Chapter 49: Recruiting Troops and Buying Horses

When Bai Yu returned home, Xia Da was waiting at the entrance. Xia Da updated Bai Yu on his father's condition that day and showed him the newly purchased medicine.

Over the past few days, Xia Da’s family had been taking care of Bai Yu’s father, while Xia Da himself went out to earn a living as a sedan chair bearer.

Bai Yu expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you for all the trouble your family has gone through. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to manage."

Xia Da smiled honestly and replied, "No need to thank me. Didn't Brother Yu help subsidize my family as well?"

At that moment, Bai Yu suddenly remembered that Commander Qian was urging him to build his own circle of subordinates. Wasn't this Xia Da a reliable candidate?

Although Xia Da could not directly obtain an official position within the Embroidered Uniform Guard right now, he could start as a temporary worker.

Thinking of this, Bai Yu immediately said, "Stop being a sedan chair bearer and come work for me. It will definitely be better than carrying sedan chairs! First, go to the Elephant Breeding Office to register as an elephant servant, and then work under me. That will count as being an auxiliary aide."

The reason he still had to go through the formality at the Elephant Breeding Office was because Bai Yu's household registration was still lodged there, so his auxiliary aides had to be registered through the same office as well.

Within the system of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the fourteen regional commandery offices also served as household registration jurisdictions.

Apart from military officers whose household registrations were kept in the Southern Pacification Commissioner's Office, all imperial guardsmen and officers—regardless of where they were on active duty or what missions they were assigned to—still had their household registrations filed under the fourteen commandery offices.

Hearing Bai Yu's invitation, a flash of light crossed Xia Da's eyes. Even an honest man had aspirations and yearnings; who wouldn't want someone to pull them up?

"If Brother Yu thinks highly of me, of course I will obey in every way." Xia Da expressed his endless gratitude.

After speaking, before stepping through the door, Bai Yu glanced at the western wing room opposite and asked out of curiosity:

"Is there some happy occasion at the Yan family? How can old man Yan, stingy as he is, afford to host a banquet at home?"

Xia Da said with disdain, "What happy occasion could there be? The Yan family's eldest son failed the county imperial examination, so there's no hope for him in this year's imperial exams. Therefore, old man Yan found a storytelling master and wants to take the eldest Yan son on as an apprentice. At least it will be a trade he can make a living with in the future. Tonight's banquet at the Yan family is the apprenticeship ceremony to host the storytelling master."

Late that night, the young Bai Yu tossed and turned in the inner room, unable to sleep, lacking even the mood for his daily studies.

For some reason, the image of Lvlian's face kept appearing in his mind. He took out her deed of servitude once more and looked at it again and again under the moonlight.

Listening to his father's snoring from the outer room, Bai Yu sighed once more that improving living conditions was indeed a very necessary endeavor.

After barely surviving until dawn, Bai Yu first visited Commander Zhang at the Elephant Breeding Office to discuss arranging Xia Da's position as a temporary worker there.

Recently, quite a few people had been inquiring about Bai Yu's background with Commander Zhang, making him well aware of Bai Yu's recent exploits outside.

Therefore, for such a trivial matter as placing a temporary worker, Commander Zhang saw no reason to make things difficult and readily agreed.

Leaving the Elephant Breeding Office, Bai Yu did not go straight to his post, but instead headed to the Western City Official Pharmacy.

After good brother Liu Cunyi was severely beaten by Commander Yan, he had been recuperating here. Lu Bing had even dispatched several guardsmen to protect him in rotation.

Just as Bai Yu reached the doorway, he heard Brother Liu wailing miserably inside. It turned out the physician was changing his bandages, which inevitably touched his wounds repeatedly.

When Commander Yan Hu had beaten Liu Cunyi back then, he truly used ruthless force, stopping just short of beating him to death.

"Bastard! I've really been ruined by that bastard!" Liu cried out in unbearable pain, raving continuously.

During the torture under interrogation, Liu had acted quite like a tough guy, but now he was acting like a total weakling.

Bai Yu asked from the doorway, "Who is the bastard?"

Liu Cunyi twisted his neck and shouted back, "Of course it's not you! Please don't take it personally!"

Too lazy to argue with him, Bai Yu asked directly, "Do you want money, or do you want an official position?"

Liu Cunyi's ruffian habits flared up, and he tried to bargain for more benefits: "You said it yourself, only children make multiple-choice questions."

Feigning disdain, Bai Yu said, "Judging by your level of enlightenment, you must want money then."

Liu Cunyi hurriedly shouted, "A position! I want a position!"

Bai Yu replied, "Then recover carefully, and the court will appoint you as a guardsman!"

Overjoyed, Liu Cunyi grinned from ear to ear, unable to keep his lips down. Transforming from a street ruffian into a licensed Embroidered Uniform Guard guardsman was a massive leap in social class.

He groped under his pillow, pulled out an iron box, handed it to Bai Yu, and winked as he said:

"Keeping this thing here is useless to me and will only bring trouble. From now on, it's yours."

Of course, Bai Yu knew that the iron box contained Along the River During the Qingming Festival. With absolutely no reason to decline, he briskly accepted it.

Immediately afterward, Liu Cunyi heard Bai Yu add, "From now on, you are my subordinate, and you must learn to respect your superior!"

Liu's smile froze. To become the subordinate of his former underling—where would the dignity of a veteran elder brother go?

How could he brag when meeting old buddies in the future?

Thinking of this, Liu subconsciously reached out, wanting to snatch back the iron box, but Bai Yu dodged away with a loud laugh and watched helplessly as Bai Yu made a clean getaway.

After spending another day idling away in the guardhouse, Bai Yu returned home cradling Along the River During the Qingming Festival, dug a hole in the brick bed, and hid it temporarily.

Before he even had dinner, he heard the sounds of quarrelling coming from the courtyard, faintly catching the sharp, scolding voice of Master Yan.

Bai Yu stepped out of his room and, following the noise, saw a crowd gathered around the front-facing south rooms.

Apart from Master Yan, who else was in the middle of the crowd but Old Man Li, the mason who had fled?

At this moment, however, Old Man Li looked dejected and exhausted, lacking the energy to do much besides desperately arguing back against Master Yan.

Ever since seeing through the "background" of Old Man Li and Li Caifeng, Bai Yu had developed a strong interest in Old Man Li's family.

Seeing this, Bai Yu immediately pushed his way through. The others in the courtyard saw Bai Yu and instantly stepped aside to make room.

Everyone in the courtyard knew that when it came to the richness of "grudges and grievances" with Old Man Li's family, no one surpassed Bai Yu. Who wouldn't want to stick around for the gossip?

Old Man Li's eyes darted about, not daring to meet Bai Yu's gaze.

Xia Da, already considering himself Bai Yu's subordinate, took the initiative to step forward and explain:

"Didn't Old Man Li flee earlier? The three front-facing south rooms were publicly discussed and sold to Master Yan by the whole courtyard. Now Old Man Li wants to come back, but Master Yan refuses to give up the rooms, so Old Man Li has started arguing with him."

Bai Yu had anticipated this property dispute long ago; could a crowded tenement courtyard even be called one without a property dispute?

However, what Bai Yu cared about most right now was whether the grand trend of history had been altered by him, this tiny butterfly.

"Old Li! You already fled, why come back?" Bai Yu asked loudly toward Old Man Li.

Old Man Li said with a bitter expression, "Back then, I regret not believing Brother Yu. A few days ago, the imperial court actually began a wide selection of palace maidens. My second daughter happened to be selected and has already left our Li family. I don't even know if we will ever have a chance to meet again in the future. Things have come to this, what is the point of me hiding outside? Therefore, I thought of coming back. All my previous actions were due to my old, muddled mind, and I hope Brother Yu can forgive me."

Between the lines, Old Man Li's intention was clearly to hope Bai Yu would put in a good word for him.

After all, in this low-end tenement courtyard, there weren't many people who dared to bare their teeth at the Yan family, and Bai Yu could certainly count as one of them.

Bai Yu didn't care whether Old Man Li was genuinely regretful and instead asked, "Do you know where the second daughter was sent?"

With a dim expression, Old Man Li replied, "I heard she didn't even enter the imperial palace; she was assigned to the Prince Yu's Estate..."

Suddenly, Bai Yu lunged forward in a single bound, tightly grasped Old Man Li's hands, and said with overflowing enthusiasm:

"My dear Old Man Li! Our two families have been friendly neighbors for many years. I grew up right under your watch, you don't need to be polite with me!"

Old Man Li: "......"

The gossiping crowd in the entire courtyard was also dumbfounded, almost all thinking at the same time: Has the boy from the Bai family lost his mind again?