Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 165 Rain Falls Outside the Window

I added boiling water two or three times, turned half of the book, the saucer was gradually empty, the tea was cold, but the rain outside the window was getting heavier.

There were few pedestrians on the street, and the eaves were wet like curtains. Even the vendors selling rain gear had hidden under the buildings on the street, but they were reluctant to go into restaurants or teahouses to spend a few copper coins for a cup of hot water.

"Young man, the rain is getting heavy. Do you want to close the window and move to another seat?" The waiter came forward with a kettle and asked. He did not mind that Chen Xuan only spent a large sum of money to order a pot of inferior tea and sat there for nearly two hours.

While questioning, he even opened the lid of the kettle to add some boiling water.

Chen Xuan looked up and smiled, "It's okay. There's no strong wind, so the rain can't come in. The tea is already weak. Please change me a new pot and a portion of five-spice dried tofu. I'll sit for a while."

Looking at the rain falling outside the window, the waiter nodded and said, "Okay, wait a moment, young man, I'll be there soon."

He quickly cleared the teapot and saucer, and soon brought new tea and dried tofu, and even re-scalded the teacups.

This is not a high-end teahouse, and there are no tea girls performing, but we try our best to make the tea drinkers feel comfortable.

It was still early, and drinking tea on a rainy day was a nice pastime, so the occupancy rate of this teahouse was over 60%, but most of them were elderly, and Chen Xuan was the only one as young as him.

Occasionally, a few wanderers dressed up and complained that it was difficult to go out in such bad weather.

This teahouse also has storytellers to entertain people. He tells stories about interesting things in the countryside and the gossips in the city, occasionally mixing in some dirty jokes to make people laugh. The tea drinkers are happy and will offer a few copper coins as a reward from time to time. The old storyteller bows to express his gratitude.

I think this storyteller is reluctant to spend money on buying vernacular novels, and he is not well-informed, so he has no way of knowing the grudges in the martial arts world. He can only make a little money by telling some trivial interesting stories.

Chen Xuan quietly listened to the rain and read a book, occasionally eavesdropping, planning to give Yu Xiao a copper or two as a reward when he left. The man was really trying his best to entertain him, but his income was dismal.

"Excuse me, kind-looking boss, do you want a puppy? A one-month-old puppy, very easy to raise, usually just give it some leftovers, if that doesn't work, they can survive on grains and dirt. It's not expensive, only one big dollar each, please be kind and buy one, look how well-behaved they are, when they grow up they can bring wealth and fortune and guard the house."

"Little girl, go ask somewhere else. We really don't need it here. Hey, it's raining heavily outside. Why don't you come in and take shelter? You look almost soaked. Where are your parents?"

"Sorry to bother you, I'll go ask somewhere else..."

"Uncle, do you want a dog? It's very well behaved..."

"Sir, please buy a dog. It can be a good guard dog when it grows up. It's easy to raise..."

A childish voice of inquiry could be faintly heard in the rain outside the window, and again and again it was disappointed, and again and again it was asked with expectation.

When Chen Xuan heard the voice, he turned his eyes away from the novel and looked. He saw a small figure selling puppies along the street in the rain about a hundred meters away.

It was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, dressed in rags, thin, with a pale face, barefoot, wearing a small, worn-out straw hat and a large straw raincoat that dragged on the ground.

She tried her best to walk under the eaves of the houses on the street, but the rain still soaked her whole body. In her arms, she held a small bamboo basket filled with several puppies. She never stopped and sold the puppies in the bamboo basket to everyone she met.

Every time she was asked, she would try her best to lift the bamboo basket to show others that she herself was soaked, but the dog in the bamboo basket was kept quite dry, at least not soaked.

She looked pitiful and helpless in the rain, yet so strong. The heavy rain blurred people's vision, but it did not blur her clean and clear eyes.

"Little girl, sell me one of your puppy. It's small and easy to raise. Your family just needs a watchdog. You should be able to keep it alive by feeding it some bean dregs," an old lady selling tofu on her shoulder on the street called out. Her eyes were full of pity for the little girl, but she herself was not living a good life and could not help much.

The little girl said happily, "Thank you, Auntie. The puppies are very well behaved and obedient. Which one do you want? This black one will be very fierce when it grows up. It can protect the peace of the family. Grandpa said that all black dogs are fierce."

"Well, take this black puppy. I'll do it myself and put it in the frame in the air over here. This is money. Do you recognize it? Keep it well. Where are your parents, little girl?" The old lady asked with heartache in her eyes after buying a black puppy.

Maybe it was because the kind-hearted old lady was taking care of the business, and the puppy had a home. The little girl finally spoke a few more words, saying, "Dad accidentally injured his waist while handling goods at the dock two years ago. He couldn't work anymore. He didn't want to burden the family, so he quietly climbed out and jumped into the river while we were out. Mom also ran away secretly last year. I live with my grandfather and brother now. The dog at home gave birth to a litter of puppies, and they couldn't raise them anymore, so they sold them. I'm the older sister, I've grown up, and my grandfather is old. I have to support this family, otherwise it will fall apart."

The clear and tender voice spoke these words with incomparable calmness. Even the rain water hanging on the curtain was not as clean as hers.

The lady who bought the puppy was already moved, her eyes were slightly red as she said: "Good boy, poor boy, alas, the hemp rope breaks at the thinnest part, it's a pity that I can't help you much, I'll just give you a piece of tofu" "No need, Auntie, I'm already very grateful that you can buy Xiao Hei, it will be able to survive in the future, I don't feel sorry for it, I'm used to it, grandpa is still here, I'm very happy to be able to support my brother, I still have to sell the remaining puppies, I'll leave first, Auntie"

The little girl stubbornly refused the old lady's offer of tofu, and continued to walk in the rain selling the remaining dogs.

There are still many kind-hearted people in the world. Perhaps because of the little girl’s clear voice and sad experience, she didn’t walk far before the remaining puppies were bought by people.

After the dogs were sold, she was obviously very happy, but when she looked at the puppies that had found their own homes, her eyes showed some reluctance.

After all, the result was good. Without the dog in urgent need of help, she was able to stop and stand under the eaves across the street to shelter from the rain, staring at the rain pouring down the eaves in a daze. She was not confused, as Chen Xuan could hear her barely audible murmurs.

She was planning to sell all the dogs and get five big bucks. Should she buy some food to take back? But she was reluctant to spend the money. Her grandfather said that in this season, she could survive by eating some leaves, tree barks and wild vegetables, which were still fresh.

But if grandpa hasn't had a proper meal for a while, his health will be ruined. It's better to buy a few pounds of fine bran and cook wild vegetables. It's better to dig more yourself than to eat leaves and bark.

Just as she was struggling with this, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? I'm not cold anymore, I feel warm all over..."

Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze and focused on the novel again, thinking that this way she would not get sick.

A wisp of innate true energy silently penetrated into the little girl's body, dispelling the coldness all over her body and keeping her warm for an hour or two before the coldness dissipated. Before stepping into the innate realm, Chen Xuan was unable to protect people from a distance.

The little girl was still young. If she got sick after being caught in the rain, her life would probably be over.

Chen Xuan cannot help the whole world, so when he encounters such a thing, he will try his best to help secretly, but that's all. He can't take on other people's sufferings.

Continue reading and wait for the rain to stop.

But soon the relatively quiet street in the rain was broken by a burst of noise. A group of people were seen running in the rain one after another, looking nervous. Probably because they were far away, they felt a little relieved and either hid under the eaves to avoid the rain, or went into teahouses and restaurants to drink a cup of hot water or tea, and wring out their wet clothes.

There were quite a few people like this. When there were gradually fewer people rushing around like this, Chen Xuan also learned from people's inquiries and exchanges why they were nervous.

However, on the street a few miles away, a conflict broke out between two local gangs in Mo City, the Iron Fist Gang and the Wolf Fang Gang.

It was originally just a verbal dispute. People from both sides went to a blacksmith shop to collect insurance premiums at the same time. Everyone claimed that it was their territory, so they started fighting after a disagreement and blood was shed.

People who hurried away said that the conflict there was getting more and more intense, and both sides were recruiting people. They didn't know what would happen next, and they were afraid that many people would die.

It is common for gangs to fight over territory. As they are neither black nor white in the underworld, as long as it does not affect the people, the government will usually turn a blind eye and let the matter be resolved on its own.

Obviously, this incident caused quite a stir. Not long after, on the other side of the street in the rain, a group of police officers rushed quickly towards the direction of the conflict, attracting the attention of people who were taking shelter from the rain, worried that they would be affected.

Chen Xuan also vaguely heard the sound of a fight coming from a distance. It was quite fierce, but he had no interest in watching the fun and continued to read quietly.

Not long after the police passed by, Chen Xuan looked up at the rooftop across the street and saw a man in black wearing a bamboo hat walking in the rain, performing lightness skills and heading towards the direction of the conflict. He quickly disappeared in the rain. The man's lightness skills were quite good, and few pedestrians taking shelter on the street noticed him.

"This person's strength is no less than the black-robed old man I met the other day. Is he here to lend a hand or just watch the fun? Is it such a big fuss? I hope the authorities can calm it down. Someone of this strength can cause great destructive power and easily affect the public. No wonder the authorities intervened."

While Chen Xuan was pondering, he sensed a number of powerful auras in the rain rushing towards that direction. Of course, there were no innate realms. If someone of that level were to take action, it would definitely affect all parties, and the Mo City high-level officials would be unable to sit still...

After another hour or so, the rain finally subsided. Chen Xuan closed the book, paid the bill and left. The little girl across the street had already left when the rain started to subside.

Chen Xuan continued walking forward with an umbrella. Not long after he went, he encountered an official who stopped him and said that there was a disaster ahead and the road was closed. He kindly reminded him to turn back to avoid being affected.

Chen Xuan also listened to the advice, thanked him, and went out for a walk for most of the day. Although he did not finish visiting even one percent of the entire Mo City, he still went home.

I never thought that when I returned to the courtyard, I saw the girl selling the puppy again...

(End of this chapter)