From Beggar to Emperor: My Profession Has Its Own Characteristics

Chapter 75 New Year's Death Announcement

The first day of the first month of the 864th year of the Zhou calendar.

A new year, a new day.

Before the firecrackers even went off, Zhu Yuan had already gotten up.

After spending some time with the old beggar and his wife last night, he returned to his practice.

Currently, he spends part of his time at the Dongyun Martial Arts School practicing techniques, and the rest of his time, just like at home in the evenings, practicing basic stance training, horse stance, and walking techniques.

His basic stance training, horse stance, and walking techniques are all progressing towards perfection.

While learning the techniques, Zhu Yuan did not forget his goal.

This morning, Zhu Yuan's task was to visit relatives and friends for the New Year.

We definitely need to go to the old beggar's and the old woman's house, and we also need to go to Zhao Tiezhu's house.

After paying his New Year's visits to the two places, Zhu Yuan went to Old Ma's house.

Working at the docks, shortly after raising his rank to level four as a porter, he took the initiative to inquire about Old Ma's whereabouts.

In a small alley.

Zhu Yuan, who had just arrived, saw Old Ma dressed neatly and pushing open the door to come out of the main gate, seemingly about to leave.

Zhu Yuan's face immediately broke into a smile, and he quickly stepped forward, calling out, "Uncle Ma."

"Zhu Yuan".

Old Ma stopped when he heard the voice, and when he saw it was Zhu Yuan, his usually expressionless face showed obvious surprise.

"Why are you here?"

"Happy New Year! I've come to wish you a Happy New Year." Zhu Yuan stopped and respectfully clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Okay, okay, Happy New Year!" Old Ma smiled happily, turned to the side and warmly invited, "Come in, come in and sit down."

"it is good."

As Zhu Yuan entered Uncle Ma's courtyard, he saw a little girl of about seven or eight years old with two pigtails, who was playing and jumping around in the yard with a rattle drum.

"Yingying, come here." Old Ma beckoned to the little girl, his tone affectionate.

"Father, what is it?"

The little girl, Ma Yingying, immediately stopped playing, looked up, and asked in her childish voice. Then, like a happy little bird, she trotted over.

"Quickly call him Brother Zhu Yuan."

"Happy New Year, Brother Zhu Yuan!" Ma Yingying looked up, blinked her big, dark eyes, and called out in a clear voice.

Happy New Year, Yingying!

With a smile on his face, Zhu Yuan half-squatted down to make his line of sight level with the little girl, then took out a small oil paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside were several brightly colored candies.

"Here, take it."

When Ma Yingying saw the candy, her eyes lit up, but she first looked up at Old Ma. Seeing Old Ma nod with a smile, she reached out her little hand and happily took the candy from Zhu Yuan's hand.

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhu Yuan!"

"Okay, go have fun."

Old Ma has a son and a daughter, with his son being significantly older than his daughter.

Zhu Yuan only learned about Lao Ma's daughter two weeks before leaving the dock.

At this moment, a middle-aged woman came out from the inner room after hearing the noise.

"You must be Zhu Yuan. I've often heard your Uncle Ma mention you." The woman said with a warm smile.

"Hello, Auntie, Happy New Year." Zhu Yuan immediately stood up straight and began his New Year's greetings.

"Yes, Happy New Year, please come in and have a seat." Old Ma's wife wiped her hands on her apron, greeted them, and turned to prepare tea.

The elderly couple led Zhu Yuan to the main room and warmly welcomed him.

Old Ma was unusually talkative, mostly about things at the dock, asking Zhu Yuan about his situation after leaving the dock.

Zhu Yuan then shared his experiences as a butcher and peddler.

He mentioned the butcher briefly, focusing more on the interesting stories of being a peddler, because he traveled the streets and alleys and had so much to talk about.

To be honest, during his time as a peddler, Zhu Yuan had accumulated quite a collection of everyday stories and gossip.

Of course, most of these gossips are not very informative, but they are perfect for chatting and setting the mood.

He vividly described what he saw and heard in the streets and alleys, filling the main room with relaxed laughter.

Compared to the taciturn Lao Ma, Lao Ma's wife clearly enjoyed hearing these new stories more. She kept refilling Zhu Yuan's water while smiling and agreeing, her smile never fading.

After chatting for a while, when the atmosphere was quite pleasant, Zhu Yuan seemed to suddenly remember something and looked at Lao Ma.

"By the way, Uncle Ma, where's Brother Ma? I haven't seen him today."

When Zhu Yuan asked him a question, Old Ma's smile faltered slightly, and his lips moved, but he did not answer immediately.

The one who answered him was Old Ma's wife.

"Your brother Ma has a lot of things to do with the Shuiyue Gang, so he's quite busy."

"Oh, I see."

Zhu Yuan keenly sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere and immediately nodded tactfully, not continuing the topic, but instead bringing up some progress he had made in his martial arts training at the Dongyun Martial Arts School.

After paying his New Year's respects, he left the alleyway belonging to Old Ma's family.

Before he had gone more than a few steps, he saw Old Ma's son, Ma Qiushen, not far ahead, turning out of another alley and walking in his direction.

"Brother Ma."

Zhu Yuan recognized the person and smiled, quickening his pace as he raised his hand in greeting.

But as he got closer, he noticed that Ma Qiushen's walking posture was a bit off. His right leg seemed to be unable to exert any strength, his steps were uneven, and his body was slightly tilted to the left.

"It's Zhu Yuan."

Ma Qiushen stopped when he heard the voice. When he saw it was Zhu Yuan, the muscles on his face twitched, and he managed to force a smile.

The smile carried a hint of weariness, unlike its usual cheerfulness.

"Brother Ma, Happy New Year." Zhu Yuan suppressed his doubts and greeted him politely as always.

"Yes, Happy New Year." Ma Qiushen nodded, his voice lower than usual.

Seeing Ma Qiushen's slightly haggard and strained appearance, Zhu Yuan was curious but didn't ask any questions, simply standing quietly to the side.

It was Ma Qiushen who took the initiative to bring up his own affairs.

"I got a little injured in the gang fight a few days ago." He took a deep breath, which seemed to aggravate his injury, causing his expression to stiffen slightly. Then he waved his hand casually, "It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"That's what life is like when you're in a gang."

"Brother Ma, is it because of the fight for territory?" Since Ma Qiushen had already brought up the topic, Zhu Yuan followed up with another question.

"That's right." Ma Qiushen nodded, a cold glint in his eyes. Then he looked at Zhu Yuan. "The cause of this matter is related to Li Yinghu."

"Li Yinghu—"

Zhu Yuan had not forgotten his name; he was a heartless fellow.

At that moment, Zhu Yuan also keenly noticed that Ma Qiushen's lack of anger when mentioning Li Yinghu was itself a problem.

So he looked at Ma Qiushen and asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Brother Ma, how's Li Yinghu doing these days?"

Ma Qiushen uttered two words.

"He's dead."

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