Chapter 83: Finding trouble

Li Qi and Sixth Uncle immediately stopped their conversation and rushed out.

They saw that the Boat Towmen outside were surrounding a burly man, and it seemed a conflict had broken out between the two sides.

The loud explosion earlier was the sound of wooden boards being smashed.

Seeing this, Sixth Uncle frowned, then stopped Li Qi, who was about to go out, and said, "Although the officials don't care, we shouldn't be too arrogant. I'll go see what's happening first. You stay out of sight; otherwise, it'll be difficult to save Face."

Since Sixth Uncle said so, Li Qi temporarily stopped and watched from a distance.

As Sixth Uncle walked over, the agitated Boat Towmen also stopped.

Sixth Uncle was the spokesperson for the Paibo Gang, so his words carried weight, and everyone stopped.

Amidst the Boat Towmen' encirclement, Sixth Uncle walked to the front of the crowd and looked at the well-built, tall middle-aged man in front of him, a puzzled expression appearing on his Face.

"Zhang Caitou, what is the meaning of this? Our Paibo Gang has no grievances with you, yet you come here, hitting people and smashing doors. Do you really think we have no temper? If you don't give an explanation today, your vegetable stall will never be able to transport goods from the Li Shui River again!" Sixth Uncle stepped forward; although he was shorter than Zhang Caitou, his Aura was not. He walked up to him and pointed at his nose.

"Oh, the Paibo Gang, after destroying the Strongmen Gang last time, you've grown a temper. You even want to block my vegetable stall?" Zhang Caitou crossed his arms, not at all nervous. "Haha, I thought you were a boat Gang. A few Boat Towmen who help the boat Gang pull boats dare to speak to me like this? Dare not to accept my boats? Do you think the boat Gang will spare you?"

He wasn't afraid at all. After all, with boats coming and going on the Li Shui River, the ones who truly called the shots were the dozen or so boat Gangs and the docks; these were the ones who could control the movement of ships.

Other boatmen, sailors, laborers, and Boat Towmen—these Gangs—all worked for them.

Above the boat Gangs was the漕运使 (Caoyunshi), a genuine high-ranking official! He had influence in the city; a single word from him could replace an entire generation of Gangs below.

Therefore, Zhang Caitou was not at all afraid of his small vegetable transport boats being threatened.

"I wouldn't dare not accept your orders, but I can make five out of ten of your boats capsize! You're just a vegetable head, selling vegetables from the East Market. If things really get like this, do you think your family's boss will spare you?!" Sixth Uncle put his hands on his hips and continued to curse.

Li Qi listened from the side and gradually understood the situation.

Why would this Zhang Caitou come here to cause trouble for no reason?

According to the rules of the lower strata of Li Prefecture City, the leader of a Gang controlling a certain market is generally called a "Dangtou."

"Dang" refers to a stall, broadly referring to a market for a certain business, or a classification within a large market.

For example, there are food stalls, vegetable stalls, fish stalls, and so on.

And this "Caitou" (vegetable head) is responsible for one of the businesses within a certain "Dangtou."

Besides the Dangtou, there are about ten such Caitous in the East Market's vegetable stall, each with their own connections and networks.

Some have their own vegetable fields, some represent a certain village specializing in growing only one type of vegetable, and some are connected to merchants, able to buy wild vegetables from mountain villages. In short, these Caitous all have the ability to consistently supply a certain type of vegetable to the market.

Zhang Caitou was one of the Caitous under the vegetable stall in Li Prefecture City's East Market.

Although this breakdown makes it seem insignificant, in reality, he was much more prominent than the Paibo Gang. Li Qi also knew Zhang Caitou; he was responsible for selling Chinese cabbage, and he had three boats and four carts, bringing fresh Chinese cabbage from villages outside the city every day to sell at the vegetable stall.

The Paibo Gang occasionally received his orders to help transport his vegetable cargo boats.

But for some unknown reason, why did he come to the Paibo Gang's territory to cause trouble today?

Li Qi quietly hid himself, grabbed his long saber, and hid behind the crowd, ensuring his figure was obscured while making it difficult for the other party to easily see him.

Upon hearing the phrase "five out of ten boats capsize," Zhang Caitou's expression noticeably changed, clearly indicating that this threat was effective for him.

But he immediately took a step forward and cursed, "Trying to scare me? Do you think the Paibo Gang is the only one in the entire city who knows how to handle water? I'll go find the fish stall boss; aren't those guys better at underwater work than you?!"

"Then go find them! Today, I'll make you crawl to find them! Brothers, surround him! If he dares to move, break his legs!" With Sixth Uncle's command, the Boat Towmen immediately rushed out, forming a circle and surrounding Zhang Caitou.

"Do you really think your amateur skills can stop me? In the water, I might fear you three points, but on land, with just you guys?" Zhang Caitou was not afraid at all, pulling out the ironwood stick from his waist and looking around.

"Then try to make a move?!" Sixth Uncle raised his neck and shouted.

The situation seemed heated.

However, Li Qi knew that a fight was unlikely.

For people at the bottom, getting injured was life-threatening; they didn't have the capital to risk their lives so much.

Besides, in his opinion, the current situation was probably a stalemate.

Could the Paibo Gang stop Zhang Caitou?

Most likely not. A large number of people wouldn't help. If Zhang Caitou risked breaking a leg or an arm, it wouldn't be difficult for him to break out. At that point, the Paibo Gang would inevitably suffer a dozen injuries, and people might even die.

But was Zhang Caitou afraid?

Although he was shouting fiercely now, he was definitely nervous inside. If his leg were truly broken, he would lose Face.

In the lower strata, Face is always the most important thing. Without Face, many things that weren't problems before would become obstacles.

Therefore, in the end, both sides would likely compromise and then begin negotiations.

It's just that he didn't know... what Zhang Caitou was thinking.

Why would he come alone to the Paibo Gang's territory to cause trouble?

The farmers under his command also had a lot of strength. If he had brought them all, along with himself, the Paibo Gang would only be able to hide in the water.

Yet he came alone. If he were really to get his leg broken, the loss would be significant.

Indeed, as Li Qi expected, after a period of shouting and bickering, the two sides finally reached the point where they needed to talk.

"Zhang Caitou, what exactly did you come here for? If it's just to argue, our brothers aren't willing to humor you. If a real fight breaks out, you'll be the only one to suffer." Sixth Uncle frowned, issuing what amounted to a final ultimatum.

"Heh, then I won't beat around the bush. You Paibo Gang, you have a happy occasion today, don't you?" Zhang Caitou saw the topic shift from arguing to business and dropped his pretentious act.

"Whether we have a happy occasion or not, what does it have to do with you?" Sixth Uncle's heart tightened, unsure of what the other party meant.

After all, there was indeed a happy occasion: Li Qi had returned, and he had even made something of himself. Wasn't that a huge happy occasion?

"Of course, it has nothing to do with me, but we have a big shot above us, a big shot comparable to the East City Constable! He sent me here, telling me to ask about your happy occasion!" Zhang Caitou swayed his head, speaking proudly.