Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 2844 Struggling

  Liu Ci carried a roll of straw mat, and in front of the mat, there were more than a dozen pairs of straw sandals dangling. He wore a short jacket, bare arms and calves, and stepped on straw sandals, heading for the market.

  At this moment, he looks very much like... Well, I was wrong, he was originally a mud leg.

  He can weave straw sandals and straw mats, just like the man who claimed to be after something.

  But not all those who can weave straw sandals and straw mats can become hot and difficult silver.

  Where are the mud legs least noticeable?

  It’s just like Zhuangzi said, of course, when you wag your tail in the mud, no one will pay attention to you whether you’re lying down comfortably or struggling to survive. At least those people standing on the shore will not care too much.

  When Mudlegzi was struggling in the quagmire, no one would take a second look. No matter if they climbed ashore one step earlier, or were born directly on the shore, they don't care about it. Only when those mud legs are about to climb up, will they yell loudly, or feel inexplicable, Or terrified, or scolding and scolding, or directly hitting back with a stick...

  Most places in this world are mires, and there are not many places where you can go ashore.

   It's like Yanhuang occupied the Central Plains and drove other tribes into the quagmire.

  If you don't work hard, you will always be struggling in the quagmire.

  Because the small piece of land on the bank was once bought by the ancestors with blood and sweat. Everyone thinks this way, so they have to stay on the shore for life and death, pushing, squeezing, beating, cursing, cheating, framing each other...

   How much room will there be for new mud legs?

   Those who stand on the shore like Zhuangzi but yearn for the quagmire are, after all, a minority.

  The market is here. Although today is not a big event, there are quite a few people. Due to the increase in the population of Chang'an, the original Daji has gradually become routine.

  Liu Ci looked around, it was very lively.

  There is a constant flow of people coming and going, and the sound of buying and selling is one after another.

   It seems that there is no problem...

  The market is still a very ordinary market, and it has not become more lively or more depressed because of Zhang Cun's death. The people in the market may talk about Zhang Village, but they won't pay attention to him for a while, and the people will soon be attracted by life to attract all their attention.

   It's like these people don't care much about the Western Regions.

  How can there be such comfortable people in the world?

  Liu Ci was thinking silently as he walked forward.

  Changan is indeed somewhat different.

  In Shandong, people are not allowed to set up stalls in the market at will, because it is said that it affects the beauty of the street. If the streets are beautiful, people can live on their own initiative? Liu Ci didn't know. He just knew that it would be very difficult for him to pretend to be a commoner who set up a stall in Shandong. Maybe he would be arrested the next moment he just sat on the side of the street.

  Shandong people want to buy things, they need to buy from fixed vendors, and then sold by fixed vendors. The fixed vendors are designated by the government, or a designated location, or a designated person, so the problems arising from them will naturally be very small, and even if any problems are caused, they will be quickly dismissed. Good control is within a limited range.

  In this way, the children of the gentry can't touch the ordinary mud legs. They use a glove or something else to separate the inexplicable dirt lumps that they were once grateful for in the Spring and Autumn Period.

  A glove, if it is dirty, worn out or ugly, just take it off and replace it with a new one.

  The children of the gentry are clean and lofty.

  Chang'an is really good, and it is indeed different from Shandong. Liu Ci is also very envious of these people in Chang'an.

But…

  Liu Ci is not from Chang'an.

  He was born in Luoyang and grew up in Shandong.

  Liu Ci's family had already fallen when he was young, and now he has to pay more blood and sweat if he wants to climb back. He needs to find a way out for himself and also for his family in Shandong.

  A road that may not need to continue struggling in the quagmire.

  So no matter how good Chang'an is, it's not his...

  His quagmire is in Shandong. There are also family members wagging their tails in the quagmire.

  The market in Chang’an allows ordinary people to set up stalls, as long as they don’t exceed the limited street range and occupy too many passages, they can set up stalls, and they don’t charge money. Of course, the scope of setting up stalls is limited to the bazaar area, and it is not allowed to go beyond the bazaar.

   But this is already good. At least the children of the gentry in Chang'an can directly see how the most ordinary people live, what they buy and sell in the hands of the people, and they can also see the people in the market for a dollar and a baht. Calculating, arguing, not only seeing clean streets and neat shops, and then thinking that there will be tens of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of profits from buying and selling between the common people...

Liu Ci had sold straw sandals and straw mats before, so he also knew that most of the people would make calculations. They would not buy straw sandals if they thought they could last two days. Will buy, even a pair of sandals is two dollars. Some people even said that he wanted to buy one, because he accidentally broke one, so he only wanted one, and then spent most of the day bargaining with Liu Ci, just to buy a pair for only one dollar.

  Liu Ci came late, and all the good seats were gone, but it didn't matter. In a relatively remote place, he put down the straw mat and stood it on the ground.

  Because Liu Ci didn’t come here to actually buy straw mats and sandals.

  He came to observe...

   Observe Fan Cong.

  He sent a signal to contact Fan Cong, directing Fan Cong to Maoling.

   Liu Ci is not familiar with Tongguan, and he is also worried that there will be more eyeliners in Tongguan.

  At least in Maoling, Liu Ci has lived for a while, and is more familiar with the surrounding area of ​​Maoling.

  Since news of Cao An's death reached Shandong, Fan Cong, who was still alive, was suspected. After all, many people died in succession, Fan Cong naturally had the suspicion of being inseparable.

  So at the beginning, Liu Ci didn't want to contact Fan Cong.

   But the problem is that Zhang Cun closed the case so quickly, catching Liu Ci by surprise. Then the inn was haunted again, and then someone claimed that Zhang Cun had messed with something unclean, and then he died. This completely reversed the situation that Liu Ci had set up, and easily reversed it in another direction.

  Compared with the Western Regions or any hussars, the common people are obviously more interested in ghosts and ghosts.

  Liu Ci continued to bring the topic back to the Western Regions, and dragged the hussars into the water...

  The reason is very simple. Liu Ci came from Shandong, so he naturally thought that the information in Chang'an was controlled, and ordinary people could only get the information that the government wanted the people to know. Because that's what Shandong does.

  So Liu Ci needs to poke a hole out, and then he can find out the truth.

  But now he can't complete this task by himself. The time is too short and the manpower is too small, so he has to try to contact Fan Cong.

  Liu Ci sat on the ground, but his eyes wandered around.

  The sky is very blue, but after sitting on the ground, it seems that the sky is covered by those standing people. From the perspective of the ground, what you see is more of the waist and legs, and what you see is the buttocks but not the face. This is the mud leg's perspective.

  Liu Ci came from among the people coming and going, and aimed at the restaurant in the distance from the gap between his buttocks and legs.

   Sitting by the window on the second floor of the restaurant was Fan Cong.

  In the school office, there is a portrait of Fan Cong, so he recognizes Fan Cong, but Fan Cong does not recognize him.

   After Liu Ci confirmed Fan Cong, he didn't keep staring at Fan Cong, but began to observe Fan Cong's surroundings and the situation around Liu Ci himself.

  Fan Cong at the window seemed a little uncomfortable, frequently looking out the window...

  The clerk at the downstairs door of the restaurant has a long yelling voice. Obviously, he is not a temporary worker for a day or two. He also greets regular customers who pass by from time to time. He should be a normal store clerk.

   There is a stall selling needles and rags at the entrance of the restaurant. On the stand was a thin, dark, middle-aged man who smiled flatteringly at anyone who passed by the stand. Well, this should also be normal, after all, with such a thin body and habitually flattering smile on his face, he couldn't easily pretend it.

From the wine shop to here, there are six stalls in total, except for the one selling needles and rags at the entrance, there are those selling pots and rattan frames, dried fruits, cooking cakes, and chickens and ducks next door to Liu Ci. of…

   Among them, the one selling crock pots and rattan frames is the most suspicious, because he not only occupies the largest space, but even parks a car covered with cloth, like a crock pot, but who knows what's inside? And it seems that there is no bargaining, as much as others say, it is as much as it is. The most important thing is that this guy is too fat, and his face is full of oil.

This guy…

  Of course, what was more suspicious was the two or three idlers at the far corner of the street, who seemed to be chatting, but Liu Ci also noticed that these idlers seemed to be aiming at the wine shop intentionally or unintentionally.

   Was this attracted by Fan Cong?

   Or are the hussars watching Fan Cong?

   Or an ordinary hidden stake, performing daily inspections and surveillance?

  『Twitter…』

  While Liu Ci was carefully observing his surroundings, he suddenly heard some voices around him. He lowered his head to look, only to find that a chick from the stall next door had run up to him at some point, screaming while running.

  Liu Ci subconsciously stretched out his hand to fish it, and took the chicken in his hand.

  『Thank you, thank you big brother...』 The person next to him selling chickens and ducks thanked Liu Ci, and then stretched out his hand to pick up the chicken.

   Liu Ci's eyes fell on the man's hand. The hands are rough, with short black nails, large bones and thick calluses, stained with a little chicken and duck feces, and a few chicken and duck feathers hanging on them.

  Liu Ci relaxed, smiled, and sent the chicken back.

   "Thank you, big brother..." The vendor took the chick carefully, and then put it back into the bamboo basket, asking casually, "Big brother, how do you sell these straw sandals?" Did you make it up yourself? 』

  『One pair and two coins. ’ Liu Ci replied.

  『Big brother, this is the price...』 The vendor selling chickens and ducks smiled, then shrank his head and didn’t say anything.

  Liu Ci knows that his price is a bit high, but it's not too high. After all, he didn't want to say that he really made a living selling straw sandals and straw mats, and he didn't want to say that as soon as he sat down, the straw mats and straw shoes were sold out because they were too cheap, so he had to slap his **** and leave. So Liu Ci also smiled, and didn't explain the workmanship, material, etc...

   In the blink of an eye, Liu Ci suddenly discovered that Fan Cong, who was originally at the window, had disappeared!

  Liu Ci's heart suddenly rose, and then Liu Ci immediately turned his head to look at the intersection.

   Sure enough, the idle man at the intersection immediately moved and came towards the wine shop...

what happened?

  Fan Cong was exposed?

  But he didn't come forward, how did he get exposed?

   Soon, Liu Ci saw a figure appearing at the door of the restaurant, and hurried away with his head bowed, and Fan Cong came out following the figure!

  The idler at the intersection seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then he was about to go around Fan Cong to chase the figure who was walking away in a hurry, but Fan Cong seemed to block him...

  The figure in the distance swayed twice, and seemed to disappear in the crowd.

   The idle man ignored Fan Cong's obstruction, pushed Fan Cong away in a few strokes, and then hurriedly chased after him...

  Fan Cong stood at the door of the restaurant, and stood there for a while.

"This is…"

  Liu Ci quickly thought about it.

   I sent out a signal, but I didn’t go to Fan Cong, so who would go? I don't know the person who is leaving in a hurry, which means that person may not be my own! Obviously, Fan Cong seemed to regard him as one of his own people at the moment, and was still deliberately intercepting and monitoring the idle man because of that person's departure!

   After connecting the events before and after, Liu Ci suddenly discovered that Fan Cong might have been tricked!

  Fan Cong probably took that unknown person as Liu Ci himself!

Even Liu Ci imagined the whole process. He sent out a signal to attract Fan Cong. Fan Cong's departure from Tongguan might also have attracted the attention of the Youwen Division who had been monitoring Fan Cong, so he sent idlers to monitor him. .

   As a result, because Liu Ci himself did not show up for a long time, some people from the Wen Department thought that he would not come, so they deliberately sent someone to pretend to be here to meet with Fan Cong.

  The man pretended to be discovered before he waited for the token verification when he was connecting, and then ran away in a hurry.

  Fan Cong covered up for that person...

  Everything makes sense.

  Fan Cong got caught!

Fan Cong will definitely think that person is himself, and when Fan Cong returns to Tongguan, the person who pretends to be himself will definitely come to the door again. Fan Cong would not doubt it either! Because You Wensi deliberately wanted to look like he was chasing that person!

   After that person gains Fan Cong's trust, Fan Cong's business in Tongguan will be uprooted!

so…

  Fan Cong is still trustworthy?

  In the blink of an eye, Liu Ci watched Fan Cong slowly walking along the street. He had to make a decision, whether to let Fan Cong go back to Tongguan, or to wake him up...

   One step, two steps, three steps.

   Liu Ci stared at Fan Cong, struggling in his heart.

  Fan Cong looked sad.

  Fan Cong passed in front of Liu Ci...

  『This gentleman! ”Liu Ci greeted, “Would you like to take a look at the straw sandals and straw mats!” It’s also great to take home with your family! 』

  Liu Ci emphasized the voice of "family".

  Fan Cong paused, then stopped, then turned to look at Liu Ci, his expression fluctuating.

This further convinced Liu Ci that the escaped man pretended to be himself and came to find Fan Cong, so Liu Ci nodded at Fan Cong and said, "Look, sir, this is a high-quality straw mat... It is the best thatch in the eastern suburbs of Chang’an...』

  『Changan...Eastern Suburbs..』Fan Cong repeated slowly, then stood in front of Liu Ci's stall, stared at Liu Ci and asked, "Are you sure...these are all thatch from the Eastern Suburbs?" 』

  Liu Ci stood up, pretending to show off the straw mats, approached Fan Cong, and said quickly in a lower voice: "These are the most fashionable styles in Shandong..."

  Fan Cong stared for a moment, and then seemed to be about to take out money to pay from his arms, but revealed a stone tied to the side of the purse, "You this mat...what's the price?" 』

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, the price is right for you, whatever suits you..." Liu Ci stretched out his hand and scratched his neck, then hung it around his neck as if he didn't care, and hid it in his arms before, and Fan A stone of the same material as Satoshi's money bag was brought out.

  Seeing this, Fan Cong's face turned pale, he took a few steps back, and pointed out, "It's him!" 』

  Liu Ci's head suddenly buzzed!

  The crock pot stand was overturned, and a person jumped out of the car...

  Among the stream of people on the street, there were a few people rushing over while drinking...

   Even the vendor selling chickens and ducks changed his face, and raised his hand and threw the chicken and duck boxes...

  Chicks and ducklings are involuntarily screaming and flying in the air.

  Under the chaotic light and shadow, Liu Ci saw Fan Cong's pale face and trembling hands, pointing at him.

  Liu Ci understood.

   It turned out that it was not Fan Cong who was caught, but himself!

  Liu Ci took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth, took out a dagger from his bosom, and rushed straight at Fan Cong regardless, roaring, "Traitor! Die! 』

  『Wait a minute! 』

  『Damn it! stop! 』

  『Catch the living! 』

  『Don’t kill me...』

  『Poof! 』Liu Ci heard a sound like a cowhide water bag being punctured, and then felt the energy in his body draining rapidly.

  Several figures came and rushed forward, "Bastard! Why are you so careless! 』

  『I...he bumped into me! 』

  『Asshole! And you! ’ A voice yelled, ‘And you idiot, why are you pointing them out in the street! Can't you take him back first? Damn, did you mean it? ! 』

  "I...I..." Fan Cong's voice was a bit messy, "I...was flustered for a while, just, just..."

  In the chaotic light and shadow, Liu Ci lay on the ground.

  The ground smells like earth.

  It turns out that the soil in Guanzhong has the same taste.

  It is also good, born in the mud, and died in the mud.

  Chicks and ducklings screamed in panic, struggling, under the trampling and squeezing of chaotic human feet.

  Liu Ci smiled, stretched out his hand, and protected the one closest to him...

  He saw that the sky was getting dark quickly, like his eternally struggling nightmare in the middle of the swamp.

  Can't climb out...

   But, at least, he tried.

   Liu Ci closed his eyes.

  (end of this chapter)