"Uncle Fugui?"
Yang Zhen looked back and saw a tall and imposing young man standing behind her. It was Chen Fugui whom she had met a month ago.
Chen Fugui handed over the spirit drop with a smile, took the fish packed in a wooden box from the fishmonger, and patted Yang Zhen on the shoulder:
"Little Shitou, I didn't expect to see you in Fangshi. Come on, come out and say a few words to uncle."
This was in Fangshi, and Yang Zhen was not worried that Chen Fugui would do anything detrimental to him.
The last time the two met, although they were not very friendly at first, it was resolved later. He now has a grudge against the Zhu family. Chen Fugui was just an unimportant son-in-law of the Zhu family, and he was in the county when the incident occurred and did not participate in the pursuit of the Jin family. Yang Zhen didn't have much dislike for him.
Besides, if Chen Fugui hadn't compensated him with some spiritual drops, he still doesn't know when he would have discovered the secret of the stone space! Without the help of Stone Space Grass, he might not have been able to survive that soul test.
In this way, Chen Fugui is considered his nobleman.
"Why did you buy two demon rats? You can't eat these by yourself, right?"
Chen Fugui asked casually, taking the two iron cages about the same size as Yang Zhen and throwing the wooden box to him.
"I'm just a kid, not a monk." Yang Zhen shook her head. Naturally, he wouldn't tell the truth.
"That's right, you still have two years! Your mother is a monk, and you will probably have spiritual roots by then." Chen Fugui patted Yang Zhen's head affectionately.
"I hope so."
"Hey, speaking of your mother, she is also a miserable person." Chen Fugui lamented: "I only found out later that something happened to your mother. I really didn't expect it... By the way, your mother's funeral affairs have been taken care of. ?"
"Yes," Yang Zhen replied hesitantly: "Everything has been arranged and he will be buried tomorrow."
"Tomorrow..." Chen Fugui counted his fingers and calculated: "Tomorrow is the harvest season. It is appropriate to build the tomb, move the coffin, erect the monument, and move the tomb to pay tribute. Well, this day is quite suitable."
"As for the tomb site, where should I choose it?"
"Next to my father's grave in Zhu's hometown."
"Hey! Let's rest in peace."
Looking at the poor child in front of him who had lost his father and just lost his mother, Chen Fugui couldn't help but feel sympathy. He was actually a little afraid of Yang Zhen, especially when he heard that the Zhao family personally took him to the Zhu family to ask for a large sum of spiritual stones. He felt more and more that Yang Zhen was hiding in the Taoist temple at that time, just to catch the Zhu family. people, and then wantonly blackmailed them. But they didn't catch anyone, so they just came to the door and forced them to do it. It can be seen how domineering the Zhao family is.
In this way, Yang Zhen only asked him for a mere thirty spiritual drops, which was really a big deal. Otherwise, if he was really caught by the Zhao family, with his small body, he would not be able to withstand a few twists and turns!
"Then you have to rush to Zhujiajia tonight, right?" He then asked.
"No need, the Zhao family will take me there early tomorrow morning." Yang Zhen replied nonchalantly.
Chen Fugui was even more surprised. If he wanted to reach Zhu's hometown early tomorrow morning, the only way would be for the monks to take him there with flying swords or flying boats. No matter which one it is, if monks can be dispatched to help him, this baby's status in the Zhao family is not low!
He no longer dared to offend the child in front of him. But thinking of his purpose, he calmed down and continued:
"In that case, I will go there tonight and say goodbye to my old friend tomorrow."
"Um."
"I was there when your father was buried three years ago. You were so tall then." He pointed to Yang Zhen's shoulder, as if remembering the past:
"You and your father have such a good relationship. At that time, you were lying on your father's coffin and refused to come down. Your mother was crying and shouting and couldn't pull you down. It was your uncle who took you down!"
After saying that, he turned his head and looked at Yang Zhen with narrowed eyes.
Yang Zhen was a little moved as she imagined the scene at that time, but said nothing.
"You also swore in front of your father's grave that you would get the top score in the exam and let your father rest in peace..."
I was only five or six years old at that time, so I knew I would take the top prize? Yang Zhen frowned slightly.
"then……"
"Uncle Fugui," Yang Zhen interrupted Chen Fugui's sigh: "I went to my grandma's house the day before yesterday, and Aunt Fu said that you came here twice more. What happened between you and grandma, can you tell me? Maybe I can use my strength here!"
He didn't want to talk about his family's past anymore, so he simply brought up this incident to change the subject.
"This..." Chen Fugui's eyes lit up. Yang Zhen's suggestion was not unreasonable. The old lady had a stubborn temper and other people's words didn't work, but this child might be useful.
"That's because Uncle Fugui feels sorry for your grandma." He sighed and told the whole story.
…
It turns out that the ancestors of the Chen family were blacksmiths, and their ancestors once fought with Taizu of the Xu Kingdom. After a battle, this old ancestor dug out a weapon from the enemy's corpse. He realized that this was a treasure of the Immortal family, so he hid it privately. Later, he regarded it as a family heirloom and passed it down.
In Chen Fugui's grandfather's generation, he gave birth to two sons. The eldest son is Chen Fugui's father, because he liked reading since he was a child, and later he became a scholar. So the grandfather passed on the identity of the craftsman to his second son, Grandma Chen's husband. As compensation, the family heirloom was also given to his second son.
By the time Chen Fugui grew up, the eldest and second child had passed away, and Chen Fugui's mother had also passed away. Grandma Chen's family were his only remaining relatives in the world.
Last year, the Zhu family publicly sought a bride for a girl from the family, and the requirement was that she must be a monk. This is also a common method used by some big families to recruit casual cultivators and enhance their family strength. Chen Fugui naturally applied for the job. It's a pity that although he has a good appearance, his qualifications and cultivation are very average, so the possibility of winning is not high.
"The life of a casual cultivator is very difficult," Chen Fugui said: "Either you risk going to the wilderness to hunt monsters and search for spiritual herbs; or you manage spiritual fields and medicine gardens for some cultivating families and do part-time work. Every month It’s hard to even maintain your own cultivation with the few spiritual stones you’ve earned, and it’s even harder to go further.”
"Uncle, he is almost thirty in a blink of an eye, and his cultivation has been stuck at the third level of Qi training. If he continues like this, there will be no hope in this life. I had no choice, so I found your grandma and wanted to use the family heirloom as a betrothal gift to increase my wealth. The odds of winning..."
"But your grandma didn't agree, so I, I thought of a way to take it out myself and gave it to the Zhu family, and then I married a woman from their family..."
…
"What exactly is your heirloom?" Yang Zhen asked curiously.
"It's a dagger."
"Is it expensive?"
"It's not expensive, it looks ordinary. I've seen it with someone. It's about the same sharpness as a first-order mid-grade magic weapon. The price is only thirty spiritual stones at most."
"Uncle Fugui," Yang Zhen suggested: "To untie the bell, you must tie the bell. The conflict between you and grandma lies in this magical artifact. It is not a valuable thing, and the Zhu family will not value it too much. In this case , why don’t you redeem it from the Zhu family and return it to grandma, wouldn’t the matter be solved?”
"I also want to redeem it, but it's thirty spirit stones, not thirty spirit drops!" Chen Fugui began to complain: "Don't look at the Zhu family who sent me to the county town to manage a small shop, but every day I The monthly salary is only five spirit stones! The county is not as good as Zhu's hometown. The monks there can borrow the Zhu family's own spiritual veins to practice, and only need to spend a few spirit stones. Here, I have to rent your Zhao family's cave to practice. For this fee, I have to spend three or four spiritual stones every month. I also have to buy elixirs, spiritual materials, and talismans. Sometimes the magical instruments are broken and have to be repaired. Even if I get some extra compensation in the store, it is just enough for me. Expenses. I can only save one spiritual stone every month if I work hard. It will take at least three years to save enough money!"
What Chen Fugui said is true. For example, he is now at the middle level of Qi training. The cave he rents requires twenty spirit drops per day. The monthly rent is usually 30% off, which is almost four spirit stones.
By the way, most of the caves in the county are in Baiyun Mountain, and most of them belong to the Zhao family. This is also an important source of income for the Zhao family here in the county. After all, when it comes to the number of casual cultivators, there are still many here in the county.
Yang Zhen was speechless, and he had no good solution. After thinking for a while, he took out a spirit stone:
"This is what's left over from the spiritual materials I bought these days. Uncle, you can take it first. It's also considered as my repayment of the spiritual drops I lent you last time."
"Hey, this is no good. Take it back quickly, why would uncle want your child's money!" Chen Fugui refused to accept it. He is now determined to befriend Yang Zhen, so where can he collect his spirit stones?
The two of them walked and chatted, and soon arrived at the door of Zhao's house. Chen Fugui handed the mouse cage to Yang Zhen, said goodbye to him and left. Yang Zhen was naturally grateful for his support along the way.
The little maid Caisi has been following behind.
…
When they arrived at Zhu Mansion, Yang Zhen handed the rat cage to Zhao Gui, who came after hearing the news, and asked him to help deal with it. He only wants twenty-five pounds of rat meat, and any more will be given to him. Zhao Gui was naturally happy, as monster meat was a good thing for these low-level monks. These two demon rats can process nearly forty kilograms of rat meat, deducting the amount given to Yang Zhen, he can get almost ten kilograms, which is equivalent to a multi-spirit stone. For him, who only had three or four spiritual stones per month, this was nothing more than a small fortune.
When they returned to Shuihengyuan, it was almost midnight, and Zhao Yueer had already finished practicing his swordsmanship and had breakfast. Yang Zhen gave her the candied haws, which was just right for dessert after the meal. The little girl was so happy that her eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
Yang Zhen and Cai Si hurriedly finished their breakfast and then followed Zhao Yue'er and Cai Yun towards the school.
It's time for class now.
PS: Later it turns to the daily life of the Zhao family, so after thinking about it, I will break it here today.
