1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Chen Gaoshan listened attentively and kept it in mind, but his face remained expressionless.

The two chatted as the donkey cart soon reached the town entrance, and they parted ways. Chen Gaoshan said goodbye to Wang Wen and turned to head straight for the open space for day laborers at the west end of the town.

As soon as they arrived, they saw a large group of people gathered haphazardly in the open space. They were all men from nearby villages, chatting in twos and threes, their eyes glancing at the crossroads from time to time, hoping that a wealthy family would come to hire them so they could earn some food to supplement their family income.

Chen Gaoshan also found an open space to sit down. Whether it was Li Banjie or the other wealthy lords in the town, none of them were clean. They all sucked the blood and sweat of the common people and did all sorts of immoral things behind the scenes. No one would believe that they hadn't done anything shady or immoral.

Moreover, it wasn't just me who had my eye on these wealthy people's assets; the bearded men in the mountains had long been drooling over the gold, silver, and grain belonging to these rich people.

Even if these wealthy people could escape the bandits' robbery, when Eighth Master Hui came to attack and specifically targeted the local tyrants and redistributed the land, they still wouldn't be able to keep their possessions.

He hadn't been standing there for long when he saw a middle-aged man walking towards the intersection. He was wearing a clean black cloth jacket, had a distinctive mustache, held his head high, and looked arrogant as he walked and shouted as he went.

"We're hiring! We're hiring! It's Mr. Li's house in town, on the back hill. We're clearing land and digging. We'll provide a full meal, and you'll get extra food after you finish the work. If you're interested, come quickly!"

When the men in the open space heard that Li Banjie's family was recruiting workers and providing meals, they immediately erupted in excitement, scrambling to stand up and shouting.

"Wow! Wow!"

Everyone was afraid of missing this great opportunity to earn food.

It's like wishful thinking; I had just asked about Li Banjie's situation, and his family came to recruit people right away. This was an opportunity delivered to my doorstep.

Without saying a word, he immediately stood up from the ground. Standing at 1.9 meters tall, with a broad back and thick waist, he stood out among the group of lean men and instantly became the focus of attention.

"I'll do it! I'm strong, I can do any heavy work!"

The man with the mustache who was recruiting immediately spotted the strong and muscular Chen Gaoshan. He looked incredibly strong and much more reliable than the pale and thin men next to him. He pointed at Chen Gaoshan and then pointed at the two men next to him who looked rather clever.

"You, come here! And you, you too! Alright, just the three of you. Stop dawdling and come with me!"

Chen Gaoshan immediately followed, walking behind Steward Liu towards the Li residence, keeping an eye on the town's street scene along the way, while still having some doubts in his mind.

He had heard the men in the village gossip that there were brothels in the town, but as he walked along the street, he looked at all the shop signs and they were all grain shops, general stores, and blacksmith shops. He didn't see a single sign that said "brothel."

I was still quite curious and really wanted to see for myself what special seductive skills the women in brothels had, and whether they were better at attracting men than ordinary wives.

Just as I was lost in thought, the butler with the mustache in front of me suddenly stopped, turned around, and frowned.

"Keep up! Hurry up, everyone, don't dawdle and hold us back!"

"I am the steward of Master Li's household. From now on, you will all call me Steward Liu! When you enter the Li family mansion, you all need to be smart. Look at what you should look at, but don't look at what you shouldn't look at. Talk less, work more, and don't ask questions that will cause trouble. As long as you work hard, you will definitely be fed well."

At this point, he glanced at the three men and uttered a harsh threat.

"What our master hates most are those shady, opportunistic day laborers. Let me make this clear: if anyone dares to cause trouble in the house, ask questions, or look around, and displeases the master, he'll throw them out the door. They won't get a single grain of rice, let alone any food. Do you all understand?"

Following Steward Liu, we walked along the town's bluestone road for a short while before a magnificent mansion came into view.

When Chen Gaoshan took a look, he was amazed to find that the walls of the Li family's house were much higher than those of ordinary houses.

With such high walls, there must be a lot of valuable things hidden inside.

Steward Liu led them through the main gate, past the screen wall, and to the east side of the courtyard, stopping at the door of the smallest room at the very back.

"The three of you will be living in this room from now on."

Steward Liu glanced sideways at the tattered bundles on their bodies.

"Just throw away those tattered bags you're carrying. Don't bring them into the main courtyard; they'll dirty the ground! Come with me to the bathhouse later. Our master is very clean. You country bumpkins, you're always crawling around in the fields. You must have so many lice and nits on your bodies that they'll be jumping around on the ground. If they get into the main courtyard, it'll be terrible."

"Thankfully, the master is kind-hearted and has prepared work clothes for you all, but the cost of these clothes will be deducted from your wages later!"

Chen Gaoshan hadn't brought any luggage with him. He stood at the door, watching, without saying a word.

Footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate, and a young woman in a cheongsam, carrying a small leather bag, swayed her hips and slowly walked in.

The two were not very close. The woman was dressed in a flamboyant manner, and the fragrance of her cosmetics wafted over. Her skin was so white that it was dazzling. She was the fairest-skinned woman Chen Gaoshan had ever seen in all the time he had been here.

That tiny waist, those big breasts, those long legs—it looks like the slits start right below her breasts.

She walks with a captivating charm, completely different from the plain-faced, somewhat sallow-looking women in the village.

City women are so fair-skinned.

Chen Gaoshan glanced at it a couple more times, and Butler Liu immediately snorted beside him, lowering his voice.

"What the hell are you looking at! Did you forget everything I told you? I already said you shouldn't look at what you shouldn't look at. This is the master's most beloved seventh concubine. Do you think you bunch of stinking men can just look at her like that?"

Chen Gaoshan immediately looked away, touched his stomach, and changed the subject.

"Butler Liu, we haven't eaten yet, how can we talk about food like this? I just want to ask, when will we be able to eat?"

"You little rascal, you haven't even started working and you're already thinking about food!"

Butler Liu was so angry he laughed and pointed at him.

"Just wait, finish today's work tonight, and you'll get to eat! I only hired you because you're strong and capable, so give it your all and don't embarrass me!"

As they were talking, Steward Liu noticed the other two day laborers clutching their tattered bundles tightly, reluctant to throw them away. His face instantly darkened, and he snatched the bundles from them, tossing them to the corner of the courtyard wall before dusting his hands off.

"If you don't want to throw it away, get out of the Li family compound right now! Don't get in my way! What good stuff is in those junk that you're clinging to?"

The two men looked at their discarded luggage, and although they were unwilling, they dared not object and could only nod and agree with their heads hanging low.

Afterwards, the three of them followed Butler Liu to the bathhouse.

The bathhouse pool was filled with hot water. Chen Gaoshan took off his clothes and soaked in the water, which felt much better than taking a bath at home.

When I have some free time in the future, I must bring his father to town so he can take a nice hot bath and enjoy himself.

After a refreshing bath, the three changed into the servants' clothes prepared by the Li family.

Chen Gaoshan looked at his old clothes that he had taken off, feeling reluctant to part with them. His wife, Lianhua, had sewn them for him stitch by stitch.

Moreover, his house was clean, and there were no lice, nits, or ticks on his clothes.

While Butler Liu and the other two were not paying attention, he crumpled his clothes into a ball and put them into his personal storage space.