He had no relatives to turn to in Gusu County, only a good brother he knew at the Tianying Inn, Sam. But Sam was just a menial worker at the inn, living a hard life himself, not much better off than him.

He didn’t want to burden Sam, so he only thought about finding a job in the county town and relying on his own strength to support himself.

Ethan Brooks walked for quite a while. Passing a vendor at the dock, he saw a steaming basket of coarse grain buns on the steamer. His mouth watered with hunger, and he gulped down his saliva several times.

He licked his lips, rubbing his rumbling little belly, desperately wanting to buy a few of those big, steaming white buns to eat.

A basket of coarse grain buns cost one copper coin—not especially expensive.

But when he reached for his waist, he remembered that his little money pouch had been left on the old fishing boat. He didn’t have a single copper coin on him and couldn’t afford to buy any.

The half-cold, hard cornbread he’d brought from home had long since been eaten on the way.

Ethan Brooks rubbed his flat stomach, feeling a bit worried.

He had grown up in the lakes and rivers of Zhouzhuang Water Town, only knowing how to catch fish and shrimp in the river. Away from the water, now in this bustling Gusu County, he had no idea how he could earn money to fill his belly.

“I have to find some odd jobs here as soon as possible. Only by earning money can I settle down in the county town.”

Ethan Brooks thought anxiously, wandering all over the West Gate market, running to every vendor along the street—wine shops, butcher’s pork stalls, tea shops—looking for work, but nowhere would take him.

The vendors either thought he was too young or too weak to be of any use.

Ethan Brooks was repeatedly turned away, his spirits dejected.

He hadn’t expected that even in this lively West Gate market, it would be so hard to find a job as a helper or odd-job boy. He hadn’t eaten for most of the day, and his body was weak from hunger. If this went on, he’d starve to death on the street in two or three days.

“A big boat is coming~ There’s work!”

The porters by the West Gate dock suddenly became excited.

Ethan Brooks was wandering around in distress when he heard the commotion and looked up in surprise.

At that moment, he saw a large rice transport boat slowly docking at a pier near the stone bridge.

Ethan Brooks was overjoyed.

Such a big rice boat must have a lot of rice to unload and would need plenty of hands!

He saw a dark-faced porter foreman, along with many porters, eagerly waiting at the dock for the big cargo boat to come in.

“Me! Brother porter, I can help carry goods too, count me in!”

Ethan Brooks hurriedly ran over to the dark-faced porter foreman, begging for a job. If you wanted to work at the dock, you had to follow the foreman to get a bowl of rice.

On the dock, the porters burst out laughing. “Can’t you see all these mouths, all waiting hungrily for work!”

“Go on, where did this little brat come from to make trouble!”

The dark-faced porter foreman saw the skinny Ethan Brooks squeezing desperately into the crowd, grabbed him out with one hand, and waved him away in disgust.

Any one of his porters could easily carry a hundred or two hundred jin; this kid, with his thin arms and legs, couldn’t even lift a load of a few dozen jin.

Besides, it was the dead of winter and there were plenty of refugees—West Gate dock was not short of hands at all.

With just a wave, dozens of hungry men waiting for work could be recruited, all with families to feed. Why would they hire a child for such heavy labor?

Ethan Brooks broke out in a cold sweat from anxiety. If he couldn’t earn money and buy buns, he might starve to death in the county town.

At that moment, a middle-aged, well-fed merchant in a fur coat stepped out from the cargo hold, followed by a rather noble-looking lady holding the hand of a delicate young miss, all disembarking from the boat via a wooden plank.

The three were dressed in luxurious, elegant clothes, completely different from the commoners and laborers at the dock, exuding wealth and refinement in every detail.

Following behind the middle-aged merchant were more than a dozen servants and attendants with sticks, as well as several old maids carrying luggage and bundles.

This was clearly a wealthy family from the county town, with a whole retinue of servants and maids.

The young miss, about eleven or twelve years old, was already a budding beauty, wrapped in a thick, gorgeous sable coat. Her lips were red, her teeth white, and her delicate face, flushed by the cold wind, was charming and pitiful.

Ethan Brooks was startled and quickly stepped aside, not daring to block the way of the merchant, his wife, and their attendants.

The wealthy young miss, just as she got off the boat, happened to see Ethan Brooks sweating and jumping around anxiously like a little monkey. She couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile, blooming like a flower.

But she quickly realized the difference in their status, put on a stern face, and snorted coldly, her little face showing a look of disdain and contempt toward Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks felt ashamed under the young miss’s scornful gaze, stepped back even further, and lowered his head, his face burning, not daring to look again.

The dark-faced porter foreman waiting at the dock immediately recognized this as the Li family, wealthy rice merchants who owned several rice shops in Gusu County, probably returning from collecting grain in the countryside.

“Oh, Master Li, you’re back from trading rice! Business is booming, I hope? Was the journey smooth?!”

The dark-faced porter hurried forward, cupping his hands and bowing to the rice merchant, showering him with flattery in hopes of getting a job unloading rice.