I want to die!

Chapter 6 Goodbye Wayne

"Big Basket, are we really going to have him help with the placement? He doesn't even live in Hanako's room, so he's not entirely on our side."

After Zhou Xing left, Luo Zitou also entered the inner hall and voiced everyone's suspicions.

Zhang Dakang simply smiled dismissively:

"What else can I do? Fight him with me, or have a hundred or so old, weak, sick, and disabled people swarm him and beat him up?"

Zhang Dakang was also a martial arts performer in his early years and had mastered the skills of a martial arts performer, but after years of being pampered, he really wouldn't go so far as to fight with a sixteen-year-old kid.

"Give him a position to help with the game, but he's practically an outsider in the beggar's quarters. How long can he stay there? The responsibilities of the beggar's quarters naturally belong to elders like you." Zhang Dakang patted the head of the game's pieces on the shoulder:

"In the afternoon, you and he should take some people to South Gate Street. There's a restaurant called 'Liangyou Restaurant' that's just opened. We can open our own restaurant there too."

Zhang Dakang wasn't worried about Zhou Xing at all.

Among the hundred or so beggars in this beggar's hut, if you were to ask who was the most out of place, it would definitely be Zhang Dakang himself, who had subtly broken away from the beggar class.

So even though he had no worries about food and drink, started wearing gold and silver, and was able to marry two wives, and was no longer a beggar, he still stayed in this dilapidated beggar's house.

Nothing more than living and eating with these beggars under his command.

Even if he's acting, he has to act like he lives in the same place as these hundred or so poor brothers, otherwise how can he convince the public?

But Li Xuanqing was different.

He has a family.

Even though they were heavily in debt and their families were on the verge of starvation, they were still different from the more than one hundred people crammed into a dilapidated courtyard.

.................

Zhou Xing didn't care whether he could win people's hearts.

As the saying goes, one cannot discuss ice with a summer insect. He is the summer insect now, so what does winter have to do with him?

He simply found a place to sit on the ground, opened the thread-bound book that the large basket had given him, and prepared to appreciate it carefully.

He remained silent, looking down at his book, and gradually the gazes from all directions diminished.

There were only a few pairs of eyes staring at him, which made him slightly uncomfortable. So he looked up and was slightly surprised.

The person looking at him wasn't the resentful old beggar he expected, but a little girl of about seven or eight years old, about the same age as his younger sister.

The little girl was dressed in inconspicuous tattered clothes, covered in filth, but her bright, dark eyes were fixed on him.

"A new face? Someone new here?" Zhou Xing looked closely and noticed something unusual.

A slightly nervous woman with a sallow complexion immediately leaned over and shielded the little girl behind her.

"Little Green Head, these girls are indeed new here," a voice came from the side.

But it was the bald beggar who had blocked the road earlier who walked over with a grin.

He still had several bloody welts on his waist and chest from being whipped, but he approached without a care.

Zhou Xing seemed to be deep in thought.

The environment inside this brothel wasn't great. With hundreds of people eating, drinking, and relieving themselves crammed in there, the smell was truly unbearable.

The beggars who have stayed in this brothel for a long time have empty eyes and little expression on their faces; they just lie woodenly in the corner.

Although the little girl was also dressed in tattered clothes, her eyes were indeed somewhat clear.

It seems they haven't been homeless for very long; they might have been from a wealthy family before.

"Are they refugees from outside?" Zhou Xing asked again.

"Yes." This time it was the sallow-faced woman who explained in a low voice:

"There was a famine in the north, and we were all refugees from Yangcheng in the north."

Zhou Xing nodded.

Just as he had predicted, with the famine in the north and the influx of refugees southward, the beggar profession was about to take off.

There are more than just this one beggar's brothel in the south of the town. Several new faces appeared here in just one day, and there are probably many more in other beggar's brothels as well.

He only asked a couple of simple questions before his attention returned to the "Nine Yang Divine Spear Technique" in his hands.

The notes in this booklet were really messy, and Zhou Xing could only get a rough idea of ​​them.

"The key to practicing this skill is 'use it or lose it'?"

Unlike the martial arts commonly understood, the skill in the beggars' guild is a skill for taking beatings and self-harm.

As long as you practice constantly and train diligently, or strengthen your body through exercise like a martial arts practitioner, you can make progress until you master hard skills.

As I read quietly, time slipped by unnoticed. Before I knew it, Luo Zitou came forward.

"Brother Xiaoqing, it's time for us to go out and find some food."

Zhou Xing responded calmly, took a half step back, and let the leader of the group of beggars go first. The dozens of beggars then quietly got up.

Zhou Xing deliberately slowed his pace. Seeing the sallow-faced woman leading the little girl staggering along, he turned to the bald beggar beside him and whispered, "Keep an eye on the new women and children, don't let them get separated."

The bald man was taken aback, then quickly nodded in agreement.

.............

South City Commercial Street.

Red silk hung high above the vermilion lintel of Liangyou Restaurant, and the restaurant staff had not yet swept away the firecracker debris at the entrance.

What's even more eye-catching is that the restaurant owner himself stood at the door, holding a rather novel object in his hand: a metal cylinder about the size of a bowl, with a trumpet-shaped opening at one end and a round handle at the other.

This is a marvelous artifact that appeared in the Great Mang Dynasty after the celestial beings from beyond the realm descended to earth. It is very light in weight, yet it can amplify human voices several times over through its ingenious internal reeds and cavity structure.

The shopkeeper was admiringly playing with it, then brought it to his lips to test the sound:

"Liangyou Restaurant, grand opening today! 20% off for our special customers..."

The sound, amplified by the metal loudspeaker, suddenly became louder and carried far, drawing the attention of passersby.

The shopkeeper's face was full of pride; he had spent a lot of favors to get this rare item from the provincial capital.

Just then, dozens of beggars came winding their way from afar. The idlers on the street all gave way, and many shops slammed their doors shut as if avoiding snakes and scorpions.

The leader, Luo Zitou, remained calm. He cupped his hands at the door and said, "Manager, I heard that Liangyou Restaurant is grandly opening today. I've brought people here to offer my congratulations and wish you good fortune. I guarantee your restaurant will be packed with customers."

"A prize? I'll just give you dog food." The shopkeeper waved his hand to shoo them away, and the waiter picked up a broom as if to hit him.

The player took half a step back, his bamboo clappers snapping with a loud crack, and began to chant auspicious words:

"The bamboo clappers clang loudly, auspiciously announcing the opening of Liangyou's business, bringing blessings to the entire garden."

The shopkeeper, with a displeased expression, casually raised the megaphone in his hand: "If you utter another half a word, I'll report you to the authorities and you'll be treated as vagrants!"

The shouts echoed throughout the entire commercial street, making everyone's ears ring.

Luo Zitou wasn't annoyed at all. He took a deep breath, his chest slightly puffing out, and when he spoke again, his voice suddenly rose, taking on a high-pitched, penetrating quality that even the loudspeaker couldn't drown out.

"If you won't give it to me, I'll insist, until the sun sets and the clouds darken; Junhongguo, howling and barking, clapping and laughing when it sees Huazi; all night long, not sleeping, Huazi Youbao is the most mischievous; you kick your legs, I'll call the temple, let's see who can lean on more..."

A large basket of old ox whip, a lotus seed falling from the mouth.

The martial arts beggar's specialty is taking a beating, while the literary beggar's specialty is the so-called "lotus in the mouth."

It's all about sustained breath and clear, articulate pronunciation. Luo Zitou, who spent half his life as a literary beggar, could sing different lyrics for half an hour without repeating himself if he really put his mind to it.

Ordinary merchants can't hold out at this point and are often willing to give some money.

After all, Hanakobo has about a hundred people. If they really get entangled with them and sing at the door for an hour or two every day, how can we open for business?

However, the manager of Liangyou Restaurant was quite stubborn. Seeing that his threats were useless, he simply whispered instructions to the waiter.

A moment later, the waiter brought out two large strings of red firecrackers from the house and lit them in the street. In an instant, the firecrackers went off in unison, creating a deafening noise that drowned out the lyrics of the song.

But Luo Zitou remained calm, and even let out a cold laugh:

"Is begging by language the only solution? Are you forcing us to resort to force?"

He turned his head and winked at the beggars behind him.

Normally, this would be the time for Wu Huazi Li Xuanqing to make his appearance, but this time he was sitting in the back, helping out with the game, and was happy to be free this time.

Then, a few martial arts fighters stepped out from behind the crowd, gritted their teeth, stomped their feet, and leaped onto the two strings of firecrackers.

"These are all a bunch of lunatics!" The restaurant owner's eyes immediately turned red. He gritted his teeth and ordered someone to fetch two basins of water and pour them out the two strings of firecrackers that had just been lit.

Beggars are considered lowly and worthless, but if there's bloodshed and violence at the shop's opening today, that would be truly unlucky...

Seeing this, Luo Zitou finally breathed a sigh of relief, a knowing smile appearing on his face.

Hanako-fusa made a living through this, and after going through this ordeal, he finally understood where the restaurant owner's bottom line was.

This game is in the bag!

"'Fan,' bring it up," he said, turning around.

Another lame beggar squeezed out of the crowd. He was wearing a half-broken straw sandal, grinned to reveal his gap teeth, took off the sandal, and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Please have pity on me, sir!"

This is just the appetizer.

The lame beggar got really into it, and right there in the street he pulled down his pants and started slapping his groin hard. It quickly became red and swollen, almost bleeding.

Further back, several other beggars, some of whom were only a few years old, also pulled down their pants, ready to defecate.

As the saying goes, "A mop dipped in excrement is like Lu Bu reborn." But these little beggars didn't even use a mop; in full view of everyone, they grabbed a handful of excrement and started smearing it on the walls.

Comparable to Lü Bu riding Dian Wei, he was already invincible.

Originally, there were some diners in the lobby of Liangyou Restaurant craning their necks to watch the commotion and see how the manager would handle the situation.

Seeing the chaotic scene around them, the diners' faces turned green, and some even started gagging and got up to leave.

Now that he was confident of victory, Luo Zitou stepped back to Zhou Xing's side and started chatting casually:

"Brother Xiaoqing, do you know that Da Kuang from our beggar's hut was just like you when he was young? We were both beggars who started out as martial arts practitioners?"

Zhou Xing's gaze fell on the "fan" still frantically fanning his groin with the sole of his shoe at the doorway: "I heard from Da Kuang that he used to be a 'fan' too?"

"Not bad," Luo Zitou said with a smile.

"Da Kuang started out as a fan maker, but he wasn't an ordinary fan maker. He learned the Han Sanmen's unique skill, called 'Nine Yang Divine Spear Technique'."

"Every time we go out to find food, we slap that precious little thing until it's red, swollen, and bleeding. It's terrifying to watch, and we can't bear to stop it."

"But the more fiercely he fought, the more he mastered rare and extraordinary skills, even bewitching several respectable women."

"Back then, everyone in and around the county was terrified of Big Basket..."

During the casual conversation and jokes, the restaurant owner finally broke down and stepped forward to admit defeat.

"Please be lenient and tell me how much you want as a reward."

Hearing that the shopkeeper had finally given in, the man with the bamboo sticks smiled even more broadly, but he didn't rush to answer. He slowly tucked the bamboo sticks back into his waistband, then stepped forward, extended two fingers, and curled up the other.

"Fifteen taels."

The shopkeeper's eyelids twitched violently, and his voice shrilly: "Fifteen taels?! This is blatant robbery! My opening day sales might not even reach that amount!"

Luo Zitou, still smiling, said, "Boss, you can't say that. Look at these dozens of brothers of ours, they came early this morning to congratulate you. We've done our part, even if we haven't done anything special. This lucky charm is just for good fortune. If you give it generously, we'll leave happily, guaranteeing your business will prosper and no more unwanted people will bother you. If we can't reach an agreement..."

He paused, glanced back at the group of little beggars still "smearing excrement on the walls," and at "Fanzi," whose groin was red and swollen and who was still moaning. "We brothers don't have any other skills, but we have a lot of free time. From now on, we'll come to your store every day to 'make a scene' and help you attract customers. What do you say?"

The innkeeper's face turned pale, and his chest heaved violently. He ran a restaurant, and the most important thing was a clean storefront and a comfortable customer experience. If he had to keep his door blocked by this group of filthy beggars every day, he might as well close down.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes darting back and forth between the calm and collected face of the game master and the group of "demons and monsters" at the door, before finally squeezing out the words through clenched teeth:

"Ten taels! Ten taels at most! Not a single coin more. You can make trouble all you want. I'll just close down today and report you to the county government for extortion tomorrow!"

Luo Zitou's eyes flickered slightly as he quickly calculated in his mind.

Having squeezed out ten taels in the first encounter, I've already figured out the shopkeeper's bottom line. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, with steady profits to come.

His face immediately broke into an even more amiable smile, as if the previous confrontation had never happened:

"What a generous man you are, innkeeper! Ten taels it is, a perfect lucky draw, nothing could be better! Rest assured, once we receive the lucky draw, we'll leave immediately, without lingering even a moment longer. We also wish your Liangyou Restaurant a constant stream of customers and abundant wealth!"

The shopkeeper, his face dark, gave a wink to the accountant behind the counter.

The accountant, with a pained expression, shakily counted out ten taels of loose silver, wrapped it in an old cloth, and handed it over from a distance, as if the silver were burning his hand.

Luo Zitou took it personally, weighed it in his hand, and then put it in his pocket with satisfaction. Only then did he turn around and wave to those behind him.

Strangely enough, the beggars who were still making a fuss immediately stopped when they saw his gesture.

The fan-wielder pulled up his pants, and although his gait was awkward, he stopped wailing; the little beggars hastily wiped their hands with rags and shrank back into the crowd.

The dozens of people, who had been dancing wildly like demons just moments before, suddenly quieted down. Although they were still dressed in rags, they now had an eerie sense of order.

"Let's go, let's go, don't block the shopkeeper's path to wealth." Luo Zitou called out, leading the beggars away from the entrance of Liangyou Restaurant as they had come, leaving behind only a mess and a faint odor in the air.

Luo Zitou, feeling quite pleased with himself, chatted idly with Zhou Xing beside him as he walked:

"Brother Xiaoqing, you've just taken the position of 'helper' today, so you'll have to work with me a lot more in the future... Brother Xiaoqing?"

Zhou Xing didn't respond; he was briefly distracted.

Dozens of beggars from the beggar's house were mobilized, and with such a large entourage, naturally some idlers watched from afar.

But just now, behind the crowd watching from afar, he noticed a figure that seemed familiar.

A person was walking quickly out of the entrance of Yutai Bank across the street and glanced in this direction.

The man was of medium height, wearing a decent dark blue silk jacket over a black lined long gown. His attire resembled that of a typical wealthy household, and he was not particularly eye-catching.

It's Wayne, Magistrate Wei! And Magistrate Wei, who deliberately disguised himself in civilian clothes.

An ordinary person would naturally not be able to see the connection between this person and Magistrate Wei.

Unfortunately, Zhou Xing's previous body was named Wei Liu, who was the younger brother of Magistrate Wei, so it was obvious at a glance.

Seemingly aware of his gaze, Magistrate Wei looked up and glanced over, their eyes briefly meeting.