Rebirth of the Four Seas Emperor

After dinner, Hou Yao and the other two transferred to a boat in Hong Kong and landed at Kowloon Port.

Then he bought a mule cart and was driven north by Zhou Tiesheng.

There are many villages along the way, and there are some large towns in a few places.

Every time they go to a village or town, as long as there is a restaurant, they will go in, order two dishes, eat a meal, and inquire about the local people's customs.

You can always get some useful information and learn more about the people's sentiments in Bao'an County.

On the third day of our journey, we arrived at a place called Xiantou Village.

It is very close to Baoan County.

There was only one nameless inn in the village. The three of them went in and ordered the store's special delicacy, cured duck, as well as a few side dishes and rice.

It had just been delivered and when I was about to start eating, a sloppy old man suddenly burst in at the door.

Without saying a word, he grabbed the cured duck and rice on the table and ran away.

Yu Xiuer and Zhou Tiesheng were about to chase the people back, but Hou Yao shook his head at them.

The old man didn't run far without holding the rice and wax duck. After leaving the inn door, he sat on the ground and started eating.

The waiter picked up a stick and rushed out of the store, beating the old man head-on and face-to-face.

The old man allowed the waiter to beat him with the stick without moving or shouting, nor did he give way. He just lowered his head and ate the duck.

As if there is no consciousness.

The old man made a lot of noise while grabbing food, which alerted the shop owner who was busy in the kitchen.

The boss also rushed out, picked up a thicker stick and beat the old man.

The old man allowed himself to be beaten with two sticks, one thick and one thin, and continued to eat the duck without changing his expression.

If it weren't for the blood oozing out from the broken scalp, people might mistakenly think that it doesn't hurt.

Hou Yao asked Zhou Tiesheng to stop the innkeeper and waiter from continuing to beat the old man.

Only then did the two of them stop. The boss and the waiter retracted their hands and followed Zhou Tiesheng over.

"Sir, I'm really sorry. This old man is a lunatic. The rice shop can send you another one, but this bacon..."

Running a small shop on a small budget is really... "

Hou Yao waved his hand, took out a piece of broken silver weighing about four or five coins and put it on the table:

"It's okay, just let me treat the old man to eat the wax duck, and you can make another one for us.

Also, tell us in detail what happened to the old man. "

When the shop owner saw Yinzi, he suddenly said excitedly:

"Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. I will go in and make a new one for you."

As he spoke, he put the broken silver into his arms, turned around and told the waiter behind him:

"Second son, tell some guests about that old madman."

After saying that, he hurried to the kitchen.

After the boss left, the waiter's face was obviously unhappy:

"Dear guests, that old man is an old madman in our town. More than ten years ago, his house ran out of water.

Everyone except him was burned to death in a fire, and then he went crazy. Occasionally when he was hungry and anxious, he would go to various houses to grab food.

Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for interrupting your meal. I will serve your food in a moment. "

As he said that, the waiter wanted to leave.

Hou Yao took out two more pieces of silver from his arms, stuffed them into his pocket and asked:

"Brother, I see that the old man doesn't seem like an ordinary person. His story shouldn't be that simple, right?"

The waiter looked at Hou Yao with confusion, and Hou Yao quickly explained:

"I'm just a book writer, and I like to listen to other people's stories. I just saw this old man attacking him with sticks, and he didn't even frown.

I thought he was special, so I wanted to hear a story.Don't think too much. "

The waiter suddenly understood and nodded:

"Oh, you are the storybook writers, so tell me earlier, okay, I will tell you about this old man Wei in detail.

I have to start saying this 20 years ago... "

Wei Daxing was also the number one figure in Xiantou Village 20 years ago.

Because he worked as a craftsman at the Dongguan Shipyard in Humen Town, in modern terms he was the chief engineer of the shipyard. He was highly regarded by the ambassador of the Dongguan Shipyard at that time.

For a time, the scenery was endless. He had moved his family to Humen Town and became the envy of everyone in the village.

But the good times did not last long, and within a few years their family moved back.

The villagers didn’t know what happened to their family, but because Wei Daxing was still a builder at the Humen Shipyard at the time,

The Wei family was also the richest family in the village when they moved back, so no one dared to ask any more questions.

Until one year, Wei Daxing lost his job as a factory worker and returned to the village in despair.

After I came back, I did nothing but drank all day long, as if I had become a different person.

One night, a fire suddenly broke out in the Wei family, and the whole family was burned to death.

Only Wei Daxing himself was drunk that day and fell on the roadside to escape.

The next day, he saw the burnt corpses of his entire family and went crazy.

I was very crazy at first, but I have gotten better in the past few years. I know that I need to wear clothes when I'm cold, and I need to eat when I'm hungry.

After the waiter told Wei Daxing's story, the boss just made the cured duck again.

The boss personally served the cured duck to the table:

"Dear guests, the wax duck is ready, please use it with ease."

After that, he took the waiter and left.

Hou Yao and the other three looked at each other and started eating again. The old man at the door also finished eating and limped away.

After finishing the meal, the sky gradually darkened.

There were still two days before the last day of taking office, so Hou Yao decided to stay in this inn for one night before leaving.

That night, it was already midnight.

Hou Yao was suddenly awakened by a strange noise. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Yu Xiuer had jumped out of the window.

She suddenly felt extremely nervous, but fortunately, Yu Xiuer jumped back from the window not long after.

Hou Yao hurriedly stepped forward and asked:

"What happened just now?"

Yu Xiuer shook her head:

"There were two thieves on our roof just now. I didn't know what they wanted to do. I chased them and they ran away.

I was afraid that my husband was in danger, so I came back first. Zhou Tiesheng went to chase them. I didn't know if I could catch up. "

Hou Yao lowered his head and thought for a while. No one in Baoan County should know him, so their target should not be him.

Shun An, who was in Hong Kong before, reminded me that Yu Xiuer was too beautiful and would be in trouble on the road. Could it be that he came here because of Yu Xiuer?

Thinking of this, Hou Yao couldn't help but panic in his heart. These people were really bold, daring to do illegal things so blatantly.

Not long after, Zhou Tiesheng jumped in from the window, fisted at Hou Yao and Yu Xiuer and said:

"Gang Leader, Young Master, I have lost track of you. Those two men in black are very cunning and very familiar with the terrain in this area.

The subordinates lost the chase when they reached a cowshed, but they saw the old man in the cowshed who had snatched the duck during the day.

I don’t know if the old man has anything to do with this. "

Hou Yao thought about it:

"Don't make any noise for now. Let's go to the county government office tomorrow to take office, and then we can slowly investigate this matter.

In short, the water in Bao'an County is deeper than I imagined. I am afraid that these four major families are just other people's white gloves. "

Yu Xiuer and Zhou Tiesheng both looked confused:

"Ms. sir, what are white gloves?"

Hou Yao smiled roguely:

"White gloves are other people's agents, and they have a more powerful backend behind them."

Yu Xiuer and Zhou Tiesheng nodded in understanding.

At this time, Hou Yao looked at Zhou Tiesheng again and asked:

"By the way, Lao Zhou, you just said you saw that old madman. What state was he in at the time?"

Zhou Tiesheng recalled:

"He was lying on his side in the bullpen. He was probably sleeping. I didn't wake him up."

Hou Yao nodded:

"Well, okay, you go back to your room and rest first."

Zhou Tiesheng nodded and climbed out of the window, returning to his room.

Seeing Hou Yao frowning deeply, Yu Xiuer asked:

"Ms. sir, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with that old madman?"

At this time, Hou Yao remembered the look he had exchanged with the old madman during the day.

The clear eyes impressed him deeply. How could a person with such clear eyes be a madman?

But if he wasn't crazy, why did he pretend to be crazy for more than ten years?

What kind of secret is there?

"It's nothing, let's sleep too..."

……

Baoan County, also known as Nantou City, is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary.

It has been the administrative center, coastal defense fortress, maritime transportation and foreign trade distribution center of the Lingnan coastal area in the past dynasties.

The circumference of Nantou City and Zicheng is about [-] feet, and the height is two feet. The city wall is one foot wide in the south and two feet wide at the bottom.

There are four city gates in the east, west, south and north, named Jukui, Zhenhai, Ningnan and Gongchen.

Outside the south gate of the main gate, there is an outer gate named Ying'en. You can enter through Ying'en Gate and then through Ningnan Gate to enter the city.

Nine streets were built in the city, hence the name "Nine Streets".

Zhongshan South Street is one of the "Nine Streets" and a north-south street in the ancient city that leads directly to the south gate of the ancient city.

It starts from the South Gate in the south and reaches Zhongshan East and West Streets in the north, facing the Yamen of Baoan County, Guangzhou Prefecture.

The three men drove the mule cart all the way to the Yamen Gate.

Hou Yao jumped out of the car and walked into the yamen. The two guards guarding the door immediately waved their killing sticks and shouted:

"Who are you? You are not allowed to enter or exit the government office at will."

Hou Yao took out his letter of appointment and said loudly:

"I am Hou Yao, the new county magistrate. I am here to take office today. Why don't you get out of here."

The expressions of the two officers changed greatly. A month and a half ago, the "red edict" from the governor's Yamen had been issued to the county Yamen.

Everyone knows that a new county magistrate is about to take office.

But in previous years, before Xinzhi County took office, more or less news came out.

For example: I have arrived at that inn, when will I arrive?

But this time there is no news at all about Houzhi County, as if there is no such person.

Seeing that the deadline for taking office is just a few days away, all kinds of rumors in the county government are overwhelming.

Everyone is wondering whether Xinzhi County was intimidated by the reputation of Baoan County and had no intention of taking office at all.

No one expected that this man would suddenly appear at the gate of the county government office.

One of the two officers led the way for Hou Yao, while the other hurriedly ran into the Yamen to report the news.

Hou Yao didn't ask any more questions, and led Zhou Tiesheng and Yu Xiuer slowly into the Yamen under the guidance of the guards.

As soon as he entered the compound, he saw a group of people approaching from the front.

The leader was wearing the official uniform of Oriole, an eighth-grade official, with an old face and the look of an old scholar. This person should be the county magistrate Cheng Jiang Qizheng.

When Jiang Qizheng saw Hou Yao, he quickly came up to meet him, stood still and bowed:

"The lower official, Jiang Qizheng, is leading all the subordinates in Bao'an County to welcome you to take office."

Others also bowed and said:

"We sincerely welcome you to take office...".