Chapter 030 I Want to Jump into the Well
After Cao You left the hill, Lu Sen opened the gift box.
Hmm... a thank-you gift similar to the Yang family's.
Two gold ingots, an old ginseng of unknown age, and many gems.
I held a small handful in my hand, they were colorful and quite pretty.
Lu Sen suddenly let out a "huh" sound. He opened the system and found some recipes that required gemstones as the main material. Upon closer inspection, most of them could not be made because some of the ingredients were too strange.
For example, things like 'Scales of Shadow Dragon', 'Severed Tail of Thunder Kirin', etc., are obviously legendary things.
Or it was something inexplicable, like 'a dark elf's dried banana' or 'Argonian bread and butter sauce'. The words were clear, but when put together, Lu Sen couldn't figure out what the hell it was.
There are a few things that are relatively normal though.
For example, making some gem weapons and armor, or... making a hand-cranked jukebox!
Two parts of gemstones of any color, two parts of copper, two parts of iron, one part of glass, and two parts of magnet.
It can be made into a hand-cranked jukebox.
It is introduced later that the music catalog stored in the jukebox is related to the memory of the producer.
I guess the creator heard some song and extracted it when he succeeded in making this thing.
This is a good thing, much more meaningful than gem weapons and the like.
Now that we have no worries about food and clothing and the issue of personal safety has also been resolved, the only thing left is the issue of spiritual food.
Lu Sen immediately stood up and shouted, "Hei Zhu, come with me to the city."
"Yes, my dear ."
Heizhu put down the bucket and ran over happily.
Although he was captured by the people from Wuyou Cave in the city and beaten badly, this had happened to him several times before and he almost died every time, so he didn't care anymore.
Now I am very happy to hear that I can go into the city.
Kobayashi continued to guard the house.
But as soon as the two of them walked out of the yard, they saw an old teacher leading a young student towards them.
The reason why we know that these two people are scholars is that they both wear square scarves on their heads.
Normally, only scholars would dress like this.
The old man was thin, and although there were yellow spots in his eyes, his eyes looked bright. When he saw Lu Sen, he clasped his fists and walked over with a smile, asking, "Is this young man the owner of the house ahead?"
"How are you, father-in-law?" Lu Sen clasped his fists and bowed slightly, saying, "I am indeed the owner of the house in the back. May I ask what you can do for me, father-in-law?"
The old man clasped his fists and continued with a smile: "My surname is Chang, my given name is Hua, and my courtesy name is Yijian. Next to me is my useless only son, Chang Wei, who does not yet have a courtesy name."
The young student next to him clasped his fists and saluted Lu Sen. He looked gentle and very polite.
"Boy Lu Sen, may I ask if Mr. Chang came all the way to see me?" Lu Lin continued to ask with a fist.
"I just came here to prepare to move to the foot of the mountain and build a house to live there permanently. When I saw a house on the hillside, I came to meet my neighbor." Chang Hua stroked the short beard on his chin and laughed, "After all, a distant relative is not as good as close neighbor. In the future, our two families should visit each other more often and support each other when there is something wrong."
As Chang Hua finished speaking, the young scholar next to him handed over a small piece of bacon in his hand.
It was only about 300-400 grams. The gift was indeed not much, but in many cases, the relocation gift did not need to be something expensive or valuable, it was just a gift to greet each other and get to know each other.
Heizhu immediately took it with both hands and held it up.
"You are too polite, old man." Lu Sen smiled and said, "Please wait a moment. I will return the gift."
"Mr. Lu, you are too polite. No need, no need." Although Chang Hua said polite words, he was smiling but did not move.
This is normal. When neighbors meet for the first time, they should pay back and wish for good luck.
It doesn't matter what you give, it's fine to just give a steamed bun as a return gift.
Lu Sen and Hei Zhu returned to the yard and came out after a while, each of them holding a handful of vegetables.
One handful is lettuce, and the other handful is cabbage.
The quantity is not too much, and there won’t be any special effect after eating it. Besides, raw vegetables are more valuable and can be presented.
Chang Hua and his son took the vegetables, exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then left.
After they walked for a while, Lu Sen went down the mountain.
On the flat ground on the right side of the foot of the mountain, there was indeed a group of people digging the foundation.
It seems that construction had started at least two or three days ago.
However, this place was in the blind spot of the yard, so Lu Sen and the other two couldn't and didn't know about it.
Lu Sen stopped to look for a while, then headed towards the city of Bianjing.
After entering the city, he headed straight to the northwest corner of the outer city.
It was the most famous market in Bianjing City and also the place with the largest number of Semites.
All the strange things in the world are gathered there, and almost anything you want can be found there.
The city of Bianjing was always bustling no matter what time it was. People were crowded together and walked slowly on the streets.
Just as Lu Sen was about to reach the northwest corner, he heard panicked screams in front of him and pedestrians fled in a hurry.
Then he saw two martial artists flying over eaves and walls in the air ahead, looking a little embarrassed, and behind them was a young girl in a red tights, waving a silver whip and chasing them.
"You dare to run away when you see me? You really don't take my Yang family seriously. Take my whip!"
With a crisp and delicate shout, the silver whip was like a nimble dragon, instantly entangled the legs of a gangster in front of it, and with a flick of the whip, threw him heavily into the center of the street. Then the young girl in red tights stepped lightly on the eaves, floated ten feet high, and chased after the still fleeing gangster. In an instant, her figure disappeared over the eaves, and only the faint and delicate shouts could be heard.
"Still running! When I catch you, I will make you drink the water you washed your feet in."
Lu Sen sighed, what a beautiful girl with a strong personality.
At this time, the martial artist in the middle of the road was dizzy from the fall and was about to stand up, but was rushed over and knocked to the ground by the soldiers of the Yang Mansion who arrived later.
Soon the soldiers tied the man up.
One of them was Uncle Qi, whom Lu Sen knew.
Uncle Qi kicked the martial artist and angrily cursed, "How dare you fight back? If it weren't for our strength, we wouldn't have been injured by you. If we were really injured, my young lady would have cut you into pieces."
He cursed and looked around, then he saw Lu Sen on the street, then he walked over and said with a smile: "Lu Xiaolang, I haven't seen you for a while, are you in the city to buy something again?"
"Yeah, I want to make something." Lu Sen clasped his fists and said, "Why is it the Yang family that is hunting down the gangsters?"
Uncle Qi smiled bitterly and briefly explained the situation.
It turned out that after discussions between the emperor and his ministers on the Fanlou incident a few days ago, three decisions were finally made.
First, Kaifeng Prefecture was allowed to continue recruiting martial artists, and more deputy chief constable positions could be created to have the power to mobilize constables and strengthen the capital's public security in the future.
The second plan is to hold a martial arts conference in Hangzhou in March, inviting all the masters of the major sects to gather and elect a martial arts leader to control the people in the underworld. The martial arts leader will be a fourth-rank official, and can set up a government office and be controlled by the Ministry of Justice.
Third, before Zhan Zhao returned to Beijing, the Yang family was responsible for eliminating the evil gangsters in the city of Bianjing. If anyone resisted, they had the right to kill them without mercy.
The reason for choosing the Yang family is that the Yang family has now fallen into decline, and the only son in the family has gone to the Northwest Army to make meritorious services, leaving only three women to support the family.
Even if a woman leading an army is good at winning people's hearts, she is ultimately not as ambitious as a man.
If it were any other general, not only Zhao Zhen would be worried, but even civil officials like Bao Zheng would not be too confident.
As for the imperial guards who protected the capital, although their number was said to be hundreds of thousands, their actual combat effectiveness was poor. Not to mention suppressing the gangsters, even ordinary people looked down on them.
A bunch of useless people who just eat and wait to die, old, weak, sick and disabled, and rarely get training once in half a year.
So in the past few days, Mu Guiying and Yang Jinhua each led dozens of soldiers and arrested many people from the underworld.
If it comes to fighting alone, neither the mother nor the daughter is as good as Zhan Zhao.
What they learned were battlefield tactics, archery, horsemanship, and spear formations. Their martial arts were bold and balanced, and they were good at group coordinated combat. Naturally, they were not very good at dealing with roaming gangs.
But when it comes to leading troops in battle, ten Zhan Zhaos are no match for one Yang Jinhua, not to mention Mu Guiying.
What’s more, the mother and daughter are fighting on two fronts.
Although there were only dozens of people, as long as they set up the spear and bow formation... no one without several times more people in the martial arts world could stop them. In less than two days, all the martial arts people in the city of Bianjing were scattered and discouraged. They just ran away when they saw them.
So soon, the public security in Bianjing City returned to normal and has now entered the cleanup stage.
But once Zhan Zhao comes back, the Yang family will definitely be hidden again.
After all, the Zhao family would not let the generals get too much attention.
After listening to Uncle Qi's words, Lu Sen clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work."
"No, I was just following orders." Uncle Qi waved his hand and suddenly asked, "Did Lu Xiaolang see my young lady just now?"
Lu Sen nodded and said, "I just saw her fly away from the eaves. She was so heroic!"
At this moment, Lu Sen's expression was sincere and came from the heart.
Uncle Qi saw that he didn't seem to be lying, and immediately showed a very subtle expression: "Don't you think my little lady is rude?"
Uncle Qi also heard Yang Jinhua shouting "foot washing water" just now. He didn't believe that Lu Xiaolang, who was closer to his wife, couldn't hear it.
After hearing such words, even Uncle Qi felt that his young wife really didn't look like a young girl.
Lu Sen thought about it and said, "Not bad."
Lu Sen has seen many truly wild girlfriends, and he himself has been with one before. In comparison, Yang Jinhua can only be considered the type who is fierce in words but soft in heart.
Uncle Qi looked at Lu Sen's expression, which became more subtle. Finally, he smiled and said, "As expected of Lu Xiaolang, you are so broad-minded and can do what others cannot."
Now it was Lu Sen's turn to have a subtle expression. He always felt that Uncle Qi's words seemed to be despising him, but he could not find any evidence.
Uncle Qi clasped his fists and said, "Lu Xiaolang, I have to take the prisoner to the Kaifeng prison. We can talk again another day."
Lu Sen smiled and clasped his fists.
Then the two separated.
This little episode did not affect Lu Sen's mood, but instead made him feel quite novel.
When he arrived at the Northwest Market, Lu Sen saw a large number of Semites walking on the streets.
The streets here are filled with the aroma of spices and the stench from the Semites who have not bathed for more than ten days, mixed together into an indescribable smell.
When walking on the streets, all the Semites would automatically avoid the Song people and try to stay away from their bodies to avoid collisions.
The Zhao Song Dynasty was indeed unable to defeat its two northern neighbors, but this did not prevent the Song people from discriminating against and looking down on the Semites.
Although the Zhao Song Dynasty was timid towards the outside world, in the city of Bianliang, if the Semites dared to conflict with the Song people, all Song officials would unconditionally try their best to stand on the side of the Song people.
Unless the Song people were really wrong.
Even the extremely observant Bao Fuyin would subconsciously favor the Song people when handling cases involving Song and Semites.
Therefore, the Song people walked around the miscellaneous market with impunity, but even so, no serious Song people were willing to come here to shop.
Those who came were merchants or their servants.
Even beggars are reluctant to come to the Northwest Market to beg for food.
So when Lu Sen appeared in the miscellaneous market, although the surroundings were very crowded, he did not feel that he had difficulty moving. Instead, he walked smoothly.
I have to say that there is really everything in the miscellaneous market, and it is essentially a black market.
Although the Song dialect accent of the Semites is a bit strange, it does not affect communication.
After communication, Lu Sen quickly bought what he wanted, high-quality iron ingots and copper ingots, and two large magnets.
Magnets are not sold through regular channels in Kaifeng Prefecture because the quantity is small and they are all used to make Si Nan.
Salt and iron were the monopolies of the imperial court, and the private sale of iron ingots was essentially illegal. Only the Semites, who valued money over their lives, would sell them secretly.
If they were afraid of death, they would not have traveled thousands of miles to the Northern Song Dynasty to do business.
Moreover, there seemed to be the shadows of several court ministers standing behind the market.
Lu Sen bought what he wanted and of course, spent a lot of money. When he was about to go back, he suddenly saw a platform not far ahead, with a large group of people gathered below.
A woman was dancing on the platform, and beautiful music and rhythmic drum beats could be heard.
Lu Sen hadn't listened to music for a while, so he took Hei Zhu over.
When I walked to the bottom of the red platform, I saw a blue-eyed Semu woman dancing with her belly exposed and singing a song.
This Semu woman looked to be only in her early twenties, but Lu Sen knew that Semu people matured precociously, and judging from her appearance, she should be around fifteen years old.
The silky red shirt covered her vital parts, revealing her white skin. Her flat abdomen and beautiful waistline twisted rhythmically with her hips, like a graceful white dolphin swimming in the bright ocean.
The Seljuq women sang and danced, and the Seljuq people around them cheered, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.
The songs she sang were indeed very beautiful. Accompanied by two five-string guitars and a small drum, she performed vibrant and exotic songs.
Lu Sen also thought it sounded very nice, and he couldn't help but tap the drums with his fingers hidden in his sleeves.
At this time, Heizhu came over and said, "My dear, this is the Semu courtesan, Alijie. The song she sang was translated into our Song dialect. I remember it was called "Beautiful Island"."
Lu Sen turned his head to look at Hei Zhu and said with a smile: "You know it very well."
Hei Zhu said embarrassedly, "The courtesans in our Song Dynasty all stay in brothels or brothels. Only this courtesan from the Semu people would dance erotically in public. Once she performed on stage in the north city. I happened to be begging there, so I took the opportunity to watch her."
Lu Sen listened for a while, and when the woman finished singing, he was about to leave, but frowned slightly.
At this time, the Seljuq drummer had already stood up. His sleeves were rolled up at his wrists and there was a tattoo on his arm.
A four-legged animal that looks like a lion but not a lion, and like a horse but not a horse is looking back. Its body is made up of many strange, curved characters.
Wait, this icon looks familiar... Assassin?
As if sensing Lu Sen's gaze, the drummer suddenly turned his head and stared at Lu Sen.
At this moment, the drummer's vision became extremely sharp!
On the other side, Yang Jinhua finally caught up with another gangster and knocked him to the ground, then stepped on his back. After waiting for a long time, Uncle Qi finally brought his men over.
"Uncle Qi, you are too late." Yang Jinhua complained.
Uncle Qi smiled and said, "I ran into Lu Xiaolang and chatted with him for a while."
Yang Jinhua was slightly stunned, then pretended to be nonchalant and said, "We don't need to talk for so long, Uncle Qi, aren't you afraid that something will happen to me?"
"How can a mere thief hurt the young lady?" Uncle Qi thought for a moment and said, "Just now, Lu Xiaolang saw the young lady showing off her power and said that you looked very heroic."
Yang Jinhua didn't respond. She said, "Okay, Uncle Qi, you will take these bastards to the Kaifeng prison. I'm a little tired, so I'll go home first."
Then, without waiting for Uncle Qi to reply, she rode the horse brought by the family soldier nearby and returned to Yang's Mansion.
She asked the servant to tie up the horse, then went back to her room and closed the door.
Then… he quickly threw himself on the bed, buried his face in the soft mattress, and kept pounding the quilt with his hands. His face turned red, and he yelled in shame and anger: "It's so embarrassing, so embarrassing. How could he see us again? I really want to jump into the well and commit suicide!"
