Promise!

Chapter 95, Ruthless

Fujing Street.

The residence of the Zhuangjin Street garrison was right next to the street headquarters. Here, servants and maids moved some sundry items from the medicinal fields outside the city, and Chen Yun led them to help clean up.

He naturally felt relieved to leave the matter to Chen Yun. He went to the station on the nearby street to hold a meeting with his three teams, get to know the warriors other than Lin Hong's core team, and arrange all matters related to the night watch.

By mid-morning, after finishing his instructions, Zhuang Jin went to the residence next door.

This street is named "Fujing" and has elegant natural scenery. This time, the residence is a small pavilion facing the water, which is much more spacious than the one in the medicine field outside the city, with three rafters.

——Five Classics Realm, two-marked household servant, the configuration is exactly three rafters. Last month in the medicine field outside the city, because he knew that he would not be able to stay there for long, Chen Yun cleaned up the two-rafter hut very well and did not bother to change rooms. This was the first time he really enjoyed the configuration of a two-marked household servant.

This is not a medicinal field outside the city, but in the city center. It is the same house, but the space is much larger. However, when Zhuang Jin came here in a hurry before, he did not have a very good impression of it. Now that Chen Yun has taken care of it, it is an excellent residence beyond imagination.

Chen Yun took Zhuang Jin in to look at it. "Husband, take a look. If there's anything inappropriate, I'll revise it."

When you enter the house, your first impression is cleanliness, followed by brightness.

Zhuang Jin remembered that when he came in before, the room was a little dim because it was backlit. At this time, Chen Yun pasted white paper on the walls, and it looked much brighter. The wooden floor in the room was spotlessly clean. On the eight-immortals table in the middle was a pot of lotus-petaled white orchid, with flat shoulders and broad hearts, thin stems and clean petals, which sparkled in the dim light and was the finishing touch.

He remembered that this pot of high-quality orchid was given to him by a Long town guard at the medicinal field outside the city. Chen Yun liked it very much and watered it himself. After a month, it became more and more luxuriant.

Then, Chen Yun took Zhuang Jin to the second floor.

Zhuang Jin had come up here once before. At that time, there was no railing on the second floor, and it looked empty and unobstructed. Now there is a bamboo curtain that hangs down to the ground, and its height is the same as that of an ordinary table. This leaves room for walking and looks beautiful and natural, blending in with the surrounding environment.

"Yunniang, how did you do this?" Zhuang Jin asked in surprise.

Chen Yun smiled and replied, "I used dark bamboo, staggered horizontally and vertically, to cut it into half a curtain... Four broken bamboos were placed vertically in the middle, tied with hemp rope to secure them. Where the horizontal bamboos were used to form the curtain, they were wrapped with black cloth and sewn shut..."

Zhuang Jin was amazed by Chen Yun's clever ideas.

As the two talked, the wind rustled and the sunlight filtered through the dense shade of an old tree in front of the eaves and covered the window. The dancing light and shadow made their silhouettes, along with the painting hanging behind them, look like the blue sky.

As mentioned before, Chen Yun had an open-minded and generous personality. She didn't like jewelry or beads very much, but she was quite fond of books and paintings. Whenever she came across an interesting book, she would share the wonderful passages with Zhuang Jin and read them to him when he took a break from martial arts practice. Whenever she came across damaged calligraphy and paintings, she would repair them with old paper and hang them on the wall to decorate the room.

At this time, behind the two of them was a hanging painting brought by Chen Yun. The painting depicted an old man in the moon, with a red silk in one hand and a cane in the other, with a childlike face and white hair, running in the mist that was neither smoke nor fog. It added a touch of humanistic atmosphere to the pavilion.

At this moment, the two of them were standing on the second floor. Through the newly built railings, they could see tourists coming and going on the other side of the river.

Chen Yun pointed out each detail and explained her plans to Zhuang Jin: "Our Xiaoxuan is east of the bridge, north of Gengxiang. There's three-tenths of farmland next to the house. I asked and it's available. I can create three-tenths of ridges and set aside for a vegetable plot... Near the fence, I plan to find some chrysanthemum seeds and plant them. In autumn, the flowers and trees will cast their shadows beside the fence. I think it will look beautiful..."

Zhuang Jin once again admired Chen Yun's clever mind. No matter where she went, she could always adapt to local conditions, cover up the shortcomings, and make the residence comfortable and pleasing to the eye.

In such a good environment, Zhuang Jin felt relaxed and seemed to make better progress in his martial arts practice. Chen Yunru was like a herb garden outside the city, accompanying him wherever he could see, reading, embroidering, or adding tea and heating food.

Time passed quickly and it was noon when an acquaintance came to see him.

……

This man was the third oldest in the dormitory - Jiao Kun. Because he was greedy for pleasure and lazy, he was later sent to the south of the city, where he broke his arm and his path to martial arts was cut off.

Today, Jiao Kun came with a gift, sat down stiffly, said a few polite and meaningless words, and then stiffly recalled the time when they were in the same dormitory... As he spoke, he felt quite embarrassed, but he forced himself not to leave.

Zhuang Jin didn't want to waste time with him and asked directly, "Jiao Kun, what's the matter with you?"

"Yes."

Jiao Kun opened his mouth and finally spoke with difficulty.

It turned out that his family had bought a stall on this street and sold snacks here - this stall was the foundation of the Jiao family's livelihood. At the beginning, the family took out money to let Jiao Kun participate in the recruitment of martial artists, and later provided some silver and money and sent it to him, all of which came from this.

The Jiao family originally bought this stall from a former small gang, and that small gang had been selling it privately. Now that the small gang has been cleared out and the Shen family has occupied the street, they naturally refuse to acknowledge it.

After all, that stall was sold by a small gang in the past. What does it have to do with the Shen family? The Shen family occupied the street, which was originally part of the reshuffle to generate income. Even if Jiao Kun was a member of the Shen family, they still had to be reasonable. Public is public, private is private.

This was actually an ambiguous situation. If one were to be rigid and stick to the rules, then not giving them the money would be understandable; however, for someone like Jiao Kun, who had been injured for the Shen family, there were some rules to follow to make some concessions. However, after Jiao Kun's broken arm and his martial arts career were cut short, he didn't have the face to do so, and a stall was worth tens or even hundreds of taels of silver, so it wasn't worth making any concessions.

After Jiao Kun finished speaking, he looked at Zhuang Jin nervously.

In fact, he was a little embarrassed to come, but his family insisted that he come, saying that the street guard was your roommate and you had attended his wedding. With such a relationship, it would have been a matter of just a word in the past, right?
But Jiao Kun knew that his relationship with Zhuang Jin was not very deep, and could even be said to be very ordinary - when Xiang Qichen was drunk in the dormitory, he and Xiang Qichen drank together, which was also the beginning. Zhuang Jin was generous enough not to care about it, and he felt a little embarrassed.

Zhuang Jin listened without comment, his expression indifferent: "This matter is handled by the people below. I can't give orders beyond their level and cause trouble for them. Just do what needs to be done. Follow the rules!"

If Jiao Kun followed the written rules, what would he be doing here?
Before coming here, although he was forced by his family, he also had a fantasy. He imagined that Zhuang Jin would agree to it out of the friendship they had shared in the same dormitory, so that he could save face in front of his family when he returned. However, he didn't expect...

"Brother Zhuang, we used to live in the same dorm... I... you..." Jiao Kun's words were incoherent. Zhuang Jin looked at him calmly and said indifferently, "The bond of living in the same dorm? Maybe you think it's very important, but in my opinion, it's just that we lived in the same room for a while because of some reason. Once you leave the dorm, it's your own way, and you won't cross paths again. It's no different from walking the same road on the street."

Of course, it's not true to say it's completely useless. Without that past, Jiao Kun wouldn't even be able to get through this door. But in the final analysis, this is just an introduction. If you want more, you have to consider the other party's own value and the exchange of interests.

Does Jiao Kun have anything to exchange value for?
Could he be like Lin Hong, Bi Kai, and Wu Hao, building a core team as subordinates? Or could he be like Qian Wende, flattering and doing things, providing emotional value? Jiao Kun couldn't do either!
As for gratitude? Honestly, it's worthless!

When Jiao Kun heard this, he felt like he was struck by lightning. The cold reality that Zhuang Jin spoke of tore apart all his fantasies.

Sharing the same dormitory and those shared memories was indeed a sentiment for him, something he should be proud of, but the reason for this was because it could bring him value. But for Zhuang Jin, it was not the case. If Jiao Kun hoped to gain benefits by experiencing kidnapping together, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

"I……"

Jiao Kun wanted to just leave, but when he thought of his parents at home, worried and old, unable to sleep because of this, his conscience kept him from doing so. In the end, he could only plop down on his knees and said, "Brother Zhuang, this... I... please!"

Zhuang Jin's expression remained indifferent. He lowered his eyelids and picked up the teacup.

If the other party begs on their knees, does he have to agree? Wouldn't the outside be filled with people kneeling tomorrow?

The other person's suffering was not caused by him, so what does it have to do with him?
"I, I understand!" Seeing that Zhuang Jin remained unmoved, Jiao Kun sighed bitterly in his heart. At this moment, he truly felt the beating of society and the cold cruelty of reality.

At this moment, he didn't even blame Zhuang Jin. He only felt hatred and regret for himself.

——At the beginning, he clearly knew that his family's conditions were not very good. His family scraped together money from every penny to give him martial arts training, but he didn't appreciate it... He loved to have fun and was lazy about practicing martial arts. Such ignorance caused him to gradually fall behind the others despite being a talented person and the second one in the dormitory to become a formal martial artist. He was exiled to the south of the city, with his arm broken and his martial arts skills cut off...

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Jiao Kun lay in bed. Every time he thought about it, he felt regret, but that regret was far less intense than at this moment - if regret could be quantified, then at this moment, he would be regretting it to the core.

"If I had worked harder back then, I might have been able to resolve this issue myself..."

When Jiao Kun thought of this, his broken arm seemed to ache even more. He stood up and left dejectedly.

……

Wait until Jiao Kun leaves.

Zhuang Jin called Qian Wende, asked about this matter, and confirmed it.

Qian Wende said diligently.

He actually knew about this matter, and could even make the decision to hand it over to Jiao Kunping, but... why?
He has always been the one taking advantage of others. He lets others take advantage of him, uses his favors to do things for others... If he really does this, is he still Qian Wende?

"Help Jiao Kun solve it!" Zhuang Jin said casually.

"Hey!" Qian Wende quickly agreed, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "Brother Zhuang, don't worry. I'll do it tonight... no, this morning. I guarantee it will be done beautifully!"

Of course Jiao Kun was unwilling, but since his brother Zhuang had spoken, that was another matter. Not only did he have to do it, but he had to do it quickly! Do it as soon as possible! Do it beautifully and properly!
When Qian Wende left, he was still grateful for Zhuang Jinnian's feelings in his heart - even someone like Jiao Kun, who had a very ordinary relationship, would be treated decently, so what about someone like him who was even closer?
"Following a boss like this is a good start!"

If loyalty could be displayed, it would be found that Qian Wende's loyalty had increased by several points. If nothing unexpected happened, this guy would help Zhuang Jin spread the word afterwards, which would lead to an increase in the loyalty of all the warriors on the street.

Zhuang Jin looked at Qian Wende's expression and knew what he was thinking.

On the one hand, the reason why Qian Wende was asked to do this was because it was suitable. On the other hand, it was also a motive. There was indeed an idea of ​​letting Qian Wende publicize it and show it to others by "spending a fortune on horse bones."

"My husband has good intentions!"

Chen Yun witnessed the entire incident and lamented, "My husband didn't agree to it in person. It was a bit harsh, but it also revealed the reality. While it was hard to accept at first, it also shattered illusions and helped us grow... After he left, he helped behind the scenes..."

"People can never teach people, but things can teach people, and they will learn it once they are taught. The only thing that can make people turn back is the south wall. But, how could I have considered the other person so much?"

Zhuang Jin shook his head and said, "It's just a small favor, so I'm showing it to the people below."

"As for not agreeing to it in person, it's also a way of showing my attitude. Our relationship isn't that deep, and we don't have that kind of affection. This will help avoid any further entanglements."

In front of Chen Yun, he did not hide his true self, just like what he said in a heart-to-heart talk the day before their marriage: "I have never been a good person in the true sense of the word."

When Chen Yun heard this, her eyes remained gentle. After all, this was her husband, and he was definitely not an indifferent and heartless person.

Wow!
She opened the window, and the fresh air from the flowers, plants and trees, along with the bright afternoon sunshine, rushed in. In the distance, the southern half of the city looked as if a sunshower had just appeared, and a gorgeous rainbow rose.

This is the weather in summer, the sun rises in the east and it rains in the west. It seems like there is no sunshine, but it is actually sunny.

……

(End of this chapter)