The Charcoal Seller sold a cartload of charcoal and earned a full hundred strings of cash.
An ordinary household would need at least three months to earn a single string without spending anything on food or drink. Earning a hundred strings would probably take thirty-four years.
Such an enormous sum left the Charcoal Seller uneasy.
Whenever he walked down the road these days, he had to wear a bamboo hat to hide his face and tread cautiously.
He had been living a perfectly decent life, yet now he lived like a rebel, terrified that someone would mark him as a target and throw a sack over his head.
Quite a few people shared the Charcoal Seller's feelings. Once the initial delight of obtaining a great deal of money had passed, all that remained was worry.
As the saying went, it was not a thief stealing that you feared, but a thief thinking of stealing from you. The common folk carrying vast sums lived in constant anxiety.
Even Chaoge City had lost its former vitality.
"Auntie, aren't you selling vegetables these days?"
The Charcoal Seller lowered his voice, looking just like a secret agent from a later age meeting a contact. What kind of life was this?
He only wanted to buy some heartless vegetables to eat at home. Did he really have to hide even that from prying eyes?
The Old Woman also lowered her voice. "I've been burning charcoal these past few days. You earned a hundred strings in one go, old man. Everyone envies you!"
The Charcoal Seller shook his head. "What's there to envy? I spend all day scared out of my wits, afraid I won't live to see tomorrow's sun."
The Old Woman drew him aside and whispered, "The Snake Catcher, the Rat Catcher, and the