Chapter 77: Iâm Merely Afraid That You Canât Take It
Translator: Fan Translation Studio
âLike a tall tree catches the wind, is it because Baoshan has drawn great attention from the tug of war contest that these thugs come after him?â
âBashan is so quiet and simple in his daily life. Do you think heâll fight with those people?â
âIâm afraid Baoshan will suffer.â
âWeâre all from the same village so should we give Baoshan a hand?â
âAre you stupid? Those are horrible inhuman thugs and if we step up to them we may get our families in trouble. We canât possibly help him.â
ââ¦â
The villagers from Daliang kept discussing and chattering. It was true that Xiao Baoshan was great at pulling ropes in the tug of war contest and that he was strong, but most honest people were more or less cowardly, so Xiao Baoshan may not dare to fight.
Besides, although there were only three or four of those gangsters at the present, who knew how many would come later on. The most concerning thing was that they tended to take revenge afterwards and ask others to come to settle old scores.
Everyone was staring at Xiao Baoshan and felt worried for him.
Xiao Baoshan, however, strolled towards Third Xing. He was a good foot taller than Third Xing and his imposing manner showed the moment he stood in front of Third Xing.
Xiao Baoshanâs voice was coa.r.s.e and deep. âI can fight you, but before that I want to know who you people are.â
âA fight is a fight so why should I tell you who we are? I fight you because I donât see eye to eye.â Third Xing was trying to agitate Xiao Baoshan.
âIf you tell me I can take it as a match of martial skills but if you do not tell me then donât blame me for being reckless.â
Third Xingâs hands suddenly trembled.
He had felt Xiao Baoshanâs aura and the pressure he brought so he was forced to keep pace with Xiao Baoshan.
âHoho, my family name is Xing and my surname, Third. The reason my ma named me like this is because Iâm her third son. My ma canât read so she couldnât think of other grand names.â
Third Xing continued, âSo, Iâm in charge of the dock and sometimes sail on the cargo s.h.i.+p. Whatâ¦what about you?â
âA humble handyman working for the government office,â said Xiao Baoshan simply.
âAs a handyman you should know your stuff. Cut the c.r.a.p and letâs begin!â Third Xing began to pose as if he were going to attack.
But Xiao Baoshan was standing still.
âWhen youâre in a fight pose like a fight. What are you doing?â asked Third Xing.
Xiao Baoshan simply said to him, âJust go for it. I donât need any pose.â
âWell then, donât complain later that I bullied you!â Third Xing rushed to Xiao Baoshan while speaking.
However, Xiao Baoshan put his hands behind and simply stepped away and dodged Third Xingâs blow easily.
Third Xing paused in a daze, thinking that he may actually have come across a master.
Third Xing refused to admit to being inferior so he turned around and did a back kick towards Xiao Baoshan.
Again Xiao Baoshan dodged by leaning to one side and after he avoided Third Xingâs kick Xiao Baoshan suddenly punched him on the back. The blow made Third Xing wobble on his feet and he fell off directly forward. Third Xing fell to the ground, making his other partners petrified.
Third Xing had also practiced martial arts and had very ruthless moves. Who did not know his toughness at the dock? But it turned out that he could not take a single blow from Xiao Baoshan.
âBoss, are you okay?â One of his men was coming to help him stand up.
âBoss, are you alright?â asked another.
âBoss, what happened just now? Why did you suddenly fall down?â
Third Xing stood up quickly but his legs were trembling slightly.
Those laymen could only see that he was. .h.i.t with a blow but only Third Xing himself knew that the blow was with extremely strong inward power. Although it had only impacted on his skin and flesh, it had shaken his internal organs.
Xiao Baoshan had not exhausted his strength and at most only used fifty percent of it. Xiao Baoshan was as stable as a mountain. He looked at the other men. âDo you want to come at me together?â
âBoss, heâs so c.o.c.ky. Shall we fight him together and see how capable he really is?â One of Third Xingâs men said.
Third Xing, however, waved his hands and stopped his men and shouted angrily, âWhat do you want to fight for? Have you forgotten our purpose for coming and standing there?â
They were here to wait for Xiao Baoshan and get him to join his group.
Then Third Xing had changed his att.i.tude completely. Covering his sore chest, Third Xing breathed deeply a couple of times then walked in front of Xiao Baoshan. âBrother Xiao, to be honest, we brothers are not coming here to have a fight with you but to win your over.â
âWin me over?â Xiao Baoshan recalled that Third Xing was working at the dock. Could it be that he was trying to win him over and get him to take care of the dock?
Third Xing walked to Xiao Baoshan and his c.o.c.ky att.i.tude was long gone. âBrother Xiao, you said that you worked as a handyman for the government office, right? As far as I know a handyman usually only earns one tael of silver per month and at most can make one and a half taels. I meant to sound you out just now, thinking that if youâre good at fighting Iâll win you over to work on the dock. What do you say? Does it interest you?â
Xiao Baoshan did not say anything but just looked at Third Xing.
Third Xing then explained. âOur job is not laborious. Itâs just a care-taker job. You just have to make sure that other fleets donât occupy our route as well as look after the goods weâre charged with. Well, occasionally there might be some disputes and you have to settle them with fists but no oneâs ever died over them. It sounds hard but youâll get paid well. As long as youâre good youâll be paid five tales a month. To earn that much by working in the government office takes almost half a year.â
Others in the surrounding crowd were closely watching what was going on. Faced with such a turn of events everyone was very surprised and hearing that this salary was five taels a month all of them were exclaiming.
âFive tales a month!â
âI canât make that much in over a half a year.â
âFive taels is only the legal wage. There must be a lot of illegal money to be made. Itâs a good deal for Baoshan.â
âThatâs right. Baoshan is so good at fighting and wonât really suffer any loss.â
ââ¦â
Ye Xiaoxian and Li Hongmei also looked at each other. Ye Xiaoxian could not make the decision for Xiao Baoshan as this was his own business.
Furthermore, she herself felt that working at the dock was better than working in the government office as a handyman. Being a handyman also required facing a lot of unexpected things and was also inferior in terms of cla.s.s, as one had to listen to whatever his superior ordered. At least working at the dock probably allowed one more freedom.
Third Xing was still waiting for Xiao Baoshanâs answer.
Xiao Baoshan pondered on it and he nodded as expected. âIf I am going, where can I find you? And when will you want me to start working?â
Third Xing was pleased and replied quickly, âYou can come anytime you want, now or, if you would like to spend a little more quality time with your wife, you can come in a few more days, but donât come too late. By the way, five taels a month is only a temporary salary. If you work hard you can get even more. Some of us in the dock can make ten taels a month.â
âRight, I wonât let you wait too long. Please make way for us to pa.s.s through. My family and I are going home to eat our meal,â said Xiao Baoshan again.
Third Xing immediately made way for them. Xiao Baoshan walked pa.s.sed him and the others hurriedly followed close behind.
Third Xing was still covering his chest.
âBoss, is he really that capable?â asked a man of Third Xing named Skinny Monkey.
Third Xing could no longer stop himself from coughing, although he had been doing his best to hold it back for the sake of saving his face. After he coughed he replied impatiently, âCapable or not, why donât you ask him for a fight yourself when he comes to work? But Iâm only afraid with a figure like yours, you couldnât possibly take itâ¦â