Chapter 5

"Are you convinced..?" Zhao Jin almost said these words. The fight just now, though low-level, made him feel as if he had returned to his childhood in that other life. Realizing this, Zhao Jin laughed wryly, and the tension and ferocity from the struggle immediately dissipated. He relaxed and took a deep breath, trying to get up from Chen Sheng's body.

During the fight, he hadn't felt it, but when he tried to push himself up, his arm, which had been hit by the short stick, felt as if it were broken, causing excruciating pain. Zhao Jin quickly retracted his hand and fell back onto Chen Sheng. The little fatty, however, paid no attention to Zhao Jin, only covering his face and saying, "You cheated, you cheated!"

The children who had been cheering and shouting were now silent, their mouths agape with disbelief. According to the rules of children's fights, if both fell, the one on top was considered to have the upper hand, and whoever cried lost. Now, with Chen Sheng covering his face and Zhao Jin on top, it was clear that Zhao Jin had won!

The usually weak and timid Zhao family boy had actually beaten Chen Sheng, who had never lost before. The children couldn't process this and stood there in a daze.

"Wow!" Chen Sheng's younger brother, Chen Hong, burst into tears. Chen Hong ran over, grabbing Zhao Jin and pulling him away, crying and shouting, "Let go of my brother, let go of my brother."

Zhao Jin gritted his teeth and endured the pain, finally managing to stand up. Seeing him stand, Chen Hong hurriedly went to help his brother. Chen Sheng had already recovered and wiped his face with his sleeve, his tears and snot mixed with dirt, making his face look comical. Chen Sheng patted Chen Hong's head and said in a muffled voice, "Ehong, I'm fine!"

Hearing this, Chen Hong stopped crying. Chen Sheng then fixed his gaze on Zhao Jin, who couldn't help but take a step back. He thought to himself that if the little fatty really fought seriously, with his strength and martial skills, his current body would be no match. Unexpectedly, Chen Sheng rubbed his nose and said, "Zhao Jin, you cheated. In a fight, you should take turns, but you still won. I'll give you osmanthus sugar and sesame cakes. We'll fight again next time!"

Zhao Jin wanted to laugh, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his arm and back ached, and his face contorted into a strange expression. Children's thoughts are so innocent and funny. In a real fight, who cares about techniques and routines? Winning is what matters. However, from this incident, it was clear that Chen Sheng had a good character and could be a friend.

Chen Sheng picked up the short stick, dragged the tearful Chen Hong, and went home directly. The other children, after a moment of silence, all gathered around Zhao Jin, chattering and trying to get close to him.

Zhao Jin understood the situation. The winner of a fight would always be favored by others, and this seemed to be true from ancient times to the present. However, he had no interest in these children because his whole body ached, and he was covered in dirt. He knew he would be scolded by his mother, He Cuihua, when he got home, which was already annoying to think about.

If it were before, Zhao Jin wouldn't have dared to speak up among these children, and he wouldn't have dared to leave if others didn't let him. But now, even though Zhao Jin was cautious, he said, "I'm leaving!" The other children saw him as very decisive and mature, and no one dared to say anything, watching him leave.

He came with three people but returned alone. Zhao Jin winced in pain as he walked. He thought about what his uncle Zhao Zhenxing had said about "making more friends." Over the past few days, Zhao Jin had observed that his father, Zhao Zhentang, and his mother, He Cuihua, had bad tempers and always thought they were right. However, they took his uncle's opinions very seriously and listened carefully to what he said.

In his previous life, Zhao Jin was an adult and had seen and understood a lot, but most of that experience and ability were not applicable in the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty. He could only listen and observe more. Since his uncle's opinions were valued, there must be a reason, and Zhao Jin listened and followed them seriously.

The Zhao family could only be considered a well-off household. Their status as military households and executioners was very low, and the gentry and wealthy families naturally did not want to associate with the Zhao family. The only children he could play with were those from the cargo yard. However, the Zhao Jin of the past was physically and temperamentally weak and very quiet, which made it impossible for him to play with the wild children from the cargo yard. Each time he went, he felt isolated. Upon careful reflection, it was only Chen Sheng who always took the initiative to invite him to play.

Zhao Jin couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had smiled bitterly too many times in the past few days. First, he had to be patient and make friends with the children, but even if he wanted to, the relationships from the past were so poor that it would be very difficult to make friends.

Turning out of the cargo yard and walking through two streets, Zhao Jin's arm and back finally felt a bit better. Rolling up his sleeve, he saw that his left arm was already bruised and purple. He had thought the fight was just a children's game, but Chen Sheng clearly had martial skills, and he had practiced. Although it seemed he had the upper hand, he had actually suffered.

Zhao Jin didn't want to dwell too much on the fight. Despite the excitement during the struggle, he was determined to quickly figure out his goals in this life and work hard. He had already made up his mind to strive and didn't want to give up halfway like in his previous life or live a mediocre and aimless life.

Taking a few steps forward, Zhao Jin suddenly stopped, standing there in a daze. He suddenly realized something. He still needed to consider what his life goals were, but he had already figured out what he needed to do now.

He needed to learn martial arts and become strong. After the fight with Chen Sheng, Zhao Jin suddenly understood that this was not the modern world. There was no good public security, no abundant material supply, and no complete social rules or relatively fair laws. He couldn't apply everything from his previous life here. The most important thing for him was to become strong, to be able to protect himself. Without this, nothing else mattered.

Zhao Jin slapped his forehead, realizing he should have understood this earlier. Pursuing a literary career through the imperial examinations was not an option, as his academic performance in his previous life was poor, let alone studying the Four Books and Five Classics and the eight-part essays under a different system. As for doing business, he knew nothing, and the farthest place the child Zhao Jin had been was the cargo yard, with limited knowledge and no idea how to start. The most important and feasible thing for him to do now was to learn martial arts.

Thinking about this, Zhao Jin remembered his uncle Zhao Zhenxing's words at lunch, "In this world, having a good physique and learning martial arts is the most important." This made Zhao Jin feel even more confident about his decision.

Was this world bad? Zhao Jin knew that Wanli was not the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, and the Ming was followed by the Qing. He also knew that the change of dynasties brought chaos, but when would it happen? Zhao Jin racked his brain to recall, vaguely remembering some things. In his previous life, he had passively listened to many stories while in bed, but he couldn't remember clearly.

Zhao Jin, covered in dirt, didn't go home directly but went to his uncle Zhao Zhenxing's place. Even if the shop had no business, the shopkeeper and assistants should have been there, but at his uncle's place, there was no one coming or going.

The back door of the shop was open, and seeing no one, Zhao Jin walked in directly. The yard was empty and desolate. Not knowing where his uncle was, he was about to call out when the door of a small room on the north side of the yard opened, and Zhao Zhenxing came out, smiling and greeting him, "Xiao Jin, what brings you here?"

"Uncle, why is no one in the shop?" Being a child had its advantages; he could ask anything.

Zhao Zhenxing looked around and explained with a smile, "Since the Jia River was opened, no one comes to Xuzhou to do business. The shop can't continue, and the boss has gone to Jining, leaving this house for me to watch over."

Zhao Jin had heard this more than once. It seemed that the decline of Xuzhou's market was related to the opening of the Jia River. However, with limited information, he couldn't understand why. Despite his limited range of activities over the past few days, he had seen that most of the shops on the streets were closed, presenting a scene of decay, much like the old industrial cities he had visited in his previous life, lacking vitality.

Zhao Zhenxing had already noticed that Zhao Jin was covered in dust and had a bruised face. He frowned and asked, "Xiao Jin, what happened? Did someone bully you?"

The concern in his uncle's voice made Zhao Jin feel warm. He smiled and replied, "No one bullied me. I fought with Chen Sheng, and I won."

Hearing Zhao Jin's answer, his uncle Zhao Zhenxing was taken aback and asked, "The Chen family that runs the charcoal factory?"

What charcoal factory? Zhao Jin vaguely remembered something and quickly nodded. Zhao Zhenxing, getting his confirmation, was even more surprised and said in disbelief, "Xiao Jin, it's okay to be bullied; Uncle will help you. But don't lie to adults."

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