Chapter 416: Is It As Sweet As You
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“He… heroine, please spare my life…”
“I’ll spare your dog life since you’ve been doing your best for the past month. However, if I find out that you’ve done evil again, the poison in your body can take your dog life at any time.”
The pirate leader’s heart skipped a beat. “I… I beg you to give me the antidote, heroine.”
Su Ying glared at him icily. “Are you trying to push your luck?”
The pirate leader’s face tensed up. “I… I wouldn’t dare.”
Su Ying got off the ship without turning back.
Those officers thought their leader was still enjoying himself in the cabin so all of them went ashore to wait.
After Su Ying and the others left, the pirate leader ran to the cabin and pushed open the cabin door. What greeted his eyes was the officer hung up in the cabin.
The officer had been beaten until his face was black and blue and he had become unconscious. The pirate leader did not want to get into trouble with the government officials of the Jin State, so he quickly threw the officer down onto a small boat and sailed away without looking back.
By the time the officers realized the problem, Su Ying and the others had already gone far away.
Que Que was leaning against Mo Tu’s shoulder, her big eyes looking around curiously. This was her first time leaving the island, and also her first time seeing the outside world.
People bustled back and forth on the docks, and no one took any notice of them.
“Are you hungry, Que Que? Shall we go eat something first?” Mo Tu asked as he glanced at Su Ying.
Su Ying was also hungry. She stayed on the ship for so long that when her feet stepped on the ground, she felt that her two legs seemed to be floating a little.
“Sure.”
There was a bustling street outside the docks. There were all kinds of shops on the street. Mo Tu chose a relatively crowded eatery and walked in.
The three of them walked to the main dining hall and sat down. As soon as they sat down, the waiter came over to greet them enthusiastically.
“What would you like to eat? We have fresh seafood every day, and today we procured a big fish. Do you want to try some of its flesh?”
After spending a month on the ship and eating fish every day, Su Ying had had enough of fish. After asking Que Que and the others what they wanted to eat, Su Ying ordered a few meat dishes in addition to seafood.
The kitchen staff were quick and nimble. Soon, the dishes were served.
Su Ying took out some copper coins and handed them to the waiter. “Buddy, we’re here to buy things but we don’t know much about this place. We want to ask you where is this place in the Jin State? Can we go to the Chu State from here?”
Mo Tu raised his eyelids but didn’t say anything.
After receiving the tip, the waiter also answered eagerly, “Are you from overseas? This is Haiyang City. Other than the north that leads to the inland, the east, west, and south of this place are all facing the sea. This place is very far from the Chu State. You have to keep going north. Later, you can go to the bookstore to buy a map. There are clear markings on it. Are you going to the Chu State to do business or to look for relatives?”
Su Ying replied, “We have some matters there. But we only have a temporary pass to stay in the Jin State. I’m afraid we can’t go that far.”
The waiter clicked his tongue. “This isn’t a problem. You just need to spend some money to go to the government office to get a clearance pass. However, you need to have some connections. After all, not just anyone can get this done.”
“Is there a broker who does this?” Mo Tu took out some more copper coins and placed them on the table.
When the waiter saw the money, his smile widened. “Yes, yes. As you know, Haiyang City is close to the sea, and there are many guests like you. If you guys need it, I will go and look for a broker for you.”
“Then we’ll have to trouble you.”
Su Ying realized that the dishes in Haiyang City tended to be sweet, which she didn’t like very much.
“Although this chicken is a little bland, it has been fried with oil and is more suited to your taste.”
Su Ying looked at Mo Tu in surprise as the chicken was pushed toward her.
Mo Tu did not avoid her gaze. Instead, he leaned closer to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Su Ying backed away a little to put some distance between him and herself. “You’re quite observant.”
Mo Tu smiled, and his eyes became flirtatious. “I was the one who cooked all the food you ate for the past month.”
Su Ying picked up a piece of chicken and put it into her mouth, but she gave him a look filled with warning. “Don’t look at me like that.” With an aggressive tone, she added, “I’m worried that I won’t be able to resist beating you up.”
The smile on Mo Tu’s face froze at once. “You women are so boring.”
After the three of them were full, the waiter brought a broker back. He was a middle-aged man with a goatee, known to people as All-round Gao.
“May I ask where do you wish to go? There are several kinds of passes. One is valid for a month, and the other is valid for a year. For outsiders like you who don’t have a household registration in the Jin State, you can only get a pass for a year at most. If all of you want to stay for a long time, it’s better to get the one-year pass.”
Su Ying should be able to get out of the Jin State somehow in a year.
“How much is a one-year pass?”
“Five taels of silver per person. It can be done as soon as tomorrow.”
Su Ying’s group didn’t understand the market price, but the sum of five taels was within Su Ying’s acceptable range.
She took out five taels of silver and told All-round Gao that she would make up for the balance payment after the matter was done.
Initially, the cost of getting such things done was only around a dozen copper coins. This silver was to pay people for favors. All-round Gao also accepted the deal and agreed to hand over the clearance passes to them at this eatery in the afternoon the next day.
After concluding the discussion, Su Ying and her group left the eatery and found a nearby inn to stay in.
Mo Tu saw that Que Que was full of enthusiasm, so he planned to bring her out to have some fun on the streets.
Su Ying also wanted to understand the environment here, so she tagged along.
As a coastal city with a well-developed commerce hub, Haiyang City was very lively. The streets were filled with bustling merchants and pedestrians.
Everything that Que Que saw was new to her. Mo Tu followed her closely with doting affection and also bought her a bunch of small toys.
“Try it. Is it as sweet as you?” Mo Tu brought a stick of candied hawthorns to Su Ying’s mouth.
Su Ying took the candied hawthorns and took a bite. She felt that Mo Tu’s words sounded very awkward. “Human flesh isn’t sweet.”
Mo Tu was utterly speechless.
“Wontons! Delicious meatwontons!”
Que Que’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the vendors hawking their goods on the street.
“Big Brother, are wontons delicious?”
Mo Tu held her hand and said, “If you want to eat them, I’ll buy them for you.”
“I want! I want!”
Su Ying saw that it was getting late, so she decided to settle her dinner here too.
The three of them sat down on chairs. This wonton shop had set up a shed by the side of the street, and the business owners were a young couple.
When they saw the three of them sit down, the couple came forward and greeted them warmly, “Dear customers, please take a seat.”
“Give me three bowls of wontons.” After saying that, Mo Tu felt that it might not be enough and turned to look at Su Ying. “Is one bowl enough?”
Su Ying raised an eyebrow and glanced at the bowl on the next table. “Not enough.”
Mo Tu seemed to have already thought of this. He smiled at the stall owner and said, “Then give me five bowls first. We’ll add more later if it’s not enough.”
“Alrighty.”
“Eat the wontons first. If you’re not full later, I’ll buy you something else on the way.” After Mo Tu finished speaking, he realized that the gentleness in his tone was something that he had not expected..