Chaos

Fortune Restaurant, run by the Huang Family, was fairly well-known in the city. Though it couldn't compare to the top-tier restaurants, it was still thriving and served as an important source of income for the Huang Family.

Recently, however, someone had eaten at the restaurant and then suffered vomiting and diarrhea, claiming the food was contaminated and making a huge scene.

Not long after, someone even found something filthy in their food and took the matter straight to the authorities.

The county office sent people to investigate. Somehow, they actually found things in the restaurant's kitchen that shouldn't have been there.

With what seemed to be both witnesses and physical evidence, the Huang Family had no way to defend themselves.

The aggrieved customers joined forces to demand a hefty compensation, and the authorities imposed a fine as well.

This string of blows felt like a carefully laid trap, catching the Huang Family completely off guard.

Fortune Restaurant was not only disgraced and forced to close, but also saddled with enormous debts.

The Huang Family had some savings, but coming up with enough to plug this hole all at once still stretched them to their limits.

Huang Wei's father was beside himself with worry. Every day the restaurant stayed closed, he had no idea how much money they were losing.

He rushed around borrowing money, hoping to get through the crisis.

Seeing this, Huang Wei set aside her pride and went to seek help from the girls she was usually close to and often spent time with.

"Sister Yun, our family has fallen on hard times, and we truly have no choice. Could you... could you lend us some money to tide us over?

"Once my family gets through this crisis, I promise to repay every cent, with interest!" Huang Wei went to Chen Yun, her voice pleading.

Chen Yun looked troubled. She took Huang Wei's hand and sighed. "Little sister, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that... my family has had several major expenses lately, and there really isn't any money I can spare.

"You know that even though I'm favored at home, I still can't make decisions about money."

Huang Wei's heart sank, and she went to see Zhang Wan.

Zhang Wan was more straightforward. "Sister Wei, don't take this the wrong way, but whoever your family has offended this time must be very powerful. Anyone who gets involved in this mess will be asking for trouble.

"Our family is small and can't afford to be dragged into this.

"I think you'd better tell Uncle Huang to look for another way."

In the past, they had called each other dear sisters and been as close as could be. Now that the Huang Family was in trouble, each of them was more eager than the last to keep her distance.

After being turned away several times, Huang Wei's heart had gone completely cold.

Only then did she truly understand how fragile the so-called bonds between sisters were in the face of real interests.

Looking at her parents' haggard faces, Huang Wei felt a pang of sorrow and helplessness.

"Could it be... that there's really no other way besides that one?" Huang Wei sighed.

In a private room at a teahouse in the Inner City.

Lin Qing, the third young master of the Lin Family, sat sunk into a wide chair, his corpulent frame sprawling as he tapped the tabletop impatiently.

"How did it go?"

When he saw Chen Yun enter, he lazily raised his eyelids.

A fawning smile appeared on Chen Yun's face as she hurried forward. "Don't worry, Third Young Master. Huang Wei did come to see me, just as expected. I sent her away as you instructed.

"She looked completely lost. I'm afraid she's already run out of options."

Lin Qing snorted. He wasn't surprised. "The Huang Family's little bit of savings won't hold up under this kind of pressure.

"Who else can she go to now?"

"Who else?" Chen Yun said dismissively. "I already spoke with Zhang Wan and the others. No one will lend her a single coin.

"It won't take more than two days. Even if she's a thousand times unwilling, she'll have no choice but to come beg you, Third Young Master."

Chen Yun had been the one to first present Lin Qing with the scheme targeting the Huang Family.

That day, she had seen how Lin Qing couldn't stop thinking about Huang Wei, while Huang Wei only humored him with a show of politeness. That was when the idea occurred to her.

So she found an opportunity to approach Lin Qing and said, "Third Young Master, Huang Wei is proud by nature. Ordinary courtship probably won't catch her eye.

"In my opinion, why not... start with her family?"

She laid out the plan in detail. "The Huang Family has shallow roots and relies entirely on Fortune Restaurant to keep up appearances. All we need to do is this...

"The Huang Family will surely panic. I'll take care of her sisters and cut off every other path she might take.

"When she's backed into a corner, you, Third Young Master, can be the one to offer help in her hour of need. Won't she be grateful to you then, and let you have your way with her?"

Lin Qing agreed on the spot after hearing her out.

He looked at Chen Yun, a glint in his small eyes, and nodded with satisfaction. "That's a decent approach. If she won't accept a gentle touch, we'll have to try another way.

"Once it's done, I'll make sure your father gets the promotion I promised him."

Lin Qing was referring to Chen Yun's father, who had been seeking a promotion for some time.

Chen Yun's face lit up with joy. "Thank you, Third Young Master!"

Little sister, I'm only doing this for your own good. That fatso is sincere about you, too. This way, both our families will benefit. Chen Yun thought.

For her father's career, and to climb into the Lin Family's good graces, she could only sacrifice her sister.

At daybreak the next morning, Li Yuan woke up.

He stretched, got up, and washed up.

After breakfast, he practiced a set of Tiger Form Fist in the courtyard.

At the mastery stage, each punch of Tiger Form Fist carried the faint roar of a tiger. His blood and qi surged through his body as if a fierce tiger had possessed him.

"Time to find a black bear and test my fists."

Li Yuan changed into a clean black outfit, got himself ready, and headed out of the city.

As soon as he reached the street, he sensed that the atmosphere was different from usual.

Many people were hurrying along, panic written on their faces, all heading toward the western part of the city.

At first there were only a few people here and there, but the farther he went, the more crowded it became, until the people formed a stream.

Puzzled, Li Yuan reached out and stopped a thin man in gray who was passing by. "What's everyone in such a hurry for?"

The man in black had looked impatient, but when he turned and saw Li Yuan's martial arts outfit, he immediately put on a smile. "Sir, haven't you heard?

"Someone came back saying the border forces might have been routed. Now the rumor's spreading everywhere, and everyone's rushing to the grain and meat shops to buy food."

To ordinary people, it made little difference who won or lost. But they knew that if the war was lost, the price of grain would surely go up.

Whether the news was true or not, if everyone else was buying, and you weren't, you'd go hungry.

Li Yuan frowned and let the man go.

Seeing this, the man in black hurried to join the stream of people. He was in a rush to stock up on food, too.

"The border forces were routed?" Li Yuan thought.

That wasn't good news for him.

Then he thought it over and decided to go have a look. It wouldn't take much time, anyway.

He followed the crowd, though the others were jogging while he walked at an easy pace.

Most of them wore patched clothes. Some even had ragged short jackets, lantern trousers, and straw sandals.

Li Yuan's clean black outfit certainly stood out in the crowd.

Soon, he reached the market, and the scene before him made him pause.

The street, usually fairly wide, was now packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could squeeze through.

Every shop, whether a grain shop, butcher, or general store, was surrounded by people. The whole place was in an uproar.

"Hurry! Give me ten jin of rice!"

"Meat! I'll take all the meat you've got left!"

"Boss, why did the price go up again?"

"The border forces were routed! Everyone, stock up while you can! There won't be any left if you wait!"

Shouts like these rang through the crowd, drawing even more people into the rush to buy.

The shopkeepers scrambled to weigh goods and collect money.

Li Yuan had lived in this city for quite a while, but he had never seen so many people gathered in one place.

He made his way slowly through the crowd, looking around.

Li Yuan wasn't worried. With his current strength, he never lacked meat; one trip into the mountains could feed him for several days.

Of course, he wouldn't starve, but if he wanted to build up his blood and qi and improve his strength, he had to eat good meat.

As for rice and flour, he could trade meat for those, too.

After all, coarse grains had little fat and weren't as filling. A meal of coarse grains might keep hunger at bay for an hour, while a meal of meat could last two hours or even longer.

Most poor families made do by boiling a bit of minced meat with their porridge.

The market was a mess, with plenty of arguing, but no one had started fighting.

Several temporary constables stood in the distance. They wore their own clothes, with only a small badge and a short baton at their waists.