A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 1: Nothing More Than a Brothel and a Small Teapot

Chongqing, urban villages.

Passersby are occasionally drawn to the nonchalant demeanor of a young man standing in front of an iron gate facing the street, but most will mutter "crazy" under their breath after a glance.

The young man's name was Li Weizhou. He was in his early twenties, about 1.7 meters tall, and had an unremarkable face in a crowd.

I don't know why, even though he was so ordinary, the smile on his face was so bold and unrestrained.

His entire outfit cost less than two hundred yuan, yet he acted as if he owned the whole world...

There is a serious illness!
Sensing the confusion and ridicule of passersby, Li Weizhou merely raised his eyebrows slightly and let out a nonsensical chuckle.

It's increasingly disheartening...

After enduring countless envious and jealous glances, Li Weizhou picked up the bags he had just bought from the supermarket and was about to go into the building when the elderly owner of the self-built building pushed open the door. His gaze first fell on the large bag in Li Weizhou's hand, and after seeing the words "Seven Degrees of Space" on the bulging plastic bag, his eyes clearly narrowed, and he slowly raised his face to look at Li Weizhou...

He doesn't seem like a perverted and vulgar scumbag at all.

He knows Li Weizhou very well, including that he's single.

Li Weizhou has been out of school for six years now, and as for how he's fared... let's not even go there.

But he is not the same person he used to be. Even his way of addressing him has changed: "Old Liao, are you going out?"

After hearing the sound, Lao Liao looked Li Weizhou up and down again, then didn't say anything more. He took out a computer from his pants pocket and started pressing buttons.

Upon seeing this, Li Weizhou's expression immediately turned alarmed. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed the other man's hand, and said with a fawning smile, "Uncle Liao, look at you! Didn't we agree on a three-month extension? It's only been two months! You really shouldn't be so impulsive... Don't worry, once the three months are up, I'll not only pay the rent I owe you, but I'll also prepay two more months! Really, we recently got a new editor at our website. He has a great eye; he immediately took a liking to my novel and signed a contract on the spot. Uncle Liao, look at all these supplies I've prepared—it's all for my secluded writing. In three months at most, I'll definitely make a name for myself. By then..."

Before he could finish speaking, Grandpa Liao decisively and nimbly took a half-step back, first putting the computer back in his pocket, then taking out a checkered handkerchief that few people use these days, wiping his hands, and scrutinizing Li Weizhou. His gaze then fell on the words "Seven Degrees of Space" on the plastic bag, and he asked, "You're in seclusion, using this?"

Li Weizhou realized what was going on, chuckled, and explained, "Uncle Liao, what are you thinking? I'm just bringing this for my neighbor, Sister Zhang. You know her, she works the night shift and it's too tiring for her to go out during the day. I earn five yuan for running errands. Okay, let's split it in half when we meet. I'll transfer it to you, and I'll trouble you to deliver it to her later..."

"go away."

After scolding him, Grandpa Liao reminded him seriously, "Little Li, no matter how hard the world is, it's never been harder than being sent to the countryside or the mass layoffs of 1998. Just grit your teeth and get through this. China has a solid foundation and a large population; there are plenty of opportunities, as long as you work hard. Don't go astray. Since ancient times, being a pimp or crocodile has never been a good job; it's immoral!"

"...Farewell!"

Li Weizhou's face turned green. He was heartbroken. Could this old fox see through him across time and space?! This old fox is too cunning!
Carrying large bags of supplies, I went up to the third floor and opened the small room next to the public toilet. It was only six square meters, and besides a bunk bed and a table, there wasn't even room for a wardrobe.

Occasionally, even mice would crawl inside the mosquito net to sleep, because the space was just too small...

The items in the plastic bag were re-sorted: rice, flour, salt, chili powder, a kitchen knife, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, a palm-sized mirror, and ten ingots of silver weighing ten taels each. One tael weighed 37.3 grams. Including the processing fee, one ingot of ten taels of silver cost 3,300 yuan.

I had to use up almost all the loans from several legitimate platforms to scrape together this amount of money.

In the years since graduation, Li Weizhou has done all sorts of jobs, but even with the dual pressures of repaying student loans and paying rent, he has never borrowed money from online platforms.

But things are different now; we have to take a gamble!
After everything was tidied up, Li Weizhou locked the door, unplugged the old-fashioned mobile phone that had been fully charged and had a battery life of half a month, and checked the date: March 21, 2025, Friday, 19:48.
After confirming several times that there were no mice in the room, I lay down on the narrow metal bunk bed, clutching the plastic bag in my arms, took a deep breath, and silently said:
Leave you!

……

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a completely different world.

It was an ordinary, dimly lit room. The ceiling height was probably less than two meters; a tall person could easily reach it by raising their hand. The walls weren't even painted white; they were bare earthen walls. No wonder there was always a lot of dust on the corners and floor.

The furniture consisted of a few simple, old wooden pieces, including a few broken stools, a small square table, and a tattered wooden box.

Li Weizhou smiled and didn't seem to mind.

He had endured many hardships, losing his parents at a young age and growing up in his uncle's family. He was always grateful to his uncle and aunt for raising him, but his uncle's family already had three children, and with him added to the mix... his life became predictably difficult. He didn't even want to recall that period.

Originally destined for a life of misery, to be a beast of burden at the bottom of society, who would have thought that, perhaps due to reading too many fantasy novels, a month ago when he was almost in despair, such a big surprise would come!
The game developer didn't disappoint him for persisting in subscribing to legitimate content even when he was so poor, and generously rewarded him with a whole world...

It must be the mother, otherwise there wouldn't be any other clues. He didn't even prick his finger to perform a blood sacrifice.

After calming himself down, Li Weizhou put the rice and flour back into the jar, placed the toilet paper and sanitary napkins into the wooden box, moved the bed a little, and then gently lifted out a wooden board covered with dust. After placing the eight silver ingots on it, he put the board back in place, sprinkled dust on it, and put the wooden bed back in its place.

After everything was settled, he stood up, clapped his hands, glanced at the mirror in the plastic bag, picked it up, and looked at himself.

Wow, what a handsome face!

He's really handsome. If it weren't for him, Li Weizhou would definitely have sneered and said he was effeminate and lacked any manly spirit, and that all the girls were blind...

But now, well, hehe, sorry, I really do have a good appearance, as handsome as Pan An and as beautiful as Song Yu!
The mirror was hidden under the covers, and Li Weizhou straightened his clothes.

When I first came here, it took me ages to figure out how to put on the clothes...

He wore a dark-colored jacket on top and trousers on the bottom.

Forget about long gowns and straight robes; those are only for the wealthy.

Ordinary people would at most wear a jacket over their clothes, which is a long coat with slits on both sides under the armpits. It is narrow and fitted, with a straight collar and front opening, to try to appear respectable.

After locking the door behind him, Li Weizhou exited into a narrow courtyard, locked the door again, and walked north along a dirty dirt road. After making two turns, he finally reached a relatively clean and tidy main road.

The fresh breeze and the stench served as a constant reminder to Li Weizhou that this was no longer a dream...

The texture feels so realistic!
He continued south along the main road for half a mile before stopping in front of a spacious gatehouse. He knocked on the door and explained his purpose to the gatekeeper: "I am Li Weizhou, and I have come to see Steward Sun to redeem my sister and take her home."

Upon hearing that this was a serious matter, the gatekeeper hurriedly went to report it. A short while later, a middle-aged man with a goatee came out and looked at Li Weizhou in surprise, asking suspiciously, "Have you really raised enough money to redeem yourself? If you redeem yourself early, you'll have to pay double the amount."

The younger sister in the previous life was sold to the Wu family as a maid more than half a year ago. Although it was not a contractual contract, it would still cost twice as much to redeem her in advance.

Li Weizhou bowed slightly and smiled, "I hope Steward Sun knows that I was able to raise enough money thanks entirely to the kind-hearted girls of Zuixianglou. After hearing that I had sold myself to redeem my sister, they all generously donated. I was also lucky that several scholars and gentlemen, upon hearing of this, also gave me a few taels of silver. The young master of Fuzihang even specially helped me exchange the loose silver for whole taels. Steward Sun, what do you think..."

As he spoke, he took out two brand-new silver ingots from his pocket, each ingot weighing ten taels.

Upon hearing these words, Steward Sun's expression changed several times. Now, seeing the gleaming silver again, some of his previous thoughts faded away.

What kind of place is Zuixianglou?
It's a gathering place for celebrities, and the place where news travels the fastest in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture.

If the master's family were to gain a reputation for being harsh because of a maid, not only the head of the family, but even the two young masters in the family would not forgive him.

To remain a prominent and respected family in the region for a long time, the weight of their reputation cannot be lost.

Thinking of this, Steward Sun took two silver ingots from Li Weizhou, nodded slightly to the servant beside him, and said, "Go to the laundry room and call Ximei here. Tell her to pack her things, because her brother is coming to take her home."

After saying that, his gaze fell back on Li Weizhou, his eyes showing a hint of confusion.

Compared to the gloomy young man who looked like a bad omen just a few months ago, this kid now appears clear-headed, neither arrogant nor humble, and exudes a certain composure.

But in the end, he was nothing more than a teapot in a brothel...

……

P.S.: It's been a long time, I've missed you terribly.

(End of this chapter)