Greenwater Bay has the largest city in Puluo State. But Blue Poplar Village doesn’t much resemble a city. Blue Poplar Village indeed is not a city; the real city is Greenwater City. Blue Poplar Village could, at most, be considered a distant suburb.
Li Banfeng stood by the roadside and looked out. He felt that this place didn’t quite look like a normal village. The houses were clearly denser than in a village, and there was hardly any farmland in sight. If you were to say it was a town, Blue Poplar Village didn’t resemble Medicine King Valley either. The houses were more dilapidated, dirtier, and more haphazard than those in the valley. Many were built from bricks and stone and were fairly sturdy, but there were also quite a few wooden huts without even a foundation, and numerous thatched shelters.
As Li Banfeng observed the strange appearance of Blue Poplar Village, he suddenly heard a loud rumbling by his ear.
HUFF... CHUG... CLANG! HUFF... CHUG... CLANG!
Li Banfeng shivered, thinking a train was coming his way.
When he turned around, indeed something was approaching—also a large vehicle. This thing wasn’t a train, because there were no rails. Its shape was very similar to that of a train. It had a cylindrical, pitch-black engine, eight or nine meters long and over three meters tall, with a diameter that looked to be more than two meters. But underneath, instead of train wheels, there were two huge rollers. Li Banfeng recognized these rollers; it was a steamroller. Only, this model was new to Li Banfeng; it was a steam-powered steamroller.
Workers stood atop the steamroller, adding coal to the boiler. The boiler had just heated up, but the pressure was still insufficient. The valve was HISSING, releasing steam, and the connecting rod had yet to engage.
This was quite surprising to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng wanted to get a closer look. Just then, a young man in his twenties approached him. The man wore overalls, held a cane, and had a small moustache on his upper lip.
"From out of town?" the moustachioed man took the initiative to greet him.
Li Banfeng nodded.
"First time in Blue Poplar Village?"
Li Banfeng didn’t deny it.
The moustachioed man smiled warmly. "Do you have any money?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes."
"How much?" The moustachioed man pulled a dagger from his pocket, pressing it against Li Banfeng’s stomach.
A lady in front, upon seeing Li Banfeng being robbed on the street, immediately picked up her child and retreated into her house.
A man nearby, arms folded, watched Li Banfeng with a grin.
The few workers on the steamroller glanced in Li Banfeng’s direction, then continued with their tasks, as if nothing had happened.
The moustachioed man pressed the dagger firmly against Li Banfeng’s stomach and demanded harshly, "I asked how much money you have!"
Li Banfeng said, "I have quite a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean I can give it to you."
The moustachioed man bared his teeth with a smile. "You don’t want to give it? Had enough of living, have you?"
Li Banfeng smiled too. "It’s not that I can’t give it to you. I have a question first: do you have any cultivation level?"
"I don’t have a cultivation level. Does that mean you won’t hand over the money?" The moustachioed man’s eyes widened, and he prepared to thrust the knife into Li Banfeng’s stomach.
Li Banfeng stepped back, dodging the knife, and delivered a kick straight to the moustachioed man’s groin, chastising, "You don’t have a cultivation level and you come out to rob people?"
The moustachioed man felt something split. Pain turned his face sheet-white. Pointing the knife at Li Banfeng, he said, "Don’t come any closer! I have a cultivation level!"
"If you have a cultivation level, why didn’t you say so earlier? Why did you lie to me?" Li Banfeng delivered another kick, targeting the groin again.
The moustachioed man felt something break and shakily looked at Li Banfeng. "My cultivation level is very high; I just didn’t want to use it on you."
"How high exactly? Let’s get that straight first!" Li Banfeng kicked again, aiming for the groin.
The moustachioed man felt that thing shatter, his voice trembling. "I’ll reach a level soon."
"What about your sect?" Li Banfeng kicked yet again.
This time, the moustachioed man didn’t feel as much pain. He felt as if that thing was already gone.
"I’m from Farming Cultivation..."
"Farming Cultivation practitioners should stick to farming, not go robbing people!" Li Banfeng kicked once more, and the moustachioed man’s eyes rolled back as he knelt on the ground.
Li Banfeng took the dagger from the moustachioed man and, with a smile, looked towards the man who had been enjoying the commotion.
"Hey there, mister, do you have any money?" Li Banfeng greeted him enthusiastically.
The man didn’t dare to answer and took to his heels, running away.
Li Banfeng, hauling the moustachioed man, entered a deep alley. It was indeed devoid of people. He then sent the moustachioed man into the Portable Residence.
"My Dear, dinner is served!"
The moustachioed man screamed in agony, trying to flee.
Li Banfeng picked up the moustachioed man’s cane and broke his legs, then handed him over to the Phonograph.
Steam swirled around as the Phonograph finished consuming the Soul and caressed the long needle on the record.
Li Banfeng asked, "My Dear, how’s the dish today?"
SSS~
My Dear said in admiration, "Fresh and refreshing with an endless aftertaste, just not quite enough to eat~"
That it wasn’t enough to eat was inevitable; Li Banfeng had grown accustomed to it. While the Copper Lotus Flower was cleaning up the corpse, Li Banfeng checked the moustachioed man’s belongings.
Although he had taken to the trade of highway robbery, it turned out the man was quite wealthy. There were more than eight hundred in cash in his wallet, plus six Ocean Dollars. Those six Ocean Dollars amounted to over three thousand yuan. With so much money, there was no need for him to rob people; he could have found a job or even started a small business.
Li Banfeng discarded the moustachioed man’s unremarkable dagger, considering it trash. But his cane was rather nice. As Li Banfeng swung it, he remembered something: he always felt like a civilized gentleman whenever he picked up the feather duster. He recalled the patrons at the Xianle Dance Hall; they all carried canes.
After the corpse was disposed of neatly, revealing a Red Pill, Li Banfeng, now with the cane and carrying the trash, left the Portable Residence. He needed to find a place to eat and check out the situation in Blue Poplar Village.
Amidst the crowded houses, there were plenty of restaurants. Li Banfeng found a noodle shop. Seeing that the mutton noodles cost five yuan and the price was fair, he ordered a bowl. After finishing his noodles and going to pay, the Shopkeeper asked for 330 yuan.
Li Banfeng was shocked. "Wasn’t it five yuan?"
The Shopkeeper answered, "Each noodle strand is five yuan. We cooked sixty-six for you, symbolizing great prosperity. That comes to 330 yuan in total."
Li Banfeng looked at the Shopkeeper and questioned, "You sell noodles by the strand?"
The Shopkeeper nodded. "We always sell them this way!"
Li Banfeng glared. "Always by the strand?"
In the restaurant, other patrons all gazed at Li Banfeng and nodded in unison, declaring, "This place has always sold noodles by the strand. It’s a decades-old signboard; it’s never changed."
Li Banfeng, surveying the scene, said to the Shopkeeper, "Is everyone in this room a shill, with me being the only real customer?"
The Shopkeeper frowned. "What do you mean ’shill’? Everyone eating here is a regular customer; what they’re saying is true!"
The crowd shouted in unison, "We’re telling the truth!"
Li Banfeng stood up. "Selling noodles by the strand, and you call that fair?"
The Shopkeeper nodded emphatically. "That’s exactly how we sell them, and that’s fairness!"
"Then we really need to calculate the price properly!" Li Banfeng swung his cane.
"Calculate it, then! Let’s calculate!" The Shopkeeper brandished his rolling pin.
"Let’s calculate together!" other patrons echoed, each grabbing their implements and swarming around Li Banfeng.
...
After a brawl of about fifteen minutes, the noodle shop was covered in bloodstains. Several tables were smashed, and cups, bowls, plates, and dishes were scattered all around. The Shopkeeper was bleeding from his head, and the other patrons had also sustained injuries. Li Banfeng’s cane was broken, but in the end, he negotiated a price with the Shopkeeper.
Twenty yuan per noodle strand. Following the principle of great prosperity, sixty-six strands were cooked, amounting to 1,320 yuan for the bowl.
The other patrons nodded in agreement. "That price is fair. That’s the way it is in Blue Poplar Village, so let’s settle it at that!"
Li Banfeng concurred. "Let’s settle it at that!"
The Shopkeeper counted out 1,320 yuan and handed it to Li Banfeng. "Please count it!"
Li Banfeng counted twice, tucked it into his wallet, lifted his top hat, and gave a gentleman’s bow. "I’ll come back for noodles another time."
"Next time, we’ll charge by the bowl!" the Shopkeeper declared, his front tooth missing, causing his words to whistle.
Li Banfeng stepped outside the noodle shop, throwing the broken half of his cane into the trash heap. He looked around and couldn’t help but sigh, "Blue Poplar Village isn’t so bad, quite the decent folk."
As he pondered this, he suddenly saw a well-dressed man rummaging through the garbage for food.
He was indeed well-dressed; his shirt, trousers, and the leather shoes on his feet were all made from fine materials and well-crafted. He searched earnestly; he was truly hungry. Picking up half an apricot, he immediately stuffed it into his mouth. Spotting a few grains of rice, he picked them up carefully with his fingers and ferried them to his mouth. He wouldn’t let any edible thing go to waste.
Li Banfeng watched the man for a moment and realized he looked familiar.
"Ma Wu?" Li Banfeng called out.
The man, just as he picked up half a bun, heard someone calling out the name "Ma Wu." He stuffed the bun into his mouth and took off running.
PS: Dear readers, another ten thousand words for today, isn’t Shala generous! In the throes of a bad cold, Shala really can’t keep going, my lords, please leave more comments and votes.