Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Before they knew it, it was the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. Wang Qing'er led a group of people to the county town to buy New Year's goods.

The streets of the county town were bustling with people, all busy shopping for various New Year's goods in preparation for the upcoming New Year.

Because of the presence of a large-scale dock, this place became a must-pass for merchants from all walks of life, who would all choose to stop here.

As a result, Wuyang County has become significantly more prosperous than it was a few years ago, with bustling streets and crowds of people.

You can also see some blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners strolling leisurely on the street.

Wang Qing'er strolled along happily, stopping frequently to fully enjoy the pleasure of shopping.

After exploring the inner city, she arrived at the pier with great interest.

This pier was expanded from the original small pier.

At a glance, more than a dozen huge merchant ships were moored on the wide water, some unloading cargo and others loading cargo, creating a busy scene.

At the dock, the dockworkers were busy moving around, each of them doing their best to carry various goods.

Most of these porters come from villages outside the city, and they work hard every day to support their families.

Although the work of unloading goods at the dock was hard, the income was quite good; he could earn thirty-five coins a day.

If you have work to do all month, you can earn more than one or two taels of silver a month.

These porters usually bring steamed buns and vegetable pancakes from home for lunch.

At noon, they only needed to spend one coin to buy a pot of hot water at the dock, and they could have lunch with steamed buns and hot water.

They would occasionally buy a bowl of vegetarian noodles at the dock to treat themselves and satisfy their cravings.

Wang Qing'er arrived at the alleyway where seafood was sold, which was bustling with people.

She remembered that there used to be only one small seafood shop here, but now there are more than a dozen seafood shops in this alley!

Moreover, these shops offer a much wider variety of seafood than before.

Wang Qing'er strolled excitedly through the alley, her eyes scanning each stall like a scanner.

She was pleasantly surprised to find that seafood such as white shrimp, mantis shrimp, and sea urchins, which were not previously available at the shop, were now on display.

Looking at the fresh seafood, Wang Qing'er saw a table full of seafood delicacies before her eyes, making her mouth water.

Without hesitation, Wang Qing'er bought a lot of each kind of seafood, especially yellow croaker, ribbonfish, prawns, eel, squid, and cuttlefish.

I bought several baskets of each kind.

Yellow croaker, ribbonfish, eel, cuttlefish—she wants to marinate and dry them?

Shrimp should also be dried.

The squid should be made into squid strips.

She also ordered a lot of seafood, and sent someone to pick it up on the seventh day of the first lunar month, as her cousin would need it for his wedding on the eighth.

Wang Qing'er left the alley with satisfaction.

As Wang Qing'er passed by the dock, she saw several dock managers patrolling.

They huddled together, talking in hushed tones.

Wang Qing'er happened to walk past them, and those people suddenly stopped talking, their expressions somewhat unnatural.

Wang Qing'er still heard what one of them said, but she didn't understand what they were saying. However, she felt that their accents were familiar, as if she had heard them somewhere before.

However, she couldn't immediately recall where this dialect or code word came from.

Wang Qing'er couldn't remember it for a moment, so she put the matter out of her mind.

We boarded the horse-drawn carriage and returned to Aoshan Village in high spirits.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the first lunar month, a joyous occasion for Wu Zitong and Wu Zixu.

In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the window into Wu Zitong's boudoir, illuminating her beautiful and shy face.

Dressed in a magnificent bright red wedding gown, she sat gracefully in the center of the room, like a blooming flower, quietly awaiting the auspicious hour.

The Mu family compound was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, with large red lanterns hanging high, creating a joyous and festive atmosphere.

Red ribbons fluttered in the wind, intertwining with the festive drumbeats, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.

Finally, the auspicious hour arrived, and Wu Zixu, riding a tall horse and dressed in wedding attire, arrived at the entrance of the Mu family courtyard with great poise.

His face was beaming with happiness, and his eyes were filled with anticipation for the future.

Supported by her maid, Wu Zitong slowly walked out of the room. Amidst the blessings of the crowd, she bid farewell to her elders and boarded a beautifully decorated sedan chair carried by eight men.

The sedan curtain slowly fell, obscuring her figure.

The two houses are not far apart, only a ten-minute walk apart.

The wedding procession arrived at the Wu family home very quickly.

The Wu family's courtyard was also decorated very festively, with red lanterns and red ribbons, revealing the joy of the newlyweds everywhere.

Upon arriving at the Wu family home, the wedding ceremony officially began.

Under the witness of everyone, Wu Zitong and Wu Zixu went through a series of traditional ceremonies, including bowing to heaven and earth, entering the bridal chamber, lifting the veil, and drinking the nuptial wine. The process was very smooth and completed in one go.

After the ceremony, Wu Zixu had a sumptuous meal prepared for Wu Zitong, and then he came out to toast the guests.

Although the Wu family did not hold a large banquet, they only invited some close relatives.

However, when the flood occurred, more than twenty families who had settled in Aoshan Village with the Wu family came to offer their congratulations, so a banquet of more than fifty tables was still held, making for a rather spectacular scene.

Although the Wu family did not invite other families in the village to the banquet, they still sent two bags of candy to each family, which made the people of Aoshan Village feel the Wu family's warmth and kindness.

In Aoshan Village, everyone was happily drinking wedding wine, with laughter and joy filling the air, creating a festive and peaceful atmosphere.

In stark contrast to the joy in Aoshan Village, the capital of Dongliang Kingdom and many other prefectures were experiencing a series of bloody battles.

Huayang Prefecture was not spared either; the situation was tense, and people were filled with anxiety.

Wuyang County has been occupied by the Japanese.

That's right, it's Japan.

The language that Wang Qing'er heard in the county town, which was both familiar and unfamiliar, was Japanese.

The wealthy merchants who came to Wuyang County to expand the wharf were actually Japanese. Over the years, they have continuously transported a large number of Japanese soldiers to Wuyang County and various counties in Huayang Prefecture through the wharf, making these places secretly controlled by the Japanese.

This morning, the Japanese easily occupied Wuyang County without firing a single shot.

Meanwhile, the situation in the capital was also extremely serious.

Half a month ago, the palace was already under the control of the sixth prince, Dong Yanjun. The old emperor and the crown prince, Dong Yanzhou, were trapped in the palace and unable to escape.

After Mu Xiao entered the palace to take up his post, he also suddenly disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown.

Princess Jinxuan's repeated requests to enter the palace to see the old emperor were all blocked.