Chapter 1: Chen Ping'an

Great Qian Dynasty, Canglong Prefecture, Weishui County City.

The sky was bright.

*Sizzle!*

Inside a residential house in Pear Blossom Alley, the sound of meat hitting a hot wok erupted.

Streaks of red and white pork belly danced slightly in the oil, the scorching heat constantly drawing out the succulent fat. The aroma of the meat filled the entire small courtyard.

On the windowsill outside, a young girl with her hair in double buns lay prone, watching the room with wide, eager eyes, drool pooling across half the windowsill.

"Brother, it smells so good~~"

Chen Er'ya looked at the busy youth inside, feeling that her brother seemed a bit different today.

He had been busy all night and hadn't returned until the sky was just beginning to turn light.

Usually, if there were night patrol duties, he would just grab a quick bite after returning and collapse into bed. Today was exceptionally rare.

Not only did he buy meat, but he was also cooking it himself.

"Nannan, wait a little longer, it’ll be ready soon."

The busy youth added seasonings to the iron wok with practiced ease, sprinkled in some salt, and smiled slightly at the girl on the windowsill.

The youth’s smile was dazzling; Chen Er'ya thought her brother looked truly handsome today.

After skillfully plating the cooked pork belly, the youth fired up the wok again to stir-fry a plate of seasonal vegetables.

The vegetables had been grown by Chen Er'ya; they hadn't even stopped "breathing" from the moment they were picked to the moment they hit the pan.

The youth’s movements were extremely efficient, and in no time at all, everything was done.

"Nannan, come and help carry the dishes. We’re eating in the courtyard today."

Chen Ping'an scooped up two bowls of rice and walked toward the courtyard.

In the center of the small yard sat an old wooden table with two stools beside it. The stools were covered in scratches, filled with the scent of time.

"Coming!"

Chen Er'ya was nimble, grabbing a bowl of food in each hand and excitedly placing them on the table.

"Brother, what’s the good news today? Why did you make so many delicious dishes~"

Chen Er'ya looked at the fragrant food on the table, unable to stop her mouth from watering.

On the table: two bowls of snow-white rice, completely pure, clearly cooked from high-quality refined grain.

A bowl of pork belly, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a large bowl of rich, fragrant meat bone soup.

The milky white broth was steaming, making one’s mouth water.

This level of a meal, let alone now, was something they had rarely enjoyed even when their father was still alive.

Hearing this, Chen Ping'an patted his sister’s head.

"I just felt like we hadn't had meat in a long time, so I decided to treat us to a feast today."

"Brother~ I’m already grown up, stop touching my head!"

Chen Er'ya swatted his hand away, looking at him with a feigned, milky ferocity. As she looked, she froze slightly.

There seemed to be a light shining in her brother’s eyes.

It was a light she hadn't seen in his eyes since their father died.

Why today...

Chen Ping'an looked at his sister tenderly, picking up a piece of fatty but not greasy pork belly and placing it into her bowl.

"Don't just stare, eat up!"

"Okay."

Chen Er'ya snapped out of it, drawn in by the scent of the meat. She took a bite of the large piece, shoveled some rice into her mouth with her chopsticks, and swallowed it down with the meat.

"So delicious~"

"If it's good, eat more."

Chen Ping'an said with a smile.

"Brother should eat too," Chen Er'ya said sensibly.

"Alright."

Chen Ping'an picked up a piece of meat, watching Chen Er'ya eat with such relish, and suddenly felt a bit dazed.

It had been several years since he transmigrated.

He had wanted to practice martial arts, but his constitution was poor; he wasn't cut out for it. Forget about entering the world of martial arts—even the basic conditioning was incredibly difficult to practice.

From his initial ambition and eagerness to the eventual brutal reality checks, he had learned to just go with the flow.

He had thought his days would just pass by like this, one after another.

But then, disaster struck the family.

His father, who had always been strong, was severely injured during a mission.

Speaking of his father, he was a well-known hero in Pear Blossom Alley.

He was a formal bailiff serving in the Nanquan Lane Magistrate’s Office!

A formal bailiff was someone whose name was truly on the registry of the Magistrate’s Office, recognized by both the official authorities and the various gangs, big and small.

When his father was alive, while they weren't wealthy, life was much better than that of ordinary commoners.

But once his father fell, the family lost its source of income, and life went from bad to worse.

More than half a year ago, his father passed away, leaving them behind to rely on each other.

In truth, if it hadn't been for his father spending the last month of his life exhausting himself to secure his son's future, he likely could have lived for at least another half-year.

The love of parents is deep and far-reaching.

Under his father’s final arrangements, Chen Ping'an became an unregistered bailiff at the Nanquan Lane Magistrate’s Office.

Although unregistered, the status of a bailiff provided him and his sister with a guarantee of survival.

Chen Ping'an knew that to secure this position for him, his father had not only sacrificed his disability pension and all subsequent support but had also exhausted his savings and even taken on debt to grease the wheels of the Magistrate’s Office.

*Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.*

No matter how much savings they had, they would eventually run out.

But if he secured this bailiff position for Chen Ping'an, it meant a steady stream of income.

Even as an unregistered bailiff, excluding any "gray" income, he earned eight *qian* of silver a month.

For ordinary people, this was not a low income!

Furthermore, with his father gone, without his status to protect them, it would have been difficult for Chen Ping'an alone to hold onto the family assets. Too many interests would undoubtedly have been targeted by others, leading to unnecessary trouble.

Considering everything, his father’s decision was undoubtedly correct.

Starting over half a year ago, Chen Ping'an officially joined the Nanquan Lane Magistrate’s Office as an unregistered bailiff, living a mediocre life.

The light in his eyes had gradually dimmed in the repetition of day after day.

But yesterday!

Yesterday, he hadn't returned all night, not for a routine patrol, but because he had received secret orders to join the bailiffs and officers of the Nanquan Lane Magistrate’s Office in raiding a small gang.

This small gang had been preying on the streets, rampant and notorious.

Its downfall was naturally a great thing for the common people.

However, Chen Ping'an didn't naively believe the Magistrate’s Office was doing this to punish evil and promote good or to uphold the majesty of the Great Qian laws.

The reason for the raid last night likely had everything to do with the power struggles behind the scenes.

Once one is gone, another will likely be born to take its place.

But these things had nothing to do with Chen Ping'an.

Yesterday, he was incredibly lucky. Amidst the chaos between the bailiffs and the gang members, he had accidentally found a martial arts manual at the gang’s stronghold.

It wasn't some divine technique, just an ordinary, low-tier body-tempering manual: the Iron Cloth Shirt!

Even for such a common manual, he hadn't been able to bring it out.

During such raids, there was always a body search procedure before leaving to prevent the theft of spoils.

Unable to take it out, Chen Ping'an had voluntarily handed over the Iron Cloth Shirt.

However, before handing it over, he had carefully flipped through it.

It was that single reading that filled Chen Ping'an with infinite hope for the future.

Thinking of this, the expression on Chen Ping'an’s face couldn't help but grow eager.

He blinked a few times, and lines of text appeared in his vision.

Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: None Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt (Not yet initiated) (0/5)

"Brother, why are you spacing out? Eat quickly~ If you don't eat, I’m going to finish all these dishes~"

Chen Er'ya reminded him, seeing him lost in thought.

"Haha, I’ll let you have a head start, watch me catch up to you right now."

Chen Ping'an picked up some vegetables, put them directly into his mouth, chewed a few times with his rice, and was just about to swallow.

Outside the courtyard gate, a brutal, heavy knocking suddenly rang out. Along with the knocking came a shout filled with malice.

"Open the door! Tiger Head Gang!"

PS: New author, new book, please support! I guarantee my character—this will never be abandoned!

(End of chapter)