Chapter 9: Life
West City.
After having some food outside, Chen Yuan returned to the Lin family house. The door was open, and he could hear unfamiliar voices coming from inside.
"Old Lin, you're an old member of the gang, so I don't need to remind you about the rules. You're behind on the money you owe this month, and it's been delayed for a few days. If you don't pay up soon, I won't be able to explain it to others."
This was the voice of Hong Ge, his tone stern.
"You know Xiao He's illness has just gotten a little better, and she still needs medicine. The money in my hands isn't enough at the moment. We've been friends for years, so can you give me some time? I'll pay it all back in two months."
This was Lin Cheng's voice, tinged with a hint of pleading.
Chen Yuan slowed down unconsciously.
In his memories, Lin Cheng had never acted like this. Even when the family wasn't doing well, Lin Cheng always acted like the capable older brother in front of him.
If he went in now, it would clearly embarrass Lin Cheng.
"If it weren't for the fact that we've been brothers for years, do you think I'd be coming here today?"
The voice of Hong Ge continued, "We live by our faces on the streets. I didn't want to make you embarrassed or be looked down on by the neighbors, so I only had someone deliver the message. I didn't come directly. But now, you're saying all this, are you thinking I'm not being considerate?"
"Ha, if that's how it is, then I won't say more. By the end of the month, I want to see the money. If not, don't blame me for what happens next."
With the final words, a sound of chairs and tables being moved came from inside.
Soon after, a black-faced, burly man with a scar on his face came out.
He bumped into Chen Yuan as he walked out.
The man glanced at Chen Yuan briefly and then strode off.
"Hey! Hong Ge..."
Lin Cheng ran out of the house, his face filled with anxiety.
But after just two steps, he slumped to the ground, dejected.
Chen Yuan didn't rush over.
Lin Cheng's daughter, Lin Xiaohe, had been frail from birth and had suffered a serious illness a year ago.
Lin Cheng and his wife had spent a significant amount of their savings to treat their daughter.
This event was something Chen Yuan remembered from his previous life.
However, since Chen Yuan himself was penniless, even though he knew the Lin family was struggling, he had no means to help.
He didn't expect that Lin Cheng had borrowed money from the Slaughtering Pig Gang for his daughter's illness.
Gang loans were generally high-interest loans.
Even though Lin Cheng was the gang's accountant and a family brother, he could only get some interest waived at most. The interest was still much higher compared to regular moneylenders.
Now, Lin Cheng had already started to fall behind on repayments, and it would likely keep accumulating.
The worst part was that if he couldn't repay the debt, he would break the gang's rules, and he might even lose his position as the accountant.
Once he lost his job, the Lin family's fate would be dire.
Chen Yuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Lin Cheng was one of the few people who had been kind to Chen Yuan in his past life. Over the past few days in this world, Lin Cheng had been looking after him well, and naturally, Chen Yuan didn't want to see the Lin family fall into a miserable situation.
However, asking him to use his own money to plug the gap in the Lin family's finances wasn't a proper solution.
Then an idea came to him.
'Now that I've joined the martial arts academy, and following Brother Zhao's advice, I'll be training in the mornings. If I want to continue with the butcher shop business, the timing conflicts. I don't want to delay my martial arts training, so I'll probably have to hire someone to work. Instead of doing that...'
Chen Yuan looked at Lin Cheng, who was squatting by the door.
Lin Cheng was the accountant of the Slaughtering Pig Gang and was responsible for handling the business of selling meat in the early market. It would be convenient for him to arrange for prime cuts of meat to be sold at good prices.
If they collaborated, it would save Chen Yuan effort, and the butcher shop's profits could increase as well.
With that thought, Chen Yuan walked over to Lin Cheng.
"Brother Lin, what's the matter?"
"Yuan Ge'er?"
Lin Cheng looked up, his face slightly stiff, and quickly stood up.
He hadn't noticed that Chen Yuan had already arrived.
Forcing a smile, he said, "It's because of the mess this morning. I had no choice but to follow the people from the gang all morning. My legs are so sore, I just got back and was catching my breath."
Chen Yuan didn't expose him, nodding in understanding. "I heard from your wife when I came earlier that you hadn't been home all morning."
"By the way, did my wife mention anything to you about my matters? I just left home today, and there are still many things to handle. Some of them might trouble you."
"Your wife told me. She's actually out now, asking about houses for you." Lin Cheng adjusted his mood and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go inside."
Chen Yuan didn't say much more and followed Lin Cheng into the main room.
...
"Yuan Ge'er, you... joined the martial arts academy?"
Once inside and sitting down, Lin Cheng noticed the Yan Chi Quan Guan (Swallow Wing Fist Academy) uniform Chen Yuan was wearing and looked surprised.
"Yes, the world isn't peaceful these days, so I thought I should learn some skills for self-defense." Chen Yuan shook his head. "I just left home, and my father gave me some money to support myself, so I decided to spend it joining a martial arts academy."
"Indeed, Yunshan City has become more chaotic lately."
Lin Cheng clearly understood that Chen Yuan was referring to the events from earlier in the day. He sighed and then said, "Leaving home, you've escaped from hardship, but living alone without family care can be inconvenient at times."
"However, if you face any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me. Although I'm not of much use, I will certainly not turn my back on helping you."
Chen Yuan didn't hesitate. "There is actually something I'd like to trouble you with."
Before Lin Cheng could respond, he continued, "I just left home, and perhaps my father, feeling some affection, left the butcher shop business to me. He even agreed to help cover the cost of the next ten days' worth of stock. Whatever profit or loss there is will be mine going forward."
"However, now that I've joined the martial arts academy, I won't have much time in the mornings to go pick up the stock. I'll probably need to hire an assistant. I remember that you used to handle accounting for the Slaughtering Pig Gang, and your work hours were fairly flexible. I was wondering if you could help me with this business?"
"The butcher shop generates around seven to eight taels of income a month, and I'm willing to offer you two-tenths of that as your fee. If you're willing to take on this job, we can settle the payment monthly. What do you think?"
"This..." Lin Cheng suddenly raised his head, stunned for a moment.
After a while, he turned to look outside, seemingly having guessed something.
His expression changed, and his eyes reddened slightly.
His tone was complicated: "Yuan Ge'er, you've done me a great favor. Now that you've come out, it's supposed to be my responsibility as your elder brother to take care of you, but now..."
Chen Yuan smiled lightly. "I'm tied up with a lot of things at the moment. If you're willing to help me manage the butcher shop, that would be a great help to me."
"Yuan Ge'er, I..."
Lin Cheng's lips trembled as he tried to say something.
At this moment,
"Eh? Yuan Ge'er is back?"
Lin Xu, accompanied by a small figure, pushed the door open and entered.
"Just in time, I've found some information about the house. There's a place just next door that hasn't been rented out yet. The price is reasonable, and if you want it, you can settle it today..."
She quickly noticed that something was off with her husband. "What's wrong, dear?"
Lin Cheng looked at his wife and daughter, wanting to say something but finally shaking his head.
Chen Yuan stood up and greeted, "Sister-in-law."
He then looked at the small figure. "Xiao He'er, don't you remember me?"
"Uncle Chen."
The little girl hadn't seen Chen Yuan for a while, and now she seemed a bit unfamiliar with him. She hid behind her mother, calling out timidly.
Chen Yuan smiled. He had been thinking about the Huang Ting Yu Ce (Yellow Court Jade Scroll) earlier.
At this moment, he was more focused on settling his living situation so that he could study the scroll's implications for his Yan Chi Quan (Swallow Wing Fist) practice.
He didn't want to engage in playful banter with the little girl.
He turned to Lin Xu and said, "I've just left home, and there are still many trivial matters to take care of. It would be best if I could secure a place to live soon. I wonder if Sister-in-law can take me to see that house?"
Lin Xu looked at her husband with concern. "It's convenient enough, but dear..."
Lin Cheng stood up and smiled. "Let's go, we can take a look. If it works out, we can help Yuan Ge'er get settled."
...
Lin Xu was a meticulous person, and the house she selected had no issues.
As a result, Chen Yuan only took a quick glance before deciding on the place and signing the rental contract with the landlord.
With the help of Lin Cheng and his wife, he spent some time cleaning and tidying up the place.
By the time everything was sorted out, it was already nightfall.
He declined their invitation for dinner and directly moved into the small house he had just rented.
The house wasn't large.
It consisted of a main room, a small kitchen, and a bedroom adjoining the main room.
The monthly rent was 600 coins.
For Chen Yuan, this amount of money wasn't much at the moment.
'I guess this means I've truly settled down in this world.'
Sitting in the main room, Chen Yuan looked around by the light of an oil lamp.
The room was small, sparsely furnished, but strangely gave him a sense of familiarity, reminding him of his past life when he worked in another city and rented a room in a village house.
It brought an unexpected sense of comfort.
It also helped calm his previously restless mind, which had been unsettled since arriving here.
However, he quickly pulled his thoughts away from these distractions.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the HuangTing Jade Scroll.
["Xiao Yan Chi Quan" training plan simulation task completed. Do you wish to extract the plan's contents?]
The information from the jade scroll arrived promptly.
'Extract!'
Chen Yuan silently thought.
The next moment,
A cool sensation swept into his consciousness.