Shen Luoxia and Zhao Zheng left their temporary residence together and walked in the autumn afternoon sunshine on the streets of Qibao County.
There are many shops on both sides of the street, and the sunlight shines lightly on the bluestone and black bricks or the eaves of the pavilion, adding a hazy and poetic feeling to this ancient small county town.
In front of and behind Zhao Zheng were pedestrians in ancient costumes, ranging from dignitaries to common people. They were all kinds of people. Looking around, it looked like a simple picture scroll depicting various aspects of the world. He stayed in the inn. For half a year, I have been repeating the same thing every day, looking at similar people, and I have already felt depressed. Now I am on the streets of Qibao County, no matter what I see or who I see, I feel very strange.
Shen Luoxia was very familiar with Qibao County and knew which garment shops in the county had exquisite craftsmanship. She took Zhao Zheng and went straight to the "Chunxiang Garment Shop" that she often visited, and turned two streets to get there. .
Chunxiang Garment Shop has a small appearance, but the decoration is quite elegant. The door plaque is carved from huanghuali wood. The owner of the shop is an old man who can intimidate people at first glance. His eyebrows and beard are very long, and his beard is very long. Black with white, white with black, although he is old, he is full of energy. When the old shopkeeper saw that it was a regular customer, he immediately greeted him with a smile on his face.
Shen Luoxia introduced her new godbrother to the old shopkeeper, and then asked Zhao Zheng to step forward and give the shopkeeper his measurements.
The old shop owner did not dare to neglect the distinguished guest, so he carefully measured Zhao Zheng's height, waist circumference, chest circumference, etc., and wrote them down carefully. During this process, Shen Luoxia had already selected several pieces for making clothes. The fabrics are all expensive silk and brocade.
Shen Luoxia asked how long it would take to make these sets of clothes. After careful consideration, the old shop owner said that he would let the tailors in the store work overtime overnight to make them, and they could be ready in five days at the fastest. Shen Luoxia is an expert in buying clothes. , knowing that this speed was already the limit, he did not embarrass the old shop owner any more.
During the five days when the clothes were made, Zhao Zheng inevitably had to wear coarse clothes. Shen Luoxia felt a little unsightly in her heart, so she asked the old shopkeeper if he had any ready-made clothes. The old shopkeeper took a look at Zhao Zheng's figure. , his eyes lit up, he turned around and took out a white straight-hemmed dress from the warehouse, claiming that the dress was returned by the customer because it was a little too small, but it should be suitable for Zhao Zheng to wear.
This white straight-skirted deep coat is also made of fine fabrics and is lined with light blue silk. It looks elegant and has the air of a refined scholar.
Zhao Zheng was not picky. He carried his clothes to the changing room, changed out of his coarse clothes, shook his sleeves, and found that they fit him better than he had imagined. It seemed that the clothes must have been customized for a certain young man. . He walked out of the changing room wearing new clothes and stood in front of everyone with a smile. He was already handsome, but after putting on new clothes, he seemed to be a different person, like a dragon or a phoenix among men.
"A man relies on his clothes and a horse relies on his saddle. This is indeed true. Brother, you look much more heroic after putting on this dress." Shen Luoxia was actually happier than buying new clothes for herself, with smiles on both sides of her cheeks. Like two blooming peach blossoms.
Shen Luoxia paid the deposit, gave the old shop owner a large ingot of silver, and led Zhao Zheng out of the clothing store. The two siblings then traveled to several places, covering half of Qibao County, and bought something for Zhao Zheng. Many things, including shoes, jade pendants, money bags, etc., completely dressed Zhao Zheng up as a young master.
Zhao Zheng gradually got used to this new set of clothes as he walked along. He occasionally fiddled with the jade pendant in his hand and seemed very comfortable.
After the purchase was completed, Shen Luoxia took Zhao Zheng around again. First they went to a gambling house and watched a group of people fighting crickets there. Shen Luoxia's hands were itchy and she placed a lot of bets. During the period, she won and lost, but Most of them won. Zhao Zheng also played casually, betting on crickets for a while and dice for a while. He was unlucky and only won once or twice. He almost lost whatever he bet. He smiled bitterly in his heart, secretly Comfort yourself to avoid disaster if you lose money.
After getting tired of playing, the two left the casino. As soon as Shen Luoxia went out, she asked: "Brother, do you have a place you want to go? If not, I will take you to drink flower wine now."
"When I was begging for a living in Qibao County, I often went to Laifu Market, and I was familiar with the people there. I haven't seen the people there for half a year, and I want to go there and have a look." Zhao Zheng replied. road.
"You're quite nostalgic. Since you want to go there, I'll go with you. It's not that far away anyway."
It was already getting late now, and the sun was already setting in the west. Zhao Zheng was worried about closing the stalls at the market, so he walked faster. Zhao Zheng remembered the layout of Qibao County in the game, knew the general direction of Laifu Market, and headed straight for it. After approaching the approximate location, he deliberately lagged behind and let Shen Luoxia lead the way to avoid going to the wrong place and exposing his mistakes.
Shen Luoxia unknowingly led Zhao Zheng to Laifu Market. It was dinner time and the market was very lively, crowded and noisy.
Zhao Zheng kept saying that he was familiar with this place, but in fact this was his first time here. He looked left and right, looking for a basket vendor.
In the game, a lame hawker selling baskets wants to poison Qian Chong. If you complete this task, you can also get a big stone for pressing pickles from the hawker. Of course, the stone given by the hawker is very good. It is not an ordinary stone, but a meteorite flying from the sky, which can be used to make weapons. Zhao Zheng is short of weapons now. With this meteorite, he can find a skilled blacksmith to make one. .
This quest line is very important to Zhao Zheng. If you make good use of it, you can not only kill the enemy, but also get the ore you need now. It can be said that you kill two birds with one stone, so you must find this basket seller.
Walking, walking, Shen Luoxia suddenly asked: "Didn't you say you are familiar with the people here? Why didn't the people here talk to you?"
Zhao Zheng had long expected that Shen Luoxia would ask this question, so he calmly pulled on his clothes and replied: "I used to be a dirty beggar, but now I have put on clean clothes, and they can no longer recognize me. "
"I see." Shen Luoxia nodded, suddenly realizing, "Then do you want to go up and take the initiative to recognize them?"
"I just came here to see them. It's enough to see that they are all living well. There is no need to talk to them." Zhao Zheng continued to justify himself.
Shen Luoxia was thoughtful and guessed that her younger brother did not want to be mentioned about being a beggar, so she did not interfere with Zhao Zheng's decision and stayed by Zhao Zheng's side silently.
Zhao Zheng looked back and forth at the vendors on both sides of the market, and he really looked like he was looking for an old friend. When he reached the market halfway, his eyes lit up and he spotted the first vendor selling bamboo baskets, but the vendor was the middle one. She is a young woman and does not match the identity of the NPC in the game. Zhao Zheng does not know whether it is because there is a difference between the game and reality, or whether the NPC is someone else, so he will keep this person in mind and continue to search.
After walking forward for a while, there was suddenly a noisy commotion ahead. Six people in brown official uniforms were collecting money along the street. Every time they passed a stall, the vendor at the stall would offer a bunch of copper coins.
Zhao Zheng looked across the crowd at the group of officials from a distance, and suddenly spotted a familiar figure. That Qian Chong was among these officials. They were really enemies. He turned his head and looked at Shen Luoxia. With one glance, Shen Luoxia spat and said something bad.
As for the money rush, he was holding a pear that he had just picked up from the stall, eating it while collecting money. He looked extremely arrogant, as if a king was patrolling his territory.
In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the king here. As a policeman, he happens to be in charge of the vendors on this street. The vendors here have to obey his orders, otherwise they will not even think about setting up stalls here.
In addition to paying normal taxes every month, the hawkers here have to give these agents an extra 100 cents in "drink money". Under such layers of peeling, the money they can earn every month is There are so few anymore that even life becomes a problem.
Qian Chong and others collected the money leisurely and put strings of hard-earned money into their pockets. When they stretched out their dirty hands in front of a vendor selling steamed buns, the vendor asked boldly with a smile on his face: " Isn't it supposed to be three days from now for the 'drink money' collection for these officials?"
"You guys have been having bad luck lately, you're always losing money, and you're very tight on money. Even eating is a problem, so the day to collect 'drink money' has been moved a little earlier." Qian Chong raised his eyebrows like broomsticks, "Why, you Any objections?"
"No, no, how dare you?" The bun vendor waved his hands repeatedly and hurriedly presented his money with both hands, "This is my 'drink money', I will save it for you guys to buy drinks."
"Hmph, do you really think this little bird money is enough for drinking?" Qian Chong picked up the bunch of copper coins stained with countless sweats, weighed the weight twice, and felt a little dissatisfied.
The steamed stuffed bun vendor was too angry to speak out, so he sent away several plague-like detectives with a smile on his face.
Qian Chong and others walked to the next stall. This stall was selling bamboo baskets. The stall owner was a man with a disability on his feet. He was about thirty years old. His eyes always seemed to be evasive. At first glance, he seemed to be an honest man. In this Laifu Market, there are two sellers of bamboo baskets. One is the stall Zhao Zheng saw before, and the other is this stall.
The lame hawker bowed to Qian Chong and others, took out the copper coins from his arms, and presented them with both hands. His copper coins were not threaded well and were loose.
Qian Chong had big hands, so he put a handful of copper coins in his hand and weighed them a few times. He had been dealing with this gang of hawkers for many years, and in order to prevent the hawkers from cheating, he had already developed the skill of weighing coins. When a bunch of copper coins came into his hand, You can feel the approximate number by weighing it, and the error will never exceed two copper coins.
"Damn, why does it seem like there's a copper missing?" Qian Chong weighed it twice and immediately noticed something was wrong. He frowned with a fierce look in his eyes.
The lame hawker shivered with fright and said quickly: "Uncle Qian, please count it carefully again. The money is exactly one hundred cents. I have already counted it twice before you came over."
"Damn it, I said you lost a penny, that means you lost a penny. What are you talking about? Hurry up and give me another penny, or I will smash your stall today." Qian Chong said arrogantly.
"Uncle Qian, the money I have on me is less than one hundred penny, only more than fifty penny. The money I lack is all temporarily borrowed from others. All this money is given to you. I don't say it is a penny now, just
I can't even get half a penny out." The lame hawker said with a grimace.
"Huh, do you really have no money, or do you pretend to have no money? Other vendors can pay enough for the 'drink money', why can't you alone pay it?" Qian Chong asked.
"You guys know this, even if you lend me a leopard's guts, I don't dare to lie to you. I really don't have any money." The lame hawker was so anxious that he opened his empty coarse cloth wallet and asked
Several police officers showed off.
"Damn it, can you still be reasonable if you don't have money?" Qian Chong became more arrogant when he saw that the lame hawker was afraid of him.
"I don't dare, I don't dare, otherwise it would be better. You guys will be here later, and I will go find someone to lend you a penny now." The lame hawker said solemnly.
"Damn it, do you think our brothers will wait for you here for a mere penny? I tell you, I have to teach you a lesson this time, so that you can remember it for a long time. Remember to prepare the money in advance in the future, one less person
Not even copper." Qian Chong looked around, his eyes fell on the bamboo basket, he stepped on it and crushed it with one foot.
Seeing this, the other five detectives also stepped forward to help the tiger, and together they wreaked havoc on the small bamboo basket stall. In a few steps, the bamboo basket was trampled to pieces, making a crackling sound.
In fact, the lame hawker did not make any big mistake, nor did he offend the policemen. However, in the eyes of these policemen, civilians were as worthless as trivial matters and could be trampled and bullied as they pleased.
The surrounding vendors looked on. They sympathized but were unable to help. They could only watch the lame vendor's stall being smashed.
The lame hawker was so anxious that he was red-faced and did not dare to stop him. He could only plead and beg: "Stop it, please! Our family has worked hard day and night to make this up! We, old and young, at home,
We rely on these bamboo baskets to have enough food. Please do me a favor and stop smashing them!"
"Huh, if I don't clean you up, you just don't have a long memory. I broke your legs back then and made you be obedient for a few years. In the past two years, the scars have probably healed and you have forgotten the pain, and you have started to be disobedient again!"
Qian Chong shouted ferociously, no matter what the lame hawker asked, he still went his own way.
"Gentlemen, please stop smashing... Gentlemen, please stop smashing... Please..." The lame hawker's begging voice became lower and lower, and finally stopped, because there was no point in begging anymore.
More than a dozen bamboo baskets throughout the stall had been smashed to pieces.
Qian Chong and others showed off their cruelty, leaving the lame hawker with a look of despair on his face and walked away, continuing to collect money along the street.
…
Zhao Zheng witnessed the whole process of the lame hawker's stall being smashed from a distance. He clenched his fists silently, and several blood vessels and veins appeared in the shape of dragons and tigers. The murderous intention for Qian Chong in his heart became even stronger, like adding fuel to the fire.
Like oil, it makes the flame more intense.
He has been able to confirm that the lame hawker is the key figure in this mission line. Now that all the key points have been gathered together, the next thing to do is to connect all the key points together to perform a scene of eradicating the evil.
A good show of evil.
"I don't want to talk to those court eagle dogs. Let's go to the side and hide." Shen Luoxia looked at Qian Chong's stinky face from a distance, frowned, pulled Zhao Zheng's sleeves, and disappeared into the crowd. Among them, we left Lai Fu Market along a narrow road between houses.
