Chapter Forty-six: A Fierce Strike

  Dongshan Township has been most concerned about a topic recently, it's not that the ugly daughter of Wang Lai's family got married and left, nor is it that Xu Datou returned to his hometown after traveling.

  This demon snake was dug out when digging a sweet well, according to the vivid description of eyewitnesses at that time: The body of this demon snake is 10 zhang long, its head is as big as a dou, with horns on its forehead, and its whole body emits golden light, which is an omen of a snake transforming into a dragon. After being startled by villagers, it swallowed three people in one go and flew away with the wind.

  This is still the original version, passed down later, the snake has become a hundred feet in size, not awakened by people, but emerged from the ground on its own, eating nearly a hundred people. At that time, there were several loud thunderclaps in the sky, and Lei Gong also wanted to kill the snake with lightning, but unfortunately, the snake's magical powers were boundless, and it only suffered minor injuries. After riding the wind and escaping into Mount Fu, now as long as you are not far from Mount Fu, you can hear the snake's intermittent hisses. Wang Pozi also saw thick clouds of evil spirits deep in Mount Fu, and swore that this snake was about to transform into a real dragon.

  Of course, these versions can only deceive outsiders who come to Dongshan Township to collect medicine. Many people who have personally experienced the snake demon incident at that time are indeed true, such as Li Tingchang. However, it is not necessary to tell outsiders because of the snake demon incident. In recent days, many outsiders have come to Dongshan Township, and many hunting households have sold their prey at a good price. Although Li Tingchang did not know the phrase "popularity brings benefits", his experience was indeed real.

  Xu Datou naturally heard the most authentic version, so when Xu Datou declared that he wanted to enter Fushan and kill the demon snake, Li Tingchang did not object at all. The more noise, the more commotion, the better. As a result, even the county magistrate had Li Tingchang go to the county government office once, asking him about the matter of the demon snake in person, and encouraging him greatly. After this incident, it is possible that this Li Tingchang will rise to an even higher position.

  Just as Li Tingzhang was enjoying himself, a more shocking piece of news came from Xishan Township. It was also about the snake monster, but it wasn't that the snake monster was eating people, rather it was going to learn how to do business like humans. When he heard this news, Li Tingzhang was drinking wine and his cup was shaken out of his hand.

  This news was spread by Bolan Fuzi, and after he returned, without even resting, he called over Cui Shi Alan and others to ask questions. Cui Shi Alan originally didn't want to say anything, but after hearing Jiulang say that Fuzi had also met with the master, she finally told Bolan Fuzi about their encounter with Lin Bei in the mountains and several transactions with him. Bolan Fuzi asked some more details before finally deciding on a plan.

  Mr. Bian first gathered all the gentry and village heads in the countryside, and naturally, there were also people like Cui Shi Alang who followed him. Later, at the meeting, Mr. Bian announced that he was ready to recruit students, regardless of whether they were commoners or merchants' sons, as long as they came, he would teach them.

  This was a bombshell, and before these people came to their senses from the explosion, Bo Fu Zi lightly said Lin Bei's affairs again, and let Cui Shi Alan say it again. These rural scribes were suddenly in an uproar, shocked to the point of disorientation.

  A strange snake, it's actually learning human commerce and exchanging goods with people, this is simply a huge sensation. If an ordinary person were to say this, they would definitely be ridiculed, but the one who said this was Bian Fu Zi.

  In this era, the status of scholars is quite high. Among the four occupations of scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant, scholars are ranked first. Scholars have many privileges, such as not having to bow when meeting officials, and being able to enter the county government office to scold the county magistrate. Bian Fuzi is a well-known scholar in the entire Hepu County, and has connections with many other scholars, so his words carry significant weight.

  After notifying these villagers, Bo Fu Zi gathered the villagers again and told them the same thing. Cui Shi Ah Lan also repeated it once more before closing the door to thank the guests.

  Bian Fuzi was quite clever, and he knew that once he spread this rumor, the Western Mountain Village would be stirred up by it, with countless people coming to his door. Bian Fuzi didn't want to explain himself one by one to these people, so he simply shut his door and refused to see anyone, which was just as well since he also needed to prepare for his lectures.

  Xishan Township was indeed shaken as Master Bian had expected, and the news had already spread throughout the county, then spreading to several surrounding counties. This was a rumor about a monster.

  Ancient people actually believed in ghosts and gods, many of which were passed down vividly, but it's certain that no one had ever seen them before they suddenly appeared right in front of everyone. The shock is imaginable. Whether it was street idlers or gossiping women, they all spread the word, and within a day, even deaf people knew that there was a serpent king in Mount Fu.

  The husband and wife closed their doors and refused to see guests, but the eight members of the Cui family were in a difficult situation. Countless people ran to their home to ask questions, even the village head went there, and finally the county magistrate summoned them to the hall for questioning. After repeated interrogation, all eight hunters became thin.

  Things like this have a rule, when you first hear about it, you don't quite believe it, need to keep asking, then believe half of it, and finally see the real thing before thoroughly believing it. By that time, the most farsighted people will often take action first.

  Zhen's Store in Hepu County Town.

  Hezhou Prefecture has jurisdiction over five counties, namely Hepu, Xuhui, Gaoliang, Linyun and Zhuyai. Among them, Hepu County and Hezhou Prefecture have the same name, so it is the most prosperous. Dongxi Shanshui is under the jurisdiction of Hepu County, Hezhou Prefecture, which is only one day's journey from Hepu County.

  Zhen's store was located in Hepu County, and at this time, several people were talking about the snake demon in the back hall of the store.

  Zhen Ding is a collateral branch of the Zhen family, as one of the wealthiest grain merchant families during the Three Kingdoms period. The Zhen family has business establishments in many regions, and Zhen Ding is the general manager of the southern region's business establishment. The Zhen family's management philosophy is quite advanced, where every three years, the managers and accountants of each major business establishment need to rotate once. Zhen Ding's term is almost up, and he has received news that his replacement is already on his way.

  As a concubine, after returning to the clan, she would almost certainly be idle, and Zhen Ding would not be an exception. Recently, Zhen Ding has been very anxious, thinking of many ways to make her future life better, but none are guaranteed, as ultimately it depends on Zhen Rong, the current head of the Zhen family.

  The rumor of the snake spread to Zhen Ding's ears, and he thought it was a great opportunity given by heaven. He had long heard that Zhen Rong loved his newly born sister, who should be called Zhen Miao, also known as Zhen Ding's cousin. This cousin was said to be clever and had been praised by the fortune teller Liu Liang as being noble beyond words. Zhen Rong was extremely delighted and often used rare objects from various places to please her. Although there were no other things in Nanyue, there were many rare objects, and where did these rare objects come from? Naturally, they came from the mountains.

  So whether you believe it or not, Zhen Ding has to give it a try. As long as he can find some strange objects that others have never heard of and make his cousin happy, then his own life will be comfortable from now on.

  P.S: Continued collection and recommendation are needed.