Promise!

Chapter 86, Sweetness

Chen Yun's younger brother Chen Honggan was also one of the targets of the Yaowang Gang. However, Chen Honggan was not gambling or borrowing money like Jiang Wei. Instead, he was guaranteeing a loan for a friend. However, this friend disappeared, and he was found by the Yaowang Gang.

Chen Yun has also been worried about this matter these days.

Today, Chen Honggan came back with a very strange expression on his face: relief, sadness, fear... extremely complicated.

Without waiting for Chen Yun to ask, Chen Honggan took the initiative to speak, "Sister Shu (Shu is a respectful title, meaning to describe a kind and beautiful character), it's okay. This loan was a setup by the Medicine King Gang, and it was busted by the Shen family today... My friend went into hiding because her family was threatened by the Medicine King Gang... This matter seems to be targeted at me, but in fact, they are trying to drag Sister Shu into it..."

This can also explain his complicated feelings. He was relieved because the problem was solved; he was sad because he was betrayed by his friend and the friendship was over; he was afraid because the matter ended without any danger and fortunately, thanks to God, no serious consequences were caused.

After hearing this, Chen Yun realized that she was the one who was implicated in this matter. She blamed herself in her heart and said, "Your friend also suffered an unexpected disaster before. Since he has set his sights on me, it would have been someone else if not him. This time, it is me who has implicated you."

"Sister Shu, what are you talking about? I don't know people well." Chen Honggan was a little depressed.

Chen Yun knew her brother's personality: generous and chivalrous, willing to help others in need and achieve success, but he was also discerning in his friends. Birds of a feather flock together, and his friends were all like-minded and straightforward people: some were open-minded and resolute, upright and unyielding; some were refined and elegant, with inner beauty; some were unrestrained and uninhibited, with a refined and elegant temperament...

At first, my younger brother had achieved academic success and, with the help of a friend, got a job as a clerk due to his talent. Later, because he helped a poor family whose daughter was set up to be sold, he offended a rich and powerful family and was demoted. It was also because of the help from all his friends that he was spared further retaliation.

It was also after that incident that he saw the ugliness and shamelessness of officialdom, which was unbearable to the sight, and felt deeply that he was in a low position and had little power, so he could only make a living by writing letters and selling calligraphy and paintings.

"Why? Why would the Shen family suddenly take action?" Chen Yun changed the subject.

"I heard that it was the martial artists surnamed Zhuang and Duan from Furong Street in the north of the city who discovered something and asked the garrison commander to take action..."

"Oh, Master Zhuang Wu from Furong Street in the north of the city? I know him..." Chen Yun has a photographic memory. She can remember everything she sees or hears about it once. She also wrote down the street assignments that Zhuang Jin had heard about once.

She told her brother about her acquaintance with Zhuang Jin, and was secretly grateful in her heart. She planned to meet Zhuang Jin again and prepare some gifts to express her gratitude.

Chen Honggan seemed to have a favorable impression of Zhuang Jin when he heard his sister talking about her, or at least he didn't feel disgusted. He hesitated to speak, thought for a moment, and then said tactfully, "In the past few years, Sister Shu has taken care of mother and me... Now it's time for her to think about herself."

When he was five, his father died, leaving only his mother, Li, and his sister, Chen Yun, with nothing to rely on. Chen Yun, a skilled needleworker, sewed for others, and the three of them relied almost entirely on Shu's labor. She even paid for his education, ensuring he would complete his studies.

Later, my mother's blood disease became more serious, and medical expenses increased greatly. Shujie went to work as a maid in the outer courtyard of the Shen family... Last year, my mother died of the disease, and Shujie was also delayed because of it. She is now nineteen years old, which is a bit late in this era.

"This kind of thing also depends on chance and fate. Money is easy to get, but a good man is hard to find. You can only meet him by chance, but you can't ask for him!" Chen Yun said. For some reason, a person subconsciously appeared in her mind.

"Even those who swear eternal love may be unfaithful; even unmarried couples in the countryside may live together till old age. In this life, how can we know if we are the one who loves us until we close our eyes? Just like you have to wear a pair of shoes to know if they fit, everyone's standard for a good partner is different."

Chen Honggan paused, then continued, "I'm not urging Sister Shu to find someone rashly or hastily. I just want to tell Sister Shu that if you have made a judgment, believe in yourself and don't hesitate. Good people are like shooting stars across the sky, fleeting. Don't wait until you lose them to regret it."

This is his experience in dealing with people. For example, when making friends, he is cautious, but once he has his own judgment, he will give trust. Now he has several close mentors and friends. This time, the matter of guaranteeing others was delayed until now thanks to the fundraising and negotiations of these friends, and he finally saw the light after the clouds cleared.

……

By knocking down the Medicine King Gang's hideout, they broke open a gap and opened up the situation. Following the clues, they heard that they had made considerable gains. Later, the Medicine King Gang in the north of the city had to take the initiative to negotiate.

In short, Zhuang Jin achieved his goal, making the City North Medicine King Gang so busy and anxious that they no longer had the energy to focus on him, the person involved, because of what happened on the night of the ninth day of the first lunar month, and were able to practice in peace.

A few days later, the reward for this matter came: one hundred military merits!
——This is a lot. That was a special case before. Normally, one hundred military merits is a considerable number for guarding the street.

Qian Wende was awarded twenty military merits for his hard work in the investigation, and Zhuang Jin secretly gave him thirty taels of silver.

He knew very well that he couldn't keep his subordinates hanging all the time. He had to let them taste the sweetness occasionally so that they would work hard.

Furthermore, this matter was mainly handled by Qian Wende, and Zhuang Jin just talked and made connections. It would be inappropriate for him to not express anything or be too stingy.

Qian Wende was already delighted with his twenty military achievements, but Zhuang Jin's additional thirty taels of silver only made him incredibly excited. Remember, at the Second Sutra Realm, the basic monthly allowance was only three taels of silver. North of the city was a bit more lucrative, and even without fighting, beheading people would earn him another three or four taels. Thirty taels was basically half a year's income.

"On the night of the ninth day of the lunar month, I took advantage of Brother Zhuang to get a head and gained ten points of military merit. This time, I got twenty points of military merit and thirty taels of silver. If I follow Brother Zhuang, I'll have meat to eat!" Qian Wende secretly sighed, thinking that he had followed the right person.

At the same time, he became more enthusiastic towards Zhuang Jin, licking her a little too much, which made Zhuang Jin feel a little disgusted. He only felt better after talking to her once.

……

Time flies, and it’s May 30th in a blink of an eye.

That afternoon, Zhuang Jin finished a round of meditation and opened his eyes. "I've already reached a little over 50% of the Four Classics realm. At this rate, I'll be able to break through to the Five Classics by mid-to-late next month!"

It’s time to take a break this afternoon and go back to the Shen family headquarters.

Now, Zhuang Jin has reached the level of a servant and can apply for next month's assignment this afternoon. The General Affairs Department will consider this application to a certain extent.

"At the Four Classics level, I'd only be a deputy director of a department in this headquarters, so it's probably not feasible. However, the medicinal fields outside the city might not be without hope. They're relatively safe and will be convenient for digesting this month's harvest."

"Although the Northern Medicine King Gang is temporarily preoccupied with their own affairs due to the hunting incident, once they regain their footing, they may remember me and cause trouble again."

Zhuang Jin’s response was: I don’t want to play with you anymore, just get away first.

Now the Shen family and the Yaowang Gang are fighting, and big things happen every day and every month. After a month or two, even if he is transferred back to the north of the city, the limelight will have long passed, and he will not be so conspicuous and attract attention.

"Also, the matter of marriage..."

Just like digging deep into the clues behind Jiang Wei and taking the initiative to attack, leaving the Yaowang Gang overwhelmed, Zhuang Jin is not the type of person who passively accepts. For such an important matter as the person by his side, considering situations like Ni Ying, he has already used his connections to do background checks on some candidates in recent days and has decided on a few alternatives in his mind.

……

Shen family headquarters.

Zhuang Jin came over and saw Yue Song, the deputy director of the General Affairs Department, again. Yue Song pretended to be angry and said, "Brother Zhuang, this is really dishonest. We agreed that you would be given priority under the same conditions, but now you turn around and sell the Shuluo Pill to someone else."

Zhuang Jin knew the other party's attitude, but he didn't get angry: "My fault! My fault!"

He mentioned the human factors that are common and common. To a certain extent, if you don’t have the human factors, then the conditions are not the same, right?
"...I should have told Director Yue about it that day, but there were too many people congratulating him that day, and Chengbei Street was busy with a lot of things to do, and Director Yue is also a busy man... I'm so sorry for telling him today." Zhuang Jin explained.

After hearing Zhuang Jin's careful explanation, Yue Song no longer held that little dissatisfaction in his heart.

After all, I had done everything I could to help Zhuang Jin register her maid, and I had already done all the favors. If I turned my back on her now, wouldn't that mean my initial investment would be wasted? It would also give people the impression that I was petty.

Also: Zhuang Jin sold Shuluo Pills to Chang Hetong out of a favor, if it wasn't for someone else, Yue Song's dissatisfaction wouldn't be that strong.

——Because he would think: Zhuang Jin is such a ‘fool’, he suffered a loss yesterday because of his favor to Chang Hetong, so why can’t he also take advantage of him tomorrow because of his flattery!

Zhuang Jin registered his intention for next month's assignment, and requested that he would preferably stay at the Shen family headquarters or the medicinal fields outside the city. The reason was that he would digest this month's harvest, improve his strength, and then talk about marriage candidates.

"Brother Zhuang, you've caused me so much trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Song immediately complained. Of course, it looked like a complaint, but in reality, it was a secret compliment: "Brother Zhuang, when the news of your marriage was spread, those maids in the outer courtyard went crazy... Usually, they are all so arrogant, but when they meet Brother Zhuang, they all lose all respect... For the past half month, my door has been almost broken by people stepping on it, and there are even people giving gifts for this..."

……

(End of this chapter)