Ang Lee had been standing on the wall of the Angji family with great interest, watching every movement of the crowd outside the city. He could feel many special feelings from watching everyone's performance.
The crowd below had different reactions. Some were shouting angrily, some were waving their butcher's knives and screaming, some were crying, and some were silent. Of course, there were more changes. For example, Mu Dahu was first waving his butcher's knife and screaming, then he was motionless, and finally he was wailing loudly. His wailing was so loud that it seemed as if the sky and earth had changed color.
The rest of the people's reactions were also colorful, but overall, most of them were shouting angrily and wailing. Of course, there were also those who were waving their butcher's knives and screaming. In just two hours, the six bandit leaders' corpses had been completely chopped up. Not even a piece of meat could be found. It had long been integrated into the soil, and even the bones had been chopped into pieces. Even so, many people were unwilling to leave for a long time. They continued to use their butcher's knives to chop the bones. Many butcher's knives were broken, but even so, it did not reduce their chopping behavior. The hatred in their hearts was too strong. If they did not vent it completely and kept it in for a long time, it would make them sick.
The wanton venting lasted for a long time. Even when it was dark, there were still people who were unwilling to leave. There were even people who were tired and directly lay down outside the city to sleep. There were also people who were talking in their sleep. Most of them were talking about why someone had taken revenge.
Naturally, Ang Lee could not stay on the wall for too long. He left when the sky was just a little dark. After a night's rest, the next day, he quietly brought a few guards and disguised as ordinary people into the teahouse. He wanted to see if there were any changes in the people and merchants in the city.
As soon as he entered the teahouse, Ang Lee heard a lively conversation. The people talking were all merchants. It was obvious that they were all in high spirits and seemed to be in a good mood.
Ang Lee quietly found a table and sat down. He slowly sipped his tea and listened to what these merchants were talking about.
"Hahaha! My dear brothers, yesterday was truly a joyous day! This old man killed that damn beast with my own hands. It can be considered as revenge for my brother who died young. My brother will be happy if he knows in the afterlife. "
An old fat merchant said happily.
"Brother, you're right. What happened yesterday was really satisfying. Although I didn't do it myself, I still felt great when I saw you all teach those bandit leaders a lesson. Although I've been doing business for many years and have never been robbed by bandits, it's impossible not to get your shoes wet if you walk by the river all the time. These bandits were a threat sooner or later, so I didn't dare to transport too many goods at once. Now that we've cleaned up these bandits, we won't have to worry about transporting goods in the future."
A young man in blue said with a smile.
"Brother, you're really lucky. You've been doing business for three years and you haven't been robbed even once. People who don't know you would think that you're a spy for the bandits. .. hahahaha! "
A thin merchant said jokingly.
The two of them grew up together and had almost never been separated. Naturally, he was very clear about the background of the blue-clothed youth. This person definitely could not be a spy of the mountain bandits. In addition, although he had been robbed before, he was not robbed every time he transported goods. He was robbed once or twice out of ten times. The probability of him being able to escape was still relatively high. Otherwise, if he was robbed every time, then no one would dare to transport goods, and the trade route would be completely cut off.
The young man in blue did not take it seriously. He said with a smile, "Brother, you are making fun of me again. My luck is better, but I don't earn as much as you. My current net worth is less than half of yours!"
This was the truth. Although this blue-clothed young man had never been robbed by bandits, his business was still half-completed. He was more cautious, so he was able to avoid being robbed by bandits again and again. But at the same time, because he was too cautious, his business couldn't grow and could only be maintained at a relatively low level. Fortunately, he was a person who was content with the small fortune. He didn't care how rich he was, as long as he could be safe and sound.
"It's a pity that we only caught six bandit leaders alive. It would be better if we could catch more bandits."
A merchant seemed to feel that it was not enough.
The young man in blue said, "Be content! Brother, the difficulty of catching bandits alive is not the same as that of killing bandits. The Tang dynasty's soldiers can't be merciful when killing bandits just to let us vent our anger, can they? If they do that, they will be in danger. It will be bad if they are attacked by bandits. They have killed more than a thousand bandits in this battle, which can be regarded as a heavy loss for the bandits. I'm afraid that the bandits in this area will not be able to do anything in the next eight or ten years. "
"That's right. These bandits will not be able to do anything. It's all thanks to the Tang dynasty's soldiers! If it weren't for the Tang dynasty's soldiers, these bandits would not have been hit hard. Instead, they would have developed better and stronger, "the skinny merchant said.
"You are right.
It's all thanks to the Tang dynasty's soldiers. In addition, these bandits were courting death. They were blinded by lard and intended to rob the Tang dynasty's soldiers. Now, not only did they fail to rob them, but they also lost more than half of their men. None of the six damn bandit leaders survived. They were all captured alive and died in our hands. Hahaha! "
The fat merchant said excitedly.
"Hey! Isn't this Butcher Zhang? Why are you here to drink tea instead of selling pork? "
The young man in blue asked in confusion when he saw a butcher coming to drink tea.
Obviously, Butcher Zhang had also noticed the merchants. He hurriedly put on a fawning smile and walked over. However, he did not dare to get too close to them. He was afraid that the smell of lard from his body would make the merchants unhappy. These merchants had much more financial resources than a butcher like him. They were also his clients and the source of his livelihood.
"Old Zhang! This is the first time you've done something like this! You actually learned from us and came to the teahouse to drink tea. It seems that your pork business is doing well. You have quite a lot of resources in your hands. "
The fat merchant said.
Butcher Zhang looked at the merchants with a face full of smiles and said, "How can this old man be compared to all of you? My net worth is not even a drop in the ocean compared to all of you. Isn't it because the tool that I use to make a living is broken and I can't cut meat anymore? When Blacksmith Liu fixes it, I can continue to sell meat. Now that I have nothing to do, I came over to have a cup of tea. This is the first time this old man has come over to drink tea."
Obviously, Butcher Zhang wasn't rich, so he couldn't bear to go to a teahouse to drink tea. But this time, I was able to come here to drink tea, not because my tools were broken, but because I was in a good mood. That's why I went out of my way to spend money.
The businessmen were all smart people and naturally understood Butcher Zhang's intentions. Among them, the young man in blue looked at the crowd and said, "This Old Zhang was too ruthless yesterday. He used two Pig Slaughtering Knives to chop the bones of that beast. He even placed the bones on a rock. That big bluestone was chopped into a thin layer and sparks flew everywhere. It would be strange if his tools weren't broken. How is it? Does your heart ache now?"
It was obvious that Butcher Zhang's eating tool was damaged because he had gone too crazy yesterday. He had snatched the bones of a bandit leader and placed it on a rock to chop with all his might. After chopping for a full two hours, the bones had long been reduced to dregs. Even the rock had sparks flying everywhere from his chopping. There was a huge dent in the rock. Although his Pig Slaughtering Knife was of excellent quality and was usually very effective in chopping bones, it still couldn't withstand such torment. Usually, when he chopped the bones for his customers, he would use his dexterity and even use the back of the knife to crack the bones. The damage to the knife wasn't too great. However, yesterday's Butcher Zhang had been chopping hysterically without any order or technique. He was purely venting his anger in a frenzy. Naturally, the damage to the knife was extremely great. By the time Butcher Zhang was done venting his anger, the knife he used to vent his anger on was already damaged beyond recognition. The knife wasn't as simple as being blunt, but rather deformed. This really made him feel a little pained. However, when he thought about how he had gotten his revenge, he felt that it was all worth it. At least, he felt a lot more at ease in his heart. People shouldn't live only for money. They should also make themselves happy. Only then would life be more meaningful.
Although it would be very easy to buy another two Pig Slaughtering Knives, Butcher Zhang had already used these two Pig Slaughtering Knives for decades. He had long developed feelings for them. Most importantly, they were more convenient to use. If he were to buy a new one, he would need to spend a lot of time just to get used to it. He might as well use the old one. Moreover, he also knew that although the knives were broken, it would not be a big problem as long as they were repaired. This way, he could save a lot of money. He was not very rich. Although butchers were generally not too poor, he had a big family to feed.
Butcher Zhang hurriedly said after hearing the blue-clothed young man's words, "It's not a pity. If we can get our revenge, even if we lose a few pigs, it's nothing. These bastards should have died a long time ago."
The few merchants were not very clear about the hatred between Butcher Zhang and the bandits. After all, although they knew Butcher Zhang, they were not on the same level. They often sat together and drank tea. However, this was the first time Butcher Zhang had come. It was very likely that he would not come again in the future.
"What hatred does Old Zhang have with the bandits? Why don't you tell us? "
The old fat merchant asked.
In any case, they were in a very good mood now. Moreover, they already knew the story between the few of them. However, they were still unclear as to why Butcher Zhang had a grudge with the bandits. Therefore, they opened their mouths and asked.
When Butcher Zhang heard this, a trace of anger suddenly appeared on his face. He said, "This incident happened eight years ago. Eight years ago, I was selling meat in the city. When I returned to the village, I discovered that there were bandits in the village. A group of bandits suddenly rushed into the village and took away all the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. My father only said a single sentence before he was killed by the one-eyed bandit leader. My second uncle and a few other villagers were also killed by their knives. At that time, I wasn't at home. If I had seen it with my own eyes, my pair of butcher's knives wouldn't be for show. Even if I were to risk my life, I would still be able to kill three to five of them."
When he finished speaking, Butcher Zhang had a look of reminiscence on his face. Although not many people in the village had died during that calamity, his father had been killed by the bandits. One could imagine the intensity of this hatred. This incident had been weighing on his heart for eight years. Whenever he thought of this incident, he would be filled with anger and feel extremely uncomfortable. He always felt that he had let down his father and was unable to avenge his father. He had always felt uncomfortable in his heart. He had also tried to inquire about the bandits' situation. However, the bandits came and went without a trace. It was too difficult to figure out the bandits' movement patterns. He was only a butcher and only had a little brute strength. Compared to the vicious bandits, he was still too weak. It was impossible for him to avenge his father no matter what.
After listening to Butcher Zhang's recount, the few merchants nodded their heads. They comforted Butcher Zhang and congratulated him for getting his revenge. Butcher Zhang also sat at a small table at the side and maintained a certain distance from the few merchants. This way, not only would it be convenient for them to converse, but the smell of lard on his body would also not suffocate the few noble merchants.
In fact, Butcher Zhang himself was also considered a merchant. However, there were also differences between merchants. The hawkers who sold vegetables and meat along the street were the lowest level of merchants. However, no one would classify them as merchants. Only those who left these mundane matters to their subordinates and were only responsible for making decisions without doing anything could be called true merchants. This was also the image of a merchant in everyone's mind.
After that, another group of guests came into the teahouse. The topic of their discussion was basically the same as yesterday's incident. Many of the guests who had personally taken revenge were talking about how they had punished the bandit leader with a cheerful face.
Every time someone asked them what kind of hatred they had with the bandits, their faces would immediately become very resentful. It was obvious that all the people who had personally taken revenge had a deep hatred with the bandits. This made Ang Lee, who was the audience, feel very surprised. In this small stone city of the Angji family, there were actually so many people who had a deep hatred with the bandits. Perhaps the bandits in this area were too arrogant to have offended so many people. Ang Lee felt that at least half of the people in the city had a hatred with the bandits. This proportion was really too high. In the cities of the Tang Dynasty, there had never been such a high proportion. It was also because the Tang Dynasty was strong and stable enough that the bandits in the Tang Dynasty were not so crazy. They also had more rules than the bandits here. As long as they could get money, they would not easily kill. However, the bandits here were obviously more ferocious and their methods were more vicious.
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