Volume Two: Embarking on the Path of Cultivation
Lanzhou was the eighth largest prefecture in Yue Country in terms of area, but it ranked only second after Xinzhou in terms of wealth. Situated in the southern part of Yue Country, its fertile land, countless waterways, lakes, and canals made it extremely suitable for rice cultivation, making it one of the country's leading grain-producing regions.
In the central part of Lanzhou was Jiayuan City, not the capital of Lanzhou, but the undisputed largest city in Lanzhou. The Grand Canal, which runs from north to south through Yue Country, passes through the center of this city. Coupled with several other water and land routes passing through, transportation was highly developed, making it a hub of water transportation and a key commercial artery. Every year, countless merchants and travelers passed through here, greatly boosting the economic activities of the area, thus making Jiayuan City the largest city in the entire prefecture was not surprising.
In Jiayuan City, there were numerous cart shops, docks, and boat houses scattered throughout the city. Those engaged in this trade, such as cart drivers, porters, and boatmen, were as numerous as ants, numbering in the tens of thousands. Sun Ergou was one of those who earned a living by the dock.
Sun Ergou was aptly named, with slanted eyebrows and crooked eyes, looking like a rascal. However, because he was good at observing and flattering others, he had become a small gang leader at the dock, overseeing dozens of porters and laborers, making a living by helping passing merchants and travelers transport goods and luggage.
Therefore, when Sun Ergou arrived at this small dock early in the morning, several of his subordinates hurried over and respectfully greeted him:
"Morning, Second Master!"
"Second Master is here!"
...
Hearing these greetings, Sun Ergou couldn't help feeling proud. After all, being called "Master" by others indicated that he was someone of importance in this place. So he straightened his back a bit and snorted from his nose, as if responding to these greetings.
"What 'Second Master'? Isn't it just Ergou?"
"That's right, just a two-legged dog, a dog in human clothing!"
"Haha! Haha!..."
...
A burst of sneering laughter, unashamedly, reached Sun Ergou's ears.
After hearing this, Sun Ergou's face suddenly darkened, and his mood turned sour in an instant.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the dozens of people standing on the other side of the dock, fixing his gaze on a burly black man. A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes.
If someone were to say that using all his wealth could make this black man disappear from the world, Sun Ergou might hesitate for a moment, but if the condition changed to just half of his wealth, he would agree without hesitation. Of course, he didn't have much wealth left due to his indulgence in eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.
This black man was originally called something, but no one knew his real name anymore. The people at the dock either called him "Master Black" or directly referred to him by his nickname, "Black Bear." He was the leader of another small gang, the "Iron Fist Society," and his status in his gang was not much different from Sun Ergou's in his "Square Gang." Therefore, he was also sent to manage another group of porters at this dock.
One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, let alone this small dock. So the two gangs were not on good terms from the beginning. After several conflicts over the business of merchants, their relationship became even worse. Now, when they met, the two gangs either mocked and scolded each other or pushed and shoved, almost coming to blows.
As for their own men, Sun Ergou and Black Bear, as somewhat influential figures, knew that the "Iron Fist Society" and the "Square Gang" were allied gangs, jointly resisting another larger gang, the "Poison Dragon Gang." Therefore, although both of them wanted to drive the other out of this place and monopolize the dock, they could only restrain themselves for the time being. However, the dissatisfaction and anger they accumulated were vented through the verbal conflicts of their subordinates, becoming a daily routine for both of them.
At this moment, while the two groups of people were arguing, suddenly one of Sun Ergou's men exclaimed, "A boat is approaching!"
This sentence immediately made the nearly hundred big men, who were engaged in heated argument, shut up and turn their heads to look towards the riverbank. After all, silver coins were more tempting than verbal quarrels for the time being.
But when the big men saw the boat mooring at the dock, they were somewhat disappointed. It was just a small flat-bottomed boat, and it seemed that it could only accommodate three or five merchants at most, certainly not a big business coming to the door.
This was not surprising, as this dock was small and dilapidated, and its location was quite remote. Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be any large ships coming here. Only during the peak trading season would large ships that couldn't dock at other docks be forced to dock here.
After the small boat stopped at the dock, two people came down from the boat. One of them was a young man who looked seventeen or eighteen years old and had an ordinary appearance. The other one was a giant who was taller than ordinary people by two heads.
The young man was dressed in plain blue clothes, with a small yellow bird perched on his shoulder. He looked around as soon as he got off the boat, with the appearance of a countryman entering the city for the first time. The giant, on the other hand, wore a cloak and a green robe, making it hard to see his face, and he looked somewhat mysterious. The giant followed closely behind the young man, never leaving his side, looking like a servant.
These two were none other than Han Li and Qu Hun, who had traveled for three months and had just arrived at the hometown of Doctor Mo.
