Chương 120: The Return Journey

Five Flavors Pavilion. Hearing Liang Jing discuss business, Boss Song instantly sobered up:"I wonder how Big Brother plans to cooperate?" Seeing the other party was interested, Old Liang's heart bloomed with joy. Stroking his chin, he said:"It's like this. The Iron Saber Gang has a large demand for supplies, and we also have a few shops of our own. I heard that you, Little Brother Song, plan to regularly trade goods between the two places. Why don't our two families join forces?

You transport the goods, and I will sell them for you. The profits will be split eight to two in your favor. What do you think, Little Brother?" Hearing the conditions Liang Jing proposed, Song Que was also moved. This split was too advantageous for him, making Boss Song somewhat suspicious. He truly didn't know if Old Liang was determined to forge a close relationship with him even at the complete expense of profits.

Thinking that with his own strength, he wasn't afraid of the puny Iron Saber Gang playing tricks, Grandee Song didn't ponder for long and very readily reached an agreement with Liang Jing. The two only reached a verbal agreement; the specific implementation still required people to discuss the details carefully, but the general framework wouldn't deviate much. Having both gotten what they wanted, the two sat together, enjoying breakfast and chatting happily.

Conveniently, Song Que also brought up the matter of helping Wu Yi. Old Liang didn't hesitate for a second; he patted his chest and agreed on the spot, guaranteeing that upon returning, he would dispatch several brothers from the gang to coordinate with the Constabulary's work. It wasn't until the two Zhong brothers finished handling the goods and returned that the two stopped their conversation. Song Que bid farewell, wanting to return to the village for a look.

Having achieved his goal, Liang Jing didn't overstay his welcome and tactfully stood up to leave.... Giant Willow Village. It hadn't been long since the group left this place, so the scenery naturally hadn't changed. It was still the same dilapidated roofs, familiar faces, and somber atmosphere. But Song Que and the others felt exceptionally close to it. Their return naturally attracted attention. A whole crowd of villagers dropped their work and came out curiously to watch.

Seeing Boss Song and Xiong Ba leading the way on tall, magnificent warhorses, everyone revealed expressions of envy and timidity. Not long after the group passed through the village gate, Old Zhong, hearing the commotion, hurried out to meet them. Before he even arrived, his voice boomed like a broken loudspeaker:"You brats came back so soon! I thought I wouldn't see your faces for half a year to a year!"

"Haha, Uncle Zhong, is everything well?"

"Father!"...

"Uncle Zhong!"...

"Uncle Zhong!" Zhong Hong, Xiong Ba, and Li Xin didn't dare delay and hurriedly greeted him. Nodding and smiling in return, without even sparing his own son an extra glance, Old Zhong asked curiously:"A'Que, what brings you back this time?" Seeing the surrounding villagers also eavesdropping curiously, Boss Song didn't hide anything and spoke loudly:"Uncle Zhong, since you and the fellow villagers are here, I'll be brief.

We have more or less established a firm foothold in the county city, and we've opened a few shops to do business. The business naturally requires helpers. Compared to people in the city, I trust the people of our village more. Therefore, my intention in returning this time is to find a few people. Whoever is interested can come with us to work in the county city. Room and board are included, and the salary will definitely satisfy everyone." Hearing his words, everyone present erupted in excitement.

Except for the elderly who just wanted to live out the rest of their days here, who among them didn't want to escape this impoverished, remote place? Now that an opportunity was laid out before them, everyone was moved. At this moment, someone couldn't hold back and asked:"Boss Song! I wonder how many people you plan to find this time, and what are the requirements?" This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. This question hit the nail on the head.

Song Que looked at the speaker with appreciation; he had a faint impression of this face.

"Good question. You are called Ma Fei, right?"

"Yes, yes, this lowly one is Ma Fei! Boss Song, your memory is truly excellent!" Smiling, he didn't take the other's flattery to heart and said:"This time, I plan to recruit about ten people, mainly women and able-bodied young men. Those who can read will be prioritized. Whoever is interested can go to the Village Chief's house to register with Brother Zhong Hong. Everyone, go home and think it over carefully."

Having received a definite answer, the crowd dispersed in satisfaction to share this good news with their families. As for worrying that Song Que was scamming them? Anyone who dared utter such a sentence was guaranteed to be rewarded with a beating from the villagers. Could the prestige of 'Immortal Song' in this village be offended by just anyone?

Making an appointment with Old Zhong to have lunch together, Song Que, his servant, and Li Xin first went to the graveyard to pay respects to his parents, then headed straight to Mirror Lake to prepare. Brother Hong naturally obediently followed his old man to explain what he had learned in the county city.... Mirror Lake Villa. The few rooms had been regularly cleaned, so when Song Que and the others arrived, it was no different from when they had lived there, saving them the effort of cleaning.

It seemed Old Zhong had truly put his heart into it. Sitting under the familiar plum tree and watching the rippling surface of the lake, the tight and tense feelings Boss Song had harbored these past days dissipated somewhat. His whole body felt liberated as he leaned back, sinking deeply into his chair. After all, one always holds a special feeling for their homeland. Returning here, he felt strangely safe and peaceful.

Temporarily not wanting to move a muscle, and with Wukong not around, he simply instructed Xiong Ba and Li Xin to catch a few fish and take the food they had bought in town that morning to the kitchen to prepare first. It wasn't until the Zhong family father and son arrived that Boss Song was forced to get up and start working. Thinking about leaving the cooking to those two overgrown children—that would be 'dark cuisine'. The people here probably didn't have the courage to taste it.

Seeing Xiong Ba laboriously bringing up several jugs of wine from the cellar, Zhong Kui, who hadn't enjoyed it for a long time, had his eyes light up:"Good kid! So you still had some goods hidden here!"

"Haha, I brewed a lot last time, and it wasn't convenient to transport. I simply bottled and buried them, waiting to dig them up and drink whenever I returned. If Uncle Zhong likes it, you can come and get some later."

"Then you'd better prepare a lot, kid. Otherwise, next time you come back, there won't be anything left to drink!" Zhong Kui laughed heartily. In truth, this man had excellent self-control; he just said that, but had no intention of coming here to take the wine. As they ate and drank, they recounted recent events to each other. Hearing about the prosperity of the Commandery City, Old Zhong was extremely envious.

"Uncle Zhong, why don't you come with us? I have some properties in the county city; you can come and help me manage them," Song Que probed tentatively. But exactly as he predicted, Old Zhong still refused:"No can do. Going for a visit when I have the chance is fine. But leaving the Daling Mountains, I wouldn't feel comfortable living anywhere else. From now on, I will stay here until I die of old age, find a plot of land to be buried in, and that will be that. I don't want to go anywhere."

Seeing the old man's resolute mindset, he and Zhong Hong abandoned the idea of persuading him. The most important thing in life is 'comfort'. Since Old Zhong liked it this way, they should just let him be; there was no need to force it. After finishing the meal, Zhong Kui quickly led his son back home. There would definitely be no shortage of people looking for him today, and he didn't dare keep the fellow villagers waiting too long. Boss Song decided to dedicate this day solely to resting.

Not caring about anything else, he lay on his chair, closed his eyes, and slept, ignoring everyone else. Xiong Ba naturally picked up his axes and started practicing his routines. Li Xin, unable to bear the loneliness, had long since run off into the village to find his old childhood friends.... When he left the next morning, following him were two donkey carts fully loaded with eleven people. Ma Fei, disregarding everything else, was determined to hug Boss Song's thigh and naturally didn't miss this opportunity.

Fortunately, this guy knew how to work hard; he had diligently studied reading and writing with Old Mr. Xu in the past, so Song Que agreed to give him a chance. Another familiar face was Li Hui, who was originally a relative of Li Xin. Last night, he followed the kid to Mirror Lake to apologize for past grievances. After his pitiful pleading, Song Que took pity and accepted him. In reality, there was no deep enmity at all.

If he hadn't explained, Boss Song wouldn't even have known why this person had suddenly started avoiding him in the past. After hearing the explanation, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in bewilderment. Am I, Boss Song, the kind of person who bears grudges and pays attention to such trivial matters? Having been accepted, Li Hui packed up his entire household today. His old mother, biological sister, and brother-in-law were all loaded onto the carts, following the group toward the county city.

Thinking that Aunt Li, living alone, also needed someone to confide in, Song Que didn't say anything. The remaining six people consisted of three women and three able-bodied young men from the village. All of them were people with no attachments. Their relatives had either met with accidents in the forest or had lost their lives to bandits outside, making Song Que sigh at how chaotic the world here was....

Arriving at Yellow Leaf Town, the personnel and supplies were all prepared and waiting just for Boss Song's group. Cooperating with Old Liang was truly convenient. Zhong Hong only needed to list the names of the required supplies, and within a single day, the Iron Saber Gang had their men prepare everything completely. It was getting late, and the journey from here to Qinghe would take over six hours. Boss Song didn't dare delay any further.

He declined several invitations, reorganized the team, and immediately set off. Compared to when they arrived, the returning group had added quite a few middle-aged women and an excess of males, because Luo Mazi and his group of four had also decisively packed up their entire families in town to move. But compared to the outbound journey, the escorts were even more confident in the group's safety.

For no other reason than looking at the Shunfeng Express Delivery flag fluttering overhead with its comical little tornado emblem; even if the bandits of the Huanglian Mountains had eaten the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard, they wouldn't dare jump out and act recklessly.