Chapter 6 The lady eats meat, the commander drinks soup
Seeing the servants get to work, Luo Fang chuckled and thought to himself, "Truly, heaven is on my side. You bunch of lowly beasts, it's not that I, Luo Fang, won't give you a chance to turn things around."
"It's because you were born with a lowly fate and don't have that kind of fortune."
Luo Fang lay back in his chair, leisurely watching the busy crowd.
Sometimes when I get tired of lying down, I get up and walk around. If anyone dares to slack off, I give them a lash with my whip.
Of course, he controlled his strength very well, only injuring the skin and flesh, not the bones and muscles. And he only hit the back, never the hands or feet.
"Hurry up, hurry up, everyone work harder. If you can't hold on, just think about the reward money, think about the chicken leg."
"Hehe, after hardship comes happiness. Who knows, I might even gain the lady's favor."
He exuded an air of superiority, speaking from a position of privilege. He felt a surge of secret pleasure at seeing the envious and awe-inspiring looks on the servants' faces.
As he passed by Li Xian, he noticed that although Li Xian's steps were not fast, his gait was very steady. He let out a soft "Eh," and said, "You lad, you're pretty nimble on your feet."
"I used to love running around." Li Xian wiped away sweat; her back was completely soaked.
"Give it your all." Luo Fang didn't pay much attention, gave him a word of advice, and went off to do something else.
After walking a distance, Luo Fang spat lightly and muttered to himself, "A worthless life, yet born with a good physique."
"What's the use of regretting it?"
...
Before we knew it, evening had arrived, and we could finally rest for a while. The cooks from the kitchen came in pushing a cart full of fresh food.
The hot meals were delivered to the servants one by one.
Even when resting, the laborers on the water transport line were not allowed to wander around.
"your."
The cook handed over a plate of rice. Li Xian, who was starving, said, "That's not enough, add some more."
"I usually charge you at least a penny for extra rice. Oh well, you guys have it tough too."
The cook scooped over a large spoonful. Seeing that Li Xian was young and thin, he felt pity and silently scooped over another spoonful of vegetables.
I picked up a couple more pieces of meat, intentionally choosing a fatty piece.
Li Xian was taken aback. "Thank...thank you." She wiped the sweat from her hands, grabbed the food, and put it in her mouth.
The taste was noticeably different as soon as the dish entered my mouth.
It was much saltier than usual, but this saltiness... was the life-saving remedy, able to quickly restore physical strength.
After finishing the coarse rice and vegetables, Li Xian picked up the last piece of fatty meat, and just looking at it made his mouth water.
"If this were my past life, I would never have even looked at this kind of meaty meat."
But now… he only wished he could eat more. The fatty meat entered his mouth, a gentle bite filling his mouth with oil. At this moment, the taste was indescribable.
[Skill: Water Lifting]
[Proficiency: 0/1000 Mastery]
[Description: Carrying water a thousand times, walking briskly without splashing. Young man, do you feel soreness in your waist, arms, and legs?]
Even ordinary skills, when practiced to a certain level, can acquire extraordinary effects.
Weeding has instilled in Li Xian extreme resilience and patience.
Lifting water helps train his hand-foot coordination.
"Today, there has been no progress in the Wild Bull Fist. Since we cannot change the current situation, we will try our best to improve the [Water Lifting] technique!"
A resolute glint flashed in Li Xian's eyes.
The road is under his feet, and his legs are long enough to carry him. If he wants to move forward, no amount of hardship or danger can stop him!
"Get to work, you lowly beasts."
Luo Fang brandished his whip, which crackled and snapped in the air.
It was already night, and torches were planted all over the water transport line, but Li Xian and the others were still transporting water.
And so, I endured a long, arduous night.
In their extreme exhaustion, the servants were numb with despair.
Suddenly, there was a "thud" and a servant fell straight to the ground.
Luo checked his breathing and found that although he was still alive, he was beyond saving.
"Carry it away, carry it away, useless trash, a waste of the village's cultivation."
With one less person on the water transport line, the distance between everyone naturally increased. The burden was then divided equally among all the laborers.
From then on, someone would fall down every half hour.
Some were so exhausted that their heart vessels were damaged, while others had broken meridians in their hands and feet... Li Xian pretended to be on the verge of death, but he just didn't die.
In silence, numbness...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In these three days, nearly a hundred servants died, and the route needed to be redrawn.
"I see you're in pretty good shape, you can handle anything. From now on, you'll be in charge of this section of the road."
Luo Fang asked Li Xian to fetch water at the entrance of the village and deliver it directly to the blazing cauldron.
The most dead laborers were on this stretch of road!
The two buckets of spring water were received.
Li Xian was very uneasy as he carried the spring water into the manor and followed the directions to the cauldron.
It was not until this moment that we saw the end of the water transportation.
In a spacious courtyard, there is a four-legged square cauldron that is taller than a person.
The fire in the furnace was burning fiercely; even from five or six zhang away, one could feel the scorching heat on their face, which burned their skin painfully.
"No wonder... The weather outside is freezing, while the fire is raging here. The laborers who carry water back and forth are constantly being exposed to such extreme temperatures, so it's no wonder they can't survive."
Li Xianming understood this, and calculating the time, three days had already passed. The guard competition was less than four days away!
He was somewhat anxious, but his proficiency in the Wild Bull Fist was still at [712].
The further along the way, the more servants die, and the longer the road ahead becomes.
"Thinking too much won't change the situation; it will only disturb your peace of mind!"
Li Xian remained steadfast in his belief and continued to transport water back and forth.
Finally, the fourth day and night have passed.
"Splash..."
The last bucket of water was poured into the bronze cauldron, turning into wisps of steam. The flames died down, and it was finally done!
The steward Luo Fang, the head of the guards Pang Long, and others all bowed their heads and offered their respects to welcome Madam Zhuang.
Li Xian was also there, standing in a secluded corner with his head bowed, looking at his toes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could catch a glimpse of Madam Zhuang's skirt and her white silk phoenix-embroidered shoes.
I have not seen its appearance, but only heard its voice.
"I will eat the meat, and the remaining soup will be divided into ten portions."
Pang Long, you take seven-tenths, distribute it as you see fit, but you must not drink it all yourself. Luo Fang, you take three-tenths, mix it into the soup, and distribute it to all the servants.
“These are your rewards for your service to me.”
His voice was calm, yet carried an unyielding authority.
Before anyone could react, a gust of wind blew by, and Madam Zhuang had vanished without a trace.
Luo Fangxing stepped forward and said obsequiously:
“Commander Pang, we can’t use 30% of the soup. We’ll take the remaining 20% as our tribute to you.”
Pang Long was tall and had rough features. He glanced at her indifferently and said coldly, "The madam has already made arrangements. She said you get 30%, and that's 30%. Do you dare to disobey?"
"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Luo Fang smiled obsequiously, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his legs trembling beneath his robes.
"Hmph." Pang Long snorted coldly, ordered his men to remove seven-tenths of the soup, and turned to leave.
The remaining 30% naturally fell into Luo Fang's hands.
Luo Fang wanted to keep it all for himself, but since the lady had given the order and Pang Longshang strictly obeyed it, how could he dare to disobey in the slightest?
He muttered to himself:
"The lady said 'distribute according to circumstances,' so I drank one and a half percent, and since my nephew Bi is at a crucial stage in his martial arts training, I let him drink one percent as well."
The remaining half-grain... was poured into water, boiled into a soup, and given to the servants. Well, that's enough for them."
He was engrossed in the conversation.
Completely forgetting that Li Xian was also there and had overheard what was said, he couldn't help but clench his fists.
The phrase "distribute as appropriate" clearly refers to Pang Long. As for the latter half, Madam Zhuang's original intention was obviously to have 30% of the ingredients used in the soup, which would then be shared by the more than 1,000 servants.
But it came into Luo Fang's mouth.
Bi Hao, who hadn't done a single thing, was still able to get a 10% share of the soup. Luo Fang himself kept 15% for himself.
Even after working themselves to the bone, Li Xian and the others could only share half a percent!
Who wouldn't be indignant and angry about such a disparity? Especially Li Xian, who is at a crucial moment, about to have a showdown with Bi Hao.
"Um?"
Luo Fang noticed Li Xian, but he didn't think much of him and didn't take him seriously at all.
...
Li Xian clenched his fists, a hint of ruthlessness lurking in his weary eyes.
He was determined to master the Wild Bull Fist in the remaining three days!
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(End of this chapter)
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