At a small seaside pier about twenty miles outside the city, people were bustling about, basking in the midday sun.
Some female divers carry baskets here to sell the sea snails, sea urchins, and fish and shrimp they have collected while diving.
No one paid them a high price just because they risked their lives to get these spoils.
A basket of conch shells could often only sell for twenty coins.
But even these twenty coins brought a smile to the faces of the female divers.
They live here year-round, and they go to sea whenever they have free time.
The ocean is generous and benevolent, and its resources are abundant.
They would occasionally receive twenty or thirty coins, and over time, they would accumulate more than ten taels of silver by the time they got married.
This amount of money was enough for them to buy themselves some bedding and clothing, so they could enter their husbands' homes in a presentable manner.
Today, among the female divers selling seafood, there is one who is quite peculiar.
She was not only completely covered up, but also wore a face mask and a large straw hat. If it weren't for her clothes being soaked through, which made it difficult to discern her feminine curves, it would be hard to tell if she was male or female.
Vendors who frequent this area year-round gather together to chat.
"Have you seen that woman?"
"Of course I saw it. It was a hot day, but they were all covered up tightly. Aren't they afraid of getting heat rash?"
"What do you know! This woman is clearly from a wealthy family; she's very well-behaved."
"Impossible. Would a woman from a wealthy family be short of money? Why would she come here to argue with us over a few coins?"
"Does that mean all wealthy families are rich? Don't be naive! They're probably facing some kind of problem and have lost their livelihood."
"Oh ho, let's go take a look. If she really is a lady from a wealthy family, we can touch her and get some benefits too."
"Haha, hurry up and go! You've made me really curious."
In such a place, all sorts of people come from all walks of life, and there's no question of fairness or rules.
These vendors were considered local tyrants; they would do business when there was business, and when there wasn't, they would use tricks to take advantage of others.
Seeing them heading towards the woman in the straw hat, the others gave way, some gloating, some frowning, and some craning their necks to watch the spectacle.
"What are you selling, young lady?"
"Oh my, not bad! You actually have a pair of parrot snails (fabricated)! These things don't fetch a good price here; you'll need to take them to the city's commercial streets, and hopefully run into some merchants from the north. If they take a liking to them, you can sell them for over ten taels of silver!"
"Exactly, exactly! It's such a waste to sell them here."
Three vendors approached the woman in the straw hat with smiles, chatting casually and rummaging through her seafood.
One of the vendors grabbed the parrot snail and placed it in front of the woman, as if he wanted to hand it to her.
In reality, if a woman reaches out her hand, he will take the opportunity to grab her hand and grope her.
The woman lifted her straw hat, glanced at him indifferently, and made no move.
But her dark, bright eyes made the vendor's hand tremble, and his heart burned even hotter.
She's absolutely gorgeous!
He quickly winked at his two companions and then said, "Hey girl, I'll buy these parrot snails!"
"I'll offer ten taels of silver, but I don't have that much on me right now, only five taels. Why don't you come home with us to get it?"
Having said that, fearing the woman wouldn't believe her, she took out a money pouch from her bosom. Inside were odds and ends, totaling only five or six taels.
The other two vendors chimed in, one of them saying, "Yes, we really want to buy, but we don't have the money. Our home is just two miles away in Baisha Village, very close. Come with us to get it."
There were indeed two women from Baisha Village nearby, and upon hearing this, they were about to speak.
As a result, they were grabbed by the arm by an acquaintance.
Several vendors frequented this place, but the woman was a complete stranger.
Even if the woman is saved, she won't come back.
But you'll probably have to deal with the vendors often, so offending them will definitely not do you any good.
The woman, either unsuspecting or genuinely short of money, nodded upon hearing this, packed up her stall, and left with the three vendors.
Everyone had expected a big commotion, but it turned out to be so simple!
Some people cursed the woman for being too stupid, some sighed, and some felt disappointed...
Then, the three vendors helped the woman carry the seafood and walked along a secluded path, soon rounding up behind a large area of rocks.
The waves crashed against the rocks, breaking apart, and the water flowed down the rocks, forming patches of dirty, grayish-white foam.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, blew in my face, bringing a suffocating sadness.
The three vendors stopped, dropped their seafood, and looked at the woman with grins.
The woman lifted her straw hat slightly, revealing her eyes, and asked coldly, "Why aren't you leaving?"
"Of course, it's because we've arrived!" A vendor rubbed his hands together, grinning lewdly. "Young lady, your parrot snails aren't anything special, but I spent ten taels of silver on them, that's quite a generous offer. Shouldn't you join me in having some fun?"
"Happy? How am I happy?" The woman was very calm, as if she had no idea that she was in danger.
The three vendors laughed heartily as they listened, and one of them was about to step forward to remove the woman's face mask.
"Of course, I'll sleep with my older brother, and he'll be happy."
Unfortunately, before his hand could even touch the woman's cloth, he was kicked hard in the stomach, staggered back several steps, and fell heavily onto the beach.
The other two vendors were stunned for a moment, and their faces darkened.
"You brat, you don't know what's good for you, do you?"
"Give her a beating, beat her until she behaves, then we'll discipline her."
The two men rolled up their sleeves and were about to step forward when the vendor, writhing in pain, shouted frantically, "Beat her to death! Let's have some fun and then sell her to a big ship going out to sea!"
"You brat, you dare hit me? I'll kill you!"
The woman took two steps back, her expression still showing no panic, and instead asked, "You've done this kind of thing quite a few times before, haven't you?"
The two vendors weren't bragging; they replied, "We've never done it before, we've only heard of it. But we'll use you as our starting point today!"
The woman snorted coldly, and with a flick of her wrist, pulled out two daggers from her waistband.
The blades were gleaming, one in each hand, giving them quite a presence.
The two vendors immediately became timid, but they still remained defiant.
"You brat, you want to kill someone? Humph, you think we're scared of you just because you brought two daggers?"
"That's right, try messing with us! We have over a hundred brothers, and once we find your house, we'll make sure you never have a moment's peace!"
Unfortunately, the woman rushed at him.
The two men tried to dodge the daggers, but in their panic, they were hit almost immediately and rolled around on the ground like gourds, crying out for mercy.
The vendor who had been kicked away earlier was about to rush over, wanting revenge.
Seeing this, he tried to run away, but the woman wouldn't let him go. She grabbed him by the collar, pulled him back, and gave him another beating.
The three of them got together and became like brothers in misfortune.
"Ouch, it hurts so much! Have mercy!"
"Heroine, we were wrong, we truly know we were wrong!"
"Have mercy! We'll never do it again! Waaah, it hurts, it hurts!"
The woman did not stop because they begged for mercy. She continued beating them until she was tired, then she held a dagger to their necks and robbed them of their money bags.
The three money bags together amounted to less than twenty taels.
The woman nodded in satisfaction. It was quite remarkable that three vendors could carry so much silver from such a dilapidated dock.
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