Chapter 228: Golden Guard

“If you want to eat again next time, remember to come find me.”

“I fish here pretty much every day.”

“Freshly caught, freshly grilled, freshly sold. So fresh it’ll make your eyebrows fall off!”

The old fisherman held a small piece of silver in his hand, enthusiastically waving at Gu Ning’an.

The sweetness of the grilled fish still lingered in his mouth, and Gu Ning’an nodded with a smile, saying, “Alright, I’ll find a place to stay in the town first, and I’ll definitely come back when I have the time.”

“Ah, your fish is on the hook again!”

Upon hearing this, the old fisherman quickly turned around and focused his eyes. Indeed, a fish had bitten the hook!

“Take care, sir! I won’t send you off!”

From the old fisherman, Gu Ning’an learned why this place seemed neither like a village nor a town.

It turned out that this place was actually a large town formed by four villages from the four directions: north, south, east, and west. They had pieced together into one.

In the center of the town was the “Shengxian River,” a name that sounded somewhat rustic. No one knew who had coined it… but it was the name that the surrounding villagers had accepted.

After all, the river’s fresh fish were indeed famous for being “fresh.”

Both of Great Wu’s emperors had visited here to taste the river’s fish and praised it endlessly, issuing orders to ensure the protection of the “Shengxian River.”

However, one emperor had passed away due to illness, and the other had his head chopped off by Jiang Wanzhou… Now, the vast lands of Great Wu were still embroiled in internal strife, and no new emperor had been chosen yet.

As the wooden houses in the distance grew nearer, a tall stone tablet could be seen at the entrance of the village. The words “East Village” were inscribed on it in regular script, and it was said to have been a gift from the late emperor.

Perhaps because two emperors had visited this four-cornered town, the buildings, roads, and environment here were all quite good.

It seemed much more prosperous than many counties in Great Qian. Just at the village entrance, there were many small vendor shops on both sides of the road.

Take Lexiang County, for instance; people usually set up shop in the market, where business was booming. Rarely did anyone come all the way to the remote county entrance to do business.

Businesspeople were no fools. If they could set up shop here, it at least meant that the local economy was in decent shape.

Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!

A young man holding a gong was loudly banging it while shouting, “The Golden Guard is recruiting!”

“Interested villagers, come to Daqu Street and have a look!”

The sound of the gong was deafening, but the street vendors seemed uninterested in what the young man was shouting. Many didn’t even bother to lift their heads.

“Villagers! The Golden Guard is recruiting! Go have a look!”

“Looking won’t cost you anything!”

The young man, still banging his gong, looked at the people on the street and shouted with all his might.

“The Golden Guard, they’re an existence comparable to the Imperial Guards!¹ It’s a great opportunity!”

“If one person succeeds, even the chickens and dogs can rise in status! If one person gets an official position, the whole family enjoys blessings!”

“If you become a part of Golden Guards, your family will never have to worry about food or drink!”

After several more shouts, the street remained silent. With a helpless smile, the young man shook his head. Suddenly, he spotted Gu Ning’an.

From the young man’s words, it was clear that he was recruiting, much like modern-day salespeople who were constantly trying to get people’s attention and pitch their offers.

And that’s exactly what was happening now.

Every time the young man took a step, he shouted “Sir,” and each time he did, he flashed a bright smile.

“Sir, please, help me out. Come with me to the Golden Guards recruitment spot…”

As he spoke, the young man moved a little closer and whispered, “You don’t have to actually join. Just come with me, and if you don’t like it, you can leave right away after a quick chat.”

Hearing this, Gu Ning’an smiled and said, “What exactly do the Golden Guards do?”

“Ah? Sir, you’re not a local?” The man with the gong was momentarily stunned before continuing, “This Golden Guard is similar to constables, bailiffs, or even the Imperial Guards.”

“The only difference is that while they deal with people, we deal with demons.”

“Demons?” Gu Ning’an asked with interest. “Is this a demon-hunting organization established by the Great Wu court?”

This was the first time this gentleman had heard of the Golden Guard, yet upon learning it was a demon-hunting force, he showed no fear at all?

With that thought in mind, the man with the gong continued, “Exactly. The pay is decent, but it’s also money earned with your head on the line.”

“Moreover, the benefits depend on your status… Only those officially registered as Golden Guards get the best treatment.”

“On the other hand, those who aren’t registered receive far worse benefits…”

Registered or unregistered… It was probably the difference between a temporary worker and a full-time employee.

“I am Gu Ning’an. May I ask for your name, brother?” Gu Ning’an asked with a smile.

The man with the gong tucked his drumstick into his belt and cupped his hands. “My humble surname is Zhou, given name Zhongtian.”

“That’s a good name.” Gu Ning’an gestured forward. “Brother Zhou, please lead the way. I’d like to take a look.”

Zhou Zhongtian nodded with a smile. “Mr. Gu, follow me.”

Along the way, Zhou Zhongtian explained everything about the Golden Guard to Gu Ning’an.

It turned out that he himself was a Golden Guard, but only an “outsourced worker.”

In his words, “outsourced workers” were like stepchildren—

They were sent to the front lines to fight demons.
Their weapons and equipment were leftovers from the “full-time workers.”
Their base salary was only a third of what the “full-time workers” received.
All the grunt work and drudgery fell on them.
And when it came to bounty rewards for slaying demons, they were never included.

After hearing this, Gu Ning’an couldn’t help but sigh… No matter the era, having or lacking “official status” made a world of difference.

Back in the information-saturated modern world, Gu Ning’an had seen plenty of similar cases, whether from people around him or on the internet—things like “Outsourced staff, don’t eat our company’s snacks,” “Outsourced workers can’t use our restrooms,” “Outsourced workers aren’t allowed company access cards,” and other ridiculous policies.

Because of this, many people who had worked as “outsourced employees” jokingly said, “Outsourced workers are treated worse than dogs” to mock the situation.

“Mr. Gu, take today as an example… The officially registered Golden Guards are sitting around drinking tea, while we stepchildren are the ones out here banging gongs and shouting, trying to get people to join. If we fail, we’ll get scolded by them later…”

With a bitter smile, the man with the gong sighed. “If I had connections, if I had a better family background, if I had another way to make a living, I wouldn’t put up with this humiliation…”

“That’s why I told you—just come take a look. If you’re not short on money or if you have another way to earn a living, don’t join the Golden Guard… No, more importantly, don’t become one of us stepchildren…”