Jiaohua

Chapter 1538: Hidden Too Well

The heavy snow has never stopped since the day Xia Zhaoyi led the Xia family army away from Gaitang City.

This time the preparations were thorough and there was no need to rush thousands of miles. The only order Xia Zhaoyi gave was that no one was allowed to get sick.

With more than 3,000 people, it's impossible that no one was sick, but fortunately, none of the cases were serious.

On October 16, Xia Zhaoyi arrived at Tutanggua City and ordered the troops to rest there for three days.

The name of Tanggua City is easy to understand, and it is famous for its sweet melons.

However, 90% of the population of Tanggua City is gone, and a large number of melon fields in the countryside have long been abandoned. The city is also desolate, with empty houses everywhere. In some long-uninhabited urban areas, there are large areas of collapsed ruins.

Because Tanggua City is desolate and sparsely populated, the official road that took a huge amount of manpower to dig has been preserved and has not been completely swallowed by the yellow sand. Therefore, in recent years, it has become one of the stops on the way to Tu for the Central Plains Chamber of Commerce to deliver supplies.

After settling down, Xia Zhaoyi rested for half an hour, then took Zhan Ning and Fan Yu out to the Chamber of Commerce contact point.

When he came out, he met Xia Xingming coming back with Xia Zhi and Zhang Ji.

When Xia Xingming saw Xia Zhaoyi, he stepped forward and said, "Second Miss, I was just looking for you. I just went out to take a look. There are many remains of the people who were killed in those years in those collapsed houses. They have been left there for so many years. I thought if the brothers have some free time these days, I would help them clean up."

Xia Zhaoyi thought for a moment and said, "It's not good for us to act without authorization. Let's go ask the people who still live here. If they agree, we can help them."

Xia Zhi frowned: "Second Miss, this is to help those common people rest in peace, why do you have to ask others?"

"Tanggua City is no different from a dead city. This reputation can scare away many people. If we bring it back to life, the peace and tranquility here may be broken in the next few years. So, go ask the people who live here and see if they like the status quo or are happy to see it broken."

Xia Xingming nodded: "I understand, Second Miss, I'll take someone to ask!"

"Choose a few people who look friendly," Xia Zhaoyi looked at Zhang Ji, "Zhang Ji, don't go."

"..."

Zhan Ning and Fan Yu smiled secretly and followed Xia Zhaoyi.

Zhang Ji raised his hand to touch his face and looked at Xia Zhi: "Deputy General Xia, am I fierce?"

"He's a vicious monster," Xia Zhi said honestly, "I don't dare to make any mistakes now. If I fall into the hands of Judge Zhang, I will suffer no good consequences."

Xia Zhaoyi searched around for a long time. Except for a newly built building of some size, none of the mud houses here looked like a Chamber of Commerce contact point.

Because of this, each one of them seems to be a contact point of the Chamber of Commerce.

Fan Yu was also dumbfounded: "It's too well hidden."

When they returned to the street, Zhan Ning looked at the building under construction and asked, "Second Miss, could it be this one?"

Xia Zhaoyi shook her head. She ruled out this building first.

But they had passed by the door so many times and were still stopping nearby, causing the people inside to become restless.

An elderly, plump and attractive woman with heavy makeup on her face walked out and said with a smile: "Look at the two young men, they are soldiers. This girl is..."

Xia Zhaoyi stepped forward and clasped his hands together: "Hello, Boss. We are from the Xia Army. My name is A-Li."

The woman paused, twisted the handkerchief in her hands, tilted her head, and looked her up and down: "Are you really... Miss Ali?"

"Excuse me, Boss, is this building a restaurant?"

The woman smiled and said, "My building is called Yangliu Building." Xia Zhaoyi raised his eyebrows and said, "Yangliu Building?"

"Miss Ali should have heard of it."

Xia Zhaoyi nodded.

The woman said, "We have been raising money for many years, and we are finally opening one shop after another. This shop is the first one we have officially built, and we will hang the plaque on it soon!"

Xia Zhaoyi asked, "Is Yangliu Tower the same as Ning'an Tower?"

"How could that be?" the woman laughed. "Ning'an Tower is a big business, and it's all decided by Madam Zhao. We are not like that in Yangliu Tower. We are all from Zhitu, and our roots are in Zhitu. We build towers and make money. We do this for revenge."

Xia Zhaoyi raised his eyes to look at the tall wooden frames outside the building and said softly, "You are so ostentatious, aren't you afraid of attracting wolves? There are still civilians in the city."

"The people in the city are all from Yangliu Tower. They have been living with the souls of half of the city's dead for many years. Are they still afraid of the evil wolf?"

Zhan Ning said, "That's not the case. The people are willing to sacrifice their lives generously, which shows their bravery. But since Yangliu Tower has already developed enough capabilities to guide these people, the people in power in Yangliu Tower should not really lead them to risk their lives. If their lives are gone, then they are truly gone."

The woman's eyes darkened as she looked at Zhan Ning, then looked back at Xia Zhaoyi's face.

The woman smiled faintly, "If someone else said this, I would scold him for not having experienced the hardships of others and not giving me advice. But when you, the Xia family army, said this, I have no way to refute it. The hardships that the Xia family army has suffered are indeed much more difficult than ours."

Fan Yu said: "Comparing suffering is boring, the truth is to be stronger than fists! You want to fight the evil wolves, and we also want to fight the evil wolves. We are all the same! But we will not die in vain. We may look arrogant, but we also know how to avoid the edge!"

Xia Zhaoyi said seriously, "Master, please listen to me. Don't hang up the plaque for now. The other party has too many eyes planted in various places in China. They must have found out about the name of Yangliu Tower a long time ago."

The woman looked at her, then suddenly walked forward, went down the steps and said, "Miss A-li, Knight Kang Jian, are you still in Hengxiang now?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I've been out of Hengxiang for a long time, so I don't know the details."

"The one Kang Jian saved was my nephew," the woman smiled bitterly, "He's the only relative I have left. Last year we intercepted intelligence that he and two childhood friends went to Youzhou to track down the whereabouts of Marquis Jing'an. Unexpectedly, they were assassinated by Dou Lixin's men in Congxin Prefecture. Of the three who went, only he survived. He fell to the ground with serious injuries, and his belongings were robbed by countless passers-by. Only the hero Kang Jian stood up and rescued him."

Zhan Ning frowned, "Marquis Jing'an is Tao Lan's uncle, and Dou Lixin is He Yanpo's man. This pair of bastards really think Youzhou is theirs, and let Marquis Jing'an leave Youzhou in a swagger."

Xia Zhaoyi said: "I was there at the time, and I had the opportunity to kill Marquis Jing'an, but I didn't do it."

"Fortunately," the woman smiled, "If we had killed Marquis Jing'an at that time, it would have been a good thing for Tao Lan."

Xia Zhaoyi raised his hand and clasped his fists: "Boss, do you know where the Chamber of Commerce contact point is? We have been looking for it for a long time and can't find it."

"Contact the Chamber of Commerce?" The woman raised her eyes and looked diagonally across the street. "Here, that's it."

Xia Zhaoyi and Zhan Ning turned around and saw a bald, toothless old man sitting on a long bench in front of the door, reading a comic book with great concentration. He was sitting with his legs crossed, his shoes half hanging off and swaying.

The woman said, "Just call him Lao Guo, the Guo as in pot cover. He is from Gaitang City. By the way, my last name is Zou. You can call me Auntie Zou or Auntie Zou. It's all fine."

Fan Yu asked, "Then, Aunt Zou, do you still want to hang this plaque?"

Aunt Zou looked at him unhappily and waved her hand: "Okay, okay, okay, don't hang them up for now! Now is not the time to be crazy. When we are strong enough, we will hang tens or hundreds of them on their foreheads!"

Fan Yu and Zhan Ning laughed in unison: "Aunt Zou is so nice, she listens to your advice!"

(Kang Jian’s foreshadowing is still in Chapter 818.)