"The people from the Dragon King Gang are here."
Hearing this voice, Su Weiwei's face changed, and she instantly knew what had happened.
After all, the people from the Dragon King Gang came almost every month.
She couldn't possibly not be familiar with them.
"You go back inside."
Jiang Fan said to Su Weiwei. He knew that everyone in the Dragon King Gang was dangerous, and if they saw Su Weiwei, who knew what might happen.
The ancient saying "Beauty brings calamity" remains eternally true.
"Okay."
Su Weiwei nodded. Without hesitation, she obediently hid inside the room.
Originally, paying the monthly tribute was handled by Father Jiang and Jiang's Mother. But since they had passed away, it naturally fell to Jiang Fan to deal with it.
Bang!
The slightly ajar wooden door of the tiled house was unceremoniously kicked open, displaying utter arrogance and dominance.
Then, a middle-aged man around thirty, with a burly build and full beard, walked in, followed by three equally large men.
Their eyes were filled with a murderous aura, having blood on their hands.
Each was robust, far beyond what an average fisherman could compare to.
"Kid, you've got guts."
"Knowing I'm coming, you still dare to close the door."
"Could it be you don't want to pay the monthly tribute?"
The middle-aged man glared at Jiang Fan, emanating a faint sense of malice.
It seemed as though if Jiang Fan dared to argue, he'd receive a brutal beating.
He was a leader from the Dragon King Gang, named Zheng Wenbing, nicknamed Lord Bing.
He was in charge of collecting the Osmanthus Village villagers' monthly tribute and was notorious for it.
Many fishermen had suffered beatings at his hands.
"Lord Bing, how would I dare not to pay the tribute?"
"I just recovered from a serious illness and couldn't come out to greet you."
"The tribute is all ready. Please accept it with a smile, Lord Bing."
Jiang Fan took a deep breath and pulled out a cloth bag full of copper coins.
This was the tribute for the month.
It was basically all the money left in the house.
Even if grudgingly, he could only bring it out to avoid this disaster.
"Oh, so straightforward?"
"I heard your parents died a few months ago, and the funeral cost a lot of money."
"Yet you can still pay the tribute. Did you perhaps catch a Treasure Fish and make a fortune?"
Zheng Wenbing squinted slightly, suspiciously looking at Jiang Fan.
The so-called Treasure Fish were special fish from Yunmeng Lake, full of valuables.
A single Treasure Fish could sell for at least ten taels of silver.
If a fisherman caught a Treasure Fish, they wouldn't have to work for the rest of the year.
Unfortunately, Treasure Fish were extremely rare, practically impossible to find.
"How could that be?"
"With my skills, even if I really encountered a Treasure Fish, I probably couldn't catch it."
"The little money I have left was saved from years of frugal living."
"If I had truly caught a Treasure Fish, I'd certainly sell it to the Dragon King Gang right away and never hide it."
Jiang Fan pretended to be full of fear and respect.
He knew this world wasn't simple, not an ordinary feudal dynasty.
In this world, there were martial artists with Extraordinary Power.
It's said these martial artists could scale walls, wield immense strength, impervious to weapons.
The top martial artists could defeat thousands, enter armies and emerge unscathed.
Not to mention the nearby.
Zheng Wenbing was a martial artist, reportedly invincible to dozens at close range.
Even his three subordinates could fight ten each.
He once wanted to learn martial arts.
Sadly, even the most basic tuition for martial arts schools exceeded ten taels of silver, unaffordable for a poor fishing family.
"Not bad, you know the times."
"This eighty-li Yunmeng Lake belongs to our Dragon King Gang."
"The Mortal Fish and Treasure Fish inside can only be sold to us."
"If you dare hide Treasure Fish, it's a capital offense."
"I doubt you dare hide Treasure Fish."
Zheng Wenbing examined Jiang Fan and looked around the bare-bones house, easing his suspicion.
If Treasure Fish were easy to get, they wouldn't be so pricey.
Plus, the kid's a youngster with worse fishing skills than veteran fishers.
The odds of getting a Treasure Fish were too low.
He was being overly suspicious.
"Of course, the fish we catch can only be sold to the Dragon King Gang."
Jiang Fan nodded.
Unquestionably, this was the overbearing nature of the Dragon King Gang, dominating Yunmeng Lake.
All fishermen at Yunmeng Lake had to pay taxes to the Dragon King Gang and their monthly tribute.
Even the prices of the fish were suppressed by them.
It was seven or eight times exploited.
What fishermen actually received was minimal.
"Hmm."
"If everyone knew the rules like you, our job would be easier."
"If anyone at Yunmeng Lake bullies you, feel free to mention my name."
Zheng Wenbing patted Jiang Fan's shoulder, quite satisfied, giving a verbal promise.
Hearing this, Jiang Fan sneered. The Dragon King Gang was quick to collect money, but if trouble happened, they'd run faster than rabbits.
Relying on the Dragon King Gang for help was as unlikely as fish jumping onto his boat on their own.
Of course, he didn't show any emotion.
Dealing with such rough characters, even a slight hint of dissatisfaction might result in a brutal beating.
At Yunmeng Lake, the Dragon King Gang was the law; no one could help you.
After saying this, Zheng Wenbing waved his hand and left with his three subordinates. After all, he was busy collecting tributes from other fishermen.
Hearing Zheng Wenbing's footsteps gradually disappear, Su Weiwei cautiously came out from another room and carefully asked, "Brother Jiang, have those bad guys left?"
"They're all gone."
Jiang Fan nodded.
Honestly, being bullied like this made him very angry, filled with fury.
Even in his past life, he was never bullied like this, and it was frustrating.
Although he tolerated it to survive, he would always remember this grievance and never forget.
Eventually, he would retaliate.
"What do we do now? After giving that tribute, the home really has no money left."
Su Weiwei said mournfully, not knowing what to do.
The rice at home could only last three days.
If there was no income, they'd starve to death.
Bang!
Jiang Fan was about to speak when suddenly a message came from the depths of his consciousness: "You voluntarily paid the tribute, greatly satisfying the small leader Zheng Wenbing of the Dragon King Gang, who saw you as no threat, a good citizen, dodging a calamity. You acquired an Eighth-Grade Opportunity and one hundred Luck Points."
What?!
Upon receiving this message, Jiang Fan was internally shaken to the core. He recalled his Life Chart, Great Blessings Equal to Heaven. Thus, when you survive a great disaster, fortune follows? Is this what it means?
As long as he avoided disaster, he would inevitably gain opportunities.
But what exactly was this Eighth-Grade Opportunity, and what were the uses of Luck Points?