Chapter 37: Neighbors

"You'er, you're alright, that's wonderful."

Zhou Laodie had been worried and terrified; seeing his son walk through the door, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Dad, Mom, it's fine now. A Senior Brother from the martial arts hall warned Tu Laosan, and the Wild Fox Gang won't dare to come and cause trouble again."

His mother was still very worried. "Tu Laosan is extremely vicious; will he listen?"

"You women have no insight. You'er's Senior Brother is the son of Manager Xu from our firm. He talks about his son all the time, saying how remarkable he is and what a promising future he has."

As Zhou Laodie spoke, he said proudly, "I never expected You'er to be able to call him a brother."

Manager Xu was a prominent figure in the firm, wearing silk clothes all day long, using a jade-carved cigarette holder, and smoking top-quality tobacco leaves.

In the firm, he had to step aside and bow whenever he saw Manager Xu.

Only the heads of the clerks were qualified to work in front of Manager Xu.

Zhou Laodie never expected that his son would actually have such a deep friendship with Manager Xu's beloved son.

"Yes, we only just met not long ago."

Zhou You thought to himself, if you knew I also knew the young master of the firm, you would be even more shocked.

"You two sit down and chat, drink some water to moisten your throats. I'm going out to tidy up; the entrance was quite a mess."

His mother was the type who couldn't stay idle; she grabbed a dustpan and broom and was about to go out to clean.

She didn't expect to be stunned the moment she stepped outside; she rubbed her eyes, she hadn't seen wrong.

The entrance was cleaned spotlessly; the filth and stones had vanished, and even the dirty ground had been cleared away.

The road surface, which had originally been somewhat pitted and bumpy, was now carefully filled in.

To describe it in one phrase, the ground at the entrance of the Zhou Family home was neater than the face of a bride.

"You'er, this is..."

"The Wild Fox Gang guys did it. They cleaned up their own mess."

Zhou You raised his hand. "Dad, Mom, see this waist token? From now on, your son is a Zhengshi Xuitu of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall. Not only is there no tuition, but the hall also covers food and lodging."

That good?

Zhou You's parents widened their eyes. "You'er, you really have made something of yourself."

"And the Master, that is the Hall Master himself, will also send us to do tasks. If we do well, we get paid."

This sentence was not a lie, but a fact; martial artists at the Jinli Level were already capable of handling tasks on their own.

The Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall had dozens of Strength Apprentices, who belonged to the core force.

"You'er is right. Every time they go out to escort merchant caravans, the firm pays a high price to hire people from the martial arts hall."

"You'er is a Zhengshi Xuitu. If our firm wants to hire him, it's at least 50 taels per trip."

Zhou Laodie's tone carried a sense of reserve. "You'er, our family isn't short of money for now. Don't think about working; your dad is here to earn money to support the family. You just focus on your training and strive to shine in front of the Hall Master."

His mother looked at Zhou You, her eyes full of expectation, filled with longing for the future.

The neighbor Mou Laoyao's family had also been worried and terrified all day today.

Mou Xiaoli came home from work and heard his father talk about what happened during the day, and he couldn't help but nag and complain.

"Dad, look, Zhou You provoked a gang. Even if he relies on the martial arts hall, there will still be endless trouble."

Mou Laoyao agreed deeply. "Who's to say otherwise? I was scared to death."

During the day, Tu Laosan was fierce and menacing, bringing dozens of gang members to curse and threaten to set fire to the house.

Shan Wa's family was burned to death; no one doubted that the Wild Fox Gang wouldn't take action.

Mou Laoyao was terrified that the fire would spread to his own house, and he cursed the Zhou Family a thousand times in his heart.

"Hmph, those who practice martial arts are brave and fierce; it's either fighting or killing. They aren't living a proper life."

Mou Xiaoli took a silver corner from his sleeve, weighing about one tael and two qian, shimmering under the candlelight.

"I met a generous customer today. He heard me report the menu well and rewarded me with this much silver."

"Dad, once this month's wages are issued, our family will have 5 taels of bright white silver."

Mou Laoyao looked at the silver corner, his eyes narrowing. "Good, good, good."

"You said Zhou You practices martial arts and doesn't do work to earn money. Day by day, it's all outflow and no inflow; how can the family sustain that?"

Mou Xiaoli sneered. "What kind of person is Tu Laosan? He didn't succeed today, so he will definitely seek revenge in the future."

"We must stay far away from their house to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

Mou Laoyao was a bit worried. "Finding another cheap rental house isn't easy."

"Once I get promoted from a waiter to a head waiter, my wages will rise, and our family can move to a more decent street."

"At that time, we won't live with low-class people like the Zhou Family."

Mou Xiaoli envisioned a wonderful future life, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "Dad, how is the matter of finding a concubine going?"

He had grand ambitions and was not satisfied with being a restaurant waiter; in the future, he wanted to be a manager and become a truly decent person.

Therefore, the matter of marriage was extremely cautious; he had to marry a good girl from a well-off family.

For now, it was a transitional stage, so he couldn't stay idle; he would marry a refugee girl as a concubine.

Firstly, to carry on the family line, and secondly, not to let the concubine eat for free, but to have her do chores for the family and serve the elders.

This father and son, Mou Laoyao and Mou Xiaoli, had their wishful thinking clicking loudly.

"Son, to tell you the truth, more and more people are fleeing from Su Cheng, and the price of people is falling day by day."

"I think we can wait a bit longer; maybe we'll pick up a virgin who doesn't want money and only asks for a bite to eat."

Mou Xiaoli listened and nodded seriously. "Dad, I think that works. Let's do it that way."

Li Guafu had been worried and terrified all day; by nightfall, when Constable Liu came over to stay the night, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"You weren't there, you didn't see..."

She worked efficiently, her hands never stopping, as she quickly described what had happened during the day.

The more Constable Liu listened, the more silent he became; he lacked his usual zest for drinking and eating meat, and he actually let the wine and food sit until they went cold.

"Li Guafu, your neighbor is an extraordinary person!"

From Li Guafu's fragmented words, Constable Liu judged that Zhou You was no longer the person he used to be.

A martial artist at the Jinli Level, whether in a gang or a martial arts school, is an elite figure among men.

Constable Liu had worked in the government office for twenty years; his qualifications were long since sufficient, yet he still hadn't been promoted because his strength was lacking.

If he had mastered Jinli, he would have already been Head Constable Liu by now.

"I originally thought about pulling Zhou You under my command and grooming him into a capable officer, but now that I think about it, that was wishful thinking."

A teenage Jinli Level martial artist has the hope of charging toward the Blood-Qi realm in the future; even if he wastes decades without breaking through, he could still earn the title of a 'Master'.

Could a person like that possibly follow a lowly constable like him?

"I listened to you before and sent soup and water to the Zhou Family, doing everything I could to curry favor."

"That's right; from now on, you must be more filial to his parents than to your own father and mother."

Constable Liu said to Li Guafu in a sincere and earnest tone, "I am just a constable with limited ability; if I cannot protect you in the future, perhaps we can count on his family to save us in a crisis."

Li Guafu's heart trembled when she heard this, and she grabbed Constable Liu in a hug, "Don't talk nonsense."

"Take 10 taels and wrap it in a red envelope; send it to the Zhou Family tomorrow as a congratulatory gift."

"What, that much money?"

Li Guafu felt a pang of heartache.

Constable Liu cast a sidelong glance at her, "Leave early; I'm afraid you won't be able to squeeze in if you go too late."