Money is Hard to Earn, Martial Arts Are Hard to Learn

Riverbend Town.

Early morning, just as dawn broke, at Chen's Fish Shop.

"These cutlassfish are too small, two copper coins."

"Aunt Qin, these cutlassfish are so small, how could I possibly charge you? They're on the house. Look at these few black carp, just caught, I specially saved them for you."

"The size is good, how much?"

"Twenty copper coins each."

"Twenty copper coins, isn't that a bit expensive?"

"It's not cheap, but you're not short on money. These black carp were originally going to be sent to the county, but last week you said your daughter-in-law was pregnant, so I asked the shopkeeper to save them for you. Black carp are full of goodness, as the old saying goes, eat black carp, hold a good grandson."

"Alright, pack them up for me then. Give me these few cutlassfish too."

"No problem, I'll pack them up for you right away."

A slender young man quickly and skillfully packed the black carp into the vegetable basket the woman handed over. Finally, he added two lake mussels to the basket. Seeing this, the woman smiled even more brightly.

"Oh, Sister Zhang, it's better to arrive just in time than too early. These two carp are very fresh..."

"Uncle Li, you've come to buy fish yourself today! You really dote on our auntie. Just tell me what kind of fish you want..."

"Uncle, same as usual, I'll scale it for you."

The young man held the fish with one hand and scissors with the other, scaling it with extreme speed. He didn't even look at his hands.

"Little Chen, have you thought about finding a wife?"

"It's still early."

"Early? At your age, you should be thinking about it. When I was your age, Little Bao was already born."

"Uncle, the scales are scraped off, I've put it in your basket."

"Already done? Little Chen, your speed is really fast." The middle-aged man wanted to chat a bit more, but seeing the young man already attending to the next customer, he left with his vegetable basket, feeling a little unsatisfied.

Half an hour later, the three baskets of fish in front of the young man were all empty.

The shopkeeper of the fish shop walked over, puffing on his pipe. "Little Chen, how about it? Have you considered coming to work for me? I'll talk to the boss and give you ten more copper coins per month than a new hire."

"Shopkeeper Yang, I'm still studying martial arts at the Martial Arts Hall," the young man politely refused.

"Learning martial arts isn't that easy. If your family doesn't have money, you can't learn it at all. Work as a helper in the shop for now. If you do well, I'll recommend you to the boss, and you can become a shopkeeper in the future."

"Thank you for your kindness. When I get eliminated from the Martial Arts Hall, I'll come and seek your help."

The young man wiped the fish slime from his hands. His hands, raw from scaling, took the fifteen copper coins the shopkeeper handed over, but his words still conveyed a refusal.

"With a good head for business, why learn martial arts? Is that something ordinary folks can learn?"

The shopkeeper watched the young man's retreating back and sighed.

Don't learn martial arts without money, or you'll end up with nothing.

"Shopkeeper, this Lin Chen is too ungrateful. He just came up with a way to scale fish, and you appreciate him so much, yet he still refused."

The shop helper felt very dissatisfied with Shopkeeper Yang's appreciation for Lin Chen. He could do that job too, and he scaled fish even faster than Lin Chen.

"You don't know anything!" Shopkeeper Yang turned around and glared at the helper impatiently. "You think it's just about scaling fish? The other fish shops have copied the idea, but they still can't outsell us. That's his skill."

Shopkeeper Yang saw clearly that Lin Chen's strength lay in turning these customers into regulars.

But the helper wasn't entirely wrong. He did appreciate Lin Chen and hoped Lin Chen would work at the fish shop. However, although Lin Chen's reply today was polite, he had no intention of being a helper at all. He wouldn't be able to do this odd job for him anymore.

Ten copper coins wasn't a lot, but it was an extra expense. If he gave the job to the shop helper, he wouldn't need to spend those ten copper coins.

He was just a shopkeeper and still had to be accountable to the boss. Besides, this was also a form of protection for Lin Chen.

Leaving the fish shop, Lin Chen sighed. He wouldn't be able to do this fish-slaughtering odd job anymore.

Once is okay, twice is okay, but not thrice.

He had refused Shopkeeper Yang three times in a row. Shopkeeper Yang probably wouldn't let him continue doing the odd job of selling fish.

Although he sold more fish doing this job than the other helpers, Shopkeeper Yang was just a shopkeeper, essentially a senior employee. This job could be done by the helpers, yet he was still giving him ten copper coins. After a while, it would be difficult to explain to the boss.

Today's inquiry was his last chance.

And even if Shopkeeper Yang hadn't asked today, he would have stopped after a few more times at most.

The shopkeepers of the other fish shops around were already looking at him with some ill will.

If he were a fish shop helper, it would be fine to be good at selling fish; he would be a professional relying on his skills.

But as someone doing odd jobs, stealing their business would definitely cause resentment.

Lin Chen shook his head. In the past few months, he had done many odd jobs in town, always leaving after a month or so. This was the reason.

Lin Chen returned to the town's Martial Arts Hall.

In the Martial Arts Hall's training ground, many young people were practicing their stances, their shouts echoing continuously.

"Chenzi, you're back."

On the training ground, a young man saw Lin Chen return and leaned over, lowering his voice. "It's the last month soon. If your strength doesn't reach two hundred jin, you'll be eliminated. If you don't have enough money, I have some here. Take it first and use it. Don't go out taking odd jobs and waste your martial arts practice."

Lin Chen's heart warmed. "Don't worry, if I really don't have enough, I won't be polite with you."

The young man beside him was from the same village. They had played together since they were kids and were the kind of good brothers who had literally seen each other's private parts.

"Your grandfather is something else. He gives money for your older cousin to learn martial arts, but not for you," Gu Fei muttered.

"The family has already spent a lot of money on my older cousin's martial arts training."

Lin Chen felt a bit helpless. He had transmigrated too late.

He had only transmigrated to this world half a year ago. His older cousin had already been learning martial arts for two years, and the family's savings had all gone towards that. The only reason he was able to come to the Martial Arts Hall was because he had fought for it by threatening to kill himself.

He absolutely had to learn martial arts.

Because in this world, there was no such thing as studying to become a scholar; this was a martial world, where martial artists were supreme.

Officials and nobles were all martial artists.

Everything else was inferior; only learning martial arts was esteemed.

However, the cost of learning martial arts was extremely high. Just the Martial Arts Hall tuition was ten taels. But Lakeside Village, where Lin Chen was from, had received a benefit ten years ago when a remarkable Martial Scholar emerged from their village, securing them the privilege of free martial arts training.

It was free for ten years, and this was the last year.

Lin Chen knew very well that if he missed this year, it would be even harder for him to learn martial arts. Earning ten taels of silver was not easy, and the Martial Arts Hall only recruited students under the age of sixteen. By next year, he would not meet the criteria.

After absorbing the original body's memories and understanding these circumstances, he had threatened to kill himself to go to the Martial Arts Hall. Only then did his grandfather make an agreement with him.

If he could pass the assessment within six months at the Martial Arts Hall, the family would support him in continuing to learn martial arts. If he couldn't pass, he would give up learning martial arts.

And during these six months, his grandfather would not give him money. He only brought a few bags of grain to the Martial Arts Hall at the start of school, exchanging them for meal tickets for the cafeteria.

Lin Chen knew his grandfather's intentions: without money, he couldn't eat meat to supplement his Qi and Blood, and he wouldn't meet the Martial Arts Hall's six-month assessment requirements. Then, he would be eliminated and sent home, and he wouldn't be able to keep making a fuss about continuing to learn martial arts.

Even though he knew this agreement was very unfair to him, he still agreed.

If he didn't agree, his grandfather would absolutely not let him go to the Martial Arts Hall.

He had no choice!

Lin Hui, from his second uncle's family, had also made a fuss about learning martial arts back then. His grandfather had directly reprimanded him and didn't give him any chance to register at the Martial Arts Hall.

Children from Lakeside Village could enter the Martial Arts Hall for free, but they had to get the consent of the family head. The Lin family hadn't split up yet, so the authority of the family head was in his grandfather's hands.

If his grandfather didn't agree, he couldn't enter the Martial Arts Hall.

After entering the Martial Arts Hall, Lin Chen realized that practicing martial arts was much harder than he had imagined.

Without money, it was truly difficult to progress.

The fist technique taught at the Martial Arts Hall, Warm Sun Fist, had no practical combat application. It was more like a set of exercises, its purpose being to make one's Qi and Blood flow more smoothly and accelerate the growth of Qi and Blood.

But there was a prerequisite: nutrition had to keep up. Besides eating enough, one had to eat well.

Beef in the cafeteria cost fifteen wen per jin. Some students ate it every meal, while he hadn't bought it even once so far.

But even so, he still didn't give up.

One reason was that he was a person from two lives. He clearly knew that learning martial arts was his only chance to distinguish himself in this world, and he absolutely could not give up.

Another reason was the panel that appeared when he transmigrated.

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Profession: Martial Artist]

[Qi and Blood: 802/3000]

[Destiny: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, persevere, proceed step by step, break through like a bamboo, free from the troubles of bottlenecks.]

Having read many webnovels in his previous life, he understood that this was the golden finger he brought with him from his transmigration.

This panel was the motivation for his persistence.

Whenever he saw other students eating meat heartily while he ate free vegetarian dishes, he would call out the panel to take a look. Seeing the changes in the Qi and Blood value on it would fill him with motivation again.

Though there is no meat in my meal, I take hope as my dish.

Although the growth of Qi and Blood is small, it is not stagnant.

Furthermore, his Destiny was [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]. From the annotation of his Destiny, he understood its power.

Having read so many martial arts novels in his previous life, he knew how many geniuses were stuck at realm bottlenecks and unable to break through. Since he had no bottlenecks, he could catch up from behind.

The future was bright, but the path was winding. As long as he walked through this winding path, a bright future awaited him.

Noon.

Students were leaving the training grounds in twos and threes, but Lin Chen was still practicing the Warm Sun Fist.

Gu Fei stayed by his side.

It wasn't until fifteen minutes later that Lin Chen finally stopped.

If he didn't have money for meat, then he could only train more.

Lin Chen was very grateful for his panel, which allowed him to clearly see the increase in his Qi and Blood.

When he first entered the Martial Arts Hall, his Qi and Blood was 500 points. When he was full, his Qi and Blood increased by 1 point every day.

Lin Chen was very clear about the extra 1 point of Qi and Blood.

At his age, as long as he ate his fill, his Qi and Blood would naturally increase.

After testing the Warm Sun Fist for a few days, Lin Chen found a pattern: according to the academy's requirement of practicing for four hours a day, his Qi and Blood increased by 5 points in three days. Subtracting the 3 points of natural growth, the Warm Sun Fist contributed 2 points of Qi and Blood.

But if he practiced for five hours a day, his Qi and Blood increased by 2 points daily, totaling 6 points in three days.

The students from well-off families didn't care about this extra 1 point of Qi and Blood, but for him, one more point meant one more step of progress, bringing him closer to the assessment goal.

By the time Lin Chen and Gu Fei arrived at the cafeteria, some students had already finished eating and were leaving. There were only a few people left at the serving window.

Students brought their own food to the Martial Arts Hall and exchanged it for the corresponding amount of rice.

Vegetable dishes were free.

Meat dishes cost money.

As usual, Lin Chen got his rice and vegetable dishes and went to the bucket filled with beef soup.

The beef soup in the cafeteria was quite unique; the beef slices were remarkably melt-in-your-mouth. But since it was free, no students had any complaints.

Looking at the nearly empty beef soup bucket, Lin Chen served himself a bowl. He came to the cafeteria later not only so he could train longer, but also to get this free beef soup.

The cafeteria's beef soup was placed next to the meat dish window. Although it was free, it was essentially an add-on for students who bought meat. The amount was based on the weight of beef the kitchen cooked.

If students rushed over to get a free bowl of beef soup as soon as the cafeteria opened, the students who bought meat later wouldn't have any soup, which would definitely cause trouble.

Only after most students had finished eating, if there was leftover beef soup, could he come and get a free bowl without the cafeteria staff having any objections.

"He comes here every day just to get the free beef soup from the cafeteria. He's not here to learn martial arts at all. You'd think he had no food at home and came to the Martial Arts Hall just to freeload food and drinks."

Lin Chen returned to his table with his food. A student at the next table spoke mockingly.

Facing the other person's ridicule, Lin Chen didn't respond.

"Zhang Tao, what are you saying!"

Lin Chen didn't respond to the other person, but Gu Fei slammed the table.

"Did I say something wrong? If you can't even afford beef, why are you learning martial arts?" The other person glared back fearlessly.

"There's no need to argue with him."

Lin Chen pulled Gu Fei back. The Martial Arts Hall strictly prohibited students from fighting and brawling privately, and the punishment was severe.

He gave the other person a cold glance. If his golden finger was a genius buff, today he would have made Zhang Tao understand what it meant to be courting death.

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Many students in the cafeteria heard the argument and looked over. When they saw it was Lin Chen, several of them had mocking expressions.

Lin Chen was quite famous in the Martial Arts Hall.

Not for good grades, but for being stingy!

He got free beef soup and vegetable dishes every day.

In the words of the cafeteria staff, for many years, Lin Chen was the only student who hadn't earned them any money and had actually cost them quite a bit.

"Chenzi, I'm full. Help me eat this beef, otherwise it'll go to waste."

Gu Fei pushed the remaining half-plate of beef towards Lin Chen. Lin Chen knew that Gu Fei had deliberately gotten extra to give to him, but he had always refused in the past.

"Alright, then I won't be polite."

"I really am full..." Gu Fei was stunned mid-sentence. In the past, when he'd offered Lin Chen half of his beef on the pretext, Lin Chen had always refused. He had subconsciously thought Lin Chen would refuse again and was about to continue persuading him, but he didn't expect Lin Chen to accept this time.

So, Zhang Tao's mockery was actually effective?