At that moment, everyone in the room watched wide-eyed as Erhuzi collapsed to the floor as though his bones and sinews had been pulled out, his limbs convulsing violently beyond his control.
At first, they were all struck dumb with shock, as though they had seen a ghost. Then the room erupted, cries of alarm and curses rising one after another in a chaotic din.
"Fuck! What... what the hell happened?"
"How did Erhuzi end up on the floor in the blink of an eye?"
"Wicked! Fucking wicked! Has this Qing Chen brat trained in martial arts?"
Yet the pockmarked man at their head reacted differently from the others. Rather than getting angry, he was delighted, the heavy flesh on his face trembling as his mouth stretched into a broad grin.
He planted his hands on his hips, threw back his head, and laughed. "Good! Good lad! I really fucking couldn't tell you had skills like that! Ruthless and clean!"
He strode up to Qing Chen and looked him over carefully:
"Looks like you really were the one behind that business last night, taking on three by yourself. With that ruthless streak, you're a born bandit. I like you!"
With that, he cast a sidelong glance at Qing Jie, who was hiding behind the crowd, and curled his lip:
"Motherfucker! This brother of yours is skinny as a bamboo pole and hasn't even grown all his hair yet. What fucking use is he?"
Qing Chen beckoned Qing Jie over and spoke unhurriedly. "You have a discerning eye, big brother. My brother is young, and he really isn't any good at fighting.
"But he doesn't need wages. He'll just follow me around, lend a hand, run errands, and serve as a lackey. That should be all right, shouldn't it?"
He had his own plans in mind.
The brothel drew all sorts of customers and plenty of news. Right now, he needed someone who could gather information from all around.
A lackey was undoubtedly better suited to gathering information in secret than a hired fighter.
Hearing this, the pockmarked man's eyes darted about as he quickly weighed it up.
A lackey who cost nothing, and a chance to do this fellow a favor-however he looked at it, he couldn't lose on this deal.
He immediately waved his large hand and settled the matter. "All right! For your sake, he can be a lackey, with two meals a day. As for you..."
He looked Qing Chen up and down, growing ever more satisfied. "Fine skills. You're a talented man. I'll raise your wages to four hundred copper coins a month!"
As soon as he said this, whispers rippled through the people around them.
In the Jing Kingdom, silver was dear and copper cheap. One tael of silver could be exchanged for at least a thousand copper coins;
And a single copper coin could buy one or two large meat buns at the market, enough to fill a person's stomach.
This was already excellent pay, especially in this year of great disaster. It was enough to keep a family of five fed and clothed.
Qing Chen immediately put on an expression of great delight, hastily patted his chest, and declared loudly:
"Since you appreciate me, Qing Chen, big brother, I'll serve at your saddle and stirrup and labor for you like a faithful hound!"
"Good! Good!"
The pockmarked man nodded in satisfaction.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. It wasn't his money paying for it anyway.
"Stop fucking standing around! Get back to whatever you should be doing!"
Only after his bellow did everyone scatter like birds and beasts and return to their own work.
Time slipped by, and two months passed in a hurry.
In the Qing Household's three-courtyard residence in western Ford City.
"Brother Chen, look at this... what do you think we should do?"
The speaker was a woman nearing thirty. Though dressed in plain cloth with a twig hairpin, she still couldn't conceal her full figure.
Time had left a few marks on her face, but her brows and eyes remained delicate. Her charms still lingered, with a distinctive appeal of their own.
Over these three months, her fear of this son of hers in name had grown by the day.
Qing Chen was now dressed in the coarse linen clothes distinctive to the Red Sleeve Beckons' "senior hired fighters," his collar wide open to reveal his sturdy chest.
A black cowhide belt was cinched tightly around his waist, and the short blade tucked into it gleamed coldly.
"Don't go out to weave cloth anymore. Those ruffians from the Twin Eagles Association don't dare trouble me at will now!" Qing Chen's voice was steady.
Not only was he formidable in combat now, but he was also thriving at the Red Sleeve Beckons.
Thinking of the Twin Eagles Association, Qing Chen couldn't help feeling a chill rise within him.
In his memories, his nominal biological father had hired those ruffians as fighters before his accident, never expecting that they would now become a source of trouble.
Some time ago, they had actually come clamoring to the Qing Household for compensation, claiming several lives had been lost and hoping to rake in a hefty sum.
"Life and death are decreed by fate; wealth and rank lie with Heaven. The terms were agreed upon when they were hired, and a contract was signed in black and white. I doubt there's anything they can do."
Qing Chen snorted coldly and shot an impatient glance at his second mother beside him.
His second mother timidly lowered her head, not knowing where to put her hands and not daring to say anything more.
Qing Chen shook his head. Had he not been physically weak when he first transmigrated, with this woman caring for him attentively for a time,
Given his temperament, he wouldn't have bothered with her at all.
Just as the atmosphere in the room grew somewhat stagnant, an urgent voice suddenly came from the corner of the courtyard. "Big brother! Big brother! I've got news!"
The newcomer was Qing Jie.
He hurried along, his expression brimming with excitement and his face flushed.
Qing Chen frowned. Watching Qing Jie barge in so recklessly, his expression instantly darkened.
He abruptly rose and, before Qing Jie could steady himself, seized his arm and strode toward a side room.
Qing Jie stumbled along the whole way, but didn't dare resist in the slightest, only pleading softly over and over:
"Big brother, gentler, gentler..."
Qing Jie's performance during this time had been reasonably satisfactory.
Qing Chen had even taught him some fighting techniques. Though they were only rudimentary, they had given him some ability to protect himself.
And thanks to his position as a brothel lackey, he spent his days moving between the brothel's kitchen and the courtyards of the menial workers, guards, and all sorts of girls;
He mixed freely with the other lackeys in the brothel and the little beggars on the streets, considerably broadening his sources of information.
Bang!
Qing Chen shut the side room's wooden door behind him.
The cramped space immediately grew dim.
"Speak. If you're this reckless again, watch your hide!" Qing Chen stopped and folded his arms across his chest.
"B-big brother, following your instructions really did turn up something!" Qing Jie swallowed, composed himself, and continued:
"To make collecting money easier, those thugs from the Twin Eagles Association actually broke the little beggars' arms and legs. There's one little beggar among them who I think is exactly what you're looking for."
Qing Chen's gaze shifted slightly. "Oh?"
Qing Jie spoke faster. "He's a refugee, and he has an older sister outside the city. Those thugs keep bullying him because of that, trying to force his sister to submit so they can have their fun with her.
"After the flood, fortunately, the city lord was kindhearted and set up porridge kitchens, even sending troops to guard them. That's how the siblings have survived until now. Otherwise, they'd have died long ago.
After hearing him out, a glint of calculation flashed through Qing Chen's eyes.
After a little thought, he instructed, "Qing Jie, go find Erhuzi. He's a refugee too, living in a run-down straw shelter outside the city.
"Tell him to go today and steal every copper coin that little beggar has begged for, then give him a good beating, but don't cripple him.
"Once it's done, have Erhuzi wait for me beneath the big locust tree outside the city. I'll give him thirty copper coins for his trouble."