Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 216: Chou Hour, Dreams and Dreams, If It Happens

Ugly time.

Chou, whose name is Chifenku, has a rapid rise in luck and all things follow his path.

A simple bamboo frame with a piece of incense with scales placed horizontally in the middle.

The incense is as thick as a baby's little finger. At the position of "Chou Shi", there is a silk thread hanging with a small iron ball tied to each end of the thread.

Incense has the effect of calming the mind and repelling mosquitoes, so the owner of the house, Lao Geng, sleeps soundly while sniffing the faint smell of mosquito coils.

"Dang! Dang!"

The dim red incense burned to the "Chou Hour" mark, burning the silk thread, and the iron balls hanging at both ends fell down.

Under the bamboo frame was a small rectangular iron plate placed horizontally. The iron ball fell into the iron plate, making a crisp sound.

Lao Geng, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by the sound of the "fire alarm clock".

He yawned, rubbed his eyes, then turned over and sat up, grabbing his robe from the hanger beside the couch.

Lao Geng is a cattle breeder in Shishan Tea Farm.

Raise cattle on the top of the mountain and grow tea on the hillside.

Cows can eat weeds in tea gardens, plow the soil, carry people and goods, and cow dung can fertilize tea gardens...

Each tea plantation will raise some cattle according to the size of the tea mountain.

Cows are animals that need to be fed with fodder at night, otherwise they cannot be kept fat and strong.

There is more than one cattle breeder in the Shifeng Tea Farm. Tonight it is Lao Geng's turn to be on duty. He tied his robe, opened the door and walked out.

On ordinary nights, the Shishan Tea Farm is quiet, but tonight it is very lively with torches everywhere and people coming and going.

Lao Geng is just a cattle farmer and doesn’t know that much.

He only knew that his boss's business was growing bigger and bigger, and he had already negotiated a big deal with the barbarians.

The boss has a brother who is going to transport more than ten stones of tea tonight and follow the foreigners' big ship to do bigger business.

Old Geng squinted his eyes, looked at the busy scene in the yard, turned around and walked towards the cowshed nearby...

The Shishan Tea Plantation has arranged thirty agile guards to accompany their second young master to the dock tonight.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with the thirty officers in training from the "Imperial Archery and Horse Training School" pretending to be thugs to guard the palace.

They stood quietly in the yard, knives on their backs.

Next to them, boxes of tea in moisture-proof packaging were being moved out of the tea warehouse and loaded onto trucks under the supervision of several big Arabs.

Every time a cart was full, it was tied up tightly with hemp rope, and then the next cart would be loaded.

Li Fei and Zou Wen, two stewards of the Arab merchant, stood in front of the tea cart and watched the "Second Young Master of the Li Family" bid farewell to his eldest sister.

The tall and pretty maid was standing next to Young Master Li.

Tonight, she was wearing a white martial arts uniform that was convenient for traveling, which highlighted her slim waist, long legs and plump curves.

Originally seeing that she was tall and pretty, I thought her figure would inevitably be a little skinny, but I didn't expect that she was quite well-endowed.

Li Fei and Zou Wen smiled with satisfaction.

In their eyes, Leng Yuchan had turned into a bag of gold coins. The bag was leaning towards the table, and the golden coins were happily jumping onto the table, making them feel better.

Mrs. Li brought "Second Master Li" towards Li Fei and Zou Wen.

"Two stewards, my second brother is young and frivolous, and has little experience. This time, I let him lead the ship to the sea to train him. I hope you can take good care of him along the way."

Li Fei and Zou Wen smiled broadly. Li Fei replied in stiff Chinese:

"Mrs. Li, please rest assured. The Second Young Master is our...most distinguished guest. We will definitely take good care of him."

Mrs. Li nodded and looked at Yang Yuan deeply.

Yang Yuan stood by, like an impatient child who was being repeatedly told and instructed by his parents.

As soon as they finished talking, Yang Yuan couldn't wait to jump onto the oil truck, patting the seat with a smile on his face: "Xiaochan, come, come, sit next to me."

This little brat!

Li Shishi cursed inwardly, but she felt more relieved when she saw that Yang Yuan could get into the role so quickly.

Leng Yuechan showed just the right amount of reluctance but inability to resist on her face and walked to the side of the car.

She didn't need to pedal, she just lifted and bent her long legs and put her toes on the shaft.

With a slight push of her long legs, she was able to stand steadily on the car.

The series of movements of raising the legs, bending the legs, and stretching the feet only take a moment.

But the trousers with silver silk piping, revealing the plump beauty when they were stretched tight, made Li Fei and Zou Wen's hearts skip a beat.

……

The gate of the tea garden was opened and cars drove out.

Li Fei and Zou Wen were riding in a car together. They waved to Madam Li with a smile. When the car drove out of the tea plantation, they stopped smiling and straightened their bodies.

"Zou Wen, I hope you can give up fighting for that pretty maid."

Zou Wen glanced coldly at the bearded Li Fei: "We agreed that whoever can capture her will be the trophy.

This is also the usual rule on our ship. What, do you want to go back on your word?"

Li Fei smiled and said, "I know that although you are from Song, you are more favored by Master Wadiye than me. But..."

He turned his head, stared at Zou Wen, and said softly: "That was in the past. Master Wadiye wanted to do business in Song Dynasty, and he needed you, a local tyrant."

"Now, we are going to Baghdad. Do you know how far it is from here? Will you be of as much use to Wadiyeh Agha as before?"

He smiled and patted Zou Wen on the shoulder: "I admire your mind, but when you get there, you need a loyal friend."

Zou Wen was silent for a moment, then said, "When the ship reaches Quanzhou to replenish supplies, we will find a midwife to examine her.

If she is a virgin, she is yours. But I will take 30% of whatever you sell her for."

Zou Wen was also a desperate man who had lived on the edge of a knife and blood. How could he be frightened by a few words from this Arab? He did not compromise, and his smile looked a little ferocious under the moonlight.

"If she is no longer young, then there is no need to distinguish between you and me.

During the long voyage, she will belong to you and me. When we reach Baghdad, we will sell her and share the money equally."

Li Fei felt a little scared when she saw Zou Wen's ferocious smile.

He thought about it and realized that even in his hometown, this oriental woman had the advantage of being exotic.

But if she is no longer young, the money she can be sold for is no more valuable than a few boxes of tea shipped across the ocean.

In this way, he would not suffer much loss if they split the love equally. Moreover, he could enjoy this long-legged beauty to his heart's content during the boring voyage.

If she was a virgin, she could be sold at a very high price in Baghdad.

When bidding at the slave market, you might come across a tycoon who is generous with his money and earn an astonishing amount of money.

In that case, he would take 70%, and the extra 20% would be a big enough bargain.

Thinking of this, Li Fei smiled: "Okay, deal!"

Two hands clasped together in the darkness.

……

At the end of the Chou hour, the fourth drum of Lin'an Night Market ends and the night market is about to close.

There were fewer and fewer people walking in the bluestone alley, some shops were closing, and the lights in the alley became a little dim.

Under the stone archway, a young girl with double hanging buns, holding a "rolling lantern", walked lightly in the night.

Next to her was a graceful woman. Their height and attire made them look like a master and servant.

The one holding the "rolling lantern" is Qingtang.

This "rolling lantern" utilizes a principle similar to that of a gyroscope. Even if the lantern is placed on the ground and rolls, the candle flame inside will always point upwards and will not go out.

Dan Niang brought Qingtang to "Song Family Flavor Restaurant".

Fengweilou closes quite late, and at this time there were still customers supporting each other and looking drunk.

Dan Niang and Qing Tang walked into Fengwei Building and soon arrived at Lu Xi's residence in the backyard.

Before reaching the door, Dan Niang saw that the light in the window was on.

Yes, Erlang is going out to sea to capture dragons and snakes today, and they are going to enter the palace to prepare imperial meals. How could Luxi still be sleeping soundly until now?

Maybe she didn't sleep all night?
Dan Niang thought about it and knocked on the door gently.

Qingtang stopped, bent down and began to extinguish the candle in the lamp.

The door opened, and Luxi was wearing a small dress, with her long hair loose. Her little face, enveloped in her messy hair, actually had a bit of the charm of a young woman.

"Sister Danniang, Qingtang, please come in."

Luxi smiled, let them in, turned around without any hesitation, and walked towards the dressing table.

Qingtang turned around and closed the door. Danniang came forward slowly and asked softly, "Did you sleep well?"

Lu Xi sat down in front of the dressing table, picked up the comb, nodded and said, "Well, with the sleeping skills taught by Sister Dan Niang, I can fall asleep in a few breaths.

Even if I only sleep for an hour or two, I can still feel refreshed when I wake up. This technique is really good."

Dan Niang smiled: "Me too, after using this skill, I can fall asleep as soon as I touch the pillow, without thinking about anything."

Qingtang muttered, "But why do I still feel sleepy? We are going to make lunch for the emperor, do we have to get up so early?

We don’t need to prepare ingredients and kitchen utensils ourselves, we can just bring them into the palace.”

Dan Niang rolled her eyes at her and said, "What do you know? Do you think we can just go into the Imperial Palace?

We must rush to the Ministry of Rites before dawn to learn the etiquette of meeting the emperor."

“When we enter the palace, we have to be examined and searched by palace maids.

We are not familiar with the imperial kitchen in the palace, so shouldn’t we ask Sister Luxi to take a closer look first? We will be in a mess then.”

The three of them were chatting and laughing. No one mentioned the nervousness of entering the palace, nor did anyone mention Yang Yuan who was going to go out to sea to capture dragons and snakes.

There are some things that are useless to mention, they are all deliberately avoiding them.

Luxi is gradually growing up, and Danniang's heart is also gradually getting stronger...

……

Liu Shangqiu did not sleep all night. Every time he made up his mind to resist his family's arrangements for him, he felt inexplicably excited and could not sleep the whole night.

There was a bed sheet hanging on his window, blocking the light from the room.

If not, as long as the light in his room is not extinguished after midnight,

His father, his mother, his biological mother, or his aunt...

There will definitely be a discovery, and then she will come and knock on the door with a worried look on her face, asking him attentively if he is feeling unwell.

What a suffocating life!

Under the light, Liu Shangqiu stood in front of a large bronze mirror that was as tall as a person.

The bronze mirror showed every detail. The man in the mirror was wearing a black suit, his hair was tied into a bun, wrapped with a green scarf, and a small bow was tied on his forehead!
The prince put the sword on his back, looked at himself in the mirror sideways, and deliberately exposed the fish-skin-patterned hilt on his shoulder.

Looking around, he always felt as if something was missing.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, bent down, and excitedly dragged out a small box from under the couch.

He took out a belt full of throwing knives and tied it around his waist.

Then, he looked in the mirror again, raised his hand and straightened up the butterfly corners that had just been flattened by his palm.

Well, I am satisfied this time!
He in the mirror was smiling like a flower, just like a beautiful female knight who was going to rob a house!

(End of this chapter)