Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

"I'll take my men and arrest them right now!" Li Shi said, and he acted immediately.

Lin Yuan objected, saying, "If the bandits go to such lengths to capture us, they'll surely run away if they have spies watching. We should host a banquet and invite all those 'Kings' (thieves). Don't invite Zhao Jingang alone, or he'll become suspicious. We can have ambush them with axemen beforehand, and use the signal of breaking a cup..."

Seeing that the plan he presented was detailed and well-organized, Li Shi couldn't help but feel a hint of admiration in his eyes. He was indeed a true student taught by his third uncle, and he was quite capable. He immediately took notes carefully and nodded from time to time: "Good, good... let's do it this way."

"The Black Snake Gang and the Carp Pavilion have close ties; they are intertwined. As the saying goes, 'If the ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if the minister is not discreet, he will lose his life...'"

"Then we won't need the people in the pavilion. I'll invite a few martial arts masters from the Li residence to keep things under control. I guarantee they won't cause any trouble."

"What is the relationship between Brother Zhao and the Zhao family of Yubei Village?" Lin Yuan asked as a final reminder.

"Brother Lin, there's no need to worry. Although the two Zhao families are from the same clan, they separated their genealogies long ago and don't have much contact anymore. Gou'er has been with me for many years. His aunt is my concubine, and she gave birth to my only son. I support their whole family. They eat my food and drink my rice. If they dare to rebel against me..." Li Shi snorted coldly, his voice stopping abruptly at the end, his wine cup shattering in his hand.

Lin Yuan nodded. Zhao Gou'er and Li Shi were bound by shared interests; their fortunes were intertwined. He then added, "They robbed the pharmacy's treasury, but they probably haven't spent all the money in such a short time. There should still be some left. If we can wipe them out in one fell swoop, we might be able to recover some!"

This sum of money is no small amount, but unfortunately I didn't have the ability to handle it, otherwise I would never have let Li Shi have it so easily.

Looks like if you want to make money fast, you'll have to learn martial arts (rob)!

"Haha, Brother Lin is so thoughtful. I'm so grateful for your advice this time. From now on, we're brothers!" Li Shi wanted to pick up his wine glass, but it was broken. He then replaced it with a bowl, filled it for both of them, and held it up with both hands.

"Cheers!" The two downed their drinks.

Seeing that he was only talking empty words, Lin Yuan seized the opportunity to prompt him, "My master said that I have mastered the arithmetic scriptures enough and intends to let me go out and gain some experience. Unfortunately, I am of low status and have no influence, so I can't find a good place to go, alas..."

Li Shi didn't evade the question, sharing his brother's concerns: "The best places to go in our county are the county government and a few prominent families. The Earl of Duting's mansion is actively recruiting retainers, but the requirements are high. You're not a member of the Li family, so I'm afraid it won't be easy for you to get in. The county government is also difficult to get into, and I'm not familiar with other places. Going to a shop would be a waste of your talent. How about this, in a few days I'll ask someone from the Earl's mansion to inquire and see if they can recruit you as a clerk at the Carp Pavilion. However..."

Although clerks who arrest thieves are not exempt from poll taxes, corvée labor, and other duties, as law enforcers, there is often a lot of room for maneuver and manipulation in this matter.

Over thousands of years, a situation gradually formed in which becoming a high-ranking official meant exemption from poll tax and corvée labor, except for land tax.

"Brother, please accept my bow!" Lin Yuan bowed deeply, not giving him a chance to continue.

Li Shi sighed. Even a minor clerk position was highly sought after, making this a difficult matter. But having said his piece, he couldn't take it back. He quickly helped Lin Yuan to his feet, saying, "Brother, don't stand on ceremony. I will do my best in this matter..."

Although he knew he was used to using force and almost knocked Lin Yuan over, he quickly pulled him back. Only then did he realize that Lin Yuan had never practiced martial arts and was weak. He said awkwardly, "Everyone in our pavilion is a martial artist. Brother Lin is a bit thin. You need to practice martial arts more. Those refugees outside won't care about anyone when they're starving."

"What you say is true, brother. It's a pity that learning martial arts is too expensive. I come from a poor family..." Lin Yuan rubbed his sore arms and began to complain about being poor.

Li Shi lost his father at a young age, and his family was extremely poor. Just then, the Earl's Mansion opened a clan school and a martial arts academy. Not only were the children of the same clan exempted from tuition, but outstanding students were also given financial aid. Therefore, he did not look down on people from humble backgrounds.

"Hey, that's not difficult. I have a past relationship with the instructors at the Li family's martial arts school. If Brother Lin wants to learn martial arts, I can introduce you to them."

"Respect, Brother!"

"Okay, let's do it!"

"Dry!"

"happy!"

After the two finished discussing business, Lin Yuan took the opportunity to subtly inquire whether they had found out about Manager Zhang keeping a mistress. Li Shi was unaware of this and had not heard Manager Qian or Instructor Zhang mention it.

It seems that no one knew about this from the beginning.

Lin Yuan was now somewhat suspicious. Was Manager Zhang really operating in such secrecy? Had she really absconded with the money?

……

Lin Yuan returned to the Xu family home quite late, quickly washed up, and went to bed.

Early the next morning.

Before Lin Yuan even got out of bed, his older brother brought over firewood, sweet potato and salted fish rice, and living expenses.

Eating the salted fish rice, Lin Yuan had no appetite whatsoever and could barely swallow it. He sighed, "It's bland and tasteless. It's hard to go from luxury to frugality!"

After a quick bite, I went to pay my respects to Master Xu and briefly recounted my meeting with Li Shi the previous day.

Master Xu listened attentively and then instructed, "Don't go out in this sweltering heat. My illness is almost cured, and classes will begin tomorrow, so you can focus on your studies."

"Thank you for the reminder, Master. I understand!" Lin Yuan knew that he should stay put until things were settled to avoid any unexpected problems.

Although the Xu family mansion is not large, it is very close to the ancestral home of the Earl of Duting, Li. If there is any accident, a shout will be heard over there.

As the son-in-law of a collateral branch of the Li family, Master Xu had long understood the benefits of having a powerful backer.

In the following days, Master Xu began to give lectures.

Unlike before, this time Master Xu started to slack off, only teaching once in class and letting Lin Yuan instruct the students the rest of the time.

Lin Yuan had become a teaching assistant, which drew envy from some students, disdain from others, indifference from some, and even expulsion from some.

Hu Cai was persuaded to leave by Master Xu, and Manager Hu had no choice but to take his youngest son home, as he couldn't concentrate on his studies.

In fact, Master Xu could have been even more greedy and taken advantage of Hu Cai's annual stipend of five taels of silver, since his family was rich and didn't care about the small amount.

Lin Yuan also realized from this that Master Xu only earned what he was entitled to.

No wonder he's survived half his life by falsifying accounts and plotting countless schemes!

Lin Yuan stayed at home, working as a teaching assistant while practicing calligraphy in peace. When he ran out of ink sticks, Master Xu generously gave him half of a used one.

These past few days, while lecturing at the academy, he didn't want to perform too poorly, so he simply started writing lecture notes on mathematical classics again, while also incorporating his understanding of mathematical classics into his previous life's knowledge.

But he kept thinking about the wine jar that Manager Zhang had promised him.

Should they rent Yingniang's house and then dig up the wine jars, or should they sneak into the house and dig up the wine jars themselves?

Lin Yuan's gaze fell on his thin legs, and he sighed. He couldn't even climb over a wall, how could he dare to have such thoughts?

Should I learn martial arts?

In truth, what he longed for most deep down was to cultivate immortality and attain eternal life.

However, he came from a small, rural family and was not even qualified to be a low-ranking scholar, let alone meet the requirements for the selection of immortal seedlings.

Studying and practicing martial arts are my only remaining way out. The road ahead is difficult, so I'll just have to climb it slowly.

Sometimes it's strange, once a desire arises, it's hard to suppress.

If I could become a martial arts master, I would not only save money on rent, but I could also hunt down Zhao Jingang to avenge Manager Zhang and criticize those ill-gotten gains.

He suddenly felt an urge to learn martial arts and began to consider Li Shi's suggestion.

If I can get some benefits from the wine jar, it should be enough to cover the expenses of learning martial arts in the early stages. But where will I get the money to rent the house?

If I can become a clerk at the Carp Pavilion in the future and follow Li the Detective to investigate cases, given the current floods and the large number of refugees, there will certainly be no shortage of murder cases. I can use the Black and White Mirror's ability to absorb ghosts to solve cases and gradually accumulate some money, which can support the expenses of martial arts training.