plumnovel #445 - Huzhou trip
#445 - Huzhou trip
After Lu Jing changed his clothes and tied up his hair, he left the academy with Wen Xiaochuan to celebrate the latter's grandmother's birthday.
The destination of their trip was Huzhou. According to Wen Xiaochuan, most of the Wen family's industries were in Huzhou, although Wen Da Niang had been expanding to the neighboring Huizhou in recent years, and she herself spent most of her time in Huizhou.
However, the Wen family's old house and most of the clansmen, especially the elderly and young children, still remained in Huzhou.
Lu Jing and Wen Xiaochuan left the Sitianjian's stronghold in Huzhou, and not long after walking out, they saw a carriage by the side of the street.
The coachman was a strong man of about forty years old, tall and burly. Especially his arms, which were even thicker than Lu Jing's thighs, and the muscles on his arms looked as hard as rocks.
He didn't say a word, just stood by the carriage. When the surrounding pedestrians saw him, they all subconsciously detoured around him.
However, this imposing strong man showed a childlike happy expression on his face when he saw Wen Xiaochuan, and then he strode forward, running towards Lu and Wen with a silly smile.
When Wen Xiaochuan saw the strong man, a look of joy appeared on her face, and she called out, "Uncle Ma, why are you here to pick me up?"
The strong man surnamed Ma made a gesture, seemingly to express his concern for Wen Xiaochuan.
Wen Xiaochuan was excited when she saw the gesture, but soon she smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle Ma, you didn't go to pick up my older sisters, but instead ran to pick me up. Is it because you think I'm the weakest and can't protect myself?"
Generally, anyone who heard this sentence would deny it, at least verbally, no matter what they thought in their heart, but the strong man named Ma nodded憨憨.
Then he made another gesture, first pointing in the direction of the Wen family, then putting his two thumbs together, and then pointing at Wen Xiaochuan, leaving only one finger.
This time, even Lu Jing understood what he wanted to express, and he couldn't help but find it funny. Sure enough, single dog discrimination exists in every dynasty.
But soon Lu Jing couldn't laugh anymore, because the strong man surnamed Ma had already turned to look at him, first nodding at him, and then making a gesture of putting his two thumbs together towards Wen Xiaochuan.
A blush appeared on Wen Xiaochuan's cheeks, and she hurriedly said, "Uncle Ma, don't gossip. Lu Daxia is my friend, here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday."
The strong man surnamed Ma didn't show any relief when he heard this, but instead looked even more confused. He looked at Wen Xiaochuan first, and then at Lu Jing, his eyes going back and forth between the two of them.
Wen Xiaochuan ignored his curious gaze and explained to Lu Jing, "Uncle Ma was rescued by my mother by chance when she went out to collect grain in a nearby village. At that time, he floated down the river and was discovered by my mother, who asked the accompanying servants to fish him out.
"She not only tried to help him drain the water from his stomach, but also prepared soup and medicine for him to take. However, his high fever persisted.
"My mother saw that he was tall and burly, and his muscles and bones were like they had been tempered, and suspected that he possessed martial arts, so she found Xu Guangling, the famous Crane Needle Xu Divine Doctor in the martial arts world, to diagnose him.
"And after Xu Divine Doctor examined him, he realized that he had injured his brain because he had gone mad while practicing his skills, turning him into the痴痴傻傻 he is now. Although Xu Divine Doctor helped him reduce the fever and straighten out the raging true qi in his body, he was powerless to solve the problem with his head.
"His mind is now only about six or seven years old, he can't even remember his own name, and he doesn't know where his home is. Also, I don't know why, but half of his tongue is gone."
"My mother felt sorry for him and took him in. Because his martial arts were very good, she initially wanted him to be a guard, but he seemed to prefer driving the carriage, and my mother was worried that he would cause trouble in this state, or be bullied, so she simply took him with her to drive the carriage specifically for my mother.
"Oh, right, my mother also gave him a name called Wen Huangliang, hoping that he would wake up from this黄粱一梦 as soon as possible and remember who he was, but he didn't seem to like the name. Instead, a few of us children called him Uncle Ma because we saw him with the horses every day, and he was happier. So, over time, everyone called him that."
Wen Xiaochuan paused and said, "I have had a good relationship with Uncle Ma since I was a child, but if I don't get my mother's permission, he won't leave my mother's side. From this, it seems that the situation in Huzhou is not very good, otherwise, for such a short distance, my mother wouldn't send Uncle Ma to pick me up."
Lu Jing nodded. He also noticed that compared to Lin'an Prefecture, and Wujiang City, which has not been affected much for the time being, Huzhou, although it has not directly suffered drought or floods, has a strong folk customs since ancient times, coupled with many mountains and waterways.
Many people have been unable to restrain themselves and have raised the banner of替天行道. They recruit refugees from nearby states and counties who can't get enough to eat as their subordinates, then randomly choose a mountain forest or菏泽 as their lair, and then start a business without capital.
Among these people are ambitious people, people who want to take advantage of the chaos to have a good time, and local wealthy families who are unwilling to be lonely and plan to wait and see.
In addition, the Huzhou Xiang Army has been transferred to the southwest to suppress the rebellion, and the local soldiers are useless. Huzhou has been turbulent in the past two years. Fengxing County, where Lu Jing and Wen Xiaochuan are now located, is considered one of the best counties in Huzhou, but the streets are visibly desolate.
There are fewer pedestrians, many shops are closed, and many people can be seen carrying weapons, especially wealthy households who often have to bring eight or nine bodyguards when they travel, which shows how bad the治安 in the city has become. As for outside the city, it goes without saying, and it's no wonder that Wen Da Niang wants Wen Huangliang to pick up Wen Xiaochuan.
After the two got into the carriage, Wen Huangliang drove the carriage in front, heading towards the outside of the city.
Although the Wen family's old house is still in Fengxing County, as Huzhou began to turbulent, the people inside have moved to the Zhuangzi outside the city one after another, first, to concentrate their forces to deal with possible dangers, and second, Wen Da Niang's three main wineries and胭脂 workshops are also in the Zhuangzi.
Moving everyone here can also protect the main industries.
This place has now been managed by the Wen family into a small fortress. Not only are there various traps and拒马枪 set up around it, but also an earthen wall has been built. Not only are there armored soldiers patrolling the wall, but also two arrow towers are built behind the wall.