Jinge, he already learned hundreds of characters. At this moment, although it was dark, Jiang Zhen still took out the books and taught Zhao Jinge a few characters and then they practiced together.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen and was slightly disappointed. Jiang Zhen seemed to have forgotten what he had said before . . . However, although he was slightly disappointed, Zhao Jinge quickly practiced seriously.

 Chapter 97.2 - Getting Ready To Leave

    Chapter 97.2 ¨C Getting Ready To Leave

    He has always been quick to focus when doing things, so when he began to learn he had forgotten about everything around him until Jiang Zhen took away his brush. ¡°It¡¯ste.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zhao Jinge put down his brush and nned to go to bed. However, Jiang Zhen took out a deck of cards. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s y cards.¡±

    Zhao Jinge suddenly blushed.

    In the next few days, Jiang Zhen¡¯s men went to visit the capital in batches and bought a lot of things. There were even several people who were cheated out of their money. But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about any of this. He hadn¡¯t been going out and was either at home reading or teasing Zhao Jinge. Living leisurely but very fulfilling life.

    Near his mansion, however, in the Shen family house, Shen Anxin had been having trouble sleeping and eating. He knew that he and Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t end up together, but he couldn¡¯t help thinking about Jiang Zhen all the time.

    Jiang Zhen was so good to Zhao Jinge. If he were the one who married him . . . He was better than Zhao Jinge in every way, so Jiang Zhen would definitely treat him even better.

    In just a few days, Shen Anxin had be haggard.

    ¡°Young Master, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Rumo asked curiously.

    Shen Anxin looked at Rumo, feeling a little confused. His little servant also liked Jiang Zhen and even talked about it bluntly, but he was having a hard time. This person could not see anything at all.

    ¡°Nothing, Rumo. Let¡¯s go out for a walk,¡± Shen Anxin said.

    Shen Anxin didn¡¯t allow them to prepare the carriage for him as he walked out of the house with Rumo and then headed to Jiang Zhen¡¯s mansion.

    When he arrived near Jiang Zhen mansion, his speed involuntarily slowed down, and it took him a long time to walk past the entrance of that mansion. But even then, he never saw Jiang Zhen.

    Somewhat lost, Shen Anxin continued to walk forward, and after a while, he turned into an alley and finally turned to the back street of the house.

    ¡°Master, why did youe here?¡± Rumo was a little puzzled. There are streets around the houses in the capital. The street in front of them was very spacious while the street behind was very narrow. Sometimes, there could be even a weird smell if someone poured out the swill.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been here before, so I¡¯m just walking around,¡± Shen Anxin said.

    After walking a few steps, he looked towards the back door of a mansion. It was Jiang Zhen¡¯s mansion.

    Shen Anxin couldn¡¯t stay at the front gate of the house, but he could stay a little longer at the back door of a mansion.

    Rumo was still a little confused, but seeing Shen Anxin¡¯s behavior, he came back to his senses. ¡°Young Master . . .¡±

    His young master was going to get married and have children. How could he, how could he . . .

    ¡°I¡¯m just taking a look,¡± Shen Anxin said. His mother was already talking with him about the marriage, so he was just looking.

    After standing for a while, Shen Anxin was about to leave. But at that moment, the backyard door of Jiang Zhen mansion opened and a number of people came out from inside.

    Among these people, the leaders were Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi.

    These two followed the leaders of pirates before and had a bit of status. Although they adored weakness, loved easy-going life and hated hard work, they were not vicious. They even took care of other women and gers. In addition, they could read and had some knowledge. Many of the women and gers who Jiang Zhen rescued listened to them.

    Of course, there are also those who didn¡¯t like them.

    After Zhao Jinge locked all these people in the backyard and locked the door leading to the front yard, Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were a bit angry at first butter epted the reality.

    In fact, they also knew that Jiang Zhen would nevere to see them . . .

    After letting go of their initial thoughts no longer wanting to be concubines of Jiang Zhen, they started living peacefully in the backyard.

    Although Zhao Jinge locked them up, he didn¡¯t treat them badly. He would even bring them anything they wanted to eat if they asked. Later, Liu Qianqian, after gaining an inch, began to ask Zhao Jinge for rouge powder.

    This time, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t give it to them but told them that they could go out and buy it for themselves.

    There¡¯s a reason why Zhao Jinge said that.

    After Jiang Zhen saved these women and gers, he didn¡¯t take away their jewelry and silver, so they were actually pretty rich.

    Before, he provided them with food because they worked for it. But now that they wanted rouge powder . . . they should pay for it themselves. Anyway he won¡¯t give it.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi just wanted to see his reaction, so they weren¡¯t surprised to get such a reply, so afterining about Zhao Jinge¡¯s stinginess, they really went out to buy it by themselves.

    Today, it was the second time they went out.

    These who wanted to go out and buy some rouge powder were naturally young. So when they went out this time, there were dozens or so beautiful women and gers led by Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi.

    Because they were going out shopping, they all put their best clothes and jewelry. They even dressed up by putting rouge on their lips, making them more beautiful than flowers.

    They came out chattering from the back door and met Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin looked at the house and then looked at these people again. He became a little confused. How could there be so many women in Jiang Zhen¡¯s house?

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Shen Anxin stopped those people. ¡°You came out of this house . . . What is your rtionship with Jiang Zhen?¡± Why are these people living in Jiang Zhen¡¯s backyard? That¡¯s the backyard!

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t notice that Shen Anxin was actually a ger, but Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi eyes were much better than his, especially after seeing a ger like Zhao Jinge.

    They sized up Shen Anxin and could tell that he was a ger and could also see from his demeanor that he was interested in Jiang Zhen.

    With a twinkle in her eyes, Liu Qianqian said, ¡°What could our rtionship be with Master Jiang when wee out of this backyard?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re just asking, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zhao Lingxi also said.

    ¡°You and Jiang Zhen . . .¡± Shen Anxin couldn¡¯t continue halfway through his sentence, feeling ufortable.

    ¡°We are Jiang Zhen¡¯s people.¡± Liu Qianqian smiled.

    ¡°How could . . . I haven¡¯t heard of you . . . ,¡± Shen Anxin said.

    Feeling that this person had contact with Jiang Zhen before . . . Zhao Lingxi immediately said, ¡°Of course you haven¡¯t heard of us. Who would talk about the nameless women in his family?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, our lord only takes Jinge with him when he goes out,¡± Liu Qianqian helped out.

    Shen Anxin became even more reluctant to believe it: ¡°No . . . Isn¡¯t Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge¡¯s rtionship very good?¡±

    ¡°They are affectionate, but Madam is very jealous, making the Lord lock us in the backyard . . .¡± Zhao Lingxi showed a piteous look.

    ¡°Lord obeys Madam in everything . . . Fortunately, they didn¡¯t throw us away,¡± Liu Qianqian said again. ¡°He just does note to see us much, always letting us stay alone.¡±

    ¡°In fact, although Madam likes to be jealous, he is very good to us, and there is no shortage of food and clothing. He even allows us to go out,¡± Zhao Lingxi added.

    The two of them, Liu Qian and Zhao Linxi spoke until Shen Anxin¡¯s face became white.

    Shen Anxin initially had a crush on Jiang Zhen because he found out that Jiang Zhen was good to Zhao Jinge, but it turned out that . . . this was all superficial? In fact, Jiang Zhen had many women and gers besides Zhao Jinge?

    In fact, Shen Anxin¡¯s father was an infatuated one. He married his mother and gave birth to him. After that, his mother couldn¡¯t have any more children, but he refused to take any concubines and instead began to raise him as a son.

    Because of this, Shen Anxin¡¯s living environment since childhood was extremely simple; he also envied his mother who was protected by his own father. Although he knew that many men had three wives and four concubines, he didn¡¯t take it very seriously, until now.

    Shen Anxin almost turned around and ran.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi looked at each other and said together, ¡°We really made a bargain for Zhao Jinge.¡± They just helped Zhao Jinge kill a love rival.

    However, this little young master who ran away was really confusing . . .

    Looking at his clothes, you could tell that his home conditions must be pretty good. If it was like this, why did he still covet a man who already had a main wife?

    If they are clean and rich at home, they would definitely not find a married man like Jiang Zhen to get married to!

    After Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi scared away Shen Anxin, they went shopping. They didn¡¯t take this seriously or even talked to Zhao Jinge about it.

    Well, they could speak to Zhao Jinge either. Zhao Jinge let others take care of them and observe. When they returned from shopping that day, they were assigned some work and had to work, so who would remember something like that?

    Unknowingly, it had been a month since Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had arrived in the capital, and by this time, all the people in the capital basically knew about cards and the name of the Zheng family¡¯s business.

    Zheng Yi took Jiang Zhen¡¯s advice and printed his firm¡¯s name on the back of the ordinary cards.

    After the cards became popr, Jiang Zhen was little worried if many people would be addicted to gambling, but he soon realized that he was overthinking it.

    Those who wanted to gamble, even if they didn¡¯t have cards, still had many ways to gamble. Those who didn¡¯t want to . . . even if they bought cards, they would only y with their families.

    Just like him, he never gambled with other people and only yed with Zhao Jinge for taking off clothes.

    Especially themon folks . . . Many of them didn¡¯t have time to live their own live so where would they find time to y this?

    Even if they had cards, they would live their life as they always had. However, the upper ss of this Daqi was praising the gentleman cards. All the benefits brought by the cards belonged to the Zheng family. Jiang Zhen was not surprised about it, and he didn¡¯t care. He was an ordinary citizen. Without the Zheng family, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to introduce them. Also, the Zheng family had already given him a lot of things and helped him a lot, which could be called kindness.

    That day, Zheng Yi even made a personal visit. Telling him that the empress dowager had already been informed about the matter of stitching the wounds and had asked people in the hospital to test it out.

    ¡°My second uncle is going to talk about this method with some generals. Would you like to follow along to meet those generals?¡± After saying that, Zheng Yi asked again.

    ¡°No need. I don¡¯t know how to heal. This method was just thought of by chance. It would be shameful to go there, so I won¡¯t go.¡± Jiang Zhen directly refused. He didn¡¯t intend to go to the army to develop his career, so there was no need for him to meet these people.

    ¡°Well . . . don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get you more rewards,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t suitable for the officialdom, and he also thought it was better for Jiang Zhen not toe forward.

    For Jiang Zhen, all kinds of rewards were affordable, but it took time . . . toe out with a new medical method in the modern era, not to mention that this was ancient times.

    ¡°Master Zheng, when are you returning to the south of Yangze River?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly asked.

    In fact, the capital was veryfortable to live in, but Zhao Fugui and his wife were still in Hexi, and Zhao Jinge was obviously a bit homesick.

    Zhao Jinge was already four months pregnant, so if they didn¡¯t go back by then, it would be more inconvenient to go back when his belly got bigger. Zhao Fugui and his wife would also definitely be worried after waiting for such a long time.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I¡¯m not going to lie to you. I expected to stay in the capital for a year this time,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    He originally wanted Jiang Zhen to stay in the capital for a longer time to help him organize a high-quality gambling house, but now it seemed . . . it was not possible. Jiang Zhen did not want to stay in the capital anymore. Knowing that, Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t go back for the time being, Jiang Zhen proposed that he would go back first.

    Naturally, Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t refuse. He sent two very experienced stewards of the Zheng family to help Jiang Zhen purchase goods and sent another thousand taels of silver to let Jiang Zhen go back first.

    After staying in the capital for a month and a half, Jiang Zhen made all the preparations to go back and waited for the goods to be loaded onto the ship in a few days before he would go back.

    It was at this time that he discovered an important event. Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach had moved!

    Jiang Zhen was making out with Zhao Jinge that day and, suddenly, felt Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach moving, making him confused.

 Chapter 98.1 - Finally Home

    Chapter 98.1 ¨C Finally Home

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand was on Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach when his whole person froze.

    Although he knew that Zhao Jinge was pregnant, and he was worried about the birth, he was always worried about Zhao Jinge and not the child in his belly. So while others would like to see their pregnant wife eat more to make up for the baby in her belly, he was not willing to let Zhao Jinge eat more, for fear that the child will be too big to give birth to.

    He was also happy to have a child, but he was even more surprised when he noticed it. He didn¡¯t actually have much affection for the child who was nothing more than fertilized egg at the moment.

    For example . . . if there was an ident and the child would need to be aborted, he would not feel distressed. He would feel more distressed for Zhao Jinge¡¯s body. After all, he had not really felt this child¡¯s existence yet. But at that moment, beneath his hands, there was a little life that moved.

    The movement was faint, making Jiang Zhen worried, worried that if he pushed hard enough, that little life would be harmed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in puzzlement, wondering why Jiang Zhen suddenly didn¡¯t move anymore.

    ¡°It moved.¡± Jiang Zhen pointed at Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°It seems that my stomach moved . . .¡± Zhao Jinge tried to recall, but he still didn¡¯t understand what happened to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°The child moved,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge was still confused.

    Although he had always wanted a child, Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t really prepared for it. He didn¡¯t know much about pregnancy and childbirth. At least, he didn¡¯t know that the baby would move in his stomach.

    ¡°Why is he moving when my belly can¡¯t be seen yet?¡± Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help but ask. Was everyone else like this too?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He knew that there would be some fetal movement when pregnant, but Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly, though it was a bit softer from not exercising these days, hadn¡¯t gotten any bigger yet. The baby was very, very small, so why was it moving?

    The two of them stared at each other with big eyes, and the original intimacy could no longer be carried out.

    Waking up early the next morning, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge with him, nning to visit Dr. Hu.

    The imperial hospital was busy studying the matter of stitching up wounds, and Dr. Hu couldn¡¯t interfere with it. But the Zheng family already told several generals about it, so he studied it with several military doctors who were staying at his house.

    ¡°In the past, we used bandages, which was very expensive. But this method only uses needles and threads, so we can save a lot of money.¡±

    ¡°The wound can¡¯t get dirty. No wonder when we reused the bandages, those people became feverish.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a note. In the future, in the ce where the military doctors are staying, we need to specially allocate a few people to wash bandages and boil them.¡±

    . . .

    That morning, everyone had gotten up early. When Jiang Zhen arrived, the military doctors¡¯ discussion had already started.

    When Jiang Zhen heard this, he realized that the medical technology at this time seemed to be even worse than he thought. Those who were still alive after being wounded on the battlefield were definitely very lucky!

    However, at this age, no one had used antibiotics, and their own immune system was much stronger than those in the modern times.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you¡¯re here! Is there something else you want to tell us?¡± When Dr. Hu saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately asked.

    Those other military doctors also looked at Jiang Zhen without blinking their eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said everything I could,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After hearing those people¡¯s conversation, he actually kind of wished that he used to be a doctor, but in the end, he was not.

    ¡°Then why have youe here?¡± Dr. Hu looked at Jiang Zhen in puzzlement.

    ¡°Ie here this time because I felt Zhao Jinge . . . His belly moved.¡± Jiang Zhen was a little anxious.

    Doctor Hu: ¡°. . .¡± Which pregnant ger¡¯s belly won¡¯t move?

    Before Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge left Dr. Hu, Zhao Jinge received another evaluation from him, that was, he was as strong as an ox. But even so, Jiang Zhen, who suddenly realized that there was an actual person inside Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly, inevitably became cautious again.

    But because of this, they left three dayster than they originally nned. Jiang Zhen felt that he hadn¡¯t prepared enough for the return trip.

    During this period of time, Jiang Zhen felt the presence of his child several times. Although the movement was very weak, he did feel it. There was a baby in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly. Jiang Zhen felt that all this was very magical. At the same time, he finally felt a little bit like a father, bing too embarrassed to disturb the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly . . .

    While Jiang Zhen was thinking about this, Zhao Jinge was a little tangled. Jiang Zhen used to touch him all the time, seemingly in love with him, but now his hands were fixed on his stomach. He no longer wanted to be intimate with him. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Jiang Zhen had been with him all day and cared for him so much, he would have wondered if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like him anymore.

    The night, before he set off, Zhao Jinge gritted his teeth and grasped Jiang Zhen¡¯s key parts, touching them . . . Jiang Zhen suddenly forgot all about not disturbing the child in his belly, but his actions were much more careful than before. His Jinge was pregnant with his child.

    Although Zheng Yi was not going back, the Zheng family¡¯s fleet of ships was going back. Originally, it would take a few more days for the fleet to leave the capital, but Jiang Zhen was leaving, but Zheng Yi sped up the cargo preparation. Allowing the Zheng family¡¯s fleet to leave with Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet.

    He felt that his fleet would be much safer if it traveled with Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet.n

    When Jiang Zhen left the capital, Zheng Yi made a special trip to see him off. In addition to Zheng Yi, Shen Anxin also came.

    Jiang Zhen did not know many people because he stayed mostly at home, making Shen Anxin the person who he got to know the best. But even so, Shen Anxin, whom he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, came to bid him farewell, making him surprised.

    ¡°Young Master Shen?¡± Jiang Zhen went up and greeted Shen Anxin in some surprise.

    ¡°Hearing that Master Jiang was leaving the capital, I came over to see you off.¡± Shen Anxin looked at Jiang Zhen with a smile and beckoned his servants to give some special products from the capital.

    This time, Shen Anxin¡¯s words and actions were the same as when Jiang Zhen first met him. Jiang Zhen looked at him and thanked him, and even Zhao Jinge became relieved seeing him like this. Although they were about to leave, it would be better if this man didn¡¯t miss Jiang Zhen.

    After they spoke for a while, it was time to sail. Jiang Zhen said goodbye to Zheng Yi and Shen Anxin, and immediately, someone put the widened board between the ship and the river bank.

    When Shen Anxin saw Zhao Jinge being escorted away by Jiang Zhen, he took a long breath before looking at Zheng Yi with a smile, saying, ¡°Master Zheng.¡±

    Since he promised his father that he would carry forward the Shen family, he couldn¡¯t be afraid of this and that like before. He should seize every opportunity thates his way . . .

    Shen Anxin and Zheng Yi chatted with each other.

    On the other side, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were sitting on the ship, slowly leaving the capital.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, will you stille to capital in the future?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°I won¡¯te back there for a few years.¡± Jiang Zhen was sure that Zhao Jinge was going to give birth, and after that, the child would be too young to travel too far away. He didn¡¯t n to go to faraway ces in these few years.

    It was better for him to open up his escort agency and train more manpower.

    After hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, Zhao Jinge became relieved, then he heard Jiang Zhen say again, ¡°Jinge, when we return home this time, it can be considered returning home sessful. Our parents will very, very happy.¡±

    In addition to learning characters, Jiang Zhen would read him some idle books, so he knew the meaning of returning home sessful. He was d. He and Jiang Zhen left home for four months. He was a little homesick, but what was going on with his parents?

    Hexi Vige

    Zhao Fugui walked from the east end of the vige to the west end of the vige before opening his own house gate and walking in.

    ¡°Old man, what are you doing out again?¡± Zhao Liu asked while counting duck eggs.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just went out to wander around.¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    Zhao Liu nced at her husband. ¡°Still did not see Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingee back?¡±

    Although Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t say anything, she knew that Zhao Fugui was going out to see if Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen returned.

    ¡°No.¡± Zhao Fugui sat down, a little unhappy.

    ¡°We sold ducks again. Why haven¡¯t theye back yet?¡± Zhao Liu sighed. ¡°How far is this capital city?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if they encountered any danger along the way. Did they suffer . . .¡±

    ¡°Definitely not.¡± Zhao Fugui was very sure.

    ¡°I also wanted to find a doctor to take care of Zhao Jinge. But they ran out as soon as they got married. If this goes on, when can we have grandchildren?¡± Zhao Liu said again.

    ¡°Wait a little longer.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just say a few more words?¡± Zhao Liu looked at her man discontentedly.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say everything?¡± Before Zhao Fugui could say what he wanted to say, Zhao Liu already said it. She even said it more than once.

    ¡°You still dislike me for talking too much!¡± Zhao Liu red at Zhao Fugui.

    ¡°No.¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    ¡°Okay, clean up and eat. I fried your favorite eggs for you. You¡¯re too picky, aren¡¯t boiled eggs quite tasty too, but you still have to eat fried ones.¡± Zhao Liu said.

    Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t speak, just ate.

    In the past when they didn¡¯t have anything to eat, the boiled eggs were indeed already delicious, but Jiang Zhen made them eat eggs every day. When they ate them, wouldn¡¯t they get tired of always eating boiled eggs?

    Now that the Zhao family raised a lot of chickens and ducks, no matter if it was Zhao Liu or Zhao Fugui, they were still reluctant to kill the chickens and ducks to eat. Every day, they would just eat some eggs while, in ordance with Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, they would also eat fish and buy some meat when they had the chance.

    They didn¡¯t know if it was because they were well-fed, but after four months, Zhao Fugui looked much younger. His face was dark and wrinkled before, but soon it had be fleshy, and the wrinkles couldn¡¯t be seen.

    After taking a bite of scrambled eggs and taking another bite of white rice, Zhao Fugui couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that when I be old, I would have such a good life.¡±

    Eating eggs every day, having money in his hand, and having so many chickens and ducks on the mountain . . . were something that Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t even dare to think about before.

    ¡°Yes . . .¡± Zhao Liu nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just that Jiang Zhen and Jing still haven¡¯te back, making me worried.¡±

    After dinner, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu went to rummage over the freshly harvested grain harvested this year and was drying outside. Then Zhao Fugui went out again.

    Relying on his family¡¯s abundance of chicken and duck manure, there was no shortage of fertilizer. He nted grain in the drained paddy field this year. The yield of winter wheat wasn¡¯t high, but if he nted it the next year, their family would have flour.

    Zhao Fugui went to the field and carefully worked.

    Thend bought by the Zhao family belonged to Jiang family before, so not far away, there was still the Jiang familynd. In thend of the Jiang family, Butcher Jiang was also working.

    The rice harvest of the Jiang family this year was not too good, so Butcher Jiang nted winter wheat as well.

    The two of them worked in the field separately for almost an hour; they sat down on the ridge beside them to rest.

    Wang Haisheng¡¯s youngest son, Wang Daniu, ran from a distance and gave Zhao Fugui a basket. ¡°Grandpa Zhao, Grandma Zhao asked me to bring you tea.¡±

 Chapter 98.2 - Finally Home

    Chapter 98.2 ¨C Finally Home

    ¡°Daniu is so good.¡± People of Zhao Fugui¡¯s age liked children, so seeing Wang Daniu, he couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    When he looked at the contents of the basket, he was happy. In the basket was arge teapot filled with ck tea and a palm-sized cake.

    The cakes made by people in Hexi were quite simple; they were sweet or salty with brown sugar in the sweet ones and salt in the salty ones. Mostmon people put salt in it.

    The price of brown sugar was not cheaper than salt, and it took a lot of brown sugar to make it sweet, but only a little bit of salt . . . Zhao¡¯s cake was made with salt and green onion, making it taste almost like green onion bread.

    It¡¯s estimated that when the water was heated, the cake was still hot, so Zhao Fugui drank a mouthful of tea and cake in satisfaction. Next to him, Butcher Jiang took a sip of the water he had brought, which had long since gone cold and sour.

    In the past, it had always been him who had tea and something to eat. But now, his days were actually not evenparable to Zhao Fugui!

    Zhao Fugui looked at Butcher Jiang, his mood quiteplicated. In the past, Butcher Jiang looked very energetic, but since then, he looked much older . . . However, it was not easy for him to talk to them about the current situation of their two families . . .

    They both rested for a while before silently going back to work.

    The Zhao family did not have muchnd, and Zhao Fugui was used to working, so he wasn¡¯t worried that he would not be able to finish. Seeing that the time was almost up, he tidied up and went home.

    His wife had cooked a meal and wouldn¡¯t eat until he went back early.

    Zhao Fugui had left early, but Jiang Butcher remained in the field.

    On one hand the work in the field was endless, but on the other hand, the house was in such a mess he didn¡¯t want to go back there.

    Now, that his two daughters-inw were pregnant and had stopped working, his sons could not be counted on them. Finally, all the work had fallen on their two oldest children and his youngest daughter, who was not yet married.

    Thinking of these two sons, Butcher Jiang couldn¡¯t help but sigh. His youngest son found work in the county town, but it was said that all kinds of expenses were very high. He said he would bring money home, but he was not able to do it yet. While his second son . . .

    At the beginning, he bought twenty silver worth of kelp and salted fish. Although he sold some in the vige andter sold some on the street, he did not sell above his investing capital, and after the summer, some of the kelp and salted fishes had gone bad! So as not to waste it, their family recently ate only kelp and salted fishes every day, which made him feel sick when he smelled it.

    But there was nothing he could do about it;; he could not waste so much food at home. No matter how much he didn¡¯t want to eat it, he still had to eat it.

    Thinking of the things piled up at home and then thinking about his second son, Butcher Jiang felt depressed for a while.

    In fact, if he just couldn¡¯t get his capital back, although Butcher Jiang felt sorry for the silver he still thought it was fine. At least, Jiang Chengwen only lost ten silver from the forty he had given him from money they got from sellingnd.

    However . . . Jiang Chengwen, who failed to do business this time, was not reconciled and wanted to try it a second time. These days, he had been running outside the house all the time.

    Butcher Jiang went home in a very bad mood, and as soon as he returned, he saw the vige matchmaker, Mrs. He,e out of his house.

    After entering the door, Butcher Jiang frowned and asked, ¡°What is Matchmaker He doing here?¡±

    ¡°She came to ask about my little girl,¡± olddy Jiang said.

    Butcher Jiang was stunned and then remembered that it was about time for his little daughter to marry.

    In the past, their family pampered Jiang Xiaomei. Although they also asked her to work, they only asked her to do some light work, but now. . .

    In more than a half a year, Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s hands and face had be much thicker.

    They could still talk about Jiang Xiaomei, but he didn¡¯t know if they still could talk about good people.

    Butcher Jiang was worried when he saw his second son, Jiang Chengwen,ing from outside with a happy face.

    When butcher Jiang saw his smiling face, he was furious. But olddy Jiang was, on the contrary, very happy, seeing her beloved second son return. She was overjoyed. ¡°Chengwen, you¡¯ve finallye back!¡±

    ¡°Father, Mother!¡± Jiang Chengwen called out and then he couldn¡¯t wait to say, ¡°Mom, Dad, I found a good business outside this time. I will definitely make a lot of money!¡±

    Butcher Jiang had little trust in this son at this time, so he said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±

    But olddy Jiang believed in her son. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t need to pretend anymore.¡± Jiang Chengwen said, ¡°They want to do big business, and that business could really make money. If I hadn¡¯t had a good rtionship with them and theycked capital, they wouldn¡¯t let me be involved at all!¡±

    Jiang Chengwen talked a lot before finally saying, ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t have enough money in my hand. Mother, please bring me some more!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have nearly thirty silver in your hand? Why is it not enough?¡± olddy Jiang asked.

    ¡°Stinky boy, don¡¯t make a fool of yourself. It¡¯s all a fraud!¡± Butcher Jiang frowned.

    ¡°Dad, they¡¯re all rich people, so how could they be scamming money?¡± Jiang Chengwen had his mind set, recognizing it as a good business that would make a lot of money.

    The family was suddenly in an uproar again, and Butcher Jiang was so angry that he finally insisted that he would not give any money. After saying that, he immediately went back to his room and did not want to see Jiang Chengwen again.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge knew nothing about the things happening in Hexi. However, since they left the capital, they missed their hometown more and more, which made them eager to return home.

    However, the speed of the fleet at this time . . .

    No matter how anxious Jiang Zhen was, he could only go back slowly. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t encounter any trouble along the way. The only thing that made him entangled was . . . Zhao Jinge belly was getting bigger and bigger.

    In the first four months, Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly could not be seen at all, but after four months, it gradually began to swell. The baby¡¯s movement also became more and more apparent. Jiang Zhen also realized more and more clearly that he really wanted to be a father.

    When departing from the capital, figuring that they might not be able to eat vegetables on the way, Jiang Zhen had someone find dirt and wooden boxes and nted some green cabbage in it.

    These two kinds of vegetables were easy to grow. Even if they were nted on ship, they would grow well. They were something that only Zhao Jinge could eat.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi stood at the bow of the ship and looked at the lush vegetables nted on the bow of the ship next to them. They were frowning, feeling depressed.

    ¡°Why is Zhao Jinge so lucky?¡± Liu Qianqian couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°Yes, why is his life so good?¡± Zhao Lingxi could not help sighing. He and Liu Qianqian had a bad rtionship and were constantlypeting with each other before. However, since being rescued by Jiang Zhen, they were both rejected together, so their rtionship grew closer and closer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what Jiang Zhen will ask us to do in the future,¡± Liu Qianqian said again.

    ¡°After all, he will not sell our bodies.¡± Zhao Lingxi knew that many of Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates were interested in them. However, when Jiang Zhen gave orders, those people did not dare to do anything to them.

    As they were talking, they saw Zhao Jinge came near the nted vegetables on another ship.

    Now that the weather was getting colder and colder, Zhao Jinge changed into thick clothes, so his belly could no longer be seen.

    After looking at the vegetables nted on the bow, Zhao Jinge pulled some vegetables out and gave them to Cook Li, asking her to cook them.

    ¡°Why did herdyship pick so many vegetables today?¡± Li looked at the vegetables in front of her and asked in some surprise.

    ¡°We are almost home, so it doesn¡¯t matter if we eat it all.¡± Zhao Jinge stood up and said with a smile.

    In order to travel fast, they did not frequently make a stop to replenish supplies. But every time they stopped, Jiang Zhen would buy some vegetables to nt. However, even though Jiang Zhen nted vegetables, he did not eat them himself but asked Zhao Jinge to eat more instead.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t eat any fresh chicken, but he kept it for him. Now that they would reach home in two days, he always let Jiang Zhen eat with him.

    The meal that evening was so rich that Jiang Zhen nced at Zhao Jinge and began to eat with a smile.

    After dinner, theyy side by side on the bed with Jiang Zhen reading a book to Zhao Jinge. The book he read to Zhao Jinge was Qionglin Early Childhood School, a set of enlightenment books read by people in that era.

    But what was embarrassing was that, as he read it, he couldn¡¯t exin some parts clearly . . . Fortunately, Zhao Jinge could not understand even more. If there were any problems, he could just muddle through it.

    As for being fooled . . . He said that reading a hundred times had its own merits, and so he read it a few more times . . .

    That was reasonable. Jiang Zhen had read too much, and he really had some interest in reading it out loud. Of course, that was also because there was nothing else to do on this ship except for reading.

    After studying for a period of time, Jiang Zhen put the book down and began to touch Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly while speaking. In fact, in addition to reading it to Zhao Jinge, he also read to the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly. Although he didn¡¯t know much about pregnancy, he had heard that pregnant women require prenatal education.

    Since he couldn¡¯t y music for the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly, he read books instead. His voice shouldn¡¯t be too bad. Maybe if he read it like this. . . he could also make the baby in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly remember his father¡¯s voice before he was born.

    Thinking in this way, Jiang Zhen touched the belly of Zhao Jinge again. ¡°Son, I am your father. When youe out, I will take you for rides on a horse.¡±

    When he was in the capital, the Zheng family gave him a carriage and a horse. Jiang Zhen loaded them into the ship and brought them back to the south.

    Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help smiling when he looked at Jiang Zhen like this.

    Jiang Zhen told him that the child in his belly could hear the voices outside, so thinking this way, he was happy to see Jiang Zhen care so much about this child.

    Two dayster, the fleet arrived in Hecheng County and stopped at the Zheng family¡¯s private docks.

    There are a lot of goods on board. In fact, it would be better to go to the Fucheng to sell the goods first, but whether it was Jiang Zhen or Zhao Jinge, they wanted to go home.

    When ship was docked at the Zheng family¡¯s dock, Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge, and the men Jiang Zhen took to the capital all got off the boats. Jiang Zhen¡¯s carriage was also taken off the ship.

    The depressed horse on the ship looked very happy after theynded.

    ¡°This time, we can take a carriage to return. The vigers will be very envious.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the carriage and turned back to Zhao Jinge.

    Nowadays, having a carriage was rarer and showed one¡¯s capability more than having a BMW in modern times!

    Jiang Zhen himself was not a person who liked to show off, but Zhao Liu absolutely liked to show off. If they went back in a horse-drawn carriage, they would certainly be able to give Zhao Liu a lot of face, so she would be able to show off in front of the neighbors.

    ¡°This carriage can¡¯t get to our vige,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Zhen was puzzled.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bridge on the way to our vige, and that bridge can¡¯t be crossed by this carriage,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    After Zhao Jinge¡¯s words, Jiang Zhen remembered that there was such a thing. From Hecheng County to Hexi Vige, you have to cross the river. There was a bridge on this river; it was a kind of stone arch bridge with steps, and such a bridge couldn¡¯t be crossed with a carriage . . .

    It seemed impossible to drive a carriage back home. It seemed they would still need to take a small boat home . . .

    Jiang Zhen and his men went up on the boat, and their group slowly headed towards Hexi.

 Chapter 99.1 - Jiang Xiaomei ran away

    Chapter 99.1 ¨C Jiang Xiaomei ran away

    Jiang Zhen came to this ce less than a year ago, so he had not lived in Hexi for a long time. Even then, he did not have many good memories. Still, he missed Hexi a lot. After all, there was Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu here, and he regarded them as family and his home.

    Jinng Zhen¡¯s heart was like apass¡ªthe closer he was to Hexi, the heavier his heart felt. He felt this way for no other reason than that . . . going to and returning from the capital this time, one of his men was dead.

    Only one of his men had died, so he was much better than Zheng family¡¯s caravan, but a man was dead after all. That person . . . was the one he took outside with him. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want such an ident to happen, but he felt guilty in the end.

    ¡°Boss, why are you upset?¡± Jiang Ming asked in puzzlement.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t say anything; he only looked at the box beside him.

    The dead viger was surnamed Li Yuan. He was only eighteen years old. After the Zheng family¡¯s fleet docked, Jiang Zhen brought the people to bury him and packed all his belongings in this chest.

    Afterwards, the pension given by the Zheng family was also packed by Jiang Zhen, as well as part of silver he robbed from the pirates.

    Now, in addition to his relics, this chest also had 300 silver in it. In addition, Jiang Zhen bought some things in the capital and put them in another box, which would also be given by him to Li Yuan¡¯s family.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen do this, his subordinates also gave some things, and they were all ced in the box.

    ¡°Boss, the silver you gave is already a lot. Li Yuan¡¯s parents won¡¯t me you,¡± Jiang Ming said. Not to mention, Li Yuan¡¯s parents, even his own parents would not me him after seeing so much silver.

    ¡°In the end, the person is gone,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He also knew that the pension he gave could already be considered to be a lot. When he originally chose people, he specifically did not choose people who were the only sons . . . In this ce where human lives were worthless that even human trading wasmon, it was unlikely that anyone would me him, but he was still not veryfortable at heart.

    Jiang Ming and others became silent at this news. Yes, in the end this person was gone. The person who originally went to the capital with them was gone.

    Although it was quite normal to have four children in the family these days, some people had six or seven children, and only three or four could be raised. However, this man died in front of them, so they didn¡¯t feel good in the end.

    The boat slowly approached Hexi, and soon, everyone disembarked. Everyone¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look too good.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen! Jinge!¡± a voice suddenly called out, and Jiang Zhen raised his head to see Zhao Fugui standing by the river.

    This person who had always been silent and seemed to have limited words and smiles was smiling broadly, revealing a mouthful of heavily worn teeth, most of which were ckened or yellowed.

    However, he quickly closed his mouth and stopped smiling, only saying, ¡°You guys are finally back. It¡¯s good you came back.¡±

    Zhao Fugui, ever since Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to the capital, liked to have something to do and wandered around the river and the road to the country town. Today he was wandering around again.

    He was so happy to see Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge from afar, but the expressions on Jiang Zhen¡¯s face and the others made his heart thud. These people¡¯s faces did not look good; he was afraid that the journey to the capital was not a smooth one. However, it¡¯s okay. It didn¡¯t matter if it didn¡¯t go well, as long as they were back.

    Zhao Fugui took a look and found that Jiang Zhen looked to be in good condition, and his son looked slightly fatter, so he finally put his mind at ease.

    Then he saw something else, such as . . . these people were all empty-handed except for carrying two boxes.

    Actually, when Jiang Zhen went home, he also wanted to bring more things with him, but he had a lot of people and couldn¡¯t find more boats for a while, so where could he put those things? If he were to go back and forth to fetch stuff, wasn¡¯t it better to bring his men back?

    After taking a look at the big men holding big and small bags, Jiang Zhen simply asked those men to leave their things on the ship for the time being and toe back tomorrow to pick them up. He, of course, would do the same. So all of them who returned home only brought a small bag full of silver and nothing else, much less than all that they took with them from the capital.

    Nowadays, who didn¡¯t bring something home from a long trip! Unless you¡¯ve suffered outside and spent all your money and really didn¡¯t have anything to bring home . . .

    Zhao Fugui was bing more and more certain that Jiang Zhen¡¯s trip didn¡¯t go well. Havinge up with such a conclusion, Zhao Fugui was not in a position to ask anything more. ¡°Do you want me to help?¡±

    ¡°Dad, no need,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He carried two bags with him and let Zhao Jinge get off the boat first.

    His two bags were filled with gold and silver, as well as two set of clothes for Zhao Liushi and Zhao Fugui. These bags were a bit bigger than the others, so when he walked out, he carried them both.

    Zhao Jinge had been taken good care of by Jiang Zhen, so when Jiang Zhen asked him to get off the boat first, he did just that. As soon as he got off the boat, he immediately went to Zhao Fugu.

    ¡°Dad.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Zhao Fugui red at his son. ¡°How can you make Jiang Zhen carry all the bags? Don¡¯t you even know how to lend a hand?¡±

    His son had be really more and more improper. How can he let his husband carry bags without taking some things himself?

    When Jiang Zhen paid the fare, he saw his father-inw scolding his wife, so he hurriedly went over: ¡°Dad, Jinge is not feeling well.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with him. I think he¡¯s very strong.¡± Zhao Fugui looked at his son and found that his son showed a circle of fur. He couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Jiang Zhen, don¡¯t give him all the good things. Even you just wear a cotton-padded jacket, so how can you let him wear leather?¡±

    It took only less than a month toe back, so Zhao Jinge had been pregnant for over five months. In fact, his stomach was bulging a lot, but people couldn¡¯t see it because of his thick clothes, which made Zhao Fugui only think that he was wearing too much.

    Jiang Zhen was about to tell his father-inw that Zhao Jinge was pregnant, but Zhao Fugui looked around and whispered, ¡°Besides, why are you back by boat? It cost a lot of money!¡± He didn¡¯t earn a lot going out but was wasting money by returning by boat?

    Knowing that Zhao Fugui must have misunderstood, Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Dad, we made a lot of money on this trip.¡± In such a round trip, when the goods on hand were sold. Coupled with the ships and the house in the capital, his property was valued at more than 200,000 silver, so he was definitely a rich man. Many of them took a boat together, but it only cost a few copper coins. It really didn¡¯t cost much . . .

    Although these days, silver was not as valuable as in previous dynasties, officials in the imperial court charged tens of thousands of silver for bribes, so his 200,000 was already quite a lot.

    Zhao Fugui thought that Jiang Zhen loved spending money and didn¡¯t believe Jiang Zhen, who didn¡¯t even bring back a piece of pork this time, but he still gave Jiang Zhen¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and talk.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded and thought it would be better to go back and then say it. Just then, someone suddenly rushed to them, shouting, ¡°Zhao Fugui, something has happened, and olddy Jiang ran to your house!¡±

    After the man shouted, he found that Jiang Zhen was also there and said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are back! They will be fine when you get back.¡±

    Jiang Zhen knew that this man had a good rtionship with the Zhao family. Now that this man said that olddy Jiang had gone to the Zhao family¡¯s house . . . What was going on?

    With a frown, Jiang Zhen was about to go home. But after a few steps, he looked at He Qiusheng and others: ¡°You . . . take these things to Li¡¯s house first.¡±

    Li Yuan was dead. He should go to the Li¡¯s house as soon as he was back, but something happened to Zhao Liu, so he needed to go there first.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss. We¡¯ll get it done,¡± He Chunsheng immediately said.

    Nodding towards He Chunsheng, Jiang Zhen immediately rushed towards the Zhao family house while asking the one who reported the news, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Jiang Chengwen was cheated of money. In order to raise money, olddy Jiang told Jiang Xiaomei but . . . It¡¯s not a good marriage, making Jiang Xiaomei run away, and the Jiang family ran to the Zhao family,¡± the man said.

    Jiang Zhen frowned when he heard that.

    He didn¡¯t like olddy Jiang or Butcher Jiang, nor did he like Jiang Chengwen or Jiang Chengxiang. He had no feelings for his two sisters-inw or that nephew, but for Jiang Xiaomei . . . She was the only one in the Jiang family he liked.

    Although Jiang Xiaomei also liked to bezy and wouldn¡¯t help him work, she never bullied Eldest Jiang, and if there was anything good to eat that olddy Jiang gave her, she would still leave a little for Eldest Jiang.

    Jiang Zhen was using Eldest Jiang¡¯s body, so he also remembered the kindness that the eldest Jiang received. He did not repay the favor before, partly because he himself wasn¡¯t very capable at that time and partly because the Jiang family wasn¡¯t really particrly bad to Jiang Xiaomei.

    He remembered that when olddy Jiang cooked eggs, she would specially give one to Jiang Xiaomei.

    Unlike him, Jiang Xiaomei definitely didn¡¯t want to break ties with her parents, and olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang treated her well. In such a situation, he didn¡¯t need to do much, waiting for the future when Jiang Xiaomei got married, so he could give her some money and keep a close eye on her mother-inw¡¯s family, which would be enough.

    Jiang Zhen had always thought that Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang would find a good marriage for Jiang Xiaomei no matter what. At most, she would be given less dowry, but he never thought . . .

    Jiang Zhen was in a hurry, but when he saw that Zhao Jinge looked even more anxious, he said, ¡°Jinge, go slowly and be careful . . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t slow down, and Jiang Zhen shivered as he watched him run and he could only protect him carefully.

    Seeing this, Zhao Fugui felt more and more that his son was too preposterous.

    Meanwhile, at the Zhao family¡¯s side, things were already chaotic.

    Olddy Jiang brought Jiang Chengwen, Butcher Jiang, and some people from the Jiang family to surround the Sun Xiaoshan and Zhao Liu. Then she looked at Zhao Liu aggressively. This matter of the Jiang family started a month ago.

    A month ago, Jiang Chengwen suddenly came home and said that there was a big business that he could do and asked for money. At that time, olddy Jiang listened carefully to his introduction of this business, but Butcher Jiang didn¡¯t believe it and was not willing to give him money. After that, Jiang Chengwen asked for money almost every day. However, even though he cried and cried and even tried to hang himself, Butcher Jiang still had no money and was not willing to give him any.

    In fact, at the end of the day, Butcher Jiang was still a bit moved by Jiang Chengwen¡¯s persistence. He thought that it must be a good business. The main reason why he insisted on not giving money was because he didn¡¯t have any. For someone his age, he would not sell things to engage in this ¡°big business¡± thing.

    Jiang Chengwen had been making trouble for many days, but finally, it subsided. Butcher Jiang took it as a sign that he had given up on this ¡°big business¡± and advised him to do some other small business . . . such as selling food or something on the market.

    If he made steamed buns, even if he couldn¡¯t sell them, he could eat them by himself so he would not lose a lot of money. But Jiang Chengwen despised this kind of business.

 Chapter 99.2 - Jiang Xiaomei ran away.

    Chapter 99.2 ¨C Jiang Xiaomei ran away.

    Just like this, Jiang Chengwen was idling at home all day just like before.

    Butcher Jiang did not take it seriously. But Jiang Chengwen became more anxious. Five days ago, after he returned home from the town, he broke down and cried.

    It turned out that since Butcher Jiang was refusing to give money and Jiang Chengwen was reluctant to give up on this business, Jiang Chengwen actually ended up borrowing money to invest in that so-called business!

    He borrowed 120 silver to raise it into the 150 silver with the thirty silver he had in his hand. Then those people who were reportedly traveling for ten days to buy precious medicinal materials from outside disappeared without a trace.

    After waiting for a few days, Jiang Chengwen finally couldn¡¯t sit still. He went to those people¡¯s homes to look for them only to find that the buildings were already empty.

    It turned out they rented this big house in the country town! The pharmacy they took him to also said that they didn¡¯t even know those two men at all.

    Jiang Chengwen was devastated; he had been cheated out of 150 silver! Of that amount, 120 silver was borrowed from loan sharks!

    Although Liu Heitou, the main moneylender, was epted as Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinate, in Hecheng County, Liu Heitou was not the only one doing such ¡°business.¡± But others were no more merciful than Liu Heitou.

    Jiang Chengwen has agreed to borrow it for a month and then return 130 silver. But now, from where was he going to take out 130 silver? If he couldn¡¯t pay it back, the interest would grow as well as his debt. He might even get his hands and feet cut off in the future!

    As soon as Jiang Chengwen got anxious, he went home and began to cry.

    Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang were so angry that they cursed those who cheated money and Butcher Jiang beat Jiang Chengwen. But after they finished, they still had to find a way to solve the problem.

    No matter how unlikeable Jiang Chengwen was right then, he was still their son; they definitely needed to save Jiang Chengwen . . . Of course, at that point, there was no way for them to save him. Those people who lent money to Jiang Chengwen, if they couldn¡¯t get money, they would certainlye to them for it. Are they were . . . going to have to sell theirnd?

    They sold theirndst time, and right after, they needed to sell again . . . They would soon be poor people from being one of the rich in Hexi!

    Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang were both reluctant to sell theirnd, or at least they had to find a way to sell less of it. They thought about it and finally came up with one thing.

    Wasn¡¯t Jiang Xiaomei being talked about by others? Jiang Xiaomei was sixteen years old. Someone hase to propose to her, but she still hadn¡¯t decided yet . . . Now, if they married her into a good family . . . maybe her bride price could cost forty, fifty silver or even more? This way, they would be able to sell less of thend!

    After discussing it with Butcher Jiang, olddy Jiang thought it was feasible, but . . . For this who had decent face and a good family background and was able to afford a 40 to 50 silver dowry, who would be willing to marry Jiang Xiaomei? Such bride price was for a daughter of a schr!

    Moreover, there are many women who wanted to marry in such families. Some of these women or gers were cherished by their families, so they allowed the bride price to be part of dowry and go with the bride when marrying over!

    Usually, for ordinary people, a bride price of twenty silver with some betrothal gifts was already good. If the bride¡¯s family were to give more dowry, or they really liked her a lot, they would be willing to give more. Forty or fifty silver was not something that ordinary people were willing to give.

    The bride¡¯s parents who really wanted to receive this bride price, were not marrying their daughter but selling her. At the beginning, Zhao Liu¡¯s parents nned to sell her for 40 silver to a man who could be her father.

    Because of that, it was impossible for Jiang Xiaomei to marry into a good family, especially . . . the Jiang couple still needed money. But sometimes thing just happen even if it¡¯s coincidence.

    There was a family in the county town who had previously married a daughter-inw, but she couldn¡¯t give birth to children, so they wanted to take a concubine for their son, and they were willing to pay fifty silver.

    This family was not really rich, even worse than the former Jiang family. They wanted concubine because there was only one son in their family, and they also wanted another woman to help with the work. Therefore, they required that the woman should be able to have children and work.

    That household reputation was no good. It was said that their daughter-inw was pregnant with their son¡¯s child before, but because her husband beat her up, she lost the child and couldn¡¯t get pregnant anymore . . . such a family still wanted a concubine. Of course, most people were reluctant to marry their daughter over, so they could only buy one with 50 silver.

    It wasn¡¯t that Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang didn¡¯t know about these things, but they still agreed. Jiang Xiaomei refused, but they told her such things.

    ¡°That man beat his wife, but he won¡¯t necessarily beat you.¡±

    ¡°Although you¡¯ll be a concubine, you will still be the one to give birth. When you give birth, everything in that family will be yours. Isn¡¯t it good?¡±

    ¡°Little girl, who else do you want to marry? If you can get married to a family like that, you will be happy!¡±

    . . .

    That was what the Jiang family said, but it was not the truth . . . Jiang Xiaomei inquired casually and heard even more information.

    For example, although this family lived in the country town and run small shop selling soy sauce, they didn¡¯t make any money. The women in the family had to get up early and weave cloth from early morning tote night to sell for money.

    For example, the son of that family beat his wife so badly, she was almost killed by him.

    When Jiang Xiaomei married him, she would not only be a concubine, but she will need to kept working. . . Just thinking about it, Jiang Xiaomei was not happy. After that, the family came to their door to see Jiang Xiaomei. After seeing her, they on one hand agreed to pay the money; but on other, since she would be a concubine, there would be no need to hold a marriage.

    Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang made an agreement with them about Jiang Xiaomei, but as it turned out . . . that day, they couldn¡¯t even find Jiang Xiaomei.

    Finally, they sought out the Zhao family.

    ¡°Zhao Liu, hurry up and hand over Jiang Xiaomei! If you don¡¯t hand her over, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± olddy Jiang said.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s was a bit shocked. ¡°I really don¡¯t know where Jiang Xiaomei is.¡±

    ¡°How could you not know? Someone saw hering towards you!¡± Olddy Jiang looked at Zhao Liu angrily.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Anyway, why would I hide your daughter?¡± Zhao Liu only felt wronged. She had heard that the Jiang family had set such a marriage for Jiang Xiaomei, and she pitied her a little, even saying a few words to someone, but she definitely wasn¡¯t hiding Jiang Xiaomei.

    With Jiang Zhen away, she didn¡¯t dare to offend anyone.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we weren¡¯t good to Jiang Xiaomei before? Who is it if not you?¡± Olddy Jiang already hated Zhao Liu for some time, so she pped her. ¡°You¡¯re not a good person, you abducted my son and now tried to take my daughter away. You just can¡¯t see me live a good life, can¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Jiang family, how can you just hit someone?¡± Vige Chief Jiang Ping rushed in and was startled.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me beating her up? She wanted to hurt me! Why can¡¯t I just hit her?¡± Olddy Jiang cried, ¡°My daughter is missing. She probably abducted her. Vige Chief, you must make it right for me!¡±

    ¡°How could she have abducted her?¡± Jiang Ping said; however, his words were quickly drowned in the voices of the Jiang family members who came along with olddy Jiang.

    ¡°Someone saw Jiang Xiaomeiing here. If she didn¡¯t hide her, who would do it?¡±

    ¡°Zhao Liu¡¯s, you¡¯ll be fine if you hand over Jiang Xiaomei.¡±

    ¡°Or let¡¯s search.¡±

    . . .

    The life of the Zhao family was getting better and better, making many people in the vige jealous. Jiang Zhen had been away for more than four months, and they did not know when he wille back or if he would evene back. So they came with the Jiang family to take advantage of it.

    After hearing this, olddy Jiang had another idea. ¡°Zhao Liu, you need to pay! If you got my daughter and ruined her marriage, you will need to repay money for me!¡±

    ¡°This . . . Why should I repay you money?¡± Zhao Liu covered her face. Sun Xiaoshan tried to protect her, but she was already shivering.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving until you pay me money,¡± olddy Jiang said again. At first, she didn¡¯t want Zhao Liu to pay her money, but the more she thought about it at the moment, the more she thought it was a good idea, making her eyes lit up.

    ¡°Nonsense! Jiang family, your daughter is not a child. She ran away by herself. Why should Zhao Liu pay you money?¡± Jiang Ping said. At the same time, more people from the vige came.

    These people were all close to the Zhao family or did not like the Jiang family, so they naturally criticized olddy Jiang.

    ¡°Jiang family, you not only sell your daughter but alsoe to ckmail!¡±

    ¡°Jiang family, you have gone too far.¡±

    ¡°Why should Zhao Liu pay you money?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s crazy to want money!¡±

    . . .

    The number of these people was much greater than those brought by olddy Jiang. When she saw these people, she knew that her request for money from the Zhao family was probably not going to work.

    What was even more unfortunate at that time was the person who pulled a red-eyed Jiang Xiaomei. ¡°Xiaomei was hiding in the forest by the river, crying . . .¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei was not in the Zhao family at all, and the ce where she was found was far away from the Zhao family.

    The vigers¡¯ eyes suddenly changed when they looked at olddy Jiang. Even people who came with her became embarrassed. They listened to what olddy Jiang said and decided that Jiang Xiaomei was indeed in the Zhao family, but it turned . . . Jiang Xiaomei was not there at all?

    Olddy Jiang was stared at by so many people; she couldn¡¯t face it for a moment. But then she suddenly scolded Zhao Liu, ¡°Zhao Liu¡¯s, don¡¯t be so proud of yourself even if your family is better off now. In the end, he is still my son! Your Jinge can¡¯t give birth to a child, so in the future, my son, who wants to pass his family name, will definitely need a concubine. You¡¯ll just help raise my grandson!¡±

    . . .

    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Zhao Liu wasn¡¯t mad about being pped before, but right then she was really angry.

    ¡°Where did I talk nonsense? I¡¯m telling the truth! Matchmaker He has said that your son can¡¯t give birth,¡± olddy Jiang said.

    Then not knowing who it was, someone suddenly shouted, ¡°Jiang Zhen is back!¡±

    Jiang Zhen is back? Olddy Jiang shivered and wanted to turn around and flee. However, Jiang Zhen pushed the crowd aside and already reached them.

 Chapter 100.1 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Chapter 100.1 ¨C Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    The reason why olddy Jiang dared to make trouble in the Zhao family house was because Jiang Zhen was not there. It had been more than four months since Jiang Zhen took his people to the capital and had note back yet, so people in Hexi started to specte and spread rumors, such as Jiang Zhen might note back and so on.

    This was the rumor olddy Jiang had told many people, hoping that it woulde true. She was the most miserable one after seeing that Jiang Zhen was doing so well. How could a son she had given up, whom she despised, end up having such a good life?

    Olddy Jiang hated Jiang Zhen and wished that he would die outside, but she was also afraid of him because he had taught her a lesson many times. Now, seeing that Jiang Zhen was pushing the crowd aside anding towards her, he made her feel so scared that she wanted to turn around and run away.

    Behind olddy Jiang, other members of the Jiang family responded in a simr way. They only dared toe make trouble when Jiang Zhen was away, but how could they continue now that Jiang Zhen coincidentally came back?

    Many rtives and friends of the Jiang family were busy lowering their heads and wanted to hide among the vigers so that Jiang Zhen would not discover them. Jiang Chengwen and Butcher Jiang had no ce to hide, so their expressions were full of guilt and fear.

    ¡°What were you talking about?¡± Jiang Zhen stepped forward and grabbed the clothes on olddy Jiang¡¯s chest and looked down at her with a cold expression.

    He did not hear what the man had said before, but he heard thest few words, and when he got past the crowd, he saw the p mark on Zhao Liu¡¯s face. To Jiang Zhen, Zhao Liu was much closer to him than that olddy Jiang. So right then he was really disgusted with this olddy.

    ¡°I . . .¡± Olddy Jiang was speechless for a moment.

    People around her were very sympathetic toward olddy Jiang. How could she be so unlucky to speak ill of others and be caught red-handed?

    Even if Zhao Jinge really couldn¡¯t have a baby, Jiang Zhen cared about Zhao Jinge very much, so even if it was true, it was intolerable for others to criticize!

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, do you have something to say?¡± vige head Jiang Ping subconsciously advised and then kept looking behind Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen came back, so his son should also be back, right? Where was his son? To be honest, he didn¡¯t want to fight here at all. He just wanted to go back and see his son . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, your mother only said a few words of truth. It was all for your own good!¡±

    Just then another person came forward; it was the second uncle of the Jiang family who stood up for Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang but was beaten up by Jiang Zhen. The second uncle of the Jiang family had already changed his tone and did not dare to yell at Jiang Zhen nor order him to kneel down. However, he still relied on his old age to reason with Jiang Zhen and make some profit.

    He felt that, as Jiang Zhen¡¯s elder, he should teach Jiang Zhen well . . . Not to mention that Jiang Zhen was very sessful now, so it was better to let Jiang Zhen return to the Jiang family and not let him be taken advantage of by the Zhao family.

    Not to mention the money Jiang Zhen made outside, just the chickens and ducks raised by the Zhao family alone¡ªif only those chickens and ducks were raised by the Jiang family, wouldn¡¯t it be nice? He, as the second uncle, would receive filial piety at least.

    As soon as the second uncle of the Jiang family uttered these words, the people present looked at him, and some people began to sympathize with him as well.

    However, the second uncle of the Jiang family did not sympathize; he always felt that Jiang Zhen had taken the initiative to join the Zhao family to repay Zhao Jinge¡¯s kindness and to gamble with Butcher Jiang who did not want him . . .

    ¡°Just looking at Zhao Jinge¡¯s body, you can already tell that it will not be easy to have children. Everyone in the vige knows it, so your mother was only telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you still need to think of your own future. People always need children to inherit their families . . .¡±

    Before the second uncle of the Jiang family could finish speaking, Zhao Liu rushed up and said, ¡°You old bastard!¡± Zhao Liu, who had always been timid and could not scold people, was extremely ferocious at this moment, so the second uncle¡¯s face was scratched and four bloodstains were made.

    Before, when she was unjustly used and pped by olddy Jiang, Zhao Liu only felt fear; however, what was said just now really stabbed her in the heart.

    Even though Jiang Zhen married into their Zhao family, he was so capable that she and Zhao Fugui couldn¡¯t stop him if he wanted to find other women to give birth to his children. If Zhao Jinge could not give birth to his children, they should let him have children with someone else . . . In that case, how miserable would her Jinge be in the future? Just thinking about it made Zhao Liu sad, making her suddenly very fierce.

    ¡°What are you doing! I¡¯m just telling the truth!¡± the second uncle of the Jiang family said hurriedly. ¡°Oh, oh, oh!¡±

    When his children saw this, they could only go up and stop Zhao Liu. ¡°Zhao Liu, stop fighting . . .¡±

    ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Zhao Fugui, who just squeezed into the crowd, saw this scene and was afraid that his wife would be beaten, so he hurried over to help Zhao Liu.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Zhao Jinge also ran over, because of the child in his belly, he arrived a littlete and was now very confused about the situation.

    ¡°You old bastard, you old bastard! Who says my Jinge can¡¯t¡ª¡± Zhao Liu stubbornly swallowed thest part of the sentence while almost choking up.

    Seeing Zhao Liu like that, everyone began to sympathize with her again. It was useless for her to celebrate having a good life at the moment when, in the future, her position would be uncertain.

    If Jiang Zhen was poor and ipetent, the Zhao family would naturally be able to hold on to him, but unfortunately, Jiang Zhen had the ability to leave the Zhao family in the future in order to have a child surnamed Jiang, and there was nothing the Zhao family could do to stop him. Everyone was thinking this way.

    Seeing so much chaos, Zhao Jinge, who finally ran forward, was about to be squeezed out by the crowd.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge!¡± Jiang Zhen shouted, his expression ugly. Letting go of olddy Jiang, he hurriedly grabbed Zhao Jinge.

    There was a sudden silence, and everyone looked at Jiang Zhen cautiously . . . Why did Jiang Zhen suddenly yell at Zhao Jinge? His expression looked so ugly.

    Does he dislike Zhao Jinge?

    Even Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t help thinking like that and looked at Jiang Zhen worriedly.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be careful? You have a baby in your stomach!¡± Jiang Zhen said. Even if Zhao Jinge was in good health, he couldn¡¯t be troubled.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said this, the vigers were immediately subdued. What did they just hear? Zhao Jinge had a baby in his belly? Everyone looked at Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach and found that . . . it was a little big.

    ¡°Mother, Jinge is pregnant. You can¡¯t be surprised. Stop hitting people and take care of him for now.¡± Jiang Zhen pulled Zhao Liu back.

    Zhao Liu was stunned. ¡°Oh . . .¡±

    It wasn¡¯t until that moment that Zhao Fugui came back to his senses and finally knew why Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let his son carry anything. He obviously didn¡¯t make any money, but he still dressed his son in fur clothes.

    He immediately said to Zhao Jinge, ¡°What a shame! You¡¯re pregnant. Why are you running!¡±

    He kept a straight face at first, but in the middle of his speech, his face no longer looked tense, and he couldn¡¯t helpughing as he looked at Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly.

    The Hexi vigers suddenly became a little jealous of the Zhao family. How could the Zhao family be so lucky? What¡¯s more, Zhao Jinge was married for less than half a year, right? But his belly was already sticking out, so he should have be pregnant soon after he got married. Who said that Zhao Jinge could not have a baby? He was obviously very fertile.

    Fortunately, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t marry into the Li family at the beginning. Otherwise, they would have to support more children!

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu looked at Zhao Jinge, and Jiang Zhen looked directly at the vige head Jiang Ping. ¡°Vige head, what on earth is going on today?¡±

    Jiang Ping, who was busy looking for his son, was called on, so he said, ¡°There are some things . . .¡± He exined the whole story in a concise andprehensive way, but when he finished, he still couldn¡¯t find his son in the crowd.

    ¡°All right. Jiang family ndered my mother for hiding Jiang Xiaomiao and tried to attack her?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the Jiang family with a sneer and directly pped Jiang Chengwen and Chengxiang. ¡°You have a lot of courage!¡±

    Jiang Chengwen¡¯s and Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s faces became swollen from this p, but this time, they did not dare to resist at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding. You have the right to be angry, but your sister was already found, so we will go . . . ,¡± Butcher Jiang said as he was going to leave with his family.

    He didn¡¯t want to fight with Jiang Zhen. After all, every time there was a conflict, there was no benefit for him at all. Moreover, the people who came to ¡°marry¡± Jiang Xiaomiao wereing, so he had to deal with this matter urgently.

    ¡°You want to go after this kind of misunderstanding? What you want is too simple!¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Butcher Jiang asked.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we hid Jiang Xiaomei? Since you have already said so, I will feel sorry not to hide her in my house!¡± Jiang Zhen said and then immediately looked at Jiang Xiaomei. ¡°Come here!¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei became a little confused. Ever since she knew that her parents had arranged such a marriage, Jiang Xiaomei has been in great pain. She had always wanted to marry a good family and lead a good life; however, this time, not only could she not lead a good life, but she would also fall into a pit.

    Of course, she was not willing to marry, but what could she do when her parents ordered the matchmaker to say that she agreed?

    After crying for two days while waiting to be taken away . . . Jiang Xiaomei ran away from her home as soon as she could. But she didn¡¯t get very far, and she knew that this route would not work . . . She was a woman, so where could she go? If she were to be careless, she might even be sold to a dirty ce! The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, so she ran to the woods by the river where she used to y as a child and cried. Until she was found, Jiang Xiaomei didn¡¯t know that her mother had gone to the Zhao family house to make trouble. She was a little embarrassed, so she came over in a hurry.

    To tell the truth, Jiang Xiaomei really wanted to ask the Zhao family for help, but she felt that it was not feasible immediately after thinking about it. If Jiang Zhen was there, she could go to Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen would definitely save her, but the key was that Jiang Zhen was not there at the moment. There was only an old men and olddy in Zhao family, so it was useless for her to ask for help

 Chapter 100.2 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Chapter 100.2 ¨C Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    When Jiang Xiaomei went back, she was also very desperate. She thought that she was going to be taken as a concubine, so she didn¡¯t expect that, all of a sudden, just when she turned around, Jiang Zhen came back. It was just that Jiang Zhen looked ferocious . . . So Jiang Xiaomei was also a bit scared.

    Jiang Xiaomei looked at Jiang Zhen carefully. When Jiang Zhen saw this, he said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t youing here! Hurry up or I¡¯ll sell you right away!¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei hurriedly hid behind Jiang Zhen and stood beside Zhao Liu who smiled at her with red eyes.

    ¡°You . . . This is my daughter. Jiang Zhen, what do you want? You can¡¯t take my daughter!¡± olddy Jiang said in a hurry. The groom¡¯s family would being soon to pick her up!

    There were some things that happened coincidentally; just as olddy Jiang was in a hurry, the other family arrived.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter here? Where is Jiang Xiaomei?¡± a voice sounded, and then two strangers passed through the Hexi vigers and came over.

    One of them was a sturdy woman in her fifties or sixties and another was a gentle-looking man in his thirties. They were the mother and son who came to buy Jiang Xiaomei.

    This middle-aged woman had already met Jiang Xiaomei once before, and at that time, she looked at Jiang Xiaomei as if she was livestock, which made Jiang Xiaomei very afraid of her.

    Seeing her now, Jiang Xiaomei immediately took a step back and hid behind Zhao Liu and looked at her in horror.

    ¡°Where is Jiang Xiaomei?¡± The woman looked at themotion around her and frowned. ¡°I heard she ran away? What does this mean? It¡¯s not like we have to have her. If she doesn¡¯t want to marry into our family, I can find another one right away!¡±

    This family¡¯s surname was Liang, and the man who wanted to take concubine was called Liang Fufa while Liang Fufa¡¯s mother¡¯s maiden name was Hu, so everyone called her Liang Hu.

    This Liang Hu came to see Jiang Xiaomei a few days ago. The Jiang family members were proud, and Jiang Xiaomei had been working all the time and, seeing that she could work, Liang Hu took fancy to her. When she first learned that olddy Jiang had three sons in the row, she became even more satisfied with Jiang Xiaomei.

    But even so, she still felt that Jiang Xiaomei would be climbing up the socialdder with this deal. She was just a country girl but could be a concubine for her son, which should be considered a blessing from her previous life.

    How nice was her son! If the other girl was not so disobedient, her son wouldn¡¯t have had to hit her at all!

    ¡°She didn¡¯t run. Isn¡¯t she still here?¡± Olddy Jiang immediately pointed to Jiang Xiaomei and called out to her, ¡°Jiang Xiaomei,e here quickly!¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei didn¡¯t want to go there.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, tell Jiang Xiaomei toe over, or I¡¯ll report you to the county government! You are abducting and trafficking in human beings!¡± olddy Jiang said again.

    Before Jiang Zhen spoke, Liang Fufa suddenly asked with a gloomy face, ¡°Who is that man? Your daughter doesn¡¯t have a lover, does she?¡±

    Liang Fufa¡¯s expression was ugly. Olddy Jiang was afraid that he would no longer want Jiang Xiaomei, so she said, ¡°That is her own brother, my oldest son. How could my daughter have a lover¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good¡ª¡± Before Liang Fufa finished speaking, Jiang Zhen directly pped him on the face.

    Jiang Zhen recognized the man. When he was wandering around the county town, he learned about a lot of things from Yang Jing, and some of these things were rted to the man in front of him.

    This Liang Fufa liked to beat women and even forbid his wife to say even one word about it to anyone . . . A man who actually hits a woman . . . was not even a man!

    ¡°You hit me!¡± Liang Fufa looked at Jiang Zhen incredulously.

    As the young owner of a store in the county town, he had always looked down on people from the countryside, so he never imagined that he would be beaten up by someone when he came to buy a concubine.

    But as he looked at him he saw something; this man¡¯s clothes were even better than the clothes he was wearing. Liang Fufa was confused when he received another p on his face.

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    ¡°Why do you tell me to get lost!¡± Liang Fufa was furious, but at that moment, He Chunsheng and others all came back.

    These people all wore uniform clothes and were exposed to the wind and sun every day after going out, making them look very fierce. When they came over, they all shouted to Jiang Zhen, ¡°Boss!¡±

    ¡°Get these two out of here!¡±

    He Chunsheng took a step forward and grabbed Liang Fufa and carried him out. Seeing this, all the people of Hexi scattered, and even the elderly second uncle of the Jiang family ran away very fast . . . Only Jiang Ping, who saw his son, and Jiang Xiaomei remained.

    Seeing that his son was fine, Jiang Ping breathed a sigh of relief, and then heard Jiang Zhen ask, ¡°How is Li Yuan¡¯s family?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    The Li family was very sad, but when they went out, they met bandits. They really couldn¡¯t me Jiang Zhen for such an ident . . . Although it was hard for them, they still epted the reality.

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Jiang Zhen nodded.

    ¡°What happened to Li Yuan?¡± Zhao Fugui just remembered that all the people from Hexi came back with Jiang Zhen, but he didn¡¯t see Li Yuan with them.

    ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Fugui had been happy since he heard that his son would have a child, but soon his heart jumped when he heard this.

    When Jiang Zhen went out this time, he lost one of his people? It was not profitable, and people died, this . . .

    ¡°Li Yuan is gone? What happened?¡± Zhao Liu was scared. Li Yuan was a child she saw growing up. How could he be gone now?

    ¡°We encountered pirates on the way. Li Yuan was stabbed and died . . . ,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Pirates? Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu be even more worried. Their Jinge, who was pregnant with a child, had unexpectedly met with pirates . . .

    ¡°It¡¯s good that the people are all right. As long as they¡¯re all right,¡± Zhao Fugui said again and again.

    Zhao Liu also kept nodding. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good toe back safely. I left a big rooster and waited for you toe back to kill it. I¡¯ll go and kill it right now.¡±

    Neither Zhao Fugui nor Zhao Liu wanted to ask any more questions, so they hurriedly returned to their house while Jiang Ping was also in a heavy mood.

    After ncing at his son, Jiang Ping said, ¡°Come home with me.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Jiang Ming responded. He used to think about going out all day long, but this time, after spending a lot of time outside, he was a little homesick. Recently, he had been seeing Jiang Zhen expressing his feelings for Zhao Jinge every day, so he blurted out, ¡°Dad, I miss you!¡±

    When Jiang Ping heard it, his heart soured. This son of his had always been veryid back, and he didn¡¯t expect him to say such a thing. How much must he have suffered outside!

    Bringing his son home, Jiang Ping immediately said, ¡°Son, you better not go out from now on.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Jiang Ming asked. He still wanted to go out and do something great.

    ¡°Boy . . . going out can let you earn some money, but it is dangerous. What are you doing? Can¡¯t you just marry a wife and live a good life here?¡± Jiang Ping said.

    His son had came back with a small baggage; he saw it. When the boy set out, they had prepared a lot of things for him, but now, he didn¡¯t bring back anything . . . Although his clothes looked new, it was likely just surface polish.

    ¡°Dad . . . ,¡± Jiang Ming gave a helpless cry.

    ¡°Anyway, you can¡¯t go. If you can¡¯t tell Jiang Zhen, I¡¯ll help you,¡± Jiang Ping said.

    ¡°Dad, look at this first.¡± Jiang Ming put his small baggage on the table and untied it.

    Whether it was Jiang Ping, Jiang Ming¡¯s mother, or sister-inw, they all froze. This small baggage . . . was filled with silver; it was unbelievable! That is hundreds of silver, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Stinky boy, where did you get so much money?¡± Jiang Ping was startled.

    ¡°These are my wages and rewards! Dad, it used to be more, but I bought a lot of things for you in the capital and spent some of it,¡± Jiang Ming said.

    ¡°Where are these things?¡± Jiang Ping asked subconsciously.

    ¡°There were too many things to fit on the boat,¡± Jiang Ming said. ¡°So we came back first.¡±

    ¡°. . .¡± Jiang Ping became silent. His son was able to earn so much money on this trip, so it was unreasonable now to stop his son from going out again.

    The rest of Jiang Ping¡¯s family were also silent.

    After a long period of silence at home, Jiang Ping said, ¡°Li Yuan . . . Would you like to send his family some money? ¡°

    ¡°Dad, I have already given five silver and some things,¡± Jiang Ming said. ¡°Boss gave 300 silver and bought some things, plus what we gave . . . What was taken before, added up to four hundred taels of silver.¡±

    Jiang Ping took a deep breath. He never smoked, but he really wanted to smoke now. He didn¡¯t want his son to take risks, but he knew he couldn¡¯t stop him now.

    In Hexi Vige, the Li family began to cry while others were more or less frightened. Of course, there were also some unusual situations.

    As soon as He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng returned home, they began to look for their younger brother. ¡°Qiusheng!¡±

    ¡°Brother!¡± He Qiusheng hurriedly went out of the house. ¡°You are back!¡±

    ¡°Qiusheng, brother is back!¡± He Chunsheng said, ¡°Qiusheng, brother has made money, so even if you don¡¯t want to get married in the future, I can support you!¡±

    ¡°Chunsheng, Chunsheng did you make money? Your father . . .¡± His mother also came out, and after hearing her son¡¯s words, she eagerly said this. She had not seen her husband for several months, but although her life was better without that man at home, there should always be a man in the family . . . After all, this man was Chunsheng¡¯s father!

    ¡°Mother, Li Yuan is dead!¡± He Chunsheng said. ¡°We encountered bandits out there, and your son almost died. Do you want to use the money your son worked so hard for to pay off gambling debts?¡±

    ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t know. Chunsheng, are you all right?¡± His mother¡¯s eyes turned red as she was about to cry.

    He Chunsheng looked at her like this, he didn¡¯t want to talk to her or even show off his money any more. Before, he had thought about whether or not to bring his father home, but at the moment, he thought that it would be better to forget it. In a few days, he would invite the people from the gambling house for a meal and let them keep an eye on his father.

    In the Zhao family, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were already busy cooking. The mud-walled house was cooler in the summer and warmer in the winterpared to those wooden houses. Although it was cold outside, the house was very warm, so Zhao Jinge took off his coat.

    He was not actually fat, it was just that his belly was big. It was so obvious that Jiang Xiaomei, who followed him in, just nced and whispered, ¡°Sister-inw.¡±

    ¡°En,¡± Zhao Jinge answered happily.

    He wanted to bring some delicious food to Jiang Xiaomei, but he didn¡¯t bring anything with him. He was immediately embarrassed, and then he was eager to find something to entertain his sister-inw.

    Jiang Zhen suddenly became a little unhappy. Why would Zhao Jinge need to treat other women so well?

    ¡°Jinge, sit down!¡± Jiang Zhen said. Feeling that his tone was a little too fierce, he added, ¡°You must be tired froming back so fast. Why don¡¯t you go and have a rest? I will entertain Xiaomei.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded.

    Jiang Zhen wanted to talk with Jiang Xiaomei alone, so he left them alone and went back to his room.

    When Zhao Jinge left, Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Xiaomei and said, ¡°Xiaomei, what are your ns for the future?¡±

    ¡°I . . . I don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s eyes turned red.

    Jiang Zhen could protect her for a while, but he could not protect her all her life. What will she do in the future? Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge also had to make a living, and she couldn¡¯t just live in other people¡¯s house . . . And . . . Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t seem to have made any money this time, so he certainly wouldn¡¯t raise her in vain

    The author has something to say:

    People: Jiang Zhen must not have made any money.

 Chapter 101.1 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Chapter 101.1 ¨C Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Today Jiang Xiaomei was really different from the past.

    When Jiang Zhen first came here, Jiang Xiaomei was a clean, beautiful, and popr girl in Hexi Vige. Her hands and face were white and clean, but at the moment . . . Her hair was a mess, her hands became thicker, and she had also lost a lot of weight. She was only sixteen or seventeen years old, so she should still be growing, but now, her original clothes looked so big on her body.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s appearance and frowned, regretting that he had not noticed her situation earlier. However, he had not been present for several months, so even if he wanted to pay attention to her condition, he could not. Instead of thinking about what happened before, he might as well think about how to deal with it now.

    It was absolutely impossible to let Jiang Xiaomei go back. If he allowed it, right before he¡¯d turned around, she would be sold off by the Jiang family again . . .

    Jiang Xiaomei couldn¡¯t use the tricks he used, and, right then and there, there was no way she could do anything. Standing here today, she had nothing.

    Because of this, he wanted to bring Jiang Xiaomei out of the Jiang family . . .

    Jiang Zhen knew that the best way to bring Jiang Xiaomei out of the Jiang family was to find a husband for Jiang Xiaomei. There were many people under his hands who were not married. If he was willing to marry Jiang Xiaomei to one of these people, they all would be ecstatic. He just needed to choose one of them and let him bring the dowry money to the Jiang family to marry Jiang Xiaomei. Given the fact that the Jiang family was now short of money, they would certainly agree.

    But this was ancient times, not the modern times. In modern times, marrying was not easy; divorce and remarrying happened a lot. But nowadays, marrying someone was basically a lifetime contract. Even if he made that decision for Jiang Xiaomei and supported her to marry. In fact, if Jiang Xiaomei did not like the man he chose for her, she would probably force herself to endure it.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like arranged marriages, let alone having to arrange other people¡¯s marriages.

    ¡°You have two options right now,¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Xiaomei.

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Xiaomei asked subconsciously, looking at Jiang Zhen uneasily. Just then, Jiang Zhen had been staring at her, making her feel a little scared.

    ¡°First, hurry up and choose a man you like, I¡¯ll marry him to you. Do you have anyone you like in the vige? Or do you have a good impression of He Chunsheng or Jiang Ming? I can ask them for you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Xiaomei became a little flustered. People in the vige got married early, so she had already thought of getting married. She also had good feelings for a few men she knew, such as Jiang Ming of the vige head¡¯s family, who she liked very much. But under these circumstances, suddenly having to marry made her feel uneasy.

    She had a crush on Jiang Ming, but who knows if Jiang Ming had good feelings for her in return?

    ¡°The second option is to ask Zhao Jinge to go to the Jiang family house to buy you and sign a deed of sale. Of course, you can rest assured that you can keep the deed of sale in the future, and when you want to marry, you will marry from this family,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Big brother. . .¡± Jiang Xiaomei, seeing her elder brother being so generous, was slightly torn. Just let her get married in the front, but it¡¯s like this secretly in the back . . . Her eldest brother married into the Zhao family house and was in trouble now. It wasn¡¯t good, right?

    She also knew that her brother had made some money outside, but fifty silver was not a small amount; it could buy two acres ofnd . . .

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°Big brother, do you have money?¡± Jiang Xiaomei asked in a small voice.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t think that Jiang Xiaomei would even be worried about it so he said, ¡°There is money,¡± and opened the two bundles beside him.

    In addition to the clothes for Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui, the bundle also contained several hundred taels of silver intended to be given to the Zhao family and some jewelry that was shiny and made of gold.

    Jiang Xiaomei was stunned for a moment; olddy Jiang never allowed her to see money, so the most she had in her hand before was a few copper coins. She had never seen so much money . . .

    ¡°Brother, you can buy me!¡± Jiang Xiaomei immediately said.

    Jiang Zhen also thought that this was the best option. ¡°You have a good meal and rest first. I will buy you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother,¡± Jiang Xiaomei said.

    After seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s drastic change before, Jiang Xiaomei became a little afraid of him, but at the moment . . . she suddenly found that this big brother was not so frightening.

    The Zhao family¡¯s house was small, so the conversation between Jiang Zhen and Jiang Xiaomei was overheard by Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu. However, they were fine with Jiang Zhen spending money ¡°buying¡± Jiang Xiaomei.

    Zhao Jinge, needless to say, knew exactly how rich Jiang Zhen was. Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu thought that the silver on the table might be all of Jiang Zhen¡¯s possessions, but they knew that Jiang Zhen had earned it, so they were in no position to stop him from spending it, even if he wanted to spend it all.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Jinge to have a child . . .¡± Zhao Liu kept blinking her eyes as she prepared the food, trying not to let the tears fall from her eyes.

    ¡°Our days will get better and better from now on,¡± Zhao Fugui said. His action of killing the chicken was very neat, not distressing at all.

    ¡°I was worried that Jiang Zhen might get hooked up by some goblins in the capital . . . But now I am relieved, he and Jinge are on good terms,¡± Zhao Liu said again.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Fugui nodded.

    ¡°My life has beenpleted.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Fugui continued to nod.

    ¡°It¡¯s no fun talking to you!¡± Zhao Liu said, thinking that tomorrow she would be able to speak with other vigers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go out and talk nonsense. The Li family has a funeral to arrange,¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    Only then did Zhao Liu realize that, because she was so happy, she forgot about Li Yuan and immediately closed her mouth.

    The meal could be regarded as lunch. People in Hexi had a casual lunch, but the Zhao family¡¯s meal was extraordinarily sumptuous.

    Half of a rooster was boiled and the other half braised. Zhao Liu also steamed a silver carp that was raised in the water tank, scraped off the scales, then put it into the chicken soup and simmered it together with the chicken. Corn flour was then added to make a pot of thick fish soup.

    It was winter at the moment, so there were not many vegetables to eat in the north, but in Hexi, many vegetables were growing¡ªat least, green vegetables, such as radish, beans, cauliflower, and spinach and so on that were sown before the weather turnedpletely cold.

    If you cook something like green vegetables in water, it wasn¡¯t that delicious, but if a viger were willing to stir-fry it in oil . . .

    Zhao Liu stir-fried the green vegetables, cut a few radishes into shreds and braised them, cut the garlic leaves that had just grown into small pieces and mixed them with the scrambled eggs.

    Except for the boiled chicken, all the other dishes were cooked very quickly. Zhao Liu, relying on the only two pots in the house, soon created a table full of various dishes and then began to invite everyone to eat.

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve been hungry for a long time . . .¡± Zhao Jinge followed Zhao Liu into the kitchen to help with the meal, and then asked, ¡°Mother, where¡¯s the rice?¡±

    One pot boiled chicken, one pot stir-fry, and then . . . Zhao Liu forgot to cook rice.

    Zhao Liu froze and immediately said, ¡°I made so many dishes to let you eat some vegetables. Go and eat quickly and pour some wine for father and Jiang Zhen.¡± With that, Zhao Liu hurriedly went back to cook.

    At the beginning, Jiang Zhen had given Zhao Fugui the wine, but Zhao Fugui didn¡¯t want to finish it and stashed it away, so when he opened it now. . . the wine had turned sour.

    Although the longer the wine was kept, the mellower it should have been, but it was still better to not open that wine.

    In the end, Zhao Fugui made a pot of strong tea and had tea with Jiang Zhen while eating vegetables. Zhao Jinge and Jiang Xiaomei each filled up a bowl of fish soup and slowly began to eat.

    Jiang Zhen arrived early in the morning, so he was very hungry. Although there were many dishes on the table, Zhao Liu didn¡¯te to the table, so everyone ate a few mouthfuls and drank strong tea. He had a feeling that he was getting hungrier and hungrier as he ate. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take long to prepare the rice; however, the rice in the iron pot would not be cooked for a while, and even then rice grains might still be a little hard.

    ¡°Jinge, eat more. You need to eat for two now.¡± After Zhao Liu came to the table, she began to persuade Zhao Jinge to eat more and gave Jiang Xiaomei a drumstick. ¡°Xiaomei, you also need to eat more and make up for before.¡±

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve eaten enough,¡± Zhao Jinge said then let Jiang Xiaomei eat more.

    Jiang Xiaomei did eat a lot. She had been feeling sick two days ago and didn¡¯t want to work. However, olddy Jiang said that she would starve her for two days, so she could only get up. And so, she had not eaten much these past couple of days and had been hungry for a long time. Moreover, the Zhao family¡¯s food was really delicious!

    In the past, when the Jiang family was still well-off, they could eat meat during the holidays, and they usually could eat eggs from time to time. But olddy Jiang was never a person who spent much time preparing food. For example, she generally steamed eggs on the steamer when cooking. As for the meat, she usually put it into the water to boil.

    Jiang Xiaomei had never even eaten braised chicken or anything like that before. After eating a lot of food, Jiang Xiaomei put down her bowl in embarrassment and secretly regretted that she had eaten so much.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen gave her another piece of chicken. ¡°Eat more if you can.¡± This was an underage sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl. She should be brightly dressed and be lively and lovely. . .

    Jiang Xiaomei eyes were filled with bitterness.

    As a matter of fact, she was not very kind to her eldest brother in the past although she sympathized with the eldest brother and secretly helped him from time to time. That was to say, she had done much more for her other two brothers. Many clothes of Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang were made by her. She had also been helping to take care of Jiang Chengwen¡¯s son and washed his diapers since childhood. But as it turned out, Jiang Chengwen was cheated out of the money and wanted to sell her off.

    Everyone ate until the tes were clean, and they were all satisfied.

    The Zhao family was happy while, on the other hand, the Jiang family was just the opposite.

    The Liang family, mother and son, were thrown out of the vige by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, and the Jiang family could only watch, unable to help them as Jiang Zhen¡¯s men threatened them. They only heard Liang Hu¡¯s words before leaving, saying that she no longer had the intention of giving Jiang Xiaomei the opportunity to marry into their family again.

    This . . . what should they do? Without Jiang Xiaomei, how muchnd would they have to sell before they could pay back the money?

    ¡°Father, Mother, you shouldn¡¯t indulge the second elder brother! He has no ability at all, but he still wants to make a lot of money . . . is big money so easy to make? If money were that easy to make, everyone in the world would be rich!¡± Jiang Chengxiang couldn¡¯t help but say.

    This family property would definitely be shared equally between him and Jiang Chengwen in the future, but if Jiang Chengwen lost so much because of his debt, what he would inherit would be less.

    Jiang Chengwen also knew he had done something wrong, and because of that, he lowered his head and kept quiet.

 Chapter 101.2 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Chapter 101.2 ¨C Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    ¡°Now that my little sister has been taken away by that Jiang Zhen, in two days, it would be time to pay back the debt . . . Father, Mother, I want to separate!¡± Jiang Chengxiang suddenly said.

    ¡°Separation?¡± Butcher Jiang was stunned.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, if we separate my family from my second brother¡¯s, if you follow me, you will still be able to live a good life. Otherwise, in the future, we will all eat wind together,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said. He felt that, by helping Jiang Chengwen pay off his debts before the family split up, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything after. He might as well divide the family right there and let Jiang Chengwen sell his share of the family fortune to pay off his debts!

    ¡°No! Jiang Chengxiang, you are too vicious. You are trying to kill your brother!¡± Huang Min jumped up all of a sudden. If the family separated at this moment, it was estimated that there would be nothing left after thend allocated to Jiang Chengwen was sold to pay off his debts. Where could they live in the future?

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to let him drag the whole family down with him. One hundred thirty silver is not a small amount of money!¡± Jiang Chengxiang said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like the family can¡¯t afford the money! Jiang Chengxiang, why are you so vicious!¡± Huang Min sat on the ground and began to cry. ¡°If you want to separate the family, alright, I will hang myself in front of your house tomorrow to let people know that you¡¯ve forced your pregnant sister-inw to death!¡±

    Of course, Huang Min was reluctant to die, but that did not stop her from threatening people with her death.

    Although Jiang Chengwen was veryzy, he was still good to his wife. What¡¯s more, he also knew that if they were to separate at this time, he would be finished. He directly pounced on Jiang Chengxiang, and Jiang Chengxiang hit Jiang Chengwen. Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen started fighting.

    When Zhu Shufen saw this scene, she went back to her room with a straight face. She regretted that she had married Jiang Chengxiang. But . . . looking at her growing belly, Zhu Shufen could only endure it.

    People were selfish, and she had to take care of her own baby . . . After returning to her room, Zhu Shufen packed up a few things and went back to her own family house, intending to let her family force Butcher Jiang to separate his two sons. She also didn¡¯t want to be with Jiang Chengwen and Huang Min anymore!

    However, Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang could follow them since both of them still had the strength to work for a long time.

    There was a lot of noise in the Jiang family, and it soon attracted people around to watch the hustle. People were filled with different emotions as they watched this farce of the Jiang family.

    ¡°In the past, when Jiang Zhen was still in the family, they lived a good life. Look at how long it took . . .¡±

    ¡°In fact, I wanted to say before that only the eldest son of the three sons of the Jiang family could work.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Jiang family will break up in the future . . .¡±

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen, it can be said that he is really a blessing . . .¡±

    . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, being blessed, may not necessarily be true . . . Didn¡¯t he meet trouble when he went out this time?¡±

    ¡°I heard that they met pirates, and that Li Yuan died.¡±

    ¡°The people who went out didn¡¯t bring anything back. I¡¯m afraid they didn¡¯t make any money.¡±

    ¡°For a man, it is better to buynd and cultivate it, working in a down-to-earth manner. When doing business, you might identally lose all your money.¡±

    . . .

    In the countryside, people believe in keeping their money secret, or else, what if someone came to steal it? Because of this, although Jiang Ming and others got a lot of money, they did not say a word about it, so much so that everyone in the vige felt that Jiang Zhen¡¯s trip did not go well.

    Jiang Zhen also learned about the affairs of the Jiang family. Jiang Ping¡¯s house was not far away from the Jiang family, so when Jiang Ming saw the situation of the Jiang family, he came to Jiang Zhen and told him about it vividly.

    ¡°Those people . . .¡± Jiang Zhen snorted coldly.

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen were not necessarily that bad themselves, but they were spoiled by olddy Jiang without a doubt.

    Even though there was so much work to do in the fields, olddy Jiang never let them do it, only asking him to do it alone . . . In modern times, some families preferred boys over daughters and let their daughters work while their sons didn¡¯t have to do anything. Regardless of their thoughts, the girls raised in such families were very capable. But what about the son they raised? You can¡¯t do anything about an opened bottle of oil after it falls down.

    Without the hardworking eldest Jiang at home, how would the family be able to survive with these people?

    There are some things that are better to end early . . .

    Jiang Zhen looked to Jiang Ming. ¡°You go keep an eye on things, and when they are almost done fighting,e and tell me.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Jiang Ming immediately ran away.

    When Jiang Zhen looked back, he saw that Jiang Xiaomei was looking in the direction of Jiang Ming¡¯s departure

    In this small vige, there was no rule of not marrying people with the same surname, as long as the two families were not directly rted. Jiang family and Jiang Ping¡¯s family had nothing to do with each other.

    If Jiang Xiaomei liked him . . . Jiang Zhen thought that he could create some opportunities for the two of them to get closer and see if they were suitable or not.

    Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang fought until they were finally separated by Butcher Jiang and some rtives and friends of the Jiang family. It was at this time that Jiang Zhen came.

    Jiang Zhen . . . What was he doing here?

    When Jiang Chengwen saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately looked at him angrily . . . Olddy Jiang wanted to jump out too, but there were many people behind Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Ming was a very easy-going man who was raised in a good family environment since he was a child. He has read some books and often went to the theatre. As soon as Jiang Zhen entered the Jiang family house, he moved the best chair over. ¡°Boss, sit down!¡±

    Jiang Zhen was stunned then sat down and looked around at his men then at the bruised and swollen Jiang family in front of him. Suddenly, he felt like a triad boss.

    ¡°You were going to sell Xiaomei, aren¡¯t you?¡± When the Jiang family did not speak, Jiang Zhen spoke first.

    ¡°What sell? We just found her a husband! Letting her live in a country town and enjoy herself!¡± olddy Jiang said.

    ¡°What a nice thing to say.¡± Jiang Zhenughed.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you¡¯d better give your little sister back! Or I¡¯ll go to the yamen and sue you for kidnapping and human trafficking!¡± Jiang Chengwen was so anxious; he forced himself to stand up to give a warning.

    He was afraid that if Jiang Xiaomei would not go back, Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang would really want him to separate from Jiang Chengxiang . . . Even if they didn¡¯t separate, without the silver from selling Jiang Xiaomei, their family would definitely have a hard time in the future.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you weren¡¯t afraid of me suing you before, but now what? Do you have the guts to go to the yamen and kill like you said before? At that time, the first person with bad luck will be the Zhao family and Zhao Jinge!¡±

    The more Jiang Chengwen said, the more he felt that he was right. He was not as afraid of Jiang Zhen as before.

    ¡°Go and beat him up,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Jiang Ming.

    Jiang Ming went up and pped Jiang Chengwen on the face, followed by another kick . . . This man¡¯s mind was not clear. First, he was cheated out of money and now wanted to sell his own sister. He was simply not a human being.

    The head of the vige who came in a hurry to stop fighting was full of embarrassment. This . . . Why . . . Why was his son also hitting people?

    ¡°If you have something to say . . . ,¡± Jiang Ping said.

    ¡°Dad, we¡¯re having a good talk.¡± Jiang Ming let go of Jiang Chengwen with a smile.

    Jiang Chengwen, who just shouted that he would go to the yamen to sue Jiang Zhen, didn¡¯t dare to say even a word.

    Jiang Zhen was already extremely disappointed with this family, so he didn¡¯t bother to talk with these people. ¡°Yes, I am no longer the same. I am not open-minded . . . So I came this time to talk to you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen sat in a chair, but the Jiang family was still standing, but they were still feeling that Jinag Zhen was looking down at them.

    Jiang Zhen continued, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to sell Jiang Xiaomei? It would be better to sell her to me than to someone else. But from then on, like me, she will have nothing to do with you and will be cutting off ties with you.¡±

    ¡°You want to buy Jiang Xiaomei?¡± olddy Jiang raised her head and said, ¡°Two hundred silver! You pay me two hundred silver!¡±

    ¡°You guys beat up Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Ming pushed up his sleeves and went up with He Chunsheng.

    Jiang Ping: ¡°. . .¡±

    ¡°Fifty silver, you will sell whether you want to or not.¡± Jiang Zhen said directly.

    In fact, it didn¡¯t cost much money to raise a child in the countryside. It¡¯s just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks. Moreover, when the child was seven or eight years old, they would be able to start working.

    Although Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen never worked, Jiang Xiaomei began to help olddy Jiang cook and wash clothes when she was still very young. Later, she was in charge of the chickens and ducks at home, so she didn¡¯t need to work in the fields. Therefore, it would absolutely not cost Jiang family fifty silver to raise Jiang Xiaomei.

    At this time, of course, olddy Jiang wanted to raise the price again, but how could she when her two sons are getting beaten up!

    ¡°Sell it or not?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Olddy Jiang finally agreed. ¡°Sell.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen heard the words, he said to Jiang Ming. ¡°All right, you guys can stop.¡±

    The vige head Jiang Ping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that these people finally stopped fighting. At this time, Jiang Zhen looked at him and said, ¡°Vige head, I would like to trouble you to be a middleman in this deal.¡±

    Jiang Ping: ¡°. . .¡±

    The Jiang family was not easy to deal with. If they bought Jiang Xiaomei from them, they would definitely be able to cheat and deny the debt if he didn¡¯t have a document, so he definitely wanted the deed of sale.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t really know anything about the sale deed at this time, but Jiang Ping had seen it before. He discussed it with the Jiang family, confirmed with Jiang Zhen, and quickly wrote down a sale deed.

    It was like this:

    ¡°Jiang Chengwen has a younger sister, named Xiaomei, who is sixteen years old, and is willing to sell herself to Zhao Jinge as a servant.¡±

    It also stated, ¡°The base price is 50 silver. If there are any problems, a middleman would take over the management of the person, and this person will have nothing to do with the buyer. Because there is no other proof, it is signed by the seller and kept by the buyer.¡±

    Seller: Jiang Chengwen

    Mediator: Jiang Ping, He Chunsheng

    The writer: Jiang Chengxiang

 Chapter 101.3 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    Chapter 101.3 ¨C Buying Jiang Xiaomei

    In order to avoid any possible trouble in the future, when Jiang Zhen wrote the contract of sale, he asked them to make this sale under Zhao Jinge¡¯s name.

    However, Butcher Jiang was not willing to sign his name on that document, so in the end, it was Jiang Chengwen who came forward to sell his sister. This document was written by Jiang Chengxiang.

    When the document was written out and signed, Jiang Xiaomei became Zhao Jinge¡¯s servant and now had nothing to do with the Jiang family.

    Jiang Zhen threw down fifty silver and left without looking back.

    Jiang Zhen gave this deed of sale to Jiang Xiaomei as he promised before saying, ¡°Before you get married, you should take it and hide it well so that those people will note to take you back.¡±

    Jiang Xiaomei could not read, but she also knew that this was her deed of sale. Holding that piece of paper, she burst into tears.

    Jiang Xiaomei cried for a long time, and when she was having dinner that day, she was still sobbing incessantly. However, although she was crying, her speed of eating had not slowed down at all. She couldn¡¯t help it, Zhao Liu¡¯s cooking was too delicious!

    Zhao Liu specially picked up a fish, which was some variation of silver carp. People in Hexi generally called it baotou fish or big-headed fish because its head was so big.

    Zhao Liu stewed tofu with the fish head and then braised the rest of the fish with sweet and sour sauce. In addition, she asked Zhao Fugui to go to the county town to buy a piece of pork and made braised meat.

    In fact, Zhao Liu had also made several vegetarian dishes. She and Zhao Fugui hadn¡¯t even gone to the Jiang house to watch the fun because they were so busy cooking and preparing the food.

    However, in Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s eyes . . .she only saw the couple of meat dishesid out.

    She didn¡¯t eat much; she only ate meat. How delicious it was to taste the meat in her mouth! But after a few bites of green vegetables, the vor was gone!

    What¡¯s more, this fish was so delicious . . . Olddy Jiang was too reluctant to put oil in the fish while steaming it, but what about the fish Zhao Liu cooked? She fried the fish head with oil, and not only did she put oil in the fish, she also put sweet and sour soy sauce on it!

    Jiang Zhen watched Jiang Xiaomei sobbing while eating and gave her a piece of fatty meat; obviously, Jiang Xiaomei preferred the fat meat.

    As for Zhao Jinge . . . Jiang Zhen cut the meat and cut off all the fat before giving it to him to eat, saying, ¡°You should eat more fish.¡±

    When Zhao Liu saw this scene, she was somewhat surprised. ¡°Jinge is pregnant with a child, so even his taste has changed?¡± He didn¡¯t like fat meat anymore?

    ¡°Mmm . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge responded, not saying that he actually loved to eat fatty meat, but Jiang Zhen did not allow him to eat more . . . However, although Jiang Zhen did not allow him to eat more fatty meat, every day, he gave him fish and meat. In the whole Hexi, probably no one else was able to eat like this. For better or worse, he really didn¡¯t like fatty meat as much as he used to.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, you should prepare more chicken, ducks, and fish in the future . . . Don¡¯t sell our chickens and ducks anymore. We can eat them all by yourself,¡± Jiang Zhen said. He thought it was healthier to eat chicken, duck, and fish.

    ¡°How can we finish eating so many chickens and ducks by ourselves?¡± Zhao Liu was startled.

    ¡°One a day,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    This . . . who eats chicken and ducks every day? Although Jiang Zhen at least brought back some money when he went out this time, he spent 50 silver to buy Jiang Xiaomei so there were no more than 100 silver left . . . to eat a chicken and duck every day.

    In order to solve Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s matter, Jiang Zhen did not have time to tell Zhao Liu that he has made a lot of money this time. As for Zhao Jinge . . . he simply slept all afternoon.

    Although Zhao Liu was worried, she considered the fact that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had just returned and that Jiang Xiaomei was also there, so she didn¡¯t ask.

    When her son went out, he probably didn¡¯t eat or drink well. Jiang Xiaomei also suffered . . . A few days of eating chickens and ducks was nothing at all . . .

    That night, Jiang Xiaomei was assigned to live in the house that Jiang Zhen had asked the Jiang family to build for him.

    The house that Jiang Zhen used to live in by himself had been vacant for a long time, but it could still be used by Jiang Xiaomei immediately without needing to buy anything.

    After tossing and turning all day, Jiang Zhen was so tired that he went to fetch some water to wash up before falling asleep beside Zhao Jinge, who was not sleepy at all after napping all afternoon.

    After putting Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand on his stomach, Zhao Jinge yawned and slowly nodded off.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were old, and they didn¡¯t sleep much, so they got up at dusk the next day and took the rice to the river to wash.

    People in Hexi got up early, so when they saw Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui, they all went to say hello. Some of them asked how much money Jiang Zhen made this time, and others said, ¡°I don¡¯t think Jiang Zhen brought anything back with him when he came back yesterday. I¡¯m afraid this trip didn¡¯t go well.¡±

    Although Zhao Liu was always worried about Jiang Zhen, she was immediately displeased when others said so.

    ¡°It did not go well, and Li Yuan kid is gone . . .¡±

    ¡°But Jiang Zhen really likes to spend money. When he came back, he brought me several kinds of jewelry.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s more, he asked me to kill chickens and ducks for Jinge every day . . . How can you say that he is fooling around? There is no one who would cheat to eat chickens and ducks every day!¡±

    She talked about Jiang Zhen for a while but didn¡¯t dare to say anything more for fear that these people would really find out that Jiang Zhen did not make money, so she switched the topic to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°It is true that Jinge is pregnant with a child, and he simply treats himself so well, giving Jiang Zhen all the food he doesn¡¯t like to eat . . . Our Zhao family was never so picky about food.¡±

    ¡°Even the water he used to wash his feet yesterday, he had asked Jiang Zhen to carry it into the house!¡±

    ¡°Say, in our vige, who is pregnant with a child and is more delicate than him?¡±

    . . .

    When Jiang Zhen came out of the house, he heard Zhao Liu showing off, and his heart was suddenly a little happy.

    When Zhao Liu saw Jiang Zhen, she was a little embarrassed. Ordinary men, even if they were willing to do something for women at home, they were not willing to speak about it outside for fear of losing face.

    ¡°Mother, Jinge is not delicate. Besides, those are things that I should be doing anyway.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Liu immediately had a sense of fulfillment, straightening her waist and looking at the people around with a smug look on her face.

    The surrounding people: ¡°. . .¡±

    What are you so proud of? Jiang Zhen must have spent a lot of money to please Zhao Jinge . . .

    The vigers were silently, sore in their hearts.

    At that time, however, Zhao Liu asked Jiang Zhen, ¡°Jiang Zhen, why did you already get up? Shouldn¡¯t you sleep more?¡±

    ¡°He Chunsheng woke me up. He said that my ship wasing,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Ship? We haven¡¯t seen it,¡± Zhao Liu said with some doubts. They were by the river and hadn¡¯t seen any boats at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s over the canal.¡± Jiang Zhen pointed in the direction of Zhao Dahu¡¯s family house.

    There were many things on that ship, so after thinking about it yesterday, he simply asked He Chunsheng and the others to take a trip today and sail the ship directly over here.

    ¡°Why is it over there? Did it go the wrong way? You can go and tell them to turn back the boat directly,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    Jiang Zhen paused for a moment. ¡°Can¡¯t. The canal is too small.¡±

    The author has something to say: Everyone look over here~.

    The format of the deed of sale is from Baidu, copy and paste + modify.

    In ancient times, there were sixteen ways to weigh but for the sake of this novel, I unified it as ten silver = one jin = 500 grams.

    ****

    Finally, let¡¯s talk about silver~

    Although this novel is fictional, it is basically written ording to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

    In fact, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was more and more silver; therefore, even a farmer¡¯s family could make money. Apart from farmers, many officials were able to bury millions of taels of silver under their own houses, and salt merchants made even more money. Not to mention the big sea merchants in the south. At that time, all the money from all over the world was flowing into China.

    Therefore, Jiang Zhen is not really rich at the present stage. There are some wealthy merchants that spend 100,000 silver a year on family expenses, so building a garden can use up all his wealth. However, although big merchants and officials were rich, ordinary people were still very poor.

 Chapter 102.1 - Jiang Zhen got rich

    Chapter 102.1 ¨C Jiang Zhen got rich

    The canal was too small?

    Zhao Liu looked at the canal beside her, puzzled. This canal was not small; it could fit three boats side by side without a problem!

    As Zhao Liu was wondering, all of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men from Hexi came, even those who lived in Qiaotou Vige and the county town also came.

    After those people went out with Jiang Zhen, their temperaments had all changed. Because they had been eating well, they all became very strong. Now standing together, they gave people great pressure, not to mention that after they saw Jiang Zhen, they opened their mouths and shouted in unison, ¡°Greetings, boss!¡±

    Their voices were so loud that it made Zhao Liu afraid.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded to them then pointed to the river. ¡°You go first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss!¡± Everyone responded in unison, and then He Chunsheng shouted, ¡°Run, go!¡±

    After He Chunsheng finished, these people ran the distance in an orderly way.

    Zhao Liu was a little overwhelmed by this scene, but soon, she became even prouder. These were Jiang Zhen¡¯s men! But . . . what are they going to do by the river?

    ¡°Mother, would you like toe over there with me?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m cleaning rice,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    ¡°Auntie, can you help my mother put the rice back?¡± Jiang Zhen took a bamboo sieve from Zhao Liu¡¯s hand and gave it to a middle-aged woman who was also washing rice.

    These days, after people husk the rice, there were often a lot of shells left, so they needed to wash the rice and let it soak in the water to let the rice husk float away.

    ¡°Oh . . . ,¡± The woman answered and subconsciously took the bamboo sieve from Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    In this rural ce, few people would solemnly thank people, especially Jiang Zhen, who was now famous . . . The woman holding the bamboo sieve was slightly stunned for a moment. When she saw Jiang Zhen leaving with Zhao Liu, she said to people around her, ¡°Did you hear that? Jiang Zhen just thanked me!¡±

    ¡°I heard it,¡± the man beside her said.

    Jiang Zhen was not vicious at all, in fact, he made one feel that he could be trusted.

    At first when they heard Zhao Liu¡¯s words of how much Jiang Zhen loved Zhao Jinge and how good he was to them, they always thought she was bragging, but Jiang Zhen was smiling just now . . . Perhaps Zhao Liu hadn¡¯t lied.

    ¡°They¡¯ve all gone to the river. What do you think is there?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look too.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go and have a look.¡±

    . . .

    After some discussion, everyone made a decision. However, they all had something to put away at home first, especially the woman who picked up Zhao Liu¡¯s bamboo sieve. She needed to go past two houses to put those away: ¡°Wait for me!¡±

    ¡°With such a short road, there¡¯s nothing to wait for! Why don¡¯t you just go slowly?¡± Some people were already on their way.

    The winter days were short, and although it¡¯s only dawn, the Hexi vigers were basically all awake. When the man waiting for breakfast saw his wife running back from outside in a hurry, he had to ask, ¡°Why are you running so fast?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go see what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the excitement?¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen took arge group of people to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house!¡±

    Jiang Zhen took people to Zhao Dahu house? What was going on?

    There were so few interesting things that happened in the countryside, so no matter who had an ident, everyone would rush over to watch the hustle and bustle. Since Jiang Zhen had taken a group of people to Zhao Dahu¡¯s family house, everyone ran to watch the fun.

    Vige head Jiang Ping also rushed over.

    His son went to Zhao¡¯s house early in the morning. Then he heard that he followed a group of people to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house. He did not know what was going on . . . but he needed to keep an eye on it.

    Zhao Dahu¡¯s family was already awake by that time.

    They all lived a little farther away from the vigers, so at first when they saw a group of people running from afar, they became scared. They were afraid that someone hade to rob their house, and they became even more afraid when they found out that these were Jiang Zhen¡¯s men. They were not very kind to Zhao Jinge in the past. Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯ting to trouble them, was he?

    They were worried. Then they saw the group running neatly across the road next to their house and then towards the river. Zhao Dahu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately became curious. Why on earth were these people going to the other side of the river? He . . . also needed to go take a look.

    After Zhao Dahu¡¯s family cleaned themselves up, they also went out to watch the hustle and bustle.

    By that time, a big ship hade to a stop beside the river, its captain was looking for a ce to dock, some people ran to the riverbank and then tied the ship to the trees on the riverbank with ropes.

    In general, the cargo capacity of a ship was much better than that of a horse-drawn carriage. After all, ships all had the help of buoyancy. As long as the ship was bigger, it could carry a lot more things . . . In order to secure the ship, those people had to take out more ropes so that it could stay firmly in ce. When they had finished tying it up, they found some boards andid them between the boat and the river bank.

    After doing all of that, those busy people looked at Wang Haisheng and asked, ¡°Brother Wang, is this the ce? When will the bosse over?¡±

    ¡°Soon,¡± Wang Haisheng said. Watching the people on the boat treat him respectfully and calling him Brother Wang made him feel very proud. He used to be a fisherman; he really didn¡¯t expect to have such a day.

    As soon as Wang Haisheng spoke, He Chunsheng came with people, and after a while, Jiang Zhen also arrived.

    After Jiang Zhen called Zhao Liu, he went to the other side of the river and met Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui on the way.

    Zhao Jinge strode along while Zhao Fugui, who had always been silent and then looked at him discontentedly, unexpectedly saying, ¡°Jinge, be careful, be careful . . . How can you walk so fast when you are pregnant with a child?¡± His son didn¡¯t look like most gers, wasn¡¯t he afraid that Jiang Zhen would start disliking him?

    ¡°Dad, what should I pay attention to?¡±

    ¡°What else can you pay attention to? Of course, I want you to walk slowly!¡± Zhao Liu immediately said, and Jiang Zhen looked at her with a smile.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge immediately slowed down.

    Their family didn¡¯t walk fast, so in a short time, the rest of the vigers had caught up to them by the time they had already reached the edge of the river.

    In the past, Jiang Zhen had a lot of dates with Zhao Jinge by this river. Looking at this ce, his eyes shed in nostalgia, and he felt that everything was pleasing, especially therge clump of indocmus bamboos, which was withered and yellow because of the cold weather, was extremely lovely.

    In the past, he held Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and kissed him there.

    Jiang Zhen was thinking about the past, but the eyes of Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were attracted to the big ships by the river.

    There were many ships going back and forth on this side of the river. Both Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui had even helped with the cargo on the docks before, so even he had boarded such a big ship, but this one . . .

    He Chunsheng and those people all ran to the ship. This ship, this ship . . .

    ¡°Why is there such a big ship here?¡±

    ¡°The men under Jiang Zhenmand went on the board.¡±

    ¡°Did you see Jiang Ming? He¡¯s carrying things down the ship!¡±

    . . .

    The Hexi vigers did not daree nearer; they all stopped at some distance, on the slope of the river, which was much higher than the river bank. They talked one after another, and after a while, everyone looked at the vige head, Jiang Ping.

    The vige head always knew a lot of things, and Jiang Ming went to the ship. At the moment, if they had doubts, they would have to ask Jiang Ping. Who would want to ask that fierce and evil Jiang Zhen?

    Jiang Ping: ¡°. . .¡± He really didn¡¯t know where that ship came from!

    His brat said he left something on the ship and needed to bring it back . . . Could it be this ship? Did this ship belong to the Zheng family?

    After thinking about it, Jiang Ping thought that this should be the case, so he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t Jiang Zhen working for the Zheng family? This ship should be the Zheng family¡¯s.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Zhen walking towards that ship, and everyone on that ship nodded and bowed to Jiang Zhen. ¡°Boss!¡±

    Wait, this ship . . . It wasn¡¯t Jiang Zhen¡¯s, right?

    ¡°This ship . . . It can¡¯t be Jiang Zhen¡¯s right?¡± Jiang Ping, who was far away, was skeptical, but Zhao Liu also could not help but have some doubt. Before, Jiang Zhen had said that his ship was on the way.

    ¡°What nonsense! How much money does a ship of this size cost?¡± Zhao Fugui looked at his wife and reprimanded her. Many of the rich people in this county town didn¡¯t even own a ship this big!

    ¡°Also . . .¡± Zhao Liu also felt that the ship should not be Jiang Zhen¡¯s.

    ¡°Father, Mother, it¡¯s Jiang Zhen¡¯s,¡± Zhao Jinge said awkwardly. He just remembered that he had forgotten to tell his parents about it.

    Zhao Liu shuddered and became a little unsteady. Zhao Fugui¡¯s expression froze. ¡°Jinge, what did you say?¡±

    ¡°That boat is Jiang Zhen¡¯s,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were dumbfounded, and only after a while did they look at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Fugui: ¡°Where did ite from?¡±

    Zhao Liu: ¡°How could Jiang Zhen even afford such a big ship? Jinge, you have to watch out for him. Don¡¯t let him be seduced by those little goblins.¡±

    ¡°Mother, Jiang Zhen won¡¯t,¡± Zhao Jinge answered Zhao Liu, but he didn¡¯t know how to answer Zhao Fugui . . . He couldn¡¯t say that Jiang Zhen robbed this ship, right?

    Fortunately, Zhao Fugui was subdued and did not continue to ask.

    Jiang Zhen had already gone on board andmanded people to begin moving things down from the ship.

    What they moved down first were things everyone bought in the capital to bring back home. Jiang Zhen also allowed his men to carry these things back to their homes first. Anyway, there were a lot of sailors on the ship, and he had no shortage of people to help him move the goods.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men cheered as they picked up their own things one after another.

    He Chunsheng bought a lot of brightly colored fabrics and found his younger brother He Qiusheng. ¡°Qiusheng, these are for you. Take them to make clothes.¡±

    ¡°Brother!¡± He Qiusheng¡¯s eyes lit up immediately.

    ¡°Dad, I bought you a chamber pot! I heard you say that your chamber pot was broken, and that you have identally scraped it¡ªOuch!¡± Before Jiang Ming could finish his words, he was smacked on the head by his father.

    This brat really dared to say anything! Jiang Ping looked awkwardly at the people around him, and sure enough, he saw that all the people in the vige were looking at him in surprise. Their eyes were all trained on a certain part of him.

    Jiang Ping: ¡°. . .¡± His son was a debt collector! ¡°Cough,¡± Jiang Ping coughed twice and pointed to therge bags around Jiang Ming. ¡°These are all you bought?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dad,¡± Jiang Ming said. ¡°I bought something for everyone in my family.¡±

    ¡°That ship . . . ,¡± Jiang Ping asked again.

    ¡°That ship belongs to Boss,¡± Jiang Ming said.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship? Where did Jiang Zhen get such a big ship?¡± Jiang Ping was shocked. So were the surrounding Hexi vigers.

    Where did Jiang Zhen get such a big ship? He hadn¡¯t made any money, had he?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a ship? Dad, why are you so surprised?¡± Jiang Ming said. This ship didn¡¯t look like a big deal to him.

    ¡°Is this just an ordinary boat?¡± Jiang Ping was angry.

    ¡°This is a very ordinary ship. The boss has five more around the same size, and a few slightly smaller ones,¡± Jiang Ming said.

    Jiang Ping: ¡°. . .¡±

    Hexi people: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen, how did he get so many ships? Did he rob them?

    Zhao Dahu and his family were also among the crowd, and they listened to the conversation between Jiang Ping and his son and then . . . They used to be the richest in the vige, but it looks like that won¡¯t be the case any longer. Suddenly they felt a little depressed!

    Most of the people in Hexi Vige, except for Butcher Jiang¡¯s family went to the riverside.

    As for why Butcher Jiang butcher didn¡¯t go . . . at that time, they needed to hide from Jiang Zhen andy low. How could they send themselves to his side?

    Because all the people in Hexi had run away, the whole vige looked empty. Meanwhile, Zhu Shufen came back with her parents and rtives.

    She didn¡¯t even greet the Jiang family yesterday; she just packed up her things and went back to her mother¡¯s house. She wanted to bring her family and force the Jiang family to divide, so this day, they came early in the morning.

    Afraid that the people in Hexi Vige would not agree to separate the family, the Zhu family called a lot of people today. Zhu Shufen¡¯s father, Zhu Xiucai, also came in person.

    They angrily rushed to Hexi Vige only to find . . . Why was Hexi Vige so quiet, and why was there no one around?

 Chapter 102.2 - Jiang Zhen got rich

    Chapter 102.2 ¨C Jiang Zhen got rich

    ¡°Where are all the vigers?¡± Zhu Xiucai looked left and right, puzzled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Zhu Shufen was also puzzled. At this time, the vige should be making fire. Was everyone eating breakfast? Why is there no one out at this moment?

    ¡°This matter will not run away, will it? Uncle, let¡¯s go and see the Jiang family¡¯s house!¡± someone said.

    The group of people quickly ran towards the Jiang family¡¯s house and then blocked them all in.

    The other day, the Jiang family was blocked by Jiang Zhen, and this day, they were blocked by the Zhu family. The chair that Jiang Zhen sat on yesterday was also brought out for his father-inw by Jiang Chengxiang at his own initiative.

    A one-sided negotiation began.

    The people in Hexi vige knew nothing about the Jiang family situation. They were still in shock. However, they could at least speak at the moment . . .

    ¡°This Jiang Zhen is really something!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s only been out for a few months, but he¡¯s brought back ships this big.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s definitely blessed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that olddy Jiang had been treating him unfairly. If the Jiang family had treated him better, they might have be rich a long time ago.¡±

    . . .

    The second uncle of the Jiang family was also there and was furious when he heard these words. He became angry. He felt that Jiang Zhen was not ambitious enough. If he were so capable, why would he lower himself to marry into someone else¡¯s family? Wasn¡¯t it good enough to start your own household? He could marry a wife and have four concubines and open branches and scatter leaves for the Jiang family . . .

    The second uncle of the Jiang family thought like this and wanted to talk to Jiang Zhen again, but his son, seeing this, quickly grabbed him.

    Jiang Zhen was so powerful now; it would be stupid to offend him again!

    Meanwhile, Zhao Fugui had boarded the ship to help Jiang Zhen move things.

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Zhen had no shortage of people to do this, but Zhao Fugui was so happy, he insisted on moving them, so Jiang Zhen let him. However, he asked him to only move what he had brought back for him and Zhao Liu and not carry too much.

    Like so, Zhao Fugui moved a little each time, back and forth.

    ¡°Mother, ask Dad toe back.¡± When Zhao Jinge saw his father running back and forth. He felt a little distressed.

    ¡°Your father is showing off. Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Zhao Liu said. In fact, she also wanted to go down there and move things! But the nk was too narrow, so she didn¡¯t dare to go there.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s eyes turned to look at the people from the vige not far away.

    A few people who often spoke with Zhao Liu and had a good rtionship with her immediately came over to her and boasted, ¡°I told you that Jinge has been blessed since childhood! I was sure he could marry well!¡±

    ¡°Zhao Liu, you have been waiting for good days!¡±

    ¡°You have the best life in our vige.¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Liu was praised without having to take the initiative to show off, so she was very happy.

    At this time these people began to inquire, ¡°How was Jiang Zhen suddenly able to have such a ship?¡±

    Zhao Liu froze when she heard this question. She also didn¡¯t know!

    Zhao Liu immediately looked at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge coughed twice. ¡°Jiang Zhen . . . He¡¯s very good . . . Well . . .¡±

    He wanted to show off like his mother, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. If he praised Jiang Zhen too much, wouldn¡¯t other people want to rob him?

    ¡°This child mouth is really clumsy!¡± Zhao Liu said. He didn¡¯t know where Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship had came from, but it did not affect her boasting. ¡°Jiang Zhen has always been a capable man. What are a few ships for him?¡±

    ¡°The master of the Zheng family appreciates him!¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s not always good at everything¡ªNo, he¡¯s too clingy. When going out to do business, he always takes Jinge with him. Jinge is pregnant, but he still travels outside.¡±

    ¡°Of course, he has such a big ship, so Jinge won¡¯t be tired.¡±

    ¡°They are such a sticky couple, so sticky . . .¡±

    If his mother said so, and people knew that Jiang Zhen liked him very much, then they wouldn¡¯t think of stealing Jiang Zhen from him. That¡¯s great!

    ¡°Madam, Old Madam.¡± At this time, Cook Li came with Ruo-er; their ent was a little different from the Hexi one. However, because they learned from Zhao Jinge, their ent was not too difficult for Zhao Liu to understand.

    ¡°This is . . .¡± Zhao Liu didn¡¯t know who these two people were, and . . . This was the first time someone called her Old Madam . . . It was really strange. Even Zhao Dahu¡¯s mother wasn¡¯t called that.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen asked them to take care of me,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Oh, you see, this Jiang Zhen is really good at spending money. My Jinge is so sturdy. Why would he need someone to take care of him?¡± Zhao Liu immediately said, ¡°But I don¡¯t have to worry about how to take care of the child. Someone can help!¡±

    The people of Hexi who failed to get a word in: ¡°. . .¡±

    Suddenly, they all wanted to smack Zhao Liu . . .

    Zhao Jinge smiled reservedly and suddenly understood why his mother liked to show off to people like this.

    Zhao Fugui ran back and forth more than a dozen times before he finished unloading all of the things. Then Jiang Zhen found a man and asked him to help deliver the things to Zhao house.

    The man took a load and picked up all the things Zhao Fugui had carried for so long, leaving only a few small baggage for Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui to take.

    As a matter of fact, this baggage was originally intended to be carried by Ruo-er, but Zhao Liu wanted to take it.

    ¡°Such good material, but it¡¯s used to wrap baggage.¡± Zhao Liu¡¯s expression was a bit tangled as she stroked the baggage in her hand.

    Because Jiang Zhen came over, all the people around scattered. Seeing the situation, Zhao Liu pulled Zhao Jinge over quietly and said, ¡°Mother just said some words you should not listen to.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge was puzzled.

    ¡°That is to say, it is too sticky for you to follow Jiang Zhen out . . . Mother thought about it. You¡¯d better go with him in the future so that Jiang Zhen won¡¯t be taken away!¡±

    When the Zhao family was still doing well, even the honest Zhao Fugui was targeted by a widow who wanted to get money from Zhao Fugui and let him help with the work. Now that Jiang Zhen was rich . . . She thought it would be better if her son followed Jinag Zhen all the time so that even if some goblins wanted to stick to him, her son could beat them away!

    Zhao Jinge solemnly nodded. He also felt that, as long as he could follow, he must follow.

    With Jiang Zhen walking in the front, he brought the people of Hexi back. Everyone was so dizzy that no one noticed the movements within the Jiang family. Especially after Jiang Zhen put down his things and went to the river again. Everyone yelled, and then followed after him again.

    Jiang Zhen had calcted to himself that he should have more than two hundred thousand silver in cash, which included all the real estate, like his ship.

    If he really wanted to talk about silver . . . after he bought a lot of goods in the capital, there was only about twenty thousand silver left. This twenty thousand silver was what he nned to hide at home as emergency funds.

    Twenty thousand taels of silver weighed two thousand jin (1,000 kg), which was one ton in modern times. It looked like quite a lot, but if you put it together, it wasn¡¯t much.

    This ten thousand silver, when put into the box, would fill only four boxes, and it was only because the shape of the silver was not regr.

    These boxes were previously locked on the ship by Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen had personally led people to carry them back to the Zhao family. After that, he would arrange some of his own men to serve as guards.

    At the same time, there was also another urgent matter. That was to build a house.

    Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t been in a hurry to build a house before, mainly because he didn¡¯t have the money on hand, but now that he was rich, he must build a good house. Even so, he did not want to build just any house.

    Jiang Zhen remembered that Li Mingzhe, who was engaged in the silk business in Lijia Vige, not only built his house by the river, but also built a small dock to make it convenient for people from various region of the country to dock their boats and sell their cocoons to him.

    Should he also buy a piece ofnd and then build docks as well as a house?

    Speaking of which, although there were all kinds of difficulties in ancient times, there were also some aspects that Jiang Zhen liked very much. For example, when you buy a piece ofnd these days, you can do anything you like with it. Unlike in the modern times where you needed to build it ording to the higher-up¡¯s approval.

    If a person wanted to build a dock for personal use, it would be even more troublesome, and he may not even be able to get approval at all. If he could, he would build a big dock in Hexi Vige and build the house next to it.

    Jiang Zhen took out a piece of paper and drew the topography of Hexi, and then he began to pick the ce.

    At this time, Zhao Fugui and his wife opened the boxes that Jiang Zhen brought back. As soon as they opened the box, they were surprised. There was so much silver in this box!

    Zhao Liu covered her chest and felt that she could not breathe.

    ¡°Fuck! You can¡¯t talk about this outside.¡± Zhao Fugui gulped and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go kill a chicken.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t just kill a chicken, kill a duck too . . . Jiang Zhen likes to eat braised duck meat,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    So much silver, ah . . . All the chickens and ducks they raised could indeed be eaten by themselves . . .

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui went to cook, but Zhao Jinge came to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side.

    He now had a little knowledge, so when he saw Jiang Zhen drawing, he could guess it at a nce, ¡°Are you mapping out Hexi Vige?¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge and then pointed to the drawing to show it to Zhao Jinge. ¡°What do you say we build a house here?¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Zhao Jinge immediately said. He was worried that his house was too small for all these people to live in!

    After all, he might have two children in three years, right? Maybe after five years, there would even be three children!

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge¡¯s thoughts were not about building a house.

    ¡°Although using mud walls to build a house saves time, it has many defects, and it is still damp. I want to change it and build a brick house, but theyout of the house cannot be like this. Every house should be well nned. I will design a house first . . . Better to build a building . . .¡±

    ¡°Building?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise.

    ¡°Yes, building. Even if the floor could be paved with bricks and tiles, the ground floor would be too humid, so it¡¯s better to build a building and live upstairs,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Do you think I should get a brick kiln and bake bricks first?¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know how to burn ss, but he roughly knew how to bake bricks. After all, burning bricks was simple . . . Wasn¡¯t it just to make some molds with y and bake them? In addition, there were already brick kilns in ancient times. He might as well recruit some brick-baking master and solve this matter.

    Jiang Zhen quickly made a decision, and Zhao Jinge, after he made this decision, immediately agreed.

    They would go to buy thend tomorrow.

    While Jiang Zhen was thinking about how to buynd, the Jiang family was taken by the Zhu family to the country town to sellnd. Then they went to pay the debt and separate the family along the way.

    The Jiang family still had eleven acres of paddy fields left, ten acres of mulberrynd, and ten acres of drynd. This time, in order to pay off the debt, they sold three acres of paddy fields, two acres of drynd, and two acres of mulberrynd.

    After Zhu Xiucai came forward, Jiang Chengwen owed all the debts, so after the separation of family, Jiang Chengxiang rightfully got more things. He got five acres of paddy field, five acres of mulberrynd, and five acres of drynd. However, even so, Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s share had be much less than he had expected.

    At present, if he worked hard in the field for a year, he would only be able to get enough for food and clothing. It would be difficult to have a surplus.

    Jiang Chengwen was even worse; he only got a total of three acres of paddy field, three acres of drynd, and three acres of mulberrynd. Even if each piece ofnd was used well, he would hardly have enough to eat . . . After all, he would be having another child soon.

    Moreover, he and Jiang Chengxiang made a deal that olddy Jiang would follow him and Butcher Jiang would follow Jiang Chengxiang. That meant his family had three adults . . . It was a good thing that olddy Jiang could raise silkworms to help support the family.

    As a matter of fact, the amount ofnd that the Jiang brothers had was not small. There were still many people in Hexi who were poorer, but transferring from extravagance to frugality was always a bit hard to swallow.

    And only when thend was nted would they have a harvest! However, they didn¡¯t know how to farm. The Jiang family looked at each other in disagreement as they hung their heads low when they returned to Hexi dejectedly and only to find out that . . . Jiang Zhen had unexpectedly earned a lot of money!

 Chapter 103.1 - Buying land to build a house

    Chapter 103.1 ¨C Buyingnd to build a house

    The people of Hexi vige were so happy, as if there was a festival that day. In their vige, there is a big man now!

    Jiang Zhen was very, very powerful. He went out on trip, and when he got back, he got one¡ªno no, several big ships and suddenly became a big businessman! It was estimated that Jiang Zhen now had more moneypared to Zhao Dahu.

    Before, when Jiang Zhen was only slightly richer than the rest of the people in the vige, people might still be jealous of him, but now that Jiang Zhen¡¯s wealth far exceeded that of the vigers, they did not envy him, but looked up to him instead.

    At the moment, the vigers looked very proud, and when they saw the Jiang family, thest of their reluctance disappeared. Compared with the Jiang family, their situation was much better!

    Seeing the dejection of the Jiang family who drove away their blessing, they, in contrast, just have a good friendship with Jiang Zhen in advance, so it was really nothing.

    Seeing the Jiang family hanging their heads in despair, some people who did not have a good rtionship with them went up to gloat.

    ¡°Jiang Chengwen, did you know that Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship wasing today?¡± a young man of the same age as Jiang Chengwen and had been in with him since he was a child asked.

    ¡°What ship? I didn¡¯t see it!¡± Jiang Chengwen said in an unpleasant voice.

    ¡°Of course, you couldn¡¯t see it. The canal here is too small for that boat to get here, so it docked in the river.¡± The manughed.

    ¡°Yes, Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship is really big, and from this ship, many things were brought back,¡± someone next to him said, then more and more people began to speak up.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen also has more than this one boat. He has several of them!¡±

    ¡°Jiang Ming and He Chunsheng bought down things from this ship worth more than twenty silver. How much do you think they have made on this trip?¡±

    ¡°I heard that on just this trip, they each earned almost a hundred silver! Tsk, tsk. Jiang Chengxiang used to earn only two silver a month on the docks, right?¡±

    ¡°These people have earned so much, so how rich should Jiang Zhen be!¡±

    The crowd spoke in front of the Jiang family, making their faces turn darker and darker.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be! Jiang Zhen must be cheating! It¡¯s all a lie!¡± olddy Jiang said in a loud voice.

    ¡°Everyone in the vige saw it, so how could it be a lie?¡± the men said before leaving in a good mood.

    The Jiang family looked at each other and returned home, covered in gloom. At this time, the people who were close to their family came and finally exined the whole story to them, trying to persuade them again.

    ¡°You should be more open . . .¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t offend Jiang Zhen in the future.¡±

    ¡°Well, if only you had been nicer to him at first?¡±

    . . .

    The Jiang family became even more depressed after hearing their advice.

    But at this time, the Zhao family was jubnt. In the morning, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu didn¡¯t make breakfast because they went to move things, so at noon, Zhao Liu cooked a very big meal. Moreover, she was already used to using a little oil, and now was even more willing to use oil.

    For the green vegetables, she only used water to nch it in and then it was stir-fried. The duck, she not only fried it in oil but put wine to braise it! The chicken, she didn¡¯t even think of boiling chicken for the soup but steamed it in an earthen pot!

    . . .

    Of course, this was not Zhao Liu¡¯s idea, who was a rural woman with little experience. In fact, all the cooking was done under the guidance of Cook Li, and she learned that cooking could be done this way.

    ¡°Did you make all the meals Jinge had before?¡± Zhao Liu smelled the rich fragrance of the duck in the pot and asked.

    ¡°Yes, his lordship asked me to cook specially for his wife,¡± Cook Li said to Zhao Liu in her ented voice.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really kind to him.¡± Zhao Liu was very happy in her heart. She had been busy all her life, so wasn¡¯t it just right for her child to have a good life? Now her son had a good life.

    Zhao Liu thought like this in her heart, and so did the others. Jiang Xiaomei, who looked over at Zhao Jinge, envied him a little. She also went to see the excitement before and became a little scared. She didn¡¯t know that her elder brother was so good . . .

    She has such a powerful big brother. In the future . . . as soon as Jiang Xiaomei thought like this, cold water was poured over her.

    Jiang Zhen has been talking to Zhao Jinge, Zhao Fugui, and Zhao Liu, but he didn¡¯t look at her at all. Her eldest brother had thoroughly be a family with the Zhaos. Although he had not changed his surname, it was still the same. While she was surnamed Jiang.

    Because of this, Jiang Xiaomei didn¡¯t dare to becent at all. At that moment, she was still busy helping Zhao Liu.

    Jiang Zhen enjoyed the meal veryfortably. He liked to eat meat, and although there was no pork on the table that day, he could eat chicken and duck freely. Especially the chicken . . .

    The chicken had been steamed in the earthen pot for some time, so the meat was not hard at all and the vor was condensed inside the meat . . . Two chicken wings were all chewed clean by Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Fugui also liked to eat meat rather than to chew on the bones. In addition, the taste of the duck this time was especially good. In the past, the ducks cooked by Zhao Liu had always had unpleasant duck smell, but this time, the duck did not smell and also had not lost its vor. Moreover, the soup was very tasty. Even those vegetarian dishes were very delicious.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen told Zhao Fugui and his wife that he was going to build a house. ¡°Mom, Dad, we will have more people in the family in the future, so we will definitely not be able to fit everyone here in the future. Later, I will go to the county town and buy a piece ofnd, so we can build a house by the canal.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Zhao Fugui nodded again and again. He was now very convinced by Jiang Zhen, so he would not refute Jiang Zhen¡¯s decision.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, why don¡¯t you try on your new clothes ande with us to the country town for a stroll?¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    ¡°All right.¡± Zhao Fugui nodded again.

    At this time, Zhao Liu mentioned Jiang Xiaomei, ¡°You might as well bring the Xiaomei as well.¡± Jiang Xiaomei, like Jiang Zhen before, was treated badly by the Jiang family, which made Zhao Liu have some kind of empathy for her, and she liked this child very much. Moreover, no matter what others would say, she was still Jiang Zhen¡¯s younger sister. Even if it were for Jiang Zhen¡¯s sake, she would not be unkind to Jiang Xiaomei.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be better to wait for the next time. I don¡¯t even have the right clothes now.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Xiaomei, who was still wearing shabby clothes, and then said, ¡°As soon as Cook Li and Rou-er are done, please show them around the vige. Their luggage will be moved to your house, and they will live with you for the time being. If you find it inconvenient, you can get some curtains or something to separate the area.¡±

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t hate Jiang Xiaomei, but he hadn¡¯t interacted with Jiang Xiaomei that much, and he couldn¡¯t say that he liked her. Jiang Xiaomei was just a passerby to him.

    It was precisely because of this that he had never taken care of Jiang Xiaomei before. However, even if he did not have feelings for her, the former Eldest Jiang had liked Jiang Xiaomei very much, so he would help her. But even if he did help Jiang Xiaomei get rid of the Jiang family and find her a marriage partner, he did not intend to let her integrate into his family.

    ¡°Good,¡± Jiang Xiaomei answered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought back more cloth. There¡¯s a dark red one in it. I will ask someone to bring it to youter, so you can make two new sets of clothes,¡± Jiang Zhen said again.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen was not young; he was already in his thirties. Coupled with the education he has received, he was always more tolerant of minors¡ªthey were just children. As long as they were not vicious nor did they break thews andmit crimes, he had nothing to worry about.

    Therefore, when He Qiusheng asked him for help, he did not get angry, and he would save him when it came to it. He was looking for someone to serve Zhao Jinge and was tender-hearted to the skinny Rou-er at the first sight, wanting to help find an easy job for the child. Zhao Jinge was not a difficult person to serve.

    It¡¯s Jiang Xiaomei¡¯s turn soon. He didn¡¯t mind letting her improve her situation because it didn¡¯t cost him much to help.

    Jiang Zhen went to the county town this time on that big ship. Both Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui wanted to take the ship, so he naturally wanted to satisfy them.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful ship.¡± After Zhao Fugui got on board, he took in the ship with a burning gaze.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rub about, or you¡¯ll get your new clothes dirty.¡± Zhao Liu stood beside Zhao Fugui and reminded him. After a word of warning, she turned her head in a slightly stiff way and looked around curiously.

    Before getting on board, both Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu changed into the new clothes brought back by Jiang Zhen from the capital. In addition, Zhao Liu also put on several pieces of the jewelry that was brought back by Jiang Zhen.

    After putting a gold hairpin in her hair, Zhao Liu was afraid to move her head for fear that the pin in her hair would fall off, and the gold bracelet on her wrist made her feel like she didn¡¯t know what to do with it. She wanted to show others the gold bracelet on her hand, but she was afraid that others would try to rob it . . .

    As a result, Zhao Liu inevitably got entangled. It could be said that she couldn¡¯t sit still. Seeing Zhao Jinge, she quickly took Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Jinge,e here quickly. Come and help Mother see . . . the hairpin on Mother¡¯s head is not crooked, right?¡±

    ¡°Mother, the hairpin on your head is not crooked. It¡¯s fine,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that it¡¯s not crooked . . .¡± Zhao Liu sighed in relief and looked at Zhao Jinge with a frown. ¡°Jinge, why don¡¯t you wear some jewelry?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°You have to wear them even if you don¡¯t like them. Men like women and ger to wear bright clothes and jewelry,¡± Zhao Liu said. ¡°If Jiang Zhen bought you jewelry, it¡¯s better for you to take it out and wear it.¡±

    ¡°Mother, Jiang Zhen doesn¡¯t like these either, he didn¡¯t even buy jewelry for me.¡± Zhao Jinge said, Jiang Zhen bought some jewelry for Zhao Liu¡¯s, but not for him.

    Zhao Liu became speechless hearing that. ¡°He didn¡¯t buy jewelry for you? Howe he didn¡¯t buy jewelry for you?¡± She had gotten a lot of jewelry but not Zhao Jinge?

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t like it,¡± Zhao Jinge said, not wanting to talk to Zhao Liu about it anymore.

    He looked like this, wearing jewelry really would not look good on him.

    Hexi Vige was not far from Hecheng County, so the ship did not take long to arrive at Hecheng.

    Zhao Liu had not been to the county town for a long, long time. After getting off the ship she could not help but look around but soon restrained her desire to do so. She was wearing such nice clothes, so she should act more dignified. If she kept looking around, she would certainly embarrass Jiang Zhen . . . She¡¯d better bear with it and stop looking around.

    Jiang Zhen noticed Zhao Liu¡¯s difort and took the initiative to exin, ¡°Mother, look over there. There is the fabric store. I went there to sell fabric before. And there is a tea stall. You can get a pot of tea for a penny . . .¡±

    ¡°Drinking water costs money . . .¡± Zhao Liu sighed, listening to Jiang Zhen¡¯s exnation. Her whole person became more and more rxed.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s health had not been good over the years, so she didn¡¯t go out much. Her skin in the vige was considered fairly pale. Now when she smiled, full of kindness, she really looked like an olddy from a wealthy family.

    Zhao Fugui looked at her and saw many people around at her, so he could not help but grunt twice.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯m going to go buy thend. You guys stroll around first, and when I¡¯m done with my business, I¡¯ll find you guys before we go to the restaurant for dinner,¡± Jiang Zhen said to people around him as they strolled around.

 Chapter 103.2 - Buying land to build a house

    Chapter 103.2 ¨C Buyingnd to build a house

    On the other side of the river, most of thend belonged to the Zhao family, but some of it belonged to no one. Thisnd could be bought from the yamen, but the yamen needed to measure it first.

    Jiang Zhen informed Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu and then took He Chunsheng and He Xiasheng to work, leaving Jiang Ming, Wang Haisheng, and several others to protect the Zhao family.

    Jiang Zhen first went to see Yang Jing and then followed him to the yamen office, as well as to the Hecheng country magistrate. In fact, he didn¡¯t intend to see the county magistrate. After all, with his status, he would need to kneel to give his respects. But as soon as he went to the yamen and stated his name, they not only came out immediately to help him but they also didn¡¯t give him a chance to kneel down before he wasplimented instead.

    There was no doubt that this magistrate was from the Zheng family.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Then as he expected, things went smoothly. Not only did the county magistrate say thatnd would be his in a few days, but even the price was cheaper. Of course, with the magistrate being so kind, Jiang Zhen also needed to be respectful. So immediately after, he gave the magistrate some medicinal materials brought from the capital to show his respect. Both sides talked to each other very happily.

    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s only been less than a year, you¡¯re surprisingly powerful.¡±

    Yang Jing couldn¡¯t help but feel some emotion as he looked at Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen had been poor and penniless, so he didn¡¯t expect that, after half a year, he had be a person who even the county magistrate had to treat him with courtesy. He was suddenly a little d that he was beaten by Jiang Zhen and did not try to make trouble for Jiang Zhen after that incident. If he hadn¡¯t had the sense to not go against Jiang Zhen, he had no idea of what would have be of him by now.

    ¡°I am quite surprised too.¡± Jiang Zhenughed. ¡°By the way, invite all familiar people in the yamen. I will invite you all to drink.¡± Since Jiang Zhen intended to live in Hecheng County, having a good rtionship with those yamen officers was necessary.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss. I¡¯ll be sure to invite all the people who should be invited.¡± Yang Jingughed and invited someone to go.

    Jiang Zhen seeing this, asked He Chunsheng to go to the butcher in the county town to ask if he had enough pork so he could buy some to give away.

    That evening, the restaurant in the county town was very lively. All the yamen officers and those small officials who worked in the yamen came to gather in the restaurant to drink and eat meat.

    Jiang Zhen spent only 20 silver to buy a meal in the restaurant that could satisfy all these people. In addition, he asked He Chunsheng to prepare a basket for each of them. In each basket, there was arge piece of pork, ten eggs, ten duck eggs, plus a packet of snacks. It was not much, but in those times, it was still a very good gift. These people could enjoy themselves at this banquet and still bring back quality food for their families when they went home.

    The yamen officers were all eating and drinking downstairs, and several of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men were also talking to them downstairs to establish a good rapport with them, while Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge, Zhao Fugui and his wife to eat on the second floor.

    Zhao Jinge was here for the second time, and he had learned a lot when he was in the capital, so he didn¡¯t think anything about eating here. But Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were very uneasy. They are actually going to eat above a group of officials, which . . . this . . .

    Zhao Fugui did not even dare to move a lot, for fear of making a noise and making these officials below unhappy.

    ¡°Father, Mother, you do not need to be like this . . . There will be more days like this in future,¡± Jiang Zhenforted.

    ¡°Oh . . . I just can¡¯t get over it,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were very ufortable, but it didn¡¯t stop them from eating the food at the table and even clearing the tes. It would be such a waste to not finish all of such expensive food!

    When Jiang Zhen bid good-bye to the yamen officers, the people under him had already be brothers with these officers while those yamen officers even called Jiang Zhen, boss.

    While the Jiang family was enjoying their dinner, the old Jiang family had already officially split up, but because the food in the kitchen had not been divided yet, the meal was eaten together.

    In the past, when the family ate together, although there was no meat, there were still eggs on the table. But at the moment, only boiled vegetables could be eaten, and olddy Jiang was reluctant to even put salt in it.

    Both Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen were picky eaters, so although both of them were hungry, they put down their chopsticks without eating much.

    Jiang Chengxiang had long since borne a particr dislike for Jiang Chengwen. Jiang Chengwen, on the other hand, also hated his cold-blooded brother, so neither of them was willing to talk with each other. Seeing this scene, Butcher Jiang could not help sighing.

    Olddy Jiang was also unhappy . . . especially since Jiang Zhen made a lot of money

    ¡°Chengxiang, didn¡¯t you say before that we can sue Jiang Zhen for being unfilial? He intimidated us at the beginning, so we didn¡¯t sue him, but how about now?¡± olddy Jiang suddenly asked. ¡°I gave birth to him, so all the money he earned should be given to me! How could he ignore his own mother!¡±

    As soon as olddy Jiang¡¯s words came out, all the Jiang family members were stunned, especially Jiang Chengxiang who had some knowledge.

    Nowadays, if a son wanted to sue his father, no matter why he wanted to sue he would be punished first. However, when a father or mother wanted to sue their son it was easy.

    After all, Daqi country was ruled by filial piety!

    Now that Jiang Zhen had be rich but he did not care about his parents, this was definitely being unfilial!

    They didn¡¯t dare to sue Jiang Zhen before because he threatened them, saying that if they dare to sue him, he would take a knife and go to the yamen to slice people up, but this time . . . that Jiang Zhen admitted it. Didn¡¯t it give them immunity to sue?

    In the eyes of the Jiang family, hope lit up again.

    Even if they wouldn¡¯t be able to make Jiang Zhen spit out all the money he had earned, they could still get a little so that they will have no worries about food and clothing and buying back thend they have just sold! Maybe they could even buy morend!

    The Jiang family looked at each other and became more and more excited. The next day, olddy Jiang changed into rags before going to the yamen building to make aint.

    ¡°Who are you suing?¡± the yamen officer asked.

    ¡°Sir, I want to sue my eldest son for disobedience . . . Disobedience and for being unfilial!¡± olddy Jiang cried.

    The country magistrate of Hecheng County was determined to rise in the ranks. Although he was not necessarily clean, he was still good to his people. If peoplee to sue, he would see it through.

    Hearing this, the yamen officer asked, ¡°Who is your eldest son? Do you have any documents?¡±

    ¡°My eldest son is the viin of Hexi Vige, Jiang Zhenwei. But now he changed his name to Jiang Zhen.¡± Olddy Jiang then took out the paper that Jiang Chengxiang had already written.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen?¡± The yamen officer looked at olddy Jiang in surprise and went in with the paper.

    The other day, Jiang Zhen invited them to dinner and drink, but this day, someone came to sue him. What a coincidence . . .

    The yamen officer went to Yang Jing, who had known Jiang Zhen the longest.

    Seeing that the yamen officer had gone in, olddy Jiang waited outside excitedly. As a result, she waited for a long time but did not see the officere out again.

    It was cold. She had been standing outside for a long time in the wind, making her eyes tear up and snote out. She deliberately wore rags, so she did not feel warm . . . In desperation, she could only stop another officer and asked, ¡°Officer, I¡¯m here toin. . .¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way.¡± The yamen officer frowned and looked at olddy Jiang, saying, ¡°Besides, before you file aint, you should weigh your own weight first. Don¡¯t use others and lose your own life.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Olddy Jiang was surprised.

    In the end, this was an olddy, so yamen officer reminded her, ¡°Jiang Zhen¡ªno, Boss Jiang hase to the yamen yesterday to have tea with the county magistrate, and you still want to sue him?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Olddy Jiang was so frightened at the idea that Jiang Zhen had the ability to drink tea with the county magistrate. This . . . This . . .

    ¡°Besides, who doesn¡¯t know that you mistreated him and kicked him out?¡± The yamen officer said, ¡°How long are you going to stay here? Boss Jiang¡¯s men wille soon.¡±

    Coincidentally, as soon as olddy Jiang heard the yamen officer speak, olddy Jiang saw Jiang Ming and He Chunshenging together from afar.

    When olddy Jiang came, she dressed in rags to look like a person who was very poor and who did not have enough to eat. After being in the cold for a long time, it seemed that she would fall down when the wind blew, but now . . . She sprang to her feet and ran away as fast as she could and at such speed, even a young and strong person would not be able to catch up with her.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know about olddy Jiang¡¯s affairs at that time. Having nothing to do today, he stayed at home and started prenatal education to Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly. He read poems to the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly while touching Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach. He didn¡¯t know whether the child in the belly was happy to hear it or wanted to protest. But when he read, the child moved a lot.

    ¡°My child¡¯s legs are so strong!¡± Jiang Zhen was kicked a few times by the child in the belly and then could not help boasting and asking Zhao Jinge, ¡°Does it hurt when it kicks you?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Zhao Jinge was a little speechless. Even though the child moved gently, he didn¡¯t know why Jiang Zhen insisted that it was kicking.

    Maybe the child was just turning over.

    ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t hurt,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll read another book.¡±

    Jiang Zhen soon began to read again, but this time, he only read a few words when Zhao Liu¡¯s voice came from outside, ¡°Jiang Zhen, what are you talking about? Why are you speaking so strangely?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen was reading, he naturally used Mandarin, but obviously, Zhao Liu could not understand . . .

    ¡°Mother, Jiang Zhen speaks in the capital¡¯s officialnguage, Mandarin. All people in the capital speak like this,¡± Zhao Jinge said to Zhao Liu.

    ¡°Mandarin? People in the capital speak like this?¡± Zhao Liu was surprised.

    ¡°It can be said that people who are officials all talk like that.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded earnestly.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really very good . . .¡± Zhao Liu sighed with emotion. As soon as she turned around, she could not help sharing it with other people.

    ¡°Do you know? Jiang Zhen can speak Mandarin, but only those who are officials can speak it!¡± She could not talk about money at home, but she could still talk about this, so Zhao Liu added, ¡°He can read and write in Mandarin.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± the people who talked with Zhao Liu¡¯s were stunned.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s true.¡± Zhao Liu was very sure, ¡°He also reads to Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach even though it¡¯s only so big now. He wants to start teaching the child in the belly, so he was reading to Jinge¡¯s stomach all day long . . . This Mandarin, how powerful it was that even can teach child in the belly¡ª¡±

    ¡°Zhao Liu, Jiang Zhen has never studied. Why do you think he can read and speak Mandarin?¡± a man interrupted Zhao Liu and asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Maybe he was enlightened by some immortal,¡± Zhao Liu said casually and carried on, ¡°Jiang Zhen said that when the child is in the belly, it can still hear the voice from outside, so he reads to teach the child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly every day. Maybe in the future, there will be a master schr in our family!¡±

    Zhao Liu had little education, so she thought that bing a schr was already very good! As for the people who spoke to her, they did not listen to what she saidter, only thinking about the sentence she spoke in front of them¡ª¡°Enlightened by immortals.¡±

    Without Jiang Zhen¡¯s knowledge, the Hexi vigers spontaneously found a reason for his change. Eldest Jiang suddenly became so powerful because he had met an immortal and became enlightened! He was really blessed!

    After all, this was just what everyone said in private, so a few dayster when the yamen officers came from Hecheng, they were truly shocked.

    Jiang Zhen bought such arge piece ofnd . . . He soon had morend than Zhao Dahu¡¯s family! It¡¯s just . . . That piece ofnd was not good for growing things.

 Chapter 104.1 - Cooking and eating

    Chapter 104.1 ¨C Cooking and eating

    Close to Zhao Dahu¡¯s house, there was arge piece of riverbanknd, but because thend was not good for growing crops, no one imed it. However, there were some people in the vige who had littlend and were rtively idle, so they would go there to nt beans and pumpkins or something. Even if the harvest was small, a little something was better than nothing.

    Now, thatnd, along with the small forest nearby, all belonged to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen took the deed given by the yamen and invited the yamen officers who came to measure thend and deliver the title deed to eat at his house. Then he gave them a duck each and found a boat to send them back to the county town.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really powerful. How polite were those yamen servants towards him!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why he wanted such arge piece ofnd . . .¡±

    ¡°Say, do you think he needs more men? My youngest son wants to follow him too.¡±

    ¡°Are you afraid that your son will end like Li Yuan?¡±

    ¡°My youngest son may not have that bad luck, will he? Moreover, you also know the situation in my family. There is barely enough to eat, so if he won¡¯t venture out on his own, it will be almost impossible for him to have a good life in future.¡±

    . . .

    The entire vige was talking about Jiang Zhen. On the other hand, the Jiang family did not dare to entertain crooked ideas anymore. Each of them shrunk their heads for fear that Jiang Zhen would find trouble with them.

    They asked olddy Jiang to go to the yamen to sue Jiang Zhen. So it was estimated that Jiang Zhen already knew about it but still didn¡¯t know how to deal with them

    Just thinking about it, they couldn¡¯t help bing worried. Olddy Jiang, who had been waiting for a long time in front of yamen that day in the cold weather, directly fell ill. Huang Min keptining because she had not yet gotten off the kang bed. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_bed-stove)

    Olddy Jiang was now living with them, but she was not able to help with the work and even asked her to wait on her. Fortunately, it was agreed that Butcher Jiang, who lived with Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s family, would take care of some fields from them to let her rest.

    The Jiang family¡¯s days were spent in fear but Jiang Zhen did not intend to do anything to them. Eldest Jiang¡¯s obsession was gone, so to him, these people were just some annoying strangers . . . Moreover, this was the ancient times . ..

    In modern times, when the children¡¯s parents are unkind, they still have the responsibility to support their parents, or else, people will use them for being unfilial. Let alone these ancient times. After all, in the eyes of the people, olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang had raised him all this time. It was just that they were not good to him. However, that was not enough reason to cut ties with them.

    If he was still as alone as he was when he first came to this world, he would not be afraid of anything. But since then, he had every intention to live a good life in this ce and this era, and he was going to have a child soon.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t do anything to the Jiang family. He justpletely ignored them. In fact, his attitude had already made it difficult for them.

    His subordinates, as well as the people of Hexi, were not those schrs who paid special attention to filial piety. When they saw that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like the Jiang family, they gave them no face. So they bullied the Jiangs. Even the vige gers and women were unwilling to talk to them.

    The Jiang family was so isted that their days in the vige were getting worse and worse.

    Soon, Li Yuan¡¯s funeral was held.

    In Hexi Vige, attending a funeral was called ¡°eating tofu¡± or ¡°eating tofu rice¡± because tofu was the main dish served during the vige¡¯s funerals.

    It was probably because it¡¯s difficult to preserve the corpses at these times that vigers paid no attention to the matter of death. Usually, after someone dies, the people of the n would be called over to discuss the matter of dealing with the funeral. Then they would begin to prepare funeral objects, such as clothes to show filial piety, which was cutting a sack to make a hat for a filial son or preparing some strips of white cloth, as well as blue and red cloth.

    These strips of fabric were worn on the heads of the guests who came to offer their condolences. Generally, the peers, the children of the deceased, and their nephews would wear these white strips while the grandchildren wear dark blue strips, the great-grandchildren wear the red strips, and the generation after that would wear the ck strips.

    Since every family had some strips of cloth like this ready, there was no need to cut too much. Of course, some big families not short on money would prepare hats of corresponding colors and a belt for all people who came to eat tofu.

    Women prepared these things while the men were to visit from house to house to report the funeral then buy food, borrow tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks . . . Usually after such a busy day, the funeral would then be held.

    The next evening, all the rtives and friends woulde to deliver offerings, kowtow in respect to the deceased, and have a tofu meal in the house. On the third day, the deceased would then be buried.

    On the day of Li Yuan¡¯s burial, everyone had to take part in the funeral, and after the funeral, they would still need to go to the main house and eat tofu rice. Of course, some people had fewer family members, so the preparation time became longer.

    Li Yuan died a long time ago and only his clothes were brought back. So the Li family didn¡¯t have to worry about his body decaying. Hence, they didn¡¯t hold a funeral immediately. Instead, they went to seek the advice of the fortune-telling blind man to set an auspicious date.

    Li Yuan had joined Jiang Zhen¡¯s teamte, so Jiang Zhen was not very familiar with him, but since he was one of his own men, the Li family came to inform him about the funeral.

    On the evening of Li Yuan¡¯s funeral, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to the Li house. All his subordinates in Hexi also came.

    ording to the local custom, people who attended a funeral needed to bring things like incense and candles, a piece of meat or egg, and some rice and noodles. At the gate of the Li family house, Jiang Ping, who was literate and knew the entire vige and even the people from the nearby viges was taking notes with a pen to write down the offering basket of each family.

    Some of the things sent by would be used when the family hosted the funeral. Some poor families even relied on these things toplete the entire funeral.

    But the host would not use up all the things. ording to customs, they had to return some of them. Therefore, they need to remember who sent what. After that, the host family would go to that house to ¡°eat tofu rice¡± and return the offered things.

    In the past, there was a family in Hexi that was so stingy that they only gave two eggs and a handful of dried rice when they went to someone else¡¯s house for the meal. Later, when their family held another funeral, people only sent them such things so that the entire funeral was nearly impossible toplete.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know anything about this, but Zhao Liu was very proficient and prepared a generous gift for Jiang Zhen, including a pot of oil, tworge candles, two chickens, and a basket of eggs.

    Jiang Zhen put these down and gave another two silver.

    Jiang Ping recorded it. At that moment, the people who came to the Li family were talking about the funeral and sincerely felt that the Li family funeral was conducted very decently.

    ¡°The coffin is painted!¡±

    ¡°Did you see that two candles and eight oilmps were lit! At this point, it must have been lit all the time for the past two days and wasn¡¯t extinguished. ¡°

    ¡°The Li family also invited a cook and someone to y the suona.¡±

    ¡°The younger generations of the Li family all wear blue hats and blue belts, and even the filial piety clothes of Li Yuan¡¯s brothers were newly made.¡±

    . . .

    ¡°It is said that the reason why the Li family was able to do so was because Jiang Zhen gave them a lot of money after Li Yuan¡¯s passing.¡±

    ¡°I heard about it too . . . Although the Li family lost a son, their lives will be easier in the future.¡±

    ¡°In fact, it was not a loss . . .¡±

    ¡°Keep your voices down. Jiang Zhen and his men are here.¡±

 Chapter 104.2 - Cooking and eating

    Chapter 104.2 ¨C Cooking and eating

    Thesements were all heard by Jiang Zhen, which made him feelplicated. People in this era really did not value human life as much as modern people did . . . Of course, this wasn¡¯t such a bad thing for him. Just look at these days, countless people were scrambling to be his subordinates.

    Every time someone arrived, the suona would be yed for a while, and when everyone showed up, the banquet would begin.

    There was no tradition in Hexi of only eating vegetarian dishes during a funeral, in general, there would only be tofu rice served on the first day of funeral. Only on the evening of the burial would a meat dish appear on the table . . . After all, everyone was poor.

    But the Li family was different. After the start of the banquet, they first served four dishes of green vegetables and tofu on each table, and pigrd dregs were ced on the top of these bowls of tofu. There was also meat in the soy sauce tofu servedter and pieces of egg and shredded meat in the tofu soup.

    There were four bowls of green vegetables and tofu, two bowls of braised tofu, and two bowls of tofu soup. A total of eight bowls on each table, and each bowl had some meat, such as in the tofu rice. It was definitely very generous.

    At some tables, there were children who made a scene after getting to eating oil and meat, but Jiang Zhen sat at this table with several of his men who were from Hexi. They all ate well these days, so they didn¡¯t rush to grab food.

    Everyone ate in silence, and even Jiang Ming, who had been rtively jumpy, was silent and quiet.

    ¡°This green vegetable tofu tastes good,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge and then picked up the bowl of green vegetables and tofu in front of him and put some into Zhao Jinge¡¯s rice bowl; the tofu was tender, so it was not easy to pick up with chopsticks.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and lowered his head to pick up rice, seeing that Jiang Zhen had also started eating.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen moved his chopsticks, a man came to Jiang Zhen, lowering his head and pleading in a low voice, ¡°Boss, can you not drive me away? I was wrong before . . . I am willing to follow you.¡±

    ¡°I always keep my word.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the other person.

    This man was also from Hexi Vige, one of his former subordinates. When they encountered the pirates, Li Yuan and another Hexi viger were seriously injured, and this person then said a lot of disheartening words and expressed his regret for following Jiang Zhen.

    At that time, Jiang Zhen was very unhappy, so he told this person not to follow him in future . . . This was what he said, but because they were on the journey that time, he was still regarded as his subordinate by everyone.

    That man suffered light injuries then, so he did not follow Jiang Zhen to fight the piratester on. Still he was givenpensation by Zheng Yi, andter, Jiang Zhen gave everyone a small bonus, so he was not short on money . . . Seeing so much money, he wanted to continue to follow Jiang Zhen.

    Later, Jiang Zhen did not talk about not wanting him. so he thought that Jiang Zhen had forgotten about it. He did not expect for Jiang Zhen to tell him he was no longer one of his men when they returned to Hexi.

    When he came back from the capital, he brought back a lot of things and silver. Everyone envied him, and he was also a bit ted, but then . . . Jiang Zhen drove him away? He was unwilling, so he came to talk to Jiang Zhen about it today. He begged, ¡°Boss, I will definitely be obedient in the future . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless for you to say this now,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s cold expression, he didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore and left, dismayed.

    ¡°I knew he would regret it sooner orter,¡± Jiang Ming said. ¡°It¡¯s good to follow the boss. You can drink and eat spicy food!¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at Jiang Ming. ¡°I will increase the training in the future, and if you guys can¡¯t finish it, there will not be good food and drinks in the future.¡±

    During the trip to the capital, Jiang Zhen found a lot of shorings within him, not to mention his men. Their training time was a little too short. Since he was not short on money, he was able to let Zhao Jinge live a good life, so it was better to live quietly and train his men andy his own foundation, so that he could develop better in the future. Of course, before that, he had to sell the goods he brought back from the capital and build up the house.

    Early the next morning, a lot of people gathered in Li Yuan¡¯s family house. Everyone helped to dig a hole on the ground selected by the Li family to bury the coffin that contained Li Yuan¡¯s clothes then performed the rituals. After eating two more meals, Li Yuan¡¯s funeral was over.

    The Li family¡¯s tofu rice was very rich for the vigers, especially thest meal, where not only was there braised pork served but also sliced chicken. And the tofu soup was cooked with chicken! However, such a meal was so-so for Jiang Zhen. After all, the Zhao family¡¯s food was also very good these days.

    However, for the time being, he would not be able to eat Zhao Liu¡¯s food. After attending Li Yuan¡¯s funeral, Jiang Zhen nned to go to Fucheng and sell the goods he had brought back from the capital.

    That night, after a round of ¡°fetal education,¡± Jiang Zhen told Zhao Jinge about his ns.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too,¡± Zhao Jinge immediately said.

    ¡°Jinge, you are pregnant with a child . . .¡± Jiang Zhen said with some hesitation. He did not intend to take Zhao Jinge with him this time. After all, he would only be gone for a few days. The goods were easy to sell since Zheng Yi had introduced him to several merchants. He did not worry about selling the goods.

    ¡°I want to go too,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen thought about it for a while then agreed. Then he approached Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, are you reluctant to leave me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge said, ¡°En.¡± Of course, he is reluctant to give up Jiang Zhen and . . . he was also afraid that some goblin would seduce Jiang Zhen while he was not there.

    When Jiang Zhen got Zhao Jinge¡¯s reply, he felt very happy. He threw himself at him and then kissed him several times.

    ¡°Be careful . . .¡± Zhao Jinge hugged his belly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been very careful,¡± Jiang Zhen said, bowing his head and kissing Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly then he began to take off Zhao Jinge¡¯s clothes.

    Zhao Jinge has always felt that his body was not good-looking, and with him pregnant with a child, he felt that it was even more ugly. Fortunately, it was so cold that he was always under the quilt, so Jiang Zhen could not see it.

    This day, as usual, after a while, Zhao Jinge was stripped off his clothes by Jiang Zhen, and he finallyy naked on the quilt.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand touched Zhao Jinge for a while and then suddenly stopped.

    Recently, the weather was getting colder and colder. So when he and Zhao Jinge did things, it was very inconvenient, because the whole time, they had to be under the covers. Because of this, he had not seen Zhao Jinge¡¯s body for a long time and many positions were also inconvenient. If Zhao Jinge were not pregnant, it would have been okay, but he was, so he couldn¡¯t have Zhao Jinge freezing at all.

    ¡°Jinge, wait for me,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge opened the door and walked out.

    Zhao Jinge was a little confused. Why did Jiang Zhen leave?

    After a few steps outside, Jiang Zhen entered the kitchen and found several earthen pots and dug up some charcoal before going back.

    Taking the earthen pot and charcoal back to the room, Jiang Zhen lit in the circle around his and Jinge bed.

    ¡°What are you doing with this fire?¡± Zhao Jinge asked inexplicably, feeling a little distressed. Charcoal costs money, so he has been reluctant to use it. But Jiang Zhen used so much.

    ¡°Making the room a little warmer,¡± Jiang Zhen said as he lit a brass foot warmer.

    This brass foot warmer was bought by Jiang Zhen when he was in the capital. It was a little smaller thanmonly used washbasin and was made from thick brass underneath. There was a lid with holes in it so after putting charcoal fire into it, it could be used to warm the feet and dry other things. If it were made even smaller, it would be called a hand-warming stove.

    On the ship, Jiang Zhen would put some charcoal in it and then use the brass stove to dry and heat up the bed. However, Hexi Vige was not as cold as it had been on the ship and Zhao Liu would dry their quilt as long as there was sun so they had never needed to use it.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen put a lot of charcoal in it and put it inside the bed again.

    ¡°Be careful not to burn the quilt,¡± Zhao Jinge said. They never put so much charcoal in it before . . . Usually, they only put small-size pieces of burning charcoal and a lot of nt ash, so it would not be too hot.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I can always move it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge nodded and then couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°You . . . What are you doing?¡±

    He was lying naked on the bed, and Jiang Zhen had lit a stove beside him. That was not enough, there was even another makeshift brazier on the ground. What did he want to do?

    ¡°Eat you,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge only thought that he had heard wrong. ¡°Eat me?¡± What does that mean? Jiang Zhen . . . He doesn¡¯t eat people, right!

    ¡°I¡¯m cooking, I¡¯ll eat you when I¡¯m done.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge.

    That smile meant a lot. Zhao Jinge vaguely felt something was wrong, just . . . Jiang Zhen should be joking, right? The fire was so far that it could only make him warm but it couldn¡¯t actually cook him!

    ¡°Jinge, do you have anything you want to eat? I will cook it for you.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge and saw his bewilderment, so he stopped teasing him.

    ¡°Then¡­ roasted sweet potatoes?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and went to find a few more sweet potatoes. After their exercise, it would be a great time to eat some sweet potatoes.

    And the room wouldn¡¯t be heated up for a while, so he could cook something else to eat first.

    Jiang Zhen found some grain in the kitchen, and took the rice left over from the night as well as a small piece of salted meat and three eggs to the small iron pan used on the ship.

    ¡°Do you want me to help?¡± Zhao Jinge sat up and got up from the bed to get dressed. He thought that Jiang Zhen must be hungry after tossing around for so long in the middle of night, so . . . he shouldn¡¯t want to do anything with him . . .

    ¡°No need for you to help.¡± Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to snatch away Zhao Jinge¡¯s clothes and put them on the box far away.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡± Jinag Zhen did not want him to get dressed?

    ¡°Come. I will make popcorn for you to eat,¡± Jiang Zhen said, and then he threw the shelled rice into the fire.

 Chapter 104.3 - Cooking and eating

    Chapter 104.3 ¨C Cooking and eating

    The rice was thrown into the fire, emitting a crackling sound, and soon burst one by one, the white rice inside also exploded.

    Jiang Zhen picked up these rice grains and gave half of it to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Taste it. It is quite good.¡±

    ¡°Oh . . .¡± Zhao Jinge ate it slowly. He had eaten this when he was a child, so the name of it was popcorn? Quite a good name.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you fried rice with eggs,¡± Jiang Zhen said again, setting up a small iron pot.

    First, he put oil on the iron pot and then put the shredded salted meat into, stir-frying it slightly. Then he added eggs and the remaining rice before continuing to fry it for a while. Then the egg fried rice was ready.

    In ancient times, Jiang Zhen had never seen fried rice with eggs. These days, oil was so expensive, so who would have thought of using the oil to fry rice? He had never seen it, and Zhao Jinge had not seen it either. But although he had never seen it, the aroma of fried rice made him crave it.

    ¡°This is fried rice with eggs. Here. Have a bowl first.¡± Jiang Zhen gave Zhao Jinge a bowl of fried rice with eggs while he ate directly from the pot.

    Jiang Zhen was a mediocre cook, but his fried rice with eggs was very good. After all, in modern times, he often ate it.

    Zhao Jinge sat up with the quilt wrapped around his stomach and took a bite from the bowl. Then he immediately felt that the fragrance was not the only good thing. When he gazed at Jiang Zhen, his eyes were full of worship.

    Zhao Jinge ate the rice first and kept the eggs and bacon aside. When his meal was almost finished did he only begin to enjoy the bacon and eggs with great satisfaction. Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen had already finished eating and was watching Zhao Jinge.

    He fed him enough and so he was ready to eat . . .

    ¡°This egg fried rice is really delicious.¡± Zhao Jinge finished the rice in the bowl and put down the bowl.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± Jiang Zhen said, picking up the bowl and putting it down, then without hesitation, he lifted Zhao Jinge¡¯s quilt.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Zhao Jinge was startled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll taste it.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge on the mouth, and after kissing for a while, he said, ¡°You keep your voice down. Don¡¯t let Dad and Mom hear a sound.¡±

    ¡°Then you first give me back the quilt¡ª¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Your husband will be given to you as a quilt.¡± Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to take off his own clothes and look at Zhao Jinge¡¯s body in the light of fire.

    He had not seen Zhao Jinge¡¯s body for many days, so he only found now that Zhao Jinge stomach was no longer small, and when he was lying t on the bed, it was particrly obvious. He did not like a man with a bby stomach, but Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly was not bby; it was taut. His own child was there.

    He liked Zhao Jinge¡¯s body; it even made him feel a little moved. It was not easy to have a baby, but Zhao Jinge helped him to have a baby. Jiang Zhen suddenly felt that he would not be able to make out with Zhao Jinge today. Atst he his memory was refreshed by Zhao Jinge¡¯s current appearance. Of course, it was impossible for him not to make out.

    If they don¡¯t make up at this time, all the charcoal would be wasted. Jiang Zhen ate Zhao Jinge; he ate him from the front and the back.

    Zhao Jinge was so ashamed that he did not dare to make any noise and could only follow Jiang Zhen¡¯s lead. At first, he remembered to cover his stomach, butter, he didn¡¯t have the time and . . . Jiang Zhen seemed to like his stomach, and he kissed it repeatedly. If Jiang Zhen liked it, just by it he would also like his belly, which was not ugly at all.

    The two lingered in bed for a long time, and after they finally finished, the sheets were no longer usable.

    Jiang Zhen got water to clean Zhao Jinge with and soaked bedsheets as well. Then he asked, ¡°Jinge, do you want to eat baked sweet potato?¡±

    Zhao Jinge has been lying down, so he answered in daze, ¡°Yes.¡± He previously thought Jiang Zhen meant eating meat by eating, but it turned out this was eating . . .

    When Jiang Zhen heard the words, he immediately pulled the roasted sweet potatoes out of the fire, and then he found out . . . that the whole roasted sweet potato was burned.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    ¡°Jinge, why don¡¯t I make you something else?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, but he did not hear the answer this time. When he looked over, he found out that Zhao Jinge had already fallen asleep. After a brief tidying up, Jiang Zhen climbed into bed and fell asleep with Zhao Jinge in his arm.

    Jiang Zhen woke up early on the next day. He was in a high spirit for a long time like he was injected with chicken blood, but when he got up today he looked at the mess in the room.

    Zhao Jinge was still sleeping, so when Jiang Zhen got out of the bed, he slowly started cleaning up. When he was cleaning he found that two earthen pots had been burnt with charcoal, and the ground was cracked.

    He silently moved everything out of the room. Jiang Zhen also took the sheets out to wash them. Ruoer, Zhao Liu and Jiang Xiaomei were very washed clothes proactively, but he was too embarrassed to ask them to wash such sheets.

    Early that morning, Jiang Ming came to find Jiang Zhen, and then he saw his impressive, wise, and powerful boss unexpectedly. . . washing sheets! He didn¡¯t even wash his sheets; his mother did it, andter, his future wife would do that job. Didn¡¯t Zhao Jinge wash the sheets for Jiang Zhen?

    Zhao Liu, who had just finished cleaning the rice in the river and was bragging to two women who wanted to buy eggs from her along the way, also froze. Although she had been telling people that Jiang Zhen was very kind to Zhao Jinge, wasn¡¯t it not good to let people see that Jiang Zhen was washing the bedsheets? She really didn¡¯t treat Jiang Zhen badly! She would never let Jiang Zhen do the washing and cooking!

    Zhao Liu subconsciously looked at the people around her and then saw them looking at her in admiration.

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge were really powerful . . . Jiang Zhen at home even had to wash his own bed sheets . . .

    ¡°Jiang Ming, what are you doing here?¡± Jiang Zhen had already finished washing the bedsheets, and was wringing them out two or three times before putting them up to dry in the sun.

    It was just washing a bedsheet; he did not take the matter seriously at all.

    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not much. I just came over for a moment,¡± Jiang Ming said. Then he asked, ¡°Boss, is there anything I can do?¡±

    ¡°There is,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Ming asked.

    ¡°Help me to buy some braziers as well as some charcoal,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Jinge tasted great, so he nned to eat him a few more times.

    Jiang Ming answered affirmatively then ran away. The two people who came back with Zhao and Liu also ran away. They surprisingly saw Jiang Zhen washing clothes . . . These two women suddenly had a problem with the men in their house who didn¡¯t do any work around the house.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, why are you washing these sheets yourself? You could leave it for me to wash.¡± After the two women left, Zhao Liu hurriedly told Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I just washed it casually,¡± Jiang Zhen said, not mentioning the reason why the sheets were dirty in the first ce . . . That is to say, it would be no easy for Zhao Liu to wash it. She could not even wring the sheets dry.

    ¡°Keep it from now on. Don¡¯t wash them,¡± Zhao Liu said. Just as she finished talking, she saw the earthen pot next to him. ¡°Why is the earthen pot full of ash?¡±

    ¡°Wait, the earthen pot is cracked?¡± Zhao Liu was deeply distressed. ¡°Who would set fire in the earthen pot? Isn¡¯t it intentionally burning the pot?¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    Afterining twice, Zhao Liu realized that no one in her family would do such a thing except Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, why did you burn the pot?¡± Zhao Liu asked.

    ¡°It was a little cold in our room yesterday, and there was no brazier at home . . .¡± Jiang Zhen touched his nose awkwardly.

    Jiang Zhen was a big man, so he was not afraid of the cold, so this was for her own son . . . Zhao Liu was not angry with Jiang Zhen at all, but when Jiang Zhen went out, she knocked on her son¡¯s door and asked while standing outside, ¡°Jinge, is your quilt a little too thin for you?¡±

    Already awake, Zhao Jinge, who was wrapped in the quit and was going to pick up his clothes from the box froze.

 Chapter 105.1 - Failed marriage proposal

    Chapter 105.1 ¨C Failed marriage proposal

    Zhao Jinge stood there nkly, not daring to respond.

    Zhao Liu added, ¡°If you felt cold why did you not tell me? You should not let Jiang Zhen burn all this coal in the house. Even if he is rich now, he should not be so wasteful . . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge still did not answer and moved slowly to the bed, intending to lie down for a while. Jiang Zhen closed the door when he went out, but that was all. If the door bolt inside were not fastened, the door could be opened with a simple push.

    Fortunately, after saying her piece, Zhao Liu left without hearing a response. She only thought that Zhao Jinge was still asleep, so she didn¡¯t want to disturb her son¡¯s sleep.

    Zhao Jinge sat on the bed and sighed in relief when he found his mother was gone. Only then did he discover that the quilt he was wrapped up in was covered in ck ash.

    After Jiang Zhen lit the firest night and did simple cleaning this morning he did not sweep all the dust off the ground. He was a little frightened just now, so he identally dragged the quilt to the ground.

    The quilt was dragged to the ground, so inevitably it was stained by a lot of ash, so it¡¯s corner turned ck . . .

    After wrapping himself with the quilt again and got his clothes. He then removed the quilt, got dress and was preparing to wash the quilt.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Liu discovered that,st night, Jiang Zhen seemed to have lost more than a few earthen pots . . .

    There were fewer eggs, bacon in the kitchen, and the leftover rice was missing as well as bag of charcoal that they bought. She did smell a faint smell of cookinging from her son¡¯s roomst night. Did the two of them cook at night? That¡¯s really too much!

    Zhao Liu couldn¡¯t stand being idle, so she took initiative to winnow the rice. The cooking was all done by Cook Li, the fire was prepared by Jiang Xiaomei, and Ruo¡¯er helped wash vegetables. Zhao Liu had the leisure time, so she went outside only to see her son washing the quilt cover.

    ¡°Jinge, I just washed this quilt cover for you before. Why did you wash it again?¡± Zhao Liu asked, frowning.

    ¡°It was a little dusty,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Zhao Liu took a look and found that the washing water was ck, so the quilt was probably stained with ash ¡°Today Jiang Zhen came out to wash the sheet in the morning also because it was stained with ash, right? Did you knock the copper foot stove on the bed? You should be more careful in the future.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Jinge bowed his head and answered, bing secretly relieved to hear that Jiang Zhen had washed the sheets.

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t let Jiang Zhen wash the sheets in the future. People will definitely think that we treat our son-inw too harshly, letting such big men wash the sheets,¡± Zhao Liu said as she moved a small stool over, intending to help Zhao Jinge wash. When she found that the water was cold, she frowned again. ¡°Why are you washing with cold water? Are you not afraid of freezing on such a cold day?¡±

    Zhao Jinge was driven back to the house, and Zhao Liu asked Ruoer to wash the nket with her. Both of them had little strength, but each of them held one end of the sheet and slowly wrung it. Then they both put it together with Jiang Zhen¡¯s washed sheets to dry on the sun.

    When Jiang Zhen returned, he saw the sheets and covers being dried together, fluttering in the wind.

    Hexi Vige did not pay much attention to morning meals. In the past, Zhao Liu¡¯s breakfast was always porridge. But ever since she was reced by Cook Li, the dishes were changed and became more varied. For example, this day they were eating rice porridge with green vegetable buns. The green vegetables were kneaded by hand with saltst night and pickled all night. So now they not only had the fragrance of fresh green vegetables.

    Zhao Jinge liked this steamed bun very much so he ate them together with porridge.

    Jiang Zhen also liked the steamed buns and ate a lot. After eating, he told the story of himself and Zhao Jinge going to Fucheng.

    ¡°Those goods should be sold as soon as possible.¡± Zhao Fugui nodded without any objection.

    However, Zhao Liu med Zhao Jinge, ¡°Why do you still want to take Zhao Jinge with you? Is he pestering you to go? It¡¯s outrageous for a ger to run outside with such a big belly!¡±

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s just going to Fucheng. It¡¯s all right.¡± For Jiang Zhen, it was not appropriate for Zhao Jinge to go if they were to go far away, but it was only Fucheng, which was only a day¡¯s journey, so there would be no problem at all.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡± Mother, it was you who told me to follow . . .

    After saying a few words to Zhao Jinge, Zhao Liu began to tell him what he should bring. ¡°It¡¯s cold now, so you better bring more quilts. Mother will find someone to make you some quilts. You should also take some food and drinks . . .¡±

    Zhao Liu did what she said, and after breakfast, she called familiar people from the vige to make quilts.

    Every family in Hexi vige raised silkworms, but they didn¡¯t grow much cotton. The quilts were all silk, but the silk was not suitable to make mattresses and so were all basically made from cotton.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge got married, Zhao Liu paid people to make cotton mattresses as well as two silk quilts.

    Most of the silkworms raised in Hexi were sold for money after these produced cocoons, but some of them would be kept for their own use. They would cook the cocoons in pots and soak them in water for a few days.

    After a few days, women or gers would peel off the soaked-soft cocoon and dig out the silkworm pupa inside. After pulling them open, they would ce them on their hands, and after garnering severalyers, they would pull it into square silk pieces.

    After drying, this thing would be a cotton bag by the vigers. When making a quilt or silk-padded jacket, they would take it out andy one or two cotton bags on door panels, and two people would stand on a cotton bag to pull the cotton pocket apart. Layer byyer, they would cover the door panel with a quilt cover, making a silk quilt.

    The Zhao family had not raised silkworms for many years, so Zhao Liu not only did not prepare cotton bags, but also forgot all about the skills of pulling quilts. So she had no choice but to spend money to buy some cotton bags and then find several people to help pull quilts.

    Although silk was very expensive in the north, in Hexi, the price of cotton bags was not lower. Wanting to find someone to help pull the quilt was not only about money but also about taking care of their meal.

    In view of the fact that the food of the Zhao family was very good, the women in the vige were scrambling toe.

    The Zhao family immediately became lively, and after Zhao Liu found a few cotton-padded jackets, she asked people to prepare new ones.

    ¡°Big Sister Liu, your life now has really be better and better.¡± Seeing that Zhao Liu was actually wearing a gold hairpin, someone began to sigh.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Liu said and couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°Although your Jinge¡¯s marriage camete, he is blessed. His life will definitely be better and better in the future,¡± another person said.

    Hearing this, Zhao and Liu immediately nodded in agreement. Originally, she didn¡¯t want to show off, but after a fewpliments, she couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°My Jinge is really lucky. Before Matchmaker He said he would have children easily . . . but look at how long he is married! He got pregnant very fast! But even so, he became more and more delicate. Last night, he was so cold that he asked Jiang Zhen to lit a fire and even used a bag of charcoal. In the middle of the night he also ate pork and eggs. Ordinary people would not stand him.¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Liu was talking happily when someone suddenly nudged her with his elbow.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Liu asked.

    ¡°Zhao Liu, Jiang Zhen is very kind to Zhao Jinge. We also know it. But . . . I will just tell you the truth . . . Jiang Zhen is a big man and promising one. You should be kind to him.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard you asked him to do theundry . . . It¡¯s so inappropriate.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t treat him badly, or he will run away . . .¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Liu suddenly felt a little wronged.

    Zhao Liu was pulled by several of her friends and wanted to say something when Jiang Xiaomei suddenly rushed from outside excitedly. ¡°Auntie Zhao, my brother got a horse back! A horse! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a horse! ¡°

    ¡°Horse?¡± Zhao Liu became surprised. The other people who were originally pulling a quilt were also curious.

    ¡°The horse has already entered the vige!¡± Jiang Xiaomei said again.

    The people in the room immediately swarmed out, and after going out, they did see a majestic horse standing not far from Zhao house.

    Cattle could still be seen in the countryside on this side of Hexi. Although there were no cattle in their vige, some people in the next vige raised cattle. But horses were very rare, and they could only asionally see them pulling carriages in the county town.

    Also this horse in everyone¡¯s eyes was a very precious thing. But Jiang Zhen unexpectedly brought back a horse!

    The people stood at a distance, not daring to go near the horse at all but still reluctant to leave. This horse was brought back by Jiang Zhen.

    After bringing horse and carriage back to Hecheng County, Jiang Zhen suddenly found that the carriage couldn¡¯t be used here at all. Not only that, the horse became very uneasy after spending so much time on the ship, but there was no one under his hand who could take care of the horse. After thinking about it, Jiang Zhen simply put the horse in the Zheng family and chose one of the people who had been rescued by him to learn how to take care of a horse from one of the Zheng family grooms.

    Half a monthter, the horse had been taken care of, and the men became familiar with the horses and were able to take good care of it, so Jiang Zhen brought the horse from the Zheng family to Hexi. As for the carriage . . . it could not be used for the time being, and he did not want to use such a good carriage to load the goods, so it was still left in the Zheng family.

    Jiang Zhen unexpectedly got a horse back from the capital! Zhao Liu looked at the horse and felt very proud but was still afraid of the horse as it was much taller than her, so she did not dare to go forward . . .

    Before leaving for Fucheng, Jiang Zhen did a lot of things. In addition to bringing the horses home from the county town he also taught the two families a lesson. One of them was Zhao Liu¡¯s maternal family.

    After Zhao Liu¡¯s family made trouble at Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge¡¯s wedding, they were beaten by Jiang Zhen and Jiang Zhen asked them to pay thempensation . . . But they insisted on not returning it.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t take care of them before because many things were happening at that time, andter, when he went to the capital, he cared about them even less, letting them live afortable life for a period of time. But after hearing that Jiang Zhen earned a lot of money, Zhao Liu¡¯s maternal side even tried to visit the Zhao family and ask Zhao Liu for money. Although Zhao Liu was sold by her family at the beginning, they still felt that Zhao Liu should take care of her maternal family when she had money.

 Chapter 105.2 - Failed marriage proposal

    Chapter 105.2 ¨C Failed marriage proposal

    However, after thinking like this, they went into action. But before they could implement it, Jiang Zhen¡¯s men told Jiang Zhen about their intentions, and then . . . Before they could see Zhao Liu, they were beaten by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men. Not only that, but the fee for borrowing silver from Zhao Liu was also doubled.

    Given the chance, Jiang Zhen then gave the silver to Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Liu did not know that the silver handed to her came from her mother¡¯s family and only thought it was from Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen had already given her silver several times before, and every time saying it was for household use.

    Without exining it to Zhao Liu, Jiang Zhen went and did other things with a smile.

    The second family taught a lesson by Jiang Zhen was Liang Fufa¡¯s family, who once wanted to buy Jiang Xiaomei.

    Originally, Liang Fufa had nothing to do with Jiang Zhen, but when Jiang Zhen identally learned that after failing to buy Jiang Xiaomei, they cajoled a little girl from another vige. They also wanted to marry her without spending money and asked the little girl to work as a cow and horse for their family. Jiang Zhen did not teach him a lesson in person, only asking his men to give Liang Fufa a trashing and letting him experience the feeling of being beaten up. After learning that Liang Fufa¡¯s first wife had already gone back to her mother¡¯s house, he also helped the women get a divorce document. For this kind of man who liked to beat women up, it was better if they didn¡¯t let him marry any women!

    After Jiang Zhen came back from the capital, he lived in Hexi for twenty days, and so it has turned to December. It would be the new year in less than a month if he did not sell those goods . . . he would have to stay for New Year.

    With Zhao Jinge and his own fleet, Jiang Zhen left Hecheng County and went to Fucheng.

    As the new year approached, the city became very lively, and all kinds of things were easy to sell. After Jiang Zhen contacted several businessmen introduced by Zheng Yi, the medicinal materials, jewelry, fur, and other things he brought were immediately sold out.

    Although the Zheng family lived in Hecheng County, they still had some connections in this city. Jiang Zhen, who was under Zheng Yi¡¯s care, did not meet any difficulty when he spent a few days in the city to inspect and sell goods,

    Seeing that everything went smoothly, Jiang Zhen began to inquire about brick kilns. There are several brick kilns near Fucheng, and these brick kilns were all under the hands of several big families here. All brick burners had signed deeds of sale with thoserge families.

    Jiang Zhen inquired about it for a while and finally bought two craftsmen who could burn bricks from one of these families.

    The craftsmen who could burn bricks were both surnamed Zhang and were a pair of father and son. The son was still unmarried and fifteen or sixteen years old. However, his father, who worked at the brick burner with him, had a wife and five other children.

    Jiang Zhen bought the father and son, with the childrening along as bonuses. Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this family was too good at having too many children that the big family would be willing to sell them to him. . .

    Jiang Zhen thought like this, but soon he learned that it was not the case . . . The reason this father and son were sold to him was not because their family had many children but because their craft of burning bricks was actually not good.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t learned for long and often burn bad bricks.¡± The father looked at Jiang Zhen in some embarrassment. To burn good bricks, one had to practice for a long time, but he and his son were both new and still hadn¡¯t practiced much. They burned bricks before, but the bricks they burned before were often unusable . . .

    Jiang Zhen also knows that, these days, no one was willing to hand over the technology to others and it was impossible to sell him skilled craftsmen so easily, so it was not surprising. ¡°Can you burn bricks?¡±

    ¡°As long as I practice more, certainly. I will work hard,¡± the middle-aged man said. ¡°I am now just adding water now, so I am not sure.¡±

    Adding water? Jiang Zhen had been to a brick factory before and knew roughly how to burn bricks. But he never heard of adding water to burn bricks.

    ¡°Tell me more about it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When Jiang Zhen asked, the man exined it to him in detail, but when Jiang Zhen listened, he suddenly found that . . . This ancient brick firing technology was even moreplicated than the modern one! In addition, in ancient times, the red bricks used to build houses in modern times were considered inferior to those in ancient times . . .

    The ancient green bricks were made by adding water to cool them after firing, so they were strong and durable. They would not be damaged for a thousand years after building a house. However, the red bricks that were naturally cooled had a much shorter lifespan than these green bricks. Therefore, in these days, if red bricks were fired, they would be thrown away as inferior.

    Of course, the red bricks at this time, because they were made without coal and the temperature was not high, were not of the same color as that ofter generations. They were often green mixed with red, so in the end, they were quite different fromter generations¡¯ red brick. However, such bricks were actually not unusable.

    ¡°After you go back with me, you will start burning bricks, and the unqualified bricks burnt at the beginning can still be used to pave the floor.¡± Jiang Zhen said. These two people justcked experience, but it could always be practiced.

    At this time, the big family didn¡¯t want to use defective products, but he didn¡¯t mind it. He just wished there would have been cement. Jiang Zhen knew that cement was fired from mud, which was very simple. But cement was different from bricks, cement needed a form. So he really did not know how to make a cement. Fortunately, even if there was no cement, there were still many alternatives at this time.

    After buying people, Jiang Zhen had nothing to do, so he took Zhao Jinge shopping in Fucheng.

    Jiang Zhen once brought Zhao Jinge to Fucheng before, but at that time, they had no money, so they didn¡¯t buy anything. But this time, it was different.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge have already been to the capital and seen the prosperity of the big city. However,pared with the capital, this city waspletely different, and some things here were even more exquisite, and the style even more beautiful than the things in the capital. For example, rouge, powder, and jewelry were not worse in quality as those in the capital but the prices were cheaper.

    Jiang Zhen looked around and thought about bringing something back to Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Jinge followed Jiang Zhen and watched him pick things and could not help bing a little happier only to see that Jiang Zhenpletely did not think of him, which made him feel a little ufortable.

    ¡°Sir, what do you think of this bracelet? It¡¯s very suitable for this . . . ger next to you.¡±

    When the people in the jewelry store saw Jiang Zhen asking about jewelry, they took out a silver bracelet suitable for a ger to wear.

    ¡°What I want to buy is not for him but for my mother,¡± Jiang Zhen said, letting the shopkeeper take out a few other styles to look at.

    The jewelry Jiang Zhen brought back from the capital was very heavy, but it was not exquisite. After all, he only wandered around with Jinge at that time and . . . he also thought that prices at capital were too high.

    It¡¯s good to show off those jewelry, but it¡¯s not suitable to wear them casually, so Jiang Zhen nned to choose some exquisite ones for her this time.

    After Jiang Zhen asked the shopkeeper to take out a lot of things to see, he finally chose a pair of gold t bracelets carved with dragons and phoenixes, as well as a small hairpin iid with jasper.

    After the selection, Jiang Zhen asked the shopkeeper to wrap up the things.

    ¡°Sir, what are you going to choose for your ger?¡± While packing, the shopkeeper asked, ¡°Your ger is pregnant with your child. Buying him some jewelry will also make him happy. ¡°

    The shopkeeper saw that Jiang Zhen had chosen several things for his mother but didn¡¯t pick anything for the ger who followed him. This ger did not have any jewelry on his body, so the shopkeeper became a little sympathetic toward Zhao Jinge. This ger was ugly, and his husband ignored himpletely, which was really a little pitiful.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned. He bought this and that for Zhao Liu because others had told him that his mother-inw must be pleased if he wanted to live a happy life. After experimenting with Zhao Liu, he found that this was indeed true. His mother-inw, Zhao Liu, was absolutely satisfied with him. It¡¯s just . . . because he wanted to buy jewelry for Zhao Liu, he hadn¡¯t noticed Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like wearing jewelry,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one who doesn¡¯t like jewelry, but if you don¡¯t like wearing it, it¡¯s still better to keep some,¡± the shopkeeper said again.

    ¡°Shopkeeper, do you have a ring suitable for us?¡± Jiang Zhen asked suddenly.

    ¡°Yes, sir. What do you like?¡± the shopkeeper asked.

    ¡°Let me see,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    There were very few kinds of jewelry disyed, so it was just a moment that Jiang Zhen saw two jade rings that looked exactly the same and asked, ¡°Is this shop craftsman in?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the craftsman is right behind.¡± The shopkeeper said that there were several craftsmen who opened this shop.

    ¡°Jinge, wait for me outside. I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge and then followed the shopkeeper into the back of the jewelry store.

    Zhao Jinge, seeing Jiang Zhen left like that, was a little confused. Was Jiang Zhen going to give him the ring? Two identical rings. Will he wear one while Jiang Zhen wears the other? If that were the case, it would be really good . . .

    ¡°Sister-inw, maybe the boss will buy you something else,¡± Jiang Ming, who also came with them was responsible for protecting Zhao Jinge, leaned over and said.

    Zhao Jinge began to look forward to it even more. However, when Jiang Zhen came out after a long time, he looked the same. He didn¡¯t even know where he had put the two rings he had in his hands before.

    ¡°Come on. We should go back,¡± Jiang Zhen said. After that, he went out first.

    Zhao Jinge followed, suddenly feeling a little depressed.

    The ship was very wet. The ce where they could stay in was small. So when they came to Fucheng this time, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to live in the inn.

    After returning to the inn that day, Jiang Zhen told Zhao Jinge that business was as usual and urged Zhao Jinge eat more fish and less meat. He also did not mention what happened in the jewelry store before. However, when they returned to their room, Jiang Zhen suddenly said, ¡°Jinge, I have something to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    Jiang Zhen took out a ring and knelt on one knee.

    Zhao Jinge immediately knelt down with Jiang Zhen. ¡°You . . . what are you doing?¡± Why did Jiang Zhen suddenly kneel before him? This . . . This. . . Zhao Jinge suddenly felt a little scared.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡± The originally good atmosphere was gone!

    Jiang Zhen sighed. ¡°Jinge, stand up, I didn¡¯t kneel down! See, I didn¡¯t get down on one knee.¡±

    Zhao Jinge suddenly felt a little uneasy, so Jing Zhen could only help Zhao Jinge up by himself, and then said to him, ¡°Stand well for me and don¡¯t kneel!¡±

    Zhao Jinge still felt uneasy, but he did not dare not get down on his knees anymore. What exactly was Jiang Zhen trying to say? Why was he kneeling?

    Jiang Zhen knelt on one knee again and said to Zhao Jinge, ¡°Jinge, are you willing to marry me?¡±

    Zhao Jinge was a little confused but immediately said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I love you. I want to be together with you for the rest of our lives.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand and put ring on his hand. Then he stood up and gave another ring to Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, put it on me.¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded and imitated Jiang Zhen when he put on the ring on his finger.

    Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge again. He was in very good mood. He also suddenly found out that he didn¡¯t buy a ring or proposed . . . So after buying the two rings, he also went to the craftsman to have him carve words on the two rings. One ring was engraved with ¡°Jin¡±, and the other ring was engraved with ¡°Zhen.¡± Earlier, he put the ring engraved with ¡°Zhen¡± on Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand, and on himself, he wore the ring with engraved with ¡°Jin.¡±

    When the proposal was sessful, Jiang Zhen wanted to be sweet, but Zhao Jinge suddenly asked, ¡°Jiang Zhen, do you want your child to have your family name? It doesn¡¯t matter. My parents mentioned it to me in private.¡± Jiang Zhen probably knelt down and asked if he wanted to marry him because he wanted a child with his surname?

    In fact, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu did not care much about this. They were willing to marry him to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen spent some time exining that he had no such intention and then looked at Zhao Jinge helplessly and suddenly found that his proposal was a failure. He really thought too much . . . Zhao Jinge married him. What was he doing with all of this? If he had time, he might as well order more braziers and eat Jinge again.

    Doing just what he thought, Jiang Zhen ate Zhao Jinge again. This time, he fell asleep before Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t sleep. He . . . was very happy. Although what Jiang Zhen did startle him at first, he cheered up after Jiang Zhen exined it to himter. In the dark, he took off his ring and touched the back of the ring. Sure enough, he found a word there. There was a ¡°Zhen,¡± the name of Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen wore the same ring as him, and it was probably engraved with each other¡¯s name . . . Zhao Jinge quickly put the ring back and became reluctant to take it off again.

    At the same time, he was a little confused . . . Jiang Zhen said he loved him. But what does ¡°love¡± mean?

 Chapter 106 - Going home for the New Year

    Chapter 106 ¨C Going home for the New Year

    Jiang Zhen bought only two rings yesterday and nned to use one to propose to Zhao Jinge. Butter, when he thought of proposing, he also remembered the same thing.

    One of hisrades-in-arms talked about his girlfriend and thought about getting married all day long. As a result, heter stopped talking about it and hisrades in arms thought that he did not do well. Finally, after a long time as a result . . . the girl who was very good to him every time marriage was mentioned did not want to pick up the conversation.

    Hisrade in arms could not understand it, and after a long time, he finally asked her about it. Then the girl said he had not yet proposed to her, so she was not in a rush to marry him.

    Kneeling down to propose seemed to make people happy. . . so Jiang Zhen thought about closing the door at night and giving a ring like that to tease Zhao Jinge before coaxing him to bed. He always liked to see Zhao Jinge acting shy. But . . . there was no doubt that something went wrong in the end. However, the result seemed very good. Seeing that Zhao Jinge was touched by the ring on his hand the next day, Jiang Zhen knew that he must like this ring very much.

    Zhao Jinge really liked this ring and wished that everyone could see the ring on his finger, but he was too embarrassed to show it off. Moreover, it was useless for others to only see the ring on his hand. He hoped that others could see the ring on Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand. They wore the same ones! Zhao Jinge frowned and looked serious. One hand rubbed on the ring intentionally or unintentionally. . .

    He Chunsheng, Jiang Ming, and the others suddenly felt inexplicable pressure when they faced him.

    Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen had been together for a long time, but recently, they had be more and more imposing!

    When He Chunsheng and others saw Zhao Jinge, they all said hello and left in a hurry.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s mind could not be seen by others, but Jiang Zhen could see it, and after seeing it, he could not helpughing.

    He originally felt that wearing a ring would be inconvenient and ufortable, and even thought about taking it off after he returned . . . but now he felt it would be good to wear it all the time.

    Jiang Zhen was not interested in many luxury goods at this time. In his opinion, those expensive antique calligraphy, painting, porcin and jade were not as good as gold and silver. If he could buy a flushing toilet for 1000 silver, he would not blink, but a jade bowl for 1000 silver . . . was still just a bowl, and jade was not better than porcin! In the end, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t buy any luxury goods and bought mainly practical things, such as . . . charcoal. Even then, he did not buy expensive ones; ordinary charcoal could be used for a long time and cost only a few silver! So although Jiang Zhen bought a lot of things in Fucheng this time, he didn¡¯t spend a lot of money in the end.

    By the time they returned to Hecheng County, it was only ten days before the New Year, and people in Hexi had begun to buy New Year goods. For people here, it was mainly dried bamboo shoots, salted fish, and kelp. At the same time, some of them would pickle some pork and prepare chicken, but there was not much more.

    On the one hand, most people have no money, but on the other, there were a lot of vegetables to eat in the field this season, so there was no need to hoard other things.

    As the new year approached, the vige would organize young people to go fishing together, and after catching fishes, the entire vige would share it. For New Year¡¯s worship, there must be chicken, fish, and meat. After the fishes were divided, it could still be saved for people visiting after the New Year.

    When Jiang Zhen went back with the fleet, the people in Hexi were catching fish, and Zhao Fugui was also there. So when he came back, Zhao Fugui brought back a basket filled with fishes.

    ¡°After a vige borrowed Jiang Zhen¡¯s fishing boat for the fishing trip this time, the amount of fishes distributed to our family has be especiallyrge.¡± Putting down the bamboo basket in his hand, Zhao Fugui was in a good mood. In the past, he and Zhao Jinge went to help each year and had to do a lot of work, but in the end, they would get less than half of fishes they got today.

    ¡°They are giving Jiang Zhen¡¯s face,¡± Zhao Liu said, then she put some of the live fish in the tank, and then asked Zhao Fugui to kill the rest of them.

    If the fish was killed, some of them could be cooked immediately while some would be preserved as needed.

    ¡°Let Cook Li take care of the fish. Dad and I will tidy up the things I brought,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu were used to working all the time, so although Jiang Zhen brought back Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er, and Jiang Xiaomei was there to help, they still preferred to do most of the work themselves. However, they were not young, and they had suffered a lot in their early years. So Jiang Zhen stopped them and tried his best to make them work as little as possible. Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er were paid, so it was really nothing for them to do something like killing fishes.

    After Jiang Zhen left with Zhao Fugui, Zhao Liu began to talk with her son. Then she saw the ring on Zhao Jinge¡¯s finger for the first time.

    ¡°Jinge, did Jiang Zhen buy this for you?¡± Zhao Liu asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded in a very good mood. Finally, someone asked about his ring! ¡°Jiang Zhen bought two identical ones, and he wore one of them. Also our names were engraved inside the rings.¡±

    Zhao Jinge proudly told Zhao Liu about the ring, and soon after . . . he found that nearby vigers did not look at him but at the ring on his finger! In order not to appear smug, Zhao Jinge tried to restrain himself from giggling, but then . . . People in the vige thought that Zhao Jinge was bing more and more imposing, like andlord. Zhao Dahu was just like him walking around the vige with a big belly.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

    After he had settled the things he had brought back from Fucheng, Jiang Zhen began to make arrangements about thend he bought and began to train his men. Every day, he took his men to do all kinds of training and asked the men rescued from the pirates to help level thend. As for the women and gers, he arranged for them to weave cloth and make clothes in the county town for the time being.

    Even with New Year approaching, Jiang Zhen did not rx, so people in Hexi could not help but marvel at it. At the same time, more and more people asked about Jiang Zhen, hoping to join the team.

    Jiang Zhen did not refuse them. He inspected them one by one and recruited dozens of people. When everything got slowly on the right track, Jiang Zhen¡¯s first new year in Daqi arrived.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t attach much importance to the New Year when he used to live alone. He did not do anything except to buy some delicious cooked food, but Zhao Liu attached great importance to the New Year. She first worshipped the Bodhisattva, then her ancestors, and finally made a big New Year meal.

    On New Year¡¯s Eve, no matter how Jiang Zhen tried to squeeze his subordinates, he gave them a holiday and also stayed at home all day.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t pay attention to the previous worship, but he was still looking forward to the New Year¡¯s Eve meal. The meal cooked by Zhao Liu and Cook Li really did not disappoint him, especially the stewed pig head. He found it extremely fragrant.

    Jiang Zhen ate several pieces of pig¡¯s head meat in session but only gave Zhao Jinge one pig ear. Since Zhao Jinge had already eaten all kinds of meat and there was no shortage of chicken, duck, and fish, he was not allowed to eat too much meat. Let him just nibble at the pig¡¯s ear.

    ¡°The life in our family got better this year . . .¡± After dinner, Jiang Xiaomei, Cook Li, and the others went back, leaving only Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui, and his wife Zhao Liu, who said it with some emotion.

    ¡°It will get better and better in the future,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It will get better and better in the future,¡± Zhao Fugui happily repeated and then suddenly took out a paper bag pasted with red paper or red envelope and gave it to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little surprised, Was this New Year¡¯s money? At his age, there was no need to give him New Year¡¯s Eve money anymore, right?

    ¡°Red envelopes,¡± Zhao Fugui said, ¡°This is your first year of marriage, so I wanted to give you a red envelope.¡± After he finished, he closed his mouth awkwardly again. The money in this envelope was originally given to him by Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen, who hadn¡¯t received any red envelope for decades, suddenly got a red envelope, and this feeling . . . was not bad.

 Chapter 107.1 - Jinge Stomach hurt

    Chapter 107.1 ¨C Jinge Stomach hurt

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by Lin and Seekingloveforever

    On New Year¡¯s Eve, Jiang Zhen wanted to stay awake, but he was driven back to bed by Zhao Liu.

    Hexi Vige didn¡¯t care much about staying awake on New Year¡¯s Eve, and the vigers did not even know when it was midnight. So generally, after the New Year¡¯s Eve meal, everyone would go to bed. But on the first day of the new year, everyone would get up very early.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge back to his room and opened the red envelope in his hand to check. After opening it, he found that it was not silver but gold.

    All the money he gave to Zhao Fugui and his wife were silver, so he estimated that Zhao Fugui took the silver to the county town to exchange it for him. Jiang Zhen put it away and once again felt that it was not bad to travel back to the ancient times. Although it was not convenient to take a bath here, at least he had family.

    That night, Jiang Zhen did not do anything to Zhao Jinge but just touched his stomach and talked a lot with him before the two of them fell asleep.

    The next day, they were awakened by the sound of firecrackers. In this era, there were already firecrackers, but most of the people in Hexi could not afford to buy them. In the previous years, only Zhao Dahu¡¯s family set off firecrackers, but this year, there will be even more firecrackers from the Zhao family.

    It was the firecrackers that woke them up.

    Jiang Zhen thought it was already veryte, so when he heard the noise, he looked outside only to find that the sky was still dark. For a moment, he was speechless.

    ¡°The earlier the firecrackers are set off, the more prosperous the family will be this year. Dad probably didn¡¯t even sleep,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a look.¡±

    Jiang Zhen put on cotton-padded trousers and a cotton-padded jacket made for him by Zhao Liu and opened the door and went out. Then he saw Zhao Fugui lit a mulberry stick. He was some distance from the firecracker and was about to light a second one. But because it was cold and windy, the burning mulberry stick would soon sumb, so he put it into the nearby fire and lit it up before firing the firecracker.

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll do it,¡± Jiang Zhen said. The firecrackers in this day were not as good as those ofter generations. Zhao Fugui doing it like this, he didn¡¯t know how long it would take him to light the second one.

    Zhao Fugui was very relieved to see Jiang Zhen. He wanted to give the mulberry stick to Jiang Zhen, but instead of taking the mulberry stick from him to use it to light the firecracker, Jiang Zhen went to pick up the firecrackers ced on the vacant lot and threw them directly into the fire.

    Zhao Fugui: ¡°. . .¡± Why didn¡¯t he think of doing it this way?

    Zhao Fugui was feeling a bit stupid when he saw the firecracker exploding in the fire. Even if they were not close to each other, they would still blow up.

    Zhao Fugui: ¡° . . .¡±

    Anyway, in the end, they lit all the firecrackers bought by Jiang Zhen. Not long after the sound of firecrackers on their side ended, the sound of firecrackers from Zhao Dahu¡¯s family could be heard.

    The new year has arrived.

    It snowed twice in Hexi Vige this year, but there was no snow on the ground. The snow melted the next day, and its impact on the people of Hexi was less than that of rain.

    After the New Year, the weather was very good. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Zhen called all his men back to continue their training. In modern times, such behavior may be considered inhumane, but at this time, no one thought there was anything wrong with it. In particr, Jiang Zhen gave his men a new set of clothes for the new year.

    So from the third day of the Lunar New Year, on this side of Hexi, there could often be seen a group of people dressed in exactly the same dark blue clothes shouting, ¡°One, two, three, four,¡± and running along the road in the vige.

    Most of these people were not from Hexi and the vast majority of those who worked on thend bought by Jiang Zhen were people he rescued from the bandits. For some time, Hexi be much livelier than before.

    Jiang Zhen trained his men, and when he had nothing to do, he would go into the house to check on Zhao Jinge. Later, Zhao Jinge no longer wanted stay inside the house, but instead, would help turn thend near the Zhao family house.

    At first, Jiang Zhen was a little worried and unwilling to let him do it. Butter, when he saw that a woman in the vige who was also pregnant was still turning the ground, he did not stop Zhao Jinge from this. However, when Zhao Jinge turned over thend near his home and wanted to go to another field bought by Jiang Zhen, he was stopped by Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jinge, if you have nothing to do, why don¡¯t you help me manage the brick kiln?¡±

    The two craftsmen brought back by Jiang Zhen had already build the first brick kiln and burned a batch of very inferior products, most of which were picked up by the children in the vige. These children usually could y with even a stone for a long time, so when they got some bricks, which were rare, they also wanted to y with those bricks to grind the wheel. However, while those well-made green bricks could be polished into wheels, these semi-red bricks, which were not evenly heated, couldn¡¯t. In the end, they only got some broken bricks. As a result, these broken bricks were finally picked up by the vigers, who nned to mix them with soil to build chicken coops and pigsty.

    ¡°OK, I¡¯ll watch it for you.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and immediately went.

    Zhao Jinge went to the brick kiln while Jiang Zhen continued to keep an eye on his men¡¯s training. He also found a group of people to dig up a lot of soil beside the canal to make a sunken port where many boats could dock.

    It was a huge project, but it was not slow, and the cost was much lower that Jiang Zhen expected.

    The reason for this rapid progress was because Jiang Zhen paid money to hire people from Hexi and the surrounding viges to help.

    Jiang Zhen offered 20 copper coins and a meal for a day per person. This condition proposed by Jiang Zhen attracted the Hexi vigers and many other people from the surrounding viges, making everyone scramble to work for him.

    Although 20 copper coins could only buy half a kilo of pork, most people have no ce to make money in the countryside at all. Also,it was not the time for leisure with the crops still sprouting, nothing to harvest, and this time being the spring food shortage . . . Just for digging, they would not only get a meal but also 20 copper coins, which was a good thing. People in the nearby viges almost rushed to tell each other and scrambled to work for Jiang Zhen.

    By spending 4 silver a day, two hundred people could be hired, and these two hundred people work very hard for fear of being fired . . . So even if he wanted to, it was hard to slow down the construction of the dock.

    Jiang Zhen spent silver to hire people from nearby vigers, so Zhao Jinge did the same thing.

    Several more brick kilns had been built so that more experiments could be carried out and more bricks could be fired. But this way, firewood and brick were still not enough.

    Zhao Jinge asked the women in the vige, gers, and children to help them make bricks. Paying ording to how much they made, and if they didn¡¯t do well, he did not pay money, while at the same time buying firewood. In this way, they immediately had no shortage of brick and firewood. There was not much firewood avable in Hexi and the surrounding viges, so some people went out to buy firewood and sell it to Zhao Jinge, earning the difference.

    Unwittingly, it had been a year since Jiang Zhen came to this ce. It was only when he overheard people talking about the Jiang family that he suddenly remembered it. Of course, it¡¯s impossible for Jiang Zhen to recruit people he found annoying, so he did not want to hire the Jiangs, undoubtedly making the Jiang family even more excluded.

    Meanwhile, something happened to the Jiang family.

    At first when the Jiang family sold theirnd, it was to pay off the debt and also to help Chiang Chengxiang find a job in the county town. It was because Jiang Chengxiang asked for money from his family that Jiang Chengwen insisted on getting 40 silver to do business. Later, Jiang Chengwen lost all his money, and Jiang Chengxiang said that he had found a job in the county town, but . . . he never brought a single coin home.

    Just at the beginning of the year, when the conflict between Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang became more and more serious, Jiang Chengwen followed Jiang Chengxiang and then . . . found that Jiang Chengxiang did not go to work at all! He just hid in small room, nevering out!

    It turned out that Jiang Chengxiang could not find a job in the country town at all. But since Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang were so busy working in the fields, they would also want him to work in there if he was not able to find a job. Otherwise, the vigers would look at him strangely, and he could not stand it.

    He wanted to put it off for a while so that he could have more time to find a job that he could do. After thinking about it, he finally came up with a way and lied that he had found a job and asked Butcher Jiang for money. Then he could live in the county town and find a job at ease!

    Jiang Chengxiang got the money as he wished, butter, he found that he seemed to have walked into a dead end.

    He lied and said that he had already found a job. In any case, he couldn¡¯t go looking for a job all over the street; otherwise, what would he do if he was seen by people from Hexi or people he knew?

 Chapter 107.2 - Jinge Stomach hurt

    Chapter 107.2 ¨C Jinge Stomach hurt

    In the end, Jiang Chengxiang could only rent a house and hid in it every day when he went to the country town. After hiding for a day, he would go out and look for something he could do.

    When Zhu Shufen had a child, none of the Jiang family members went to the country town much, so this was well concealed by him. However, this time, Jiang Chengwen followed him and exposed him. The Jiang family became so noisy that Huang Min and Zhu Shufen gave birth prematurely together.

    Although Huang Min waszy, it was the second time she had a child. She soon gave birth to a boy and asked for something to eat just after giving birth, but Zhu Shufen was different. It was Zhu Shufen¡¯s first child, and it was not an easy birth. So afterward, she couldn¡¯t walk around much. Even if she had lived in the countryside, she couldn¡¯t walk to the gate. It was a premature birth . . . In the end, giving birth was difficult.

    She ran out of amniotic fluid before giving birth to a skinny girl with great difficulty, leaving her half dead.

    Jiang Chengxiang couldn¡¯t even take care of himself, and he obviously didn¡¯t have the ability to take care of his wife and child. In desperation, he could only turn to olddy Jiang for help.

    Olddy Jiang followed Jiang Chengwen and Huang Min, but when her youngest son was in trouble, she could not help it; she helped Jiang Chengxiang take care of Zhu Shufen and Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s daughter.

    Olddy Jiang had to take care of Zhu Shufen, so naturally, she neglected Huang Min. After Huang Min did not have enough diapers to change her son, she immediately became angry and told olddy Jiang to not take care of Zhu Shufen; otherwise, she won¡¯t support olddy Jiang!

    Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang, olddy Jiang was always partial to Jiang Chengwen¡¯s second son. What more Jiang Chengwen gave her two grandchildren already! Olddy Jiang loved Huang Min¡¯s two sons deeply, but Zhu Shufen¡¯s little girl, she hated from the moment she saw her and even wished she had died early to save food. For such a child who was sobbing all day but couldn¡¯t cry louder while mother had no milk yet . . . In olddy Jiang¡¯s opinion, it was impossible to support her. And with her in trouble with Huang Min, olddy Jiang was no longer willing to take care of Zhu Shufen.

    When she gave birth for the first time, not only did Zhu Shufen not have the help of her mother-inw, Butcher Jiang was also away, working like a soldier.

    Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t live a good life, so why should Zhu Shufen seed? She was no longer willing to take care of Zhu Shufen, making Jiang Chengxiang angry as well. Originally, he turned a blind eye to Butcher Jiang helping Chengwen do the farm work, but since then, he no longer allowed Butcher Jiang to help.

    Butcher Jiang was very disappointed in Jiang Chengwen and liked Jiang Chengxiang even more, hoping that Jiang Chengxiang could provide for his old age. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want to offend Jiang Chengxiang and started to refuse to help Jiang Chengwen.

    Before all this . . . although their family split up, Butcher Jiang and olddy Jiang continued to sleep in the same room, but soon, they had separated rooms. The separation of the family became even more clear-cut.

    The four houses of the Jiang family were clearly separated in half by the Jiang family¡¯s two brothers, and they also coincidentally took some things to block the boundary, determined not tomunicate with each other.

    The farce of the Jiang family finally became the talk of the vigers, and everyone started to dislike their family more and more. When olddy Jiang went to the river to wash diapers, she was also driven away. ¡°We are going to wash rice and vegetables here. Can¡¯t you wash diapers somewhere far away?¡±

    ¡°Yes! You are so ignorant!¡±

    ¡°This river doesn¡¯t belong to your family.¡±

    . . .

    Olddy Jiang froze and took the basin to the canal to wash, and then, after a short walk, she met Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Liu also came out to wash clothes, but she didn¡¯t hold a wooden bucket and basin. Cook Li held them for her. After being fed by Jiang Zhen for more than half a year, Zhao Liu¡¯s face became ruddy, and she no longer looked like an olddy. But in reality, she was several years older than olddy Jiang.

    Olddy Jiang looked at her increasingly dry and thin arms and was stunned. But she was only stupefied for a moment before she went back to work. There was still a lot of work to do at home, and she still had to do all the farm work on the fields. She needed to finish washing the diapers quickly.

    When olddy Jiang reached the edge of the canal, she suddenly saw Butcher Jiang carrying a basin of diapers and washing them.

    When olddy Jiang gave birth, Butcher Jiang did not want to help wash diapers and would only gave olddy Jiang some water to drink. For many years, he had not even washed his own clothes. But now . . . His clothes were a little smelly and Butcher Jiang was washing diapers.

    Olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang did not speak, but they both had the sameplex mood.

    Jiang Zhen heard about the Jiang family¡¯s situation, but he didn¡¯t take it seriously. At the moment, what he was most concerned with was Zhao Jinge¡¯s situation. With Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly growing bigger, the child moved from time to time. Jiang Zhen no longer dared to do anything to Zhao Jinge. Even when he had some ideas, he only let Zhao Jinge help him with his hand. Although Zhao Jinge could still run around with a belly, Jiang Zhen had been very worried. The only thing that made him happy was that he was strict with Zhao Jinge. He always told Zhao Jinge to eat less, so he would not gain too much weight and the child would not be too big.

    In the twinkling of an eye, it was the Qingming Festival.

    The winter wheat nted by Butcher Jiang a year ago was almost ready. Zhao Liu and Cook Li also went to get a lot of wheat ears back to soak, letting it grow malt, and then used that malt to make malt sugar and malt pancakes. This was a bit of waste of food to do, but the Zhao family was not short on food now. So she could prepare as much as she wanted.

    Zhao Jinge liked sweet food very much, but he didn¡¯t like these two things very much. Unfortunately, Jiang Zhen had forbidden him from eating more, and he was only allowed to eat two malt pancakes every day.

    Eating a cake while walking, Zhao Jinge came to the ce where bricks were burned and heard cheersing from there. The father and son bought by Jiang Zhen started making very good bricks, and they have mastered the whole process! Jiang Zhen said at the beginning that if they could do it, they would be rewarded with two silver each.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen said that although you have signed a contract of sale with him, he will reward you for your good work. In the future, for every ten bricks you give, he will give you a reward of one copper coin. A thousand bricks is one hundred copper. If you are too busy, you can choose some of the people we give you as apprentices to help you,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    This was what Jiang Zhen told him some time ago. The father and son¡¯s eyes brightened when they heard these words. Originally, they did not intend to ept apprentices, wanting to hide their knowledge so the boss would value them, but now . . . If there were more people, it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to burn a thousand bricks! They immediately nned to get a few more apprentices to help them, and they were full of enthusiasm for brick burning.

    In the ce where they used to stay, the teachers were slow in firing bricks. They were never willing to burn more bricks for their master. They were afraid that the master would not allow them to fire less bricks if he saw they could fire more. They were going to do the same, but now . . . They¡¯d better burn more bricks and make more money!

    As Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly got bigger and bigger, Jiang Zhen¡¯s dock had almost been built, and even his and Zhao Jinge¡¯s house was done.

    When building docks, Jiang Zhen could not put forward any suggestions and could only let the Zheng family guide him. But when he was building his own house, he worked very hard and ran over there every day, asking for advice all day.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s aesthetic was not very good and his greatest requirement for the house where he wanted to live was sturdiness and then convenience. Unwittingly, it was nearing the end of March, and Zhao Jinge had been pregnant for more than nine months and might give birth at any time. Still, Zhao Jinge was still very energetic and would go to the brick kiln every day. Jiang Zhen thought it would be good for him to walk more, so he did not stop him and only let Ruo¡¯er and Cook Li follow him around.

    That day, Jiang Zhen went to the site of their house early in the morning. After watching the workers for a while, he suddenly saw Zhao Jinge approaching.

    ¡°Jinge, what are you doing here?¡± Jiang Zhen immediately greeted him.

    ¡°I have a stomachache,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°What!¡± Jiang Zhen was stunned.

 Chapter 108.1 - Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    Chapter 108.1 ¨C Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    ¡°If you have a stomachache. What are you doing here? You . . .¡± Jiang Zhen was anxious. Zhao Jinge has been pregnant for more than nine months and might have a baby at any time. At this time, his stomach ached . . . It was notbor pains, was it?

    ¡°It¡¯s not very painful . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge said, and then he frowned. ¡°But now it¡¯s be more and more painful.¡± As he walked all the way, it seemed to hurt more and more. It only hurt once every few minutes at the beginning, but soon, the pain became much more intense.

    It hurt more and more? Jiang Zhen began to shake. Zhao Jinge had a big belly, so he couldn¡¯t carry him. He could only . . . Immediately, Jiang Zhen picked up Zhao Jinge in a princess carry and ran back home.

    Zhao Jinge was big and tall and he was not as light as those women and gers. On the contrary, he was very heavy, and after pregnancy, his weight had increased by more than 10 kg. It was estimated that most people would not be able to hold him. But Jiang Zhen had improved his body for more than a year. Not only did he have thebat skills, but also the physical strength and endurance . . . While carrying Zhao Jinge, he could still run.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhao Jinge was so stunned, he forgot about his stomachache.

    There were a lot of people working there, so a bunch of people were watching them!

    ¡°I¡¯m taking you home,¡± Jiang Zhen said and ran even faster with Zhao Jinge in his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine . . .¡± Zhao Jinge originally wanted to say something, but seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s anxious expression, he just hugged Jiang Zhen¡¯s neck and stopped talking.

    These days, he found some women and gers to help him work in the brick kiln and became much more familiar with the women and gers in the vige. Therefore, he learned a lot about pregnancy and birthing from these people.

    ording to these women, it will take some time for the child to be born after thebor pains. However, when he was at brick kiln he only felt slight pain so he wanted to find Jiang Zhen and go together with him home to have a baby.

    But as a result, Jiang Zhen became worried. . .

    Wouldn¡¯t it be bad for him to be carried through the vige like this by Jiang Zhen?

    Zhao Jinge was a little happy in his heart, but the people around him were really surprised by this scene.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Boss Jiang? Why is he running so fast?¡±

    ¡°He held Zhao Jinge in his arms . . . Did something happen to Zhao Jinge?¡±

    ¡°Is he going to give birth? It seems that Zhao Jinge is due. ¡°

    . . .

    When people on that side of the dock saw this scene, they all talked about it to each other, and after they reached a conclusion, they could not help but sigh.

    ¡°The boss is very kind to Zhao Jinge.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great . . . My mother-inw alwaysined that I¡¯m unkind to her now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯tin. I don¡¯t have a wife yet.¡±

    A group of young people talked endlessly. Seeing this, He Chunsheng reprimanded them, ¡°Stop talking and keep practicing!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± the crowd answered immediately. ¡°You¡¯d better learn how the boss does it! It will be good for you!¡±

    It was because he learned from Jiang Zhen that he has been living afortable life!

    Since a long time ago, He Chunsheng liked a fierce girl in the vige who, unlike his mother, was not weak at all. She had a sharp tongue and was good at teaching people a lesson. She was the eldest child in her family and her younger brothers and sisters were all taught by her to be obedient. He Chunsheng had always liked her very much, but his family was too poor. Even if this girl¡¯s family was not too rich, he couldn¡¯t afford to marry her. However, after he followed Jiang Zhen to the capital and came back, he had money!

    He didn¡¯t spend much money in the capital and because Jiang Zhen valued him. He gave him extra rewards. In the end, he brought home 120 silver, enough for him to get a wife! He Chunsheng was so happy that, after returning to Hexi Vige, he specifically asked Jiang Zhen for advice on how to treat his wife. Then ording to Jiang Zhen¡¯s suggestion, he went to talk to the girl first and gave her something. After getting the girl¡¯s consent, he went to the door to propose marriage, showing great sincerity. Although it cost a little money to buy gifts for his father-inw and mother-inw, it was really worth it. His parents-inw were very satisfied with him.

    When he got married, he handed over the remaining sixty silver out of the 80 silver to his wife. After that, his wife was very satisfied with him and was always looking out for him.

    Even now, his gambling father was still locked up in the gambling house while his weak mother was coaxed by his wife and his younger brother Qiu Sheng, who was also looking after his wife . . . He didn¡¯t even believe howfortable his life was.

    His boss was right. If you are good to your wife, your wife will be good to you . . . He put away the salted duck eggs, which were distributed at noon that day to give them to his wifeter.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what He Chunsheng thought. At the moment, he was so worried that he thought he was going bald. It was probably because he was so anxious that he ran all the way home. It was not until he put down Zhao Jinge that he found that he was almost out of breath and that his hands were starting to shake.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Hearing the noise outside, Zhao Liu ran out and looked at Zhao Jinge anxiously. ¡°Is something wrong with Jinge?¡±

    ¡°Mother, Jinge is going to have a baby,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°He is going to have a baby? I will go to set up the delivery room right away!¡± Zhao Liu was also startled. ¡°He was fine when he went out in the morning. Why is he suddenly giving birth now? This . . . This . . .¡±

    Zhao Liu¡¯s hands also trembled. She didn¡¯t feel much when she was giving birth, but with Zhao Jinge having a baby, she suddenly felt afraid and uneasy.

    There are not many houses in the Zhao family, but there were also some vacant rooms. However, the room that was not facing south was being used as a woodshed and was messy.

    This house was already chosen by Zhao Liu and tidied up. She also moved Zhao Jinge¡¯s old bed inside, nning to use it as a delivery room.

    Jiang Zhen also knew about this. He thought that giving birth to a child would get a room filled with blood, so it was nothing to give birth in a wooden house. After it was over, he would be able to take Zhao Jinge back to clean the room and let him rest better.

    ¡°Mother, I will go with you to clean up . . .¡± Jiang Zhen subconsciously wanted to find something to do but quickly rejected it: ¡°Wait, I need to apany Zhao Jinge. Jinge, how do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel much. It should not be born so soon . . . ,¡± Zhao Jinge said, seeing that Jiang Zhen was still a little shaken, he simply said: ¡°Let¡¯s go to the delivery room to have a look?¡±

    Zhao Jinge acted very calm. In fact, he also wanted to panic, but the two people around him were already so nervous. He thought that if he became nervous as well, his family would be in chaos. Just thinking like this, Zhao Jinge saw Zhao Fugui running from outside. He who was always silent and steady was in disarray at that moment.

    ¡°I heard that Jiang Zhen came back with Zhao Jinge in his arms? How is Jinge?¡± Zhao Fugui asked anxiously. Seeing Zhao Jinge standing there, looking well, he sighed in relief and then began to gasp. He gasped for a while before calming down and pretending that nothing had happened. Standing straight, he coughed. ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡±

    At the same time, Wang Haisheng¡¯s voice sounded from outside, ¡°Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhao, you forgot to bring back the hoe from the field . . . I called . . . but couldn¡¯t catch up with you when you ran so fast.¡±

    Zhao family was in panic, but atst, they all calmed down and went into the delivery room together.

    In this era, theyout of the delivery room was very sloppy. First, there was the hard condition, Second, the older generation was responsible for arranging the delivery room, so the delivery room were very simple and humble in general. However, Zhao Liu loved her son very much, so theyout of Zhao Jinge¡¯s delivery room was very good.

    The originally dirty woodshed had already been cleaned, and the floor was covered with ayer of substandard bricks from the brick kiln, and even walls were cleaned. There was no furniture inside other than the wooden bed, and this bed was covered with thick straw. This straw was carefully selected by Zhao Liu and dried several times.

    Zhao Liu looked around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get a brazier to light a fire.¡± Even if it was not cold today, people who were about to give birth should not be too cold.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the sheets,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

 Chapter 108.2 - Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    Chapter 108.2 ¨C Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    ¡°Sheets?¡± Zhao Liu was stunned for a moment but very quickly said with a smile. ¡°Yes yes, bring some sheets. It¡¯s good.¡±

    The people in Hexi Vige gave birth in a straw bed then burned the straw after giving birth, not to mention the sheets that would usually be empty.

    Once there was a young daughter-inw who didn¡¯t understand it and gave birth to a child in her own bed. Atst, just after the birth, she was forced by her mother-inw to wash the sheets . . . Because she did not know, she soiled the quilt at home.

    Zhao Liu was also habitually thinking. Although she tried her best to think for Zhao Jinge, she did not think of preparing bedsheets for him. However, although Zhao Liu did not prepare, Jiang Zhen said that she should go and get their bedsheets, and she was very much in favor of it.

    Thinking that straw might sting a bit, Jiang Zhen dug out three sheets and brought them over. The two coarse cloth mattresses they had bought when they first got married were ced underneath, and a new sheet wasid on them. At the same time, he also prepared two pillows and a small quilt for Zhao Jinge. By the time when he had already done all of this, the midwife had already arrived.

    ¡°All right, Jiang Zhen, go out first.¡± When Zhao Liu saw the midwifeing, she quickly faced Jiang Zhen and said that men were not allowed to enter the delivery room. It was not appropriate for Jiang Zhen to stay here.

    Jiang Zhen did not seem to hear and his eyes stayed on Zhao Jinge, who was already lying on the bed: ¡°Jinge, are you okay? Does it hurt?¡±

    Zhao Jinge was frowning and seemed to be in pain. Zhao Jinge was really hurting, but the pain didn¡¯tst long. After Jiang Zhen asked, it almost did not hurt anymore. Seeing Jiang Zhen staring at him, he said, ¡°I¡¯m okay. You go out first.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay here,¡± Jiang Zhendao said that although he lived alone in modern times, he would get together with hisrades in arms from time to time. He didn¡¯t even have a suitablepanion, but hisrades in arms got married one after another and had their own children. When chatting, they would talk about children.

    One of hisrades in arms went to apany his wife when she gave birth, and he still remembers what therade-in-arms said at that time: ¡°How painful it is for the woman to have a baby. As men, we should take care of them. Even if we can¡¯t do anything, we can at least cheer them up . . .¡±

    Even though he knew that men would not go into the delivery room in this era, Jiang Zhen still wanted to stay.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just sit here and won¡¯t cause you any trouble,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Liu. ¡°You won¡¯t even notice I exist.¡± Jiang Zhen moved a stool and sat at the head of Zhao Jinge¡¯s bed.

    Hisrade in arms who apanied his wife giving birth also sat at the head of the bed. At the end, his legs became so numb that he could hardly stand up.

    ¡°If a man stays in the delivery room, he will get bad luck¡ª¡± the midwife said. But before she could finish, she was red at by Jiang Zhen. She immediately did not dare to speak any more. In the countryside, they were not as fastidious as big families, so Jiang Zhen could stay if he really wanted to.

    Although she had never seen a man apany his wife in giving birth, there were still these young couples in some families. Husbands also go in and out of the delivery room, bringing in hot water and scissors. The patient would give birth very quickly and sleep well. At that time, the husband would still be at their side . . .

    The midwife had no problem with it, so Zhao Liu had no problem with it either, and so, Jiang Zhen stayed. Only at this time, Jiang Zhen remembered one thing, ¡°Mother, you should go and ask Wang Haisheng to go to the county town and invite a doctor toe.¡±

    ¡°What do you want the doctor for?¡± Zhao Jinge was puzzled.

    ¡°Just in case,¡± Jiang Zhen said. In modern times, children were born in hospitals, so even if something went wrong in the middle, other arrangements could be made immediately, such as a cesarean or something, but there was nothing here. . . ¡°Mother, when the doctores over, ask him to take some medicine.¡±

    ¡°Oh good.¡± Zhao Liu nodded. Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude made her even more nervous.

    After Zhao Liu went out, she immediately found Wang Haisheng and asked him to bring a doctor.

    Wang Haisheng might not be very clever, but he was very obedient. After Zhao Liu gave an order, he hurriedly ran out without dy. Someone on the way asked him about it, but he only hurriedly said, ¡°I am going to get a doctor.¡±

    Thanks to the scene Jiang Zhen made earlier, basically the whole of Hexi knew that Zhao Jinge was going to have a baby. So when they heard that Wang Haisheng was going to get the doctor, there was immediately a lot of spection.

    ¡°Wang Haisheng went to bring a doctor in such a hurry. Isn¡¯t it because Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t have an easy birth?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s harder for gers to have children than it is for women. ¡°

    ¡°No wonder Jiang Zhen was so nervous before. I¡¯m afraid it was already not good at that time. . .¡±

    ¡°Zhao Jinge is really unlucky. It¡¯s difficult for him to give birth.¡±

    . . .

    Everyone talked about it and sympathized with Zhao Jinge, who was still lying in bed at the moment and then endured a burst of pain. He had suffered a lot of pain. This pain was not unbearable, but in the end, it was still ufortable, especially at the waist . . .

    ¡°I¡¯ll rub it for you.¡± Hearing Zhao Jinge say his waist was ufortable, Jiang Zhen immediately said and asked Zhao Jinge to lie on side, so he could rub Zhao Jinge¡¯s waist.

    The midwife was hurriedly invited over, so she thought the baby would be born soon, but looking at Zhao Jinge like this . . .

    ¡°He has not just started to hurt, has he?¡± the midwife couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Half an hour ago, it started to hurt.¡± Jiang Zhen had already asked Zhao Jinge about the specific situation and quickly answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s not umon for a first-time baby to be born only after it hurts for two days,¡± the midwife said. ¡°Zhao Jinge looks like he will not give birth for a while . . . Shall I go home first?¡± She was cooking when she was called over, so she thought it was a close birth as a result . . .

    ¡°What if he is going to have a baby when you go back?¡± Jiang Zhen could not help frowning. Thinking for a moment, he took out 2 silver and gave it to the midwife. ¡°Please wait here.¡±

    If a midwife helped people deliver babies in the countryside, she can basically get dozens of copper coins, eggs, and some other things but this was two silver! The midwife didn¡¯t want to go back anymore and decided that even if Zhao Jinge gave birth tomorrow, she would still stay with him all night! Speaking of which . . . With Jiang Zhen¡¯s generosity, she would probably get arge reward if she helped Zhao Jinge deliver a son. The midwife no longer said that she was going to leave while Zhao Jinge, who was resting in bed, felt his stomach was not hurting as much as before.

    After lying down for more than half an hour, he became a little restless and was about to get out of bed and walk around.

    ¡°Jinge . . .¡± Jiang Zhen was a little confused about what was going on with Zhao Jinge and why he still looked so . . . high spirited.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Jiang Zhen was silent for a while and finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Mother to make something delicious. When you are full, your strength will be renewed.¡±

    There were a lot of people outside the Zhao family house. While everyone was wondering how Zhao Jinge¡¯s childbirth was going, they saw a curl of cooking smoke rising from the house. This . . . Zhao family was still free to cook?

    At the same time, Wang Haisheng, who hurriedly rowed a boat to the country town brought an old doctor on board.

    ¡°Did that family have a dangerous childbirth?¡± the old doctor asked worriedly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    ¡°Well, hurry up and row, and I¡¯ll take care of the medicine I brought,¡± the old doctor said. These men hurried to find him and asked him to bring medicine, so he thought the person giving birth or the child was not in good condition . . . He had brought several kinds of life-threatening medicine, and he was arranging them in advance so it would be easier to use them when the time came.

    Wang Haisheng nodded and rowed as fast as he could.

    The first time Sun Xiaoshan gave birth to his baby, it was very dangerous. At that time, let alone a doctor, he couldn¡¯t even afford to invite a midwife. In the end, he delivered Sun Xiaoshan¡¯s baby by himself. It was already more difficult for a ger to have children than a woman, so he hoped nothing happened to Zhao Jinge . . .

    Many people were worried about Zhao Jinge but he himself still felt good at this moment.

    He¡¯s just having a baby, so he could let people care about him a little . . . He was so satisfied that he could even endure the pain.

    Zhao Liu was already in a bit of a panic and couldn¡¯t cook well at all . . . so in the end, the meal was cooked by Cook Li and Jiang Xiaomei.

    Speaking of which, Jiang Xiaomei was a little confused at the moment . . . She always loved money, and after she was almost sold by the Jiang family, she began to love the money even more. Originally, Jiang Zhen did not intend to let her do any work. Anyway, he could afford to support the girl until she married. However, after hearing that she could earn money at Zhao Jinge¡¯s brick kiln by making bricks, Jiang Xiaomei went there without hesitation. Recently, she made a lot of bricks for money every day.

    She was not very diligent originally. After all, she didn¡¯t want to end up like her elder brother, but recently, she could earn money by ying with mud, so Jiang Xiaomei became totally devoted to this brick kiln.

    Over the past few months, she had unexpectedly earned two silver. If it went like this, she might be able to save more than 20 silver as her private property?

    She was also making bricks there that day, butter, when she heard that Zhao Jinge was going to have a baby, she rushed back. On the way, she was told that Zhao Jinge was having a difficultbor, so she was full of anxiety. But when she came back home . . . Zhao Jinge hadn¡¯t even given birth yet . . .

 Chapter 108.3 - Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    Chapter 108.3 ¨C Zhao Jinge Give Birth

    Jiang Xiaomei quickly helped Cook Li to make a fire and picked vegetables at the same time. Meanwhile, Ruo¡¯er set up another pot to boil water outside.

    It took a lot of hot water to have a baby. If you could boil more, boil more.

    The meal was very sumptuous, and Jiang Zhen not only did not advise Zhao Jinge to eat less but also let him eat more.

    For most of the past six months, Zhao Jinge ate much less than he wanted to, so his appetite also became much smaller and he did not feel like eating much anymore. In the past, he was able to eat four bowls of rice in one breath, but now he could only eat onerge bowl.

    When Zhao Jinge was eating, two hours had passed since his initialbor pains started. While they were eating, the door of the house was suddenly pushed open, and Wang Haisheng came with the old doctor.

    ¡°Where isbor? Where is the mother?¡± the old doctor, carrying a medicine box on his back, asked breathlessly as soon as he entered the door. At the same time, he saw everyone sitting at the table in the room eating and immediately frowned: ¡°You are eating? Why are you still in the mood to eat regardless of the pregnant woman? ¡°

    When the doctor saw that these people didn¡¯t take thebor seriously, he couldn¡¯t help getting angry and didn¡¯t like them at all.

    Zhao Jinge also discovered this and stood up and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t given birth yet . . .¡± With this remark, he suddenly felt a severe pain in his stomach.

    Clutching his stomach, Zhao Jinge suddenly bent down in pain, while, at the same time, Jiang Zhen kneaded his waist and said, ¡°Jinge, is it very painful?¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded. This time it was so painful that he could not even speak. It was so painful that a stream of water suddenly came out of his body.

    ¡°The water broke. Send him to the delivery room quickly!¡± the midwife hurriedly said.

    After hearing these words, Jiang Zhen picked up Zhao Jinge and carried him into the delivery room.

    The old doctor looked at Wang Haisheng helplessly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was urgent?¡± He had just thought that this family did not pay attention tobor and they did not take it too seriously, but they clearly took it way too seriously.

    The child was not born yet and there seemed to be nothing wrong but they still called a doctor . . . Why didn¡¯t they look for a midwife to deliver the baby? Why look for a doctor!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wang Haisheng was also a little helpless.

    The doctor didn¡¯t leave afterwards. Zhao Fugui already heard what Jiang Zhen had given to the midwife, so he hurriedly gave two silver to the doctor as well. Seeing this, the doctor¡¯s expression became better.

    After Zhao Jinge entered the delivery room, he let the midwife and Zhao Liu toss him around. As for Jiang Zhen, he sat by Zhao Jinge¡¯s head and held one of Zhao Jinge¡¯s hands andforted him all the time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m always with you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Jinge.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®Come on¡¯? I haven¡¯t seen it in a book,¡± Zhao Jinge asked suddenly.

    Jiang Zhen had already learned about the death rate of children born in ancient times from the memory of Jiang Zhenwen. With his mind in a mess he had no other way to exin it to Zhao Jinge, so instead of answering, he asked, ¡°Are you in pain?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt as much as before. It¡¯s like I am having diarrhea,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°I saw a head. Stop talking and push!¡± the midwife said. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time to talk about pain at this time. Try your best to give birth to the baby first . . . Well . . . the baby¡¯s head ising out . . . um . . . She has been born. ¡°

    Zhao Jinge suddenly used his strength and left his body be lighter. Then he heard his baby was born.

    He breathed a long sigh of relief, and so did Jiang Zhen.

    As long as the baby has been born . . . his Jinge was really awesome, giving birth so fast.

    When the baby¡¯s head came out, you didn¡¯t have to worry about anything else. Naturally, the whole body slipped out. Soon the midwife picked up the child and said with some regret, ¡°It¡¯s a girl . . .¡±

    ¡°Is it a girl?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little surprised. He had subconsciously thought that he and Zhao Jinge would have a son, or they would have a ger. He really did not expect to have a daughter in the end. However, ording to the chromosomes, all men have X in their bodies, so it is possible to give birth to XX in the end.

    Wait. Shouldn¡¯t gers have different chromosomes from men? He did not know what Zhao Jinge¡¯s chromosomes were like . . .

    After Jiang Zhen thought about it, he stopped thinking about it. This world itself was not scientific, so he should not pursue it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like daughters?¡± Zhao Jinge was still in high spirits after giving birth and asked immediately.

    ¡°No, I do. I do.¡± Jiang Zhen said. Who doesn¡¯t like a sweet little girl? He really liked the daughters brought by hisrades in arms.

    ¡°Give her to me to hug.¡± Jiang Zhen stretched out his hand to the midwife and held the soft child in his arms. It made him reluctant to ever let her go.

    He did not know if it was a coincidence, but as soon as he held the baby in his arm, she opened her eyes.

    ¡°The child was well-raised in her mother¡¯s belly and opened her eyes as soon as she was born,¡± the midwife said. Thinking about her unfinished meal, she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. The food of the Zhao family was really good. But it¡¯s also strange that Zhao Jinge, who ate so well every day would have a baby who was not too fat.

    In this time period, the weight to the child could not be measured. They weigh newborn babies by their clothes. Zhao Jinge¡¯s child weighed only 3.5 kg. And in these times, people in the countryside could eat too much good food when they were pregnant. Most of the children were only 3 or 4 kg. This child might not be small but it was also not big.

    ¡°This child has not grown much. This is the heart of the mother. Before, Zhao Dahu¡¯s wife gave birth, the child was 5 kg and could almost not be born.¡± The midwife continued to praise the child.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy to hear her say that, so he took out another two silver to give her. ¡°For your trouble!¡±

    ¡°No trouble, no trouble.¡± The midwife was overjoyed. Zhao Jinge gave birth especially fast and did not need her help much, and as a result, she still ate a meal in the Zhao family and got four silver . . . such ¡°trouble¡± she would like to have every day.

    If only Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had a few more children . . . No, it was better if they had one every year . . .

    The midwife left with a few words. Seeing that Zhao Jinge was okay, Jiang Zhen came out with the child in his arms and gave the doctor 2 silver and asked Wang Haisheng to send the doctor back.

    The old doctor was a little speechless. This pregnant ger was so strong and gave birth so fast, what on earth was the reason for him toe here? However, he earned four silver during such a trip, so there was nothing to lose

    A lot of people had gathered near the Zhao family house. When they saw the midwifeing out of Zhao house, someone went up and asked, ¡°How¡¯s Zhao Jinge? I heard it didn¡¯t go well?¡±

    ¡°Who told you something like this? What¡¯s wrong with it? I¡¯ve never seen anything go so well,¡± the midwife said and left happily.

    After a while, the doctor also followed Wang Haisheng out.

    ¡°Brother Wang, didn¡¯t you say that the birth was not going well? Why do you invite a doctor?¡± someone asked again.

    ¡°Our boss was just getting ready,¡± Wang Haisheng said.

    There was nothing wrong but he still called a doctor . . . Jiang Zhen really attached great importance to Zhao Jinge.

    The person who asked the question and the people around him could not help feeling moved.

    Before, when Zhu Shufen had a difficultbor and gave birth to a sickly child, Jiang Chengxiang was very unhappy all the time. So he was very happy when he heard that Zhao Jinge¡¯s birth was not smooth either . . . but as a result, it was just a misunderstanding. Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s heart was depressed, but he only red at the Zhao family house before he left quietly.

    The midwife and doctor had left, but the Zhao family was still busy.

    Zhao Jinge gave birth very quickly and did not feel any loss of strength after the birth and had no problem getting out of bed immediately, but Jiang Zhen did not allow him to move. After helping him clean his body, he carried him out of the delivery room and back to the room where they slept. Then, Jiang Zhen put the child beside him.

    Looking at the two people lying on the bed, Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart was finally relieved. God was still kind to him. Zhao Jinge¡¯sbor went well.

    Zhao Jinge would be fine as long as he took good care of him, but the child has a little trouble.

    Women can breastfeed but not gers. They had no milk. Because of this, in the past, children born to gers in poor families were more likely to die young.

    Fortunately, Jiang Zhen had money, so he had already found two women who were still breastfeeding their children in advance and gave them some money. In the future, Zhao Liu, Ruo¡¯er, and Cook Li would go over and ask them for milk every day and then take it home to feed the baby.

    In fact, at the beginning, Jiang Zhen intended to give his child goat¡¯s milk, but after thinking about it, he gave up on this idea. Even if he had never raised a child, he still knew that milk powder given to a child was not a pure milk but was mixed with other things; otherwise, the baby would be poisoned. Wasn¡¯t it difficult to not add something that shouldn¡¯t be added? Even ordinary milk powder could not be given to newborn children to feed. Besides, aren¡¯t many people allergic to milk or something? He was really afraid to feed milk to his newborn child directly.

 Chapter 109.1 - Business Reopens

    Chapter 109.1 ¨C Business Reopens

    There was a saying on this side of Hexi Vige that newborn children were well fed, so it didn¡¯t matter if the mother had no milk in the first two days. But even having said that, people were still in a hurry to have their children fed.

    When Zhao Liu saw that Zhao Lingyu had given birth, she immediately asked Cook Li to go to the nanny to ask for milk. Before going there, she specifically said for a few words, ¡°Take a clean handkerchief, soak it in hot water, and bring it over. Let her wipe it before milking.¡±

    This was what Jiang Zhen had exined to her for a long time. She did not know why he was so particr for a man.

    Cook Li replied and immediately took Ruo¡¯er, covering the ceramic cup with a clean handkerchief. She asked for milk.

    The two women who were nursing their children lived not far from the Zhao family, so it was not long before they found one of them.

    ¡°I still have to wipe it? You are very particr,¡± the woman said a little disapproving, but she carefully wiped her chest with the handkerchief before the milking began.

    The Zhao family asked her for milk. They not only gave her money but also agreed to give her chicken and pig feet to hasten her milk production. For the sake of money and food, not to mention just wiping her chest, she would be happy to take a bath every time.

    Since babies ate less, as soon as the small cup of milk was half full, Cook Li went back in a hurry. Hearing that the milk hade, Jiang Zhen immediately proposed to feed her himself. He watched this child grow little by little in Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach. He simply loved her too much and could not wait to want to do everything for her.

    The man who had lived for more than thirty years and finally became a father didn¡¯t want to give his child to someone else.

    ¡°I¡¯ll feed her. You are a strong man with thick hands,¡± Zhao Liu hurriedly said. She was looking forward to having a grandchild, so having one this time, she could not wait to take care of this childpletely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Jiang Zhen was very persistent.

    Zhao Liu did not dare to object in the end and could only give the bowl and spoon to Jiang Zhen.

    The milk was brought back wrapped in a hot towel, so it was still warm. Jiang Zhen scooped a little with a ceramic spoon and carefully fed it to the child. It was not easy to feed the baby, but Jiang Zhen still took it very seriously. The more he saw of the child in his arms, the more he liked her and even wanted to nuzzle her a few times. But he couldn¡¯t. He had a beard. What if he identally stabbed the child? The child was so tender, and when he touched her face, it was as if he hadn¡¯t touched anything.

    Jiang Zhen not only nursed the baby but also insisted on changing her diaper. He liked the child so much that he could not rest assured to give it to the others. For example, Zhao Liu . . . He could not believe that she wanted to tie the child legs! He firmly disagreed to it. For what reason should his daughter be tied up? How ufortable would that be? Her little legs were so strong, so why should he not let her kick with them happily?

    If Jiang Zhen was her daughter-inw, Zhao Liu might have used her experience to ¡°teach¡± Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen was not, and at the moment the Zhao family was even entirely dominated by Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen was not willing to have the child¡¯s legs tied up, so Zhao Liu did not do it. She was also soft-hearted. After listening to Jiang Zhen saying that it would be ufortable, she even regretted it and secretly said to Zhao Jinge, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be ufortable. I knew my mother wouldn¡¯t tie you up at the beginning . . . I heard it at that time.¡±

    Zhao Jinge, who had no recollection of his infancy, looked dazed. But if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want it, then let¡¯s not do it.

    The Zhao family went in and out, all pounced on the child. The vige at this time, even without Zhao Liu¡¯s bragging, began to envy Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is really good to Zhao Jinge. He is not willing to let him go out and even stays at home with him.¡±

    ¡°There was nothing wrong with Zhao Jinge, but a midwife and even a doctor were invited. . . I gave birth all by myself and even my mother-inw had little time to take care of me.¡±

    ¡°Yes . . . he also spent money to buy milk for the child to drink. Generally, when the ger gives birth to a baby it would just be given some rice soup. ¡°

    . . .

    Zhao Jinge did not think much about it, but he knew that some people in the vige would envy him. Even he thought he was enviable. However, he was also a little depressed.

    Jiang Zhen has been holding the child all the time, which made it impossible for him to take a good look at his child.

    Originally, Zhao Liu nned to take the child with her and Cook Li and sleep with them at night. For this reason, she cleaned up the firewood room that Zhao Jinge used to give birth to the baby and nned to sleep there with Cook Li at night. But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t agree.

    Zhao Liu was okay. It was her grandchild . . . but why should his child sleep with Cook Li? Although Cook Li looked quite clean, she did not bathe every day. What if there was something dirty on her body? But if she was left with only Zhao Liu, it would be too much to ask her to take care of the child. Finally, Jiang Zhen made a decision.

    ¡°The child will sleep with me and Jinge at night!¡±

    He had arade in arms who got married, but the elderly on both sides could not help them. In the end, the young couple had no choice but to bring up their children on their own, so he didn¡¯t believe that he couldn¡¯t do it.

    Jiang Zhen actually did not have much experience with children, so in the end, it turned into a mess. During the first night, the child woke up every two hours to eat, which left him a little overwhelmed. However, he was young and healthy after all . . . If he were reced with Zhao Liu, who would be awakened by the child, it would be more difficult for her to fall asleep again. But he was different; he could continue to sleep as soon as he closed his eyes. Then because he was very alert, when the child moved, he would also immediately wake up. Often, without waiting for the child to cry, he would pick her up and hold her. Because there was someone holding her, she would not cry.

    The first night after giving birth, Zhao Jinge slept exceptionally well, and on the next day when Zhao Liu asked aboutst night, he was a bit confused. Zhao Liu gave him aplex look and was also a little envious of her son.

    This time, Jiang Zhen grimaced, rubbed his arms.

    Yesterday, he ran all the way with Zhao Jinge andter kneaded Zhao Jinge¡¯s waist and then carried the baby around. His arms were a little strained . . . Fortunately, it was not a big deal.

    Jiang Zhen was very fond of his daughter, so after Zhao Jinge gave birth, he stayed at home for three days in a row. After three days, both Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had already gotten used to taking care of their child.

    Originally, Zhao Liu was bent on letting Zhao Jinge just sit around and not let him touch anything, but Zhao Jinge really couldn¡¯t lie still. He was forced to stay in the bed except going to the toilet, so he simply concentrated on the child. Jiang Zhen did not stop him from taking care of the child, so he quickly learned how to feed the child and change her diapers.

    Of course, when they were taking care of their children, they were not too tired. After all there were many people in the family who could help. If nothing else, they did not need to wash the diapers and they also did not need to touch other housework.

    After staying at home for three whole days, Jiang Zhen finally said goodbye to his precious daughter and went out. There were still a lot of things waiting for him to take care of outside. Fortunately, the ce where he ¡°worked¡± was very close to his home. He was also the boss. so he could go home at any time.

    After Jiang Zhen left, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were finally able to hold their granddaughter. It was not easy . . . When Jiang Zhen was there, they did not even have a chance to hold the child!

    ¡°What a beautiful child!¡±

    ¡°It looks so smart!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be a blessed one in the future.¡±

    . . .

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui each boasted about their grandchild. After praising her for a long time, Zhao Fugui suddenly said, ¡°This child, what is her name?¡±

    They . . . didn¡¯t seem to have a name for the baby yet?

    It was after Jiang Zhen returned home that night that Zhao Liu reminded him that he had not even given the child a name yet. In fact, he thought of some names before, but they were all for boys, but with their little princess, those names could not be used. It¡¯s just, what kind of name should his daughter have?

    ¡°Shu, Zhen, Wan, Hui, Fen. The meaning of these words are very good.¡± Zhao Jinge selected some words.

    Jiang Zhen took a look at it, but vetoed them all. It was the ancient times and many girls did not have serious names. It was already good if a girl had a name like ¡°Shufen,¡± which means ¡°full of parents¡±, but he refused it. He did not want to give his daughter a name like this. His daughter¡¯s name should be different and unique.

    ¡°Then what should we name her?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it . . . ,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen had been thinking about this for more than ten days, but he could note out with anything. At this time, Zhao Jinge became impatient lying in bed all day. Although he was forced to lie in bed by Zhao Liu. Most of the time he could stille to eat at the table. Zhao Liu thought it was not good, but Jiang Zhen thought it doesn¡¯t matter. He also prepared hot water to wipe Zhao Jinge¡¯s body and even insisted on giving his daughter a bath.

    People in Hexi Vige felt that children should not take a bath, but Jiang Zhen looked at his daughter¡¯s ufortable wriggling around in heartache . . . What¡¯s more, after he bathed the child, she slept much more soundly.

    Jiang Zhen had not thought of his daughter¡¯s name yet, but the construction of the docks had beenpleted, not only that, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mansion, was also almostplete.

    Jiang Zhen felt that although his family had more people, it was not much. So when he built the house, he did not make it too big. People could see the courtyard as soon as they entered. However, although he only built a one-way courtyard, because of the good nning, he also built two floors, so there were many rooms.

    The small houses beside the courtyard wall were not included. Other than the main building, there were five big houses facing south, and all of them had two floors. Of the division, Jiang Zhen allocated areas for the dining room, the living room, and built arge kitchen behind the dining room.

    In the easternmost house, the upper floor was prepared by Jiang Zhen for Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui¡¯s living space. While the second room on the east side was for him and Zhao Jinge. At that time, they can sleep upstairs and the downstairs area would be used to receive guests and for daytime activities. As for the west, there were many houses avable, so it would be no problem to make arrangements when the children became older.

    The house was built, but it was empty inside, and all kinds of furniture had to be added. Therefore, Jiang Zhen went to the county town to find a carpenter to customize some furniture.

    Unwittingly, the child became a month old, and Jiang Zhen who had written on countless pieces of papers, has not yete up with a suitable name. He . . . was really not good at naming people.

 Chapter 109.2 - Business Reopens

    Chapter 109.2 ¨C Business Reopens

    ¡°Have you made up your mind about the name of your daughter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked again.

    Jiang Zhen froze . . . He . . . still hadn¡¯t decided. Why did he feel like all the names in the world were not worthy of his daughter?

    ¡°Otherwise . . . should we call her Mingzhu (Pearl)?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. ¡°I saw this word today, called ¡®the apple of the eye¡¯ . . .¡± Even during confinement, Zhao Jinge still read books to his daughter.

    ¡°OK, just call her Mingzhu,¡± Jiang Zhen decided. ¡°This name¡¯s meaning is very good. It¡¯s also easy to hear and remember!¡± He really couldn¡¯t think of a better name.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s eldest daughter had been named Zhao Mingzhu since then. The apple of his eye, his full moon. Jiang Zhen specially sent some things to his subordinates to celebrate.

    Originally, he wanted to have a full moon wine, butter, he found that the Zhao family had no rtives, and he could only invite his own men. So he simply sent them wine; it was cheaper than to buy them a meal and a wine.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy with the first month celebration, but the happiest one was still Zhao Jinge. He could finally go out! Could finally take a bath!

    Although Jiang Zhen insisted that he could wipe his body this month, he could not take afortable bath. He always felt that he was smelly. Jiang Zhen did not dislike him and took the child to sleep in the same bed with him every night, which made him really admire him.

    Early that morning, Zhao Jinge went to take a bath.

    Jiang Zhen left the training of his men to Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng today and nned to stay at home all day. At this time, he was responsible for delivering hot water to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Really, before he was not allowed to do anything, but all of sudden, there is no taboo . . .¡± Jiang Zhen could not help butin about it. Before Zhao Liu watched over Zhao Jinge very strictly, but he did not expect that the ban would all be lifted at once.

    Jiang Zhen was talking outside, but Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t listening. He suddenly found a little terrible thing, that was the skin on his stomach was loose. Even if he did not care much about it during pregnancy, but all his solid muscles were gone . . .

    Zhao Jinge secretly made up his mind to go out for a good exercise tomorrow!

    After Zhao Jinge washed, he smelled of soapberry fragrance, which made Jiang Zhen, who had not tasted ¡°meat¡± for several months, ready to move. However, Jiang Zhen quickly suppressed his desire. Zhao Jinge¡¯s body has not yet fully recovered, so he could not toss Zhao Jinge.

    This night, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to sleep with Zhao Mingzhu. That night, they were unexpectedly awakened several times by Zhao Mingzhu.

    Zhao Mingzhu was still very small and had to eat several times at night. But the breast milk from others could not be well preserved with the weather warming up, and if not refrigerated, the breast milk would spoil after only a few hours. But there was no refrigerator at this time.

    As for going to others for fresh milk at the middle of night, it was just not appropriate. Finally, Jiang Zhen came up with a method¡ªboiling.

    In the evening, Cook Li and Zhao Liu would go out and bring a lot of fresh milk, and then boil it in a pot of water. Putting a piece of wood underneath to let it slowly burn, put the breast milk in a cup and then leave it in the water to boil . . . so this way, the breast milk was kept hot and would not grow bacteria.

    Although boiling made it lose more or less some nutrients, it was better than allowing bacteria to multiply in it.

    Arge section of the wood burned slowly. A piece of wood can keep the water in the pot hot for several hours. Therefore, after Jiang Zhen took milk from the pot to Jiang Mingzhu in the evening, he just added wood one in the middle of night.

    By four or five in the morning, fresh milk would be avable again.

    This night, Jiang Zhen got up to take the milk a few more times; he was pleased to find that his daughter was eating more and more. Also. . . she was a little overweight. When she was born, she clearly had a pointed chin, but at the moment, she had double chin. Her whole face looked like a pear! However, this chubby little face was really good-looking. There was nothing more beautiful!

    After feeding, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help but give his daughter a kiss on each side of her face,pletely forgetting that he used to think such fat children were ugly.

    When Jiang Zhen went out the next day, he took Zhao Jinge and Zhao Mingzhu with him.

    Before that, Zhao Liu had not allowed Zhao Mingzhu to go out for fear that she would get sick from the wind, but after her month¡¯s celebration, she did not stop them. But when Jiang Zhen wanted to take Zhao Mingzhu out, she was still a bit hesitant.

    ¡°If you want to go for training, just take Jinge with you. What is the point of taking Mingzhu?¡±

    ¡°Let the Mingzhu see the training,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    At this time period, it was much more difficult for girls and gers to live a good life. It¡¯s much more difficult for them to live like men, but he couldn¡¯t bear his daughter to be wronged in the future. So he must educate his daughter from the early age and then train her more so she does not meet scum in the future and be bullied! If not for his daughter being too young, Jiang Zhen would like to prepare a training n for her . . .

    A girl seeing the training? Zhao Liu was a little puzzled, but Jiang Zhen had already taken his daughter in his embrace. Not long after, he arrived at the training ce of his men.

    At the moment, there were more than a hundred people under Jiang Zhen¡¯smand, all of whom were well-trained. Jiang Zhen decided that Jinzhen Escort Agency could officially start operating. For this, he also specially asked Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi to embroider several Zhen banners; their embroiderers were no worse than the embroiderers he found in the capital.

    At the same time, while he was spending money like water to feed his men and sailors these days, those women and gers helped him make a lot of money by weaving clothes.

    Zhao Mingzhu was one month old, but her neck hadn¡¯t gotten strong yet, so she had to be held horizontally.

    When Jiang Zhen held her, he was very careful. And as he looked at her, his gaze inevitably softened.

    This kind of Jiang Zhen made some of his subordinates, who were not used to it, ufortable, but thinking about how he used to treat Zhao Jinge, they eventually got used to it. It¡¯s just being nice to your daughter. In fact, it was nothing . . .

    Now who doesn¡¯t know that Jiang Zhen is very good to his wife and daughter ah . . .

    Zhao Mingzhu was too small, so Jiang Zhen could only take her out for a while every day. Most of the time, she would stay at home, but Zhao Jinge would stay outside for a long time.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let Zhao Jinge do too many strenuous exercises, but he didn¡¯t forbid him to do some low-intensity restorative training. So after another month, Zhao Jinge figure returned to that before the birth.

    Of course, that was not the most important thing; the most important thing was that Jiang Zhen could finally hold Zhao Jinge again and make out with him.

    For the sake of convenience, Jiang Zhen also specifically asked the carpenter to order a crib that was much taller than their bed and ced it inside their room. When Zhao Mingzhu fell asleep, he put her into the small bed to make it convenient for him and Zhao Jinge to do things . . .

    After several months of not doing it, no matter how excited Zhao Jinge or Jiang Zhen was, it did notst long . . . But soon, his little brother became energetic again, and this time, he fought with Zhao Jinge for 300 rounds.

    After Zhao Jinge¡¯s body recovery, Jiang Zhen¡¯s life became ¡°colorful¡± again, and at the same time, the Jinzhen escort agency opened again.

    Jiang Zhen first contacted the businessmen he had worked withst time then said hello to the Zheng family, and soon received some business.

    Jiang Zhen had been reluctant to leave his daughter before, but he had to leave. This time, Zhao Jinge would also not go with him.

    Zhao Mingzhu had been sleeping with them all the time. Because of their care, she was very close to them. If they left together, she would not get used to it, so Zhao Jinge stayed. Fortunately, Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t going far. ording to calction, he would be back soon, and when he came back, the furniture he ordered would be almost ready so they could move in.

    ¡°Jinge, I am leaving.¡±

    On the dock, Jiang Zhen said goodbye to Zhao Jinge, and then he gave his daughter a kiss. Then he boarded the ship without looking back. It was not until the ship started that Jiang Zhen appeared at the stern of the ship and raised his hand to Zhao Jinge.

    Obviously, Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t really left yet, but Zhao Jinge already missed him a little. Watching Jiang Zhen leave, Zhao Jinge took a deep breath and carried his child home where he handed the child to Zhao Liu.

    Before Jiang Zhen left, he left all the work with him, so he certainly couldn¡¯t stay with his child all the time in the following days.

    Zhao Jinge had been learning how to read with Jiang Zhen for a year. Even when he was pregnant and gave birth to a child, he never stopped learning. Although he still could not say that he knew all the characters currently, he could basically recognize all themon characters and was very good at arithmetic. So it was not difficult for him to manage his subordinates.

    What¡¯s more, most of the people went out with Jiang Zhen, so he was now mainly in charge of the brick kilns.

    Because of Jiang Zhen¡¯s reward policy, a lot of bricks were burned in brick kilns. This time when Jiang Zhen went out, he packed arge ship with bricks and nned to take them to Fucheng to sell. With things like green bricks, you never had to worry about selling them there. Even so, there were still a lot of bricks left here.

    Zhao Jinge went to the county town with bricks and found some people Jiang Zhen knew, like Yang Jing as well as the steward of the gambling house. After a few days, someone came to their newly built dock with a boat and bought a lot of bricks. At the same time, news that there was a new dock in Hexi vige and things about the sale of green bricks had slowly spread out.

    There was only one small brick kiln in Hecheng County, and there weren¡¯t many bricks produced there. Because of this, when the news of bricks being sold here spread, it was no surprise that more and more people came to buy them, making Zhao Jinge very busy.

    ¡°Jinge, you¡¯ve been running out all day, and you¡¯ve got a tan.¡± Zhao Liu looked at her son getting darker and darker and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little upset.

    Before going to the capital, Jiang Zhen and his men were all tanned, but because Zhao Jinge spent most of his time in the cabin, he did not tan at all and even became a little whiter. After he came back, he stayed in the house all the time which made him even whiter.

    But before Zhao Liu could be happy that her son was getting whiter and whiter, Zhao Jinge got tanned again.

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s all right,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    If he didn¡¯t run about, he would think about Jiang Zhen all day. Instead of doing so, he might as well continue to run about. However, when he went out the next day, Zhao Jinge finally put on a straw hat to shade him from the sun. It was summer; the sun was really strong.

    When Jiang Zhen went out this time, he only nned to stay out for ten days, but his n could not help change faster from the previous. He currently had a lot more staff than before and had his own fleet. In addition, when he was selling goods in Fucheng, he got to know some people. Finally, he took on some big businesses in Fucheng.

    With so many people at his disposal, even if he took on a few big business deals, it won¡¯t affect his going home. He could ask his people to help deliver the goods. However, there were too few people who could read under him. Most of them could not read, so how could he let them go out alone to deliver goods and provide escort?

    Jiang Zhen had made a lot of preparations before, but at this time, he found these were still not ready enough. Because of the sudden emergence of several big businesses, Jiang Zhen had to stay out for more than twenty days before he could finally return to Hecheng County.

    He wanted to go home and see his daughter at once, but the merchants in the fleet were going to the dock in Hecheng County.

    The fleet slowly approached the Hecheng County dock. There were many ships at the dock, so Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet needed to wait a while to find a ce to dock. It was this waiting that made Jiang Zhen more and more impatient.

    Standing at the bow, Jiang Zhen said to He Chunsheng, ¡°Find me a small boat. I will go back first. You can keep watch here and let the merchants unload the goods first afternding. I wille overter to deal with the follow-up matters.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was only halfway through his words when he stopped. He saw a man in a straw hat on the bank raising his hand at him. After he looked at him, the men put down his hand and took off his straw hat. If this person was not Zhao Jinge, who was it?

    ¡°Boss, are you in such a hurry to go back?¡±

    ¡°The boss must miss his wife!¡±

    ¡°Do you miss your daughter too?¡±

    . . .

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men said with a smile. But just then, Jiang Zhen, whom they were talking to, suddenly jumped into the river.

 Chapter 110.1 - Recruiting people and School

    Chapter 110.1 ¨C Recruiting people and School

    ¡°Boss?¡± Standing beside Jiang Zhen, He Chunsheng was stunned and rushed to the side of the ship. Then he saw that Jiang Zhen was swimming towards the shore.

    ¡°Boss!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with the boss?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hot. I also want to go for a swim to cool off . . .¡±

    . . .

    All the people on the boat came to He Chunsheng and looked towards the water. Then they found that Zhao Jinge was standing on the dock.

    No wonder he jumped into the river, he just wanted to meet his wife earlier.

    Seeing that Zhao Jinge also ran to the edge of the dock, these people suddenly feel envious. Why didn¡¯t they wait?

    In fact, Zhao Jinge did not deliberatelye to wait for Jiang Zhen. After all, he did not know that Jiang Zhen would be back today. However, when he came to the county town to do business, whenever he was free, he woulde and stay in the docks for a while, hoping to see Jiang Zhen. After he got married, he was almost never separated from Jiang Zhen. This time, when Jiang Zhen went away, he felt very ufortable, but Jiang Zhen had not returned at the appointed time . . .

    This day, he originally intended to stand on the pier for a short while and then go home right after, but as a result . . . he saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship. Zhao Jinge was immediately overjoyed. Then he saw Jiang Zhen jump off the boat and swim towards him

    At that moment, Zhao Jinge also wanted to jump into the water, but there were countless boats and ships on the bank. They were so densely docked, there was no ce for him to go into the water, so in the end, he did not do so.

    After a while, Jiang Zhen reached the bank.

    ¡°Brother did you identally fall overboard?¡± Someone saw Jiang Zhen wade out of the water and asked, but Jiang Zhen turned a deaf ear to his inquiry to hug Zhao Jinge at the bank.

    ¡°You . . .¡± Zhao Jinge subconsciously covered his face with a straw hat; there were so many people here . . .

    ¡°Ha ha!¡± Jiang Zhenughed and let go of Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, youe here to wait for me?¡±

    ¡°I was just passing by,¡± Zhao Jinge said. Only then did he realize he was being drenched by Jiang Zhen.

    Fortunately, it did not matter much . . . It was at the end of June and was very hot, so it would only be cooler if he was wet.

    ¡°Yes, you are just passing by.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled. He has seen a man in a straw hat standing there for a long time . . . How could a passerby stand there for so long?

    As Jiang Zhen talked, he squeezed Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand. Zhao Jinge¡¯s face flushed and he quickly put on a straw hat to cover his face. ¡°Why did you onlye back today?¡±

    ¡°I picked up some other business along the way,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Thanks to that business, nothing went wrong on this trip.¡±

    At present, the reputation of his escort agency had not yet been established, and Jiang Zhen was prepared to lose some money for the time being. Since he also brought some goods along with him and would sell a ship full of bricks along the way, his ie and expenditure would at least be bnced.

    However, this time, since he picked up a few deals along the way, he could finally make a bit of profit.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Zhao Jinge cheered at the moment. Before Jiang Zhen said he might lose money, he was even more ufortable about it than Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°However, I found a lot of problems on this trip . . . We need to find a way to recruit more literate people,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Every ship should have a person who could read and do the ounting. Otherwise, it would be very annoying for him to deal with such matters as registering the goods and counting them.

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy to recruit schrs, is it?¡± Zhao Jinge said immediately.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to recruit people who are very knowledgeable. Anyone who hasn¡¯t gone to school is fine as long as he can read a few words and know how to do ounts,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    In the south of the Yangtze River, because of the developedmerce, there was a need for a lot of ount keepers. Those who wanted their son to be sessful in the future would always spend a few silver every year to send their sons to school.

    They don¡¯t ask their sons to take the imperial examination in the future and only hope that they could be ountants, and they would be satisfied with one or two silver a month.

    With this idea in mind, olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang had sent Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang to school.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to find such people. There might not be many in the vige, but there are many such people in the country town,¡± Zhao Jinge said. After going to the country town almost every day recently, he gained a lot of insight.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and took Zhao Jinge¡¯s hand as he talked with him. It was obvious that they were talking about very boring things, but he was still in a very good mood.

    ¡°What are you two doing here, standing here? Get out of the way!¡± Some people moving the goods back and forth looked at both of them in bewilderment. These two men were standing there in drenched clothes and didn¡¯t know how to take care of themselves but were, instead, still standing by the dock, holding hands. What was this for?

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge hurriedly walked into the tea stall next to them.

    Jiang Zhen had coin with him, but fortunately, Zhao Jinge brought money with him. He spent two coppers coins for two bowls of tea and then bought four tea cakes and four tea eggs.

    Tea cake was a local term for a local pastry. It¡¯s made of glutinous rice flour and has the appearance of a square piece of pastry with stuffing. The stuffing was usually made from pork.

    Glutinous rice can be especially filling and no one disliked pork these times, so these tea cakes were naturally very popr except that most people were reluctant to spend money to eat them.

    While drinking tea, Jiang Zhen ate two tea cakes and two tea eggs. Then he asked his wife: ¡°How¡¯s Mingzhu? Did she miss me? ¡°

    Zhao Mingzhu was only three months old, so how could she know how to miss people? However, Zhao Jinge could see what she was thinking. ¡°Miss you. She always cries at night. She cries for a while before is willing to sleep.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen heard that his precious daughter was crying, he was so distressed that he asked about it in detail.

    Zhao Mingzhu was a very easy child to take care of, and she was also healthy. Of course, it had something to do with therge number of people who were willing to take care of her. Usually, as long as she curls up her mouth, someone would immediately hug her . . . so it was hard for her to turn bad even if she wanted to.

    She would make a fuss at night, just because Zhao Jinge was the only one who took care of her at night, and asionally, he couldn¡¯t take care of her.

    After Zhao Jinge told him all about his daughter these days, Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet finally docked.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to register the cargo on board and, along the way, sent a man to the vige to report to the Zhao family that he was back.

    After going out for more than twenty days, Jiang Zhen¡¯s crew was thinking about going home, so the speed of unloading and registration of goods was very fast. When it was getting dark, everything had already been taken care of.

    Thinking about his daughter, it was of course impossible for Jiang Zhen to have a night¡¯s rest in Hecheng County so he asked his men to clean up, and the whole fleet left the Hecheng county town dock for the Hexi Vige dock.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge arrived home, it was alreadypletely dark, but the Zhao family¡¯ house was still lit up. When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingge pushed the door open, they saw Zhao Liu holding Zhao Mingzhu in her arms and feeding her.

    Zhao Mingzhu was now nearly three months old, and her neck was not as soft as it was at the beginning. When she heard the sound, she turned her head and then burst into tears, probably frightened by the sudden opening of the door.

    ¡°Mingzhu!¡± Jiang Zhen was so distressed that he picked up Zhao Mingzhu from Zhao Liu¡¯s arms and coaxed, ¡°Daddy¡¯s precious Mingzhu (pearl), did you miss your father?¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu stopped crying when she was hugged by Jiang Zhen, which made Jiang Zhen even happier. At the same time, he found that his daughter grew more and more beautiful. Before, her fat face sagged which made her look a bit ugly, but with her bing a little fatter and rounder. . . how beautiful!

    No one knew if Zhao Mingzhu really remembered Jiang Zhen, but as Jiang Zhen ¡°waited on¡± her, she gave him some face and didn¡¯t cry.

    People in Hexi Vige didn¡¯t bathe their babies because they were afraid of them getting sick, but since before, Jiang Zhen had been bathing Zhao Mingzhu. Zhao Mingzhu did not be sick and waster washed more often, so Zhao Mingzhu was different from the other children in the vige and had no smell at all. She also especially liked to take a bath.

    Jiang Zhen gave her a good bath and put her on a fiery red bag to let her lie on the bed. He just thought she was too cute . . . However, although his daughter was lovely, it was not as important as his wife at the moment.

    Quickly coaxing his daughter to sleep, Jiang Zhen, without hesitation, pounced on Zhao Jinge.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen took people to the county town to recruit literate people. The sry he offered was two silver a month. But if they did well, he might increase their sry in the future.

    Many people were willing. After all, although many people had learned a few words, they couldn¡¯t find a good job. Hearing that Jiang Zhen wanted to recruit a lot of people, they also ran to tell each other this piece of news.

    ¡°Chengxiang, today there are people recruiting at the dock for people who can read and calcte ounts with a sry of two silver a month! I¡¯ve already written my name there!¡± A young man found Jiang Chengxiang and said this to him.

    ¡°Is that so? Where is it?¡± Jiang Chengxiang was delighted.

    Since his lies were uncovered, he had not gone to the county town for a long time and was taking care of Zhu Shufen and his daughter every day.

    Although his daughter cried all day long and her life was quite hard, she actually survived. After healing for a few months, Zhu Shufen¡¯s body also became better . . . Then he could go to the country town again.

    He had never been an aloof person, so after arriving at the county town, he cried to many of his ssmates and asked them to help him find a job . . . The person who came to him this time was one of his fellow ssmates named Song Li.

    ¡°It¡¯s just over there at the pier.¡± Song Li took Jiang Chengxiang and hurriedly rushed towards the side of the pier.

    At first, Jiang Chengxiang was full of expectation, but when he came to the docks and saw the people on the docks, his expression froze at once. Those people in uniforms . . . weren¡¯t they people under Jiang Zhen¡¯s? It¡¯s about them recruiting.

    As soon as Jiang Chengxiang gaze turned, he saw Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Chengxiang, hurry up,¡± Song Li urged.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Jiang Chengxiang stood still, unwilling to go over.

    ¡°Chengxiang, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Song Li looked at Jiang Chengxiang, puzzled, and said, ¡°Hurry up, or someone else will take this opportunity. Your family already became like this. If you can¡¯t find a job, what can you do about it?¡±

    Because Jiang Chengxiang told Song Li that Jiang Chengwen was cheated out of his money while doing business, Song Li decided that Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s life was very difficult.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can go when someone else is recruiting, but I can¡¯t go when he is the one recruiting.¡± Jiang Chengxiang looked at Song Li and shook his head with a wry smile.

    ¡°Why?¡± Song Li was puzzled.

    ¡°The man . . . as a matter of fact, is my eldest brother. Because my parents were not very good to him, he took the initiative to join another family and hates our family. He certainly will not want to hire me.¡± Jiang Chengxiang sighed.

    ¡°Is there such a thing?¡± Song Li looked at Jiang Zhen from a distance and started believing that Jiang Zhen must have forgotten righteousness for profit. After getting married into a rich family, he forgot about his own biological parents.

    ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t you see? He looks a lot like me,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said with a wry smile.

    In the past, Eldest Jiang did not look much like the pampered Jiang Chengxiang. Currently, Jiang Zhen looked indeed very much like Jiang Chengxiang. What¡¯s more, Song Li heard Jiang Chengxiang mention before that he had an elder brother.

    At that time, Jiang Chengxiang was reluctant to talk about his eldest brother . . . Song Li had never known the reason before, but he thought he had guessed it now.

 Chapter 110.2 - Recruiting people and School

    Chapter 110.2 ¨C Recruiting people and School

    It turned out that Jiang Chengxiang only had not a stupid second brother who was cheated out of the money he borrowed to do business, but he also had an ungrateful elder brother. Song Li became even more sympathetic to Jiang Chengxiang.

    ¡°My elder brother is helping other people deliver their goods. If you want to work for him, you will have to live on the ship all year round. If you encounter pirates, you might also lose your life. Before that, someone from our vige followed him and lost his life. Brother Song, you¡¯d better change your job,¡± Jiang Chengxiang said again.

    Song Li has a good family and money. He had been helping Jiang Chengxiang these days, so Jiang Chengxiang did not want him to learn the true situation of his family. Naturally, he also did not want Song Li to work for Jiang Zhen.

    Song Li was a bad-tempered and trusting person, so when he heard what Jiang Chengxiang said, he immediately said, ¡°There was such a thing? I must expose him!¡±

    ¡°Brother Song, wait!¡± Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly stopped Song Li, persuading him left and right before saying that Jiang Zhen has something to do with the country magistrate. He finally persuaded Song Li and asked him to promise not to make a big deal out of it.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge ware recruiting people at the moment.

    They only nned to recruit twenty people, but there were a lot of peopleing over, so Jiang Zhen simply asked these people to write down their names and then go to a house he rented to take an exam tomorrow.

    He didn¡¯t know the level of these people, so he came up with some test questions to choose the most suitable ones of them¡ªsome of them just wrote a few words before giving them back. He did not want to recruit this type of people.

    ¡°Uncle, the men we recruit are going to go out to sea with us. You are too old to stand it.¡± Seeing a man with white hair and wrinkles, who was a little older than Zhao Fugui, Jiang Ming persuaded him helplessly.

    ¡°I¡¯m a very strong, young man. Even if you try to fight me right now on these docks, I would be okay,¡± the old man insisted.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t . . .¡± Jiang Ming was helpless, but he really couldn¡¯t do anything about this old man.

    Jiang Ming persuaded him for a long time, but the old man refused to give up and had to perform sack performance in public

    ¡°I only want someone under the age of thirty!¡± Jiang Zhen said, looking coldly at the old man: ¡°Are you going by yourself, or shall I ask someone to drive you away?¡±

    It was certainly not suitable for such an old man to go with the fleet. Since it was useless to persuade the other person, he could only scare him away.

    The clothes on Jiang Zhen¡¯s body let people know at nce that he was the leader. At that moment, his expression was so cold that the old men did not dare to say anything. After taking a look at the men standing beside Jiang Zhen, he ran away hurriedly.

    ¡°Huh!¡± The old man ran away, but a young man squeezed in. He looked at Jiang Zhen and snorted coldly. Then he faced Jiang Ming, who was holding a stack of paper and was asking people to write down their names and age. ¡°I left my name here before, but now, cross it out for me!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want this job?¡± Jiang Ming looked over with some surprise.

    This young man was Song Li, who was determined to expose Jiang Zhen ¡°true face¡±, but he was afraid of involving his family and Jiang Chengxiang; so in the end, he put up with it and only said, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    ¡°All right. Find it yourself and cross it out.¡± Jiang Ming pointed to a pile of papers beside him.

    These days, big families don¡¯t recruit people. The bookkeepers were all trained by them or they simply let other branches do it. Even if a certain shop wanted to hire people, they would ask acquaintances to find the right people and often would even directly invite rtives to do these things. Therefore, although many people could read, they could not find a suitable job. If it hadn¡¯t been for this, how could it take Jiang Chengxiang so long to find a job that he could do?

    It was also because of this that after Jiang Zhen recruited people in public, a veryrge number of people came. At this time, more than thirty people have left their names . . . so Jiang Ming did not care at all about some people who did not want to work for them.

    Song Li saw that Jiang Ming did not take him seriously and became a little angry. He was a boy who had been studying in school for a long time! Much better than the others!

    Song Li found out the paper he had written before and was about to tear it up in public, saying that he didn¡¯t take this job seriously when people behind him crowded up and squeezed him out, these people were still scrambling in the hope that Jiang Zhen would give them a job.

    Holding a piece of paper with his name written on it, Song Li was furious. Song Li was still angry when he saw an acquaintanceing. This acquaintance was also a ssmate of Song Li, whose name was Zheng Baoning.

    Although Zheng Baoning was surnamed Zheng, he had nothing to do with the Zheng family where Zheng Yi lived. At most, they were rted back several hundred years ago, but his family life was not very good.

    Zheng Baoning¡¯s father was a small businessman who sold things for a living. He used to go out four times a year, and after deducting expenses, he could earn a profit of ten silver. Because of this, his family led a good life and he was able to study. Butter, when his father went out, he met someone looking for trouble who kicked him.

    His father didn¡¯t take it seriously at first, but he didn¡¯t know that that kick would hurt his internal organs. When he got home, his belly grew bigger and bigger, and he was in real pain before he died from it.

    Without a pir at home, Zheng Baoning was naturally unable to continue to study. He was only 12 or 13 years old at that time, so he was unable to find any job. His handwriting was not very good, so he could not copy books for a living . . . In the end, he made money by painting flowers for embroiderers.

    What kind of grownup man painted flowers for a group of women all day? It was also said that he even painted the flowers on the belly pockets for those prostitutes . . . Song Li hated Zheng Baoning a little and even thought that Zheng Baoning had fallen.

    When he saw Zheng Baoning before, he would persuade him to find a serious job, but this time . . . Seeing that Zheng Baoning seemed to want to work for Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s eldest brother, Song Li hurriedly stopped him.

    ¡°Zheng Baoning, that job is very dangerous. You better listen to me and don¡¯t take this job.¡±

    Zheng Baoning immediately frowned after hearing his words. This Song Li was really full of righteousness and did know what hunger meant.

    At the beginning, he was always advised by him to find another job, but he didn¡¯t think about it. His family had no background, so where could he find a suitable job? As for now . . . when he finally found a job, he came to stop him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask. If it¡¯s really dangerous, I won¡¯t do it,¡± Zheng Baoning said. After that, he immediately squeezed into the crowd.

    ¡°It¡¯s really like biting the hand that feeds you!¡± Song Li scolded and nned to wait outside. When Zheng Baoning came out of the crowd, he¡¯d talk with him properly, but unexpectedly, Zheng Baoning disappeared!

    He had slipped away from the other side? Song Li was furious, but Zheng Baoning, who had avoided him, was relieved.

    Many people asked about the recruitment ce of Jinzhen Escort Agency and what they would do, so he also asked.

    In the future, they would have to follow the ship to deliver goods, so they might encounter a little danger. However, with such arge fleet and so many escorts, the probability that they would have an ident was still very small. If you really wanted to talk about it, if you became a bookkeeper for some shops in the country town, you might also be asked to follow the shopkeeper to restock the goods, so wasn¡¯t that dangerous as well?

    Zheng Baoning had made up his mind to work hard to get this job. His father had been dead for five years, and he was already eighteen years old. He could only earn a penny or two by drawing pictures, and he was afraid that his family would be unable to make ends meet, so he¡¯d better find a real job.

    If he went with the ship, the owner would be responsible for the meals, so he would not have to spend some of his own wages and might be able to support his family with all the money he earned. But he did not know who the owner was going to choose out of the people the next day.

    Zheng Baoning was thinking about this, and so was Jiang Zhen. He really didn¡¯t know what to give people as an exam.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Jiang Zhen was thinking when Zhao Mingzhu, who was lying on the bed, suddenly cried out.

    ¡°Good girl! You can talk!¡± Jiang Zhen happily picked up his daughter and decided not to think about it anymore. He decided to let these people write 500 words of self-introduction and do a few math problems.

    He set the questions ording to the difficulty of a regr primary school, so these people should be able to answer them, right?

    In the twinkling of an eye, it was the next day.

    Jiang Zhen had been waiting in the appointed house since early morning. When he asked the carpenter in the county town to make furniture for him because he wanted to build a primary school for cultivating talents in Hexi Vige, he asked the carpenter to make fifty small tables and benches. Now these things were ready to use, but they were still not enough.

    There were about 100 people who left their names yesterday. Some of them gave up after they thought about it when they went home, but there were still more than 70 people left. Those tables and chairs were not enough at all, so Jiang Zhen had to use the furniture that the carpenter had made for him. Because there was not enough room in the house, many people had to take the exam outside the house.

    Zheng Baoning came a littlete, so he didn¡¯t get those small tables and chairs, but he was given a chest of drawers and was asked to answer the question standing up.

    Those who wore uniforms gave each of them three pieces of paper. On one piece of paper, they asked them to write down hundreds of words of self-introduction. After they finished, someone would ask a few questions, and they would write either answer on the second piece of paper. They could use the third piece of paper to write the question from their memory.

    The purpose of this self-introduction was to see if they could really read and write, right? Although Zheng Baoning¡¯s handwriting was a little ugly, he at least knew a lot of words, so he wrote more than 400 words before filling up the paper.

    Seeing that the person writing on the bed next to him, who he estimated was unable to write and knew very few words because he wrote only 20 or 30 words on the paper, Zheng Baoning became much more rxed at the moment.

    At this time, the man with the appearance of a leader came to ask them questions.

    ¡°I have nine men working under me who are doing a great job. I want to reward each of them with eight silver. How many silver do I need to give them in total?¡±

    ¡°I bought thirteen rabbits. How many rabbit legs are there in all?¡±

    ¡°I asked someone to help me carry the goods. I gave him a penny for carrying a bag of goods. The man carried 158 bags of goods on the first day, 211 bags of goods on the second day, and 176 bags on third day. How much money did he earn altogether?¡±

    . . .

    Jiang Zhenyi gave a total of five questions, all of which he recognized as very simple. Zhao Jinge, who was next to him, wrote down a few numbers in his notes and quickly worked them out. But those who did the questions . . .

    All of a sudden, Jiang Zhen found that many of these people have dignified expression and did not know what to write . . . Fortunately, there were still a lot of people who could count.

    Zheng Baoning could count. At the beginning of his father¡¯s business, he had to settle ounts. So when he saw these problems, he could easily calcte them.

    After calcting the problems, Zheng Baoning breathed a sigh of relief, and not long after, their three pieces of paper were collected.

    After Jiang Zhen saw the graffiti on the answer sheets, he simply did not want to do deal with it and asked He Hunsheng to give each person he did not want two eggs before sending them away,

    These people already knew that they were at a disadvantage, so after Jiang Zhen gave them two eggs, they did not me Jiang Zhen and left soon afterward. Seeing this, Jiang Zhen began to look at the rest of the papers.

    The people who were really good at learning were obviously not willing to work under him, so these papers basically all had the same issues. Many of them were not even as good as him at writing, still, he found several good ones.

    Jiang Zhen had made up his mind to teach these people mathematics first and then let them work. So he was not too picky as he finally selected 22 people.

    Jiang Zhen gave three eggs to each person he rejected this time. As for those who were selected, he gave them five eggs each and then signed a deed with them and told them to wait on the dock tomorrow morning when he woulde to pick them up.

    Jiang Zhen men were all local men of Hecheng County. Before, when they were on the docks, the yamen officers were also very friendly to them, so they were not afraid of Jiang Zhen¡¯s deceiving them, so naturally they all agreed.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen also regarded it as relieving his worry.

    After these people left, Jiang Zhen asked his men to take all the tables, chairs, and furniture in the house to the boat and take them back to Hexi.

    The furniture was ready to use. After cleaning, he would be able to move into his new house with his wife, child and family!

    To Jiang Zhen, this new house was still quite humble, for someone who once lived in modern times. But at the moment, Jiang Zhen was still looking forward to moving in. There are two rooms on the upper floor of the building where he and Zhao Jinge were going to live. At the one facing the south, he would live with Zhao Jinge, and he nned to let his daughter live in the one facing north. In that room, he paved the floor with the nks, so his daughter would be able to crawl all over the floor.

    Well, his pearl couldn¡¯t even sit now . . .

    The house Jiang Zhen built on the other side of the dock was more than his own.

    He built dormitories for his men and the sailors. In addition, he also built warehouses and several ssrooms.

    ¡°Boss, what do you want to do with so many tables and chairs?¡± seeing theyout of the ssroom, Wang Haisheng asked.

    ¡°Children cane here to study in the future,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Your two children can alsoe.¡±

    ¡°Studying?¡± Wang Haisheng was both surprised and delighted. Everyone else was also very happy.

    They made money with Jiang Zhen, so they thought they would be able to send their children to study in the future, but they didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would directly set up a school on this side of the docks!

 Chapter 111.1 - Keeping Business on Right Track

    Chapter 111.1 ¨C Keeping Business on Right Track

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men were full of expectations for the school, but it would still take some time for the school to open. So the first batch of people to use this school were actually the ountants recruited by Jiang Zhen.

    The next day, the 22 ountants were picked up by Jiang Ming before returning to Hexi vige.

    At first, these people were a little uneasy, afraid of being deceived, but after seeing the docks in Hexi Vige, their uneasiness disappeared immediately. Although the docks looked empty, it¡¯s really magnificent. It was all paved with green bricks! Not only that, the houses near the dock were all second-story buildings!

    Although Zheng Baoning tried to avoid Song Li, he was still ¡°educated¡±ter by Song Li, who came to his family. He didn¡¯t fully believe in Song Li¡¯s words, but he was still a little worried in the end. However, along the way, he felt that he had not been cheated. On the contrary, he believed that Song Li had been cheated by Jiang Chengxiang.

    For example, the leader of Jinzhen Escort Agency might be an ungrateful person who relied on the money of the family of his wife to develop . . . but the people who brought them clearly respected Jiang Zhen very much If Jiang Zhen was really the type of person Song Li described, how could he convince others?

    ¡°You will live here in the future, so each of you can choose a room to live in.¡± Jiang Ming led the way and brought these ountants to the two-story buildings facing south.

    These houses were not very big, and they all were connected. When you entered the house, you would see the staircase with rooms on both sides. On the second floor, there were also rooms on both sides.

    In such a house, sailors would live four people in one room. Except for the few leaders who lived in two-person rooms. But because there were not that many schrs, each of them could live in separate rooms.

    Seeing this building, some of the recruits did not hesitate to live on the second floor while others, feeling that the upper level was not secure, preferred the ground floor.

    Zheng Baoning chose the first floor. He thought it was very troublesome. Moreover, if he chose the second floor, he would have to go a long way to get to the chamber pot in winter, which would be too troublesome.

    They all brought their beddings, so Jiang Ming first asked them to choose a room to put down their things, and then said, ¡°Tomorrow, someone wille to teach you something. You will study for seven or eight days, and then you can go home. After that you have to go out with the boat.¡±

    ¡°We know!¡± Hearing his words, the new people nodded their heads together. Then someone asked, ¡°What are we going to do? Where are you going to eat? ¡°

    ¡°When it¡¯s time for dinner, you can go to the meal point. Everyone gets one, free of charge,¡± Jiang Ming said again and then pointed to arge house not far away.

    This big house was named as the canteen by Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen built a lot of stoves inside and found some gers and women to cook. When it was time, the sailors on the dock and his men could go there to get food. Then they could eat on the tables and chairs prepared there, or they could take the meal back to their own house.

    This. . . When they were not on the ship to work, the owner also provided food and amodation? When Zheng Baoning heard this exnation, his eyes suddenly lit up. Everyone else was also very satisfied.

    Two silver a month, including food and housing. This was a really good job. Moreover, for the days when they were learning things, they also seemed to be paid. Zheng Baoning was even more satisfied with his job.

    But at that moment, Zhao Jinge was not satisfied with the work Jiang Zhen arranged for him. ¡°I can¡¯t. How can I teach people to read?¡± I don¡¯t know every word. I . . .¡± Jiang Zhen had even asked him to teach the ountants he hired. But how could he do such a thing?

    A year ago, he didn¡¯t know how to read, but what about those people? There were even some people inside who have been studying since they were children!

    Zhao Jinge was much more confident, but he didn¡¯t think he could be considered a gentleman at all.

    ¡°Jinge, you don¡¯t need to teach them how to read. You just need to teach them arithmetic and that numbers I taught you,¡± Jiang Zhen said, thinking that Arabic numerals were much easier to use than the Chinese numerals and could be written much quicker. After these ountants learn it, in the future when there would be 69 goods, wasn¡¯t writing the number 69 be easier than writing it using Chinese characters?

    This could also be regarded as a characteristic of their escort agency. . . Cough. At this time, didn¡¯t some big business firms use some special code for their ounts?

    ¡°I¡¯m a ger . . .¡± Zhao Jinge was still very upset.

    ¡°Apart from you, I am the only one who knows this . . . Forget it. I¡¯ll teach them in the evening when I¡¯m done with my daytime job.¡± Jiang Zhen sighed.

    ¡°How can you do that? You will be too tired!¡± Zhao Jinge said, and then clenched his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll teach!¡± Jiang Zhen already worked very hard, so he must help him out to share some of the burden.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge and chuckled. Although Zhao Jinge was uneasy, the next day, he still went to the ce that Jiang Zhen called the ssroom.

    The ountants were still waiting for the Jinzhen Escort Agency to pay their wages, but they did not dare to disobey, so all of them waited in the ssroom since the early morning. When they saw Zhao Jingee in, they all looked at him.

    Zhao Jinge, who was already very nervous, became even more nervous. Because of nerves, he subconsciously stood straight and frowned slightly. He looked very cold and serious.

    Zheng Baoning and others didn¡¯t know Zhao Jinge, but they had seen Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen stand together. They all respected him as one of the leaders of the escort agency. Seeing this, Zhao Jinge finally rxed a little.

    ¡°My name is Zhao Jinge. I will now teach you some secret code of out Jinzhen Escort Agency. After learning them, you will be able to do things better in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen taught him the numbers, but right then, he directly called it a code.

    Code? Zheng Baoning and others were surprised and delighted. They had just arrived, but they were willing to teach them the code.

    The students sitting below were very happy, so Zhao Jinge rxed a little and took out a writing brush and wrote on the wall.

    There was no ckboard and chalk at this time, and he would not be able to get them for a while, so Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t bother about it and helped Zhao Jinge pasted a sheet paper on one side of the wall, so Zhao Jinge would be able to write on it for the others to see.

    He wrote the numbers for one, two, three and its numeric equivalent, 1, 2, 3, on the wall, counting to twenty. After writing, he began to teach these people how to recognize them and copy.

    These people all have some foundation, so it was not difficult for them to learn this. When they wrote down everything that was written down on the wall, Zhao Jingo wrote down the multiplication table and told them to memorize.

    ¡°One by one is one, two by one is two . . . Nine by nine is eighty-one. You should also write this down. After you write it down, you will be able to calcte things quickly. For example, in the previous question, nine people each were given eight silver, 72. The result can be calcted very quickly. ¡°

    In fact, in Daqi, there had been a multiplication table for a long time. But the order and restriction was much different from that memorized by Zhao Jinge. But even if many calction methods had been made avable, most people didn¡¯t know these things.

    These days, the schools basically only taught them how to read, but cannot teach them how to calcte things. Those ountants knew about it, but they still would not teach others their own housekeeping skills for no reason.

    Some of these people recruited by Jiang Zhen have learned, but most of them have not. Zheng Baoning just heard his father say something like 3 and 7 is 21, but he never learned it thoroughly. Because of this, everyone was studying very hard now, especially the ¡°secret code¡± written by Zhao Jinge.

    When Jiang Zhen deliberately came to have a look, he found that Zhao Jinge was doing very well. He quietly nced at Zhao Jinge and then went to see his ship with his daughter in his arms.

    In a few days, he will go out again, so these days, he must spend some time with his daughter.

    Zheng Baoning and others came to ss after eating porridge in the canteen that morning. After two hours of studying, when it was about the time to eat, Zhao Jinge let them go to have their lunch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to eat at noon. The porridge in the morning was so thick and delicious!¡±

    A man with the same family background as Zheng Baoning said to him that there had never been any money in his family and that he could read only because his grandfather could read and he had learned from his grandfather.

    Zheng Baoning had been hungry for a long time, so he also could not help thinking about noon meal. After smelling the fragrance of food, he subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

    In modern times, you can eat all kinds of meat even if you eat in the canteen. But these days, productivity was very, very low and meat was not easy to get.

    At the beginning, Jiang Zhen had few people, so he could prepare meat for them to eat every day, but he might not be able to do so any longer. It was not that he was reluctant to spend money, but if they eat meat every day, they may buy up all the pigs nearby, and the price of pork would go up. Therefore, he would give meat dishes to the people under hismand every fifth day of the month, but the quantity was not much.

    Coincidentally, that day was the fifth day.

    Jiang Zhen bought a pig, removed the bones, cut it into small pieces, and braised it. Everyone who went to eat would get a spoon.

    After Zheng Baoning¡¯s meal was served, those people put a spoonful of pork with a soup into his rice bowl. In addition, he also got a bowl of boiled lettuce.

    Forget about this bag of food and amodation, to be able to eat so well . . . Zheng Baoning couldn¡¯t help getting excited.

    Coincidentally, when Jiang Ming came to dinner, Zheng Baoning went up and said, ¡°Jiang who is in charge of affairs, Jiang who is in charge of affairs, will we eat so well every day in the future?¡±

    ¡°No, only every fifth day is there meat to eat. But if you are willing to pay, the kitchen is willing to make delicious food for you,¡± Jiang Ming said.

    Although you can¡¯t eat meat every day, he can eat it every fifth day of the month, which already made Zheng Baoning very happy.

    When they continued to study in the afternoon, he became even more energetic.

    A few dayster, the 22 ountants learned all the numbers taught by Zhao Jinge.

    When Jiang Zhen learned of this, he especially gave them some simple arithmetic problems to do. Although they spent a little more time doing them, they did everything right.

    If you want to calcte quicker, you need to practice slowly.

    Jiang Zhen was relieved and then gave these people a day off.

    ¡°Tomorrow morning, I will send you to the county town, so you can go home for the night. But the day after that, I will pick you up in the morning at the docks, and you will follow me out on a trip.¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss!¡± the ountants responded in unison, and like the people under Jiang Zhen, they also called him boss.

    After living in the dock for seven or eight days, they already have an understanding of the Jinzhen Escort Agency. For example, Jiang Zhen was very capable, and everyone was convinced of his ability . . . For example, Zhao Jinge, who taught them before, was not only a ger but also Jiang Zhen¡¯s wife.

    When he first learned about this, Zheng Baoning was still thinking that Jiang Zhen marrying into a rich family might be true. After all, Zhao Jinge was not very good looking, but soon he learned it was not the case.

    There were many people from Hexi Vige on the dock. ording to them, the Zhao family used to be very poor, and they even needed Zhao Jinge, who was a ger, to work as a long-term worker to earn food. If it were not for Jiang Zhen, their family would never have had such a good life now.

    ¡°This Boss Jiang is really good.¡±

    ¡°He said that he would increase our sry if we do a good job, which should also be true.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll be some boss under him in the future!¡±

    . . .

    When Zheng Baoning and others returned to Hecheng County the next day, they all talked one after another and were full of hope for their own future.

    The same was true for Zheng Baoning.

    Jiang Zhen advanced their wage of one or two silver to each of them, so their families did not have to go hungry . . .Zheng Baoning was happy when he was stopped by Song Li.

    ¡°Zheng Baoning, do you really want to die for the sake of money? Working for such an ungrateful man!¡± Song Li used.

    ¡°Song Li, don¡¯t talk nonsense. Boss Jiang is not ungrateful at all. It is clear that Jiang Chengxiang framed him.¡± Zheng Baoning frowned and defended Jiang Zhen. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the Jiang family that had done too much . . .¡±

    ¡°Zheng Baoning, I didn¡¯t expect that you would be this type of person. For few silver, you are willing to act so indiscriminately!¡± Song Li looked at Zheng Baoning in disappointment. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you speak for someone like that . . . Do you think that a person like him will be nice to his men? If you work for him, you may lose your life! ¡°

    ¡°Song Li, don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± Zheng Baoning was annoyed.

    The two men quarreled and finally broke off.

    Of course, Zheng Baoning did not listen to Song Li. The next day, he returned to Hexi Vige, and a dayter, he left Hecheng County with the fleet.

    Hecheng County was located in Hexing Prefecture, so Jiang Zhen¡¯s business was basically within the scope of Hexing Prefecture.

    There were some pirates in Hexing Prefecture, but they were all small groups, so they would not dare toy hands on Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet at all. Therefore, Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet was very safe.

    Of course, in Hexing Prefecture, there were also some ces where Jiang Zhen would encounter danger, such as Hongjiang saltnd. However, no one will do business there, and Jiang Zhen would not take any business from there, so there was no need to worry.

    This time, they only stayed outside for more than ten days.

    Life on the ship was somewhat ufortable for Zheng Baoning and the others, but it was much easier and safer than they had first thought . . . They finally settled downpletely and regarded themselves as part of the Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    In the twinkling of an eye, it had been more than two months since the Zhao family moved to their new home, and Zhao Mingzhu, who was six months old, was soon able to sit up.

    Many children like to be hugged, but Zhao Mingzhu liked to y by herself. At the moment, she was sitting in a big wooden basin and was ying with the rattle she was holding.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s and Ruo¡¯er were watching over her from the side and talking to the people who came to the Zhao family.

    ¡°My family¡¯s Mingzhu is very clever and smart. Jiang Zhen might not recognize her when hee back from business.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s also because Jiang Zhen is close to her . . . Before I was afraid that Jiang Zhen would not like a his daughter, but on the contrary, Jiang Zhen loves Mingzhu very much . . . As long as he is at home, he wants to hold her all day. ¡°

    ¡°My Jinge also became more and more promising . . .¡±

 Chapter 111.2 - Keeping Business on Right Track

    Chapter 111.2 ¨C Keeping Business on Right Track

    In the past, when Zhao Liu showed off like this, there were still some people who were jealous, but recently, all that remained in the listener was envy. The Zhao family was so much better off than them that it¡¯s hard for them to be jealous.

    What¡¯s more, Zhao Jinge, who they unwittingly thought would never get married and would be alone all his life, was very promising and could do business.

    There¡¯s a reason why Jiang Zhen took a fancy to Zhao Jinge at the beginning. If Jinge was reced by He Qiusheng instead . . . How could he manage a brick kiln? How could he convince all the ountants on the dock?

    It was said that Zhao Jinge was very quick in calcting ounts!

    Zhao Liu talked about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge when both of them came from the outside together.

    In the past three months, they had been very busy. Jiang Zhen often only stayed at home for a day or two before he would go out for more than ten days, so he had no chance to stay with Zhao Jinge for long. It all had something to do with the silk business.

    Ordinary people in Hecheng County and in the surrounding areas would all grow mulberry and raise silkworms, which could be divided into spring silkworm and summer silkworm.

    In May, spring silkworms produced cocoons, and recently, the cocoons from the summer silkworms were also on the market. Small businessmen would go to various viges to buy cocoons. But when they acquired their cocoons, didn¡¯t they have to ask Jiang Zhen for help in transporting them? And so, Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet could hardly be empty for a moment because it had been exposed to cocoons all day. Jiang Zhen felt that he himself started to smell like silkworm cocoons.

    However, it was also good to be so busy.

    After Jiang Zhen had been running outside for three months, more and more people learned about the Jinzhen Escort Agency, and they took on more and more businesses. Not only that but also his subordinates were trained so they were able to take charge of his own business!

    In the future, he would no longer need to follow the business within the scope of Hexing Prefecture, and he would not take any business farther away for the time being.

    Jiang Zhen came back yesterday, and after his return, he slept for more than six hours. Right then, he was in a good mood and was missing his daughter very much.

    ¡°Mother.¡± As soon as Jiang Zhen entered the door, he greeted Zhao Liu and hurriedly walked up to his daughter. ¡°Daddy¡¯s precious pearl,e and give me a hug!¡±

    Jiang Zhen hugged his chubby daughter as Zhao Mingzhu kicked her legs against his arms.

    ¡°My dear daughter, your legs are so strong!¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and kissed Zhao Mingzhu.

    When the people who spoke with Zhao Liu saw that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge came back, they said their goodbyes to Zhao Liu one after another. When they left, they could not help but nce at Jiang Zhen.

    They heard that Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates loved their wives as much as Jiang Zhen did, so their daughters better marry one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s subordinates!

    Li Yuan¡¯s death once made the people of Hexi Vige feel a little afraid, and they thought it was dangerous to follow Jiang Zhen, but after a few months, they were relieved.

    Things were very peaceful in Hexing Prefecture, so it was actually very safe to follow Jiang Zhen. Not only that, but they could also earn a lot of money!

    Although Jiang Zhen paid much less because it was not as far away as the capital this time, ordinary security guards also earned two silver a month, but those who have been to the capital with Jiang Zhen could still earn three silver a month, not counting their bonuses. How many of them country folks were able to find such a good job?

    Not to mention those security guards, they were also women and gers who helped Jiang Zhen to make bricks in the brick kiln. Many of them have already earned several silver!

    The vast majority of the men in this vige could no longer work for Jiang Zhen after thepletion of the dock. But the women in the vige could still earn money because of this, the women of Hexi became much more strong-willed.

    Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Liu

    ¡°Mother, just now, Cook Li said that the meal is ready,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Liu after kissing his daughter again.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go quickly.¡± Zhao Liu quickly stood up.

    Everyone went to the dining area together, and then they saw that Cook Li had already arranged the dishes on the eight immortals table. When they came in, she quickly served them the meal and then took Ruo¡¯er back to eat with her. Together with them was Jiang Xiaomei.

    When Jiang Zhen moved to his new house, Jiang Xiaomei also started to live there. But as a result, Jiang Zhen only gave her a room adjacent to the wall instead of letting her live in the main building.

    Jiang Zhen was willing to help Jiang Xiaomei and give her a dowry, but he didn¡¯t regard her as family and didn¡¯t like her living close to him.

    Jiang Xiaomei was a person who was very good at judging people¡¯s expressions, so seeing this situation, she did not go to Jiang Zhen and ate together with Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er.

    She didn¡¯t care too much about being treated like this by Jiang Zhen. After all, her days in the Zhao family were still much better than her days in the Jiang family. If nothing else, even the meals . . . Jiang Zhen said that all three of them could keep eating some of the dishes cooked at home, so if the Zhao family ate meat, they could eat meat as well.

    For example, today, when cook Li killed a chicken they also had some chicken to eat.

    Cook Li and others have already started eating, but Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t eaten yet as he was feeding porridge to Zhao Mingzhu.

    Probably because she was fed with a spoon since she was young, Zhao Mingzhu did not reject porridge at all and even liked it very much, but Jiang Zhen did not dare to give her more. . After feeding her a little, he put her in the wooden bucket beside him and let her sit in it and continue to y.

    Jiang Zhen already had a lot of money, but there was still no servant in their family aside from Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er, who helped with the cooking and cleaning, so it is impossible for him to have a big meal.

    That day, the only meat dish on the table was chicken, but Cook Li also cooked several other vegetarian dishes, each of which tasted very good. Jiang Zhen ate two bowls of rice in one breath while Zhao Jinge also ate as much as he did.

    Seeing that Zhao Jinge ate a lot, Zhao Liu looked toward him in anticipation. ¡°Jinge, are you pregnant again?¡±

    ¡°No . . . Mother, you are thinking too much.¡± Zhao Jinge blushed.

    ¡°Why not? Gers doesn¡¯t need to breastfeed, so they can get pregnant much sooner,¡± Zhao Liy added.

    ¡°That¡¯s still too fast,¡± Zhao Jinge said. He had only given birth half a year ago.

    Of course, there were also other reasons why he wasn¡¯t pregnant.

    One was that Jiang Zhen was too busy and he did not have much of a chance to make out with him, and the other was because of Jiang Zhen. . . After he gave birth to Zhao Mingzhu, Jiang Zhen would pull out before the end each time. In this way, how was he to have a baby?

    He was very confused about this, so he asked Jiang Zhen why he did that. Jiang Zhen said that it would be bad for him to have children one after another, so he stopped investigating.

    But he actually wanted to have another baby . . .

    Thinking about this, Zhao Jinge showed great enthusiasm that evening, which made Jiang Zhen excited. In the end, by ident, the two men woke up Zhao Mingzhu and made her cry.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    Jiang Zhenting wanted to coax his daughter, but at this time, the arrow still had to be fired . . . After it was over, Jiang Zhen was free to hold his daughter, who had been wronged.

    When he put his daughter to sleep, Jiang Zhen hugged Zhao Jinge in his arms. ¡°Jinge, why are you so enthusiastic today? Did you miss me?¡±

    When he came back yesterday, it was already sote that he did not do anything to Zhao Jinge . . .

    ¡°I want to give Mingzhu a brother,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? Wait until the Mingzhu is bigger,¡± Jiang Zhen said. In fact, he actually thought one was enough, but there was little possibility of having just one. After all, there was no effective method of contraception in ancient times.

    With the method he is using now, the probability of idental pregnancy was quite high, and it was not safe at all. Then he thought of the ident that caused him to be reborn.

    After sticking with Zhao Jinge for a while, Jiang Zhen caught him again. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s do it again. Maybe you¡¯ll get pregnant!¡±

    Without Zhao Jinge¡¯spany, his life outside was really sad, so now that he was back, he should befortable. However, in the future, he would be able to just rest at home and wait to collect the money. If he had to go out, he could also bring Zhao Jinge and Zhao Mingzhu with him.

    Jiang Zhen immediately looked forward to his future life.

    Over the past three months, Jiang Zhen¡¯s escort agency had made a profit of more than 500 silver after deducting all expenses, and the brick kiln had also made more than five hundred silver, which added to a profit of 1,000 silver.

    In this way, Jiang Zhen thought about buying more big ships. After he was satisfied, he also talked to Zhao Jinge about it.

    Zhao Jin also knew that if they wanted to make more money, they must invest first, so naturally, he was not opposed to this. He also said that the brick kiln could be expanded, but it would be best to build it in another vige.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and said that he would not go out with the fleet in the future.

    ¡°Is it alright if you don¡¯t go with them?¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Jiang Zhen said with a smile. ¡°There are already some useful people under me, and these 20 something ountants are doing a good job.¡±

    ¡°Is Zheng Baoning included this?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. ¡°He is quick learner and works hard.¡±

    ¡°Yes. He did a very good job this trip, so I gave him a reward,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with Zheng Baoning, and Zheng Baoning also thought that Jiang Zhen was rarely seen good employer.

    He had only been with Jiang Zhen for three months, but Jiang Zhen unexpectedly gave him a raise!

    After going out anding back this time, Jiang Zhen gave him two silver and a duck as a reward, and asked him to run a line alone with Wang Haisheng in the future.

    After taking over a line, he would earn a monthly sry of five silver, and if he did a good job, he would also receive a bonus. Five silver a month!

    Zheng Baoning was happy, and his mother, brother, and two sisters were also very happy. His mother cooked the duck on the first day and bought a chicken to cook the next day.

    At this time, Song Li came again.

    After their quarrel, Zheng Baoning had been very busy and had not seen Song Li for a long time. Right when he saw Song Li, he had already forgotten his original unhappiness and invited Song Li for dinner. However, Song Li came to persuade him not to work for Jiang Zhen . . .

    Zheng Baoning did not hesitate to drive Song Li out and did not want to pay any more attention to him.

    There were 22 people who went to work in the Jinzhen Escort Agency, and all of them were very satisfied with their job. Although they spent most of their time on the ship, they still ate very well, and some of them even became fat!

    Why was Song Li acting so big? He could not believe that he wanted him to quit his job!

    Zheng Baoning¡¯s good mood was lost due to Song Li while Song Li was also very angry this time. Zheng Baoning, as well as other people who went to work at the Jinzhen Escort Agency, how could they not tell good people apart?

    On Jiang Zhen¡¯s side, everything was on the right track, and at this time, Zheng Yi, who had stayed in the capital for more than half a year, had finally returned to Hecheng.

    After he became an imperial businessman, he stayed in the capital for a long time, but he could not stay in the capital all the time. After all, he was responsible for sending silk to the household department, and all good silk was from the south of the Yangtze River.

    It had been more than a year since he left Hecheng. . . Looking at the docks in Hecheng County, Zheng Yi could not help but think about Jiang Zhen.

    After Jiang Zhen came back, it was said that he stayed in the Hexi all the time and didn¡¯t run outside as much, so he did not know what was going on at the moment.

 Chapter 112.1 - Cooperating to Make Money

    Chapter 112.1 ¨C Cooperating to Make Money

    The distance between the capital and the south of the Yangtze River was too far, so it was inconvenient for the transmission of news. It was two months ago that Zheng Yist heard about Jiang Zhen, and even this news was dyed on the road for more than a month.

    Because of this, he did not know Jiang Zhen¡¯s current situation and he also didn¡¯t fully understand his family affairs.

    There were many ships moored on Hecheng¡¯s dock, includingrge ships and small boats.

    But when Zheng Yi took a look at the docks, he could not help but frown slightly. There were a lot of boats on the dock, but there seems to be fewer than before?

    Maybe there were just not many peopleing here that day . . . Although Zheng Yi had some doubts, he soon let it go. He looked at everything he was familiar with from a distance and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m back atst . . . I am really a little homesick.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m homesick too. It¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t be back for a long time but¡ª¡± Shen Anxin answered with a smile, but was interrupted before he finished.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t miss my home. Seeing the beautiful scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, I don¡¯t miss home at all.¡± Feng Jingyuan smiled at Zheng Yi and talked eloquently about Hecheng County.

    After Shen Anxin was interrupted by him, his face became not so very good-looking, but soon, he smiled again and boasted about Hecheng County.

    ¡°It is said that fireworks go to the south of the Yangtze River in March, and the spring in the south of the Yangtze River is the most beautiful. But I did not expect that autumn and winter here would also be so beautiful.¡±

    It can be said that Shen Anxin and Feng Jingyuan werepeting to show themselves in front of Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi looked at the two people who were very difficult to deal with, smiled, and said nothing.

    When he was in the capital, he wanted to find someone to cooperate with him in order to expand his business. After studying the people under him, he found that Bandung business was the most suitable. Also, Shen¡¯s business was also very good, but it was not as good as Bandung¡¯s business in the end.

    Zheng Yi heard Jiang Zhen talk about the contradiction between Bandung and him, so he had a bad impression of Bandung, but the Shen family was simply not enough. After thinking about it, he simply decided to cooperate with the two families.

    The two firms didn¡¯t deal with each other, so when he cooperated with them, he took advantage of them without exception. He also didn¡¯t have to worry that Bandung¡¯s dishonesty would cause trouble for him, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.

    Zheng Yi originally intended to confine such cooperation to the capital. But when he wanted to go back to Hecheng, Feng Jingyuan, the owner of Bandung, unexpectedly proposed to follow him, and then Shen Anxin also wanted to follow him.

    After thinking about it, Zheng Yi agreed to it. Then he was in the same boat all the way with them, and he kept seeing the two men fight openly and secretly . . . which was fun.

    At the beginning, Feng Jingyuan¡¯s son, Feng Chenglin, wanted to marry Shen Anxin, but he failed, so when went so far as to discredit Shen Anxin and was then targeted by Jiang Zhen . . . When the two men were in conflict, Zheng Yi would help Shen Anxin, so although Shen Anxin¡¯s psychological means were not as good as Feng Jingyuan¡¯s, he was on par with Feng Jingyuan.

    Feng Jingyuan was aware of this situation, but he was not an imperial businessman yet. He was determined to follow Zheng Yi to find a bargain, and he wanted to open up the market in the south of the Yangtze River. In this way, he had to put up with all the usations he had encountered. It really did not matter to him if he had to suffer a little grievance in order to achieve his goal.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s ship, filled with cargo under his hand, went to the private docks of the Zheng family. They currently had only one main ship, so the docks were rtively empty. They soon finished docking.

    The Zheng family had been waiting here for a long time. As soon as Zheng Yi got off the ship, many people greeted him and let Zheng Yi sit in afortable sedan chair and carried him and Feng Jingyuan and the others into the Zheng household.

    Several people first bathed and changed their clothes. Then Zheng Yi¡¯s father, the master of the Zheng family, hosted a banquet for Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin.

    After Zheng Yi returned to his home, he rxed a lot and revealed his foolish side while Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin acted cautiously in order to make a good impression on Master Zheng.

    Feng Jingyuan was very talkative while Shen Anxin was gentle and gentle and clever. After talking with them for a while, Master Zheng turned around and scolded Zheng Yi. ¡°Look at you. Can¡¯t you just sit well?¡±

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve just been sleeping outside for a year, and you won¡¯t let me rx?¡± Zheng Yi said. However, he still sat straighter and said, ¡°Dad, I think there are too few boats on the other side of the docks today. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because of that Jiang Zhen you like so much?¡± Master Zheng smiled.

    ¡°Is this rted to Jiang Zhen?¡± Zheng Yi was a little surprised, but he was not worried, seeing his father¡¯s happy appearance. He knew that it was not a bad thing.

    ¡°After Jiang Zhen came back from the capital, he stayed in Hexi Vige and didn¡¯t go out. At first, I thought he had no ambition. I really underestimated him! . . . Aftering back, he quietly built a big dock in Hexi Vige,¡± Master Zheng said. ¡°His escort agency helps people deliver goods, and his dock is veryrge, and it¡¯s much easier to use than the docks in the country town. Some small businessmen, after collecting goods from various viges, row their boats directly to his dock.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    ¡°Not only that. In only three months, his Jinzhen Escort Agency already made a name for itself in Hexing Prefecture,¡± Master Zheng added.

    Obviously, not only Zheng Yi spoke highly of Jiang Zhen, but Master Zheng admired Jiang Zhen very much as well.

    Feng Jingyuan did not like Jiang Zhen, but when he saw that the Zheng family praised him so much, he could not help praising him as well. Shen Anxin¡¯s attitude was the same as Feng Jingyuan¡¯s.

    ¡°I knew he was very capable . . . I will visit his docks tomorrow.¡± Zheng Yiughed.

    Zheng Yi became more and more satisfied with Jiang Zhen as time went by!

    Relying on the ying cards, the Zheng family won the favor of the empress dowager, and it took him only a year to earn money what he might not have been able to in the past ten years! Not only that, the method of stitching up wounds that was left by Jiang Zhen also made the rtionship between the Zheng family and various general families better.

    Now that he had returned to Hecheng, it was only natural that he should go and see Jiang Zhen as soon as possible.

    Zheng Yi was true to his word. So after a night of rest, he asked his people for a boat and went to the docks in Hexi.

    Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin had made up their minds to follow him. They had been waiting at the gate of his yard in the early morning to follow him.

    Zheng Yi knew that Jiang Zhen and Shen Anxin had done business before, so he did not think there would be any problem with bringing Shen Anxin, but Feng Jingyuan . . .

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, you can rest assured. After I offended Mr. Jiang, I went to give Mr. Jiang a gift and made amends. Mr. Jiang said at that time that all the previous things will be written off,¡± Feng Jingyuan said immediately.

    Hearing what Feng Jingyuan said, Zheng Yi allowed him to follow. Anyway, with his understanding of Jiang Zhen, if Jiang Zhen really hated Feng Jingyuan, it would be Feng Jingyuan who will suffer in the end and not Jiang Zhen.

    When Zheng Yi went to the Hexi dock this time, he took a small ship instead of a big ship for a long voyage.

    This ship was used by the Zheng family for visiting friends or for outings. It was very exquisite and decorated very beautifully. Even the rowers were young, which was very pleasing to the eye.

    After Zheng Yi got on the cruise ship, a servant girl came to him, bringing him tea and setting out fruit tes and many dishes.

    The tea was the best Maojin, fragrant and clear, and there were several kinds of fruits and preserved fruits in the fruit te. In addition, there were more than ten kinds of vegetable dishes on the table, including a small te of snails, a small te of dried beans, a small te of boiled peanuts, a te of duck tongue, and a te of nail-sized glutinous rice balls . . . There was even a te of abalone with sauce. Behind the curtain next to him, a gorgeous servant girl sang softly while ying an instrument.

    Both Shen Anxin and Feng Jingyuan were very rich and fastidious in terms of lifestyle, but they have never been this fastidious . . . If nothing else, let¡¯s just talk about dishes . . . If they get such good porcin, they would be reluctant to use it on a very unstable ship. What if it identally broke?

    While drinking tea, Zheng Yi enjoyed the small dishes on the table, looking veryfortable. Before long, they arrived at Hexi.

    ¡°Young Master, Hexi Vige is up ahead,¡± the woman who served tea said.

    Zheng Yi nodded, got up, and went to the bow.

    He heard that Jiang Zhen built a dock, but he did not know what kind of dock it was . . . Zheng Yi looked up.

    The dock on this side of Hexi was veryrge and even bigger than the private docks of the Zheng family. From a distance, he could see arge open space on the riverbank and the neat rows of houses.

    The houses were too neat andcked aura, but Zheng Yi had to admit that it was very elegant. However, in little more than a half a year, Jiang Zhen was able toe up with such a ce . . .

    Originally, Zheng Yi was disappointed when he heard that Jiang Zhen was apanying Zhao Jinge in the vige all day and even wanted to send a messenger to beat him up. Jiang Zhen was doing business, so how could it be said that he stayed in the vige for Zhao Jinge¡¯s sake?

    ¡°Is that Master Jiang¡¯s dock? It¡¯s very imposing!¡± Feng Jingyuan came over and boasted at once.

    ¡°Master Jiang is really capable,¡± Shen Anxin also said.

    ¡°He is good.¡± Zheng Yiughed.

    While the three of them were talking, the boat slowly docked.

    The boy beside Zheng Yi was about to send Zheng Yi ashore to the deck when Zheng Yi found that the person he was looking for hade over.

    ¡°Pearl, do you see that boat? Isn¡¯t it beautiful? When you get older, Dad will send someone to build one just like this to give you, all right?¡± Jiang Zhen said to his daughter, and when he had finished, he found that the person who came was Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zheng Yi in surprise.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen.¡± Zheng Yi nodded to Jiang Zhen, and then looked at Jiang Zhen who was wearing a red cotton-padded jacket and at Zhao Mingzhu, who was very happy and fat. He asked, ¡°Is this your daughter?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This is my daughter, Mingzhu.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and showed Zheng Yi his chubby daughter.

    In order to make his daughter eat nutritious food, he hired two nannies and would cook meat dishes and send them to the two nannies every day. After half a year, the two nannies were fed till they became fat, and his daughter . . . Also put on weight.

    But to tell you the truth, young children who were still breastfed would grow further because of theck of exercise.

    ¡°What a lovely child,¡± Zheng Yidao said. When there was no way to say that the child was beautiful, he would usually praise their loveliness.

    ¡°I think so too.¡± Jiang Zhen acknowledged it impolitely and asked, ¡°When did Young Master Zhenge back from the capital?¡±

    ¡°Just came back yesterday,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Jiang Zhen chatted with Zheng Yi and greeted the two people behind him before saying, ¡°Young Master Zheng, do you want toe to my house?¡±

    ¡°Good! I¡¯ll take a look at the dock too.¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Zheng Yi felt that Jiang Zhen¡¯s dock was well-built; the drawback was that everything was too neat, so it wouldn¡¯t give people an interesting view. However, such houses were really easier to use and saved money.

    After looking around, Zheng Yi already nned to copy some things from Jiang Zhen for his own docks, such as the canteen that he thought was very good.

    ¡°Food is the most important thing, so it won¡¯t hurt to let your subordinates eat better . . . ,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Just as he spoke, his face suddenly changed.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I have something urgent to do, so I will leave for a moment. I¡¯ll call someone else to take care of you!¡± Jiang Zhen said, seeing Zheng Baoning standing not far away. He immediately called out, ¡°Zheng Baoning,e and greet Young Master Zheng! I need to go home!¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss,¡± Zheng Baoning answered, and then came closer to Zheng Yi in fear.

    Their boss even knew Young Master Zheng. He was really amazing!

    With that, Jiang Zhen ran away with his daughter in his arms. Seeing Jiang Zhen running away, Zheng Yi looked at Zheng Baoning in a puzzled way. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your boss? It not because he urgently need to pee, is it?¡±

    ¡°It should be that thedy is a little inconvenient.¡± Zheng Baoning said that this usually happens because their youngdy peed her pants.

 Chapter 112.2 - Cooperating to Make Money

    Chapter 112.2 ¨C Cooperating to Make Money

    Just realized I published IFMWBIST and not TOFUH yesterday. It¡¯s probably because I had three days off and Tuesday felt very much like Monday to me:)

    Zheng Yi has been married for many years and had children a long time ago. Although he never brought them with him, he still knew something about them. Hearing Zheng Baoning¡¯s words, he immediately understood. Feng Jingyuan also smiled, but Shen Anxin was a little puzzled.

    ¡°What¡¯s inconvenient? Didn¡¯t that child look good?¡± He did not know if this child was born by Zhao Jinge or not . . . When Zhao Jinge was in the capital, he was not pregnant, was he?

    Shen Anxin did not have much contact with Jiang Zhen at the beginning and only met him a few times. People would not tell him that Zhao Jinge was pregnant for no reason, so he didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jinge was actually pregnant.

    Zheng Baoning smiled and did not answer, but Zheng Yiughed. ¡°His daughter must have peed on him! Jinag Zhen bringing his daughter around for people to see and letting his children pee on him . . . I need to write it down so I can make fun of the little girl when she grows up. ¡°

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s daughter would be very embarrassed if she knew that she had peed her pants when she was a child and it was seen by the whole dock . . . Thinking in this way, Zheng Yi imagined what the little girl would look like when she grew up. And then . . . he felt it was a little bad.

    If the daughter of Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge looked like them, this unreliable guy Jiang Zhen would train his daughter just like Zhao Jinge . . . When he would go to make fun of Jiang Zhen¡¯s daughter wouldn¡¯t he be beaten up by the angry little girl?

    Jiang Zhen was not talkative while Zheng Baoning was the opposite.

    After five or six years of painting gers and women in the county town and dealing with them all day, Zheng Baoning had developed a clever mouth and knew very well how to make people happy.

    He coaxed Zheng Yi to be very happy and introduced the dock in more detail as they arrived at the Zhao family¡¯s new house.

    Zhao Fugui was restless, so he insisted on nting several acres of the Zhao¡¯snd. Of course, because Jiang Zhen¡¯s men would go to help him when they saw it, he didn¡¯t have much work to do.

    They also kept on raising chickens and ducks, but soon, they didn¡¯t need to feed chickens and ducks personally. They usually just buy snail millet from the vigers and hire a couple of vigers to feed them.

    This way, Zhao Liu was not busy and could raise even more chickens and ducks. However, although they raised a lot, they did not sell them. They all ate them or they were rewarded by Jiang Zhen to his men.

    Because they didn¡¯tpletely abandon the farm work even though the Zhao family had developed, it was still full of local vor. Instead of nting flowers and nts in their yard, they nted a lot of vegetables, including several trees, such as loquats, persimmons, and peach trees.

    Not only that, when they arrived, Zhao Jinge was still drying the millet on the ground.

    These days, if they want to keep the millet for a long time, they need it to bask in the sun a few more times. That day, because the sun was strong and there was nothing to do at home, Zhao Jinge took them out to dry.

    The job was not tiring, so he took it as rxing¡ªhe had been studying before drying millet, so he was a little dizzy.

    ¡°Sir, we have a visitor.¡± Zheng Baoning respectfully said hello to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, why are you drying millet?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Zhao Jinge in surprise.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng?¡± Zhao Jinge put down his hoe and said, ¡°I had nothing to do, so I take out millet to dry . . . Young Master Zheng, pleasee in.¡±

    Over the past few months, Zhao Jinge has been talking business with people everywhere. When Zhao Jinge saw Zheng Yi, he was not as formal as he was before. On the contrary, he was much more rxed.

    Zheng Yi was a little surprised to find this.

    By the time Zhao Jinge brought people into the house, Jiang Zhen had already changed his daughter¡¯s diaper and changed his clothes.

    In order to keep his daughter in any room, Jiang Zhen specially asked someone to make severalrge buckets with a diameter of more than one meter, and there was one also in the living room. After putting his daughter in it, Jiang Zhen greeted Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi came to Jiang Zhen for no purpose this time, so he just chatted with Jiang Zhen. But when Zhao Mingzhu was ignored, she started to shout discontentedly. Fortunately, Zhao Jinge came soon and took his daughter away.

    ¡°So you won¡¯t follow the boat around anymore?¡± When he heard that Jiang Zhen was going to rest, Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded. ¡°I¡¯m tired of running around. I¡¯m going to have a rest at home for a while,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°At that time, I promised you the manager position of the gambling shop in Hecheng County and give you 30 percent of the profit. You must not like this thing now . . . How about this. hy don¡¯t you help me build more gambling shops in Hexing Prefecture, and you will get half of the profits of these gambling houses?¡±

    ¡°Is Young Master Zheng serious about this?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Serious,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I will take care of it for you.¡± Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to think about it, so he said, ¡°But I¡¯ll give you some advice. I¡¯ll give you half of the capital and manpower of course.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s do it,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    The two quickly made a deal, and after that, Jiang Zhen remembered another thing. ¡°By the way, speaking of this manpower, I also have some useful people there. When I go to the county town tomorrow, I will take Young Master Zheng to have a look.¡±

    Jiang Zhen was talking about Liu Qian and Zhao Lingxi, the women and ger he saved from the pirates.

    Among these people, there were several big-hearted people who did not want to make money by embroidery and making clothes all day long, so he thought that if he opened the gambling shop, he might actually let them work there. But he still did not dare to say that Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi would be willing to work in a gambling shop.

    No, it should not be called a gambling house. It should be given a more elegant name.

    Zheng Yi had lunch with Jiang Zhen, and while they were there, Zhao Jinge had been observing Shen Anxin.

    After discovering that Shen Anxin paid no attention to Jiang Zhen at all, he was in a good mood.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, do you really want to open a gambling shop with Zheng Yi?¡± Zhao Jinge asked after their guests left.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°The escort agency is my business, and I will focus on it, but it will take a lot of time and money to make it bigger. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to make some other investments to make some money.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°It means I¡¯m going to open a gambling shop and get capital from it . . . ,¡± Jiang Zhen exined. ¡°It doesn¡¯t take much time, and you and Mingzhu can follow me when I am dealing with it, so it¡¯s very good.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen decided to help Zheng Yi, he would take his wife and daughter with him. On the other hand, Zheng Yi also had such a guess. ¡°Jiang Zhen, this guy, will definitely bring Zhao Jinge . . . No, I am afraid that he may even take his daughter with him.¡±

    ¡°No way, Young Master Zheng! The child is less than one year old.¡± Feng Jingyuan didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡°Look at the way he acted today. I bet he will take his daughter with him,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°He is definitely one of those people I have met, the type to miss his family the most.¡±

    Men like them wouldn¡¯t not hold the baby at all, but Jiang Zhen . . . he was not only holding the baby but even showing it around.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, that¡¯s not necessarily true,¡± Shen Anxin said. He used to think that Jiang Zhen was very kind to Zhao Jinge and even toward Jiang Zhen . . . But as it happened, in addition to Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen also had many women and ger concubines.

    Although a year has passed, Shen Anxin still felt sick when he thought about it.

    Zheng Yi didn¡¯t care about Shen Anxin¡¯s suspicions. People who did not know Jiang Zhen find it really hard to believe his sincerity to Zhao Jinge. But he believed it.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude towards Zhao Jinge made him even more willing to cooperate with Jiang Zhen. When he cooperated with Jiang Zhen, he would not be as defensive as he was when he cooperated with Bandung and the Shen family.

    Early the next morning, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge and bundled Zhao Mingzhu before going out to the country town.

    He used the word ¡°bundle¡± for a reason . . . Since it had be cold, Zhao Liu was afraid that her granddaughter would be cold when she went out for a long trip, so she especially found a cloak for Jiang Zhen that he could use to bundle Zhao Mingzhu with.

    When Jiang Zhen got on the boat, he wanted to release his tightly bound daughter. But . . . Zhao Mingzhu was asleep.

    ¡°Jinge, after going to the county town, we will first go to the house I bought to leave the things there and let Mingzhu sleep there. Only then we will go to Young Master Zheng,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge.

    He took Zhao Mingzhu with him when he went out this time, but he did not n to take the child with him all the time. After all, it was inconvenient to take the child with him when he was doing business. So he took Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er with him and nned to let Zhao Mingzhu stay in his house in the county town most of the time . . . This way, when he went to work, he could leave his daughter there, and when he was done, he could return, apany his daughter, and have dinner with his whole family.

    In fact, Jiang Zhen originally also wanted to bring Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu with him, but they thought it was too troublesome and did not want toe.

    Thinking that he would go back that night anyway, Jiang Zhen did not force them.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went out very early, and when they arrived at the county town, it was just dawn. They first settled Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er and left two men to help run errands and to protect them. Then they went to the Zheng residence to find Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are so early.¡± Zheng Yi sighed and said, ¡°Speaking of which, I thought you would bring your daughter, but unexpectedly ,you didn¡¯t bring her with you.¡±

    ¡°I brought her, but she fell asleep, so I left her at my ce in the county town,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    Both Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen nned to open a gambling house in Hecheng County first. Of course, they have given this gambling house a good name, Qingfeng House.

    This Qingfeng House was only for the rich, and only these rich people would be able to spend their time there. But they did not intend to let them lose all their money here, so although there was gambling in Qingfeng House, they decided that they couldn¡¯t allow too much betting, so all bets would be small. Of course, the small gambling pleasure of the rich was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

    At the same time, there were also tea, food, and other services . . . Of course, it doesn¡¯t include pleasures of the flesh.

    Jiang Zhen intended to turn it into a high-ss clubhouse, so he could not make it too vulgar.

    After discussing the rules and regtions for a long time, Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi could note to a final conclusion. At noon, they still could note to a conclusion, so they nned to go and decide the ce first.

    When they went out, they met Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin, who were waiting outside without exception.

    Anyway, they just were going to see the ce, so Zheng Yi didn¡¯t refuse them when they wanted to follow him. As for Jiang Zhen, he did not care much either. Whether it was Feng Jingyuan or Shen Anxin, in his view, they were just people he met a few times and was not very familiar with them.

    Zheng Yi gave up one of the courtyard of the Zheng family in Hecheng County, and after seeing it, Jiang Zhen was very satisfied. Then Jiang Zhen went out to see the women and gers he had saved from pirates. If they want to, they could work in Qingfeng House in the future.

    The women and gers were arranged to live in a house not far from Hecheng, where Jiang Zhen used to test those ountants. It was quiterge, and some ces were especially designated by Jiang Zhen as warehouses.

    The women and gers all lived in the backyard. Jiang Zhen took Zheng Yi and the others there. After reaching the ce, he first let Zhao Jinge greet the inhabitants there before they went inside.

    ¡°Master Jiang, there you are!¡± As soon as Jiang Zhen went in, he heard Liu Qianqiao¡¯s voice, which was very delicate and angry.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that.¡± Jiang Zhen frowned.

    ¡°Master Jiang, are you not used to it?¡± Liu Qianqian asked again. ¡°Master Jiang, what¡¯s the matter with youing to us this time? Please don¡¯t ask me to embroider the escort agency g again. ¡°

    ¡°There¡¯s a job that¡¯s easy and makes a lot of money. I¡¯d like to ask if you want to do it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen was quite calm at the moment, but Shen Anxin felt like his heart was turned upside down.

    Aren¡¯t these people the concubines of Jiang Zhen that he met at that time? They . . . in fact were not Jiang Zhen¡¯s concubines but the people Jiang Zhen saved from pirates?

 Chapter 113.1 - Misspelled Name

    <strong>Chapter 113.1 ¨C Misspelled Name</strong>

    ¡°Master Jiang, what kind of work is it?¡± Zhao Lingxi stepped forward, squeezing away Liu Qianqian and looking at Jiang Zhen expectantly.

    ¡°Yes, Master Jiang, what kind of work is it?¡± Liu Qianqian then stood in front of Zhao Lingxi. If Jiang Zhen only needed one person, she could not let Zhao Lingxi take the job. God only knew how annoying Liu Qianqian found embroidery!

    She used to asionally embroider a purse ording to her preferences, which was a nice pastime, so she was happy. But since then, she was always forced to embroider something very boring on very big things. She didn¡¯t want to do it for a living!

    Liu Qianqian thought like this, so did Zhao Lingxi who also squeezed ahead.

    With such an open and secret struggle, there was no doubt that they were getting closer and closer to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge stepped forward and stopped in front of Jiang Zhen, halting their momentum. ¡°You don¡¯t have to argue. You all can do it as long as you want to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s mean.¡± Liu Qianqian red at Zhao Jinge. Zhao Lingxi also looked at him. They could not eat Jiang Zhen, so was it necessary to guard against them?

    Jiang Zhen did not treat these people badly. Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi have been residing in Hecheng County for more than half a year. They were not exposed to the wind and the sun, and they have the leisure to dress themselves up, so they looked even more beautiful. The way they looked at him was unexpectedly amorous . . .

    Jiang Zhen immediately became a little unhappy. What did this people mean by looking at Zhao Jinge so seductively?

    ¡°Stand up straight and don¡¯t look around,¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°As for this job, it is like this.¡±

    Jiang Zhen briefly introduced what he wanted them to do.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were silent. It was a good job, but it also meant using their beauty. If the guests forced them. . .

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You don¡¯t need to sign the deed of sale. You can quit if you don¡¯t like it. Besides, Qingfeng House will protect your safety, and you won¡¯t do what you don¡¯t want to do,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Liu Qianqian came from a brothel. At the beginning, she wanted to escape and tried her best to coax the rich merchant to redeem her. Because the madam held her deed of sale, she could not get a penny of money she earned. But if she said anything, she would be forced to ept even more customers. But this time the situation was different. ording to Jiang Zhen, there was no need to sign a deed of sale; they would be paid, and the reward given to them by the guests would also be given to them.

    ¡°I will!¡± Liu Qianqian said without hesitation.

    ¡°I will too,¡± Zhao Lingxi also said.

    Just then, the two were fighting openly and secretly, but at the moment, they were as good as their own sisters, singing in harmony. ¡°Master Jiang, don¡¯t worry. We will do a good job!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we will abide by the rules of Qingfeng House!¡±

    ¡°When the timees, Master Jiang, if you want us to be dignified and virtuous, we will certainly not let you down.¡±

    . . .

    Those who were willing to do so were not only Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, but also some of the women who were with them. It can be said that the group of ¡°concubines¡± of Jiang Zhen that Shen Anxin saw at the time were all there. Of course, there were also some who were not willing.

    Before, Jiang Zhen had always put these people on this side of the county town because of Liu Qianqian¡¯s boldness. He was worried that Zhao Jinge would be jealous if he took them to Hexi and would cause a storm of jealousy. Now that Liu Qianqian and others were willing to work in Qingfeng House, there was no need to worry about the rest of them.

    Jiang Zhen nned to take all the remaining women to Hexi. When these people go there, those who did not want to marry could continue making clothes or working in the canteen to support themselves, and those who want to marry could also find someone to marry.

    These days, boys were preferred over daughters, so some people were not willing to support their daughters while three wives and four concubines were still legal. Large families used a lot of servant girls . . . and the end result was there was a shortage of women in the countryside.

    Because of this, the vast majority of men did not care whether their wives turned out to be big or dark-skinned women as long as they could have a wife. Of course, for the once-married women, men would certainly give fewer betrothal gifts. Not to mention that there were many men rescued from the pirates in Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands.

    These men who worked for him as sailors did not earn much as his specially trained men, and they were also outsiders, so they could not marry the local women of Hexi. It was estimated that as long as someone was willing to marry them, they would be willing to marry, and there might even be a fight.

    Jiang Zhen started missing his daughter, so after letting Liu Qianqian, Zhao Lingxi, and the others think about it carefully he intended to leave.

    Meanwhile, Shen Anxin was still in a trance. After seeing the interaction between Jiang Zhen, Liu Qianqian, and Zhao Lingxi, Shen Anxin naturally knew that these people could never be Jiang Zhen¡¯s concubines, so they lied to him from the beginning.

    When he thought Jiang Zhen was not a good man, Shen Anxin put down his feelings for Jiang Zhen. But at the moment, after knowing that it was a misunderstanding, the feelings that he had put down were surging back even more intensely than before.

    Jiang Zhen had always been very good, and he was very sincere to Zhao Jinge . . . But seeing Jiang Zhen unexpectedly indifferent in the face of temptation . . . Shen Anxin became even more jealous of Zhao Jinge. However, the experience of thest half a year had taught him to hide his emotions.

    No matter what he had in mind, on the surface, Shen Anxin was very calm and showed nothing. But he could still not help looking back when he left. Then he saw Zhao Lingxi and Liu Qianqian make a face at him.

    There was no doubt that these two people recognized him and remembered what happened . . . At that time, these people probably said that to him on purpose. Shen Anxin finally lost his temper. However, it was only for a moment, and he soon regained his senses and reined in his emotions.

    After seeing these people, it was already gettingte, so Zheng Yi immediately proposed to invite Jiang Zhen to the restaurant for dinner, but Jiang Zhen refused. ¡°I want to go back to see Mingzhu.¡±

    He took Zhao Mingzhu with him, so he wanted to spend more time with his daughter, so he also took her out for a stroll.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we eat at your ce?¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°I will go with you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded and agreed. Fearing that the food prepared by Cook Li would not be enough, on his way back, he especially bought roast chicken and several kinds of cooked food and ordered a small jar of wine.

    Jiang Zhen himself did not like wine much; when he was in the army, they were also not allowed to drink. When he came out, he would drink it asionally, but even still, he mainly drank beer. He could drink a little of wine, but he did not like it much, so buying a wine was only ording to Zheng Yi¡¯s wishes, so he bought a jar of rice wine.

    ¡°There is no good wine in this shop. Only this rice wine can be drank . . . ,¡± Young Master Zheng said and mentioned a few better wines, saying that only those wines were worth drinking.

    Feng Jingyuan knew a lot about wine and immediately talked to Zheng Yi about them. Shen Anxin could also say only a few words. However, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were confused.

    ¡°The sweet wine made by my mother is very delicious,¡± Zhao Jinge said. There was no shortage of food at home this summer, so Zhao Liu made sweet wine from leftover rice mixed with wine and medicine.

    Jiang Zhen nodded, Zhao Liu¡¯s wine was really good and was even better than the one he bought in the supermarket in modern times.

    The atmosphere in which the two of them spoke did not allow anyone else to chime in . . . Shen Anxin¡¯s heart was sore as he remembered some of the things that had happened in the capital before.

    After despairing over Jiang Zhen, he agreed to his mother¡¯s proposal to talk about marriage and also took a maid that his mother had prepared for him. But then he found that he did not like women and, even after trying, did not want to touch women at all. He left the capital just to escape, but to his surprise, he ran into Jiang Zhen again.

    Several people soon arrived at Jiang Zhen¡¯s residence in the county town.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s requirements for the house were not high, so the house outside looked very ordinary. But the inside was clean and there was also some distinctive furniture. For example, in the eating room, in addition to the mostmon eight immortal table, arge wooden bed that could not be considered a normal one was built against the wall. It was made from wooden boards and included a half meter high railing. And inside . . . Zhao Mingzhu sat inside, throwing a cotton-filled cloth ball.

    She threw them while giggling. Seeing Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingee inside, she was obviously very happy. But she was so happy, she fell back with her legs and arms facing the ceiling. But because she was wearing a lot, she could not get up.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart was about to melt for a moment as he hurriedly went up to help her then threw her ball up, catching it himself before throwing it back to her.

    Zhao Mingzhuughed even more happily.

    ¡°Master Jiang really dotes on Miss Jiang,¡± Feng Jingyuan said. ¡°Miss Jiang is also very lively and lovely.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Jiang is very kind to Miss Jiang,¡± Shen Anxin also said.

    As a matter of fact, Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s surname was Zhao, but Zhao Jinge would not deliberately tell anyone about this, so he just smiled and nodded, but Zheng Yi said, ¡°It¡¯s not Miss Jiang but Miss Zhao.¡±

    ¡°Miss Zhao?¡± Shen Anxin asked in surprise.

    ¡°Yes. Jiang Zhen married into the Zhao family,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    At the beginning, because he thought Jiang Zhen would not want people to know about it, Zheng Yi never talked about it with others, butter when they started to get along more, he found that he was thinking too much. Jiang Zhen did not care about this at all.

    Jiang Zhen really didn¡¯t care about this but he did not deliberately talk about it to others either so both Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin, who knew nothing about it before, were surprised to hear such a thing.

 Chapter 113.2 - Misspelled Name

    Chapter 113.2 ¨C Misspelled Name

    Could it be that the seemingly inconspicuous Zhao Jinge was actually very well-off? If not, why would Jiang Zhen marry into Zhao house?

    The two were a little curious, but Zheng Yi did not speak about it anymore.

    After eating with Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi left. Shen Anxin, who was still full of questions, could not ask to stay, so he could only leave with him. However, he was already in Hecheng County, so he had time to figure it out.

    Zheng Yi did not intend to let Feng Jingyuan and Shen Anxin interfere in the affairs of Qingfeng, so the next day, he left without them and talked with Jiang Zhen alone.

    Feng Jingyuan came to the south of the Yangtze River to open up the market here, so during the time he could not follow after Zheng Yi, he visited Hecheng County. Shen Anxin thought about it and finally decided to hire a boat and went to Hexi Vige.

    In small viges like Hexi, there were not many outsiders, so the vigers were very defensive and would look at aliens as something strange. But since Jiang Zhen built a dock, more and more merchants came and went and the people were no longer surprised to see outsiders.

    In particr, Shen Anxin wore expensive clothes and looked like a rich man, so they weed him even more.

    Shen Anxin finally strolled around this side of the dock as he asked around about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    Thanks to Zhao Liu, everyone in Hexi knew that Jiang Zhen was very good to Zhao Jinge, so Shen Anxin could find countless news as soon as he inquired. For example, Zhao Jinge was originally just a long-term worker of the Zhao family in the vige and his family did not even have a piece ofnd. But after Jiang Zhen married into his house, with the ¡°wages¡± from the Jiang family and by doing business, Jiang Zhen unexpectedly made his family rich. At this time, the family of Zhao Jinge had already be richer than the Zhaos he worked for before.

    For example, Zhao Jinge used to be a well-known man who couldn¡¯t get married, so no one expected him to marry so well in the end.

    ¡°Jinge is really blessed, Jiang Zhen as well. The lives of the two of them are bound to get better and better,¡± the Hexi woman who talked with Shen Anxin said with emotion.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Anxin smiled and nodded, but his heart became more and more resentful.

    When he was in the capital before, although he liked Jiang Zhen and was a little jealous of Zhao Jinge, he did not want to destroy their rtionship, but now . . . Zhao Jinge was inferior to him everywhere. Why can he be treated wholeheartedly by Jiang Zhen? If Jiang Zhen had not been involved with the Zhao family but with the Shen family . . . He could fulfill his parents¡¯ expectations and inherit the Shen family to carry on his family line while Jiang Zhen himself would also have a better starting point, right?

    Why didn¡¯t he meet Jiang Zhen earlier?

    When Shen Anxin returned to the Zheng family house that day, he was in a trance. It was only when he saw Feng Jingyuan that he felt like a cold water was poured on his head, making him calm down. Whatever he had in mind, he couldn¡¯t show it. However, if Jiang Zhen can be with him, with the friendship between Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi, what was Feng Jingyuan?

    Jiang Zhen knew nothing about Shen Anxin¡¯s thoughts. From beginning to end, he did not even notice that Shen Anxin liked him. He was busy with Qingfeng House.

    Jiang Zhen used to do different work assignments. When Jiang Zhen was doing assignments before, he had been in some casinos, so he was able to put forward a lot of suggestions.

    Not all of his suggestions were applicable, but with these bits of information, Zheng Yi could always improve them so that the various rules and regtions and methods of operation of Qingfeng House could be perfected gradually.

    For some of the women and gers saved by Jiang Zhen from the pirates, Jiang Zhen had already sent them to Hexi. But Liu Qianqian and the others were sent by him to the house provided by Zheng Yi to open Qingfeng House, and then they began to learn how to y cards.

    Neither Jiang Zhen nor Zheng Yi meant to take advantage of the beauties to cheat officials, so all they had to do was to learn how to y, so the job was simple, and they learned quickly. At the same time, the house was redecorated.

    In order to open Qingfeng House within the shortest time possible, Zheng Yi did not hesitate to provide some furniture from the Zheng family, so it only took him 20 days to make the house look good.

    It was during this period that Shen Anxin often took advantage of Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi¡¯s busyness to find Zhao Jinge, who followed Jiang Zhen to the county town, and became acquainted with him.

    This day, Shen Anxin went to find Zhao Jinge again. When Shen Anxin arrived, Zhao Jinge was reading and practicing calligraphy.

    Even then, Zhao Jinge still could not recognize all the characters and his handwriting was not very good-looking, but he was very serious. He practiced a lot every day, so he made great progress. While practicing, Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t help thinking of Jiang Zhen, so the characters he wrote were ¡°Jiang Zhen.¡±

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, are you practicing calligraphy?¡± Shen Anxin came in from the outside and asked with a smile, but he did not like Zhao Jinge who practiced calligraphy on the dining table while his fat daughter was still sleeping on the big bed made of the wooden board next to him.

    Which schr practiced calligraphy like this?

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jin nodded to Shen Anxin.

    As long as Shen Anxin was not interested in Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge still liked Shen Anxin very much and even admired him a lot because Shen Anxin knew a lot of things. But the more he got along with Shen Anxin, the more worthless he felt. For example, the other day, Shen Anxin told him about incense on his clothes, which made him feel at a loss.

    Shen Anxin said that both men and women should be clean and tidy and take good care of their appearance and properly smoke their clothes with incense . . . But he didn¡¯t know anything about it.

    Shen Anxin not only understood these but was also very knowledgeable. When he was studying, he didn¡¯t understand some ces and couldn¡¯t find Jiang Zhen to ask. Obviously, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t understand some of it either, but Shen Anxin knew all about it. Other people¡¯s breadth of knowledge was really much better than that of Jiang Zhen¡¯s and his!

    Before Shen Anxin came close, Zhao Jin took a book to cover the ¡°Jiang Zhen¡± he had written while practicing calligraphy and said to Shen Anxin, ¡°Master Shao, why did youe so early today?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you about it already? Just call me Anxin,¡± Shen Anxin said, and then he ced a small box on the table. ¡°If you call me Anxin, I¡¯ll call you Jinge. Jinge, didn¡¯t I tell you yesterday that gers should also learn to take care of his appearance? I brought some tools today. Would you like to try it? ¡°

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not used to it.¡± Zhao Jinge subconsciously wanted to refuse.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to try!¡± Shen Anxin said, and then opened the box he had brought.

    ¡°Razor?¡± Zhao Jinge looked and saw a knife, bing a little surprised.

    Nowadays, many people liked to grow a beard, but Jiang Zhen did not like it, so when his beard became a little longer, he would shave it with a knife, so Zhao Jinge was not stranger to razors. However, they do not have a beard so what did Shen Anxin want to do with a razor?

    ¡°It¡¯s a razor, but it¡¯s not for shaving. It¡¯s for the eyebrows,¡± Shen Anxin said. ¡°Your eyebrows are a little messy. If you trim them, you will certainly look a lot better.¡±

    ¡°No need . . .¡± Zhao Jinge wanted to refuse, but he was always a person who was not very good at refusing people, so Shen Anxin soon persuaded him and helped him trim his eyebrows.

    Zhao Jinge was originally very brave. After Shen Anxin trimmed his eyebrows, his eyebrows that went into his temples making him look a lot stronger.

    ¡°A ger will smell like powder when using themon powder in the world. These too white powders are also not suitable for you, but you should also rub something on your face and use a little darker powder . . . Wait, I will draw your eyebrows again.¡±

    Shen Anxin took out a box of face powder and rubbed it on Zhao Jinge¡¯s face. In fact, Shen Anxin did it with bad intentions. He was a ger, but his father was determined to raise him as a son, but he was very much like his mother, looking very feminine.

    His father was very worried about this, butter, his mother came up with a method to solve this matter.

    His mother was a very beautiful woman who usually loved to tinker with all kinds of things to make herself even more beautiful. She relied on this skill to fix Shen Anxin¡¯s eyebrows and use of the powder to make him look more manly. Right then, he was applying this method on Zhao Jinge.

    After Shen Anxin¡¯s tossing around, Zhao Jinge looked very, very vigorous, so no one could say that Shen Anxin gave Zhao Jinge a bad makeup, but at the same time . . . Zhao Jinge looked like an entirely new person; he even looked like a man with a very cold aura.

    Originally, after getting married with Jiang Zhen and having a child, Zhao Jinge¡¯s temperament has changed a lot, and he became much softer. But in the face of Jiang Zhen, all of this was obvious, but under Shen Anxin¡¯s hands, all that softnesspletely disappeared, and even the scar in the middle of his eyebrow was so well hidden that it could no longer be seen.

    ¡°Jinge, look. Don¡¯t you look much better like this?¡± Shen Anxin took out a bronze mirror and showed it to Zhao Jinge.

    The person in the mirror was really good-looking, and he did not know how Shen Anxin made him look like this. Some small scars on his face had also be invisible. This was . . . He was not sure why he felt so strange, but Zhao Jinge frowned subconsciously. However, he was grateful for Shen Anxin¡¯s efforts to help him.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zhao Jinge said to Shen Anxin.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Shen Anxin said with a smile. ¡°Jinge, you should learn how to take care of yourself in the future. Those men, they all like gers who take care of themselves and be clean and beautiful . . .¡±

    Shen Anxin was still talking when he heard a noise outside, Jiang Zhen came back.

    ¡°Jinge, is dinner ready?¡± Jiang Zhen spent the whole morning in Qingfeng House, so he was so hungry that he asked as soon as he entered the house. But as soon as he finished asking he froze.

    This day¡¯s Zhao Jinge looked very nice.

    Everyone¡¯s aesthetic was different. Zhao Jinge¡¯s appearance was very much in line with Jiang Zhen¡¯s aesthetic, but the way he looked today . . . It has to be said that it was even more in Jiang Zhen¡¯s aesthetics.

    Obviously, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t see much change, but he indeed looked different. Jiang Zhen always thought he was particrly attractive this way.

    ¡°You . . . look a little different today.¡± Jiang Zhen doubted and was about to touch Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it . . . pretty?¡± Zhao Jinge became worried. ¡°I put on makeup today, I . . .¡±

    Jiang Zhen had never liked rouge gouaches, so if he put on makeup, would Jiang Zhen have a problem with it? Jiang Zhen regretted it very much at the moment. If he had known, he would not have agreed to Shen Anxin¡¯s idea.

    ¡°No . . . It looks good.¡± Jiang Zhen swallowed and said, ¡°How did this happen?¡±

    He used to hear that those male stars had to wear makeup, but he didn¡¯t believe so. He did not expect that men would look better after doing it. In the future, if Zhao Jinge did this, it was fine, but of course, it didn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Anxin did it for me,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Yes, Master Jiang. I did it for Jinge. His skin looks much better this way, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Shen Anxin asked with a smile.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, frowning.

    This Shen Anxin . . . called Zhao Jinge, Jinge? What¡¯s more, he did makeup for Zhao Jinge?

    Jiang Zhen knew that Zhao Jinge knew absolutely nothing about makeup, so it was estimated that all of the things on his face were done by Shen Anxin. Recently, Shen Anxin came to see Zhao Jinge every day and talked with him all day long, and now he was even doing makeup for Zhao Jinge! What did he mean by this!

    Before, Zhao Jinge always talked about Shen Anxin¡¯s knowledge, so Jiang Zhen, who had beenpared to Shen Anxin all day could no longer see the adoring eyes of Zhao Jinge and already became a little unhappy, and so this day¡¯s situation made him a little sour.

    Seeing that Jiang Zhen seemed a little unhappy, Shen Anxin was very happy. ¡°Master Jiang, are you hungry? Mrs. Li has already prepared the meal, and it will be ready soon.¡±

    As he spoke, he went to clean up the pen and paper left by Zhao Jinge¡¯s calligraphy practice on the table.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zhao Jinge wanted to stop him, but it was already toote. Shen Anxin had already put aside the book he used as cover and revealed his paper full of Jiang Zhen¡¯s name.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly felt a little shy, but Shen Anxin was overjoyed. He was writing Jiang Zhen¡¯s name? But he even wrote Jiang Zhen¡¯s name wrong!

    ¡°Jiang Zhen¡± was not written like this at all!

    ¡°Jinge, did you want to write Jiang Zhen?¡± Shen Anxin said. ¡°Why did you write Jiang Zhen¡¯s name wrong? If you let others see this, they will think that you have no knowledge. ¡°

    The characters for Jiang Zhen written by Zhao Jinge were written in simplified Chinese that Jiang Zhen taught him at the beginning.

    He also knew that these two words were not quite right, but Jiang Zhen taught him like this, so when he wrote it, he didn¡¯t change it.

    When it was pointed out this time by Shen Anxin, Zhao Jinge became a little embarrassed and looked at Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen probably didn¡¯t learn the characters well at first, so he probably taught him the wrong way to write it, but now when it was already out in the open . . . this. . . Will Jiang Zhen be angry?

    Of course, Jiang Zhen was angry. Shen Anxin came to Zhao Jinge every day, showing his knowledge in front of Zhao Jinge and putting on makeup for Zhao Jinge. Now he even said in roundabout way that he was uneducated . . .

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s face turned ck.

 Chapter 114.1 - Opening of Qingfeng House

    Chapter 114.1 ¨C Opening of Qingfeng House

    Shen Anxin felt that Zhao Jinge was really in a messy situation. He even wrote Jiang Zhen¡¯s name wrong.

    He knew that Jiang Zhen could read and had been studying very hard, so he wanted Jiang Zhen to know about it, so he said, ¡°Jiang Zhen¡¯s name is easy to write. Jinge, let me show you?¡±

    After picking up the brush and dipping it in the ink, Shen Anxin was about to write on a piece of paper. He once secretly wrote Jiang Zhen¡¯s, and he had already practiced writing these two characters very well so . . .

    Before Shen Anxin finished writing, the piece of paper in front of him was taken away by Jiang Zhen. ¡°Don¡¯t bother teaching. We¡¯re going to eat. Please leave!¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression was very cold, so Shen Anxin could not help feeling stunned when he saw his expression. Jiang Zhen was not warm to him before, but he was treated much better than Feng Jingyuan, but right then, he even has the feeling that Jiang Zhen might hit him.

    Jiang Zhen really wanted to hit him. He had always been straightforward so naturally, he did not see Shen Anxin¡¯s hidden intention but Jiang Zhen still felt that this Shen Anxin might have bad intentions.

    He did not prohibit Zhao Jinge from meeting others. Zhao Jinge went out to do business and trained with his men, but he never felt anything about it, but this time . . . Zhao Jinge always told him about the people he interacted with, but what did it mean if this person came to his house almost every day? Moreover, Zhao Jinge put too much attention on Shen Anxin!

    ¡°Master Jiang.¡± Shen Anxin looked at Jiang Zhen uneasily. Jiang Zhen attached so much importance to Zhao Jinge; he did not even say anything important, but he was already so angry. Was Zhao Jinge worthy of his treatment?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, Anxin did not mean to¡ª¡± Zhao Jinge wanted to say that the person Shen Anxin wanted to criticize was actually him and did not want to intentionally say anything bad about Jiang Zhen.

    Anxin . . . Zhao Jinge actually called him by his first name . . . Jiang Zhen looked at Shen Anxin and said, ¡°You are an important person in the Shen family, so you shouldn¡¯t need toe to other people¡¯s houses for dinner.¡±

    Jiang Zhen did not say too much, but even these words were too much for Shen Anxin to bear. Someone he likes was trying to drive him away . . .

    ¡°Master Jiang, I¡¯ll leave immediately,¡± Shen Anxin said.

    ¡°Well, you should have left a long time ago. In our vige, people who don¡¯t leave at dinnertime would be scolded.¡± Jiang Zhen said that because most people in the vige had no money, so they hated people who wanted to join their meals.

    He was not short on food, but he also could not wait for Shen Anxin to leave soon. Shen Anxin stayed at his house all day, and it was difficult for him to have a meal alone with Zhao Jinge when he got home. Sometimes he wants to take a break at noon and take a nap. Before, Zhao Jinge would often apany him, but now? With an outsider at home, Zhao Jinge had no choice but to apany that Shen Anxin.

    The three men were talking when Zhao Mingzhu cried on the bed next to them.

    Zhao Mingzhu had been awake for a while, but no one paid any attention to her, so shouldn¡¯t she be angry and protest?

    ¡°My Mingzhu,e. Father will give you a hug.¡± Jiang Zhen picked her up and kissed Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s white and tender face. After kissing the left side, he went to kiss the right side.

    Shen Anxin was already very embarrassed, and after seeing this scene, he could not stay any longer. He packed up his things and went out. Zhao Jinge wanted to see him off, but he was stopped by Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jinge, bring a diaper for Mingzhu. Hurry up!¡±

    To Zhao Jinge, Shen Anxin was definitely not as important as Jiang Zhen and Zhao Mingzhu, so when he heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, he did not send Shen Anxin off and went to get a diaper.

    When he handed the diaper to Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge was still worried. ¡°This young master Shen and Master Zheng are doing business together. Is it okay for you to talk to him like this?¡± He didn¡¯t like Shen Anxin very much. After all, this man had coveted Jiang Zhen. He had felt bad and a little offended . . . but of course, he really admired Shen Anxin¡¯s knowledge.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I doing business with Young Master Zheng too?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, looking at Zhao Jinge again. ¡°Zhao Jinge, I want to tell you about a very serious matter.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Jinge asked subconsciously, looking anxiously at Jiang Zhen. What did Jiang Zhen want to say?

    While Jiang Zhen skillfully changed Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s diaper, he said, ¡°You should always write my name like that in the future. Don¡¯t change it for me.¡±

    Although he has gone back to the ancient times, Jiang Zhen¡¯s core was still that of a modern person, so his ideas were also modern. He will try his best to adapt to this era in order to live a better life, but he does not intend to throw his ideals away. He hoped that Zhao Jinge would also like him just like this.

    Zhao Jinge was stunned as soon as he heard this speech. Was it really all that Jiang Zhen wanted to say? In fact, he also quite liked to write this obviously wrong name; after all, this was what Jiang Zhen taught him stroke by stroke . . . Without thinking about it, Zhao Jinge nodded.

    Jiang Zhen said again, ¡°By the way, that Shen Anxin, don¡¯t let hime to our house again . . . Just say that I don¡¯t wee it. Doesn¡¯t he know that he will be struck by thunder if he disturbed other people¡¯s married life?¡±

    ¡°. . .¡± Zhao Jinge was speechless. It was that serious?

    Shen Anxin probably came to see him every day because he was a stranger here, didn¡¯t he? However, since Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like him, he would not let him in in the future.

    When Zhao Jinge cleared the table, Jiang Zhen came to the table with his daughter in his arms. At the same time, Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er also brought the food to the table.

    In addition to the meal prepared for Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen, there was also a bowl of warm milk on the table, which was for Zhao Mingzhu.

    Jiang Zhen was so hungry that he asked Cook Li to feed his daughter. He ate quickly for a while before slowing down. Then he told Zhao Jinge about the progress of Qingfeng House.

    ¡°Jinge, Qingfeng House is almost ready. Young Master Zheng will invite someone to have a look tomorrow, and then I¡¯ll take you to see it.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded.

    When Jiang Zhen saw the way he nodded obediently, he inevitably felt a little warmer and said, ¡°Jinge, apany me to take a nap.¡±

    Of course, Zhao Jinge would not refuse Jiang Zhen¡¯s small request to apany his rest. But he did not expect that Jiang Zhen rest would not be a simple rest.

    After being tossed around by Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge could no longer move around.

    Jiang Zhen was satisfied then went to the kitchen and brought back two buckets of water. ¡°Come, Jinge, wash your face and body.¡±

    Jiang Zhen went to the kitchen to get water just then, so Cook Li should know what they had done. Zhao Jinge felt a little embarrassed hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words but then became a little puzzled. ¡°Wash my face?¡± It was normal to wash one¡¯s face, so why did Jiang Zhen deliberately mention it?

    ¡°Look at yourself first.¡± Jiang Zhen picked up the bronze mirror next to him and handed it to Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡± He could not believe that his face looked so messy!

    ¡°You¡¯d better not put on makeup in the future, but it looks nice after you trimmed your eyebrows.¡± Jiang Zhen said that he liked the way Zhao Jinge looked before, but it became messed up after a few casual kisses . . . ¡°So you better stop messing with this thing in the future.¡±

    His eyebrows had turned a mess of ck but Jiang Zhen unexpectedly continued to ¡°eat¡± him . . . Zhao Jinge admired Jiang Zhen a little.

    It took some time for Zhao Jinge to wash himself clean, thinking that the Qingfeng House had beenpletely cleaned up, and Jiang Zhen offered to take him to visit.

    On the other hand, Feng Jingyuan ttered Zheng Yi for a long time before he got the opportunity to visit Qingfeng House, but if he wanted to go, Shen Anxin would certainly follow.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I heard that Qingfeng House was set up by you. I think it must be beautiful,¡± Feng Jingyuan said.

    Zheng Yi had avoided them when he was arranging the visit to Qingfeng House, so Feng Jingyuan knew nothing about it and could only boast about its appearance.

    ¡°The mansion in the south of the Yangtze River is already picture-like beautiful and Qingfeng House was arranged by Young Master himself, so I think it must be even better,¡± Shen Anxin also added.

    The three soon arrived at Qingfeng House and then saw that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were already there.

    These two people with a child still acted sticky, making Zheng Yi want to take his wife with him . . . but he just thought about it. His wife was ady from a big family and would never want to follow him to a ce like this, let alone act clingy with him. For some reason, Zheng Yi suddenly felt a little lost.

 Chapter 114.2 - Opening of Qingfeng House

    Chapter 114.2 ¨C Opening of Qingfeng House

    Shen Anxin noticed that both Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had changed their clothes, but Zhao Mingzhu had not.

    In the middle of the day, these two people changed their clothes but not Zhao Mingzhu . . . He had already epted a servant girl and knew what it meant, so his heart suddenly felt sour . . .

    Jiang Zhen was very familiar with Qingfeng House, so after greeting Zheng Yi, he took Zhao Jinge to show him around.

    ¡°Master Jiang, you were always upset when we asked you about something before, but why are you talking so cheerfully now?¡± Liu Qianqian, dressed in a modified man¡¯s suit, came out of his house, asking sourly.

    Liu Qianqian once wanted to hook up with Jiang Zhen before, butter, she gave up on her n. Still, she could not help saying a few sour words when she saw Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge together.

    ¡°Yes, you are too different from others, Master Jiang,¡± Zhao Lingxi also added.

    Liu Qianqian and he wore the same clothes. These clothes were not only some type of man¡¯s clothing but also a uniform. They would wear it when they work in Qingfeng House in the future.

    ¡°Do I have to treat you like my wife?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi immediately became silent.

    However, when Jiang Zhen was taking Zhao Mingzhu to find a room to change her diaper, Zhao Lingxi found Zhao Jinge. ¡°Hello, Zhao Jinge.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Zhao Lingxi warily, a little worried that this man came to rmend himself as a concubine to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t rob Jiang Zhen from you,¡± Zhao Lingxi said. ¡°I just want to remind you to be careful with that Shen Anxin.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Jiang Zhen asked us, so we are not a threat to you. But he is different,¡± Liu Qianqian also said.

    Zhao Jinge did not understand why they suddenly reminded themselves of this but nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it seriously. You might not know but when we were in the capital . . .¡± Liu Qianqian quickly told him what had happened with Shen Anxin and then also added. ¡°We did it for you, but we offended him. If he targets us in the future, you should help us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, when Shen Anxines to trouble us in the future, you must not leave us alone,¡± Zhao Lingxi also said. They came out to remind Zhao Jinge about it this time. In addition to worrying about Zhao Jinge¡¯s ident, they were also afraid that Shen Anxin woulde to find trouble with them in the future . . .

    ¡°You can rest assured. I will help you.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded. Although Shen Anxin seemed to be disinterested in Jiang Zhen recently, he was still on guard.

    Shen Anxin who saw this scene from afar could not help frowning. He wanted to go to talk to Zhao Jinge and ask why Jiang Zhen was angry before, but he didn¡¯t expect to see Zhao Jinge talk to those two.

    He was a bit far away, so he could not hear what they said, but looking at their demeanor, they seemed very close . . .

    What happened at that time might have been instigated by Zhao Jinge, and what happened earlier might also have something to do with him. But there was no way for him to expose Zhao Jinge at all.

    That day, Qingfeng House was empty, but the next day it changed.

    Zheng Yi sent letters to all the rich people in Hecheng, inviting them toe to Qingfeng House to y.

    The Zheng family was the most prominent family in Hecheng County, so everyone wanted to curry favor with them. Under such circumstances, everyone was happy to go there.

    Li Mingzhe, who used to do business with Jiang Zhen and lived in Lijia Vige, was one of the people invited to join the silk business.

    He was once upset with Li Zugen, and as a result, Jiang Zhen finally frightened him so that Li Zugen did not dare to bother him anymore. Since then, he had been very fond of Jiang Zhen, and let him help transport all his goods this year.

    This time, the Zheng family sent a message, but knowing that Jiang Zhen also had a share in this business, he naturally came early.

    There was a river not far from Qingfeng House. When Li Mingzhe came ashore from the river, Li Mingzhe went to Qingfeng House, and just as he entered he saw four young men of average height, wearing the same type of clothes and standing at the door. After seeing him, they all bowed in unison. ¡°Wee, distinguished guest.¡±

    This . . . Although Li Mingzhe¡¯s business was not small, he had always lived in the countryside, and his life was not very luxurious. This bow made him a little ufortable, but he had to say that it made him a little ted as well.

    After entering the door, another boy dressed just like the people at the door came forward and led Li Mingzhe to the hall . . .

    Everything that Li Mingzhe experienced next could be described in one word¡ªenjoyment.

    He could talk with people about business here, could discuss music, chess, calligraphy, and painting with others, and there were also many other interesting things . . .

    At first, Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen wanted to build a gambling shop, butter, instead of doing so, they made it more elegant and provided boxes for visitors so that they couldmunicate with each other.

    There was also arge study, full of various books that people could read. There was also a special teahouse that provided not only all kinds of good tea, but also many refreshments that ordinary people had never seen before.

    Here, you could y pitcher and so on. Daqi already had some games, but they also provided some new ways to y, such as the ying cards.

    Here, there was also arge bathroom with separate pools, which could make people feelfortable. In fact, Qingfeng House had many shorings. Many of the boys who served here were directly borrowed from the Zheng family, but what was Hecheng Country?

    It was a small county town.

    The people whoe that day were all locals from Hecheng County, and what they are seeing right then was undoubtedly something they have never seen before.

    ¡°I heard that the ying cards came from the pce, and the empress dowager love to y them.¡±

    ¡°This snack is really soft. I¡¯ve never had anything like this before.¡±

    ¡°Maybe this snack is also eaten by the empress in the pce . . . Young Master Zheng went to the pce from what I heard . . .¡±

    The people who soaked in the pool were veryfortable, and they could even have their hair washed . . . ¡°It is not yet fully built, which is really too bad.¡±

    If you are not reading on ontimestory.eu you are reading a stolen trantion.

    . . .

    People talked about it one after another, and many of the things that Jiang Zhen thought of for Qingfeng House were branded as products that came from the Imperial Pce.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi were eating fried chicken. This fried chicken was one of the new dishes served on the second floor, so Zheng Yi also asked the people to serve a te to each of them.

    Yes, it was fried chicken.

    This fried chicken was made by Zheng Yi after Jiang Zhen exined how it should be made. It was one of the expensive signature dishes of Qingfeng House, called junk food in modern times, but currently, it became a luxury dish.

    Who made oil so expensive at this time?

    Jiang Zhen thought that the fried chicken at this time was not as delicious as that of modern times, but Zhao Jinge liked it very much.

    This fried chicken is not fried whole but as small cuts, so Zhao Jinge soon finished the whole te while the food put in front of other people didn¡¯t move much.

    He was suddenly a little embarrassed, but Jiang Zhen silently reced the empty te in front of him with his te of fried chicken.

    Zheng Yi suddenly felt full and could no longer eat the fried chicken in front of him, so he simply went to the door to take a look at the situation in the hall below.

    Here was the ce to y cards. Liu Qianqian, Zhao Lingxi, and some other women were wearing uniform men¡¯s clothes and simply tied their hair as they stood at the spacious table and gambled with the guests.

    They were all dressed up, and the wide table surrounded them so that people outside could not get close to them . . . All the guests who came here, when they see this scene, knew that they could not touch them at will. But precisely because of this, it made them want to touch Liu Qianqian and the others more and more, so they sat at the round table unwilling to go. Of course, there were also other reasons why they did not want to leave, this was this cards were really fun to y.

    They were sitting leisurely outside the table with a young man serving tea and refreshments. When they ced bets, they did not use real money but delicate ceramic chips of the size of a nail.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even look like gambling.¡± Zheng Yi sighed.

    Among the gamblers over there, there was an uncle who had been always persuading him to close the gambling shop. His uncle has always hated gambling, but now he was ying.

    Hecheng County was not the capital, and there were no city walls here, so naturally, there was also no curfew. On this night, the people of Qingfeng House closed veryte, and if it hadn¡¯t been officially opened, some people would probably want to live there.

    Then the next day, the Qingfeng House became a ce everyone was talking about in the upper circles of Hecheng.

    Those men enjoyed going to Qingfeng House very much. But what about women? It was better for their men to go to such a ce than to find a woman outside.

    On that day, Qingfeng House did not make money, and in fact, lost a lot of money because, except for chips that everyone needed to buy for their own use, they did not have to spend money on anything else.

    But a few dayster, when Qingfeng House officially opened, everything there would cost money.

    Then Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi had the feeling of fighting with money every day.

    Despite the fact that there were no prominent families here in Hecheng County, these families that had been doing business for generations were, in fact, very strong families, that is to say, the humble Li Mingzhe, whose family had been engaged in the silk business for several generations had tens of thousands of silver at hand.

    If he came to Qingfeng House and didn¡¯t gamble, he could still have a good time with only ten silver. He could definitely afford such expenses easily, not to mention that he was by no means the richest person in Hecheng County.

    Not to mention, people from Hecheng County were not the only ones who came to Qingfeng House to y.

    In modern times, there were interesting clubs or bars people could visit, but in these ancient times, there was nothing to y with.

    Almost every day, Qingfeng House would earn a hundred silver in ie. Excluding all kinds of expenses, it could make a profit of six hundred silver!

    Although this was just the beginning and everything was very fresh, earning so much after careful calction was still amazing enough . . . Such a ce in a month could earn tens of thousands of silver!

    Inparison, Jiang Zhen¡¯s escort agency only made a few hundreds of silver since it was opened a few months ago. Even in this time period, the most profitable things were really still a variety of luxury and fun things.

    ¡°If this Qingfeng House was built in the Fucheng . . . There are a lot of rich businessmen there!¡± Zheng Yi originally did not take Qingfeng House seriously, but soon his heart was on fire.

    The Zheng family was rich, but there were many people in Fucheng who were richer than the Zheng family, and some of them had no ce to spend it.

    ¡°If you want to go to Fucheng, you can build the Qingfeng House a little bigger and also add some facilities.¡±

    Jiang Zhen also calcted that he had to save a dowry for his Pearl, so he naturally had to find a way to make more money.

    No! He was reluctant to marry his Mingzhu, so it was better to save for betrothal gifts, and when she liked someone he could snatch him to the house!

 Chapter 115.1 - Refusing a Confession

    Chapter 115.1 ¨C Refusing a Confession

    When the Qingfeng House in Hecheng County slowly got on the right track, Jiang Zhen began to prepare for the Qingfeng House in Fucheng. With the green bricks burned by his people, he could also save a lot. The current Qingfeng House used the old house of the Zheng family, but in Fucheng, it would be better to build a brand-new building.

    In order to build the Qingfeng House in Fucheng, Jiang Zhen deliberately spent money to hire a lot of carpenters to let them create the entertainment facilities that fit his own ideas. Of course, after he came up with a way to y, he had to tell Zheng Yi first, and then let hime up with apletely different, poetic name.

    Jiang Zhen spent a lot of time on Qingfeng House but he also did not forget his own escort agency.

    Now that the weather was getting colder and colder, the business of the escort agency was not getting worse but better.

    When ordinary people celebrated the New Year, they would buy some clothes and meat, let alone those rich people . . . In recent years, no matter what goods it was, it sold well.

    Almost all the small businessmen in Hecheng County had gone out to do some kind of business. In the past, they used to hire people to row their boats everywhere, but recently . . . As long as they spend a little money, you could take the big ship of the Jinzhen Escort Agency to do business, and they could stay in the cabin without the cold wind blowing at them.

    Many people were hired by the Jinzhen Escort Agency, so the ships under Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands were almost not enough. Later, Zheng Yi rented two big ships to him, which made him feel a little better.

    Nowadays, the very conspicuous ¡°Zhen¡± g was hung on the ships of the Jinzhen Escort Agency, and all employees of the Jinzhen Escort Agency wore uniform clothes. This way, the people of Hecheng county learned more and more about the escort agency.

    ¡°I heard that the people in the Jinzhen Escort Agency earn a lot of money!¡±

    ¡°There is a man in our alley who has not studied before but learned from his grandpa to recognize a few words and went to work in Jinzhen Escort Agency. Now he can earn four silver a month!¡±

    ¡°What! Only four silver? Zheng Baoning on my side, as you all know, used to make money by drawing pictures for prostitutes, but now, he runs a line of ships! Not to mention five silver a month, he also gets a bonus. His family used to have a hard time, but now everyone is wearing new clothes.¡±

    ¡°The owner of Jinzhen Escort Agency, from what I heard, is friends with Young Master Zheng, and the Qingfeng House was opened by the two of them . . . This is a chicken thatys golden eggs! I don¡¯t know how much he has earned!¡±

    . . .

    Almost all of the people in Hecheng County were talking about Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    Song Li stood by at first, eager to hear some bad words about Jinzhen Escort Agency, but in the end, he was only furious.

    At this time, someone else saw him.

    ¡°Song Li! Song Li, stop right there!¡± the man shouted and then pounced on Song Li. ¡°Song Li, you and I have no grievances, so why did you lie to me? I lost such a good job in vain!¡±

    It turned out that Song Li not only advised Zheng Baoning when the Jinzhen Escort Agency was recruiting workers that day, but in fact, he also advised several other people.

    At that time, the Jinzhen Escort Agency had no reputation as of yet, so many people were persuaded by Song Li to give up this job, not thinking much about it. But seeing the current development of Jinzhen Escort Agency, which was getting better and better, they started resenting Song Li.

    The man grabbed Song Li and punched him a few times in anger before turning around and walking away as he snorted coldly.

    Song Li was beaten up, his face ck but there is nothing he could do about it. He could only cover his sore stomach and go home.

    ¡°Where have you been? Even if you can¡¯t find a job outside, you don¡¯t do any work at home. What are you trying to do?¡± Song Li¡¯s wife looked at Song Li in dissatisfaction. ¡°At the beginning, the work of Jinzhen Escort Agency was so good that you signed for it, but after someone else said a few words to you, you did not go!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? That Jiang Zhen is not a good man!¡± Song Li said.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a good man, what¡¯s wrong with that? As long as he pays you! Moreover, I think this Jiang Chengxiang is really not a good person!¡± Song Li¡¯s wife was disgusted with Jiang Chengxiang.

    The Song family was still rich and was rtively well-off, but they were not particrly rich. Moreover, it was only because Song¡¯s father and mother only gave birth to Song Li, so the fewer children there were, the less expensive it was. So wasn¡¯t it easy for them to save money?

    In short, the Song family was not a particrly rich family, and Song Li was still generous enough to help Jiang Chengxiang. But what about Jiang Chengxiang? He even had a face to take all the money and things Song Li gave!

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about my friend like that!¡± Song Li said angrily.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to. What can you do to me?¡± Song Li¡¯s wife said.

    Song Li was so angry that he finally pped his wife¡¯s face.

    ¡°Well, Song Li since you hit me! I won¡¯t live with you anymore!¡± Song Li¡¯s wife had a bad temper after being pped. She immediately went back to the house to pack up her things and nned to go back to her family¡¯s house.

    Song Li¡¯s mother hurriedly came to try and persuade her, but she was pulled back by Song Li. ¡°If she wants to go, let her go. I can¡¯t afford such a woman!¡±

    In fact, Song Li also felt a little sorry. But the more regretful he was, the less he was willing to admit his mistakes and was more convinced he was in the right.

    Mother Song was pulled by her son, but he really didn¡¯t want to persuade her . . . If this married woman went back to her family¡¯s house, she would definitely be rejected by her family, so his wife would definitely be back in a few days.

    Jiang Zhen had no idea that there was a man like Song Li in the world who tirelessly spoke ill of him. At the moment, he was talking to Zheng Yi about distilled wine.

    Thest time Jiang Zhen tried to disinfect the wounds of injured people with wine, he found that the quality of the wine in this world was really not too high. At that time, he didn¡¯t think much about it, but soon he remembered it when they were talking about building a Qingfeng House in Fucheng. However, he knew nothing about how to distill the wine, so he only said his own ideas to Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Can this really be done?¡± Hearing what Jiang Zhen said, Zheng Yi became a little excited at the moment: ¡°Wait till tomorrow, I¡¯ll let someone have a try! Jiang Zhen, you really have a lot of ideas. If this wine is made, we will have another way to make money!¡±

    In some ces in Daqi, it was forbidden for people to brew wine privately for fear of not having enough food to eat, but there was no such regtion in the south of the Yangtze River. Even if there was, no one would take it seriously.

    ¡°Then someone woulde to the Qingfeng House for the wine!¡± Jiang Zhen was also very happy. Zheng Yi was definitely a very good partner. Many things he wanted to do were absolutely impossible to him, but Zheng Yi could always do them quickly.

    ¡°There is no doubt about this! But . . .¡± Zheng Yi suddenly looked at Jiang Zhen with a tangled expression.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It is estimated that the Qingfeng House in Fucheng will open a littlete.¡± Zheng Yi smiled bitterly. ¡°During this period of time, an imperial envoy ising to the south of the Yangtze River. The man is very pedantic and doesn¡¯t like anything. If we make too much noise, he will directly go to my second uncle.¡±

    Zheng Yi had just received the news that ¡°prestigious¡± imperial historian Zhou, who was famous in the capital, wasing to the south of the Yangtze River as an imperial envoy.

    This Zhou imperial official name was Zhou Maohe . . . He was famous for his participation in the citizens¡¯ affairs.

    In Daqi, there was nothing he did not dare to participate in, up to the empress dowager, down to the soldiers guarding the city gate, as long as he caught the leverage, he could viciously participate in it.

    Because of this, he had been demoted twice and sent to prison once.

    The Empress Dowager, whom the Zheng family relied on, was involved in government affairs several times and was very disgusted with him, but many schrs liked Zhou Maohe and felt that he was strong and upright . . . so even when he made the empress dowager (a ger) angry, again he could not do anything to him. If he really did something to Zhou Maohe, he might be scolded for being cruel to such a loyal official!

    But the empress dowager did not want to see him so he found a reason to send him to the south of the Yangtze River.

    ¡°This man sounds good,¡± Jiang Zhen said, there were few honest officials in these ancient times, so he quite appreciated such people.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t met him,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°He is like a stone in a thatched pit, stinky and hard . . . Forget about him. Anyway, he has nothing to do with us.¡± Such a person, he cannot afford to piss off but also couldn¡¯t afford to please? Zheng Yi was determined to avoid that person!

    Anyway, the man surnamed Zhou could not stay in the south of the Yangtze River all the time, so he would first drink some wine and have a good New Year. Then, he¡¯d think of something else.

    Zheng Yi didn¡¯t mention it anymore, so Jiang Zhen let it go. However, he really hoped that this man could catch some assholes from the south of the Yangtze River.

 Chapter 115.2 - Refusing a Confession

    Chapter 115.2 ¨C Refusing a Confession

    Even if the county magistrate of Hecheng County was a little greedy it only epted bribes from businessmen. Jiang Zhen did not have them, after all when the water was clear there was not fish. Some officials would helprge families to oppress the people for money, or even ughter people ¡­¡­ Jiang Zhen still hoped that the imperial envoy could arrest those officials.

    Leaving from Zheng Yi, Jiang Zhen was about to go home when he was suddenly stopped.

    It was Shen Anxin who stopped Jiang Zhen. He stood in front of him, clenched his teeth and said: ¡°Jiang Zhen I have something to say to you.¡±

    Zheng Yi could stay in the south of the Yangtze River without ident. However, Shen Anxin and Feng Jingyuan ware different. In a short time, they will return to capital.

    Shen Anxin has been unable to find the opportunity to get along with Jiang Zhen these days, but he was more and more interested in Jiang Zhen.

    He was unwilling to let go.

    Obviously he was better than Zhao Jinge in every way, so why Jiang Zhen does not even look at him? Why only Zhao Jinge was good in his eyes.

    Shen Anxin grew up, getting everything he wanted. But he was losing here, how could he lose to a men who was s inferior to him everywhere ¡­. how could he be willing?

    He received a good education from an early age so he could not use any drastic means but even so he still wanted to give it a try.

    ¡°What do you have to say?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, Shen Anxin has note to his house these days so he was calm when he faced Shen Anxin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk somewhere else.¡± Shen Anxin said.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right here. If you don¡¯t want to tell me I will just go home.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    There was no one around so Shen Anxin gritted his teeth and finally said: ¡°Jiang Zhen, I admire you very much, I ¡­¡±.

    ¡°Then what?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Shen Anxin. Does this man want to cooperate with him like Zheng Yi?

    ¡°I¡­ Jiang Zhen, would you marry me if you hadn¡¯t met Zhao Jinge?¡± Shen Anxin blurted out and then looked at Jiang Zhen nervously.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned.

    In modern times, it could be said that he had no love experience at all. at first. At first, he didn¡¯t understand his own sexual orientation, andter he did not find the right person.

    He was bent on finding someone who is willing to spend the rest of his life with him. But in that circle, many people were just having fun

    Also¡­ as a matter of fact, he was not very good at socializing with people, so he never met the right person.

    He haven¡¯t even met the right person, let alone being confessed. He also never confess his love to someone. He has never done it before, as for after he came here¡­

    Zhao Jinge was pursued by him on his own initiative, but being confessed like this¡­ he never experienced it either.

    Even Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi did not say such things to him.

    It was the first time that Jiang Zhen had encountered such a thing, he was stunned, but then he quickly responded: ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Assuming that such a thing means nothing to Jiang Zhen. After he took fancy to Zhao Jinge and nned to spend the rest of his live with him he never thought of anyone else.

    If you already have a wife, why would you need to think about what other people do?

    Jiang Zhen refused mercilessly, but Shen Anxin felt even more embarrassed¡­ He had already put down his pride to look for Jiang Zhen, but he was mercilessly refused.

    ¡°Is Zhao Jinge that good?¡± He couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°He¡¯s obviously inconsistent, and he set me up!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t force me to hit you.¡± Jiang Zhen interrupted Shen Anxin words: ¡°I think no one knows better than me what Zhao Jinge is like. In my eyes he is the best.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen said this, he was very angry so after he finished speaking he give Shen Anxin a cold look: ¡°Shen Anxin, I didn¡¯t know you were a person like this¡­ Now that I know it it would be better for us if you stayed away from me in the future, and don¡¯te to me again. ¡°

    Jiang Zhen left without waiting for Shen Anxin to speak.

    Although Shen Anxin said bad things about Zhao Jinge in front of him and make him angry he didn¡¯t do anything else, so he didn¡¯t hit him. He just made up his mind to stay away from this man in the future.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Shen Anxin called again but Jiang Zhen¡¯s footsteps did not even pause.

    He wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves and then saw that his sleeves were wet.

    Shen Anxin had no face to stay in the street any longer so he turned around and left. After he left, two people appeared at the corner of the street.

    One of them was Feng Jingyuan, and the other was one of Feng Jingyuan¡¯s men brought with him from the capital.

    ¡°I said there was something wrong with Shen Anxin these days, but I didn¡¯t expect him to have this idea again.¡± Feng Jingyuan said.

    ¡°Master, is he trying to get Jiang Zhen support?¡± Feng Jingyuan men asked.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Feng Jingyuan said: ¡°he is just a child who is fooling around¡­ Obviously having no skills but wanting to go out to do business¡­ ¡°

    ¡°The host, master Zheng is biased towards him and he is also full of resentment against our Wanlong business, which is disadvantageous to our future development.¡± The man next to Feng Jingyuan said again. Feng Jingyuan also knows what this man said. He even knew that Zheng Yi preferred Shen Anxin because he wanted to use him to contain himself.

    Zheng Yi hoped that they would bnce each other so naturally he had to support Shen Anxin. There is nothing he can do about this, but he was reluctant to be in such a situation.

    Shen Anxincked experience and everything else, but after several years of gaining experience? Was it possible for him to not grow up?

    Shen Anxin has always held a grudge against him. If the Shen family bes prosperous in the future, he will certainly go against his Wanlong business.

    Feng Jingyuan was reluctant to see scuh situation.

    ¡°I will not give him the opportunity to develop.¡± Feng Jinyuan said, and looked at his own men: ¡°I asked you to search for people in Hecheng country, did you find them?¡±

    ¡°Master, I have already found seven or eight people.¡± The man said.

    ¡°They don¡¯t know your identity, do they?¡± Feng Jinyuan said again.

    ¡°I asked others to find them so they don¡¯t know my identity.

    ¡°That¡¯s good ¡­¡­ you find a few people and the next time Shen Anxin is alone outsider, kidnap him¡­ He is a ger and will make these people feel good. ¡± Feng Jingyuan said calmly.

    No matter how harmless he behaved, Feng Jingyuan himself was not a kind person, otherwise he would not have taught his son to be like this.

    If he kills Shen Anxin, Zheng Yi would definitely investigate this matter thoroughly so he must not get involved himself and let other do that to Shen Anxin¡­

    With Shen Anxin¡¯s temper, he certainly would not dare to make this matter public, so he had to grit his teeth and swallow it. Not to mention, that in the future.

    After already falling for a men, Shen Anxin would be in a trance all day long so after losing his chastity he may now want to live.

    Feng Jingyuan didn¡¯t like people like Shen Anxin, but he was d that Shen Anxin was such a person since he could not be easier to deal with.

    ¡°Yes, mater.¡± :The people around Feng Jingyuan responded.

    ¡°Coming to unfamiliar ce young master Shen did not even know to bring more people with him, he he¡­.¡± Feng Jingyuan shook his head, feeling more and more that Shen Anxin was too naive.

    About Feng Jingyuan¡¯s vicious mind, only the two of them knew, at least Jiang Zhen did not think of it at all. At this time, Jiang Zhen just returned home and said to Zhao Jinge: ¡°Jinge, stay away from that Shen Anxin in the future.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked puzzledly, Shen Anxin didn¡¯t have much contact with them these days, and Jiang Zhen never mentioned Shen Anxin¡­. Why did you suddenly mentioned him today?

    ¡°His heart is not right.¡± Jiang Zhen said, before that Shen Anxin came to see Zhao Jinge everyday but he still did not know what he had in mind.

    If Shen Anxin told Zhao Jinge about his confession, it would only make Zhao Jinge unhappy so Jiang Zhen asked him to be careful with him.

    Zhao Jinge nodded and said: ¡°Jiang Zhen, in ten days or so, my mother will be 50 years old. My father told me privately that he wanted to do something lively for her.¡±

    Zhao Fugui be 50 years old a few years ago and ate an egg on his birthday day, but Zhao Liu was very lucky. He was only 50 years old this year but she was already be able to live a good life.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, ording to our custom here, you should buy my mother a pig hooves, a chicken, a fish and a bag of noodles.¡± Zhao Jinge added.

    On this side of Hexi Vige, some people celebrate their birthday, and their rtives and friends would send something. These who have no money may bring some some eggs and flour, and those who have money would buy chicken and pigs.

    ¡°All right, I will be ready by then.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and thought it was best to kill a pig to give Zhao Liu a face.

    As for a pig, they may not be able to finish it. ¡­ but it was nothing, after cutting two hooves he can send the rest to the canteen.

    By the way, pig hooves should also be kept, he liked eating them.

    In the evening, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went back to Hexi Vige as usual.

    These days, he stayed in a country town during the day but always go back at night. Sometimes he even stayed at the county for half a day but he still recognized Hexi vige as home.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingeing back, Zhao Liu immediately weed him, but now she was not the first to pay attention to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Grandma Mingzu, ouch grandma missed you so much!¡± As soon as Zhao Liu came close she hugged Zhao Mingzu.

    Zhao Mingzhu also missed her so she stretched out her hand, as grandma and granddaughter became intimate.

    Since there was no hurry in finishing Qingfeng building in Fucheng, Jiang Zhen felt very rxed. The next day he had nothing to do it the country town so he simply did not go there and went to see his men training.

    Gradually, he handed over the training to others, but he still went to see it from time to time.

    When Jiang Zhen went to see his men¡¯s training, he took Zhao Mingzhu with him and made aparison with her, which made Zhao Mingzhu ¡°giggle¡± incessantly.

    At nearly noon, Jiang Zhen took his daughter to go home but he did not expect that walking just hallway he would unexpectedly met Shen Anxin again.

    Shen Anxin seemed to be out of his mind. When he saw Jiang Zhen, he rushed over: ¡°Jiang Zhen, Jiang Zhen.¡±

    Jiang Zhen subconsciously stepped aside, frowned, and asked: ¡°what are you doing here?¡± He made it very clear yesterday, so why Shen Anxine to find him again?

    ¡°I have nothing to say to you. I¡¯ll go back first.¡± Jiang Zhen said to Shen Anxin and then left quickly. He did not want Zhao Jinge to misunderstood.

    Looking at Jiang Zhen leaving in this way, Shen Anxin¡¯s face showed despair.

    ¡°Master Shen, are you all right?¡± Zheng Baoning asked anxiously when he saw Shen Anxin.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Shen Anxin whispered that it was nothing but he didn¡¯t seem to be all right.

    ¡°Master Shen do you want me to arrange for someone to take you to the county town?¡± Zheng Baoning was worried about what was happening to these men so he asked again.

    Shen Anxin shook his head, but Zheng Baoning was still worried: ¡°I¡¯m going to the county town, so why don¡¯t youe with me? Master Shen are you a ger? It¡¯s not safe to walk outside alone¡­ ¡°

    Zheng Baoning hase into contact with a lot of women in the past, so he could naturally see through Shen identity.

    Zheng Baoning said it casually, but Shen Anxin froze.

 Chapter 116.1 - The Jiang Family And The Imperial Envoy

    Chapter 116.1 ¨C The Jiang Family And The Imperial Envoy

    Shen Anxin boarded the boat arranged by Zheng Baoning.

    Zheng Baoning used to draw pictures for many women and gers so he always had a good attitude towards women and gers. Shen Anxin did not seem to be in the right state so he told some jokes but after telling several jokes one after another, Shen Anxin still did not talk to him.

    Shen Anxin had an unusual identity, but he was a young ger above all else so Zheng Baoning did not dare to say anything in front of him. Since he didn¡¯t seem to want to hear him, he closed his mouth.

    Zheng Baoning stopped talking, but Shen Anxin suddenly asked: ¡°You say it¡¯s not safe for gers to be outside alone these days?¡±

    ¡°In my vige, it, it¡¯s alright but I am familiar with most ces but you still need to be careful when you go far away.¡± Zheng Baoning said: ¡°People don¡¯t like to go far these days, but isn¡¯t it because it¡¯s dangerous to go far away? ¡°Not to mention women, gers and men were the same. Yesterday, he went to meet a businessman surnamed Zhang from Jinzhen escort agency. He met robbers when he went out before, finally he got lucky and was able to escape¡­. That why so many people were willing to pay our Jinzhen escort agency to escort them.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Shen Anxin frowned.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zheng Baoning said and then another thing came to his mind: ¡°I am telling you that even our boss is very careful. When he took Mr. Zhao to the capital before he found several people who would follow him every time. Even with Mr. Zhao skill, ordinary people can not deal with him at all.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Zhao you mean Zhao Jinge?¡± Shen Anxin asked.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Zhao Jinge.¡± Zheng Baoning nodded.

    Shen Anxin clenched his fist, his fingernails dig so deeply into his flesh that they cut his skin.

    He suddenly remembered that every time he went to Zhao Jinge he would see Jiang Zhen guarding outside. Was it Jiang Zhen who arranged them to protect Zhao Jinge?¡±

    Jiang Zhen was indifferent to him, but was so kind to Zhao Jinge.

    Why was Zhao Jinge so protected, but no one has ever thought about him?

    Shen Anxin¡¯s expression twisted at the thought of what happenedst night.

    After being rejected by Jiang Zhen yesterday, he was very sad so he nned to wander around Hecheng County. Unexpectedly, he was dragged into a vacant house by two men.

    What happened after that was like a nightmare to him.

    When Shen Anxin remembered what happenedst night, his whole body could not stop flinching for a moment but he soon calmed down.

    It could not be found out, it couldn¡¯t.

    He didn¡¯t suffer much physically, but when he woke up in that empty house this morning, he wished he was dead. Then he thought of Jiang Zhen.

    He wanted to see Jiang Zhen. He almost couldn¡¯t walk but he stille to Hexi vige and found Jiang Zhan. But as a result¡­. Jiang Zhen ignored him.

    Shen Anxin was in a trance, then his hated started growing stronger and stronger.

    As he grew up although there were many unhappy moments but in general It was still very smooth. Although the Feng family tried to frame him before in the end it could still be avoided. He also got Zheng Yi as a backer so never before he suffered such aggravation.

    He naturally could not ept it.

    Why did he have to suffer like this?

    Why should he be so unlucky when everyone else can live happily?

    The more Shen Anxin thought about it the harder it was for him. Then he suddenly felt a jolt.

    How can things be so coincidental? How could it be that he had just made his feelings known to Jiang Zhen and then encounter such a thing?

    Those two people¡­. It was not a coincidence but a deliberate ambush!

    Also, who would do such a thing to him without hurting him? Not even robbing him from his belongings¡­.

    Shen Anxin suddenly thought of a person, Zhao Jinge.

    When he was in the capital, he had a little crush on Jiang Zhen so Zhao Jinge let Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi mislead him but this time¡­ was it also Zhao Jinge?

    Was Zhao Jinge trying to ruin him? After all, when something like this happens, him and Jiang Zhen were even more impossible.

    Shen Anxin envied Zhao Jinge from the beginning but now he only felt a deep resentment for zhao Jinge.

    Even if Zhao Jinge did not hurt him, why was he so unlucky when he was happily protected by Jiang Zhen?

    Even Jiang Zhen¡­

    At this point, Shen Anxin resented Jiang Zhen.

    If Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t been so cold to him he wouldn¡¯t have run outside alone at that time¡­.

    Besides, Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen were so powerful that Hecheng County was almost their own world, so can it really have nothing to do with them?

    Shen Anxin bowed his head, to cover his eyes full of hatred.

    After what happened, he wanted to ask for help from Jiang Zhen, but Jiang Zhen did not help him¡­.. now only hated could keep him going.

    Zheng Baoning didn¡¯t know Shen Anxin mind as he stopped the boat at the dock of Hecheng Country town and then went ashore. Only then did he look at Shen Anxin and said: ¡°Master Shen do you want the boatman to take you to Zheng family?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Shen Anxin followed Zheng Baoning off the boat when suddenly a man ran towards Zheng Baoning: ¡°Zheng Baoning!¡±

    The person who run toward him was Song Li, Zheng Baoning thought that he once again wanted to persuade him to leave the Jinzhen escort agency so he wanted to run into the crowd to lose him.

    That guy, Song Li can¡¯t be afford to be annoyed so should he hide?

    When Song Li ran toward them, Zheng Baoning had already disappeared. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, still full of anger.

    Then he focused on Shen Anxin, who came with Zheng Baoning: ¡°Brother, are you here to do business?¡±

    Shen Anxin didn¡¯t want to pay attention to Song Li and turned away, but Song Li wanted to persuade Shen Anxin to stay: ¡°Brother I am telling you Jiang Zhen from Jinzhen escort agency is not a good person. If you want to do business, don¡¯t look for him. Be careful or he will cheat you!¡±

    Shen Anxin stopped walking.

    After Song Li¡¯s wife returned to her family house, his life became even more difficult. He simply had a hard time these days, and this made him hate Jiang Zhen and Jinzhen escort agency even more. When he saw there seems to be a chance, he immediately repeated what he had said countless times already: ¡°Jiang Zhen is not a good person, he even beat his own parents¡­¡±

    Song Li repeated what Jiang Chengxiang said to him.

    Shen Anxin was stunned.

    All this time he only heard good things about Jiang Zhen, even when he went to Hexi vige to inquire about him no one told him about Jiang family so he did not know about it at all.

    ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡± Shen Anxin did not belive that Jiang Zhen was such a person.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. This Jiang Zhen, he is not a good thing! If you don¡¯t believe me, I can take you to see Jiang Chengxiang, Jiang Zhen¡¯s brother who was almost unable to make a living because of Jiang Zhen.¡± Song Li said.

    Shen Anxin hesitated for a while before he looked at Song Li and said: ¡°Where is he?¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang lived in a country town.

    Since the birth his daughter has been very ill and unable to support herself, but she has survived.

    What about Zhu Shufen? Although she have many shorings, she really loved her daughter and took good care of her.

    However, even though she took good care of her, the child was still ill and coughed badly.

    Zhu Shufen was so frightened that a few days ago, she came to the county town in the middle of the night with the baby in her arm and asked the doctor to see her child.

    Ever since Jiang Chengxiang took Zhu Shufen ten silver in order to give Jiang Zhen money, Zhu Shufen kept a close eye on her money, and even if she couldn¡¯t make a living, she refused to give him even a penny ¨C she was married to Jiang Chengxiang family so she naturally asked the Jiang family to pay for her food!

    However, even if she refused to spend a penny at that time when her daughter became ill she took out all her money to treat her.

    It¡¯s just that when her daughter gets better, her money was gone.

    In this way, Zhu Shufen did not want to go home but stayed in the county town. While urging Jiang Chengxiang to find a job, she also wanted to find her own job and be a wet nurse or something,

    Her daughter was in poor health and she needed to take care of her carefully. Zhu Shufen felt that she needed to earn money so that she could have peace of mind and raise her daughter well.

    So at this time, the three members of her family were huddled in the shabby house that Jiang Chengxiang had rented in the county town.

    When Shen Anxin and Song Li went over, Jiang Chengxiang was cooking in a hurry, while Zhu Shufen was coaxing the crying child.

    The room was dirty and messy it smelled of feces and urine.

    Shen Anxin was not veryfortable so when he smelled this smell he directly vomited. Feeling disgusted he stood at the door, do not want to go in.

    Themotion outside naturally alerted Jiang Chengxiang, who looked outside and saw Song Li and Shen Anxin.

    Song Li was alright but this Shen Anxin¡­

    After looking up and down at Shen Anxin¡¯s new clothes, Jiang Chengxiang heart warmed up.

    When he worked on docks, Jiang Chengxiang eyesight was very good so he could naturally see that Shen Anxin was very rich and he should carry favor with him.

    Then he heard that Shen Anxin wanted to inquire about Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Chengxiang did not hesitate to repeat to Shen Anxin what he had said to Song Li before.

    When Shen Anxin returned to Zheng family house that day it was alreadyte.

    Hi!

    Looking for editor/ Proofreader

    Good English grammar and time required.

 Chapter 116.2 - The Jiang Family And The Imperial Envoy

    Chapter 116.2 ¨C The Jiang Family And The Imperial Envoy

    He looked absent-minded and even bumped into one of Zheng family servant girls¡­. Feng Jingyuan seeing this scene from a distance, showed nothing on his face, but his eyes shed with a little bit of pride.

    Shen Anxin had been thinking about Jiang Zhen heartlessness all day which had already made Zheng Yi dissatisfied. Then after that¡­

    ¡°Mention more to people about young master Shen¡¯s situation today. If he is like this he may lose his footing and fell into the waterter.¡± Feng Jinyuan said to the person next to him.

    From the beginning, Feng Jinyuan did not put Shen Anxin in his eyes. Before he was willing to tolerate Shen Anxin just to reassure Zheng Yi.

    But he also can not let Shen Anxin live a good life¡­.

    Looking at the distant Shen Anxin, Feng Jinyuan coldly snorted disdainfully.

    Before in the capital, Shen Anxin was not able to stand even a bit of gossip so at this time he might not even want to live¡­.

    Feng Jing origin thought he knew Shen Anxin very well and thought that Shen Anxin might try to kill himself but did not expect that he really thought wrong.

    Shen Anxin really cared about chastity, very, very much.

    Although he was raised as a man, but his mother¡¯s words and teaching always let him think of himself as a ger. After being vited he felt like the sky was falling at him.

    At first, when he found that the sky was falling, he wanted Jiang Zhenfort but after Jiang Zhen ignored him his thoughtpletely changed.

    He was not doing well so he wanted everyone to have a bad life.

    Feng Jingyuan brought people to the south of the Yangtze River this time with him, so did Shen Anxin. Because he was doing business with Zheng Yi, he has resumed a familiar rtionship with many of his father¡¯s old friends.

    As a result, he knew one thing.

    Famous official Zhou from the capital wasing to the south of the Yangtze River.

    Shen Anxin, who lived in the capital since childhood, knew official Zhou very well. He also knew that official Zhou was the most cynical and hated the officials of the Empress Dowager and he had a problem with the Zheng family for a long time.

    Before Zheng Yi¡¯s second uncle, official Zheng presented the cards for gambling, which made him extremely angry so official Zhou mercilessly wanted to get back at Zheng.

    Of course, because the Empress Dowager hated him very much he not only did not participate in the official Zheng presentation which also made Empress Dowager very sympathetic to Lord Zheng, and privately subsidized him.

    ¡°Lord Zhou ¡­¡­¡± Shen Anxin muttered, then looked to the people around him and asked them to inquire when that Lord Zhou had arrived.

    ¡°Young master, what are you inquiring about him for?¡± Shen Anxin little servant asked in confusion.

    ¡°Why are you asking so many questions? Just ask around.¡± Shen Anxin said.

    There was no expression on Shen Anxin face, seeing him behave like this the little boy servant did not dare to ask any more question.

    Shen Anxin sent the young boy away andy down and slept until the next day when it has already be very bright outside. By this time, the boy had already found out the news: ¡°that Lord Zhou has alreadye to the south of the Yangtze River. He is now in Wanhe County. It¡¯s about two days away from here.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Shen Anxin asked.

    ¡°Young master, I heard it from a servant of the Zheng family. I heard that young master Zheng had been paying close attention to him and asked people to keep an eye on him.¡± The young man said.

    ¡°Oh ¡­¡­¡± Shen Anxin nodded, took out a pen and paper and wrote down a letter, then handed it to another servant: ¡±Take this letter to Official Zhou and give it to him¡­ .When you go out if the Zheng family asks, don¡¯t say you¡¯re going to official Zhou just say you just want to send it to capital¡­. Be careful on the way too, don¡¯t let anyone follow you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, young master.¡± The man answered, took the letter and left.

    Between Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan, Zheng Yi was at ease with the former, thinking that although Shen Anxincked the means and experience, he was at least not a bad person so in contrast, he was warier of Feng Jinyuan.

    If Feng Jinyuan suddenly let his men leave, Zheng Yi would definitely send people to keep an eye on them a little but when Shen Anxin send a person away he did not care.

    However, he more or less thought that Shen Anxin¡­ was a bit problematic.

    He was looking forward to Shen Anxin development so he cooperated with Shen Anxin but as a result¡­ after Shen Anxine to the south of Yangze river he did not seem to do any business well¡­ Zheng Yi suddenly thought about Shen Anxin but then let it go. Instead, he thought it was about to be Jiang Zhen¡¯s mother inw birthday.

    Jiang Zhen attaches great importance to Zhao Jinge as well as Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui. This time for Zhao Liu birthday, of course, he will go over and send a good gift.

    Zheng Yi used to give gifts to his elders, all of which were calligraphy, painting, jade, and so on, but then he thought that Zhao Liu might not able to appreciate these things.

    ¡°Have someone use pure gold to create a Guanyin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin).¡± Zheng Yi said to his men.

    Since the Qingfeng building in Fucheng would not be opened for a while, Jiang Zhen carefully prepared fro Zhou Liu birthday banquet making Hexi vige even livelier than before.

    Jiang Zhen Jinzhen escort agency brought great changes to Hexi vige.

    Many people from Hexi vige found jobs at the docks so that the people of Hexi vige could have better live, because of this they were more and more grateful to Jiang Zhen.

    Since they were grateful to Jiang Zhen, they also were naturally less friendly to the Jiang family.

    ¡°Olddy Jiang, Zhao Liu life is so good now, but it is a pity that you drove Jiang Zhen away ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, you have driven a golden Bodhisattva out!¡±

    ¡°Well, your family is now¡­.. if Jiang Zhen was still around would your life still be so hard?

    ¡­¡­

    The people of Hexi vige said it to olddy Jiang.

    Olddy Jiang used to be very, very angry when she heard such remarks, but this time, she lowered her head and then quickly returned home.

    After she got home, olddy Jiang immediately looked at Jiang Chengxiang: ¡°Chengxiang, what you say is true? Is there really a noble gentleman who is willing to help us meet the imperial envoy andin?¡±

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s true!¡± Jiang Chengxiang said:¡°That noble gentleman is kind-hearted and will help us.¡±

    ¡°But¡­. To officiallyin.¡± Olddy Jiang was a little frightened at the thought of going back to the Yamen toin, only to be rejected at the door.

    It was said that all officials protected each other, was it possible that the imperial envoy would also be on Jiang Zhen side?

    Jiang Zhen has a lot of money, so it would not be difficult for him to buy an imperial envoy, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Mother, I heard that this imperial envoy is very jealous of evil and like revenge! This gentleman said that he would help us! ¡± Jiang Chengxiang said.

    Jiang Chengxiang courage had long been frightened out by Jiang Zhen. When that man put forward such a request, he did not dare to go for fear that Jiang Zhen would know and he would eventually lose his life.

    But the dignitary advised him again and again, telling him that this imperial envoy hated the Zheng family very much so he still agreed.

    Jiang Zhen was such unfilial to his parents, so they can sue him for a crime of unfilial piety!

    Once upon a time, the Jiang family had the idea of suing Jiang Zhen, but it did not seed but now they had this idea again.

    As long as they can sue Jiang Zhen and get his money, in the future their family will be allowed to eat delicious food and drink spicy food.

    Nowadays, most of the people in Hexi Vige were on Jiang Zhen side and even some rtives of the Jiang family no longer paid attention to them. It could be said that in this vige Jiang Zhen eyes were everywhere.

    Worried about being seen by these people, the Jiang family packed up their things and went to the county town at night.

    When they were in the countryside Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen seemed to be at odds with each other, but now that they have amon enemy, they got along a lot better.

    When the whole family once again started to act affectionate, they went to the county town.

    The Jiang family was having a very bad time these days. Because no one has time to wash clothes, all of them were wearing smelly and dirty rags.

    Shen Anxin had never been in close contact with such people before so as soon as he saw them he could not help feeling disgusted. But what he hated even more were faces that bore some resemnce to Jiang Zhen.

    Shen Anxin also knew that what these people said was not necessarily true, but he was still eager to teach Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge a lesson.

    At this time, if he doesn¡¯t do something, he might go crazy.

    Now all kinds of images flickered in his mind, Jiang Zheng and Zhao Jinge regretting this, Jiang Zhen having everything taken away from him and he even imagined that he would die together with Jiang Zhen.

    In any case, he did not want to see Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge acting sweet again. When they were together, they were simply poking him in the heart with a knife.

    ¡°Young master Shen, this is an imperial envoy. We do not dare to stop him, if we try to stop him he might attack us and we will lose our lives!¡± Chengwen said.

    ¡°Yes, master Shen, there are old and small ones in our family¡­¡± Jiang Chengxiang also said.

    Shen Anxin frowned at the two men, but at first he could not react but then they started to talk more and more. But then he also realized that they actually just wanted money.

    He became more and more disgusted, but when he saw the ragged clothes of these people, he thought it was normal¡­. He threw out ten silver: ¡°Take it first, and tomorrow I will ask someone to bring you 200 silver.¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly thanked him.

    At this time, Jiang Chengxiang also saw that this young master Shen, who had a grudge against Jiang Zhen, wanted to use them to deal with Jiang Zhen.

    But he didn¡¯t care.

    As long as it can make Jiang Zhen miserable, even if he was taken advantage of, so what?

    This young master Shen was from capital and he may really have a way to help them bring down Jiang Zhen!

    Seeing Jiang Chengxiang like this, Shen Anxin started to hate him even more. He got up and said: ¡°You can buy food with this money but you can¡¯t buy clothes or change your clothes!¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang nodded and answered quickly.

    The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. But on the other hand, the imperial minister threw a letter on the table: ¡°How outrageous! In this world, there are still such unfaithful and unfilial people!¡±

    ¡°It also in Hecheng country where Zheng family can cover the sky with one hand so there is no way for this people to ask for help!¡±

    The author has something to say: In yesterday¡¯s chapter, many people were angry and left negativements. The exnation is here:

    First of all, Shen¡¯s experience has nothing to do with his idea of bing a mistress. So I hope no one will think he deserved it because of this, and don¡¯t say anything about ¡°when the mistress has to be ** too much¡± or somehow derived from ¡°just like the protagonist has to be **¡±, this two things have nothing to do with each other. Like the protagonist also from the beginning to the end had nothing to do with him, this two things also have nothing to do with each others.

    This matter actually has a foreshadowing, he already have a conflict with Feng Jingyuan before he knew Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge. Before he took a fancy to Jiang Zhen, Feng Jingyu is the son of Feng Chenglin who tried to harm him before (Jiang Zhen saved him then.)

    It had nothing to do with him from beginning to end, and I foreshadowed it when I wrote about what was happening in capital.

    Jiang Zhen also warned him to be careful before.

    ******

    Second, it has nothing to do with the theory that girls are victimized because they wear less.

    This was a deliberate attempt to harm him.

    It doesn¡¯t even matter whether he is a ger or a woman. Even if he was a men? Would Feng try to hurt him after having a grudge with him?

    ******.

    In the final analysis, it is character that determines his fate.

    Feng Jingyuan used this method to harm him because Shen Anxin cared about this. If Shen Anxin didn¡¯t care about this, there would be another method used.

 Chapter 117.1 - The Imperial Courtâ€™s Reward

    Chapter 117.1 ¨C The Imperial Court¡¯s Reward

    The Qingfeng building in the county town has been on the right track for a long time and there was no need for him to watch over it. The Qingfeng building in Fucheng city would not be opened for the time being¡­. In that case he stayed in Hexi vige and looked after his escort agency.

    His escort agency will recruit people again so hees to check on it.

    Before, Jiang Zhen did not have schrs under his hands but now he could recruit a schr, but he still mainly recruited escort guards.

    He recruited an escort guard and looked for local people that have family nearby. These days were not like in modern times and there were no identity cards so naturally he could not rest assured to hire outsiders.

    Jiang Zhen was very busy, but as long as he could he would take Zhao Mingzhu with him wherever he goes.

    It was his first child, and he was already so old so he simply liked this child very much.

    Because of this, when Zhao Mingzhu who had always been very energetic, suddenly became ill, Jiang Zhen became anxious.

    Zhao Mingzhu was a very good child and easy child to take care of. In the past, even if she was crying, as long as someone hugged and coaxed her, she would be fine. But this time Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge took turns to hug her but she still looked very ufortable.

    Not only that, Jiang Zhen also found that she seemed to be a little feverish.

    The child has a fever!

    In modern times, it would be possible to get a thermometer to take the child temperature and go to the hospital for a checkup, but there was nothing here.

    Not even Baidu ( Chinese Google.) which was full of all kinds of unreliable information.

    Jiang Zhen immediately became anxious: ¡°What are we going to do? Mingzhu seems very ufortable!¡± Zhao Jinge was also aplete novice. As soon as Jiang Zhen became anxious, he also felt worse and both of them became very anxious. Naturally Zhao Liu was also anxious.

    Even Zhao Fugui, who has gained some of the old man¡¯s authority these days and just returned from ¡°inspecting¡± the fields in his new clothes, rubbed his hands together and became uneasy: ¡°This ¡­¡­ is¡­ our two children, Jinhu and Jinge did not have something like this when they were children!¡±

    ¡°Either they did not or you just did not know.¡± Zhao Liu took a look at Zhao Fugui. The two children she gave birth to also had ufortable experiences when they were young, but they did not have much money at that time so even if children were ill they could only endure and after a few days they would be better.

    But she doesn¡¯t remember what happened.

    Moreover, some children in this Hexi Vige would survive even after bing ill, while some others couldn¡¯t make it. The more Zhao Liu thought about it, the more worried she became.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the country town.¡±Jiang Zhen said without hesitation, in any case it was better to show it to the doctor first.

    iang Zhen held his daughter in his arms and hurriedly went to the country town. After arriving to the country town he hurried to the doctor.

    ¡°Is this child ill? What kid of symptoms it have? Did it throw up or spit? How many days has it been like this? ¡± The doctor nced at the child in Jiang Zhen¡¯s arms and asked.

    Traditional Chinese medicine was concentrated about looks, smell and questions. For such a small child pulse could not be taken so they could only rely on parents illness disruption.

    ¡°It started today, she¡¯s fussing a lot and her body is a little hot.¡± Jiang Zhen said all the symptoms of Zhao Mingzu illness.

    ¡°It¡¯s only been one day, maybe she was too cold so she is a little fussy¡­. I will take a look first.¡± The doctor said, he was not a pediatrician who specializes in pediatrics. If such a young child did not have a visible problem he would not dare to prescribe medicine to her at will.

    ¡°Doctor, but she has a fever.¡± Jiang Zhen was most worried about it now.

    The doctor touched Zhao Mingzu¡¯s forehead with his hand and said: ¡°Nothing is wrong, it¡¯s not too hot, it¡¯s okay if she can eat.¡±

    ¡°She can eat, but she¡¯s eating less.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Your child is sick, let me take a look.¡± At that moment, a rather old woman suddenly came from the room.

    Jiang Zhen nodded without hesitation and asked that person to help him take a look.

    The woman looked for a while, and then asked Jiang Zhen to open Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s mouth.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and opened Zhao Mingzu mouth for the old women to see, then he heard the old women say: ¡°It¡¯s nothing but teething. Just make something hard and let her grind her teeth.¡±

    Teething? Jiang Zhen looked carefully and found that Zhao Mingzhu gums were a little res. When he found this he immediately felt relieved.

    Zhao Jinge and others also breathed a sigh of relief.

    Since the child was only teething, there is no need to worry too much. Jiang Zhen takes Zhao family to the grain store to buy some good flour and sugar for Zhao Mingzu to eat and then went back.

    During that time, he also met the Zheng family.

    In Hecheng County, it could be said that there was Zheng family everywhere. Jiang Zhen hurried to the city and went directly to the doctor. It was only natural that someone would report it to Zheng Yi, therefore, Zheng Yi sent people to ask around.

    Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t helpughing when he learned that it was just the child¡¯s teething. He immediately put it aside, and then asked his people: ¡°You said that you lost trail of Zhou Maohe?¡±

    The official Zhou wasing to the south of the Yangtze River, it was a message from the capital sent by the second Master Zheng. In addition to this news, the second Master Zheng also asked Zheng Yi to keep an eye on this official Zhou.

    This official Zhou was not clear about the affairs outside the imperial court. Second Master Zheng was by no means the only official he disliked so Zheng Yi was not too worried at first, butter he found that the official Zhou was very jealous and cynical so he temporarily gave up on the construction of Qingfeng Building in Fucheng.

    He did not want the fact that he built Qingfeng Building in Fucheng used by official Zhou as the pretext to attack his second uncle, or feel that they were embezzling or epting bribes.

    Because of heaven and earth conscience, although their Zheng family has gained many benefits from his second uncle, his uncle has been honest and clean as an official, after all, his own family has money, and being to greedy¡­ will not make a good political achievement.

    Zheng Yi was afraid that this official Zhou would look for trouble during this imperial inspection and had been paying close attention to him. But as a result, someone told him that this official Zhou suddenly disappeared.

    This¡­ did he go for some private visit?

    Zheng Yi thought about it for a while but did note up with any result so he only people to pay more attention to the news of the imperial minister.

    He thought that he had done nothing wrong, so naturally, he was not afraid of being investigated.

    After Jiang Zhen took Zhao Mingzhu back to Hexi Vige, he found something for Zhao Mingzhu to bite.

    It was just that it was cold now and Zhao Mingzhu wore a lot of clothes so he was not happy to put things into her mouth, afraid that she would hurt herself.

    Thinking about it, Jiang Zhen simply washed his hands clean, and then give Zhao Mingzhu to bite.

    With Jiang Zhen finger to bite, Zhao Mingzhu really did not make a fuss.

    She has not grown teeth yet so she also has very little strength. Jiang Zhen hands were also full of calluses so even if she bit him it did not hurt him much. At most just makes his finger a little itchy.

    When Jiang Xiaomei came looking for Jiang Zhen, she saw that her big brother, who had changed a lot, was giving her finger to Zhao Mingzhu to bite and y with.

    Looking at Zhao Mingzhu, she suddenly remembered her own childhood ¡­¡­ his big brother at that time also would take care of her and be good to her. He just never talked so as he grew older she was not happy to follow the always silent him.

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Jiang Xiaomei bowed her head, a little embarrassed, but quickly raised her head and said: ¡°I want to marry,

    Zhang Bai.¡±

    ¡°Zhang Bai?¡± Jiang Zhen was stunned and after thinking for a moment he remembered that it was the son of the father and son duo who fired green bricks that he had brought back.

    He bought the father and son with money, but in order to encourage them to burn more bricks, he gave them a reward.

    The father and son saved their reward and came to him not long ago, saying that they wanted to redeem themselves but they were willing to continue to work for him so he agreed.

    However, he did not expect that Jiang Xiaomei would take a fancy to Zhang Bai.

    He remembers that Jiang Xiaomei seemed to be interested in Jiang Ming before? However, he had too many things to do, so he didn¡¯t take care of the development of this matter.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him.¡± Jiang Xiaomei bowed her head.

    She used to like Jiang Ming, but she only liked him because Jiang Ming had a good background. She had no contact with Jiang Ming so she couldn¡¯t say she was sure about marrying him.

    However, she went to work in the brick kiln every day these days, and she made eye contact with Zhang Bai.

    This Zhang Bai has the craft of burning bricks so he will not be short on money in the future. His job was also better that that of Jiang Ming who had to go out for months at a time. But if she marries Zhang Bai they could always be together.

    ¡°You can marry him if you want, but not until my mother¡¯s birthday party is over.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he had a good impression of this young men who worked hard burning bricks all day. If nothing else, he was quite honest and willing to work.

    He built only one brick kiln in Hexi vige butter it was not enough, so he went to the neighboring vige to build another brick kiln and let Zhang Bai¡¯s father take care of it.

    The two brick kilns are of the same size, and as a result Zhang Bai always burned more bricks. It was said that he spend almost all his time on the brick kiln except for eating and sleeping.

    Jiang Zhen has no problem with this man and Jiang Xiaomei could marry him if she wanted. He doesn¡¯t care. At this time, he still intended to finish the birthday banquet of Zhao Liu first.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge got married, it was impossible to make the wedding reception lively at all. After all they had too few rtives and friends, but now it was different.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen have countless people, so he can find arge group of people to celebrate Zhao Liu birthday!

 Chapter 117.2 - The Imperial Courtâ€™s Reward

    Chapter 117.2 ¨C The Imperial Court¡¯s Reward

    Jiang Zhen finally decided to host Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet.

    On the day of Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday, the sun was strong and there was no wind. On this side of Hexi Vige, there was a saying, ¡°Poor in debt, cold in the wind.¡± If a person was not in debt, he was not poor, and if there was no wind, it will not be too cold.

    That day the sun was good, and there was no wind. Although it was winter, the weather was no different from spring.

    ¡°See, as soon as you live a good life, even god will give you a good face,¡± a Hexi viger praised Zhao Liu.

    Jiang Zhen was going to have a birthday party, so those who were friends with Zhao Liu in Hexi Vige came to help early in the morning.

    Zhao Liu was wearing new clothes and gold jewelry, and there was a big smile on her face. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all Jiang Zhen . . . I said that my old bones are almost in a coffin, but he still had to spend a lot of money on my life. It really . . .¡±

    When Zhao Liu said this, she also privately told Zhao Jinge that she felt it was too expensive, but in her heart, she felt very happy. Her face was full of smiles. Seeing that the tables were all set up and there were many guestsing to the door one after another, she was happier all the more. She had never had such a face in her life.

    Zhao Liu was very happy, but at the moment, a middle-aged man with a pale face came down from a boat. The middle-aged man had two guards around him and looked like a rich merchant. When he came he asked the people on the dock, ¡°I heard that there is a Jinzhen Escort Agency here?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The man who carried the goods said, ¡°There is a Jinzhen Escort Agency here. Are you looking for them? They rented the house over there for their business.¡± As the man carrying goods spoke, he pointed to a shop not far away with the que, ¡°Jinzhen Escort Agency.¡±

    ¡°Oh . . .¡± The middle-aged man nodded and asked, ¡°I hear there is a Qingfeng House here?¡±

    Besides looking for Jinzhen Escort Agency, this man also wanted to go and y in Qingfeng House? The man carrying the goods hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, if you find a boy on the street and spend two copper pennies, he will take you there! Tut-tut, in Qingfeng House, I heard that there are a lot of dishes and ys only avable in the pce there, and it¡¯s a good ce!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s face changed. How could people take out the things from pce and give them to the group of merchants to enjoy? This was outrageous!

    Seeing that the middle-aged man did not look good, the man who carries the goods was startled. ¡°Gentleman . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± The middle-aged man waved his hand.

    This middle-aged man was Zhou Maohe, the imperial envoy from the capital.

    A few days ago, Zhou Maohe received a letter saying that there was a Jinzhen Escort Agency in Hecheng County, and the person in charge not only beat his parents but also bribed officials to make his parents unable to ask for help.

    Zhou Maohe inquired around and found that Hecheng was the Zheng family¡¯s territory. Also, the Zheng family had also made a Qingfeng House with Jinzhen Escort Agency. Although it was not long after opening, there were already countless people who knew about this ce.

    That Qingfeng House cost ten silver just for a visit? With so much money, it was enough for ordinary people to spend for a year!

    Could such a ce be a good ce? The Zheng family doesn¡¯t know what they are doing!

    Zhou Maohe had always had a problem with Official Zheng, who had been trying to curry favor with the empress dowager all day long, so when he heard about this, he immediately decided toe and have a look. He had concealed his identity and decided to have a look at the Qingfeng House.

    The ce that everyone praised, he did not know what disgusting activities the people inside were doing! The Qingfeng House in Hecheng County also set a threshold: If you want to enter, you must first pay 20 silver at the door. After entering, all the expenses except for the chip exchange would be deducted from this twenty silver and the rest would be refunded.

    This was nothing to the people whoe to Qingfeng House. Who would havee here without 20 silver?

    However, Zhou Maohe was shocked by what he heard. ¡°Twenty silver?¡± He was born in a poor family and he was not rich, so even if he wanted to eat a meal of meat, he had to be very careful. Although this time, because he was going out, he brought more silver, but it was not as much as twenty silver.

    This man asked him for twenty taels of silver!

    ¡°My lord, if you don¡¯t have any money, you cane back next time,¡± the man at the door smiled at Zhou Mao and said.

    Although Zhou Maohe looked like he had no money, Zheng Yi exined that they had to greet even people in rags with a smile, so their attitude was excellent.

    Unexpectedly, their behavior of asking for money and such an attitude made Zhou Maohe feel even more that he was like a male ghost in this Qingfeng House.

    He gritted his teeth and, at one, took out 20 silver and went inside . . . Because he could not take out any more money his two guards were left outside.

    Qingfeng House was very luxurious. Although Zhou Maohe had lived in poverty, he still had a vision. After seeing this luxury, the angrier he was, and after a while, he was taken to the hall.

    The hall was the ce where people yed cards. In the middle of the hall, some arc-shaped tables were arranged in a circle, and within sat Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi.

    It was still early, and there were few people in the Qingfeng House, so they were idle, only letting others deal cards to the guests who came to the door and y with them. The two of them were currently the signboards of Qingfeng House, and depending on their mood, they would sit and deal cards.

    ¡°This is a great job, but when we get older, we won¡¯t be able to do it,¡± Liu Qianqian said.

    ¡°What are you afraid of? When we get older, we¡¯ll already have saved up a fortune!¡± Zhao Lingxi said. This Qingfeng House did not pay them much, only two silver a month, but the reward money given by the guests were all theirs to take!

    The guests here were generous, and the reward was not given in copper coins but was basically all in silver! It would not take them long to save up a lot of money. Speaking of which, they did not want to go out easily because they also discovered that they could raise their price and get more rewards.

    ¡°You are right about that . . . At that time, I will set up a female household and look for a child to raise,¡± Liu Qianqian said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting married?¡± Zhao Lingxi looked at Liu Qianqian in bewilderment. Liu Qianqian wanted to get married before.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you the truth now,¡± Liu Qianqian said. ¡°When I was in the flower house, I was given medicine so that I would not have a child at all.¡± This was also the reason why she wanted to be a concubine but never thought of getting married. She could not have a child, so how could she get married properly. How could she live a good life then?

    It was different being just a concubine. She was good-looking enough to charm a man, and then secretly make friends with her mistress, saying that she can¡¯t have a baby . . . just for this the main wife would surely want to keep her in the backyard.

    Zhao Lingxi was stunned hearing her words, but finally, he did notfort her and only said, ¡°Then save money. I don¡¯t think I can marry either, so in the future, we can bepanions.¡±

    As they spoke, their hearts became a bit heavy. At that time, they suddenly heard someone shout, ¡°The world is really declining! The moral degeneration of the world is getting worse day by day! Instead of being at home with her husband and children, the woman and gers came out to hang out with a group of men . . . This is really disgraceful!¡±

    When they looked together toward the source of the voice, they found that it was said by a middle-aged man.

    ¡°Where does this old mane from?¡± Liu Qianqian could not help frowning.

    ¡°This ce is a gambling house and a brothel, isn¡¯t it? What a Zheng family! I can¡¯t believe they are doing such a thing!¡± Zhou Maohe became furious.

    In this Qingfeng House, there were some women dressed in men¡¯s clothes teasing men! Why the name ¡°Qingfeng House¡± was given to such a dirty ce!

    Because of Jiang Zhen¡¯s speech, these women who worked in Qingfeng House did not actually talk much with their guests. As they knew, Jiang Zhen said at the beginning that if they hook up with guests, they should find another job and he will immediately let them go . . . What letting go! Wasn¡¯t it just driving people away?

    These women and gers also have big hearts, but in the absence of a definite target, they really did not dare to do anything with guests. Even with a target . . . they also intended to find the right one too. If they step on two boats, it will capsize!

    Of course, most of them did not want to find a target anymore. It was better to have money than to follow someone and then ask for money from the other. Therefore, no one had ever really teased the guests at this time. But in Zhou Maohe¡¯s opinion, it was wrong for the woman and gers to stay in such a ce.

    ¡°What are you doing here if you are looking down at this ce?¡± Liu Qianqian said angrily. She just scratched at her scars, so she was very angry!

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Coming to a ce like this and staring at us specifically while looking like this . . . Tsk, tsk.¡± Zhao Lingxi helped.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were definitely the two most popr people there. Which of the men in the hall didn¡¯t like them now?

    Seeing them angry, the men immediately looked at Zhou Maohe and denounced him one after the other.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were told that they could not offend the guests, so they did not dare to use dirty words. But the people there were different. They exposed their thoughts clearly in front of Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, so when facing Zhou Maohe, they were not polite at all. Most of the people whoe here were merchants so when it came to swearing . . .

    ¡°Degrading! Insulting!¡± Zhou Maohe became more and more infuriated. His mouth was quite sharp; in the imperial court, he could quote the scriptures and make people speechless. But when schr met soldier, it was not so clear.

    The businessmen present had loud voices and cursed people in their dialect very smoothly. They also did not understand what Zhou Maohe said.

    Zhou Maohe finally decided to escape from there, but as soon as he left, he bumped into a boy.

    ¡°Sir, please go outside.¡± The young man in Qingfeng House faced Zhou Maohe. At first nce this person was looking for trouble, so he must be sent away as soon as possible.

    Zhou Maohe also had no face to stay, so with a flick of sleeves, he went out.

    He walked fast, and after a long walk, he heard someone behind him shouting, ¡°Sir, don¡¯t you want your money?¡±

    Zhou Maohe¡¯s steps stopped. Clenching his teeth, he went back ¡°Silver?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t spend any money in our Qingfeng House, so except for one or two as entrance fee, I will give you back the rest,¡± the young men at the door said with a smile.

    The young man was respectful, but Zhou Maohe felt insulted and belittled, but the silver . . . After taking the silver, Zhou Mao turned around and left.

    At this time, Zheng Yi, holding a heavy Guanyin, gave it to Zhao Liu.

    ¡°It¡¯s heavy!¡± Zhao Liu held Guanyin with her hands, but her eyes it up as she hurriedly beckoned someone to bring a table so that she could put Guanyin on it and show it to others.

    The tacky gold Guanyin was finally ced on a table covered with red cloth. Looking at Zhao Liu telling people that this was a gift from him, Young Master Zheng touched his nose in a helpless gesture. In his life, he gave such a tacky gift for once, but to have it so widely publicized . . .

    Young Master Zheng did not want to stay outside and finally took Jiang Zhen inside the house. ¡°Jiang Zhen, I have good news to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Zhen asked curiously.

    ¡°It was you who came up with the method of stitching up the wound. Someone had tried it before, and it was confirmed to be useful, so the emperor gave you amendation!¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°This is a message from my second uncle. As for the reward, I guess it is on the way at this moment.¡±

    If Zheng Yi did no say it, Jiang Zhen would have already forgotten about it. So at this time, he was surprised to hear it: ¡°What¡¯s the reward?¡±

    ¡°I heard it just some money . . . My uncle didn¡¯t borate. ¡° Zheng Yi was a little embarrassed. Jiang Zhen was only a civilian, so it was impossible to give him too many rewards. ¡°However, with this reward, your status will be different in the future.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded. Zheng Yi was right; with such a reward, his business would indeed be much better.

 Chapter 118.1 - The Imperial Envoyâ€™s Visit

    Chapter 118.1 ¨C The Imperial Envoy¡¯s Visit

    Jiang Zhen was quite looking forward to the reward from the imperial court. Although this reward may not be a lot of money, it was very symbolic.

    These days, the emperor was a supreme being in the eyes of themon people. He had been rewarded by the emperor; as for those small businessmen andmon people, Jinzhen Escort Agency would be different.

    These officials from all over Hexing Prefecture . . . knowing that he received a reward from the emperor, after the Jinzhen Escort Agency¡¯s ships sailed, they would no longere out with various excuses to ask for money.

    Jiang Zhen was very happy after Zheng Yi said this, then he asked, ¡°Jiang Zhen, why did you specifically exin that you could not take Shen Anxin and Feng Jingyuan with you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like those two,¡± Jiang Zhen directly said.

    Needless to say, Feng Jingyuan had bad intentions. But as for Shen Anxin, Jiang Zhen has made up his mind not to contact him again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like them very much either,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°Feng Jingyuan is veryfortable to get along with, but he wants something from me. If something happens to me . . . He definitely will run fast. As for Shen Anxin, I thought he could get up, but as a result . . . ¡° Zheng Yi didn¡¯t know how to evaluate Shen Anxin. He originally thought he would be morepetitive, and in the future, it would be possible to do only business with him. But the way it was going . . .

    Recently, many people in the Zheng mansion had been saying that he was lovesick; otherwise, he would not be in a daze all day.

    After taking a look at Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi wondered what Jiang Zhen might know that he no longer wanted to see Shen Anxin. He has deliberately told Shen Anxin something about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge; if Shen Anxin could not get over it, Zheng Yi would need to change his partner.

    Neither of them continued with this topic. At this time, the birthday party had already begun.

    In the countryside, no matter what kind of banquet you go to, you would always bring some money and other things to give as a gift. In fact, it was just to help the host family in a way, or for the vast majority of families, holding a banquet would empty their family¡¯s wealth. However, Jiang Zhen did not charge for Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet.

    They could have a free meal without giving a gift, and it¡¯s all good wine and food . . . so when everyone looked at Zhao Liu, all kinds of good words were said with so many boasting words and the face she was given, Zhao Liu smiled happily form ear to ear.

    At that time Zhou Maohe, who left Qingfeng House, came to Hexi with his two guards. He came to Hexi to see what was going on there.

    Zhou Maohe hired a boat toe over, and as soon as he came over, he saw a very magnificent dock.

    The docks in Hecheng County were much worse than the one here, but it was a businessman who built such a big dock.

    Zhou Maohe had always disliked businessmen. These people spected and drove up prices to make themselves rich. They were so rich that they did not care whether the people would live or die. They were nothing more than cockroaches! And seeing such spacious docks, he thought of the hard-earned money taken from themon people. Zhou Maohe¡¯s impression of Jiang Zhen became even worse.

    That day was Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday, and many of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men went to the Zhao family house, so there were fewer men on the dock. These people still had things to do, but no one had time to take care of Zhou Maohe, so no one spoke to him.

    Zhou Mao looked around; the more he looked at the bustling scene, the more dissatisfied he became, then he went to the vige.

    At the same time, a man came to the Jiang family, who was Shen Anxin¡¯s bodyguard. The men also delivered the letter to Jiang Chengxiang.

    When Jiang Chengxiang read the letter, his whole person became excited. ¡°Young Master Shen wrote that the imperial envoy came to Hexi!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Chengwen was also a little happy, but soon be worried again. ¡°Can we really sue Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we can. Why not?¡± Jiang Chengxiang said, but he was also a little uneasy in the end.

    Had it not been for Shen Anxin¡¯s repeated assurances, he would never have dared to sue Jiang Zhen. After all, Jiang Zhen was notparable to others now.

    Jinzhen Escort Agency had two or three hundred escorts alone, there were so many people . . . If he wanted to kill their family, it was as simple as crushing an ant.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we have a good life?¡± Old man Jiang sighed. Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude was very obvious. As long as they don¡¯t go to find trouble with him, he would note to trouble them.

    So as long as they live in peace, they could still live.

    ¡°Can you live a good life right now? Where did you get a good day?¡±¡® Olddy Jiang didn¡¯t want to go. Their family could not get enough food or clothing, but Jiang Zhen could drink and eat spicy food. Just thinking about this, she found it unbearable and couldn¡¯t sleep all night.

    She must bring bad luck to Jiang Zhen!

    The Jiang family was worried, but they agreed again that they wanted to sue Jiang Zhen.

    The man sent by Shen Anxin told them what the imperial envoy looked like. Jiang Chengxiang hid the letter that Shen Anxin had given him, put on his shabby clothes, and went out. He saw Zhou Maohe from a distance and determined that he should be the imperial envoy, so he stumbled and fell directly in front of him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, little brother?¡± Zhou Mao asked worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine . . .¡± Jiang Chengxiang struggled to get up from the ground and said with a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯m just starving.¡±

    ¡°Hungry?¡± Zhou Maohe¡¯s eyes shed with sympathy. It was at this time that Jiang Chengxiang, who just got up, fell down again.

    When Jiang Chengxiang was very young, he was able to make up his ownint that Eldest Jiang had bullied him. Since he was well-prepared he naturally performed even better so Zhou Maohe believed it almost immediately.

    ¡°Little brother, where is your home? Let me help you go back,¡± Zhou Maohe said.

    Zhou Maohe eventually followed Jiang Chengxiang and came to the Jiang family house.

    The Jiang family house still looked good but the people in the house were all dirty, dressed in rags, looking extremely pitiful. At the moment, olddy Jiang and Jiang Chengwen were still crying bitterly.

    ¡°My son, it¡¯s all right. Where did he hit you again?

    ¡°It¡¯s not that he hit me, it¡¯s the people under his hands who did not like me.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what he ordered? How could he do this . . . You are his brother. How could he not give you a way to live?¡±

    ¡°Mother . . . He even beat you . . .¡±

    . . .

    Zhou Maohe came here this time to find Jiang Zhen¡¯s parents in Hexi Vige, but unexpectedly, he already found them.

    After listening for a while, he asked, ¡°What do you have to do with Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen is my son,¡± olddy Jiang cried.

    He did not expect to find the Jiang family as soon as he came here . . . Zhou Maohe immediately asked about the specific situation.

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen is my eldest son. The day before he was born, his father went to work as a soldier. I was alone with him, and life was extremely difficult so I was not very good to him . . .¡± Olddy Jiang ording to what Jiang Chengxiang had said to her repeatedly. Olddy Jiang cried and said, ¡°He was born on a bad day, and he was lonely. I never liked him, but I raised him because I didn¡¯t want him to hold a grudge against me. He was dissatisfied with my partiality for his younger brother . . .¡±

    ¡°How outrageous!¡± Zhou Maohe¡¯s face suddenly became extremely ugly.

    The son should not speak about his parents¡¯ faults even if the parents have done something wrong; a child should not disobey his parents. But what about Jiang Zhen? Not only did he injure his parents and brothers, forcing them to give him a share of the family, but he also snatched away his sister and refused to support his parents . . . There were too many things to write about!

    What¡¯s even more annoying was that this Jiang family wanted to get justice, but they had no way to ask for help!

    ¡°Today is his mother-inw¡¯s fiftieth birthday and all vige people except us are invited to it. So I went to dig wild vegetables. Before, but got too close to the Zhao family and was beaten by the people under his hands,¡± Jiang Chengwen added, revealing the red marks on his face.

    He was certainly not beaten by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, but by Huang Min. He just merely mentioned that he wanted to try to go into business again but was beaten by Huang Min . . .

    Zhou Maohe was already furious. He sprang to his feet and went to the Zhao family house.

    The house was built along the dock of the Zhao family and it was very easy to recognize. Zhou Maohe soon got there and found that there were many tables at the gate, on which there were all kinds of chicken, duck, and fish, and many people sat there eating and drinking. While looking inside. . . there was a table covered in red cloth with a golden Guanyin and other things.

    That was simply extravagant!

 Chapter 118.2 - The Imperial Envoyâ€™s Visit

    Chapter 118.2 ¨C The Imperial Envoy¡¯s Visit

    His life was so extravagant over here, but he left his parents to suffer at home . . . Zhou Maohe immediately shouted, ¡°Where is Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Jiang Zhen was greeting the guests outside. Seeing Zhaou Maohe, he immediately came over and asked with a frown.

    Seeing the appearance of Jiang Zhen, Zhou Mahe had already deeply believed the words of the Jiang family. ¡°You are unfilial to your parents and brothers. You simply don¡¯t deserve to be a human being!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned: ¡°Did the Jiang family put you up to this?¡±

    ¡°Do you still know the Jiang family? Do you know they are your parents and brothers?¡° Zhou Maohe asked angrily.

    ¡°Somebody, throw him out of here,¡± Jiang Zhen said without hesitation. This was Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet, and he didn¡¯t want it to be ruined by someone irrelevant.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen¡¯s words left his mouth, some of his men grabbed Zhou Maohe and his guards and threw the three of them out.

    ¡°Stop it, you guys!¡± Zhou Maohe¡¯s face became ck as he was grabbed; how could he have ever thought that he would have such a disgraceful day. However, how could Jiang Zhen¡¯s men listen to him? They threw him out directly.

    After throwing people away, Jiang Zhen returned to the house, and in the inner room, he sat on a separate seat. Only the Zhao family and Zheng Yi sat there.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± seeing Jiang Zhene in, Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Nothing. Dealt with a troublemaker,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Chengxiang said bad words about him outside. Zheng Baoning had already mentioned it to him, so he figured that the person today should be simr to that Song Li. He was toozy to bother with such a person, so he left him alone.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t take this matter to heart at all, but Zhou Maohe was already so angry that his body trembled. He straightened his clothes then went to the pier and said to the boatman who brought him here, ¡°Go to Fucheng. I want to go to Fucheng.¡±

    ¡°Master, Fucheng is too far away . . .¡±

    ¡°If you send me there, I will give you one silver!¡± Zhou Maohe said.

    ¡°Master, quickly sit steadily!¡± The boatman was immediately overjoyed.

    Zhou Maohe calmed down a little bit by then, but he was still a little worried about silver.

    Zhou Maohe left Hexi Vige, and Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen watched him leave.

    ¡°Is this man really an imperial envoy?¡± Jiang Chengwen couldn¡¯t help asking.

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s expression was also tangled, this man . . . could he really help them?

    Zheng Yi did not know that Zhou Mao, who he had been observing before, suddenly came to Hecheng County and left again. He did ask his men to inquire about this man, but only a few of his men knew Zhou Maohe, and the others could not recognize him, so naturally, no one knew that Zhou Maohe had appeared in Hecheng County and went to Hexi Vige.

    Of course, Shen Anxin knew about it because Zhou Maohe was deliberately brought in by him. Thinking of what Zheng Yi said to him when he met Zheng Yi a few days ago, Shen Anxin turned very pale. Jiang Zhen¡¯s daughter was only teething, but Jiang Zhen was so concerned about her, but what about him? Also, was it arranged by Zhao Jinge? These days, Jiang Zhen suddenly did note to the county town; was he stopped by him? Did Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi know something? Why did Zheng Yi say that to him?

    ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s time to eat,¡± Shen Anxin servant¡¯s boy, who came from outside, announced to Shen Anxin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat it. Just pour it for me,¡± Shen Anxin said. He had no appetite at all and felt very sick. He also had a headache and chest tightness and just wanted to stay quietly by himself.

    ¡°Young Master, your health is very important. Why don¡¯t you have some?¡± Shen Anxin¡¯s servant boy was very worried. When he found out that Jiang Zhen had a concubine, the young master of his family became seriously ill and then changed a lot. But what would happen this time?

    ¡°Get out!¡± Shen Anxin grabbed the inkstone in his hand and threw it.

    The servant beside Shen Anxin no longer dared to persuade him and left in hurry.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet was very respectable.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen had all the dishes left on the table packed and taken away. Then he asked his men to clean up the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks, and after a while, his house was clean.

    When hosting a banquet at home, she did not have to work at all. Zhao Liu was emotional and then went back to her room with golden Guanyin in her arms.

    After a while, she came out of the room again and found Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, put this Guanyin in your room and put it at the head of your bed. You should often look at it in the future!¡± She wanted to have more grandchildren!

    ¡°Mother . . .¡± Zhao Jinge felt a little helpless.

    After thinking about it, Zhao Liu probably felt that this was inappropriate, so she added, ¡°Wait a minute. Let¡¯s forget it. If someonees to rob such arge piece of gold . . . ¡°

    ¡°Mother, you might as well dig a hole and bury it.¡± Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Liu¡¯s worried appearance and gave Zhao Liu an idea.

    ¡°What are you talking about? This is a Bodhisattva. How can it be buried! ¡° Zhao Liu immediately retorted. Thinking about it, she said, ¡°Forget it. I¡¯d better put it at the head of your bed. No one should dare toe to our house to rob things.¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    There was only one golden Guanyin on the bedside of Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge¡¯s. Zhao Mingzhu wanted it after she saw it and looked longingly at Jiang Zhen, who did not give it to her, but her look made Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart melt.

    ¡°That Bodhisattva is heavier than you. Be careful it hits you.¡± Jiang Zhen thought for a moment and found a few bricks of gold and silver and washed them carefully before giving them to Zhao Mingzhu: ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s y with this. Dad will teach you how to build a structure with them.¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡±

    After Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet, Jiang Zhen went to the county town again the next day.

    Jiang Zhen made an appointment with Zheng Yi to meet at Qingfeng House. He went early, but as soon as he arrived there, he heard a story from Qingfeng House people, that someone hade to make trouble yesterday, but he was scolded by the guests.

    After listening to a few words, Jiang Zhen became clear about the whole context: ¡°It is estimated that some old schr has mistakenly entered.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that old schr have even made Miss Liu and Mr. Zhao angry.¡± The boy was a little resentful.

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t helpughing at his angry look. Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi mixed like a fish in water in this Qingfeng House and already had a group of fans.

    Jiang Zhen went to Zheng Yi this time because he wanted to find a shipyard to order some big ships, as well as workers who could build ships if he could have them.

    Wang Haisheng said at first that he could build ships, but he only knew how to build small boats. In fact, he knew nothing about building big ships. In Hecheng County, there was no one who could build big ships.

    ¡°I can help you contact someone so that you can custom-builtrge ships, but this worker is not easy to find. These craftsmen are all in the hands of sea merchants,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    In fact, there was a sea ban in Daqi, which stiptes that merchants could not enter the sea. It was just that bing a sea merchant was very profitable, so this rule had always beenid down in vain. In the south of the Yangtze River, the number of sea merchants was veryrge. In fact, Hecheng Country was still very good, but if you go further south, there will be even more sea merchants there.

    The reason why Hexing Prefecture was like this was because there was the Hongjiang salt farm here, which upied arge area of the seaside and closed off arge area of the territorial sea.

    ¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed; it didn¡¯t matter if he couldn¡¯t build his own boat for the time being. Slowly, he could always get more workers.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi made a deal, they went home.

    Meanwhile, Zhou Maohe in Fucheng was looking for people everywhere.

    Although he was an imperial envoy, he didn¡¯t have many people with him. The Zheng family had deep roots and luxurious leaves in Hecheng County, so he could only take a long-term view.

    Zhao Maohe was not liked by most officials in the court, but a few still admired him highly, and many schrs regard him as a role model, admiring his character and wanting to be like him. He also has many people who can talk to each other, many of whom were from the south of the Yangtze River.

    ¡°The country is in chaos, Now that the imperial court is controlled by a ger, even if there are many officials in the court who follow his lead, how will His Majesty be put in charge of the government in the future?¡±

    ¡°The man surnamed Zheng is going to give it to the merchants, so they could prepare items needed in the pce. But you don¡¯t know what it means!¡±

    ¡°That ger went so far as to return the official post to the merchants. It¡¯s simply forgetting his ancestors!¡±

    ¡°The Zheng family could hide the shy with one hand in Hecheng County . . .¡±

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen is really abhorrent! I can¡¯t believe he doesn¡¯t even care about his own parents!¡±

    . . .

    Zhou Maohe found some like-minded people, and after talking for some time, he himself became angrier and angrier. At this time, he did not want to deal with Jiang Zhen alone, as well as the Zheng family backing him.

    There were few people around Zhou Maohe he could use, but his identity as an imperial envoy was real. He can naturally mobilize a lot of people if he wanted to.

    If it was in Hecheng Country, the county magistrate of Hecheng County might obstruct him and not give him even four people but he was in Fucheng now. There was also a Zheng family in Fucheng, but there were also some other people who were not very easy to deal with.

    These people do not have a life-and-death feud with the Zheng family, and it is impossible for them to tear up their faces and sue the Zheng family or something like that. But even if they did not dare to deal with the Zheng family, they did not mind adding fuel to the fire.

    As a result, Zhou Maohe who went around Fucheng unexpectedly found a lot of helping hands. He took these people to meet the officials of the city,and after he changed into the clothes of the imperial envoy, he also had the ostentation of the imperial envoy.

    Without dy, Zhou Maohe, who already found people, went straight back to Hecheng county.

    ¡°You said that Zhou Maohe appeared in Fucheng?¡± Zheng Yi looked at the servant of the Zheng family in front of him and asked.

    ¡°Yes, Young Master,¡± the subordinate said. ¡°From what Master Hu said, Official Zhou seems to be looking for people everywhere and seems to be doing something.¡±

    Zheng Yi nodded and was about to send someone to keep an eye on Zhou Maohe again when someone else came.

    ¡°Young Zheng, Master Hu family has sent someone.¡±

    Zheng Yi¡¯s wife was surnamed Hu and the current master of Hu¡¯s family was the uncle of Zheng Yi¡¯s wife.

    The Hu family and the Zheng family had always had business dealings and had an excellent rtionship except that the Zheng family had always stayed in Hecheng Country while the Hu family had always been in Fucheng.

    ¡°Quickly call the man in,¡± Zheng Yi said. He had always been very careful. But at this time, he could already sense that something was wrong.

    Soon, someone ran in from outside, ¡°Young Zheng, my master told me toe and talk to you!¡± The man was panting and took a few breaths before he said, ¡°That imperial envoy seems to be trying to deal with the Zheng family. After finding people in Fucheng, he went straight to Hecheng County!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯sing to Hecheng County?¡± Zheng Yi frowned.

    ¡°I am afraid that he is already halfway here,¡± the subordinate said.

    Then why did Zhou Maohe suddenlye to Hecheng County? The Zheng family had nothing to do with him!

    Zheng Yi frowned, not understanding what Zhou Maohe was going to do, but at this time, Zhou Maohe who bought people had already gone to Hexi.

    Zhou Maohe really couldn¡¯t get hold of Zheng Yi, but he found a breakthrough with Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhenmitted the crime of unfilial piety! He would arrest him first and then deal with Zheng Yi!

 Chapter 119.1 - Putting It All Together

    Chapter 119.1 ¨C Putting It All Together

    A big ship slowly headed toward Hexi Vige docks.

    Jiang Zhen deliberately hired some people to receive the merchants at the pier so when someone saw the ship he immediately went up to help and let the dock. When the dock was docked, someone else went up and asked: ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    The person who went up to inquire did not receive a reply and was just pushed away by others. Meanwhile, many people came from the ship

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The man who was pushed away staggered and fell to the ground. He frowned and got up from the ground and looked angrily at the people in front of him.

    He went up to ask a question so why was he pushed by someone? Who were these people?

    Thismotion naturally attracted the attention of the people around them.

    The security guards under Jiang Zhen took turns in guarding ships and those who did not have to go out with the ships stayed on patrol on this side of the dock.

    When working on the docks, they could go home after finishing their work. In addition two days off every month would be given as for when these two days would be it could be chosen by them but if something important was happening they would not be approved.

    He Chunsheng was the one at the patrol today.

    He Chunsheng has been with Jiang Zhen for a long time and has been one of the top guards in the security division. His life was getting better and better. In the past, their family was nearly destroyed by Liu Heitou, but now Liu Heitou and his people were working under him.

    Seeing someone causing trouble, He Chunsheng immediately led people over: ¡°Who are you people? What are you doing here?¡± After the business of the escort agency became bigger there were always people who came to make trouble so He Chunsheng was very vignt at this moment.

    He Chunsheng and others have been with Jiang Zhen for more than a year. Jiang Zhen was paying them generously, and the food was good. Although they were not necessarily tall, all of them were dark and strong. They are also wearing uniform clothes which give them their own momentum,

    The man who had pushed the person angrily before suddenly froze.

    Zhou Maohe stood at the bow of the ship and could naturally see this scene with his own eyes. He frowned and came to the side of the ship and eximed: ¡°I am Zhou Maohe, the imperial envoy. I came here to handle a case! Get out of the way quickly!¡±

    The imperial envoy? He Chunsheng looked at the ship and saw a middle-aged man in official clothes standing on the ship. By his side there were several people dressed as government officials.

    The imperial minister, the person he only saw in ys before was now actually standing right in front of him?

    He Chunsheng was startled but when he looked at him carefully he found out that this imperial minister seemed to look familiar.

    A few days ago, someone made trouble at Zhao Liu¡¯s birthday banquet, and it was He Chunsheng who drove them away. The man in front of him was one of the people who made trouble at that time.

    He Chunsheng was startled and froze, at this time many people got off the ship.

    The people who came down at first were still alright, looking very ordinary, but the people who came downter¡­ they were all dressed as Yamen officers.

    He Chunsheng knew all Yamen officers in Hecheng County, but he doesn¡¯t know any of these people. Obviously, they were not Yamen officers from Hecheng County.

    He Chunsheng felt uneasy. Thinking of nothing else, he ran directly to Jiang Zhen residence.

    Before long, He Chunsheng ran to the door of the Zhao family¡¯s new house and met Zhao Liu, who had taken her granddaughter to bask in the sun.

    ¡°Aunt Zhao, something is wrong.¡± He Chunsheng said, and then rushed in quickly.

    Jiang Zhen was reading his ount book when he saw He Chunsheng hurrying in, followed by Zhao Liu who was holding Zhao Mingzhu. He asked puzzledly: ¡° ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Boss, there¡¯s an imperial envoy outside!¡± He Chunsheng said, ¡°Last time when Aunt Zhao celebrated her birthday, the person we drove away was him.¡±

    ¡°Imperial envoy?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned, he remembered the middle-aged man who helped the Jiang family question him. He was actually an imperial envoy?

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart jumped, almost immediately, he remembered the Jiang family yelling before that they would sue him.

    Jiang Zhen used to threaten the Jiang family with going to Yamen and killing people. But at that time he did not know much about ancientws and did not even know anything about some aspects.

    However,ter, he specifically looked for the ¡°Daqi Law¡± and looked for some other materials. He then found out that some of these ancientws were baffling to him.

    Such as the crime of unfilial piety.

    In ancient times, the crime of unfilial piety was very serious. In the previous dynasty, there was even aw like ¡°cursing, parents and grandparents.¡± To exin it, those who abuse their parents and grandparents would be hanged.

    For scolding parents you would be hanged, let alone for beating them¡­.

    In addition, if parentsmit crimes and it would be exposed by their children, the children would also be hanged ¨C thew expressly written, ¡°all those who report their parents and grandparents will be hanged.¡±

    Even those who separated from their parents and grandparents and saved money privately, havemitted the crime of unfilial piety and would go to prison.

    In other words if parents were still alive you can¡¯t have private money¡­ otherwise it¡¯s crime!

    But in Daqi, many penalties have been changed, for example if a child agree to splitting up the family the child can separate from them¡­.. . Had it not been for thisw before, it would have been difficult for Jiang Zhen to split up, but there were still a lot of things that have not been changed.

    Of course, there were stillws, but the actual implementation was different.

    It was only when someone goes to the government to sue that the government will arrest and sentence people. Most ordinary people if it was not ast resort, or life and death feud they would not dare to go to the government to sue people.

    However, that Jiang family was not ordinary people.

    ¡°Boss, what should we do? He brought a lot of Yamen officers over, and those Yamen officers are not from our Hecheng country.¡± He Chunsheng said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After seeing that harsh legal regtions, he could not have made any arrangements nor could he remind to bepletely defenseless.

    Although he had beaten Jiang father and mother before during his various arguments at that period of time he made it a way that Hexi vige would not go to testify for Jiang¡¯s family, as for not supporting his parents ¡­¡­

    Even if Jiang family sued him over this he would be all right¨C he had gone to the Zhao family!

    Thesews are all aimed at the son who stayed at home. But he had gone to another house. What does that have to do with him?

    In this world there was no reason for married women to take money from her husband¡¯s family to support her parents.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen! Are you sure it¡¯s all right? ¡± Zhao Liu held his daughter in her arms and looked at Jiang Zhen anxiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Jiang Zhen said soothingly.

    Zhao Liu believed in Jiang Zhen 100% so she calmed down when Jiang Zhen said it was fine, but at that moment, a Yamen officers alreadye from outside.

    ¡°Who is Jiang Zhen?¡± The person in charge asked.

    ¡°I am Jiang Zhen.¡± Jiang Zhen directly admitted it.

    ¡°You are Jiang Zhen?¡± The person in charge nced at Jiang Zhen with some surprise, he was here to arrest Jiang Zhen so of course already heard about Jiang Zhen crimes. Knowing that this men actually beat his parents and brothers and forced his parents to split up, he thought that this men would be a ferocious man, but he did not expect that the real person would bepletely different from what he had imagined.

    ¡°He is Jiang Zhen, quickly take him down!¡± Just then, Zhou Maohe also came in from outside.

    ¡°You¡¯re that Lord Zhou, the imperial envoy from the capital?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhou Maohe: ¡°Lord Zhou wants to arrest me, on what charge?¡±

    ¡°Beating your parents, not supporting them with your wealth while they are still alive!¡± Zhou Maohe said, ¡°You are unfilial!¡±

    ¡°For the first charge, does Lord Zhou have evidence? As for thest two ¡­¡­, does Lord Zhou know that I have long since joined the Zhao family?¡± Jiang Zhen said directly.

    Jiang Zhen did not feel guilty at all and did not think he had made any mistake at all.

    But when Zhou Maohe saw him like this, he became furious and just felt that this man was simply stubborn!

    ¡°Marriage should be arranged by a matchmaker by your parents and it doesn¡¯t count if you go to Zhao family without permission! You can¡¯t get away with this either! ¡± Zhou Maohe sneered.

    Of course, he knew about Jiang Zhen¡¯s involvement in the Zhao family, and even felt that this men was more and more hopeless. A true men should not marry into his wife¡¯s family like this or humiliate himself like this¡­ Of course, Jiang Zhen thought it was not humiliating. He was just unfilial to his parents and unexpectedly lost the surname given by his parents without even thinking about it.

    ¡°Tie him up!¡± Zhou Maohe loudly said.

    All Yamen officers listened to Zhou Maohe and hearing his words all went toward Jiang Zhen, surrounding him and wanting to arrest him.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s face sank.

    He could see that this person was deliberately trying to find trouble for him! He was afraid that this matter would not be settled.

 Chapter 119.2 - Putting It All Together

    Chapter 119.2 ¨C Putting It All Together

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± At this time, Zhao Jinge hurriedly came running from outside.

    Zhao Jinge went to brick kiln today and just counted the nimber of brick halfway when someone told him that something happened at the pier¡­ He hurriedly ran here, just in time to see Jiang Zhen being surrounded.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly stopped in front of Jiang Zhen.

    The brick kiln was very dusty so it was especially easy to get yourself dirty. That¡¯s why he put an old coat over his new clothes. In the past he would take off this old coat at the brick kiln beforeing over but this time because he was too anxious he did not do it, so he looked very dusty.

    ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t hinder us from doing our job.¡± Zhou Maohe saw Zhao Jinge dirty look and his face eased a bit.

    ¡°I am his wife, what has hemitted that you want to arrest him?¡± Zhao Jinge asked again.

    That person was actually this Jiang Zhen¡¯s wife? Zhou Maohe froze, and then said: ¡°Does this Jiang Zhen usually abuse you, or ¡­¡­¡±

    Zhou Maohe wanted to ask a few more questions, but suddenly thought that wife suing her husband should receive a hundred sticks so he stopped his questioning in the middle and just said: ¡°Take this Jiang Zhen away quickly! Take him to Hecheng Country! I also want to ask Hecheng County magistrate why he was shielding this men and did not let people appeal at his door!¡±

    As soon as Zhou Maohe spoke, Yamen officers wanted to catch Jiang Zhen. But Zhao Jinge who was anxious, grabbed one of them by the hand and threw him out. After following Jiang Zhen for a long time, his skills ware getting better and better.

    ¡°Jinge.¡±Jiang Zhen called.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly stopped his movements and looked at Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Calm down.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge was very anxious just now, but now hearing Jiang Zhen words he suddenly calmed down.

    After calming down Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen said: ¡°Lord Zhou, you don¡¯t have to tie me up. I will go with you myself. I hope Lord Zhou is really a clean and good official instead of being someone who doesn¡¯t know right from wrong!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Zhou Maohe looked at Jiang Zhen angrily, but saw that Jiang Zhen had already walked out with big strides, his footsteps were very rxed, looking nothing like a captured prisoner.

    When Zhou Maohe saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s straight back, he couldn¡¯t help but feel very angry again. But he just waved his sleeves and followed Jiang Zhen out of the door.

    Zhao Jinge watched them leave, his fists clenched tightly. He then turned his head sharply and looked at He Chunsheng before asking: ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±

    ¡°That imperial envoy said that he boss hadmitted the crime of unfilial piety.¡± He Chunsheng said, although he also began learning how to read and write he still did not read any books. So this unfilial crime thing, he really did not know about it.

    ¡°Jinge, what should we do now?¡± Zhao Liu asked anxiously, she had been holding Zhao Mingzhu all this time. Afraid that those people would hurt Zhao Mingzhu she did not dare toe close so now she was about to cry from the anxiety.

    As for Zhao Mingzhu, she just froze up and now she was already grimacing as her tears could no longer be restrained from falling.

    This child cry was like thunder during a light rain and often cried without a drop of tears, but this time, as if she could not stop crying and began to sob looking extremely pitiful.

    if it had been before, Zhao Jinge would have been very distressed, not to mention Jiang Zhen for who she was a little sweetheart that he would already try to coax.

    But now Zhao Jinge really did not have time to take care of her.

    ¡°I need to think about ¡­¡­¡± Zhao Jinge said, his expression miserable and face white.

    For a long time, Zhao Jinge always followed Jiang Zhen lead toe up with a lead. All decisions were made by Jiang Zhen and all he had to do was just listen.

    But now, Jiang Zhen has been taken away!

    Zhao Jinge was in a state of confusion for a while, he felt like he just lost his backbone, and he had no idea what he could do or what to do.

    However, when he discovered this, he immediately pped himself in the face.

    Jiang Zhen was still waiting for him to save him!

    This p startled Zhao Mingzhu who cried with ¡®wow¡¯ which also woke up Zhao Jinge,

    ¡°He Chunsheng, go and arrange boat for me. I am going to find young master Zheng¡­ also He Chunsheng, let me ask you one thing. ¡°

    ¡°Go ahead, sister-inw.¡± He Chunsheng immediately said, those peoplee and arrested Jiang Zhen but he did not dare to stop them, which made him feel very guilty, now that Zhao Jinge wanted to ask him for something he was very willing.

    ¡°He Chunsheng, I want to beg you to find your father and ask him to sue He Qiusheng.¡± Zhao Jinge said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will find some other people and will not let anything happen to you, and after the matter ispleted, there will bepensation.¡±

    He Chunsheng was stunned but quickly reacted. Zhao Jinge wanted to find some people to sue his married ger brother to divert attention!

    After he came back from the capital, he settled his own marriage matter, and not long after he married He Qiusheng to a man from the next vige who was working for Jiang Zhen escort agency like him.

    Although his brother was good looking he was also very delicate. It was estimated that he could not serve his inws, so this colleague has a good advantage, that both his parents were dead and also single-mindedly liked his brother.

    ¡°Sister-inw, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go right away.¡±

    ¡°No need to rush, this is something you discuss with Qiusheng first, and also, if there are still suitable people, you immediately tell me, as long as they are willing to do so, I will give a hundred silver.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Good.¡± He Chunsheng nodded.

    Their family had a good life now because of Jiang Zhen so he was naturally willing to do his part to save Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge and He Chunsheng hurriedly spoke in few words and then they immediately ran outside and went directly to the county town.

    He left the boat near country town and run all the way to Zheng family house knocking at the door. Zheng Yi had no idea that Jiang Zhen was arrested.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge? What are you doing?¡± Zheng Yi looked at the dirty Zhao Jinge in surprise.

    Zhao Jinge knelt directly to Zheng Yi and kowtowed: ¡°Young master Zheng, Jiang Zhen was arrested by an imperial envoy surnamed Zhou. I beg young master Zheng to save him.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zheng Yi was surprised. Did the imperial envoy arrest Jiang Zheng?

    At the same time, He Chunsheng rushed into the gambling shop in Hecheng County and found his father who was still working in the gambling shop.

    ¡°Chunsheng, you¡¯re here atst¡­.¡± Father He was very excited when he saw his son.

    As a matter of fact, the people in this gambling shop treated him well. They did not beat or scolded him. He did not get meat or fished to eat but at least he had enough to eat. After he has lived here for more than a year he has even put on some weight.

    But he was really homesick.

    He used to not liked staying at home but now he missed his family more and more. Being so homesick when he finally saw his son he did not feel he was annoying at all.

    ¡°Father, I have something for you to do, if you do a good job, I¡¯ll pick you up.¡± He Chunsheng said. He was now working in the docks of Hexi Vige so he also had a bit of power now. If he needed someone to observe his father so he will not go gambling anymore it would not be a big problem anymore.

    ¡°Chunsheng you can say whatever you want.¡± He father immediately said.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this ¡­¡­¡± He Chunsheng told the story of how he was going to get his father to sue He Qiusheng.

    ¡°This ¡­¡­ how can this work?¡± He father was stunned. Although he was an asshole for such reason he would not sue his own son¡­

    In fact, when no one was forcing him to pay off his debt he still loved He Qiusheng who was such a good-looking son.

    ¡°It¡¯s to save people.¡± He Chunsheng said: ¡°If you do this, Zhao Jinge is willing to pay you 100 silver.¡±

    100 silver? Father He eyes lit up immediately and he suddenly asked: ¡°Does he want to find more people?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Chunsheng said.

    ¡°I know a lot of people who are willing to do this! I¡¯ll call them. We¡¯ll just give them 50, no, no even 20 would be enough. We¡¯ll take the rest. ¡± Father He discussed it with his son.

    Originally He Chunsheng was anxious to do it but after being frazzled by his own father he be a little speechless.

    In the country town both Zhao Jinge and He Chunsheng were busy. In the Hexi vige Zhao Liu left her granddaughter in cook Lu and Ruo¡¯er care before going out with Zhao Fugui.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go beg one by one, kowtow to them, and ask them to testify to Jiang Zhen!¡± Zhao Liu said: ¡°What did Jiang Zhen do to them? Why should Jiang Zhen be arrested?¡±

    ¡°Slow down, we can¡¯t do that, we can¡¯t go begging.¡± Zhao Fugui stopped Zhao Liu¡¯s.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we?¡± Zhao Liu asked, puzzled.

    ¡°We should make others think that our family is fine!¡± Zhao Fugui said. If others find out that the Zhao family was in bad condition, those people may not want to help, which he clearly felt after his son died and Zhao Liu fell ill.

    Therefore, he wanted to let people know that the Zhao family was doing well.

    Although Zhao Fugui was not very talkative, but many things in his heart were like a clear mirror.

    He first took Zhao Liu to the vige chief house: ¡°Vige chief this time the Jiang family sued Jiang Zhen, this is simply going against the whole Hexi vige! If Jiang Zhen got wronged and go to prison, we¡¯ll have to move out from here in the future. It will definitely be more convenient to do business elsewhere than in Hexi Vige so we won¡¯t have to see this family anymore!¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± Jiang Ping hurriedly stoped it.

    Jiang Zhen was taken away in full view of the public, so naturally Jiang Ping knew about it. Originally he did not want to get involved in this matter, after all the other person was an imperial envoy so he could not afford to offend him.

    But when Zhao Fugui said this¡­

    If Zhao family really move away¡­ what will happened to them?

    Despite the fact that the Zhao family has only been developing for more than a year. Now almost everyone in Hexi vige relied on them to earn money!

    His youngest son was a security guard under Jiang Zhen, and the eldest son found a bookkeeping job on Jiang Zhen dock because he could read. Their life became much better and so were the lives of other people in Hexi Vige.

    If the Zhao family moved out¡­. Will their days suddenly change back to what they used to be?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll take you to everyone right away.¡± Jiang Ping went out with Zhao Fugui: ¡°Let¡¯s talk to the people in the vige. I¡¯m sure everyone will be willing to help.¡±

    Zhao Fugui nodded: ¡°Then I will need to trouble the vige head.¡±

    The people in Hexi Vige ware really willing to help.

    They are now more or less, all relying on Zhao family to live, if Zhao family really leaves ¡­¡­

    Nothing must happen to Jiang Zhen!

    They used to be afraid of Jiang Zhen, but now they were not afraid at all. They only have admiration toward Jiang Zhen and they even hope that Jiang Zhen bes even more promising ¨C even since Jiang Zhwen built a wharf, the people of Hexi Vige have gone outside, which be an envy of other viges.

    Moreover, Jiang Zhen¡­. As a matter of fact hasn¡¯t done anything bad so aren¡¯t the Jiang family the one who is not good?

    On the side of Hexi Vige, many vigers soon gathered together.

    At this time, a ship came to the dock in Hecheng country.

    The ship was not big, but it was very delicate. After it stopped, guardse from it holding the swords.

    ¡°Eunuch, we have arrived to Hecheng country. .¡± After these guards got off the boat, they called outside the cabin they were guarding.

    ¡°Finally we have arrived ¡­¡­¡± a feeble voice came out from the cabin. The voice was breathless, as if the owner of the voice was very ufortable: ¡°Little Lizi give me a hand¡­ Ships are so troubling. I don¡¯t want to board a ship anymore in my life.¡±

    ¡°Eunuch Zhang is tired, you should think of taking a carriage when you will be heading back.¡± Another younger, but equally sharp voice said.

    Two white-faced and beardless people, one old and one young, walked down the ship with each other help.

    As soon as they got off the boat, they noticed that there was a lot of activity next to them, and people were yelling about the arrival of the imperial envoy.

    So Zhou Maohe was here? The old eunuch looked bitter: ¡°Oh, why is this guy here? I still wanted to taste the delicacy of Jiangnan but he came¡­ ¡° Will young master Zheng still dare to entertain him well?

 Chapter 120.1 - The Farce Of The County Government

    Chapter 120.1 ¨C The Farce Of The County Government

    When Jiang Zhen left Hexi vige, he was in a bad mood.

    Although he transmitted to the ancient times, he didn¡¯t have a great sense of identity with the world at this time so he now had a feeling of powerlessness.

    His people were everywhere on the dock in Hexi Vige and those people all looked at him anxiously, but they did not dare toe near him who was surrounded by government officials because they were afraid of the government.

    It was just him who was not afraid of the government.

    In modern times, although it was not 100% fair at least everyone was equal. But here?

    This was the ce where the imperial power was supreme, and the power of the government was even greater.

    The Jiang family was fine and their life was not unbearable. He did not do anything to Jiang family for a long time but under such circumstances, Jiang¡¯s family could still sue him. The imperial envoy mentioned by Zheng Yi before, arrested him.

    A long time ago, Jiang Zhen actually had some worries that his life would not be guaranteed in this time and ce. When he first discovered that Zhao Jinge was pregnant, he also worried about the future of his child and that she might suffer injustice in the future.

    But now he himself has encountered injustice.

    Jiang Zhen, whose expression was very heavy, followed the government officers to board the ship and then asked: ¡°Where am I going?¡±

    Jiang Zhen was just a civilian but he was not afraid to look at them and even behaved like an uncle¡­ One of Yamen officers be dissatisfied and reached out to push Jiang Zhen: ¡°Be honest with me¡­ Ouch!¡±

    His hand was caught by Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± All the Yamen officers around him looked at Jiang Zhen warily, but at this time, Jiang Zhen looked at Zhou Maohe who was following them and said: ¡°Lord Zhou, even before we get to the Yamen you are going to have people torture me?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Zhou Maohe said angrily, he didn¡¯t like being wronged so he immediately said, ¡°Let go of this man. After the trial, let¡¯s see what else he can say!¡±

    The Yamen officer angrily let go of Jiang Zhen, who ignored him and directly went into a nearby room.

    At this time this matter was not big or small.

    But, that Lord Zhou obviously wanted to make a big deal out of it. He even involved the Hecheng county magistrate so at this time he was obviously aiming at Zheng family.

    He did not know whether the Zheng family implicated him or he was just a way to get to Zheng family.

    Jiang Zhen heard Zheng Yi mention this lord Zhou, at that time Zheng Yi obviously did not care much about him and he must have made some preparations, but he didn¡¯t know why he would suddenly appeared in Hexi vige.

    Jiang Zhen was confused, but he didn¡¯t think much about it. He soon thought about his present situation and began to think about what he should do and what he could do.

    Then he found that there was nothing he could do for now.

    He actually had the ability to escape from this ship, but he was no longer alone. He had Zhao Jinge, Zhao Mingzhu, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui.

    As soon as he escapes, what will these people do?

    But if he stays here¡­

    Jiang Zhen clenched his fists tightly, he could no longer control his emotion. At the same time, he suddenly thought of many people who died unjustly in history.

    After returning to Hexi Vige from the capital, he wanted to live a good life, open an escort agency to earn some money and have a little influence to just live a peaceful life in Hexi Vige¡­.

    However, was there really a peaceful life in this world?

    Even Zheng Yi¡¯s uncle, the second-ranking official of the current dynasty may be dismissed and killed if he makes a mistake at some point, let alone such a small person like him.

    Now he was like an ant for other people that could be crushed at will.

    He was not capable of being an official, but could be a big merchant but what if he was big? He may still be killed as a fat chicken by others.

    In this world, was this kind of thing something rare? Throughout history, people have been killed for no reason sometimes.

    Not to mention the war.

    Perhaps, he might be able to avoid all of this but what about his Mingzhu?

    What about his Mingzhu children?

    If it was in modern times, he could graciously say that children and grandchildren have their own blessings, because there, without running into a very small probability of some events their live would be safe. But how could he guarantee it here?

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart, which had been slowly settling down because of the birth of his daughter, suddenly beat faster.

    Closing his eyes, Jiang Zhen slowly let himself calm down.

    The people who were taken away by Zhou Maohe from Hexi vige were not only Jiang Zhen, but also old man Jiang and his wife, as well as Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chenxiang.

    As for Zhu Shufen and Huang Min, they stayed home with their children.

    The Jiang family also had a separate cabin to stay in. Looking at everything around them olddy Jiang was surprised.

    She touched the furnishings in the room and hated that she could not carry it away in her arms¡­

    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t move around, it would be bad if you break something.¡± Jiang Chengxiang reminded. ¡°

    ¡°Alright I will not move around.¡± Olddy Jiang no longer moved and asked: ¡°Chengxiang, this time ¡­¡­ we can make it, right?¡±

    ¡°Mother I am sure we can. The imperial envoy hase to help us!¡± Jiang Chengxiang said, he also read thews of Daqi. What Jiang Zhen did was definitely a vition of thew!

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Olddy Jiang burst intoughter.

    The Jiang family was very proud at this moment. But Zheng Yi who stayed in Zheng¡¯s house was filled with anxiety.

    Jiang¡¯s family was all right and Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t poison Jiang¡¯s family. In addition, Jiang Zhen married into Zhao family and never put that Jiang family in mind but now it seems¡­ If he had known this, he should have sent this family far away.

    Zhao Jinge has already told Zheng Yi the previous situation, and what happened. Then he asked Zheng YI: ¡°Young master Zheng, what can we do now?¡±

    ¡°You did a good job, let¡¯s do it like this ¡­¡­¡± Zheng Yi and Zhao Jinge started to discuss it but just after a few words someone came to report that Zhou Maohe ship had docked at the pier, and he had brought many people with him as he was heading toward the Yamen building.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Zheng Yi said, taking Zhao Jingo with him and heading out. But just as they went out, they met Feng Jingyuan.

    ¡°Young master Zheng, I heard that something happened?¡± Feng Jinyuan looked at Zheng Yi worriedly.

    Zheng Yi didn¡¯t have time to talk to him, and together with Zhao Jinge walked outside.

    Seeing this, Feng Jinyuan hurriedly followed.

    For the people at this time, government officials were legendary figures.

    Zhou Maohe did not conceal his identity this time, and brought many people with him, so naturally, his identity soon be known.

    Originally, people did not dare to approach Zhou Maohe and his entourage after bing aware that government official hade but still dared to watch from afar for a fear of what Zhou Maohee here to do.

    However, this time Zhao Maohe have a lot of people around him.

    In addition to the yamer officers there were also many Zhou Maohe readers. A great schr from Wexing House, who was friends with Zhou Mao, even asked his disciples to follow Zhou Maohe. He also let Zhao Maohe borrow more than 20 subordinates from his own family.

    These schrs thought they hade to do something big so they naturally felt very excited at this moment. They wanted to let everyone know what they were doing so in the end they exined it to the people around them.

    As a result, when Zheng Yi and others arrived, more and more people were surrounding Zhou Maoge and his party and everyone was still talking about it.

    ¡°I heard that an imperial envoye here to catch the head of the Jinzhen escort agency.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard that Jiang Zhen is disobedient and unfilial and he beat his parents!¡±

    ¡°The people of Jinzhen escort agency are very nice, but I didn¡¯t expect that they were such a person in charge.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t work for Jinzhen escort agency.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    When Zhao Jinge heard these words, he became more and more anxious, and Zheng Yi also frowned.

    Jiang Zhen did do a lot of things.

    Now that Zhou Maohe has incited the people like this, if it was badly handled¡­

    ¡°This kind of unfilial person should have his head chopped off!¡± An old man said, blowing his beard and ring.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Jiang Zhen to be that kind of person.

    ¡°Not only Jiang Zhen, but also the county magistrate ¡­¡­ heard that when Jiang Zhen¡¯s mother tried to sue him before, she couldn¡¯t. The Yamen officers directly threw her out.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal? There is nothing good about the people in the Yamen. ¡°

    ¡­¡­

    Zheng Yi face sank.

    ¡°Young master Zheng if this matter is not handled well, it will affect you. Young master Zheng should make a prompt decision.¡± Feng Jingyuan persuaded Zheng Yi.

    ¡°What is the prompt decision?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Feng Jingyuan.

    ¡°Naturally, a strong man breaks his wrist.¡± Feng Jingyuan said, he felt that Zheng Yi should give up Jiang Zhen and not let the matters of Jiang Zhen implicate him.

    When Feng Jingyuan first spoke, Zhao Jinge did not understand, but he knew the meaning of ¡°A strong man breaks his wrist¡± so he soon be inspired and quickly understood Feng Jingyuan¡¯s implication.

    Without thinking about it, Zhao Jinge swinged his fist and punched Feng Jingyuan on the nose.

    Zhao Jinge has always had a good temper, but now Jiang Zhen has been arrested!

    He was already upset but at this time someone still advised Zheng Yi to break his wrist¡­ Zhao Jinge did not stop after one punch and grabbed Feng Jingyuan¡¯s clothes to throw him to the ground.

    Feng Jingyuan¡¯s fat body was just thrown to the ground, but he was not angry. He just sighed and said: ¡°Zhao Jinge this is really the best way. Don¡¯t worry young master Zheng will protect you.¡±

    When Feng Jingyuan spoke like this, he secretly nced at Zheng Yi. He felt that what he came up with was definitely a good idea for Zheng Yi, without Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t Jinzhen escort agency and Qingfeng Building be only Zheng Yi?

    Zheng Yi kept a calm expression and did not speak, at this time Zhao Jinge gave Feng Jingyuan another kick.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, let¡¯s take a look at the front.¡± Zheng Yi said to Zhao Jinge.

    When Zheng Yi said this it was obvious that he was not willing to give ip on Jiang Zhen, Feng Jingyuan frowned slightly.

    He had already offended Jiang Zhen, and wanted to take this opportunity to suppress Jiang Zhen, but he didn¡¯t expect it to happen.

    However, Jiang Zhen now, even if he will not end up dead will end with only half of life.

    Feng Jingyuan wiped his nosebleed, rubbed the ce kicked by Zhao Jinge and got up from the ground. Then he followed like everyone else, at this time a servant boy from the Zheng family ran from afar with a smile on his face: ¡°Young master Zheng, young master Zheng¡­.¡±

    Zhou Maohe came from Fucheng overnight so it was still early when he took Jiang Zhen away. But after all this trouble it was already past lunchtime.

    As soon as he arrived at the Yamen building in Hecheng County, he asked his people to take control of the whole building and then let the county courthouse doors open, to interrogate Jiang Zhen in public.

    When Jiang Zhen was brought to the lobby, the entrance to the courthouse was already full of people.

    Song Li was outside the courthouse, constantly propagating what Jiang Zhen had done, before no one had been to listen to him, but now all the people who listened to him just nodded their heads.

 Chapter 120.2 - The Farce Of The County Government

    Chapter 120.2 ¨C The Farce Of The County Government

    Most people of the country town had nothing to do with Jiang Zhen or Jinzhen escort agency. At this time they were just excited to see an imperial envoy trial a viin.

    ¡°My lord, please give me justice!¡± Olddy Jiang who followed after Jiang Zhen knelt on the ground, howling and crying.

    Jiang Zhen was beautifully dressed, but the Jiang family that was dressed in rags looked very pitiful.

    People sympathize with the weak so when they saw this scene even if some people still have some doubts before they now also thought that Jiang Zhen was not good and just like Zhou Maohe showed sympathy for the Jiang family.

    Zhou Maohe them pped the wood chair and said to Jiang Zhen: ¡°Jiang Zhen, do you admit your guilt?¡±

    Jiang Zhen did not say anything.

    Zhou Maohe looked at the indifferent Jiang Zhen very angry but suddenly found that¡­ Jiang Zhen never knelt down!

    He immediately pped the wooden chair again: ¡°You kneel down for me!¡±

    After he crossed over, he had never kneeled to anyone, even when he met Zheng Yi¡¯s second uncle in the capital. He never keeled but now they wanted him to kneel down?

    In fact, kneeling was not worth mentioning. It was said that man knees were made from gold but when he was trained he had to do everything. For those who kneel down to practice shooting guns, it was really not worth mentioning.

    But kneeling down to Zhou Maohe he was still a little reluctant in the end.

    ¡°Someone, tell him to kneel down for me!¡± Zhou Maohe said.

    As soon as Zhou Maohe words fell, someone came forward and wanted to kick Jiang Zhen in the crook of his leg.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Just then, a voice suddenly sounded outside.

    That voice was familiar to Jiang Zhen, and when he turned his head to look, he saw Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge after pushing away several people was now standing at the entrance of the court looking worriedly at Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Impudent!¡± Zhou Maohe looked at Zhao Jinge with dissatisfaction.

    Zhou Maohe was also very dissatisfied with Zhao Jinge, who was not filial to the two old people of the Jiang family. He would not have let Zhao Jinge go if he hadn¡¯t seen Zhao Jinge dressed in rags and seemed to have been treated badly by Jiang Zhen.

    But now he was even more dissatisfied with Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jinge.¡± Jiang Zhen frowned. He didn¡¯t want to kneel before and there was a little dissatisfaction in his heart but now..

    He could not implicate Zhao Jinge.

    Jiang Zhen was about to kneel when he heard a sharp voice saying: ¡°Where is Jiang Zhen? There is an edict here! Jiang Zhen epted the imperial edict!¡±

    The imperial edict? Almost everyone in the room froze at these words.

    How could an imperial edicte out of nowhere? This edict was even for Jiang Zhen?

    Zhou Maohe couldn¡¯t help but frown, but no matter how discontented he was, he still had to give way for the imperial edict.

    The Jiang family was stunned, the imperial envoy was already a legendary figure but there was also a imperial edict? That imperial edict? To Jiang Zhen?

    What the hell is going on here? How could Jiang Zhen still receive the imperial edict?

    Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s face turned white and he suddenly started to regret it. He had already made up his mind not to provoke Jiang Zhen so why he could still be persuaded to sue Jiang Zhen?

    The people outside also felt it was very strange, surprisingly and imperial edict hade¡­ What was going on?

    No matter how doubtful everyone was at this time all people have to kneel down to listen to the decree.

    ¡°the Imperial edict from emperor Fengtian Chengyun¡­ for Jiang Zhen from Hecheng County for offering the strategy of saving people lives¡­¡±

    The imperial decree was the most ordinary single-colored imperial decree, after all, Jiang Zhen was just a civilian.

    The reward was also not much, in addition to a hundred gold, there was only a que that was a little embarrassing to Jiang Zhen ¨C the benevolence of the doctor.

    In the previous dynasty, if he was calm and good-natured, he might have been given the lowest rank. But in Daqi, if he had not made great contributions to the country, he could not be given the title so naturally, it was impossible for Jiang Zhen to receive this honor.

    But the imperial edict still give him preferential treatment.

    ¡°Awarded person do not need to kneel, so there you are.¡± The middle-aged eunuch holding the imperial edict seemed to be a little ufortable, almost holding himself up to finish reading the imperial edict. At the end of reading his voice also bes hoarse.

    In Daqi as long as you have a schr¡¯s reputation, you can see face officials without kneeling down. This preferential treatment was actually nothing, but at this time there was such an edict.

    Zhou Maohe face be ck.

    When eunuch saw Zhou Maohe his heart beat like a drum.

    Zhou Maohe even dares to defend the Empress Dowager, let alone them eunuchs. In fact he did not want to talk to Zhou Maohe at all.

    Just ¡­¡­ young master Zheng forced them so there was nothing he could do.

    ¡°Lord Zhou, Jiang Zhen offered a method of healing wounds, saving the lives of many people. Many generals, attach great importance to him, Lord Zhou ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°What exactly is this Jiang Zhen this official will naturally judge it clearly! There is no need for eunuch to say more!¡± Zhou Maohe said.

    Although this edict allowed Jiang Zhen to not kneel before officials, it ended there. He did not believe that he could not let Jiang Zhen obey thew!

    Thinking in this way, Zhou Maohe looked gloomily at Jiang Zhen and nned to teach Jiang Zhen some lessons before going on with the trial.

    ¡°Where grandparents and parents are present, but the children and grandchildren have established separate registries to divide the property, the penalty is 100 hits with the cane.¡± Zhou Maohe said: ¡°Come on, men! Drag him out and beat him!¡±

    In the previous dynasty, there were children and grandchildren who established separate household registers and divided property. This was splitting the family and hiding private money, they were sentenced to three years in jail, but in Daqi it was changed to a hundred sticks.

    This change was made a long time ago but there were few who have been beaten for this reason. The people of Hecheng County did not even know that there was such a thing before.

    This¡­ it really worked like this? The people were full of doubts, but Zhao Jinge was very anxious.

    ¡°My Lord! Jiang Zhen became a member of my family so he can¡¯t afford to be used of it! ¡± Zhao Jinge said loudly.

    Just then, the big drum outside the Yamen sounded, and at the same time, He Chunsheng¡¯s father came out of nowhere: ¡°my Lord, I want toin! I want to sue my son¡­ for hiding money! ¡°

    He father was stopped by Yamen officer but he still shouted very loudly, not only that, but soon several middle-aged or elderly men rushed over and crowded around him: ¡°My Lord, my Lord, I also want toin!¡±

    ¡°I want toin, too!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    All this people were introduced to He Chunsheng by his father, one by one¡­ they were all gamblers from Hecheng County.

    If these people lose money, they would need to sell their own children and wife but now they could get money if theye to Yamen to sue so they were naturally willing to do so.

    They didn¡¯t care about their married daughters or gers sons at all. Some of them even had gone to them to borrow money and were thrown out so they even held a grudge against their daughters.

    ¡®My Lord haven¡¯t eaten for several days, and I have no money to spend. My daughter won¡¯t give me any money. Your excellency, you must give me justice!¡±

    ¡°Your excellency, my son-inw is very rich but he forbids my daughter from giving money to me. Your excellency, you must give me justice!¡±

    Father He also shouted: ¡°My lord, when my ger son got married he left me alone, my lord! I am very miserable!¡±

    Zhou Maohe face bes ck: ¡°Don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    These people were obviously here to make trouble. In this world, who would anyone ask a married woman for money to make a living?

    This was definitely Jiang Zhen doing so he would let him get off the hook!

    Zhou Maohe was already bing a little angry but at this time Jiang Ping came inside with the people from Hexi Vige.

    There were so many peopleing that they squeezed out the onlookers.

    As a matter of fact, some onlookers were reluctant to leave, but among the people in Hexi Vige, they are mixed escort guards from the Jinzhen escort agency,

    It was really easy for these people to push those people away.

    ¡°My lord, we are here to testify for Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen did notmit a crime. He did notmit a crime of unfilial piety! ¡± Jiang Ping said but when he spoke he felt a little guilty.

    But soon his guilt soon disappeared.

    Although Jiang Zhen went a little too far at the beginning, what Jiang Zhen did was much better than what Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang did!

    These two men were very unfilial, not only squeezing all the money from the old Jiang couple but also refusing to work and insasting on letting these two old people do all farm work for them.

    ¡°Please be sensible, my lord.¡± Others from Hexi Vige also knelt down.

    If Jiang Zhen had been unforgiving to Jiang¡¯s family, they would not necessarilye to testify, but in fact, Jiang Zhen did not do anything to Jiang¡¯s family! Before when the Jiang family wanted to sell Jiang Xiaomei, he also spent money to buy Jiang Xiaomei and let her live in his family. They also heard that Jiang Xiaomei will get married in few days and Jiang Zhen will even give her a dowry.

    By contrast, it was¡­. Them who were not kind to Jiang family.

    The Jiang family even went as far as wanting to sue their own son and brother, this¡­ It¡¯s not sure what they will do to them in the future!

    At this time many people were kneeling one by one at the county courthouse door, some were here to sue, some were here to testify so themotion was very big.

 Chapter 121.1 - We Wonâ€™t Sue

    Chapter 121.1 ¨C We Won¡¯t Sue

    Before, the people outside the county courthouse almost overwhelmingly denounced Jiang Zhen but now everyone bes confused.

    ¡°The emperor even send an imperial edict to this Jiang Zhen, what is the origin of this Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°That Jiang Zhen married in someone else family. From this point of view, it is not right for imperial envoy to ask him to for his parents old age¡­¡±

    ¡°The whole vige, are speaking for that Jiang Zhen ah ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡­.

    The people of Hecheng County were talking but at the same time people who followed Zhou Maohe to this ce to study, were also a bit confused ¨C this Jiang Zhen, was he good or bad?

    However, Zhou Maohe only bes angrier.

    These people, Jiang Zhen¡¯s people must have paid them toe!

    ¡°You are so obsessed with Jiang Zhen money that you perjured yourselves for him?¡± Zhou Maohe said angrily.

    ¡°Your Excellency, we did not ¡­¡­¡± Jiang Ping was looking at Zhou Maohe, he was scared by Zhou Maohe so he could not speak smoothly.

    However, even if he could not speak fluently, someone else could Zhao Liu¡¯s kneeled down to the ground and said directly: ¡°Your Excellency, you are wrong! Jiang Zhen has nevermitted crime of unfiliality. He has been filial since he was a child and helped his family with work, since he was five or six he helped to take care of his younger brothers and since he was seven or eight he worked in the fields. Ar 11 or 12 he worked more than his father!¡±

    ¡°Everyone in our vige knows that, before hees to our house he did all the farm work in Jiang family.¡±

    ¡°He also single-handedly brought up Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Xiaomei!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Zhao Liu continued to say and when she was finished people from Hexi Vige immediately reacted.

    Yes, Jiang Zhen used to be very filial!

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In the past, when Jiang Zhen was still in the Jiang family he did all the hard work of the Jiang family.¡±

    ¡°If Jiang family had good food it was only given to the two younger sons to eat eldest Jiang did not even have a bite to eat but he was never angry about it.¡±

    ¡°Olddy Jiang always beat him, he also suffered hard.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    People of Hexi vige spoke one after another.

    The people outside were very noisy but Zhou Maohe did not frive them away and even let them talk.

    But he did not believe them.

    Those rich people are the most treacherous, they were also good at using money to buy others, these people are most likely to be bought!

    Zhou Maohe looked at these people with a cold expression: ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, if you perjure yourselves for money and disrupt the public court, each of you will be beaten with board twenty times!¡±

    Twenty boards? The people of Heni Vige be a little scared hearing it.

    They were already a little afraid of the government so now hearing that they would be beaten they naturally flinched a little. But none of escort working under Jiang Zhen flinched.

    ¡°Your Excellency, what we said is the truth!¡±

    He Chunsheng looked at his father, and his father also said loudly, ¡°My lord, when my youngest son was still not married and lived at home I treated him better than this Jiang family treated Jiang Zhen. My lord he should also give me money! How can he not give me money?¡±

    When Zhou Maohe was in the imperial court, he could talk a lot but in front of these people he could not say much.

    He was dedicated to people so how could these people not understand it? He could not belive that they were still helping that Jiang Zhen!

    What kind of good person can a man like Jiang Zhen be?!

    ¡°Lord Zhou, I have something to say.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said.

    Jiang Zhen had been in a bad mood till now but now he had already figured it out.

    He can¡¯t live a peaceful live at all so when it was time he had to fight for it.

    Of course, the top priority was to solve the problem before him first.

    Jiang Zhen looked outside the Yamen officers and saw Zhao Jinge standing at the door anxiously as well as people from Hexi vige.

    He suddenly calmed down.

    He¡¯ll be fine.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhou Maohe and said directly: ¡°Lord Zhou, you came to me at my mother¡¯s birthday banquetst time. I am afraid that you already knew that Jiang¡¯s family wanted to sue me so may I saw a few words now?¡±

    Hearing Jiang Zhen mentions the birthday banquet, Zhou Maohe bes so angry that he did not even want to fight with him.

    At that time, he had a good intention to persuade Jiang Zhen, but he did not expect that Jiang Zhen would not listen at all and even ask people to drive him out!

    Looking at Jiang Zhen¡¯s attitude at that time you could tell that he was bad to his parents¡­.

    ¡°Then say it, I like to see what you have to say! ¡±Zhou Maohe said.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t say a word. Instead, he pulled his belt, ripped off his clothes and taking it off.

    Although it was winter now, Jiang Zhen was not afraid of the cold because he has been exercising a lot. He also did not wear much clothes so at this time he could simply strip his clothes very simply.

    ¡°You!¡± Zhou Maohe was about to criticize him but he suddenly couldn¡¯t say what he wanted to say anymore.

    There were many old injuries on Jiang Zhen¡¯s body.

    The wounds on Jiang Zhen¡¯s body belonged to the former eldest Jiang.

    During his years in the Jiang family, eldest Jiang was beaten and injured by Jiang family. There were many wounds on his body that had never been treated. Naturally now all of those wounds turned into scars.

    Jiang Zhen pointed to a deep wound on his arm: ¡°Lord Zhou, this wound was caused by my mother when I was seven years old.¡±

    He then pointed to the burn on his other arm: ¡°Lord Zhou, this wound was cause by my mother when she burned my when I was sixteen years old.¡±

    ¡°When I was 15 years old, my father burned it with hot bamboo.¡±

    ¡°This wound¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Eldest Jiang had a lot of wounds on his body. In fact there were not just left by olddy Jiang and some of these wounds were left by people of the same age from Hexi Vige who bullied him.

    But at this time, Jiang Zhen med it all on olddy Jiang and Jiang butcher. Anyway, they will not able to remember how many times they beat eldest Jiang.

    But at this time, Jiang Zhen med talking, but he couldn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t know that Jiang couple was so bad to Jiang Zhen.

    The schrs who followed Zhou Maohe toe here were also silent at this moment.

    People sympathize with the weak. Before, the Jiang family looked too pitiful, so they sympathized with the Jiang family, but now ¡­.

    ¡°Your excellency, he is my son, so what if I beat him? Your excellency, he hit us! ¡± Olddy Jiang cried.

    It was just that if she was crying now there were obviously not as many people who sympathize with her as at the beginning.

    Zhou Maohe frowned and immediately said: ¡°Jiang Zhen, your parents have given you flesh and blood, it just some chastisement you suffered from¡­¡±

    ¡°Lord, I have not finished talking!¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Lord Zhou, I¡¯m not trying to win sympathy, I just want to tell Lord Zhou that their words should not be taken lightly ¡­¡­ they should not have told you that I had lived a life worse than cattle and horses in the Jiang family for more than twenty years.¡±

    Zhou Maohe face stiffened, he previously, really did not know that Jiang father and mother were bad to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°My lord, they did not treat me well, but as my lord said, I was born and raised by them, that why no matter what they did to me I suffered in silence.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Your Excellency before I left home, I have been working as they wanted and neverined. I also never had done anything to them after I left home, so please be aware of it!¡±

    ¡°You are talking nonsense, you clearly beat us repeatedly!¡± Olddy Jiang and the others said one after another.

    ¡°Your Excellency, if I really wanted to beat them, why didn¡¯t they leave Hexi vige and flee to somewhere else?¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t support your parents, seeing that your parent don¡¯t have enough to eat you were still indifferent. What do you have to say about it?¡± Zhou Maohe asked again.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask my Lord to search these people.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said.

    ¡°Search?¡± Zhou Maohe was stunned.

    ¡°Your Excellency let someonee and search them, then we can know if my parents really did not have enough food to eat!¡± Jiang Zhen said, he was extremely good at observing people, and after observing these people from Jiang¡¯s family before, he found out one thing.

    Olddy Jiang must be hiding some silver.

    ¡°On what ground you want to search my body?¡± Olddy Jiang immediately said, and then said towards Zhou Maohe: ¡°My lord, didn¡¯t you say that you will give us justice? My lord, why don¡¯t you arrest him already?¡±

    Among the Jiang family, Jiang Chengxiang was the smartest one so after hearing what Jiang Zhen said about searching their bodies his heart jumped and he panicked a little.

    Before that young master Shen gave them a lot of silver, they divided this silver into three parts, he, Jiang Chengwen, and his mother all have one share.

    Jiang Chengwen share was probably taken away by Huang Min, but he only gave Zhu Shufen 20 silver of his share and rest of the silver¡­.. was hid on his body.

    He was afraid to kept it at home, fearing it would be stolen so he naturally had to put it on him. His parents probably did the same.

    n the past, they would never have done this, but recently, they have not been at peace at home and have been bullied in the vige. How could they dare to leave it at home? But if it was found¡­

 Chapter 121.2 - We Wonâ€™t Sue

    Chapter 121.2 ¨C We Won¡¯t Sue

    Olddy Jiang was still making trouble, but Jiang Chengxiang took out his money and said, ¡°Lord, I have some money on me.¡± He took it out on his own initiative, which was better than being searched.

    ¡°Why do you have so many silvers with you?¡± Zhou Maohe was surprised that this man could take out forty silver just then. He was obviously not as poor as he appeared to be!

    ¡°My lord, it is not only on him but also on my mother,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Yes, my lord. My mother also has it on her. It was gifted to us by a gentleman who pitied us.¡± Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly said.

    ¡°A gift? Who would give you so much money? You are obviously not poor at all. You deliberately changed into dirty clothes and pretended to be poor to harm me,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Your Excellency, when I married into the Zhao family, the Zhao family was penniless, that is, they did not even have a piece ofnd. Zhao Jinge, their ger son, had to work as a long-term worker to earn money to support his family, so their family eat thin porridge every day. But the Jiang family had more than 30 mu ofnd at that time and was one of the richest families in Hexi Vige. They said that I forced my parents to live apart, but I don¡¯t dare to admit it. They are just jealous of the Zhao family¡¯s development, so they want to harm me.¡±

    Jiang Chengxiang unexpectedly had so much money on him that it has already made people suspicious of the Jiang family. Then Jiang Zhen said something like this . . .

    Yes, at that time, the Jiang family was far richer than the Zhao family, and Jiang Zhen was well . . . Why did he bother to go to the Zhao family?

    Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t put on his clothes yet so his upper body was naked. He stood straight and spoke neither humbly or arrogantly. He was very convincing.

    Zhou Maohe¡¯s expression froze. If what Jiang Zhen said was true, then . . .

    After listening to only one side, to the Jiang family¡¯s words, Zhou Maohe already had a preconceived opinion of Jiang Zhen, and now . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you can¡¯t deceive me!¡¯ Zhou Maohe pped the wooden chair again.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m telling the truth. Please check it out,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Your Excellency, if Jiang Zhen had not saved my life when I went to the capital, I am afraid he would still be penniless . . . s, I should not have given him a lot of money out of gratitude, causing him to be targeted and sued in the public court because of his money.¡± Zheng Yi sighed and said, ¡°This money is also not for him alone. Zhao Jinge was pregnant, but he still protected me . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes. In the past, when Jiang Zhen had no money, howe they did not try to sue Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°Yes! When the Jiang Zhen left the Jiang family, the Jiang family was still rich. If it were not for Jiang Chengwen being cheated out of money, how could they have fallen to this point today?¡±

    ¡°As a matter of fact, the Jiang family is not poor now. They still have a lot ofnd! Jiang Chengxiang is also carrying 40 silvers with him!¡±

    . . .

    People were talking one after another. At this time, the hearts of the people in Hecheng Country were already partial to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhou Maohe only felt that he was a little unsteady. Were all of the previous events really a coincidence?

    He had never paid attention to the Zheng family before. After all, the Zheng family had no other promising people except Second Master Zheng. When he came to Jiangnan this time, he actually wanted to check someone else. It was that letter that made him angry and made hime here.

    Zhou Maohe was still deep in thought, but Jiang Chengxiang had already be more and more anxious.

    After the imperial edict and these things . . . if everything went on like this, he was really afraid that Jiang Zhen would get out of it!

    Why was this imperial envoy so pedantic? When a case was in trial, why did he still let people talk and even listened to outsiders talking?

    Jiang Chengxiang was in a hurry when suddenly someone came from outside.

    Seeing those people, Zheng Yi and Zhao Jinge both be relieved.

    The people who came were from two sides. One group was the people Jiang Zhen rescued from the nest of pirates, both men and women. As soon as they came, they knelt down and cried, pleading for Jiang Zhen.

    Zhou Maohe had someone look outside and soon learned what was going on.

    When Jiang Zhen escorted Zheng Yi to the capital before, he defeated a group of bandits and saved many people from their hands. He opened the Jinzhen Escort Agency with the people he saved from the hands of pirates.

    Zhou Maohe and this man had always sympathized with the weak, so he felt a little bad in his heart at this time. The leader of the other group of people who came was a white-haired old man and by his side stood the second uncle of the Jiang family.

    The second uncle of the Jiang family previously reprimanded Jiang Zhen with a very strong voice. He was was very eloquent and confident but now that he hade to the yamen he bow his head like a quail, looking very afraid. He was really very afraid right then.

    Before, Zhao Liushi and Zhao Fugui brought the Hexi vigers to the county town, relying on their emotion and reason, but he was different.

    They, the elders of the Jiang family, were all bound by the people sent by Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi made up his mind to save Jiang Zhen, so he thought of the method of treating them the same way they treated others.

    If the Jiang family can sue Jiang Zhen, why can¡¯t he find someone to sue the Jiang family? In the Jiang family, it was not like there were no people with higher seniority than Butcher Jiang.

    After bullying several elders of the Jiang family, all of these elders obediently obeyed. They were afraid of the imperial envoy, but they were also afraid of the Zheng family and Jiang Zhen.

    Their families were now all in the hands of Zheng Yi . . . so they were going to sue the Jiang family no matter what.

    Daqi was very kind to the elderly. People above the age of seventy did not need to kneel when meeting officials. Zhou Maohe had always respected the elderly even if he knew that these people should alsoe here to save Jaing Zhen, he still invited them respectfully to the yamen.

    ¡°Elders, are you also here to plead for mercy for Jiang Zhen? It was wrong for him to ignore his parents¡ª¡± Zhou Maohe said.

    ¡°Your Excellency, we are not here to plead for mercy for Jiang Zhen. We are here to sue someone,¡± the old man at the front said.

    This old man was the oldest member of the Jiang family. He was not like the second uncle of the Jiang family, always jumping around. In fact, he had always been indifferent about what was going on around him and just waited for his son to bring him meals every day. After finishing eating, he would sit at the entrance of the house, either drowsy or telling stories to the younger family generation.

    But at this time, all the people in his family were under Zheng Yi¡¯s care, so he also had toe.

    Zhou Maohe was startled and then immediately asked, ¡°You also want to sue Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°No, my lord, I want to sue Jiang Chengwen. He iszy and forced his parents to sell their fields andnd for his own extravagance. After being cheated of the money, he even sold his younger sister, which is really unfilial.¡± The old man continued, ¡°After that, he also forced his old mother to work on the fields to support him. He is simply worse than animals.¡±

    ¡°Lord, I also want to sue Jiang Chengxiang. He cheated his parents of money. He was not working and let his old father take care of his family affairs when he was in the country town, eating meat and drinking, leaving his father to starve at home. He is also unfilial,¡± the old man continued.

    ¡°What!¡± Zhou Maohe was shocked. He never expected that something like this woulde out. Someone hase out to sue the other two sons of the Jiang family.

    ¡°Nonsense. My Chengwen and Chengxiang are the most filial!¡± Olddy Jiang immediately said, ¡°Your Excellency, you can¡¯t listen to his nonsense!¡±

    ¡°My lord, what I said is true. Just look at their hands,¡± that old man said again.

    Olddy Jiang and Butcher Jiang¡¯s hands were full of calluses and many frostbite wounds.

    Zhou Maohe had seen the hands of these two before, and after that, he felt even more sympathetic to them, but then, looking at the hands of Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang . . .

    These two men, Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang did not have any calluses on their hands! Especially Jiang Chengxiang, his pair of hands was extremely well-maintained. His hands did not look like they belonged to a countryside person but to a schr!

    On the contrary, Jiang Zhen . . .

    Jiang Zhen stretched out his hands. Those hands did not have frostbites but were covered in thick calluses, ck and thick. There were also many scars on them.

    Zhou Maohe didn¡¯t believe Jiang Zhen¡¯s words before, but right then, he froze.

    ¡°Your Excellency, Jiang Chengxiang forced his parents to split up their family because his older brother was cheated out of money. Many people in Hexi Vige know about this matter, so please, my lord, investigate it clearly.¡± Then the old men said, ¡°At that time, this Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s wife brought her family to the Jiang family house and forced her inws . . . to divide the family . . .¡±

    This old man looked to the second uncle of the Jiang family; the second uncle immediately took out a letter.

    ¡°My lord, this is what we asked them to divide; it¡¯s not the same! My lord!¡± olddy Jiang said.

    That old man nced at Butcher Jiang, pointed at her, and said slowly, ¡°My lord, I also want to sue her, Jiang Wang. This Jiang Wang is not a virtuous wife or mother, so they should divorce.¡±

    Olddy Jiang was stunned and unable to react. She was used too?

    At that moment, Zhou Maohe already knew that he was probably set up.

    Although Jiang Zhen was not a good man, but this Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang were not good men either!

    ¡°Your Excellency, Jiang Zhen has already married into the Zhao family, so this is out of his control. But this Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang are both unfilial to their parents. I ask my lord to chastise them,¡± that old man said again.

    ¡°You are talking nonsense!¡± Olddy Jiang was furious and wanted to tear the old man up.

    No matter how much thew paid attention to filial piety, it had always been unregted in the countryside, so she did not think it was wrong to hit this man at all.

    ¡°You dead old man . . .¡± Olddy Jiang hated the old man very much, so she actually pulled him to the ground.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Seeing this, Zhou Maohe became furious. That woman actually made a move on an old man with white hair in front of him!

    Jiang Chengxiang also secretly shouted, ¡°It¡¯s bad.¡±

    He only thought that the imperial envoy believed them, and because Jiang Zhen really did not support his parents, they could easily sue him. But he did not think that, in the end, he would even involve himself.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this imperial envoy was so stubborn in all these things, how could it end like this?

    Jiang Chengxiang hurriedly went to pull his mother away, and it was only at that time that olddy Jiang found that the expression of the imperial envoy looked particrly ugly.

    This . . . This . . .

    Olddy Jiang immediately became anxious. ¡°Chengxiang.¡±

    ¡°Mother . . .¡± Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s hands shook a little.

    ¡°We¡¯re not suing. We¡¯re no longer suing Jiang Zhen. Let¡¯s go!¡± Olddy Jiang had heard Jiang Chengxiang exin a lot of things rted to the crime ofck of filial piety these days, so she immediately became frightened. She couldn¡¯t let anything happen to Jiang Chengwen and Jang Chengxiang!

    When Zhou Maohe heard her words, his face darkened at once.

    This . . . This . . .

    He was so angry. He brought many people to witness this trial, but it turned out to be a farce! No, he was just made a fool of by this Jiang family . . . It was just outrageous!

 Chapter 122.1 - Jiang Zhen Plan

    Chapter 122.1 ¨C Jiang Zhen n

    Zheng Yi found the old men surnamed Jiang from Hexi Vige to sue Jiang family. But in fact, he was not too confident about this measure. He even prepared for Zhou Maohe to find out that these lot were coerced by him.

    Fortunately . . . among these people, there was a talented person!

    The old man¡¯s performance was far beyond Zheng Yi¡¯s expectation, so he could not help raising the old man¡¯s value in his heart again and again while despising the Jiang family more and more.

    He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the Jiang family before, so he did not know that the other two children of the Jiang family were like this.

    It was also strange that the Jiang family father and mother did not like their dedicated eldest son, but preferred the second son and the third son who took whatever they wanted from them.

    After the old man was pulled to the ground by olddy Jiang, Zhou Maohe immediately had a chair moved for him, asking him to sit down and then said, ¡°Find a servant to search this Jiang Wang, as well as two people to strip this Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s clothes!¡±

    The Jiang family was naturally unwilling to be treated this way, but before, when Jiang Zhen was unwilling to kneel down, he received an imperial edict, but they did not have anything like this.

    The clothes of Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen were soon taken off.

    These two people, as they were growing up, had really not suffered any hardships. That is to say, the Jiang family¡¯s life had been difficult for more than a year while they themselves had not suffered much. At best, they did not have any meat to eat.

    In Hexi Vige, the grain produced from one mu of paddy field could still support an adult man after collecting and paying taxes. The amount of thend the Jiang family owned still definitely exceeded that of the adults in their family. Even if the output was greatly reduced because there was no one to work, they were not without food.

    The two men refused to work, so they consumed even less. After taking off their clothes, they found that they were chubby and covered in thin and tender flesh.

    Although Jiang Zhen ate meat every day, he exercised a lot and consumed a lot of energy. His whole body was so toned, that inparison, both Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang looked fatter than him.

    Though it was not much, still the servant found seventy or eighty silver on olddy Jiang.

    Zhou Maohe¡¯s face was as ck as the bottom of a pot. When he came to Jiangnan this time, he didn¡¯t bring that much silver with him, so this Jiang family obviously had more money than he did.

    ¡°Oh, the youngest son of the Jiang family is an old acquaintance of mine. He alwayses to my house to buy roasted chicken,¡± the owner of a shop selling roast chicken in Hecheng County said.

    When Jiang Chengxiang used to live in the country town, even if he didn¡¯t buy so many roast chicken, he woulde almost every other day to buy some dried tofu skin cooked in the brine of roasted chicken. In the past few days, he also came to buy roast chicken almost every day.

    Song Li standing beside the shop owner stiffened. He was preupied with how hard Jiang Chengxiang¡¯s life was, but as a result, he waspletely wrong! The other person¡¯s life was much morefortable than his! He seldom ate roasted chicken!

    Song Li was at loss when he suddenly felt like he was punched in the stomach by someone.

    Zheng Baoning withdrew his fist, grabbed Song Li, and pped him. He had thought that Song Li had no bad intentions, so he just kept avoiding him. But when he saw that this man had been speaking ill of Jiang Zhen in the crowd, he became really angry.

    Song Li should learn a lesson!

    ¡°Your Excellency, do you still want to try this case?¡± one of the schrs from Fucheng asked Zhou Maohe. He felt that this case should no longer be continued.

    Even if they really caught Jiang Zhen¡¯s mistake and punish him, the people would only feel that they were doing something wrong.

    These schrs were most concerned about fame and did not want to lose their reputation in order to interrogate this Jiang Zhen. The loss would outweigh the gain.

    ¡°My lord, the Jiang family used to only buynd and not sell it. It was only after Jiang Zhen married into the Zhao family that the remaining two sons became gluttonous andzy and spent all kinds of money, so they soldnd again and again. But even so, their family can still live on from it,¡± the old man who wanted to sue Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang spoke again.

    Zhou Maohe was already angry with the Jiang family, so he immediately pointed to Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang and said, ¡°If you wanted a trial, naturally, there should be a trial. But this time it will be the trial for the two of you!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s involvement in the affair with Qingfeng House would be investigated next time. At this moment, the two sons of the Jiang family need to be investigated first!

    Zhou Maohe coldly looked at the two people who cheated him and was about to say something when olddy Jiang suddenly screamed and rushed over to hug his leg. ¡°Your Excellency, my Chengwen and Chengxiang are the most filial. You can¡¯t wrongly use people!¡±

    ¡°My Chengwen! You have a hard life! Your brother doesn¡¯t care about you, and someone wants to wrongly use you! If something happens to my son, I¡¯ll die in this yamen!¡±

    . . .

    When the Jiang family was doing well, olddy Jiang really cared about her face, buttely, when she was already having a bad time, she cared less and less about saving face and became especially open-minded.

    ¡°You let go!¡± Zhou Maohe¡¯s leg was hugged by olddy Jiang. Feeling helpless, he let the people he brought with him to tear olddy Jiang off him.

    The proper public hall became immediatelypletely chaotic. The people outside watched with relish.

    The imperial envoys came for a private visit and wanted to bring the viin to justice. They watched a lot of this type of ys on stage, and if they were face there was nothing to see, except the imperial envoy being hugged by his thigh which was really good.

    ¡°Withdraw!¡± Zhou Maohe shouted.

    Olddy Jiang would not let him interrogate Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxian, so he could only give up in the end.

    It is not possible to interrogate the unfilial sons just to force the unfilial sons¡¯ old parents to die.

    However, in this way Jiang Zhen would also be released . . .

    Hearing that Jiang Zhen was okay, Zhao Jinge, who had been waiting outside, immediately rushed in.

    ¡°Jinge.¡± Jiang Zhen subconsciously wanted to hug him, but Zhao Jinge bent down fiercely just to avoid his hug while picking the clothes Jiang Zhen threw to the ground and draping Jiang Zhen in them. ¡°Quickly put on clothes!¡±

    Seeing Jiang Zhen standing there bare-chested, he felt cold and heartbroken for Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen was indeed a little cold, so he took the clothes and put them on.

    There was no expression on his face as he quietly flirted with Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge, you are in such a hurry. Do you not want others to see my body? Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll be the only one to see it from now on.¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡± Jiang Zhen thought too much! He used to do farm work bare-chested, who in the vige had not seen him? However, he really didn¡¯t want others to see Jiang Zhen¡¯s body¡­

 Chapter 122.2 - Jiang Zhen Plan

    Chapter 122.2 ¨C Jiang Zhen n

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to get cold. If you be sick, you won¡¯t be allowed to hug Mingzhu,¡± Zhao Jinge said with red eyes. This time, Jiang Zhen was okay, so his heart was relieved, and he could not control his emotions anymore.

    Jiang Zhen quickly put on his clothes. ¡°Jinge, I am fine.¡±

    Zhou Maohe finally got rid of olddy Jiang, but his official clothes were in a mess. He ran to Jiang Zhen¡¯s side, gave him a cold re, and then called his people as they ran straight to Qingfeng House.

    Regarding Qingfeng House, not to mention corruption, it was reported to have many things inside that could only be found inside the imperial pce. This could also make Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi drink a pot!

    Even though he had changed his mind about Jiang Zhen, Zhou Maohe still felt that Zheng Yi and this man were not good people.

    Zhou Maohe left quickly while Jiang Zhen was surrounded by others . . . while pulling Zhao Jinge outside. Jiang Zhen then walked towards Zheng Yi. ¡°Young Master Zheng, I¡¯m afraid the imperial envoy is going to Qingfeng House.¡±

    Before, someone made trouble in Qingfeng House. When Jiang Zhen first heard about it, he did not care about it, but thinking about it, he figured out that the person who went to make trouble before was probably Zhou Maohe. And he might be going there again.

    ¡°Qingfeng House?¡± Zheng Yi was stunned, but then immediately said, ¡°Let the people here disperse, and then we will go to the Qingfeng House together to have a look.¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded and followed Zheng Yi onto a carriage that Zheng Yi had already prepared a long time ago, then the two of them together went to the Qingfeng House.

    Zhao Jinge also wanted to follow them, but he still needed to pacify the people of Hexi, so he could only stay behind.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve dragged you into this incident. I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Zheng Yi said When he got on the carriage.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, no one would expect such an unexpected ident. It is also not necessarily Young Master Zheng who implicated me. Maybe someone saw me in a bad light and bribed the Jiang family to do it,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Many people thought that the silver on Jiang Chengxiang and olddy Jiang was something that they originally had, but he knew for sure that it was not so.

    The Jiang family definitely could not have that much money anymore, so this silver was definitely given to them by someone else. However, this matter could be put aside for the moment and slowly investigatedter.

    ¡°Do you think it could be Feng Jinyuan?¡± Zheng Yi asked. Previously, that Feng Jinyuan advised him to break his wrist.

    ¡°He is now attached to you, Young Master Zheng, so he would not be so fast to destroy you,¡± Jiang Zhen said. At the beginning, Feng Jingyuan was pped in the face by him, but he still went to his door time after time to give him a gift and make amends . . . Such a person would never do such a thing at this time.

    ¡°Then who could it be?¡± Zheng Yi frowned. He had always been peaceful when making money and never crossed a line while doing business. Not to mention Jiang Zhen who also knew how to have measure

    ¡°Wait until this is over and then slowly investigate,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Also . . . I am not sure how long this Lord Zhou will continue to make trouble.¡± Zheng Yi could not help frowning while thinking of Zhou Maohe.

    Rtively speaking, this Zhou Maohe was not a bad person, but he still did not like him because he was like this.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, if he wants to make a scene, why don¡¯t we give him a push?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said.

    ¡°What?¡± Zheng Yi was stunned.

    Jiang Zhen did not say anything this time, but wrote the words, ¡°private salt,¡± on Zheng Yi¡¯s hand.

    He once had the idea of selling private salt. When he went out to buy seafood, he also saw how the Hongjiang salt farm pocketed the whole coastline and then sold private and official salt together.

    There were sea merchants in Hexing Prefecture, but they all do business in the south because the influence of the Hongjiang salt farm was toorge.

    Hongjiang salt farm, relying on salt, had also long-established a huge interest group in the Hexing Prefecture and Wuzhong Prefecture, north of Hexing.

    In Hexing Prefecture and Wuzhong Prefecture, wealthy salt merchants were countless, including those big salt merchants, so the rich families in the south of the Yangtze River intervened.

    Everyone has to eat salt, so people are not allowed to sell salt privately. It was reasonable that the annual salt tax should be very high, but in fact, it was just the opposite.

    Although the salt tax was still high in recent years, it had be lower and lower, so it was obvious that money has fattened all kinds of salt merchants in the end.

    It has been more than three hundred years since the founding of Daqi, and many drawbacks have be more and more obvious. The central government had been short of money; otherwise, the empress dowager would not havee up with the idea of appointing some imperial businessmen to save money.

    Under such circumstances, the empress dowager had wanted to rectify the salt affairs for a long time, but still had not started on it. That was because no one dared to do anything about it, for fear of being killed by those salt merchants in the end.

    But at the moment . . . wasn¡¯t there an upright and righteous imperial envoy?

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Zheng Yi was startled to see Jiang Zhen draw out these two words. Jiang Zhen even dared to think about it!

    Can ordinary people move this piece? Even his uncle, someone in the court, when mentioning this matter, only dared to say that he did not know. However, it was not necessarily a bad idea for Zhou Maohe to rectify salt affairs. He was afraid that only people like Zhou Maohe would dare to do such a thing.

    ¡°I can improve . . . and increase . . . production in the future,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    At this time period, people boiled salt, but in fact, salt could be sun-dried.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s heart missed a beat.

    When Jiang Zhen first mentioned this matter, he did not understand why Jiang Zhen said this, but right then . . . Although the meaning of what Jiang Zhen said was unclear, he already understood.

    Jiang Zhen intended to let Zhou Maohe break up the interest groups that gathered together because of salt and then get a piece of the pie.

    ¡°This . . . It¡¯s too risky.¡±

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, the Zheng family now relies on the empress dowager, but what if His Majesty ascends the throne in the future?¡± Jiang Zhen asked in a low voice.

    ¡°His Majesty is the empress dowager¡¯s own . . .¡±

    ¡°Has there ever been lesspetition for power and profit between a mother and son and a father and son?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Jiang Zhen had always felt that the Zheng family was not stable now.

    Master Zheng was the only one in the Zheng family who was an official, not to mention that he walked on the same path as the empress dowager . . . If one day the empress dowager fell, what would the Zheng family do?

    ¡°But if you get involved in that . . .¡±

    ¡°As long as salt money is sent to the capital and the salt tax bes higher and higher, will His Majesty still dislike the Zheng family?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Let me think.¡± Zheng Yi took a deep breath, his heart a little confused.

    He had always known that Jiang Zhen was bold, but he had never thought that Jiang Zhen could be so bold. Hell, even he was moved.

    If the Zheng family were to manage the salt business well, His Majesty¡¯s private treasury would have money, the Ministry of Finance would also have money . . . Whether it was the empress dowager or His Majesty, they would not be willing to move against the Zheng family.

    Of course, they also have to be careful, not like the group of people in the Hongjiang salt field, dazzled by their own interests and only knew how to steal more money for themselves.

    Zheng Yi only felt that he thought for a short time when the carriage stopped; they arrived at Qingfeng House.

    Qingfeng House had been surrounded by Zhou Maohe¡¯s men, and he was about to enter.

    Seeing Zheng Yin and Jiang Zhen arrive, Zhou Maohe immediately said, ¡°You two came quickly! Afraid that I will find here what is only avable in the pce?¡±

    Zhou Maohe looked like he was sure that there was something fishy inside, but Zheng Yi was rendered speechless for a moment.

    He did not have the guts to put something only avable in the pce inside Qingfeng House. This was simply feeding false information.

    The main reason why Qingfeng House was so popr was that there were many novelties that people had never seen before. However, if Zhou Maohe wanted to search, he could go ahead and search.

    Zheng Yi was very frank, ¡°Lord Zhou, how could I, as a merchant, dare to touch things in the pce? Lord Zhou, can just go in and investigate.¡±

    Zhou Maohe coldly snorted and went inside as Zheng Yi added, ¡°Lord Zhou, why don¡¯t you let me follow, so I can introduce the situation inside to you?¡±

    Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen were just two people, so Zhou Maohe did not stop them. He then went together with them.

    At this point in time, Qingfeng House used to be very busy, but this day was different.

    When the imperial envoy came to Hecheng County, many businessmen ran out to see the imperial envoy of the Daqi dynasty. Because of this, there were not many guests in Qingfeng House. At this moment, those guests blocked from going out were all scared.

    These days, even going out to have a meal and small gambling pleasure was not okay, they could not believe that it even attracted the imperial envoy!

 Chapter 123.1 - The Imperial Envoy Retreat

    Chapter 123.1 ¨C The Imperial Envoy Retreat

    When Zheng Yi wanted to find the people rescued by Jiang Zhen from the pirates to create momentum for Jiang Zhen for fear of affecting the future business of Qingfeng House, he did not allow women and gers working in Qingfeng House to live outside, so Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi stayed in Qingfeng House all the time.

    Hearing that Jiang Zhen had an ident, they were so worried and anxious that they kept asking people to go out to find out the news. But the result was, before they could find out any news, Qingfeng House was besieged!

    ¡°What on earth is going on? Why are you surrounding us?¡± Liu Qianqian nced at the frightened guests and asked anxiously, worried about the boys who had greeted the guests at the door.

    The boy, who happened to have seen Zhou Maohe a few days ago, cried out at this time, ¡°Miss Liu, what should I do? The man who made trouble at Qingfeng House a few days ago and insulted you turned out to be an imperial envoy!¡±

    ¡°Imperial envoy?¡± Liu Qianqian was so surprised she gasped.

    That old pedant turned out to be an imperial envoy? This . . .

    Liu Qianqian immediately turned to look at Zhao Lingxi. When they looked at each other, they found that the other person¡¯s eyes were also full of anxiety.

    It was not because he had been wronged in Qingfeng House before that the imperial envoy wanted to arrest Jiang Zhen, right? If that was the case, then they would really have made big trouble for Jiang, so now what were they going to do?

    ¡°A person like that, just cry miserably in front of him,¡± Liu Qianqian said, and just as her words fell, someone walked in from outside. It was Zhou Mahoe.

    Zhou Maohe was followed by many schrs, as well as Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s identity was not ordinary, but Liu Qianqian and others were not familiar with him. But even so, when they saw him, they were relieved. However, when they saw Jiang Zhen, they calmed down even more.

    They don¡¯t know why, but they always thought that as long as Jiang Zhen was there, they would be safe.

    As soon as Zhou Maohe saw Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, his face became ugly.

    He was not addicted to a woman¡¯s sensuality and did not care much about their looks, so naturally, he was not charmed by their beauty. He only thought that these two really did not know shame, not staying at home but, instead, selling their bodies.

    However, those who followed Zhou Maohe were schrs, who, after seeing the decoration of Qingfeng House and Liu Qianqian and the others, already had positive feelings about the ce.

    Everything here was elegant; those few women and gers were all dressed simply, which gave them a more unique vor.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Young Master Zheng going to introduce me? What do these women do?¡± Zhou Maohe sneered. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Zheng family to open a brothel!¡±

    ¡°Your Excellency is wronging me. Qingfeng House is just a restaurant!¡± Zheng Yi immediately said.

    ¡°How can there be a woman in the restaurant? Who knows what they do! Or were they forced by you?¡± Zhou Maohe asked with a sneer.

    ¡°Your Excellency,¡± Jiang Zhen called out, ¡°if you feel that there is something wrong, you can let them alle out and get a clear understanding! But please don¡¯t indiscriminately frame others!¡± As he spoke, he pointed to the room next to him.

    ¡°Of course I will ask. I also don¡¯t have to wait for them to go there!¡± Zhou Maohe immediately said. Go to the room? This Jiang Zhen did not want to give him money privately, right?

    ¡°Your Excellency can try asking them in here, and I will not care if anything happens!¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want Zhou Maohe to interrogate anyone publicly.

    Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were saved by him from the pirates. But those servants and guests of Qingfeng building were not clear about this matter, if he questioned them in public it was equivalent of showing the scars of Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi to everyone.

    The women and gers who moved to Hexi vige to live on the side of the docks, everyone already knew their situation. But Liu Qianqian and others were different, if people here know that they have encountered such things, some people would start looking down on them. Guests who were originally nice to them, may also start to be disrespectful toward them.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen said that, Zhou Maohe remembered the previous scene of being hugged by crying olddy Jiang so his heart could not help jumping out.

    With a cold hum, he said: ¡°Bring them out to the room over there!¡±

    Without the need for Zhou Maohe and the people he brought with him, Liu Qianqian and the others showed a shivering and scared look one by one, then opened tables from inside and lined up out from behind it.

    The room Jiang Zhen pointed out was notrge, Zhou Mahoe let the Yamen officers wait at the door and went in with the schrs who followed him to hear what Liu Qianqian and others had to say.

    As a result, before he could ask anything, Liu Qianqian knelt on the ground and said: ¡°My Lord, my Lord, spare my life¡­ I did not know the identity of the Lord so we offended you. Please forgive us¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Why are you here? Are you being coerced?¡± Zhou Maohe asked with a cold expression.

    ¡°My lord, we have not been coerced. Master Jiang saved us from the pirates.¡± Liu Qianqian said while starting to cry: ¡°My lord, my husband was killed by those pirates and I was taken captive by those pirates and lost my reputation. I should not live in this world anymore¡­¡± As she spoke, she hit the wall next to her.

    ¡°My Lord we were homeless and didn¡¯t want to marry again, so I begged master Jiang to find us a job. I never thought I would hurt Master Jiang so I can¡¯t live anymore either.¡± Zhao Lingxi, like Liu Qianqian, also chose a wall and bumped into it.

    Both of them were fine, but they were quickly stopped by several schrs and begin to cry even more: ¡°My Lord, you are talking about the brothel, this is not giving us a chance to live!¡±

    ¡°Lord Zhou, this is what happened, these people were suffering so I hired them to work in the Qingfeng building. I pay them two silver per month¡­ if the Lord is not satisfied, it is fine to kick them out.¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Zhou Maohe and the schrs around them felt pity seeing this scene. Hearing Zheng Yi words, them hummed: ¡°How can it be? This is uneptable! Isn¡¯t this simply killing them?¡±

    Zhou Maohe has always felt that the women and gers who get involved with pirates should just throw themselves to the river early, so they would not lose their reputation. But now when the matteres to this he could not force this group of women and gers to die¡­

    He doesn¡¯t care much about anything else, but he still cares about his reputation.

    With a loud crying in the room, Zhou Maohe¡¯s face became more and more ugly, so he finally shook his sleeves and left the ce.

    There was nothing wrong with these women, but there would definitely be a problem with this Qingfeng building! Zhou Maohe and his men searched the Qingfeng Building, and as a result¡­

    ¡°My Lord, this is the specialty of our restaurant, fried chicken and egg cakes¡­ This is all made from the mostmon things, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the pce! If the lord doesn¡¯t believe me, I will have someone prepare it for you on the spot.¡±In the kitchen, Zheng Yi spoke as several chefs were shivering.

    ¡°My Lord, this is where you can take a bath, it¡¯s really just a bath. If lord doesn¡¯t believe me you can try it yourself.¡± In the bathhouse, Zheng Yi added, while several guests wrapped in bath towels hid next to the charcoal basin, as if they were too afraid to even look at Zhou Mahoe and others.

    In the courtyard: ¡°My lord, this is the ce to y little games like throwing pots and so on¡­¡±

    By the pond: ¡°My lord, this side is the ce for people to fish. I let people add some fishes everyday but they were nor feed yet today¡­.¡±

    In the study: ¡°My lord, this is a ce for people to read and write as well as study and draw¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°My lord, this side is a ce for eating but some people will also talk about business here.¡± Zheng Yi finally brought Zhou Maohe to the restaurant.

    Over here, there were originally some guests eating. The food on their tables were still the fried chicken and egg cake that Zheng Yi pointed to them in the kitchen before, but there were also several other things. Although it looked very delicate, from what they saw in the kitchen¡­. In fact it was all made from verymon ingredients.

    Zhou Maohe strolled everywhere but in the end he did not see thing from the imperial pce. He felt that it was not easy for such a small ce toe out with so many tricks and the schrs around him¡­

    ¡°These foods looks good and smells very good.¡±

    ¡°These wooden balls on that table were yed with poles, but I don¡¯t know how to y them.¡±

    ¡°The way of ying cards here is quite different from the ones toughs at the capital.¡±

    ¡­..

 Chapter 123.2 - The Imperial Envoy Retreat

    Chapter 123.2 ¨C The Imperial Envoy Retreat

    These schrs became curious about Qingfeng House and talked about it with low voices while Zhou Mahoe¡¯s face turned pale.

    These people . . . These people.

    Zhou Mahoe was very dissatisfied, but he had to admit that there was really nothing against the rules in this Qingfeng House.

    It¡¯s just . . . For such small things, they unexpectedly charge so much money; this Zheng Yi was really a big profiteer!

    ¡°My lord, it¡¯s gettingte. Do you want to have dinner in Qingfeng House?¡± Zheng Yi asked with a smile.

    How could Zhou Mahoe still be willing to stay here? Immediately, he went outside, but those who came with him were reluctant to leave.

    ¡°You are staying in Hecheng County for a while longer, right? If you are free, you cane here to y.¡± Zheng Yi smiled. ¡°In the future, I will also build a Qingfeng House in Fucheng, so you are all wee to enjoy it.¡± Anyway, Zhou Maohe had already found trouble with him, so there was no need to postpone the construction of Qingfeng House any longer.

    ¡°Sure, sure, sure . . .¡±

    Zheng Yi was a person who could easily make people feel good, so those schrs who came here all nodded their heads in agreement when he gave them this news.

    Zhou Maohe: ¡°. . .¡±

    ¡°As for these miserable people who had already suffered enough . . . hope you all can keep it a secret for them,¡± Zheng Yi added.

    ¡°We will definitely keep it a secret!¡± Those schrs thought back to the painfully crying Liu Qianqian and others and immediately nodded. Although they also felt that women should protect their chastity at all cost, but after seeing a group of them crying, they couldn¡¯t help feeling sympathy toward them.

    Zhou Maohe: ¡°Humph!¡±

    Zhou Maohe and others finally left and went to the residence arranged for them by the county magistrate of Hecheng County. Zheng Yi only felt relieved after seeing this.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you haven¡¯t eaten yet, right? Let¡¯s go eat?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen, who was standing next to him. Jiang Zhen was caught early today so he should have not eaten till now.¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m going back. Let the kitchen make me some rice. I¡¯ll take it with me to eat on the way back,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After all this trouble, it was already dark, but Jiang Zhen desperately wanted to go home.

    Zheng Yi knew what was on Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind, so he just nodded and agreed, asking someone to pack the meal for Jiang Zhen before he went out.

    There was a small river right outside Qingfeng House, and there were also boats arranged by Qingfeng House to send guests out. After Jiang Zhen got on the boat with his lunch box, he immediately said, ¡°Go to Hexi Vige.¡±

    At the same time, Zheng Yi was instructing his men, ¡°You guys go and investigate. Find out what the hell happened.¡±

    Zhou Maohe quietly appeared in Hecheng County; there was definitely something here!

    After Zheng Yi gave his instructions, he returned to the Zheng family mansion. By this time, Jiang Zhen had already finished eating his lunch box.

    When he had almost finished eating, he had already arrived at Hexi Vige.

    It was already dark. In the past, Hexi Vige would be absolutely dark, but this time, basically every house was lit up, and there were several lighted torches on the docks.

    Seeing the starry lights and dazzling fires, Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart was relieved. A certain thought also grew stronger¡ªhis family. He must keep it safe.

    ¡°Master Jiang, we are here.¡± The rower gasped for breath; he had been rowing with all his might this whole time.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen gave a string of coins as reward money, nodded, and got off the boat. Just as he got off the boat, he saw people waiting on the shore. No one in the Zhou family was missing.

    Before the boat stopped, Zhao Jinge ran over. ¡°Jiang Zhen, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine already,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you are alright . . .¡± Zhao Jinge breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly reached out and hugged Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge was rarely so bold . . . Jiang Zhen hugged him back, and only felt that everything around him turned quiet.

    ¡°Wuuu . . .¡± Just then, Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s ear-piercing cries cut through the night sky.

    Releasing Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen hurriedly went to hug his daughter.

    Zhao Mingzhu, who was finally held by Jiang Zhen, stopped crying, and after Jiang Zhen coaxed her for a while, she even giggled.

    When Zhao Liu saw this, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Mingzhu cried for a long time today. When we came back earlier, she cried so much that she had hups, but now she is finally smiling.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and kissed his daughter on the head.

    His pearl, he must let her live a happy life in the future.

    Jiang Zhen ate something on the road, but since the Zhao family prepared a meal for him, he still ate some more.

    Zhao Mingzhu, who was probably surprised, was particrly clingy to Jiang Zhen that day. She also slept restlessly at night, crying in the middle of the night without any warning.

    They both wanted to coax Zhao Mingzhu so that Zhao Mingzhu would not wake up others that slept, however . . . neither of them actually slept.

    ¡°Jinge, you can¡¯t sleep?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Mm,¡± Zhao Jinge responded. What happened before really scared him.

    He had always been very dependent on Jiang Zhen, and the fact that Jiang Zhen was taken away in front of him made him feel like the sky was going to copse. He suddenly realized that he was useless. If he were a little more powerful, would Jiang Zhen still encounter such a thing?

    Jiang Zhen was a member of his family, yet he waspletely unable to protect Jiang Zhen . . . Zhao Jinge felt he was really too useless. He needed to work a little harder to do so!

    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep either.¡± Jiang Zhen held Zhao Mingzhu in his arms and then said to Zhao Jinge, ¡°Jinge, in a few days, let¡¯s go to the Fucheng.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and held Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand.

    Not only was Zhao Mingzhu afraid, he was actually uneasy as well.

    That night, Jiang Zhen did not do anything with Zhao Jinge but gave him his arm as a pillow and put Zhao Mingzhu on top of him, so she could sleep well.

    Then . . . in thetter part of the night, Jiang Zhen woke up again because Zhao Mingzhu had peed on him.

    Bringing up a child was really not an easy task! Jiang Zhen sighed and got up to wipe his body and change his clothes. Then after estimating the time, he simply did not go back to sleep but lit up amp and began to write his next n in a foreignnguage.

    At that time, he mainly dealt with the surrounding countries and knew some of their nativenguages. Originally, in ancient times, he felt they were useless but right at the moment, it would be better that he knew them.

 Chapter 124.1 - School And Cooperation

    Chapter 124.1 ¨C School And Cooperation

    Chapter sponsored on Ko-fi by MlleAdler ¨C thank you for your support!

    Jiang Zhen actually did not encounter any trouble and was released on the same day.

    When the people of Hexi Vige saw that he was fine, life quickly resumed as usual, and the dock was full of people. This incident also unintentionally helped Jiang Zhen and the Jinzhen Escort Agency with publicity, so the docks became much livelier than usual.

    But this incident had a great impact on Jiang Zhen and made him think of a lot of things. Because of thi,s, he wasn¡¯t even as angry as Zhao Liu, who was bent on revenge.

    ¡°I never thought that the Jiang family would be like that. Isn¡¯t it a good thing that you¡¯ve developed? Instead ofing to you and easing rtions, they are preupied with hurting you.¡± After a night¡¯s sleep, Zhao Liu felt refreshed and then began scolding the Jiang family at home.

    Jiang Zhen was a very nice person, so she thought that if the Jiang family were nicer to him, Jiang Zhen would be willing to repair their rtionship with them. But the Jiang family was really too bad! Even if the Jiang family wanted to ease the rtionship, Jiang Zhen might not want to agree, but she did not say this thought aloud.

    ¡°How are the Jiang family members now?¡± After Jiang Zhen listened to Zhao Liuining for a while, he asked.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng¡¯s men took Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang away and they have not returned yet.¡±

    Originally, Jiang Zhen¡¯s men wanted to find the Jiang family and teach them a good lesson, but Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang were already taken away by Zheng Yi¡¯s men, leaving only the old and weak Jiang couple, so they couldn¡¯t do anything.

    Zhao Jinge thought that since the imperial envoy was still there, it was impossible to let people beat up the Jiang family, so he could only leave it at that.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded.

    ¡°Should we send someone to ask Young Master Zheng?¡± Zhao Jinge asked. The one who took Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang was the old steward of the Zheng family. At the time, when Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi went to Qingfeng House, he spoke with the old steward, and ording to what the old steward said, there should be another person behind the Jiang family.

    Under normal circumstances, the Jiang family would never see or meet the imperial envoy, and even if they did, they would never have the courage to sue.

    ¡°No need. Just let young Zheng handle it,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    He didn¡¯t have time to care about this. There were more important things to do, such as . . . opening a school.

    Jiang Zhen built a school on the side of the docks and intended to let the children of his men to go to the school, but because he was too busy, he hadn¡¯t gotten it done until this time.

    He had intended to wait for the New Year, and at the beginning of spring leisure time, start the school. But he had changed his mind.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to find the vige head, Jiang Ping, saying that he was very grateful for the help of the vige people, so he was nning to open the school in advance and was looking to hire someone to teach the vige children to read for free.

    ¡°This, this . . . Is that true?¡± Jiang Ping looked at Jiang Zhen excitedly. Children could study for free? There would be such a good thing?

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s true, but I can¡¯t hire a schr who is too knowledgeable, so the main thing that will be taught will be how to read and calcte. If anyone wants their children to take the exams in my school they will not be able to learn anything,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°If they don¡¯t have dozens of mu ofnd, who would think of letting their children take part in an imperial examination! It;s already good to know how to read and write and know how to do calctions!¡± Jiang Ping smiled happily, overjoyed.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble the vige chief to talk to the vige people. My school will teach children between seven and fourteen years old. They will all be epted. If adults want toe to learn, that¡¯s also alright. They can sit at the back and listen to the lesson,¡± Jiang Zhen added.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll go door to door right away!¡± Jiang Ping said.

    The people who knew how to do calctions and were working under Jiang Zhen earned a lot of money every month. After the children in their vige learned, they could certainly be able to work under him in the future. How nice!

    It was a pity that his grandson was only six years old . . . but if he talked to Jiang Zhen privately . . . it should be possible to go to school a year earlier, right?

    Jiang Ping was so excited that he soon went door to door about this matter. Of course, he did not go to Butcher Jiang.

    The second uncle of the Jiang family held a little tobo and put it into his pipe. He ignited the tobo with a lit mulberry strip, took a deep breath and exhaled the smoke.

    Then he looked at his son. ¡°Eldest, this Jiang Zhen has the Jiang surname. Why did he have to join the Zhao family? If the two sons of the Jiang family really sued him, do you think there is a possibility for him to return to the Jiang family and give the Jiang family honor and glory?¡±

    ¡°Father, you must not have such thoughts in the future! Otherwise, all of us in the family will have to suffer the consequences of it!¡± The son of the second uncle of the Jiang family wanted to go up and cover his father¡¯s mouth.

    Why was his father so confused? Couldn¡¯t he just live his life in peace and quiet? Even if Jiang Zhen returned to the Jiang family, so what? Would Jiang Zhen still give them money to spend?

    ¡°s . . .¡± The second uncle of the Jiang family sighed.

    Just as he finished sighing, someone came in from outside; the person who came was none other than Jiang Ping.

    ¡°Vige head, is something wrong?¡± It was winter time, so there was not much to do on the fields. Basically, all the Jiang family members were staying at home and only a few young people went to work.

    ¡°Good news! There is big news!¡± Jiang Ping said joyfully. ¡°Jiang Zhen has built a few empty houses on the dock and set up tables and chairs inside, saying that, in the future, it would be a school, right? He just came to me and told me that the school would be open in a few days, and the children will be taught to read, write, and calcte for free!¡±

    ¡°There is such a thing?¡± The people in the second uncle Jiang¡¯s family became excited and made tea for Jiang Ping.

    Jiang Ping took a sip of tea. ¡°There is such a thing! There are many children in your family, and several of them can go to school! This is certainly an advantage!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Several sons of the second uncle Jiang nodded; all were very excited.

    Even the second uncle of the Jiang family was excited at this moment.

    Jiang Ping stayed at their house for only a little while and then left. After he left, the sons of the second uncle of the Jiang family said to their father, ¡°Father, you can¡¯t offend Jiang Zhen again in the future, or else the children of our family will not be able to go to school. We are relying on you!¡±

    The second uncle of the Jiang family quickly assured, ¡°I will not do anything for sure!¡± It was really great that his precious grandsons could go to school! He would definitely not go after Jiang Zhen again!

    The Hexi vigers were all running around telling each other good news, all very excited.

    If they study, they would be able to find a good job in the future, so they needn¡¯t work hard in the field.

    This day, almost all the children in Hexi were given a good beating by their own parents, telling them to be obedient when they go to school in the future. These children nodded their heads and all agreed.

    Those who were forced to go to school might not like to learn, but those who couldn¡¯t before were all full of yearning to study.

    Students were easy to find, the children of Jiang Zhen men plus children of Hexi vige would be able to fill several ssrooms, as for teachers . . .

    There were several schrs who were recruited by Jiang Zhen before, but some who were not flexible enough to follow the escorts around, Jiang Zhen simply asked them to teach children how to read.

    Because there would not be enough ountants anymore . . . couldn¡¯t he just go to the country town to recruit some more?

 Chapter 124.2 - School And Cooperation

    Chapter 124.2 ¨C School And Cooperation

    There was no such thing as a ¡°week¡± at this time, and Jiang Zhen was not interested ining up with this, so he made it a rule that every month, there would be a holiday, on the first, second as well as on the eleventh, twelfth, and twenty-second day of the month. And the rest of the time, the children have to go to ss obediently. At the same time, there would also be no sses during traditional holidays, but there would be no summer or winter vacation.

    The children had a holiday, so would have a teacher. Although the teacher would only earn two silver a month for teaching at school, there was also no need to follow the ships and go to far ces. They would also get more holidays. None of the people who were arranged to teach by Jiang Zhen was dissatisfied.

    As for the people of Hexi Vige, they only thought there were too many holidays. They still wished that their children would go to school every day.

    After Jiang Zhen made up his mind to open the school, he had done things very quickly, and within two days, all the preparatory work had been done.

    By this time, Zheng Yi had sent away the imperial envoy and finished a clear investigation of the matter.

    After finding out, he almost suspected that he had made a mistake. Shen Anxin? How could it be Shen Anxin?

    Zheng Yi would not dare to say that he was 100% urate in judging people, but after he came into contact with all kinds of people, he was still pretty much right on the mark.

    Shen Anxin was a weak person, but he was not bad-hearted, so no matter how you look at him, he did not seem like the type to hurt people . . . So why did Shen Anxin do it?

    Even though Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang had already confessed to Shen Anxin¡¯s involvement, Zheng Yi put it aside for two days before summoning Shen Anxin.

    Waiting for Shen Anxin, Zheng Yi¡¯s mood was really not good. He never thought that Shen Anxin would have the guts to try to screw him up. He didn¡¯t expect that Shen Anxin would be able to do this, and that he would be manipted!

    After the Zheng family was rewarded by the empress dowager, and he became an imperial merchant, Zheng Yi inevitably became somewhatcent, and it was not until this moment that he woke up. In truth, he was just a small person, and if he was not careful, he may step into the pit that he would never be able to get out of.

    Jiang Zhen was right. His Zheng family was actually nothing, even if his second uncle was now in high position in the eyes of others, he was just getting some small benefits from ttering the empress dowager. Anyone could step on him.

    If the empress dowager would one day fall . . .

    Zheng Yi¡¯s expression became colder; meanwhile, Shen Anxin was brought in.

    In the past, Shen Anxin was not sunny or cheerful but was still likable. But currently, he looked very gloomy, giving people a negative sense that he was not paying attention to anything. He had also lost a lot of weight quite suddenly . . . Zheng Yi was surprised to see him like this.

    What happened to Shen Anxin? However, no matter what happened to Shen Anxin, there was no reason for him to try to hurt him. He had been kind to Shen Anxin.

    At the start, selecting imperial capital merchants that would do business with the Shen family was destined to be more difficult. Shen Anxin himself was also not businessman material. Had it not been for his cooperation with the Shen family, most of the Shen family would have been unable to do business by now. However, after all that, Shen Anxin didn¡¯t know how to appreciate the favor and turned against him . . .This was simply biting the hand that fed you!

    ¡°Wee, Shen Anxin. I can¡¯t believe you set up such a scheme against me!¡± Zheng Yi picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea and sneered.

    Almost the entire Hecheng country magistrate and Jiang Zhen were about to fall into that pit; it would also involve him . . .

    Shen Anxin did not react at all.

    ¡°What do you have to say?¡± Zheng Yi asked again. No matter what reason Shen Anxin would give, he had already made up his mind to get rid of this person, but he still asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s all of you! You did this to me!¡± Shen Anxin suddenly said; his eyes fixed on Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Who did what against you?¡± When Zheng Yi saw him like this; he simply became furious.

    ¡°It was Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen . . .¡± Shen Anxin gritted his teeth. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was Zhao Jinge who ordered to hurt him. Zhao Jinge who was not only illiterate but also an ugly ger. If not by some means, how could he make Jiang Zhen be so good to him? Also, how could Jiang Zhen not know what Zhao Jinge did?

    ¡°Shen Anxin, are you sick?¡± Zheng Yi frowned and looked at Shen Anxin. When he was in the capital, Jiang Zhen did not have any contact with Shen Anxin. When he got here, it was basically here that they had met, but there was little ovep between them. He felt strange when he heard that this man liked Jiang Zhen, but after hearing Shen Anxin suddenly say that Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen hurt him, he only felt even more baffled.

    Shen Anxin stopped talking again and looked at Zheng Yi with a gaze that could make people¡¯s hearts shiver.

    Zheng Yi was the most disgusted with this kind of people who do not say things properly. He was also toozy to waste words with Shen Anxin. ¡°Shen Anxin, the Zheng family and Shen family business, from today onwards will be terminated. From now on, Zheng family goods sent to the capital will not need your Shen family¡¯s help to sell them. Now pack up your things and move out from my house!¡±

    Shen Anxin in the end was a ger, so Zheng Yi had been merciful and had not let his people beat him up. But the Zheng and Shen families¡¯ cooperation would all be terminated. The newly developed Shen family, he estimated, would never be able to turn around again. He also estimated that many others would rush to divide the Shen family.

    Shen Anxin didn¡¯t think of this at first, but when it suddenly urred to him, he trembled. ¡°No. You can¡¯t do this!¡±

    ¡°Then what should I do? Do I need to thank you for bringing in the imperial envoy? A big Buddha like you, I can¡¯t afford to keep in such a small temple,¡± Zheng Yi said directly.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Zhen being unfilial to his parents, this wouldn¡¯t have happened at all!¡± Shen Anxin said. He just wrote to the imperial envoy pure facts; he did not lie at all!

    This time, Shen Anxin was a little bit flustered. Shen family . . . His father asked him to take care of Shen family

    ¡°What kind of person Jiang Zhen is, I know very well. Absolutely better than you,¡± Zheng Yi said, and then looked directly to the servant boy at his side, ¡°Send our guest off!¡±

    Shen Anxin was taken out directly from Zheng Yi¡¯s study.

    ¡°Young Master, what on earth is going on?¡± Seeing that Shen Anxin was unceremoniously sent back by the servants of the Zheng family, the servant boy beside Shen Anxin was about to cry.

    ¡°These people, none of them are good!¡± Shen Anxin said. After his father died, he hadn¡¯t met any good people since . . .

    ¡°Young Master, who are you talking about?¡± the boy asked nervously. ¡°Master, have you offended Young Master Zheng? Do you want to go and apologize? Young Master . . .¡±

    Shen Anxin did not say anything, so the boy continued, ¡°Young Master, that Master Feng always targets you. If Young Master Zheng will no longer help you, what will you do? He is going to squeeze you to the death!¡±

    ¡°Feng Jinyuan?¡± Shen Anxin froze and suddenly remembered the man.

    He hated Feng Jinyuan¡¯s son, but after he and Zheng Yi started working together, Feng Jinyuan apologized to him. After that, although Feng Jingyuan wouldpete with him in front of Zheng Yi, he didn¡¯t do anything to him. It was him who tried to make trouble for Feng Jingyuan several times before.

    Of course, in the end, all those little troubles were resolved by Feng Jingyuan, and he gained the upper hand. It was Zheng Yi who helped him at that time.

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s go and apologize to Young Master Zheng,¡± the servant boy said again.

    Shen Anxin was not happy. He shivered and turned pale. ¡°If I don¡¯t go, they¡¯re all going to hurt me!¡±

    ¡°Young Master, for what reason would Young Master Zheng want to harm you? You have offended him, but it¡¯s Feng Jingyuan who is always trying to harm you!¡± The boy became anxious.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Shen Anxin suddenly seemed to have been struck by thunder. ¡°You said Feng Jingyuan wanted to harm me?¡±

    ¡°Young Master? Of course, he¡¯s been trying to harm you! Didn¡¯t Madam tell you to be careful around him?¡± The boy looked at Shen Anxin in confusion. This Feng family had used a lot of tactics against the Shen family in the capital from the start. Wasn¡¯t that the reason their young master approached the Zheng family in the first ce?

    Shen Anxin suddenly took big steps outside, heading directly towards where Feng Jinyuan lived. He was not quite sure what he wanted to do, but since Zheng Yi didn¡¯t want to cooperate with him anymore, he could not let Wanlong Merchant Firm be fine. Also, could it be Feng Jinyuan who harmed him all along? Was it Feng Jinyuan?

    Feng Jinyuan already knew that Zheng Yi was angry with Shen Anxin and wanted to terminate his cooperation with the Shen family, so when he saw Shen Anxine in, he gloatingly asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Young Master Shen? Why did you suddenlye to see me?¡±

    Shen Anxin did not say anything, so Feng Jingyuan continued, ¡° I¡¯m going back to capital. Do you want to go back together with me, Young Master Shen? I can give you a ride, so you won¡¯t have to go back alone.¡±

    Shen Anxin stared at Feng Jinyuan for a while, suddenly pulling off the hairpin from his hair and stabbing it directly at Feng Jingyuan.

 Chapter 125.1 - Opening School

    Chapter 125.1 ¨C Opening School

    There were people in Feng Jingyuan¡¯s room, and Shen Anxin was only a thin ger, so no one guarded against him before. When he stabbed Feng Jingyuan, he surprisingly pierced his shoulder.

    Feng Jingyuan was wearing a lot of clothes, so Shen Anxin¡¯s hairpin didn¡¯t cause a big injury, but it still hurt him. Immediately, blood gushed out of his wound, staining his clothes red.

    ¡°You are crazy!¡± Feng Jingyuan let out a scream. He then stepped back and yelled, ¡°Hold him quickly!¡±

    Shen Anxin didn¡¯t say anything much either. He pulled out the hairpin from Feng Jingyuan and struck him again.

    Although Feng Jingyuan was a man, he was too fat, and Shen Anxin was too desperate at the moment, so Feng Jingyuan was stabbed by Shen Anxin again. But this time, he was stuck in the hand to stop the hairpin. His chubby hand was almost pierced through, and the blood came trickling nonstop.

    ¡°Shen Anxin, if you have something, just say it!¡± After seeing Shen Anxin¡¯s appearance, Feng Jinyuan became a little scared, but Shen Anxin didn¡¯t n to talk to him properly at all.

    However, before Shen Anxin could stab him for the third time, the people beside Feng Jinyuan quickly pulled him.

    After being pulled, Shen Anxin did not move, nor did he struggle; he just stood there in a wooden way.

    ¡°Shen Anxin, good for you.¡± Feng Jingyuan grabbed his injured hand with his uninjured hand to prevent blood from flowing out. He quickly called out to the people around him, ¡°Go and find a doctor!¡±

    Immediately, someone went out to bring the doctor while Feng Jingyuan looked at Shen Anxin.

    Like Shen Anxin, Feng Jingyuan only thought that what he had done was exposed . . . He was a little angry for a moment but also could not help cursing, ¡°Shen Anxin, if you have the ability, just find a river and jump in! What¡¯s the point of biting people like a mad dog?¡±

    It was only in the past two days that Feng Jingyuan learned that the imperial envoy Zhou was unexpectedly found by Shen Anxin.

    He knew that Shen Anxin¡¯s temper was simr to that of the gers who had been raised at home since childhood, so at first, he wanted his son to marry him. But not long after, Shen Anxin¡¯s chastity was spoiled by him.

    He hoped that Shen Anxin would kill himself quietly; otherwise, he would wash his face with tears all day long. He did not think that Shen Anxin would not only withstand the blow but also try to kill him.

    This guy was crazy.

    Shen Anxin looked at Feng Jingyuan in a daze while Feng Jingyuan said with a sneer, ¡°Shen Anxin, just wait. Sooner orter, I¡¯ll get it back tenfold!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± Shen Anxin looked at Feng Jinyuan, his whole person suddenly sobering up. Why did Feng Jinyuan say that he should jump into the river? Did he know something? From Zheng Yi¡¯s previous reaction, it was clear that he did not know anything, but Feng Jingyuan was different. In fact . . . it was Feng Jingyuan who most likely harmed him.

    Why didn¡¯t he think of it before? Before leaving the capital, his mother was worried that he would encounter danger and repeatedly instructed him to be careful. She also asked him to take more guards with him. But as a result, when he arrived in Hecheng County, he was afraid that others would know that he had secretly gone to Hexi Vige and inquired about Jiang Zhen. When he went out, he didn¡¯t even bring the servant boy with him . . .

    ¡°Are you happy now? Don¡¯t you want to be pressed down by a man all day long? I did you a favor!¡± Feng Jingyuan was in a lot of pain, but he could not help wanting to stimte Shen Anxin.

    Shen Anxin jolted, and suddenly, not knowing where the strength came from, he broke free from the two people holding him back and directly pounced on Feng Jinyuan.

    After Shen Anxin left, Zheng Yi thought more and more that Shen Anxin¡¯s condition was not quite right, so he looked for someone to observe him. Then he was told that Shen Anxin had gone to see Feng Jingyuan.

    Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan had always been at odds with each other, and from time to time, there would be some conflict between them. Zheng Yi was worried that something would happen again, so he also went to Feng Jinyuan¡¯s quarters. But just as he was about to enter, he saw Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan wrestling.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Zheng Yi shouted. As soon as his voice fell, someone went up and separated Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan.

    ¡°Shen Anxin, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Zheng Yi frowned. Before, between Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan, he had always attached more importance to Shen Anxin, but right then, he was annoyed with both of them.

    Now it was also obvious that it was Shen Anxin who started trouble so he questioned Shen Anxin first.

    ¡°He harmed me,¡± Shen Anxin said; he took several blows from Feng Jinyuan, so he was in a lot of pain, but it made himpletely awake. It was just that he could not tell what happened to him in the end.

    Zheng Yi felt that Shen Anxin¡¯s state was not quite right before, so after hearing his words, he immediately guessed that Feng Jingyuan probably did something to Shen Anxin and framed Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge. It would not be strange for Feng Jingyuan to do such a thing.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I have been wronged. He suddenly came in and ate me like a madman,¡± Feng Jingyuan hurriedly said, showing Zheng Yi the wound on his hand. ¡°Young Master Zheng, I am afraid that Shen Anxin has gone crazy. Young Master Zheng, you must guard against it!¡±

    ¡°It was him who hurt me first!¡±Shen Anxin gritted his teeth and said.

    Zheng Yi frowned tightly.

    Originally, after ending the cooperation with Shen Anxin, he was thinking about Feng Jinyuan. But he was worried that if he only cooperated with Feng Jingyuan, he would only make trouble for himself. Now seeing this scene, he could already guess that Feng Jingyuan might have done something that made Shen Anxin lose his mind, so he did not want to cooperate with Feng Jinyuan anymore.

    Before, Zheng Yi was very interested in doing business from the south to the north. It would be a very stable way to sell goods, which would be much more convenient for him, but this time . . .

    ¡°Both of you should move out of the Zheng family house. If you have any grudges, you can go outside to solve them,¡± Zheng Yi said directly, and looked at Feng Jinyuan. ¡°Boss Feng, the Zheng family is going to reduce the business in the capital. I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t cooperate with Boss Feng anymore. I am sorry. But since Boss Feng got to know some people here, I don¡¯t think I will affect Boss Feng too much!¡±

    Zheng Yi was toozy to entangle with these two people, so he simply would no longer cooperate with them.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng!¡± Feng Jinyuan looked at Zheng Yi in shock. Thanks to him, Zheng Yi earned a lot of money. How could he say that they would no longer cooperate?

    Feng Jinyuan still wanted to say something, but Zheng Yi did not give him the opportunity to speak, and quickly left the room not wanting to listen to him.

    Shen Anxin and Feng Jinyuan, almost at the same time, were kicked out of the Zheng family house. At the same time, Zheng Yi also made up his mind.

    After finding a confidant, Zheng Yimanded, ¡°Let the imperial envoy find out how expensive salt prices are in the south of the Yangtze River.¡±

    Zhou Maohe was bent on making a secret visit, but after he had shown up in Hecheng County, he was being observed by many people, namely, Zheng Yi, who had also found two more people to follow him.

 Chapter 125.2 - Opening School

    Chapter 125.2 ¨C Opening School

    Ten years ago, the imperial court sent an imperial envoy to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate the salt industry, but eventually, they all returned without sess. Now, whether Zhou Maohe could find something would depend on his own abilities.

    Zheng Yi felt that Zhou Maohe should be able to find out something. After all,pared with the previous imperial envoy, Zhou Maohe was much more courageous in picking up a fight.

    After making a decision, Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and simply found someone to send him to Hexi Vige. He nned to talk with Jiang Zhen and tell him about Shen Anxin at the same time.

    When Zheng Yi went to Hexi, Jiang Zhen was watching his men register the students in the newly built school hall.

    All the boys of the right age in Hexi were nearly all here, and no one was left behind. Most of these children were illiterate, and their parents were also the same. Some could not even say their full name, so in the end, Jiang Ping had to keep going through the vige¡¯s family register next to them to make the registration process go smoothly.

    Jiang Zhen came over to take a look and found that the names of the people in this vige were quite interesting and particrly simple. At the same time, he also found that there was not a single girl between these students.

    He and Jiang Ping said that all age-appropriate children coulde to study, but in the end, only boys cam. Not to mention girls, there were not even gers.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned, but not surprised. In modern times, the patriarchy would be criticized, but in this ce, everyone thought that women and gers were inferior to men. Only men could carry the family line and support the family.

    Jiang Zhen simply had no way to change other people¡¯s way of thinking.

    Jiang Zhen took a look and saw some girls from the vige standing not far away, looking at them enviously.

    There were people in the vige who were nice to their daughters and ger sons, but obviously, no one thought that women and gers could also go to school.

    ¡°A total of four ssrooms have been built, and they are all quite big. But only with these children, there should be one ssroom left . . .. I have some gers and women who sew clothes, weave, and do embroidery work for me. Find them and let the girls and gers from the vige learn some crafts from them,¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said.

    ¡°Girls will learn too?¡± Jiang Ping was a little surprised.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to open a ready-to-wear clothing store, so I will need to find someone to raise silkworms and weave cloth,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After Jiang Zhen brought the woman and gers whom he had rescued from the pirates to Hexi, he had asked these people to make clothes and paid them for it. The people of Hexi also knew about it.

    Now, hearing Jiang Zhen say something about it . . . After his daughter learned how to make clothes, she might even be able to make money working for Jiang Zhen, which would be very good!

    ¡°Like boys, girls and gers between the ages of seven and fourteen can sign up,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°These girls and boys are different. Families are basically counting on these teenage girls for all the work at home, and they have to take care of other people, so most of them can¡¯te out to study.¡± Jiang Ping said to Jiang Zhen and then talked to the vigers.

    Soon many girls and gerse to sign up. As Jiang Ping said, those thirteen or fourteen years old did note, so most of the ones who came were young.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care. He took the girls and gers and wanted to find someone who was literate from the women he saved from pirates to teach them. But after asking, he found that the women and gers who followed him to Hexi, their thinking were particrly rigid.

    They were simply unwilling to teach these children to read and write in public. That is to say, those who were willing to do so only read the four books geared for females at home and could only teach this.

    Letting these people teach the girls in the vige, he did not know what they would teach them in the end . . . Jiang Zhen thought about it and let Zhao Jinge teach them for the first two days. Anyway, Zhao Jinge already had experience.

    When the vigers heard about it, they had no problem with it.

    Zhao Jinge was definitely the most sessful ger in the vige currently. They all admire him very much and let him teach his own children, which would be a good thing for their children. They were all from the same vige, so things were done very quickly. So after a while, all of them were registered, and these children were all taken to the ssroom.

    The vige children seemed to be aware to the need for discipline. They all sat straight for fear that the people in the school would think they were misbehaving and would want to kick them out.

    Their parents have said that if they were kicked out, they would be spanked! The boys were very well-behaved, but the girls and gers were even more obedient.

    Zhao Jinge grew up in Hexi and knew the minds of these children, so it was much easier for him tomunicate with them. But he had only taught others how to do math before, but after being put on the spot, he did not know what to teach first. He might as well teach them numbers first.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, didn¡¯t you say you will teach these girls how to make clothes?¡± Jiang Ping and some parents who were hanging around the school, seeing this scene, became a little confused. How could the girls be taught to recognize words?

    Jiang Zhen was standing outside with Zhao Mingzhu in his arms, observing Zhao Jinge¡¯s ss.. after hearing their words, he said, ¡°We can¡¯t teach them to make clothes when they can¡¯t even count the number of clothes they made, right?¡±

    That was true. The people around nodded, after hearing his exnation.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen was thinking about going to Qingfeng House to borrow a few people to teach these children how to read . . . Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi have good knowledge, so if they take turns teaching every few days, there should not be a problem. Of course, he also has to find a way to find a few suitable women and gers to teach long term.

    Jiang Zhen was thinking about this matter when he saw Zheng Yi arrive.

    Zheng Yi looked at several ssrooms with a thoughtful look and was even a little surprised after finding that a group of girls and gers were sitting in one of the ssrooms.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are going to run a school?¡± when he saw Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded. ¡°I n to train some manpower.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Zheng Yi said. The Zheng family would also train the children of their servants. If Jiang Zhen really wanted to expand his business, he really should train more manpower.

    Zheng Yi came here especially, so he should also have something to say. Jiang Zhen simply took him to his study.

    There were not many books in Jiang Zhen¡¯s study, but they were all very practical. It was also obvious that he had read all of them. Zheng Yi nced around and then said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, I have already asked someone to do what you said before. But even if we stir the muddy water, in the end, no one knows if we can get our hands on it.¡±

    In the area of salt, not everyone can intervene . . .

    ¡°We just need to make some preparations early,¡± Jiang Zhen said. In fact, what he valued was not salt but the vast ocean outside. However, in Hexing Prefecture, everything rted to the sea could not bypass the Hongjiang Salt Farm.

 Chapter 126.1

    Chapter 126.1

    Second Master Zheng was now highly valued by the empress dowager as an imperial minister in the imperial court; he firmly did not join any side . . . Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi both knew that if they prepared in advance, he would have been able to find the right person to take over the Hongjiang salt farm.

    However, Jiang Zhen was not good at these types of things, so in the end, he did not say much.

    After Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen talked about the Hongjiang salt farm, they spoke about Shen Anxin¡¯s affairs. ¡°It was Shen Anxin who bribed the Jiang family.¡°

    ¡°It was him?¡° Jiang Zhen was startled. After Shen Anxin confessed to him he never saw him again. He really did not expect that he woulde up with such a thing.

    ¡°There should be Feng Jinyuan meddling into it,¡° Zheng Yi added. When he initially learned about it, he was very angry. He did not say anything but made up his mind to give Shen Anxin some lessons in private, but then . . .

    Seeing Feng Jinyuan and Shen Anxin fightter and then seeing that Shen Anxin refused to say anything about it when he was obviously not in the right state, he could more or less guess a little.

    After guessing, it was not good to do anything more to Shen Anxin. But of course, continuing to cooperate with Shen Anxin was also impossible.

    Jiang Zhen was thinking about his future these days, so he almost forgot about this matter. After hearing what Zheng Yi had to say and giving it a little thought, he agreed with Zheng Yi¡¯s approach.

    Right then, he didn¡¯t want to get in touch with Shen Anxin at all, nor did he want to find out why he did it.

    ¡°As for these people from the Jiang family . . . there are many people who watch you now, so you can¡¯t do anything to them. But you can still move them to some other vige, so they would live far away from you,¡° Zheng Yi added.

    Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen were brought to him for interrogation before, but he could not hold them forever, and they needed to be released.

    He initially wanted to send these people far away, but who knew if someone would make a fuss about them again? After thinking about it, he thought it would be best to find another vige In He Cheng County to settle them down and keep a close eye on them.

    ¡°Just send them to Qiaotou Vige,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Aside from Hexi Vige, he currently had the most number of people in Qiaotou Vige, so naturally, he could keep an eye on the Jiang family if they go to Qiaotou Vige.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it,¡° Zheng Yi said. After settling this matter he immediately ordered someone to go and get things done.

    After solving the follow-up problems caused by the sudden arrival of Zhou Maohe, Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen talked about the construction of the Qingfeng House in Fucheng and mentioned the distilled wine that Jiang Zhen had previously made.

    The Zheng family had a special brewery. After mentioning it to the craftsmen in the workshop, the craftsmen got busy and had already made some distilled wine.

    ¡°The distilled wine ording to your method is really very mellow and tastes very good. But it takes a lot of wine to distill just one small jar. The food consumption for making this wine is really great.¡° Zheng Yi thought of that wine and sighed lightly.

    That wine was indeed a good wine, but if the method is spread, everyone will make it . . . It would consume too much grain.

    There were still many people in Daqi who did not have enough to eat. If this wine spreads . . . the court will certainly issue a ban on alcohol.

    ¡°This is the secret recipe of the Qingfeng House and needs to be kept secret. After this wine is produced, we will sell it in limited quantities every day and never too much,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°But before that, we still need to offer first some to the empress dowager.¡±

    Although the empress dowager didn¡¯t like wine too much, it was good stuff. It was also necessary to send a little to the big boss to tter him.

    ¡°You actually know about this?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen in some surprise, he had always thought that Jiang Zhen was unaware of these official twists and turns.

    ¡°I know everything I should know. I¡¯m just not quite used to doing so,¡± Jiang Zhen said; he knew many tricks, but he didn¡¯t think about them because he was too impatient.

    Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen talked for a long time, and it was not until it was getting dark that the conversation was almost done. After looking at the sky, Zheng Yi simply asked his people to send a message that he would spend the night here.

    ¡°Wait.¡± The messenger boy was about to leave when Zheng Yi suddenly stopped him. ¡°After you go back to the house to find the madam, if she is willing, she can bring a child to Hexi Vige tomorrow for a visit.¡°

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the messenger boy responded and left at once.

    There were many empty houses in the Zhao family, so Jiang Zhen quickly asked someone to help Zheng Yi clean up one.

    These houses Jiang Zhen built very neatly and made them look very ordinary without any new ideas, but because he was willing to use bricks, the walls were thick and had good instion. They were warm in winter and cool in summer, making it veryfortable inside.

    Zheng Yi disliked the room¡¯s furnishings, but after going to bed, he slept quite well and even overslept. Finally, the sound of the drill near the dock woke him up, and he got out of bed.

    The Zhao family was already up and out, but Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er had been waiting for him to get up and had prepared a hot and fragrant breakfast for him. A few other people were also waiting around him.

    There were two dishes for breakfast, one was fried buns, the other was white rice porridge. In addition, there were seven or eight kinds of small side ¨C dishes such as fried peanuts or pickled radish.

    Zheng Yi ate in an extraordinarily satisfied manner, and in the end, ate almost all of the served dishes clean. After eating, he took a freshly fried doughnut and then took his people with him as he walked leisurely towards the pier.

    At this time, it was not long after dawn, but the people of the Jinzhen Escort Agency were already busy. They seemed very busy, but everything seemed to be done in an orderly manner. Zheng Yi, who watched theme and go, actually felt very rxed and happy.

    The school had not yet opened, but there were already many children ying nearby. Some of them took out twigs and started to write and draw on the ground.

    When Zhao Jinge taught the girls and gers how to read yesterday, he told a joke that Jiang Zhen had told him, so some of these girls were proudly retelling the joke to some of the boys. ¡°There was once a man whose father and mother sent him to school. On the first day, his teacher taught him ¡¯one.¡¯ The next day, he taught him ¡¯two,¡¯ and on the third day, he taught him ¡¯three.¡¯ Then the boy no longer wanted to go to school again and told his parents that he had already learned everything. Later, his father wanted to invite a man surnamed Wan (Ten thousand) to dinner and asked him to write an invitation. But as a result, he was not able to finish it for three days . . . His father felt it was very strange, so he came to ask him about it. Then the boy began toin, saying that the name of this man was too difficult. He had been writing it for three days, but he had not yet finished ten thousand strokes.¡±

    The childrenughed while Zheng Yi who listened also found it funny.

    Jiang Zhen trained his men as usual that day, and dealt with some affairs at the dock. When he returned, he saw Zheng Yi lying on a bamboo recliner, with his legs up, surrounded by a circle of children, telling stories.

    Zheng Yi had read books, traveled from north to south, and was very knowledgeable and eloquent. After several stories all those children listened to him in fascination, looking at him with gazes full of admiration.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for ss,¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the time and said to the children, making all the children run away very quickly.

    ¡°These kids seem to be afraid of you.¡± Zheng Yi smiled, enjoying the situation.

    It would be strange if they were not afraid of him when he used to fight. All of them came and watched . . . Jiang Zhen answered with a smile, ¡°Young Master Zheng, your wife is here.¡±

    The Zheng family boat had already moored at his dock.

    Zheng Yi smiled, immediately rose from the bamboo recliner, and straightened his clothes: ¡°Go. Follow me to pick up your sister-inw!¡°

    Zheng Yi was actually not much older than Jiang Zhen; he was born just a year or two earlier. But due to Zheng Yi¡¯s early marriage, his oldest son was already seven years old. In addition to his oldest son, he also had another son and a daughter. The daughter was four years old, and the youngest son was two years old.

    These three children were born by Zheng Yi¡¯s wife, Zheng Hu. When she came to Hexi vige, Zheng Hu brought all three children with her.

    There were many servants of the Zheng family this time because Zheng Hu took all three young masters out together, so the people who came were even more . . . In total, there were 30 or 40 servants of the Zheng family standing on the dock.

    Jiang Zhen had never met Zheng Hu before, so it was the first time he saw her. It was not good to look at the female rtives casually, so he just nced at her once. Apart from feeling that Zheng Hu was good-looking and temperamental, he could not say anything else.

    Jiang Zhen did not need to get in touch with other people¡¯s female rtives, so Zheng Hu¡¯s arrival wouldn¡¯t affect him. But Zhao Liu and Zhao Jinge were different. They had to entertain Zheng Hu.

 Chapter 126.2

    Chapter 126.2

    Zheng Hu waspletely different to them . . . Zhao Jinge saw Zheng Hu surrounded by many servants and had a feeling of not knowing what to do with his hands and feet. But Zheng Hu was friendly to him and kept smiling and talking to him, which slowly rxed him.

    Jiang Zhen had been watching not far away, and after finding that Zhao Jinge had adapted well, he let out a sigh of relief. Then he picked up Mingzhu and said to Zheng Yi: ¡°Young Master Zheng, do you want to go for a stroll in the vige?¡°

    ¡°Good.¡° Zheng Yi nodded thought for a moment and asked someone to call his four-year-old daughter, so he could hold her in his arms.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s daughter was beautifully dressed with bright eyes and white teeth. Jiang Zhen looked at her and felt that she was just like a little princess. But after Zheng Yi hugged his little princess, her little body turned stiff, and she opened her mouth wide, looking very excited.

    ¡°Zhen Zhen, isn¡¯t it good for dad to hug you?¡° Zheng Yi was extremely troubled when he saw his daughter¡¯s expression.

    The little girl named Zheng Zhen still looked at Zheng Yi in disbelief.

    Zheng Yi: ¡°. . .¡±

    He had not hugged this child before, but this child also didn¡¯t need to show expression as if the sky was about to fall, right?

    Zheng Yi was a little depressed., but then even more depressing things happened. He only hugged the little girl for a while, but then he didn¡¯t have the strength to do so for long . . . Their family nursemaids were obviously not tired after holding the girl for an hour. Was his strength not as strong as a servant?

    Although Zheng Yi scared his daughter at first, but not long after, the little girl l became morefortable and intimate with Zheng Yi, calling him ¡°Father¡° in a very sweet voice.

    Zheng Yi had never been close to his own children before, so after getting closer to his daughter, he inevitably became more and more fond of her. He also somewhat understood why Jiang Zhen liked to hold Zhao Mingzhu so much.

    Zheng Yi¡¯s family stayed in Hexi for a day before leaving. After they left, Zhao Jinge breathed a sigh of relief and said to Jiang Zhen, ¡°Madam Zheng is so powerful. She knows so much.¡±

    Madam Zheng had been very amodating when she talked to him, but he could still feel that the other party knew many, many things that he didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Zheng Yi is too.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng is very good.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded and then said again, ¡°By the way, why did Young Master Zheng suddenly call for his wife and children?¡°

    ¡°He is trying to have a good rtionship with our family,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Of course, Zheng Yi would not call his wife and children here for no reason; this was actually about cultivating a good rtionship between their families.

    At the beginning, Zheng Yi did not put much thought into him and only saw him as one of his subordinates, butter on, he paid more and more attention to him. Since then, Zheng Yi treated him as an equal and even intended to deepen their friendship.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to the county town, and after another day, he took Zhao Jinge on board the Zheng family ship that was headed to Fucheng.

    They were going to Fucheng to walk around and prepare for the opening of the new,rger Qingfeng House. In addition the Zheng family, ording to their ancient book¡¯s ¡°secret recipe¡± would brew Qingfeng wine and give it to some important people in Fucheng.

    This time, Zheng Yi¡¯s wife would also go with them.

    Zheng Hu¡¯s maternal family, the Hu family, was located in Fucheng, so when Zheng Yi came to the city for business, she would stay in her mother¡¯s house for a few days.

    Zheng Hu was very enthusiastic about Zhao Jinge after finding out that Zhao Jinge was not the same as ordinary women or gers. But chatting with her made Zhao Jinge more or less ufortable, so she stopped looking for Zhao Jinge, and when she asionally talked to him, she only talked about the children.

    Since Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were going to Fucheng, they took Zhao Mingzhu with them. The Zheng family¡¯s youngest son was still breastfeeding, so the Zheng family still had two nursemaids and Zhao Mingzhu had milk to eat. Jiang Zhen, who couldn¡¯t let go of his daughter, simply took her with him.

    ¡°You go everywhere with your daughter. In the future, I don¡¯t know what your daughter will grow into . . .¡± Zheng Yi looked at Zhao Mingzhu and said. The girl was carried by Jiang Zhen wherever he went . . .

    ¡°Grow into a woman that the average man would never dare to bully!¡± Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to say.

    Zheng Yi immediately decided not to joke with him that his youngest son could marry Zhao Mingzhu.

    Zheng Yi had a house in Fucheng, so he spent a day settling down. The next day, Zheng Yi took Jiang Zhen and a small jar of Qingfeng wine to visit the magistrate of Fucheng.

    As we all know, the magistrate of Fucheng only had the best wine.

    The magistrate of Fucheng was from the north and had only a slight rtionship with the Zheng family but didn¡¯t hate them either. If it was in the past, for the sake of Second Master Zheng, he would definitely meet Zheng Yi, but this time . . .

    Zhao Maohe had just caused trouble in He Cheng County, so the magistrate of Fucheng made up his mind to be as far away from the Zheng family as possible.

    ¡°Zheng Yi? Say I¡¯m busy with official business, so he can go back first,¡± the magistrate immediately said after he found out that Zheng Yi had arrived.

    The servant nodded hurriedly, went out to send the reply, and then came back after a while.

    ¡°The man is gone?¡° the magistrate asked.

    ¡°Your Excellency, he has left, but he left a gift,¡± the servant said.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept gifts . . . s . . . What did they send? Let thedy go to the treasuryter and choose a simr one to send back,¡± the magistrate said.

    ¡°Your Excellency, it¡¯s just a small jar of wine,¡± the servant said. ¡°I know Your Excellency likes good wine, so I took it. But since it¡¯s just a small jar of wine, you don¡¯t need to give a gift in return,¡± the servant said, then took out a very small jar of wine . . . It was really a tiny jar of wine; the jar was only the size of a palm!

    ¡°This . . . there is such a small jar of wine? The Zheng family is too cheap, right?¡° The jar was too small, so the wine inside, after pouring out, would only fill one cup! The magistrate of Fucheng was left speechless.

    The subordinate just smiled sarcastically. ¡°It is a little small, but it was said to be made ording to a secret recipe . . .¡±

    ¡°Secret recipe. I¡¯d like to see what¡¯s so unusual about this wine.¡° The magistrate opened the jar directly and said. ¡°The wine in the south of the Yangtze River is too soft, so I haven¡¯t drunk anything to my liking . . . Wait . . .¡±

    After the magistrate opened the wine jar, a strong fragrance of wine came to his nose, surprising him. This wine smelled really delicious!

    ¡°Quickly bring me a cup!¡° the magistrate of Fucheng stated busily.

    The subordinate hurriedly brought him a cup. He poured out a small cup, took a sip, and then pped his thighs and said, ¡°Good wine!¡°

    This was the first time he had ever tasted such a fragrant wine! Howe there was only such a small jar? Also, he kind of wanted to visit Zheng Yi now ah . . .

 Chapter 127.1

    Chapter 127.1

    In the south of the Yangtze River, there are far fewer people who were good at brewing wine than in north.

    But there were still some.

    After Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen left magistrate of Fucheng, thy went to official Shao house

    That men also didn¡¯t want to see Zheng Yi but Zheng Yi wasn¡¯t surprised. He just smiled and took out a small jar of wine and gave it to his servant: ¡°Since Master Shao is very busy, we¡¯ll go back first. This is the wine that my Zheng family brewed ording to a recipe found in ancient book. I would like to invite Master Shao to taste it.¡°

    The wine jar that Zheng Yi gave was really small and looked ordinary, but he kept smiling all the time which made it harder to refuse. The servant who came to deliver the message thought about it for a moment before epting it.

    Seeing that the man epted, Zheng Yi smiled again before turning around and leaving.

    When Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen went out, they brought a total of ten small jars. After giving the first few jars in this manner they then meet people who had a good rtionship with the Zheng family. So they not only sent out jars but also exchanged greetings.

    When the remaining eight jars were delivered it was already almost dark.

    At this time, the traffic was very inconvenient, and everything was very slow. . . Jiang Zhen sighed secretly and quickly returned home.

    When Jiang Zhene back, Zhao Jinge was feeding Zhao Mingzhu.

    Although Jiang Zhen loved Zhao Mingzhu very much, he didn¡¯t go back less than before so it was Zhao Jinge who apanied her the most and Zhao Mingzhu was also the closest to him.

    However, seeing Jiang Zhen who would often y with her she be unavoidably excited. She opened her hand inviting Jiang Zhen to hug her.

    ¡°Daddy¡¯s precious pearl!¡° Jiang Zhen held his daughter in his arms and kissed her.

    Maybe it¡¯s because Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were both here. But Zhao Mingzhu didn¡¯t cry when she adapted to living in another ce and was even a little excited.

    The room Zheng Yi gave them to live in was very beautifully decorated so she looked around at everything. After ying like his for a while she also refused to sleep at her usual time, but fortunately, she was still young and couldn¡¯t hold on like this for a long time. So during ying she feel asleep just like that.

    ¡°The child.¡° Jiang Zhen took her to bed and went to wash up with Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I want to buy a piece ofnd near Fucheng,¡° Zhao Jinge suddenly said: ¡°I have already inquired with madam Zheng and found a suitable piece ofnd.¡°

    ¡°Buyingnd? Why did you suddenly think of buyingnd? ¡°Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge in some surprise.

    ¡°I want to build a brick kiln here.¡° Zhao Jinge said and then added: ¡°Thend I want to buy is a small mountain. I think that the brick kiln can be built at the foot of the mountain and on mountain ducks and chicken can be raised. The price of chickens and ducks on this side of Fucheng is than in He Cheng County, so we should be able to make money.¡°

    Zhao Jinge has been thinking about bing more powerful these days, but he didn¡¯t know much. The only thing he could thing of were things he alreadye in contact with. Such as building a brick kiln or raising chickens and ducks.

    All their chickens and ducks in Hexi Vige were raised by haired people but they were all supplied to the escort agency so there was no profit. Zhao Jinge calcted that if all those chickens, ducks and eggs were sold, they would certainly make a profit.

    Now he was thinking about doing the same thing in Fucheng.

    ¡°My Jinge, do you want to make money?¡° Jiang Zhen smiled and looked at Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Yeah.¡° Zhao Jinge nodded. In fact, he not only wanted to make money but he also wanted try himself.

    When Zhao Jinge looked very serious, Jiang Zhen asked: ¡°This is a good idea but can you do it alone?¡°

    ¡°Can.¡° Zhao Jinge immediately said.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s up to you. Just tell me how much money you would need.¡° Jiang Zhen said.

    Whether it¡¯s was a brick kiln or raising chickens and ducks, the investment was not much so he thought it was perfectly fine to let Zhao Jinge try it out. Everyone will be happy if it works out, and it would stil be fine if it doesn¡¯t, he would just need to learn from this experience and try next time.

    With Jiang Zhen¡¯s consent, Zhao Jinge thought of what he should do next.

    The construction of the brick kiln will certainly require the transfer of people from the Hexi vige, so he must think about who could work here. Raising chickens and ducks also needed some preparation, he also needed to think how he would transport burned brick as well as chickens and duck, what to feed the, and how to sell them, there were many things he needed to prepare for.

    The more Zhao Jinge thought about it the more excited he be, making him unable to sleep in the end.

    At first he was worried about waking Jiang Zhen so even if he couldn¡¯t sleep he didn¡¯t move. But then, thinking that Jiang Zhen should have been asleep, he couldn¡¯t help but start turning over.

    The more he thought about various things, the happier he was, but suddenly, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the scene where Jiang Zhen was taken away, feeling the pain in his heart his original happiness dissipated.

    Fortunately, Jiang Zhen is still lying next to him. . . Zhao Jinge slowly leaned over, lying next to Jiang Zhen, and kissing him.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .. . .¡° not sleeping in the middle of the night and still trying to seduce him. . ..

    Originally, because Zhao Mingzhu was in the bed with them, Jiang Zhen did not intend to do anything, but now . . .. . . if he don¡¯t eat the person next to him he really wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself.

    Zhao Jinge who was pressed by Jiang Zhen was afraid of waking up his daughter so gritting his teeth, he didn¡¯t make a sound, but at the end he suddenlyughed.

    ¡°What are youughing at?¡° Jiang Zhen nibbled him.

    ¡°You forgot to pull out.¡° Zhao Jinge said, Jiang Zhen was always very careful so near the end he would pull out early but this time he didn¡¯t do it.

    ¡°If you get pregnant, after you give birth we can bring the baby with us just like Zheng Yi and don¡¯t care about anything.¡° Jiang Zhen give Zhao Jinge smug look and nibbled him again as he said with a smile.

    It¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t want a child, it¡¯s also not because he thinks bringing up a child is too tiring. . .

    Last night Jiang Zhen urged Zhao Jinge to take care of the child but the next day he took initiative to take over the care of Zhao Mingzhu, and let Zhao Jinge go out to buynd for a kiln building.

    Because of this, he also send a special message to Zheng Yi, saying that he could not follow to deliver the wine ¨C in fact, this matter wherever he was there or not would not make any difference.

    As a result, after Jiang Zhen said that he would not go, Zheng Yi simply decided to also not go. Only letting his wife bring some to Hu family house so that Hu family can send it to people. Then he brought a craftsman who specializes in building gardens to find Jiang Zhen, together with the drawings of the construction of the Qingfeng House.

    Jiang Zhen did not know much about the architecture of this era, but some of his ideas were novel, which made that craftsman nod frequently and Zheng Yi admire him a little: ¡°I don¡¯t even know how this head of yours work, how can youe up with so many things.¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m just lucky.¡° Jiang Zhen said, if he had not crossed over and was still staying in modern times, he would be nothing more than brute force.

    He was lucky settling down in this ce but if he wanted to have his luck going he needed to work hard.

 Chapter 127.2

    Chapter 127.2

    Jiang Zhen was so busymunicating with Zheng Yi and the craftsman that he inevitably ignored Zhao Mingzhu. Zhao Mingzhu immediately grunted discontentedly, making Jiang Zhen stop what he was doing to coax his daughter.

    Zheng Yi had long been ustomed to all this, but the craftsman couldn¡¯t react for some time after seeing this.

    He has never seen a man who loves his child so much!

    While Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen ware at home drawing drawings with their children, the country magistrate of Fucheng kept wandering around his own house.

    After tasting the jar of wine sent by Zheng Yi yesterday the wonderful taste of the wine totally conquered him.

    There was originally just a little bit of wine in jar so he originally wanted to keep it and drink it slowly, but he couldn¡¯t help himself.

    He locked up the wine but thought of just taking one sip so he finally unlocked the lock and took a sip.

    Then he took another sip and after a while he took another sip. . . the palm-sized wine jar bes empty just a momentter.

    If this was someone of kind treasure he wouldn¡¯t look back after drinking it and wouldn¡¯t think too much about it, but he couldn¡¯t help himself now. . . he knew that Zheng family has more!

    Although the second master Zheng was official in capital, but he was still a magistrate and Zheng family had to respect him so as long as he ask wouldn¡¯t Zheng Yi give him more?

    But if he had a close rtionship with Zheng Yi. . .. But the imperial envoy Zhou was still here!

    The magistrate of He Cheng County was not the only one entangled in this way.

    The other few people who had been deliberately given wine by Zheng Yi also acted in the same way as the magistrate. They couldn¡¯t let go of this wine so they let their people inquire where Zheng family wine was sold.

    However, the Zheng family wine was not sold anywhere.

    Finally, someone could not hold back and found Zheng Yi, wanting to buy some.

    ¡°The Zheng family has only brewed a batch of this wine. I just kept some and sent the rest to the capital as gift to the Empress Dowager . . .. . .¡° Zheng Yi look at those in front of him with aplicated expression: ¡°If I want to brew the second bath I guess it will take a few months, gentlemen . . .. . . still want to wait?¡°

    The expressions of the people who came to ask for wine immediately froze.

    The wine has been sent to the Empress Dowager. They can¡¯t have any opinions about it and could only have nothing to drink.

    But. . .. After being unable to drink it they thought about it even more!

    After leaving from Zheng Yi, these people immediately inquired everywhere, after inquiring they learned that Zheng Yi had actually gifted 20 jars of this wine and vast majority of it was given to Hu family who in turn sent a few jars to others.

    After learning about this, someone immediately went to the Hu family.

    In this world, not everyone liked drinking a good wine, there was no no one in Zheng Yi or Hu family so usually even when they drank wine it was just for fun. At first no one took the wine send by Zheng Yi seriously, either because they thought that the wine was too strong or they just didn¡¯t like it.

    But as a result just after a few days, surprisingly some peoplee to buy wine . . .. . .

    This unremarkable, strong wine was so valuable?

    The Hu family was startled and then decisively felt something.

    The people who came to buy the wine were quite important so they naturally sold them some. Then they quickly sent for the rest of the wine and people who were originally not good with wine.

    When someone came to buy wine again, they informed those people that the wine they had was already sold.

    Now, these people could only go to the people who have received wine from Hu family to buy wine.

    In this way, the number of people who knew that someone was looking for a good wine everywhere naturally increased, and the fame of the Zheng family¡¯s Qingfeng wine spread rapidly in the upper circles of the Fucheng.

    In fact, not everyone loves to drink, but rich people drink sometimes not for a drink but for fame.

    The Zheng family¡¯s Qingfeng wine suddenly became famous and was highly respected so everyone was naturally curious. But they couldn¡¯t drink it now. . . how could not scratching an itch not feel ufortable?

    At this time the Zheng family that bought a piece ofnd in the capital city, began to build the Qingfeng House. At the same time, Zhao Jinge also bought a piece ofnd ready to build a brick kiln.

    Zhao Jinge found some people from Hexi Vige who had already learned how to burn bricks so it didn¡¯t took him long to build the brick kiln, and as soon as the brick kiln was built, big business came to the door ¨C Zheng Yi needed a lot of green bricks to build Qingfeng building!

    However even if the brick kiln was built quickly, raising chickens and ducks was not something that could be done quickly.

    First of all, there was not enough manpower, and secondly, there weren¡¯t enough chicks and ducks ¨C it was winter so in the absence of artificial hatching, chickens and ducks were not hatching and even chickensy less eggs.

    Zhao Jinge was busy but he still helped Jiang Zhen handle some things of the Jinzhen escort agency and in the end made a small reputation in Fucheng.

    As for Jiang Zhen.., he took care of Zhao Mingzhu every day, and with time Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s closest person has be him.

    After such a busy period it was time for the New Year.

    Last year, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge stayed in Fucheng for a few days and didn¡¯t go back until the New Year. They didn¡¯t know if it was a coincidence that when they went back, they caught up with the vigers of Hexi vige catching and sharing fish.

    Last year, Zhao Jinge got me fish, but this year, after catching the fishes Jiang Ping asked Zhao Fugui to pick first and take some more.

    The Zhao family built a dock in Hexi Vige, which benefited every household in the vige. This year basically all people of Hexi vige worked for the Zhao family and made some money. Letting all of them have a good new Year.

    Under such circumstances, they naturally didn¡¯t mind the Zhao family getting more fish to eat.

    ¡°There are only a few people in my family, so how can we eat so many fishes? Just a few will do.¡° Zhao Fugui declined, and finally picked a little bit of each kind of fish.

    ¡°We caught a lot of fish this year. There are many people working on your dock so get some more.¡° Jiang Ping said again. In order to show how grateful they were to Zhao family, they deliberately caught more fish.

    ¡°Then how about this, send the extra fish to the canteen and get someone to prepare them so that children studying at school and people working at the docks can each have a bowl of fish soup.¡° Zhao Fugui finally made the decision.

    When Jiang Zhen came back, he saw that all the people on the dock were drinking fish soup.

    Winter fishes tasted the best. It didn¡¯t have a muddy smell so you didn¡¯t have to put any seasoning and you could directly steam it and it would be delicious. Not to mention the canteen people prepared the fish soup very deliciously.

    The fish soup was made fromrge fish. The back of bone-rich fish was sliced ??into thin slices. Fish belly, fish bones and fish head were fried with little oil for a while before adding to the soup. After boiling it for a while, then they added some tofu before adding some fish slices inside. . .

    A bowl of fish soup was soon served out.

    Children can easily be choked by bones when they eat fish so the fish soup given to them had only meat of the belly of the fish. In the winter it was a happy thing to have a warm fish soup to drink.

    The education of girl and gers from vige was handed by Jiang Zhen to Liu Qianqian and others who worked in Qingfeng building. Today it was Liu Qianqian turn to work as teacher so when shee to receive fish soup she received a big bowl of it.

    Liu Qianqian was happily drinking the fish soup when she suddenly heard someone shouting Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had returned.

    The students in the school couldn¡¯t care less about their sses and ran to the dock, not to mention the people of the Jinzhen escort agency that all forget what they were originally doing.

    This was no the first time that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge have seen such a scene, but it has never been so lively before so they were stunned for a while.

    Immediately, their mood improved.

 Chapter 128.1

    Chapter 128.1

    The canteen soon brought out a lot of fish soup. Jiang Zhen and other people who came back also got a big bowl.

    In winter, a bowl of hot fish soup was really wonderful and tasted very good. Unfortunately, there was no pepper at this time; otherwise, he would not only eat boiled fish but also hot pot.

    Jiang Zhen was not a person who especially liked spicy food, but he still liked to eat spicy food from time to time. After not eating it for a long time, he missed it even more.

    While eating the fish soup, Jiang Zhen gave Zhou Mingzhu a small piece of the meat from the belly of the fish.

    Zhao Mingzhu was already nine months old and could eat supplementary food, but other than rice porridge, Jiang Zhen did not dare to give her other food to eat for fear of giving her a bad tummy.

    Zhao Mingzhu was very enthusiastic about the fish, and after testing a small piece, she opened her mouth with an: ¡°Ah ah ah¡± and continued to ask for more. But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t give her more and only gave her a small piece of steamed bun to chew.

    Zhao Mingzhu took the steamed bun with a bit of dissatisfaction, but seeing that Jiang Zhen did not continue to give her fish meat to eat, she could only continue to aggressively nibble on the steamed bun.

    The New Year was the most important holiday for the people, so in the first few days of the new year, Jinzhen Escort Agency would not take on any business. Jiang Zhen gave all of his people a few days of holiday and nned to also rest for a few days himself.

    The Zhao family rested and thought only about what to eat every day, but something happened in the other part of Daqi.

    After Zheng Yi distilled a high-quality wine, he immediately sent it to the capital, so the wine was presented at the pce before the New Year.

    Although the Zheng family said they made wine ording to ancient recipes, but it could not be denied that this wine was not made for a long time and had no reputation at all. The empress dowager himself also did not like to drink. So the wine was then casually sent to the imperial dining room, which did not attract the attention of the empress dowager at all.

    But in the end, not sure if it was because the Zheng family was lucky, but due to these circumstances, the wine has be famous.

    Before the New Year, the north sent messengers to Daqi.

    Daqi and the people of North Rong were always in constant friction and fought often. During these frequent battles, Daqi often lost, losing many things like food, livestock and human lives. This was why the method of suturing wounds provided by Jiang Zhen attracted the attention of so many military generals.

    This year, Daqi and North Rong had been at war again while civil unrest was happening in North Rong¡¯s side . . .

    The people of North Rong were originally a little bit overwhelmed by the civil unrest when they suddenly remembered Daqi. They sent an emissary to Daqi, asking to marry a Daqi princess and have peace talks.

    This was originally nothing, but the schrs of Daqi looked down on Rong, and Rong looked down on the people of Daqi; so it ended up in another conflict between the two. Those Rong people, in the end, when the Empress Dowager hosted a banquet for them, said that the wine of Daqi was too ¡°soft¡° and weak, just like the people of Daqi. They said that even their women would not drink this stuff.

    Using the wine as a pretext, Empress Dowager became furious on the spot, and it was at this time that he suddenly remembered the strong wine given to him by Second Master Zheng.

    The empress dowager immediately asked someone to bring the wine.

    In fact, at this time, Daqi already had some methods of purifying wine, but even with the purification, the quality was not high. After Zheng Yi learned the method provided by Jiang Zhen and kept distilling, he brewed a high-quality wine.

    When the wine came up, the rich fragrance of wine left these Rong people with nothing to say, but after they tried to drink it, filled with sarcasm . . .

    The Rong people who were previously boasting that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get drunk on Daqi wine got drunk one after the other. Some of them even got so inebriated, they couldn¡¯t get up and made a fool of themselves.

    Only, the Rong people asked for this wine again the next day.

    Second Master Zheng was one of the empress dowager¡¯s confidants, who always worked in line with the empress dowager¡¯s wishes. The empress dowager had always attached great importance to him, and this time, he immediately rewarded him for his meritorious work and made the Qingfeng wine a tribute. In the future, the price of Qingfeng wine would undoubtedly rise again.

    Of course, this news had not yet reached He Cheng Country. At the moment, the officials and merchants in Hexing Prefecture were attracted to another matter.

    Before Zhou Maohe went to the Zheng family, looking for Jiang Zhen to make trouble. Most of the people in Hexing Prefecture didn¡¯t take it seriously. After all, it had nothing to do with them and was a small matter but this time it was different.

    Zhou Maohe caused a big headache this time!

    He was sent to the south because the empress dowager felt he was too much of an eyesore. But he challenged the problem of private salt, which even the former imperial envoy who was sent there to straighten out the salt affairs did not dare to challenge it!

    What was even more astonishing was that he not only dared to talk about it, but he even led people to raid the Hongjiang Salt Farm in a speedy manner.

    The famous Hongjiang Salt Farm was raided by Zhou Maohe! His doing something like this, even Zheng Yi was shocked.

    ¡°I asked someone to mention this matter to him in a few words, but I haven¡¯t had time to do anything more . . .¡± After Zheng Yi got the news, he especially went to Hexi vige and spoke to Jiang Zhen with an odd expression on his face.

    He was preparing some incriminating evidence about the Hongjiang Salt Farm, but even before he could send them, Zhou Maohe already did something he did not expect at all.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help asking.

    Wasn¡¯t the imperial envoy under Zheng Yi¡¯s monitoring? How could he suddenly upy Hongjiang Salt Farm without Zheng Yi knowing anything?

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that he could be so . . . decisive.¡± Zheng Yi sighed and then added, ¡°But it is his case, it¡¯s normal to do something like this.¡±

    Zhou Maohe raided the Hongjiang Salt Farm not because he found out about the matter of illegal salt.

    After he made trouble in Hecheng County, there were many people who were observing him, so even if he wanted to check on things, it was too inconvenient to do so. Although he felt that this salt matter was very messy, even if he wanted to check it out properly, it was already toote.

    His arrival at Hongjiang Salt Farm was, in fact, for another reason . . . and this was started with the Hongjiang Salt Farm lording over the sea.

    When Jiang Zhen followed other people to buy sea products, Hongjiang Salt Farm¡¯s people had charged a lot of money and were even ruder to the people living in the seaside.

    They sold their own private salt but did not allow others to get involved in it. The people in the seaside viges, if someone boiled the salt and tried to sell it privately, they would then be attacked, often not even given a chance to defend themselves, and were directly killed .

    Sometimes they would even massacre entire viges.

    Hongjiang Salt Farm hired a lot of people who helped them catch people who sold salt privately but not under their auspices, as well as those who controlledrge areas of the seaside. These people, under their inclusion, became no different from water bandits and pirates.

    They would not only kill people who sell private salt but also go to ordinary viges to wreak havoc.

    Of course, they would not kill for no reason and usually only wanted to y with vige women and gers or something.

    When Zhou Maohe learned that private salt was still rampant after being repeatedly banned, he did not suspect the Hongjiang Salt Farm. Who would have thought that the salt farm built by the court itself would sell private salt?

    But he decided to go to the sea to see.

 Chapter 128.2

    Chapter 128.2

    Just as Zhou Maohe went there, he actually fished up a woman who had thrown herself into the river.

    The woman was about to get married but was kidnapped by the people under the Hongjiang Salt Farm, and then locked up for fun. She fell into the water because it was difficult to find an opportunity to escape after being chased. After bing desperate and angry, she simply jumped into the river.

    After learning about this matter, Zhou Maohe was infuriated, but it also so happened that, at that time, he met a group of people who escaped from Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    This group of people were all from Hongjiang Salt Farm viges. As its name implied, they were people who specialized in salt-rted work.

    In Daqi, the craftsmen were artisans¡ªpeople who specialized in boiling salt and cooking salt. These people were all salt workers.

    Hongjiang Salt Farm needed to produce a lot of salt, and all this salt needed to be boiled by salt workers at the salt farm. But these days, the salt workers were much more miserable than those who lived by the sea.

    Those people are free and could go out to sea to catch fish to feed themselves. If they lived in peace, they wouldn¡¯t be caught and killed. Food and clothing could also be guaranteed, but salt workers were different.

    These salt workers were registered to Hongjiang Salt Farm, so they could only live on the salt farm. But the people of Hongjiang Salt Farm would treat them simply like ves. Not only would they randomly scold them and not give them food to eat, but even their families, their slightly beautiful women or gers could not be kept.

    This group of fleeing salt workers really couldn¡¯t live like this anymore and wanted to go outside to fight for a better life.

    These people who dared to escape were all young and strong. After Zhou Maohe met them, he learned that Hongjiang Salt Farm would brazenly and wantonly kill others. Then he took them to the ce where Hongjiang Salt Farm was located, so he could discuss it some more and, finally, by mistake, upied Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Theoretically speaking, a group of salt workers who have not fought with people plus a schr wouldn¡¯t be able to take over Hongjiang Salt Farm, but . . . Zhou Maohe¡¯s luck was really too good.

    When he took a group of angry people to the Hongjiang Salt Farm, it happened to be New Year¡¯s Eve, so many people from the Hongjiang Salt Farm returned home to reunite with their families. The rest were still having fun, drinking with most unconscious.

    It was because of the New Year that the woman who jumped into the river could find a chance to escape, and it was also because of the New Year that the salt workers could collectively flee because of the ckened vignce. Finally, it was because of the New Year that they actually were able to upy Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    After the raid, Zhou Maohe found that the Hongjiang Salt Farm had done many appalling things, and even private salt was also made by them! Now, Zhou Maohe¡¯s heart was in the right ce.

    Zhou Maohe immediately got angry and sent people to the capital to report it while contacting the nearby civil and military officials.

    As a result, those people not only did not help him catch the people of Hongjiang Salt Farm, but also determined that he used the salt workers to start a rebellion on Hongjiang Salt Farm, sending troops to suppress him.

    ¡°He is so stupid. All these officials are rted to Hongjiang Salt Farm.¡° Zheng Yi sighed. ¡°Now, the Hongjiang Salt Farm is inplete chaos. Not a single grain of salt can be shipped out, and I don¡¯t even know what was going on inside.¡± The person he sent to follow Zhou Maohe was very resourceful and ran out after finding out that the situation was not quite right.

    Because of this, he knew a lot, but the follow-up news was impossible to know.

    Jiang Zhen listened to Zheng Yi¡¯s story and also felt a little helpless.

    He wanted Zhou Maohe to check the private salt, and then check the head of the Hongjiang Salt Farm, but did not expect Zhou Maohe to end up wanting justice for a group of salt workers and only then started investigating Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Because of this, the progress of the matter was also particrly fast and totally different from their expectation.

    ¡°Now the entire Hexing Province, together with Wuzhon Province in the north, are in chaos. Fortunately, we in He Cheng Country would be alright . . . I have sent a letter to my second uncle, but I don¡¯t know how the court will handle this matter,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    The county magistrate of He Cheng County followed the Zheng family. At most, when the boat carrying private salt came over, they would act as if they didn¡¯t see it and didn¡¯t get involved with it, so the He Cheng Country was also not involved in this matter.

    But for other ces . . . it was still a big deal that they didn¡¯t know what would be. Zhao Maoke was also, at the moment, trapped over there, and no one knew what was going on.

    Jiang Zhen did not speak, just used his small knife to sharpen the bamboo, making the bamboo into a thin piece.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be the Lantern Festival soon, so I want to make antern:¡± Jiang Zhen said; after he finished, he threw all the bamboo and knife in his hands on the ground.

    It was only because he had nothing to do in the past few days that he suddenly thought of making a fewnterns, but since this moment he had something to do, he naturally had no time to do these things.

    ¡°You are quite interesting,¡± Zheng Yi said. Once, he also madenterns like paper kites butter, when he got older, he didn¡¯t have time.

    ¡°No longer,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen curiously, but Jiang Zhen suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take someone to the Hongjiang Salt Field to see the situation.¡±

    Zheng Yi was startled and suspected that he had heard it wrong. But Jiang Zhen was sure.

    If in modern times he already had a wife and a son, it would be impossible for him to go to a very dangerous ce where there were two people fighting each other; after all, if he identally ate a bullet at that time, he would die. But at this time there were no weapons that were too dangerous. What¡¯s more, even if he stayed in Hexi Vige and never went out, he couldn¡¯t guarantee his safety.

    Jiang Zhen made a decision, but before he would leave, he needed to make some preparation for the next two days.

    After Zheng Yi left, Jiang Zhen went to find Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge was talking to some Hexi people, asking them to follow him to Fucheng and help him manage the duck and chicken farm there.

    They had almost finished talking, when he saw Jiang Zhen, so Zhao Jinge stopped talking and told them to go back first then looked at Jiang Zhen again. ¡°Young Master Zheng went back?¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and suddenly said, ¡°I have to go out in two days.¡±

    ¡°To Fucheng? I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°Not to Fucheng. You can¡¯t follow me this time either,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Zhao Jinge, upon seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s serious expression, vaguely felt that something was wrong.

    Jiang Zhen thought about it and decided not to hide it from Zhao Jinge. ¡°I¡¯m going to the seaside.¡±

    ¡°Why are you going to the seaside?¡± Zhao Jinge asked, puzzled. Jiang Zhen used to go to the seaside to buy goods, but recently . . . they didn¡¯t do business there anymore.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly felt a little uneasy.

    ¡°Something happened at Hongjiang Salt Farm. I have to go check it out.¡° Jiang Zhen sighed and told Zhao Jinge everything Zheng Yi told him.

    ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous there. What are you going to do there?¡± Zhao Jinge asked without even thinking about it.

    ¡°Although it¡¯s dangerous over there, there are also big opportunities waiting. There are also my escorts . . . These people have never seen blood, so they need some exercise,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡± Zhao Jinge¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°I fight very well, much better than He Chunsheng and the others!¡±

    ¡°Jinge, you might be carrying another child in your belly,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Jiang Zhen did not know if there was another child in Zhao Jinge¡¯s belly, but he still didn¡¯t want Zhao Jinge to go to such a dangerous ce. That¡¯s for sure.

    Zhao Jinge thought of what happened when they went to the capital and could not say anything more.

 Chapter 129.1

    Chapter 129.1

    Zhao Jinge actually knew that it was best for him to stay.

    Their daughter needed someone to take care of her, Jinzhen Escort Agency also needed someone to take care of it, and Fucheng¡¯s side also needed someone . . . Even if Jiang Zhen leaves, he couldn¡¯t go with him.

    Although he didn¡¯t want to be separated from Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge gritted his teeth and still agreed, saying, ¡°Jiang Zhen, you must be safe.¡± If something happened to Jiang Zhen . . . Zhao Jinge felt so uneasy that he didn¡¯t even dare to think of this possibility at all.

    Jiang Zhen nodded. He was only going to check the situation this time unlike before when he had toplete a certain task. He would not put himself at danger.

    After talking to Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen made preparations.

    He asked the canteen side to prepare some dried meat and fried rice as dry food, and then asked Zheng Yi for a lot of high-density alcohol, as well as some medicine and herbs. Then he began to ask his men to find people who were willing to follow him.

    ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous to go out with me this time, and you may lose your life outside. But if you perform well, when youe back, you will all be members of Jinzhen Escort Agency and will receive a reward.¡± Jiang Zhen did not say where he was going but made it very clear that it would be dangerous.

    Following Jiang Zhen out, it was true that you might encounter danger, but you may also get great opportunities . . .

    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll go!¡° Wang Haisheng, He Chunsheng, and several others who had followed Jiang Zhen for some time immediately eded.

    These people used to be very simple, but after following Jiang Zhen and had gone to the capital, their vision had broadened as they had experienced many things that caused their thinking to change.

    They could earn a lot by working quietly and steadily in Jinzhen Escort Agency, but as long as they were human, they would have ambition. When one didn¡¯t have money, they think it¡¯s good to earn one silver a month, but after one had started earning one silver, they would start to want to earn two silver; when they started earning two silvers, they would want to earn five silver . . .

    ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡° others also began to say.

    In the end, six of the ten escorts around Jiang Zhen wanted to go.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t take all these people with him, so he left Wang Haisheng and He Chunsheng to help Zhao Jinge take care of Jinzhen Escort Agency. Then he selected fifty strong people from the rest, including Jiang Ming, He Xiasheng, and the others who followed him to the capital.

    He Chunsheng really wanted to go, but when he thought about his pregnant wife, he also thought that there were a lot of things that needed to be taken care of in the escort agency. In the end, he gave up the idea and only helped Jiang Zhen and the others pack their things.

    Some time ago, Jiang Zhen asked people to help him make things for him, such as iron hooks and knives, so at this time, he took all of it out and distributed it to his people. In addition, he also taught his men some of the methods of survival in the wild.

    He learned all these things in hisst life; they were all very useful. However, his people couldn¡¯t learn much just by exnation. If he wanted them to learn well, he needed to teach them slowly, followed by training.

    When these people had learned, their escort agency would certainly grow bigger and bigger in the future.

    The night before departure, Jiang Zhen picked up the bamboo strips again.

    He tied up the bamboo strips one by one then pasted them with white paper, finally making antern that even he didn¡¯t know was a rabbit or a mouse and then painted the exterior with bright colors and lit themp inside.

    Themp was hung in the room by Jiang Zhen, Zhao Mingzhu excitedly stared at it for a long time. When Jiang Zhen went to kiss her and blocked her view, she even pped Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Dad will make you a bigger one next year!¡° Jiang Zhen was not mad by his daughter¡¯s p, but instead shined Zhao Mingzhu face with kisses. Kissed Zhao Mingzhu fell on the bed ¡°giggling¡°, and then simplyid down to watch the lights.

    ¡°My child has a good temper.¡° Jiang Zhen could not help but sigh.

    Zhao Jinge just nced at Jiang Zhen and then continued to bow his head and sew.

    He sewed some rice grains, ginseng slices and other things on one of Jiang Zhen¡¯s old clothes, and told Jiang Zhen to wear it under a cotton-padded jacket.

    ¡°I will wear it.¡° Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge. Zhao Jinge helped him hide some food in the clothes and he himself will also hide some weapons.

    The day Jiang Zhen left, it happened to be the 15th day of the first month.

    Zhao Liu didn¡¯t know what Jiang Zhen was going to do, only that Jiang Zhen was going out again, so she got up early in the morning and made soup dumplings with glutinous rice flour for Jiang Zhen to eat. Then she made pot of glutinous rice to knead rice balls, and asked Jiang Zhen to take them with him.

    ¡°Mother, the soup dumplings you made look good.¡° Jiang Zhen actually did not like the sweet and soft dumplings, but it was Zhao Liu¡¯s goodwill so he wouldn¡¯t refuse it.

    After taking a bite, Jiang Zhen understood Zhao Liu¡¯s heart even more clearly.

    The dumplings were not filled with bean paste or sesame powder, but with meat.

    Zhao Liu probably knows that he does not like to eat sweet things so she specially made dumplings with meat stuffing which was quite delicious.

    Jiang Zhen quickly finished a pot of dumplings, and by this time, Zhao Liu had already kneaded dozens of rice balls ¨C she intended to give them to Jiang Zhen and these who followed him, so they could use them to pad their stomachs when they were hungry on the road.

    The outside of the rice ball was white glutinous rice, while the inside was filled with pickles, fried peanuts and repeatedly fried dough sticks. They tasted very delicious, and were easy to carry.

    Jiang Zhen equipped each of his men with a lot of things this time, but he did not let them wear their uniform clothes¨C he wants to see the situation of the Hongjiang salt farm while training his men by the way but he didn¡¯t want to go against the army of Daqi. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let his people wear uniform and see that something was wrong.

    After taking the rice balls given by Zhao Liu, Jiang Zhen and his men boarded the boat and headed for the sea.

    The Hongjiang Salt Farm was located between Wexing Prefecture and Wuzhong Prefecture and was quite far away from the Hecheng County, but it was not far away when you used seaside to travel, also that side was not as heavily guarded as rest of Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Fifty people sounded like a lot but in fact in wilderness, especially in the forest it was very easy for them to hide. At this time, because of the existence of the Hongjiang Salt Farm, there was not many people living in the seaside, which was almost like the wilderness.

    Jiang Zhen took apass and a simple map and bypassed the people guarding the Hongjiang Salt Farm near the main road of the river, leading his men quietly into a forest and headed to the seaside . . .. . .

    Jiang Zhen brought people to the seaside, but at this time, Zhou Maohe was already trapped in a cave near the Hongjiang salt farm. The cave was big and little wet, making all kinds of bug crawl over them from time to time. . .. All of this looked terrible and made Zhou Maohe¡¯s hair stand up, however, those young men crowded in the cave did not care about any of these things and were all very calm andfortable.

    ¡°You better let me go, if something happens to me, the court will not let you go . . .. . .¡° Zhou Maohe said was powerlessly in the face of those men.

    One of the men ¡°pped¡° the stone wall of the cave and when he released his hand, a very thick redd bug fell from the wall ¨C it was pped t with the palm of his hand.

 Chapter 129.2

    Chapter 129.2

    Zhou Maohe¡¯s breathing stagnated as cold sweat broke out on his back.

    Although Zhou Maohe was born in a poor family, his family still could afford for him to be a schr. He knew that it was impossible to call them really poor; at least from childhood to adulthood, he always had enough food and clothing and never had been wronged.

    But at this time . . .

    ¡°If you yell again, I¡¯ll throw you out,¡± The man who killed the bug with a p said to Zhou Maohe

    Although the man spoke in a dialect, Zhou Maohe understood it; and when he thought of the situation outside, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything more.

    In fact, Zhou Maohe upied the Hongjiang Salt Farm, and news that Zheng Yi inquired about was a little different from what people outside thought.

    Zhou Maohe was not Jiang Zhen; even though he saw the corruption in Hongjiang Salt Farm, he wanted to properly interrogate the people there and would not directly lead people to upy Hongjiang Salt Farm . . .

    At that time . . . As a matter of fact, he was forced to react.

    After getting close to the Hongjiang Salt Farm, he knew that the lives of the people near there were not very good. After he saved the woman who fell into the water and met the salt workers, he became even angrier about the situation at Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Then he took these people to Hongjiang Salt Farm for talks. But what happened in the end, when they arrived, they saw a very unbearable scene.

    In the Hongjiang Salt Farm, a group of soldiers were having fun with the women, and there were even a few bodies thrown outside.

    Zhou Maohe immediately became furious while the group of salt workers behind him directly erupted. Then these people no longer listened to Zhou Maohe¡¯s words and rushed out to fight the people of Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Zhou Mao failed to stop him, so he could only watch helplessly as they upied the Hongjiang Salt Farm and killed many people in the Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    At that time, he was very dissatisfied with these salt workers, but they put up a lot of criminal evidence of the Hongjiang Salt Farm in front of him and said that they had no choice but to do it. He saw that they were really pitiful, so he did not pursue the matter and just wrote a note to the imperial court. He also contacted officials nearby and said he wanted to give justice to these salt workers.

    However, he failed to bring justice to them as officials came only to stop the rebellion.

    He felt a little sorry for these salt workers, but unexpectedly, these salt workers changed their faces at that time.

    It turned out that when these salt workers met Zhou Maohe, they originally nned to go to the Hongjiang Salt Farm to rescue their captive rtives. After meeting Zhou Maohe, who was an imperial envoy, they thought that Zhou Maohe might be able to help them, so they took Zhou Maohe to the Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    But the result was Zhou Maohe failed to help them after all.

    As soon as the army of the court came, they had no other choice but to die . . . Seeing that Zhou Maohe even intended to go and talk properly with these imperial people, the group only thought he was crazy, and then they took him and ran away. With the imperial envoy in their hands, they could also be a little safer.

    These days, they have been in hiding, spending every day in fear, but Zhou Maohe was still trying to convince them that they shouldn¡¯t go against the imperial court, so they became more and more impatient with Zhou Maohe.

    ¡°Brother Zhu, what are we going to do next?¡° A fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy looked at the man who pped the bug to death.

    The man¡¯s name was Zhu Erlin. Although his entire family was also salt workers, he was given some face because his father managed dozens of salt farmers. Because of this, Zhu Erlin could read a little.

    But even so, in the eyes of some people, they could still be abused at will.

    On the day Zhu Daqiang, the eldest brother of Zhu Erlin, got married, his new wife was kidnapped, and it took several days for her to be released and returned. As a result, when his eldest nephew was born, he was killed because no one couldn¡¯t figure out who the father was.

    When Zhu Erlin reached the age of seventeen or eighteen, he secretly fell in love with a salt worker ger, but the ger went ¡°missing.¡±

    This time, he finally couldn¡¯t stand it, and it was because of two things: first, the food distributed from above became less and less, finally making many old people unwilling to eat and starving to death, including his own parents. Second, because it was close to the New Year, the Hongjiang Salt Farm people intended to find some women and gers to bring back for fun and forcefully took away a lot of people.

    They have endured for a long, long time, but this time, they were no longer able to bear it. In the end, they simply stopped cooking salt and went together to the seashore to pick up some crab, ms, and other things to boil with the rest of their food. After eating all of it, they took their weapons and nned to fight to the death with the people of Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    But it ended up . . .

    After Hongjiang Salt Farm was upied by them, they had to hide.

    ¡°We¡¯ll hide first. We can¡¯t be found,¡± Zhu Erlin said. In fact, he didn¡¯t know what to do next, so in that case, he might as well hide first.

    Anyway, they had stolen a lot of food. At least they didn¡¯t have to worry about starving.

    Hearing Zhu Erlin say this, the rest of the salt workers who followed him nodded their heads and then began to discuss how to hide.

    ¡°Zhu Erlin, should we change our hiding ce?¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do afterwards?¡°¡±

    ¡°If we stay here for long, the children will not be able to stand it . . .¡±

    . . .

    When these salt workers decided to fight against Hongjiang Salt Farm, they did not take the old and the weak with them, but then they went back to the vige and brought along all the old and weak. So currently, all the weaker people were settled in another drier cave.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go south,¡± Zhu Erlin said.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen came to the vige where he had previously bought seafood.

    At that time, the vige was very poor and dpidated, but there were still many people living there, but right then . . .

    Looking at the body in front of him, Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression became extremely ugly.

    ¡°Boss . . .¡± Jiang Ming voice trembled as he spoke Jiang Zhen¡¯s name.

    Although he had fought with the pirates and many people died at that time, these people were all adult men. But in this ce, there were even children who had their heads cut off . . .

    Jiang Ming, who had been living in such a peaceful vige as Hexi, couldn¡¯t stand it.

    Among the people Jiang Zhen brought, those who had not followed Jiang Zhen to the capital before could not help but vomit at this moment.

    The bodies showed signs of having been gnawed and devoured by animals, which was absolutely unbearable for an average person.

    ¡°Go dig some holes to bury them,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Yes, boss,¡± Jiang Ming responded and led the men to dig the hole.

    They didn¡¯t know anyone here, and it would be hard to even think about putting a monument for them, but at least it was good to let these people rest in peace.

    Jiang Zhen and the others were digging a hole in silence when a voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Who are you?¡°

    The people of Hexi Vige were startled by the sound, and some of them even turned pale as if they had seen a ghost. But Jiang Zhen was very calm, then he saw a man dressed in ragsing out of a shabby house.

    The situation here looked so miserable that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even notice that there was still a living person hidden in the house.

    He was startled at first, but after seeing the way the man was dressed, he calmed down a bit. Checking the man¡¯s appearance . . . Wasn¡¯t this the young man who had once sold him a lot of salted fish and seaweed when he used toe here to buy seafood?

    The young man¡¯s lips were white and his eyes red; he looked at Jiang Zhen and the others warily, and his fists were clenched hard.

    ¡°Do you remember me? I used toe here and buy seafood from you,¡± Jiang Zhen said to the man. ¡°I want to dig out a pile to bury the people here.¡±

    The man stared at Jiang Zhen for a while then sat down on the ground and cried bitterly.

 Chapter 130.1

    Chapter 130.1

    It was ugly when men cry, but at this moment no one could resent him.

    They would probably cry harder than he did if they were in this situation.

    Hexi vige people silently continue to dig a hole and at the same time build a fire. Then they begin to boil water, ready to cook something to eat.

    Feeling sorry for the men, when the water was boiled, someone took out a handful of fried rice from his dry food and soaked it in boiling water before handing it to him.

    The man silently ate a bowl of fried rice, then his whole person be a little more energetic so Jiang Zhen asked: ¡°What is going on?¡°

    The man who had regained his strength, began to slowly exin.

    It turned out that since the ident at the Hongjiang Salt Farm when several of the people in charge were killed, the people under Hongjiang Salt Farm were also in chaos.

    Some people were still doing what they used to do, waiting for the salt farm to settle down and continue to work for the salt farm, while others feel that the Hongjiang salt farm was over and intended to escape to find another way to make a living.

    There were people on both sides but no matter which side you were on, they were all unfriendly to the people from the seaside ¨C these salt farmers rebelled because they were treated badly and mistreated, will they also think of fighting and killing them?

    In fact, Hongjiang salt farm was a huge bandit¡¯s nest. Now that the bandit leader has died, the remaining people in the bandit¡¯s nest were in chaos. Their own people fought to death so it was naturally impossible to show mercy to the people from the outside.

    The vige was ransacked by the people under the Hongjiang Salt Farm. They killed all the people in the vige, robbed them of their money and then run away.

    The reason why this man survived was because he wanted to make money to marry a wife so he went fishing at night, so he avoided those people.

    However, when he came back from fishing, he saw that his whole vige was killed and couldn¡¯t stand it. In the end he sat in his room without food or drink for two days, until the noise made by Jiang Zhen and others woke him up.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡° Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°My name is Fang Qi.¡° The man said.

    ¡°What are you going to do next? Do you want to follow me? ¡° Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you.¡° Fang Qi quickly made a decision. He had no ce to go. Where could he go if he didn¡¯t follow Jiang Zhen?

    The vige was basically robbed of all the grain and money, but Fang Qi after a quick round still brought back a bag of grain and some salted fish and kelp, which he probably hid before.

    Jiang Zhen and others brought dry food with them but it needed to be kept so it could save their lives at the critical moment. When there was other food they naturally would not eat their dry food and would use this grain and salted fish to prepare porridge to eat.

    Jiang Zhen took this opportunity to ask the man about more things.

    The Fangqi Qi family has lived on the seaside for generations and he knew the seaside very well as well as the location of several nearby viges.

    However, the salt workers lived far away, and defense there was also very tight so he didn¡¯t know the specifics.

    Jiang Zhen followed what he said and added a few strokes to the homemade map he brought with him.

    All the people in this vige have been killed, but the people from Hongjiang salt farm so they probably won¡¯te here again. That night, after burying all the people in the vige, Jiang Zhen stayed here with his men for one night before leaving.

    Life in the wild was very hard.

    Fortunately, there was less rain in the winter and Jiang Zhen had plenty of experience, the loving condition of people at this time were also very ordinary so everyone has adapted well.

    While Jiang Zhen took his men around the seaside, Zhao Jinhe had taken over all the affairs of the Jinzhen escort agency.

    In front of his men, Jiang Zhen has always given Zhao Jinhe a lot of face and even asked him to give lessons to the ountant working for their escort agency so all people working for Jinzhen escort agency were convinced of Zhao Jinge ability.

    But some people who cooperated with Jinzhen escort agency didn¡¯t trust Zhao Jinge too much.

    ¡°What about Jiang Zhen? Where is Jiang Zhen? I have so many goods this time but he doesn¡¯t even show his face, what does it mean?¡° A chubby businessman shouted discontentedly.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is not in Hexi Vige. If there¡¯s anything you want, I can talk to you about your requirements.¡° Zhao Jinge said with a good temper.

    ¡°Even if Jiang Zhen is not here, you can¡¯t find a ger to fool me! Is there no one else in your inzhen escort agency?¡° The men looked at Zhao Jinge in dissatisfaction. In fact, he was yelling here, not because of a specific reason but only because he thought that the Jinzhen escort agency was looking down on him too much by finding Zhao Jinge who was a ger to talk business with him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡° Zhao Jinge frowned at the other person.

    ¡°Change people. I want someone else to talk to me! I don¡¯t do business with a ger!¡° The man immediately said, looking at Zhao Jinge with disdain.

    ¡°OK, I¡¯ll change people for you.¡° Zhao Jinge coldly grunted and stood up, while moving the huge table in front of him up.

    This table was made by Jiang Zhen ording to the modern ¡°big boss¡° desk so it was veryrge and heavy. After Zhao Jinge lifted it he put it down with a loud bang, making the ground tremble.

    ¡°This table was not well ced so I needed to move it.¡° Zhao Jinge said coldly, turned to leave, went outside, and stopped Zheng Baoning, who had recently been transferred by him to help with the work: ¡°Zheng Baoning, you go and talk business with the person inside.¡°

    Zheng Baoning saw everything that Zhao Jinge just did, after he went in and sat down he saw that the businessman sitting across from him was sweating a lot and was trying to move the table in front of him.

    The table was so heavy that it was almost impossible for a businessman who has never done much manual work to move it alone. . .. Then Zheng Baoning saw him take a handkerchief out of his sleeve and wipe the sweat off his head.

    ¡°Shopkeeper Li, what goods do you want our escort agency to deliver for you?¡° Zheng Baoning looked at shopkeeper Li with a smile: ¡°As you can see in our escort agency even gers are very good. Our escort will certainly help you deliver your good to your destination intact.¡°

    The shopkeeper Li was a little frightened and wanted to run away, but Zheng Baoning¡¯s smiling appearance, made him feel a little threatened for some reason.

    He didn¡¯t say anything. The ger just threw table right in front of him. If he refused to talk business with the people of Jinzhen escort agency now, was it possible that he himself would also be thrown out?

    The shopkeeper Li swallowed a little aggrieved and began to talk with Zheng Baoning.

    The two sides signed a contract, and after Zheng Baoning went out of the room he was called by Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°The business is not annulled, right?¡° Zhao Jinge asked with some concern, Jiang Zhen was not here so he was in a bad mood and couldn¡¯t help getting rough in front of the guests just now. . .. This. . . was really not too good.

    ¡°Sister-inw, the business is not annulled.¡° Zheng Baoning said: ¡°Sister-inw, you are very good, very imposing, and you can do it again if you encounter something like this in the future.¡° Zhao Jinge was a ger so if he behaved too soft it would be easy for him to be bullied so it was better if he act tougher.

    The more tough the women he knew was, the morefortable they lived.

    Zhao Jinge nodded, he also knew about it. He didn¡¯t say anything about anyone else, but Jiang Zhen. . .. Eldest Jiang used to be bullied badly but then he became tough. . .. Who would dare to bully him now?

    Zhao Jinge became more and more tough and within a few days, he straightened things out in Hexi vige.

 Chapter 130.2

    Chapter 130.2

    Then he handed over all affairs here to He Chunsheng as Zhao Jinge took people to Fucheng.

    There are a lot of things waiting for him to deal with at this moment.

    When Zhao Jinge went to Fucheng this time he took Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu with him.

    On one hand it was because of Zhao Mingzhu. Zhao Mingzhu has slept with him and Jiang Zhen since childhood and was very unhappy that Jiang Zhen disappeared for several days. If he also left her alone what a sad child she would be.

    Although people these days thought that it was okay for a child to cry, Zhao Jinge was reluctant to let his daughter cry. Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui have been looking forward to having a granddaughter for so many years, and they are equally reluctant to see their grandchild unhappy. Therefore, Zhao Jinge who decided to go to Fucheng nned to take Zhao Mingzhu with them.

    Of course, there was another reason for them to do this ¨C Zhao Jinge was a ger after all.

    It was okay for Jiang Zhen to go out with Zhao Jinge but it was not appropriate for to go out alone. But it would still be okay with them.

    Before, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinhe lived in Zheng family house but this time, in order to avoid suspicion, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t go to live there and spent money to buy another house.

    ¡°Child you really be a but extravagant. . .¡°Zhao Liumented when she saw Zhao Jinge buy a house without even blinking an eye and couldn¡¯t help but add: ¡°Will Jiang Zhen be unhappy if you spend money like this?¡°

    ¡°Mom, he won¡¯t.¡° Zhao Jinge was sure.

    Zhao Jinge was so sure that Zhao Liu be relieved: ¡°Also, Jiang Zhen is very kind to us. He will not care about such a trivial matter.¡°

    Everyone from the Zhao familye to Fucheng. Zhao Mingzhu was looked after while Zhao Jinge was busy.

    During the day, he was basically away from home all the time, busy with things at brick klin or looking for someone to build a chicken coop or duck coop. He also handled the business of the Jinzhen escort agency on the other side of the city and in the evening, hees home to apany Zhao Mingzhu.

    He kept himself very busy so that he wouldn¡¯t worry about Jiang Zhen and think about him all day. As a result what he did made businessmen around him have a good attitude towards him.

    In this way, Zhao Jinge received a number of new clients and developed a lot of new business.

    The people who did business outside were basically all men, while the people in charge of family affairs, etiquette and managing servants were womens or gers. These people also needed someone to escort them or transport goods.

    This day when Zhao Jinge went to the shop where the Jinzhen escort agency was taking business in the capital, he was stopped by a young maid about seventeen or eighteen years old: ¡°Excuse me, are you Zhao Jinge from the Jinzhen escort agency?¡°

    ¡°Yes.¡° Zhao Jinge nodded.

    The little maid instantly smiled, revealing two dimples: ¡°I am from Xu¡¯s family. My madam wants to talk to you about some business.¡°

    It turned out that the main wife of Xu family want to visit her mother family, but she was afraid of the danger on the way and has a lot of things to bring. . .. After thinking about it, she wanted to Jinzhen escort agency to escort her.

    The reason why she had such an idea was rted to Zhao Jinge being a ger.

    It was said that Jinzhen escort agency was now run by a ger so he wouldn¡¯t harm her.

    Zhao Jinge took the business and found a suitable boat to take the wife of Xu family along with all kinds of furniture she wanted to bring back to her mother¡¯s house for her niece in Wexing Province.

    After that, he received a number of simr businesses.

    For example, the wife of a family wanted to bring all the grain from the vige in some other ces to the city for sale, so she asked Jinzhen escort agency to help transport the goods, or for example, if the wife of a certain family found some goods for her daughter she would ask Jinzhen escort agency to help deliver it.

    Among therge families in this city, not every family has a lot of servants with big ships. Also, sometimes it was not cost-effective to use big ships for small errands. In contrast, it cost less to ask Jinzhen escort agency for help. . ..

    As a result, more and more people went to find Zhao Jinge.

    After wife sought out Jinzhen escort agency to help with something and they did well. . . gradually, even these heads of family, even if they did not intend to let Jinzhen escort agency with goods delivery they still remembered Jinzhen escort agency name.

    Zhao Jinge has been busy outside all day, but Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui have been living in seclusion at first.

    They have never left Hecheng County before so Fucheng was very strange to them at first.

    In this ce, they couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between east, south and west, so how could they dare to go out casually? As a result, Zhao Liu did not dare to talk to her neighbors until she has been in the city for more than ten days already, but even then she didn¡¯t dare to speak about their families affairs, for fear that they would be targeted by the viins.

    Jiang Zhen was not here so their family was without pir. What if they are bullied by people who found out about their situation?

    Zhao Liu was worried about this and that, andpletely forgot that Zhao Jinge had arranged for people to take turns to protect him at his family.

    After all, Zhao Jinge was not the kind of person who liked to spend a lot of money, so the house he bought in Fucheng was not big. His neighbors were also not very rich and there was even some families around that didn¡¯t even have any servants.

    Because of this, after Zhao Liu began to get in touch with her neighbors, the two sides had a good chat.

    However, what Zhao Liu didn¡¯t expect that after getting to know them just for a few days, someone woulde to be a matchmaker for Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any daughter-inw. . . Is there no one? In this case, your son is really pitful and you should find another one. . .. Would you like to meet my niece? Maybe meet her?¡° The wife of the family on the left of the Zhao family asked Zhao Liu.

    Zhao Liu: ¡°What?!¡°

    ¡°My niece is 18 years old, she is beautiful and elegant. Your son will not lose anything by marrying her.¡° The wife added, she had been observing them for some time. Although the Zhao family came from out of the town and she didn¡¯t know what they did, they were definitely rich.

    Although Zhao Jinge was married before and had a child, the wife was not here so she was probably already gone. As for a child, it was just a girl.

    Her nice family was very poor so marrying into such a family, even as a concubine would be definitely a good thing.

    Zhao Liu: ¡°. . .. . .¡°

    When Zhao Jinge came home that day, he met one of his neighbors and said hallo, but he was only red at.

    What¡¯s going on? Hasn¡¯t this aunt always been very warm to him before?

    ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter?¡° Zhao Jinge looked at Zhao Liu in bewilderment.

    ¡°She wants her niece to be your wife.¡° Zhao Liu was a little embarrassed. After she exined that Zhao Jinge was a ger, the women became angry.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°. . .¡°

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know that when he was not around, someone introduced a beautiful little girl to Zhao Jinge.

    At the moment, he was hiding near a group of people from the Hongjiang salt farm to listen to some news and nned to ambush this group of people.

    One of the gers in this group was from Fang Qi vige so if there was no ident, the vige where Fang Qi was from was massacred by this group of people.

    Not only that, they were also talking about robbing another vige-Hongjiang Salt Farm has beenpletely messed up so they nned to get more money before starting their own business.

    Jiang Zhen stepped back slowly, leaving the area where their camp was located, and came to the ce where his men were staying. Then he immediately looked at Fang Qi: ¡°A group of people dressed in weird clothes with strongly shaved hair, do you know who are they?¡°

    He actually saw someone who was not a Daqi citizen among those people!

 Chapter 131.1

    Chapter 131.1

    Most of the people in Hongjiang Salt Farm were people from Daqi, but few of them could be seen at a nce that they were not from Daqi.

    When Jiang Zhen saw those people, he was surprised, but he did not hesitate to ask about Fang Qi about them.

    ¡°Boss, the people you¡¯re talking about are supposed to be oriental ronins.¡° When Fang Qi heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s question, he immediately took a shortcut.

    ¡°Oriental ronin?¡° Jiang Zhen frowned slightly, he could understand what those people said, which was not much different from one of the three foreignnguages he knew. But he didn¡¯t expect these to appear in Daqi.

    Seeing that Jiang Zhen was confused, Fang Qi immediately exined.

    People outside Daqi were called barbarians by the people of Daqi, and these ronins ware one of the barbarians.

    They originally lived on a small ind in the east part of the sea but because of the war in their country, many people could not live in their own country anymore and they crossed the sea to make a living here.

    ¡°Boss, those oriental ronins work withoutining, so the Hongjiang Salt Farm likes to use them very much.¡° Fang Qi added, oriental ronins were verymon by the seaside.

    Jiang Zhen asked Fang Qi some more questions and pondered about it. He understood that Hongjiang salt farm was doing well and why they treated salt workers badly. He also estimated that this has something to do with these oriental ronins.

    It has been 300 years since the founding of Daqi, and the Hongjiang Salt Farm has been around for more than 200 years. The number of salt workers might not berge at the beginning, but with the passage of time, these salt workers had their own children and their number increased.

    Originally, the Hongjiang Salt Farm still needed them to boil salt so even if they felt it was not very cost-effective to support so many people, they were still good to them. But over the years, more and more oriental roninse here.

    These oriental ronins were used to live a very poor life on their small ind so as long as they got here they worked very hard as long as they were fed. They were also willing to work harder than others and they didn¡¯t have any family members ¨C all of them were not afraid of death when they crossed the sea so most of them were men.

    With such a goodbor force, the people of the Hongjiang Salt Farm naturally began to be dissatisfied with the original salt workers who dragged along their families so theyid their hands on the salt workers and their families without worry.

    They were not short of workers anyway.

    Having figured out the reason, Jiang Zhen did not know how to evaluate the current mess.

    However, this was not the time to think about this, they have to think about how to deal with that group of people.

    Such a group of people should not be left to continue to harm other people. . . thinking of the few women they brought along as well as ger in this tragic situation, Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help frowning.

    In ancient times, the fate of women and gers were always out of their control, and they would end miserably if they were not careful. . .. His Mingzhu. . .

    When he thought that Zhao Mingzhu might also encounter misfortune if there was war in the future, Jiang Zhen mood be very bad. But he became even more determined to take the road he wanted to take.

    Jiang Zhen discussed some countermeasures with his men, and then found a ce to eat and sleep first.

    In thetter part of the night, Jiang Zhen woke all his men up and quietly approached the group¡¯s camp.

    Obviously, among this group, the status of the oriental ronins was not high, so it was oriental ronins who kept the watch at night.

    It was early in the morning, so people who keep the watch at night were drowsy. Jiang Zhen knocked on the wood in the dark, and the men under his hands leaned over quietly, finally covering the mouths and noses of the watchmen and slit their throats with a knife.

    The number of people in that group of Hongjiang Salt Farm workers was about the same as that of Jiang Zhen and others. They used sneak attacks at night to kill all the people in Fang Qi¡¯s vige so now Jiang Zhen led a sneak attack which his people on them.

    Under calcted attack the group was soon wiped out and no one under Jiang Zhen hands died, only seven or eight people were injured.

    Even if the rescued women and ger were not all from Fang Qi¡¯s vige, they were still from nearby so Jiang Zhen asked Fang Qi to talk to them and arranged for someone to clean the battlefield.

    ¡°Everyone injurede to me.¡° Jiang Zhen said, after several injured people came over he took out a leather bag and unplugged the plug on it.

    A strong aroma of wine suddenly drifted over.

    ¡°Boss?¡° Jiang Ming, who was also one of the injured, looked at Jiang Zhen with surprise.

    He knew this wine, it was Qingfeng wine that many people wanted to buy, but couldn¡¯t in Fucheng! Jiang Zhen called them over and took out Qingfeng wine. Is he going to give these injured people some wine to drink?

    As a matter of fact, Jiang Ming did not drink much wine, nor did he have much interest in wine, but as long as he thought that this was the wine that even the country magistrate was thinking about, he really wanted to taste it.

    However. . ..

    Jiang Zhen pointed the wine bag at the wound on Jiang Ming¡¯s hand. . .

    Jiang Ming immediately let out a scream, which was no different from the pig¡¯s cry when Jiang Zhen killed the pigs before.

    The people who were originally cleaning the battlefield were startled when they heard the scream. The gers who were from the same vige as Fang Qi and had just been rescued by them, subconsciously huddled together and trembled.

    ¡°Boss, what are you doing?¡° Jiang Ming was speechless. His boss poured wine on his wound, was he deliberately messing with him?

    Moreover, how can such precious wine be casually poured on his wound? It was too wasteful!

    ¡°It¡¯s for your own good.¡° Jiang Zhen nced at him and then told him to bandage it himself before letting the next persone over.

    Jiang Ming also knew that this must be for his own good, so he didn¡¯t say anything more.

    However, Jiang Ming was a little depressed when he saw that the people behind him clenched their teeth and didn¡¯t yell, making him loss a lot of face.

    When the battlefield was cleaned and the wound was bandaged it was almost dawn.

    These people in Hongjiang Salt Farm were the poorest so they didn¡¯t have much money, but for Jiang Zhen just killing them was beneficial.

    The people in the Hongjiang Salt Farm have their own badges to prove their identity, so now that he obtained these badges when they meet the people from Hongjiang Salt Farm they can pretend to be one of them and avoid some unnecessary disputes.

    Burying the body on the spot, Jiang Zhen packed up his things and continued on his way.

    He didn¡¯t drive away the women and gers they saved, but he also didn¡¯t allow them to slow them down.

    These woman and gers were all from the seaside fishing vige, so it was estimated that they worked all their lives. Although it was difficult to walk, they still kept up and when Jiang Zhen talked about his knowledge of survival in the wild, they listened very attentively.

    As long as you are human, you always want to live.

    A few dayster.

    Yabian Vige was a small vige by the sea, with no more than ten families in the vige.

    There was a cliff where they lived, from which the name of Yabian vigee from.

    People in Yabian Vige rely on fishing for their livelihoods and they were very poor. There were no fishing boats to go to the sea in the vige so they fished from the cliff and picked up fish and shrimps on the beach. They also grew their own vegetable on the sand by the sea.

    On this day, the young people in Yabian vige caught some fishes and picked up some shrimps and crabs from the crevices in the rocks by the sea, and walked home together.

 Chapter 131.2

    Chapter 131.2

    The cliff was rtively high so it was overlooking the vige where they lived so when they looked down they were startled to see a group of people running towards their vige!

    Was it people from Hongjiang Salt Farming again? When these peoplee, it was never good!

    The young mens ran hurriedly to the vige, but as soon as they ran into the vige, they saw that this people already entered the vige.

    ¡°Young masters? How. . .¡° An old man from Yabian vige walked forward, wanting to talk to those people but one of them with a move of his hand directly shed the old men neck with a knife.

    Blood gushed out from the old man¡¯s neck, which stunned the people of Yabian vige.

    These people used to ask them for things, but this time. . .. Why did they kill people this time?

    ¡°Uncle!¡° Many people began to cry.

    Every household in this Yabian vige has family ties, so this old men was an elder for most people in the vige. Now that those people suddenly killed him, the vigers couldn¡¯t help crying.

    ¡°What on earth do you want?¡° One of the young and strong people asked, looking angrily at the people from Hongjiang salt farm, and then clenched the stick in his hand. Some people went to get other weapons ¨C they already see that theye here with evil intent.

    ¡°Fight!¡° The men who shed the throat of old men said, and then people behind him started to high with vigers from Yabian vige.

    There were as many as 30-40 people from outside, and there were only about 20 adult men in Yabian vige without any fighting experience so of course they were at a disadvantage.

    ¡°Dad. . .¡° a child began to cry, but his sobs soon stopped. It was obvious that someone had covered his mouth.

    ¡°Run!¡°

    ¡°Everybody run!¡°

    ¡°Go!¡°

    . . .

    The young men who fought with others shouted as the women in the vige wiped their tears and ran away with their children. But those who attacked Yabian vige, how could they allow vigers to run away? ¡°Get them!¡° The leader killed another viger : ¡°No one can run away!¡°

    More than a dozen of these people shouted to go after them, but at that moment another group of people appeared at the other end of the vige, blocking the escape of the women and children.

    The woman who ran in front fell to the ground in shock and fear. Behind her, an elderly woman rushed towards the people wielding a sickle, in a desperate manner.

    Those who stood in the way were all armed with knives and sticks, and their leader easy knocked the sickle from the old women arms.

    Upon seeing this, the people in Yabian Vige felt a burst of despair. They were already ready to be caught, humiliated, or killed by these people. But that men instead of killing the women with the sickle rushed forward with a stick and rushed toward the people who chased after them.

    The stick in this man¡¯s hand moved fast and stabbed the next of the bandits who entered the vige first. Then he directly broke the men neck, causing the man to fall to the ground without breathing.

    These two groups ware not together?

    The people in Yabian vige be excited, then they see theter group of people rush forward and before long kill several people who entered the vige before.

    Those who had entered the vige with intention to kill, immediately became frightened and fled. But at this time theter group already chased after them.

    ¡°They¡¯re here to save us!¡°

    ¡°Who are these people?¡°

    ¡°Dad! Wake up. . . ¡°

    . . .

    There were all kinds of cries in the vige, Fang Qi seeing these people feel like he had seen himself before.

    Yes, it was Jiang Zhen and his group.

    At this moment, Jiang Zhen led his people to chase after others but Fang Qi stayed with the woman, gers who they had saved before to appease the people in the vige.

    ¡°Everybody cheer up, it will be all right, and it will be fine in the future!¡° Fang Qi said.

    Fang Qi¡¯s ent was exactly the same as the people in Yabian Vige so vigers rxed a lot, then someone asked: ¡°You are..¡°

    ¡°I am from Xiaotang Vige.¡° Fang Qi spoke about his origin, and then exined the identity of Jiang Zhen and others.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t tell Fang Qi the full truth, but he still said he was from nearby and saw people being killed at will so Fang Qi repeated it now and said: ¡°Our boss is a good man, don¡¯t worry. He will definitely help you.¡°

    The people in Yabian vige were immediately very grateful.

    Those who fled scattered around so Jiang Zhen failed to catch them all in the end.

    These people were all from Hongjiang Salt Field so after they run away they might bring more people to attack Yabian Vige. However, Jiang Zhen and his party could not stay in Yabian Vige to protect these vigers all the time. There are not many of them so if more peoplee from Hongjiang Salt Field they would not be able to defend the vige.

    Jiang Zhen and others had a night¡¯s rest in Yabian Vige, and when they left, people from Yabian vige were behind him.

    Two dayster, Jiang Zhen and others met a group of salt workers hunted by officers and soldiers who came to fight the rebellion.

    On this side of the Hongjiang Salt Farm, there were a veryrge number of salt workers families but in fact only a small number of people were killed in the Hongjiang Salt Farm before.

    But the officers and soldiers who came to end the rebellion didn¡¯t care.

    If something like this happen in Hongjiang Salt Farm, they certainly had to exin in to people above, if they couldn¡¯t catch the culprit, they had no choice but to find trouble with those innocent salt workers.

    Of course, they wanted to catch those salt workers, but there were also other considerations.

    There was no war these days, but if a military officer wanted to be promoted, he must do a meritorious deeds or kill and enemy.

    Under such circumstances, it was only natural to have as many enemies as possible. after all, they needed to kill more people before they could be promoted and make a fortune.

    At the request of the officers, the soldiers ughtered the salt workers families in the Hongjiang Salt Farm, regardless if it was a man or a women or they were young or old. They definitely were all rebels.

    These generations of salt workers have already encountered a lot of injustice and needed a lot of patience in recent years, so they could only run away in panic.

    If they didn¡¯t run away they would die.

    Jiang Zhen group be bigger.

    It was also impossible for them to not meet others again.

    As time went by, there were more and more people around Jiang Zhen. If most of them were not men, Jiang Zhen would not be able to look after them.

    But even so, so many people were still a burden.

    He needed to send these people to a safe ce before he could think of something else. . .. When Jiang Zhen talked to the rtively knowledgeable people among these people, he learned that there was a mountain forest nearby, which was a very good ce to hide.

    In that case, let¡¯s send these people there first. . ..

    With his men, Jiang Zhen headed for the mountain forest.

    It was dangerous to take so many people, so Jiang Zhen sent a group of people to inquire about the news first. The day when these people came back after inquiring about the situation, they spoke worriedly: ¡°Boss, there are traces of activity nearby, and there are arge number of them!¡°

    At the same time, people who upied the Hongjiang salt field before has been living in hiding these days and attracted even more salt workers to go to Zhu Erlin. Someone also reported: ¡°Brother Zhu, it seems that someone ising, we have seen a cooking smoke!¡°

    ¡°Go and inquire!¡° Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Check it out!¡° Zhu Erlin also said.

    Many people have died along the coast of Hexing province, but id did not have much impact on it.

    The impact was still small but somerge families who have already learned the news began to hoard the salt, making price of salt in Hexing province be more and more expensive, increasing the original prince by several times.

    However, if you eat less salt, you won¡¯t die for a while. . . The impact of the rise in salt prices was not as great for people as grain prices.

    But the upper echelons of Hexing province didn¡¯t care much about it.

    After all, they will not be short of salt, except for those involved in this matter and those rted to the Hongjiang Salt field now one was worried.

    The total number of salt workers was quite a few so it certainly would not be a big problem.

    Compared with the Hongjiang Salt field, they were more concerned with Qingfeng wine ¨C the imperial edicte from the capital, not only listing Qingfeng wine as a tribute, but also praising the wine.

    What was the taste of wine that even the royal family praised?

    The rich businessmen in Hexing Province were all interested in Qingfeng wine, but the Zheng family refused to take out even a drop since sending first sending some wine out.

    Scarcity was precious, so it make people look forward o Qingfeng wine more and more over time. But they didn¡¯t know that Zheng Yi was actually a little depressed at this moment.

    He managed to save a batch of wine. But as a result . . . Jiang Zhen sent someone to take it all!

    Jiang Zhen took such expensive wine to clean his people¡¯s wounds!

 Chapter 132.1

    Chapter 132.1

    After Jiang Zhen sent someone to investigate, he learned that these group of people who were close to them were also fugitive salt workers along with their families, so there were a lot of woman and children.

    Such a group of people obviously pose no threat to them.

    After confirming that the group was harmless, Jiang Zhen was relieved and even sent someone over to talk to these people. He wanted to meet that group of people, and of course try to get as much information as possible.

    Before Zhu Erlin understood the situation of Jiang Zhen and others, the emissary sent by Jiang Zhen came.

    ¡°Talk?¡± Zhu Erlin was stunned but he agreed,

    If those people were official soldiers, after seeing them they would probably attack them without saying a word, since they did not fight with them they were probably from the salt worker households or other people gathered together.

    Of course, Zhu Erlin was also on guard and added: ¡°You can to my ce to talk, but not with so many people.¡±

    The person who went to negotiate with Zhu Erlin was Jiang Ming, so after checking Zhu Erlin¡¯s situation, he agreed to Zhu Erlin¡¯s request: ¡°No problem, our boss wille over to talk to youter.¡±

    Zhu Erlin was relived to hear Jiang Ming quick agreement.

    When Jiang Zhen went to Zhu Erlin¡¯s ce, he only brought twenty or so people with him, but these twenty or so people were all good men he had brought with him If he really encountered any danger, he was confident that he could escape.

    Soon after, Jiang Zhen met Zhu Erlin and his group.

    There were arge number of people, most of whom were dressed in rags and carried pots and pans on their backs, just like those who fled under his hands, but some people ¡­¡­

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s gaze fell on Zhu Erlin, the boss of this group, looking at the faces and hands of these people they were all born in poverty but their clothes were really good, these clothes¡­ were probably stripped from people from Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    There was no doubt that this group of people have killed the people of Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Jiang Zhen looked at them thoughtfully and made a bold guess about the identity of this group of people. Zhu Erlin looked at Jiang Zhen and others and also felt that something was strange, his eyebrows immediately wrinkled: ¡°You are not from salt households?¡± The men in these salt households boiled the salt every day, so they had some simr characteristics, such as rough palms, but these people were not like this.

    Jiang Zhen nodded: ¡°We are really not salt households¡­¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen! What are you doing here?! ¡± A voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    Jiang Zhen turned his head and saw Zhou Maohe, who already grown a beard and was on the verge of bing a wild man, staring at himself in surprise: ¡°How did you appear here? What do you want?¡±

    ¡°You know imperial envoy?¡±Seeing this, Zhu Erlin immediately looked warily at Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen confirmed his suspicion ¨C these people in front of him should be those who captured the Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    He never thought he would meet these people here ¡­¡­

    ¡°I know this imperial envoy, but you can rest assured that I mean you no harm.¡± Jiang Zhen turned to Zhu Erlin.

    ¡°You say no malicious intent?¡± One of the men beside Zhu Erlin yelled in dissatisfaction, and someone else quickly grabbed Zhou Maohe. While holding him he asked Jiang Zhen: ¡°Who are you? Are you from government? ¡°

    As soon as the word ¡°government¡± came out, people on Zhu Erlin¡¯s side rioted, some of them had so much hatred in their eyes that they eve started trembling.

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Zhu Erlin shouted, then put the knife on Zhou Maohe¡¯s neck and said to Jiang Zhen and others: ¡°Put down your weapons! Or I will kill him!¡±

    They had been chased by those soldiers for a long time, and been in fight several times, but now they have all be frightened birds, for fear that Jiang Zhen and others woulde.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen graciously threw away the wooden stick in his hand and said: ¡°You can go to my side and have a look. I have saved a lot of salt households. I am not here to arrest you. As for this imperial envoy¡­.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhou Maohe and said: ¡°Lord Zhou, in addition to helping people deliver goods, our Jinzhen escort agency will also take the job of protecting others or looking for people and things. This time it was master Zheng who spend a a lot of money to ask me toe here to get you out of here.¡±

    This was an excuse that Jiang Zhen had prepared for himself a long time ago.

    If he can conceal his identity, he will conceal his identity, but if he couldn¡¯t¡­. He came here this time to save the imperial envoy! His reason was perfectly upright.

    As for why he dragged a group of people, it was just because they looked so pitiful.

    These salt workers were forced to rebel which could not be called ferocious. When they saw that Jiang Zhen was honest they did not so anything to Jiang Zhen and others. They only surrendered Jiang Zhen group while sending their own people to check who has followed them.

    When they confirmed with people who followed Jiang Zhen and learned from them that Jiang Zhen saved them and killed some people in the Hongjiang Salt Farm they were no longer on guard against Jiang Zhen.

    On the contrary, Zhou Maohe frowned at Jiang Zhen, full of dissatisfaction: ¡°You killed someone? You killed someone? How can you kill someone?!¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡­¡±Do you want me to wait to be killed? This Zhou Maohe heart was really to easy to change.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him.¡± Zhu Erlin waved to Jiang Zhen and asked someone to take Zhou Maohe away. After Zhou Maohe was taken away, he said: ¡°Your escort agency can protect people if you paid money? What if I give you money? Can you protect some people for me? ¡°

    Jiang Zhen was stunned when he heard his words, but then he felt that Zhu Erlin was a man of ability.

    No matter if it was in history of Daqi or in the previous world he lived, the peasant uprisings, were never sessful.

    The ancient peasants did not have the channel to learn knowledge, only knew few world and did not learn how to manage the people under them, their view was also narrow¡­ Although there will be an uprising because they couldn¡¯t stand oppression, it is impossible for the uprising to seed.

    It was absolutely a fluke that Zhu Erlin was able to upy Hongjiang Salt Farm. If he was also arrogant and self-congrattory, the only way to go would to be destroyed by the government and the army, fortunately, his head was still clear and did not take credit for himself, and realized his own shorings.

    Zhu Erlin has indeed realized his shorings.

    He was from salt household, growing up he has never left the area of influence of the Hongjiang Salt Farm. When he helped his father manage people it was still only the salt household that lived with them, a total of few people.

    But now, there were thousands of people following him!

    If it hadn¡¯t been for that imperial envoy he wouldn¡¯t even be able to figure out how much food these people have to eat every day!

    Also¡­ Zhu Erlin clearly realized that it was really too difficult to travel with a group of old people and weak children.

 Chapter 132.2

    Chapter 132.2

    If it were not for those old people and weak children, he could easily avoid being pursued by these government soldiers with the people under his hands, but he had already lost a lot of men in order to protect them.

    He wanted to rebel for his people. Even if he died, he had to protect them, but if he kept them . . . He was afraid it wouldn¡¯t be long before they would be wiped out.

    Zhu Erlin had talked to those who worked under Jiang Zhen and knew that Jiang Zhen was indeed a good man; even he could not unconditionally save so many people who had no rtions with him.

    Jiang Zhen was willing to save those people without receiving a penny; if he were to give money . . . shouldn¡¯t Jiang Zhen be able to give these old people and children under his hand a way to live?

    ¡°You are from the outside. Can you get those women and children to the outside? I¡¯ll give you money,¡± Zhu Erlin said. ¡°I have lots and lots of money.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhu Erlin.

    Jiang Zhen also knew that Zhu Erlin must have a lot of money; after all, he upied Hongjiang Salt Farm, and how rich was Hongjiang Salt Farm . . . at leastpared to him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the ability to take everyone with you, but I can help you make contact,¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhu Erlin.

    His Jinzhen Escort Agency was still too small to save all the people of this ce, but if Zhu Erlin had money, he could contact others for Zhu Erlin.

    In Daqi, there were many sea merchants.

    In fact, they were not allowed to exist and had been banned repeatedly. To say the truth, these sea merchants were all illegal smugglers.

    Since sea merchants do illegal business, as long as Zhu Erlin was willing to pay, they would certainly be willing to pick up the old and weak here and send them to some other ce for resettlement.

    Onnd, Jiang Zhen could take dozens of people through the official soldiers, but Hongjiang Salt Farm was blocked by the sea, so it was impossible to leave with thousands of people. However, if big shipse from the sea . . .

    Those soldiers didn¡¯t even have a boat, so they had no way of stopping the arrival of the seagoing ships.

    Jiang Zhen described the situation to Zhu Erlin, and Zhu Erlin immediately agreed. ¡°When the gold and silver was robbed from Hongjiang Salt Farm, most of it was hidden by me, but we also have some with us, I can give you a deposit first so you can help me contact the sea merchants.¡±

    Zhu Erlin was, by this time, a bit desperate, so he could only choose to trust Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°OK,¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation.

    While Zhu Erlin and Jiang Zhen were discussing things, on the other side, Zhou Maohe was distributing supplies to Zhu Erlin¡¯s men.

    He was originally unwilling to help this group of rebels, but these people forced him to keep the books and do the work. These guys were really too abominable!

    Zhao Maohe¡¯s stomach was filled with anxiety, but when he saw that someone had taken the wrong thing, he immediately said, ¡°Stop! You have taken the wrong thing! What is here is for those kids!¡±

    The person who had just forced him to handle logistics matters obediently exchanged the things he took.

    ¡°What a bunch of hooligans! A hooligans! Unproductive!¡± Zhou Maohe chanted again, his face full of disdain.

    ¡°If you yell again, I;ll beat you up!¡± Someone stretched out his fist towards Zhou Maohe in dissatisfaction.

    Zhou Maohe suddenly no longer dared to speak . . . Where were Jiang Zhen¡¯s people? Why hasn¡¯t hee to his rescue yet?

    Hexing Province

    When Zheng Yi first delivered wine to the capital, he told Master Zheng that Zhou Maohe might take action on the Hongjiang Salt Farm, and the Zheng family could make a profit from it. Of course, he did not say that he intended to contribute to this matter.

    Second Master Zheng hac always attached great importance to the matters proposed by Zheng Yi, and after learning about this, he took advantage of the Qingfeng wine to please the empress dowager and specifically mentioned to her about the chaos of the salt affairs in the south of the Yangtze River. He also expressed his concern about Zhou Maohe. Zhou Maohe, that fool, after discovering the corruption in salt, might run straight into it.

    When the empress dowager heard Second Master Zheng say this, he found it very reasonable and added, ¡°I do hope that Lord Zhou can share my worries and solve my problems.¡±

    Obviously, the empress dowager hoped that Zhou Maohe would go to the Hongjiang Salt Farm and make trouble.

    So the Second Master Zheng sent a letter to Zheng Yi, asking him to ¡°help¡± Zhou Maohe at the right time.

    Help? What help . . . He doesn¡¯t even need to do anything. Zhou Maohe has already upied Hongjiang Salt Farm . . .

    Zheng Yi sighed and ced a letter from Second Master Zheng next to him.

    The letter he sent to his second uncle, after learning about the ident in Hongjiang Salt Farm, should have already been delivered to him.

    Second Master Zheng had indeed seen the letter sent by Zheng Yi.

    After receiving a letter from Zheng Yi and having the idea to intervene in the Hongjiang Salt Farm, he felt his heart burning, but even so, he thought it would take a long time toplete.

    As a result, in the blink of an eye, the Hongjiang Salt Farm was destroyed?

    Things were moving so fast that it made Second Master Zheng a bit overwhelmed. However, it was also good for him.

    Zhou Maohe¡¯s report after the raid of the Hongjiang Salt Farm had also been sent to the capital. The empress dowager counted the days and found that the time when Zhou Maohe made his move on the Hongjiang Salt Farm was the time when Second Master Zheng reminded him of it. For a while, he felt that Second Master Zheng had some brilliant ideas.

    The empress dowager asked her confidants to discuss the matter of Hongjiang Salt Farm. Among her confidants, no doubt, that Second Master Zheng was the most valued, and so, finally, the empress dowager also took his advice and used the people he rmended . . .

    At this time, Jiang Zhen, together with Zhu Erlin, first settled the old and weak on the mountain before bringing the young and strong down the mountain.

    They wanted to distract the attention of those government soldiers before trying to save more people.

    Without those burdens, it was much more convenient for Jiang Zhen to do things. At the same time, he also contacted Zheng Yi, sending him a lot of gold.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s guts were really big . . .

    Zheng Yi sighed but had to admit that Jiang Zhen¡¯s approach had brought him great benefits.

    These days, Jiang Zhen sent him a lot of information, which made him very familiar with the situation in Hongjiang Salt Farm like the back of his hand; it also made it much more convenient for him to do things. In contrast, other people were not in such a good situation as him.

    At present, even those government soldiers who were sent to fight the bandits were not aware of the specific situation inside Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    Zheng Yi looked seriously at the information sent back by Jiang Zhen and suddenly saw another letter.

    The words ¡°Zhao Jinge¡± were written on that letter.

    Zheng Yi: ¡°. . .¡± He not only had to help save the rebels, but he was also responsible for sending Jiang Zhen¡¯s love letter to Zhao Jinge ah . . .

    Zheng Yi had been in contact with Jiang Zhen because he had been sending people somewhere to wait for Jiang Zhen, but Zhao Jinge had no contact with Jiang Zhen.

    He went to ask Zheng Yi about Jiang Zhen but was only told that Jiang Zhen was safe. Apart from that he couldn¡¯t get any more news about Jiang Zhen . . .

    Zhao Jinge inevitably became a little worried; he was so worried that it was difficult for him to sleep well at night. He missed Jiang Zhen very much.

    When dealing with the affairs of Jinzhen Escort Agency that day, Zhao Jinge was inevitably a little distracted. Only after Zheng Baoning had called him a few times did he regain his senses.

    ¡°Sister-inw, you should be tired after so many busy days. Do you want to go and rest for a day?¡± Zheng Baoning asked.

    These days, Zhao Jinge was really busy from morning till night, and he didn¡¯t stop even for a moment. asionally, when he was free, he would exercise . . . He was a big man; he could stand being busy!

    ¡°No need,¡± Zhao Jinge declined.

    ¡°Sister-inw, you should pay attention to your health, or the boss will be distressed when hees back,¡± Zheng Baoning persuaded.

    ¡°Body?¡± Zhao Jinge froze and suddenly remembered something.

    When Jiang Zhen left at the beginning, he said that he might be pregnant with a child . . . He was so busy these days that he hadpletely forgotten about it. Should he go to the doctor to check?

    Although he did not feel anything wrong as much, when he was pregnantst time, he also did have a lot of symptoms.

    Zhao Jinge had been so busy for so many days that he had almost finished everything that he should have done. After thinking about it, he asked Zheng Baoning to keep an eye on things since he wouldn¡¯te back in the afternoon.

 Chapter 133.1

    Chapter 133.1

    Near the dock in Fucheng, Jinzhen Escort Agency had rented a shop to attract new business. Recently, Zhao Jinge felt that just one shop was too small to house all the people and goods, so he bought a house in the city with the earnings Zheng Yi had just given him from Qingfeng House and put up the que, ¡°Jinzhen Escort Agency.¡±

    When he left the escort agency, he took his servant boy Ruo¡¯er with him to see a doctor.

    After staying in the city for a long time, Zhao Jinge was already very familiar with the city, so it wasn¡¯t long before he came to a nearby pharmacy and found a doctor inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the old doctor looked at Zhao Jinge and asked.

    ¡°No, Doctor, I want you to check if I am pregnant.¡± Zhao Jinge held out his hand.

    The doctor had seen a lot of things, so he wasn¡¯t surprised that Zhao Jinge was a ger, so he just smiled and took Zhao Jinge;s pulse.

    Zhao Jinge looked at the doctor expectantly, but after the doctor let go of his hand, he shook his head.

    ¡°Madam, you are not pregnant,¡± the doctor said.

    ¡°Oh . . .¡± Zhao Jinge felt a little lost.

    ¡°Madam you have been a little too tiredtely, so it will not be easy to have a baby. If you want to get pregnant, you should rest, and I can also give you some prescription,¡± the doctor added.

    Zhao Jinge was indeed a bit tired these days, and after thinking about it, he nodded his head and agreed, ¡°Doctor, then you can prescribe some medicine for me. I am having some trouble with sleepingtely. What should I take?¡± Growing up, he hadn¡¯t taken much medication, but these days, he was distracted, making him exhausted, so he wanted to take some medication to improve his condition.

    The doctor took a look at Zhao Jinge¡¯s tired face and his old clothes, which were made of good material. The doctor quickly prescribed him medicine, writing down red dates, gtin, and other ingredients whose prices were not too expensive but could nourish the body.

    The doctors on this side of the city were a little different from the doctors in Hecheng Country, but at the very least, they earned much more money than the doctors in Hecheng Country.

    In fact, it would be fine if Zhao Jinge just had a good rest, but a little medicine to eat would not be bad, right?

    ¡°You go over there and grab the medicine.¡± The doctor finished preparing the prescription and then said to Zhao Jinge.

    The prescription was not very expensive, only 70 copper coins for a package and could be added to his meals. Zhao Jinge took out 2 silver and bought 10 packages.

    The medicine had to be weighed and measured, which took a lot of time, so Zhao Jinge waited on the side, a little lost in his own thoughts.

    He didn¡¯t know what Jiang Zhen was doing at the moment.

    Although days turned a little warmer now it was still a little cold. He didn¡¯t know how Jiang Zhen spent his days outside or how he lived; when it rained, did he had a ce to stay . . .

    If he got sick, he would be unable to get medicine from outside . . .

    Zhao Jinge became more and more ufortable when he suddenly felt that someone was falling his way.

    Although he was a little distracted, he was still alert, so when he noticed, he subconsciously got out of the way, making the person who staggered knock onto the counter of the pharmacy.

    The person was fine but not so lucky; she tore the medicine bag that was wrapped inside paper in her hands, making a lot of herb spill out.

    Only then Zhao Jinge noticed that the woman who almost fell was in her thirties. She was pale and looked very ufortable.

    Zhao Jinge felt a little guilty at this result; if he hadn¡¯t been distracted just then, he would have been able to catch her.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Zhao Jinge asked, wanting to help the woman. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    But he didn¡¯t expect that by offering help, he would get in trouble.

    ¡°My medicine! You spilled my medicine!¡± The woman grabbed Zhao Jinge hand to help herself up and immediately said, ¡°You pay for it!¡±

    Zhao Jinge was a bit overwhelmed by the reaction; it was true that he dodge but this medicine spilling has nothing to do with him.

    Moreover, although the medicine was spilled it could still be picked up and washed. Even frying it wouldn¡¯t have much of an impact.

    ¡°Pay me money!¡± The woman¡¯s face was still not very good and her fierce expression did not match her weak appearance at all.

    Zhao Jinge frowned when he saw her appearance, he was quite good-tempered, but he was not happy to be so falsely used: ¡°You fell and hit the cab yourself ripping a medicine bag, what does it have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that you pushed me!¡± The woman said, with a twinkle in her eye, she also added: ¡°You also touched me and took advantage of me!¡±

    In fact everyone did not saw clearly how that woman fell just now but Zhao Jinge helping her was saw by many people.

    At this moment, many people frowned as they looked at Zhao Jinge and be dissatisfied with him ¨C a big man bulling a woman! Took advantage of her?

    ¡°I took advantage of you?!¡± Zhao Jinge could not helpughing.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense, how could my madam take advantage of you!¡± Ruo¡¯er who was following Zhao Jinge also added.

    Madam? When everyone took a closer look at Zhao Jinge, immediately, they be afraid that they might have wronged Zhao Jinge.

    However, that woman refused to give in: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you being ger? It¡¯s not like there are no ger who like women!¡±

    ¡°You spilled my medicine, you have to pay for it!¡±

    ¡°You spilled my life-saving medicine and you still want to deny it?¡±

    Although she spoke aggressively, she didn¡¯t look very good, her shaken look made many people feel sympathetic to her, a middle-aged man dressed as a schr saw this and also said to Zhao Jinge: ¡°You are also at fault for this, you should pay her some money.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you shouldpensate her a little.¡± Another person said.

    From the way Zhao Jinge was dress although he didn¡¯t look very rich, it was clear that he didn¡¯t worry about clothes or food he also brought a servant boy with him¡­. Everyone thought that he should spend some money to settle this matter.

    But Zhao Jinge only frowned and his tone be worse: ¡°Why should I pay for it?¡±

    Zhao Jinge did not look very easy to mess with so that woman shrank bing a little scared. But the middle-aged man who spoke first asking Zhao Jing eto pay for it became more and more dissatisfied: ¡°You are a ger, howe you have such a bad temper? You can¡¯t win the men love at home so youe here to show off your authority? How dare you bully a weak woman.¡±

    The middle-aged man looked at Zhao Jinge with disgust, and his words were vicious, making Zhao Jinge who was already in bad mood d recently, even more angry, making him want to hit someone.

    ¡°Some people really like to lie with their eyes open.¡± Just then, someone snorted coldly.

    When the crowd looked over, they saw 27 or 28 years old woman sitting at the table used by the pharmacy to entertain some distinguished guests, looking over with a cold smile.

    The table used by distinguished guests was separated from the pharmacy by bamboo curtains, but the curtain was lifted by a maid, allowing those outside to see the woman¡¯s appearance inside.

    She was wearing gold and silver but didn¡¯t look tacky at all. On the contrary, she looked like a noble and just with nce you know that her origin was extraordinary.

    But even thought she looked like a noblewoman when she spoke she was extremely impolite.

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that this woman herself broke the medicine bag in her hand but still want to frame others. But there is a group of people who still want to help her.¡± The woman said before looking at Zhao Jinge: ¡°Boss Zhao if you encounter such people in the future, you should not talk to them properly, just directly p them!¡±

    Zhao Jinge has never seen this woman before so he was a little surprised to see that the other party recognized him, but soon, he thought it was normal.

    He had recently taken on a lot of business from various women from big families so he had made a name for himself in the circle ofdies in the capital, so it was not surprising that someone recognized him.

    He looked quite recognizable after all.

    Zhao Jinge was grateful to the woman who helped him speak, yet he was also worried that he might have dragged her down with him, but he soon found out that his worries were unnecessary.

    ¡°Liao, Madam Liao¡± The middle-aged man who criticized Zhao Jinge trembled looking at the woman with fear, then he said: ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have spoken nonsense without seeing everything clearly, I really don¡¯t have eyes madam Liao, please forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go away?¡± Madam Liao gave another cold snort.

    Hearing what madam Liao said, the middle-aged man hurriedly ran out and left quickly, while others whispered: ¡°This is ¡­¡­ the one of the Liao family?¡±

    ¡°It must be, or which Madam Liao could it be?¡±

    ¡°The tigress¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Even these who were far away from madam Liao didn¡¯t dare to say anything, and after a moment they also run away as fast as they could.

    When the woman who wanted to cheat Zhao Jinge heard the words ¡°Madam Liao¡±trembled before falling down and fainting.

    This time, Zhao Jinge dodged with peace of mind, not only that he also did not help her get up.

    It was estimated that this woman was not in very good health so he indeed feel a little sympathetic, but didn¡¯t dare to help such a person, he better let the pharmacy take care of it.

    ¡°Thank you madam Liao for help.¡± Zhao Jinge said to the woman.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t help you.¡± Madam Liao just nced at Zhao Jinge and let her servant pull the curtain down again and bring her tea to drink.

    Madam Liao obviously did not want to talk to him so naturally Zhao Jinge would not pester her to speak with him so he just nned to leave.

    At that moment, Zheng Yi came in from outside: ¡°Zhao Jinge why did youe to the pharmacy? Are you not feeling well?¡±

    Zheng Yi had gone to the Jinzhen escort agency to look for Zhao Jinge, but he couldn¡¯t find him, so he came here after some inquiry.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Madam, your medicine is ready.¡± The person who was in charge of preparing the medicine, finished preparing ten packages of it at this time.

    Zhao Jinge was a little embarrassed and could only say: ¡°I had someone prescribe some medicine to nourish my body.¡±

    Zheng Yi smiled and stopped asking about the things that Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want to speak about, only saying: ¡°I came to find you because Jiang Zhen send me something to give you.¡±

    Zhao Jinge eyes it up almost immediately, the exhaustion from his eyes almost dissipating: ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a ce to sit down.¡± Zheng Yi said with a smile.

    Zheng Yi was not Zhao Jinge so when he went out he would bring a sedan chair so from the pharmacy he would also take a sedan chair, and then let people carry him to a restaurant not far away.

    It was not a meal time but there were still many people in the restaurant, Zheng Yi give Jiang Zhentter to Zhao Jinge and asked: ¡°Before in the pharmacy, something happened?¡± The faces of some people at the pharmacy looked a little strange.

    Zhao Jinge was anxious to read the letter, but Zheng Yi asked a question and he could not ignore him so he exined briefly and concisely.

 Chapter 133.2

    Chapter 133.2

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could get Madam Liao to speak for you.¡± Zheng Yi looked at Zhao Jinge in surprise.

    ¡°Who exactly is Madam Liao?¡± Zhao Jinge asked, he didn¡¯t know any madam Liao, he didn¡¯t even heard about her before.

    ¡°Do you know Liao Qinghe, one of the four gentlemen of Jiangnan? She is the wife of Liao Qinghe who is know for her bad temper. ¡± Zheng Yi said. He was not a person who liked to gossip about other people and he also did not want to say bad things about madam Liao but in fact¡­ that madam Liao was only only bad tempered, but she was notoriously bad-tempered tigress.

    Who doesn¡¯t sympathize with Liao Qinghe in Hecheng County? A sensitive and handsome son who finally married such rich but not so virtuous woman ¡­¡­

    However, there was no need to say too much, Zheng Yi simply mentioned it and then said: ¡°Take a look at Jiang Zhen¡¯s letter. If you have anything you want to ask him we can ask it together. If you have anything you want to bring to Jiang Zhen, go back and prepare it today. I¡¯ll have someone get it from you tomorrow.¡±

    Zheng Yi said so, but he felt that Zhao Jinge should not need to ask him anything more.

    The information Jiang Zhen had given him, were surprisingly not as thick as Zhao Jinge letter!

    Zhao Jinge nodded and started to read the letter.

    Today, Zhao Jinge could almost recognize allmonly used words so Jiang Zhen letter was easy for him to understand but then¡­

    Zhao Jinge face could not help but redden.

    Jiang Zhen he¡­ he directly wrote in the letter that he missed him very much ¡­¡­

    Zheng Yi seeing Zhao Jinge expression had the feeling of being blindsided again.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were together, he often had the feeling that he was blindsided. But now even when Jiang Zhen was away he had the same feeling.

    When Zhao Jinge started reading the letter he regretted not taking it home to read, after all¡­ Jiang Zhen wrote so many confident things only for him to read ¡­¡­

    However, after reading thatter, he did have something to say to Zheng Yi: ¡°Young master Zheng? Are you going to contact the sea merchants? I will go with you!¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen even told you about that?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Zhao Jinge in surprise.

    ¡°He won¡¯t keep anything from me.¡± Zhao Jinge said Jiang Zhen had exined his situation very clearly in the letter.

    Zheng Yi nced at Zhao Jinge thinking that he was different from the ordinary woman who lived at the back of the house: ¡°Alright you cane with me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, young master Zheng.¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Zheng Yi gratefully.

    The connection between Zheng Yi and Jiang Zhen was not close, but it was still there. The next day, Zheng Yi had someone bring some things that Jiang Zhen wanted as well as a package Zhao Jinge prepared for Jiang Zhen.

    Seaside.

    Jiang Zhen asked someone to catch some fish from the sea, then he and his men simply prepared them before putting them into a pot to cook.

    They were now so short of food that they often had nothing other than fish to eat.

    The fishes from the sea were very delicious and Jiang Zhen liked them very much when he first eat them but after so long¡­

    Every time it was just a fish cooked in water, making him want to throw up.

    However, Zhu Erlin got very well adapted.

    As salt workers, Hongjiang Salt Farm has regtions on how much salt each person should hand in every day, they were also not allowed to catch fishes, so after cutting off the treasure trove that was sea, the salt workers often went hungry.

    But now they were no longer hungry even if the boiled fishes were difficult to eat they were still very satisfied, each person desperately stuffing food into their mouths.

    They have been settling down the old and weak for several days, and just yesterday, they fought with the soldiers.

    Jiang Zhen did note out, but gave them the idea how to get rid of the soldiers while also telling them some tactics.

    When the enemy advances, we retreat, when the enemy is stationed we disturb, when the enemy is tired we fight. When the enemy retreat we chase ¡­¡­ After hearing this, Zhu Erlin worshipped Jiang Zhen, and his men became more and more friendly toward Jiang Zhen.

    As for the people previously saved by Jiang Zhen, they didn;t even need to be mentioned since they already worshiped Jiang Zhen very much.

    ¡°Brother Jiang, what are we going to do from now on?¡± Zhu Erlin asked.

    ¡°There are too many soldiers, they still have food, supply and logistics so we can¡¯t beat them, ording to my opinion we might as well just drag it off and let them get bored and take the initiative to withdraw their troops.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like seeing people dying.

    Before, those people from Hongjiang Salt Farm were killing people everywhere so he killed them, he could do it but these soldiers¡­

    Many of those government soldiers were previously ordinary people who have never harmed anyone, even the ughter of innocent people to earn military merit. It was also the order from the officers above, they had to do it so Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t bring himself to harm them.

    He preferred if these officers and soldier give up the siege voluntarily.

    The number of government soldiersing was veryrge but the number of people under Zhu Erlin was small, he also had to protect the old and weak¡­

    Zhu Erlin also did not want to fight directly with these soldiers, so he discussed with Jiang Zhen how to fight them.

    As they spoke, the things sent by Zheng Yi arrived.

    ¡°Boss, here¡¯s something your wife send you!¡±Jiang Ming found a package.

    Jiang Zhen, who was talking to Zhu Erlin, immediately jumped up when he heard his words and snatched the things in Jiang Ming hands before running to the side to look at them.

    ¡°Brother Jiang he has a wife ah¡­¡± Zhu Erlin was full of envy, he was still a bachelor¡­

    ¡°Of course our boss has a wife.¡± Jiang Ming said.

    ¡°Brother Jiang¡¯s wife must be very good, right? Is she very good looking?¡± Zhu Erlin asked again, these was a person who knew the imperial envoy! His family must be good and his wife is probably the kind of gentle and beautiful woman.

    ¡°He is good.¡±Jiang Ming said, adding, ¡°Pretty good-looking.¡± Zhao Jinge was more handsome than him¡­

    Zhu Erlin and the others were even more envious.

    At the same time, Zhou Maohe counted the food in the hands of those salt workers again and once again reduced the rations of everyone. Finally he was given only a bowl of very thin porridge.

    This porridge was the same as not drinking it¡­. But he was so hungry, Zhao Maohe wanted to cry.

    Where did Jiang Zhen go? Howe he didn¡¯t take him away yet?

 Chapter 134.1 - Husband And Wife Reunion

    <strong>Chapter 134.1 ¨C Husband And Wife Reunion</strong>

    Jiang Zhen opened the package Zhao Jinge send him expectantly.

    He wrote a thick letter to Zhao Jinge, although he did not write very well because of hisck of experience, he still very clearly wrote all his thoughts about Zhao Jinge so his letter could also be regarded as a love letter. He also didn;t know what Zhao Jinge send him, was it also a love letter?

    Jiang Zhen did not see any love letters and what was in package was another package¡­. Was that a bag of flour?

    No, it was not just a flour, there¡¯s something else in it.

    Jiang Zhen pulled out a gourd a wooden box from the flour.

    The gourd wasrge and heavy, he thought it was wine at first, but when he opened it, he found it was filled with solidifiedrd, and as for the wooden box ¡­¡­

    The wooden box was filled with a box full of sun-dried soy meat, and on top of the soy meat, there was a letter ced.

    Jiang Zhen opened the letter that emitted the smell of soy sauce and meat, and read Zhao Jinge words.

    Zhao Jinge letter was written properly without any mistakes so he estimated that he wrote a draft first before copping it again. At the beginning of the letter he also wrote that he missed him but there was no heartwarming words he just wrote that he was fine and everything at home was also alright. At the same time he also mentioned flour andrd: ¡°You said that there is not enough food and you want to eat some home meal so I prepared some food for you.¡±

    Zheng Yi said he could not bring too much, so Zhao Jinge could only do his best to stuff more food into the bag.

    In fact, he initially wanted to send Jiang Zhen rice, butter he found that flour can have more uses so he reced it with flour, in order not to take up too much space he also putrd and soy sauce meat into the flour.

    ¡°Jiang Ming, get me a fish that hasn¡¯t been cooked yet, it has to be one of the bigger ones.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Yes, Boss!¡± Jiang Ming quickly brought a ratherrge fish to Jiang Zhen, then he saw Jiang Zhen take out a piece ord and thin slice of soy sauce meat he cut into a few slices and put it on the belly of the fish. Then he carefully used a tree branch to apply a littlerd on the body of the fish, before putting the fish on the fire to grill it.

    Grilled fish should be brushed with oil in order to roast it but they didn¡¯t have oil before so Jiang Zhen could only eat boiled fish but now it was different.

    Now he has a gourd ofrd!

    Jiang Zhen used to bake a lot of things to eat, baking fish was also very good, the fish baked with oil smelled really good.

    When Zhu Erlin smelled it he couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, sell me this fish!¡± Zhu Erlin said to Jiang Zhen.

    Zhu Erling got a lot of gold and silver, but he always lived in the very closed Hongjiang salt farm and never been to outside. Although he knew that the gold and silver were good things, he did not know their value so at this moment, he directly took out a piece of gold the size of a baby¡¯s fist to buy a fish.

    ¡°Not for sale.¡± Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t want to sell it: ¡°My wife sent it to me.¡± While saying this, Jiang Zhen caught a drop of oil dripping from the grilled fish with a branch, which was about to drop into the fire. Then he put the branch into his mouth and tasted the long lost taste.

    For almost two months, his stomachcked oil and water¡­

    Jiang Zhen not only made grilled fish, but also took out some flour and mixed it with water to make two cakes. Then with the baked fish, he ate up the two cakes, leaving nothing to anyone else.

    In the end, Zhu Erlin could only eat boiled fish while smelling the smell of roasted fish with soy sauce.

    After eating, Jiang Zhen felt that he was once again full of strength.

    Although Zhao Jinge was not very romantic, the things he sent were very useful and healed his heart!

    ¡°I want to eat rice.¡± Zhu Erlin chanted as he looked at the people around him: ¡°What do you think, can we go and grab the grain from the officials?¡± The rice smelled good he really wanted to it, as for the pork¡­ Even if pigs were raised in Hongjiang Salt Farm, it wouldn¡¯t be for salt workers so he couldn¡¯t miss the taste of pork because he never tasted it.

    Zhu Erlin was not just talking about it and just a few dayster he robbed the batch of food from these soldiers that chased them.

    Some of this grain was sent to the mountains for the old and weak to eat, but the rest of it allowed them to not carve Jiang Zhen¡¯s flour cakes.

    They now craved Jiang Zhenrd and soy sauce meat.

    These were definitely the most fragrant thing in this world!

    By now, the people in the Hongjiang salt field, whether they were salt farmers or ordinary people, basically defected to Jiang Zhen and Zhu Erlin in order to survive.

    The old and weak were ced on the mountain, while the remaining young and strong were led by Jiang Zhen to y guerri warfare with government soldiers.

    These young and strong ware born and raised here so they were all very familiar with the terrain and could s avoid being pursued by government soldiers and escape it time. They made these government soldiers whoe excitedly to fight the rebellion fail time after time and in the end they didn¡¯t even want to fight wit these ¡°rebels¡± anymore whoe and go without ant trace.

    By the sea, in a dpidated fishing vige.

    This fishing vige was organically very small and it was estimated that only 20 or 30 families lived in it, but by this time, the vigers had long since disappeared. No one knew whether they had been killed or run away, but the vige was filled with soldiers who hade to fight the rebellion.

    There was arge number of these government soldiers so not everyone had a house to live in, so most of people needed to find a ce outside of the houses.

    Last night, they encountered several enemy attacks as well as the night beforest, two night ago peoplee to attack them and rob them of their things. If you count it they haven¡¯t been sleeping well for more than ten days.

    Those rebellious groups probably because of small number of people didn¡¯t fight them head-on, but sneaked on them all day long to harass them. As the matter of fact, no one died, but they were exhausted and had no fighting spirit left.

    At this moment, these government soldiers covered with dirt with unshaven beards were lying sleepy on the ground. People who didn¡¯t know might even think that they were the corpses.

    Wang Xiaoqi is one of the government soldiers.

    He was only eighteen years old this year, when the recruitmente from above that every family must send atst one person, because hie brothers were already married and had children his parent send him to be the soldier.

    Being a soldier was not hard for Wang Xiaoqi. In the past, although they had a lot of things to do in the barracks at there were times when he didn¡¯t have enough to eat in fact it was not that much different from his time at home, but now¡­

    Wang Xiaoqi rubbed his hungry stomach and woke up because of the smell of the rice.

    He was still sleepy, but hunger made him unable to sleep any more. Instead, he took off his shoes and pierced the blisters on his feet with a sharp branch.

    After squeezing out the water in the blister, Wang Xiaoqi asked Wang Wu, who was from the same vige : ¡°Uncle Wu, how much longer do we have to stay here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wang Wu said.

    ¡°In good time, why do we have toe here to kill people? To kill a bunch of people?¡± Wang Xiaoqi asked again, he really didn¡¯t know what they came here for, in the end ¡­¡­

    ¡°Brat, what are you talking about, we are here to put down the rebellion!¡± Wang Wu red at Wang Xiaoqi, but that nce with his red-blooded eyes was not very intimidating.

    ¡°But ¡­¡­¡± Wang Xiaoqi frowned, the people above asked them to kill ordinary people.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about things we have to do or not, you¡¯d better think about how we¡¯re going to live our lives in the future.¡± Wang Wu said: ¡°Those people are getting worse and worse and robbed us of all our food. We may also be killed by themter, so¡­¡±

    Wang Xiaoqi shivered at the thought of these people whoe to make troubles as soon as they tried to rest.

    He does not want to die yet ¡­¡­

    Wang Xiaoqi was thinking this way when the vige suddenly resounded with shouts of killing again.

    ¡°Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Get up and kill the enemy!¡± Shoutinge from many direction but before everyone got up and rushed over, the enemies who suddenly came and took the rice they had just cooked disappeared without a trace.

    They had already been robbed by those people, and now they even lost the cooked rice ¡­¡­

    The food they were carrying was about to run out, and if they continued like this, they might starved to death here ¡­¡­ These government soldiers be anxious.

    ¡°We are about to run out of food!¡±

    ¡°My lord, what kind of war are we fighting in this province?¡±

    ¡°We have to go back!¡±

 Chapter 134.2 - Husband and Wifeâ€™s Reunion

    Chapter 134.2 ¨C Husband and Wife¡¯s Reunion

    Wang Xiaoqi looked at the chaotic scene in front of him, and the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He couldn¡¯t help but shout, crying out, ¡°Father, Mother, I miss you so much . . .¡±

    His words made the surrounding people very quiet; after that, the soldiers actually cried together.

    They came here to quell a rebellion almost two month ago, and they were unable to sleep and eat well these two months, which was really unbearable. They wanted to go back; they wanted to have a good meal and have a good sleep.

    The imperial soldiers lost their fighting spirit, and as for the people in the Hongjiang Salt Farm . . .

    Those who killed innocent people in Hongjiang Salt Farm were mostly killed by Jiang Zhen, who already killed a lot of people these days. As for the rest of those people . . .

    The soldiers would kill ordinary people to earn military merit, so they were not willing to let go of the ordinary people in Hongjiang Salt Farm . . . Hongjiang Salt Farm was not very peaceful; it was chaotic with people killed at random. Some were killed by the imperial soldiers while others ran into Jiang Zhen.

    Not counting the old and weak, there are more than 3,000 adult men around Jiang Zhen.

    It was at this time that Zheng Yi sent another letter, informing Jiang Zhen that he had rented some sea-going ships and would personally bring people over to pick them up.

    Zheng Yi also said that not only the old and weak had to leave on these ships, Jiang Zhen and others also had to leave because the court had sent another imperial envoy over, specifically to deal with the matters of the Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    ording to the empress dowager¡¯s intention, he intended to convict all the people involved in Hongjiang Salt Farm. After that, there would be a new salt farm here, but this time, under the control of the empress dowager.

    The imperial court had nned to clean up this ce thoroughly, so there was no need for Jiang Zhen to stay here. He had indeed achieved his goal and was ready to leave.

    ¡°We can all leave?¡± Zhu Erlin¡¯s entire body froze when he heard Jiang Zhen say that they could leave.

    He always knew that if he took part in rebellion, at best, he would need to hide for the rest of his life or be killed by imperial soldiers, but just then, what did Jiang Zhen just say?

    Jiang Zhen said they could leave too? To live somewhere else?

    ¡°Yes, you can go too,¡± Jiang Zhen said, ¡°but of course, you will have to pay.¡±

    ¡°Pay! I¡¯ll pay! Hahahahahahaha!¡± Zhu Erlin agreed without hesitation. Compared to leaving, what¡¯s a little money? Anyway they stole that money.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zhu Erlin agreed on the price and Zhu Erlin paid almost all of his money, he suddenly remembered that there was a person they forgot.

    That imperial envoy, they still needed to deal with him.

    Not seen for a while, the imperial envoy, Zhou Maohe, looked even more like a savage these days.

    Because of the poor living conditions in the mountains, many people were sick. But Zhou Maohe was still in high spirits; when he saw Jiang Zhen, he could reprimand him loudly, ¡°Jiang Zhen, are you nning to join the rebellion? If not, why hang out with them all day and leave me here?¡±

    ¡°Lord Zhou, I had no choice,¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°Lord Zhou, actually, this was the safest ce for you. You actually upied Hongjiang Salt Farm. I don¡¯t even know how many people out there want to kill you!¡±

    Zhou Maohe froze. It took him a moment before he could look at Jiang Zhen again. ¡°You didn¡¯te here solely to save me, did you?¡±

    ¡°How could that be? I¡¯m here to save Lord Zhou.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart jumped a little, worried that this lord Zhou noticed something.

    Zhou Maohe waved his hand and sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to lie to me. I know you are a good person.¡±

    Jiang Zhen probably came not to save him, but to save the people living by the sea.

    Thinking of those people around him who were very grateful to Jiang Zhen and kept saying that Jiang Zhen was their savior, he also heard that Jiang Zhen had dissuaded Zhu Erlin from fighting head-on with the imperial soldiers, which made Zhou Maohe more and more sure of his suspicions.

    This person was willing to go kill pirates to save people, and this time, he wanted to save people living by the sea . . . Although he looked vicious, in fact, he was a good person.

    Jiang Zhen, who was issued a good person card: ¡°. . .¡±

    Under the persistent harassment of Zhu Erlin and his men, almost all the imperial soldiers retreated, and not long after, Hongjiang Salt Farm was much safer than before.

    It was raining lightly, so the weather was not good, but everyone standing in the long line looked happy.

    The light rain fell on Jiang Zhen¡¯s face and hair, Water droplets sshed his hair; he wiped them with his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

    He didn¡¯te in vain this time. He saved a lot of people, got a lot of manpower, not to mention he also got a lot of money . . . With people and money, he would certainly do much better in the future.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you will not lie to me, right?¡± Zhu Erlin also wiped a handful of water droplets from his face as he asked uneasily.

    ¡°What do you have that I would want to cheat from you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zhu Erlin opened his mouth and suddenly realized that there was really no need for Jiang Zhen to lie to him.

    If Jiang Zhen wanted to turn against them, he definitely had the ability to make them fight among themselves and force them to tell where their money was hidden, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t do it. He also had been trying to find a way to feed these old and weak.

    ¡°What can we do in the future?¡± Zhu Erlin asked again.

    ¡°If you want, you can join the Jinzhen Escort Agency,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Really?¡± Zhu Erlin looked at Jiang Zhen excitedly.

    Jiang Zhen nodded.

    Zhu Erlin wiped a handful of water droplets from his face again, but this time, he not only wiped the cool droplets of rain that fell on his face, there were also warm tears mixed with it.

    The army led by Jiang Zhen and Zhu Erlin was veryrge with tens of thousands of men. Such a huge team moved slowly, but still, they eventually reached the shore.

    There were ten or so huge ships docked there; from a distance, many small boats could be seen stopping by the seaside while a crowd of people were moving around the beach.

    Instead of rashly going there, Jiang Zhen asked Jiang Ming to take a look at the situation first.

    Jiang Ming came back soon after, and when he came back, he was followed by a man wearing a huge hat and a thick straw coat.

    It was not raining hard that day, but this man wrapped himself so tightly that it made others unable to see his appearance.

    ¡°Who is that?¡± Zhu Erlin was a little curious.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart, however, started to beat faster. That was . . .

    The person wearing arge hat raised his head after approaching, letting Jiang Zhen and the others see his appearance clearly. Who would be if it wasn¡¯t Zhao Jinge?

    ¡°Jinge!¡± Jiang Zhen called out, then rushed toward Zhao Jinge, wanting to give him a hug.

    But Zhao Jinge dodged. ¡°Be careful . . .¡±

    As he spoke, his chest moved, and then a small face peeked out from the straw coat.

 Chapter 135.1

    Chapter 135.1

    ¡°Pearl?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the child who poked her head out from Zhao Jinge¡¯s coat in surprise. Who would it be if it wasn¡¯t Zhao Mingzhu?

    His pearl was here!

    No wonder Zhao Jinge, who never had a problem with the cold, wrapped himself so tightly in the straw raincoat. It was because he was holding Zhao Mingzhu in his arms.

    When Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge was here, he was very surprised and happy, but he was even more excited to see Zhao Mingzhu.

    When he was here, he always missed Zhao Jinge and Zhao Mingzhu, so when he saw Zhao Jinge, he couldn¡¯t wait to go and hug him.

    But . . . after sleeping outside for two months, Jiang Zhen was so dirty that he was disgusted with himself.

    Under such circumstances, it didn¡¯t matter if he hugged Zhao Jinge, who was wearing a straw raincoat, but Zhao Mingzhu . . .

    Jiang Zhen looked at his thick, cracked, and stained hands covered with mud; he really couldn¡¯t bear to reach out with them.

    Zhao Jinge was also very excited. He was afraid that Jiang Zhen would bump into Zhao Mingzhu before, so he stopped him, but at the moment Jiang Zhen stretched out his hand, he grabbed it and held it tightly.

    After grabbing Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand, Zhao Jinge also patted Zhao Mingzhu, who was bound to his chest, with the other hand. ¡°Mingzhu, call him ¡®Father¡¯!¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu stared at Jiang Zhen with wide-open eyes; her pair of big ck eyes stared at him without blinking.

    His pearl could already call him dad? Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Mingzhu with surprise all over his face, waiting for her to call him, but Zhao Mingzhu kept her mouth shut.

    ¡°She already knew how to call people when she was at home, so now I don¡¯t know why she doesn¡¯t say anything.¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen awkwardly. After teaching Zhao Mingzhu for a long time, he finally taught Zhao Mingzhu how to say father and waited for this moment. But unexpectedly, his daughter stopped saying anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. When I go back, I will teach her more, so she will call me!¡± Jiang Zhen said, waiting to go back with Zhao Jinge. He must have taught Zhao Mingzhu every day, so she probably already learned it.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen¡¯s voice fell, Zhao Mingzhu, who had been watching him seriously for some time, suddenly opened her mouth. ¡°Father.¡±

    Jiang Zhen only felt that his heart was about to melt.

    In the atmosphere going on between Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, there was no ce for anyone else but Zhao Mingzhu. When Zhu Erlin saw that, he looked at Jiang Ming and asked, ¡°Who is that?¡±

    Zhao Jinge was a little different from what Zhu Erlin had imagined, but Zhu Erlin was born poor and still has a good feeling for strong people like Zhao Jinge. ¡°That ger is good.¡±

    The others also thought that Zhao Jinge was good; such a sturdy ger could work, and he would not be targeted easily by the people from Hongjiang Salt Farm, which was something they liked.

    Only Zhou Maohe was dissatisfied. ¡°It¡¯s immoral! It¡¯s indecent!¡± A man and a ger, how dare they hug each other in public!

    However, no one was listening to him at the moment.

    The people who were slowly following behind looked excitedly at the huge ships in front of them.

    They have been living here for generations, but what they have experienced had caused them not to love this ce too much. Since they could leave, they were all very willing to, hoping to go somewhere else and live a good life.

    In such a situation, they were even more grateful to Jiang Zhen, and many people cried in a small voice out of happiness.

    There were more and more people around, so Zhao Jinge finally came back to his senses and quickly released his grip on Jiang Zhen¡¯s hand before saying, ¡°Quickly let everyone on board. I¡¯ve asked someone to boil hot water for you, so you can take a bath and have a good rest.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and then added, ¡°Let them go up first.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was hoping that Jiang Zhen could go up earlier and have a good rest, but Jiang Zhen wanted those people to go up first, so he followed Jiang Zhen and helped him maintain order while they let those people board the ships first.

    Originally, when these people saw the ships, they were scrambling to get on board early, but when they noticed that Jiang Zhen was not boarding the ship, they also became less eager, letting people who were unwell board the ship first.

    These people were saved by Jiang Zhen, but they werecking food, clothing, as well as shelter. In fact, they didn¡¯t live a good life, and many people became sick or died, so this time, many had pale and haggard faces.

    In this regard, Jiang Zhen could not do anything except give them a little more food, but after that day, these people would never have to go hungry again.

    ¡°Where is Young Master Zheng nning to locate them?¡± Jiang Zhen took the time to ask Zhao Jinge.

    These days, Zhao Jinge has been following Zheng Yi, and he knew about Zheng Yi¡¯s arrangements. ¡°Sailing from here for about a day, we will reach a small ind. Young Master Zheng intends to settle these people on that ind first.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s an ind?¡± Jiang Zhen added, ¡°Whose family owns that ind?¡±

    ¡°There are some fishermen living on that ind. There are also some sea merchants that have docked there, but the ind is ownerless,¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Jiang Zhen looked in the direction Zhao Jinge pointed at and thought about it.

    Ten thousand people boarded the ten ships.

    It was taking a lot of time, and by the time everyone was on board, it was already evening.

    Jiang Zhen did not get on the boat until that moment.

    He boarded the biggest one, and once he got in, he saw Zheng Yin waiting on the bow.

    There were many people on the ship, but those people were arranged to get on board from the stern, so the bow was quiet and not messy at all.

    Zheng Yi was originally lying on a recliner at the bow, but after seeing Jiang Zhen, he stood up and said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, long time no see,¡± Jiang Zhen greeted Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi smiled toward Jiang Zhen and reached out his hand with the intention of inviting Jiang Zhen to sit beside him, but soon, his expression froze.

    He had seen Jiang Zhen messy appearance after a fight, but he had never seen Jiang Zhen so muddy and dirty.

    Looking at the exquisite snacks and expensive drinks he had prepared, Zheng Yi said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, go wash up first. We can talkter.¡±

    Jiang Zhen also felt that he should wash up first.

    When Zhao Jinge came to pick up Jiang Zhen, he also brought Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er with him. After boarding the ship, he handed Zhao Mingzhu to Cook Li and then helped Jiang Zhen wash his hands and feet.

    Before, although Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands had thick calluses, his pampered life had left his hands free from chapping, but this time . . .

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen¡¯s cracked hands and felt very distressed.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡¯ Jiang Zhen withdrew his hand and took off his clothes.

    He likes to be clean, so he has boiled water to wipe his body these days. But his clothes were still dirty. After taking them off his dirty clothes and washing his hands and feet, he didn¡¯t look as bad as at the beginning.

    ¡°Jinge, do you want to bathe with me?¡± Jiang Zhen stood beside the tub, smiling at Zhao Jinge.

 Chapter 135.2

    Chapter 135.2

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s face suddenly turned red. ¡°Wash yourself. I¡¯ll wash your hair.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s hair, if it wasn¡¯t properly clean and tidied up, shouldn¡¯t be seen by people at all!

    Zhao Jinge refused to wash with Jiang Zhen, but when Jiang Zhen had washed once and changed the water in the tub to wash for the second time, he was still pulled into a tub by Jiang Zhen after all.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, don¡¯t be like this! . . . Young Master Zheng is still waiting outside!¡±

    ¡°Let him wait.¡±

    ¡°Young Master Zheng has something to tell you . . .¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say it just now, so he shouldn¡¯t be in a hurry.¡±

    . . .

    The wind was strong at sea.

    Zheng Yi asked his people to move the table and all chairs from the deck to the cabin while asking others to wait at the door of Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge¡¯s cabin. ¡°You don¡¯t need to call them. Just let theme to see me when you see Master Jiange out.¡±

    He thought that Jiang Zhen should be ready after a while.

    It took Jiang Zhen an hour to go to Zheng Yi, and by that time, it was alreadypletely dark. However, the cabin where Zheng Yi stayed was lit with many candles, which made it look very bright.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, is the salt field businessing to an end?¡± Jiang Zhen asked after entering the door.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zheng Yiughed, and then pointed to the direction of the Hongjiang Salt Farm. ¡°That ce will belong to the Zheng family.¡±

    The imperial envoy sent by the empress dowager, surnamed Yang, had already arrived at Wuzhong Prefecture. The first thing he did after arriving at Wuzhong prefecture was call back all generals who had gone to ¡°counter the rebellion.¡±

    It was obvious that the Hongjiang Salt Farm was corrupt and was breaking thew by selling illegal salt, and it was the imperial envoy, Zhou Maohe, who upied it with his people. So how did it be a salt workers¡¯ rebellion? As soon as envoy

    Yang came, he convicted all the generals and then reced them while taking control of the military power.

    ¡°Master Yang has already obtained military power. Next, he will start to clean up the officials here. I am afraid that a lot of officials from Wuzhong and Hecheng prefectures will be reced,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    If he had not known that the empress dowager had already disliked the situation at Hongjiang Salt Farm, he would not have agreed to Jiang Zhen¡¯s n to deal with the Hongjiang Salt Farm from the very beginning. If it were not for his guess that most of the generals who went to counter the ¡°rebellion¡± would not have been able to get good results in the end, Zheng Yi would also not agree to Jiang Zheng going there.

    At the moment, it was because the new imperial envoy had defined the original salt worker rebellion as those generals colluding with the salt farm to farm salt workers that Zheng Yi was willing to personallye to pick up people and even didn¡¯t mind contacting Zhu Erlin, the original ¡°rebel leader.¡±

    They were just poor salt workers who were persecuted by the officials and soldiers and not a rebel group at all.

    Jiang Zhen understood all of this.

    He dared to do everything for Zhu Erlin and the others because he knew that, as long as they survived the previous wave, they would be fine.

    Of course, they still had to leave at this time . . . Even if the imperial envoy was willing to take off thebel of ¡°rebel¡± from them, he couldn¡¯t keep those disobedient salt worker families. When they deal with those officials, they would certainly have to clean up the seaside.

    Of course it would happen in the future.

    In this time period, there were no photos or videos, so if those people in the future change into clean clothes, take good care of themselves, and shave their faces clean . . . who could still recognize them? By then, they would be able to live openly and honestly.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, who will be in charge of the salt farm in the future?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°The salt farm will be under the control of this Lord Yang in the future,¡± Zheng Yi said. ¡°Although Lord Yang is extremely capable, in the past, because he offended some people, he had to wait for more than a decade. But a few years ago, he won my second uncle¡¯s favor, so my uncle looked after him. Justst year, my cousin married Lord Yang¡¯s eldest son.¡±

    Their Zheng family had little power in the court, but they still have such an inw family.

    Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows at his words, but his mood suddenly became extremely good.

    Zheng Yi then asked, ¡°Jiang Zhen, what exactly do you want to do?¡± Their Zheng family could profit from the salt field, but Jiang Zhen should not be able to.

    Even if they let Jiang Zhen¡¯s Jinzhen Escort Agency help transport the salt in the future, Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯t actually earn much.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I want to get some sea ships to go on the sea,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Go to sea?¡± Zheng Yi looked at Jiang Zhen, his heart warming up again.

    Sea merchants, there were not many professions more profitable than bing sea merchants. But in the sea, there were still many dangers. In the end, an inadvertent sinking of the ship may cause you to lose all the money. Not only that, many sea merchants who went to the sea lost their lives there.

    ¡°If you be a sea merchant, just let me know if you want any goods,¡± Zheng Yi said. He was very life conscious, so he himself gave up on the idea of bing a sea merchant.

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, happy cooperation,¡± Jiang Zhen said directly.

    ¡°Happy cooperation,¡± Zheng Yi also said.

    After Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi finished talking, he went back to his room.

    When he went back, Zhao Jinge was still awake, but Zhao Mingzhu had already fallen asleep and was lying on her back with her arms and legs spread out, dominating half of the bed.

    The bed in the cabin was against the wall, so when the child was moved, Jiang Zhen slept in the middle.

    A little beauty was lying on one side while a handsome man was on another, Jiang Zhen slept very contentedly.

    Of course, there were also some shorings, the little fat beauty wetted the bed in the middle of the night.

    After a good night¡¯s rest, Jiang Zhen was in very high spirits the next day.

    He went to the bow of the ship to do some simple training only to find at that time that there were also Eastern ronins there.

    There were many Eastern ronins in Hongjiang Salt Farms, but those ronins didn¡¯t actually end well.

    Hongjiang Salt Farm, because of the Eastern ronins¡¯ hard work, was willing to use them, but they had always looked down on them and had squeezed them dry.

    As a result, when the Hongjiang Salt Farm was in chaos, those Eastern ronins were used as cannon fodder, and most of them died in the end.

    In modern times, Jiang Zhen did not like that country in the East, but not enough to bother with ordinary people, so after one nce at the Eastern ronins working on the ship, he no longer paid attention to them.

    At noon that day, the ten ships traveled to the ind where Zheng Yi intended to relocate those people.

    Zhu Erlin gave a veryrge amount of money, so Zheng Yi was also very generous, and he had already asked people to build some houses on the ind. When he sent people down, he also gave them a lot of food. And after Zhu Erlin took out more money, he promised that, in two days, some chickens, ducks, pigs, and goats would be sent to them to eat.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, thank you.¡± Zhu Erlin thanked Jiang Zhen when he was ced on the ind with his full beard.

    ¡°Master Jiang, thank you.¡± A man who was rescued by Jiang Zhen also looked at Jiang Zhen.

    With these two people opening their mouths first, the voices giving thanks suddenly sounded one after another.

    At that moment, the old man from Yabian Vige, who swung his sickle at Jiang Zhen before being knocked off by him, suddenly knelt down and kowtowed towards Jiang Zhen. ¡°Master Jiang, thank you!¡±

    After he did it, more and more people began to do so, and in the end, they all knelt down.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned for a moment; it was the first time so many people kowtowed to him.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen, feeling proud. Jiang Zhen was really powerful! He was so respected!

    With unspeakable excitement, he finally gave Zhao Mingzhu a kiss on the cheek and gradually calmed down.

    Zhao Mingzhu could not take her eyes off those people; the expression on her face became ¡°serious¡± again.

    When Jiang Zhen left the ind, he felt a little ufortable.

    He saved people for selfish reasons; he received money from Zhu Erlin, and even after sharing with Zheng Yi, he still get hundreds of thousands of silver from Zhu Erlin . . . There were also other benefits, but these people were still very grateful to him . . .

    ¡°Young Master Zheng, I¡¯lle with you in a few days and send them some medicinal herbs,¡± Jiang Zhen said, facing Zheng Yi.

    ¡°Medicinal herbs cost a lot of money, you are really generous,¡± Zheng Yi said.

    ¡°From now on, they will all be my people,¡± Jiang Zhen said very domineeringly though one of his hands was still holding Zhao Mingzhu, who was wrapped in a diaper . . .

    ¡°Father!¡± Zhao Mingzhu began to stir up. What she disliked the most was Jiang Zhen talking to others while ignoring her! She wanted Jiang Zhen or Zhao Jinge to hold her as they went around the ship!

    ¡°Pearl, Daddy is here. Where do you want to go?¡± Jiang Zhen asked immediately, ignoring Zheng Yi.

    Zheng Yi had long been used to it, so he just smiled like he didn¡¯t care at all that he was just ignored.

    Zhao Maohe, who just happened toe over, blew up his beard and stared with an air of hatred, ¡°Jiang Zhen, you are a man. Holding a child all day is a woman¡¯s job!¡± What kind of man takes care of children all day?! That is a woman¡¯s job!

    Jiang Zhen ignored him, but Zheng Yi sighed.

    The empress dowager originally thought that Zhou Maohe had already died at the hands of the salt workers and thought about how to honor him, but it turned out he was still alive. . .

 Chapter 136.1 - Boxes of Silver

    Chapter 136.1 ¨C Boxes of Silver

    Qing Yang Alley was located in the south of Fucheng, which was rtively close to the docks. A lot of people came and went that ce, making it as busy as the north of Fucheng, so the rich upper echelons in Fucheng did not want to live there.

    However, since the houses here were quiterge, and the location was also good, it was impossible for the poor people to live here.

    When Zhao Jinge bought the house, he considered the geographical location and the price, so he made his home there. By this time, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu had lived there for two months.

    Zhao Fugui and his wife were more or less unustomed to leaving Hexi Vige, the ce they grew up.

    When Zhao Jinge and Zhao Mingzhu were around, this difort could still be ignored, but a few days ago, Zhao Jinge went out with Zhao Mingzhu and even brought Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er with him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where they are now and whether Mingzhu misses me or not . . . s! If I had known, I would have followed Jinge and went with him.¡± Zhao Liu sighed. She missed her son, but of course, she missed her granddaughter even more.

    Her son took Mingzhu to the sea to pick up Jiang Zhen. But what if Mingzhu had headache at sea? Zhao Liu sighed again as she thought this.

    Zhao Fugui had been messing with thend surrounding the house since he moved in.

    This house used to belong to a small businessman; that small businessman¡¯s family was not very rich; it was impossible for them to nt expensive flowers and nts in the courtyard, so they nted just two loquat trees, two peach trees, and verymon flowers.

    It was said that in the summer at this ce was very colorful and beautiful, but now . . . . .

    Zhao Fugui thought that beautiful didn¡¯t have much use, so nting vegetables would definitely be better than nting flowers . . .

    The price of vegetables in this city was expensive, and he had nothing to do all day, so he might as well reim thend in the yard and nt some vegetables.

    The yard was so big, so If he nted vegetables, it would definitely be enough for their family to eat!

    With this in mind, Zhao Fugui reimed thend and turned it over every day, changing the garden into a vegetable field. Zhao Liu just sighed while she was catching bugs in the vegetable field.

    ¡°What do you mean by following him? If you get sick, you will only make them worry about you,¡± Zhao Fugui said and then continued catching bugs.

    Zhao Liu also knew that she was not in good health, so she definitely couldn¡¯t follow them to the sea, but she still wasn¡¯t happy with Zhao Fugui saying that. She red at Zhao Fugui, who only cared about catching bugs and didn¡¯t even talk to her, so she opened the door and went out.

    In Qing Yang Alley, there were many children running around and ying while some women about the same age as Zhao Liu and gers were sitting at the door on stools, watching their own children y while doing some work and chatting with their neighbors.

    What these women and gers were talking about was nothing more than some family gossip, and the Zhao family was what they liked to talk about the most recently.

    Since someone went to the Zhao family to propose marriage to Zhao Jinge, and after learning that Zhao Jing was a ger, people living in Qing Yang Alley tsked a few times when mentioning the Zhao family.

    Before, they thought that the Zhao family was made up of old parents with a widower¡¯s son and a granddaughter. Who knew . . . it turned out that it was old parents with a ger son and a granddaughter with their surname?

    ¡°Well, Zhao Liu said that her family had found a son-inw who married into their family, and that son-inw is very good . . . She is really good at bragging!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If her son-inw is really that capable, would he still marry into another family?¡±

    ¡°She also said that her son-inw was very gentle and considerate to her son . . . If her son had married a wife, I would believe that she could be considerate, but a man!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still a man no one has ever seen. He might not even exist.¡±

    . . .

    The woman who initially wanted to marry her niece to Zhao Jinge and several women who were close to her secretly gossiped about the Zhao family; while saying so, they looked at Zhao Liu with a meaningful gaze.

    Zhao Liu noticed these people and knew that what they said was mostly not good, but she really couldn¡¯t do anything about them.

    She had actually exined to them that Jiang Zhen and her Jinge were very close and that Jiang Zhen was a very good person, but apparently, no one believed her at all.

    Thinking of this, Zhao Liu was infuriated.

    In Hexi Vige, she didn¡¯t even have to say it; everyone knew how good Jiang Zhen was, but here . . .

    Zhao Liu took a deep breath and raised her fighting spirit. One day, she would make these people envy her!

    ¡°Zhao family, I haven¡¯t seen your son and your granddaughter in the past few days. Where did they go?¡± another neighbor who didn¡¯t know Zhao Liu very well but didn¡¯t have a bad rtionship with her asked.

    ¡°My Jinge took Mingzhu with him and went to meet Mingzhu¡¯s father,¡± Zhao Liu said.

    ¡°What exactly does Mingzhu¡¯s father do? Howe I haven¡¯t seen him show up for so long?¡± the neighbor asked again. Most of the gossip about the Zhao family was actually rted to the fact that the legendary son-inw of the Zhao family had never shown up.

    That Zhao Jinge, who was a ger, was outside all day, but no one saw even the shadow of his man . . . Ordinary people would certainly think that something was wrong here!

    ¡°Mingzhu¡¯s father has a big business with arge fleet, and it always takes him a long time when he is away doing business,¡± Zhao Liu said. She didn¡¯t know about Jiang Zhen going to Hongjiang Salt Farm. Zhao Jinge just told her that Jiang Zhen had taken on a big deal and went far away.

    A big fleet . . . that person looked at Zhao Liu and then looked at the Zhao family yard. Zhao Fugui was nting vegetables inside.

    This Zhao family was from the countryside, and the mud on their legs had not been washed clean. Even if they had some money, they might not have more than them. Zhao Liu went so far as to say that there was a big fleet that went out on business . . . Everyone thought she was just bragging.

    A neighbor wanted to talk properly with Zhao Liu, but Zhao Liu was stalling and lying, so their talk turned quite meaningless.

    The woman lightly hummed. ¡°This man that married in your family must be really capable, ah, having a fleet of ships!¡±

    The person¡¯s tone was notplimentary but sarcastic. Zhao Liu knew they didn¡¯t believe her words, so she tried to exin, ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you. My family¡¯s Jiang Zhen is very formidable. Do you know Jinzhen Escort Agency? He owns it, and he even went to the capital the year beforest.¡±

    These people really didn¡¯t have any impression of the Jinzhen Escort Agency, nor did they think it was impressive.

    In He Cheng Country, almost every household knew about Jinzhen Escort Agency, but this was Fucheng; people who didn¡¯t go outside to do business didn¡¯t care about a foreign establishment, such as Jinzhen Escort Agency. Even if they had heard about it, they would just think of it as a group of poor people gathered together to serve as guards.

    The neighbor did not want to continue talking with Zhao Liu, so she went to the people who had been gossiping about Zhao Liu and then told them what Zhao Liu had just said.

    ¡°She is too good at bragging. If she said her son-inw work as a bookkeeper in one of those big ships, I would believe it. But to directly say that her family has a big fleet . . . if her family is really so powerful, why would her husband dig up the garden flowers and nt these vegetables?¡±

 Chapter 136.2 - Boxes of Silver

    Chapter 136.2 ¨C Boxes of Silver

    ¡°That¡¯s right . . . Right, even if that Zhao Jinge¡¯s man went out to do business, this Zhao Jinge has no reason to suddenly move here after his man went out! Do you think there is something else going on here?¡±

    ¡°If you think about it, what she said doesn¡¯t have to be a lie . . .. . . do you think that this Zhao Jinge might be someone else¡¯s concubine?¡±

    ¡°Who would want a concubine like this? But when you said it, I thought of the possibility . . . Zhao Jinge even dug out the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, so I thought he thought of himself as a true man. Do you think he worked as sailor and ended up pregnant with some businessman?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really possible. If there were no women on board, those sailors could make do with men when they were in need. At least, he is a ger and would be better than those smelly sailors.¡±

    ¡°So maybe Zhao Jinge¡¯s man is really capable?¡±

    ¡°But in that case, it¡¯s not a son-inw who married into their family, right?¡±

    . . .

    While everyone was talking, an eight- or nine-year-old boy suddenly ran in from outside the alley and shouted, ¡°Look! There are a lot of big boatsing to the dock. Ships! Those ships are especially big, and there are even some strange;y shaved ronins on board!¡±

    When the children in Qing Yang Alley heard him say this, they all became interested. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s true. The ships are very big! I heard that someone came back from the sea and made a lot of money!¡± the boy said, gathering a group of children together to go to the docks to see the fun.

    There were some sea merchants in Fucheng, but their ships seldome to this side of the city, so the children seldom saw this big ships.

    Almost all the children in Qing Yang Alley ran out, but in a short while, they came back huffing.

    ¡°Why are you back so soon? You are no longer looking at those big ships?¡± one woman asked her grandson.

    ¡°Grandma, there are a lot of peopleing down from the ship, and they areing towards us!¡± the boy said to his grandmother.

    ¡°For what reason are these peopleing here?¡± the woman wondered. Just then, she saw several carriages entering Qing Yang Alley, and beside the carriages, there were many children following.

    The driver of the carriage was afraid of hurting the children, so he didn¡¯t dare to drive the carriage too fast.

    The carriage moved very slowly so people could see very clearly the appearance of the people inside. The carriage was exquisitely carved and magnificent, and if you were not very rich, you would never be able to afford to sit inside it.

    ¡°Grandma, I saw Uncle Zhao in the carriage,¡± a child suddenly shouted.

    Uncle Zhao? In their alley, the new family was surnamed Zhao. Was it Zhao Jinge inside this carriage? How was that possible?

    People didn¡¯t believe it, but the carriages stopped at the gate of the Zhao¡¯s house.

    Zhao Liu also saw these carriages and was wondering who wasing. When she saw the carriage stop at her own door, she then saw Jiang Ming jumping down from the carriage.

    ¡°Old Madam!¡± Jiang Ming greeted Zhao Liu.

    When Zhao Liu saw Jiang Ming, she was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s Jiang Ming! Could it be that . . . Jiang Zhen is back?¡±

    ¡°Mother!¡± Jiang Zhen called out and got down from the carriage while still holding Zhao Mingzhu in his arms.

    Because she hadn¡¯t seen him for some time, Zhao Mingzhu was not very close to him. so he was trying to cultivate his rtionship with his daughter.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Zhao Jinge also came down. He was currently smiling very happily. Obviously, he looked like a different personpared to a few days ago.

    ¡°You¡¯re back! It¡¯s good you are back. It¡¯s good you are back!¡± Zhao Liu was overjoyed.

    ¡°Mother, let¡¯s go in first and move the things in by the way,¡± Jiang Zhen said, holding Zhao Mingzhu and walking inside. After taking two steps, he stopped again, beckoning the people outside. ¡°You guys move everything in first. I¡¯ve ordered food at the restaurant. When everyone is done moving, the food should be delivered, then we¡¯ll all have a good meal.¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss!¡± Jiang Ming and the others said in unison, suddenly full of energy. God knows how much they want to eat good food!

    The people who came with them were the people Jiang Zhen had brought out and the people Zheng Yi had sent to help them, so they all worked together and soon moved all the heavy boxes into the Zhao family house.

    ¡°So many boxes. Where should we put them?¡± Zhao Liu was a little tangled.

    ¡°Someone wille to pick up these boxester. Put them in the yard first. It¡¯s spacious.¡± Jiang Zhen said that all the gold and silver contained in those boxes were those given by Zhu Erlin. It was impossible for him to keep all the gold and silver with him, so he contacted the Wexing House money house to count the gold and silver. After taking it away, they would exchange it for silver notes for him.

    ¡°The old man¡¯s vegetables are going to be crushed.¡± Zhao Liu¡¯s heart ached for the vegetables.

    ¡°Mother, this box is full of silver¡± Jiang Zhen leaned over and whispered.

    There was silver in this box? Zhao Liu¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide. At this time, how could she still care about Zhao Fugui¡¯s vegetables?

    The vegetables were originally nted by Zhao Fugui, who had nothing better to do, and they weren¡¯t even worth one silver.

    Zhao Liu jumped up and beckoned Jiang Ming and others to put the boxes in the yard.

    Looking at the boxes, she became very excited.

    Zhao Fugui also didn¡¯t have time to worry about his vegetable garden at this moment.

    His precious granddaughter was back, so how could he still have time to care about those vegetables? Destroy it if you want, he can nt it again tomorrow, otherwise . . .. . . he would have nothing to do but catch bugs.

    A lot of carriages stopped at the entrance of the Zhao family house, bringing countless boxes that filled Zhao¡¯s family yard.

    Outside Zhao¡¯s house, the women who thought Zhao Liu was bragging were all stunned. Could it be that what Zhao Liu said was true? Could it be that their family was actually very rich and had been hiding it all the time?

    It took half an hour for all the boxes to be moved into the Zhao family house, then the people Zheng Yi sent to help left, leaving only the people from the Jinzhen Escort Agency to guard the Zhao family¡¯s yard.

    It was at this time that the meal ordered by Jiang Zhen at the restaurant was delivered.

    When Jiang Zhen went out this time, he earned a lot of money, so the food he ordered at restaurant was also extra generous, ordering ten full tables of food at once.

    Every table was filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and there were so many dishes that even ten strong men couldn¡¯t finish them.

    The restaurant called a lot of pickers and sent dishes to the Zhao family in bamboo baskets.

    There were so many dishes that the Zhao family could not fit them all in the house, so in the end, they simply put them on top of the boxes outside the house.

    Roasted chicken, ducks, steamed fish boxes were full of all kinds of food. Following Jiang Zhen outside for a month andcking food and clothing, their eyes turned green with greed.

    Not waiting for all the dishes to be delivered, they started to eat.

    Jiang Ming grabbed some food and sat on the threshold of the Zhao family, eating while guarding the door to the Zhao family house. While he was gnawing on a chicken leg, a woman in her fifties or sixties came to him. ¡°Young man, what do you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from the Jinzhen Escort Agency.¡±Jiang Ming smiled at the woman, thinking that he should be a neighbor of the Zhao family.

    ¡°From the Jinzhen Escort Agency? Are you one of the men working under Zhao Jinge?¡± the woman asked again.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jiang Ming answered, then stuffed arge piece of meat into his mouth and chewed it quickly.

    The woman wanted to ask something else but was surprised by Jiang Ming¡¯s eating face, so she changed her question. ¡°Why are you eating so fast? Does Jinzhen Escort Agency not give you food?¡± The people who came here all looked like hungry ghosts.

    ¡°Yeah. Wwe didn¡¯t have any food before! Eating fish after fish every day, I felt like throwing up,¡± Jiang Ming said.

    People around Jiang Ming also nodded: ¡°That¡¯s it! s, the boss didn¡¯t look clearly when he ordered food in the restaurant. There are even steamed fishes on the table. Who would want to eat them now?¡±

    ¡°Did you go out to sea?¡± the woman asked again. Eating fish every day . . . that should be sea, right?

    ¡°Yes, went out to sea.¡± Jiang Ming nodded.

    The woman nced at Jiang Ming before looking at Zhao family house with aplicated expression. What that Zhao Liu said was actually true?

    The people who had originally gathered together to discuss the Zhao family had all sarcastic expressions at the moment, especially the person who wanted to marry her niece to Zhao Jinge but was rejected. Her stomach turned upside down.

    Before, she was the one with the best rtionship with Zhao Liu, and Zhao Liu even promised to help her younger son to find a job. Yet . . . she started basically all the gossip about the Zhao family, and after her matchmaking failed, she became even angrier and spoke ill about the Zhao family everywhere.

    Now, Zhao Liu should be aware of it, and these days, she was not even willing to talk to her.

    This Zhao family was surprisingly so rich. If she had known, how she would not have fell out with Zhao Liu. She was afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get any benefit from Zhao Liu¡¯s family any more.

    The woman regretted it as did others. If they had not gossiped about the Zhao family before and had a good rtionship with Zhao Liu, they could bask in her limelight and not look at Zhao Liu from sidelines with the others . . .

    These people thought about a lot of things, but the children were rtively much simpler. They ran around the Zhao family house, curiously looking at the Zhao family¡¯s group of tall men and stared ravenously at their food.

    ¡°Come.¡± Jiang Ming beckoned the children over and gave them some tes of fishes they didn¡¯t want to eat and chopsticks: ¡°This is for you. be careful not to eat fish bones.¡±

    These children running around were not particrly young, and there were a lot of fishes in Fucheng, so they had all basically eaten fish before, but they still took chopsticks and ate quickly.

    This steamed fish was really too delicious; they had never eaten such delicious fish before!

    ¡°Those little brats! But these people are really generous. A te of fish costs several copper coins, but they give it to the group of children to eat.¡± An old man from Qing Yang Alley sighed. He knew that restaurant; the steamed fish there could cost from fifty to sixty copper coins a piece!

    While outside Jiang Zhen¡¯s men were wolfing down the food, inside, Jiang Zhen was doing the same.

    Jiang Zhen, who used to love to chew chicken wings, did not even ate the chicken wings but devoured a chicken leg in three or two bites.

    After eating some meat, Jiang Zhen¡¯s eating speed slowed down, and he told Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui about the money he earned this time. ¡°This time, I earned a bit more, about a few hundred thousand silver.¡±

    Zhao Fugui directly dropped the bowl he was holding while Zhao Liu froze. ¡°How much did you earn? A few hundred silver?¡±

    ¡°Several hundred thousand silver,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    This time, Zhao Liu¡¯s also identally dropped the bowl.

 Chapter 137.1 - Going Out to Deliver Pigs

    Chapter 137.1 ¨C Going Out to Deliver Pigs

    At the filled table, only Jiang Zhen was feasting.

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were already confused; they looked outside from time to time, distracted by the figure of hundreds of thousands of silver. How could they eat in such a situation?

    As for Zhao Jinge . . .

    Zhao Mingzhu was almost a year old and had begun to eat solid food, so he was feeding her. But he was also very shocked.

    Jiang Zhen had told him before that he had gotten a lot of money, but he really didn¡¯t expect that it would be so much.

    Zhao Jinge felt it was unreal as he clipped a piece of meat from a fish belly and put it in Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s mouth.

    Zhao Mingzhu opened her mouth wide to hold the piece of meat that was not far from her, but because her body was being held by Zhao Jinge and her neck was too short to take it she was aggrieved. ¡°Wuw!¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s cry woke up Zhao Jinge and the Zhao couple, then Zhao Jinge hurriedly fed her the fish and found that the roast pork and chicken on the table was nearly finished by Jiang Zhen by half.

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much. What if you get diarrhea?¡± Zhao Jinge said worriedly.

    ¡°Even if I get diarrhea, I¡¯m willing to do it,¡± Jiang Zhen said, smiling, but no longer eating meat.

    In ancient times, when you got diarrhea, there was no medicine for it, so he better pay attention to what he ate.

    After Jiang Zhen finished eating, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui, who didn¡¯t eat much, put down their chopsticks.

    They almost couldn¡¯t wait to go outside, then they saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s men using one of the boxes as a table for eating and some of the boxes were even greasy from the vegetable soup.

    This . . . box was filled with silver, ah! That¡¯s not good, isn¡¯t it?

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui rubbed their hands uneasily, always feeling that something was wrong.

    Jiang Zhen ate quickly but his men ate even faster.

    Jiang Zhen asked the restaurant to bring enough food for more than a hundred people, but in the end, it was all eaten up by fifty people.

    There were many boxes stacked in the Zhao family¡¯s garden with cups and tes on the boxes and many people rubbing their round stomachs while directly sitting on the boxes.

    When the people from the Hu family notes house came over, they saw such a messy scene.

    ¡°Which one is Master Jiang? Where is the silver?¡± the boss of Hu notes house asked in a loud voice.

    His employer asked him to bring dozens of people here to move silver . . . Was there really silver in this tiny mansion that required him toe personally and bring so many people with him to move it?

    ¡°Close the door,¡± Jiang Zhen said. After his own men closed the door, he pointed to the chest in the courtyard and said, ¡°The silver is inside. Let¡¯s weigh it together.¡±

    The so-called notes house was a money bank, equivalent to a bank in the future, of course, the business of the notes house was far less than a bank due to its local nature. The notes they gave could only be circted in a certain range.

    This time, even Jiang Zhen himself was not clear how much silver he brought back; after all, in Hongjiang Salt Farm, he did not have weights or scales. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t take the silver directly to the notes house. He always needed to be sure first how much silver he had, right?

    Jiang Ming and He Xiasheng quickly packed away the dishes on a box, then lifted the box and said to the head of Hu notes house, ¡°Come. Let¡¯s weigh it together!¡±

    After the box was opened, it revealed neatly stacked silver, which was of good color and shone in the sunlight.

    The shopkeeper looked at the pile of silver next to him and then looked at the box. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t know what to say. Wait a minute . . . the boss suddenly found that there were many of such boxes in this courtyard. It couldn¡¯t be a case that all these boxes were filled with silver, right?

    The boss suddenly felt a little dizzy. He should have brought more people with him!

    In Daqi, the value of silver, in addition to its weight, could also be appraised through its color.

    The better the color of the silver, the more valuable it was. Silver with worse color would be less valuable, and even some merchants did not ept silver of bad color.

    The shopkeeper, who looked at the color first, couldn¡¯t help but exim after seeing it, ¡°These silver pieces are of excellent color.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded. After all, he got this silver from Hongjiang Salt Farm, so certainly, its color couldn¡¯t be too bad.

    Jiang Zhen was very calm, so when that boss looked at Jiang Zhen, he felt even more that this person was not simple. Of course, the first thing he had to do at the moment was to weigh the silver.

    For the silver, Jiang Zhen asked his men to weigh it first, write down the weight, and then let the man brought by the shopkeeper weigh it again. After confirming that the weight was correct, the amount would be written in the book.

    Their hands and feet were quite fast, but there was too much silver, so it would take some effort . . . Jiang Zhen observed it for a while before stopping and turning to apany Zhao Mingzhu.

    Seeing this, Zhao Liu patted her chest, which was beating particrly fast and also stopped observing. She was afraid that she was too excited and would not be able to stand any longer . . .

    The courtyard was filled with silver, and she took a deep breath, feeling that she could not stay here any longer. She opened the corner door of the courtyard and walked outside.

    As soon as Zhao Liu went out, she was surrounded by many people.

    ¡°Zhao Liu, the one who just came back, is your son-inw?¡±

    ¡°Your son-inw is really a big businessman, huh?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be telling the truth . . .¡±

 Chapter 137.2 - Going Out to Deliver Pigs

    Chapter 137.2 ¨C Going Out to Deliver Pigs

    . . .

    The crowd¡¯s mor was so loud, Zhao Liu¡¯s head started to hurt. She was still thinking about the money at home, so she was a little too impatient to deal with these people. ¡°That¡¯s my son-inw. He¡¯s amazing. He made a lot of money on this trip.¡±

    After saying that, she saw the people still wanted to ask her questions, so she immediately said, ¡°I never lied to you before. It¡¯s you that didn¡¯t believe me. Now stop chattering and disturbing me.¡±

    Zhao Liu directly reprimanded people, but none of them were unhappy; instead, they all smiled at Zhao Liu.

    They held Zhao Liu¡¯s hand and said many good things, which made Zhao Liu forget about the hundreds of thousands of silver for a while and was willing to talk to them again. ¡°My family¡¯s Jiang Zhen is great and made a lot of money during this trip. In this world, there are really not many people who are as sessful as him. The main reason is that he is not only good food to Zhao Jinge but also to us . . .¡±

    Zhao Liu tilted her head and spoke proudly while the people in front of her nodded their heads in agreement.

    Zhao Liu calmed down as she spoke.

    Even if Jiang Zhen had earned hundreds of thousands of silver, so what? He was still Jiang Zhen, wasn¡¯t he? They would live their lives as usual.

    After her mood calmed down, Zhao Liu¡¯s didn¡¯t bother to talk to these people anymore and went back in.

    The yard was crowded, so Zhao Liu simply went back to the house. When she went inside, she saw Zhao Fugui sitting there.

    With the people outside, a lot of things could not be said, but Zhao Fugui was different . . . As soon as she saw Zhao Fugui, Zhao Liu said, ¡°As this child¡¯s father, how do you think Jiang Zhen got so much money after going out outside?¡±

    In the past, when Jiang Zhen went to the capital and came back, he brought back a lot of silver, but at that time, neither Zhao Liu¡¯s nor Zhao Fugui were clear about the exact amount. But this time was different. They saw with their own eyes piles of silver, and their shock was extraordinarily big.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zhao Fugui said.

    Zhao Liu poked Zhao Fugui with her finger and asked again, ¡°You don¡¯t think he has done something bad?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zhao Liu poked again. ¡°With so much money, will others be jealous?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    . . .

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, is it all right for you to take back so much silver?¡± Zhao Liu was not the only one who was worried about this. Zhao Jinge was equally uneasy.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. You might not know, but I got a lot of money. In fact, it¡¯s just a small amount,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    The interest group formed by the Hongjiang Salt Farm was very veryrge and contained many people, but the Hongjiang Salt Farm itself was just a ce where the salt was produced.

    Although the people there could earn a lot of money by selling salt, it was not as much as those big salt merchants who took salt from the Hongjiang Salt Farm to sell elsewhere.

    After the envoy, Yang Qin, took control of the military power, he raided the homes of many salt merchants, some of whom made millions of silver.

    Compared to them, he, who got only a few hundred thousand silver, was nothing. The imperial envoy also would certainly not be jealous. As for the court and the empress dowager . . . they wouldn¡¯t even know about it.

    It took two days to weigh all the silver in Jiang Zhen¡¯s yard.

    The notes house that came to the Zhao family to pick up the silver was opened by the Hu family, the maiden family of Zheng Yi¡¯s wife, so they could also be considered members of the Zheng family. Jiang Zhen was also veryfortable with them and finally changed all the silver into silver notes, amounting to 450,000 silver.

    He got rich overnight . . .

    After Jiang Zhen took the money, he immediately contacted Zheng Yi, and then bought arge mansion in Fucheng. As for the house bought by Zhao Jinge, he nned to use it as a dormitory for the guard Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    However, although Jiang Zhen bought a house, he was in no hurry to move because he had to go to the sea to send things to Zhu Erlin and others.

    The indcked many things, and the main shortage was theck of variety in the types of food and medical herbs. This time, Jiang Zhen hired a sea-worthy ship to see them and loaded half a ship with grain and the other half with livestock.

    On that day, on the dock of Fucheng, many people stood next to the ship and looked at it while whispering. Within their encirclement, pigs squealed from time to time.

    Some people were curious to see themotion and squeezed in only to see some strong men carrying hog-tied pigs and carrying them on the ship.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Although those big ships that went to on the sea were also loading grain on board before and some live animals to raise to kill to eatter, could they really finish eating the many pigs they carried inside while on board?

    ¡°We also wonder . . . No one is going to sell these pigs somewhere faraway, right? Can these this pigs even fetch a high price? ¡°

    ¡°Pigs can be raised anywhere, and even if they can be sold more expensively in other ces, it isn¡¯t that much. I don¡¯t know what this person is thinking.¡±

    ¡°Maybe these people n to kill a pig for food every day when they are at sea.¡±

    There was a lot of talk, and they were all very strange. However, they only wondered for a short while and left the matter alone, talking about something else. ¡°The price of salt has finallye down.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Before, a kilo of salt surprisingly cost one hundred coins . . . It was really too expensive.¡±

    ¡°My mother¡¯s family didn¡¯t save salt before, so I didn¡¯t have anything with salt for half a month!¡±

    ¡°I heard that the price of salt was so high during this time because those salt merchants have teamed up not to sell salt. What a bunch of bastards!¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, Yang Qing has arrested all those salt merchants!¡±

    . . .

    The ordinary people of Hexing Province did not know anything about the Hongjiang Salt Farm and the changes in salt prices and just thought it was the work of some businessmen.

    No one exined the reason to them, and the court was even more unwilling to exin. At this time, a new salt farm was being prepared in the area of the former Hongjiang Salt Farm.

    The new salt farm was named Changhe Salt Farm and would be taken care of by Yang Qin in the future.

    The Changhe Salt Farm could not be built for a while, but fortunately, when Yang Qinq raided the salt merchant¡¯s houses, he found a lot of salt , which finally stabilized the price of salt.

    Jiang Zhen knew all of it, but he could not interfere, and did not bother to do so.

    He was going out to sea again to deliver food to Zhu Erlin and the others.

    It took them a long time to get all the living livestock on the board, so they set out in the evening.

    Jiang Zhen was not a sailor, so he didn¡¯t need to do anything on the ship. He was supposed to sleep at night, but the pigs, chickens, and ducks on board were so loud that Jiang Zhen could not sleep.

    But Zhao Mingzhu didn¡¯t care at all. No matter how noisy her environment was, she could fall asleep quickly and sleep well when she was tired. Sometimes even wetting her bed didn¡¯t wake her up.

    Seeing Zhao Mingzhu sleeping, Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to touch Zhao Jinge. ¡°Jinge,e Sit on me!¡±

    Zhao Jinge nced at Jiang Zhen and then sat down obediently.

    Jiang Zhen had night entertainment, so he couldpletely ignore the constant sounds of the livestock, but others couldn¡¯t.

    Not long after returning from the capital, Dr. Hu, who was lent by Zheng Yi to Jiang Zhen, was lying in the ship very depressed.

    Every time he managed to get a little sleepy, the pigs on board would suddenly cry out . . . They clearly did not let him sleep!

    Can¡¯t Jiang Zhen just kill these pigs and take it with him as bacon?

    The ship sailed slowly into the sea.

    Zheng Yi built some houses on that ind in advance to amodate Zhu Erlin and the others, but those houses were not enough for everyone to live in.

    Zhu Erlin arranged for the old and weak to live in houses, but he and the young and strong, built some houses and dug out several caves in the past few days.

    A few dayster, they finally were able to take shelter from the wind and rain.

    Early that morning, they got busy starting a fire to cook.

    Zheng Yi left a lot of food, so Zhu Erlin let people cook some dry rice to eat; as for the next meal, it would naturally be the salted fish.

    Salted fishes were very popr in ces like Hecheng County, and everyone liked them, but in Zhu Erlin¡¯s group, no one liked them.

    Everyone was holding their rice bowl and wolfing it down, but no one moved their chopstick to take some salted fish.

    Rice was fragrant and delicious; they didn¡¯t want to use use fish to cover up its wonderful taste!

    After dinner, Zhu Erlin took the people around the ce where they lived.

    Many of the people they brought with them were sick, and many others did not look very well. In addition, the original inhabitants of this ind seemed hostile to them.

    ¡°This ind is a little small. We have to go somewhere else to find a way to live in the future,¡± Zhu Erlin said to the people beside him, his face was full of worry.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The man nodded and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Jiang Zhen say we could join the Jinzhen Escort Agency? We¡¯ll just join in the future.¡±

    It . . . Zhu Erlin thought about it and suddenly realized that his worries were superfluous.

    They will certainly not live on this ind in the future.

    It¡¯s just . . . when will Jiang Zhen pick them up? Also when will the chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep promised to them be delivered? He really wanted to eat pork!

    Zhu Erlin looked to the sea in anticipation, and then saw a ship slowlying from afar. That ship was quite familiar to him. After all, he had sailed on it before . . . Jiang Zhen¡¯s ship wasing! His pig wasing too, right?

 Chapter 138.1 - Moving and Beating Up People

    Chapter 138.1 ¨C Moving and Beating Up People

    There was a proverb that said, ¡°You might have never eaten pork, but you have seen pigs run.¡±

    In the eyes of modern people, it sounded strange because modern people were never like this. Basically, they have all eaten pork but have never seen pigs run. However, in this day and age, many people have seen pigs run but have never eaten pork.

    In the past, in Hexi Vige, children would cut grass for pigs every day and check them every day. But in the end, when these pigs were ughtered, they actually weren¡¯t able to eat even a few pieces of meat. Not to mention these salt workers.

    From time to time, they could find some time to catch fish to eat, but pork.

    Hongjiang Salt Farm people never gave them pork!

    Zhu Erlin could be considered as part of the rebel party; for his crime, nine generations of his family would be killed and as a matter of fact . . . he hadn¡¯t even eaten pork yet!

    In contrast, it was the vigers from small fishing viges who sold salted fishes and kelp to outsiders and exchanged with them who had eaten pork, and severalrge vige families even raised pigs.

    The huge sea-going ship stopped near the ind, and then all kinds of things were carried to the ind under themand of Jiang Zhen; livestock was the first to be carried down.

    These days, pigs were not fat, and basically, they only had about 50 kilos of pure meat. Jiang Zhen this time bought a lot, so he also got a good price. Some even sold him their families¡¯ 60 or 70 kg pigs, but the pigs of this weight were not easy to catch.

    After Zhu Erlin boarded the ship, he also carried a pig off the ship alone.

    The poor pig carried on his back screamed so loudly that it looked pitiful.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°. . .¡±

    These salt households on the ind were in no position to bathe properly, so they were not much cleaner than those pigs and did not dislike these pigs at all, but Jiang Zhen, who stood far away, made up his mind to not touch those pigs.

    If there was a smell on him, his Mingzhu would not hug him!

    The pigs, chickens, and ducks were all locked up in the house by Zhu Erlin, and then he got someone to kill a few of them before starting to cook the meat to eat.

    Jiang Zhen was very considerate of these people, so in addition to the livestock and medical herbs, he also brought them some seasonings, including soy sauce. Finally, they decided to make a simple roast pork.

    Of course, their cooking of braised pork was not very good. They just chopped the pig meat into smaller pieces and put it into water to boil, then they added soy sauce. But even so, the meat taste was still there, and it was very, very fragrant.

    Zhu Erlin set up dozens ofrge pots and ughtered a total of twenty pigs for cooking.

    The original residents of the ind had always rejected these people who suddenly appeared. Had it not been for therge number of Zhu Erlin¡¯s group that they absolutely would not be able to defeat them, they would probably try to drive Zhu Erlin and the others out.

    But at that moment, they were attracted by the fragrance of pork, so even their hostility was reduced.

    The original residents gawked from far away, at this sight and for a long time. Then finally, a man went to Zhu Erlin and the others and tried to exchange some nted vegetables and sun-dried seafood for the pig.

    Zhu Erlin epted the vegetables and nned to save them for dinner. As for the seafood, he gave them to Jiang Zhen.

    Even if seafood was given to them, they didn¡¯t want to eat it, but Jiang Zhen took it. He should be able to sell it for money.

    This seafood could indeed be sold for money, even for a lot of money. Jiang Zhen saw that he could have two or three hundred kilograms of seafood and only felt that he had made a lot of money.

    Inside, there were even some sun-dried sea cucumbers and abalone!

    The Qingfeng House in Fucheng was about to open, so he could sell seafood there in the future.

    On this day, those who were settled on the ind by Jiang Zhen were all as happy as if there was a festival.

    They cooked a lot of white rice, and each person was given arge bowl. After carrying a bowl filled with white rice to the line, they also got a spoonful of roast pork with soup and meat.

    The roasted pork really smelled good; it was especially delicious!

    The fishermen and salt workers who seldom ate meat or had even never eaten pork before soon felt that pork was the most delicious food. Some people who ate rice with pork couldn¡¯t even shed tears for how delicious it was!

    A child of only four or five years old took a bite of the meat and looked at his mother with anticipation. ¡°Mother, can I eat such delicious food again?¡±

    ¡°Yes, definitely,¡± the child¡¯s mother said.

    The child smiled happily. ¡°That¡¯s great . . . Mother, let¡¯s save some for Dad to eat. Dad would be very hungry when he came back from fishing.¡±

    The child was thinking of leaving some meat for his father, but the child¡¯s mother suddenly started crying.

    Her man was gone. Killed. The only good thing was that they could live.

    Holding the child, the wife dried her tears. They had been terrified before, but in this moment, she finally had a feeling of regaining their lives.

    Zhu Erlin ate the meat with an intoxicated expression on his face. So this was the legendary pork!

    ¡°You can buy a pig for one silver outside, so you can eat this every day from now on,¡± Jiang Zhen gave him a look and said. He had been eating and drinking well for the past few days, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t look at the pork that was just cooked casually.

    What Jiang Zhen put in front of him was Cook Li¡¯s home-cooked braised pork, which has gone through manyplicated processes, and its taste was definitely much better than what Zhu Erlin and others had.

    Knowing that he could not keep too much silver, Zhu Erlin gave most of the silver to Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi, but even so, he still had a lot of boxes of silver in his hand. This meant he and his men could eat pork until they became old.

    When he found this, Zhu Erlin was immediately excited.

    ¡°What are we going to do in the future?¡± Looking at the excited Zhu Erlin, Jiang Zhen asked if he needed to continue to stay on the ind. Even if he had silver he had no ce to spend it.

    ¡°This time I will take some people back first, as for you guys, it will take some time to arrange,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen was not capable of bringing back more than ten thousand people all at once to settle down, so this time he only intended to take away a few hundred people he saved with his own hands.

    Those people had been with him for a long time and trusted him a lot. They were also very obedient, so he nned to bring them to Fucheng and settle them down on the hill that Zhao Jinge brought.

    There was a great shortage of manpower there, but if these people go there, there should be enough manpower then.

    Jiang Zhen rented the ships and stayed on this ind for two days.

    During that time, Jiang Zhen helped the inders build pig pens and exchanged food, chickens, and ducks for seafood, pearls, and corals with the ind¡¯s original residents.

    These things were worthless in the eyes of the original residents while sea merchants did not put these small things in their eyes, but for Jiang Zhen, even the mosquito leg was still the meat.

    He brought a lot of medicinal herbs for Zhu Erlin and the others; those things were not cheap and cost a lot of money, but naturally, he also earned a little bit.

    Jiang Zhen left with almost a thousand people; some of whom he saved before, Some of them were sick and were no longer suitable for living on that ind, so these people were those Doctor Hu asked Jiang Zhen to bring with him.

    Doctor Hu was good at treating external injuries, so after learning that Jiang Zhen¡¯s technique of sewing wounds, he also became an injury saint . . . Of course, he was also able to cure other diseases.

    But actually, there were too many patients that he could not cure all of; them and the environment here was also not suitable for recuperation . . . Finally, he simply let Jiang Zhen take the patients away and take them to Fucheng to slowly recuperate.

    A few of these patients were so sick that they died before they could reach Fucheng and their corpses had to be thrown to the sea.

    Their families had expected it and epted all of it. But when Jiang Zhen looked at the corpses being thrown into the sea, he felt it was a bit unpleasant. However, he soon realized that he was being a bit too pretentious.

    Previously, in Hongjiang Salt Farm, countless people died, sopared to only a few that died now, it was nothing.

    In this era, the medical conditions were also really too poor.

    Jiang Zhen also remembered Zhao Jinge before he gave birth to their child. Then things were . . . but Zhao Jinge had good luck. Still, what aboutter?

    This was the ce where it was possible to lose your life if you were not careful!

    Jiang Zhen had something on his mind, but Zhao Jinge was satisfied with everything at this time.

    Zhao Liu was even more satisfied. Recently, she became the most respectable olddy in Qing Yang alley, and the people in Qing Yang alley finally knew what Jinzhen Escort Agency was all about.

    The big families and businessmen in Fucheng all looked for Jinzhen Escort Agency to deliver their goods!

 Chapter 138.2 - Moving and Beating Up People

    Chapter 138.2 ¨C Moving and Beating Up People

    This Jinzhen Escort Agency was all taken care of by Zhao Liu¡¯s son since a few days ago.

    Although Zhao Liu¡¯s son was not very good-looking, he was very capable. No wonder Jiang Zhen, who was almost bragged to the sky by Zhao Liu, was willing to join their family.

    Well, the people of Qing Yang alley were sure that the Zhao family was very powerful ever since, but they still felt that some of Zhao Liu¡¯s words were just bragging.

    What kind of capable man loved his wife so much?

    Jiang Zhen did not know what the people of Qing Yang alley thought, and he went outside the city as soon as he returned this time.

    Thend Zhao Jinge brought for building brick kilns and raising chickens and ducks was veryrge. Jiang Zhen also let people use the burned-out, substandard bricks to build a lot of houses and then used them to amodate the people he brought back.

    Although those houses were originally built to house chickens and ducks, it was not like people were unable to live in them . . .

    ¡°Master Jiang, you are really a good man!¡±

    ¡°This house is so bright and nice.¡±

    ¡°You can even burn fire in this house! It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve lived in such a nice house!¡±

    ¡°The bricks used to build this house are so beautiful.¡±

    . . .

    Those who were to live in the chicken and duck house were all very excited. They liked these houses so much that they had no idea that this house was actually built for chickens and ducks.

    The floors of the chickens and ducks houses were all actually paved with bricks, making it look very ssy, and the stove originally dug in the middle of the house was actually to keep the chickens and ducks warm, which also allowed these people to boil and cook on them and so was the people thought were very suitable for them.

    After Jiang Zhen settled these people and asked the doctor to check them, he took Zhao Jinge back home to prepare for the move.

    After all, the mansion he bought was fully furnished, and it was even equipped with servants. Zheng Yi knew that his family did not have many servants, so he prepared some for him.

    ¡°Mother, there is no shortage of anything there, so these things would not be used. There is no need to bring them.¡± Seeing Zhao Liu¡¯s intention to bring all the quilts and covers and even some furniture to her new home, Jiang Zhen hurriedly stopped her.

    ¡°What about these things? These are all new,¡± Zhao Liu said. She found someone to make this quilt, so how could she no longer want them? She couldn¡¯t let them go!

    ¡°In the future, Jiang Ming and the others will live here, so give it to them,¡± Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Liu¡¯s aesthetics were simr to all the olddies in the countryside, so she especially liked red and green.

    The quilt that he and Zhao Jinge used was red and was very festive . . . He actually did not care about what the quilt looked like, but after going to see his new home where everything looked particrly expensive, even the quilt prepared for them by the housekeeper was also exceptionally exquisite. In that case, they really did not need to bring over ordinary quilts bought by Zhao Liu.

    ¡°They also have quilts . . .¡± Zhao Liu was a bit torn.

    ¡°Mother, when we get to our new home, we¡¯ll use all the new things, so you don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Liu listened to Jiang Zhen and in the end gave up on taking all these things, only taking a small bag containing her jewelry. Zhao Liu carefully got into the carriage.

    Jiang Zhen once brought back a horse from the capital, but Zhao Liu never rode in a carriage before and was even a little scared. When she got in she was afraid that these horses pulling the carriage in front of her would suddenly go crazy and drop her out.

    ¡°Where are you going, Zhao family?¡± As soon as Zhao Liu got into the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief, she was asked by a neighbor on Qing Yang alley.

    In the end, the actions of those neighbors made Zhao Liu have a lump in her heart so although she still was talking with them and enjoyed their praises these days, she didn¡¯t even tell them that she was moving.

    ¡°I am moving. I won¡¯t live here anymore.¡± Zhao Liu¡¯s head peeked out of the carriage window as she spoke to her neighbor.

    ¡°You won¡¯t live here anymore? Then where are you going to live?¡± The woman was surprised to hear Zhao Liu¡¯s words.

    ¡°Of course, we are going to live in a new house, so we won¡¯t even pack things from here for the new house,¡± Zhao Liu said indifferently.

    However, when she put down the curtain, she was a bit distressed. ¡°s, such a good house. Howe we won¡¯t live there anymore?¡±

    Zhao Liu felt that her house was quite good before she went to her new house, but when she saw her new house . . .

    Jiang Zhen was already nning to do something big, so he no longer kept a low profile and so the mansion Zheng Yi found for him was quite expensive,

    The mansion had a typical Jiangnan garden with carved beams. There were also small rivers, flowers, and various trees. Everywhere was very beautiful scientific, so even if Zhao Liu had never seen much of the world before, she knew it must be very expensive, very expensive.

    What made Zhao Liu even more uneasy were the servants who very respectfully stood on both sides of the road to greet them.

    She used to only have Cook Li and Ruo¡¯er helping her with things, but there was no obvious difference between them, but now things were different.

    A line of twenty or thirty servants led by a housekeeper of the same age as Zhao Liu neatly greeted Zhao Liu, so Zhao Liu was a little at a loss.

    Zhao Fugui was the same, but Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen were really much better.

    Jiang Zhen had seen a lot of things, so this is really nothing for him. As for Zhao Jinge, he really could get used to it. It was all thanks to those nobledies, who talked business with him.

    Those nobledies were apanied by a lot of maids and had a lot more rules, so he was not surprised to see servants now.

    Zhao Liu¡¯s performance in her new home was not much better than Grandma Liu when she entered the Grand View Garden. However, under Jiang Zhen¡¯s reassurance, she slowly calmed down in the end.

    After entering the new house, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu became the old master and olddy while Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge became master and master¡¯s wife while Zhao Mingzhu also became the eldestdy.

    Not only that, but each of them was assigned two attendants.

    Zhao Fugui and Jiang Zhen were served by seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys while Zhao Liu was served by two women over half a century old. While Zhao Jinge was served by Ruo¡¯er and another ger about the same age as Ruo¡¯er.

    In fact, everyone¡¯s side should be a servant girl, but Zhao Liu did not allow Zhao Fugui to use a servant girl, and he also refused to use a servant girl. Where she and Zhao Fugui lived, only small boys and older women were allowed.

    Zhao Jinge . . . he was also not happy that Jiang Zhen would use aides, so when Jiang Zhen was around, he only allowed small servants and young gers.

    The few maids that Zheng Yi sent over were not particrly attractive, but at least very young, so they ended up being ced in the kitchen. But of course, if there were really guests, they woulde out to support the scene.

    When Zheng Yi came to congratte Jiang Zhen on moving to his new house, they were all released.

    ¡°How does it feel to be served by a servant girl?¡± Zheng Yi took a look at these servant girls and asked, smiling at Jiang Zhen ¨C Jiang Zhen, this guy should have never used servant girls before.

    ¡°They usually work in the kitchen,¡±Jiang Zhen calmly said.

    Zheng Yi: ¡°. . .¡±

    ¡°Zhao Jinge is even more ruthless than Madam Liao . . .¡± Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°Madam Liao?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zheng Yi in confusion. He had heard Zhao Jinge mention Madam Liao, who had helped him before, but didn¡¯t understand why Zheng Yi would suddenly mention it.

    ¡°I deliberately sought out a mansion near the Liao family, so you can ask Zhao Jinge to find a chance to get in touch with Madam Liao.¡±

    Why do you want Zhao Jinge to get in touch with this woman? Jiang Zhen was about to ask when he heard a loud noise just outside his mansion. There was a woman screaming for help.

    Hearing the woman¡¯s mournful cry, Jiang Zhen frowned and went out. Zheng Yi immediately followed him while also wondering, ¡°What is going on out here? This street is inhabited by dignified people, so even if something was wrong, it wouldn¡¯t be so noisy.¡±

    As soon as Zheng Yi came out, he saw that one of the subordinates he brought with him, was looking outside.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on outside?¡± Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s Madam Liao who is beating people up!¡± the subordinate looked back and immediately said.

    As soon as he spoke, everyone saw a group of people dressed as maids, escorting a young woman who was crying as she was running away.

 Chapter 139.1 - Madam Liao

    Chapter 139.1 ¨C Madam Liao

    Jiang Zhen frowned as he looked at the crying women in front of him, trying to figure out what was going on, when he saw a horse rushing out.

    On the horse sat a beautiful woman in red, holding a whip she rode towards the group of crying women.

    The horse was not tall, but in the end it was a horse, and if you were run over by such horse you could be crippled if not killed.

    The maids protecting the young woman shrieked, and the young woman¡¯s legs went limp. She actually fell to the ground.

    Seeing that the horse¡¯s hooves were about to trample on the young woman¡¯s body, the woman in red pulled the reins and brought the horse to a halt.

    She obviously did not intend to hurt the horse, but other ¡­¡­

    The woman in red waved her hand, and the whip in her hand hit the young woman face.

    ¡°Madam! Don¡¯t!¡± A maid eximed stopping in front of the young woman stopping the whip.

    It was already a spring now so the weather was getting warmer and warmer so the servant girl was not dressed in much clothes. After being whipped like this, her body was suddenly covered with blood. The end of the whip that brushed her hand cut a hideous wound on her hand.

    The maid was injured, but she was not sad but showed an expression of survival ¨C fortunately, the whip didn¡¯t hit her hard. If whip of madam Liu hit her she was afraid that she would die.

    However, she just breathed a sigh of relief, when there was another cry of surprise ¨C the woman in red, actually raised the whip in her hand again.

    The woman in red whipped towards the young woman who was protected by the servant girls making the whip fell on another servant girl.

    ¡°Ying Niang! Stop!¡± At that moment, another group of people ran out from around the corner. At front leading the way was people dressed as family members, followed by a schr in his twenties who wasn¡¯t slender or good-looking. It was him who shouted.

    Hearing the schr shouting, the woman in red raised her eyebrows. Her face showed hostility, and the whip in her hand just moved faster.

    The hit toward the young woman was blocked by the maid so she wasn¡¯t hurt. But the maid protecting her face with her hand and suing her body to stop the whip, wailed: ¡°Madam spare my life!¡±

    ¡°Ying Niang! Stop!¡± The men shouted again.

    ¡°Vicious?¡± The woman in red sneered: ¡°Alright Liao Qinghe, I¡¯ll show you how vicious I am!¡±

    With that, the woman in red raised her hand and tried her best to whip the woman hard.

    Jiang Zhen reached out and grabbed the wrist of the woman in red, and with a flip of his hand, he removed the whip from her hand. With one move he also removed the whip from her hands.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± The woman in red angrily questioned Jiang Zhen, but the schr looked at Jiang Zhen gratefully: ¡°thank you for your help!¡±

    Jiang Zhen ignored the man, only disapprovingly looked at the woman in red: ¡°Your strength just now could kill that woman. This maid and you should have a life and death feud.¡±

    The whip in this woman¡¯s hand was not simple, before she did not use too much force and deliberately avoided the woman face but if she used more force she would really be able to kill others.

    Even if she did not die at this time¡­ infection could also easily kill people.

    They protect that woman, they deserve to die!¡± The woman in red yelled.

    Only at this time did Jiang Zhen see clearly the appearance of the woman in red. She was about twenty-seven or eight years old, she was sweating and all her jewelry and clothes were disheveled. He was afraid that he fought with someone, some time before and was now sitting on her horse trembling lightly, as if she was trying to hold back a great deal of anger.

    ¡°This woman has a life and death feud with you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    The woman in red froze, then she looked at Jiang Zhen in some annoyance: ¡°What does this have to do with you? Who are you? Why are you so nosy?¡±

    ¡°Ying Niang!¡± At this time, the schr ran to the woman in red: ¡°Ying Niang don¡¯t be unreasonable, even if you don¡¯t like Luan¡¯er, you can¡¯t fight and kill her!¡±

    The woman in red was still ring at Jiang Zhen just like before, but at this time, she nced at the man and sneered: ¡°Luan¡¯er? You call her so affectionately.¡±

    ¡°Ying Niang ¡­¡­,¡± The man snapped.

    ¡°Heh, they say that the style of the Liao family is good, and that a man can take a concubine only if he has no children till forty years old¡­ But it¡¯s turn out that¡¯s all nonsense. Your Liao family has no style! You, Liao Qinghe like male thieves and female prostitutes! ¡± The woman in red scolded.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± At this time, another voice sounded, this time it was a men in his fifties together with woman also in her fifties, it was the men who shouted.

    ¡°Wen, don¡¯t act foolishly and overexert your words. In this city who does not know your shrewish behavior? A woman like you, Qinghe should have given you up a long time ago! ¡± The older man red at the woman in red, while the woman next to him also looked at the woman in red with dissatisfaction.

    By this time, Jiang Zhen had figured out the identity of these people.

    The woman in red must be Madam Liao and the couple in their fifties should be madam Liao parents-inw.

    ¡°Old Master, Old Madam!¡± The young woman who was previously protected by the maids called out, and ran towards the couple, hiding behind the Old Master and Old Lady of the Liao family.

    ¡°Luan¡¯er, are you okay?¡± Liao Qinghe also looked at the woman worriedly.

    ¡°Husband, I¡¯m fine.¡± The woman looked at Liao Qing and shyly said. Madam Liao was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, but she was only seventeen or eighteen years old and looked very soft so even thought she said she was alright, Liao Qinghe was still worried and wanted to check her.

    When Madam Liao heard this words and saw the scene her eyes burst with fire. As soon as she pulled her reins she urged the horse to rush towards the people in front of her. But as result Jiang Zhen took hold of the reins of her horse.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Madame Liao looked angrily at Jiang Zhen, hating him.

    ¡°Get off the horse,¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°There are people everywhere. If you are not careful, you will hurt others and yourself.¡± This madam Liao was probably betrayed, and now she she was like a powder keg, which could blow up at any moment.

    However, there were still innocent people here, if she was reckless there was no telling what could happen. Even if she herself fell off the horse she might break her neck ¨C the Liao family people would not really let her hurt people with her horse, they would definitely stop her!

    Madam Liao was so angry that she felt that everything she encountered today was unreal, as if someone had yed a huge joke on her.

    Madam Liao maiden name was Wen, and the Wen family was the big merchant in Minnan Prefecture.

    Her parents gave birth to four sons, but they only had one daughter so they loved her very much. She was as beautiful as a flower since she was a child and in Minnan Prefecture was sought after by people from an early age. Almost everyone wanted to marry her.

 Chapter 139.2 - Madam Liao

    Chapter 139.2 ¨C Madam Liao

    However when she was 15 or 16 years old she fell in love for the first time with Liao Qinghe whoe to study in Minnan Prefecture and also fell in love with her at the first sight.

    The Lao family was the schrly family with little money and lived far away from the Wen family. At the beginning, Wen Niang parents did not want her to marry Liao Qingge until they learned that in Liao family you could only take concubine if you were forty and still have no children.

    Although the Liao family has no money, they don¡¯t have concubines¡­. How many men in this world could do without concubines?

    After Wen father and mother finally agreed to marry their only daughter to Liao Qinghe, fearing that their daughter would be wronged they give her dowry, just at the bottom of her box there were more than 200,000 silver.

    Wen Ying Niang then married from Minnan Province to Hexing Province.

    She had thought that the days after she got married would be very beautiful, but in fact it was just the opposite.

    Liao Qinghe insisted on marrying Wen Ying Niang but Liao father and mother didn¡¯t like Wen Ying niang a merchant daughter. Originally, they wanted Liao Qinghe to marry an official¡¯s daughter.

    But Liao Qinghe insisted that Wen Ying Niang had arge dowry so they agreed to the marriage.

    Although they agreed, they didn¡¯t like Wen Ying Niang very much so they naturally found fault everywhere and not let Wen Ying Ninag make rules.

    Wen Ying Ninag put up with it at first, but then Liao¡¯s father and mother became more aggressive and tried to arrange a concubine for Liao Qinghe ¨C a concubine could only be taken if you were childless, for a concubine to be considered concubine.

    Wen Ying Ninag who couldn¡¯t stand it anymore finally confronted Liao¡¯s father and mother.

    As a result, from this time on, Wen Ying Ninag reputation started to be worse and worse.

    The Liao family didn¡¯t have much money so they relied on her dowry in order to live a good life. But they still took turn to use her and ndered her outside. Wen Ying Ninag was dissatisfied in her heart and was no longer willing to let father and mother Liao to establish rules.

    n this way, Liao father and mother be even more disgusted with her, Liao Qinghe, also thought she has done too much and was too unfilial.

    Wen Ying Niang heart be bitter but she could onlyy low for now so her rtionship with Liao Qinghe could be good again. But then she actually found that Liao Qinghe frequented flower house¡­

    Wen Yang Niang couldn¡¯t help herself and made a scene again ¨C you know, they wasn¡¯t even married for one year at that time!

    But Liao Qinghe didn¡¯t think he was in wrong for going to flower house and other also didn¡¯t think he don anything wrong, it was only Wen Ying Niang that acted unreasonable.

    Since then, the rtionship between Wen Ying Niang and Liao Qing was no longer like it used to be. At the same time Wen Ying Niang reputation was getting worse and worse.

    At first she wanted to exin, but then she simply let it go and even began to break the jar ¨C anyway, her reputation was already bad so when Liao Qingdare to go to the flower house she even dared to break in and take Liao Qinghe out!

    By now, Wen Ying Niang and Liao Qing have been married for ten years, and her love for Liao Qinghe has almost been eroded by the constant bickering.

    Her only regret was that she has never had a child and this only made her reputation worse.

    Married for ten years without a child is just and she did not let Liao Qinghe get close to others¡­ she was really a jealous and poisonous woman.

    Buy Wen Ying Niang heart was also bitter, the doctor said that her body was very good so she didn¡¯t know why she couldn¡¯t get pregnant till now, even the medicines she took every day had no effect¡­.

    The first time she saw Zhao Jinge, Wen Ying Niang also went to see the doctor.

    As a result, not waiting for her to cure her body to give birth to a child, Liao Qinghe unexpectedly brought back a woman named Lu Luan today, saying that she was pregnant with his child and wanted to take her as his concubine.

    Wen Ying Niang was dumbfounded.

    After so many years, she was not as angry as before about Liao Qinghe having another woman, but the child ¡­¡­

    People from the Liao family only knew how to spend money and didn¡¯t know how to make money. When she married, they not only had not much money but they also owed a lot of debts to other people. Nowadays it could be said that the whole Liao family was supported by her dowry.

    If she had a child, even if it was just a daughter, she had the means to give all her money to her daughter as a dowry, but she did not have a child!

    Hearing Liao Qinghe say that the child that will be born will call her mother, Wen Ying Niang immediately exploded.

    She didn¡¯t want a child that didn¡¯te out of her belly!

    She was even more unwilling to use her dowry to support someone else¡¯s child!

    In fact, Wen Ying Niang also knew that after ten years on not being able to have a child they most likely will not able to have children.

    In this case ¡­¡­ was it possible that her money would be given to the child in Lu Lan belly?

    She was so furious that she wanted to drive Lu Luan out. But as result, Liao Qinghe asked the maids to protect Lu Luan and stop her as he run outside..

    These servant girls all get money from her hands and relied on her support. They used to listen to her every word, but now that Liao Qinghe also spoke, they all surprisingly stood at Liao Qinghe side and protected that Lu Luan thate from nowhere.

    That was¡­ thinking that she was unable to have children they wanted wanted to curry favor with their little master and future mistress in advance?

    Wen Ying Niang became more and more angry when she thought about it, so she grabbed the horse to catch up and whipped people with a whip. But as result she was stopped by Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Ying Niang, get off the horse.¡± Liao Qinghe also advised: ¡°If you admit your mistake, I will not pursue what happened today¡­. Ying Niang, after the baby in her belly is born, you can takeover and raise it¡­.¡±

    ¡°Who would want to raise this woman child? Wen Yingniang said angrily, this Liao Qinghe wanted her to rise other people child but also said she took advantage of, this was just too ridiculous!

    ¡°Ying Niang, this is my child!¡± Liao Qinghe said, then started to call out subordinates around him: ¡°You guys help the madam down from the horse and take her back to the house to rest ¡­¡­¡±

    The subordinates of the Liao family quickly went towards Wen Ying Niang.

    The horse was pulled by Jiang Zhen and surrounded by people from the Liao family, so Wen Yingniang had nowhere to run even if she wanted to.

    Seeing that the person who once treated her respectfully, saying ¡°madam¡± were now not taking her seriously, Wen Ying Niang be furious. She leapt off the horse, sneering at Jiang Zhen: ¡°You are very good ¡­¡­ this feud, I will definitely ask for it back on another day.

    If it wasn¡¯t for this men, would she have fallen to this point?

    Wen Ying Niang was very angry but Liao Qinghe was very grateful toward Jiang Zhen ¨C if it wasn¡¯t for Jiang Zhen, Wen Ying Niang might have already get rid off the child in Lu Luan belly¡­

    ¡°Madam Liao.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said: ¡°I can understand your anger, but I think you should find the right culprit.¡±

    Wen Ying Niang was stunned, could this¡­ be something else?

    ¡°It was your husband who had someone else outside and has a child with someone else. It has nothing to do with those maids as for this woman¡­ can she even force herself on your husband?¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°This is your husband¡¯s fault, you should not hit others.¡±

    Wen Ying Niang was confused again.

    Jiang Zhen put the whip in his hand into Wen Yingniang¡¯s hand: ¡°Why should a woman make things difficult for another woman? If I were you, I would definitely beat up the person who dares to wrong me first!¡±

 Chapter 140.1

    Chapter 140.1 ¨C

    Jiang Zhen thought that since it was the men who was having an affair, so the fight between wife and the mistress was quite meaningless.

    It was impossible for the mistress to force the man, right?

    Even if there was such a strange thing in the world¡­. It should be that angry men that fought with the mistress why should the original wife fight with her?

    Of course in this era and world there was no mistress and most men could have three wives and four concubines.

    But as long as Jiang Zhen thought about it, he was not happy in his heart.

    If his Mingzhu find a partner in the fiture, will she also need to put up with her husband having another woman outside? Why?

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s idea was obviously difficult for others to understand so when Wen Ying Niang subconsciously took the whip her whole person was a bit frozen w- why does this person mean by asking her to beat Liao Qinghe?

    Liao Qinghe also looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise ¨C there was something wrong with that person, right?

    Jiang Zhen saw that Wen Ying Niang took the whip and remembered one more thing so he reminded her: ¡°Madam Liao, you should have read the Great Law of Daqi, so be gentle.¡±

    In thew of Daqi, there was no sentence for wife beating her husband, probably because people thought that wife couldn¡¯t beat her husband.

    But even so, if you really kill someone, Wen Yingniang would definitely have bad luck.

    Thew at this time, anyway, it was impossible for It to side with woman.

    Wen Ying Niang had already raised the whip but hearing this she didn¡¯t swing the whip but kicked the stomach of Liao Qinghe.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Liao Qinghe screamed miserably.

    ¡°Poisonous woman! Poisonous woman!¡± Father and mother Liao angrily yelled: ¡°Stop that woman! Pull that woman away.¡±

    Hearing the words of Liao father and mother, the maids and servants of the Liao family immediately went to stop Wen Ying Niang.

    The good thing was that these family men servants did not dare to touch Wen Yingniang while those maids¡­

    Wen Yingniang also had some personal servants, before she ran out on the horseback they were not able to follow, but now they were able to catch up and tangled with this maids of Liao family.

    The scene immediately be chaotic.

    Zheng Yi, who had watched all this from the sidelines: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    At the beginning, he was worried that Jiang Zhen would offend madam Liao but didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would do something like this in the end¡­

    This was simply a divine stroke!

    He was no longer worried that Jiang Zhen would offend madam Liao, he was now worried that madam Liao would kill that Liao Qinghe.

    It was true that if you wanted to marry a wife you should marry a virtuous one, if Liao Qing keep his eyes open when he get married he would not have married a female tiger and be beaten like just now.

    Zheng Yi pondered, in the next few days all people in the city would probably talk about Liao family and Liao Qinghe would lose his face.

    Zheng Yi did not like madam Liao, such a disobedient woman, it was estimated that not many men would like them but even so he still had to help madam Liao.

    When he has inquired, at least half of the best ships in Daqi were built by the Wen family!

    ¡°What kind of talk is it? You guys go and tear those family members of the Liao family apart and bring Master Jiang back.¡± Zheng Yi gave a wink to the people he brought with him.

    The people around Zheng Yi were all elites that followed him for a long time, they knew Zheng Yi mind very well so they didn¡¯t rush to bring Jiang Zhen back when they went and just started pushing and shoving the Liao family¡¯s house servants.

    So, Liao Qinghe, who was finally pulled to a safe ce by the family male servants, received another kick from Wen Ying Niang.

    ¡°Qinghe, Husband¡­. ¡± Lu Luan was so worried that she started to cry.

    ¡°Poisonous woman, I will make sure Qinghe get rid off you!¡± Father Liao shouted angrily.

    ¡°You, don¡¯t ever dare to enter my Liao family again!¡± Mother Liao who had not spoken till now, could not help but speak now.

    Hearing these words, Wen Ying Niang kicked Liao Qinghe again and suddenly felt it was very meaningless.

    Why should be here and give those people a reason tough?

    When she looked at the crowd, she happened to see that Lu Luan was being protected by people, even Liao¡¯s father and mother, stopped in front of her, protecting her.

    But what about her?

    Before she got married, she was also the baby of the family, but now this people no only tore her face in front of others but also showed her to the ground to step on her.

    That Liao Qing over the years went to flower house countless time. In fact she didn¡¯t even mind that he has others woman.

    If he had told her that he wanted to have a child, she would probably agree to let him take another woman. If she couldn¡¯t have them herself, she would choose a suitable woman to have a baby for him¡­.

    She was already married so there were some things she had topromise with.

    But Liao Qing not only had woman outside without asking her, he even brought her over after finding out she was pregnant .

    She knew at one nce that Lu Luan was not a good match, just didn¡¯t evene into the door of Liao family just yet but the Liao family was so protective of her, in the future¡­ can she still continue to live?

    Thinking in this way, Wen Ying Niang could not help being at a loss.

    ¡°Madam Liao¡±: Zhao Jinge alsoe over. After he rushed into the crowd he called out to Wen Yingniang, and by the way pushed away a maid who tried to grab Wen Ying Niang: ¡°Madam Liao, are you okay?¡±

    As soon as Wen Yingniang looked up, she saw Zhao Jinge.

    She had meet Zhao Jinge once and the reason she was willing to help him that time was because she felt he had the same sickness as her.

    When she first heard that the business of that Jinzhen escort agency was taken care of by a ger so she paid attention to Zhao Jinge andter also found that Zhao Jinge actually had to find a doctor to regte his body so that he could conceive a child like her> Naturally she felt very sympathetic toward him.

    Of course, she sympathizes with Zhao Jinge, but mostly she sympathized with herself.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine but why are you here?¡± Wen Yingniang asked.

    ¡°My house is right here.¡± Zhao Jinge pointed to his family¡¯s new mansion.

    Wen Ying Niang took a look at the mansion and suddenly said: ¡°Don¡¯t you take on the business of protecting people at the Jinzhen escort agency? I will pay you so you can protect me!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Jinge was stunned.

    Wen Ying Niang , however, was already walking towards the Zhao family¡¯s mansion, and while walking, she also beckoned to her personal servants, asking them to follow her.

    When Wen Yingniang married from Minnan Province to Hexing Province she brought with her more than a hundred people, not counting the people who worked on farm and business from her dowry.

    But some of these people were sent to her store as a shopkeepers, some married while others went to other ces to help her with work. So now by her side there were only ten or so people.

    These ten or so people followed Wen Ying Niang and hurriedly entered the Zhao family house gate. One of them a woman in her thirties, said: ¡°Those heartless people! Madam has been so kind to them but they still turned against her!¡±

    Among those who came to stop Wen Ying Ninag and protect that Lu Luan before were many of Wen Ying Ninag servants which was also one of the reason why Wen Ying Ninag was so angry.

    ¡°I am only thedy of the Liao family, not the master of the Liao family, they natural that they don¡¯t listen to me.¡±Wen Yingniang said, with fire almosting out of her eyes, She also speeded up her step as she stepped in Zhao family house gate.

 Chapter 140.2

    Chapter 140.2 ¨C

    When Wen Yingniang run away, Liao Qinghe subconsciously wanted to chase after her but at that moment Lu Luan covered her stomach and cried out in pain.

    ¡°Luan¡¯er, Luan¡¯er are you okay?¡± Liao Qinghe looked at Lu Luan worriedly, no longer caring about Wen Yingniang.

    At this time, Wen Ying Ninag had entered the Zhao family, and then her figure shook uncontrobly.

    ¡°Madam¡± Some of her confidants called out worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wen Ying Ninag said, she was just a little angry.

    ¡°You ¡­¡­ let¡¯s go inside to rest and have some tea?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Wen Yingniang with concern.

    Wen Yingniang nodded and was about to go inside when she saw Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi walking in from outside together.

    When she saw Zheng Yi, she was fine. But when she saw Jiang Zhen she immediately frowned: ¡°Why did this persone in?¡±

    Zhao Jinge went outte, and when he went out the outside was already in chaos. He didn¡¯t know that Jiang Zhen stopped Wen Yingniang so when he heard Wen Yingniang ask he just said: ¡°He is my husband, it;s something wrong?¡±

    Not much ¡­¡­ Wen Yingniang was no longer angry with Jiang Zhen. She just thought that this person was a bit strange.

    Wen Yingniang just suffered a blow but at this time she didn¡¯t have time to care about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, so she just said: ¡°I want to find a ce to rest.¡±

    Wen Yingniang was brought inside, and the housekeeper switched the tea that Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi had before inside for the new one.

    After sitting on a chair and taking a sip of tea, Wen Yingniang finally calmed down: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you guys look at this joke.¡±

    ¡°This was a joke? Madam Liao should be a hero among women.¡± Zheng Yiplimented her, more or less with meaning it.

    Wen Yingniang noticed it but didn¡¯t take it seriously.

    She has seen a lot of men like Zheng Yi, the vast majority of men was like this so the performance of Zheng Yi was obvious to her. Someone has even pointed at her and called her shew to her face before¡­

    She was not good-tempered and often directly whipped these people¡­. By the way, the one who used Zhao Jinge in pharmacyst time, seemed to have smacked by her before.

    ¡°Madam Liao, with what kind of protectionw do you want to let Jinzhen escort agency protect you?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Although Wen Yingniang said some things before she actually did not think about what to do next so when Jiang Zhen asked she naturally couldn¡¯t answer and froze.

    Jiang Zhen then said: ¡°By the way, madam Liao you are still a member of the Liao family so it¡¯s not alright to stay outside for a long period of time.¡± They could protect madam Liao, but if the Liao family will sue them for abduction of family member¡­

    In the end, the unlucky ones will only be Jinzhen escort agency.

    Wen Yingniang was already in bad mood so now hearing Jiang Zhen say something like this she immediately fired back: ¡°I can not stay outside for a long time? Then what do you think I should do? Go back to see their family love?¡±

    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t have to go back. If you don¡¯t want to go back, there are two ways now.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°Either you hire us to protect you back to your maiden house, or simply separate and divorce.¡±

    Zheng Yi had just picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea when he suddenly heard such a sentence, that almost made him spill a mouthful of tea from his mouth.

    Although in the end he held back and did not spit it out, he choked causing him to let out a startling coughing sound.

    This Jiang Zhen¡­ actually advised people to separate and divorce?

    Wen Yingniang also had some reaction.

    Zhao Jinge husband was really a bit strange!

    ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    Wen Yingniang originally wanted to talk about going back to her maiden house, but the words thate out from her lips changed: ¡°Separate and divorce!¡±

    After she became a bride, she had encountered many things, but she had never thought about separating and divorcing before, after all¡­. She had never seen anyone separating and no one had even told her about it before.

    Although she was far away from the home, she has returned home over the years andined to her parents about Liao Qinghe, but even her loving parents would only advise her to be meek and live a good life with Liao Qinghe and never tell her anything about ¡­ separating.

    She was not young anymore so it was impossible for her to remarry after divorce. After that how could she live?

    Can she find a man better than Liao Qinghe?

    ¡°Very good.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded: ¡°You should be quite rich, I believe that even if you separate your days will not be too bad.¡±

    If this madam Liao was very poor he would not suggest her to separate and divorce. After all, after separating her days might be even more difficult but looking at Zheng Yi attitude towards that madam Liao he knew that this madam Liao should be rich, if this was the case it was not bad idea to separate.

    Wen Yingniang stirred and suddenly found that ¡­ it seemed to be true!

    The first thing she need to do was to get rid of of her problems. Rather, the Liao family ¡­¡­ is she took her dowry away, this Liao family¡­. She didn¡¯t know how they will be able to continue to live!

    As for after the separation, there would be no ce to bury the dead and no one to worship in the future ¡­

    But she could adopt a child, right?

    If you were a woman who grew up ording to three obediences and four virtues it would be impossible to think about it. But Wen Yingniang parents were businessmen so she was quick to deviate from the path and quickly figured it out.

    However, the separation was not easy to obtain

    Jiang Zhen has heard of divorce, but did not know that the so-called divorce was only used by some men who wanted to divorce their wives because they were afraid of gossip so they used divorce as cover up. If the Liao family disagreed, Wen Yingniang wouldn¡¯t never be able to get divorce.

    But a letter of divorce might be easy to get.

    It just, even if she get the letter of divorce seeing someone else marry into the Liao family¡­ Wen Yingniang in the end was still a little reluctant.

    No, there¡¯s nothing to be unwilling too, her face was lost a long time ago so it was okay to lose some more!

    ¡°If you find some people to protect me, I¡¯ll go to Liao¡¯s house now and ask for a letter of separation!¡± Wen Ying said. It couldn¡¯t be toote, now that Liao family was angry it should be easy to gettter of divorce. If it was toote they might not be too happy to give her the a certificate of divorce!

    Moreover, when Lu Luan moved in they would use her money to rise the baby, right?

    When she thought of her jewelry and silver that was still in the Liao family, Wen Yingniang couldn¡¯t sit stil l and stood up to leave.

    ¡°Jinge, go with madam Liao.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he was after all as as men it was not good for him to step up.

    Zhao Jinge agreed and followed with his men, while Jiang Zhen, at this time just looked at Zheng Yi: ¡°Young master Zheng, what exactly is the origin of this madam Liao?¡±

    ¡°Her family is a big sea merchant in Minnan.¡± Zheng Yi said: ¡°Well, although madam Liao has a bad temper, but that Liao Qinghe is really a bit ignorant. The Liao family is so poor but he did not coax his wife and just messed around like this¡­ now that she want to run away, let¡¯s see what he can do!¡±

    If he were Liao Qinghe, he would definitely give up his wife.

    Don¡¯t say that the status of the merchant¡¯s daughter was low¡­ those sea merchants were very capable and even bribed some officials to sway some of the decisions of the court!

    If Liao Qinghe was better to his wife, the Wen family would help him all the way and he might be already the court official so why was he still just a schr?

    As for the children¡­ if he coaxed Wen Yingniang even if Liao Qinghe himself did not mention it, Wen Yingniang because of the guilt might have taken the initiative to find a woman to give birth to his child!

    Of course, he was not Liao Qinghe, if he was really Liao Qinghe he would find a way to live a good life relying on his own ability.

    After saying everything he knew about Wen family, Zheng Yi said: ¡°All people I contacted before were the sea merchants of the Wexing Province. But sea merchant of Wexing Province are not as capable as these of Minnan Province! When Daqi was first established, didn¡¯t they organize a fleet to go to the West? At that time, those shipbuilding craftsmen wereter divided up by the sea merchants of Minnan Province.¡±

    Zheng Yi had a way to buy ships, originally he let Zhao Jinge get in contact with madam Liao to establish a good rtionship with the sea merchants in Minnan Province but didn¡¯t expect things to turn out like this¡­.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi were talking about Wen Yingniang, Wen Yingniang went back to the Liao family.

    The Liao family lives in an ancestral house that has been passed down for many generations, but it has been repaired in recent years and was quite beautifully maintained.

    When they saw Wen Yingnianging, the subordinates of the Liao family immediately rushed to Liao Qinghe rooms: ¡°Madam is here! Madam is back!¡±

    Not long after the Liao family returned home, they asked for a doctor to treat Lu Luan. Now hearing it, mother and father Liao immediately became furious: ¡°She still has the face toe back!¡±

    Liao Qinghe expression also be ugly.

    In the past, Wen Yingniang had never hit him no matter how much she fussed around, but this time, she had actually hit him in public.

    He still felt faintly pain in his body, which made Liao Qinghe be more and more disgusted with Wen Yingniang ¨C the once shy and beautiful girl, somehow, has be like this!

    Had he know that¡­.

    ¡°Qinghe,ou must take good care of this woman, you can¡¯t let her treat us like this!¡± Liao¡¯s mother said.

    ¡°It¡¯s real misfortune that our Liao family allowed such woman to marry into our family!¡± Father Liao also said.

    As they were talking, Wen Yingniang barged in with her personal servants as well as Zhao Jinge and several people from the Jinzhen escort agency.

    ¡°Ying Niang, what are you doing?!¡± Liao Qing said angrily, Wen Yingniang actually barged in with outsiders, what did she want?

    ¡°Someone, throw that woman out!¡± Wen Yingniang pointed at Lu Luan who was lying on the bed and said.

    The people around Wen Yingniang went to do it but were stopped by servant of Liao family.

    ¡°Wen Yingniang, would you please stop making such a fuss?¡± Liao Qing said.

    ¡°If you tell me not to make a scene, I have to stop?¡± Wen Yingniang sneered: ¡°Ie here to say my final words today! In the future, the Liao family will have me without her or her without me!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you decide it quickly?¡± Wen Yingniang added: ¡°No matter who dares to stop, throw them all out!¡±

    Lu Luan was still lying down, and the people who were protecting her were not only the underlings of the Liao family, but also father and mother Liao.

    Hearing Wen Yingniang words, Jiang Ming, who followed along, immediately pulled father Liao away.

    ¡°Stop!¡± When Liao Qinghe saw that Jiang Ming actually went to pull his father, he immediately became anxious.

    ¡°Presumptuous!¡± Father Liao was also furious: ¡°Qinghe, divorce this woman! You must divorce her! We can¡¯t let her disgrace my Liao family anymore!¡±

    ¡°Divorce me? Don¡¯t you dare! ¡± Wen Yingniang eyebrows rose.

    ¡°Of course we dare!¡± Liao Qinghe was also furious, he would only let Wen Yingniang get the better of him if he gave in, so he would not give in! ¡°Someone! Bring me a brush and paper! I want to write a letter of divorce!¡±

 Chapter 141.1 - Emptying the Liao Family

    Chapter 141.1 ¨C Emptying the Liao Family

    Liao Qing had excellent literary talent so his speed of writing divorce letter was very fast so after a while the letter of divorce was written.

    Wen Ying Niang looked at the letter of divorce, the ink was not yet dry. She was in daze unable to say what she felt like.

    When Liao Qinghe saw Wen Ying Niang like this, he just thought that Wen Ying Niang could not ept the matter going so far so feeling sympathy in his heart he felt a little happy again.

    He has lost face many times before because of Wen Ying Niang, and now he has finally made Wen Ying Niang ufortable too.

    Thinking in this way, he said with a bit of charity tone: ¡°Yingniang if you admit your mistake, this matter can be forgotten ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°What forgetting?¡± Wen Ying Niang looked at Liao Qinghe.

    If she had a child, she would never get divorced, but she didn¡¯t, and Liao Qinghe has been getting worse and worse toward her in recent years. That person didn¡¯t spend as much time at home as he did outside.

    Speaking of which, if she had a good life, why would she want to be a shrew and lose the face of her family?

    ¡°In the future, you have to learn the female admonishment and female discipline, you can¡¯t do such nonsense anymore.¡± Liao Qinghe said.

    Female admonishment? Wen Ying Niang snatched the letter of divorce and looked at Liao Qinghe before sneering: ¡°Thank you very much! But it¡¯s not necessary!¡±

    ¡°Wen Yingniang, even if you tear the letter of divorce I won¡¯t let you enter my Liao family¡¯s door again!¡± When Father Liao saw Wen Ying Niang grab the letter of divorce, he thought she was going to tear it up so he shouted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore! When I go back to Minnan, I will have a good life waiting for me, who would like to enter your family?¡± Wen Ying Niang said, but her heart felt a little weak.

    For the time being, she did not dare to go back to Minnan, for fear that her parents would be angry.

    She insisted on marrying Liao Qinghe but it didn¡¯t end well and she got divorced¡­ how could she have the face to go back?

    But of course she will not let Liao family know this.

    After a cold hum, Wen Yingninag instructed her servants: ¡°Go and call Zhang, Li, Qin, Qin, and Hong, then go to Yamen to find some people. Remember to bring more money and invite the officials to have a drink.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Liao Qinghe frowned at Wen Yingniang.

    ¡°Liquidate my dowry!¡± Wen Ying Niang said without hesitation.

    ¡°Your dowry, you can take it away, why do you need to liquidate it?¡± Liao Qinghe said he was not going so far as to take over Wen Ying Niang dowry so she couldn¡¯t take it away.

    Wen Ying Niang always knew that Liao Qinghe was always ignorant of mundane affairs, she had wanted to talk to him about it but then her rtionship with Liao Qinghe became worse and worse so she give up on her original idea.

    Liao Qinghe not understanding these things was not a bad thing for her.

    As soon as Wen Ying Niange to Liao family, Liao mother, who was also born in schr family and preferred reading to housekeeping, gave her the mess that was the Liao family, It could be said that over the years the Liao family waspletely taken care by her.

    Although there were some conflicts before, they were still a family so she didn¡¯t spend less on these people but now she was no longer willing to support these people.

    Wen Ying Niang nced at Liao father and mother, then turned back to her room and asked people to move all of her jewelry and furniture out of her room. Of course, the most important thing were all kinds of documents.

    When she helped the Liao family to pay off their debts she got proof of it and she still has it!

    Zheng Yi was right in thinking that the Liao family¡¯s drama would soon spread, almost all big families of Fucheng soon would learn about it.

    Wen Ying Niang reputation was well known and many people felt that Liao family should deal with her after learning about this this incident so they waited to see Liao family approach.

    The Liao family actually divorced Wen Ying Niang?

    This was very pleasant!

    Such a woman, should have been divorced a long time ago!

    When the people of Wexing Province learned about this, they were very excited and even more concerned about the situation of the Liao family. then they learned that Wen Ying Niang had found a lot of people and even asked people from Yamen to count her dowry with the Liao family.

    Wen Ying Niang was from Minnan Province and her family was very rich, many people knew about it. But they didn¡¯t expect¡­ that after Wen Ying Niang take away her dowry from the Liao family she would directly empty the Liao family!

    ¡°I heard that when the olddy of the Liao family gave the family to that Wen Ying Niang there was no silver in the treasury but also a lot of outside debt.¡±

    ¡°This Liao family has been living all these years on Wen Ying Niang dowry!¡±

    ¡°No wonder that Wen Ying Niang dared to act so recklessly before, so it was like this.¡±

    ¡°In this way, the Liao family has lost their Golden Bodhisattva!¡±

 Chapter 141.2 - Emptying the Liao Family

    Chapter 141.2 ¨C Emptying the Liao Family

    ¡­

    The people of Fucheng were talking, but unlike before, they didn¡¯t overwhelmingly me Wen Yingniang anymore.

    This Wen Yingniang reputation was poor enough, there was no point to say it again.

    But on the contrary, the Liao family ¡­¡­ tsk, tsk, it turns out that all money they spend beforee from their daughter inw dowry.

    Wen Yingniang didn¡¯t want to stay in the Liao family any longer, so when she calcted the dowry, she was straightforward and brutal ¨C she moved away all the valuable things except the calligraphy and painting umted by the Liao family for generations.

    ¡°This is the decoration from my parents¡¯ room, howe it has be your dowry too?¡± Liao Qinghe expression be extremely ugly when he saw that the people Wen Yingniang had called to move things from his parents¡¯ house.

    ¡°I helped your Liao family to pay off the debt, this is to settle the debt.¡± Wen Yingniang smilingly took out an IOU.

    ¡°That¡¯s the antique I bought!¡± Seeing the vase in his study being removed, Liao Qinghe expression be even uglier.

    ¡°You bought it with my silver!¡± Wen Yingniang said.

    When Wen Yingniang wanted to take someone into Liao Qinghe¡¯s residence, Liao Qinghe finally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and yelled: ¡°Wen Ying Niang, don¡¯t go too far.¡±

    ¡°What, your Liao family still wants to withhold my dowry? Do you want me to call a few more people to judge and help me spread your words?¡±With that, Wen Yingniang directly let people push open the door ¨C After she had called all the shopkeepers and staff from her shops, she no longer cared about maids and servants of the Liao family.

    Wen Yingniang and Liao Qinghe ware sleeping in separate rooms, Liao Qinghe never let here here much but at this time, Lu Luan lying in Liao Qinghe¡¯s bed was drinking¡­ bird¡¯s nest?

    Wen Yingniang snatched the bowl of bird¡¯s nest and directly let it fall to the ground.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Lu Luan cried out in shock.

    ¡°Wen Ying Ninag!¡±Liao Qinghe was also dumbfounded.

    ¡°This bird nest is also mine¡± Wen Yingniang said, this Liao family¡¯s bird¡¯s nest was sent to her by her mother to nourish her body, so it naturally belonged to her.

    After going around the house, Wen Yingniang directly asked people to move all the valuable things away.

    Lu Luan lying on the bed originally wanted Liao Qinghe to stand up for her but be dumbfounded after seeing such a scene.

    What the hell is going on here?

    Lu Luan was not the only one dumbfounded, Liao family father and mother were also the same.

    Howe the Liao family¡¯s things all be Wen Ying Niang? But unexpectedly Wen Ying Ninag would say all right things and evene up with evidence to prove that they should be hers.

    Wen Yingniang was very straightforward as she moved all the valuable things away and emptied the treasury, then she threw down some IOUs and said: ¡°The money I spend to repair your Liao family mansion and the money I spent for you all these years, I won¡¯t ask you for it. From now on, we will have nothing more to do with each other!¡±

    Liao father and mother were full of grievances, but there was nothing they could do about it.

    ¡°Wicked woman! Wicked woman!¡± Father Liao could only stare at Wen Yingniang fiercely, he didn¡¯t believe that this woman could still find a better man than his son!

    Her current behavior was definitely to force them to take back the letter of divorce but they will not grand her this wish! He would make this woman beg them!

    Wen Yingniang didn¡¯t knew that Liao family was still thinking like this at this point of time.

    She sent all the things of the Liao family to a house in Wexing Province and found her own staff and people from the Jinzhen escort agency to watch over it as for herself¡­

    Wen Yingniang looked at Zhao Jinge, who had been protecting her faithfully all this time but was a bit distracted at this moment: ¡°Your house is very big, so you should have a vacant courtyard, right? Can you let me borrow it for one night?¡±

    Her mansion was not properly cleaned up yet so after moving her things there it would be very messy. There was also not enough servants so she couldn¡¯t live there for the time being, so she might as well go to Zhao Jinge ce and borrow a room for a while.

    The Zhao family has a vacant courtyard, which waspletely empty and cleaned up before they moved in. ready to live in¡­ Zhao Jinge nodded agreeing and said: ¡°Then shall we go back?¡±

    ¡°Are you in a hurry?¡± Wen Yingniang asked.

    Zhao Jinge nodded.

    ¡°What are you in a hurry to go home for?¡± Wen Yingniang asked again, after the sudden separation and divorce she was in a bad mood at first but now that her mood calmed down her temper also be better.

    Zhao Jinge was in hurry to go back, of course it was because he missed his child and Jiang Zhen but if he said it to Wen Yingniang he would simply be poking her scars¡­ so he just paused for a moment before saying: ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    Wen Yingniang was stunned but then also said: ¡°I¡¯m hungry too.¡±

    ¡°My mother should has someone cook something delicious, let¡¯s go back.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Hearing Zhao Jinge meaning, he was letting her eat with them?

    Wen Yingniang opened her mouth but suddenly looked forward to it a little.

    Although the Zhao family and the Liao family were not close to each other, they were not far away.

    In fact, the big families of the Wexing Province except for those living outside the city, didn¡¯t live far from each others.

    After taking Wen Yingniang and Wen Ying Niang¡¯s subordinates into the Zhao family house and walking inside, Zhao Jinge saw Jiang Zhen and Zhao Mingzhu.

    In a few days, Zhao Mingzhu will be one year old and could stand bow but she still refused to walk. At this moment Jiang Zhen made her stand and crouched two or three steps away from her trying to coax her: ¡°Mingzhu,e to father!¡±

    ¡°Come here quickly, Daddy has something good here.¡±

    ¡°Mingzhu ¡­¡­¡±

    Zhao Mingshu was not moved and just pursed her lips and looked at him seriously not moving at all. Hearing the footsteps of Zhao Jinge and seeing hime in she hurriedly stretched out her hand to Zhao Jinge her eyes blinking as if she was about to cry.

    Obviously, she was wronged by being forced to walk.

    Zhao Jinge was little distressed at this moment but he didn¡¯t dare to hug her rashly and just looked at Jiang Zhen and said: ¡°Can I hold her?¡± Jiang Zhen said before that if he wanted to disciplined his children, others should not interfere.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Jiang Zhen picked up Zhao Mingzhu quickly and said to Zhao Jinge: ¡°Go and eat.¡±

    He spoke to Zhao Jinge first then he looked at Wen Ying Niang: ¡°Liao¡­ madam Liao, do you want to eat together?¡± Since she alreadye in It was necessary to greet her.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wen Yingniang said as she looked withplicated expression at the child in Jiang Zhen arms that stretched out her hands to Zhao Jinge wanting to be held by him.

    She felt that she had been deceived.

    She used to think that Zhao Jinge was just like her, had to support his family but had no children¡­ but as result? Zhao Jinge obviously had a child!

    If she had a child¡­ Wen Yingniang sighed not even daring to think about it.

    About Wen Yingniang matter, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui have already heard about it.

    They have been living in Hexi vige before were marring marry wife was difficult, basically no one will marry more than one person. After hearing about Wen Yingniang experience they naturally felt very sympathetic toward her and entertained her warmly.

    The food of the Zhao family was very ordinary, and Wen Yingniang has nevere in contact with people like Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui before but she unexpectedly adapted very well.

    When she got divorced, even her close subordinates looked at her with strange eyes and many people have advised her not to do so, but this family attitude toward her was very normal.

    Wen Yingniang simply ate something and went to rest, while Jiang Zhen was finally able to bring Zhao Jinge into the house.

    ¡°You followed her to the Liao family, what happened?¡± Putting Zhao Mingzhu on the edge of the bed and letting her walk slowly while holding her, Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zhao Jinge quickly, told everything he encountered and then added: ¡°Miss Wen is very strong person.¡±

    ¡°She is quite powerful.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, if it was a modern time it was estimated that she would mix very well with strong woman but unfortunately she was born in ancient times ¡­¡­ ¡°However, how can you praise others so much? You also brought someone home without saying a word¡­ ¡°

    Jiang Zhen expression didn¡¯t look good when he spoke, but Zhao Jinge was no longer afraid: ¡°and then?¡± He always felt that Jiang Zhen was going to make some strange request again ¡­¡­

    ¡°Wait, go to the table.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°!!!¡± Zhao Jinge was dumbfounded: ¡°On the table?¡±

    ¡°That table is quite beautiful, but it will look even more beautiful with youying on it.¡± Jiang Zhen said, Zhao Mingzhu crib was ced next to their big bed, which was originally nothing, however¡­.

    The night beforest he and Zhao Jinge make out in the bed, lying down intending to have a good time they surprisingly saw that Zhao Mingzhu awaken at some point of time holding the edge of the crib bed standing and staring at them. Seeing him look over she showed him a big smile.

    Although children didn¡¯t understand many things and they were covered with quilt that day, Jiang Zhen still felt very ufortable.

    So It would be better to change venue, for example, the room outside the room where they slept was quite good. There was a table, few chairs and booth with couch bed so personal servants could sleep there¡­

    They could always go to sleep to another ce after they finish.

    ¡°What if the table copses?¡± Zhao Jinge said a little helplessly, that table was quite small and he was quite heavy¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to keep you from falling.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Zhao Jinge finally agreed and the table didn¡¯t break, this feeling¡­. Was quite good.

    He felt quite good but tWen Yingniang lso unexpectedly felt very rxed and even quickly fell asleep.

    But the Liao family was doomed to be unable to sleep that night.

    After Wen Yingniang left they found out that they were quite poor.

    Liao Qinghe and his parents be extremely anxious, and some people were even more anxious than them.

    Lu Luan followed Liao Qinghe because she wanted to live a good life, But as result¡­ the Liao family has been emptied?

    The servants of the Liao family felt the same as Lu Luan. Some of them couldn¡¯t even stand the situation. The money of the Liao family actually belonged to Wen Ying Niang? But Wen Yingniang run away?

    If they knew this, they would not have protected Lu Luan before!

    And now ¡­¡­ Liao family should not need so many subordinates, right? What are they going to do in the future?

 Chapter 142.1 - Buying Ships from Wen Family

    Chapter 142.1 ¨C Buying Ships from Wen Family

    Zhao Jinge got upte the next day.

    When he woke up, Jiang Zhen had already gone out and Zhao Mingzhu was also not there either.

    Although he knew that Jiang Zhen wanted him to sleep a little longer, but Zhao Jinge still inexplicably felt a little lost.

    However his sense of loss soon disappeared when he saw the note on the side of his bed.

    The note was written by Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen¡¯s handwriting was not very pretty but his strokes were clear : ¡°Jinge, I I¡¯m going to take a look at the Qingfeng Building, wait for me at home.¡±

    The Qingfeng Building was about to be finished to be build so he wanted to have a look¡­ Zhao Jinge put the note away, immediately refreshed then his stomach growled.

    He stayed up sote with Jiang Zhenst night, that he was hungry when he went to bed so now he was even hungrier.

    ¡°Why are you still sleeping in when you¡¯re so old? Even Mingzhu gets up earlier than you. ¡± Zhao Liu said while bringing food to Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge was a little embarrassed but at that moment Zhao Fugui suddenly said: ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it, there is a lot of things to do in the evening.¡±

    Sure enough, Zhao Liu stopped speaking and looked expectantly at Zhao Jinge stomach.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡± He be even more embarrassed.

    Zhao Jinge ate hastily and then carried Zhao Mingzhu to the outer courtyard.

    Since Jiang Zhen was back he felt much more rxed so he might as well teach his daughter to walk some more.

    Zhao Mingzhu was ced on the stone paved path, and this time was reced by Zhao Jinge standing not far in front of her: ¡°Come Mingzhu,e here¡­¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu fell down and quickly crawled towards Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    Finally, Zhao Jinge moved a few long benches together and let Zhao Mingzhu slowly walk along the bench.

    Holding on to something, Zhao Mingzhu was at least willing to walk on her two legs instead of crawling.

    On the other hand, Wen Yingniang also stayed upte.

    She didn¡¯t wake up until dawn, and when she finally woke up she looked at the top of the bed canopy in daze.

    Why did her bed change its appearance? Also, howe no one came to call her at dawn today?

    She was at a loss for a moment, then suddenly remembered that she had left the Liao family.

    After calling someone to help her wash, Wen Yingniang felt refreshed after washing her face.

    ¡°Miss Wen, what would you like to eat in the morning?¡± After Wen Yingniang got up, a delicate-looking servant of about 17 or 18 years olde to ask.

    Wen Yingniang wanted to say something she liked to eat, but it suddenly urred to her that this was not her home, and judging by the Zhao family¡¯s mealst night, it was likely that the delicate things she wanted to eat were not avable in the Zhao family.

    ¡°If you have anything ready in the kichen just bring me some.¡± Wen Yingniang finally said.

    Before long, seven or eight little servant girls brought a lot of food to Wen Yingniang. They ced several home-cooked dishes and white porridge in front of Wen Yingniang. At the same time, they also brought food to the servants around Wen Yingniang.

    A bucket of white porridge, dozens of steamed buns, and pot of one meat and two vegetarian dishes, although they looked quite ordinary they were absolutely enough to eat.

    However, for the people around Wen Yingniang this food was very ordinary.

    In the past, in the Liao family even these ordinary maid had several kinds of food to pick from, all of them quite delicate.

    As for Wen Yingniang ¡­¡­ when she married over, she even brought the cook from Minnan so which day in the morning did she not have seven or eight kinds of snacks to eat?

    ¡°Miss I will ask our people to clean our mansionter, in future I will not let you suffer miss.¡± A woman in her thirties beside Wen Yingniang felt a little distressed when she saw the ordinary food in front of Wen Yingniang.

    She was Wen Yingniang¡¯s apanying maid from her dowry and sever or eight years ago she married a steward who was also working under Wen Yingniang. In fact she didn¡¯t usuallye to serve Wen Yingniang anymore but now that Wen Yingniang had an ident she was apanying her all the time.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing aggravating, people eat this too.¡± Wen Yingniang said, what the Zhao family people ate yesterday was very ordinary and in the end after everyone had almost finished eating, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge ate up the rest of the food without wasting anything at all.

    ¡°This is also .true ¡­.. this Zhao family people used to be farming in the countryside so they are indeed not very particr about it.¡± The servant nodded.

    ¡°Farmers? Why do you say that?¡± Wen Yingniang was a little curious. Before, she only knew that the head of the Jinzhen escort agency was a ger who dug up his own cinnabar mole but she was not very clear about anything else.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this ¡­¡­,¡± the person beside Wen Yingniang had already inquired about the Zhao family¡¯s affairs with the Zhao family¡¯s servants after they moved into Zhao family mansion so at this time they told Wen Yingniang one by one

    At first when she heard that Zhao family used to do farming, Wen Yingniang thought they werendlords but she didn¡¯t expect them to be really a true farmers¡­.

    It is not easy for ordinary people to struggle to make such a family business so Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen really had some skills.

    Wen Yingniang was thinking about this when she saw several servantse to her to clean up the dishes and say: ¡°If Miss Wen needs anything, just give us an order.¡±

    There were still a lot of people around Wen Yingniang to serve, so there was need to ask them to help, so she directly refused, and then led her servants as they went outside.

    The things brought from the Liao family yesterday, except for her own had to be sorted out and sold. Otherwise, they would be too much of an eyesore.

    Wen Yingniang had just left her own courtyard when she saw Zhao Jinge ying in the courtyard with his child, followed by two very young gers.

    ¡°Miss Wen, good morning!¡± Seeing Wen Yingniang, Zhao Jinge immediately greeted her.

    ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore.¡± Wen Yingniang said.

    That¡¯s true, it¡¯s already dawn ¡­¡­ Zhao Jinge bes a little unsure how to answer.

    ¡°Do you take business in Minnan Province?¡± Wen Yingniang suddenly asked: ¡°I have some things to send back to my mother¡¯s family.¡± She did not dare to go back herself for the time being, but she still had to find someone to go back and make things clear for her and send some gifts to her parents.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t take it before, but if it for you I will take it.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

 Chapter 142.2 - Buying Ships from Wen Family

    Chapter 142.2 ¨C Buying Ships from Wen Family

    ¡°Why?¡± Wen Yingniang frowned and couldn¡¯t help thinking about it. Could it be that yesterday, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingee out to save her because of some hidden agenda?

    ¡°Yesterday, young master Zheng told us that your maiden family can make ships and we want to buy some big ships!¡± Zhao Jinge stated directly.

    Wen Yingniang was still thinking about what Zhao Jinge wanted from her and only hearing it she finally understood.

    They had many craftsmen in the Wen family, and the ships they made were meant to be sold so there was no problem at all in selling them to the Jinzhen escort agency so Wen Yingniang agreed without thinking: ¡°No problem, I will write a letter to my second brother when the timees, he will definitely sell the ships to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhao Jinge thanked her.

    ¡°No need.¡± Wen Yingniang waved her hand and went out.

    After seeing Wen Yingniang leave, Zhao Jinge started ying with Zhao Mingzhu again and by the way, took care of some affairs of Jinzhen escort agency again sent by He Chunsheng. He also read the ount books sent by the brick kiln on the side of the Fucheng.

    The brick kiln on the side of Fucheng was now under the control of Jiang Xiaomei and her husband Zhang Bai.

    Not long after the Jiang family sued Jiang Zhen, Jiang Xiaomei married Zhang Bai and then followed Zhao Jinge to Fucheng to burn bricks.

    Zhang Bai was not even a free person in the past, but now Jiang Zhen redeem his own deed of sale and let him marry a wife so he was very grateful and worked especially hard. He not only worked hard to burn bricks, but also brought many apprentices so that not long after the brick kiln of Zhao Jinge was opened the output unexpectedly exceeded that of some brick kilns that had been open for decades on this side of Fucheng making a lot of money for Zhao Jinge.

    The ount book of the brick kiln was very simple so Zhao Jinge finished reading it quickly, and then asked some questions to the people who came to report it.

    Knowing that the people he and Jiang Zhen brought back from the seaside were living well on the side of the brick klin, Zhao Jinge put his mind at ease. Then he specifically instructed to prepare some meat for those people every day so that they could nourish their bodies.

    The people who came to report responded one after another.

    After doing these things, it was already afternoon but Jiang Zhen had note back yet¡­ Zhao Jinge carried Zhao Mingzhu to the gate looking for someone to ask about Qingfeng Building situation when he saw the side gate open.

    Was Jiang Zhen back? Zhao Jinge be delighted and was about to wee him, but he found that it was Wen Yingniang who came back and on top of that, Wen Yingniang expression was very ugly.

    ¡°Miss Wen, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhao Jinge asked worriedly, not only Wen Yingniang expression was ugly but the people around Wen Yingniang ¡­¡­ he smelled rotten eggs from a few maids, was rotten eggs being thrown at them?

    ¡°Met a group of crazy people.¡± Wen Yingniang said coldly.

    She went out and went to the mansion she bought in the Fucheng. At first she didn¡¯t encounter anything, but in the afternoon, a group of schrs suddenly came in.

    These people called her ¡°lioness¡± and ¡°poisonous woman¡±, scolding her severely, and even encouraging other people to throw rotten eggs at her.

    If it weren¡¯t for the people around her, she would probably be stinking up the ce now.

    Wen Yingniang trembled with anger whenever she thought of the scene at that time.

    Why there was so many noisy people in this world?

    That group of stinky men, are they living off their women just like that Liao Qinghe? Where they¡¯re now afraid that the woman in their family would make trouble so they tried to suppress her first?

    If not, why would they be so angry and aggrieved for Liao Qing sake?

    Why don¡¯t they just go to hell?

    Wen Yingniang cursed those people from beginning to end countless times in her heart, however even then she still suffered a loss.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, can you help me find some people to collect money and do other things for me? I am in need for them.¡± Wen Yingniang sent her servants off to wash up, then looked at Zhao Jinge.

    When she left Liao family before, she took a lot of things with her, but she still thought about getting together and breaking up.

    Liao family collected calligraphy and painting for generations but she did not let them take them out to repay the debt when she married into Liao family. She also did not touch Liao family 30 acres ofnd outside the city.

    But as result, Liao Qinghe has instigated a group of people to scold her!

    After Wen Yingniang has sent people to inquire about it, the circumstances of the matter be very clear.

    It turned out that because of the trouble made by Wen Yingniang yesterday, the Liao family stayed up all nightst night. After getting up this morning, they also found ¡­¡­ they did not even have breakfast to eat!

    Wen Yingniang even took cook away!

    It took some effort for Liao family to find some servant who was good at cooking to cook them a meal, but because of theck of ingredients and general craftsmanship in the end it was very unsatisfactory to eat.

    Then, they found ¡­¡­ they really had very little money on them so after eating this meal they didn¡¯t know what they should do about the next meal.

    At first when Liao Qinghe encountered such situation he could not help but feel anxious so when some of his friendse to see him he started toin.

    Liao Qinghe was one of four top schrs of Fucheng, although he had not yet be an official his poems were very popr in Fucheng. Many young students admired him very much and always sympathized with him ¨C such a man of outstanding knowledge has even married a merchant-born lioness who was still childless.

    Liao Qinghe has always been very forgiving to this woman but this woman was surprisingly ungrateful. Under the circumstances of Liao Qinghe¡¯s guilt towards her, she even moved out of Liao family¡­.

    The young schrs have always been the easiest one to instigate so in their anger they found some people to give Wen Yingniang a lesson.

    However, Wen Yingniang has no intention of holding back ¡­¡­ if you wanted to teach me a lesson, I can naturally teach you a lesson too!

    Jinzhen escort agency operated it business here for some time so naturally, they get to know some third or nine rate people so Zhao Jinge was able to quickly bring some people to Wen Yingniang.

    Wen Yingniang gave those people two silver each, exined some things and give them a few names before letting them go. Then she said to Zhao Jinge: ¡°I will still live in Zhao family for the next few days so I will need to trouble you to take care of them, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pay with silver.¡± When she got married the bottom of her dowry boxes had 200,000 silver but in addition to that there were also some stores. Over the years her family would even periodically subsidize her from time to time ..¡­ so now the mostcking thing for her was money.

    Zhao Jinge promised, Jiang Zhen to build a good rtionship with Wen Yingniang so since it was Wen Yingniang¡¯s request, he agreed.

    However, he still had some doubts¡­ Why did Wen Yingniang give such an exnation?

    Zhao Jinge was a little confused at first but the next dat he understood why ¨C the Liao family and several other schrs had the entrances of their houses filled with dung and filth.

    Wen Yingniang was nning to confront those people!

    After all, she was a woman and did not feelfortable hiring strangers to protect her so since shopkeepers working under her had other things to do, she nned to follow Zhao Jinge for now.

    Wen Yingniang¡¯s behavior could be considered offensive to make schrs in Fucheng, but they had no way to deal with her.

    Therge families of Fucheng would not rashly offend Wen Yingniang and some of them didn¡¯t even like Liao family so the people who thew rotten eggs at Wen Yingniang house were basically schrs with a good rtionships with Liao family.

    Although these schrs wanted revenge, they really couldn¡¯t make a big deal out of this and Jiang Zhen Jiang Zhen found some people to patrol his doorstep so no one dared toe over.

    However, if Wen Yingniang was left alone, the bad luck would probably found her immediately.

    Because of this, when the Zhao family wanted to return to Hexi Vige a few dayster, they could only take Wen Yingniang with them.

    This time they were going back to Hexi Vige for two reasons: one was to bring back some of the people they had brought back from the seaside, and the other was to celebrate Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s first birthday.

    Unknowingly, Zhao Mingzhu was already born one year ago and now that Zhao family was not short of money, they naturally wanted to give her a birthday party.

    Wen Yingniang followed Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge and sat on one of the best ships of Jinzhen escort agency, looked around she finally said: ¡°This ship is not as good as ours, no wonder they wanted to buy ships from our family.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded.

    Jiang Zhen had always tried to avoid spending time with Wen Yingniang, so the person who had most contact with Wen Yingniang be Zhao Jinge. He was not very good at talking, so he just keeps telling the truth.

    ¡°By the way, don¡¯t you have many good-looking maids? Howe you didn¡¯t bring any of them out this time?¡± Wen Yingniang asked again, when living in the Zhao family all maid sent to serve her were good-looking, but now she didn¡¯t see any of them.

    ¡°They are all working in the kitchen.¡± Zhao Jinge said. Those maids were usually responsible for working in kitchen and cleaning the vacant courtyard, and yes they were also responsible for guests.

    Wen Yingniang took a look at the two dark and thin ger children beside Zhao Jinge and then at the two wrinkled servants beside Zhao Liu, and be a bit speechless: ¡°You let those maids work in the kitchen? Jiang Zhen don¡¯t say anything about it?¡± This jealousy was too obvious!

    ¡°He said he didn¡¯t like having a group of maids hanging around.¡± Zhao Jinge acted a little smug. Jiang Zhen was not a person who would be deceived by beauty!

    Wen Yingniang looked at Zhao Jinge withplicated look and some envy.

    Liao Qinghe had always been flirtatious, and the maids around him were all beautiful so they all acted sticky with him. Many of people serving her also fell for Liao Qinghe.

    She was ufortable at first, but then she got used to it.

    She thought that all women and gers had to live like that but Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t.

    Maybe she can also find a men to marry into her family?

    She was already old and divorced so it was basically impossible for her to find a men better than Liao Qinghe, but it was not a problem to find some good looking men who had no money in the family to marry her.

    By the way, the man had better be talentless so if she keeps an eye on him she won¡¯t have to worry about him acting on her own and he will certainly would be obedient to her.

    Wen Yingniang thought a lot in an instant, but she just thought about it. She didn¡¯t want to find a new man for the time being.

    She said she was going to send someone to Minnan, but until now she didn¡¯t really send someone over.

    Wen Yingniang sighed, but she didn¡¯t know that at this moment, a big ship had stopped at Fucheng docks and that people who got off the ship were all from Wen family.

    The parents really loved Wen Yingniang, so they had someone to watch over her in Fucheng.

    When they learned about her current situation they send someone to pick her up.

 Chapter 143.1 - Someone From The Wen Family Is Coming

    Chapter 143.1 ¨C Someone From The Wen Family Is Coming

    People on this side of Hexi Vige attach great importance to the child first birthday.

    Of course, how much importance depended on the family background.

    Rich families would hold birthday parties and give their children some silver bracelets and jeawllery. If you didn¡¯t have money, you could only have a meal with your own family.

    The Zhao family has now be the richest family in the Hexi vige so the birthday party they hosted for Zhao Mingzhu was naturally very lively. Even more lively than Zhao Liu¡¯s original birthday banquet.

    Zhao Mingzhu wore red clothes and a red headdress with gold bracelets ordered by Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui on both of her wrist and two silver bracelets with bells on her ankles. With a gold lock piece hanging from her neck, dressing in very nouveau riche manner.

    Wen Yingniang thought that this dress was very rustic, but Zhao Mingzhu liked it very much as she sat on a small stool , happily fiddling with her chest gold lock piece shaking her feets from time to time to listen to the bell ringing.

    After a while, she stood up with the stool that Zhao Jinge had ced beside her and stamped her feet to make the bell ring.

    Jiang Zhen was chatting with He Chunsheng about the Jinzhen escort agency while paying attention to his daughter, then he saw Zhao Mingzhu stomping hard, so she unconsciously let go with both hand of the stool.

    Not only that, stomping her feets slowly she walked forward, and unexpectedly walked all the way like this.

    Having been able to stand firm for a month, she finally was willing to let go.

    Jiang Zhen immediately had no time to listen to He Chunsheng¡¯s report as he focused all his attention on his daughter but didn¡¯t dare to disturb.

    Zhao Mingzhu walked to the wall her and at this time finally discovered her situation. Probably because she was frightened she sat down on the ground and began to cry.

    Zhao Jinge came in from the outside and was so distressed to see this situation that he hurriedly picked up his daughter and looked at Jiang Zhen: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± With the importance Jiang Zhen attaches to Zhao Mingzhu, he would not let Zhao Mingzhu sit and cry alone¡­.

    ¡°She walked there by herself.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge opened his eyes wide with surprise: ¡°My Mingzhu is very great, not only she started speaking early but she walks early too!¡±

    That¡¯s right, don¡¯t even look at whose daughter it is.¡± Jiang Zhen was also very proud, most of the children on this side of Hexi vige did not eat very well so many of even one year old children still not know how to walk so Zhao Mingzhu was definitely considered to start walking early.

    Of course, this was mainly because she ate very well.

    Zhao Mingzhu cried for a while, then kicked her feet to go to the ground, and after going down to the ground, she started to walk cautiously.

    Seeing this, Zhao Jinge was so proud that he bent down and took Zhao Mingzhu out, after taking her outside he let go of her hand.

    Step by step, Zhao Mingzhu walked steadily forward, then went under the eight immortal tables, sat down on her butt and did not move.

    ¡°What a good-looking girl!¡±

    ¡°She looks strong.¡±

    ¡°She already know how to walk, that¡¯s amazing.¡±

    ¡­

    The guests began to praise.

    Zhao Jinge was also very proud.

    Wen Yingniang looked and was also a little envious.

    She was not very found of children, but not having a child makes her fell a little frustrated.

    Even if she could adopt a baby it would not be quite the same as having a biological one.

    Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s birthday banquet was held in ordance with the customs of the countryside so the dishes on the table ware not about refinement but about affordability.

    After all, for the people of Hexi vige, chicken stew was definitely more affordable than pigeon stew ¡­¡­ a pigeon, didn¡¯t it only have a few mouthfuls of meat in total?

    Wen Yingniang didn¡¯t like served dishes, but lively surrounding lifted her mood so she ate a lot in the end.

    ¡°Boss, there is someone outside who want to give a gift.¡± Jiang Ming suddenly ran in from the outside.

    ¡°Who?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, Zheng Yi and the others had already send they gift in advance so who elsee to send their gifts now?

    ¡°It says it¡¯s from the Wen family in Minnan.¡±

    ¡°The Wen family?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little surprised, Wen Yingniang divorced only a few days ago, how could Wen family alreadye?

    The people from the Wen family were quickly invited in.

    Tthe person whoe in was a young men in his thirties ¡­¡­ Of course, Jiang Zhen used to call people of this age young, but for people of this time they were no longer young. Many women in their early thirties were already grandmothers.

    ¡°Good day, Master Jiang.¡± The man smiled towards Jiang Zhen and made a bow, ¡°My name is Wen Ming and I am from Wen family in Minnan. Since today is Miss Zhao¡¯s birthday, I have prepared a gift for Miss Zhao, just a small token of respect.¡±

    As he spoke, someone behind hime with a gift.

    The gift was wrapped, so you couldn¡¯t see what was inside, but just from the exquisite wooden box you could see from outside you could tell that the gift inside was definitely worth a lot of money.

    ¡°Pleasee in, Mr. Wen.¡± Jiang Zhen invited Wen Ming inside, he was not sure of the specific identity of the person in front of him, so he would just take this person to Wen Yingniang first.

    There was no need for Jiang Zhen to bring people in since Wen Yingniang already came out and when she was the person outside, she be little surprised: ¡°Wen Ming, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°When we heard that the youngdy had been wronged, his lordship and hisdyship asked me to have a look.¡± Wen Ming turned to Wen Yingniang and said.

    ¡°How did father and mother learned about this?¡± Wen Yingniang be even more surprised, she was still thinking about what to tell her parents ¡­¡­

    Master and Madam received a letter passed by the flying pigeon.¡± Wen Ming said.

 Chapter 143.2 - Someone From The Wen Family Is Coming

    Chapter 143.2 ¨C Someone From The Wen Family Is Coming

    Every year when the Wen family gave gifts to Wen Yingniang, they would bring a batch of pigeons from Minnan to Fucheng and would then keep these pigeons in Fucheng so if there was any news about Wen Yingniang, they could immediately release the pigeon to fly back.

    This time Wen Yingniang divorced so for such a big thing they immediately released ten pigeons to send back the news.

    When Wen Ming got the news he immediatelye to Fucheng without any dy.

    When he arrived to Fucheng, he looked for Wen Yingniang but couldn¡¯t find her so he asked around and learned that Wen Yingniang hade here, so he hurriedly prepared a gift and alsoe here.

    Wen Yingniang didn¡¯t know that her family kept some pigeons in Fucheng so she couldn¡¯t tell what she felt in her heart for a moment: ¡°Father and mother¡­. They don¡¯t me me?¡±

    ¡°Master and Madam are angry, but they don¡¯t me Miss.¡± Wen Ming said, ¡°They only said that they will definitely not spare that Liao Qinghe and they wanted assure youngdy that they will definitely find better person for her.¡±

    Wen Yingniang¡¯s eyes be so wet that she almost burst into tears, but at least held back.

    Wen Ming was brought in, and Jiang Zhen chatted with him, only to learn that he was the son of the Wen family steward, now working as a steward for the Wen family.

    ¡°For how much you sell the Wen family¡¯s sea ships?¡± Jiang Zhen direcly asked, he helped Wen Yingniang for this reason so he didn¡¯t hide this point. He also didn¡¯t think that he had anything to hide.

    ¡°The Wen family has many kinds of ships, depending on the size of the wood, the price differ. Master Jiang had better go and see for himself, if Master Jiang wants to buy, I can help you make a decision and offer 10% discount.¡± Wen Ming said with a smile.

    The price of the big ships was not cheap so 10% discount was definitely arge sum of money. Wen Ming being able to decide such a matter surprised Jiang Zhen a little.

    Of course, this was also good for him so he just said: ¡°Than., thanks a lot.¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s first birthday banquet be aplete sess.

    Because there were many things going on in Fucheng, the next day Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went back to Fucheng along with Wen Ming and Wen Yingniang.

    It was a day journey from Hexi vige to Fucheng so on that day Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming had a good chat, letting Jiang Zhen admire Wen Ming a little.

    This Wen Ming looked ordinary and even a little weak but he has been to sea many times, no matter if it was east or west he found new traveling routes for Wen family and negotiated a long-term porcin business.

    It was precisely because of this that he had such a high status in Wen family and now he had an even higher position that his father who was steward of the Wen family. Had it not been for this, he wouldn¡¯t be able to promise selling Wen family ships to Jiang Zhen with 10% discount.

    Because of this Jiang Zhen was impressed while Wen Ming was also a bit shocked by this Jiang Zhen. Jiang Zhen unexpectedly knew some Western and Orientalnguages and also knew a lot about their products!

    From where he learned it was not very clear, but if he said that he just overheard it Wen Ming would suspect that he was a demon.

    Jiang Zhen was not very clear about specific situation in east and west, so he inquired with Wen Ming, as for those things he knew ¡­¡­ he said he learned it form a person who had done business at sea.

    Wen Ming didn¡¯t doubt it and answered Jiang Zhen¡¯s questions patiently.

    ¡°Boss Wen, many thanks.¡± Jiang Zhen sincerely thanked Wen Ming, what he learned from Wen Ming was very precious to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s me who should thank Master Jiang.¡± Wen Ming said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t seem to have done anything.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Wen Ming in confusion.

    ¡°Master Jiang helped my youngdy if it hadn¡¯t been for master Jiang I don¡¯t know what would have happened to my youngdy right now.¡± Wen Ming said. ording to what he learned, if it hadn¡¯t been for Jiang Zhen, Wen Yingniang probably wouldn¡¯t have left the Liao family, and if she hadn¡¯t left¡­. Wen family father and mother were really concerned about Wen Yingniang, originally they were also unwilling to see their daughter being divorced. But if Wen Yingniang did not leave from the Liao family, they would have known about Liao Qinghe taking concubine and having a child but there would be nothing they could do.

    Then, how could Wen Yingniang would life in the future?

    ¡°You like Wen Yingniang?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly asked, this Wen Ming was a little overly concerned about Wen Yingniang and should probably be interested in Wen Yingniang.

    ¡°Master Jiang, be careful of what you say!.¡± Wen Ming was surprised and immediately said that he was only a servant of the Wen family and wouldn¡¯t even dare to think about Wen Yingniang. If those words were heard by others, they would also be harmful to Wen Yingniang reputation.

    ¡°Are you married yet?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°I am at the sea all the time so I haven¡¯t got married yet.¡± Wen Ming said, ording to his status he could marry one of Wen family maid early but he spend more time at the sea every year that onnd and thatnd was not necessarily thend of Minnan so he never got married.

    But even so there were still many people who wanted to marry him.

    ¡°When you meet someone you like be bold and chase them so you won¡¯t regret itter.¡¯ Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Master Jiang, you are thinking too much.¡± Wen Ming said with a smile.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Jiang Zhen and his groupe to Fucheng. As soon as they arrived, they heard the news.

    Liao Qinghe had already gotten betrothed with a daughter of schr¡¯s and was about to get married.

    Less than ten days after divorcing his wife, Liao Qinghe was getting married again?!

    When Wen Yingniang decided to divorce she had already intended to make a clean break with Liao Qinghe, and did not feel it was a pity. But now learning that Liao Qinghe was going to get married, she felt a little ufortable.

    In any case, she and Liao Qinghe have been husband and wife for ten years, even if their feeling for each other had worn off with time she still cared about him. But as result only after few days of divorcing her, Liao Qinghe was getting married to someone else.

    Wen Yingniang was d that she had chosen to leave, but on the other hand she still felt some reluctance.

    However, she felt sore only for a short period of time.

    ¡°Schr Liao should have divorced Wendy and marry someone else a long time ago, it would be better than being married to this lioness.¡±

    ¡°Do you think thatdy Wen is feeling very regretful now?¡±

    ¡°She definitely regrets it, she is such an old woman and can¡¯t even give birth so even if she was given to others as concubine no one would want her.¡±

    ¡­.

    On the docks someone was talking about Liao Qinghe and Wen Yingniang.

    Wen Yingniang who had a short rest in the tea house near the dock heard all kinds of rumors from those people so her face be as ck as the bottom of the pot.

    What dose she had to regret, she doesn¡¯t have to support that Liao family anymore, she was happy!

    The sourness and resentment from the beginning turned into anger almost instantly.

    Wen Yingniang be even more angry when someone recognized her: ¡°Isn¡¯t this madam Liao? No, no, you¡¯ve been divorced, you can¡¯t be called madam Liao anymore.¡±

    ¡°Madam Liao?¡±

    ¡°Wen?¡±

    Hearing that person¡¯s words, other people also looked at Wen Yingniang, some with sympathy while others with sarcasm.

    Wen Yingniang only felt that she was filled with anger so she just sneered: ¡° really didn¡¯t expect that there would be a woman so stupid as to marry that Liao Qinghe, to be a mother before she even got married and then use her own dowry to fill that hole that is the Liao Family after she got married¡­ tsk, I even feel a bit of sorry for her.¡±

    ¡°As for Liao Qinghe he is just something I left behind and no longer want. Whoever likes him can pick him up.¡±

    Wen Yingniang turned around and left, but then immediately looked at the people around her: ¡°You go and find out what¡¯s going on.¡±

    What¡¯s going on? Wasn¡¯t it already clear?

    Liao Qinghe circted a lot of poems, so there were still many people who appreciated and loved him. After he divorced his wife, naturally some people were willing to marry him, and even more, people were willing to marry their daughters and granddaughters to him.

    As for why he was in such hurry to marry¡­

    Without Wen Yingniang Liao family be a mess and had no money so they naturally wanted to find a woman to marry in and take over the Liao family mess.

    It was said that Liao Qinghe at first wanted to marry Lu Luan, but Liao father and mother did not agree.

    That Lu Luan was not a daughter from a good family so although she was perfect with Liao Qinghe, Liao¡¯s father and mother did not like her either. Before they protected the baby in her belly rather than her.

    Liao Qinghe¡¯s divorce made Wen Yingniang¡¯s reputation even worse but at the same time, Liao Family reputation also got a lot worse.

    Because of this, the Liao family couldn¡¯t wait to have some happy event like marriage to make people forget the past. Liao Qinghe even wrote a poem for his new wife that had still not yet passed the door to praise her to heaven.

    For a while, everyone was talking about the Liao family and everyone was sympathizing with Wen Yingniang.

    Wen Yingniang who was handling the things taken away from the Liao family, once again felt the sympathetic gaze of the people around her and suddenly looked at Wen Ming: ¡°You said before that my parents can find me the better one?¡±

    ¡°Miss?¡± Wen Ming bes startled.

    ¡°There is no need to find a better one, who knows if in the end I will step in another mud pit?¡± Wen Yingniang scoffed: ¡°But ¡­¡­ can you help me find a handsome man? I want a man who will marry in!¡±

 Chapter 144.1 - Wen Yingniang is getting married

    Chapter 144.1 ¨C Wen Yingniang is getting married

    Wen Ying Niang was not a person with a good temper, and at the moment, she was really angry with the Liao family.

    That Liao Qinghe was writing poems and paintings: not only did he portray himself as a pathetic love saint model, but he kept belittling her!

    This person even wrote a poem to remember their past, stating that the peony had somehow be a thorn, and he missed its gentle touch as he was pierced by the thorn all over his body.

    Damn thorns!

    Originally, Wen Ying Niang wanted to go back to Minnan after disposing of her estate in Fucheng, but since the Liao family made such a big fuss . . .

    If she were to leave at this time, it would seem that she was being driven away and had to flee!

    Also, the whole Fucheng actually thought that she would have a miserable life in the future.

    Wen Ying Niang was unable to swallow her anger.

    Moreover, she was also a little worried about how she would live after she went to Minnan.

    Her brothers already had their own families, and those sisters-inw did not hate her before, but if she moved back, they might no longer like her, as well as her parents.

    Although Wen Ming didn¡¯t say much, she could still hear that her parents wanted her to go back and marry, but if she married, who could guarantee that she could marry well?

    She was already old and couldn¡¯t give birth; she had a reputation of being a jealous woman and for being divorced. It was estimated that the widower with children would want to marry her for the sake of her big dowry.

    If she never marries . . . her reputation was so bad, it may also affect the marriage of several of her nieces.

    ¡°It might be good to find a man who has nothing but face, anyway I don¡¯t need to life using other people money!¡± Wen Ying Niang said; she was going to find someone who she could handle, but if she was still not satisfied . . . the worst thing that could happen was divorce.

    She was already divorced once, so she no longer cared about it!

    ¡°Miss, herdyship will certainly not agree,¡± Wen Ming said immediately.

    ¡°If I tell you to find someone, you just need to find it. It¡¯s better to find someone I can control than to marry someone and not know what would happen next,¡± Wen Ying Niang said. She felt that Zhao Jinge¡¯s current life was quite good; it just that a man like Jiang Zhen was not quite easy to find.

    ¡°Miss, you really n to do it?¡± Wen Ming asked again.

    Wen Ying Niang nodded.

    Wen Ming then suddenly said, ¡°Then miss, what do you think of me?¡±

    Jiang Zhen guessed correctly; he really liked Wen Ying Niang. Such a good-looking youngdy, what was there to not like?

    But his and Wen Yingniang¡¯s statuses were too different; even if Master and herdyship liked him very much, it was still impossible to marry Wen Ying Niang, so he didn¡¯t even dare to think about it before.

    But this time, he saw a good opportunity.

    He was a servant of the Wen family, but the Wen family did not have his deed of sale. While he had made a lot of money for the Wen family over the years, the Wen family had also given him a lot of money. Although his family fortune was not too much, it was still two or three hundred thousand silver.

    The sea merchant¡¯s profession was always the most profitable.

    It was still impossible for him to marry her, but if she was hot-headed and wanted a husband who could marry into her family . . .

    Wen Ming knew that he could certainly convince her to choose him; he was very clear about his youngdy¡¯s temper.

    ¡°You?¡± Wen Ying Niang looked at Wen Ming in surprise. She really didn¡¯t expect that Wen Ming would propose this.

    ¡°Miss, if you choose me, it will be easier for yourdyship to exin to Master and Madam,¡± Wen Ming said.

    ¡°You should know that I can¡¯t give birth,¡± Wen Ying Niang said. She found a doctor to heal her and took medicine every day for several years but still could not give birth. Meanwhile, Wen Ming still had no heirs.

    ¡°Miss, I hurt myself when I went out to sea. This . . . the doctor said it would be problematic for me to have an heir,¡± Wen Ming directly said.

    Wen Ying Niang looked at Wen Ming with aplicated gaze. ¡°You . . .¡±

    ¡°Miss doesn¡¯t really want to get married. We can do a mutual cover-up while also looking good in front of the Liao family.¡± Wen Ming calmly looked at Wen Ying Niang.

    Wen Ying Niang thought about it carefully and suddenly found that Wen Ming was indeed a good candidate.

    This man, although she could not hold on to him, she knew that he was absolutely trustworthy and knowledgeable, and since he told her that he also couldn¡¯t have children, she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about his child robbing her property in the future.

    Before, she was still wondering why a man in his thirties was still unmarried, so it was because of this.

    Wen Yin gNiang felt some sympathy for him.

    Recently, Fucheng had been very lively.

    After the divorce and emptying of the Liao family, first, Liao Qinghe wanted to get married, then the divorced Wen Ying Niang, unexpectedly also wanted to get married, not married but recruited a husband to marry into her family!

    When the news first came out, everyone scoffed at it, thinking that Wen Ying Niang was unable to get married and had no choice but to think of such tricks to fight the Liao family.

    But soon, they found that things were quite different from what they thought.

    This Wen family was too powerful.

    No one know how they got it, but they bought Xinyuan, a very famous garden in Fucheng.

    He Xingfu was once a high-ranking official who served under three generations. After he resigned from his post, he returned to his hometown and built Xinyuan. After that, his son was also extremely outstanding and expanded Xinyuan Garden, which eventually became one of the three most famous gardens in Fucheng.

    The family was in decline, so for them, hiring someone to manage the garden was a huge expense, so they wanted to sell the garden, but the price of the garden was too high. Although they have long been tipped off that they are going to sell it, no one had ever bought it.

    But Wen Ying Niang has bought Xinyuan.

    How could Wen Ying Niang be so rich?

    People who had sympathized with Wen Ying Niang before were soon shocked. They already knew that she should be very rich, but they didn¡¯t expect her to be so rich.

    And this was just the beginning.

    Wen Yingniang¡¯s shops, which had already been closed, suddenly opened again. Not only that, the stores also began to sell all kinds of exotic treasures obtained from overseas.

    The prices of those things were all very high, but they still attracted dignified families of Fucheng to scramble to buy them. They were even two families that almost fought for a clock.

    For a moment, everyone in Fucheng were talking about the Wen family shops.

    Wen Ying Niang came from the Wen family in Minnan, and the Minnan Wen family was a family of sea merchants. Many people knew this, but they didn¡¯t feel much about it until this moment. It was only at this moment that they suddenly realized that they really underestimated the Wen family.

    Of course, these two things were not the only things that the Wen family did. The Wen family also brought betrothal gifts and dowry with great fanfare and only wanted the best of everything.

    There were really only a few people in Fucheng who had such arge amount of money!

    Although there were still some people who sarcastically said that Wen Ying Niang was unable to find someone to marry so she could only recruit a husband to join her family, they couldn¡¯t hide the jealousy in their eyes when they said so.

 Chapter 144.2 - Wen Yingniang is getting married

    Chapter 144.2 ¨C Wen Yingniang is getting married

    That Liao Qinghe was also stupid; such a golden Bodhisattva was even thrown out of his house!

    The Wen family immediately became iparable beautiful while the Liao family was quite the opposite.

    Father Liao who secretly pawned some calligraphy and painting in exchange for a few hundred silver was finally able to support his family and also had some money to buy betrothal gifts.

    However, the betrothal gifts of his family werepared to that of the Wen family.

    ¡°A poisonous woman, what a poisonous woman she is!¡± Father Liao couldn¡¯t help but curse. That Wen Yingniang was so rich, but she hid it and didn¡¯t say it before. She absolutely had an impure mind.

    ¡°She is really a sl*t that have no sense of shame.¡± Mother Liao also could not help but say; a woman who was divorced did not find a monastery to stay, fasting and reciting Buddhist text but went as far as to recruit a new husband with such great fanfare. She simply didn¡¯t know what else she could say about it!

    ¡°Such a woman, what kind of good man can she find? I think she can only find some men with low status,¡± Father Liao said again.

    Father and mother Liao were constantly criticizing Wen Yingniang, hating her very much, but Liao Qinghe was in a trance.

    He thought that Wen Yingniang would be very sad to know that he was going to get married again and woulde to find him, but it turned out that Wen Yingniang didn¡¯te to him at all and was even going to get married herself.

    Why was she getting married? How could she be so ruthless? Or . . . she actually wanted to get rid of him a long time ago?

    Liao Qinghe could not ept the situation, feeling that Wen Yingniang was too indifferent and heartless.

    It pained him when he thought that Wen Yingniang wanted to be with someone else.

    The Liao family were all talking about Wen Yingniang. But Lu Lian, who hugged her belly, regretted it very much.

    Lu Luan was not born into a good family, and it was an unexpected joy for her to catch Liao Qingyun, so she was reluctant to let him go.

    But Liao Qinghe and that tigress-likedy made her afraid, afraid that she would kill her after learning of her existence.

    Even so, she certainly exhausted all her means when she used every one of them to seduce Liao Qinghe.

    When Liao Qinghe wrote down his divorce, God only knew, how happy she was. But in a twinkling of an eye, the situation took a turn for the worse.

    If she had known that all the money of the Liao family belonged to Wen Yingniang, she would not have tried to seduce Liao Qinghe in the first ce.

    The Liao family was depressed when a servant came over. ¡°Master and Madam, the stores outside are not willing to take payment on credit.¡±

    The Liao family wanted to have a wedding, so they naturally had to buy a lot of things, so they asked their subordinates to go and buy them. As for money. . . they wanted to take these things on credit first.

    In the past, when Wen Yingniang had not yet married in; they had always done so.

    However, this time, all those stores refused to give them credit. Those who sold chickens, ducks, and fishes all said that they should give a deposit before they would be willing to prepare the goods, and then wait for the wedding day before they send them.

    Because . . . there were rumors outside that the Liao family was penniless and anxious to get married because they are waiting for the new bride¡¯s dowry to supplement their family.

    However, the dowry was a woman¡¯s private money. Before that, Wen Yingniang had money and was willing to supplement their family, but this time, the woman engaged to Liao Qinghe came from a very ordinary family.

    If that woman kept her dowry and was unwilling to support the Liao family, what would they do? From where would they be able to collect money?

    ¡°They . . . They . . .¡± Father Liao was furious; those people really looked down on people! Would their Liao familyck such a little sum of money?

    ¡°Master, what should we do now?¡± The subordinate who went out to buy something asked again.

    Father Liao thought about it and finally had toe up with calligraphy and painting again to have them pawn.

    Then the subordinate took the calligraphy and painting and reminded him again, ¡°Master, in a few days, it¡¯s time for the monthly payment . . .¡±

    Father Liao¡¯s face changed slightly as he immediately said, ¡°I know!¡±

    There were so many servants in the Liao family; once the monthly payment was given, one of two hundred silvers would be gone again . . .

    Before, Father Liao spent thousands of silver on antiques without any second thought, but at the moment, he couldn¡¯t even give up a few hundred of silver.

    Liao Qinghe, however, did not pay attention to this as he went out of the door in a trance.

    Then just as he took a few steps, a powder-coated maid suddenly bumped into his arms . . .

    The Liao family was surprised to hear that Wen Yingniang was going to get married, but so were Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    Aftering back from Hexi Vige, Wen Yingniang moved out of Zhao¡¯s family mansion. Wen Ming had brought many people to Fucheng, with those people protecting her, Wen Yingniang didn¡¯t have to worry about being in danger at all.

    ¡°Wen Yingniang is going to get married?¡± Zhao Jinge was not someone who easy get acquainted other people so after Wen Yingniang moved away, he never went to look for her again so he was now surprised to hear about this so suddenly.

    ¡°Well, she is going to marry Wen Ming.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he knew a little more than Zhao Jinge. After all in the past few days he did meet Wen Ming.

    This Wen Ming was really not a simple person.

    The Xinyuan garden that other thought was brought by Wen Yingniang was in fact bought by him.

    After he bought the Xinyuan garden he loaded a ship with overseas treasures and took some of them to visit some influential people in Fucheng.

    Even the magistrate of Fucheng who did not want to see him and Zheng Yi at the beginning, meet with Wen Ming.

    After running around like that, the wind direction of the whole Fucheng changed again.

    After that, he also made a big show of preparing the bride price and dowry.

    When he said that Wen Ming liked Wen Yingniang he exposed his fox tail.

    It was said that Wen Yingniang also thought that Wen Ming agreed to this marriage to let her relieve her anger.

    When Jiang Zhen was thinking about what happened to Wen Ming, someone outside came to report it, saying that Wen Minge to visit him.

    Jiang Zhen went out at once.

    After greeting, Jiang Zhen asked: ¡°Why is Steward Wen here?¡±

    ¡°Master Jiang, I have already told the boss about ships you want to buy and the boss wille to Fucheng soon. There are also happened to be some new ships so you can take a look at them then.¡± Wen Ming said.

    Wen family unexpectedly brought ships to Fucheng? Jiang Zhen was delighted and said at once: ¡°As long as the ships are good, I will take them all.¡± The smaller ships will be used by Jinzhen escort agency and the big ships will be used for sailing in the future, so he didn¡¯t think about it much.

    After talking with Jiang Zhen, Wen Ming already knew what kind of ships Jiang Zhen wanted so he was sure that the ships brought by the Wen family this time ware definitely to Jiang Zhen¡¯s liking.

    ¡°Master Jiang, I have one more thing to ask this time.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jiang Zhen asked curiously.

    ¡°I want to buy some Qingfeng wine for the wedding.¡± Wen Ming said.

    Qingfeng wine for the wedding? This was really a big deal!

    One should know that although there had been some Qingfeng wine circting in the market during this period of time the selling was definitely something that could scare off many people.

    ¡°Of course, if Master Jiang could sell it cheaper that would be great.¡± Wen Ming added: ¡°I have a batch of wine from overseas in my hand, its quality is very good so it can supply Qingfeng House.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Jiang Zhen directly agreed and then asked: ¡°Steward Wen, have you thought about the future?¡±

    Wen Ming froze.

    ¡°After you got married with Wen Yingniang, are you still going to be in steward of the Wen family?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Wen Ming: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to take a fleet of ships out on your own and make a go out of it? How about we cooperate?¡±¡±

    Wen Ming¡¯s heart stirred.

    He was not without ambition and had thought about setting up his own business, but on second thought he thought it would be pointless.

    The Wen family treated him well enough and his family was loyal to the Wen family, he was all alone so earning more money was useless but now. . .

    Wen Ming thought about it, but in the end, he still shook his head: ¡°Master Jiang, I have no such intention.¡±

    Although the marriage of the Liao family has been already been decided, nothing happened for a while. Although they wanted to marry their daughter to Liao Qinghe their family was unwilling to hastily marry their daughter.

    They have to buy a dowry and prepare for the wedding so it would take some time.

    However, even if the Liao family wedding was not organized, Wen Yingniang¡¯s wedding had been prepared in a very short period of time.

    The Wen family also came to Fucheng.

    When Wen Ming came over, hee only with one big ship which was not very remarkable, but when the Wen family came over, it was a huge fleet of ships.

    Previously Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi had hired sea ships, but the sea ships they hired, no matter if it was a matter of quantity or quality, were notparable to these of Wen family.

    At one point of time the docks of Fucheng were filled with Wen family ships.

    The people of Fucheng were once again shocked.

    This time, the Wen family came over with Wen Yingniang¡¯s parents and elder brother.

    The Wen family brought the ships they wanted so at that day Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jing eto the docks to see the ships.

    Jiang Zhen had been in contact with many ships but he already knew how to check if the ship was good or not, and the ships of the Wen family were undoubtedly good ships.

    Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to buy all the ships and even order some more.

    He decided to change all the money in his hand into ships.

    Wen family learned from thetter sent by Wen Ming that Jiang Zhen wanted to buy ships, but they didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would buy so many.

    Wen Yingniang¡¯s eldest brother, the young master of the Wen family, said at that moment: ¡°it¡¯s not easy to build ship. Some ships even take years to build. Since I don¡¯t have extra ships for the time being. You¡¯ll have to wait.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, agreeing. He was not in hurry so he could take his time.

    Wen Yingniang¡¯s marriage was conducted with great dignity.

    Although it was epting a husband into their family the wedding was actually done as usual. It was not like Wen Minge to marry Wen Yingniang expect that Wen Ming started from somewhere else before going to Xinyuan to marry Wen Yingniang and walked around Xinyuan before returning there.

    Since the Wen familye here, basically all rich people from Fucheng alsoe weddings, there were also a lot of officials whoe.

    In many cases, government and business were inseparable.

    Zheng Yi also came to attend the wedding of Wen Yingniang, and sat together with Jiang Zhen.

    He was obviously in a very good mood, and when he saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately said, ¡°Jiang Zhen, the Changhe Salt farm is ready.¡±

    Zheng Yi was very busy these days, busy preparing for the new salt farm and since Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s birthday banquet, he did not go out. Now the new salt farm was finally ready: ¡°Also, the seasidend you wanted, I have also found it for you, the ce is definitely big enough.¡±

    While the people of Fucheng were watching the Liao family¡¯s hustle and bustle, secretly, a lot of things actually happened.

    Many officials were removed from their offices and many salt merchants were raided, and many, many people died in Wexing Prefecture and Wu Zhongfu during this time period of time.

    However, these things were all kept a secret by big families so ordinary people didn¡¯t know about them at all.

    Fortunately, all this dust had already settled.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart beat faster and the ambition in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

 Chapter 145.1 - Wen Yingniang is pregnant

    Chapter 145.1 ¨C Wen Yingniang is pregnant

    Wen Ming did not have bad appearance or temperament. When he was young, he also apanied the young master of Wen family to study so although he had no reputation, his knowledge was still there.

    After marrying Wen Yingniang, he came out to make a toast with afortable appearance, so many people in Fucheng had a good feeling about him.

    Zheng Yi also praised him: ¡°I think this Wen Ming is much better than that Liao Qinghe so him willing to marry Wen Yingniang and marry into her family is really a bit unexpected.¡±

    If it was him it would be impossible to marry Wen Yingniang.

    But. . . taking a look at Jiang Zhen and thinking that Jiang Zhen had done something simr to that Wen Ming, Zheng Yi felt that this Wen Ming was also good.

    That Wen Yingniang although married before was at least better looking than Zhao Jinge, her dowry was also generous.

    ¡°He likes Wen Yingniang.¡± Jiang Zhen said, ncing at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge froze, suddenly understanding Jiang Zhen meaning.

    Wen Ming was willing only because he liked Wen Yingniang, Jiang Zhen . . .. . . also liked him.

    Zhao Jinge felt like he was eating honey, only his heart felt even sweeter than honey.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen discussed with Zheng Yi salt farm and agreed to go to the former Hongjiang Salt Farm tomorrow and have a look at the Changhe Salt Farm now.

    Zheng Yi wanted to help Lord Yang deal with the salt farm affairs so the salt farm could produce salt as soon as possible, but Jiang Zhen wanted to build a dock on thend that Zheng Yi found for him first.

    In this way, Jiang Zhen no longer had enough money on his hand. fortunately, he took on a big deal ¨C helping the Changhe Salt Farm transport salt. After that, the Qingfeng Building in Fucheng would also open. . .

    Wen Ming intended to stay with the Wen family so Jiang Zhen digging did not seed, but he did not try to force it. The next day, he took Zhao Jinge and Zhao Mingzhu, followed Zheng Yi to the seaside by ship.

    A few months ago, there was arge-scale fighting at the seaside, in which many people died, but by now nothing could be seen of it here.

    The bones of the deceased were nibbled by animals or rotted. Finally bing the fertilizer for the earth, except for the trees that be more lush, not a trace was left in this world.

    Zhao Jinge was here so Jiang Zhen did not talk about the hardships at that time, but talked about some interesting things he encountered here, such as someone went to the seaside to find edible shells and was identally besieged by crabs, or they fell asleep at night and it suddenly rained, so they had to wake up and find a ce to hide from the rain.

    Zhao Jinge did notugh, but he felt some tingling in his eyes, only he restrained himself and did not show it.

    Jiang Zhen made it sound easy but he could he could hear how hard Jiang Zhen days at the seaside were. It was still very cold at that time so when Jiang Zhen and others were caught in the rain he couldn¡¯t even imagine how ufortable it was.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you said you had a new method of making salt. What is it?¡± When they arrived at the Changhe Salt Farm, Zheng Yi asked.

    ¡°Sun-drying salt.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen had been to the seaside before and knew how all the sun-dried salt were made, so now he told it all in detail.

    In fact salt that was boiled was more pure but the sun dried salt was really convenient to make and people actually did not mind little impurities in the salt¡ªthe official salt sold by the court in the past, was even deliberately mixed with sand.

    However, if you wanted to sun-dried salt you would still need some technical support. Why didn¡¯t anyone try to sun-dried salt before? It is not because ofck of suitable containers?

    After Jiang Zhen talked about how to build a bank on the beach, he directly found some people to try to dig out a piece of salt.

    At this time people were hard-working and obedient, so only five dayster the first batch of salte out.

    After seeing the salt, Lord Yang, who had been staying in in the south of the Yangtze River and would be in charge of the Changhe Salt Farm, got a little excited and asked: ¡°What do you think, how should we sell this salt?¡±

    ¡°Everyone has to eat salt so it is better to have a lower price. It would also be beneficial to the Empress Dowager.¡± Jiang Zhen said; he was hoping that the price of salt woulde down.

    At this time, people actually used salt in a lot of ces. In the absence of refrigerators, meat could only be preserved by pickling, but salt was too expensive.

    It was impossible to make salt as cheap as it was in modern times, but six or seven a kilo could actually earn you a lot of money.

    The Empress Dowager also hoped to win the hearts and minds of themon people by calming down the rising price of salt so lord Ying after a little thought, intended to take advantage that those salt merchants were suppressed at this time and sell affordable official salt.

    After making sure that there was no problem with the salt drying, he took the ship sent by the Wen family and went to the ind where Zhu Erlin and others were housed.

    Zhu Erlin and others has lived on the ind for a long time, although they didn¡¯tcked food or drinks they always felt a little uneasy so seeing Jiang Zhen arrive they almost cried in joy.

    Then, they learned the good news¡ªthey could go back.

    Under the control of Hongjiang Salt Farm, even if the lives of those people was very bad they had lived there for generations, and they are more ustomed to that live that the one they had on this ind so naturally, they were looking forward to going back.

    Jiang Zhen brought everyone back in turns this time.

    The ce Jiang Zhen chose to build the dock was the cliffside vige that he had visitedst time and saved people. The terrain here was perfect for building a dock.

    Tens of thousands of people first simply built their own homes nearby and then began to build docks. Although no agreement was signed, almost all of them acquiesced that they would follow Jiang Zhen and work very hard.

    Also Jiang Zhen did not treat them poorly, not only they had enough to eat and drink, he even given them a pork to eat.

    When Jiang Zhen was building his own wharf, the people in Daqi were happy to see the price of salt fall.

    Previously, the price of salt was so high that at one time it was impossible to buy it, but recently, the price of salt has dropped.

    It was a good salt but a kilo of salt only cost five or six copper coins!

    In the past, even private salt would not be so cheap!

    When the people of Daqi first found about this, they were going crazy and many of them even bought more than a dozen kilos of salt at a time, finishing all the salt in the stores.

    But even so, the next day, the store still has salt for sale, especially the Zheng family¡¯s store, they did not allow anyone to buy too much and each time they only allowed to buy one kilo and could alwayse up with a lot of salt.

    The people of Wexing Province were all talking about Wen Yingniang before, but now they were all talking about salt prices ¨C other people divorcing and their divorcing wife recruiting a husband to marry in her family, how could it be more important as their own food and drink?

    Now that the price of salt was down, instead of staring at Wen Yingniang, they might as well find a way to buy more salt and pickle some meat, vegetables, eggs and other things.

    The people of Wexing Province were happy and those rich and powerful ware also full of expectation now.

    The Qingfeng Building in Fucheng was about to open.

    Thanks to the blessing of Zhou Maohe, the people of Fucheng have long known about the existence of the Qingfeng Building and have long been full of expectations for it. Later, after the matter of Qingfeng Wine came out, everyone became even more curious about the Qingfeng Building.

    Now, the Qingfeng House has finally opened.

    People in Fucheng who knew about the of Qingfeng Building all wanted to see it after they learned about it. As for things like the drop in salt prices. . ..

 Chapter 145.2 - Wen Yingniang is pregnant

    Chapter 145.2 ¨C Wen Yingniang is pregnant

    For many people, that mean that their family monthly expenses were few silver less, which was not enough for them to drink good wine or give people a reward.

    When the Qingfeng House opened, of course, it was impossible for Jiang Zhen not to show up, so he returned to Fucheng ahead of his schedule.

    He spent a long time at the seaside, supervising the work of others on the ¡°construction site¡± every day, letting himself get tanned so after he wore delicate clothes his whole look looked less harmonious.

    Zhao Jinge run back and forth between Fucheng and the seaside these days, but he was very careful and always wore a hat to block the sun so he looked much less tanned and you could even tell that his skin looked white and tender.

    ¡°Jinge, you look more and more handsome.¡± Jiang Zhen touched Zhao Jinge face in some surprise.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen happily.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking tonic medicine,¡± Zhao Jinge said somewhat embarrassingly, he initially went to the pharmacy so if he was pregnant with a child and since he was not he he asked the doctor to prescribe some medicine to nourish his body. After taking this medicine he looked and felt better so he went back for some more. After taking it like this even if he was not pregnant with a child his appearance was getting better and better.

    ¡°A little medicine is fine but don¡¯t take them randomly,¡± Jiang Zhen said, after asking Zhao Jinge he learned that he was eating red dates or something, so he be relieved.

    After all, these things can also make people sick.

    Zhao Jinge skin be much smoother so Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t resist touching and stroking it. After returning home he also directly pounced on him so that Zhao Jinge was almost unable to get up the next morning.

    Of course, he got up in the end, but when he arrived at the Qingfeng Building, he was more or less out of energy and couldn¡¯t help yawning.

    This was a little indecent so Zhao Jinge felt embarrassed when he suddenly saw that Wen Yingniang who sat opposite him also yawned.

    After her marriage, Wen Yingniang did not go back to Minnan.

    The Wen family did not entirely belonged to her parents so although her father was the head of the Wen family there were also many Wen family elders above him.

    Wen family father and mother loved their daughter, but those people did not like Wen Yingniang, a married woman who lost her face in Fucheng.

    Before Wen Yingniang has not been divorced, the side branch of Wen family was using her to make fun of Wen father and mother and now that Wen Yingniang has been divorced. . .

    For the sake of their daughter, the Wen father and mother let Wen Yingniang stay in Fucheng, That mean that Wen Ming would also stay here.

    Of course, in the future when this things fade away, Wen Yingniang will be able to go back.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t intended to go back, it was not because she liked Fucheng so much but because she did not want to cause troubles for her parents.

    Anyway, Fucheng was not far away from Minnan so she will be able to go back to see her parents during the holidays.

    ¡°Zhao Jinge, long time no see.¡± When Wen Yingniang saw Zhao Jinge she greeted him. After she got married, she wanted to visit Zhao Jinge but Zhao Jinge was too busy. She also had a lot of things to deal with, so the two of them not meet until now.

    ¡°Madam Wen.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled when he saw Wen Yingniang but felt that something was bit strange ¨C ¨C the marriage was less than two months old, it was newlywed period so Wen Yingniang should be very happy and energetic so why her whole person looked so tired now?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep well?¡± Wen Yingniang asked, just now she saw Zhao Jinge yawning so she could not help but also yawn.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep well. . .. You. . .¡± Zhao Jinge frowned and looked at Wen Yingniang.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get enough sleep these days.¡± Wen Yingniang said, ¡°Probably because I finally rxed there is no need to worry about me I just want to sleep all day. . . also I don¡¯t know why but the more I sleep the more tired I be.¡±

    ¡°Sleeping more is going to make you more tired.¡±Zhao Jinge nodded in agreement: ¡°Your body will also start to hurt.¡± When he was in bed all day during the month after giving birth, his body always felt ufortable.

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Wen Yingniang nodded her head in agreement and yawned again.

    Wen Yingniang slowed down a bit before bing a little ore energetic, and asking: ¡°Zhao Jinge, how do you and Jiang Zhen get along?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Zhao Jinge was a little confused.

    ¡°Wen Ming follows me all day and still want to sleep together with me. I am not used to it.¡± Wen Yingniang said, her face couldn¡¯t help but blush a little.

    At first, she thought that she and Wen Ming were only mutually beneficial, but recently, she sensed that something else was happening.

    This Wen Ming, he must have liked her a little.

    Just. . .. She was not used to it.

    In the past, in the Liao family, there were many rules. Although Liao Qinghe woulde to sleep in her room, it was only seven or eight times a month and even then Liao family parents would use Liao Qinghe of being addicted to women.

    But Wen Ming was the opposite, these days Wen Ming did not do anything but follow her all day and rested with her every day at night.

    She felt that she had been sleepy because she had been disturbed by Wen Ming so much.

    Um. . . All of a sudden, there was a person around her who was fighting for quilt with her and she was unustomed to it.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t sleep with you, who will he sleep with?¡± Zhao Jinge became a little confused, he was not very clear about the matter ofrge families sleeping in separate rooms.

    Anyway, he and Jiang Zhen always slept together.

    Wen Yingniang pondered over Zhao Jinge¡¯s words, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

    Yeah, if Wen Ming doesn¡¯t sleep with her, who will he sleep with?

    Wen Yingniang and Zhao Jinge whispered as they walked and finally stopped at a garden in Qingfeng House for thedies to y.

    The time was still early so there was not many people in the garden so the two of them found a pavilion hidden in the trees and sat down, asking the waiter to wait around.

    It was only after they spoke for a while that suddenly several women and gerse towards them.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Madam Wen? Why does she look so bad?¡± The first one said.

    Both Wen Yingniang and Zhao Jinge frowned.

    The ce where the two of them stayed was very quiet so there was no doubt that this group of people hade here on purpose of finding troubles.

    ¡°With such an ugly face, I¡¯m afraid she meet with an ugly man.¡±

    ¡°I heard that she recruited a husband from one of her own servants. She couldn¡¯t get married so she could only pick up a piece of junk!¡±

    ¡°Maybe she was sad because master Liao was going to get married. In just a few days, lord marriage will be take care of. . .¡±

    . . ..

    These people talk to each other one after another, looking at Wen Yingniang with eyes full of gloating.

    ¡°Madam, that one in yellow is the wife of Zhang Juren¡¯s wife, and her daughter is going to marry into the Liao faily.¡± The servant girl beside Wen Yingniang suddenly said.

    ¡°Madam, that Liao family is now living on pawning their own calligraphy and painting so I don¡¯t know if thisdy dowry is enough for them to spend.¡±

    ¡°The money is secondary, if the Liao family gets a concubine eldest son it would be funny.¡±

    . . ..

    The maids around Wen Yingniang said thing one after another, making Madam Zhang expression look ugly.

    The Zhang family was also considered arge family, this madam Zhang¡¯s husband was only a schr, but his father-inw was official in court.

    The marriage with the Liao family was the decision made by schr Zhang. Madam Zhang had been very dissatisfied with it because she didn¡¯t want her daughter to suffer but she could only dy the marriage by two months.

    However, no matter how dissatisfied she was with her daughter¡¯s marriage, her daughter was going to marry that Liao Qinghe making madam Zhang side with the Liao family. Therefore, after seeing madam Wen, she couldn¡¯t restrain herself from finding trouble with her ¨C this Wen Yingniang not only left the Liao family but also emptied it she was really disgusting!

    Madam Zhang came to make fun of Wen Yingniang, but when she was taunted in turn she turned pale but still said, ¡°Madam Wen, it¡¯s so unbing of you to curse others when you¡¯re having a bad time yourself!¡±

    ¡°Who are you saying is having a bad time?¡± Wen Yingniang snorted coldly.

    ¡°Does madam Wen still think she is doing well? Heh, a hen that doesn¡¯ty eggs, what would happen to her in the future?¡± Madam Zhang said.

    Madam Zhang deliberately choose to poke Wen Yingniang sore spot. Wen Yingniang who always had a bad temper be so angry that she even wanted to hit people!

    She sprang to her feet from the stool, but suddenly felt dizzy and the scenery around her turned to ck and white.

    Covering her forehead, she frowned painfully.

    ¡°Madam!¡± The servant girl beside Wen Yingniang hurriedly supported her, while someone else jumped up quickly and went to find a doctor.

    Their lords have instructed them to protect and serve Wen Yingniang well and that they must not be negligent in the slightest!

    Wen Ming, Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi stayed together and were talking when suddenly someone came to report: ¡°Master! Madam is not well, madam is not feeling well, her face is white and she almost fainted.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wen Ming was startled. Thinking that Wen Yingniang had not been feeling well these days, he immediately got worried, stood up and left. As he walked he asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of that Madam Zhang!¡± The maid immediately said.

    Wen Ming¡¯s face instantly darkened, and his steps quickened.

    When Wen Ming reached the door, he was stopped. He was about to think of a way to enter when another maide out. ¡°Master! Madam is pregnant!¡±

 Chapter 146.1 - Rumors In The City

    Chapter 146.1 ¨C Rumors In The City

    Wen Ying Niang didn¡¯t faint, but she almost fainted, which startled her.

    She always been in good health, but this time she almost fainted.

    Wen Ying Niang was very reluctant to lose her life, and regardless of being angry with madam Zhang she quickly asked someone to help her to lie down in the family wing to have a rest. Then she urged her servant girl to find a doctor for herself.

    She has just had a few days of peace of mind so she didn¡¯t want to die.

    While Zheng Yi prepared a garden fordies to y and rest in the Qingfeng House, he also hired a female doctor for this garden.

    In Daqi, there has always been female doctors, after all for many of the women¡¯s problems it was not good to let male doctors see. Zheng Yi also kept such a female doctor in the garden in order to attract these rich families of Fucheng.

    After giving birth to children, many women and gers will have some problems that are difficult to talk about so they were embarrassed to seek medical treatment with great fanfare. But if they know that there is a female doctor here in Qingfeng Building, they will be willing toe here often.

    At the same time, since there was a doctor here it would be convenient to deal with some emergencies.

    Zheng Yi made a long-term n, but he didn¡¯t want to use the female doctor on the first day of the opening of Qingfeng Building.

    Those who were sarcastic to Wen Ying Niang were a little worried at first when they saw that Wen Ying Niang turn pale. But then saw that Wen Ying Niangy down surrounded by a group of people they couldn¡¯t help feeling a little jealous.

    Due to this jealousy, they spoke again.

    ¡°Before you could beat people on the street but now you can¡¯t stand listening to a few words of anger and almost pass out. . .. I don¡¯t know what she has been through these days.¡±

    ¡°Or she just regrets it. . . she emptied the Liao family, probably thinking that master Liao would beg her toe back. But as a result master Liao directly decided to marry someone else. . . is she dying from grief?¡±

    ¡°So what if you have money, you still don¡¯t know who is cheap in the end.¡±

    . . ..

    The maid beside Wen Yingniang fiercely red at these people, but did not dare to quarrel with them, for fear of angering Wen Yingniang again.

    This was also the time when the female doctor of Qingfeng House came.

    This woman doctor was about forty years old and wore green clothes, dressing extremely simple. She hurried in with two teenage disciples and sat down next to Wen Yingniang, asking her where she was ufortable while taking her pulse.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy these days that I can¡¯t eat. . .. Doctor, what¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Wen Yingniang was very worried: ¡°I should be fine, right? Before I was in good health . . ¡­¡± Before she left the Liao family, she went to the doctor every now and then to take her pulse, her health has always been good so she shouldn¡¯t suddenly be terminally ill now.

    ¡°You are madam Wen?¡±The doctor suddenly asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wen Yingniang said.

    Then she saw that doctor give her a surprised look and ask: ¡°Madam Wen, when was thest time you saw red moon?¡±

    Wen Yingniang was so busy these days that she hadn¡¯t thought about it at all, so when she suddenly heard someone ask about it, she froze.

    The maid beside Wen Yingniang immediately said, ¡°Ourdy saw red moon more than two months ago.¡±

    Wen Yingniang thought about it and realized that it was true: ¡°Could it be rted to this? I thought it was because I was too tired from working too hard that I waste.¡± She had been going to the doctor for medicine every day before that she almost hurt herself from eating too much. So now that she wasn¡¯t feeling too ufortable she didn¡¯t want to seek the doctor.

    ¡°Congrattions, Madam Wen, congrattions, Madam Wen is pregnant, it¡¯s already two months!¡± The female doctor said with a smile.

    Wen Ying Niang be confused.

    She was pregnant? Wasn¡¯t she unable to give birth?

    ¡°Really?¡± The maids beside Wen Ying Niang ware also shocked, but of course, it was because of joy.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, Madam Wen is pregnant.¡± That female doctor said again, feeling that she had been very lucky.

    Who doesn¡¯t know that Wen Ying Niang was rich? She diagnosed such a great good news, the Wen family will certainly give her a generous reward.

    She guessed correctly.

    The maid beside Wen Ying Niang rewarded her with 5 silver before Wen Ying Niang could even recover from the shock.

    When Wen Ying Niang came back to her senses, she even said: ¡°Reward!¡±

    This way she was given another 5 silver.

    The female doctor immediately smiled: ¡°Madam Wen, fetus in the first trimester is not stable so you should be careful, don¡¯t get tired and don¡¯t get angry . . .. . .¡±

    Wen Ying Niang nodded again and again, when suddenly something urred to her.

    She obviously was able to have a baby, but she hasn¡¯t had a child for so many years, this. . . could it be because Liao Qinghe was unable to have children?

    Liao Qinghe had no problem in this area and always looked around for new beauty, so she always thought it was her own problem, could . . .. . . it be really Liao Qinghe¡¯s problem?

    Wen Ying Niang hated Liao Qinghe for a moment, but soon her hatred dissipated.

    Wen Ming said that he was physically injured and couldn¡¯t have children, at first she thought that her had be a eunuch, but on her wedding night, she knew she was wrong, Then she thought that he suffered some invisible injury or ate some poison.

    But now it seemed. . . it was all wrong and that men were actually lying to her.

    But this deception, Wen Ying Niang did not feel angry about it at all.

    In actual fact that person was definitely sincere to her.

    When Wen Ying Niang was looking for a doctor, Zhao Jinge who watched from the side couldn¡¯t help feeling happy for Wen Ying Niang.

    Seeing that the female doctor was already done he immediately greeted her and asked: ¡°Doctor, can you help me take a look too?¡± When he was pregnant with Zhao Mingzhu, he didn¡¯t even notice that he was pregnant and went to fight . . . This made him quite uneasy so he was now specially willing to let others take a look at him.

    That female doctor instantly took Zhao Jinge pulse.

    ¡°Madam, you are pregnant, too!¡± The female doctor said with surprise.

    Although Zhao Jinge let this female doctor take his pulse he was pretty sure that he wasn¡¯t pregnant. After all, when Jiang Zhen did that thing. . . he was always careful.

    But unexpectedly, he was pregnant?

    ¡°It¡¯s almost two months too.¡± That female doctor looked at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge also gives her five silver, slightly distressed¡­ Usually, if you went to doctor and didn¡¯t have prescribed medicine you wouldn¡¯t have to pay 5 silver.

    But even so he was still very happy!

 Chapter 146.2 - Rumors In The City

    Chapter 146.2 ¨C Rumors In The City

    ¡°We are really destined for each other.¡± Wen Yingniang grabbed Zhao Jinge hand and suddenly cried.

    When Wen Ying Niang cried with joy, Wen Ming who just learned of her pregnancy froze.

    He paused and turned his stiff neck to look at the servant girl: ¡°So, Yingniang she is fine?¡±

    ¡°Answering my lord, madam is fine but since she is pregnant she should rest well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that she is okay. . .¡± Wen Ming took a deep breath and was not as anxious as before: ¡°You go back and take care of madam!¡±

    Just as Wen Ming spoke, Jiang Zhene over: ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a happy event . . .. . . Master Jiang, can you let me into this garden?¡± Wen Ming could not hold down his excitement anymore.

    ¡°Let someone inform people inside and then you can go in.¡± Jiang Zhen said as he sent someone into the garden to notify others.

    In fact, even if I ran into a woman it wouldn¡¯t matter so he made such a rule because he was afraid that someone would be disrespectful to their women after they went in.

    Someone immediately went in to announce it, but at this time, Wen Ming suddenly looked at Jiang Zhen: Master Jiang, a few days ago, you built a dock by the sea, didn¡¯t you? Can you let me join you?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen was rejected before, it was not because Wen Ming did not want to leave the Wen family but because he didn¡¯t think it was necessary.

    The wealth he has now was enough for him to spend for the rest of his life so why would he bother going to sea and risking his life to make some money? He also didn¡¯t have kids.

    It was very hard to be the sea merchant, and life at sea wasn¡¯t good. It would also take few months toe back if you went out so naturally, he didn¡¯t want to do business with Jiang Zhen at that time.

    Due to this mentality he thought he might as well spend more time with Wen Yingniang.

    But now, Wen Yingniang was pregnant.

    The one in Wen Yingniang¡¯s belly was his own child so now he had to always think of this child too.

    ¡°Of course you can.¡± Jiang Zhen agreed without hesitation, not surprised at all that Wen Ming would choose to do so.

    He used to think that parents didn¡¯t need to leave too much for their children because it would only spoil them. But when he had a child he didn¡¯t think like this anymore.

    Especially since Zhao Mingzhu was a daughter, which makes him worry even more.

    Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming briefly exchanged a few word when they were told that they could enter the garden. But as a result just as they took a few steps in, someone else came rushing out.

    This time, the one who ran out was the ger child Ruo¡¯er, who was always beside Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Ruo¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned a little worried.

    ¡°Master! Madam he¡¯s pregnant!¡± Ruo¡¯er immediately stated in surprise when he saw Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen also became stunned.

    While Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming were more happy than surprised, some people were not.

    They only felt angry.

    Madam Zhang and the others that had just taunted Wen Ying Niang, also heard that Wen Yingniang¡¯s face looked unwell because she was pregnant.

    This Wen Yingniang was nearly 30 years old so her body not being able to stand the difort was quite normal but. . . How could Wen Yingniang be pregnant?

    These people, just like Wen Ying Niang before almost immediately thought of that Liao Qinghe.

    Since Wen Yingniang could have a child but has been childless before it was most likely because Liao Qinghe has a problem . . . As for the woman in the Liao family who was pregnant with a child, they couldn¡¯t be sure whose baby it really was.

    It was no wonder that even though Liao Qinghe had many women in the past he hasn¡¯t had any children, it turn out he was the one with a problem. . .

    The people who were on Madam Zhang¡¯s side before were now all looking sympathetically at her.

    At this moment madam Zhang hated her husband who haphazardly betrothed her daughter, but she hated even more Liao family and of course she also hated Wen Yingniang.

    While she was greeting her teeth, Madam Zhang suddenly saw Wen Yingnianging out of the house.

    People around her looked in high spirits and even a bit happy. Even Wen Yingniang although still tired, felt much better.

    She was surrounded by the maid as she went outside and saw madam Zhang.

    ¡°Madam Zhang keeps telling others that they can¡¯ty eggs but she doesn¡¯t know that it¡¯s your daughter¡¯s turn to do it!¡± Wen Yingniang smiled.

    Madam Zhang¡¯s face darkened but not far away Wen Mingughed light ¨C his youngdy, was so cute.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯tugh as he took a few steps forward and came to Zhao Jinge: ¡°Jinge, how do you feel? Is there anything wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± Zhao Jinge immediately said he was fine, he felt quite well and not ufortable at all.

    When Jiang Zhen heard Zhao Jinge say so he sighed with relief, but was still unwilling to stay here any longer: ¡°We will go back first.¡± Who knows if someone might bump into Zhao Jinge here? He heard before that there were people targeting Wen Yingniang?

    Wen Ming also said: ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡± While saying that, Wen Ming also asked his maids to surround Wen Yingniang so no one could hurt her.

    They soon left, and madam Zhang who watched them leave, walked out without saying a word.

    A woman carrying a baby for less than three months would not normally publicize it, but news of Wen Yingniang¡¯s pregnancy soon spread.

    At the same time, the direction of the wind in the Fucheng alsopletely changed.

    That Wen Yingniang was actually able to give birth, that means that the one with the problem was. . .

    For a while, when the people of Fucheng mentioned the Liao family their tone changed. When they mentioned Liao Qinghe, they would also shake their heads, exchanging knowing looks and sighs.

    Even those who originally disliked Wen Yingniang, now sympathized with her. Of course, they also sympathized with Liao Qinghe.

    ¡°That Wen Yingniang is really unlucky because she married the wrong person she suffered so much.¡±

    ¡°If the Liao family hadn¡¯t divorced Wen Yingniang, others wouldn¡¯t have known about it. I really didn¡¯t expect it. . .

    ¡°Yes, this Liao Qinghe¡¯s luck, is really bad.¡±

    ¡°Hey, then with whose child that woman that Liao Qinghe brought back is?¡±

    . . ..

    On that day, Father Liao personally went to pawn calligraphy and paintings.

    He always got very little money when he asked his subordinates to pawn the calligraphy and paintings and the painting he wanted to pawn this time was one he particrly liked, so he took it with him and went to the pawn store in person.

    However, the pawn store could not give him the price he wanted.

    Father Liao did not want to pawn it, but he was in a hurry to get the money, so he finally had no choice but to pawn it.

    After he pawned the painting, he was walking back when he ran into a good friend of his so he greeted him.

    Then, Father Liao noticed that his friend¡¯s expression was for some reason strange.

    ¡°Why do you make this expression?¡± Father Liao couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°You . . .¡± The man wanted to say something but then stopped. Then gritting his teeth he finally said: ¡°Wen Yingniang is pregnant, did you know about that?¡±

    Father Liao¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide.

 Chapter 147.1 - Big Changes

    Chapter 147.1 ¨C Big Changes

    The ancestral house of the Liao family, which was originally very beautiful showed now signs of dpidation.

    The Liao family has been trying to maintain the dignity of the Liao family and was not willing to dismiss the servants, but the treatment given to servants was getting worse and worse.

    The monthly payment has not been given and after summer the new clothes that has always been avable in previous years have not been issued. As for the usual food. . .

    In the past, when Wen Yingniang was around, the servants had a meat dish every day, but now . . . they didn¡¯t even have enough to eat.

    If you didn¡¯t have enough to eat who would be willing to work diligently? As a result, the flowers and trees in the garden grew uncontrobly, the leaves in the courtyard were not swept and cobwebs were formed under the porch. . . It looked like no one was living in this mansion.

    When Father Liao came back from outside and saw all of it he felt his chest tighten from anger.

    These servants were too detestable, how could they turn a blind eye to their master!

    But at this time, he was even angrier about another thing, that was Wen Yingniang was pregnant.

    Father Liao did not want to believe that there was something wrong with his son, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was something really wrong with his son.

    In the first years or two, Wen Yingniang would make a fuss every time she saw Liao Qinghe with another woman, making a scene every time, butter she stopped observing him as closely as she did at first and just did not allow him to make trouble in front of her.

    The two of them had no children for a long time so father and mother Liao became anxious. Because of it, they arranged people for Liao Qinghe while also urging Liao Qinghe.

    When Liao Qinghe was at home he didn¡¯t dare to do anything with the servants girls but outside the house they raised people for few years.

    But that woman never got pregnant.

    Before, father Liao always thought it was because Wen Yingniang was too strict with Liao Qinghe that he never had time to go there, but now thinking about it¡­

    Father Liao went back to the house with a gloomy expression and then saw Lu Luan ttering Liao mother inside.

    When Lu Luan first arrived at the Liao family, father and mother Liao were very good to her but now. . .

    Their son was going to marry a miss from Zhang family so mother and father Liao naturally no longer liked Lu Luan because of her bad birth.

    It was true that Lu Luan was not born well, originally she was a virgin woman in flower house but she was lucky and met Liao Qinghe during her first night. Liao Qinghe, who liked her, paid her ransom and then supported her outside.

    ¡°Auntie, this is the chicken soup I stewed with my own hands.¡± Lu Luan was holding her five or six-month-old belly and looked at Liao¡¯s mother pleasingly.

    She already regretted it.

    Before when she was being raised outside by Liao Qinghe, her life couldn¡¯t be morefortable, her food and clothing ware also very good, but after she came to Liao family? She couldn¡¯t believe that to eat a simple chicken she needed mother Liao¡¯s permission.

    It was just like this, mother Liao had total control over her.

    If she had known this, she might as well be an outsider for Liao Qinghe!

    If she had known this, she would not make an enemy of Wen Yingniang, who was a very rich person!

    ¡°Put it away.¡± Mother Liao said indifferently and looked at Lu Luan. ¡°You did a good job, when Miss Zhang arrives in a few days you should also serve her well.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Luan answered, bowing her head to hide her unsightly expression.

    Just then, Lu Luan suddenly heard Father Liao¡¯s voice: ¡°Lu Luan!¡±

    ¡°Master?¡± Lu Luan looked up at father Liao, and then was startled by father Liao¡¯s ugly expression ¨C what was wrong?

    Father Liao didn¡¯t say anything anymore as he just asked to servant to get Liao Qinghe while asking other servants to go out and close the door of the room.

    Only after doing all of it, father Liao looked coldly at Lu Luan: ¡°Lu Luan, whose child is in your belly?¡±

    The strange attitude of Liao¡¯s father had already made Lu Luan afraid so hearing father Liao question her face flushed with a touch of guilt before she said: ¡°Of course it¡¯s my husband¡¯s.¡±

    Lu Luan reacted quickly, but in the end to father Liao still noticed her expression. ¡°Bitch! You better tell me the truth or I will drown you in pond when I find out the truth!¡±

    Lu Luan expression changed greatly again, when Liao¡¯s father suddenly asked such a question, she only thought that she had been exposed.

    Whose child in her belly was in the end she was not very clear. . . She had guests before she followed Liao Qinghe, and then she was with Liao Qinghe. . .. Putting cotton dipped in eel blood into their body to pretend it was their first time was something they did often.

    ¡°Father, what are you talking about? The child in Luan¡¯s belly is a mine of course.¡± Liao Qinghe came in from outside, just in time to hear his own father¡¯s words, and hurriedly defended Lu Luan.

    Father Liao picked up the teacup and smashed it near Lu Luan as he spoke to Liao Qinghe. ¡°You had so many women so howe only this one is pregnant with a child? Didn¡¯t you think about it?¡±

    Lu Luan ducked to the side so the teacup was smashed on her side, bricking into the pieces, Liao Qinghe felt distressed when he heard his father say, ¡°Wen Yinginang is pregnant!¡±

    Liao Qinghe froze.

    Mother Liao¡¯s whole body trembled.

    Wen Yingniang was pregnant?

    Liao Qinghe had always thought that it was Wen Yingniang who could not give birth, but if Wen Yingniang could give birth¡­ he suddenly thought that even after so many years expect Lu Luan there was no else whoever carried his child.

    The room fell silent, the expression of everyone inside was getting ugly.

    Lu Luan at this moment felt even more regretful.

    It turned out. . . that it was Liao Qinghe who could not have children? Now that this was revealed, how could she live well in the future?

    She was pregnant with someone else¡¯s child, won¡¯t Liao family beat and kill her?

    She has to think of something¡­

    ¡°You better not try to hurt me, or else the whole Fucheng will learn that Liao Qinghe is actually a eunuch who can¡¯t have children!¡± Lu Luan shouted.

    She also suddenly thought that right now, if the Liao family kicked her out and did not recognize the child in her belly . . . wouldn¡¯t that just confirm that Liao Qingyun had a problem?

    The Liao family not only couldn¡¯t kick her out but also had to provide her with good support!

    The Liao family¡¯s faces were dark, but they didn¡¯t dare to do anything. Just at this moment someone outside suddenly came to report that the Zhang family hade.

    The Zhang familye to postpone the wedding.

    Madam Zhang was not a good person but she absolutely sincerely loved her daughter. From the beginning, she did not want to marry her daughter to the Liao family so now she was even more unwilling, so when she came home, she made a scene and even threatened to hang herself.

    Master Zhang felt that even if Liao Qinghe really had health problems, he could not go back on his own word because he would lose his integrity. But madam Zhang made such a fuss that he finallypromised with a part of it¨Che would not back of this marriage but on the pretext that his daughter was sick he would postpone this marriage.

    Father Liao was already furious so when he heard such news he almost vomited blood from anger.

 Chapter 147.2 - Big Changes

    Chapter 147.2 ¨C Big Changes

    As for Liao Qingyun, he was at this moment in a state of disbelief.

    He felt that the sky had suddenly copsed.

    As for Wen Yingniang after learning that she was pregnant with a child he no longer cared about Liao family affairs.

    However even if she didn¡¯t care about them anymore, there were always people around her who would take the Liao family affair into their own hands to please her.

    ¡°Madam Wen, recently that Liao family is not having a good time.¡±

    ¡°That day, after madam Zhange home she made such a scene that she forced master Zhang to postpone the marriage. Then the Liao family also became hot-tempered and directly withdrew from the marriage, but . . . Who would dare to marry Liao Qinghe in the future?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, the Liao family didn¡¯t drive Lu Luan away, so they are recognizing the child, right?¡±

    ¡°The Liao family really lost face this time.¡±

    . . ..

    These people all wanted to please Wen Yingniang so they tried hard to belittle the Liao family in front of Wen Yingniang.

    Hearing this, Wen Yingniang thought she would be very happy but soon found that things were different from her imagination.

    After hearing all of this, her mood did not be better, but rather she felt a little annoyed.

    Listening to news regarding this family only dirtied her ears.

    It has been only three months since she left the Liao family but everything about the Liao family felt surprisingly distant to her.

    Wen Yingniang changed the subject to talk about other things.

    When these people saw Wen Yingniang chatting about other things they also changed the topic and followed Wen Yingniang to talk about other things, such as . . . the medicine store where Wen Yingniang always went for health check-up which was now particrly busy.

    It was said that Wen Yingniang got pregnant so quickly because she went there to find a doctor to take care of her body. It was also said that Zhao Jinge of Jinzhen escort agency also went there to treat the body so he was able to get pregnant two times in less than three years.

    This time, many women and gers from the city who had not yet given birth to any child run to that pharmacy to get some medicine prescribed for them.

    After Wen Yingniang became pregnant, she was protected like a treasure by Wen Ming, but Zhao Jinge was different.

    After confirming that Zhao Jinge health was good, Jiang Zhen did not forbid him from going out or prevented him from doing other things, except from letting him get more rest so Zhao Jinge life was not much different from that before. Of course, it was still somewhat different there were much more people around him.

    Even when he was pregnant with a child, Zhao Jinge still took care of the affairs of the brick kiln and Jinzhen escort agency. As for Jiang Zhen his attention was basically all on the seaside, and now he was bent on organizing a fleet that could go to sea.

    With the addition of Wen Ming, he was much more rxed, but he felt more and more clearly that it was not an easy thing to go out to sea to do business.

    He was thinking too simply before.

    There are too many ces to pay attention to like crew sailors, routes etc. so it would be very difficult for him to lead his team out to the sea if he hasn¡¯t led people who have gone to sea before.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen originally was not totally unprepared, what he thought before was to dig up a few sailors from others. It just . . . if only a few people were dug up, his bed team would probably have to wait for several years before it would go out to sea.

    But now with the addition of Wen Ming, the situation was different. Wen Ming often went out to sea and knew a lot of people. Without riffing people from the Wen family he could find a lot of people that Jiang Zhen could use!

    In this way it would not be long before they would be able to go out to sea.

    Jiang Zhen began to prepare a variety of goods and was busy for two months. After the baby in Zhao Jinge belly be stable he made his first long voyage.

    Big sea merchants like the Wen family may not go out on the sea in person but for sea merchants like Jiang Zhen who just started, it was impossible not to follow the fleet of ships to go to sea.

    Otherwise . . . who knows if their ship would return?

    After saying goodbye to the pregnant Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen got on the big ship and left Fucheng.

    Thend was getting smaller and smaller and finally, as far as the eye could see, there was only the azure sea.

    Looking at the endless ocean and taking a deep breath of the humid air, Jiang Zhen knew that he had taken the first step.

    In the future, he will go even farther and farther.

    Three yearster.

    Hexi Vige was once just a small vige but now it has already changed and every family loved in a brick house.

    The Zhao family dock which was once far less lively than the wharf in a country town was now much more lively.

    This was also the headquarters of the Jinzhen escort agency so many people who wanted to do business with Jinzhen Escort Agency woulde here, not to mention . . .

    Here you could always buy all kinds of novel and exotic overseas things.

    Almost every day, many ships from Hexing province or even farther awaye to Hexi Vige. Some of them for short rest, some of them for doing business with Jinzhen Escort Agency while othere here to buy goods.

    On this day, arge ship, which was very expensive at first nce approached Hexi Vige and finally stopped at the docks of Hexi vige.

    On board, a fat man was looking curiously in the direction of Hexi Vige. While looking around, he marveled: ¡°I heard that this used to be just a small vige . . . this can¡¯t be even called a vige anymore, even their country town can¡¯t be ore prosperous, right?¡±

    ¡°This really doesn¡¯t look like a vige.¡± A tall middle-aged man standing next to this fat man said, his eyes full of amazement. ¡°That Jiang Zhen must have some ability.¡±

    ¡°When I saw him for the first time I felt that he was not simple. . . but him bing so powerful I didn¡¯t expect at all.¡± The fat man said again, looking like he was full of emotion.

    The tall, middle-aged man nced at the fat man and then looked in the direction of Hexi vige. Just then their ship docked.

    ¡°Gentlemen, where are you from? What¡¯s your business foring to Hexi vige?¡± A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy holding a board with paper mped on it and a pen in his hand came to the side of the ship and asked.

    ¡°Little brother, we are from the capital and wee here to do business.¡± The fat manughed, but when his eyes fell on the pen held by the teenager, he asked, ¡°Little brother, is this a pen you¡¯re holding? Why does it look so strange?¡±

    ¡°This is a pencil, it was made by our chef and is very convenient for keeping ounts.¡± The teenager showed the fat man the thick pencil with two wood chips tied with a quill in his hand: ¡°If you are interested, you can go to our grocery store on the dock to buy some.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really interested. I must buy someter.¡± The fat man said, this pen looked ugly but its advantage was that it was easy to carry and didn¡¯t need to be used with ink. I would be really convenient to keep ounts with it.

    Having the pen in his hand recognized, the teenager became very happy, showing a big smile he asked, ¡°What is your name, guest?¡±

    ¡°I, my name is Luo Tianzhi.¡± The fat man smiled and said, ¡°Speaking of which, I am an acquaintance of your chief. He personally escorted me at that time!¡±

    This fat man was one of the people Jiang Zhen saved from the pirates on his way to the capital with Zheng Yi and was served by Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi for a while.

    This Luo Tianzhi was from the capital and hee to Jiangnan this time to do business.

    In fact it was not his first timeing to Jiangnan to do business, but he was robbed by banditsst time so he stopped for a few years.

    As a result, after stopping for a few years and finallying to Jiangnan again he suddenly found that Jiangnan was different from what he remembered.

    Also . . . as soon as he arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, he heard a lot about Jinzhen escort agency.

    Wasn¡¯t this Jinzhen escort agency created by Jiang Zhen, who saved him at that time? He hasn¡¯t seen them for a few years but this Jinzhen escort agency which had only a few dozen people at that time be so powerful?

    Luo Tianzhi was very surprised. He was going to go to Wexing Province but when he thought of it he decided to stop at Hexi Vige first.

    ¡°Do you know our chief?¡± The teenager looked at Luo Tianzhi in surprise and suddenly asked: ¡°Have you spoken to him?¡±

    ¡°I did!¡± Luo Tianzhiughed.

    ¡°You are so lucky!¡± The boy looked at Luo Tianzhi with a look of envy. He used to be a salt worker in Hongjiang Salt Farm and after being rescued by Jiang Zhen, he came here. Although he had seen Jiang Zhen, he had not spoken to Jiang Zhen yet.

    Luo Tianzhi: ¡°Uh . . .¡±

    Luo Tianzhi simply registered and wandered around the dock together with the tall and middle-aged who came with him.

    There were many houses near the dock, although they all looked ordinary in appearance they were all brick houses with a neat and tidy appearance.

    Luo Tianzhi looked around in amazement when he finally saw an acquaintance.

    ¡°Liu Qianqian!¡± Luo Tianzhi looked at the woman in a man¡¯s robe not far away.

    This Liu Qianqian once took his money and ¡°took care of¡± him for a time, he also would never be wrong. But . . . the previous Liu Qianqian who was thinking of hooking with people all day long, now looked like apletely different person? How was it possible?

    Liu Qianqian did not immediately recognize Luo Tianzhi, after all Luo Tianzhi be thin due to hunger so his appearance was not quite the same as now.

    However, she soon recognized him. ¡°Fatty Luo?¡±

    Hearing this address, Luo Tianzhi suddenly felt somewhat helpless, but the middle-aged men next to him justughed.

    Knowing that he was fat, Luo Tianzhi didn¡¯t get angry, but just looked at Liu Qianqian in confusion: ¡°You¡¯re working on the docks now?¡± At that time Jiang Zhen took his wife to work with him so he estimated that he would also allow women to work for him. This Liu Qianqian dressed in men¡¯s clothing without any make-up shouldn¡¯t be going to work at docks now, right?

    ¡°No, I am now a female teacher in the academy.¡± Liu Qianqian said, ¡°sses are about to start, excuse me!¡±

    Of course, Liu Qianqian was not only a female teacher in the school, she also worked in the Qingfeng House.

    However,pared to the job in Qingfeng House, she still preferred to be a teacher that taught the women in the school.

    The school in Hexi vige has now been open for more than three years and many students who graduated started to work for Jiang Zhen. Even the female students she taught have already started.

    Woman and gers couldn¡¯t work on the dock or go with ships but they could do many other things, such as bookkeeping, managing other woman and gers works or even follow Zhao Jinge and be his helper. . .

    After seeing that the first batch of female students ended well, there now were many more female and ger students.

    Liu Qianqian left, but Luo Tianzhi still stood foolish in the same ce.

    This Liu Qianqian be a teacher?

    Hexi vige greatly changed, but Jiang Zhen did not live here anymore and would only return during the New Year time.

    Zhao Family lived most of its time in Fucheng.

    Luo Tianzhi stayed in Hexi vige for a day before leaving for a Fucheng.

    But at this time, Jiang Zhen was not actually in Fucheng. He went out to sea and was still there. However, from a distance, he could already see thend.

    After three years Jiang Zhen became darker and stronger.

    In the wind and sun of the sea if you didn¡¯t stay in the cabin all day like Wen Ming it was hard not to get darker.

    ¡°I¡¯m home atst.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the dock of Yabian vige in the distance, and his face became filled with emotion.

    On this trip, they went a little far, not only to Western Ocean but they even met blonde-haired blue-eyed Europeans.

    Naturally, they encountered a lot of danger after traveling so far and they even lost two ships, one of which was hit by a typhoon while Jiang Zhen also was blown off the ship.

    Fortunately, he took some precautions and tied a rope to his foot.

    That rope saved Jiang Zhen¡¯s life, but it also hurt his foot. Even after more than ten days passed, Jiang Zhen was still walking with a slight limp.

    But even so, as long as he thought about the things on the ship he had to admit that this trip was worth it.

    Even if he lost two ships, if he sold the cargo he had on the board he would still be able to earn a lot.

    It¡¯s just . . . a lot of human lives was lost.

    ¡°Yes, we are home atst.¡± Wen Ming also said, rubbing his knees, the sea was wet so after some time he developed the same old problem. The good thing was . . . it would got a good rest in future.

    He struggled with Jiang Zhen for three years and brought out a lot of people, so that they would no longer have to go out to sea with them in future.

    When he thought of this, Wen Ming looked at thend in the distance, his eyes bing extremely hot.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s mood for the same as Wen Ming.

    He could finally have some rest and apany Zhao Jinge, Zhao Mingzhu, and his own youngest son.

    More than two years ago, Zhao Jinge gave birth to their second child, a son.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Mingzhu with him at first, but because he often went out to sea, he didn¡¯t take care of the children much. Now when he thought of it he felt a little guilty about it.

    Fortunately, he will be able to stay with them for a few years and be able to teach his son and daughter well.

    The fleet slowly approached the dock of Yabian vige.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet was not the only one using this dock, at this time many ships were docked here with many people working there. When they saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet, those people immediately became excited.

    The people who went out to sea were back!

    People ran to tell each other, and the first one told was of course Zhao Jinge.

 Chapter 148 - Finally Back

    Chapter 148 ¨C Finally Back

    After Jiang Zhen first went to sea, Zhao Jinge built a house near Yabian Vige and lived here from time to time.

    He did not know when Jiang Zhen would return after each trip but he always hoped that he could see Jiang Zhen as soon as possible.

    When the servantse to report that they saw Jiang Zhen ship, Zhao Jinge was handling the affairs of the Jinzhen escort agency in this mansion.

    During the three years that passes, Jinzhen escort agency grow bigger and bigger and the scope of agency was no longer limited to Wexing Province. They will also escort people on the south of the Yangtze River and if someone paid a big enough price they would even escort them to the capital.

    In this way, the Jinzhen escort agency had plenty of jobs but they were very messy. At this time, there are all kinds of documents in Zhao Jinge room and there were even two gers and woman helping him sort them out.

    These woman and gers were all from Hexi vige, they were all very smart and could read and do arithmetic very fast so after Zhao Jinge noticed them he arranged for them to work at his side and help him do things.

    The families of these people were reluctant at first, thinking that early marriage was better for women and gers. But after they saw how much silver they earned every month they were very happy.

    Zhao Jinge took a sip of water and looked at the few pieces of paper in front of him, then said: ¡°This man can no longer stay in the Jinzhen escort agency as escort and he will need topensate for the loss of the guests.¡±

    Just half a month ago, escort from Jinzhen escort agency had deliberately damaged the customer¡¯s goods when he failed to ask for money privately. Now ins and outs of this matter were put right in front of Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Yes.¡± One of ger answered and wrote down Zhao Jinge words before handing him several other pieces of paper.

    Zhao Jinge was about to read those papers when someone came: ¡°Madam, the fleet is back! The boss is back!¡±

    Zhao Jinge quickly stood up and run out without looking at the pieces of paper in front of him.

    Was Jiang Zhen back? Jiang Zhen was back atst!

    Jiang Zhen has been at sea for five months so Zhao Jinge has not seen for five months.

    Although he has been used to living without Jiang Zhen in the past three years, he never learned how to miss Jiang Zhen less¡­

    Zhao Jinge also be more stable over the years, but still without thinking much he run outside just running faster and faster.

    A few young people who were carrying some things to the mansion seeing this scene were surprised and one of them who was a new arrival was especially puzzled: ¡°Isn¡¯t that the madam? Why is he running so fast?¡±

    He had seen madam several times before, but madam was always calm and dignified that he could not even call him ¡°madam¡± but today madam ran especially fast and behavedpletely different from before.

    ¡°The boss must me back.¡± Another young man looked at the neer and said.

    ¡°The boss is back?¡± The neer immediately got excited and asked: ¡°Can we also go and have a look?¡± The person he admired the most was the boss of the escort agency! Their boss used to be from very ordinary farming household but ended up building the Jinzhen escort agency¡­. And all of them admired him!

    ¡°Wait until we finish our job.¡± The young man who spoke to him before said but his hand speed elerated.

    Who wouldn¡¯t want to see chief of escort agency?

    More and more people gathered on the pier, many of them were cheering towards several big ships that were slowly docking in the dock. After Zhao Jinge ran over in just short while he squeezed to the front of the crowd.

    Just as he stood firmly, another group of peoplee behind him ¨C Wen Yingniang under the guard of another group of people serving here near Zhao Jinge.

    Wen Yingniang was surrounded by people because she was pregnant again.

    More than two years ago, after Zhao Jinge give birth to his son Zhao Chengyu, he no longer got pregnant with a child but Wen Yingniang was different. Wen Yingniang who also give birth to her son Wen Kuan more than two years ago found out that she was pregnant again soon after they went out to sea.

    Wen Yingniang was over thirty years old and was no longer that young so after she discovered that she was pregnant again, she was very careful and didn¡¯t even dare toe to a crowded ce like the dock.

    But since it was Wen Ming who wasing back, she finallye out of course bringing a lot of people with her by the way¡­. This time maid around Wen Yingniang added up to 30 or 40 people.

    In contrast Zhao Jinge looked much shabbier, he run so fast that he didn¡¯t had anyone around him.

    Zhao Jinge walked up to Wen Yingniang, and it was only at that time he realized that he might have forgotten something.

    The servant girl beside Wen Yingniang held her eldest son Wen Kuan, but he forgot to bring Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu.

    However, at this time Zhao Jinge was not willing to go back to pick them.

    The two children were with his parents so his parents would definitely bring their children when they learn that Jiang Zhen was back.

    ¡°This time, I can¡¯t believe they went out for five months!¡± Wen Yingniang face was full of dissatisfaction: ¡°As long as there is enough money to spend, why did he need to earn so much? Can¡¯t he live a safe life at home?¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded. In fact he also didn¡¯t want Jiang Zhen to go, but¡­ if Jiang Zhen wanted to go he couldn¡¯t stop him.

    At this thought, Zhao Jinge felt a little helpless, and so was Wen Yingniang.

    Wen Ming insisted on going out and she couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    The two of them stopped talking and looked expectantly towards the big ships.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming also looked at the shore expectantly, as they got closer to the docks they also saw the people waiting for them on the shore.

    Jiang Zhen has already exined what the people should so when they docked so there was no need for him to stay here to observe it. When they got close to the shore he was the first to jump off the ship and quicklye to Zhao Jinge side.

    In his eagerness, he didn¡¯t even care about his injured leg.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what happened to your foot?¡± Zhao Jinge aksed worriedly. Just now he seemed to see Jiang Zhen walking toward him with a bit of limp.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge hand and walked towards a house next to the dock.

    That house was owned by their Jinzhen escort agency and had a total of three floor, the first floor was used to handle general affairs but ordinary people were not allowed to go up the second and third floors. At time time Jiang Zhen directly dragged Zhao Jinge to the third floor.

    It fact it could not be considered as dragging, Zhao Jinge worried that he would get tired so he followed him at a fast pace so that Jiang Zhen did not need to exert any strength at all.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, be careful. Is your leg all right?¡± Zhao Jinge trotted behind Jiang Zhen, hoping that he could help him if anything happened.

    ¡°Not very good ¡­¡­ so walk faster.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    The third floor of this building was reserved for Jiang Zhen own rest, so after he pulled Zhao Jinge he also walked in. Then he pushed Zhao Jinge down the bed.

    As a result just as he pushed him down, Zhao Jinge rolled over, pushed him down, and then started to take off his pants¡­

    Seeing Jiang Zhen walking with a limp, Zhao Jinge be very worried and anxious so he was eager to check Jiang Zhen injury.

    ¡°Jinge you are so enthusiastic ¡­¡­ Come, sit up.¡± Jiang Zhen grabbed Zhao Jinge hand and ced it on some part of himself that had stood up.

    His leg was strangled with rope before but his bone was fine so he would be alright after some time. At this time his little brother was much more important.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    Zhao Jinge still insisted on seeing Jiang Zhen leg in the end and only after making sure that it was alright he was willing to sit on it.

    After that, hepletely prohibited Jiang Zhen from moving and did all the work himself.

    It was nice to be served¡­ Jiang Zhen let Zhao Jinge serve him once and wanted to do it for a second time.

    But Zhao Mingzhu already be furious.

    Zhao Chengyu had no impression of Jiang Zhen but Zhao Mingzhu was different she was already waiting for her father toe back for a long time. But it turned out that just as her fathere back he has already gone somewhere else.

    ¡°I want to find daddy! I want daddy!¡± Zhao Mingzhu pouted, her eyes red.

    ¡°Mingzhu be good, your daddy will be here soon.¡± Zhao Liu soothed her granddaughter, she also felt a little helpless and anxious.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t have much time to fool around!

    Jiang Zhen ran away with Zhao Jinge in a hurry while Wen Ming alsoes down the ship, he also wanted to find Wen Yingniang and make out but then he found¡­ that he and Wen Yingniang were separated by a big belly.

    More than three years into the marriage, the two of them spend more time separated than together. It was not easy for them to be together at this time but surprisingly, a child has emerged ¡­¡­

    The joy on Wen Ming¡¯s face turned to worry when he looked at Wen Yingniang¡¯s belly: ¡°Why are you pregnant again?¡± Wen Yingniang was not young anymore and being pregnant with a child he didn¡¯t know if she won¡¯t hurt herself.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want this child?¡± Wen Yingniang red at Wen Ming.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m worried about you.¡± Wen Ming immediately said.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wen Yingniang said, holding Wen Ming¡¯s hand: ¡°What about you? Are you all right? Did you feel ufortable at sea? Did you get hurt?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wen Ming looked at Wen Yingniang, the two held each other¡¯s hands, looking at each other excitedly.

    As a result, before they could tell each other their feelings a group of people came over.

    Their leader was Zheng Yi a behind him was arge number of people. If you looked at their clothes, you could tell that all of them were rich and powerful.

    ¡°Wen Ming, I brought some friends to y, I did not expect to meet you, but since you are back¡­ did you pick up any good goods?¡±

    Seeing Zheng Yi¡¯s attitude, Wen Ming knew that the identity of these people whoe with him was definitely not ordinary so after apologetically ncing at Wen Yingniang, he went up to greet up: ¡°Young master Zheng and other masters, this time we meet businessmen from Europe so we brought back a lot of good things. I¡¯ll show you.¡±

    Jiang Zhen ran too fast, leaving him alone ¡­¡­ so Wen Ming could only helplessly greet the guests.

 Chapter 149 - Mirror and Glaze

    Chapter 149 ¨C Mirror and ze

    The sea merchants of Daqi were basically selling things of Daqi, and then earning back in silver, gold and precious stones, after all, Daqi was rich in products while those small countries in the West didn¡¯t have these products.

    In the past, the Wen family basically did business with several small countries beyond Western Ocean so Wen Ming and Jiang Zhen initially also did it. But this time due to Jiang Zhen¡¯s suggestion they went even further and met people from Europe.

    The ship of these people broke down so they stopped in a small Western country, unable to move on, but they still had their goods on board¡­. finally, all these goods were exchanged with them for porcin and silk.

    Wen Ming took Zheng Yi and others to the ship and used the key to open one of the rooms.

    ¡°Zheng Yi, are there really rare things here?¡±

    ¡°Zheng Yi, can I buy a clock here? My grandfather always wanted one. ¡°

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there was a dock hidden in this ce, it¡¯s quite interesting.¡±

    Following Zheng Yi was a group of young men, who were talking and looking curiously around the ship at this moment.

    The weathered ship was a bit old so its appearance was not very good so when this group of them they could not help raveling some dislike. Then after they followed Wen Ming into the cabin and saw that there were only a few ck chests they started frowning even more: ¡°What kind of treasure is this? Is there even such a rare treasure that need to be so tightly hidden? ¡°

    Wen Ming did not answer, but took out another key and opened one of the boxes: ¡°Gentlemen, you cane and have a look.¡±

    The young people gathered around curiously, and then someone eximed: ¡°Ah!¡±

    Wen Ming smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s dark here so you can¡¯t see anything, you better take it outside and look at it.¡±

    The men looked at each other and finally it was a young man with the highest status picked up the contents of the box and went outside.

    Today¡¯s weather was very clear and the sun outside shone brightly. In this sunlight the young man holding this thing saw himself for the first time so clearly.

    The thing he was holding was a mirror which was very different from copper mirrors used in Daqi, it actually reflected him in the slightest details!

    He always thought he was extremely good-looking, but now he realized that his nose looked a little dirty!

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Is it a mirror? How many such mirrors are there in total?¡±

    ¡°Can you sell me one?¡±

    ¡­.

    Even Zheng Yi looked eagerly at Wen Ming: ¡°Such a mirror should be given to the Empress Dowager! I want to buy one, prepare one for me.¡±

    ¡°Young master Zheng we have one ready for you.¡± Wen Ming said: ¡°Of course, this is a rare thing from outside so its price is very high.¡±

    ¡°Haha, the price is not a problem!¡± Zheng Yi immediately said, in these three years, Jiang Zhen has made a lot of money, and so has he. He even made more.

    Being a sea merchant makes money, but it also requires a lot of investment but him? As long as those salt worker households are fed, the saw was constantly being produced so the cost was very low.

    Even if today¡¯s official salt was sold only for 7 or 8 copper cons per kilo, but salt farm sold it for only three or four kilos so they were already making money every day.

    At the end of the day, all people needed to eat salt!

    Most of the mirrors Wen Ming and Jiang Zhen brought back this time were only of the size of palm, looking small and exquisite. In addition to mirrors they also brought back some beautiful ss.

    Glittering and translucent, the ss beads mixed with a little green were so beautiful that these people look at them without blinking.

    ¡°You were brought by young master Zheng so I will tell you the real prices. zed beads one hundred silver a piece, this zed bowl, two thousand silver a piece, zed cups one thousand eight hundred silver ¡­¡­ if it was someone else, I wouldn¡¯t sell it so cheaply.¡± Wen Ming said.

    ¡°Master Wen is indeed right!¡± Those young people said one after another, those people were basically all sons of officials, so they looked a bit down on Wen Ming before ¨C this Wen Ming was just a merchant, why should they look up to him?

    But at this moment, they treated Wen Ming with great enthusiasm.

    ¡°Master Wen, these things, don¡¯t take them out to sell, let us just share them!¡± Another person said. Such beautiful zed beads, surprisingly only costed 100 silver a piece¡­ if they bought then and resold them they could earn the difference in price!

    ¡°Gentlemen, we have several shops so you have to leave me some to support them.¡± Wen Mingughed, and finally took out half of the goods and sold them.

    Even if it was only half of the good it was still quite a lot so each of these people were able to but some. Then they left excitedly but before they left they praised Wen Ming for a while.

    Wen Ming looked at them with an expression like he was taken advantage of and they made a great deal but after a moment he stopped smiling.

    When he first saw those ss beads, he also thought they were precious jewels. He thought he would buy them no matter how expensive they were. But as result¡­. Jiang Zhen who spoke a few word in thenguage of the people of Europe said that these ss beads were just a failed product of ss burning so it was worthless¡­

    After they exchanged for the ss and mirrors these thousands of ss beads in the box were given to them for free by those people.

    The beads given by those people could be sold for more than 100,000 silver so¡­.. this trip really earned them a lot of money.

    Wen Ming was very happy, but after he get off the ship and found Wen Yingniang still waiting for him on pier he be even happier.

    However, Wen Yingniang was a bit unhappy: ¡°So you still remember me!¡±

    ¡°Mydy, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Wen Ming apologized to Wen Yingniang with a smile and then give Wen Yingniang a small mirrors: ¡°Look at this, do you like it?¡±

    Wen Yingniang immediately gave a startled cry.

    When Wen Ming give the mirror, Jiang Zhen also took out a mirror to give to Zhao Jinge: ¡°Jinge, you look really good now, take a look.¡±

    Zhao Jinge took the mirror and saw his expression clearly.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge finally left the room, an hour and half had already passed.

    Both of them changed their clothes before going down hand in hand and seeing two children rush over.

    ¡°Father!¡± Zhao Mingzhu hadn¡¯t seen Jiang Zhen for a long time so due to her excitement she hugged Jiang Zhen¡¯s leg before bursting into tears.

    Zhao Chengyu was different, he was only two years old and even if he had some impression of Jiang Zhen before, he was already aplete stranger to him now. He just hugged Zhao Jinge leg and opened his eyes wide, looking at Jiang Zhen pursuing his lips but not speaking.

    ¡°Chengyu, greet father.¡± Zhao Jinge picked up his son and said to him.

    After Zhao Chengyu was born, he had many people serving him so he definitely received more care than Zhao Mingzhu, but not as much from Jiang Zhen so naturally he couldn¡¯t act like Zhao Mingzhu in the face of Jiang Zhen.

    He just looked at Jiang Zhen and did not speak.

    Jiang Zhen picked up Zhao Mingzhu in one hand and then picked up Zhao Chengyu from Zhao Jinge arms with his other arm. Then he kissed Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu: ¡°Did you miss dad?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Mingzhu immediately said: ¡°Father! Father!¡±

    ¡°Father.¡± Zhao Chengyu, this time also called father.

    ¡°What a good boy.¡± Jiang Zhen took out two kaleidoscopes that he got from those European merchants and give them to them: ¡°Father got them from outside, for you to y with.¡±

    Jiang Zhen apanied the two children for a while as the children happily called father, which made him kiss them several more times.

    The more he looked at his own children, the more he liked them!

    Mingzhu was Jiang Zhen first child so he paid most attention to her and Zhao Chengyu looked like Jiang Zhen very much. Jiang Zhen also liked him very much and wanted to y with his two children until the end of time.

    However it was impossible.

    There were a lot of things waiting for him outside¡­

    However, he can take the child with him, can¡¯t he?

    With one hand holding a child, Jiang Zhen headed out.

    ¡°Give me the child to hold, your leg is still hurt!¡± Zhao Jinge hurriedly chased after him.

    Zhao Liu also followed behind them and followed them outside: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Jiang Zhen? Is your leg hurt?¡±

    When Jiang Zhen went outside, Wen Ming had already sold half of the mirrors and ss.

    After touching his nose, Jiang Zhen let Wen Ming apany Wen Yingniang to have a rest, while he took care of the rest.

    After the silver and the most valuable goods were removed from the ship, the rest could be done by his men so Jiang Zhen could finally go home.

    Zhao Jinge built arge and beautiful house near Yabian Vige. At first it was only a mansion butter due to Jiang Zhen suggestion he also circled a beach into it, building a veryrge courtyard

    At this times, the seawater was much more clearer than in modern times, so that Jiang Zhen could regard it as having a private beach.

    Unfortunately, he was so busy that he didn¡¯t have much time to enjoy himself at his beach¡­.

    ¡°At sea, you either eat fish, salted vegetables or ted meat every day, at most a bean sprout for a change, I really missed the food at home.¡± Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge by the hand and went back to Zhao¡¯s house, this time to eat.

    It was not really a meal time, but the whole Zhao family apanied Jiang Zhen and eat together. Seeing that he had such a good appetite they eat a lot of food together.

    ¡°This time you came back with two less ships.¡± Zhao Fugui saw that Jiang Zhen had almost finished eating before he asked: ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Father, I¡¯m fine.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°It just that these two ship couldn¡¯t be found. I have already sorted out the list of missing people and will give pension tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ugh ¡­¡­,¡± Zhao Fugui sighed.

    Zhao Liu looked at Jiang Zhen anxiously: ¡°Jiang Zhen, it¡¯s too dangerous to go out to sea¡­. ¡°

    ¡°Mother, I won¡¯t go to sea in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and looked at Zhao Liu: ¡°I will apany you all and rest for a few years.¡± Everything was difficult at the beginning so now that it was no longer beginning, the future will be much more simpler.

    ¡°Good, good!¡± Zhao Liu was overjoyed as she nodded her head repeatedly.

    Zhao Jinge also looked at Jiang Zhen and was so excited that his hands trembled.

 Chapter 150 - Playing With The Sand By The Sea

    Chapter 150 ¨C ying With The Sand By The Sea

    Good merchants could always smell interested and arrive in the shortest possible time.

    Three years ago, the docks in the Yabian Vige was still unknown, but in the past two years many merchants in Hexing Province learned about this ce and some of them even specially arranged foe their people to stay here so as soon as they get news that Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming returned from the sea they could immediatelye here.

    If they could buy rare things from overseas first, they may earn several times more after selling it, so who could not be eager to do so?

    Jiang Zhen said he wanted to spend time with his family, but the next day he was busy with taking care of goods.

    The most precious things Jiang Zhen brought back this time were potatoes and chili peppers.

    Yes, this time he was able to get some potatoes and chili peppers from these European merchants, but it was in such small quantities that it may take years before he would be able to grow them on arge scale.

    For Jiang Zhen, these two things were the most precious, but for others, it was not the case.

    These businessmene for zed mirrors and ss, in addition they also liked all kind of precious stones.

    As soon as Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming came back, they sold half of the mirrors and ss because they knew that the people Zheng Yi brought were definitely not of low status, but they would not sell the rest at once.

    Doing business, you need to learn how to be patient and wait for a good price.

    After more and more businessmen came to the seaside, Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming stoppeding forward and only asked their men to sell the rtively worthless things they had brought.

    Converted to the Gregorian calendar it was now July but it should be September. The weather has not yet cooled down and the beach was not too hot so in general it was veryfortable.

    Jiang Zhen took his children with one hand and went to his own ¡°private beach¡± to y.

    As a matter of fact, he also wanted to take Zhao Jinge with him but unfortunately, Zhao Jinge still had to deal with Jinzhen escort agency matters and could not y with them, so he did not force him to do so.

    In Zhao family private beach there were some vines growing in the sand, there were also arge pavilion so during high tide, the seawater would asionally swept under the pavilion.

    Jiang Zhen looked at the situation and simply took off his coat and pants, simply wearing a pair of short to lie down under the gazebo and letting his children y beside him.

    Zhao Mingzhu carried a small bucket and dug the sand with a small shovel, but Zhao Chengyu just looked at Jiang Zhen curiously for a while before grabbing his chest bulge and sucked it for a while with his mouth.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    His son was breast-fed by a wet nurse since he was born and finished not to long ago so¡­ he wanted milk now?

    ¡°Father, dig with me.¡± Zhao Mingzhu got tired of digging by herself after a while and wanted Jiang Zhen to apany her.

    But at this moment, Jiang Zhen did not want to move at all: ¡°Mingzhu digs by yourself¡­ How about this, Mingzhu? why don¡¯t you dig up more sand and bury your father? ¡°

    As Jiang Zhen spoke, he grabbed a handful of sand and put it on his stomach.

    Zhao Jinge loved his two children very much and was willing to apany them when he was free, and so were Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu. But they would never let their daughter / granddaughter bury themselves as shamelessly as Jiang Zhen.

    Therefore, Zhao Mingzhu felt that this was something new and giggled as she dug up the sand to bury Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Chengyu quickly learned everything from his elder sister. Seeing that his elder sister did it he mimicked his elder sister¡¯s movement and began to shovel sand on Jiang Zhen.

    The three of them were having a good time when some voices suddenly came from not far away.

    ¡°There¡¯s a pavilion here!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the pavilion and take a break.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone in the pavilion!¡±

    ¡­

    Jiang Zhen frowned when he heard those voices.

    He built a fence on both sides of the beach, although that fence was not high it still let other know to note in casually. But there were still some people whoe casually.

    Zhao Mingzhu had already piled a lot of sand on him so in order to prevent it from falling, Jiang Zhen could not stand up casually. So he just turned his head and saw few 17 or 18-year-old teenage girls walking over in pairs.

    There were no such guests in the Zhao family, and even if there were Zhao Jinge who knew he was ying with children on the beach would not let theme over here, so these few people definitely climbed over the wall.

    Looking at their clothes, they were expensive and noble-looking. He didn¡¯t know what family¡¯s youngdies not stayed at the docks and came to this secluded ce. But, they still climbed over other people fences.

    Jiang Zhen saw those people so those people also saw Jiang Zhen lying in the sand, he had a tanned face and there were two dirty children next to him.

    Jiang Zhen used to take Zhao Mingzhu with him wherever he went, and Zhao Jinge continued this habit.

    In the past three years, Zhao Jinge took his two children wherever he went so the two children were not very spoiled and were even a little tanned.

    At this time, because they were in their own house, Jiang Zhen dressed them in short sleeves and shorts so after ying with sand for a while they looked even more rough.

    Those few teenage girls who came over frowned seeing this situation.

    They walked along the beach for a long time and sweated a lot due to the hot weather so they really wanted to rest in this pavilion. But there was already someone there.

    ¡°Hey, go elsewhere to y. Give us this ce to rest.¡±

    ¡°Come on, hurry up and go away, take your things too.¡±Another person pointed to the stuff on the lounge chair under the pavilion and said.

    ¡°This is my ce, it¡¯s you guys who should go away.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It¡¯s already your privilege that we have taken a fancy to this ce so you should know what to do and hurry up.¡± A young girl said, in a twinkling of an eye and suddenly found that on the lounge chair there were also pants and other clothes.

    Her eyes suddenly opened wide as she looked at his body buried in the sand, Jiang Zhen was definitely not wearing any top judging from his exposed shoulders so she said angrily: ¡°You¡¯re not even wearing clothes! How disgusting is that!?¡±

    ¡°You better get the hell out of here.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s brow furrowed as his voice be colder.

    These teenage girls were all held in high esteem since they were young, so when Jiang Zhen wanted to drive them away they naturally be unhappy: ¡°Why should we go? You are the one who should go!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Another person said: ¡°Are you a servant here or a person from a neighborhood vige? Do you know who we are?¡±

    While they were talking, one of the teenagers suddenly eximed: ¡°Mirror!¡±

    Hearing that teenager words, the people present all looked over in unison and found a palm-sized mirror on the sand next to that lounge chair.

    They begged Wen Yingniang for a long time, but Wen Yingniang refused to give them a mirror. But now such an expensive mirror was ced casually on the sand.

    These teenage girls were all members of the Wen family.

    In the past, Wen Yingniang still had the idea of going back to the Minnan province but after having a child she give up this idea.

    Her husband married into her family so she give birth to a child surnamed Wen. Wen Ming also had a lot of face in the Wen family¡­. In that case, if she took her family ande back it could be considered that she wanted to rob the family fortune from her brothers.

    After all, after her husband married into her family their children were part of Wen family tree.

    She has no intention of hearing about every family¡¯s wealth so she decided to not go back, since her children were also not the only ones in the Wen family tree.

    However, although Wen Yingniang has tried her best to avoid suspicion after seeing Wen Ming leave the Wen family and his business getting bigger and bigger some people in the Wen family wouldn¡¯t help bing restless.

    Even Wen Yingniang¡¯s elder brothers have a lot ofints about Wen Yingniang stealing Wen Ming to set up her own business, not to mention others.

    The Wen family hoped that Wen Yingniang and Wen Ming could go back, preferably with the fleet of ships and their belongings so they could be part of Wen family wealth.

    But naturally, Wen Yingniang was unwilling to do so.

    She did not covet the property of the Wen family, if Wen family wanted her to give back her dowry she wouldn¡¯t say anything. But Wen Ming risked his life by going to sea to make money for their children so no matter what she was unwilling to give it to the Wen family.

    Wen Yingniang refused to go back so finally one of Wen Yingniang¡¯s cousinse over with Wen family younger generation. These teenage girls in front of them were the younger generation of the Wen family.

    They came this time to persuade Wen Yingniang and Wen Ming to go back. At the same time, this cousin of Wen Yingniang, also has some other thoughts, thinking that if Wen Yingniang was not willing to go back he would persuade Wen Ming to be his son-inw.

    Wen Yingniang actually has no ability, it was Wen Ming who was the golden Bodhisattva!

    Not long after this group of people came here, they met Wen Ming who juste back from the sea. They also knew that Wen Ming had brought back some mirrors and immediately asked Wen Yingniang about them. But at this time, Wen Yingniang who already knew their little thoughts refused them.

    These teenage girls were embarrassed by Wen Yingniang, so they walked out of the Wen family¡¯s house and walked along the beach.

    The house of the Wen family and the house of the Zhao family was not far away, so why don¡¯t they juste to the Zhao family house? As for the previous fence, they regard it as the fence of the Wen family.

    After a young girl saw the mirror, she grabbed it and turned it in her hands as she frowned at Jiang Zhen: ¡°Who are you? How can you have this kind of mirror? Did you steal it?¡±

    These people are new to Hexing Province so they only knew that Wen Ming brought a lot of mirrors back from overseas, but they didn¡¯t know about Jiang Zhen existence or Jiang Zhen himself.

 Chapter 151 - Bringing Migzhu For Training.

    Chapter 151 ¨C Bringing Migzhu For Training.

    Jiang Zhen and his two children were covered in sand so these youngdies did not feel that they were any notable people.

    Which honorable person would get himself covered with mud and sand?

    What¡¯s more, they thought wholeheartedly that the fleet that went out to sea was Wen Ming and all mirrors and ss were also Wen Ming.

    Although Wen Ming has sold some, those who bought mirrors and ss were all big shots like country magistrate. How could these people take two children to y with the sand here?

    ¡°Are you a crew member of the fleet? You stole this mirror, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°How dare you! I¡¯ll make sure uncle Wen Ming arrests you!¡±

    The young girls spoke one after another, venting their anger from Wen Ying Niang on Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°My mirror!¡± At this time, Zhao Mingzhu eyes be red.

    Both Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming left something for their own families, but not much. Jiang Zhen brought home a total of three mirrors, one for Zhao Liu, one for Zhao Jinge and thest one for Zhao Mingzhu.

    Zhao Mingzhu was very fond of her mirror and carried it with her at all times. Zhao Jinge did not approve of this behavior, fearing that she might break the mirror or be robbed, but Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t thought much of it.

    Wasn¡¯t it just a mirror? If it breaks, it will break as for the possibility of being robbed . . . Mingzhu was still small so she basically spend most of her time at home. Was there really someone who would dare toe to his home to rob him?

    But as result¡­ someone really trying to rob him now.

    Jiang Zhen no longer cared about sand slipping from his body he got up nning to call someone to escort these people out. But as result, Zhao Mingzhu was one step ahead of him and already rushed over: ¡°That¡¯s Mingzhu¡¯s mirror!¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s body was covered with sand, making her look dirty so the group of teenage girl didn¡¯t want to let her get close to them at all. They even didn¡¯t want to let her get close as if they wanted to kick Zhao Mingzhu¡­

    They were not able to kick Zhao Mingzhu because Jiang Zhen was faster and directly picked up his daughter.

    But even if Zhao Mingzhu was fine, Jiang Zhen was already furious, extending his foot, he directly kicked the person who dared to try to kick Zhao Mingzhu.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The teenager fell on the sand and looked at Jiang Zhen in shock, clutching his stomach. He was stunned and startled: ¡°Do you know who we are? We are from the Wen family! If you dare to hit us, Uncle Wen Ming won¡¯t let you go!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that Uncle Wen Ming teaches you a lesson!¡±

    ¡°Just wait!¡±

    ¡­

    They were all trebling in fear but were still shouting vicious words.

    ¡°People from the Wen family?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned at these people in front of him: ¡°I will beat even Wen Ming if he dares to hit my daughter, so what wrong with you guys?¡±

    Despite these words, these group of people was young and from the Wen family so Jiang Zhen did not beat them up: ¡°Put down the mirror and get out of here, or I¡¯ll kick you out.¡±

    Those teenage girls were a bit afraid of Jiang Zhen who looked very rude, but they were not willing to show any weakness in front of him, especially the girl who grabbed the mirror.

    The girl who snatched the mirror was called Wan Li and was the daughter of Wen Ying Niang¡¯s cousin who came to see Wen Ying Niang this time. She was extremely beautiful so her family favored her and everyone was obedient to her. But bow she was threatened by Jiang Zhen, she was so angry that she threw the mirror toward several rocks without thinking: ¡°I¡¯m not going to return it!¡±

    The outside of the mirror was covered with metal so it wouldn¡¯t break easy, but it still couldn¡¯t stand being smashed on purpose. The thrown mirror shattered as it hit rocks.

    Zhao Mingzhu was hugged by Jiang Zhen so she saw everything very clearly. With ¡¯woah¡¯ cry Zhao Mingzhu cried out: ¡°Daddy, mirror¡­¡±

    Seeing his daughter crying, Jiang Zhen expression be cold. He reached out and grabbed the girl¡¯s wrist, and then directly threw her to the ground.

    If it was Zhao Mingzhu who shattered the mirror, he would first see if his daughter was injured but this person was not his daughter!

    ¡°Ah, it hurts!¡± The young girl was so thinly dressed that her hands immediately bruised.

    It was also at this time that Wen Ming and Zhao Jingee toward them with some people.

    After discovering that the younger generation of the Wen family went missing, Wen Ming sent people to look for them. After knowing that they had run to Zhao family house hee over as fast as he could but as result¡­ these people caused trouble?

    ¡°Uncle Wen Ming! He is beating us!¡±

    ¡°Uncle Wen Ming, this man stole your mirror! You need to arrest him! ¡°

    ¡°Uncle Wen Ming!¡±

    These young girlsined one after another, and the girl who was thrown to the ground by Jiang Zhen even cried out, covering her face wit her hands, looking very pitiful as she tried to frame Jiang Zhen: ¡°Uncle Wen Ming, this man tried to molest me!¡±

    Although Wen Ming used to be a steward of the Wen family and was now separated from the Wen family, he kept his posture a little low when dealing with these young generations of the Wen family.

    Also, although these people called Wen Ming ¡°uncle¡° they obviously did not respect him much.

    ¡°Wen Ming, these people barged into my house and tried to beat up Mingzhu, they even broke her mirror take care of this!¡± Jiang Zhenughed angrily. This little girl really dared to speak! He would never molest a girl, no matter what!

    Zhao Mingzhu was still crying, Zhao Chengyu was also crying, and there was a broken mirror next to them. Not to mention that Wen Li even opened her mouth to use Jiang Zhen . . .

    When Jiang Zhen was away from home, some people threw themselves into their arms but he refused to even hug them so how could he possibly molest a little girl in front of his daughter and son?

    Wen Ming felt extremely guilty and apologized to Jiang Zhen: ¡°Brother Jiang, I¡¯m sorry, I will definitely give you an exnation for this matter.¡±

    After saying that he looked at those teenage girls but his face immediately sank: ¡°Come here and apologize!¡±

    ¡°Uncle Wen Ming?¡± These people looked at Wen Ming in surprise and felt that something was wrong at the same time.

    This person who buried himself in the sand before, was his identity not ordinary?

    This can¡¯t be right? Which person of status would bring children with him and even let his children torment himself so much?

    Besides, these mirrors are sold for 10,000 silver apiece, I will talk to sixth master Wen about this.¡± Wen Ming added.

    He was born in the Wen family, and although he has never robbed the Wen family business in the past three years. It was already unkind to leave the Wen family in the first ce so he has always been very polite to sixth master Wen who came here this time, but now he was no longer willing to spoil these people anymore.

    ¡°Uncle Wen Ming, you want us to pay for this mirror? Isn¡¯t this mirror yours?¡± Wen Li was dumbfounded when she heard his words.

    ¡°Miss Wen, I already told you earlier that I just followed other person out to sea to business.¡± Wen Ming said.

    ¡°This was just your pretext . . .¡± Wen Li said but suddenly reacted again: ¡°Is this Jiang Zhen you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    They all looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise, the man with so many scars on his body was Jiang Zhen?

    While they were still thinking about it, Zhao Jinge had already picked up Jiang Zhen¡¯s clothes to cover his body. Then he picked up Zhao Chengyu.

    Jiang Zhen was ying with his children on his own beach, but a group of people still came and saw him almost naked¡­ Zhao Jinge was very angry at this moment so he said rigidly: ¡°I still have something to do at home, so I won¡¯t entertain you, please leave!¡±

    While Zhao Jinge was busy driving people away, Wen Ming added: ¡°When I take these people back, I will definitely visit again!¡±

    After Wen Ming took those people away, Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen: ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°What¡¯s the matter with these people?¡±

    ¡°What else can it be? It¡¯s just that Wen family is jealous! !¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Wen family did a lot of business which costed a lot of money but¡­ not everyone in the Wen family could have a share of the properties.

    Wen Ying Niang was able to get married with big dowry, which made many people jealous. After Wen Ming and Wen Ying Niang got married, they became sea merchants and earned even more money, which made other people even more jealous.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, you should be careful. Just in Wexing Province there are many sea merchants who are dissatisfied with you.¡± Zhao Jinge said with some worry, since Jiang Zhen been away from home for some time several people spoke to him in a shady manner.

    ¡°Since we develop so fast, it will make people jealous.¡± Jiang Zhen frowned slightly, but soon let it go.

    He can¡¯t stop developing just because others will be jealous.

    If he stops developing, it will really make people look down upon him in the future!

    Jiang Zhen hugged Zhao Mingzhu and coaxed her, in a short time Zhao Mingzhu stopped crying but after a moment she suddenly became aggravated again: ¡°Father, father why are you up!¡± She buried her father in the sand for so long and when she was about to finish burying her father, her father unexpectedly ran out . . .

    ¡°Father will lie down and let you bury me again?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°My hands are sore.¡± Zhao Mingzhu said.

    ¡°Let your mother help!¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge who had never yed with sand, under the guidance of Jiang Zhen, covered the lying Jiang Zhen with sand, leaving only his head.

    This . . . was quite interesting.

    ¡°You should put more sand between my legs and pile it higher.¡± When Jiang Zhen was lying bored, he started to flirt with Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on!¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to eat, I¡¯ll take Mingzhu and Chengyu back first.¡± Zhao Jinge pretended to look at the sky calmly: ¡°Mingzhu, are you guys hungry?¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu were hungry so they nodded in unison, wanting to eat together with Zhao Jinge but of course they didn¡¯t forget about Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Mingzhu took Zhao Jinge hand and said to Jiang Zhen: ¡°Father, Father, don¡¯t stand up!¡±

    ¡°What if dad starves to death?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you a kiss.¡± Zhao Mingzhu said Jiang Zhen asionally yed with her like this so he closed his eyes and remained motionless. Only when she gave a kiss, Jiang Zhen could get up.

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    After their family yed around for a while, Jiang Zhen promised to continue ying with Zhao Mingzhu tomorrow, and finally was able to get up from the sand. It was at this time that Ruo¡¯er came, saying that the sixth master of Wen family came over to make amends.

    Sixth master Wen reallyes to make amends.

    He was already in a very bad mood, he didn¡¯t achieve any of his goals aftering to Wexing Province but still needed to pay 10000 silver for nothing¡­

    You should know that even though he was a member of the Wen family he didn¡¯t have any business talent and didn¡¯t want to go out to sea. His family wealth was not evenparable to Wen Ming before marriage!

    The sixth master Wen¡¯s family was very depressed, but Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to ept his money: ¡°It¡¯s not good to let the sixth master Wen suffer so please take with you the broken mirror from before!¡±

    Finally, the sixth master of Wen family returned to Wen family house with the broken mirror, after he returned both Wen Ming and Wen Ying Niang avoided him.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± The sixth master of Wen family bes furious.

    At the same time, Jiang Zhen had a discussion with Zhao Jinge: ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯m going to train my men.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge modded: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Zhen had always trained his men, training more and more people but he had never specifically told him about it before.

    ¡°I want to bring Mingzhu with me.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Mingzhu didn¡¯t need any training right now, but it wouldn¡¯t be bad to take her to have a look.

 Chapter 152.1

    Chapter 152.1

    This was ancient times.

    Despite the appearance of peace and prosperity in the Wexing Province, there were many wars in other ces.

    In a ce like this, if you don¡¯t have enough power in your hands it will only make you uneasy.

    Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming be merchants together. While Wen Ming spent his money at home or broughtnd he was different, he was always gathering and training manpower.

    Nowadays, Jiang Zhen has thousands of adults who knew some material art under his hands, some of them were working as escort in Jinzhen Escort Agency while others followed him to the sea.

    After returning home, he had those who followed him to the sea a few days off but now it was time to start training again.

    In the mountains near Yabian Vige, there was a special training ground, where Jiang Zhen trained his men. Today he went there early.

    In the training ground, hundreds of men, led by Zhu Erlin, were already waiting.

    It was still early so they satzily on the ground or on the logs wiping the knives in their hands.

    Jiang Ming, who was only 17 or 18 years old when he first started following Jiang Zhen was now a very strong man with muscr arms, but instead of a knife he was holding a spear.

    Initially, Jiang Zhen had little money on hand, so he asked his men to use bamboo poles as weapons. Jiang Ming liked the feeling of stabbing people with bamboo poles soter when he received arge knife made of steel he was not willing to change the weapon and so did several other people.

    Jiang Zhen then decided to ask someone to get them some spears.

    ¡°Jiang Ming, I heard that you are going to marry?¡±Zhu Erlin looked at Jiang Ming and asked: ¡°Have you already seen your wife?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stupid!¡± Jiang Ming looked at Zhu Erlin, the wife his father and mother found for him was from Hecheng County. He got the news at the same time as Zhu Erlin so how could he seen her?

    Zhu Erlin looked at Jiang Ming with an air of seriousness: ¡°Little Ming you must be nice to your wife, otherwise when we go out for months she might run away.¡±

    ¡°Do you think my wife is willing to run away when I look like this?¡± Jiang Ming looked at Zhu Erlin and said: ¡°However, you should be careful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll beat you up!¡± Zhu Erlin kicked Jiang Ming

    Seeing that the two of them were about to fight, someone suddenly ran from outside: ¡°Stop it, put your clothes back! Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhu Erlin and Jiang Ming let go of each other and looked over in bewilderment.

    ¡°The boss is here!¡± The man said.

    ¡°If the boss is here, he¡¯s here.¡± Zhu Erlin said, their boss was even more unpretentious than them. After going to seat time he even cut his hair short¡­. If they hadn¡¯t been on the sea for a long time and he didn¡¯t have five months to grow it back, their boss would have been scolded foring back with such a hairstyle!

    ¡°He is with youngdy!¡± The man said again.

    ¡°Miss?!¡± Starled, Zhu Erlin hurriedly stood up and straightened up his clothes.

    When Jiang Zhen was at sea, he spent his days telling people how cute his daughter Zhao Mingzhu was, so that although they had hardly seen Zhao Mingzhu, they could not help feel affection for this child.

    Under such circumstances, they naturally did not want to show their unkempt side in front of Zhao Mingzhu.

    As soon as Zhu Erlin and others had cleaned up, Jiang Zhen came over with Zhao Mingzhu.

    Zhao Mingzhu who was now more than four years old was no longer as fat as she was before, but her face was still a little round and her eyes were big, so she looked very adorable.

    ¡°Boss, why did you bring the youngdy here?¡± Jiang Ming looked at Jiang Zhen in bewilderment.

    ¡°She wille every day from now on.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Ming and others ware a little dumbfounded, he will bring Zhao Mingzhu over here everyday?

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were now considered people of status so their daughter, should be raised deep chamber, with a group of maid serving her as she learned zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, housekeeping and dabble in embroidery but now¡­ she was brought to them?

    Wasn¡¯t their boss afraid of tanning the miss?

    These people felt helpless, but Zhao Mingzhu was very interested in everything.

    Wooden tower you could climb up and down, high and low wooden stakes, rope bridge across the river¡­

    ¡°Mingzhu, father took you here to y today!¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Mingzhu.

    In fact, he also wanted to bring Zhao Chengyu, but Zhao Chengyu was less than three years old and was too young after all.

    Zhao Mingzhu nodded vigorously.

    Some things Zhao Mingzhu could ¡°y by herself while for others Jiang Zhen would take her with him. When theye across something she could not y, he tied her to his chest and went to ¡°y¡° by himself.

    Leaning against Jiang Zhen¡¯s chest, Zhao Mingzhu giggled very happy.

    But when Wen Ming whoe over saw this scene he was so scared that he broke out in cold sweat.

    Jiang Zhen he actually took his daughter to climb such a high wooden stake!

    Although he often went out to sea with ships he rarely did the same things that crew do. He has never climbed the mast and was even a little afraid of heights.

    ¡°Wen Ming, what¡¯s the matter?¡± When Jiang Zhen saw that Wen Ming had brought people over, he climbed down from the height and urged his men to continue to practice.

    ¡°Yes something is wrong.¡± Wen Ming said.

    Jiang Zhen carrying Zhao Mingzhu in his hands went together with Wen Ming to a nearby ce where he took a short break before looking at Wen Ming: ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°There are two things, one is Wen family ships if we want to buy them in future I am afraid that I won¡¯t be so easy.¡± Wen Ming said. For many things it was impossible to not involve interests, the Wen family originally loved Wen Ying Niang, but now . . .

    Wen father and mother, as well as her several brothers, still had feelings for Wen Ying Niang at this time but no else did¡­ if they wanted to maintain goodwill, it would be best not to involve the interests.

    Jiang Zhen had already anticipated it and even made some preparations for the fact that he might no longer be able to buy a ships from the Wen family in the future, so now he just nodded in agreement: ¡°I see. What else?¡±

    ¡°There is also that Cheng Yongzhen of Pingzhou Province who is doing a good job.¡± Wen Ming said: ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a blessing or a curse.¡±

    Wen Ming talked about the situation in details.

    The matter had not yet spread outside, and was told to him by sea merchant he used to know.

    Country of Daqi had a sea ban, which stiptes that the cargo could not go into the sea.

    But the sea merchant business was too profitable, even Daqi ordinary kitchen knife after being send to east could be sold for hundred times the price!

    As a result, the local officials on this side of Yangtze River has been secretly connived, giving birth to a lot of big sea merchants.

    This also had a lot to do with the increasing poption in the south of the Yangtze River and the seriousnd annexation ¨C many people no longer could rely onnd to make a living so they could only seek a living by relying on the sea.

    This side of Wexing Province was still good but further south, the sea merchants became very powerful.

 Chapter 152.2

    Chapter 152.2

    The Wen family was good at shipbuilding but that was all. They weren¡¯t the most sea merchants, the most powerful sea merchant at present was Cheng Yongzhen.

    Cheng Yongzhen gathered a group of fellow vigers from Pingzhou Province to do sea trade. Over the past 20 years, he has be thergest sea merchant, being able to do this was not only rted to his ability but also to the local officials that supported him.

    ¡°Cheng Yongzhen is very capable and wants to be an official. For this reason many officials in Minnan Province and Pingzhou Province are his good friends and give him support. That why he was able to gather people and deal with pirates who killed and plundered, so that there is no longer pirates along the coast. It just that in recent years he and the officials of the Pingzhou Province be hostile and they began to take their men to inds. Just a few month ago he became the king of inds and started to call himself King Ping.¡± Wen Ming said.

    After Jiang Zhen began to work as sea merchants he naturally started to pay attention to other sea merchants, including Cheng Yongzhen.

    ording to his understanding of Cheng Yongzhen.. Cheng Yongzhen and the people under him were somewhat simr to the Liang Shan ouws of the Marsh. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin)

    The court has a sea ban and they were doing illegal business, but they were still bent on getting the recognition of the imperial court, hoping that the imperial court enlist them . . . Of course, this was also the idea that people of this era would inevitably have.

    At this time people always felt that being an official was the best way to live.

    ¡°He actually did this?¡± Jiang Zhen was a little surprised.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wen Ming said: ¡°He started to act like this so the court started paying attention to him, I just don¡¯t know if the court agree to recognize him like he wanted.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°In the future, we should also be more careful.¡±

    Jiang Zhen did not just make money as a sea merchant, in fact¡­ he also wanted to find a way back for himself overseas.

    He has now Jinzhen Escort Agency and sea ships so if he find a ce to settle down overseas, he will be able to run away with his family if there was a war in Daqi in the future.

    Because of this, when he first heard Wen Ming talk about what Cheng Yongzhen did, he thought that Cheng Yongzhen might want to do the same thing as him. But soon realized that this was not the case.

    ¡°We won¡¯t sail for the time being, so it doesn¡¯t matter if we only do business with east ocean side.¡± Wen Ming said.

    Jiang Zhen nodded, thinking that he had better find more men and train them.

    Under Cheng Yongzhen hands there was said to be more than 100,000 people,pared to him he was still a small yer.

    Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s affairs did not affect the business of Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming. When all the merchants who were supposed toe arrived, they sold all the goods in their hands and made a lot of money.

    When all the goods were sold, Jiang Zhen and Wen Ming packed their things and took their families back to Wexing Province.

    In modern times If you didn¡¯t go home for a few months and finally went back you might find a new building, but it¡¯s different at this time.

    Wexing Province was still the same, there were just more ¡°Jinzhen¡°gs than before on the docks.

    Jiang Zhen got off the ship with his two children and several carriages immediately came.

    ¡°In the past, when I went out to visit my rtives, I had to endure a trip, but now everything has really changed.¡± Zhao Liu apanied Zhao Jinge and his children in their stay by the sea. But now that it was timee to return to Fucheng together, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh for a moment.

    In the past, it was so painful to travel far away! But now, everything has changed. Travel by ship and carriage was veryfortable.

    Jiang Zhen smiled and helped Zhao Liu to the carriage, but he himself got on a horse next to it.

    He prefers riding a horse than to ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

    When he rode the horse he was also carrying Zhao Mingzhu with him. Zhao Mingzhu was taken by him these days to climb high and low ces as well as wander around so she was not even a little afraid of riding a horse.

    The people on the dock saw this scene and someone couldn¡¯t hep asking: ¡°Who are these people?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know them? Did you see the one on the horse? That¡¯s the head of the Jinzhen Escort Agency!¡±

    ¡°The head of Jinzhen Escort Agency!? So young?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how young he is! Moreover, apart from the Jinzhen Escort Agency he is also sea merchant. I heard that he made a lot of money.¡±

    ¡°How impressive.¡±

    ¡­

    People around were talking, while in the crowd a young man in his thirties, dressed in an old robe of schr looked in docks direction in trance.

    That person was Liao Qinghe.

    What Liao Qinghe was watching was not Jiang Zhen but Wen family thate back with Jiang Zhen.

    Wen Ying Niang was pregnant again.

    After learning that Wen Ying Niang was pregnant he once suspected that it was fake and felt that it was impossible that she could give birth. For this reason, he deliberately epted two maids as his concubines.

    However, even after three years those two maids have not been pregnant. But Wen Ying Niang who obviously did not spend a lot of time with her husband was pregnant again.

    Looking at the pregnant Wen Ying Niang from a distance, Liao Qinghe heart was iparably bitter.

    Sometimes, when you have something you could only see its shorings, but when you lose it you couldn¡¯t help but miss its good sides. Even memories that was reyed again and again be more beautiful.

    Liao Qinghe used to be very unhappy with Wen Ying Niang and felt that she had humiliated him, but now that he remembers . . .

    When they were newly married, Wen Ying Niang was very gently with him.

    Later, although the two of them often quarreled when he went home drunk, Wen Ying Niang always prepared tea for him.

    For so many years, Wen Ying Niang had been his closest person, but now, he had lost her.

    Liao Qing stumbled toward his house, as soon as he entered the door he heard the sound of a quarrel at home.

    ¡°Scold me more! If you have the ability to continue to curse! If you curse me again, I will go out and yell that my child is not from your family!¡± Lu Luan¡¯s voice was the loudest.

    Mother Liao muttered something but in the end didn¡¯t dare to continue scolding.

    Even though they had lost their faces long ago, they still couldn¡¯t tear off thest fig leaf from their faces, so they keep Lu Luan in their house together with her child.

    ¡°You¡¯d better be nice to my daughter in the future, she¡¯s the only blood in your family!¡± Lu Luan didn¡¯t stop there, and continued.

    Mother Liao¡¯s expression froze.

    When Liao Qinghe saw Lu Luan smug look, he wanted to go up and p her. However, thinking of her threats, he didn¡¯t dare to move.

    He doesn¡¯t want anyone to know that he couldn¡¯t have a baby.

    For this reason, he even made a show of being infatuated with Wen Ying Niang, swearing that he would never take a wife again.

    Mother Liao couldn¡¯t make Lu Luan to do anything so in the end she had no choice but to let Liao Qinghe and two other concubines go to work.

    These two were once the maids of Wen Ying Niang who always liked Liao Qinghe. When Lu Luan appeared they protected here so Wen Ying Niang did not take them away with her.

    Later, they got into Liao Qinghe¡¯s bed as they wished, but the life they led was not evenparable to that of Wen Ying Niang maid.

    The Liao family was now so poor that they drove all their servants away, so they not only had to do the rough work like pouring night incense but also spinning and weaving to support the Liao family, making them quickly grow old.

    If they knew it, would they did it in the first ce?

 Chapter 153 - Someone Come Here To Pick Up A Fight

    Chapter 153 ¨C Someone Come Here To Pick Up A Fight

    Since Jiang Zhen began to work as a sea merchant, he has not been in charge of the affairs of the Jinzhen Escort Agency much, only keeping a eye on the general direction and personnel.

    Although he was still a head of Jinzhen Escort Agency at present Zhao Jinge was basically in charge of the affairs of the escort agency.

    Now that he was back, he didn¡¯t want to interfere with the affairs of the escort agency so he just took his daughter and son around the Fucheng every day, and trained his men.

    After a few days of ying like this, he got a little tired of it, so he asked Zhao Jinge to find a piece ofnd near the Fucheng to make a training ground to continue training his men.

    ¡°Land? I bought a mountain not long ago, I don¡¯t know if I can use it. ¡° Zhao Jingo said.

    The people of Daqi, were all very passionate aboutnd and so was Zhao Jinge who liked buyingnd and couldn¡¯t resist buying it after making money.

    It was a pity that this was the Wexing Province and all best fields were already in hands of the big families, so he could not buy them even if he wanted to. He could only buy mountainnd.

    ¡°You bought another mountain?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge helplessly, there were only a few mountains around Fucheng and almost all of them were bought by Zhao Jinge right?

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded: ¡°This mountain was very cheap. Although there not much that can be done there it can still be used to raise chickens and ducks so it will earn a little.¡±In fact, raising chickens and ducks earned quite a lot but Jiang Zhen business earned even more so it seemed that raising chickens and ducks was less profitable.

    How much could be earn by raising chickens and ducks? Just a little bit, right? But this business could amodate a lot of people¡­ Jiang Zhen thought that many of his subordinates families seemed to work in chicken and ducks farms or brick kilns so he was very supportive of what Zhao Jinge was doing: ¡°Then tomorrow, I will bring people to help you clear thend.¡±

    ¡°No, how can you go to do such a thing?¡± Zhao Jinge immediately refused, he couldn¡¯t let Jiang Zhen go to cut down trees.

    ¡°I have nothing to do so I can take my men to practice and not work by myself.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    The people who followed Jiang Zhen to the sea have not been home for five or six months, so it was difficult for Jiang Zhen to ask them follow him everywhere for training so he let them go home. Now that he recruited more people, he intended to train them.

    There were never too much manpower under his hands.

    As soon as the news of Jinzhen Escort Agency recruitment was released, countless people came to sign up.

    Although it was dangerous to work in the Jinzhen Escort Agency the ie was very high so those who have nond were very willing to join Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    This time, Jiang Zhen recruited more than 200 strong and healthy people, then took them to the mountain that Zhao Jinge just bought.

    He couldn¡¯t let the neers join the Jinzhen Escort Agency directly, he had to exercise and observe them first.

    The barren mountain bought by Zhao Jinge was very big with many trees on it. Because there ware too many trees that covered the sun, there are no nts under the trees. The ground was full of fallen leaves.

    In modern times, such a mountain full of trees would be very valuable, but now . . .

    Since the mountain was full of trees it was impossible to grow crops and these trees only worth was firewood¡­ Zhao Jinge bought this mountain very cheaply.

    If he hadn¡¯t thought that the trees on the mountain could be cut down for firewood, Zhao Jinge might not even bought such a mountain.

    Jiang Zhen took the neers to the mountain and asked them to build houses first.

    When they worked for two days straight building houses he let them go to cut the trees.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we here to work as escort at the Jinzhen Escort Agency? Why we need to cut down trees?¡±Someone muttered in dissatisfaction.

    There were several people confused by this person¡¯s discontent ¨C they still get to eat and earn money! What¡¯s the difference between cutting down trees and being an escort?

    What difference does it make between cutting trees and being an escort? They would rather not have to be escorted and just cut down trees! At least cutting trees won¡¯t kill anyone.

    What¡¯s more the food here was¡­ very good! They didn¡¯t need to go hungry!

    Jiang Zhen not only kept an eye on these people, but also found some people to write down their situation. Then without training them, he let them cut down trees and build houses every day, till they were exhausted.

    A few dayster, he already knew who was honest and who was flexible, he also found that some of them were not quite right.

    There were a few people who obviously didn¡¯t wanted to sincerely work for him but rather¡­ seemed to be send here by someone else.

    At night when even moon and stars light was sparse on the mountain.

    ¡°Brother Li, something is not right! What can we do when we are there all day cutting down the trees?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Brother Li I be tired of cutting down trees every day. I don¡¯t want to do this anymore!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d better find a way to kick his ass and get out of here!¡±

    ¡­.

    That night, seven or eight people gathered in a thatched hut that had a dug out a pit, away from sleeping people to discuss in low voices.

    Thistrine was used by people during the day so its smell was very bad. But the main advantage of this ce was a remote location, that no one woulde.

    These people were all from Changlong fighting business of Wexing Province.

    The so-called fighting business was designed to help people solve some things, whether it was to ask for debts or do other things, rtively speaking it was actually the predecessor of escort agency.

    At this time Changlong fighting business took a new job ¨C making trouble for Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    They took this job when they heard that Jinzhen Escort Agency was going to recruit people, they mixed in with new recruits and nned to find some trouble for them from the inside of the Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    But as result¡­

    There was something wrong with the head of Jinzhen Escort Agency. He did not let them touch the affairs of the Jinzhen Escort Agency and instead took them out to cut down trees!

    Forced to cut down trees in the mountains every day without much time to rest, how could they find trouble for Jinzhen Escort Agency? They couldn¡¯t use axe to cut the people around them can they?

    Other people who were recruited by Jinzhen Escort Agency were very happy and thought that they could earn money just by cutting down trees, which could not be any better. But they felt awful.

    Usually, as long as they went to scare people to ask for debt they could eat and drink well so why should they now chop trees here in the sun?

    Looking at their arms that have thickened a lot over the past few days, these people all wanted to go back.

    ¡°If we put up with it for a few more days, we will certainly find a way to deal with the Jinzhen Escort Agency.¡± Brother Li said.

    ¡°Brother Li, what do you n to do?¡± Someone asked curiously.

    ¡°For example, kidnap Jiang Zhen¡¯s daughter, he attaches great importance to his daughter, if we kidnap her, he will definitely have to listen to us in everything!¡± Brother Li was very proud of his idea.

    ¡°Good idea!¡± Others who heard these words nodded their heads in agreement. That Jiang Zhen would sometimes bring his daughter over, if they kidnapped her¡­

    The more these people thought about it, the more they thought it was a good idea. When they were discussing it they suddenly heard a bang as the door of the hut were kicked open.

    At the same time, a figure appeared at the door: ¡° How dare you to even think about my daughter¡­ you have a lot of nerve.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen?!¡± Hearing the familiar voice, brother Li let out a cry of horror and shouted: ¡°Go!¡±

    As soon as his words fell, he rushed first towards Jiang Zhen and the people around him also lunged together towards Jiang Zhen.

    However, before they could jump on him, Jiang Zhen took out a bamboo pole and stabbed the ¡°Brother Li¡° who was running at the front of the group in the stomach.

    Behind these peopletrine.

    The pit was veryrge and is was also quite filling.

    After Jiang Zhen stabbed that big brother Li into thetrine, he said to the people behind him: ¡°Let them all go down and sober up.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Boss!¡± The people around Jiang Zhen said in unison and took out unsharpened bamboo poles as they waited eagerly to stab someone.

    The people from the Changlong fighting business were soon captured by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men.

    The next day, after being forced to wash in the river for an hour, they were brought to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen immediately interrogated these people and asked them to tell him the purpose of their visit, but unfortunately, these people were just the lowest goons and didn¡¯t know the details. The only knew that the people above had asked them to make trouble for the Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    But even so it was enough to let Jiang Zhen know that some people don¡¯t like him and wanted to deal with him.

    Changlong fighting business? It was just a pawn, right?

    Jiang Zhen frowned slightly and was thinking about how to deal with Changlong fighting business when suddenly someone came to report: ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not good, the chickens in our nearby chicken farm are all dead!¡±

 Chapter 154 - Means Of Fighting

    Chapter 154 ¨C Means Of Fighting

    After Jiang Zhen had interrogated the people from the Changlong fighting business and learned that someone wanted to make trouble for him, he began to be on guard, but he really didn¡¯t expect that something would happen over at the chicken farm in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Are people okay?¡± Jiang Zhen frowned and asked: ¡°What happened to those chickens? How could he die? ¡°

    ¡°Boss, people are fine, as for those chickens, they should be poisoned!¡± The person who came to report the incident was a bit furious: ¡°How dare theyy hands on our chickens! Those people are really impatient! ¡°

    Someone poisoned our chickens?

    Jiang Zhen couldn¡¯t help bing a little speechless when he heard that.

    He had already guessed that someone would have made a move against him and try to make trouble but¡­ poisoning the chickens of the chicken farm . . . was this really giving him trouble?

    Over such a small loss, Jiang Zhen was nowpletely unconcerned.

    However, even if he didn¡¯t care about this loss, something happened at the chicken farm so he headed there to check the situation.

    Jiang Zhen had a few people from the Changlong fighting business tied up, and then headed to the chicken farm.

    There were not many mountains near Fucheng and the existing ones were all located in one ce so the chicken farm was not far from the barren mountain where Jiang Zhen was now staying.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Jiang Zhen to arrive at that mountain.

    The people in charge of raising chickens in the chicken farm were from Hexi vige or people that Jiang Zhen brought back from the Hongjiang Salt Field. Most of whom were woman or elderly people, who were already frightened, some of these elderly people were even wiping away their tears.

    ¡°Evildoers! Such good chickens are all dead. ¡°

    ¡°Those bastards who poisoned the chickens should die as well.¡±

    ¡°What should we do with these chickens?¡±

    . . .

    These old people loved the chickens from the chicken farm very much, asionally when a chicken got sick they would raise them separately and take care of them meticulously. Now that all the chickens have died, they ware particrly sad to give them up,.

    Of course, these women were also the same.

    Zhao Jinge would buy a certain number of chicken cubs for them to raise from time to time. He did not stipte how many they should rise or how many should live, but even so he promised that if the survival rate of chickens were more than 90% he would reward them.

    In other words, if they raise 91, the remaining one would be theirs.

    If they raise ny-two, then they can get two!

    At the beginning of raising them they were not able to do it, but after getting more experience in rising them it was not difficult to do, so¡­ among these chickens, some of them were theirs!

    These people were very sad, but Jiang Zhen took people with him and already started checking out the mountain.

    So many chickens all died at the same time, this was definitely not caused by some chicken gue and was definitely a poisoning. Maybe the source of poison was still here at this time.

    Jiang Zhen did not feel at ease to keep a source of poison around so naturally, he wanted to find it so it wouldn¡¯t harm others animals and people.

    ¡°Where did you get all the water that these chickens drink?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°From the nearby waterhole.¡± The man in charge of managing this chicken farm said.

    ¡°What about the water that people drink?¡± Jiang Zhen asked again.

    ¡°People live at the foot of the mountain so they drink water from a well.¡±The man hurriedly said.

    Zhao Jinge has always been telling them that they should keep themselves and these chickens clean so they always paid attention to it. Although washing clothes would be down outside in the river, the water used for cooking and drinking was all drawn from the well.

    ¡°Take me to this waterhole.¡±Jiang Zhen said.

    The waterhole in the mountain was not big but because it was rainy here, there was water here basically all the time.

    There was not much pollution these days and chicken farmers would dig up any impurities so the water was quite clear, but now there were dead frogs floating on the clear water.

    Whoever did it didn¡¯t mean to hide it at all¡­. Of course, there was no need to hide in this day and age¡­ for example, at this moment, Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t expect the government to help him find out who did this.

    ¡°The water in this waterhole is poisonous, you get rid of the water and clean up this waterhole as well.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the waterhole and immediately said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have someone do it right away.¡± The person in charge of the chicken farm was startled and hurriedly said. Although they already thought that chickens were poisoned before, they didn¡¯t know that they were poisonous by water in this waterhole.

    This water must be disposed of as soon as possible!

    Jiang Zhen asked people to deal with the waterhole as soon as possible and then asked them to gather together before asking if anyone saw anyone suspicious yesterday.

    Some people really saw the suspicious person, but they just thought that the person was a chicken thief so after driving him away they didn¡¯t care about him anymore.

    ¡°Boss, I am sorry I really didn¡¯t expect¡­¡° The man who let the suspicious man go was an old man who felt so guilty and tearful that he almost med himself to death.

    Because of his carelessness so many chickens were killed¡­ he already thought that he should apologize with his death.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I already know who did it so I will make them paypensation.¡± Jiang Zhenforted the old man, this time this ident really had nothing to do with these people so he couldn¡¯t me them.

    ¡°Boss, you are really good.¡± The old man who no longer felt so guilty said.

    ¡°Well, you guys can rest assured, but you should be more careful in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    The old man nodded happily and said: ¡°I¡¯m not much good anyway . . . I¡¯ll keep watch here at night from now on . . . I still remember what the man looked like, I¡¯ll definitely help you catch him. ¡°

    Jiang Zhen did not pay much attention to the words of this old man and just got his horse about to return to Fucheng when someone rode up to him.

    ¡°Boss, there has been an ident in the city.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Zhen heart jumped as he asked in a hurry. . . When he thought that these people were actually thinking of kidnaping Zhao Mingzhu justst night, he couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart jumping.

    ¡°Boss, someone is causing trouble at our store in the city, saying that after eating a chicken bought from our shop his father died and that all the chicken in our shop has the chicken gue.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men whispered.

    This matter? Jiang Zhen frowned slightly, and then said: ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    He urged the horse to move, after it took a few steps he turned around and said: ¡°Burn all the dead chickens, not a single one can be left.¡±

    After Zhao Jinge raised more and more chickens he opened a shop in Fucheng.

    This shop was mainly used to sell chicken and ducks eggs,, as well as chickens and ducks so it was quite popr. Nowadays, people in the city basically all knew of the existence of this store so when they wanted to buy eggs, chicken or duck they woulde to this store, sometimes during the New Year there were not even enough things to sell here.

    The business of the store has always been very good, but in the past, there was no queue to buy things. But now outside of the shop was full of people and everyone was pointing their fingers at the shop.

    In the middle of the crowd, there was a man lying in a white cloth or rather a corpse covered with a white cloth. There were also two adult men crying beside him.

    ¡°Father, you died so tragically!¡±

    ¡°Father, how did you meet such a ck-hearted merchant? They even sell chickens with the chicken gue!¡±

    ¡°Father! My painful father!¡±

    ¡­

    The two adult men were crying so when the people around them saw the situation, they began to talk one after another, pointing fingers at the shop opened by Zhao Jinge.

    Originally, at this time of day, there were quite a lot of people who wanted to buy chickens, ducks or eggs but now everyone around were watching themotion and no one went to buy anything.

    Although they didn¡¯t know if what these people said was true or not, it was always better to be careful.

    ¡°This store has always been very problematic, it has been selling sick and dead chickens all these time!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t buy anything from this store!¡±

    ¡°Last time I came to buy eggs I was tricked.¡±

    ¡°I heard that the chickens in their chicken farms have all died!¡±

    ¡­

    In the crowd, someone began to talk about it again.

    All the chickens in their chicken farm got sick and died? The people of Fucheng were shocked.

    At this time, the mens who were crying about their fathers yelled again: ¡°My father is dead, you have to die to pay for his life!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to sue them at Yamen. You don¡¯t have to die!¡±

    As these people were talking, in the distance, the sound of horses¡¯ hooves could be heard.

 Chapter 155.1 - Ten Meetings Can Be Reduced By One Effort

    Chapter 155.1 ¨C Ten Meetings Can Be Reduced By One Effort

    When Zhao Jinge opened this store selling chicken and duck he separated it from Jinzhen Escort Agency so It wouldn¡¯t interfere.

    The shopkeeper of this store was a middle-aged man who was hired by Zhao Jinge in Fucheng, he knew a little about Zhao Jinge background, but the details were not very clear. Therefore, when someonee with the corpse to shop door he panicked. If they ware unable to make agreement he would pay money to quiet it down.

    There were some things that cannot be exined clearly so the most important thing was to get rid of the troublemakers as soon as possible.

    When he heard that these people were going to report the matter to officials the shopkeeper be even more afraid and worried: ¡°Don¡¯t let¡¯s talk¡­¡° Once the government got involved, even if they won¡¯t die they will lose oneyer of skin!

    The sound of the horse¡¯s hoofs interrupted his words.

    Several horses galloped along the road of Fucheng, the metal hoofs hitting the street making a ¡°da da da da da¡° sound.

    Those onlookers all looked over, and then someone recognized them: ¡°Those are the people from the Jinzhen escort agent, they are all wearing clothes from Jinzhen Escort Agency!¡±

    ¡¯What are the people from Jinzhen Escort Agency doing here?¡±

    Some people were surprised, while others exined to these people: ¡°Of course people from the Jinzhen Escort Agency woulde here! It¡¯s their shop.¡±

    This shop was owned by Jinzhen Escort Agency? The onlookers be curious and run hurriedly to both sides of the street ¨C they didn¡¯t want to get hit by a horse!

    When Jiang Zhen arrived in front of the store owned by Zhao Jinge, he saw many people gathered around. As they approached, all the people got out of the way, revealing the body inside and two strong men crying beside the body.

    Pulling the reins to stop the horses, Jiang Zhen got off his horse and then looked at the two strong men: ¡°You are the ones who came to make trouble?¡±

    ¡°What trouble? You killed our father and now want to frame us for making trouble? ¡° The two strong men be furious.

    ¡°Frame?¡± Jiang Zhen stepped forward and kicked one of the strong men directly, out of the way.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The other strong man shouted: ¡°Who are you to hit my brother?¡±

    ¡°Then I hit you, okay?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at him faintly.

    ¡°The head of Jinzhen Escort Agency wants to kill people! You already killed my father and now you even want to kill us. I¡¯ll fight with you!¡° The man shouted and while shouting he pounced on Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen did not sleep well in order to catch these people plottingst night, those people wanted to kidnap Zhao Mingzhu, which made him very angry so at this time he wished that someone coulde to him so he could beat him up to vent his anger.

    In the past few years, Jiang Zhen never stopped his own training so when he saw the man rushing towards him, he waved his fist and went up.

    The man was very tall, but Jiang Zhen with just one punch knocked him down.

    The person who was kicked down by Jiang Zhen at first, jumped up.

    Getting up he rushed towards Jiang Zhen, only to be beaten down again.

    ¡°You people from Jinzhen Escort Agency are too deceitful!¡± A few men came out from the surrounding onlookers to ¡°fight for justice¡°.

    Several of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men looked at each other and rushed up without hesitation ¨C they also wanted to beat people up!

    These ¡°fighting for justice¡° people were quickly beaten up andid on the ground in pain.

    The people around froze when they saw this.

    They alle here to watch themotion, but thismotion¡­ was not quite the same as they thought.

    This store selling chickens and ducks turned out to be owned by Jinzhen Escort Agency and the people from Jinzhen Escort Agency beat people up.

    How arrogant!

    The people around be restless, lest the people of Jinzhen Escort Agency will beat them too! Some people even started to secretly back off trying to escape.

    Those whoe to make trouble ware also dumbfounded.

    Those people were also from Changlong fighting business.

    They took up all kinds of business, and sometimes they even help some merchants to suppress other merchants. Generally speaking, as long as they used some small tricks, they could make those merchants beg for mercy.

    Just like this time, finding a corpse and taking it to other door was also something they done before, framing by nting evidence.

    In the past, when encountering such things, those merchants could only beg for mercy and give them a lot ofpensation. But in the end they would not only lose money but also gain bad reputation.

    But this time, the people in this store did not followmon sense at all!

    The person who got beaten up bes very depressed in this moment.

    ¡°What do you want? Jinzhen Escort Agency already killed my father and beat me, do you also want to kill me?¡±The strong man covered his face and said with a face full of pain.

    ¡°You said the man on the ground is your father?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Of course he is!¡± The strong man said.

    ¡°You wear new clothes, but you let your father wear old clothes?¡± Jiang Zhen sneered: ¡°Don¡¯t worry you don¡¯t have to report this matter to officials because I already did it. It might be you who abused your own father to death and came to frame us!¡±

    With that, Jiang Zhen looked at the onlookers and said: ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, there is absolutely no problem with my chicken. Today I will kill chickens and have it cooked before giving it to everyone for free.¡±

    The onlookers who had already prepared to sneak out, stopped hearing Jiang Zhen words.

    Then they found out¡­ that there really seemed to be something wrong with those two strong men.

    The people looked at the ragged old man lying on the ground, and then at the two strong men, their eyes filled with suspicion.

    Before, because the two strong mans were crying many people believed them, but now¡­

    Just then, the two strong men spoke again.

    ¡°The chickens raised by the Jinzhen Escort Agency are dead, everyone doesn¡¯t fall for it, their chicken shouldn¡¯t be allowed to eat!¡±

 Chapter 155.2 - Ten Meetings Can Be Reduced By One Effort

    Chapter 155.2 ¨C Ten Meetings Can Be Reduced By One Effort

    ¡°Everyone will know if they go and inquire, all the chickens of Jinzhen Escort Agency are dead!¡±

    ¡°Tie them up for me!¡± Jiang Zhen said to his men, and then looked at the shopkeeper beside him: ¡°Tell your men to kill the chickens, and find some big pots to cook the chickens before disturbing them to everyone.¡±

    When shopkeeper heard his words, he immediately ordered his men to kill the chickens.

    Although there was really a chicken farm were all chickens were poisoned to death, Zhao Jinge had more than one chicken farm so they were not short on chickens.

    In this way the store which was stocked with chickens, killed and cooked chickens so there would be enough to share with people present.

    The man in the shop soon began to kill more chickens so the onlookers seeing this scene no longer wanted to go away.

    This shop was going to share chicken meat with them¡­ they couldn¡¯t miss it!

    The store selling chickens sometimes needs to help people with killing chickens so the store workers killed chickens very fast. Before long, ten chickens were killed as surrounding people whispered ¡°chicken blood should not be wasted¡°, ¡°the feathers on the heads of chickens should be cleaned up¡°.

    The chicken was chopped into small pieces, nched in a pot of water, and then thrown into arge pot to cook, at this time they were already a long line in front of the pot.

    Everyone hoped to get a share of the chicken.

    As for the chicken sold in this shop that sold gue chicken that you might die if you eat them¡­ before those chickens were killed, they were still alive and observed each of them, how could they be gue chickens?

    If it really gued chickens the people of Jinzhen Escort Agency would certainly not dare to give it to them to eat.

    ¡°Is the chickens ready to be shared?!¡±The people in line were quickly getting anxious.

    ¡°The chicken is not yet cooked . . .¡± The shopkeeper in charge of cooking the chicken was a bit torn.

    ¡°What are you afraid of? Give us raw ones, we want them too!¡±Immediately, someone yelled, he was anxious to bring the chicken back to cook it for dinner!

    ¡°Share it.¡± Jiang Zhen ordered, he also believed that these people would not care whether the chicken was raw or cooked.

    The shopkeeper quickly divided up the chicken, and as a result, when he finished dividing the ten chickens, there were not fewer people waiting in line outside, but more!

    After hearing that there was someone here gibing free chicken meat a lot of peoplee.

    At this time, no one cared about the news of gue chickens, everyone scrambled to get some free chicken meat.

    There was a free chicken! This was a good thing that has never happened to them before!

    Seeing that the people in front of them got the chicken and took it away, the people who came after them be a little frustrated.

    They didn¡¯t get the chicken¡­

    ¡°Shopkeeper, kill a few more chickens and divide them.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he already sent someone to go to another chicken farm to bring back more chickens to be killed and shared.

    It was cheap to kill a few chickens to advertise Jinzhen Escort Agency.

    The people were overjoyed and all looked at Jiang Zhen gratefully.

    They were all waiting for the chickens to be distributed so on one was paying attention anymore to the old man who already died and two strong men who were crying.

    Jiang Zhen was not surprised as he instructed his men to capture these people.

    In the small courtyard behind the store, Jiang Zhen beat those people up again.

    The men were beaten ck and blue, but clenched their teeth and refused to say anything.

    ¡°You are from the Changlong fighting business, right?¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly asked: ¡°You taken a job for causing trouble for us, right?¡±

    Changlong fighting business people were so surprised that they even looked a little dumbfounded.

    When Jiang Zhen saw their expression he knew he was right.

    Changlong fighting business¡­

    ¡°Get a few more people we will go to the Changlong fighting business!¡±Jiang Zhen looked at his men and instructed.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men responded and sprang into action, looking for more people to go with them.

    The captured people from Changlong fighting business were already firmly tied up and only the old man corpse was left in the courtyard.

    ¡°Send this old man home.¡± Jiang Zhen spoke again.

    The people from the Changlong fighting business had already confessed that the old man was not their rtive, but a corpse they had stolen from a nearby vige.

    At this time, people were all very particr about burial. Although Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care much about it, he still had to send the old man body back.

    Soon, someone sent the old man¡¯s body away while more and more people dressed in Jinzhen Escort Agency clothese here.

    Jiang Zhen kept a low profile so although he have many people under his hands they were always scattered and didn¡¯t attract much attention. But now, hundreds of people were gathered at once.

    The people of Fucheng were very surprised to see this situation and suddenly realized that the Jinzhen Escort Agency was not simple at all.

    The young mens were now full of curiosity about Jinzhen Escort Agency, wanting to join them while young womens¡­ how wonderful it would be if they could marry a man from the Jinzhen Escort Agency! They heard that Jinzhen Escort Agency paid a lot of money!

    Jing Zhen didn¡¯t know the thoughts of the people around him so after gathering some people, he took the people he ha captured with him and then went directly towards the Changlong fighting business.

    Changlong fighting business was located by a river in Fucheng.

    The store of Changlong fighting business was not big but at this moment there were many strong men sitting or standing inside.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t heard anything from old Li and others yet, do you think it¡¯s done yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the old Li and others are finished, we don¡¯t know what happened to the chicken farm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the store of the Jinzhen Escort Agency will not be able to open.¡±

    The people of Changlong fighting business talked about one after another, about Jinzhen Escort Agency affairs.

    Their business has existed for a long time and originally it went very well, but then a Jinzhen Escort Agency suddenly appeared and took away a lot of their business.

    They hated Jinzhen Escort Agency very much and it was precise because of this someone paid them money to deal with Jinzhen Escort Agency. That person also had not simple background so they agreed.

    The Jinzhen Escort Agency has messed with the wrong people, in the future¡­

    These people felt very smug when they were talking when suddenly a bigmotion could be heard from outside.

    A group of people dressed in Jinzhen Escort Agency uniform surrounded their Changlong fighting business.

 Chapter 156.1 - Taken Away To Work

    Chapter 156.1 ¨C Taken Away To Work

    Outside the Changlong fighting business, there was a signboard and at this moment their store door was wide open as if they were ready for business.

    Jiang Zhen seeing this scene felt it was a pity.

    He originally wanted to try to kick the door open, smashing it¡­

    The business on his hands was getting bigger and bigger these years so he wasn¡¯t able to bully anyone for a long time and kinda missed it.

    Jiang Zhen rode on his horse and made a gesture, making the people from Jinzhen Escort Agency immediately surround Changlong fighting business and at the same time, there were people who broke in.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± The people of Changlong fighting business were blocked inside their shop as they took out their weapons as they looked at Jiang Zhen and others.

    There were quite a few people in the Changlong fighting business and there was more than ten people inside the shop now.

    Only, their numbers couldn¡¯t bepared to these of Jinzhen Escort Agency¡­

    ¡°Jiang Zhen?! What do you want?¡± The person in charge of Changlong fighting business asked loudly as he red at Jiang Zhen.

    The head of this Changlong fighting business was called Chen Wang, also known as Axe Chen because he liked to use an axe. He was a man in his thirties, with a big beard and clothes that revealed his chest, looking very fierce.

    However, no matter how rough his appearance was being able to control so many people already proved that his axe skills were not simple.

    When Chen Wang saw Jiang Zhen, he knew things were bad.

    He nned to make trouble with Jinzhen Escort Agency, but he really didn¡¯t intend to lure Jiang Zhen out ¡­

    As fighting business, they had made trouble for the shops opened by somerge families, but they had never brought out the heads of these big families. Howe this Jiang Zhene out?

    He didn¡¯t even ask him to discuss it privately bute with such a bang!

    ¡°Who told you to act against me?¡±Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± Axe Chen immediately said, they have a rule in the fighting business that they can never divulge information about their customers so of course he refused to say anything.

    ¡°Not saying anything, do you?¡± Jiang Zhen smiled and then looked at the people behind him: ¡°Capture all of them.¡± He didn¡¯t expect these people to tell him the truth, so . . . it would be good to torment them first.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men responded and pounced on them quickly.

    The people of Changlong fighting business wre angry and resisted.

    They had rich fighting experience so if they were allowed to fight one on one against Jiang Zhen men most of them would win, but the key point was that Jiang Zhen brought more people.

    No only Jiang Zhen had more people but his men also worker well together!

    These people swarmed together and quickly caught all the people who were trying to resist.

    ¡°Boss, they¡¯re all caught!¡± After capturing people, Jiang Zhen¡¯s men immediately reported.

    ¡°Alright, tie them up and take them away!¡± Jiang Zhen said

    ¡°What do you want? You¡¯d better let go of me quickly!¡± Axe Chen said, but just as he opened his mouth he was pped: ¡°Be quiet!¡±

    The man hit the axe Chen fiercely in the face, but when he turned his head to Jiang Zhen his expression changed to all smiles as he said: ¡°Boss, how should we take these people away?¡±

    ¡°The store that ate selling chickens from before, didn¡¯t we ask them to go out of the city to bring more? Let them drive in the ox cart with the chickens.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men responded and immediately drove the ox cart over.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen got off the horse and sat down in a chair.

    That chair was covered with tiger skin and at one nce it could be told it was usually upied by the person with highest status¡­ this was Chen Wang usual seat.

    Seeing that Jiang Zhen had so casually upied his position, Chen Wang, who was already tied up couldn¡¯t resist ring at Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen ignored him, not only that but after a while, when the ox cart with chickense he was loaded together with other people into the cart.

    The cart behind the ox cart was veryrge, the cart not only had a fence to prevent the goods from falling to the ground, but also a shed out of bamboo and mats to keep out the rain.

    The ducks were fine, but if chickens especially chicks get caught in the rain they would get sick.

    In such cart, if they squeeze inside could fit in a dozen of people.

    However, Jiang Zhen was very lenient and did not ask them to squeeze in, Because there were three ox carts on each cart right people were loaded.

    Of course, even with this these people did not want to ride in the ox cart.

    These ox carts were usually used to transport chickens, ducks and their eggs. Eggs were still fine but there were also live chickens and ducks¡­.

    When Chen Wang and others were loaded into an ox cart, there were a lot of chicken and duck feces inside.

    With the stench of chickens and ducks lingering in his nose, Chen Wang bes a little desperate.

    Of course, his despair was not due to the carts arranged by Jiang Zhen for them being so bad, but because¡­ Jiang Zhen came to trouble them with so much fanfare but no onee to save them!

    They have a very good rtionship with the people in the Yamen. In the past, when something was going on the people in Yamen would help and save them. But today, even after such a long time the people from Yamen did not show up!

    As for people who entrusted them with finding trouble with Jinzhen Escort Agency¡­

    Since they didn¡¯t reveal them those people were supposed to save them, but now¡­ howe there was no movement from their side?

    Chen Wang was so anxious that he couldn¡¯t help worrying, but while he was distracted, the ox cart moved and jolted.

    He immediately fell down, surprisingly head down on the pile of chicken and ducks shit.

    Chen Wang: ¡°¡­¡°

    Jiang Zhen snickered: ¡°Gag their mouths.¡± After saying that, he had the curtain on the ox cart lowered again.

    Chen Wang subconsciously wanted to struggle, but Jiang Zhen then said: ¡°Guess if I know where your family is?¡±

    Chen Wang froze no longer daring to move.

    Even these who fought well also had families.

    Several ox carts drove slowly out of the city, with asional sounding out of the cart.

    ¡°Are you from Jinzhen Escort Agency? What¡¯s on this cart?¡± Some people courageous people form Fucheng asked.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s loaded with a few pigs.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men said with a smile.

    The ox cart was dirty so it was only natural to say that there were a few pigs inside.

    People did not suspect anything and few that suspected something didn¡¯t dare to say anything. This Jinzhen Escort Agency was not something that ordinary people could mess with.

    One of the Yamen officers patrolling the streets probably gotten some news and wanted to check it out but was stopped by the older officers around him.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with those ox carts.¡± The young Yamen officer was a bit anxious: ¡°There is movement inside and just a while ago Jinzhen Escort Agency went to find trouble with Changlong fighting business!¡±

    ¡°Since you know it belongs to Jinzhen Escort Agency, don¡¯t worry about it. You don¡¯t want to have bad luck.¡± The older officer said.

    The young Yamen officer was stunned but followed the older officer to somewhere else.

    They know who can be offended and who can¡¯t be offended.

    After Jiang Zhen¡¯s men went through the market like this, they became a little arrogant.

    Jiang Zhen who rode his horse in the forefront, noticed this and frowning made up his mind that he would beat his own men in the future to prevent them from something wrong because they got carried away.

 Chapter 156.2 - Taken Away To Work

    Chapter 156.2 ¨C Taken Away To Work

    Jiang Zhen still has time to think about how to temper his men while Chen Wang and others were in great pain at this time.

    They have never been in such a bad cart in their lives!

    After a bumpy ride, the ox cart finally arrived outside the city. Theye to the chicken farm that was poisoned by their own men.

    The chicken farm gave off a smell of roasted chicken, and there was a thick smoke scattering in the azure sky.

    Several old people looked at the direction of the smoke, wiping up their tears.

    However, when they saw the arrival of Jiang Zhen and others, they immediately stopped crying and came to Jiang Zhen and others: ¡°Boss, you¡¯re back? Have you caught the murderer?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen said, at this time, his men lifted the curtain of several chickens carts and exposed the people inside.

    When these people saw the people covered in chicken and ducks shit inside the cattle carts at first they felt some sympathy toward them but then looked at them angrily.

    These people were the ones who poisoned their chickens?

    ¡°That¡¯s him! I saw him on the mountain yesterday!¡± An old man suddenly looked angrily at a man in a cattle car and shouted: ¡°Boss, he poisoned our chickens, let¡¯s beat him to death!¡±

    This was ancient times so the strength of patriarchy was strong and there were many lynchings, stealing other people¡¯s things was punished with death and everyone thought it was deserved. Anyway Yamen generally would not ept such cases.

    Therefore, when the old man said something like this no one thought there was a problem with it at all.

    Jiang Zhen looked at him, but said: ¡°No, they poisoned our chickens, we must first let them paypensation.¡±

    The old man looked at Jiang Zhen with a puzzled look on his face.

    Chen Wang had already admitted defeat along the way so he now hurriedly said: ¡°Just let me go I willpensate you for your loss!¡± Wasn¡¯t that just a flock of chickens? It¡¯s only a few hundred silver at best, he was willing to pay!

    Jiang Zhen nced at Chen Wang, but did not answer as he just said to those around him: ¡°Take them to the mountain and let them work well.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men responded, rushed up, and took Chen Wang and others to the mountain.

    There, several people who had been caught by Jiang Zhen were mixed into his team of newly recruited people who were also there.

    ¡°Old Li . . .¡± Chen Wang fell silent.

    ¡°Brother Chen . . .¡± Old Li and the others also be silent.

    The people on one side were stained with chicken and duck feces, and the people on the other side fell intotrine before so now they could be considered to be in trouble together.

    Jiang Zhen let his men collect their weapons, then he drove them to the mountains and told them to build houses.

    He never had enough chickens and ducks coops.

    Of course, he let them take a bath first.

    The group was herded to that waterhole that they had poisoned earlier when their expression very bad.

    Do they want to continue being dirty or do they take bath in this water?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t drink it a bath is fine.¡±Chen Wang said, after he be a boss with money he bought a servant and began to love cleanliness. He couldn¡¯t stand his dirty body.

    But even so, he didn¡¯t dare to wash his body too boldly.

    This water was toxic¡­

    These people finally washed themselves trembling with fear, but at least they made themselves a little cleaner.

    But after washing they felt ufortable all over, and even somebody pain.

    ¡°Get to work, don¡¯t try to bezy!¡±

    ¡°Do a good job!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    At this time, Jiang Zhen mens urged them by waving their whips and cracking them on the ground.

    Chen Wang and others had no weapons and were outnumbered by the other side so he suddenly felt a little scared. But at the same time, he felt a little d ¨C fortunately, he onlye here to help them work!

    Wasn¡¯t that just work? What is the big deal?

    Chen Wang and others obediently went to work.

    Jiang Zhen looked at their backs and narrowed his eyes.

    Just then, someone from outside came to report: ¡°Boss, sister-inw is here!¡±

    Zhao Jinge was here? With a smile on his face, Jiang Zhen immediately went outside.

    Jiang Zhen left home after having dinnerst night.

    After Jiang Zhen left, Zhao Jinge has been thinking about him. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t leave their two children and it was also not good to go to Jiang Zhen at night.

    But by the morning¡­ Jinzhen Escort Agency meet an ident.

    When Jinzhen Escort Agency was escorting several guests with goods, they were robbed.

    The range of Wexing Province was rtively safe so when Jinzhen Escort Agency arranged people to deliver goods they didn¡¯t arrange too many escort.

    As a result, this time, just because too few escorts were arranged, they were robbed on the way . . . fortunately, the escorts and guest were all fine.

    The distance between the two ces was a little far so even though Zhao Jinge got the news he didn¡¯t know the specific situation yet. He arranged for someone to pick up the people and determine the amount ofpensation to the customer. After dealing with all of it he was about to go to Jiang Zhen when he heard about the ident in his chicken farm.

    However, Jiang Zhen has already solved this matter.

    Jiang Zhen was awesome!

    Zhao Jinge brought people and came to the chicken farm in a hurry.

    ¡°Jinge, did you miss me?¡± Seeing Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen smiled.

    When Zhao Jinge looked at the people around him, he noticed that all of them were looking at each other with their eyes, pretending not to hear Jiang Zhen¡¯s words.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge answered and immediately said: ¡°I asked someone to buy some food in the city and brought it with me. Would you like to eat it?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men who were pretending to be deaf just a moment ago were immediately able to hear his words.

    They were all hungry!

    Zhao Jinge smiled and had people carry out several bamboo baskets, which were full of dumplings and steamed buns.

    Due one thing after another, Jiang Zhen did not have time to eat. Even though he was hungry when he went up to get some steamed buns he was stopped by Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°I saved some for you.¡± Zhao Jinge said taking out another food box.

    When Jiang Zhen opened the food box, he found that it contained braised meat and several vegetarian dishes, which were very appetizing.

    But how could it be leftover? It was clearly what Zhao Jinge specially asked people to make.

    Jiang Zhen smiled and ate a big bite.

    The dumplings and steamed buns that Zhao Jinge bought were the mostmon on the street, so their taste was also average, but the dish in front of Jiang Zhen was specially made by the cook.

    When Jiang Zhen¡¯s men saw this scene, they couldn¡¯t help but envy Jiang Zhen a little. But at the same time they were also people who envied them.

    Seeing that the people watching over them all went to get dumplings and steamed buns to eat, Chen Wang and the others couldn¡¯t help but gulp.

    They were also hungry . . .

    But Jiang Zhen¡¯s men didn¡¯t give them a single bite of food . . .

    They not only did not give them a food for this meal but unexpectedly they also not give them anything to eat during the whole day.

    After a day of work without having anything to eat, they were both tired and hungry but it was not all¡­ that night they had to continue to work without any sleep!

 Chapter 157 - Bringing Money To Redeeming People

    Chapter 157 ¨C Bringing Money To Redeeming People

    The escort of Jinzhen escort agency, Chen Wang and others, have already changed shifts.

    The previous people have gone to sleep and were already asleep.

    They yawned wanting to change the guard, but the night breeze woke them up as they felt hungry.

    Boiling a pot of water and putting a spoonful ofrd and adding a few eggs before finally adding some noodles, the pot of simple egg noodles was ready.

    The people from Jinzhen escort agency gathered around the pot of noodles and ate them quickly, chatting while eating.

    Lard and egg noodles ware actually verymon. People of Changlong fighting business didn¡¯t even look at it before but now after a day without food, they couldn¡¯t help but drool.

    The nights at the mountains were freezing but if you could eat some soup noodles¡­.

    Chen Wang swallowed a mouthful of saliva and couldn¡¯t help asking for noodles.

    ¡°What are you guys doing? Don¡¯t bezy!¡±

    ¡°Get to work!¡±

    The people of the Jinzhen escort agency seeing them not doing anything, immediately shouted.

    ¡°No.¡± The people from the Jinzhen escort agency immediately said, grinning.

    Chen Wang was trying to endure this for a while, but now he was hungry and tired so he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t give us enough to eat and let us sleep, how can we have the strength to work?¡± Chen Wen said, the people from Jizhen escort agency were really going too far!

    ¡°You poisoned our chickens and you want us to feed you and find a ce for you to sleep? Why should we do that?¡± The people from the Jinzhen escort agency snickered.

    Chen Wang was stunned, but feeling some guilty he finally said: ¡°I will pay money to buy food from you!¡±

    ¡°Why should we sell you food?¡± One of the men from the Jizhen escort agency snorted coldly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t deceive others too much!¡± Chen Wang expression was ugly, as he nced at the people around him. Then the people from Changlong fighting business pounced on the people in front of him ¨C it was night and there wasn¡¯t many of them around so they might be able to escape.

    People from Changlong fighting business have a good idea, but they overestimate themselves.

    They were very hungry and have been working for the whole day without any rest, they were also not armed so how could they beat the people of Jinzhen escort agency?

    In no time, they were suppressed.

    ¡°Very well since you dare to resist ¡­¡­¡± It was He Xiasheng who led people to guard these people. He was not very flexible so he could not be entrusted with an important task so he had always just been a small leader under Jiang Zhen.

    At this time, Jiang Zhen had already told him what he was nning to do. Looking coldly at the people from Changlong fighting business he asked someone to bring him a bucket of water and give a spoonful of water to people in front of him: ¡°This is the water that was poisoned by you before,e on, everyone take a sip!¡±

    The water that they had poisoned before? Chen Wang¡¯s expression changed dramatically as he struggled, but to no avail. In the end, he was forced to drink some of the water.

    As soon as people of Jizhen escort agency let go of Chen Weng. Chen Wang desperately used his fingers to make himself throw out the water he had just drank. But it was obviously not that easy to do.

    Soon, Chen Wang covered his stomach and cried out in pain.

    When Other people of Changlong fighting business saw this, their expression changed, but they were also forced to drink the water in the end just like Chen Weng.

    They were not going to be poisoned to death, were they?

    The stomachs of the Changlong fighting business people all hurt, as they covered their stomachs their eyes were full of panic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry since you are not chickens, drinking so little will not make you die.¡± He Xiasheng said: ¡°But¡­ next time we will give you more to drink!¡±

    Hearing He Xiasheng¡¯s words, Chen Wang and others felt relieved at first but then be nervous again.

    Then ¡­¡­ they all had diarrhea together.

    It was so bad that it not only cleaned their stomach contents but also drained water. Resulting in feeling very weak.

    ¡°Give them some water,¡±He Xiasheng said.

    ¡°No!¡± Chen Wang said in despair.

    ¡°This time the water will not be poisonous! If you drink some it will lessen the toxicity so you can go back to work right away. Don¡¯t try to bezy!¡± He Xiasheng said.

    In fact, not only this water was not poisonous, the previous water was also not poisonous, they just put some croton inside.

    Of course, croton also has some toxicity, which can cause diarrhea.

    Chen Wang and others didn¡¯t want to drink water at first, but their diarrhea was too strong and they really needed to drink some water. Finally, they drank some water.

    Just as they finished drinking, they were forced back to work.

    After a night of tossing and turning, Chen Wang and others were so tired that they could almost fall asleep as soon as theyy down.

    But they couldn¡¯t go to sleep since people from the Jinzhen escort agency were forcing them to work.

    Chen Wang never thought how important it was to eat and sleep before, but now he only has these two things on his mind.

    ¡°Get to work!¡±

    ¡°Do a good job and don¡¯t bezy!¡±

    He Xiasheng, with a cup of croton water in his hand, circled around Chen Wang and others. Whoever would try to bezy and not work would be given some more water to drink: ¡°This toxin would umte in your body so drinking small amounts is fine but if you drink too much¡­ I can¡¯t guarantee what will happen in the end. ¡°

    What else can happen/! They would definitely die!

    Chen Wang and others forced themselves to work, the people of Jizhen escort agency just let them work, not caring if they did a good job or not.

    While Chen Wang and the others were screaming everywhere. Their families were looking everywhere for someone to save them.

    Moreover, someone finally agreed to save them.

    Last night, Jiang Zhen went home to sleep, but the next day, he went back to the chicken farm.

    He then had Chen Wang brought to him.

    After one day and night, the previously strong man from yesterday had shriveled up.

    Chen Wang copsed and could not even open his eyes so when he saw Jiang Zhen , even such a strong man like him wanted to cry.

    ¡°The environment here is good, right? The scenery is also very good isn¡¯t it? You can stay here for a few more days. ¡± Jiang Zhen smiled.

    ¡°Escort agency boss, spare my life!¡± Chen Wang immediately said: ¡°Escort agency boss Jiang, I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can take your time.¡± Jiang Zhen was still smiling.

    Chen Wang could no longer stand it: ¡°It was Zheng Yi, Young Master Zheng, who gave us money to deal with you!¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that Zheng Yi and I are in partnership? Even if you guys want to make up a story, don¡¯t make it up so nonsensically.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he was confident that Zheng Yi would never try to harm him. Even if he really wanted to harm him, he would never use such a mentally retarded means.

    ¡°It was Zheng Yi! The one who he send was the steward of Qingfeng Building. I know him. If it hadn¡¯t been for that, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to deal with you!¡± Chen Wang said in agitation, the Zheng family was now very powerful in the south of the Yangtze River. Without the backing of the Zheng family how could he dare to offend the Jinzhen escort agency?

    ¡°Which steward?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°It was Steward Li.¡± Chen Wang said.

    Jiang Zhen immediately asked someone to tell Zheng Yi about this, then added: ¡°Take him with you and making him work well, let¡¯s find a few more people to ask.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything I can, let me go!¡± Chen Wang said: ¡°I can paypensation!¡±

    Chen Wang anxiously wanted to go back but Jiang Zhen just ignored him.

    At the same time, after questioning a few of Chen Wang¡¯s men, Jiang Zhen was sure that it was really that Steward Li who was in charge of this job.

    This Steward Li was obviously a problem.

    There was definitely something wrong with him.

    Jiang Zhen soon got the news that Steward Li had left Qingfeng Building a few days ago and disappeared.

    At the same time, a group of people came to his chicken farm, among them was a group of people from local Yamen.

    When the people of Yamene, Jiang Zhene out to have a look.

    ¡°Gentlemen, what is your reason foring here?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Master Jiang, someone is looking for you ¡­¡­¡± When the official saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately smiled.

    Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi rtionship were very good and over the years the yamen had already established a rtionship with them so at this moment, this official exined: ¡°Master Jiang, several people came to the Yamen, all of them saying that you took away the people of the Changlong fighting business and brought them here so wee to ask about it.¡±

    Come here, they were forced toe here¡­ At that time, many people saw Jiang Zhen enter Changlong fighting business and pull three cart of ¡°pigs¡± out of the building.

    Since all the people of Changlong fighting business were gone, they had no choice but to take this trip.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what did you do to my husband?¡±One of the women asked.

    ¡°And my son!¡±

    ¡°And my brother!¡±

    ¡­

    The family members of Changlong fighting business people were furious as they asked one after another.

    But Jiang Zhen was very calm: ¡°For what reason? ¡°

    Does Jiang Zhen admit that Changlong fighting business people were in his hands. The Yamen officers face stiffened, a little embarrassed ¨C if Jiang Zhen did not admit it, he could be taken these people away ah!

    Those who came with him were about to explode: ¡°What have you done with my son?¡±

    ¡°Where is my husband?¡±

    Those whoe were all terrified that Jiang Zhen had already killed them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have someone bring them here.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°They are all fine, they¡¯re just working for me topensate for my losses.¡±

    Soon, Chen Wang and the others were brought in.

    But just after one day of not seeing them, all of them looked shriveled, this¡­ was just working?

    Their families didn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask anyone to beat them or scold them. I just asked them to help with work, if you don¡¯t believe me just check their bodies, see if they are injured.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When those people heard his words they all wanted to check their family members up, but were stopped by Jinzhen escort agency people. Finally, only a few people went over.

    ¡°Chen Wang, are you okay?¡± Chen Wang¡¯s wife anxiously checked up on her husband, but as a result, she couldn¡¯t find any injures except some bruises.

    ¡°I ¡­¡­¡± Chen Wang wanted to speak, but after looking at the smiling eyes of the guard next to him, he immediately didn¡¯t dare to open his mouth.

    ¡°You can take them away¡­. But topensate us for our losses¡­ I will not charge much either. The leader is 500 silver and the rest is 100 silver each. If you bring money I will let them go.¡±

    Those people, who were filled with righteous indignation before, finding their family members not injured calmed down.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a few chickens that were poisoned, so there¡¯s no need to pay so much for them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s just a few chickens.¡±

    After being reassured, they were no longer willing to pay.

    Although the Changlong fighting business makes money, it was not particrly profitable, especially for those at the bottom. After eating, drinking, and ying around there was not much money left.

    One hundred silver¡­ where they would get so much money?

    However, Chen Wang and others no longer wanted to continue staying here.

    They wanted to leave!

    ¡°Wife, go home and get the money to redeem me!¡¯ Chen Wang said to his wife: ¡°There is some money in the box under my bed, take it and ransom us all!¡±

    If he stay here any longer he would surely die!

    As for his men, they all worked for him so he couldn¡¯t leave them alone.

    The author has something to say:

    Tomorrow we can finally go home!

 Chapter 158 - Trouble With The Escort Agency

    Chapter 158 ¨C Trouble With The Escort Agency

    ¡°It¡¯s just a few days of work ¡­¡­¡± Chen Wang¡¯s wife was a bit reluctant.

    Just Chen Wang ransom cost 500 silver while Chen Wang man cost 100 silver each¡­

    If she spend so much money on these people all the money in the family would be spent!

    Wouldn¡¯t it be just alright to let these people work for a few more days?

    ¡°Bit*h, why don¡¯t you just go now!¡± Chen Wang could not help but scold, no food, no sleep while not daring to even drink water. In a few days, he might be already dead!

    Chen Wang¡¯s wife vaguely sensed that something was wrong so she stopped speaking and just went home.

    Seeing his wife leaving, Chen Wang breathed a sigh of relief and felt that his heart was dripping blood.

    This time, he will have to empty his own home, not to mention even his private money he had been hiding.

    But, even so, he still wanted his wife to ransom people.

    He no longer wanted to stay here.

    Chen Wang was depressed. But when Jiang Zhen looked at Chen Wang his brows frowned slightly.

    At first when Chen Wang got into trouble with him he thought he was just some short-sighted guy or that it was Wen family rtives that he had made lose face, but now¡­ things were not so simple.

    The people behind the scenes obviously don¡¯t take Chen Wang and others seriously, so they probably don¡¯t expect Chen Wang and others to bring him trouble. Perhaps their purpose was to sow discord between him and Zheng Yi?

    In that case, who was behind it?

    Jiang Zhen called over He Chunsheng.

    ¡°What has been happening in Wexing Province recently?¡±Jiang Zhen asked.

    His Jinzhen escort agency has offices in every city of Wexing Province now and kept some people in there keeping eye on things. Which was also absolutely suitable for intelligence collection.

    He Chunsheng quickly said some of the news received recently, and mentioned: ¡°Boss, before we followed Young master Zheng to capital that time, we rescued a merchant surnamed Luo on the way. Recently hee to Jiangnan, apanied by a middle-aged man, and the identity of that middle-aged man seems a bit unusual.¡±

    ¡°Also one of our Jinzhen escort agency ships was robbed yesterday, but fortunately, only some stones were taken away, which had little impact.¡±

    ¡°A ship was taken away?¡±Jiang Zhen frowned slightly: ¡°Tell me more details.¡±

    He Chunsheng was stunned, this was something that even he didn¡¯t know in detail.

    Fortunately, his men knew about it so He Chunsheng quickly called over his own men.

    ¡°It was like this, a few days ago a merchant came from Wuzhong Province bringing along a lot of stones to build a garden, because he didn¡¯t have a big ship he hired ship and people from our escort agency, but unexpectedly they were robbed of elm stones halfway.¡±

    This so called elm stones were marble. Marble even at this time could be regarded as a rtively expensive stone, but it wasn¡¯t too expensive. If just some elm stones were lost it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult topensate for it.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and was about to say he knew when suddenly someone came running from afar shouting: ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not good!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°The escort ship that was robbed, there was something wrong with it.¡± The man panted as he stopped running: ¡°Boss, the customer said that what he was robbed of was not any elm stone but white silver. Now he hase to Fucheng saying that robbery of the ship was all directed and performed by our Jinzhen escort agency and that his silver was actually robbed by us!¡±

    It turned out that after the escort ship was robbed the escorts brought back the guest to Wexing Province.

    The guest had been very quiet on the way back, but when he arrived to Fucheng he suddenly made a scene, saying that he was not robbed of the stone but from silver.

    He also felt that since he was robbed the root of the robbery was at Jinzhen escort agency and they were supervising the robbery otherwise, why did these people spared so many escort agency escort but killed two of his family members?

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say before that what he wanted us to escort was silver?¡± Jiang Zhen asked, the Jinzhen escort agency had a rule that if a client wanted to ask an escort agency for help with delivering the goods, he must tell the escort agency what he wanted to have delivered, while escort agency would usually inspect the goods¡­. howe no one said anything before?

    ¡°No, boss.¡±The person who came to report replied.

    Jiang Zhen left He Xiasheng in charge of collecting money for Changlong fighting business members while he went back to Fucheng.

    Jiang Zhen went on horseback so when he arrived he found many people gathered at the entrance of his escort agency. Just like at the entrance of the store where he sold chickens and ducks before.

    ¡°Yoru Jinzhen escort agency deceives others too much!¡± At the entrance of the escort agency, a thin middle-aged man was trembling with anger as he was looking at Zhao Jinge with a face full of hatred.

    ¡°Calm down, Mr. Jin,¡± Zhao Jinge said: ¡°This time it was you who did not make clear the value of the goods so we couldn¡¯t arrange enough escorts. But since it happened, we Jinzhen escort agencies are responsible for this, but you are not without fault either.¡±

    Zhao Jinge was not in a good mood at this moment. He originally thought that this was just a small matter, but unexpectedly it turned out to be a big deal in the end.

    Also this had something to do with this Mr. Jin.

    For escorting just some stones, although this Mr. Jin asked to arrange a few more people, no one took it seriously. Most of the people who were arranged were also neers¡­ He was at fault in this matter, but the faultid mostly on this Mr. Jin.

    He should not conceal the value of the goods.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already made it clear, so shouldn¡¯t that matter no longer matter? These robbers spared your Jinzhen escort agency escorts but your escort are still out on works¡­ those robbers, in fact were also arranged by your escort agency, right?!¡± Mr. Jin eyes were bloodshot, making his eyes look very red.

    This was something that Zhao Jinge felt a little guilty in heart.

    He had already asked the escort, there were many robbers at that time so they be a little timid. In addition, they felt that the goods they were escorting were worthless so they were not willing to fight hard and resist.

    But wasn¡¯t the escort under him acting like this because the man in front of him didn¡¯t say that the boxes were all silver?

    ¡°Boss Jin, we have rules in our Jinzhen escort agency if the good received not match this on the written contract even if something goes wrong, we will notpensate!¡± Jiang Zhen came in from outside and said with a cold expression.

    Changlong fighting business was trying to make trouble, this person was also probably the same.

    Because of this, Jiang Zhen¡¯s impression of this person in front of him was already very bad.

    He prepared and acted such a y to tarnish the reputation of Jinzhen escort agency and now even wanted them to paypensation¡­ this person was really cunning!

    There as indeed such a rule in Jinzhen escort agency. It¡¯s just that at the beginning, this boss Jin was afraid that someone would be jealous, that he did not dare to tell anyone that they brought 100,000 silver to go home.

    But now.. these 100,000 silver is gone.

    This was money he earned during his lifetime and originally wanted to return home with them but now they were all gone!

    Boss Jin looked at Jiang Zhen with such expression of hatred like he wanted to eat him.

    ¡°Send boss Jin out!¡± Jiang Zhen directly said this matter was very reasonable so he will directly expel people who step out of the line!

    You know, usually, if you hired someone to escort you during ancient times they wouldn¡¯t pay youpensation even if something happened on the way.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Boss Jin wanted to resist, but he has pulled away in the end. At this moment Jiang Zhen also shouted: ¡°Our Jinzhen escort agency always writes contracts when we escort other people things in ck and white. As long as you tell the truth, we will certainly paypensation in ordance with the contract. But if someone does not abide by the contract, I will not tolerate it!¡±

    Jiang Zhen spoke loudly, letting the people around him respond one after another.

    When Jiang Zhen said so, people around also felt that it was that client problem.

    What¡¯s more,¡­¡­ this man said that he was being escorted with silver. But does he have proof? Who knows if he really was robbed of stones and now just wanted to rely on Jinzhen escort agency to earn more money?

    The people of Fucheng were watching Jinzhen escort agency be bigger little by little, even the escort of Jinzhen escort agency now, many of them were people of Fucheng. In such a situation, the people of Fucheng were naturally also more on Jiang Zhen side.

    When boss Jin was escorted out he saw suspicious eyes of the people around him, and for a moment he be extremely angry.

    These people¡­ These people.

    He thought about it and went directly to the Yamen.

    After Jiang Zhen sent people away, he called in all the escort of Jinzhen escort agency in the city: ¡±Tomorrow everyone will follow me to train outside the city! You are escorts, the most important part of your job is to protect the guests and goods! In the future, if something like this happens and there are any robbers all escort involved will no longer have to work in Jinzhen escort agency!¡±

    Jinzhen escort agency paid a lot of money so all escort were reluctant to leave Jinzhen escort agency so they nodded in agreement.

    Jiang Zhen nned to take these people outside the city for good training the next day, but he couldn¡¯t since there was another ident the next day.

    That boss Jin unexpectedly in the middle of the nightmitted suitcase in front of Jinzhen escort agency, leaving behind a bloody letter.

    Jiang Zhen looked at the scene, the heart immediately thumped.

    It was true that boss Jinmitted suicide.

    He did not know whether this man wanted to use his life to frame the Jinzhen escort agency or he was really a victim but at present, the Jinzhen escort agency was really in trouble.

    Since the person was dead, everyone would sympathize with him and me Jinzhen escort agency¡­. also on the same day, another escort ship of Jinzhen escort agency had a problem.

    Several escorts of Jinzhen escort agency unexpectedly killed their clients and robbed the goods before running away!

 Chapter 159 - Jiang Zhen Wants Power

    Chapter 159 ¨C Jiang Zhen Wants Power

    A total of eight escorts run away and the guests they killed had cooperated with Jinzhen escort agency for many years.

    When Jiang Zhen got the news, he knew that someone was definitely making trouble from him this time.

    ¡°What happened to those escorts who robbed the goods, and where are their families now?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    When Jinzhen escort agency recruited escorts it was also necessary to check the family situation of these escorts so generally, he would not hire a lone person.

    In these days there was no ID card or anything like this so it was too dangerous to hire a lone person.

    ¡°Those escorts were all from Fucheng and their families had already left their houses empty.¡± He Chunsheng said: ¡°But I have asked people to check them out. As long as they are still within the scope of Wexing Province, we will certainly be able to find them.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded and then said: ¡°Make more effort, make sure to find them!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± He Chunsheng responded.

    Jiang Zhen sent a lot of people to find these people while also assigning more people for Zhao Jinge, Zhao Liu, Zhao Fugui and his two children protection.

    As a result, there were no enough people on hand.

    At the same time, there have been many unfavorable rumors spreading about Jinzhen escort agency in Fucheng.

    ¡°That Jinzhen escort agency is too much, how dare they force people to die!¡±

    ¡°Yes, that Jin merchant really had some bad luck. He had silver robbed but had no way to ask for help. In the end he could onlymit suitcase in front of Jinzhen escort agency.¡±

    ¡°In the past, I always thought it was safe to go to the Jinzhen escort agency to escort the goods, but now it seems that it is not necessarily true¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zhao Jinge went out from home and was on his way to the Jinzhen escort agency when he heard such remarks, frowning he felt more or less ufortable.

    Although the Jinzhen escort agency was founded by Jiang Zhen it was him who developed it little by little so he had a deep affection toward Jinzhen escort agency. Feeling wronged now.

    When Zhao Jingee to Jinzhen escort agency, Jiang Zhen was about to go out. Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge hurriedly his worried and ufortable expression.

    Jiang Zhen has been working hard enough these days so he couldn¡¯t let him worry about himself.

    ¡®Jinge, watch over Jinzhen escort agency while I will go to see Zheng Yi.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhao Jinge replied

    Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge and then went directly to Qingfeng Building.

    The Qingfeng Building in the Fucheng was originally built outside the city but because the business was very good it grew bigger and bigger andter¡­ Zheng Yi built a separate courtyard directly next to the Qingfeng House for the convenience of entertaining guests.

    He had been apanying a group of gentlemen from Fucheng to y around the other day, and came back in a hurry justst night after knowing that something had happened to the Jinzhen escort agency.

    When Jiang Zhen arrived at Zheng Yi¡¯s mansion, which was located next to Qingfeng Building, Zheng Yi had just woken up and was still yawning.

    ¡°Wait for me for a while.¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi said, then he took out a snuff bottle and took a puff.

    After doing it he became much soberer: ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to tell all the things that had happened to him.

    Zheng Yi frowned as his fingers tapped gently on the table, finally he said: ¡°It may be other sea merchants from Wexing Province, or it may be some leftover power of the Hongjiang Salt Farm.¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s development was a bit fast, which more or less affected the interests of some local sea merchant from Wexing Province who most likely wanted to teach him a lesson. Apart from them there were also salt merchants who had been suppressed by them.

    In the beginning, they left the main forced behind Hongjiang Salt Farm to be destroyed by the court but after all it was impossible to catch all the people involved.

    And those who survived, can they not hate them to death?

    ¡°I also think so but I don¡¯t know who it is.¡±Jiang Zhen said.

    When he first set up the Jinzhen escort agency, he wanted to take root in the south of the Yangtze River, butter, after he was arrested by an imperial envoy, his mentality changed a lot. He even started nning his way out overseas.

    Because of this, he did not attach as much importance to the Jinzhen escort agency as he did at the beginning.

    But even so, after someone found trouble with Jinzhen escort agency it made him very angry.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know who it was, check it out! I will check it with you.¡± Zheng Yi said: ¡°I don¡¯t believe that with so many of us, we won¡¯t even be able to find out such a little thing!¡±

    As time went by, the entanglement between their Zheng family and Jiang Zhen only increased.

    The goods that Jiang Zhen sold to overseas as a sea merchant were all acquired by his Zheng family.

    In such a situation, Zheng Yi wanted to protect Jiang Zhen by any means.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned when he heard Zheng Yi words, but then just smiled and said: ¡°Right.¡±

    After Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi discussed the matter, Jiang Zhen went back home.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I heard that something happened outside, what¡¯s going on?¡± Zhao Fugui saw Jiang Zhening back and asked.

    Jiang Zhen smiled: ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine.¡± Now, he has really rxed.

    Before, when the people from the Changlong fighting business got in trouble with him he didn¡¯t take it to heart. Also, why should he pay attention to the person who only dares to hide behind the scenes and use some small tricks?

    With so many people under his hands, he was not an easy target!

    ¡°I¡¯m d it¡¯s all right¡­¡± Zhao Fugui said, feeling that Jiang Zhen just said that to appease him but he didn¡¯t ask any more questions.

    Without giving any more exnation, Jiang Zhen stood up and then went to Jinzhen escort agency again.

    In Jinzhene escort agency office, Zhao Jinge encountered some trouble ¨C many merchants of Fucheng who signed contracts with the Jinzhen escort agency before now wanted to end their contracts.

    Since the Jinzhen escort agency escort would steal from its clients and escort would snatch goods from inside¡­ they didn¡¯t dare to continue their cooperation.

    The Jinzhen escort agency had a veryrge number of people, if there was not enough business supporting so many people would definitely make them lose money. Zhao Jinge tried to convince others, but these people are not willing.

    ¡°Boss Zhao, we don¡¯t want to ask you for help with our good deliver so why are you forcing it?¡¯

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Boss Zhao, isn¡¯t it good for everyone to take a step back?¡±

    ¡°No matter what, I no longer dare to let your Jinzhen escort agency help me deliver the goods!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Jinge if they don¡¯t want to use Jinzhen escort agency to deliver their goods, cancel their contracts.¡± Jiang Zhen whoes from outside stated directly.

    ¡°Boss Jiang is so straightforward!¡± Hearing Jiang Zhen words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and smiled one after another.

    They no longer wanted to use the Jinzhen escort agency to help them transport their goods, but they had no intention of offending the Jinzhen escort agency either so when they left, they said someplimentary words.

    The two sides did not tear their faces, but these merchants, in the end, still left.

    Before many merchants wanted to end the cooperation with the Jinzhen escort agency but they still had some concerns. But seeing that someone else had already ended their cooperation with Jinzhen escort agency they no longer had these concerns.

    In time, more and more merchants came to their door to cancel their cooperation.

    Jiang Zhen agreed to all of it, he also did not hide it from his subordinates.

    ¡°Apart from it, what else our escort agency can do?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Boss made a lot of money when he went to sea, but the escort agency is different¡­ do you think it¡¯s possible that boss no longer wants to keep the escort agency open?¡±

    ¡°Not open? Then what do we do?¡±

    ¡°We did not steal from our clients, we are all wrongly used!¡±

    ¡­

    The treatment Jiang Zhen gave to his escort has always been very good.

    In the past, these escort working in Jinzhen escort agency didn¡¯t have any ideas, but now ¡­¡­ Seeing that Jinzhen escort agency was in crisis, they suddenly remembered how good their escort agency was.

    They did not want anything to happen to their escort agency so they hated these escort who killed clients and run away very much. As for these escorts who had protected the businessman surnamed Jin, they had already regretted it very much.

    They shouldn¡¯t have stopped fighting just because there were too many robbers at that time!

    ¡°Boss, I am sorry!¡± These people felt so ufortable that they especially went to Jiang Zhen to apologize.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Jiang Zhen said, he had already understood. He also knew that although these men did not try their best to protect the goods, they protected boss Jin.

    He certainly wouldn¡¯t have fought so hard to protect just some marbles.

    ¡°Boss, our escort agency¡­¡± The men asked hesitantly.

    ¡°The escort agency is in a bit of trouble now, but it¡¯s not without a solution.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°Now that the business of our escort agency is all gone everyone should concentrate on finding and catching these traitors!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Hearing Jiang Zhen words the whole escort agency mobilized.

    They had given up most of their business and had a lot of free manpower and ships now. These people alle from all part of Wexing province with their ships and started looking for people.

    They must find escort who dared to betray their escort agency!

    Their escort agency was in trouble and needs their help. The escort of Jinzhen escort agency was full of enthusiasm as they began to catch traitors non-stop. At the same time, they also observed the situation of the people around them, delivering all sort of news to Fucheng.

    Just a few dayster, the people of Fucheng found that no matter where they went, they seemed to be able to see the people of the Jinzhen escort agency!

    Some of them were guarding the river checking the boats passing by, while others stood guard on some roads, watching the peopleing and going.

    Jinzhen escort agency that looked very inconspicuous before unexpectedly had so many people. They also caused no hindrance in Fucheng and even people from Yamen greeted them with a smile.

    In a remote vige in Wexing Province, a group of people living in an old house looked very anxious.

    ¡°What should we do now? There are people from the Jinzhen escort agency everywhere so we can¡¯t get out! ¡°

    ¡°If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have done such a thing for money!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of you! If you haven¡¯t forced me¡­¡±

    ¡°We forced you? It¡¯s obvious that you heard that there was money that you wanted to do it with us!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    These people put the me on each other, before worrying again.

    How are they gonna escape?

    While worrying, a voice suddenly came from outside: ¡°Several masters, there are few suspicious people inside!¡±

 Chapter 160 - Getting Revenge On The Spot

    Chapter 160 ¨C Getting Revenge On The Spot

    The people hiding in this house were escorts who killed their clients and robbed their goods before escaping.

    They were all from Fucheng main city of Wexing Province and they have all joined Jinzhen escort agency just half a year ago, but decided to did such a desperate thing because they went to the gambling house and lost a lot of money.

    After losing money in the gambling house, someone lent them money but they ended up with a big debt without even realizing it.

    Jinzhen escort agency have rules, people who work as escorts cannot gamble, visit flower houses or drink any alcohol during work. If they vite any of these rules they no longer would be able to work as escorts.

    At the beginning, Jiang Zhenid down these rules in order to prevent anyone from making mistakes because of gambling or drinking. But because of this few gambiling escort felt threatened.

    The person who lend them money at first wanted to tell Zhao Jinge that they gambled, so he threatened them with losing their jobs. But then he asked several escort to reveal some information about Jinzhen escort agency to him, then he threatened them with their betrayal of Jinzhen escort agency so they would kill people and steal the goods.

    If they didn¡¯t want to do it, those people would make them pay back the money and also let others know that they had broken Jinzhen escort agency rules. But if they did what they were told¡­ these people promised to give them arge sum of money while also getting their families out of Fucheng.

    They were so moved that they even talked into this two escort who worked with them who were not involved in gambling.

    If you worked as an escort in Jinzhen escort agency you would earn two silver a month but if this was done well¡­ The goods and money of the client would be given to them, making each person earn more than 200 silver.

    With so much money and help with finding another ce to stay, they would be able to start their own business in the future. So why should they work for others?

    They did it so smoothly, and the guest, who showed little resistance were all killed by them before they hid in this vige.

    Their families were already waiting for them here.

    However, just when they thought they could leave with the money, something went wrong.

    The people of Jinzhen escort agency reacted very quickly and arranged people all over Wexing Province to keep watch.

    In this way they had nowhere to run!

    In ancient times, it was easy to escape, but it was not easy for a group of people to hide without a trace.

    At this time, most of the viges were very closedmunities so they all could remember the stranger they see not to mention the sudden arrival of a group of people in the vige, making the news spread quickly was just a matter of course.

    For these people with families it was impossible to live in the woods ¨C the elderly and children could not withstand the wind and sun, if it rained¡­. even adult men may not be able to stand it.

    In this way, they inevitably revealed their whereabouts.

    When the people of the Jinzhen escort agency broke in with the Yamen officers, they still wanted to resist, but soon they were all restrained and unable to resist.

    These people and their families added up to forty or fifty people and they were all put on a ship and sent to Jiang Zhen along with the money they had robbed and the money they received from people behind the scenes.

    While tracking them¡­ Jiang Zhen unexpectedly was also able to caught steward Li, who had previously worked in Qingfeng Building and hired Changlong fighting business to make trouble.

    ¡°All the money and goods should be sent to the houses of the murdered clients.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When the clients families learned that their family members were gone, they all cried or fainted. Jiang Zhen who also felt guilty about situation would naturally make up for it.

    ¡°Yes!¡± He Chunsheng answered, immediately sending someone to do it. Then he asked: ¡°Boss, what are we going to do next?¡±

    ¡°Have a good interrogation!¡± Jiang Zhen said, then he stood up and said:¡±I¡¯ll go myself.¡±

    Jiang Zhen knew a lot of torture methods, and all these methods were pretty good.

    After he went over, he put each of those people into a small dark room where not even a shred of light could prate.

    Jiang Zhen brought people back in order to teach them a lesson and let others know that Jinzhen escort agency was not easy to bully. But did not expect that he would also be able to interrogate them.

    After all, if he were to do such a thing, he would certainly let someone else do it instead of doing it himself.

    However¡­. He overestimated the means of the people at this time and underestimated the intelligence of these people.

    What they did might cost them their heads, if the person behind them did not reveal himself a little¡­. would they still be willing to kill?

    Also Stewart Lu, the people behind the scenes gave him a lot of things in order to win him over.

    Jiang Zhen dug up all the news he could dig up from the mouths of these people while at the same time another newse from Yabian Vige.

    Someone had infiltrated the dock of Yabian Vige and wanted to burn Jiang Zhen ships!

    Initially, they also wanted to buy out the people of Yabian Vige before trying to burn Jiang Zhen ships but the people of Yabian Vige dock, were all saved by Jiang Zhen from the Hongjiang salt farm and were all very loyal to Jiang Zhen. Therefore it was impossible to buy them.

    Not only they were unable to bribe people but people from Yabian Vige keep and eye on them so before these people started to burn the ships they caught all of them!

    When Jiang Zhen got this news, he was shocked.

    They wanted to burn his ships using lot of kerosene ¡­¡­ once those people did it, he would lose the ships and be unable to be sea merchant any longer!

    The people of the Changlong fighting business poisoned the chickens that Zhao Jinge raised which was nothing to him, since he did not rely on those chickens for a living.

    When Jinzhen escort agency was questioned, it is also nothing to him, at most it meant less business.

    But if his ships were burned¡­

    A barrel of kerosene was brought in front of Jiang Zhen, Jiang Zhen looked at it, then found that this so-called kerosene was in fact oil.

    The dark light shed in his eyes, this time Jiang Zhen was really angry.

    The people of Jinzhen escort agency that wandered around the various ces in the city and found all people who hade into contact with those escorts and troublemakers who betrayed them. A few dayster, they really found out everything that Jiang Zhen wanted to know!

    Not only that, after such an incident, Jinzhen escort agency sense of belonging to Jinzhen escort agency was also greatly enhanced.

    In modern times, sometimes employees would apany thepany through a difficult time so their feelings toward thepany would also deepen unconsciously. At this time, feeling of escort of Jinzhen escort agency also deepend.

    In fact, it was for this reason that Jiang Zhen told the escort everything when Jinzhen escort agency was in trouble.

    He wanted to make these escort realize that they are all members of the Jinzhen escort agency.

    Next to Qingfeng Building, in Zheng Yi¡¯s house, Jiang Zhen meet Zheng Yi again.

    ¡°You¡¯re right in thinking that it was those salt merchants who had fallen out of favor and these sea merchants of Wexing Province who did it together.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    This time, it was the sea merchants and salt merchants of Wexing Province that acted together, involving many people they actually came up with some other means but since Jiang Zhen has been so tightly guarded they didn¡¯t seed.

    For example, they once tried to kidnap Jiang Zhen family members.

    In order to divert Jiang Zhen¡¯s attention, those people firstmissioned people from the Changlong fighting business to find trouble for Jiang Zhen and then made a lot of arrangements, but they did not expect that Jiang Zhen would not y his card ording tomon sense. Directly going to Changlong fighting business headquarter, resulting the problem early.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Zheng Yi asked: ¡°Since it already happened the most important thing is to think how to solve it.¡±

    ¡°In the past when something like this happened, how was it resolved?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    Zheng Yi raised his eyebrows, then said, ¡°Admitting his own bad luck and then finding somewhere else to make up for it.¡±

    Although they already knew who was looking for trouble with them, there was no way to get justice in an event like this. Even if they face these people at most these people would hand over a few subordinates after putting all the me on them which was meaningless.

    Zheng Yi who used to encounter such things would usually write down his n for revenge before slowly retailing back.

    Even after ten years it was not toote for a gentleman to take revenge.

    ¡°These people are not easy to deal with but since we already know who they are we can always teach them some lessons and make their lives unbearable.¡± Zheng Yi added.

    ¡°This is too time consuming.¡± Jiang Zhen suddenly said: ¡°If I have a grudge, I generally prefer to retaliate on the spot!¡±

    Zheng Yi was stunned, he felt that Jiang Zhen¡­ was going to do something amazing again.

    There was a sea merchant in Fucheng named Liu Baitong.

    At the beginning, he sold ships to Jiang Zhen, but when Jiang Zhen started developing better and batter his view of Jiang Zhen changed again and again.

    This Jiang Zhen was backed by Zheng family so the momentum of his development was also very ferocious. If he did not take care of it now, maybe even his own family¡¯s sea business, will not be able to continue in the future!

    What¡¯s more, his wife came from the Cheng family which was originally a salt merchant.

    His wife¡¯s mother¡¯s family was able to provide him with a lot of help, but now he was asked to help them¡­ it would be strange if he still showed Jiang Zhen a good face.

    Unfortunately, when he tried to deal with Jiang Zhen he failed in the end. Jiang Zhen ships were not burned.

    Since their n failed it would not be easy to deal with Jiang Zhen¡­ Liu Baitong was wondering what to do next when his family housekeeper suddenly ran in from the outside: ¡°Master, it¡¯s not good!¡±

    ¡°Your master is here!¡±Liu Baitong red at the housekeeper and then asked: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Master, someone threw chicken blood on our doorstep!¡± The housekeeper of Liu Mansion said.

    ¡°What do you think it is about? They are probably just venting their anger ¡­¡­¡± Liu Baitong just finished saying when someone just ran from outside and said: ¡°Master! When the young master wasing back from school today he was blindfolded and then beaten by someone!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Liu Baitong was shocked, that Jinzhen escort agency, what does this mean?

 Chapter 161 - Transporting Military Rations

    Chapter 161 ¨C Transporting Military Rations

    What else could Jiang Zhen mean?

    Naturally, he was dealing with him in his own way.

    These people bribed his men, made a move on his property, and even tried to harm his family . . . Why shouldn¡¯t he do the same?

    He also has more people on his hands than these people!

    Jiang Zhen has always been repaying revenge with revenge and favor with favor, sshing chicken blood and beating someone was just the beginning.

    Liu Baitong had a shipyard under his hands and supported a lot of craftsmen. Although the craftsmanship of these craftsmen was not as good as those of Wen family they were already very good. Relying on this shipyard he was able to be one of the most powerful sea merchants in Wexing Province.

    But as result just during just one-day dozens of the shipbuilding craftsmen under him went missing overnight! Even the families of these craftsmen were missing too!

    Liu Baitong was very angry with Jinzhen escort agency for beating his son so hearing such news he no longer could sit still.

    It was Jinzhen escort agency! It was definitely Jinzhen escort agency!

    Without so many workers, how could his ship be built?

    ¡°Someone, prepare the carriage!¡± Liu Baitong didn¡¯t act alone against Jiang Zhen. No to mention that nothing happened to Jiang Zhen so why was he so persistent?

    Liu Baitong intended to see Jiang Zhen and at the same time, other people also intended to see Jiang Zhen.

    A number of sea merchants and salt merchants went to the Jinzhen escort agency together, looking for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    But Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t meet any of them.

    These people make him unhappy so why should he see them?

    Jiang Zhen did not meet him but let his own people go out and make trouble for them.

    He didn¡¯t kill or tantly injure anyone,to avoid his men getting arrested for crimes, but even so he was already able to make a few families unable to sleep in peace.

    When these families¡¯ servants went out to buy the food they would always encounter something, throwing at them rotten vegetables, leaves or rotten eggs was one of the mostmon things!

    Throwing rats and smelly fish into their houses was also already nothing special, even a good lotus pond would somehow turn into a fecal pit which was just the worst.

    Some homes even seemed to be hunted, with mysterious shadows appearing in the middle of the night¡­

    Liu Baitong has not slept well for a long time, a pair, his eyes red but he could not do anything in face of such a situation.

    Many people saw all of this with their own eyes.

    ¡°That Boss Jiang is really strong!¡± Luo Tianzhi, who came to the south of Yangze river to do business, was overwhelmed with emotion. He had long known that Jinzhen escort agency was developing well, but it was not until this moment that he realized how well it had developed.

    In Wexing Province there were people of Jinzhen escort agency everywhere.

    Luo Tianzhi was quite happy while the middle-aged man who came here with him also looked a little dignified: ¡°This Jiang Zhen is not another Cheng Yongzhen!¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the short-sightedness of those old men in the imperial court, why would they have forced him into such a state?¡± Luo Tianzhi said: ¡°If they had treated Cheng Yongzhen well, maybe at this moment Daqi would have a strong navy!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that.¡± The middle-aged man said: ¡±Cheng Yongzhen openly imed the title of king, which is like directly pping the face of the imperial court and not treating imperial court seriously.¡±

    Luo Tianzhi knew that his good friend had always been loyal and patriotic, so he didn;t say more, only asked:¡±Are you going to see Jiang Zhen?¡±

    The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and then nodded: ¡°Yes.¡±

    When Jiang Zhen received Luo Tianzhi¡¯s invitation, he was a little surprised.

    This Luo Tianzhi has been in Wexing Province for some time already, selling goods and buying other goods. But unexpectedlye to see him only at this time.

    Jiang Zhen and Luo Tianzhi, who were still friends with each other meet.

    Luo Tianzhi, who had been starved by pirates before and be thin be fat again. So fat in fact that when Jiang Zhen saw him he only thought of high blood sugar, high blood pressure ¡­¡­

    Along with Luo Tianzhi there was also another middle-aged man who nced at Jiang Zhen with inquiring eyes.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, wee here because we want to cooperate with boss!¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Luo Tianzhi immediately smiled and said: ¡®No, its not cooperation, we want to hire Jinzhen escort agency to transport goods for us.¡±

    ¡°What you want transported?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Food and grass.¡± Luo Tianzhi uttered a words that really surprised Jiang Zhen.

    In Daqi, court control things like salt so naturally they also had control over things like grain, for example, they had always forbiddenrge-scale grain trading among the people.

    Who exactly is Master Luo?¡± Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a merchant, and this is the real lord.¡± Luo Tianzhi pointed to the middle-aged man beside him.

    As a matter of fact, Luo Tianchi also had some status, he was a son from official family, butter, when his father was convicted, he also became a sinner himself.

    But he had a good friend, the one next to him, who tried his best to protect him and introduced him to a prince who was eager for wisdom.

    He followed that prince and started to do business, since he was capable it eventually grew bigger and bigger making him win the prince attention.

    Of course, he was still just an ordinary merchant. He couldn¡¯t interfere in such matters as grain trading but his good friend was different.

    Luo Tianzhi briefly introduced them but not say the exact identity of the middle-aged man beside him, but he still more or less revealed some clues. Their purpose ofing to the south of Yangzhe river also be clearer the longer he was speaking.

    This time, theye to buy military rations for Liaodong Iron Riders.

    In the previous dynasty, the court tax collection has always been the collection of grain. But when it was first implemented, it was exploited so it was changed in Daqi.

    Now Daqi collected taxes in silver.

    In this way, it bes much more convenient in many areas but also bes troublesome in some ces.

    For example, military ration bes very difficult to handle.

    Liaodong Iron Riders which was one of the most elite troops in Daqi which was paid one or two million silver every year by the military court and sometimes even more always meet problems due to food shortage.

    The middle-aged man in front of him came to the south of the Yangtze River to buy food and grass for the Liaodong Iron Riders.

    ¡°It cost a lot of money to transport food by rivers so we hope to be able to go by sea.¡± Luo Tianzhi said.

    ¡°Sea transport?¡± Jiang Zhen raised his eyebrows in surprise, there was a sea ban in this imperial court.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, this sea ben actually only exists on paper, you should also be clear about it.¡± Luo Tianzhi said, of course he didn¡¯t dare to say other reasons.

    Liaodong Iron Riders were very strong, thus, they didn¡¯t actually care about some regtions in the dynasty.

    ¡°I have to think about this.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After Jiang Zhen sent Luo Tianzhi away, he approached Zheng Yi to ask about Liaodong Iron Riders and finally agreed.

    Now, that Rong people in the north were eyeing Daqi covetously it all depended on Liaodong Iron Riders to hold them back. Since Liaodong Iron Riders were short of food and grass he should help them as much as he could.

    What¡¯s more, after acquiring some shipbuilding craftsmen without doubt he would only have more and more ships.

    That¡¯s right, those shipbuilding craftsmen were all directly taken away by Jiang Zhen.

    He has been trying to poach shipbuilding craftsmen around but without much luck. But when he be angry he directly captured them!

    At this time, all these craftsmen were sent to the seaside by him.

    At first, these craftsmen were afraid, but soon, they got used to living under Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands which had a lot to do with the low status of craftsmen at that time and the good treatment given to them by Jiang Zhen.

    In other ces, these craftsmen were no different from servants, and many of them needed to sign a deed of sale but under Jiang Zhen it was different.

    The technicians needed to be treated well, Jiang Zhen has always thought like this so he was naturally very good to these craftsmen, and after these craftsmen found that life under Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands was very good they started to work under Jiang Zhen at ease.

    Also, after Jiang Zhen gives them some bonuses they be even more energetic in building ships.

    In this year, Cheng Yongzhen, a sea merchant, became king of Ryukyu.

    This year, Jiang Zhen encountered some trouble, but quickly solved them.

    In this year, Jiang Zhen took the job of transporting grain and grass for the Liaodong Iron Riders.

    From this year, Jiang Zhen no longer went to sea with his ships and paid more attention to the management of his subordinates.

    In the blink of an eye, three years have passed.

    During these three years a lot of things happened, among which what makes Jiang Zhen most sad was the sea merchant Cheng Yongzhen incident.

    Although Cheng Yongzhen became king of Ryukyu, he was not rebellious. At the beginning, he left Daqi because local officials wanted to take away his fleet, and even send some people to assassinate him.

    But he still yearned for the court, and this weakness of his was soon used by the imperial court.

    Empress Dowager sent officials to Minnan Province to discuss matters with Cheng Yongzhen personally while sending Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s captured family members as well as his friends and rtives to Ryukyu. Then officially invited Cheng Yongzhen, agreeing to Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s many demands.

    Cheng Yongzhen agreed to meet them and then with dozens of his men followed the official to the Minnan Province. But after getting off the ship and sitting on the sedan chair, he was carried directly to the prison.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s brow furrowed when he heard this news.

    Ever since he had once encountered merchants from Europa, these European merchants appeared more and more often in the vicinity of Daqi.

    There was no doubt that some ces have already entered the era of great voyages.

    Daqi originally could be part of it but as a result, they arrested Cheng Yongzhen.

    Not only did they arrest Cheng Yongzhen, but they failed to recruit Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s men, and caused some trouble.

    Japanese invaders.

    Japanese invaders appeared in the coastal area, but these so-called Japanese invaders were in fact Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old forces.

    At the beginning, Cheng Yongzhen broke up a lot of pirates groups, making his own fleet bigger and more powerful, at one point having more than 100,000 people working under him. But now since he was gone, his men naturally were in disarray and old pirates went back to being pirates.

    Also among them, there were a lot of ronins who used to be employed by sea merchants in Daqi, but now we¡¯re just roaming around.

 Chapter 162.1 - Captured Japanese invaders

    Chapter 162.1- Captured Japanese invaders

    Wexing Provine was getting more and more lively.

    Since many big families consolidated a lot ofnds, many farmers had to find another way out, but south of Yangze river was still very prosperous, and Wexing Provine was bing more and more prosperous.

    Because many people began to do business and even went out to sea.

    To a certain extent, sea trade has given many people a way to live.

    Today, Jiang Zhen together with Zhao Jinge and his two children was eating breakfast in a teahouse.

    The refreshments on this side of Wexing Provine were very rich, so Jiang Zhen ordered a little bit of everything.

    Among them were fried buns, small dumplings, tea cakes, muffins, and tea eggs.

    Jiang Zhen liked to eat the crispy skin of the fried buns the most, but his son and daughter were the opposite.

    Zhao Mingzhu was changing her teeth and just recently lost her front teeth so she could not bite the fried bun with pork so she swore she wouldn¡¯t eat it.

    Since she didn¡¯t want to eat it, Zhao Chengyu, who liked to do everything just like his sister also didn¡¯t want to eat it.

    So, they were eating only small dumplings at this moment.

    ¡°Father! Yesterday, Uncle He little An tried to bully me so I beat him up!¡± hao Mingzhu said happily when she was halfway through the meal.

    The little An of uncle He, she was talking about was He Chunsheng¡¯s son, a boy year younger than her, but much taller than her.

    ¡°Little An bullied you? Doesn¡¯t he like you the most? How could he bully you?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at his daughter in disbelief.

    ¡°He made fun of my teeth! He said I look like an olddy!¡± Zhao Mingzhu said with an angry expression.

    His own daughter¡¯s toothless appearance was a bit like an olddy ¡­ Zhao Jinge thought like this but didn¡¯t dare to say it.

    If he said it his daughter would be angry.

    As he was thinking this, Zhao Jinge heard Zhao Mingzhu talking about other ymates, but when she mentioned her ymates, she said nothing more than who disobeyed and was beaten by her, and who recognized her as the boss.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    He was very concerned about his daughter, knowing that his daughter was also wrestling with people but never went too far or hurt other people. Also, when she encountered weaker girl and even boys she would not hit them but protect them instead.

    But even so, he still felt it was strange.

    Zhao Mingzhu was his daughter, not his son.

    A girl collected a bunch of henchmen ¡­¡­ was this really alright?

    Zhao Jinge was a little worried, but Jiang Zhen felt that this was not a problem at all. At this moment, he was even praising his daughter: ¡°My Mingzhu is the most powerful!¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu was very proud.

    Zhao Jinge sighed secretly and decided to leave this matter alone.

    Since his daughter was crooked, let¡¯s raise her crooked¡­ It didn¡¯t matter if she couldn¡¯t get married, he could afford to support her.

    Although two of them were children, they all ate very well so after a while they eat almost everything at the table.

    It was also at this time that the storyteller came.

    ¡°What I want to tell you today about is the King of Ryukyu, who was carried into prison on a sedan chair¡­.¡± As soon as storyteller said this prologue, the diners present cheered one after another.

    During this time, the most famous figure at the south of Yangze river was King of Ryukyu Cheng Yongzhen.

    As for Cheng Yongzhen, some peoplemented over him, some sympathized or even despite him. But no matter, everyone paid attention to this person and ware willing to listen to gossip about him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± At this moment, Jiang Zhen stood up.

    In order to satisfy the guests, the storyteller would always make up some nonsense when he told the story, or even add some fragrant things which Jiang Zhen did not want to hear.

    He was actually never in contact with Cheng Yongzhen and Cheng Yongzhen has probably never heard of him since he was just a small sea merchant who has just emerged in recent years.

    But even so, Cheng Yongzhen matter, still saddened him.

    He had always felt that he was too weak and wanted to be strong so that he could have a say. But now that he really be stronger, he found out that he still did not have much of say.

    Of course, this was also because he was still not strong enough.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge downstairs to meet some acquaintances.

    ¡°Escort agency boss Jiang, master Zhao!¡± Those few people, were merchants who had worked with Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge so in the moment they saw Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge they came up to greet them.

    ¡°Shopkeeper Liu, shopkeeper Wang.¡± Jiang Zhen greeted them.

    Several people exchanged a few pleasantries, while Jiang Zhen soon bid his goodbye.

    Those people sighed as they watched Jiang Zhen leave.

    ¡°This Jiang Zhen is really powerful!¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is obviously born from a farming family but he had the ability to earn so much money for his family.¡± Another person said.

    ¡°Also Zhao Jinge who was next to him¡­ I heard he used to be a long-term worker who didn¡¯t even know how to write a single word. No one would expect that he is supporting Jinzhen escort agency now¡­¡±

    The group of people said one thing after another, speaking with emotion about Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge while the two of them had already went home.

    Over the past three years, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui have not grown much older, the two of them looked every part like rich people spending their every day happily they even looked a little younger.

    When Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge just got together, they have actually been very worried, worried about when Jiang Zhen would abandon Zhao Jinge but now¡­ Jiang Zhen was as close as their blood-rted family so they didn¡¯t worry about this anymore.

    They don¡¯t even worry that Jiang Zhen would take a concubine.

    They all could see how good Jiang Zhen was to Zhao Jinge, so he would never hurt their son.

    Looking at Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge who had long since passed their prime, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a lot of emotions.

    How could they be so lucky to meet Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°Mom, dad we are going to the seaside tomorrow.¡± After eating, Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Fugui and his wife.

    ¡°Is your fleet back?¡± Zhao Fugui asked: Jiang Zhen often spends a long periods of time at the seaside. Often spending half a year at the seaside, but this time hee back just after a few days. But he wanted to go back just after few days of leaving so it most probably because something was going on there.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that the fleet is back, but that there are pirates over there.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    It has been two months since Cheng Yongzhen was arrested, so Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s men were now inplete chaos.

 Chapter 162.2 - Captured Japanese Invaders

    Chapter 162.2- Captured Japanese Invaders

    These people were roughly divided into three groups.

    One of them ware sea merchants who were originally gathered together by Cheng Yongzhen. But now that Cheng Yongzhen was gone they nned to continue being sea merchants. Another group was local people employed by Cheng Yongzhen. Now that Cheng Yongzhen was gone they nned to go back to farming and third group¡­ be pirates.

    After Jiang Zhen learned of this incident, he has strengthened his protection, but the effect was not very good. Recently, there have been many pirates on their side of the sea.

    By the way, pirates during this time not only robbed on the sea but also onnd before fleeting back to the sea.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen went to the beach.

    When going to the seaside he used to bring Zhao Jinge and their children with him but recently the seaside was not peaceful, he didn¡¯t even dare go there alone let alone bring anyone with him.

    As a result as soon as he arrived at the seaside, someonee to report: ¡°Boss,st night we were attacked by pirates!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Zhen wanted to rob the ship, Jiang Zhen finally understand, what pirates needed the most was the ship!

    ¡°How it go?¡±Jiang Zhen asked.

    ¡°Bossst nigh that group did not fight with us, we wounded a dozen people but fortunately no one died. We also no let them rob anything and were able to capture them alive.¡± The man said.

    ¡°Show me.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Jiang Zhen was soon taken to see the captured people.

    These people were all dressed like Japanese ronin, not only that, but after seeing him they began to ¡°mumble¡± and speak in Japanese.

    Jiang Zhen has been doing business with the Japanese ronin or several years, but there weren¡¯t many people under hismand who could speak japanese.

    At this time, Daqi was very powerful so Japanese ronin were scrambling toe to Daqi and learn Daqi dialect so Daqi people didn;t even try learning Japanese since all those Japanese ronin could speak Daqinguage!

    However, although his men couldn¡¯t speak it, Jiang Zhen could.

    The more he listened to the Japanese roninnguage spoken by these people, the more he felt that something was wrong.

    Among these people, a few of them spoke normal Japanese with a very pure ent but few of them¡­ were simply talking nonsense, they learned simple words from those Japanese ronin and repeated them without any sense.

    They ware pretending to be Japanese ronins?

    Jiang Zhen who noticed this felt it was little funny.

    Pirates at this time, in order to keep people from discovering their true identity, would sometimes pretend to be Japanese ronins but he didn¡¯t expect to meet them now.

    ¡°Can¡¯t speak humannguage?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at these people with a smirk, then he said to his men, ¡°Cut their tongues out.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Boss!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men answered and moved to cut the tongues of those people.

    Jiang Zhen had actually never given such an order before, since he never let his people cut other people¡¯s tongues before, but Jiang Zhen often liked to scare people.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men knew very well about Jiang Zhen¡¯s love of bluffing, so they naturally also know that at this time he was trying to scare people.

    It¡¯s just that Jiang Zhen¡¯s men might knew it but those people didn¡¯t.

    At first, they were still holding on, gibbering to continue talking nonsense, but seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s men with knivesing closer and closer they finally couldn¡¯t sit still.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± The men were so frightened that they screamed.

    ¡°You can talk properly now?¡± Jiang Zhen said. He doesn¡¯t usually kill people and since these pirates hadn¡¯t killed his men, he wasn¡¯t going to do anything to them.

    But even so, he was still going to interrogate them properly.

    ¡°Are you trying to scare us?¡± A middle-aged man inside asked.

    Jiang Zhen did not say anything, just smiled as he looked at them.

    These people looked at Jiang Zhen for a while, but the middle-aged man suddenly said: ¡°Boss Jiang, I have something to talk to you about alone.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at him and smiled: ¡°What do you want to say?¡± These people didn¡¯t look like ordinary pirates.

    ¡°It must be said alone only!¡± The man immediately said.

    Jiang Zhen thought for a moment and then had someone bring him into a room next door.

    The man was brought in with his hands tied. After entering, he first looked around to make sure that no one was around and finally said: ¡°Escort agency boss Jiang, I am Wang Ruicheng.¡±

    Jiang Zhen looked at that man in some surprise. Wang Ruicheng was not anybody, he was one of Cheng Yongzhen great generals and it was said that many of Cheng Yongzhen strategies were created by him.

    ¡°Since you are Wang Ruicheng. How could you be caught by me so easily?¡± Jiang Shen looked at the other person.

    ¡°Escort agency boss Jiang, we are only trying to survive!¡± Wang Ruicheng said with a wry smile: ¡°We are having a hard time these days. The people of the imperial court are after us and even the former head of Cheng family is after us!¡±

    Wang Ruicheng recent days were really hard.

    It goes without saying that the people of the imperial court wanted to hunt them down. It was either them or I. As for Cheng Yongzhen family wanting to hunt them too¡­

    Cheng Yongzhen has been a sea merchant for so many years that he has umted countless contacts and money. Some of his contacts might already be dead so it was meaningless, but what about money?

    Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s men divided Cheng Yongzhen money among themselves. But everyone thought that Cheng Yongzhen could not have so little money.

    Wang Ruicheng was one of Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s close friends, so many people thought that Wang Ruicheng should have keys to Cheng Yongzhen private treasury.

    Everyone wanted to capture Wang Ruicheng so he had no choice but to shave his own hair and then blend in among this group of Japanese ronin.

    Finally, hemanded those Japanese ronins until he meet Jiang Zhen men who beat them up.

    In doing so he wasn¡¯t really trying to rob a ship but wanted to gain Jiang Zhen protection.

    Jiang Zhen felt that Cheng Yongzhen should never have heard of his own name, but in fact, it was the opposite, Cheng Yongzhen actually knew Jiang Zhen.

    Cheng Yongzhen even asked someone to investigate Jiang Zhen, who newly emerged but quickly suppressed other sea merchants in Wexing Province.

    It was because of this that Wang Ruicheng learned about Jiang Zhen, finding that although Jiang Zhen seemed very brutal he was in fact very methodical and never hurted innocent people.

    Since he was desperate and wanted to find a ce to hide, he finally choose Jiang Zhen.

    At first, he still wanted to hide his identity so he didn¡¯t kill any of Jiang Zhen men and did things in a measured manner. He felt that Jiang Zhen should not want to kill him if he worked hard.

    After doing this for a period of time, when the limelight was over he would naturally leave to find his own subordinates but as result¡­ Jiang Zhen scared them so much that even people under his hands were frightened!

    Changing his mind Wang Ruicheng said: ¡°Boss Jiang, although King of Ryukyu was captured he left behind a lot of treasures, which only I can locate¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me that.¡± Jiang Zhen said: ¡°Everyone in Wexing province knows that I don¡¯t like to hire the Japanese ronin, so you can leaveter.¡±

    ¡°Boss Jiang!¡± Wang Ruicheng was surprised, he never thought that Jiang Zhen could act so indifferent with such a big temptation in front of him.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen could be indifferent. He was not greedy for other people money, nor does he wanted to involve his own family.

    The imperial court was now looking for Wang Ruicheng is such a person stayed, once he was found by others¡­

    Instead of talking to Wang Ruicheng, Jiang Zhen went outside and said to his men: ¡°Those people are Cheng Yongzhen disabled group, throw them all out.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boss!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men nced at Wang Ruicheng and said to Wang Ruicheng: ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Wang Ruicheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat, feeling a bit suffocated.

    But Jiang Zhen did not consider his mood.

    Soon, the people were sent out.

    Wang Ruicheng and his group stood on the dock of Yabian Vige, stunned.

    Uncle Wang, they let us go! Luckily we are alright!¡± A 17 or 18-year-old boy said, looking very relieved and happy.

    Wang Ruicheng expression, however didn¡¯t show much joy.

    They¡¯ve been hunted all this time but now that they couldn¡¯t stay here¡­ where could they go?

    Thinking like this, Wang Ruicheng suddenly saw a group of people in uniform approaching them from distance.

    There were only eight people in this group, it wasn¡¯t that many people but the feeling they give¡­ Wang Ruicheng soon found that the strides of those people were about the same. Not only that, they walked in the street without even whispering to each other, very seriously patrolling around.

    Previously, Wang Ruicheng heard people talk that the fleet under Jiang Zhen were the most difficult to rob because his men were all very strong.

    Originally Wang Ruicheng has not taken it seriously, but now in shock, he remembered those who fought against himst night.

    Last night, none of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men died, but many of the people under his hands died. Almost all of them were Japanese ronin so he didn¡¯t care, but now thinking about it¡­

    The cooperation between those people was really tacit.

    He followed Cheng Yongzhen for a long time. Under Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s hands, there were many fierce people but non of them acted as neat and tidy as Jiang Zhen men.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The gaze of Wang Ruicheng and others were noticed by the patrol, so theye over and vaguely surrounded Wang Ruicheng and others.

    After this side of the dock was almost burned down, Jiang Zhen arranged for more people to patrol and defend it. Making Yabian Vige dock now, one of the safest ces in the whole Wexing Province. Many small merchants even deliberately moved their homes here.

    ¡°My lord, we are here to make a living, how can we make a living here?¡± Wang Ruicheng asked.

    ¡°Daqi people?¡± The man gave Wang Ruicheng a look and then said: ¡°Take care of yourself and don¡¯t make yourself look so strange. Then you will be able to find a job and stay.¡±

    ¡°What about the Japanese ronin?¡± Wang Ruicheng asked again, he was left with only ten people under him and six of them were Japanese ronins.

    ¡°First take care of yourself, and then learn our Daqinguage.¡± The man added: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to learn our Daqinguage you can only do the hardest hard work, but if you learn tt will be different.¡±

    ¡°# £¤% # £¤# & *¡± Several Japanese ronins beside Wang Ruicheng were living in Daqi for a long time so they were able to understand thenguage of Daqi. Since they were a little unhappy now, they were unwilling to change their attire and spoke in Japanese. Afraid that the people on the other side would not understand them, they added in Daqi: ¡°I, we, do not change!¡±

    You really don¡¯t want to change? See that man? He is also ronin, but now he has a house andnd here and even married a wife.¡± The man on patrol, pointing to a middle-aged man not far away wearing brocade clothes, looks every way like a very rich person.

    It was true that Jiang Zhen did not like japanese ronins.

    But if these japanese ronins give themselves a Daqi name, wore Daqi clothes and started to speak Daqinguage¡­ he would be very good to them.

    Among them, those who performed well would be selected by him as an interpreter to facilitate business with the East.

    Now one of the patrolling men was pointing at ronin who was working as an interpreter for Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet for a long time.

    At this time, this ronin no longer thought of himself as japanese. He now firmly believed he was from Daqi and was proud of it.

    The japanese ronins around Wang Ruicheng could not help but waver when they saw the man¡¯s appearance.

    That man¡¯s life looked too good ¡­¡­

    They left their country toe here, originally because of the war at home they needed to go somewhere else to make a living if they could live a good life in Daqi¡­

    They were immediately no longer feeling as repulsed as they were at first.

    However, before they could continue to ask, a horn sound suddenly sounded. After the first horn, more and more horns sounded.

    These horns rang through the sky, making almost everyone on the dock hear them. Then ordinary people at docks began to hide in houses while adult men run out of various houses and gathered in different ces.

    When Wang Rucheng saw this, he was startled: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Enemy attack.¡± The patrolman, then began to evacuate the surrounding people, saying to Wang Ruicheng and others: ¡°During the emergency, all unknown people must be guarded,e with me!¡±

    Wang Ruicheng and others were startled as they were pulled aside by patrolling man to a ce where many other people like them were ced.

    ¡°Why is there so much noise about this enemy attack? It wasn¡¯t like thisst night ¡­¡­¡± Wang Ruicheng couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°There were only few peoplest night so why would they make such amotion?¡± Someone said: ¡°So few people could be casually cleaned up.¡±

    After he finished, he suddenly looked at Wang Ruicheng and others suspiciously: ¡°The ones who came yesterday were several Japanese ronins¡­ Could it be you?¡±

    Wang Ruicheng: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wang Ruicheng was more or less afraid at the moment, lest those people would capture him. But at this time Jiang Zhen was already fully armed and on guard.

 Chapter 163 - Captured Pirates

    Chapter 163 ¨C Captured Pirates

    Three years ago, after the incident at the Jinzhen escort agency, Jiang Zhen became more and more strict in managing of his subordinates, intruding intopletely militarized management.

    His men also didn¡¯t let him down.

    Yabian Vige now has aplete set of ways to deal with danger, depending on the situation, the method would also differ.

    Now..

    The sound of the horn showed that arge number of people wereing.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s expression was a bit gloomy, then he quickly give various orders to his men. Then paying attention to defense he went to the dock himself.

    ¡°How many people and ships havee? Did you find out.¡± Jiang Shen had boarded arge ship near the dock and looking into the distance he asked.

    ¡°Boss, there are several big shipsing, but we don¡¯t know the exact number. The people who went out to check also didn¡¯te back yet.¡± Someone came down from the mast and then said to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen nodded and had the rock throwers and guns set up again.

    Yes, there was already artillery at this time. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know about this at first, but after hearing Wen Ming mention ut he spent a lot of money to equip his fleet.

    Of course, these guns were of little use, all guns of this time were not as good as the stone-throwing machine.

    But although they were not very useful, sometimes if you are lucky enough you could blow the other people¡¯s ship. When two ships were close to each other it was also more effective if you had them.

    There were no binocrs at this time, so Jiang Zhen could only look at the distance as he let his men evacuate all the people near the dock.

    At this time, the people who went out to investigate finally came back.

    They rowed a small boat, escaping quickly before telling Jiang Zhen all about iing attackers: ¡°Boss, those people should be Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old troops, they have a total of five long-distance ships and a dozen ofrge ships. The number of people could not be seen clearly.¡±

    The so-called long-distance ships were just another name for thergest Daqi ships at this time. Jiang Zhen only had 11 of them and at this time two of them were still at the dock.

    This time, that fleet of ships first attacked the people patrolling the nearby waters arranged by Jiang Zhen making Jiang Zhen subordinates blow the horns. Making it obvious that the other side was aggressive.

    ¡°Set sail and wee them.¡± Jiang Zhen looked at the ships that had already appeared in sight and said directly.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men responded, and then immediately set off sails to meet them. Once the big ships moved, some of the smaller ships around also moved.

    Soon, several ships on the opposite side appeared in their line of sight, not only that the opposite side also immediately fired their cannons.

    ¡± Launch the cannon.¡± Jiang Zhen took a look at the firearm thatnded in the sea without hitting his own ships and gave the same order.

    The battle was about to start.

    In the past six years, Jiang Zhen and his men experienced many battles, most of which were fought with pirates making them very familiar with the pirate routine. The people whoe to attack them this time acted exactly the same way as pirates.

    Jiang Zhen stood on the deck andmanded, while his men methodically did their own things. Once someone was injured he would quickly be sent to the cabin for protection.

    At this time, the gunfire was much less powerful than in theter generations so battles mostly depended on hand-to-handbat. When the two ships drew closer the two sides instantly started the battle.

    Jiang Zhen has experienced a lot of life and death situations and he has even died once so he was not afraid of what was in front of him. He remained calm, but many of his men were afraid.

    But quickly their fear disappeared.

    Seeing pirates wound their brother and damage their ships, their blood stirred. For a moment, they forgot their fear, and then rushed up with theirs swords.

    Jiang Zhen just stood behind them and did not move.

    He was still good at fighting but during such battles a general who rushed in front was needed, but rather a general who could stabilize the rear.

    Jiang Zhen was apanied by some people, and from time to time asked these people to help others. Soon he stabilized the situation on his ship and rushed to their ships.

    Wars in ancient timessted generally for a very long time but battles were not t particrly long ¡­¡­ after all human beings needed to eat and shit.

    When Jiang Zhen fought the pirates for the first time a few years ago, one of his men fought for a while before suddenly leaving the battlefield to pee before going back¡­ this action really stunned him.

    The battlested for about two hours.

    Two hourster, the pirates who came to attack them begin to surrender after that more and more people surrounded.

    These people were Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old army, but in the beginning, they surrendered to Cheng Yongzhen after being defeated by Cheng Yongzhen. To them, it was really nothing to surrender after losing the battle.

    ¡°Carry all our wounded to the rear and tie up all those who surrendered.¡±Jiang Zhen said.

    At this time he should meet the leaders of pirates whoe to attack him and ask them for the reason of attacking him, but for Jiang Zhen wounded subordinates were more important.

    Jiang Zhen in recent years opened school in Hexi and Yabian viges to teach reading and writing. He also arranged for some people to study medicine, and personally taught them the treatment of external injuries.

    Many doctors at this time were reluctant to use or admit to using some of the first aid knowledge provided by Jiang Zhen, but for these doctors trained by Jiang Zhen himself it was not the case.

    They hadn¡¯t received too much formal education in Chinese medicine so they were able to ept what Jiang Zhen taught them very quickly. When Jiang Zhen went to see the wounded, these people were sewing up people¡¯s wounds.

    After they have stitched a person¡¯s wound with a needle and thread, they would immediately throw the used needle and thread into the boiling water nearby. Then, after changing the needle and thread they continued to stitch up the wound of the next patient.

    But there were so many wounded now that it was obvious that there was no enough doctors¡­.

    Jiang Zhen washed his hands and asked asked someone to carry out the seriously injured while he personally bandaged their wounds. Then he sends his man to investigate, trying to understand the circumstances of the whole matter as soon as possible.

    After Jiang Zhen stitched up the wounds of three people, someone came to report: ¡°Boss, the matter is clear.¡±

    These people were indeed Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old army and theye to attack Jiang Zhen for several reasons.

    They came here after chasing Wang Rucheng and his group, but while they were chased him they themselves were chased by imperial court soldiers.

    Cheng Yongzhen was very powerful and even had the ability to im the title of kind but the imperial court was actually even more powerful.

    Although there was a sea ban, Daqi still had navy, not to mention that there were plenty of people in the world who were willing to work for the imperial court. At the beginning, even Cheng Yongzhen helped the imperial court fight pirates.

    These people have been chased by officers and soldiers for a long time, unable to get any supplies while they were still unable to capture Wang Ruicheng and others¡­

    So, instead of finding a ce to resupply they soon realized that the best way was to get a few more ships to make up for their losses caused by imperial court soldiers who sank several of their ships¡­ Then theye near Yabian vige and found out that Wang Ruicheng and otherse to see Jiang Zhen.

    Without hesitation, they chose to attack the Yabian vige.

    For such a small sea merchant, they thought it would be easy to fight against him. When they upy the Yabian vige, no matter if they wanted to resupply or get a new ship, they could have it all. If they capture Wang Ruicheng, they may even get the treasure left by Cheng Yongzhen.

    Cheng Yongzhen once hid a lot of gold and silver on a desert ind, which was known by many people but no one knew where that deserted ind was.

    The people nned very well but they didn¡¯t expect that this small dock would be such a hard bone to chew, making them choke to death.

    ¡°They are followed by the government soldiers?¡± Jiang Zhen smiled, but his heart jumped.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen subordinates said.

    ¡°Send someone to take care of the battlefield, and then let all the patrol rest, leave only sailors on the ships. By the way, the leaders of the pirates have been found out and killed by me.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    With Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s previous experience, Jiang Zhen was nning to hide his strength. For this reason, over thest three years, he has transferred a lot of his power underground.

    At this moment, he naturally had to be careful as well.

    iang Zhen¡¯s men immediately went to work, Jiang Zhen who was not at ease followed them out.

    It was not easy to do something at this time, it was getting dark so sea visibility was getting worse and worse. Jiang Zhen only finished putting the battlefield in order when another fleet of ships came.

    The government soldierse.

    Jiang Zhen, as the person in charge here, got down from his big ship and then went over to the smaller ship with a torch to meet the officials who came over.

    ¡°You are the one in charge here?¡± A military officer in his thirties came to meet Jiang Zhen.

    When the man looked at Jiang Zhen, there was inquiry and disdain in his eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen nodded.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you kneel when you see me?¡± The man spoke again, looking at Jiang Zhen with dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Sir, I have made a little merit before and received the reward of not kneeling when I see an official.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Not kneeling before an official?¡± The man sneered and was about to say something when an officer suddenly shouted: ¡°My lord, they have captured those pirates!¡±

    Hearing the words, the man looked at Jiang Zhen with some fear, then stopped talking with him and left quickly.

    Since it was autumn now, the sea was windy and quite cold but Jiang Zhen still stood on the deck.

    The officials of the Wexing Province because he was rich and had close rtionship with Zheng family had grown to respect him, but it was clear that the rest of the local officials, still didn¡¯t take him seriously.

    Jiang Zhen knew enough to not be dissatisfied with this so he continued to wait quietly, while at the same time government officials and soldiers were frightened.

    They have been chasing Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old troops for a long time so the two sides even fought a few times but every time they were not able to gain any advantage.

    But as result, a group of pirates who they couldn¡¯t deal with was captured by other people! It seemed that even pirates on the ships were captured by them!

    Who on earth were these people?!

 Chapter 164 - Jiang Zhen Retreat

    Chapter 164 ¨C Jiang Zhen Retreat

    These officers and soldiers were not people from Wexing Province so they knew nothing about Jiang Zhen but at this time they no longer dared to underestimate him.

    ¡°These sea merchants are really bold and even brazenly organized such arge fleet!¡± The military officer who had to meet Jiang Zhen before, frowned.

    There must be a big fleet of ships here to be able to capture these pirates!

    ¡°As long as they have money, what wouldn¡¯t they dare to do?¡± Another man said.

    ¡°These people disobeyed the imperial court orders and fought with the people for profits! They should be all arrested and put into the jail!¡±Someone else said.

    They looked aggrieved, but in fact, they all know very well that such things aspeting with the people for profits have absolutely nothing to do with sea merchants.

    But it didn¡¯t affect what they said.

    They were all jealous of those sea merchants. After breaking up just a few small groups of Cheng Yongzhen old troops they were able to gain arge amount of profits, they could only imagine how much Cheng Yongzhen and others had really earned¡­

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s not talk about such things anymore!¡± The leader of navy said.

    Themander of the navy was named Sun Qiyun and he was a middle-aged man in his forties. After reprimanding others he said: ¡°The person in charge of the dock here is named Jiang Zhen? Isn¡¯t he already here? Call him here!¡±

    Jiang Zhen was soon invited to the ship of the officers and soldiers to meet Sun Qiyun.

    Jiang Zhen could feel that these officers and soldiers were not very friendly to him, but atst didn¡¯t show much malice. After entering the cabin, Sun Qiyun smiled and said: ¡°Mr. Jiang caught the pirates we chased all the way, this was a great help to us!¡±

    ¡°No, I was just lucky, If those pirates were not chased by my lord to flee and run out of supplies, how could I have caught them?¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When it was time to act smooth, Jiang Zhen could still act very slick so he he praised the officers and soldiers in front of him and said time after yime it was just a fluke that he was able to catch these pirates.

    Sun Qiyun and others were veryfortable to hear this.

    ¡°My lord, those pirates and their ships we do not dare to touch so I ask my lord to ept them.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    When Sun Qiyun heard his words he immediately be delighted. Jiang Zhen said ¡°please¡± as if it was beyond him to take over these pirates and ships, but in fact¡­

    That was a great thing!

    They have been chasing this group of pirates, not for this group of pirates or their ships but for money.

    Now they didn¡¯t need to fight but all the ships and money would be returned to them ¡­

    ¡°Ha ha, then you are wee! ¡°Sun Qiyun also did not push back, hearing Jiang Zhen words he immediately said and ordered: ¡°Come and let other know to go. Let¡¯s those little brats help master Jiang deal with these pirates!¡±

    This was¡­ they couldn¡¯t wait till night, they would receive the spoils of war to go! Jiang Zhen felt a little helpless but he was still wearing a smile on his face.

    Sun Qiyun nced at Jiang Zhen, Jiang Zhen who stood upright, neither humble nor arrogant, which made him feel some affection.

    Even those officials who were previously hostile to Jiang Zhen, now looking at Jiang Zhen expressions be much milder and friendlier.

    At this time, officers and soldiers who were already ready to sleep were called up to gather together.

    Then, these people lit torches and went toward the ships that were captured by Jiang Zhen.

    The minds of these officers and soldiers were all on the ships and its goods. Seeing this situation Jiang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.

    Jiang Zhen had already asked his men to withdraw from the ships full of pirates so these officers and soldiers took over those ships very quickly.

    Then, something that Jiang Zhen did not expect at first, butter found that it could not be avoided, happened.

    The officers and soldiers began to ughter the pirates.

    They quickly cut off the heads of the pirates who were tied up by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men after they surrendered, then they directly threw their bodies into the sea.

    The pirate¡¯s head would be brought back for military merit.

    There were bursts of screams from the pirates¡¯ ships, begging for mercy and cries drifting in the night sky, making the night gloomy¡­

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s brow frowned slightly, he was in bad mood..

    Those pirates were not good people and many of them deserve to die, but such a one-sided massacre was still a little difficult for him to ept.

    However, in this day and age, in this society no one thought that there was anything wrong with doing so.

    This night, none of the people in Yabian Vige slept, nor did Jiang Zhen and his men, let alone those officers and soldiers.

    Wang Ruicheng and his group also did not sleep. They were under supervision in very poor environment, but this was not the reason why they couldn¡¯t sleep.

    They couldn¡¯t sleep, mainly because of worry and fear.

    The voices from the sea made their hair stand, making them afraid that they would be treated in the same way.

    ¡°Uncle Wang, if they hand us over¡­¡± The teenager in Wang Ruicheng¡¯s group was full of worry.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen.¡± Wang Ruicheng saidfortingly, but he himself was not that sure.

    Jiang Zhen was really a good person but who could guarantee that he won¡¯t hand them over for money or something else?

    Even if Jiang Zhen rejected him and did not ask for the treasure left by Cheng Yongzhen, Wang Ruicheng was not able to bepletely at ease with Jiang Zhen.

    They whispered, but could not do anything about it. Finally they could only squeeze together andfort each other.

    When the sun slowly rose from the sea, many people who had been worried all night felt some sense of relief.

    The rising soon always made sea look bluer, making the scene of sunrise very beautiful, but today the situation was different.

    Today sea was not blue but red, emitting a strong smell of blood.

    The number of those pirates was veryrge, that¡¯s why they were under-supplied and for sake of supplies and ships, without even checking out tried to attack Yabian Vige¡­

    Now, thoserge numbers of pirates were all killed, even their families and children living on the ship, were also killed.

    Among the bodies floating in the sea, there were also many female corpses.

    Fortunately, these officers and soldiers left after dawn.

    Taking back ships and heads of the pirates they left beach tainted with blood in Yabian Vige.

    The beach hasn¡¯t been left like this for long.

    The smell of blood attracted a lot of flesh-eating fish so it didn¡¯t take long for those bodies to be gnawed clean. Then a wavee toward the beach, washing down the beach with bright red seawater leaving the beach clean.

    By noon, it was no longer evident that thousands of people had died here.

    However, the people of Yabian Vige ware still very silent.

    Near the Yabian Vige were now living more than 10,000 people, including many children. On usual days there were always many children ying at the seaside, but today, they are all detained by their families and are not allowed to go near the beach.

    Jiang Zhen stood on the dock for a while, then said to Jiang Ming: ¡°Go and make arrangements. I¡¯m going to Qinghua Ind tomorrow.¡±

    Qinghua Ind was an ind that could be reached in two days after taking a ship from Yabian Vige and going south.

    There ware many inds over there, and Qinghua Ind was one of them.

    The ind did not have a name at first, so it was only after it was upied by Jiang Zhen that Jiang Zhen gave it the name of Qinghua Ind. In fact, he also had amemorative idea ¨C he intended to cultivate talents on this ind.

    The people who lived on this ind now ware all young people.

    They were all selected by Jiang Zhen and sent here, many of them are orphans. They were learning how to write, read and do various crafts. Little by little building up this ind by making it better and better.

    Today, there were about 2,000 people living on this ind. These people were also all hidden in shadow by Jiang Zhen. This ind was Jiang Zhen arranged retreat.

    It was only retreat for now, since he was living well in Wexing Province for now. But he always vaguely feel that he would not be able to live peacefully in Wexing Province forever.

    Thinking of this, Jiang Zhen¡¯s mood inevitably deteriorated.

    The next day, Jiang Zhen went to Qinghua Ind.

    In the meantime, Sun Qiyun wrote a letter praising himself openly and secretly, saying that he had beheaded 10,000 enemies and captured many ships of the rebels.

    In thistter, he didn¡¯t mention Jiang Zhen all but in addition to thistter, he send another secrettter telling the whole story. Then he asked someone to send this letter to his ¡°master¡±.

    When Sun Qiyun asked someone to deliver the letter, Jiang Zhen had already arrived at Qinghua Ind.

    The ind on which he used to settle Zhu Erlin and others wasrger, but because of its geographical location, not many people used to live here. But now there ware houses all over it.

    ¡°Boss!¡± The people on Qinghua Ind all came to the beach when they saw a ship approaching, and when they saw Jiang Zhening down they all spoke in unison.

    The people living on this ind were all very young so their faces were full of vigor and vitality. When Jiang Zhen saw them, his mood be better.

    After he looked around Qinghua Ind he be even more satisfied with this ce.

    The person who was in charge of this ind was Zhu Erlin.

    Zhu Erlin used to be illiterate, but in the past few years, he had learned a lot of things. At this moment, he took the ount book to Jiang Zhen to report, but without even looking at it, he already knew everything about the ind like the back of his hand.

    ¡°Boss Jiang, this ind is now self-sufficient!¡± Zhu Erlin looked at Jiang Zhen in some satisfaction, not only was it self-sufficient, they were even started rising more chickens and ducks!

    ¡°You¡¯re doing very well.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    After Jiang Zhen looked around the ind and ordered some things, he left. He now felt very uneasy about Yabian Vige so he intended to go back and observe more.

    He had a vague feeling of unease so he specificallye to see this retreat he had prepared, but what he didn¡¯t expect was that he would need this retreat much earlier than he thought.

 Chapter 166 - Leaving Daqi

    Chapter 166 ¨C Leaving Daqi

    Jiang Zhen has always done business with Toyo before, but recently, he has stopped.

    Not only that, he also sent some of his men to patrol the waters near Fucheng so once they see pirates they would capture them.

    The weather was getting colder and colder, but the pirates became more and more rampant, because they suddenly found that the people of Daqi were really easy to rob. Most of them only begged for mercy unable to fight back.

    Up to now, whether they were from Toyo or Daqu all pirates were called easterner pirates by the people and the government.

    The Toyo invasion was getting more and more serious, and many people along the coast ware suffering, but along the coast of Wexing Province the people¡¯s life was no different from before.

    Those pirates did not dare toe to this area of Wexing Province to cause trouble.

    It was a good thing for the people of Wexing Province but others had a hard time sleeping and eating.

    When winter turned to spring and the peach tree bore another flower, a ship went south along the coastline of Daqi and finally stopped at the dock of Yabian Vige. Shortly afterwards, a middle-aged man with a cold face came down from the ship.

    The person guarding Yabian vige was none other than Jiang Mingm so seeing that person Jiang Ming was a little surprised: ¡°Marquis?¡±

    The person whoe was the same person who had been asking Jiang Zhen to help buy food and grass all these years, Marquis Qi ¨C Qing Qi.

    At first, it was Luo Tianzhi who brought this man to the south of Yangze river and let him meet Jiang Zhen. He also did not tell Jiang Zhen his identity at first, butter due to their cooperation Jiang Zhen learned that this person turned out to be marquis.

    Daqi dynastysted already for more than 300 years, at the beginning, there were few members of the imperial family but now there were tens of thousands of people so the rtionship with the imperial family and Qi Qing was a little far but is hasn¡¯t declined. This Qi Qing also had some skills and now not only has inherited the title and be a marquis but was also the general of the Liaodong Iron Riders.

    ¡°I want to see Jiang Zhen.¡± Qi Qing said.

    Jiang Ming quickly brought the man to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°What does Lord Qi want with me?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Qi Qing with some confusion.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, in the previous winter, pirates made a lot of trouble and burned down one of our granaries, Liaodong Iron Riders were also affected¡­ we are now short on food and grass. hope you can purchase another batch of food and grass and send it to Liaodong Iron Riders.¡± When Qi Qing saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately said.

    ¡°Just this? If it¡¯s just this there would be no need for the lord Qi toe all the way here, right?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Qi Qing in some confusion.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I came here personally because Liaodong Iron Riders can¡¯t pay money right now, if possible, I hope you can ship it in advance.¡±

    Qi Qing said.

    The Liaodong Iron Riders couldn¡¯t get the money, this was something that Jiang Zhen believed.

    Despite the fact that south of the Yangtze River was very prosperous, except for the coast with many ronins invaders were people life was rtively difficult, others lived well and from the point of view of the whole Daqi it was very peaceful.

    For example, in the year he went to the capital with Zheng Yi, there were many ces suffering from drought. For example, a few years back there was also floods, not to mention all Toyo people who were moving now¡­

    In addition, there ware many officials, ns and armies so expenses were also very big making court often unable to make end meet.

    Although the court has always attached great importance to the Liaodong Iron Riders and did not treat them badly, but it was impossible to give them enough food and pay in the end.

    ¡°We can dy part of it, but we must settle the money before next time.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Qi Qing let out a sigh of relief.

    Because the people around the south of the Yangtze River were more willing to nt mulberry trees or cotton than grow grain, waving clothes to sell for money the price of grain in the south of the river was not cheap and not very easy to buy.

    Of course, no matter how expensive it was, it was still cheaper than the north side.

    It would take Jiang Zhen some effort to buy some of the grain and grass but at Qi Qing¡¯s urging, he sent a fleet of ships to send the grain and grass to the northwest.

    The fleet left, but Qi Qing did not, intending to stay and acquire even more grain.

    Jiang Zhen was not surprised with his actions, in ancient times when there was a natural disaster, the people would lose their harvest, so almost everyone liked to store their grains. It was also very normal for Liaodong Iron Riders to want to store grains.

    That day, after having dinner with Qi Qing, Jiang Zhen went back to his residence in Yabian Vige and slept.

    As a result, in the second half of the night, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of trumpets and shouts of killing.

    Someone had attacked Yabian Vige and if that was not enough, the people who came to attack were government soldiers.

    If he was an ordinary merchant, the local officials would just put a charge on him and he would probably be put in jail having his family¡¯s assets confiscated.

    But because power in his hands was too big¡­ and with Cheng Yongzhen previous experience, Jiang Zhen was very clear that he certainly scared some people.

    However, even Jiang Zhen did not expect that court would act so soon.

    The Zheng family had someone in the imperial court so he always asked Zheng Yi to keep an eye for him but this time, Zheng Yi didn¡¯t send a message to him at all!

    When Jiang Zhen brought people out of his residence, he saw Qi Qing protected by some soldiers. When Qi Qing saw him he said in loud voice: ¡°Jiang Zhen, if you surrender early, I will report it to His Majesty and give you a way out.¡±

    Because of the chaos around, Jiang Zhen did not hear Qi Qing¡¯s words very clearly but he still had some general idea when he heard word ¡°HIs Majesty¡± clearly.

    It was His Majesty, not the Empress Dowager.

    At this time, he finally understood why all this came so suddenly and without any warning.

    When he followed Zheng Yi to the capital seven or eight years ago, the Empress Dowager was in charge of the court, but now seven or eight years have passed. The little emperor from that time had already grown up.

    Since he has grown up, he will naturally want to seize the power. Although the Zheng family had been courting the little emperor in recent years, he certainly could not win the trust of the little emperor.

    Under such circumstances, it was normal for Zheng Yi to not get any news.

    ¡°Qi Qing, I have been doing my best for the Liaodong Iron Riders for several years, and this is how you treat me?¡± Jiang Zhen sneered.

    This Qi Qing was a decent man so he really didn¡¯t expect that this man would suddenly strike at him.

    Qi Qing frowned slightly, his expression not very good.

    When he first came to south of the Yangtze River three years ago, when he saw the Jinzhen escort agency he already knew that Jinzhen escort agency was not simple. But at that time everything was still controble, so he did not do anything.

    But three years have passed and the Jinzhen escort agency was only getting stronger and stronger.

    If they were even a little careless, they might rise another Cheng Yongzhen!

    Of course, this was not the only reason for his sudden attack on Jiang Zhen.

    He owes allegiance to his Majesty, but most of the imperial court power was still in the hands of the empress dowager¡­ If the truth must be said, Jiang Zhen was on the side of Empress Dowager people!

    Jinzhen escort agency couldn¡¯t be kept, this was also the first time his Majesty has shown himself to the Empress Dowager as test,

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, tell your men to put down their weapons and surrender, we will not kill innocent people indiscriminately.¡± Qi Qing added.

    Jiang Zhen snorted coldly.

    He was not Cheng Yongzhen and would never easily put his life in the hands of others.

    ¡°After surrendering, these people will only cut off our heads to receive military merits! Everyone fight with me, maybe there is still a way to live!¡± Jiang Zhen said in a loud voice.

    If Jiang Zhen and Cheng Yongzhen were the same and he never had any other thoughts, he would definitely be forced to a dead end at this time.

    But he was always different from the vast majority of people at this time.

    He has long prepared a retreat and never intended to be so loyal and patriotic as to willingly offer his own life.

    He would not kill indiscriminately, and had no intention of plotting rebellion so he choose to leave.

    Jiang Zhen man were also different from the ordinary people in Daqi.

    Nowadays, the people around Jiang Zhen ware mostly from the Hongjiang Salt Farm and these people ware not particrly trusting of the court, not to mention that Jiang Zhen has trained them in recent years and consciously done some brainwashing when training them over the years.

    That night, the government soldiers raided Yabian Vige while Jiang Zhen like Cheng Yongzhen before him, chose to leave.

    He really ¡­¡­ left with his men surrounded by countless government soldiers!

    When he got on the ship and left, Jiang Zhen was very silent.

    He did not want to start any war, much less go up against the government soldiers but in this era there was just no way.

    Qi Qing had made a lot of preparations to capture Jiang Zhen this time. He first lured away many of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men by asking him to collect grains and grass for Liaodong Iron Riders. Then he asked Sun Qiyun to lead troops to secretly surround Jiang Zhen. Not only that, he also sent people to the Fucheng to have Zhao Jinge arrested.

    At the beginning, before Cheng Yongzhen fled to Ryukyu and imed the title of the king, his family was caught in the jail so they didn¡¯t think they would be unable to catch the Zhao family.

    But they haven¡¯t been able to caught Zhao Jinge yet.

    Jiang Zhen has never kept anything from Zhao Jinge and for many years he has been training Zhao Jinge so Jinge was no longer just a simple vige man he used to be.

    What¡¯s more, the intelligence work of the Jinzhen escort agency was very good.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t know about imperial navy attempt to sneak up attack on the Yabian vige but he spotted people sneaking around his house and quickly realized that perhaps someone was trying to harm him.

    This group of people ..¡­ wasrge! There were even people from the imperial court among them!

    After Zhao Jinge found this out, he chose the same path as Jiang Zhen ¨C to leave.

    This was something that Jiang Zhen had exined long time ago, at that time he did not know why Jiang Zhen said this, but now he understands.

    He did not want to die, not to mention implicate Jiang Zhen. Since it was the case, he had to escape as soon as possible in the face of danger.

    People who tried to ambush Zhao Jinge near his house and wanted to arrest him were finally solved by the people of Jinzhen escort agency. Not only that, Zhao Jinge with his parents and children as well as many people from the Jinzhen escort agency left Fucheng on the ship.

    The big ship left the river of Wexing Province and entered the ocean.

    Many people from the Jinzhen escort agency, especially the families of He Chunsheng and others, were actually very bewildered and did not understand why they were suddenly taken on the ship to leave. But Zhao Jinge immediately issued orders one by one while gazing at the endless sea.

 Chapter 167 - Down to the Toyo

    Chapter 167 ¨C Down to the Toyo

    Zhao Jinge was very worried, worried about Jiang Zhen side.

    He was no longer in danger for the time being, but what about Jiang Zhen?

    Zhao Jinge sent people to pretend to be ordinary fishermen to go out to investigate, while he himself with his fleet of ships found a small ind to stay on temporarily.

    They left too quickly so there were many things that were not fully prepared. But since this ind was inhabited they could replenish their food and water.

    ¡°Jinge, what is happening?¡± Zhao Fugui came out of the cabin and found Zhao Jinge.

    They were about to go to sleep when they were suddenly brought to this ship by Zhao Jinge without any idea what was happening.

    ¡°Father, we have encountered a little trouble.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°What kind of trouble? Is there any danger?¡± Zhao Fugui asked again.

    ¡°No, father, don¡¯t worry.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled at his father and tried to appease hi while not knowing that his own expression was in fact, very ufortable.

    He hoped that he was wrong and they were actually not in trouble.

    He hoped that it wouldn¡¯t be long before Jiang Zhen woulde to take them back.

    But hope was just hope in the end.

    After waiting for a day, Zhao Jinge got the news from Jiang Zhen and also saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s fleet of ships.

    The people on the ship were all unsightly, even Jiang Zhen was still covered with blood.

    What happened to them was self-evident.

    ¡°Jinge, you are going to be a fugitive with me in the future.¡± Jiang Zhen smiled when he saw Zhao Jinge.

    ¡± Okay.¡± Zhao Jinge solemnly nodded his head.

    Seeing his serious appearance, Jiang Zhen¡¯s smile was not as bitter as at the beginning and even showed some sincerity: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jinge. The world is big so there always be ce for us!¡±

    Although many ces in this world were different from the history he once knew and their names were also different, the terrain was still the same.

    Since it was the case and there was still unexplored America here as well as overseas withrge areas of undiscoverednd.

    He regarded Qinghua Ind as a way out, but he only hid a lot of people here and hoarded a lot of food and materials so that when he had to leave Daqi he did not intend to be stuck in such small ind.

    The imperial navy was also not vegetarians and there was a whole Daqi behind them. No matter how powerful they were, how could they stop such an endless stream of navy on such a small ind?!

    If they really be trapped them, maybe even his man would turn against him first.

    Jiang Zhen had made many preparations before, but in the end, he didn¡¯t go too far. Now without thinking much of it, the fog cleared and he had a clear direction to move forward.

    ¡°Boss, what do we do next?¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men asked worriedly.

    They were all very confused at this moment.

    Although some of them were dissatisfied with the imperial court, their days were good and they never thought of leaving.

    As long as they did not have to live beyond their means, people wouldn¡¯t want to rebel.

    What they wanted was to live in peace and have food and clothing on their back. But the imperial court sometimes don¡¯t think about it¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the East.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    ¡°Toyo?¡± The people were a little surprised, they thought they would live on Qinghue ind or like Cheng Yongzhen to go to the Ryukyus. They didn¡¯t expect that Jiang Zhen would propose the Toyo.

    ¡°Ryukyu is too close to Daqi, and it won¡¯t take long for the navy of Minnan Province to reach Ryukyu, So instead of going to Ryukyu, it¡¯s better to go to the Eastern Ocean.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    People from the Toyo coulde to Daqi so why couldn¡¯t they go to the Toyo?

    Of course, the most urgent thing was to make a trip t Qinghua ind and take their supplies with them.

    As for the people who still remained in the Wexing Province¡­

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge escaped in a great hurry so many of their Toyo men, as well as the families of their men, were left behind in the Wexing Province.

    Jiang Zhen has the intention to pick up those people but if they go back now they would only shoot themselves in the foot ¡­¡­

    Fortunately, although Qi Qing was a bit stubborn he was not a bad person. At very least he would not allow his people to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

    Jiang Zhen sighed, he was not a god s he could not do everything in the end.

    Jiang Zhen took his fleet and went to Qinghua Ind first. After taking all the people and supplies on the ind, they went to Toyo.

    When Sun Qiyun¡¯s men were defeated by Jiang Zhen¡¯s men in Yabian Vige, they tried to ughter the remaining people of Yabian Vige to vent their anger, but were stopped by Qi Qing.

    However, they still captured some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men in the end. Then after extorting confessions by torture, they learned of the existence of Qinghua Ind.

    Jiang Zhen unexpectedly set up an ind overseas, what a wolf ambitions!

    After Sun Qiyun got the news, he immediately ordered all the soldiers, while also borrowing soldiers from the Wexing Province to go with him to Qinghua Ind.

    However, the ind was already empty at that time.

    The houses on the ind were only half-built, and the vegetables nted on the ind had not yet grown, but there was no one on the ind.

    ¡°Where did that damn Jiang Zhen go?¡± Sun Qiyun couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°Ryukyu?¡± Qi Qing frowned.

    Ryukyu was now upied by Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old troops and was in chaos, but if Jiang Zhen went over, those people would definitely ept him.

    Qi Qing and Sun Qiyun be silent for a moment, then they headed for Ryukyu again. While Jiang Zhen fleet at this time was making its way to the Toyo.

    Toyo was also an ind but it was veryrge.

    Jiang Zhen has been here a long time ago.

    Every time he came here before, he was weed by the people here, but this time, the situation was different.

    Ronins in the past were docile, but in the past two years, they have changed a lot.

    They found that the people of Daqi were not as strong as they thought, and they found that robbery ade money much faster than honest business.

    Previously, the price of the things sold to them by Daqi was always high, which was obviously cheating them, so why would they buy things from Daqi now?

    They might as well just rob them!

    So when Jiang Zhen and others docked, they met a group of eastern ronins who tried to rob his fleet of ships.

    The people of Daqi were afraid of the ronin and didn¡¯t dare to resist, but Jiang Zhen men were not ordinary people.

    Jiang Zhen killed or captured all the people who came to rob them.

    ¡°We just stopped nearby for a while, and were attacked making a lot of people injured so we want to recuperate here.¡± Jiang Zhen said to the Toyo officials whoe over and then directly upied a piece ofnd by the sea.

    Then nobody bothered about them.

    There were also imperial family in the Toyo but at the same time it was divided and the two sides fought with each other without any rest. In recent years due to intense fights the people life was very bad.

    Because of this, many people in the Toyo wanted to leave and go to Daqi.

    The imperial family of the Toyo reached the point of not returning so at the same time they had no time to drive Jiang Zhen away?

    When they found out that Jiang Zhen had brought many smiths and could even build weapons, they even started to make friends with Jiang Zhen, hoping that Jiang Zhen would sell them weapons.

    Jiang Zhen agreed.

    His weapons would be sold to both sides. At the same time he also began to take in those disced ronins and then taught them thenguage of Daqi.

    Ronins and he people of Daqi spoke differentnguages and many of their habits were also different but majoritymon people still had the same basic line, they all only wanted to have something to eat and wear warm clothes.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s men would not kill them at will, and were even willing to give them food as long as they were allowed to learn thenguage of Daqi .¡­ what does it matter?

    Although at this time, many people from Toyo had already started to rob in Daqi, for the vast majority of the Toyo, Daqi was still their heavenly kingdom, a very prosperous and strong ce.

    Learning thenguage of Daqi, some of them even felt honored.

    Of course it was not all that Jiang Zhen did.

    In this day and age, the sanitary conditions were not very good so he couldn¡¯t stand having long hair so when they arrived toToyo, he took the lead in cutting his hair short. Noticing this, all his men followed his suit.

    As a result, people on Jiang Zhen¡¯s side had short hair.

    Later, even those ronins followed suit and changed their original strange hairstyles.

    Jiang Zhen upied more and more territory while also making a lot of money by doing business.

    In the second year of Jiang Zhen¡¯s arrival in the Toyo, Daqi navy was still fighting with Cheng Yongzhen and the Toyo invaders along the coast of Daqi. While Jiang Zhen sent his people to parent to be ordinary sea merchants to take away his man who was willing to go to Toyo from Daqi. What¡¯s more, he took away most of the families his men didn¡¯t have time to take away.

    Only a small number of them were not taken away, some were unwilling to go while others because of their husbands sudden departure had already married others.

    These people, Jiang Zhen took away with the help of Zheng Yi.

    He became the first target of the grown-up Majesty, but the Zheng family was still fine.

    The Zheng family Changhe Salt Farm was well managed and had stabilized the price of the salt not to mention earning quite a lot of money for the imperial court. They also did not have under their hands such armed forces like Jiang Zhen so his majesty left Zheng family alone.

    The second lord Zheng has always been a person who knows what he¡¯s doing, so naturally he didn¡¯t disagree.

    In the end, His Majesty was the Empress Dowager¡¯s child so the Empress Dowager was also very tolerant of His Majesty, how could they go against his majesty?

    After Jiang Zhen brought these people to the Toyo he had even more manpower on hand, and at this time, some of Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old troops were scattered by the navy of Daqi. Some of them be so desperate that they chose to defect to Jiang Zhen.

    Once the most powerful person on the sea was Cheng Yongzhen, but now, it has be Jiang Zhen. Just under Jiang Zhen alone, there were about 20,000 to 30,000 strong young men.

    This number might not seems particrlyrge,pared to the millions of troops in Daqi but in the Toyo it was already a powerful force.

    In particr, Jiang Zhen has been trading with some of the remaining sea merchants in Daqi.

    He bought many of Daqi¡¯s craftsmen, bought weapons and food, armed his men, and began to take in more and more of Toyo ronins.

    The two sides of imperial family that fought with each other all this time did not realize that something was wrong until it was toote.

    After years of warfare, they had long since run out of many weapons on hand, and had no food¡­

    If they had been pushed back many years and the technology was more developed, with newspapers and other publications, maybe they could still mobilize the people of Toyo to resit invaders together. But at this time imperial family to many people of the Toyo was only a vague concept.

    What¡¯s more, Jiang Zhen has never done such a thing as a massacre and was always been very friendly to the Toyo people.

 Chapter 168 - The Novel Is Over.

    Chapter 168 ¨C The Novel Is Over.

    Jiang Zhen naturally did not like Toyo. In the past, when he was in Daqi, he did not like to hire ronins like other sea merchant did.

    But he wouldn¡¯t go so far as to make a fuss about it for no reason. Of course, it was still necessary for them to learn Daqinguage.

    When he first arrived in Toyo, Jiang Zhen spend rather chaotic period of time but after Cheng Yongzhen¡¯s old troops came to join him, and his fleet of ships that had gone to carry provisions to the Liaodong Iron Riders was also retrieved by his men, bringing food that was originally intended for Liaodong Iron Riders Jiang Zhen¡¯s days settled down.

    Then, Jiang Zhen took this opportunity topile teaching materials with Zhao Jinge and his ountants, one fornguage and one for mathematics in simplified characters.

    Bothnguage and math textbooks were in simplified characters.

    After Jiang Zhen came to Daqi, he learned traditional Chinese characters, and he had to admit that traditional Chinese characters have their unique beauty, but simrly, traditional Chinese characters had their own disadvantage ¨C they ware too difficult to learn.

    In some countries where thenguage was particrly simple, many people could learn thenguage of their country without going to school, but no one could do it in Daqi. After all each word was difficult to learn.

    Over the years, Jiang Zhen has always let his men go to school to learn how to read but his man knowledge was very general. They not only couldn¡¯t recognize many words but even if they knew them they were unable to write them.

    It was definitely not easy to make people who have never learned words before, learn so many words.

    In modern times they invented simplified characters and pinyin to spread education faster, so that those who have never read before could also learn to write faster .¡­ now, Jiang Zhen also decided to use it.

    This also turned out to be very beneficial. After using simplified Chinese characters, the speed of learning words elerated, while the existence of Pinyin let everyone unify their ent.

    Of course, given that many things Jiang Zhen himself had forgotten, he couldn¡¯t exactly copy it over¡­ but it didn¡¯t matter much, did it?

    Jiang Zhen let his own men learn so he naturally also let Toyo ronins learn them too, especially their children.

    In the school built by Jiang Zhen, in the morning teacher would teach the children cultural lessons. While in the afternoon, he will take the older children to do some work, such as binding books, ntingnd and growing vegetables and so on ¡­¡­

    Studying was free, but if they wanted to study they also had to do some work.

    Toyo people did not feel that Jiang Zhen was using childbor, but they are very grateful to Jiang Zhen. After all, Jiang Zhen has given their children the opportunity to receive an education. However, Jiang Zhen did it with selfish intentions.

    These school had a rule, that in shool you must only speak Chinese¡­ which was the officialnguage of Daqi.

    When Jiang Zhen was in elementary school, his own elementary school had such a rule.

    The ce where he grow up had quite distinctive dialect but because of this rule, many of the children his age, spoke the dialect very poorly or some simply did not even speak it.

    The Toyo people he took in were the people of the bottom so they couldn¡¯t even write in their originalnguage so Jiang Zhen let them learn thenguage of Daqi while letting their children learn the words of Daqi from the young age¡­ so in the future, these people were expected topletely forget thenguage and words of Toyo.

    In fact, the most ruthless way to invade a country was to destroy its civilization.

    If Toyo people herepletely forget their civilization could they still be regarded as Toyo ronins?

    Of course, they also couldn¡¯t be considered Daqi people ¡­¡­ after all, Jiang Zhen used to teach these people modern knowledge.

    Not only that, on top of the customs and habits, he also made a lot of changes.

    For example, in Daqi, men could have three wives and four concubines, but here, Jiang Zhen directly stipted that each man, can only have one wife.

    If Jiang Zhen had wanted to decree something like this in Daqi he would have been scolded to death, but here, no one objected at all.

    Although there ware literate people inside his men they could not be considered serious schrs. But they also readily agreed with this, not to mention¡­ there was a shortage of women and gers.

    Whether it was Jiang Zhen¡¯s men, or old troops of Cheng Yongzhen, the vast majority of these people were men!

    So arge group of people was still single! So when Jiang Zhen said that each person could only marry one wife they naturally all raised their hands and feet in favor of it!

    Each person can only marry one wife, how good it was! Otherwise, those women and gers would all want to marry Jiang Zhen, He Chunsheng, or someone else, how could they still marry a wife?

    On person should only be able to marry one wife!

    Jiang Zhen own men did not object at all and these Toyo people naturally were also not opposed.

    They were poor and ate bottom of Toyo social hierarchy so many of them wouldn¡¯t even marry a wife.. since it was the case, one person marrying only one wife was good, what does it matter?

    This was the first edict issued by Jiang Zhen, not long after, Jiang Zhen stated that all women and gers also had to work and wherever they were girls or gers they should also go to school.

    There was also no objection to this.

    At present, they were particrly short of people, man had to participate in training and take turns patrolling to defend their territory while also going to sea to do business. With so much work left it was no a big deal to let women and ger work, right?

    Didn¡¯t they already saw Zhao Jinge taking care of so many people?

    As for children studying together, it was even less important.

    Most of the people who followed Jiang Zhen to Toyo were poor. When they were young, men and women used to y together so why did it matter if they now went to school together?

    After all Jiang Zhen own daughter went to school!

    Jiang Zhen was actually very lucky, people who followed him were originally born poor so it was very easy to train them,

    Many ideas ware changing in subtle ways.

    Under the deliberate guidance of Jiang Zhen, many things in this ce were slowly moving closer to modern times, and many ideas ware also slowly taking root in people¡¯s subconscious.

    When a woman moved out of her home because she was dissatisfied with her husband love for beating people and relied on her own ability to earn money, Jiang Zhen said she could get a divorce and find someone else to marry.

    The woman did not hesitate to divorce and quickly found someone else to marry.

    Most men, did recognize that as a problem¡­ many of them could not marry a wife so they even wished for such things to happen more often.

    However, Jiang Zhen knows that times were already changing.

    If they were still in Daqi, it would be too difficult to make such a change, It would be at least be necessary to break up the entire ss system several times, but it was much easier here.

    They are all ouws who have left their homes, it¡¯s good enough to be alive so they didn¡¯t care about many things.

    Jiang Zhen began to intervene in the war between two sides of Toyo imperial family a long time ago and made o lot of money by selling weapons to both sides. But he never personally got involved in the war.

    To umte grain widely and im the throne slowly was the most suitable solution for his current situation.

    But when two sides fought almost to the point of discovering his presence and began to fear him, even wanting to drive him away he no longer hesitated and did it.

    The Toyo people he took in, had been loyal to him for a long time already while the Toyo people elsewhere ..¡­ already knew they could eat and live well by following Jiang Zhen, and did not resist when Jiang Zhen was not thinking of killing them.

    Jiang Zhen got a lot of craftsmen from Daqi and had the best weapons on hand as well as highly-trained army. With such army, wanting to clean up the imperial family of the Toyo was not a difficult task.

    If the two sides could untie, maybe they could still fight against Jiang Zhen but the key point was that the imperial family of Toyo had been fighting for so many years, and hated run deep between them so how could they cooperate?

    Toyo was notrge so Jiang Zhen spend two years to takeover Toyo.

    War always kills people, and this time it was also not an exception.

    Some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s men died, but even more Toyo people died.

    Most of the nobles in the Toyo were killed at their properties were taken over by Jiang Zhen. Then theirnd was distributed to the people of the Toyo by Jiang Zhen while at the same time he started to implement his own schools in the ces he upied.

    Jiang Zhen was not person who could do anything, in some aspects, such as dealing with tedious affairs, he was actually not as good as Zhao Jinge.

    He couldn¡¯t manage too many people, let alone too muchnd. Fortunately, Toyo was not particrly big, and there ware not too many people here.

    Moreover, Jiang Zhen also found¡­ that among his people there were still some hidden talents.

    Of course, he was still short of people.

    However, even if there was a shortage of people to govern the country, he will still be able to stabilize it when he has an army. When a few years pass new talents would also be there.

    In the eighth year of Jiang Zhen¡¯s arrival in the Toyo, he built a country in the Toyo and established the Republic of China.

    This is one of his own intentions.

    When Jiang Zhen first proposed the founding of the people¡¯s Republic of China, his men were very supportive. They wanted Jiang Zhen to be the emperor and be emperor officials, they also started thinking of buildingrge mansions and starting to enjoy life, even founding some more Toyo women to serve themselves.

    But all of these, were vetoed by Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen directly made a constitutional monarchy.

    The emperor would not have much power and would have more of symbolic meaning. The power would be in hands of president and parliament, title was only honorific and would not grant any privileges.

    At first, no one understood why Jiang Zhen did so, butter they found that when they joined the parliament, they could get a lot of rights and they did not have to worry about being directly killed by the powerful emperor which made them all feel much better.

    Of course, not being able to marry a few wives was not very good¡­. But over time they get used to it.

    After Jiang Zhen established a constitutional monarchy, he did not be emperor himself, but let Zhao Jinge do it.

    However, he became prime minister.

    The day before his inauguration, Jiang Zhen embraced Zhao Mingzhu who had already grown up and not hugged him for years: ¡°Father, will never let you be bullied in the future!¡±

 Chapter 169 - The accession to the throne (Part 1)

    Chapter 169 ¨C The ession to the throne (Part 1)

    The ceremony of ascending the throne of the emperor of the republic of China and the inauguration ceremony of the prime minister were held together¡­ they were shabby.

    Jiang Zhen did not know how the enthronement of the emperor of the Daqi looked like but in his own words¡­ now that they had very little money, they were absolutely no need for a big event.

    Of course, it was necessary to ensure safety, that was for sure.

    After Jiang Zhen took over Toyo, the vast majority of the people under his gentle policy did not even think of revolting but lived with him peacefully. But there was a group of people who rebelled against him all the time.

    Most of these people ware descendants or subordinates of the Toyo aristocracy who had the opportunity to receive education in the past, there were also some rtives of Toyo people who were killed by Jiang Zhen¡¯s side in the war. They have failed, but they ware lurking around, always thinking about restoring their country.

    These group of people were not big and in another few decades, it was estimated that they would cease to exist, but for now, Jiang Zhen still need to be well guarded to prevent them from causing troubles.

    The day before the inauguration ceremony, Jiang Zhen had a meal with his family. Then he went back to his room with Zhao Jinge in his arms.

    He was now in his forties and these years of life has inevitably left the mark on his face and even few grey hair appeared on his head. But because he has always paid attention to his body and exercise, he was still in good shape and even his eight pack was not missing.

    But Zhao Jinge eight pack be one.

    These years Jiang Zhen has been fighting around, Zhao Jinge stayed with woman and gers in the rear, dealing with various political affairs ¡­¡­ even if he actually did not want to stop exercising, the intensity of these exercises were not enough to keep his muscr body.

    However, his appearance was maintained, much better than Jiang Zhen.

    He stayed in the rear no needed to face the wind and rain. Although conditions ware not enough for him to enjoy extravagance, he was never short on food or clothing. He has been in high position for a long time, so his temperament was also getting better and better.

    Today, Zhao Jinge looked like he was in his thirties at most.

    Jiang Zhen liked seeing Zhao Jinge like this very much.

    Zhao Jinge always looked to his taste, but now that he had a hair cut short and wore clothes simr to modern military uniforms that he asked people to make,plety different from the long robes of Daqi ¡­¡­

    The first time he saw Zhao Jinge buttoning his clothes neatly to deal with political affairs, he wanted to rip them off.

    It was a pity that these years he had fought in the war the two of them spend less and less time together. The number of times he was able to rip off Zhao Jinge clothes was really not much¡­

    Of course, this evening he will rip them as much as he wanted.

    Jiang Zhen did not hesitate to rip off Zhao Jinge clothing and then press him down..

    Downstairs, Zhao Mingzhu Zhao Chengyu and Zhao couple after finishing the meal started eating fruits.

    Zhao Mingzhu was now fifteen and has grown into a graceful girl. Although she was a little tall and her skin was a little dark because she was often outside taking part in sports he was still absolutely beautiful. After all, whether it was Zhao Jinge or Jiang Zhen their facial features ware good-looking.

    In contrast, Zhao Chengyu looked a little shabby ¡­¡­ Of course, it was not because he was not good looking but because of his recent grow sprout his whole person looked as thin as bamboo pole¡­

    But it was all because he was still growing up. Despite being thin, Zhao Chengyu eat very much, he eat even more than Jiang Zhen before. Now, after eating, he was still holding a big apple and nibbling at it. Seeing Zhao Mingzhu bring out pastries he also moved over to them¡­

    ¡°Chengyu, you are too good at eating¡­.¡± Zhao Mingzhu looked at her brother with emotion, then she was a little disappointed to find that her brother was already as tall as she was!

    She was taller than many men but her brother¡­ it could be estimated that he would stand out in crowd in the future.

    ¡°if you can eat well, you eat well.¡± Zhao Liu said joyfully, and suddenly remembered the past: ¡°s, when Jinge was as old as you, there was never enough food. Your father, at that time was always starving. Once I saw that he nted a few more seeds beans and even without boiling them he eat them directly.¡±

    Zhao Liu¡¯s hair was now white and perhaps due to her old age she liked to recall the past and tell about it to Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu .

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also liked to hear about those things, and after listening to them couldn¡¯t help feeling grateful.

    Their luck was really good, although their lifes was chaotic in recent years they nevercked food or clothing¡­ their parents not only have always taken good care of them, but also gave them enough love.

    Zhao Mingzhu thought of that hug Jiang Zhen gave her when they were eating earlier, and what Jiang Zhen said. Making the corner of her mouth hook up: ¡°Dad must have worked so hard because he had too many hard days in the past! So he wanted all of us to live a good life!¡±

    Her father never avoided her and would personally take her around to teach her so her knowledge was undoubtedly very broad. It was also very clear for her what life was like for the vast majority of people in the world.

    It was really precious for her to have her present life.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Liuughed: ¡°We all have a good life!¡± It was not even a simple good life, she couldn¡¯t even imagine such good life before.

    She grew up in a small vige as uneducated vige woman, but now she would be an empress dowager.

    Zhao Liu still felt it was surreal at this moment.

    After being taken away from the Fucheng by Zhao Jinge andter learning that they had be fugitives, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were very scared. During that time, Zhao Liu even fell ill from worry and fear.

    Fortunately, they soon settled down in Toyo.

    When they first settled in Toyo, theycked a lot of things so their life was simr to the time they had in the Hexi vige before.

    Their family again lived in a house made of y while a group of people begin to reim thend¡­ but because of this Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui heart surprisingly settled down.

    Being fugitive was nothing if they still hadnd they could nt, it mean they would not starve to death ¡­¡­ Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were even excited to nt their ownnd once again.

    Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui nted for a year while Jiang Zhen gathered more and more people under his hands. Then they moved into arge house to live, andter Jiang Zhen frequently went out.

    They knew that Jiang Zhen was doing something big, but at first, they just thought that Jiang Zhen was just taking overnd with these Toyo people but as the result¡­

    Jiang Zhen actually took over the whole Toyo! Not only that he even build his own country!

    In the future it would no longer be Toyo but the Republic of China1

    Every time she thought about it, Zhao Liu felt amazed.

    ¡°This is so delicious, sister, do you want to send some over to father?¡± At this point of time Zhao Chengyu had already eaten most pastries on the te.

    ¡°Zhao Chengyu you are not afraid of your stomach exploding.¡± Zhao Mingzhu was a bit helpless as she added: ¡°Also if you go to send food to father at this time, he will definitely ignore it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zhao Chengyu was a little puzzled, then he reacted with a jolt, immediately revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression.

    He was really stupid¡­ his father must now be doing ¡°important things¡± ah! When he was young, his father often used this reason to kick him out of the room, didn¡¯t he?

    His parents had always had a good rtionship.

    Since they almost defeated Toyo two years ago, some generals were reluctant to keep their wives, but their father never had any bad thoughts.

    But it was also very good.

    Zhao Chengyu was now studying at school and his friend¡¯s father raised secretly outside a woman. But his parents had good rtionship and he didn¡¯t even realized how much envious his friends were of him¡­

    Zhao Chengyu and Zhao Mingzhu were very happy, hoping that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge would always have such a good rtionship. But Zhao Fugui and his wife felt a little embarrassed when they saw the tacit expressions on the faces of the two children.

    People of their generation never let their children see anything! But what about Jiang Zhen? Sometimes he would even kiss Zhao Jinge at home without avoiding his children!

    However, they also thought it was quite good¡­

    They still had many things to do tomorrow so Zhao Fugui and his wife quickly went to bed while Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also went to bed early.

    However, Jiang Zhen slept quitete that night.

    He was busy preparing for the enthronement and sweeping up the rebels so he hadn¡¯t done anything with Zhao Jinge for a month. Of course, now he had to find a way to make it up to himself.

    Early the next morning, Jiang Zhen woke up still in good mood.

    Many men start to gain weight in their forties but due to exercises he was still in very good shape.

    Jiang Zhen was very energetic, but Zhao Jinge was a little unable to get up.

    Although he was not out of shape, hecked exercise over the years.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to get up, my majesty.¡± Jiang Zhen presses kiss on Zhao Jinge lips, thinking that after today Zhao Jinge would be an emperor making him a little emotional.

    Overwhelming the emperor or something, was really something interesting to think about.

    ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen address and couldn¡¯t help blushing. He always thought he would be the empress and did not expect to be the emperor¡­ sine Jiang Zhen called him his majesty, he¡­ should he call Jiang Zhen the empress?

    Well, it was something to think about.

    Jiang Zhen pointed out that they had studied this constitutional monarchy for several months now, the emperor¡¯s rights were not much, at least not as much as the prime minister¡¯s rights so he actually couldn¡¯tpare to Jiang Zhen.

    Of course, he did not care about this.

    Jiang Zhen has always been faithful to him, and their children were already grown up so he has long been satisfied.

    ¡°Jinge, I didn¡¯t give the royal family much power, but this is for the good of our descendants.¡± Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge again before he begin to exin.

    He was aware of the future direction of development.

    When a centralized emperor may be overthrown, an imperial family that only had symbolic meaning would be able to go on.

    If he gets morend and property for himself when he was still alive, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his children and grandchildren future¡­

    Of course, the most important thing was educating them, like Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu, he believes that they will certainly be able to make their own heaven!

 Chapter 170 - The accession to the throne (Part 2)

    Chapter 170 The ession to the throne (Part 2)

    After packing up, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went out together.

    Jiang Zhen was wearing a military uniform today, while Zhao Jinge was also wearing a military uniform.

    At first, Jiang Zhen men were thinking of finding embroiderers with good craftsmanship to embroider a dragon robe, but this idea was rejected by Jiang Zhen.

    On the one hand, they have no money and time for that and on the other¡­ that dragon robe was actually problematic.

    Daqi was still on the other side of the sea, eyeing them covetously. If Zhao Jinge put on the dragon robe it would anger them!

    As for Jiang Zhen, he himself has no intention of provoking war, much less against him own countrymen.

    As for the Toyo¡­ didn¡¯t he regard people as his countrymen?

    Of course, there are actually some other reasons, such as Jiang Zhen wanting to dispose of the traditional clothing of Daqi and Toyo.

    Traditional culture should definitely be valued but at this point clothes should be changed first.

    Sometimes, if you want to move forward faster, you have to lose something. Of course when things stabilize you can pick it up again.

    Now, although the ideas of his men have changed a lot, but if the dragon robe or something was used ¡­¡­ it would mean they may want to follow Daqi!

    ording to thews of Republic of China, if a real princemitted a crime he would be sentenced in the same way as themon people, but in Daqi if powerful person killed a few underlings, no one would care.

    Therefore, some of the people under him actually yearned for the life of Daqi officials.

    What¡¯s more, he has been pushing for women to wear trousers. At a time like this, if Zhao Jinge was pushed into wearing a dragon robe wouldn¡¯t Zhao Jinge had to also wear an borate pce dress?

    These clothes flourishing in the current situation of China was not good idea at all, it wasted so much fabric alone!

    In the end their whole family wore military uniforms, and among them, Zhao Mingzhu wore the most beautiful military uniform.

    Jiang Zhen looked at his daughter and felt very proud.

    How to ascend to the throne, Jiang Zhen subordinates were very confused about it. After all most of them were born in farming families and because of this, some of them wanted to follow the rules of Toyo.

    That people ware scolded by Jiang Zhen.

    Then Jiang Zhen came up with a process himself.

    In modern times, he still saw a lot of inauguration ceremonies¡­¡­

    Jiang Zhen made the whole ceremony very simple.

    At this time, not to mention television they didn¡¯t even have a camera so he just asked people to draw portraits of himself and Zhao Jinge. At the same time he secretly made up his mind that when the situation stabilized, science and technology must be developed properly.

    It was not a lie that science and technology was the primary productive force.

    The whole ceremony was very ordinary to Jiang Zhen so ge wasn¡¯t too excited but it was different for others. Many people were so excited that they cried on the spot.

    Seeing these people so excited, Jiang Zhen could not help but also feel moved and let out a long sigh.

    They might have won but in the end a lot of people died¡­

    In the morning, Jiang Zhen held the enthronement ceremony, but in the afternoon, Jiang Zhen with his men went to the cemetery of the martyrs, to pay respect to those who died as soldiers.

    Among them, the person Jiang Zhen was most sad about was Wang Haisheng.

    Wang Haisheng itself was not very strong, but he was the person who followed him from the longest time. After arriving to Toyo, he also gave him some tasks but as a result, he died because of a sneak attack¡­

    Fortunately, Wang Haisheng two children have long grown up and were very sessful.

    These two children received education when they were still in Hexi Vige. Later, Wang Yuer followed Zhao Jinge and became Zhao Jinge secretary, while Wang Daniu joined the army and was now a young general.

    In the cemetery, people quieted.

    Jiang Zhen abandoned many old customs, but he did not abandon the worship of ancestors.

    They should all remember where their roots were.

    That night, Jiang Zhen had dinner with a group of founding fathers under hismand, and after eating he sent them home early.

    His current home, which was once the imperial pce of the Toyo had been already remodeled.

    The original pce was veryrge, but now they only lived in one of the pces ¡­¡­ Of course even if they didn¡¯t live in other ces Jiang Zhen still put them under his name.

    Not only that, he also put a lot of nearbynd under his name.

    There was no objection to this. This country was originally founded by Jiang Zhen and ording to principle, ¡°there is no king¡¯snd in the world¡± if he wanted somends, what it was?

    Other might have not taken it seriously, but Jiang Zhen knew that he was definitely gaining a great advantage.

    A hundred yearster, this would be the capital of the Republic of China and certainly every inch ofnd¡­ it would be like giving his children and grandchildren money.

    People were selfish so was he. Naturally, he wanted his offspring, to live a good life.

    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time to rest.¡± After returning to his room, Jiang Zhen immediately pulled Zhao Jinge inside.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we do it justst night¡­¡± Zhao Jinge felt a bit helpless, he had stood outside for a long time today and was now very tired. Why did Jiang Zhen still want him toe?

    ¡°Yesterday is yesterday, today is today, you ate yesterday so you shouldn¡¯t eat today?¡±Jiang Zhen looked seriously at Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    Are Jiang Zhen subordinates aware that he was so fond of making false arguments?!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it true that there are only tired cattle and notnd too bad to plow?¡± Jiang Zhen added: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t have to put in any effort.¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡±

    Even if he didn¡¯t have to make any effort, with Jiang Zhen on top of him he couldn¡¯t sleep ah, and now¡­ he actually just wanted to sleep.

    Zhao Jinge only wanted to sleep but after one round all his sleepiness was gone.

    Jiang Zhen took this opportunity and added one more round.

    Spring night were short while the days were long, but the emperor loved early morning.

    Zhao Jinge got upte the next day but fortunately, he was not like emperors from previous dynasties who needed to attend early morning court, but Jiang Zhen as prime minister, had a lot of things to do and had already left by now.

    Stretching his back, Zhao Jinge decided to go back to sleep.

    Zhao Jinge slept until noon before he got up, as soon as he left the room, one of the guards of his family excitedly looked over and said: ¡°Your Majesty, you are awake atst!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°Prime Minister said that if you wake up, you should find him.¡± The guard said. Jiang Zhen had exined this to him when he left the room so he had been waiting eagerly for Zhao Jinge to wake up. In the end he waited all morning.

    ¡°You go and arrange it, I will go immediately.¡± Zhao Jinge said, Jiang Zhen was looking for him he was afraid that something must have happened¡­ Zhao Jinge be a little regretful of his previous bedziness.

    ¡°No no, Lord Prime Minister exined that we can¡¯t disturb your sleep and wait until you wake up or its time for dinner.¡± That guard said again.

    Although he said so, Zhao Jinge still worried a little so after finishing eating he hurried to find Jiang Zhen.

    But as the result¡­

    ¡°You asked me toe because of this?¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen speechlessly, Jiang Zhen looked for him because he wanted his help with the Prime Minister¡¯s work ..¡­

    ¡°You are more familiar with these ¡­.¡± Jiang Zhen acted a bit sheepish.

    He did not be the emperor before to avoid things, but as result¡­ the prime minister job he was even more unable to do.

    So he could only turn to Zhao Jinge for help.

    Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen helplessly and started to read the documents.

    Seeing him like this Jiang Zhen smiled, then he begin to read the documents.

    Although he got Zhao jinge to help him with work there are still a lot of thing he had to do himself. Other than that there was also the legal aspect, he needed to guard thew.

    Fortunately, everything was developing in a good direction.

    There was no doubt that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge establishing Republic of China in Toyo, made the officials of Daqi and the imperial family very angry, but they did not have the ability to stop it.

    A few years ago, because of Cheng Yongzhen and Jiang Zhen, the imperial court of the Daqi which had turned a blind eye to sea merchant before started to suddenly attack them.

    Perhaps the people above, just wanted these sea merchant to stop doing business at sea but order go downyer byyer.

    Many local officials simply took this opportunity to make money p won¡¯t they be able to make a lot of money by copying those sea merchants?

    With such a twists and turns, of course there would be some sea merchants who would take the same path as Cheng Yongzhen and Jiang Zhen.

    The sea near Daqi was veryrge and there were many inds so these sea merchants upied these ind one by one. Finally all of them were defined as part of pirate group.

    These people stalled the navy of Daqi so it had no time to give Jiang Zhen any trouble. Knowing that Jiang Zhen was making trouble in Toyo, they could only try t find a way to make a peace for now.

    But how could Jiang Zhen ept the peace offering? Those people were directly scolded away by him.

    Later, the northern side of the Daqi also had some problems.

    The Liaoning Iron Cavalry was very powerful, but there was always a shortage of food and grass. When there was still Jiang Zhen help, they were well fed for several years, but now, who would buy food and grass for them?

    The court itself collected grain and grass and had to be exploitedyer byyer by officials so in the end the money allocated to purchases was only half of the original amount. But what about finding someone else? Jiang Zhen¡¯s fate was still fresh in people¡¯s minds so which merchant would be willing to do so?

    With the insufficient food and grass, thebat power of Liaoning iron cavalry would naturally decline, making the Rong people run even more rampant.

    In the north, the Rong were very restlessly while sea was filled with pirates. At this time some parts of Daqi even flooding, making countless people homeless.

    Natural disasters were always the big problem and in Daqi every few years there would be some natural disaster. But in the past, it was not a big deal.

    People starving to death, why would it matter? Even if someone rebels, they could just suppress them¡­ of course, disaster relief still had to be done by the court.

    But now the situation is different.

    Imperial court had no money.

    There was no way to do any disaster relief or send troops to control the victims¡­ Finally, the starving victims gathered together and robbed whatever they saw, leaving the Daqi capital inplete chaos as they rushed into the city.

    Each dynasty even with it long history would be changed at one point. Daqi could still hold up now, but in the future, it was unknown what would happen¡­

    Jiang Zhen thought he didn¡¯t have the ability to be the one who changed the dynasty, but he knew that there must be someone in Daqi who could.

    However, although he did not have the ability to change the dynasty, he could use this opportunity to get more people from Daqi.

    He was now short of people, he was short of all kinds of people.

    He was now the prime minister of the Republic of China so of course he wanted to develop his own country!

    After Jiang Zhen became prime minister, his first order was to go to Daqi to save people and bring disaster victims to the Republic of China.

 Chapter 171 - Clam Having Another Pearl (Part 1)

    Chapter 171 ¨C m Having Another Pearl (Part 1)

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s influence was now veryrge, so even in Daqi he had his own people.

    It was with the help of these people that he was able to get a lot of disaster victims toe to the Republic of China and get news from the Daqi Imperial Court.

    For example, the people of the Daqi dynasty felt that Zhao Jinge had not really ascended to the throne so he was not really treacherous, so they did note to attack them.

    For the Emperor of Daqi, his own face might be the most important. However, if Jiang Zhen acted in a more high profile manner, even if Daqi was very unstable at this moment, maybe the Emperor of Daqi would still send troops to attack him.

    In the future, he might as well make a fortune.

    Jiang Zhen brought back many victims from Daqi while at the same time he gathered many craftsmen together to set up a scientific research institute.

    In this era, Europa had already researched the steam engine so he could notg behind.

    Jiang Zhen gave those craftsman some research direction, and then let them do their own thing. While he himself put all his efforts in the basic education.

    Of course, now he no longer needed to do everything himself, so although hepleted his duties he still stayed by Zhao Jinge side during the day and spent most of his time with him.

    The two of them were obviously an old married couple, but during their time together they could not help but act like a newlywed couple.

    During the day he dealt with official business and at night slept together with Zhao Jinge. Jiang Zhen felt that such a life was particrlyfortable.

    Zhao Jinge also felt it was veryfortable at first, but after a while, he felt that something was not working.

    One day when he got up and sat on the edge of the bed, he suddenly found that his stomach, surprisingly, was full of fat.

    He had gained weight!

    In recent years hecked exercise, but at least he was not fat. Yet recently¡­

    He said he was going to exercise, but actually did not exercise, not only that, he even ate more.

    In that way it wasn¡¯t strange that he became fat!

    Zhao Jinge pondered that he must exercise more and Jiang Zhen was also in favor of that.

    When people get older it is easier for them to get high blood pressure, high blood sugar or a simr ailment. These days there were also almost no medical instruments, so these problems couldn¡¯t be measured and prevented in advance.

    ¡°Jinge, don¡¯t worry, tomorrow morning we will go to exercise together.¡±Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge nodded and then added: ¡°You can¡¯t mess with me today, lest I won¡¯t be able to get up tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I will definitely not mess with you.¡± Jiang Zhen said. In the end, he was also getting older and doing it every day¡­

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to bed early that day and the next day got up early.

    Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to exercise with him.

    They ran slowly around their residence.

    In order to amodate Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen ran very slowly, while thinking about other exercise methods ¨C he and Zhao Jinge were no longer young so in the future, exercise with too much running would damage their knees and bring their own bad luck.

    ¡°Jinge, how does it feel?¡± Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± Zhao Jinge replied. Although he exercised less, running was still not too difficult.

    The two of them ended up running a wholep around the pce of the Toyo.

    ¡°Today we will only run onep, after few days we will try to run twops.¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded, thinking that he should add another three or fourps in the future, otherwise the fat on his stomach would not be eliminated.

    After running and eating, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge began to work.

    They spent their day not much different from usual, until¡­

    When Zhao Jinge went to the toilet, he suddenly found blood on his pants!

    He didn¡¯t feel anything so how could there be blood in his pants?

    Jiang Zhen was very concerned about his body, so due to his influence, Zhao Jinge also became very concerned about physical health. Noticing this situation he was shocked ¨C he didn¡¯t get some kind of disease, right?

    Zhao Jinge thought about it for a moment and finally found Jiang Zhen: ¡°Jiang Zhen, find me a doctor.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Zhen also be worried.

    ¡°I¡¯m bleeding.¡± Zhao Jinge said. After saying this he felt his stomach be even more ufortable.

    Jiang Zhen immediately let Zhao Jinge lie down to rest while he called for a doctor.

    Jiang Zhen now had several doctors with excellent medical skills working under him so he called one over and asked him to check Zhao Jinge¡¯s pulse. Seeing that he had already felt the pulse, he immediately asked: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Jinge? You checked his pulse just a month ago, wasn¡¯t it alright?¡±

    He has just seen the situation of Zhao Jinge and he was really bleeding!

    Both of them didn¡¯t bleed when they did it the day before yesterday, but now there was sudden bleeding. Jiang Zhen¡¯s hands couldn¡¯t help trembling.

    ¡°Prime Minister!¡± The doctor looked at Jiang Zhen with some admiration: ¡°His Majesty is pregnant. It¡¯s only two months old so its not safe yet. The fetus is still unstable.¡±

    Jiang Zhen opened his eyes wide in shock.

    Zhao Jinge was pregnant?!

    After Zhao Jinge gave birth to Zhao Chengyu, Jiang Zhen always used ¡°some natural¡± contraception, which was not very safe, but after several years of Zhao Jinge not getting pregnant again, he didn¡¯t even bother with contraception.

    Even after all this time, Jinge still didn¡¯t get pregnant.

    Because of this, Jiang Zhen gradually stopped thinking about contraception.

    They didn¡¯t conceive any more children in all these years, so Jiang Zhen thought they were no longer able to have children. And yet, Zhao Jinge was pregnant?

    Zhao Jinge was twenty-seven years old when he gave birth to Zhao Mingzhu. Zhao Mingzhu was now sixteen and Zhao Jinge was forty three years old. He couldn¡¯t be considered old, but getting pregnant at this age, could his body withstand it?

    Jiang Zhen liked children very much but he was very worried about Zhao Jinge.

    If having a child was harmful to Zhao Jinge body, he would rather not have a child, but they couldn¡¯t have abortion these days!

    Jiang Zhen was surprised, but Zhao Jinge was even more so.

    At this age he was pregnant?

    The two men looked at each other, and finally opened their mouths together towards the doctor to ask:

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°Doctor, is Jinge okay?¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°Doctor is the child okay?¡±

    ¡°His Majesty is healthy, but the fetus is a little unstable so he should take some medicine to stabilize the fetus first,¡± the doctor said. At the age of forty he was still able to conceive! His Majesty was very healthy, it was just that he was a little old.

    The doctor told them a lot of precautions. One of the most important ones was that Zhao Jinge from today must lie t to protect the fetus.

    Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen naturally obeyed the doctor¡¯s orders.

    At the same time, the news of Zhao Jinge¡¯s pregnancy spread throughout the upper echelons of the Republic of China.

    ¡°His Majesty is pregnant? How could His Majesty be pregnant?¡± A young general was dumbfounded to hear this. After a moment of being dumbfounded, he returned to his senses. ¡°Right, his majesty is ger¡­¡±

    If he hadn¡¯t suddenly heard about his majesty pregnancy, he would have totally forgotten that His Majesty was actually a ger.

    ¡°What a great joy! This is a happy event! ¡±

    ¡°The Prime Minister¡¯s sword is still sharp!¡±

    ¡°Also we don¡¯t know if we will have one more little prince or one more little princess.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The people were talking very happily while Zhao Jinge, who stayed at home, was very embarrassed.

    His first two children were already grown up but he has be pregnant again! An old m would give birth to a pearl which¡­ this¡­

    Zhao Jinge felt really embarrassed.

    However, his embarrassment soon turned into worry.

    He still did not know if he would be able to give birth to this child.

    Zhao Jinge drank the fetus medicine, hoping that he would get better sooner. He did not expect that while he was waiting to get well, something else would happen.

    He began to vomit very badly.

    When he was pregnant with Zhao Mingzhu, he just couldn¡¯t stand meat. This time he vomited everything he ate, even when he drank water.

    In the end he was old, so this baby was extremely hard to carry to term. Not long after, his wholeplexion became worse.

    Seeing him like this, Jiang Zhen was worried and finally he brought all his work home toplete there.

    Zhao Jinge was the Emperor. Although the Republic of China did not follow the servitude rules of Daqi, they still had cooks, gardeners, nannies and guards at the pce. Despite these people, Jiang Zhen tried his best to take care of Zhao Jinge himself.

    At this moment, he was washing Zhao Jinge¡¯s hair himself.

    ¡°Jinge, it¡¯s a good thing your hair is short now.¡± Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge, who was lying on the bed with only his head over the edge.

    If Zhao Jinge had long hair it would be troublesome to wash and not so easy to dry.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge answered with a smile toward Jiang Zhen.

    He was actually very ufortable, but Jiang Zhen kept himpany so he didn¡¯t feel so ufortable anymore.

    Zhao Mingzhu came to Jiang Zhen with some documents and saw this scene. She deliberately slowed down, and could not help feeling some sadness.

    Her father was so good, so she will certainly be especially picky when she will look for her own husband in the future. However, a man like her father, there should only be a few in the whole world, right?

    Her father let women and gers work, making the status of women and gers improve a lot. Even so, in the end they were still the ones that had to take on more of the household chores at home.

    Zhao Jinge¡¯s health was very bad at the beginning of his pregnancy, but as time went on his body slowly recovered.

    However, even if his body recovered there still were some other problems, such as his feets getting swollen or some spots appearing on his face.

    Zhao Jinge felt that he looked particrly ugly, but in Jiang Zhen¡¯s mind there was still only him. He even heard that some ger tried to court Jiang Zhen, but was dismissed by him.

    How lucky he was to meet Jiang Zhen in his life?!

 Chapter 172 - Clam having another Pearl (Part 2)

    Chapter 172 ¨C m having another Pearl (Part 2)

    Zhao Jinge had a very difficult pregnancy.

    Getting pregnant at an older age was by no means a simple matter. If there had been a choice, neither he nor Jiang Zhen would have decided to have another child at this time. Yet when the child was almost there, they were looking forward to it, full of anticipation.

    Of course, Jiang Zhen was also worried.

    It was not easy to have a good life. If something happened to Zhao Jinge, what would happen to him in the future?

    For the sake of Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen even sent someone to Daqi to find several doctors and bring some good medicinal materials.

    Of course he didn¡¯t forget to look after Zhao Jinge.

    Today, Zhao Jinge¡¯s physical condition was far worse than when he gave birth to Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu. Since he couldn¡¯t do any exercise, Jiang Zhen took care of his diet.

    These days, Zhao Jinge¡¯s dinners were full of boiled chicken breast, boiled shrimp, and a few vegetarian dishes, plus a small bowl of rice.

    Jiang Zhen peeled the shrimp and put the shrimp meat into the te next to him before letting Zhao Jinge eat it. He then gave a worried look at Zhao Jinge¡¯s stomach and smiled while talking with Zhao Jinge about the baby: ¡°Jinge, what do you think we should name him?¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s look in the dictionary and think about it?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    The dictionary was written by Jiang Zhen. Right now, only the first edition was avable, which has been picked out for many errors and omissions but was still usable.

    The two of them ate while they flipped through the dictionary. Suddenly Zhao Jinge brows furrowed.

    ¡°Are you ufortable somewhere?¡± Jiang Zhen immediately asked.

    ¡°My stomach hurts.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t due to give birth for another 20 days or so but at this moment his stomach hurt.

    Zhao Jinge had already given birth to two children, so he immediately understood that he was inbor. ¡°Jiang Zhen, take me to the delivery room.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Jiang Zhen nodded, his hands trembling.

    Jiang Zhen insisted on going into the delivery room. When he went in, his heart was filled with worry. Sitting at the head of the bed and holding Zhao Jinge hand, Jiang Zhen was even more nervous than him. ¡°Jinge, you can¡¯t have an ident, think of me, think of our children.¡±

    ¡°If something goes wrong, maybe someone will live in your house, sleep with your man, and beat your children!¡±

    ¡°Jinge!¡±

    ¡­

    Zhao Jinge listened to this and didn¡¯t know why he suddenly wanted tough.

    The people in charge of delivery were even more speechless.

    ¡°Prime Minister, the baby has already been born!¡±

    ¡°So soon?¡±Jiang Zhen was startled.

    ¡°The child is a little small, so it was born quickly,¡± several midwives said. The child had been born, thin and tiny and was nowying in Zhao Jinge¡¯s arms. He didn¡¯t even cry out.

    They were a little worried, but fortunately, after they flipped the child upside down and patted the child¡¯s feet, the child cried out.

    The child was fine, so they finally could rx.

    The child¡¯s cry woke up Jiang Zhen from shock.

    Without looking at the crying child he looked instead at the Zhao Jinge: ¡°Jinge, fortunately you are okay.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Zhao Jinge nodded: ¡°I can¡¯t let someone else beat my child.¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    The child looked small and thin, but the cinnabar mole between his eyebrow was red. He was ger.

    Jiang Zhen already had a boy and girl, so adding a ger this time made him very happy. His only regret was that the child was a little weak and weighed about 3 kilos.

    However, thanks to this, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t suffer much.

    Zhao Jinge drank the ginseng soup and then passed out. Jiang Zhen meanwhile hugged the child, gently kissing him and a little reluctant to let him go.

    Jiang Zhen had been waiting for a grandson, but couldn¡¯t bring himself to marry Zhao Mingzhu off.

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also liked this child very much.

    At first they were a little upset when they saw that their two fathers¡¯ thoughts were all on the unborn child, but then Zhao Liu told them that Jiang Zhen had worried about them the same way when they were little. Knowing this made all their displeasure disappear. They were even happy to help Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge take care of this child.

    When they were little, they were also treated this way.

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu had memories of when Jiang Zhen stopped going to sea and apanied them for three years, being very good to them. Later when they came to Toyo, in the first few years Jiang Zhen did not go to the war and was still with them, taking over their education.

    Then, with the help of other people, Jiang Zhenpiled teaching materials. Afterpiling everything, he taught them first.

    Jiang Zhen was very good to them. After thinking of all the things that happened in the past, they were no longer jealous of their younger brother.

    ¡°You guyse see your brother, do you want to hug him?¡± Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu standing around and suddenly said.

    He didn¡¯t want to let go of the child, but he wanted to cultivate feelings between the three children.

    ¡°I want to!¡± Zhao Mingzhu said without even thinking about it.

    Seeing this, Jiang Zhen put the baby into Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Your brother is yours to take care of, you can go out first.¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu hugged the child, and was thinking that her brother was soft and cute, most especially cute, but when she heard her father say so she was stunned. ¡°Ah?¡±

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu were dizzy as they came out of the room with the child in their arms, a little dumbfounded ¨C what are they going to do now?

    They didn¡¯t know how to take care of a baby!

    Fortunately, they could ask other people for help.

    Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu hurriedly went to find their grandmother, but Jiang Zhen wiped Zhao Jinge body with water and then fell asleep next to him.

    He was a little tired.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge slept for a long time, while Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu were busy with their younger brother.

    Although they had hired a nursemaid, since their father had given their brother to them, they naturally had to take care of him!

    The two of them took turns holding their younger brother and be more fond of him with every moment.

    This youngest ger child was named Zhao Chengan by Jiang Zhen.

    After Zhao Mingzhu was born, Jiang Zhen worried about this and that all day. He had been afraid that Zhao Mingzhu would have a bad life in the future, but he didn¡¯t have to worry too much about Zhao Chengan.

    Since he was his child, no one could bully him!

    Jiang Zhen did not ask much of Zhao Chengan. He was born a little weak so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem with doting on him a bit more. He was not the only one who spoiled Zhao Chengan ¨C Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also loved their younger brother very much.

    He was after all a little prince.

    Of course, even if you love a person you can¡¯t only spoil them. While gazing at the full moon with his child, Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Chengan, who was admiring the stars. He had already begun to think of raising the most powerful ger.

    His son, even if he was a ger, must be allowed to choose his own way in the future.

    Who said that gers could only get married?

    Their son should be able to marry a wife, a ger or even hold down a pure man.

 Chapter 173 - Foreign Trade

    Chapter 173 ¨C Foreign Trade

    After giving birth to Zhao Chengan, Zhao Jinge rested for two months before beginning to exercise.

    He looked very ugly when he was pregnant, and now that he was in a good health he naturally wanted to restore his figure as soon as possible.

    Even if he couldn¡¯t look like Jiang Zhen, he couldn¡¯t be fat!

    Zhao Jinge during these months was well nourished, making him fat and white. Now he wanted to exercise. At the suggestion of Jiang Zhen, he did not run, but did some indoor activities. In this way, after a few months, with his body fully recovered, everyone suddenly found that he became more good looking.

    These days, he not only ate well, but every day he drank soup and water. This finally made Zhao Jinge¡¯s body condition be even better than before.

    On the contrary, Jiang Zhen this year became more fatigued than him.

    This fatigue was not psychical but mental.

    Without the help of Zhao Jinge, he had many political affairs to deal with and these thing really fried his brain. He felt if he continued in the same way he would definitely be bald!

    Fortunately, Zhao Jinge over the years trained some people so Jiang Zhen be just responsible for the gate keeping of it.

    By the time Zhao Chengan was born, the whole Republic of China had almostpletely settled down. Jiang Zhen¡¯s primary schools were opened all over the country, and everyone in the country began to speak Mandarin.

    Jiang Zhen was very satisfied with it, but it was a pity that his research institute did not make any progress with studying the steam engine.

    Of course it was not easy.

    Although the steam engines have not been developed yet, cement and ss has been already studied and widely used. Then Jiang Zhen made people burn out ceramic tile toilets and so on.

    Jiang Zhen was leading the development of science and technology, since he always felt that it was very important. After all, in his memory, steam engines had been developed in Europe since the early Qing Dynasty.

    Now that he hase to this world, the development of his Republic of China must be a little faster than that of Europa.

    Jiang Zhen went to the research institute again to put forward some of his opinions. It was at this time that he was informed the steam engine he wanted needed steel used to build the boiler to ount for the heat.

    Therefore, the research institute had made some progress, it was just that they had no steel.

    During this period, the steel making process was difficult to improve so it would be rtively easier to find some good iron ore. Jiang Zhen was thinking about this when one of his subordinates reported, ¡°Prime Minister, our merchant fleet met a convoy from Europa! In this fleet there is even a prince from Europa! !¡±

    Jiang Zhen had some understanding of the Europa in this world, so he naturally knew that Europa was full of love for the sea. Not only that, some time ago they had alreadypleted voyages around the world.

    So, it really wasn¡¯t surprising at all to meet Europa¡¯s fleet.

    However, it was still a rare thing for a prince of Europa toe personally.

    ¡°Tell the Foreign Ministry to arrange their amodation. After a few days we will host a banquet to wee this prince,¡± Jiang Zhen immediately said. The Europa side had a lot of technology and knowledge that they didn¡¯t have so he was a little concerned with how to poach people from there. Now that such a good opportunity hase to his door¡­

    ¡°Yes, Prime Minister.¡± Jiang Zhen¡¯s men immediately responded.

    A few dayster, after confirming that the prince was really a prince, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge personally hosted a banquet for him.

    Jiang Zhen still did not have much money, but he put a lot of thought into this banquet.

    The banquet was held in a new manor he had built.

    This manor was built by Jiang Zhen for him and Zhao Jinge. The garden on the outside looked the same as the one in the home they had south of the Yangze River, but inside the manor, it was quite different.

    The banquet building at the front of the manor was paved with tiles and surrounded with exquisite handcrafted decorations. The peopleing and going were all wearing silk clothes embroidered with flowers.

    When Prince Galen saw the appearance of the garden, he liked it very much but when he went inside he be even more shocked.

    What did he just see?

    Even the floor was paved with expensive porcin!

    He has always been proud to be able to use porcin as tableware, but now he was walking on the porcin!

    They were surrounded by maids and attendants all wearing pure silk clothing that even some kings might not be able to wear!

    Prince Galen looked at the beautiful ceramic spoon on the table and suddenly felt the urge to hide it and take it away.

    This spoon was very beautiful and lovely! He really wanted to show it off back home!

    It was a pity that he obviously couldn¡¯t do such a rude thing.

    Maybe¡­he could make a request for trade with the emperor after the banquet?

    Prince Galen was thinking of this when he saw two tall, handsome men walking in together.

    The interpreter arranged by the Republic of China introduced him to these two men. One of them was the Emperor of this country, and the other was the Prime Minister.

    Prince Galen¡¯s eyes fell on the Emperor as he began to talk with him enthusiastically.

    After finding out that Jiang Zhen knew severalnguages, Zhao Jinge also wanted to learn them. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t let him learn thenguages of the countries surrounding Daqi and instead taught him Europanguages.

    The prince, who also happened to speak one suchnguage, was able tomunicate happily without the need for an interpreter.

    Zhao Jinge had long been ustomed to this kind ofmunication, and asked lightly about a lot of information about that prince.

    Then the conversation ended and the banquet began.

    The food was brought to the table one by one. The food did not look like food, but like a piece of art making Prince Galen not dare to move his chopsticks!

    Prince Galen was so envious when he saw how skillfully the Chinese used chopsticks to pick up various things to eat. He decided to learn how to use chopsticks in private so that he wouldn¡¯t make a fool of himself on such asions in the future.

    Using chopsticks, he picked a piece of meat and ced it on his spoon, which he then scooped into his mouth.

    It was really delicious! He had never eaten such delicious food before!

    Prince Galen tasted a little bit of each dish and probably because the taste of the food was so wonderful and tempting, he was able to learn how to use the chopsticks very quickly!

    Prince Galen ate a lot, and then found that almost all of the people he brought with him also ate a lot.

    It was really great here!

    Prince Galen looked at the bright young girl beside himself. ¡°Dilys, what do you think of this ce?¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Dilys¡¯s two eyes shone brightly.

    ¡°Would you like to stay?¡± Prince Galen asked. Dilys was his cousin who was very beautiful. He took her with him when he sailed this time with the intention to give her away if necessary.

    He originally wanted to give Dilys to the Emperor of Daqi but now, he felt that the Emperor of the Republic of China was very good.

    At this banquet, the officials of the Republic of China who came all brought their wives, but the Emperor of China had no one around him so he probably didn¡¯t have one.

    This Emperor of China looked very young and was most likely not married yet, if Dilys could marry him¡­

    ¡°I am willing.¡± Dilys immediately nodded her head. She also felt that the Emperor of China was very good. He was handsome and so graceful, it was just too pleasing!

    Of course, the most important thing was that he was rich.

    Her family had long since fallen so she didn¡¯t have much of a dowry at all. The only men who were willing to marry her were basically all merchants without any titles. If she could, she certainly preferred to marry this Emperor.

    Prince Galen discussed this with his cousin for a moment and then stood up. ¡°Emperor of the Republic of China, I am very fond of China, and my sister Dilys is also very fond of China so she is willing to be your wife!¡±

    Zhao Jinge had been pondering how to negotiate business cooperation with Prince Galen, but he didn¡¯t expect the other party to suddenly say such words, making him immediately stunned.

    Jiang Zhen was originally talking to someone so he didn¡¯t hear what was said, but he still turned his head around in surprise.

    The trantor from China, however, was dumbfounded.

    Although Zhao Jinge was the Emperor, the main power in the Republic in China has always been Jiang Zhen. Now that someone wants to rob Zhao Jinge from Jiang Zhen¡­ this¡­

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you trante?¡± Prince Galen nced at the trantor in disbelief.

    As a trantor, one¡¯s duty must be done well so as the trantor¡¯s expression stiffened. He tranted Prince Galen¡¯s meaning.

    The officials from the Republic of China might not have understood Price Galen¡¯s words before but now everyone¡¯s hands trembled.

    This person did not even inquire beforeing here?

    His Majesty had just given birth to the third child of the Prime Minister!

    ¡°I¡¯m already married.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled and said, ¡°I also have three lovely children.¡±

    ¡°You are so young but you already have three children?¡± Dilys looked at Zhao Jinge in surprise.

    ¡°I am not that young, she is my eldest daughter.¡± Zhao Jinge pointed at Zhao Mingzhu.

    Zhao Mingzhu was already eighteen and was very tall for a woman. Before, Dilys, who was not very good at identifying Chinese people¡¯s age, thought she should be about the same age as the Emperor of the Republic of China but it turned out¡­

    The spark of love that had just risen within her was extinguished at once.

    ¡°Besides, they were all born from me.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled again, full of pride.

    ¡°!!!!¡± Prince Galen and his group froze.

    So the emperor was a ger?!

    Although the beauty offering did not seed, after the banquet, Prince Galen and his party still signed a trade treaty with China, and Jiang Zhen sent his own people to follow them to Europe.

    Jiang Zhen sent people to learn technology and another group to recruit people from Europe. He even sent some people to find nts like potatoes, but Price Galen and others didn¡¯t know about it.

    They especially weed Emissaries from China to their country!

    Especially when these people were carrying countless porcin and silk with them!

 Chapter 174.1 - Remorse Outside The Country

    Chapter 174.1 ¨C Remorse Outside The Country

    Three yearster.

    Thergest port in China was named Wangxiang Port.

    When Jiang Zhen first brought his men to this part of China, they settled near Wangxiang Port at first, upying arge piece ofnd here. They had just left Daqi, and many of them missed their homnd very much so they often looked in the direction of the sea, thus the name Wangxiang Port came from it.

    On that day, a group of China¡¯s soldiers suddenly came to the port of Wangxiang, walking neatly in formation. Each one kept their eyes forward as they reached their destination and stood still.

    ¡°Why are there soldiersing to the port today?¡±

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve never seen such spirited soldiers like Chinese ones in other ces!¡±

    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t see such soldiers anywhere else! These soldiers were all trained by our Prime Minister, all of them are amazing!¡±

    ¡­

    A group of people were talking, looking at the squad of soldiers full of envy, including many ronins.

    In the Republic of China, being a soldier was the most honorable thing! Unfortunately, if you wanted to be a soldier, you had to take an exam.

    They must learn the Chinesenguage well! Even if they can¡¯t get into the army, they would still be able to find better jobs!

    The crowd was sighing with emotion when a big ship came from far away and stopped at Wangxiang port.

    As soon as this ship docked, the soldiers from the Republic of China greeted it, surprising onlookers.

    Who were these people? Why were their soldiers greeting or picking them up?

    They were wondering when they saw some people appearing at the bow of the ship.

    The leader of those people was wearing the official uniform of Daqi, while the people behind him were wearing the military uniform of Daqi.

    Could it be an official of the Daqi court?

    Among the onlookers, many of them used to live in Daqi, so when they saw people in official clothes, they subconsciously became a little scared and could not help but take a step back.

    But soon, they felt that their fear was a little nonsensical.

    They were no longer living in Daqi but in the Republic of China, so why should they still be afraid of Daqi officials?

    With this in mind, their initial fear disappeared as they continued to observe the Daqi officials and soldiers.

    These Daqi court officials and soldiers lookedpletely different from their spirited soldiers from China! So it was true what they heard, that Daqi was now inplete chaos.

    The onlookers thought of all the rumors rted to Daqi they heard recently and felt some sympathy for the Daqi officials and soldiers in front of them.

    This time there were three officials from Daqi, one of them was Zheng Yi.

    Feeling the sympathetic gaze of the people around, Zheng Yi could not help but smile bitterly.

    It was surprising that Daqi was in so much chaos now, it was something he had never thought would ever happen before.

    Three years ago, there was a rebellion in Hexi Province, and after that, the people in several other provinces began to disobey the imperial court¡¯s orders as well.

    The emperor sent his men to exterminate the rebels, and the army was able to put a stop to them at first. Howeverter, when the emperor gave orders to the generals to speed up the extermination of the rebels, the rebels managed to gain an opportunity to defeat the imperial army.

    Not surprisingly, the country of Rong to the south, that was always trying to cause trouble at the border, used this opportunity while the Daqi Imperial Court was distracted andunched a surprise attack. They were able to break through the blockade of the Liaoning Iron Cavalry in the south.

    The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had no choice but to flee to the south of the Yangze River and settle down there ¨C the north was inplete chaos but the area south of the river was still stable.

    Zheng Yi was originally just a wealthy man from Wexing Province, but after His Majesty and the Empress Dowager came to Wexing Province and set up the capital there, he was made an official.

    It was originally considered a good thing to be an official, but now that Daqi was under the attack and about to fall to forces both without and within, bing an official was dangerous.

    Zheng Yi did not feel that the rebels would cease their rebellion in the north, nor that the Rong army would stop their invasion and attacks in the south.

    Their army didn¡¯t have that many people who could fight.

    Zheng Yi had many things on his mind, as did all the people who were intelligent enough to realize they would need a way out if things continued to go badly in Daqi.

    It was precisely because he wanted to figure a way out, that Zheng Yi took the initiative to take the job of soliciting peace with the Republic of China.

    That¡¯s right, to solicit peace.

    Before, the Republic of China was regarded as a thorn in the eyes of His Majesty. Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were two traitors that went as far as to im the title of emperor in another country, making him unable to tolerate it.

    However, if the situation continued as it was, his own kingdom was going to be lost, so the Emperor across the sea no longer seemed like a big deal.

    After discussing it with some officials, His Majesty came up with a method to recruit the Republic of China to help them fight the Rong army in the south. If Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge agreed to this, he would then recognize Zhao Jinge as the ruler of the Republic of China and issue a Holy Decree to enthrone him.

    Zheng Yi was secretly amused when he learned about this.

    He was aware of Jiang Zhen¡¯s temper and his way of thinking. He certainly didn¡¯t care about an imperial court decree, but the court believed it would be a gift to Jiang Zhen.

    Even if Zheng Yi thought this, he didn¡¯t reveal anything on the surface.

    He has already made up his mind to send his children here secretly, but this was something he couldn¡¯t let others know.

    ¡°Lord Zheng, this China¡­¡± Qi Qing looked at the port in front of him, his eyes full of shock.

    Qi Qing was also one of the officials who came to recruit this time.

    Zheng Yi hade to resume his friendly rtionship with Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, while Qi Qing hade to beg for forgiveness.

    Even though it was His Majesty¡¯s wish to wipe out Jiang Zhen and his group, he was the one who executed his orders.

    Beforeing, Qi Qing had already given it a lot of thought about what could happen to him in the Republic in China. He didn¡¯t expect that aftering here he would be surprised by this port first.

    Qi Qing suddenly remembered something from a long time ago. When he traveled south from the capital and stopped at the port in Hexi vige, he saw many new and strange things in that small port.

    At that time he felt that Jiang Zhen was very capable, but now¡­

    Zheng Yi had a lot of things on his mind, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention to the situation around him. However, when Qi Qing spoke, he began to observe their surroundings, which astonished him.

    This port was unexpectedly t, like the whole block of boulders it was carved from was the same!

    Even with Daqi¡¯s best craftsmen, there was no way toy together the stone bs or bricks so neatly. What was going on?

    Zheng Yi was amazed, and continued to look around.

    In this port he could see the shadow of the port in Hexi Vige from the past.

    Other than that, the houses near the docks were just like houses in Hexi Vige. They had a neat and tidy appearance without a sense of beauty.

    However, although they had no pretty aesthetic, he was still surprised by these houses.

    All four sides had white walls, not to mention they were all equipped with zed windows!

    In recent years in Daqi, the price of zed mirrors and other zed products had been lowered, but zed windows were still something that absolutely no one could afford! Yet even ordinary houses in the Republic of China¡¯s port were actually furnished with zed windows!

    Zheng Yi¡¯s eyes opened wide, but after taking a deep breath he felt it was something normal.

    Jiang Zhen had a lot of ideas. Before, in Daqi, he was more or less restricted, but things are different now.

    ¡°This port, look at the amazing craftsmanship.¡± A gray-haired old man came out of the ship¡¯s cabin. When he saw the scenery in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh with the emotion.

    ¡°Lord Zhou, let¡¯s go down.¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Thest of the three officials who came to ask for military aid was Zhou Maohe, who had once dealt with Jiang Zhen and had also even arrested him before.

    Zhou Maohe always had good luck. Although he had lost favor several times, he managed to stay in the imperial court. His reputation over the years was also getting better and better as he got older.

    This time, he came to the Republic of China on his own initiative, and His Majesty agreed.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen does have some skills, but it¡¯s a pity that he strayed from the right path,¡± Zhou Maohe said. ¡°He even did something so treacherous like that, it is simply shameful to our ancestors!¡±

    Zhou Maohe was furious at the thought that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had established a new country overseas.

    That man was really disloyal and unrighteous!

    Zheng Yi smiled but didn¡¯t speak. He never took Zhou Maohe seriously but Qi Qing reminded him, ¡°Lord Zhou, speak carefully.¡±

    They were now in thend of the Republic of China, so how could they disrespect their Emperor and Prime Minister?

    Moreover, Qi Qing already regretted his actions very, very much.

 Chapter 174.2 - Remorse Outside The Country

    Chapter 174.2 ¨C Remorse Outside The Country

    When His Majesty had wanted to strike at Jiang Zhen, why hadn¡¯t he advised him against it?

    If Jiang Zhen had not left Daqi, the Liaoning Iron Cavalry would not have been short of food and grain. If the Liaoning Iron Cavalry had not been short of necessary essentials, they would have been able to stop the Rong. If the Rong army had been stopped, would they still have to flee south of the Yangze river?

    Not only that, when the imperial court sent arge army to quell the rebellion, the main reason for their defeat was a shortage of food and grain. If they had managed to keep Jiang Zhen around¡­

    Over the years, Qi Qing often thought of this and could not help regretting the situation very much. He often woke up in the middle of night from dreams about that night.

    But time could not be turned back after something was already done, so it was useless to regret it.

    Jiang Zhen was not a vicious person, so he could only hoped that after he apologized, he would be able to relieve Jiang Zhen¡¯s anger so he would agree to help Daqi deal with the Rong people.

    Qi Qing thought like this, but Zhou Maohe thought differently.

    Zhou Maohe felt that Jiang Zhen should help Daqi as a matter of course!

    At this moment, he was stopped from saying more by Qi Qing, but he only became even more upset. ¡°Marquis Qi, why are you so timid?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not being timid.¡± Qi Qing replied.

    Zhou Maohe didn¡¯t listen to him and instead just turned to the man who came to greet him from the Republic of China. ¡°Where is your Prime Minister? Why didn¡¯t hee?¡±

    They were the emissaries of Daqi, shouldn¡¯t Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jingee and greet them personally?

    The person who came to greet the emissaries of Daqi was Wen Ming.

    When Zhao Jinge left Wexing Province he was with him. Afraid that something bad would happen, he decided to follow Zhao Jinge and left Daqi with him.

    He had thought that if he had nothing to do with this matter he would be able to go back to Wexing province and continue to live his life, however,ter something happened to make that impossible!

    They all be fugitives!

    After that, Wen Ming felt quite regretful.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t regret that he followed Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge and ran away. Instead, he regretted that after earning money he actually used it to buynd!

    Those goodnds ended up being given for free to the government!

    Just thinking about it made Wen Ming feel heartache, but after seeing various Daqi sea merchants repeatedly suppressed he felt that losing some money was nothing.

    He at least survived, and even lived a good life.

    Now he was the Minister of the Foreign Trade department, who specialized in all kinds of trade business with Daqi. His wife was also here, doing wherever she wanted to do and his son was very promising!

    As a matter of fact, the emissaries of Daqi didn¡¯t need to be received by him, but because he had some friendship with Zheng Yi, he came over. Even though he came to greet them, he was still resented.

    There was no telling what would happen in Daqi next, but Zhou Maohe still dared to unt his power in their territory?

    However, after so many years, Wen Ming¡¯s temperament was good, so after giving Zhou Maohe a nce, he no longer paid attention to him. Instead he talked to Zheng Yi. ¡°Brother Zheng, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Long time no see.¡± Zheng Yi said.

    The two looked at each other and had a lot to talk about, but at this point, they felt that there was nothing they could talk about.

    Wen Ming smiled and finally said: ¡°Brother Zheng, let me show you around and give you a tour of Wangxiang port.¡±

    ¡°This port is called Wangxiang? Since it is called Wangxiang, why not go back?¡± Zhou Maohe immediately asked.

    Wen Ming became speechless for a while.

    They missed their hometown, but going back?

    They would never go back.

    Life in China was better and continued to be more so, so who would want to go back to Daqi?

    ¡°Wangxiang Port is thergest port in China, but it¡¯s not the only one. There are also two other ports.¡± Wen Ming said, pointing to some buildings not far away, ¡°see them? This is our Republic of China¡¯s Coastal Defense University, where all the elites of our country study.¡±

    Wen Ming showed them some ces that could be seen from the docks, such as Coastal Defense University and the shipyard.

    After this chat, the feeling of familiarity finally came back and Zheng Yi decided to ask, ¡°Lord Wen, what is it that we are stepping on under our feet?¡±

    After going ashore, Zheng Yi had already seen it up close and the stone under his feet really looked like it was cut from one piece!

    Of course, some of them had cut marks.

    Yet even if there were signs of cutting, each piece was very huge. How on earth did theyy such a huge piece of stone b on the ground?

    Or, was it not a piece of stone b?

    If it was not actually a stone b, what was it?

    ¡°This is cement.¡± Wen Ming said. ¡°This cement was made by the research institute and can be used for many purposes.¡±

    ¡°Cement?¡± Zheng Yi mulled over the name for a while, secretly surprised. This shouldn¡¯t be made of mud, right?

    He wondered about it in his heart, but in the end didn¡¯t say much. Wen Ming had already brought them to the nearby guest house.

    This guest house was specially used to entertain people from foreign countries, so Jiang Zhen spent a lot of effort on decorating it.

    The city water system was still being studied and hadn¡¯t been installed yet, but he reced it with a water tank and put severalrge water tanks on the top floor, letting the building have its own water supply.

    The house was tiled and had ss windows to allow sunlight to enter, making the whole main living room extremely bright.

    After going in, they all could see simple furniture.

    However, why were there no toilets in the rooms? What were those oddly shaped things?

    Zheng Yi and others were surprised, but the service staff of the guest house exined.

    The attendant was raised under the original nation of Toyo but now she no longer looked like she was from Toyo at all. She also spoke in pure Daqi Mandarin. ¡°This is a flush toilet. Next to the toilet is a ce for washing and on this side for bathing. After you turn on this switch, cold water wille out. If you want hot water tell me and we will bring it right away.¡±

    She said all this with a smile, as she used each item in front of Zheng Yi and others.

    Zheng Yi was amazed, and so were Zhou Maohe and Qi Qing.

    This Republic of China wasn¡¯t quite the same as Daqi!

    They walked around the room, amazed. An attendant brought some more paper with words printed on it and a book.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zheng Yi asked again.

    ¡°These are newspapers from the past few days and this book is an introduction to the country of China, so you can understand it.¡± The service staff said.

    ¡°Newspaper?¡± Zheng Yi took one and looked at it. At the first nce, he saw news rted to the royal family on it.

    In the newspaper, it was written that His Majesty¡¯s third son officially enrolled in preschool this year.

    There were some nice words written about it, butcking in annoying ttery. As he continued to read happily, he noticed that it mentioned what happened in various ces and what the local government did about it.

    All of it was very clear and straightforward. After turning a few pages he saw quite a few interesting stories published in the back.

    Although all of this was written in very simplified characters that were different from the Daqinguage, Zheng Yi was still fascinated with reading it.

    However, even if he was fascinated, his twopanions were not.

    Qi Qing¡¯s brow furrowed. He felt that Jiang Zhen had changed the Daqi characters to one missing arms and legs, which was really not very good looking.

    But Zhou Maohe became even angrier.

    He had long known that the people over here had changed the words, but he didn¡¯t know that they had changed them into something like this. Jiang Zhen was simply doing something nonsensical!

    ¡°Really outrageous, outrageous!¡± Zhou Maohe was so angry for a while that he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence.

    The attendant¡¯s expression stiffened, and Zheng Yi felt that she really wanted to hit someone.

    However, she probably felt that it was not good to hit these people, so she didn¡¯t do anything and just spoke stiffly, ¡°since there shouldn¡¯t be anything more to do I will leave first.¡±

    The attendant left, leaving the Daqi emissaries alone.

    Zhou Maohe was still ranting, saying that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had no manners and righteousness and didn¡¯t evene to greet them. Zheng Yi did not bother with listening to him anymore and went straight to his room.

    Zhou Maohe could only pull Qi Qing to talk with.

    Qi Qing was also dissatisfied with some of Jiang Zhen¡¯s practices, but looking at the newspaper in front of him and thinking for a while, he felt that although Jiang Zhen changing words was not right, this newspaper still had some merits.

    Jiang Zhen really had some skills, if he had persuaded his majesty¡­

    Qi Qing couldn¡¯t help feeling regretful again. Because of theck of food, the Liaoning Iron Cavalry soldiers starved to bone, but still had to participate in the battle. It was a scene he did not want to recall.

    He was wrong, really wrong.

    If he had only known¡­

    Covering his chest, Qi Qingughed bitterly.

    However, Zhao Maohe still firmly felt that he was right.

    If the emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has to die. In his opinion, Jiang Zhen shouldn¡¯t have resisted at that time.

    Qi Qing and the others rested in the guest house for a day and the next day got in a carriage and headed for the capital of China.

    Before they arrived, all kinds of things they did had already been ced right in front of Jiang Zhen¡¯s eyes.

    Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi have always remained in contact, so he knew exactly why Zheng Yies here. There was no need to guess Zheng Yi¡¯s intention. He still needed to look into the various reactions of Zhou Mao and Qi Qing.

    After reading the report, Jiang Zhen softlyughed.

    Different ideas, sometimes they were really difficult tomunicate.

    ¡°What did you let those people do?¡± Zhao Jinge frowned.

    He still held a grudge with Zhou Maohe and Qi Qing. They had hurt Jiang Zhen before, so he couldn¡¯t wait to beat them to death with a stick. He also did not want to meet them at all.

    ¡°I invited them to show off,¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Zhao Jinge was a little confused at first but Jiang Zhen held his hands. ¡°When the timees, I will also give you a surprise.¡±

    Zhao Jinge saw Jiang Zhen¡¯s strange expression and knew that he most likely figured out something new and strange again. So he just smiled and said, ¡°Good, I¡¯ll wait.¡±

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge¡¯s daily life did not change because of the imminent arrival of the emissaries from Daqi.

 Chapter 174.3 - Remorse Outside The Country

    Chapter 174.3 ¨C Remorse Outside The Country

    Their days went on as usual.

    Zhao Jinge helped Jiang Zhen with the various political affairs that should be handled by the Prime Minister as usual, while also worrying about Zhao Mingzhu¡¯s potential marriage.

    Zhao Jinge was quite worried about Zhao Mingzhu continuing to postpone getting married, but he was also afraid of pressuring her. He couldn¡¯t talk to her about it, and only spoke of his worries in front of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Our daughter can have a good life even if she doesn¡¯t get married. If she marries and she has a bad life, what is the point of her marriage?¡± Jiang Zhen said. He was not going to care about his children¡¯s marriages. They were adults, so why should he have to find lovers for them?

    This would be too useless!

    Zhao Jinge also thought like this.

    The Republic of China was doing very well. No man was allowed to take concubines, while women were allowed to work. There was still a lot of work in the family that was pushed to women, like child care. It was the women¡¯s responsibility to bring them up.

    If his Mingzhu was mistreated¡­

    Zhao Jinge decided never to rush his daughter.

    Two days after this decision, the emissaries from Daqi arrived in the capital of China.

    The three representatives from Daqi had already learned a lot about the Republic of China and the more they knew, the more amazed they were.

    If nothing else, they traveled in horse drawn carriage.

    In Daqi, the roads outside the city were basically all mud roads while the roads in the city were paved with stones, making them bumpy. However, the Republic of China¡¯s roads were smooth and clean!

    They didn¡¯t even feel bumps on the way over!

    Also, they could see various t rice fields, smiling people and happily ying children.

    They also heard that the Republic of China wouldn¡¯t collect taxes from farmers for the first few years!

    Originally, since the Republic of China has been established for only five or six years, they thought this ce would still be in chaos, but the reality? The whole ce was actually pretty calm.

    The people of Daqi and the former Toyo people were all living together in a mix, with nothing bad happening!

    Qi Qing was amazed, and Zheng Yi couldn¡¯t help but admire it from the bottom of his heart. Even so, he also knew that behind this peace, there was actually bloodshed.

    As far as he knows, two years ago a group of Toyo pirates, who had been burning and looting in Daqi for a long time, and gradually growing in size, tried to steal back their country from Jiang Zhen but ended up being killed by him.

    Moreover, although the country of China was established only five or six years ago, Jiang Zhen has been operating here for ten years before that.

    Of course, the reason Jiang Zhen was able to do it was mainly because the country was notrge.

    Jiang Zhen has always been in business, and by making money from it and collecting taxes on business, he has been able to maintain the operation of this country. This being the case, he naturally didn¡¯t need to bother people who cultivated thend.

    At first, Zhou Maohe couldn¡¯t help criticizing Jiang Zhen, butter he became silent.When they finally arrived at the capital of the Republic and discovered that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge still didn¡¯te to meet them, Zhou Maohe became angry again.

    But it was useless for him to be angry.

    ¡°His Majesty and the Lord Prime Minister are now at the Research Institute, pleasee over.¡± The person who came to greet them was Wang Daniu, Wang Haisheng¡¯s son. He was smiling and didn¡¯t care about Zhou Maohe¡¯s ugly expression.

    It wasn¡¯t only because he wasn¡¯t afraid of Zhao Maohe, but also because he didn¡¯t take him seriously.

    When Zhao Maohe sensed that, he became even angrier but Wang Daniu had already turned around and left.

    Also, he had actually changed his name, so he was no longer called Wang Daniu but Wang Zhenhua.

    In the whole Republic of China, there were many people with the same name as him.

    In the past, when they lived in Hexi Vige, if someone shouted ¡°Daniu¡± several people would respond, but now if you shouted ¡°Zhenhua¡± in China there were many people who would respond.

    Although Zhou Maohe was reluctant, he still followed Wang Daniu to the research institute with the others.

    The research institute covered a very, veryrge area, so even after traveling by carriage it was a long time before it finally stopped by the fence.

    Zheng Yi and the others got off the carriage and were led through the gate of the fence to go inside, but just as they entered a sudden loud noise startled them.

    Where did such a loud noisee from? What the hell is going on?

    Zheng Yi was so scared that his heart started to beat faster as he looked forward and saw dust and smokeing from the distance.

    Was this artillery?

    Zheng Yi was thinking this when he heard another loud bang, followed by another cannon explosion right in front of them.

    The ground trembled and a heat wave rushed toward them making them retreat. They controlled their urge to turn around and run away. As the smoke cleared, they saw the ce where the artillery exploded now had a big crater.

    Daqi also had artillery so Zheng Yi had seen a lot of artillery before, but this was the first time he saw such powerful artillery.

    Was Jiang Zhen going to give them a hard time?

    Zheng Yi felt some amusement as he turned to look at Zhou Maohe and Qi Qing. He found that Zhou Maohe was stunned, while Qi Qing¡¯s face showed even more remorse than before.

    If Daqi had such powerful artillery, they wouldn¡¯t have to fear the Rong army, let alone rebels.

    However, now this artillery was not in the hands of Daqi but Jiang Zhen. If Jiang Zhen turned against Daqi¡­. Zhou Maohe and Qi Qing¡¯s expressions changed a little.

    ¡°Pleasee inside.¡± Wang Zhenhua spoke again.

    Wang Zhenhua led these three people as he continued to walk inside, bypassing the ce where the artillery was tested, and eventually came to a greenwn.

    The grass here was very lush so there should be nothing dangerous, but not far away there was some connected iron construction put together, while people came in and out of it. They didn¡¯t know what these people were doing.

    Zheng Yi and others were still wondering when they saw some people standing on a high tform not far away, and the people surrounded in the middle were Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge.

    They went there, and just as they approached the high tform, they suddenly heard a strange noise.

    They looked over and saw smokeing out of the head of the front section of that strange iron construction.

    What was that? Zheng Yi and others wondered as the iron construction that was linked together suddenly moved.

    What the hell was that?

    It didn¡¯t have horses to move it, so how could this iron construction move on its own?

    What else did Jiang Zhene up with? Zheng Yi started to wonder.

    What kind of demonic magic did Jiang Zhen use? Zhou Maohe and Qi Qing standing under bright sun suddenly felt cold.

    Jiang Zhen, who stood on the high tform suddenly looked at them but then moved his gaze to the train.

    After three years of hard work, the steam engine research was finally sessful and the first train was constructed.

    The craftsmen of China were always very smart, and with him giving the direction of research, the result came out very fast.

    Jiang Zhen made a long, round railway track here.

    This train was in fact much smaller than a real train and it drove forward on the tracks at a very slow speed, but as it started its second circle, it started to go faster.

    After it raced around for some time it slowly stopped.

    It slowly stopped, but Zheng Yi and hispanions¡¯ heartbeat did not stop.

    They saw clearly that this iron construction was moving without horses and cattle pulling it and without anyone pushing it. There was also nothing under it except some wheels.

    How on earth did Jiang Zhen do it? Why did hee up with such a thing?

    Was this a threat to Daqi?

    Qi Qing looked at Jiang Zhen and decided to approach Jiang Zhen first, but was stopped before he could get close.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, what happened at that time was my fault. Today I am here to apologize!¡± Qi Qing said, kneeling on the ground.

    Jiang Zhen stood on the high tform and looked at Qi Qing from his high position.

    When he left Daqi, he knew that Qi Qing would regret it.

    At that time, thinking that Qi Qing would regret it one day made him happy, so he always wanted to meet Qi Qing in person once again. Yet now that Qi Qing was kneeling in front of him, he suddenly felt that it was no longer necessary.

    However, even if Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t care about Qi Qing anymore Zhao Jinge did.

    Stepping down from the tform, Zhao Jinge walked towards Qi Qing. ¡°Since this is a plea for punishment, how can there be no punishment? Someone, find some thorns for Marquis Qi.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Someone answered, and then quickly brought the thorns that Zhao Jinge had already prepared before.

    After the thorns were brought, Zhao Jinge asked someone to tie them to Qi Qing¡¯s back.

    Seeing that he was already so old but still making trouble for others like this, Jiang Zhen felt it was very interesting and cute.

    However, others obviously didn¡¯t think so.

    ¡°You bully people too much!¡± Zhou Maohe eximed, looking angrily at Zhao Jinge.

    However, Zhao Jinge just ignored him just like Wang Zhenhua did before, not putting him in his eyes at all.

    Zhou Maohe hated when people ignored him and wanted to say something, but a guard came over and covered his mouth.

    He was no longer able to speak.

    Zhou Maohe had always thought that what he was going to do this time was very simple. He thought that in order to get the approval of the imperial court, Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge would definitely ept the imperial court decree, and then help the imperial court stop the rebellion, but now it seems¡­

    Zhou Maohe suddenly panicked.

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge did not say much to them. Zhao Jinge just watched Qi Qing carry thorns on his back as he left.

    Zheng Yi and Zhou were not sent back until an hourter. Qi Qing, who was no longer young but knelt for a long time, fell ill. Zhou Maohe also fell ill but from anger.

    A doctor was sent to them, but Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge never saw them again.

    ¡°What do they mean by this?¡± Zhou Maohe asked.

    What else could they mean? They didn¡¯t n to help Daqi.

    If Zheng Yi was Jiang Zhen, he would certainly not let the people under him help others at the risk of their own lives.

    What¡¯s more, even if they did, they might not be able to save Daqi.

    However, he could not say this to Zhou Maohe directly so he simply just stopped talking and gave him a wry smile.

    It made Zhou Maohe even angrier.

    Zheng Yiforted him and then returned to his room to read the newspaper again.

    After another day, Zheng Yi met with Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°I never thought that our meeting would be like this.¡± Seeing Jiang Zhen, Zheng Yi became a bit emotional.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Zhen said. More than ten years have passed and a lot has changed. Zheng Yi, who was was once a handsome young master was now a slightly obese middle-aged man.

    ¡°China is developing very well.¡± Zheng Yi added.

    ¡°So, do you want toe?¡± Jiang Zhen asked. ¡°What Ick most now is people. But if you want to live in the Republic of China you must abide by thews of China.¡±

    ¡°Show me.¡± Zheng Yi said.

    Jiang Zhen had already prepared for this and gave Zheng Yi several thick books.

    It was printed in traditional Chinese characters so Zheng Yi could read it without any obstacles, and after he read it for a while, he said: ¡°I need to study it.¡± He has already made up his mind toe to here, but if he wanted to live here permanently he needed to know more about China.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Thews of China, in some ces, were something that would make the privileged ss in Daqi ufortable, but Daqi was at war now so staying there could cost one¡¯s life at any time.

    He believed that Zheng Yi would definitely choose toe to the Republic of China but he was also afraid that some other people would also choose toe to China.

    Of course, China would not ept everyone. People like Zhou Maohe were not wee. If he wanted to stay here he would need to carry out an ideological reform first.

    Zheng Yi and others stayed in the Republic of China for a month, gained nothing and eventually could only return back in disappointment.

    A few monthster, the Zheng family came to the Republic of China together with the Hu family and several other families.

    Even the Second Master Zheng came.

    It was then that Jiang Zhen became aware that thest reliance of the Imperial Family of Daqi, a general from the south side of the Yangtze River, unexpectedly stood up as a king and no longer followed imperial court orders!

    Today, Daqi was inplete chaos, because the current Emperor of Daqi liked to me his defeat in the war on the uselessness of the military generals.

    From the beginning of the siege of the rebels to now, he cut off the heads of not yet of a hundred generals, but eighty. It was no wonder that the generals rebelled.

    By now Daqi basically could no longer be saved, so Second Master Zheng had to find a way out.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t want toe, but Zheng Yi wanted to go. If he was left alone, he could only await his death so he finally decided to alsoe to China.

    After the first group of people came, one after another many more from Daqi came to China.

    Once here, they had toply with thews, so many people were dissatisfied, but people knew how to bow their heads when they looked for shelter so they gradually got used to it.

    Moreover, it¡¯s actually quite nice here, with many new and exciting things.

    The spacious roads were not the rarest thing now. There was a train that moved without horses and could transport a lot of goods which was loved the most by people.

    The Republic of China¡¯s first railroad led from the capital to the port of Wangxiang. Thanks to such a railway, it took only one day to travel between the two ces, and the transportation of goods be much easier and faster.

    The train would make a rumbling sound and sitting inside would be unpleasant but people still loved it.

    The first train left in front of Jiang Zhen.

    With roar it moved.

    The Republic of China would also certainly develop.

 Chapter 175.1 - Extra about the Eldest Jiangï¼ˆ1ï¼‰

    Chapter 175.1 ¨C Extra about the Eldest Jiang£¨1£©

    The Royal Hospital of China was one of the best hospitals in the Republic of China and existed for hundreds of years.

    After the first Prime Minister of the Republic of China, Jiang Zhen, organised this hospital, the hospital started bold innovations and opened a new chapter in the history of medicine.

    Nowadays, many first time surgeries were performed here, such as the caesarean section.

    There was a caesarean section carried out in the Royal Hospital of the Republic of China.

    The operation was performed for the sixteenth heir to the throne of the Republic of China, Zhao Yihui¡¯s wife Jiang Nana.

    Although he was one of the heirs of the throne, he was sixteen. Unless the world was in chaos or a meteorite smashed into the imperial pce, Zhao Yihui had absolutely no chance of inheriting the throne.

    Of course, he himself had no interest in inheriting the throne.

    When members of the royal family grow up, they could get arge amount of business funds to do what they liked, which was much morefortable than being an Emperor who lived in the media limelight as a mascot.

    Moreover, if they weren¡¯t emperor, they were able to develop in another career.

    Isn¡¯t that what happened to the eldest son and eldest daughter of the first emperor of China?

    It was said that the First Emperor of the Republic, Zhao Jinge wanted to pass the throne to his eldest daughter, Zhao Mingzhu. However, his daughter wasn¡¯t interested in the throne and longed for the sea. She finally formed a fleet and upied a territory in Australia.

    There were all kinds of poisonous creatures living there which made it really dangerous, but she still liked it and didn¡¯t want to leave after upying the territory!

    After that, Prince Zhao Chengyu, who was only two years younger than his sister, seeing this situation, followed in his sister¡¯s footsteps. He went to America, and also ended up not wanting to leave after upying a territory.

    It was said that the Prime Minister and His Majesty the Emperor were very angry. They nned to retire before the age of sixty, but because of the trouble caused by their two oldest children they needed to dy their retirement until the age of 65.

    Thankfully, theirst child did not run away. The little prince that was born in the Republic of China loved this country very much and was willing to take over the throne.

    Of course, it was something that happened a long time ago and had nothing to do with Zhao Yihui.

    Zhao Yihui¡¯s grandfather, the uncle of the present emperor of China, was an unambitious man. After taking the royal start-up fund he went into seclusion and began to engage in research. After working half of his lifetime, he really made a name for himself.

    The smartphone that everyone was using now was researched by him and it was said that it was inspired by a book left behind by their ancestor Jiang Zhen.

    After their old ancestor retired, legend has it that he dreamed of the future hundreds of yearster and he wrote down all things he dreamt about. Many people thought this book was absurd at that time, but now that they read it¡­

    This was simply a book of prophecy!

    Their ancestors were really amazing!

    But let¡¯s return to Zhao Yihui¡¯s grandfather.

    The grandfather of Zhao Yihui was a sessful researcher, but he couldn¡¯t do business!

    After researching smartphones, he was confused and didn¡¯t know what to do with them. Fortunately, at that time Jiang¡¯s group found him and was willing to cooperate with him.

    The chairman of Jiang¡¯s group was the descendants of Jiang Ming who followed the old ancestor of the Zhao family to China, so the two families always had a good rtionship. After working with Zhao Yihui¡¯s grandfather, they made his research value increase greatly, squeezing him directly into the top 20 richest individuals in the world. While the Jiang group squeezed into the top ten, bing even more powerful.

    As for why the top ten was good¡­

    The ancestors of the Zhao family left a lot of property to the imperial family of China, so together with the Australian side of the Zhao family and the American side of the Zhao family, they have always upied the top three of the world¡¯s wealthiest positions.

    In any case, Zhao Yihui¡¯s grandfather was rich from the start.

    His grandfather also had only one son, his father Zhao Bufan.

    However, Zhao Bufan¡¯s character was very different from his own father.

    His father was a nerd who could not wait to get into theb and never go out, taking his own assistant as his wife, but Zhao Bufan was fun loving since childhood.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the various rules and limitations ced on members of the Royal Family, stating that some mistakes might even result in being expelled from the Royal Family, he may have already taken the wrong path!

    Thanks to the Royal Law, although Zhao Bufan liked to y, he just spent a lot of money without making any big mistakes. Also, in order to avoid being used of cheating, in his youth he wisely stated that he was not interested in marriage and was determined to never get married!

    As long as he doesn¡¯t get married, even if he changes a girlfriend every day, no one would say that he brought shame to the royal family.

    Although he was a dandy, Zhao Bufan was still proud of his royal status.

    Of course, in the end he did get married, otherwise there would not be Zhao Yihui.

    Zhao Bufan yed around well into his thirties. When he was ying abroad he felt ufortable and went to the hospital for an examination. There his medical chart was identally switched with someone else¡¯s checkup sheet. He was told he had an incurable infectious disease which one of his former femalepanions was also diagnosed with at the same time. Her disease dragged several people who had previously been in a rtionship with her to an early grave.

    He was so frightened that he thought he had only a few days to live. Still, he didn¡¯t want others to use him to attack the Royal Family or his father who lived in the research institute, so he found a small ind and decided to take care of himself there.

    Soon after he arrived on the ind, he began to develop all kinds of rashes. His original very handsome looks distorted due to the ugly rashes. Due to this all the people he hired at a high price started to avoid him as well.

    In a fit of anger, he drove away all the doctors and nurses who had been invited to take care of him!

    In the end, apart from him there were only a few people left on ind and his subordinates whoe over every week.

    As for his parents, they were still in the research Institute.

    Although he had a rash all over his body, he didn¡¯t feel ufortable. He also didn¡¯t know if it was because the air on the ind was very good, but he felt his spirit getting better and better.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t have many more days to live.

    He had nothing to do all day but still had a lot of money left so Zhao Bufan simply began to do good deeds, like donating some of his money to charity. At the same time, he founded many research studies.

    The people who helped him manage the money in his hands have always transferred money to some orphanages, and some orphans who were initially subsidized by him have already graduated from college.

    These people also wrote him a lot of thank-you notes.

    Zhao Bufan, who had nothing to do on the deserted ind, was bored and began to read those thank-you notes while at the same time thinking about his own life. During which time, he paid attention to a ger who had written many letters to him, calling him ¡°Grandpa Zhao¡±.

    He paid attention to him mainly because this ger now worked for him, and even his recent charity contributions were his responsibility. The ger was not only doing a good job, but he also brought him a lot of thank you letters to the deserted ind, making him veryfortable before he died.

    Zhao Bufan met this ger with a face full of rashes, but even after learning that Zhao Bufan had a terrible infectious disease, this ger didn¡¯t stay away, but decided to stay to take care of Zhao Bufan.

    Zhao Bufan was moved by his behavior, so after spending time together, Zhao Bufan took a liking to this ordinary-looking ger.

    Unfortunately, he was going to die soon. If he had another chance at his life, he would not get sick in the first ce and find this ger to live a good life together.

 Chapter 175.2 - Extra about the Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 175.2 ¨C Extra about the Eldest Jiang

    However, Zhao Bufan didn¡¯t die for a long time.

    Zhao Bufan, hadn¡¯t received any treatment for two years while he was on the ind, and he became more and more reluctant to die. He secretly went back to the maind and nned to have a detailed examination and receive treatment. Even if he couldn¡¯t marry because of his illness, he still wanted to live together with this ger for a few more years!

    Instead, the doctor informed Zhao Bufan that he didn¡¯t have the disease in the first ce and was just allergic to a shellfish on that ind.

    The shellfish that he liked so much and had been eating almost every day for the past two years caused the rashes due to his allergy.

    Zhao Bufan was speechless, then cried tears of joy and decided to turn over a new leaf.

    Although it was a false rm, Zhao Bufan was blessed by misfortune and found true love.

    It was because he had yed everywhere and with everyone he be tired of it, so after his marriage he became a good man of filial piety and had a total of four children with his partner, which greatly increased the royal family poption since many members of the Royal Family didn¡¯t like to have children.

    Zhao Yihui was their youngest son, and also the most favored. His brothers and sisters were all capable, while he was the most unproductive one.

    He had one advantage, he was very good looking.

    Not only that, he has been unwaveringly in love with a daughter of the Jiang Family since the age of five. In the end he managed to win the heart of Jiang Nana, the eldestdy of the Jiang family.

    Jiang Nana is the only daughter of the Chairman of the Jiang Group so Zhao Yihui was expected to join the Jiang family. Now, the first child between him and Jiang Nana was born.

    Originally, the child should not have been born for another month, but Jiang Nana was bumped into when she went out for a meeting so she needed to have an early caesarean section.

    Zhao Yihui, who changed into a sterile suit, sat by Jiang Nana¡¯s side. In the past, he always acted spoiled and cute in front of his wife, but now his face was very serious. ¡°Nana, the baby is fine, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Nana, cheer up!¡±

    ¡°Nana, what do you think is the best name for our child?¡±

    ¡­

    Jiang Nana: ¡°You know the baby is fine before it evenes out?¡±

    ¡°He must be fine! Look, his birthday will be the same as our ancestors!¡± Zhao Yihui said.

    Today was the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana¡¯s child would be born on the same day as their ancestor, Jiang Zhen.

    When Jiang Zhenwei suddenly became conscious, he felt a little cold and couldn¡¯t breathe. His face was covered with something as fresh air poured into his lungs. Then he was wrapped into something.

    Wasn¡¯t he dead? Why was he suddenly alive again?

    It really didn¡¯t make sense for him to be alive. He didn¡¯t even know if he wanted to live.

    So, it¡¯s actually good to be dead, only, why was he still able to move? Why did not die?

    Jiang Zhenwei didn¡¯t want to move.

    Just then, he heard someone chattering near his ear: ¡°Why isn¡¯t this child moving?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not crying either.¡±

    ¡°This child¡¯s condition is not quite right, he needs to be sent for examination!¡±

    ¡­.

    Jiang Zhenwei did not understand those people¡¯s words very well, yet he felt what they said to be a bit familiar. It seemed simr to the officialnguage that he learned a few sentences from Jiang Chengxiang before?

    He had always envied his two brothers who could study, so sometimes when his brother read, he would listen to a few sentences. Unfortunately, after he listened to one or two sentences he would be driven away.

    If only he could read.

    But if there was no point in him studying, what could he do even if he tried?

    He just wanted to die early, even if he was reincarnated as a livestock in the next life after he drink Meng Po soup, (Old Lady Meng¡¯ ¨C goddess of forgetfulness in Chinese mythology, who serves Meng Po Soup on the Bridge of Forgetfulness or Naihe Bridge (ÄÎºÎÇÅ). This soup wipes the memory of the person so they can reincarnate into the next life without the burdens of the previous life) he wouldn¡¯t remember so it was fine.

    Jiang Zhenwei didn¡¯t even bother to open his eyes.

    He thought that if he didn¡¯t move, those people would just let him die, but they didn¡¯t. They even picked him up!

    These people, he couldn¡¯t believe they were able to hold him!

    Jiang Zhenwei was very surprised but also full of admiration. He really wanted to open his eyes to see what was going on, but he suddenly discovered that his eyes wouldn¡¯t open. Not only that, he didn¡¯t have enough strength to move.

    He could only endure as he was tossed and turned.

    ¡°After examination, the child seems to be in good health, but he was born prematurely, so he is a little weak.¡±

    ¡°Let him stay in the incubator for a few days and it should be alright.¡±

    Another voice that Jiang Zhenwei didn¡¯t really understand could be heard, but he at this point no longer cared about anything and just let the people around him handle him.

    He was put in some ce, and shortly after, something else was stuffed into his mouth.

    As soon as he bit down on it, milk poured into his mouth.

    That should be milk, right? It was much better than the pig¡¯s milk that he used to milk secretly when he was really hungry.

    Jiang Zhenwei didn¡¯t want to live, nor did he want to involve others into taking care of him as an invalid, but he was really hungry.

    After having food stuffed into his mouth he simply couldn¡¯t resist.

    He ate a lot, and after his stomach was full he felt much morefortable, but shortly after that he actually peed his pants, which made him a little ufortable.

    In fact, since he was going to die anyway it was okay to pee his pants but these people still changed it for him. This made him feel really embarrassed that he troubled others.

    Jiang Zhenwei was a little disgusted with himself, when he suddenly realized something was wrong. Why were these people¡¯s hands so big?

    A few dayster, Jiang Zhenwei was finally able to open his eyes. At first, his sight was a little blurry, so he couldn¡¯t see much which made him feel uneasy.

    He held out his hand and covered his eyes, finally seeing his hand clearly.

    It was a very small hand that should belong to a newborn child.

    What the hell was going on here? Did he die and get reincarnated? Did he somehow forget to drink the Meng Po soup?

    Jiang Zhenwei felt that it was all very strange, but he still couldn¡¯t muster up any energy. So after waking up for a while to eat, he just went back to sleep.

    At his side there was always a man talking to him. Jiang Zhenwei couldn¡¯t understand him at first, but after listening for a while, he was able to understand some words, though he was still not able to respond.

    He doesn¡¯t know what was wrong with him.

    On that day, Jiang Zhenwei was carried out of a small box by those people who stayed at his side all this time.

    ¡°There is nothing wrong with the child¡¯s body. Although he was born prematurely, all his organs are developing well, but he does not respond to any external stimtion.¡±

    ¡°Doctor, I know, but I believe my child will be fine.¡± Zhao Yihui interrupted the doctor¡¯s words.

    There was something wrong with his child and it was very likely something to do with his brain not developing properly, or he was autistic. But he had already made up his mind to treat his child, and he believed that his son would definitely get better.

    Zhao Yihui carried the child into the car where Jiang Nana was already waiting for him.

    ¡°How is the child?¡± Jiang Nana asked worriedly and with some remorse. She felt that it was her own fault that her child became like this. If she had been more careful she wouldn¡¯t have given birth prematurely.

    ¡°Nana our child is fine!¡± Zhao Yihui said with a smile.

    ¡°Yes, it will be fine. He is still small so we just need to take good care of him and he will be fine!¡± Jiang Nana also said. She had already contacted a lot of experts in this field, so they were starting to develope a recovery n for their son. She believed that it would be able to get her child back to normal.

    That¡¯s right! This child was born on the fifth day of May,¡± Zhao Yihuiughed.

    He said this just tofort himself, and didn¡¯t even finish speaking when the child who was always motionless in his hands, suddenly trembled and cried with his eyes wide open.

 Chapter 176.1 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 176.1 ¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Jiang Zhenwei couldn¡¯t help himself after hearing this date.

    He epted that he had been reincarnated and was nning to slowly get used to it all, but he didn¡¯t expect this.

    If he heard correctly, his parents said he was born on the fifth day of May?

    Will they not want him?

    A wave of panic rose in his heart, making him unable to restrain himself from crying. He was still very small, and poorly developed so he couldn¡¯t hold back his tears.

    ¡°The baby is crying, he¡¯s crying!¡± Zhao Yihui was excited. ¡°I told you he would be fine, he was born on the fifth day of May, the same date as our ancestors! He will grow to be impressive!¡±

    ¡°Yes, our baby will be very good in the future.¡± Jiang Nana kissed the child on the forehead, also very happy that their child finally cried!

    Jiang Zhenwei was crying so hard that his eyes were hazy with tears, making him unable to see anything around him, but he could still feel someone kissing him.

    They were kissing him, they weren¡¯t disgusted with him because he was born on a bad day, they were kissing him!

    Jiang Zhenwei was a little taken aback, not believing what was right in front of him.

    Because he was so shocked, he didn¡¯t show much of reaction again. Noticing this, Zhao Yihui got worried again. ¡°Baby, baby, what¡¯s wrong? Is daddy crushing you?¡±

    Jiang Zhenwei saw the expression on his face, which was full of worry.

    When he was growing up, he had never seen such a worried expression on the faces of the Jiang family.

    Even after he grew up, no one had ever cared about him like this either.

    He suddenly remembered a lot of previous memories.

    When he was lying in that transparent box, this man was always staying by the box and talked to him.

    He pooped and peed but this man would clumsily help to clean him up.

    Also this woman, he could see that she was unwell, but she still came to see him several times and would talk to him in a soft voice.

    Jiang Zhenwei extended one of his hands towards the man in front of him.

    He did not know what he wanted to do, but he was sure that he did not want to make this man sad and upset.

    Zhao Yihui hugged him excitedly.

    Everything that followed was just magical to Jiang Zhenwei.

    He saw many things that he had never seen before, like he had reallye to a magical ce.

    He periodically felt as if he was dreaming.

    Here, he didn¡¯t have to worry about starving. Here he had loving parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents.

    His mother was young and beautiful, while his father was handsome and dashing. Everyone in this family was so good that he was ashamed of himself.

    The only downside was that he was just too boring.

    He was too boring, and that seemed to upset his parents.

    He was trying to change, and make them happy but he didn¡¯t seem to be doing enough.

    Jiang Zhenwei felt a little uneasy and scared.

    In their vige, a sick child would be abandoned. If he behaved abnormally, would he also be abandoned?

    He recalled all the reactions of his younger siblings as children and tried to imitate them, yet his parents seemed to be even more worried.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana were indeed worried.

    Their child would react when he saw them, but it was always a half beat slower than other children and when he didn¡¯t see them¡­

    Looking at the motionless child in the monitor they became sad.

    This child who they thought was autistic, or something very simr, made them finally came to the conclusion that his brain might be damaged.

    Fortunately, their son was still very young. Even if there was some brain damage, there was still a chance for him to improve.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen will be fine for sure.¡± Jiang Nana said.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Yihui nodded his head in agreement.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana named their child Jiang Zhen.

    The meaning of ¡°Zhen¡± was very good, and it has the same sound as Zhen, which would be a good blessing for their child. It was also because Zhao Yihui wanted to borrow the blessing of his old ancestor, since his ancestor¡¯s name was Jiang Zhen. His son would be named with simr characters so he will also be called Jiang Zhen!

    However, even if Zhao Yihui thought so, Jiang Zhenwei, no, Jiang Zhen knew nothing.

    He was still a bit confused.

    For a person who was born and raised in Hexi vige and never left He Cheng country, everything in this modern age looked like paradise to him.

    At first, he was in low spirits and didn¡¯t care about anything. His eyes couldn¡¯t see anything around him, so he didn¡¯t find anything wrong with his situation. He could only recognize a few people around him but now¡­

    Lamps that glowed, a t box on the wall with small people inside and even a magical object known as a cell phone.

    All this surprised and awed Jiang Zhen, which only made him even more dull and frightened. Because of this, he, who was already in poor health, became even more sickly.

    However, this made the people around him even more sure that he was a child with a problem.

    Even though their son had problems, Jiang Nana and Zhao Yihui never gave up on him.

    They stayed with him, worked hard to develop his intelligence while taking good care of him.

    Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t spoken for a long, long time before he died, so he was not even sure if he knew how to speak.

    After reincarnation, although he was loved by his parents, he still didn¡¯t speak. He couldn¡¯t speak, but he was also worried that if he spoke too early he would be taken as a demon.

    His younger siblings were all more than a year old or almost two before they started speaking.

    Jiang Zhen was very tangled and couldn¡¯t help being distracted. Especially when there was no one around him, so heid still. He acted like this in hisst life too. Then, no one paid attention to him, and no one knew that there was something wrong with him psychologically, but now it was different.

 Chapter 176.2 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 176.2 ¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana¡¯s child suffered from autism, everyone around knew about it.

    However, whether it was because Zhao Yihui or Jiang Nana¡¯s status was very high, although everyone knew about this, no one dared to say anything in front of them. Some could only secretly sympathize or gloat maliciously about it.

    Jiang Zhen waited until he was one and a half years old before he was finally ready to call out to his mom and dad.

    He felt that it was normal for him to do so, and it would even be considered as speaking early. However, he kinda ignored the different living environment of himself and his younger siblings.

    In Hexi Vige, very few parents were patient enough to teach their children to speak; his parents wouldn¡¯t, and so he didn¡¯t learn early. It was not surprising that his younger brothers and sister couldn¡¯t speak till they were almost two years old.

    But his situation was different now.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana have been teaching him attentively. If the average child was taught in this way, it would be able to speak a few months earlier so he was considered to start speaking quitete.

    Fortunately, after he slowly started talking, he also started to walk.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana wept with joy.

    Although their son developed quitete, he was bound to only get better and better in the future.

    Jiang Zhen really was getting better and better.

    After he started speaking, he epted his parents, and although he still seemed a little dull, he slowly returned to normal.

    By the time he was three years old, it was even difficult for others to see his abnormality.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana finally put their minds at ease, and at the same time nning to let their child go out and meet other people.

    Over the years, they had taken their child to special schools. For a time, Zhao Yihui would even take him to the amusement park every day, but Jiang Zhen obviously didn¡¯t like it there. Sometimes other children would bully him and he didn¡¯t seem to know how to resist. So they were reluctant to take him there.

    Now that their child has be much better, he should start meeting other people.

    ¡°Little baby, today is your grandfather¡¯s birthday, let¡¯s go to your grandfather¡¯s birthday!¡± Zhao Yihui kissed his son.

    The grandfather he was talking about was his father, Zhao Bufan. Even though he married into the Jiang family, Jiang Zhen still should call his father his grandfather.

    This was a verymon thing in the Republic of China, so Zhao Yihui had nothing to be embarrassed about. Jiang Zhen could not even marry a wife before, so he felt nothing about the situation.

    In a blink of an eye, it was Zhao Bufan¡¯s birthday.

    Zhao Bufan was already 60 years old this year. When he was young, he cared a lot about his figure and appearance. Later when he married a younger ger, he paid even more attention to his body¡¯s maintenance so he looked to be forty not sixty years old.

    He was very loving to his youngest son¡¯s child, so when he saw Jiang Zhen he give him a hug, and then went around to introduce him to people.

    The people around him looked either rich or very wealthy, so Jiang Zhen felt himself stiffen. His grandfather would just hug him and pat him on the back tofort him so he endured. Of course, he still wasn¡¯t able to avoid looking stiff.

    Seeing this, Zhao Bufan sighed secretly, but showed nothing on his face.

    Other people sympathized with Jiang Nana and Zhao Yihui, who were good in all respects, but they unexpectedly had such a problematic child.

    Yet, sympathy was just sympathy. No one would target Jiang Zhen, who was a descendent of both the Zhao and the Jiang family. Even if he was sick, no one would let him get hurt.

    Over the past three years, Jiang Zhen¡¯s days could be described as if he was soaking in a honeypot.

    It¡¯s just that the marks on his soul from the previous twenty years of his life were too deep, so he couldn¡¯t let go. This made him unable to make any changes.

    For example, if he was hungry and wanted to eat something, he never dared to ask or even look for something to eat himself.

    Of course, because Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana loved him very much, he always had enough to eat.

    Zhao Bufan¡¯s banquet was very grand, and it was only at this time that Jiang Zhen realized that his status seemed to be a bit unusual.

    However this made him even more frightened, since he didn¡¯t know how to deal with it.

    Zhao Bufan looked at his uneasy grandson who wasn¡¯t even in the mood to exchange pleasantries with the people around them. After thinking about it for a moment, he finally carried Jiang Zhen upstairs into his study.

    ¡°Dad.¡± Zhao Yihui, who had been paying attention to his son, immediately followed after them.

    ¡°Youe too.¡± Zhao Bufan said.

    Zhao Bufan carried Jiang Zhen into the study and sat down on his big chair.

    The study was decorated in dark colors with antiques all around. After Zhao Bufan sat down with the child in his arms, he took out a thick copy of the Biography of their Great Ancestor and said, ¡°Little Zhen, Grandpa will tell you the story of our old ancestor, okay?¡±

    Jiang Zhen nodded. He never refused his elders¡¯ requests and was always clever and overly well-behaved.

    Zhao Bufan stroked his head as he began to speak.

    ¡°One of our ancestors is Jiang Zhen, another one was called Zhao Jinge. Grandfather will tell you the story of Jiang Zhen who has the same name as you,¡± Zhao Bufan said slowly, hoping to inspire his grandson. ¡°Our ancestor, like you, was born on the fifth day of May. It was a long, long time ago. At that time, everyone thought that this day was very bad and since Hexi vige was a very small ce, his own mother didn¡¯t like him very much.¡±

    The ancestors Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge both wrote some memoirs. Generals from their time also wrote a lot of things rted to them, so many things about their life were well known facts to people today.

    In fact, Zhao Bufan has always worshipped his ancestors and read all documents about them, so at this time he could speak in great details. ¡°In the memoirs written by their eldest daughter, there was a description of the life of her father at that time, mentioned by her grandparents. It was said that her father, known as Jiang Zhenwei at that time, had a lot of work to do every day but never enough to eat. One winter, he was driven out of the house and almost froze to death.¡±

    Zhao Bufan slowly said, but Jiang Zhen was struck by lightning.

    Over the past three years, he had also learned something about the Republic of China and more or less heard Jiang Zhen¡¯s name but that person¡­was actually him?

    He Cheng County, Hexi vige, Jiang Zhenwei, Zhao Jinge. All of these names were familiar to him!

    His grandfather was talking about his past!

 Chapter 177.1 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 177.1 ¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Jiang Zhen froze. He couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard.

    When he was still Jiang Zhenwei, he always felt that having enough to eat was the happiest thing in the world. At that time, he felt that he had no ability and no hope for the future so he couldn¡¯t do anything.

    But, the other him, surprisingly under such circumstances was able to be powerful and even conquered a country.

    It turned out that if he tried, he could also be powerful!

    Jiang Zhen froze.

    ¡°Little Zhen, what¡¯s wrong? Is it because Grandpa didn¡¯t speak well?¡± Zhao Bufan looked at his grandson worriedly.

    Still dazed, Jiang Zhen just shook his head.

    ¡°Dad, why are you telling little Zhen this? It will only scare him.¡± When Zhao Yihui saw his son¡¯s appearance, he knew that his son was already confused. He hurriedly went to hug Jiang Zhen, intending to carry him out of study.

    In the past, Jiang Zhen would have obediently let his father carry him away, but at this moment, he didn¡¯t want to go.

    He wanted to stay here and continue to listen.

    Jiang Zhen hugged Zhao Bufan.

    Zhao Bufan knew that his grandson was very fragile, so seeing him frozen, he nned to let his son take him away. Unexpectedly, his grandson took the initiative to hold him.

    His grandson has never done this before!

    Zhao Yihui also froze. His son has always been indifferent before and until this moment never expressed any wants.

    He didn¡¯t take his child from his father, but he was so happy that his hands trembled with excitement.

    ¡°Little Zhen, do you still want to hear Grandpa tell stories?¡± Zhao Yihui asked.

    Jiang Zhen nodded, then looked at Zhao Yihui somewhat uneasily, afraid that Zhao Yihui would be unhappy and that Zhao Bufan would be impatient.

    But they weren¡¯t.

    Zhao Bufan continued to speak, in high spirits.

    In the story, Jiang Zhen almost died in that thatched hut, but was saved by Zhao Jinge. Then his whole temperament changed.

    He knew Zhao Jinge. If Zhao Jinge found him lying in the thatched hut, he would certainly try to save him, but would he still be able to do that?

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t know what was going on and was not sure if that person was really him. Regardless, he envied that person and wanted to learn from him to be like him.

    ¡°Little Zhen, our old ancestors were born in that kind of environment, so they built such a foundation. You have to go for it.¡± Zhao Bufan finally said after speaking for a long time.

    Jiang Zhen nodded.

    After that, Jiang Zhen began to change. He was still timid and introverted, not liking to talk to people, but he began to take the initiative to study, trying to learn how to read.

    He wanted to be able to read those big books and learn more about Jiang Zhen.

    He envied Jiang Zhen in these books, even though he might never be able to do what he did.

    Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t smart and was very ordinary but he wasn¡¯t stupid. He also had an advantage that no one else could match.

    He was able to bear hardship.

    Other children be bored after learning to write their name a few times, but Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t. If no one stopped him, he would continue to learn to write and read.

    He was now able to eat and wear warm clothes, what would it matter if he just study?

    No matter what Jiang Zhen studied, he was always particrly serious. He was still not very talkative and did not like to meet with outsiders, but he was bing more and more normal.

    Not only was he bing more normal, but because he was especially willing to devote all his time to studying after he started kindergarten, he became a smart child in the eyes of the teachers!

    How many children in kindergarten could read and write so seriously and so well?

    Although this child has autism, it was a rare high IQ autism!

    Although he was very quiet, he was actually very smart!

    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to understand this.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana were naturally overjoyed, and everyone around them was happy for them.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen, who was learning more and more, and had even moved up to elementary school, discovered that his parents would be happy if he was smart. They¡¯d also be happy if he made a few friends.

    He began to work hard to reach out to the world, and also began to study harder.

    Studying was a very sacred thing for Jiang Zhen, who loved to read and study.

    With such a mentality, he became a person who didn¡¯t find studying boring and naturally learned very well. After he learns his curriculum thoroughly, he liked to learn even more.

    This was a virtuous never ending process.

    When Jiang Zhen was in junior high school, he surprisingly became the school¡¯s number one student. Not only that, he inherited a handsome appearance from Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana. Together with his outstanding family background it made him the most striking presence in the whole school.

    The child who was once thought to be problematic and maybe even under-developed now became the best kid at school.

    While Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana were thrilled, Jiang Zhen was still a bit ufortable.

    The twenty years of his previous life had affected him too much, making him feel that he was useless. So now that he had be a rich man, he had the feeling that he couldn¡¯t find his original self.

    He even gradually began to be a little confused. Who was he?

    At the age of sixteen, Jiang Zhen made a request to his parents. He wanted to study in Xingguo, a country that was adjacent to the Republic of China and was on friendly terms with them.

    In history, Daqi ceased to exist more than ten years after the founding of the Republic of China. The country was divided into two halves.

    The north was upied by the Rong army, which established a great state, while in the south that was upied by those who rebelled against Daqi, they established Daxing.

    When the great state of Rong attacked Daqi, they had been wounded by firearms, making them afraid that people would use firearms to rebel against them. They learned the lesson of Daqi, and didn¡¯t allow their people to be sea merchants and traders.

    Their country was built on horses. As long as their cavalry was strong enough, they would be invincible!

    Daxing was the opposite.

    Daxing was founded with the support of many merchants, so after it was founded, the status of merchants became much higher. Many merchants still had close ties with the Republic of China and seeing the rapid change there, they also wanted to make changes in their own country.

    Later, the officials of Daxing and those merchants, also began to aspire to the same system of governing as the Republic of China. They no longer wanted to be oppressed by an emperor over them, or have an emperor decide their life or death.

    A hundred years after Daxing was founded, the Republic of China had already be very powerful, and at that time Daxing also decided to undergo an industrial revolution.

    Later, the Daxing Emperor was beheaded and afterwards, although the Imperial Family still existed, it no longer had any real power.

    At first, the country of Rong treated it as a joke. They thought that the original Emperor of Daxing was really stupid. If he didn¡¯t allow those merchants to do business in the first ce, how could his royal descendants be judged and beheaded?

    Later they were dumbfounded.

    Daxing began to develop rapidly, and soon after, it began to expand.

    The Great State of Rong was destroyed, while Daxing itself underwent several regime changes, and finally, even their Royal Family ceased to exist.

    Xingguo was what remained when all was said and done, and this country followed behind the Republic of China to develop.

    China helped many of the people of Xingguo and gave them all kinds of technical support. Therefore, up to now, the rtionship between the Republic of China and Xingguo was very good. This made them friendly neighbor countries and they grew extremely close.

    When Jiang Zhen told them he wanted to go to Xingguo, Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana were reluctant, but after careful consideration they agreed. After all, Xingguo was very safe.

    Of course, even if they agreed, they also asked that Jiang Zhene home to see them on weekends. It didn¡¯t take much time to travel between two ces with a private jet.

    Jiang Zhen agreed.

    He liked his parents very much and was very happy to go home to see his parents on weekends!

 Chapter 177.2 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 177.2¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Jiang Zhen decided to study in Hexing City.

    It was a sub-provincial city of Xingguo, and it was veryrge and prosperous. There were many schools, including public and private ones.

    Jiang Zhen came here to find himself, wanting to leave his overly luxurious living environment for a while. He changed his name to Zhao Zhen and went to a public school.

    The school was fairly good, but not top-notch. It was just a public high school in Hexing City, which was very ordinary in all aspects.

    The things that students learned in Xingguo was different from what students learned in the Republic of China. Jiang Zhen always went to the best schools and received the best education in China.

    After he arrived at this school, he was not used to it at first, but after half a semester, he had already caught up with the coursework and gained first ce in school.

    In the meantime, he found that his parents didn¡¯t expect him toe home every week. Over the past decade or so, his parents had paid so much attention to him that they didn¡¯t have too much time to spend alone together. Now without him, they had a second newlywed period, even renewing their wedding vows and going on vacation from time to time.

    Jiang Zhen simply reduced the number of times he went back and used his free weekends to go to He Cheng County, where Hexi Vige was located.

    He walked from ce to ce and saw many sites rted to Jiang Zhen, and at the same time his previous life, and he slowly found himself.

    He was no longer Jiang Zhenwei nor was he Jiang Zhen. He was now Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen is so handsome!¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen got first ce in the exam again!¡±

    ¡°He won the first prize in the city for the mathpetition, how great!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my male god!¡±

    ¡°He is also my male god! But he¡¯s too aloof! It¡¯s hard to get in touch with him!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, no one dares to confess to him.¡±

    ¡­¡­.

    Jiang Zhen asionally heard somements from others, and saw somements about himself on the school forum which made him more clearly understand himself.

    He was Jiang Zhen.

    However, although he was Jiang Zhen, he was still a bit ufortable with his honored status in the Republic of China. He preferred to study hard in school rather than attending various banquets.

    The food in the canteen was not delicious, but he didn¡¯t hate it and would still eat everything on his. The school uniform was also not of high quality but it still felt good enough.

    Without the restrictions of his status, he even made some friends.

    Of course, he also encountered some disturbances, such as, surprisingly, someone confessed to him in front of arge audience.

    ¡°Zhao Zhen, I like you!¡± An ordinary-looking ger showed a sunny smile as he shouted to Jiang Zhen.

    Jiang Zhen froze.

    When he was still living in the Republic of China, he was young and devoted to studying so he never thought about his feelings at all. The people around him were of high status or rich, so even if they had a crush on him, they would never be so frank. He also never received any love letters.

    When he arrived here, he became anonymous, and concentrated on his studies and looked aloof. Therefore, although many people liked him, there were not a lot of people who would dare to express their love to him. There were only a few of them, and all of them wrote love letters.

    So this was the first time Jiang Zhen has been confessed to in public.

    He was stunned, turning right and left, however the ger behind him relentlessly chased after him. ¡°Zhao Zhen, I really like you! Even if you don¡¯t ept me, I won¡¯t give up!¡±

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s heart started to beat faster and faster.

    He knew that ger. He always sat opposite him when he ate and would meet him head-on when he walked around the school.

    This ger was named Ning Qi and heunched a passionate pursuit of Jiang Zhen, taking care of every aspect of him. Since he met him, Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯t even had a chance to eat in the canteen since he would receive all kinds of delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners from him. Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t like to waste food.

    What¡¯s more, a lot of this food was made by Ning Qi himself.

    Jiang Zhen could feel that Ning Qi was genuinely fond of him and he inevitably began to like this ger. After Ning Qi pursued him for a month, the two of them got together.

    The number one student being so quickly caught undoubtedly stunned some people, but inevitably, there were also people who were sour and felt that Jiang Zhen must have got together with Ning Qi for his money.

    Ning Qi¡¯s father was a nouveau riche so he had a lot of money, but Jiang Zhen was different; no one thought that this quiet boy that lived in the dormitory and ate in the canteen had any money.

    What¡¯s more, Ning Qi had nothing except money. No matter if it was in appearance, temperament or achievement, he wasn¡¯t worthy of Jiang Zhen.

    He also spent money to attend this school.

    Therefore it was widely believed that Jiang Zhen and Ning Qi got together only because Ning Qi had money!

    Each time Ning Qi heard these kinds of words he would roll up his sleeves and rush towards those who gossiped, waving his fists as he hit people. After that he would still carefully look at Jiang Zhen. ¡°Although my grades are not good, I am still very virtuous and ethical! Really!¡±

    Then he would add, ¡°Zhao Zhen, I really like you!¡±

    Jiang Zhen would just smile. ¡°I know.¡±

    His life hadpletely changed, and it was very good.

    Then, because of Jiang Zhen¡¯s declining grades, Ning Qi¡¯s parents were called by the school.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t ept Ning Qi before, so the school turned a blind eye to it, but now that the two of them are openly dating¡­

    After being together openly, Jiang Zhen¡¯s grades went down unexpectedly!

    Ning Qi¡¯s grades from the beginning were not very good, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to the school if his grades were not good, but Jiang Zhen was the best student in their school! He mustn¡¯t be brought down!

    In a public school that especially cared about the enrollment rates, of course parents would be called when such a thing happens.

    As for why they called Ning Qi¡¯s parents, teachers felt that Jiang Zhen was led astray by Ning Qi!

    Jiang Zhen was caught off guard when he met Ning Qi¡¯s parents, who were a fat-bellied middle-aged man and a chubby middle-aged woman.

    After learning that their son was pestering the best-performing student in school and causing his grades to drop, they were very ashamed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry teacher, we will educate him properly!¡±

    ¡°Sorry ssmate, we will not let him pester you in the future!¡±

    ¡°This kid Ning Qi has grown so bold! How dare he lead others astray!¡±

    Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    After meeting Ning Qi¡¯s pitiful eyes, Jiang Zhen gave the teacher a promise that his grades would never drop again while also promising to supervise Ning Qi¡¯s studies.

    Ning Qi¡¯s parents were instantly grateful, and after seeing Jiang Zhen¡¯s outstanding looks and temperament and learning of all his brilliant achievements, they secretly sighed that a good cabbage had been wasted by their own good for nothing pig son.

    A long timeter, they were shocked to find out that this was not just an ordinary high quality cabbage, but a golden cabbage, no a diamond cabbage!

    They couldn¡¯t figure out why such a rich and powerful person would see in their son.

    They also didn¡¯t know that after Ning Qi confessed his love, their whole family was actually investigated upside down by Zhao Yihui and his wife.

    Zhao Yihui and Jiang Nana would not let people with bad intentions get close to their son!

 Chapter 178.1 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 178.1¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Jiang Zhen lived in Xingguo for three years and took part in the college entrance examination of Xingguo before officially ending his high school life.

    Although puppy love was prohibited in high school, there were actually a lot of students who fell in love secretly. Now that they already graduated from high school, it was inevitable that many couples would break up.

    After all, it was difficult for a couple to go to the same coge.

    It would also be impossible for Ning Qi to go to the same university as Jiang Zhen.

    In hisst year of high school, Jiang Zhen spent a lot of effort on him, giving him extra lessons. Because he didn¡¯t want to drag Jiang Zhen down, Ning Qi studied hard, but in the end, his grades were only good enough to go to an ordinary university while Jiang Zhen could certainly go to the top universities in Xingguo.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, which university do you want to apply for in the future? I¡¯ll go online and see if there¡¯s a suitable university for me nearby.¡± Ning Qi looked eagerly at Jiang Zhen as he held the university application materials.

    He definitely could not go to the same university as Jiang Zhen, so he could only find a school that was closest to Jiang Zhen to enroll in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t need to think about this now,¡± Jiang Zhen replied. His parents had spoken to him about this already. They wanted him to go back to the Republic of China to study. He also wanted to go back to China and hoped to take Ning Qi with him.

    He liked Ning Qi, and Ning Qi liked him and they had been together for a long time. Jiang Zhen has already begun to think about getting married and having children in the future.

    However, he was too embarrassed to say that aloud. Although he has changed a lot, he is still not used tomunicating with people, nor does he like to talk with other people.

    In the past two years, he had basically been listening to Ning Qi.

    Hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, Ning Qi¡¯s expression inevitably dimmed.

    Ning Qi and Jiang Zhen were of the same age. When Jiang Zhen transferred to their school two years ago, he fell in love with Jiang Zhen at first sight. After observing Jiang Zhen for a long time, he became more and more fond of him.

    As a matter of fact, he wrote a love letter to Jiang Zhen, but he didn¡¯t read it so Ning Qi clenched his teeth and confessed his love in public. After the confession, he no longer cared about his image and simply pestered Jiang Zhen.

    As a result, Jiang Zhen really agreed to be with him!

    Ning Qi had a feeling of being hit by a pie from the sky, while at the same time bing more and more uneasy.

    Although Jiang Zhen agreed to be with him, it was always mild between them.

    Jiang Zhen has never said that he liked him and he didn¡¯t talk to him very much.

    He wanted to keep pestering Jiang Zhen, but now that they graduated from high school¡­

    After the college entrance exam, their ss got together to have a meal.

    Everyone belonged to AA, but Ning Qi grabed Jiang Zhen¡¯s share and paid for Jiang Zhen with his own money.

    Jiang Zhen should have very little money. He often stayed in school on the weekends, ate in the canteen and wore clothes without any brand names.

    His ssmates didn¡¯t know that many of Jiang Zhen¡¯s unbranded clothes were in fact privately custom-made and purchased by Ning Qi during their rtionship, who almost always covered the expenses for the two of them.

    Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t stop him.

    This was because he liked the feeling of Ning Qi taking care of him, but also because Ning Qi didn¡¯t spend much money. If Ning Qi tried to buy him expensive items, he would refuse, but as they got together he was mostly just covering their meal expenses.

    The meal was scheduled to be at noon on the day the results came out, but before that, Jiang Zhen went back to the Republic of China.

    He made a request to his parents to be with Ning Qi.

    ¡°Have you decided?¡± Zhao Yihui asked.

    Jiang Zhen nodded.

    ¡°Then treat him well.¡± Zhao Yihui said.

    Although their Zhao Family was a part of the Imperial Family, their ancestors were ordinary farmers, so they didn¡¯t care about the concept of nobility at all, as long as they liked the person.

    What¡¯s more, Jiang Zhen was different.

    What happened when Jiang Zhen was a child, and hister excessive cleverness made them never refuse his requests.

    With the approval of his parents, Jiang Zhen immediately smiled.

    He nned to get engaged to Ning Qi during summer vacation, so the two of them could go to the Royal Academy of the Republic of China together and after graduating get married.

    The more Jiang Zhen thought about it, the happier he was, and he nned to fly back to Hexing City without any stops.

    A sudden heavy rain made it impossible for the ne to take off.

    While Jiang Zhen was waiting at the airport, Xingguo¡¯s college entrance examination results were announced. Since he performed very well, he unexpectedly took first ce in Hexing City and became the province¡¯s top student.

    Jiang Zhen wasn¡¯t considered the most outstanding student in the whole city, but there were many private high schools in Hexing City. The goal of these students was never the college entrance examination, but studying in the Republic of China.

    For example, in the best private school in Hexing City, half of the students wouldplete various procedures for studying abroad before the college entrance examination, and then get an eptance letter from a university in the Republic of China or Austria.

    The Austrian country was the country that Zhao Mingzhu founded in Australia.

    Because many people who receive an elite education have chosen to go abroad, Jiang Zhen, who had been studying hard, ended up being the top student in the college entrance exam.

    This was undoubtedly a joyful thing, so all of Jiang Zhen¡¯s friends and rtives called him to congratte him so he answered the calls while waiting in the airport because his ne was grounded.

    Luckily, soon after his ne was able to take off.

    Jiang Zhen hurriedly got on the ne.

    In summer, the restaurant business was usually very slow, but that day at noon the lobby of a restaurant in Hexing City was very lively.

    The students of a nearby high school had booked a graduate dinner here.

    There were more than 500 students in senior high school ss, so more than 60 tables were set. Because they couldn¡¯t all fit in the lobby, some private rooms upstairs were also arranged.

    The food was quite ordinary, and with the hotel discount, it was less than a hundred dors per person. But everyone was able to eat happily and excitedly. Some people even tried drinking.

    However, Ning Qi felt very uneasy. Jiang Zhen hadn¡¯te yet. Not only that, he called Jiang Zhen a lot of times, but it always went back to voicemail because his phone was turned off.

    Did Jiang Zhen not want to answer his calls?

    ¡°Ning Qi, I don¡¯t think Zhao Zhen is really with you. Now that you have graduated from high school, you might as well break up with him.¡± One of Ning Qi¡¯s female friends said: ¡°Otherwise, be careful or you might end up with nothing!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Ning Qi immediately said, ring at his friend.

    ¡°Why not? My own dad was like this.¡± Ning Qi¡¯s friend added that her father¡¯s family was very poor, and when he was studying he fell in love with her mother. He just spent her mother¡¯s money after that.

    Originally it was nothing, but after her father became sessful many yearster, the first thing he did was divorce her mother.

    She still admired Jiang Zhen, but she was afraid that he was the same as her father, a scum.

    ¡°Zhao Zhen isn¡¯t like this!¡± Ning Qi said, but couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious.

    He wasn¡¯t able to contact Jiang Zhen.

    Ning Qi was worried when another person approached him.

    ¡°Ning Qi, you¡¯ve been dumped, right?¡±

    ¡°I knew Zhao Zhen would dump you sooner orter!¡±

    ¡°Zhao Zhen won¡¯t look at someone like you!¡±

 Chapter 178.2 - Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    Chapter 178.2¨C Extra About The Eldest Jiang

    ¡­¡­

    All the people who came over were people who had an old grudge against Ning Qi, or liked Jiang Zhen. Now after drinking some wine they spoke badly.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t pestered him so much, Zhao Zhen wouldn¡¯t have been with you. Now that he graduated, he must be happy to get rid of you!¡± One of them said again.

    Ning Qi could no longer control himself and punched the person directly.

    ¡°Ning Qi.¡± Jiang Zhen came over just in time to see this scene.

    ¡°Zhao Zhen?!¡± Ning Qi was both shocked and happy, but he was afraid that Jiang Zhen would be unhappy so he quickly retracted his fist, wanting to stop. However, the person opposite didn¡¯t want to stop, so the man¡¯s fist was about tond on his face!

    Jiang Zhen unconsciously kicked out towards the other person, kicking their arm.

    Due to his status, Jiang Zhen had to learn everything and self-defense was naturally no exception. The force of this kick was not small.

    The other person stumbled and fell, smashing over the table.

    Jiang Zhen was a little confused. He had never taken the initiative to hit someone before.

    The surrounding people were also confused. Jiang Zhen was also capable of hitting people?

    Jiang Zhen not only hit someone for the first time but the consequences were a bit serious.

    The student was not seriously injured, but his parents were very angry and immediately reported the whole matter to police. Among the students present, there were also people who took photos and videos and posted them online.

    The top student of the college entrance examination hit someone, this was definitely the news of the day, so naturally it quickly spread on the inte.

    The media in Hexing City were nning to interview the top student of the college entrance examination only to find out that he was at the police station.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± Ning Qi looked at Jiang Zhen guiltily.

    Because the ssmate only suffered a minor injury, although Jiang Zhen was taken to the police station, it was only to give a statement. This made Ning Qi, who came along with him, regret it very much.

    If he didn¡¯t quarrel with others, would he still have affected Jiang Zhen?

    ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Ning Qi felt even more guilty, but still couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°Zhao Zhen, which college are you going to?¡±

    ¡°The Royal Academy of China.¡± Jiang Zhen said.

    Ning Qi froze.

    The Royal Academy of China was the best school in the world. Jiang Zhen was going to study at this school?

    If Jiang Zhen wanted to go to this school, what about him? Could he go with him?

    If Jiang Zhen went to a domestic school, he could follow him and study in a nearby school but if Jiang Zhen went to study in the Royal Academy of China, could he still follow him? Although his parents are rich, to study abroad in China was not something that could be handled with money alone.

    What¡¯s more, even if he followed him to the Republic of China, the difference between him and Jiang Zhen was destined to be only bigger and bigger, worlds apart.

    Could they still be together?

    Ning Qi¡¯s hands couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Suddenly Ning Qi¡¯s father arrived at the station. ¡°Ning Qi you brat, even if you hit someone, did you need to drag Zhao Zhen with you?!¡± His own son started to beat someone and then asked Jiang Zhen to save him. This of course ended up hurting Jiang Zhen.

    Ning Qi didn¡¯t hear his father¡¯s words at all since his thoughts were muddled at this moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jiang Zhen became a little worried.

    ¡°Nothing! Zhao Zhen, let¡¯s hurry back!¡± Ning Qi finally lifted his face with a big smile.

    Jiang Zhen nodded, then he pulled Ning Qi to his side and headed out, only to encounter a few reporters as he was leaving the police station.

    ¡°Hello, are you Zhao Zhen?¡±

    ¡°What are your thoughts on bing the top student in the college entrance exam?¡±

    ¡°Why did you hit someone?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the end, Jiang Zhen left the police station under the escort of Ning Qi¡¯s father.

    Those reporters were actually quite polite. They knew that Jiang Zhen¡¯s ssmate was not seriously injured, but it was different on the Inte.

    As the top student in the college entrance examination, not only did he not set an example, but he hit someone in public.

    Also, it was quickly exposed that Jiang Zhen was very unfriendly to others during school and was very arrogant because of his good grades. He is always looking down on others. Because his family was poor, he got a boyfriend and kept spending his boyfriend¡¯s money, even asking his boyfriend to buy him luxury goods.

    You could say it was part of the rtionship, but in fact it was simr to supporting someone.

    The school promptly published information that the student only suffered minor injuries on the inte, but everyone only cared about the gossip.

    For example, Jiang Zhen was a sugar baby during school or something like that.

    ¡°Really, just anybody can be the top student in the entrance examination!¡±

    ¡°Nowadays, if you apply for a grant due to being a poor student you can get free tuition and even a monthly allowance, but surprisingly some people would still sell themselves for money!¡±

    ¡°Today¡¯s high school students are really amazing!¡±

    ¡­¡­.

    There was no doubt that some people were attacking Jiang Zhen online and these attacks were only getting more and more powerful. More and more fake ck materials that Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t even know existed were exposed. Such as the fact that he once cheated on someone¡¯s feelings, but dumped them because that person had no money.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯s life has been smooth and easy up to this point, so when he heard these untrue rumors, he didn¡¯t know how to react.

    However, there was no need for him to react.

    Zhao Yihui has been checking his son¡¯s news on the Inte since he learned that he has be the top student in the college entrance examination, so naturally he saw all kinds of news even before Jiang Zhen.

    At first, Zhao Yihui didn¡¯t take them seriously. After all, his son wasing back to China after the college entrance exam. However,ter, these people would actually be more and more excessive.

    Zhao Yihui finally got angry and directly used his big ount with the official certification of a member of the Chinese Royal Family to say: ¡°My son needs someone else to support him?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The story of Cindere was often an urrence in the Royal Family of China.

    This time, another story came out.

    Theizens were all confused, but the most confused one was Ning Qi.

    Jiang Zhen was heir to the Jiang group? What should he do then?

    What else could he do other than get engaged and follow him to school?

    Many people thought that Ning Qi and Jiang Zhen wouldn¡¯tst long, but it turned out to be the opposite. They stayed together for their whole lives.

    What was even more shocking was that after graduation, Jiang Zhen engaged in research while ignorant Ning Qi became Jiang Group¡¯s General Manager.

    Compared to Jiang Zhen, who wasn¡¯t talkative, Ning Qi was obviously bold and thick-skinned and was much more suitable to be a businessman.

    Jiang Zhen lived a very happy life.

    He has loving parents, a husband who loved him deeply and children who respected him.

    He wasn¡¯t nearly as capable as his ancestor, but after making so many achievements he was already satisfied.

 Chapter 179.1 - A stranger in Modern Times (part I)

    Chapter 179.1 ¨C A stranger in Modern Times (part I)

    Zhao Jinge died one day after Jiang Zhen.

    After Jiang Zhen¡¯s sudden death, he sat dumbfounded for a day before losing consciousness himself.

    Zhao Jinge knew very well that he was dead, but to his surprise, he became alive again.

    He was reincarnated into apletely new world, as a man, and was named Zhao Qi¡¯an.

    The science and technology here was very developed. If the Republic of China developed for another few hundred years, it might also be like this. However, what shocked Zhao Jinge the most in this ce, was that there were no gers, only men and women.

    Also now he was a real man.

    A long time ago, after his brother died, Zhao Jinge wished to be a man, but after meeting Jiang Zhen this thought disappeared. After that, he never wanted to be a man again.

    Yet now he became a real man, but he didn¡¯t know where Jiang Zhen was.

    For the first few years, Zhao Jinge was so confused, and he felt that he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Jiang Zhen was not here, what should he do?

    In the course of being together with Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge learned a lot and grew up. It was no problem for him to be alone, but without Jiang Zhen, he felt that life was meaningless.

    Why was he reincarnated?

    However, Zhao Jinge was only at a loss for the first few months. At that time he was just born, so he was mostly only eating and sleeping.

    Having raised three children and brought up a grandson, Zhao Jinge was very good at ying the role of a baby and figured other things out after a few months.

    Although he didn¡¯t know why he was reincarnated, it had already happened, so maybe Jiang Zhen was also reincarnated.

    Therefore he will definitely live a good life and find Jiang Zhen.

    Even if he can¡¯t find Jiang Zhen, he definitely has to take good care of his parents in this life.

    However, if there was no Jiang Zhen, in this life he definitely wouldn¡¯t get married.

    This was Zhao Jinge¡¯s initial thinking butter, he found that even if he found Jiang Zhen they wouldn¡¯t be able to get married.

    He was in a country where men and men could not be married.

    Knowing this, Zhao Jinge became very frustrated but it didn¡¯tst long. Since he still didn¡¯t find Jiang Zhen, thinking about this stuff was pointless.

    With the memories of his previous life where he learned a lot of things from Jiang Zhen while also ruling a country, Zhao Jinge became a genius from childhood.

    His parents originally ran a small business but under his guidance, this small business took advantage of the rapid economic development of the country and became a very big business.

    Later, Zhao Jinge also discovered the thing called the inte.

    In his previous life, when they were older, Jiang Zhen would tell him some things about the future. At that time, Jiang Zhen said that there would be awork connecting the whole world in the future, and that everyone would be able to buy things online.

    At that time, many people thought Jiang Zhen was talking nonsense, but he always believed Jiang Zhen.

    Moreover, even if Jiang Zhen was really talking nonsense, as long as it was said by Jiang Zhen, he would still keep it in mind.

    Thiswork will certainly develop better and better in the future!

    Zhao Jinge always believed in Jiang Zhen words and naturally recognized opportunity. Coincidentally, his parents opened a supermarket, or rather a chain of supermarkets in arge city.

    When Zhao Jinge was sixteen, he convinced his parents to make a website online with the name of their family supermarket to sell things online.

    As soon as someone from the same city ordered something from their supermarket online, he would have the clerk help deliver it to his home and collect the money.

    At first, everyone thought he was fooling around, supermarkets were everywhere but very few people ownedputer¡­ if you wanted to buy something you would go to the supermarket, who would useputer to buy things?

    However, it turned out that Zhao Jinge decision was correct.

    At first only a few people would buy things from their supermarket online but now that more and more people hadputer and bought things using it they be their city most wealthy business group.

    This was a very good start, and then Zhao Jinge thought of the online payment mentioned by Jiang Zhen¡­.

    Jiang Zhen has said that people in the future would only need to bring their mobile phones when they go out, without taking psychical money with them.

    Zhao Jinge suddenly had the idea of making online payments.

    In fact, if Jiang Zhen was beside himself, Zhao Jinge might not make such risky decision and be so impulsive, but Jiang Zhen was not with him¡­

    He really wanted to find Jiang Zhen.

    Zhao Jinge felt that he must stand in high position, so that Jiang Zhen could see him. Naturally to stand high he must make more money first.

    Zhao Jinge went abroad and came back, while at the same time officially establishing his ownpany.

    The Inte developed rapidly, at the beginning of the 2000 when Zhao Jinge first sold things online, few people bought them but now only ten yearster relying on this website let him be one of the billionaires in his country.

    This was something that Zhao Jinge himself did not expect.

    Still, he quickly adapted well to his new identity. He had been an emperor for decades, could bing a rich man be very different?

 Chapter 179.2 - A stranger in Modern Times (part I)

    Chapter 179.2 ¨C A stranger in Modern Times (part I)

    Zhao Jinge was not satisfied with just bing rich, after all he still hadn¡¯t found Jiang Zhen.

    He left a lot of information online. There was a subsidiary named after Jinzhen Escort Ma that engaged in a lot of activities and often mentioned the things he did with Jiang Zhen, and he even especially asked people to develop a game using the background of the Republic of China.

    In order to pass the audit, as well as to make the people here ept it better, he needed to change all gers to women. He did so while gritting his teeth, as it was still the Republic of China he remembered. There was still He Cheng County, and Hexi vige that were exactly the same as in the world he once lived in. There was also Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge, the Jinzhen Escort Agency, Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu.

    He did a lot of things, but unfortunately he still couldn¡¯t find Jiang Zhen.

    Was it because Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t see the message he left, or Jiang Zhen was never reincarnated in this world in the first ce?

    At the thought of thetter, Zhao Jinge¡¯s heart clenched and his facial expression became ugly.

    ¡°Mr. Zhao, are you all right?¡± Lin Ruicheng, Zhao Jinge¡¯s assistant, looked at his boss anxiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. Drive,¡± Zhao Jinge replied. He¡¯d just finished a business meeting and was heading home.

    His family home was a little far away from thepany, so on the way Zhao Jinge took out his cellphone to check the news.

    Although he was not an artist, because of his high value, he was also a well-known celebrity on the Inte known as a diamond bachelor. So there was a lot of news about him.

    However, he only nced at those links casually before subconsciously searching for ¡°Jiang Zhen.¡±

    There was a well-known academician named Jiang Zhen. In addition to him, the most rted news was about the game character they developed.

    After taking a deep breath, Zhao Jinge decided to read other news.

    Suddenly, a news update appeared on the site. Just this morning a group of thugs suddenly attacked people on the street. Just when people were panicking as they ran away, a young man was shot after taking down seven or eight thugs.

    There was a thug with a child in his hands, and that young man let himself be shot to save the child. Later those thugs took out a crossbow.

    Now, ording to the news update, all the thugs have been arrested by the police. The young man who saved the child and other people was seriously injured and his life or death was still uncertain.

    There were only a few pictures in the news so after Zhao Jinge nced at them he stopped looking and closed his eyes to take a nap.

    Soon after, Zhao Jinge returned to his residence.

    He was a man with strong family values, so even though he was sessful, he still lived with his parents. When he opened the front door he saw his parents and sister waiting for him to eat dinner together.

    Zhao Jinge came out to his parents when he was 12 or 13 years old.

    In the social environment at that time, most people didn¡¯t even know what homosexuality was, so he didn¡¯t know how to tell his parents that he wanted to be with a man in the future.

    At that time he saw a report about transgender people and after reading it, he went to talk with his parents, saying that he had always thought he was a woman too.

    His parents were taken aback and could not believe that their son, who had always been their pride, would have such thoughts. But their child was always particrly well-behaved and still young, so they just thought that they should educate their child properly.

    As a result, Zhao Jinge showed that he cared more about this matter than they did, acting very pitiful and not eating or drinking for several days.

    Their son wasying still without eating and drinking, what else could they do?

    Parents who love their children will always bow to their children. Zhao mother and father loved their son, so they finally could only ept the matter, intending to make even more money so in the future their son could have the sex change surgery.

    Later, the Zhao couple gave birth to another child, a daughter, Zhao Xinan.

    Ever since Zhao Jinge threw a huge curveball at the Zhao couple, Zhao mother and father were worried. They worried that one day their son would want to have a sex change operation. However Zhao Jinge never had this intention and his various actions were very masculine. At least, he was not interested in skirts and cosmetics at all.

    Because of this,ter the Zhao couple started to think he talked nonsense because of his young age only to be quickly corrected by Zhao Jinge. He said that he was mistaken and he was not a woman at heart but actually a homosexual, a man who liked other men.

    With their experience from before, Zhao¡¯s parents epted this very quickly. Their son just liked men, it was definitely better than their son changing his sex!

    Later, when Zhao Jinge be more and more powerful, Zhao¡¯s father and mother would not interfere in his love life. Of course, it was inevitable that they would still say something.

    Their son was in his early thirties but still didn¡¯t have a partner.

    No it was not even about a partner, he clearly has never fallen in love before. Zhao father and mother started to think that their son might not even be gay but asexual. Since their daughter grew up, they have been exposed to a lot of knowledge by her.

    ¡°Brother, you¡¯re back!¡± Seeing Zhao Jinge, Zhao Xinan jumped up at once.

    Zhao Xinan was a 16 year old high school student this year and the person she adored the most was her brother Zhao Qi¡¯an.

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled at her. He also liked his sister very much. Rather than a sister, she was more like a daughter or no¡­a granddaughter.

    ¡°Brother, today we prepared your favorite dishes,e and eat!¡± Zhao Xinan spoke again. She was already very hungry, so after greeting her brother she hurriedly sat at the table.

    Zhao Jinge smiled and sat down. All the dishes on the table in front of him were Jiang Zhen¡¯s favorite dishes.

    The Zhao family was used to talking as they ate, so Zhao Jinge mentioned the news he saw earlier about some troublemakers attacking people. ¡°Mom, Dad, Xinan, you should be careful, and make sure to take bodyguards with you when you go out in the future, so you don¡¯t get into an ident.¡±

    ¡°Brother, I will!¡± Zhao Xinan nodded and then added, ¡°Those thugs are really hateful! Fortunately, they met someone who was righteous. That person¡¯s skills were very good. Its said that he is a veteran. I really hope that he is okay.¡±

    Zhao Jinge nodded, he also appreciated such behavior.

    After talking about this matter, Zhao Jinge no longer paid attention to it and in the evening posted on his ¡°Zhao Jinge¡± weibo as usual.

    His current name was Zhao Qian so he could no longer use the name of Zhao Jinge but on inte all his names were called Zhao Jinge.

    Also his weibo, in order to make it easier for Jiang Zhen to find him. He also applied under this name as his secondary ount. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to other people on his ount and only had a few fans, as he often posted.

    ¡°Jiang Zhen, I miss you very much. I also miss Mingzhu and Chengyu.¡±

    Zhao Jinge always waited for someone to contact him, however it never happened.

    He sighed and scrolled through the popr Weibos until he saw a reposted video of the brave man saving lives today. The video was said to have been taken by a car¡¯s driving recorder nearby.

    Zhao Jinge clicked on that video.

    The video was blurred so the face of the man was not very visible but his fighting style was still captured.

    It might be nothing but¡­

    That man¡¯s movements looked too familiar!

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t think twice as he called his assistant: ¡°Lin Ruicheng, help me check this person.¡±

    That person¡¯s fighting style looked very simr to Jiang Zhen¡¯s fighting style. Although Zhao Jinge felt that this investigation might bring nothing, he still asked for Ruicheng to check.

    Of course, the information couldn¡¯t be discovered at 01:30 in the morning but Zhao Jinge couldn¡¯t sleep.

    Where was Jiang Zhen?

    After tossing and turning, he wasn¡¯t able to fall asleep so Zhao Jinge went on the inte and watched the news again.

    The Inte had some information about that person, but because of the focus on privacy they didn¡¯t expose his real name. After searching for a long time, Zhao Jinge learned nothing new.

    He was really baffled. If that person was Jiang Zhen, how could he note to him?

    Putting down his phone, Zhao Jinge went back to his bed.

    Although he thought he made a crazy request, when he saw Lin Ruicheng in thepany the next day, Zhao Jinge still immediately asked: ¡°Lin Ruicheng, what I asked you to checkst night, did you find anything out?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Zhao, I¡¯ve already looked into it.¡± Lin Ruicheng replied. ¡°That person used to serve in the special forces, so a lot of his personal information is confidential. I could only learn that his name is Jiang Zhen.¡±

    Zhao Jinge eyes opened wide as his whole body trembled.

 Chapter 180.1 - A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    Chapter 180.1 ¨C A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    When Zhao Jinge heard this name he lost some of his control, but after a while he managed to calm down.

    ¡°Lin Ruicheng, please make arrangements for me. I want to see that person this afternoon.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    Lin Ruicheng was Zhao Jinge personal assistant, mainly responsible for Zhao Jinge¡¯s various personal matters, so he quickly nodded and went to make the arrangements. At the same time, Zhao Jinge found people from his ownpany to free up his schedule.

    That afternoon, Zhao Jinge took a ne to the city where he was located. After getting off the ne, he immediately got into a car and went to the hospital.

    The man stayed in the Armed Forces Hospital and was still in the intensive care unit after his operation, and no one was allowed to disturb him. However, Zhao Jinge spoke with some people from the hospital and managed to arrange it so he could stand right outside the intensive care ward.

    Through the ss, he saw a person who waspletely different from the Jiang Zhen he remembered.

    ¡°How is his condition?¡± Zhao Jinge asked.

    ¡°The injuries are a bit serious and he lost a lot of blood, so he is still not out of danger.¡±Jiang Zhen¡¯s attending doctor said.

    Zhao Jinge nodded, and after asking the doctor some questions, he asked Lin Ruicheng to book a nearby hotel.

    A young man with a t head came running from a distance. ¡°Doctor, how is Jiang Zhen doing? Is he okay? I¡¯ve already paid for the surgery, is there anything else I should be aware of? Should we get someone to take care of him?¡±

    ¡°The patient is still in the intensive care unit so we don¡¯t need extra people to take care of him,¡± the doctor said.

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± The man nodded his head repeatedly.

    ¡°You¡¯re Jiang Zhen¡¯s rtive?¡± Zhao Jinge asked, before sizing up the person in front of him.

    It was a young man in his thirties with quite an ordinary appearance, but his arms and legs were very muscr. This person must be very strong.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m hisrade-in-arms. Brother Zhen doesn¡¯t have any rtives. Who are you? ¡± The man looked at Zhao Jinge and asked, a little puzzled, ¡°You look kind of familiar to me.¡±

    ¡°My name is Zhao Qi¡¯an.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled.

    ¡°My name is Chang Ping.¡± Chang Ping said and just after he spoke his eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Zhao Qi¡¯an?!¡±

    He only thought the young man in front of him looked a little familiar at first. After all, he didn¡¯t care much about economic news but¡­

    Zhao Qi¡¯an, this man was actually Zhao Qi¡¯an!

    Even if he couldn¡¯t recognize Zhao Qi¡¯an¡¯s face, the name was definitely familiar to him!

    A big shot on the Inte, a rich man who often appeared on CCTV news, why would he suddenly appear here? Chang Ping wasn¡¯t hallucinating, right?

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled. ¡°I admire Jiang Zhen¡¯s actions and I happened to be in town for a few days so I stopped by to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Chang Ping froze as he responded, looking at Zhao Jinge with eyes full of disbelief.

    Lin Ruicheng couldn¡¯t help looking at his boss a little strangely. What did he mean he just happened to be here, you clearlye here after hearing the news.

    Still, why would Mr. Zhao suddenlye here? Was it for publicity?

    The name of the brave man was Jiang Zhen, which was the same as the name of the big boss in the game that Mr. Zhao attached great importance too. This game made a lot of money for thepany.

    Lin Ruicheng thought about it, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this should be the case.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t notice his assistant¡¯s thoughts since he was very distracted in this moment.

    Could the person in the sickroom be his Jiang Zhen?

    With such doubts, Zhao Jinge chatted with Chang Ping.

    He has lived back and forth for hundreds of years. Even though he was once quiet, over the years he became an old fox, easily learning a lot of things directly from Chang Ping¡¯s mouth.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t say much, but even Chang Ping, who worked in special forces felt just after a few words that it was no wonder that this boss made his business so big. Chang Ping sighed in his heart and finally told Zhao Jinge all he could.

    Apart from some information about the Special Units, there was nothing that could not be said about his Brother Zhen.

    ¡°You asked if Zhen has a family? No, he has never fallen in love. Last time I wanted to introduce him to someone, but he refused without even thinking about it, so I don¡¯t know what kind of person he likes.¡± Chang Ping said.

    ¡°He¡¯s no longer young, right? There aren¡¯t many people his age who have never been in love.¡± Zhao Jinge added.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chang Ping nodded. ¡°There was once a very nice girl who liked him, but he didn¡¯t react even after half a year of her flirting with him.¡±

    Chang Ping talked about the emotional history of Jiang Zhen while Zhao Jinge listened very carefully, but Lin Ruicheng could not help getting upset.

    Boss Zhao has never been in love himself, but he has beenining about Jiang Zhen¡¯s emotional history.

    After finding out more about Jiang Zhen, Zhao Jinge went to a nearby hotel to take care of some work matters. After dealing with them he went to the hospital again.

    The man was seriously injured and lost a lot of blood, causing him to fall in aa for two days. Fortunately, his condition was stable and he was finally out of danger.

    Jiang Zhen only felt that his whole body was in pain as if he was falling apart.

    What¡¯s going on? How did this happen, did someone beat him up?

    It didn¡¯t make sense. In this world no one would dare to hit him except Zhao Jinge, right? Where was Zhao Jinge? Was he going to hit him again?

    After thinking about it, Jiang Zhen opened his eyes.

    The vast expanse of whiteness in front of him made him quickly lose consciousness again, in a daze.

    When Jiang Zhen was finally fully awake, he had been transferred to a general ward. Of course, the general ward he was living in was not ordinary, it was a single ward that Zhao Qi¡¯an had paid for him. It was very luxurious in all white, making it look like a hotel.

    After Jiang Zhen opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a white ceiling.

    This was not his residence, was this a hospital?

    He had a health problem and was sent to the hospital by Zhao Jinge?

    ¡°Brother Zhen, you finally woke up!¡± Chang Ping, who was standing by Jiang Zhen¡¯s side, immediately called out to him when he noticed Jiang Zhen waking up.

    Jiang Zhen looked over, but was unable to recognize the person in front of him. ¡°Who are you? Where is Zhao Jinge?¡±

    He was in the hospital, why wasn¡¯t Zhao Jinge with him? Even if Zhao Jinge was not here, his son and grandson should be here.

    ¡°Brother Zhen, you don¡¯t have amnesia, do you?¡± Chang Ping looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise. His Brother Zhen couldn¡¯t recognize him, and asked about some Zhao Jinge. Who was that anyway? It was just a few days ago that they drank together, but he didn¡¯t hear Jiang Zhen mention anyone called Zhao Jinge!

    Jiang Zhen felt that the person in front of him looked a little familiar. Then he turned his head and quickly noticed the surroundings.

    There were a lot of high-tech products here which were not the same as those of the Royal Hospital of China that he established. They looked more modern?

    After decades in ancient times, Jiang Zhen had forgotten a lot of his memories from the modern era. Yet now, after living for more than 70 years, he has returned to modern times.

    Knowing that he was back to his original era, then the identity of this person in front of him¡­.

    Jiang Zhen thought for a moment and then called out tentatively, ¡°Chang Ping?¡±

    ¡°Brother Zhen, you don¡¯t have amnesia?¡± Chang Ping, hearing Jiang Zhen¡¯s words, sighed with relief.

    ¡°I was only injured, I didn¡¯t fall on my head so how could I lose my memories?¡± Jiang Zhen said. He already realized his situation, and it made his mood veryplicated.

    He never thought that he woulde back.

    His children and Zhao Jinge were in another world, so he didn¡¯t want toe back at all.

    Jiang Zhen tried to recall his previous memories, trying to understand his current situation better. Even after trying to remember, all he could really think about was Zhao Jinge.

    He should be¡­dead, right?

    He had already been an old man before, so it was normal that he died, but what happened to Zhao Jinge?

    Jiang Zhen felt sick when he thought about it, and then dizzy. He closed his eyes, no longer wanting to talk.

    Seeing Jiang Zhen like this, Chang Ping left quietly. As soon as he went out, he saw Zhao Jinge.

    Zhao Jinge had been in the hospital for four or five hours every day for the past few days so Chang Ping had already be familiar with him. He greeted him: ¡°Mr. Zhao! Brother Zhen, he¡¯s awake!¡±

    Zhao Jinge froze and then smiled. ¡°Really? That¡¯s good.¡±

    Zhao Jinge really wanted to see Jiang Zhen. He wanted to know if this person was the one who had been with him for decades, but suddenly he was afraid to take a step forward.

    He¡¯s been disappointed too many times. Will he be disappointed again?

    With this in mind, Zhao Jinge stood still.

    Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t respond, so Chang Ping kept talking. ¡°Brother Zhen woke up for a while, but at first he was a little dazed. He couldn¡¯t recognize me or say much of anything. He even asked me where Zhao Jinge was.¡±

    ¡°Zhao Jinge?¡± Zhao Jinge immediately looked at Chang Ping.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the name! I¡¯ve never heard Brother Zhen say it before, so I don¡¯t know who it is.¡± Chang Ping said.

 Chapter 180.2 - A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    Chapter 180.2 ¨C A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    Zhao Jinge became extremely excited.

    The person in the hospital room, could it really be Jiang Zhen?

    Chang Ping was still saying something, but Zhao Jinge no longer had time to listen to his words. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door of the ward.

    At the sound of the door opening, Jiang Zhen opened his eyes again.

    Seeing aplete stranger standing by his bed, he frowned slightly and thought ¨C who was this man? Among hisrades-in-arms, there wasn¡¯t someone so good-looking. Was it someone he saved before?

    His eyes were full of doubts, but Zhao Jinge just called out, ¡°Jiang Zhen?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jiang Zhen responded.

    Zhao Jinge took a deep breath and then asked: ¡°Do you know Zhao Mingzhu?¡±

    Jiang Zhen suddenly opened his eyes wide. ¡°Jinge?¡±

    ¡°Jiang Zhen!¡± Zhao Jinge called out again.

    Although their looks have changed, they¡¯ve been together for the past few decades so they could confirm each other¡¯s identities in just two sentences.

    After confirming it, Zhao Jinge wanted to cry with joy. However, before he could cry a doctor came in. ¡°The patient¡¯s heartbeat has be abnormal!¡±

    Zhao Jinge, Jiang Zhen: ¡°¡­¡±

    Jiang Zhen no longer could talk with Zhao Jinge.

    The doctor put an oxygen mask on Jiang Zhen, and then examined Jiang Zhen carefully from head to toe.

    His heartbeat suddenly became faster, but his body was fine, so after checking him over, the doctor gave a few instructions and then left. The doctor¡¯s reassurance made Zhao Jinge feel relieved.

    He wanted to hug Jiang Zhen, but he had so many wounds that he didn¡¯t dare.

    He wanted to ask Jiang Zhen why he hadn¡¯te to him before, but Jiang Zhen was in low spirits at the moment so he couldn¡¯t ask.

    As long as Jiang Zhen was here and not with someone else, everything else was not a big deal.

    With this in mind, Zhao Jinge called his assistant and told him to pack his luggage and make the necessary arrangements. He was going to stay in the ward to take care of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Mr. Zhao?¡± Lin Ruicheng suspected that he had heard wrong. What did Boss Zhao just say? He was going to personally take care of Jiang Zhen?

    His boss earned tens of millions of dors every minute, so how could he have time to take care of others in the hospital? He could hire a hundred of the best nurses for the money he earned with his skills.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going?!¡± Zhao Jinge asked. Now that he knew that that person was indeed Jiang Zhen, of course he personally wanted to take care of him. He hadn¡¯t even seen this body yet, so how could he let others see or touch it!

    Lin Ruicheng immediately went out, while Chang Ping came inside with some toiletries.

    ¡°Chang Ping, you don¡¯t have to stay here. I will take care of Jiang Zhen.¡± Zhao Jinge smiled and looked at Chang Ping. Because he had found Jiang Zhen, his smile at this moment was especially sincere.

    ¡°Mr. Zhao, although the nurse is good, it is better to have a familiar person around.¡± Chang Ping said. He thought that when Zhao Jinge said that he would take care of him, he meant that he would hire a professional nurse.

    He was aware of his Brother Zhen¡¯s family situation. Hiring a nurse would be good since Chang Ping was careless even with himself and couldn¡¯t take care of people. Still, even if there was a nurse, he wanted to stay. Even if he couldn¡¯t help in any way, he could at least talk with Brother Zhen.

    ¡°I know Jiang Zhen very well, I¡¯ll stay.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chang Ping froze.

    Jiang Zhen added. ¡°He will stay, you go back.¡± He used to have a good rtionship with Chang Ping, but decades have passed since then and he has long be a stranger. Even if this wasn¡¯t the case, he wanted to flirt with his wife so how could he let Chang Ping and third wheel?

    ¡°Brother Zhen, do you really know Mister Zhao? I never heard you mention him!¡± This was Zhao Qi¡¯an! Brother Zhen, a man who was like his own family, knew Zhao Qi¡¯an!

    Chang Ping¡¯s face was full of disbelief, but Jiang Zhen just threw another bolt of lightning. ¡°Of course I¡¯m familiar with him, he is my wife!¡±

    ¡°Wi, wi, wi¡­wife?¡± Chang Ping became dazed.

    Jiang Zhen liking men was something that should shock him, but how could thispare to Jiang Zhen¡¯s boyfriend being Zhao Qi¡¯an?

    Zhao Qi¡¯an, this was Zhao Qi¡¯an!

    Brother Zhen dared to say that Zhao Qi¡¯an was his wife!!!

    Chang Ping shivered as he nced cautiously at Zhao Qi¡¯an.

    Will Mister Zhao be angry after being called a wife by Jiang Zhen? If he gets angry, is it possible he will p his Brother Zhen to death?

    Thinking like this, Chang Ping¡¯s whole body shivered.

    However, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t get angry. He even smiled and looked very happy.

    He had finally found Jiang Zhen!

    Zhao Jinge sent the confused Chang Ping out, and then came back to Jiang Zhen¡¯s bedside to keep himpany.

    He didn¡¯t get to stay with Jiang Zhen for long. Jiang Zhen was seriously injured, so after being awake for a while, he fell asleep again.

    Even if Jiang Zhen was sleeping, Zhao Jinge didn¡¯t want to leave him.

    Looking greedily at Jiang Zhen¡¯s sleeping face, Zhao Jinge felt his heart beat faster and faster, making him want to lower his head and kiss Jiang Zhen¡¯s lips.

    However, before he could kiss Jiang Zhen, his cell phone rang.

    Zhao Jinge snapped out of his daze and was going to hang up the phone at the first opportunity, only to find that the call was from his sister Zhao Xinan.

    Walking outside, Zhao Jinge answered the called from Zhao Xinan.

    ¡°Xinan, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Brother, where have you been the past few days?¡± Zhao Xinan asked. Her brother suddenly left a few days ago and nobody knew where he went. Since she kind of missed her older brother, she called him to ask .

    ¡°I¡¯m in H City.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°Brother are you on a business trip?¡± Zhao Xin¡¯an asked again.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m looking for a brother-inw for you.¡± Zhao Jinge said.

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Xinan suspected that she must¡¯ve heard wrong, a brother-inw? Her brother said he was looking for a brother-inw for her?

    She had known that her brother liked men and was always curious what kind of male sister-inw her brother would find for her, but her brother was looking for a brother-inw for her?

    Did her brother just indirectly admit that he was a bottom? How could he be so honest?

    Besides, what kind of person was worthy of her brother?!

    ¡°I found the person I want to spend my life with. He is not well now, but when he gets better I will take him back with me.¡± Zhao Jinge said again.

    Zhao Xinan dizzly hung up on her phone.

    At this time, Chang Ping was telling their fellowrades-in-arms about Jiang Zhen¡¯s waking up in the hospital.

    These days, Jiang Zhen¡¯srades-in-arms have all actually been to the hospital to see him. It¡¯s just that they all are married and/or had jobs, so they couldn¡¯t stay at the hospital 24 hours a day. So, after visiting Jiang Zhen, they all returned home. Now that Jiang Zhen was awake, they immediately said that they wanted to go to the hospital.

    The group of people quickly met at the gate of the hospital and saw Chang Ping looking dumbfounded.

    ¡°Chang Ping, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± A man tapped Chang Ping¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit overwhelmed.¡± Chang Ping said. He was still frozen.

    ¡°What¡¯s so overwhelming? Tell us.¡± The man asked curiously.

    ¡°Brother Zhen found us a sister-inw.¡± Chang Ping said.

    ¡°Brother Zhen finally found a sister-inw for us?¡± The people around all be very happy.

    ¡°It¡¯s a guy.¡± Chang Ping added.

    ¡°A man?!¡± They all be dumbfounded.

    ¡°Sister-inw¡¯s name is Zhao Qi¡¯an.¡± Chang Ping finally added.

    ¡°Zhao Qi¡¯an, this name is quite familiar, huh?¡±

    ¡°Of course this name is familiar, the president of Zhenxing Technology has the same name.¡±

    ¡°The name of our sister-inw is very domineering!¡±

 Chapter 180.3 - A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    Chapter 180.3 ¨C A stranger in Modern Times (part II)

    ¡­.

    Jiang Zhen¡¯srades-in-arms talked one after another.

    Chang Ping nced at them and then said faintly, ¡°Sister-inw is the president of Zhenxing Technology.¡±

    Everyone became dumbfounded too.

    After a while, someone said: ¡°Brother Zhen¡­is really powerful¡­.¡± The President of Zhenxing Technology was unexpectedly caught by Brother Zhen!

    Chang Ping led these people all the way to Jiang Zhen¡¯s ward in silence. When they came in, they saw Zhao Jinge feeding water to Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°You can¡¯t drink too much water, let me just wipe your lips more to moisten them.¡± Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen tenderly. Because Jiang Zhen¡¯s internal organs were hurt, he couldn¡¯t drink water so he only wiped Jiang Zhen lips with a cotton swab.

    When Jiang Zhen¡¯srades-in-arms saw this, they immediately felt more respect toward Jiang Zhen.

    Their brother Zhen was really good! He hasn¡¯t found a wife for more than 30 years, but when he finally found one, it was such a powerful person!

    Zhao Jinge had already noticed these people, so he stood up and greeted them instead of Jiang Zhen.

    ¡°Sister-inw, we can do it ourselves.¡± When they saw that Zhao Jinge unexpectedly pour them water, someone immediately told him that, and then immediately wanted to p himself.

    He actually called Zhao Qi¡¯an sister-inw! Will someone like Zhao Qi¡¯an destroy him?

    Although Jiang Zhen was very powerful, Zhao Qi¡¯an was a figure that could even talk and make jokes with national leaders! If their Brother Zhen and Zhao Qi¡¯an got together, they really didn¡¯t think that Jiang Zhen could prevail.

    ¡°Since you called me a sister-inw, what does it matter if I pour you a ss of water?¡± Zhao Jinge wasn¡¯t aware that this person was afraid of him, he just replied with a smile.

    He really liked being called sister-inw!

    Jiang Zhen¡¯srades-in-arms started admiring Jiang Zhen even more.

    Jiang Zhen realized from their reactions that his Jinge seemed to be very powerful now.

    This wasn¡¯t that bad!

    Jiang Zhen¡¯srades didn¡¯t stay for long. After they left, Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge and asked, ¡°Jinge, when did youe?¡±

    ¡°After I died, I was reincarnated here.¡± Zhao Jinge replied.

    Jiang Zhen was stunned, but then held Zhao Jinge hand. ¡±Jinge, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Just how many years has Zhao Jinge been waiting?

    ¡°I was fine waiting for you.¡± Zhao Jinge kissed the lips that he previously wiped several times with cotton swabs.

    Jiang Zhen looked at Zhao Jinge and smiled.

    After a while, Jiang Zhen said, ¡°Jinge, I was Jiang Zhen from beginning to end.¡±

    In his previous life, he didn¡¯t tell Zhao Jinge about possessing the Eldest Jiang¡¯s body since he recognized himself as the Eldest Jiang at that time.

    However, he wanted to say it now.

    After Jiang Zhen finished speaking, he fell asleep while Zhao Jinge, who looked at him, finally understood why the Eldest Jiang in his previous life suddenly changed so greatly.

    That was Jiang Zhen, the only one he loved.

    Jiang Zhen had be a big hero, so after recuperating for two days, he was interviewed by a television station.

    They wanted to ask him for an interview a long time ago, but were all stopped by Zhao Jinge. But this was a national TV station that came for an interview, so he didn¡¯t stop them.

    Reporters and photographers soon came to the ward and saw Jiang Zhen and the person next to him, who was pouring juice.

    That person looked very much like Zhao Qi¡¯an. These reporters were all well-informed, so they couldn¡¯t help looking at Zhao Jinge closely, thinking that he just looked like Zhao Qi¡¯an.

    There were many people who were simr-looking in this world.

    They didn¡¯t ask many questions, and Jiang Zhen didn¡¯t say much about it, so the interview was quicklypleted. Then it was broadcast on TV that night, and put on the Inte.

    ¡°That man looks like Zhao Qi¡¯an!¡±

    ¡°Yes, he really does!¡±

    ¡°But it shouldn¡¯t be, right? I can¡¯t imagine Zhao Qi¡¯an squeezing juice.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not!¡±

    ¡­.

    People on the Inte felt that the other person in this video looked like Zhao Qi¡¯an, but they all wouldn¡¯t believe it could be him.

    Except Zhao Xinan.

    She could recognize her own brother. The brother-inw her brother found for her couldn¡¯t be Jiang Zhen, right?

    Although their rtionship developed very rapidly, no one in the Zhao Family was opposed to Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen being together.

    Zhao Jinge made a fuss, saying that he was a woman at the age of 12 or 13. Twenty yearster, he finally found a partner. No matter who that partner was, Zhao father and mother were very happy.

    At least their son won¡¯t have to be a monk all his life.

    After Jiang Zhen was discharged from the hospital, he followed Zhao Jinge, bing his assistant and bodyguard.

    He might have been knowledgeable in ancient times, but in modern times¡­

    He had forgotten a lot of knowledge, and his education was not a lot from the beginning, so he couldn¡¯t be anything except a bodyguard.

    Of course, he was also not without merit. He, who once had very ugly handwriting, could now be a calligrapher!

    Therefore, although he was a bodyguard, he was also an educated bodyguard.

    Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen be inseparable, making many people in their circle aware of them. Since they didn¡¯t make their rtionship public with some great fanfare, others didn¡¯t say much.

    Later, people on the Inte saw Jiang Zhen in a photo with Zhao Qi¡¯an.

    Wasn¡¯t that the person who fought the thugs that the TV station had interviewed before? Why was he now beside Zhao Qi¡¯an?

    Wait a minute, the person who looked like Zhao Qi¡¯an in the ward back then couldn¡¯t have been the real Zhao Qi¡¯an, right?

    Some people be dumbfounded.

    There were many different kinds of news and gossip about them on the inte, but neither Jiang Zhen nor Zhao Jinge took them seriously.

    They just wanted to live their own lives.

    More and more of Zhao Qi¡¯an¡¯s photos started to have Jiang Zhen in them.

    Zhao Jinge was reluctant to let Jiang Zhen only be his bodyguard. After following him for a long time, Jiang Zhen knew how to deal with some matters within thepany, so he wanted Jiang Zhen to be a general manager.

    However, Jiang Zhen refused.

    He didn¡¯t like this type of work, nor was he good at it. Compared with being a general manager, he still liked being a bodyguard better. The type that can press his boss down at any time.

    He already worked hard for one lifetime, so now he just wanted to eat and drink while living infort!

    Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were in the same photo frame for more than a decade, so there were all kinds of spection about their rtionship on the Inte.

    However, Zhao Jinge was not a celebrity so he didn¡¯t care about this gossip. After all, he was really Jiang Zhen¡¯s partner.

    Because his attitude was too carefree, in the end people on the Inte thought that they should be good brothers, or affectionate employer and employee, instead of a couple.

    After all, Jiang Zhen looked very ordinary, just very tall. He couldn¡¯t be Zhao Jinge¡¯s sugar baby right?

    With the passage of time, almost everyone felt that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge weren¡¯t in an ambiguous rtionship.

    Then the same-sex marriagew was passed.

    One the first day after it passed, Zhao Jinge and Jiang Zhen got married.

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say they were good brothers? Howe they got married?!¡±

    ¡°I told you they must be having an affair! I still have the video of the initial interview with Jiang Zhen, where Zhao Qi¡¯an acted very virtuously!¡±

    ¡°We know now that we were fed a mouthful of dog food.¡±

    ¡°After being inseparable for so many years, this is definitely true love!¡±

    ¡°Absolutely true love +10086. When my husband and I go on vacation we get tired of each other after one day. Within three days we get bored with each other¡¯spany, so we spend time alone, but these two people stuck so closely together for so many years.¡±

    ¡­.

    Jiang Zhen looked at the rumors on the Inte and then looked at Zhao Jinge. ¡°They all say we are in a true love rtionship.¡±

    ¡°We are.¡± Zhao Jinge said with certainty.

    ¡°I also think so.¡± Jiang Zhen said. ¡°How about this? We go to the ind you boughtst year for a honeymoon to celebrate? Not just five days likest time but for full month?! Of course, the rules are still the same asst time.¡±

    Zhao Jinge: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Last time, he was not allowed to wear clothes for five days and this time it would be for a whole month¡­in a row?

    Was Jiang Zhen not afraid of kidney deficiency?

    END

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