Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 5 Every industry has its own rules
The silver plate hangs in the west, the night is as cool as water, the spring night is chilly, and the cold wind blows with a whistling sound.

Boatman Liu, who was familiar with the waterways, spent most of the night, using only a lantern, to bring Chen Xuan to a remote bay in the dark. The boat was deep in the reeds. In the dark bay, a hidden pier could be vaguely seen in the moonlight, with a dilapidated hut on it.

Arriving here, Boatman Liu made sure that Chen Xuan could not move. He carefully checked the ropes that bound him, then went up to the dock alone with a lantern. Then he came to the dark and dilapidated wooden house, picked up a wooden stick beside it, and gently knocked on the small bronze bell hanging there.

The sound of the bell was not very loud, but it was loud enough for the people inside to hear.

Soon, a dim oil lamp lit up in the wooden house, and a cursing voice said angrily: "Fuck, who is this in the middle of the night?"

"It's me, Liu from the ferry," the boatman Liu replied immediately, his voice humble and flattering.

The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man with a beard and unkempt hair glared at Liu the boatman with an oil lamp, squinting his eyes and saying disdainfully, "You old dog, why are you here if you don't take your coffin to the secret door to scrape your bones?"

Liu the boatman lowered his hunched body even lower, and with a pain in his heart, he took out twenty copper coins from his pocket and handed them over reluctantly, saying, "I want to go inside. Please give me a favor."

Twenty copper coins, half a day's income is gone, how can I not feel sad? But rules are rules and they must be followed.

Grabbing the copper coin, the bearded man tossed it and glanced at the black-sailed boat at the dock behind Liu the boatman. He understood what was going on and glanced at him like a dog, saying, "Go away! Don't disturb my sleep anymore."

"Thank you," Boatman Liu bowed slightly and turned to leave.

But behind him, he heard the bearded man spitting and cursing the person as worse than pigs and dogs.

Everyone despises those who traffic in women and children. Liu the boatman is used to it and doesn't care at all. As he himself said, he will go to the eighteen levels of hell after death. Anyway, he has done so many evil things, so this one time won't make a difference.

After getting on the boat skillfully, boatman Liu rowed towards the depths of the bay.

At this time, he had not blocked Chen Xuan's ears, but the distance of the previous communication was a bit far. Although the dizzy Chen Xuan was not asleep, he did not hear anything.

There is a hidden cave entrance deep in the bay, less than ten feet high, barely passable. Boatman Liu rowed the boat in, and after turning around for a quarter of an hour, he finally arrived at the real destination.

This is like a small market. There are a dozen or so buildings sparsely standing on the street that is about a hundred meters long. They are dilapidated and there are occasional dim lights at night. There are actually people moving around here in the middle of the night, and there are quite a few of them. None of them look like good people, and no one is talking loudly.

As the saying goes, cats have their ways and dogs have their ways. This is a black market where some shady transactions are carried out. In the past, Liu the boatman had abducted children and women and sold them here. After that, it was no longer his business. It was a one-time deal, but no matter how much he sold, he had to pay 20% to the organizer here, not counting the previous entrance fee. This was the rule.

When approaching the black market, Liu the boatman deliberately blindfolded Chen Xuan and blocked his ears with mud to prevent him from being exposed.

In the past, when Liu the boatman brought people here, he would have drugged them. The reason why he didn't use drugs on Chen Xuan was because he was worried that it would damage the quality of the goods.

After docking, Boatman Liu picked up Chen Xuan and tried to walk along the dark place towards the familiar trading place, and tried not to meet anyone.

He knocked on the back door of a small building that still had lights on. Soon, a fat woman in red opened the door. In the dim light, she looked at Liu the boatman and said with a smile, "Hey, isn't this Brother Liu? Are you here to deliver the goods?"

The fat woman did not despise Liu the boatman. After all, she was in this business herself, and no one was any better. In comparison, the fat woman was even worse, even though she was also doing things for others.

"This time it's good stuff, let's go inside and talk," Liu the boatman said in a low voice, showing her half of Chen Xuan's face.

The fat woman's eyes suddenly lit up, and she pulled Liu the boatman and Chen Xuan in, took a look around, slammed the door shut, and said in surprise: "It's really a good stuff, where did you get it, old man?" "Don't worry about it here, just look at the goods and give me a price. If you are not satisfied, I will take you somewhere else," Liu the boatman put Chen Xuan on a table and turned around and said.

The fat woman knew that she had said something wrong and shouldn't have asked about the origin of the goods. This was the rule of the industry. She walked quickly to Chen Xuan and looked at him carefully. She took off the blindfold and covered her eyes again. The more she looked, the more satisfied she became.

At this moment, Chen Xuan had fallen asleep due to fatigue and hunger.

The woman checked very carefully. She not only undressed him to check, but also opened his mouth to check his teeth. She was not surprised to find a peach pit in Chen Xuan's mouth, and she did not take it out. She pinched and touched him, and did not let go of any little detail.

"Wow, this is really top-notch stuff. I can't count it on one hand after so many years. His bone age is only a little over five years old, and he's a boy. He will remember nothing after a few years," the woman exclaimed as she tested it.

Liu the boatman also smiled, proving that he could make a fortune, but the next moment his expression changed.

The fat woman said, "Well, I'll offer you twenty taels of silver. If you buy it, we'll settle the bill. Brother Liu, you'll make a killing."

"You black-hearted woman, you only gave twenty taels for a baby of this quality, why don't you just rob it? I can't buy it for more than thirty taels from any family? Do you think I'm a fool? Take him away now," said Liu the boatman with a dark face, and went straight to hug Chen Xuan.

However, the obese woman said calmly, "It's the same price no matter where you go. If you don't believe me, you can leave. I won't stop you. Humph, do you really think I'm stupid? It's obvious that this person comes from a wealthy family and has to take great risks!"

Liu the boatman argued: "Are you blind? It's obvious that he's a criminal. There's no risk at all."

"Who knows if it was you, old man, who shaved his hair. This kind of thing has happened before. Besides, the criminal won't have to take any risks afterwards. Don't you think about it? Since his family dares to commit crimes, how can they be good people? Even if they are executed, can you guarantee that they don't have a few ruthless relatives and friends? Will you take responsibility if they come to your door? Just twenty taels, otherwise the door is over there and you'll just pretend you didn't see it," the fat woman sneered.

Liu the Boatman's dark, old face was filled with uncertainty. He knew the other party was right, and he figured the situation would be the same elsewhere. He simply gritted his teeth and said, "I can sell it to you for twenty taels, but you have to pay my commission. Good goods like this are rare, otherwise I'll go somewhere else!"

After a moment's hesitation, the woman nodded and said, "Okay, leave it to me. I'll get the money for you right away."

After receiving the money, Liu the boatman turned around and left, saying, "Just pretend I was never here."

Who wants to see an old guy like you? The woman ignored him and planned to leave with Chen Xuan with a smile on her face. She had to sell it as soon as possible for a good price. If she kept it, she would lose money.

Liu the boatman, who had already reached the door, couldn't help but look back at Chen Xuan. For some reason, he felt a sense of regret, as if he had missed something, and he actually had an urge to buy it back!

But the money and goods were settled, and it was too late to regret. He touched the heavy silver in his arms, shook his head, turned around and left, disappearing into the darkness.

The buyer doesn't ask where the goods come from, and the seller doesn't ask where they go. This is the industry rule. For Liu the boatman, the matter ended there.

Chen Xuan, who had already fallen asleep, had no idea that he was sold for twenty taels of silver. I wonder how he would feel if he knew.

Children are actually not worth much, usually not more than five taels of silver, boys and girls are the same. After all, it costs money to raise them, and there is also the worry of their death. But Chen Xuan is good-looking, so his price is already seriously overvalued. Some families without descendants are willing to spend a lot of money to buy him for their retirement. Even if he is sold to some special places, he can be a cash cow if he is well trained.

Chen Xuan didn't even know that he was taken away overnight after the transaction was completed. After passing through several hands, the origin of Liu Chuanfu, the "lifesaver" who sold him out, was completely ignored...

(Please recommend, collect and read)

(End of this chapter)