I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

The man circled their three carriages, which were full of boxes, and then glanced at the men escorting the carriages, nodding to them to follow the procession.

"Thank you!" Manxiang was overjoyed and called to the others to follow behind the group, carefully approaching the checkpoint.

Soon the convoy overtook the crowd and arrived directly at the checkpoint. Before the convoy even arrived, the puppet troops guarding the checkpoint lifted the roadblocks and greeted the leader of the convoy familiarly.

"Manager Liu is personally escorting the goods again! You're really attentive. It's all your own brothers along the way, so you don't have to personally accompany them every time."

"You've worked hard, young men. How can we not be attentive when serving our master? Those are the mountain goods that the young master wanted. Let's move them over there!" Manager Liu said, pointing to the three carts behind.

"Of course! Who would dare to stop the young master from getting the goods he wants!" The puppet soldier glanced at the three carriages at the back of the procession without paying any attention.

The convoy slowly passed through the checkpoint. The puppet soldiers were busy at the front, while two Japanese soldiers sat at a table, drinking tea and observing the people coming and going.

"stop!"

Just as their three horse-drawn carts, laden with boxes, were about to pass through the checkpoint, one of the Japanese soldiers shouted.

"Sir, what's wrong with you..." The puppet soldier on duty naturally didn't dare to be careless and quickly came over to ask.

"What kind of work is this?" the Japanese soldier asked, looking at the cartload of furs as he approached the carriage.

"You, answer the question quickly, sir," the puppet soldier said, pointing to the full chests on the side of the carriage.

"Good, good, this is animal fur. It'll be very warm to make fur coats and hats!" Manxiang said, taking out a rabbit skin and handing it over.

"Sir, this is Captain Wang's caravan. Do you think we should let them leave?" A puppet soldier chimed in at the opportune moment.

"Captain Wang? Mr. Wang?" The Japanese soldier took the fur and kneaded it, seemingly enjoying it!

“Yes! It’s Wang Sang’s business,” the puppet soldier echoed.

"Wow! This fur is so soft! I'll have Wang Sang make me a fur coat!" He then stuck the rabbit skin to his face, looking utterly disgusting!

"Definitely, definitely! If the Japanese lord likes it, we can even make a leather hat and dye it a jade-green color. It would be so beautiful!" Manxiang said in a low voice, suppressing his disgust.

"A jade-green color? Oh my! I love it!" The Japanese soldier seemed genuinely pleased, beaming with delight.

"I'm glad you like it! I'll definitely bring it back for you when I come back, so you won't have to suffer from the cold in winter!" Manxiang said earnestly.

"Yo-ho! You're a good citizen!" he said, waving to the puppet soldiers to let them leave, then returned to the table with the rabbit skin and continued drinking water.

The carriage passed through the checkpoint smoothly, and the group quickened their pace and soon disappeared from sight. The Japanese soldier continued to knead the rabbit skin, grinning lewdly, as if he had thought of something...

"Haha, you look honest but you're quick-witted! Not bad, not bad at all. With your quick thinking, this business is bound to be successful!" After passing through the checkpoint, Manager Liu called over Manxiang and said.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! If you hadn't brought us here, these things would have been impossible to sell if those people hadn't taken them all!" Manxiang said sincerely.

"Haha, alright! Just remember our kindness. You're a clever kid. By the way, you need a good citizen's certificate to enter the city. Do you guys have good citizen's certificates?" Manager Liu asked.

"A certificate of good conduct?... What's that? We don't have one at the market!" Manxiang was completely bewildered; he had never heard of a certificate of good conduct before!

"Haha, first time in town, huh? This is just a little piece of paper." As he spoke, Manager Liu pulled out a small piece of paper, about the size of a palm. In the center were printed the three large characters for "Good Citizen Certificate," on the left was the name, age, and village/town, and on the right was a serial number. There was also a red stamp in the middle; overall, it looked a lot like the Japanese flag.

"Where do we get this?" The box was filled with even more doubts; a small piece of paper had become a stumbling block for them to enter the city.

It's true what they say, "It's always better to stay home than to go out!" How would someone who stays cooped up in the village all day know these things?

"Haha, I'll help you all the way. I'll process the good citizen certificates for all fourteen of you. Each certificate is ten yuan, but since there are so many of you, I'll give you a discount, so you can just pay me one hundred yuan in total. Wait for me at the city gate before you enter the city, and I'll have someone deliver them to you as soon as they're done." Manager Liu was indeed a businessman; he secured a deal in no time.

"Alright! Thank you for your trouble, Manager Liu!" Manxiang was extremely annoyed with Manager Liu; he was too shrewd!

However, they came out to do business this time, and they were good at getting along with everyone. Problems that can be solved with money are not really problems. Maybe they will need this traitor's shopkeeper in the future!

The deal was struck, and the two caravans headed towards the county town together. Around noon, the caravan arrived at the town gate. The tall city walls, though weathered, were over three zhang high. The gate tower above the entrance remained imposing, and the blue bricks and tiles exuded a sense of history and vicissitude.

Manager Liu led the caravan into the city, where they waited nearby with their chests full. Liu hadn't lied to them; about half an hour later, a servant came out with a stack of good citizen certificates and handed them to the group, allowing them to enter the city smoothly.

"It's so hard to get out of the house! This piece of paper costs ten yuan. The Japanese really know how to exploit ordinary people!" Mangui complained, holding the good citizen certificate.

"Pack them all up carefully, don't lose them, you might need them later." Manxiang reminded them, glancing at Second Master and Chengzi.

"Second Master, where are we going after we get down?"

"Let's go see Master Zhang first. We haven't seen him for several years since he moved to the county town!" Chengzi suggested.

Second Master nodded without objection. Zhang Youcai used to be a well-known wealthy man in Xiahou Town. Back then, the cloth woven by the Zhang family sold well in the three provinces of Shaanxi, Henan, and Guangdong. Later, when the Japanese invaded Yuzhou, his cloth was robbed by soldiers several times. The old man was disheartened and gave up his business, moving to the county town to retire and live a life of seclusion.

Many of the swordsmen from Zhao Village had escorted goods for him and were deeply trusted and cared for by the old man. Now that they had come to the city, they should pay him a visit.

Soon, Second Master and Chengzi bought some pastries from a shop and arrived at the gate of a courtyard on Zhongzhou Street. The courtyard was an old-fashioned three-sided courtyard, neither large nor small. With its vermilion gate, blue tiles, carved beams and painted rafters, it was clearly the residence of a wealthy family.

Chengzi stepped forward and knocked on the door. An old man, looking very frail, opened the door and came out. He looked at everyone and was slightly taken aback!

"Old butler, it's been several years since I last saw you. Are you still in good health?" Chengzi stepped forward and greeted him with a smile.

"It's Chengzi and Lao Er! Thank goodness, they won't die anytime soon. What are you doing here..." The old butler asked, looking at the three large carts at the door.

"The younger generation has been arranging to bring some mountain produce into the city to exchange for some money to make a living, so they came to see you and the master!" Second Master said, handing over some snacks.

"You're so kind. Come in quickly! The master has just finished eating and gone to bed. I'll go and wake him right away." With that, the old steward welcomed the two into the courtyard, while the others waited at the gate.