Chapter Thirty-Nine Riverbank

  Wang Hai hastily replied:

  "In Dengzhou, both the imperial army and the rebels are a scourge to the people. These people have no way out in Dengzhou, they can only try their luck by running away!"

  Seeing Li Meng was about to take out money to help, Chen Liu Zi beside him hurriedly said in a low voice:

  "Li, don't take out your money, if you give some to one person, everyone will gather around and it's a real hassle."

  Li Meng stopped for a moment, didn't say anything, just sighed and continued walking towards the city gate. The three of them were carrying their luggage on their backs. As soon as they entered the city gate, soldiers shouted:

  "Halt! Where did you come from? Is there a road that led you here?"

  Li Meng put the bag on the ground, took out the general flag of Xue Jiaqianhu from his bosom, and except for the soldiers who came to ask questions, the rest were leaning against the city wall basking in the sun. When they saw it was a general flag, the soldiers didn't check it, but also didn't show any respectful expression, returned the flag to Li Meng, and lazily went back to lean against the wall and bask in the sun again.

  When Li Meng and his men entered the city, they heard the clear laughter behind them, "Poor army", Li Meng shook his head, thinking that you are also an army, what qualifications do you have to laugh at us. Chen Liu Zi and Wang Hai were furious, but were stopped by Li Meng's gaze.

  As soon as they entered the city of Jiaozhou, Wang Hai found that he had been there several times in the past six months and was very familiar with the roads inside the city. The three of them walked along the Xiao Bai River in Jiaozhou City. At the end of January on the lunar calendar, even in eastern Shandong Province, there were some signs of spring. There were no ice blocks to be seen in the Xiao Bai River, and new buds had already appeared on the willow branches on both banks.

  The scenery on both banks of this Xiao Baihe River is quite charming. If it were to be described by some pretentious scholars, it would be called "Jiangnan landscape".

  On both sides of the riverbank, there were several strollers enjoying the spring scenery. Li Meng, carrying a salt bag on his back, let out a sigh. In the atmosphere of Jiaozhou City, he always had many thoughts and feelings, reminiscent of the times when he lived in modern cities, where material and spiritual wealth were extremely rich.

  Thinking about it now, every day is spent thinking about how to survive better in the late Ming Dynasty. Every day, he tortures his body and thinks about expanding his private salt business. He also analyzes information from those outlaws from all over the countryside. Thinking of this, Li Meng suddenly let out a bitter laugh. Isn't what he's doing similar to those modern-day underworld bosses that he deeply despises? The only difference is that they deal with drugs and smuggling, while he deals with salt.

  Chen Liu Zi and Wang Hai ran to a stall by the river, where they were buying chestnuts to eat. They had some spare money in their hands and were short of mouth, Li Meng's mood was also good, entering the city without any urgent matters, letting them go for a stroll. He also wanted to take a look at the scenery and relax his mood.

  A group of people walked along the opposite riverbank, with carriages and horses, looking like a team from an official family. Li Meng glanced over and was immediately drawn in.

  Under the surrounding of two or three old women, a young woman wearing a pink cheongsam was walking along the riverbank. At that time, the Xiao Bai River was not as dry as it is today, with abundant water and a slightly wider riverbed. Li Meng could see the young woman's face clearly from this distance.

  She is very beautiful, the girl on the other side of the river is walking slowly, with a dignified demeanor, it can be seen that the girl is admiring the scenery by the river, with a smile on her face, apparently very happy.

  A refined and elegant lady, for some reason, this phrase appeared in Li Meng's mind. Wei Suo wasn't without women, but they were all worn out from life's hardships and the sea breeze, none of them had any feminine charm. Li Meng was also a young man, but having seen many beautiful women through various channels in modern times, he simply didn't have an interest in these 'coarse' women.

  To exaggerate a bit, the woman who appeared on the other side of the river was the first real woman Li Meng had met since arriving in this era.

  In modern times, Li Meng occasionally stared at beautiful women on the street, and the other party might not get angry but feel proud instead. However, this was during the Ming dynasty.

  The old woman standing around the girl saw Li Meng staring blankly over here, suddenly furious, walked to the road by the shore and stopped a few people. The girl in pink cheongsam also noticed that Li Meng was staring at her, immediately blushing bright red and lowering her head, her face flushed with shyness, this coy attitude even more moving.

  Li Meng was stunned for a moment, and a fire slowly burned in his heart. Just then, he heard someone on the opposite side shouting loudly:

  "You poor devil, staring with your dog eyes, what are you looking at? Don't think I won't dig out your eyeballs!!"

  Li Meng was stunned, but saw a young servant in a green uniform and hat on the shore, pointing at him and scolding loudly. The procession was also startled, and several men following the carriage looked over here. Li Meng suddenly woke up from his daze, took one look at the situation across the way, and immediately felt a bit overwhelmed.

  No matter how you put it, this thing is still somewhat unjust for me. In this unfamiliar city of Jiaozhou, the other side has more people and a stronger presence, and I'm really afraid there will be trouble this time.

  "Look at your shabby appearance, have you ever been outside the city walls?"

  That family's scolding became more and more unbearable, Chen Liu-zi and Wang Hai had already thrown down their salt bags and rushed over, not knowing what was happening. At this time, Li Meng looked at the girl and said something to the woman beside her, who then walked over and said something to that family's Ding, and the scolding suddenly stopped.

  The wife's voice was loud enough, and Li Meng could also hear it from this side:

  "The young lady said, 'The people passing by on the road are all unintentional, don't scold so loudly, let's just go.'"

  That DIng finally shut up, but still muttered a sentence:

  "Thanks to our young lady's kindness, otherwise you poor fellow would have suffered!"

  The girl in the pink qipao got on the carriage, and Li Meng suddenly wanted to get closer to take a look at her, wanting to say a few words to her, or even just breathe in the air around her, but it was definitely not suitable now.

  He turned his head and coughed a few times, then scolded Chen Liu and Wang Hai, who still didn't know what was happening:

  "What are you still dazing about? Let's hurry to the warehouse, don't delay the main task."

  Jinzhou Warehouse is the largest commercial building in Jiaozhou City, and its name comes from the common saying "Golden Jiaozhou", which also means wealth and prosperity.

  This warehouse is located on the street near Xiao Baihe River, and many goods are directly transported from Jiaohe to Xiao Baihe for unloading in the city, which is also convenient. Li Meng and three others carried their packages and walked to the entrance of the warehouse, where the workers inside thought they were customers and were about to come forward to greet them.

  The shopkeeper who was counting money at the counter inside the store looked up and hurriedly came out with a smile, saying to the apprentice at the door:

  "Hurry up and help the guests with their things, let's brew some tea and prepare some snacks."

  Said with courtesy:

  "Mr. Chen, there are many people and prying eyes here at the entrance, please follow me to the back hall."