Chapter 25: Hong Niangzi's Invitation (2/2)

  The wind is getting stronger and stronger.

  That small cloud on the horizon has turned into a thick cloud, covering the entire sky. The wind is howling loudly, and the blizzard is raging... The dark sky has merged with the snow-covered sea, nothing can be seen anymore.

  South of the ferry terminal, a ferry boat was moored.

  A tall mast stood at the bow of the boat, with a lantern swaying in the wind, flickering on and off.

  A horse carriage came slowly from afar and stopped at the ferry terminal.

  Zhang Wan-zhen got down from the carriage and boarded the ferry with Zhang Guan-shi. The coachman, braving the snowflakes, drove the horse carriage onto the boat. Several sailors also went to help, and for a while, the ferry terminal was bustling with noise, the neighing of horses unceasing.

  "Uncle Zhang, you said next to Cao's iron smelting furnace, why are there two water tanks?"

  Zhang Wanzhen stood at the cabin door, looking at the slightly chaotic ferry terminal, and suddenly asked in a low voice.

  Miss, how could I have guessed the subtleties inside? You, a talented lady, couldn't see through it, and I'm even less likely to... However, I think setting up two water tanks isn't a big deal, maybe they'll come in handy someday.

  "Hehe, using two sinks at the same time, how can it be for future planning?"

  And what's in that sink is definitely not water... Although I couldn't guess the mystery inside, I can be sure it has something to do with Cao Peng.

  Uncle Zhang, have you ever noticed that Cao Peng is different from ordinary people? He has many strange and peculiar ideas, he's a very interesting guy. Now I just want to figure out what exactly is being stored in the sink? Why is it being stored? And what special purpose does it serve?

  The wind is very strong, and the snow is also very heavy...

  But couldn't hide the desire for knowledge in the girl's eyes.

  Zhang Guanshi also couldn't help but shake his head secretly.

  This young lady is really different from other people's daughters. She spends all day studying strange and weird things, with a mind full of fanciful ideas. But her old father actually lets her do as she pleases... As a renowned scholar of Jingzhou, how did he raise such a daughter?

  Of course, this is just what Zhang Guanshi thought himself.

  He didn't dare say it out loud...

  Not to mention him, even the head of his own family might not go around talking about it.

  The Zhang family may have a good reputation in Nanyang County, but if we talk about real power, compared to the family behind this young lady, there is a world of difference.

  Forget it, she's interested if she's interested!

  Why should I be the bad guy if he doesn't say anything?

  Thinking of this, Zhang Guanshi felt much more at ease. "Miss, didn't you say you wanted to find Cao Peng to learn boxing? Just ask him then."

  Her nose twitched and the young girl hummed a tune.

  "That guy is very cunning, if there's a secret hidden here, he may not necessarily tell me."

  "It doesn't matter, he didn't tell me, I can find out myself... Oh, and one more thing. When we get back, please ask Uncle to prepare a yard for me, I want to do something. But this must be kept secret from my dad, or else he'll nag me again..."

  "I understand."

  Zhang Guanshi couldn't help but laugh and nodded in agreement.

  "Miss, the boat is about to set off, you'd better go back to your cabin, don't catch a cold."

  "Uncle Zhang, anyway, there's not much time left, I'll just stay here and enjoy the snowy view, you go ahead with your work, no need to worry about taking care of me."

  The girl is not very old, but perhaps due to her origins, this language carries an irresistible power.

  Zhang Guanshi thought for a moment and didn't say anything else. He walked to the back of the boat and shouted loudly: "Hurry up, hurry up... This snow looks like it's going to get bigger, we can't delay any longer. Park the carriage well... You take care of the horse, let's set sail!"

  The ferry slowly left the dock and headed for the opposite bank of the river.

  The girl looked at the snowy scene, but in her mind, she was thinking about another question: what secret was hidden inside that water tank?

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  The next day, Cao Peng got up early.

  Throwing on clothes and walking out of the room, I see a vast expanse of whiteness before me, and suddenly feel an empty and ethereal feeling in my heart.

  Did a few chest-expanding exercises and moved his legs and feet around. First, he gargled with salt water, then splashed some warm well water on his face.

  It seems like I have no choice but to make a toothbrush.

  Rinsing with salt water is good, but it's still not as habitual as brushing teeth.

  "Ah Fu, let's go!"

  Deng Ji called out Cao Peng's name at the gate.

  Yesterday evening Cao Ju slept late, but before Cao Peng went to sleep, he reminded him to go to the county town to buy some charcoal back.

  Later, this house will be handed over to Cao Peng for management. Some things also need to be slowly let him learn to deal with. Originally, Wang Meng said he could go buy it, but was rejected by Cao Jin. Coming to Jiyang for so long, it's also time for Cao Peng to get familiar with the environment here...

  It's strange to say!

  If it were in the past, Cao Qu would never have raised any objections.

  But it was on that day and after fighting with Ma Yu, Cao Jing gradually showed some changes.

  For example, he began to learn how to take charge and started trying to say "no" to others. This was unimaginable in the past. His somewhat weak personality, that kind of overly nice personality, had always made Cao Ju very passive in making changes. But now, he has begun to actively change, which is absolutely a good thing for the Cao family. After all, Cao Ju is now the master of this household...

  Buy coal while you can.

  Cao Peng took Da Hua's hand and walked out of the house with Deng Ji.

  "Ah Fu, wait for me."

  Wang bought a good dress and caught up with him, laughing and saying: "I'll go with you."

  "Aren't you practicing anymore?"

  "I'm practicing alone with no energy, let's go buy charcoal first and then come back to practice together."

  Cao Peng didn't mind, so he nodded and walked alongside Deng Ji, leading his horse.

  "Brother-in-law, have you been busy these two days?"

  Deng Jie rubbed his red nose, exhaled a mouthful of cold air, and smiled: "County Magistrate Kuai has returned to Xiangyang, I estimate he won't be back until after the 15th. These two days in the public house there's nothing much going on, apart from some simple official business, basically there's nothing to do."

  "Hehe, I guess after this year, it's going to be a bit busier."

  "Maybe..."

  Deng Ji is a pragmatic person who doesn't excel at socializing.

  However, due to Cao Peng's relationship with him, Kuai Zheng was very considerate of him.

  Deng was exiled to a village and has never returned. Ma Yu is still in prison, without any sentence.

  It's estimated that Kuang Zheng should have some results this time when he comes back from Xiangyang... Cao Peng, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be too worried and looks very relaxed.

  Chatting with Deng Ji all the way, they unknowingly arrived at the outskirts of Jiyang County.

  "Uncle Sun, I was just about to look for you."

  Before entering the city, a middle-aged man came running towards him.

  Cao Peng had indeed seen this person, vaguely remembering that he was also from Deng Village, and in terms of generation, he was still Deng Ji's uncle. What was his name? Cao Peng really couldn't remember very clearly, but seeing the middle-aged man, he still bowed respectfully to greet him.

  The middle-aged man slightly returned the courtesy and then pulled Deng Ji along, saying: "Hurry up and go, County Magistrate Kuai returned last night and gathered everyone early in the morning to discuss important matters."

  "Has Magistrate Kuai returned?"

  "Yes, I came back when the snow was falling heavily last night... Let's hurry up, County Magistrate Kuai is waiting for us."

  Deng Ji hastily agreed and turned to face Cao Peng and Wang Mai, saying: "Ah Fu, Hu Tou, you two follow this road all the way until you see three old locust trees, then turn right. About a mile or so away is Che Er Gou. You find someone named Wei Lan, his charcoal is the best."

  "Got it!"

  Deng Ji did not dare to delay any longer and hastily entered the city with the old official.

  Cao Peng and Wang Mai exchanged a glance, leading their horses along the path Deng Ji had mentioned.

  While walking, Cao Peng was thinking about things.

  Logically speaking, Kuai should have returned home before the New Year and stayed until after the ancestor worship ceremony. This time of year, the New Year's ancestor worship is a big deal, and without special reasons, it's impossible to absent oneself casually. Unless, Kuai was being ostracized by his family or had been punished.

  But it seems unlikely that Qu Zhenguo would have been punished and still be able to continue in his position in Juye County.

  This means something big must have happened!

  Cao Peng stopped in his tracks and muttered to himself: "Could it be that Cao Cao is going to attack Wan City?"

  In the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cao Cao felt threatened by Zhang Xiu's occupation of Wan City and his alliance with Liu Biao, so he hastily ended the ongoing Battle of Xu Province and returned to attack Zhang Xiu. However, Cao Peng couldn't quite recall the exact time, only remembering it was in the 2nd year of Jian'an.

  It is now the end of Jian'an 1st year, Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao have formed an alliance!

  If calculated according to this time, Cao Cao should have sent troops to Nan Yang County in a year.

  "A Fu, what did you just say?"

  "Uh... nothing!"

  Cao Peng smiled and said to Wang Mai: "Come on, let's hurry up and buy the charcoal back, then we'll go practice."

  "Good!"

  Wang Mai still looked nonchalant, excitedly leading the horse forward.

  Cao Cao is going to attack Wan City?

  This should be a dozen Wan Cheng, Cao Cao was the first to win and then lose, and suffered heavy losses. So what good can he get from this matter? Cao Peng thought about it, but found that at this time, he seemed to be just an onlooker, quietly observing the development of the situation.

  Isn't it that he ran over to tell Cao Cao: Zhang Liao will rebel, at that time your son, your nephew, and your great general will all die in battle?

  Not to mention whether they can see Cao Cao or not, even if they did, if they were to say these things in front of Cao Cao, their own lives would probably be in danger...

  Can't just watch it like this?

  Cao Peng felt a little regretful!

  No fame, no power, it's really a painful thing...

  ——————————————————————————————————

  Che'er Gou is a village with 28 households.

  Here every household makes a living by burning charcoal, and in winter it is also the most lively time.

  Cao Peng and Wang Mai soon found Wei Lan's residence, bought two large baskets of charcoal, and set foot on the road home. The prices in the late Eastern Han were not low, especially when Dong Zhuo was wreaking havoc on the world, he had issued a large amount of untextured coins, causing prices to skyrocket. One peck of grain required tens of thousands of coins, many people saved for a lifetime and might not be able to buy one stone of food, finally having no choice but to survive by selling their children.

  However, after Dong Zhuo's death, things began to take a turn for the better.

  Liu Biao is not a man who can accomplish great things, but in terms of governance, he indeed has some methods.

  He first abolished the Wuwen Qian coins issued during Dong Zhuo's time (small coins cast during Dong Zhuo's time, with a diameter of 1.2-1.5 cm and weighing 0.5-1 gram, also engraved with five copper characters, but because the font was blurred, it was later ridiculed as Wuwen Qian), adopting the full-value five-copper coin, causing prices to drop rapidly. Later, he joined forces with the Jing-Xiang aristocratic families to reward farming, repair water conservancy, and gradually stabilize the governance of Jingzhou.

  From this point of view, Liu Biao is still doing a good job.

  Cao Ju asked Cao Peng to buy a basket of charcoal, but considering the upcoming war, Cao Peng still bought another basket back.

  It seems like we need to buy more grain and store it up...

  Cao Peng thought to himself: Once the war starts, Jiyang will definitely be affected. At that time, prices will skyrocket, and it may be another trouble.

  Back home, unload the charcoal, Wang Ma led the horse into the stable.

  Cao Pengzheng wanted to discuss with Cao Ju about storing grain, but before he even entered the hall, he heard a burst of laughter coming from inside.

  We have guests!

  And it's also an old acquaintance, Hong Niangzi.

  Since experiencing the matter with Ma Yuna, Hong Niangzi and Cao Ju's family have become very close.

  Although this woman was not very educated, she was a clever and resourceful person. She could see that Deng Jia's family would have a good future, so whenever the Cao family had something going on, she would come to help out. As time went by, under Hong Niangzi's deliberate hospitality, she became increasingly close with Zhang Shi and Cao Nan.

  "Oh, it's Young Master who has returned!"

  Hong's daughter saw Cao Peng come back and immediately greeted him warmly.

  "Big brother, this is not yours... On such a cold day, how can you let the young master go out? In the future, if there's anything, just tell me. Anyway, my family's business isn't busy, so he can just go. Quick, sit down, quick, sit down, going out on a trip is tiring..."

  Hong's daughter had a smile all over her face, which made Cao Peng also somewhat at a loss.

  After the courtesy, Cao Peng was thinking of calling out Cao Jing to discuss something, but he heard Zhang Shi ask: "Peng Er, sit down first, I have something to ask you."

  "Mother, what's wrong?"

  "I heard that every morning, you and Hu Tou play together on the riverbank behind. What kind of games do you play?"

  Cao Peng was taken aback, "What's wrong?"

  "Are you practicing martial arts?"

  "Uh... yes!"

  This thing can't be hidden, and Cao Peng didn't plan to hide it either.

  However, he didn't tell anyone that he taught Wang Baoqiang boxing.

  So Cao Ju was fine, and Zhang Shi was also okay, they all thought it was Cao Peng following Wang to learn martial arts.

  Wang Meng did sense something was amiss, but Wang Mai didn't say anything, and he wouldn't pry either.

  It seems that Wang Mai has made rapid progress in his martial arts training after practicing with Cao Peng. The situation at home is clear to Wang Meng, and the things he taught Wang Mai couldn't have achieved such results. It's likely that Cao Peng has been giving him pointers. This sounds absurd, but Wang Meng isn't surprised. After all, Cao Peng used to follow a Taoist priest, who might have possessed great spiritual powers and taught Cao Peng some extraordinary techniques.

  Zhang smiled and said: "Peng'er, it's like this."

  These days when we came to Deng Village, your Aunt Hong helped a lot. She has a son named Deng Fan, you should have seen him... He's about the same age as you, and your Aunt Hong came to find me, discussing with me, wanting Deng Fan to practice martial arts together with you two.

  Hong's daughter's face showed an awkward smile, as if she was a bit embarrassed.

  Young master, I also know this is somewhat presumptuous.

  "It's just that kid at my house, getting older by the day, idle and causing trouble everywhere. I wanted him to learn a trade from his father, but he was unwilling, saying it's not worth it; I also wanted him to study, but he didn't have the talent for it. I heard that you two young masters have some great skills, so I thought of letting him follow you and learn... In these chaotic times, being able to practice some martial arts might even help him make a name for himself..."

  Cao Peng was stunned!

  "We need to ask Uncle Wang about this matter."

  Cao Ju said: "You Wang Bo has spoken, looking at your intention... If you are willing, he has no opinion."

  "Brother, your aunt has helped us a lot. When our family was in trouble, your sister also owed her for taking care of her. You decide what to do yourself."

  What's going on here? Am I supposed to take care of this myself?

  You've said so much, what can I do now?

  Cao Peng did know Deng Fan, but didn't have much of an impression.

  Then she thought for a moment and said to Hong's wife: "Auntie, if Brother Deng is willing, then let's go together!"

  Hong Niangzi's smile on her face suddenly became even more radiant.

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  Deeply grateful, seeking recommendations!