Chapter 133: Chief Zheng
Chapter 133: Chief Zheng
"Ah?"
At the mention of the reward, the apprentices in the village were all moved, as if they were in a dream.
The silk, green food, and blood wine were all good things. The blood wine, in particular, was made from the blood of a Ta Sui and was a potent drink. It invigorated the body and strengthened the blood, ensuring one remained strong and resilient. If one was injured, applying the heated wine to the wound could also alleviate pain.
If sold in the market, a jar would likely fetch ten taels of silver.
But the most crucial part was the Blood Food Pills. Could they really be made from Blood Ta Sui? This item was worth more than gold...
Earlier, they had seen Hu Ma go out in the middle of the night and return with Yang Gong and others. They knew it must have been a significant event, but Hu Ma never spoke about it afterward, so they never knew what was in the jar.
Now, hearing about this reward, they were all shocked. From any perspective, this reward was more fitting for an innkeeper than a manager...
"Has Yang Gong been promoted to the rank of Third Incense?"
Hu Ma thought to himself. Their Red Fragrance Disciples burned a red incense when they first joined the society. After earning merit, they would be promoted to Second Incense. Previously, Yang Gong was only at the First Incense rank, but now, with this achievement, he had been promoted two ranks?
A Third Incense Disciple was already considered one of the Red Lantern Lady's close associates...
"Thank you for the reward, Lady."
In reality, Hu Ma was no longer someone who could be appeased with just three Blood Food Pills, but he had to appear very satisfied and thank the Lady.
But then he thought about it, and it was indeed not a bad reward, as everything was above board.
"Hehe, the reward is a small matter."
The person on the horse laughed and said, "We came here for another reason."
"You must know that your innkeeper, Mr. Wu, recently settled the accounts and handed over the seal, resigning from his position. But the village cannot be left unattended. Before he left, he recommended you to take over as innkeeper. Did you know this?"
"..."
Although they had guessed as much, hearing it from the messenger's mouth still brought a wave of surprise among the apprentices.
Especially Zhou Datong, who was almost jumping with joy and ready to punch Li Wa Zi.
Hu Ma, hearing this, hesitated slightly and said in a deep voice, "The innkeeper mentioned it, but I have only been a member for a short time, and my experience is limited..."
"Hehe, it's no problem."
The messenger laughed and said, "You are a member of the Age-Guarding Sect, right?"
"The Age-Guarding Sect has a tradition of passing down knowledge from master to disciple."
"Mr. Wu, the old innkeeper, was invited from outside to serve as innkeeper by our Red Lantern Lady Association. He has been supported with money, grain, and blood food for many years. Even if he made a mistake, we did not hold it against him. This is reasonable."
"He requested to resign, and we did not make things difficult for him. However, he had an obligation to train a disciple for our Red Lantern Lady Association."
"..."
Hearing this, the apprentices were all stunned, their mouths hanging open.
Hu Ma, too, was surprised. If it weren't for Second Pot's reminder, he might have been overjoyed.
But now...
As he was thinking, the incense master said, "However, the position of innkeeper is not a minor one. Chief Zheng also mentioned that you are still young and have been a member for a short time, so you may not have learned all the rules yet."
"Thinking about it, we believe that you might struggle to manage the village on your own. Therefore, we will send someone to assist you until you are ready to take full responsibility. How does that sound?"
"..."
"Ah?"
This sudden statement made the apprentices feel as if they had fallen off a cliff.
For a moment, they were confused, and when they finally reacted, they were all dazed.
Why was the messenger speaking in such a roundabout way? First, he said it was reasonable for Pockmarked Brother to be the innkeeper, but then he said he lacked the experience and needed someone to help him...
Was the innkeeper still the innkeeper?
The faces of the people who had come with the messenger were now filled with hidden smiles.
It seemed as if they had been waiting all this time just to see the expressions on these people's faces when they heard the last sentence.
"Chief Zheng?"
Hu Ma, hearing this, had a sudden realization.
He had unknowingly offended someone...
Yang Gong had indeed risen to prominence, but before he did, he had been bullied by his direct superior. Now that he had achieved this great feat, his superior couldn't afford to provoke him.
But unexpectedly, this superior had turned his attention to Hu Ma and had already stirred up trouble regarding the innkeeper position without Hu Ma's knowledge...
Hu Ma wanted to be the innkeeper to live a carefree life and facilitate his work.
But now, with someone being sent to help, what was the difference from when the old innkeeper was in charge?
Perhaps, it was even worse!
At least the old innkeeper had entrusted everything to him and never interfered. This new person might not be as easy to deal with as the old innkeeper.
Thinking about the ins and outs of this, Hu Ma suddenly realized that the Red Lantern Lady Association, despite being a blood food gang that worshipped evil spirits, was not devoid of intrigue. He couldn't help but sneer, thinking of what Second Pot had told him...
"Sun Niu Zi, come out!"
Just as Hu Ma was thinking, the messenger smiled and called out a name.
Behind the crowd, a man holding the reins of a horse slowly stepped forward a few paces. It was a short and stout man. He looked to be around thirty years old, wearing a loose and ragged coat. Without dismounting, he looked at Hu Ma from atop the horse and chuckled, saying, “Mr. Wu, Chief Zheng of the Red Fragrance Society has sent me to help you, to remind you of the rules of the Red Lantern Association.”
“From now on, we must be more intimate and close, you know…”
His face wore a half-smile, half-grin expression, which made the apprentices like Zhou Datong around him feel uneasy in their hearts.
Even before this man dismounted and entered the village, he had already cast a shadow over people’s heads.
But hearing this man’s ambiguous words, Hu Ma slowly lifted his head, looked at the man on the horse, and a smile appeared on his face: “Yes, we indeed need to be more intimate and close.”
“…”
This smile made the man on the horse, Sun Niuzi, freeze for a moment, feeling something was off.
Why did his smile seem so genuine?
But apart from Hu Ma, the apprentices in the village indeed felt a bit depressed. After the matter was discussed, they were supposed to treat these envoys to a meal in the village. Originally, they were in high spirits, but now they ate with a heavy heart.
It was Sun Niuzi who seemed to have returned home, inviting the envoy to sit at the head table, accompanying them, and eating and drinking happily.
Hu Ma’s expression remained calm, drinking a couple of cups of wine. He paid no attention to the gazesof those around him.
It wasn’t until after a few cups that one personexcusedtheopportunity to go to thetoilet, and hiding aside, quietly said to Hu Ma, “Brother Hu, I am with Mr. Xu, the Head Clerk. Do you still remember me?”
“The old gentleman sent me to remind you of a word. He was originally thinking of helping you with the matter of the village’s Innkeeper, but unfortunately, Chief Zheng of the Red Fragrance Society spoke, and sent his younger brother here. Chief Zheng is in charge of the Red Fragrance Society’s personnel, and others have nothing to say about it…”
“…”
This Mr. Xu, the Head Clerk, was the one who initially received three Green Taisui from Second Uncle. Of course, his moustache is now longer, making him a middle-aged man with a moustache.
He saw Hu Ma as a friend, treating him like his own person.
In the Red Lantern Lady Association, there were three Chief Incense Masters. One was in charge of the Blood Food Mine, the most powerful and trusted, a disciple of the Red Fragrance, often outside.
Another was in charge of the distribution of money and grain, and the operation of Blood Food.
And this Chief Zheng was once the superior of Yang Gong. He was in charge of the various village matters, and with his word, Mr. Xu naturally had nothing to say about it.
However, he was a good person, specifically sending someone to remind Hu Ma.
If things went smoothly, he would likely come personally to tell Hu Ma the good news.
Hu Ma smiled and said, “I understand, thank Xu Uncle for me.”
“It’s because I didn’t go to the city in time. When there’s an opportunity, I’ll go to the city to make up for it.”
“…”
“Alright, when you have time to go to the city, go to the Head Clerk’s place first.”
After they reached an agreement, they returned to drinking wine.
When the night was spent rewarding the envoy, and they sent them back, the village became quiet again.
And this younger brother of Chief Zheng, Sun Niuzi…
…Chief Zheng’s son-in-law!
Since he entered the village, he immediately dispelled the relaxed atmosphere of the village. He came to the village, naturally had to arrange a place to stay. At a glance, he saw the inner courtyard of the old shopkeeper. Although the old shopkeeper had been away for several days, Hu Ma, out of respect, had not moved into the inner courtyard.
But now that Sun Niu zi was here, he laughed and said, “It’s troublesome to rearrange. I’ll just stay here directly!”
“After all, I will return to the city sooner or later. When I leave, you can move in, no?”
“…”
He said, making people arrange a place for him. The apprentices dared not anger or speak, and could only silently prepare.
However, this was all because Hu Ma gave them courage. Before this, when they faced people from the city, they didn’t even dare to show the slightest anger.
And after he brought an attendant and moved into the inner courtyard, he began to cause many troubles.
During meals, he first let the attendant check the kitchen for good things. For each meal, he directly brought half of the green food back to the inner courtyard, keeping a big fat chicken for himself, taking both legs and half of the chicken’s body, leaving the chicken’s feet, buttocks, and head for the village’s apprentices.
Moreover, he made Li Wa Zi, the kitchen boy, turn like a top, morning and night, fetching hot water.
Seeing this situation, the village would have to specially assign three apprentices to serve him.
Two specifically to attend to him, one to attend to his attendant.
But if it was just this, it would be fine. During work, he would cross his arms and leave the inner courtyard.
Sometimes he said the courtyard wasn’t cleaned properly and ordered it to be redone, sometimes he said the horse wasn’t fed well, suspecting the apprentices of privately using the horse feed to feed the pigs of the surrounding villagers, and sometimes he said the night patrol’s arrangement was improper, not following the rules.
The apprentices, who had done this work for a year and were familiar with it, were thrown into confusion by him.
(End of Chapter)
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