Chapter 002: Grandmother

After breakfast, Long Tian went to the Dong family as usual to pay his respects.

His main purpose was to pay respects to his maternal grandmother, Lady Dong, who was the anchor of the Dong family.

She held significant prestige within the Dong family. It was rumored she even had connections with the current Empress Dowager Dong, though no one knew if it was true or false.

Ever since experiencing his mother Dong Ya’s body, Long Tian felt his past life had been utterly wasted.

In the past, he had lived solely to survive, living in constant fear and caution.

Do not be fooled by the fact that he owned a thousand *mu* of fertile land; when it came to cultivation, the actual harvest was meager.

It was the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty; the technological level of ancient times was relatively backward, and crop yields simply could not increase.

Furthermore, fertilizer was inadequate. Many fields had to stop production after continuous tillage to wait for the land to recover its fertility.

Otherwise, food would not grow, or even if it did, the harvest would be poor.

He arrived in the sitting hall to visit his grandmother. Dong Ya was already over fifty years old, as women in ancient times married young. Just like his mother, who was only in her early thirties, yet he was already this big.

A life of comfort had kept Lady Dong well-maintained. She looked slightly plump, fair and soft-featured, with a kind smile.

Seeing that it was Long Tian, she smiled and said,

“Anmin is here. Sit down. What have you been busy with lately? Coming to see this old woman every day, I’ve made things difficult for you.”

Long Tian smiled as he poured her a cup of tea and answered proactively,

“Not at all. Having an elder in the house is like having a treasure. Grandmother, you’re not old at all. Outsiders often say when you stand with Mother, you look just like a pair of sisters!”

“Hehe, you really know how to talk.”

Madam Dong laughed lightly, clearly very fond of this grandson.

Men rarely stayed home, but Long Tian visited often. Even after becoming the County Captain, he still came rain or shine.

She had originally thought that after his promotion he would visit less, but unexpectedly, he was the same as always.

This made her feel very comforted, and she did not regret speaking on Long Tian’s behalf before.

“I’m only speaking the truth. Grandmother, I recently learned a new massage technique. They say it can ease fatigue and shoulder pain. Would you like to try it?”

Long Tian’s smile was bright and sincere, not fawning, looking as though it was simply filial respect from a junior.

“All right, then let’s try it.”

Madam Dong nodded. Between grandmother and grandson, there was no such thing as “men and women must keep their distance.”

Long Tian rubbed his palms together and began kneading his grandmother’s shoulders.

He was deliberately currying favor. If he wanted to climb higher, he had to rely on the Dong family’s influence.

The Dong clan held considerable sway in Longxi Commandery, especially Dong Zhuo, who was already a General and had excellent relations with the Qiang tribes.

Among the local wandering knights, he had quite the reputation.

Plus, since they were relatives, it would be a waste not to make good use of it.

As for consequences? Long Tian wasn’t worried at all. At this point, even survival was a problem, how could he be bothered with future complications?

After massaging for over ten minutes, Long Tian wiped his sweat.

“Grandmother, do you feel a bit better?”

Lady Dong moved her shoulders, causing the twin peaks beneath her robe to move as well.

The breasts that had nursed several children, even though covered, still gave off a sense of majestic scale.

“Mm, not bad. Anmin, you’ve put heart into this. If you have no plans at noon, stay and eat here.”

Long Tian smiled and shook his head.

“No, Grandmother. I still have matters to handle. Public security has been chaotic lately, I need to keep an eye on things. And there’s also the issue of the hired farmhands. With the rebels causing trouble this year, we must guard the grain more carefully.”

Lady Dong nodded and sighed.

“This family relies so much on you. Since you have work to do, then go. When duty calls, see to it first. You are a County Captain now, you should do your job well, serve the Heaven above, and bring peace to the common people below.”

“Yes, Grandmother. I’ll take my leave.”

Long Tian bowed and backed away, withdrawing the lustful thoughts from his eyes.

<<<•>>>

Tao County, within Longxi Commandery, was considered a fairly large county city.

The city walls were five meters high, and there was a two-meter-deep defensive trench outside the city.

It was originally intended to be a moat, but with no water source available, it could only function as a dry trench.

The location connected the commandery capital and Jincheng, and it lay on a busy trade route, making the area lively and prosperous.

Where there are people, there will be trouble, and where trouble exists, there will be conflict.

The county was full of petty thieves and rogues.

Every town always had some hooligans who did no honest work and spent their days pilfering and causing trouble.

In ancient times, these kinds of petty troublemakers were common.

—
Ding!

Quest triggered: Resolve the Mo Family’s Predicament.

Mo Family’s Predicament: Ma Jun has recently been driven out of his home. A disciple of the Mo family obsessed with mechanical woodworking, he spent all his savings and was subsequently kicked out by his sister-in-law.

Objective: Recruit Ma Jun.
Reward: Unlocks Follower System; gain Industrial Skills.
—

On his way to the county office, Long Tian saw a young man being pushed out of a house, followed by a bundle thrown after him.

Looking at the gate, he recognized it as the Ma family’s residence. They were butchers and pork sellers, and fairly wealthy.

“Since the family has been divided, let it be divided thoroughly. It’s just that this brother-in-law of mine has sat around for years doing nothing and wasting money making useless contraptions. I really had no choice, I hope you can understand.”

A somewhat pretty woman stood at the entrance with several servants, hands on her hips as she mocked him. Clearly, she was the one behind this.

“Sigh! Thank you, Sister-in-law. I will leave,”

Ma Jun let out a long breath, picked up the bundle on the ground, and prepared to leave.

He didn’t know where to go or what he could possibly do.

Aside from woodworking, he had no skills…

And he couldn’t do normal carpentry either. He only liked tinkering with strange little inventions.

Long Tian followed Ma Jun to a tavern.

The skinny young man stared at the steaming buns inside, touched his stomach, then looked at the bundle in his hand.

With no money at all, he could only turn away reluctantly.

“Brother, why not go in and eat? I feel like we hit it off at first sight. This meal is on me.”

Knowing it was time to step in, Long Tian walked up, patted him on the shoulder, and pulled him inside without giving him a chance to refuse.

The shop waiter was sharp-eyed and saw Long Tian, so he immediately trotted over.

“My Lord, may I ask what you would like to eat?”

“Bring me ten meat buns, and two bowls of meat soup.”

Long Tian waved his hand casually. As the County Captain and a well-known figure, no shopkeeper would fail to recognize him.

Only Ma Jun, who barely left home, didn’t know who he was and still looked confused.

“Brother, eat. My treat.”

Long Tian said, grabbing a bun for himself.

Driven by hunger, Ma Jun couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed a bun, gulped it down, and drank the soup noisily.

He didn’t stop until he had eaten five buns. Feeling full at last, he wiped his mouth and clasped his hands gratefully.

“Many thanks, brother. May I ask your great name?”