Apology

"apologize?"

Zhong Xuan slightly raised his eyebrows.

The Ma brothers were known for their domineering ways in the village, and although Ma San did not die directly at their hands, he did die because of them.

The two sides are mortal enemies, but the Ma brothers are not only not seeking revenge, they are even sending people to apologize... When did they change their minds?

The head of the team, Liu Song, took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

Zhong Xuan looked closely.

"Land title?"

On the white paper, five mu were neatly written, and the seal of the Bai Sha County government was also affixed.

It was a thin sheet of paper, but it carried a weighty fifty taels of silver.

Liu Song made a move to put the land deed into Zhong Xuan's arms: "I know you had some minor misunderstandings before. Elder Zhong, you are a magnanimous man. How about we turn hostility into friendship?"

But the land deed in Liu Song's hand had barely touched the hem of Zhong Xuan's clothes.

Zhong Xuan raised his right hand, just in time to block the land deed that Liu Song was extending.

He had probably already guessed it.

The Ma brothers must have known about his identity at the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School, which is why they asked Liu Song to act as a peacemaker.

Otherwise, Liu Song would be the head of the village, although he is far inferior to the village chief and elders, but they would not usually pay any attention to this old pedantic scholar.

His politeness today suggests he must have received a fair share of benefits from Boss Ma.

"Five mu..."

In Xiahe Village, ten mu of land can make you a wealthy household, and a hundred mu of land can make you a landlord.

Five acres of land is actually quite a lot.

"Mr. Zhong, what's wrong with you...?"

Liu Song saw Zhong Xuan make a move to push his hand away.

I was taken aback at first, but I quickly understood.

Not enough.

"This old man isn't so easily fooled."

The thought that if things didn't go well, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Boss Ma, and the benefits he had already gained would slip away.

Liu Song gritted his teeth and took out another land deed for five mu of land from his pocket.

"Mr. Zhong, isn't that enough sincerity?"

A smile appeared on Zhong Xuan's face: "Since Liu Jia has personally intervened, as long as the Ma family doesn't cause any more trouble, I will not pursue the matter further."

Liu Song breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Zhong Xuan agree to a reconciliation.

Become!

"Old Zhong is truly magnanimous. If you ask me, you should be nominated to be the village elder..."

Although Liu Song was puzzled as to why Boss Ma suddenly backed down to Zhong Xuan, an old pedant, he still felt it necessary to say some nice things since he had gained two acres of land for free because of Zhong Xuan.

Zhong Xuan quietly tucked the two land deeds into his pocket, while chatting idly with Liu Song, the head of the household, for a while.

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Song walked out of the Zhong family home with a satisfied smile.

Touching the land deed in his pocket, which was worth a hundred taels of silver, Zhong Xuan's lips curled up.

"We can buy a lot more medicinal food."

The provincial examinations are held every April, and once the year-end is over, they are not far away.

The provincial examination is different from the county examination, which is held once a year. However, Zhong Xuan is already over sixty years old. Although there are breathing techniques to prolong life, it is uncertain how many more years he can live. He still has to fight for every moment.

Therefore, now is the crucial time to make a final push.

He had already experienced the benefits of medicinal supplements, and with the help of this hundred taels of silver, he could at least stand very steadily in the mid-stage of the Skin Refining Realm.

Boss Ma's apology was timely and very useful to him.

"Old Zhong is not a vengeful person."

......

The next day.

Zhong Xuan took the land deed early in the morning and headed towards Baisha County.

Today is not a day for him to teach.

He went straight to the southern part of Baisha City, an area where artisans gathered. Zhong Xuan easily found his way to a blacksmith shop.

Even from a distance, you could hear the clanging of blacksmithing, and the surrounding temperature rose steadily as you got closer.

"Sir, if you want to buy hoes and sickles, go to the shop next door. We don't sell them here."

A kind-hearted man, his arms bare and his muscular build accentuated by the firelight, saw an old man enter the shop and offered him a friendly reminder.

Zhong Xuan chuckled: "I'm not buying a hoe, I'm buying a sword."

"Buy a sword?"

The burly man was taken aback, but then he realized that the old man must have a martial arts disciple in his family, which was not uncommon, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Old man, how many kilograms of sword do you want? Are there any requirements regarding the style?"

"My shop has been passed down from my father's generation. It has an excellent reputation, so you can rest assured."

The burly man suddenly became quite talkative when the topic of buying swords came up.

Zhong Xuan raised his head slightly and looked at the weapons hanging on the wall of the blacksmith shop. Almost 80% of them were various kinds of swords and knives, with at least twenty different types.

Half an incense stick later.

Zhong Xuan then chose the sword that suited his taste.

The burly man took down his iron sword and kindly reminded him:

"This sword is two feet seven inches long and weighs three pounds. Old man, how old is your grandson? He's too young to wield it properly."

Those who practice swordsmanship regularly know that although three jin (approximately 1.5 kg) is not heavy, it is not an easy task to practice swordsmanship. Many strong men struggle with it, and if they force themselves to use it, they may even ruin their wrists.

Zhong Xuan gripped the sword hilt, feeling its heavy weight, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

The Eagle Strike Sword Technique he practiced actually followed a domineering and fierce approach, requiring a heavier sword to unleash its full power.

"I'll take this one."

Zhong Xuan readily agreed.

"Okay."

The burly man, realizing he had said all he needed to say, and seeing that Zhong Xuan wanted to buy, said no more.

"Old man, this sword costs eight taels of silver."

Even with Zhong Xuan's current wealth, it still hurts a bit.

The Qing Kingdom values ​​martial prowess. Although it does not prohibit the use of weapons, it does not want to see incidents of violence breaking the law.

Therefore, salt and iron were both state-run enterprises. Agricultural tools were relatively affordable, but weapons were prohibitively expensive, and ordinary people simply couldn't afford them.

Therefore, quite a few people drop out of the swordsmanship exam every year because they can't afford a sword.

Zhong Xuan had already gone to the pawnshop in the city and exchanged a land deed for fifty taels of silver.

Zhong Xuan took out a round, plump, and very pleasing silver ingot from his sleeve.

"Young master, do you still need to give me two taels of silver back?"

The burly man realized that the old man in front of him was no ordinary person, as it was not broken silver.

There are quite a few people in Baisha City who can produce ten taels of silver, but most of them have saved it up little by little, so they are all small pieces of silver. Those who can produce a silver ingot directly are either rich or noble.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The burly man couldn't bear to cut it, so he quickly ran to the backyard to fetch two taels of silver and handed them to Zhong Xuan, along with a wooden sword sheath.

Zhong Xuan went out carrying his sword.

Ever since his wooden sword broke, he had been using the practice sword from the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School, and now he finally has a sword of his own.

No classes today.

Having acquired a sword, he no longer needed to borrow one from a martial arts school to practice, so he simply left White Sand City.

Xiahe Village is not directly connected to the official road; instead, one needs to walk along a forest path.

Zhong Xuan glanced discreetly at the two wandering swordsmen chatting idly by the official road.

When we were still two miles away from Xiahe Village.

Suddenly, a man stepped out from ahead; it was the scarred-faced man, one of the two swordsmen from the roadside.

at this time.

The scarred man was staring at him with a malicious smile.

Zhong Xuan remained calm, but tightened his grip on the sword in his hand slightly.