Chapter 27: Worries
Chapter 27: Worries
As Jiang Cheng walked back, a sense of worry crept into his heart.
If these people were to block his path one day, what should he do?
There's no doubt that if you walk by the river often enough, your shoes will get wet. Eventually, he would encounter them.
If they demanded money, should he give in or take direct action?
Taking direct action against these ruffians would be easy, but if he fought them, they would surely hold a grudge and inform their gang.
That would mean trouble from the Wild Wolf Gang.
Of course, it might not be a top-tier thug, maybe just a small-time leader, but even with a long knife, he'd still have some advantage.
The problem was that fighting them would undoubtedly create enmity with the Wild Wolf Gang, and they wouldn't ignore it.
How should he handle that situation? Jiang Cheng felt powerless at the thought.
Should he just give in and pay up? But if he did, it would be as if his stick technique training had been for nothing, as he'd still be vulnerable to their robberies.
"Damn this world," Jiang Cheng muttered to himself.
As he approached home, he quickly adjusted his mood, not wanting to reveal his concerns.
"Grandma, I'm back," he called out, still over ten meters from the door.
The old lady nodded repeatedly, and when Jiang Cheng drew near, she smiled and asked, "It's good that you're back. Did you have any trouble on the way?"
"No," Jiang Cheng shook his head with a smile, but his mind couldn't help but recall the previous incident.
"Little Cheng, you're back?" Chen Sao also came out of the house, smiling. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you come and eat with us?"
"No, Chen Sao," Jiang Cheng quickly replied. "By the way, in a couple of days, why don't you and Little Moon come over to my place for a meal?"
Business had been good these past few days, and he expected it to continue.
He wanted to do as Chen Sao had done a few days ago and invite them over for a feast.
But upon hearing this, Chen Sao's smile faded, and she spoke with a heavy heart, "Little Cheng, let's talk about this after the month's end."
"Sure," Jiang Cheng responded, deciding not to push the matter further.
After bidding farewell to Chen Sao, they entered the house, and the old lady locked the door.
"Little Cheng, how was business today?" she asked, a hint of tension in her voice.
"Today's sales were even better than yesterday's," Jiang Cheng replied as he parked his tricycle and unloaded the sweet potatoes from the cart, smiling. "I sold over ninety of them, earning more than five hundred yuan."
"Really?" The old lady's eyes widened at his words.
She had spent the entire day praying that Jiang Cheng would sell more sweet potatoes.
She knew the consequences if they couldn't gather the money they owed by month's end.
"Of course," Jiang Cheng said, pulling out a stack of cash from his left pocket.
Most of it was in ten and twenty yuan bills.
He then pulled out a handful of change from his right pocket, a mix of coins and small-denomination bills, mostly one, two, and five yuan.
"There should be over three hundred yuan here. I bought eighty jin of sweet potatoes with the rest of the money," Jiang Cheng explained with a smile.
At this rate, he would surely save up three thousand yuan by month's end.
As long as there were no setbacks.
"Let me count it," the old lady said, her eyes lighting up as she sat on a stool and began counting.
Jiang Cheng walked to the side and poured himself a cup of water, quietly observing without disturbing anyone.
After a while, the old lady smiled, "Three hundred and thirty-two, Xiao Cheng, is this your earnings for the day?"
"Yes," Jiang Cheng replied.
Jiang Cheng gestured towards the sweet potatoes on the ground.
"After selling these tomorrow, you'll have this much money again."
The old lady's eyes lit up with joy and relief.
"I just hope we can earn this much every day from now on."
"This is nothing."
Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Grandma, after some time, I plan to get two buckets, and then the earnings will double."
The old lady's mouth dropped in surprise.
Two buckets? Wouldn't that mean earning six or seven hundred a day?
In a month of thirty days, that would be twenty thousand?
Note that these are all pure profits, already deducting the cost of raw sweet potatoes and charcoal.
With a monthly income of twenty thousand, she dared not even imagine what life would be like.
At this thought, the old lady smiled, unable to close her mouth.
However, she knew she was fantasizing, and advised, "Xiao Cheng, let's talk about this later. Right now, earning this much already makes me content. As long as you keep it up, we can pay off the debts by the end of the month."
"After this month, if we can still earn this much, we'll buy some good food and invite Chen Sao and the others over for a meal. Over the years, they've always taken care of us, and if our lives improve, we must not forget them."
"Don't worry, Grandma, I won't forget." Jiang Cheng quickly assured her.
His original self had always treated Chen Sao and the others like family.
Although he hadn't been in this world for long, he could tell they genuinely cared for him.
No matter the time, it's not easy to have one or two people who truly care for you, and he would never forget them.
"Mhm, you must be hungry. Sit down and eat. Take this money and keep it safe," the old lady said, getting up and heading towards the stove.
Jiang Cheng acknowledged and collected the money, walking to the bedside and placing it in a box.
In the box, there were also over two hundred, the earnings from yesterday, adding up to nearly six hundred with the money in his hands.
He had over two hundred more on his person, taken from those people, an 'ill-gotten' gain, best not to have it here.
It was better to keep it on him, just in case.
The food on the table was the same as yesterday, except for the pork, which would be finished today.
Jiang Cheng sighed inwardly.
Having meat every day was still a luxury for him at the moment. He'd think about it next month.
He picked up a slice of meat and placed it in the old lady's bowl.
"No need."
The old lady reacted and quickly tried to put it in Jiang Cheng's bowl.
"Grandma, you don't need to eat this. You're still growing, so eat more."
"Grandma, we'll be rich soon. Can't you stop being so stingy with yourself? You saw the money just now; three hundred yuan can buy ten pounds of meat, enough to stuff yourself."
The old lady was taken aback by Jiang Cheng's words, which made sense.
In the moment she was lost in thought, Jiang Cheng added a few more slices to her bowl.
After dinner, they cleaned up the sweet potatoes, and about an hour later, Jiang Cheng started practicing stick techniques.
The old lady watched from the side, and compared to the previous times, her eyes showed much less worry.
After all, Jiang Cheng had been practicing with the stick for several days without incident, so her worries had subsided.
What made her even happier was that in the past few days, Jiang Cheng's earnings from selling roasted sweet potatoes had been increasing daily, and good days were finally coming.
(End of Chapter)
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