Zhang He is no fool; he can understand the meaning behind Chen Mo’s words. "Brother Mo, this..." Zhang He wanted to say something, but Chen Mo interrupted him directly, "Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know." Zhang He hardened his heart. Since it’s done, there’s no turning back: "Brother Mo, not even a day has passed yet. You wait here, I’ll be right back." "I didn’t say anything," Chen Mo said coolly. When it was getting dark, Zhang He came again. Chen Mo didn’t pay attention to him and continued practicing his sword by himself. [Sword swing count +1, Demon-breaking Saber Technique experience +1.] Zhang He walked up to Chen Mo, wanting to say something, but the latter spoke first, "As I said, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know." Zhang He’s heart sank, thinking Brother Mo was still not satisfied. But Chen Mo’s next words set him at ease. "Have you eaten?" Chen Mo asked. "Then stay and eat with us." "...Ah? Okay, thank you, Brother Mo, thank you, Brother Mo." Zhang He knew that this meant Brother Mo agreed to let him follow along. Zhang He kept his head down, eating the millet rice, not daring to say a word, and didn’t dare to take the bear meat and bear blood from the bowl. But just the rice alone already felt like a delicacy to him. Chen Mo picked up a piece of bear meat for him, and Zhang He was instantly grateful. However, just as he was about to eat, Chen Mo suddenly spoke, "You can follow me, but there are a few harsh words I must say beforehand." Zhang He quickly put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and listened intently. Han Anniang picked some vegetables into her bowl, then silently took her bowl and left the kitchen, heading back to her room. After Han Anniang left, Chen Mo said, "First, you can’t use my name to cause trouble in the village, especially don’t look for trouble unnecessarily and bring me problems." Chen Mo had seen plenty of such things. When his father first ventured into society, he made many "friends," but these friends didn’t help his father much. Once his father’s career was successful, they used his father’s name to cause trouble everywhere, fighting with people. There was a time in a bar where they even cracked someone’s head open trying to steal someone’s girl, almost landing his father in jail. But by then, the relationship had been long established and deepened, making it difficult for his father to resolve. Chen Mo was also afraid of encountering such things, so he had to tell Zhang He in advance. If he ever found out Zhang He had such tendencies, he would not hold back. Zhang He nodded, "Brother Mo, you can rest assured about that." "Secondly, in the future, you have to listen to me in everything. If I tell you to go east, you can’t go west," Chen Mo said softly, noticing the change in how he was addressed. Zhang He patted his chest and promised, "From now on, my life is yours, Brother Mo, I’ll absolutely follow your commands." Chen Mo nodded but hardly believed Zhang He’s words: "Third, starting tomorrow, train with me." Since he intended to find a little brother, naturally, he couldn’t choose someone who couldn’t fight, so good physical health was a must. Of course, Chen Mo wouldn’t teach Zhang He the Blood Nourishing Technique and the Saber Technique. Just pure physical training. Well, the main purpose of Chen Mo doing this was to have his own eyes and ears in the village, after all, his sister-in-law was just a woman, and it wasn’t suitable for her to act outside. Chen Mo wasn’t worried about betrayal. Zhang He had a family of five, with elderly, a wife, and children. These were Zhang He’s weaknesses. If Zhang He were just a loner, no matter what he did, Chen Mo would never agree to it. "Okay." Zhang He nodded again. "Well, go ahead and eat. Following me, I can’t promise much, but as long as I have food, so will your family." Chen Mo said. Time flew by, and the sky darkened and brightened twice. During this time, Chen Mo took Zhang He into the mountains once through the snow, initially thinking it would be fruitless. Since the heavy snow had long sealed the mountains, and the snow was chest-deep. At this time, the prey were hiding in their dens, not coming out. Finding their dens and catching them was almost impossible. But on the outskirts of the mountains, he saw that gray fox again. This was the third time Chen Mo had seen the gray fox. It seemed the gray fox also recognized him. Possibly due to escaping the first two times, the gray fox was less wary of Chen Mo, the two-legged beast, and upon seeing him and Zhang He, it didn’t run immediately. Instead, it leisurely sniffed here and there in the snow, seemingly searching for prey. He had Zhang He distract the gray fox’s attention and told him not to scare it away. Then he secretly hid behind a tree, laid down the hatchet, and took the dagger from his waist. At this time, his power was 38+30. The power bonus from the dagger was slightly less than the hatchet. Chen Mo gripped the blade end of the dagger, aimed at the gray fox’s position, and then threw it fiercely. With enough power, the speed of the thrown object wouldn’t be slow. The fox, being very sensitive, vaguely sensed it and wanted to dodge, but it was too late. With a howl, the gray fox was pinned right onto the snow by Chen Mo, and after a few cries, it became silent. "Brother Mo, impressive, such accuracy," Zhang He ran over, picked up the gray fox, and brought it to Chen Mo. Pulling out the dagger from the corpse, Chen Mo recalled that he played darts before crossing over, and played well. Although it wasn’t a dart, the technique used with darts could be used for throwing sabers, and the result was satisfactory. Wiping the blood off the dagger in the snow, Chen Mo put it away and said, "Before spring, it’s unrealistic to go hunting in the mountains again. After returning to the village, take the gray fox to Butcher Song’s house, have him skin it, and bring the fur to me. You and the Song family can split the meat, then go to Dadong Lake and find out how they collect the fishing tax." "Got it, Brother Mo." Zhang He’s efficiency in getting things done was good. Early the next morning, not only did he bring the skinned fox fur, but he also found out about Dadong Lake. Follow current novels on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵 Chen Mo nodded silently. Assigning this task to Zhang He was also a way to test him. Firstly, to test his greed. Secondly, to test his ability to handle matters. Of course, Chen Mo wasn’t afraid of any tricks being played. He had kept an eye on the fox’s pelt the entire time. According to what Zhang He found out. Chen Mo first learned that the entire surface of Dadong Lake was frozen, making it more difficult to fish than before. However, the tax hadn’t decreased, but instead, increased. If you want to fish at Dadong Lake, you have to pay ten cents first. There’s also a time limit of three hours; once the time is up, regardless of whether you’ve caught any fish, you must either leave or pay another ten cents. Additionally, catches under fifty kilograms are not subject to additional tax. Exceeding fifty kilograms, for every ten jins over, one cent is charged. But this isn’t the most crucial part; the most crucial part is that after you pay those taxes, you still can’t take the fish you catch away immediately. You can only sell them to the Qinghe Gang. If you want to take them away, the Qinghe Gang will charge the tax again based on your catch, one cent for every ten jins.