Chapter 241: Dimensionality Reduction Strike

The Beggar Sect’s retaliation came fast!

The group of beggars who followed Zhang Ye out quickly began taking over positions across the dock plaza…

Some of them set their cracked begging bowls right where goods were being loaded and unloaded.

Many of the laborers hauling cargo had no choice but to pick their way around them with extreme caution, which created a huge nuisance.

Others gathered in groups and directly demanded money from the merchants who had just come ashore, pestering them until they could not stand it anymore. The merchants hurried away from the docks in irritation.

Several First-Rank martial artists under Zhang Ye stood nearby, watching like hawks. Ordinary people sensed that something was wrong and did not dare linger at the docks.

Seeing the scene, Wangchuan immediately understood why the previous helm leader had compromised with the Beggar Sect and turned in five hundred taels of silver every month…

Dock business brought in nearly ten thousand taels of silver a day. In a month, that was thousands of taels of gold in profit. Paying a mere five hundred taels of silver to ensure the Beggar Sect did not cause trouble was enough to eliminate an enormous headache.

If the Beggar Sect stayed here and kept stirring chaos, how much money would be lost each month?

“Helm Leader.”

“How about… we soften our stance with the Beggar Sect?”

“I will negotiate personally. I will set up a dozen tables at a restaurant, placate these beggars, and let this matter pass. What do you say?” Zhang Cha’er knew the helm leader was young and hot-blooded, and he probably could not bring himself to lower his pride.

But Wangchuan said, 「It is not that simple.」

「If the Beggar Sect only came for money, they would not have sent Zhang Ye, a deputy branch master, to show up in person. They would not have made such a spectacle either… They are clearly here to cause trouble today.」

“Why? We have no grudge against them.”

Zhang Cha’er could not understand it.

Wangchuan spat out the answer plainly:

「Qingyi Sect’s sect master, ‘Feng Shaoguang,’ used to be a lackey of the Beggar Sect. I was the one who captured ‘Feng Shaoguang.’ I also seized leverage—proof that the Qingyi Sect’s sect master was a disciple of the Five Poison Sect. After the Qingyi Sect was destroyed, all of Heilong County’s businesses were swallowed up by the Yulong Gang. A portion of those businesses belonged to the Beggar Sect.」

“…”

Zhang Cha’er’s face changed.

“Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents. This is bad!”

“Zhang Ye is here for revenge!”

“Yes.”

「Even if we agree to pay, he will probably find other excuses—raise the price, or use other methods to make things difficult for us…」 Wangchuan had already sensed something was off.

“But Helm Leader, what do we do now? If the Beggar Sect keeps making trouble, the longer it goes on, the more the dock’s business will be affected.”

Zhang Cha’er spoke with deep worry.

After thinking for a moment, Wangchuan instructed Chen Ergou, “Ergou, go to a nearby restaurant and order a large vat of rice porridge. Have them make several hundred meat buns as well, and get some pickled vegetables. Set up a porridge stall in the corner of the plaza. Put up a banner: free food for homeless beggars.”

“Helm Leader, you are planning to…”

Zhang Cha’er did not understand the point of doing this.

Chen Ergou simply carried out the order.

Before long, the porridge stall was up!

The banner was unfurled!

The aroma of rice porridge and freshly steamed meat buns, mixed with the appetizing scent of pickled vegetables, immediately drew many gazes across the docks.

Zhang Ye, who had been watching the Sanjiang Branch Helm’s response, saw it and his expression darkened. His face turned ugly.

“This little bastard—what a vicious heart!”

Begging was the Beggar Sect’s rightful trade.

Even if Wangchuan was the helm leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm, he could not openly make things difficult for them or stop them from begging.

If a fight broke out, it would not be decided quickly, but the Sanjiang Branch Helm’s business would certainly be obstructed. The losses would be catastrophic.

In the end, Wangchuan would have to bow his head. Otherwise, he would have no way to answer to the Caobang, and no way to answer to the brothers under him.

But Wangchuan’s countermeasure was downright lethal.

He did not block the Beggar Sect’s begging at all. Instead, he made a great show of unfurling a banner, setting up a porridge stall, and supplying meat buns…

The contrast was immediate.

If the Beggar Sect disciples insisted on swallowing this bitter pride and refused to eat porridge or buns, what was the meaning of their begging?

If it was not for a bite to eat, then was it for extorting money?

Everyone would despise them for it.

But if they ate the Caobang branch’s food and continued causing trouble at the docks…

The docks were crowded with all kinds of people. News would spread quickly.

Then everyone would say the Beggar Sect disciples were eating the Caobang’s rice while smashing the Caobang’s rice bowl!

The Beggar Sect’s reputation would be thoroughly ruined!

“Branch Master.”

“What do we do now?”

A Beggar Sect disciple saw the problem and came over to ask.

Zhang Ye wanted nothing more than to tear the porridge stall down. But in broad daylight, with everyone watching, he could not do something like that. Grinding his teeth, he said hatefully, “Eat! Have every brother eat his fill! Finish everything in that stall! Then keep working!”

“Yes!”

Dozens of beggars surged forward at once, swarming the stall without the slightest courtesy to receive food.

The Caobang disciples did not like it, but under Chen Ergou’s instructions, they served them all the same—ladling porridge and handing out meat buns to anyone who asked.

That group of beggars had no small appetite.

“Helm Leader!”

“They are about to devour all the meat buns we prepared!”

“It does not matter.”

“Keep making them!”

Wangchuan leaned close and murmured a few words. Chen Ergou nodded repeatedly, then led men off to get to work.

Very soon—

New baskets of meat buns arrived one steamer after another.

Buckets of rice porridge were carried into the stall.

Chen Ergou led a group of Caobang disciples and shouted loudly at the stall:

“Friends of the Beggar Sect, come drink porridge and eat buns! Our helm leader said there is plenty—eat as much as you want!”

“If you are full, rest over here!”

“Brothers, do not block the docks and make it hard for people to load and unload!”

“We even set up a canopy for you. It is shaded over here!”

“That is right!”

“Beggar Sect friends, after you eat and drink your fill, lie down and sleep. Do not delay our Caobang brothers from earning money… From now on, morning, noon, and night—this stall will have porridge and buns! As much as you can eat!”

The shouts came one after another in rotation.

The Beggar Sect people were dumbfounded.

They could play like this?

Did the Beggar Sect disciples not need dignity?

Zhang Ye was so furious his face turned ashen. He bared his teeth and said, 「Fine!」

「So this is how you want to play?」

「Aqi, Gou Dan! Go and summon people from the surrounding area right now. Call every brother and beggar child from the nearby county seats and towns! The Sanjiang Branch Helm says there is enough food for everyone, yes?」

「Then I want to see whether he can stomach it!」

Zhang Ye dug in against Wangchuan.

With that order, more than a dozen people immediately rushed out of Hejiang Town, going to rally others nearby.

By early evening, a large number of beggars slipped into Hejiang Town and headed toward the docks.

A dense mass of several hundred people—men and women, young and old.

Zhang Cha’er watched until his head ached.

Wangchuan remained calm as ever and said, 「Ergou!」

「Have you contacted the restaurants?」

“Reporting to Helm Leader, everything is arranged.”

Chen Ergou nodded.

They had received the news long ago and had started cooking porridge and making buns and steamed rolls in advance.

The porridge stall immediately expanded several times over.

More than twenty Caobang disciples were assigned solely to distribute porridge.

“Line up!”

“Everybody line up!”

“There is porridge, and there are buns and steamed rolls!”

“But you are not allowed to affect normal loading and unloading at the docks…”

“Do not worry!”

Some people even kept calling out across the docks, “With this few of you, you cannot eat the Caobang poor! Our Caobang can raise the whole Beggar Sect with ease!”

“The Beggar Sect cannot afford you, but the Caobang can! You will not go hungry, not a chance!”

“Beggar Sect brothers with hands and feet, willing to work hard and feed yourselves—we can give you an opportunity to join our Caobang…”

“If you are willing to work, you will get at least five taels of silver a month.”

Chen Ergou shouted from the back of the crowd.

Zhang Ye and the group around him looked as black as the bottom of a pot.

He had called his brothers here to “collect autumn wind.”

The other side turned around and started poaching his people instead!

Damn it!