Promise!

Chapter 100, Cause and Effect

August 30th.

That afternoon, Zhuang Jin stopped to take a rest after practicing martial arts. As usual, Chen Yun prepared some tea for him.

After tasting it, he asked in surprise, "Yunniang, why does this tea have a lotus fragrance?"

Chen Yun smiled and replied, "I saw some lotus flowers just beginning to bloom in the shade by the river in front of my house. They close at night and bloom in the morning. I put a little tea leaves in a small gauze bag and placed it in the center of the lotus flower. I took it out the next morning, and the tea naturally has the fragrance of the lotus flowers."

After hearing this, Zhuang Jin was impressed by her clever ideas and childishness.

As the couple was talking, a servant suddenly came over and said, "Zhuang Zhenshou, our master Chang is on his deathbed. Please come and see him one last time!"

Zhuang Jin recognized that this was Chang Hetong's family. He was shocked when he heard this, but after thinking about it, he understood.

In the recent wars, the Shen family is indeed the victorious side, but it is not without price. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he gets his military exploits in a rush, just like withdrawing money from a pawnshop. That is a hidden realm with enough strength to support it. Other warriors from the first to the third classics have suffered hundreds of casualties in the north of Yuecheng this month, and there are more than ten street guards from the fourth to the sixth classics, and they are concentrated at the fourth classic level.

It was obvious that Chang Hetong was one of the "prices" of the Shen family's victory. Zhuang Jin put down the teacup, said something to Chen Yun, and left.

……

Chang family.

Zhuang Jin saw Chang Hetong, who looked haggard and pale. Even though his clothes had changed, bloodstains were visible from the wound on his chest.

"Uncle Chang, how did you get to this point?"

"I...ah, it's fate, it's all fate!"

Chang Hetong explained his own situation, called his eldest son, Chang Kaiheng, and said to Zhuang Jin, "I'm afraid I can't make it... Zhuang Sheng, you know the current situation in the city. My second and third sons aren't warriors, so that's fine, but what I'm most worried about right now is my eldest son, who's at the Second Sutra Realm... I want him to join you next month..."

This is obviously a trust.

"Dad!" Chang Kaiheng called out in a sad voice.

Zhuang Jin remained silent and did not say whether he agreed or not. Instead, he asked another question: why the installment money for the Shuluo Pills had not been delivered in the past two months.

"This……"

Chang Hetong subconsciously looked at his youngest son next to him, and when he saw Chang Kaijie's expression change, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He knew that the family was in financial difficulty recently and only his youngest son and his wife were more generous and well-off. He had asked about this matter, and Chang Kaijie said it was his daughter-in-law's dowry and it was not the right thing for the young couple to interfere.

Now that I think about it, I'm afraid it's...

"Kaijie, you?"

"I..." After seeing this, Chang Kaijie knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he finally confessed, "Dad, didn't I get married not long ago? My family is in financial difficulty, so I thought I'd take the money and use it first..."

"Evil beast! Evil beast... cough cough!" Chang Hetong was so anxious and angry when he heard this that he almost couldn't breathe and was angered to death.

The eldest son Chang Kaiheng and the second son Chang Kaizhan hurried forward and patted their father's back.

"Dad, calm down. I will return the money." Chang Kaijie said hurriedly. He was incompetent and self-righteous, but he still had some filial piety.

"You...oh!"

When Chang Hetong saw that his youngest son was still confused and didn't understand the seriousness of the matter, he suddenly felt bored and couldn't even get angry anymore.

He once thought that his youngest son was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and had no ability, but he was obedient and sensible - he had always pretended to be so in front of him, but he did not expect that this incident would cause such a big mess.

I only regret that I was so smart all my life, but I was blinded by my own son.

At this time, the two elder brothers looked at Chang Kaijie with indifference. Usually, the younger brother was sweet-mouthed and made his parents happy, so he was favored. Considering that the other party had no ability and was just a parasite, it was okay. They would also listen to their parents' instructions to take better care of the younger brother... But now, what did this idiot do?
It's like taking the hen that lays golden eggs in the house and slaughtering it and eating it by one person!

——As for the things I entrusted to you before, if this hadn't happened, it would have most likely been accomplished. Now...

It is conceivable that after Chang Hetong left, the relationship between the three brothers would not be good. Not to mention taking care of Chang Kaijie, even normal interactions would probably be difficult.

Zhuang Jin watched this scene with a feeling in his heart: "Chang He and Tong Duo are so smart, but they fell for their son. However, parents naturally have filters for their children, which is also human nature and understandable... In past lives and present lives, many emperors in ancient times could not escape this, let alone ordinary people?"

Chang Hetong coughed for a while, and blood oozed from his chest. After finally calming down, he looked at Zhuang Jin and said, "I'm sorry to have laughed at you, Zhuang Sheng. The money must be..." "No need. When Uncle Chang came to me, I sold the Shuluo Pill to him in installments for 600 taels. I have more than 500 taels left... I remember that when I broke through the three classics, Uncle Chang gave me a gift of 5 taels of silver. This money... is a hundredfold repayment!"

Zhuang Jin paused, then continued, "Chang Bo also knows the situation in the north of the city. Kai Heng is no longer necessary under my command. I will arrange for him to go to the medicinal fields outside the city. Chang Zhenshou can rest assured!"

The implication of this statement is: selling Shuluo Pills at a low price in installments was the first time; not paying for the subsequent installments, but giving them decently and waiting for an explanation was the second time; this is the third time, and they will pay it back a hundredfold, and help arrange for Chang Kaiheng to go to the medicinal fields outside the city.

Things never happen more than three times. After this time, all ties are cleared. If this is the way it is handled, anyone would say that Zhuang Jin has done his utmost.

When Chang Hereng heard Zhuang Jin's last address, which changed from 'Chang Bo' to 'Chang Zhenshou', he knew what Zhuang Jin meant. He was suddenly struck by lightning, and all his energy seemed to be drained away. It took him several breaths to recover.

He understood that it was impossible to undo what had been done, and sighed, "Thank you, Zhuang Zhenshou, but I still have to pay you the five hundred taels of silver. Kaiheng, go get the deeds to our two storefronts in the east of the city..."

——If we really don’t give the more than 500 taels of silver, the Chang family will be criticized!

"Dad!" Chang Kaijie saw that he couldn't get any favor from people, so it would be better to keep the money. Besides, people said that he would pay it back a hundred times. Wasn't his dad confused?
Not to mention, he had to use the two storefronts in the east of the city to pay off his debts. Even he knew that this was the Chang family's last fortune. After giving it away, there would be basically nothing left except the houses.

Snapped!
Chang Hetong moved his palm, picked up the medicine bowl on the bedside and smashed it over, telling Chang Kaijie to shut up. Then he looked at his eldest and second sons: "I'm not dead yet, and you can't take responsibility for what you say, right? I say, go get it!"

Chang Kaiheng and Chang Kaizhan naturally understood what their father meant. Even though they were reluctant, they still went to get the deed.

Seeing the other party's insistence, Zhuang Jin thought for a moment, accepted the deed, said a few polite words and left, with Chang Kaiheng seeing him off.

On the bed, Chang Hetong looked at Zhuang Jin's back, opened his lips, and wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't make a sound. At this moment, he was on his deathbed, his mind was becoming clearer, and suddenly he thought of something, and his eyes widened.

This matter mainly depends on the youngest son, Chang Kaijie. Is he okay? If he can pay more attention, or take the initiative to visit Zhuang Jin, it won't be difficult to find out.

It could be said that he was assigned to the north of the city for the past two months, and the intensity of the war was rapidly rising, leaving him overwhelmed. It could also be said that he had just broken through the fourth level and was busy practicing, but these were not excuses. With so much time on his hands, could it be that he really couldn't find the time to take the initiative to look for Zhuang Jin?

Of course not!

It was just that after Chang Hetong broke through the four classics, he didn't even notice the subtle change in his heart.

Before he broke through the three classics, he treated Zhuang Jin like an elder to a junior. After Zhuang Jin broke through the fourth classics first, his attitude changed to looking up to him, calling him "Mr. Zhuang", and even asking for the Shuluo Pill without shame. After breaking through the fourth classics - even if Zhuang Jin broke through the fifth classics the next month, he subconsciously regarded the two of them as equals again, or even in a slightly more proactive position, and even had a kind of "emotional compensation" mentality, hoping to regain his face and hoped that Zhuang Jin would take the initiative to visit him.

This is the difference between Chang Hetong and Ping Yongfeng.

Ping Yongfeng's kindness to Zhuang Jin is relatively more pure. For example, when Zhuang Jin was a junior high school student and had the reputation of being a 'martial arts madman' spreading in the Shen family, he was the only one who advised Zhuang Jin not to be too tense. After Zhuang Jin refused to listen, he would come over every now and then, bringing him a good meal and exotic beast meat. He did it without saying anything and silently gave his all... This was more like a teacher, and it didn't matter if there was no reward, just like he once said, 'Go see the higher scenery of martial arts for me'.

Chang Hetong's investment was more about hoping for a return, but subconsciously he also wanted Zhuang Jinru to respect him like an elder. He wanted both...

The cause of the previous event is the result of the next event. All we can say is that even if this thing didn’t happen, there would be something else. Everything has already been predetermined.

"I was wrong! I was wrong! I was wrong!"

When Chang Hetong was dying, he wanted to understand everything and sighed three times. In his excitement, the wound on his chest was affected and blood splattered, staining his clothes red. His eyes bulged as he looked outside the door. He wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't have the strength to say it. He lay back on the bed, and his breath quickly became weak.

"father!"

……

"Zhuang Zhenshou, my little brother..." Chang Kaiheng sent Zhuang Jin to the door and was about to say something when he suddenly heard a sad cry from inside. His face suddenly changed drastically, and he stopped talking and was about to go back.

"Wait."

Zhuang Jin stopped him, took out the two deeds for the east city gate that he had received earlier, and returned them: "Consider this as my gift to Chang Zhenshou!"

"Perhaps Chang Hetong's help to me in the past wasn't worth this much, but firstly, I'm not short of money now, and secondly, sometimes suffering a loss isn't necessarily a loss. I refused the other party's dying request. How would I feel if I really took away these two storefront deeds, which were said to be worth five or six hundred taels but were actually worthless?"

"Sometimes, outsiders' opinions are still very important, especially when I reach a certain level and the Shen family investigates these things, what the senior management thinks."

Zhuang Jin's eyes moved slightly: "Even if we don't talk about these things, it's enough to ask for peace of mind. At least it proves that I have never let down those who have been good to me along the way."

Thinking of this, he looked at the setting sun in the sky setting behind the Chang family's house, turned around, stepped into the alley paved with golden red sunlight, and strode away.

……

(End of this chapter)