The Great Tang Dynasty: The Celestial Master Descends the Mountain, Starts by Being Deceived into Ma

Chapter 41 The Mine

The moment Cheng Chumo saw Lu Jinghe, his muddled mind instantly cleared.

Looking at his own appearance, he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Lu Jinghe asked him to come back early to check on the situation in Lantian County, but what happened?

Once recognized, Zheng Rentai invited him to his home, where he drank wine and embraced a courtesan, living a life of luxury, completely forgetting about Lu Jing and the others.

Lu Jinghe chuckled as he looked at Cheng Chumo, pointed to the pink lipstick stuck to his face, and said, "Young Master Cheng, you had quite a good night, didn't you? It's still early, why don't you go back and spend some more time together? We're not in a hurry."

Cheng Chumo's face turned bright red instantly. Only then did he realize that there was something stuck to his face. He rubbed it with his hand, and sure enough, his hand was also stained pink.

Oh, it was lip rouge. He thought that woman's lips were naturally that color.

"Brother Lu...I..." Cheng Chumo tried to make an excuse, but found himself at a loss for words.

Gao Yang glanced at it, snorted coldly, and turned his head away, too lazy to look at this unreliable person.

Just then, Little Si asked in his childish voice, "Brother, why does he smell so bad?"

She leaned against Gao Yang's chest, her eyes wide open, her little nose wrinkled, her face full of disgust.

When Cheng Chumo heard Xiao Zhouzi say that, he almost fell over.

Children's words are the most hurtful, especially their subconscious reactions.

Cheng Chumo raised his arm and asked himself; there was indeed a smell of alcohol mixed with the scent of rouge and photinia flowers.

Even he himself couldn't stand it.

Lu Jinghe explained with a smile, "He drank alcohol, a lot of it, and it was... a special kind of alcohol."

Little Sizi tilted his head, asking in confusion, "What kind of wine duck?"

"Why are you asking so many questions, kid?" Gao Yang glared at Lu Jinghe, as if to say why bring this up in front of the child.

Gao Yang turned to Zheng Rentai and said, "Magistrate Zheng, please prepare some hangover soup for this disgraceful man to drink."

,

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away." Zheng Rentai quickly responded and gave the order.

"Chu Mo, don't sit here." Seeing Cheng Chu Mo about to sit next to Lu Jinghe, Xiao Sizi suddenly stretched out her little hand, waving it in the air for a long time, her little face scrunched up. "Go over there! Stay away from us! Your smell is too strong, it's unpleasant for Shi Zi!"

Cheng Chumo's feet froze in mid-air, so embarrassed he wished he could take off right there.

Lu Jinghe then said, "The various smells on you are indeed unpleasant. Xiao Sizi has a respiratory illness, so you should stay away from her."

"Oh, oh." Cheng Chumo staggered to a stone bench in the distance and sat down.

Once Cheng Chumo had walked away, Sizi began to struggle wildly, nearly falling out of Gao Yang's arms.

"What are you doing?" Gao Yang reached out and pressed Xiao Sizi's forehead with his finger.

"Sister is naughty! Persimmon wants to be hugged by its master."

"Huh?" Gao Yang was taken aback. Why was she acting like a little devil again? How come children change their tune so quickly? When she came, she was saying that it was more comfortable in her arms than in Lu Jinghe's arms.

Soft.

"Hahahaha." Hearing Xiao Sizi's words, Lu Jinghe couldn't help but laugh out loud and said, "Come here, let your brother hug you."

Lu Jinghe reached out and took Sizi from him, smiling, "Isn't Sizi more comfortable in your brother's arms?"

"It's comfortable in my sister's arms." Little Si shook her head, not giving Lu Jinghe any face at all, acting as if she was the fairest person.

"See? Even if you please Sizi, it's no use. It's still not as comfortable as me. Sizi still prefers to be held by me." Gao Yang immediately beamed with joy, put his hands on his hips, and looked very proud.

"Heh...she won't let you hug her now." Lu Jinghe blinked and mocked Gao Yang.

"That's right, Shizi won't let Sister Gaoyang hug her!" Little Sizi seemed to have found a backer, and she started to provoke Gaoyang, her little face full of smugness.

Gao Yang:

This little girl's expression changes faster than turning the pages of a book.

"Brother." After provoking Gao Yang, Si Zi looked up at Lu Jinghe and called out.

"What's wrong?"

"What kind of wine is Cheng Chumo drinking? It smells so bad! You're so mean, you won't tell me, right? You'll definitely tell Shizi, won't you?"

Lu Jinghe:

Cheng Chumo drank the flower wine.

Can you say this to a child? It doesn't matter whether she understands or not, it's a question of whether you can or can't. When children hear things they don't understand, they are curious and will ask all sorts of questions until they find out the answer.

"He drinks the worst-tasting liquor in the world. Si Zi, you must stay away from him."

"Oh, oh." Si Zi nodded, pointed at Cheng Chumo, and shouted, "You big bad guy!"

Cheng Chumo cried bitterly. What had he done to deserve this? How could you let a child criticize me? How could you be so cruel!

So what if he went out for a drink and cuddled a courtesan?

Cheng Chumo accepted the hangover soup handed to him by a servant from the magistrate's office and drank it silently.

He even turned around deliberately, leaving them with only a lonely and desolate back view.

Unfortunately, no one cares about him.

"Go change your clothes after you finish drinking. We're going to take care of serious business today," Lu Jinghe said solemnly.

"Okay, Brother Lu."

Cheng Chumo tilted his head back and finished the hangover soup in one gulp. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, put his arm around Zheng Rentai, and led him outside: "Old Zheng, get me a change of clothes."

Soon, Cheng Chumo changed into clean clothes, and the group went to the mine under Zheng Rentai's guidance.

After leaving the north gate of the county town, they walked for about half an hour and arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Lu Jinghe walked along, observing the situation on the mountain.

There are many miners digging for quartz.

"Are all the miners here recruited by your Zheng family?" Lu Jinghe asked casually.

"No, it's mainly because I recruited him," Zheng Rentai said. He was now ready to break with the Zheng family of Lantian and was going to go all in on Lu Jinghe!

Therefore, he had no need to speak up for the Zheng family of Lantian.

If Lu Jinghe becomes his backer, then what is the Zheng family of Lantian?

It's just a branch of the Yingyang Zheng clan. Do you think the Yingyang Zheng clan would protect it if something really serious happened? Don't be ridiculous.

"Your Excellency, you may not know this, but this mountain is nominally the property of the Zheng family of Lantian. In reality, it is mostly managed by me. Those old geezers just collect money and enjoy the fruits of others' labor," Zheng Rentai explained.

As Zheng Rentai spoke, he lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, I've wanted to sever ties with them for a long time."

"These people, relying on being a branch of the Zheng family of Xingyang, act arrogantly all day long, enjoying the fruits of others' labor, and all they know is how to ask for money."

"At least half of my salary has been plundered by these people."

Lu Jinghe smiled but didn't speak. He knew how much of what he said was true and how much was false.

Zheng Rentai quickly added, "These miners may be tired, but at least they can support their families."

"Although I am not a good person either, I am still the head of a county. Seeing that the people under my jurisdiction are not living well, I will help them if I can."

Lu Jinghe nodded slightly. This Zheng Rentai was quite interesting; he had some flaws, but none of them were major.

Being able to do practical things for the people makes one a good official in this era.

No wonder these miners were somewhat grateful to him.