“No, when did this Steward Xu become so familiar with Second Master?”

Seeing Mr. Xu acting so unpretentiously, the people around him were also taken aback. Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu looked a little dazed.

Hu Ma remembered that Second Master had taken a few of them to the Red Lantern Mother Goddess Society, and because of the two pieces of qing taisui (a type of jade), Xu Wensheng, who was in charge at the time, had taken care of them. He was also sensible and often asked them to send greetings back to the village.

Second Master appreciated it, thinking that a noble person from the city had become their friend and called him "old brother," which was a great honor. Every time he got something, he couldn't wait to show it off around the village.

Of course, when Second Master bragged in the village, others just chuckled and didn't really believe him until this moment, when they saw the well-dressed and refined gentleman running up to Second Master and bowing. Only then were their eyes truly opened.

"Oh, oh..."

Second Master also reacted and bowed deeply to Mr. Xu Wensheng, face to face. Then, holding his arms, he laughed, "Did you see the mountain goods that I had the boy send you?"

"I saw them, I saw them. This time, I brought you good wine, old brother, and I must have a good chat with you."

"..."

Starting with Mr. Xu, the bald Zhang and others next to him also stepped forward to greet him, making for a lively scene.

Second Master had never been so honored in his life, and his dark face was glowing.

It was only when the old patriarch of the village reacted and hurriedly invited the guests to rest in the village and arranged a banquet that Steward Xu, of course, the current Chief Steward Xu, turned around and whispered to Hu Ma:

"A few of us set off early. General Baoliang (Protect the Grain) ordered me not to tell you, but he has already prepared a congratulatory gift and is coming too."

"..."

Hu Ma was immediately surprised: "I didn't even send him an invitation. Why is he coming to join in the fun?"

Chief Steward Xu laughed, "He said that the mountain sacrifice is all about joy and respectability. When he got married, although you didn't make it to the wedding feast, you still gave him a congratulatory gift. Now that you are sacrificing to the mountain, how can he be left out?"

"Hehe, he clearly didn't receive an invitation, but he insisted on saying that our relationship is close enough that we don't need these formalities. But he also wants to come secretly, just to give you a surprise..."

"..."

As he spoke, he squeezed Hu Ma's palm triumphantly and said, "This time, you've given me enough face. Your little errand ghost gave me the first invitation after entering the tent. How glorious is that?"

"Good heavens, did Little Hongtao run directly into people's tents to deliver invitations?"

Hu Ma was shocked, thinking that he still needed to teach her some etiquette in the future. Little Hongtao was becoming lawless...

But since General Baoliang was coming, let him come. If he wanted to keep it a secret, he wouldn't rush to announce it. If he wanted to give him a surprise, then let him be surprised!

Although the time for the mountain sacrifice had not yet arrived, with these respectable figures from the city coming down, Da Yang Village became lively all at once. Banquets were held every day, and the atmosphere was grand and bustling.

Hu Ma also understood the saying that people are in high spirits when good things happen. Now that Da Yang Village had high popularity, even the surrounding evil spirits had calmed down. At night, it was brightly lit, and one could walk freely in the forest.

Of course, this was also because Second Master had considered everything and had gone to burn incense in places where evil spirits often haunted.

Now that there were many capable people in the village, these evil spirits would have to be reasoned with if they didn't know what was good for them.

As these observers arrived, it was discovered that the number of people who came was far more than initially expected. Hu Ma had only sent invitations to three or five people, all of whom were close friends and not afraid of bothering them.

But some people who got the news felt that they should also come and give a gift, while others came for the sake of Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, two popular figures in the Baoliang army. The number of people increased.

In addition to those under General Baoliang, there were also family masters and wealthy merchants from the city who had received the news.

It had to be said that these people really understood etiquette.

Of course, the problem was that the village was indeed a bit cramped. Fortunately, Chief Steward Xu had thought it through and had people set up tents, so there was no problem with accommodation.

Of course, amidst this lively atmosphere, there were also some unexpected people.

Along with several young masters and servants from the city who had been sent to offer congratulations, there was also an old man with a white beard, wearing a silk shirt and with a strong physique. He brought several disciples riding on horses, a sedan carried by two people, and a carriage pulling wine and congratulatory gifts, and came to the front of the village. He stopped and glanced around, his face full of emotion.

One of his disciples, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, said, "This small village doesn't look like much, but it can produce two generals?"

"Could it be that the ancestral grave has good feng shui (geomancy)!"

"..."

The old man glared at him upon hearing this and snorted coldly, "What else do you believe in? Do you believe in that nonsense about head-harming methods?"

"What feng shui or not, we never believe in that."

"Do you really think that this small village produced two generals by chance, relying on feng shui?"

"Don't you believe it, but although this village is not big, there must be capable people who know the guarding-age methods, and they have cultivated a body of skills to stand out under General Baoliang. I have already inquired, and this capable person should be surnamed Zhou. You must treat him as an elder."

"When you meet him later, you must not be rude. Whether you brothers can get a good position under General Baoliang's command depends on our reputation in the martial world."

"..."

The disciples all hurriedly agreed, and then eagerly wanted to enter the village to pay their respects.

But at the entrance of Da Yang Village, rows and rows of people, military and official, were crowded.

And the people who came out of the village to greet and record the names were capable people selected from the surrounding villages. Although they were considered eloquent and literate, they had not seen much of the world and were somewhat flustered.

They waited here for a long time, but no one came forward to greet them. The disciple scanned the crowd and saw a sturdy old man in a black cloth shirt.

Seeing that everyone around him greeted him, he thought he was an important figure in the village, so he said, "Old brother, please come and receive us."

"This is our master, Lord Peng, the Iron Hand of Ming Prefecture, who has come to observe the ceremony."

"..."

The old man who was called hurriedly smiled, "Coming, coming, ah, this..."

He was busy paying his respects, but when he looked up, he saw the white-bearded old man on the two-person sedan, and his expression froze.

It was as if he had been struck by lightning. After a long while, he tentatively said, "Master Peng, is that you?"

The white-bearded old man had been waiting for a long time and hadn't even gotten a cup of tea after entering the village. He was feeling parched. Suddenly, he was asked a question, so he frowned slightly and looked at the old man in front of him, who was clearly a common old craftsman from the village. He smiled slightly and said, "Do you recognize me too?"

"Please forgive my poor eyesight..."

"..."

"I..."

The old craftsman's pupils dilated even more when he heard him respond, and his voice trembled a few times, "Master Peng, it's me..."

"I'm Zhou Huai..."

"I followed you for eight years when I was young to learn skills..."

"..."

"Zhou Huai?"

Master Peng's face showed no reaction upon hearing this name, but gradually, he recognized some things.

Suddenly, his pupils shook slightly, and he straightened his back in surprise, "Is that you? Zhou Lao Er (Zhou the Second)?"

"How did you end up here?"

"..."

"I..."

Second Master's expression was somewhat dejected. He tried several times to force a smile on his face, but in the end, he couldn't. He only said with a wry smile, "I'm originally from this village. You... sigh, I always called you 'Master' when I was young, so... so please come inside!"

As he spoke, he stepped aside, his steps seeming a little dazed.

Suddenly, a hand reached over and supported him, laughing, "Second Master, who is this?"

"It's... it's Master Peng."

Second Master looked up, as if his bones had been pulled out, and said in a low voice, "The set of skills you learned was passed down from him."

"Hmm?"

The person who came over to support Second Master was Hu Ma, who had been pulled over to be in charge of recording names. He had just noticed that Second Master's expression was not right, so he hurriedly came over to support him. He had no impression of what he had just heard about Master Peng.

But as soon as he heard Second Master mention skills, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he instantly understood why Second Master had suddenly become like this upon seeing this person.

The set of skills that Second Master used was what he had learned when he was young. At that time, he had followed a master for seven or eight years, but he had only learned this much.

There was no way around it, because the master wouldn't teach him the real stuff.

Second Master wanted to learn skills and even delayed his whole life, but he never entered the doorway, and it was all because of this person.

His face couldn't help but darken slightly, and he looked up to assess this person.

He saw that Iron Hand Peng's face also showed some embarrassment after recognizing Second Master. Now that he had reached the entrance of the village, there was no reason not to go in, but such an accident made his group feel stuck between a rock and a hard place, especially since the young man's eyes were obviously unkind.

"Don't cause trouble."

Just as Hu Ma raised his head to look over, Second Master suddenly tugged at his sleeve and said, "Aren't you going to invite people in?"

Hu Ma nodded after a long while, a smile on his face, and said, "That's right, then please!"

The village had its own rules. On such a happy occasion, even beggars couldn't be driven away, and all kinds of grudges had to be put aside.

There were originally many years of feuds between villages, and they would take the opportunity of happy occasions to let bygones be bygones.

Of course, Hu Ma also knew that some things could not be forgiven.

And Iron Hand Peng met Hu Ma's smile and couldn't see through his background. He only felt that he was young and shouldn't have great skills. He also heard Second Master say that this child had also learned his own skills, so he instantly thought of many things.

He slowly raised his hand, got out of the sedan, and said as he walked inside, "Lao Er, were those two military officers, Liang and Zhu, in the Baoliang army also taught by you?"

Hu Ma took over the conversation and laughed, "Those two are my junior brothers. Second Master is our master."

Iron Hand Peng's eyes flickered, and he didn't know what he was thinking. He ignored Hu Ma's words and suddenly looked at Second Master, "After you returned to the village, you didn't learn any more skills from others, did you?"

Second Master shook his head slightly and sighed lowly, "Who would teach me?"

Iron Hand Peng stroked his white beard, not knowing what he was thinking, and smiled, "That's good, let's go in!"