North and South groceries

Changle County is very busy here. When the ten-coin reward for a thief came out, many people in the county were really excited for a while.

If this is the case in the past, there must have been people who carried knives, guns and sticks on their backs, packed dry food, and went out to look for those thieves.

It's just that today is different from the past. In the past two years, all the young and hardworking people in the county have been doing business, some are doing business, some are in the workshop, and some are farming.

In the past, there were a few small and large gangs in and around Changle County, but now most of them have disbanded, and the one or two lingering gangs have lost their main force. There are only a few soldiers and crab generals left, which is not a big deal.

If those thieves don't have eyes and come to Changle County, they will be caught if they are caught, and they will be taken for nothing.

If the people of Changle are asked to go out and look for these thieves, especially in a place like Baizhang Shouzhuo, it would be too dangerous. Besides, everyone has to work every day, and there is no time. If you catch him, you will lose your job.

It is heard that in Dunhuang and Jinchang, several gangs have gone to the tents to guard and arrest them in the past few days. After all, Dunhuang and Jinchang are a large place with a large population, and there are many gangs and gangs.

Life in this era is difficult, and it is not easy for these gangs. Those rich local tyrants and gentry all have their own trilogy at home, and it is not easy for anyone to move if they want to.Caravans are not easy to mess with. Those who dare to come out to do business these days are not soft persimmons. Many caravans have a large number of people, and they are even more desperate to fight.The remaining ordinary people are so poor that they can't even support themselves, so naturally they don't have much money. Besides, not all of these gangs will attack the poor.

"...Yang Lao Si's group of cowards are used to using dirty methods to earn ill-gotten gains. He deserves to fall into the hands of Na Luo's coffin board this time."

That night, a group of more than ten young and strong men left the Hehe garrison overnight. Before they could go to the tent to guard them that night, they rented a felt shed by the market next to Daze with a person from outside the customs. I lit a fire outside the shed, intending to cook some hot soup, and ate with the dry food I brought.

"Then Boss Liu is really so kind, and asked us to share a piece of the pie?" A man sat by the fire and said in a muffled voice.

"Why are you saying this again?" The person who was burning the fire at the side asked impatiently.

"Didn't Bai Qiyi make it clear to you early in the morning, the Baizhang guards caught the mixed dragons and snakes over there, Boss Liu and the others must have been a little bit overwhelmed, so they called us to go over to fill up the numbers."

"Oh... I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

"I made it clear before going out, why are you talking again at this time?"

"If you are afraid, you can go back, and the few of us will go by ourselves."

"I just think this trip is a bit dangerous."

"You don't know anyone, if it's not dangerous, why are you still pointing at the copper coin falling from the sky for nothing?"

"After earning this sum, I will have capital."

"Whether you run a business or work in a workshop in Changle County, the family will never die of hunger."

"Don't think about those useless things, eat a few bites quickly and sleep, and you have to hurry tomorrow morning."

"..."

They are from Dunhuang, they are about the same age, and they have known each other since they were young. Because they were born in poverty, they have to think about ways to get money from a very young age to support themselves and their families. In order to survive, they have also done some bad things. matter.

Boss Liu is the leader of a big gang in Dunhuang, and he wanted to lure them into the gang early in the morning. They resisted and didn't join, because once they became their members, they often couldn't help themselves.

In the future, if something big happens, not to mention my own life, the whole family will have to be buried with them. The law of this era is like this, and you have to sit down at every turn.

Over the years, they have had some contact with Boss Liu, mainly to help with some not-too-dirty work when Boss Liu and others are too busy.

This time, they didn't want to participate in this incident. Those twenty or so people cost more than 200 yuan. , They only have these few small shrimps, don't make any money when the time comes, and instead fill their own life into it.

Unexpectedly, last night, one of Boss Liu's subordinates came suddenly, saying that Boss Liu and others are currently guarding the Baizhang, and there is a shortage of manpower, so I asked them to go and make up the number.

The boss of their group, that is, Bai Qi, has a young nephew in his family who is weak and sick. For several years, he always repeats, spends a lot of money, and owes some debts.This time, when he heard about it, he said he would come, and several other brothers followed suit.

In the current situation, everyone has some ideas in their minds. There is no deep hatred between gangs, and it is easy for all members to fight to the death. Most of them will have one or two people from each side to compete.

Boss Liu has been developing in Dunhuang for these years, and he has quite a lot of power. He has many people who can fight under his command, but he also fears that those people will be fierce and deadly. That's why Bai Qi and his party came to mind.

It is expected that there must be a life-and-death struggle waiting for them at Baizhang Shouzhuo at this time...

In fact, this is indeed the case. Boss Liu didn't want those brothers under his family who had always been loyal to him to fight with others, so he thought of Bai Qi. The bones are hard.

If it weren't for that Bai Qi was standing in front of him these years, the people under him would have become his Boss Liu's subordinates long ago.This time he wants to let Bai Qi fight with others, if he wins, or if he loses, he just took this opportunity to annex their little gang.

When Bai Qi and the others arrived at Baizhang at noon the next day to catch them, all of Yang Laosi and his party on the reward list had already been taken down. There were 27 people in his party, no more than one less.

Boss Liu relied on his large number of people and was willing to spend money to buy news from the locals. As an outside force, he actually snatched fourteen thieves out of his life. That was 140 copper coins, enough to feed their gang for a long time.

Having been robbed of so many heads by these outsiders, those local forces guarding them with hundreds of tents must not agree, so they surrounded them and did not let them go.

There were also some people who proposed to fight, but Boss Liu had been dragging his feet, and now seeing Bai Qi coming, he took it easy and sent someone out to spread the word, saying that they were going to fight.

It is said that the level is different, and the posture is naturally different. Right now, the Baizhang guarding at this time, to Bai Qi and his little shrimps, it is like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den.

But for people like Boss Liu, it's actually not that dangerous. They just came here to grab money. Relying on their numbers and power, they can grab as much as they can, and they don't have to fight to the death.

Those guards in the hundred tents insisted on stopping them from leaving, saying that they wanted to compete, so let's compete, he pushed Bai Qi out the first time...

……

Two days later, these people marched to Changle County to collect the rewards. Since they entered the city, a team of guards followed along the road to guard them.

Not long after, Qiao Junlin and a group of students from the academy also arrived.There are also several workshops in the county, Luo Yong's disciples, and many hired workers in the workshops also rushed over to the county government.Except for some people in the city watching the excitement, most people are very wary of the arrival of this pedestrian.

The officials did not let these people enter the county government office, but verified the identities of the culprits on the street in front of the county government office, and then loads of copper coins were taken out of the county government office.

The medium-sized willow and rattan basket was covered with red silk cloth, and when the red silk cloth was lifted, there were ten copper coins neatly stacked underneath.

Handing over money with one hand, and handing over people with the other, everyone saw that loads of copper coins were brought out of the yamen, and the culprits were shackled and taken to the county yamen prison.

In the end, the 27 culprits, plus the previous five, made a total of 32 people, all of whom were arrested.For a while, there were probably no more thieves who dared to extend their claws to their Changle County boundary.

"It's worth risking your life to earn this money, which is not as good as those workers who repair bridges."

At this time, Bai Qi and the others had already received the money from Boss Liu, so they found a restaurant in Changle County to eat and drink. They were lucky this time, and among the ten or so people, Bai Qi went out alone They competed one game, won the battle, and were not seriously injured.

That's why they were in the mood to sit here and eat wine at this time, and they were actually relieved when they said this.

"It's enough for a while." Bai Qi smiled and patted the burden in her arms.

After a desperate fight with others, Boss Liu gave them three pennies, Bai Qi took the penny himself, and let the brothers share the rest.With his usual money back, not only can he pay off his debts, but he can also buy a lot of food for his family. This winter can be regarded as settled.

It was also his luck that this time he met a life-saving man. In that fight, he clearly felt that the other party didn't want to fight him with his life, so neither side made a fatal move.

Times have changed, and today's Baizhang Shouzhu is somewhat different from the past.

"Winter is coming soon, Bai Qi, what are your plans?" Someone asked Bai Qi.

"After I send the money back, I'll buy some firewood and keep it at home. When it's settled, I'll come here to find a workshop to work." Bai Qi took a sip of the dirty wine and said.

Bai Qi wants to enter the workshop?

Everyone was surprised.

"What's the matter, everyone else can enter the workshop, but I can't?" Bai Qi actually wanted to enter the workshop a long time ago, but the family burden was too heavy. He was the seventh eldest in the family, with five older brothers and one older sister.

It is reasonable to say that the burden of supporting the family should not fall on his shoulders, but fate is not good, the brothers above are dead and disabled, and her elder sister is also an honest one. Not to mention helping the family, Bai Qi has to stand up for her from time to time, helping her a little bit.

Although his family still owes hundreds of Wen in debt, compared to the past, life is actually passable. The main reason is that Bai Qi is now old and able to take on the important task of supporting the family.

At the beginning of spring this year, he sent his eldest niece to work in Luo Erniang's cashmere workshop. Now she eats well and dresses well in there, and can still earn wages for the family.

There is nothing to worry about at home. Although Ye Niang is old, she has two sisters-in-law who can take care of the whole family, and a disabled elder brother who is missing a leg, but she is still a man. With him at home, Bai Qi is more rest assured.

This time, he was able to hold the whole money in his arms, which was regarded as God's favor, and he shared some money with his brothers. Although it was not much, it was regarded as the fulfillment of the friendship of these years.

Bai Qi plans to go to work in the workshop in a few days. It is best to learn some crafts. In fact, what he wants to do most is the bridge repair work, and then learn the bridge repair skills. It's a pity that he didn't catch up last time. I don't know when I will have to wait for the next time.

Today's meal is their breakup meal.

Recalling the friendship of these years, the sharing of life and death, the hardships and risks that have been endured, the clank man can't help but shed tears.

During the banquet, I couldn't help but pay respect to those brothers who died in the early years. In the early years, when the days were the most sad, Bai Qi told them that if they fight, they might survive, and if they don't fight, they will die.

In the blink of an eye these years have passed, and Bai Qi, who was the most ruthless and desperate at that time, will also quit. From his point of view, he no longer needs to fight for his life anymore.

……

A few days passed in a blink of an eye, at noon on this day, Bai Qi came to Changle County in a wooden carriage with a big burden on his back and a few brothers who were still willing to follow him, intending to find a workshop in the county to work.

But before they went to find a workshop, they heard that some of Luo Yong's disciples were recruiting workers in the city these two days, and they said they were going to Yiwu to find some kind of soil, saying that that kind of soil could only be found in the mining area.

"How much is the salary?"

Although they wanted to enter the workshop, Bai Qi and the others were still used to being wild after all. Compared with the stuffy workshop, they would rather go outside. When they heard about this, they were a little moved.

"Normally, each person is [-] Wen per month. If you want to enter the mine below the mountain, you will have to pay more." A commoner who knew the details told them.

Going into the mine below the mountain is already quite dangerous for ordinary people in Changle County. They are living a good life now, so they really need to think carefully about whether they want to take this risk.

Bai Qi and the others didn't hesitate at all, the wages were much higher than entering a workshop, and they were not afraid of going far, nor were they afraid of entering the mountains. As for going to the mine, last time Luo used those disciples to recruit people to build bridges, It's dangerous, and no one will die in the end, let alone whether they will die this time, at least they can be sure that those people still value human life very much, so what are you afraid of, let's go.

Several people looked at each other, and hurriedly went to the recruiting workshop, for fear that one of them was late and missed this time.

As for the soil they said they were looking for, who cares, just go there, and someone will teach it when the time comes.

In fact, what Luo Yong they were looking for this time, what kind of soil was there? What they were really looking for was thorium.