Ten days later.
North of Lingjiang City, Jiangdu.
As the capital of Jiangzhou and the hub of water and land transportation, Jiangdu is prosperous even in troubled times.
On the long street, there is an endless stream of vendors selling antiques, calligraphy and painting, rouge and gouache, pawn shops, banks, restaurants and teahouses.
"This place is much more lively than Changping City and Lingjiang City."
Zhang Yao, dressed in a green shirt, walked through the long street and visited Jiangdu with great interest.
Since he decided to find a place to live in seclusion and live an ordinary life, he began to inspect and select a place to live in seclusion.
At first, he took a fancy to Lingjiang City.
But Lingjiang City has no master, and various forces are mixed together, so it is not very stable. In addition, it is only more than a hundred miles away from Changping, so it is not safe.
So, Zhang Yao gave up Lingjiang City and simply took a boat all the way north along the Lingjiang River to Jiangdu, hundreds of miles away.
"Boss, how do you sell this candied haws of water?"
He stopped next to the vendor selling candied haws on a stick and asked.
"Five cents a bunch."
Zhang Yao paid for a candied haws of water and ate it while walking, leisurely looking at the people on the street.
Among the ordinary people in Changping City, there are also many dishonest people who are not living a very good life. In comparison, the people in Jiangdu are much better off.
He finished eating the candied haws, wandered for a while, then walked into a teahouse and ordered a pot of tea.
"...How can Captain Li of the Cao Gang be just an ordinary person? Of course he can't swallow this bad breath."
"So he mobilized a group of people, including more than 30 large and small ships, and hundreds of experts, and fought the 'Black Whirlwind' for more than ten times in Baibo Lake. Both sides came and went..."
In the teahouse, the storyteller was telling an anecdote about the rivers and lakes, and the story was full of excitement and spittle.
In this era of lack of entertainment, storytelling is one of the few pleasures. There were many people sitting in the teahouse, and they all listened with gusto.
To them, the world of martial arts seems far away, but also seems to be right around them.
"Caobang..."
Zhang Yao listened for a while and realized that this was an old story that happened more than twenty years ago.
He has been in Jiangdu for several days. He has been walking around the streets and alleys, and has roughly understood the division of forces in the city.
The situation in Jiangdu is much more complicated than that in Changping City, but it is generally composed of three pillars: the government, the merchant alliance, and the Cao Gang.
Among the three, the Cao Gang has the largest number of people and the most extensive influence. Tens of thousands of gang members are spread up and down the Lingjiang River. They have halls and sub-rudders in seven cities, and almost control the shipping on the Lingjiang River.
"That Zhou Changgui seems to be involved in the Cao Gang, and his status is not low."
Zhang Yao thought of his master Zhou An's unfilial son.
Many years ago, Zhou An trusted his connections and spent a lot of money to send his only son, Zhou Changgui, to Lingjiang City to become a disciple of the local Cao Gang helmsman and a top master.
The biggest regret in his life was that he never learned the inner family's true teachings, so after he perfected Jinding Gong, his martial arts stopped there.
Therefore, he placed all his hopes on his son, hoping that he would excel in his career, shine brightly, and fulfill his long-cherished wish.
"If Master had known that Zhou Changgui would become like that later, I'm afraid I wouldn't have said anything to send him away..."
Zhang Yao couldn't help but feel a little sad when he thought of this.
Zhou An only hoped that his son would become a successful man, but he never thought about the impact that sending a child in his early ten years into a gang of gangs and intrigues would have on him.
Zhang Yao didn't know Zhou Changgui's upbringing, but from his subsequent indifference and even indifference to Zhou An, we could see that he harbored resentment.
It's just that the big mistake has been made, and it's hard to recover the past. Zhou An's thoughts before his death never got the chance to be resolved.
"...If you want to know what happened next, please listen to the next episode!"
After finishing the pot of tea, this storytelling section came to an end, and several boys and girls played the music and sang.
Zhang Yao also learned from the conversations among the teahouse spectators that the protagonist of this anecdote, the former "Leader Li", was now the leader of the Cao Gang.
"To be able to compete with the government and the merchant alliance, the leader of the Cao Gang is most likely a grandmaster."
"The prosperity of Jiangdu is really far beyond comparison."
Zhang Yao sighed, paid the money in a low-key manner, got up and left the teahouse.
The overt and covert struggles of the three major forces, as well as the superior master, have nothing to do with him.
When he came to Jiangdu, he just wanted to be an ordinary citizen and live a stable life while waiting for his body to develop martial arts energy.
…………
Half a month later.
In the east city of Jiangdu, on Xinhe Street across the Lingjiang Bridge.
“This place is nice…”
Zhang Yao walked around the hospital, looking at the newly purchased place with a look of satisfaction.
He thought about it for a few days and decided to become a doctor and open a clinic in Jiangdu. After all, apart from martial arts, he only had good medical skills.
This medical center was bought from a wealthy businessman after he inquired about it for several days, then came to negotiate in person.
The medical center has been a long-established business for many years, but none of the descendants studied medicine and all went into business. After the old man passed away, it became vacant.
"The standard front hall and backyard are used to receive patients in the front and the living area in the back."
"The medicine cabinets, medicine scales, and medicine mills here are all in good condition. If you buy some silver needles, pulse pillows, etc., and prepare enough medicinal materials, you can open your business."
After Zhang Yao inspected it, he went shopping that day, contacted the medicine store to discuss cooperation, and prepared to open the business.
He moved from the inn to the backyard of the medical center and worked hard for several days. The nearby neighbors also knew that a new young doctor had bought the "Ren Shoutang" and was preparing to open it.
Although he looked familiar, the attitude of many neighbors was still relatively cold.
After all, when opening a clinic, one pays attention to reputation and reputation, so the older he gets, the more popular he becomes. Zhang Yao's face is too young, and it is difficult for people to believe how good his medical skills are.
But two days later, the situation changed.
Zhang Yao was almost ready, so he revealed his plan to recruit two apprentices in a few chats.
Suddenly, many neighbors became enthusiastic and even took the initiative to help him, just to recommend their nephew to Zhang Yao.
The children of the poor have already become the head of the household, and by the age of ten they are already considered part of the labor force.
Being an apprentice is definitely a good place for someone who can learn their skills. At least it is much better than going to the dock to carry bags or making a living on the river in the future.
In the end, Zhang Yao took a simple test and selected the two who were smarter and the cleanest at work among a dozen teenagers.
Two young men, both fourteen or fifteen years old, one named Qian Gui and the other Chen Youfu.
They were overjoyed that Zhang Yao had chosen them, and they were even more grateful after learning that they still had two coins left in a month.
Their family members were also extremely grateful and even invited Zhang Yao to dinner, but he declined.
That evening, after Ah Fu and Ah Gui had finished their hard work for the day, Zhang Yao stopped them.
"Afu, Agui."
"I have something to ask you..."
