Eternal madness

Chapter 19 A World of Extravagance (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Laifu arrived at the fish tendon wharf. The wharf was indeed small, but there were quite a few people. Some were carrying loads on their shoulders, some were carrying luggage rolls, and some were squatting on the stone road with baskets, bamboo baskets and bundles piled up at their feet.

Some vendors set up their stalls directly on the riverbank, with a small pot and a wooden board, selling noodles, soup, porridge, fried dough twists, and pancakes made to order. The aroma, mixed with the fishy smell of the river, wafted in the autumn wind.

Near the pier, there was a ticket booth with walls made of blue bricks and a piece of scrap paper pasted on the window frame. Behind the small window sat a woman in her thirties, holding a powder box and touching up her makeup in front of a small mirror.

Zhang Laifu arrived at the door, took out all his money, and inquired about the ticket price to Miedao Forest. The woman took the powder box and introduced: "First class is 120, second class is 70, and third class is 35."

Thirty-five.

She was definitely not talking about copper coins, but copper dollars.

Zhang Laifu has four large coins and about ten copper coins. How could he possibly scrape together thirty-five copper coins?

Are there any cheaper cabins available?

He was in a dilemma when the ticket seller offered a suggestion: "Sir, why don't you take second class? We'll provide meals."

Zhang Laifu sighed: "Second class costs seventy yuan, how am I supposed to buy that?"

"You're joking! You've already taken out the money, and you're still reluctant to spend it?"

The ocean?

Zhang Laifu examined the money in his hand carefully and then noticed that one of the coins was different.

This coin is silver, with the same "Wansheng Kingdom" on the obverse and a portrait of a man in military uniform on the reverse. However, unlike the copper coin, this portrait is in profile.

This is a silver dollar? Can it be exchanged for 130 silver dollars?

Where did this money come from?
Zhang Laifu remembered something. He gave Li Yunsheng three coins, and Li Yunsheng returned two coins. At the time, Zhang Laifu didn't look at it closely, but he didn't expect that Li Yunsheng would return a silver dollar to him.

What kind of nonsense is this? Why should I take other people's money?

Zhang Laifu wanted to return the money, but suddenly heard people arguing nearby.

Why is it so difficult to get something done for me?

“Miss, please calm down. We need to find out why you came before we can deliver your message to your residence.”

"What's there to ask? Just tell him that Yuan Kuifeng has arrived!"

Yuan Kuifeng? That name sounds so familiar!

Behind Zhang Laifu, there were several people queuing to buy tickets, but as soon as they heard Yuan Kuifeng's name, they ran away.

The woman selling tickets changed her expression and slammed the glass window shut.

The dock manager was still negotiating with Yuan Kuifeng: "Miss, please wait a moment. Our young master is not at the dock. We need to go to the mansion to find him."

"Nonsense! Would I have come if he weren't here? Old Song, block the road, don't let a single person escape!"

Old Song?

Which Old Song?

Zhang Laifu turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, he heard a suffocating sound beside him.

Bang! Ring ring ring! Bang! Ring ring ring!
Old Song is here.

The sound of cotton being fluffed came from inside.

The name and the voice triggered a stress response in Zhang Laifu, leaving him momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Run away from the dock?

Many people were running towards the outside of the dock; some collapsed on the spot because their legs gave way. Some stretched out their legs but couldn't take a step, as if their trouser legs were being pulled by something. Others ran very fast, but after running a short distance, they turned back to where they started; their eyes were covered with cotton.

Fine cotton fibers drifted everywhere; this was the cotton carder's specialty—a world of colorful patterns.

Yuan Kuifeng said not to let anyone escape, and Lao Song really did stop everyone.

The key issue is that Zhang Laifu still hasn't seen where Lao Song is.

"Don't move if you can't see," Zhang Laifu quickly hid behind the ticket booth.

The dock was noisy. Several bandits were grabbing people and making Song Yongchang identify them one by one. Old Song shook his head repeatedly, saying that none of these people were the ones he was looking for.

Just as he was about to find the ticket office, Zhang Laifu gripped his clay knife, wondering where to run. While groping around, he suddenly felt a crack in the wall of the ticket office.

This is the back door of the box office.

Zhang Laifu pushed open the back door and entered the ticket office. He didn't see a ticket seller or a ticket window. Instead, he saw a man sitting in a wheelchair, sculpting clay.

Isn't that Lin Shao Cong?

Lin Shao Cong was also surprised to see Zhang Laifu: "What are you doing here?" "I'm here to take a boat ride."

What are we doing on the boat?

"Run away."

"Shouldn't you have moved to another state a long time ago?"

"If I can go to another state, why would I come here?"

Lin Shao Cong said angrily, "There are so many docks to choose from, why did you have to come here? You've really made my life miserable!"

The commotion outside grew louder and louder, so Lin Shao Cong quickly made a lock and, along with the latch he had made earlier, stuck it to the door.

"Will this lock work?" Zhang Laifu looked at the remaining clay.

"It works; most people can't open it." Lin Shao Cong was very confident in the lock he had made.

"Is this room any good?" Zhang Laifu asked, glancing at the ticket counter.

The ticket office was divided into an outer room and an inner room. The outer room was where tickets were sold, and the inner room was where money was stored. Because of its ingenious design, the inner room was difficult to find.

Lin Shao Cong was also confident about the property: "My father personally found someone to buy this house..."

Bang!

The door to the outer room was kicked down, and the ticket seller cried out as she was dragged out.

Zhang Laifu took a lump of clay and handed it to Lin Shaocong, then waved the knife in his hand, as if to tell Lin Shaocong that making more clay knives was much better than making locks.

Lin Shao Cong quickly gripped his knife. The structure of this box office was indeed unique; even the bandits standing in the outer room couldn't tell there was an inner room.

After searching for a long time without finding any trace of Lin Shao Cong, Song Yongchang shouted at the crowd, "We came here today specifically to find your Third Young Master. This matter has nothing to do with anyone else."

If anyone knows where Lin Shao Cong is, please let me know. Once we find him, you can go wherever you want; we will absolutely not harm innocent people.

Zhang Laifu glared at Lin Shao Cong: "They're here for you! You're the one who got me into trouble! What are you doing here? Are you trying to escape by boat too?"

“This is my family’s dock. I’m here to check the accounts.” Lin Shao Cong made two clay knives and handed them to Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu was relieved: "Since it's your dock, it can definitely protect you."

Lin Shao Cong pursed his lips and remained silent.

Zhang Laifu was still not entirely at ease: "You're their third young master, they wouldn't sell you out, would they?"

"He'll probably do some superficial things, but as for the real issues, it's hard to say..." Lin Shao Cong was telling the truth; the bandits had arrived, and for the time being, no one had revealed his whereabouts.

But no one came to protect him, or even to inform him.

It's good that no one came to inform us; so far, the bandits haven't discovered that there's an inner room in the box office.

Manager Hu and the other workers at the dock remained silent. They wouldn't hand over the Third Young Master voluntarily, but since he had been found on his own, they couldn't be blamed.

The bandits searched the area but couldn't find Lin Shao Cong.

Yuan Kuifeng received confirmation that Lin Shaocong was at the Fish Tendon Wharf. Having investigated this far, she was not about to give up.

She called Steward Hu over and asked him where Lin Shao Cong was.

Manager Hu repeated, "Our young master isn't at the dock; he's gone back to his residence."

Yuan Kuifeng smiled at Steward Hu: "Old man, I'm asking you a nice question, can't you understand?"

"Our young master is really, really not here..." Manager Hu's eyes darted around, his gaze almost drifting to the ticket booth at any moment.

Lin Shao Cong took dozens of clay spears and aimed them at the door leading to the outer room.

Zhang Laifu, holding a clay dagger, stood guard at the back door.

The two held their breath, ready to fight to the death, when suddenly they heard a man's voice from outside: "This beach belongs to the Lin family. The water is neither deep nor shallow."

If the young lady wants to wade in the water, she should first consider whether the stones at the bottom are slippery. If she steps in and falls into the river, getting her clothes wet, that would be quite unsightly.

Zhang Laifu looked at Lin Shao Cong: "Who is this guy?"

"One of our own!" Lin Shao Cong wiped his sweat and let out a long breath. "The head bodyguard of the Lin family, the expert on the fourth floor's ingenious scheme!"

PS: The fourth floor is a master of ingenious strategies, comparable to Lao Song. I wonder if he can rival Yuan Kuifeng.

Thank you, Alliance Leader Xin Wuguang. You were my alliance leader back in the day, and Sarah will never forget this friendship.

(End of this chapter)