For Natsuko, tonight's business was a terrible mess.

First, it rained heavily all night, and the cold and damp weather made the scattered slaves go home early, and there were far fewer customers on the street looking for fun.

Then there was a firecracker-like explosion from the direction of Nancheng.

In the exchange channel of the moonshiners, some people said that Jinyiwei was arresting the thief on the side of Weiyang Long Street, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

The sound of firecrackers is actually the sound of gunshots!

However, these are not the things that Xia Zi is concerned about, what she cares about now is the batch of Ming wine that she has just blended.

The stimulants I added to the wine will be mostly ineffective after tonight.

Because of the recent vigorous sweep of various black market workshops and itinerant vendors in the city, there are far fewer competitors on the streets. As a result, many sake shops and izakaya have cut off their channels and have resorted to selling expensive imported sake.

Xia Zi saw this opportunity, and didn't care that what he was doing was also a high-risk business that the Xuanwei Division focused on, and resolutely borrowed a large amount of incense money from the Buddha Society, which had just risen in Osaka Castle recently, and invested all of it in the production of moonshine, thinking that he could make a lot of money by taking the opportunity.

"You have to hurry up and sell the goods, otherwise it will be troublesome if you can't pay the first installment of the Buddha's blessing interest."

When he thinks of those bald men with compassionate expressions and soft words, Xia Zi always shuddered.

In her opinion, these people were much more terrifying than the other old gangsters in the city.

Although she couldn't tell where this feeling came from, Natsuko had always trusted her instincts.

After all, after living in Osaka Castle for so many years, this intuition has always been her only reliance.

Thinking of this, Xia Zi couldn't help but tighten the neckline of the plastic coat on her body and quickened her pace.

After passing through the streets and alleys for a pillar of incense, Natsuko finally came to her destination.

This street is home to some of the most affordable and well-known low-end sake shops and izakaya in Kita-ku, Osaka, and is a favorite meeting place for workers and slaves in the entire Kita Ward.

The depression that can be seen makes the high-spirited Xia Zi stunned directly in place.

There was no crowd as expected, just doors closed in the dim light.

The clogged spouts have submerged the street in inch-high sewage, and all kinds of garbage have risen and fallen.

Even the sake banners and carp streamers hanging in front of the shops were shaking weakly in the rain, and they no longer had the same diligence as before.

"What's going on? None of them are in business? ”

Natsuko was dumbfounded, not knowing what was going on at all.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, and quickly reached into her raincoat, took out an old electronic case, and entered the forum commonly used by moonshiners.

They are not qualified and can't afford to use the Huangliang Dream Realm, so they can only choose to use this text transmission method with a very low safety factor and may be arrested by the guards as evidence at any time for communication.

[Warning: In the event of a vicious attack in Kita Ward, Osaka, all the guards were dispatched to demand that all entertainment venues in Kita Ward close their doors immediately, and that idlers and others should not move around at will. The ban will be lifted tomorrow at sunrise. 】

[Reminder: It is better to go home and sleep today, and it is not advisable to go out to sell alcohol. 】

The entire forum was empty and deadly silent.

Only two large lines in red hang from the page.

When did the vicious attack happen in the North District? I'm in the North District, why didn't I notice it at all?

Suddenly, Natsuko remembered that he had heard a few loud bangs not long ago.

But at the time, she only thought it was thunder and didn't care at all.

Xia Zi grabbed her hair irritably, and when she went out today, she was specially combed by the native women of the empire, and her hair was torn and distorted in her hands.

"Fuck you shouldn't sell alcohol, so what about all this wine in my hand? What about the interest on the blessings of the Buddha's Society? ”

The shrill scolding echoed through the empty streets, soon drowned out by the roaring rain.

"You're a liquor seller?"

Xia Zi, who was scolding the guards, suddenly heard a dry and old voice.

She immediately closed her mouth in alarm and looked up in the direction where the voice came from.

Under the eaves of an izakaya, there is a dark shadow that looks like a person.

Scavenging beggars? Or a drunk who just woke up?

Could it be a yellow sorghum ghost?!

Xia Zi's heart jumped suddenly, as she has been begging for a living on the street since she was a child, she has heard too many strange rumors about Huangliang ghosts.

This kind of ghostly monster born in the dream realm of inferior yellow sorghum likes to occupy the body of those men who lack yang energy.

Judging from this person's voice, it is no longer as simple as a lack of yang energy, it is simply a dry lamp!

Xia Zi pursed her lips nervously, and slowly touched the Yulinwei pistol stuck behind her waist with her right hand.

"Don't get stuck at this time."

Xia Zi suddenly regretted a little in his heart, why didn't he buy a better weapon to defend himself first when he got the incense money.

Otherwise, there is no need to pin your hopes on the pistol that is older than your own age now.

"Let me ask you, are you a bootlegger?"

A creepy and terrifying face peeked out of the dark shadows, fragmented flesh and blood hanging on the collapsed mechanical facial bones, and the two mechanical eyes were devoid of eyelid decorations, directly exposed to the cold air.

The lips on the 'grimace' didn't move, and the impatient words came from nowhere.

"Your Excellency, you're right, villains are wine sellers."

Natsuko hurriedly raised his hands high, a bright smile bloomed on his face, and stood in place and nodded his waist.

It's not that she knows the person in front of her, she was beaten like this, even if she has seen each other, she can't recognize it now.

The reason for the huge change in her attitude was the obvious and incomparable traces of mechanical transformation on the other party's body.

Even his head has been transformed, even if he hasn't stepped into the military order, at least he is a gangster fierce man.

Whether this kind of character is taken away by the Huangliang ghost or not, it is an existence that this Yu Linwei in his hand can't deal with.

"Isn't it a curfew? Why haven't those damn guards come over to patrol yet? ”

Natsuko once again angrily scolded the guards of Osaka Castle in her heart.

"Since it's a wine seller, what are you doing in a daze, the old man buys wine."

"Huh? Good! ”

Xia Zi hurriedly rushed over, rolled up his sleeve, and pulled out a 'green tendon' from under the skin at his wrist.

This is a camouflaged pipe, and another section is connected to a sample of Natsuko's liquor buried in her abdomen.

"The villain doesn't dare to ask for your money, you can drink as much as you want, adult, count me as a treat."

Natsuko smiled all over her face, her eyes staring at her toes lifted an inch and quickly swept over the other's shoulders.

The right shoulder was empty, and the torn clothes were hung with many harnesses of hair that looked like they were messy.

It's so miserable, even my hands have been cut off.

The left hand is complete, but it doesn't look like a wine cup would suddenly be pulled out of his clothes.

How can you drink this without a wine cup?

Is it possible to pour it directly into the mouth?

Xia Zi stubbornly said, "My lord, where do you see this wine poured for you?" Why don't I slam the door and get one from the store for you? ”

"It doesn't have to be that troublesome."

One hand took Natsuko's 'green tendon' and stuffed it directly into the lip-like crack on the 'grimace'.

"Pour the bar."

"Alas, here it is."

Xia Zi didn't dare to resist at all, and hurriedly pulled his ring finger to open the valve in his body.

She didn't dare to sit on the same steps as this adult, squatting down beside the other party, and letting the other party sip her 'green tendon' cow drink.

"The business didn't work out, and I lost a batch of samples. That's it, but it's curfew! If the guards found themselves stranded on the street, mixed with such an obviously unusual stranger, it would be a big problem. ”

Mixing on the streets, one looks at the treasure money, the second looks at the relationship, and the third looks at the fist.

If there is nothing, then it depends on the guts.

Although Xia Zi is a woman, she has always been very bold, otherwise she would not dare to borrow money from the Buddha Society, let alone choose to do the business of selling moonshine when the official crackdown is high-handed.

But being bold doesn't mean you're not afraid of anything.

The person next to him is probably one of the suspects in today's Beicheng attack. If I have a relationship with him, I am afraid that if I want to get a happy death, I am afraid it will become a luxury.

"I'm so unlucky."

Xia Zi hung his head, but a gurgling sound sounded in his ears.

This sound is not the same as the sound of rain, more like water droplets hitting stones.

Natsuko turned her head in astonishment, and from her angle, she could see the other party's body along the hole in Haori.

The entire chest area was devoid of any flesh or organs, only an explosive and terrifying hole.

And the sound of dripping was the sound of wine pouring out of a broken throat and pouring on machinery.

"If you can't drink it, don't fucking drink it, what are you wasting my mother's things for? Tyrannical Creatures! ”

Xia Zi scolded in his heart, but his face quietly moved his eyes away and continued to stare at his toes.

"I just wanted to see if I could taste it. But now it seems that this body is too badly rotten. ”

The owner of the 'Grimace' seemed to be able to read minds, and saw through Natsuko's thoughts.

"Your Excellency, that's not right. Drinking, especially drinking this kind of wine, is not only the taste of the wine, but also the kind of wine. That kind of"

The crazy beating heart made Xia Zi's mind a little dizzy, and he couldn't remember the unripe introduction words he had memorized in the past.

A face that still had obvious traces of immaturity turned red, and the muffled voice was mixed with a tremor that could no longer be concealed.

It's over, it's dead

However, what shocked Xia Zi was that the adult next to him did not seem to be angered by his nonsense, on the contrary, his tone suddenly softened a lot.

"How old are you?"

"Just in time."

"Then it's only fifteen? Why don't you go to the Confucius Temple to study at your age, but instead sell moonshine on the streets? ”

"You can't fill your stomach with reading."

"I remember that every Confucius temple in the big city in the Wa District is beckoning students for free, but all those who enter the school not only have full board and lodging, but also can get a good subsidy."

"You"

The sudden anger was swallowed up by fear in an instant, and the scolding that Xia Zi poured into his mouth turned into an honest confession: "My genes are not good, and I can't even reach the threshold of admission." ”

"Didn't Confucius Temple claim that there is no class, no identity, no gene?"

"The policy has long been changed."

Xia Zi pulled down the messy hair on the top of his head, raised his eyes to look at the sewage in front of him that was beaten by the raindrops like boiling, and said calmly: "I know how other big cities are, but in Osaka City, if you want to study in the Confucius Temple, you have to give money to gentlemen." They say it's called bondage. But I don't have a father, a mother, or money, so I can't read. ”

The voice in his ears was silent for a long time, and only after a while did it slowly sound: "You can start a business selling moonshine, can't you make up the money?" ”

"It's all borrowed."

Xia Zi replied very honestly: "No one would lend money to people like me before, and only Buddha would do this kind of thing. ”

"Buddha. Even the Buddha preface has come in. ”

The volume of this sentence was very low, and some distracted Natsuko didn't hear it clearly.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. But even if it is borrowed, isn't it better to enter the Confucius Temple than to sell illicit wine? ”

"Mr. borrowed money, he doesn't want it, it's dirty."

Xia Zi supported his chin with one hand, "Actually, it's useless to read this book, can you finally break the lock and become a high-ranking master?" Well, I'm a woman, so I should be called Madame, right? It's impossible. ”

Having said that, Xia Zi himself could hear the insincerity in his words, as well as the deep envy.

"Moonshine is also one of the contraband, and I was caught by the guards doing this business, but it has to be punished severely according to the law of the Ming Dynasty, aren't you afraid?"

"Of course I'm not afraid, what's more terrible than being poor?"

Xia Zi said as a matter of course: "Death in the hands of the guards is also death, death in the hands of the gangsters is also death, starvation on the street is also death, there is no difference." ”

"Then do you think the new policies implemented by those officials are good?"

"Of course." Natsuko didn't hesitate.

"Why?"

I don't know why, maybe it's just an illusion, Xia Zi always feels that the emotions conveyed by the other party's words are a little gloomy.

"I can't tell."

Natsuko licked her lips: "But at least if I don't owe money, I don't have to worry about opening my eyes the next day and finding myself lying on the operating table of the gangster medical hall." ”

"But after the New Deal, the Japanese district is not a Japanese district."

Xia Zi said happily: "Wouldn't that be better?" It's not the sin zone, then I can become a citizen of the empire! When the time comes, I will give myself a nice Mingren name, just like those students in the Confucius Temple! ”

"The Wa Country"

The words stopped abruptly, and a hand suddenly reached into Natsuko's line of sight and handed the 'green tendon' back to her.

"This wine. I don't drink anymore. ”

Xia Zi's heart trembled suddenly, thinking that his words had offended the other party, so he raised his face and smiled reluctantly: "It's okay, even if you can't drink it, if you pour it into your stomach, you can be regarded as borrowing wine to drown your sorrows." ”

"No worries, so be it. How much does it cost? ”

"No money, this is all my filial piety to you." Xia Zi wanted to cry.

"Money has to be given, one at a time."

The voice coming from the other party's body carried an undeniable majesty.

The girl shuddered and slowly spread her palms in front of her.

"Sincerity, sincerity, a hundred treasure bills."

The sound of rustling and groping sounded for a moment, but Natsuko's palms were still empty.

"I don't have any money with me."

Xia Zi's squatting body trembled suddenly as if it had been electrified, and her outstretched five fingers suddenly closed.

"It's a villain who is shameless, and he dares to ask you for money, I really don't know whether to live or die."

As soon as the words of pretending to be annoyed fell, a few treasure bills slipped in through the fingers.

"I'll give him this money."

Xia Zi looked up blankly, and what caught his eye was a tall and thin young man with distinct facial features, standing under a black umbrella, with a soft smile on his yellowed face.

"Is that enough?"

"Enough is enough."

"That's enough, let's go back quickly."

Xia Zi grabbed the money and hurriedly got up, didn't even have time to put on the hood of the plastic coat, and rushed into the rain.

"Wait a minute."

The abrupt footsteps made a series of splashes.

"Take this. When you run into unsolvable trouble, go to Edo and find a man named Toyotomi Hidegan, who will help me pay for today's drink. ”

Natsuko caught the little shadow light thrown by the other party, and by the light of the street lamps around her, she could see several lifelike feathers carved on it.

"My lord, you've already paid for your drink."

"One stroke, one stroke!"

"Thank you, sir."

At this moment, only a young man holding an umbrella and an old man sitting down in the long street remained.

"It's you, it looks like I've been betrayed again?"

This was the first thing Toyotomi said when he looked at Li Jun from afar.

(End of chapter)