Making money

In the courtyard, Jiang Tian examined his parents.

Once he found that they had only fainted from excessive worry, he breathed a sigh of relief. Behind him, Jiang Chenglong was still following him around, talking nonstop.

"I told you, I have absolutely no interest in joining your Special Security Bureau. If you keep running your mouth, get out!"

Fed up with listening to him, Jiang Tian suddenly turned and spoke coldly.

The frightening look in Jiang Tian's eyes gave Jiang Chenglong a start.

"Mr. Jiang... please think it over. We even offer full social insurance and a housing fund..."

Jiang Chenglong's lips moved, and he timidly added that last remark.

Jiang Tian rolled his eyes and couldn't be bothered with him anymore.

Before long.

Jiang Chenglin and Wu Xiuli also came around after fainting from fright.

"Son! My son!"

Before they could even catch their breath, the elderly couple suddenly started looking around in alarm.

Hearing them, Jiang Tian hurried over. "Dad, Mom, are you all right?"

Seeing Jiang Tian before them, they grabbed his hands. "Tian, you're not dead? Thank goodness! Thank goodness!"

Jiang Tian smiled faintly. "Dad, Mom, I told you I'd be fine. How could I die?"

"Then what about those law enforcement officers?"

Jiang Chenglin asked as he looked around the empty courtyard.

"Them? They've already left."

Jiang Tian answered.

"Left? Why would they suddenly leave?"

The couple couldn't understand it.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Jiang's parents. You've raised a wonderful son!"

Jiang Chenglong stepped forward and warmly clasped their hands.

Looking at the man beaming at them, the couple asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

Jiang Chenglong quickly replied, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jiang Chenglong, and I'm from the Special Security Bureau."

"The Special Security Bureau? Are you here to arrest our son too?"

Hearing that he came from an agency even more powerful than the police department, Jiang Chenglin and Wu Xiuli immediately grew frightened.

Seeing their panic, Jiang Chenglong hurriedly explained, "Sir, ma'am, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to arrest Mr. Jiang, but to thank him! You've raised a wonderful son. He's done a great service!"

"A great service? What service?"

The couple was utterly confused.

What on earth was going on?

So Jiang Chenglong patiently explained everything that had happened the previous night to them in detail.

"You're saying our son helped you catch a spy? And a really formidable one at that?"

After hearing the explanation, Jiang Chenglin's eyes lit up.

Wu Xiuli also looked in disbelief at Jiang Tian, who was sitting off to one side, idly picking at his fingers.

Noticing his mother looking at him, Jiang Tian raised his head and grinned.

He looked nothing like the fierce, intimidating man from moments earlier. Instead, he looked more like a rich landlord's simpleton son.

"That's right, sir, ma'am. Mr. Jiang is incredible. A whole group of us couldn't handle that spy, but he knocked him down with a single slap!"

As he spoke, he took out the medal and silk banner again. "Look, I came specifically to deliver this banner and medal-the Guardian of the Nation Medal!"

The couple didn't understand what the Guardian of the Nation Medal signified, but hearing that their son had rendered meritorious service left them immensely excited.

"Officer Jiang, does that mean our son's good deed can cancel out his offense? He won't have to be arrested?"

Wu Xiuli quickly took Jiang Chenglong's hand and asked.

"Well... I can't guarantee that, but..."

Jiang Chenglong's eyes shifted, and he smiled. "Sir, ma'am, if you can persuade Mr. Jiang to join our Special Security Bureau, none of this will be a problem!"

"Join your Special Security Bureau?"

The couple looked hopefully at Jiang Tian.

Seeing that Jiang Chenglong had turned to his parents after failing to persuade him, Jiang Tian's expression chilled.

"Jiang Chenglong, my hands are suddenly itching for some action. Why don't we step outside for a chat?"

Jiang Tian rubbed his fists as he spoke with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Watching Jiang Tian approach with ill intent, Jiang Chenglong shuddered. He quickly set down the medal and banner. "Well, Mr. Jiang, I just remembered I have something to do. We'll talk next time! Next time!"

With that, he bolted.

Watching Jiang Chenglong flee faster than a rabbit, Jiang Tian shook his head in amusement.

"Son, I think you could consider it. Look, if you join the Special Security Bureau, not only could you put this trouble behind you, you'd also get a respectable job. It would make finding a wife easier too!"

Wu Xiuli seemed to have been swayed by Jiang Chenglong's words and actually began trying to persuade him herself.

Jiang Tian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Mom, that guy just threw out a few words, and you're already planning to sell your own son?"

"What do you mean, sell you?" Wu Xiuli chided. "I really think this is a good opportunity. Think about it. You're already twenty-eight, and you still don't have a job or a girlfriend. If you join a government agency, won't it be easier to find a wife? Your dad and I are still waiting for grandchildren."

Jiang Tian shook his head helplessly. His mother was a traditional woman, and there were many things she couldn't see beyond the surface.

"Mom, the Special Security Bureau isn't a cushy job. Their work is deadly dangerous, you know? Its full name is the National Special Security Bureau, and the missions they carry out are extremely dangerous. Aren't you afraid I might join and get killed in the line of duty?"

Jiang Tian spoke as though he were joking.

"What? The missions are dangerous? You could even get killed?"

Wu Xiuli really hadn't known. She had assumed joining meant a secure job for life. Hearing her son's explanation, she shook her head repeatedly. "Then forget it. Staying alive matters more."

Jiang Chenglin spoke up. "Xiuli, Tian is an adult now. He must have his own plans. We'd better not interfere."

Although he didn't know exactly what his son had learned during his ten years in the mountains.

After spending these past two days with him, he could tell that what his son had learned was far from ordinary.

His miraculous medical skills, for instance, and his ability to strike people from a distance-those certainly weren't things an ordinary person could do!

"Tian, I know you must have some secrets, but I still want to remind you of one thing. A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. You mustn't act rashly again, understand?"

Jiang Chenglin spoke with solemn conviction.

Jiang Tian paused and looked at his father. After a long moment, he nodded. "I understand, Dad."

Jiang Chenglin smiled faintly, then waved him on. "Didn't you say you were going out to look for a job today? Go on, then. Don't waste any more time."

Jiang Tian nodded and left the courtyard.

Once he reached the street, he glanced back at the dilapidated courtyard, then shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Forget it. Making money is the priority right now!

Having made up his mind, he headed straight for the city center.

Before long, he arrived at one of South City's busiest job markets.

Even though it was the end of the year, plenty of people were still looking for work. The vast market was a mixed bag, with just about every sort of person imaginable!

Jiang Tian squeezed through the crowd and scanned the surroundings. The openings were either technical jobs in fields like engineering or positions in sales.

There was a saying that summed it up nicely: even if Warren Buffett himself came to Yunzhou, he'd still have to put in three months of telesales.

And the pay was pitifully low!

"No, these jobs would take too long to make any real money. If nothing else works, should I sell a couple of pills?"

Jiang Tian stroked his chin as he pondered.

Before coming down from the mountain, he had prepared quite a few medicinal pills. Though they were of little use to him now, even one chosen at random would qualify as a miraculous medicine in today's world.

Just as he was wondering whether the idea would actually work, a vendor's cry suddenly rang out from a nearby stall:

"Come on over and take a look! A genuine thirty-seventh-generation successor of Hua Tuo! One dose of this miraculous medicine is guaranteed to cure your illness! Honest prices for young and old alike! If I'm lying, I'm a dog!"

Hearing the sales pitch, Jiang Tian's mouth twitched.

Seriously? I only just thought of this way to make money, and someone had already beaten me to it?