"Yes, after the sea trade opened, there are even more of them, spread across the six streets and nine neighborhoods. Some legitimately stay in post houses and guild halls, while others are scattered renting in civilian homes, and some have long since taken root, marrying Han women, raising families, and hiding among the streets. Now, they deliberately keep a low profile to avoid attention, making their whereabouts even harder to trace."
"What's more dangerous is that these people have deep connections. The local brokers, the Cao Gang and ship gangs, those vassal merchants doing sea trade from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong Chambers of Commerce... which one hasn't benefited from these vassal merchants?"
"Those posters that spread overnight all over the Xizhimen vegetable market, without these local ruffians helping to cover their tracks and pass on messages, how could a few unfamiliar Hu people have achieved such speed and secrecy?"
