xymnovel Chapter 42 has finally been found!
Chapter 42 has finally been found!
Looking at this "old buddy" in front of him, Mr. Jin was filled with contempt.
This chubby, dark-skinned man is known as Lao Kuai by everyone. He owns more than 1700 mu of land.
He usually seems honest and unassuming, but he is extremely demanding.
Outside of the busy farming season, the farmhands could only slurp up some noodle soup to keep them alive, and they would ask for 5 cents rent from tenants rather than 4 and a half cents.
If he does things this way, who will genuinely help him?
What's most despicable is that this man especially loves celebrating birthdays.
He would hold a celebration for himself, his son, his mother, his wife, and his concubine every few days. In any case, apart from the guard dog, there was no living creature in the house that did not celebrate its birthday.
If this continues, not only the tenants, but even the rich farmers in their village will be reduced to poor farmers by his birthday celebration.
Looking across the entire Northeast, there aren't many aunties like this.
Although he looked down on him, since the man had come looking for him, Master Jin couldn't just throw him out with a broom, so he could only try to appease him.
"Master Kuai, don't be anxious. That boy's offer is more like inviting your ancestors than hiring a farmhand. He's definitely lying!"
Old Kuai wasn't so easily fooled: "What if it's true?"
"Even if it's true, we're not afraid! We're brothers, who doesn't know how much crop a plot of land can grow? At this rate, unless you're a Yu Wendou (a famous Chinese scholar), most people won't last more than a few years before they're ruined! Let any foolish tenants who want to go go, we can buy some good land at a low price, why not?!"
"What if he can stick with it?!"
While other tenant farmers were able to survive, those who were skeptical naturally didn't go. But the tenant farmers in the Kuai family, who were on the verge of starvation, were truly determined to leave!
The other three, anticipating the worst, also expressed their concerns.
"Yes, it's better to be safe than sorry!"
"No problem, Mr. Jin, we really need to teach him a lesson!"
You come to Changtu, kid, and instead of paying respects, why don't you just exploit us like everyone else?
What kind of talk is it to break the rules like this?!
If you really set a deadline of three to five years and raise the wages of farmhands, where will we landlords find workers in the future?!
Amidst the public outrage, Mr. Jin was not swayed.
As a fellow landlord, he was also a little worried about the problem caused by Lu Xingzhou, but if the Jin family were to be instigated to become a cannon fodder, they would not have been able to accumulate such a large fortune.
He pondered for a long time:
"Please don't be hasty, everyone. They're cultivating their land just fine and have even given gifts to the prefect. It wouldn't make sense for us to go looking for trouble!"
The other three won't have any major problems at least this year, but Old Kuai is going crazy with worry because the farmhand is definitely going to run away.
"no!"
"Old Kuai, don't be in such a hurry!"
He had barely uttered two words when Jin Guangfa silenced him again.
"Think about it, everyone. It's not just us who hate this kid; Beard is probably the one who hates him the most!"
"A mere child dares to boast that he won't let Bearded Man rob people on the Liao River. Do you think those damned bastards will tolerate that? How many villages around his location have been burned down by Bearded Man?"
"We brothers don't need to do anything; he might not even survive the winter! Why bother getting our hands dirty?"
The rumors spread without anyone knowing how they started. Lu Xingzhou had been boasting for a long time, only daring to say that bandits were not allowed to run rampant within two hundred li of the Liaohe River source. But in just a few days, the rumors have spread to the entire Liaohe River. If they continue to spread, people might even think he's going to become the King of Fengtian.
The three landlords suddenly realized what was going on.
"Huh?! That seems to be the case!"
"Mr. Jin is right! What's wrong with putting up with him for a year? If my tenants want to leave, I'll negotiate a lower price and buy back dozens of acres of good land. We can have another prosperous year!"
"Exactly, exactly! Hahahaha!"
Of the four people who arrived, three were overjoyed. Even if Old Kuai was dissatisfied, there was nothing he could do but endure it.
After the four finished speaking, Mr. Jin directly saw them off:
"I'm going to the city to meet my sweetheart, and it's getting late, so I won't keep you all for dinner!"
After seeing off the four beggars who looked disappointed, Master Jin wrote a letter and gave it to his servant before heading to the city for the night.
"Go and get 10 of our old homemade guns that we no longer need, and send them, along with this letter, to the source of the Liao River and give them to Young Master Lu."
The follower couldn't quite understand.
"Sir, what does this mean?"
Didn't we agree to watch Lu Xingzhou get killed by bandits? Why are we giving him a gun to bolster his forces?
And if others don't know, how could he not know?
My husband has a good reputation, but that doesn't stop him from being a stingy old man. He'll give what's due, but he won't share even a single sweet potato with anyone else.
Why did you suddenly become so generous?
Jin Guangfa kicked him: "Hmph! If you could guess what I'm thinking, wouldn't you be the master yourself?!"
The lackey chuckled and dodged the attack.
"Yes, yes, I won't guess anymore, I'll get on it right away!"
"Hurry! After delivering the letter, find me at Miss Xiangyun's place in the Jade Pavilion!"
After giving his instructions, Jin Guangfa mounted his horse and rode off into Changtu City, humming a song as he rode away, looking quite carefree and lighthearted.
Meihongling, Mengjiang County.
After leaving Changtu, the one-eyed wolf, having traveled many times, brought more than 40 of his followers who were still willing to follow him to pay homage to the mountain.
The sentry at the village gate saw him and loudly questioned him.
"Wandering the world, what kind of deity comes to visit? (Who is it?)"
"A stretch of clouds hangs in the northwest sky, and the gang leader (the head of another gang) is one of our own!"
"Let's get a surname!"
"Grass vines! (Surname Jiang)"
"So it's Chief Jiang. Which gang of Red Flower Pavilion are you worshipping at?"
"I am the One-Eyed Wolf of Wild Boar Ridge! I suffered misfortune after the Battle of Red Cliffs, and have come to pay my respects to the great leader of the Three Rivers. If you think highly of me, please give me some food!"
The boy on the gate of the village heard this and his eyes lit up.
He had heard of the name One-Eyed Wolf; he was supposedly a ruthless man with a bit of a reputation in the Dongliao River region.
They brought dozens of brothers to join our leader, this is a great thing!
"Wait, I'm going to find the boss right now!"
After the briefing, One-Eyed Wolf met Sanjiang Hao.
After embellishing his experiences before arriving, Lu Xingzhou's miraculous feat of defeating a hundred men single-handedly immediately drew gasps of amazement and discussion from the other leaders.
"This little brat is so monstrous, he might be a weasel spirit in disguise!"
"Damn it, who cares if he's human or ghost, saying that shows he doesn't take us seriously. We have to find a chance to take him down!"
Lu Xingzhou's words were indeed incredibly sarcastic to the brainless bandits.
But there aren't many bandit leaders who aren't smart enough to be anything but.
"I don't agree with what Third Brother said! That brat said the Liao River doesn't allow rifts, what does that have to do with our Mengjiang River? It's not worth it!"
People with brains are usually timid, and this guy was clearly intimidated by Lu Xingzhou's record.
Sanjiang is amusing, but I won't comment on it.
"Never mind that brat's behavior, let's not talk about that. Brother Jiang's willingness to come to our gang shows he thinks highly of Sanjiang. I'm not a stingy person either. I'm the seventh-ranking officer in the village, temporarily in charge of the position, but from now on it's yours!"
There's a saying among bandits: "four beams and eight pillars." Logically, a bandit stronghold should have 12 leaders.
However, professionals among the beards are also in short supply, especially those skilled in negotiation (negotiation experts) and those adept at commanding, strategizing, and devising plans (Wenming Liang, the cunning strategist). Not just anyone can be one of them.
Most gangs, from the very beginning (establishing the gang) to the very end (breaking up), never manage to gather all the necessary pillars.
The Sanjiang bandits, who would later prompt the Fengtian Army to launch a major campaign to suppress them, now have over a thousand men, but only six leaders.
Having just joined the group, he was able to take on such an important position as the "Inspector of the Thousand" (插千儿). Although he wasn't among the top four in the village, he was already considered a good person in the Three Rivers region, so how could the One-Eyed Wolf not be satisfied?
He immediately knelt down on one knee:
"Thank you, Boss!"
With such a large village to rely on, the one-eyed wolf's fearful heart finally calmed down.
As for the grudge with Lu Xingzhou, we'll settle that later.
Before figuring out the kid's true strength, the cunning and treacherous One-Eyed Wolf was in no hurry to make a move.
These are not the only places outside that have or are about to have a grudge against Lu Xingzhou.
But whether it's good or bad, it will all come together in the future.
The first minor crisis he faced was right before his eyes—
The long-awaited Master Ma has finally come knocking on our door!