Lord of the Desert

Chapter 30
"Master Fan, punishing a rotten person like me is dirtying your hands!"

Ask two to bow to ask for the way, and use the corner of your eyes to glance at your companions.

But how dare the latter come up to top the vat——Your surname is my master, isn't the surname Hong my master's master?

"You worry too much."

Hong Fan shook his head solemnly.

"I just crawled out of the mire myself, so what's wrong with dirty hands?"

As he spoke, he clenched his fists at the waist, stepped forward and punched Qiu Er's lower abdomen with a twist of his wrists, watching him kneel down in front of him silently.

"Oh, no, I still have something to say."

After laying down Qiu Er, Hong Fan suddenly turned his gaze to that companion again.

"Go back and tell Qiude that this time it's not 120 taels, it's 150 taels."

"I heard that the third child of Qiu's family studies hard and is a decent kid. I don't want to go to him either."

Seeing his companion nodding repeatedly, Hong Fan put on his veiled hat, turned around and went out of the alley, into the light.

Then, just when the former thought he had escaped and was helping his second son, Hong Fan turned back again.

"Big, uncle..."

The companion called out with a pale face, but saw that the other party ignored him and just picked up the bamboo cage filled with colorful purple.

Then, a second time into the light.

······
Jinhai City, that night.

Qiujia's courtyard was entered three times in front and back, which can be regarded as a large family system in the city.

After working hard for most of his life, Qiude saved a net worth of two or three thousand taels, surpassing many small and medium landlords.

Counting the gray income brought by the housekeeper position, as well as the monthly income of him and his wife, the family can have a net income of more than 300 taels a year.

It is also true that only the big housekeeper can support a fierce servant like Liang Hu.

It was not late at night, and it was time for dinner.

Today, Qiude, who usually lives in the Hong Mansion, seldom returns home for dinner, but the atmosphere in the dining room is gloomy.

"Hong Fan, Hong Fan..."

Qiude swallowed a piece of bacon with no taste, and sighed.

"I thought I didn't underestimate you, but I still underestimated you."

In just these two days, he had a detailed understanding of Jiang Youde's battle, especially the style of speech between the two of them.

Coupled with the experience of his two sons, he has a rough outline of Hong Fan in his heart.

"Let's stop here. I'll give him the money tomorrow."

Qiude put down his chopsticks and made up his mind.

"How does this work?"

Qiude's wife, who had also lived in Hong's residence for most of her life, put away her sobs and said angrily.

"Erlang and Liang Hu are still lying in the room, so let's forget about it?!"

She slammed the table with a vicious look.

"In his two-month case of 90, we only got [-]% at most."

"What's more, he is now asking for 150 taels, so we have to pay 120 taels!?"

His wife was furious, Qiude didn't refute, but just straightened his back and looked at her indifferently.

Soon, the old woman flinched, shedding tears and sobbing on her own.

"I have come to this position over the years, and I have met too many people."

Qiude looked back and said.

"I'm not afraid of people with high martial arts skills and respectability—for example, the gentlemen of the top families in Jinhai, they don't easily attack the people below."

"I'm not afraid of those with low martial skills and cruel hearts—for example, those street rogues in Beicheng, Liang Hu can cook with a knife in his back."

"But I'm afraid of this kind of Hong Fan who's 'clear in his heart, can do it with his hands'."

"He's in the penetrating realm, we can't beat him; if he says he's going to find the third child, then he will really go!"

"Two and a half years, Hong Fan pretended to be trash for two and a half years! The more tolerant a person is, the more vengeful he is..."

Having said this, Qiude felt a little fear in his heart.

It's not that he hasn't read about people who have been pretending to be crazy for years in the story books, but in reality, this is the first time he has seen them.

"Let's not say how much progress he can make in martial arts in the future, even if he can't enter the Chaotic Realm in his whole life, this is not a master who can be offended!"

As he spoke, his determination became clearer.

At this time, Qiu Da suddenly interjected.

"Father, what's the matter with the Penetration Realm? He is only a serious cultivation base, not to mention sneak attacks, as long as five or six good men who are skilled in swords and bows can still be surrounded and killed head-on!"

He lost face in front of his old friend two days ago, and he was very angry.

"I've heard people in the Tao say that buying the life of a person who has just entered the penetrating realm is only a hundred taels of silver..."

Before Qiu Dalang could finish his sentence, he saw his father get up and come over, and he gave him a crisp slap with his hand.

"I spent so much money to raise you stupid pig!"

Qiude cursed, his face flushed red.

"Are you going to hire people to besiege and kill your old master's house? Do you think you can escape the wise eyes of the elder, or the search of the servants under the command of Master Wu?"

After asking a few rhetorical questions, he still felt puzzled, so he went around and kicked his eldest son again.

"Okay, this matter is settled like this, you all don't talk too much outside, and don't let the third child know."

Qiude swept his wife and children with majestic eyes.

"Tomorrow, I will send the silver to him personally, and add some more according to the amount he said - just 200 taels."

Although the words were categorical, but thinking of the white silver in his heart, he still felt tight in his chest.

"200 taels, uh, 200 taels!"

"This is the money to buy An Sheng, such a cruel person, it's impossible not to spend it..."

Putting his hands on the round table and returning to his seat, Qiude clutched his chest while talking to himself, so sad that even his expression turned grim.

······
On the ninth day of May, the weather was bright and clear.

Hong Fan went out early in the morning, first he sold the "not bad" General Ban Lanzi in Tianjing Hutong for a tael of silver, and then went outside the city.

Throughout the day, he repeatedly exercised his sand control ability in the mountains until he failed several times.

Aiming at the current state of the sand world, Hong Fan tried to develop two ultimate moves, the sand stab projection and the sand fog, but in the end he was limited by his cultivation, and it was still difficult to do his best.

Fortunately, he was used to this kind of continuous failure in stages when he was an engineer in his previous life.

At the beginning of Youshi (five o'clock in the evening), Hong Fan rushed back to the small courtyard before dark, and pushed the courtyard door without moving.

The courtyard gate, which was never locked during the day, was bolted today.

Before Hong Fan could make a sound, Aunt Liu's vigilant interrogation sounded in the courtyard: "Is the young master back?"

"it's me."

Hong Fan replied, and the door was opened and put in.

"Auntie, what's going on today?"

He was admitted to the hospital and asked with a smile, already guessing in his mind.

"I beg the housekeeper to bring you money!"

Aunt Liu replied angrily, looked around the courtyard twice, and quickly locked the door again.

"Being a housekeeper is a sensible person after all."

Hong Fan let out a low laugh, took a ladle of buffalo drink from the jar, went into the back room and sat down.

Before he could take the initiative to speak, Aunt Liu quickly dug out a cloth bag from under the firewood pile in the corner of the side room, and carefully carried it over.

"Master, I begged the butler to come alone in the afternoon, and said that he wanted to pay you back, so he gave me this bag."

She said hesitantly.

"I still wanted to ask in detail, but he only said that he would know when you came back."

Hong Fan nodded when he heard the words, and opened the bag on the table casually, revealing forty five taels of silver ingots.

"Ouch..."

Even though she had counted back and forth several times in the afternoon, Aunt Liu still couldn't help being startled, she hurried to the door of the room and bolted the heavy door.

PS: Investment, votes, follow-up reading... The new book period is more critical, and readers are welcome to help~~~
(End of this chapter)