Chapter 610: Niuxin Village

Chapter 610: Cattle Heart Village

"Oh~~ I’m telling you, that capital city is enormous! Just walking on foot, even if you walk for days and nights, you still won’t finish it!"

"Do you know how vast the roads are in that capital? Let me tell you, there’s still room for more than twenty carriages side by side!"

"And that girl in the brothels of the capital—tch tch tch, forget about her looks alone, just one cry from her would make every bone in your body go soft."

"That guy, not only the people of the capital, but they eat like it's New Year’s Day every day. Even the dogs by the roadside get meat to eat!"

Under the large tree at the entrance of Cattle Heart Village, Gouwa sat proudly on a big stone with his rice bowl in hand, regaling the other tenant farmers around him with vivid tales of his recent experiences in the capital.

These people had never ventured beyond a hundred miles from their village in their entire lives, so naturally they were unworldly. They were instantly captivated by Gouwa’s boasts, forgetting even to eat their rice as they imagined the capital city described by Gouwa.

Hearing these exclamations from the crowd, Gouwa felt extremely pleased, a sense of superiority welling up in his heart.

Then, like a general setting off to war, Gouwa waved his hand dramatically. "Hmph, if I must say, the capital isn't all that. I don’t even care for it. If we’re talking about grandeur, it has to be the Forbidden City where the Emperor lives!"

"That place, even the pillars and rooftops are adorned with gold trim, and the ground beneath is paved with jade. Just imagine how much that must be worth."

"Heh! You can’t just walk in there, but I’ve been inside! Do you want to know why?"

"You know that big fool, right? The head of our village guards in Cattle Heart Village. Well, he’s now the Emperor of Great Liang."

"Don’t forget, he’s my senior brother. So, am I not a royal relative too?"

"Hmph! What nonsense! This is getting ridiculous!" The nearby Confucian scholar Wu couldn’t take it anymore.

To Scholar Wu, the lofty sovereign was absolutely sacred and could not be desecrated.

If he ever passed the imperial exams, after the palace examination, he’d become a disciple of the emperor himself.

"You little brat, watch your mouth! It's only here you can speak like this. If someone heard you, they'd chop off your head!"

"Hey~! You bookworm, thinking just because you've got some ink in your belly, you know everything? You don’t know anything!"

"Nonsense, absolute nonsense! You little rascal! Don’t come into my private school again!"

"Heh, laughable! When have I ever entered that place? Even if you begged me, I wouldn’t go."

Seeing the two getting more and more heated, those around quickly intervened to stop them, though no fight broke out.

"Hey, Gouwa, your senior brother is now an emperor, yet you still think the capital is so great. Why did you come back?"

Gouwa took a bite of rice and said disdainfully, "Gao Zhijian begged me to stay there and keep him company. Said the capital was too big, and he had no one to talk to."

"But am I the kind of person who forgets my roots? I told that fool, 'Brother, don’t blame your junior for being indifferent to fame and fortune. Even if you were the Emperor of Heaven, I wouldn’t go if I didn’t want to!'"

Seeing the admiring glances around him, Gouwa wore a smug smile. He had long realized the truth.

Even if he lived in the capital, people would look down on him secretly, treating him as an outsider. Gouwa knew this clearly. Compared to normal people, they were outsiders.

His thick skin wasn’t a problem, but when his daughter grew up, she would surely be pelted with stones from afar and talked about behind her back.

If that was the case, why should he try to climb higher?

Zhao Wu and Xiao Man also had no intention of staying in the capital. Gouwa thought their thoughts were similar to his.

At least in Cattle Heart Village, it was their broken and incomplete territory, and no one dared to look down on him.

Having blown a lot of hot air in front of the tenant farmers, Gouwa, feeling quite satisfied, strolled leisurely toward the Bai Family Compound.

Just as he stepped through the gate, he saw Lü Xiucai, with oil on his lips, coming out. "Xiucai, good morning! Have you eaten?"

Looking at the fellow’s reckless demeanor, Lü Xiucai’s eyes filled with disdain. This guy was utterly unambitious, always running off to brag to others. He’d eventually fall far behind.

When he became a master like himself, this kid would regret it!

Seeing that the scholar ignored him, Gouwa didn’t get angry. Humming a tune, he walked into the main hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Yang Xiaohai and his big wife clearing dishes.

A year had passed, and Yang Xiaohai had grown another inch taller. Perhaps due to the good food in Cattle Heart Village, Gouwa noticed that Yang Xiaohai was now almost as tall as him, and his appearance was becoming more spirited.

Gouwa threw the dishes onto the table. "How’s it going? Has that fool found his parents yet?"

Yang Xiaohai shook his head. "The eunuch told me to go back and wait. Once they find them, they’ll send someone to notify me. Might take a while."

"It’s been such a long time, and they haven’t found two people. Looks like this emperor isn’t that powerful after all." With a smug tone, Gouwa walked away with his hands behind his back.

After Gouwa left, the woman with a bitter face looked at Yang Xiaohai. "It’s okay, don’t worry. They’ll find them eventually."

"Yeah, I’m not worried." As Yang Xiaohai spoke, suddenly two hands reached from behind and pulled him into a soft embrace.

Yang Xiaohai struggled, finally breaking free. First, he nervously glanced at the ceiling, then blushed furiously and said to the woman before him, "What are you doing?! Brother Li is upstairs!"

The woman smiled at the young man. "Don’t be shy. Besides, I didn’t do anything."

Yang Xiaohai glared at her, ignoring her words, picked up the pile of dishes, and headed toward the kitchen.

"What are you doing? Aren’t we married?" The woman followed him with a bucket of waste water.

"No! I never said you were my wife!"

Yang Xiaohai threw the dishes into the pot where vegetables were simmering, then quickly and skillfully began washing them.

After washing for a while, Yang Xiaohai felt too quiet and turned around to see the woman leaning against the kitchen door, silently crying.

"Are you disappointed in me? Disappointed that I came from a bandit den? If you are, just say so. I won’t hold you back."

Seeing this scene, Yang Xiaohai didn’t know how to respond. He instinctively didn’t want to hurt this woman.

"No... no, I just don’t know... I just don’t know what to do."

The woman’s tear-streaked face lit up with a smile. She wiped her face and walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. "It’s fine, I don’t know either. I’ll teach you. I’ll teach you everything."

----------

Next chapter updates at 11:32 PM.

(End of Chapter)