After lunch, the three of them separated from Soujiro. Although the wrestler wanted to recruit Henry to join him and participate in larger events in Qingzhi Town to make a lot of money, he, who was nearly fifty years old, also understood that some things could not be forced. Even though the meal he treated the three of them to was really expensive, he didn't require Henry and the others to get anything in return immediately.
This is the difference between young people and middle-aged people who have experienced great storms. Young guys like Galeva or Aggie always hope to see results quickly when doing things, expect to be rewarded immediately for every effort they make, and care too much about what they have done. .
But middle-aged people who have experienced decades of ups and downs in the world and have gone through ups and downs are very aware of the fact that everything in the world will not always be rewarded for their efforts.
A concept called "fate" is very popular among people in the Kingdom of the Moon. It is difficult to find a word with the same meaning in any language in Rigar. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for the Lamanites to translate books on this subject. Tricky.
"Destiny" is some kind of inexplicable causal relationship, some kind of fetters, some kind of connection. If there is a destiny, even if you are completely unrelated to each other, you will eventually become partners due to some accidents and coincidences; if there is no destiny, no matter how hard you try to please the other person, maybe the more you talk down to yourself, the more the other person will become. It's because he is disdainful and doesn't want to pay attention to him.
Being at ease with the situation, being free and easy without being pushy are common traits among middle-aged people who have experienced a lot. Moreover, what Soujiro said was that he came to Qingzhi along the way and was traveling with the three of them. It seemed that it was not just an excuse to get closer.
All in all, after the three people separated from Soujiro determined their route, they avoided the bustling crowd from the alley behind the hotel and started walking towards the edge of the river.
The busy tributary of the Yongchuan River merges with the main channel of the Yongchuan River and another tributary channel near Qingzhi. Therefore, the widest part of the river in the southwest is so wide that the river bank on the other side cannot be seen from the embankment on this side.
When it was still a craftsman village in its early years, the overall structure of Qingzhi was basically the same as other places - the houses were built on the shore, which not only provided convenient water for daily use, but also allowed the villagers to catch fish and shrimp for a full meal. Good taste.
But after it was determined that the city would be built and re-planned, the houses on the shore were all demolished and evacuated. The reserved open space on the river embankment was repeatedly widened by manpower in the following decades and various reinforcements and trestle designs were added to make it easier for merchant ships to unload cargo.
Since we live next to the water, it is natural to take advantage of the geographical advantages.
There is only one naturally formed waterway in the tributary of the Nagagawa River, which has abundant water, but Kazuto used bricks and stones to build many small canals and channels about two people wide that run through the entire Qingchi.
These small artificial canals are very shallow and cannot accommodate large ships. What they are designed to do, the three of them got the answer after walking for a while.
Using a bamboo pole as a traction, workers pull large bundles of bamboo along the waterway. By reducing weight through the buoyancy of water, one person can easily transport a load that would be difficult for several people to carry by land.
Water transportation is the most cost-effective method no matter where it is. In the Moon Country, where natural materials such as bamboo can be found everywhere, the reason why Qingzhi Town has become a famous bamboo production point is ultimately inseparable from the convenient water transportation. Open a relationship.
Even if other places produce higher-quality bamboo and have more skilled craftsmen, if the mountain road is difficult to pass, it can only be transported on foot. Considering the limited distance of human feet and the fact that only small batches of utensils can be transported at a time, it will definitely end. It is impossible to develop into an industrial and commercial town of this scale.
The prosperity or decline of anything is often the result of many factors. Even if some of them will play a decisive role, it is more like a long-term accumulation that finally ushered in an explosion under this opportunity. If the timing is not right, then even the same factors may not make any ripples. .
But let’s get back to where we started.
Walking along one of the canals, the noise of tourists coming and going on the busy commercial street is gradually left behind. They walked to what looked like the old city in the southeast direction. Many of the buildings here were of some age. Although there are some shops, they are not as bustling as those big chambers of commerce next to the river.
These small shops, crowded together in rows and rows, have the flavor of the Moon Country. The main body of the wooden structure is accompanied by paper windows and paper doors. Because Qingzhi Town is full of dirt roads, there is often a dust block hanging on the eaves of the merchants. of hanging curtains.
Kazuto's stature is generally smaller than that of the Rigar people. For the sage who is nearly two meters tall, walking here feels like he has entered Lilliput by mistake.
The lower edge of the bamboo hat he was wearing was flush with the roofs of these buildings. If he raised his head slightly, he could see the tops of the entire building. Henry could even see a few sparrows chirping on the roof, while a wild cat was hiding in the shadow of the ridge, arching its body and approaching them softly.
The faded walls and the brown-black wooden edges with some moss on them all tell the story of the antiquity of this urban area, which must have been more than a hundred years old. But perhaps because of this, business here doesn't seem to be very good. Many store display cases are sparsely stocked with merchandise, and in a few stores even the doors are ajar.
Even in a country with long-lasting peace like the Moon Country, times have changed and things are different from decade to decade. Judging from these shops alone, the history of Qingzhi Town should not be particularly long.
All in all, although there were not many shoppers, there were still some people walking on the street. Without exception, they all dress relatively discreetly, and they are obviously people who do not want to reveal their true colors.
As a large industrial and commercial town, Qingzhi Town has a lot of people coming and going, and it has smooth waterways, so it is also a good hiding place. Although it can't be compared to a real no-care zone like Swamp Village, there are still people coming and going with various stories.
Some of them were alone or in groups of three or two. The common point was that they all kept a careful distance from each other and did not approach each other enthusiastically to strike up a conversation as a rule.
The three of them soon arrived at their destination. It was a lonely shop located deep in an alley. The words "Ironware House" scrawled on the faded wooden sign above were faintly visible, and the hanging curtain hanging at the door had turned yellow. , as if it hasn’t been changed for a long time.
Henry took the first step and walked closer, while Mira reached out to stop Sakura and blocked her diagonally in front of her. She and the sage entered the house one by one and stood on both sides.
The two of them worked together to form an angle, and in an instant they had a panoramic view of everything inside the cabin.
Sakura couldn't understand this action, but the store manager, who was sitting in front of the old table and smoking a cigarette, raised his eyelids.
"Oh, I haven't seen anyone with such skills for a long time. But you two, it's not Kazuto." The store manager's hair is a bit sparse, and he has a Kazuto samurai tie on the back of his head, which is only allowed by the samurai. He has a whip hairstyle, but he is only wearing cotton clothes, not the brocade commonly used by the Chinese.
"Yes." The sage nodded, then took off his hat without hesitation, showing his face with gray-blue eyes.
"Oh, they're Southern Barbarians." But the store manager didn't seem too surprised, although his expression actually changed after seeing Mira and Sakura who came in later, even though they were disguised, they could still be seen as women. A small moment, but there was no big movement.
The exchanges between the Kingdom of the Moon and the Lamanites have been going on for more than a hundred years. Even if the people above have restricted exchanges, the information about them is actually not new among the people.
But this didn't seem to be entirely the reason for his indifference - he was in the right place. Henry took a step forward and sat on the chair opposite the store manager so that his eyes were at eye level instead of looking down from above. This detail made The other person raised his eyebrows, and the sage said, "I want you to see a few knives."
He started communicating with the store manager, while Mira and Sakura walked in and started to wait and see.
The interior of the shop is not very spacious, it is boxy, and together with what looks like a living room blocked by a screen at the back, it is only about the size of two ordinary-sized rooms combined. In addition to some randomly piled weapons, there are also many farm tools and equipment hanging on the front. There was a lot of dust on the weapons, but most of the farm tools were as shiny as new. It seemed like this was the shop owner's main business now.
From the outside, he looks like a harmless old blacksmith.
But this is just an appearance. It was precisely because the sage knew this that he entrusted Soujiro to inquire about it and then came here.
To find Galeva and his group in a small town with tens of thousands of people, and at least a few thousand people coming and going every day, it would be very difficult for them to inquire on their own if they were unfamiliar with the place.
They had tried somewhat before, but the result was not very smooth. Although you may still be successful if you continue to try this method, the more you inquire and the more people you come into contact with, the higher the possibility of exposing your whereabouts.
So Henry chose to contact people in the gray area. Although it also had the purpose of getting rid of troublesome weapons and purchasing some additional equipment, to be honest, it was just incidental, or just an entry point.
Why do this? Why did you make this choice?
A very simple truth: In a country that has controls on certain items, who can acquire these items and master the channels for secretly circulating these items?
——I also knew that they would definitely not be ordinary people with no background.
This kind of black and white thing would definitely not be able to exist for a long time without the support of the local wealthy families and the local powerful nobles. Only people who are colluding or simply connected by blood to the people in power in Qingzhi Town can have such connections and resources to get things that are not allowed by the laws of the Moon Kingdom and to deal with things that are too sensitive.
Therefore, although the sage's intention to dispose of these weapons was one of his goals, it was also an entry point to get close to these people and the power group behind Qingzhi Town.
The reason for not going directly to the city lord's mansion is also very simple. First of all, it is not something that cats, dogs, and Henry can easily enter if they want to - although to some extent he does have the ability to kill or sneak in - and there are some things. It’s not appropriate to put it on the table and spread it out directly: This kind of unspoken rule is like paying for bribes. Everyone is satisfied with the secret transaction in private. If you shout, “Come and collect my money!” Everyone knows, then the other party will have to kill you in order to protect themselves.
Their identity as southern barbarians and the knives Henry put on the table at this moment are all similar to this kind of existence. Once the exposure attracts too much attention and puts the people in power in Qingzhi Town under some pressure, they are likely to hand over the sages and others in order to protect themselves.
Keeping a low profile is the first condition for the possibility of cooperation between the two parties - "Oh~oh~oh~" The store manager let out three meaningful sighs in succession, apparently recognizing the ownership of this famous knife from the craftsman's inscription on the knife.
"My guest is from the North." He said to Henry with words.
"Exactly." The sage nodded, and the store manager paused and asked something that made both Sakura and Mira turn their heads:
"My guest, are you looking for a lost friend?"
"...!" The Luoan girl reached out and held the one-handed knife hidden under her clothes. She put on a vigilant posture and began to observe her surroundings to see if there was any ambush. The store manager watched her series of actions, but Henry sat quietly and calmly and nodded: "Exactly."
"Teacher?" His direct confirmation of this fact made Mira a little stunned, while Sakura showed a look of sudden realization after a moment of reflection.
——Most of the forces that control Qingzhi Town, even if they are not biased towards Xinjing, will be neutral rather than on the side of the rebels.
This is the reason why Henry admitted his existence so bluntly and even exposed the knife.
The still immature Luoan girl cannot see this, so she still thinks that the people here are also rebels and is very wary. However, the sage's actions are as always based on his meticulous observation and summary ability:
Qingzhi is a prosperous commercial town. Bamboo wares here are sold to many places in the south with the help of water transportation along the Yongchuan River. Naturally, the local leaders also made a lot of money due to the prosperous bamboo trade. The splendid palaces and various buildings prove this - what does this mean?
It means that he is "comfortable with the status quo".
This place was planned and built by land doctors sent by Xinjing. Although they had to pay taxes to Xinjing, it was precisely because of the harmony with the south that they were able to sell bamboo wares and prosper.
The tourists and traders who come and go are the source of the town's prosperity, and if the rebels go to war with Xinjing, all of this will obviously cease to exist.
This is a very common situation in any country. Those with vested interests are often the group of people who hate changes in the situation, and those who initiate wars are often those who are dissatisfied with the situation. Therefore, in this northern land where the enemy and the enemy are unclear, the more prosperous and wealthy the territory, the higher the possibility that it will not belong to the northern rebel samurai group.
Of course, the sage is not so naive as to think that these people must be friends. Even if Qingzhi Town's prosperity is based on peace with the south, its geographical location in the north will make it even more similar to Swamp Village. It is caught between Xinjing and the rebels and is still wavering at this stage. type.
But this is also their entry point. As long as Galeva, Aya and others are not stupid enough to directly hand over the important life-saving source of the rebel list to the people in power of Qingzhi, then firmly grasp this life-saving root. Straw's group is still valuable.
The rebels did not have the military strength to directly challenge Xinjing, so they had to be patient. This was also information that they had known before; and Qingzhi was located in the north and bordered the rebels and could not offend them openly, so Henry could not easily expose his actions, and had to To make contact with the people in power through secret ways; in order to please Xinjing, the people in power will not harm them but will help them as long as Aya shows that they have important information.
Otherwise, if the rebels are defeated in the future and this is exposed, Xinjing will not give them good fruits.
They are refugees who escaped from the swamp village, and they are a strange and eye-catching combination of southern barbarians, Yi people, and Dr. Xingyong. And to put it bluntly, the young porter, the Yi tribesman, the doctor, and even the priest Alfonso are not particularly good at escaping. If they come here, their secrets will definitely be exposed and discovered by the local authorities. of.
Based on the sum of all these details, the sage made such a move, and judging from the store manager's answer, his inference was correct - as expected.
After thinking about it, Sakura took a deep look at Henry. With just a few observations and some reasoning, he made the right choice accurately. This ability made the oiran feel a little mixed. She could only be glad that this person was on the same side as herself.
But our Luoan girl, who is still a little underdeveloped, still hasn't fully understood all this, and she is still spending time thinking and digesting it. The sage did not explain it to her, nor did he have any such intention. It is more profound to observe and learn education by yourself than to give the answer directly. The Luoan girl was vaguely aware that what her teacher did was purposeful, and it was related to joining other people, but she was not yet aware of it at the moment. Couldn't get the full picture.
Her thinking and observation skills still need to be developed, after all, she is still young.
In any case, after Henry gave a positive answer, the store manager glanced at the three of them and nodded.
"Come with me." He said, pulling a hemp rope under the table, and then the screen behind it was pulled open, revealing an aisle.
