Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 330: Wan'er's Thoughts

Everyone talked a lot. Zhao Zhen saw that Liu's mother, who was sitting in the back, was not in good spirits. He said, "You must be tired after traveling all the way. I have arranged the house. Please bathe and change clothes, General Liu, and come here for the banquet in half an hour."

Liu Guang heard this and stood up to say goodbye. Zhao Yuanli led everyone to settle down. The more than 20 farmhands and their families, as well as Liu Guang's maids and foster mothers, were also temporarily settled in several barracks.

After Liu Guang's family bathed, they changed their clothes and returned to the hall, where food and wine had already been prepared. As Liu Guang's family had many female members, Zhao Zhen invited Cheng Wan'er, Bai Zhi and Jin Cui Lian to accompany them, and they sat at a separate table, with a screen separating them from the drinking.

In the hall, in addition to Yang Xiong and his two companions, Zhao Zhen also invited the chieftains stationed in the village, as well as Wu Yong, Lin Chong and others to accompany them. After everyone sat down, Zhao Zhen first took a tour and said, "With General Liu coming to join us today, there is no need to worry about the prosperity of Liangshan County. Today, I am here to welcome General Liu and to thank all the brothers for their hard work."

Wu Yong and other heroes said: "It is all thanks to the support of the great official. If not for this, we would still be struggling in the martial arts world."

Liu Guang also stood up and said, "As a man from a poor family, I am very lucky to be taken in by a great official. If the great official gives me any instructions, I will not refuse even if I die."

At the banquet, dozens of farmhands and several stewards took turns to hold the cups and urge them to drink. Zhao Zhen repeatedly urged Liu Guang and his son to drink with a carefree heart, and Liu Guang thanked him profusely. When they were half drunk, Liu Guang again mentioned that corrupt officials were ruining the country.

Lin Chong said, "Gao Qiu is a lucky man. How many of my brothers have real talents and knowledge? It's all thanks to Gao Qiu's promotion. When you rise to a high position suddenly, corruption is common."

Wu Yong also said, "Who says it's not true? On the birthday of the current Grand Tutor Cai Jing, tributes were paid everywhere. Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture even shipped more than 200,000 strings of gold and pearls to celebrate his birthday this year. All this money was plundered from the people. If it weren't for Kong Hou's pacification, General Liu's property would have been in jeopardy."

Liu Qi also had 50% of the wine, and he said according to Wu Yong's words: "Who said it wasn't? It pissed me off, so I went with my two brothers to rob the birthday gift..."

Liu Guang heard this and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about, you evil creature?"

Bao Xu shouted: "What's the value? It's not just Brother Liu Lin who has this idea. Anyone can take ill-gotten gains."

After hearing this, Liu Qi ignored his father Liu Guang's attempts to stop him and said, "That's right, it's a pity that I don't know the way."

Wu Yong smiled and said, "Although it is not easy for us to rob the birthday gift, there are heroes in the green forest who have their own plans. I heard that Song Jiang, the timely rain in Qingzhou, has occupied the mountain and is the king. He has a large number of soldiers and horses under his command. He has sent out elite soldiers and generals to ambush. There should be news in the next three to five days."

Liu Lin said: "It's a pity that we have no chance to participate in this grand event."

Liu Guang said: "Please forgive me, sir. I have failed to educate my children properly and allowed these two ignorant people to speak nonsense here."

Zhao Zhen said: "General Liu, you don't need to do this. These two brothers are both kind-hearted people. Even here, there are many good men who want to make use of this ill-gotten wealth. Liang Zhongshu has been squeezing money and harming the people. By robbing this money, I want to let him know that ill-gotten wealth is easy to gain and easy to lose."

Liu Guang was relieved to see that all the heroes were acting as they should. He thought that he had worked diligently to inspect the city defense, but now he was dismissed from his position and served the people. He naturally became angry at the treacherous officials in the court. He couldn't help but drink a few more glasses of wine.

As the wine flowed, the heroes began to recognize Liu Guang and his son because of their circumstances. During the banquet, Liu Qi and Liu Lin talked quickly and got along well with Lu Fang and Guo Sheng. The four of them were like ordinary young heroes, and agreed to compete and teach each other tomorrow.

On the other side of the screen, Cheng Wan'er and the other two entertained the Liu family's women, and they were also having a great time. When Cheng Wan'er saw Liu Hui Niang, she said, "Where in the world can you find such a beautiful woman?" Bai Zhi and Jin Cui Lian also said, "I feel pity for her."

When Liu's mother heard this, she smiled and said, "Madam's appearance and figure are better than Chang'e in the moon and the fairies in the Yaotai."

"Sister, have you promised to marry someone?" Cheng Wan'er asked.

Madam Liu heard this and said, "My husband met Yun Tianbiao from Jingyang Town on official business. They were close friends and often exchanged letters. He wanted to get engaged to his son, Yunlong. Unfortunately, something happened in his family this year, so he was unable to make it in time."

Liu Qi's wife Zhuang Yun said, "I heard from my father-in-law on the way that Jingyang Town is nearby. After we settle down and have some free time, we will go to see Master Yun and reminisce about the past."

Jin Cui Lian curled her lips and said, "The chief steward of Jingyang Town is no longer Yun Tianbiao." Liu Lin's wife Zhong Ling said, "How could this be? Isn't Hui Niang's marriage going to be in trouble again?"

Madam Liu also asked anxiously, "Madam, can you tell me in detail?"

"It's nothing. At the beginning of the year, the chief steward of Jingyang Town was replaced. Now the chief steward is [Little Li Guang] Hua Rong, and the deputy chief steward is called [Flying Hammer] Fu Yu. Now Jingyang Town is under the jurisdiction of my master. Yun Tianbiao heard from my master that this guy seemed to have gone to Qingzhou. I don't know anything else, so I still have to ask my master."

After hearing this, Old Madam Liu twisted the Buddhist beads in her hand and said, "Good things take time. Men have to make the decisions on such important matters. I have been traveling all the way, I am very tired, and my stomach aches. I will go back and rest. You guys should get closer to the ladies." As she said this, Old Madam Liu was about to get up and leave.

Cheng Wan'er said, "Madam, please wait a moment. Since you have a stomachache, Sister Baizhi is an expert in medicine. Why don't you let her take a look?"

Madam Liu said, "I have had this illness for several years now, and the medicine has not helped."

Bai Zhi came forward, carefully felt the pulse, and asked about the diet, saying, "Old Madam, your illness is caused by your diet. You have been eating vegetarian food all day, which has caused your stomach to go uphill. You need to eat some meat and fish to get better."

Madam Liu said, "Yes, what you said is right. There is a Kong in Yizhou City named Kong Hou. He is a skilled doctor. One dose of his medicine will cure the disease, but it cannot eliminate the root cause. He said that you must eat meat to recover. Grandma is devoted to worshipping Buddha and reciting the Gaowang Sutra all day long. We can't persuade her. Since you know the disease, please prescribe some medicine to stop the pain first."

Bai Zhi nodded, wrote down a prescription, asked the maid to take it down, and asked a farmhand to ride on horseback to the pharmacy in Xixi Village to get the medicine, and send it back after it was boiled.

Several people stood up and thanked Bai Zhi. Liu Hui Niang asked, "Sister, is there a cure?"

Bai Zhi said, "Just as Madam said, if you eat some meat every day, the disease will be cured. Since the old lady doesn't want to, you can try drinking milk."

After hearing this, everyone thanked Bai Zhi again. Madam Liu then helped the old lady downstairs to rest.

After the two left, Liu Qi's wife Zhuang Yun, Liu Lin's wife Zhong Ling, and Liu Hui Niang felt much more relaxed. The six of them continued to feast and drink. Zhuang Yun asked, "Madam, what kind of wine is this? It tastes sweet."

Cheng Wan'er said, "This is peach wine brewed in the county. In addition to [peach wine], sister, try [Yicheng wine], [Huajia Baijiu], [Yimengshan wine], and [apricot wine] to see if you like any of them. I'll have someone send some to your place tomorrow."

Everyone raised their glasses and tasted all the wine on the table. Liu Hui Niang praised: "This [Yimeng Mountain Wine] is as good as the best restaurant in Yizhou Prefecture."

"There are several heroes from Yizhou in the county. One of them is called 'Smiling Tiger' Zhu Fu, who is best at making wine vinegar. The recipe of 'Yimeng Mountain Wine' was proposed by him. Now he is in charge of the wine and vinegar brewing in the county and is in charge of banquet arrangements. Today's banquet was arranged by him." Cheng Wan'er said.

"No wonder, is it the restaurant outside the west gate of Yizhou Prefecture?" Zhong Ling asked.

"How do you know?" Cheng Wan'er asked curiously.

"My family lives just outside the west gate, and I used to go there to eat and drink. After I got married, I went there less often. I saw him in the hall today, and I felt that he looked familiar, but I didn't think of him at first, so I didn't dare to approach him to talk."

The girls all laughed when they heard this: "I didn't expect there would be such a reason."

Jin Cuilian even said, "If I tell the official about this at night, he will be surprised. There is no such a coincidence in the world."

Everyone drank a lot and talked about this and that, all kinds of family matters. No matter who was talking about what, Liu Hui Niang would always respond. She was indeed very knowledgeable. Cheng Wan'er saw this and became more friendly to Liu Hui Niang.

(End of this chapter)