Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

Jinniang sat in the chair, lost in thought for a long time.

As darkness fell, she remembered many things.

She recalled how she brought her blind mother to Yingtian City, where they had no relatives or friends and only a few coins left. When her mother fell ill, she had no money to hire a doctor and could only watch helplessly as her mother breathed her last in a dilapidated temple.

Thinking back to how she did everything to survive, working as a waitress in a restaurant where customers would touch and pinch her, she could only smile and endure it. Later, she learned to lead people around, and with her quick wit and sharp eyes, she managed to barely make a living.

Thinking of her younger brother, who ran a small restaurant in the city and was struggling to make ends meet, she didn't blame him for not helping her. But every time she went to him for help, his cold face and harsh words felt like knives stabbing into her heart.

She then remembered the flask of wine she had given to the young master that morning. It had been sealed for a whole year, and she had been reluctant to drink it, thinking that she would take it out to entertain guests when she truly met a distinguished person.

She wondered if the young master would find the wine too sweet.

When her mother taught her how to brew wine, she said that osmanthus flowers should be used sparingly, otherwise it would be too sweet.

Thinking of this, Jinniang's nose suddenly stung with tears.

In the darkness, she heard her own breathing, and then tears fell. She first sobbed, then burst into tears, crying like a child.

All the grievances and all the forbearance burst forth at this moment.

She suffered in Yingtian City for a full twenty years.

For twenty years, she was bossed around and laughed at. She lived like a stray dog ​​in the city, eating the worst food, living in the most dilapidated house, and wearing the oldest clothes.

She didn't know who this young man named Hong Lang was, or why he wanted her to "listen to the wind" for him.

All she knew was that he was the first person in the past twenty years to look at her properly.

It wasn't because she was dressed scantily, nor because of her body, but because of her eyes and ears.

Because she had spent twenty years in Yingtian City, accumulating skills that were looked down upon by others.

Jinniang cried for a long time, until her voice became hoarse and her tears dried up.

As darkness fell, the sky gradually brightened again.

She didn't sleep all night, her eyes were red and swollen from crying, like two ripe peaches.

She got up, walked to the copper basin, and splashed some cold water on her face.

She tidied herself up in front of the bronze mirror, tied her hair back up, and put on a half-new set of clothes.

This was her best piece of clothing, which she rarely wore except on holidays and festivals.

But I have to wear it today.

Jinniang left the sweet water well, walked through several alleys, and turned into that familiar narrow alley.

From afar, one could see the wine flag bearing the character "醉" (drunk) fluttering in the morning breeze.

She stepped forward and knocked on the door.

From inside came Erniu's gruff voice cursing, "Who is it? Can't a person live in the middle of the morning? It's not even breakfast time yet!"

A piece of the door panel was removed, and Erniu's round face peeked out from the gap.

When he saw Jinniang, his face instantly darkened.

"It's you again? Sis, how many times have I told you? We're really out of money this month. Business at the restaurant is already bad, and Xiulan's father is sick..."

He glanced at Jinniang, noticing her slightly worn clothes, and smirked, "You're dressed quite well, huh? Did you run into another sucker yesterday?"

Jinniang didn't speak, but stood quietly at the door, looking at her younger brother.

Erniu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, turned his face away, lowered his voice, but his tone remained sarcastic:

"Sister, it's not that I don't want to help you, but look at yourself. You've been in Yingtian City for almost twenty years, what have you accomplished? You're over thirty years old, and you don't even have a proper place to stay. Who in the neighborhood isn't talking behind your back?"

Do you think it's easy for me to run this restaurant? I work from dawn till dusk, and at the end of the month I only earn a meager living. And what about you? Today you're leading people around, tomorrow you're accompanying people to see lanterns. The things you do are so shameful, I'm embarrassed to even talk about them..."

"Erniu!"

Xiulan's voice came from the back room, filled with anger, "Why are you wasting your breath talking to her? Tell her to leave! She hasn't even paid back last month's money yet, and she's here again? Does she think our family runs a silver shop?"

Xiulan lifted the curtain and came out, still clutching a rag in her hand. When she saw Jinniang dressed well, her tone became even more sarcastic: "Oh, dressed so well? Could it be that you've hooked up with some big shot? Congratulations, sister! When you become successful, don't forget to help out us poor relatives."

Jinniang's fingers clenched tightly in her sleeve, but she didn't react.

"Sister..." Erniu sighed, fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a few pieces of silver. He counted them again and again, a total of five taels. He was still a little reluctant to hand them over. "This is my last bit of savings. Take it. Don't come back next month. I really don't have any more."

The silver was handed over in mid-air.

Jinniang looked down at the few pieces of silver. They were of poor quality, with black spots, and it was clear that she had saved them for a long time.

She didn't reach out to take it.

Erniu raised his hand, somewhat embarrassed: "Sister?"

Jinniang raised her head; her eyes were still a little swollen, but her gaze was different from before.

In the past, when she came to borrow money, her eyes would always dart away, and she would look down and be submissive, like a thief.

But today, she stared straight at Erniu, a slight smile even appearing on her lips.

"Erniu, you can take this money back."

Erniu was stunned: "Sister, you..."

Jinniang didn't explain. She took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom, slowly counted out five notes, each worth one hundred taels, neatly stacked them, and handed them to Erniu.

Five hundred taels!

Erniu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"This...this..." Erniu stammered, looking at the stack of silver notes, then at Jinniang, "Sister, where did you get this money? You wouldn't have..."

"Clean money." Jinniang interrupted him. "Erniu, take this five hundred taels and tidy up the restaurant properly. Hire a good chef if you need to, and replace the tables and chairs if you need to. Yingtian City doesn't lack people to eat, but it lacks good food that can keep people coming back."

She paused, then shifted her gaze from Erniu's face to Xiulan's, causing Xiulan to shrink back slightly under her gaze.

"This money should last you a while. Learn how to cook properly, stop trying to fool your customers. Do you think they're idiots?"

Erniu opened his mouth, his face turning bright red.

"Sister, I..."

"You don't need to explain," Jinniang smiled, and with that smile, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, making her look somewhat like she did when she was a young girl. "You're my brother, so I won't blame you for anything you say. This money isn't a loan, it's a gift, so you don't need to pay it back."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and stepped out the door.

The morning sun shone brightly on her, making her clothes gleam. She stood ramrod straight as she walked out of the narrow alley.

Erniu chased after her to the door, still clutching the five taels of silver in his hand, and called out to her retreating figure, "Sister!"

Jinniang did not turn around.

Xiulan followed and stood beside Erniu, the two of them watching the figure gradually disappear into the distance.

The alley was long, and Jinniang's figure walked further and further away, fading into the distance, until she finally disappeared around the corner at the alley's entrance.

Xiulan took the silver notes from Erniu's hand, her voice trembling, "What...what happened to your sister?"

Erniu didn't say anything, he just stood at the door, looking at the empty alley for a long time.

He suddenly remembered something from many years ago, when his parents were still alive, and Jinniang was only thirteen years old, with two braids, hanging clothes in the yard, humming a song.

The sunshine was just as beautiful that day.