Chapter 1 However That May Be

Even so, this old hand had made it clear to Hu Ma, the seemingly young but generous small boss, that they would only travel during the day. On rainy days and at night, they would stop and rest.

No need to tell him that, Hu Ma had learned the rules when he came out with Second Master.

His understanding of this Old Yin Mountain was naturally not as good as Second Master's, not even as good as this old hand's, but it was never wrong to be careful.

And it was precisely to avoid trouble on the road that he didn't even bring Qing Taisui (a type of medicinal mushroom), for fear of attracting evil spirits.

Thus, traveling by day and resting at dusk, they gradually went deep into the Old Yin Mountain area, and the young men all felt the atmosphere of home.

What they didn't expect was that, after passing through a forest, they actually ran into acquaintances again.

"Passing guests, have a heart, the village has suffered a disaster, and we can't even celebrate the New Year..."

"..."

Looking at that group of villagers with hoes, pitchforks, sticks, and stones, the boys on the cart looked at each other, and the old hand quickly reined in the old horse pulling the cart, turning to look at Hu Ma.

It had been agreed in advance that if they encountered bandits or vagrants blocking the road, the small boss would handle it. He was just helping to drive the cart and wouldn't care about anything else.

"Did Second Master cry as soon as he got out of the car back then?"

Hu Ma thought about Second Master's actions at the time, feeling a bit awkward. He couldn't cry.

So, as soon as he got out of the car, he immediately smiled, cupping his fist towards the people blocking the road: "Happy New Year, folks, may you prosper!"

"Perhaps you noble people are forgetful, we passed by here with our adults a few months ago, and we were able to avoid the evil spirits thanks to your guidance. We thought we might run into you here, so we prepared some New Year's goods in advance, come and help us move them!"

"..."

Saying that, he asked Zhou Datong to take down a bag of coarse rice and a piece of pork weighing seven or eight pounds that he had prepared in advance.

Seeing that Hu Ma had a tender face, but was not timid when speaking, this group of people also looked at each other.

Seeing this, Hu Ma directly grabbed the bag of coarse rice with one hand, hooked his little finger, and picked up the piece of pork, holding it up and walking forward with a smile, signaling them to take it.

The leader's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly threw down the hoe, cupping his hands:

"Okay, okay, thank you for remembering..."

"..."

He was about to let the people next to him take it, but someone glanced at the cart, at the many cloths and grains, and was slightly tempted.

He quietly came over and said something in his ear.

But the leader slapped him backhand: "What are you talking about? These are neighbors with whom we have a relationship!"

"We have to celebrate the New Year, don't they?"

"..."

While speaking, he thanked them profusely as he took it, and even guaranteed that he would remember Hu Ma, and wouldn't accept anything next time.

They passed this hurdle politely, and even the old cart driver admired Hu Ma a little. The group entered the forest peacefully, but it became quieter and quieter, and there were fewer and fewer people.

To put it bluntly, even those who blocked the road to rob only did so near the edge of the Old Yin Mountain. Once inside, the masters of this forest were no longer human. Everyone lived carefully, full of awe.

Compared to other places, the characteristic of Old Yin Mountain was that there were more evil spirits, but fewer man-made disasters.

Of course, Old Yin Mountain was too mysterious, and its reputation outside was not very good. If outsiders came in for the first time, they would definitely be suspicious and uneasy.

But for the young men from Da Yang (Great Goat) Village, this was coming home, and they became more and more excited.

After walking for two more days, they arrived in front of Da Yang Village. The small path covered by weeds was divided into two branches, one leading directly to the village, and the other going to Second Master's place first. Hu Ma chose the latter without hesitation.

Having finally returned, of course he would see his loved ones first.

The young men had nothing to say, thinking of seeing Second Master, smiles crept onto their faces.

Squeak, squeak, at noon, they saw Second Master's manor on the small hill in the distance. The carriage drove over and stopped at the foot of the hill, waiting. Hu Ma and Zhou Datong and several others jumped out of the car and walked towards the manor together.

From a distance, they heard Second Master shouting at the top of his lungs, scolding people in the manor: "Diligence! Do you understand diligence? If you don't work hard now, how will you make money in the spring?"

"Don't you know Hu Ma from the village? Don't you know Zhou Datong?"

"Do you think these two got into the Niangniang Hui (Goddess Society) to earn food for nothing? When they were learning from me, they were the most diligent!"

"..."

"Eh?"

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong were stunned when they heard this.

Faced with this unexpected praise, both of them felt a little guilty...

"Second Master, still busy?"

Feeling guilty, he still stepped forward and pushed open the half-closed door, standing outside and smiling at Second Master.

"Eh?"

Second Master turned his head to look, stunned for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and slowly put down the smoking pipe in his hand. When he recognized that it was indeed the two of them, followed by Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and Li Wazi who was poking his head in, his eyes widened:

"My goodness, you've all been kicked out in just a few days?"

"..."

"?"

Hu Ma and the others were stunned for a moment, seeing Second Master rushing up like an angry lion, about to hit someone.

He hurriedly took a step back, letting Zhou Datong block in front, and smiled: "We weren't kicked out, we came back for the New Year." "That's right..."

Zhou Datong was unable to dodge and took a slap first, also jumping and shouting: "Yes, we're back for the New Year..."

"We even bought you the best tobacco..."

"..."

"What New Year?"

Second Master's temper didn't diminish, cursing: "The Niangniang Hui isn't running a charity. How could they let you come back for the New Year after only a few days? You must have been up to no good..."

"It's true..."

The few of them hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him, and gave the tobacco to Second Master, pointing to the big cart down the mountain to show him.

Only then did Second Master believe it with some suspicion, and glanced at Hu Ma: "Little Hu Ma, you little brats aren't trying to fool me, are you?"

"Of course not."

Hu Ma smiled and said: "We have to go back after the New Year, the shop is waiting for us!"

"Oh my, the people from the Niangniang Hui are really good..."

Second Master finally turned his anger into joy, looking at the few of them, feeling that they were stronger than when he had sent them over before. He punched this one, punched that one, and sure enough, seeing that Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu were very strong, and it seemed that they were fine even after taking a punch from him.

So, when it came to Li Wazi, he used a little force, and Li Wazi was sent flying far away with a squeak.

"Why is this kid even softer than before?"

Second Master was a little stunned, and Hu Ma hurriedly stopped him, saying that they had come to see him first, and hadn't returned to the village yet.

"Return, we'll return now, I'll go back with you."

Second Master, overjoyed, got into the carriage with them, smoking the tobacco they had given him, feeling like he was in a dream.

They quickly arrived in front of the village, and saw that it was still the same, but it seemed farther away from him. The old patriarch was leading his stubborn donkey, digging up two bags of yams to bring back.

From a distance, he saw Second Master sitting in the carriage, as well as Hu Ma, Zhou Datong, and the faces of several children from the village. He was immediately stunned, blinked a few times, and cried out:

"This is bad..."

"They've all been kicked out in just a few days..."

"Woe to my bag of green fodder..."

"..."

"?"

Not only Hu Ma, but even Zhou Datong and the others were speechless. Did the village really distrust them that much?

They hurriedly drove the carriage up, jumped down, and Second Master helped explain to the old patriarch for a while before he stopped crying.

"What do you mean kicked out? We came back for the New Year."

"Not only were we not kicked out, Grandpa, but you don't know, my brother Ma Zi (Pockface), is now a manager in the shop..."

The old patriarch believed that they had not been kicked out, but he still didn't believe what they said:

"What big talk are you spouting?"

"The guy from the Li Zi (Wildcat) Village next door has been working in the Niangniang Hui for five or six years, and he hasn't even become a manager..."

"..."

"Still don't believe it?"

Zhou Datong shouted: "Brother Ma Zi, take out your manager's clothes and show them to my grandpa..."

While they were talking all over the place at the entrance of the village, the people in the village had already been alarmed, and were all gathered around from a distance to watch, especially the adults of Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and the others, who hurriedly ran outside the village.

Seeing that their children had suddenly arrived in front of them, and were even stronger, they were overjoyed, and didn't care about the things being pulled on the cart.

Only the Li Wazi family rushed over in a swarm, and when they saw that Li Wazi was thin and weak, and looked weak and frail, they couldn't help but shed tears. When Li Wazi saw his parents, he immediately cried out: "Dad, Mom, I almost died..."

Their crying caused even the surrounding neighbors, as well as the patriarch and Second Master, to look over with some concern.

Li Wazi cried aggrievedly, having not cried in the manor before, he cried it all out this time.

"I was bullied, and fell into the well, and I even encountered a Yin Gui (Ghost)..."

He cried: "It was Brother Ma Zi who took off his clothes and went down the well in the middle of the night, and rescued me from that Yin Sui (Evil Spirit)."

"Dad, Mom, the fire in my stove isn't strong anymore..."

"If Brother Ma Zi hadn't become a manager, arranged an easy job for me, and helped me talk to the shop, I'm afraid I would have been kicked out by the shopkeeper..."

"..."

He cried sadly, speaking incoherently, without any order, but the people in the village gradually understood, and the noisy movement subsided.

One by one, they looked at Hu Ma with eyes that were either clear or dark, some with comfort, some with emotion, quite complicated.

"Alas..."

A sigh sounded from behind, and a pair of powerful hands patted Hu Ma's shoulder, saying: "You did a good job."

It was Second Master.

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