My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Chapter 132 Black Heart Winery

Although Jiang Li was on guard in his heart, there was no change on his face. After all, it would be a waste not to see this free scenery.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Since Miss Annie doesn't mind that the winery is remote, let's go and take a look together!"

Annie smiled and said, "Chief Jiang, you don't have to call me Miss. Just call me Annie."

"Okay, Annie, let's go to the inn first. Our horses and carriage are still there!" Jiang Li said with a smile

Seeing that Jiang Li didn't respond, she immediately showed a timid expression and said, "County Magistrate Jiang, can I call you Brother Jiang? I see that you seem to be about the same age as me?"

Jiang Li heard this and said, "Okay, whatever you call me is fine."

He stopped a passerby and asked for directions, then strode towards the inn. Seeing that Jiang Li didn't respond at all, Annie immediately felt dissatisfied and thought, "It's really abominable that he has to pretend to be a gentleman even though his eyes are straight."

In just a moment, Jiang Li had already walked far away, so she hurriedly picked up her skirt and quickly chased after him.

While running, he shouted, "Brother Jiang, wait for me!"

Jiang Li turned around and saw the two balls jumping up and down, and he shouted in his heart, "What if this is..."

Thinking of this, Jiang Li hurriedly recited the Divine Mantra to Purify Heaven and Earth, concentrating his mind and stopping his random thoughts, so as to avoid breaking the precepts of adultery in the heat of the moment.

After he calmed down, he turned around and walked forward again, while Annie followed closely behind him and asked questions. Jiang Li just answered whatever was asked and never asked a question in return.

This made Annie very depressed. She had never met such an unyielding man before, so she gritted her teeth and asked, "Brother Jiang, you are so young and promising, you must have many wives and concubines, right?"

Jiang Li said seriously, "One of the rules of our Maoshan is that all Maoshan disciples cannot have sex with women other than their wives, so I only have one wife."

Annie's smile froze instantly when she heard this. She got two key pieces of information from this sentence: one was that Jiang Li was already married, and the other was that he would be breaking the rules if he got involved with her.

This made her hesitate for a moment, but after thinking about it, she cheered up again.

What's wrong with breaking the precepts? These days there are a lot of monks who drink, eat meat and visit brothels. So how big a deal can it be if a Taoist breaks the precepts?

You know, it's not easy to meet a county magistrate who is young, strong and good-looking. Now that I have met one, I can't just let him go.

So she smiled sweetly again and said, "Then this Maoshan is really unkind. If a disciple really meets a girl he loves, will they break up the couple?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Who knows? Anyway, I think having one wife is not bad. At least there won't be any messy family relationships."

After saying that, Jiang Li strode forward and said as he walked, "Let's get back to the inn quickly, otherwise it will be dark by the time we get to the winery."

Walking with big strides, Jiang Li and his party soon arrived at the inn, found the horses they had checked in, and got on. Seeing this, Annie shyly asked, "Brother Jiang, I haven't ridden a horse before, can you let me ride it for a while?"

Hearing these almost explicit words, Jiang Li narrowed his eyes and said, "Miss Annie, I just thought about it. You are an unmarried woman. If you get too close to me, it will inevitably cause gossip. Why don't you go back today? As for visiting the winery, you can go with your father when you have time!"

Without waiting for Annie to say anything, he directly ordered his men to ride away on horseback. He really underestimated the ability of this girl, and he would be making a mistake if he didn't leave now.

Jiang Li and his friends looked very elegant as they left, but Annie was left alone, disheveled in the wind. She couldn't understand what she had done wrong and why Jiang Liming had obviously taken the bait before, but now his attitude changed drastically.

Riding on horses, Jiang Li and others soon arrived at Li Youcai's winery. Because the winery needed a large amount of high-quality water, the winery was simply built next to a stream outside the town.

Jiang Lijiang tied up the horse and left a few people to guard it before leading his men into the winery. As soon as they entered, they smelled a strong odor of fermenting grain.

But the workers in the winery were lazily leaning or sitting, and no one was working. Jiang Li stepped forward and asked loudly, "Who is in charge here? Come out and talk!"

At this time, a middle-aged man ran out with a smile and answered, "I am Li Sancai, the manager here. I wonder if you have any instructions?"

It turned out that this guy had been staying in the winery and didn't know Jiang Li at all. When he saw several people wearing uniforms and carrying guns, he thought they were new soldiers who had recently arrived.

Jiang Li was not annoyed when he saw that he did not recognize him, and said directly to him, "Jiang Li is the county magistrate of Teng Teng County. Now your Jiuquan Town is under my jurisdiction."

"I came here this time to talk about something. Your boss Li Youcai was found guilty of killing Li Xiaohong's family. He was beheaded at noon today and the winery has been confiscated."

Li Sancai was incredulous when he heard this, but then he smiled flatteringly and said, "The county magistrate is right. I have always felt that Li Youcai is not a good person. I didn't expect him to be so cruel and ruthless as to kill an entire family."

Then he asked cautiously, "I wonder why the county magistrate came here in person, and how I can help?"

Seeing how well he handled things, Jiang Li smiled and asked, "How long do you work every day at the winery? Do you have holidays? Do you provide meals?"

Li Youcai heard these three questions and said with a smile, "These people work six or seven hours a day and only have two meals, but don't worry, County Governor, they eat very little and don't spend much money every day!"

"As for the holidays, you don't have to worry about it, County Mayor. These peasants don't have much to do on weekdays, so they don't need holidays."

Jiang Li frowned upon hearing this and thought, "This shady factory is as bad as any capitalist. If it weren't for the light source at night, I'm afraid I would have to work two more hours every day."

"After all, the winery can't light too many oil lamps and torches for lighting. If it does, there will definitely be frequent fires."

Li Sancai saw this and thought Jiang Li was not satisfied with the intensity of work and living expenses, so he quickly said, "If the county magistrate is not satisfied, you can let them work more hours and just provide them with lunch every day. They have families to support, so please don't lay them off!"

Jiang Li glanced at him and said nothing.

Instead, he took two quick steps, jumped onto a table and said loudly, "Listen carefully, everyone. Li Youcai's entire family has been beheaded for murder. From today on, I am the boss of this winery!"

"As the saying goes, a new official starts with three things. My first thing to do is to increase all your salaries by 30%!"

"The second thing I want to do is, from today on, the winery will provide you with three meals a day. I will also spend some money to improve your meals so that you can have a meat dish every day."

"The third fire is that you only work five hours a day, and you have two days of family leave every month."