Cloudwater Wharf

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

For 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 in his heart, as if something were about to happen.

Meanwhile, over at Cloudwater Wharf.

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

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

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

The called-out 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 rang out as they dropped into Li Er's hand—roughly twenty coins at a glance.

"Thank you, thank you, Overseer."

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

Liu Shi, who was Uncle Liu, immediately stepped forward with a grin.

With Zhou Man helping him these past few days, he, who could previously carry forty sacks at most, could now manage 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, powerfully built man squeezed out from the crowd, drawing cries of surprise from everyone.

"It's Huang Jia!"

"I heard he practiced martial arts before."

"He looks tough as nails and not someone to provoke. Let's keep our distance."

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

Seeing this, the smugness on Huang Jia's face only grew stronger.

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

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

"Move."

The dull voice exploded beside Liu Shi's ear. Before Liu Shi could react, a strong, muscular hand had already shoved him aside.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Just as Liu Shi was about to fall, Zhou Man was quick-eyed and swift-handed, catching and steadying him. Thus, what could have been a disaster passed without incident.

After helping Liu Shi stand firm, Zhou Man stared Huang Jia down.

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

Zhou Man flared up at once and angrily rebuked him.

Huang Jia immediately laughed upon hearing that.

He sneered, "Whose brat is this? Your feathers haven't even grown in, and you dare lecture me? I'm overbearing and unreasonable? Clearly, it was your uncle who blocked the path and refused 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 reaching out from the side stopped him.

Turning around, he saw that it was Uncle Liu.

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

But Uncle Liu was an elder and had also brought him along to make a living. Zhou Man respected him greatly, so he immediately held back to see what Uncle Liu would say.

"Xiao Man, forget it. I wasn't hurt anyway. Better one less trouble than one more. Let it go, let it go."

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

Uncle Liu turned and assumed an apologetic posture toward Huang Jia. "Brother, I'm sorry. This little brother failed to watch where he was going and blocked your path."

With that, he pulled Zhou Man toward the back.

Huang Jia did not make things difficult for them further, though the smug expression on his face became even harder to contain.

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

Why had they not fought? He had deliberately slowed down the roll call just to watch the show.

With that minor interlude over, name after name was 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!"

"Was that carried by a Martial Artist or something?"

"Let me see what kind of extraordinary person this is."

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

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

For,

all of these laborers had identification numbers, and exactly how many sacks each person carried was clearly recorded in the ledger.

If anyone dared falsify it, all that could be said was: you knew the Wild Wolf Gang's methods.

Zhou Man stepped out from behind the crowd and came before the overseer to collect his wages.

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

Then he lowered his eyelids and placed the money into Zhou Man's hand.

Zhou Man could feel that the money had considerable weight to it.

"Thank you, Overseer."

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

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

The smile on his face instantly vanished, and his pupils widened.

"So it's this kid."

A wave of lingering fear rose in Huang Jia's heart. Fortunately, he had not fought Zhou Man back then.

Still, if they really had fought, who would win and who would lose remained uncertain. Huang Jia could only console himself with that thought.

Zhou Man was the last to receive his wages. Normally, he could leave after collecting them, but sometimes the overseer would issue instructions after the payments were distributed.

So the laborers waited where they were. Seeing the overseer continuously flipping through the ledger in his hands without making any further move, the laborers were just about to disperse when—

a voice rang out.

"Wait!"

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

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

The newcomer muttered something to the overseer, while the overseer flipped through his ledger and responded. At the same time, his gaze kept sweeping 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.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shi looked toward the overseer. His brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

Then he smiled. "Xiao Man, judging from what happened before, if I'm not mistaken, they should be picking workers from among us!"

"Picking workers?"

"That's right. Picking workers means choosing several strong and sturdy hands to do heavy or urgent jobs. Generally speaking, the pay is very good."

Without waiting for Zhou Man to react, Liu Shi teased again, "Xiao Man, going by how you performed earlier, you'll most likely be picked. When that happens, don't forget your Uncle Liu."

"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 over by the overseer also came to an end.

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

The Wild Wolf Gang disciple beside him stood with his hands behind his back. At the right moment, he stepped forward and nodded to the laborers.

The moment they heard this, the crowd of laborers erupted.

"Damn, it really is picking workers."

"Please let them pick me. Bringing home a few more copper coins would be a good thing."

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

"And Zhou Man!"