"The little girl is quite polite, well, thank you for the sparse dishes." Rong Yuanhang said with a smile: "Yan Yun, you can just make up your mind about these things, you don't have to ask me." ”

Ten taels of silver to supply the family's sparse vegetables for a month is actually a bit expensive. However, Zanglong Town is different from Xianyang City, it is the most economically developed area, there are many rich people, of course, there are more poor people, and the gap between the rich and the poor is very serious. However, these wealthy people have brought about the vitality of the regional economy, but also brought the consequences of high prices. Rong Yuanhang estimates that the price of the same commodity here is three to ten times different from that of Xianyang City! Of course, due to geographical differences, some things will be much more suitable than other cities.

After chatting with Jiang Yanyun for a few words, he took Ruan Maoqi directly to the house of village chief Miao Jincheng. After turning a small stream and walking for more than two or three miles, it didn't take long to reach the destination.

The village chief Miao Jincheng's house is a vast mansion built against the mountain. I saw seven or eight carriages parked in front of the door, and twenty or thirty men with scimitars hanging their waists were waiting at the door, as if waiting for the people inside.

"Who is here, why are there so many carriages?" Ruan Maoqi said to himself, this is also what Rong Yuanhang wants to ask. Look at these big men, all of them are strong, with straight waists, full of energy, and obviously have not weak skills.

Rong Yuanhang rarely had contact with the local villagers, so he didn't understand the situation, and said to Ruan Maoqi: "Old Ruan, who do you estimate these people are?" ”

"I don't know." Ruan Maoqi shook his head and said, "I rarely come to my brother-in-law's house, and I don't know much about the situation in his family. ”

"Let's go, let's take a look."

As soon as the two arrived at the gate of the mansion, one of the many big men, a man with a thin face and a pair of triangular eyes, stretched out his hand to stop him, and asked with a cold face, "Who are you?" So what happened? ”

Ruan Mao's eyes widened, and with a wave of his hand, he brushed his arm away, causing the triangular-eyed man to take a few steps back, and scolded: "Do you have long eyes?" Lao Tzu has to get your consent to come to my brother-in-law's house, who are you? ”

The triangular eye was pushed by him. Unexpectedly, he involuntarily withdrew for several meters, and all the big men changed their faces, and immediately pressed the knife handle to pull the knife out. Rong Yuanhang raised his eyebrows and thought: It seems that these people are not good at stubble!

"It turns out that Your Excellency is a relative of the Miao family. We are from the Long Knife Gang, and we were offended just now, please! The triangular-eyed man was secretly frightened, the other party's cultivation exceeded his estimate!

Ruan Maoqi didn't go in immediately, and heard that the other party was a member of the Long Knife Gang. At the moment. This Long Sword Gang is another big force in Hidden Dragon Town after the Four Holy Mansions, the Luohui Gang, and the Ancestral Sword Gate.

However, the Long Knife Gang is more like bandits, burning, killing, looting and coming and going without a trace. In the past, they looted wantonly in nearby villages, robbed money, goods, and women. To make these villagers miserable, although they have organized to resist, they have all failed, and it will provoke even more crazy revenge. Later, they were so beaten that they had no choice but to give in, promising to pay a certain amount of money in spring and autumn every year, and go to the action so that they were not harassed and looted again.

The origins of the Longknife Gang are complex, and he involves several countries:

- Hidden Dragon Town is huge. The area is very large, with more than 10 million square kilometers of land, but it was once uninhabited. Because there is a more expansive and resource-rich Zanglong Mountain Range, more people came here to hunt, and it gradually formed a city, which is now a Zanglong Town with a population of more than 10 million.

The geographical location of Zanglong Town is also very special: it faces the Stylan Sea in the south, the Zanglong Mountains in the west, and the nearest feudal imperial state in the northwest is Zongqing. Due north, the central region is separated by the Gobi Desert. In the northeast, there are several countries such as the Jingsha Kingdom, the Yuguo Kingdom, the Tongming Kingdom, and the Dongkun Empire.

Among them, the borders of the Zongqing Empire and several countries such as the Jingsha Kingdom, the Tongming Kingdom, the Yuguo Kingdom, and the Dongkun Kingdom were only separated by a large desert, and they were divided into two sides to form a confrontational state.

The town of Hidden Dragon has a long coastline, separated by more than a thousand kilometers to the east by the other side of the bay. It is a superpower with a population of 10 billion - the Principality of Freedom of Tianshou. But from here, you can also take the Tianshou Free Principality by land, and the distance is shorter, but you have to go around it through the desert area to the north. The road is more difficult.

The composition of the Long Knife Gang is a large collective composed of people from several nearby countries such as Zongqing, Tongming, Yuguo, Dongkun, and even Tianshouguo. These people include the most vicious criminals who have escaped, as well as veterans, hunters, thieves, and other idle people who cannot survive or who are not living well in their home countries.

No one knows how many Knives there are and who the leader is? It is not like Luo Hui, the Four Holy Mansions, the Ancestral Sword Gate and other big gangs placed on the bright side. And the Longknives are more like ghosts in the night, hiding in the dark.

It's autumn now, and Ruan Maoqi knows it in his heart. These Knife Gang members are here to collect 'taxes', which are more like protection money. - Each household pays a certain amount of property, which is concentrated in the hands of the village head, and then handed over by the local village head.

Rong Yuanhang and Ruan Maoqi entered the Miao family's mansion, and a slight rancid smell came to their noses. I saw that in the courtyard of the front yard, more than a dozen people were weighing around a pile of fur and game.

These furs were handed over to Miao Jincheng's home by the local villagers of Gaoliu Village, and the types and varieties include tiger skins, deer skins, leopard skins, roe deer skins, sheepskins and other common animal skins. The game includes swans, birds, muntjacs, roe deer, beavers and other animals, most of which are half-dead, due to the fact that the villagers used tools to hunt and injured themselves.

"Seventh brother? …… Ah, Rong Gongzi is also here! As soon as Miao Jincheng saw Rong Yuanhang and Ruan Maoqi, he greeted them with a smile. Beside him, there was a middle-aged man with a high nose and deep eyes, and some other villagers and a few subordinates of the Long Knife Gang were carrying the piles of fur and prey.

"Brother-in-law, ...... you are?" Ruan Maoqi said knowingly.

Miao Jincheng looked at the middle-aged man with a high nose and deep eyes beside him, and introduced with a smile: "Ah, this is the captain of the Long Knife Gang Ma Shanma, and they came here to 'do business' with our village." He turned his head again and said, "General Ma, this is Ruan Maoqi, the nephew of the contemptible people, who is now working in the Four Holy Mansions. ”

When the middle-aged man named Ma Shan heard that he was a person from the 'Four Holy Mansions', a slight change appeared on his indifferent face, and he arched his hand at Ruan Maoqi and said, "Fortunately! But he looked at Rong Yuanhang, originally Miao Jincheng didn't make an introduction, but seeing that the other party was very young, he thought it should be a human being who followed him.

But Rong Yuanhang's cloth is very expensive, and his eyebrows are clear and his temperament is outstanding, so he can't help but pay more attention. He asked, "Who is this ......?" ”

"He is a guest of my family, surnamed Rong and Rong Gongzi." Miao Jincheng hurriedly said, but he didn't say that Rong Yuanhang was also a local villager.

Rong Yuanhang could see it at a glance, and it could be judged from the fluctuations of the vitality on the other party's body. This middle-aged man named Ma Shan has a high-level cultivation of a martial artist, so he didn't take it to heart, just politely arched his hand and responded slightly and didn't care about him. Turning his head and smiling, he said to Miao Jincheng: "Village Chief, I came this time to talk to you about my house on Baisha Beach." Please help ......."

"Wait," Miao Jincheng hurriedly interrupted him and said, "Young Master Rong, I'm really sorry, I'm busy now, why don't you invite a drink in the house first, and then let's talk about this matter later?" ”

"Huh? Are you going to build a house? Ma Shan heard their conversation, and asked Rong Yuanhang: "You are also a villager of Gaoliu Village?" How many people are in the family? Did you pay your taxes? ”

Rong Yuanhang frowned, and asked inexplicably: "What tax do you pay?" Are you from the government? ……”

"Aha, Young Master Rong......" Miao Jincheng was afraid that they would have a conflict, so he suddenly interrupted them loudly: "Wait." Glory...... Seventh brother, please take Gongzi Rong to the hall and entertain your brother-in-law...... Go, go, go. ”

Ruan Maoqi knew the powerful relationship very well, he pushed Rong Yuanhang very vigilantly, and said with a smile: "Young master, let's go, let's sit in the house, and have a meal by ......the way." ”

Rong Yuanhang saw that their uncle and uncle looked nervous, and he couldn't help but wonder, but it was not good to go against their will. Because he wanted to use the relationship of Miao Jincheng, the village chief, to find some people to build a house, he had to follow Ruan Maoqi back to the inner house and wait.

Miao Jincheng's humble voice came from behind: "General Ma, he is just a guest of our family, and he has a lot to do with the Four Holy Mansions. So, this ....... ”

……

The two stepped through the weeping flower door and entered the inner house, Rong Yuanhang couldn't help but ask: "Hey, I said Lao Ruan, who is the person in Nama Mountain outside?" Are the Longknives Gang powerful? Your family also has two martial arts figures. Why are you afraid of this? ”

Ruan Maoqi said helplessly: "Ma Shan is not powerful, but the Long Knife Gang behind him is difficult to provoke and provoke...... Forget it, young master, let's not have the same knowledge as him,......。 ”

Ruan Maoqi obviously regarded Rong Yuanhang as his own family, and took him directly into the backyard. In addition to the eldest Miao Xiufeng, the eldest Miao Xiufeng takes care of the third aunt at the uncle's house in the town, there are eight sisters at home, and there are seven wives and concubines, mothers, and aunts of Miao Renfeng, four women, and a large group of women Yingying Yanyan, which is very lively. Especially the eight sisters of the Miao family, all of them are slender and slender, plump and plump, and they are so smart that men are excited.

Rong Yuanhang was taken to the living room of the East Wing, where Ruan Maoqi and his sister Ruan Cuihua were personally accompanied. In the Miao family, in fact, Ruan Cuihua has more power to speak than her husband Miao Jincheng, and at the same time, she is also a martial arts figure!

"I haven't seen you for more than half a year, don't come unharmed, right?" Ruan Cuihua asked with a smile.

"It's okay, it's okay, thank you, auntie." Rong Yuanhang's 'aunt' is a little awkward, her younger brother Ruan Maoqi is directly called 'Lao Ruan', but her sister is called 'aunt', which is also because she is Miao Renfeng's mother, and she was called that when she first came.

Rong Yuanhang continued: "I took the liberty to come here this time because I want to build a house in Baisha, and I want to come over and ask the village chief to help and contribute some manpower...... I've brought all the drawings with me. ”

As he spoke, he took out a large roll of paper from his bag. At that time, the dumb man, Xiao Yufeng, Jiang Yanyun and even Lu Xiaofu were involved in the design of this drawing, just because there were many measurement units and architectural terms here that were not the same as the main plane, among which Xiao Yufeng and Jiang Yan replaced all the drawing data with the idiomatic language of the other world. If you know how to look at it, you can understand it in your heart.

"Oh......" Ruan Jincui took the drawing but didn't open it, and said: "These old concubines don't understand, so let's discuss it with the craftsman...... However, Rong Gongzi is going to settle in our Gaoliu Village? ”

"Well, that's good." Rong Yuanhang nodded.

Ruan Cuihua's delicate eyebrows frowned, then relaxed, and said in a deep voice: "Young Master Rong, there is something that the old concubine has to explain to you......

"You say." Rong Yuanhang straightened his body.

"You saw it, too, the gang from outside coming...... They are members of the Long Knife Gang, and they are here to collect taxes," Ruan Cuihua grabbed the teacup and took a sip, organized the words in her heart and said: "Young Master Rong, you want to live here, you can't hide it for so long, since you have become a person from Gaoliu Village, presumably the Long Knife Gang also wants you to bear a share of the tax expenses in spring and autumn every year, I hope you can understand this aspect." Otherwise, I can't afford the position of village head. ”

"Oh? Is there such a thing? Rong Yuanhang asked: "Is there still an official government here?" Do the Knives represent the government? ”

"It's not, Hidden Dragon Town doesn't belong to any country," Ruan Cuihua thought for a moment and explained, "but there will be a force ruling in every place. Otherwise, it will be even more chaotic, the big town of Hidden Dragon Town, with a population of more than 10 million, is led by the three major gangs of the Four Holy Mansions, the Luohui Gang, and the Zujianmen, all the import and export goods at the dock, the shops in the city, and even the warriors who hunt beasts in the mountains, must pay a share of the taxes and silver to the three major gangs, otherwise they will encounter accidents or be expelled. ”

“…… And we are located in the remote countryside, together with the mountain hunters living in the Hidden Dragon Mountains, there are many such villages are governed by the Long Knife Gang, and any village that dares not to pay taxes will provoke the burning and looting of strongmen, and even the catastrophe of slaughtering the village...... ”

Rong Yuanhang was taken aback, "Damn!" This Long Knife Gang is so domineering? ”

"Young Master, do you know something...... Ruan Maoqi also interjected at this time: "These people are extremely vicious, secretive, come and go like the wind, never conflict with the three major gangs, the Long Knife Gang has existed in Hidden Dragon Town for two hundred years, and no force can eliminate them." They are like a cloud of masters in the gang, and there are a lot of spirit beast war pets, and their strength is strong, so they are not easy to mess with! ”

Rong Yuanhang's heart sank when he heard this, his enemy Ji Yuzong was extremely powerful, and now there was a Long Knife Gang. originally planned to make a big show here, secretly cultivate forces, strengthen themselves, and take revenge in the future. But if this 'Long Knife Gang' becomes an obstacle and reaches out to him, do you have to retreat?

"Never!" Rong Yuanhang secretly decided in his heart, if he can't even gain a foothold here, he will retreat in distress, how can he talk about development?

"How much tax do they charge?"

Ruan Cuihua replied: "This is not much, it is completely affordable for you." The Long Knife Gang collects taxes on the basis of heads, and each household pays a total of 30 taels of silver in spring and autumn every year. Those who do not have silver can be replaced by mountain herbs, animal skins, game, iron pear trees, etc. ”

Rong Yuanhang nodded: "Spring and autumn, right?" I'll talk about that later....... He didn't care about the dozens of taels of silver, but what he cared about was that paying taxes was equivalent to giving in to the Long Knife Gang, which was extremely detrimental to his reputation in the future, so he didn't immediately agree. (To be continued.) )