Having Tea and Chatting

On the way, Lin Feng changed his outfit. He wore a Strong Suit, a bamboo hat, and carried a Sharp Sword.

The journey went quite smoothly, and he reached the County Town in less than two hours.

He went straight to Steward Li's residence.

The gates of Steward Li's courtyard stood open, with two burly men stationed outside. They looked like household guards.

Lin Feng stepped forward and cupped his fists. "May I ask if Steward Li is home?"

Seeing Lin Feng dressed like a wandering martial hero, the guards did not dare brush him off carelessly. One asked respectfully, "May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, I'm Lin Feng, the new neighbor who moved in next door. I drank at your residence before."

The guard said politely, "Young Hero Lin, your timing is unfortunate. Our master has gone out to discuss business and likely will not return until evening."

Lin Feng decided to return to the house next door and wait.

He went next door, took out his key, and opened the gate to his own courtyard.

The courtyard looked just as it had when he left last time, except there were a few more fallen leaves on the ground.

Since he had nothing else to do, Lin Feng took a broom and swept the courtyard.

Then he went to clean the main hall as well.

Xiaohe Village was becoming more and more unsafe. He wanted his family to move to the county as soon as possible.

When that time came, he could live alone in Xiaohe Village while still studying martial arts with Mr. Hong every day.

If that did not work out, he could travel back and forth between Xiaohe Village and the County Town every day.

If he wanted to make that daily journey, he had better learn a Lightness Skill or buy a horse.

A horse was the equivalent of a sports car in this world—a luxury ride that ordinary households could not afford to keep.

Even the most ordinary horse cost one hundred taels of silver.

And he would need a stable, as well as someone to feed it water and fodder every day.

The cost was even higher than owning a car in his previous life.

Lin Feng felt that learning a Lightness Skill would be far easier than keeping a horse.

A horse was also a symbol of status.

Once he became wealthy in the future, he would definitely keep horses anyway.

After cleaning one room, Lin Feng prepared to rest for a while.

Work could never be finished, no matter how long one lived. He had to balance work and rest.

He scrubbed out the water vat, then used the courtyard pump to fill it with water.

Then he used the teapot and tea leaves left behind by the courtyard's former owner to brew a pot of tea.

He sat alone in the courtyard, slowly drinking tea and enjoying the tranquil time by himself.

When people were too busy, or kept thinking without pause, they could easily become obsessed.

From time to time, they had to calm themselves down before they could return to their true hearts.

Lin Feng recalled a funny story he had heard in his previous life, and an unconscious smile appeared on his face.

The story went like this:

"A man was leading a donkey through the desert.

He had only half a bottle of water left and felt that he would not be able to leave the desert alive.

He suddenly remembered that he had never kissed a girl, and felt a little regretful.

Then he thought the donkey he was leading was rather cute. He wanted to kiss it once, just to make up for that regret.

But the donkey was very unruly.

Whenever the man leaned in to kiss it, the donkey would dodge away.

One man and one donkey remained locked in a standoff.

Before long, a beautiful girl appeared in the desert.

That girl was about to die of thirst.

She said to the man, 'Big brother, give me a sip of water. I'll do anything you want.'

The man gave the girl his remaining water, then said to her, 'Help me hold the donkey still. Don't let it move around.'"

Lin Feng leisurely drank tea for a while when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Knock, knock.

"Is Brother Lin here?" Steward Li's voice came from outside the courtyard.

Lin Feng hurriedly rose and opened the gate.

Steward Li was the familiar sort. Ever since they had drunk together last time, he had begun calling him Brother Lin.

Lin Feng could only call him Brother Li in return.

"Brother Li, did you just get back?"

"I heard from the guards that Brother Lin went looking for me at my home, so I came straight here."

Steward Li's face was slightly flushed, his gaze somewhat unfocused, and a waft of alcohol came from his mouth when he spoke.

Lin Feng supported Steward Li into the courtyard.

"Brother Li, you drank quite a bit today. Come in and have a cup of tea to sober up."

Lin Feng poured Steward Li a cup of tea.

Steward Li said with a smile, "Looks like I came at just the right time. Brother Lin, you have such refined taste, sitting beneath a tree and drinking tea alone.

I truly envy your leisure.

As for me, I have social engagements every single day.

I can't catch a moment's rest."

Lin Feng casually asked, "What businesses does Brother Li run?"

"Inns, pawnshops, restaurants, cloth shops, bookshops—I dabble in all of them. Just scraping together a living."

Steward Li was brothers with the County Magistrate. He had probably monopolized quite a few businesses in the County Town and was certainly making a great deal of silver.

Otherwise, he would not have simply given Lin Feng five hundred taels of silver.

"May I ask what Brother Lin wanted to see me about?"

Lin Feng got straight to the point. "I'd like to trouble Brother Li to take me to the Black Market. I want to buy a few Martial Arts Manuals."

"Oh, that's simple.

Let's drink tea for a while, then head to the Black Market tonight.

I was planning to try my luck there as well, to see whether I could find any valuable antiques or calligraphy and paintings."

The two chatted idly about this and that while drinking tea.

With the knowledge from his previous life, Lin Feng could contribute a few words to any topic.

Many of his views made Steward Li's eyes light up.

"Brother Lin, this idea of Bunk Beds is excellent. That way, one room can accommodate several more people.

If the price comes down, those who originally would not have stayed at an inn will choose to stay there too.

Then the inn business will improve.

Tomorrow, I'll find a smaller inn and use it as a trial.

If the method works, I'll promote it throughout the entire county.

If it truly makes money, I'll definitely repay Brother Lin."

"Brother Li is too polite. I merely offered an idea."

"Your idea may be worth a thousand pieces of gold."

The two chatted for a while longer. Seeing that the time was about right, Steward Li rose and said, "We should set off.

Wait for me a moment. I need to return and make some preparations.

The goods at the Black Market are not cheap. This old brother needs to bring enough silver."

After Steward Li left, Lin Feng slung his bundle over his back and went outside to wait.

This time, he had brought One thousand taels of silver. He figured it should be enough no matter what.

No matter how valuable a manual was, could it be worth more than a house?

Besides, his requirements were not high. A few Low-grade Martial Arts Manuals would do.

Steward Li soon emerged, followed by his steward and more than a dozen servants and household guards.

Steward Li certainly made quite the display when he went out.

Lin Feng and Steward Li walked side by side through the streets, turning this way and that until they arrived before a grand residence.

Four people stood guard at its entrance.

Lin Feng sensed a dangerous aura from those four.

He checked their status panels.

He found that their vitality attributes had all reached around fifty, and each of them had cultivated Low-grade Martial Arts to mastery.

Any one of them, taken alone, was stronger than him.

Steward Li took out a Red Waist Token. Only after the guards inspected it did they let them pass.

After entering the residence, the group followed a downward slope all the way down and entered a vast underground space.

Lin Feng had not expected that beneath this County Town lay another world entirely.

Steward Li said, "Today happens to be the fifteenth. Brother Lin, your timing is lucky as well. The Black Market only opens on the first and fifteenth of each month."

Lin Feng looked around. This space was ten meters high, and its length and width were probably several hundred meters each.

He could not help but marvel. "This is truly a grand undertaking. The cost of building this Black Market must have been enormous."

"You mean this underground space?

This place has been here for a long time.

It was built by a faction called the White Lotus Sect.

That group wanted to overthrow the world ruled by sects and establish a unified dynasty.

In the end, they failed and were jointly wiped out by the Righteous and Demonic Paths.

They claimed to seek benefits for the common people.

In truth, they merely wanted to establish a world ruled by one family.

One person, one family, ruling all under heaven.

Even if they had succeeded, the common people might not have lived any better than they did now."

Lin Feng asked, "How do you figure?"

Steward Li lowered his voice. "Every sect that rules the realm is controlled by several families.

At its core, our world is jointly ruled by a group of families.

One family is not necessarily better than a group of families.

This has little to do with us. We only need to find ways to live our own lives well."

A large red lantern hung in front of every stall in the Black Market, and farther inside stood rows of individual rooms.

Lin Feng guessed there were probably special entertainment venues here as well.

After walking for a while, Steward Li said, "Let's split up here. We'll meet at the entrance in half an hour.

It's very safe here, Brother Lin. Feel free to look around."