Chapter 776 - 419: Little River Bend (Part 2)
Chapter 776: Chapter 419: Little River Bend (Part 2)
Therefore, every time the season of plum blossoms arriving, every household here would collect plum blossoms to brew fine wine.
The fragrance drifts for miles, leaving people reluctant to leave.
"Passers-by, take a look, homemade plum wine. You won’t find it anywhere else. Miss this village, and there won’t be this shop."
A woman who looks very shrewd rolled up her sleeves and shouted loudly, trying to attract passers-by to take a look at their own plum wine.
Behind her, a pair, seemingly father and son, were busy.
The child occasionally lost focus, his gaze involuntarily wandered on the street, looking at the walking passers-by, he couldn’t help but said to the man:
"Dad, do you think they’re the heroes from stories?"
"Silly boy, always daydreaming, how could there be so many heroes?"
The man laughed heartily:
"Moreover, apart from our plum wine having some fame, what else here would interest those high-flying Martial Heroes?
"You should give up that dream of the Martial World, make good plum wine, save some silver, and when you grow up, marry a pretty wife to carry on the family line. That wouldn’t be a wasted life."
"Don’t underestimate me, I will surely become a hero in the future!"
"And then what?"
The man asked:
"After becoming a hero, what will you do? Tear down the roof? I think you need a beating!"
As he said this, he made a gesture to hit, and the aspiring hero dared not stand against his father’s iron fist, so he could only concede and admit his mistake.
He glanced at the street again and suddenly drew in a breath of cold air:
"Has an Immortal descended from heaven?"
"Dreaming again?"
The man sneered:
"Where’s the Immortal from heaven?"
While speaking, he glanced back and was suddenly stunned.
He saw a few strangers in front of their stall.
Standing in the middle was a young man in white, with a black box on his back, looking quite heavy, but on him, it seemed as if it weighed nothing at all.
The problem was, this person looked annoyingly handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and his skin was as white as snow. Clearly, he was a pretty boy!
Even his wife didn’t dare to look him in the eyes while speaking to him.
Truly outrageous!
"What Immortal descended, I think it’s a demon here to charm people."
He angrily threw the plum blossoms in his hand into the basin and rushed forward, his face full of anger replaced instantly by a warm smile:
"Are the gentlemen here for the plum wine? I’m not bragging, but our plum wine is the best in the vicinity!
"The key point is, it’s good and cheap. A jar of plum wine, honestly priced at ten silver taels!"
Chu Qing was taken aback:
"How much?"
Glancing around, he thought he might have come across a black market.
Yet, in this broad daylight, it didn’t seem like it.
The shopkeeper’s wife, hearing her husband talk nonsense, originally with a shy face, was suddenly furious:
"Aren’t you supposed to be plucking plum blossoms at the back? What are you babbling here?
"Is your plum wine made of gold? Ten silver taels! I think you’re worth ten silver taels!
"Now hurry back to work and stop causing trouble!!"
The man was scolded back, rolling and crawling.
The boy couldn’t stop laughing:
"Our plum wine isn’t that expensive at all. Were you asking for trouble on purpose?"
"What do you know!"
The man said smugly:
"Your mother’s temper is as fierce as a lion from the East River. Wasn’t she hiding her true form earlier? Now who would dare provoke her with that temper?"
The boy suddenly understood:
"Amazing."
Given Chu Qing’s martial arts skills, he had heard the conversation between the father and son clearly, and for a moment, he was also amused.
He brought Wu Qianhuan and Gentle, tasked all the way to Little River Bend, as today was the third.
With two days to go before Treasures Tower opened at Little River Bend.
Originally wanting to taste Little River Bend’s plum wine, little did he expect to be regarded as a pretty boy.
In a hurry, he ordered a jar of plum wine; the shopkeeper seemed to think her husband was embarrassing and gave Chu Qing a discount.
Afterward, Chu Qing casually asked:
"May I ask, is there an inn nearby?"
"An inn?"
The shopkeeper’s wife smiled and said:
"There’s no inn in this area. However, every household has vacant rooms. If you’re willing to pay, there’s accommodation for everyone...
"If the three of you don’t mind, you can give some silver, and we can tidy up three vacant rooms for you in our backyard."
"That would be great."
Chu Qing immediately clasped his hands together:
"Thank you so much."
"No need to be polite, you’ve paid for it."
The shopkeeper’s wife waved her hand and turned to call out to the back:
"Silly boy, go tidy up three rooms, these guests will stay with us."
The boy, upon hearing this, immediately raised his spirits, agreed, and turned to go, leaving the man there, dumbstruck as if severely injured:
"Oh no, even a lion from the East River can’t stop them from coming in? What should we do?"
Just as he finished speaking, the shopkeeper’s wife stomped hard on his foot:
"Let’s see how you babble. I’ll let you know if a tigress can eat people!"
Apparently agitated, she even started scolding herself.
Chu Qing and the two others couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.
The shopkeeper’s wife turned back, a bit embarrassed: "Sorry to make you see that, please come in."
"Thank you for the trouble."
The shopkeeper’s wife still had to continue selling; she left the man to accompany them.
Sternly warning him not to talk nonsense again, reiterating repeatedly, she then turned to get busy.
The man, seeing she had left, wiped the sweat from his brow, turned back to look at Chu Qing, still feeling awkward. Such a good-looking man surely had questionable motives.
Especially with two beautiful young women by his side as well; they couldn’t be up to any good.
Intimidated by his formidable wife, he dared not act rashly, having to accompany obediently.
Chu Qing, being sociable, casually spoke with him, gradually opening up the conversation.
During the small talk, the man claimed to have the surname Song, and his family had been residing in Little River Bend for generations.
Life was peaceful and undisturbed in the past, farming during the growing season and gathering plum blossoms to brew wine when the flowers fell, living a simple life.
Recently, however, Little River Bend had seen a strange influx of many outsiders.
For reasons unknown.
After a brief chat, the boy returned from the backyard, with some dust on him, saying that the rooms were ready, though not three, only two.
The remaining room couldn’t be tidied up immediately.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper’s wife was a bit troubled, but Chu Qing said it was no problem; the two girls could share one room, and he himself one.
The shopkeeper’s wife apologized and gave Chu Qing a discount when payment was due.
A trivial matter for Chu Qing, he didn’t dwell on it.
He followed the boy to see the room, then the boy went back to his chores.
The room wasn’t pristine, but the boy had cleaned it very thoroughly. Sitting on the heated adobe bed, Wu Qianhuan remarked with a smile:
"This family is quite interesting, loving husband and wife, even with such an elder child, and yet the husband still gets jealous."
Gentle glanced at Chu Qing’s face:
"It’s all your fault with that face of yours."
"...Indeed, he didn’t always look like this. How is it that you’ve turned so fair and youthful?"
"I’ve mastered my Inner Power, my looks won’t age. Not just now, but for decades onward, even at seventy or eighty, I’ll still look the same!"
Chu Qing snorted.
Wu Qianhuan paused:
"Then what about me? Thirty years on, if we go out together, won’t people mistake me for your mother?"
"How dare you."
Chu Qing ’angrily’ made as if to ’strike,’ while Wu Qianhuan laughed and dodged away.
Gentle observed their antics silently, feeling speechless inside. If Chu Qing had meant to hit seriously, with his martial prowess, Wu Qianhuan wouldn’t have a chance to escape.
The frustration culminated finally in two words:
"Childish."
Chu Qing and Wu Qianhuan paused their playful actions, looking at Gentle, surprised at being so ’criticized,’ they exchanged glances and pulled Gentle into the playful fray as well.
After frolicking together for a bit, they settled down.
Chu Qing then said:
"However, that Shopkeeper Song was speaking with me earlier, out of ten sentences, seven or eight were lies.
"Moreover, this person is certainly not simple, possessing quite impressive Inner Power."