Twilight Boundary
Chapter 42: Red Lantern Lady’s Club

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Red Lantern Lady’s Club

After a conversation with this Er Guotou, Hu Ma’s understanding of this world deepened slightly. He silently pondered these issues, yet becoming a true Shousui man seemed more important than anything else.

With the promise from this Er Guotou, he patiently waited.

But the village gradually became busy for no other reason than it was time for the manager of the Blood Food Gang, part of the Red Lantern Society, to come down to the village.

Worshipping Tai Sui, to put it bluntly, was about cutting meat. It was a significant event in the village and also for the Blood Food Gang.

Every year before spring, they would send a manager down early to survey the meat mountain and estimate its volume. Then, they would decide how many workers to hire and where to set up camp. They also mapped out the transportation route, repairing roads and bridges in advance where necessary.

Every step was closely related to the surrounding villages. Although not everyone could cut meat, helping transport goods, selling grain, and gathering mountain herbs were all ways to earn money.

Therefore, whenever the managers from the Blood Food Gang came down, the surrounding villages competed to host them.

In recent years, the Red Lantern Lady’s Club, a branch of the Blood Food Gang, had been harvesting the meat mountain around Dayang Village. The villagers had grown so used to the name that they simply called it the Lady’s Club.

The manager’s arrival was always scheduled. A few days prior, the Clan Leader would hurriedly arrange for people to clean the empty houses, set up canopies, and feed the sheep extra grass.

On the day the manager was due to arrive in the village, all the prominent and respected figures eagerly awaited his arrival.

As darkness fell, torches were lit throughout the village. When the manager arrived with his two assistants, the Old Clan Chief hurriedly led the village’s leading figures to greet him.

Beneath the canopy, sheep had already been slaughtered, and jars of wine, usually kept sealed and reserved in the village, were prepared.

"Manager, please eat and drink your fill."

The Old Clan Chief’s face, wrinkled like an orange from smiling so broadly, bustled about, diligently attending to his guests. He then instructed, "Have Widow Sun come."

"And prepare hot water tonight to wash the Manager’s feet."

"No need..." the Manager laughed politely. "I’ve never cared for such formalities. The Society has entrusted me with this task, and that trust is enough. I only wish to complete my duties properly and deliver a good report upon my return. That would be satisfaction enough for me."

"Of course, of course," the Old Clan Chief said with a smile. "Within these ten miles and eight villages, there isn’t a place we don’t know. If you need anything, Manager, just give the word."

Seeing that the wine had made three rounds, he ventured, "This time, how many people are you planning to hire?"

Other matters were trivial. The crucial point, after worshipping Tai Sui, was how many young men from the village would be selected to cut meat.

In Dayang Village, ten to twenty young men had learned the skills from Second Master. However, the manager would ultimately decide how many of them could go to the mountain.

Of course, the manager wouldn’t dare to choose randomly. Hiring those with poor foundations could delay the harvest, which was a minor issue. However, if someone became possessed by an evil spirit and caused chaos, disrupting others who were working diligently, that would be a major problem.

"Sigh, this is an off-year," the manager lamented. "I estimate we’ll only hire about a hundred men, and then this Tai Sui worship will be concluded."

The Old Clan Chief’s face immediately fell. "What?"

The Tai Sui harvest varied between off-years and peak years due to the different growth cycles of the White Tai Sui, Green Tai Sui, and Blood Tai Sui. If it happened to be a time when all four types—White, Green, Blood, and Black Tai Sui—were in their peak growth phase, then much more would need to be harvested, naturally requiring more Meat Cutting workers.

If it was an off-year, the scale of operations was smaller, so naturally, fewer people were needed.

The manager also gave a wry smile. "There’s nothing to be done. The Green Tai Sui was just harvested last year, so there isn’t much of it this year. What’s most vexing is the Blood Tai Sui. I’ve searched for days and haven’t found a trace of it."

"It seems only the White Tai Sui is still around, but we don’t need to be too meticulous with that one."

The Old Clan Chief listened, a sense of regret welling up, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

If there were only about a hundred men in total, distributed among the surrounding ten miles and eight villages, each village would likely only get about eight to ten slots. Dayang Village had over twenty men waiting; wouldn’t that mean at least half of them would be left out?

The Old Clan Chief was already calculating in his mind: slaughter another sheep later, and for the Manager’s bath tonight, replace Widow Sun with the wife from the Li Family. Would that secure a few more slots?

Just as he was pondering this, he heard the manager lower his voice and say with a chuckle, "Old brother, don’t be too quick to worry about the recruitment. We’re hiring fewer harvesters this year, but there’s other news."

"This year, our Red Lantern Society is preparing to open the altar!"

The Old Clan Chief, upon hearing this, was initially incredulous. Then, a wave of elation washed over him, and his hand holding the wine cup began to tremble.

The others accompanying them were equally thrilled, their eyes shining brightly.

"Slaughter another sheep! Slaughter the old mountain goat! That ten-year-old ’goat treasure’ – bring it out for the Manager!"

"Bring more wine! Fetch the wine! Get that jar we were saving for Datong’s wedding feast!"

The village erupted with the sound of gongs and drums, bustling with extraordinary excitement. Hu Ma, however, was already lying in bed, silently practicing his techniques and preparing for sleep.

This village-wide celebration had little to do with the Hu Family.

Granny was already deceased. To the villagers, he was just a lone Miaomiao, an outsider with no ties of kinship, a marginal figure among the marginalized. One might even say... even when Granny was alive, wasn’t the Hu Family also on the fringes of this village?

He had long intended to leave and therefore had never made a particular effort to socialize with the villagers, preferring to mind his own affairs.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Unexpectedly, just as he was drifting off to sleep, a thunderous banging erupted at his small wooden door.

Hu Ma had no choice but to get up. He threw on some clothes, turned up the wick of the oil lamp by his bed, and went to the main room to open the door.

When he opened the door, he saw Zhou Datong standing there, his face a mixture of anxiety and excitement. "It’s this late, and you’re still sleeping?"

Surprised, Hu Ma stepped aside to let him in. "What’s happened?"

Zhou Datong eagerly started to enter but then paused at the threshold, asking cautiously, "That little ghost you keep... she’s not around, is she?"

Hu Ma glanced up at Little Hongtang, who was perched on a roof beam, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "She’s not here," he said.

"Good, good. Let’s talk inside."

Zhou Datong quickly stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He then turned to Hu Ma, his voice brimming with excitement, "It’s great news!"

"Brother Hu Ma, the manager from the Blood Food Gang came down! He said they’re hiring mates in our village this year!"

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback. "Don’t they hire every year?"

"It’s different this time!" Zhou Datong exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and stamping his feet in excitement. "In previous years, they only recruited people for the Tai Sui worship—just short-term work for two or three months. But this year, they’re hiring proper mates, for formal entry into the Society!"

"We’ve struck gold! We have a chance to go to the city!"

"Second Master specifically sent me to tell you. Make sure you go to the Manor early tomorrow morning."

"If you miss this opportunity, you might not get another one in your entire life!"

Hu Ma paused, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. Hmm? Is this the opportunity that Er Guotou told me about?

Well... Reincarnators tend to be cautious and wary of arousing suspicion through direct real-world contact. So, he couldn’t just openly offer me help without a good reason. Instead, he manufactured this opportunity, planning to recruit a large batch of peers from the village directly?

What can I say... It’s a clever plan, and it definitely has a touch of audacious flair!

After reassuring Zhou Datong multiple times that he wouldn’t be late and telling him to pass on his assurances to Second Master, Zhou Datong finally, and carefully, left a bowl of lamb’s trotters that he had hidden in his tunic for Hu Ma. Then, he eagerly rushed back to join the feasting and drinking.

Hu Ma looked at the bowl of meat, a mix of amusement and warmth spreading through him. That chubby kid really is a good sort. As the Clan Leader’s grandson, he could use the excuse of hosting the manager to scrounge some meat for himself, yet he still remembered to bring some for me.

He wasn’t particularly hungry himself, so he gave the lamb’s trotters to Little Hongtang to gnaw on. Then he closed the door and went back to sleep.

「The next morning.」

Hu Ma woke early, put on a coarse cloth shirt and straw sandals, tied up his hair, and walked out of the village.

Unexpectedly, as he left the village, he discovered that many of the village’s men and women were already out. They were heading in groups of two and three towards Second Master’s Manor, some carrying shoulder poles, others carrying benches. The atmosphere was as lively as a temple fair.

"Brother Hu Ma! Over here, quickly!"

Just as Hu Ma exited the village, he saw Zhou Datong waving to him from the edge of a nearby patch of woods.

Hu Ma walked over, surprised. "Why are there so many people?"

"They’re here for the spectacle, of course!" Zhou Datong said. "The Red Lantern Society opening its altar is a huge event."

"In our village, those who follow the Blood Food Gang to worship Tai Sui only earn a few coins a year. But this time, if you’re chosen by the manager and join the Lady’s Club as a mate, you’ll get paid every month! Plus, you can learn skills and receive support from Blood Food."

"Save up for a few years, get a house in the city, marry a wife—you’ll have made something of yourself!"

"This Red Lantern Society..." Hu Ma mused, somewhat surprised. "Is it actually recognized by the government?"

He had already decided to try and join, but the villagers’ intense enthusiasm was still surprising.

Perhaps it was the influence of memories from his past life, but this Blood Food Gang and the Red Lantern Society sounded more like an illicit organization to him. Even though the village was poor, should they really be this overjoyed at the chance for their sons to join what seemed like a criminal syndicate?

"What does it matter if the government recognizes it or not?" Zhou Datong, looking rather dense, parroted what he had heard the previous night, "They offer a legitimate way to earn a living!"

"Think about it! Which of the Blood Food Gang’s mates in the city doesn’t return to the village in style, full of prestige?"

Hearing this, Hu Ma gradually began to understand the role of these Blood Food Gangs in this world and said no more.

So, it’s more like going to the city for work, not joining the mafia...

He took a deep breath and, with Zhou Datong by his side, walked towards what he hoped would be his path to becoming a Shousui man.