Chapter 49: A Good Deed

  On the ground lay a white tiger skin, shiny and oily, with extremely beautiful fur, soft as a blanket. When the wind blew, its long hair danced in the air, and many girls' eyes sparkled when they saw it.

  Then, a very interesting scene appeared on the spot. The man stared at the beautiful woman of the minority nationality with drooling, while the woman was either staring at the burly man or staring at the white tiger skin on the ground without blinking. However, the beauty's clothes were very luxurious, and there were guards by her side. At a glance, it was clear that she was not an ordinary person, and the value of the white tiger skin was also considerable, worth hundreds of silver and gold. Many people gathered around to watch, but many of them could only satisfy their curiosity. The beauty was still haggling with the burly man over the price.

  Lu Haoshan saw the beautiful girl with interest, and Niu Bao, who was beside him, said in a timely manner: "Sir, judging from her accent, this woman is a Qiang woman from Shiquan County. From her dress, it can be inferred that her status in the tribe is not low."

  Qiang ethnic group? Lu Haoshan suddenly enlightened, the Qiang ethnic group is said to be the descendants of the three Miao, good at singing and dancing, and also look elegant and refined. That kind of cold elegance with a hint of spirituality, like a mountain elf, Lu Haoshan was attracted by this special beauty at first sight.

  "Not bad, it's interesting." Lu Haoshan said calmly.

  Zhang Wu's eyes rolled twice, and he said in a low voice: "Sir, this man is unwilling to lower the price, but I can see at a glance that he is not a local person. It's not that I'm boasting, but my eyes are very accurate in judging people. This guy has a strong aura of death, which only those who have experienced life-and-death struggles possess. Sir, look at his hands, they all have calluses, especially the thick callus on his right index finger. And listen to his accent, eight or nine out of ten chances he's from Liaodong, and very likely an escaped soldier."

  After taking a slight breath, Zhang Wu continued: "Sir, if you're interested in that woman, I only need to investigate him a bit and he'll immediately lower the price. If we can get him into prison, then not even half a cent will be spent, and the white tiger skin will be ours for the taking. At that time, sir can either keep the tiger skin for yourself or give it to this beauty to win her favor, it's a win-win situation. Who knows, he might even be an escaped prisoner with a price on his head from the imperial court, and we'll get a small fortune as well."

  Yan Wang is easy to pass, but the little ghosts are hard to deal with. It's really this principle. Zhang Wu and his gang have gotten into the habit of extorting and blackmailing people. They can do these things with ease, but then they come up with another evil idea after a moment's thought.

  However, his observation is indeed very good, and his brain is also flexible. Unexpectedly, this guy is also a talent.

  After the establishment of the Eight Banners, Hong Taiji's cavalry had grown into a powerful force through long-term training and battles. The Ming dynasty had stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong, but they were always on the defensive, with many soldiers fleeing or deserting every year. The imperial court was never lenient towards deserters, so if Zhang could confirm that the muscular man selling tiger skin was a deserter, the valuable white tiger skin would become Lü Haoshan's spoils of war.

  Lu Haoshan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Forget it, in these times, no one has an easy life. This white tiger skin is extremely precious, if not for some urgent matter, he probably wouldn't take it out to sell. With his temperament, he's definitely not the kind of person who fears death, better to have fewer troubles."

  If it weren't for the wealth left by his father, Chen Gui, and having tens of thousands of taels of silver in hand, Lu Haoshan wouldn't be so generous. Just a few months ago, seeing a small piece of broken silver would have excited him, but now he doesn't even bat an eye at over a hundred taels. It has to be said that money can't change a person's character, but it can change their state of mind.

  Just as Lu Hao Shan said not to make things difficult for the burly man, the burly man suddenly looked up at Lu Hao Shan with a puzzled expression in his eyes. This movement startled Lu Hao Shan, as if the burly man had heard his conversation with Niu Bao. Fortunately, he only took a glance and quickly lowered his head again, pretending that nothing had happened.

  "This big brother, eighty-two liang, is eighty-two liang okay? I can only take out this much now." Seeing that eighty liang couldn't buy it, the Qiang ethnic minority girl begged somewhat pitifully, it's clear that she really liked this white tiger skin and wouldn't give up if she couldn't buy it.

  "It's not possible," said the burly man, shaking his head. "This girl, a tiger skin is worth a lot of money, let alone such a precious white tiger skin. If I weren't in urgent need of cash, I'd rather starve to death than sell it. All I can say is sorry."

  When the girl was about to say something, Lu Haoshan had already squatted down beside her, gently stroking the white tiger skin. He felt it was incredibly soft. Although the weather was still a bit cold, as soon as he touched the fur, he seemed to feel a warm and cozy sensation. Even when he leaned in close, he couldn't smell any unusual odor. Not only was the texture of the skin soft, but the color of the fur was also well-preserved. It could be said that even after removing the skin, it had been treated by a master craftsman. As tigers are felines, they typically have a strong musky smell, but this white tiger skin was still in extremely good condition.

  That burly man saw Lu Haoshan examining the tiger skin, and his eyes became somewhat vigilant, but he didn't stop him. Lu Haoshan picked it up to take a look, clicking his tongue in wonder, and curiously asked: "This piece of tiger skin doesn't have a single hole, it's extremely intact, how did you manage to bring it down?"

  "This young master has a good eye, this old tiger was shot with a three-stone strong bow and one arrow from its eye socket into the brain, one arrow took its life, so it's so intact." The big man with a majestic appearance spoke with a proud expression on his face.

  One arrow shot into the tiger, not only from the eye socket, but also directly into the brain, one arrow to kill, this requires great arm strength and precise technique. Now Lu Haoshan already believed Zhang Wu's words, the person in front of him was either a top-notch professional soldier or related to soldiers. In an instant, Lu Haoshan had the intention to recruit him.

  "This tiger skin is quite good, I wonder how much silver this strong man plans to sell it for?" Lu Haoshan asked with a face full of interest.

  "A hundred taels of silver, not a single coin less will be sold, nor one more will be accepted."

  "Alright, Lu has taken it." Lu Haoshan readily agreed: "Tiger skin is hard to come by, and such a complete and precious white tiger skin is not expensive, not expensive at all."

  The Qiang girl on the side saw Lu Haoshan buy away her beloved thing with just a few words, and suddenly became anxious. She pushed Lu Haoshan away and said: "You get out of the way, this tiger skin was seen by me first, how can you snatch my things."

  "How dare you be rude to us adults!" Niu Bao was furious when he saw the county magistrate being pushed away by that woman, this is his own territory, and he couldn't help but draw out his long knife.

  "What are you doing, daring to touch a single hair of our young lady? I'll kill both of you!" The two guards of the Qiang tribe girl were also very fierce. As soon as they saw someone being unfavorable to their young lady, without saying another word, they drew out weapons similar to cleavers and confronted Zhang Wu and Niu Bao.

  Lu Haoshan turned his head and glanced at Zhang Wu and Niu Bao, saying displeased: "Put down your knife, you're always ready to fight with a knife, is it necessary?"

  "Yes, sir." Hearing the county official's rebuke, the two did not dare to retort and put down their weapons with some resentment. However, they subconsciously drew closer to Lu Haishan, fearing that those two reckless guards would harm their own master.

  At this time, the people around had already recognized Lu Haoshan, and one by one looked at him with respectful eyes, occasionally whispering to each other.

  "Ah, this...this isn't County Magistrate Old Master, is it? How did he come?"

  "I heard that the county official is very young, I didn't expect him to be so young and handsome too."

  "This girl really doesn't know what's good for her, she actually dared to physically assault the county magistrate."

  "It seems like a woman from the Shi Quan Qiang ethnic group, really has no manners, pulling and tugging in public like this, what a loss of face."

  Everyone was discussing it, and the proud Qiang girl heard it. She looked at Lu Haoshan with some surprise, she really couldn't think of it, the young man in front of her was actually the county magistrate, she didn't dare to believe and said: "You, you are this county's official?"

  Before leaving, Abi (father) repeatedly warned that he must not cause trouble on the Han people's turf. Just now, he not only pushed away a high-ranking Han official but also drew his knife. If that county magistrate gets angry, he'll probably be unable to escape. Although his father has considerable influence, it's limited to Shiquan; this is Jiangyou after all.

  Lu Haoshan looked at her and smiled slightly, then said somewhat calmly: "Lu Mou is not talented, currently serving as the magistrate of Jiangyou County. What guidance does this young lady have?"

  "Point... point out?" The Qiang ethnic minority girl said somewhat flusteredly: "No, no, just now, was it intentional? You, you don't have to punish me, okay?"

  This is really straightforward. If it were a Han girl, she would probably be scared pale or tongue-tied. This Qiang girl speaks directly.

  "This strong man sells tiger skin, it's whoever pays a higher price gets it, can't force a sale or purchase, right?" Lu Haoshan said with a smile.

  The Qiang girl said somewhat reluctantly.

  "Can you take out one hundred taels of silver now?"

  "My father has it, don't mention one hundred taels of silver, even if it's more, my father can still afford it"

  Lu Haoshan interrupted her and said: "I'm asking you, is there now?"

  The Qiang woman's voice suddenly became smaller: "There is no..."

  "If you don't have enough money, then it doesn't count as robbing you." Lu Haoshan took out a ten-tael gold ingot and handed it to the burly man: "This brave warrior, I'll take this white tiger skin."

  That burly man had heard that Lu Haoshan was the county magistrate and had been somewhat apprehensive, fearing he would be forced to sell. Now seeing him not say a word, he took out an ingot of gold to buy it. He handed over the ingot of gold, pinched it with his hand, confirmed that the gold was fine, and said very readily: "Good, this white tiger skin is yours."

  After finishing speaking, he handed the white tiger skin to Lu Haoshan's hands and turned around to leave. Lu Haoshan suddenly spoke up and said: "Warrior, wait a moment."

  "This official, is there anything else you'd like to instruct?" That burly man grasped the gold ingot tightly in one hand, his face taking on a guarded expression, as if he feared Lu Haishan would change his mind and take back the gold ingot after handing over the tiger skin.

  Lu Haoshan tossed the tiger skin to Zhang Wu, who was standing aside, and walked two steps closer with a smile. Lowering his voice, he said: "My surname is Lu, I am the county magistrate here. I can tell that you are a man with a story, and also that you have your guard up against me. I won't pry any further. Today, let's just consider this a good omen for our future relationship. If anything comes up in the future, just come find me. Remember, no matter what it is, even if I can't help, I can at least offer some advice."

  That burly man took a deep look at Lu Haoshan, nodded his head and said "good", then turned around and left. From start to finish, Lu Haoshan didn't even know his name.