Chapter 45: The Road of Danger (Seeking Collection and Red Tickets)

  The next morning, Lu Qi brought Xiao Yun and the messengers to the outside of Wansheng Hall on horseback. Two large empty carts were already parked outside, with more than 600 bags of medicine placed beside them. After the old man appeared, he told them that none of the medicines had been sealed, asking Lu Qi to inspect them himself, stating that after the transaction was declared complete, they would not be responsible and would not accept returns. It seemed that the old man had been intimidated by Lu Qi and had come up with this disclaimer.

  Lu Qi didn't expect the old man to make such a move, so he had to let Xiao Yun take a look. After resting for a night, Xiao Yun was full of energy and immediately threw himself into the task of identifying the medicine. During the identification process, the old man would occasionally come out to take a look, and he was greatly surprised by Xiao Yun's skill in identifying medicines. Later, when Xiao Yun encountered some doubts, the old man smiled and pointed them out, and Xiao Yun felt extremely happy to have found a mentor who could dispel his confusion. After verifying one-fourth of the medicine, more than an hour had passed, and Lu Qi wouldn't let him continue. He couldn't wait any longer, as he had to return to Wangjiang Fortress before nightfall.

  When setting off, Lu Qi solemnly apologized to the old man and asked for his name, Wang Fuquan. He handed over 2,100 taels of silver for the medicine, which was 1,383 taels that Lu Qi had plundered from Chen Hu, and also brought many more medicines purchased in San Yuan County.

  The medicine was light cargo, loaded onto two four-meter-long large carts that were as high as three meters, like two moving big houses. Each cart was pulled by two horses and was very easy to pull. Xiaoyun became the temporary driver of the lead cart, while the rear cart was directly tied to the tail of the lead cart with a rope. Under the escort of eleven knights, they left the county town of Sanyuan.

  Because the car was light and the people were in a hurry, after leaving San Yuan County, the two cars entered a small running state. Fortunately, the road was flat and didn't overturn the car. Xiaoyun was very excited to drive for the first time, and her pale and thin face was full of joy due to her happy mood.

  Lu Qi's mood had greatly improved, and he was able to buy the medicine smoothly, which made him very happy. If he didn't have his county official status, it would be almost impossible for him to buy wound medicine. His brother told him that in the city, the most profitable thing is wound medicine, which sells for a high price but is rarely considered expensive by people, often with profits of over ten times. Those commonly used medicines like wind-cold and diarrhea medicines have average profits. These two carts of medicine will at least earn 1,500 taels or more when they return, because the medicine prices in Shidao County are very high, mainly due to the high transportation costs.

  They walked for about half a time, when suddenly the sound of horseshoes came from behind, Lu Qi's heart tightened, thinking that it was unlikely to encounter robbers so soon. He made a gesture with his hand, and ten messengers immediately drew their bows and arrows, forming a tight array in preparation.

  Lu Qi turned his horse around, facing backwards, and looked into the distance to see dozens of riders rushing towards him. Upon closer inspection, they were all government troops. He was astonished that government troops would appear, wondering if it was just a chance encounter.

  Soon, dozens of government soldiers arrived, and they also aimed at Lu Qi and others with their bows and arrows. The two sides confronted each other, and Lu Qi's side was clearly at a disadvantage. Lu Qi rode his horse forward ten meters, looking at a middle-aged man with a red face in the middle of the government army. That middle-aged man, like his official uniform, was also a county lieutenant.

  "This official is Shi Duan County's Protector General, may I ask which esteemed sir is facing each other with bows and arrows?" Lu Qi asked loudly.

  A middle-aged man with a red face looked at Lu Qi and said in a deep voice: "You are the county lieutenant of Shizhen, why did you come to Sanyuan County? You told Wanshengtang that you came to Sanyuan on official business, but why didn't you go to the county government office to see your superior? Instead, you bought a large batch of banned medicine and hastily left the city."

  Facing a string of questions, Lu Qi calmly said: "This official is the Zhigua School Lieutenant in Xinghua Army, returned to his hometown to visit relatives and was temporarily appointed as the County Lieutenant to lead the suppression of bandits. This official came to Sanyuan County because Sanyuan County is peaceful, but Shidai County has a severe bandit problem, so this official's business in Sanyuan County is to learn good strategies for suppressing bandits, therefore there is no need to see you. In addition, this official will soon carry out large-scale suppression of bandits, and naturally there will be wounded soldiers, so this official bought some medicine to take back to the army for use."

  The middle-aged man with a red face was stunned to hear this. If the other party was a military officer, several ranks higher than him, although he was now in a position of power, but because it was a chaotic era, local officials were not willing to easily offend military personnel. This county lieutenant did not come to investigate Lu Qi's identity, but came with malicious intent for more than 2,000 taels of medicinal materials.

  The middle-aged man with a red face quickly changed his expression and, after driving out of the line, bowed and said: "It turns out that you are Lord Zhi Guo, the commander of the garrison. I was rude to you."

  Lu Qi felt relieved as he understood that the other party had come with malicious intentions, but now they were smiling and showing a friendly face, indicating that they had abandoned their evil intentions.

  He guessed correctly, as Lu Qi revealed that he was a military personnel and the reason for coming to San Yuan County was sufficient. The red-faced middle-aged man did not dare to kill him and take his wealth, fearing that Lu Qi's people would escape and also fearing that his subordinates would not keep their mouths shut. Killing a military officer of the rank of Zhong Jun would bring great disaster, and as a county lieutenant, he was not worth taking such a risk.

  Both sides exchanged a few pleasantries and parted ways amicably. The county lieutenant who had chased after them was the left county lieutenant of San Yuan County, named Pang Long. This man was very good at currying favor and was also cruel and greedy. If Lu Qi hadn't directly stated that he was a military officer, Pang Long would have definitely accused him of being a bandit and ordered his men to shoot him. Even if Lu Qi had managed to escape, he would have had nowhere to seek justice, as he had come to San Yuan County on private business.

  County Lieutenant Pang Long led the troops to leave, and Lu Qi quietly let Xiao Yun drive quickly. They ran out of the San Yuan County border before they felt relieved. Next, within the Taiping County border, they encountered no obstacles at all. When they returned to the Shizong County border, they happened to meet a bandit scout, but did not encounter a large group of bandits. They successfully returned to Wangjiang Fortress. This smooth journey made Lu Qi feel strange, but returning smoothly was a good thing, and he didn't think much about it.

  In the backyard of the pharmacy, Lu Qi gave each messenger thirty taels, ten more than promised. After distributing the silver, he sincerely said: "Everyone, you've worked hard for two days. I have some not-so-good news to tell you now. The county may not use me as a protector of the county lieutenant anymore, and in the future, I may not be able to work with you all again."

  The runners were shocked and delighted at having received thirty taels of silver, when Runner Du Meng hastily asked: "Sir, why did the county no longer employ you?"

  "The reason is simple, you also saw Lei County Wei and Song County Wei yesterday. With the powerful Lei County Wei suppressing bandits and protecting grain in the county, I am no longer of much use. When there are few things, they become precious; when there are many people, they compete for food - this is a very normal thing."

  Ten messengers looked at each other, all with disappointed and unhappy expressions. Lu Qi smiled and said: "Everyone, there are many paths in life, and I also consider you as friends. If I have the opportunity to rise up in the future, I won't forget about you."

  Du Meng said sincerely: "Sir, you are the most capable person I have ever seen. Even if you were not the county lieutenant, Du Meng would still be willing to respect you as sir. As long as you have something to say, Du Meng will listen at any time."

  Lu Qi nodded emotionally, and the messenger Wang Dao also suddenly became excited: "Sir, I, Wang Dao, am the same. From now on, whenever you need me, no matter how dangerous the task is, I will follow you."

  Lu Qi looked at Wang Dao with emotion, nodding his head. He was a short and thin young man, although he didn't look impressive, but he was the most eager to learn and make progress, making him the most suitable person for reconnaissance work, and he also studied reconnaissance knowledge very diligently.

  "I'm willing to follow your orders at any time, sir." The black-faced, burly Cold Jue also spoke up. He was the most formidable in close combat among the orderlies.

  The other seven looked at each other and didn't dare to make any promises. They were all men with big families to support, who dared to speak recklessly and risk their lives at any time.

  "Sir, actually we all want to serve our country, it's just that we all have families to support." The messenger Kong Wu said awkwardly.

  Lu Qi and Shan smiled, suddenly turned serious and said: "Everyone doesn't have to follow me, I'm doing this for wealth and family support, you are too. From now on, I won't forget about everyone's contributions, if there's a chance to get rich, I'll notify you, you can choose to follow me or not, if something happens while following me to seek wealth, I can only say that I will take care of your families."

  All ten messengers nodded, and Lu Qi's smuggling this time brought them a lot of benefits. Of course, they hoped that Lu Qi would continue to make a fortune in the future, and a small military group with Lu Qi as its leader quietly took shape.

  Sent off ten messengers, two large carts of medicine were moved into the backyard under Xin Yuner's arrangement and hired workers. Xiaoyun returned home and was so exhausted that she went to sleep as soon as she found a room.

  Lu Qi walked lightly to Xin Yun'er's side, and they both faced the piles of medicine bags in the house. Xin Yun'er turned her head and looked at him with a sweet smile: "Young master, these medicines are enough to sell for half a year."

  "Yuner, from now on call me Qiulang." Lu Qiuhe said with a gentle voice.

  With a stretch of his left arm, he had already taken in Xinyue'er. In the Tang Dynasty, wives could respectfully address their husbands as "lang", while concubines and maidservants could only be called "gongzi", "shaoye" or "laoye". The terms of address had already defined the superior-inferior relationship between wife and concubine. The relationship between husband and wife was one of mutual respect, while concubines belonged to the husband alone. In reality, they were like maidservants, being property shared by the couple. If the husband did not intentionally protect them, the wife had the right to order them around, scold or beat them at will, and could even sell them off. Therefore, even if a concubine gained favor, she would still dare not disrespect the wife.