Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 134 Wanjin People

The Lunar New Year is approaching and Wanjin Town is very lively.

The stone Bodhisattva stood on the street somewhat dazed, watching people coming and going, not knowing where to go for a moment.

Since these new soldiers have been working for almost a year and have saved up a lot of copper coins, Yuanye, in order to boost the economy and prosper the market, has raised the combat readiness level. Currently, they are in level four combat readiness status, which means there is no risk of war for the time being. The daily focus is on strengthening training, so the soldiers have been arranged to take turns to take leave, so that these soldiers who have saved money can go out and spend it quickly, whether it is eating, drinking or buying things. It would be best if they come back penniless.

However, ever since Shi Pusa was kidnapped and taken back to Wanjin by the caravan, he had been living a collective life, either staying in the workshop and being beaten, or staying in the military camp and being beaten. He had become accustomed to the collective life. Now that he was suddenly given a vacation and no one gave him orders, he didn't know what to do for a moment.

He stood on the gravel street for a while, with nowhere to go. He saw a military police patrolling in the distance. He quickly turned around, avoided the military police and began to walk around randomly, thinking that he could get through the day and return to the camp early. At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling softly, "Is it... Brother Bodhisattva?"

He was stunned for a moment, turned his head and looked over, and found that it was a little girl of six or seven years old whom he did not recognize. He hesitated for a moment and smiled innocently: "Who are you?"

"It's me, Ah Qi!" The little girl was sure that she had not recognized the wrong person. A smile immediately appeared on her face. She walked over quickly and reminded him, "Half a year ago, it was Brother Bodhisattva who sent us on the boat. Have you forgotten?"

The Stone Bodhisattva suddenly realized and remembered that more than half a year ago, he followed the pots and pans to a village to capture people. He saw a mother and daughter fall down, and he sent them to the village entrance. Later, he was ordered to help these people board the boat. He even carried the little girl on his back for a long distance. However, the little girl was like a stick of firewood at the time, with messy hair and dust on her face, so he didn't recognize her at first.

The dead memory came back to life, striking his soul, and he immediately asked with concern, "Are you alright, Am?"

"My mom is fine." Ah Qi looked at the stone Buddha from a closer distance and found that he had changed a lot. Although he was still as strong as before, he was half a head taller than before and didn't look like a stone pillar anymore. There was also a faint scar on his left face, which was a bit scary. He couldn't help but asked in surprise, "Brother Bodhisattva, are you hurt?"

The stone Bodhisattva touched his face and smiled innocently: "It was scratched, but it's okay. I got the money and ate for a long time!"

This happened in a recent battle. There were too many people on the other side, and the iron cannons and small flags were scattered on both sides to bombard the enemy's wings. They, the spearmen, were ordered to advance under the rain of arrows and actively attack the enemy's main camp. He was in the front row, and he couldn't remember how many times he was shot by arrows. Even his iron mask was shot off before he approached the enemy. In the end, he rushed forward and stabbed the enemy away. Afterwards, he found that there was a big cut on his face - it seemed that a dying warrior suddenly jumped up and chopped him with a knife, but before he could cut it solid, he was stabbed several times by the people behind him, and he died directly.

But although he was injured, he did not lose out. He enjoyed the treatment of a wounded soldier when he came back, ate sick meals alone for ten days, and received a wound allowance. At the same time, because of his exceptional bravery and fighting to the death with injuries, he greatly boosted morale and was awarded a great merit. After the New Year, he can go to the "camp school" to participate in studies. He also successfully kicked out the deputy flagman Guo Tailang and was promoted to the "wrong shooter" of their five-man team - the one who, under the cover of others, specifically stabbed the enemy diagonally to open a breakthrough. It is more dangerous and requires high personal skills and tactics. He will be given priority in the merit evaluation after the war, which is also a bit of an honor.

Anyway, he was quite satisfied. He felt that the hospital meals were delicious. Moreover, after he got this scar, the military police were more polite to him, thinking that he was a real veteran with great merit. So he felt that the little blood he shed was worth it and he was very satisfied.

Xiao Qi didn't know much about fighting, so he felt relieved when he saw that he didn't care. He asked with concern, "What is Brother Bodhisattva going to do?"

Speaking of this, the happiness in Stone Bodhisattva's heart instantly disappeared, and he was confused and helpless again. After a pause, he said, "I... just wander around."

Xiao Qi immediately asked: "Where are you going?"

"I have no idea……"

Xiao Qi had seen many soldiers wandering around the town these days, and immediately volunteered: "Then I'll take you there, Brother Bodhisattva, I know where you like to go the most!"

"it is good!"

Stone Bodhisattva agreed immediately and followed Xiao Qi along the street. They turned several corners but still hadn't reached their destination. Many people were walking in the same direction as them along the way. He couldn't help but wonder, "Why are there so many people in the village now?"

He had been imprisoned in the military camp, and the army would not pass through the village several times. His impression of Wanjin was from about a year ago. He felt that Wanjin was not like this at that time. There were not so many people, not so many houses, and even the streets were just dirt roads, not as flat as they are now.

Just talking about this area, it seems not much worse than Atsuta Port.

Ah Qi has been living here since he was kidnapped. He doesn’t feel much when he sees them every day. He smiled happily and said, “It’s probably because the New Year is coming, so everyone is out.”

Is that so? Stone Bodhisattva nodded randomly and stopped asking questions. This was none of his business. He just followed Ah Qi and walked all the way to the town near the dock. Wanjin was currently expanding in the direction of the dock, and the land between the dock and the original camp had almost been filled.

At this point, Xiao Qi pointed to the front and said, "Brother Bodhisattva, this is it. Your companions like to come here the most." The stone Bodhisattva looked around and saw that the place was full of small stalls, most of which sold food and drinks. Even though the weather was relatively cold at this time, there were many people sitting in the various snack stalls, and most of them were soldiers on leave with short hair and wearing shirts and trousers.

Shi Pusa was a little puzzled. Eating in the camp was free, so he could eat as much as he wanted. Why did he eat and drink outside? Wouldn't that be stupid? He asked Ah Qi curiously, "Do they like to come here? To eat?"

"Yes, eating and drinking!" Ah Qi pointed to a shop and said, "That one is the most famous. I heard that the sign was written by Lord Nohara Saburo himself. Lord Aman would go there occasionally."

The stone Bodhisattva was instantly in awe and took a closer look at the sign. However, he couldn't tell what the store was called because he didn't recognize the words. But he could see that the store was doing the most prosperous business and was almost always full. This store was the earliest private store in Wanjin. The owner had just been promoted from the coolie brigade to a worker in a workshop. He accidentally discovered a business opportunity. He secretly picked plums in the summer, and used the wages to ask someone to buy rice privately. He made his own koji, and secretly brewed wine in bamboo tubes to sell to his companions.

Because the workers in the workshop all had some wages after deducting the cost of meals, and Wanjin had no place to spend the money at that time and everyone ate from a big pot, the light wine he secretly brewed was very popular and sold very well.

Then he was captured by the newly appointed "East Factory Director" Aman, who accused him of being "lazy and obstructing production" in the report. He was sent back to the coolie team and sent back to the iron fields to play in the mud. All the privately brewed liquor was confiscated and stored in her room under her personal supervision. She would secretly drink a few bottles of "bamboo tube" when she had nothing to do.

After she was reported by Aqing and Yayoi, either openly or secretly, Yuanye finally discovered this talent. He quickly brought this "speculative" wine-making genius back from the wild, lent him some money, and gave him a three-year tax exemption certificate and three years of free use of a property, so that he could open the first "hotel" in Wanjin. This made Wanjin have its first entertainment venue - Yuanye himself dislikes alcohol very much, but he is an adult and will not impose his likes and dislikes on others, so if someone wants to sell alcohol, as long as they are willing to pay taxes and ensure drinking safety, he will not issue an order strictly prohibiting drinking in his territory.

Since this was the first, more and more people started to apply to run catering businesses to earn the copper coins from the workers. After the first wave of immigrants were kidnapped and returned, Wanjin began to become more and more lively. With this store as the center, it simply developed into a small catering gathering place, selling soy sauce wontons, soy sauce buckwheat noodles, grilled fish and shellfish, rice cakes and sour rice, and everything else. Most Wanjin people would come here if they wanted to improve their meals or have a drink to relax. It has gradually become a lifestyle.

It’s just that most business operators don’t dare to take on debts. Even if Yuanye doesn’t ask for interest, they are unwilling to take on debts. Currently, most of them are roadside stalls, and their development is still very primitive. It’s difficult to buy a proper shop and move in in a short time. It’s estimated that it will take a while before a food and beverage street can be created here.

Of course, there are also people who take shortcuts. Seeing that Yuanye has relaxed personal control and allowed small businesses, some people discovered that there is a large group of single men in Wanjin and that there is a certain demand with broad prospects, so they can definitely make a lot of money. They plan to lure a group of newly immigrated women to start some kind of business, claiming that as long as they are willing to make sacrifices, they can make a fortune without doing anything.

Yuanye was not polite to this kind of person. He immediately ordered Aman to arrest him and send him to Tietian to play in the mud for further re-education. He also stayed up late to compile a "Market Management Regulations", which roughly divided the businesses into which ones must be government-run, which ones supported private ownership, and which ones would die if touched, so as to prevent such nonsense from happening again.

Shi Bodhisattva certainly didn't know what Nohara was doing to promote circulation, recycle currency, reduce resettlement pressure, and increase future government revenue. Even if he knew, he wouldn't understand. He just wanted to go to the famous store personally certified by "Lord Nohara Saburo" to show his support, but didn't want to spend money on buying wine, so he had to give up. Seeing that he didn't want to drink, Ah Qi thought about it and took him to the next street.

There are fewer people here, but there are still quite a few stalls, and some people are obviously not from Wanjin just by the way they dress - when the people from Wanjin first came, 99% of them were poor, and some of them had clothes that could barely cover their buttocks, so all the clothes were distributed by Yuanye, and both men and women wore two-piece tops and trousers. It was also recommended that men cut their hair short, and those who were willing to cut their hair would be given a pair of large shorts as a gift, so now people from Wanjin can be distinguished from outsiders at a glance.

Most of these outsiders are traveling merchants who come to sell small items that Wanjin cannot produce on its own. After all, there are more families now, and some of the things needed by each family are very strange and exotic, so they cannot be managed at all. They can only let individuals purchase them according to their needs. However, these traveling merchants are confined and can only sell here. They cannot walk through the streets and alleys, which is not very convenient. Moreover, all traveling merchants need to report their identities and obtain business licenses from Aman. They caught some inexplicable spies, but it didn't matter. These people couldn't get close to important places.

At the same time, many islanders also came. After long dealings with them, none of them were captured by Wanjin and used as coolies. Some of the brave ones have begun to come here to retail various fresh fish in order to earn more income. They will also purchase some needles and thread here on their own. They enjoy the same rights as the people of Wanjin and will not be robbed or exploited. They can even complain if they are cheated by traveling merchants.

Wanjin's official "grocery store" is also located here, selling everything from rice, wheat, cloth to lamp oil, wooden barrels, and pottery. However, the transportation capacity is now mainly used by workshops. Apart from food, most groceries can only serve to stabilize prices for the time being. They are out of stock from time to time, forcing buyers to wait and gather a large batch for one-time purchase.

Ah Qi was very young and liked the small ornaments sold here. Seeing that the stone Bodhisattva was just looking around without taking a closer look, he actively suggested to him: "Brother Bodhisattva, some of your companions also like to come here and buy some things for their homes. Do you want to go and pick some too?"

The stone Bodhisattva immediately shook his head and smiled innocently: "My whole family died a long time ago."

Ah Qi was not surprised. The stone bodhisattva was obviously a pure-blooded old Wanjin person. Most of the old Wanjin people were single, which was normal. After thinking about it, she suggested enthusiastically, "Why don't we go to the north of the town? There are many jugglers, puppeteers and variety show artists in the north. I heard they came from Atsuta Port and borrowed a venue from Lord Nohara Saburo. They will perform until after the New Year."

The stone Buddha shook his head. He was not interested in juggling or anything like that. After the performance, those people would ask for money, or charge money to watch the performance. He didn't like those people, but it was not a good idea to just hang around like that. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go have a bowl of soba noodles. I haven't had soba noodles in a long time."

In this era, people usually eat buckwheat noodles only during the Chinese New Year, so now that he has come out to celebrate the Chinese New Year, he feels that it is worth the trip to have a bowl of buckwheat noodles.

"Buckwheat noodles?" Ah Qi hesitated for a moment, looked at the sky, and said to him, "Brother Bodhisattva, do you want to come to my house for dinner? My mother knows how to make buckwheat noodles. She once said she wanted to thank you. She would definitely be happy if you went!"

"Are you Am?" Stone Bodhisattva immediately became interested. "Okay, let's go over there right away!"

(End of this chapter)