Near dusk, Deng Ren followed a team of county guards back to the county office.

"Let's go, guys."

He greeted the county guards in the team warmly, but a few of them just glanced at him lightly and left on their own.

Seeing this scene, the smile on Deng Ren's face froze.

However, there were also those who were willing to greet him, no, a colleague patted him on the shoulder and whispered: "Don't pay attention to them, they think they are upright, that's just their luck, if they have experienced what happened to us, they will understand that there is no choice at all." ”

"Hmmm......"

Deng Ren nodded silently.

Bidding farewell to a few colleagues who were willing to talk to him, Deng Ren left the county government and returned home.

Recently, he has not been doing very well in the county government, and it can be said that his status is a little embarrassing, because when he attacked the Black Tiger Village last year, he was unfortunately captured by the Black Tiger Thief and became a prisoner of the latter.

Probably God took pity on him, the group of evil thieves of the Black Tiger Thieves did not kill him, but forced him to sign a confession that promised to be the other party's internal response, and then exchanged them for the bandits who were captured by the officers and soldiers.

At that time, he was desperate, because the black tiger thieves secretly instructed them and gave them many instructions, such as letting them try to burn the grain and grass in the camp of the officers and soldiers.

However, what was even more desperate was that the three county lieutenants guessed the trick of the black tiger thieves at that time, and interrogated them harshly, and many of them could not withstand the interrogation of their own county lieutenants, so they confessed on the spot.

For example, he Deng Ren.

As soon as he thought of this, Deng Ren repaid him Ma Gai, the county lieutenant of Kunyang, with deep respect.

Because it was the venerable county lieutenant who sheltered him, unlike other self-righteous guys, the county lieutenant Ma was very considerate of them, and Deng Ren still did not forget the sentence of the county lieutenant Ma at that time, "It's good to be alive."

It is precisely because of the protection of the county lieutenant of Arima that he Deng Ren can continue to stay in the county government as an errand and keep this errand to support his family.

But unfortunately, the rest of the head catchers and county guards were inconsiderate of them, and looked down on them for having begged the Black Tiger Thief for mercy, although because of the words of the county lieutenant Ma, those people did not dare to openly exclude them, but the private estrangement was obvious to everyone.

And this, even the county lieutenant Ma can't do anything.

"Well, I don't know how long this errand will last......

Sighing in his heart, Deng Ren headed in the direction of home.

His home is in the southwest of Kunyang County, there are four people in the family, mother, wife, and a daughter.

Well, speaking of which, the poor families have been much better off lately, because someone has opened a charity house in the city and provided vegetarian meals to hundreds of people every day free of charge.

Although he himself was not embarrassed to go, his wife and children often took their daughter to the house to eat.

For this reason, Deng Ren has beaten his mother-in-law several times.

You must know that the righteous house is hung with a horizontal plaque with the word "black tiger", is that a good place?

Every time he passed by the door of the Black Tiger Shelter when he was patrolling the streets, Deng Ren's heart was terrified, because once he recognized that there was an officer in the Black Tiger Lodge, which was very, very similar to a thief he had seen when he was imprisoned in the Black Tiger Village.

Maybe the judgment of Ishihara and Shi Zhutou is correct, and the Black Tiger Yishe was opened by the Black Tiger Thief!

It's just that he doesn't understand, why did those vicious bandits run to his county town to open a righteous house? Is it to drugged the food and kill the whole city?

But this house has been open for two or three months, and hundreds of people eat there every day, and no one has been drugged.

Deng Ren couldn't figure it out.

He didn't dare to reveal this secret, but he told his most trusted lieutenant Ma in private.

At that time, the county lieutenant Ma told him very seriously, saying that he would pay close attention to the Black Tiger Yishe, and told him not to make a noise, so as not to leak the news.

After all, if the Black Tiger Righteous House was really opened by the Black Tiger Thief and had an ulterior motive, he who exposed their secrets might be retaliated against by the Black Tiger Thief.

Sure enough, it's still the county lieutenant of Ma, who is considerate of his subordinates.

With such feelings, Deng Ren returned to his home.

At this time, on the dirt road in front of his yard, a carriage was parked.

It looks a little old, but at least it's a horse-drawn carriage, so why is it here?

Deng Ren did not think that the people who lived in this neighborhood could afford to rent or even buy a carriage.

However, whatever, it's better to care less about other people's affairs these days.

Thinking of this, Deng Ren turned a blind eye to the carriage and walked straight to the courtyard of his house.

However, at this time, someone lifted the curtain on the window of the carriage and called out with a chuckle: "Deng Ren." ”

Deng Ren subconsciously turned his head, and immediately recognized the person in the carriage, with a slightly unnatural look on his face.

He recognized the other party, it was Chen Cai, the steward of the Black Tiger Yishe who brought people to his county two days ago to complain about the head of Shi Yuanshi.

"Get in the car."

Chen Cai said lightly, and immediately put down the curtain.

“……”

Deng Ren was shocked into a cold sweat, looked around, and immediately got into the carriage under the cold eyes of the coachman.

He didn't dare to resist, because he had vaguely guessed the identity of the other party - the black tiger thief!

Boarding the carriage, there were two people sitting in the carriage, Chen Cai was sitting in the middle of the carriage, and another person was sitting in the corner, with a pile of cloth bags piled up beside him.

Holding on to the last bit of luck, Deng Ren sat down in the car and said with a smile on his face: "You are the Chen steward of the Black Tiger Yishe, right?" I don't know what to do when you get off the bus? ”

Chen Cai didn't say anything, took out a stack of papers from his arms, glanced at Deng Ren from time to time, and then flipped through the stack of papers, and finally, he took out one of the papers and put it in the carriage, and slowly pushed it towards Deng Ren.

Just by glancing at it, the cold sweat in Deng Ren's head couldn't be stopped completely, because he had recognized that the piece of paper was the one he was forced to sign and draw in the Black Tiger Village.

"You, you are ......" Deng Ren almost cried, and said in his heart, how could these black tiger thieves be so ghostly.

Looking at Deng Ren's weak appearance of wanting to cry without tears, Chen Cai really felt funny in his heart.

He coughed and asked, "Do you know who I am?" ”

"Yes, yes." Deng Ren replied with a sad face.

Seeing this, Chen Cai pointed at the letter of nomination with his finger and said lightly: "Since you signed this letter of nomination that day, then you are our person, as long as you don't do anything betrayal, you don't need to worry." ”

"Yes, yes......" Deng Ren agreed repeatedly: "The little one will never dare to betray." ”

"That's good."

Chen Cai nodded, and Lao Cheng said solemnly: "Today I just came to say hello to see if you are still willing to be a part of us, if you are willing, then you and I are brothers, not only will I not harm you, but I will also let you get some benefits." ”

As soon as the words fell, the man sitting in the corner pushed a heavy cloth bag near Chen Cai and Deng Ren, during which Deng Ren heard a loud noise, like the sound of a large bag of copper coins.

"This ......" Deng Ren peeked at Chen Cai.

Chen Cai smiled and said, "Since you are your own brother, how can you sit back and watch you suffer?" I heard that your family is not well-off, you can accept this money first, and as long as you are honest and obedient in the future, I will not treat you badly......"

Looking at the heavy cloth bag, Deng Ren swallowed his saliva.

According to his estimates, there were at least a thousand copper coins in this bag, or even two thousand or three thousand......

Based on his monthly salary, this cloth bag is worth at least a year's income for him, so if you want to say that you are not tempted, it is naturally fake, but the problem is that Deng Ren really doesn't dare to accept it......

"Huh?"

Seeing that Deng Ren had not taken action for a long time, the smile on Chen Cai's face slowly retracted, and his tone became more and more cold: "What? Think Chen's money is dirty? ”

"No, no."

Seeing Chen Cai's unswerving face, Deng Ren was shocked, and hurriedly pulled the cloth bag of money in front of him.

At this pull, he realized how heavy the cloth bag was, and it was obvious that there were more copper coins in it than he expected.

However, he couldn't be happy, and barely squeezed out a smile and asked, "You...... What do you want the little one to do? ”

"Superficial!"

Chen Cai snorted coldly in Zhao Yu's tone: "Sending money to you is just to let you do things?" If I don't give money, can I let you do the work for me? ”

"Can ......" Deng Ren nodded, he felt a little confused.

Looking at Deng Ren's stunned appearance, Chen Cai Zhengse said: "Don't think about it too much, this is purely the big leader's care for the brothers, take it." ”

"That'...... The little ones laughed and accepted. Deng Ren was skeptical, but he didn't dare to shirk the bag of money, and barely squeezed out a smile.

Seeing this, Chen Cai showed a smile on his face, nodded with satisfaction and said: "Remember, since you have stepped into the threshold of my Black Tiger Village, that is the person of my Black Tiger Village, we will not treat traitors mercilessly, but we will not treat our brothers badly." …… I don't want to be an enemy of the county government, and I don't want to endanger the fathers and elders of Kunyang, I just want to gain a foothold here, but some people refuse to let me wait and find trouble all day long......"

"You're talking about...... Stone catcher? Deng Ren asked tentatively.

Hearing this, Chen Cai chuckled.

In fact, he just said it casually, after all, if he directly talked about his grand plans for the Black Tiger Crowd, this guy in front of him would be frightened - not to mention this kid, even if it was the county commander Liu Bi and the county lieutenant Ma Gai, I am afraid they would be shocked.

Unexpectedly, this Deng Ren misunderstood what he said casually, and mistakenly thought that they were targeting Ishihara......

The one surnamed Shi is a pawn at best, and he is also worthy of being an obstacle to his Black Tiger crowd?

The mantis arm is just a car!

After listening to the great leader explain his grand plan for the future of the Black Tiger Village, Chen Cai firmly believed this.

But since this Deng Ren has misunderstood, Chen Cai doesn't need to explain anything, after all, this Deng Ren is just a pawn, and there is no need for a pawn to know too many secrets.

So Chen Cai laughed it off.

A moment later, Deng Ren got out of the car with the bag of money and drove away with the carriage in a bit of a daze.

He reached out and pinched his face, feeling a little incredible.

What the hell are these people doing here?

Come all the way to his door, show him the letter of submission, and then give him a pocket of money and leave?

At this time, a gust of wind blew, Deng Ren was excited, hurriedly looked around, and saw that there was no one around, he hurriedly hugged the pocket in his arms, and fled back to his house like a thief.

When he returned home, his wife and daughter were gone, and he probably went to the Black Tiger House in the south of the city to eat, only the old mother was lying on the couch to rest, and the meal prepared by his wife for the old man was placed next to him.

In this regard, he said several times that his wife did not want her to go to the Black Tiger Righteous House to eat, but his wife's reason was also very good: since it was given for free, why not go? I can save a lot of food every month.

Deng Ren couldn't refute this, after all, his family's family was indeed not rich enough to turn a blind eye to the free food, and the food in the Black Tiger Yishe was really good, it was not the kind of rancid food that fooled people, but there was no wine and meat.

Placing the big bag on the table, Deng Ren poured a bowl of water, sat at the table and drank it, while looking at the pocket, thinking about what to do with the bag of money.

Reason told him that the matter should be reported to the county lieutenant Ma, but he was afraid of retaliation from the black tiger thief.

While he was entangled, he suddenly wondered: how much money was in his pocket?

Unable to contain the curiosity in his heart, he swallowed his saliva and put down the bowl, untied the rope from his pocket, and reached out to grab a large handful of copper coins from his pocket.

At this time, his breath was subconsciously held.

It's not that he hasn't seen so much money, it's just that he has never had so much money in his family......

Do you really want to report to the county government?

Once the county government is informed, the revenge of the black tiger thief will not be mentioned for the time being, and the county government will definitely confiscate the money......

"Ahem, ahem."

In the back room, the old mother's cough was heard.

Seeing the coughing sound, Deng Ren's heart gradually wavered.

With this money, he will be able to get medicine for his mother......

With this money, his wife may not have to work hard to help others sew clothes to support the family......

With this money......

In his ears, he remembered his wife's words.

yes, he didn't steal it, so why can't he ask for it?

Just accept this money, then the black tiger thief can no longer draw a line......

At this time, Deng Ren's ears recalled what Chen Cai said.

Yes, after signing that petition, he is the Black Tiger Thief......

"Cough, cough, cough......"

The old mother's cough interrupted Deng Ren's thoughts, and he hurried to the back room to visit his mother.

"Mother, are you okay?"

"Mother is fine, Acui and her mother went to the righteous house to eat, and left it for you...... Leave the meal...... You can eat first, ahem......"

"The child is not hungry, the child will go to the street first to get a few prescriptions for cough medicine for the mother......"

"Don't, don't...... Ahem, expensive, my mother will endure it. ”

"Don't be afraid, child...... Rich. ”

At the same time, Chen Cai was riding a carriage leisurely to the next place.

At this time, the thief in the car asked in a low voice, "Boss, is it worth spending so much money to buy?" ”

"Huh."

Chen Cai said with a smile: "The big leader said that what can be solved with money, we will solve it with money, which is more effective than using threats and intimidation, after all, there are still many poor people in this world." …… Let's build a righteous house, in fact, this is also the truth. ”

"But...... Is it really worth spending so much money to buy a small county pawn? The bandit was still skeptical.

Seeing this, Chen Cai smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about it." When you get to my place, you'll understand. ”

"Yes......"

In mid-April, according to Zhao Yu's instructions, Chen Cai officially handed over the Black Tiger Yishe to Ma Hong, although he still had the title of steward in the Yishe, but he was no longer in charge of the affairs there, but was responsible for the establishment of the brotherhood.

The core of preparing for the establishment of the brotherhood is, to put it bluntly, to provide long-term benefits to the people in Kunyang County.

Considering that there are also thousands of households in Kunyang, it is natural that a model like the Black Tiger Yishe will not work - the Black Tiger Village cannot afford to support so many people.

So what to do?

Zhao Yu provided an idea, that is, to open a workshop.

It is good for the Black Tiger Yishe to provide free meals, and it has indeed attracted many Kunyang people, but it cannot meet all the needs of the poor people in Kunyang, what those poor people really want is a stable and long-term errand, which is also the reason why Chen Cai introduced Yan Kuan and other rangers to Chen Zu's side, and then there are many insiders who want to ask him for introduction.

Therefore, the establishment of a workshop in the name of the brotherhood naturally attracted a large number of local people.

Also in mid-April, when Chen Cai was bribing some county officials with money, Chen Zu, a 'rich man' who had gradually gained a reputation in Kunyang, personally came forward to negotiate with the county government, hoping to have a vacant land in the south of the city.

That day, Ishihara was thinking about how to expose the true face of the Black Tiger Yishe in the board room, when he suddenly saw a county official running into the squad room and exclaimed: "That rich man Chen is here." ”

As soon as they heard this, the county guards who were idle in the class room ran out to visit.

This made Ishihara feel very puzzled, so he asked Yang Dare and said, "Who is this rich man Chen?" ”

Yang Dare replied: "It is the gold lord behind the Black Tiger Righteous House, my great benevolent person in Kunyang." ”

Ishihara immediately understood, and sneered: "Another black tiger thief!" ”

"Shh

Yang Dare made a gesture of silence, lowered his voice and said, "Don't talk nonsense." …… There are some things that you think in your heart that are not in the way, but you can't say it, no matter what the details of this rich man Chen, but he has a very good relationship with my county government, as long as there are people in the ya, he will always send someone to send a generous gift, and even, during the New Year's holidays, this rich man Chen will also send someone to send some gifts. …… Aren't you surprised that there is a good tea in our room, and that is the rich man Chen. ”

"What?"

Ishihara couldn't believe it, feeling that the tea he drank during this time was all stolen goods?

With complicated feelings, Ishihara and Yang Dang walked outside the house, and then saw that Li Xu, the county prince, personally welcomed the rich man Chen into the palace.

The county magistrate of Kunyang County, the deputy of the county order, personally went out to greet him, and he knew the treatment of the rich man Chen when he thought about it.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Ishihara's brows furrowed deeply, because he felt that the rich man Chen in the distance seemed to be a little familiar.

Where have you seen it?

Immediately, a name came to his mind.

Chen Zu!

One of the former 'Nine Thieves of Yingshan', Chen Zu!

『…… It is rumored that he was killed by Yang Tong, but I didn't expect him to be alive?"

Ishihara frowned and thought for a moment, and said to Yang Dang in a low voice: "Brother Yang, do you think that rich man Chen looks like Chen Zu, one of the nine thieves in the former Yingshan Mountain?" ”

Yang Dang glanced at him and said in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense, his name is Chen Hu, and he has a record in my Kunyang, and the record is very clear, otherwise you will personally greet an unidentified person because of Li Xiancheng?" ”

"Register?" Ishihara was a little stunned when he heard this.

Of course, he knows what the register is, the register is the register, the people have the civil register, the officials have the official register, the scholars have the scholar register, the three religions and the nine streams in the world, and there is such a register in the county where he was born, recording the person's origin, experience, including the honors and punishments obtained, and there is generally no falsehood.

Could it really be two people?

With a little suspicion, Ishihara deliberately walked out of the crowd and stood in front of the county Cheng Li Xu and Chen Zu.

Seeing that there were people blocking the way in front of them, Li Xu and Chen Zu, who were originally talking and laughing with each other, naturally stopped.

"Stone catcher, what are you doing?" Li Xu asked a little unhappily.

Ishihara hugged his fists and said: "The county is not strange, I just want to say a few words with this rich man Chen......"

Li Xu frowned, looking at Ishihara who wanted to speak and stopped, as if he had some scruples.

After a while, he whispered to Chen Zu: "This Shi Yuan was originally a ranger in the rivers and lakes, and he was a ruffian, but he was promoted by the county lieutenant of Ma, and I can't talk about him, Master Chen is not strange." ”

"It doesn't matter." Chen Zu smiled and said: "Chen likes to make friends with the Jianghu Ranger the most. ”

As he spoke, he looked at Ishihara and asked with a smile: "I don't know what Shi Zhutou wants to say, why don't you wait for Chen to finish his business, Chen invites Shi Zhutou to drink, how about you and I talk while drinking?" ”

“……”

Ishihara took a deep look at Chen Zu a few times, ignoring the latter's words, and he asked with a straight face: "Master Chen, I heard that you are the gold master behind the Black Tiger Righteous House, right?" ”

"That's right." Chen Zu nodded.

"Why did Master Chen name Yishe with the word 'Black Tiger'?" Ishihara asked again.

Chen Zu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I understand why Shi Zhutou has this question, when I first returned to Kunyang, I didn't know that the county had been a black tiger thief, the reason why I named the black tiger 'Black Tiger' is just because my mother had dreamed of the black tiger in her arms, and then there was me, for this father named me Chen Hu, since then, I have worshiped the black tiger as the family god, I don't know if this explanation can make the stone catcher head puzzled?" ”

This explanation is reasonable and well-founded, and Ishihara cannot refute it, as for believing it or not, it is unknown.

"Okay."

After nodding, Ishihara asked again, "Then how does Master Chen explain that you are too similar to Chen Zu, one of the 'Nine Thieves of Yingshan'?" ”

"Nine thieves in Yingshan?"

Chen Zu's face showed a little confusion.

He really didn't pretend, because he never knew what he was listed in the 'Yingshan Nine Thieves'.

Seeing Chen Zu's confused face, Li Xu, the county leader, explained beside him: "The nine thieves of Yingshan refer to the nine Yingshan thieves who made trouble in our county in the past, there were originally fourteen of them, and then they killed each other and became nine, and these nine thieves once became a big problem in our county. Chen Zu, one of the leaders of these nine bandits, was listed with Yingshan Tiger Yang Tong, but it was rumored that he was killed by Yang Tong......"

"It's such a thief."

Chen Zu pursed his lips secretly with disdain.

He really doesn't look down on this name, just with Yang Tong and Liu Heimu, he deserves to be on an equal footing with him?

Without Zhou Hu, then Yang Tong would be a waste!

Among the 'Nine Thieves', there is only one Chu Jiao to look at, in addition, even Zhang Feng and Ma Hong, in terms of ability, can only give him a hand.

Brushing his beard, Chen Zu frowned and said heavily: "It's a little similar to me, so it's probably my Chen family's kindred." In the early years, when my father went out, there were indeed a few families surnamed Chen in Kunyang...... Alas, the ugliness of the same race, ashamed, ashamed. ”

From the side, Li Xu, the county magistrate, asked unhappily: "Shi Zhutou, is it enough?" ”

“…… Forgiveness. ”

Looking at the strange looks of his colleagues around him, Ishihara apologized and got out of the way.

On the same day, he dragged Yang Dang to the treasury and rummaged through the records of 'Chen Hu, the rich man', but he didn't expect to find it.

Chen Zu and Chen Hu are really two people with similar faces?

Or is it that there are people with black tiger thieves in the county government who have forged their records?

『…… Who could it be?'

Glancing at the few officials and county officials who managed the treasury, Ishihara secretly guessed in his heart.