Chapter 120 Chapter 120 The elephant car is moving faster and faster, and it is about...
The elephant cart went faster and faster. After about two hours of driving, the green farmland in front was no longer there, but some buildings gradually appeared.
The buildings were getting denser and denser. Ata pointed to the looming city wall in the distance and said, "That's the Elephant City. The elephant carts will stop at the city gate soon, and you can enter the city."
"Where is your home?" Shen Xuan asked.
Ata pointed to a village near the city wall and said, "My family lives in the village over there. During the slack season, I will find some work near the city gate to supplement my family income."
Shen Xuan saw that Ata was an honest man and could help them translate and communicate. After thinking for a while, he leaned close to Xue Fenglin's ear and said a few words.
Xue Fenglin nodded and said to Ata, "We don't speak the language when we arrive in Xiangcheng, so we just need a translator. Why don't you be our translator? We will pay you."
Hearing this, Ata quickly waved his hands and said, "No need to pay me. If you need an interpreter, just wait for me. I have to finish the work at hand before I can help you."
Seeing him like this, Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
Ata's warm-hearted and kind-hearted character made people feel more at ease. They decided to let him be the translator in Xiangcheng for the next few days. As for the reward, it will definitely be given later!
After a while, the elephant carriage stopped at the city gate. Ata took Xue Fenglin and Shen Xuan and climbed down from the banana pile.
Some laborers came over to unload the bananas from the truck, and Ata started to move them as well. In less than an incense stick of time, all the bananas were moved away. A foreman came over to settle the bill for everyone, and Ata also received his wages for the day, sixty Nanyang coins.
The currency of Nanyang is different from that of Dajin, but the money of Dajin can also be used in Nanyang. However, it is used more on the north coast of Nanyang and less on the west coast and Xiangcheng.
One penny from Dajin is equal to ten coins in Nanyang. It was like Ata followed the elephant cart to the beach to harvest bananas and earned six cents for the round trip.
Nanyang has a prosperous economy and many people are doing business, so this amount of money is really not much.
But Ata's family is equivalent to the lowest level of farmers in Nanyang. Apart from the annual income from farming and the subsidy for work, their family life is not too bad. They already earn much more than the low-level fishermen in Sarawak before!
Ata dusted himself off and put away the wages he had received. Xue Fenglin and Shen Xuan, who came later, said, "Come on, I'll take you into the city. You've come from afar, shall we find you a place to stay first?"
"Where is the best inn in this city?" Xue Fenglin asked.
"The best inn? It's very expensive there!" Ata was surprised and said quickly.
"It doesn't matter. Safety is the first priority when you are away from home. We have brought enough silver with us." Xue Fenglin said again.
Ata nodded and said, "Safety is indeed the first priority. I will take you there."
After that, he led the two of them all the way to a very busy street. Pointing to a magnificent three-story building full of Nanyang style on the street, he said: "This is the best inn in our Xiangcheng. Staying there for one night costs at least 10,000 Nanyang coins. Converted into Dajin money, it is almost one or two taels of silver!"
Although Xiangcheng is the capital of Nanyang, its commerce is not as developed as that of the North Coast, and the consumption in this city is actually lower than that of the North Coast.
Shen Xuan thought that the price was not expensive after hearing this, but he didn't say anything.
When he arrived at the door of the inn, Ata didn't dare to go in. He just stood at the door awkwardly and said, "You guys go in and take a look. I'll be waiting for you at the door. The shopkeeper inside can speak Dajin dialect. When you are ready, just come out and find me."
Shen Xuan saw several tall and strong guards standing at the door of the inn, and those coming in and out were all rich people in bright clothes. He knew that Ata felt that his status was low and did not dare to go in.
He did not force Ata, so he asked him to wait outside first, and he and Xue Fenglin went in.
After finding out that the best room in the inn cost less than three taels of silver, Xue Fenglin decisively booked one. Only then did he go out with Shen Xuan to find Ata and ask him to take them out for dinner.
In fact, after arriving at the inn in Xiangcheng, there are waiters who can speak Dajin dialect, and you can use them at will as long as you pay.
But Chen Xuan felt that Ata was honest, and wanted to help him and let him earn some money for the family, so he specially asked him to be his translator.
Ata brought Shen Xuan and the others to a restaurant on the street and said to them, "The food here is all local Nanyang specialties, inexpensive and delicious. The boss is from our village and we are childhood friends. You can eat here in the next few days, I'll ask the boss to give you a discount."
After he finished speaking, he led Shen Xuan and the others inside, and greeted the guys inside in a very familiar Nanyang dialect.
This shop is not luxurious, but the interior is clean and tidy, and it looks nice. Although it was already past lunch time, many seats were already occupied and the dishes on the table looked delicious.
When Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin went out for fun, they were happy to mingle with the people of Nanyang, and they were not particular about picking the best of everything. So he sat down in this shop.
After a while. Ata led the restaurant owner out, pointed at Shen Xuan and the others and talked a lot. The owner nodded and left. Then Ata said to Xue Fenglin happily, "I've already made arrangements. Just order whatever you want. I'll give you the cheapest price!"
Shen Xuan invited Ata to sit down and eat with them, but Ata shook her head and said, "No, I'll go to the kitchen later, and my husband will come over to deliver the meal. Call me after you finish eating!"
Shen Xuan ordered some of the dishes on the table of guests next to him, all of which were the most popular local specialties in Nanyang.
After a stick of incense, several dishes were served on the table. Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin picked up their chopsticks and took a quick taste. The taste was indeed quite good, with a different flavor from that of Dajin cuisine.
They had been running all the way since they left home in the morning, and they were indeed very hungry.
After the meal, Shen Xuan was full. Just as he put down his chopsticks, he saw Ata coming out from the kitchen again. This time he didn't come for them, but came directly to the door of the restaurant and brought in a boy.
This guy is Ata’s husband, a native of Dajin. Seeing Ata bringing someone over, Shen Xuan looked up with some curiosity.
When they looked at each other, they were both stunned.
“Shen Xuan?”
"Brother Zhong?"
The two said in unison!
Even Xue Fenglin who was standing by was stunned. He didn't expect that Zhong Ge'er, who suddenly disappeared in Yunshui Village, had ended up in Southeast Asia!
It is said that Ata originally brought Zhong Ge'er here because Chen Xuan, Xue Fenglin and Zhong Ge'er were all from Dajin, and wanted to introduce him to them.
I didn't expect that the two sides had known each other for a long time. Looking at the expression on Zhong Ge'er's face, it was obviously quite complicated. He didn't feel happy about meeting an old friend, but rather very unhappy...
Besides, Zhong Ge'er was kidnapped by kidnappers and put on the boat that day. He was originally heading south and was going to be sold to a brothel.
But Brother Zhong was old and only had a delicate appearance, so the man tried to sell him to several places but still couldn't. So they had no choice but to detain him on the boat, enslave him to help with work on the boat, and only gave him one bite of food to eat, torturing him until he became skinny and dry.
After the trafficking ship reached Pengzhou, it took a detour through Southeast Asia to avoid being pursued by the government.
At this time, Zhong Ge'er had been locked up for more than half a year, and his body had long been exhausted from the torture.
He fell seriously ill on the ship, and the kidnapper was unwilling to treat him, so he threw him onto the shore of the South China Sea and left him to fend for himself.
Brother Zhong was lucky. After lying on the beach for half a day, he met Ata who came to transport goods.
Ata was a kind-hearted man, so he picked him up and gave him medical treatment.
Zhong Ge'er was rescued and had no one to rely on in Nanyang, so he married Ata. Although their life was not rich, it was still stable.
When Ata was not busy on the farm, he would go to the city to take on work. He would grow some vegetables at home, harvest them every now and then and sell them at the restaurant of Ata's childhood friend, and also bring a meal to Ata at the same time.
If he had not met Shen Xuan, Zhong Ge'er's life would have been dull, but it was better than when he was in Yunshui Village, which made him quite satisfied.
But today he suddenly met Shen Xuan in Nanyang, and naturally recognized Xue Fenglin beside Shen Xuan at a glance.
They were both dressed in silk and satin, and the table was filled with dishes. All the past events came to his mind, making it difficult for Zhong Ge to accept it for a while.
When Zhong Ge'er was kidnapped, Xue Fenglin had not yet returned to Beijing. He naturally did not know his true identity and thought he was just an ordinary wealthy businessman.
Chen Xuan, the stupid guy whom he looked down upon the most back then, is actually living such a good life now! All because I married a good man!
He looked at Xue Fenglin, who was handsome and noble beside Shen Xuan, and then at Ata, who was simple and honest beside him.
If it was me who took Xue Fenglin home at that time! Now, sitting here eating, the person dressed in silk and satin, is he me?
But now that she has married the honest Ata, her days are numbered.
"Brother Zhong, luckily you are okay. How did you get here?" Shen Xuan asked.
Although he had an average relationship with Zhong Ge'er when he was in Yunshui Village, he still felt a little sad when he heard about his disappearance.
What's more, Zhong Ge'er's sister has some connections with him. If he returns to Lecheng later, he can talk to Zhong Xiaomei about Zhong Ge'er's recent situation.
"Why am I here? What does it have to do with you?" Zhong Ge'er rolled his eyes and said coldly, "Seeing me in such a miserable state, while you are enjoying a good life, you must be very proud of yourself, right? What's so great about that?"
After Zhong Ge'er finished speaking, he snorted coldly and turned away without even looking back. Shen Xuan stopped him at this time, stood up and said: "You disappeared for no reason that year, don't you want to know your sister's current situation?"
Zhong Ge'er paused, but did not turn around. Instead, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you don't want to know, I have no relationship with the Zhong family anymore!"
After saying this, he strode out of the restaurant.
How could Ata have expected that Brother Zhong would suddenly lose his temper at Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin for no reason. While repeatedly apologizing to Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin, he followed Zhong Ge'er and chased out.
She stopped him outside the restaurant and asked in confusion, "What happened to you today? Since you are familiar with that Brother Chen, why did you suddenly get so angry? I saw that he was very nice to you."
Zhong Ge'er looked at Ata's honest and simple appearance, and he became even angrier in his heart. He said harshly: "It's because you are so useless! Aman from the same village has opened a restaurant, made a lot of money and went back to build a brick house! But you can only do hard labor, earn little money, and have to rely on me to grow vegetables to make money!"
When Zhong Ge'er was rescued by Ata, he was very grateful to him. But after marrying him, she gradually began to dislike Ata for being useless.
Ata is a good man, but he is not very smart and has no special skills. I can only work hard to ensure the family’s financial support.
Ata was scolded by Zhong Ge'er and felt sad and a little guilty towards Zhong Ge'er. He felt that his family conditions were poor and he was incapable of doing anything, so he could not provide Zhong Ge'er with a better life.
"Hey, take this money back first and buy something to eat on the way." Ata stuffed the sixty Nanyang coins he had just earned into Zhong Ge'er's hand.
Zhong Ge'er looked at the money in his hand and put it into his sleeve, but he was still unwilling to look at Ata in a good light. I just said to him, "I just delivered the food and I haven't had time to pay the bill yet. Remember to ask Ah Man for it and bring it home in the evening."
"And didn't you say you would help Shen Xuan and the others with translation? Then they will have to pay you! The man surnamed Xue is a businessman, very rich, don't ask for less money!"
After saying that, Zhong Ge'er left without looking back, leaving Ata returning to the restaurant with an embarrassed look on his face.
He had said before that he would not take Xue Fenglin and Shen Xuan's money, so how could he possibly ask for it now?
What's more, judging from Zhong Ge'er's attitude just now, the other party must have been angry a long time ago, and he didn't know how to apologize!
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