Chapter 24: A Role Model Li Yuanjing Should Emulate
“What?”
“It’s been seven or eight days, and not only have you failed to settle things, but that rascal has caught a wolf king and made a fortune?!”
While Li Yuanjing and Jade Girl were lost in joyful celebration,
Iron Ox Town.
Within the grand Xue family manor, sprawling over twenty or thirty acres with five courtyards and five exits, brimming with majestic pride.
Xue, the Benevolent, just thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old and at the prime of his life, immediately glared with his ox-like eyes at Steward Xue An, his gaze sharp and unforgiving.
“Master, this...”
Xue An, who usually strutted about like a successful person, was now petrified with fear. He fell to his knees, head bowing desperately, and stammered, “Master, I don’t even know how to explain... Whether that scholar Li has gone mad or what, but that day he actually attacked Hou Wu with a knife...”
“And also...”
“Master, you know the temperament of old Chief Lu Pipe from Quanzi Village. Scholar Li was holding off the mortgage payment, and I dared not act rashly...”
Xue An was truly terrified, anxiously wishing to clear himself of any blame.
After all,
The matter of Jade Girl was brought up by him at Li Yuanjing’s parents’ funeral, having noticed her beauty and hoping to curry favor with Xue, the Benevolent.
Now, how could he allow himself to suffer for his own actions?
“Useless!”
“What good are you fools to me?!”
Xue, the Benevolent, kicked Xue An so hard he sprawled on the ground.
Xue An cried out in pain, though inwardly he felt relieved. With Xue’s temper, physical punishment usually signaled his anger was spent.
He quickly groveled, “Master, I’m dull-witted, so what should we do now...?”
“What should we do?”
“Let it be!”
Xue, the Benevolent, sneered coldly, his pride brimming with confidence. “On this patch of land in Feng County, anything I set my eyes on can never escape my grasp.”
“Didn’t Hou Wu flee to the brothel under your care? The rest of this matter, do I need to teach you?”
Xue An shivered, secretly thankful he’d kept Hou Wu back.
He respectfully replied, “Yes, Master, I understand.”
...
Soon after,
Zhang Kun and his group arrived at Iron Ox Town, a lively crowd heading for the grain store to buy supplies.
At this moment,
A man named Zhao Zengjin, who was close to Zhang Kun, scratched his head awkwardly. “Brother Zhang, when are we heading back? My wife asked me to buy her a copper hairpin, could you...?”
Zhang Kun knew Zhao Zengjin cherished his wife, so he laughed, “We’ll wait a bit longer. After buying grain, we’ll get some meat. Old Zhao, be quick about it, understood?”
Zhao Zengjin grinned with delight, nodded vigorously, and hurried off.
Iron Ox Town had only one jewelry shop, conveniently adjacent to a brothel, both owned by Xue, the Benevolent.
---
When Zhao Zengjin arrived, there was a commotion outside the brothel—apparently someone had refused to pay after enjoying himself, and a dozen burly men were beating the offender, blood covering the street, blocking the road.
Zhao Zengjin, cautious by nature, didn’t want to get involved in such trouble. He quickly turned into a nearby alley to skirt around the brothel.
But then,
At the mouth of the alley, as he was about to turn, he saw the brothel’s back door creak open.
A familiar figure furtively scanned the surroundings, and seeing no one, darted deep into the alley.
Zhao Zengjin, hiding behind the wall, was stunned.
That man—
It was Hou Wu, the “wanted fugitive” who had escaped!
Zhao Zengjin intended to leave as if he hadn’t seen Hou Wu, knowing this was Xue, the Benevolent’s territory and not daring to act rashly.
But just as he stepped away, he remembered all the praise Zhang Kun had lavished on Li Yuanjing.
Li Yuanjing wasn’t just a scholar with a bright future—he was generous and kind.
Even Zhao Zengjin himself had received a hundred coins from Li Yuanjing today.
He recalled his wife had been with him for five or six years, yet had never enjoyed a truly good life...
Zhao Zengjin gritted his teeth and, as if possessed, pursued Hou Wu!
Soon,
He followed Hou Wu to a residence.
After Hou Wu entered, Zhao Zengjin checked the surroundings, found a gap in the wall, and carefully climbed up to peek inside.
Moments later,
Zhao Zengjin’s hair stood on end. He jumped down, hurrying to find Zhang Kun.
---
“What?!”
“You say Xue An and Hou Wu, those two dogs, are planning to strike against the master tonight?”
Soon, Zhang Kun received Zhao Zengjin’s news, his eyes blazing with fury!
To think,
He’d barely enjoyed a few days of peace, and already someone sought to destroy it?!!!
But Zhang Kun, a seasoned veteran from the battlefield, quickly regained his composure and quietly told Zhao Zengjin, “Old Zhao, you’re a smart man. I’ll remember your merit, but for now, say nothing. Understand?”
Zhao Zengjin, no fool himself, knew he was now tied firmly to Li Yuanjing’s fortunes. He nodded vigorously, “Don’t worry, Brother Zhang, I understand.”
Zhang Kun breathed easier and urged everyone to speed up their shopping.
---
Li Yuanjing, meanwhile, was oblivious to all this.
After teasing Jade Girl into a state of flustered confusion, he quickly slipped away to visit the old village chief.
Seeing Li Yuanjing calmly slip over an ounce of silver into his hand, the old chief was dumbfounded. “Yuanjing, what are you doing?”
Li Yuanjing smiled, “Uncle, over the years, my family has troubled you much. Before, I had nothing, but now that I’ve made some money, how could I not show my gratitude?”
When the old chief tried to refuse, Li Yuanjing resorted to his trump card, whispering, “Uncle.”
---
“We’re family, aren’t we? Going forward, I’ll need your help with many things. Besides, for Brother Gang’s sake, I should contribute a bit as well.”
“This...”
Hearing his son Lu Gang mentioned, the old chief fell silent.
After a while,
He finally accepted Li Yuanjing’s silver, shaking his head with a wry smile, “Yuanjing, I always knew you’d amount to something—and you never forget your roots!”
Li Yuanjing scratched his head sheepishly, then shifted the topic to the land around his home.
His house was on a small mound at the edge of the village, with neighbors seventy or eighty meters away.
Though a bit desolate, the terrain was flat.
Li Yuanjing wondered if he could spend a little money to fence off the surrounding land for a future small factory.
Having come from the countryside and risen through college to vice president and then CEO, Li Yuanjing had experienced hardship and witnessed the fickleness of the world.
He understood well how to survive—and thrive—in a small mountain village like this.
The simplest and most effective way,
Was to form a “community of interest.”
Is it not said,
There was once a genius who not only borrowed online loans himself, but led the whole village to borrow as well.
In the end,
The villagers amassed billions in loans.
Even when debt collectors arrived with big-name enforcers, they were beaten out by hundreds of villagers wielding sticks.
Li Yuanjing knew his current weakness—he couldn’t hope to contend with local gentry like Xue, the Benevolent.
That genius’s path was the very example Li Yuanjing needed.
The old chief laughed, “Yuanjing, it’s a small matter. Fence it off if you wish. Tomorrow, I’ll tell everyone, so you can go ahead without worry. Our village’s farmland belongs to Xue, the Benevolent, but these homestead plots are ours.”
“By the way, Yuanjing, why are you fencing off land? Planning to rebuild your house with your new wealth?”
The old chief looked at Li Yuanjing with curiosity.
Li Yuanjing scratched his head and replied, “Uncle, you know I’m mainly focused on my studies—hoping to gain scholarly honors, so rebuilding can wait.”
“It’s just—”
“I see our villagers suffer too much. When there’s no work, the women earn money spinning thread, but it’s barely enough to pay taxes.”
“By chance, I came across an ancient book a few days ago, which described a new type of weaving machine. I thought I’d set up a few, hire some women to spin thread.”
“In this way, my wife will have something to do, my money won’t run dry, and I can help the villagers.”
“Bang!”
“Clap, clap, clap!”
The old chief was thrilled, clapping excitedly, “Yuanjing, I always said you’d make something of yourself! Don’t worry, just do it!”
“If anyone dares give you trouble, I’ll break their legs myself!”