YA Ch41: The Toll Gate

The real-time bullet comments instantly filled the screen.

[Diamond-bodied hunk? Are you serious, Han Di Ba Yu?]

[Hahaha, is it really okay to fool the kids like this? In the original story, Xie Zhongyun is a fierce general!]

[This is my first time watching this stream, who is Mr. Mo Tai?]

[Mo Tai is the courtesy name given to us by Han Di Ba Yu for President Ming. Oh my God, President Ming is blushing! (Meme shows Ming Yan’s face)]

[This holographic technology is so impressive; it can even show blushing?]

The high-definition equipment of the Baijiao Live broadcast allowed the viewers to see even the subtle expressions of the characters, refreshing their perception of this new technology from Chenyu. The host took the opportunity to promote Chenyu’s products and their fundamental differences from ordinary smart assistants.

A small shopping cart icon appeared at the bottom of the live screen—click to purchase the super smart assistants “Lu Dongdong” and “Shen Baishui” created with cutting-edge technology.

In the smart assistant app store, the purchase volume of “Lu Dongdong” and “Shen Baishui” surged. Yang Chen looked at the constantly jumping data in the background and felt that the porridge he had this morning was even more delicious: “A money-making Lu Dog is a good dog.”

The characters in the simulator were not as happy.

With such a long title, Xie Zhongyun was stunned, counting with his fingers for a while: “Oh, oh, hunk, um, diamond body; what an immortal instrument; I’ve never heard of it…”

Ming Yan, worried about the live broadcast being shut down, whispered a reminder: “Don’t mention diamond body.”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t against the rules.” Lu Yu, who had memorized the banned words, made a Tom Cat-style eyebrow raise at Ming Yan, “I didn’t say anything as hard as diamond.”

Ming Yan hurriedly covered his mouth. Lu Yu let him cover and took the opportunity to lick the soft palm.

“Ah!” Finally understanding, Xie Zhongyun slapped his head and said, “After all that, you’re the Hua family’s second uncle!”

“Very smart,” Lu Yu held onto Mr. Mo Tai’s hand, which was trying to withdraw, and gave the young man a thumbs up, “Young man, you already understand how to distinguish truth from falsehood; you are indeed a talent.”

Xie Zhongyun scratched his head: “Is that so? Am I really that amazing?”

Just then, the carriage was suddenly stopped.

The little fat boy didn’t sit steady and bumped his head with a “thud.”

Lu Yu, having anticipated this, opened his arms and caught Ming Yan, who had fallen: “Ah, his second aunt, the child is still in the carriage; this is really embarrassing.”

Ming Yan crashed into Lu Yu’s arms, struggling to get up, but was held around the waist.

“Shh, don’t let the people outside hear. They specifically target beauties like you,” Lu Yu whispered, lowering his head.

Ming Yan glared up at him, naturally not believing Lu Yu’s nonsense. But the earnest Xie Zhongyun heard it and quickly blocked Ming Yan with his sturdy body.

At this moment, a person dressed as a soldier lifted the curtain and greedily scanned the inside of the carriage, saying, “This is the toll gate at Fengjin Port. Do you have any goods in your carriage?”

Xie Zhongyun, feeling indignant, said: “Fengjin Port is just a small dock. Where is there a toll gate? You’re setting up a private toll gate!” As a local, he knew the situation within a hundred miles very well and was aware of what Fengjin Port was like.

The soldier’s face suddenly changed, and he drew his knife with a swish, growling, “There have been rebels in the west. This is a toll gate set up by Eunuch Zhang to raise funds to pacify the rebels. Your reaction seems suspicious. Come here!”

Hua Wenyuan lifted two fingers to press on the soldier’s knife handle and handed him a silver ingot: “Young one, don’t understand. Sir, please be lenient.”

The soldier weighed the silver ingot in his hand and immediately smiled: “Little kid, don’t understand. This is our kindness. If it were anyone else on duty, you would have been in trouble. Alright, alright, go on.”

Xie Zhongyun, furious, said, “Cousin, why are you so spineless?” This toll gate was clearly a private one set up by the eunuch to extort money, purely as a means of plundering.

Hua Wenyuan, wearing a bamboo hat to hide his face, leaned back against the carriage axle, looking dejected: “Well, that’s how it is; I’m just that spineless. I’m not a rebel. How can I fight with the soldiers? Before I left home, I was beaten with a bunch of thorny branches by my father for offending the pen-holding eunuch’s adopted son.”

Xie Zhongyun was so angry that his eyes turned red, feeling powerless as if an idol in front of him had collapsed.

Lu Yu patted the fuming little comrade Xie: “Little fatty, if you can’t endure, you’ll lose the big plan. You’ll be at a disadvantage in the martial world if you act like this.”

After speaking, Lu Yu tapped Hua Wenyuan’s bamboo hat with his folding fan: “Xiao Yuan, guess, will there still be toll gates a thousand years later?”

Hua Wenyuan peeked at him through the gap under his bamboo hat but didn’t want to answer.

But Teacher Lu wouldn’t be discouraged; if enlightenment didn’t work, he would just announce the answer: “A thousand years later, toll gates will be called toll stations. However, by then, private toll gates will be rare, and no one will dare set up private ones. What’s collected won’t be taxes but road maintenance fees.” Saying this, he handed the folding fan to Ming Yan, who took out a brush and casually attached a modern highway and toll station picture onto the fan, instantly transforming it into an ink wash style.

Hua Wenyuan rubbed his forehead: “Second uncle, why are you always telling me these things?”

“This is your golden finger, silly child.” Lu Yu placed the fan in front of Hua Wenyuan’s eyes, speaking earnestly, “Knowing what the world will be like a thousand years from now is equivalent to having a direction for future national construction. In the future, when you have the ability, you can also build highways on this land, connecting everywhere, and then there will be peace and prosperity.”

Hua Wenyuan looked at the picture on the folding fan, listening to his second uncle’s depiction of the future, and gradually felt a sense of longing.

Suddenly, a crying sound came from outside. A passing peddler was stopped by the soldiers, kneeling and crying: “Sir, I only made two taels of silver on this trip, and you’re charging me 1500 coins. I don’t even have enough for travel expenses.”

The soldier hit him on the head with the whip handle: “Leave the mule, and if you pull the cart yourself, you’ll no longer be considered a peddler, so you won’t be charged taxes.”

The man immediately fell silent, trembling as he took out the money. The mule was his biggest asset, and if he left it, he would have no way to live in the future.

“This world is so dirty,” Xie Zhongyun clenched his fist, “And also, don’t call me little fatty.”

“You’re quick to react.” Hua Wenyuan, helplessly, plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, tilting his head towards his foolish cousin, “Tonight, help me with something big; are you up for it?”

Xie Zhongyun immediately became interested: “What big thing?”

Hua Wenyuan looked at the swaggering soldiers outside and smiled: “Rob the toll gate.”

At night, Hua Wenyuan led Xie Zhongyun to raid the eunuch’s temporary residence.

Xie Zhongyun, seeing Hua Wenyuan kill the fat eunuch with a single stroke, was somewhat puzzled: “Why didn’t you shoot arrows from the outside? One arrow, one target, would save us trouble.”

“Stop chattering; come and work.” Hua Wenyuan was too lazy to explain. One arrow per target? Only he had such archery skills within a hundred miles; wouldn’t that clearly indicate to the authorities that it was Hua Wenyuan who was robbing?

The toll gate had only been set up for a few days and had collected only about five thousand taels of silver.

The eunuch, greedy for money, would immediately exchange copper coins for silver, neatly stacked in the warehouse.

In the original story, Hua Wenyuan carried away one thousand taels of silver, Xie Zhongyun carried three thousand taels, and the remaining one thousand in small amounts was left behind because they couldn’t carry it. Actually, Xie Zhongyun could have taken more, but Hua Wenyuan was worried about leaving too many footprints and not being able to clean up.

Now with Lu Yu around, Hua Wenyuan looked at him eagerly: “Second uncle, you are also a martial artist; lifting a hundred pounds is no problem, right?”

Lu Yu sighed and said, “Ah, to be honest, I’m getting old, and my back and knees are sore.”

After speaking, he tried to lift the box but couldn’t move it at all.

Hua Wenyuan was somewhat disappointed but didn’t say much, signaling Lu Yu to pack up some valuable items and leave.

Lu Yu shook his head and took out a wax-sealed pill from his pocket, holding it upright. “But I have a miraculous medicine; this pill is called Whirlwind Brand Strengthening Waist and Kidney Pill.”

He tore open the wax seal, popped the pill into his mouth, and quickly typed on the keyboard:

[Hua Shengmi has taken the pill and gained a temporary skill—Strength to Lift a Cauldron; he can easily lift one thousand taels of silver.]

Then, he strapped the black seven-stringed zither on his back, easily lifted the small box of silver, and even picked up Ming Yan on his shoulder, swiftly darting out.

Hua Wenyuan: “????”

The bullet comments went silent for a moment, and someone uncertainly asked:

[Was that an advertisement just now?]

[Damn, the advertisement seemed to have intruded into my brain in a sneaky way!]