Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 265 The One-Eyed Stone Man with a Spotlight
The bright moon hangs high, its light illuminating the earth.

Not far away, the surging and churning Mother River continues its roaring as always.

A troop of garrison soldiers from Luzhou patrolled the camp at night, carrying torches.

"Team leader!" a soldier called out to the leader.

The captain stamped his foot and turned to look.

The sergeant sniffed hard. "There's a smell of meat in this camp!"

The sergeant glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to continue leading his men forward.

The soldier was puzzled and was about to say something more when his comrade pulled him back.

His companion whispered, "Alright, don't say anything."

"These laborers are starving, who cares what kind of meat they're eating!"

When people are starving, they'll eat anything.

As long as the civilian laborers didn't cause trouble, they could eat whatever they wanted.

The garrison soldiers, unwilling to cause trouble, quickly left, while more and more people gathered in the distant sheds.

Tents were high-class items that laborers were not entitled to use.

The makeshift sheds made of wood, bamboo, reeds, and tattered mats served as the laborers' sleeping quarters.

Lin Dao sat on a tattered mat, with a dozen or so laborers from his team in front of him.

The laborers who came from the nearby sheds, drawn by the smell, crowded around the area in layers, making it impossible to move.

Bright moonlight streamed through the holes in the roof and fell on the box in front of the forest path.

A dozen or so fried chickens packed in a box exude an enticing aroma.

All around were the sounds of people swallowing their saliva.

"I'm a man of my word."

Pointing to the fried chicken in front of him, Lin Dao indicated, "I promised you that you would be able to eat meat every day while you are repairing the river, and I will definitely keep my word."

"No need to be polite, take it and eat."

Zheng Ershiqi and the others trembled as they stared at the fried chicken in front of them.

I was both surprised and apprehensive.

To my surprise, there was meat to eat.

What terrifies me is that this is meat!
Ultimately, hunger triumphed over all reason.

After bowing to Lin Dao, they each picked up a fried chicken and began to devour it.

The aroma of meat mingled with the scent of oil, causing the stomachs of those around to rumble incessantly.

Why is the sky red?

Lin Dao looked around and saw nothing but pairs of red eyes.

Everyone was exhausted after a long day, but they had only had two meals of thin porridge, and they were all starving.

Nowadays, everyone is starving, yet some people are eating meat!

The emotions I feel at this moment are self-evident.

A commotion arose in the crowd.

Several men with fierce expressions and burly builds pushed through the crowd and came to the shed.

Under the bright moonlight, seeing the fried chicken in Zheng Ershiqi and the others' hands, their eyes gleamed red.

The leader stepped forward, snatched a fried chicken from the hand, and took a bite.

Others rushed forward to grab it, and chaos ensued.

Lin Dao narrowed his eyes, watching how Zheng Twenty-Seven and the others would respond.

If they swallow their anger, they will be abandoned.

Zheng Twenty-Seven and his men did not swallow their anger; instead, they immediately began to fight with the newcomers.

In other words, the Mongols were afraid that the Han Chinese would rebel, so they would even take away the tools used for river repairs when they finished work.

Without any suitable weapons, relying solely on fists and feet, no one has yet been killed.

The people who snatched the fried chicken were clearly skilled in martial arts.

Moreover, he was strong and quickly knocked Zheng Twenty-Seven and the others to the ground.

The man at the head of the group, munching on fried chicken, looked at Lin Dao and asked, "Where did you get this meat?"

Lin Dao didn't say anything, but slowly stood up.

The man chewed on a chicken bone and swallowed it, saying, "No matter where you got them from, hand them all over."

What I give you is truly yours.

Lin Dao held a claw hammer in his hand. "I won't give it to you, and you can't take it from me."

"Hahahaha~"

The man, seeing the hammer in Lin Dao's hand, showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he burst into laughter.

"Kid, it seems you don't know the names of us brothers."

"Listen carefully, we brothers are Yellow River Five~~~"

'Boom! '

Lin Dao swung the hammer and smashed it directly onto his head.

The man didn't utter a sound and collapsed to the ground.

His four brothers, who were still munching on fried chicken, were stunned for a moment.

They immediately roared in grief and anger and pounced on him.

'Boom! '

'Boom! '

'Boom! '

Lin Dao swung his hammer, knocking down three people in succession.

He has been on the battlefield and fought in wars. Having experienced so many different times and places, his character has long been tempered and made resilient.

With the aid of time and space, his physical abilities became even more powerful.

They're just a few cowardly thugs and lowlifes who bully the weak and fear the strong.

The last man rushed to the leader's side and pulled a dagger from his clothes.

With a low growl, it charged forward and thrust its weapon straight into Lin Dao's abdomen.

Lin Dao tightened his grip on the hammer, but did not stop him, letting him stab him with the knife.

Amid the gasps of the surrounding crowd, the dagger plunged directly into the clothes.

"Ah~~~"

With red eyes, Zheng Twenty-Seven roared and pounced, knocking the thug who had stabbed Lin Dao to the ground.

The laborers from his village reacted quickly, rushing over and launching a vicious attack, punching, kicking, and biting.

People in this era were relatively simple and honest; at least they understood the value of a meal.

It doesn't seem like it... *cough cough*
"stop!"

Lin Dao's roar finally calmed everyone down.

Bright moonlight streamed down, illuminating Lin Dao's tall figure. The man, barely breathing after being beaten, glared at him and managed to utter, "You...you'll die too!"

"Just you?"

Lin Dao chuckled, raised his hand, pulled the twisted, pointed dagger from his clothes, and fiddled with it in his hand. "I'm invulnerable to blades and spears!"

The people around were all utterly shocked.

They certainly knew that armor could block weapon attacks, but Lin Dao was wearing an ordinary piece of clothing, just a bit thicker.

Such a vicious stab wound, yet he was unharmed.

Immediately, some people believed Lin Dao's claim that he was invulnerable to swords and spears.

Lin Dao looked around at the crowd of laborers watching and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Brothers, as you can see, it's the Five Ghosts of the Yellow River... never mind, they've been provoking us, stealing our meat, and even killing us with knives."

"The matter at hand today is entirely in our hands."

With just a few words, he brought Zheng Twenty-Seven and his group into the category of his own people.

"We seek justice, and we ask you all to be our witnesses."

Lin Dao pointed to the five Yellow River ghosts lying on the ground and said, "I would appreciate your help in dealing with this."

"After work tomorrow, Mr. Lin will repay you with fried chicken!"

People need to be pulled little by little.

Miracles must be revealed little by little.

Exposing everything at once could backfire.

Zheng Ershiqi and the others had already picked up the fried chicken that had been scattered on the ground.

It dusted itself off and continued eating, even finishing off the bones.

Upon seeing this, some of the onlookers immediately came out and dragged the Five Ghosts of the Yellow River away.

In a place where tens of thousands of laborers live, how often do people not die?

Unless a major incident occurs, the imperial court will not intervene at all.

The onlookers dispersed and returned to their sheds to continue enduring hunger.

Lin Dao sat down cross-legged, and Zheng Twenty-Seven and the others hurriedly surrounded him.

"Now, do you all believe that I am the Wise King?"

Everyone nodded repeatedly, their eyes shining.

The fried chicken they take out might have been bought from a store.

But their own eyes witnessed that he was impervious to swords and spears.

"If you are willing to follow me, I can guarantee you that you will live a good life with land, houses, wives, children, and warm beds."

The premise is that you can survive until the Yuan Dynasty is successfully destroyed.

Lin Dao can be considered experienced.

He knew perfectly well that talking to these laborers about national righteousness, class conflict, historical heritage, and humanistic education was useless.

Truly useful and attractive things are those that offer tangible, visible, and practical benefits.

It was as if Lin Dao was wearing a bulletproof vest, which blocked the dagger.

Upon seeing him, the laborers immediately believed that he was invulnerable to swords and spears.

Zheng Twenty-Seven and the others immediately bowed and lowered their voices, "We are willing to follow the Ming King!"

Anyway, they couldn't survive, and they might starve to death during this forced labor.

Now that we have the opportunity, of course we should give it a shot!
"Get some rest." Lin Dao got up and instructed, "Take it easy at work tomorrow, and try to avoid work if you can."

As long as you don't get caught by regulators, you can still shirk your responsibilities.

Lin Dao set off, walking through the messy greenhouses.

The Yuan army sealed off the outer perimeter to prevent any laborers from escaping.

As for what lies inside, no one pays any attention to it.

He first went to the riverbank.

They walked back and forth, searching for a suitable location.

After choosing a location, they found a secluded spot and immediately set off to return to the modern world.

After changing my clothes, I drove to a stone carving factory.

"President Lin~~~"

The factory's sales staff are very welcoming to customers who spend a lot of money on custom orders.

They led him to the still-busy workshop.

Many workers are busy at work, and the sounds of grinding and cutting from various machines are constant.

"Mr. Lin, the stone carving you requested has been completed."

The salesperson enthusiastically introduced the one-eyed stone man in front of him to Lin Dao.

"It's made of marble and is at least five meters tall."

"As per your request, the facial expressions have been refined."

"And these."

The sales team opened a hole in the base of the stone carving.

"The wiring inside is complete, and four spotlights are built-in and operated by remote control."

Lin Dao nodded repeatedly. "Open it and take a look."

"Okay~"

The salesperson connected the built-in battery and used the remote control to start the machine.

The next moment, the four spotlights built into the base shone brightly upwards.

And it's even colored!
The entire one-eyed stone sculpture was enveloped in a four-colored halo.

Lin Dao was already imagining himself standing beside the stone man, giving a passionate speech to countless laborers, when he pressed a remote control and a spectacular scene of colorful light shooting into the sky and hitting the Dipper.

I imagine the laborers would bow down in reverence.

Originally, it was supposed to be five-colored, but since the black lights were not practical, four were left.

I walked around the stone statue twice, and even patted and tapped it to listen to the sound.

"Load it onto the truck now and send it to my company warehouse."

In front of the sales staff, Lin Dao called the company's finance department and said, "Pay the remaining balance for Jiarui Stone Carving Factory now."

The stone carving factory enthusiastically arranged vehicles to transport the items to the warehouse.

After everyone had left, Lin Dao carried the stone carving to Yonghe Time and Space.

The stonemasons, who had already been gathered and waiting, stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Carve words on this stone statue, make them big and eye-catching, and apply paint."

Lin Dao pointed at the stone statue and said.

"The roads are full of starving people; the living are neighbors with the dead!"

"Destroy the Yuan and revive the Han; the Mandate of Heaven is in the forest!"

(End of this chapter)