Chapter 24

In the past, Chen Sheng always dressed in short attire, but it was always with robes and such, tied at the waist and sleeves. Today, however, Chen Sheng was dressed for martial arts practice, in a short buttoned jacket, with the waist, cuffs, and trouser legs all tightened, and bandages wrapped around his calves, and leather wrist guards on his wrists.

Zhao Jin noticed that Chen Sheng's eyes were red-rimmed, though it had faded somewhat, but the traces of crying were still visible. His usual smiling expression was gone, replaced by a serious demeanor.

Zhao Jin didn't need to be told to guess what had happened. Chen Sheng must have been scolded for not coming in first place and was now prepared to fight again today. Zhao Jin chuckled inwardly, not expecting the Chen family to have such high hopes for Chen Sheng.

Zhao Jin quickly finished his lunch but didn't see the pastry package. Just as he was about to ask, he heard someone calling from outside. Zhao Zhen Tang responded, and a servant walked in, carrying a small bundle that was still emitting heat.

"Mr. Zhao, this is the small pastries. Do you want to open the package and check?" the servant said, bowing from outside the room.

"No need, just give it to my son," Zhao Zhen Tang replied simply.

Zhao Jin took the package of pastries, greeted the elders in the room, and was about to leave with Mu Shulan when he heard Zhao Zhen Tang say from behind, "The pastries are better when they're still warm, and they give you more energy."

So that was the intention. It seemed his father also wanted the martial arts competition to be more effective. Zhao Jin turned and acknowledged it, and just as he stepped over the threshold, he heard again, "Fight well!"

It was Zhao Zhen Tang speaking again. Zhao Jin nearly stumbled, and he chuckled bitterly, realizing his father had high expectations for him too.

Chen Zhaocai, the Chen family's steward, followed behind with a clay jar containing the wooden tokens. Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng each held a pastry and walked together.

Behind them, Mu Shulan was quite lively, asking Chen Hong with a smile, "Did your brother cry last night?"

Chen Hong glanced fearfully at Chen Sheng and nodded cautiously. Chen Sheng's face turned red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "My foot slipped yesterday. Otherwise, I would have won."

They didn't walk far before they reached the cargo yard. From a distance, they could see the young boys there, and the boys were looking in their direction.

"Here they come, here they come!" they could faintly hear someone shouting. It seemed the boys had been waiting for them for a long time.

When they reached the edge of the cargo yard, Zhao Jin shouted, "Who will help Uncle Chen carry the things?"

Several boys immediately ran over to take the clay jar. Chen Zhaocai looked at Zhao Jin in surprise, not expecting the boy to be so considerate.

Seeing them come over, the boys automatically parted to make a path. Whether it was Zhao Jin or Chen Sheng, they both intentionally carried hot food this time, and the aroma was especially strong. The boys sniffed the air, their eyes gleaming.

"Where did Ji Xiang place yesterday?" Zhao Jin suddenly remembered.

"Top eight," Chen Sheng replied, already deeply breathing and answering seriously, clearly already tense and prepared.

Just as they were talking about this, Ji Xiang was standing not far away. Seeing Zhao Jin, he scratched his head and approached awkwardly, asking, "Zhao Jin, do you need help carrying anything?"

"No, just a small package!" Zhao Jin replied with a smile. He felt happy, thinking that Ji Xiang would definitely become a friend if this continued.

Compared to the chaos of yesterday, today was much more convenient. Zhao Jin returned to the earthen platform and shouted loudly, "Does everyone still want to compete? Raise your hands if you do!"

A row of hands shot up below. Zhao Jin scanned the crowd and noticed there were more people than before, with about a dozen unfamiliar faces, including six of similar age and ten younger ones. It seemed the news had spread, and some people wanted to try their luck, at the very least to see the excitement.

Zhao Jin saw Sun Dali, who was even fatter than Chen Sheng, also dressed in a short robe suitable for fighting. He also saw Shi Manqiang, who was eating a baked pancake.

He clearly remembered that Shi Manqiang used to play alone in the cargo yard, but today a few children were gathered around him.

"Shi Manqiang, come here!" Zhao Jin shouted from the earthen platform.

Shi Manqiang, who was eating, was taken aback. Seeing Zhao Jin calling him, he didn't know what Zhao Jin wanted, but thinking of the fair words Zhao Jin had said yesterday, he tucked the baked pancake into his chest and walked over to the platform.

Chen Sheng didn't look too pleased with Shi Manqiang, staring at him intently. Shi Manqiang, being a tough kid, stared back without backing down.

Once on the platform, Zhao Jin shouted, "This is Shi Manqiang, the winner of yesterday's competition. Everyone, follow me and shout, 'Shi Manqiang, mighty!'"

"Shi Manqiang, mighty!" The shouts below were sparse at first, but as Zhao Jin raised Shi Manqiang's arm and shouted again, by the third time, the boys' voices were in unison. Shi Manqiang, initially embarrassed, soon felt a sense of pride and involuntarily puffed out his chest.

The boys in the cargo yard looked at Shi Manqiang with envy. Getting so much delicious food and such glory was every boy's dream.

After the shouting, someone couldn't help but shout, "Hurry up and distribute the tokens and start the competition!"

Zhao Jin ignored the voice, just patting Shi Manqiang on the back and saying, "I hope you win first place again today."

Shi Manqiang, who was initially wary, had some resistance to these rich kids, but after the recognition and the encouragement, he smiled and nodded solemnly.

As Shi Manqiang walked down from the platform, the boys automatically made a path for him. A few who were close to him patted his shoulder, and Shi Manqiang chuckled, taking out the baked pancake from his chest and continuing to eat.

As they walked down, Chen Sheng's face on the platform looked very unhappy. He poked Zhao Jin and said coldly, "Why did you do that?"

"This way, more people will come to compete. If you win, you can be just as glorious as him!" Zhao Jin knew how to deal with such childish temper tantrums.

After all this, the boys below were getting impatient. They wanted to start the competition and draw the tokens as soon as possible. Being the first place was too tempting, and Shi Manqiang didn't seem that formidable.

However, after calming Chen Sheng, Zhao Jin opened the package and the food box. Unlike yesterday, Zhao Jin had added fruit and nuts to the steamed cakes, and Chen Sheng had brought meat buns. These were even more tempting, and everyone's eyes widened.

"Zhao Jin, hurry up!" someone below urged.

Zhao Jin knew that building up the mood was essential for the best effect. Now it was about right, so he pushed the clay jar forward and said, "Draw the tokens. The top eight from yesterday, come and take yours first!"

There were more boys today, and the crowd was even more crowded than yesterday. The smaller and weaker boys couldn't get to the front, but Zhao Jin's words didn't really matter because the eight boys naturally stood at the front, and no one contested with them. They had already proven they were stronger than the others.

Shi Manqiang took the first token, Chen Sheng the second, Sun Dali and Ji Xiang were also among the top eight, and the other four were either tall and strong or agile and nimble.

After these eight boys took their tokens, the others crowded forward. The first boy to reach the clay jar looked at Zhao Jin and said cautiously, "Zhao Jin, aren't you going to take one?"

This boy's words made the others realize that although Zhao Jin hadn't completed the competition yesterday, his strength had been proven over the past few days. Plus, he was the one organizing the event, and he had unknowingly gained the respect of the boys. Compared to Zhao Jin, even though Chen Sheng had brought more pastries, no one really remembered that.

"You take yours first, I'll take mine last," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Hearing this, the boys rushed to draw the tokens.

The procedures were the same as yesterday. The distribution of black and white tokens was even, and there were no early "strong vs. strong" matches like Liu Yong against Sun Dali.

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