touchnovel Chapter 54 Liu Zhutao 2
Chapter 54 Liu Zhutao 2
Liu Sheng thought about it for a long time.
I really felt that I couldn't think of a better idea than my father's decision.
He had no choice but to suppress the remaining reluctance and worry in his heart and nod.
"Dad, you're right. Since you and Uncle Song have already made the plan, I support you!"
Liu Sheng took out the brocade that the Yan family had given him, handed it to his father, and then continued:
"After I learn more skills at the martial arts school and pass the martial arts exam, I want to join the righteous army."
After he finished speaking, he looked at his father.
It seemed she was observing whether her father agreed.
Upon hearing the name of the "righteous army's" son, Liu Zhutao's eyes lit up, and he slammed his hand heavily on the stone table:
"Good! That's the kind of son I, Liu Zhutao, should have! If you want to make a future, join the righteous army of our human race, be upright and protect your fellow countrymen. Don't be like those spineless people who become lackeys of the demon race and waste their lives."
Seeing his father's matter-of-fact expression of agreement, Liu Sheng nodded earnestly, "Dad, I know!"
That covers most of the important points.
Liu Zhutao stood up and walked towards the shop in front:
"Sit down and wait a while."
Hearing his father's instructions, Liu Sheng didn't go inside; he just sat in the courtyard.
He realized that after tonight, he would no longer be living in this courtyard.
This is the place where he grew up.
There's a crooked tree in the corner of the yard. When I was little, I often climbed it and tore my clothes, and then I'd get a beating. There's also that stone well, which I often used for showering. And there's the back door that my dad just opened; the hinges have been creaking for over a decade.
And there was that place by the courtyard wall... by the courtyard wall, where he and his father worked together for the first time to beat up Lai San.
Yes, they are all wonderful memories.
A little while later, Dad came back carrying a tray and a pot of hot water.
He sighed:
"Come, have a few pots of tea with your old man. After he leaves, the chances of us sitting together and drinking tea like this will probably be fewer..."
After saying this, Liu Zhutao carefully placed the brand-new gaiwan teacup down from the tray, then lifted the lid to reveal the red dates, longan, goji berries, walnuts, sesame seeds, raisins, rock sugar, etc. inside...
There's also a small pinch of Pu'er tea!
These are all the most expensive and best materials sold in the shop; only wealthy families can afford to buy them.
As boiling water is poured into the cup, a rich, sweet aroma and the fragrance of tea instantly fill the air.
Liu Sheng picked up his teacup, blew on it, and his thoughts drifted back to an earlier time, carried by the rising steam.
He remembered when he was very young, his mother was still alive, and the whole family squeezed into a rented little house. Every day before dawn, his father would carry a load on his shoulder and walk through the streets and alleys, selling needles, thread, dried fruit and sundries.
Later, after saving up some money, he bought a new cart and continued selling.
When we had saved up enough money, we were able to take over the shop we have now. We packed everything up, one pot at a time, and bought goods one by one. In those years, my parents often worked until late at night, calculating with their abacuses by the dim light of an oil lamp, their brows furrowed.
Even after his mother passed away, his father never remarried, keeping the shop and raising him alone.
You could say this shop...
It was just an ordinary business.
It embodies half a lifetime of hard work from my father.
Today, this painstaking effort, in this increasingly chaotic world, has no choice but to be sold.
Based on memories from a past life.
For ordinary people, doing business honestly is the most upright thing to do.
But in this world...
It has become, surprisingly, a luxury.
Moreover, their family was already very lucky; both father and son were alive and well and still able to earn money. At least they hadn't been robbed by bandits, losing everything or even their lives, nor had they become beggars, and their child hadn't been lost.
This shouldn't have been the case...
Dad was right. While you're young, go out and explore.
He will join the righteous army in the future.
I'm quite lucky; I'm almost an eighth-rank martial artist now. I can't just abandon the bridge after I've crossed the river, can I?
An opportunity will definitely be found.
Do what you can!
And so, the father and son sat in the courtyard as dusk fell, savoring the fruity and tea aromas of Eight Treasure Tea, chatting idly.
Liu Sheng asked some more questions about the current situation in Yejia Town.
My father mentioned that a market had been built in the square inside Ye Family Town, and there was also a small workshop for the rebel army that could make and repair some simple weapons and farm tools.
The security of Yejia Town was maintained by the town mayor Ye Yong and the militia. The taxes collected by the militia were far lower than the imperial court's standards, and everything was much more orderly than in Yueya County.
In contrast, Crescent Moon County, under the chaotic governance of the demon magistrate, has indeed gradually declined.
"Father, when are you and Uncle Song setting off?" Liu Sheng asked, holding his teacup.
"We'll leave once the goods are loaded, in an hour or two."
Liu Zhutao glanced at the sky: "It'll be easier to walk before it gets completely dark."
"So urgent? I'll take you there." Liu Sheng's heart tightened; he was still worried.
"No, no!"
The old man waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm not seventy or eighty years old yet, I can walk this little distance."
But Liu Sheng persisted, only to find his father continuing:
"When we arrived, everything was fine, wasn't it? The journey here has been much safer!"
Upon hearing that tone...
Liu Sheng became even more worried.
He thought about how he had encountered rebel armies while traveling with the Yan family's caravan, and how so many children had recently gone missing. How could the area around Crescent Moon County possibly be peaceful?
"No, Father, I must take you."
Liu Sheng's attitude was firm: "It's not far to begin with. Seeing that you went in safely, I'll go back. Listen to me!"
Looking at her son's stubborn eyes.
Liu Zhutao felt both gratified and helpless.
Finally, he sighed and laughed, scolding:
"You brat, now you dare to tell your old man what to do? Fine, fine, I'll let you deliver it. It'll also let you see for yourself what Ye Family Town is like now, so you won't have any more ideas."
Liu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief when his father agreed.
As the sun set, the sky quickly darkened.
The workers had already loaded the goods and tied them securely with thick hemp rope.
Liu Zhutao gave the empty shop and courtyard one last check, locked the gate, and handed the key to someone who seemed to be in charge.
Liu Sheng also put his luggage on one of the camel carts. Yejia'ao is located east of the county town, and the martial arts school is also located in the east of the town. He could just drop it off when he passed by.
Then the father and son joined the Song family's caravan and set off together.
Liu Sheng also took out the brocade that the Yan family had given him and gave it to Uncle Song. The Song couple were all smiles and praised Xiao Sheng for being so promising.
Several camel carts slowly drove out into the twilight, leaving the commercial street they had run for many years and heading towards Yejia Town.
Sitting on the camel cart, Liu Sheng glanced back at the dilapidated streets and alleys, which looked even more run-down in the twilight, and felt a mix of emotions.
He clenched his fist, thinking that if there were ever a peaceful day in the future, he would buy the shop back and make his father happy.
But that day may be a long way off.
……
The crescent moon rises.
The back of a continuous stretch of sand dunes.
A dozen or so gray-yellow figures were crawling in the shadows.
The leader was a wolf demon with a scar on his face. It turned out that this was the same wolf demon who had narrowly escaped with his life during the last robbery in the west.
Now it has become the new leader.
"Boss, we've been holed up here for ages, our mouths are full of sand from the wind. Aren't we going to head west and intercept the Yan family's convoy? Didn't the county magistrate order us to..."
A skinny wolf demon approached the new leader to ask a question, only to be interrupted by the scarred man:
"Explain my ass!"
Scarface suddenly turned his head, a low growl escaping his throat.
It spat, its saliva containing grains of sand.
His face still seemed to carry a hint of fear.
"The magistrate sent this job, it's all about risking your life. That human warrior with the spear, even the boss's arrows couldn't hurt him. One thrust of his spear, and the boss's head was like paper, pierced right through..."
It glanced around, and the other underlings, equally shaken, licked their dry, cracked lips.
With a hint of shrewdness and helplessness, tinged with the relief of surviving a close call, he continued:
"If you ask me, even if we can't go back to the tribe, so be it. Losing face is better than losing our lives, right? The west side of the city is dangerous, so let's go east. With a dozen or so brothers like us, are we afraid of not finding food? Just avoid those big family caravans!"
Upon hearing this, the wolf demons, recalling their previous encounter with the Yan family's caravan, nodded and whispered in agreement:
"The boss is brilliant!"
"Yes, it's good to be alive; only when you're alive can you eat meat!"