The black ox crouched before the trough and smiled at him.
The fire swayed, and a huge figure stood with a knife on the wall. At that moment, a youth had understood the exact value of strength.
Quite a while later, Li Qingshan sat back down and scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he looked at the pot. “Just how much longer does the meat need to cook for?” He had always been a person who liked meat with his meals. The past few years had really been tough for him. When their parents were still with them, he could get a few mouthfuls whenever there were festivities. Ever since their passing, he could only forget about it. The amount of meat they had was not even enough to feed the sister-in-law alone.
Even if a bottle of immortal pills were placed before him right now, it would not make him care as much as the pot of meat.
The boar was rather large. The pot of meat took half the night to cook.
The rising flames, the permeating fragrance, the hissing sounds, and the absorbed teenager formed an extremely simple and primitive scene despite the absence of a sentimental and poetic nature.
In the end, there was not even a grain of salt, let alone other seasonings, but Li Qingshan wolfed it down so fast that he almost swallowed his tongue. Without the slightest care about how fatty or lean the pieces were, several pounds of meat entered his belly. Finally, he even polished off the meat soup completely.
If someone were to ask Li Qingshan right now what happiness was, he would definitely reply that happiness was a pot of meat soup.
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Chapter 3: An Insulting Separation | Legend of the Great Sage
Li Qingshan lay in the straw in complete satisfaction. He spread out his arms and legs, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
He did not dream of his past life that night.
In the house near the cowshed, the couple tossed and turned under the torment of the smell of meat. They only fell asleep in the dead of the night.
The next morning, as soon as the roosters had crowed thrice, a short fatty in emerald-green silk garments arrived at the edge of the fields. He was none other than the greatest landowner in the tiny Crouching Ox village, master Liu. He was also the caretaker Liu that the elder brother and sister-in-law had mentioned. He had worked as a caretaker for a wealthy clan in the past. Eventually, he was excused due to his age, returning home with wealth.
However, he still wanted others to refer to him as caretaker Liu to stress his vastly different status and identity compared to these bumpkins; he also used this title to differentiate himself from the regular landowners. At the same time, since he had used various methods to swallow up most of the land in the village, he gained another elegant name, Half-village Liu.
If Half-village Liu had any ambitions, it would obviously be becoming Whole-village Liu. However, the matter could not be hurried. As his old master in the city would have described it, this ambition required gradual scheming to fulfil. He believed that he could complete this dream in the remaining years of his life. By then, everyone in the village would be his workers, and he would be the local despot. He would be able to do whatever he wanted.
However, caretaker Liu currently felt rather displeased. There were not a lot of workers on his land right now. He waved his plump hand. “Why’re there only these people? Where are the others?”
A worker wore a smile. “Caretaker Liu, they’ve gone to help Li Er build a house.”
“Li Er? Which Li Er?”
“That cowherd!”
“Of course I know who it is. Where’d he get the money from?”
“The kid’s got dumb luck. He just came across a huge wild boar. He’s giving a huge chunk of boar meat to everyone in the village who’s willing to help him build a house. They’re at the bottom of Crouching Ox hill right now. It’s quite the news currently.”
“Then why aren’t you going?”
“I’ve fallen out with him in the past,” the worker said in an embarrassed manner. He regretted this deeply. That was meat, for god’s sake! When did he normally get to eat meat?
Caretaker Liu twiddled his mustache. “Let’s go. Let’s take a look as well.”
After waking up, Li Qingshan began to busy himself with the matter of separating from the family. The priority right now was to build a proper house for himself. He could not depend on others anymore.
In the past, he lacked the ability to do so, but many issues could be readily solved with the boar. With just a call, many people would be willing to help him. He had essentially witnessed the wonders of pork in this world.
Below the Crouching Ox hill, the willow trees offered shade, and the flowers bloomed brightly. It offered wonderful scenery. In his previous life, such a place would either be a tourist attraction or part of a wealthy person’s estate. He would never be able to claim it for himself. Moreover, this place was far away from the village, so it was suitable for him to keep secrets here. He could converse with the black ox at ease.
Li Qingshan stood within the crowd of people and directed them around. He felt an indescribable sense of joy. He slightly understood why the black ox had told him to eat meat. It was not just to strengthen his body.
If an impoverished person had to busy themselves all day long just to fill their bellies, how could they still be interested in doing anything else, much less seek enlightenment?
Caretaker Liu stood in the distance and glanced at it all. He muttered to himself, “That means the brothers are separating.” He happened to see the Li couple watching from afar. As they watched their own family build a new house, not only did they show no joy, but even they ground their teeth in resentment instead. As a result, caretaker Liu came up with a plan and walked over with a smile.
In just a dozen or so days, a new house was built, and everyone dispersed with their boar meat.
Li Qingshan looked at his new house in satisfaction as he stood within the small courtyard surrounded by a fence. It was just a regular mudbrick house with a thatched roof, but this was both his new home and his first step to settling down and pursuing his interests in this new world.
In the past few days, he ate meat everyday, recovering a healthy glow. He felt more confident just by standing there. It had only been around half a month, but he seemed to have grown by a few centimeters.
Just as Li Qingshan felt delighted, a grey-haired and wrinkled old woman strolled into the courtyard. She said as if she were leaping in fright, “Li Erlang, your house is badly built. It’s highly ominous!”
Li Qingshan frowned. This person was the local witch. When he was young, she had filled him up with purging water. She would act in a mystifying, deluding manner all day long to deceive the ignorant and unsophisticated villagers. He had never felt any goodwill towards her, but she held great prestige in the village. People would ask for her fortunes for events that happened in the village such as funerals and weddings. Obviously, there would always be many offerings to the gods when she did divine for them.
Li Qingshan did not want to give her the cold shoulder either. He bowed towards her. “What brings you here?”
The witch did not even look at him. She glanced around the house’s interior and said, “There’s yin qi. There’s evil in there. Fortunately, I’ve come prepared.” She held a clay jar of water in one hand and a willow branch in the other. She dipped the willow branch in the water and sprinkled it through the house and courtyard randomly as she called out a mess of things, “Begone, begone…”
Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 1-Chapter 100)
Dream Teller's books
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 101-Chapter 200)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 201-Chapter 300)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 301-Chapter 400)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 401-Chapter 500)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 501-Chapter 600)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 601-Chapter 700)
- Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 701-Chapter 833)