In the early morning of the next day, Feng Jiuxiao got up early and walked on the long street.
It was still early at this time, so of course he would not go to Jin Mansion. It was just a matter of habit, just for a walk!
The air was quite cold early in the morning, and there were not many people on the street. Coupled with the mist, it seemed even more deserted.
Feng Jiuxiao felt a little emotional at this time. No matter how prosperous and noisy the city is, twelve hours a day, the prosperity will always recede, and when the bustle is lonely, she is like a famous actress, no matter how radiant and eye-catching she is on the stage.
, once the curtain calls, she will only be greeted by loneliness, emptiness, and loneliness in the darkness!
How brilliant were the lights of thousands of houses last night? But now it was completely silent and uninhabited, like a ghost town. If we didn't explain it in advance, who would have thought that this quiet and "depressed" place in front of us would be like this.
Wuxi, one of the richest cities in the Southern Tang Dynasty?
He slowly walked forward with light steps and looked at the various shops on the street. He felt that the business atmosphere and economic scale here were indeed much larger than those in Hengyang. Moreover, the people here did have stronger business acumen than the people in the north.
After walking for a while, the fog gradually dispersed and there were more and more people. Finally, there was a breakfast vendor in front of us.
A small river runs from east to west, and countless residential buildings are built along the river. The river embankment seems to have been built by the local government, using all blue bricks and granite. There is a stone arch bridge every few dozen feet on the river, connecting
north and south.
There was a stone arch bridge in front of Feng Jiuxiao. The word "Wanfu" was engraved on the bridge, which seemed to be the name of the bridge.
Crossing the "Wanfu Bridge", you are facing a tavern. A yellow and white flag hangs on the flagpole outside the door, with three words written on it, "The Number One Scholar Residence".
A middle-aged man and woman were busy in the store. They looked like a couple.
The man was kneading his face when he suddenly noticed a young man in white standing outside the door. He immediately greeted him: "Master, what do you want to eat? Come in and see?" His accent was not from the Wuzhong area, but sounded like a southern Henan dialect.
Feng Jiuxiao asked, "What did you have for breakfast this morning?"
The middle-aged man said: "Silver noodles, fried dough sticks, rice porridge, beef soup, three delicacies wontons, special steamed dumplings..."
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Let's have a special Xiao Long Bao and a bowl of beef soup. What kind of fillings are there in the steamed buns?"
The middle-aged man said: "The meat is pork, the vegetarian is fungus, eggs, leeks, whether it is meat or vegetarian, crab butter is added to it, so it tastes delicious."
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Okay, let's try a basket first." He knew that the buns here were very small, and ten buns in a basket would probably weigh less than a pound.
The landlady was very simple, and she immediately smiled enthusiastically when she saw a customer. However, she was missing a front tooth, which made her look weird.
The middle-aged man began to take out the buns that had been wrapped in advance, and opened the lid of the pot. Suddenly, the steam steamed and enveloped the entire space. After a while, the steam dissipated and the buns were cooked. He was afraid that the young man would be lonely waiting, so he took the initiative to open it.
Chatterbox, "Is this your first time in Wuxi, sir?"
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Yes. Are you the boss here?"
The man chuckled and said, "I'm just asking for food. You don't have a boss."
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Your accent doesn't sound like a local from Wuxi."
The boss smiled and said: "I moved here from Gwangju and have been here for 20 years."
"Why did you come here to take root? It's not close to home."
"Who would leave their hometown if they could have food to eat?" There was a trace of helplessness and melancholy in his eyes.
Feng Jiuxiao asked: "Guangzhou?" He immediately thought of many past events in Guangzhou.
At that time, all the big and small gangs in Guangzhou were coerced and lured by the two tyrants to join them, and eventually a pattern was formed in which Old Master Zhang of the East Batian and Old Master Qiu of the West Batian competed for hegemony from east to west.
At that time, Feng Jiuxiao couldn't stand the fact that these two old guys were fighting to the death in the open, but secretly colluded with each other, using all kinds of despicable means to suppress the local gangs and harvest the wool ruthlessly, so he launched an attack!
The Battle of Gwangju resulted in countless deaths! The men of the two tyrants suffered heavy casualties!
He strangled Tantai Jingde to death with one hand;
Use broken stones as arrows and shoot Dongfang Yu and Wang Changan with a sky-shattering bow;
Kill Nangong Ruyun with the Qiushui knife!
During the melee, Gongsun Lingyi was stabbed to death by a giant stone centipede, and Di Qinglong surrendered!
In addition, Shadowless Sword Zhu Hua, Wind-Chasing Sword Li Buwei, Heluo Feilong Yuanfeng, Iron Palm Wudi Zhunmang, Passionate Prince Ji Che, Liancheng Si Qiu Feipeng, Yue Chi, Ouyang Qingyun and others are even more desperate to escape.
!
In that battle, the eight-armed Nezha Liu Jinlin was also present, and Feng Jiuxiao specifically let him go!
"Are you saying that life in Gwangju twenty years ago was not easy?"
"Yes, the government is corrupt, and local gangsters are rampant. During the day, the government comes to collect excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and at night, the gangsters collect protection fees. How can ordinary people like us survive?"
"Now I heard that things are very good over there, and the government doesn't dare to mess around anymore. The so-called gangsters have been integrated. If you want to go back, now is your chance."
The boss smiled bitterly and glanced at the landlady, "I have settled here now, and my wife is also a local. My parents died young, but her parents are still alive. I can't move now!"
Nine out of ten things in life are unsatisfactory. Feng Jiuxiao couldn't help but feel a sigh of relief.
When the young man left home and his elder brother returned home, his local pronunciation remained unchanged and his hair on his temples faded.
When children see each other but don't recognize each other, they laugh and ask where the guest is from.
When He Zhizhang returned to his hometown from the capital, he had been away for more than fifty years! The poem "Returning to Hometown" tells the story of how many years of vicissitudes of life have left the world helpless?
Feng Jiuxiao said: "There are seven or eight tables in your shop. It seems that business is usually good!"
The boss' face suddenly darkened, "No matter how good the business is, there are so many people taking advantage of it!"
Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said: "Who is taking advantage? The government? The gangsters?"
The boss said: "The government here is much better than that back home. The emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty was quite good to the common people. They were mainly local ruffians."
Feng Jiuxiao asked: "Who are they?"
The boss said: "They are all Mr. Jin's people!" The wife of the boss suddenly glared at him and shouted: "You want to die, please keep your voice down!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The boss immediately looked around in fright and found that there was no one outside the window. He relaxed a little and said calmly: "If you can't fight them, why don't you let me talk!"
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Mr. Jin should not be short of money. I heard that he has a lot of business and there are people in his family who are officials. He shouldn't care about getting this little money from you, right?" In his impression, protection fees have never been paid.
There will be too much. If there are too many, it is tantamount to killing the goose to lay eggs and fishing in the lake! In order to keep the water flowing and make money, the protection fees collected will usually have a medium or small amount. But no matter what, this amount is definitely higher than the normal business income.
Very small.
The boss said: "Although he didn't take much, he still took a lot. He took almost 20% of my income!" The boss's wife added: "It's not 20% of the net income, it's 20% of the gross income!"
Twenty percent, that is, two tenths, and it is 20% of the income! In other words, for every ten taels of silver they receive, they have to take away two taels!
"My costs account for about 60%, which means that half of the net profit has been taken by them!"
Feng Jiuxiao frowned, "This is too dark!" Zhang and Qiu from Guangzhou were already dark enough, but they didn't charge more than 10% in protection fees!
The boss said: "On the one hand, he collects protection fees because the benefits here are indeed not small. On the other hand, he just does it purely to support people!"
Feng Jiuxiao asked curiously: "Raising people?"
The boss said softly: "Raising some idlers to do things like bullying men and dominating women is purely to show his momentum!"
Although Feng Jiuxiao didn't agree with his weird theory, she still showed her approval, "Oh, so that's it!"
The boss said: "Look, the entire West City is full of Mr. Jin's men. They have nothing to do except collect protection fees and wander around pretending to be powerful. Isn't it just to show their power? Isn't it just to warn everyone not to act rashly?"
Feng Jiuxiao said: "The government and him are colluding with each other, so they don't care at all, right?"
The boss opened the steamer, and the mist filled the entire space again. Then the mist dissipated after a while. He brought a basket of steamed buns to Feng Jiuxiao, "There are several officials in his family, who dares to mess with them?"
Feng Jiuxiao said: "I heard that there is a Li Dashan who doesn't want to deal with him?"
The boss nodded and said: "Yes." He started kneading the dough again and was preparing to make wontons.
Feng Jiuxiao said: "It seems that Mr. Li Dashan has done a lot of good deeds. Otherwise, how could he be called Mr. Li Dashan?"
Upon hearing this, the boss immediately sneered and said: "His title as a good man is a nickname given to him by the gangsters in the world. He often helps those people who are on the run. Whether you are a gangster or a fugitive who kills people and sells goods, as long as you go to Li's house
Then we can get Yinliang to help them continue their exile."
Feng Jiuxiao frowned, "Specially sheltering and sheltering those bullies and gangsters. Isn't this going against the right path of martial arts?"
"yes!"
Feng Jiuxiao said: "I guess Li Dashan also has a very tough background?"
"yes!"
Feng Jiuxiao smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I'll talk to Lao Jin today, and I'll talk to Lao Li tomorrow."
The boss was startled. He didn't know what the young man in white meant, but he vaguely felt that the young man seemed to be talking about Old Mrs. Jin and Li Dashan. What he said was that he wanted to talk to these two people? He glanced at his wife, and she said
He gave a look, indicating that this young man was quite strange and should be dealt with carefully.
At this moment, there was a noise outside the door, but two people came in. Both were tall, fierce-looking, and both carried weapons.
One of them has a beard all over his face, the other has no beard.
The big man with the beard had sharp eyes and said directly: "What food does the store have?"
The boss was frightened by his momentum and immediately replied: "Wontons, steamed buns, noodles, meatloaf..."
The big man with the beard said in a loud voice, "Two bowls of wontons first, one with meat filling, one big bowl, and five steamed buns per person." He said to the beardless man, "The steamed buns here are very small, and you may not be able to eat even five steamed buns."
When you're full, let's take a bite first, and then I'll treat you to a Zhuang Yuan Ti when we get to Suzhou!"
Suzhou's Zhuangyuanti, also called Zhuangyuanti, is braised pig's trotters. In fact, Zhuangyuanti is not a unique specialty of Suzhou. This famous dish is found in many places around the world, but firstly, the two of them must pass through Suzhou on their way, and secondly, there are many dishes in Suzhou
The fish and shrimp are outstanding, and only Zhuangyuanti’s fat but not greasy meat dishes suit his taste!
The bearded man noticed Feng Jiuxiao as soon as he entered the hall. It was so early in the morning, and there were almost no people in the whole city. The appearance of this young man in white was quite eye-catching!
Feng Jiuxiao felt a little displeased when she saw the bearded man staring at her. Since he was going to make a big fuss in Wuxi, he didn't want to endure this kind of arrogance, so he said coldly: "What are you looking at?"
The beardless man felt that Feng Jiuxiao was suspicious and was about to question him. He didn't expect that this young man had such a hot temper and took the lead in attacking!
He slammed the table and shouted angrily: "You brat! Who are you talking to?"
Feng Jiuxiao was actually at peace in her heart, but there was an arrogant look on her face, "Follow you, are you blind?" He saw that these two people seemed to be from the government, and their words and deeds all revealed a sense of superiority.
They have a sense of superiority, so Feng Jiuxiao is very annoyed and wants to teach them a lesson today!
The beardless man suddenly became furious and said angrily: "You are looking for death!" With a cry, he pulled out the long knife from his waist and rushed over!
But the big man with the beard held his hand down like lightning and said, "Brother Hou, please don't cause trouble!"
The needless man stopped immediately! His eyes flashed and his body trembled. He looked very angry. He was suppressing his anger forcibly. It seemed that reason had prevailed. He sheathed his sword and said coldly: "I have something important to do. It's cheap."
You are a kid today!"
Feng Jiuxiao sarcastically said: "There are no outsiders here. If you have the guts, do it. You can kill me first and then go about your work. Who is getting the advantage? If you are timid, just say you are timid. Don't find a way for yourself.
!Come here if you want!"
The store owner was suddenly confused!
He looked at the boy in white. He didn't look like a fool. How could he do stupid things?
The big man with the beard was also startled! He had never seen such a stunned boy! Couldn't this boy see that he had just brought him back from the gate of hell? He even took the initiative to die. Damn it, is there such a heartless person? His surname is Hou.
Killing him would be in vain. It could be said that he was chasing a fugitive, met with stubborn resistance, and killed him on the spot!
Isn’t it just a matter of words for them to confuse right and wrong?
The needless man suddenly stood up and punched Feng Jiuxiao!
He cursed: "I don't want to kill you now, that would be an advantage for you! Punch me!" He wanted to beat Feng Jiuxiao to death!
Feng Jiuxiao ducked, and without the help of the big man's punch, she lost her center of gravity and stumbled onto the table in front of her. The table was immediately knocked over!
Feng Jiuxiao said: "Don't worry, I will pay for all the things that are broken here!" He directly threw a banknote, and the banknote flew in front of the boss and even hovered there!
The boss took it and saw the words "五万两" printed on it. His blood suddenly accelerated and his heart beat wildly!
The big man Wu Wu suddenly punched him again, and the figure flashed in front of him, and he hit nothing again!
But seeing the young man in white standing right in front of him, as if he had never moved, he suddenly became furious. Just as he was about to punch him away, he saw the young man wave his sleeve gently, and there was a crisp sound, and then the left side of his face instantly
It hurt so much!
Seeing that something was not going well, the bearded man suddenly drew his sword!
He pointed his sword directly at Feng Jiuxiao, his eyes narrowed into a straight line, and the indifference he revealed was even more shocking, "Who are you?"
Feng Jiuxiao remained as still as a mountain and said, "Who are you?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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