Chapter 14: The Bandit on Horseback "Grass Floating"

  Dealing with bandits is never a pleasant thing, let alone dealing with a notorious greedy and lustful bandit leader. In China's ancient history, many people had dealings with bandits to varying degrees, among whom were merchants like Sima, who even deliberately sought out bandits to facilitate their business.

  However, Sima was clearly unwilling to deal with those legendary bandits. But at this time, Sima had no choice but to deal with the bandits and even took the initiative to contact them to pay protection fees. In Sima's view, this matter of paying protection fees voluntarily was probably the most absurd thing he knew. But this is the fact, in a place like Kouwai, Sima wanted to do things like recruit workers and build factories, but without the promise of those bandits, it couldn't be done at all.

  Anxiety, fear, excitement and other emotions were surging in Sima's heart. Although he was unwilling to have any dealings with the bandits, once he thought that he would soon see those bandits who had been roaming outside for over a decade, Sima obviously found it hard to control his emotions. After all, these bandits were more like legendary figures from movies to Sima.

  "Young master, don't worry. Although these bandits are greedy and lustful, they still keep their promises. Since we've made an appointment with them to discuss something, they'll definitely show up. No one would dare break this rule." Gao Chuanliang's words were meant to comfort Sima, but at the same time, he was also comforting himself. Although he had never heard of these bandits doing anything bad, the person they were waiting for now was a notorious bandit leader - Cao Shangfei.

  This grassland was once a green camp soldier more than ten years ago, and somehow hooked up with the county magistrate's concubine. After the incident, he killed the county magistrate and fled. In these more than ten years, the number of people who died at his hands is probably not two hundred, but one or two hundred. As soon as he thought about meeting this murderous bandit chief, Gao Chuanliang couldn't control his trembling legs.

  Gao Chuanliang glanced at Sima Young Master sitting in front of the dinner table and couldn't help but think that he was quite good. Although this Sima Young Master usually seemed a bit like a young master from a wealthy family who didn't understand the ways of the world, his current behavior made Gao Chuanliang sigh in admiration. He sat in his chair, sipping tea by himself, seemingly not taking the matter on the grass to heart. Watching Sima Young Master's demeanor, Gao Chuanliang also felt a sense of relief wash over him.

  If Gao Chuanliang knew why Sima was so calm, he would probably be able to revive even the dead. Sima wasn't not nervous, but his impression of bandits and horse thieves mostly came from movies and TV shows. Although the bandits and horse thieves in the movies and TV shows were greedy for wealth and sex, and even indiscriminately killed people, most of the time they were portrayed as heroic outlaws. What's there to be afraid of such people? As long as one's own conditions are suitable at the time, that's all.

  "Thud... thud... thud..." At this time, only the sound of horseshoes came from outside the restaurant, accompanied by some men's and women's cries of surprise. Along with the men's loud laughter, the horseshoes stopped in front of the restaurant.

  "The big boss, that's what the young master of the Kong family said this place is." A ruffian outside the restaurant, riding a horse with a large knife on his back and a pistol at his waist, spat out saliva and loudly shouted while pointing at the signboard of the restaurant.

  "Fourth brother, you stay behind and keep me company. The others have all dispersed. If you want to call a prostitute, go ahead and do so, but don't loiter around on the streets and interfere with people's business. And when you call a prostitute, don't forget to give her money, or else I won't let you off lightly." A middle-aged man jumped down from his horse and handed the reins to a young fellow standing beside him, saying this to his subordinates.

  "Hey, don't worry! Our boss isn't some cheap bastard who doesn't pay. The surrounding rascals gave themselves a holiday with a loud cheer, and in the midst of thunderous laughter, over ten big men on horseback dispersed in all directions."

  "Grandpa... Grandpa, please come in. I've been waiting for you." The restaurant owner knew at a glance that this old man was the one he had been waiting for in the back room. As soon as he thought about it, the restaurant owner regretted letting greed blind him yesterday and forgetting that this old man was indeed the notorious bandit "Grass Floating".

  "Big brother, it seems that the young master from the south has a rather large appetite!" The middle-aged man with a somewhat gloomy and lean face said in a low voice.

  "Haha! Old Fourth! But it's just a chick from the south, besides, as long as someone sends us silver flowers, that's all that matters." The middle-aged man with a strong back and sturdy waist walking in front didn't think so much, in his opinion, as long as someone sent him silver flowers, what's the big deal about putting on a show and having some extra face and money?

  "It must be that young man, the one the Kong family's young master was talking about, the young Master Sima from Guanli," said the middle-aged man as he lifted the curtain of the inner shop and saw only two people sitting inside, a young man and an old man in his fifties. He looked at the young man again, who was sitting on the upper seat facing the door, took a sip of tea, raised his head and glanced at him.

  "Great audacity! You must be the young master Sima who has come to this place to do big business, as mentioned by the Kong family's young master. I've long admired your name." Although the middle-aged man didn't care much about fame, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when the young master looked at him with a nonchalant attitude, but at the same time, he couldn't help but praise the young man's boldness.

  "Haha! I suppose you're the famous 'Grass Floating' boss. The middle-aged man in front of him, with a full beard and a short jacket, had a pistol and a large knife at his waist. Although he didn't quite match Sī Mǎ's imagination of the bandit leader, he wasn't far off either. Just then, Sī Mǎ noticed that the expression on Grass Floating's face seemed somewhat off, probably because he had been staring at him just now, causing him some displeasure."

  "I hope the master will forgive me, a junior, for my rashness. I suppose the master wouldn't even notice such trivial things as silver and gold. Please accept these few foreign watches as a gift." Seeing that the expression on the master's face was not quite right, Sima hastily asked Gao Chuanliang to bring out the gifts they had prepared in advance and present them.

  "Foreign watches! Such items are useless to our group of rough men. Thank you for the kind intention, Young Master Sima." Cao Shangfei said that the gift was useless, but he signaled Old Fourth to accept it. Although they were just a few foreign watches, Cao Shangfei knew that they were worth at least a thousand taels of silver. It's rare to receive such a generous gift as soon as they met.

  "I don't know why Master Sima asked me to meet with you all today." The old fourth inserted, asking as he took over the gift box.

  "Who is this?" Sima felt a bit surprised at the sudden interruption from beside him. According to the movie, among these bandits and horse thieves, they attach great importance to respecting their elders. Like now, when the master of the house was talking to others, someone interrupted, clearly not putting the master in his eyes. In the world of bandits, this is considered too much.

  "Haha! He's my fourth brother. What he says is no different from what I say." Cao Xing felt completely at ease with his own fourth brother, and if it weren't for this fourth brother's efforts in the past to help him out and come up with strategies, he probably wouldn't have become the head of the large Ma Bang gang.

  "It's actually Fourth Master, I've long admired you." Sima Gong said, and with one look at this person's face, he knew that someone like him was absolutely the kind of person who had a belly full of evil water. One had to be careful around such masters.

  "It's actually not a big deal, my brother is about to recruit some refugees from the north of the village to build a factory, and I hope the master can help out more at that time. My brother will definitely thank you." Sima directly got to the point, sometimes with people like this, the more you beat around the bush, the more suspicious they become, and it may even have the opposite effect.

  "What a big deal, no need to thank me. From recruiting refugees to work to doing good deeds, as long as Master Sima follows the rules, I'll guarantee that Master's factory will be safe and sound outside this city gate." Although he had already heard from the Kong family's young master beforehand, now he just looked at how much silver Master Sima was willing to offer.

  "The rules are set and I am willing to follow the usual practice of Kong Family Village. I don't know what the master's intention is." Following the rules of Kong Family Village means one thousand dan of grain per year, with half refined and half unrefined grains, plus 100 taels of silver as a filial piety gift for each of the three festivals. Calculating it, following this rule would be perfect. According to Gao Chuanliang's intention, it is also the same.

  "Hehe! Young Master Sima, don't put yourself on the same level as those peasants who dig in the dirt for food. It would tarnish your status." Fourth Brother, who was listening from the side, hastily interjected before the master of the house could make a decision, clearly trying to stop him from agreeing to this request.

  "Master Sima's factory earns and spends amounts that can't be compared to those of the Zhuang family. If we follow the rules of Kong Family Village, I'm afraid someone will say our master has broken the rules. Later on, I'm afraid..." Old Fourth's voice was as gloomy as his face.

  "Is the eldest also this meaning?" Sima asked, but felt that the old fourth's excuse was a bit far-fetched. "This is that and that, something like sullying one's identity, isn't it just wanting to swindle two more?"

  "Hehe! Fourth brother's meaning is my meaning, please forgive me. As for the silver money grass floating around, I never thought it was too much. Now that Old Four can get more, he should get more. Luckily, Old Four restrained himself or else I would have almost agreed just now."

  "Master! Look..." Although facing Cao Xueqin, Gao Chuanliang couldn't help but tremble with fear. However, the situation had already become precarious, and if they failed to negotiate, it might lead to unnecessary trouble. Gao Chuanliang whispered a few words in Sima's ear.

  "Big boss, Fourth Master always says so. If little brother says anything more, it's likely to lose face for Big Boss and Fourth Master. Little brother is willing to add two percent to the example grain in Kongjiazhuang, and five percent to the example silver. I wonder how the two bosses feel about this!" Adding a few hundred bundles of grain and dozens of big dollars means nothing to Sima, as long as the grass on the surface can guarantee that no one will come to rob the factory like he said earlier.

  "Add five percent grain, two percent silver!" Old Fourth said casually. In a place like the border, food was much more important to horse bandits than silver. Silver could be obtained by robbing merchants, but food was different. Without silver, it was hard to rob, and without food, even the largest horse group would eventually disperse. Moreover, adding five percent grain meant 500 dan of grain, which was equivalent to several thousand taels of silver, far more than the two percent silver.

  "Alright! No problem! I hope that in the future, both Dàzhāngjiā and Sìdàzhāngjiā will take care of many things!" However, it's just a matter of adding several hundred loads of grain, if it really doesn't work out, he can just turn around and pull a cart over himself, this year should be enough. The conditions seem not bad, so Sima Sheng hastily agreed to the two masters in front of him.