From Beggar to Emperor: My Profession Has Its Own Characteristics

After adjusting his mood and having a simple lunch, Zhu Yuan prepared to head to the Luochun River dock.

How do I unlock professions?

While reading ancient books, Zhu Yuan had a thought.

The feedback he received from the antique books was roughly as follows:

To unlock a profession, you must engage in that profession and gain recognition from others. You can't simply choose a profession you want to unlock. Furthermore, the higher the level of the profession, the higher the requirements for gaining recognition.

What is public approval?

The explanations given in ancient books are vague, but they can be summarized in four words.

Go with the flow.

Zhu Yuan did not delve further into this matter. Regardless, he decided to spend a day as a porter and see if the ancient books would change.

Luo Chunhe.

Zhu Yuan stood on the riverbank, looking at the river.

The midday sun shone on the river, creating shimmering golden ripples. The river was fairly wide on both sides, but the water was quite murky and must have been deep, otherwise boats with large drafts wouldn't be able to navigate. The willow trees on the opposite bank were clearly visible.

The shore was lined with stone steps, which had turned black from being soaked in water and were covered with moss. Five cargo ships were moored here at an angle, with gangplanks attached to their sides.

Upon closer inspection, one could see rotten straw ropes scattered on the ground, and a fishy smell permeated the air.

The wharf in Qingyang County is divided into four sections, each with a manager. To work and earn money at the wharf, you need to register with the manager.

Soon, Zhu Yuan arrived at a certain area.

The steward here is squatting on a stone stool, with a table in front of him and a stack of bamboo tallies on it.

Zhu Yuan knew that these stacks of bamboo tallies were specifically used for piecework.

Zhu Yuan walked over, but before he could speak, Manager Lin looked up at him, a flash of disgust in his eyes.

As a manager, he couldn't just fire someone after a glance. He tilted his head and asked in a somewhat impatient tone:

"How old are you this year, buddy?"

"Thirteen." Zhu Yuan straightened up, trying to make his voice sound steady and strong.

"Only thirteen years old." Manager Lin looked Zhu Yuan up and down, his gaze lingering on Zhu Yuan's arm for a moment before he said directly, "With your physique, you definitely can't handle it. The work at the docks is all real physical labor."

"I think I can."

"You think you can have your way? You think you can have your way with this?" Manager Lin scoffed, then, as if remembering something, he began to quote a price: "Ten coins a day."

Zhu Yuan was taken aback.

Ten coins a day?

He had found out that the lowest price was twenty coins a day if it was paid daily.

At this moment, Zhu Yuan finally understood what kind of people he had encountered.

He's unlucky to have met someone like this right from the start.

Fortunately, there was more than one person in charge of the dock.

"What are you standing there for?" Manager Lin's tone grew even more impatient when Zhu Yuan remained silent, and his voice rose slightly. "You're lucky if you can earn ten coins a day! Don't you know your own limitations? Others can carry a full sack, but you'd probably struggle to even get half a sack! Besides, with your physique, how many trips can you make in a day? Don't just take up space without doing any work!"

Zhu Yuan remained silent and did not answer.

Upon seeing this, Manager Lin abruptly waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

"This is ten coins! You should learn to be content. If you're not interested, get out!"

Finally, Manager Lin directly chased people away. His voice was loud and attracted the attention of many people on the dock.

Zhu Yuan pursed his lips, neither arguing nor glancing at Manager Lin again. He simply turned around in silence and walked towards another area.

Zhu Yuan had briefly asked Zhang Cheng about the four managers at the dock. He wanted to know if any of them had a good reputation. If so, they were likely to be compassionate, which would be beneficial to him.

The answer he received was no.

As he left, Zhu Yuan could still vaguely sense unfriendly gazes coming from behind him.

They proceeded to the next steward.

Zhu Yuan looked at the manager with narrowed eyes, composed himself, and said, "Manager, do I want to carry bags here?"

"Do you have a household registration in Qingyang County?" Manager Wan's eyes remained narrowed, and his voice was flat and emotionless.

"Yes, yes," Zhu Yuan replied twice, quickly taking out the pale yellow paper from his pocket and handing it over with both hands.

This is the proper procedure.

There aren't many people who lack compassion to begin with, so if he were to encounter one, he could only be considered extremely unlucky.

"Yes, that's fine." Manager Wan took the household registration book, glanced at it, nodded, and handed it back to Zhu Yuan.

Then, Steward Wan picked up a bamboo carrying pole from a wooden pillar leaning against the side and casually handed it over: "You carry it and walk a few steps so I can see."

Zhu Yuan bent down and picked up the carrying pole.

The carrying pole was made of bamboo, with both ends worn smooth and shiny, and it felt heavy in the hand.

He placed it on his shoulder, and the padding was positioned precisely where the pressure was applied. The moment it pressed down on his shoulder, his brow furrowed involuntarily.

This thing was heavier than he had imagined.

And so, he carefully took a few steps in front of Steward Wan, trying to keep his steps steady.

Manager Wan didn't speak, but squinted, his eyes fixed on the way the man walked, especially the changes in his shoulders when bearing weight.

"He's still a newcomer." After a long pause, Manager Wan finally spoke, his tone revealing no emotion.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuan could only smile somewhat embarrassedly, as he had indeed never done such a thing.

"Do you want daily payment or payment by the bag?" Manager Wan asked.

"Tie the knot in the bag." Zhu Yuan answered without hesitation.

If he's paid daily, he'll be fine at first, but he'll definitely suffer huge losses later.

The porters' professional experience is mostly linked to transporting goods. Even if they are paid daily, they can't slack off in order to gain experience. Moreover, it's hard to save enough money to learn martial arts after the daily pay is paid.

"Hmm." Manager Wan responded, tapping his fingers on the table. "Pay twenty cash as a head fee first, and I'll register you."

He seemed to think Zhu Yuan didn't understand, so he explained again, his voice still calm: "Once you're on this dock, you have to abide by its rules. Twenty coins to ensure your safety today."

Zhu Yuan had already learned from Zhang Cheng that these twenty coins were called a head fee or an entry fee.

Zhu Yuan, who had prepared twenty coins in advance, quickly took them out of his pocket, counted out twenty coins, and placed them neatly on the wooden table in front of Steward Wan.

Manager Wan extended two fingers, gathered the coins, and put them into a small wooden box under the table with a soft rustling sound.

Then, he picked up a pen and carefully wrote the two characters "Zhu Yuan" on a somewhat worn notebook.

"I don't know how you offended Manager Lin." After registering, Manager Wan put down his pen, looked up at Zhu Yuan, and said in a calm tone, "Right now, no other manager here will take you in, except for me."

Zhu Yuan immediately understood; Manager Wan and Manager Lin probably had some grudge against each other.

Even if the other two managers had only a so-so relationship with Manager Lin, they wouldn't dare to offend him just because he was a newcomer with no connections.

Moreover, Manager Lin shouted so loudly to chase him away that many people on the dock heard it, and he was clearly not an experienced handyman.

"Thank you very much, Steward." Zhu Yuan quickly expressed his gratitude.

My surname is Wan.

"Thank you, Steward Wan."

Manager Wan gave a very faint smile. "You're lucky, kid, you came to me first."