Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

The three arrived at Li Shi's house.

Li Shi personally came out to greet them. When he saw Master Xu and Lin Yuan coming hand in hand, he smiled and couldn't help but recall how he had tried so hard to please Master Xu back then, but had never received such closeness in return.

"Third Uncle, your beloved disciple is extraordinary! I heard from Gou'er that he has become a martial artist."

Li Shi originally recommended him only to repay a favor. At the time, he thought that with Lin Yuan's family background, it would be difficult for him to succeed even if he entered the martial arts hall. Now, he couldn't help but look at him with more respect: "I really didn't expect that Junior Brother Lin could master it. I underestimated him."

Master Xu smiled and said to Lin Yuan, "We have to thank your senior brother for recommending you to the Martial Arts Hall. We should toast him a few more times later."

At this moment, Hu Cai silently handed the small gift to the servant next to him.

Lin Yuan immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Senior Brother. This is a small token of our appreciation from Senior Brother Hu."

Li Shi laughed and scolded, "I told you two not to bring anything, really!"

Master Xu smiled and said, "These are just a small token of the children's appreciation; please accept them."

"Third Uncle, two junior brothers, please come inside!" Li Shi originally wanted Master Xu to sit with the elders in the main hall, while Lin Yuan, Hu Cai, and the younger generation sat in the front courtyard living room. However, seeing that Master Xu was holding onto Lin Yuan, he had no choice but to invite all three of them to the East Flower Hall.

"Please," Master Xu said politely, pulling Lin Yuan into the East Flower Hall.

Hu Cai suddenly felt like he was just a bystander, and hesitated, wondering whether to move forward or not.

Fortunately, Li Shi didn't embarrass him and pulled him over.

Three tables were set up in the East Flower Hall. Most of the people who could enter here were close relatives of the Li family, members of the Li clan, and colleagues from the government office and pavilion. Most of them were influential figures in Taoli Township.

Lin Yuan spotted several familiar faces: Li Si from the Martial Arts Hall and several members of the Li family who were outlaws. They knew each other but had no prior contact.

Li Shi arranged for the two to sit at the table with the Li family members, which happened to be the same table as Li Si and the bandit hunters from Lishui Pavilion.

As Li's son-in-law, Master Xu had many dealings with Li's children. He had served as the Waterways Official and held a senior position, so he was highly respected by many.

The atmosphere quickly became lively, and everyone chatted about interesting things and recent events.

When a member of the Li family saw that Master Xu had brought a younger person with him, he immediately asked about his name and background. After hearing that he was from the Lin family of Xiawei Village, he did not ask any further questions and instead started talking about other things.

They asked Hu Cai, who came from a merchant family, a few more questions. Hu's coffin shop was quite famous in the neighborhood and had some dealings with various people.

Lin Yuan, being a junior, didn't pay much attention and listened quietly, unexpectedly overhearing about Old Master Zhang's family.

"When Old Master Zhang from West Street passed away last time, his eldest son didn't come back. He didn't even come back for his father's funeral. Alas, what an unfilial son. His second son handled the funeral arrangements. I heard his eldest grandson is studying at the Imperial Academy in the capital, and he didn't come back either..."

"Isn't Zhang Dengfeng working for the Marquis's mansion? It's not that far for him to come and go, why hasn't he returned?"

"I heard he took a post at the Marquis's residence and went to another place."

"..."

Lin Yuan listened intently to the crucial news and learned that although Zhang Dengfeng was the eldest son, he had only one daughter after many years of marriage.

Zhang Dengyun is currently working as a clerk in the county government, and he is still living a good life without any unexpected incidents. The Zhang family mansion is managed by Xu Niang.

Zhang Zhenjian is Zhang Dengyun's only son. He has been studying at the Imperial Academy and has not returned home yet.

No wonder there was still a hundred taels of silver left in that silver jar; it turns out Zhang Zhenjian wasn't home.

It seemed that no one noticed that Old Master Zhang had died a violent death, and the matter passed by peacefully.

Lin Yuan couldn't understand the masked man's actions; they were too strange.

This is fine too; Xu Niang doesn't need anyone to take care of her, and Lin Yuan is happy with that.

After chatting for a while, Li Si took the initiative to ask Hu Cai questions, all about the Red Instructor. He was very curious about the Red Instructor and clearly wanted to investigate.

Hu Cai, as expected of someone raised in a merchant family, was very adept at social interaction and conversation. His answers were not only appropriate but also detailed, which aroused the curiosity of the crowd. They learned that he practiced martial arts at the martial arts hall outside the Li family mansion, and that the other thieves also came from the martial arts hall outside the Li family mansion, thus they had something in common to talk about.

Lin Yuan didn't try to seize the opportunity to show off, and quietly drank his tea and listened.

However, Master Xu deliberately praised him, taking the initiative to speak up for him: "My worthy disciple is a man of both literary and martial talents. Not only is he good at arithmetic, but he is also quite skilled in martial arts. He has already become a martial artist after studying at the martial arts hall outside the Li residence for several months..."

Upon hearing that the Li family members were fellow martial artists, the young men immediately became interested. They weren't interested in reading, but if the person was a martial artist from the Li family's martial arts academy, they would have to get to know him again.

Lin Yuan understood that it wasn't that his background was no longer important, but rather that he had a new background—the Li Family Martial Arts Hall—which replaced his old background, the Lin family of Xiawei Village.

In addition, he was a man of both literary and martial talents, and with Master Xu advocating for him, his popularity instantly surpassed that of Hu Cai, making him the focus of everyone's attention.

As expected, to become famous, you not only need talent, but also someone to promote you!

At this time, Li Shi's son, Hu Zi, was having his first birthday celebration in the main hall. Everyone went over to watch, and in the end, he picked up a wooden knife.

Everyone praised Hu'er for having the talent to learn martial arts, which made Li Shi beam with joy.

After everyone finished eating, drinking, and having a good time, they gradually dispersed.

Master Xu tried to pull him away, but Lin Yuan told him about seeking Li Shi to handle the corvée labor. Master Xu was delighted upon hearing this:

"The repair of the river embankment is under the management of your senior brother Xu Shan and the others. It would be best if Li Shi could get them into the pavilion, since it's close to home. If that's not possible, I'll talk to Xu Shan later and arrange for them to be supervisors in the city. They won't have to do any work, just keep an eye on things."

Lin Yuan asked in surprise, "There's riverbank repair work in the city too?"

"Linyuan City has two inland rivers and three water gates. Every year during the dry season, one or two of them need to be maintained."

"Thank you very much, Master." Lin Yuan had never left Taoli Township since he was a child, let alone been to the county town, so this was the first time he had learned about these things.

After most of the people had left, Zhao Sheng suddenly ran over. Upon hearing that Lin Yuan wanted to arrange for corvée labor, he complained, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I know this stuff well; I arranged everything at the pavilion. Have my eldest cousin and the others come over tomorrow. I'll assign him a supervisor, and I'll make sure he doesn't get overworked."

"Then thank you very much, brother." Lin Yuan didn't expect such a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, don't be so polite. I've had plenty of wild game that my uncle sends me, I can't just eat it for nothing."

"Ha ha……"

……

After the meal, Zhao Sheng stayed at the Li family's house to help out, while Hu Caining preferred to walk home rather than ride in Master Xu's donkey cart.

Lin Yuan returned to the school in Master Xu's donkey cart, taught two lessons, greeted the master, and then went to the dock.

At this moment, a crowd had gathered on the dock, and a woman was crying.

Out of caution from his past life, Lin Yuan instinctively kept his distance from crowds. He found his elder brother in the crowd, and seeing that there were fellow villagers there, he pulled him aside and told him what had happened.

The eldest brother was overjoyed upon hearing this and lowered his voice, saying, "A supervisor? You can be a supervisor? That's wonderful! Father was right, you've been smart since you were little, you're destined for greatness!"

Lin Yuan smiled faintly. This matter was extremely difficult for his elder brother, a countryman, but for Zhao Gou'er, a soldier from Lishui Pavilion, it was just a matter of a word: "Brother, you know Zhao Sheng, right? Tomorrow, take Uncle Liu and the others to find him and settle things as soon as possible."

"I recognize him, I recognize him. Zhao Xiaolang is a good man!" The elder brother was overjoyed to have met Zhao Sheng and kept praising him.

Lin Yuan, too lazy to listen to his nonsense any longer, asked curiously, "What's going on over there? Why are so many people gathered there?"

"Hey, it's Lin San'er from our village. A few days ago, he was carrying a bag of rice when he slipped on the plank and fell into the river with the bag. He's really something, though; he managed to pull the bag of rice out of the water. It took us all working together to get him and the bag of rice to shore."

But the rice bag was soaked in water, and the rice shop said that the rice would be hard to sell, so they wanted Foreman Wu to buy the rice at the original price. Foreman Wu said that it was San'er who brought it down, so San'er had to buy it.

This bag of rice costs a little over ten dou (a unit of dry measure), and one dou of rice costs seventy or eighty wen (another unit of dry measure). Where would his family get the money to buy this?

That kid was stubborn; he found an opening and jumped into the river.

Strangely enough, several men from the village who knew how to swim went down to try and find him, but they couldn't.

They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead!

They all say that San'er was possessed by something unclean in the water.

The rice shop even made Lin San'er's family pay for rice. There are many men in our Lin family, so they went to the rice shop owner to argue. Since someone had died, they didn't ask San'er's family to buy rice anymore. It's just that San'er died in vain.

San'er's mother and wife come to the dock every day to cry and threaten suicide.

Seeing how pitiful the mother and daughter were, our clansmen each chipped in some money.

The mother and daughter didn't want money; they just cried for their husband and refused to leave. No one could work, so they had to try and persuade them.

Lin Yuan looked at the crowd, which slowly dispersed, leaving only the occasional sob. He asked again, "Is it just the two of them in his family? I remember they also had a son, right? What was his name again?"

"His name was Da Mao, he died of the plague a few days ago!"

"Sigh—" The two of them sighed at the same time.

Lin Yuan felt a deep sense of helplessness and remained silent.

Just then, someone shouted, "Oh no!"

With a "plop," someone jumped into the river, followed by another "plop."

The older brother rushed to rescue the person, and Lin Yuan followed. The older brother quickly turned back and whispered a warning, "The river at the dock is deep, and the water isn't clean. You absolutely mustn't go in!"

Lin Yuan looked at himself; he knew a little about water, but his swimming skills were mediocre. He nodded.

Fortunately, there were many people by the river. Several men who could swim went down to rescue the woman. The third son's mother was quickly pulled up, and the eldest brother quickly lent a hand, pulling her from the water onto the stone steps.

Lin Yuan also lent a hand and pulled the old woman ashore.

However, San'er's wife sank into the water, and the man who tried to rescue her also sank down with her.

"Oh no, there's something dirty!"

"Quickly, bring more people back!"

"Use a rope..."

"A long pole..."

Fortunately, many hands make light work. The group of men didn't just stand by and watch their companion drown. After much effort, using ropes and long poles, they finally managed to pull him out of the water and onto the shore.

The third daughter-in-law was unconscious, and even with the combined efforts of the eldest brother and the others, they couldn't pull her up. Instead, everyone who tried to pull her up turned pale and retreated in fear, not daring to touch her.

"Oh no, oh no. It's gotten dirty."

"It's probably a water ghost, everyone scatter quickly."

"Scatter, scatter."

The crowd dispersed. The eldest brother tried to pull Lin Yuan away, but Lin Yuan wasn't afraid. He immediately grabbed his third daughter-in-law. When his hand touched her arm, he felt it was icy cold. A chill ran through him, making him shiver involuntarily, and even the strength in his hand weakened by a third.

He felt a mixture of sorrow and joy. He was happy to have unexpectedly found a ghost that he could use to test the mirror, but he was saddened by the plight of Brother Lin and his family.