ses, and a friendly young man came forward to greet them."My esteemed guests, please come in and rest yourselves. The sun is scorching today."As he spoke, he wiped the table with a cloth from his shou...Liu Biatou was the first to step forward, taking his wife's arm and asking, "What's wrong Have you met with some troublesome guests"

"Sister Liu was so tired she was panting, she replied, "You guys go and take a look. There are some guests causing trouble. They insist on having braised pork and want it made by Hongying personally. I said we have something going on at home, we're not serving individual dishes at lunchtime, only set meals, and the braised pork takes over two hours to make, which won't be ready for lunch anyway. They started yelling at me."

The villagers were immediately angered. "Isn't this unreasonable"

"Right, so this is just them being bullies"

"Let's go see!"

The village head heard the news and walked out from the courtyard.

Li Laosi also followed behind. He was already well-built, and after this period of time in the military camp, he had become even more imposing with his experience of hardship and struggle.

The village head inquired about a few things from Liu's wife, furrowed his brow, and then instructed the villagers, "Go call Mr. Er here. Today we're slaughtering a pig, so let the mischievous boys at the school be released early and join in the celebration too."

The villagers ran clumsily away, and everyone headed towards the valley. Halfway there, Li Laer caught up with them.

A group of over a dozen people, in a large and boisterous procession, arrived at the Hot Springs Valley.

The women in the hut, busy as they were, all felt a sense of security upon seeing their family members return home.

"The village head, you've arrived! Those few guests are still yelling inside. They've made the other guests unhappy already."

"Yeah, they were really harsh on us, like we were their slaves!"

Just now, he was going to beat up the young man, but we called out all the young guys.

“One sheep dung egg spoils the whole pot of soup. You're not even going to enjoy the hot springs, instead you insist on drinking alcohol and eating braised meat, turning this place into a pub!”

The village head waved his hand, motioning for everyone to stop talking, then led the people directly into the valley.

Inside the cottages and courtyards, most of the residents were women. Seeing so many people coming in, they all closed their windows or courtyard gates.

But curiosity is something everyone possesses, so they inevitably sent a maidservant out to inquire about the news.

Under the waterfall, the pool was bubbling with splashes as over twenty male guests enjoyed a soak in the hot springs.

Perhaps borrowing the heat of the hot springs, the greenery on both sides of the mountain cliffs has already emerged, emerald green, looking like the color of early spring, a symbol of hope.

Guests soaked in the hot springs, chatting idly, taking in the early spring sunlight and greenery – a truly delightful experience.

But there were a few people who spoiled the atmosphere. They sat on the stones by the pond, with two wine jars and a roasted chicken in the middle. They ate and drank, occasionally spitting out bones and complaining.

"This place is really nice, too bad it's not being run well. If we built a platform in the middle of the pond and had some young women dancing gracefully there, with the spring water wetting their clothes...hehe, wouldn't that be more elegant"

"Haha, excellent, excellent!"

The rest also clapped and laughed wildly, "It's a pity, there are too many fools in the world who don't understand such a way to make money."

Just then, the village head and others walked over.

The rest of the guests couldn't help but sit up straight and look over.

The village head and others glanced around at the devastated ground, along with the wine jars scattered on the stones, their faces grim.

Li Lao Er stepped forward, cupped his fist in a salute, and said coldly, "Several guests, our mountain valley has long since warned that alcohol is not allowed to be brought privately. It's precisely because we are afraid that people will do something inappropriate when they are drunk, after all, there are female guests here. You have done this, which has broken the rules of our place!"

Several patrons were displeased. “What kind of ridiculous rules are these You open a business to serve customers, why should we be subject to your control I’ve never heard such nonsense!”

"Then let's just pretend you heard this today and not dwell on it. But a moment ago, when several of you ordered, did you say you wanted braised pork" Li Laoer carefully looked over the few people present. They weren't his usual customers.

A fat drunk shouted, "That's right, you guys have the number one chef in Tianwu here, who can make anything. So let's order some braised pork! And didn't your village just slaughter a pig today Just use fresh pork!"

"Yes, done! Here's your silver reward!"

Several other guests also chimed in, looking quite arrogant.

Li Laoer turned a cold face and replied, "First, our valley doesn't accept orders today. Second, there is no top chef like the 'Number One Martial Artist of Heaven' in our valley. Third, we killed a pig today only for our own family to eat, outsiders are not entitled. Guests should please get up, dress, and go to the city's restaurants and see if they have braised pork."

"Presumptuous!" The fat man was enraged, "Are you trying to drive me away You dogs! Who gave you the guts!"

"That's right, you know who we are You don't want to live!"

"You disloyal dog, you've eaten the hearts of bears and the gall of leopards!"

The village head and others all turned black with anger. Li Lao Si clenched his fist and was about to step forward, but Li Lao Er stopped him.

"The village head is tired, let's move a stone for him to sit on."

Li Lao Si glared fiercely at the several guests, then walked to the side, chose a stone the size of a grinding disc, bent down easily carried it up, and then walked to the edge of the pond, with a loud boom put it down.

Li Laer respectfully helped the village head sit down, as if he hadn't seen the frightened looks of the wine guests at all.

This stone weighs over 300 jin. It takes four ordinary people to barely lift it.

Li Laosi was all by himself, moving the chair like it was nothing. Just how strong were his arms

An ordinary person would weigh a couple of hundred pounds, but in his hands, it would be like playing with a toy, easily tossed away...

Several drinkers instinctively shrank back from the pool of water, their faces paling with fright.

Li Lao'er only then looked at them again and said, "We don't know what identities our guests have, nor do we want to know. But since you guests came to play in our mountain valley, you probably haven't learned who we are, have you"

"Firstly, we are not slaves, we are ordinary people in this village. But this village belongs to the estate of Lord XinTing Hou Ye. We work the mountains and valleys for him. Even if we were servants, we would be servants of Lord Ye, you're not even qualified to call us dog slaves!"

His face darkened, and he glared fiercely at the few drinkers. "If any of you don't believe me, I advise you to investigate carefully. Otherwise, it would be a waste of having eyes and ears, harming yourselves and your families – truly a loss that outweighs any gain."

“Now, let's talk about whether we want to live or not. Of course, we want to live! We grow the jade gourds and golden fruits that the Emperor loves most. It's almost time to start planting again this year! If any of you guests feel you are more noble than the Emperor, then we will die, committing suicide to apologize to you. But when summer comes, the Emperor will want the jade gourds and golden fruits, and you will only be able to offer your own heads. Of course, you'll also be despised by the Emperor!"

"You... are you threatening us You're just a bunch of servants. Do you think the Marquis and the Emperor would remember you commoners" The fat drunk bellowed, trying to sound tough.

The rest also found their courage and echoed, "That's right. The Marquis has already gone out on campaign, and the Emperor is in the palace. Who else could we go to for verification Just wave your flags and make a fuss!"

“Whether or not we're waving flags, that’s none of your concern!” Li Laer was getting impatient too. He beckoned the villagers, “Come now, see to our guests a bit, so they can head back to Kyoto early to verify things. Who knows if court hasn't adjourned yet Don't delay them going to the palace to ask the Emperor himself!” firewood and the other scrubbing pots, leaving the womenfolk to gossip.Old Li was also curious about what her granddaughter had said to the little maidservant outside. She asked, "Didn't Fu Niao say...