In the dead silence of the snowy night, the shouts were particularly clear.
But it only lasted for a quarter of an hour, and then it stopped suddenly, and even the lingering light in the tavern disappeared.
Two results:
The wolf ate the meat and left happily.
The wolf didn't eat the meat, but also peeled off a layer of skin.
Regardless of the outcome, Song Che and the others can have a good night's sleep tonight.
Early next morning.
Song Che was awakened by the sound of horse hooves. The bonfire had been burned to ashes, but Coco was still curled up in bed and sleeping soundly.
Jiang Yuntian didn't know when he woke up. At this time, he was holding a bundle of hay and feeding the horse carefully. Seeing that Song Che had also woken up, he said softly:
"They're coming."
The Ma family's caravan passed by the entrance of the kiln. Yesterday, there were about twenty men, but today there were only seven of them. They had swollen eye bags and blood-stained clothes. Their original arrogance was gone. It seemed that they were all gone last night. Couldn't sleep.
The yellow scarves were hung on the poles of the Ma family's caravan again. The goods were not lost, but there were two more trucks carrying corpses.
The corpses were wrapped in straw mats and laid in rows.
Song Che shook Keke awake, put out the fire food with water, and then walked out of the kiln.
Ma Jiu glanced at Song Che and the others, who were all at peace. His expression was surprised at first, then became more indifferent, and asked abruptly:
"Did you encounter any Japanese pirates last night?"
Song Che stretched out and replied with a smile: "I didn't meet the Japanese pirates, but I met eight fellow villagers from Tongzhou...ah!"
He pretended to suddenly realize: "Maybe they are Japanese pirates!"
"Why didn't they rob you?" Ma Jiu asked with narrowed eyes.
Song Che pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then pointed to the half-collapsed earth kiln behind him, "Maybe they feel that the people squatting in the earth kiln have nothing to grab."
Ma Jiu snorted and asked no more questions, calling the caravan to move on.
After the Ma's caravan had walked some distance, Song Che and Coco got into the car, "Let's follow them and show off their 'fake power'."
At noon.
The clouds and fog cleared.
The warm winter sun shines on the earth.
It’s another beautiful day with clear skies after snow.
The city of Taizhou is like a hibiscus emerging from the water, dressed in ice crystal snow-white clothes, reflecting in the sunlight, making it graceful and graceful.
It is indeed a very "graceful" city. Compared with Chuzhou and Yangzhou, which have canal runoff, Taizhou is smaller in terms of population, economy, and scale, and its geographical location is not that eye-catching.
The city's population is less than 200,000. For such a "graceful" city, there will certainly not be many troops stationed——
As we all know, the smaller the place, the more evil is done and the more money is made.
The Ma family seemed to be really powerful in Taizhou. They walked all the way without even coughing. As soon as the business travelers along the way saw the flag with the word "horse" in it, they gave way one after another, and the rules were aside, waiting for them to pass. Only then dare to leave.
Different from respecting the powerful, the deeper level comes from fear.
Only bullies make people fearful.
But what’s even more infuriating is:
"This road was built by our Ma family. You have to pay for the toll, ten cents per person. If you don't pay, please take a detour!"
There are two roads into Taizhou City from the east, one is a spacious avenue paved with bluestones, and the other is an official road, but it is full of snow and no one has cleaned it.
Due to the heavy snowfall in the past few days, the roads were so thickly frozen that pedestrians were indifferent and cars and horses were absolutely impassable.
Several dealers from the Ma family set up a checkpoint on Qingshi Avenue and placed a cash box. They did not check the road and quoted documents, but only collected passing money.
Those bandits who "left behind money to buy the road" robbed openly, but they robbed secretly.
The business travelers with carriages and horses had no choice but to give money per person. The sound of copper plates thrown into the cash box never stopped.
"You guys, my leg has been disabled for many years. I can't walk when I get cold. Please be kind. I only have these five cents. Can you let me pass?"
A lame old man who was nearly 70 years old spent a long time in his arms to collect five copper coins, begging to pass by.
Unexpectedly, the banker asked: "Old man, are you confused? Ten cents a person, and you only give five cents. Are you forcing me to cut you in half?"
Several bankers laughed.
The lame old man added: "My children all live in Taizhou City. I am here to find my relatives. Otherwise, as you see it, I owe you five coins first. I will ask my children to make up for it after we enter the city."
"Tsk... I've heard of people drinking on credit. This is my first time getting money on credit. Go ahead, don't go my way if you don't have money!"
"Heroes, you are accommodating--"
"Go away! You immortal thing! If you look like this, you will be a drag on your children if you enter the city. It's better to die as soon as possible!"
The beast doesn't know how to respect the old and love the young. He pushed the lame old man hard, and the old man's legs were inconvenient and he fell down after staggering a few steps.
At his age, if he really fell like this, he would most likely not be able to get up.
Jiang Yuntian stepped forward and supported the old man who was about to fall.
The old man had no time to thank him, so he burst into tears first: "The world does not give the poor a way to live!"
Passers-by sighed.
"Grandpa, please don't cry. One of my two gentlemen is extremely smart and the other is invincible. If these evil men encounter them, they will be in bad luck today. Just watch from the sidelines." Coco held the old man's arm. Arm comfort.
Song Che came to the roadblock first, took a look into the cash box, and collected at least two to three thousand coins.
"Hey, hey, what are you looking at? Will it fall into your pocket after you take a look?" The banker came over to drive him away.
Song Che asked with a smile: "Friend, how much head fee can you charge in a day?"
The banker pointed to the cash box and was unambiguous: "A box full, at least eight thousand copper coins."
Song Che shook his head, "Too little, too little..."
The banker said shamelessly: "I think it's too little. I should charge twenty cents per person, but it's a pity that the poor people in Taizhou can't afford it."
"Then you think it's like this."
Song Che took out twenty taels of silver from his sleeve and waved it in front of the banker, "Let's make a deal. I'll pay you twenty taels. You can give me the road for one day and I'll collect the tolls. But good?"
Even if this money box could hold ten thousand copper coins, it would only be worth ten taels of silver. Now someone is offering twenty taels for the contract, and in this cold weather, you can get off the early shift after collecting the money, so why not?
The four bankers gathered together to discuss for a while, and finally nodded and reached a consensus.
"Okay, I'll give you the road for one day, but don't be too shady, lest you ruin the reputation of my Ma family."
The banker will come to take the money. But Song Che gave in and said, "Since it's a business, we have to establish a written agreement, lest you see me making a lot of money and you become jealous and regret it."
But the banker said: "Where do all these rules come from? No matter how you say it, I, Ma Zhida, am still the number one person in Majiazhuang, and my word is worth a thousand dollars!"
"A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold is worth less than a piece of paper," Song Che greeted:
"Come on, let me serve you with pen and ink!"
