Racing Against Time

When going to Deyang Town, it was downstream, taking nearly eight hours. On the way back, going upstream was much slower, taking a full ten hours to almost get back to the village.

The return trip was smooth and uneventful, but Bai Yang had been pondering one question the whole time—a very serious question!

Actually, he spent most of the time sleeping...

"I get it!"

By the time the sun was setting over there, the guy woke up refreshed, stood up, slapped his forehead, and blurted out noisily.

He suddenly blurted out such a remark, leaving the villagers a bit confused.

"What does the young master understand?"

Little Cat asked curiously at Bai Yang's side.

A circle of eyes also turned to look at him in unison.

"I knew it! The reason you all can't get into Deyang Town is because you're all black households. Without household registration or an ID, how could you possibly get in?"

He put on an expression of sudden realization, as if the problem had finally dawned on him.

So you spent all that time thinking (sleeping) just to figure that out? Shouldn't you be worrying about how those people will retaliate later? The villagers looked at him speechlessly...

The atmosphere instantly became a bit awkward.

"Uh, young master, what are black households, household registration, and IDs?"

Little Cat asked in confusion.

"That's a long story, so I won't go into it. Anyway, they're very important. Without household registration, you can't enter the city openly, and you can't receive an education, understand?"

Don't understand. Everyone shook their heads.

Bai Yang scratched his head and looked at the villagers, indicating this was a serious problem concerning their future. Could you at least react...!

But the villagers couldn't care less. Once they knew Bai Yang didn't have anything important to say, they went back to their own business, some bragging, some bored...

Rolling his eyes hard, Bai Yang felt he couldn't communicate with them. What the hell did these villagers know? No wonder the people in Deyang Town cheated them like they were grandsons and no one cared. If you don't even have household registration, you want fair treatment? The law doesn't even recognize you, so what are you even playing at...

Without a legal identity, even if you're slaughtered, you have nowhere to seek justice!

Bai Yang didn't believe there weren't bored righteous people in this world, but the problem was, without a real identity, they couldn't stand up for you either...

What others didn't care about, Bai Yang did. He thought the best way to fundamentally stop the villagers from being cheated like grandsons was to get them legal identities protected by law. That way, at least others would hold back and not push things to such an outrageous state!

So the question was, how to solve the legal identity problem?

Actually, there were plenty of ways. The simplest was to make people see their value, thus valuing them. Then the identity issue would be simple.

How to make others value them? First, they needed to get the attention of the 'relevant departments.' To get their attention, they had to stir up something sensational.

Though he didn't know if there were any 'relevant departments' around here...

"Like crushing that Che family, for example. That should be enough to cause a stir and get noticed, right?"

The guy schemed inwardly, stroking his chin and muttering to himself.

Alright, alright, Bai Yang admitted he wouldn't actually be so bored as to worry about these mountain folk's legal identities. The main thing was himself!

Think about it—without a legal identity himself, he couldn't go anywhere. How would he get familiar with this world? Trying to get an identity on his own probably wasn't realistic, since he had 'no connections up top' here.

So getting identity papers together with the countless mountain folk in Mihe Forest was simple. Everyone was a black household, so adding one more Lao Tzu wouldn't matter, right?

"Decision made. Crush the Che family, stir things up, cause a stir, get the villagers noticed, and then I'll sneak in and solve the household registration problem...! Of course, it might also blow up and get the mountain folk killed. I need to handle that balance. Also, these damn mountain folk have zero interest in legal identities. That's easy too—once I explain the stakes, these 'simple' villagers will definitely pull out knives to fight for their own interests!"

Bai Yang didn't think this was unnecessary. When you thought about it deeply, it was terrifying. This world had government offices, so there should be various laws, right? With a legal identity, you could wave the banner of the law. At least within legal bounds, when I take money to find someone to do business, I won't be turned away at the door, and I won't even qualify to be treated like a pig for slaughter...!

Otherwise, 'you don't even exist in this damn world,' and getting killed would be your own fault...

The villagers were muddle-headed, but Bai Yang wasn't a fool. This issue was important!

He pulled a small notebook and a pen from his trench coat pocket and asked Zhao Shi:

"Zhao Shi, tell me, what do you mountain folk usually trade your goods for in Deyang Town? Tell me everything."

Though he didn't know what Bai Yang was planning, Zhao Shi still answered truthfully: "Young master, the main things we trade for are salt—that's the most important—followed by hemostatic medicine, then fire starters, then needles and thread, some daily necessities, and finally, the most important, various weapons: bows, arrows, swords, knives..."

As Zhao Shi spoke, Bai Yang wrote in his notebook:

"Salt, Yunnan Baiyao, lighters, needles and thread, pots and pans... Xiong Da?..."

Closing the notebook, the guy snapped his fingers without a sound and said, "Got it."

"What did you just draw, young master?"

Zhao Shi asked curiously.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, so I won't explain."

He tossed that out casually, then pondered for a moment. Looking at Zhao Shi, he said, "After we get back to the village, don't do anything else. Go to every village in Mihe Forest and tell them—their smoked meat, furs, herbs, fruit wine, and all that—I'm buying it all. I'll trade them things. Have them all bring it to your Gedo (what kind of pronunciation is that?) Village!"

"Young master, the mountain folk have the same stuff our village has. What do you need it for? And what are you going to trade them with?"

Little Cat, who always had Bai Yang's interests at heart, asked while subtly trying to dissuade him from doing this.

"The goods to trade with those villages will come. As for the stuff in their hands, I have a big use for it. The biggest use is to piss off certain people... heh heh..."

He put on an expression of 'you wouldn't understand, just listen to me and you won't go wrong.'

"Well... all right then..."

Zhao Shi had no choice but to nod, half understanding and half not.

"Remember, when you go to those villages, bring some of that salt I gave you. And you must wear this set of armor. Tell them the salt they can get from us is that pure white kind, and the blades and armor are exactly what you're wearing. I might not be able to provide bows for now, but I can give everyone arrowheads—as many as they need!"

Bai Yang warned with a serious expression.

Though he didn't quite get it, it sounded reasonable enough, so Zhao Shi scratched his head and agreed.

Bai Yang had no other choice either. Bows and arrows were a bit hard to come by for an ordinary person back on Earth, and their power might not even match the strong bows here. Even if he managed to scrounge some up through sheer effort, it would only be a tiny amount—unless he had some "overseas connections." In that case, not just bows and arrows, but even guns and cannons could probably be obtained!

"Can't get them? Then I'll just throw money at people until they deliver them to my hands!"

He thought fiercely to himself. The village was already in sight, and he sighed inwardly—he was just born to be busy...

Looking at Bai Yang, Zhao Shi suddenly seemed to have a flash of insight. With a hint of emotion, he said, "Young master, are you worried someone might come to retaliate?"

"Huh? When did you get smart?"

Bai Yang was especially surprised.

Zhao Shi refused to answer that question and smiled instead. "Actually, young master need not worry at all. Mihe Forest is deep, dense, and treacherous, filled with countless venomous insects and fierce beasts. Deadly places are everywhere. For anyone unfamiliar with the terrain, even surviving in there is extremely difficult, let alone finding us. So your concern is completely unnecessary."

"Prevention is better than cure. Young master isn't just worried about everyone's safety... Ah, forget it, I've said it and you still wouldn't get it. Just do as I say. Why so many questions? Are you the young master, or am I?"

He said irritably.

Truly, habit was a terrifying thing. It hadn't been that long, and he was already acting like some damn young master...

Zhao Shi and the others thought too simply. Sure, finding Geduo Village in Mihe Forest was like searching for a needle in a haystack. But was the enemy stupid? They didn't need to search slowly—they just needed to find any village, and by threatening their lives or offering a bit of profit, they could get the locals to lead them straight here.

So, in Bai Yang's view, from the moment they went against that Che family, they had been teetering on the edge of danger every second. They had to seize every moment to strengthen their own side!

Back at the village, time was tight. No time to explain. Under the villagers' knowing looks, he grabbed Little Cat and hurriedly ran toward the treehouse!

Little Cat's face turned red. She thought Bai Yang couldn't wait to do something embarrassing with her.

"Little Cat, guard the door for me. I'm going inside to sleep. Remember, no matter who comes looking for me, stop them. I'll talk to them after I wake up, got it?"

Back at his treehouse, Bai Yang grabbed Little Cat by the shoulders and said. Then, under her bewildered gaze, he gave her a firm kiss on the lips and rushed into the bedroom, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Staring at the closed door, Little Cat looked completely confused. She didn't understand—if the young master wanted to sleep, she could sleep with him...

Ah, so embarrassing...

Back in the bedroom, Bai Yang grabbed a dozen or so cloth bundles from a shelf, then snatched up a jar of Hundred Fruit Brew and vanished from this world with a whoosh...

(Scratching my head, scratching my head—begging for recommendation tickets and collections for support!)