Chapter 3: Not Optimistic

Old Man's smile faded, he sighed, and said, "The day you had a fever, I and Chen Sao took you to the clinic; just the examination and IV drip cost over six hundred, then they prescribed three kinds of medicine costing another five to six hundred, totaling over twelve hundred. If Chen Sao hadn't advanced three hundred for me, I really couldn't have produced the money at once."

Jiang Cheng fell silent upon hearing that.

The currency here is also yuan, but the banknotes have larger denominations and different figures on them.

Before the transmigration, a cold and fever would cost a hundred or two hundred to visit a clinic.

In this place, it's an astronomical price.

Spending a thousand on a cold and fever is perfectly normal.

When the Flame Nation was thriving, a few thousand yuan wasn't a problem for any family on the planet.

But after the Flame Nation's decline and the arrival of the Horned People Clan, the difficulty of earning or saving money increased tenfold to a hundredfold.

According to the original body's memory, a roasted sweet potato weighing about three to four hundred grams sells for six yuan each; here, selling fifty a day is already good. After costs, each roasted sweet potato yields about three yuan profit, so fifty makes 150 yuan, which over a month totals nearly 4,500 yuan.

It seems like a decent profit, but a monthly stall fee of 2,000 yuan takes half of it, and moreover, the area where his family lives is occupied by a gang called the Wild Wolf Gang; residents there must each pay a monthly management fee of 1,000 yuan per household.

That's a fixed expense; you can't refuse to pay.

The remaining money isn't necessarily all his.

Every evening, ill‑intented people wander nearby, spot him, and if he doesn't want to get hurt, he has to cough up a few hundred.

Such incidents happen three to five times a month; it's commonplace.

Only the leftover money is truly his.

This money must also buy raw sweet potatoes and charcoal; whatever remains can be used for daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Consequently, ordinary families can't get enough to eat; they might go ten days to half a month without a meat dish. When they can't stand it, they bite the bullet, spend ten yuan to buy two or three eggs just to taste something.

This time the medical visit cost over a thousand, wiping out the family's savings and even leaving a small external debt.

Old Man saw this, smiled and comforted, "Xiao Cheng, don't worry. As long as you get better, Grandma will be satisfied. The three hundred owed to Chen Sao, Grandma will repay soon, including the stall fee at the end of the month. Rise early and work late; with a bit of hardship, we can definitely save it."

Her son and daughter‑in‑law died early; she has been pulling Jiang Cheng up piece by piece by selling roasted sweet potatoes.

"Grandma, let me sell tomorrow."

Jiang Cheng said without hesitation.

The original self was rather filial; knowing the old man might face danger on the way back, he handled buying supplies and going out to sell roasted sweet potatoes himself, keeping the old man at home.

His words wouldn't be any worse than the original's; in other words, he wants the old man to have a better life.

Old Man shook his head repeatedly, "Xiao Cheng, you just finished a fever; you need more rest. Don't worry, Grandma will return early; nothing will happen."

The reason that incident occurred tonight also has to do with her anxiousness to earn money, trying to sell an extra one or two roasted sweet potatoes, which meant she only came back after dark.

If she had returned earlier, there would have been many people on both sides of the alley, and such incidents are rarely encountered.

"Grandma, I'm really fine now."

Jiang Cheng took the old man's hand and pressed it to his own forehead, "How is it? Does it not feel hot at all anymore?"

"It's not hot, but…"

"Grandma, don't worry. If I feel unwell later, I'll close up early and come back; that should be fine, right?"

Old Man couldn't argue and just nodded in agreement.

Then she reached into her pocket, took out a folded handkerchief, and after opening it, found some money totaling a little over a hundred.

"Xiao Cheng, this is the money Grandma earned from selling sweet potatoes today; business was okay, it's just…"

She felt very ashamed but still recounted what happened on the way back.

After all, the sweet potatoes in the cart were all snatched away.

The amount of money didn't add up; a discerning eye would see that immediately.

Jiang Cheng listened, clenched his fists, his anger flaring.

These two bastards, stealing is one thing, but to lay such a heavy hand on a sixty‑something‑year‑old old man!

He took a deep breath, comforting, "It's okay, Grandma. As long as no one got hurt, that's fine. Those sweet potatoes can be fed to the dogs; I'll continue selling roasted sweet potatoes from now on." "Hmm, be careful. If we encounter those people again, just give them the money."

Old Man spoke up, fearing Jiang Cheng's rising anger might make him do something foolish.

"Hmm, I understand."

Jiang Cheng nodded.

Those people generally carry weapons, and there are many of them; if a physical clash actually occurs, the most likely to get injured is oneself.

The original self, when encountering such a situation, would usually grit his teeth and pay a few hundred, treating it as a loss to avert disaster.

But Jiang Cheng felt unwilling.

Moreover, the current savings are less than two hundred at the moment.

And there aren't many sweet potatoes left at home; by the day after tomorrow at the latest, they'll have to go to the grain store to buy more.

Thus, the money on the table can't be touched, let alone suffer any loss.

"We must find a way to get out of this situation quickly!"

Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth.

……

A night passed quickly.

Perhaps due to habit, perhaps because this body is still recovering from a serious illness and remains somewhat weak; when Jiang Cheng finally woke up, it was already past ten in the morning.

Light streamed in through the cracks, brightening the room considerably.

"Damn!"

Jiang Cheng jolted.

He had planned to go out early to sell roasted sweet potatoes; although morning business isn't great, selling one extra order could earn an extra amount of money.

But he overslept.

When he looked up, indeed, the old man's figure was gone from the room.

Even the tricycle is gone.

My fault.

He felt guilty.

I had promised to start selling Roasted Sweet Potato from today, but on the first day it backfired.

Logically, Grandma would definitely be back by noon, but he didn't want to wait.

In a hurry he put on his shoes, hurried to the doorway, opened it, and a somewhat pungent smell hit him; the light was glaring, and it took a while to adjust.

Looking outside, what met his eyes was a bumpy dirt road with a lot of trash scattered on the ground.

Opposite was a row of mud‑brick houses, with clothes hanging in front of the doors, and many people chatting at the door, all looking gaunt and malnourished.

Hearing the noise, many eyes turned toward them.

"Isn't that the Jiang family's boy? He's awake?"

"I heard he had a high fever a couple of days ago, he was almost delirious from the heat."

"Grandma Jiang was so anxious those two days she couldn't eat, now finally she's okay."

Hearing the commotion outside, a girl stuck her head out from the next door and looked this way.

Seeing Jiang Cheng's gaze, she quickly recoiled.

"Who is she?"

Jiang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

(End of Chapter)