Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 35: Someone is making trouble?

Qu Shaoyang lived in Andong City for five or six days and felt a little tired of staying there.

In the eyes of others, the city of Andong is extremely prosperous, with all kinds of new things. However, in Qu Shaoyang's eyes, it cannot even catch up with the prosperity of a small town. What is there to be nostalgic about?

"Master, when are we going back?
We live in the inn all day, eating and sleeping, which is too boring." Qu Shaoyang found Shui Laowu and discussed with him.

"You are a bachelor, so you can live anywhere.
There is food and drinks here, you can do whatever you want, why can't you stay here?

The mountain farm only starts working in late September or early October, after the snow falls in the mountains. What time is it now? It's not even July yet, and you're going back so early. Where are you going to stay? You don't even have a place to stay?"

Shui Laowu looked puzzled and couldn't understand what Qu Shaoyang wanted to do.

It is not July yet. It will take about twenty days or nearly a month to walk back to the mountain from Andong, which will be the end of July.

Work on the mountain farm won’t start until late September or early October, so there are still two months in between.

Qu Shaoyang is not like others. Some of them either live near the mountains or have a place to stay with people.

Where could he go all alone? He couldn't just live in a shack in the mountains, could he?

"I'm thinking of buying a house somewhere in Maoer Mountain or Tadian." Qu Shaoyang scratched his head and said tentatively.

"Master, you also know that when the work in the mountain field was finished, I got sixty or seventy taels of silver.

Including what's left from this trip, I still have about 170 or 180 taels in my hand, which is enough to buy ten acres of land and build a simple house.

I don’t want to stay in an inn all the time, that’s not how I live.”

There is no place like home. No matter what time it is, you must have your own home. Just like what people say, if you want to beg for food, you must have a place to lean on.

Qu Shaoyang always felt that it was not safe to carry so much money in his pocket, as he could never be sure that it might be stolen, robbed or cheated one day.

Or what if one day he gets possessed by the devil and loses money gambling like those people, then wouldn’t all the hard-earned money be wasted?

It would be better to exchange it for a house and land. If you have a lot of money, buy a bigger one; if you have less money, buy a smaller one. You can then add more to it slowly as you save money in the future.

There are still two years left, and after the contract expires, I will be able to save some money.

Shui Laowu shook his head and sighed, "Lenghu'er, Master has thought about what you said, but it's useless.

We men spend our adult lives either in the mountains or on the water. How many days can we stay at home throughout the year?
If you buy a house but don't live in it, and it's cold in the winter here, with constant freezing and thawing, the house will collapse in a few years.

Not to mention the land, how can we have time to plant it? Crops need to be tended, we can't just sow a handful of seeds and leave it alone, how can we have the time to tend the land?"

Shui Laowu has been in the Northeast for so many years, how could he not understand? But this business meant that they were destined to have no time to take care of their family.

Qu Shaoyang shook his head stubbornly, "That's different, no matter if I can take care of it or not, it's still my family business.

Besides, if I don’t cultivate the land I bought myself, I can rent it out to others.

If the house collapses, I can just rebuild it. Even if it’s just a small shack, it’s still mine.”

"Master, I think you should also buy a house or something.

In the past, you were a bachelor, and if you were full, your whole family would not be hungry. What about the future? You didn't think about living with Manager Lin for a long time, did you? "

Qu Shaoyang was not convinced by his master, but instead he tried to persuade Shui Laowu.

During these few days, Qu Shaoyang finally figured out what was going on between his master and the innkeeper.

Lin's parents came here from the east in their early years and opened a rafting shop near Dadonggou to receive the raftsmen who came from the upper reaches of the Yalu River. The couple was diligent and capable, and they were considerate and enthusiastic in their reception. Their business was getting better and better, and the rafting shop turned into a small shop for peddlers.

At that time, Shui Laowu was still young. He followed the rafting gang to Dadonggou and lived in the Lin family's shop.

After a few interactions, he fell in love with Lin Ruolan, the daughter of the Lin family.

The two had a deep affection for each other and secretly decided to spend their lives together. They were just waiting for Shui Laowu to come back from rafting the following year and get married when they had saved enough money.

Unexpectedly, the next year, as soon as the raft arrived at Datonggou, it was intercepted by people sent by the imperial court. All the hard work for a year was wasted.

Shui Laowu was young and hot-tempered, and in a fit of rage he followed the Pai Gang in a rebellion.

In the following years, he moved around and dealt with the imperial court. Ultimately, the uprising failed and Shui Laowu escaped death, but had to hide in the mountains under a false name.

There was no news of Shui Laowu, and people said that he died in the encirclement and suppression by the Qing army.

Lin Ruolan waited for several years in vain, and was eventually forced by her parents to marry the eldest son of the Qi family in Phoenix City.

This man from the Qi family is an uneducated and unskillful playboy who can do nothing but eat, drink and have fun. He spends all day smoking opium, gambling and visiting brothels.

Lin Ruolan had been married for many years but still had no children. Qi's parents-in-law were unhappy, so they stuffed women into their son's room as much as they could, making him a concubine.

Lin Ruolan is not liked by her husband's family, and her life in the Qi family is not easy.

She was old and couldn't have children. Two years ago, the Qi family divorced her and sent her back to her parents' home on the grounds that she had no children.

The old couple of the Lin family were so upset and angry about this incident that they died one after another.

The Lin family has only one daughter, and all their relatives are far away in their hometown, so this inn was taken over by Lin Ruolan.

Coincidentally, Shui Laowu always stayed at Tonghe Inn when he rafted to Andong in previous years, and the two met this way.

After so many years, things and people have changed, and meeting old friends can only increase the sadness.

Shui Laowu felt guilty towards Lin Ruolan and did not dare to face Lin Ruolan's affection, but he could not let it go, and the two of them felt awkward.

Unexpectedly, Shui Laowu drank too much that day, and the two of them made progress. Now their feelings are getting deeper and deeper, and they are inseparable and can't live without each other.

So when Qu Shaoyang said this, Shui Laowu was stunned, "Don't talk nonsense, of course I want to live a good life with Ruolan."

Shui Laowu's face turned red and he stammered.

"I have saved some money in the past few years, so buying a house or land is not a problem. But I am doing well in Anton, can I come with me?"

Qu Shaoyang thought so too. Manager Lin runs such a big inn, he can't just abandon it and run away to suffer with Shui Laowu, right?
"Then Master, you'd better not go back to the mountains. Just stay here and become a son-in-law." Qu Shaoyang smiled deliberately.

Shui Laowu glared and raised his hand to hit Qu Shaoyang, but at this moment, he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Big Brother Liu, come out quickly. Someone is causing trouble in the inn." It was Shunzi's voice.

When Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang heard this, they immediately came out of the house. "Who is causing trouble?" Qu Shaoyang widened his eyes and asked loudly.

"Yes, it was our shopkeeper's ex-husband. He didn't know what was going on, but he shouted that he wanted to catch the adulterer."

Shunzi glanced at the water crow and said with a grunt.

There were many people in the inn, and Shui Laowu and Manager Lin were together all day long, going in and out together and inseparable. Who couldn't see it?
I guess someone spread the word and the guy from the Qi family came here to cause trouble.

(End of this chapter)