Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 243 Ask for advice
Gao Hu met Zhao Zhen and his party, bowed, and welcomed them to the hall. He said happily, "Brother-in-law, I heard from Qingwan that you fought in the fantasy world, but did you win?"

Zhao Zhen said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. Everything is fine in the fantasy world. I still have to sort out some things. This time I came to your house because I have something to ask you."

"What's the matter? Why do you have to make another trip? Just tell the servants to pass on the message."

Zhao Zhen asked: "Brother, do you know the Anling Mound?"

Gao Hu asked, "How do you know, brother?"

Zhao Zhen said, "The last time I came here to trade, Song Shiqin, the village chief, told me that he wanted to invite me to Anling. This afternoon, he sent someone to send me a letter, wanting to discuss it in detail. I didn't know how serious it was, so I came here to ask my brother."

After listening to this, Gao Hu nodded and told Zhao Zhen everything he knew. Most of it was the same as what Ji Qingwan said, but it was much more detailed.

During the Qingming Festival every year, fog will appear in the Anling Mound, from which all kinds of ghosts will appear, mainly zombies, tomb guardian beasts and ghosts.

Zhao Zhen heard this and asked, "Brother, I wonder if Song Shiqin has asked you for help?"

Gao Hu shook his head and said, "Brother, I don't have any Taoist priests, monks, nuns or other outsiders who practice Taoism here, so you didn't invite me."

Zhao Zhen said: "Don't they say that a strong man with strong blood and vigor can handle it?"

Gao Hu said, "Although that's true, this kind of people can only exert 60% to 70% of their full strength. It's not as useful as the noble spirit cultivated by reading the books of sages. If you want to go, choose to be a monk or Taoist priest first, and then prepare some magic tools. If you don't have any magic tools, prepare more yang things such as glutinous rice, black dog blood, cockscomb blood, etc. These can restrain ghosts and evil spirits."

"The Anling tomb is not very big, about 100 meters long from north to south and about 70 meters from east to west. Now the Song family has built a two-meter-high wall, leaving only the west and south gates to prevent ordinary farmers from entering by mistake. Not many people can enter the tomb, depending on the number of tombs opened, so you must be prepared."

Zhao Zhen asked again: "Brother, since he has built a wall there, ghosts like zombies can't get out, why do you still need to invite outsiders?"

Gao Hu said, "Who said that ghosts can't rush out? Apart from other things, ghosts can easily pass through walls. Inviting external help is also a last resort. Every tomb has an owner. Only by eliminating the owner of the tomb can the fog dissipate. The ghosts that rush out will have no support and will disappear. This is the conclusion drawn by the Song family after they suffered a great loss."

After discussing this, Gao Hu started chatting with Ji Minghan and Ji Mingdan about family matters, and told them not to follow.

Ji Minghan said: "Brother, my sister and I have been practicing martial arts since we were young, and our blood and energy are not weaker than men, so why can't we go?"

Gao Hu said, "It's not that having strong Qi and blood is enough. There are many ladies who go to Anling Mound. But later we found that they consume too much Qi and blood. After coming out of the mist, most ladies will be weak for a while. That's why we don't allow you two to go together."

Ji Minghan pulled out a wooden sword from her waist, handed it to Gao Hu, and said, "Brother, have you forgotten? On the day of our engagement, my husband gave each of us a short sword made of walnut wood. This is a second-level treasure, with a peach wood handle, which can kill ghosts and exorcise evil spirits."

Gao Hu said: "This is enough to protect me."

The four of them chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Zhen said goodbye and left. Gao Hu tried to persuade him to stay, but seeing that he could not, he had to see Zhao Zhen out of the manor.

The group rode back to the house. Just as they sat down and drank a sip of tea, Su Dong came in and said, "Master, Lu Sanlang wants to see you."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen got up and went to Lu Zhuocheng's shop.

When he pushed the door open, he saw Lu Zhuocheng drinking tea with someone. The person was tall, thin, and had bright eyes. Lu Zhuocheng introduced them, greeted them, and sat down again.

Lu Zhuocheng said, "Zhao Erlang, is the [Drilling Willow Mulberry] ready? Mr. Zhang has already shipped the pearl rice. Let's go over first to discuss it. Fifty dan of pearl rice, and 93 dan of rice, which is 60% of the rice sold. You have to pay the commission, how about that?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "It's okay. Mr. Zhang, please wait a moment. I'll go get some mulberries for you to take a look." After that, Zhao Zhen got up and went to the backyard to get five portions of mulberries and handed them to Lu Zhuocheng.

Lu Zhuocheng took it, put it on the table, and counted it in front of the two of them. The number was correct. Lu Zhuocheng said to Mr. Zhang: "Mr. Zhang, how is it?"

Seeing the spiritual object that can enhance physical fitness right in front of him, Mr. Zhang, who had a serious face, couldn't help but smile and said, "Good. Manager Lu is indeed from a family of knowledge. He was able to find the right spiritual object in such a short time."

As he spoke, he called out to a farmer who was accompanying him. Mr. Zhang said, "Da Lang, ride your horse to meet the caravan and lead it over."

The farmer responded and turned away.

Seeing that the business was successful, Lu Zhuocheng went forward diligently to refill the water.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Mr. Zhang, is it possible to buy pearl rice from you in the future?"

Mr. Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know how much Li Zheng Zhao wants. I can only produce less than 100 dan of pearl rice a year, and the rest are just first-level crops such as golden wheat and crystal rice. These grains have fixed destinations and cannot be changed at will. The pearl rice I am trading is the output I have accumulated for two years, and I borrowed some from others to make up the amount. I am afraid I can't supply Li Zheng Zhao with such a large amount."

Zhao Zhen kept saying what a pity.

As if he was worried that Zhao Zhen would go back on the deal, Mr. Zhang said, "I heard from Shopkeeper Lu that Li Zheng Zhao also planted a lot of land. This time he asked for rice, so I think he wants to plant pearl rice. Although I can't sell rice to Li Zheng Zhao, I do have some experience to share with him."

Zhao Zhen quickly shook his head and said, "Mr. Zhang, there is no need to do this. How can I accept your family's unique secret manual?"

"Zhao Lizheng, there is no such thing as a secret recipe. Farmers who have grown pearl rice know it. This kind of rice can only be grown on spiritual fields. If it is grown on good fields, it needs to be mixed with snail and clam shell powder. After planting one crop, it needs to be rested for three years. The method I mentioned was figured out by the farmers in Goucunji. It is worthless to reveal this method. There is a spring in Goucunji that flows all year round. Use this water to irrigate the land, and after resting for two years, you can plant pearl rice. This is why Goucunji produces more pearl rice than other villages and towns. This method has long been spread throughout the town, and now the rice fields that grow pearl rice in the town are all distributed around the spring."

"My family has a hundred acres of farmland nearby, so we can get so much pearl rice. Other towns also have ways to shorten the harvest period, such as burying rice stalks in the ground, but it costs a lot. The rice stalks are worth four or five hundred coins per acre, which is almost one coin in two years. Although the interval is reduced by one year, it won't make much more money."

Zhao Zhen listened and thanked Mr. Zhang. After all, if Mr. Zhang hadn't told him, he didn't know how long it would take him to figure it out.

(End of this chapter)