Chapter 180 Chapter 180 Willing to cooperate
Several guards wanted to continue, but they had to obey their master's words, so they stepped back and stood behind Jing Mingze.
"Jing Mingze, what do you want to do?" Xu Yunfan asked with his hands on his hips.
Jing Mingze looked at Xu Yunfan with a look of disgust and hatred that made him want to tear Xu Yunfan into pieces. "What do I want to do? You know it yourself."
Xu Yunfan: “…”
"I know you're a big-headed ghost. Oh, could it be that you want to punish me because of Sixth Brother?"
Xu Yunfan crossed his arms and took his time, completely ignoring Jing Mingze's words. With a hint of amusement in his eyes, he looked Jing Mingze up and down, then said in a shocking tone, "Hey, don't say that. Now that I look at you again, I find that I'm not just a little bit better than you. Putting aside other things, your fighting ability is really amazing... I just kicked you, and look at you, you fell to the ground with dust on your back. Besides, who are you to Sixth Brother? What qualifications do you have to attack the people around him now? You have to understand that you are just his past, and I am his present and future."
This one sentence stumped Jing Mingze.
Damn it, this guy can really hit people right in the heart. The next few sentences, word by word, turned into arrows flying all over the sky, almost piercing Jing Mingze's heart into a sieve.
Jing Mingze was furious, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed the village chief standing there in a daze. He then signaled with his eyes to the guards beside him, and the village chief was quickly taken away.
Some things are known to everyone, and the victims are not the two men themselves, but the brother of Xu Yunfan's husband, and Li Liu.
There is one thing Jing Mingze must admit, that is, he really cannot beat Xu Yunfan.
Knowing this, he still rushed forward to fight Xu Yunfan. This was nothing but a foolish act and he was asking for trouble.
Smart people don't do stupid things.
Moreover, he felt sorry for Li Liu, but what about Li Liu?
What does he think?
Does Li Liu really want to be with Xu Yunfan? Even if he is a man, he is willing to be a concubine and does not care even if he suffers all kinds of prejudice?
But as a man, it would be too embarrassing to leave like this.
He had to ask clearly. If Li Liu was willing, he could only pick up the broken pieces of his heart and take them away one by one. For the rest of his life, he would completely cut off all the inappropriate and now inappropriate feelings for this person.
Jing Mingze is indeed a man who can accomplish great things. He is clear-headed and calm enough to analyze the pros and cons at any time. "Yes, I am not as strong as you, I admit it, Xu Yunfan, but this should not allow you to be arrogant. You must know that there are always people better than you. It is true that my men can't do anything to you, but what if I send a dozen or more men?"
Xu Yunfan raised his eyebrows, "So? Are you threatening me?"
Jing Mingze shook his head. He hated Xu Yunfan, but some things had to be explained clearly. "I won't use my current position of power, which may appear superior to yours to outsiders, to threaten you. You're still young, and your future holds endless possibilities. I can't condemn your life to this state. I won't say anything excessive to a young person who's already full of hope for the future. I just want to have a good talk with you about Liu'er."
Thinking about how he had been carried away by these things and had acted excessively, and how Xu Yunfan had clearly kicked him to the ground, but the look in Xu Yunfan's eyes, apart from surprise and shock, lacked the contempt of a superior. Also, when they met halfway, Xu Yunfan's eyes seemed to be filled with curiosity and nothing else. Jing Mingze discovered that there was something wrong with Xu Yunfan's look.
"I'm sorry. I was so angry that I did something extreme. I apologize for the pain I caused you. Could you please call Liu'er out? I just have a few questions for him."
Xu Yunfan heard Jing Mingze's sincere and earnest words.
Jing Mingze, who knows how to behave, speaks nicely, and at least he wins Xu Yunfan's heart.
He put away the careless and lazy smile on his face and said, "As the saying goes, don't hit someone who smiles. I like your attitude very much, but you have to tell me why you want to hit me first."
Jing Mingze got angry when he mentioned this and snorted coldly, "It's all your fault."
This pot is really big and round.
Xu Yunfan: "...Brother, we should speak with conscience. You hit me for no reason. Does that mean it's my fault?"
"Isn't it?"
"Aren't you the son-in-law of Xiao Qin's family?"
"Didn't you take Liu'er to your side after you had a little money?"
Xu Yunfan: “…”
There seemed to be nothing wrong with what Jing Mingze said, but I always felt something was weird about it.
"What do you mean by collect?"
As soon as the words came out, Xu Yunfan suddenly understood why Jing Mingze wanted to beat him.
If it were him, would he feel good when he saw Qin Run with other men?
It's definitely not a pleasant feeling.
Xu Yunfan held his forehead and said, "Forget it. If you have anything to say, you can talk to Sixth Brother after you see him. You wait."
After leaving a word, Xu Yunfan ran to the backyard. Not long after, Li Liu came out in a hurry.
Qin Run pulled Xu Yunfan's wrist, "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly call Sixth Brother out? Who is looking for him?"
"It's his former... young master. He came to my house and beat me up without saying a word. I was so wronged."
Qin Run looked him up and down, but didn't find a single hair on Xu Yunfan. He coaxed him, "Okay, don't feel wronged. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you, okay?"
"real?"
Xu Yunfan said meaningfully, "You cook whatever I eat? Then I..."
"If you dare to eat it, I dare to give it to you." Qin Run knew Xu Yunfan's character too well. When he heard his words, he knew there was something else behind them.
Xu Yunfan laughed grimly, "Run'er, you've become a bad boy now, but I really like how direct you are."
"I became bad because of you. I learned from you." Qin Run gently pushed Xu Yunfan and turned his face to look serious. "Did Jing Mingze come to see Sixth Brother on purpose?"
"I don't know. He wanted to beat me up as soon as I opened the gate, so I didn't even think to ask anything else." Xu Yunfan thought for a moment, "But one thing is for sure, this guy is definitely not some ordinary rich kid. The people around him are all martial artists, and their kung fu is pretty good."
"Not just any rich kid? Then who is he?"
"Maybe he is an official, but I don't know what rank he is." Xu Yunfan didn't know much about the official positions in the Dayan Dynasty, but just from the well-trained guards following Jing Mingze and the ornaments they wore around their waists, it can be imagined that this person's status would definitely not be too low.
Qin Run exclaimed, "He's an official? That's amazing."
Xu Yunfan was silent. He wanted to say, isn't it just an official? He would be one in a few years. But when he thought about the fact that he couldn't even pass the exam to become a student, he couldn't help but shut up.
"Master, Run'er."
Half an hour later, Li Liu came in shyly with a red face.
The front yard was left to Li Liu and Jing Mingze, while Xu Yunfan and Qin Run could only squat in the backyard. Xu Yunfan's legs were numb from squatting, so he simply sat down on a wooden stake nearby. Seeing Li Liu coming over, Xu Yunfan teased, "What's wrong? Is your ex-master going to beat me up again?"
"No, no."
Li Liu quickly shook his hand, "Master, Aze didn't mean it, don't be angry."
Xu Yunfan deliberately pinched his throat and said, "Oh, you even called Aze, what's going on? Are you getting tired of the new and fond of the old?"
"Master." Li Liu called out helplessly, "Run'er, look at your husband."
Li Liu has been hanging out with Qin Run a lot lately, and the two of them are getting along surprisingly well. When Qin Run called out to Xu Yunfan, he quickly said, "I was just teasing him, and he got anxious. What's going on? Did you guys just talk about it and make up already?"
Xu Yunfan was so curious that he almost scratched his head. "No, Sixth Brother, what's going on between you and Jing Mingze?"
"Aze used to be my young master."
Li Liu felt a little embarrassed. After all, it was a bit shameful to talk about this kind of thing in front of his two benefactors. "I have been with the young master since I was sixteen. Later, our relationship was discovered by my parents. My mother told me that our relationship should not exist. Because Aze was nice to me before, every time he went out with other classmates, he would inevitably be gossiped about by some people, and even made some unpleasant remarks about him. Because I am not very strong, I am relatively popular among those who are interested in having affairs in places like the capital. Some even asked the young master for me, but he would rather break up than agree. Because of this, the young master has offended many people."
Later, when his mother learned about his relationship with Jing Mingze, she would never agree to Li Liu staying with Jing Mingze.
In Liu Niang's view, all those romantic and love affairs can ultimately not withstand the reality.
Jing Mingze loves Li Liu now, so he is naturally willing to protect him. But when Jing Mingze goes to a farther place, or even to the capital in the future, if "selling" Li Liu can buy him a smooth road, can Jing Mingze still protect Li Liu as steadfastly as before?
Men's hearts are too fickle. When Li Liu goes to the capital, if Jing Mingze really sends him to be played with by other people, they are far away in Dali Village and may not even know what Li Liu has encountered.
Later, for the sake of their son, Liu Niang and Li Wei, a couple who had only been to the county town at most, walked and asked along the way and finally arrived at the provincial capital.
In the provincial capital, Jing Mingze personally received them and treated them very well.
Seeing the intimacy between Jing Mingze and Li Liu from time to time, and the look in Jing Mingze's eyes when he looked at Li Liu, all of this was too familiar to her.
Liu Niang has a good feeling about Jing Mingze, but Jing Mingze is just a rich kid. If he wants to pursue a career in politics, what will he do if his affair with Li Liu is used to make a big fuss?
Li Liu was reluctant to leave Jing Mingze, but he knew that Liu Niang was right. If he stayed, he would only be a burden to Jing Mingze.
After returning to the village, Li Liu was still thinking about Jing Mingze, hoping that Jing Mingze would not be angry with him again and that he would come to see him. However, six years had passed and Jing Mingze still hadn't come.
Li Liu missed Jing Mingze so much that he was almost going crazy.
Even though these things have passed, Li Liu still couldn't help feeling bitter when talking about them now. "Aze is now the Minister of Agriculture. I don't know what the Minister of Agriculture is. I asked him, and he said it's a third-rank official. Master, do you know how high that rank is?"
Xu Yunfan choked.
Good man, if Li Liu hadn't asked the last question sincerely and his eyes were not full of doubts, Xu Yunfan would have thought that Li Liu was making a sarcastic remark about him.
Grand Minister of Agriculture?
Isn’t this the high-ranking official in charge of the people’s farming affairs?
Damn it, Xu Yunfan was almost jealous to death.
This person is so outstanding that even God is chasing him to feed him. Now, he sees countless silver flying towards him.
His fertilizer will be put on the market by then. Even if he can cooperate with Qijia and use the name of Qishang to expand the popularity of the product, if the target customers do not agree and buy it, what is the point of the product being famous?
If we can find a way to communicate with the Minister of Agriculture, this problem can be easily solved.
As long as Jing Mingze gives an order, even the county magistrate will have to obey him. When the time comes, Jing Mingze will use his power to set aside a county as an experimental base. By then, there will be a bumper harvest of agricultural products, and the people will have to believe it even if they don't want to.
In fact, he could set up this experimental field himself, but in this way, even if the experimental field was successful, its influence and dissemination would not be as good as that done by the Minister of Agriculture.
After all, one is an individual and the other represents the imperial court, so their credibility and influence are naturally different.
Xu Yunfan thought carefully about Li Liu's doubts and said, "If I'm not mistaken, a third-rank official is indeed quite high. Above the third-rank official, there are first- and second-rank officials. Officials like the prime minister are first-rank officials, and officials like the county magistrate are seventh-rank officials."
"In this case, isn't Jing Mingze even more powerful than the county magistrate?" Qin Run was surprised. He really didn't expect that he could meet such a high-ranking official.
Li Liu's eyes widened, as if he was surprised, but also seemed uneasy.
After spending so much time with Xu Yunfan, Li Liu, like the other members of the Qin family, subconsciously regarded Xu Yunfan as the backbone. "Master, will he be ridiculed because of me?"
To be able to become a third-rank official in just a few years, what price did Jing Mingze pay over the years?
Li Liu didn't dare to think about it. If Jing Mingze lost his current power and status because of him, wouldn't he be a sinner?
This question really touched upon Xu Yunfan's blind spots. "I'm not entirely sure about this, but I think people in larger cities are more receptive than we are. I heard there are some kind of academy in places like the capital, right?"
"Yes." Li Liu had lived in the provincial capital for several years, so he was naturally aware of these things. It was precisely because male homosexuality was more prevalent in places like the provincial capital than in small places that other students asked Jing Mingze for him.
But many people would just play around with this kind of thing in private and would not do it openly. Even if those young men wanted to play around, they would pay the money with the other person. He had never heard of any man being with another man.
Even a rich kid is like this, not to mention a third-rank official like Jing Mingze.
Xu Yunfan: "Have you talked it out with Jing Mingze? If he doesn't mind, why should you care so much? Reputation is something that you say is unimportant, but sometimes it is really important. Wouldn't it be better if you could talk it out with him? Sometimes a lot of troubles are just because the person involved is not having a say."
"I was so happy just now that I didn't think about these things. By the way, Master, Aze came here for the corn matter. After listening to the words of the village chief, he misunderstood and offended you. Master, please don't be angry."
"He's here about the corn?" Xu Yunfan realized, feeling smug. "Is it because my corn is so good that he wants to find out more about it? Isn't the Minister of Agriculture in charge of this?"
"Yes, Master. Aze came to visit us personally because the corn at home is growing well. Master, do you want to..."
Xu Yunfan waved his hand and said, "Let's talk!"
The Minister of Agriculture was also a good official. His own corn was actually not suitable for seed preservation, but according to his observation, the people here did have some shortcomings in planting. Perhaps, he could take this opportunity to talk to Jing Mingze.
When they arrived at the hall, Jing Mingze had been waiting for a long time. When he saw someone coming, he immediately stood up and nodded to Xu Yunfan awkwardly.
Xu Yunfan had a gloomy face, neither smiling nor nodding, making Jing Mingze feel awkward, not knowing whether to sit or not.
"Sit down, why are you standing?"
Xu Yunfan sat down first, staring at Jing Mingze with sharp eyes. Jing Mingze didn't know where to look. When Jing Mingze's scalp was numb, Xu Yunfan mercifully looked away and poured him a glass of water.
Jing Mingze was angry but dared not say anything about this. He had a good temper, but that didn't mean he had no temper. If anyone else dared to treat him like this, he would have flipped the table long ago.
But Xu Yunfan is not someone else.
He was Li Liu's savior. Without Xu Yunfan, Li Liu might have been killed by Li Shan...
What's more, Xu Yunfan has helped Li Liu more than once, so how could Jing Mingze dare to get angry at Xu Yunfan.
"I heard from my sixth brother that you are the Minister of Agriculture, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. How old are you this year?"
The topic changed so quickly that Jing Mingze didn't know what Xu Yunfan was trying to ask. He answered honestly, "Thirty."
"Well, being able to reach the Third Rank at the age of thirty shows that your strength, courage, and skills are obvious to all. You are a promising talent. Someone like you should be the ideal son-in-law in many people's minds. Are you married?"
“No.”
"Why haven't you gotten married yet?" Xu Yunfan usually chatted with the aunts and uncles, and some of their words were not for nothing. His tone was perfect, and it was exactly the same as Jing Mingze's three aunts and eight uncles. "You are thirty years old, why haven't you gotten married yet? Is there no one you like? Or are you too busy to deal with the major events in life? Look at other people your age, their children are preparing to take the Tongsheng exam, and you are still single. Aren't you worried at all? At your age, you should also think about your parents. They are already grandparents with children and grandchildren around them, and look at you."
After hearing these words, Jing Mingze looked a little strange.
To be honest, he had heard Xu Yunfan's words so many times that his ears were almost callused. He could recite them by heart.
But whoever said these things to him in the past was not his elder, who was not in his forties or fifties?
Liu'er just said that Xu Yunfan is only seventeen years old, so much younger than him. How could he possibly be with Xu Yunfan?
A seventeen-year-old boy has become so mature and experienced mentally?
"You..." Jing Mingze thought about it and felt that a seventeen-year-old boy shouldn't be like this. Xu Yunfan was like this probably because he had heard and seen too much. "Is it because he hangs out with other aunties and uncles too much?"
"Don't change the subject. Why do you care who I usually chat with? Just answer my question."
At the age of thirty, Jing Mingze was speechless: "..."
This is something I've never seen before. I've been an official for so many years, but this is the first time someone dares to speak to me like this.
Not to mention that the villagers had to be respectful when they saw him, even the rich young masters and officials in the capital, who would dare to speak to him like this?
But Xu Yunfan dared to do that.
Has this young man from overseas been so bold since he was young?
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