Although the docks of Liuzhou City were deserted, the city itself was quite lively. There were many merchants who had just made a fortune and were strolling around Liuzhou to collect goods, as well as many young people who had heard about Liuzhou from the countryside and came to Liuzhou City to find work.
It's April now, the time for spring plowing, but as long as a family has enough labor, any surplus able-bodied men will go to the city to find work. After all, the dockworkers make huge profits and don't care about the hard labor fees. They often hire temporary workers to save time, and they are quite generous with their pay. If young people are lucky, they can earn enough in one or two months to equal a year's harvest from their own fields.
Especially now, with a shortage of manpower at the docks and tax exemption in Liuzhou, most merchants are unloading their goods here. They have time to leave quickly and are willing to pay high prices. I heard that many bold young men who came early have earned several times their usual amount of money in the past few days. As soon as the news spread, more and more young men from the countryside flocked to the city.
What I didn't expect was that after only a few days, I would be out of work.
This led to a group of young people wandering around the street in small groups, cursing and swearing, looking like they had been scammed.
" Brother Li, have you gotten any work yet?"
Near the government office, a dozen or so young men sat idly in Ma Erniang's restaurant. They were all from the same village as Ma Erniang Ma Erniang and had come to the city one after another after receiving news of her. Those who arrived early had earned several days' wages, but those who arrived late, like Zhao Tiezhu who was asking the questions, had only worked for one day. Although they had earned some money, they were afraid that if they went back like this, they would be scolded to death by their wives.
"Where's the work?" The burly man called Brother Li sighed and shook his head. He found a place to sit down, took a sip of the boiled water Zhao Tiezhu handed him, and then panted, "You've seen the situation at the docks these days, not a soul in sight. Without boats, where's the work? It's really strange. A few days ago, the docks were overflowing with boats, how come they've all suddenly disappeared?"
The others nodded in agreement. Many had abandoned their fields to come and make a quick buck because their own land was meager, but now they'd run out of work after only a few days. This was a real problem; they'd missed spring planting and hadn't earned any wages. How were they going to survive this year?
For a moment, the group of people looked worried and gloomy. Even Ma Erniang, who was far away, dared not approach, for fear of being blamed and gossiped about by her fellow villagers.
After all, she was the one who instigated most of them.
Just as the atmosphere was tense, a sudden burst of gongs and drums at the entrance of the government office drew everyone's attention.
"The imperial court is recruiting soldiers! The imperial court is recruiting soldiers!"
The one leading the shouting was none other than Gu Bei, whom many young men in the city recognized. The people who gathered around immediately looked indignant. After all, many of them had been tricked by Gu Bei and his gang. They never expected that this guy would become a government official in the blink of an eye. Some people immediately realized that they might have been scammed.
"Recruiting soldiers? Could it be recruiting for the navy?" Zhao Tiezhu and the others in the restaurant were taken aback, but immediately became interested. They were currently out of work, so if they could join the army...
"Sir, are you recruiting a naval force?" some knowledgeable people asked.
The Jiangnan Navy was highly sought after, with few battles and lucrative rewards. However, joining was extremely difficult, as the saying goes, "Good men don't become soldiers," yet these soldiers were not considered part of the social hierarchy.
"Recruit soldiers from the local government!" Gu Bei said with a smile.
Fubing?
Upon hearing this, the group immediately shook their heads and lost interest. The soldiers of the garrison were not like the navy; they did all the dirty and hard work, and were also responsible for suppressing bandits on rural trade routes. It was a risky and dead-end job. Unless they were starving, who would take on such a job?
Although the navy also suppressed river bandits, the Jiangnan Navy was powerful, and very few river bandits dared to cause trouble. However, the mountain bandits in the complex countryside were extremely fierce.
Just as they were shaking their heads, ready to disperse, Gu Bei banged on a gong and shouted, "Come and see! The government is recruiting soldiers! Ten taels a month's pay, three meals a day, meat at every meal!"
Upon hearing this, the young men who were about to disperse suddenly felt their feet planted firmly on the ground and could no longer move. They turned around and looked at Gu Bei with excited expressions, like panting bulls!
"Boss Gu, you must be joking!" some of the more rational young men couldn't help but say.
"This is an official proclamation at the government gate; how can you joke about it?" Gu Bei glared at the other person and said, "Look carefully, this is a proclamation bearing the official seal, stamped by the prefect!"
"Is it real?" A group of people excitedly gathered around, staring intently at the so-called notice, but most of them couldn't read and could only watch anxiously!
"Don't worry, folks. If I, Gu Bei, could lie, would the government's official announcement lie? We'll recruit as many as you can. Those who want to sign up, hurry up!"
"Me! Me! Me!" A group of people immediately swarmed around like madmen.
Ten taels of silver for a salary, that's at least a hundred taels a year! That's more than enough to send a child to school in the city. Only a fool wouldn't take this job!
"Hey, hey, don't push! Everyone line up properly. We're hiring a lot of people this time, so there's enough for everyone. Don't push!"
"By the way, let me make this clear beforehand: these garrison soldiers are going into the countryside to suppress bandits—it's a job where their lives are at stake!"
"Damn it, it's just bandit suppression, right? Give me enough money, and my life is no match for the prefect!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" A group of people immediately responded, their faces flushed, just as Wei Gongcheng had said: recruiting soldiers would bring great profits!
Inside the government office, Zhou Haitao, watching the lively scene, wore a wry smile. He had just brought his fathers back from Whitewater County when he heard Wei Gongcheng announce the recruitment of soldiers. When he saw the benefits, he almost jumped out of his skin. Everyone was being treated like Chengtou Maozi and his ilk. Where would they get the money to recruit thousands of people?
" Old Wei, do you think the magistrate has gone mad?" Zhou Haitao looked at the young men who had signed the papers, his face twitching with heartache. They even got meat at every meal, while he, a respectable official, had to go to Ma Erniang's place for help every time he wanted to eat meat. After all these years of studying, he was still inferior to these country bumpkins. What was the point of this?
"I think so too." Wei Gongcheng smiled wryly. This treatment, supporting a thousand people, would cost over ten thousand taels of silver a year. It's practically throwing money away! And judging from Chen Qing's tone earlier, it seemed like he was recruiting more than a thousand people, as many as he could!
"By the way, where's the Laoda man?" The fat man frowned. "I'm not responsible if he can't pay up."
Wei Gongcheng frowned slightly, looked up at the sky, and felt somewhat uneasy about Chen Qing's whereabouts.
Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Gu Bei's organization not to let anyone leave the city at night, but now it's already dusk, and he's still outside the city.
So, what exactly might be out at night? And why was it such an important warning not to leave the city?
"It's dusk again."
On the Shen Family's boat, Shen Yiyun gazed at the sky and muttered to himself, while Chen Ying, pale-faced, was held captive by Murong Yunji, staring intently at the pair of eyes in the cabin that yearned for her so much.
In the dark cabin, those eyes had a hint of crimson, like those of a hungry wild beast!
Upon hearing that the Laojiu of the Shen Family wanted her, her first thought was to run away, but how could she outrun Murong Yunji, who was known as the Wind King?
He was captured almost without any suspense.
"Sister-in-law, give me the person right now!"
Inside the cabin, Laojiu's voice urged impatiently!
The eldest sister-in-law looked into the cabin with a smile, "It seems that Laojiu misses his wife. Look at the look in his eyes. If that woman went in, he'd probably tear her apart alive!"
Shen Yiyun looked at Laojiu in the cabin with a very complicated expression. He agreed with his sister-in-law's words. At this moment, Laojiu really wanted to devour this little Nüwa alive, literally.
" Laojiu," Shen Yiyun said in a deep voice, "What do you want this woman for?"
"I want her, I want her!" Laojiu's sharp claws gripped the template, making a chilling scraping sound, his voice urgent and impatient.
Chen Ying bit her lip hard, suddenly filled with regret for her risky decision. She had just obtained such a great opportunity; was she really going to die here in such a humiliating way?
In that critical moment, he didn't think of his master, but rather of that seemingly calm and frail scholar.
If I were to die like this, would his nonchalant expression change? After all, he had just given such a generous dowry.
Boom!
Suddenly, a strange sound of waves crashing came from afar.
But something about the sound was off; it sounded like waves crashing against flesh, with a series of inexplicable roars mixed in with the impact.
Shen Yiyun looked up and discovered a cloud of black mist that had appeared not far away at some unknown time.
The presence of black mist within the white fog felt strange and unsettling, like some terrifying shadow was descending!
"A warship?"
Murong Yunji, holding Chen Ying, took a step forward and looked ahead with a puzzled expression. In the shadows, a huge warship appeared vaguely, and it seemed to be the same one that Yuchi Feihong owned!
What's truly horrifying isn't the warships themselves, but rather the massive, dark mass of corpses beneath them, filling the entire sea!
"Oh, I finally made it!"
A familiar voice came from the bow of the ship, but it was someone the Shen Family members did not expect.
"It's actually Lord Chen who's come!" Shen Yiyun quickly went to the bow of the ship to bow. " Lord Chen, you've come all this way to see us off, you're too kind."
"I don't have time for that!" Chen Qing rolled his eyes and looked directly at Chen Ying, who was being held by Murong Yunji.
I couldn't help but think to myself, "This girl's luck is pretty bad."
The white mist holds countless secrets; even a million people inside might not encounter a single living soul. Although I was somewhat worried and came here personally, I didn't expect this girl to actually be caught by the Shen Family. The odds are much lower than winning the lottery. I can't let this girl participate in any lottery-like activities in the future; she's clearly unlucky!
Shen Yiyun and Murong Yunji stared gravely at the sheer number of corpses beneath Chen Qing's ship—a number that sent chills down their spines; they seemed to be alive!
"I'm late, my wife, I'm sorry to have startled you," Chen Qing said with a smile to Chen Ying was still somewhat dazed.
Chen Ying stared blankly at Chen Qing. For a moment, the scene in her mind overlapped with reality, causing her heart to pound inexplicably. She hadn't expected that Chen Qing would be the first person she thought of in a crisis, and she certainly hadn't expected that Chen Qing would be the first to arrive at her side.
"Don't worry, my wife," Chen Qing comforted gently. "With me here, no one can harm you!"
"Your words certainly carry weight."
Shen Yiyun looked at Chen Qing with a deep gaze. "But isn't that a bit too confident? Are you sure, sir, that we can't hurt her?"
"I'm absolutely certain!" Chen Qing smiled at the other party, "Would you like to give it a try?"
Shen Yiyun smiled upon hearing this, and Chen Ying was initially touched, felt a sudden pang of sadness. She had heard her master mention that among the twelve branches of the Shen Family, the most ruthless and decisive was the Lao'er of the Shen Family family!
Sure enough, the next second, Shen Yiyun's smile vanished, and his expression turned sinister.
"Then let's give it a try!"
A new month has begun. Although it's not officially released yet, I'm still shamelessly hoping that you, my dear readers, will give me a monthly ticket, hehe.
This book should be available next week. It definitely can't compete with the big names releasing on the first day of the Number One in terms of monthly ticket sales. Mofang 'm not really aiming for the monthly ticket rankings, but even a few more monthly tickets for a giveaway would be nice, hahaha.