Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Li Shi left the courtyard, exchanged a few words with Lin Yuan, and together they carried Sun Jingang into the courtyard. He then introduced Lin Yuan to the third steward.

The three officials inquired about Lin Yuan's background beforehand and didn't ask any more questions, but they asked Sun Jingang a few more questions. After confirming that it was true, they immediately ordered someone to load Sun Jingang onto the carriage and invited everyone to have breakfast together, which was mutton soup noodles.

Lin Yuan drank two more bowls of mutton soup, feeling warm in his stomach. He then dozed off at the Li residence for a while, waiting for Hu Cai and the others to escort the tea leaves and the rest of the Black Snake Gang disciples over.

The three stewards led Li Shi out of the mansion and to Huang Shi's private residence in Hongliu Lane.

Huang Shi entertained the three stewards in the main hall, while Li Shi could only wait outside. He could hear the two men talking and laughing inside, showing no sign of tension.

After a while, the third steward told him to carry Sun Jingang into the hall, and then told him to leave.

The sounds inside the hall had become much lower, and Li Shi could no longer hear them.

After a long while, the third steward walked out of the house with a smile on his face. Huang Shi personally saw him off and helped him into the carriage.

On the carriage.

The third steward called Li Shi to his side, then took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and stuffed them into Li Shi's hand: "These are yours!"

"Third Master, it's me?" Li Shi was overjoyed to see that the notes were six in total, each worth one hundred taels from the Lizhou Merchant Bank and were issued by the Linyuan County Bank.

"Don't complain about the small amount. Without me, you wouldn't be able to control them!" The third steward made no attempt to hide the fact that he had taken the lion's share.

"Thank you, Third Master! From now on, as long as you call, I, Li Shi, will go through fire and water for you..." Li Shi immediately tucked the money into his robes, bowed deeply, and proclaimed his loyalty.

"Alright, enough with the empty talk." The third steward patted Li Shi's arm. "You're a smart one, so I might as well tell you in advance. This year, our Earl is going to be promoted to Earl of Lishui Pavilion! Your good days are yet to come!"

After saying this, the three stewards smiled knowingly.

"What? Lord Lishui Pavilion!" Li Shi was overjoyed.

"Keep your voice down! The Lord hasn't announced it yet, don't spread it around beforehand!"

"I understand, I understand!" Li Shi immediately thought of the ownership of the Carp Pavilion. "The Carp Pavilion?"

"From now on, it belongs to the Li family! However, the Zhang family's territory and businesses will still have to be largely reserved for them; this was agreed upon by both families. I plan to nominate you as the next village head, but there are other voices within the Earl's household, so don't get your hopes up too high!"

"Third Master, please accept Li Shi's bow!" Li Shi imitated someone and immediately expressed his gratitude, while also taking out a silver note and handing it over.

"What's given to you is given to you! Just do your job well! You'll have no shortage of ways to make money in the future..." After saying that, the third manager smiled.

"Li Shi understands, thank you for your guidance, Third Master! Third Master, we don't have enough of our own people in the pavilion, I'd like to recruit a few more..."

"The imperial edict from the capital hasn't arrived yet, so there's no need to rush. I'll give you a spot for catching thieves this time." The third steward thought for a moment, "Didn't you ask for a clerk position last time? My sixth brother's relative who was a clerk was transferred to the county government, so there's a vacancy there, and I'll give it to you too."

Li Shi wanted to try and get another spot, but seeing the third steward's unfriendly look, he could only say gratefully, "Thank you, Third Master!"

……

morning.

Lin Yuan felt relieved to see things developing in a positive direction, but the thought of Huang Shi made him feel bad again.

He always felt that the mirror wouldn't pick this case for no reason.

What happened next was beyond his control, so he simply decided to wait and see.

Once their companions had delivered the tea and the remaining Black Snake Gang members to the Li residence, everyone had completed their mission and dispersed.

Lin Yuan and the other two returned to the Hu family's courtyard, drank the medicinal food, and had breakfast together before heading to Little Peach Blossom Mountain.

They arrived a quarter of an hour late today; Instructor Hong had already arrived.

Lin Yuan quickly apologized, but Instructor Hong didn't say anything. However, the sound of whipping was quite loud today.

Is it easy to earn some extra money?

Lin Yuan was practically spinning like a top all morning, and coupled with not sleeping well last night, he felt dizzy and lightheaded. Hu Cai and Wu Yong were still trying their best to help him up, which almost made him want to curse.

By the end of the morning, Lin Yuan was finally able to regain his senses and just wanted to leave as soon as possible, but he saw Hu Cai winking at him and Wu Yong coughing incessantly.

Lin Yuan then remembered the matter of learning swordsmanship. Although he was unwilling to continue suffering under Instructor Hong, reason prevailed. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Instructor, the three of us disciples wish to learn swordsmanship, or even swordsmanship. We wonder if you could teach us a thing or two? We are willing to offer you our tuition."

The Red Instructor glanced at the three of them indifferently and said quietly, "I don't accept disciples. You can't learn my swordsmanship."

Lin Yuan was not surprised by the result; he felt both relieved and somewhat disappointed.

Hu Cai and Wu Yong both looked dejected.

"I can give you some pointers," the Red Instructor said as he turned and left.

The three looked at each other, puzzled.

Lin Yuan speculated: "I guess it's like when we learned Taizu Long Fist; we found someone to teach us swordsmanship, and then Instructor Hong would guide us in our practice!"

"If we learn swordsmanship, even Instructor Hong won't do anything about it?" Hu Cai wondered.

Wu Yong explained earnestly, "Instructor Hong is a mid-level martial artist. Her martial arts skills are extremely profound. She can recognize the routines and moves of our ordinary punches and kicks with just a glance."

"But where are we going to learn swordsmanship?" Hu Cai scratched his head. "How about we go to the martial arts school in town?"

"The Wu family also has swordsmanship, but..." Wu Yong looked down on the swordsmanship of the martial arts schools outside, and stopped midway through his sentence.

"Senior Brother Wu, there's no need to make things difficult for us. How can we learn your family's ancestral sword techniques? Senior Brother Hu and I will ask Li Tingzuo again. We'll learn a basic sword technique to use first, and then practice more advanced ones later," Lin Yuan said, revealing his true intentions.

Just then, Zhao Sheng suddenly ran over: "You guys have finally finished practicing. I've been waiting for half an hour."

Zhao Sheng's legs went weak whenever he saw Instructor Hong. Only after she left did he dare to come over and hurriedly urged, "Uncle is back. Come to Uncle's house for lunch and collect your reward money."

"Hey, let's go!"

The three of them immediately cheered up again.

We arrived at Li Shi's house.

Li Shixian gave each of the three a reward of fifty taels of silver, a large bagful of cash.

Lin Yuan had become accustomed to seeing silver over the past six months and was now used to it. Wu Yong, on the other hand, looked on with curiosity, holding the silver in his hands and playing with it, a smile on his face.

"Senior Brother Wu, you don't need those fifty taels, do you?" Zhao Sheng asked, puzzled.

Lin Yuan laughed and said, "This is the first time Senior Brother Wu has earned money on his own. What he's really excited about is the feeling of making money!"

"It's just rich young masters going to the countryside to experience life!" Hu Cai mimicked the words Lin Yuan had said in private.

"Ha ha……"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Wu Yong laughed along with them.

Li Shi pulled Lin Yuan into the inner room alone. Before they even sat down, he took out a one-hundred-tael silver note from his pocket and stuffed it into Lin Yuan's hand: "Junior brother, this is the one you solved!"

Li Shi was considered generous among the Li family members when it came to distributing money, which is why many people were willing to follow him.

"Is this blood from Huangshi?" Lin Yuan wondered.

Li Shi nodded: "That old thief is ruthless; only the third steward can handle him!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Lin Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and put the bag in his pocket.

Unexpectedly, solving Manager Wang's case would earn him a hundred taels of silver, and he suddenly had a new perspective on the mirror's filtering ability.

Perhaps the problem isn't with Yellowstone, but rather that the mirror can foresee how things will turn out?

Thinking of this, Lin Yuan's initial apprehension towards Huang Shi dissipated considerably.

It seems I'll have to try the mirror's filtering ability again in the future.

One hundred and fifty taels of silver came in a day!

Now that he no longer had to worry about money to learn martial arts, Lin Yuan felt much relieved.

"Didn't you want to become a clerk in the pavilion last time? The third steward has agreed, and the paperwork will be processed for you in a few days!"

"A clerk?" Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised.

Didn't they say that once we succeeded in tempering our bodies, they would recruit me and Zhao Sheng to work as thieves in the pavilion?

Why did you practice martial arts but end up entering the Carp Pavilion through studying?

"Junior brother, I won't lie to you. This time, the third steward only gave one spot for catching thieves. Gou'er's aunt is threatening to kill me every day. Sigh, after all, she gave birth to my only son, so I..." Li Shi told the truth, but then added fuel to the fire and shifted the blame to the woman.

"Senior Brother, you're too kind. Being a clerk is perfectly fine! Junior Brother is content!" Lin Yuan didn't mind at all. No matter how good their relationship was, it certainly couldn't compare to that of true relatives, and he never thought of comparing himself to Zhao Sheng.

Now, just being able to enter the Carp Pavilion is enough; having an identity allows one to access information that is otherwise unavailable to others.

Once he practices martial arts for a while longer and breaks through to the level of a junior martial artist, he can even become a bronze-level retainer in the Li family. Lin Yuan will have many options for his future career and will have no worries about making a living.

However, getting into the Immortal Temple is a bit difficult!

"I'm sorry to have troubled you this time, junior brother. I'll find you another job when there are openings for catching thieves in the future," Li Shi comforted him. "Actually, the monthly salary for catching thieves is only two dou of rice and fifty copper coins more than that for a clerk."

"Senior Brother, you flatter me." Lin Yuan had always thought that the monthly salary for capturing thieves was very high, but now he realized that it was only so little, not even enough for him to eat meat. He immediately laughed, "I don't need that little bit of rice."

Li Shi chuckled as well, and the two exchanged a knowing smile. How many officials cared about their monthly salary?

"Junior brother, I might as well tell you in advance that our Lord is going to be promoted to Earl of Lishui Pavilion! But don't spread this around!"

"Lord Lishui Pavilion!"

Lin Yuan was greatly surprised, but the rise of the Li family was a good thing and would benefit him.