The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 80 The Great Conferment in Hanyi!

Five minutes later, Fu Juemin led Xu Xinyi by the hand to the entrance of the mansion.

The Xu family's car was parked by the fountain pool, and Xu Leyi stood beside the car.

She was still dressed in a smart women's suit, her hair seemed to have been cut shorter, her makeup was exquisite, and she was holding a slender cigarette in her hand.

Seeing Fu Juemin and the other person come out, Xu Leyi gently stubbed out her cigarette, sat up, and stared at Fu Juemin across the room with a cold expression.

At this moment, a man emerged from the Xu family's car, dressed in a sharp beige suit, and smiled as he nodded at Fu Juemin from afar.

Zhao Xinhua.

Fu Juemin's eyes flickered slightly, and he turned his head to whisper a few words in Xu Xinyi's ear.

The girl reluctantly let go of his hand and walked towards the car, glancing back every few steps.

"Go."

Fu Juemin waved to Xu Xinyi, who had been standing and looking back, and she finally moved with difficulty to the side of the car.

What did Fu Juemin say to you?

Xu Leyi looked at her younger sister who had run away from home with a cold expression, her words full of questioning and an unquestionable tone.

Xu Xinyi ignored her and got into the car, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

Xu Leyi frowned, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes. Zhao Xinhua, who was standing beside her, quickly and gently comforted her. Only then did she calm down a little and beckon everyone to get into the car and leave.

Throughout the entire process, none of the Xu family members exchanged a single word with Fu Juemin.

Fu Juemin watched the Xu family's car disappear at the end of the tree-lined driveway. Butler Chen Bo quietly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "...Most of the ships and cargo at our dock have been bought by Miss Xu. That Mr. Zhao is now highly valued by the Xu family."

He's now in charge of almost all of the Xu family's business at the docks. I've heard he has connections in both Shanghai and Tianjin, and can sell off all the goods the Xu family has stockpiled in one go.

Fu Juemin didn't speak, but just smiled faintly, and then casually ordered, "Alright, everyone disperse."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the house, as if everything that had just happened was just a trivial little episode to him.

Three days later.

Third-floor bedroom.

Fu Juemin, wearing loose-fitting training clothes, stood barefoot on the cold floor.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his muscles rippled and surged, as if a giant python was coiling and slithering under his cloth shirt.

On the inside of the arms hanging naturally, the dark veins stood out menacingly, and at that moment, the atmosphere in the room gradually became oppressive and stagnant.

"Swish-swish-swish-"

A strange sound filled the air, like snake scales unfolding and rubbing against each other.

The aura emanating from Fu Juemin grew increasingly solid and terrifying, as if some unseen, dreadful entity was slowly awakening behind him, gradually raising its head.
Just as this momentum was about to reach its peak, "thud—"

A crisp sound coming from the window broke the dull and oppressive atmosphere of the entire room.

Fu Juemin suddenly opened his eyes, and the dark veins on his two forearms instantly disappeared. The eerie and terrifying aura emanating from his body also vanished without a trace.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"

A soft tapping sound came from outside the window.

Fu Juemin walked to the window, found the source of the sound, and pushed open the dusty enamel window. He saw a gray-blue pigeon standing on the windowsill, shivering.

Fu Juemin gently carried the pigeon in and reached out to stroke its body, which was frozen stiff by the cold wind.

Once the pigeon's restless emotions had calmed down, he raised his hand and flipped it over, revealing a beautiful red scarf tied to the pigeon's leg.

Fu Juemin's eyes flickered slightly. He took off the red handkerchief and casually released the pigeon.

Then close your eyes and activate the [Whispering] talent.

In an instant, all sounds filled my ears.

Thoughts, like an invisible knob, slowly turn, filtering out meaningless noise layer by layer.

Ming Shuai Ming Shuai
Fu Juemin's thoughts wandered through the sea of ​​sounds, and slowly, he quietly captured a familiar voice.

The intermittent rustling sounds seemed to come from a radio with poor reception.

"Tomorrow is the grand celebration of winter clothes."

"...The Xu family's wealthy households gathered at the dock."

"Follow me! Blow open the city gates and welcome Commander Ming into the city!" *Whoosh—*

Fu Juemin suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils shining brightly, his irises like black lotuses turning.

He stepped out of the room and casually asked the servant waiting outside.

Is Dad home?

"Young master, the master has gone out to discuss business and has not returned yet."

"Go and call my father back. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him."

"Yes."

The servant received the order and hurriedly left. Fu Juemin lowered his head, looking at the beautiful red handkerchief he had wrapped several times between his fingers. His eyes gleamed, and he murmured to himself, "Finally...it's coming."

November 27th, the first day of the tenth lunar month.

The Cold Clothes Festival, also known as the Great Distribution of Cold Clothes.

This is the most important festival after the onset of winter. On this morning, people in every household in Luanhe County begin to take out the incense and candles they have prepared in advance and burn them in front of their doors to commemorate the legendary "Goddess of Winter Clothes".

The so-called offerings were nothing more than clothes and shoes made from a few pieces of colorful paper. Occasionally, a well-off family might stuff some rags and cotton wadding into the layers of the paper clothes—this was already a rare luxury.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a skilled embroiderer named Zhao in the south, whose heart was as kind as a Buddha's. Every winter, seeing that many poor people were freezing to death because they were not properly clothed, she made a great vow to sew winter clothes for all the poor and destitute people in the city.

She embroidered day and night, and finally finished the last cotton-padded coat on the night of the first day of the tenth lunar month, but died of exhaustion.

After her death, the people, grateful for her kindness, honored her as the "Goddess of Winter Clothes".

It is said that since then, every year on this day, homeless people will receive warm clothes from her in their dreams, or find neatly folded cotton-padded jackets in the corner of the wall.
Many people may not celebrate the two seasonal festivals of "the arrival of winter" and "the beginning of winter," but every year, the people of Luanhe County never dare to neglect the distribution of winter clothing.

In this world, all ordinary people ask for is simply enough to have enough to eat and wear.

This year's Cold Clothes Festival is somewhat different from previous years.

Firstly, due to the severe disaster in Southwest China this year, a large number of refugees have fled here and are still gathered outside the city without being properly resettled. As winter approaches and the weather gets colder, there have been continuous cases of disaster victims freezing to death or starving to death.

Secondly, this year, many prominent families in Luanhe City, led by Xu Shirong, the patriarch of the Xu family, are preparing to hold a grand and solemn water worship ceremony on the banks of the Luanhe River.

Although many grand events have been held earlier this year, each time a lot of fruits, vegetables and livestock are thrown into the water to worship the river god.

But the poor people didn't care about any of that. All they knew was that on the day of the Water Festival, wealthy families in the city would set up sheds and distribute porridge. If they arrived early and were lucky enough, they might even receive a cotton-padded coat for the winter.

Luanhe Wharf, on the riverbank.

Around noon, dozens of makeshift iron pots were already burning with firewood, and the thin porridge inside was so thick that you could almost see your reflection in it.

A dense crowd, stretching as far as the eye could see, surrounded the pot. They were all emaciated, homeless beggars with their families, each clutching a broken earthenware pot or bowl tightly in their hands, their eyes practically wanting to fall into the steaming pot of porridge.

"Don't push! There's enough for everyone!"

"Line up!"

The servants of the wealthy household, holding whistles, banged loudly on the edge of the pot, trying to maintain order on the verge of collapse.

Not far from this bustling area, beside the altar that had been set up with red cloth long ago, a group of well-dressed local gentry were chatting and laughing as they slowly entered the venue.

Luanhe County Mayor Hu Fulai walked first, with Zhou He, the deputy director of the police department, in a crisp uniform beside him.

Then came Hui Sai-wing.

He stood where Fu Guosheng should have been, all smiles, surrounded by many colleagues and friends.

It's no secret that the Xu family secretly made large-scale acquisitions while the Fu family was selling off their assets to raise funds for military donations.

By the time those with quick minds realized what was happening and tried to catch up with Xu Jia, it was already too late.

At this moment, anyone with a discerning eye could see that with the Fu family's downfall, the Xu family, which used to follow the Fu family around like a loyal dog, was now poised for an unstoppable rise.

No matter how greedy and domineering Song Lin, the son of the provincial governor, is, he will eventually leave.

Xu Shirong used the wealth and resources of the entire Luanhe River region to feed Song Lin until he was half full, and then seized the opportunity to rise to power by stepping on the corpses of the Fu family.
Even though these people secretly cursed Xu Shirong to death for his actions, they had to admire his vision, decisiveness, ruthlessness, and cruelty!
It is said that Xu Shirong has secretly reached an agreement with Song Lin, agreeing to send half of the profits from the acquisition, along with his second daughter, to Song Lin's residence.

Once the donation of funds is over, it is likely that more than half of the industries in Luanhe County will have to change their names to Xu.

Xu Shirong, beaming with pride and joy, sat down in the main seat on the altar to watch the ceremony.

Not far behind him, Xu Leyi, as the current apparent head of the Xu family, was also enjoying unparalleled prestige.

But for some reason, today, Xu Leyi felt uneasy looking at the refugees begging for porridge nearby and the lanterns of cold clothes floating on the river in the distance.

(End of this chapter)