Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 43 Life Never Gives You a Chance to Breathe

Eji wanted a house on a hundred acres of land, which would cost a lot of money. Yun Ce discovered that this family had a lot of money hidden on them, and he really wanted it.

However, he couldn't resort to robbery. At least, he couldn't rob these people before they offended him. Robbery and rape are heinous acts that exceed Yun Ce's moral standards. A person has many ways to achieve the same goal as robbery or rape, yet he chooses the stupidest one.

Therefore, it makes perfect sense that even thieves look down on robbers, while rape is considered acceptable.

When Eji couldn't sell seats, she immediately started selling food. Although there wasn't much food on the sheep cart, she still sold it, believing that her man would bring her more food soon.

She kept enough food for the four little girls, as well as half a jar of minced meat, and sold the rest, including a clay pot for cooking porridge.

The transaction was a success. Eji received a large bag of money, more than half of which was equivalent to a thousand coins. After receiving the money, Eji ignored the family.

She needs to have a good talk with Angie and the others about how much the money she just earned can be used to expand her courtyard.

Liang Kun clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "Half a horse, a bag of wheat, a bag of millet, half a bag of beans, and a pottery jar can be sold for 100,000 coins. This business is the best I've ever seen in my life. It's much faster than robbery."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "If others don't have it, I have it; if many people need it, and it's a unique business, the profit will naturally be higher. This is the way of a merchant. Why would we need to rob someone?"

Feng An shook his head and said, "He who would not drink from a treacherous spring when thirsty, nor rest in the shade of a wicked tree when hot, Brother Liu, suppresses his desire to rob and follows the way of a merchant. He can be called a gentleman."

Liang Kun looked at Feng An and said, "Since when have the standards of a gentleman become so low?"

Feng An smiled and said, "It is easier for a gentleman to maintain his integrity in peaceful times. In times of chaos, it is a blessing for us scholars to still have a gentleman like Brother Liu."

After explaining to Liang Kun, Feng An said to Yun Ce, "No wonder Zhang Gongyaliang's recommendation letter to Brother Liu contained praise that was beyond the norm."

"Do you have a recommendation?" Liang Kun's voice carried a hint of a rooster's crow.

Yun Ce took out a letter of recommendation from his pocket and handed it to Liang Kun, saying, "Take a look, my character is still well-guaranteed by Zhang Gongyaliang."

"He was beaten to death by a pig demon. I heard that not only was his body mutilated beyond recognition, but he was also crushed into mincemeat by a carriage." Liang Kun, who ran relatively slowly, knew a little about it.

Yun Ce and Feng An exchanged a glance, each carefully putting away their rare recommendation books, sighed, and continued on their way.

Eji ran up to Yun Ce and started drilling into his chest with her head. She had only one purpose: she had run out of goods to exchange for money and needed Yun Ce to find some.

The women of the Han Dynasty were quite tall. When Yun Ce first met E Ji, the two were about the same height, both over 1.7 meters. During this time, Yun Ce grew 10 centimeters taller, but E Ji did not grow taller; she just became a bit more fleshy when he held her in his arms.

Seeing that the girl was so obsessed with doing business that she was almost going crazy, Yun Ce had no choice but to go and look in the bushes by the roadside to see if he could find any snakes or similar creatures there.

Yun Ce's method of finding snakes was simple: he dripped a drop of venom from a multi-legged snake onto the ground, and the once quiet grass immediately began to rustle. In the blink of an eye, snakes and insects crawled out of the grass in a panic and fled for their lives, not even caring about the large birds that were their natural enemies circling in the sky.

As the large bird circled down, Yun Ce waited quietly with his longbow in hand. When the bird folded its wings and flew down to catch snakes and insects, Yun Ce released the bowstring, and arrows shot out one after another. Before the four large birds could catch the snakes and insects, they were pierced by the arrows.

The bird was very resilient; even after being shot, it continued to flutter and struggle on the ground, its wingspan reaching a full two meters.

Once one of the birds stopped flapping, Yun Ce went over, grabbed its neck, and weighed it. He found that this bird weighed a full twenty pounds, and after removing its feathers and internal organs, it should yield seven or eight pounds of meat.

There weren't many of these birds in the sky. The rest, having witnessed their fate, flew away into the distance, crying mournfully. Yun Ce, carrying his bow and arrow, looked around. In a short while, there was no more living creature in the sky.

To defend against the large bird, the snakes naturally coiled into snake formations along the ancient road. Yun Ce broke off a forked branch and casually killed the snakes, then carried it in his hand.

When Eji saw that there were goods again, she danced with joy, and the other girls, including the four little ones, couldn't help but cheer along with her.

That's exactly what excites women: they love to see men return home with a full load of goodies, especially men who have brought them goodies.

Feng An and Liang Kun understood this very well and the reason behind it, but they just couldn't do it, so they had no choice but to assist Yun Ce in processing the prey.

Yun Ce was very skilled at processing prey. After removing the thighs and wings from a bird, only two pieces of muscle remained in its chest; the rest was all skin and bone.

The bird's wings were enormous, divided by Yun Ce into wingtips, wingtips, and wing roots, neatly arranged in a basket, giving it a very commercial feel. E Ji was particularly fond of the four large birds' legs, because after the birds were plucked, their most attractive feature was their pair of plump thighs. From the bony calves, past the joints, the thighs suddenly swelled up, which was very appealing to carnivores.

As for those snakes with colorful appearances, what's terrifying is only their heads and outer skin. After removing the heads, peeling off the snake skin, and carefully removing the venom sacs, strips of snow-white flesh were sprinkled with salt and neatly arranged on the wooden board by Yun Ce.

When it was time for dinner, Eji forbade anyone to eat the good stuff. She took out four huge bird skeletons, put them in four earthenware pots to boil, and then gave each person a grass and grain cake, which served as dinner.

Tomorrow is a crucial day for business, so Eji and the women went to bed early, leaving only Yun Ce, Feng An, and Liang Kun sitting by the campfire, chatting while chasing away the persistent dog skins.

Feng An was a learned young man. Although his family was not very wealthy, they were just poor families in Pingyuan City. For three generations, they had never stopped studying. His grandfather and father did not achieve anything in their studies and did not work as servants in the government. Instead, they carefully ran an ink shop.

After his grandfather and father died, he and his elderly mother depended on each other for survival. Last year, his mother passed away, and Feng An sold the family's ink studio to raise some money. He then obtained a letter of recommendation from Zhang Gongyaliang and prepared to go to Chuyunzhou City to try his luck, hoping to obtain an official position in one fell swoop and comfort his long-deceased ancestors.

Yun Ce listened attentively to Feng An's past, because it was very enlightening for him. After all, Liu Chang'an's past was probably similar to Feng An's, and only people like him had the cleanest backgrounds and were most likely to be appreciated by important figures.

As the firelight flickered, Yun Ce glanced at Feng An's face again and couldn't help but say to him, "You have a high chance of marrying a woman from a high-ranking family in the future."

Liang Kun chimed in, “A true man should stand between heaven and earth, wielding his sword and riding his horse, relying on his talent and skill to carve out a bright future for himself. What kind of ability is it to rely on a woman?”

Feng An covered his mouth and chuckled twice, saying, "A gentleman is content with his lot, unyielding in the face of wind and rain, and ready to die at the first sign of frost. That is also a kind of state of mind."

If a woman from a noble family pleases me, I will certainly seek her hand in marriage.

Liang Kun's family wasn't much better off than Feng An's, except that his family was much larger. Although he managed to escape during the escape, he was abandoned by his family because of a high fever. It seems that his poor relationship with his family is also related to his temperament of finding fault with everything.

He is quite talented, and his views on certain matters are even more incisive than Feng An's. However, that's about it. With this kind of personality, Yun Ce seems to have already seen his miserable future.

The three took turns keeping watch, and before they knew it, it was dawn. The weather wasn't very good today; the sun was nowhere to be seen in the morning, and the clouds were high in the sky. It didn't look like it was going to rain, so this kind of weather was perfect for traveling.

Eji had her eyes fixed ahead early in the morning, thinking she would run into her business partners soon. However, many of her business partners were dead, their skins gnawed down to bones by dogs.

When her business partner dies, she can no longer do business. However, Eji still becomes rich because Goupizi doesn't understand the importance of money. After devouring all the flesh and blood of Eji's customers, he leaves all the money to her.

After Eji asked Yun Ce and Liang Kun to help her dig a pit to bury the remains, the money left behind by those people naturally became Eji's own.

When burying the third wave of remains, Liang Kun lowered his head and cried bitterly. Yun Ce and Feng An exchanged a glance and then dug the pit extra deep.

After the remains were buried, Liang Kun gave a bitter smile and said, "I thought they would outlive me."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "When a person dies, hatred and gratitude lose their source. You can laugh or cry, and that's it."

Liang Kun gritted his teeth and said, "But what if we go there?"

Feng Andao said, "After another day and a half of walking, we will be able to see Sheyang City."

Liang Kun threw down the short stick in his hand and said angrily, "What good will it do to get to Sheyang City?"

Feng An laughed and said, "We have a letter of recommendation, a letter of recommendation worth ten thousand coins. After Zhang Gongyaliang died, it was called his last letter, so his letter of recommendation is even more valuable."

Liang Kun took out the letter of recommendation from his pocket and casually threw it into the fire. Yun Ce was quick and caught it, handing it back to Liang Kun, saying, "Sometimes, rules are rules. They have become something that everyone agrees on. If you don't have this, you may not even be able to enter Sheyang City."

If you can't enter Sheyang City, can't take the bus, and can't participate in the grand competition in Chuyun Prefecture, what good is your talent?
They say gold is only found after the sandstorm has passed; this book of recommendations is the wind that blows away the sandstorm from your body.

Liang Kun remained silent for a long time, then sighed. In the end, he hid the recommendation letter back in his bosom, pulled over a thick piece of firewood to use as a pillow, and fell asleep.

At night, Yun Ce heard Liang Kun's suppressed sobs.

(End of this chapter)