Chương 28: Chapter 28 Entering the County Town (Please Follow)
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"Sir, I'm about to head to Taiping County. I've never been to the county town, so I'm not very familiar with it. I've heard others say that you've lived in the county town for many years and know all the rules like the back of your hand."
"So, I'd like to ask you to accompany me to the county town and give me some guidance."
Shen Qing stood in front of Zhang Shuyuan, speaking very humbly.
Zhang Shuyuan, while reading, casually said, "I don't want to go. It's so cold, freezing weather, my health has never been good, I can't handle the ordeal. Besides, it's been a long time since I've been to the county town..."
"I'll pay you." Shen Qing looked at Zhang Shuyuan with a bright smile, eyes sincere.
Zhang Shuyuan thought to himself, how could such an insightful child be so worldly?
"It's not about the money, mainly because..."
"I'll give you one hundred wen, with a carriage for transportation."
Zhang Shuyuan put down the book and sighed, "Alright, I'll go with you, but..."
"Two hundred wen."
"When do we leave?"
"In about an hour."
"Then I'll find you in an hour."
"Thank you, sir."
After Shen Qing left, Zhang Shuyuan let out a long sigh.
He had heard about what happened in the village yesterday.
But he wasn't surprised.
In the county town, gang fights and similar murders were too common.
He was long used to it.
So, facing Shen Qing, he remained calm and dared to ask for money.
"It's a disgrace to the literati. But earning money is not shameful, even the old sages need to eat."
...
After Zhang Baqing took on the role of mountain driver, he was filled with vigor, handling everything Shen Qing entrusted to him well.
With the help of the Shen Family's Cousin, almost everything was taken care of without Shen Qing needing to intervene.
Looking at the cart that was already filled, Shen Qing felt a twinge of emotion.
Truly, when poor in a bustling city, no one asks, but when rich in remote mountains, distant relatives come.
He had come to understand the cold and warmth of human relationships.
Back then, when he had nothing, it was difficult to even borrow a bowl of rice from someone.
Now he had only cultivated the Nine Skills, this basic Martial Arts, to the level of mastery, not yet reaching the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood, and it was already like this.
He wondered, how formidable must the martial masters who truly stepped into the Martial Arts path in the county town be?
Shen Qing put away his reflections, glanced at the sky, took a bow and slung it over his shoulder, and ran straight towards the back mountain.
He planned to retrieve the two bows and leather clothing from the Chen Tai brothers and bring them to the city to sell.
Now that the Chen family members were gone, these things, even left out in the open, wouldn't prompt anyone to say anything.
After all, it was some income.
Following the memories of that day, Shen Qing located the concealment spot from before.
He brushed away the snow on top and took out the two bows and two leather coats hidden inside.
Shen Qing checked them, finding nothing unusual, and packed them up to carry with him.
At that moment, in the distant mountains, a flock of birds suddenly took flight.
A low beastly roar echoed out, causing Shen Qing to feel a wave of panic.
He didn't dare linger and quickly descended the mountain with agile movements.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the forest, he barely managed to stop, looking back.
"If I didn't hear wrong just now, that should be a tiger's roar."
"When did this area have such a big beast?"
Shen Qing found it a bit unbelievable.
...
At the village entrance.
A nag horse pulled a cart loaded with mountain goods.
Shen Qing sat in the central position, with Shen Xiaohu and Zhang Shuyuan sitting on either side.
"Giddyup!"
Shen Qing held the reins, cracked a whip, and set off along the mountain road towards Taiping County.
Taiping County was about fifty to sixty li away from their Hongshan Village.
Riding the "carriage," with the weather being acceptable, they could reach in almost less than an hour.
On the road, it was Shen Qing's first time driving, so he didn't dare to drive too fast.
He kept a tight face, fully focused on the horse's rear, worried it might suddenly lose control.
"When driving a carriage, the most important thing is to let the horse feel your presence. When you hold the reins, you need to relax, move them occasionally, and when using the whip, do it gently, avoiding sudden acceleration or deceleration to keep from startling the horse."
Beside him, Zhang Shuyuan, wearing a clean long robe, sat on Shen Qing's cart, speaking eloquently.
"Also, rest assured. This is a nag horse, with no bad temper, quite docile."
Shen Qing looked at Zhang Shuyuan in surprise.
"Sir, you can drive too?"
Zhang Shuyuan closed his eyes slightly, not responding again.
Shen Qing, perceptively, refrained from asking further and began to practice driving based on Zhang Shuyuan's instructions.
After a while, a thought suddenly stirred in his heart.
In his vision, a drop of ink fell from a height, spreading out.
Segments of ink words slowly appeared before Shen Qing.
[Skill: Driving Skill (Entry Level)]
[Progress: 4/100 points]
[Status: Cannot be Improved]
[Note: The art of driving lies in practice leading to proficiency. Continuous practice can improve skill progress and mastery of driving points. In the future, one can drive steadily and quickly, as if the arms command the fingers with ease.]
Seeing the reminder that appeared in his vision made Shen Qing pause in astonishment.
He didn't expect that even walking could yield this skill.
Having more skills couldn't hurt a person.
With time to spare, Shen Qing began focusing intently on driving, striving to improve his driving skill.
Shicheng Mountain covered a hundred li, quite expansive, but the scenery was rather ordinary.
The mountain road's sides were flanked by low hills, lacking much splendor.
As the three of them drove along, after half an hour, the tracks on the mountain road gradually increased.
The crisscrossing paths compressed the snow into water, making the mountain road muddy.
But after half an hour of practice, Shen Qing had already grasped the main points of driving, and his skill had improved.
He held the reins tightly, maintaining a composed face, guiding the little nag horse along the best paths.
The little nag horse seemed to understand Shen Qing's intentions, swaying its rear cooperatively, even making Zhang Shuyuan glance sideways in admiration.
This unexpectedly raised Zhang Shuyuan's evaluation of Shen Qing to a new level.
After traveling a little longer, Shen Qing and the others saw the outline of Taiping County.
Shen Qing couldn't help but swing the long whip in his hand, urging the little nag horse to quicken its pace.
Before long, a city appeared before Shen Qing and his companions.
Taiping County, being the largest city in the surrounding area, had a broad expanse, backed by mountains and bordered by water, making its location quite advantageous.
Outside the county town, a solid rammed earth city wall divided Taiping County into the Inner City and Outer City.
Inside the wall lay the Inner City, housing martial arts halls, markets, and government offices, with many dignitaries.
Outside the wall was the Outer City, populated by idle people.
The Outer City was undoubtedly much larger than the Inner City, but correspondingly, it was the most dilapidated.
Looking around, there were densely packed shanties, squalid and messy.
Inside were beggars and various lowly residents everywhere.
As the three of them entered the Outer City, they were immediately surrounded by all kinds of people, reaching out for food, and even trying to seize the mountain goods on his cart.
Instantly, Shen Qing's face turned fierce as he punched down those with sticky fingers, causing them to restrain themselves due to Shen Qing's severity.
"How is Taiping County such a mess?" Shen Qing frowned.
Zhang Shuyuan lifted an eyelid and said, "Why do you think it's called Taiping County? Wanting what it lacks."
Shen Qing was speechless.
"Come on, we're entering the city."
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