Chapter 15: This Expert Is So Weak
Chapter 15: This Expert Is So Weak
Miao Er quickly brought over a well-dressed old man, who had originally been watching the Salt-Boiling Households busily working in a salt field.
“Brother Huang!”
He said with a laugh.
“Elder He, judging by your complexion, you must be rolling in wealth again this year!”
Huang Zhen said with a smile, clasping his hands.
Yang Xin and Huang Ying followed behind and also saluted.
“Rolling in wealth is an overstatement. I’m just barely getting enough to eat. We Salt-Boiling Households have a hard lot. Are you sticking to the old rules?”
Elder He said.
“Yes, the old rules!”
Huang Zhen said.
“Then we’ll go with the old price!”
Elder He said briskly.
The smuggling deal was settled with just these few simple words. Actually, the more of this kind of business, the simpler the process. But neither side was in a hurry. Loading the goods wouldn’t start until nightfall; doing it in broad daylight was too brazen. This sort of thing still required a bit of caution. Huang Zhen was invited by Elder He to a nearby thatched shed for tea. Yang Xin and Huang Ying strolled around the salt fields. If one ignored the miserable appearance of the Salt-Boiling Households, the scenery here was quite pleasant. Not far away was the vast sea, with seagulls soaring between the blue sky and white clouds. The shore was a silvery color, reflected by the salt crystals on the ground.
“Is this Elder He also a Salt-Boiling Household?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Yes, a rich one. He’s like the local gentry in a village. Although he’s also a Salt-Boiling Household, he controls many salt fields, many grasslands, has connections in the government offices, and keeps many thugs. These Salt-Boiling Households all have to listen to him.
He handles dealings with the officials.
He arranges the sale of Illicit Salt and official salt.
Anyone here who dares to sell salt without going through him wouldn’t be surprised to be sunk in the sea by his thugs.”
Huang Ying said.
“It’s the same everywhere!”
Yang Xin said, looking at the disheveled Salt-Boiling Household ahead.
“Yes, it’s the same everywhere. In villages, the local gentry have the say. In salt fields, the rich Salt-Boiling Households have the say. Even the fishermen in Beitang have to listen to the fishing bosses. The officials won’t intervene in these matters as long as they get their money. If it weren’t like this, why would Father work so hard to support my brother’s studies to earn an official title? With an official title, you have everything. Even if you only pass the Provincial Scholar exam, people will send you land and servants. Some might even bring their land to pledge allegiance to you. Although you have to hand over grain for free, you are exempt from all taxes. We just need to collect less than the officials. If you pass the Jinshi exam or directly become an official, then you can do whatever you want. We could load a boat with Illicit Salt and openly pass through the Customs Checkpoint at Hexiwu, and no one would care. Miss Wang and her party rented a boat to travel to the capital, but do you know who paid whom?”
Huang Ying said.
Yang Xin assumed a listening posture.
“The boat owner paid them. The boat owner looked after them the whole way, provided their food and drink, and even gave Miss Wang some pocket money. But the boat owner didn’t lose out at all, because his boat also carried forty thousand jin of cargo. Along the way, as long as those three lanterns were displayed, he didn’t have to pay any fees or taxes. Even if there were contraband goods, no one would inspect them.”
Huang Ying said.
“Being an official is good, being an official is good. Wear leather shoes and a watch, stroll down the street with a girl in your arms!”
Yang Xin said with a laugh.
“What is a watch?”
Huang Ying asked curiously.
“Have you seen a Western chiming clock?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Miss Wang has one, but it’s not a Western product. It was made by craftsmen in Yingtian.”
Huang Ying said.
“Huh?!”
Yang Xin was stunned.
He really didn’t know the Great Ming Dynasty kept up with the world so quickly. In just twenty or thirty years, they were already producing chiming clocks themselves. Clearly, another path to riches was blocked. At least, based on his knowledge of mechanical clocks, he could only make a basic version of a chiming clock.
He was about to explain what a watch was to Huang Ying when a Salt-Boiling Household carrying ash from salt walked past in front. Perhaps due to exhaustion, his foot slipped.
Yang Xin quickly reached out to steady him.
The man stood there, panting heavily, then thanked him.
“You should at least wear a pair of shoes!”
Yang Xin said, looking at his legs.
This man wore only a pair of ragged shorts. Forget shoes, he didn’t even have long pants. The shorts were patched over and over, completely worn out. His legs and feet, from being soaked in saltwater for years, had turned a grayish color. It was unclear whether it was skin or a layer of hard crust. They were covered in salt crystals, and his hair and beard were also full of them. Judging by how he looked at people, his eyesight wasn’t good either. People like them inevitably got salt in their eyes; over time, their vision was affected.
“If shoes wear out, they’re gone. If skin wears out, it can grow back. Shoes are more valuable than the skin on our bodies!”
The man said.
Yang Xin had no reply.
Salt-Boiling Households truly couldn’t afford shoes, just like boat trackers couldn’t afford clothes. They had no land for men to farm and women to weave; they had to buy everything. Wearing shoes to work in the salt fields was clearly a luxury; even wearing clothes was a luxury…
For them, the cheapest thing was the skin on their own bodies.
“Well, if it isn’t Sister Huang!”
A voice suddenly rang out.
Huang Ying’s face immediately showed disgust.
The Salt-Boiling Household hurried away.
Yang Xin looked up ahead. A man who didn’t seem much older than himself was staring at Huang Ying with shining eyes. He wore a long cloth gown, which was fairly neat, but patches could still be seen. That meant his financial status wasn’t on the same level as Elder He’s. However, this long cloth gown seemed to be from a government office. Yang Xin wasn’t very familiar with such things, but it looked like one. Behind him followed seven men dressed much more poorly, holding sticks, knives, spears, and such…
The Ming dynasty didn’t ban cold weapons.
Because the military primarily used firearms, it was legal for civilians to possess cold weapons privately. Bows and crossbows were no big deal. The military laws in the Great Ming Code explicitly stated that items like bows, crossbows, knives, spears, and forks were suitable for civilians. The criminal laws only stipulated that one couldn’t shoot arrows randomly into residential areas. As for firearms, that was definitely not allowed, but the penalties were insufficient. Even if someone was caught hiding a Cannon at home, it was merely eighty strokes of the cane and exile three thousand li. For ten Cannons, it increased to one hundred strokes and exile three thousand li. A bit of silver could lighten the punishment, and it would pass.
The result was a proliferation of cold weapons among the people. The rise of martial arts was in the Ming dynasty, but it wasn’t the likes of some Master Yan. Ming dynasty martial arts were genuinely practical; there was nothing fantastical about it. Yu Dayou taking on the Shaolin Temple alone wasn’t done by relying on some dantian energy.
These fellows walked over, receiving looks of disgust from the Salt-Boiling Households on both sides.
“Shakedown artists!”
Huang Ying muttered softly.
Yang Xin understood.
The man approached with a lecherous smile, his followers behind him. He completely ignored Yang Xin, his eyes fixed on Huang Ying’s face. However, several of the men behind him glared fiercely at Yang Xin, signaling him to be smart and not interrupt their boss’s flirting.
“Sister Huang, it’s been a while since we last met. Brother has missed you dearly!”
The ruffian said with a grin.
“Get lost!”
Huang Ying snapped angrily.
“Well, still so feisty. Brother likes you just the way you are. Sister Huang, what brings you here? Don’t tell me you want to deal in Illicit Salt? That’s a crime punishable by beheading. Brother, after all, has been eating the imperial grain since his ancestors’ time. Even for a sister like you, I can’t bend the law! Brothers, which one of you will run to Deputy Commander Hu for me? Tell him we encountered someone trying to deal in Illicit Salt!”
The ruffian changed his expression and said.
His followers immediately joined in the clamor, but no one moved. Huang Ying wasn’t afraid because of this.
“You, how can you… falsely accuse people without evidence?”
Yang Xin said weakly.
He even acted as if he were very scared.
Huang Ying instinctively rubbed her forehead.
“And who are you?”
The ruffian looked Yang Xin up and down.
“I, I’m her cousin!”
Yang Xin continued with a fearful face and timid eyes, facing those knives and sticks, appearing panicked and helpless as if encountering such a situation for the first time.
“Cousin?”
The ruffian was suspicious.
“We were betrothed since childhood!”
Yang Xin quickly changed to a happy expression.
Beside him, Huang Ying’s face flushed red.
“Betrothed since childhood!”
The ruffian’s tone suddenly rose.
His expression was like someone who’d had their lollipop snatched away.
Yang Xin reached out and put his arm around Huang Ying’s waist, facing the ruffian with a simple, honest smile…
“I’ll beat your ‘betrothed since childhood’!”
The ruffian roared furiously, his right fist heading straight for Yang Xin’s face. Yang Xin leaned to the side as if pulled by Huang Ying, avoiding it. But this ruffian wasn’t completely useless. As his fist missed, he raised his knee. However, Yang Xin still easily avoided it in the same manner. The ruffian also sensed something was off. Yang Xin clearly wasn’t the weakling he imagined. But he knew what Huang Zhen did for a living. Since Yang Xin was with Huang Zhen dealing in Illicit Salt, he probably wasn’t a weakling either.
“So you’ve practiced. Today, I’ll let you see what a real expert is!”
The ruffian said with a fierce laugh.
With that, he took off his long cloth gown, revealing a well-built body underneath. He not only had large tattoos but also several scars. Clearly, he could make a living through extortion because he had real skills. In these times, it wasn’t like later generations where someone like ‘Brother Long’ could survive in this line of work. In these times, fights were real brawls, where people dared to use Long Spears directly. Without real skills, you wouldn’t last three days trying to make a living this way.
Extortion?
In an era where civilians set up bow and arrow for fights, extortion was a dangerous job.
The Great Ming Code stated: If someone enters another’s house at night without reason, they can be killed without consequence!
The ruffian’s followers all clamored.
Even many of the Salt-Boiling Households gathered around to watch.
“T-then you can’t hit my face!”
Yang Xin continued weakly.
Huang Ying speechlessly removed the hand from her waist and stepped aside.
“I won’t hit your face. I won’t hit your face!”
The ruffian said with a fierce laugh.
Then he suddenly lunged forward, lifting his foot in an upward kick aimed straight between Yang Xin’s legs.
Yang Xin stepped back to avoid it.
As the ruffian’s foot landed, he jumped up, swinging his fist down through the air toward Yang Xin’s face. Yang Xin stepped forward with extreme speed, brushing past his right side. But as he passed, Yang Xin simultaneously grabbed the ruffian’s right ankle with both hands, gave a loud shout, and continued forward. The ruffian’s left foot landed, and off-balance, he face-planted into the mud. As Yang Xin’s steps carried forward, the ruffian’s chin plowed a furrow through the salt-crystal-laden mud. Because his chin was pushed forward continuously, he couldn’t even scream. The next moment, with Yang Xin’s second roar, he was violently swung up, like a frog held by one leg cutting through the air backward…
“Thud!”
With a splash of water, he was slammed hard into the concentrated saltwater nearby that had been baking in the sun all day, lying on his back, questioning his life.
All around were petrified.
Yang Xin turned…
“Expert? This expert is so weak!”
He looked back at the ruffian, who hadn’t yet recovered from the ups and downs of life, then raised his head and spoke with disdain, like the Hulk after throwing Loki.
Huang Ying across from him smiled like a blooming flower.