Li Banfeng led Xiao Yeci as they followed Juanzi westward. Radish Mountain lay on the outer fringes of Santoucha, and after three full days of travel, the trio drew steadily closer to Santoucha's central region.
With paper and pen in hand, Xiao Yeci recorded everything they saw along the way. Li Banfeng had brought her along precisely because she was meticulous and possessed a fine literary hand, capable of committing Santoucha's customs and local conditions to paper.
The projector had also captured many precious images. By the third day, however, there was little left to document.
Villages had vanished from the road, and dwellings grew increasingly scarce. At first, they could still spot strange flowers and exotic weeds, but after trekking for another half day, the ground became covered in barren, pitch-black rock. Not a speck of dirt could be seen, let alone flowers.
Around three in the afternoon, Juanzi pointed toward a nearby hill. "Seventh Master, let's stay in that cave over there today."
Li Banfeng clicked open his pocket watch and glanced at it. "What time is it, and we're stopping already?"
"Seventh Master, if we push farther ahead, we won't find another suitable shelter even if we walk until daybreak. Besides, heavenly light is especially frequent here at night."
According to Juanzi, different territories in Santoucha had distinct patterns of heavenly light. The stretch they currently walked was called the Black-Yellow Shoals, where the defining feature was very little heavenly light by day, but a great deal by night.
Walking from dawn to dusk across an entire day, one might not encounter a single beam of heavenly light in a hundred-li radius.
Yet once night fell, that very same terrain would likely be plowed over from end to end by heavenly light.
They had to find a proper shelter before nightfall, and the cave Juanzi mentioned suited their needs well.
The group settled into the cave. As Xiao Yeci sorted her notes, Li Banfeng asked Juanzi, "Where does the name Black-Yellow Shoals come from?"
The black clearly referred to the black stone covering the ground, but what did the yellow refer to?
Juanzi did not know the origin either. After a moment's thought, she said, "It might be related to the smoke-scorched trees."
"Trees? There isn't even dirt here. Where would trees come from?"
"There's a place in the Black-Yellow Shoals called the Smoked Lands. The smoke there is extraordinarily thick. Ordinary trees can't survive being planted there; only smoke-scorched trees can live.
"The leaves of a smoke-scorched tree stay yellow all year round. I reckon that's where the name Black-Yellow Shoals came from.
"Those of us with tough constitutions can push through the Smoked Lands when the wind is high and the smoke thins out. But anyone with a weak constitution might choke to death before making it halfway."
As she spoke, Juanzi glanced toward Xiao Yeci.
Xiao Yeci bristled indignantly. "What are you trying to say? I'm a third-tier cultivator, too! My constitution isn't weak!"
Juanzi turned to Li Qi. "Seventh Master, are we truly going to the Smoked Lands? I'm worried about Seventh Mistress..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Xiao Yeci blushed furiously. "I'm not Seventh Mistress! I really am not!"
Li Banfeng pulled canned food and biscuits from his rucksack, distributing portions to Juanzi, Mengzi, Xiaoshan, and Xiao Yeci.
Xiao Yeci was deeply curious about just how much Li Qi's rucksack could hold. Every single day, there was enough food to fill their bellies. After three days of walking, Xiao Yeci actually felt she had put on some weight.
Once they had eaten, drunk, and tidied up, Xiao Yeci and Juanzi went to sleep, while Li Banfeng slipped back into the companion dwelling.
Opening Xiao Yeci's notes and comparing them against the footage from the projector, Li Banfeng set to work drafting a map of Santoucha on his own.
The gramophone looked over and asked, "Precious husband, what is this pointy shape you drew?"
"A mountain."
"Then what about these two trees?"
"Trees are trees, of course."
"Why did you draw the trees as tall as the mountain?"
"Why fuss over details? As long as I understand it, it's fine."
"Husband is so thorough. You even drew a house next to the mountain."
"It can't really be called a house. It's just a cave where we can sleep."
The gramophone sighed. "Oh, husband, you might understand this map today, but in a few days, I fear no one will make head or tail of it. Just describe the route to Hanxue. She understands Western painting methods. Let her help you draw the map."
The Hanxue pendulum hurried over to assist Li Banfeng. Hong Ying was also skilled at painting, but the gramophone took no liking to her ink-wash style, leaving her to watch from the sidelines.
After watching for a while, Hong Ying grew sleepy. The clock pendulum was drawing far too slowly.
Li Banfeng asked, "Did you exhaust yourself over the past couple of days?"
The Hanxue pendulum did not know how to respond.
The past two days had only been spent traveling, and she hadn't been called upon to exert herself. Being tired was out of the question, yet she truly had grown noticeably sluggish.
After pondering for a long while, the pendulum offered an explanation: "Master, my body has felt inconvenient these past two days."
Hearing this, Hong Ying burst into hearty laughter. "You don't even have a body, and you dare speak of inconvenience!"
In this house, Hong Ying was the only one who truly had the right to speak of a body's inconveniences—her body had actually grown from herself.
The gramophone also gave a slight chuckle. "I think you're inconvenienced as well, Sister Hanxue. It seems to me your frame has grown quite plumper these past few days."
The pendulum quickly explained, "Mistress speaks the truth. When we dealt with Lai Baifan last time, I drank a great deal of extra blood. Since we haven't fought these past two days, I've been resting my form without moving around, so I've fattened up a whole ring. My movements truly aren't as nimble as before."
The gramophone brushed her stylus across the pendulum's body twice. "Very well, then get some good exercise and draw this map."
Deep into the night, when the map was seventy to eighty percent complete, Li Banfeng went to sleep, and the pendulum rested as well.
At four-thirty in the morning, the gramophone woke. She caught a faint stir of motion coming from the Second Chamber.
She wanted to activate Insight of Spiritual Sound to listen closely, but the flame on her chest flickered slightly. Though the movement was minuscule, it could not entirely mask the shift in light.
This was an annoying drawback. Every time she sought to deploy a technique, her flame shifted, and hiding it was no easy feat. An ordinary person would never notice, but the occupants of the Second Chamber were far from ordinary.
After another moment, the flame on the gramophone stabilized. The puppet resting to one side twitched, and the gramophone shifted herself into Zhao Xiaowan's body.
She had to exercise extreme caution when using this vessel. Although she had spent a long time adjusting to it, the puppet was far less nimble than the gramophone body most of the time; the slightest carelessness would stir up noise.
Fortunately, the puppet carried no open flame, allowing her to activate techniques without being detected.
Zhao Xiaowan stood in place and silently channeled Insight of Spiritual Sound, quickly catching the sounds from within the Second Chamber.
*Drip! Drop!*
The sound of dripping water.
More precisely, it was the sound of dripping blood.
The pendulum indeed stored a vast quantity of blood inside herself, but it was not for her own consumption. It was compensation she had saved for Red Lotus. The gramophone had caught onto the pendulum's little scheme long ago.
Right now, the pendulum was feeding blood to Red Lotus. And Red Lotus was an anomalous presence in this household, regarded with vigilance by everyone under their roof.
Had this been anyone else who uncovered such a thing, they would have dragged the pendulum out for severe punishment, perhaps even obliterating her to ash.
Yet the gramophone did not do so, for she understood the pendulum's motives.
The pendulum's dealings with Red Lotus were not aimed at vying for standing in the family, much less harming Li Banfeng. She simply wanted a physical body.
On that point, the gramophone sympathized entirely. Seeing Hong Ying possess a body made the gramophone jealous, and having obtained a puppet of her own brought her immense delight.
When the pendulum was alive, she had been a celebrated socialite of her era. Watching others possess bodies, how could she not crave one of her own? So long as she didn't cross the line, the gramophone wouldn't hold it against her. Otherwise, with so many individuals under this roof, if everyone were demanded to be free of selfish designs, life would simply become impossible.
What truly commanded the gramophone's attention was another exchange.
Two voices were speaking inside the Second Chamber:
"Were it not for him arriving a step ahead, how could someone with my boundless talent ever be willing to dwell beneath another?"
"Your natural gifts are indeed extraordinary, but the time has not yet come. Speaking of supplanting him now is premature."
"If I could join hands with you, elder brother, what great undertaking could ever fail?"
"Worthy brother, do not rush. I trust you, but the timing of our strike requires deliberate contemplation."
The murmurs in the Second Chamber gradually died down. The mistress reined in Insight of Spiritual Sound, and her soul slipped from the puppet, returning noiselessly to the gramophone's form.
Her flame burned steady as before, making her appear sound asleep, but her thoughts churned without pause.
*That wretch in the Second Chamber has made contact with an insider under our roof.*
*The insider's voice sounded muffled, impossible to identify for now.*
*They spoke in barely a whisper just now, so the pendulum certainly couldn't have heard. Had she heard, she wouldn't dare keep it from me.*
*Did Red Lotus hear?*
*That wench ought to have heard it. I just don't know which side she stands on.*
The gramophone cast a glance at Li Banfeng. He lay sprawled on the bed, sleeping soundly, occasionally giving her body a fond stroke or two.
*With such a massive crisis brewing at home, it's one thing for my husband to sleep peacefully unaware, but I never expected the Old Master to sleep so soundly as well. Does he truly not know, or does he simply refuse to get involved?*
The gramophone felt no panic. Having weathered countless battles, she had seen all manner of storms. Even if she meant to act, there was no need to rush this instant.
First, she had to discern what pathway and cultivation level the occupant of the Second Chamber possessed, and then find a way to drag the traitor into the light!
***
At daybreak the next morning, Li Banfeng stepped out of the companion dwelling, woke Juanzi and Xiao Yeci, and resumed their journey.
Leaving the cave, they walked twenty-odd li until the smoke thickened, sending Xiao Yeci into fit after fit of coughing.
"Are these the Smoked Lands?"
Juanzi nodded. "Seventh Mistress, walk faster, and cover your nose and mouth with a damp cloth."
The smoke carried a yellowish tint, and the sparse dirt on the ground was tinged yellow as well. Most striking of all were the smoke-scorched trees: from bough to foliage, every inch showed a uniform singed yellow. Paired with the sea of black stones, everything before them was an expanse of black and yellow. It truly seemed this was how the Black-Yellow Shoals earned its name.
After another hour of walking, Xiao Yeci took a step forward and found she couldn't even see the tips of her own shoes; the smoke had grown dense to that degree.
Wearing goggles and clutching a wet cloth over her mouth and nose, she stumbled forward, lacking even the strength left to cough.
After two more steps, her body wavered, and she collapsed to the ground. Li Banfeng swept Xiao Yeci into his arms and carried her back to the cave.
By afternoon, Xiao Yeci woke.
Li Banfeng had already prepared medicine, water, and food for her. "Yeci, head back to Radish Mountain and wait there. Once I return, I'll recount everything I saw on this journey."
Hearing this, a pang of heartache struck Xiao Yeci. "Benefactor, are you abandoning me?"
The words were somewhat improper, but in her frantic state, she paid it no heed.
Li Banfeng did not mince words either. "We've reached the Smoked Lands, and I still have to push ahead. You can't make the crossing, and I have no other choice."
"Benefactor, please let me try once more! If I take some medicine beforehand, I'll surely be able to endure it!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I believe you could push through. If this were a life-and-death battle, we would certainly hold out to the end. But right now, we are merely scouting the path. Risking your life for this isn't worth it."
Further words were pointless; Li Banfeng had made up his mind to send Xiao Yeci back. That evening, Xiao Yeci reorganized her notes, terrified of leaving out the slightest detail.
Li Banfeng had bestowed two Golden Origin Pills upon her, yet this was the only task she could help Li Qi with—and now she hadn't even finished it. Guilt weighed heavily on Xiao Yeci's heart.
Li Banfeng answered a phone call, placed by Liangwucai through Luo Zhengnan.
"Seventh Master, where have you reached?"
"We've arrived at the Black-Yellow Shoals, right on the verge of the Smoked Lands, resting in a cave." Li Banfeng didn't care to elaborate; Liangwucai was unfamiliar with the region, so giving too much detail served little purpose.
After listening, Liangwucai conferred briefly with the person beside her, then told Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, I know where you are. Wait for me at that cave for one day. I'll bring a guide to you. He says you'd best not take the Smoked Lands."
Where had a guide come from?
Could there truly be a guide more professional than Juanzi?
The moment she heard they wouldn't have to cross the Smoked Lands, Xiao Yeci was overjoyed. "Benefactor, if there's a path I can walk, you still have to take me along!"
The following afternoon, Liangwucai arrived with the guide.
Li Banfeng had taken three days because he had walked slowly, inspecting everything carefully along the way. Liangwucai, on the other hand, had moved with blistering speed. They had borrowed a numinous object from Qiu Zhiheng and sprinted all the way while hoisting the guide on their shoulders.
"What a pity. We missed all the scenery along the way," Liangcai remarked with a touch of melancholy.
Liangwu handed the guide over to Li Banfeng. The man was middle-aged, his gaze dull, his mouth and eyes crooked, appearing gravely ill.
Liangwu said, "Seventh Master, this is the scoundrel who went to the eatery to cause trouble—Tan Jinxiao, the above-the-clouds cultivator with three businesses.
"Tang Changfa and Qiu Zhiheng joined hands and battered him, and he won't be recovering anytime soon. He wants to serve as Seventh Master's guide to atone for his deeds and trade for his life."
Li Banfeng scrutinized Tan Jinxiao. The man walked unsteadily, spoke with air hissing through his crooked teeth, seemed to have barely any combat strength remaining, and appeared none too sharp in the head.
"He's in this state and can still act as a guide?"
Liangwu thumped her chest. "Seventh Master, don't worry. He can still tell right from wrong on major matters!"
Liangcai gave two dry coughs. "Don't hit so hard. That's my chest, too."
Liangwu promptly staged a test for Tan Jinxiao: "Old Tan, what should you do when you're hungry?"
"Eat!" Tan Jinxiao barked with ringing clarity.
Liangwu nodded. "Seventh Master, look at that! He has his major principles straight. Nothing wrong with him at all!"
Li Banfeng asked Tan Jinxiao, "If we don't cross the Smoked Lands, where do you plan to take us?"
"The Underground City!" Tan Jinxiao answered crisply.
Li Banfeng turned to Juanzi.
Juanzi shook her heads repeatedly. "I know such a place exists, but I've never been to the Underground City, and I don't know where the entrance is."
"The entrance is nearby." Tan Jinxiao looked at Juanzi, then back at Li Banfeng. "Hungry. Eat!"
Li Banfeng retrieved canned food from his rucksack. Xiao Yeci still couldn't fathom how many cans that rucksack could possibly hold. Counting Liangwucai, there were eight people now, yet the food remained abundant.
Once they had eaten their fill, Li Banfeng verified one more thing: "Can an ordinary person walk through the Underground City? Is there smoke down there?"
Xiao Yeci blushed. That question was clearly asked on her behalf. Among everyone present, she was the only one with an inadequate constitution. If the Underground City was also choked with smoke, there was no reason to let her take the risk.
Tan Jinxiao looked at Li Banfeng. "All the smoke in the Underground City vents into the Smoked Lands. Ordinary folks must never walk the Smoked Lands; they'd surely be choked to death."
From his words, Li Banfeng could roughly picture the state of the Underground City.
"If you want to go to the Underground City, we move out right now," Tan Jinxiao said, glancing outside the cave. "We'll definitely reach it before nightfall."
The party packed lightly and followed Tan Jinxiao toward the northwest. After trekking for over two hours, the road ahead ran out.
They had encountered neither mountain nor river; barring their way was a sheer precipice.
Standing at the edge and peering down, one could barely see thirty-odd meters before vast billows of mist obscured everything below, making it impossible to judge the depth or discern what lay beneath.
Xiao Yeci tossed a stone over the cliff. She waited for a long time, but heard no sound of it hitting the ground.
"Benefactor..." Xiao Yeci turned pale and looked at Li Banfeng. Before she could speak, Tan Jinxiao took a stride right off the cliff, hovered for a heartbeat, and vanished from sight.
Had he fallen to his death, or flown away?
Liangwucai was at a loss for how to explain: "Seventh Master, Qiu Zhiheng told us he couldn't fight anymore. We have no idea how he just flew off like that..."
Darkness was rapidly falling, and the heavenly light would soon descend. Returning to the cave now was out of the question; it seemed they would be left to be shined upon by heavenly light.
Li Banfeng remained unperturbed, for he knew Tan Jinxiao had not flown.
A flight of stairs ran along the cliff edge. Tan Jinxiao had walked down along those steps. Veiled by an illusion, ordinary eyes could not see them, making it appear that Tan Jinxiao had vanished. But with his Golden Eyes of Keen Detail, Li Banfeng saw everything with crystal clarity.
"I'm heading down the cliff first. Remember, I'm not falling, I'm walking down. Don't worry if you can't see me.
"There are stairs along the cliff face. Once I step onto them, I might disappear from your sight, but as long as you feel your way down, you'll be able to follow..." Li Banfeng offered a brief explanation, then began walking down the stairs, his strides calm and steady.
Narrow though the steps were, even if he misstepped and plunged, Li Banfeng wasn't worried—he could fly.
The others, however, possessed no such ability, and the descent filled them with dread.
Unable to see the steps, they probed downward inch by inch with their feet. Liangwu took a misstep into empty air, nearly scaring her soul right out of her form.
"Scared the life out of me! Be careful!"
"Do not be afraid, my sister," Liangcai comforted her. "If you scare yourself to death, I shall possess the body and you shall possess freedom. For both of us, it is a win-win arrangement."
Liangwu spat in disgust. "In a moment, I'll borrow a tool from Seventh Master to gag your mouth. I'll get peace, and you'll get comfort—that's a true win-win!"
Descending several dozen meters, Li Banfeng used his Golden Eyes of Keen Detail to spot a cavern, where Tan Jinxiao stood waiting at the entrance.
The party filed into the cave together. Only then did they shake free of the illusion and behold the entrance to the Underground City.
A cavern tens of yards wide opened before them, paved inside with a broad, flat road. It was hard to imagine that from the cliff above, they had been entirely unable to spot this cavern's location.
Tan Jinxiao pointed toward the depths of the cave. "This is the Underground City. Up ahead is the Human Market."
Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of place is the Human Market?"
"A place where people are sold."
"What else is there besides the Human Market?"
"There's also the Earth Market, where dirt is sold."
"And besides the Earth Market?"
"There's the Sea Market, where fish are sold."
Li Banfeng furrowed his brow. "Could there actually be a sea in the Underground City?"
"There is!" Tan Jinxiao nodded earnestly. "A massive sea!"
Beside them, Juanzi nodded. "That matches the rumors I heard as a child. There's a sea in the Underground City, with endless fish and shrimp, where no one ever goes hungry."
Tan Jinxiao shook his head. "People still starve."
Li Banfeng grew deeply intrigued by this Underground City. "Besides the Sea Market, is there anywhere else?"
"Yes, but you can't go to that remaining place. That is the Heavenly Market Enclosure."
"What kind of place is the Heavenly Market Enclosure?"
"A wonderful place. I reckon it must be a wonderful place!" Tan Jinxiao took the lead. "Let's head to the Human Market first. I know that place best. Ever since the fighting ended, I've lived there!"
Did he say fighting?
"What war did you fight in?"
Tan Jinxiao froze. "What war? Who said anything to you about fighting a war?"
Before Li Banfeng could press further, Tan Jinxiao strode ahead.
The group followed Tan Jinxiao deep into the cavern. Torches lined the rock walls on both sides, lending the corridor a nostalgic aura reminiscent of period costume dramas.
That ancient atmosphere did not last long. As Li Banfeng reached the first intersection, he saw two railway tracks stretching ahead.
*Chug-chug! Chug-chug!*
A steam train roared past before their eyes, its billowing vapor instantly blowing away every trace of ancient nostalgia.
The train carried coal, and its cars were open-topped. The train was not moving fast. Tan Jinxiao leaped aboard a car, poked his head out, and waved toward Li Banfeng.
Boarding a train was hardly an ordeal. Forget Li Banfeng; even Xiao Yeci, with the weakest physical prowess among them, was a third-tier Literary Cultivator and slipped into the car with ease.
Tan Jinxiao declared, "I'm not looking to hitch a free ride on his train, nor am I trying to take advantage of his petty favors. There's deep wisdom in this—follow along and learn!"
What deep wisdom?
The cave was narrow and winding, obscuring the path ahead. Li Banfeng asked Tan Jinxiao, "Where is this train headed?"
"To the factory. The factories are all in the Human Market. Without people, where would you get factories?" Tan Jinxiao sprawled across the pile of coal, his eyelids growing heavy, and soon drifted off to sleep.
The train ran for over an hour before coming to a halt. The sideboards of the car clattered open, making Xiao Yeci nervous. "Benefactor, shouldn't we get off in advance? Ending up like this doesn't look very good."
Li Banfeng didn't pay it much mind. Catching a ride was hardly a grave offense.
Xiao Yeci patted her pockets, preparing to offer a polite explanation, or simply pay for the fare if all else failed.
A man stood outside the car, dressed in a black cloth shirt and a coolie hat. He glanced over the group and asked, "You've arrived?"
Huh?
Li Banfeng paused.
The way he asked sounded as if they were old acquaintances.
Tan Jinxiao woke with a start, stood up, and nodded. "We've arrived!"
The man outside the car eyed Li Banfeng. "From the looks of your clothes, you don't seem like someone in this line of work!"
Tan Jinxiao chuckled. "Different clothes suit different tastes. Never mind what we wear—we don't cut corners on the job."
"Fair enough," the man grunted coldly. "You know how to conduct business. Two dollars per head for this run. Go fetch your tools."
With that, the man walked away.
Tan Jinxiao hopped down from the train and yelled, "Brothers, grab your gear!"
"Grab what gear?" Li Banfeng still didn't comprehend. Were they about to smash up someone's factory?
Tan Jinxiao replied with solemn gravity, "This job isn't easy, but they pay well!"
Li Banfeng asked, "What job is it, exactly?"
Without explaining further, Tan Jinxiao returned from a corner of the platform carrying several shovels. "Here, one for each of you. Don't fight over them."
Holding a shovel, Li Banfeng asked, "What are we holding these for?"
Tan Jinxiao snorted. "One look at you lot and I knew you'd never worked this trade before. This is a big venture! You all have to listen to me: plunge the shovel into the coal, and once it's in, fling it out!"
*Scrape, clatter—*
Tan Jinxiao demonstrated a few times.
Li Banfeng watched and realized the work required a bit of technique. Every shovel of coal Tan Jinxiao threw landed at nearly the identical distance, forming a tidy pile on the ground.
*This is worth learning!*
Li Banfeng drove his shovel into the coal, scraping and tossing two scoops outward.
Tan Jinxiao marveled, "Fine form! Your throws are plenty accurate!"
Li Banfeng smiled. "Need you say it? Within five meters, I never miss."
Tan Jinxiao bellowed, "Don't just stand idle! Put your backs into it!"
Juanzi was fairly familiar with this kind of labor. "Did you bring us here to unload coal?"
Tan Jinxiao puffed out his chest. "Aye, of course!"
Li Banfeng froze, holding his shovel. "Why on earth would we do that?"
Tan Jinxiao froze as well. "Listen to yourself! They're paying money—two dollars per head!"
*Clang!*
Li Banfeng tossed his shovel aside and climbed down from the train.
Liangcai let out a sigh. "Is he truly lucid right now?"
Liangwu asked, "Do you mean Seventh Master, or Tan Jinxiao?"
Liangwu pondered for a moment. "Is either of the two lucid?"
Liangcai grew exasperated. "Stop talking nonsense and get off the train!"
Tan Jinxiao rushed forward to catch up with Li Banfeng. "There are over a dozen train cars here! Now isn't the time to throw a tantrum. We have to hurry with the work—two dollars is no small sum!"
Li Banfeng snorted. "Never mind two dollars, I wouldn't do it for five!"
Tan Jinxiao twisted his lip. "You want five dollars? Are you out of your mind? I grabbed this job ahead of the crowd! Go ask around outside—there are plenty of folks willing to do it for one dollar!"
The train had stopped inside a factory. Li Banfeng looked around at the workshop buildings: steam turbines, conveyor belts, pressure-reducing valves... all standard equipment for a steam workshop.
The largest boiler house stood right ahead, its most prominent features being a massive steam drum and a towering smokestack.
This smokestack was peculiar: half of it was built inside the cavern, while the other half pierced directly through the cavern ceiling, leading who knew where.
"Does this smokestack run all the way outside the cave?"
"Aye!" Tan Jinxiao nodded. "Otherwise, where do you think the Smoked Lands came from?"
Stepping outside the factory, Li Banfeng looked around. Crowds of people waited for work by the factory gates, including both three-headed people and ordinary folk. Many held shovels, shouting loudly, "Need hands, Boss? Just one dollar!"
They were all shouting toward Li Banfeng, as he was dressed the most exquisitely.
Tan Jinxiao chimed in beside him, "See, I wasn't spouting nonsense! Look, those folks brought their own shovels and only ask for a single dollar!"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "This isn't about money."
Tan Jinxiao frowned. "You still think it's too little? That's how life works in the Human Market: earn one dollar a day and you have food to eat; earn two dollars and you get vegetables; earn three dollars and you can have meat.
"We unload these cars, do a bit of extra work, and today we'll have meat! Are you still unsatisfied, or what?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's not that I'm unsatisfied."
"Then what game are you playing? Refusing work when it's right in front of you—isn't that just foolish?" Tan Jinxiao thought it over, seemingly realizing Li Banfeng's concern. "Are you afraid they won't pay up?
"Let me tell you, there's no need to fear that either. If they dare welch on the debt, we'll lie right down in front of their factory gates! Let them kick us, let them stomp us, we just won't leave!
"If they've got the guts, let them beat us to death! If they don't, they'll have to hand over every single copper without missing a dime! Stick with me, and you'll never lose out!"
P.S.: Now Li Banfeng knew where Tan Jinxiao's cultivation had really come from.
Chapter 643