Chapter 371 Spice House
Chapter 371 Spice House
This was not a peaceful night. When Langguan and the second in command were practicing secretly with spirit stones in their hands, two cold arrows shot from the side.
The archer was not coveting the spiritual stones in the hands of the three brothers, but was only interested in the storage bags hanging around the waists of the three brothers. He suspected that the three brothers had hidden food or new money on them.
Even without new money and food, the storage bags on the three brothers could be exchanged for some rations.
In short, killing people and robbing goods is indeed a business that is sure to make money.
Thanks to Tian Lin's alertness, the arrow was shot down by Tian Lin with a strong wind.
Flying to this point, Tian Lin followed the direction of the arrow and quickly found the person who shot the arrow and killed him.
This scene was seen by countless people. Everyone knew how powerful Tian Lin was, so no one thought of attacking the three brothers in the second half of the night.
At daybreak, Langguan and Erdangjia stopped meditating, and the sounds of bells and drums could be heard again from the "Hufang".
But not many people actually went to the Hufang to take the exam to become domestic slaves.
First of all, there are Hwahwalangs arriving in the capital from other places every day.
However, the number of Hwahwarang who could reach the capital was decreasing, and even fewer of them were qualified to take the examination to become domestic slaves.
Secondly, more and more people who were unwilling or unable to serve as slaves for aristocratic families had no choice but to become bandits in order to beg for a living.
They hid in the mountains and forests near the capital, robbing the Huahualang who traveled a long way to the capital, or robbed the servants who transported goods for the noble families.
Because there are more and more bandits, fewer and fewer Huahualang can come to Beijing alive, so the households seem particularly deserted.
The three brothers Tian Lin inquired for the whole morning and finally gathered together in the afternoon.
Langguan first spoke to the second in command and Tian Lin, "Since you can't be a servant of a noble family, if you want to survive as a refugee, there seem to be only two best ways.
One is to be hired by the villagers and do some temporary work for them. The other is to join a gang and become a robber. "
The second in command said: "In each village, there are indeed people who hire people to do temporary work, but there are very few wealthy families who need to hire people to do work. Even if there are, they are always stingy and are only willing to give a few mouthfuls of food.
Besides, the villagers are only willing to hire experienced people. We are new here, how can we compete with those who have been working here for seven or eight years?"
The official said, "But if you join a gang, there are too many people and too little porridge, so it will be difficult to survive—"
They actually still have some surplus food in their hands, and the reason they are so anxious is that the surplus food will be eaten up one day.
What if the remaining food is gone and there is no help from Master Tingyu?
"Whether you are a gangster or a temporary worker, the most urgent thing is to find out where Lao Qi lives."
Even now, Tian Lin still calls Master Tingyu "Old Seven".
He said to the official and the second in command, "I have inquired with people today. The Wang family has six districts under its jurisdiction in the inner and outer cities of the capital, and twelve villages under its jurisdiction outside the capital.
Wang An from the Wang family is the young master of the Spice Manor, one of the twelve manors of the Wang family outside the capital.
So I guess that if Lao Qi follows Wang An, Wang An will arrange for him to settle down in the Spice Shop."
The official then asked Tian Lin, "Brother, do you mean that we go to the Spice Shop to find the boss?"
One of them is called the Seventh Brother and the other is called the Big Brother.
Although they addressed each other differently, they all knew who the other was referring to and did not correct each other.
Tian Lin said, "Let's go to the spice shop and ask about Lao Qi's whereabouts first. With Lao Qi's identity as a new servant, and him helping us find work in the spice shop, why should we worry about going hungry? Even if Lao Qi can't help us find work, whether it's temporary labor or joining a gang, we can listen to Lao Qi's ideas - after all, he has a different identity, and he must know more than us."
Langguan and Erdang looked at each other and both felt that what Tian Lin said made sense. However, although they had spent the whole morning asking around, they did not get much useful information because they were not familiar with the people around them and were wary of each other.
As for where the spice shop was, they had no idea.
"Six or seven villages to the east is where the Wang family's spice shop is located. If we hurry now, we will definitely arrive before dark."
Seeing that Tian Lin had already found out where to go, Langguan and Erdangjia said no more. The three of them didn't have much luggage to pack, so they immediately set off in the direction of the spice shop.
But to get to the spice shop, you need to pass through several villages.
Unlike the villages around Hufang, these villages were not just gatehouses, but forts were built. Not only were outsiders not allowed to enter, but if anyone approached, they would be shot with poison arrows to injure them.
"These villages are all manors of various noble families. They are their private property. Not only do refugees like us not dare to approach them, even the imperial court soldiers dare not enter without permission."
When Tian Lin and his two companions were on their journey, they met two Hua Hualangs who were also going to the spice shop.
These two Hua Hualang are brother and sister, and they went to the spice shop to look for their relatives.
According to his brother and sister, they had followed their father to the mountains to be bandits, but his father died the day before yesterday, and before his death he asked his brother and sister to go to the spice shop to seek refuge with their biological mother.
According to his father's will, their biological mother entered the spice shop as a concubine when they were young. Although they didn't have much food and clothing, it was thought that they could arrange a way out for the two siblings.
"These villages have such strict entry and exit rules, so the spice shop must be the same. If you and your brother go to the spice shop, how can you get into the village to find your mother?"
The young man replied, "Every month, someone will deliver spice logs to the spice farm. We can ask the people who deliver the spice logs to come to the village to get information for us."
The young man said, "I don't ask for a job in the spice shop. I just hope that my mother will take my sister into the village to be someone's concubine because she is so young!"
His request was very simple; he just wanted his sister to be someone's concubine!
Tian Lin and the other two took a look at his sister. The little girl was skinny and looked only about eight or nine years old.
It is really against the law of nature for her to be someone's concubine at her age.
However, everyone knew that this was the best solution the boy could think of for his sister.
If the girl cannot enter the village to become someone's concubine, sooner or later she will fall into the hands of bandits and be tortured to death.
After all, although the young man was holding a broken sword, he had no cultivation.
"If your sister really becomes a concubine in the spice shop, then she will have a way out. But what are your plans, little brother?"
"I became a slave, but no one wanted me. I had no choice but to go back to being a bandit."
Go back to being a bandit again?
The official shook his head. He could see that the boy was not only young but also had no accomplishments.
For a mortal without any cultivation, it would be a blessing from God if he is not robbed. How can he become a bandit?
However, the official did not speak out his true feelings.
Because of this kind of world, not only are young people destined to have no way out, but even Qi Refiners like them have no way out either.
"The spice shop is just ahead. We'll get there once we cross the mountain."
While the official was daydreaming, the young man suddenly spoke.
(End of this chapter)