Chapter 76: Complaints

Ma Jing continued, "We are the ones who plowed the fields, Little Flower, do you know? Plowing is very tiring, we all worked until our skin peeled off. By the way, have you ever plowed a field? Hmm, you're so young, you definitely haven't. You probably don't know how hard it is. The cold wind blows, the snowflakes fall, and our hands are all cracked. Look, my fingers still haven't healed, and they ache whenever it's windy or rainy."

Zhang Xiaohua watched Ma Jing gesticulating wildly, wishing she could kick his mouth shut to get him to spill the beans, but also afraid he would show her his fingers. She didn't dare to step forward, secretly despising him: "If his hands are cracked, how can his bones be injured? Who knows what Ma Jing is made of."

Seeing that Ma Jing was about to continue, Zhang Xiaohua quickly said, "Brother Ma, I've plowed fields too, it's really tiring. Um, why don't you continue talking about the medicinal fields?"

"Ah, you've plowed fields too, huh? Well, you must know how hard it is," Ma Jing smiled and continued, "After we plowed the fields, they drove us away and didn't let us get close. The White Hall Master and Elder He of the Alchemy Hall planted the seeds themselves. After planting, we thought they would let us take care of them. Do you know, Zhang Xiaohua, these must be rare herbs. If we take good care of them, the overseers will definitely favor us and raise our monthly salary. With a higher salary, life will be better, and I'll definitely earn a lot of money. Then, I'll definitely be able to marry Xiaotao."

As he spoke, Ma Jing's deep gaze seemed to pierce through the night and look into the future.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly asked, "Who is Xiaotao?"

"Xiaotao is from the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion... ahem," Ma Jing immediately stopped, saying, "Oh, I've said too much. Even without a raise, they could at least see our value, give us more responsibilities, and make us overseers. But..."

Then, Ma Jing said with deep resentment, "They... they actually separated these medicinal fields from the others, set rules to forbid us from getting close, and picked four scoundrels from the Alchemy Hall to take our jobs. They are in charge of those fields. The key is, their treatment is... actually better than ours. They get three taels of silver a month, better food, first-class meals, and even first-class travel and hotels with four more stars than ours."

"You tell me, isn't this infuriating? Not just me, but all our brothers are seething, wanting to show them a thing or two, but... but..."

Ma Jing, who had been grinding his teeth, started to stutter.

Zhang Xiaohua asked curiously, "But what?"

"Ah~" Ma Jing sighed, looking dejected, and stopped drawing circles in the air, saying, "But we don't know martial arts, how can we fight them?"

"Ah! You don't know martial arts?" Zhang Xiaohua exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong? Is it strange not to know martial arts? Who says a servant needs to know martial arts?" Ma Jing said, displeased by Zhang Xiaohua's outburst.

"But..." Zhang Xiaohua couldn't continue, thinking, "If none of you know martial arts, who can teach me?"

"But what? Do you know martial arts? Right, you're from the Lotus Escort Agency, so you must know martial arts. Brother, can you teach me a few moves one day?" Ma Jing seemed to come to his senses, grinning and trying to get up to find Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly waved her hands, saying, "Brother Ma, do I look like I know martial arts?"

Ma Jing looked Zhang Xiaohua up and down, puzzled, saying, "I can't tell. I heard that the disciples of the Ethereal Sect start practicing martial arts at four or five years old. At your age, you should be quite skilled."

Zhang Xiaohua smiled bitterly, saying, "If I had started practicing martial arts at four or five, would I be here to plant herbs?"

Ma Jing tilted his head, thinking, "That's true. If you were, you'd be at the Ethereal Manor, not the Washing Stream Manor." He then sat down again, resuming his idle activities.

However, Ma Jing soon asked curiously, "How did you end up at the Lotus Escort Agency, and how did you come here? Isn't the Lotus Escort Agency much stronger?"

Zhang Xiaohua smiled bitterly, explaining, "It's not that I didn't want to stay at the Lotus Escort Agency, but I wanted to be a guard, and they didn't want me. Coincidentally, while talking to Master Wen, Sister Qiutong from the manor came to recruit, and she chose me. Since I had nowhere else to go, I came here."

Ma Jing squinted, saying, "That's true. A guard has to escort caravans. With your small build, who would want you? What? Sister Qiutong, why did she choose you? Do you know her?"

Ma Jing's small eyes widened, shining with curiosity. Zhang Xiaohua quickly explained, "How could I know Sister Qiutong? She saw that I was pitiful and had nowhere to go, so she chose me."

Ma Jing nodded, saying, "That's true. Sister Qiutong is a kind-hearted girl, not only good but also well-figured, with a nice bottom and chest..."

Ah, Ma Jing's deep gaze seemed to pierce through the night, seeing Sister Qiutong busy serving Ou Yan.

Ma Jing mumbled for a while, then said with a mysterious smile to Zhang Xiaohua, "Brother, even though you were chosen by Sister Qiutong, don't have any improper thoughts about her. She is everyone's dream girl, and many people secretly love her. Do you know? The neighbor..."

Zhang Xiaohua was speechless. Ma Jing was not just a gossip, but he had already spied on the privacy of the dozen or so people in the courtyard. This also made Zhang Xiaohua secretly cautious, knowing she had to be careful around this gossip.

After eating and drinking, Zhang Xiaohua initially listened to Ma Jing's endless chatter, thinking about the stinky smell in the room and how to sleep. But as she listened, her eyes became blurry, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

It wasn't until Ma Jing's mouth was dry and he got up to drink water that he noticed Zhang Xiaohua was already asleep. He had been talking to himself, so he drank the water and kicked off his shoes to go out.

The night was quiet, but the small room was far from peaceful. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohua had fallen asleep early. After Ma Jing fell asleep, his loud snoring was continuous, like a long river, and he occasionally mumbled in his sleep. When the mumbling stopped, there was the sound of grinding teeth. Poor Xiaohua, if she woke up at night, she would be scared out of her sleep. Even if she did wake up, she would be immediately overwhelmed by the stench in the room and wouldn't have a chance to hear the noise. It turned out that Ma Jing never washed his feet.

However, at this moment, Zhang Xiaohua couldn't smell Ma Jing's stinky feet because her breathing was slow and steady, almost imperceptible. If someone put their finger to her nose, they wouldn't be able to tell if she was breathing. Perhaps she wasn't breathing air at all? Maybe she was breathing through her pores?

No one knew.

The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua woke up on time. Before she could figure out where she was, the pungent smell hit her nose. She darted to the door like an arrow, rushed out, and took a few deep breaths of fresh air. Only then did she remember she was at the Washing Stream Manor and her situation.

Looking back at the small room, which was no different from the others, she really didn't want to go back in. Seeing that the courtyard was still quiet, with everyone still sleeping, she walked out through the round door.

When she arrived yesterday, it was already dark, and she hadn't seen clearly. Although she had a general idea of the Washing Stream Manor, when she stepped outside, she was still shocked by the scene before her.

In front of her was the foot of a mountain, with many fields and forests. There were countless houses stretching endlessly. This was the Washing Stream Manor? It seemed even larger than Guo Manor.

The mountain seemed to be within the manor, with many trees and fields, arranged in terraces. Zhang Xiaohua was confused; could fields be planted on a mountain?

After the shock, Zhang Xiaohua didn't want to think too much. Since she was already at the Washing Stream Manor, she would have plenty of opportunities to see it. In the past few days, she had been exposed to many things that had broken her previous understanding. Even if she didn't learn martial arts, this trip wasn't in vain.

Thinking of martial arts, Zhang Xiaohua felt a surge of warmth and swallowed it, feeling comfortable all over. This was her daily routine.

Then, she recalled the Six Harmony Fist she had seen at the Lotus Escort Agency and started to practice it. However, after a few moves, she forgot the rest. She racked her brain for a while, barely managing a few more moves, but couldn't remember the rest. Zhang Xiaohua couldn't help but feel frustrated, wondering if she wasn't cut out for martial arts.

But if her second brother could learn so quickly, and they were siblings, how could she be so different?

While Zhang Xiaohua was deep in thought, she turned around and saw a pair of eyes watching her. It was the middle-aged man in martial attire from the previous day.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly went over to greet him. The man smiled and returned the greeting, then walked to one side, took a stance, and started practicing. Zhang Xiaohua didn't know what kind of fist he was practicing, but it looked powerful, with every move generating wind. She watched with stars in her eyes, envying him.

Soon, three other men in martial attire also came out, standing in different positions and practicing their martial arts. Zhang Xiaohua watched from a distance until they finished and returned to the courtyard. She followed them back, thinking, "If I could have their skills, I could protect my family. But I wonder if they would be willing to teach me."

---

The next page starts with an ad and ends with an ad.