Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 61 Merits and Rewards

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong listened silently without offering any opinions.

Han Cheng shook his head after hearing what Magistrate Xu Hong said, laughed self-deprecatingly, and said, "What kind of education is that?"

It's just that they can't stand seeing the villagers gathering together to tell vulgar jokes when they have nothing to do, and they want to tell some serious stories to change this trend.

These superficial and useless matters cannot compare to the transformative power of Magistrate Xu's teachings that guide people towards goodness.

Lin Xiu was slightly surprised. He never expected that Han Cheng's obsession with telling stories to the people of Lijiaji Village was because he couldn't stand the villagers telling dirty jokes.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, it's perfectly normal for villagers to tell dirty jokes for amusement.

Back when he was at the Yuanyang Tower in Mengzhou City, even when he wasn't telling stories, the drinkers liked to joke and tell each other jokes. Whenever they told a joke, it would usually veer towards vulgarity.

Sometimes they would tease the proprietress, who, for the sake of the restaurant's business, preferred to keep things peaceful and make money. Most of the time, she would choose to keep things peaceful and make money, unless someone was unruly and tried to touch her inappropriately. Only then would the proprietress get angry and let people see what a shrewish woman she was.

Moreover, even in the previous life, when television was scarce and the internet had not yet taken off, people had little entertainment. In their spare time, they would often sit together, play cards, drink, chat, and so on.

Whenever they chatted, the topics would often veer off into vulgarity. He had heard many of these rural anecdotes, the kind that would definitely be censored if they were put into online novels.

It's normal for villagers to enjoy talking about those jokes, and it's also normal for serious scholars to disapprove of them; there's nothing to comment on.

However, Han Cheng seemed to have lost some of his Daoist resolve, and said, "Alas... education, education, Magistrate Xu, I don't have your mindset, nor your ability. What's the use of all this talk of education? It only makes us laugh."

Lin Xiu screamed inwardly: No way! If you do this, how am I supposed to sell the rest of my "Journey to the West" books? How am I supposed to buy horses?!

You just asked me to have a chat, and then the horse disappeared?!

What's going on here?!

Seeing Han Cheng's current state, he knew that speaking up would be pointless, and it wasn't appropriate for him to offer advice at the moment. Therefore, he could only remain silent and watch quietly.

However, Magistrate Xu had no intention of offering any advice. Seeing Han Cheng's appearance, he sighed and said, "You don't need to be like this. Go back and rest first."

Han Cheng stood up, and Chong Linxiu and Yao Rongrong cupped their hands in greeting, their eyes showing a hint of apology, but they didn't say anything more. After cupping their hands, they turned and left.

Magistrate Xu watched Han Cheng leave, and only after Han Cheng left the yamen did he say to Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong, "I'm sorry to have made you two young friends laugh at me."

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong didn't say much.

Magistrate Xu said, "You two have made great contributions to my Lijiaji. Whether it was the matter of that band of bandits or the matter of the Xu siblings, without you siblings, there would have been no progress."

Moreover, thanks to the information about the bandits we obtained from you two, we also found a lot of supplies in the village. Our village has always rewarded those who have made contributions, so we will not break the rules here with you two.

"I wonder what you two desire? As long as it is reasonable, I will certainly fulfill it."

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

Both of them only thought they came here to talk about the brother and sister Song Zaixu and Taozhi, but they didn't expect that after talking about the brother and sister, there would be such benefits.

Seeing Yao Rongrong's "it's all up to you, sir" attitude, Lin Xiu no longer stood on ceremony and said directly, "Magistrate Xu, I wonder if this merit could be exchanged for a horse?"

Yao Rongrong stared wide-eyed in astonishment, glancing at Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu already has a donkey brother, whose gait is extremely steady and whose skills are superb, far surpassing ordinary horses. How can Lin Xiu possibly use a horse?

This horse must have been obtained for her. How could Yao Rongrong not understand that?

She felt a mix of emotions, unable to quite describe her feelings, though her nose was already stinging, which she forced to suppress.

This storyteller!

A fleeting look of surprise crossed Magistrate Xu's face. He then sighed and said with a smile, "It seems that my little village is not good enough for you two. You will eventually have to leave."

So be it, so be it. The two of you have rendered such great service to my village, how could I begrudge you a single horse?

There are four horses left in my village. You and your brother can go out later and choose one. After you've chosen one, you can either keep it at the government office or take it to your residence and tie it up; either way is fine.

Back in Lijiaji, the horses' fodder and feed were provided by our village.

Lin Xiu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Magistrate Xu."

Yao Rongrong also cupped her hands in thanks, but since Lin Xiu had already expressed his gratitude, she didn't say anything.

The two bid farewell and went out. They chose a horse in the courtyard, led it outside their lodgings, and tied it to the hitching post.

Yao Rongrong was leading the horse. She held the reins a little tightly the whole way, walking ahead without saying a word.

After the horse was tied up, the donkey came trotting over and stared at the horse.

After staring at it for a while, the donkey snorted disdainfully and glanced sideways at the horse, as if to say, "You stupid thing, you need to be tied up. Look at me, I don't need to be bothered."

"Brother Donkey, seven."

A little girl ran over, holding up two vegetable leaves, and called out happily.

The donkey immediately hummed seven times, took two vegetable leaves from the little girl and ate them, then tossed its head, making its mane fly, and glanced triumphantly at the horse.

The horse, however, seemed completely oblivious, ignoring it entirely. Feeling bored, it went back to munching on vegetable leaves.

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong returned to the house, and Yao Rongrong suddenly said, "Sir, I really didn't expect the villagers to be so ungrateful. You must be careful when you stay in this village alone in the future, and don't do anything out of line."

Otherwise, it would cause resentment and isolation among the villagers, which wouldn't be good.

Lin Xiu said, "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who does things out of the ordinary or eccentric. I just want to find a place to settle down, live a peaceful and stable life."

Yao Rongrong's expression dimmed almost imperceptibly, but she quickly recovered, smiled slightly, and said, "That's true. Besides, since you can write so many wonderful stories, you'll definitely be very popular."

Besides, you're not bad-looking either. Who knows, some young girl in the village might take a liking to you soon, and then your marriage will be settled.

Lin Xiu didn't reply, but asked, "When do you plan to set off, Miss Yao?"

Yao Rongrong suddenly narrowed her eyes, and that bewitching, wicked charm she had shown when they first met resurfaced. Staring at Lin Xiu, she chuckled softly, "What's wrong, sir? Are you so eager to send me away after I've said that? Are you already itching to find a girl to marry?"