Chen Yuan followed Zhao Shan into the courtyard, carefully observing his surroundings.
The courtyard had a spacious central area with a flat ground, cluttered with several stone locks.
On the east side stood an old locust tree, its branches lush and leaves dense, casting a wide canopy that shaded half the sky and created a large area of green shade.
Under the tree was a stone table and a wooden weapon rack, which held only two weapons: a knife and a spear.
There were only two rooms in the courtyard: one main room with its door slightly ajar, where a large water jar was placed under the eaves, alongside buckets, brooms, dustpans, and mops.
To the west was a smaller side room with its door tightly closed.
Zhao Shan pointed towards the side room and said, "Junior Brother Chen, you will live in this side room from now on. I have to return to Master to report; you can tidy up a bit."
Chen Yuan smiled innocently and gratefully replied, "Alright! Thank you for your care, Senior Brother!"
Once Zhao Shan left, Chen Yuan's smile gradually faded.
He closed the courtyard door, thought for a moment, then secured it with a latch before stepping into the side room.
It seemed that the side room had not been occupied for quite some time; dust covered the furniture inside.
Chen Yuan set down his bundle and went to retrieve some tools from in front of the main room to start cleaning.
The furniture in the room was minimal: just a wooden bed, a cabinet, a square table, two short stools, and a toilet.
The bed was empty, lacking bedding or pillows; the cabinet was also bare, while on the square table sat a candlestick and a teapot with two ceramic bowls turned upside down.
Fortunately, the toilet was very clean with no signs of dirt.
In less than two hours, Chen Yuan had tidied up the side room thoroughly.
After pondering for a moment, he also cleaned the main room carefully.
The main room had more furniture; Zhao Shan was somewhat rough around the edges and typically did not pay much attention to cleanliness. The interior was cluttered with long-standing dirt in the corners.
Chen Yuan did not rearrange any of Zhao Shan's furniture or touch his cabinet or bed but simply cleaned up any visible dirt.
Subsequently, he arranged the stone locks in an orderly manner and swept away any dust from the ground.
With his great strength and stamina, these tasks were not heavy. In total, it took him less than an hour for the courtyard to look completely refreshed.
Afterward, he opened the latch on the door, moved one of the short stools over, and sat by the stone table waiting quietly for Zhao Shan's return.
...
By dusk, as Chen Yuan began to feel somewhat bored from waiting, Zhao Shan walked in carrying a large bundle.
Chen Yuan stood up to greet him and said, "Senior Brother, you're back."
Zhao Shan placed the bundle on the stone table and looked around in surprise. "Did you clean all this?"
Chen Yuan chuckled sheepishly and replied, "I tidied up the side room and then just cleaned up other places as well."
Zhao Shan entered the main room to take a look and praised him: "Not bad! It looks much cleaner now. I didn't expect you to be so meticulous in your work."
Chen Yuan scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "My mother always said that I might not be smart but I have strength. I need to work hard so that my employer can teach me real skills. Senior Brother, since you're teaching me martial arts, you should be considered my employer. I'm afraid you'd think I'm lazy if I don't work hard."
Zhao Shan shook his head with a smile but looked at Chen Yuan with softer eyes. "Master has given orders; I will naturally teach you martial arts well... But why didn't you clean out the cabinet or bed?"
Chen Yuan waved his hand dismissively: "My mother said I shouldn't touch my employer's things."
Zhao Shan nodded slightly with satisfaction and pointed at the bundle on the stone table: "This is what I brought back for you—bedding clothes and daily necessities—so you won't have to make another trip."
Chen Yuan opened the bundle to find a thin quilt and pillow, two sets of yellow cloth short clothes, a wooden plaque engraved with four characters, a food box, and a white cloth towel.
He took these items back to his side room, laid out the bedding neatly, changed into the yellow short clothes, hung the plaque at his waist, tucked away the bag containing jade ornaments close to him, and returned to the courtyard.
Zhao Shan looked him over and laughed: "I didn't know about your exact size; I specifically chose two larger sets. How do they fit?"
"Just right! Thank you very much!" Chen Yuan replied gratefully.
"This is summer clothing; you'll receive two sets of winter clothing when it comes time for that. You'll have to pick them up yourself then... Come on now; grab your food box. I'll take you to get dinner."
Zhao Shan locked up the courtyard door and led Chen Yuan through two narrow alleys into another yard.
In this yard were three large houses with chimneys rising from their roofs that released curling smoke. Several large tables were lined up in rows outside with wooden barrels filled with food.
A few attendants wearing coarse aprons were serving rice dishes to more than ten gray-clad apprentices who were waiting in line. Occasionally, some attendants would come out from inside to pour steaming dishes into barrels.
A middle-aged man dressed in silk clothes who was plump watched as attendants served food to apprentices while occasionally shouting orders: "Faster! Don't slack off! Where are those coarse bread? Bring more over..."
When Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan entered, the plump man smiled at Zhao Shan and nodded: "Leader Zhao has arrived today; what would you like to eat?"
Zhao Shan clasped his fists in greeting: "Manager Sun is here too! I'll have my usual—more coarse bread and stewed meat will be fine."
The plump man laughed heartily: "Alright! Xiao Liu! Come here; fill Leader Zhao's food box with ten pieces of coarse bread, two large bowls of stewed meat, plus one small bowl of vegetables!"
Amidst envious gazes from gray-clad apprentices nearby, a young attendant quickly approached Zhao Shan to take his food box before turning back inside.
The barrels in the yard contained only coarse bread and stews with little oil or meat—just enough for basic sustenance.
The gray-clad apprentices didn't carry food boxes but rather ceramic bowls; each person received limited portions—only one bowl of stew and two pieces of coarse bread—and could not eat as freely as Zhao Shan did.
After Manager Sun finished giving orders to attendants, all of the gray-clad apprentices greeted Zhao Shan warmly: "Brother Zhao! Long time no see!"
"Brother Zhao! Thanks to your help last time I didn't get punished; if there's anything in future just let me know!"
Zhao Shan smiled back without any airs about him at all.
Manager Sun chuckled: "Leader Zhao has great rapport with people!"
Zhao Shan laughed: "I just helped out some brothers; it's nothing special."
Chen Yuan felt something stir within him; it seemed that this senior brother was quite kind-hearted.
Manager Sun turned his attention back to Chen Yuan and asked: "And who might this be...?"
Zhao Shan replied: "This is my Master's newly accepted disciple today—Chen Erniu. Junior Brother Chen, this is Manager Sun who oversees our kitchen."
Chen Yuan imitated Zhao Shan's mannerism by clasping his fists together in greeting: "Erniu greets Manager Sun."
Manager Sun returned the gesture with a smile: "So you're also under Manager Li's tutelage? Then you're not an outsider. Little Brother Chen can ask me for anything he wants."
Chen Yuan smiled shyly: "I have quite an appetite..."
Manager Sun waved dismissively: "No need for politeness; eat as much as you want!"
Chen Yuan grinned broadly: "Then thank you very much!"
He called over Xiao Liu coming out from inside and handed over his food box saying: "Big Brother here—please help me pack five pieces of coarse bread, two large bowls of stewed meat, plus one bowl of vegetables."
Xiao Liu looked startled but quickly accepted the food box: "I wouldn't dare! I'll get it ready for Senior Brother right away!"
Manager Sun's eyes flashed with surprise: "Little Brother Chen certainly has quite an appetite."
Zhao Shan explained: "Manager Sun may not know this yet; my junior brother possesses great strength so having a larger appetite is quite normal."
Only then did Manager Sun understand.
Before long, Xiao Liu came out from inside carrying Chen Yuan's food box.
Chen Yuan took it eagerly and opened it up taking in a deep breath revealing an ecstatic expression: "It smells amazing! Senior Brother! Will I be able to eat meat every day from now on? This is better than what we eat during New Year!"
Before Zhao Shan could respond Manager Sun laughed heartily: "Haha! Little Brother Chen can rest assured that not only will there be meat every day but every meal will have meat!"
Zhao Shan felt somewhat embarrassed as he said: "Please excuse Manager Sun's laughter; Junior Brother Chen comes from humble beginnings so he hasn't seen much of this world…"
Manager Sun chuckled again: "No problem at all! Little Brother Chen is straightforward—he speaks directly which suits my temperament perfectly!"
Chen Yuan scratched his head feeling embarrassed as he glanced at Zhao Shan saying: "Senior Brother! Did I say something wrong...?"
Zhao Shan shook his head reassuringly: "Don't worry about it; this isn't your fault. We'll discuss it further when we get back."
...
The two carried their food boxes back to their residence yard.
Zhao Shan placed his food box on the stone table while Chen Yuan proactively moved another short stool from his side room placing it next to Zhao Shan at the stone table.
Zhao Shan sat down opening his food box saying: "Junior Brother—you're much quicker at work than when talking."
Chen Yuan sat opposite him smiling innocently saying: "My mother says so too—she says I'm slow-witted when speaking but good at working hard. I'll still need Senior Brother's guidance."
Zhao Shan laughed saying: "Then let me tell you about our Hundred Weapons Hall…"
Chen Yuan's eyes brightened as he listened intently.
As Zhao Shan opened his food box eating while speaking he said: "Our Hundred Weapons Hall has quite an impressive background—it's actually under Hu Tiger Gang based in Yuzhou which oversees our branch located in Leping County responsible for ironware business here. Local military forces landowners shops all come here looking for our ironware."
"Senior Brother—what exactly is Hu Tiger Gang?"
"Hu Tiger Gang is one of Yuzhou's two major gangs—it has substantial power with thousands of members overseeing three halls including Hundred Weapons Hall Shen Nong Hall Law Enforcement Hall. The gang leader Luo Zhenwu is renowned throughout Yuzhou as an expert martial artist whose skills are unmatched. My greatest dream is to join their main gang learn advanced martial arts break through inner strength!"
A glimmer of ambition shone in Zhao Shan's eyes as he spoke openly before Chen Yuan—a naive young man without any pretense whatsoever about his aspirations.
Chen Yuan encouraged him saying: "Senior Brother is so impressive—you'll definitely succeed!"
Zhao Shan shook his head modestly replying: "My martial arts are only at bone refining stage—I still have far too much distance ahead…"
"What's bone refining?"
Zhao Shan explained further saying: "Martial arts levels progress from low to high categorized into skin refining bone refining marrow refining inner strength vigor transformation innate strength stages. After four years training martial arts I've just barely broken through bone refining—I'm still far off from inner strength."
Feeling anxious Chen Yuan asked urgently: "Is practicing martial arts really that difficult? How far must I train before I can save enough money build a house marry?"
Zhao Shan stuffed another piece of stewed meat into his mouth before responding casually saying: "Junior Brother don't worry—you possess great strength which indicates your physical body is strong enough. If you practice diligently until marrow refining stage it should be smooth sailing until then marrying won't be difficult—but beyond that becomes challenging."
(End of Chapter)