Early that morning, Su Chen had no idea that a great opportunity was about to fall into his lap; instead, he acted as if he were facing a formidable enemy, incredibly tense.
It was a long story.
Ever since they reunited with their relative, the Su family had essentially struck it rich. However, once the initial surprise faded, it was replaced by confusion and helplessness—they didn't know what to do with themselves.
Should they continue setting up fortune-telling stalls and loitering on the streets?
They were afraid of embarrassing their eldest niece and older cousin, making her a laughingstock to others.
That was absolutely out of the question!
But what else could they do? Half-Immortal Su, the nominal head of the family, couldn't think of anything for the time being. Every day, he just holed up at home, eating, drinking, and learning that blasted foreign gibberish... He was bored to death.
And so, he decided to return to his old stomping grounds in glory to show off a little. Of course, his official excuse was that he couldn't bear to part with his neighbors in the crowded courtyard and his former business rivals.
As for why he brought Su Chen along?
It was simple. His son, Su Chen, was a good fighter and had quite a few friends and buddies in that area. Half-Immortal Su knew the temperament of his old acquaintances all too well and was afraid of being thrown into a sack and beaten up after showing off.
Naturally, he had to bring Su Chen.
............
"You guys have no idea how hard English is to learn. It's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo every day, and they even care about pronunciation. Do you know what aristocratic pronunciation is?"
Half-Immortal Su asked the people around him deliberately, his head held high.
Everyone shook their heads.
"It's a big deal. Foreigners are just as particular about how they speak as we are. Just like how we in Peiping were born at the foot of the Emperor, the Peiping dialect is naturally more noble than the rustic dialects of other country towns."
"Those foreign devils are even more snobbish."
"Take the teacher my eldest niece hired for our family, for instance. He lived abroad and dealt with foreign aristocrats every day. He told us that the way nobles speak sounds completely different from the common folk."
"You can tell the difference the moment you hear it."
"I even asked him, since they all live in the same city, how could the nobles and the commoners have different accents? Do you know what Teacher Shang said?"
At this point, he deliberately paused for a long time, shooting glances at the surrounding neighbors...
Most people couldn't stand his smug, nouveau-riche attitude.
They couldn't be bothered to respond.
However, there were still some who were willing to humor Half-Immortal Su—foreign matters sounded novel, and it would make for good conversation fodder later, wouldn't it?
"What's the reason? Hurry up and tell us."
"Stop keeping us in suspense."
"..."
Having had his fill of flattery and boos, Half-Immortal Su deliberately cleared his throat twice. The neighbors thought he was finally going to speak, but instead, he smacked his lips and said:
"I seem to be a bit thirsty. My throat is dry. If only I had a cup of hot tea to soothe it..."
Upon hearing this, the crowd instantly erupted in an uproar.
"Stop putting on airs! When you used to tell fortunes, you would talk for over two hours straight to con people. Why wasn't your mouth dry then?"
"He's forgotten his roots."
Half-Immortal Su coming back to show off after living a good life was already annoying enough, and many people were holding back their anger. Seeing him stringing them along like this, they were almost ready to get physical.
"Watch your mouths." Su Chen, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. He took a few steps forward, his cold, dark eyes sweeping across the crowd, and said without batting an eye:
"My dad came here out of the goodness of his heart to broaden your horizons. The storytellers in the teahouses not only need tea, but they also demand copper coins as tips before they're willing to speak."
"What's a little hot tea?"
"You guys are too stingy!"
He said these words so fluently and righteously that quite a few people were actually taken in. It seemed to make sense. Half-Immortal Su's attitude was obnoxious, but he was genuinely sharing things with them that they had never had access to before—
Bah, this guy was just here to show off.
Unfortunately, those who wanted to retort saw Su Chen's threatening glare, remembered his past record of fighting ten people at once, and noticed the few thugs shaking their legs and standing with arms akimbo by the corner of the wall.
They chickened out... Better to swallow their anger for a moment. Why bother arguing with people like the Su family?
Just look at Half-Immortal Su, acting like a dog that can't hold down two ounces of sesame oil.
He simply didn't have the face of someone who would stay rich for long!
At this moment, Old Man Zhao, who had been listening in the crowd for quite a while, suddenly spoke up with malicious intent:
"Half-Immortal Su, you say your niece treats you well? I heard from my son that your niece bought a huge plot of land and is preparing to build houses and purchase supplies."
"Such a massive project is full of profit, and many big merchants in the city are fighting over it."
"Since the wealth shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields, didn't your niece give you and your son some work to do? If she really did, you should help out us poor neighbors too!"
Old Man Zhao's son was considered successful in this area. He worked for foreign merchants, was reportedly highly trusted, and earned twelve and a half dollars a month. Everyone praised him.
When the neighbors educated their children, they would all say that having half the success of Brother Zhao in the future would be enough.
Oh, right, the negative example was Su Chen...
In short, they felt that since Old Man Zhao's information came from his son, it was highly credible.
The crowd began to boil like a pot of hot water.
"Would the Su family's eldest niece really let Half-Immortal Su and his son handle things? That's impossible, right?"
The person speaking still harbored doubts.
Being relatives was one thing, but trust was another. Given the character and abilities of Half-Immortal Su and his son, could Su Ning really feel at ease handing matters over to them?
"Why is it impossible? They're blood relatives, a family connected by broken bones and sinews. How could there be benefits without sharing a piece with the family?"
When it came to their own interests, few could think calmly. Soon enough, someone retorted and then looked eagerly at Half-Immortal Su and his son:
"Half-Immortal Su, didn't you always say that your family's roots of wealth and nobility were endless and that you would strike it rich sooner or later? Well, the time has come."
"By the way, what big errand did Miss Su entrust to you?"
"Could you... arrange for us to get in?"
"Yeah, we promise not to slack off, and we won't ask for a single extra penny. The neighbors who were chosen to do odd jobs at the funeral before didn't make a single mistake either."
Seeing that Half-Immortal Su remained silent for a long time, the crowd grew anxious. Thinking that they hadn't offered enough benefits, they gritted their teeth and made a promise: if they could get work, they were willing to offer twenty percent of their wages to Half-Immortal Su as a tribute.
Still no reaction.
Someone slapped their own face, which instantly turned red and swollen. His eyes also turned red, not from pain, but from bitterness—
"I was blind to have offended you in the past. This slap is my apology. If it's not enough, ten or twenty more are at your disposal."
One after another, the sound of slapping rang out.
Dozens, even hundreds of eyes fell upon Half-Immortal Su and Su Chen. It wasn't hatred or disgust, but apprehension, expectation, and the hope of survival.
"...Please give us a way to live."
Half-Immortal Su's scalp tingled from all the staring. Of course he knew about Su Ning wanting to buy land and build a mansion. When the Guan family came to offer a humble apology, he had happily spent the whole night telling fortunes.
Every fortune he told was highly auspicious.
He never expected that it would be inauspicious for him. His eldest niece had never once mentioned letting them handle the errands!
Out of the corner of his eye, Half-Immortal Su caught Old Man Zhao snickering. Anger welled up in his heart, and he almost lost his composure and lashed out. But glancing at the situation, he knew that if he let these people's hopes be dashed...
He and his son might not make it out of here in one piece today!
So, he forced a laugh and said:
"Well, my eldest niece is rich, so buying land and building a mansion is indeed happening. However, some things aren't that simple. As for exactly why it's not simple, let me explain it to you in detail............"
Over here, Su Chen gave a hand signal to his companions and silently lowered his head to wrap a strip of cloth around his hands.
When the fight broke out later, it would absorb the blood.
His hands wouldn't slip.
A few companions approached quietly. The muscles on Su Chen's body secretly tensed up, instantly aiming at the gaps in the crowd, ready to break out with his unreliable old man.
Just then, Old Man Zhao suddenly shouted:
"Half-Immortal Su, you're not being fair. Everyone is begging you like this, and you still won't give a straight answer. Could it be that you don't want to agree at all and are just deliberately playing with us?"
The crowd immediately became restless.
Suspicious gazes were cast towards the Su father and son. Because they wanted to know the answer, the encirclement unwittingly tightened even more.
"There's no deep hatred like that, it shouldn't be to that extent, right?"
"Yeah, will it work or not? Half-Immortal, say something."
Say, say, say, say my ass!
Could he say that he simply didn't have the ability to plant people?
Half-Immortal Su cursed Old Man Zhao's ancestors to the eighteenth generation, deciding that if he could go back, he would do ten rituals a day to curse his whole family!
At this critical moment.
A person hurriedly ran over from the intersection:
"Finally found you." The newcomer wiped the sweat from his forehead and said breathlessly to Half-Immortal Su and the others:
"Quick, the Miss is waiting to see you." He added with a tone of extreme envy: "You can't imagine what a great thing it is."
"It must be Miss Su wanting to instruct them on some things for the job." The neighbors answered first, the hope in their eyes growing even stronger, while their faint suspicions completely disappeared.
The newcomer looked around in astonishment, only then realizing that they were surrounded by people, and said in disbelief:
"How did you know?"
"Alright, we can't let cousin wait too long." Su Chen relaxed his whole body, casually patted Half-Immortal Su's shoulder, and said with a smile:
"Let's go."
"Right, right, we can't let my eldest niece wait."
Half-Immortal Su reacted quickly, making a show of leaving with his son. After taking two steps, he turned back and said arrogantly: "I've noted your matters down, wait for news first... By the way, a twenty percent share?"
"Understood, we understand."
"Just rest assured."
The crowd responded cheerfully, not noticing that Old Man Zhao was dumbstruck. How could this be? Was there something wrong with that Su Ning's brain? Helping out relatives shouldn't be done like this!
In an instant, he felt all the hairs on his body stand on end.
He looked up but found nothing... He pulled his clothes tighter and hunched over to go home. Maybe the cold wind had gotten into his collar.
Su Chen faintly withdrew his gaze and tied the binding tape on his hands even tighter...
