Proofreader: Zhu Yuan
Great Qin never banned ordinary people from carrying swords; activities like compet.i.tions on martial arts or practice skills were also allowed, but some weapons with great destructive power and some instruments and cla.s.sics for spiritual practice were strictly forbidden on the market.
Most of what a pract.i.tioner wanted couldn"t be found on a normal market.
However, these things were hidden in the fish market, and the fish market was just a spontaneous market. Many businesses in this market were illegal.
Why could such a market exist on the edge of Changling, surviving for so many years under the nose of those big shots?
This moment, a young man with heavy eyebrows who dressed like a foreigner had such doubts in his heart.
He was holding a yellow oiled paper umbrella with broken edges. He was in a short black gown rarely seen in Changling, wearing no shoes.
The old yellow oiled paper umbrella in his hand was very large, but in order to completely protect the person in front of him from the rain, half of his body was still exposed to the rain and completely wet.
The person in front of him was a short young man dressed as a scholar who had a delicate and pretty face. His skin was like white jade without any defects.
Looking at the countless shabby huts in the fish market, the young man with heavy eyebrows frowned and could not help but ask the short young man, "Childe, why could such a messy market always exist?"
The short young man smiled coldly, "Only by the instructions of the two prime ministers."
The young man with heavy eyebrows still looked at him, puzzled.
"Illegal transactions can often bring higher profits. Higher profits can drive outlaws to bring more things." The scholarly short young man continued, "Over the years, many overseas treasures have been able to reach Changling, and even many overseas pract.i.tioners have established ties with Changling, relying not only on the Wei River waterway but also on this fish market. As for those big shots, they can also obtain something that was not possible to touch before by the market, so they adopted an indulgent att.i.tude to allow it to exist. Of course, those who do business here naturally know what kind of order they need, so it is fairer and safer than other large markets in other countries. "
"So you must understand that the more profitable your business is, the more interested people will be in doing business with you. Moreover, the outlaws will not take big risks to trade with those far stronger than them, because they are afraid of being swallowed up by the big shots." The scholarly young man turned to look at the man behind him and said calmly, "It is because there are such basic rules, I have the confidence to come here and have a talk."
……
The roads in the fish market were rugged and muddy, which was difficult for people to walk. The pa.s.sages of different heights were built layer upon layer. For those who did not come frequently, the market was as complicated as a maze.
However, for most sellers in the fish market who did not welcome loafers and bludgers at all, they didn"t mind the road becoming more complicated and difficult to walk.
Therefore, although the rainy day was very dark, only a few sellers put on lanterns.
The faint lantern light swaying in the wind made the market more ghostly.
There were still many people walking through the fish market. Ding Ning closed up the umbrella, using it as a walking stick, and got to the deep part of the fish market.
Because of the heavy rain, many areas at the bottom of the fish market, which were usually only dry mud ponds, had been flooded with water. The water level was only half a meter from the bottom of most of the stilted buildings. However, there were still many small boats floating around between the stilts and wooden pots in the muddy water.
Along a wood road that supported by a sampan, Ding Ning walked into a small stilted building.
This was a very small inkpad shop, which also sold ink, pens and paper.
The owner of the shop was a lonely old woman who was over sixty years old. Since the cost was low and most transactions in the fish market required inkpad to doseals or handprints, this inkpad shop"s business was not bad.
The business was not busy, and the gray-haired old woman was holding a crude porcelain cup for tea in her shop. When she saw Ding Ning, a warm smile appeared on her wrinkled face. She took out a plate of nuts from a closet beside the door.
"Why do you come in such a bad day?"
Noticing that only the straw sandals on him were wet, the old woman was relieved and took a pair of clean old straw sandals for Ding Ning to change.
Ding Ning did not refuse. He directly sat on the edge of the stilted building to wash his feet in the water and put on the clean straw sandals. He looked around at the roof and wall of this shop.
Both the roof and the wall were somewhat wet, but not seriously damaged.
Ding Ning was also relieved and sat down on the bench next to the old woman. He said, "I am worried about your house because of the heavy rain yesterday. I just want to come and make sure everything is okay. I should have come earlier, but a sudden matter delayed me."
The old woman laughed. After seeing Ding Ning, she became very happy.
"What to worry about my house?" She couldn"t help laughing, "You have repaired my house from time to time. You are more diligent than those boatmen mending boats. Even if it keeps raining and destroying all the houses here, my house won"t have any problem."
Looking at her smile, Ding Ning"s mood was also good. He grabbed a handful of nuts and chewed in his mouth. He asked: "Do you need to buy something? I can do shopping for you later."
"The daily necessities are still full, so you just need to rest." The old woman shook her head and looked at Ding Ning"s slightly pale face. She couldn"t help shaking her head again and asked lovingly, "Have you eaten lunch?"
"Yes, noodles with pickles and fish." Ding Ning smiled.
The old woman was a little unhappy and said in an una.s.sailable tone, "Stay and have dinner here."
"Good!" Ding Ning nodded, "I want to eat fried pancakes."
"I"ll cook you delicious braised fish and chicken legs." The old woman gave him a reproachful look, but her eyes were filled with complex feelings, "Are fried pancakes so delicious? When you were young and just pa.s.sed here, it was a matter of course for me to make you a fried pancake. You still remember the pancake! If you do business, when others just help you do a minor thing, you end up helping them with everything for so many years, you"ll lose a lot of money. "
"I lose what?" Ding Ning smiled and said: "I just did some simple things, mostly just accompany you to talk and listen to stories. Instead, I have enjoyed a lot of free meals from you!"
The old woman shook her head with complex emotions: "To accompany and talk is the greatest gift for a lonely old woman without any children. There are many people whose children died in the battlefield, but many of them are not so fortunate as me."
Ding Ning did not say anything at the moment, eating the nuts like a squirrel.
In a winter many years ago, when he pa.s.sed by, the kind old woman handed him a hot fried pancake. He often came here to see the old woman and did what he could do for her.
He was very clear that it was not just a matter of a fried pancake.
He owed her.
He owed a lot of people, and he only hoped that he could pay back slowly, or make up for it.
……
Ding Ning chatted with the old lady for a while as usual. After listening to what she said about the latest news in the fish market, Ding Ning left her house, wandering to the lower and deeper parts of the fish market.
This time Song Shenshu should have entered the fish market, Ding Ning thought.
Song Shenshu was a minor official working at Stack of Cla.s.sics, an acquaintance of Ding Ning.
However, unlike the old woman who opened the inkpad shop, Ding Ning did not owe Song Shenshu, but Song owed him.
Afterkeeping a watchful eye on Song Shenshu for years, Ding Ning knew some habits of Song Shenshu and what difficulties he encountered in his practice.
Therefore, he was sure that Song Shenshu would show up to fetch the Fire Turtle Gall today.