Chapter Thirty-Five: Leng Ma Gong

  Li Meng took out two taels of silver and placed them on the table, saying to the shopkeeper:

  "Prepare some good food and send it to those brothers to eat. Ask Hou Shan to take you, and the remaining silver will be kept by the shopkeeper himself. Today has also disturbed your business."

  What is considered a good meal is nothing more than steaming hot dry rations, cutting a few pieces of fish, and slicing some salted vegetables. The poor people are already very happy to eat this way, but it absolutely can't cost more than two taels of silver. This still needs to include the tavern's profit. The shopkeeper was originally very afraid of Li Meng, but now has a very good impression of him. When the weak show courtesy, it appears as humility, but when the strong show courtesy and generosity, that is charisma. Li Meng is not weak.

  That young man sat on the long bench at the door, with his head down. Li Meng looked him up and down a few times and found that this horse was quite sturdy. Since coming to this era, most of the people Li Meng saw were thin and weak, and the salt shop owner's physique was truly rare.

  Li Meng's physique is considered tall and large for this era, but also slightly thin. Li Meng insists on eating three meals a day and taking in protein, but lacks animal fat and eats little meat. However, when he sits there, the impression he gives people is that of a strong back and waist, like a tiger's. On cold days, he wears only a single layer of clothing, revealing bulging muscles.

  The Ma family's life is still much better than that of ordinary military households, probably because they are diligent in practicing martial arts and their nutrition is adequate, which is why they have such a strong physique.

  "Are you Ma Gong?"

  "Got it! Why ask again?"

  Ma Gang's words were sharp, and when he heard Li Meng's question, he retorted with a sentence, then lifted his head to glare at Li Meng. Ma Gang's face was unusually pale, similar to the people in Jiaozhou City. After lifting his head, there were some scars on his face, presumably from being locked up by Zhang Tu for those few days and suffering a bit.

  According to Ma Baihu's words, Ma Kan was about the same age as Wang Hai, still a child. Li Meng naturally didn't bother to argue with him and just smiled and said:

  "Your parents told me to take you back, come with me!"

  Ma Gong glared with wide eyes, twisting his neck and shouting angrily:

  "What kind of thing are you, yelling at me all the time..."

  Suddenly, the horse's eyes widened again, staring at Li Meng's face, apparently recognizing something. Suddenly, his buttocks seemed to be on fire and he jumped up, pointing at Li Meng and shouting loudly:

  "You're not that fool, you're a heartless little soldier, what makes you yell at me like that?"

  As they spoke, he reached out and pulled Li Meng. Li Meng was really furious in his heart. This Ma Gang's appearance was just like those non-mainstream young people encountered in modern times, not knowing what was good or bad. Dealing with such an unreasonable young man, Li Meng also had some experience - beating him up would make him honest.

  Ma Gong stood up and was about to grab Li Meng's chest, but Li Meng took a step forward and threw a straight punch that landed squarely on Ma Gong's chest. Whether in the army or at the security company, this horse-step punch was an indispensable part of their daily morning training. Although Li Meng's movements were simple, he had practiced for a long time, making them direct and effective.

  The other party's hand had not yet grasped, Li Meng's fist had already heavily hit Ma Gang's chest, Ma Gang did not anticipate Li Meng's movement was so fast, being directly hit by this punch, stumbled and fell to the ground behind the long bench, several people in the store saw Ma Gang so disheveled, all burst into loud laughter.

  Li Meng also shook his head, thinking that Ma Gang's spirit was quite sufficient, and he himself just walked back, not worth worrying about. As soon as he left the wine shop door, he heard Ma Gang roaring with anger and rushing up behind him. A strong gust of wind suddenly rose from behind, Li Meng hastily dodged to one side, grabbed Ma Gang's swinging fist, and with a single throw, heavily slammed Ma Gang onto the street. With a loud "boom", a large cloud of dust was stirred up on the street.

  These are the most basic defensive techniques and bare-handed skills of modern armies and security companies, which excel in simplicity and directness, capable of unleashing the greatest power. With Li Meng always being diligent in practice, using it on Ma Gang who is known to be fond of martial arts, he truly has the upper hand.

  Ma Gang was thrown to the ground and didn't get up for half a day. After finally catching his breath, he struggled to charge again, but felt a chill on the back of his neck. His whole body stiffened as he saw Li Meng holding a dagger against his neck. Li Meng's face was already red with rage, and he said in a cold voice:

  "If you keep messing with me, I'll cut your throat!"

  Li Meng's words were spoken in a calm tone, but Ma Gang knew the other party was not joking. He felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart and didn't even dare to speak. He frantically blinked his eyes to show surrender. This appearance made Li Meng unable to help but burst out laughing. Ma Gang was just a child; what's the point of being on equal terms with him?

  Suddenly, several cries of surprise were heard from the street, and more than a dozen people rushed over. It was Wang Hai and others who followed the owner of the wine shop to fetch food, saw Li Meng fighting with someone, and hurriedly rushed over.

  Li Meng clapped his hands and ordered Wang Hai and the others:

  "Tie up this rascal Ma Ge and throw him into the car. If he doesn't behave, beat him."

  These dozen or so people rushed forward, binding Ma Gang who had not yet reacted, and just as they were about to throw him onto the wheelbarrow, Ma Gang suddenly began to struggle. He shouted at Wang Hai:

  "Little Hai, I am Fengzi, why are you tying me up?"

  Wang Hai and his companions did not stop their hands, and muttered in a low voice:

  "You're crazy, actually fighting with Li Erlang!"

  "What!!! He is Li Erlang!!"

  "Nonsense!"

  After this conversation, Ma Gong immediately calmed down, and Li Meng was too lazy to care. Since the salt had already been sold and everything that needed to be discussed had been discussed, it was time to go home.

  Originally, the information Hou Shan gathered in Fengmeng Town was handed over to Yan Ganzi to deliver salt or cancel news, and then passed on to Li Meng. Since he came this time, he might as well go himself to listen.

  However, the news is not much. It's already December, and whether it's ancient or modern Chinese people, celebrating the New Year is a very grand event. Poor or rich, everyone wants to go home for the New Year. The big and small salt merchants in Fengmang Town are no exception. It is said that the two families of Wang and Kong, who are also salt merchants, will return home in five days to celebrate the New Year.

  The rest of the news is that the rebellion led by Kong Youde in Dengzhou is still ongoing, and the imperial army has completely besieged Kong Youde within the city walls. It's said that the people inside the city are almost starving to death, and perhaps this rebellion will soon come to an end. When Li Meng heard this news, he felt somewhat uneasy all over his body.

  He even felt sick, because even Li Meng's shallow historical knowledge knew that although he didn't know the outcome of this rebellion, Kong Youde did not die. He was the vanguard of the Qing army entering the pass and one of the biggest Han traitors.