Chapter 32: The Disciple Completes His Apprenticeship, Lu Yuan’s Gift
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“Uncle Lu, take a look. This is the ledger. Master Su has already checked everything. Aside from the real estate Black Mountain Stronghold occupied illegally, they had a total of two hundred thousand taels in assets. The chief constable ordered that thirty percent be given to the county and twenty percent distributed among the county officers. These are the remaining fifty percent—one hundred thousand taels. Will you take a look?”
A dozen or more large chests were piled in the courtyard. They were so heavy that several strong men were needed to move each one.
The chests were filled with silver ingots.
The ingots were all similar in size and neatly arranged.
Together, the chests contained one hundred thousand taels of silver.
It was no small fortune.
The taxes Forget-Sorrow County paid the imperial court in an entire year amounted to only a little over a hundred thousand taels.
After the campaign to wipe out Black Mountain Stronghold, Lu Yuan’s share alone came close to the county’s annual tax revenue.
Old Lu, however, did not care much about the silver.
For one thing, it was simply his nature. He had never had much need for money. As long as he had enough to spend, that was sufficient.
To a great extent, Lu Yuan had inherited the same disposition.
Even though they possessed wealth beyond measure, their way of life had barely changed.
For another, their family was not short of silver. Over the years, Lu Yuan went out to suppress bandits every so often, and according to the county’s rules, whatever was seized belonged to the people who carried out the operation. After all those campaigns, the Lu family had more than enough money.
The underground vault beneath the courtyard was already stacked with several hundred chests of silver.
Old Lu truly did not think much of these dozen or so chests.
“No need. Take them inside.”
“The usual place. Put them in the vault.”
Old Lu pointed toward the entrance to the underground storehouse.
The constables were left not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Uncle Lu, are you really not going to count it? If we go back like this, Master Su will scold us for failing to follow procedure.”
The constable in charge looked troubled.
“Scold you? If Little Su has a problem, tell him to come and discuss it with me.”
“Do you expect an eighty-year-old man like me to count more than a dozen chests of silver? Where would I find the energy for that?”
“Go on, move them.”
“What are you waiting for? Do you expect an eighty-year-old cripple like me to carry such heavy chests?”
Old Lu angrily tapped his cane.
The men exchanged glances. They had no choice but to obey. Together, they carried the chests into the underground vault.
“Master, do you need my help?”
Watching the men move the chests, I Love a Piece of Firewood stepped forward and asked whether he should lend a hand.
“No need. Let them do it themselves. It isn’t their first time.”
Old Lu casually raised his wine gourd and took several gulps.
“Master, there is something I don’t understand.”
“Go on.”
“There is clearly so much silver in this household. Why don’t you and Senior Brother move into a better residence?”
“Why continue living so simply?”
I Love a Piece of Firewood could not understand it. He truly could not understand it at all.
He did not know exactly how much money the Lu family possessed.
But judging from Old Lu’s indifferent reaction to one hundred thousand taels of silver, it was obvious that the family was extraordinarily wealthy.
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Besides, there was the information the constables had let slip.
This was not the first time they had carried silver into the house.
They were clearly rich beyond measure, yet they lived so plainly.
He simply could not comprehend it.
Given the purchasing power of this world, one hundred thousand taels of silver was comparable to two or three hundred million in the modern world.
If he had two or three hundred million in real life, he could not even imagine how extravagantly he would live.
He would drink a whole cup of fermented bean juice every morning before pouring an entire pot over the floor. Whenever he went for a scrub, he would hire ten bath attendants to work him over from head to toe. Whenever he visited a karaoke club, he would order dozens of girls to surround him and sing songs of conquest. Otherwise, they would hardly be worthy of his fortune.
Yet in the game, his master and that astonishingly capable senior brother of his lived such austere lives.
Their courtyard was quite spacious, but its location was decidedly unremarkable. Few people lived nearby, and it was somewhat secluded.
The courtyard and its buildings were already showing their age. In places, the walls were battered and crumbling.
According to what his master had said himself, he had lived in the courtyard for thirty years. It had looked the same thirty years ago as it did now.
The furniture did not bear mentioning. It was all made of ordinary wood. The only truly major expense in the household was food and drink.
His master loved wine, and he drank some of the finest liquor in the county. As for his senior brother, Lu Yuan, he had an enormous appetite. A single meal for Lu Yuan was enough to feed dozens of people—and it consisted entirely of meat, without a single vegetable.
Still, when he thought about it, that was fairly reasonable.
After all, Lu Yuan’s physique spoke for itself, and with his innate strength, it was only natural that he ate more than ordinary people.
Aside from that, the family had no other substantial expenses.
…
“Little Jin, a person is destined to eat only so much and wear only so much in this life.”
“Money is useless no matter how much of it you have. As long as you have enough to spend, that is sufficient.”
“Besides, there is nothing wrong with my courtyard.”
“It is spacious enough and quiet enough. When an old man like me has nothing to do, I can work at the forge without worrying about disturbing anyone.”
“I have lived here for decades. I have grown attached to it.”
“I do not want to move.”
Old Lu disliked a luxurious, decadent life decked out in gold and silver.
He disliked it simply because he disliked it.
There was no deeper reason.
“I see.”
I Love a Piece of Firewood gazed at his master with admiration.
What lofty insight!
Every word was filled with philosophy.
No wonder he was a reclusive master beyond the worldly realm.
Truly profound.
“Little Jin.”
“Yes, Master?”
“In a few more days, you will be ready to leave my tutelage.”
“Your forging skills have already surpassed those of most veteran smiths.”
“There is nothing more I can teach you.”
“What you do in the future will be up to you.”
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“After you leave, forge more and pay less attention to the grudges of the martial world. Their affairs have nothing to do with you. Take payment, do the work, and leave it at that. All that talk about righteousness and evil being sworn enemies is nothing more than foolishness among martial artists. Do not get involved.”
“You have a great talent for forging. I do not want you to bury it over such pointless affairs.”
“Do you understand?”
Old Lu suddenly spoke with unusual seriousness.
“What? I am ready to leave your tutelage?”
“Master, I am not ready. My skills are still inadequate.”
Was it not far too soon?
Surely one was supposed to study under a master for several years.
He had only become Old Lu’s disciple a few months ago.
And now he was graduating?
This was far too fast.
“No. Your skills are sufficient.”
“You have already reached the beginner level.”
“You are entirely capable of making your own way.”
“Your master is not some hidebound old man. I have no need to keep you here for several years, making you work like an ox.”
“I am not short of a few scraps of silver.”
“Only after you leave my tutelage can you accept commissions, earn money, and support your daughter. Am I wrong?”
Old Lu knew something about I Love a Piece of Firewood’s circumstances in the real world.
Naturally, he also knew what the young man needed most at present.
Money.
A great deal of money.
Only with enough money could he save his wife and daughter.
“Master.”
Moved beyond words, I Love a Piece of Firewood fell to his knees and kowtowed to Old Lu.
“You are a grown man. Why are you kneeling?”
“And why are you crying like that?”
“You look like a woman.”
Lu Yuan’s voice came from behind him.
I Love a Piece of Firewood turned around and saw Lu Yuan standing there, looking down at him.
His massive frame radiated an inexplicable sense of security.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Your graduation gift.”
“What?”
…
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