Chapter 58: The Castle

  Li Qian saw Ma Chao, and naturally was delighted. He jumped off his horse, quickly walked up, hugged Ma Chao, pinched the little kid's cheeks, and laughed: "Little Chao, how did you come here? Why aren't you with Ah Da together?"

  Ma Chao hugged Li Qian's neck and replied, "We all came together with Ah Da. We heard from Li Ah Da that we can live in the castle afterwards, so everyone came together. Uncle Li, did you bring sugar for Xiao Chao?"

  Li QIN burst out laughing, after all, he's still a kid, and he actually remembered what Li QIN said to him before leaving. Li QIN said: "I brought it, of course I did, not only sugar but also other delicious things, you can eat as much as you want."

  Jia Yun, Wei and others saw him afterwards, all smiling, this little kid is really lovely, so young and especially likable, and also very brave, what a big man!

  Li Qin carried him on horseback, and they entered the village together. Such a large group of people entering the village would normally cause the villagers to come out to greet them, but after they entered the village, they found that except for a few old men, there was no one else in the village.

  These old men saw Li Qin return, bringing back so many people and horses, and they hurried out to greet him, pulling on his arm and asking him all sorts of questions, all of them were excited beyond measure. They were all elderly villagers from Fu Jiao Village, who had watched Li Qin grow up since he was a child, and regarded him as their own son or younger brother, so there was no need for reserve, they asked whatever came to mind.

  No need for Li Qinxin to explain in person, Xu Xiaoni and Shen Yi rushed up, spitting wildly, speaking in vernacular, telling the whole story of what happened during this time in Long County. The old people listened with amazement, and seeing so many treasures, they were overjoyed, their mouths couldn't close.

  Li QIN asked the villagers where they had all gone, and if they were going to repair the castle. The old men said yes, now the village population has surged, many people from other villages have come to help Fu Jiao Village repair the castle, so that they can get a mouthful of food to eat.

  Li Qin was delighted to hear that, as long as the castle could be repaired, it would be great. When Feng Cheng left, he said that it would take about a month to repair, and Li Qin had also been away for a month, so he estimated that the repairs were almost done, and the castle should have taken shape by now!

  He rushed to the soldiers and shouted: "Everyone is tired, don't unload the car for now, let's go to the castle right away and take a look, and let everyone see what we brought back, so that everyone can be happy."

  The horned soldiers responded with a loud roar, they had gained such great benefits, all wanting to show off in front of people, and Li Jin's words were exactly what they wanted to hear. The large group of people hadn't even entered the village before they set out again, hurrying towards the castle on the plain.

  Xu Xiaoni jumped onto the horse's back and shouted: "Brother Qin, you all walk slowly, I'll go ahead and report the news!"

  Li Qin laughed and said: "You go!" Turning his head to Jia Yu, he said: "Brother-in-law, look at Xiao Ni. Being a messenger is just right for him. He especially likes to talk about things with others!"

  Jia Yu's mouth twisted to one side, and before he could say anything, he heard Dian Wei say beside him: "Young master, ask Mr. Jia this question, and he will only give you one answer..."

  "A commoner!"

  Dian Wei laughed and said: "I knew you'd say that, in your eyes, no one is a match for you!"

  Jia Yu glared and said: "A commoner would just speak nonsense, I never said everyone else was a commoner."

  Dian Wei nodded and said: "Yes, yes, others are not all rascals, but you are even more so...you are..."

  Everyone looked at him together, although they didn't say anything, but what they meant was, what is Jia Yu?

  Dian Wei said with a smile: "Mr. Jia is not just an ordinary man, but an old rascal!"

  The crowd burst into laughter, even the horsemen couldn't help but laugh. They had been listening to Jia Yu and Dian Wei's verbal sparring all along, and at first, Dian Wei was completely defeated, unable to counterattack in the slightest. But as they continued to exchange blows, Dian Wei suddenly turned the tables and countered with a single move, leaving Jia Yu stunned!

  Li Qin also laughed and said: "Tiger's body can't be spoken of, my brother-in-law is not old, he's still young, otherwise how could he marry my sister?"

  Because Dian Wei's body shook, he became his long worker, so he called and called him Tiger Body. Not only did he call him that, but others did too. Dian Wei naturally knew the origin of these two words, and he didn't get angry either. Of course, Jia Xu never called him that, always referring to him as a common man. Very few people were not called "common man" by Jia Xu. Those who scolded him would be scolded back, and today he became an old common man!

  The whole way was filled with joyful voices and laughter as the large group of horses and carriages rushed towards the riverbank.

  Not yet arrived at the riverbank, still several miles away, a large crowd of people came rushing over from that side, with more than 300 men and women, shouting and making a big noise!

  Li Tian, although older in years, was riding on Xu Xiaoni's horse, while Xu Xiaoni led the horse and ran at the front, closely followed by Old Man Xu.

  Xu Lao's face was flushed with excitement as he ran, shouting: "Little Niu, slow down, don't overturn the carriage for Li Da Bo!" His son had made a name for himself and become Li Dazhuang's trusted aide. This all showed that Xu Lao had vision when he forced his son to serve under Li Qin back then; otherwise, would they have achieved such glory today?

  Li Qin saw his father and immediately galloped away, waiting until he was close before dismounting and kneeling on one knee, calling out: "Father, your son has returned!"

  Li Tian's face was full of smiles, Li Qin had a good future ahead of him, he was happier than anyone else. He was helped down from his horse by Xu Xiaoni and said: "Son, you're back, it's all good that you're back safely!" He hugged Li Qin tightly, looking him up and down, afraid that his son might have suffered some hardship on the road.

  The armed men dismounted their horses together, knelt down in unison and said in chorus: "Greetings, Uncle Li!"

  Li Tian hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, everyone is fine." At this moment, a giant of a man stepped forward with large strides, knelt down in front of him and called out, "Master, Chang Gong Dian Wei, paying respects to Master!"

  Dian Wei's identity and the Fu Hua soldiers are different, not a superior and subordinate relationship, but rather as family members. If he also wore armor and went to battle with Li Kui, then it would be Li Kui's private armed forces, personal bodyguards.

  Li Tian was stunned, thinking: "A son-in-law? My family has a son-in-law?" Before he could react, Jia Yu came over and said: "Father-in-law, your son-in-law is paying his respects to you!" He then performed the ritual of a daughter's husband greeting his father-in-law and knelt down before Li Tian.

  So many people knelt down to Li Tian, he was a bit unaccustomed, murmuring: "How did you suddenly become so polite?" For a moment, he forgot to let everyone get up, and only supported his son alone.

  Suddenly, someone behind called out: "Gentlemen, no need to be too polite, please get up quickly!" The speaker was Old Master Jia. The old man ran over with a sweaty head, but he couldn't bear to let others kneel to him, yet he insisted on calling them to rise.

  "Father, you've come too!" Jia Xiang hastily moved over and made way for his father to kneel.

  Mr. Jia helped Jia Yu up, speaking loudly, which could be described as shouting, and called out: "My son Jia Yu, with outstanding talent, leading the crowd on an outing, gaining countless wealth, with the greatest merit, all of you pay your respects..."

  Everyone listened together and curled their lips, Dian Wei was the most surprised. Jia Xu could boast, this old man looked like his father, and he could actually boast more than his son, and he did so shamelessly! He said: "This is an even older old match..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Li Qin turned around and shouted loudly: "Shut up! Don't spout nonsense!"

  Dian Wei chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I know. Actually, I didn't even want to finish saying that!" He was originally a straightforward person who didn't like to joke around, but after spending more time with Jia Xu, he also started to think crookedly, speak sarcastically, and tease people for fun.

  At this time, the people behind came running over, and He Shi, Li Jia, and Jia Mu were among them. He Shi saw Li Qin and called out: "Son, son, you've come back! Come quickly and let your mother take a look!"

  Li Qin hastily went up and spoke with He Shi, his mother looked at him, he also looked at his mother, but saw that He Shi had gained some weight, and her face no longer had a sorrowful expression, it was clear that she had been living well during this period. Li Jia followed behind He Shi, smiling at her younger brother, while Jia Yu also hurried over, the family reunited, and they couldn't help but talk about their time apart.

  Everyone was amazed and asked questions, looking at the large team of horses and carriages. They all praised them, especially those camels, which were a kind of livestock that only the rich could afford to raise. Ordinary people couldn't often see them.

  Ma Chao searched for someone in the crowd, but didn't see his Ah Da and relatives. He called out: "Uncle Li, Uncle Li, let's go to the castle, my Ah Da is there!" The child was quite sensible, knowing that at critical moments, he should let his own family members talk to Li Qin. His Ah Da had repeatedly told him that in the future they would all have to follow Li Qin and live with her.

  Feng Cheng, who was also in the crowd, had not squeezed in and couldn't get a word with Li Qian. Just then Ma Chao shouted out, and he hastily picked up the conversation, calling out: "Li Lang, Jun Hou, let's go take a look at the city walls together! They're almost finished being repaired - I was in charge of it, I was in charge of it!" A rare opportunity, he hastened to show off his achievements.

  Li Qinfang said, "It's been a long and arduous journey. Alright, everyone, let's go take a look at the castle first. We can talk about everything when we get there!" He led the crowd, rushing towards the castle together.

  Riverbank, castle.

  A castle with a circumference of one mile, has already taken shape, and from the speed of construction, it is absolutely not slow. This is also related to Li Qinxin's promise when he left: to provide food for everyone, and after the castle is completed, those who contributed can move in and live there. This is equivalent to everyone building their own castle. Having a safe place to live and work is the common desire of the poor people on the border, with this expectation, everyone naturally worked hard to build it.

  On the castle wall, there were over a hundred people, both men and women, none of whom went to greet Li QIN, but all stood on the wall, looking out. Everyone's expression was tense, as if waiting for the moment when their fate would be decided.

  These people are all barbarians, and the leader is Ma Chao's Ah Da Zhong Lao Han. The place of Fuping County is very large, with Huren and Hans living together, almost as many Hans as there are Huren, half and half open. However, there are often conflicts between Huren and Hans, which is an unavoidable fact, and people of all ethnicities know it, and there is no need to avoid talking about it.

  When Li Qín was about to leave, he had invited Zhōng Lǎohàn to bring his clansmen over. After some deliberation, Zhōng Lǎohàn asked Mǎ Chāo many questions and confirmed that Li Qín was a reliable person before bringing the people over. They were of the Dī ethnic group, with a small number of Qiāng people, all impoverished herders who had lost their livestock and could no longer survive. After hearing Zhōng Lǎohàn's words, they came to rely on Li Qín, but they also worried that Li Qín might not accept them, fearing discrimination.

  Far away, Old Man Zhong saw Li Qin walking in the front and also saw the groups of horses and camels. Old Man Zhong swallowed a mouthful of saliva and shouted to his family members: "Don't just stand there! Hurry up and work hard, let Li Lang see that we're not idle eaters, quicken your pace, put all your strength into it, hurry!"

  Regardless of gender, the Huren people immediately became busy, all hoping to leave a good impression on Li Qian and take them in, allowing them to live in the castle.

  ——

  The first update is here. I wish everyone peace and seek your support, please collect it if you can. If brothers and sisters can collect the book "Master", I, Ping An, would be eternally grateful, thank you!