Ba Zhou County, Ba Shui City.
On a busy street, some people were walking in circles. Among them, some hawkers were carefully setting up stalls on the road.
It was the height of summer. The sun was blazing in the sky, so hot air enveloped the surroundings. Even the big willow trees by the river had begun to wither as if they had lost their moisture.
On the road, a large group of hawkers was sitting. When they saw the people around them, they quickly stood up and shouted, trying to make them stop to buy something. The scene was like some peddlers from the later generations.
However, unlike the later generations, the peddlers here were all genuine poor people. The things they sold were also large pieces, all of which were things that could be found in the wild.
They were selling wild fruits and vegetables or some small beasts that had just been caught. They hoped to come here and sell some things for a bit of money to add to their family.
The sun was blazing hot. No one was willing to stay here if it was not for making a living. The reason why these people set up stalls here was also to think of ways to accumulate more things during their free time in the countryside to deal with the imperial court’s increasingly heavy taxes.
In the distance, not long after, some people with slightly more luxurious clothes and better clothes and hair ornaments walked past, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present.
“Butler Feng, come and take a look at my rose madder. It’s very good for making soup.”
“The wild melon I found here is big and round.”
“And my bamboo rat over here…”
Cries rang out in all directions, but the face of the person, Butler Feng, did not change. In the end, he walked directly to a certain person. It was a young man who looked rather dignified and handsome. He was wearing sackcloth with a torn pudding on it, and his face was full of worry.
Unlike the others who had set up the stall, although this young man was wearing a torn sackcloth and looked like he came from a poor family, he was not as messy as the others. Not only was his clothes washed clean, but there was no trace of dirt on his face, nor was there any strange smell on his body. It was as if he had been meticulously washed every day.
This was not an easy feat. The poor people spent their days with mud and weeds. They did not brush their teeth or wash their heads. Their entire person was in a mess. They were also too lazy to wash because they were busy working. Naturally, they did not have a good image in the long run.
However, the young man in front of them was different. His entire body was clean, and his long hair was tied up properly. He even seemed to be following etiquette and treating others gently. If he were not dressed in hemp clothes and setting up the stall, others would probably have mistaken him for a scholar.
Although he seemed to have a good temperament, a layer of cloth wrapped around his chest, there was a bit of blood in it. It seemed that he was injured.
“Butler Feng, you are here.”
Seeing that the person in the distance was gradually approaching, the young man quickly stood up and squeezed out a smile.
“Chen Housheng, how are your recent gains?”
Butler Feng was wearing a light black outfit. His face had some wrinkles, and he looked in his forties. He looked at the young man in front of him with a smile.
“Thanks to you and Lord Li, my harvest these few days is quite good.”
The young man stood up and cupped his hands at Butler Feng. The smile on his face did not change. Besides his young and handsome face, no one felt a bit disgusted. “What do you need, sir? Let me see if there’s anything here.”
“I want a few wild games, like pheasants or wild rabbits.” Butler Feng nodded and said to the young man.
“That’s a coincidence.”The young man patted his head and said with an apologetic smile, “I just caught a few wild rabbits these few days. There are a total of seven. Do you want all of them?”
“I want all of them.”
“Then I’ll send them to you later. You can pay the price when you see them.”
After saying this, the young man continued, “I still have some small peaches. I specially picked them out. They are both fresh and sweet. Do you want to buy some for the young masters and young ladies in residence to try?”
“Give me all of them.”
Housekeeper Feng nodded and smiled. “Your little peaches are the best in this area.”
With such a big customer, the young man quickly sold everything in front of him. Under the stunned gazes of the others, he directly lifted the burden on the side and left.
“That little peach over there. It’s not even two catties, yet it’s already 100 Wen?”
An old farmer who seemed to be a newcomer rubbed his eyes and looked at the young man who had just received the money. For a moment, he still did not believe it.
The so-called “little peach” was the local wild peach. Because it was small and tasteless, it was called “little peach.” It was a wild fruit. Although it could not be said that it was everywhere in the wild, one could find it if one looked carefully.
Unlike the peaches that had been tamed for a long time in the later generations, the peaches of the time were generally small and tasteless. Not to mention those that grew in the wild, even those planted especially by farmers, could not fetch a good price in the market.
Therefore, the old farmer in front of him was so surprised and even a little unconvinced.
“Don’t look down on Chen Housheng.”
On the side, some familiar fellow villagers introduced him, “Other people’s peaches naturally can not be sold at a high price, but Chen Housheng’s peaches are different.”
“In this area, Chen Housheng’s eyes are peerless. No matter what it is, when it comes to his eyes, he can pick out the best ones.
“He specially handpicked those peaches. Not only are they tender and white, but they also carry sweetness.”
“Then surely this young man has made a great fortune.”
The old farmer who had spoken earlier was a little envious when he heard this, but he was also curious. “But looking at his appearance, he doesn’t dress much better than us.”
“Sigh…”
On the side, another person sighed. At this moment, he continued, “Speaking of which, that young man is also a person with a hard life. I heard that he came from exile. Not long after he came here, his parents died, leaving him here alone.”
“But he is also a person who has lived up to his expectations. Not only was his eyesight good, but his hunting skills were extraordinary. Every few days, he will hunt down a few prey. He was regarded as the best hunter in this area.”
As he said this, he pointed to the spot where the young man was sitting in the distance. There was still some dried blood there.
“Do you see that blood? Chen Housheng was covered in injuries half a month ago. In the end, he killed a big wild boar from the forest. It weighed three hundred catties and was sold for a total of seven taels of silver…”
“Seven taels of silver?”
The eyes of some farmers who were not well-informed lit up. Even the pedestrians on the side of the road could not help but pause when they heard this number. They stopped to listen.
“Unfortunately, this young man is a kind person,”
Someone continued. There was deep emotion in his voice. “When this young man first came here, a few families felt sorry for him and gave him a few mouthfuls of food. Later on, there were problems in these families. This young man immediately went over and gave the little money he earned to prevent those families from selling their children.
“That’s fine, but in the past few years, there has been a disaster nearby. Many people sell their children, and even more, people live on the streets.
“This young man is too kind-hearted. He couldn’t stand it, so he took in some of them. Usually, he would ask them to do some minor tasks and give them food and drinks.”
“But then, some people used the young man’s kind-heartedness and left their children in his courtyard in the middle of the night. That young man couldn’t stand it, but he couldn’t bear to leave them alone. After a while, he took in more and more children, so naturally, he couldn’t be wealthy.”
The person finally sighed and said, “It’s also because these young people have the ability. If it were another person, he wouldn’t have been able to take care of those children long ago.”
Hearing this, the surrounding people were also full of sighs. When they thought of the young man sitting here with injuries all over his body, they suddenly felt a little pitiful.
This was also one of their few usual topics of conversation during their rest time. In this place, these people usually didn’t have much entertainment. They could only chat about the big and small matters around them to relieve their boredom.
Not long after, when the sun was slightly dark in the sky, the number of people parading the streets outside gradually increased. These people immediately scattered and sat in front of their stalls, hoping someone would buy something.
In the distance, Chen Housheng walked on the road with difficulty.
“After selling those few rabbits and adding that big wild boar from before, I have almost saved another ten taels of silver this month…”
As he walked on the road, he had a bitter expression. He felt the intense pain coming from the wound on his chest, and the resentment in his heart grew deeper and deeper.
“It’s been four years since I came to this world! When will these damn days end!”
Wearing straw sandals, he walked quickly on the road. His heart was filled with gloom.
He was originally an ordinary college student in China. He had just graduated and was preparing to search for all sorts of things, but something unexpected happened. When he woke up again, he had arrived in this world.
It had been four years since he transmigrated to this world, but he had accomplished almost nothing. He had lived this kind of life for four years.
He closed his eyes silently and suppressed the impetuous emotions in his heart. At this moment, a colorless pearl gradually bloomed and filled his mind.
This pearl did not have any color or texture. It looked as unremarkable as an ordinary stone. At this moment, a bit of white gas slowly wrapped around it, and the colorless pearl slowly occupied it, it turned into a pure white, and a faint red color slowly took shape in the middle, extremely dazzling.
The Nether Pearl. This was what had appeared in Arthur’s body after his death. It could be considered his only thing now and was also his greatest trump card and Goldfinger in this world.
Some transmigrators might feel suspicious about this, but Chen Housheng never did. If this thing belonged to him, it was naturally good for him. However, even if it belonged to someone else, his life would not be much different.
It meant it was useful if someone else tricked him of the pearl. And this would also mean that he has a certain degree of usefulness and that others would keep him alive.
A mortal could only live around a hundred years of life. Chen Housheng was willing to be used for his entire life if someone else could bring him great fortune.
“So, if anyone is considering it, hurry up and bring me a great fortune!”
He grumbled in his heart, and unknowingly, the anger in his heart lessened a little. After calming himself down, he once again felt what was contained within the pearl.
What was contained within was not anything else but a unique gift, luck. The so-called luck was the combination of a person’s fate, timing, and so on. In Chen Housheng’s original world, all of them were feudal superstitions.
However, after coming to this world, with the Nether Pearl’s existence, Chen Sheng could see his luck.
“Speaking of which, with luck currently contained within the Nether Pearl, if I choose to use it, I should be able to make a fortune and get rid of my current predicament in no time.”
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Chen Sheng’s face. “It’s a pity I haven’t gotten a good opportunity. If I consume all this luck now, I’ll finish it up. I might keep it and save it up for another chance.”
“However, based on the current progress, I still need to wait at least another year if I save up the energy for the next activation.”
Thinking of this, he sighed softly. Then, he raised his head and continued walking forward.
“I have endured the past four years. A year is nothing to me.”
