Chapter 147: Mountain-Wave Sheep

"Well then, everyone, please take a seat, and young master Liu, please sit as well!" Old man Su unceremoniously took the main seat, waving with a smile to Gongsun Wuda and Liu Yitiao. "With wine and dishes ready, it seems the old man has arrived just at the right time."

With that, the old man picked up the wine cup on the table and took a sip, then picked up the chopsticks just handed over by the servants, popped a piece of fatty pork into his mouth, and began to eat on his own. Looking at him, he was as casual as if he were in his own home.

"The Minister of Agriculture truly has a fine set of teeth." Liu Yitiao also sat down casually, picked up his wine cup for a sip, and then poured himself a full cup from the flagon. He made this slightly barbed remark to the old man.

"Hehe," the old man said while chewing. "You flatter me, young master Liu. You might say, this old man's teeth have been in use for decades and have never gone bad once. Whatever I eat, everything tastes delicious." The old man wore a proud look, even carrying a hint of showing off.

"That is Master Su's good fortune. Not like this old man here—Master Su, look at me, I am just over fifty years old, yet I have already lost two teeth." Gongsun Wuda bared his teeth as he said to Su Bingren, "Now it's somewhat difficult even if I want to gnaw on a piece of bone."

Gongsun Wuda stood up to pour a cup for Su Bingren personally. Looking at the handsome young attendant behind the old man, he asked with some confusion, "Master Su, this young fellow looks quite unfamiliar; it seems I haven't seen him before. Wasn't it usually the old steward of the Su household? Why is he not here? This old man was hoping to share a couple of drinks with him again."

"Oh, this is a newly recruited servant of the household, named Su Chen. Seeing that he is very well-behaved, and since Su An had to return to the countryside for a few days, I brought him to my side to temporarily fill Su An's position." The old man turned to Su Chen and said, "Xiao Chen, come, come, pay your respects to General Gongsun, and then sit down by the side. General Gongsun is a straightforward man, and the General's Mansion does not have all those messy rules, so you needn't feel afraid."

Judging by these words, this young man named Su Chen actually seemed destined to take over as the head steward of the Su household.

"Yes, Master." Su Chen bowed and paid his respects to Gongsun Wuda, then seated himself right beside Liu Yitiao.

"Greetings, Mr. Liu." After sitting down, Su Chen cupped his hands toward Liu Yitiao in private. The gaze he cast at Liu Yitiao was bright and sparkling, as if he were looking at some rare treasure.

"Ah, greetings, Brother Su." Looking at this attendant, Liu Yitiao felt a pang in his heart once again. There were simply far too many handsome fellows in Chang'an City; this attendant actually looked not a whit inferior to Li Rusi.

Double eyelids, big eyes, and delicate, tender skin. Ah, how could an ordinary person compare to someone like this?

After exchanging greetings, Liu Yitiao began to eat the food on his own, having no leisure to bother with this pretty attendant brought by Old Man Su.

"Young master Liu, come, come, the old man proposes a toast to you." Su Bingren swallowed the fatty pork in his mouth, raised his wine cup toward Liu Yitiao, and said, "To your noble character and high integrity, and to your Liu Family Plow!"

"Thank you, Lord Su." Hearing this, Liu Yitiao raised his wine cup and said, "Compared to your sentiments, Minister of Agriculture, of devoting yourself wholeheartedly to the country and achieving great merits through toil, these trifles of mine are not worth mentioning. Moreover, the reason why this junior is 'donating' the Liu Family Plow to the imperial court this time owes overwhelmingly to the influence of the Minister of Agriculture. This cup of wine should properly be offered to you by this junior."

Liu Yitiao raised his cup to signal Su Bingren, and took the lead in drinking down the wine in his cup.

"Hehe, I am obliged to young master Liu for the praise." Su Bingren knew that Liu Yitiao was unhappy in his heart, and he also knew why he was unhappy, but he still shamelessly accepted Liu Yitiao's praise, smiling as he raised his cup and drank down the wine.

Afterwards, the old man gave Su Chen a subtle glance, paid no more attention to Liu Yitiao, and turned back to reminisce with Gongsun Wuda, occasionally tossing a couple of remarks to Wang Zhihong and Gongsun Helan so that they had no time to spare for anything else.

"Is Mr. Liu harboring a grievance against our master because of the matter of the Liu Family Plow?" Seeing Liu Yitiao's depressed and unhappy expression, Su Chen leaned sideways, moved closer to Liu Yitiao, and asked in a low voice.

Liu Yitiao picked up a bite of food, took a sip of wine, glanced at this handsome fellow Su Chen, and chuckled lightly, "Brother Su must be mistaken. Liu is a mere commoner; how would I dare harbor a grievance against Lord Su? Besides, the imperial court paid for the Liu Family Plow as well, and Liu has not suffered any losses, so how could there be any talk of grievance?"

"Hehe, that is good then. Come, this younger brother proposes a toast to Mr. Liu." Hearing Liu Yitiao's words, Su Chen smiled faintly, raised his cup to Liu Yitiao, and said, "To Mr. Liu's magnanimity."

Su Chen drank a cup with great boldness and said, "Actually, our master also knows that doing this is somewhat unfair to Mr. Liu. Anyone can see the immense value and profit contained within that Liu Family Plow. However, our master is the Grand Minister of Agriculture; holding that office, he must attend to the affairs of that office. If there is anything inappropriate, I hope Mr. Liu can find it in his heart to forgive us."

"And viewed this way, Mr. Liu is not really suffering a loss. The profits within the Liu Family Plow can be seen by others, so His Majesty naturally cannot be unaware of them. Therefore, your willingness to yield the 'Liu Family Plow Workshop' this time is actually tantamount to indirectly bestowing a monumental favor upon His Majesty. His Majesty is a wise ruler; he will not leave this favor unreturned."

"Oh?" Liu Yitiao stared curiously at Su Chen and said, "To be able to utter such words, Brother Su Chen is surely more than just a mere servant of the Su household, right?"

Would a mere servant dare to sit at this table? Would a mere servant possess such delicate skin? Would a mere servant be able to articulate such an analysis of weighing pros and cons? Liu Yitiao simply did not believe it.

"Eh?" Su Chen's expression shifted slightly, but then he immediately chuckled softly and whispered, "Mr. Liu truly has discerning eyes, allowing you to see right through it. Actually, Chen is not any servant; Chen's true identity is the youngest grandson of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Su Chen. Su Chen pays his respects to Mr. Liu once more."

With that, Su Chen cupped his hands and bowed to Liu Yitiao again.

"Oh, so it is Young Master Su. A genuine pleasure to meet you." Liu Yitiao also cupped his hands toward Su Chen, realizing in his heart that Old Man Su had been too embarrassed to show his own face and had therefore sent his youngest grandson as a lobbyist.

Only, there was one thing Liu Yitiao could not quite understand: thinking of Old Man Su as a dignified Grand Minister of Agriculture in charge of the empire's farming affairs, did he really need to apologize to a humble commoner like himself? Could it be out of a sense of a guilty conscience? Was that even possible?

In truth, regarding this Su Bingren, although Liu Yitiao felt somewhat stifled and awkward, he did not genuinely feel anger or hatred. After all, the man was simply doing his job, and back when he was preparing to open the 'Liu Family Plow Workshop', he had already mentally prepared himself for the possibility that it might be confiscated or requisitioned by the imperial court—it was just that he had never expected it to happen so soon.

"Mr. Liu, Su Chen offers this apology on behalf of my grandfather, and hopes that Mr. Liu can graciously forgive us." Su Chen sincerity-filled handed over a cup of wine, looking at Liu Yitiao in hopes that he would drink it.

Liu Yitiao gently pushed aside the wine cup in Su Chen's hand and chuckled lightly, "Young Master Su is too polite. This cup of wine is one that Liu truly cannot drink. First, Lord Su has done nothing wrong; second, this Liu has never truly harbored resentment toward the old man. Thus, the word 'forgiveness' does not arise at all, and how could Liu possibly drink this cup of wine?"

Seeing that Liu Yitiao's tone was steady this time and did not sound like he was speaking out of anger, Su Chen could not help but feel inwardly delighted. This Mr. Liu was indeed not a petty-minded person. He raised his cup toward Liu Yitiao once more and said, "Then let this cup of wine be Chen's toast to Mr. Liu, in honor of Mr. Liu's magnanimity."

Liu Yitiao gave a light laugh, then picked up his wine cup and lightly clinked it against Su Chen's.

"Mr. Liu," seeing Liu Yitiao drink the wine, Su Chen moved his chair even closer to Liu Yitiao and began to buddy up to him, "I have heard that Mr. Liu not only writes exceptional calligraphy, but also possesses extraordinary literary talent. I wonder if Mr. Liu might compose a poem here and now to heighten the refined atmosphere of this gathering?"

"Compose a poem?" Gongsun Helan's ears were quite sharp, catching Su Chen's words immediately. He turned his head to look at Liu Yitiao and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Big brother is going to compose a poem? Excellent, excellent! For so long, this younger brother has only known that big brother's martial arts are formidable, but I have yet to witness your literary talent. Why not take this opportunity today to let this younger brother feast his eyes?"

As he spoke, Gongsun Helan reached into his robes and pulled out his long-kept folding fan, snapping it open to flutter lightly against his chest, striving to strike the elegant and refined posture of a scholarly literatus.

"Indeed, Worthy Nephew Liu," Gongsun Wuda chimed in. "Last time we returned to Sanyuan, this old man constantly heard our second boy praising your literary talent to no end. Why not compose a piece right here today, so that we may all behold your brilliance?"

"Aqi, go prepare some brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. If Mr. Liu is going to compose a poem, it must naturally be written down to have any flavor." Old man Su was even more direct, ordering Gongsun Qi to bring out the writing materials and place them right before Liu Yitiao.

Holding the brush and looking at the paper and ink before him, Liu Yitiao felt as though he were being forced onto a duck's back—much like going to a KTV in the old days when friends knew he was tone-deaf yet still insisted on forcing him to sing.

To hell with it! Liu Yitiao stood up, turned around, cupped his hands in a full circle to salute Old Man Su, Gongsun Wuda, and the others, and said, "In that case, Liu shall make a fool of himself!"

With that, Liu Yitiao lifted the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote directly upon the paper:

A single ox and plow for half a plot of land, harvests rely on Heaven, droughts rely on Heaven;
Coarse tea and plain fare fill three meals, mornings bring sweet peace, evenings bring sweet peace;
Cloth garments kept warm surpass silk floss, long ones are wearable, short ones are wearable;
A thatched cottage with a few rooms, walking brings contentment, waiting brings contentment;
When rain clears up, steer a small boat, fish on one side, wine on the other;
Returning at night to chat with children before the lamp, words of today, words of ancient times;
The sun three poles high while I sleep alone, who is an immortal? I am an immortal;
An empty valley of South Mountain, a single scroll of books, madness is folly, frenzy is folly.

This was Zhang Yanghao's *Mountain Slope Sheep*, a poem that had deeply fascinated Liu Yitiao back in the day. Under these circumstances, he wrote it down in full.