The proprietress, Su Yuan, didn't answer. Instead, she wiped the already shiny table, sighed softly, and said, "What else can happen? People are born, grow old, get sick, and die. Your Uncle Zhang Lin is sick, very seriously ill. He's lying in bed and can't move or get up at all."

“Zhang Lin’s daughter, Zhang Linying, is about your age. She’s lucky and born with extraordinary abilities. So she was thinking about how to save her father, but she didn’t have any money. She sold most of the thatched huts she bought to me and told me to do whatever I wanted with them. She only kept one room for her father to rest in.”

Chen Jing listened with a heavy heart, and then asked, "Is there enough room for us? We need at least two beds, and there are three of us."

The landlady chuckled, "You think this is a hotel with extra beds? Most of the furniture was pawned by that girl. But the price is very cheap, I'll give you 6 Blue Sun coins."

Chen Jing felt a little embarrassed. He only had experience renting a place before he transmigrated, and most of the places he rented were fully furnished and ready to move in... He thought for a moment and said, "I have to go and take a look first."

According to Master, 6 Blue Sun Coins is probably the cheapest house you can find in the Eggshell District, but we should still go and take a look first.

"Go and see." The proprietress moved to another table and started wiping it. "You know where it is, you don't need me to take you there."

Chen Jing nodded and stepped out the door.

...

After calming down his apprentice's sister, the expert, who wasn't good at comforting children, walked out the door.

Fortunately, the little girl was sensible and didn't cry or make a fuss. She stayed quietly in the room and even made the experts a delicious breakfast as a token of her gratitude.

The more the expert thought about it, the more upset he felt. When the country was strong, such a little girl would not have suffered such injustice. At this age, she should be crying and making a fuss, not so sensible.

The streets in the chick-rearing area were much cleaner than those in the outer eggshell area, thanks to people willing to hire cleaners. As for the eggshell area, where sewage flowed everywhere, the wealthy could use horse-drawn carriages and sedan chairs to avoid stepping in the sewage.

The expert didn't care about that; he knocked on the gate of a house.

Even in the fledgling area, not every household can afford to hire a guard to watch over their yard.

After waiting for a while, the courtyard gate quietly opened, and the servant led the expert into the study before leaving.

Sitting in the study was an elderly man over fifty years old. He was obese, with thick lips, a beard, and wore a black bathrobe and cloth shoes.

Unlike other studies, this study's walls weren't adorned with paintings and calligraphy; instead, they were decorated with exquisitely crafted swords.

This old man was Pan Fengyu, the father-in-law of Liu Hua, the city lord.

It is said that the city walls and various plans of this city were built brick by brick by him and a group of young men when he was young, making him a hero of the city.

After glancing sideways to confirm that the servant had casually closed the door, the expert said, "How's it going with my recommendation of that kid to join us?"

Pan Fengyu glanced helplessly at the expert and said, "It needs further investigation."

"Do we still need to investigate?" The expert frowned. "I've known him for a long time, and I believe he's a virtuous and reliable person. I've practically watched him grow up; he couldn't possibly be from another sect."

Pan Fengyu shook his head: "Just because it's not like that now doesn't mean it won't be in the future."

The expert's eyebrows furrowed: "You think he'll betray us?"

Pan Fengyu sighed deeply: "Be careful!"

The expert said, "I believe in that child."

Pan Fengyu rubbed his forehead: "Find an excuse to have him come here as my apprentice... just say he's here to learn to read, if I agree..."

Before he could finish speaking, the expert said, "Okay."

After saying that, he took a straight sword from the wall and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Pan Fengyu said, "Why are you trying to take my sword without saying a word again?"

“I saw my apprentice’s sword is missing, so I’ll get him a new one.” The expert didn’t turn around: “I’ll owe you this time, old man.”

Pan Fengyu watched the expert's retreating figure, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.

"Call me Martial Uncle!" he whispered, then shouted furiously.

...

Following his memory, Chen Jing arrived at Uncle Zhang Lin's house.

There was a fairly large courtyard, but there was no one there, only a stone mill and a well.

Chen Jing remembers that there used to be chickens and ducks here, and even some planted plants.

Chen Jing entered the courtyard and heard some sounds coming from the thatched hut.

He knocked on the door, but received no response.

After a while, the door opened, revealing the figure of a young girl. She was dressed in simple coarse cloth clothes, but this did not conceal her youthful beauty. One of her pupils was green, while the other eye was covered by an eye mask.

"Who are you?" the girl asked warily. Chen Jing noticed that her hands were behind her back, and guessed that she was holding some kind of weapon.

“I’m Chen Jing. Aunt Su Yuan told me that you have a house for rent here. I’ve heard Uncle Zhang mention you. Your name is Zhang Taoying, right?” Chen Jing said, trying to dispel the other person’s wariness.

“Everyone around here knows my name.” Zhang Taoying stepped back to make way for her. “Are you here to rent a house? You don’t need to come looking for me. I’ve already sold most of this house to Aunt Su Yuan.”

Although she said it, she had already recalled Chen Jing; they had met occasionally in the past.

"So alert, so wary, they didn't even offer me their back..." Chen Jing muttered to himself, "I want to come and see the house. If possible, I'll bring my younger brother and sister to live here."

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