"Is the alchemy talisman expensive?" Shen Huimin was immediately overjoyed.
"It's expensive. A flying alchemy talisman should cost tens of thousands of empire coins."
"Tens of thousands of imperial coins..." Shen Huimin subconsciously glanced at Zhu, who glared at her and stuck out her tongue.
"Yes, at least tens of thousands. The better ones are more expensive. Hey... Huimin, our family has no money, and dad also has a lot of things he wants to buy." Shen Wan sighed.
"Dad, do you want energy stones?" Shen Huimin rolled her eyes.
"Yes, after you gave me that top-grade energy stone last time, my cultivation level increased greatly. However, I am still a little bit away from the breakthrough. I think I need another piece... I'm just saying, let's talk. Well...ahem...tell me..." Shen Wan saw Zhu's unkind expression and immediately coughed twice in embarrassment.
"You two are not doing your job properly, but you are spending money all day long. Although the Shen family has some industries, the profits are meager and they have to feed hundreds of people inside and outside. Five years ago, you spent money to buy an energy stone. The Shen family almost had a financial problem. Later, Huimin clamored for a flying sword and emptied the family's fortune. If you continue to struggle like this, the Shen family will be closed down sooner or later." Mrs. Zhu. He snorted coldly.
"Ahem... Huimin is a girl. She should buy a better flying sword for self-defense. But here... it's a little inappropriate. Don't worry, I will never buy energy stones again..." Shen Wan vowed. road.
"I definitely have to buy it. It's just your hobby. When the Shen family's financial resources recover, I'll buy you some energy stones so that you won't have to worry about it all day long." Mrs. Zhu sighed.
"Thank you, madam, thank you madam." Shen Wan was immediately overjoyed.
"I didn't say buy it now, so don't thank me too early." Mrs. Zhu rolled her eyes at Shen Wan.
"Hmm, no rush, no rush."
"By the way, I'm going to Tianfu in a few days, and I'll stay there for a few days. I'm afraid it will take more than a month, and I may not come back until the Chinese New Year. You two should be calm and don't mess around."
"Don't worry, madam, just go and I will help you keep an eye on Huimin."
"Still keeping an eye on me, I'll keep an eye on you." Shen Huimin sneered.
"Don't argue. Anyway, if any of you are restless, you won't be able to buy anything in the future."
"Of course. Hey, madam, didn't we go to Tianfu last year? What happened this year?"
"My sister-in-law has given birth again."
"Again?" Shen Wan widened his eyes and said, "Didn't he already give birth to six children?"
"Yes, the seventh child was born this time, so the population is really prosperous... Hey, our Shen family..." Mrs. Zhu glanced at Shen Huimin, with a hint of melancholy on her face.
"Our Shen family is quite nice. Look, Huimin is so well-behaved. By the way, why don't you let me and Huimin accompany you?" Shen Wan quickly changed the subject.
"There's been some chaos in Niejiaqiao recently. It's better for you and Huimin to stay at home. I'll go and come back soon. Okay, I'm tired, so I'll take a rest first." Mrs. Zhu seemed to be thinking, and her brows were filled with thoughts. Locking it tightly, he put down his needlework and walked into the inner room.
"Dad, why don't you have more children?" Shen Huimin asked after Zhu left.
"Well... your mother is a little ill and can't have a baby for the time being." Shen Wan hesitated for a moment and sighed.
"no way?"
"There is a way. I read in the ancient book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Qiyang Mountain" that there is a beast called Lushu. If you eat it, you can reproduce."
"Then why not capture it?"
"Sister-in-law, that was in the prehistoric era, when there were hundreds of thousands of mountains, and it was just a legend. I couldn't find it anywhere. You could just capture it if you asked..."
…
Time is passing by unconsciously. It is only more than a month before the Chinese New Year, and the weather is getting colder and colder.
The number of people paying rent gradually decreased, and many part-time workers went home. However, the Shenjiadong compound did not become idle.
The mountains of grain in the warehouse in the East Courtyard began to be transported to the big city. Every day, horse teams would leave the East Courtyard carrying grain on camels.
Zhou Sen discovered that in addition to the porters, some tall bear-like men began to appear on the horse team. Those men were not afraid of the cold, wore leather armor, and carried weapons with them. They were extremely arrogant in the East Courtyard. Some workers were killed if they were not careful.
It will lead to beatings and scolding.
This strange phenomenon attracted Zhou Sen's attention.
Zhou Sen has been at Shen's house for more than two months and has never seen these people appear before. Moreover, these people all came with the cavalry.
On this day, another group of rough men with unfamiliar faces came with the cavalry.
"Brother Tong, who are those people?" Zhou Sen and Zhu Tongzi were walking in the Shenjiadong compound. When they walked to Zhou Sen, Zhou Sen pointed at the group of big men resting by the well and asked.
"Underground escorts." Zhu Tongzi glanced at them and lowered his voice: "They are all rough people, don't mess with them."
"What is an underground escort?" Zhou Sen looked confused. He had heard of escort agencies, but never heard of underground escorts.
"They are just some people in the world who are not qualified to be bodyguards. They secretly take on some business and make a living. Our Shen family deals in some agricultural products. We have a small profit and cannot afford to hire those regular bodyguards, so we can only hire some underground bodyguards.
Follow me for protection.”
"Why do you want to invite me? I remember I didn't invite you before?"
"The weather this year has been unusual, especially cold. I heard that droughts and floods have caused harvest losses and famines in many places. Even on some official roads, there are green forest bandits. It is said that in some places, there are still people who occupy the mountains and become kings. There are hundreds or even thousands of them at every turn.
Even the government can't cope with it. Our side is pretty good, just some petty thieves, hiring some underground bodyguards is enough to deal with it."
"oh……"
"By the way, do you know Huimin?" Zhu Tongzi asked suddenly and casually.
"Huimin, who?"
"Shen Huimin." Zhu Tongzi was stunned. He saw that Zhou Sen was not pretending.
"I don't know." Zhou Sen shook his head.
"But, she said she knew you and asked you several times." Zhu Tongzi had a look of suspicion on his face.
"Oh...are you talking about the girl who came to the East Compound last time?"
"Yeah, that's her. She is the young lady of our Shen family." Zhu Tongzi was refreshed and looked at Zhou Sen with wide eyes, as if he wanted to see through Zhou Sen's internal organs.
"I don't know her. I've never seen her."
"Really?" Zhu Tongzi looked suspicious.
"Really." Zhou Sen nodded firmly and said, "If she says she knows me, she must have admitted the wrong person!"
"Oh..." Zhu Tongzi's face seemed relieved.
"Zhuzi, push harder, hurry up and push harder!"
"well!"
While Zhu Tongzi and Zhou Sen were chatting, suddenly, there was a burst of cheering and cheering. The two looked over and saw a large group of people gathered in a circle beside the well. The two hurriedly squeezed past. It turned out that it was a
The porter was wrestling with an underground escort on a small wooden table.
The two of them were in a stalemate, with veins on their necks bulging and their faces flushed with pain.
"One, two, three!" Suddenly, the escort shouted, and with a sudden force, the porter fell down in response, "Haha, give me money, give me money, you are such a bear, and you still want to compete with me.
"
The porter took out a few imperial coins from his arms with a frustrated look on his face.
It turned out that when everyone was having nothing to do, someone suggested a competition to see whose hand was stronger, and some small bets were placed.
"Who else is coming? Come one by one." After the victorious escort stood up straight, his figure was extremely majestic, like an iron tower, and he looked like a powerful man at first glance.
Another porter went up to fight, but he just shouted "one" and fell down.
One after another, several porters lost, and a group of porters were not convinced, but there was nothing they could do.
"Call Tie Zhu here." A porter suggested.
"That's right, we actually forgot about Tiezhu and called him here."
"Go ahead and call all of you. I'm not afraid of wheel battles, sir, haha..." The escort laughed arrogantly.
Soon, someone with good intentions called the iron pillar who was nestled in the room to warm himself by the fire.
"Just you?" The iron tower-like bodyguard looked down at the short iron pillar with a look of contempt on his face.
"Come on." Tie Zhu didn't say much and put his hand on the wooden table.
"How much is the bet?" The escort was not in a hurry, with a joking look on his face.
"Fifty imperial coins."
"Fifty... Hahaha, no, no, five hundred! Do you want to bet or not?"
"Five hundred... I won't bet..." Tie Zhu hesitated and shook his head. Five hundred imperial coins was a large amount for a porter, equivalent to nearly half a month's salary.
"Can I advance five hundred imperial coins?" Zhou Sen asked Zhu Tongzi beside him in a low voice.
"Can."
"Brother Tiezhu, I'll pay you five hundred. If you lose, it's mine, and if you win, it's half for each of us." Although Zhou Sen and Tiezhu have known each other for a short time, they have a close relationship. Naturally, they don't want to see Tiezhu being discriminated against.
"Okay!" Tie Zhu glanced at Zhou Sen, gritted his teeth, and nodded fiercely.
The atmosphere became heated, and almost the entire Dongyuan workers gathered around. Everyone hoped that Tiezhu would win. After all, Tiezhu was Dongyuan's trump card.
The two squatted in the horse stance, clasped their arms, and with a "Start!" they exerted force at the same time.
An unexpected scene happened.
The two of them shook hands and shouted "one, two, three". The bodyguard's arm, which was as muscular as an old tree root, was directly knocked down by the iron pillar without any confrontation.
The escorts all looked dull.
No one thought that this bodyguard who had been killing all the way would be so vulnerable, especially a group of bodyguards who looked incredulous. After all, Tiezhu and the bodyguards were not at the same level in stature.
The workers in the East Compound were not surprised. For them, this was not a surprise.
"Give me money, give me money," a worker urged.
The tall and handsome escort blushed, took out some scattered banknotes from his arms, counted five hundred imperial coins and handed them to Tiezhu.
Underground escorts are also people at the bottom of society. Although their income is not small, they are used to drinking from large bowls and eating large pieces of meat. They usually live in a tight situation. Five hundred imperial coins is not a small amount for them.
"He just accepted challenges one after another. He is too tired. Let me give you five hundred imperial coins!" A bodyguard volunteered, walked to the wooden table, and squatted on his horse.
"Okay." Tie Zhu didn't say much. He glanced at Zhou Sen and seemed to feel confident. He nodded, squatted down, and held the palm of the bodyguard's hand.
"one two three!"
The two of them count at the same time, and then exert force at the same time.
With a "pop" sound, the escort's arm fell down.
"Hahaha, give me money, give me money!"
The workers gave loud cheers and urged the escort to give them money. The escort paid with a livid face.
"Who else is coming?" Tie Zhu continued to squat on his horse and asked in a low voice.
"Me!" A bodyguard couldn't stand Tie Zhu's naked challenge and shouted loudly. He walked up to the wooden table. The two of them shook their wrists and started fighting with "one, two, three".
With a "pop" sound, the escort's lips turned white due to excessive exertion.
"Give money, give money"
…
Next, Tie Zhu accepted seven challenges in a row, winning thousands of imperial coins with overwhelming success. This situation lasted until the underground escort leader appeared in the accounting room after completing the checkout.
The head of the underground bodyguard is a man with a muscular back and a body like an iron tower. He is about forty years old. He has two thick eyebrows as black as swords and carries a heavy sword on his back. He looks like a powerful man at first glance.
"I will compete with you. If I win, you will refund all the money you just won. If I lose, I will give you the same amount. How about that?" After asking for the reason, the leader of the underground escort asked.
"This..." Tie Zhu glanced at the strong figure of the escort leader, with a timid look on his face, and then glanced at Zhou Sen. After all, the money does not belong to him alone. Tie Zhu is a man with great strength.
Big, but not very courageous.
Zhou Sen nodded towards Tiezhu, and Tiezhu dared to fight.
The leader of the bodyguards and Tie Zhu stood still, put their arms on the wooden table, squatted down on horseback, and held their hands tightly.
The atmosphere became inexplicably tense.
The two of them started counting at the same time: "One, two, three!".
An exciting scene appeared. The two were actually evenly matched. The bulging muscles in their arms were full of strength, and the veins on their necks were bulging, full of masculine beauty.
"come on!"
"come on!"
The underground escorts and workers all shouted wildly, and the noise in the east courtyard was loud.
"Peng!"
There was a loud noise, and the wooden table that had been placed in Shen Jiadong's courtyard for several years shattered into pieces under the tremendous strength of the two men and turned into a pile of sawdust.
The battle between the two is not over.
The two of them were still squatting in the horse stance, maintaining their body balance, with their arms hanging in the air. At this time, their faces were already flushed with blood, as if they were on fire.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
The two of them remained motionless, like sculptures. Obviously, they were matched against each other, and neither could overwhelm the other.
The battle situation has reached a stalemate, and both of them are fighting to the death. After all, this is a bet of thousands of imperial coins, and neither one is willing to admit defeat.
Twenty minutes later, both of their faces turned livid.
The originally noisy East Courtyard became quiet, suffocatingly quiet.
Just when people didn't know what to do, suddenly, the dart head leaned back slightly, and with a slight pull, the iron pillar hurriedly pushed back to maintain the balance of the body, and just before the electric light and flint, the iron pillar tilted back
Suddenly, the slight pulling action of the dart head turned into pushing, and the palm of the hand relaxed.
Pulling and pushing, he used force with great proficiency. Tie Zhu was caught off guard. He was already pushing back hard, but with another push, the whole person actually flew into the air, and fell heavily to the ground with a "pop" sound.
There was a "click" and a crisp sound of fractures sounded in the east courtyard.
"Ah..." Tie Zhu screamed, hugging his arms and rolling on the ground in pain.
A group of workers quickly gathered around and picked up Tie Zhu. In the meantime, Tie Zhu's right arm had been broken, and the white bones had been poked out, dripping with blood, and it was terrible to see.
"You cheated, you cheated!"
A group of angry workers surrounded the bodyguards. The bodyguards around the underground bodyguards all drew out the weapons they carried with them, and the situation was tense for a moment.
The number of workers far exceeded that of the underground escorts, and many workers held poles and other objects in their hands. The workers in the East Courtyard have been getting along day and night for a long time, and they have established a deep relationship. Chef Luo and Chef Lei, who were just watching, rushed to the kitchen
, each came to support with a butcher's knife, and Lu Axe, who also held an iron ax for chopping wood, stared at the group of mercenaries with a sullen voice.
Outside, Sister-in-law Peng and Sister-in-law Sun each held two kitchen knives and stared at their men nervously, fearing that something might happen to their men.
A group fight could happen at any time.
The situation got a little out of control. No one expected that a simple game would turn into this.
Facing the turbulent workers, the bodyguards did not panic. They held the weapons in their hands, formed a circle, and looked at the surroundings with cold expressions, filled with murderous intent. These bodyguards were well-trained, so naturally they would not
Pay attention to a group of honest farmers.
Of course, although the bodyguards were not afraid, the people in the East Courtyard had a numerical advantage and were locals, so they did not dare to act rashly and stir up trouble.
Seeing the murderous escorts, the workers did not take the initiative to take action, forming a stalemate.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Zhou Sen quickly looked for Zhu Tongzi, only to find that Zhu Tongzi had left at some point, and there was no sign of Zhu Tongzi around him at all.
Zhou Sen did not hesitate and took a step forward.
"Everyone, please be quiet. This is the Shenjiadong Courtyard. The East Courtyard is a place of reason. No matter who does something wrong, they will be punished."
Zhou Sen doesn't want to stand out, but at this time, if no one comes forward, it may cause a big disaster. When the matter gets serious, it will inevitably have repercussions. If he wants to stay quietly in the Shenjiadong Courtyard next spring, the flowers will bloom.
It's a bit difficult.
"Xiao Zhou, Tiezhu's hand is broken. We must not swallow this breath." A worker said with a look of grief and anger.
"Yes, we in Dongdayuan do not bully others, and we will never let others bully us!"
The workers were talking to each other, and they were getting more and more excited.
"Yes, we people in Dongda Courtyard must not let others bully us, but we in Dongda Courtyard will never bully others by relying on our large number of people. Everyone, please put those guys down first. If we don't give an explanation for this matter, no one will
Don't even think about taking a step outside the Shen family." Zhou Sen said firmly.
"That's right, no one can even step out of the East Courtyard without an explanation for this matter. Let's all put down our things first. Xiao Zhou is the smartest person in our East Courtyard and will definitely give us an explanation.
"
"Uh-huh……"
A group of workers took a few steps back, put down their lifted poles and other objects, and still formed a huge circle, surrounding a group of escorts.
"Tie Zhu's arm is broken, what do you think?" Zhou Sen walked up to the escort head.
"You're not as skilled as others, what else do you want? I don't want the money anymore. I'll just give it to him as money for soup and medicine. Don't say that Brother Diao is bullying others." The escort leader dragged the heavy sword in his hand with a careless look, as if it was inappropriate.
One thing.
"According to what you said, if you are not as skilled as others, you deserve to have your arms and legs amputated?"
"Of course."
"Okay, I'll make a bet with you. If I lose, Tie Zhu's matter will be over. If I win, you will pay Tie Zhu for the medicine and the lost wages for training. How about that?"
