From Beggar to Emperor: My Profession Has Its Own Characteristics

About two weeks later.

That afternoon, Zhu Yuan was still unloading goods at the dock. Compared to before, the amount of goods had decreased again in the last two days, and he could only make about forty trips in an afternoon.

Because he worked as a helper at Zhao Tiezhu's house, his total income increased.

He has now saved a lot of money. Even if he has no work for the next month, he can still eat and drink his fill and pay the monthly fee for Dongyun Martial Arts School next month.

In terms of training time, he can spend less time transporting goods at the dock in the afternoon, and more time practicing martial arts here.

He has now mastered the basic breathing techniques, and with the addition of basic stance training, horse stance, and walking, the duration of his breathing is gradually improving.

With the help of basic breathing techniques, progress is rapid in both basic stance training and horse stance and walking exercises.

Today is the ninth day of the tenth lunar month.

Zhu Yuan estimates that he will be able to master the basic stance training, horse stance, and walking techniques by the end of the year.

In terms of martial arts training, his goal is to become a martial artist in the first half of next year and officially become a disciple of the Dongyun Martial Arts School.

Zhou Ping told him that with his natural talent and aptitude, becoming a martial artist within two years would be considered good, and becoming one within a year would be considered excellent.

This afternoon, Zhu Yuan made a total of thirty-eight transport trips, and the goods at the dock were almost finished.

Zhu Yuan wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, calmed his slightly panting breathing, and prepared to pack up the carrying pole.

Just then, he saw Huang Lin, dressed in that familiar old brown shorts, walking steadily toward him from the other end of the dock, his face seemingly showing some consideration.

"Uncle Huang."

Zhu Yuan leaned his carrying pole against the pile of goods beside him, turned around, and greeted them with a smile.

"Zhu Yuan." Huang Lin stopped in front of him, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Yuan's much stronger arms and physique than when they first met. After a moment's thought, he said, "There's a job tomorrow. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

If it were when they first met Zhu Yuan, Huang Lin would never have asked this question.

But it's different now.

He never imagined that Zhu Yuan had the talent to become a martial artist.

Zhu Yuan, who practices martial arts at Dongyun Martial Arts School, is becoming increasingly strong and muscular, and is also growing taller due to his age.

Now, if Zhu Yuan wanted to work at the dock all day, with his stamina, recovery ability, and control over the carrying pole far exceeding that of ordinary porters, he could definitely transport a lot of goods and earn far more copper coins than ordinary people.

"Uncle Huang, please speak." Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuan looked at Huang Lin with a serious expression.

"It's like this," Huang Lin said without keeping anyone in suspense. "The Situ family has a temporary job that requires eight strong and steady porters. They can earn one hundred coins a day, plus lunch."

"Are you willing to do it?"

"Of course I'm willing!" Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded, a delighted smile spreading across his face. "That's one hundred coins!"

"This job pays 100 coins, so you need to be at the dock in the morning," Huang Lin emphasized.

"no problem."

Zhu Yuan agreed readily without the slightest hesitation.

One hundred coins was quite a lot, especially considering Huang Lin's kindness; Zhu Yuan had no reason to refuse.

Furthermore, the Situ family could be considered to have a connection with him.

He had not forgotten the kindness shown to him by the second young lady of the Situ family.

"Okay, it's settled then." Seeing that he agreed so readily, Huang Lin smiled and patted Zhu Yuan on the shoulder. "Remember to come to the dock to find me on time tomorrow."

"Yes, thank you very much, Uncle Huang," Zhu Yuan said sincerely.

"Why are you being so polite with me, kid?" Huang Lin waved his hand, looking at Zhu Yuan's face, which was still youthful despite its toughness, and added with emotion, "You can still do these jobs now, but when you become a real martial artist and look back, you won't even look at these jobs anymore, hahaha."

Huang Lin then left.

At this moment, Zhu Yuan was thinking about going to the Situ family's house to move goods tomorrow.

Now, he has a basic understanding of the power dynamics in Qingyang County.

Aside from the influence of the government, the most powerful forces in Qingyang County are the five major martial arts schools.

Most of the martial artists in Qingyang County come from the five major martial arts schools, and the reason why the five major martial arts schools can become the top forces in Qingyang County is that they have martial artists in the Transformation Realm.

The four major families, including the Situ family, are considered first-rate forces in Qingyang County.

Martial artists at the Ming Jin stage can become guards for the four major families, while those at the An Jin stage can serve as retainers.

Larger gangs like the Water Moon Gang can be considered second-rate forces, while the Black Bull Gang in his area can only be considered third-rate forces.

The division between these top-tier and third-rate forces is limited to Qingyang County.

If you look at the whole of Taiping Prefecture, it's a different story.

Even the weakest third-rate forces in Qingyang County have a Ming Jin stage martial artist in charge. If they don't even have a single martial artist, they are just an insignificant force in Qingyang County.

Zhu Yuan learned about this information not from Zhou Ping, but from Zhang Cheng, the beggar leader.

It's easy to see Zhang Cheng; just go to the place on Qingshui Street where the beggars pay their sun money at a fixed time.

After Zhang Cheng learned that he had the talent to become a martial artist and that his physique was below average, his attitude towards him changed again.

Zhang Cheng has now even started calling his junior brother.

For Zhou Ping to call him junior brother, it would have to wait until he broke through to the Ming Jin stage and became an introductory disciple of the Dongyun Martial Arts School.

The next day.

Just before dawn, Zhu Yuan arrived at the dock before the agreed time.

A thin layer of mist still covered the river surface.

"Zhu Yuan, over here!"

Soon, Zhu Yuan heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Huang Lin standing by a pile of goods not far away, waving at him.

Zhu Yuan quickened his pace and walked over.

There were already four people waiting for Huang Lin, making a total of six with him, but two more were still missing.

"Uncle Huang." Zhu Yuan walked up to Huang Lin and greeted him first.

"Yes, you're here quite early." Huang Lin nodded, a smile on his face.

Zhu Yuan then turned to the other people, a smile on his face, and greeted those he knew one by one.

"Uncle Song hasn't arrived yet?"

He discovered that Song Chenguang was not there.

Of the four people, he recognized two of them; they were familiar faces he often saw at the docks. The other two looked unfamiliar and he didn't know them well.

He's been working at the docks for quite some time now, but he's mostly focused on his work and doesn't have much time to sit down, rest, or chat, so he only knows a limited number of people.

There are even fewer people with whom one has a close relationship, among whom the best relationship is naturally with Lao Ma, followed by Huang Lin and Song Chenguang.

Song Chenguang is also among the eight people today, but he hasn't arrived yet.

The group waited by the dock for a while, chatting.

Soon after, the two of them walked briskly to the dock, chatting and laughing, and headed towards them.

One of them was Song Chenguang.

When he saw Zhu Yuan, he immediately grinned and waved from afar.

"Hey, Zhu Yuan, you're here early!"