In the east of Dongyang Prefecture, Shiliang County, the Shiliang River winds its way for a long distance. On a clear morning in late October, after the first frost had fallen, the wheat fields along the riverbank stretched out as far as the eye could see. A small black-sailed boat cut through the surface of the water, leaving behind a long trail of ripples.

  Early morning, there was no wind, and a thin mist floated on the distant river surface, calm as a mirror. Lin Xie stood at the bow of the boat, gazing at the vast expanse of plum blossoms slanting across the western shore. He subconsciously clenched his fists, and further ahead, after passing through the plum forest, was Shanglin Village.

  Although I can only live in this world as Lin Xie, there are still memories of Lin Xie in this world. However, the feeling of being separated by a thin layer of gauze cannot be shaken off. Seeing Shanglin Village ahead, my heart is involuntarily tense and nervous.

  "Lin brothers, this is a near-hometown sentiment," Zhou Pu said with a smile, walking out in his loose shirt and seeing Lin Xie standing at the bow of the boat, gazing out at the plum forest, still subconsciously clenching his fists. Seeing Lin Xies confused expression as he turned around, he quickly explained, "This bird-dropping-like phrase, I heard Cao Ziang mention it before, and seeing you like this, Master Lin, I think these four words are quite useful. Dont look at Cao Ziang now, when he was with Qin Xian, they were both bookworms who didnt know how to fight, but after becoming bandits, they still talked about books every day. Back then, if you could hear him scolding his mother, it would be fun for half a day - isnt he still the same as us now? Can you see whats different between him and us?"

  "Cant see it!" Lin Xuan said with a smile, from Cao Ziangs body still showing obvious bookworm marks. "I just think that Master Zhou is talking about Master Cao behind his back, and Master Cao might also be talking about Master Zhou behind his back." The hired boatman at the stern of the boat rowed with an oar, not afraid that he would hear their conversation.

  "Let them gnaw at their tongues until they cant die." Zhou Pu said with a bad tone.

  Zhou Pu couldnt go to sea with Qin Chengzu and Fu Qinghe because of seasickness. Before they parted ways, Cao Zikang and Wu Qi also teased him about this matter. Zhou Pu was bitter but had no choice, after all, he usually had a sharp tongue too.

  Young Chen Enze had just practiced a set of boxing moves taught by Zhou Pu at the bow of the boat, wiping his sweat with a towel and walking over to salute Zhou Pu and Lin Daiyu, asking Zhou Pu: "Master, hows my boxing practice?"

  "A good fight should leave you drenched in sweat and exhilarated, thats when you can say youve entered the door. Youre still too early for that! Were almost at our destination, gather your things, were going to disembark." Zhou Pu patted Chen Enzes head with a smile, saying "And remember, once we arrive, you have to call me Uncle! Be careful not to slip up."

  "Its not a big deal to call someone uncle or master. Cant an uncle be a master?" Chen Enze retorted, then walked into the cabin to pack his luggage.

  Lin Tie watched as young Chen Enze disappeared into the cabin, and smiled. The other boys followed Fu Qinghe and Qin Chengzu out to sea, but Lin Tie kept only Chen Enze by his side. Although Lin Tie was also skilled in close combat and martial arts, he still had Chen Enze study basic boxing techniques under Zhou Pu. However, thinking that he wanted Zhou Pu and Chen Enze to register as residents of Shiliang County, he had them pretend to be an uncle and nephew who had escaped from the Jiabei region.

  For nearly a decade, the Eastern Hu have pushed their front line from Bohai to Ji North. Ji North has fallen into enemy hands multiple times, with prefectures and counties destroyed, and civilians displaced and fleeing in all directions. Moreover, the dialect of Ji North is very close to Mandarin, so Zhou Pu and Chen Enze can pretend to be refugees from Ji North, and the authorities have no way to verify this, treating them as ordinary migrants instead. Lin Fu then vouches for them with his status as a holder of the Imperial Examination degree, allowing them to register in Shiliang County and settle down.

  Zhou Pus nature is straightforward and brave, which is beyond the reach of Qin Chengzu, Cao Zikang and others. According to Qin Chengzus evaluation, only Fu Qinghe in his prime can match Zhou Pus bravery.

  Zhou Pu, who fought bravely, was not as intimidating as Cao Zixiang and others. Whats more surprising is that he joined the army at a young age, left the army to become a horse thief, and had been in battle for over 20 years, yet his body didnt have any scars. After taking off his armor and changing into coarse linen clothes, ordinary people would find it hard to associate him with the notorious Flying Horse Bandits.

  Meilin used to be Shanglin Village, and Shanglin Creek flows into Shiliang River about one mile ahead.

  The river surface at Hefangkou is vast, with boats and rafts intersecting. The dock is located on the west bank of Shiliang River and the north bank of Shanglin Creek. The dock was crowded with boats, and Lins hired boat had a hard time finding a spot to squeeze in and dock. Behind the dock was a row of dark-tiled shops made of green bricks, stretching for three or four hundred meters. Behind the shops were rows of houses, hiding who-knows-how-many courtyards. At the end of the stone street, a rammed earth road extended outwards, leading towards Shiliang County Town.

  Every household has opened its doors, restaurants, wine shops, clinics, pharmacies, gold and silver shops, pawnshops, tea houses, warehouses, inns... Counting carefully, there are over a hundred. Apart from the street of shops in front of us, we can also see alleys extending deep into the distance, with all sorts of vendors stalls lined up along the streets. The streets, docks, and everywhere else are filled with people from all directions who have risen early to rush to the market, as well as traveling merchants or dockworkers hauling goods, and women dressed in red and green, with hawkers cries and the braying of donkeys rising and falling in a cacophony of noise, what a lively scene.

  The boatman jumped ashore to tie the rope, Lin Mou followed to help and took the opportunity to settle the fare with him. Zhou Pu jumped ashore and looked at the prosperity in front of him, smacking his lips and exclaimed: "Is this still a village? Even the county seats of those prefectures and counties on the Huai River are not as lively as this!" After jumping onto the dock, he felt that he had misspoken, patted his mouth and said: "Cant mention the Huai River again, also have to change my address to call Lin brother old master!"

  Lin tied up the account and walked over, laughing: "You yell at me to be twisted, I listen to it even more twisted - later you want to make up a story to tell your family that you have saved my life, I think youd better call me Lin brother, Ill change my mouth to call you Zhou big brother, theres nothing wrong with that!"

  "Ill do it." Zhou Pu agreed without hesitation. Although he admired Lin Xie, he wasnt used to being ordered around by Zhang Gong and didnt think it was necessary to follow Qin Chengzus plan in every detail.

  Chen Enze also came ashore with his bundle, and was amazed at the prosperity of Shanglin Village. His thoughts were more delicate than Zhou Pus, and he whispered in Lins ear: "The streets of Chongzhou County are just as lively!"

  Chongzhou Chenglu has a short history. More than 200 years ago, the site of todays Chongzhou County was still a muddy beach, and the land reclamation was not thorough. Compared to big cities like Hailing, Weiyang, Jiangning, and Pingjiang, it cant be considered prosperous. Lin Xie smiled as he introduced the history of Shanglin Village to Zhou Pu and Chen Enze: "Shanglin Village is so lively for some reason..."

  The Lin family in Dongyang Prefecture is considered a large clan, and the Lin ancestral temple was built in Shanglin Village. However, the prosperity of Shanglin Village can be attributed to the former head of the Lin family, Lin Dengfu.

  When Lin Dengfu served as the Vice Minister of Works in Jiangning, the Jiangdong Xuanfu Si decided to dredge the Shiliang River with great effort, making it a major waterway connecting Huai River and Yangtze River within the territory of Dongyang Prefecture. The original Shiliang River bypassed the county seat of Shiliang from outside, Lin Dengfu took advantage of his position in Jiangning Gongbu to cleverly make the dredged Shiliang River flow through Shangcunlin Village.

  Shi Liang County is a place where the north and south meet, and in the past it prospered because of the river. The prosperity of the official market was not comparable to that of Jiangning City, but it was beyond the reach of the Dongyang Prefecture. After the river course was straightened, the official market in Shi Liang County gradually declined, while the grass market in Shangcun Lin rose with the trend. The Lin family then joined forces with several other large clans in Shi Liang County to prevent the county from setting up a patrol office in Shangcun Lin to collect market taxes, and the market taxes of the grass market fell into the pockets of local wealthy families led by the Lin family.

  Zhou Pus eyes widened, his tongue licking his lips as he said: "They say horse bandits are fierce when robbing money, but I think these local tyrants are even more ferocious. They just dont shed blood when they rob!"

  "Its not that theres no bloodshed," Lin Tie said, "The grass market thrives in places where transportation is convenient, without city walls or official soldiers to protect it, and is often invaded by bandits. In the early years, the grass market in Shanglin Village also frequently encountered bandit troubles, but later the Lin family and several other families jointly invested in recruiting local militia to guard the countryside, and the bandit troubles in Shanglin Villages grass market were basically eliminated. The local militia of Shanglin Village had wiped out bandits several times, earning a reputation that shook the entire Dongyang Prefecture, but the bandit troubles in other grass markets along the Shiliang River became even more severe... This is also why we havent seen any grass markets in other places after entering the borders of Dongyang Prefecture."

  Zhou Pu was speechless for half a day, really didnt know how to comment, and after a while he smiled and said: "Lin brothers are also a part of the Lin family, its true that these words dont leave any face."

  Even Lin Xian, who had little affection for the Lin family before, smiled and said: "Lets be realistic, whats there to hide in front of Brother Zhou?"

  Zhou Pu looked at the team of militiamen patrolling at the end of Shi Street, their equipment was much better than the usual countys knife and bowmen. He followed Lin Xies pointing direction and saw two fast warships docked at the pier, and he habitually wanted to smack his lips.

  In these years, the situation is not very peaceful everywhere. The garrison has collapsed, and the number of knife and bow soldiers directly under the jurisdiction of each prefecture and county is limited, making it difficult to protect the vast rural areas. As a result, local governments have recruited militia for self-defense, also known as village soldiers. The expenses for organizing the militia are all raised by the people themselves, nominally under the leadership of the garrison military affairs department, but in fact controlled by local powerful families.

  Zhou Pu has been to many places in his life and seen many local soldiers and militia. In most places, the local soldiers are busy farming during busy times and practicing military drills during idle times. When bandits or thieves appear, they gather to resist or pursue them. However, it is rare to see a local camp like the one in Shanglin Village that has a permanent garrison of over 500 well-equipped and well-trained militia. Although Zhou Pu is not good at economics, he still knows how much silver it costs to maintain such a large number of troops every year, which shows just how great the benefits of the grass market are.

  This morning, the merchants market tax was fixed at 30% to 1, and the official market collected taxes in proportion to 30% to 1. In addition, there were also taxes levied by tax officials and additional levies imposed by government offices on merchants, so that the actual tax burden borne by merchants in the official market was far higher than the ratio of 30% to 1.

  The grass market is an unofficial folk market that is not formally recognized by the government. The reason why the grass market can thrive is that it is located in a place with convenient transportation, which facilitates the collection and circulation of goods from all over the world. On the other hand, the proportion of taxes and gold extracted by the rural gentry who control the grass market is mostly lower than thirty to one. Under such circumstances, even if they do not receive much effective protection from the government and are often looted by bandits, the folk grass market still prospers unabated.

  Shanglin Village is located at the confluence of Shiliang River and Shanglin Creek, with a north-south canal. The Lin family, as the leader of the local gentry, deliberately operated and recruited village braves to protect the market. In other places, there were grass markets or markets every ten days, or markets every five days; in more prosperous areas, there were markets every three days, or markets every other day. Shanglin Villages ferry terminal had boats and carts coming and going north and south, with people and horses passing through the county and outside, bustling from morning to night, forming a thriving market town that was not comparable to ordinary county towns.

  Even if the city tax extracted from merchants is lower than the official ratio of thirty to one, in order to recruit rural courage, an additional "package tax" must be symbolically paid to the government for part of the market tax revenue - even so, the annual profit that Lins family gets from the Upper Forest Village Market is more than several times the rent of Lins family. Although Lins family is also one of the top ten big landlords in Dongyang Prefecture, the land rent for 400 hectares of good land in a bumper harvest year is only over 4,000 taels of silver, and apart from this, Lins family has warehouses, workshops and other profitable businesses in Shiliang County.

  "......Forest...... Forest Bind!"

  Lin Ge and Zhou Pu stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the dock, marveling at the prosperity and bustle of Shanglin Villages ferry terminal. A large hand covered with calluses patted his shoulder, causing him to shout out in surprise.