novelraw Chapter 47: Bringing Personal Goods
Chapter 47: Bringing Personal Goods
Chapter 47: Bringing Personal Goods
Chapter 47: Bringing Personal Goods
In this era of epidemic and chaos, less than one in ten survivors remains, and the population has greatly decreased.
The two to three hundred people from Lu Hua Alley, who would have been insignificant in the past, now must be regarded with five to ten times the importance!
The display of force by the people of Lu Hua Alley that day made them famous and established their authority within the county town.
Now, anyone in Bai Lu County Town with even a little access to information knows about Lu Hua Alley! Who doesn't know about Lin Er Dajiada, the one in charge there?
People are still loudly proclaiming in the streets and alleys, stuffing the news into the residents' ears!
Even those who have been hiding at home for these past few days, can they block their ears?
Many scattered county residents, who previously were unwilling to join those large or small factions for fear of being sold out and leaving their families without support, now find the Tiger Might Escort Agency to be somewhat formidable. In a surge of emotion, they are heading towards Lu Hua Alley.
Many faction leaders are gnashing their teeth in anger.How did they not realize before that Lu Hua Alley was hiding dragons and crouching tigers?
In the county yamen, Zhang Xianwei's face was grim.
"That... Tiger Head Escort Agency..."
"My Lord, it's the Tiger Might Escort Agency," his subordinate quietly corrected.
"What is Lin Lao Er from that escort agency doing now?"
Zhang Xianwei didn't care about Tiger Head or Tiger Might; he was only concerned about the future movements of the people from Lu Hua Alley!
The subordinate replied, "We've already sent people to monitor them. By all rights, Lin Er should have come to the county yamen to show some goodwill."
Surely, Lu Hua Alley wouldn't pick a fight with the county yamen, would they?
While they were still speculating, Lin Er Dajiada actually arrived.
Several high-ranking officials of the county town were present. They closed the doors and discussed matters, and when they emerged again, the atmosphere had significantly eased, with even Zhang Xianwei showing a smile.
Those outside who had been watching and wondering if Lu Hua Alley was about to cause a major upheaval became even more bewildered.
However, their bewilderment didn't last long.
Soon, the news spread.
Lin Er and his group from Lu Hua Alley were preparing to head north to establish a branch. They were accepting employment starting today, and those wishing to travel north could place their orders, and if an agreement was reached, they would travel together.
As for their exact destination, it was not disclosed, only that with so many noble families migrating north from the southern lands, there would certainly be many choices.
Initially, Lin Er Dajiada planned to dispatch about thirty escorts, but Eldest Sister-in-law also wanted to bring the children north and requested additional guards, thus expanding the escort team to over fifty people.
As employment orders continued to pour in, more young and strong men from the county town joined the Tiger Might Escort Agency as escorts, bringing the bodyguard team to an estimated eighty people.
With Wen Gu's timely advice, they were selective when accepting employment.
They did not take on those who were troublesome or likely to slow them down. Such individuals were told to wait for the next large northbound convoy. They advised them not to join their small escort agency, as they couldn't accommodate them!
In Bai Lu County Town, the headquarters of the Tiger Might Escort Agency was established in Lu Hua Alley, with a plaque hung up.
More people remained at the headquarters, and Lin Er Dajiada instructed those staying behind on how to manage affairs.
Major clients were left to Zhang Xianwei and others. Their Tiger Might Escort Agency would primarily focus on small and medium-sized northbound teams, escorting them across the bridge. They could assist with any intermediary matters as long as the reward was right; everything was negotiable.
Zhang Xianwei's attitude towards them had improved considerably. Although he was wary of Lu Hua Alley's rapid rise, he now knew that the key figures of the Tiger Might Escort Agency were all heading north. With most of their elite personnel gone, the remaining people in Lu Hua Alley, though numerous, posed little threat.
Zhang Xianwei remained the sole person in power, his position unshaken.
Furthermore, Zhang Xianwei also had relatives and friends who wished to travel north.
Every time a convoy from the south arrived heading north, some people in the county town would leave with them.
Some within the various large and small factions in the city also wished to head north but harbored reservations and distrusted unfamiliar groups.
Now, with the people from Lu Hua Alley planning to head north to open a branch, a group was left behind to manage the headquarters. Thus, a collaboration was formed.
"We will take care of those you leave in the city. We entrust you with protecting our northbound travelers, and you must also take good care of them!"
Compared to other teams from the southern lands, Lin Er Dajiada and his group were indeed more trustworthy. Good or bad was a matter of comparison.
Some people even privately discussed that this escort agency seemed to have potential, and perhaps they should start one themselves.
Lin Er Dajiada and the others caught wind of this and cursed, "Damn imitators!"
"But we were faster, and we are about to head north to establish branches! You can continue to fight amongst yourselves in this small Bai Lu County Town!"
After arranging affairs in the city, the escorts made preparations for departure.
Lin Er Dajiada and Madam Liang discussed it and specially arranged a horse-drawn carriage for Wen Gu as a token of gratitude.
It was also a gesture of goodwill.
Upon seeing the horse-drawn carriage, Little Liu and the others were extremely excited.
"We have a horse-drawn carriage?!"
Compared to their rudimentary mule carts, donkey carts, and ox carts, this horse-drawn carriage was simply luxurious!
This must have belonged to a wealthy household in the city before, and it had fallen into the hands of the people from Lu Hua Alley. Now, it was being used as a gesture of goodwill.
"The Tiger Might Escort Agency is really generous!" Little Liu exclaimed.
"Escort agency? What's an escort agency?" someone in the group had missed the crucial information and asked in confusion.
"You don't even know that? An escort agency is..."
Little Liu went over to "educate" him on what an escort agency was.
The others in the group realized that even a villager like Little Liu knew about it, so it must have existed before!
"Oh, oh! I see, we're from a small place and haven't heard of it before."
Daoist Master Qingyi often suspected if his lack of travel experience was why he was falling behind this "dog scholar."
Was the "dog scholar" just making things up, or was he genuinely relating his travel experiences?
When the agreed-upon departure time arrived, someone from the Tiger Might Escort Agency came to meet them.
They also brought a donkey, which Wen Gu had rented from the escort agency.
Their team had a two-wheeled wooden cart, which had been modified in the past few days to be directly hitched to the donkey for pulling.
With this addition, Wen Gu's original team now had one horse-drawn carriage, one ox cart, one mule cart, and two donkey carts.
To ordinary people, this was quite impressive.
That is, until they saw the escort agency's convoy.
The line of horse-drawn carriages made everyone's eyes widen.
Some of these carriages carried people, while others carried goods.
The four horse-drawn carriages used by the escort agency for cargo had adjustable slots, allowing for different attachments based on the size of the cargo boxes. This prevented the boxes from colliding and falling easily when being moved and also made it convenient to secure with ropes.
There were two horse-drawn carriages for carrying people, one of which was used by Madam Liang. The other was for the escorts to take turns resting in.
There were also mule carts and donkey carts, but these did not belong to the escort agency; they belonged to other employers.
In addition, one could see higher-ranking escorts riding horses, led by Lin Er Dajiada.
Due to the limited number of horses, they were assigned to the combat-capable members of the team to ensure everyone's safety.
Such a formation made one wonder if the Tiger Might Escort Agency had brought out all the horses from Lu Hua Alley.
The truth was not far from it.
Most of their elite personnel had come along. If too much valuable equipment were left behind at their home base, it might not be safe. It was better to take it all with them.
Lin Er Dajiada of Lu Hua Alley, once outside the city, became Escort Leader Lin of the Tiger Might Escort Agency.
Wen Gu's gaze briefly lingered on the Ma Shuo polearm held by Escort Leader Lin, and then he merged with the convoy with his team members.
The guards at the pontoon bridge stood on either side, clearing a path.
More people were leaving the city today, but they were not worried.
Refugees often arrived fleeing hardships and chose to stay in Bai Lu County Town. The autumn and winter seasons were times for population growth. Therefore, overall, the number of people in the county town fluctuated little, and the missing numbers were quickly filled; there would always be someone to do the manual labor.
They had been notified in advance, and these people were considered "their own." When crossing the bridge, the guards only symbolically collected a small item.
Since this matter was handled by the escort agency, it was sufficient for appearances.
However, as this convoy crossed the bridge, the guards at the pontoon bridge noticed a few very unfamiliar figures.
Are these people also from our city?
They were tempted to stop them and ask: "Is your Tiger Might Escort Agency bringing personal goods?"
But glancing at the tall and burly escorts of the Tiger Might Escort Agency, they held back.
They reassured themselves: "We don't know everyone who can afford escorts in the city. Some people with status and background don't normally work and hide at home; it's understandable that we guards don't recognize them."
Looking at the escorts, they all appeared righteous and unashamed.
"Ah, forget it. Even if they are bringing personal goods, we'll pretend not to know. These people from the Tiger Might Escort Agency have been riding a wave of enthusiasm lately, and they're about to leave. It's best not to provoke them."
Meanwhile, the original members of Wen Gu's team were still quite bewildered.
When they first arrived, they were figuring out how to get past the guards at the pontoon bridge or how to pay less for the bridge toll.
Now, not only could they cross the bridge, but they also had a group of escorts!
Scholar Weng is truly capable!
He Da's follower became even more convinced: from now on, they just needed to follow orders; their leader would solve any problems.
After crossing the pontoon bridge and the river, Wen Gu sat in the horse-drawn carriage, pondering matters.
With the increase in numbers, improved combat strength, and enhanced risk resistance, they could now openly and boldly inquire for news from other northbound convoys they encountered going forward.
If they were lucky enough to encounter a courier, perhaps they could even send a letter to their aunt's family in the northern lands. He wondered if they were well and how many soldiers they had.
If relatives couldn't be relied upon, then he would have to forge his own path.
However, he still hoped that his uncle's family could provide some support and that he could leverage their influence once he arrived.
Since leaving Ge Village, he had not encountered any northbound convoys from the south.
Communication was inconvenient, and for important long-distance messages and significant matters, trusted couriers were indispensable, unlike the highly risky methods like flying pigeons.
The autumn and winter seasons were precisely when northern and southern couriers were most active.
He wondered if those couriers would be willing to earn some extra income.
Ah, he would deal with it when he encountered them.
The Tiger Might Escort Agency's convoy moved further away from Bai Lu County Town, and from this point on, there was no need for further concealment.
The scattered employers within the convoy finally noticed something unusual – Escort Leader Lin's attitude towards Wen Gu was uncommon!
Escort Leader Lin, who was famous in Bai Lu County Town, showed considerable respect towards this scholar!
Looking at Wen Gu's group and then at the Tiger Might Escort Agency, they realized: "So, all the schemes you pulled in Bai Lu County Town had the guidance of a wise expert behind them!"
Who exactly was this frail-looking scholar?
(End of Chapter)