"Come on, let's drink this cup..." The atmosphere in the restaurant's private room was lively. The roasted whole lamb that had just been brought up by four waiters along with the brazier was fragrant and dripping with oil. The oil fell into the brazier, which kept emitting sizzling sounds. Zuo Yuquan raised his glass, looked around at everyone, and said loudly, "This cup is to celebrate our great victory..."
"Okay, let's celebrate our great victory..." Xu Meng, whose face was already flushed from drinking, stood up and said, his voice was a little garbled, but his pronunciation was clear, "Six of us went together, six of us came back together, and we chopped off so many Shatu dogs' heads, it was worth it..."
"Yes, Xu Meng is right. The most worth celebrating is that six of us went there together, and six of us came back together. It's worth it. Cheers..." Everyone stood up, clinked their glasses, and then drank the wine in their glasses.
The wine is the best wine in the restaurant, called Yulongjiang, with the aroma of exotic fruits and a unique taste. I heard that it is made from melted snow water in Yulong Mountain and added with several special fruits and sorghum in the mountain. This wine used to only be brewed and drunk by the mountain dwellers in Yulong Mountain. However, at this time, as the business exchanges between the mountain dwellers in Yulong Mountain and Yingwei County became closer, as long as the money was paid, the Yulongjiang brewed by the mountain dwellers in Yulong Mountain naturally appeared in the restaurants in Yingwei County, and it also formed a scale. I heard that many mountain dwellers in Yulong Mountain now directly brew wine, and their lives are much better than before.
With the end of the first action of the six people, after these days of running-in, the relationship between the six people has become closer, just like comrades-in-arms. At this moment, everyone is drinking here, recalling the experiences of the past few days, and everyone has different feelings.
"Damn it, 170 mu of grassland, and more than 4,000 taels of silver. If someone had told me before that I could make so much money just by coming to Gulang Grassland, I would never have believed it..." Zhao Bing was usually taciturn, but after drinking, he talked more, but he would burp while talking. Others' faces were red, but his face was green, revealing a chill. "Uh... Mao... Brother Mao, you are good at arithmetic. Can you calculate how many sheep we can raise on the grassland we obtained this time, and how much income we will have in a year?"
"Sizzle..." Mao Taishun took another sip of the Jade Dragon Juice in his cup, then put down the cup and said, "Haha, one acre of grassland can raise about thirteen to fifteen sheep. Let's take a middle number, say fourteen. If all the 170 acres of grassland we have obtained are used to raise sheep, we can at least raise more than 2,000 sheep. According to the current wool market, if we raise more than 2,000 sheep, it will be easy to earn one or two thousand taels of silver a year..."
"Brother Mao, what you mean is that even if we do nothing in the future, we can live a stable and good life relying on the money we earn from this life-threatening risk?" Xu Meng asked with his eyes wide open.
"Of course, if the pasture is divided, we don't need to do anything. We can rent it out to others, or hire a few people to help herd sheep. Then we don't have to worry about our next life. An income of one or two thousand taels of silver a year is enough to spend. Look at how much money those local rich people living in the countryside can make in a year. Many of them may not be able to make that much. Guarding this 170-plus acres of pasture, although it's not a great fortune, it's enough for you to marry three or five wives and have seven or eight children without worrying about it..."
As soon as Mao Taishun finished speaking, everyone's faces showed a leisurely and fascinated look, only Jia Lang, for some reason, suddenly burst into tears...
"Jia Lang, what's wrong?" Yan Liqiang patted Jia Lang on the shoulder and asked. Everyone's eyes were focused on Jia Lang...
"I think of my dad..." Jia Lang's voice was hoarse with red eyes, and he was crying as he spoke. "My dad used to work for a landlord in the countryside. My family was poor since I was a child. We had no land, so we worked as tenants for other families. My dad worked for others, and I went to herd cattle for them. My mother thought my dad was poor, so she ran away with a peddler not long after giving birth to me. I didn't have milk for a few days when I was a child. It was my dad who went from house to house begging for milk and rice soup to feed me, so I grew up so thin. My dad's biggest wish in his life was that I would have a hundred acres of land one day and live the same life as those landlords, without having to work and having meat whenever I wanted. He also knew that I had no future in the village and that I would be like him in the future, working for others to make a living. When I was nine years old, a troupe passed by our village, and he let me follow the troupe..."
"It's okay, it's okay. When you go back this time, you can also bring your father out to enjoy a good life. You can eat whatever you want every day..." Mao Taishun said, patting Jia Lang's shoulder.
"Two years ago, I went back to see my father, but he was gone..." Jia Lang said in a hoarse voice, and big tears fell into the wine glass. Then he picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp again...
Everyone was a little depressed and silent for a while...
"Who hasn't encountered twists and turns in life? It's over when it's over. It's no big deal. Just like me, I once met a woman who cheated me of all my property and ran off with my best brother. I got through it without losing a hair. Just consider it that I was blind!" Xu Meng patted Jia Lang's shoulder and said in a rough voice, "In the future, you can also be a local landlord, marry ten or eight wives, have a bunch of children, and expand the bloodline your father gave you. This is the best way to repay your father. You will be happy to see it in your netherworld!"
"Yes, yes, yes, let's talk about something happy!" Mao Taishun also shouted, "I suggest that we toast to Brother Baoqiang together. If it weren't for Brother Baoqiang, it's hard to say whether the six of us can come back intact this time, let alone earn so much money..."
"Yes, yes, yes, let's all give a toast to Brother Baoqiang. This time we were able to come back and have such a great harvest, and Brother Baoqiang is the main contributor. This time I brought Brother Baoqiang to our team, which is the most correct thing I have done in my life!" Zuo Yuquan also spoke...
Mao Taishun and Zuo Yuquan changed the topic by saying this, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became lively again. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted Yan Liqiang.
Although Yan Liqiang was not noticeable when he first joined the team, after a battle, his position in everyone's heart had quietly changed, and he became the core. Zuo Yuquan was strong in organization and adaptability, but it was Yan Liqiang who could really make people feel at ease in battle, who had a clear mind and could control the situation and save everyone from danger. In particular, Yan Liqiang insisted on taking out the gold and silver seized from the chief of the small tribe and dividing them equally, which made everyone see Yan Liqiang's character and gained more trust from everyone.
"This time we were able to come back together and have such a great harvest. It's not just my own credit, but the result of everyone's hard work!" Yan Liqiang smiled honestly and raised his glass, "This glass of wine, I also toast to everyone..."
Everyone drank it in one gulp.
After everyone put down their glasses, Yan Liqiang spoke again, "I have a question for everyone. Everyone has gained a lot this time. I wonder if you want to go to Gulang Grassland again..."
This question really stumped everyone. They had never thought that they would have such a big harvest this time. The harvest this time had already exceeded all their expectations. If they went in again, they would face new risks. It would be good to chop off the heads of the Shatu people, but if they were not careful, they would also have to hand over their own heads. Then they would not be able to enjoy the gold, silver and grassland they had harvested now...
"Brother Wang, what are your plans?" Zuo Yuquan asked first, and everyone turned their eyes to Yan Liqiang.
"My situation may be a little different from yours. This time I came here, and I set a goal for myself to stay here for three months. When the three months are up, no matter what I have gained, I will leave here. I don't know what everyone else is planning. In fact, if you want to live a stable life in the future, just like what Brother Mao said, what we have gained this time is already enough, and there is no need to risk our lives again. We are lucky this time. We were chased and killed, but next time, I am afraid it may not be the case..." Seeing that no one spoke, Yan Liqiang smiled, "Well, everyone should think about this question carefully, and there is no need to rush to answer it now. Anyway, we will have to rest in Yingwei County for two more days. During these two days, everyone can relax and think about it carefully..."
(End of this chapter)