nucmednet Chapter 8 Black Market Road Permits
Chapter 8 Black Market Road Permits
On the other side, after Li Lianhua left, Wu You threw the bread bag and milk carton back home and prepared to go to Xuancheng to take care of the travel permit.
We first went to the town of Yuxiang and rented a horse-drawn carriage, which took nearly four hours to arrive.
The time wasn't too bad, since the carriage wasn't going very fast. It was the road, the bumpy ride, that almost made me throw up my dinner from the night before, and my butt was really sore.
"When I have money, I must pave the roads and upgrade the carriages to have shock absorbers," Wu You thought to himself.
Xuancheng is much more lively than Yuxiang Town. The passersby are dressed much more affluently, and various shops line the streets. It's much more real than what you see on TV.
Wu You was unfamiliar with the area and didn't know where to get a travel permit. Without one, he couldn't freely travel to other cities and would be considered a vagrant. Wu You was currently undocumented, and this situation needed to be resolved.
Wu You casually bought a bag of roasted chestnuts from a street vendor and strolled around, eating them as he browsed the various ancient goods and appreciating the scenery unseen in modern times. After the walk, his horizons had broadened considerably, but the matter he needed to take care of remained unresolved.
With no other option, Wu You had to resort to the trick of the little beggar. Finally, he learned from an older beggar that there was a black market in Shen Hutong, No. 13, Dingzi Lane. As long as you had money, you could solve most of the dirty business there and also buy and sell items of unknown origin.
Wu You was overjoyed. The black market was truly a wonderful place, perfect for someone like him who was unregistered.
Wu Youhua spent one tael of silver to ask the old beggar to lead the way, and on the way, he bought a fox mask and put it on.
However, the black market required an experienced customer to lead the way, and an entrance fee of ten taels of silver was required to enter. Fortunately, the old beggar was an experienced customer, and Wu You gave him another ten taels of silver as a thank you. This must have been the old beggar's source of income.
The black market entrance was located underground in a courtyard, where the light suddenly dimmed. After asking for directions at the entrance, Wu You headed straight for the black market reception area.
After asking how much it would cost and how long it would take to process the household registration permit, Wu You was told it would cost 50 taels of silver and take only one hour. He immediately proceeded with the process.
Wu You didn't leave either, since it would cost ten taels of silver to come back in, so he just wandered around the black market.
There aren't many shops here. Most people just spread a cloth on the ground and display their goods directly on it. The things they sell are all kinds of strange and unusual, things you've never seen on the street before.
Wu You wandered around aimlessly, curious about everything but not asking anyone, partly because he didn't have much money and partly because it wasn't of much use to him.
Wu You stopped wandering around when he saw a rusty laptop.
Wu You's first thought was that there was a second time traveler. Judging from the rustiness of the computer, it must have been more than ten years old. It seemed that the time traveler must have been here for a long time. He just didn't know if the time traveler was still here or even still alive.
Wu You planned to ask about the price and buy it if possible. Firstly, it could be a souvenir, and secondly, she wanted to know if it could be renovated and if there were any records inside.
Thinking of this, Wu You asked the stall owner, "What kind of iron are you selling, and how much are you paying for it?"
The stall owner was wearing a hat, so his face couldn't be seen. Only his voice, that of a man in his thirties, could be heard: "Do you know what this is?" The stall owner asked instead of answering.
"I don't recognize it. I just find its shape unusual and I'm curious about it. I'm a person who likes to explore the unusual and I've always enjoyed collecting all sorts of strange and unusual things. Is this yours?" Wu You didn't directly admit that she knew it.
"It's not mine, I'm just helping someone else sell it."
"Is there any chance to meet its owner? I think it's very interesting."
"Its owner has been gone for many years and will never see anyone again in this lifetime."
"Excuse me, but do you know what this is for and how to use it?"
"Only its owner knows how to use it; others are unaware of it, only hearing that it is comparable to the human brain."
"I'm even more interested now. How much would it cost?"
"If you're destined to be with me, I'll sell it for a tael of silver; if you're not, I won't sell it for a thousand pieces of gold," the stall owner said, emphasizing each word.
Upon hearing this, Wu You didn't feel like he'd received a windfall; instead, alarm bells went off. In this unfamiliar place, in this backward ancient era, the only person who seemed to be destined to find him was someone who knew how to use a computer. They were looking for a time traveler!
Never be careless before you know who the other party is or what their purpose is. If the other party has no bad intentions, that's fine, but if they have malicious intentions, then you're just a fish that has taken the bait and will be manipulated at will.
Whether with good intentions or bad, at this moment, all one can do is pretend not to know. "Sigh, it seems I'm just not destined for it. Curiosity got the better of me, but I don't have a thousand taels of gold." After saying this, Wu You shook his head and walked away, pretending not to care.
Wu You was unaware that the stall owner had been staring at her departing figure for a long time, his eyes filled with emotions that no one else could understand.
After a long wait, an hour finally passed. Wu You took the freshly issued travel permit, glanced at it, and left.
It seems that in this unfamiliar world, one cannot easily reveal one's identity and must take extra precautions. Technological products should not be displayed in public. At least until one can protect oneself, one should not trust anyone and should not casually expose oneself to anyone.
Having obtained his travel permit, Wu You resolved his identity issue. He then strolled around, buying plenty of snacks and pastries, as well as several nice outfits, and spent the night in Xuancheng.
While eating at the inn, I overheard the lively conversation at the next table. The most talked-about topic was the great battle between Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng on the East Sea. Two days had passed since the incident, but the buzz surrounding the number one martial arts master remained undiminished.
There were sighs of regret for the number one person in the world, and there were also worries and fears about the Demonic Sect's Golden Couple Alliance.
There are also family squabbles. The son of the richest man in Xuancheng forcibly took his seventh concubine. The girl and her mother disagreed, but her father and brother took the richest man's large sums of money and forced the girl into the wedding sedan chair.
Two constables were saying that an imperial envoy would be coming to the area in the next few days with money and provisions to provide disaster relief. It was summer, and for the past two months, there had been continuous torrential rains, causing the streams to swell and several nearby towns to be flooded.
Hearing this, Wu You's mind started racing. He currently had no one to rely on, and there was also a former time traveler eyeing him covetously, whose strength was unknown. If he could get the protection of the imperial court, his life should be safe.
Lying in the inn that night, I pondered this possibility and thought about the details of the plan before I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I copied down useful information from the internet about post-flood relief measures, disease prevention, post-disaster reconstruction, dike construction, river channel treatment, and so on. I also drew useful pictures of things like curved plows and waterwheels.
To prevent any loopholes, Wu You even went to the bookstore and read books for two days, covering human geography, national history, martial arts legends, and the "Ten Thousand People's Book".
After several days and hundreds of books, Wu You was dizzy from reading, but she still gained something. By marking up, adding, and deleting on the paper, a perfect plan emerged.