Chapter 6

"Is this like an ID card...?" After leaving the house, Jiang Xingchen played with a round iron plate in his hand. It was given to him by Meier in the morning. The front of the iron plate had the words "Jiangling" engraved on it, and the back read "March 9th, Year 217 of the Qiankun Calendar," which was clearly his date of birth. When Meier gave him the iron plate, she told him that he wouldn't find work without it, so he thought of it as an ID card.

Although he wanted to tell the little girl that he wasn't going out to look for work, seeing Meier's serious expression, he didn't explain and silently took the iron plate.

"The craftsmanship is exquisite; it seems the iron smelting industry in this world has developed quite well... But it makes sense, with so many people practicing martial arts, the demand for weapons is high, so the smelting industry would naturally develop rapidly..."

After examining the iron plate carefully for a while, he put it in his pocket and walked forward, facing the rising sun.

Jiang Xingchen had an extremely strong adaptability. As he learned more about this world, he gradually began to integrate into it. Therefore, he felt even more relaxed today when he went out alone than he did yesterday.

He originally wanted to take Meier with him, but thinking about how she had been working hard for several days and should rest at home, he ignored her objections and didn't take her. After all, his sense of direction was very good, and he could remember the way he had walked, so he wasn't worried about not being able to find his way back...

As the sun began to set, the day passed quickly. The gate of the small courtyard opened, and Jiang Xingchen walked in, exhausted.

"Brother! How was it? Did you find any work? Did you earn any money?" Meier hurriedly welcomed him into the house, sat him down, and quickly asked while pouring a bowl of hot water and placing it on the table. Her eyes sparkled, and she stared at him nervously.

"Not yet... But I have a way to earn money!" Jiang Xingchen said, seeing Meier's expression change, and quickly explained with a seemingly relaxed smile.

"Really?" Meier clearly didn't believe him and asked suspiciously, "What's the way to earn money?"

"Secret!" Jiang Xingchen tapped Meier's head and asked, "Is the hot water ready?"

"It's already boiled. Does brother want to take a bath? I'll prepare it for you..."

"No need. You should eat first. There's not much of the leftover flatbread from yesterday, and you must be hungry. I'll go by myself!" Jiang Xingchen took out a few white flatbreads and gave them to Meier, then got up and left the main room.

Meier didn't eat but looked down at the flatbread in her hand, her delicate eyebrows furrowed...

In the kitchen, the steam was thick, and Jiang Xingchen was soaking in a large wooden tub, his expression gradually becoming serious.

For the entire day, he had gained nothing. Earning money was not as easy as he had imagined.

Through his observations over the past two days, he decided to start with food. Although the taste of the dishes from the market stalls and the scallion stir-fry indicated that the diet in this society was not so poor—there were stir-fried dishes, but they were not very diverse, as evidenced by the types of staple foods mentioned in the little girl's dreams. There were no steamed buns, baozi, or large pancakes.

However, when he arrived at the market he had visited yesterday, he saw seven or eight large men surrounding a stall selling white flatbreads. The small and thin stall owner was handing a large handful of copper coins to one of the men. The stall owner from whom he had bought flatbreads yesterday was watching from a distance with a cold smile.

In the end, the large men not only took the money but also kicked over the stall, scattering the white flatbreads on the ground, which were quickly snatched up by a group of beggars who had appeared out of nowhere.

Jiang Xingchen's heart sank, and his inflated confidence cooled down. The arrogant and restless attitude he had developed gradually subsided. He realized that he had been too optimistic and that earning money was not that easy.

At first, he thought about selling steamed buns at the market, but after seeing this scene, he knew it wouldn't work.

After much consideration, Jiang Xingchen decided to cooperate with a restaurant. Although he was at a disadvantage and might lose some benefits, he had to earn money. Otherwise, if he waited another two days, he would be back in the same dire situation as yesterday, and this time he wouldn't have any clothes to sell!

"Even if I lose, I'll just sell them the method for making steamed buns! After all, I know many other dishes!" Jiang Xingchen thought. During his university years, he had cooked for himself during the summer when the school cafeteria was closed. Although his skills were not outstanding, he could handle home-cooked dishes.

However, the next events dealt him another blow. The restaurant staff wouldn't even let him in, dismissing him with a "Get lost, you smelly beggar."

He tried to explain, but when the staff called over two large men, he quickly turned and left.

Later, he tried several more restaurants, but the results were similar. The larger restaurants wouldn't let him in, and it was understandable why. There wasn't a single person in the entire restaurant wearing hemp clothes.

The smaller restaurants, when the staff heard he wanted to see the owner, asked him suspiciously why. When he mentioned making new dishes and how delicious they were, they almost all treated him as a fraud and chased him away. One even tried to catch him and send him to the Hongyuan City security team.

By the end of the day, Jiang Xingchen was on the verge of tears. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have sold his clothes. Through this day, he gained a deeper understanding of the social hierarchy and status differences in this society.

"Slap!" Jiang Xingchen slapped the water, splashing it, and thought to himself, "Tomorrow, I'll buy the ingredients and make them at home, then take samples! No matter what, I must earn money and activate the Yuan Spring. I can't live like this anymore!"

"Brother! Are you okay? It's been a month, and you haven't finished bathing yet?" Meier's voice came from outside the door.

"Ah! I'm fine, I'm coming out!" Jiang Xingchen responded, stood up from the tub, dried himself, and put on his clothes, returning to the bedroom.

He ate three white flatbreads in one breath and resumed his breathing technique, stopping only when the Tai Chu Array had spread to his neck.

"The Tai Chu Array seems to spread slower the further it goes. At this rate, even if all the money is spent on buying white flatbreads, it won't spread throughout my body..." Jiang Xingchen's gaze became distant, and his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

"Click!" The door opened, and Meier walked in, holding a lit piece of wood to light the oil lamp on the wall.

Jiang Xingchen snapped out of his thoughts, looked up, and saw that it was completely dark outside.

"Brother, have you finished eating?" Meier extinguished the wood and placed it by the door, then turned around and asked.

Meier had just taken a bath, her wet hair hanging over her shoulders. Perhaps because she had rested all day, the sallow color on her face had faded, and she had a slight flush, looking very beautiful in the lamplight. The bloodshot eyes were gone, and her clear, black-and-white eyes were like a clear spring, looking incredibly pure and clean.

"The little girl is really beautiful!" Jiang Xingchen smiled and nodded. Looking into those clear eyes, he felt his worries ease slightly.

"Brother, don't be discouraged! If you didn't find work today, you can try again tomorrow. I didn't find work for several days before..." Meier walked behind Jiang Xingchen, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage them.

The slightly painful but soothing sensation made Jiang Xingchen's body relax, and he let out a low moan.

"We still have some money. In a few days, we can move out of this house and live frugally for a while. During this time, brother will definitely find a good job!" Meier continued.

"Brother promised you that you would live in a big house..." Jiang Xingchen's body, which had become weak, leaned back against Meier.

"Meier is already very satisfied these few days. Brother has never taken such good care of me before..." Meier stopped, reached forward, placed her arms on Jiang Xingchen's shoulders, and gently hugged him.

Held by Meier, Jiang Xingchen completely relaxed, and all the worries of the day dissipated. His eyelids grew heavy.

"Brother, you're tired from a long day. Get some rest early!" Meier whispered in Jiang Xingchen's ear.

"Okay!" Jiang Xingchen stood up unconsciously and walked to the bed...

The next morning, just as Jiang Xingchen was about to leave, Meier suddenly called him, saying, "Brother, I might go to Uncle Huang's place today to return the money and see if his charcoal business needs any help!"

Jiang Xingchen frowned and said, "Returning the money is fine, but why does the charcoal business need your help? Uncle Huang has two sons, and you're only thirteen..."

"Ah!" Meier pouted and said, "Uncle Huang is so kind and helped us when we were in our most difficult time. We should at least show our gratitude!"

Jiang Xingchen pondered for a moment and nodded. "Alright, I don't think Uncle Huang will let you work! Here's some money... Don't be stingy and buy black flatbreads for yourself!"

Saying this, Jiang Xingchen took out thirty copper coins and gave them to Meier, patted her head, and turned to leave the courtyard.

"Got it!" Meier wrinkled her nose at Jiang Xingchen's back and made a face, then bounced back into the house...

After leaving the house, Jiang Xingchen headed straight for the market to buy flour, planning to make some unleavened flatbreads at home and take them to the restaurant, so he wouldn't be treated as a fraud. Making steamed buns required leavening, which would take too long, and he couldn't wait.

On his way to the market, while looking at the prices of rice and flour, he heard a conversation at the entrance.

"Manager Wang, was your Yingbin Restaurant selected by Commander Mo?"

"How could it be selected? Even Fuyongzhai couldn't make it! I'm puzzled why Commander Mo is so averse to the smell of meat. We used the best wild beef, and I couldn't even taste the gamey flavor... It seems that the 300 yellow crystals reward from the Purple Thistle Mercenary Group is unattainable!"

"Fuyongzhai isn't after the 300 yellow crystals; they're after the top-grade ingredient, the Swordback Pig..."

Jiang Xingchen didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as he was completely captivated by the 300 yellow crystals.

"Purple Thistle Mercenary Group, 300 yellow crystals... an opportunity!" Jiang Xingchen didn't even buy the flour and quickly left.