Promise!

Chapter 55, Venture Capital

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened, and a crescent moon rose, hanging on the top of a willow tree with new light green branches, and the clear moonlight shone into the house.

There was a small light in the house, and the flame of the oil lamp jumped up and down, the dim light blending with the faint moonlight.

Zhuang Jin, Bi Kai and Qian Wende were eating and talking. The dinner table is indeed the best place to get closer. The three of them talked about their experiences this month, and the topic gradually opened up and extended to everyone in the dormitory last month.

"Brother Zhuang, Brother Lin, and Xiong Lei, you will also be in the outer courtyard of the Shen family this month, right?" Bi Kai asked.

Zhuang Jin nodded: "Yes, they are in the Internal Affairs Department of the General Affairs Department. I run into them from time to time when I go to the martial arts training ground. It's peaceful here, and they don't have any problems."

After the blow he suffered that day, Xiong Lei began to work harder. Lin Hong also saw him often in the martial arts training grounds. Moreover, he seemed to have a wealthy family and no shortage of food supplies. Perhaps this was the reason why he chose the job at the Shen family headquarters.

As for the specific progress of their cultivation, he didn't know, but he definitely hadn't broken through the Second Sutra. As for whether they had reached the bottleneck of the Second Sutra? Zhuang Jin estimated that Xiong Lei still had a long way to go, while Lin Hong should be almost there.

"There were eight of us in the dormitory originally, and only Xiang Qichen, Jiao Kun, and Haozi are left. If I remember correctly, they are in the north of the city like you, Dezi, right?" Bi Kai asked.

"Yes, I do know something about the three of them."

Qian Wende took a bite of food and started eating. "Xiang Qichen is not far from where I am. He happens to be next to the Medicine King Gang on another street. He has been ambushed by the Medicine King Gang several times this month. I heard that Xiang Qichen even killed someone and got a reward for his head. It seems that he has now broken through the second level and has also mastered the Black Evil Palm."

Zhuang Jin also knew that the other party had come to show off to him in the afternoon.

"As for Jiao Kun, you all know him. I heard that one afternoon in the middle of the month, Jiao Kun went to look for the half-closed door. It was their team's turn to patrol that night, but he came back late and missed the patrol... And that night, their team happened to be ambushed by the Medicine King Gang, and some people were injured. Tsk tsk!"

Qian Wende laughed gloatingly: "In the end, Jiao Kun was fined. I'm afraid that all the compensation for this month's work will not be enough, and he will even have to pay out of his own pocket."

Just as Qian Wende had said, Zhuang Jin and Bi Kai weren't surprised to hear Jiao Kun act like this; Jiao Kun was just that kind of person. It was a shame that, aside from Xiang Qichen, Jiao Kun had been one of the first of the eight people in the dormitory to become a full-fledged warrior. He had such a good hand, but it had ended up like this.

"I hope he will suffer a great loss and learn from it!" Bi Kai sighed, thinking of himself, and cast a grateful look at Zhuang Jin again.

"Things like this depend on each person's fate!"

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly to Bi Kai and said, "Some people will remember the loss they suffered, but some people may not turn back even if they hit a wall and get their heads broken and bloodied."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that at the dinner party at the end of the previous month, eight of the dormitory people discussed "fate". He sneered in his heart. If Jiao Kun continued to do his bad deeds, even if he had the destiny of great wealth and honor as the fortune teller said, it would probably be nothing but a mirage in the end.

"Haozi, you're pretty lucky. The street he's on is bordered by some small forces from the north of the city. How could they dare to mess with our Shen family? So nothing happened."

Wu Hao was an honest man, unlike Qian Wende, who was shameless and called everyone "brother." He quickly integrated into the group and took to it like a duck to water. This honest character also made him more trustworthy and reliable, and his teammates trusted him. His street wasn't adjacent to the one occupied by the Medicine King Gang, so it made sense for him to be safe and secure. Zhuang Jin and Bi Kai were both slightly sentimental upon hearing the news about their old dorm mates, but aside from Wu Hao, their relationships with Xiang Qichen and Jiao Kun were more casual, just lunchtime conversation.

During the meal, Qian Wende kept an eye on Zhuang Jin's expression. Seeing that he wasn't particularly interested, he lowered his voice and shared a piece of gossip: "I heard that because the fighting in the south of the city, near the Medicine King Gang, is too brutal, none of our Shen family warriors want to go there. Also, once our Shen family and the Medicine King Gang have taken over the north of the city, friction will begin, and it's likely to get increasingly dangerous... So, I heard there's been talk recently that killing someone will be counted as military merit, and that military merit can be exchanged for many good things we can't normally get our hands on!"

"I know that too. It's true."

I've often talked about this matter of military merit with Tong and Zhuang Jin. Next month, that is, tomorrow, the reform of military merit will be announced. From now on, you can get military merit by killing warriors from the Medicine King Gang. The military merit can be exchanged for a lot of good things. It is said that there will be elixirs to break through bottlenecks, exotic beast meat and so on!

At the time, Chang Hetong had discussed this with Zhuang Jin and asked him what he thought. Was he prepared to give it a try during the next two or three months of his self-selected mission? Zhuang Jin's attitude was naturally determined to hold on, and Chang Hetong admired this, praising his steadiness. He also suggested that if he was short on money or cultivation resources, he could borrow some from him.

"Next month, you still don't have to worry about money and cultivation resources. If you really run out of money, it will be after you break through the three sutras and your daily cultivation resources consumption increases again. That will only happen the month after next."

"At that time, I still followed the principle of living in seclusion as long as possible. I would rather borrow money from Master Ping and Master Chang and owe them favors, but I still wanted to stay in seclusion for the four months of my self-selected mission, concentrate on cultivation, and strive to complete the four-month protection period, break through the four classics, and be promoted to the rank of servant."

Zhuang Jin's eyes were deep: "Some people are afraid of owing favors, but I'm not! To put it bluntly, the more favors I owe others, the greater their investment, the greater the sunk costs, and the more likely they are to continue to help me in the future, becoming the wings behind me to soar."

Of course, he doesn't want to be a deadbeat, nor is he the kind of person who is ungrateful. He will remember every kindness and investment others have shown him and repay them double in the future.

"Master Ping and Master Chang's investment in me is difficult to repay now with two or three classics, but when I have four, five, six, or even seven or ten classics, then repaying them will be a piece of cake."

This is just like starting a business. Angel round investment may seem like a lot in the early stages, but as long as the snowball starts to roll, by the middle and late stages, even if the early investment is returned tenfold or a hundredfold, it is just a drop in the bucket.

In fact, from this point of view, Ping Yongfeng and Chang Hetong are extremely lucky. If they make an "angel round investment" in others, there is a great risk of losing all their money. But for Zhuang Jin, considering his outstanding qualifications, his golden finger unknown to outsiders, and his character, all things considered, there is only one word: stable!

Well, if we quantify the probability, it can basically reach 99%.

On the other side, Qian Wende and Bi Kai were surprised to hear Zhuang Jin affirm their military achievements, and they secretly digested the news.

Afterwards, the three of them ate for a while. Qian Wende and Bi Kai knew that Zhuang Jin had to practice more every night, and tonight was a good time to practice after eating the meat of the exotic beast, so they said goodbye tactfully.

Zhuang Jin sent the two away and went to the martial arts training ground to practice. He once again experienced the feeling of vigorous qi and blood, and the speed of cultivation increased by 30%. After an hour, the vigorous qi and blood gradually calmed down, and the martial arts training ground was about to close, so he prepared to go back to sleep.

……

(End of this chapter)