Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 684 Water Gang
It was late in the evening, and the sky was getting dark. The water was not quiet at all, the drizzle was still falling, the reeds were rubbing in the wind, and the wild ducks were flapping their wings, making a sound when they hit the wind and the water. After a while, they made a few short calls as they fought for fish and shrimp.

A whistle suddenly came from the reed marsh, and the flapping sounds stopped for a moment. Several people on the shore stood up, and a small boat pushed through the reeds and slid out. The man wearing a hat on the boat pushed with the oars, and the boat stopped moving.

"Everyone is here?"

"Done!"

The man rowing the boat looked to be in his forties or fifties, not much older, with firm brown skin, strong muscles and bones, and a look of having been exposed to the sun and wind for a long time, as if he had spent about half of his life on the water.

The man picked up the anchor and threw it onto the shore. A young man picked it up and pulled it, and the rest of them got on the boat one after another.

"Uncle San, since I'm working for you martial artists, will you teach me martial arts?" The last person jumped up holding an anchor.

The young men were all strong and vigorous, just reaching adulthood. There were four of them in total, and only one of them was married, but had no child yet.

"Stop talking nonsense. Let me give you a name first." The boatman leaned on the oar and looked back at the four people's faces. "Ermao?"

The first one to come up was the smallest, with the most muscular body, and a pair of brows that connected to the heart. He raised his hand and said, "I am Third Uncle."

"Overjoyed?"

"Hey." The man looked up and responded. He looked very sturdy and taciturn.

"Zhao Bao?"

"It's me, Uncle San!" The young man holding the anchor stood at the bow of the boat.

"Zhu Liu?"

"Yes, Uncle San." The young man had a handsome face and looked quite vigorous, but very quiet. He had light dark skin and looked like he was used to working.

"As long as we have the right people, please sit in the cabin." Uncle San pushed the oars and the boat slid backwards. "I'll explain it to you clearly. Things are different now. Don't laugh and joke around. This is an order from Dayanwu himself. There are even bigger masters above Dayanwu. This is a big deal for hundreds of miles of rivers and lakes. Let's do some side jobs and work hard. When we're done, we can get paid and go home."

"Yes, Third Uncle."

"You all recognize me, huh?"

"My brother did that to you before!"

"Well, then you know the rules - no matter how much the final reward is, I will take two cents." Uncle San's eyes swept over the people in the boat, and seeing that no one had any objections, he took the oar that was tucked between his armpits into his hands, and with a push of his arms, the boat rushed backwards briskly.

The drizzle hit his forehead, and the wings of his nose were filled with the moisture from the lakes and rivers, mixed with the fragrance of green reeds. Pei Ye looked back. The boat was not moving fast, but in just a moment it was already quite far away from the shore.

"It's all thanks to Third Uncle's support. It's my duty."

"Our village's Xi Da Hu did the same thing. He first concealed two cents of the reward and then took three cents." The young man threw the anchor in the cabin and sat down. "He is not a real hero of the Qinglu Gang, but just a familiar face on the periphery!"

"The gang is short of manpower these days, and we're afraid we'll miss the deadline, so we have to look for you. It's all water work anyway, and there's no fighting, so what's the difference?" Third Uncle said, "But this isn't a good idea after all. Just say you're from the Qinglu Gang, and don't spread the word."

"Yes, Third Uncle." The young people actually looked quite curious and said with a smile, "There's nowhere to show off. In this big water field, how can we show off like a duck?"

Uncle San smiled and said, "Do you think you can't see anyone?"

"It's not like we've been on the water for seven days and eight nights straight - I also brought a lot of dry food with me."

"Hey, the heroes are going to do something big, do you think it's just a few small boats floating around?" Uncle San smiled and said nothing more, "Come on, let's go and raise the net first."

"When did it rain?"

"This time the day before yesterday."

The boat left the reed marsh at this time, and the lake was flat. It was not too late, but the rain had made the water dark and gloomy.

There were dry wooden boards between the small cabins and on the bottom of the large cabin, which served as movable stools. Pei Ye sat in one cabin with the other two, and Zhao Bao, who came up last, sat on the partition between the two cabins.

"You guys are really interesting. These great heroes on the water gathered here from all directions. I thought something big was going on, but it turns out it's just fishing." He swung his legs and looked around twice, landing on Pei Ye who was sitting with his legs bent. "Brother Jun, are you from Nancun?"

"Yes, Nancun Zhuliu." Pei Ye smiled, "I noticed that there are white steamed buns in your dry food. They will get moldy."

"I'll eat it tonight."

"Have you ever worked for the Water Gang before?" Ermao poked his head out and asked, "This is my first time. Do you think everyone in their group really carries a sword?"

"Uncle San didn't bring it."

"Uncle San is good at Kung Fu!"

Although Third Uncle was a true hero of the Water Gang, he often traveled around the villages to make connections, so the elders all knew him, which reduced some of their awe.

"I'm not good at martial arts, so I don't carry a sword." Uncle San paddled leisurely, looking out, "In the underworld, people wear clothes that match their status. If you carry a sword on your waist, it means that you are good at fighting. When a fight breaks out, people will just chop at you... There are many young people who have just reached the threshold of their skills. They think that carrying a sharp sword will make them look good, so they die gloriously."

The cabin was quiet for a while. After all, they had never seen life and death. After a while, Zhao Bao whispered, "Uncle San... I don't think they will really fight this time."

"Let's just do these corners, what's the problem?" Uncle San glanced at him with a smile, "You have such courage, I still need to teach you martial arts."

"Hehe, after I learn martial arts, I will go back to the village and beat up my brother!"

There were a few laughs in the cabin.

The oars pushed the boat farther and farther, and gradually the shoreline and the reed marsh merged into one, forming a dark yellow and hazy line in the rain. The water nearby was visible, with dull waves.

A few young people always have something to talk about when they get together. After simply asking about their origins and names, they start talking about their own interesting stories. The other three people talked mostly about the water, and they used nets and could not understand Pei Ye's fishing skills, so he brought up the experience of fighting a big catfish when he was a child, and they all laughed and scolded him for bragging.

Before it got completely dark, the boat finally reached the place where the net was cast. Several people stepped onto the side of the boat to pull up the net. Several strong and experienced hands deftly pulled the net back in. The lively fish jumped around in the cabin.

"This is our ship's supply for today. Pick it all out. It looks like there are about 130 to 150 kilograms."

"How much do you want to pay for so many big fish?"

Uncle San chuckled and clasped his fists to the side: "This is the surrender from the gang to Yanwu heroes. You do things for the gang, do you think the gang should pay you?"

"Hey, I'll pick up two and sell them." Zhao Bao smiled and suddenly said, "Hey, why don't we catch one and roast it for dinner?"

"Are you looking for death?" Uncle San turned his head and stared at him, his face stern. "For seven days, no fireworks are allowed, and everyone on the lake should eat cold food. I remember saying that."

"Oh...oh, I, I forgot about Third Uncle." Zhao Bao was a little embarrassed. "I'll say it again, this is just a minor job, but if you want to get this little silver, you have to be very careful and don't let me kick you out halfway." Third Uncle said coldly, and the atmosphere in the boat was tense for a while, and several people bowed their heads and kept silent.

The boat headed northwest, and it was completely dark. The fish caught filled a large cabin. There was no trace of fish before or after, only a flickering fire on the boat, and they seemed to be sailing alone without end until about a quarter of an hour later, they rounded a lake island.

Several pairs of eyes on the boat opened.

Ten, twenty, hundreds of fishing lights gathered densely together, reflecting the lake surface with a warm yellow glow for nearly a mile in radius. The large boat surrounded in the center looked like a small mountain standing on the water. People came and went and shouted under the lights and on the boats, just like a village on the water.

Only then did they understand what "don't show off" meant. It turned out that they could indeed meet people on the water. It wasn't just two shouts from afar, but a whole boat... Several people who grew up on the water had never seen such a scene. As the saying goes, when a hero calls out, groups of people will respond. It was really a breathtaking scene. Even the most lively Zhao Bao didn't say a word. He quietly got down from the partition and sat down a little.

"Please make way for the waterway, my friends!" Uncle San shouted from the bow, "I am Xu Sanjiao, the smuggled goods!"

There were still some empty spaces between the hundreds of boats of different sizes, but they were inevitably swayed by the waves. The boats in front gently pushed their poles to make way. Someone asked, "Friend, how many pounds?"

"Little boat, pay one hundred today!"

"That's not a small amount! Tell your leader to add more meat!"

Everyone was laughing, but a few people in the boat were silent. Zhao Bao tilted his head and stared at them in a daze. These people didn't look particularly special in appearance or clothing, but their temperament seemed different from the usual people - some were leaning in the boat, some were walking as if on flat ground, most of them had their sleeves rolled up and were barefoot, some were strong and some were shrewd... The light of iron could be seen from time to time in each cabin.

But someone laughed: "Who are these young men in the cabin? Why do they keep slipping down? Hey, boy, why are you looking at me? Whose general are you?"

Uncle San said, "A few of my younger generations are showing me kindness."

Pei Ye smiled: "Which general are you?"

The man laughed: "You are such a rude boy. If a senior asks, there must be an answer. Do you understand?"

But Pei Ye didn't need to reply to him. He just rowed the boat forward. The three young men beside him looked at him with admiration.

Zhao Bao was a little annoyed: "If my father were here, he would definitely call me a coward... But these heroes look really powerful - do they all have true energy?"

"Half and half." The small boat had just sailed into the shadow of the big ship and had just stopped when a crisp voice suddenly came from outside the boat. Several people turned their heads and saw a young man sitting on the bow next to him. He had half-long hair, his hands and forearms were wrapped in cloth, his feet were dipped in the cold water, and in his hand he was holding a small fishing rod that was an arm's length.

Pei Ye could hardly tell her gender at first. He stared at her calves for a while before realizing that she was most likely a girl.

"Are you from the Qinglu Gang? Why is there so much space on your ship? Just fit me in there as an extra one."

Pei Ye looked over and saw that there were indeed nine people on her boat. However, she did not wait for any consent. She jumped up lightly, stood on the bow, rolled down her wide trousers, covered her legs and feet, and then squatted there with her knees together. She looked at them and clasped her fists and said, "I am Xiao Qi. Thank you all for taking me in!"

There was a fishing rod between his knees.

Pei Ye said: "How can you catch fish in a place like this? All the fish have been scared away."

The girl looked at him inexplicably for a while, then turned her head and said, "Is it your business?"

"..."

Two baskets had already been lowered from the boat to collect the fish, but at this moment a voice suddenly came from above: "Xu San, is your boat new?"

Uncle San was startled, raised his head and clasped his fists: "Yes."

"How many people are on board?"

"Count us five younger brothers."

"Well, I received an order this morning. The higher-ups said there might be spies sneaking in today, so they want all the docks to conduct a thorough investigation... Are all of you okay?"

Pei Ye held his breath slightly, raised his eyes and took in Xu San's face. With just a few changes in his expression, he could tell what he was thinking.

——Of course there is a problem.

It is not worth taking any risk to call these young fishermen just to row the boat alone and get some rewards.

Of course, he didn't think that there was any spy among these people, but if the spy really did do something and it was investigated thoroughly, he would not be able to hide his small mistake. What if he would be taken out on others?

"Why aren't you talking? What's wrong with you?"

This was asked personally by Yanwu, the top leader of the Qinglu Gang. There was no reason for Xu Sanjue to hide these things.

But the next moment Pei Ye found that he seemed to have guessed wrong - Xu San clasped his fists and saluted: "No, you just scared me, big brother, we were just fishing, how could there be a spy?"

"Don't ask too much - are all of you okay?"

"No, they are all the younger generation in the family, they are just shy."

What he was actually worried about at this moment was that people would find out that he was trying to make some private money!

But before the third uncle finished speaking, his voice suddenly died. Above his head, a figure pushed aside the person who was asking questions and fell straight down from the deck, which was about 30 to 40 meters high. His clothes fluttered, and when he landed, he only touched the bow lightly, and the boat shook slightly, as if he had caught something weighing 10 to 20 kilograms.

The man had a face like an eagle, dressed in black, with a sword hanging from his waist. His eyes swept over everyone on the boat in an instant, and everyone seemed to be pricked by a needle.

"Master Jing." Uncle San was startled, abandoned his oars, stood up and clasped his fists, "What do you want me to do?"

The man did not speak. He just held the sword and scanned each person carefully again. After a long while, he slowly asked, "Do you know the details of everyone here?"

Uncle San trembled for a moment and was unable to speak.

The man's eyes stayed on his face, motionless.

"Yes... they are a few hired young men from fishermen. They are all kind."

Hall Master Jing's sharp eyes fell on Pei Ye first: "Who are you?"

Pei Ye showed some nervousness, stood up and clasped his fists: "I am Zhu Liu, I live in Yanhe South Village, I have learned martial arts for two years since I was a child, I heard that all the heroes have gathered, I came here to see it."

Master Jing looked at him and was about to say something, but suddenly pursed his lips, as if he remembered something troubling him. He glanced at the boat and turned around and said, "Since we are all young men from fishing families, it doesn't matter. Just do your job well."

After saying this, he jumped lightly and went straight onto the deck again.

Only the three young men were left looking up in amazement. The girl named Xiao Qi was still staring at her fishing line that had sunk into the water, seemingly not caring about what was happening on the boat.

(End of this chapter)