In a teahouse at the intersection of the town, Lu Ming was chatting with an old man with a smile on his face.
The old man was wearing a green robe and a mandarin jacket. He was a merchant from the north. He was going to Heishan to buy a batch of matches to bring back to Jiangbei.
He came from Nanping Dao in Longbei Province in the northern region, which was the territory of Gao Baoshan, a warlord who had been eyeing Heishan. Gao Baoshan was the governor of Nanping Dao.
"If you want to be a town mayor, it's 5,000 dollars. If you want to be a county magistrate, it's 50,000 dollars. The price is clearly marked and no one is cheated!" The old man was talking about the rampant buying and selling of official titles under Gao Baoshan's rule. He smiled and said, "Our Gao Dashuai is a truly honest businessman. He never cheats anyone."
At this time, several guests with Jiangbei accents came in from outside the teahouse. The old man immediately stopped talking and picked up the teacup, "Mr. Lu, have some tea!"
Obviously, even in the south of the Yangtze River, one still has to be careful not to speak out of turn.
Lu Ming smiled: "Manager Wang, please, please!" He raised the teacup and greeted him.
Next to the old man was a girl dressed as a woman. She was quite pretty and called the old man grandpa. Naturally, she was the old man's granddaughter.
She didn't talk much, but just looked at Heitou and Yuluan beside Lu Ming with curiosity from time to time.
In particular, she had obviously never seen a black-skinned person, and her face was full of curiosity, and when her eyes fell on Yu Luan, they were filled with envy.
Heitou and Yuluan were both wearing military uniforms. Heitou was wearing camouflage clothes and pants, long leather boots, and a wide crotch, which made him look extremely tough. Yuluan was wearing an olive green officer's uniform skirt, which was a common dress. Her smooth calves were exposed under her skirt, wearing flesh-colored stockings and flat-soled black leather shoes with laces. She looked heroic, but also had an indescribable sexiness and charm.
Both men wore epaulettes on their uniforms, with the rank of major bearing a silver flying eagle pattern.
However, when ordinary people see it, they naturally think it is just a military-style clothing, especially people in the north, who would not think much about it, because it is very common for men and women to wear green military-style clothing in the north, but the style is definitely not as beautiful as the Jiangnan military uniform.
The girl dressed as a woman asked in a low voice: "Sister, where did you buy this dress? It's so beautiful."
Yu Luan smiled but said nothing.
The old man glanced at his granddaughter in a reproachful manner, "Xiaoying, stop talking nonsense."
He is obviously a nobleman from Jiangnan, and he has strict rules, so the maid cannot chat with him casually.
Even the people in Jiangnan are weird. The maids' costumes are too strange. Why do they wear soldiers' clothes? Although it is really as my granddaughter said, it is quite pleasing to the eye.
Lu Ming glanced at the long object wrapped in cloth that Wang Xiaoying put down on the table. It should be a long sword or something.
"Manager Wang, is your grandson practicing martial arts?"
The old man waved his hands and said, "It's just a country boy's trick, it's just a joke!"
Lu Ming nodded and asked with a smile: "Are there any vacancies under Marshal Gao's rule? Can someone like me buy a mayor or something like that? Let's take Nanying Town on the other side of the river, for example?" It seemed that the old man was quite knowledgeable in this area.
The old man smiled and said, "It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as Max is there!"
Lu Ming couldn't help but laugh. "Max" means money in Western language.
The old man added, "Nanying Town is small and poor, and has never had much money. It seems that the local gentry were appointed at random. Although the ferry checkpoints are lucrative, they are not something the mayor can control. If you give me five thousand dollars, I can help you get it."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Someone at the next table slammed his head and stood up. They were the northerners who had just come in, all of them big and strong men.
The old man's face changed slightly. He was so excited about talking that he forgot about these people. But he didn't expect that these people seemed a bit troublesome.
"This is Jiangnan, freedom of speech!" Lu Ming smiled and took over the conversation without waiting for the old man to talk to them.
The old man was chatting with me, so I couldn't let him get into any trouble.
The leader of the group was like an iron tower, with a fierce look on his face. He looked Lu Ming up and down, "This young master, it's none of your business. This old man, judging by his accent, is from Nanping!"
Lu Ming smiled: "Who are you?"
The sturdy man hesitated for a moment, then took out his blue-covered ID card and opened it to show Lu Ming, "We are from the Nanping Security Bureau, and we are going to Jinkang on business."
"Oh, then you guys do your job. I'm chatting with someone, just pretend you can't hear me." Lu Ming smiled slightly, "Don't be too overbearing. I haven't met anyone who was arrested for chatting with me, Ma Yunlong, right? Brother, are you going to set a precedent for me?"
The sturdy man hesitated for a moment, looked at Lu Ming again, and said, "Okay, let's talk about it when we return to Jiangbei. Master, I'll give you this face."
When Shopkeeper Wang heard the identities of the people, his face turned pale. When he heard them say "Let's talk about it when we get back to Jiangbei", his eyes showed even more fear.
Gao Dashuai's Nanping Secret Bureau is a devil's den. Once you enter it, it is extremely difficult to die.
In Jiangbei, if the Secret Service wants to find someone, it's very easy.
Lu Ming looked at the few people and said, "I told you, no one has ever been arrested for chatting with me."
Ma Rulong raised his neck slightly, a little arrogant, "Master, I also said, I give you this face, but when you return to Jiangbei, you will have nothing to do with me anymore!"
Lu Ming nodded: "Then you guys don't have to go back to Jiangbei!"
The scattered visitors around, including old people, women and children, suddenly stood up, and more than a dozen black gun muzzles were pointed at Ma Rulong and his companions, and they were surrounded.
Ma Rulong's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Lu Ming, "Master, we are here on business, representing the Nanping Security Bureau."
Lu Ming nodded. "I don't care about you. You guys are suspected of committing the crime of intimidation. Based on your past records in the Nanping Security Bureau, I believe you have posed a great threat to the personal safety of my friends and their families. Therefore, you will be charged with the felony of intimidation. During the current period of martial law, all crimes will be punished more severely. You may be sentenced to seven to ten years in prison."
Yu Luan clapped her hands, and someone walked up and confiscated the weapons of Ma Rulong and others.
Suddenly there was a loud "bang" sound. It turned out that one of Ma Rulong's companions secretly reached out to grab the gun, was shot in the forehead and fell backwards.
He was used to being arrogant in Jiangbei and was unwilling to surrender, but he didn't expect to be shot dead directly.
Ma Rulong and the others' faces changed drastically, and they dared not resist anymore. Ma Rulong gritted his teeth and looked at Lu Ming: "Young Master, I think you are in big trouble."
Lu Ming waved his hand, not wanting to pay attention to him anymore. He looked at Shopkeeper Wang and smiled slightly: "I have always had a lot of troubles, but I am sorry to have caused you trouble!"
Shopkeeper Wang was already dumbfounded. Living in Jiangbei, he didn't seem too shocked by the scene of being killed on the spot. He smiled bitterly and said, "Alas, I, I don't know what to say."
The young man opposite was obviously of extraordinary status. He spoke with his mouth, but so did the secret service agents. In their eyes, he was as insignificant as an ant. Those agents were no different in front of this noble young man.
Seeing Ma Rulong and the others being taken away, Lu Ming said to the old man, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Wang. Although they can see their families and lawyers, they will be strictly controlled. They will not be allowed to describe the characteristics of the victims. In other words, they will not be allowed to pass on the characteristics of you and your granddaughter. They will be locked up for a few years. You and your relatives will have enough time to leave Nanping. If you want to live in Jiangnan, it will be very good."
"Of course, it is also possible that in a few years, many things will have changed and you won't need to leave your hometown."
Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment. Although he was still unsure, he felt relieved at the thought of this young man.
Lu Ming shook his head in his heart. Leaving one's hometown is definitely not an easy thing. But in Nanping, Gao Baoshan's reign of terror seems to force people to flee for their lives just because of a single word. Such warlords were rare even in his previous life.