It was early February, and although spring had already arrived, there was still a deep chill in the air.
The fire in the charcoal basin had gone out, and the room was freezing. Chen Xiao shrank his shoulders, lingered in the residual warmth of the hot water bottle for a while, then crawled out of bed, put on his jacket, and covered himself with a cotton-padded jacket.
The copper kettle was covered with a cotton cover to keep the water warm. Although the insulation effect was not as good as that of modern thermos kettles, it could barely keep the water warm enough to keep it from freezing cold.
I washed my face with warm water, brushed my teeth with a boar-bristle toothbrush dipped in tooth powder, and then combed my shoulder-length hair into a bun. That completed my personal hygiene.
After getting dressed and opening the door, Chen Xiao was hit by a chill. He walked out and took a deep breath. The fresh air, different from that in the big city, filled his lungs and was particularly refreshing. He stretched his limbs and stretched his waist.
He had been in this world for half a year. At first, he was very cautious, fearing that the locals would find out about his abnormality and burn him to death. Now, he has adapted to the life here and there is no obvious difference between him and the locals.
Chen Xiao walked from the backyard to the front, exhaled, rubbed his slightly cold fingertips, put down the door panels of the shop one by one, and moved them to the back and stacked them up.
His current job is as a clerk and store attendant at an antique shop called "Taxue Xunxian".
During the day, he learned and sold goods from the shopkeeper and the second shopkeeper. At night, he closed the shop and slept in the back. If anything happened, he would ring the big gong in his room. The boss didn't expect him to fight the criminals bravely, but he could alert the surroundings and notify the night patrol police team in the city to come.
Chen Xiao was a low-level clerk. He not only had to prepare for the opening of the store every morning, but also had to clean up. Of course, he couldn't do it all by himself, there was another person named Zhao Erhu.
After a while, Chen Xiao finished his work. People began to appear on the street, and Zhao Erhu came and brought him a bowl of steaming wontons and four crispy and delicious cakes.
This breakfast was not cheap for an ordinary family, it cost fifteen copper coins. Zhao Erhu paid ten of them, and Chen Xiao paid five of them.
He has been helping him bring meals for three or four months.
Zhao Erhu's home was far away, and he had to walk halfway across the county town to get here. From late autumn to early spring, it was dark and cold when he got up early. Zhao Erhu didn't want to get up so early, so Chen Xiao discussed with him that he would bring breakfast for him, and Chen Xiao would take care of the cleaning by himself.
Zhao Erhu would rather give up some money than get up early in the dark and cold. He agreed, but asked Chen Xiao to pay five copper coins because he was such a big eater. Two pastries would be enough for an ordinary person, but he wanted four!
Chen Xiao took the breakfast, sat in the reception seat, and started eating. Zhao Erhu sat on the side and poured a cup of hot water from the kettle that Chen Xiao had just boiled to warm his hands.
Chen Xiao ate it with such relish. The wontons were just the right size, fresh and delicious. The shortbread was crispy and crunchy.
Zhao Erhu was envious when he saw you, and said, "Xiao Han, not only do you eat a lot in the morning, but you also eat more lavishly at noon and at night. You are picky about what you eat and what you wear. I have never seen a waiter like you. With such spending, when will you be able to save money and marry a wife?"
Chen Xiao almost choked when he heard this.
The young man he possessed had no real name, only a nickname called Hanwa. He was not very old, only seventeen years old.
His parents died on the road, so he followed his uncle's family and settled in a very rich village.
Maybe it was because of the good genes given by his parents, the boy had thick eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, and looked cute. Because he was good-looking, his aunt didn't mind him much even though it was a burden to have another child.
Until the boy started to grow.
The young boy was eating his father to death, and the family couldn't afford to support him. His uncle had no choice but to send him away and asked someone to find him a job, so that he could follow the merchants who traveled all over the country to earn a living. At that time, the boy was only twelve years old, and he was not even as tall as a dwarf horse, but he had to work hard to follow the caravan everywhere.
Because he ate a lot, he didn't save much money over the years. When he was fifteen or sixteen, he learned a few tricks from the caravan's martial arts master and became a guard.
The fool really had no luck. Half a year ago, during a freight transport he was familiar with, a ferocious beast suddenly attacked and injured people on the road. He was also confused, thinking that he could deal with it after learning a few tricks. As a result, everyone else fled, and he was the only one who rushed forward.
If the accident had not happened near the county government and the security team had not arrived quickly, the silly boy would have been dragged away by the beast. Even so, he was also seriously injured and in critical condition.
Han Wa was seriously injured. The leader of the caravan admired his bravery and gave him a large reward and medical expenses. However, the caravan could not stay for him. After selling the goods this time and preparing the goods for the return trip, they had to set off.
He was ill and unable to walk, so the caravan entrusted him to a family and paid them a commission to take care of him.
Because the caravan came to the county town several times a year, this family did not dare to treat the child harshly. They just delivered water and medicine on time, but they could not be said to be very attentive.
The martial arts master who taught Han Wa in the caravan was worried that they would steal his money and kill him, so he threatened them fiercely. This made the family dare not use Han Wa's money to hire a famous doctor without his permission, and they were reluctant to pay for him, so they just endured it.
Hanwa was originally very strong, but he was tortured by repeated high fevers and coughing up blood. He was bedridden and his body became weaker. Just like that, Hanwa passed away and Chen Xiao came.
When Chen Xiao closed his eyes in his previous life, he thought he would never wake up. But when he woke up, his whole body ached terribly, and he kept having a fever. It was so severe that he couldn't even get up, and it was difficult to even raise his hands.
When Chen Xiao struggled to figure out the situation from the dizziness and headache, his instinct for survival made him realize that if he continued like this, his second life, which he had obtained out of nowhere, would be gone again.
While Chen Xiao was still conscious, he asked the family to help him hire a doctor from a large medical clinic. He also spent most of the reward money to ask the doctor to find a way to treat him.
The doctor in the clinic was willing to do his job after receiving the money. He went through a lot of trouble to find a pill for Chen Xiao. After taking it, Chen Xiao's illness was cured immediately and he felt much better.
After another half a month of recuperation, Chen Xiao recovered. After thanking the family, Chen Xiao left and found an inn on the street to stay.
There is still a small part of the bounty left, which seems like a lot, but in this prosperous county town I can only eat and drink well in the inn for three months.
Chen Xiao didn't want to go back to the caravan where Hanwa had stayed before. One reason was that he was worried that people would find out that he had a new heart. Another reason was that he didn't have Hanwa's physical memory. Although he could fight, he didn't know how to use fists and feet, and couldn't do a dangerous job like a guard.
So, he made up his mind and found an agent with a good reputation. He gave him all the money he had left and asked him to get him a job.
Chen Xiao was very glad that he had made the decision at the beginning. This place where he could indirectly contact the upper class people allowed him to quickly gain a general understanding of the world.
This world is very wonderful. It has the backwardness, living habits and thoughts of ancient times, as well as various ingenious and advanced inventions in the embryonic period of capitalism. The coexistence of backwardness and advancement is magical and mysterious, which aroused Chen Xiao, a newcomer who was at a loss, to great interest.
Chen Xiao thought he had come to a parallel world similar to ancient China, which was undergoing an era of transition from feudalism to capitalism.
But later, when he learned more about the country called "Dai", he realized that he had guessed wrong. This world had no coal or oil, so it was impossible to have a steam age, let alone enter modern society.
However, although this world does not have resources like coal and oil, it does have a valuable mineral called Lingshi. The energy contained in this Lingshi ore can replace coal and oil to provide energy for various equipment.
Chen Xiao had seen it with his own eyes. A marble-sized spirit stone bead was placed in a stove with three burners. It burned continuously for three hours, but only consumed a little bit.
It was that time that he was too surprised, and the stove owner who liked to show off told him that the spirit pearl was obtained from a cultivator. Chen Xiao then realized that this world was not dominated by farming, reading, working, and business, but by cultivating Taoism and seeking immortality.
Unfortunately, after some indirect inquiries, it was discovered that the original body did not have the spiritual roots for cultivating immortals, nor did it have any talent. Chen Xiao was discouraged, but then he cheered up again.
Anyway, it would be a waste for him to be reborn, and even if he lives his life as an ordinary person, it would not be a loss.
Therefore, Chen Xiao's goal has always been to enjoy life and save money to travel around the world. As for marrying a wife, he was a bachelor in his previous life and was used to freedom. Now he doesn't plan to add any constraints to himself.
Chen Xiao wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "I haven't thought about it that much yet. Keeping healthy is the most important thing."
Others didn't know how well Chen Xiao had recovered. He had lost a lot of weight after a serious illness. Although others thought that this guy spent too much on food, they couldn't say anything when he brought up the reason of nourishing his body.
Zhao Erhu saw that he was using this excuse, so he shook his head and said no more. They were just ordinary colleagues, not that close. If the other party didn't listen after persuading him, Zhao Erhu would not persuade him again.
However, in my heart, I must think that Hanwa is not a person who knows how to live, he spends money lavishly and cannot save money.
Chen Xiao laughed. He could see that the other party didn't agree, but he didn't intend to explain. The two sides have different values. If they talk too much, it will only cause trouble. It's better to just let it go. Anyway, he has one year to learn and adapt. After one year, he will leave. Why make it unhappy?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
