knife

Chapter 578
Li Dachui put down his book and turned to look at a head that was peeking out of the window.

That's Han Tan.

Looking at Li Dachui from outside, he felt uneasy yet expectant. He opened his mouth but said nothing, simply staring intently at Li Dachui.

"Brother Han, come in!" Li Dachui stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.

Han Tan raised his glass: "Protector Li, may I invite you for a drink?"

"The night is long and I'm quite bored. I'm delighted that Brother Han has come to drink and chat with me!" Li Dachui reached out and took the wine, looked at the seal, and laughed, "Did you raid Prefect He's treasury? Judging from the seal, it's at least twenty years old!"

"The Han family and the He family are old friends, and I am also very close to Uncle He's son. He helped me steal this wine, but when I invited him to come along, the boy didn't dare!" Han Tan said, "Actually, I was also very nervous, afraid that I would be turned away by the Protector-General!"

"How could that be?" Li Dachui said, "We're friends."

"Really?" Han Tan's eyes lit up with excitement. "But Protector, the two of us are worlds apart in terms of status and martial arts skills. Do you really think highly of a guy like me who has no skills and are willing to be friends with me?"

“Look at what you’re saying!” Li Dachui shook his head repeatedly: “The value of a friend lies in their sincerity. What does it have to do with status or cultivation level? I have a good friend in Tai’an City outside the pass. He is not familiar with martial arts, nor does he enter officialdom. His best skill is making tofu. He only makes one pot of tofu a day. Once it’s sold out, that’s it. His daily earnings are just enough to fill his stomach.”

"I can't even make tofu!" Han Tan sighed.

"Your sincerity towards your friends alone makes you worthy of friendship!" Li Dachui smiled and pointed to the other man's chest: "Wine without food is no good. What are you hiding in your chest? Take it out."

Han Tan chuckled, pulled a paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside were various grilled skewers: "Governor Li, these skewers were grilled by myself; you taught me the technique!"

Li Dachui laughed loudly: "Then I have to try it and see how much of my true teachings you've inherited! Come, come, sit down. Don't call me Protector Li anymore, that's what your father and the others call me. Just call me Li Bao, I feel much better when I hear it!"

"Is this okay?"

"What's wrong with that? My friend who makes tofu always calls me Hammer!"

The wine is indeed very good!
The flavor is lingering and fragrant. One bite and a warm feeling instantly spreads throughout the body, but without feeling too hot or spicy. The skewers are also grilled with care. In Li Dachui's opinion, they have at least seven or eight tenths of his own skill in grilling skewers. It seems that Han Tan is quite talented in this area.

The two men drank and ate skewers, reminiscing about the funny or embarrassing things that happened when they traveled south from Luoyang, laughing heartily.

"Li Bao, to be honest, someone like you is really hateful!" After a few drinks, his face turned red and he became bolder. He took a bite of the roasted lamb kidney and said.

"How to say?"

"You're only twenty-seven or twenty-eight this year, right? In terms of martial arts, you're at the Innate Realm. In terms of status, you're in charge of a region, with a hundred thousand soldiers and countless people under your command. Moreover, you can even grill skewers and cook. Compared to you, I'm practically a worthless human being. Tell me, don't you think you're hated?" Han Tan poured wine for Li Dachui.

"Now that you mention it, that makes some sense," Li Dachui thought for a moment and said, "So, do you hate me?"

"I don't know what others think, but I just can't bring myself to hate you right now!" Han Tan shook his head and said, "Because I'm so far behind you, so far that I can't even look at your back. At this point, all I can feel is admiration and worship! I only feel envy, jealousy, and hatred towards those I might be able to catch up with, thinking that if they can do it, I could do it too if I had the chance. But I know I could never do what you've done." "Everyone has their own unique talents!" Li Dachui raised his glass and said, "You will find your strengths and shine in them."

"What a wonderful saying, 'Everyone has their own unique talents!'" A cheer came from outside. Han Tan turned around and was so startled that he jumped up. Standing at the door were his father, Han Tan, and He Jiong, the prefect of Yong'an County. It was his father who had just spoken.

"Father!" He put down his wine glass and stood with his hands at his sides.

He Jiong walked in first, glanced at the wine on the table, and laughed, "That little brat is quite generous; this is the only jar of twenty-year-old Zhuangyuan Hong left. Luckily, it was Protector Li who drank it, otherwise I would have been heartbroken!"

While talking, he found two cups, put them on the table, and poured wine into the jar.

Han Zheng glared at Han Tan and sneered, "What, aren't you going to get lost? Are you waiting for your Uncle He to pour you a drink too?"

Upon hearing this, Han Tan immediately turned and ran.

As a friend, he had visited Li Dachui, but then the adults had to talk about official business, and there was nothing left for him, the little kid, to do!
But Li Dachui isn't much older than me!
Looking back, Han Tan sniffed and realized that he really needed to work hard. Catching up with Li Dachui was definitely unrealistic, but he hoped that in the future, he would have the opportunity to sit there and have a drink in a similar situation.

Although the wine is the same,

But the wine now has a completely different meaning from the wine he drank with Li Dachui before.

"Brother Han is quite remarkable!" Li Dachui waved to Han Tan, who was looking back from the courtyard. "Born into a prominent family like the Han clan, to possess such character and temperament is truly rare!"

"Li Duhu, is this an insult or a compliment?" Han Zheng asked.

"Of course it's a compliment!" Li Dachui laughed. "Gentlemen, please sit down. I imagine you've reached a consensus within yourselves and have a plan for the future, haven't you?"

"Of course!" Han Zheng said, "In fact, Protector Li knows very well that we really don't have many choices, and among these limited choices, joining forces with the Protector is the best option. So you are sitting on the sidelines, watching us make some futile struggles here, right?"

"You flatter me!" Li Dachui said, "Unity benefits both sides, while division harms both. Jiang Jiang and the two prefects are wise people and will naturally choose the right path!"

“Sometimes, wise people see further and think more, so they do things that are hard for ordinary people to understand!” Han Zheng said calmly. “But in fact, the reason why ordinary people can’t understand is because they can’t see the future. Many things that seem unbelievable now are actually the best methods when placed in the torrent of history.”

“Prefect Han is right!” Li Dachui nodded.

This is why prophets are always in pain.

"So, our alliance with Protector Li's Beiting Protectorate is now only one thing away from completion. Once this is done, we will go through fire and water for Protector Li's great cause of conquering the world, without hesitation." He Jiong took out a scroll from his pocket and pushed it in front of Li Dachui.

(End of this chapter)