Promise!

Chapter 5, Receive

Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei entered the Shen family together. As soon as they entered the gate, they saw something different. The cobblestone road stretched out, and in the flower beds on both sides of the road, golden chrysanthemums bloomed in clusters. In the distance, corridors, pavilions, and streams were scattered in an orderly manner.

"It's so grand! And this is just the outer courtyard!" Xiong Lei exclaimed with eyes wide open.

"Yes, the outer courtyard is like this. I wonder what the situation is like in the inner courtyard of the Shen family?" Zhuang Jin also nodded.

The two of them didn't have time to look closely. They followed the people who had registered in front of them, passed through a moon gate, and came to a stall. Behind them were two middle-aged men in gray robes: "Those who have registered, come here and line up to receive your bedding!"

Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei followed the sound and lined up.

"I've heard that once the Shen family recruits martial artists, they will be managed in a closed environment, and all bedding and other supplies will be provided by the Shen family."

"It is said that this was not the case during the first recruitment of martial artists. At that time, they were required to bring their own bedding and were allowed to go out every day. Because of this, several martial artists came back drunk and almost caused a fire. Learning from this lesson, the second time, the recruitment was closed off and all bedding was provided by the Shen family."

"This is our third time here. The bedding and other items are from the previous batch of martial artists, and they are in varying degrees of newness and age. These two grey-robed men control the distribution of bedding and if they want to get a better share, they might have to offer some benefits," Zhuang Jin thought to himself.

"Look!" Xiong Lei suddenly touched Zhuang Jin's arm and pouted.

Zhuang Jin followed the line and saw a martial artist at the front of the team who was receiving bedding. He handed over a handful of copper coins, more than ten coins in total. The gray-robed man in charge of registration took it with a smile, winked at another person, and took out a set of clean bedding for the martial artist.

"Tsk, the Shen family's threshold is really high. Even a servant with only one mark can have such a good life." Xiong Lei couldn't tell whether his tone was resentment or envy.

"A servant? Brother Xiong, what's the story behind this?"

Zhuang Jin asked, looking thoughtfully at the shoulders of the two gray-robed men. The gray-robed man at the door also had a silver line on his shoulder. At that time, he vaguely guessed that this might be related to their status in the Shen family, but due to limited samples, he did not dare to confirm it.

As expected, Xiong Lei said, "The Shen family servants wear gray clothes. Look at their shoulders, there are silver lines there. One line is a one-line servant, two lines are two-line servants, and three lines are three-line servants. Corresponding to the servants are the maids in the outer courtyard. Their clothes are lake green and are also divided into three grades, but the third grade is the lowest and the first grade is the highest. The willow leaf patterns on the clothes are from few to many..."

"Above the servants are the black-robed servants; above the first-class maids in the outer courtyard are the maids in the inner courtyard, who wear pink clothes. However, those people have reputation and status in the Shen family. If they were outside, they would be even more famous figures. They are too far away from us."

Xiong Lei talked incessantly as he explained to Zhuang Jin, with a touch of pretense. It wasn't a boast, but more of a desire to teach.

These were all told to him by Xiong Lei's father, so that Xiong Lei would have some foresight and not offend people he shouldn't offend after coming in. As for these more in-depth information within the Shen family, it was naturally difficult for Zhuang Jin to hear it because of his previous identity as a beggar.

As they were talking, Zhuang Jin noticed that the other martial artist seemed to be short of money. He looked embarrassed and nervous, so he handed over two or three coins. The gray-robed man who was registering the bill curled his lips in disgust. The bedding that the other gray-robed man took out was indeed much worse. There were several stains on it, and there was a hole. The martial artist did not dare to argue. He took it and left with his head down.

Seeing that it was almost their turn, he made a sudden decision: "I have to give this money, otherwise they'll be used as a target to establish my authority. I can't be the first to stick my neck out! Also, I can't give too much, or it'll be too much of a loss and too conspicuous, making them look like fat sheep. Too little is also not good, it will only anger the two gray-robed men, and the bedding they get will be too poor." Zhuang Jin pondered for a moment, pulled out a five-cent copper coin from his pocket, and turned back to signal Xiong Lei.

Xiong Lei was still hesitating. On the one hand, he was reluctant to give it and felt sorry for the money. He also couldn't stand the gray-robed man accepting benefits. On the other hand, he didn't dare not give it. When he saw Zhuang Jin's gesture, he instantly remembered his father's advice last night to be more careful and clever. He made a decision immediately and took out five copper coins.

"Thank you for your help, sirs." It was Zhuang Jin's turn now. As he spoke, he handed over five copper coins without leaving any trace. The grey-robed man in charge of registration took a look and accepted it, raising his chin slightly. Another grey-robed man understood and brought bedding. The quality was not good, but not bad either. There were a few stains on it, but no holes.

"Press your fingerprint and go to the big bunk bed in Room 2, Wu. After one stick of incense, go to the martial arts field in Room 1, Huang!" The gray-robed man who was in charge of registration said this as a routine, and then waved his hand impatiently.

"I'll remember this. Thank you both, sirs." Zhuang Jin pressed his handprints and bowed respectfully before leaving with his bedding.

Xiong Lei followed suit, giving five copper coins and receiving the same amount of bedding. He caught up with Zhuang Jin, who was waiting for him, and walked side by side, still muttering to himself, "The bedding we're using is the same one the martial artists used last time. The Shen family only started providing bedding since then, which means it's only been used once, and it's become like this... Those martial artists last time really didn't know how to cherish things. Look how dirty they are... Even this is good. Ours are considered good. I see some have holes in them..."

Zhuang Jin listened silently, and suddenly said, "It might not be what Wu Sheng did last time."

In his opinion, Wu Sheng came to the Shen family to learn martial arts and entered this wealthy family. Judging from his own experience, he would definitely not dare to neglect his things. Then why did these beddings become like this?

All I can say is, if all bedding were clean and tidy, how could some people collect benefits? Only by sorting clean, dirty, and torn bedding into different levels can some people maximize the little power they hold!

Xiong Lei was not stupid. He understood the unfinished meaning in Zhuang Jin's words. He immediately widened his eyes in disbelief, with an expression of "could it be like this?" on his face. However, at least he still had some scheming. He didn't exclaim out loud, but his heart was in turmoil: "Dad is right. People are treacherous when you are away from home. You have to be more careful!"

Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei carried their bedding and came to their accommodation. They were both in Room No. 2, Wu. When they entered, they saw that the room was three meters long and two meters wide. The largest area in the room was a large kang against the wall on both sides, which was a large bunk bed for fifteen people.

At this time, a martial artist had come into the room, chose a seat near the door, and was spreading his bedding. The two of them rushed for a seat near the window inside, and spread their bedding together. Just as they had finished tidying up the bedding, they suddenly heard shouting and scolding from outside. They looked at each other and went out.

It turned out that there was a martial artist in the back who didn't give any benefits, so the two gray-robed men used him to establish their authority and gave him a set of torn and moldy bedding. The martial artist wanted to argue, but the gray-robed man who was in charge of registration slapped him in the face, and he immediately became obedient.

Xiong Lei saw this scene and said thankfully, "Luckily we knew the situation and gave him a treat. Otherwise, getting slapped in the face would be embarrassing, but getting sick from using those torn, moldy bedding would be a serious problem. How could he practice martial arts then?"

"Yes, the weather has been getting colder recently. If I get sick after taking the bedding, the recruitment of martial artists this time will be a waste." Zhuang Jin agreed, secretly sighing in his heart that money is a good thing. Thanks to the gifts from Tan San and others, he could enter the Shen family to learn martial arts with ease and avoid many unnecessary troubles.

The two grey-robed men made an example of the others, and the remaining martial artists all obediently offered their gifts, daring only to give more, not less. Soon, they received their bedding and settled down. About an incense stick later, a voice came from outside: "All martial artists, proceed to the training grounds according to your assigned positions and prepare to practice martial arts!"

……

(End of this chapter)