Starting as a dockworker

Chapter 22: Heading to Fragrant Hills, Encountering Bandits!

About 100 meters to the right outside the South Gate, there is a gathering place for long-distance hikers.

There were about a dozen animal carts parked crookedly there, with shouts rising and falling.

"To Baihe Town, two cents a person, the straw mat is secure, we'll arrive by evening!"

"Master and Madam, let's take a carriage! Willow Camp and Gaojiazhuang are both nearby; Sanmao will be fine with that! It's much easier than walking!"

"Donkey cart, donkey cart, one cent and fifty cents, enough for both the person and their belongings..."

Where there are people, there is business; the rickshaw drivers shouted at the top of their lungs to attract customers.

Wuling City was a prosperous place, home to a hospital run by foreigners. As a result, many people from the surrounding areas, facing difficult and complicated illnesses that traditional Chinese medicine couldn't cure, would flock to Wuling to see these foreign doctors. Many also came to visit relatives and friends...

Most people rely on their own two feet for transportation. Only those with mobility issues, the elderly, or those who are in slightly better financial condition will spend some money to ride in oxcarts or donkey carts.

The truly wealthy gentlemen all rode in horse-drawn carriages, looking down on these animal-drawn carts, which were slow and bumpy.

"Where are you going, young man? I have a seat here!"

"Two more people are needed. Get in the car and we're leaving."

"Sir, I'm just one person short for this car. Where are we going?"

Li Xiao, carrying a bundle, walked over and was immediately surrounded by a group of coachmen.

Li Xiao asked, "Who can go to Xiangshan Village?"

Actually, I could have walked there myself, but I didn't know the way and didn't even know which direction Fragrant Hills was in. To save trouble, I decided to take a bus.

"That place is far away, and it's been ravaged by bandits..."

Upon hearing that they were going to Xiangshan Village, the drivers who had surrounded them all left sheepishly.

Li Xiao was slightly taken aback, thinking that he could only ask for directions as he went.

Not far away, a middle-aged driver in his thirties, lying on a cart and chewing on a straw, spoke up: "Eight cents. If you're willing to pay, I can make a trip."

Li Xiao looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the donkey cart of the driver who spoke was empty, with no one in sight. He guessed that the driver had just started in this line of work, but he was not good at talking and had not been able to attract any customers, so he thought he could take over Li Xiao's business.

"Okay, then I'll ride in your car."

Li Xiao nodded in agreement, walked over, and got into the car.

"Let me make this clear from the start: if you run into those bandits, I won't be able to help you..."

The middle-aged coachman glanced at Li Xiao and said, "However, your clothes probably aren't anything special. You're all bare, even bandits wouldn't want you..."

Li Xiao laughed and said, "Look at what you're saying. What bandit would rob laborers for no reason?"

This is also why Li Xiao doesn't change his clothes.

Generally speaking, bandits only rob wealthy people. Poor people have little money and are as precious as their lives, so it's not worth the bloodshed.

Sitting on the cart, Li Xiao waited for quite a while, but the driver didn't move.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"How can you walk alone? Wait for someone who's going the same way."

"Then why don't you go and promote it yourself..."

"Don't worry, someone will come..."

"..."

Li Xiao had a headache; the only one willing to go was a complete idiot.

But then again, if it weren't for this idiot, he probably wouldn't have taken me along...

"Brother, how about this, I'll add two cents, and you'll just take me?"

"You should have said so earlier..."

The middle-aged driver grinned, jumped onto the donkey cart, and set off.

Li Xiao was speechless. This guy seemed to be just waiting for him to speak...

This is... really bad!

Sitting in the car, Li Xiao admired the lush green scenery around him while memorizing the route.

Li Xiao felt fortunate that he had spent some money to hire a car.

This road is indeed very winding, with many twists and turns.

If you walk there yourself, you might not be able to find anyone to ask for directions halfway there, which could take a long time.

By then, the rat's corpse inside the bundle will probably be rotting...

Time ticked by, the sun set, and dusk fell.

The donkey cart traveled along a country road, with lush trees on both sides.

"This road is mine..."

Suddenly, two men dressed in black cloth and carrying knives jumped out from the woods on one side.

The burly man in front lost interest as soon as he saw it was a donkey cart and that Li Xiao was dressed as a laborer. He hadn't even finished half of his slang when he lost interest.

"You poor wretch, get out of here..."

The burly man brandished his knife and said with a displeased expression.

"Thank you for sparing my life, sir! Thank you for sparing my life, sir!..."

The coachman seemed used to this, hurriedly begging for mercy, cracking his whip a few times, and urging the donkey to hurry away from there.

"etc!"

Just as he was about to leave, the skinny bandit next to him shouted, "You, get down."

He was referring to Li Xiao in the car.

Li Xiao's heart sank, thinking, "Could it be such a coincidence?"

I still have two hundred silver dollars on me...

However, having no other choice at the moment, Li Xiao could only feign a look of panic, jump out of the carriage, and ask with a fawning smile, "Gentlemen, what is it?"

The skinny bandit strode over, pointed his knife at his shoulder, and asked, "What's that on your shoulder?"

Li Xiao quickly considered a plan, took down his bundle, opened it, and said with a smile, "I'm visiting relatives. My second uncle likes to eat dog meat, so I can't go to his house empty-handed, can I?"

As the sun set, a corner of the bundle was opened, revealing a half-meter-long rat carcass, roughly the same length as a dog's corpse...

I thought this matter would just be swept under the rug.

To everyone's surprise, the skinny bandit grinned, scratched his crotch, and said with a wicked smile, "Dog meat, very nutritious, good stuff. You can leave, but leave the dog meat behind. Please thank your second great-uncle for me."

"this...."

Li Xiao took two steps back while holding the package.

If it were just ordinary dog ​​meat, I would have given it to them.

But this is the corpse of Brother Rat, and he has already promised Brother Rat to take its remains back to Fragrant Hills for burial.

How could it possibly be given away?

"What, you can't bear to part with it?"

The fat bandit with a fierce face stepped forward and raised the steel knife in his hand.

The steel knife has many broken edges and nicks, clearly indicating that it has seen blood!

"Gentlemen, how can I visit relatives empty-handed? How about this... I have a silver dollar here, why don't you two go to town and buy a fresh one?"

Li Xiao wrapped the package up and put it back on his shoulder, then handed over a silver dollar.

"Oh, there are even silver dollars?"

The skinny bandit took the silver dollar, blew on it, and held it to his ear to listen to the sound.

He immediately picked up the knife and laughed, "Then you have to leave the dog meat for our dinner."

As he spoke, he walked towards Li Xiao and reached out to snatch the package.

"No, no, don't force me..."

Li Xiao kept retreating, but his stable stance allowed him to move backward quickly without falling.

"You son of a bitch, you dare to hide?"

The skinny bandit was furious and ran straight towards Li Xiao.

"Don't push me!"

Li Xiao knew that only bloodshed could settle things today, so he roared and threw a punch.

This punch had no technique whatsoever; it was just an ordinary, unorthodox straight punch.

Bang!

The skinny bandit's head was smashed open like a watermelon with a single blow, his brains spilling all over the ground.

Even Li Xiao himself hadn't expected that his punch would have such power...

Unbeknownst to him, he had already raised his power at the dock to a terrifying level.

The driver, witnessing this scene, was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it, I'll kill you!"

Seeing his companion killed, the fat bandit rushed over and swung his steel knife down at Li Xiao's head.

It can be seen that this fat bandit is all muscle and has a lot of strength.

If this strike lands squarely, Li Xiao's head will split in two.

But Li Xiao's feet were as firmly planted as the roots of an old tree, as if they were rooted to the ground. With a sidestep, he actually dodged the steel blade, which, without losing momentum, struck the muddy ground directly.

Due to inertia, the fat bandit remained in a bent-over position, his head positioned in front of Li Xiao's chest.

"I already told you, don't push me!"

Li Xiao suddenly swung his elbow, sweeping it horizontally towards the head.

puff!

The immense force severed the head from the neck, sending it flying onto the donkey cart and rolling around once.

The remaining corpses, gushing blood, collapsed to the ground...

"call...."

Li Xiao exhaled a deep breath, stepped onto the corpse, wiped the still-warm blood from his face, and said helplessly, "You could have just taken the silver dollars and left, why did you have to make such a mess of blood..."