Chapter 12

In the late Qing dynasty, the situation was turbulent. First, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom swept through half of the country, and then the Anglo-French Allied Forces captured the capital and burned the Summer Palace. The entire Chinese land fell into chaos.

Guangdong, as an economic powerhouse comparable to the Jiangnan and Hunan regions, bore the heavy economic burden imposed by the imperial court.

During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, Guangdong was the most important source of grain and military pay for the Xiang Army, continuously supplying the Xiang Army for several years.

During this period, the Heaven and Earth Society uprising also broke out in Guangdong. Although it was quickly suppressed, it still had a significant impact on the local economy and people's livelihood.

To resolve the issue of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Guangxi, Guangdong not only sent troops but also provided financial and grain support. It took four years to barely suppress the uprising in Guangxi, adding another huge economic burden.

During the Second Opium War, the British army broke into Guangzhou, not only capturing the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ye Mingchen, but also looting the Guangdong provincial government office. They also sent troops to raid the surrounding areas, causing the security environment in Guangdong to deteriorate rapidly, with frequent outbreaks of unrest and a significant impact on the economy.

When the Treaty of Beijing was signed, Guangdong was unfortunately assigned a large share of the war reparations. Since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising, the people of Guangdong have lived in hardship, burdened by heavy taxes and levies imposed by the government.

Foshan, as an economic center in Guangdong, naturally had to bear a significant portion of the levies. In addition to the official taxes, the local officials privately imposed various taxes, and the local officials secretly extorted money. The various fees that ordinary people had to pay were so heavy that Lin Sha found it hard to imagine.

The government's money was hard to evade, and the gang's protection fees were even more indispensable!

The Shahe Gang was the largest gang in the area. As long as one's background was not strong enough, regardless of the business, one had to regularly pay protection fees to them, and the amount was not small.

The eldest brother, Zhu Rong, and his militia brothers were not afraid of the Shahe Gang and did not have to pay protection fees, but their lives were still very poor and tight.

There was no choice; they had a family to support, and their small business could barely make ends meet.

These battle-hardened men were naturally dissatisfied with their current lives but had no ability to change the situation and could only be helpless.

During a casual chat with the eldest brother, Zhu Rong, Lin Sha inadvertently mentioned that the lives of the militia brothers were not easy and needed to find ways to change. This led to a long complaint from the eldest brother. Zhu Rong was also very dissatisfied with the current situation, but he only had a meat stall, and although his family's needs were met, he could not help others.

Lin Sha stopped at the right moment, although he felt that the militia brothers had a strong desire to change, but this matter involved the survival of hundreds of families, and he could not be careless. He still needed to observe and think of specific ways to make money.

Of course, it was also difficult to explain to his cheap master, Huang Feihong. As the head coach of the militia, Huang Feihong had a high reputation, which a young man like Lin Sha could not match. Without his full support or tacit approval, it would be very difficult to mobilize the young men of the militia.

In recent days, while moving around, he continuously observed and understood the gang forces in Foshan. During this time, he encountered the members of the Shahe Gang several times. What made him feel strange was that although these people looked fierce and grim when they saw them, they did not come forward to cause trouble.

This made Lin Sha feel relieved but also cautious. As the saying goes, "A barking dog does not bite," the more patient the Shahe Gang members were, the more uneasy he felt.

In his previous life, he had dealt with gang members from all over, and those who shouted the loudest were either very powerful or easy to deal with. What he feared were those who silently plotted in the dark.

Because of his concerns, he reported the matter to his cheap master, Huang Feihong, hoping to draw his attention and avoid being caught off guard.

His cheap master understood immediately, his expression became serious, but he did not arrange any specific measures. He only instructed them to be careful and pay attention to avoid being caught off guard.

Lin Sha felt relieved and spent his days accompanying Thirteen Aunt and her foreign female companions, taking photos for people.

What made him feel uneasy was that he noticed Thirteen Aunt's attitude towards him was quite dangerous, much closer than that of his fellow disciples at Baozhi Clinic. She spoke and acted very casually in front of him, often giving him a bright smile, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

Of course, to say that Thirteen Aunt had feelings for him was a joke. Her ambiguous relationship with his cheap master was gradually warming up, but the current situation made him feel very risky.

He secretly speculated that it might be because his way of speaking and acting had obvious characteristics of the 21st century, not as rigid and conservative as people in this era. He often made small jokes and added a bit of humor, which made Thirteen Aunt laugh and feel familiar as if she were in England.

Regardless, he adhered to his role as a disciple and firmly refused to cross the line. He could joke and play around, but once it involved romantic feelings, he immediately backed off.

To be honest, following two beautifully dressed women was not only a feast for the eyes, but he also had the opportunity to interact with well-known gentry and wealthy people in Foshan, or leading figures in certain industries, which expanded his network.

On this overcast day, Thirteen Aunt was invited by the head of a theater troupe to take photos for the trendy troupe leader.

Lin Sha, as usual, carried the heavy tripod of the antique camera and followed the bicycle, arriving at the theater, where they were warmly welcomed by the old troupe leader.

While Thirteen Aunt and her foreign companion set up the tripod and camera, he casually wandered around the theater. Soon, he encountered a familiar person near the small venue where the camera was set up.

"Liáng Kuān, quickly fix the hole in the roof, the show is about to start!"

He saw the old, thin troupe leader, who had welcomed them earlier, shouting at the roof.

Lin Sha quickly looked up and saw Liáng Kuān, his buttocks sticking out, busy on the roof. He heard him grumble, "I'm a martial actor, but I'm made to fix the roof. This kind of work shouldn't be mine at all."

The old troupe leader said firmly, "How can you know if your skills are good if you don't climb high?"

He watched Liáng Kuān, who looked unwilling, slowly working on the roof, and did not go up to greet him. This was the internal affair of the theater troupe, and as an outsider, he did not want to interfere.

However, at this moment, the loud whistle of a foreign warship sounded from the nearby sea, and a thunderclap suddenly echoed in the dark sky, causing an unexpected event to occur...