The first pot of gold

Tang Wen scooped up the little boy in one smooth motion and somersaulted into the shop, leaving many of the onlookers staring in disbelief.

A moment later, the man was struck by the car and sent tumbling to the ground, where the police pinned him down and cuffed him.

"Luo Lin, Luo Lin... are you all right?" A middle-aged man and a pretty young woman rushed over and hugged the child as they asked.

"Dad, Sis, that was so much fun!" To their surprise, Luo Lin looked at Tang Wen with excitement written all over his face.

"You little terror, you nearly scared me to death!" the young woman complained.

"Young man, those were some impressive moves. Thank you." A policeman with a slightly plump face came over and patted Tang Wen on the shoulder.

"Just lucky timing, lucky timing. I was nearly scared to death myself," Tang Wen said, putting on a frightened expression.

"May I ask your name, young man? I'm Luo Tiesheng." After the police left, the middle-aged man took out a business card and handed it over.

"My name is Tang Wen." Tang Wen accepted the card and glanced at it. Well, damn-general manager of the Jiangchang Group! The man seemed to be someone of considerable standing.

"We owe you so much today. I don't know how to repay you. Take out your phone, and I'll transfer you some money to buy a few bottles of liquor," Luo Tiesheng said, taking out his own phone.

"No need. It was no trouble at all." Tang Wen firmly refused and made as if to leave immediately.

"How about this, young man? It's almost eleven thirty. Let me treat you to lunch. You have to do me that honor," Luo Tiesheng said sincerely.

"Big brother, you were amazing! Will you eat with us?" Luo Lin ran over and tugged at Tang Wen's sleeve, pleading with wide, innocent eyes.

"All right, then. Sorry for the trouble." Tang Wen thought for a moment and nodded.

"Just a moment, young man." Luo Tiesheng made a call, and before long, a Maybach pulled up in front of them.

After they got in, the car took them to a secluded private club. Their private dining room overlooked a stream, and a muscular young man stood at the entrance.

"This is my younger brother, Luo Jun," Luo Tiesheng introduced with a smile.

"My uncle is really amazing too, big brother," Luo Lin said with a grin.

"Oh? How so?" Tang Wen asked casually, smiling.

"Let me tell you, my uncle is the captain of a special operations team!" Luo Lin declared, lifting his chin proudly.

"Don't listen to him. I'm only a squad captain," Luo Jun said with a smile.

"That's still impressive," Tang Wen replied flatteringly. The group entered the private room, and the food arrived shortly afterward.

After a glass of liquor, Luo Tiesheng asked, "You seem quite skilled, young man. Where are you from, and where do you work?"

"Ah..." Tang Wen deliberately sighed, his face clouded with sorrow.

"If something's troubling you, tell me, brother. The Luo Family has a little standing in Yunhai City," Luo Jun said.

"It's a bit complicated. My parents abandoned me as soon as I was born, and my master found me by the roadside. He was an eccentric man who lived in a cave," Tang Wen said.

"Your master was a recluse? What was his name, and where did he live?" Luo Jun immediately grew interested.

After all, in modern society, plenty of people advocated returning to the mountains and forests and enjoyed living in the wild. Mount Zhongnan, for instance, was home to quite a few.

"He only told me his surname was Tang. He wouldn't tell me anything else, no matter how many times I asked.

"He taught me to read and practice martial arts. Not long ago, he suddenly died of a heart attack.

"He didn't even have time to leave me a single instruction. Before long, all the grain he'd stored was gone.

"So I had no choice but to leave the mountain and look for work.

"But I've found that living in the city is a real hassle.

"Earlier, the police were checking identity cards, and I nearly got arrested. It's nothing like the freedom of the mountains," Tang Wen said with a sigh.

"Arrested? Why would the police arrest you?" Luo Tiesheng asked, startled.

"I don't have a household registration, let alone an identity card. My master had saved some money from treating people.

"After I came down from the mountain, I met a woman crying outside a hospital. She said she couldn't afford surgery.

"So I gave it to her. I've been sleeping under a bridge these past few days," Tang Wen said.

"That does complicate things." Luo Tiesheng nodded and glanced at Luo Jun.

"Big brother, why don't you stay at my house? We have lots of rooms," Luo Lin said, tilting his head.

"No, thank you!" Tang Wen shook his head, glanced at Luo Jun, and took out a small porcelain bottle to hand him. "You work in special operations, so you must train regularly. I have three pills here that might be useful to you."

Luo Jun pulled out the stopper and sniffed the contents. His nostrils twitched at once. "Good stuff. Does it perk you up?"

"One is a Marrow-Washing Pill. It cleanses the marrow and bones, removing impurities from the body.

"The other two are Great Strength Pills. They replenish blood and qi, and taking one boosts your strength.

"The effect fades afterward, though.

"But some of it always stays in your body. Taking them over a long period helps increase your cultivation," Tang Wen explained.

Luo Jun immediately swallowed a Foundation-Nourishing Pill. Before long, he felt his blood and qi surge. He grabbed an armrest of his chair and wrenched it. With a crack, the armrest snapped off.

"Good stuff. This really is good stuff! I feel like my strength jumped by fifty or sixty jin in an instant. Otherwise, I couldn't possibly have snapped that armrest," Luo Jun said excitedly.

"Uncle, you didn't see what happened earlier. A criminal rushed out and tried to take my little brother hostage. He was scared stiff.

"Mr. Tang kicked the criminal away, then lunged over, scooped up my brother, and somersaulted straight into the shop.

"He was unbelievably fast," the pretty young woman, Luo Yu, said admiringly.

"Here's what we'll do, Mr. Tang. I'll help sort out your household registration and identity documents. Leave me your phone number, and I'll contact you when it's ready," Luo Jun said.

"Thank you. My phone's broken, though. Give me your number, and I'll call once it's repaired," Tang Wen said.

"Zhang Xiong, go buy a phone and get a SIM card for it right away. Bring it here. We'll register it under Mr. Tang's real name once his identity card is ready," Luo Tiesheng instructed the butler.

Zhang Xiong worked quickly. By the time they finished eating, a brand-new folding-screen phone had arrived-the latest Huawei model, no less.

After saying goodbye to the Luo family, Tang Wen went into an internet café and began searching frantically, learning about this world.

Two days later, Luo Jun called and told Tang Wen to go to the police station to arrange his identity card, household registration, and other documents.

By the fifth day, Tang Wen had a basic grasp of this world's situation.

This planet was called Water Blue Star. It was divided into five regions and had more than three hundred countries of varying sizes.

Southern Province was the largest region, roughly three or four times the size of Asia.

The Great Eastern Republic had a population of 1.5 billion and covered fifteen million square kilometers. Its system was much like that of the Huaxia Nation...

By the eighth day, his identity card and household registration booklet were ready.

The Luo family also obtained a bank card and a credit card for Tang Wen. The credit card had a limit of two hundred thousand, and they had deposited five hundred thousand into his bank account.

Tang Wen refused, but Luo Jun said this was not payment for saving his nephew-it was an advance for pills. Unable to turn it down, Tang Wen had no choice but to accept.

With only two days left before his return, Tang Wen headed to the Eight Blessings Gold House.

After investigating over the past few days, Tang Wen had discovered that silver was far cheaper than gold in the Great Eastern Republic.

One tael of gold could be exchanged for around fifty taels of silver, whereas in the Chu Kingdom, one tael of gold bought only ten taels of silver. There was a thirty- to forty-fold price difference to exploit.

If he had another chance to cross over, he could bring gold from the Chu Kingdom, exchange it for silver here, and take it back. He would make a fortune.

So he spent three hundred thousand from his bank account to buy 1,500 taels of silver.

For the rest, he used his credit card. Combined with the two hundred thousand remaining in his bank account, he had four hundred thousand in total.

He bought rice, flour, cured meat, several military-and-civilian-use tents, cot beds, light quilts, a few sharp sabers, and some emergency medicines.

Passing a little shop advertising a tearful clearance sale of three items for twenty, he spent his remaining tens of thousands on a pile of small mirrors, cheap perfume, lipstick, and other trinkets.

Everything was ready, and the time had come.

His body jolted, and a suffocating sensation washed over him. Amid a green glow, Tang Wen returned to Su Mei Island.

Ding-dong! The Great Landlord System requires "human presence" to repair itself. You must gather thirty units of human presence before your next crossing.

He heard the system's voice as soon as he landed.

People are exactly what I'm short of right now. This is going to be a pain.

The next day, Tang Wen gathered Li Quan and the others, took out the tents, and instructed everyone to level a patch of ground first.

Then they carried over stone slabs from the ruins of the Tang family's old residence to pave the ground, setting up the tents on top of them.

After all, the three hastily built thatched huts could not withstand strong winds or heavy rain. They leaked whenever it rained, and a gale could blow their roofs clean off.

After two busy days, six tents were up, and the Tang family moved into their "new home."

His mother and the other women occupied one, while Li Quan and the other men occupied another.

Of the remaining tents, one served as a toilet and another as a kitchen. Tang Wen had two to himself: one bedroom and one storeroom.

The following day, Tang Wen took his silver and brought Li Quan and Zhang Kui along to Yanling Commandery to exchange it for gold.

Yanling Commandery was only seventy or eighty li from Su Mei Island, close enough for a horse-drawn carriage to make the round trip in a day.

"Stop!" But just as they reached the bridgehead on the mainland side, someone shouted for them to halt.

A simple stone bridge spanned the three or four li separating Su Mei Island from the mainland. Its pillars were made of stone blocks, and its deck was paved with stone slabs, wide enough for a single horse-drawn carriage.

"Who are you?" Zhang Kui asked warily.

Tang Wen saw some twenty men blocking the bridgehead. A crude thatched shelter had also been erected beside it.

"They're not bandits, are they?" Li Quan asked anxiously.

"Their clothes are in tatters, and they're all sallow and skinny. They don't look like bandits. They're probably refugees," Tang Wen said, shaking his head.

"Yes. Look at what they're carrying-hoes, sickles, wooden clubs. They don't even have a decent knife. Bandits wouldn't be this miserable," Zhang Kui said with a nod.

"What business is it of yours who we are? You can cross, but it'll cost fifty copper coins per person," a narrow-eyed man said menacingly, brandishing his wooden club.

"A dou of rice will do too," added a monkey-faced man beside him.

"You dare rob people in broad daylight? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the authorities?" Tang Wen asked.

"Report us? Heh. We built this bridge. The magistrate ought to be paying us." A capable-looking middle-aged man with a high nose and a broad face stepped out of the thatched shelter.

"Ridiculous! I'm the lord of this island. My Tang ancestors built this bridge. Since when did you build it?" Tang Wen asked coldly.

"Boy, you think you can fool us? This is a deserted island. What lord?" the monkey-faced man laughed.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Tang Wen asked, fixing him with an icy stare.

"This bridge collapsed a while ago. We carried stones over and repaired it.

"I don't care who you are. If you want to cross, you pay.

"And horses and carts cost extra. One tael of silver per cart," the high-nosed man said.

"Zhang Kui, we're crossing. If they dare stop us, beat them," Tang Wen ordered, raising an eyebrow.

"Brothers, this brat won't leave us a way to survive. Get him!" the high-nosed man shouted. The men charged over fiercely, clubs in hand.

"They outnumber us. Let's pull back." Zhang Kui's and Li Quan's faces darkened at the sight. They hurried to shield Tang Wen and began retreating.