Chapter Thirty: Having Matters to Discuss

  Shandong has a lot of bamboo. A new book ranked first, but this ranking is not stable, I still hope everyone will recommend and collect it to help Lao Bai move up the ranks, thank you.

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  Listening to Li Meng's concern, Zhao's eyes were all smiling, and seeing Li Meng's success was the same as seeing his own son making a good living. Moreover, the food and clothing supplies for the private salt farm by the sea were all handed over to Old Lady Li to take care of, which was actually giving her money to spend. The days of Zhao's family were also getting better and better, and in fact, she didn't need to work personally at all. With so many women in the village flattering her, it was hard to keep up!

  "Xiao Meng, Master Ma wants to see you, he asked me to come and invite you."

  Master Ma, Li Meng paused for a moment before reacting. The Wei Suo system of command - Qian Hu - Bai Hu is also a hierarchical management system, similar to the local Zhifu, Zhixian, and Liren systems. The village where Li Meng is located is actually a Bai Hu unit.

  The head of the village was Baihu Ma Yuxing, and although the title of Baihu was also a sixth-grade official, this Baihu's rank was not worth boasting about except in the Jin Yiwei, and in the local Wei Suo it was actually nothing to brag about. His role was just that of a village head, and this village head didn't seem any stronger than the other villagers at all.

  Ma Yuxing's family had only two long-term workers, and the whole family had to work in the fields all year round. When it was time to collect taxes and grain, they still had to go from door to door asking for them with courtesy, suffering humiliation.

  In Li Meng's sound, Ma Yu Xing Bai Hu is just an old good man, indeed an old good man, already over 50 years old, in this era it is considered high age, white hair and beard, gentle and peaceful.

  Everyone in the village knew what Li Meng was doing, but no one dared to intervene, even though Li Meng was breaking the law. Almost half of the young and strong men in the village were making a living under Li Meng's command. Ma Baihu, an old man, had no one to rely on, so how could he intervene? Moreover, Ma Baihu's family members, apart from farming, also worked at the seaside boiling salt, selling it to Li Meng to earn some extra money. This household was almost entirely dependent on Li Meng for their livelihood, calling him their "half-parent" and "god of wealth", who could also fight. Who dared to offend him?

  Li Menghe and Ma Baihu pretended not to know each other, so everyone's face was saved. Now in these families, only some older seniors still called him Master Ma, Old Master Ma, while the young and strong all respected Li Erlang.

  However, Ma Baiwu was after all representing the official background, and Li Meng still had some hidden precautions in his heart. This inexplicable summons made him feel uneasy and uncertain.

  Watching the old lady walking in front, Li Meng also didn't want to lose face in front of Zhao Shi. This was still the first time the old lady had asked him to do something, and Li Meng thought that the Ma family only had two long-term workers and an old man, if there really was something going on, he would be afraid of not being able to handle it himself.

  But after walking a few steps, Li Meng saw a soldier passing by and grabbed him with his hand, smiling at the soldier and saying:

  "Brother, would you mind going to the seaside and telling Chen Liu-zi that I've gone to Ma Bai-hu's place?"

  Li Meng, Chen Liu Zi and others are all well-known figures in the Thousand House at present. The military household hurriedly smiled and agreed, and then went to inform them. Li Meng followed a few steps behind Old Lady Zhao, who saw Li Meng following her and said with a smile:

  "Ma Bao's wife was a neighbor of mine when I was young, and over the years we've been looking out for each other, doing needlework together and whatnot. We're all relatives, so don't be formal."

  The village was not big, and after a few words, they arrived at the gate of Ma's house. To say that this hundred households are also six products, but this house looks like Zhao Neng's family is just bigger, and it is also an earth house covered with thick grass - a grass house. The old lady was straightforward and pushed the door in directly.

  This yard is actually bigger than Zhao Neng and Li Meng's combined, but what caught Li Meng's attention was a weapon rack placed on the side, with two long guns on it. This should be the standard equipment of the Ming soldiers. This is still Li Meng's first time seeing the standardized equipment of this era's army, but he can see spider webs hanging between the two long guns. Although it's already winter now, it's clear that no one has taken care of them for a long time.

  Just as he was sizing him up, the door opened and an old woman who looked similar to Zhao's mother came out, greeting him repeatedly.

  "Older sister, I've been waiting for you. So this is Li Meng? Indeed, she has a promising appearance. Come on in, please take a seat inside."

  Ma Biao's wife, Ma Shi, was wearing ordinary clothes with a few fewer patches than Zhao Shi. Normally, the women of the inner courtyard should not easily meet male guests, but since this village was all rural relatives and poor military households, there were no such strict rules. Ma Shi looked more prosperous, and it seemed that her life was still better than Zhao Shi's.

  As soon as they entered the main room, Li Meng was asked to sit down. Zhao's wife was smiling silently in the corner, while Old Lady Ma spoke first in a warm tone:

  "Li Meng's parents, I also knew them. Such good people, died at the hands of those ruthless pirates. But looking at Li Meng today, they must be at peace down there."

  After finishing, she still held the handkerchief to wipe her eyes, looking very sad. Li Meng was a bit puzzled, but his vigilance dissipated, and it seemed that there would be no harm to himself. Moreover, he confirmed one thing: the one who was looking for him was not Ma Baihu, but this Ma family.

  Since that's the case, Li Meng didn't rush to ask anything, anyway, the old lady would definitely say something. As expected, although Li Meng didn't respond, the old lady burst into tears. The tears of an elderly person, especially someone around his parents' age, made Li Meng feel uneasy.

  It was Zhao Neng's mother who spoke up:

  "Sister, if there's something on your mind, just say it out loud. Little Meng is a capable and reliable person, who knows, maybe he can help?"

  Ma heard this and immediately looked at Li Meng, who was embarrassed and thought to himself that this situation was really hard to say anything about, so he just smiled bitterly and nodded. Only then did Ma regain some energy and opened his mouth to ask Li Meng for help with something.

  Ma's family had a late-born son, this only child was called Ma Gong, from a young age he liked to dance with guns and wield rods, an unmanageable role. The village where Li Meng lived, since the generation of Ma's hundred households, has disappeared from the military household registration records, becoming farmers who cultivate land for the thousand households and commanders.

  However, Ma Baihu looked at Ma Kan's fondness for martial arts and couldn't bear the only son's pleading, so he put aside his face and asked someone to enlist him in the personal troops of the Ling Shan Wei Suo commander. This was also the only place within the Ling Shan Wei Suo that could accept regular military training. Who would have thought that Ma Kan was not a role that would let people worry less? He had a violent temper and couldn't stand injustice, and after going to the personal troops for half a year, although he became stronger with each passing day, his relationship with his comrades was extremely poor.