NABC Chapter 16 - 16 Ancient Water Village
Chapter 16 - 16 Ancient Water Village
Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Ancient Water Village
Nearing evening, they finally arrived at their destination.
They saw a village nestled among several hills, with endless wheat fields stretching out in front of them and a meandering tributary of the Wei River passing by. It was clearly a village with excellent fengshui.
Under the setting sun, the golden waves of wheat surged, presenting a pastoral scene of beauty.
"This is Ancient Water Village."
Sha Lifei, leading the way on horseback, explained, "There is an ancient spring on the mountain in the village, hence the name. The biggest landlord here is Landlord Lu."
"This Landlord Lu is quite something. I heard he used to be a wealthy merchant in the Capital, made his money, then returned to buy farmland. See, all these fields in front of us belong to him."
"The key is, he's generous. Who knows how many people have their eyes on this juicy bit of land; if it wasn't for my strong reputation, you guys would only be able to compete with the wheat workers from Longyou..."
Wheat workers are not rare in Guanzhong, but even more come from Longyou.
The people there can endure hardship, work hard without complaints, and aren't picky about food, making them the favorite among the hosts and are known as the kings of wheat workers.
"Big Brother Sha is tough!"
"I told you, following Big Brother Sha, you can't go wrong..."
The crowd praised Sha Lifei, and he became even more proud.
...
Landlord Lu's estate was at the east end of the village.
Just as Sha Lifei had said, it was a true large household.
The whole estate was constructed in a quadrangle layout, with brick and wood architecture, consisting of four courtyards and three main buildings, surrounded by tall walls. Even the blue brick bases on the outside featured exquisite brick carvings.
Archways, memorial arches, and Horse Ties, all were present.
In the glow of the setting sun, it exuded a solemn ancient charm.
The largest landlord of Li Family Castle, Li Huairen, had nothing more than a two-courtyard house. The wheat workers had never seen such luxury and were all amazed.
"My goodness, how rich one must be..."
"This time we've really learned something..."
It was clear that more than one group of workers was employed for Landlord Lu's household.
Outside the mansion's gate was an open space larger than a threshing ground, seemingly watered and rolled flat with stone rollers.
Willows surrounded the area, creating an impressive sight.
At this moment, the space was already filled with groups of people carrying bedding, fastening sickles, squatting on the ground, either chatting idly or puffing on big smoking pipes.
Sha Lifei instructed his people not to wander off and then approached the gate.
There stood a lean old man, neatly dressed, wearing a small hat and with white hair. A pair of black wooden-frame glasses perched on his nose, with several attendants following behind.
Sha Lifei seemed to recognize the man and went up to bow with his hands in respect, his face eager to please, "Housekeeper Lu, these are my people."
"Why have you arrived a day late?"
"We ran into some trouble on the road."
"Alright, wait until the master is done speaking before we make arrangements..."
As the two of them talked, Li Yan looked around curiously.
His sharp eyes, along with his knowledge of the pugilistic world, allowed him to immediately notice many things.
The group on the right came from Longyou. Their accent was different, and their leader was clearly a bladesman from Longyou, no longer young, still wearing a sheepskin jacket despite the heat.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Despite his white hair, his arms were muscular and knotty.
Looking at his hands, he seemed to have practiced the Eagle Claw Skill.
The attendants standing behind Housekeeper Lu, although not in a formal stance, were all broad-shouldered and bright-eyed, obviously protectors and bodyguards for the household.
Housekeeper Lu was also formidable, organizing everything in an orderly manner.
The wheat harvesters all nodded in agreement.
Though the rules were strict, the offered reward was high.
They hadn't had such good fortune in previous years...
After the arrangements, the wheat harvesters were escorted to the head of the village.
There awaited the shelters that had been set up in advance.
For the duration of their stay there, they would work from dawn till dusk, with no spare time other than for eating and sleeping.
It was tough, but this was what the harvest season was like; otherwise, how could they earn money?
And next to the shelters, more than a dozen large pots had already been set up.
The bone-white broth of lamb boiled, with chopped mutton offal swirling within.
Several stories' high wooden steamers exuded the aromatic steam of wheat.
The wheat harvesters had come from all directions, having sustained on cold water and coarse grain cakes during their travels. Upon smelling this aroma, they drooled instantly.
Competing to line up, they squatted on the ground with large bowls, devouring their food.
Then Housekeeper Lu's assigned helpers laughed and said, "Everyone, eat to your heart's content, but remember one thing: don't eat too much and get sick. You won't be able to work tomorrow."
An old harvester chuckled, "Don't worry, young man, although we're peasants, we know the difference between a full meal and an excess."
"Hahaha..."
The people eating around him burst into laughter.
They felt gratified; with such a host, they had nothing to complain about.
Even Li Yan couldn't help but agree.
He had been to the temple fairs in Lantian County, but the mutton offal soup there was made for the poor, with no attention to detail.
Sometimes, there would even be lamb's wool and flies floating in the greasy broth—something he could not stomach.
The food cooked by the Lu family's cooks at least looked clean; they even poured spicy chili oil over the mutton soup, sprinkling it with scallions and coriander.
Together with the white flour buns, it was blissfully delicious!
Being a young man with a big appetite, and also training in martial arts to build up his strength, Li Yan wolfed down five large buns and drank four bowls of mutton offal soup before wiping his mouth, putting down his bowl, and getting up to walk towards Sha Lifei.
Because of the previous incident, everyone had been rushing on their journey without much talk. Now that they had settled down, it was the perfect time to ask about the itinerary.
Sha Lifei was bragging with a few bladesmen.
Seeing him come over, seeming to guess what he would ask, Sha Lifei shifted the subject and said with a teasing smile, "Fellow travelers, let me introduce you. This is Li Yan. His father is the famous 'Guanzhong's Sick Tiger'—you must have heard of him."
Upon hearing this, Li Yan immediately felt displeased.
He hadn't come out here to make a name for himself in the pugilistic world.
Even if he were after Xiang Man'er, he wouldn't use his father's fame, much less needed Sha Lifei to be so talkative.
But since the topic had already been brought up, he could only smile and salute with cupped hands, "Greetings to the seniors."
The old bladesman from Longyou, dressed in sheepskin, was squatting on the ground smoking and nodded at Li Yan's words, saying in a husky voice, "I've heard of Tiger's reputation, a man of righteousness, just a pity... Ah."
The others also chimed in, "The young master looks extraordinary; he's sure to become a famous figure in Guanzhong someday."
That's how things go in the pugilistic world; everyone knows how to say nice things.
As long as it's not about competing for interests, they mostly compliment one another.
But a young man sitting far away scoffed, "Tsk tsk, Li Hu's son, already out in the pugilistic world at such a young age. Your whiskers haven't even grown in yet, have they?"
"The wind and waves are rough in the pugilistic world; don't go hurting your back..."
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