Twilight Boundary

Chapter 43: Getting ahead

In the past life, Hu Ma had also heard names such as Pai Gang, Cao Gang, and Yan Gang. If he looked at it from the perspective of his past life memories, it was mostly associated with black or gray, but in fact, it was a hard life for making a living. People huddle together for warmth and struggle to make a living.

This world is very different from the previous life, but these Blood Food Gangs, whose core business is "worshiping Tai Sui", are somewhat different from them.

It cannot be simply classified. It can only be said that in this world, these blood-food gangs are the parents of food and clothing. It is only because they come down to worship Tai Sui every year that they bring some extra income to the village, and the people in the village are in the blood. Being a clerk in the Food Gang is really a step up to the sky.

 After all, joining the Blood Food Gang, and being a short-term meat cutter, is the difference between regular employees and temporary workers.

 For the people in the village, it is indeed a good background.

 After all, in all dynasties, those who dig in the soil have suffered the most.

Thinking that he would make mistakes if he spoke too much, Hu Ma didn't ask too many questions. He and Zhou Datong joined him and hurried to Zhuangzi. From a distance, he saw that the road was busy, and the inside of Zhuangzi was even more lively. There were countless people vying for something. Now, I want to squeeze into this Zhuangzi that usually no one cares about.

The second master stood at the entrance of Zhuangzi and kicked out those who tried to get into Zhuangzi:

"Lai Zitou, stop crowding. It will be none of your business to hold the Red Light Festival this time."

“You did light the stove with me before, but now that your wife is married, why are you here?”

　　　…”

Most people in the crowd were unwilling to give in, and some people shouted: "Second Master, I am not married..."

“All the money I earned from cutting meat in the past two years was lost in gambling, and I didn’t get a wife. You made me join the red lantern society, and I will buy pig heads during the New Year to honor you!”

　　　…”

The second master glared at him angrily: "You didn't get a wife, so how did you let out your anger?"

When he heard this, the man who shouted to come in was also mournful. He was on the verge of crying and said, "It's all because of Laizi's wife..."

 Hey guys, it’s even more lively now. There are people fighting, throwing shoes, touching someone’s wife, or looking for opportunities to sneak in.

Now that the Red Lantern Club is about to open, it stands to reason that when choosing people for the Red Lantern Club, they must first choose people who are currently learning their skills from the Second Master, so those who learned from the Second Master in the past few years are also Want to squeeze in.

 What if someone takes a fancy to you?

The second master knew that the steward was not so easily fooled, so he kicked them out one by one.

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, two serious followers, almost couldn't squeeze in. Fortunately, they were smaller and managed to fight with Lai Zi and Er Gou. They hurriedly entered the village and accidentally met a man who was helping Er Gou. I, who maintains order, sneered at Hu Ma:

 “You have only studied with the Second Master for less than a month, what are you doing here?”

　　　…”

Hu Ma looked up and saw that it was the third eldest son of the Cui family. He had no good impressions of anyone named Cui in this village. He sneered and ignored him.

 “Oh, the outsiders are getting crazy, they don’t even call her uncle…”

The third son of the Cui family was dissatisfied, but the surroundings were too chaotic, so he didn't have time to say anything to Hu Ma.

The commotion reached three o'clock in the morning, and the crowd surged, but it was the steward who came over accompanied by the clan leader and a group of elders in the village.

The people in the village were not afraid of the second master, but they were extremely afraid of the steward from the city. They hurriedly stepped aside and watched the steward walk into the village.

 “It’s so lively…”

Hu Ma looked at him from a distance and saw that the steward was about forty years old. He was stout and wearing brocade clothes. He rode a green donkey and had two followers. He looked quite impressive.

He entered Zhuangzi, got off the donkey with the help of his entourage, and said with a smile: "But we, the Red Lantern Club, can't support so many people."

 In Hu Ma's eyes, the old patriarch usually has the characteristics of being the leader of a village.

Now, with a smile on his face, as if he was a bit flattering, he said with a smile: "You pick the ones you picked, take them over and cultivate them."

"That is it."

The steward smiled and said: "In Mingzhou Prefecture, there are gangs that live on blood, ranging from a hundred to thirty, but our Red Lantern Club has always been famous for its ability and good treatment of others."

"If you join our club, you will be your son-in-law. He will take care of your food and accommodation, pay you wages, and most importantly, teach you your skills. But whether you can get in or not depends on your usual hard work. I haven’t put any effort into it.”

　　　That sentence made all the young people feel anxious.

 Earlier, they followed the second master just to work as a miner and earn a few wages, so the fire needed to be lit, but it didn't need to be too bright. Changing the talisman once was enough.

 But now, if you choose among the red lantern clubs, the brighter the fire, the better your chances.

 Many people who are usually lazy or can’t help but reward themselves for a quick rush will regret it and their intestines will turn green.

“Okay, you look good in spirit.”

The steward came to the group of teenagers with a smile and said: "Stretch out your hands."

The young men looked at each other in confusion. The second master kicked the one in front of him and staggered, saying, "Why don't you reach out?"

The young men then reacted and hurriedly stretched out their hands.

His hands were dirty, so he quickly wiped them on his clothes twice before stretching them out.

 “Let’s start with you!”

The steward walked up to the young man on the far left who had a dirty face, stretched out two fingers, and carefully pinched his palm.

He didn't see any movement, but the young man whose palm he pinched suddenly shuddered.

He was unable to stand firmly and fell down. The steward frowned and said, "This is not good."

The second master hurriedly helped the man up, and after seeing that he was okay, he smiled and said, "He has only studied for a year, and his foundation is not strong."

 “Then let’s wait until next year!”

The steward walked towards the second one. This young man was so ignorant that he really thought he would have a chance next year.

But the adults in his family are heartbroken, knowing that the so-called next year is just an excuse. The Red Lantern Lady has become stronger in recent years, so there is no need to go to places like Dayangzhai to look for people. If they miss this year, even if it is this I will never get another chance in my life...

 When he arrived in front of the second person, the steward still clasped his fingers together as usual, but the young man was trembling.

He seemed to be a little weak, but he still stood firm.

"good."

The steward praised him and continued walking forward.

I saw that when he came in front of every young man, he just pinched them gently with two fingers, but some of these young men trembled all over and fell down.

 Some of them turned blue, but they still held on.

Soon, more than a dozen people were tried, but seven or eight people could still stand. The remaining people couldn't help but become more and more nervous, fearing that the steward would have picked enough people in front of him and there would be no chance when it was their turn.

 “Ahem, stand still!”

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong arrived late and were already in the back half of the queue. They heard a slight cough, and immediately someone stood in front of them.

 Looking up, he saw the tall and thin Cui Xie'er.

This guy was originally helping the second master to maintain order, so he took advantage of the situation and stood at the end. Now he actually ran ahead of Zhou Datong.

Hu Ma smiled in her heart, but didn't say much.

Soon he arrived in front of Cui Xie'er. He stretched out his hand with a solemn expression, as if he had handed over his fate.

But when the steward pinched it with his fingers, he trembled violently and made a muffled sound in his throat. However, he still stood up straight without shaking. The steward even looked at him in surprise. He smiled and came over without comment.

 It was Zhou Datong's turn. He excitedly called out: "Grandpa Qian."

Yesterday he followed the old patriarch and had already met the steward.

 “Fat boy, you are good.”

When the steward saw him, he smiled and said, "I tried you yesterday, so there's no need to try it today, just wait!"

 Zhou Datong suddenly looked happy and stood aside.

 The old patriarch in the crowd was obviously relieved, stroking his short beard and looking happy.

"it's your turn."

 The steward looked at the flax at the end with a smile, nodded with a smile, and pinched the edge of the flax with his index and thumb fingers.

Hu Ma had only seen the reactions of his friends just now and didn't know what was going on. Now he was holding the edge of his palm. Before he could make any special preparations, he suddenly felt a cold breath coming into his palm.

This feeling was like being hit by an evil spirit. A cold and evil voice came to my ears, as if my whole person was about to be pulled into another world.

 But soon, the fire started to flourish.

 As this cold air invaded, the fire in his belly was naturally aroused and flicked outward.

He struggled with the Yin Qi and pushed all the way, knocking the Yin Qi out of his palm.

 In fact, the firepower of this bullet is only from the second stick of flax incense.

 The first incense also had a reaction, but Hu Ma realized that the second incense would not be a big problem, so he held it and did not trigger it. In other words, he only used half of the incense.

"Huh?"

The steward's **** were flicked away, his eyes seemed a little surprised, and he gradually smiled.

The people around him didn't know what to do, but they saw that the steward looked serious when dealing with other people, but he only touched Hu Ma slightly with two fingers. I don’t know what the final result will be.

But after all, all the teenagers had finished reading, so they craned their heads one by one, waiting to see the result.

 “The past few years have been good…”

The steward straightened up, took the cloth handed over by the attendant, wiped his hands, and smiled at the crowd: "Every young man in the village has a stronger foundation. If I could be in charge, I would like to take them all back."

“But there’s nothing I can do. I’m just a person who takes orders, so I can only choose a few relatively good ones.”

 “That’s it, boy, you, you, and you…”

 He pointed several times in succession. When he said "and you," his fingers skipped Cui Xie'er and pointed to Hu Ma's face.

He smiled and said, "Just you, go into the city and burn incense in a few days!"

 (End of this chapter)