Chapter 59 Calling Friends

In the evening, the four of them gathered together for dinner.

Li Po was wolfing down his food, eating with great gusto and speed.

After a day of grueling drills, Li Chun and Yuan Lang felt their arms and legs floating, hardly having the strength left even to eat.

After the meal, Li Po made the two of them do some light physical activity and stretching, both to loosen their tendons and to prevent them from waking up completely stiff the next day.

It wasn't until the moon hung high that Yuan Lang dragged his weary steps back to his room, collapsed onto the bed, and refused to move another inch.

The old man had been waiting for quite a while. Seeing his son half-dead like this, he felt both intensely irritated and, of course, a little heartbroken.

Still, he pulled Yuan Lang up to interrogate him, "Did you learn anything? How was Big Brother Li's teaching?"

Yuan Lang grunted twice, "Dunno..."

"Hmm?" The old man bristled slightly, his first thought being that the half-grown lad was holding back his secrets. But having taken his own fair share of beatings from his master and having taught others himself, he knew he was being a bit impatient—a single day was indeed too short.

When he tried to ask further, rhythmic snoring was already echoing from the bed. Out of options, the old man could only swallow his frustration, take off his son's boots and outer garments, and pull the blanket over him.

Returning to his own bed, he lay awake simmering with Qi, plotting when he might find an opportunity to give the unpromising little bastard a sound thrashing to vent his spleen. At the same time, he figured that on account of this little wretch, he should find two more people to help out in a couple of days.

Physical labor and martial training could never be mixed together. In the eyes of the people of Guanzhong, the distinction between what was primary and what was secondary was crystal clear.

The days that followed gradually grew monotonous.

An extra horse now stood in the stable—the personal mount of Li Bi, the third young lady of the commandery magistrate's household.

True to his decisive nature, the old man acted swiftly. Just a day later, two new grooms arrived at the stable.

Both newcomers were over thirty years old. While their horse-tending skills were only mediocre at best, they were diligent and nimble at manual labor. Under the old man's direction, they quickly took over the bulk of the stable work.

The three youngsters were completely relieved of heavy physical labor, focusing entirely on body-conditioning under Li Po's guidance and practicing those crystallized wisdoms of veteran soldiers.

Yet, no matter how the old man lectured, Li Po still went to the kitchen every single day like clockwork to busy himself with cooking. In Li Po's own words, eating poorly while undergoing prolonged and intense training would permanently damage one's physique.

The results were indeed remarkable; the bodies of the three youths grew stronger day by day.

Commandery Magistrate Li Jing's inspections of the granaries were tasks conducted on a monthly basis.

Thus, after a few days, the warhorse in the stable was led away once more. Third Young Lady Li Bi had set out to visit her father.

As a stable groom, Li Po witnessed for the first time the imposing grandeur of a noble family's travels.

More than a dozen horsemen circled her flanks. Every single one of them was a seasoned warrior skilled in archery and horsemanship, radiating a fierce yet disciplined aura—they were true, elite soldiers of the army.

Upon inquiry, he learned that this young woman, roughly his own age, even held a military rank and was a female general.

It truly made one sigh that comparing people could infuriate them; being born well simply came with immense privileges.

With Li Bi gone, two other warhorses returned to the stable, having been brought back from Yanmen.

By now, these matters had little to do with Li Po.

On this day, instead of leading the two youngsters in drills as usual, Li Po kept Li Chun behind and instructed Yuan Lang to guide him in finding Cheng Zhijie.

Once one had firmly established a foothold, it was only right to thank one's friends. Although he didn't particularly care for that runaway criminal from Shandong, a person drinking water should never forget who dug the well. Otherwise, one's path would only grow narrower and narrower. Li Po understood this fundamental principle of human relations and social conduct very well.

Cheng Zhijie was a well-known figure within the commandery government and was easy to locate.

They pulled him right out from the midst of a crowd of big, burly men at the training grounds on the east side of the commandery office while he was warming up his muscles and howling at the top of his lungs.

A burst of loud laughter followed, as affectionate and intimate as if they were blood brothers. True to his unchanging nature, this Shandong giant seemed to harbor not a single worry in the world nor any anxieties whatsoever...

Next came a string of complaints, accusing Li Po of disappearing without a trace upon entering the commandery office and failing to treat him like a brother.

However, the moment he heard that Li Po intended to treat him to wine, the half-genuine, half-feigned grievances vanished instantly. He babbled out several praises of "good brother," making it quite evident that this fellow was a genuine lover of the cup.

Yet Li Po knew that this man's attention had remained fixed entirely on Yuan Lang, never shifting away even for a second.

There was no need to ask; he clearly recognized Yuan Lang.

Old Man Yuan's reputation was widespread. As Old Man Yuan's son, wandering around the commandery office would surely attract countless sycophants vying to curry favor.

In truth, the reason he had been able to spend so many days in peace over at the stable was entirely thanks to Old Man Yuan. Otherwise, given Cheng Zhijie's fondness for socializing, he surely would have sought him out long ago.

After mutual introductions, Li Po's mental roster of acquaintances gained seven or eight rough-looking scoundrels.

Cheng Zhijie was now able to drape his arm around Yuan Lang's shoulders and address him as a sworn brother.

What brought Li Po a sense of comfort was that while Yuan Lang usually looked rather dim-witted and dense, upon stepping outside he didn't go about calling everyone "brother." Instead, a natural, innate arrogance characteristic of scions from great aristocratic families emanated from him.

With a grand wave of his hand, Li Po figured that driving one sheep or a whole flock made little difference. With a relatively well-lined purse, he boldly announced that everyone was to head out for meat and wine.

This single sentence carried more weight than a thousand words, instantly securing Li Po a temporary standing of absolute equality with Cheng Zhijie.

Nearly ten men surged out of the commandery office in a mighty procession, flanking Li Po and Yuan Lang. Under the sidelong glances of passersby, Li Po experienced a genuine taste of prestige and grandeur.

With a wolf-pack-like horde of fierce men traveling together like this, there were hardly anyone left in Mayi City daring enough to provoke them...

Next, they headed to the southern city military camp to find Luo San, dragging and pulling Yuchi and several of his subordinates out as well. In an instant, the group swelled to over a dozen people.

Li Po weighed his purse and thought to himself: *Damn it, after treating this single round, two months' worth of wages as a groom will probably go down the drain.*

He touched the small silver ingot given to him by the old man, and his heart settled slightly.

Silver was a rare commodity; the primary currency in circulation remained copper coins, while gold and silver served almost as symbols of status.

It was a nearly universal consensus that anyone capable of utilizing gold and silver must have an extraordinary background.

If an individual of unremarkable attire or conduct were to pull out a piece of silver, authorities would likely be notified to apprehend them.

Consequently, this indicated that precious metals were not officially circulated currency, yet merchants dared not refuse them—and naturally, once accepted, they had no trouble finding ways to spend them.

From this, it was clear how considerate the old man had been. Had he carried copper coins instead—good heavens—paying for the food and drink of such a large crowd would have required Li Po to haul a massive heavy bundle just to settle the bill.

In an era without paper currency, having money could indeed be quite a headache.

Of course, running up tabs was common practice in those days, but merchants weren't fools; only trusted regular patrons were allowed to open tabs, and Li Po clearly did not fall into that category.

Leading a group out while relying on someone else's face to acquire credit would mean this meal was essentially begged for, causing him to lose considerable respect in their eyes.