save the bachelors

Chapter 5049 5052 [Arrival at Changhu Town]

The dwarves then boarded the man's barge and slowly sailed to the other side of the long lake.

It was already late autumn, and the weather had become very cold. Especially since the Long Lake was located in the north of Middle-earth, the temperature was even lower, so there was already broken ice in the lake.

Moreover, the lake was filled with thick fog, which chilled people to the bone. Even the strong dwarves did not like this kind of weather.

Xiang Nan took out the gold and silver coins from his pocket. These were what they got from the ogre cave, enough to pay the men.

"Here, take it." Xiang Nan handed the gold and silver coins to the man and said, "Thank you for giving us a ride. What's your name, friend?"

"Bud." The man took the money, counted it, and nodded.

"Good name." Xiang Nan nodded.

"Stop it." Bud curled his lips and rejected Xiang Nan's flattery. "Who are you?"

"They are just a group of dwarves from the Blue Mountains, heading to the Iron Hills to visit their relatives." Balin said with a smile.

"Visiting relatives?!" Bud looked at the strange weapons in their hands and obviously didn't believe what they said.

"There are bound to be dangers on the road, and we also need to defend ourselves." Xiang Nan said with a smile.

Just then, Dori let out a sigh.

The dwarves looked in the direction he was going and saw a tall mountain rising majestically in the mist. Although they couldn't see its appearance clearly, just seeing its outline was enough to make the dwarves burst into tears.

"Okay, now hide in the wine barrels, we're getting close to the town." Bud reminded.

Then the dwarves hid themselves in the barrels.

"I warn you, don't play tricks on us, we are capable of fighting back," Thorin warned.

Not only do they have weapons, but they also have magicians. If Bud dares to take the money and not do the job, or even betrays them, they don't mind letting him know how powerful they are.

After all, they had annihilated the Orc Town without leaving a single piece of armor. He didn't believe that Bard and Long Lake Town could be that strong.

"Don't worry, I have my pride too." Bud nodded.

……

Soon, the barge docked in front of a dilapidated port on the lakeside.

There were some people at the port, and Bud went up and talked to them.

"He's talking to someone."

"He's pointing at us."

"Is he betraying us?"

"Kili, get ready~"

The dwarves talked worriedly, and Thorin had even asked Xiang Nan to be prepared.

But things did not develop as they expected. Soon, the people at the port poured baskets of fish into wine barrels and buried all the dwarves.

“Oh, these fish smell terrible.”

"It smells too fishy. I will never eat fish again in my life."

"Oh my god, I'm covered in fish scales, so wet and slippery."

The dwarves complained. Then, Bard set sail again. After a moment, he kicked the barrel and said, "Be quiet. We'll soon reach the checkpoint."

The dwarves suddenly fell silent.

"Stop the ship! Cargo inspection, please show your documents!" At this time, the guard at the checkpoint stepped forward to stop them.

Bard stopped the barge, then showed his documents and greeted the guard, "It's you, Percy."

"It's you, Bud." The guard nodded as he checked the documents. "Is there anything you need to declare?"

"No." Bud shook his head. "It's just that I'm too cold now, so I want to go home quickly and sit in front of the fireplace to warm myself up."

"Interesting." The guard nodded and handed the document back to Bud. "Okay, you can go now."

Bud took the document, returned to the ship, and was about to set sail. At this moment, a man suddenly walked out of the checkpoint. He had a pointed face, a mouth full of rotten teeth, and looked extremely wretched.

"'Commissioned to transport empty wooden barrels from the Elven Kingdom.'" He glanced at the document and said, "But now these barrels are full. Bard, you are a boatman, not a fisherman."

"That's none of your business, Alfred." Bud glanced at the man and said.

"Whatever concerns the mayor concerns me." Alfred said, using chicken feathers as a token of authority, "These fish are illegal. Dump them all."

After hearing what he said, a guard immediately came forward and prepared to pour the fish.

"Do something good, Alfred. The townspeople are starving and they need food." Seeing this, Bard quickly prayed.

"That's none of my business." Alfred said indifferently.

He is a favorite and jester in front of the mayor. He only needs to flatter the mayor. The life and death of other people is none of his business.

"But if the townspeople knew that the mayor dumped all the fish back into the lake, what do you think they would think? Would they be angry? Would they hold a rally? Would they protest? Would they revolt? That's none of your business, Alfred?" Seeing that his plea was useless, Bud began to threaten.

The mayor of Changhu Town imposed heavy taxes and oppressed the good people in the town. He maintained his dictatorial rule with the help of fully armed guards and spies throughout the town.

Under his rule, the people were exploited and their lives were in dire straits. Even having enough food was a luxury. However, the mayor made a lot of gold and silver by exploiting the people.

Therefore, the people had already had complaints, and they were only one step away from a riot. If the townspeople knew about the dumping of the fish, they might really start a riot.

By then, even if the mayor could suppress the people's uprising, he, the person who triggered the uprising, would be punished by the mayor for his failure to do his job properly.

"Stop!" Thinking of this, Alfred immediately stopped him, then he looked at Bud with a sneer, "You want to be a hero, Bud?
They may support you now, but you have to remember who you are. The mayor will send someone to keep an eye on you. You'd better remember that we know where your home is. "

"Alfred, this is a small town, and everyone knows where each other lives." Seeing Alfred threatening him, Bud said without showing any weakness.

Then he steered the barge and continued sailing.

Soon, the barge arrived at Changhu Town.

Changhu Town is built on Changhu Lake, like the water city of Venice, with waterways extending in all directions.

Bud stopped the boat at a place and said to the people on the shore, "The fish in the barrel belong to you. Remember to forget what you saw."

As he said this he tilted the barrel, and along with the fish slid out of the barrel, along with a dozen dwarves and hobbits.

"Let's go, avoid the guards~" Bard then called out, leading the dwarves across the street, preparing to return to his home.

"Wow, where is this?" Bilbo couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise when he saw the town built on the lake for the first time.

"This is Changhu Town." Xiang Nan explained with a smile.