An alchemy furnace fell from the sky

Chapter 572 Stay safe

"Since you seem to have some strength, why don't you come work for me? I can't guarantee anything else, but this month's pay will definitely be the highest in the surrounding area. So many people are scrambling to get in!"

Niu Zhuang said smugly, his eyes constantly glancing at Shi Jiu'an and Li Wuji.

"Oh dear! Sir, could we two weak women work at your house? We don't need a monthly salary, just some food. I haven't eaten for days following this idiot," Li Wuji said, wiping away her "aggrieved" tears.

"You really love to act! But your face is so oily and shiny, you don't look like you haven't eaten for days!"

Xu Fu looked at Li Wuji's appearance and shook his head with a wry smile.

"Exactly! How could I have been so blind to fall for him!"

Shi Jiu'an chimed in, his words sounding so genuine that even Xu Fu was somewhat bewildered, unable to discern the truth from the falsehood.

“Men! Being good-looking is useless! You still need to be rich and capable!” Niu Zhuang said “earnestly.”

Seeing the two women suffer such a great injustice, he felt heartbroken and wished he could immediately kick Xu Fu away and hold the two women in his arms to cherish them.

However, Niu Zhuang knew he still had to maintain his image as the eldest son of the Niu family. Even though he was itching to do something, he didn't rush to make a move. Instead, he led the three of them towards the Niu family home.

"Young Master!"

The servants and maids who worked for the Niu family bowed their heads and greeted Niu Zhuang, all with expressions of fear on their faces.

Niu Zhuang didn't even respond, acting all high and mighty.

"Hey?"

Xu Fu suddenly spotted a familiar place and his face lit up with delight.

"That's a cowshed!"

"I know."

Seeing Xu Fu leading the two women straight to the cowshed, Niu Zhuang was completely baffled.

“I used to live here.”

Xu Fu led the two women into a shack next to the cowshed.

Before the two women even entered the room, they were forced to cover their mouths and noses by a pungent stench.

Upon entering, the dilapidated furnishings left the two women speechless.

They were all young ladies from wealthy and powerful families, raised in luxury since childhood. They had never even seen such a dilapidated place, let alone lived there.

How can anyone live in a place like this? Even livestock would probably avoid it.

Xu Fu looked at everything in the shack with a complicated expression. It was almost unchanged from when he left, except that all the people had been replaced.

Besides Huang Dafu, there were also several cowherds living here. Xu Fu recognized all of them; they used to be Huang Dafu's favorite "lackeys."

Now these "lackeys" are sitting on the bed, each with a steamed bun and a bowl of porridge in their hands.

Only Huang Dafu was squatting in the corner, holding half a bowl of thin porridge in his hands.

When the strangers entered the shack, none of the people dared to utter a sound, or even raise their heads, and they quietly ate their meals.

Xu Fu didn't linger and turned to leave.

At this moment, Niu Zhuang also arrived.

"This is where the servants who herd cattle live; there's nothing to see here!"

Niu Zhuang, fearing that the two beauties might be bothered by the smell, quickly called the three of them to walk towards the courtyard.

"Where's Gou Dan?" Xu Fu suddenly asked in a cold voice.

For Xu Fu, Gou Dan was the only person he cared about in this village.

He suddenly became a little worried. After all, it was he who had made Niu Zhuang's father, "Niu Bapi," fall so hard that he couldn't get out of bed. What if "Niu Bapi" took his anger out on Gou Dan? Wouldn't Gou Dan be in grave danger?

"You know Gou Dan? He stopped herding cattle a long time ago."

When Niu Zhuang heard Xu Fu ask about Gou Dan, he was somewhat surprised, but he also understood why Xu Fu wanted to go and see the shack.

"Where is Gou Dan?" Xu Fu asked again.

"No need to rush, I'll have someone go and call him later."

Hearing Niu Zhuang's words, Xu Fu finally felt relieved, as long as Gou Dan was alright.

The three followed Niu Zhuang into the courtyard, where they first encountered Huang Youcai's concubine.

Hearing Niu Zhuang's address, Xu Fu knew that this woman was already Niu Ba's.

The concubine's skin was looser than before, but the makeup was applied thicker, as if a layer of white frost had been applied.

When she saw Xu Fu, her eyes lit up, but when she saw the two women behind him, her face immediately darkened.

Only when she heard that the three men were there to work for the Niu family did the concubine beam with joy. She then took Xu Fu away, citing the fact that the people in her own household were clumsy.

Seeing Xu Fu's disgusted expression, the two women found it quite amusing and forced themselves not to laugh.

Niu Zhuang was just looking for an excuse to separate Xu Fu from the two women, so he readily agreed.

The three of them then took a tour of the house, introduced by Niu Zhuang, before being led to the kitchen for a meal.

The kitchen is still in the same location, but the kitchen that was burned down has been completely renovated, and the Wang family father and son are still cooking there.

With Niu Zhuang leading the way, Old Wang didn't dare to slack off and immediately told his son to get busy.

Seeing that Xu Fu was not polite at all, the two women no longer had any scruples.

The three of them sat down at a stone table and began to eat heartily.

"Old Wang, add more food!"

Seeing that Old Wang was looking at him thoughtfully, Xu Fu shouted out.

Upon hearing this, Old Wang was struck dumb, so frightened that he took two steps back and sat down on the ground with a thud.

"Old man, be careful!" Xiao Wang exclaimed in surprise. He had been secretly observing Li Wuji and Shi Jiu'an, and was startled by Old Wang's fall.

"He he he..."

Old Wang pointed at Xu Fu, his hand trembling uncontrollably, and his speech becoming incoherent.

"What do you mean 'him'? Do you know him?" Xiao Wang asked impatiently as he went to help him up.

Before Old Wang could speak, a soft clearing of the throat came from the courtyard gate.

The group looked over and saw a hunchbacked man limping over.

"father."

"master!"

Niu Zhuang and Xiao Wang quickly greeted the newcomers.

Niu Ba nodded, his face expressionless.

At this moment, he was leaning on a gold-plated dragon-head cane in one hand and fiddling with two gold balls the size of bull's eyes in the other. His demeanor was arguably even more extravagant than Huang Youcai had been back then.

Just seeing the two women eating in the distance, Niu Ba felt a long-lost restlessness in his heart. He had only heard the servants talking about how his son had brought back two "fairies". Out of curiosity, he came to see them and did not expect them to be such beauties.

In comparison, his concubines were simply unbearable to look at.

"Father! It's me..."

When Niu Zhuang saw Niu Ba's appearance, he knew something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to explain that he was the one who had chosen it first.

"Shut up! Get out of here!"

Niu Ba angrily interrupted Niu Zhuang. In his heart, he already regarded the two women as his concubines. How could he, Niu Ba, allow others to covet his women? Not even his son!

After shooing Niu Zhuang away, Niu Ba took a few steps closer, and could see her even more clearly now. She was indeed a first-rate beauty!

"Butler Niu, how have you been?"

At this moment, Xu Fu's voice rang out untimely.