Chapter 2019: A Way

At this moment, Qian Dahao, the largest grain merchant in the city of Paris, France, was sitting inside his shop.

Qian Dahao was not Liu Dahao; the two differed by only one character, and he did not have a son named Qian Zheng.

Ever since Liu Zheng made his fortune, people often teased him: "Lao Qian, you were just one character away from becoming the father of our Longyan Chief Minister..."

Regarding such teasing, Qian Dahao would only smile and say nothing; to him, this was like that saying from a certain Khan—a wild fantasy that not even the turtles in a wishing pool would dare to have.

After thinking this, Qian Dahao would not take such matters to heart.

"Lao Qian, someone is looking for you."

While Qian Dahao was stealing a moment of leisure, he suddenly heard a voice; Qian Dahao was startled and asked, "Who is it?"

At this time of day, basically no one ever came to look for him; this was a foreign land, there were not many Longyan people here, and even fewer Longyan people who knew him.

Although Qian Dahao had already built his business into the largest grain supplier in the city of Paris, in the eyes of those French, he was just someone who bought grain.

People who came to look for him were rare indeed.

Qian Dahao hurried out, but saw a woman dressed in European noble attire walk in, surrounded by three guards.

Qian Dahao frowned, looked at the woman's face, and let out a gasp of surprise.

She was a Longyan person!

It was not common for a Longyan person to be able to wear European noble attire; this was enough to show that this woman's status was not ordinary.

"May I ask, Miss, what business do you have with me?" Qian Dahao asked respectfully, speaking in the Longyan language.

Jiang Xuelan did not put on airs; a faint smile appeared on her face as she said, "Mr. Qian, I would like to do business with you. You can rest assured that I will pay enough money for it."

Qian Dahao said "Oh," but he was puzzled in his heart; he was just a flour seller, what business could he possibly discuss with her?

"May I ask what kind of business? If I may be frank, Miss, I only sell a bit of flour here."

"I need to use the channels in your hands to publish a message for me."

As Jiang Xuelan spoke, she took the token that Feng Zhenyun had given her out from her bosom.

Seeing this token with the character "Liu" carved on it, Qian Dahao immediately understood the identity of the young lady before him.

Even if she were not one of Liu Zheng's people, she was not far off; no wonder her status was noble enough to wear the noble attire of this place in France.

He bowed his head to pay respects, but was supported by Jiang Xuelan, who said, "Longyan has long since done away with such formalities."

"I am a merchant myself, and today I am using the identity of a merchant to discuss business with you. I hope you will not refuse."

Qian Dahao nodded like a chicken pecking at rice and said, "Naturally, naturally. Whatever instructions you have, just say them; I will certainly do my utmost!"

Jiang Xuelan said softly, "I need you to carry out some activities..."

A glimmer of light flashed in Qian Dahao's eyes, and he cupped his hands and said, "I will go and get this done right now!"

At this time, Zhang Mang and Yang Dong.

They had spent another night outside the city of Paris, and until now, they had not dared to enter.

Seeing that the city of Paris was now surrounded by French troops so tightly that not even water could pass through, and that everyone entering or leaving needed to be searched.

Zhang Mang and Yang Dong felt their hearts tighten and did not dare to act rashly.

They looked toward the city gate where the French soldiers were conducting searches in the distance.

Zhang Mang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled; having been away for so long, the two of them were already hungry. Although the city of Paris was prosperous, this was the outskirts, a desolate place, and there was simply nothing here to fill their stomachs.

If they could not find something to eat soon, both of them would starve to death here.

The two of them disguised themselves, trying their best to make themselves look less like Longyan people, and plucked up the courage to walk over.

Zhang Mang gripped Yang Dong's hand tightly, feeling the other person's hand trembling, as he watched the French person in front of them walk inside.

He tightened his clothes and walked over with a grin.

And Yang Dong, whose hand he was holding, hid behind him, shivering.

The French soldier glanced at Zhang Mang, seeing the mud smeared on his face and the farm tools he was carrying.

He was dressed like a French farmer, and the woman behind him was also dressed very plainly, only her head was wrapped tightly, as if she were very afraid of them, the French soldiers.

"Raise your head!" the French soldier shouted coldly.

Yang Dong did not understand the French language; hearing this angry voice, she shrank back behind Zhang Mang in fear.

Zhang Mang spoke in a not-so-pure, lisping tone: "She can't hear, I'll do it, I'll do it."

The French officer looked at Zhang Mang's disheveled appearance, with a few teeth missing when he opened his mouth, and did not pay much attention.

He let Zhang Mang turn around and gesture wildly at Yang Dong.

When Zhang Mang turned back around, Yang Dong shyly raised her head.

The French officer went over, discovered that her wrinkled face looked like that of a farm woman, and did not make things difficult for them; he waved his hand, signaling them to leave quickly.

Seeing the two wave back, Zhang Mang chuckled and brought Yang Dong into the city of Paris.

Both of them let out a sigh of relief, but they did not wipe the disguise off their faces.

Zhang Mang sighed with amazement: "Yang Dong, I didn't expect you to have such a skill; those French soldiers just now didn't notice anything wrong at all."

Yes, the makeup on their faces had been painted by Yang Dong, and the materials used were just the simplest wood ash.

Yang Dong laughed: "That's right, don't look at who painted it."

"However, there are even more French soldiers in the city. Are we really not afraid of being caught by the French military now that we've come in?"

Zhang Mang looked at the French soldiers patrolling everywhere on the street and said, "Don't worry, as the saying goes, it's darkest under the lamp. There are many Longyan people in the city of Paris, and there is also our embassy. As long as we can contact our embassy, there won't be any problems."

"Besides, it is already the second day; they certainly won't expect us to have returned to the city of Paris."

Yang Dong nodded heavily; she trusted Zhang Mang. If it weren't for him, she didn't know how much suffering her group would have endured in the French factory, or even if they might have died inside.

Just at this moment, both of their stomachs let out a rumble in unison.

The two looked at each other, almost forgetting their original intention for entering the city: to find something to eat.

"Let's think about how to solve this meal first."

The two of them exchanged a smile and walked along the streets of Paris.

There were many merchants here, but since the two of them had escaped with not a single cent, they naturally could not buy anything to eat.

Zhang Mang could only learn the life skill of begging; as for stealing or working, the two of them did not want to be targeted by the peace officers in Paris so quickly.

There were plenty of people in Paris who made a living by begging, so two more of them would not be considered many.

Just at this moment, Zhang Mang suddenly noticed an event at a grain shop, on which it was written: Challenge the Impossible—say the meaning of these characters, and you can exchange them for a prize!

Seeing that sentence written in Traditional Chinese, the two of them were struck with shock!