Starting with a beautiful woman's private doctor

"Zhang Laosan from the south of the bridge got in touch with Zhao Zhenhai, the Dragon King of Beihai, while Li Erdan from the east of the bridge made contact with the big boss of the county town, Yang Dianfeng. Both sides have hired outside help."

"Qiaobei didn't hire anyone outside, and the pressure on Elder Yuan was increasing, so he—"

Erniu didn't finish his sentence, but just sighed, "Young master, my older brother has really had a tough time these past few years. Although what he did was wrong, he was forced into a corner."

Chu Nan had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

Dingye took him into the village from the south entrance, stopped Erniu and the others from making a move at the flour factory, and blocked Xue Jiu for him in his own yard.

I didn't make any demands on him at all, it's definitely not because I just liked him.

In Nanxiang, a seasoned veteran who has dominated the scene for decades knows every favor better than anyone else.

The fact that Master Ding kept him was most likely related to this three-way horse racing event.

Before they knew it, the three of them had arrived at the edge of Longquan Lake.

The lake was wide, and the water shimmered in the twilight.

In the center of the lake stands a small temple with upturned eaves and two stone dragon statues in front of the door.

Erniu said that was the Dragon King Temple, passed down from the older generation. Every year before the horse racing festival, people would go to the temple to defeat the Dragon King.

On the open space by the lake, many people were already busy. Some were marking white lines to separate their stalls, while others were setting up wooden frames. Shouts and calls filled the air.

"These are all people who came early to reserve a spot."

Erniu pointed to the people who had drawn lines, "When the horse racing starts tomorrow, vendors from the surrounding area and business people who have relatives in Nanxiang will come to set up stalls. They will have everything: food, drinks, and entertainment."

"It's called a horse racing fair, but it's actually the largest temple fair in Nanxiang. You can only see this many people on this one day all year round."

Jiang Yingxue stood by the lake, watching the bustling scene before her.

She grew up in the city and had only ever seen lively events like shopping mall openings and banquets. She had never seen such a scene where people from all around gathered to mark out a plot of land and set up tents.

A shirtless man carrying two bundles of bamboo poles passed by her, the ends of the poles almost brushing against her shoulder.

Chu Nan reached out and pulled her back a step. Before she could react, she was still watching how the group of people built a shed with a few bamboo poles and tarpaulin.

Chu Nan turned his gaze from the lakeside area to Er Niu, "What exactly are we competing in?"

"Competing in horsemanship and racing are traditional, but the rules have changed in recent years."

Erniu explained, "Just riding a horse isn't enough; you need real skills to win people's respect. So each village sends out ten strong men to race horses, then they compete in martial arts. The village that wins the most wins will become the leader for the next three years."

"If it comes to fighting... can we call in outside help?"

"It's not allowed in name, since it's our own business in Nanxiang. But even though Master Ding knew that Li Erdan and Zhang Laosan had done this, he didn't punish them and just tacitly approved of it."

Erniu scratched his head as he spoke, he couldn't understand why Master Ding would ignore it.

He couldn't even fathom the eldest elder's thoughts, let alone figure out the old man's.

"Li Erdan from the east of the bridge hired thugs from the epilepsy guy, and Zhang Laosan from the south of the bridge also found the Dragon King of the North Sea's men. Only we in the north of the bridge didn't have any, but the matter was urgent, so we contacted Xue Jiu."

"But now that things have turned out like this, with no foreign players and me taking over the team, Qiaobei is most likely to lose, or even finish at the bottom."

He said this with a tone that was half helpless and half self-deprecating.

Chu Nan didn't reply, but just looked at the busy crowd.

Master Ding helped him so many times, and it wasn't for nothing.

What Erniu is saying now may just be stating the facts, but it's possible that it was arranged by Dingye.

Is the goal to understand the situation and then take the initiative to repay the favor?

If that's the case, then I'll have no choice but to play dumb. After all, if I can use this as leverage to negotiate with Master Ding, the Nanxiang development plan might just go smoothly...

The next morning, Chu Nan was awakened by the sound of firecrackers outside.

Pushing open the door, the village was already bustling with activity. Red cloths were hung at the door of every household, and children in new clothes were running wildly on the village road.

Erniu stood at the gate of the courtyard, dressed in a smart outfit, leading two horses, but his expression was completely out of place with the festive atmosphere around him.

His lips were pursed, and he gripped the reins tightly in his hand.

Chu Nan and Jiang Yingxue followed Er Niu toward Longquan Lake. Before they even arrived, they could hear a great commotion of voices from afar.

The further you walk, the more people there are, and all sorts of stalls line both sides of the road.

There were vendors selling sugar figurines, kites, and roasted lamb skewers. There were also vendors with oil fryers, frying vegetable dumplings, sugar cakes, meatballs, and crispy pork. The oil sizzled and the aroma wafted far on the wind.

A large crowd gathered in front of a ring toss stall. Someone won a porcelain rabbit, and the onlookers cheered.

Further away, a troupe of acrobats was performing fire-breathing acts, each burst of flames eliciting screams and applause.

Jiang Yingxue walked in the crowd, unsure where to look.

As the three were strolling around, a sudden burst of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.

The crowd automatically parted to both sides, and a large group of people rode in from the east side of the bridge.

The one in the lead rode a black horse. He was thin with high cheekbones and small, round eyes that always seemed to be scrutinizing people.

He wore a black short jacket with a red silk sash around his waist. His posture on horseback was not upright, but he gave people a very steady feeling.

It was Li Erdan, the person in charge of the bridge east.

He was followed by ten strong men, all dressed in the same dark short-sleeved shirts. One of them walked at the front of the group, his gait completely different from the others, clearly indicating that he had received professional training.

They must have been brought in from outside the county town to help with epilepsy.

"Hey, isn't this Erniu?"

Li Erdan reined in his horse, looking down at Erniu with a condescending gaze. "What's the deal with Qiaobei this year? Where's the elder brother? Why did you send someone like you?"

Erniu raised his head and said, "I, Erniu, can handle someone like you. There's no need for our boss to personally intervene."

The smile on Li Erdan's face vanished instantly.

In his view, Erniu was nothing more than a follower who had been following the elder brother for more than ten years, and he didn't even have the right to speak at the table.

Today, in front of so many people, this lackey actually dared to talk back to him.

His fingers tightened on the reins, and the horse snorted uneasily.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from the south of the bridge.

Zhang Laosan's team has arrived.

Unlike Li Erdan's thin frame, Zhang Laosan was a short, stocky middle-aged man with a thick neck that made his Adam's apple almost invisible and a face full of fat.

He rode a brown horse, followed by ten men, one of whom had bulging temples and a slovenly middle-part hairstyle.

"Li Erdan, why are you arguing with a little kid?"

Zhang Laosan didn't even dismount his horse. His tone sounded like he was trying to mediate the fight, but his eyes clearly showed a desire to watch the show. "With so many eyes watching today, there's no rush to make a move."

Li Erdan snorted and was about to speak when the crowd suddenly fell silent.

It wasn't the kind of silence that comes after someone shouts "Quiet!" It was a silence where everyone shut up at the same time, even their breathing became soft.

An old man slowly walked from the north side of the bridge, wearing a gray cloth long gown and leaning on his ever-present pipe. His steps were slow but steady.

It's Master Ding!