After Yan Liuyuan, Hassan, and the others left, Su Lei, who had stopped in the distance, heaved a sigh of relief. The transaction this time was way too important to him.
Yan Liuyuan was right just now. He really did put together everything he had in order to purchase those goods. He even needed to sell off a small gold bar he treasured to raise the money.
The last gold bar on a bandit was hidden in his waistband. When the bandit’s life was threatened, this gold bar would act as his lifeline.
Of course, only the more successful bandits could afford to keep a gold bar hidden in their waistbands.
This small gold bar weighed about 50 grams and was passed down from his grandfather’s generation. Su Lei had inherited it from his father, but he did not expect it would be gone in his generation.
The money he had raised for today was Su Lei’s last bit of wealth. All of it had been used to purchase the medicine and ironware. If Yan Liuyuan had not shown up today, Su Lei would have had to go back to town and set up a stall there.
The people in the walled village did not understand why Su Lei would take such a risk.
But to be honest, Su Lei really felt that the opening of the Northwestern trade route was an opportunity for everyone. Whether they could seize it or not would depend on themselves.
At this moment, Wang Ergou, who was standing next to Su Lei, instigated, “Boss, I’ve been watching them closely. Those people don’t even have any guns on them and are only using sabers to defend themselves. We have three improvised guns here. Although they have more people, we have nothing to be afraid of since we have guns. How about finishing them off?”
When this person saw the fur hides Yan Liuyuan had brought with him, he started coveting the goods. After all, 90% of the fur hides had been taken back by Yan Liuyuan.
And that 90% was worth nearly a million yuan!
It suddenly quieted down among the bandits. Su Lei looked at Wang Ergou. “After we steal it, then what?”
“The one million yuan is enough for all of our men to not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives. Boss, let’s do this,” he replied.
Su Lei laughed and said, “My ambition isn’t easily satisfied with just a million yuan.”
With that, Su Lei led the group back towards the South. Their village stood along the route to the Northwest from the Central Plains.
On the way back, Su Lei found an opportunity and ordered Cui Qiang, “After we return to the village, find a chance to finish off Wang Ergou quietly.”
Cui Qiang was stunned for a moment as he looked at Su Lei. He seemed to be very puzzled by this decision but ultimately did not reject it. He just nodded and agreed to do so.
Su Lei gave him a look and said with a smile, “That Wang Ergou is way too good at stirring up trouble. That time he fought the people from Hexi Village, wasn’t it because he tried to hook up with the wife of their second-in-command? And he didn’t even succeed at hooking up with her! If we wish to start taking the right path in the future, we can’t keep someone like him around.”
Perhaps Su Lei could have chosen to give Wang Ergou some money so he would leave their village and go make a living for himself. However, Su Lei was worried someone like him would be resentful and come back to cause unnecessary trouble for him.
Therefore, he thought they might as well just kill him.
Su Lei was a bandit who risked his life daily doing what he did. He was very polite in front of Yan Liuyuan, but he would not hesitate when he needed to kill people.
Now that Su Lei wanted to change their group’s direction, a person like Wang Ergou could not be allowed to live.
Cui Qiang did not say anything. He was only a fighter, so there was no need for him to think too much about it. Besides, he had already disliked Wang Ergou for a long time, so what if he killed him?
…
It only took Yan Liuyuan two days to return to the tribe with Hassan. The horses they rode on were all very fast and had evolved in the steppe to become like the mythical horses in the storytellers’ tales. When the horses ran, the sweat on their bodies would form white mist in the cold air.
The first thing Yan Liuyuan did when he returned to the tribe was to ask Xiaoyu to cook a small pot of cabbage for him.
Hassan watched with his jaw hanging from off to the side. He realized his master was eating the cabbage with a blissful smile on his face.
“Master, is it that delicious?” Beside him, Tsetseg was watching this as well. As Hassan’s daughter, she would spend most of her time in Yan Liuyuan’s tent every day. This was something Hassan had instructed her to do.
However, she would not disturb Yan Liuyuan when he was deep in thought. She would just accompany him and stare into space together. Although Yan Liuyuan would always spend hours thinking each time, she did not feel bitter at all.
Yan Liuyuan smiled and looked at Tsetseg. “You can have some if you want.”
When Tsetseg heard that, she reached out and tried to grab some of the cabbage with her hand. Yan Liuyuan shook his head with a wry smile. “Didn’t I teach you how to use chopsticks? Here, use the chopsticks to eat.”
Tsetseg had a reluctant look on her face. “Master, are you unhappy because we look too barbaric eating with our hands?”
Before The Cataclysm, the nomads in the north had started using chopsticks to eat their meals. But after The Cataclysm, it was clear that using hands was more in line with their cultural habits as it was more convenient.
Yan Liuyuan shook his head and said, “Some people might think that I despise y’all for being barbaric when I made everyone in the tribe use chopsticks to eat. But the purpose of using chopsticks is actually for the sake of hygiene. Y’all don’t know how much bacteria is on your hands, and y’all don’t have the habit of frequently washing them either. It’s also one of the reasons why children in the tribe often die young.”
Tsetseg suddenly remembered something. “By the way, the child from Bohan’s family fell sick. But he recovered immediately after taking the medicine that you brought back from the South. It’s such a miracle.”
Yan Liuyuan nodded and said, “Although we brought back some medicine from the South this time, we still have to be careful about hygiene. This includes my rule that everyone in the tribe is not allowed to drink unboiled water. The reason we have to boil it before drinking is also because of this.”
Tsetseg looked at Yan Liuyuan in admiration. “So there’s actually so many reasons for this? Master, why do you know so much?”
Tsetseg watched Yan Liuyuan’s expression darken. “It was my brother who taught me all of this.”
“You still have a brother?” Tsetseg was like a cheerful little bird, but Yan Liuyuan did not answer her question. Instead, he asked her to go back to her mother’s side.
Tsetseg understood that Yan Liuyuan wanted to be left alone for a while.
Right as Tsetseg lifted the tent flap, Yan Liuyuan saw some people approaching from afar through the lifted door curtain.
He walked out of the tent and waited quietly outside. There were a lot of people on the other side, and they were all dressed in black. It was obvious they were from the Central Plains.
Hassan asked, “Master, should we intercept them?”
“Don’t act rashly. Tell everyone to keep their mouths shut. I’ll handle it.” Yan Liuyuan took a deep breath. In truth, he had never dealt with people from the Central Plains before, so he would have to improvise on how to deal with them.
Gradually, the figures in the distance got closer. The other party had arrived on foot and were armed with sabers at their waists.
Hassan shouted for the young and strong men in the tribe to be on guard.
But when Yan Liuyuan eventually saw the flame logo on the chests of the other party, his pupils constricted.
This group of nearly a 100 that had come to the Northern Plains were actually from the Pyro Company!
Xiaoyu looked somewhat nervously at Yan Liuyuan. Yan Liuyuan smiled and said, “Let’s ask why they’re here first. At worst, we’ll just fight them.”
