Published: August 16, 2025
Chapter 101: Money Brings Trouble
Han Li set off from his hometown, heading southeast straight toward Lanzhou.
Along the way, sometimes he partnered with others to pass through bustling city areas, while at other times, wanting to take shortcuts, he traveled alone through barren mountains and wildlands. Fortunately, no major dangers occurred during the journey. The only mishap was when he camped overnight in the wild and encountered several starved wild wolves with bloodshot eyes—who, in the end, became Han Li’s dinner.
After many dusty and tiring days, he crossed through two other states before finally arriving in Lanzhou.
Upon entering the territory of Lanzhou, Han Li was greatly surprised by the vast network of waterways. You must understand, in his original home of Yuezhou, most areas were barren mountains and hills, with very few waterways—no large canals or lakes, and even decent rivers were scarce. Water was mostly drawn from wells and small streams.
Because of this, Han Li was fascinated by the various boats gliding through the waterways. Driven by curiosity, he ended up renting a small boat to experience drifting downstream for the first time.
About ten days later, Han Li arrived smoothly at Jiayuan City, the place mentioned in Doctor Mo’s letter, and stepped onto a rather unremarkable dock.
His first impression of the dock was that it was extremely poor.
The entire dock was made from simple wooden planks, cramped and shabby. Piles of broken baskets and torn sacks were scattered haphazardly here and there, making the place dirty and chaotic. The only two bamboo sheds on the dock sheltered dozens of strong men. These men were either bare-chested or wore only short jackets, all emanating a fierce and rugged aura.
Now, all these men watched Han Li and quhun without blinking. Some even showed eager expressions in their eyes.
Han Li was momentarily stunned but then smiled faintly.
Before stepping off the small boat onto the dock, the boatman had enthusiastically warned him of an unwritten rule here in Jiayuan City’s dock: regardless of how much luggage a merchant carried ashore, they must pay to hire a dock laborer to help carry their things. If not, these laborers might treat them badly or even beat them up.
New to the place, Han Li didn’t want to break local customs, so he called out honestly:
“I want to hire a laborer. Anyone willing?”
Sun Ergou withdrew his gaze at that moment. After carefully examining the young man who had just disembarked, he was certain this young man was probably the son of a local rich landlord, and that burly man next to him was likely a somewhat strong but not-too-bright bodyguard. Such duos appeared in Jiayuan City every year—they came to broaden their horizons, spend some money, and then go back boasting. There was no need to pay too much attention to them.
Still, such people were often blustering and proud, making for excellent marks! With a few flattering words, these country bumpkins usually gave more than just the agreed moving fee—they often handed out extra tips. So for the hired laborers, this was a lucrative business.
However, this job wasn’t going to be theirs. According to the prior agreement between him and Black Bear, they took turns accepting door-to-door business, with no interference allowed. The success of the deal depended on luck. Since they had just taken an order the day before, this one belonged to Black Bear’s side.
Thinking this through, Sun Ergou glanced across the dock. Black Bear was quietly speaking with his men. Soon, a man ran excitedly out of the crowd and headed toward the young man.
“No, you can’t carry this alone. It’s best to get another person,” Han Li said, looking at the very strong man before him and then at the oversized bundle quhun was carrying, shaking his head slightly.
“Master, this little bit of stuff—I can carry it with one hand. No need to call anyone else,” the strong man said unwillingly. He didn’t want to share the tip with others and believed that no matter how big the bundle was, he could handle it—unless it was full of stones.