Chapter 97: The Honest Folk of Blue Poplar Village

Greenwater Bay housed the largest city in Puluo.

But Blue Poplar Village didn't look much like a city at all.

And in truth, it wasn't. The real city was Greenwater City. Blue Poplar Village could be considered a remote suburb at best.

Standing by the roadside, Li Banfeng looked into the distance. The place didn't resemble an ordinary village either. The houses were packed far too closely together, and there were hardly any fields in sight.

Blue Poplar Village wasn't a town either; it didn't quite resemble the Inner Gully in Medicine King Gully.

The houses here were shabbier, filthier, and built with less care than those in the Inner Gully. Many were made of stacked bricks and stones, still considerably sturdy. However, some were just simple wooden huts without foundations. Worse still, some others were nothing more than thatched shacks.

As Li Banfeng studied the strange landscape of Blue Poplar Village, he heard a deep rumble.

Huff~ Clang! Huff~ Clang!

What was that?!

Li Banfeng flinched, thinking a train was coming.

He turned around and found there was indeed something massive rolling toward him.

But it wasn't a train. There were no rails beneath it.

Its shape, however, was strikingly similar: a cylindrical, pitch-black train head about eight or nine meters long, over three meters tall, and more than two meters in diameter.

However, in place of the expected train wheels beneath the train, there were two enormous rollers.

Li Banfeng finally realised what this vehicle was; it was a road roller.

However, he had never seen this particular design before. This road roller was steam-powered.

Workers stood on top of the machine, shoveling coal into its boiler.

The boiler had only just begun to heat up, so there wasn't enough pressure yet. Steam hissed from the valve in steady bursts as the connecting rods struggled to turn.

A road roller here, near Blue Poplar Village?

That was quite a surprise to Li Banfeng.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to move closer for a look, he was approached by a young man in his early twenties. He wore suspenders, carried a cane, and sported a small mustache above his upper lip.

Judging by his outfit, the mustached youth seemed like a respectable sort.

"From out of town?" the mustached man greeted him first.

Li Banfeng nodded.

"First time in Blue Poplar Village?"

Li Banfeng didn't deny it.

The mustached man gave him a friendly smile. "You got any money?"

Are the people of Blue Poplar Village all this friendly?

Starting a conversation with such a personal question?

Is this how people greet newcomers here?

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yeah."

"How much?" the mustached man asked. He drew a dagger from his pocket and pressed it against Li Banfeng's stomach.

Are people here all this straightforward?

This is happening right on the street. There are people walking ahead, and there's a road roller rumbling behind us.

Yet, this man so casually pressed a knife against my gut?

Does no one care?

Up ahead, an older woman noticed Li Banfeng was being robbed in broad daylight. She immediately scooped up her child and went back inside her house.

Clearly, that elder sister is a kindhearted person. She couldn't bear to watch an out-of-towner like me get bullied.

Nearby, a burly man stood with his arms crossed, grinning as he watched Li Banfeng.

That elder brother is obviously a friendly person. His smile is meant to encourage me, to give me the courage and confidence to stand up to the robber.

The workers on the road roller glanced briefly in Li Banfeng's direction, then they went right back to their tasks as if nothing had happened.

These workers must truly love their work and their lives, fully devoted to their craft.

The mustached man pressed the dagger hard against Li Banfeng's stomach and barked, "I asked how much money you have!"

It seems this mustached man is also very dedicated to his job.

Li Banfeng said calmly, "I have plenty of money, but that doesn't mean I'll give it to you."

The mustached man bared his teeth in a grin. "You don't want to give me the money? You tired of living?"

Li Banfeng grinned as well. "It's not that I can't give it to you, but first, tell me, are you a cultivator?"

"You won't give me the money just because I'm not a cultivator?" the mustached man hissed. Glaring at Li Banfeng, he pulled the dagger back and thrust it toward Li Banfeng's belly.

Li Banfeng stepped back to dodge the stab, then he kicked forward, hitting the mustached man right in the balls. He chided the mustached man, "You're not a cultivator, yet you dare to rob people?"

The mustached man felt something tear. His face turned pale as he pointed the dagger shakily at Li Banfeng. "Don't come any closer. I'm a cultivator!"

"You are? Then why didn't you say so earlier? Why did you lie to me?" Li Banfeng said, giving him another kick right in the same spot.

The mustached man felt something snap. Trembling all over, he replied, "My cultivation is of a very high level. I just didn't want to use it on you."

"How high exactly? Speak clearly!"

Li Banfeng kicked him again, striking the same part.

The mustached man felt like his family jewels had shattered. His voice trembled as he croaked, "I'm about to enter the first layer."

Ah, so he hasn't even entered the first layer yet.

"What Daoist path?" Li Banfeng asked, delivering yet another kick.

This time, the mustached man didn't feel much pain.

It seemed there was nothing left to hurt.

"I'm an Agrarian Cultivator..."

"An Agrarian Cultivator, yet you're not farming. Instead, you're robbing people!" Li Banfeng shouted, kicking him one final time.

The mustached man's eyes rolled back as he collapsed to his knees.

Li Banfeng took the mustached man's dagger. Wearing a pleasant smile, he turned to the burly onlooker standing nearby.

Li Banfeng greeted him warmly. "Brother, you got any money?"

The burly man didn't dare reply. He turned and bolted.

Why run? Isn't this how everyone in Blue Poplar Village greets each other?

Li Banfeng dragged the mustached man into an alley. Once he confirmed there was no one around, he tossed him into the Pocket Dwelling.

"My dear wife, dinner's ready!"

The mustached man let out a miserable wail and tried to flee.

Li Banfeng picked up the mustached man's cane, cracked his legs with it, and handed him over to the Gramophone.

Steam swirled in the air as the Gramophone devoured the mustached man's soul. Then she gently brushed her needle across the record.

Is she... brushing her teeth?

Li Banfeng asked, "My dear, how was the food today?"

Chhh.

The Gramophone purred in delight. "Fresh, sweet, and smooth... truly unforgettable, but it's not quite enough to fill me~"

Not enough, as usual.

Li Banfeng was already used to it.

While the Arcane Crimson Lotus consumed the mustached man's corpse, Li Banfeng examined the mustached man's belongings.

Though the man had taken to highway robbery, he was actually quite well-off.

There were over eight hundred Huan yuan and six silver dollars.

Six silver dollars were worth over three thousand yuan. With that kind of money, there was no need for him to rob people. He could have found a job or even started a small business.

The mustache man's dagger wasn't worth much though. Li Banfeng saw it as trash and tossed it away.

But the mustached man's cane, on the other hand, was quite nice. Li Banfeng gave it a few swings, and something occurred to him.

Every time he picked up his feather duster, he always felt like a proper gentleman.

However, thinking about it now, perhaps it wasn't the feather duster he should've been holding; it should've been a cane like this one.

Yes, that's right. I need a cane!

Li Banfeng recalled the patrons of the Elysian Melody Dancehall. Every one of them had carried a cane.

In Puluo, anyone of status carried one.

A cane, paired with a suit and a fedora—that was the mark of a true gentleman.

Once the Arcane Crimson Lotus was done with the corpse, it produced a red pill. With the cane in hand, Li Banfeng grabbed the trash and left the Pocket Dwelling.

He needed to find somewhere to eat and get a feel for Blue Poplar Village while he was at it.

The narrow streets were packed with houses, but there were plenty of eateries among them. Li Banfeng spotted a noodle shop that offered mutton noodles for five yuan. It was a fair price, so he went in and ordered a bowl of noodles.

After finishing the noodles, he went to pay. However, the shopkeeper said the bill was three hundred and thirty yuan.

Li Banfeng blinked in surprise. "Wasn't it five?"

The shopkeeper replied matter-of-factly, "Five yuan per strand of noodle. We served you sixty-six strands of noodle, an auspicious number for good fortune. That makes three hundred thirty yuan in total."

Li Banfeng stared at him and asked in disbelief, "You sell noodles by the strand?"

The shopkeeper nodded. "Always have!"

Li Banfeng's eyes went wide. "You've

always

sold by the strand?"

Everyone else in the restaurant turned toward him, nodding in perfect unison. They said simultaneously, "This shop has

always

sold noodles by the strand. It's a decades-old tradition. It has never once changed."

Li Banfeng glanced around. "So this whole place is full of shills, and I'm the only real customer?"

The shopkeeper frowned. "What do you mean, shills? These are regular customers. They're just speaking honestly and fairly!"

The customers shouted in chorus, "We're just speaking honestly and fairly!"

Li Banfeng stood up. "Selling noodles by the strand. That's what you call being honest and fair?"

The shopkeeper nodded. "That's right. By the strand. That's being honest and fair!"

Li Banfeng raised his cane. "Then I suppose we'd better settle the price properly!"

"Fine by me!" the shopkeeper retorted, brandishing his rolling pin.

"Let's all help with the counting!" the other diners shouted as they each grabbed whatever they could find and swarmed toward Li Banfeng.

***

After more than ten minutes of brawling, the noodle shop floor was splattered with blood.

Several tables lay in pieces, and shattered bowls and plates covered the ground.

The shopkeeper's head was bleeding, and the other diners were all wounded.

Li Banfeng's cane had snapped in half, but in the end, he and the shopkeeper came to an agreement on the price.

Each noodle strand was worth twenty yuan. With an auspicious number of sixty-six strands of noodles, the bowl of noodles cost one thousand three hundred and twenty yuan.

The other diners all nodded in agreement. "That's fair. It's the rule here in Blue Poplar Village. Let's settle it like that!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Agreed!"

The shopkeeper counted out the full amount and handed it to Li Banfeng. "Here. Please count it yourself!"

Li Banfeng counted the bills twice and tucked them into his wallet. Then he lifted his fedora and gave a gentleman's bow. "I'll come again for noodles next time."

The shopkeeper's front teeth had fallen off, and he spoke with a bit of a lisp. "Ne' thime, we'll charge by the bowl!"

Li Banfeng stepped outside and tossed the half of a broken cane he was still holding into a trash heap.

He looked around and sighed with admiration. "Blue Poplar Village isn't bad at all. The folks here are really honest and simple."

Since the people here are so honest, should I hire a local guide to tell me more about the situation?

As he was thinking that, he suddenly noticed a well-dressed man scavenging for food in the trash heap.

The man's clothes were indeed fine—his shirt, trousers, and even his leather shoes were all of excellent quality and craftsmanship.

He could've pawned those clothes for several meals easily. Why was he rummaging through trash for food instead?

The man searched with desperate focus. He was truly starving. He picked up a half-eaten apricot and immediately stuffed it into his mouth. Then when he saw a few grains of rice, he carefully picked them up with his fingers and ate them too.

He didn't let a single edible scrap escape him.

Li Banfeng watched the man for a moment and realized he looked familiar.

"Ma Wu?" Li Banfeng called out.

The man had just picked up a half-eaten steamed bun. Upon hearing someone call out "Ma Wu," he stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth and bolted without a word.