Cloudwater Wharf

Upon learning that Zhou Man might be at Cloudwater Wharf, Wu Yi rushed to the wharf without stopping.

Because,

In his memory, Cloudwater Wharf was Wild Wolf Gang territory.

Though he did not know whether the Wild Wolf Gang would make a move against Zhou Man, Wu Yi still felt a vague unease, as if something were about to happen.

Meanwhile, at Cloudwater Wharf.

Zhou Man finally finished carrying the last sack and followed Uncle Liu to settle their wages with the overseer.

"Li Er, thirty-two sacks, thirty copper coins."

The overseer called out the amount as he recorded it in a small ledger.

Li Er immediately stepped out from the crowd and bobbed and bowed before the overseer.

The overseer merely glanced at him and said nothing.

Only the clatter of copper coins sounded as they fell into Li Er's hand. There appeared to be roughly twenty coins.

"Thank you, thank you, Overseer."

"Liu Shi, forty-five sacks, forty-two copper coins."

Liu Shi, Uncle Liu, immediately stepped forward with a cheerful grin.

With Zhou Man helping him these past few days, he had gone from being able to carry at most forty sacks to forty-five. That meant quite a bit more money.

"Huang Jia, forty-eight sacks, forty-five copper coins."

Before the words had even faded, a towering, burly man shoved his way out from the crowd, drawing cries of surprise.

"It's Huang Jia!"

"I heard he practiced martial arts before."

"He looks strong and hard to mess with. Let's stay away from him."

The laborers gathered around the overseer immediately made way for him.

Seeing this, Huang Jia's expression became even more smug.

Huang Jia was the next person to collect his wages after Liu Shi, and the two happened to be walking down the same path.

Liu Shi did not notice Huang Jia coming toward him. He was still happily clutching his copper coins.

"Move."

A dull voice exploded beside Liu Shi's ear. Before Liu Shi could react, a powerful hand had shoved him aside.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Liu Shi was about to fall, but Zhou Man reacted quickly and caught him, preventing any mishap.

After steadying Liu Shi, Zhou Man stared Huang Jia down.

"We're both laborers. How can you be so unreasonable and overbearing?"

Zhou Man flared up at once and angrily rebuked him.

Huang Jia immediately laughed when he heard that.

He said with a grin, "Whose brat is this? You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you dare lecture me? I'm unreasonable and overbearing? Clearly, your uncle was blocking the path and refusing to move."

"I only gave him a casual shove. Who told your uncle not to stand properly?"

"You...!"

Zhou Man was about to step forward and argue with him when a hand reached out from the side and stopped him.

When he turned around, he saw that it was Uncle Liu.

Zhou Man was a Martial Disciple. How could Uncle Liu possibly stop him so easily?

However, Uncle Liu was an elder and had brought him along to earn a living. Zhou Man respected him deeply, so he immediately held back to see what Uncle Liu would say.

"Xiao Man, forget it. I wasn't hurt anyway. Better to avoid trouble than invite it. Let it go, let it go."

Uncle Liu earnestly tried to persuade Zhou Man. Seeing Liu Shi insist, Zhou Man said no more.

Uncle Liu turned to Huang Jia with an apologetic look. "Brother, I'm sorry. I was careless just now and blocked your way."

After saying that, he pulled Zhou Man toward the back.

Huang Jia did not make things difficult for them any further, though the smugness on his face became harder to conceal.

Seeing the matter end so quietly, the overseer secretly thought it was a pity.

Why had they not started fighting? He had deliberately slowed down the announcements just to watch the show.

After that small incident, names continued to be called, and soon it was Zhou Man's turn.

"Zhou Man, sixty-six sacks, sixty-one copper coins."

Hearing that someone had carried over sixty sacks, several gossip-loving laborers cried out in surprise.

"Good heavens, over sixty sacks!"

"Could that have been carried by a Martial Artist?"

"Let me see just who this remarkable person is."

Huang Jia was among the crowd as well. He had only wanted to watch for amusement, but he had not expected there to be an expert here.

As for falsifying the numbers? No one would think that.

Because,

All the laborers had identification numbers, and every sack each person carried was clearly recorded in the ledger.

If anyone dared falsify the records, they could only say that they clearly did not understand the Wild Wolf Gang's methods.

Zhou Man emerged from behind the crowd and walked up to the overseer to collect his pay.

The overseer glanced at Zhou Man and said flatly, "Not bad."

He then lowered his eyelids and placed the money into Zhou Man's hand.

Zhou Man could feel that there was quite a lot of money.

"Thank you, Overseer."

Among the crowd, Huang Jia also wanted to see what sort of person could carry over sixty sacks.

Only when Zhou Man turned around did Huang Jia see his face clearly.

The smile on his face vanished at once, and his pupils widened.

"So it's this brat."

Huang Jia felt a wave of lingering fear. Fortunately, he had not fought Zhou Man earlier.

Still, if they had truly fought, it was hard to say who would have won or lost. Huang Jia could only comfort himself with that thought.

Zhou Man was the last to collect his pay. Normally, they could leave once they had received their wages, but sometimes the overseer gave instructions afterward.

Thus, the laborers remained where they were. Seeing the overseer repeatedly flipping through the ledger in his hand without taking any further action, the laborers were about to disperse when—

A voice rang out.

"Wait!"

A man dressed in Wild Wolf Gang clothing came running over at high speed, heading straight for the overseer.

Though curious, the laborers also feared that some good opportunity might pass them by, so they stayed.

The newcomer muttered something to the overseer. As the overseer flipped through the ledger, he responded while repeatedly sweeping his gaze over the laborers.

Zhou Man noticed that the overseer had looked in his direction several times.

"Uncle Liu, what do you think they're doing?"

Zhou Man did not understand, but he knew to ask the experienced Liu Shi beside him.

Hearing this, Liu Shi looked toward the overseer. His brow furrowed slightly before relaxing again.

Then he smiled. "Xiao Man, judging by past experience, if I'm not mistaken, they should be picking workers from among us."

"Picking workers?"

"That's right. Picking workers means choosing a few strong, capable men to do heavy or urgent work. Generally speaking, the pay is very good."

Before Zhou Man could react, Liu Shi teased him again. "Xiao Man, with how you performed earlier, they'll most likely pick you. Don't forget your Uncle Liu when the time comes."

"Uncle Liu, stop teasing me."

"Hahaha."

Zhou Man was still young and thin-skinned, so he did not dare joke around with Uncle Liu.

Just then, the conversation by the overseer came to an end.

The overseer cleared his throat and shouted, "Those whose names I call, step forward. In a moment, follow the man beside me."

The Wild Wolf Gang disciple beside him stood with his hands behind his back. He stepped forward at the right moment and nodded at the laborers.

At those words, the laborers immediately erupted into commotion.

"Damn, they really are picking workers."

"Please pick me. Taking home a few more copper coins would be a good thing."

"Zhang Si, Li Wu, Wang Qi, ... Liu Shi, ... Huang Jia..."

"And Zhou Man!"