NABC Chapter 2 Following
Chapter 2 Following
During this period, a large number of refugees poured in.
Dock laborers, who earn daily wages and only need to perform manual labor without any technical skills, are naturally in high demand.
It's true, if you don't do it, plenty of others will.
If you arrive late, be prepared to go hungry all day.
When we arrived at Qinghe Wharf, it was just getting light.
The dock was already packed with people.
People who wanted to work at the docks were standing idly by, waiting for the foreman to arrive.
Most of the people were pale and thin, dressed in rags, but there were also some people wearing patched burlap clothes, looking at those dressed in rags with hatred on their faces.
With the influx of migrants, the local laborers naturally harbored extreme hatred.
"Brother Chen, over here, over here."
A surprised voice rang out from not far away.
Soon, a burly man, but emaciated and skin and bones, walked over.
"Brother Chen, you're here! I've been waiting for you for ages."
Upon seeing Chen Ran arrive, the man scratched his head and said in a simple and honest manner.
"Fool, let's go."
Chen Ran was about to say something, but seeing the other person's honest appearance, he sighed inwardly and said helplessly.
The man's name was Wu Heng, from Xijia Village, Ningyuan County, Jingzhou. He was also a refugee who had fled here.
A few days ago, some refugees were about to rob the other party, and Chen Ran helped them out. In response, the refugees recognized Chen Ran as their elder brother and have been following him ever since.
"Um."
Hearing Chen Ran's words, Wu Heng nodded happily and walked forward with Chen Ran.
"Cheng Tou is here."
Before long, with a soft exclamation, a man with a fierce face and wearing a black long-sleeved shirt walked towards them.
"The Grand Canal Gang was truly impressive."
"How wonderful it would be to become an outer disciple of the Canal Gang."
Meanwhile, the exclamations of praise from the laborers could be heard from the side.
The Caobang, the largest gang in Qinghe County, relied on the well-connected Qinghe River. Apart from official vessels, any boat that docked at their wharf had to pay taxes.
The canal gangs were involved in everything from restaurants, gambling dens, and brothels to everyday necessities like rice, flour, and oil.
It is the true behemoth of power in Qinghe County.
Most of the laborers here ultimately aspire to become peripheral disciples of the Cao Gang, like Wang Cheng.
"You, you, you, you... All of you stay here, the rest of you disperse."
Wang Cheng arrived at the scene with an arrogant expression and began counting heads without saying a word, as if he were counting cattle and horses.
Chen Ran and Wu Heng were among them.
In fact, Wang Cheng, an outer disciple of the Cao Gang, didn't need to do these tasks.
There are dedicated personnel in charge of these matters.
But for some reason, Wang Cheng was very enthusiastic about this kind of thing.
Moreover, when it came time to pay wages each day, the workers had to bend over completely before the money was handed out with a look of enjoyment on their faces.
Even though they earned the money through their own labor, in their eyes, this money was like charity.
"Do your job well, don't look at what you shouldn't look at, don't listen to what you shouldn't listen to, understand?!"
"Yes, sir."
As soon as Wang Cheng finished speaking, the entire dock began to operate.
Wang Cheng sat in a restaurant not far from the dock, drinking tea and idly looking at the book in his hand.
Under the scorching sun, the tanned laborers tirelessly carried goods on and off the ship.
There are dedicated staff members watching over the area to see if anyone is slacking off.
Because of his experience in moving small quantities of goods, Chen Ran has specialized skills in moving these items.
After he achieved some success, his biceps and triceps became even more developed and powerful.
So he can easily move the goods to the designated location every time.
In comparison, Wu Heng, who was tall and strong, seemed to be struggling a bit.
If Chen Ran hadn't secretly helped him, he probably would have collapsed from exhaustion.
Long hours of labor, exposed to wind and sun, have left most of the people here pale and thin, with their bodies tanned dark.
Dock laborers were already at the bottom of the social ladder; even if they worked themselves to death, their compensation would only be five hundred coins.
The canal gang never cared about the deaths of these people.
Even if you're exhausted, you can just get the authorities to handle it and that's it.
Apart from a one-hour break at lunchtime, we need to work non-stop every moment.
They squeezed every last drop of labor.
But even with this kind of job, people still flock to it.
Under such intense work, the morning passed quickly.
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"
"Hurry up, dinner's ready!"
As soon as the foreman spoke, everyone put down what they were holding and excitedly gathered together.
The meal was simple: a bowl of brown rice with fried beans, a serving of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of rice porridge. That was lunch.
Chen Ran squatted on the dock, eating his coarse rice.
It tastes terrible, but if you don't eat it, you'll really starve to death.
When Chen Ran first came into this world, he took a bite and then spat it out.
But the price was that I almost starved to death during those few days.
He never wanted to endure the feeling of hunger again in his life.
Beside him, Wu Heng carefully packed the fried beans and pickled vegetables into his bosom, only drinking some rice porridge.
"Fool, you'll starve to death like this."
Chen Ran said.
"The simpleton isn't hungry, give it to the little sister."
Wu Heng grinned foolishly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Fine, whatever makes you happy."
Chen Ran ate most of the brown rice to make sure he had enough to burn off, then shoveled the rest into Wu Heng's bowl.
"Eat up, or your little sister will have no one to take care of her if she starves to death."
After saying that, Chen Ran found a shady spot and lay down to rest for a while.
Wu Heng glanced at Chen Ran and the rice in his bowl, his eyes welling up with tears.
In the corner, several local laborers exchanged glances, their eyes turning sinister as they looked in Chen Ran's direction.
Soon, a day had quietly passed.
After receiving his wages, Chen Ran parted ways with Wu Heng.
Instead of going home first, he went to an empty alley and hid the money there.
Although we don't encounter Zhang Yi and his group every day, it's always better to be safe than sorry. If we get caught once, it would be a huge blow.
After he finished doing all this, just as he was about to leave, several footsteps appeared outside the alley.
Upon hearing this voice, a sense of vigilance flashed through Chen Ran's mind.
He first went to the back, picked up a black brick from the ground and held it in his hand, then squatted down at the corner.
During this period, Chen Ran consistently received the full amount of wages, which naturally attracted the attention of those with ulterior motives.
What if it isn't?
If it's not true, then it's not true. Anyway, those who were injured or killed weren't from powerful or influential families, so nobody would care.
In this chaotic world, it's either you eat others or others eat you; there's no third way.
"Boss, I've been observing him these past few days. That kid takes twenty copper coins every day. He must have accumulated a lot over time. When the time comes..."
"Alright, alright, let's kill him and then go to Meixiang Hutong tonight, hehehe."
"I can't wait to see that kid kneeling down and begging for mercy."
At the corner, just as the person at the front was about to enter the alley.
Chen Ran, who was half-squatting, reacted quickly and swung the brick in his hand at his groin.
The intense pain caused the person in front to faint.
"Boss, you!!!!"
Before the other two could react, Chen Ran rolled on the ground and swung at them again.
The second one to fall.
Just as the third person was about to shout, Chen Ran quickly slammed a brick into his head.
The brick shattered into pieces the moment it hit the man's head, leaving his head covered in blood.
After observing the surroundings and confirming that no one was around, Chen Ran quickly dragged the three of them inside.
Chen Ran recognized these three men; they were local laborers who usually hung around Wang Cheng's lackeys.
Were they instructed by someone, or did they organize it themselves?
Looking at the three people lying flat on the ground, Chen Ran's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Pick up the bricks from the ground and take off their clothes to cover their heads.
"Pfft~ Pfft~ Pfft~"
With three sharp sounds, the heads of the three men instantly exploded.
Once he confirmed that the three people on the ground showed no signs of being alive, Chen Ran suppressed his discomfort and began searching the bodies.
After searching for a while, I finally got a total of thirty-six copper coins.
"Poor bastard."
With a quick grumble, Chen Ran cautiously left the dead end and headed towards his home.