He Had to Give Him a Few Bows at Least

After leaving the cabinet, Xue Ming her suitcase, first rushed back to Longhua Road and found a convenience store.

--Next to the entrance of Moon Lane, walk along the Hanging Bridge of House of the Rising Sun and you'll find this shop in less than a kilometer.

Its name is simple: Baijia Tonghuo. It is also a temporary stronghold left by the Commercial School in the Nine Realms.

If we were to describe the origins of this shop according to strict requirements, it would take several thousand words. Here, we will only give a brief explanation.

When Xue Ming first completed the Stone Conferment Ceremony, many different schools of thought from the Multiverse would voluntarily wait outside the Path of Radiance, inviting new passengers to join their schools. At that time, what the Underworld needed most were explorers with psychic talents.

In short, these schools of thought are like BOSS-certified companies in the human resources market, recruiting talent for local officials and hiring local businesses. They also provide half training and half job placement. For example, Fiego Sebastié was initially brought to Forty-One District by Tauson from the business school. This kid couldn't afford the tuition and wasn't old enough to be on the bus reciting the directions.

The Hundred Schools of Commerce is a resting place for the brokers from various schools of thought. They don't like staying at the Council of Five Kings because these people are busy soliciting business 24 hours a day, and it's easy for them to turn into an involutionary situation of slipping notes into guest rooms. The waiters in the customer service department also don't like these people, so this place became their place of residence.

"Gunsmith!" A young man with a face full of acne came out to greet the guests. He was wearing a Red Stone People jacket from Hongshiren Baiweifang and spoke with a thick Beijing accent, "What brings you here today?"

As he said this, the younger brother pulled up a stool, telling the gunsmith to take a break. The situation in Forty-One District was still unsettled, the finals of the Moon God Cup were halfway through, and it was a time when the players were returning to their hometowns, and the industry was undergoing a reshuffle with frequent personnel changes. The boss couldn't spare the time for the moment.

The young man asked with a grin, "Please wait a moment, sir. I'll go get you some tea. Would you like some snacks?"

Jiang Xueming immediately said, "No need, I..."

"Hey! Don't be so polite! Sit down here, and in less than twenty minutes," the young man said earnestly, "All the pretty girls from the Council of Five Kings will be lining up here. We'll prepare pens and T-shirts for you, you can sign them and I'll manage the accounts, and we'll split the profits 90/10 afterwards."

"No! No, no, no!" Jiang Xueming quickly interrupted his underling's get-rich-quick dream.

The younger brother didn't act like an outsider at all. He draped the tablecloth over his shoulder and said happily, "Fine, just consider it a joke I made. Let's get back to the matter."

He crouched down and asked in a low voice.

"Customer, what brings you here today?"

Jiang Xueming: "I need to find a laborer; I'm going on a long trip."

Young man. "Do you think I'm suitable?"

Jiang Xueming: "I need someone strong, with a mental attribute of B or higher, and some resistance to spiritual pressure. I'm going to Fang Feng. Oh, and most importantly, they need to be able to drive a big vehicle."

"Okay, please wait a moment." The young man hurried into the store, making his way through the crowded alley. Soon, the clever young man climbed onto the wooden beam of the attic, as nimble as a monkey, and climbed into the office next to the attic.

A moment later, a strong young man emerged from the side door of the currency exchange's kitchen. He had a beard and a unkempt hairstyle, and wore glasses. He also had a very loud voice.

"Gunsmith boss! Is it right to ask someone for a favor?"

Jiang Xueming nodded, immediately stood up and went to the door, took out a train ticket from her waist bag, and handed it to the young man.

"Please check your identification information and fill in your name and ID card number. This will make it easier to check your ticket later."

The young man smiled and took the ticket, "Great!"

Next, they had to go back to the club to pick up the car. Xue Ming didn't ask anything or say anything; he just led the way.

The young man behind them, with his curly hair and scruffy beard, seemed quite outgoing.

"Boss, you can just call me Afeng. I'm from Zhongshan."

Jiang Xueming: "Hmm."

Afeng: "I learned to be a chef at New Oriental, and later I worked as a food delivery driver. I wasn't afraid of wind or sun; I'm very strong."

Jiang Xueming handed a suitcase containing "epidemic bones" to Afeng.

"Try it."

When Afeng received the briefcase, his expression visibly soured, but after about ten seconds, he returned to normal and immediately said, "It's alright."

Jiang Xueming praised, "Amazing!"

"Hehe!" Afeng was easily flattered; all his emotions were written on his face.

Upon arriving at the nameless bar, Afeng Feng and Xue Ming started chatting again.

Unlike Meteor, Afeng talks more about things than people.

"When I first came to the station, I heard that the nameless man offered free food and lodging, so I came here to make a living."

Afeng sidled up to Xue Ming and followed him into the workshop. He greeted Fuyanni familiarly, waving and tossing him a Five Leaf God cigarette.

"Damn it! When I saw this sign, I knew I'd been scammed. How could such a high-class place offer free food? Someone must have tricked me into coming here to spend money."

Jiang Xueming walked to the truck, stepped onto the lift, looked up to check the vehicle's condition, and finally confirmed that there were no problems. He then had Billy the Kid lower the suspension to prepare for the truck to leave the warehouse.

"How could that be? Didn't Red Sister entertain you?"

Afeng described it with great seriousness. "Of course there's hospitality! She called someone to serve us, and that's when I realized this place must be very expensive! Just imagine, such a pretty auntie came up to me and said—there's delicious food here, and you can stay overnight for free. Of course I was scared!"

"Hahahaha!" Fuyanni burst into laughter. "This young man is quite interesting."

Jiang Xueming also suppressed a laugh, not knowing what to say. He emptied the dump truck out of the warehouse. When Afeng saw the boxes full of goods, which were all boards, he felt uneasy.

"Boss, do you need my help with the renovations? I'm afraid I don't know how!"

Jiang Xueming: "No, no, it's just some manual labor, nothing too complicated."

Afeng immediately felt confident. "That's easy! I'm not particularly skilled, but I can manage moving things around and such."

"Get in the car." Xue Ming pushed open the passenger door.

Afeng immediately climbed up, but then retreated halfway up.

Xue Ming asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Are you carsick?"

Afeng ran to the front desk, asked Red Sister for a hair tie, tied up his dirty hair to avoid soiling the passenger seat, hugged the two suitcases to his arms, and finally jumped into the passenger seat.

Jiang Xueming thought to herself, "This young worker is quite polite, but his manner is a bit strange."

--Ah Afeng did tie his hair up tightly, but the sweat stains on his vest and the kitchen grease on his trousers were still there; they were still in the car.

However, the gunsmith didn't care much about these trivial matters. After giving his two apprentices a few simple instructions, he stepped on the gas and drove towards the House of the Rising Sun where Lady Fenxing was located. He followed the mountain road into the maintenance tunnel, where freight cars could be loaded onto trains.

The lights in the tunnel flickered. After passing two security checkpoints and a comprehensive checkpoint for goods and personnel identification, Xue Ming and Afeng showed their ID cards and saw the soldier stationed at the hazardous materials handling center standing at attention, holding his rifle in one hand and saluting the gunsmith.

"Salute to the war heroes! The nameless heroes! --"

A resounding command rang out, and several sentries on shifts ran out from the second floor of the dormitory. They weren't even properly dressed yet, but they wanted to take a look at the gunsmith.

Jiang Xueming: "Don't be like that, bro. I'm just delivering a package."

The soldier on duty had a serious expression, did not answer, and gave the order to proceed.

"Boss, you'll have to get used to it." Afeng seemed unfazed. "I know the soldiers here well; I often do long-distance escort missions."

Guided by the service electric tricycle, the freight truck arrived at the D3 storage warehouse and was to follow the tricycle through the diversion point to enter the train connection ramp.

Jiang Xueming replied while driving, "You're a knight?"

In the underground world, transportation capacity is extremely precious. The transport of bulk goods relies entirely on trains. If the supplies are important, soldiers will escort them. If they are not so important, security personnel will also take on this part-time job, just like the bodyguards in ancient times.

Without the harassment of the Madness Butterfly, the railway lines didn't require a large number of soldiers to protect the supplies. As a result, these laborers could become the guardian knights of the freight cars at a relatively low price.

"Yes, that's right," Afeng said with a chuckle. "You wiped out all the bandits. People like me, and even Xiao Dong who slept in the bunk above me, my dad can now drive long-distance trucks—do you really not know what you've done?"

Jiang Xueming shook his head. He had never been very self-aware and wasn't quite clear about his own position.

"A couple of years ago, traveling from the Nine Realms to the Mimir Hot Spring Market required paying a toll," Afeng explained earnestly. "You needed someone you knew to guide you, otherwise they wouldn't recognize your pass. If you wanted to go further, you had to pay for the goods, and they'd deduct 20% from each transaction as insurance. That's called a local tax. To put it bluntly, it's like militia robbery! It's not like the governor is collecting this tax—the soldiers are just like bandits."

Jiang Xueming's KDA radar went off. "Is this even possible?"

"Yes, of course! Otherwise, why would shrimp from District 19 be so expensive in Nine Realms? And what about fresh produce like pothos and fruit from the districts starting with 4? Three years ago, it cost three figures per kilogram! And on the way back to Hong Kong, how many wolves and tigers blocked our path!" Afeng Feng grumbled angrily. "Money is so easy to make! Just set up a gun by the railway, bring a few welding machines, a spray gun, and some oxygen tanks. Damage the railway and force the trains to stop, and you'll have money in no time!"

At this point, Afeng immediately took out his cigarette case.

"--Now it's different, boss."

Jiang Xueming stared at Wuyeshen for a long time before finally taking the cigarette.

"These annoying little monsters don't dare to come out anymore, because you've killed all the big devils!" Afeng, cigarette dangling from his lips, gestured wildly, pointing at the landscape. "There's the Red Star Hill Battle Hero Medal, the Eureka Recapture Hero Medal, the Gulanburg Siege Hero Medal, the Anti-Drug Vanguard Medal, the Emerald Roland Medal from the Greenstone People, the Osin Hunter King Medal, the Lu Ban Medal, and the thirty-two First-Class Merit Medals from the Expedition—I have to say, none of that matters."

Afeng lit a cigarette and rolled down the car window.

"--There should be a medal named after gunsmiths. In the future, when soldiers make meritorious contributions, they can be awarded using their code names, just like the Bell."

He patted the gunsmith on the shoulder and handed him a lighter.

Jiang Xueming immediately lit a cigarette for himself, not wanting to trouble the lively young man.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Afeng's sitting posture also became sprawled out, revealing his true colors—a moment of charm for a Guangdong man.

"Hey! I think you have absolutely no idea! Gunsmith, how many people throughout history have been able to achieve this? If I were just loafing around in my defense post, I wouldn't even salute you, I'd be kowtowing to you on the spot. Otherwise, if the Madness Butterfly Sect returns one day, I'll be sent to the battlefield to get shot—and maybe even eaten by monsters."

"Hahaha," the gunsmith laughed awkwardly, "Yes, I don't really know."

Once the freight car came to a steady stop on the train platform, the gunsmith asked Afeng to get out. Together, they tightened the wheel hubs, covered the roof with synthetic fiber cloth, and firmly secured the car body to the train chassis.

Afeng Feng was quick and efficient, and in just over ten minutes, he and the gunsmith climbed back into the passenger compartment.

After handing over the weighing slip to the crew and verifying the truck's load and cargo type again, there were no other miscellaneous tasks.

Four hours later, they would get off at Fangfeng Station and set off from the fossil forest to Fang Feng.

--During this leisurely journey, Xue Ming returned to her original seat.

This is the place where he first encountered a shooting star, and right now, it's completely impossible to squeeze in.

It wasn't because he had gotten fatter or stronger, but because tour groups had already crowded into this carriage, taking turns to experience the seats for the gunsmith and the General of Tears. Many tourists with children would put their babies in those two seats as a kind of blessing.

Jiang Xueming didn't know what to say. Perhaps this was a kind of superstition. The superstition that the BOSS wanted to break had always been there, and it seemed to be so deeply rooted that it could never be completely eradicated.

He led Afeng to the quiet dining car to make Afeng some tea.

"Brother Feng, how old are you?"

"Hey!" Afeng didn't mind being called "Brother Feng" at all, and replied naturally, "Twenty-two years old."

Jiang Xueming exclaimed, "That's wonderful!"

When Xue Ming was twenty-two, he was preparing to ask the Rose Sect for the Brilliant Stone Ring, a journey that could cost him his life at any moment.

The train emitted a sharp whistle as it started moving, and the familiar train whistle sounded. The platform administrator was still busy, running around.

There are countless ordinary people like Afeng, toiling in every city, town, and village in the underground world.

"What's your name? Let's get to know each other formally?" Jiang Xueming suddenly asked Afeng's real name.

"Hehe!" Brother Feng feigned mystery, pushed up his glasses, and replied in crisp Cantonese, "Li Yaofeng!"

"Hahahaha," Jiang Xueming laughed, "Your parents never wanted you to have an easy time either! What do you mean 'you're going crazy'? -- Sigh, never mind. Time for a smoke."

The ashtray was full of coffee grounds, and together with the tea table, it flickered in and out of the light and shadow of the Lava Lake.

Afeng took the steaming teacup and began to talk about his hometown.

"We people from Guang'er love drinking tea and soup! It's good for expelling dampness and nourishing the body! It makes us immune to all poisons! I wonder if it can cure the Vita Imprint!"

"That might be a bit difficult," Jiang Xueming said with a smile. "We'll need to add some medicine."

Afeng continued, "I can also sing! If you're bored, boss, you can add five yuan. My signature song is 'A Man Should Be Self-Reliant.' The thing I'm most satisfied with about myself is my singing voice, and also a little bit of artistic talent."

Jiang Xueming: "Artistic talent."

Afeng: "I feel like the fire in my heart is about to explode at this moment."

Jiang Xueming quickly raised his hand to politely decline, "Never mind, never mind. Brother Feng, let's not be quiet for a while."

Afeng immediately became unhappy.

"Then I'll give you five dollars, and you're in charge of listening."