Chapter 1 The Core Business

In his previous life, Hu Ma had heard of names like the Pai Gang, Cao Gang, and Yan Gang (various guilds). Looking at them through the lens of his past life's memories, they were mostly associated with darkness or shades of gray. But in reality, they were just unfortunate people trying to make a living by sticking together for warmth and struggling to survive.

This world was quite different from his previous life, but these Blood Food Gangs, with their "Worshiping Tai Sui" (Grand Duke Jupiter) core business, were somewhat similar.

They couldn't be simply categorized; it could only be said that in this world, these Blood Food Gangs were their providers. The villagers relied on them to worship Tai Sui every year, which brought some extra income to the village. And for the villagers, joining the Blood Food Gang was like ascending to heaven in one step.

After all, joining the Blood Food Gang, compared to being a short-term meat-cutting worker, was the difference between being a formal employee and a temporary worker.

For the people in the village, it was indeed a good opportunity.

After all, in every dynasty, people who toiled in the fields were the most miserable, without exception.

Thinking that too much talk was bound to lead to mistakes, Hu Ma didn't ask any more questions. He partnered with Zhou Datong and hurried to the village. From afar, he could see that the road was lively, and the village was even more bustling. He didn't know how many people were scrambling to squeeze into this usually deserted village.

Second Master was standing at the entrance of the village, kicking out one by one those who wanted to force their way in:

"Lai Zitou, don't push, the Red Lantern Society's altar opening definitely has nothing to do with you this time."

"You did help Second Master light the furnace before, but you're married now, what are you doing here?"

"..."

Many people in the crowd were unwilling to give up, and some shouted, "Second Master, I'm not married..."

"I gambled away all the money I earned from cutting meat these past two years, and I haven't been able to marry a wife. Let me join the Red Lantern Society, and I'll buy you a pig's head for the New Year!"

"..."

Second Master glared at him angrily, "You haven't married a wife, so how did you release your fire?"

Hearing this, the one who was shouting to come in was defeated, on the verge of tears, "It's all because of Lai Zi's wife..."

Good heavens, it was even more lively now, with fighting, shoe throwing, groping other people's wives, or looking for opportunities to sneak inside.

Now the news that the Red Lantern Society was going to open an altar had spread. Logically, the Red Lantern Society would choose people from those who were currently learning skills from Second Master. So, those who had learned from Second Master in previous years also wanted to squeeze in.

What if they were spotted by the manager?

But Second Master knew that the manager wouldn't be so easily fooled, and he kicked them out one by one.

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, who were seriously learning, almost couldn't squeeze in. Fortunately, they were small, and taking advantage of Lai Zi and Er Gou fighting, they quickly entered the village. Inadvertently, they bumped into someone helping Second Master maintain order, who sneered at Hu Ma:

"You've only been learning from Second Master for less than a month, what are you doing here?"

"..."

Hu Ma looked up and saw that it was Cui Lao San (Third Oldest) of the Cui family. He had no liking for anyone named Cui in this village, so he sneered and ignored him.

"Heh, a newcomer dares to act wild, not even calling me 'Uncle'..."

Cui Lao San was dissatisfied, but the surroundings were too chaotic, and he didn't have time to say anything more to Hu Ma.

The commotion continued until the sun was high in the sky. The crowd surged as the manager, accompanied by the clan leader and a group of elders from the village, arrived.

The villagers were not afraid of Second Master, but they were extremely afraid of this manager from the city. They quickly made way to the side, sheepishly watching the manager walk into the village.

"How lively..."

Hu Ma sized him up from a distance. He saw that the manager was about forty years old, with a portly figure, wearing brocade clothes, riding a blue donkey, and had two followers, which was quite impressive.

He entered the village, and only with the help of his followers did he dismount the donkey. He smiled and said, "But our Red Lantern Society probably can't support so many people."

The old clan leader, who usually seemed very much like the head of the village in Hu Ma's eyes,

Now had a smile on his face, seemingly even a bit ingratiating, as he said, "You pick the good ones and take them over for cultivation."

"That's right."

The manager smiled and said, "In our Ming Prefecture, there are no less than a hundred gangs that rely on blood food to survive, but our Red Lantern Society has always been famous for its great skills and good treatment of people."

"Once you join our society, you're one of us. We'll take care of your food and lodging, and even pay you wages. Most importantly, we'll teach you skills. But whether you can get in depends on how hard you've been working on your strength and whether you've put in the effort."

These words made all the young men feel uneasy.

Earlier, they followed Second Master just to work as miners and earn some wages, so the furnace needed to be lit, but it didn't need to be too strong. Changing the talisman once was enough.

But now that they were being selected for the Red Lantern Society, the stronger the furnace fire, the better the chance.

Many of those who usually slacked off or couldn't resist rewarding themselves a few times were now regretting it so much that their intestines were turning green.

"Alright, you all look pretty energetic."

The manager smiled and came to the young men, saying, "Extend your hands."

The young men looked at each other. Second Master kicked the one in the front, causing him to stagger, and said, "Why aren't you extending your hands?"

The young men then reacted and hurriedly extended their hands.

Those with dirty hands quickly wiped them on their clothes before sheepishly extending them.

"Let's start with you!"

The manager walked to the young man on the far left with a dirty face, extended two fingers, and carefully pinched his palm.

Without seeing him make any movements, the young man whose palm he pinched suddenly shivered.

He actually couldn't stand steady and fell to the ground.

The manager frowned and said, "This one won't do."

Second Master quickly helped him up, checked that he was okay, and said with a smile, "He's only been learning for a year, his foundation isn't strong enough."

"Then let's wait until next year!"

The manager walked towards

But his family was heartbroken, knowing that so-called next year was just an excuse. The Red Lantern Matriarch had been strong and powerful in recent years, so there was no need to come to a place like Da Yang Village to find helpers. If he missed this year, he probably wouldn't have another chance in his life...

Arrived at

Seemed a little weak, but still stood firm.

"Not bad."

The manager praised and continued to walk forward.

He only lightly pinched with two fingers in front of each young man, but some of these young men trembled all over and fell to the ground.

Some turned pale, but still held on.

Soon, more than a dozen people had been tested, and seven or eight of them could still stand. The remaining people couldn't help but become more nervous, fearing that the manager would have picked enough people in the front, and there would be no opportunity when it came to them.

"Cough, stand properly!"

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong arrived late and were originally ranked at the back. Hearing a light cough, someone stood in front of him.

Looking up, it was Cui Xie'er (Scorpion), who was tall and thin.

This guy was originally helping Second Master maintain order, so he took the opportunity to stand at the end. But now he actually ran in front of Zhou Datong.

Hu Ma smiled inwardly, but didn't say much.

Soon, it was Cui Xie'er's turn. He solemnly extended his hand, as if handing over his fate.

But the manager pinched with two fingers, and he also shivered, making a muffled sound in his throat. But he still stood straight and didn't move, his body didn't even shake. The manager looked at him in surprise, smiled, and passed him without commenting.

It was Zhou Datong's turn. He excitedly called out, "Grandpa Qian."

Yesterday, he had met this manager with the old clan leader.

"Fat boy, you're not bad."

The manager smiled when he saw him, "I tested you yesterday, so I don't need to test you today. Just wait!"

Zhou Datong immediately looked delighted and stood aside.

In the crowd, the old clan leader obviously breathed a sigh of relief, stroking his short beard, looking happy.

"It's your turn."

The manager smiled and looked at Hu Ma at the end, smiled and nodded. His index finger and thumb pinched the edge of Hu Ma's palm.

Hu Ma only saw the reactions of his companions and didn't know what was going on. Now that his palm was pinched, before he could make any special preparations, he suddenly felt a surge of cold aura pouring into his palm.

This feeling was like encountering an evil spirit. A burst of cold, evil whispers emerged in his ears, as if his whole person was about to be dragged into another world.

But immediately, the furnace fire flared.

As this cold aura invaded, the furnace fire inside his abdomen was naturally stimulated and ejected outwards.

It fought with this yin energy, barely managing to push this yin energy out of his palm.

In reality, this ejected fire was just Hu Ma's

"Eh?"

The manager's two fingers were pushed away, and his eyes seemed a little surprised, gradually smiling.

Those around him didn't know what was happening. They only saw that the manager had been serious with everyone else, but with Hu Ma, he just touched him lightly with two fingers, didn't even see if he touched him, and then retracted his hand. They didn't know what the final result was.

But after all the young men had been seen, they all stretched their necks and waited to see the result.

"The times are good these past few years..."

The manager straightened up, took the cloth from the follower next to him and wiped his hands, and said to the crowd with a smile, "The young men in the village have a more solid foundation than the last, and if I could make the decision, I would love to take them all back."

"But unfortunately, I am just doing things under orders, so I can only pick a few relatively good ones."

"Then let's do it this way, boy, you, you, and you..."

He pointed to a few in a row, and when he said "and you," his finger skipped Cui Xie'er and pointed to Hu Ma's face.

He smiled and said, "Just you guys, in a few days, go to the city to burn incense!"