Chapter 188
The lecher was dumbfounded. In anger, he subconsciously took a few quick steps and stretched out his hand to try to stop the carriage. After being splashed with mud by the departing carriage, he realized that he could not catch up with it.
Cursing, he returned to the queue. He pulled out a hand towel from his pocket and tried to wipe his face, but his hand shook and he lost control. He watched the hand towel, which had been clean, slide down his palm, fall to the ground, and quickly turn wet and black. His face also turned black.
"Fuck! What the hell!" Lecher was furious, and he kicked the muddy sweat towel with his legs. The muddy water under the sweat towel was splashed everywhere, and a few drops happened to hit his mouth as he cursed...
“Pooh, pooh, pooh…Ahhh!”
By the time Lecher angrily rushed out into the rain, washing his face with rainwater, Bei Qiao's carriage had already left the harbor and was some distance away in the direction of the city. The downpour had turned the normally dusty road wet and slippery. The driver dared not drive the horses too fast, and even when he opened his mouth to haul the chariot, he pulled his hat down to avoid drinking rainwater.
The carriage's windows, dilapidated and unable to close properly, let in wind and rain, making the interior barely warmer than outside. In the bumpy, damp, and cold conditions, the passengers were in no mood to chat. Instead, they huddled together with familiar friends for warmth, eager to reach their destination. Even the most active children remained quietly in their parents' arms, playing with their fingers while tugging against them, trying to gain more warmth.
The road from the port to the city was extremely muddy. The driver expertly steadied the carriage, clutching his collar to prevent the cold from getting into his neck. An impatient driver came speeding up from behind, swerving past their carriage and leaving. She didn't rush, but simply dodged to the side with a look of disdain, avoiding the mud flecks thrown from the carriage in front.
The road was packed with carriages both leaving the port and heading towards it. Although the weather wasn't great, it was still rush hour. The road was narrow, and some carriages, after failing to overtake, would crash into trees along the roadside, both horses and carriages. However, the carriages themselves were relatively sturdy, and the passengers were also relatively tough, so they continued to move forward even after the collision.
Occasionally, there would be a plop from the roof of the carriage, the sound made by people using the Qinggong technique to gain leverage. Qinggong was faster than riding in a carriage, but the rain easily blurred the eyes, and the roof was slippery, so some people, on the unlucky side, could slip or even be thrown off by the carriage as it turned.
Halfway through the journey, the child could no longer sit still and started crying. The adult tried to comfort him but it was no use, so he asked the people next to him to trick the child, and finally managed to scare the child into quieting down a little.
A little later, the carriage finally arrived at its destination. All the passengers huddled down and, each clutching their rain gear, rushed home. The girls who had beaten up Lecher had initially intended to talk to Bei Qiao, but after disembarking and being drenched by the rain, they lost all hope. They simply raised their arms to shield their heads and rushed home. "I can't catch a cold again. Every time I get sick, I'm forbidden from practicing martial arts. I just got sick last month, and I've fallen so far behind."
The carriage stopped very close to the official Chamber of Commerce. Bei Qiao disembarked, opened his umbrella, and hurried toward the chamber. Chuzhou City's infrastructure was remarkably well-developed. The flagstone-paved streets, though flooded, were not muddy. The streets were bustling with people, those without umbrellas covering their heads as they ran. Rickshaws, with their tarpaulins down, sped away. In inclement weather, romance was a distant prospect. At least Bei Qiao didn't witness the frenzied scenes of people running and chasing each other in the rain, followed by hugs.
Compared to the desperate passersby, the people in the shops were more relaxed. It was just that business wasn't as good as usual on rainy days, and some shops that were usually not open had simply closed. The Meng Family Martial Arts School next to the official Chamber of Commerce looked like it had been closed for a few days. Someone had just run to the door in the rain, but there was no response.
After a casual glance at the Meng Family Escort Agency nearby, Bei Qiao stepped into the official Chamber of Commerce, closing his umbrella and swinging it at the entrance. Bei Qiao's journey was smooth, avoiding any dashing beauties or dashing men, nor any sudden scramblers looking for trouble. While swinging his umbrella at the entrance, he faintly heard someone mutter, "Another gigolo."
While swinging his umbrella, Bei Qiao quickly looked at the people sitting in the Chamber of Commerce Hall: Who else
The hall was packed, so Bei Qiao didn't attract much attention when he entered. Because the wind was a bit cold, the staff had closed one of the doors to the official chamber of commerce. The other open door was secured with a large stone to prevent it from being blown and damaged by the wind.
Noticing a table of people gossiping, Bei Qiao folded her umbrella and walked over, intending to listen in. As she left the doorway, several carriages loaded with students filed past the official Chamber of Commerce, stopping at the entrance to the school a few blocks away. Waiting for the group of students was a large pot of steaming ginger soup.
"Drink quickly now, everyone, drink a bowl to drive out the cold." The soup cook waved the spoon in his hand: "You two at the back, don't run! Drink!"
The academy wasn't too close to the official Chamber of Commerce, so aside from a few people who happened to turn and see the carriage passing by, the others sitting in the Chamber of Commerce hall were unaware of the students passing by. The sound of rain outside grew louder, and Bei Qiao, unable to find any other "gigolos" in the crowd, found a quiet corner and quietly listened to the gossip.
"...And so, Miss Guo's identity was replaced by the little girl she had picked up and adopted on behalf of her parents. After the disguise, the little girl looked like Miss Guo. Her father, Guo Laizi, was blind, and her mother was away from home, so...but!" The gossiper slammed the table and said, "Guess what? A few days later, a woman claiming to be Miss Guo suddenly reappeared!"
"Wow, if it's true, then good people will be rewarded."
"Not necessarily!" Another person raised his index finger mysteriously and shook it: "Although I don't know whether this Miss Guo is real or not, I heard that Miss Guo left because she didn't want to bleed herself every day as a medicine for others. Moreover, at that time, her father Guo Laizi found a strange doctor who wanted to replace her cornea to restore her vision. He needed the cornea of a living person. Can you guess where this cornea came from?"
"It must be someone close to you who's easy to target... What the hell? No way?"
"Who knows? Anyway, Guo Laizi was poisoned to death by his fake daughter. Now this Miss Guo has just appeared and is ready to inherit the estate. She doesn't care about Guo Laizi's funeral at all. Tsk tsk..." Letting others gouge out their eyes instead of yourself, and still calling them good people
"If someone goes after my eyes, I have to run away."
"No one says you shouldn't run, but you can't drag others into the fire pit!"
"What do you mean by 'pull someone in'? Isn't that someone else pretending to be someone else's daughter?"
"It was Miss Guo who came out later who said that she was the one who took the initiative. You all know that the fake daughter set fire to the Guo family's house before Miss Guo came back and turned herself in." If she really wanted to take over the Guo family, why would she burn down such a huge family business?
"True and false... Now Miss Guo can't prove she's Miss Guo. She doesn't even have her household registration anymore, and the Guo family is gone. Tsk tsk... Hey, have you heard about what's going on at the martial arts gym? It seems Miss Guo's missing mother is..."
Seeing them start discussing other matters, Bei Qiao stepped back from the crowd and walked inside. He lifted the curtain to the forum and entered the basement. Unlike the Chamber of Commerce in Linjie City, this one had a larger underground area and was divided into different functional areas. Going down the stairs, on the left was the appraisal area, staffed by staff, and on the right was the rest area, still furnished with standard benches.
After surveying the area, Bei Qiao walked directly to the left, fished out a puppet knuckle from his pocket, and took it to the machine for appraisal. The appraisal concluded that the material was reasonably valuable, but due to the small quantity, the price per unit was not high enough. The puppet that the player had previously handed over to Louchuan had been recycled. The system could find an image of the recycling record, but the recycling price was not displayed, only a greater than sign, indicating that the recycling price was higher than the price Bei Qiao could redeem.
The knuckle was too small to be of any use to Bei Qiao, so he opted to exchange it. A local player had just posted a quest for materials, and after comparing the quest reward with the maximum amount the system could redeem, Bei Qiao traded the knuckle for a food and oil card.
After submitting the task to the staff and getting the grain and oil card, Bei Qiao went to the rest area to find a place to sit, and then went offline to send a message to Qiao Lin: Mom, you don’t have to buy grain and oil at home. I have exchanged a grain and oil card. You can pick it up by calling, and it doesn’t cost any money.
Qiao Lin, who was at work, saw the message sent by Bei Qiao. After looking through his previous purchase records, he picked up the items directly according to the procedure. The address was his home, and the time to pick up the items was after he got home from get off work.
After finishing all this, Qiao Lin stood up in a good mood and walked to the window. He quickly edited a circle of friends with his mobile phone, blocked his colleagues and leaders from posting it: Today is also a day to show off my daughter, perfect!
Bei Qiao checked his Moments right after hanging up the phone: My mom has such a fast typing speed.
The environment in the Chamber of Commerce basement was relatively safe, so Bei Qiao was in no rush to go online. Looking at the time, it wasn't even ten in the morning yet. Having been harassed by the carriage, Bei Qiao didn't particularly want to go online, so he simply stuffed the glutinous rice balls into his cat bag and went on a spontaneous half-day trip.
After enjoying a local delicacy that was also available in their hometown, but with a slightly different flavor, Beiqiao carried the cat through this unfamiliar city. The weather in the south was hotter than back home, and Beiqiao's coat had been dangling from his arm since he got off the car, eventually becoming a toy for Tangyuan to sharpen his claws.
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