It's a Tough World

The reason why Shen Lian went out early in the morning was to have some peace and quiet.

In spite of his purpose, he was trailed by two bodyguards from the Shen family.

After realizing that a good half of the properties in Qing Capital belonged to the Shen family, Shen Lian wondered if this was how a royal visit felt like.

The most profitable industries were monopolized by the Shen family, one would have to work with the Shen family to make a living. In that sense, the Shen family could be described as the king in the capital.

Looking at how he was the legitimate heir to the Shen family, it would not be entirely inaccurate to describe his outing as a royal visit.

Too bad that being a bully was not his cup of tea, otherwise it would be fun to take advantage of innocent girls with his social status.

The State Capital of Qing was divided into two parts - the inner town and the outer town. The inner town was surrounded by high walls, and the outer town consisted of all kinds of markets and shops. This was one of the capital's uniqueness. It could not be helped that those who lived in the inner town felt that they were better than those who lived in the outer town.

Those who lived in the outer town shared their sentiments too; they would do anything just to be a part of the inner town.

The manors of the inner town were a lot smaller than those at the outer town, but they were a lot more expensive than their counterparts at the outer town. Even then, there was still a high demand for them.

Most of the manors in the inner town were built by the Shen family. These manors were then sold at a high price. The Shen family possessed a significant number of land titles.

Shen Lian was impressed with the business model developed by Old Master Shen, it was almost similar to those back in the modern world where Shen Lian came from.

Indeed, birds of the same feather flock together. Great minds do think alike.

Shen Lian went from inner town to the outer town and noticed that despite its size, the outer town was not as organized as the inner town. Though, it was a lot more happening and bustling with activities.

He went out from the east gate of the inner town. Despite that there was a mountain toward the east, the terrain was mostly flat. This was an important road for traders; the hotels and inns were crowded.

Shen Lian had gone out from the east gate to avoid the funeral procession of the Shen family.

As he left early in the morning, he did not get to have breakfast. The aroma of the fresh biscuits fuelled onto his hunger.

He was not going to settle for biscuits; he made a beeline to the inn, Yue Ke Lai.

The name of the inn literally meant that the shopkeeper would be pleased to welcome customers. The name was unrefined, but it was honest and frank.

Shen Lian did not bring money, but he knew that his bodyguards did.

Shen Lian was not in the mood for a private dining room, and so he went right to the main hall. As it was not lunch time yet, the inn was relatively empty. Shen Lian sat down and ordered a table full of delicious dishes.

Even though Shen Lian was dressed in expensive clothing, the waiter was not sure about letting him order such a huge amount of food – clearly for fear that he could not pay up.

The waiter was about to ask for further instructions from his manager, but before he could ask, the manager was smiling ear to ear and had told him to get the chef to prepare his special dishes.

The manager did not want to keep Shen Lian waiting. He quickly brought over some exquisite appetizer and a pot of old wine.

Shen Lian would love to drink, but he refrained from doing so due to his physical condition. He ordered another pot of tea. Meanwhile, his two bodyguards did not have the gut to sit with him and had got themselves a table of their own not far away.

Shen Lian was sampling the appetizer when a green shadow walked into the hall from the backyard.

The person looked unkempt and disheveled and was dressed in dull green, Shen Lian wondered when was it that he last changed his clothes. He had stubble all over his face and gave off a wild and unruly vibe. His notable facial features would be his hooked nose and his bright eyes, he stood out in the crowd despite not having a towering height.

Even a normal person could sense that he was different, what more Shen Lian. In fact, Shen Lian picked up a hint of danger from him.

The manager spotted the man in green and stopped him in his track without fear. "You haven't been paying for your accommodation for the past three days, when are you going to settle your outstanding balance?" he said.

"Stop bickering around and bring up some good dishes. We can talk after I have filled my stomach," the man in green replied.

"You had money to help someone who was trying to sell himself as a slave to bury his father, but you are telling me that you don't have money to pay for your accommodation? On top of that, you are trying to get a free meal. What kind of logic is this?" the manager exclaimed. 

"The money was not a gift; I bought him as my slave. Don't worry about the outstanding balance, I can just get my slave to work for you to pay it off."

"Without drawing up a contract and not knowing where he stays, how are you going to know that he wasn't conning you? Only your kind of people would believe this sort of story." The manager laughed sarcastically.

"I told him to come back in three days, he will not go back on his words," the man in green replied.

"That was what you said yesterday."

"But today is the day, not yesterday."

Right at this moment, the food was brought out from the kitchen; its aromatic scent filled up the whole place.

When the dish was brought to Shen Lian's table, the man in green took a seat directly opposite of him. He reached for a piece of steaming hot meat and sent it into his mouth.

The dish was sizzling beef. It was covered with boiling hot oil, but the man in green swallowed it without so much as batting an eye.

The manager was surprised at how that the man in green had the balls to sit at Shen Lian's table. He quickly went over to chase him away.

Before the manager could do anything, Shen Lian spoke, "Bring over another set of cutleries. Also, I'll pay for his food and board."

The manager did not recognize Shen Lian, but he knew that his two bodyguards were from the Shen family. This was why he went out of his way and did as Shen Lian said.

The name of the Shen family did wonder, the manager had no reason to reject Shen Lian's offer to pay up.

After all, all he wanted was money. He did not have personal vengeance against the man in green.

Money was the one thing that the Shen family had in abundance.

After having some meat, the man in green reached for the pot of old wine. He gulped down the wine and emptied the pot in a matter of seconds.

"What a dishonest trader! The amount of wine in the pot was painstakingly little. Bring me a bigger pot, bring over ten more," the man in green complained.

The manager looked at Shen Lian. Shen Lian nodded in approval.

It did not take long for the manager to bring over ten potfuls of good liquor.

"What on earth are these, flavored water? Are you taking me for a fool? Bring over ten pot of the liquor that I just had." The man in green barked after taking a sniff at the pot.

"The liquor from earlier was Huadiao wine made from our secret recipe, we don't have a lot of them in stock," the manager replied in a friendly tone, but in his mind, he was cursing the man in green for taking advantage of Shen Lian.

"You old prick, are you worried that this young master cannot pay up?" The man in green pointed at Shen Lian.

"Bring us the wine from earlier. Bring over all of your remaining stock," Shen Lian responded.

The manager nodded and told the waiter to swap the wine that he brought over into the Huadiao that was low in stock.

"Fine young man, you look so refined and cultured, who would have thought that you have such a heroic spirit! It's too bad that I've met the other young man first. What a shame!" The man in green shook his head.

"Looking at how I've offered to pay for your meal, it would mean that I'm not short on cash. Giving away one buck when you have a thousand bucks, as compared to giving away one buck when that's all you have; the effect is the same, but the level of ties and affection is different. It's a tough world. There is no need to think so highly of me," Shen Lian smiled as he replied.

The man in green's eyes brightened up, and he knocked on the bowl with his chopstick. He then spoke up with a clear voice, "It's a tough world indeed. I wouldn't have expected such wisdom from someone your age!" he complimented.

"These are not my words. They are part of a passage by someone named Gulong. Would you like to hear the rest?"

"Hold up, these words of wisdom would go well with wine. We should wait for the wine!"