The Money Ordinary People Can't Save in a Lifetime, Pills, and the Strange Black Goat Token

"A-Wen, you're back?"

Old Shi called out when he saw his son return.

Mother Shi silently took the fatty pork and roast duck their son had bought and went inside to prepare dinner.

"A-Wen, have you found some way to make money? Every day I see your family eating big fish and meat; you're living quite lavishly."

Aunt Chen, sitting on a stone stool, teased with a smile, "If there's a profitable business, do share it with the neighbors."

"Aunt Chen, you're joking. If your family sold your land, you'd have money for meat too."

Shi Wen replied, causing Aunt Chen to offer a sheepish laugh before she fell silent.

Shi Wen looked at Old Shi with curiosity, "Father, why is it so lively tonight? Did something happen?"

Old Shi said, "I only just got back, but I heard them saying there's business to be done in Peace Lane. I'm planning to go check it out with Old Zhang and the others."

"That Robbery Gang, I don't know why they changed their name to the Harmony and Prosperity Union. I heard that starting today, the Harmony and Prosperity Union has divided Peace Lane into 28 zones, and all those messy, miscellaneous fees have been unified into management fees, trash fees, and service fees. People in each zone pay their local Red Pole once a month."

Aunt Chen fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and added, "If anyone dares to overcharge, you can go report them to the strategist, that Old Song. If the report is true, you get a reward of 200 strings of cash!"

As she said this, A look of temptation clearly flickered across her face.

"Report them? They're all one group; do you dare to go report them?" an old man nearby sneered.

Aunt Chen lost face and retorted, "They have anonymous reporting; they won't make your information public."

"Heh, you believe in anonymous reporting? You report them one moment, and the next, someone will come to torch your house!"

As soon as these words were spoken, A look of fear appeared on the faces of Aunt Chen and the other neighbors.

"I heard the Harmony and Prosperity Union is recruiting workers for construction. They're building a market in Wulin Street and a building in Fulin Street. Daily laborers get 500 Treasure Coins a day, and monthly laborers get 20,000 Treasure Coins a month."

"I heard skilled craftsmen can get 1,000 Treasure Coins a day, and master craftsmen get 2,000!"

"Those who do a good job get extra rewards, though lunch isn't provided."

"They don't deduct a single cent when paying out, and they even cover the taxes for the government clerks!"

Old Lin, a neighbor, rubbed his foot skin and even brought it to his nose to sniff, "Are you guys going? These terms are much better than working at the docks, and it's close to home."

"I'm afraid it's a scam," a neighbor said bitterly. "How could these gang members possibly follow the rules? They might give you money one moment, only to find all sorts of excuses to take it back the next."

"That's right. Before, when the Thief Gang finished building that tower, they didn't pay a single cent. Do you dare to go make a scene?"

"Working at the docks, even though they deduct a lot, at least you get something in your hand. Working for this Robbery... I mean, Harmony and Prosperity Union, who knows what will happen?"

"I don't dare to go either. If things go wrong, I won't even have money for potato cakes."

Old Lin's expression faltered, but thinking of his sick son, he shook his head and said, "The pay is high, and I know carpentry. I want to try."

Subsequently, The neighbors broke into another heated discussion.

The topic mostly revolved around the Harmony and Prosperity Union building the market and creating a commercial street.

Some vendors were thinking that if a market were truly built in Wulin Street, they could set up stalls to sell tea or coarse cakes, and they might make a good profit.

As for Old Shi, his idea was to go to Wulin Street with a peer to try selling goods.

The competition at the docks was too fierce, and the gang's deductions were numerous and complex, sometimes even charging the same fees twice.

If there was a place to make money in Peace Lane, even if the Harmony and Prosperity Union took a larger cut, at least he wouldn't have to travel so far.

Shi Wen chatted with them casually for a few moments before returning home.

After finishing dinner, Shi Wen went back to his room.

He chewed on some beef jerky while carefully hiding the Immortal Mother Wood Carving and the Blessing Meat in a corner, sorting and stashing his various items.

Only then did he find the time, To take out the spoils he had obtained after killing Tong Roushan.

Clatter...

Shi Wen dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed all at once. A pile of miscellaneous items scattered, and a stack of banknotes made his eyes brighten.

After sorting the items, a smile couldn't help but spread across Shi Wen's face.

There were fourteen banknotes, all in denominations of "10 taels," and combined with some silver shards, it totaled nearly 160 taels!

One tael of silver was worth 30 strings of copper coins, meaning this was 4,800 strings of copper.

If converted into Treasure Coins, it was an astronomical sum; it was likely that no commoner at the bottom of Black Cloud County could save up this much money in their entire life!

Take his own family, for example—they couldn't even save 10 strings of copper a year, no matter how hard they worked.

"Truly, murder and arson bring golden belts, while those who repair bridges and pave roads have no one to bury their corpses."

"If I were to work honestly, I fear that even if I slaved away until death, facing heavy taxes and endless exploitation, I would struggle to save 4,800 guan in a lifetime. Only by becoming a martial artist can one survive in these chaotic times and gain the capital to keep living."

"It is just a pity that I still lack the money."

"I hear that even in the most desolate outskirts of Tooth City, buying the most dilapidated courtyard costs at least 300 taels."

"Once I have the money, I will go to Tooth City to buy a courtyard and move the whole family there to live."

"That way, my parents can have a better environment, and I won't have to live in constant fear every day."

Shi Wen took some loose silver for his immediate needs and tucked the rest away for safekeeping.

Tooth City, which is the inner city, possesses the best security in Black Cloud County; the world inside the inner city and the world outside are two entirely different realms.

It is said that possessing a Tooth City household registration not only guarantees safety but also exempts one from taxes.

Even finding work within Tooth City pays ten times more than working outside, and there is no exploitation by gangs or skimming by petty officials!

Shi Wen continued to sort through his items, and soon, several porcelain bottles appeared in his hands.

He opened the bottles and took a sniff.

In two of the bottles, the pills caused his blood to surge faster after he smelled them.

He just did not know if they were poisons or medicinal pills.

Shi Wen walked to the wooden window and whistled; suddenly, a black cat with jet-black fur came sprinting from the deep alley, quickly leaping through the window and rubbing its little head against his trouser leg.

Ever since he fed it a sliver of exotic beast meat containing precious blood, the black cat had been coming over every few days to beg for food.

Shi Wen poured out one pill from each of the four bottles and crumbled a small piece onto the floor.

After waiting over ten minutes for the black cat to finish eating without any issues—in fact, it seemed even more spirited than before—Shi Wen tossed the cat back out the window.

"These must be pills for nourishing blood and qi; after eating them, the speed of my blood flow increases significantly, and it can even strengthen my blood and qi! One pill increases blood and qi by one percent, though I wonder if there is a limit. The quantity is not high, only 23 pills between the two bottles."

"This bottle must be pills for satiation; one pill makes the stomach feel full, with no desire to eat..."

He sorted the items as he sampled the pills.

By the time he finished distinguishing the four bottles of pills and organizing the miscellaneous items, a look of worry appeared on Shi Wen's face.

His consumption had been high these past few days; less than half of the exotic beast meat remained, and only five packets of Blood Strengthening Powder were left.

Although he had obtained some supplies from Tong Roushan, the situation remained far from optimistic.

There was no exotic beast meat here at Tong Roushan's place, only pills for nourishing bones and strengthening blood and qi. Without exotic beast meat to consume, it would cause major problems, as his body's functions would struggle to sustain the gluttonous demands of his blood and qi.

"I wonder why this Tong Roushan didn't have even a single piece of exotic beast meat; could it be that he kept it at home?"

"But this man carried his entire fortune on his person and was even gnawing on something before our fight; he clearly isn't the type to leave things behind. It is likely that the daily dietary requirements for the Taibao Hard Qigong are so high that it left Tong Roushan with no exotic beast meat on him."

"Hoo... It seems I must find time in the next few days to check out the source of the exotic beast meat that Zhang Sheng mentioned."

"If the yield at that place is insufficient, or if he lied to me, I must make plans for the future. The supply of exotic beast meat cannot be broken..."

Shi Wen continued rummaging through the items, sorting useless things to the side.

For instance, the entry tokens for Lanchun Brothel, membership cards for gambling dens, and so on.

However, among them, a token crafted from an unknown metal caught his attention.

One side was engraved with the character "Ji."

On the other side.

It was inscribed with a pattern of an old forest surrounded by mist deep in the mountains.

A giant black goat's head stared out from it.

Those horizontal pupils were carved so vividly that it felt as if a living goat were staring right back at him...