Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 41 Yi Bo Yuntian
Ma Panlong sighed when he said this, but because there were servants from the Jia family present, he didn't say anything more.

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Brother Ma, why are you acting so childish? A man of honor may be in trouble for a while. Just think about it, Qin Qiong has to sell his horse, and Yang Zhi has to sell his sword. Won't they have their own fortunes in the future? Brother Ma, where are you staying now?"

Ma Panlong said, "To our shame, the three of us brothers have rented a house near Anhua Temple in the outer city."

Chen Siyuan said, "I have nothing to do today, so I was just about to go find you three for a drink."

Seeing that Chen Siyuan was the same as usual and not looking down on him for his shabby lifestyle, Ma Panlong readily agreed.

Chen Siyuan went to the stable to get a horse, and together with Ma Panlong, they went to Anhua Temple. At that time, the capital was vast, the inner city was a little crowded, but the outer city was spacious.

When Chen Siyuan came back to life after possessing the little beggar, he thought Yangzhou was a prosperous city with countless houses and rows of buildings. However, he never expected that Yangzhou City actually had vast farmlands.

Now that I have arrived in the capital, I find that there are farmlands within the city!
Later, I realized that in this war, we must capture cities and preserve the farmland in the city. Even if we can't grow food for a while, growing some fruits and vegetables can sustain us for a while.

But the capital was different. Many farms simply stopped growing crops and vegetables and dug up the soil to sell, or even built their own kilns to make bricks and tiles. This way, the annual income was much better than working in the fields.

That is why, when the two men were riding horses, they would see a deep pit in the outer city from time to time.

The Anhua Temple was located in the southeast corner of the capital, a remote and desolate place, so the three of them only rented a farmhouse to stay in. On the way, Ma Panlong found an excuse to ask Chen Siyuan to wait for a while, and then returned with some wine and meat.

Chen Siyuan thought to himself that this was because he was afraid that he would rush to pay.

They arrived at the farmhouse a short while later. Qian Feihu and Xu Dabiao were practicing in front of it. Hearing the sound of horse hooves and seeing Ma Panlong and Chen Siyuan arrive, they were overjoyed and rushed forward to greet them.

Chen Siyuan dismounted, greeted the two men, and then walked into the farmyard leisurely.

Ma Panlong wanted to make tea, but Chen Siyuan waved his hand and said, "Brothers, there's no need to be so particular. I think it's getting late, so we should just eat some meat and drink some wine."

Qian Feihu laughed and said, "Mr. Chen is quite to my taste. What's so good about that tea? I still enjoy drinking wine."

At that moment, everyone entered the house, set up a kang table with a missing leg, and the four of them sat around the head of the kang. They placed some wine and food on the table and began to feast on the food.

After three rounds of drinks, Ma Panlong hadn't said anything yet, but Xu Dabiao started to complain, saying that the capital was not a place for human beings!

Chen Siyuan asked a few more questions, and Qian Feihu and Xu Dabiao started talking about what had happened in the past few days.

As soon as the three brothers arrived in the capital, they hurriedly looked for someone to inquire about the establishment of an escort agency. Unexpectedly, before the agent could reply, the people from the escort guild came to visit.

These days, there are 360 ​​trades and professions, and every trade has its own guild. Firstly, they band together for warmth, and secondly, they protect against outsiders. The capital is so small, if anyone could open an escort agency, what would the first ones do?
If you don't agree, there's no need to talk too much. The people from the escort guild said directly, if you want to open an escort agency, you can, everyone will send three people to compete, two out of three. If you win, you can open it, if you lose, you must leave the capital immediately.

The three of them were born in the military, so they were not afraid. However, the martial arts practiced by these three brothers were very aggressive, and they were good at killing the enemies in battle. How could they stop at the right time in the competition?
It didn't even take three games, we lost completely after two.

The three of them were very discouraged, but then the escort agent brought a young man to find them. The young man was very arrogant and said that opening an escort agency was just a small matter. As long as they brought two hundred taels of silver, he could even settle the escort guild.

Mentioning this, Qian Feihu was so angry that he cursed loudly: "That Li Yanei's words were very convincing. We thought he was the brother-in-law of the Chang'an County Magistrate (Qingwei revised, Shuntian Prefecture is under the jurisdiction of Chang'an and Wannian counties), and he would not fool us no matter what, so we gave him two hundred taels of silver on the spot. As a result, we have already rented the storefront, but that villain kept putting it off, putting it off today and tomorrow, and he couldn't be found yesterday!" Xu Dabiao gritted his teeth and said, "This is too much! If you provoke me, I will kill you with a knife. At worst, we will return to the Western Regions to join the army!"

Chen Siyuan said, "He's truly unworthy of a son. I never thought that in just a few days, the three brothers would end up in such a situation."

Xu Dabiao glanced at Ma Panlong and said, "It's all because Second Brother wants to save face. I've already said that it would be better to seek advice from Master Chen on this matter, but Second Brother is too impatient."

Ma Panlong said awkwardly, "I was also afraid of disturbing Master Chen."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily and said, "Brother Ma, you're being so formal. We've hit it off right away, so why would we be bothered by such a matter?" He paused, picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He then said, "If I were to say so, this escort agency isn't a very good business. If you three brothers are not in a hurry, why not wait for me for a while until I find a safe business and we can make a fortune together."

Qian Feihu was immediately overjoyed: "Mr. Chen is truly magnanimous. I, Old Qian, will believe what he says. There's nothing else to say, let's do it!"

The rest of the night was spent eating meat and drinking, without a second thought. Perhaps Ma Panlong was weighed down by a heavy burden, so he drank until the glass was empty and passed out before the banquet was over.

As evening approached, Chen Siyuan no longer needed Qian Feihu and Xu Dabiao to see him off. He leisurely led his horse out of the courtyard and said before leaving, "I have some chores to attend to these past two days. I will come back to have a drink with you brothers in a few days."

Xu Dabiao said with a big tongue: "Our place is open to the public. Brother Chen, whenever you come, we will serve you wine and meat!"

The next day came quickly, and the three brothers were still hungover.

Ma Panlong counted the money on hand and suddenly frowned. Xu Dabiao rubbed his temple and suggested: "Second brother, if it really doesn't work out, let's sell the horse."

Qian Feihu was immediately displeased and said, "That horse was given to us by Brother Chen... Young Master Chen. We've only ridden it for a few days and we're going to pawn it? What will Young Master Chen think of us in the future?"

Ma Panlong nodded and said, "Old Fourth is right. I still have a Western-style sword from Luosha Country. If I pawn it, it could be worth several dozen taels of silver."

The remaining two fell silent upon hearing this. Xu Dabiao slapped the wall of fire and cursed, "Fuck Li Yanei!"

Just then, the sound of carriages and horses suddenly came from outside, and someone called out, "Is Brother Ma here?"

The three of them exchanged a glance, each in bewilderment. They hurriedly put on their shoes and went out. When they reached the courtyard, they saw clearly that it was Mr. Jia, who had accompanied Master Chen that day, and who was followed by a donkey cart.

When the three of them arrived at the door, Qian Feihu asked, "Second Master Jia? What are you doing—"

Jia Yun bowed and smiled, "How could I be called Second Master? If you three don't mind, just call me Brother." He pointed to the donkey path behind him and said, "Uncle Yuan said that you three brothers have just arrived in the capital and may not have everything ready, so he sent me here to get some for you."

Ma Panlong looked carefully and saw that the donkey cart was filled to the brim with pots and pans, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, rice, flour, and even three quilts. It had everything!

Qian Feihu and Xu Dabiao were filled with gratitude, their words of thanks flowing non-stop. Even Ma Panlong felt a surge of warmth in his heart, thinking that he was lucky to have met Master Chen, otherwise the three of them would have had to return to Shandong in disgrace.

Moreover, Master Chen had given them face by only giving them food, clothing, and daily necessities, not a penny of money. This kind of friendship, even though we had only seen it twice, was truly a great loyalty!
(End of this chapter)