Chapter Twelve: The Great Sheep Beauty

  Li said he had eaten, but Jia insisted that he accompany him to drink, Li had no choice but to accompany him. The four of them sat on a broken wooden couch, surrounding a low table with missing legs propped up with stones, and started eating wine and meat.

  Li Qin took a sip of wine, furrowed his brow, he didn't drink when he was at Liu Sheng's house, but now that he did, the wine really felt like "water wine", it was truly as weak as water, and the color was murky, in his eyes, it looked pretty bad.

  Jia Zheng, however, became more and more exhilarated as he drank, boasting nonstop about the glorious past of the Jia family and how promising his son Jia Zhen was. He got so carried away that he jumped down from the couch, cleared his throat, waved his sleeves wildly, and sang a few lines in an off-key voice.

  This song and dance, apart from wildly waving sleeves, had no other skills, extremely ugly. It made Li Qian stare in amazement, Li Jia didn't dare to lift her head, while Old Lady Jia kept saying: "This old man, when he's not drunk, there's nothing wrong with him, but as soon as he gets a sip of wine, he starts acting like a madman, really has no good fate!"

  Li Qindao said: "What Auntie said is quite right, when my brother-in-law returns home in glory, Uncle will be the Duke of Guo, and good times are yet to come!"

  Jia Zheng finished singing and dancing, climbed up onto the couch, and laughed: "Still, Li Gong has insight, on a good day like today with wine and meat, he's still in the back. Come, come and keep Old Master company for another cup!"

  "Mrs. Jia scolded: 'You're still talking nonsense! Don't forget you're a Jia, even if you are a fake Tai Gong!'"

  Li QIN and Jia Ba laughed loudly, Li Jia couldn't help but laugh too. This meal was eaten with great joy, after dinner Li QIN slept in the main room, Li Jia gave him the quilt that Jia Yu had covered at home, and he also slept comfortably.

  The next day, Li Qin got up early and helped Li Jia chop firewood and carry water. He also climbed up the ladder to the rooftop, adding thatch and doing some repair work.

  Li Qin was just about to come down from the rooftop when he saw a crowd of people making a ruckus outside the alley, and to his surprise, they were driving sheep. The leader of the group was Liu Sheng.

  Liu Sheng saw Li Qin on the rooftop outside the alley and shouted loudly: "Brother, how did you get up there?"

  Li Qin picked up a handful of straw and shouted: "Repairing the roof!"

  Liu Sheng got off his horse and led it into the alley, followed by a servant herding a flock of bleating sheep. Li Qin hastily came down from the rooftop and ran to open the door.

  Liu Sheng handed the reins over to his servant and, after entering the courtyard, laughed and said: "Brother is very diligent. I came today to tell you that Huo Tan's illness has been cured."

  Li Qin looked up at the sky and said, "It's not even noon yet, is the illness gone?"

  Liu Shengdao said, "Actually, I was fine by last night. I squatted in the horse enclosure for a whole night, observing at all times. This morning, I personally decocted the medicine, and before leaving the house, the symptoms of carbuncle had almost disappeared. I reckon that with two days of good care, there won't be any illness left."

  Li Qindao said, "Since the symptoms have disappeared, then the medicine should not be taken again. Right, Brother Liu came here just to tell me this?" Shouldn't he come in person to thank him and bring gifts?

  Liu Sheng was about to speak, but saw Jia Zheng walking out of the house. He hastily stepped forward and paid his respects, saying: "This must be Mr. Jia, I am Liu Sheng, paying my respects." He had never met Jia Zheng before, but had inquired about him beforehand. Out of gratitude towards Li Qiang, he also took the opportunity to pay his respects to Jia Zheng.

  Jia's father was overjoyed. Liu Sheng was not only the richest merchant in Fuping, but also the head of the Dalang tribe. In the county, except for the county magistrate, he was the most powerful person, and even the county magistrate had to show him respect. Such a big shot now personally came to his door and paid respects to him, it's really giving him face!

  He hastily returned the courtesy, but it was clear that Liu Sheng had only given a greeting and didn't care about him anymore, which made him feel somewhat disappointed. He turned his head to take another look, seeing his old wife and daughter-in-law hiding in the house. He let out a soft sigh, thinking of Jia Yu's arrival, when would his son come back, so he could truly show off!

  Liu Sheng smiled at Li Qin and said, "Brother, I came this time to thank you... No, it's not that brother can't say thank you, but rather I came to see you and also to apologize!"

  Li Qin sighed and said strangely: "Please explain, where did this come from?"

  Liu Shengdao said, "You and I are brothers, so I should go to your home to pay respects to Uncle Li and Auntie Li. However, you also know that as the elder brother, I am currently busy with work and can only go after a few days. This is delaying my visit to the two elders, don't you think this is a mistake? Shouldn't I apologize for it?"

  "It's not that serious, what's the point of this!"

  Liu Shengdao said: "In order to apologize to the two elders, I have brought a cart of wine and food, as well as twenty fat sheep. You won't find a twenty-first sheep as fat as these in all of Fuping. And then there's this horse..." He pointed to the fine horse he had ridden in on, "This horse may not be as good as Huo Gan's, but it is still a rare and excellent steed, with a gentle temperament, making it most suitable for riding."

  "This gift is really too generous, it's almost the entire family fortune of a noble family. Li Qin waved his hand and said: 'No, no, how can I accept such a thick gift?'"

  Liu Sheng said loudly: "Brother, you're talking nonsense! What I'm saying is not right! This isn't a gift I gave to you, but something I used to apologize to the two elders. How can you say you won't accept it? If you don't accept it, that means you won't let the two elders forgive me, and that's looking down on me! If you look down on me, I'd rather die! Is there a well in this courtyard? I'll jump into it!" He said, pretending to throw himself into the well.

  Li Qinchao burst out laughing, grabbed Liu Sheng and said: "Brother Liu, absolutely cannot be like this, I'll take these things!" When others come to give gifts, if you don't accept them, it will make people want to jump into a well. Even if they pretend to want to jump, that's not okay!

  Liu Sheng was delighted, saying: "Brother, if you're short of anything at home, come to my place and take it. What's mine is yours. I'd be happy if you came to take it. If you don't come... no problem, I'll have it delivered to you!"

  Li Qīn's prescription, to himself, is nothing special, but to Liú Shèng, it's a priceless treasure. Liú Shèng can't think of how to repay him, he has already made up his mind that from now on, whatever Li Qīn wants, he will give it to him, this brother must be befriended!

  After chatting and laughing for a while, Liu Sheng left his servant to watch the sheep and horses, and then bid farewell to return home. He was worried about Huo Tan and didn't dare leave Bao Ma for too long. Li Qin checked the gifts and found that in addition to the fine horse and sheep, there were also many other things on the carriage, including not only the medicines bought yesterday but also over a hundred kilograms of dried meat, ten jars of fine wine, and even pickled vegetables and seasonings.

  Have the servant bring down three jars of wine and some pickled vegetables, as well as half of the dried meat. Li Qin handed them over to Li Jia, leaving them for food. The work at the Jia family's place was almost done, and according to plan he should head home now.

  Out of the yard, Li Qin looked at the fine horse. The horse's coat was black and shiny, although not as good as the sweat-blooded horse, it was also a good horse. However, the horse's equipment was somewhat out of place.

  On the left side of the black horse, there was a short rope hanging down, with a small triangular wooden stirrup tied to it. It seemed to be used for stepping on when mounting the horse. On the cowhide saddle, a leather cushion was tightly tied, and on both sides of the leather cushion, there were two long leather straps, with circular loops at the ends. From the appearance, it looked like a stirrup, but it could only be said that it was an embryonic form of a stirrup. Strictly speaking, it could only be considered as a leather stirrup, and compared to a real stirrup, there were still great differences.

  Li Qinxin thought: "Was the stirrup of the Han Dynasty like this? What's going on, why won't people in this era use such a simple thing as a stirrup? Or are they deliberately not using it to show off their superior riding skills?"

  He stepped into the stirrup and swung onto the horse. His riding skills were not high, in modern times he had spent money to ride a horse for a photo shoot, and had even run a few miles, but could only be said to be able to ride, and was far from being good at it. Fortunately, this black horse was as Liu Sheng had said, with a gentle temperament, quietly letting him ride, without making any sudden movements.

  As soon as Li QIN sat on the saddle, a servant came over and put the stirrup into Li QIN's foot. The servant asked: "Young Master Li, are you going out of the city now?"

  Li Qin nodded and said: "Go north, to Fu Jiao Village."

  The servant repeatedly responded and walked alongside the horse, while another servant caught up with the flock of sheep, drove a large cart, and followed behind Li Qin, leaving the city together.

  Li Qín turned around and shouted: "Sister, Uncle Jia, Auntie Jia, I'll come visit you again in a few days!"

  Li Jia and Mother Jia waved at him together, while Father Jia hugged the wine jar and said loudly: "Next time you come, remember to bring more wine, we'll drink together, I'll sing 'Guan Guan Ju Que' for you..."

  Li Qin quickly turned around and thought: "Forget it!"

  Out of the alley, turned onto the main road, not far away, I heard footsteps behind me. Li QIN turned his head and saw a large team of soldiers, hundreds of them, running over under the leadership of an officer.

  Each of the soldiers held a long spear and jogged along with a "huff puff" sound. The formation was quite loose, and their footsteps were even more chaotic, not at all like a military unit on the move. Some of the soldiers in the back would even step on the feet of those in front, causing them to lose their shoes. From time to time, a soldier would stop to pick up his shoe and curse loudly.

  Li Qin let them go first and asked: "Are they going to fight or exercise, what are they doing?"

  The servant on horseback said: "It's not time for battle yet, nor is it a drill. They are going out of the city to collect taxes!"

  Li Qinqu said: "Collecting taxes requires sending troops, and there are so many soldiers. Whose taxes are they collecting? Are they going to eat the wealthy?"

  The servant looked up and said in surprise, "Collecting taxes from the common people? If troops are not dispatched, who will pay their taxes? Even if soldiers come to the door, it's unlikely they can collect the taxes!"

  The servant who was driving the carriage behind said, "After winter is over, spring drought will arrive soon, and the Xiongnu people on the grasslands will surely come south to plunder. The official wants to prepare military rations in order to fight with the Xiongnu people. I heard that this year they will also recruit new soldiers!"

  The servant beside the horse snorted and said, "What's the point of recruiting new soldiers? I think it's just a way to exploit strong young men. They're only given one meal a day, then they're sent to their deaths. And that one meal isn't even guaranteed, it's all empty promises!"

  Li Qiwang gazed at the army and thought to himself, "It seems they are heading out of the North Gate. They can't be going to Fu Jiao Village, can they? The villagers are so poor they can barely afford to eat bran, how could they possibly pay taxes?"

  ——

  Ping An has been guarding the computer, and as soon as 12 o'clock passed, he quickly sent out today's first chapter. He sincerely asks brothers and sisters to vote for this book, hoping to collect and support it. Ping An thanks you!