Chapter 114: Ju Bao Lou

"Wake up, wake up~"

A beggar waking from his noon nap rubbed his eye corners full of sleep, constantly pushing his companion beside him.

His companion impatiently rolled over: "It's high noon, not sleeping, what are you fussing about."

"Listen, there's a sound outside~"

"There really is a sound!"

The groggy companion got up, subconsciously rubbing the mud balls on his body: "You damn~~~"

His companion fell silent in shock.

Outside there really came a rumbling sound, and even the dust on the ground inside the hall trembled slightly.

"What, what is that?!"

In the dilapidated hall, the beggars taking their noon nap got up one after another.

Each of them wore an expression of suspicion and uncertainty.

One bolder fellow stepped forward, wanting to open the hall door to take a look.

The next moment, the house collapsed!

All sorts of wooden objects crashing down buried all the beggars beneath them.

Beneath countless ruins, faint cries and wails of the beggars could still be heard.

But amid the huge roar of the bulldozer engine, these sounds did not reach Lin Dao's ears.

Only saw him skillfully push and pull the control lever, driving the huge bulldozer back and forth several times, pushing all the ruins of the entire hall together, forming a mountain of garbage.

The vehicle backed up a distance, stopped, and turned off the engine.

Opening the door and getting down, Lin Dao took out a vanilla bean and lit it.

Beneath the ruins, there was faint movement.

Lin Dao, with a fierce look between his brows, took out an account book.

This was what he found earlier in the room of the leader of these beggars, or whatever they called the chief or hall master.

"Ren Shen Year, fifth month, eighth day, Yumin Fang, Master Qian, abducted the widow Xu of North City, twenty-three taels."

"Gui You Year, second month, nineteenth day, Zhongcheng Street, Luo the Benevolent, abducted the orphaned girl Wu of Maogong Ferry, thirty taels."

"Jia Xu Year, eighth month, eighth day, Cunyi Street, Gao the Gentleman, outside Shangfang Gate, Shangfang Village, Fang Yong's entire family sunk in the river, eighty-five taels."

"Bing Zi Year, fourth month, twenty-seventh day, Chengen Temple, Monk Yuan Zhi, abducted the devout believer Zhou by Dazhong Bridge, sixty taels."

"Ding Chou Year, third month, first day"

"."

The account book was very thick, and the victims recorded on it numbered no less than a hundred.

To describe these people as beasts would be an insult to beasts.

Flicking the vanilla bean away with his finger, Lin Dao carefully put away the account book.

Once he took Jinling City, he would, according to the records in the account book, raid homes, seize people, flay skins, stuff grass, demolish houses, and lead away oxen.

He caught his breath, took out several Molotov cocktails.

Lighting the cloth strip at the bottle mouth with a lighter, he turned sideways into a standard throwing posture and threw the Molotov cocktail toward the pile of ruins.

"Crack!"

The Molotov cocktail shattered, a large ball of flame rose, quickly igniting the surroundings.

The buildings of this era were mainly constructed of wood.

Wood feared fire; once it burned, extinguishing it would depend on Old Heaven's will.

As for this sort of thing, the Wokou Country people, who had held many large-scale city-wide barbecue events, were very experienced.

The beggars beneath the ruins, those crushed to death earlier were considered lucky.

Those still alive now, that was Heavenly Will.

Heavenly Will made them accept the punishment they deserved, watching the fire approach with wide eyes, yet unable to move.

Also to experience a bit, the endless pain those victims who fell by their cruel hands had once endured.

Though they were strangers who had never met.

But within his power, Lin Dao was willing to speak out for them!

Send the bulldozer back, take off his armor equipment.

When leaving the temple engulfed in flames, the rescued women in the distance all bowed deeply to Lin Dao in unison.

Lin Dao waved his hand without looking back, and all the way returned to the horse cart.

"Is the person still there?"

"Yes, yes." Dong Xiaowan, holding a hairpin in her hand, lifted the door curtain and saw Lin Dao, her pretty face instantly full of joy: "Master, you're back~"

Chen Yuanyuan followed her out, but her attention was on the temple burning fiercely in the distance.

"Get in." Lin Dao led the pack horse around, then jumped onto the cart shaft himself to drive.

Along the way, he saw many shops and firemen carrying water buckets rushing to put out the fire in a hurry.

When leaving the street corner and turning onto another road, he even encountered the regular fire brigade of this era.

Fire Soldiers.

From the name one could tell, this was a team specifically used to extinguish fires.

They were usually stationed only in large cities like the Two Capitals and Su Hang.

Equipped with water buckets, rattan dippers, hemp mats, bamboo ladders, axe saws, and other firefighting tools.

It could be said that the level of civilization of the Great Ming of this era was beyond the reach of those Wild Boar Skins.

Lin Dao did not care about this.

It was merely clearing out some trash in the city, nothing that warranted such a mobilization.

The horse cart advanced all the way, finally arriving before the storefront at Xiajiekou.

The craftsman foremen and artisans busy with finishing work inside and outside the shop numbered in the dozens, even hundreds.

Most had bloodshot eyes and looked mentally exhausted, obviously from staying up late for a long time.

Seeing the master appear, several foremen hurried forward.

"Master Lin~"

"Cleaning up the finishing touches now."

"It will definitely be finished before dark."

"Just the signboard — we haven't seen it yet."

For a shop, the signboard is its face.

Opening a shop without a signboard would get you laughed to death.

Of course, the signboard's style and color are your own choice; no one requires all shops in Ying Tian Fu to use the same design.

"The signboard is already prepared." Lin Dao drove the horse cart toward the rear courtyard. "You just install it in a bit."

The signboard was meticulously crafted by Yonghe Spacetime's artisans, the calligraphy personally written by the great talent Xie Daoyun.

Gilded large characters, absolutely beautiful and handsome.

Ancient inns all have rear courtyards.

Serving multiple functions as dormitory, kitchen, firewood shed, stable, and more.

Not much renovation here — just a full refurbishment, raising and thickening the courtyard wall, and replacing the rear courtyard gate.

Dismissing the artisans finishing up in the rear courtyard, Lin Dao instructed the two women: "Find your own places to settle in."

After the two women entered the room, Lin Dao found a room and shifted to Yonghe Spacetime.

When he returned, his hands were already holding a huge signboard.

"Ju Bao Lou".

The name is a bit vulgar, but the meaning is genuine.

The industrial goods he sells are truly treasures in this era.

Shouldering the heavy signboard, he dragged it to the front hall and handed it to the artisans for installation.

A literate foreman glanced at the date seal on the signboard, then looked at the calligrapher's seal.

"Huh?"

"Xie Taoyuan? Which great scholar is this?"

Lin Dao glanced at the seal below — fortunately Xie Daoyun didn't use the Heirloom Jade Seal, but her own private seal.

Otherwise this business would be shut down and people arrested on opening day.

Lin Dao carefully inspected the renovation work, and only after confirming no mistakes did he return to the rear courtyard.

Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan were already busy.

One stood by the water well, laboriously drawing water.

The other was in the kitchen, busy starting a fire.

Ancient stoves don't use natural gas that ignites with a twist.

You have to clean first, then add firewood, then kindling — very troublesome.

Lin Dao walked over to the water well.

"This bucket of yours doesn't even have one-third."

Chen Yuanyuan was aggrieved; she had never done such work before.

It was already tiring and hard, and now being scolded — this really is~~~

"Alright."

Lin Dao took the water bucket, set it aside. "Go call Dong Xiaowan over, we're going to the slave market."

He entered a room, and when he appeared again, five large chests were already placed inside.

Opening the chests, they were stacked full of silver ingots, each ten taels (Ming standard).

These silver ingots bore no inscriptions of origin, year, purity, furnace name, or silversmith name — smooth and shiny.

Compared to the blackened, dull silver ingots of the Great Ming, they looked very bright.

Lin Dao bought industrial silver from the modern world, sent it to Yonghe Spacetime, and had artisans recast it.

He specially instructed them to polish it smooth and coat it with a special potion, making the appearance very handsome.

The purity of this industrial silver is not high, usually around ninety percent.

Coincidentally, Ming Dynasty silver purity is also not high, about ninety percent, so it can be used directly.

"So heavy."

Lin Dao grimaced, lifted a chest, and hunched his waist carrying it onto the horse cart.

The two women coming out of the kitchen saw this and hurried to help, but were scolded aside by Lin Dao.

"Bang!"

The heavy thud of the chest landing on the horse cart made Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan realize this thing simply wasn't something they could lift.

"Hurry and go buy people."

Lin Dao shook his hands. "From now on, heavy work like this needs manpower arranged."

Chen Yuanyuan subconsciously went to open the courtyard gate, but was stopped by Lin Dao's shout: "What are you doing?"

"Didn't you say go to the slave market to buy people?"

Lin Dao turned and walked toward the room. "Wait, didn't bring enough money."

The two women stuck out their tongues.

This chest of silver must amount to over a thousand taels; such a huge sum, and it's still not enough?

Then, they saw Lin Dao move over a total of five chests one after another.

Over three hundred catties of silver, counting the chests nearly four hundred catties.

By the time Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan got on the horse cart, it was over six hundred catties.

The old horse pulling the cart neighed and kicked, expressing that it was old and frail, unable to pull such heavy goods.

No choice, the two women could only get down and walk, to lighten the pack horse's burden.

The Slave Market — from the name alone one knows what business is done here.

By convention, coming here means finding a human trader and purchasing slaves from them.

They're called servants, but in fact they are slaves.

In theory, only people with status have the Zi Zi to come here and purchase slaves.

But the Great Ming Dynasty has already reached its end; many so-called rules have become a joke.

For human traders, as long as silver is produced, anyone who comes to buy is fine.

Inside the main hall.

Lin Dao sat on a chair, Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan standing behind him acting as maids.

Several human traders, seeing his extraordinary bearing, received him very enthusiastically.

"Master Lin, I wonder what requirements you have?"

Lin Dao set down the tea bowl in his hand. "Both men and women, and they must have families."

Single women he didn't really want, let alone single men.

Hearts are separated by belly skin; before they're thoroughly won over, who knows what they might do.

This trip counts as a temporary addition of helpers.

Truly large-scale team building will have to wait until after opening, when time can be spared to go to the porridge factories outside the city and seek refugee families.

The several human traders glanced at each other, all seeing delight in the other's eyes.

Usual purchasers.

Only pick those who can work, and those with some looks.

Family dependents and such — those are all unwanted burdens no one asks after.

This Master Lin is truly the most favored distinguished guest in their line of work~~~

End of Chapter