Chapter 163 [County Magistrate Begging for Food]
Life was better in ancient times. There were no evil real estate developers and capitalists, and people could live and occupy any place on deserted islands and mountains.
In modern times, her day's salary might not even be enough to pay for the entrance fee here.
Finding a place like this, Jiang Lili felt like she was dreaming: "Why don't these monkeys live here themselves?"
Master Liao was surveying the feng shui here with a compass and a flashlight.
"I guess the water quality of this hot spring is not suitable for them, otherwise this place would have been occupied by them and turned into Monkey Mountain long ago."
After Master Liao inspected the cave's location, he held the compass in one hand and placed the other behind his back. His young Taoist demeanor suddenly emerged. "This cave is backed by the main peak, flanked by the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Mountains on its left and right. It's high up, commanding the view, with a spacious hall in front. It's a typical blessed place, with mountains at its back and water in front, and protected on both sides."
Xin Che was surprised to hear Liao Dabao's well-reasoned and logical words.
Although he already knew that Dabao was a gifted child prodigy, this was the first time he took Dabao seriously. This child was very smart. If he were allowed to learn some military tactics, he might be able to become a great military strategist in the future.
Master Liao didn't know that he had been targeted and was running around happily in the cave.
As a feng shui family, he was also considered a half-feng shui master, and he liked places with abundant spiritual energy like this: "Living here and drinking the spring water here, I will definitely grow tall and strong!"
It was a sunny day when the three of them came out of the cave. The sun was shining brightly and the chirping of birds in the valley could be heard very clearly.
Jiang Lili stretched lazily: "We have found the place. The rain has stopped for a long time now, and the mountain road is not as slippery as before. It's time to go down the mountain."
Liao Dabao didn't go home all night, and Sister Yin Zhen must be worried.
She sent Master Liao back to the village temple and asked Yin Zhen about the pastry recipe.
"Let's go."
Xin Che held Jiang Lili in one hand and Liao Dabao in the other, and easily descended from the rock wall of the valley.
Jiang Lili thought about putting a staircase or something in front of the cave, otherwise it would be so troublesome to fly up and down every time.
After wandering around in the mountains for a day and a half, Jiang Lili was a little confused.
Fortunately, they had Liefeng, a walking guide. Under Liefeng's guidance, they planned the fastest downhill route all the way to Yeli Village.
Jiang Lili felt that if she had brought a mobile phone that could connect to the Internet, her step count would probably top the list of WeChat Moments.
As the three of them were going down the mountain, Jiang Lili discovered that the monkeys had not dispersed, but were following them.
Jiang Lili showed her empty backpack and said, "My children, I have no more peaches. Go back to your respective homes and find your respective mothers!"
She simply didn't have the energy to tame such a large group of monkeys.
"Sister Li, they probably realized that following you would bring them good food, so they kept following you."
Master Liao scratched his head helplessly. After all, monkeys are so clever! If he could help Jiang Lili, their financial sponsor, he would have no worries about food and drink. "It seems you've become their new Monkey King."
"This macaque, Lao Liu, was probably their former monkey king."
Jiang Lili had no choice but to let these monkeys follow her if they wanted to.
Although there was no road at all in this primitive jungle, which was only covered with dense weeds, Xin Che led the way with a sickle in his pocket. After an hour and a half, the three of them successfully got down the mountain.
On the way, Jiang Lili also picked some herbs and wild fruits. She had to put something in her hands. After strolling in the mountains for a day and a half, she had to have an excuse.
Although basic contact has been established with the villagers, the consequences of leaking out a secretive matter like the gold mine would be disastrous, so we should just observe for a while.
In the farmland of Yeli Village, everyone would look towards the back mountain from time to time, and looking along with everyone was Lord Hu, the governor of Dan'er County.
Everyone was puzzled by the arrival of Lord Hu. The number of times this county governor appeared in Yeli Village in a year could be counted on one hand.
This county magistrate was lazy and often went to the neighboring village to eat and drink for free. At first, the neighboring village was respectful to him because he was the county magistrate.
However, later on, when the villagers of the nearby fishing village realized that Lord Hu was just a paper tiger who was demoted to Dan'er County, Haizhou, they simply ignored him.
But their Yeli Village was poor and there was nothing to exploit. Every time Lord Hu came, their villagers would cry poor to him, and Lord Hu would not dare to come.
Yesterday and today, the county magistrate came to their village to report and asked indirectly about Jiang Lili's whereabouts.
Finally, at noon, Jiang Lili and the other two appeared at the foot of the back mountain.
“I’m back, I’m back!”
When the villagers saw Jiang Lili and her group, they shouted happily, saying that the heroes of their village were back!
Old Zhao and Old Yu, who had been rescued yesterday, hurried over to the three men, carrying boiled eggs and three bottles of coconut water. "Thank you so much for saving my life yesterday. This is a small token of my gratitude. I hope you will accept it."
"You're welcome, fellow villager."
Jiang Lili and others accepted the gifts of thanks from the two villagers, and they felt relieved. They felt really bad for letting Miss Jiang's family go into the mountains on a rainy day.
Jiang Lili shared what she had picked from the mountain with everyone: "These are the fruits and bamboo shoots we picked from the mountain. Let's share them!"
"We saw that there was plenty of food in the mountains, so we stayed there for one night, which made everyone worried."
Jiang Lili generously asked the girl, who was liked by all her uncles and aunts, to come down from the mountain, and she also did not forget to bring some good things to share with the villagers.
The aunts pulled Jiang Lili to look around, and only felt relieved when they saw that she was not injured. "These fruits are only found in the deep mountains, right? You ran so far, didn't you encounter any danger?"
"No, the one in our family is very capable, and Dabao is also very smart." Jiang Lili patted Xin Che's shoulder.
The aunts all had auntie smiles on their faces: "Oh, I was right. This boy is very protective."
Faced with the aunts' enthusiastic praise, Xin Che didn't know how to respond for a moment, but the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
As soon as Lord Hu saw Jiang Lili, he was eager to talk to her.
But Jiang Lili was surrounded by fellow villagers, and he couldn't get a word in.
At this time, he squeezed over, poked his head in and asked, "What are you dividing? Let me see."
Jiang Lili looked at the white-bearded old man with decadent clothes and was stunned for a moment before she remembered that he was the prefect of Dan'er County.
The old man looked quite pitiful. Jiang Lili stuffed some bamboo shoots she had picked from the mountain into his pocket and asked, "Are you asking me for chili powder?"
Lord Hu nodded vigorously. He had a strong taste and liked spicy food, but spices and seasonings were rare on this island, and Miss Jiang didn't charge money. He thought about it all night before he figured out how to exchange chili powder with Jiang Lili.
"I'll trade you a secret you can't refuse!"
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