The second way is to take the water route on the Chishui River. There is no war now, and the defense on the water is not as strict as the customs. Chu Qiao knows that there are many black ships secretly doing this kind of business, specializing in transporting those who want to enter the country without customs documents at a high price. So, she had to risk going into the city again and secretly inquire about such businesses.
After two days of wandering around the black market, we finally agreed on a time to disembark at Ganshuigou, thirty miles away, at three o'clock tomorrow morning.
It was getting late, and Chu Qiao was walking hurriedly down the long street. In order to conceal her whereabouts, she wore men's clothing, and looked like a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, with red lips, white teeth, and a handsome appearance. Xianyang City is the gateway to Daxia and covers a vast area. Merchants and travelers from all over the country have to pass through here. Its bustling and prosperous scene is in no way inferior to that of the imperial capital of Zhenhuang. It is now late at night, and the streets are still bustling with people, various merchants are hawking their wares, and it is very lively.
From now on, they would have to travel by water. They took the newly bought horses to the horse market and sold them at a low price, then bought some dry food. When they were about to leave, they were attracted by a large group of slave traders. Chu Qiao looked over with a frown, and saw a huge iron cage placed on the open ground. There were eighty or ninety young slaves standing in it, both men and women. Among them, a man in a Confucian robe was particularly eye-catching. There were already several middle-aged ladies standing by, looking at them with a smile, and constantly asking the owner about the price.
"Hi!"
Chu Qiao leaned against the cage, holding a handful of melon seeds in her hand. She called out to the man inside, then spat out a melon seed shell with a "Puh" sound, smiling like a prodigal son of a wealthy family.
The man raised his head and looked at her, frowned, his face full of disgust, did not answer, and then lowered his head listlessly.
"You don't recognize me so soon? You're lucky. It's only been a few days and a new employer has hired you!"
Liang Shaoqing was startled when he heard the voice. He looked up suddenly and looked her up and down. When he recognized her, he exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! It's you? Why are you dressed like this?"
"You know that," the girl said with a grin, "I am a famous bandit."
"Oh, that's right." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Liang Shaoqing immediately changed his tone and shook his head, saying, "No, no, how could you be a bandit? It must be that the government made a misjudgment and wronged a good man."
"Haha." Chu Qiao laughed out loud and teased him, "What's the matter? We are upright men who behave properly and are so upright that we can't say the same thing. What's wrong? Do you need help from me?"
"Girl, please save me." Liang Shaoqing said with a gloomy face: "You can't watch me being treated as a slave and insulted. They don't believe anything I say. I am unfamiliar with this place. Only you can save me now."
"Save you?" The girl threw all the melon seeds on the ground with a snap, her eyes wide open, "How?"
"You bought me out, of course?"
"How can that be possible?"
"Why not?"
Chu Qiao quickly shook her head and said, "You are a scholar, but you are being traded for money and vulgar things by a group of vagrants. This is simply a disgrace and a tarnishing of your identity. You are my savior, how can I do such a thing to insult you?"
Liang Shaoqing was dumbfounded and his face flushed. After thinking for a long while, he stammered, "Time is running out, the situation is urgent, this, this literary integrity, can be put aside for the time being."
Chu Qiao burst into laughter upon hearing this. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw a fat woman in her fifties, dressed in silk and satin and covered in rouge and powder, strode over surrounded by a crowd of people. She grabbed Liang Shaoqing by the collar through the cage and shouted, "This is it."
The boss was stunned, then smiled and said, "Madam, what about the price I just mentioned?"
"Just do as you say!"
"Okay! You'll be there later!"
When Liang Shaoqing saw this, his face turned pale and he looked at Chu Qiao for help.
Behind the woman were more than a dozen servants who were bowing and nodding, and more than twenty newly bought slaves, all of whom were handsome and tall.
Chu Qiao was secretly shocked. She walked forward with a smile and said slowly, "Madam, you are already old. Can you afford to buy so many strong men?"
The woman was immediately unhappy when she heard this. She looked at Chu Qiao coldly and said, "Where did you come from, you little bastard? Get out of here."
"I'm doing this for your own good. Why don't you give me one?"
"You're dreaming!" the woman shouted angrily, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll break your legs!"
"Oh my, what a murderer!" Chu Qiao quickly dodged to the side and shouted to the boss: "Boss! How much did she pay for this slave? I'll pay double!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the boss who was about to pull Liang Shaoqing out of the cage was stunned and looked over here with a pair of golden eyes.
"Double?" The woman said in a sharp voice, "I'll offer four times as much, how dare you compete with me!"
Chu Qiao leaned against the cage with a smile on her face and said nonchalantly, "I'll pay ten times as much."
"I'll pay twenty times that."
Chu Qiao shook her head and said, "I'll pay forty times as much."
"I'll pay a hundred times more!"
"I'll pay two hundred times!"
"I'll pay a thousand times more!"
"Wow! A thousand times!" Chu Qiao smiled and said in amazement: "Then I'll give it to you. I can't afford it."
The boss's face was so happy that he rushed forward and said, "Mrs. Qian, the original price was two gold leaves. Now you offer a thousand times that, which means two thousand gold leaves. Deal."
The woman was just trying to get away with it. No matter how she looked at it, this pretty boy slave was not worth two thousand gold leaves. She rolled her eyes and shouted, "Okay! Boss Mu, you colluded with others to trick me!"
"What are you talking about? I dare not to harm anyone but you!"
"Hmph! I'm not buying it. Let's wait and see!" The woman shouted, turned around and left angrily with her servants.
Boss Mu stood there, quite confused. He looked around and saw Chu Qiao standing next to the cage. He ran over and said with a smile, "Young master, the lady has left. Since you like this slave, I will sell it to you at the price you just mentioned, two hundred times, four hundred gold leaves."
"Boss, are you bullying me because I am young and ignorant?" Chu Qiao smiled. "I gave this price because I was angry with that fat woman. Now she is gone, and you are still asking me for so much money. What you are selling is not a slave, but a prince."
Boss Mu was speechless and said with a chuckle, "Then tell me, how much will you give?"
"Just like you agreed before, two gold leaves."
"What?" Boss Mu was shocked and frowned, saying, "Then I might as well sell it to my old customer. Why would I offend someone just for you? You have to pay more."
Chu Qiao snorted coldly and was about to leave: "You can sell it if you want. If not, go find your old customer."
"Hey! Wait, wait," Boss Mu sighed and said, "Okay, I'll sell it to you."
Liang Shaoqing was relieved immediately, but before the smile on his face faded, Chu Qiao said something earth-shattering: "But boss, I don't have any money today, how about I write you an IOU, and I will pay you back later."
"What?" Everyone present was stunned. Boss Mu was furious and said angrily, "Young Master, you are not kidding me, are you? I am already old and have lived in Xianyang City for more than 20 years, but I have never seen a customer like you."
"Hey! Hey!" Liang Shaoqing called out in a low voice, "What are you doing? Give me the money!"
"I really have no money," Chu Qiao turned around and said with a bitter face, "If you don't believe me, come and look around. I've spent all my money. Who told me to give you the money you didn't want before?"
Liang Shaoqing's face turned pale immediately, and he said pitifully: "What should we do?"
"There's no other way. This is the only way."
Liang Shaoqing was just about to ask her what she wanted? Suddenly, the girl pulled out a sharp dagger, and her body swept across like a whirlwind, holding the knife on Boss Mu's fat neck, and said with a smile: "I told you to write an IOU, but you didn't want it. Now, I have no choice but to rob you."
Boss Mu's teeth chattered as he said tremblingly, "What a courage!"
"I don't know if I'm brave or not, but you, Boss Mu, are very brave. You can still speak so fluently even with a knife on your neck."
"Put down our boss!"
More and more people gathered around. Chu Qiao looked around with a smile, then leaned close to Boss Mu's ear and said slowly, "With your wealth, you died for two gold leaves. Do you think it's worth it?"
The dagger gently slashed along Boss Mu's neck, and immediately a thin line of blood appeared. The human trafficker, who was over 60 years old, screamed heart-wrenchingly.
“Shut up!” Chu Qiao kicked the man on the calf, her eyebrows raised, her pretty face cold, and she shouted coldly: “Why don’t you let him go!”
"Quick! Let him go!" It was just a small wound, but Boss Mu cried so hard that his nose was about to drop.
Chu Qiao caught a glimpse of a group of horses tied next to the cages. They were Boss Mu’s horses. It happened in a flash. The girl suddenly jumped up and kicked Boss Mu hard on the chest. She pulled Liang Shaoqing up, climbed onto the horse's back, and with a "go!", she quickly rode away!
"Quick! Catch up with them!"
Boss Mu shouted loudly, but there was no sign of them anywhere. In the long night, the moon is cold like frost, leaving only a clear light on the ground.
In a dilapidated City God Temple outside the city, Liang Shaoqing sat on the hay. Chu Qiao took out some dry food from her bag and handed it to him, saying with a smile, "Eat something."
Liang Shusheng was embarrassed and didn't take it. Chu Qiao didn't force him and handed him a few banknotes. She said, "I will leave tomorrow. We will go our separate ways. If you get into trouble again, I won't be able to save you. Please accept this money."
Liang Shaoqing frowned: "Don't you have no money?"
"Who said I have no money?"
"You just said that at the market."
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and said, "I have money, but not much. This is all I have left. If I give it to him, what will you do?"