PFC Chapter 203 Inquiry
Chapter 203 Inquiry
Chu Ling's eyes darkened. "Should I have Xuan Feng and the others go look for them?"
Xie Yan flicked the corner of her clothes noncommittally, "Based on my intuition, there's a high chance they can't be found."
After all, finding someone on a ship sailing on the high seas can be either very easy or extremely difficult.
Xie Yan and Chu Ling exchanged a knowing glance, each seeing something in the other's eyes, and a vague suspicion formed in their hearts.
The sun rose higher and higher on the horizon, shining on the calm sea, making it shimmer and almost blinding.
As time went by, more and more people gathered on the deck, and the atmosphere on the ship gradually became lively.
Xuanfeng leaned idly against the mast, watching the boatmen chatting in a group not far away.
A moment later, he took a few steps forward and leaned closer, saying, "Judging from your accents, you must be from Qianzhou, right?"
He smiled憨厚ly and said, "Coincidentally, so am I."
Upon hearing this, the boatmen stopped laughing and talking abruptly, exchanged glances, and a hint of wariness flashed in their eyes.
But soon, one of the older boatmen responded with a smile, "Yes, I really didn't expect to meet a fellow villager here."
He looked Xuanfeng up and down, then asked with a smile, "Fellow villager, where in Qianzhou are you from?"
Xuanfeng didn't hesitate for a moment, "I'm from Beijiang Village in Qianzhou, and you are?"
Upon hearing this, the boatman's expression became more sincere. "That is indeed quite a coincidence. We are from Pingqing Town in Qianzhou, which is quite close by."
Xuanfeng gave a friendly smile, patted the boatman on the shoulder, and said, "Yes, Qianzhou is far away with high mountains and deep waters. Very few people would go south to make a living, let alone do this kind of job on a boat where they are exposed to the wind and sun!"
The old boatman chuckled casually, "Hey, we illiterate, roughnecks are only good at this kind of rough work!"
His eyes darted around, and before Xuanfeng could ask a question, he countered, "Let's not talk about us, brother, what about you? What's going on?"
Xuanfeng scratched his head. "A few years ago, I learned some martial arts. I was originally a wandering swordsman, but my master took a liking to me and recruited me to his mansion as a guard."
Upon hearing this, the old boatman nodded and withdrew his gaze from Xuanfeng. "I see. No wonder you look like a martial arts expert, brother."
"Speaking of which."
Xuanfeng suddenly became serious. "My master asked me to inquire about this."
As he spoke, he walked over to the other boatmen, smiling as he handed each of them a piece of silver. "May I ask where the boat owner is from? What is his temperament like? What are his preferences?"
The boatmen accepted his money, but did not answer his question. Instead, their hostility grew, and a hint of ill intent flashed in their eyes.
"You're just passing by on the way, why are you asking so many questions?"
"You're even asking about our boss now? What are you trying to do?"
The group took a few steps forward, intentionally or unintentionally surrounding Xuanfeng.
Some of the boatmen even touched the knives at their waists, as if they would not hesitate to cleave Xuanfeng in two if his answer was even slightly wrong.
However, Xuanfeng seemed completely oblivious to the wary yet hostile gazes of the crowd.
Fortunately, he spent a considerable amount of time with Xie Yan, which helped him hone and improve his acting skills.
Xuanfeng chuckled, a hint of ingratiation on his face, and said, "Well, our master is also in business. He thinks that the more friends you make, the more opportunities you have."
"He saw so many wealthy merchants on the ship and thought that perhaps the business would be more profitable and he could make more money after developing the sea route."
"So I also wanted to get to know the captain and get closer to him, so that I would have more options in the future. That's why I asked you all to inquire about this."
Xuanfeng's words were not only sincere, but his expression was also extremely flattering and ingratiating, making him seem like a servant who was thinking of his master, leaving no room for doubt.
Upon hearing this, the boatmen exchanged glances, their expressions gradually softening.
However, he still looked somewhat wary, clearly not having completely dispelled his suspicions.
They exchanged glances, and finally, the old boatman stepped forward again.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "Doing business is easy. But first, we need to tell you what your master does. Our boss doesn't take on just any business."
"Oh, our master used to run a silk shop, but business has been slow lately, so he has started a porcelain business as well."
At this point, Xuanfeng paused, his expression changed, and he sighed with a worried look on his face.
Then he continued, "However, as you all know, the porcelain business is easy to do, but the carriages are always bumpy when transporting goods, and they are always prone to breakage. Once they are broken, they have to be replaced. With all this back and forth, you don't even make much money before you lose everything."
"So when our master went south to discuss business, he saw this ship and thought that perhaps we could travel by water, which would save us the journey and reduce the risk of the porcelain breaking, wouldn't it?"
As Xuanfeng spoke, he eagerly distributed several pieces of silver to everyone, saying, "Brothers, please put in a good word for us with the ship owner. Once this is done, our master will certainly not treat you unfairly."
His heartfelt words, coupled with the offer of money, gradually swayed many people.
The old boatman glanced at the expressions of the others and understood. He then waved his hand, signaling Xuanfeng to wait a moment.
The next moment, he led the other boatmen a little further away and began whispering among themselves.
"I think this business is good. Should we talk to the boss about it?"
"No, they're not regular customers, and no one introduced them. What if something happens to them?"
"What could possibly go wrong? It's just a few more boxes of goods. We have plenty of people, so we can just keep a closer eye on things!"
“That’s right. Although that job pays well, you can’t do it all the time. In my opinion, it would be better to do some legitimate business…”
This group thought they were speaking softly, but little did they know that Xuanfeng's martial arts skills were far superior to what they had imagined.
Therefore, every word of these words reached Xuanfeng's ears without being missed.
He remained calm and composed, waiting expectantly for the outcome of the discussion.
A moment later, the old boatman led the others back to him and said, "We'll go and tell the boss later. You can go back and wait for news."
"Okay, okay, then I'll leave it to you all."
Xuanfeng nodded repeatedly with great delight, but the moment he turned to leave, he frowned deeply.
Although he didn't manage to glean any useful information from their conversation, he did glean several strange observations from their words.
What kind of merchant ships only do business through introductions from "regular customers"?
Furthermore, judging from their words, could it be that they are not engaged in legitimate business?
However, before he could figure anything out, a commotion suddenly came from the other end of the deck.
Xuanfeng looked up and spotted his group among the noisy crowd.
Yu Bai hurried over and, before he could ask any questions, said with a complicated expression, "Someone over there wants to buy Sister Tao Xian."
Xuanfeng: "..."
WTF?
Who? Who's so reckless?