Chapter 9: Climbing the Mountain Leads to Tigers
Chapter 9: Climbing the Mountain Leads to Tigers
Jiang Cheng locked his tricycle and followed the crowd, arriving at the entrance of the shop.
As usual, the burly man at the entrance glared at him with intense eyes.
Jiang Cheng, like others, quickly lowered his head, pretending nothing had happened.
After all, when one is weak, they must assess the situation; they can't stare back like those overpowered protagonists in novels.
The shop was spacious, covering an area of over a hundred square meters.
It resembled a small supermarket.
The shelves, half the height of a person, were divided into small compartments, filled with various types of food.
Rice, millet, flour, red beans, green beans, corn, sesame, and more—everything one could need.
Below each item was a price tag.
Meanwhile, shop assistants patrolled the store, preventing theft or disturbances.
Jiang Cheng's gaze fell upon the rice.
There wasn't much rice left at home, and before his journey, Grandma had asked him to buy ten or so pounds of it.
"Three and a half yuan per pound?"
Seeing the price, Jiang Cheng's pupils dilated slightly.
It was more than three times the price from his original world.
And according to his original body's memory, before the arrival of the Horned People, rice was even cheaper, costing less than half a yuan per pound.
That was a time of great material abundance.
Alas, it was now in the past.
Perhaps only those on planets still controlled by the Flame Nation enjoyed such a life, and for wanderers, merely surviving was a stroke of luck.
Jiang Cheng walked over, picked up a bag, and weighed out around ten pounds of rice.
Then, he moved on to the sweet potatoes.
Fresh sweet potatoes weren't cheap either, and there were several varieties.
The cheapest was three yuan per pound, and the most expensive was a type called 'Smoke Potato', priced at twelve yuan per pound.
Almost all the sweet potato vendors on the street used the cheapest kind, not because they couldn't afford the expensive ones, but because those selling sweet potatoes wouldn't buy such pricey ones.
Jiang Cheng took a large bag and started selecting sweet potatoes.
His proficiency in roasting sweet potatoes had reached the Mastery level, and he had his own insights for choosing sweet potatoes with good appearances.
Fresh, smooth skin, oval shape, and not too big in size.
Sweet potatoes were sold by the piece, six yuan each, so bigger ones would mean less profit, but they couldn't be too small either; no one was a fool.
So, a weight of six to seven liang was just right.
From time to time, shop assistants passed by, glanced at Jiang Cheng, and moved on.
After selecting, Jiang Cheng bought over a hundred pounds of fresh sweet potatoes, along with ten pounds of rice, for a total of around 350 yuan. Almost all the money he earned from roasting sweet potatoes in the past few days was spent.
These over a hundred pounds of sweet potatoes would be sold in about three days, and fresh sweet potatoes could only be kept for about three days. Any longer, and they wouldn't taste good when roasted.
At that time, he would come to buy the next batch.
This was the original body's routine for over a decade.
A kind shop assistant helped Jiang Cheng carry the bags of sweet potatoes to his tricycle.
"Thank you."
Jiang Cheng thanked the man in front of him.
The man shook his head and turned to walk back into the store.
His expression was cold, but his actions were warm-hearted.
Jiang Cheng opened the iron bucket, which was where the charcoal was lit for roasting. Since he wasn't roasting now, he could put the sweet potatoes inside.
Of course, space was limited.
Two or three bags still had to be kept outside.
For safety, he covered the sweet potatoes with the clothes he brought, even though this seemed to suggest that there was something valuable inside.
But it was better than leaving them uncovered.
"It's just..."
Jiang Cheng's mind surfaced with a fragment of his original body's memory.
He hoped that this time, luck would be on his side, and he wouldn't run into those guys.
Along the way, he indeed attracted many curious glances.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.
Until he was halfway there, two voices called out from behind.
"Hey, kid, stop!"
"Stop! Can you hear me?!"
Jiang Cheng instinctively felt that these voices were directed at him.
So he quickened his pace.
Two people behind him, they quickly ran up.
Jiang Cheng had no choice but to turn around. Two figures were already within two meters of him.
The leader was even taller than Jiang Cheng by a head, with a pair of triangular eyes that made one feel very uncomfortable.
The other one was shorter, with a buzzcut, and his eyes seemed glued to the tricycle behind him.
"Hey, kid, didn't you hear me calling you? Why are you running?"
The tall man's face darkened.
Jiang Cheng's heart immediately began to race.
In the Original Body's Memory, the daytime in the slums wasn't entirely safe, and there was a small chance of robbery.
However, the frequency and intensity were much lighter compared to the nights.
And in this area, there were two or three groups who specifically waited for the Original Body to return from buying fresh sweet potatoes, demanding money.
The Original Body often changed routes and even took detours to buy sweet potatoes on another street, hoping to avoid them. But if luck wasn't on his side and he encountered such an incident, he could only give in.
His luck wasn't great, as he encountered this on his first trip to stock up.
"Sorry, I really didn't hear you. Is there something I can help you with?" Jiang Cheng feigned ignorance.
"Still pretending, huh?"
The tall man sneered, "Do you think you can just pretend you don't know us and walk away?"
The commotion quickly caught the attention of those around.
Many people looked over, whispering among themselves.
"Isn't that Old Li's son? What's he doing?"
"Is he trying to rob someone?"
"This kid, I've heard that he goes out at night to rob others, but I never believed it. I can't believe it's true."
"It's a good thing Old Li passed away early. Otherwise, if he saw this, he would be furious."
Most people in the slums were simple folks. Even if they dared not speak up, they deeply despised such acts.
Jiang Cheng's body trembled as he felt the surge of adrenaline from the tension.
"What do you want?"
"What do we want?"
The buzzcut man cackled, "We're a bit tight on money, can't even afford a meal. We're thinking of borrowing some money from you, or maybe you could give us a few dozen pounds of sweet potatoes."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's anger grew.
A few dozen pounds of sweet potatoes?
They really had the nerve to ask for this much?
Unfortunately, if his Short Stick Proficiency had reached the Skilled or Mastery level, he could take them on with a single strike, unafraid of facing two opponents.
But he was only at the Beginner Level.
Taking a few deep breaths, he suppressed the anger in his heart.
Jiang Cheng slowly spoke, "I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me either. And a few days ago, I had a high fever and went to a clinic, racking up quite a debt. These sweet potatoes are meant to pay off that debt. But if you're truly starving, I can give you a few pounds to fill your stomachs."
He was truly short on money right now.
Not only did he have to pay the Stall Fee and Protection Fee to the Wild Wolf Gang for Chen Sao's side, but he also had to settle the debt for the Original Body's capture.
So every time the Original Body was caught, he would pay a few hundred yuan to avoid trouble. But Jiang Cheng couldn't do that, nor did he have the means.
"A few pounds?"
The buzzcut man's voice suddenly rose, his expression clearly showing he hadn't misheard.
"Do you think we're beggars? A few pounds of sweet potatoes, and you expect us to say thank you?"
After saying this, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a spring-loaded dagger, staring menacingly at Jiang Cheng.
He decided to extort a hefty sum from this kid. This guy had gotten bolder after a few days, and his audacity had grown to the point of not showing them any respect.
The crowd around was scared off by this scene.
Some wanted to help, but they lived here with their families. What if they faced retaliation later?
Jiang Cheng's gaze slightly intensified.
He reached behind his back, pulling out a short stick as long as his arm, holding it in front of him. "So, you're determined to rob me?"
(End of Chapter)
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