Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 848 Arriving Home
When moving out of the upper house, Lou Lao Er met the Master Qiao mentioned by the postmaster. This "master" did not even say hello to Lou Lao Er when he saw him, and did not even show any politeness. He looked down on him with his nose in the air.

What's even more hateful is that when Wang came out holding the child, Mr. Qiao actually looked at Wang unscrupulously. When he saw that Wang was old and of ordinary appearance, a look of disappointment appeared on Mr. Qiao's face.

Lou Lao Er saw it clearly and was instantly filled with anger. It was already impolite to look directly at other people's families without avoiding their gazes. To act like this was clearly frivolous.

If it weren't for the fact that Lou Lao Er is older now and has a much better temper than before, and has become more self-controlled after becoming an official, if it were in the past, based on Lou Lao Er's temper, he would probably have drawn a knife and taught this bastard a lesson.

Lou Lao Er had a gloomy face and said nothing. He left the upper house with his family and bodyguards. As soon as Lou Lao Er and others left, Qiao Erye, who had been waiting impatiently, moved in with his people. A group of people were shouting and yelling, looking very domineering.

Even though they lived in the backyard, they could still vaguely hear the noisy noises of Master Qiao and his men from the upper room. Lou Lao Er asked his subordinates to settle his wife and children first. He listened to the noise in front of him with a frown but said nothing. However, his originally good mood for returning to the countryside was ruined by this incident. Lou Lao Er no longer had the interest to chat with the postmaster. After a simple meal, he went back to the room to rest. He slept well all night. When they set off again the next day, Master Qiao and his group who had originally lived in the upper room had already left.

After packing up, they continued on their way. It was only a few dozen miles from the post station to their hometown, and their carriage was moving at a fast speed on the official road. In the afternoon, they were close to their hometown. As they saw more and more familiar scenery around them, Lou Laoer's previous unhappiness was replaced by homesickness. Seeing that his hometown was about to arrive, he couldn't help but get excited.

Lou Laoer's hometown is not in Yiwu County, but in a village more than ten miles away from the county. The village is called Dongtang Village because there is a large pond to the east of the village. Dongtang is the main water source of the village, and the village is also named after Dongtang. This village has existed since the Tang Dynasty and has continued to this day for more than 500 years.

When the carriage arrived at Dongtang, a village not far away could be seen at a glance. At this time, Lou Laoer could no longer hold back. He got off the carriage and walked directly towards his hometown. At this moment, it seemed that the air he breathed carried an exciting scent. This was the taste of his hometown.

As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the village, I saw several people blocking the road. Among them, an older man was in the middle, and there were several young and strong men on his left and right. These young men all had weapons in their hands and looked at Lou Laoer and his gang who were coming towards them with vigilance.

"I am the head of Dongtang Village. May I ask where you gentlemen are from? What business do you have in coming to our small place?" When the elderly man saw Lou Laoer and his companions coming straight towards the village, he shouted at them before they even arrived in front of him, and the young men around him also showed vigilance.

The people of Yiwu have always been tough. During droughts, armed conflicts in many villages over grabbing water sources are commonplace. It is even more common for villages to fight each other. And every fight is a fight to the death. The small scale involves dozens of people, and the large scale involves hundreds or even thousands of people. Otherwise, Qi Jiguang would not have chosen the people of Yiwu and specially selected suitable young and strong people from Yiwu to serve as soldiers. This is how the Qi Family Army became famous.

Even though they were just an old man with a few young men, and they were holding ordinary weapons in their hands, if the people came with bad intentions, as long as the leader gave the order, these young men would rush up and beat them up without saying a word.

Moreover, the other people in the village are not there to sit there and do nothing. Once the other side outnumbers and cannot be defeated, just give a shout and all the people in the village will come out in an instant, not only the young and strong, but also the old and weak. Old men and women in their seventies and eighties are not afraid of death when fighting. Moreover, many villages in Yiwu have elders who have served in the Zhejiang Army. The good martial arts passed down from their ancestors, including the Mandarin Duck Formation tactics of the Qi Family Army, are not uncommon here. Even children can use them. It is impossible for outsiders to take advantage here.

Just like now, several young men standing beside the head of the village formed a small mandarin duck formation. The weapons in their hands, such as the dung fork, were equivalent to the wolf whisk, the hoe was like a spear, and the hatchet was like a waist knife. Several people were arranged front, back, left and right, and the formation was complete. It was obvious that they practiced a lot in their daily lives.

"Is it Uncle Seven? Uncle Seven! I'm the second brother! The second brother of Lou!"

"Lou Lao Er?" The vigilant head of the village was stunned for a moment, and looked at the person who came carefully. At this time, Lou Lao Er was already very excited, and walked towards the head of the village quickly. When he got closer, the head of the village finally saw clearly that the person who came was Lou Lao Er, who had been away from the village for many years and no one knew whether he was dead or alive. Although he was wearing a brocade robe and looked completely different from his shabby appearance back then, the head of the village who was familiar with Lou Lao Er would definitely not make a mistake. Isn't this face his cousin Lou Lao Er? Not to mention that Lou Lao Er was missing an arm, which made him especially easy to recognize.

"It's really Lao Er!" The head of the village recognized Lou Lao Er instantly, and hurriedly called out to the few guys on guard, and went to greet him with a smile on his face.

"Uncle Seven!"

"Hahaha, I was wondering who it was, it's you." The headman Lou Qi looked at Lou Lao Er with a smile and punched him on the chest with a click of the tongue: "You've been gone for more than ten years, and I thought you were dead outside. You're actually back? You look and dress like this, are you rich?" "Hehehe, I'm lucky, my nephew is still alive." Lou Lao Er grinned. Although this Lou Qi was only two years older than him, he was his cousin. That's how it is in the countryside. Most people in a village are family members, and they have been arranged according to seniority for hundreds of years. Lou Qi and Lou Lao Er are not only uncle and nephew, but also very close. Lou Qi's grandfather is Lou Lao Er's great-grandfather, so the two families are not even five generations apart.

It was naturally a happy event for relatives who had not seen each other for many years to meet each other. Lou Laoer and Lou Qi talked to each other happily. At this time, Wang, who heard the noise, also got off the stopped carriage, holding Lou Laoer's son in her arms.

"Uncle Seven, this is your niece-in-law Wang, and this is your great-nephew Liu Jin, whose full name is Lou Bin. Wang, come quickly, this is my Uncle Seven, he has taken good care of me in the past, come, come, meet Uncle Seven."

"Hello, Uncle Seventh. Your niece greets you." Wang quickly bowed to Lou Qi while holding the child. Lou Qi was stunned at first and then he started laughing. He didn't expect that Lou Lao Er not only came back suddenly, but also brought back his wife and son. Looking at Wang who called him Uncle Seventh so openly, and Liu Jin who was in her arms, Lou Qi was happy for Lou Lao Er from the bottom of his heart. After all, he was Lou Lao Er's cousin. In the past, Lou Lao Er lost an arm when he served in the army and became a cripple. Although he could barely make ends meet, how could any girl from a good family be willing to marry a crippled old soldier who couldn't lift anything?

For so many years, Lou Lao Er had been single in his hometown. Whenever he thought of Lou Qi, he felt anxious. After all, they were real relatives, and he couldn't just watch Lou Lao Er die without descendants, right? But the problem was that Lou Lao Er had no status, no money, and he was missing an arm. Even if he wanted to get married, no one would be willing to marry him.

But I didn't expect that when Lou Laoer came back after more than ten years away, he had not only changed a lot, but he also brought back his wife and son.

Lou Qi was still a village head after all. The village head in the Ming Dynasty was similar to the village head in later generations, and even had more power than the village head. Lou Qi was not a person without any knowledge. Because of his status as a village head, he often went to the county town to deal with the government, and he knew much more than ordinary country people.

Look at the display of Lou Lao Er. Not to mention the priceless brocade robe he was wearing, this robe alone was worth at least several taels of silver. Moreover, he did not come back alone this time. He not only brought his wife and son, but also three carriages and several people to escort him.

These three carriages were not ordinary ones. As for the escorts, they were obviously soldiers. They were wearing officers' uniforms, with goose-feather swords on their waists, and riding horses. Not many people would have such a display.

Although Lou Qi was somewhat puzzled, could it be that Lou Lao Er really made a fortune? He was just a soldier. There were many people serving in the army in the surrounding area, but after so many years, he only earned some money and went home to buy some land and property. It was extremely rare to see someone like Lou Lao Er.

It is not rare. After all, since the Jiajing period, many people from Yiwu have served in the army, and the Zhejiang Army is well-known. Among those who went out to serve in the army, there are quite a few who have made it big, and some of them have even become guerrillas or lieutenant generals.

But the problem is that Lou Laoer is different from them. You should know that Lou Laoer had been a soldier before. He returned home after being wounded and disabled in the battle in the north. At that time, his position in the army was just a soldier leader, and he was almost a disabled person because he lost an arm.

Such a disabled person was taken away more than ten years ago. When he left, it was said that he went to join the army again. At that time, some people in the village laughed at Lou Laoer, saying that even if someone wanted to join the army, they would not ask a disabled person like him to do it, and Lou Laoer was already not young at that time.

But now it seems that Lou Lao Er not only returned home in glory, but also looked quite stylish. Could it be that Lou Lao Er didn't make it back then, but made it after becoming disabled? This really made Lou Qi confused.

But no matter what, it was good that he could come back. After all, Lou Laoer was his nephew. As an uncle, he couldn't be upset just because his nephew got better, right? Moreover, Lou Qi had a very good relationship with Lou Laoer's father. Lou Qi was only a few years older than Lou Laoer, but he had always been raised by his cousin. If it weren't for Lou Laoer's father, Lou Qi wouldn't be where he is today.

Putting aside the doubts in his mind for the time being, Lou Qi warmly invited Lou Laoer and others to come into the village to talk. Because Lou Laoer had been away from home for too long and no one knew whether he was dead or alive, his old house in the village had long been dilapidated and could not be lived in at all. Lou Qi simply brought Lou Laoer and others back to his own home. His yard was the largest in the village. After all, although a village head was not an official or a clerk, he was the most prestigious person. Moreover, he was not only the village head but also the clan leader. His nephew could not have nowhere to live when he came back. He could clean up his own house, let his two sons live together temporarily, and free up half of the yard to accommodate Lou Laoer. However, it was not the same for Lou Laoer's subordinates, so they could only settle down in the neighbor's house next door for the time being.

(End of this chapter)