"Where is he?" Lin Yiheng stood up from his chair.
The guard replied, "In the main hall of the county government office."
"Let's go see what's going on." Lin Yinan also stood up and turned to the teacher, saying, "Teacher, you all continue eating. We'll be right back."
Master Dao took a sip of the fruit wine in his glass, waved to them, and said, "Go on."
The villager sat in the main hall of the county government office. After the guards led him in, they left. There was no one else there. He looked around anxiously.
Upon catching sight of the city lord leading several people in, he hurriedly stood up and stood respectfully with his head bowed.
Lin Yinan sat down at the head of the table and asked in a cool voice, "What do you have to report?"
The villagers were so frightened that their knees buckled and they knelt on the ground, supporting themselves with their hands and not daring to look up at Lin Yinan.
"Lord City Lord, the bandits are coming!" he said in a trembling voice, terrified.
"Oh, which village are you from? Get up and answer me."
The villagers got up from the ground, clutching their clothes nervously with both hands.
“I am the village head of Dongxi Village. This morning, I went with the villagers to cut firewood on the mountain in Chian County. We saw a group of people coming towards Longtan in a menacing manner at the foot of the mountain.”
So, he and a few others boldly took a shortcut ahead and hid to eavesdrop.
This news nearly scared them out of their wits. The group was armed with knives and swords, and from their few words, they learned that they were coming to rob Longtan.
Upon hearing this, Yun Mo retrieved a map from the council hall and located the East and West Villages on it.
Lin Yinan leaned closer to look at the markings on the map. Dongxi Village was not far from Chian County; it was just over a mountain. The villagers liked to go to the mountains near the village to cut firewood.
“They are very likely to pass through the village,” Lin Yinan said, frowning.
Yun Mo narrowed his eyes, his dark pupils filled with anger. "I'll go and gather men, and try to intercept the bandits on the way before they discover the village."
As he spoke, he turned to leave, but Lin Yinan quickly reminded him, "Leave some alive to question."
Yun Mo's expression was solemn. He walked out of the main hall, took out a signal from his pocket, and shot it into the sky. The guards and soldiers stationed at the horse farm would be prepared when they saw it.
He angrily led two guards and ran wildly towards the city gate.
Why did these bandits have to come at this particular time of year to cause trouble?
The villagers had been traveling all day, and Lin Yinan originally wanted Lin Tiezhuang to take him down to rest so they could go back early the next morning. However, he was worried about his family and insisted on rushing back.
Lin Yinan then asked Lin Tiezhuang to get some dry rations from the canteen to eat on the way.
Back at the Yun family home, Wu Xingwang chatted and laughed with Dao Fuzi and the others, and Dao Fuzi was clearly a little drunk.
Upon seeing them return, Master Dao hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
“There are bandits from Chi’an who want to rob our Longtan,” Lin Yiheng said.
Master Dao's smile faded. "Where did these bandits come from?"
"Perhaps the people the Zhong family sent to scout ahead of us went back, and the Zhong family couldn't swallow their anger, so they sent bandits to test us," Pan Qingfeng analyzed logically.
Lin Yiheng nodded. "We can't rule out that possibility. He didn't accept the olive branch we extended to that guard before."
"They'll regret it someday." Wu Yuan had traveled to many places with his father and was well aware of the current shortage of salt.
Speaking of salt, Lin Yinan turned to Wu Xingwang and asked, "When is the agreed delivery date for the goods from Cangwu County?"
“I’ve already given the order to Qingfeng,” Wu Xingwang said.
Pan Qingfeng chimed in, "We've already sent someone to inform the saltworks that loading will begin today, and the shipment will depart in a couple of days. The first batch of goods should arrive before the new year."
"We'll send two more batches after the New Year, enough to supply the entire Cangwu Prefecture."
Lin Yinan was very satisfied with this arrangement. "I'll send some more fermented black beans over there and see if we can find a market for them."
"This stuff tastes good and is cheap; ordinary people will definitely love it."
Wu Xingwang, with his keen business acumen honed over many years, assured that the fermented black beans would be a huge hit.
Lin Yinan chatted with Wu Xingwang and the others about business arrangements for a while, while Su Yunzhi, who was whispering to Zhou Linzhao, kept looking up at Lin Yinan at the head of the table.
The Taoist priest sitting in front of him raised his hand and pressed his head down, muttering, "Silly boy, stop looking. Your fate with her is severed. You two can never be together in this life."
Su Yunzhi's eyes darkened; the Master Dao's words were always accurate.
For a moment he was somewhat bewildered, and he couldn't even hear what Zhou Linzhao was saying.
Suddenly, he heard a voice as beautiful as heavenly music ask him, "Young Master Su, do you intend to stay for the New Year or leave with the ship?"
Su Yunzhi only came to his senses when Master Dao patted him on the head.
"I haven't decided yet; I want to travel around."
Lin Yinan smiled faintly, "Alright, anyway, there's a boat, so it's convenient to go back anytime."
Su Yunzhi was slightly taken aback by her unfamiliar and distant smile. She clenched her hands tightly under her sleeves, trying her best to suppress the turmoil in her heart.
After the meal, Master Dao was so drunk that he was unconscious. Su Yunzhi and Zhou Linzhao carried him back to the school dormitory, one on each side.
Zhou Linzhao had to go to class after a short break, as the teacher was drunk and he had to supervise two classes of students that afternoon.
Su Yunzhi asked him if he needed help, but he refused.
It was only Su's first day here, and Zhou Linzhao was really embarrassed to trouble him.
Despite having been traveling for so many days, Su Yunzhi felt no sleepiness whatsoever, and decided to wander around.
After leaving the school, Su Yunzhi walked along the newly renovated street.
It was noon, and there wasn't a single pedestrian on the street; the entire Longtan area was extremely quiet.
At a glance, all the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the doors were freshly painted and still smelled of tung oil.
He looked around curiously, and as he crossed the street, he heard faint voices coming from ahead.
Su Yunzhi followed the sound and turned into another street. There were two shops open for business at the street corner.
Two servants were chatting at the shop entrance. Su Yunzhi recognized that the clothes they were wearing belonged to Wu Xingwang's family.
"Young Master Su, you've arrived! Is there anything you need to buy?" One of the servants recognized Su Yunzhi.
Su Yunzhi smiled and said, "I'm not buying anything, I'm just looking around."
The servants, assuming he hadn't eaten yet, said warmly, "Young Master Su, you haven't eaten yet, have you? There should still be food in the dining hall right now. You can go and take a look."
"Canteen?" What's that? Su Yunzhi asked in surprise.
Another servant pointed to the end of the street, "Look, if you walk down this street, you'll see the dining hall."
Thank you!
After thanking the two men, Su Yunzhi headed towards the dining hall the servants had indicated.
The canteen was very large, and even before getting close, Su Yunzhi could smell the lingering aroma of food in the air.
A place to eat!
Su Yunzhi suddenly realized that the canteen was where people ate, and he stepped into the canteen.
It was past lunchtime, and Zhang was directing people to clean up.
Hearing the noise, Su Yunzhi wiped her head and looked inside. Suddenly, Zhang Shi was startled.
Upon seeing who it was, Madam Zhang's eyes lit up. "Young Master Su, what brings you here?"
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