Chapter 310: Boss Shen's fortunes are prosperous

Wang Laoshi's voice was full of hatred: "My son is a skilled blacksmith; they need him to work, so they use us father and daughter to control him."

"Tiezhu works himself to the bone just so I and Xiao Yue can have an extra bite."

"But those beasts! They watch our family of three begrudgingly share food, and they take pleasure in it!"

"Every day after drinking, they use us as betting stakes—whoever wins gets to decide which of us should go hungry!"

Xiao Yue heard this, her tears flowing even harder: "Every time I cook with my father, someone is watching us."

"They make him eat the first bite, afraid—afraid we'll put something dirty in it."

Tuan Tuan listened, her little face tensing, fists clenched: "Uncle, older sister, we will definitely rescue you and let you never go hungry again!"

Xiao Ningxun asked: "How many craftsmen on the island are like Tiezhu? And the guards?"

"Twenty-three craftsmen, thirty guards, all armed with knives."

He paused: "The craftsmen all have iron chains on their feet; the key is with the guard chief, Zhou Mazi, who wears it even while sleeping. And furthermore……"

He suddenly choked up, unable to speak, steadied himself for a moment, then said: "All the craftsmen have been…… made mute by poison."

"Ah?" Tuan Tuan exclaimed: "How can they be so wicked?"

Xiao Ningxun closed his eyes, Lu Qi said bitterly: "Shen Wanjin, you beast!"

"Sirs," Wang Laoshi lifted his head, eyes flashing with hope, "you really can rescue us?"

Tuan Tuan puffed out her little chest: "Yes! We definitely can!"

Xiao Ningxun looked at his sister, the corner of his mouth lifting: "We came here precisely to bring these evildoers to justice."

"Now that we know this, we naturally ought to save people first."

Wang Laoshi fell to his knees with a "plop": "Thank you, sirs! Thank you!"

Xiao Ningxun reached out to help him up: "Lead the way; we'll go rescue them now."

"We can't go! Not now!"

"Every day at the third watch of the xu hour, Zhou Mazi personally goes to the workers' shed to count heads and check the locks on their shackles—it's almost that time now!"

"If we go now, we'll run straight into him! Once he notices something's wrong, the whole island will be alerted—by then, forget rescuing people, you lot might not even escape!"

Xiao Erdao said: "Then we wait until he finishes roll call before acting."

Wang Laoshi stamped his feet in anxiety: "After roll call it's even worse! The night guards increase, and they don't return to sleep until dawn."

He thought, then his eyes lit up: "The only opening is when they deliver vegetables!"

"Whenever fresh vegetables and meat arrive, they have me prepare a few small dishes, warm the wine, and drink two cups. While they're lax, their minds on eating and drinking, that's our only chance!"

"A few of you can impersonate Old Liu Tou as the vegetable deliverers—just say Old Liu Tou is sick and you're filling in for him today! I can vouch for you nearby; they shouldn't suspect a thing!"

"There's still some leftover vegetables and meat in the kitchen; though not much, it's enough for show. Do you have a boat? I'll get it out for you, and you can load it aboard."

Xiao Ningxun exchanged a glance with Xiao Er and Lu Qi.

"Feasible," Xiao Er said, voicing his worry: "But what about the miss? We can't exactly bring a kid along to deliver vegetables."

Upon hearing this, Tuan Tuan panicked: "I want to go too!"

Xiao Ningxun rubbed her little head: "Tuan Tuan, of course you're coming."

He turned to Wang Laoshi: "Do you have a big enough bamboo basket? One she can sit in? Then we'll grab some things to cover her."

"Yes! Yes!"

"I almost forgot!" he slapped his forehead, "The guards will ask for the password; the password for these two days is, 'Shen Laoban's fortunes are prosperous.'"

"Pah!" Xiao Er couldn't help cursing: "This beastly scum still talks about prosperous fortunes? He deserves death ten thousand times!"

Lu Qi nodded: "Exactly!"

Tuan Tuan tugged at her brother's sleeve: "What's the password?"

"It's a phrase agreed upon beforehand—only our people know it; if an outsider comes, they must say it to avoid suspicion."

"Oh!" Tuan Tuan suddenly understood, finding it fun!

Soon the boat was ready; Tuan Tuan sat in a large bamboo basket, surrounded by vegetables, the basket covered with a tarp, hiding her completely.

The few of them rowed the small boat toward the entrance pier.

Two men dressed in identical cyan cloth short uniforms, holding knives, were strolling on the pier.

Seeing a boat approach, the tall guard immediately gripped his knife hilt: "Who goes there?"

"Sirs, you've worked hard." Xiao Er gave a goofy grin: "We're here to deliver vegetables for Old Liu Tou."

"Old Liu Tou?" the short, fat guard frowned: "Why isn't he coming? Vegetable deliveries are supposed to be tomorrow—why today?"

Lu Qi lifted half a pig from the boat, hoisting it onto his shoulder: "He twisted his ankle yesterday when he went out carelessly; the doctor said he injured his tendon and needs to rest for a month or two."

"So, not wanting to delay your vegetables, we urged them to send today's shipment right away."

The tall guard's gaze swept over their faces: "What relation are you to him?"

"I'm his nephew." Lu Qi pointed to Xiao Er and Xiao Ningxun: "This is my cousin, that's my cousin brother."

Xiao Ningxun bent low, head down, moving the vegetable basket with a dull-witted air.

The short, fat guard walked to the boat's edge, peered in: "Why is there so little? Old Liu Tou usually fills the boat to the brim."

Lu Qi gave a wry smile: "These past couple days in Jiangzhou City, pork prices have skyrocketed for some reason. This half side is all I could get even after my uncle added silver. Vegetables are pricey too—this is all we have."

Just as they were about to ask more, Wang Laoshi trotted over carrying two wine jars, beaming: "Sirs, you've worked hard! I just tidied the storeroom and found two jars of fine wine—care for a taste?"

He handed over the jars, then looked up at Lu Qi: "You aren't…… Old Liu Tou's nephew, are you? How'd you come? Where's your uncle?"

The short, fat guard asked: "Do you know him?"

"I know him! I know him!" Wang Laoshi rubbed his hands: "Last month Old Liu Tou brought him here to help move stuff. The lad's strong, able to work!"

The tall guard took the jar, pulled the stopper, sniffed: "Not bad, good wine! Wang Laoshi, did the sun rise in the west today? You've gotten clever!"

Wang Laoshi gave an embarrassed laugh: "Hey, you flatter me—daily you've looked after us, so this little gesture is only proper!"

The atmosphere visibly eased.

Xiao Ningxun bent over and hoisted the bamboo basket that Tuan Tuan was sitting onto his shoulder.

The tall guard took a sip of wine, smacked his lips, and said, "All right, give the password."

Lu Qi pretended to be nonchalant as he replied, "My uncle told me that Boss Shen's fortunes are flourishing!"

The tall guard suddenly became alert: "Wrong! The password has changed!"