I have a martial arts panel.

Chapter 45 After the New Year

Si Gua's wife placed the teacup on the table in front of Xu Ning.

Xu Ning didn't stand on ceremony and gulped down the drink in two gulps.

"Old Feng, you got beaten up because of me."

Xu Ning knew very well that Pan Du had come looking for him with emotions in his heart.

Seeing that Feng Sigua was blocking his way, he deliberately attacked him.

"My lord, you flatter me."

Upon hearing this, Feng Sigua quickly said, "I was just doing my duty at the time. How could I have been implicated by you? It's just that the guard Pan Du was ruthless and vicious, which is why I was beaten up."

Xu Ning didn't hear a trace of resentment from Feng Sigua.

Feng Sigua may have felt that he was involved in the beating, but he did not blame himself for it, instead viewing it as an act of violence by Pan Du.

"Besides, sir, you also avenged me."

Speaking of this, Feng Sigua still feels a little warm: "You beat Pan Du even more badly than I did, so I didn't hold any grudges at the time, and I even felt quite happy."

Feng Sigua has been frequently recalling that scene lately.

Lord Xu Ning beat up another black-armored guard for his own sake. As someone of lowly status, he had never had such an experience in the garrison.

Although he is a nobody, Feng Sigua still has dignity, but he needs to restrain it appropriately when facing reality.

But when someone actually stood up to defend his dignity, Feng Sigua also felt that his personality was respected.

Xu Ning smiled slightly when he heard Feng Sigua say this.

"After returning to Weiyi, I still had to avoid Pan Du."

Xu Ning said, "This person can attack you without any scruples, which clearly shows he has no bottom line. I can't protect you forever."

"But don't worry, Lao Feng, if Pan Du still dares to touch you, I won't stand idly by."

Xu Ning spoke with great confidence.

I have now clearly broken away from the other Black Armor Guards at Fengliu Lane Garrison. It is only natural that I would use some strong opposition measures when my own interests are harmed.

As long as he doesn't actively provoke trouble or violate even greater principles, with Qu Dayou as his backer, Chen Ren and the others wouldn't dare to touch him casually.

"Thank you very much, sir."

At this point, Feng Sigua had completely pledged allegiance to Xu Ning.

This wasn't simply because Xu Ning respected him; besides, Feng Sigua, this seasoned veteran, also saw Xu Ning's potential.

Xu Ning was only seventeen years old before the Chinese New Year.

At that time, he was already able to easily pin Pan Du down and beat him.

Now that the Third Camp has just been established, the position of captain is vacant. When the position is filled, Xu Ning will have a good chance to take the position. At that time, his status and position will also be elevated.

Feng Sigua believes this process will take at most five years.

Xu Ning sat by the oven, talking to Feng Sigua while feeling the warmth of the flames.

Although Xu Ning has advanced to the Inner Intensity Realm and can still withstand the cold even when wearing only a single layer of clothing in winter, his body's instinct still makes him want to be close to warmth in cold weather.

Xu Ning had only been sitting for about fifteen minutes when he decided not to linger any longer.

Feng Sigua and his wife would feel uncomfortable if they stayed here for too long.

Xu Ning got up and, before leaving, took out a silver note worth one hundred taels of silver from his clothes and stuffed it into Feng Sigua's hand.

Feng Sigua looked at the silver note in his hand with surprise. The amount of one hundred taels made his heart race. This was almost as much as his monthly salary for a year.

When Si Gua's wife saw this, her eyes widened even more.

"Sir, what's wrong...?"

Feng Sigua was still a little confused.

"Keep it."

Xu Ning patted Feng Sigua on the shoulder.

Feng Sigua was taken aback and quickly declined, saying, "Sir, I don't need it, I don't need it."

As he spoke, Feng Sigua stuffed the silver note back into Xu Ning's hand.

He knew that Xu Ning's monthly salary was only fifty taels, and even with subsidies, his income was only a little over two hundred taels. Although it was a lot of money for him, for a newcomer like Xu Ning who was under pressure to pass the assessment, these resources might not be enough to buy medicinal herbs and pills.

Although Feng Sigua wanted to follow Xu Ning, hoping to earn more income when his status improved in the future.

However, in my own estimation, those are things three to five years from now, it's too early now.

I understand your feelings.

Xu Ning said, "But you've been very meticulous and thoughtful in your work, which has saved me a lot of trouble, and I'd like to thank you for that. Also, once I've established myself in the post station, I'll definitely have more things to handle, and you'll have to spend money to take care of the miscellaneous tasks for me."

"Keep it."

Xu Ning put the silver note back into Feng Sigua's hand.

"Well... thank you very much, sir."

Feng Sigua felt that being able to stand guard on the day Xu Ning entered the post station was the greatest opportunity of his life.

Feng Sigua and his wife escorted Xu Ning out of the residential area before returning home together.

At this moment, one hundred taels of silver were placed on the table, and Feng Sigua and his wife stared at it.

Although Feng Sigua earned ten taels of silver a month, the prices in the county town were too high. After deducting living expenses and the cost of his children's martial arts and schooling, he could not save much money.

One hundred taels was a large sum of money for them.

"What, you're not saying I didn't get anything from Lord Xu and even got beaten up?"

Feng Sigua's tone was sarcastic and mocking.

Si Gua's wife, upon hearing this, did not complain: "I dare not say it again, I dare not say it again."

Upon seeing this, Feng Sigua felt delighted and immediately put away the hundred-tael silver note.

"you……"

Seeing this, Si Gua's wife became somewhat anxious, as she still wanted to save the money by putting it at the bottom of the box.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You want to keep this money?"

Feng Sigua looked disgusted: "Use your brain! What did Lord Xu just say? He said he'd give me more errands in the future! We can keep the money, but it would be a smarter choice to use it to handle Lord Xu's affairs well!"

Si Gua's wife also realized what was happening: "You're right, you're right..."

……

The New Year has passed in a joyous and festive atmosphere.

The Black Armor Guards have six days off, but there are shifts during that time.

However, the Weiyi Post Station in Fengliu Lane was used to a leisurely lifestyle, so they stopped following this rule.

Afterwards, on the first day after the holiday ended, Xu Ning went to Weiyi.

To his surprise, none of the black-armored guards from the post station came, and Chen Ren also did not appear.

The flowers and plants in the yard had wilted a bit because they hadn't been properly cared for by him for a long time.

Xu Ning didn't care about this; he just needed to focus on doing his job well.

Aside from leading the city guards on daily patrols, handling disputes in Maple Willow Lane, and completing miscellaneous tasks assigned by superiors, Xu Ning didn't have much else to do for the time being.

During this period, the people from Dayuan Trading Company did not contact him again.

Xu Ning lived like this day after day. Finally, after five or six days of peace and quiet, Chen Ren returned.

When Xu Ning met Chen Ren, he still maintained the proper etiquette on the surface, and Chen Ren also returned to his previous demeanor. It seemed that the conflict between the two had been resolved.

But Xu Ning knew very well that this was all temporary.

According to Qu Dayou, they are about to take action against Dayuan Trading Company, preparing to reduce the influence of Dayuan Trading Company and Cai Qinghan.

The other side will definitely not surrender easily, and there will surely be another upheaval within the Black Armor Guard.

The apparent peace we see now is more like the calm before the storm.

It was evening again, time to end the shift.

Xu Ning left the study and said goodbye to Feng Sigua.

Feng Sigua returned to work a couple of days ago, which made Xu Ning feel much more relaxed.

Xu Ning left the handling of some official documents and more complicated matters to Feng Sigua.

After Feng Sigua finished processing it, he presented it to Xu Ning.

During these days, Xu Ning also noticed a change in the post station.

When he and Chen Ren were in the same place, the city guards on duty at the post station would deliberately keep their distance from him.

But in private, these city guards seemed even more enthusiastic towards him.

Xu Ning was also aware of the reasons behind this.

The conflict between himself and Chen Ren had already spread throughout the post station.

He had Qu Dayou protecting him, but these city guards didn't have any background.

Apart from Feng Sigua, who was already bound to him, no one else wanted to incur Chen Ren's wrath for getting too close to him.

Chen Ren was, after all, a captain at the Fengliu Lane Garrison, the most powerful person there.

However, because he was willing to stand up for his fellow city guards, everyone thought Xu Ning was upright, righteous, and trustworthy, so they all wanted to get to know him.

After leaving the post station, Xu Ning did not go straight back to the camp, but went to a roadside stall to eat wontons.

Kangyun County is the commercial center of several nearby counties, with a large number of people coming and going, even at night. As a result, many individual vendors have started their businesses.

Just before the Lunar New Year, Xu Ning happened to eat a bowl of wontons here and felt that the wontons made by the stall owner tasted similar to those made by Xu Lian, so he started to frequent the stall.

Xu Ning arrived at the stall.

The stall owners are a young couple. Before mealtime, they make wontons together. When it's time to eat, the wife is in charge of cooking the wontons, while the husband is in charge of serving the bowls and cleaning the table. They work together very skillfully.

Thank you to Old Bookworm Rabbit, Gentle Breeze, Tianyu8000, and Shili Hualan for the generous donations!

(End of this chapter)