Misty Rain of the Old Times

Following the route he remembered, Chen Xuan arrived at an inn called Yungui before dark. He was brought here by housekeeper He to stay for one night, and then went to Gao's house.

Humans are very strange creatures. After a period of time, they always want to hold on to some of the past. Chen Xuan is no exception.

This inn is probably one of the best in Jinxia County. It is located in a prosperous area facing the street. There is a four-story dining building in the front, and there is an accommodation building and a separate courtyard in the back.

"Shopkeeper, are there any rooms available?" Chen Xuan came forward and asked.

The clever waiter immediately stepped forward and greeted him attentively, "Yes, sir, please come in. How can you not take care of yourself? What if you get sick from being caught in the rain? Please come in quickly. I will arrange a room for you to take a shower and change clothes."

As one of the best inns in Jinxia County, the service attitude is really comfortable.

After taking off the gift, Chen Xuan handed the reins to another waiter who came forward and said, "Please help me take it down and feed it well." Then he turned around and said, "It's nothing, just a little wind and rain. I've been here before. I wonder if the Caixia Courtyard is still empty?"

That was the separate courtyard where he used to live, and he wanted to revisit it.

This inn has a separate courtyard, suites, single rooms, and dormitories, and the prices are naturally different.

The waiter, who was helping Chen Xuan with his luggage, was embarrassed when he heard the instructions: "Please let me know, sir, Caixia Courtyard is already occupied. It's the best time to visit the scenery, so all the courtyards are occupied. What do you think?"

"Forget it, just give me a single room," Chen Xuan said with a smile, not insisting. He couldn't just chase the guest away. He wasn't that overbearing. Since there was no chance, he would just have to settle for the second best. There was no need for one person to live in a suite.

"Thank you for your kindness, please follow me."

After checking in with the waiter's arrangement and changing clothes, it was already dark. Chen Xuan left the room and went out to eat.

What Butler He said back then was right. The beautiful scenery of Jinxia County really attracted people. The lobby of this inn was full of people, most of whom came to enjoy the scenery, and many of them were visitors from other places. The weather could not dampen their interest.

When we went upstairs, we found that the private rooms were full, so we found a private seat by the window on the third floor, ordered some signature dishes and wine, and drank by ourselves. There was a waiter next to us who was responsible for the nearby tables.

Pushing open the window and looking at the bright lights in the rain outside, Chen Xuan wondered what he would be like now if he had not gone to the Gao family that year?

"There's a high probability that I'll become a fierce bandit. After all, not everyone would treat me like the Gao family did. I probably wouldn't be able to bear that kind of humiliation. Although I didn't know my talent back then, not knowing doesn't mean I don't have it. If I understood this martial art, I would definitely find ways to learn it. Even if I practiced the most basic techniques, I could master them and fight for my freedom... But these are just hypotheses."

While thinking about all these random things in his head, Chen Xuan saw a house in the distance decorated with lights and colorful decorations. The plaque on the gate read "Zhang's House". He realized that this was probably the Zhang family that the old man in the restaurant on the road had mentioned.

When someone has a baby, it's really lively and lively. There's even a buffet on the street in front of their house that doesn't stop until late at night. Anyone can come and eat as long as they say a nice word. Many poor families bring their families to eat, even if it means sacrificing a little face. Happiness comes from having a full stomach, and there's meat. Normally, they can only eat greasy food a few times a year.

Retracting his gaze, Chen Xuan continued to eat and drink. Tomorrow, he would go to the mountains and forests outside the city to experience the beautiful scenery surrounded by golden clouds up close. He had been thinking about it for many years. As for whether the sky would be clear? Wherever he was, it had to be sunny!
Then let’s go back to Yang County directly. I’ve been away for so long, and I don’t know how that little girl Su Roujia is doing.

The land within a dozen miles around the county town is bare. If you want to see the beautiful scenery, you have to go to the distant mountains. There is no other way. All the land around the county town has been cut down. Firewood is an important resource in this era. There is a reason why firewood ranks first among rice, oil, salt and firewood. Without firewood, you can't even eat something cooked.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Chen Xuan paid for his meal and returned to his room. He quietly went to the Caixia Courtyard. Nothing had changed there, just as it was back then, except that the people living there were not the same as before. He left quietly without disturbing them.

The next day, after having breakfast and checking out, Chen Xuan took back his horse and headed towards Yang County outside the city. He could see the scenery anywhere, but there was no need to run around Jinxia County with a radius of fifty miles.

When passing by the Zhang family's house, a buffet was set up early in the morning, and more than a dozen large pots were busy cooking.

The buffet outside the house was for poor people, so naturally the food was not good. There was plenty of porridge, meat soup, and a few vegetables. Occasionally, you could even see slices of meat in one of the vegetables. This was a rare delicacy for poor people, better than what they had during festivals.

Originally, Chen Xuan was just passing by, but when he heard what the people who came to eat were saying, his steps became slower and slower, and finally he stopped at the door of Zhang's house.

"Child, eat quickly. This is the fifth day. There will be no more after today."

"A full five-day banquet! Mr. Zhang is so kind! How much will it cost?" "He just got a precious grandson, he's so happy, what's a little money?"

"Thank you, Master Zhang. Wow, it's so delicious. May Master Zhang and his family live long and prosperously. May Young Master Zhang be honored with a high rank and become a prime minister in the future."

"Speaking of the Zhang family, it truly makes me feel mixed emotions and envy. I wonder how many good deeds they must have done in their past lives to have such a prosperous life. They suffered through hardships in the first half of their lives, but have enjoyed wealth and prosperity in the second. In just a dozen years, they've become a luxurious family envied by everyone in Jinxia County."

"Who said it wasn't? I heard it, never mind. It's not a secret. Mr. Zhang never shies away from these things. He even mentions them to everyone he meets. I heard that more than ten years ago, Mr. Zhang's family was also from a poor family. They couldn't even have enough to eat. In order to find a wife for his son, he even sold his daughter."

"Ah? Is this really true? The Zhang family, which was once so luxurious, was in such a state more than ten years ago?"

"Yes, it's true!"

"Then tell me how the Zhang family got started. In just a decade or so, they became the envy of everyone in Jinxia County."

"Ah, this story has to start from more than ten years ago. It's really sad. Back then, the Zhang family lived in poverty. They even sold their daughter to marry a daughter-in-law. But not long after their son and daughter-in-law got married, the family returned to her parents' home. On the way, they were robbed. The son and daughter-in-law were killed by the robbers. Only Mr. Zhang survived..."

"... Let's be quiet, some people can't stand seeing others doing well, and they're using this incident to slander the Zhang family, saying they're getting their comeuppance for selling their daughter. Do you think you can avoid beasts like robbers? But as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune go hand in hand."

"More than ten years ago, after the Zhang family suffered a disaster, they became incredibly prosperous... Please leave some for me, don't steal it."

"Mr. Zhang was an honest farmer. His son and daughter-in-law died, leaving him all alone and helpless. He had originally planned to hang himself, but when he was looking for a place to hang himself, he happened to meet a dying woman. Mr. Zhang was kind-hearted, and since he felt he was about to die, he simply used all his savings to save the woman, intending to die cleanly and put an end to it all."

"But a turning point occurred at that time. The woman who was originally doomed actually came back to life because of his kindness. Later, we learned that the woman who was saved was... Oh, right, a congenital master from some Dongdao Tower, and the wife of the leader of the Dongdao Tower. She almost died while chasing an enemy, but luckily met Master Zhang, who was determined to die. He brought her to the hospital on a cart while she was unconscious, and she survived."

"Thank you for saving my life. Although I don't know what a congenital master is, I vaguely heard of Dongdaolou, which is one of the five major sects in our Jing country. So after that incident, Master Zhang became rich."

"To thank Mr. Zhang for saving her life, the woman inquired about his family's situation after she recovered from her injuries. Upon learning of the tragic deaths of his son and daughter-in-law, she sought out the bandits for help in revenge. Their heads were piled in front of Mr. Zhang's son and daughter-in-law's graves!"

"I also learned that his family had sold their daughter due to poverty, so I notified my fellow jianghu to search for her. After two full years, I finally found her in Jinxia County."

"Back then, his daughter was sold to a brothel. Because she was still young, she only learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing for two years. She usually did some cleaning work, just like a little maid. She was pretty and young, so she didn't suffer much."

"Mr. Zhang has found his daughter, and now he has hope, so he naturally doesn't want to die."

"Then, not only did the headmaster's wife give him a large sum of money, she also helped his family acquire property. She even openly told her fellow martial artists that the Zhang family was her savior and asked them to give her some face and help look after them. Anyway, that's how the Zhang family got started. With Dongdaolou backing them up, who would dare to harm the Zhang family without fear of death as long as Dongdaolou didn't fall? The headmaster and his wife would come to live here for a while every year and even adopted Miss Zhang as their goddaughter."

"Later, as Miss Zhang grew up, five years ago, when she reached the age of marriage, she found a live-in son-in-law. The couple loved each other very much and lived a happy life. They had two daughters before, and they had already been reserved for the Dongdao Sect. They would take them to learn martial arts in a few years. Their third son took the surname Zhang to carry on the family business. Miss Zhang and her husband also loved each other very much, and they said that their next son would take her husband's surname."

"So, that's how the Zhang family rose to prominence. We were small, but now that we have an heir, of course we have to hold a grand banquet to celebrate. See that red paper over there? Anyone who can help the young master come up with a nice name will get a hundred taels of silver. I'm not very educated, so I can't get that reward... Eat now, there will be no free meals tomorrow after this one."

"So the Zhang family has such a tortuous history. It really is true that fortune and misfortune go hand in hand, and good people are rewarded..."

The buffet outside Zhang's house took up half the street. Countless people came to offer their blessings and eat and drink for free. They talked about all kinds of things and revealed the Zhang family's experience in detail.

In just over a decade, the Zhang family has gone from being a broken family to being in their current situation, enjoying a prosperous life with the support of a powerful family.

All kinds of information gathered in his ears. Chen Xuan stopped at the door of Zhang's house, looking at the vermilion gate, his eyes flashing with reminiscence and sighs, thinking to himself, could it be her?
As he led his horse to the door, he bowed and smiled to the Zhang family servant at the door, saying, "Congratulations on the birth of your precious son. Would you be so kind as to offer me a drink?"

...(End of chapter)