“Who are you?”
The waiter looked Chen Xun up and down, undisguised disgust in his eyes.
Chen Xun glanced at himself. Sure enough, his clothes were tattered, and he looked like a beggar. No wonder the waiter was judging him by appearances.
But Chen Xun didn’t care.
“I’m here to see Shopkeeper Xue.”
“The shopkeeper isn’t here. You can leave,” the waiter said without a moment’s hesitation.
So many people came to see the shopkeeper every day. Was he supposed to receive them all one by one?
Besides, the man in front of him was dressed like a beggar and even had a bundle of firewood on his back.
Donglai Restaurant did buy firewood, but the shopkeeper didn’t need to inspect it.
“I’m a hunter from Dahe Village. I’m here to sell a deer.”
Without another word, Chen Xun untied the bundle of firewood, revealing the deer inside.
“But if Donglai Restaurant doesn’t want it, I’ll try my luck at another restaurant.”
Chen Xun gave a cold snort and made as if to leave.
“Well...”
The waiter was dumbfounded.
A deer was worth a lot. If another restaurant really bought it, he would definitely get an earful.
He hadn’t expected Chen Xun to be a hunter. But why hadn’t he said so earlier?
Looking anxious and ingratiating, he was just about to stop Chen Xun.
“Young brother, young brother, please wait.”
A slightly plump, middle-aged man hurried down from the second floor.
After looking over the game, his face brightened with delight.
“The deer still has plenty of blood in it, so it must have died recently. Its body is still warm and hasn’t gone stiff. Very good.”
“The hide is quite intact, and these antlers are good too.”
This man was Shopkeeper Xue.
After examining the deer, he turned his gaze to Chen Xun.
“You look a little familiar. Could you be a young man from Chen the Third’s family?”
Shopkeeper Xue pondered briefly, then spoke.
Chen Xun nodded. “That’s right. He’s my father.”
“Good, good! The younger generation is impressive. Chen the Third was a fine hunter in his day and sold all his game to my Donglai Restaurant. Now his son has followed in his footsteps. Excellent, excellent.”
That was why Chen Xun had come here to sell the deer.
“How about this? I’ll take the whole deer for six taels of silver. What do you say?”
Six taels of silver was already a considerable sum, and it was even above the market price.
Shopkeeper Xue wasn’t trying to cheat him just because he was young.
“All right.”
“Then from now on, whenever you catch any game, bring it all to my Donglai Restaurant. I can’t speak for anything else, but I guarantee I’ll offer the highest price!”
“All right.” Chen Xun smiled faintly and nodded.
At last, he had some silver.
Chen Xun spoke, looking somewhat relieved.
But he still had to come up with twenty taels of silver in two days. That was a real problem.
He didn’t dwell on it.
After selling the deer, he left.
“Shopkeeper, two jin of coarse rice, please.”
“Shopkeeper, half a jin of meat, and make it a fatty cut.”
“...”
Chen Xun then wandered around the street, buying some coarse rice from a grain shop and a piece of meat, spending quite a few copper coins.
But he didn’t mind the cost. These were necessities, after all.
He needed to eat well if he was going to hunt in the mountains. He might not be able to afford polished rice yet, but coarse rice and a little meat were within reach.
And if he wanted to practice Xingyi Fist in the future, he would probably need to eat even more.
He said nothing more. After disguising the bundle again, he hid the coarse rice and meat among the firewood and headed back to the village.
But as soon as he returned to the village, he heard children and women crying and wailing.
“Auntie, what happened?”
“Alas, it’s that Niu Er. He’s brought nothing but misery to people!”
An older woman looked at Chen Xun, seeming hesitant to speak.
In the end, she sighed softly. “He took Eldest Li gambling earlier. Afterward, Eldest Li ended up owing a gambling debt. With no other choice, he’s now selling his children. He just sold his eldest daughter—she’s only fourteen. Who knows how badly she’ll be mistreated?”
The woman looked at Chen Xun and hesitated before offering a quiet warning.
“You’re close to Niu Er, but I can tell he’s no good. He’s always ruining families, and he has Gangs backing him. Who would dare say a word against him?”
“When your father was young and out hunting, he gave my family a piece of meat. For old times’ sake, I’ll give you some advice: you’d better stop hanging around with him.”
Though the woman was still somewhat afraid of him, she was more frustrated with him for refusing to mend his ways.
“You can read and write. Even if you’re only a Tongsheng, you have work in the city. As long as you don’t provoke them, you can make a living.”
Chen Xun was silent for a moment, then nodded and thanked her solemnly. “Thank you, Auntie.”
The woman looked at him in surprise.
Then she looked pleased. This ruffian had finally come to his senses!
Chen Xun looked ahead, where a crowd had gathered.
Eldest Li sat silently in the courtyard residence, while the women of the Li family wailed in despair.
But Eldest Li’s eldest daughter had already been dragged away by Niu Er and two ruffians.
Niu Er scanned the crowd, then fixed his gaze on Chen Xun.
A cruel grin spread across his face.
“Chen Xun, I’ll be waiting for you!”
Everyone looked at Chen Xun in confusion. Even the woman who had spoken to him earlier stared wide-eyed, looking from Niu Er to Chen Xun.
She seemed to have realized something.
She edged away from Chen Xun.
She knew it. A person’s nature couldn’t change so easily. She shouldn’t have bothered trying to persuade him.
Seeing everyone’s expressions,
Chen Xun said nothing.
He carried the disguised bundle of firewood and headed home.
“Boss, Chen Xun can’t possibly come up with that much silver. Why don’t we just storm into the Chen house and take Chen Rou?”
“If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!” Niu Er’s gaze was cold. “Do you think the County Yamen in town is staffed by fools?”
He glanced at Chen Xun. “Give him three days. There’s no way he can come up with that much silver. Then we can take it from him easily. Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Then, Boss, can we have some fun with her first? Chen Rou’s a real beauty. I hear someone already came to ask for her hand in marriage!”
“Heh, Chen Xun wants to sell Chen Rou for a good price. He’s even managed to hold back from marrying her off early!”
“I have other plans for Chen Rou,” Niu Er said with a cold laugh.
Then he looked at the eldest Li girl before him.
“You can take this one.”
“Thank you, Boss!”
The two men had been a little disappointed, but their faces soon lit up.
As for Chen Xun, his gaze turned icy.
“Only Martial Arts Training can change my current predicament.”
“The Blood Wolf Gang has grown so powerful because it has powerful Martial Artists backing it!”
“I’ll start practicing Xingyi Fist today and work harder on my Archery. I’ll hunt enough to cover the twenty-tael shortfall within three days. As for Niu Er, I have plenty of time to play with you.”
Chen Xun’s expression was grave as he headed home.
Far away, before he had even reached his front door, he saw a graceful figure standing there.
It was...
Chen Xun’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Su Mei?”