Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 465 464 Rain Eight Years Ago

"Along the causeway—to be precise, there was no causeway at that time, only a section of earthen foundation piled with silt."

The mute Jin fell into his memories again: "That area suffers from floods every year during the flood season, so anyone who has the means doesn't want to live there. In the end, it became a place of refuge for the poor people who rely on the water for their livelihood."

"After the establishment of the boat gang, that area became a gathering place for the gang's members."

"Speaking of floods during the flood season, the people living in the city are not really affected, but only the boatmen suffer greatly. When the flood comes, the foundations of the houses are in danger of collapsing, and the houses on the shore are no longer safe. The boatmen's boats and sampans are all moored on the shore. Every flood season, many are washed away or destroyed, which is no different from a natural disaster."

"As the boatmen's business grew, manpower and capital gradually increased, and Zhao Laoda finally made up his mind to build a dike."

"So, under Zhao Laoda's leadership, the boatmen mobilized all their manpower, carried stones across the boats, dug the soil and laid the foundation, and it took a full five years to complete the Jin Dike."

Feng Xiuhu gave a thumbs up: "Talented, well done!"

Dumb Jin shook his head with a bitter smile: "So what? Good people don't get good rewards."

"After the long dike was completed, the boatmen hadn't even had a few days of good life before the foreigners arrived."

"Foreigners took a fancy to the land where the shipping guilds gathered. Without the threat of flooding, the riverbank of Linchuan became a feng shui treasure, and the foreigners wanted to build factories there."

"No matter how famous the boat guild is, it can't withstand a single document from the government office."

"The foreigners bribed the planning department, which then ordered the boatmen to relocate on the grounds of illegal construction and land use. They only gave them a few days before forcibly demolishing their houses."

“At that time, the foreigners had just arrived and we did not know how ugly they were. Boss Zhao was thinking of a proper way to resolve the matter, so he ordered me to negotiate with the foreigners. It was nothing more than drawing a line, either by enticing or coercing. The shipping guild had been operating for many years and had both power and connections in Jindi City. If the foreigners insisted on forcibly seizing our goods, we would make sure their factory could not continue operating.”

Dumb Jin gave a bitter smile: "But we underestimated the status of the foreigners and also miscalculated the intentions of the government."

“The foreigners are backed by the church, how could the shipping guilds afford to offend them? And the shipping guilds have been powerful for many years, and the government has long intended to settle accounts with them.”

"I remember that night was the beginning of the flood season, and it was pouring rain."

"That night, I was entrusted by Boss Zhao to attend the banquet hosted by the foreigner Albert, hoping to make a final effort to reach a reconciliation with him. Meanwhile, Boss Zhao led his gang to inspect the embankment and repair any unstable stones."

"Unexpectedly, the deadline given by the Planning Department was just a pretext to make the boatmen take it easy. Before the deadline arrived, they launched a surprise attack on a rainy night. The police mobilized all their forces, rushing in under the guise of suppressing bandits to kill people."

“At that time, almost all the main force of the gang went to patrol the embankment. Those left in the house were just women and children. The police pretended not to know and insisted on killing them all.”

Shunzi couldn't stand these things, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

But the story continues.

"By the time Boss Zhao returned, it was too late. Besides, what could they do even if they came back? How could they fight against the firearms in the hands of the police with their short knives and harpoons?"

The mute man's voice was hoarse: "That night, blood flowed like a river on the Jin Embankment. Apart from Zhao Laoda and a few other leaders who were taken back to the police station to await public execution, no one else survived."

He pointed to the group of people beside him: "They were all just children then. Tang Dayuan was a few years older and was their leader. That afternoon, they had arranged to go to the woods on the south bank to pick mushrooms, which is how they managed to escape this ordeal."

Feng Xiuhu looked around and nodded silently—no wonder all of them, except for Wang Daxian, were young faces.

He gestured with his chin at the mute Jin: "And what about you? Why weren't you dealt with?"

This question made Jin the Dumb clench his teeth: "I only found out afterward that Abbott had set up the banquet that night specifically for me." "In the previous negotiations, Abbott took a liking to my business skills and the business connections of the shipping guild. Both of these depended on me, so Abbott wanted to recruit me to work for him from then on."

"Abbot and the government were the masterminds behind the night raid. They first lured me to a banquet, and then the police arrested my wife and daughters to force me to submit."

"By the time I learned everything the next day, it was too late."

"The boat gang was destroyed. Boss Zhao and other leaders were pushed to the dock and shot in public at noon. I wanted to save them, but my wife and daughter were still in Abbot's hands."

"With everything settled down, I had no choice but to kneel down and join Abbott's ranks, hoping only for my wife and daughters to survive."

"But in order to control me, Abbott was unwilling to let me go. At the same time, in order to completely cut off my thoughts, he promised to send my daughter to the Western Continent to live a good life, with my wife accompanying and taking care of her."

"I was extremely unwilling, but the choice was not in my hands, so I had no choice but to nod in agreement."

Suddenly, Jin, the mute, fell silent.

Feng Xiuhu looked up and saw that the mute Jin was choking with sobs.

"But later... during a drunken night, I learned from one of Abbott's subordinates that his wife and daughter had been drowned in the river six months earlier."

"It's really nothing!"

Shunzi punched the bed so hard it almost broke.

He glared at the mute Jin with resentment: "You really have a way with yourself. Instead of thinking about revenge, you continue to work for the foreigners?"

"Of course I'll apply!"

Dumb Jin looked up, his eyes bloodshot: "Not only does Abbott deserve to die, but the masterminds of the Planning Division and the Police Division also deserve to die! But how can I do it alone?"

Feng Xiuhu looked at the people in the room and suddenly realized: "So you've gathered this group of remnants of the boat gang back together."

Feng Xiuhu nodded and said, "The gangs of boatmen started out by fighting and fighting, and it's not difficult to become a tax official in the long run."

"With the title of tax official, one can intimidate the temple, which is indeed a good way to fight against foreigners and the church."

The mute Jin said, "A few tax officials are not enough. My original intention was to wait two more years and let them use their tax official status as a stepping stone to officially enter the temple as masters of ceremonies. Only then will they have the qualifications to challenge the foreigners."

"But to my surprise, the heavens opened their eyes and the foreigners proposed building a bridge in order to open up the land trade route. This gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Feng Xiuhu continued, "So you used the pretext of tax reduction to incite the people to cause trouble at the docks, thereby forcing the temple to step in and create a situation where it, the foreigners, and the church are at odds. You then look for an opportunity to completely escalate the situation out of control."

Dumb Jin said in a deep voice, "There's no need to search; we can only wait for this opportunity."

Feng Xiuhu asked, "What are we waiting for?"

Dumb Jin narrowed his eyes, a sinister light gleaming within them.

"That heavy rain eight years ago."

(End of this chapter)