Chapter 2: Dark Without Daylight (Seeking Collection)

  "Thinking too much is also a headache." Lu Haoshan rubbed his slightly swollen head while shaking it and drinking congee.

  Last night, Lu Haoshan began to seriously think about his future. Since he's already here, he might as well make the best of it. Complaining is useless. The problem is that the Great Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse. In this stage, there are starving and desperate civilians roaming around like locusts, using war to sustain themselves. Externally, the Houjin (Later Jin) dynasty is eyeing them covetously, and the Little Ice Age effect has begun to take hold. The future days will only get worse year by year, making it impossible to live a peaceful life. After spending a whole night thinking of a way out, he thought about developing himself but lacked capital, and thought about relying on others but lacked reputation. He thought left and right until the third watch before falling asleep in a daze, and didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

  Fortunately, Tofu Chen said he wanted to sell all the tofu before leaving, so it wasn't that early. Lu Haoshan didn't rush either. After finishing breakfast, just as they were about to leave, he suddenly saw a bag by the door and opened it to find himself stunned: inside there were over 30 copper coins and a small silver ingot.

  Needless to say, this was what Old Master Lu knew he would take with him when he went out, specially for his own protection. Lu Haishan's eyes immediately became moist: someone who couldn't bear to eat or drink, and every day drank thin porridge that could reflect a person's shadow, had actually taken out so much money for himself at once. It was estimated that these were Old Master Lu's savings for his coffin, but in reality he didn't take him as his father in his heart. However, the old man really treated him like his own son.

  Lu Haoshan hesitated for a moment, but still put the money in his pocket. In these times, going out without any silver is like taking a difficult step.

  Tofu Chen's tofu shop is located at the east end of the village, and it's just a simple canopy set up next to the door of his house. Although it's humble, under the decoration of "Chen's Tofu" written by Lu Haoshan in flying dragon and dancing phoenix style, it reflects a bit of elegance and vitality. In these times, many families can't afford meat, so spending a few cents to buy a piece of tofu to satisfy their hunger is still necessary, so Tofu Chen's business is not bad.

  "Uncle Chen" Lu Haoshan walked up to the tofu stall and smiled as he greeted the vendor.

  "Hey, young master is here, please sit down." Tofu Chen immediately welcomed Lu Haoshan with a smile when he saw him arrive. Just the other day, he was still calling him "Mountain Brother", but after seeing his calligraphy skills, he immediately started addressing him as "Young Master". In his mind, those who are knowledgeable and can write are all capable people.

  Lu Haoshan cupped his hands and said: "I've disturbed Uncle Chen."

  Tofu Chen smiled and said: "People with knowledge, their words are different. Young master, please wait a moment, old man will be fine soon." After finishing, he held out a porcelain bowl in front of Lu Haoshan and respectfully said: "Young master, this is tofu brain, added red sugar, homemade stuff, not worth much money, try some."

  "This, this won't do." This time he had hitched a ride and wasn't paying the fare, having already smiled to himself at getting away with it, so how could he dare accept someone else's kindness? Lu Haoshan hastily declined.

  Tofu Chen's face sank, and he said somewhat unhappily: "Could it be that Young Master looks down on such coarse and cheap things? If you look down on me Tofu Chen, then don't eat it."

  It's cold. His face changed quickly, Lu Haoshan hurriedly picked up the bowl and said while eating: "Then thank you, Uncle Chen."

  Lu Haoshan started eating tofu brain, and Tofu Chen smiled and said: "That's right, young master, how does the tofu brain taste?"

  "Not bad, tender and smooth." This wasn't an exaggeration by Lu Haoshan, the actual taste was indeed good. These were all natural foods without any additives, this business was run honestly too.

  "Still a young master who knows his stuff!" Tofu Chen said with glee: "Those poor guys also say that old man's tofu is brainless and not tasty, do they know how to eat? Young master, have some more."

  Lu Haoshan was speechless, and upon hearing this, it seemed like the scene from his previous life's language textbook where Xun Geer secretly cooked and ate beans by the river. The master not only didn't scold him but also felt very proud. This is what status means. In the Ming Dynasty, scholars held a high position and were highly respected by the common people. Although Tofu Chen's family was better off than his own, due to being literate, Tofu Chen felt inferior to himself by half.

  Lu Hao was savoring the tofu brain on Luhao Mountain, while Tofu Chen had already called out his wife to watch the tofu stand. He skillfully put an old cart on a strong cow and prepared to set off to Qiyang County to buy soybeans for grinding tofu.

  This was the late Ming dynasty, there was a sturdy cow, already a symbol of moderate prosperity. Tofu Chen lived in Huatian Village and could be considered a good family. It is said that many people had their eyes on Tofu Chen's daughter, Dimei.

  "Master Lü, hold on tight, we're leaving now." Doufu Chen said with a smile as he saw Lu Haoshan get onto the ox cart.

  "Yes, Uncle Chen."

  It's time to set off, looking at the sun it's almost 10 o'clock in the morning. Like Old Lu, he gets up and starts working at around 6 o'clock when the sky is just getting light, that's really rising with the sun and resting with the sunset.

  Just as the two were about to set off, a young boy with a messy head and wearing coarse linen clothes ran quickly towards Doufu Chen's place, shouting: "Shan Ge'er, Shan Ge'er, something bad has happened!"

  "Liu Jinzhu, what are you yelling about, you little brat? What's wrong with Young Master, be careful or I'll give you two slaps on the face." Lao Chen shouted loudly before Lu Haoshan could even speak up.

  Lu Haoshan recognized that the young man was called Liu Jinchu, a village rascal, very cunning, thin and tall, everyone called him "Houzi". Upon hearing this, he was also surprised and said: "What's wrong, what happened?"

  Liu Jinchu panted and ran in front of the cattle cart, his face anxious, saying: "Shan Geer, Chen Shu, it's not good! Lao Lao Ye and the villagers are fighting with the people from Zhushan Village. You guys go take a look!"

  "What's going on? What happened? How could my father be fighting with someone else?" Lu Haoshan's face changed color, thinking he had misheard, and hastily asked again.

  Tofu Chen, who was standing by, also jumped in fright and immediately rebuked: "You dog killer, you can eat whatever you want, but don't talk nonsense. Why are the two villages fighting? Be careful or I'll tear that stinky mouth of yours."

  "Uncle Chen, even if I had the courage of a giant, I wouldn't dare to deceive you!" Liu Jinzhu's face turned red with anxiety as he hastily said: "That Li Xiangcai from Zhushan Village brought his servants and villagers to completely block off the water from Huaxi, not letting a single drop flow to our Huatian Village. Lu Lao and others were anxious, so they went to reason with them, but it turned into a quarrel. Someone went to dig up the big dam of the reservoir, and Li Xiangcai ordered his evil slaves to charge over, wielding clubs and beating anyone in sight. The two villages started fighting, and I saw that they had more people and were stronger, so I ran back first to report the news."

  Liu Jinzhu was so anxious that he almost cried towards the end.

  "Uncle Chen, something's happened, I'll go take a look. We won't head to the county town for now." Lu Haoshan was greatly alarmed upon hearing the news, and hastily jumped down from the ox cart. He urged Liu Jinzhu to lead the way while he ran forward.

  Ancient people liked to build by the mountains and live beside the water. A stream of flowers connected Bamboo Mountain Village and Flower Field Village, but Bamboo Mountain Village was upstream while Flower Field Village was downstream. If Bamboo Mountain Village were to intercept all the water from the stream, then the thousands of acres of farmland in Flower Field Village would be lost, or even completely destroyed. As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil; during a drought year, water is more valuable than human life. No wonder the kind-hearted villagers fought over water.

  Lu Lao Tou was already over fifty years old. In ancient times, nutrition was not good, especially for ordinary people, whose average lifespan was short and aging came quickly. An elderly person fighting with those wicked slaves would be tantamount to suicide. The elderly were also prone to injury. As soon as Liu Jinzhu said something had happened, Lu Haoshan saw that he wasn't joking from the look on his face, so he immediately became anxious and didn't even bother to go to the county town to find work, rushing back instead.

  "Wait for me, young master! I'll help with this too!" Tofu Chen heard the commotion and didn't even bother buying tofu anymore. He hastily set down his cow cart, grabbed a nearby wooden pole and rushed out to follow.

  Liu Jinchu ran ahead, saying anxiously as he ran: "Shan Ge, come on, this way."

  Two villages were separated by about five miles, when Lu Haoshan followed Liu Jinchu to climb a small mountain, from the top looking down, far away saw people fighting at the foot of the mountain. Lu Haoshan with good eyesight saw an old man with white hair wrapped in the crowd, holding a hoe and fighting with a servant. Just as Lu Haoshan was about to shout loudly, his pupils suddenly contracted: he saw the old man suddenly push the servant away, stumble two steps back, and fall down, right at the feet of a middle-aged fat man. The fat man took a wooden stick from another servant's hand and hit the old man's head with force.

  For a moment, Lu Haoshan felt that the surroundings had become eerily quiet, time seemed to have stopped, and he stared blankly as the thick wooden stick heavily struck the white-haired old man's head. The old man's head seemed to tremble slightly, and faintly, it seemed like blood was splashing out, then Lu Lao Tou fell down like a soft mud...

  Lu Haoshan felt his head go blank, his face turned pale in an instant, and his heart was stung by a poisonous scorpion. The venom spread throughout his body instantly, his lips went numb, his whole body stiffened, his mouth opened wide but he couldn't speak for half a day. If it wasn't for Liu Jinchu's quick reaction to support him, he would have fallen over.

  Half a sound, a sorrowful "Dry Dad..." echoed back and forth in the mountains.

  .......

  "Shan Ge is here, alas, unfortunately can't see Dr. Lu for the last time." San Da Niang couldn't help but sigh when she saw Lu Haoshan rushing over in a flurry.

  Seeing Old Man Lu's pale face lying motionless on the ground, Lu Haoshan's face suddenly turned pale, and he was stunned in place, his eyes blurry with tears. The scenes of the old man taking care of him and spending time with him flashed before his eyes, everything seemed to have happened just yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, it became so distant. He had been thinking about how to make a living and how to let him enjoy his later years, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, they were already separated by life and death. For some reason, Lu Haoshan suddenly felt that his sky had become dark and gloomy.

  Coming back to his senses, Lu Haoshan knelt in front of Old Man Lu and gave him three loud kowtows. With a face full of grief and indignation, he forced himself to hold back the sorrow in his heart and asked: "Who is that middle-aged fat man? Who killed my uncle?"

  When Lu Haoshan rushed to the scene of the fight, the middle-aged fat man and the people from Zhushan Village had already dispersed, leaving only the people from Huatian Village surrounding Old Man Lu in grief. Unable to find the culprit, Lu Haoshan asked directly.

  As they spoke, Lu Haoshan felt as if there was a vicious beast tearing at his internal organs, the pain making him almost unable to straighten his waist. However, upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads, no one daring to respond, and the atmosphere became oppressively heavy, like water being squeezed out.

  "Speak!" Lu Haoshan's eyes turned red with urgency, but the crowd still didn't respond.

  Li Zheng sighed: "Shan Ge, things have passed, let Old Lu rest in peace."

  "I just want to know who did it, my godfather has always been good to everyone... you guys..."

  A village woman heard this and covered her mouth, sobbing. She scolded, and several young women followed suit, crying out loud, filling the scene with a sorrowful atmosphere.

  "Shan Ge, I know that person is Li Xiangcai, the big rural gentry of Zhushan Village. He's the one who beat up Lao Lü." Liu Jinzhu saw it very clearly from the mountain top. Others didn't say anything, but he spoke out. Just now, Lu Haoshan almost fainted in grief and was helped by him to steady himself. At that time, Lu Haoshan only rushed along without asking questions, but now when asked, he immediately replied.

  "Damn it, I'll kill him." An old man with white hair also didn't let go, Lu Haoshan heard this and was furious, immediately preparing to fight him to the death, avenging Old Man Lu.

  "Hao Shan, don't be impulsive!" Niu Bo grabbed hold of Lu Hao Shan, afraid that he would do something foolish if he acted on impulse.

  "Brother Shan, let's kill Li Xiangcai to avenge Old Man Lu! I'll go with you!" Liu Jinzhu was stirred by the words and vowed to advance and retreat together with Lu Haoshan.

  "What are you yelling about? Don't stir up trouble!" Tofu Chen slapped a palm on the head of Monkey Liu Jinzhu.

  Rong Shu, who was bandaging his arm on the side, shook his head and said: "Young master, this is fate, you absolutely cannot act impulsively. That Li Xiangcai is a rural squire, his son Li Guang is an official in another place, he has wealth and power, not someone we ordinary people can afford to provoke. This matter, let's just endure it."

  "Endure?" Lu Haoshan said with a face full of grief and indignation: "A life is at stake, what if he's a rural squire? No way, I'll report to the authorities, even if it kills me, I won't let him get away scot-free. No way, I'll report until he pays with his life." After saying that, he struggled again with all his might, as if he was about to find someone to fight to the death.

  Everyone rushed to hold him down tightly. Rong Shu sighed and said: "Reporting to the authorities is useless, actually the government had already investigated just now."

  "What? You've already dealt with it so quickly?" Lu Haoshan was shocked and stopped struggling.

  Fu Bo nodded helplessly and said, "Li Xiangcai must have expected us to come after him for revenge. Early this morning, he invited the county magistrate and officials to his mansion. As soon as something happened, they quickly arrived on the scene and announced that this was a case of group fighting, which is a civil matter, not a criminal one. Both sides are responsible, so let's just let it go. They ordered each village to handle their own affairs and not pursue it further. Their village also had several injured people, but unfortunately, Lu Da Ge was hit on the head and died. As soon as they saw someone die, they all ran away faster than rabbits."

  The three women on the side said angrily: "It's all about officials shielding each other, who doesn't know that Li Xiangcai's niece is the fifth concubine of the county magistrate, it's clearly partial. Now, the dam has been built again, he just wants to drive our Huatian Village to desperation and then buy our village land at a low price."

  Tofu Chen patted Lu Haoshan's shoulder and said, "Young master, accept your fate. In this chaotic world, human life is cheaper than grass. As the saying goes, 'The yamen faces south, with reason but no money, don't come in.' If you go to the government office to make a fuss, in a fit of anger they can throw you into prison or take you as a soldier. That would be a disaster, and even heaven and earth won't be able to help you."

  "The common people don't fight with officials, Little Master, you can't be impulsive."

  "What kind of world is this, where killing someone doesn't matter, but if you mess with me, I'll make a big deal out of it."

  "Shh, what was that? Be careful what you say, trouble can come from your mouth."

  "Little Master, as scholars say, 'a gentleman avenges himself, even if it takes ten years.' Lao Lu is alone and you are his only adopted son. Help him settle his affairs first. It's the hottest summer days now, this corpse can't be delayed, let it rest in peace as soon as possible." Tofu Chen also advised from the side.

  Everyone was persuading with different opinions, at this time Lu Haoshan also calmed down. Tofu Chen said it right, now is not the time to be impulsive, once you get yourself into trouble, without power or influence, even if you are wronged to death, there is no place to appeal. In these times, dying as a person and dying as a dog is almost the same, without power or influence, who will stand up for justice for you?

  Upon hearing this, he bowed to the crowd: "The valuable advice from all of you, Lu has taken to heart. As for Master's funeral arrangements, it may be necessary to trouble the village elders."

  Everyone said that of course, and readily agreed, then recalled the various kindnesses of Old Man Lu. However, no one noticed that Lu Haoshan was clenching his fists tightly in his sleeves, with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.

  PS: Collecting and recommending are very important for new books, please don't be stingy, book friends. This book has not been signed yet and is still in the process, so there will be fewer updates, thank you for your understanding.

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