Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Let's put that aside for now. It's getting late, and we don't want to encounter any other wild animals. Everyone, carry the tiger carcass down the mountain quickly. From now on, we need to hunt these wild animals in the back mountains regularly. If we let their populations grow too large, it will be uncontrollable!"

Li Hanxiao also realized the potential danger posed by the wild animals in the back mountains of Liangshan. After all, there was a tiger there. Could anyone guarantee that there weren't any other large carnivores? In any case, it was a place where humans lived, so the fewer threatening animals there were, the better.

For some animals that can be domesticated, it is best to tame and raise them in captivity, which can also provide them with meat.

Large carnivores can only be killed, but they will always pose a threat to the Liangshan group.

The group carried the white tiger down the mountain and back to their residence in the back of the mountain. By then, Wu Song had been taken back inside to rest, and Jin'er gave him several bowls of soup to help him recover.

When Li Shishi and Lin Niangzi heard that a tiger had appeared on the mountain, they became worried and went outside to observe.

Even though they were mentally prepared, the women were still terrified when they saw the huge white tiger!

"This isn't a tiger, it's a mountain lord! Wu Song could kill it with his bare hands. In my whole life, I've only ever heard of Li Cunxiao being able to do that!"

Instructor Zhang went closer to examine the tiger and couldn't help but sigh.

Li Hanxiao went to see Wu Song, and when he pushed open Wu Song's door, he overheard Jin'er and Wu Song's conversation.

Driven by curiosity, Li Hanxiao didn't push the door open. Instead, he left it slightly ajar to eavesdrop on what was being said.

"Brother Wu, why did you have to hunt a tiger? That tiger is so powerful..."

Jin'er's voice was clearly choked with sobs, indicating that she had just cried and was still in a state of emotional turmoil.

In that sobbing voice, you could hear three parts resentment, but the majority of it was worry and heartache.

"Hey girl, even if someone's been killed, I'm fine."

Wu Song is clearly a "straight man," after all, he's never had a mother growing up, let alone knows how to communicate with women. He doesn't know how, and he doesn't understand, so his attempts at comfort are particularly blunt and ineffective...

"What if something happens...? Even if it just gets bitten a couple of times, that would be a serious matter..."

Jin'er started sobbing again because of Wu Song's words, which, although meant to comfort her, were also somewhat indifferent. She cried loudly.

"Oh dear... this... I... I won't fight next time, okay? This is really... little sister, please don't cry anymore, Wu Er doesn't know how to comfort people..."

Wu Song was clearly in a state of panic. When he saw Jin'er crying, he naturally wanted to comfort her, but the more he talked, the more she cried, leaving him at a loss. He then sat up abruptly from the bed.

"Lie down! You just fainted from exhaustion, don't get up!"

However, judging from his current state, it seems that Wu Song was pushed back down by Jin'er before he could even sit up...

Who could imagine that the mighty Wu Song, the Second Brother Wu, would be so utterly subdued by a little girl? Li Hanxiao found it all quite amusing.

In the original novel, Wu Song was a bachelor, so he basically had no normal interactions with women. Li Hanxiao really couldn't imagine what Wu Song would be like if he had a wife.

Now, Li Hanxiao is worried that if that day really comes, will Wu Song be henpecked?

What are you doing?

"Oh my god, that scared me to death!"

Li Hanxiao was suddenly patted on the back. He turned around and saw "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, which really startled him.

"look!"

Li Hanxiao moved over, making room for Lin Chong to look through the crack in the door.

"Chief, do you think they can really get away with this..."

Lin Chong asked in a low voice.

"I've never seen Wu Erlang speak so softly and gently before. Jin'er has really won him over. It's rare. I think it's pretty much a done deal..."

"I think it's pretty much a definite yes..."

Just as the two were prying open the door, it was suddenly opened from the inside. Li Hanxiao and Lin Chong were caught off guard and almost fell into the room. They only managed to steady themselves by assuming a horse stance.

Jin'er opened the door, intending to fetch some well water to wash Wu Song, but she discovered the two people outside, creating an awkward situation.

"How are Brother Wu Song doing?"

Li Han laughed, breaking the awkward silence. Jin'er quickly said, "I'm much better, but I was exhausted before and still need to recuperate..."

"Brother Li, look at me now, I'm all better! I can even kill a tiger with my bare hands!"

Wu Song joked.

"And you're still talking? What were you doing running off to the back mountain for no reason? Hunting tigers, you've got some nerve!"

Li Hanxiao's tone had a hint of "questioning and reprimanding".

Wu Song glanced around and, seeing that Jin'er had already gone out to fetch water, dared to speak, "To be honest, Brother Li, Jin'er has a thousand good qualities, but there's one bad thing about her: she won't let me touch anything. I'm a martial artist, and for so many days, I haven't been allowed to use any weapons, nor have I been allowed to use my fists or legs. All I've done every day is eat and sleep. I... I... I'm so miserable! So I wanted to go for a walk in the back mountain, but who knew I'd run into a tiger. I had no choice but to fight it..."

Wu Song recounted his ordeal with a sense of helplessness, which prompted Li Han to burst into laughter. "You, Wu Song, the Second Young Master, are a man of eight feet tall, capable of killing a tiger with your bare hands. What, you think Jin'er can subdue you with her words? Why don't you just ignore her? What can she do to you? Just ignore her, isn't that enough?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Song quickly retorted, "Brother Li, don't say that. Sister Jin'er meant well. How can you treat her like this?"

"Hey!"

Li Hanxiao was indignant upon hearing this. "What? Miss Jin'er is doing this for your own good, but we're not? We told you to stay healthy and go fight tigers, are we trying to harm you? This kid has no conscience!"

"No, no, no!"

Wu Song tried his best to explain after being teased by Li Hanxiao, but Li Hanxiao's original intention was to make fun of him, so he laughed even harder.

Lin Chong, on the other hand, asked Wu Song in a more serious tone, "Brother, what do you think of that girl Jin'er?"

Wu Song was taken aback by Lin Chong's sudden question and paused for a moment before replying, "Yes, yes, Jin'er is certainly a good woman."

"It's a pity that she lives in the mountains; I'm afraid it will be difficult to find her a husband!"

Lin Chong sighed.

Looking for a husband?

Wu Song repeated in surprise, then asked, "Could it be that Jin'er is getting married?"

"Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age. This is a major matter of human relations and a matter of the five cardinal virtues. Jin'er is already sixteen years old. If she waits a few more years, she will be an old maid, and I'm afraid no one will want her!"

Lin Chong was referring to the situation in ancient times. In the early Song Dynasty, the marriage age for men and women was the same as that in the Tang Dynasty: the "Collection of Famous Officials' Judgments on Clear and Bright Things" stipulated that "men could marry at fifteen and women at thirteen." The economic development of the Song Dynasty brought about cultural prosperity, and people's ideas also changed. This was reflected in the marriage age for men and women: the marriage age for both men and women was raised by one year.

Although many insightful individuals opposed early marriage and called for lowering the marriage age for men and women throughout feudal society, the shortage of social labor, the need for taxation, and the influence of family and clan concepts prevented the lowering of the marriage age from being realized.

However, Jin'er is already eighteen years old, which is considered an adult, so there's not much of a problem.

"No, no, Jin'er is such a good girl, someone wants her, someone wants her!"

Wu Song chuckled憨憨地.

"You said you wanted it? Do you really want it?"

Seeing that Wu Song had taken the bait, Li Han smiled and pressed his advantage.

"So good..."

Wu Song blurted out his true feelings, only to realize afterward that something was wrong—why did he just blurt it out?

"A man's word is his bond. Since you're interested in Jin'er, I'll act as matchmaker, and the Lin family will be your elders. We'll betroth Jin'er to you!"

Caught off guard by Li Hanxiao's sudden barrage of attacks, Wu Song just happened to catch Jin'er returning from fetching water. Li Hanxiao then spoke up, "Jin'er, Brother Wu just proposed to Instructor Lin to marry you. How much dowry do you think would be appropriate?"

Upon hearing these words, Jin'er's face turned bright red, almost to the point of steaming.

"Bad guy, bad man! Who wants any dowry! He should just focus on getting better and thank God..."

Jin'er turned her back and covered her face as she spoke. After all, she was a woman from feudal times, so it was normal for her to be thin-skinned.

"No, I, I didn't say that..."

Wu Song refuted Li Hanxiao's words, but Jin'er immediately turned around, her almond-shaped eyes wide, and questioned Wu Song, "What? You didn't say? You don't want me?"

"me……"

Wu Song didn't know how to answer, but Jin'er bit her lip tightly, and tears welled up in her eyes again!

"Alright, alright! Wu Er wants you! He wants you! He won't marry anyone but me!"

Seeing that she was about to cry again, Wu Song quickly agreed. He had always had a good impression of Jin'er; they were like "a turtle looking at a green bean, they hit it off".

However, he wasn't prepared for things like proposing marriage, and Li Hanxiao brought it up, catching him off guard.

"Good, good, good! I've facilitated another marriage! It's a double blessing for our families!"

Li Han clapped his hands with a smile.

"Senior brother, how much dowry should I prepare?"

Wu Song asked cautiously.

Lin Chong was amused. "What are you saying? It's Jin'er's good fortune to marry you. We don't care about social status or dowry. As long as you love each other, that's enough!"

Jin'er was so ashamed that she couldn't bear to listen anymore, so she ran out to find Madam Lin and complain!

"However, even if I am to get married, I still have to go back to my hometown to find my elder brother. If I get married, he is the only elder in my family, so he has to come and be my elder brother!"

Wu Song thought of his elder brother Wu Dalang, and it was both a matter of duty and reason for him to let him know.

"That makes sense. An elder brother is like a father. Your older brother raised you with great difficulty, so he must know about such an important matter!"

Li Han smiled and affirmed.

"Besides, he needs to settle down and start a family, but Wu Er is still unemployed. How will he support Jin'er in the future..."

Wu Song began to worry about making a living again. After thinking it over for a long time, he finally said something.

"Brother Li, Senior Brother, I, Wu Er, have received such great kindness from you that I have no way to repay you. I don't know anything in this life, but after spending many days at Liangshan, I have seen many brothers who are all heroes. You two brothers and your sister-in-law treat me like your own brother. I really don't want to be separated from you all. If Brother Li could let me stay at Liangshan... to be with you all day and night, it would be the greatest honor of my life!"

Wu Song finally said those words, and Li Han was so happy that he felt like peach blossoms were blooming in his heart.

His tactics finally paid off. Although Wu Song was no longer as desperate as he had been when he caused a ruckus at Feiyunpu and spilled blood at Yuanyang Tower, he was now truly moved by his own persistent efforts and finally found it hard to part with his brothers at Liangshan.

The assimilation strategy of Shi Enjia was a complete success. Li Hanxiao was very clear that some people can be bought with money, while others you have to win their hearts with kindness and sincerity.

"Great! Brother Wu Song, if that's your intention, then come up the mountain and take a seat. With your skills, no one will have a problem with that!"

Lin Chong patted Wu Song on the shoulder. He had high hopes for this junior brother and believed that given time, he would surely achieve great things.

"However, I have another request. My elder brother is still living a simple life in our hometown of Yanggu County. He is my own brother, and if I stay on the mountain, I will be breaking the law and it will inevitably implicate him. Could you please bring him up the mountain so that he can enjoy a day or two of peace and happiness..."

Wu Song recalled how Wu Dalang had gone through so much hardship to beg for help from many families to raise him, and the memories of his childhood were still vivid in his mind. This made him miss his older brother even more.

“What’s so difficult about that? Your elder brother is our brother. You write a personal letter, and I’ll send a secret messenger to your brother… If he’s afraid he won’t come up the mountain, you can write that you’ve already settled down elsewhere and are preparing for your wedding, and that you need your elder brother to preside over the ceremony. Just trick him into coming up the mountain first!”

Li Han thought to himself, what if Wu Dalang was no longer in his hometown of Qinghe County, but in Yanggu County, and had already married Pan Jinlian and was a married man? If he were to tell the truth, how could an honest and kind man like him be willing to come?

"There's no other way..."

Wu Song understood that Li Hanxiao's words made sense, and that was the only way.

Li Hanxiao was also thinking that there was no problem with taking Wu Dalang over, after all, Wu Dalang was an honest and simple man, but his current wife Pan Jinlian was a bit of a problem. She was a promiscuous woman who, in the original story, seduced her brother-in-law and murdered her husband. If she stayed by Wu Dalang's side, she would be a time bomb!

Finding a way to make her devoted to Wu Dalang is indeed quite difficult, after all, the two sides are far too different in terms of "hardware". If they were to go up the mountain, every man on the mountain would be better than Wu Dalang. Pan Jinlian might be able to ruin the atmosphere of Liangshan!