Moving

It was nearly noon.

Chen Yiming asked Wang Bowen for the afternoon off, then went home to pick up Chen Yingying before heading to Wang Family Village.

Wang Family Village was as lively as ever. People streamed past the village entrance, while the village remained untouched by the troubles plaguing the northern part of the city.

Inside Jihetang.

"Chen, my boy, what brings you here with your little girlfriend?" Old Wang asked, adjusting his reading glasses with a teasing smile.

"You're joking, Old Wang. She's my younger sister," Chen Yiming said with an awkward smile.

He needed a favor, so pride could wait.

"I thought she looked like a middle schooler. You know what I mean?" Old Wang waggled his eyebrows.

Wang Bowen had introduced Chen Yiming, which made him practically one of their own. Old Wang saw no need to hold back.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but my sister has only just started learning martial arts. Could you give her some guidance?" Chen Yiming asked shamelessly.

"She's a beginner? Why not teach her yourself? What could I help with?" Old Wang asked, puzzled.

Someone in the Apprentice Realm should have no trouble teaching a beginner the basic moves.

"It's about using mutated beast meat to nourish her body and build a foundation," Chen Yiming said.

"I see. But what you spend on Black Boar Meat won't be enough," Old Wang said hesitantly.

On every previous visit, Chen Yiming had bought only Black Boar Meat, and just enough to last a few days. Old Wang had never seen anyone so stingy.

"Pick whichever combination works best. Money won't be a problem," Chen Yiming assured him, patting his chest.

With no pressure to earn money before, he had made do with the cheapest Black Boar Meat. Chen Yingying's situation was different, though. He probably couldn't afford to skimp.

"All right. You're the one who said price doesn't matter. Chen's little sister, come here," Old Wang said, beckoning to her.

Chen Yiming signaled for his sister to go over. Chen Yingying obediently stepped forward and followed Old Wang's instructions.

Old Wang took her hand and felt it all over. Then he used a soft tape measure to take measurements from head to toe, recording the figures in a notebook.

Next, he produced another notebook filled with dense writing from who knew where. After flipping through it for several minutes, he stopped at a page and carefully compared it with the measurements he had just recorded.

"I've worked out three plans for your sister, at three different prices," Old Wang said, glancing at Chen Yiming. "The mutated beast jerky will cost 32,600 yuan, 21,700 yuan, or 14,300 yuan a day."

Before Chen Yiming could speak, Chen Yingying's mouth fell open in a perfect O.

"Brother, that's way too expensive. Let's just go home," she whispered, tugging at the corner of his shirt.

"Don't say anything. Let me handle this." Chen Yiming shot her a look, then turned to Old Wang. "We'll take the 32,600-yuan plan."

"Not so fast. I haven't finished." Old Wang seemed surprised that Chen Yiming was willing to spend so much. After a pause, he continued, "That plan calls for some fairly rare mutated beast meat. You can't buy it with money alone. You'll need to trade in mutated beast meat of equal value."

"Will any kind of mutated beast meat do?" Chen Yiming asked.

He happened to have plenty of mutated beast jerky he had no use for.

"Any kind. But I should make one thing clear first: I'll only buy ordinary mutated beast meat at ninety percent of its value. If it's something rarer, though, I'll pay a premium," Old Wang replied at once.

When the subject turned to trading mutated beast meat, he no longer seemed like a frail old man. He sounded like a shrewd merchant.

"Then we'll do it your way, Old Wang," Chen Yiming said without a moment's hesitation.

For now, Senior Brother Wang was his only reasonably trustworthy connection. Trading common meat for rare meat at a ten percent loss was already a generous deal from Old Wang.

After they left Jihetang, Chen Yingying looked unhappy.

"Brother, spending that much money on me is such a waste," she said with a pout.

At 32,600 yuan a day, it would cost a million a month. In the past, that could have bought an apartment downtown.

"As long as you know it's expensive, don't slack off," Chen Yiming said bluntly.

He had deliberately chosen the most expensive plan in front of her. He genuinely wanted the best for his sister, but he also wanted to push her to work hard.

With that much money spent, how could she justify not giving it her all?

"All right. I'll work hard," Chen Yingying promised.

It was Chen Yiming's money. No matter how much she objected, it wouldn't change anything.

After sorting out the foundation for his sister's training with Old Wang, Chen Yiming immediately took her to the Libei Martial Arts Training Center.

When he came out of the elevator and saw teachers and students holding classes in nearly every room, he relaxed.

"Teacher Chen, what brings you here at this hour?" Xie Xuejiao quickly got up and came over to greet him.

"I have something to ask you," Chen Yiming said.

Realizing they needed to talk at length, Xie Xuejiao led them to the reception area and invited them to sit on the sofa.

"I'd like to know about your swordsmanship classes," Chen Yiming said.

"Swordsmanship classes? Our training center has teachers giving lessons from eight in the morning until ten at night," Xie Xuejiao said, unsure what exactly he wanted to know.

"I'd like to enroll my sister in morning and afternoon swordsmanship classes. Are there any openings?" Chen Yiming explained.

There aren't any openings left, Xie Xuejiao answered silently. Aloud, she said, "No problem. I'll arrange it for you, Teacher Chen. Which time slots would your sister prefer?"

"Eight to twelve in the morning and two to six in the afternoon would be best," Chen Yiming said.

"Do you have any particular requirements for the swordsmanship teachers?" Xie Xuejiao asked.

"I don't know much about the teachers here. Use your judgment and pick the ones with higher lesson fees," Chen Yiming replied.

Without knowing anything else about them, he could only rely on money. Higher prices usually had a reason behind them.

"In that case, I'll put her with the most expensive swordsmanship teacher in each time slot," Xie Xuejiao said.

After paying by card, they came out to the training center's entrance.

Having seen mutated beast meat priced at more than thirty thousand yuan a day, Chen Yingying was already somewhat numb to the training center's lesson fees of less than a hundred thousand yuan a month.

Chen Yiming drove Chen Yingying straight to Quiet Lake Residential Community.

Quiet Lake Residential Community was near the downtown commercial district, less than a kilometer from the training center. Rent had reached a hundred thousand yuan a month, making it one of the most expensive residential communities in the area.

After comparing their options and thinking it through, Chen Yiming's parents had just rented a place there.

Chen Yiming had taken the whole afternoon off not only to sort out his sister's future training, but also to help with the move.

Fortunately, that amount of money was no longer a concern for him. He hired a moving company to transport most of their things to Quiet Lake Residential Community. The family only needed to bring their personal belongings before moving in.