Ancient Ferry Dock.
Iron Bird Flies sat inside a dilapidated thatched hut by the dock. Behind him lay piles of salt bags, each deliberately packed to the size of a human head. These small bags made it easy for his salt smugglers to carry one each on their backs and still move quickly to evade the officials.
He had only transported this salt to the dock yesterday afternoon.
It had been a real challenge!
Shanxi was in chaos.
After Old Zhang Fei, who had attacked the ancient ferry dock last ti, was driven off by Xing Honglang’s cannon fire, he hadn’t fled far. Instead, he continued to scatter around Puzhou and Hedong Road. Bandits could be seen in nearby villages at any mont.
So were large groups—hundreds or even thousands strong. Others were small groups of bandits—dozens to a hundred. They spread across various villages, looting, killing, burning, and forcing ordinary people to join them.
Iron Bird Flies took shelter from the larger bands but cut apart the smaller groups of bandits. He sold all the grain entrusted to him by Xing Honglang to the people of Hedong Road. Then, he slipped toward Jie Pond, purchased a large quantity of salt, and returned to the ancient ferry dock to wait for Xing Honglang’s next arrival.
A Dock Worker slipped inside and bowed to Iron Bird Flies. “Boss Iron, do you still have grain left? I’d like to buy so more.”
Iron Bird Flies shook his head. “Nothing left! I only have enough for a few days myself. Everything else has been sold away.”
The Dock Worker wore a look of distress. “That’s terrible. My wife is pregnant. She cannot run out of grain now.”
Iron Bird Flies replied, “Just hold on a little longer. Boss Xing promised she’d bring more grain.”
The worker whispered low, “Both Shaanxi and Shanxi suffer drought. Even if Boss Xing had three heads and six arms, could she really bring so much grain?”
Frowning, Iron Bird Flies sighed. “Ah! Either way, we can’t just wait for Boss Xing to save us. We must find ways to save ourselves. Try fishing in the river for now!”
The Dock Worker sighed and left.
Iron Bird Flies stepped outside the hut as well, glancing toward the dock. Large groups of rchants, fishern, and peasants were reinforcing the dock fence, searching for thicker logs and hamring them into the ground…
However, these people were too hungry to muster any strength. As a result, the logs they brought weren’t large enough. They didn’t possess enough power to chop down whole trees or haul and prepare heavy timber if they had. Therefore, this fence wouldn’t stand tall.
Iron Bird Flies thought to himself: when Old Zhang Fei attacks the ancient ferry dock next ti, it will surely collapse.
Ah!
Boss Xing, when will you return?
Just then, a Porter standing guard nearby roared, “They’re here! Ships on the river are coming!”
Iron Bird Flies rushed with pride. “She’s here? Marvelous! Is it Boss Xing’s ship?”
“I… I can’t be certain… three vessels ca this ti!”
“Three?”
Iron Bird Flies paused in astonishnt before scrambling to higher ground to gaze over the river.
Along the northern stretch of water, three large vessels appeared. Still too far to see clearly, but the direction they ca from told him everything—nine in ten chances it was Xing Honglang. After all, the imperial navy upstream along the Yellow River didn’t operate such large ships.
The three vessels drew close enough for identification. One carried nurous cannon barrels that stood out prominently. Could it be Xing Honglang’s battle vessel from the last trip?
This ti, a large flag flew upon its mast, bearing the character “狼” (Wolf).
The other two looked peculiar—flat-decked craft. One was filled entirely with warhorses, likely a hundred or more. The second seed laden with goods, covered in tarps. Though the contents remained hidden beneath the cloth, they could guess it must be grain.
Iron Bird Flies rushed with pride. “Boss Xing is here!”
Crowds rushed to the shore, cheering toward the water: “Boss Xing!”
“Yongji Xing Honglang!”
The poorer they were, the harder they cried out, for they were thoroughly exhausted from hunger.
Especially the dock worker whose wife was pregnant. Gazing at the three ships on the river, he felt as if he had spotted a lifeline. His shouts soon turned into tears: “My wife and child will be saved now.”
Standing on the deck of the cargo ship, Xing Honglang looked down at the cheering crowd on shore and sighed softly, “My folks back ho are suffering so much these days.”
Gao Chuwu, aboard another ship, popped his head out to observe the scene ashore. He couldn’t help but startle, “My wife has quite the reputation here!”
A grenadier sidled up to him, chuckling, “Battalion Commander, you’re visiting your wife’s hotown now, eting her kinfolk. Better stay sharp! Otherwise, you’ll beco a laughingstock and drag down Madam Xing’s dignity along with you.”
That sounded right to Gao Chuwu. Wasn’t this the classic scenario of the clumsy husband accompanying his wife back to her family to visit her relatives? Now was definitely not the ti for any slip-up—showing any incompetence would earn her kin’s scorn.
Gao Chuwu smoothed his hair, “How do I look?”
The grenadier exclaid, “You look mighty impressive, Battalion Commander!”
Gao Chuwu burst into laughter, “Haha! Good! Let the folks from my wife’s hotown see just what a fine man their new son-in-law is!”
He boldly strode to the very tip of the warship’s prow, standing proudly while the river winds whipped through his hair, making it stream and flutter wildly behind him. His towering, formidable fra stood tall against the rushing wind…
The people on shore caught sight of this burly, bold fellow on the warship—thick brows, big eyes, broad as a tiger’s back and waist as sturdy as a bear’s—standing heroically on the bow like a god of war. His imposing presence truly startled them.
“Battalion Commander,” the grenadier called out, “a real man needs to bare his chest to the wind to look truly heroic!”
Gao Chuwu paused, “Huh? Really?”
He grabbed the front of his shirt and ripped at the sides. Expecting the fabric to tear easily, revealing his massive chest muscles, he discovered instead that the cotton cloth was finely woven and robust. His attempt at a dramatic, effortless tear simply didn’t work. He hadn’t used enough force. The shirt didn’t rip. Worse, his awkward motion caused him to twist sharply.
Losing his balance, he wobbled and plumted overboard.
Fortunately, he was uniquely gifted—scoring zero in the liberal arts but a perfect hundred in physical education. As he fell, he instinctually reacted. His hand shot out and gripped the ship’s gunwale, leaving him hanging precariously over the river.
He couldn’t swim. Falling into the water would be disastrous. Frantically, he scrambled back up, his movents clumsy and utterly graceless in his panicked state.
The people on shore could only stare: “…”
“What is that man doing?”
“Is he an idiot?”
“He certainly seems to be!”
Gao Chuwu finally hauled himself back to safety on the deck, sitting down in dismay. “Oh no! I’ve ruined it! Now I’ll be an embarrassnt in front of my marital family!”
The three ships pulled up to the dock one after another…
Xing Honglong was the first to leap ashore.
Her appearance froze the crowd. They could see it clearly—Xing Honglang now wore her hair in a married woman’s bun, a style she hadn’t sported just days before on her previous visit.
In this incredibly short ti, she had gotten married!
The people on the pier gasped, “Huh?! Can that be right?”
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