How could Ma the Fifth possibly be scavenging for food in a garbage heap?
He was a young master from a wealthy family; back when he took the medicine at the peddler's, he had over a dozen attendants at his side.
Though they had only met once, Li Banfeng had a deep impression of Ma the Fifth. The man put on no airs and spoke candidly. Back when Li Banfeng knew nothing of Puluo Province, Ma the Fifth had explained a great deal to him and offered plenty of advice.
When Li Banfeng was bathed in the Heavenly Light back then, Ma the Fifth had even repeatedly urged him to find a way to stay alive.
Seeing Ma the Fifth bolt from the garbage heap, Li Banfeng gave chase.
Ma the Fifth was very weak, and even if he hadn't been, he was no match for a journey cultivator's speed. Running into an alleyway, Ma the Fifth whipped his head around and said, "You've got the wrong person! I'm not Ma the Fifth!"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't say Ma the Fifth. I said a hundred and fifty."
Ma the Fifth was taken aback. "A hundred and fifty what?"
"I'm looking to hire someone," Li Banfeng said. "This is my first time in Lüshuiwan. I haven't been anywhere and don't know my way around. I want to hire a guide. A hundred and fifty a day. Are you willing to take the job?"
Ma the Fifth looked Li Banfeng up and down, his brow twitching slightly.
After a moment's thought, Ma the Fifth lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "Really a hundred and fifty a day?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "And meals are on me. If you're willing to take the job, let's go eat right now."
Ma the Fifth agreed. He was starving.
Though reduced to eating from a trash heap, he hadn't given up on himself. He still wanted to live.
Li Banfeng brought Ma the Fifth back to the noodle shop.
Ma the Fifth stopped him. "Better not go into this shop."
"Why not?"
"This isn't a place outsiders should visit," Ma the Fifth said. "The owner here is no good sort."
Li Banfeng was surprised. "I've eaten noodles here before. The owner is quite nice."
Ma the Fifth sighed softly. "I'm only a guide, so that's as much as I can say. In all matters large and small, make up your own mind."
Li Banfeng led Ma the Fifth into the noodle shop. The shopkeeper was tidying up the shattered tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes alongside the other "patrons." When he saw Li Banfeng arrive, he cried out in alarm, "Why are you back again?"
Li Banfeng frowned. "I came to eat! Isn't this an eatery? How much for the mutton noodles?"
The shopkeeper hung his head. "Five dollars."
Ma the Fifth chimed in, "Make it clear—is it five dollars a bowl, or five dollars a strand?"
It seemed Ma the Fifth had suffered at their hands before as well.
The shopkeeper looked up. "We run an honest business. Naturally, it's five dollars a bowl."
This answer caught Ma the Fifth completely off guard.
Yet Li Banfeng's next words surprised him even more.
"Five dollars a bowl? So cheap—is that proper?"
The shopkeeper thought it over. "Then ten dollars."
Li Banfeng's brow furrowed. "Is ten dollars proper?"
Sniffling, the shopkeeper said, "We're a small business."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Ten dollars it is, then. Bring two bowls first."
Ma the Fifth could understand every single line of their conversation individually, but put together, he couldn't make any sense of it at all.
Were these two friends?
Were they joking around with each other?
The other "patrons" glanced at Li Banfeng, quickly hauled over tables and chairs, sat down, and pretended to eat.
Before long, two bowls of mutton noodles were served, and the shopkeeper even brought Li Banfeng twenty dollars.
Pocketing the money, Li Banfeng said to Ma the Fifth, "Told you this owner is quite nice. Very honest."
Ma the Fifth was completely dumbfounded.
He came to eat noodles, and the shopkeeper gave him money?
But Ma the Fifth's attention was quickly drawn away by the noodles before him.
He was famished.
"Eat up. Eat as much as you like." Li Banfeng handed him a pair of chopsticks.
Ma the Fifth's face flushed crimson; he didn't want to accept charity.
Li Banfeng smiled. "Hurry and eat. When I hire someone, I always provide room and board. You've earned this."
Ma the Fifth picked up the chopsticks and scarfed down the first bowl in a few mouthfuls.
Li Banfeng pushed the other bowl over. "I've already eaten. This one's yours too."
Ma the Fifth pursed his lips, and in the blink of an eye, the second bowl was gone as well.
Li Banfeng turned back to the shopkeeper. "Cook two more bowls."
With a face like a funeral mourner, the shopkeeper whined, "We run a small business."
Li Banfeng frowned. "What, thinking of raising the price?"
"N-no, we won't raise it then. Still ten dollars a bowl."
Soon enough, the shopkeeper brought out two more bowls of noodles and handed Li Banfeng another twenty dollars.
Ma the Fifth ate five bowls of noodles in a row before stopping.
Was he full?
Not truly full, but having starved for an entire day, eating any more would be dangerous.
"Let's get to work. Boss, what do you want me to do?"
Li Banfeng stood up. "Didn't we already agree? You're my guide. First, find me a place to stay."
"A place to stay..." Ma the Fifth hesitated. Finding lodgings in Lanyang Village really wasn't easy.
Leaving the noodle shop, Ma the Fifth guided Li Banfeng deeper into the village, explaining as they walked, "In Lanyang Village, don't live on the north side. The houses there are sturdy, but they could be demolished at any moment."
"Why?"
"When you entered the village, you probably saw the road roller. The city is building a road in this direction, laying a dozen or so meters a day. Every house along the route has to be torn down."
Li Banfeng thought about it. "If they keep tearing them down like that, Lanyang Village will shrink and shrink—won't it soon be completely demolished?"
"It won't be wiped out. The south side of Lanyang Village borders the newland, and the villagers constantly reclaim more ground. Between the demolishing and building over several decades, Lanyang Village has stayed about the same size."
Ma the Fifth led them to the central area of the village. The buildings here were mostly wooden huts; brick and stone houses were virtually nowhere to be seen, while thatched shacks were fairly numerous.
Ma the Fifth stopped. "Let's find a room around here. We can't go too close to the south either, since that's near the newland, and the newland isn't very peaceful. The houses here are decent enough, but it depends on who the landlord is. If the landlord is too tough, they'll hike your rent every other day. If the landlord is too soft, someone might just seize the house out from under you."
Lanyang Village really was a wonderful place.
Even the landlords here were so honest and simple.
Li Banfeng looked around. "Then let's find a landlord who isn't too tough and isn't too soft."
Ma the Fifth nodded. "I actually know one like that, though I don't know if he's home."
"If he isn't home, I'll just crash at your place for now and pay you rent," Li Banfeng said.
Ma the Fifth smiled awkwardly. "My place isn't very convenient."
He was too embarrassed to say it out loud: he had nowhere to live. He had put together a shack near the newland, and just yesterday, someone had stolen it from him.
During the summer break after graduating from high school, Li Banfeng had slept under a bridge because he had no dorm room, and back then, a female classmate had wanted to visit his home.
Ma the Fifth's expression right now felt all too familiar to Li Banfeng.
Ma the Fifth knocked on the door of a wooden cabin. After a wait of several minutes, a man with a coat draped over his shoulders emerged from inside.
The man was surnamed Wei; Ma the Fifth didn't know his given name either, as everyone just called him Landlord Wei.
"Got any rooms?" Ma the Fifth asked.
Landlord Wei looked Ma the Fifth up and down. "You got money?"
He knew Ma the Fifth was broke; just a few days ago, he had kicked Ma the Fifth out for failing to pay rent.
Ma the Fifth turned toward Li Banfeng. "It's not for me. It's for this boss."
Li Banfeng smiled at Landlord Wei. "I have money."
Yawning, Landlord Wei took a ring of keys and unlocked a wooden cabin first.
Two meters long, two meters wide, with nothing inside except a bed.
"Two hundred a month."
"Pass!" One glance was enough to make Li Banfeng feel miserable.
Landlord Wei rolled his eyes at Li Banfeng and opened another room.
This one was slightly larger, about ten square meters, with a bed and a table.
"Pass!" Li Banfeng rejected it flatly.
"This won't do either?" Landlord Wei looked Li Banfeng up and down. "What kind are you looking for?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "Something befitting my status. Gauge it for yourself."
Landlord Wei was stunned.
What status could this guy have?
Landlord Wei couldn't tell either.
Seeing how arrogant he was, Landlord Wei decided to hit him with something extreme.
Landlord Wei led the two beneath a two-story wooden building. The housing here wasn't as cramped, and the environment was pleasant.
Li Banfeng nodded and followed the landlord onto the ground floor.
The first floor had a living room, a bedroom, and a hand-pump well. The second floor had two bedrooms.
All in all, it could pass for a small villa, completely furnished with tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds—all the essentials.
Most precious of all was that hand-pump well.
In Puluo Province, a house with a well and a house without one were in entirely different leagues. Having a well meant never needing to wait in line to fetch water.
Li Banfeng nodded. "Now this looks like a place to live. How much a month?"
"Twenty-five hundred! Paid monthly. Three days overdue and you're moving out." Landlord Wei stated the rent, watching for Li Banfeng's reaction.
Li Banfeng counted out five thousand dollars. "Two months to start."
"Pleasure doing business!" Landlord Wei took the money, and Li Banfeng took the keys.
Ma the Fifth stood by the doorway without entering. "Boss, Old Wei's reputation is decent enough. You go ahead and settle in here; I'll come find you first thing tomorrow morning."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "First thing tomorrow won't do. A hundred and fifty a day means I've hired you for the entire day, day and night alike."
Hearing this, Ma the Fifth frowned. "What use could keeping me here overnight possibly be?"
"Tremendous use. I'll explain in detail in a moment. Come in and pick a room first."
Ma the Fifth lowered his head, his cheeks flushing red once more.
He stepped into the wooden house, raised his head, and smiled at Li Banfeng. "Thank you, Seventh Master."
He had recognized Li Banfeng at first glance.
Although they had met only once at the peddler's, and although neither had given their real name, he remembered this man. He remembered that he went by Li Seven.
Li Banfeng gestured invitingly toward the interior of the house. "After you, Fifth Young Master."
Chapter 98