AWB Chapter 377 Sudden
Chapter 377 Sudden
“The road from Quanzhou to our side is basically finished, thanks to the Jiang family’s help. However, we have no one to help us build a road to Lin’an. If we take the waterway, we are afraid of Japanese pirates. For the time being, we don’t have a good solution,” Magistrate Lou explained.
“Keep repairing. Don’t worry about the money. Chen’s is starting to make a profit. Next month, we’ll issue a notice that all goods entering Huian County will be exempt from tax, only those leaving will be taxed, at a rate of one in ten. The same applies to sea freight. There will always be people who want to get rich and will find a way.” Wang Erniu’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light, and he was becoming more and more like a leader.
"Hmm... This is a good idea. This way, those with goods will be more willing to send them to us." Magistrate Zheng has been worrying about too many things lately, and his beard is almost bald from rubbing it. However, seeing Huian Town becoming more lively and tax revenue increasing is quite gratifying.
The next day, Chen Xuanyu led a group of children to the streets and posted notices everywhere, recruiting soldiers, recruiting a large number of soldiers, aged sixteen to forty, all are welcome, food and lodging provided, one tael of silver per month.
In Dongshan Village, in the dense forest, on a huge old banyan tree, Ah Xing lay bored, chewing on dried meat and listlessly counting the leaves.
"Ah Xing, dinner's ready!" Ah Yue called out from under the tree.
"Oh!" Ah Xing leaped over with a flourish. "Where's Yang? He's not home."
"No, don't worry about me. Try the fish I made; I learned it from Tao Hua in the village." A Yue looked at him expectantly.
Ah Xing was a little disgusted, but reluctantly took a bite. "Hey!" His eyes lit up. "This one's not bad. It's not fishy, and it has flavor."
"Hehe, right? Then I'll make it for you again next time." A-Yue looked at the fish happily, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
"Then forget it. I like to eat meat, you know that." Ah Xing said with a bitter face.
"We have to go to town to buy meat, which is too far, and we don't have any money," A-Yue said, shrugging.
"Didn't I hunt a rabbit yesterday?"
"Oh, that? I don't know how to make it. I asked Peach Blossom, but she doesn't know either," A-Yue said again, indicating that she was helpless.
"Sigh..." Ah Xing sighed, "Have they forgotten about us? Nobody's contacted us. It's not good to just sit here doing nothing. I want to buy some Chen's dried meat. My stock is almost gone. Look, there are only a few pieces left..."
"Well, the boss told me a few days ago that he heard the old prince is sick again, and this time he might die. The master is fighting with that person for the throne, so he probably doesn't have time to pay attention to us." A-Yue ate the fish. "Hmm, my cooking skills are really good. It would be even better if I added some chili."
"Oh, by the way, if you're running out of dried meat, go buy some more, and while you're at it, bring me some chili peppers too."
"Oh, how come I didn't know? When did the boss tell you?" Ah Xing pulled out his money bag, which didn't have much money left.
“He came back briefly when you went to town last time.”
“Okay, give me some money, I’ll go to Chen’s to buy it later.” Ah Xing held out his hand.
"No, I don't have a single cent." A-Yue tapped him with her chopsticks.
"Sigh." Ah Xing sighed. Life was just too boring.
"I'm going out for a walk." He didn't even eat the fish and ran off.
Dongshan Village is a relatively remote village. There are old banyan trees as thick as a person everywhere in the village. There are only about twenty households in the village, which makes it seem even more sparsely populated. The neighboring Ziguang Village has a larger population, and you have to pass through Ziguang Village to get to the town.
Ah Xing dressed like a local. Perhaps it was due to the climate, but after only a few months there, both he and Ah Yue had turned a sallow complexion. After changing their clothes, it was almost impossible to tell if they were locals.
As soon as Ah Xing left the village, he heard a series of chaotic squeaking and strange noises, as if something was chasing after something.
He looked closely and flew into a rage. He saw several Japanese men chasing and harassing a woman. The four of them surrounded the woman, lewdly harassing her and tearing at her clothes.
The woman cursed and tried to escape, but she couldn't get away.
Ah Xing's eyes flashed with a cold light, his killing intent rising. He looked around, his hand on his throwing knife, ready to strike. It shouldn't be such a coincidence that someone would come and discover that he knew kung fu. He and Ah Yue had lived in this village for a while and had become quite familiar with each other. The villagers were nice, and Ah Yue quite liked living here.
"Who goes there? Stop!"
"Let her go, you son of a bitch!"
"You damn Japanese bastard, I'll beat you to death!"
Ah Xing had already drawn his knife when several men rushed out from the path in the woods to the north, carrying hoes and carrying poles, and chased after him. They must have heard the noise as well.
Seeing this, Ah Xing shrank back and hid behind a tree, observing the situation over there.
The Japanese seem to always move in small groups, usually five people at a time. This time was no exception. The five Japanese men, of varying heights and builds, saw the four men approaching, but instead of dodging or avoiding them, they drew their knives and arrogantly waved at them like they were shooing away flies, meaning to keep them away.
The men exchanged glances, then looked at the village woman, who was already being held in the arms of one of the Japanese men and being groped all over. The next second, without hesitation, they rushed over.
The Japanese became increasingly excited, brandishing their knives and charging forward with a roar. These Japanese were clearly skilled fighters; after several rounds and only a few exchanges, two of the four villagers were injured. Under the fierce blades of the Japanese, the other two were also clearly doomed. Seeing the blades coming towards them, they helplessly closed their eyes and awaited their deaths.
At the critical moment, Ah Xing jumped out from behind the tree. Not caring about being exposed, he turned around gracefully and stylishly a few times, and several throwing knives flew out with a "whoosh," accurately and quickly reaping the lives of several Japanese.
The woman was rescued and stared blankly at everyone, while the men also came to their senses.
"Thank you so much, young hero, for saving our lives!" they all knelt down and bowed to him.
Ah Xing awkwardly pulled them along, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, let's go!"
The woman looked at her torn clothes, bowed, and hurriedly left.
Several men looked at him, and one of the younger, thinner men said, "You must be Sister Yue's brother. I think I've seen you before. You're so skilled. Why don't you join us in the army?"
"That's right, if you go there you'll definitely win first place in the martial arts competition, and then you'll earn an extra five taels of silver every month."
"Come with us. We're from the same village. With you here, no one will bully us."
"I'm not interested in this. Aren't you injured? Why don't you go back and recover first?" Ah Xing was somewhat incredulous. What kind of magic did Wang Erniu possess that made these people so eager to go?
“It’s alright! It’s rare for them to need people; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we have to go today. Besides, with these Japanese leaders around, it should be easier for us to get in. If Xing-ge doesn’t mind, we can still get a name on their behalf.”