owlsbooks Chapter 11 Choice
Chapter 11 Choice
The light of the Dharma continued unabated, and dust rose from the ground.
The four deacons cast spells one after another, and after a whole morning of work, they finally cleared out a flat area that was a hundred feet long and wide, and compacted it very firmly.
Not only that, they also built a square altar for sacrificial purposes.
Fan Zhou and the others could only stand by and sigh, providing emotional support to the deacons.
"Alright, you kids can clean this up this afternoon."
Liang Yong put his hands on his hips and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
He was exhausted after casting spells non-stop all morning.
Tian Youliang and the others were also sweating and looked tired, so they went back to rest with Liang Yong.
The younger children weren't in a hurry to start working because it was almost lunchtime.
Fan Zhou first returned to the wooden house, used skewers to hold the several blood centipedes he had unexpectedly acquired tightly, and put them outside to dry in the sun.
"There are six in total: one foot long, three seven or eight inches long, and two three or four inches long."
Fan Zhou was quite satisfied. If he had to go up the mountain to catch it, who knows when he would have been able to.
"I'll ask Hou Yi for two jugs of Shaoxing wine later, and soak the blood centipedes in it once they're dried."
"Although we have made some gains, we still need to make arrests as needed; it's better to be prepared."
Fan Zhou used a bamboo shield to protect the centipede, then turned to eat lunch.
After walking a few steps, they saw Guan Qingyun and the others squatting in the shadows, whispering about something.
Upon seeing Fan Zhou arrive, Guan Qingyun quickly waved to him.
"What are you doing, sneaking around like that?" Fan Zhou asked suspiciously.
"They're talking about which deacon they'll be working for in the future," Liu Ergou replied.
"Keep your voice down!" Guan Qingyun said urgently.
Fan Zhou squatted down next to Liu Ergou and looked at the group:
"Have you all made up your minds?"
Guan Qingyun nodded seriously: "I've thought about it. Charcoal burning is a relatively easy job. I'll work with Steward Wang and learn how to breathe fire from him."
Zhang Yu asked in surprise, "But weren't you brought by Liang Yong?"
Guan Qingyun slammed his right fist into his palm. "That's true, but I have no desire to go mining. It's not only tough and tiring, but I could also lose my life!"
The group nodded in agreement.
Zhang Yu was somewhat pleased. "That's perfect. If you really go and fight with Steward Wang, I'll have him let me go to Old Hu's place."
Wu Xiu looked at him with considerable surprise. "Did Steward Hu come looking for you?"
"He mentioned before that I should learn tea cultivation from him, but I didn't agree at the time." Zhang Yu had a smug look on his face.
"Sister Xiu'er, would you also like to learn tea cultivation from Steward Hu?" Zhang Yu asked Wu Xiu.
Wu Xiu clasped her fingers together, hesitated, and nodded: "That guy Hou Yi stares at me with a lecherous look every day."
As she spoke, she glanced at Fan Zhou, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.
Fan Zhou's expression turned serious. "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not that kind of person!"
Upon hearing that Wu Xiu was in trouble, Zhang Yu excitedly patted his chest and immediately took on the task:
"That's easy. I'll talk to Lao Hu about it later, and he'll definitely agree!"
Wu Xiu smiled at him and said, "Thank you for your help."
Zhang Yu blushed, lowered his head, and whispered that it was nothing.
Guan Qingyun felt slightly displeased seeing that Zhang Yu seemed to be gaining momentum.
He turned to Fan Zhou: "Fan Zhou, what about you? Are you choosing to farm with Steward Tian?"
All eyes were on him.
Fan Zhou remained calm. "I wish to join the weapon forging workshop."
"Huh?" The group looked surprised, as if they had misheard.
Guan Qingyun waved his hand and smiled:
"The weapon forging workshop is the most important pillar of the sword furnace. Countless people would kill to become an apprentice there, let alone someone like you?"
Zhang Yu also shook his head, "The weapon forging workshop only accepts talented people, you have no chance at all."
Although Wu Xiu didn't say anything, judging from her eyes, she felt the same way as Guan Qingyun and Zhang Yu that the idea was unrealistic.
Fan Zhou didn't care.
He has decided to work towards this goal.
Seeing Fan Zhou remain silent, Guan Qingyun finally turned to Liu Ergou: "Liu Ergou, what are your thoughts?"
Liu Ergou remained expressionless. "I don't have any thoughts."
Zhang Yu frowned and said, "You have to think about what to do, right?"
Guan Qingyun scoffed, "What else can he do? He'd have a hard time even farming."
He said, getting up and walking towards the greenhouse. "Alright, alright, time to eat."
Zhang Yu and Wu Xiu also left.
Fan Zhou stood up and looked at Liu Ergou: "Zhang Yu is right, you have to think about your future development, don't you?"
Liu Ergou asked in confusion, "What is development?"
Fan Zhou said helplessly, "It's about what kind of person you want to become in the future, and how you plan to do it."
Liu Ergou tilted his head back and thought for a while, then suddenly said:
"I want to become someone like Uncle Huang."
Fan Zhou was initially surprised, then laughed and said, "You're even more imaginative than me!"
"Then go back and ask Uncle Huang Yi if he's willing to teach you, after all, he's the one who brought you here."
"Okay." Liu Ergou nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
The two went to eat in the greenhouse side by side.
.........
the next morning.
It was three quarters past Chen Shi (7:45 AM).
Fan Zhou and the others were summoned to the site that had just been opened yesterday, and looked up at the sky.
The sky was azure, with white clouds rolling and undulating, refracting the sunlight into a kaleidoscope of colors.
call--!
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind came from overhead, as if something was rapidly approaching.
"Look! There's a dragon in the sky!" Guan Qingyun suddenly shouted, pointing to the horizon.
Fan Zhou also saw it: a majestic, azure-blue dragon head pierced through the clouds, revealing only scales and claws, its magnificent back shining brightly in the sunlight.
No, that's not a dragon.
Fan Zhou narrowed his eyes. The dragon's body was stiff and lacked the agility of a living creature.
As the azure dragon head drew closer, Fan Zhou finally saw its appearance clearly.
It was a huge dragon boat.
The bronze dragon head is majestic and weathered, carrying on its back towering buildings with wide eaves, with brass tiles arranged in rows, and huge oars leaning on either side of its body.
"This is the Flying Dragon Boat of the Yue Kingdom. Apart from the royal court, only our Sword Furnace in the entire Yue Kingdom has one," Steward Hu, standing in front, calmly explained.
Fan Zhou and the others were so shocked that they couldn't speak for a moment.
boom--!
The airflow roared and dispersed, leaving streaks on the ground.
The flying dragon boat descended and finally hovered about ten feet above the ground, with several steps slowly emerging from its side.
An elderly man dressed in blue, with an elegant demeanor, stepped down and bowed to Qin Zhiyuan, saying:
"Junior Brother Qin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Qin Zhiyuan laughed heartily, stepped forward, and returned the greeting:
"What are you saying, Senior Brother Shen? It's me who has troubled you!"
Qin Zhiyuan introduced his senior brother Shen to everyone: "This is my second senior brother, Shen Yusheng. He is the 'Master of a Hundred Refinements' appointed by the King of Zhao!"
The deacons, who were already looking respectful, bowed even more deeply upon hearing this title:
"Greetings, Master Shen!"
Seeing that the deacons had all bowed, Fan Zhou and the others quickly kowtowed to the old man, saying, "Greetings, Senior Uncle Shen!"
"No need for formalities, please rise." Shen Yusheng stroked his beard and smiled, showing no airs whatsoever.
At the same time, the people on the flying dragon boat disembarked one by one and lined up neatly in the square, numbering about seventy or eighty.
The two leading deacons walked up to Qin Yuanzhi, cupped their hands in greeting, and said:
"Senior Brother Qin, three mid-level workers, eight junior workers, and sixty-four miscellaneous disciples have all arrived."
Qin Zhiyuan's gaze swept across the crowd, and he spotted several familiar faces. He nodded in satisfaction.
These people were his helpers in helping him quickly establish himself and develop the Langdangshan market!