Chapter 36 - 36 Shock of the Bai Family

Chapter 36: Shock of the Bai Family Chapter 36: Shock of the Bai Family Early in the morning, the Bai Family was having breakfast.

Mrs. Bai was drinking porridge and eating a steamed bun, “Ah, father, Head of the household, have you heard?”

“Um?”

Both looked towards Mrs. Bai.

“This morning, when I went out, I heard from Old Zhang’s daughter-in-law that Jiu Si ran into people demanding his gambling debts yesterday.”

Doctor Bai frowned, his voice turning slightly cold, “He gambled again?”

“No, it wasn’t recent. It was from before, about two months ago, he signed a debt note for the Yu Family.”

Doctor Bai’s expression then softened, “Oh.”

Before Chen Jie learned his skills, he had shared everything about his past with the Bai Family, including his previous gambling. Everyone knew and didn’t really mind as long as he wasn’t gambling now and was willing to reform. Doctor Bai wouldn’t judge people harshly.

Mrs. Bai said, “No, that’s not what I meant to say about Jiu Si’s faults. I’m talking about how shady the Old Yu Family is. Two months ago, they had Jiu Si sign for one tael of silver, guess how much they asked for yesterday?”

Hearing this, Doctor Bai said, “Nine out and thirteen back, probably not even two taels.”

“What? Twenty-five taels!”

Mrs. Bai gestured, indicating ‘twenty-five.’

“How much?”

Doctor Bai and Wu Hong were both shocked, only Wu Zhong continued eating calmly, being the Fishery Manager of the Fishing Guild, he was familiar with the high interest rates of Guild Cao.

Such things were common among them; their guild also engaged in such loan-sharking practices, compounding interest over interest. They had seen it so much that it had become the norm.

“Twenty-five taels, more than twenty times over.”

Although Mrs. Bai was the most respected woman in Xiantao Town, she still lived in a rural area and carried the gossipy nature of village women.

After she finished, Wu Hong frowned, “Isn’t this bullying?”

“Bullying? Bullying whom? They have the debt note, and even the authorities would see their point.”

Wu Zhong glanced at his son while saying this.

Doctor Bai remained silent, continuing to eat, showing no emotion as Mrs. Bai sighed after speaking, “Poor Jiu Si, he finally turned over a new leaf and now he has this problem.”

“That Yunjin girl is even more pitiful, her man had just straightened out his life, and now this trouble has landed on them, oh... Head of the household.”

“Um?”

Wu Zhong was munching on a steamed bun, looking at Mrs. Bai.

“Could you see if there’s something you can do to help? It hasn’t been easy for Jiu Si.”

Wu Zhong didn’t respond but looked towards Doctor Bai.

“Dad, what do you think?”

Doctor Bai took a sip of porridge, pondered for a moment, and said, “Let’s see if Jiu Si reaches out for help, if he does, let’s help him.”

Wu Zhong responded, “That’s fine, I understand.”

After speaking, Wu Zhong continued eating.

Thump thump thump...

Just then, a sudden knocking noise came from outside. Mrs. Bai got up and said, “Who is it?”

Upon reaching the door and opening it, she saw Chen Jie.

At that moment, Chen Jie was holding a large sack and carrying a stick, Mrs. Bai looked at him and asked, “Where have you been?”

“Heh, went up the mountain, got some good stuff to bring to Master.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Bai said, “Come in, let’s talk inside.”

Chen Jie entered, “Master, Uncle Zhong, Brother Hong, good morning.”

All three nodded in acknowledgment, and Wu Hong even rose to say, “Jiu Si, haven’t had breakfast, right? Come, sit down and join us.”

Bai said, “I’ll fetch a set of tableware.”

“No, I’ve already eaten.”

Chen Jie politely said, and Doctor Bai glanced at him, “If I ask you to eat, you should eat. As an apprentice, you must obey.”

“Yes, following Master’s orders.”

Chen Jie was very sensible, and Doctor Bai nodded.

Everyone sat down, none spoke, and they started eating. During the meal, Bai wanted to ask Chen Jie about the events of the previous day but was stopped by Wu Zhong.

Helping others also depended on the situation.

If someone asks for your help and you assist, that is out of favor.

If you help without being asked, you might offend someone who is psychologically fragile, and you could even create an enemy.

Although the Bai family had a very good impression of Chen Jiusi and his family, they had only known each other for two days, and some matters needed careful attention.

After finishing the meal, Bai cleared the table, and Chen Jie offered to help but was refused.

“You had something to discuss with your master, didn’t you? Go attend to your business; auntie can manage on her own.”

Doctor Bai also said, “Jiusi, what brings you to me so early in the morning?”

Chen Jie thought for a moment and was about to speak when Doctor Bai told Wu Zhong, “Come to my room to discuss.”

Entering Doctor Bai’s room, the scent of medicinal herbs hit them. Wu Hong also followed in, and the group sat down, the three family members exchanged glances, waiting for Chen Jie to speak.

However, Chen Jie didn’t mention Ma Liu’s issue but instead said to Doctor Bai, “Master, today I caught a Golden Chicken while I was up the mountain. It looked quite unusual; take a look, is it some rare species?”

“Golden Chicken?”

The three were stunned and then looked towards Chen Jie’s bag.

Chen Jie opened the bag, and all three eyes lit up, Wu Zhong even jumped up, “A Red-eyed Golden Chicken!”

Doctor Bai also got somewhat excited and went over to feel the Red-eyed Golden Chicken, “This must be thirty years old at least, this is indeed a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.”

Hearing this, Wu Hong exclaimed, “Ha, brother, you’ve struck it rich, this is a treasure, even martial artists couldn’t buy this if they wanted.”

Seeing the reactions of the three and hearing Wu Hong’s words, Chen Jie thought to himself that his guess was indeed right; it truly was a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

Doctor Bai looked for a while and then said to Chen Jie, “Jiusi, I must say you’re really lucky. This is one of the thirty-six Heavenly Materials and seventy-two Earthly Treasures of the Daba Mountain Range. Although it’s somewhat young, its value is very high.”

“This Red-eyed Golden Chicken’s meat can be used as a medicinal material for martial artists for warming and supplementing, highly valuable. These beautiful feathers can also be made into ornaments, and they fetch a high price too.”

“This Red-eyed Golden Chicken is worth at least a hundred silver taels, and it’s priceless.”

A hundred taels!

Chen Jie’s heart pounded, and then Wu Zhong spoke up, “Jiusi!”

“Uncle Zhong!”

Chen Jie looked towards Wu Zhong, who said, “Are you selling this Golden Chicken? Uncle could really use it. How about this, uncle will give you one hundred and twenty taels, and you sell this Golden Chicken to me, what do you say?”

“Of course, if you don’t trust uncle, you could ask around about the price and then get back to me with your answer.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie quickly said, “Uncle Zhong, what are you saying?”

“It’s like this, Uncle Zhong, I’ll give you this Golden Chicken.”

“This...”

Wu Zhong immediately wanted to refuse, but Chen Jie said, “Uncle Zhong, please don’t refuse just yet. Actually, I’ve run into a problem and would like to ask for your help, and this can be a token of thanks.”

Hearing this, Wu Zhong squinted his eyes and said, “What problem, I’ll definitely help if I can.”

“It’s like this, originally I...”

Chen Jie recounted his problem from beginning to end, and upon hearing it, Wu Hong slammed the table.

“How outrageous! Two can play at that game, brother, don’t worry about it, as your brother, I’ll take care of it!”

“Don’t be rash, sit down.”

Wu Zhong frowned slightly, then looked at Chen Jie and said, “Jiusi, this is a minor issue, I’ll sort it out for you. However, I can’t accept this Golden Chicken. It should be paid for at its full price; after all, uncle can’t owe you such a huge favor, you have to consider that too, don’t you?”