After cleaning up, he finally left the market alongside Tang Xiulan.
The sky was already darkening, and the air had cooled considerably. Other than a slightly sore throat from yelling all day, Chen Ren couldn't feel any sort of tiredness. His body still felt as energised as new and he even had the energy to take a lap or two around the city.
Undoubtedly, this was all due to him being a cultivator and by this point, he was glad that he had been transmigrated in the body of one. It was the only good point about being Chen Ren after all.
If he had been a normal person, he would have been like Tang Xiulan who looked tired and walked slowly, probably because of her aching feet after standing in one position all day. He would have loved to lower her workload, but that would only happen if the stall got more customers.
"We're gonna need way more rice to soak now," Chen Ren said, breaking the silence and glancing over at her. "The demand's only going up."
Xiulan nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. She waited for a few beats before she replied.
"I could talk to the young miss about it. See if we can get more supplies."
"Are you sure about that?" he asked, a bit surprised. "You've been following my orders all this time but never asked to help out proactively. Don't tell me you fell in love with me?"
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, but she didn't look away. Xiulan hesitated for a moment, her head dipping slightly as she spoke.
"It's not that, young master. I wasn't sure of your plans at first," she admitted softly. "I thought it was all just an act— a ruse. But when I saw you making noodles day after day, using every trick to market and sell them… I realised you're serious about building a business. I want to help, if you'll let me."
Chen Ren looked at her silently for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the horizon, where the sun was setting in colours of red and orange. Then, in a calm voice, he asked. "Is it because you genuinely want to help, or is it to win my trust so you can report back to the Tang Clan head?"
Tang Xiulan flinched, her eyes widening in surprise.
Chen Ren's expression remained unreadable, but inside, he debated whether he should have asked her that question or not.
No, it's better to reveal to her that I know it. There's no point hiding it.
He already knew Tang Xiulan acted as an informant for Tang Jihao since she had started following him around.
It wasn't hard to figure out— he was living under someone else's roof, surrounded by servants that didn't work for him. Of course, everything he did would reach the ears of the Tang Clan's head. And Xiulan, being the closest to him, was the obvious informant.
Honestly, he didn't like it, but Tang Xiulan was extremely helpful and he would simply struggle more if he didn't ask for any help and tried to do everything himself. Either way, spying on him wasn't a hard thing and until now, Tang Clan had done nothing more to make them his enemies.
Instead, they had been helpful by giving him a place to stay. But if he wanted to bring Tang Xiulan closer to him, he needed to know her intentions better.
Chen Ren waited patiently, watching her as she grappled with his accusation.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice shaky as she replied. "I won't lie. I do report to the master. But… I genuinely wish to work for you. Since I am a maid working for the Tang Clan, it's inevitable that I can't hide anything from him, but I do enjoy making noodles and helping with the stall. If you let me, I want to be a part of its success, young master!"
Chen Ren nodded slowly, satisfied with her answer. At least she was being honest. If she didn't report to Tang Jihao, they'd just replace her with someone else, someone less trustworthy. He didn't want that.
"That's good enough," he said at last. "From now on, you're my employee."
Xiulan blinked, clearly taken aback. "Employee?"
Chen Ren chuckled. "It means you'll be working for me— in my stall, and whatever other businesses I end up running. In return, I'll pay you. You can report whatever you want to the clan head as long as I'm living here, but from now on, you work for me."
"But I'm already getting paid by the clan," she said, still perplexed.
"This and that are different," Chen Ren replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I can't pay you much since I'm still in debt, but I'll give you five silver wen a month. I'll raise it once I've cleared what I owe. Deal?"
Xiulan stared at him for a moment, clearly not expecting him to offer payment. Her expression softened, and she nodded slowly. "Yes. That's… acceptable."
Chen Ren gave her a satisfied nod. "Good. Now, go get more rice. I'll be sitting in the courtyard for a while."
Without another word, Tang Xiulan bowed her head slightly and headed off, leaving Chen Ren standing alone as the last light of the day faded into dark.
***
Chen Ren sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, stretching his muscles as he looked up at the night sky.
He took a few breaths, regulating his breathing and then loosening his hands; they had been working tirelessly all day. Although he was fine physically, he was still mentally drained. He let his legs fall to the sides and relaxed them forward.
"I feel like I'm progressing everyday with my goal of making money."
Today had been tougher than expected, but the sales had gone well, and he'd even managed to promote Xiulan as his "official employee". If he kept it going this way, he might be able to run the stall from day to night and even establish more branches.
Cloud Mist City was big and Market Street wasn't the only place with street stalls. A small grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought about that.
Still, now that the day was over, he had something else weighing on his mind. Something he had pushed aside since arriving in this strange new world. He had been preoccupied with setting up the noodle stall, adjusting to his new life, and figuring out how things worked around here. But each night, he found himself poring over the cultivation manuals he'd stumbled upon while searching Chen Ren's belongings, trying to make sense of the realms and the challenges that came with them.
Fighting had never been his thing— he wasn't the type who sought out conflict. But in this world, strength wasn't just a luxury; it was a necessity. Sure, he was confident in his ability to amass wealth, but cultivation strength? That was an entirely different game. His talent for cultivation was abysmal, yet he knew he needed to give it a shot, at least.
Especially with the strange qi surges he'd been feeling throughout the day. It wasn't painful, but it was certainly odd. He wasn't even supposed to be able to sense qi at this level.
The nine realms of cultivation, as the manuals explained, were; Body Forging, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Meridian Expansion, Core Formation, Domain Manifestation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation and Transcendence.
Only at the second realm, Qi Refinement, were cultivators typically able to sense qi. For most cultivators at his level—Body Forging— it wasn't possible to sense qi until they reached the 9th star, which was known as the Qi Perception stage.
Until then, the focus was on strengthening the body, sharpening the mind, and chanting mantras to align with the cultivation path. But here he was, at the third star of Body Forging, already able to sense qi like it was second nature.
It made him wonder if his body had somehow gained a better talent through transmigration. He wasn't sure how that worked, but it was a theory that seemed increasingly likely.
He closed his eyes, focusing inward, trying to peer into his own body to understand what was happening with the qi surges. But before he could delve too deeply, a sharp voice rang out, cutting through the quiet of the night.
"Imposter! I have come to judge you!"
Chen Ren's entire body tensed, his deep focus disturbed and he heard the thrum of his raging heartbeat in his ears.
His eyes darted around the courtyard, scanning for the source of the unfamiliar voice, but there was no one in sight. Yet he could hear the sound of footsteps on the floor.
His gaze dropped to the ground, wondering if one of the debtors had hired a cultivator with a technique to turn invisible to deal with him before he noticed someone on the floor.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Aren't you—"