Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 379 Foreigners
This was the first time Zhou You had ever seen a foreigner in a script.

As for his appearance, he was no different from modern foreigners, with one nose and two eyes. He didn't have the three heads and six arms that some people talked about, nor did he have eight eyes and seven pairs of feet.

Of course, no normal person would believe such a claim, but think about the scenarios you've experienced so far.
Tsk, what if?
At this very moment, the foreigner was berating the cook, seemingly implying that the food was poorly prepared.

It should be noted that although most of the wars of aggression did not break out in this timeline, the rule of treating foreigners as second-class officials in the late Qing Dynasty seems to have remained unchanged. The cook lowered his head and apologized repeatedly, and in the end, the restaurant owner stepped in and waived the cost of the meal, which finally calmed things down.

The foreigner sat back down angrily, and his tablemate said something with a smile.

Because they were speaking English, they didn't bother to help anyone.

But traveling around is different.

After several arduous efforts during his university years, he had passed the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4), so even though the other person's intonation was a bit off, he could still understand to some extent.

Translated into Chinese, this is exactly what he meant.

"William, what's with all this anger?"

The one called William rolled his eyes, grabbed a piece of beef, and stuffed it into his mouth without any hesitation.

"You still ask me where my anger comes from? It's all because of this damned imperial court, these damned yellow-skinned monkeys!"

This person seemed to have been holding it in for a long time, and when he opened his mouth, he complained non-stop, as if firing off a machine gun.

"I'm not saying this to be rude, but we've been quite sincere, haven't we? We've done all the work these guys assigned us, paid all the fees we were owed, and the goods we brought in weren't marked up four or five times like in other places. We even gave them plenty of bribes to the officials. And how did these guys treat us in the end?"

He slammed his fist on the table and cursed.

"We can tolerate all sorts of difficulties, but after all these years of fighting for them, all we've managed to secure are three ports of entry. And these three only allow a small portion of our goods to come in; the rest depends entirely on the Empress Dowager's whims!"

The commotion naturally disturbed the bystanders. Although no one could understand what was being said, these people had been in this port for a long time. They knew that foreigners were not to be trifled with, and they quickly found various excuses to slip away—including even the restaurant owners.

His companion, watching the birds disperse among the crowd, leisurely poured himself a glass of wine and then said...

"But even a small portion can make you a lot of money. Not to mention anything else, just how much opium can you sell in a year?"

It would have been better if no one had said anything, because once they did, William became even angrier.

"It is a lot, but 80% of the profits have to be handed over to the Qing government. In the end, after a year of hard work, very little actually ends up in our own pockets!"

"My companion asked, puzzled."

"That's going too far?"

William immediately launched into a tirade of profanities.

"But that's not all. The imperial court even wants to reduce these ports to two, claiming that the Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching and they want to minimize the presence of foreign goods in front of her to avoid upsetting her—what a ridiculous reason!!"

His companion swirled his wine glass, glanced at the now empty restaurant, and suddenly chuckled in a low voice.

"So the person in charge of your area doesn't care?"

"He wants to intervene, but how can he? Is he going to start a war with this country for such a small amount of money?"

This time, however, his companion simply smiled and remained silent.

William looked at that face, his expression gradually changing from anger to incomprehension, then to confusion, and finally to hesitation.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he said to his companion.

"Have you heard something about this?"

"It's not really a rumor, it's just that the higher-ups feel this so-called dragon is nearing its end, so it's time to feast on it. The first time they couldn't act because of the rampant chaos, but this time, even for the sake of the various rulers' reputations, these people should be taught a lesson."

But after saying that, he called over the waiter and shouted in Chinese.

"Bring us another jug ​​of wine—and remember, it has to be imported brandy, not that rubbish that burns your throats."

The waiter hesitated and dared not agree, but William had no patience for that. He slapped the waiter across the face, making him stagger and his face quickly turn bruised.

"Just go when I tell you to, what are you dawdling about!"

Seeing the waiter cover his face and run to the kitchen, daring not to speak his anger, William finally spat.

"Lowly yellow-skinned monkeys, malformed and underdeveloped children, even those black devils from Africa are better than these guys."

His companion laughed.

“William, you’re mistaken. An ape and a monkey are of the same species and kind, so there’s no distinction between them.”

The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

Soon, the waiter returned with a bottle of wine, but for some reason, after placing the wine on the table, the man stood still and did not move.

William took a few seconds to react, then glared at him and scolded him.

"What are you looking at? Do you want to get beaten up again?"

The waiter was probably frightened; his face was unusually pale, and he was lowering his eyes as he spoke in a low voice.

"This humble servant would like to ask you two gentlemen if there is anything else you require?"

The words were broken and even somewhat indistinct.

"We'll let you know if we need anything. Just stay away for now. Keep an eye on you yellow-skinned monkeys, even if you're drinking..."

Before he could finish speaking, William's companion tugged hard at his sleeve.

"What's wrong? You didn't suddenly have a change of heart and start taking pity on these monkeys, did you?"

However, when he turned around, he found that his companion was sweating profusely and was constantly giving him meaningful glances.

What the hell is this guy doing?

William was genuinely puzzled, but as his companion looked over, cold sweat broke out on his brow.

Before anyone knew it, the waiter's arm was already soaked in the soup.

The soup had only been served a short time and was still very hot, but the waiter seemed completely oblivious, letting his entire arm sink into it—of course, if it were just that small amount of soup, William might have given him a few slaps at most, but...
The hands, soaked in soup, floated limply in the bowl, as if they could no longer be shaped.

No matter how you look at it, it's clearly not a human arm. Having done business on this land for quite some time, two words immediately came to mind.

'Spiritual disturbance'

Seriously? Just a slap can cause someone to become deformed?

Recalling the rumors he had heard before, and those companions who had strayed into the chaotic territory and were tortured beyond recognition, even becoming a lump of flesh but still alive, William instantly felt eighty percent sober up from the alcohol.

He glanced at his companion out of the corner of his eye.

Good grief, this one has already quietly moved two or three steps away, ready to slip away.

You bastard, you act all brotherly in public, but this is how you behave in private, isn't it?
However, before William could utter a curse, the waiter said quietly.

"Guest, are you dissatisfied with me in some way? Or do you think there aren't enough snacks on the table and want to add some more? Unfortunately, the cook had to use the restroom earlier and can't cook anything right now, so how about this?"

The waiter lowered his head, stuck his finger into his eye socket, and then, amidst a chilling cracking sound, pulled out a bloody thing.

Then, it was thrown into the wine.

"Please take this to the bar, sir. It's very fresh, so please eat it while it's hot."

William instantly realized his pants were completely soaked, and when he looked at his companion, he was also covered in urine. At that moment, he no longer cared about being reserved. He screamed like a little girl, pushed his companion aside, and ran away.

His companion followed closely behind—people on the street stared at the two of them in astonishment.
It's like watching two dogs run away with their tails between their legs.

Seeing the two men's disheveled state, the instigator behind them laughed heartily.

A normal slap wouldn't be enough to create a monster; what was served was just a paper figure he had prepared beforehand.

As for the original owner, he's currently unconscious in the kitchen.

And that eye was quite simple—just a cow's eye that had just been shed and was about to be cooked.

After laughing enough, Zhou You scratched his chin, remembering what he had just heard.

"Tsk, it seems that under Empress Dowager Cixi's infuriating trade policies, the foreign powers finally couldn't hold back anymore. The two Opium Wars were averted, but it looks like the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing is inevitable."

But after thinking about it, he immediately shook his head.

"Forget it, I can't worry about that now. I'd better just finish my own job first."
-
After eating and drinking to his heart's content and having some fun, Zhou You headed straight for the Qu family's house.

To be honest, it's no wonder that the eight great Shanxi merchants, famous during the Qing Dynasty and even featured in many TV dramas in later generations, had such luxurious decorations even in their branch offices. The furnishings inside were even more exquisite, with not only all kinds of pearls and antiques, but also many local features.

In other words, it was a product imported by foreigners.

Zhou You looked at a mechanical pocket watch under the counter, feeling its unique antiquity from the 19th century, and was indeed somewhat tempted—but then he glanced at the price that the family of three next to him had saved up over several years without eating or drinking, and immediately focused his mind and practiced the art of tranquility.

Soon, upon being informed, the shopkeeper came out to greet him—but seeing Zhou You's shabby clothes, the gray-haired old man did not show any contempt or dissatisfaction, but instead smiled politely.

"Friend, I had some business to discuss earlier, so I'm a little late. Are you here to inquire about the ghost market?"

Zhou You smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I'm really sorry to bother you, shopkeeper, but I do have some urgent business to attend to. So I hope you can do me a favor and tell me the location of Beian City."

Hearing these words, the person in charge was somewhat surprised. He looked Zhou You over carefully for a while and then said.

"You seem to be an insider to know about the Ghost Market and also know about Beian City—but I'm really sorry, due to our regulations, this is something we cannot disclose to outsiders. Please leave."

This refusal was exactly what Zhou You had expected. After thinking for a few seconds, he took out a white cloth belt and placed it in front of the person in charge.

Just like before, the person in charge recognized the thing at a glance, looked up in surprise, and looked at Zhou You.

"Are you a disciple of the White Gate?"

"Exactly."

"Whom are you worshipping?"

"Li Xiangming".

"Is the Bai family now in charge?"

This time, the person in charge fell into deep thought, but after a while, he shook his head and gently pushed the white cloth belt back.

"Normally, the location of the Ghost Market can be disclosed to any member of the upper, middle, or lower classes. However, unfortunately, due to the strict investigation by the imperial court, the rules are exceptionally strict this time. Unless the White Gate leader personally comes, we cannot disclose the location. We are truly sorry."

Zhou You frowned upon hearing this.

Originally, he thought that since Old Man Li had set the meeting point in Beian City, he, as a disciple of the Bai family, would definitely be able to enter. But now...
He hesitated for a moment, but finally took out the business card.

Honestly, he really didn't want to use this thing. After all, he didn't know anything about Feng Qianlin, and he was worried about getting involved in any trouble.
Well, he's already had enough bad luck, and he really doesn't want to get into any more trouble.

However, upon seeing the business card, the person in charge suddenly showed a surprised expression. He hurriedly turned around, waved away the worker next to him, grabbed Zhou You's arm, and pulled him into the cubicle.

Strange, this doesn't look like acquaintance, it looks more like fear?
Only after confirming that no one was around did the person in charge speak in a low voice.

"Do you know Mr. Shang Jun?"

Well, they've even changed how they address you.

Zhou You nodded, somewhat puzzled, while the person in charge became increasingly reserved.

"I am truly sorry, I was blind and did not know you were a distinguished guest of Mr. Shangjun. You asked about the location of the Ghost Market, right? I will tell you directly—one month from now, in Jingping County. Take this sign and find the Tonglai Chamber of Commerce to enter. As for the rest, I will not tell you anything more. Please take care."

Their panicked expressions made it seem as if they were sending away some kind of plague god.

To express his apology, the man even offered him a money pouch. Even after being respectfully but firmly ushered out, Zhou You remained completely bewildered.

But soon, that bewilderment turned into a bitter smile.

"As expected, I knew it. This guy is probably going to be a problem again, and it seems to be quite serious."

But he quickly changed his mood—after all, he had experienced this more than once or twice—and casually tossed the money bag around, feeling its weight, before revealing a satisfied expression.

"This should be worth seven or eight taels of silver. It's a windfall. Even with the curse of the Five Deficiencies and Three Shortcomings, it's enough to last us for a while. There's always a way out. Let's enjoy ourselves first."

(End of this chapter)