East City, Martial Halls, Lottery

Lu Chen and Blind Man walked all the way from South City to East City.

East City was home mostly to the wealthy.

The bluestone roads were broad and level, wide enough for four carriages to race abreast. High walls and grand courtyards stood shoulder to shoulder on either side.

"Big Brother, what are we doing here?" Confusion flickered in Blind Man's lone eye.

"Just taking a stroll," Lu Chen answered vaguely.

"Oh."

The two wandered through the streets and alleys for a while before stopping before a martial hall. Three large characters were written on its plaque: Feng Family Fist.

The martial hall's gates stood open.

Inside, seven or eight brawny, bare-chested men were training.

Their muscles knotted like twisted roots, sweat gleaming with an oily sheen across their bronze skin.

The most conspicuous among them was a man with a scarred face.

He held a stone lock in each hand, each one weighing no less than a hundred jin.

With every burst of strength, the veins in his arms bulged like earthworms, and low growls rumbled from his throat.

Another tall, skinny man was striking a wooden dummy, his fists and kicks fast and vicious.

The wooden post was already covered in cracks, with dark red bloodstains smeared across it.

"Big Brother, the Feng Family Fist style is vicious enough," Blind Man said in a low voice.

Lu Chen said nothing. He merely watched in silence.

Just then, a man in fitted training clothes walked out of the courtyard. A red sash was tied around his waist as he called to them.

"Here to learn boxing? The enrollment fee is two taels of silver, and monthly tuition is eight hundred copper coins."

Lu Chen said nothing and turned away.

These were troubled times, and the martial trade was thriving.

The martial halls of Wen'an County were all clustered in East City. There were many rich young masters here, and naturally many who learned martial arts for protection or to put on a good show.

Lu Chen and Blind Man turned down several more streets and found a martial hall that specialized in staff techniques.

Several men in the courtyard were practicing with eyebrow-height staffs.

The staffs whistled through the air, sweeping dust from the ground into swirling clouds.

The two still stood outside for a moment, then left after watching for a while.

They went from place to place, walking and watching as they visited seven or eight martial halls in succession.

Some taught saber techniques, some trained hard body skills, and every hall charged more viciously than the last.

Blind Man, who had been trailing after Lu Chen all morning, had finally caught a whiff of what was going on.

"Big Brother, do you want to learn martial arts?"

"Mm."

"But learning martial arts burns through silver faster than anything. We ought to find a way to make money first. Otherwise, by the end of this month, the brothers will all go hungry..."

Blind Man frowned.

"Don't worry. I've already got a handle on how to make money," Lu Chen said confidently.

"What way?"

"We'll talk when we get back."

The two turned into a quiet little alley.

Deep within the alley.

There was a martial hall. Its frontage was not particularly grand, with blue bricks and gray tiles, yet it possessed a unique, tranquil charm.

A black wooden plaque hung high above, carved in vigorous strokes with four large characters: Plum Blossom Martial Hall.

The instant Lu Chen raised his eyes, a line of small words suddenly appeared before him.

[Task: Join Plum Blossom Martial Hall]

[Reward: Unlock the "Proud Snow Cold Plum" card pool]

He had finally found it!

Joy rose in Lu Chen's heart.

At the start of Chronicles of Jianghu Heroes, there was only one basic card pool.

Players had to join jianghu sects, gangs, and martial halls, or encounter some fortuitous chance and complete quests, before they could unlock new card pools.

Those martial halls they had visited earlier.

Feng Family Fist, Staff School, and the like all taught only shallow outer-school techniques, so they could not unlock card pools.

But this Plum Blossom Martial Hall clearly possessed a martial lineage, which was why it could trigger a quest.

Lu Chen stepped forward and raised a hand to knock on the gate. The door opened a crack.

A young man dressed as a servant, around twenty years old, poked his head out.

"What is it?" the young man asked.

Lu Chen cupped his hands. "May I ask how much it costs to study martial arts here?"

The young man looked him up and down, then said flatly.

"Ten taels of silver to enroll, and one tael for monthly tuition. If you want to learn, bring the money tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for a response, he slammed the wooden door shut with a bang, shaking loose several wisps of dust.

Lu Chen stood where he was, his brows drawing together.

A ten-tael enrollment fee, plus one tael of monthly tuition—this was no small sum. His entire fortune was only thirty taels, and this would take away a full third of it at once.

Blind Man leaned closer. "That price is black as coal. It's harsher than all those martial halls we saw earlier put together."

Lu Chen nodded. "Let's go back."

"We're not looking any further? There are plenty of martial halls in East City," Blind Man said.

"Let's go back first and discuss how to make money." Lu Chen let out a long breath.

By the time the two returned to Sheep Pen Street in South City, the sun was nearing noon. Lu Chen stopped at a sesame flatbread stall at the street corner, took out eight copper coins, and bought four freshly baked sesame flatbreads. Then he added another two copper coins for two bowls of mutton soup.

The stall owner swiftly chopped some scallions and ladled out steaming mutton soup, bright beads of oil floating on its surface.

Lu Chen and Blind Man stood before the stall, each holding two flatbreads and washing them down with mutton soup from rough porcelain bowls. In just a few bites, they had wolfed it all down.

After eating their fill, they returned to Sheep Dung Alley.

Blind Man went straight to the low coal shed in the corner of the courtyard, shoveled up a dustpan of black coal chunks, and went inside to light the fire.

Once the room had warmed up.

Lu Chen said to Blind Man, "Call all the brothers over."

"Yes."

Blind Man left.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

The brothers had all arrived, seven or eight men crowding the room.

Lu Chen took a lead kettle, grabbed a handful of bitter ding tea leaves, filled it with water, and set it over the fire until it boiled.

He lifted the scalding kettle and poured each brother a bowl of tea to warm himself before finally speaking.

"Brothers, I've been thinking these past few days and came up with a new way to make money. It's called a lottery."

"A lottery?"

Blind Man looked utterly lost. Shuan Hu scratched his head, while the other brothers looked at one another.

The word sounded novel enough, but what was a lottery?

"We'll pick eighty common characters, like Heaven, Earth, Dark, and Yellow. People pay one copper coin to choose any one character and place a bet. That afternoon, we publicly draw a character. Whoever guesses right gets thirty copper coins."

Lu Chen explained it simply.

A chorus of sharp breaths immediately rose in the room.

Shuan Hu's eyes went round.

"One copper coin for a chance at thirty? Boss, can we afford to pay that out?"

Lu Chen lifted his tea bowl and took a sip, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes.

"Only one character is drawn from eighty, so the odds of winning are one in eighty. If a hundred people play, at most one or two should win by probability."

Shuan Hu's brow furrowed even deeper.

"If we take in a hundred coins from a hundred people, then even if only two win, we still have to pay out sixty coins. After a whole day's work, we only clear forty coins. We'd make more working for rich households in East City."

Blind Man shot Shuan Hu a glance.

"You're too short-sighted. There are tens of thousands of poor folk in South City. With one copper coin for a chance at thirty, who wouldn't be tempted? If a thousand people play, we take in a thousand coins. By probability, at most twelve or thirteen win, and we pay out less than four hundred. That leaves six hundred coins in profit. If five thousand people play, that's three thousand coins in profit."

Lu Chen smiled.

"Blind Man has hit the root of it. A one-coin threshold is affordable for vegetable sellers, worth spending for laborers, and even beggars can easily scrape together enough to join the fun.

Once people come pouring in, the cash flow will naturally be plentiful.

And we can draw once every half hour. The more often we draw, the itchier people's hearts will grow.

That way, we can whip up seven or eight waves in a day. Won't the profits rise head over heels?"

Shuan Hu froze for a moment, then suddenly understood. A smile bloomed across his dark face.

"Brilliant! By that calculation, one day's earnings would equal what others make in seven or eight days!"

Er Gou, Baldy, and the others grew excited as well, and the room filled with overlapping chatter.

One said they should find a conspicuous piece of red cloth.

Another calculated how to borrow a set of gongs and drums, so they could beat them and make things livelier.

Everyone spoke over one another, rough hands gesturing as their faces flushed red, as though they could already see copper coins pouring in like a rushing stream.

Lu Chen set his tea bowl on the table and swept his gaze over the fired-up brothers before calling out loudly.

"If this business is going to work, popularity is the key. This afternoon, Shuan Hu will get red cloth and write the signs. Baldy, take some men and spread the word. We open tomorrow. For the first three days, I'll personally run the draw and see whether this lottery can put down roots on Sheep Pen Street."

The crowd answered in a thunderous roar, and the room immediately burst into activity.

One searched for brushes and ink, another moved tables.

Outside the window, it was still the depths of winter.

Yet inside, the room was already ablaze with bustling heat.