Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Li Jinrong's eyes lit up, and he snapped his folding fan shut. "Brother Shen, one hundred silver dollars, you know what I mean!"

Shen Bao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously glanced at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo leaned against the headboard, showing no reaction.

"One hundred?" Shen Bao clicked his tongue. "Uncle Li, this..."

Li Jinrong had already taken out silver notes from his money pouch. "Exchange or not?"

Shen Bao looked at the money, then at the bunk he was sitting on, scratched his head and laughed: "Why is Uncle Li doing this? Isn't it just to be closer to Brother Chen?"

The fat man chuckled, offering no explanation, and simply stared at him expectantly.

Shen Bao stood up, rolled up his bedding, carried it to Li Jinrong's original upper bunk, and helped him take his luggage down. "Okay, this bunk is yours."

Li Jinrong beamed and plopped down on the newly vacated lower bunk, letting out a long sigh: "Finally, I don't have to climb the ladder anymore."

He shoved the hundred silver dollars into Shen Bao's hand, then took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, muttering, "Thank you, Brother Shen, thank you, Brother Shen..."

Shen Bao tucked the money into his pocket, climbed onto the upper bunk, and leaned down: "Young Master Li, would you like me to make your bedding roll for you?"

Li Jinrong then remembered that his luggage was still piled on the floor, so he quickly stood up, picked up his bedding roll, and threw it onto the bed.

Inside, brand-new silk bedding, embroidered with lotus scrolls, peeked out, casting a faint glow in the dim room.

He held the blanket for a moment, then looked at the bare bed frame, feeling a bit troubled.

Shen Bao, watching from the upper bunk, found it amusing: "Never made your bed before?"

Li Jinrong gave an awkward laugh: "At home, the servants always take care of things..."

Shen Bao jumped down and quickly helped him smooth out the mattress, fold the quilt, and straighten the pillow.

Li Jinrong watched from the side, thanking him repeatedly. After he finished, he took out a few silver dollars and stuffed them into his hand.

Shen Bao waved his hand: "Alright, that's all the work, I won't charge you."

Li Jinrong didn't insist. He put the silver dollar back into his purse and then looked at his bed. The silk quilt and embroidered pillow stood out starkly against the gray bedding around him.

He looked to the side.

Chen Mo's bed was very simple: a worn-out gray cloth mattress, a thin quilt folded squarely, and a pillow made of a rolled-up bundle, revealing a corner of a change of clothes inside.

The headboard and footboard were spotless, with nothing on them.

Shen Bao's upper bunk was similar; the mattress was so thin you could see the bed frame, the quilt was washed until it was almost white, and the edges were patched.

Fang Cheng's luggage was not opened at all; he was lying down with his clothes on, his eyes closed as if he were asleep.

By the window, Zhou Fengchun's bed was the most rudimentary, with a thin mattress, the bed board shaped like a person, and a rolled-up old jacket as a pillow.

The bespectacled scholar sat cross-legged on his bed, a book spread out on his lap, muttering to himself.

His mattress was also a thin layer, with the chipped enamel mug on top.

The burly, dark-skinned man was snoring on the upper bunk, his bedding rolled up in a ball, sleeping sprawled out on his back.

On the bed of the young man in the silk shirt opposite, the scene was quite different, with silk mattresses and embroidered pillows arranged neatly.

Then the man took out a blue-and-white porcelain cup and a small teapot from the suitcase.

There was also a brass incense burner on the ground. When you lit an incense stick, wisps of smoke rose up.

He leaned against the headboard reading a book, a thread-bound book with a brand-new cover. He would turn a page every now and then, and before turning a page, he would dab his lips with his finger.

The room was suddenly divided into several classes.

Li Jinrong looked over there, then back at himself, and suddenly realized that his silk quilt wasn't so conspicuous anymore.

He Songling sat opposite him, laughing and joking, "Brother Li's bedding is quite comparable to that of that brother."

Li Jinrong quickly waved his hand: "No, no, they are the real connoisseurs."

The man lifted his eyelids from behind the book, glanced at Li Jinrong, said nothing, and then lowered his head to continue reading.

Li Jinrong was somewhat annoyed by the rebuff, so he leaned closer to Chen Mo and whispered, "Brother Chen, that guy seems to have a bit of a temper..."

Chen Mo didn't reply, his gaze falling on Zhou Fengchun. "Brother Zhou, how many years have you practiced martial arts?"

Zhou Fengchun raised his head, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

The room fell silent for a moment.

He was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I've trained for a few years."

"Are there many martial arts schools in Beihe?" Chen Mo asked casually, as if making a casual conversation.

Zhou Fengchun glanced at him, then lowered his eyes again: "Not many, just one."

Shen Bao leaned down from the upper bunk and asked curiously, "So how did you train? 'The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts,' that's no joke."

"Practicing martial arts requires eating meat, hiring a master, and buying medicine. It can easily cost several hundred silver dollars a year."

Zhou Fengchun didn't speak, his fingers gripping the dry rations until his knuckles turned white.

He Songling chimed in, "You wouldn't know this, but the Zhenyi Division has informants in every county. Every year, they go to martial arts schools and universities to select people. If they see any promising talents, they will pay for their training."

He smiled and said, "But there's a price to pay. After you come of age, you have to serve in the Zhenyi Division until you pay off all that money. I heard the interest rate isn't low."

Shen Bao said "Oh," and then added, "Isn't that just borrowing money to practice martial arts?"

"Pretty much," He Songling said. "But it's better than borrowing money. At least there's a place to practice and a master to teach you. Once you've trained, you can go straight into the Zhenyi Division without having to find your own way in."

He looked at Zhou Fengchun: "Brother Zhou, is this the right path?"

Zhou Fengchun remained silent for a long time before nodding.

Shen Bao then asked, "How many years of service would that be?"

Zhou Fengchun didn't look up, his voice low: "It depends on how long it took. Some people take three to five years, some take seven or eight years."

"And you?"

Zhou Fengchun did not answer.

He Songling answered for him: "Judging from his skills, he's been practicing for at least three or four years. If he started at eighteen, he should be almost there by now."

Zhou Fengchun raised his head, glanced at He Songling, and his gaze was somewhat complicated.

The burly, dark-skinned man suddenly leaned down from the upper bunk and asked in a deep voice, "What if you ruin your training halfway through?"

No one spoke.

He Songling coughed lightly: "Then... then it still has to be returned, right?"

Zhou Fengchun lowered his head, stuffed the mouthful of dry rations in his hand into his mouth, chewed slowly, and stopped looking at anyone.

The man in the silk shirt turned another page of his book, and this time he laughed out loud, a very soft laugh, like a sneer.

Li Jinrong couldn't hold back any longer and turned to ask him, "What are you laughing at?"

He raised his eyelids, glanced at the fat man, then looked at Zhou Fengchun, and said, "I laugh at some people who spend years honing their skills, only to end up working like slaves for others."

Zhou Fengchun paused in his chewing of dry rations.

The man in the silk shirt continued, "If I want to practice martial arts, I either won't practice at all, or I'll hire my own master, buy my own medicine, and practice however I want."

"What's the point of signing that kind of servitude contract?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze.

"If you pay for your own martial arts training, won't you end up working as a beast of burden in the same way as the local officials?"