Yu Kingdom.
Qing Province, Mu City.
The year's coming to an end.
On East Street, people are hustling and bustling.
On both sides of the street, people are selling vegetables, steamed buns, tofu, meat, noodles—shops everywhere.
Some peddlers are carrying goods on their shoulders, some selling candied hawthorn skewers.
It's lively as hell.
On the left side of the street, in front of a modest breakfast shop, hangs a sign: "Sister Zhen's Noodle House."
Inside, two or three customers are sitting and eating noodles.
"Hello, what would you like to eat? I've got plain noodles, egg noodles..."
A woman around twenty-three or twenty-four, pretty face, generous up top, and full of energy—Sister Zhen the owner—was cheerfully greeting customers while cooking noodles.
In the crowd, a skinny teenager about sixteen or seventeen, clothes washed pale, face sickly, hurried toward West Street.
"Chang'sheng, where are you going?"
Sister Zhen's sharp eyes caught him instantly, so she called out.
"Sister Zhen, I'm off to get some medicine."
The boy stopped and turned to reply.
"Come inside and sit down, have a bowl of noodles first."
Sister Zhen set down her noodle strainer and eagerly called out.
"No thanks, Sister Zhen, I already ate."
Lin Chang'sheng shook his head. A bowl of noodles cost four copper coins; he planned to pick up his medicine and cook some coarse grains back home.
He's been here over a month now since he crossed over.
His parents died, left him three tiled rooms and a little bit of savings.
But this body is weak as hell, always breathless and sickly. That little savings is almost gone; even after seeing plenty of physicians, no one knows what's wrong. He still can't do any jobs, and nobody wants to hire him anyway. To save money, he always cooks at home.
Waking up in a sickly body—Lin Chang'sheng was bummed about that at first.
But.
As time went by, he started to accept it. Just being alive in a healthy body would be enough. If he died again, he doubted he'd get a third chance at this.
"Well, in that case, have some more! On the house—noodles are already cooked, would be a waste otherwise!"
Sister Zhen rushed out, grabbed his hand, and tried to drag him inside.
"Uh... I already eat here a lot, kinda feels bad, you know..."
Lin Chang'sheng scratched his head, feeling awkward. He's eaten plenty of her noodles—after all, she runs a small shop, life's not easy either.
"What are you being polite for?"
Sister Zhen pulled him into the shop, sat him down against the wall, and went to fetch noodles.
"Chang'sheng, here you go, noodles are done."
Soon enough, Sister Zhen brought over a steaming bowl of plain noodles—milky soup, green onions, a few pieces of greens, and even a braised egg on top.
"Sister Zhen, you even gave me an extra braised egg..."
Lin Chang'sheng poked at the noodles with his chopsticks and spoke up.
"That's my treat. You've helped me out plenty of times."
Sister Zhen looked at him and smiled faintly.
"Thanks, Sister Zhen."
Lin Chang'sheng felt a warmth in his heart.
Actually.
Sister Zhen's had it rough too. Her husband died the year before last; now she's raising a kid and her mother-in-law by herself, running this noodle shop to get by. This past month, whenever she saw him, she'd drag him in to eat, always finding some excuse to treat him.
As for helping out—
All Lin Chang'sheng did was look after Yan Zhen's kid for a few days.
"Sister Zhen, I'm done eating."
Lin Chang'sheng finished the noodles in a few bites and stood up to tell her.
"Chang'sheng, come help me out in the shop tomorrow. I can't handle the noodle business alone."
Sister Zhen took a look at him and said.
"Uh..."
Lin Chang'sheng understood. He knew his situation. Ever since he crossed over, this body's been sick—over a month of seeing physicians and still no improvement. No employer wants him. If he works at the noodle shop, Sister Zhen would probably end up looking after him instead.
"Don't hesitate, Chang'sheng. Just come in early tomorrow!"
Sister Zhen saw him wavering and waved her hand.
"Thanks a lot, Sister Zhen!"
Lin Chang'sheng nodded, not being stubborn anymore.
In his current state, he really needs a job—just to keep himself fed and alive, for now.
He said goodbye to Sister Zhen and had just left the noodle shop when three punks walked straight toward him. All had eagles tattooed on their chests. The leader—buckteeth, upturned nose, looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight—spotted Lin Chang'sheng and spoke: "Lin Chang'sheng, end of the month, time to pay up."
Lin Chang'sheng knew the bucktoothed guy was Tie Yang from the Cyan Snake Gang in Mu City—he ran the protection racket on this street.
"Okay."
Lin Chang'sheng dug around in his pocket and handed over two copper coins.
The Cyan Snake Gang ruled East Street in Mu City. Every month, all the residents, shopkeepers, street vendors, buskers—they all had to cough up protection money, amount varying by person.
"Boss says the monthly silver went up this month."
"You owe one more copper."
Tie Yang raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay."
Without changing expression, Lin Chang'sheng fished out another copper and handed it over.
The last bit of money left from his dead parents had mostly gone into his medical bills—over a month, the sickness stayed, the money didn't.
Not pay up?
Yeah, right. The Cyan Snake Gang doesn't play nice. Lin Chang'sheng had heard that last month a young guy refused to pay, thinking he was tough—three days later, they found him drowned in the river. Another busker got his ribs broken for forking over the coins too slow.
He was weak as a kitten, just trying to survive in this world. He had no choice but to bow his head for now.
"You sure are quick with it!"
"Three Wen next month, too! Don't forget!"
Tie Yang slapped Lin Chang'sheng on the shoulder, nodded in satisfaction, then went door to door collecting protection money.
"Huh? What's this?"
"A...golden finger?"
All of a sudden, Lin Chang'sheng saw something appear at the edge of his vision—a faint, semi-transparent screen, glowing a pale white.
Feeling a little excited, Lin Chang'sheng hurried back to his three-room house, shut the door tight, and sat on the bed. As soon as he focused, that pale blue panel popped up before him again.