Chapter 1438: The Two Sides of Tianshui City

**Chapter 1423: The Two Sides of Tianshui City**

Men and women, ranging from their teens to their forties, sat on the ground, looking listless, merely observing every passerby with open eyes. Most of them wore coarse cloth garments, not the lightweight summer fabrics people preferred. The weather was still quite warm, and with so many people crowded together sweating, the smell was imaginable.

Dong Rui covered his nose and exclaimed, "Phew, what a stench! What is this place?"

"Collapse Houses," He Lingchuan said, his expression unchanged. He had smelled far worse odors; sometimes, the smell in military camps was stronger than this. "People who can't survive elsewhere come to Jiaoguo. Tianshui City is known as the most prosperous place on the Blazing Gold Plain, so more vagrants sneak in here than anywhere else. Tianshui City built these small huts for them, called 'Collapse Houses,' where they wait for work. If someone selects them, they'll be recruited to work."

"Oh, how humane," Dong Rui remarked.

"That's out of necessity," He Lingchuan explained, having gathered information on Tianshui City beforehand. "Tianshui City's vagrants are countless, like weeds; cut one crop, and another grows. They play hide-and-seek with the authorities all day. They steal, rob, kidnap, and form gangs here. How could the authorities not have a headache over it? Since they can't be caught or driven away, Tianshui City hopes to manage them."

As they spoke, several people who looked like foremen entered the hut, pinching their noses. "We need seven strong men to transport lumber, and one woman for cooking." The people on the ground suddenly all stood up and rushed forward. "Me, me!" "I'm good at moving things, I used to break rocks in the mine!" "My cooking is delicious, I can cook for fifty people at once!" The previously listless Collapse House instantly became livelier than a marketplace. Everyone vigorously promoted themselves, so excited that their spittle flew.

The foremen stepped back two paces. Immediately, someone standing nearby shouted, "Back, back!" When a vagrant retreated too slowly, he whipped them twice. "Are you looking for death? I told you to step back!" The crowd yelped as he pushed them, but they dared not move forward anymore. He Lingchuan pointed at him. "This kind of person is called a 'mule handler,' meaning a laborer who manages 'mules'."

"Are vagrants called 'mules'?" Dong Rui asked.

"Yes," He Lingchuan replied, recalling that part of the information distinctly. "Those who refuse to be managed or don't come to these huts, and instead make a living through illegal activities, are called 'gray dogs'." The mule handler turned his whip and pointed at several people inside the Collapse House. "You, you, you, and you—yes, come out!" In a flash, he had chosen seven men and two women. One of them was exceptionally short and weak, with a large head and small body. The foreman pointed at him, displeased. "You picked this one for me too? How many straws can he carry?" The man quickly argued, "I can carry a lot, I really can!" The mule handler also vouched, "He can carry it. Don't let his small size fool you; he's very good at lifting things!" So, amidst the envious glances of the other vagrants, the chosen individuals followed the foreman and left.

The vagrants' attention then shifted to He Lingchuan outside, who changed his step and turned to leave.

"These 'mules' are unregistered residents in Tianshui City. Even after working for ten or several decades, they won't gain official status. Therefore, they receive the lowest wages and do the dirtiest, hardest work. If they don't work, they get no money, and if they have no money, they starve to death. I heard that the wage for one local Tianshui City resident can at least hire five 'mules'."

"You also saw that over three hundred people were crammed into that hut. Job opportunities are scarce, and there are many people, so 'mules' who want to find work have to bribe the mule handler." He Lingchuan pointed at the handler. "A more unscrupulous one can take three to five days' wages from the 'mules.' If they don't pay, they get no work." The Soul-Stealing Mirror in his arms couldn't help but say, "It's truly difficult for these vagrants to earn a living."

What He Lingchuan didn't say aloud was that Tianshui City residents were also particularly displeased with these vagrants. The "gray dogs" stole, robbed, kidnapped, and disrupted public order, while the "mules" took away job opportunities from ordinary people. The huts where vagrants gathered were occasionally vandalized or set on fire. Last year, one Collapse House caught fire, killing over a hundred vagrants.

"Some vagrants are desperate for work just to get a meal; earning wages is secondary," He Lingchuan said. "When it's this hard to make an honest living, some 'mules' turn into 'gray dogs' and engage in illegal activities." When legitimate paths offer no money, some naturally resort to illicit ones.

"I hear that over the past two decades, the number of 'gray dogs' has grown, splitting into dozens of factions. They commit crimes like rape, robbery, and kidnapping, forming gangs that both disturb public order and engage in illicit work, giving the authorities a constant headache." Dong Rui chuckled, "How many Collapse Houses are there in the entire city?"

"Three hundred or more."

"If one has three hundred people, then three hundred of them... that's not a small number."

"Tianshui City itself has fewer than a million residents, and vagrants account for over ten percent of that. Everyone thinks this is a good place, so they all flock here."

"It's not paradise here, but at least there's no war."

"And to the west of Tianshui City, there's the country's largest slave market and brokerage. No matter how miserable the vagrants' lives are, they at least have some personal freedom, which is much better than being a slave, right? When slaves are bought, they're chained up when not working; slaves nobody wants are eventually—" He Lingchuan made a throat-slitting gesture. "—killed. If they have no value, they can't waste food. Traffickers and slave owners kill slaves, and the authorities don't care at all."

**Chapter 1423: The Two Sides of Tianshui City**

In He Lingchuan's hometown, there was a saying: "You don't know hell has eighteen layers until you descend into it."

A strong gust of wind swept by, and rain began to pour. Dong Rui rubbed his stomach, feeling hungry. "Let's find a place to shelter from the rain, and grab something to eat while we're at it. How about that place?"

They walked back to the main street, where passersby at least had tidy clothes. All the filth and disorder were hidden away in the dark back alleys. The two worlds, front and back, seemed to exist in isolation from each other.

What he pointed to was less a restaurant and more an open-air courtyard. Its sign was a pure white cloth banner fluttering in the wind, with "Human World of Smoke and Fire" embroidered on it. Fortunately, these characters were bright red. If they were black, it would have been... As they walked, they noticed that white signs were actually everywhere in Tianshui City, bringing a touch of vibrancy to the gray-brown or ochre-red walls.

It was still half an hour until dinnertime, yet the establishment was almost full. The aroma of oil drifted through the windows, whetting appetites. As soon as He Lingchuan entered, he heard sizzling sounds.

Although the courtyard was open-air, its verandas were large and wide, preventing rain from entering. Tarpaulin awnings extended from the verandas, expanding the space. Seven or eight square tables were arranged in a row, each with a hole in the middle for a clay stove, topped with a grilling rack. Diners placed meat chunks on the fire to grill, and pork fat dropped onto the charcoal, sizzling. Eating here, it seemed, required self-service.

Food menus covered the courtyard walls. The two looked at them and saw an incredible variety of dishes. Besides common beef, lamb, pork, and chicken, there were also crocodile, python, mountain frogs, and more. Different parts, prices, and marination methods were clearly listed with their prices.

Dong Rui casually ordered four or five plates of meat, one of which was even marinated with fruit. The variety was extensive, the portions small and exquisite... but expensive! "The spices are quite comprehensive," He Lingchuan noted. Jiaoguo was also known as the Spice Kingdom, and the uses for its native spices were naturally diverse, even appearing in beverages. This establishment's specially offered wines, besides common rice wine, included mint wine, pepper wine, and more, with the first sip immediately stimulating the mind.

In a short while, Dong Rui grilled two lamb kidneys and a lamb eyeball. He delightedly handed them to He Lingchuan, "Come, come, eat this to replenish that part of you." The rich spices masked any gamey odor from the kidneys, leaving only tender crispness. The lamb eyeball was also grilled to perfection, bursting with juice upon biting. Grilling meat over a fire in the wilderness was called survival; grilling seasoned meat in the city was called enjoying life. Dong Rui was adept at both.

On the Blazing Gold Plain, it was probably only in Tianshui City that an ordinary person could afford such a luxurious meal. He Lingchuan, being a merchant, knew from seeing even a casual roadside eatery offer a wide array of food that Tianshui City's supply system was relatively robust and its logistics and transportation were highly developed. In his memory, the last city this well-equipped was Lingxu City.

"It's really a good place," Dong Rui commented. However, prices were exorbitantly high. A single plate of marinated pork snout, less than half a catty, cost more than three times what it would in a restaurant in Jucheng. He Lingchuan also noticed that the patrons grilling meat and sheltering from the rain in this beautiful courtyard were usually well-dressed, in fine fabrics, and their conversations revolved around either leisure or business. Commoners were few and far between. This establishment's caliber was clearly not for those without money.

The two continued grilling and eating to the sound of the rain, watching the crowds rushing to find shelter on the street, marveling at Tianshui City's unique prosperity. Dong Rui sighed, "It's strange that this is on the Blazing Gold Plain!"

After saying that, he went to the outhouse. On his way back, passing the kitchen, he saw four or five people squatting on the ground, gutting fish, washing vegetables, and preparing ingredients. Two others were carrying water. All of them had distinct brands on their faces. One of them also had prominent whip marks on his body, inflamed and swollen.

Slaves. This was the cheapest labor, sometimes not even considered human. Masters only needed to provide some food, and they would work ceaselessly, continuously generating income. The brand on their face was a mark of slavery; escaping offered no way out. The origins of slaves were diverse: sometimes prisoners of war, sometimes descendants of criminals whose assets were seized, but most frequently, they were transformed vagrants. Did they think, after becoming a vagrant, that they had already lost everything and had nothing left to lose? They were wrong.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui ate and drank for half an hour, during which the adjacent table turned over twice. The newly seated diners were two merchants, one in white clothes and one in yellow. They ordered three plates of meat and two catties of pepper flatbread, which they ate with sour pickled cabbage.

"...I'm telling you, General Xue is dead." The yellow-clothed merchant across from him quickly interrupted, "Don't talk nonsense; there are too many people here. Be careful, or the authorities might arrest you for cursing a royal general, and implicate me too."

"No, I'm serious," the white-clothed merchant insisted. "I had an appointment with a friend to discuss business in Tianshui City, but he's stuck in Mangzhou and spent a fortune to send a fast message to inform me. Do you know why? General Xue Zongwu and Qi Yuncheng, the head of the Qi family, were killed! The whole of Mangzhou is like a stirred-up hornet's nest, and the city has been sealed off!"