Chapter 18

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"Second Brother, can you stop swaying? It's making me anxious."

"Big Brother, you can still feel anxious? My heart is already empty. If we can't get everything back, what are we going to do!"

Qiaofu squatted on the ground, hands clasped over his head, his head almost touching his crotch.

Zhang Ke, who was sitting by the door, remained calm. He used a short sword to cut the last piece of braised beef into small pieces, stirred the rice porridge with one hand, and sprinkled the meat pieces with the other. Soon, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to have some porridge and fried dough sticks first?"

Qiaofu stared at Zhang Ke as if he were a monster and exclaimed, "Brother Ke, you have such a big heart, you can still eat at a time like this!"

"Man is iron, food is steel. We need to be full to do our work."

Qiaogui asked excitedly, "Can those little beggars find the swindler?"

Zhang Ke suddenly sighed, "I don't know. If we can't find him, we'll just have to be bandits like the Liangshan heroes. No matter what, we need to stay healthy!"

As they were talking, a series of footsteps suddenly came from outside. Three skinny little beggars ran in. They were dressed in tattered rags, their shoes open at the front and gaping at the back, black and dirty. The leading beggar was tall and thin, like a bamboo pole topped with a large radish, all skin and bones, with not an ounce of flesh. However, his large eyes darted around, making him look very alert.

As they entered the land temple, the three little beggars stared straight at the pot of meat porridge, drool running down their cheeks. The two younger ones instinctively moved forward, but the leading beggar quickly stopped them.

He wiped the drool and said respectfully, "Sir Zhang, we have some leads on the matter you asked us to look into!"

"Really!"

Qiaofu jumped up from the ground, grabbed the little beggar's shoulder, and asked excitedly, "Tell me, where is the stuff?"

"Wait a moment." Zhang Ke picked up a large coarse porcelain bowl, ladled a spoonful of porridge, and handed it to the little beggar.

"Have some to warm yourself up, then we can talk."

The little beggar received the fragrant porridge but did not move, just pursing his lips and saying nothing.

Zhang Ke laughed and picked up two more bowls, filling them with porridge for the other two little beggars. Holding the bowls, the three little guys poured the porridge directly into their mouths, not caring if it was hot. In less than ten seconds, they had finished it all. Still unsatisfied, they had never tasted such delicious porridge before, they stuck out their tongues and licked the bottom of the bowls.

The leading boy was relatively smart. Seeing that Zhang Ke and the others were all staring at him, he reluctantly put down the bowl.

"Sir Qiao mentioned a swindler surnamed Zhou, who is quite well-off, with a face full of pockmarks and a plaster on his temple. There is indeed such a person in Guangning, but his surname is Wang, not Zhou. His name is Wang Huishun, and we call him Wang Badwater. He usually likes to lure women and children and often cheats people from the countryside."

"Hmm, regardless of what he's called, is he the one who stole the stuff?"

"Little Doudou saw Wang Badwater outside the Si Hai Silk Shop just now. He went in with two furs, acting suspiciously, and came out a short while later."

Zhang Ke frowned, "Did he sell the furs?"

"No, Sir Zhang, Wang Badwater stinks to high heaven. The silk shop knew the goods were not legitimate and would definitely offer a low price. I think he will try to sell them at the horse market tomorrow, as there are more merchants from other places, making it easier to pass them off."

Zhang Ke nodded and looked at Qiaogui and Qiaofu.

"Tonight is crucial. We must find a hiding place and get the stuff back."

Zhang Ke grabbed a dozen fried dough sticks and handed them to the little beggar.

"Eat up. Tell your companions that if they can give us any information about Wang Huishun, they can have porridge and fried dough sticks."

"Alright, we'll go find some help." The little beggar mumbled with his mouth full of fried dough sticks, turned around, and left the land temple, disappearing into the streets and alleys of Guangning.

To many people, these little beggars were no different from stray cats and dogs, dirty and lowly. Even if they froze to death on the roadside, no one would care. However, they roamed the city daily and knew all sorts of dirty deeds, making them natural little detectives.

"Huzi, look, isn't that Liu Er? He's one of Wang Badwater's lackeys!"

Huzi looked and pulled out two fried dough sticks from his pocket.

"Lengzi, Sir Zhang and his friends are good people, but they were cheated by Wang Badwater. Go and see what Liu Er is selling, and you can have the fried dough sticks! But if you get caught by Liu Er, don't say anything foolish."

"Huzi, don't worry, I, Lengzi, know the rules of the underworld."

The little beggar tidied his clothes and walked out of the alley, quietly approaching the pawnshop, and listened carefully.

"Sir, what do you think of these clothes? How much are they worth?"

"Liu Er, our pawnshop has a rule: nothing is valuable here."

"Hehehe, don't say that. Look, these clothes are old, but the material is good. These pieces of homespun are fine and dense, not much worse than the fine cloth from Jiangnan. And these shoe soles, look, the stitching is so tight and strong. If you take them home and make a new pair of cotton shoes, they will be top-notch!"

"Ha ha ha!" The pawnshop owner laughed loudly, "Liu Er, I wouldn't dare wear your things, they might be dirty!"

"You!" Liu Er's eyes darted around, then he laughed, "If you don't want them, there are plenty of others who will. Goodbye!"

Liu Er, fuming, walked out with the bundle of clothes. As he stepped out the door, he bumped into Lengzi.

"Filthy beggar, are you blind? How dare you bump into me, your Second Master?"

Lengzi puffed out his chest and said defiantly, "Who's your Second Master? I'd be ashamed to have you tie my shoes!"

"Brat, you dare to talk back, I'll beat you!"

Liu Er raised his hand to strike, but Lengzi turned and ran, faster than a rabbit. Liu Er, carrying a large bundle of clothes, chased for only ten steps before Lengzi disappeared. He could only leave in a huff.

...

In a deep alley, Lengzi, out of breath, reached Huzi.

"How did it go?" Huzi asked anxiously.

Lengzi smiled smugly and pulled out a shoe sole from his pocket.

"See this? I took it from Liu Er's bag!"

Huzi's eyes lit up, grabbed the shoe sole, and handed the fried dough sticks to Lengzi.

"I'll take this to Sir Zhang to see if it's his. Little Doudou, you and Lengzi follow Liu Er and see where they are hiding."

"Okay!"

Huzi tucked the shoe sole into his pocket and ran off, weaving through the streets and alleys, finally reaching the land temple.

Zhang Ke was anxiously waiting. Seeing Huzi return, he asked urgently, "How did it go?"

"Sir Zhang, look at this!"

Zhang Ke quickly took the shoe sole and, with the help of the fire, examined it closely. It was a thick, multi-layered sole with fine, tight stitching, so well-made that it would last for one or two years.

"That's right, my mother made it with her own hands!"

Flipping the sole, he suddenly noticed a patch of dark color, which was blood!

A scene flashed through Zhang Ke's mind: under the dim oil lamp, his mother carefully stitching the sole, the needle suddenly piercing her calloused hand! The thing that carried his mother's blood and sweat had fallen into the hands of a despicable swindler, making Zhang Ke even more furious. "Find Wang Badwater, I'll skin him alive!"

Huzi clenched his fists and said, "Sir Zhang, I've sent Little Doudou to follow Liu Er. We'll definitely find Wang Badwater."

"Good job. Huzi, do you still want to be a beggar?"

Huzi's big eyes blinked, revealing a maturity beyond his years.

"Sir Zhang, three beggars froze to death in the snow a few days ago. I only beg because I have no other choice!"

"Here's the deal. From now on, you follow me. Once we get the stuff back and turn it into silver, I'll start a business. I can't promise great wealth, but at least we'll have enough to eat and drink!"

"Thank you, Sir Zhang!"

Huzi fell to his knees and kowtowed, and Zhang Ke quickly helped him up.

"Don't do that. We're not that different in age, call me Brother Zhang!"

"Brother Zhang, no one has ever been as good to me as you. From now on, I'll do anything for you, even if it means climbing a mountain of knives or diving into a sea of fire!" Huzi's eyes were brimming with tears.

"Ha ha ha, you're quite the talker!" Qiaofu patted his shoulder.

Qiaogui said, "Let's go find Wang Badwater quickly."

They all nodded, and Huzi led the way. They hadn't gone far when Lengzi ran up to them.

"Huzi, Huzi, we followed Liu Er and found Wang Badwater. He's at home!"

Zhang Ke, excited, clenched his fists and said, "Good, lead the way!"

...

In a cramped thatched house, a small table was set with a pot of wine, a plate of pig's head meat, a plate of salted beans, and four duck heads.

Wang Badwater and Liu Er sat opposite each other, sipping their wine.

"Liu Er, don't think we only cheated a country boy this time. He brought a lot of stuff: eleven wolf skins, one of which is pure white, and who knows how many people will be envious! Plus a dozen iron stoves, a large bundle of clothes, horses, and bows and arrows. I estimate we can get at least two hundred taels of silver. We're going to be rich!"

Liu Er was still uneasy, "Big Brother, we have the stuff, but we don't have the silver yet. You took the furs, but the silk shop wouldn't take them. I went to the pawnshop, but the clothes wouldn't sell. This is driving me crazy!"

"Hehehe, what's the problem? They just lack vision. Tomorrow, we'll take them to the horse market, and we'll definitely get a better price."

Liu Er looked around and suddenly lowered his voice, "Big Brother, to be honest, I saw the bows and arrows and the waist knife on the horse. They looked like custom-made weapons. That country boy might be the son of a minor official from a garrison. Ordinary hunters can't get a dozen wolf skins, can they?"

"Hmm, that makes sense!" Wang Badwater nodded, "We need to be careful. If we step on a landmine, we're done. We can't wait. Let's take the stuff and leave. We'll go to the horse market at Tuan Shan Fort at dawn and sell it quickly. With a few hundred taels of silver, we can go anywhere!"

These two villains decided to leave immediately and started packing their bags.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Old Wang, are you home? I've come to see you!"

Wang Badwater was startled. He quickly went to the door and peeked through the crack, seeing an old man standing outside.

"What are you doing here!"

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