Chapter 24: Just Child

Before, Chen Sheng had always worn short outfits, but they were robes and such with a sash at the waist and bound sleeves. Today, Chen Sheng was different — dressed entirely for martial practice: a short jacket with row buttons, waist, cuffs, and trouser legs all drawn tight, bandages wrapped around his calves, and leather bracers on his wrists.

Zhao Jin also noticed that the redness around Chen Sheng's eyes had faded quite a bit, though traces of crying were still visible. His usual grinning expression was gone, replaced by a rather serious look.

Even without being told, Zhao Jin could guess what had happened. Chen Sheng must have been scolded at home for not taking first place, and today he had come prepared to fight again. Zhao Jin chuckled inwardly — he hadn't expected the Chen family to have such high expectations for Chen Sheng.

Zhao Jin wolfed down his lunch in a few bites but didn't see the bundle of pastries. Just as he was about to ask, he heard someone calling from outside. Zhao Zhentang answered, and a person dressed like a shop assistant walked in, carrying a small cloth bundle in his hand. The bundle was still giving off steam.

"Master Zhao, these are pastries from our humble shop. Would you like me to open the bundle for a look?" The assistant cupped his hands in greeting and spoke while still outside the room.

"No need. Just give it to my son," Zhao Zhentang replied curtly.

Zhao Jin took the bundle of pastries, said goodbye to the elders in the room, and was about to set off with Mu Shulan when he heard Zhao Zhentang say from behind him, "Pastries taste better when they're hot, and they give you more strength too."

So that was the idea. It seemed his father also wanted the sparring to go a bit better. Zhao Jin turned and acknowledged this, but just as he stepped over the threshold, he heard another voice from behind: "Fight well!"

That was Zhao Zhentang again. Zhao Jin nearly tripped and smiled bitterly to himself — so his own father had expectations for him that were just as high.

The Chen family steward, Chen Zhaocai, followed behind, carrying the clay jar with the wooden tags. Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng each held their pastries as they walked over together.

Behind them, Mu Shulan was quite lively. Grinning, she asked Chen Hong, "Did your big brother cry last night?"

Chen Hong timidly glanced at Chen Sheng and gave a careful nod. Chen Sheng's face went red, and he said through gritted teeth, "My foot slipped yesterday, or I would have won."

It wasn't long before they reached the freight yard. From a distance, they could see the boys already there, and they could see the boys constantly looking their way.

"They're here, they're here!" They could faintly hear someone shouting over there. It seemed these boys had been waiting for them for quite a while.

When they reached the edge of the freight yard, Zhao Jin shouted, "Who's going to help Uncle Chen carry his things?"

Immediately, several boys ran over and scrambled to take the clay jar. Chen Jincai looked at Zhao Jin with some surprise — he hadn't expected the child to be so thoughtful.

As the few of them approached, the boys automatically parted to make a path. Whether it was what Zhao Jin was carrying or what Chen Sheng was carrying, both had deliberately brought hot food this time. The aroma wafted out especially strongly, and the boys' nostrils twitched, their eyes all lighting up.

"What place did Ji Xiang get yesterday?" Zhao Jin suddenly remembered this.

"Made it into the top eight," Chen Sheng answered. He had already begun taking deep breaths and replied very seriously — it seemed he was already nervously preparing.

Just as this was mentioned, Ji Xiang was standing not far away. When he saw Zhao Jin, he scratched his head and came forward a little awkwardly to ask, "Zhao Jin, do you need me to help you carry anything?"

"No need, it's just one bundle!" Zhao Jin answered with a smile. He felt very pleased — if things kept going like this, Ji Xiang would surely become a friend.

Compared to the fluster of yesterday, today was much more convenient. Zhao Jin once again stepped onto that earthen platform and shouted loudly, "Does everyone still want to spar? Raise your hands if you do!"

A row of hands shot up in unison below. Zhao Jin swept his gaze roughly over the crowd and noticed there were more people than before — over a dozen unfamiliar faces, six around the same age, and about ten younger ones. Word must have spread, and some people wanted to come give it a try, or at least watch the excitement.

Zhao Jin spotted Sun Dalei, who was even fatter than Chen Sheng. Today he had also changed into a short robe more suited for fighting. He also saw Shi Manqiang, who was standing there eating a flatbread.

He clearly remembered that in the past, when Shi Manqiang played at the freight yard, he was always alone. Today, however, several kids were gathered around him.

"Shi Manqiang, come over here!" Zhao Jin shouted loudly from the earthen platform.

Shi Manqiang, who was in the middle of eating, froze. When he saw Zhao Jin calling him, he didn't know what Zhao Jin wanted him for, but he looked at the food in his hand and thought about the fair words Zhao Jin had spoken yesterday. He stuffed the flatbread into his shirt and walked toward the earthen platform.

Chen Sheng had no kind expression for Shi Manqiang and kept staring at him fixedly. Shi Manqiang, who had a tough temperament himself, stared right back without yielding an inch.

Once on the earthen platform, Zhao Jin shouted again, "This is Shi Manqiang, yesterday's first-place winner in our sparring! Everyone, follow me and shout: Shi Manqiang, mighty and fierce!"

"Shi Manqiang, mighty and fierce!" came a scattered cry from below. Zhao Jin had already raised Shi Manqiang's arm and shouted again. By the third shout, the voices of all the boys in the yard had fallen into unison. Shi Manqiang had felt a bit awkward at first, but soon he was filled with pride, and his chest couldn't help but puff out.

The boys in the freight yard looked at Shi Manqiang with eyes full of envy — to get so many delicious things to eat, and to be so glorious on top of that, it was practically every boy's dream.

Once everyone had finished shouting, someone couldn't hold back and yelled, "Hand out the tags already, let's start sparring!"

Zhao Jin ignored this voice. He simply patted Shi Manqiang on the back with a smile and said, "I hope you can take first place today too."

Shi Manqiang had originally been full of wariness — he had an aversion to these rich kids. But after just being in the spotlight and receiving this good wish, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded solemnly.

As soon as Shi Manqiang stepped down from the little earthen platform, the boys automatically parted a path for him. A few who were close to him came up to pat him on the shoulder. Shi Manqiang chuckled, pulled the flatbread out from his shirt, and continued eating.

As he walked down, Chen Sheng's expression on the earthen platform was very displeased. He poked Zhao Jin and said coldly, "Why did you do that?"

"This way, more people will come to spar. If you win, you can be just as glorious as he was!" Zhao Jin knew exactly how to handle such childish temper.

After all this fuss, the boys below were getting a bit impatient. They wanted to draw their tags and start sparring as soon as possible. Taking first place was just too tempting — and it wasn't like Shi Manqiang was all that formidable.

After calming Chen Sheng down, however, Zhao Jin untied his bundle and opened the food box. Today was different from yesterday — on Zhao Jin's side, there was steamed sponge cake with dried fruit added, and on Chen Sheng's side, there were meat buns. These two items were even more enticing than yesterday's, and everyone's eyes went wide.

"Zhao Jin, hurry up!" someone urged from below.

Zhao Jin knew that this sort of mood-building had to be done thoroughly for the best effect, and they were about there now. He pushed the clay jar forward and announced, "Draw your tags! Yesterday's top eight come take yours first!"

There were more boys today than yesterday, and the crowding was even worse. Those who were skinny, weak, or young simply couldn't push their way to the front. But whether Zhao Jin said this or not actually made little difference, because these eight boys naturally stood at the very front row — no one contested them. They had already proven they were stronger than the rest.

Shi Manqiang took the first tag, Chen Sheng took the second. Sun Dalei and Ji Xiang were also among the front eight. The other four were either tall and sturdy or lean, wiry, and agile.

Once these eight had drawn, the boys behind surged forward, but the first one to reach the clay jar looked at Zhao Jin and asked cautiously, "Zhao Jin, aren't you going to take one?"

As soon as this boy said it, the others behind him also realized. Although Zhao Jin hadn't finished sparring yesterday, his strength over these past few days had already been proven. On top of that, since Zhao Jin was the one running this event, without anyone quite noticing, Zhao Jin had already gained authority in these boys' minds. Compared to Zhao Jin, even though Chen Sheng might have brought even more pastries, hardly anyone remembered that.

"You all draw first. I'll draw last," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Only after hearing him say this did the boys rush forward to grab their tags.

The entire procedure was the same as yesterday. Today, the distribution of black and white tags was still very even — there was no premature "clash of titans" like Liu Yong versus Sun Dalei.