sovbooks Chapter 29 Undercurrents in Macheng
Chapter 29 Undercurrents in Macheng
The straight-line distance of twelve kilometers seems short, but the hilly terrain of Luzon makes it feel much longer.
Just as dawn was breaking, Chen Feng and Qian Biao set off with their packs. The road out of the village was narrow and difficult to travel, allowing only one person to pass at a time. It took them half an hour to emerge from the mountains and step into the low hills.
In the fields, indigenous farmers were swinging their hoes; their movements, while not particularly fast, were not lazy either.
Qian Biao eagerly handed over a water bottle, his gaze sweeping over the locals, and asked meaningfully, "General, does our Chinese Free Army really not recruit locals?"
"No hires!"
Chen Feng casually replied, then picked up the water bottle and took a big gulp.
The long-standing animosity between the Chinese and the indigenous people of Luzon is not a recent development. If the indigenous people are absorbed into the army at this time, morale will surely collapse.
Qian Biao's expression shifted slightly, his lips moved, but he ultimately swallowed the rest of his words.
Chen Feng assumed he was trying to plead for some indigenous friend, so he didn't press the matter.
The two dared not delay and quickened their pace. It wasn't until three o'clock in the afternoon that the outline of the city of Malolos appeared on the horizon.
Chen Feng didn't rush into the city. Instead, he found an elderly Chinese man with a stall outside the city and asked him for information.
The city is only two or three square kilometers in size and used to have more than 10,000 people, mainly indigenous farmers, Chinese merchants and craftsmen, as well as officials and their families of the Spanish colonial government.
After the US fleet launched a surprise attack, the coastal ports were blockaded, the workshops could not operate, and the workers who had homes outside the city went back home. Now only seven or eight thousand people remain.
The Spanish colonial army also had a battalion stationed in the city. They used to always come out to plunder, but lately they've been behaving themselves and are rarely seen.
After thanking the old man, Chen Feng and Qian Biao headed straight for the city gate.
The five-meter-high earthen city wall was not very sturdy, and the city gate was narrow, barely wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through.
There were no pedestrians at the city gate, only two native soldiers dressed in Spanish colonial uniforms, chatting idly against the city wall, with only scimitars at their waists and no rifles at all.
"Who is it?"
As the two approached, a soldier gripped his knife handle and stepped forward to question them, uttering a few broken words in Mandarin.
"Sir, I'm from Xihua Town. I've come to town to buy some daily necessities." Chen Feng calmly produced his prepared identification.
The native soldier took the certificate, examined it carefully, and only after confirming it was correct did he wave his hand and say, "Go in! Don't cause trouble!"
Stepping into the city, a desolate scene unfolded before my eyes. Most shops were closed, and even in the prime location near the city gate, only one general store was open.
"Zheng Family Trading Company..."
With that thought in mind, Chen Feng quickened his pace and walked over.
The shop is about 80 square meters in size, and the shelves are filled with all kinds of goods, from needles and thread to daily necessities.
A young man in his early twenties stood at the door, with short hair but wearing a long black shirt, which looked somewhat out of place.
Upon seeing a customer enter, he immediately greeted them with a smile: "Brother, what would you like to buy?"
"I want to buy some medicine." Chen Feng walked into the grocery store, his eyes scanning the shelves, his expression remaining calm.
The shop assistant shook his head upon hearing this: "We don't sell medicine here. If you want to buy some, go to Lin's Pharmacy. Just walk down this street and you'll see it."
Chen Feng didn't rush to leave. Instead, he casually pulled up a chair and sat down, asking with a half-smile, "I see your business is called Zheng Family Trading Company. Is this the Zheng family I know?"
"Which Zheng family?"
The shop assistant was taken aback, but a voice suddenly came from behind the counter: "We should be the Zheng family you know."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man in his thirties slowly stood up from behind the counter.
He wore round-framed glasses, had a fair complexion, and a neat middle parting. He wore a finely made white shirt, but only three buttons were fastened, revealing half of his neck.
"I heard you are descendants of Koxinga?" Chen Feng asked curiously.
The man stepped out from behind the counter, casually sat down on a porcelain jar, and chuckled, "That's what everyone's saying anyway, I can't really say for sure. But... you're probably not a local from Luzon, are you?"
"Among us Chinese, which one dares to call themselves a native of Luzon?" Chen Feng retorted.
"Hahaha... Well said!"
The man suddenly burst into laughter, then said, "Then you must not be a native-born Chinese from Luzon."
"How did you figure that out?" Chen Feng asked curiously.
Instead of explaining, the man asked, "My name is Zheng Mingsong. What's yours? When did you arrive in Luzon?"
"My name is Chen Feng! I've been in Luzon for less than two years." Chen Feng wasn't lying; he really hadn't been in Luzon for more than two years.
"Chen Feng? That name sounds familiar." Zheng Mingsong frowned and began to recall.
Chen Feng wasn't in a hurry. He casually picked up a colorful rattle drum from the shelf and played with it, thinking that he could take it back as a gift for his junior sister, Wang Muning.
Half a minute later, Zheng Mingsong still had no clue, so he asked, "What kind of medicine do you want to buy? If someone in your family is sick, don't believe in any folk remedies. I studied traditional Chinese medicine for a few years, maybe I can help you take a look."
"I want to buy quinine, morphine, aspirin, iodine... I'll buy anything that's available." Chen Feng rattled off a long list of drugs available at that time, wanting to see if the Zheng family members, who claimed to have studied medicine, actually understood them.
Zheng Mingsong frowned as expected: "Why did you buy all this? And so many different kinds... Wait, these are all Western medicines for disinfection and pain relief. You're treating external injuries... No, even ordinary external injuries don't require this much, unless it's the military."
"Don't worry about how I use it. As long as the price is right, I'll buy as much as you have." Chen Feng's expression was calm and his tone steady, making it clear that he had the ability to do so and wasn't just bragging.
Zheng Mingsong's brows furrowed, his gaze shifting from suspicion to wariness: "Are you part of the Independent Army? No! The Independent Army has its own channels for buying medicine... Wait, what did you just say your name was?"
"His name is Chen Feng!" The waiter next to him remembered it very clearly and quickly chimed in, trying to show off!
"I remember now!"
Zheng Mingsong slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "You're Chen Feng, the leader of the Chinese Free Army?"
Now it was Chen Feng's turn to be surprised: "How do you know about the Chinese Free Army?"
Zheng Mingsong smiled, his tone becoming meaningful: "You have a leader under you named Tian Gang who has been actively recruiting soldiers in the villages around Malolos these past few days, offering a monthly military salary of $2.5 plus a resettlement allowance. He's made quite a stir. I didn't even have time to inquire about it before the news reached my ears."
Chen Feng didn't believe that.
While it's true that Tian Gang recruited soldiers, the fact that this fellow could immediately recall his own identity and Tian Gang's name clearly indicates that he had specifically inquired about it.
He wiped the smile from his face and said in a deep voice, "Boss Zheng is certainly well-informed. Since you already know my identity, I won't beat around the bush. Can I buy the medicine I need in Malolos?"