After a busy day, the two of them slowly walked towards Chenjia Village after dark.
Along the way, Li Lianhua kept rubbing her arms and legs, her face full of exhaustion and pain.
"Really, Ah Chen, I have never been so tired when I was practicing with my master. It turns out that the work is so tiring. I finally understand the hard work of the people at the bottom."
Zhou Chen glanced at him contemptuously: "You have the nerve to say such things with the amount of work you have done this day? I asked you to go fishing with me at sea, but you were tired, and asked you to cook, and you were still tired, so why not
You still need Grandpa Chen and I to help you water these vegetables. If you eat every day for three days, you are getting thicker and thicker."
Li Lianhua laughed a few times, unable to refute, because what Zhou Chen said was true.
But there was nothing he could do. He had never done these things before. He had just learned to do them, and he would definitely not be able to do them well.
"It's not that I won't go fishing with you. You also know that I'm weak now. If I get seasick on the boat, you still have to take care of me. In order not to cause trouble to you, I just won't go."
"Then I still have to thank you?"
Li Lianhua laughed and said: "No, what is our relationship? We are half-brothers, we are indistinguishable from each other."
Zhou Chen rolled his eyes. This guy learned very quickly. Ever since they got acquainted with each other, Li Lianhua has become more and more shameless.
"Xiaohua, have you had any attacks of Bicha poison recently?"
After a few months of getting along, the relationship between the two is still very good.
Zhou Chen knew that the Bicha poison in Li Lianhua's body had not been cured. Although it was treated by Master Wu Li and suppressed by Yangzhou Man's internal force, it would still occasionally break out. Although it was not fatal, it would still make Li Lianhua miserable.
Li Lianhua replied nonchalantly: "Fortunately, it's not that serious."
Zhou Chen knew that he was pretending to be relaxed. The poison of Bicha might not be as harmful to him now as it would be a few years later, but it was still very fatal when it attacked. But every time it happened, he would hide alone.
"Just be brave. Although my skills are still weak now, when you have an attack, I can still use my internal strength to help you control it. Don't hold on alone."
Li Lianhua smiled and replied: "Okay, I will definitely come to you when I can't help it anymore."
"It's up to you. It's your body anyway. If you want to make a fool of yourself, there's nothing I can do about it. The worst I can do is wait until you're gone and I'll burn paper and send you wine on your grave."
"You are still not a human being, Ah Chen. At my age, you start cursing me to death?" Li Lianhua yelled angrily.
Zhou Chen sneered and said: "Don't think you are hiding it from me. I don't know how strong the Bicha poison is in your body. I can still see it. If you don't care about your body, will you be able to survive?"
It’s hard to tell in ten years.”
Li Lianhua looked at Zhou Chen in astonishment. He knew that Zhou Chen's medical skills were good, because he was now learning medical skills from Zhou Chen. He would ask Zhou Chen if he didn't understand anything in the medical books he read. Zhou Chen could answer most of the questions.
Help him answer it.
But Zhou Chen was able to judge his current physical condition without carefully checking his body.
"It's not as exaggerated as what you said. How can I still not understand my own body?"
"hehe."
Li Lianhua scratched her head in embarrassment and did not dare to continue talking. She made many mistakes and Zhou Chen was not someone who was easy to fool.
…………
one year later!
There was light rain in the sky, and Zhou Chen stood silently in front of a tombstone. He had been standing there for several hours.
Li Lianhua came over with an umbrella and protected Zhou Chen from the rain.
"The deceased has passed away, and the old village chief doesn't want to see you like this. In fact, he has no regrets if he can be buried with his wife and children. This is what he expected."
Village chief Chen, who had taken Zhou Chen in for several years, passed away a few days ago. The whole village saw him off. In the end, Zhou Chen personally buried him beside his wife and children. The tombstone was also written by Zhou Chen.
It was carved out.
"I have long been accustomed to separation and death. I am just feeling the fragility of life. The person who may be talking to you one moment may be gone the next moment. This result is indeed the best ending for Grandpa Chen."
"Just think about it. I've cooked. Go back and I'll have a drink with you."
"Huh, is that your drinking capacity?"
"Don't look down on people, my drinking capacity has increased a lot now. I once wondered if you were using your internal strength to get drunk when you were drinking with me?"
"Do you think I would be as shameless as you? With that kind of wine, the more I drink, the more sober I become."
"I thought I was crazy enough before, until I met you."
Zhou Chen and Li Lianhua exchanged words, and their figures walked further and further away, leaving only the increasingly quiet mountain forest.
In Chenjia Village, there is a very special two-story wooden building standing there, and the villagers coming and going have long been accustomed to it.
When Zhou Chen and Li Lianhua came back with the two-story building, it caused a huge sensation in the village, and all the villagers came to watch and marvel.
But as time went by, everyone got used to it, and occasionally they would look at it curiously when passing by. Children, especially, liked running into the building to play.
When this building was built, Li Lianhua asked Zhou Chen to name it, and Zhou Chen said "Lotus Building" without hesitation, which surprised Li Lianhua.
However, Zhou Chen decided with one vote that the name of this building would be Lotus Building.
The building covers an area of about 120 square meters, and the second floor is slightly less, about 70 square meters.
Zhou Chen and Li Lianhua are evenly distributed, with Li Lianhua living on the first floor and Zhou Chen living on the second floor.
Originally, Li Lianhua wanted to give up the larger first floor to Zhou Chen, because Zhou Chen had the greatest contribution to the completion of this building, but Zhou Chen insisted on living on the second floor. Li Lianhua could not give up and had to agree.
On the first floor of Lianhua Building, Zhou Chen and Li Lianhua were sitting together eating.
Li Lianhua said: "The building has been completed, but what is missing now are the horses to pull the building. With a building like ours, it is estimated that at least six horses will be needed, and they must be of good breed."
Zhou Chen nodded. He was the one who built the Lotus Building. Naturally, he knows how much it weighs.
Just to be able to pull it, he did not choose stronger bricks and stones. If it were built with bricks and stones, even ten horses might not be able to pull this two-story building.
"This is a small place after all, and it is not easy to buy suitable horses. In this case, you are responsible for buying horses, and I have to do something."
"What are you going to do?" Li Lianhua asked puzzledly.
"Repaying a favor."
While speaking, a beautiful image appeared in Zhou Chen's mind involuntarily. Although three years had passed, he had not forgotten the kindness of the ingot of silver.
"oh."
Li Lianhua did not pursue the question, but asked another question: "Have you really decided to leave here with me?"
Zhou Chen said: "Well, there is nothing worth missing here anymore, it's time to leave."
"As long as you don't regret it, I will take care of the horse matter. You should also complete what you want to do as soon as possible."
"Okay, we'll meet back when the time comes."
…………
Coming to Linhai County again, this is where he traveled to this world, so he has different concerns about this place.
When he arrived at the county government office, he was shocked to find that the magistrate of the county government office had been replaced. The last time he came to the county seat was three months ago. It shouldn't be time for the change yet, right?
So he went to a roadside stall not far from the county government office, ordered a copy of Chaos, and pretended to be unintentional and asked the boss about it.
"Boss, I want to ask you something."
The roadside stall owner wiped his hands on his clothes and said with an honest face: "Guest, please ask."
"I remember that when I came to Laihai County a few months ago, the county magistrate seemed to be Mr. Gu, but I just heard from passers-by that the county magistrate has been replaced?"
Hearing that Zhou Chen's matter in the lobby was actually related to the county magistrate, the boss glanced around, and then whispered: "It's a change of people. Two months ago, Mr. Gu's house was ransacked. I heard that he seemed to have committed a crime. What are the details?
We don’t know what it was, but we only know that Mr. Gu was beheaded in public, the men of his family were sent to the border areas, and the women were put into the Jiaofang Department of the county, demoted to a lowly status, and became the slaves of the Jiaofang Department officials and official prostitutes.”
Zhou Chen's hand holding the chopsticks paused.
"That's right. I didn't expect that after a few months of absence, such a big thing would happen."
"Who says it's not the case? In fact, Mr. Gu was really a good official in the past. Alas, in this world..."
The boss just sighed and didn't dare to say anything unnecessary.
After Zhou Chen finished eating, he put down a few copper coins and left.
The Daxi Dynasty is the orthodox dynasty in the Central Plains today. Its rule is divided into states, counties, and counties, which are similar to provinces, cities, and counties in modern society. There are thirteen states in the world.
Zhou Chen inquired several times from other places, and the answer he got was similar to what the roadside stall owner said. There was no Jiaofang Division in Linhai County, so the female relatives of the Gu family must have been taken to the Jiaofang Division in the county.
Zhou Chen didn't hesitate at all, and immediately rode towards the county. He came to the county before leaving just to repay the kindness he had given him. Now that the female members of the Gu family have been sent to the Jiaofang Division, and the young lady of the Gu family is in trouble, he
Of course we cannot sit idly by and ignore it.
Without stopping, Zhou Chen finally arrived at Dongyang County, the county capital, one day later.
Compared with Linhai County, the prosperity of Dongyang County has increased by several levels. Whether it is from the city walls outside or the road buildings inside the city, they are not on the same level. The crowds coming and going can also tell that the
Living conditions are far better than those in the county town.
Zhou Chen only made some inquiries and determined the location of the Jiaofang Department of the county government.
Although it was still daytime, Jiaofangsi was already very lively, with many people in luxurious clothes coming in and out.
Jiaofangsi belongs to the imperial court, and is very different from those brothels. It is more of a place for officials and wealthy gentry. It is difficult for ordinary people to enter Jiaofangsi to spend money.
The Jiaofangsi is said to be a place for the court's prostitutes, but in fact the business is not much different from that of a brothel, except that it looks better on the outside.
Zhou Chen is not a high-ranking official, so he did not use conventional methods to enter Jiaofangsi. Instead, he used his own skills to sneak into Jiaofangsi.
Jiaofangsi covers a large area. It is not easy to find someone in such a large Jiaofangsi and to search quietly.
But Zhou Chen also had his own method. After two days, he finally found out about the female members of the Gu family.
What is regrettable is that after entering the Jiaofang Division, some of the female members of the Gu family did not want to be humiliated and had already committed suicide. Gu Qingqing, whom Zhou Chen wanted to find, did not commit suicide because she was outstanding in appearance and talented.
, is valued by the chief officer of the Jiaofang Division, and is being trained intensively, hoping to train Gu Qingqing to become the oiran of the Jiaofang Division.
Because of this, although Gu Qingqing joined the Jiaofang Division, he was not forced to pick up customers, but was receiving training.
But precisely because of this, it is not that easy to rescue Gu Qingqing.
Gu Qingqing has now become a lowly person. Even if Zhou Chen rescues her by force, her status as a lowly person will not change. Once caught, she will be punished with death.
Therefore, if you want to rescue Gu Qingqing and allow her to live an upright life, you must solve the problem of her low status.
Zhou Chen wanted to repay Gu Qingqing, not harm her, so he had to think of a foolproof strategy.
After confirming that Gu Qingqing was not in danger for the time being, Zhou Chen did not rush to rescue anyone, but was thinking about ways to save Gu Qingqing.
After much deliberation, I can only use the simplest method. Money can make all the difference.
Seven days later!
Sheriff Qian Zhengqing returned home drunk, went to his room, drove away the servants, and opened the wooden box he brought back.
The wooden box was full of jewels, which made his eyes dazzle and his expression excited.
After three years as a county guard, he did not achieve much, but he made a lot of wealth.
At the beginning, he was also a capital official with a bright future, but later he offended someone and was demoted to a local government and became the governor of Dongyang County. Three years have passed now.
He has long lost his previous ambitions and only wants to make enough wealth before resigning to prepare for his future retirement.
However, he is also a smart man. Although he is making money, he is not without a bottom line. He will not do anything that crosses the line. After all, he now has a lot of wealth. It would be a pity if he did not enjoy it with his life.
He closed the wooden box with a smile. Qian Zhengqing was about to put it away when he raised his head and suddenly saw a figure in front of him. He was so frightened that he almost screamed.
"Master Qian, don't be nervous, I don't mean any harm."
Qian Zhengqing forcibly stopped the urge to shout and looked at the man who suddenly appeared in front of him. He didn't know how long he had been here, but he really didn't feel anything at all.
"Who are you? Who gave you the courage to break into my mansion?"
His words are sharp, but he doesn't have much confidence. The fact that the other party appeared in his bedroom without anyone noticing, and that he hasn't been discovered yet, shows that this person is not simple. He is cautious and still leaves room for words.
The person who came was Zhou Chen. Naturally, he came here in the middle of the night just to wait for Qian Zhengqing.
"It's my fault that I broke in late at night, but in order to see you, I had to do this. Please forgive me. I came here this time because I have something important to ask for your help."
After hearing this, Qian Zhengqing felt relieved a little.
"Please help me, sir. There is no need to use this method. You..."
Before he finished speaking, he was blinded by the shining gold.
