At dawn, in the small courtyard of the medicine shop in the north of the city,
Jiang Dashan was sitting on a bench in the main room, smoking a dry cigarette.
He had driven all the way last night, with twists and turns, small roads and alleys, twists and turns, and his mind was still in a mess.
"Dad, drink some water."
Lady Chen came over carrying a rough porcelain bowl with a cracked opening. In the bowl was warm boiling water.
Jiang Dashan took a sip, put down the bowl, and looked up at the room.
The tables and chairs are neatly arranged, the beams and columns are strong, and there is a cabinet in the corner that is not old but is new.
It's much better than Yellow Earth Town's leaky adobe house.
But his heart was never at ease.
"Fuck, tell me... what the hell is going on?"
Jiang Dashan lowered his voice for fear of being heard by people outside.
"They picked us up in the middle of the night and took us to the city without saying a word. We didn't say anything when we asked. We just said, 'The boss arranged it.' Fa That kid is an apprentice in a martial arts school. How can he arrange this?"
Lady Chen sat down opposite him, with the same confused look on his face.
"Mr. Zhao and Mr. Sun are very polite to us. They don't look like bad people."
She hesitated and said, "Could something happen to Fa?"
Jiang Dashan was silent for a moment.
"Don't think blindly, what could happen?"
He said in a low voice,
Even so, he actually didn't know what he was doing.
Jiang Xiaohe was lying on the kang in the back room, wrapped in a quilt and sleeping deeply.
The child is a child after all. He didn't recognize the bed even if he changed places. After half a night of tossing, he fell asleep as soon as it touched the pillow.
Lady Chen went in and took a look, helped him tuck in the quilt, and then quietly stepped out.
"Would you like to send a letter to Yue'e's house?" Lady Chen asked.
"We'll talk about it later." Jiang Dashan shook his head. "This is so confusing, we don't even understand it ourselves."
While the two were talking, there was suddenly a very light knock on the door.
Jiang Dashan tensed up and stood up subconsciously.
Lady Chen also straightened his body and clenched his hands together nervously.
The sound of Zhao Liu's steady footsteps came from the yard, then the creak of the door shaft turning, followed by a low-pitched greeting.
"Master, why are you here in person?"
Jiang Dashan's ears perked up.
Head of house?
Which family head?
Before he had time to think more, the door to the main room was gently pushed open.
Zhao Liu respectfully stepped aside, and a middle-aged man wearing a blue-gray brocade robe stepped in.
The middle-aged man in brocade robes in front of me is about fifty years old, with a somewhat fat face. Although he is not very luxuriously dressed, he has the air of someone who has been in a high position for a long time.
Jiang Dashan was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously stood up straight.
Lin Dingyuan glanced at the furnishings in the main room, then at the awkward couple in front of him, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Brother Jiang, Sister-in-law Chen, it's really presumptuous of me to bother you late at night."
He cupped his fists and said in a polite and even apologetic tone, "I am the head of the Lin Lineage family, Lin Dingyuan."
Jiang Dashan heard a buzz in his head.
Lin Lineage family leader?
The owner of Lin Lineage Trading Company?
He is a Yellow Earth Town porter who has dealt with mud all his life. Where have you seen such a character?
Last year, I heard from the boss that he made an offering at Lin Lineage. He didn't understand what an offering was at the time. Later, when he asked others, he found out that it was a thug hired by a large merchant to guard the place.
"Lin... Mr. Lin." Jiang Dashan opened his mouth, a little embarrassed. "Sit down, sit down."
He hurriedly moved the stool, but almost tripped over it.
Lady Chen also rushed to pour water, his hands shaking so much that the lid of the bowl jingled.
Lin Dingyuan took the tea bowl, and did not mind that it was cracked. He picked it up and took a sip, then slowly said, "Brother Jiang, I invited you to the city tonight. It was arranged by someone else. If there is any disturbance, I will first apologize to you two."
"Don't you dare..." Jiang Dashan waved his hands repeatedly. "Mr. Lin is too polite."
"Brother Jiang, you don't have to be so restrained."
Lin Dingyuan stretched out his hand and pressed it softly, and said in an easy-going tone, "I came here this morning mainly to see if you are getting used to living there. Zhao Liu, go and bring the things in."
Zhao Liu went out in response, and a moment later he and Sun Biaotou came in carrying several packages and placed them neatly on the table.
Lin Dingyuan raised his hand and said, "This century-old wild ginseng is for brother Jiang to replenish his body. This piece of cloud brocade is used to cut two clothes for my sister-in-law. There is also a pair of jade bracelets that my wife collected in the early years. They have been left in the warehouse to eat dust. Sister-in-law, please don't despise them."
Lady Chen looked at the pile of things on the table and didn't know where to put his hands.
She had only glanced at century-old ginseng across the counter in a drug store, and didn't even dare to ask about the price.
"Mr. Lin, this... this is too valuable, we can't accept it."
"Get it."
Lin Dingyuan smiled, took out a red envelope from his sleeve, and put it on the table. "Here are two thousand taels of silver notes."
Then he took out something else.
"Zhao Clan Martial Hall There is a small courtyard with two entrances in the back alley. This is the deed of the house. It can be transferred tomorrow. You can live here first. If you are not satisfied, it will not be too late to move out when Jiang Zongfeng gets his own house in the future."
The hall was quiet for a moment.
Jiang Dashan stared at the red seal and the house deed, but didn't say a word.
One hundred taels of silver is already a huge sum of money to the farmers of Yellow Earth Town.
And in front of him, two thousand taels plus a courtyard in the city,
It sounds like this master wants to give it all to himself.
This is simply something he never dared to dream about.
"Mr. Lin..."
Jiang Dashan's throat was dry, and he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Did... did something happen to Fa?"
When he asked this question, his voice was trembling.
Lady Chen was obviously worried, and his eye circles suddenly turned red.
Lin Dingyuan was startled for a moment, then laughed and shook his head.
"Brother Jiang is worrying too much."
He slowly explained, "Not only is Jiang Zongfeng fine, but he has great potential. To be honest, he has now won the first place in the Qingshan Martial Arts Competition. More than a hundred young heroes from the county came on stage to compete. He fought all the way to the end, overpowering the others and winning the first place."
"Qingshan Martial Arts Club?"
Jiang Dashan was stunned.
Although he doesn't understand martial arts, he knows what Qingshan Martial Arts is like.
Yellow Earth Town Although it is remote, during every martial arts competition, the Qingshan martial arts competition is what the idle people in the town talk about the most after dinner.
Which disciple came first, and which young master ranked among the top ten? These are the topics of conversation among farmers during their leisure time.
He vaguely remembered that one year the top name in the martial arts competition was a young man named Wang. It was said that he received a reward of one thousand taels of silver and entered some sect.
"First...?"
Jiang Dashan's voice is a little wavy.