xymnovel Chapter 51 is brilliant!
Chapter 51 is brilliant!
Lu Xingzhou had Shuanzi bring the person in.
A servant boy wearing a melon-shaped hat and a short jacket bowed and hurried in.
They saw Lu Xingzhou and Lin Fengyi having a meal in the courtyard.
The man had fair skin and striking good looks. The woman's figure... well, you could tell she'd never been without a good appetite.
His eyes lit up.
No matter how exaggerated the rumors were, at least when the servant saw the two men's appearances, he knew that Young Master Lu was definitely not the same kind of nouveau riche who fawned over his master.
They stopped a distance away, brushed the dust off their clothes, and bowed obsequiously.
"This humble servant, Dequan, greets Young Master Lu!"
"What do you want from me?"
"I am the personal attendant of Master Jin Guangfa from Maojiadian, Changtu. Today, I have been specially ordered by Master Jin to deliver ten fine guns to Young Master Lu!"
Lu Xingzhou asked in confusion, "Master Jin Guangfa? I don't know this person. Why would he send me a gun?"
The servant, Dequan, said with a fawning smile, "Our master is a renowned virtuous man in Changtu. The other day, the gentlemen around here came to our master and told him about your heroic deeds in wiping out Shanfeng's gang, Young Master Lu. Good heavens! Knowing that Changtu has produced a young hero like you, our master is so impressed! He specially sent me to deliver some good guns to you, to bolster your reputation!"
Lu Xingzhou pondered, "I see~~"
"That's right~ This is a letter from my master. Please take a look, Young Master Lu!"
Sanjiangshui took the letter and passed it on to Lu Xingzhou.
Lu Xingzhou opened the letter:
"In the past, petty thieves peeked under the eaves, startling the barking of our village dogs. Hearing of our neighbor's slaying of the bandits, my heart pounded like thunder. You command a fierce army, yet still need the assistance of a valiant sword. A loyal neighbor, I specially present you with ten precious swords. Together with your thunderous hands, let us defend our precious land!"
Kim Jong-il bowed deeply.
The parallel prose is written in a very eloquent and well-structured style, and it looks quite cultured.
At this moment, Lu Xingzhou was somewhat glad that he was a liberal arts student, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to understand the letter.
He didn't know exactly where this Mao family shop was located, or how close it was to the neighbors. But since he couldn't refuse a smiling face, Lu Xingzhou readily accepted the letter and gifts.
Sanjiang took the gun bag from the servant and was about to open it to take a look when Lu Xingzhou stopped him.
"Go and put the guns in the storeroom, and fetch ten fine horses to give back to Master Jin."
The three rivers obediently withdrew.
Lu Xingzhou's generosity surprised the servant.
Upon learning the quality of the gun in the bag, he looked embarrassed.
"Oh, I can't accept this..."
"Well, it's only fair! If Mr. Jin is willing to help a junior like me, how could I be stingy? Our two families can visit each other more often in the future."
The servant was too embarrassed to explain, so he could only agree.
"Yes, yes, I understand. I will definitely tell my master when I get back!"
When Sanjiangshui brought 10 horses from the stable, Lu Xingzhou acted as if he hadn't seen Sanjiangshui's angry expression.
He asked gently, "Why don't you stay for dinner?"
It was afternoon, not lunchtime, so the servant knew perfectly well that it meant to see the guest out.
Coupled with the fiery glare from the three rivers, even the shameless man was unwilling to linger.
"Thank you, Young Master Lu. I still need to go to Changtu City to report back to my master. I won't bother you any longer."
"Okay~"
Seeing the state of Sanjiangshui, Lu Xingzhou was worried that he might stab someone in the back, so he called Shuanzi in from outside.
"Shuanzi, see the guest out for me!"
As soon as the servant left, Sanjiangshui burst into a tirade of curses.
"This is a load of rubbish! It's worse than the broken guns we captured from those bandits! He talks such nonsense; he doesn't look like a decent person!"
It's not surprising that Lu Xingzhou didn't let him open it in front of him earlier because he had this in mind.
"It's alright, let's keep it for now, we can sell it later if it doesn't work out."
"Young master, we don't even want this piece of junk ourselves, why are you giving him 10 horses instead! This old bastard made over 100 silver dollars off us, I think it's a huge loss!"
The 66 homemade guns he sold in Changtu were bought by someone for 1000 silver dollars, which is equivalent to 15 silver dollars per gun.
Even the worst horse would cost at least 20 silver dollars, and a slightly better one would cost 30 silver dollars.
That's right, Jin Guangfa made back more than 100 yuan!
It's one thing for the young master to be nice to his own long-term servants, but Sanjiangshui really can't understand why he's so polite to those who take advantage of others.
and.
"Young master, there's no smoke without fire when it comes to kindness. I've been in Fengtian for so many years, and I've never heard of anyone being so helpful. If you ask me, this old bastard isn't here to deliver things out of the goodness of his heart; he's probably hiding some kind of conspiracy for you!"
Lu Xingzhou knew, of course, that the Three Rivers Water was not unfounded, but his advantage was that he was educated and had broadened his horizons.
In turn, it educates the three rivers.
"In the Guandong region today, there are countless officials who are upright but secretly engage in despicable acts. On the surface, they are burly men who commit all sorts of atrocities, but among them may well be heroes who care about the common people. Who is good and who is bad, and what their true identities are, no one but themselves knows."
"This chaotic world will last for a very, very long time. Everyone's identity will change repeatedly over time. Whether he is a human or a ghost now, we cannot trust him."
The Three Rivers Water could not comprehend this either.
"Then why did you send him a horse?"
Lu Xingzhou nodded emphatically: "Of course, as long as he's not a ghost, we should try our best to win him over to our side. If we make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible, we can have peace of mind."
Sanjiangshui seemed to understand but not quite, and simply took the picture: "It has to be the young master, what a insightful comment!"
"I didn't say that," Lu Xingzhou said, not daring to claim it outright.
"We don't yet know what kind of person Jin Guangfa is. Even if he's a scoundrel, he's a clever one who knows how to pursue long-term interests. Even if we can't be friends with him, we should try not to push him to the opposite side from the start, understand?"
The more Lu Xingzhou talked about the three rivers, the more confused he became.
"But boss, according to your logic, why did we provoke all the bearded men in Kanto from the start? Those bearded men are all ruthless and cunning villains, why did we push them to the opposite side?"
Distinguishing between friends and enemies is indeed a complex issue, so it's understandable that the Three Rivers River is troubled by it.
The fact that he's willing to ask questions shows that even though he's not keen on learning, he's still willing to use his brain.
Lu Xingzhou retorted, "When have I ever provoked all the bearded men in Northeast China?"
"You said you wouldn't allow the bearded man to make trouble at the source of the Liao River..."
"Yes, the Liao River, and it's limited to the source of the Liao River. This is the sphere of influence I've defined. It's not that I'm preventing the bearded man from doing legitimate business here, but I'm warning him not to cause trouble or do business without any investment."
Apart from lone wolves who specialize in burglary, murder, and robbery, larger gangs operate legitimate businesses.
Businesses that rely on the mountains for their livelihood, such as fur and medicinal herbs, are the most common. Those who can't rely on the mountains end up like Zhang Dashuai, working as security guards.
When there are easy targets, they turn into bandits; when there are no customers, they transform into insurance agents. This interdependence is a major reason why it's so difficult to eradicate them.
"More importantly—did I plant the red flag?"
"Uh...no!!"
Planting a red flag is like building a red kiln; no amount of explanation will change anything, it's just making enemies of everyone with a beard.
But they never planted a red flag inside their enclosure.
"Exactly, why would all those bearded men from the entire Kanto region have to stand against us and come after us?"
Having experienced the ways of the world, Sanjiangshui suddenly realized, his eyes growing increasingly excited as he pondered, and he shouted:
"Wonderful!!"