Half past You time, the sun gradually sank below the western mountain line.

The slow summer breeze, humid and stuffy, enveloped the Fuzhou city at night along with the grayness. In the crowded city with many sharp-angled eaves, the lights began to light up little by little, first mottled like beans, gradually converging into long streets.

Creaking boats sailed through the small rivers between the houses, and people in light clothing, holding cattail leaf fans, walked on the not-so-wide streets of Fuzhou, brushing past vendors, carts, and sedan chairs.

On the east side of the city, the date-flower horse pulled the carriage, heading east along Huaiyun Lane at night. At this time, not long after dinner, there were many pedestrians walking on the muggy lane street, and two teenagers sat on the shaft of the carriage, slowly moving forward in the night.

"Yesterday afternoon, I went to Yinqiao Lane to rent a stall." Wielding the whip, Ning Ji spoke with an air of maturity while driving, "Nothing happened, but now that I think about it, all merchants are cunning. That little dog official from the Street Administration, with his sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, probably thought I was rich and generous at the time, and readily signed the contract, but when we get there, he might secretly cause trouble."

"But, aren't we the merchants?" Qu Longjun, dressed as "Dragon Aotian," said with a smile, sitting beside him.

"...Huh?" Ning Ji scratched his head, and after a moment, "Well, he rents the stall to me, so at this time he is the merchant. You are not allowed to argue, we have to be prepared for this matter. Look how chaotic it is outside now, everyone is short of money, and their hearts are dark. Maybe when we get there, they will tell us that the two agreed-upon stalls have been taken by others, and offer us two bad ones in exchange, or temporarily ask for more money, it's all possible..."

"Mm." Qu Longjun nodded, "If that's the case, what should we do?"

"Then don't be afraid of them, or rather, it's a good thing. Let me tell you, just like we rehearsed before, you slam the table with them, act like a master, and I'll beat up this gang from the Street Administration, so we can make a name for ourselves. Hmph, people are bullied if they are kind, and horses are ridden if they are gentle. If you don't want to be bullied later, you have to use your fists to make a name for yourself from the start!"

Just after dinner, there were many pedestrians on the street outside Huaiyun Lane, and the carriage moved slowly. Ning Ji was imagining the future developments on the carriage - of course, he rarely thought about these things in his earlier years. When he was young, his elder brothers and sisters helped him do good things, and a bunch of cronies helped him do bad things. When he got older, he simply went to the battlefield and followed a group of big shots to listen to the staff's plans, and most of the time his genius brain was not needed for planning. It wasn't until Jiangning City, when he became someone's "big brother", and now as "little brother", that he had to anticipate and worry about many things.

He had already used all his imagination.

"So you, when you really get there, don't be your usual gentle self, people won't be afraid of you, you know, you have to be fierce, brutal!" Ning Ji said to Qu Longjun, and waved his whip again, shouting to the front: "Uncles and aunts, make way! Boiling water! Boiling water—"

The uncles and aunts walking in front of the road and fanning themselves looked back and saw two handsome young men in the carriage, and slowly moved to the side of the street.

"Look, that's how it is, be loud!"

"Okay, okay." Qu Longjun smiled, his eyes narrowed, and apologized to the men and women in front of him while looking around. When he saw a big yellow dog looking at them on the side of the road, he straightened his face and scolded fiercely: "—Woof!"

"Woof." The big yellow dog wagged its tail and tilted its head in confusion.

"Hehehe."

"......Hehe."

Lights flowed on the road ahead, and the two on the carriage burst into laughter.

The carriage left Huaiyun Lane, which was a new road near the east city wall of Fuzhou. Following this wider road south, passing a bridge called Jin Yin Bridge (Gold Silver Bridge), you could see two brightly lit roads on both sides, lined with shops and crowded with pedestrians. Taking Jin Yin Bridge as the boundary, one side was called Jinqiao Lane (Gold Bridge Lane), and the other was called Yinqiao Lane (Silver Bridge Lane).

The night market culture of the Wu Dynasty was originally prosperous. In the past, in Bianliang, and later in Lin'an, there were many lively markets that never slept all night. Now that the new emperor has moved south to Fujian, although the Wu Dynasty's assets are not as good as before, the military and civilians brought with him are more than enough to fill several large cities such as Fuzhou.

At this time, Jin Yin Bridge was close to the east of Fuzhou City, and together with the adjacent roads, it was a project renovated by the new emperor after his arrival two years ago. Since the Jin Yin two lanes connect waterways, making freight convenient, Yinqiao Lane used to be the city's wholesale market for aquatic products. After the reconstruction, the previously deserted Jinqiao Lane now has brothels and taverns, and the latter part of Yinqiao Lane is still a market for selling aquatic products, but this section near Jinqiao Lane has added groceries and food stalls. Every night, it is brightly lit, and vendors selling fried small fish, pancake makers, selling ice powder, and selling snow bubble water set up stalls on the roadside, becoming a night market place that is quite accessible to the people nearby.

This is where Ning Ji and Qu Longjun are optimistic about setting up stalls.

According to Ning Ji's idea, after coming to Fuzhou, the intended purpose was to travel and sightsee. If it was convenient, he would find trouble with the old fox Tie Tianying and cut off his dog's head to kick as a ball. During the kicking period, several Zuo family members from the southwest in the city could not be met - lest they intercede for Tie Tianying, damage the harmony, and slander himself when he went to the southwest in the future.

According to common sense, after Zuo Wenhuai and his gang of highly educated little treacherous officials came to Fuzhou, they were highly valued by the little emperor, so of course they lived in the wealthy area and enjoyed delicious food and drinks. Therefore, several large market lanes near the core area of the city could not be frequented.

Jin Yin Bridge was affordable and had general security, which could avoid the Zuo family and increase the chances of meeting Tie Tianying. After thinking it over and over again, he felt that his calculations were appropriate, so he came to Yinqiao Lane and found the Street Administration's clerk to rent two well-located and expensive stalls.

He was also prepared to fight after being deceived.

However, the situation envisioned did not happen as they entered the market. Most of the night market stalls were set up in the evening. They came out after dinner, so they were a bit late. The little dog official, whom Ning Ji described as "sharp-mouthed and monkey-cheeked," was waiting for them at the reserved stalls, complaining to them with a very unkind expression.

Of course, the two stalls that Ning Ji had reserved with a lot of money did not have storefronts. They were just set up in the middle of the road, identified by the paving bluestones. The previous stall owners had just moved away. They were late, so they might be taken over by the stalls next door. In order to avoid disputes on the first day, this little clerk had to wait at the stalls for a while, and then told them where the date-flower horse could be temporarily stored, before leaving with the resentment of a working stiff.

Ning Ji was dumbfounded, and then looked at Qu Longjun: "Such good service... does he think he's a Chinese soldier?"

Qu Longjun laughed: "You misunderstood him. Actually, it's not surprising..."

While setting up the stall, she told Ning Ji some things. Of course, these small government offices that manage the streets do not have much order in many small places. Hundreds of years ago, the people who did these things were often street ruffians. However, the Wu Dynasty has been prosperous for more than two hundred years, and according to historical records, during the first hundred years of the founding of the country, Bianliang had a lot of trouble because of these things. Later, the imperial court specially reorganized the Street Administration, based on thousands of retired soldiers, and then laid the foundation for the commercial order of Bianliang City.

Before the Jingkang Disaster, the commercial order of various large cities in the Wu Dynasty was mostly maintained by these "urban management" composed of retired soldiers. Even the famous old man Zong Ze once managed the affairs of the Street Administration. As for the Lin'an stage, these things have been inherited all the way. The imperial court has put a lot of effort into the management of cities.

Ning Ji went to Xiaocang River when he was young. What he saw from the southwest all the way was first the population trade in Dai Mengwei's jurisdiction, then the cruelty and bloodiness of Li Yanfeng's family in Tongshan, and then the split of the Fair Party in Jiangning and a series of wars. He had almost never seen the same order as in the southwest in the outside world. At this time, seeing such good civil servants, he was a little unaccustomed to it for a while.

"There must be a trick! We can't let our guard down!"

After the stall was set up, Ning Ji still emphasized this, maintaining his determination to play the pig to eat the tiger.

And the facts proved that his vigilance was indeed quite reasonable. The so-called business is like war, and soon after, malice came.

The Yinqiao Lane night market was lively and crowded. Ning Ji, relying on his wealth, rented the space of two stalls for the carriage. On the left side of the stall was a small stall selling steamed rice cakes run by a fat aunt. Seeing that new people had come, the fat aunt selling steamed rice cakes enthusiastically came over to chat several times while selling goods. After learning that the two had just come here from outside, the fat aunt began to squeeze over to their side, moving her stall back and forth.

The space of two stalls was only slightly more spacious for a grocery stall converted from a carriage compartment. Ning Ji left a gap to facilitate turning from the front to the back of the stall. But the aunt moved back and forth, and before long, she crossed the boundary drawn by the sharp-mouthed and monkey-cheeked little dog official, almost blocking the passage.

Ning Ji, with his keen observation, couldn't stand this kind of thing. Walking past the passage, he bumped his buttocks to the side, and the other party's entire stall was immediately squeezed back. The fat aunt sold a bowl of rice cakes, and then happily started moving the stall again. After a while, Ning Ji walked through the passage and bumped his buttocks again...

After repeating this several times, Ning Ji finally couldn't stand it anymore. When the aunt was moving the stall, he bumped it back with his buttocks and said, "Don't come over..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the fat aunt next to him slapped the counter and stood up: "Ren Jie niang o mie, zuo sha zi o, gan sa dong an pu zi——"

"Wh-what?" Ning Ji didn't quite understand, but he figured it wasn't good words, "Hey, you old woman, that little brother clearly drew a line, we're bounded by this bluestone..."

"Sa zi wei jie, na li you xian, ni ge dian pa, zong si ji zong si ji, wo tan zi ji huai le ni pei a..."

"Hey! I'm going to——" Ning Ji jumped out.

"Ni ge dian pa, mei mao de niang o mie..." The fat aunt also jumped out, stepped her foot, and bumped towards Ning Ji's chest, scolding: "You @#￥%..."

"Damn, you think I don't hit women, you crazy woman, have you seen a fist as big as a casserole, I'll smash your head with one punch..."

Ning Ji waved his fists, and then saw the other party take another step, waving his hands, and his chest also bumped forward like a tank: "You @#￥！￥&&&*——"

"Come again

I'll beat you to death——"

The fat aunt's scolding was deafening, her hands waving, her single foot stomping hard, and her chest swaying. Ning Ji was by no means a kind person. He waved his fists several times. If it were an ordinary big guy or even a shrew, he might have beaten the other party until they were bleeding all over the ground. But at this moment, facing that heavy and dangerous chest, he realized that there was no way to smash his fists down. The other party's lower body was stable and constantly advancing, and Ning Ji only jumped up and pushed the other party's shoulders twice, barely pushing the aunt back two steps, but then she rushed over again...

The streets of Fuzhou in May were humid and muggy. Pedestrians came and went in the night market. Some people stopped and watched the two's scolding match with great interest. Qu Longjun on the side was holding a fan to attract business, and was stunned for a moment, because the aunt's voice was deafening and continuous. Ning Ji, who had long been prepared to bloodbath the streets and make a name for himself, had pushed the other party back using various methods, but he had clearly lost out in words, and was scolded by the other party until his face was red and he couldn't catch his breath.

Only the aunt's voice was heard, with ups and downs, jumping and rushing forward as if singing:

"You are a big stupid, no one loves you, eating rice with dog shit. Your head is broken, your speech smells like milk, your hair is like a pile of shit!

!"

"You..."

"—Scary! Turtle body born married to bookworms, Ka mei rabbit! Stick shit stick ah rule collar pants! Qiu Qiu tired! Sell invalid!"

"I..."

The short and intense confrontation lasted for a moment. A customer in the back started looking at the rice cakes on the stall. The aunt turned her head and changed her face to a smile and ran back. Ning Ji waved his hands a few times in vain.

"I... I wipe... If I couldn't understand, I would have killed you..."

He was full of resentment, almost suffering the greatest humiliation of his life. Turning his head, he saw Qu Longjun greeting a passing woman: "This girl, are you interested? Take a look..." It turned out that Ning Ji and the aunt's scolding match had attracted some customers. A girl with a dark and thin appearance but wearing unusual clothes looked at some of the items on the stall a few more times, so Qu Longjun greeted her with a smile.

Ning Ji was so angry that he was about to die with his hands on his hips, but after a moment, Qu Longjun opened for business, and she used a self-defense short knife to fool the opposite girl out of more than fifteen taels of silver with a warm smile. Turning her head, she saw Ning Ji's pig nose.

"I'm going to kill that woman's whole family——"

"We made money——"

"Are you listening to me, that dead fat woman..." Ning Ji turned his head and pointed to the rice cake stall over there.

The fat woman raised her head from behind the stall: "You eat rice with dog shit!"

"Damn, if I didn't see that you don't know martial arts..."

"We made big money——" Qu Longjun held the silver in her hand and showed it to Ning Ji.

Ning Ji glanced at her and said in a low voice, "You are a woman, you go and scold her, I can't understand what she's saying."

"Pfft——I can't do it either, I can't scold her either." Qu Longjun couldn't help laughing, and then said, "Look at the silver, maybe you'll be happy."

"What's the use of you!" Ning Ji took the silver and put it in his pocket, walked back, and started pushing the other party's stall with his buttocks again. The fat aunt was selling things, and after a while, she started hugging the stall and squeezing over again. This childish confrontation lasted for a long time. The aunt occasionally scolded Ning Ji in pieces: "You eat rice with dog shit." "No one loves you."

After a while, she even showed off and explained to Ning Ji: "Can't understand, right, hehe, let me tell you, jia fan means eating, gou sai, is dog shit, you jia fan pei gou sai, means you eat, rice, with, dog, shit. Naughty naughty naughty..."

Ning Ji jumped up: "You eat rice with dog shit, you eat rice with dog shit!"

The market was mixed, noisy, and noisy. Perhaps because Ning Ji couldn't kill people, the occasional scolding between the two, placed in a noisy crowd, was nothing. After a while, until Qu Longjun, as a diplomat, came forward to mediate, and ran to the fat aunt's place to buy two bowls of rice cakes and talked for a while, this confrontation caused by the territory gradually eased.

According to the news brought back by Qu Longjun, the aunt was not a local, but came to Fuzhou from Xiamen to make a living. She had been doing business in the market for two years and was considered an old-timer in the market. Ning Ji said that he had no interest in these news at all, and emphasized to Qu Longjun that if the other party knew martial arts, he would have killed her with one punch. Qu Longjun had no choice but to smile and comfort him.

In any case, the two people's stall life in Fuzhou City began. Perhaps because the lights were dim at night, no one came to protest about the rebellious signs hanging on both sides of the carriage for a while.

Ning Ji had a murderous face and was not satisfied all night. Two women who liked him came over to chat and ask about prices. Ning Ji hated women the most and cursed them away in a very uncooperative tone. Qu Longjun, who was handsome and friendly, sold a few more orders later.

The things on their carriage were all small objects that Ning Ji had snatched from the battlefield. Many of them were indeed considered treasures, but seeing that Qu Longjun's customers all night were women, he couldn't tell whether they really came to buy things or were attracted to Qu Longjun's appearance.

"You are selling your body, seducing them." When the two handed over the money, Ning Ji pointed out the key point.

"Women are very easy to coax. If you don't want to, this young master will do it." Qu Longjun spread out the fan in his hand, smiled, and enjoyed it.

Around Hai time on this night, a green forest person who looked like he was going to cause trouble finally came here.

That was a fierce man in his twenties, dressed in short clothes. Perhaps he had just eaten a snack at the fried fish stall at the end of the market. He was smoking a grass and picking his teeth, greeting the people in the market as he came over. He dragged a stool in front of a stall, walked to Ning Ji and Qu Longjun's stall, and sat down: "I heard that two of you came from out of town?"

With such a swaggering appearance, it was undoubtedly a local bully who collected protection fees. Qu Longjun raised her eyebrows, and her expression instantly changed into a cold and aloof look, and then said, "Little brother, deal with him."

Ning Ji came out from inside with a straight face.

The fierce-looking green forest person cupped his hands and smiled: "Okay, I heard that two little brothers selling top-notch goods have come to the market. Now it seems that they are indeed talented. Do you two know about the South people belong to the South, and the North people belong to the North?"

Ning Ji frowned!

The green forest person smiled: "Haha, I think you two know about this. After the Jingkang Disaster, the Wu Dynasty lost half of its country, and hundreds of millions of people were forced to leave their homes and come to Lin'an and other places in Jiangnan. However, the local people in Jiangnan were not happy to see this, and often drove away the Northerners. During the tenth year of JianShuo, conflicts between the Southerners and the Northerners were often seen in Jiangnan and other places. How can this situation be less common in today's Fuzhou?"

"Wh-what do you mean..." Ning Ji stared at him.

"You two naturally know." The green forest person sighed, "We outsiders, when we come to Fuzhou, the old people in Fuzhou may not like us either. I, Chen Hua, am from Lin'an, and now I am a minion of the Guitai Alliance Jin Yin Hall. Today I heard that two brothers have come from afar, so I came over to say hello. Two brothers, the world is not peaceful, so we, who are also outsiders, need to help each other. In the future, if you two encounter anything, you can report my name, Chen Hua of the Guitai Alliance."

After saying this, this person waited for Ning Ji and the other two to understand, and then prepared to take something out of his arms. Hearing this, Ning Ji laughed: "I understand. Then let's shake hands." He stretched out his right hand.

Chen Hua was taking something out of his arms with his left hand, and subconsciously stood up, and stretched out his right hand to shake hands. The next moment, his buttocks hit the stool again, and his left hand took out a red paper from his arms, but he couldn't hold it steady and it fell to the ground. An instant later, his body twisted, and his legs knelt on the ground. Ning Ji held his right hand and it made a cracking sound, and his face turned red.

Qu Longjun stood there behind her, with her hands behind her back, a mysterious smile on her face, like a lonely master who had snow all over the world. Not far away, behind the rice cake stall, the fat aunt stretched her neck, opened her mouth and looked at this side.

Ning Ji held the other party's hand for a while, and Chen Hua stretched his left hand up and continuously patted the back of Ning Ji's hand: "Underst-, underst- understand... I understand, I understand."

Ning Ji didn't let go of him here, but frowned and asked: "Didn't you say that Tie Tianying manages Fuzhou very strictly, does he also allow you to form such gangs?"

"...Huh?" Chen Hua thought for a while, then looked sad, "How, how can such things not happen anywhere, young hero. We have gangs, and if something happens, we can sit down and talk it over, and if something happens, we can find someone. For that... that Tie, Tie boss and the others, it's, it's better than having no gangs, young hero."

"So that's how it is, that makes sense."

Ning Ji nodded, and Chen Hua continued to pat the back of his hand: "Young hero, let go, let go, it's going to break, young hero, I'm just here to say hello, just say hello, if you don't like me, I'll leave..."

"Hey, don't go." Ning Ji pulled him up, and then reached out and put his arm around his shoulders, "Come with me, let's chat in detail."

He walked towards the stall with his arm around the other party's shoulders. When he reached the passage between the stalls, he rolled his eyes, bumped his buttocks, and pushed the fat aunt's stall back a little, grabbing the depressed Chen Hua and went in.

"Tell me... who is your boss? What gangs are there nearby... and here, do you usually fight a lot? How do you fight..."

The night was still humid and muggy, the market was noisy, and after a while, in the other party's sincere answer, Ning Ji quickly made friends in the Jianghu as usual. After Chen Hua finished explaining and left here, Ning Ji looked at the fat aunt on the opposite side with twitching corners of her mouth and a confused look, "Humph," and raised his eyebrows.

"Eat rice with dog shit..."

The fat aunt turned her head and muttered...