Chapter 543 "Five! Good heavens!"
(Thanks to Zheng for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
Looking at his second brother's timid appearance and hearing his third brother's carefree shouting, Ding Haisheng felt both angry and helpless.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her own heart pounding wildly in her chest, and hissed, "Shut up, all of you!"
Fusheng, if you keep shouting, we'll attract the authorities and they'll arrest us as criminals. Then how will you get the reward money to buy medicine for your mother?
"Chao Sheng, lower your head, follow me, don't look around, don't speak!"
If you're the eldest sister or mother, no matter who it is, everyone has to obey you.
Ding Haisheng quickened her pace, walking alongside Ding Chaosheng, and reached out to hold the other end of the carrying pole. It seemed like she was sharing the weight, but in reality, she was giving her timid younger brother some support and courage.
However, that burden was indeed heavy.
It wasn't just because the load of Japanese pirate heads in the basket was heavy;
Furthermore, the head of the victim could be exchanged for money so that the three siblings could afford to pay for their sick mother's medical treatment and medicine!
This burden carries the hopes of their entire family!
The closer you get to the city gate, the more pungent the smell becomes, a mixture of sea odor, decay, and a strong stench of blood.
The soldiers guarding the city were already on high alert, their sharp eyes fixed on the three disheveled fishermen who smelled strange.
Wang Sanlang and his colleagues drew their swords with a "whoosh," stepped forward, and shouted sternly, "Stop!"
Who are you? What are you picking out of the basket?
Why is there such a strong smell of blood?
Ding Chaosheng trembled in fright at Wang Sanlang's repeated shouts, and almost dropped the carrying pole in his hand.
Ding Fusheng, who had been mocking Ding Chaosheng earlier, now shrank back and hid behind Ding Haisheng.
Ding Haisheng's chest pounded, but she forced a look of timidity and fear, typical of a fisherwoman, onto her face.
She knelt down with a "plop" towards Wang Sanlang, her voice trembling and choked with sobs, yet deliberately made sure the few people around her who were preparing to enter the city could hear her clearly: "Sir!"
Sir! We...we are fishermen from Dingjia Village in Baisha Bay to the south!
My name is Ding Haisheng, and these two are my younger brothers.
We are not bad people!
We came here to offer up the heads of the Japanese pirates, following the General's order to "kill the enemy"!
"Sir, please show us the way! We're here to collect our reward!"
"Japanese pirate heads?"
Wang Sanlang was taken aback, and the soldiers and civilians who were gradually gathering around him were also surprised.
Nine days have passed since the "Order to Kill the Pirates" was issued, and Jian'an City has only been bustling with merchants donating silver; no one has ever actually brought the heads of Japanese pirates to claim the reward!
At this moment, three young fishermen who suddenly appeared became the first to receive the reward.
Wang Sanlang dared not be negligent, but he also dared not completely believe what Ding Haisheng said.
He signaled to his colleagues to stay alert, while he himself carefully stepped forward and used the tip of his knife to pry open the seaweed and rags that were already soaked in blood covering the basket in front of Ding Haisheng.
Suddenly, a head with an expression frozen between shock and savagery, its skin dark and hair disheveled, was exposed to the morning sun. The severed neck was rough and unsightly, clearly caused by repeated chopping with a blunt instrument. The smell of blood and decay immediately assaulted the senses.
"vomit……"
A bystander who was watching the commotion vomited on the spot.
Wang Sanlang also felt a churning in his stomach, but he endured the discomfort and quickly lifted the lid of the basket in Ding Chaosheng's carrying pole next to him. Inside were three heads piled together!
Looking at the basket that Ding Fusheng was protecting, the strong smell and the dark red liquid seeping from the bottom of the basket said it all without even opening it.
"You...you killed all of these people?"
Wang Sanlang's voice trembled as he stared incredulously at the three emaciated fishermen before him, the eldest of whom looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.
"It was...it was my siblings and me who killed them!"
Ding Haisheng raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, yet revealing a stubborn determination. "Sir, the general's proclamation says that killing a Japanese pirate will earn you twenty taels of silver. We... we have five here. Can we exchange them for one hundred taels of silver?"
"My mother is critically ill and desperately needs money for medicine to save her life, sir!"
As she spoke, Ding Haisheng kowtowed deeply to Wang Sanlang.
Ding Haisheng's shout caused an uproar among the onlookers!
Five! Good heavens!
"Did they really kill the Japanese pirates?"
"He doesn't look it, he's so thin..."
"He risked his life to save his mother!"
"Go check! Someone has come to claim the reward!"
The news spread like wildfire, and more and more people flocked to the city gate, all wanting to see with their own eyes the audacious three fishermen and the terrifying yet intriguing head of the Japanese pirates.
Wang Sanlang knew this was a serious matter, far beyond what the gatekeepers could handle.
He quickly instructed his colleagues to maintain order and clear the passage, while saying to Ding Haisheng, "You wait here!"
I'll go report to my superiors right away! Keep a close eye on your belongings!
He emphasized the word "things," referring to those horrifying heads.
Soon, upon receiving the news, Chen Yong personally led a squad of Xuanjia soldiers to the scene.
Seeing those five genuine Japanese pirate heads, even Chen Yong, who had been on the battlefield, couldn't help but be moved.
He looked at the three siblings from the fishing family in front of him and asked them about how they killed the Japanese pirates.
Ding Haisheng suppressed his fear and vaguely recounted to Chen Yong how they strangled lone Japanese pirates with fishing nets and how they set traps to lure them to the coast. He emphasized that they risked their lives to kill the pirates in order to earn money to save their mothers.
Chen Yong did not immediately believe it completely, but he examined the head on the spot. Although the Japanese pirates and Han Chinese both had black hair and black eyes, they still looked somewhat different.
Chen Yong could confirm that the five heads in front of him were not Han Chinese!
And although the three siblings seemed afraid, they didn't appear to be lying, so he waved his hand and said, "Good! Well done!"
The general has ordered that anyone who presents the head of a Japanese pirate will receive a reward on the spot at the government office once the information is verified!
"Load up your 'things' and follow me; I'll take you to the government office!"
The soldiers in black armor stepped forward and lifted the load for Ding Chaosheng, whose legs were already weak, and Ding Fusheng, who was looking around curiously.
Ding Haisheng was gestured to by Chen Yong to get up quickly and stop kneeling.
Under the shocked, admiring, doubtful, and fearful gazes of onlookers, the three Ding siblings followed Chen Yong and his entourage toward the government office in a grand procession.
The news that he brought five Japanese pirate heads to claim the reward spread faster and caused a greater sensation in Jian'an City than when Li Yu donated the silver!
It's certainly unusual for merchants to donate money, but what could be more exciting than actually killing Japanese pirates with real swords and guns and bringing back their heads to collect the reward?
What's more, the people who did this were three unknown fishermen!
Li Shiyue was listening to Wang Shuli's latest report on the amount of silver donated when she heard about this. Her eyes flashed, and the corners of her mouth instantly turned up. Her eyes were full of interest and obvious appreciation.
"This general wants to see who will be the first to bring the heads of Japanese pirates to exchange for silver."
Li Shiyue waved her hand at Wang Shuli. She didn't want to hear about donating silver right now; she just wanted to see what kind of person would come to claim the reward with the head of a Japanese pirate.
"Bring them in!"
Bring in the head as well; this general wants to inspect it personally!
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