Chapter 111 Water and Land Pier
There was nothing to say all night, and the next morning.

Liu Xunyi and his companions arrived at the water and land wharf outside Yingchuan City. Dozens of ship merchants, large and small, gathered here. It was crowded with people all day long, and there was a mix of all kinds of people.

Before the morning dew fell, the dock of Pan Huai's shipping company was already noisy and busy.

In the river, there are boatmen pulling up anchor or mooring to the shore.

On the floating bridge, coolies were busy coming and going, loading and unloading goods.

At the dock, there were accountants holding abacus and pens, counting from time to time. There were clerks holding books, checking each cargo ship one by one. There were also merchants with anxious faces waiting to receive goods, and porters and drivers in groups of three or five, waiting for opportunities to do business.

Of course, there were also guards carrying swords and knives around.

The guards at the docks are generally divided into two categories. One is the ship merchants' own guards, and the other is the escorts hired by merchants to escort goods. These two types of guards have always kept to themselves. The ship merchants' guards mostly walk inside the docks, while the escorts mostly wait outside the docks.

If they are delivery escorts, they have to wait outside the dock for the goods to be loaded, and only after the customer and the merchant ship have counted them, can they be allowed on board. Conversely, the same is true for receiving escorts, who have to wait for the goods to be unloaded, and only after the customer and the merchant ship have counted them face to face can they take the goods away.

At one dock, there are often multiple merchants loading or unloading ships at the same time. This inevitably leads to chaos, so for safety reasons and to clearly define responsibilities, the merchant's guards and the escorts hired by the guests are often stationed inside and outside the dock, each doing their own job without interfering with each other.

Liu Xunyi and the other two were mixed in the bustling crowd, jostling each other and pushing and shoving each other.

Although Luo Ningyu was dressed as a man, she was a girl after all, and it was inevitable that she would lose her manners if she was squeezed together with so many sweaty and smelly men. Fortunately, Lin Fang was rough but thoughtful, and took good care of her along the way, so that Luo Ningyu was not taken advantage of in the crowd.

"Excuse me, brother, where can I pick up the goods?" Liu Xunyi and the other two struggled to get through the crowd and got to the counter. Lin Fangda smiled at a man who looked like a manager and handed over the bill of lading in his hand. Unexpectedly, the man didn't even raise his eyelids, and drove him away in a bad tone: "If you want to pick up the goods, go to the ferry to line up. This is the place for loading goods. Why are you wandering around? Can't you see I'm busy!"

"Oh!"

Lin Fangda's hot temper could be ignited at any time. He slapped the bill of lading on the counter and shouted, "You are blind. We pay you to live, not to listen to your orders! I asked you to take a chicken feather, but you really took it as an order?" After that, without waiting for the man in charge to refute him, Lin Fangda suddenly took action and pulled half of the man's body out of the counter. No matter how hard the man tried to tear his body apart, he could not break free.

Seeing the people around him looking at him strangely, Liu Xunyi quickly stopped Lin Fangda's fist from falling, raised the bill of lading in front of the man, and threatened: "My eldest brother has a bad temper. You are just trying to make a living. If you really make trouble, it will not be good for you or me. What's more, you are in my eldest brother's hands now. If you anger him and really break a few of your bones, wouldn't that be asking for trouble? We are new here and are not familiar with the rules of this land and water port. Please teach us a thing or two, brother!"

"That's right!" Luo Ningyu knew that this was Mr. Pan's dock, and she was here to celebrate his birthday. As the saying goes, you should look at the owner before beating the dog. Naturally, she didn't want to cause trouble, so she threw a few coins and "apologized" with a fake smile, "He was a little reckless. I apologize to you on his behalf."

The man wanted to take the opportunity to get angry, but after hearing Liu Xunyi's "threat" and Luo Ningyu's "apology", he felt a little agitated. After hesitating for a long time, he could only secretly say "bad luck", and then glanced at the bill of lading, and muttered unhappily: "You go to the C-shaped ferry to line up, and you can pick up the goods later." As he said that, he pointed to the left, and saw that the three ferry crossings on the left side of the counter were written with three big red characters "A, B, and C". At this moment, there were many people waiting in line in front of each ferry crossing.

"I haven't even met Master Pan yet, but I'm already pissed off by his servants. I really don't know how the Pan family usually disciplines their servants? They're really just taking advantage of the power of their masters and looking down on people!" Lin Fangda didn't forget to complain a few words while standing at the back of the team, which immediately caused Liu Xunyi and Luo Ningyu to laugh secretly.

"Brother, why bother with him?" Liu Xunyi consoled him. "These merchant families are different from our martial arts sects. In a sect, there is a clear hierarchy and order between the old and the young. Even between brothers, there is no room for rashness. They rely on the sect rules and regulations. But merchant families are different. They rely on money and interests. Today, if the Pan family gives them one tael of silver, they are willing to work for the Pan family. If the Li family gives them two taels tomorrow, these people will switch to the Li family in the blink of an eye."

"Isn't this betraying the master and destroying the ancestors?" Lin Fangda curled his lips in disapproval.

"If they were in the martial arts world, they would be dishonoring their master and ancestors. But for them, whether they are in the Pan family or the Li family, they are just looking for a job to support their family." Liu Xunyi shook his head and said, "Because the master gives the apprentice much more than the shopkeeper gives the clerk, the clerk's feelings for the shopkeeper are much weaker than the apprentice's feelings for the master. Everyone's situation is different, and their identities are also different, so they can't be compared."

Luo Ningyu raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "Liu Xunyi, from what I heard from your words, it seems that you are trying to excuse that rude guy just now? Could it be... you think that even if you are in the martial arts world, if someone betrays his master, it is also excusable?"

Luo Ningyu's words made Liu Xunyi's heart sink. His words "different situations, different identities" actually more or less alluded to himself. But Luo Ningyu's rhetorical question inadvertently touched his hidden pain, so he couldn't help feeling bitter.

"I……"

"Sir, it's your turn."

While they were talking, the three of them had already arrived in front of the C-shaped ferry counter. The words of the cargo counting clerk broke Liu Xunyi's embarrassment and also interrupted Luo Ningyu's aggressive pressure.

After handing over the bill of lading, two coolies took down a three-foot-square wooden box from the boat and carefully placed it in front of the counter. The chief clerk pointed at the wooden box and said with a smile, "Please check it, sir."

Liu Xunyi and the other two looked at each other. None of them knew what kind of birthday gift Luo Tianjin had prepared for Mr. Pan Ba, but due to the rules of delivery at the dock, the three of them had to pretend to pry open the wooden box and check.

Inside the wooden box was a beautifully carved rosewood box. Sandalwood has a natural fragrance, so the moment the wooden box was pried open, a faint fragrance escaped, which instantly lifted the spirits of Liu Xunyi and the other two.

Opening the rosewood box, they saw something wrapped in thick red silk. Luo Ningyu carefully peeled off the red silk, and a two-foot-tall white jade Guanyin suddenly appeared in front of the three of them.

The white jade is flawless, and it is a natural creation. The clear water is shining, and the sun, moon, and stars are shining. This white jade Guanyin is made from a piece of natural unpolished jade, which is carefully polished and carved. The whole body is crystal clear, and it is priceless, rare, and breathtaking.

“The mansion lord is really courageous and brave. He didn’t even send any experts to escort such a white jade Guanyin, but just let the ship merchant transport it casually like a tattered broom. It seems to be full of dangers, but it is unexpectedly very safe.” Liu Xunyi sighed sincerely, and his respect for Luo Tianjin increased by three points.

"Since there is no problem, please take it away!"

They carefully closed the wooden box again, and before Liu Xunyi and Lin Fangda could carry it away, a big hand suddenly stretched out from nowhere and pressed heavily on the wooden box, shocking Liu Xunyi and the other two.

Looking up, they saw a burly, black-faced man blocking their way. Behind him were four or five thug-like followers.

"A stranger?" The dark-faced man squinted at Liu Xunyi and the other two, then tapped the wooden box a few times and said bluntly, "Where are you going? The money for this box of goods hasn't been paid yet!"

"What share of money?" Luo Ningyu asked back, "We have the bill of lading in hand, and the shipping fee has already been paid, so how can we still owe you any money?"

"The boat fee has been paid, but you haven't paid the dock fee yet?" The dark-faced man sneered, "Your box of goods doesn't look like small stuff... That's all! Considering that you're new here, I'll give you a discount... Give me ten taels of silver!"

"Ten taels of silver?" Lin Fangda's eyes widened and he shouted angrily, "It cost less than five taels to transport our goods by water. How dare you ask me for ten taels of silver now?"

"You may not need ten taels of silver to get it on the water, but if you want to take it out of the dock, you'll need ten taels! This is the rule of the East Lake Gang." The black-faced man urged impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want to pay, then leave the things behind and get out! There are still a lot of people waiting to pay and take the goods."

Liu Xunyi turned to look at the chief clerk in the cabinet, wanting to ask what was going on, but he saw that the chief clerk deliberately turned his head away, pretending to be indifferent, as if he didn't want to get involved in this muddy water.

"The boxes of those people just now were bigger than ours, and you only charged one tael of silver. Why did it become ten taels when it came to us?" Luo Ningyu pointed at several merchants in the distance and said angrily, "What the hell is this East Lake Gang? You don't look like you're from Pan Huai's shipping business, nor do you look like you're from the government. What kind of money are you charging? It's clearly highway robbery!"

"Robbery is a capital crime against the king's law. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand! Besides, if it was really robbery, why would they only ask for ten taels of silver? It's not robbery, it's the rules! The rules of Yingchuan! The rules of the water and land docks! I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you. Either the three of you pay ten taels of silver and get out of here, or leave this box behind. If you want to cause trouble, you have to find out where this place is first. Don't refuse a toast!"

The Donghu Gang is the largest gang in Yingchuan. It cannot be considered a martial arts sect, but just a mob of bandits.

The Donghu Gang was rampant at the water and land docks all day, collecting their share of the money. In the past few years, there were still people who resisted, but they were beaten to a bloody pulp at best, and beaten to death at worst, and then their bodies were thrown into the river. The most helpless thing was that the government turned a blind eye to this matter.

Over time, it became an underground rule for the Donghu Gang to collect a share of money at the water and land docks. Especially in recent years, all the merchants who come and go here have taken the initiative to pay money to show their goodwill in order to seek peace. Even the guests who bring escorts are mostly unwilling to be enemies with the Donghu Gang. After all, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. They only want to make money and don't want to cause trouble. What's more, the money collected by the Donghu Gang is just a small amount of money. Most of the merchants who come and go are businessmen doing big business, and they don't care about a few trivial silver coins. They just regard it as a way to avoid disaster.

However, the guest that the Donghu Gang encountered today was not an ordinary guest, and would not be easily intimidated by his harsh words.

After understanding the reason, Lin Fangda suddenly changed his attitude. He nodded gently with a smile on his face, reached into his arms, fumbled around for a few times, then slowly stretched his hand towards the black-faced man with the back of his hand facing upwards, and said with a fake smile: "You want money, I'll give it to you!"

Seeing Lin Fangda showing weakness, the black-faced man couldn't help but show a smug look on his face, and then stretched out his hand to take Lin Fangda's "silver" without any hesitation. But at the moment their fingers touched, Lin Fangda suddenly opened his five fingers and grabbed the black-faced man's wrist.

Only then did everyone see clearly that Lin Fangda's hands were empty, not even a tael of silver.

The black-faced man realized that something was wrong, but before he could hastily pull back his arm, Lin Fangda suddenly pulled forward and pulled the black-faced man in front of him. Then he clenched his left fist and used the Black Tiger Heart-Ripping Move, hitting the black-faced man hard in the abdomen.

The black-faced man was hit so hard by this punch that he felt as if his internal organs were burning and his heart was broken. His face instantly turned pale as paper, his eyeballs rolled up, his mouth, tongue, lips and teeth trembled uncontrollably, and his whole body quickly curled up like a cooked shrimp.

"Whoosh!"

Lin Fangda suddenly made a move. Seeing the situation was not good, the disciples of the East Lake Gang beside him hurriedly fired a whistle arrow into the sky. With a sharp whistle that cut through the sky, groups of people quickly emerged from all directions on the water and land docks that stretched for more than ten miles along the Huai River. Most of these people were holding sticks, and some were holding swords and harpoons, and they hurriedly gathered towards the dock of the Pan Huai ship merchant. In a short moment, two or three hundred people had gathered and surrounded the Pan Huai dock.

Seeing more and more Donghu Gang disciples gathering around him, Lin Fangda seemed to realize that the situation was not good. His throat moved slightly and he swallowed subconsciously.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Fangda turned to look at the bewildered Liu Xunyi and Luo Ningyu, and said with an awkward smile: "Now I finally understand why the people from the East Lake Gang dare to be so arrogant on the dock. Xunyi, Ningyu, what do you think... can each of us knock down more than a hundred people?"

……

(End of this chapter)