After parting ways with You Che and Du Huanzhen on the official road, they quickly returned to Tonglin County.
Lu Zheng returned to his daily routine.
I practice daily in the morning, and at noon I either go to see Lin Wan or Shen Ying. In the afternoon I either play chess at Taohuaping to enjoy the cool air, or I help with diagnosis and treatment at Renxintang. Sometimes I have dinner together at Liu's house, and sometimes I go back to modern times to pick up Lin Wan.
Have a meal.
It gets even busier in the evening...
What's more, sometimes you will be interrupted by other things, such as...
"Master, General Xin invites you to go to the Chenghuang Temple for a drink tonight!"
"walk!"
…
After a drink and a sword show, Lu Zheng and Hu Zhou came out of the City God's Temple together.
"Are you still going to work on foot in the morning?" Lu Zheng asked.
Hu Zhou nodded, "Yes!"
Since Hu Zhou became a disciple, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan have said several times that they let Hu Zhou either work in the sugar factory or help in Renxintang, but Hu Zhou was unwilling and wanted to make money based on his own ability.
Because Hu Zhou's cultivation level was still low at that time, being a porter was considered a kind of heavy-bearing training, so Lu Zheng did not stop him, but he and Liu Qingyan only sent some food and money to their mother and son from time to time.
Therefore, Hu Zhou's mother and son lived a pretty good life. They changed their residence and had enough food and clothing. However, they were not rich at all.
"With your current level of cultivation, being a porter is of no use anymore. Instead, you have to hide and restrain yourself." Lu Zheng said, "And you can't always be a porter, right?"
Hu Zhou helps out at Renxintang, and Liu Qingyan will teach him how to read and write whenever she has time. Now he has learned several hundred common words, which is enough for daily reading.
Moreover, Lu Zheng often told some short stories about how he dealt with people and how he saw things when he was in the clinic at Renxintang. Although Hu Zhou had a straightforward temper, he was no longer as brainless as before.
So Hu Zhou is actually capable of doing other things.
But Hu Zhou seemed unwilling.
"I think it's good. I work and talk with the porters. There are not so many twists and turns. It's quite relaxing." Hu Zhou said.
"But since you are a porter, it is not convenient for your mother to help you arrange your marriage." Lu Zheng said helplessly.
This is what Liu Qingyan told him, saying that Hu’s mother had asked Liu Qingyan to help change Hu Zhou’s job.
Now that Hu Zhou was successful in martial arts and literate, Hu's mother did not want to find him a wife according to the standards of a porter.
"Promise me!" Hu Zhou was suddenly horrified, "My mother wants to promise me?"
"No, no! I don't want to get married, and I don't want those women with loud voices!" Hu Zhou waved his hands hurriedly.
"That's why your mother wants you to change jobs. When you change jobs, she can find you some fair, tender and pretty little ladies!" Lu Zheng said seductively.
Hu Zhou blinked, "Like the girl from Mr. Liu's house in the alley?"
"Who is that?" Lu Zheng blinked.
Hu Zhou said, "The daughter of an old scholar is very nice. She even gave me food when I came home!"
Lu Zheng turned around in shock, "Why do people give you food?"
"I helped her fight off a few scoundrels who provoked her before," Hu Zhou said, "but I only gave them away once, but I haven't given them away since."
Lu Zheng said seductively, "Then do you want to marry such a girl?"
"I don't want to!" Hu Zhou shook his head decisively.
"Huh?" Lu Zheng looked confused again, "Why?"
"This kind of girl has more troubles. She definitely doesn't let me practice swordsmanship, and she doesn't let me drink. I heard it from my friends." Hu Zhou said, "And in some of the little stories you told me, Master,
Aren’t there a lot of women who are holding us back?”
Lu Zheng:???
"Is the point of the stories I told you that the mother-in-law is holding you back?"
Hu Zhou shrank his neck and said nothing, but he obviously had no intention of agreeing to get married.
Lu Zheng curled his lips, but did not try to persuade him again.
Hu Zhou is not yet sixteen years old, which is when he is rebellious in adolescence, and he is not in a hurry to get married and start a family.
I simply left him alone for a while, but I didn't give up on his teachings anyway, and continued to do so subtly.
…
In the next few days, Lu Zheng continued to work on both sides, and Hu Zhou also went to the porters team to work in the morning, helped in Renxintang in the afternoon, and went to the Chenghuang Temple to practice swordsmanship in the evening.
It has only been a few peaceful days...
"Master!"
Hu Zhou hurried to Lu Zheng's home, his face pale.
"What's wrong?"
"I...my mother...my mother was kidnapped!" Hu Zhou said with trembling lips.
"What?" Lu Zheng was surprised, "What's going on? Your mother stayed at home well, why was she kidnapped?"
Hu Zhou took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Lu Zheng tremblingly, with hatred in his tone, "It's those gangsters. They asked me to take ten guan of money to Yingzui Cliff in Shuanggou Mountain outside the city, otherwise
I’m going to kill my mother.”
"I, I want to go by myself this time, but I am worried that my strength is limited. If they are really cruel, I may not be able to save my mother." Hu Zhou said.
"Which gang of gangsters?" Lu Zheng took the letter and glanced at it. The content inside was the same as what Hu Zhou said. He asked with some confusion, "Isn't it the gang of gangsters you helped your neighbors drive away?"
Did they kidnap your mother for this?"
It stands to reason that the gangsters in the city are those who make big mistakes and keep making small mistakes. They eat a king's meal, collect a protection fee, and commit petty theft. It is absolutely not allowed to do a life-threatening business.
Kidnapping for ransom?
This crime is not a small one. If caught by the government, the crime of being exiled to the army will definitely be inevitable. How dare a gangster do it?
"A few days ago, they collected protection money from my team of porters. They even said they knew some condor and some kind of sword king."
Hu Zhou said, "Then I knocked them all down and beat them up together with a few guys from the porter team."
Lu Zheng frowned, "So these gangsters know where you live and who you are?"
"But...is it possible?"
Lu Zheng shook his head, "Let's discuss these issues later. Rescue your mother first. Let's go. I'll go with you."
Hu Zhou nodded repeatedly.
So Lu Zheng gave orders to Uncle Li, and the two of them left the city together.
It was noon. Hu Zhou had finished work in the morning. When he came home at noon, he found that Hu's mother had been kidnapped. He took the letter and came to see Lu Zheng, so it was only two quarters of noon.
The two of them hurried all the way and soon arrived at Shuanggou Mountain. They went up the mountain and came to Yingzui Cliff.
Yingzui Cliff is a cliff, and there is another cliff three feet away on the opposite side, called Elephant Head Cliff. The two cliffs are hollow, and below is a cliff of tens of feet.
The two of them came to Yingzui Cliff, and then they discovered that about ten people from each other were on the Elephant Head Cliff opposite, and then...
Lu Zheng's eyes were sharp, and Hu Zhou's eyes were red and furious!
Because Hu's mother was lying on the ground with her hands tied behind her back, and there were several bruises on her face.