Chapter 1 Hu Ma Exerts Himself

Hu Ma not only put in effort, but a great deal of effort.

He knew the importance of the opportunity, and after receiving the promise, he diligently handled the affairs of the manor.

Although the manor was small and it was the slack season, the tasks were indeed quite complex.

He needed to take care of the inner courtyard's needs, as well as the livestock cleaning and sweeping in the outer courtyard, the firewood chopping and rice purchasing in the kitchen, the nightly patrols, and the occasional visits from people in the surrounding villages reporting something, requiring him to send people to investigate.

The manager didn't like to be involved, so all these matters fell on Hu Ma.

And Hu Ma didn't shirk, but carefully arranged everything every day.

He knew that he couldn't make any mistakes now, so he did everything himself, and intentionally distinguished himself from Xu Ji's previous arrogant behavior. Whether it was the night patrol or other chores, he distributed them evenly to everyone, without distinction, and they took turns doing various tasks.

At first, he was worried that Zhou Datong and other partners from Dayang Village would be dissatisfied. After all, when Xu Ji was in charge, his two lackeys not only didn't do chores, but also secretly received gifts from others.

Now that Hu Ma held real power, no one gave Zhou Datong and the others gifts. Even the night patrol was assigned by chance, and sometimes they still had to do things like fetching water and feeding horses.

But when Hu Ma asked, Zhou Datong surprisingly said, "What are you talking about, Brother Hu Ma?"

"Isn't this what my grandpa does in the village every day?"

"If there are benefits, they are distributed privately. Who would put them out in the open? Wouldn't that just make the villagers dissatisfied?"

"..."

Hu Ma looked at Zhou Datong with new eyes.

This politician's grandson really had a different perspective than others...

Although he came from the village, Zhou Datong's way of dealing with the world was even better than that of Xu Ji, who came from a family of offerings.

After being busy like this for a while, everything in the manor was in order. The workers practiced their stances and did their jobs without complaint, which was even better than when Xu Ji was in charge.

And the workers gradually regarded Hu Ma as the real manager, reporting anything to him first. No matter how Hu Ma handled it, he would report it to Manager Wu every night after the patrol.

Manager Wu's emotions were hidden, but it was clear that he was very satisfied with Hu Ma's actions.

He entrusted him with everything, big and small, and occasionally gave him a few pointers on things to pay attention to. When the tenth of the month came, it was time to distribute blood food to the new workers. He even gave Hu Ma the key to the outer warehouse and asked him to take it out for the workers.

"Take an extra half a catty for yourself."

He instructed Hu Ma without showing any emotion, "Nourish yourself well and raise your fire.

"If you can reach Dao Xing (cultivation level) sooner, you can really stand alone and help us when spring comes next year."

"..."

"Is this a different kind of promise?"

Hu Ma naturally understood the hint in his words, but he didn't dare to relax.

Hehe, hadn't he had enough of empty promises in his previous life?

He just paid attention to everything, handled his affairs carefully, and silently calculated his time.

Now his cultivation was approaching three incense sticks, and the jar of blood food pills was almost empty, but the more critical the moment, the less he could panic.

After he seized the actual position of manager, the only thing he really did was drive Xu Ji's two lackeys out of that small room and move in with Zhou Datong, so he didn't have to squeeze in with others.

Of course, even this was so that Xiao Hongtang could have a good sleep on the beam every night.

Proceeding step by step, the workers began to become more and more proficient in the affairs of the manor.

Coincidentally, at this time, the brocade-clad young master Xu Ji, who had previously asked for leave and left the manor, returned to the manor silently, causing a stir among the crowd.

After this young master deserted, Hu Ma had directly and naturally taken over the management. Now that he was back, wouldn't the two have to fight again?

Especially his two lackeys, who thought their chance to turn over had come, were eager to try.

But unexpectedly, Xu Ji, who had returned this time, was listless and didn't seem to want to compete with Hu Ma at all. When he found that his bedding had been moved to the large side room next door, he didn't have any objections.

Even

The workers all looked at each other in astonishment: "What's going on? Did this arrogant young master just give up?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple..."

Hu Ma appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was full of vigilance, and he told Xiao Hongtang to keep an eye on him.

In short, he couldn't relax until he learned the method.

Sure enough, Xu Ji, the brocade-clad young master who seemed to be docile on the surface and didn't have any intention of competing with Hu Ma in managing affairs, returned to the

Hu Ma was afraid that Xiao Hongtang would suddenly cause trouble and get hurt, so he didn't allow her to enter the inner courtyard casually, so she could only watch from the outside.

When Hu Ma came back, she told him about it. He was slightly moved and said, "How long did he go in for?"

Xiao Hongtang thought for a while and said, "The time it takes to eat a bowl of meat."

"...Very descriptive!"

Hu Ma nodded to show that he understood and gave Xiao Hongtang a piece of Qing Taisui (a type of mushroom) and let her go out to play.

Knowing that Xu Ji was in a precarious situation, he reasoned that he had nothing to impress the old manager anymore, but his background was not small, and his family was wealthy, so he couldn't think too simply. He just pretended not to know and continued to arrange his own affairs.

Sure enough, he had just returned from the night patrol that evening when he heard the old manager's servant come out: "Brother Hu, Brother Xu, the master wants you to come in."

Hu Ma was an only child, but Xu Ji was the second oldest in his family, so he called him that.

It sounded like Hu Ma had taken advantage of him.

Hu Ma glanced at Xu Ji and saw that he didn't look him in the eye, but got up and walked inside, clenching his fists nervously.

"You go back and rest first."

He also instructed Zhou Datong and entered the inner courtyard one after the other with Xu Ji.

When they got inside, they saw that the old manager was already waiting there. There were also a few dishes of snacks on the stone table, which the old manager had asked the servants to make in the small kitchen, including peanuts, broad beans, a fried egg, and a plate of fat beef cut like flower cakes.

There were actually three cups set out. Seeing them come in, he said, "You all sit down and keep me company."

Hu Ma and Xu Ji both sat down, but neither of them was in a hurry to speak. Only Xu Ji rushed to pour wine for the old manager.

"Counting, it's been almost a month since you came to my manor."

The old manager took a sip of wine before slowly opening his mouth and said, "Strictly speaking, this time is still short. Without following and worshiping Taisui (a deity) for a few years, you can't be considered an old-timer in our Red Lantern Maiden Society."

"But I won't hide it from you. You two are lucky."

"I'm short of manpower now, and our manor also lacks a proper manager, so it's a bargain for you two..."

"Yes, yes..."

Hu Ma was still listening silently, but Xu Ji couldn't wait to get up, holding a cup with both hands and saying, "Thank you, Godfather!"

"Sit down first."

The old manager glanced at him, didn't agree, and looked a little unhappy.

Xu Ji hurriedly sat down. His actions and that address made Hu Ma's heart move slightly.

"I won't hide it from you either."

Manager Wu pondered for a moment and simply said directly, "Everyone says that you can learn skills when you enter our Red Lantern Society, and that's true. The stances I usually teach you are all real skills, enough for you to earn a living."

"But these skills are still shallow."

"I have some more profound skills here, and I plan to find someone who can take on responsibilities and train them well."

As soon as he said this, not only Xu Ji, but also Hu Ma raised his head slightly.

After coming for so long, this was the first time that Manager Wu had stated this matter clearly in person.

Then he...

"And after observing for so long, I found that among the ten or so people in this manor, you two are the ones who can be a little promising."

Manager Wu looked at the two of them and said, "If you ask me, I want to accept both of you as apprentices, but I can't, at least I can't teach two people now."

"Even if I taught them, the blood food in our manor wouldn't be able to support two people, so I plan to give you two a question to see who can do it well. Whoever does it well will be the manager of the workers in our manor."

"Of course, my skills will also be given to him."

"Don't worry if you don't do well... I'll teach you later when the manor is more established..."

"..."

This was just fooling people...

Hu Ma suddenly understood when he heard it in his heart.

He had already heard about things like "come back next year" when the Red Lantern Maiden Society was choosing people.

Between himself and Xu Ji, only one person could become a real manager, and only one person could learn that skill.

It's just that he had already sent a treasure, and Xu Ji's family had already lost power.

So what exactly did Xu Ji say that moved this old manager and made him want to compete fairly with himself?

"The question is also simple..."

Manager Wu didn't look at the two of them's reactions, but went straight to the point: "Twelve li (Chinese miles) west of our manor, there is Huang Gou (Yellow Dog) Village. In theory, it's not within our patrol range, but when spring comes, it's also a dangerous place."

"As far as I know, there is a well there, and something inside has become a climate. We can't let it run wild there. You two, go and solve it!"

"Whoever does it well can come back and be a manager, how about it?"

"..."

Xu Ji was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately got up and promised.

But Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat, and he sneered inwardly, "So I was thinking too much..."

"This is not a fair competition at all!"