Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 19, Section 19: Demanding an Explanation, Small Matter vs. Big Matter
South of Datang Township, Chen Family House, North House.

The room was filled with a strong smell of herbs. Chen Yuan lay on the bed with his eyes closed and his face pale. His left leg was obviously deformed and wrapped in thick cloth.

Two women stood by the bed; the older one was Aunt Chen Yangshi, who was constantly wiping away tears.

The youngest was Chen Zhi's wife, Su Su, who looked very worried.

There was also a seven or eight-year-old girl, Chen Zhi's daughter, Chen Min. She was thin and frail, and panicked, muttering, "Grandpa, don't die... don't die, Grandpa..."

Chen Zhi only had this one daughter, which was a source of great worry for Chen Yuan's family.

"what happened?"

Chen Jin's voice was cold and clear.

Chen Zhi suppressed his anger and recounted what had happened.

It turns out that they went into town again yesterday to ask Zhao the doorman for an explanation, but when they learned that the matter had not been resolved, they wanted to get their money back.

Zhao Menzi would never agree to that.
During the scuffle, several fierce servants suddenly rushed out of the Zhao residence, wielding sticks and other weapons. They claimed that Chen Yuan and his son had come to cause trouble and began to beat them mercilessly until they broke Chen Yuan's left leg and threw him into the street before they stopped.

Chen Zhi said bitterly, "Father said that as long as half the money is returned, that will be fine, but that scoundrel is unreasonable. He said that we won't get a single penny, and he wants to take us to the yamen to see the officials and lock us up in jail. There was no other way, so I had to carry my father out of the city and escape home."

Chen Jin glanced at it and said, "Uncle's injury can't be treated like this. Why don't you go see a doctor and have it reattached?"

“Where is there any money left at home? We’ve used it all to help you make a living. Even these herbs were borrowed from the village.”

Chen Zhiyue became increasingly angry as he spoke.

Chen Jin frowned; he truly knew nothing about this matter.

But at this point, arguing about those things is pointless.

He immediately took out a silver ingot: "Brother Zhi, take this money into the city and invite the best bone-setting doctor. Be sure to bring some medicine with you."

Upon seeing the gleaming silver, Chen Zhi was momentarily stunned. He wanted to ask where it came from, but his father's injury couldn't be delayed. So he took it, lowered his head, and hurriedly left. Behind him, Chen Jin instructed, "Don't be stingy with the money. Hire a mule cart and come back quickly."

Chen Zhi thought to himself: "He talks like he's really rich..."

He reached into his pocket and touched the silver ingot; it was a heavy, large ingot, enough to cover his expenses.

Chen Jin then took out another silver ingot and handed it to Chen Yangshi: "Auntie, take this money for household expenses, buy some good meat and vegetables, and prepare lunch."

Madam Chen was taken aback and instinctively declined, saying, "How can this be?"

"take it."

"That's fine."

Chen Yangshi no longer refused; her family was truly starving. However, such a large ingot of silver was not easy to break down and use in the village; she would have to find a wealthy family to exchange it for copper coins.

As for the source of the money, the woman had heard her husband say that Chen Jin was a classmate of the only son of the wealthy Wang family in the city, and through a series of coincidences, he received a good salary.

In any case, having money in hand gave me a sense of security, and I was no longer so panicked and helpless.

With money came hope; we could eat our fill, hire doctors, and buy good medicine, and my husband's life was saved.

Chen Yangshi felt that her nephew had changed a lot. He used to be unkempt, old-fashioned, and very down on his luck.

But now, she looks like a completely different person, much younger.

This is a good thing.

Chen Jin's calmness and composure immediately turned the tide.

Chen Min, Chen Jin's cousin, walked over and looked up at him: "Uncle Xiao Lang, do you think my grandfather will live?"

Chen Jin reached out and patted her head, comforting her, "It's okay."

The girl immediately stopped crying and went out with her grandmother and mother to help with the chores.

At this moment, Chen Yuan woke up, opened his eyes and saw Chen Jin. He couldn't help but burst into tears: "Young man, this time, your uncle has wronged you."

"Where are you talking about?"

"Oh dear, I misjudged people and asked them for favors without thinking. I never expected that not only would they not get the job done, but I would also lose all my money. I regret it so much!"

Chen Jin comforted him, "Uncle, don't think too much about it, just focus on recovering."

After saying a few more words, he got up and returned to his east room, put down his books, and closed his eyes to rest. Around noon, Chen Zhi brought the doctor back.

The doctor's surname was "Zheng". He practiced medicine at Zhengyuantang in Maoxian County and was skilled in external trauma and bone setting. If Chen Zhi hadn't been willing to spend money, it would have been difficult to invite him to come.

The money spent was substantial, but it was well worth it. Dr. Zheng is a professional; after observing the patient for a while, he began to set the bone and then administered medication.

Throughout the process, Chen Yuan was in excruciating pain, but he desperately tried to endure it. Fortunately, although he was over fifty years old, he was quite robust and could withstand the pain.

Once the bones are set and medicine is applied, it's considered a life saved.

"Do not move around during the first three months, change the dressing every seven days, and you should be fine after six months."

After washing his hands, Dr. Zheng gave the instructions.

Chen Zhi quickly thanked him and invited him to stay for a meal.

Doctor Zheng readily agreed, and when the food was served, he was surprised to find that it contained meat and fish, a truly sumptuous meal.

It turned out that Chen Yangshi had listened to Chen Jin's words and prepared a lot of ingredients to entertain them.

The food was good, and Dr. Zheng was in a good mood. He gave more detailed medical advice and got into the car with a smile to go back to the city.

Chen Jin called Chen Zhi into the house and inquired about the ins and outs of the matter in detail.

After saying that, Chen Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Young man, what are you going to do?"

Chen Jin replied, "After something like this happened, I have to get an explanation."

Chen Zhi hurriedly said, "Don't go and demand an explanation. The Zhao family is used to being domineering and they won't reason with us. What if you go and get seriously injured?"

"I know what I'm doing... We're out of money at home now, aren't we?"

"Well, of what you gave me today, there are only a few dozen coins left. But with Father in this condition, he can't get out of bed or do any work, and we need to buy medicine and change his dressings..."

Chen Jin took out two more silver ingots: "Take these, they should be enough for a while."

Chen Zhi swallowed hard, feeling quite puzzled. He felt that his cousin's old books were a treasure trove, with silver coins being poured out one after another, seemingly inexhaustible.

Chen Jin said to Zhi Ge'er, "You'll have to take care of things at home."

"Where are you going?"

"Enter the city."

"No."

Chen Zhi hurriedly stopped him, afraid that he might act rashly and go to the Zhao family and not be able to come back.
"Young man, you must think this over carefully. In any case, you must seek your father's opinion."

As she spoke, she pulled him to the north room to see Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan asked, "Young man, what can you do even if you enter the city?"

Chen Jin said in a deep voice, "I don't believe there's no place in this world where reason prevails."

Chen Yuan sighed, looking dejected: "As the saying goes, 'The common people can't fight against officials.' Why? Because they simply can't win. This is my fault for not being careful enough. I gave the money too quickly and didn't get a written agreement. Even if you go to the yamen to file a complaint and cry foul, without any evidence, they might deny everything. What can you do?"

At this point, he grabbed Chen Jin's hand and said, "Young man, listen to your uncle, let this matter go, we'll accept it, just bear with it and it will pass. If you want to complain, blame me, it's my fault for handling things poorly, wasting money and preventing you from getting into the yamen."

Chen Jin looked at him and slowly said, "Uncle, for me, not being able to work in the government office is a small matter; being cheated out of money is also a small matter. But the fact that they injured you is a big matter."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan and his son exchanged bewildered glances, momentarily stunned.

　Before it gets featured and before there are many readers following along, I've made some changes to the background setting. The main changes are in the first chapter. First, the historical setting is no longer a chaotic era; too many similar stories have been written, making it somewhat saturated and hindering the development of later plot points. Second, the protagonist's age has been changed from a young age to thirty. He was a child prodigy who repeatedly failed his exams, becoming a dejected and disillusioned old scholar. "Thirty and still unsuccessful, a man who has achieved nothing."

　　I feel that this character design is more relatable and has more dramatic conflict and contrast, and it integrates more smoothly with the plot.

　　After all, the author himself, and the readers who like this style, are basically middle-aged men with elderly parents and young children to support.

　　Other major plot points remain unchanged and have no impact. Long-time readers can go back and reread it, since it's only the first dozen or so chapters anyway.

　　Finally, thank you for your support. Please feel free to leave any feedback in the chapter comments. The author will correct any unreasonable parts.

(End of this chapter)