With virtue

Zhang Wang ate and drank to his heart's content, until his belly was so round it felt like it was about to burst. Then he hurriedly drank some wine, and after burping several times, his belly finally subsided a little.

At this point, he reluctantly put down his chopsticks, feeling as if the contents of his stomach were stuck in his throat. He knew that after this meal, he wouldn't need to eat for at least three days.

Despite having eaten so much, he wasn't entirely oblivious. He was still concerned about the previous farmhand incident and was afraid of being kicked out after the meal. Taking advantage of the quiet moment at the table, he quickly got up, knelt down in front of the steward, and kowtowed three times.

This immediately drew everyone's attention to him.

He quickly said, "This humble servant, Zhang Wang, greets you, sir! I came here with the Taoist priest. I don't have any other skills, but I can do farm work, I'm strong, and I can weave straw mats and straw sandals. I beg you, sir, to have mercy and let me stay on the estate to work!"

At this point, he slightly raised his head to look at the other person's expression. Seeing that the other person didn't change anything, he quickly lowered his head again and added, "I can endure any hardship! I can do any job, and I can learn if I don't know how! I will absolutely not eat a single bite of rice from the village for free!"

The steward, who had been flattering the young Taoist priest, subconsciously stroked his beard upon seeing this, sized him up, and then glanced at Zhao Yunshu's expression.

After confirming the young Taoist's attitude, he quickly said with a smile, "Brother Zhang Wang, what are you saying? Since you are willing to come and work in our village, you are not an outsider. The village is short of manpower. Tomorrow, go to the house next to the threshing ground and find Liu Sanbang. Tell him you are an old laborer, get a set of clothes, and bedding. Then just do whatever we tell you to do."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wang's face lit up with joy, and he kowtowed twice more, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Zhao Yunshu watched silently from the side, holding her chopsticks as if playing with them, or perhaps unsure which dish to pick up.

Regardless, Zhang Wang stayed in Liujiazhuang from then on.

He was originally a farmer, and his hands were nimble. Now, in order to gain a foothold, he was willing to work incredibly hard, doing everything he could. He was always eager to help others, plowing the fields, carrying loads, cutting grass, composting, and carrying manure—he did everything efficiently. So, after only a few days, the old servants in the village all gave him a thumbs up, and the foreman treated him better than others. On the fifth day, he was sent to the inner courtyard to do some delicate work that didn't require hard labor, and the master craftsman taught him how to build walls.

That day, he made preparations early and focused on learning the craft. He carried bricks and built walls naked, listening to the master craftsman to learn how to level the surface and how to grind the mortar.

However, he wasn't that skilled, and he slipped and fell, his hand landing in the mortar, half his face covered in mortar, which looked quite comical.

Just then, a sweet laugh came from behind, the voice as melodious as a silver bell.

He turned around and saw a woman in her early twenties standing in the house, peeking out through a small window and watching them work.

The woman, dressed in a light green robe and wearing a loose, casual gown, held a round fan in her hand. Because Zhang Wang had made a fool of himself, she couldn't help but laugh out loud and stared at him.

At first glance, he was struck by her delicate features and graceful demeanor. She sat by the window, her makeup simple yet captivating. Zhang Wang was momentarily mesmerized.

But he immediately realized something. This woman was in the inner quarters, and given her age and attire, she was definitely the young mistress of the Liu family. She was not someone he could afford to stare at.

However, his bowed head as he worked aroused the curiosity of the young mistress, and soon a maid came out.

Although this maidservant is not as good as the young mistress, she still has delicate skin. Unlike those rough and clumsy peasant women who always do hard work, she has a waist that is visible under her clothes.

When the maid came out, she started asking Zhang Wang casually, making small talk, asking him how old he was, where he came from, who else was in his family, and what he still cared about.

When Zhang Wang heard the maid ask him that question, his heart pounded, and his mouth went dry. He stammered out a reply, then lied, saying he hadn't encountered anything. The maid smiled, nodded, and then walked away, fanning herself.

Zhang Wang stood there blankly for a while until the old master behind him, overwhelmed with work, called out to him loudly. Only then did he come to his senses, reply, "Okay!" and go back to his work.

From then on, the young mistress's maidservant often came to the craftsman's place.

Sometimes it's said that coming to see the craftsmen is interesting, and that we should come more often; sometimes it's to bring cool tea to the servants and say that they've worked hard; sometimes it's said that it's to keep an eye on everyone.

As Zhang Wang gradually became familiar with her, he lay on the communal bed at night, the scene he had encountered that day kept flashing through his mind, and his thoughts burned like wildfire, impossible to suppress.

And... he soon learned something else.

The old master of the Liu family is actually over seventy years old. The reason he doesn't appear outside and is told to have gone on a long trip is because he is seriously ill and unable to manage affairs. The actual person in charge of the family now is the young mistress, and the housekeeper handles the specific affairs.

Later, Zhang Wang was woken up by an order to deliver charcoal to the young mistress's courtyard late at night.

He groggily got up from the communal sleeping area, but upon hearing this, he immediately sobered up. He carried the large bag of charcoal without hesitation, and his muscular physique came in handy as he quickly rushed to the inner courtyard.

But he saw that the young mistress was there. As soon as he arrived, she sent away the maid beside her, leaving only him, a strong and muscular man, in the room.

Dusk was falling outside the window, and the charcoal fire crackled inside. Zhang Wang couldn't help but breathe heavily. He looked at the young mistress in front of him, not knowing what he was thinking or what she was thinking.

At this moment, the young mistress stood up, stuffed a handkerchief into his hand, and whispered, "Master is seriously ill. I am very scared at night. I don't ask you to do anything more, I only ask that you come and talk to me often at night." Her eyes were red, and her words were full of dependence and fear.

Zhang Wang felt a tightness in his throat, and the handkerchief in his hand seemed to warm up, burning his heart.

His family is all dead, and he was already all alone, now in this chaotic world...

What happened that night is unknown to outsiders, but since then, whenever he had the chance, he would sneak into the inner courtyard at night.

No one knew about this, but Zhang Wang gradually rose from a farmhand to a foreman, and from a foreman to a manager, gaining the deep trust of the master.

The Liu family had no male heirs. At that time, the patriarch of the Liu family was bedridden and could barely speak. But perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, just as the patriarch's health was deteriorating, the young mistress became pregnant, leaving the Liu family with an heir at a crucial moment.

As spring turned to autumn, the illness of the Liu family patriarch worsened, and he ultimately did not survive that winter.

On the day of the funeral, heavy snow fell. The young mistress cried so hard she almost fainted. Zhang Wang mingled among the servants, helping to carry the coffin. Like all the servants, he remained silent, grieving for his master's death. It seemed that the philanthropist Liu had not survived the year.

A funeral was held in the village, and the entire village was dressed in white mourning clothes. White cloths were hung everywhere, and a feast was held in the village. People dressed in mourning clothes were everywhere. With the death of the master, Liu Family Village seemed to become much more somber.

Zhang Wang couldn't quite describe his feelings, but outwardly he still had to join in the mourning.

By this time, as the person in charge, he had long been a familiar face in the inner courtyard. He was efficient and well-regarded by the young mistress. He presided over many aspects of the funeral arrangements, which earned him the trust and respect of many people who considered him a capable person.

After the month-long mourning period, the young mistress took the opportunity to praise Zhang Wang and promoted him. He was already a manager, and now he was directly appointed as the general manager of Liu Family Village. Zhang Wang lived up to expectations and became a different person. He no longer just did manual labor but began to have authority and shrewdness. He learned how to manage the household, how to arrange manpower, how to keep accounts, and even how to deal with tenants outside Liu Family Village, passing merchants, and even some officials.

If anyone in the village disagreed, he would confront them directly with force. With the young mistress secretly supporting him, he could manage the family business in an orderly manner, handling everything from the inside out. He managed to run Liu Family Village very well.

Time passed quickly. When the young mistress was about to give birth, Zhang Wang was outside the door, keeping watch all night. The child was born very strong and chubby, a boy. Mother and child had a smooth delivery, and the whole village was overjoyed. After the master died, the Liu family had no male heirs, and everyone in the village assumed that the child was the Liu family's posthumous child. No one dared to doubt it.

A few years later, the young mistress handed over the Liu family's several farms and shops to Zhang Wang to manage. Zhang Wang gradually went from being a vagrant to a farmhand, and eventually rose to the position of general manager of Liu Family Village, becoming practically half the master of Liu Family Village.

Liu Family Village was originally a large family in the village, with hundreds of acres of fertile land, several orchards, and a grain store in the city. The village's textile workers, grain growers, and village head were all his people. After Zhang Wang came here, in just five or six years, the old servants in the village either left or stayed, but he stayed here and took charge of the Liu family.

Moreover, many people in the village treated him with great respect. Everyone respected Zhang Wang because he was kind and generous to his subordinates and would give porridge to the refugees during festivals. Gradually, people said that Zhang, the steward of Liu Family Village, was better at managing his household and more benevolent than Master Liu of yesteryear. He was a very good person and people wanted to build a shrine in his honor to pray for his blessings.

As time passed, the child grew up and his appearance became seven or eight parts like Zhang Wang. But everyone in the village no longer cared about that and called him Young Master Liu, while Zhang Wang was called Steward Zhang.

Zhang Wang's days passed by one by one, and time flew by like a white horse galloping past a crack in the wall.

Although he later became a steward and was theoretically not short of money, with a large house and a good life, he did not take the initiative to remarry. He lived with his young mistress and young master. His young mistress never got pregnant. After all, Master Liu had already died. How could she, as a widow, possibly get pregnant?

However, seeing that Zhang Wang had not married for a long time, she gave her maid to Zhang Wang as a concubine. This maid had given birth to several children for Zhang Wang. Considering that they were born to her maid, she took them to be playmates of the young master and let them grow up together.

Before we knew it, more than a decade had passed.

Time flies, and Zhang Wang gradually aged. He was already thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Everyone had become accustomed to Zhang Wang being in charge of Liu Family Village. When he walked out in his brocade robe, the people around him would bow and respectfully call out, "Chief Steward Zhang!"

He had also picked up the habits of those in power, becoming arrogant and domineering. He had buried many people in the fields and would add slightly poisonous grass roots to the porridge he distributed, fearing that too many people would eat it.

He was quite content with these days. Occasionally, he would recall the young Taoist priest who had given him face when he first met Liujiazhuang more than a decade ago while fleeing from disaster.

Haha, thanks to that young Taoist priest's influence, he was able to enter Liu Family Village.

Moreover, he had told me not to come in casually, fearing there might be problems, saying something like "let him come first," and followed me anxiously all the way into Liujiazhuang.

Haha!

It's funny; he finds the conversation both absurd and nostalgic when he thinks about it.

What a wonderful place Liu Family Village is! It doesn't look like a place fit for human habitation at all. If I had listened to the Taoist priest's nonsense and chosen to run away back then, I don't know where I would have frozen to death like a stray dog ​​on some roadside.

But regardless of what didn't happen, he's definitely doing exceptionally well right now.

Now middle-aged, he often sits alone by the crossroads, the way he came from, the same way he met the young Taoist priest years ago.

Now, he sits like this, watching the young master ride horses and practice martial arts on the threshing ground, and also watching the son of a maid who is good at reading and has already passed the imperial examination.

He watched as the sun slowly set, bathing the entire village in gold, a dazzling, almost unreal glow. He squinted, feeling a profound sense of gratitude for his life. If the Taoist priest returned, he would surely repay him handsomely.

Indeed, venerating monks and Taoists brings blessings.

Zhang Wang smiled at the air, thinking to himself: It's a good thing I didn't listen to you back then. This Liu Family Village is my true home.

Just then, someone patted him on the back.

Huh? Wasn't he leaning against the wall? Why would someone pat his back?

He turned his head sharply and was so startled he almost jumped up!

Turning around, he saw the young Taoist standing behind him, his expression solemn. The Taoist gestured for him to be quiet and then quickly covered his mouth.

Only then did he realize that he was no longer in Liu Family Village, but in a huge cave with an invisible ceiling, jagged rocks on all four walls, and people lying densely all around him.

He had just been woken up by the Taoist priest.