Chapter 3: Harassment Encounters, Unexpected Gains
Zhu Mingyue rolled her eyes at the other person, feeling annoyed, as if she wanted to spit a bite at them.
He hasn't forgotten the dirty jokes I made about him in the alley yesterday.
"Are you even being reasonable? You bumped into me from behind. Do you think I can walk backwards?" Zhu Mingyue retorted, frowning.
But the two men didn't seem to hear a word he said. When they saw it was him, they completely changed from their previous arrogance and stared at his face with their yellow teeth wide open.
Zhu Mingyue felt nauseous at being stared at by those lecherous eyes and, unwilling to deal with them any longer, turned to leave.
"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
Zhu Mingyue's arm was grabbed, and he reacted strongly by shaking off the restless hand.
"Don't touch me!"
This was the first time he had encountered such a disgusting and difficult person.
“If you keep bothering me, I’ll report you to the authorities.” Zhu Mingyue bared her teeth and glared, trying to make her words sound more intimidating.
"Hehe, not worth it!"
"We just wanted to chat with you, is it really that big of a deal?"
The two men spoke in a mocking tone, their back-and-forth banter quite effective, but Zhu Mingyue didn't even bother to glance at them before turning and leaving this troublesome place.
Seeing that the two didn't chase after him, Zhu Mingyue immediately deflated. He was probably the most miserable transmigrator. Others at least got some equipment at the beginning, but he only had one life at the start, making his life incredibly pathetic.
Once he earns enough money, he will immediately buy a dagger, and if he encounters such a person again, he will cut him off to end his life.
Zhu Mingyue kicked aside the pebbles in the middle of the road and walked towards the river.
...
On the other side, the two thugs remained standing in the same spot after he left.
"Such a beautiful woman, yet she has such a fiery temper." Big Yellow Tooth clicked his tongue, as if savoring something.
"What's the point of just having a pretty face? If you ask me, it's better to have a fiery temper; that makes things more exciting!"
Big Yellow Teeth slapped him on the back and scolded, "What are you playing at! Wang Hu Zi, have you forgotten what we're supposed to do?"
"I remember, I remember," Wang Hu Zi said with a careful, ingratiating smile.
"The bag of grain we stole last time is almost empty. If I don't have food, you won't even have water to drink. That kid can look at it, but if you dare to have any other crooked ideas and delay me from getting a good price, I'll cut off your bird." Big Yellow Teeth warned him in a low voice with a stern face.
Wang Huzi felt a chill in his crotch. Upon hearing this, he quickly assured him, "Boss, I just wanted to satisfy my craving since I couldn't get any meat. I promise I won't have any other thoughts."
Despite saying this, Wang Huzi was actually feeling guilty. It was impossible for him not to have other ulterior motives. Since he abandoned his wife and children and fled to this place, he hadn't touched a woman for almost half a year. The women in the group all had families with them, so there was no chance for him to make a move.
He'd finally come across such a top-quality woman, and even if she was a man, he wouldn't mind. Just looking at her face made him incredibly hungry. If he could have her, he'd be ecstatic for a whole year.
But since the boss had spoken, he had to give up the idea. He was still counting on working for the other party and couldn't afford to offend him now.
He scratched his head, oblivious to the lice falling from it, focused on changing the subject.
"Boss, if we tie him up, who should we sell him to? He's a man, after all; he won't sell easily to a regular brothel, will he?"
Big Yellow Tooth squinted and sneered, "What would a country bumpkin like you know? City people are not like country folk. They have so many different ways of doing things. For example, I just asked around today and found out that there is a small Nanfeng Pavilion in Shangyang County alone."
A glint of light flashed in Wang Huzi's eyes. Wasn't it easy to get rid of it?
The thought that he could eat a lot of fish and meat after selling the person in the next two days made him feel very happy. Even if he couldn't sleep with the person, he could still eat well.
He raised his hand and made a fist gesture, eagerly saying, "Boss, let's do it tonight!"
"No rush, he has nothing to his name, how could he possibly run away?"
"Then let's..."
"Go to Nanfeng Pavilion and discuss the business with them first."
Achoo!
Zhu Mingyue was chatting with someone when he suddenly sneezed. He touched his nose and apologized to the person opposite him.
The other party waved his hand, only telling him to come to this side of the river sometime tomorrow, and then hurriedly went to supervise the work.
The riverbanks were densely packed with people working, and among them, you could spot one or two familiar faces.
Zhu Mingyue watched the other person leave, and the huge weight on his heart called survival finally lifted. He had finally found a job.
Others wouldn't hire him for heavy work like carrying mud and digging roads, but he could cook. When they heard that they needed someone to cook, they hired him. The pay wasn't much, but it included lunch and was relatively easy. He could go home after finishing the work.
More importantly, this job pays daily wages, which can solve his immediate problem.
Zhu Mingyue was self-aware enough to be grateful that he could find this kind of work. As for his future plans, he hadn't thought about them yet.
In short, let's take it one step at a time.
Zhu Mingyue was in a good mood on her way back. As she approached the western suburbs, she thought she might as well take a stroll around the area since she had nothing else to do. Along the way, she passed a pond with large patches of frozen ice on the surface, which reflected a beautiful light in the sunlight.
Zhu Mingyue was so engrossed in watching that she walked to the edge of the pond, squatted down, and tapped the ice a few times with two fingers. Judging from the sound, the ice was at least ten centimeters thick.
The ice layer was mixed with some dry reeds, making it impossible to see what was happening underwater.
He watched for a while and then got bored, so he decided to get up and leave. But just as he stood up, he seemed to catch a glimpse of brown in the corner of his eye.
Zhu Mingyue was unsure, and upon closer inspection, realized she couldn't see clearly. So, she boldly stepped onto the ice with one foot and stretched her back to look more closely.
It's a fish! Zhu Mingyue was overjoyed. He was really lucky. The fish looked to weigh at least seven or eight ounces, and judging from the species, it should be a grass carp.
Grass carp has a fishy taste and many bones, so he would never have liked to eat it before. But things are different now. He can't even get enough to eat, let alone real meat.
In just a short while, he had already figured out how to deal with the grass carp.
He'll gather more firewood later, and when Aunt Huayi and Brother Cui return in the evening, he'll borrow their pot to stew a pot of fish soup. He'll make it white and creamy, and each of them will have a bowl. After drinking it, they'll feel warm all over.
Zhu Mingyue walked to the other side of the river and stomped hard on the ice. Even when his feet were sore from the pressure, the ice didn't crack at all. He was very satisfied with the result, so he returned to his original spot.
This time, he picked out a stone of suitable size with a sharp surface from the ground, crouched down like a cat, and crawled on all fours along the ice towards the fish.
This was done entirely out of caution. It was only safe to walk on ice when it was 15 centimeters thick. Although the edges were solid, he couldn't be sure whether it was 15 centimeters thick near the center of the lake.
Crawling reduces the contact area and pressure, and it also allows for quick self-rescue should the ice surface collapse.
With an arm's length away from the frozen fish, Zhu Mingyue stopped crawling, took out a stone from her bosom, and carefully chipped away at the ice.
Time passed second by second until his wrists ached from chiseling, and he finally managed to chisel a hole the size of a fist above the fish.
Zhu Mingyue breathed warm air into his palm, reached into the hole, and successfully touched the fish's body. He used some skill to pull the whole fish out.
The feeling of holding the grass carp made him feel particularly at ease. Only after climbing to the shore did he belatedly realize that the area below his trouser legs was completely soaked.
In the dead of winter, if you don't dry your pants in time, they'll freeze solid in a quarter of an hour. Zhu Mingyue didn't delay any longer and hurried to the temple with the fish in her arms.
Most of the people who were nowhere to be seen in the morning are now gathered around the fire in the temple, drying their shoes, looking worried and sighing.
Zhu Mingyue understood immediately; they hadn't found any work!
He casually placed the fish in the corner and squeezed in to dry his pants.
He was the only one who went into the house at that moment, so everyone could see that he had brought back a grass carp when they turned around.
The crowd made way for him, and once he sat down, they couldn't help but ask him about the origin of the fish.
No one thought he had paid for it. Everyone knew that Zhu Mingyue relied on others for food, so how could he have money to buy this thing?
Zhu Mingyue didn't hide anything and said frankly, "There's a frozen pond nearby, and I carved the fish out of the ice myself."
Is it easy to chisel?
"Is the ice solid?"
Are there any more fish up there?
...
A group of people asked questions all at once, and Zhu Mingyue couldn't answer everyone, so she could only reply to a few. "The ice was quite thick, but I wasn't sure if people could stand on it. I climbed over. I didn't even look to see if there were any fish."
Zhu Mingyue has a small frame; at 1.75 meters tall, he only weighs 110 kilograms. He couldn't guarantee that others could move around on the ice like him.
Before he could finish speaking, someone interrupted him.
"Whether Bing can walk or not, I, Old Li, can tell just by standing up to him. Only you kids don't understand these things."
"Yes! But I never thought of fishing in the pond. The younger generation is much more quick-witted."
Some of the more impatient ones had already excitedly run out, and the rest of the people, after realizing what was happening, followed suit, afraid that if they were too late, the fish would be gone.
The pond is only so big, and it's not easy to find frozen fish. Zhu Mingyue thought that he might be lucky to find a few. He thought one was enough and there was no need to go over and join the fun. He might as well dry his clothes while no one was in the house.
Zhu Mingyue sat by the small fire, feeling drowsy, when she vaguely heard a commotion coming from outside.
Soon, someone came in, the leader carrying a black fish that looked bigger than Zhu Mingyue's.
Several people who came in later also caught fish, regardless of size, and all of them were beaming with joy.
"These fish are practically free! If you hadn't stopped me from swimming far, I could have found even more." The man was holding two fish in his hand, his face flushed with excitement. This was meat he could eat for free!
"If you ask me, you're still too timid." After showing off to others, the man waved the fish in front of Zhu Mingyue and said smugly.
Zhu Mingyue smiled and did not argue.
Because of the "bumper harvest," the atmosphere inside the house improved considerably; at least everyone was no longer frowning as they had been at the beginning.
Those who caught fish would go to the riverbank together to gut them, while most of those who didn't catch any would go outside to collect firewood after discussing it, and they could even get half a bowl of soup after the fish was cooked.
Zhu Mingyue did both the fish gutting and firewood gathering by herself. Firewood was scarce in winter, and the trees on the mountain were under government control, so ordinary people couldn't cut them down indiscriminately. Zhu Mingyue found some dry branches and scraps of wood at the edge of the forest. Although they weren't pretty, they burned just as well.
Back at the temple, Cui Jian and his mother were resting by a haystack.
"Auntie, Brother Cui, you're back." Zhu Mingyue greeted them with a smile.
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