Money Makes You Strong

Chapter 27: Money Makes You Stronger

The afternoon wind blew even harder than in the morning, and the sky remained overcast. Judging by the look of it, it was going to rain tonight.

Cheng Yun arrived at the rooftop.

Heroine Yin was already waiting for him, and to his surprise, Old Mage had also come to join the fun.

The rooftop space was quite large; it would be a nice place with a little effort. It was clear that the building's previous residents had taken good care of it, but now it was abandoned.

In the four corners and the center of the rooftop, there were small flower beds. In the central flower bed grew a small, withered tree, of an unknown species, only a little over a meter tall. The area around the small tree was overgrown with weeds. The surrounding flower beds were also filled with weeds and some sort of rose bush. Clearly, the water and nutrients were insufficient for such a large demand, causing the leaves of both the weeds and the flowers to be somewhat dry.

On the side facing the street, there was a small fish pond with a miniature rock garden inside.

However, the continuous high temperatures had evaporated most of the water in the fish pond, and it was now nearly dry. The rock garden looked incredibly dry too, its surface seemingly covered in a layer of hardened shell about to peel off.

Cheng Yun leaned closer to take a look. The fish pond only had a thin layer of water left at the very bottom, with a few plants scattered inside, whether they were intentionally cultivated aquatic plants or wild weeds, he couldn't tell.

Of course, there were no fish. It was likely that the previous residents had taken them when they moved out. Fortunately, there were no fish, otherwise, they would have all probably died of thirst inside.

Seeing this, Cheng Yun couldn't help but start planning in his mind.

If he took the time to clean up this rooftop, tidy up the five small flower beds and the small fish pond, replace all the weeds with potted flowers, and buy some ornamental goldfish to put in the fish pond, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Then, he could buy two sun umbrellas online and place them on the rooftop. Below them, he could set up a couple of glass tables, some rattan chairs, lounge chairs, and the like. When he and his guests had nothing better to do, they could come up here to enjoy the breeze. At night, they could have a barbecue or a late-night snack. In winter, they could bask in the sun and drink tea. For Chinese New Year, they could even crack melon seeds and play mahjong. Wouldn't that be even more wonderful?

Just as Cheng Yun was contemplating how to implement this plan, a face with a long, narrow scar appeared in his line of sight... below.

"What are you thinking about?" Heroine Yin looked up at him.

"Uh... I was thinking about how to tidy this place up, plant some flowers and grass, raise a few small goldfish, and so on. Then, add some decorations to make it look beautiful," Cheng Yun said, looking down at her slightly. "If it's done, won't it be more comfortable for us to come up here and enjoy the breeze or just space out than staying downstairs?"

"Hmm? That makes sense! Is there anything I can help with?"

"No, you just wait!" Cheng Yun refused Heroine Yin's offer to help. "When it's done, I'll bring you up to see the little goldfish."

"It's a deal!"

"Ahem, let's not waste any more time with idle talk. Heroine, let's begin!" Cheng Yun said.

"Okay!"

Heroine Yin was decisive. She felt she couldn't let Cheng Yun's monthly payment of five hundred yuan go to waste. So, the day after agreeing to teach Cheng Yun martial arts, she began her preparations before teaching him –

A physical fitness test, or 'body test' for short!

She needed to first understand Cheng Yun's current physical condition and how it compared to people from her world to determine how he should start learning martial arts. This would involve which martial art he should start with, which ones would be relatively easier for him to learn, and which ones he wouldn't be able to practice at all.

As for Old Mage, he was probably just there to spectate.

"Let's start with the first item: strength test." Heroine Yin pulled out a small notepad, barely half the size of her palm, and a ballpoint pen from her back jeans pocket. She stared at him seriously. "To your left are three stones. I have a rough idea of their weight. Try lifting them!"

As the saying goes, a good memory is not as good as writing things down.

Although Heroine Yin hadn't had much schooling, she had developed a good habit of writing things down.

This was thanks to her tendency to forget things the moment she turned her head!

About two hours later--

Cheng Yun was almost collapsing from exhaustion, while the small notepad in Heroine Yin's hand was filled with several pages of notes written in the script of her world. Her handwriting looked even worse than when she wrote Chinese characters!

"The test is finished. I have a general idea of your physical condition. Do you want me to tell you the test results directly?" Heroine Yin said with a heavy expression.

"No need. You've already made it clear enough during the test. I've been hit hard enough," Cheng Yun said, looking up at the gloomy sky. During the test, every time he finished an item, Heroine Yin would shake her head in extreme disappointment, just like his elementary school teacher used to, saying:

"Our fourteen or fifteen-year-olds are stronger than you! I could beat you to the ground when I was eleven!"

Cheng Yun was speechless.

Actually, Cheng Yun's physical fitness was already quite good among Earthlings. Not to mention his peak condition in the past, even now, after a long period of inactivity, he was definitely far above the world average. He had always taken quiet pride in it since he was young. But he never expected that this body, which had always made him fearless in fights since he was a child, and which could go head-to-head with black exchange students in basketball during college, was actually inferior to fourteen or fifteen-year-old children from Heroine Yin's world!

If you think about it, the fourteen or fifteen-year-old children in Heroine Yin's world were probably only about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall!

It was simply... not the same species!

Cheng Yun hesitated before awkwardly asking, "So, Heroine, do you have a plan on how to teach me?"

"I do. I advise you to just give up!" Heroine Yin was also helpless. "Even if you train until you die, you'll never reach my level with this body! Anyway, you're already so capable, there's no need for you to learn martial arts!"

"So, you mean..."

"The difficulty is just too high!" Heroine Yin spread her hands.

"Then... how much should I add to the price?" Cheng Yun asked sheepishly.

"No amount of money will work this time!" Heroine Yin said very seriously and earnestly. "Station Master, you must understand one thing: we are completely different species!"

"Add two hundred a month?"

"I already told you, this isn't about adding money!"

"Two hundred and fifty?"

"It's really not about adding money, oh my Station Master, how can I make you understand!"

"Three hundred?"

"Uh..."

"An extra chicken leg with lunch every day!"

"Wh-what chicken leg?" Heroine Yin blinked, surprised that chicken legs were being used as bargaining chips!

"Braised chicken legs, salt-baked chicken legs, spicy chicken legs, cola chicken legs, fried chicken legs... I don't know if you've tried them..."

"No problem!" Heroine Yin nodded with righteous indignation, "Although you'll never reach the level of people from my world, I'll do my best! I refuse to believe it's impossible. We're all human, aren't we? With me, Yin Dan, as your master, I'll definitely make you stand out among your own kind!"

"Thank you, Heroine!" Cheng Yun cupped his hands again.

He knew that Heroine Yin's world didn't actually have inner energy. Martial arts training there was essentially just about constantly honing one's body and combat skills.

There were rumors that when a person reached the realm of unity between man and nature through martial arts, something called 'momentum' would emerge. However, in thousands of years, only a few grandmasters had achieved this, the most recent one dying five hundred years ago. In any case, Heroine Yin was nowhere near that realm, nor was anyone in her era, so she had never seen anyone possess 'momentum'.

And the physical fitness of Earthlings was undoubtedly inherently much weaker than that of people in the 'Songshi World'. Their physical limits were far beyond theirs, making it not strange to consider them different species.

In other words, although people from their world weren't as tall as Earthlings, their physical fitness was much stronger. It was possible for a simple, honest farmer to have greater strength than a professional boxer who was 1.9 meters tall and weighed 100 kilograms. And their physical limits were far beyond what Earthlings could reach—a martial artist from the martial world could have ten times the physical fitness of someone who hadn't trained.

In the Old Mage's words, due to the powerful energy within their physiques and their excellent self-healing abilities, as long as they continuously honed themselves, their early physical fitness could increase almost geometrically. They were, in essence, a natural race for martial arts.

Heroine Yin was a prime example. She showed Cheng Yun her physical condition. In more scientific terms, the strength of her muscles and bones was astonishingly high, allowing her to be superhuman with almost no technique. Even more terrifying was that martial artists in her world used these incredibly powerful bodies to explore even more profound combat techniques.

All these factors combined to create the incredibly dismissive... mini, female Wolverine in front of Cheng Yun!

Alright, maybe not that monstrous.

The Old Mage had been standing by the side the whole time, only speaking occasionally, seemingly without much presence. However, the information he gained during this process was likely more than Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin themselves.

The martial arts system and powerful innate physical fitness of Heroine Yin's world were indeed perplexing to him. His main question was whether people in Heroine Yin's world had evolved in this direction from the start, leading to the martial arts system, or if they had developed the martial arts system first and then evolved such formidable bodies that perfectly matched it in a very short period.

If it were before, he would have quickly found the answer. But now... he couldn't quite figure it out.

It was nearing dinnertime. Cheng Yun gave Heroine Yin ample time to think about how to teach him, while he went to prepare dinner.

Before evening, a drizzle began outside, quickly intensifying into heavy rain.

The sky and ground were intermittently illuminated, and soul-stirring thunder roared through the night. Even the most magnificent neon lights couldn't obscure the brilliance of the lightning. The road surface quickly accumulated a layer of water.

That night, Cheng Yun was on duty.

"Finally, it's a bit cooler. This darn weather!" Cheng Yun said as he checked in a couple who looked like university students, complaining to Heroine Yin. When he turned back, he found a Black man standing before him. The man's height seemed to be half a head taller than him, likely around 1.9 meters.

Cheng Yun paused for a moment, then chuckled. He hadn't expected this small inn to receive foreign guests!

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello, I'd like to check in, is that okay?" The Black man grinned, revealing yellow teeth. He was quite polite. He smelled slightly of alcohol, and his clothes were a bit damp. His Chinese wasn't perfect, but it was understandable.

"May I ask who you are?" Cheng Yun hesitated.

China had rather strict regulations regarding hotels and inns accommodating foreign nationals. They needed to have the relevant qualifications. If an establishment without such qualifications accommodated a foreign guest and was discovered, they would face penalties. Of course, many small inns, especially some guesthouses in tourist areas, completely ignored this rule. But Cheng Yun had just opened his business; even if he wanted to host foreign guests, he'd have to wait and see how things played out.

"I'm from South Africa," the Black man said, understanding his hesitation.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Cheng Yun shook his head, looking troubled. "We don't have the qualifications to accommodate foreign guests."

"No way, there are many hostels near this school that allow Black international students to stay." The Black man seemed a bit anxious. He glanced outside at the rainy weather, then turned back. "You won't get caught. The police don't bother with this stuff, not after all this time since the reform and opening up!"

"Sorry, it's not possible," Cheng Yun still shook his head.

"Come on! Man, are you really going to stick to these outdated rules from hundreds of years ago?" The Black man leaned closer to the front desk, thrusting his upper body towards Cheng Yun. He clenched one hand into a fist and placed it on the front desk, staring directly at Cheng Yun with a slightly threatening look in his eyes. "You know how hard it's raining outside!"

"No," Cheng Yun still shook his head calmly, his gaze steady on the man trying to intimidate him.

"Alright, you win." The Black man's aggressive demeanor vanished instantly. He sighed, turned around helplessly, and walked out of the inn. He hadn't brought an umbrella, clearly destined to continue his search for accommodation in the rain.

Cheng Yun shrugged and lowered his head to continue with his accounting.

There were quite a few international students from Yida nearby, and many Black people among them. Cheng Yun had often encountered Black people on the basketball court when he was younger and generally knew what most Black people in China were like. In reality, the public security organs weren't as lenient with them as rumors suggested; in fact, the consequences for them committing offenses were far more severe than for their own countrymen.

Heroine Yin had finished her task long ago and didn't want to return to her room, so she sat on the sofa at the front desk. She rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought when guests came and went. When there were no customers, she chatted with Cheng Yun, or rather, discussed things with him, in a desultory manner.

"Was that person... burnt? Why is he so dark!!" The Black man had already left, but she was still staring with wide eyes.

"That's an African. They're naturally dark-skinned. It's said that people from Southern Africa are even darker, shining black. That guy was probably from there," Cheng Yun replied nonchalantly.

"Oh." Heroine Yin retracted her gaze, frowning. "But why did he give me a wink when he came in?"

"What wink?"

"He... he raised his eyebrows?" Heroine Yin's tone was uncertain. "In my world, only hooligans do that. Is it a greeting in your world?"

"In our world, it's... pretty much the same. But among Black people, at least six out of ten are like that. When I was in college, a guy I often played basketball with was like that too. He'd whistle and raise his eyebrows whenever he saw a girl. Later, I heard he got beaten up one night and became a bit more honest," Cheng Yun chuckled. "Next time you see someone like that, don't hold back, just beat them up!"

"Really?"

"But it's also possible that you were staring at him the whole time, and he was just returning the gesture," Cheng Yun suddenly laughed.

"Possible!" Heroine Yin's eyes still held a hint of doubt.

Night deepened. The rain outside lessened but hadn't stopped. There were almost no more customers. The pattering sound of the rain echoed at the front desk, accompanied by the Heroine's clear voice.

"The strength of us martial artists is usually related to three things," Heroine Yin extended three fingers, bending one back with each point she made.

"First is physical fitness; that's the foundation of everything."

"Second is technique."

"Finally, there's experience in fighting and combat. Experience can actually be considered part of skill, but I just like to talk about it separately because my experience is so rich! When I spar with an opponent who's evenly matched with me, it often allows me to achieve victory in the end."

"But in your world... let's not even talk about experience. How rich can it possibly be!"

Heroine Yin shook her head and continued, "And given your current physical condition, rapidly improving your physical fitness will definitely require a lot of hardship. The Old Mage also said that not only is your physical fitness not as strong as ours, but your bodies also can't withstand as much damage. If you push for too rapid an improvement in physical fitness, it'll likely leave you with permanent after-effects, which wouldn't be worth it!"

"So I've decided to have you start with techniques first!" Heroine Yin said, looking at him with confidence.

"For newcomers just starting martial arts, techniques often improve combat power more than physical fitness. In the beginning, learning techniques is usually easier and faster than tempering the body. Can you understand this?"

"I can! Why wouldn't I?" Cheng Yun replied. "Isn't it the same principle as stacking health points in the early game being more beneficial than stacking armor?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Cheng Yun shook his head. "I've realized something. Many of the shortcomings you just mentioned seem to be things I can find ways to compensate for."

"How will you compensate?" Heroine Yin frowned.

"The Mage might have a way," Cheng Yun said, looking up at the second floor and blinking a couple of times.

"Mage?" he called out tentatively.

Heroine Yin stared at him blankly for a moment before shaking her head. "What are you shouting about? That old senior is upstairs, and he's probably asleep right now. You must have a screw loose... Hey, hey, Old Mage, why are you coming down?"

"Do you want a late-night snack? I'm a bit hungry and was planning to make something to eat," Cheng Yun said.

"Try some," the Old Mage said with a slight smile.

"I... I want some too! By the way, it's free, right?" Heroine Yin said, her eyes shining brightly.