Starting with fishing, I've traversed a chaotic world of demons and martial arts.

The setting sun slowly descends, about to disappear below the horizon.

The late autumn wind carried a hint of coolness, and the temperature began to drop sharply.

Li Tianxing dragged his weary body.

We moored the rented sampan at the dock.

He carried the fish basket in his hand and began to walk towards the fish market in the east.

Accompanying Li Tianxing was another person of similar age.

His name was Zhang Wei, and he was dressed very plainly.

He had a fishy smell that seemed to have seeped into his body.

He was one of Li Tianxing's few friends.

Zhang Wei examined the large fish in Li Tianxing's hand and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Wow, Tianxing. You've only been learning to fish for a few days, and you've already caught such a big grass carp."

"It was just luck."

Li Tianxing did not show any smugness on his face.

On the contrary, he walked very fast.

I need to sell this fish as soon as possible. After selling it to the fishmonger, I can get some copper coins to at least buy some brown rice to eat. I'm really fed up with eating bran. When will I be able to eat white rice every day...?

Brown rice is the product of rice after only the husk has been removed, retaining the bran layer and germ, making it a kind of coarse grain from a previous life.

Rice husks, on the other hand, are the outer shell of grains, which are not only unpalatable but also difficult to swallow.

As for finely milled white rice, that's a delicacy that only the middle class, like fishmongers, can afford to eat every day.

The difference between snow-white rice and dark yellow brown rice, simply by the color of a bowl of rice, is the most silent yet powerful division of social class...

Zhang Wei followed behind Li Tianxing:

"Tianxing... you've changed so much I almost don't recognize you anymore. You've been fishing every day these past few days, and you're even getting up earlier than me. Is this still the same young master Li who never lifted a finger to get wet?"

Li Tianxing was not angry when he heard Zhang Wei's joking remark:

"I taught you to never lift a finger, and you've already forgotten?"

Also, people always change.

As for the boat rental and fishing gear fees I owe you, I will pay you back as soon as possible.

Zhang Wei patted Li Tianxing on the shoulder and whispered:

"It's okay, there's no rush. Just teach me to read more."

There's still some time before the year-end "river god worship," so you'd better hurry up and save money!

Otherwise, the Song family and the county magistrate won't let you off easily. The county's patrol team is more like bandits than bandits themselves.

Li Tianxing stopped in his tracks, a hint of worry appearing between his brows:

"Yes, I wonder how many people will be arrested this year for not being able to afford the 'river god worship' and will be forced to do volunteer work repairing the river dam..."

They were called volunteers, but in reality, they were slaves.

As for worshipping the river god, it was a "tradition" that suddenly appeared in Anlan County after the establishment of the Republic of China.

It was orchestrated by the Song family, the largest family in Anlan County, and the county magistrate.

The reason is that everyone pools their money to buy New Year's goods and poultry, which are then thrown into the Qinghe River so that the river god can protect the peace of all directions.

As for the money collected, most of it ended up in the mouth of the so-called river god.

Whether it ended up in the Song family's mouth more often, we don't know...

……

Li Tianxing returned from the fish market and headed home.

He traded the grass carp, which weighed over seven pounds, for seventy copper coins.

The remaining small fish and shrimp couldn't fetch a good price, so I simply took them home and ate them myself.

Actually, the price was ten coins less than Li Tianxing had estimated.

But he knew that arguing was useless; the fishmongers monopolized the dock trade, and the Song family was their powerful backer.

If you resell them haphazardly, you might get caught by the fishmongers' thugs, and that would be terrible...

These seventy copper coins, if converted into silver dollars, would amount to less than half a cent, but this is the reality of life for the people at the bottom of society.

"Seventy copper coins bought me about ten catties of brown rice, which should be enough to eat for a while. I will never be eating bran again."

My priority now is to improve my physical fitness.

Because of the cheat code...

As long as I take care of my health and keep practicing fishing, I won't have to worry about not having fish to eat or not having money to earn.

The most important thing right now is to keep improving myself!

As Li Tianxing carried the bags of fish, shrimp, and rice, he pondered his future path...

“Ding Di—”

The urgent sound of a car horn interrupted Li Tianxing's thoughts!

Li Tianxing moved toward the side of the road, turning his head to look at the black sedan speeding towards him from behind.

He recognized the car, or rather, everyone in the county recognized the car.

This is the Song family's car, and sitting inside is Song Ming, the eldest son of the Song family.

The black car was spotless, a stark contrast to the surrounding messy streets, muddy cobblestone roads, and the stench emanating from Li Tianxing.

There were four or five bodyguards riding black bicycles next to the black car.

These bodyguards are physically strong; you can tell at a glance that they are trained fighters.

Li Tianxing's gaze shifted from the black sedan to the bicycle; even the cheapest bicycle in the Republic of China era cost more than thirty silver dollars.

One silver dollar can be exchanged for three hundred copper coins, which means that Li Tianxing has collected about 0.78% of the bicycle fragments today.

"If I earn at least seventy coins a day, it would take me more than four months of saving without eating or drinking to buy a bicycle..."

Li Tianxing watched as the Song family's young master's car drove past him.

The car window rolled down, and the half-smoked brand-name cigarette jumped out of the car.

It brushed past Li Tianxing's hair and landed at his feet.

Li Tianxing glanced inside the car and saw Song Ming, the young master of the Song family, sitting upright in the back seat.

Song Ming wore a light blue satin long gown with a black velvet vest over it, and his hair was combed back and shiny.

The two exchanged a glance, and Song Ming immediately closed the car window with disdain.

Only three words remained, lingering in Li Tianxing's ears...

"It stinks!"

Li Tianxing raised his foot and crushed the brand-name cigarettes that had fallen at his feet.

It also crushed the past version of myself.

Li Tianxing looked up at the setting sun on the horizon.

His gaze was resolute as he silently made a vow in his heart:

"Born into a chaotic world, I must constantly become stronger in order to protect myself!"

They are strong enough to have a place in this chaotic world.

I'm strong enough to command respect from everyone!

……

Li Tianxing continued walking.

Until they saw a makeshift shantytown called "Rolling Dragon".

Li Tianxing walked into this "dirty, messy, and chaotic" shantytown.

They arrived at a dilapidated little house...

He pushed open the door, which was made of a few thin wooden planks.

A faint earthy and damp musty smell then filled his nostrils.

"Young Master, you're back!"

I earned another twenty copper coins in the laundry room today!

Wow, you made money today!

"This is...this is brown rice!"

A clear, melodious, and slightly surprised female voice entered Li Tianxing's ears.

A person who was 1.6 meters tall came into Li Tianxing's view.

A woman with freckles on her face but a very well-proportioned figure.

The woman's name was Xiao Yuan, and she was his maid.

After the family fell into decline, they had been relying on each other for survival.

If it weren't for Xiao Yuan, her previous incarnation probably wouldn't even have had chaff to eat.

However, its predecessor considered itself to be aloof and superior.

He never cared about Xiao Yuan; he only treated her as a servant.

Therefore, there was no skin-to-skin contact.

"Yes, didn't I say a few days ago that you don't need to call me 'Young Master' anymore?"

Li Tianxing handed the small fish and shrimp he was carrying to Xiao Yuan.

Then he poured a large bag of brown rice into the already empty rice container.

Little Mandarin quickly took the fish and shrimp, and said somewhat aggrievedly:

"But... a young master is a young master."

The Li family of Jiangzhou in the past were officials who served as the fifth-rank officials in the previous dynasty, specifically the Assistant Magistrate of the Yellow River.

The young master is also a refined gentleman dressed in a Suzhou embroidered long gown, sipping pre-Qingming Longjing tea.

Unfortunately, the master and mistress were on the run several years ago...

Li Tianxing waved his hand helplessly and said:

"Hold on, this is no longer the previous dynasty, this is the Great Sheng Republic."

Don't say those things again, understand? Especially not in public, absolutely do not mention them.

Little Mandarin Duck nodded obediently:

"I'll go cook then. Young Master must be hungry!"

Looking at Li Tianxing in front of her, she felt that her young master had really changed.

Three days ago, after Li Tianxing recovered from a serious illness, he began to share the burden of his family's financial burden.

Although she felt a little sorry for him, she still breathed a long sigh of relief.

After all, she was just a maidservant; she couldn't possibly support the family.

If they hadn't brought some belongings with them when they fled, the two would probably have starved to death long ago.

However, they have already squandered all their wealth.

Besides Li Tianxing's favorite Four Treasures of the Study...

Li Tianxing arrived at the cabinet where he kept his writing implements.

At the very bottom of the cabinet was a black box.

He picked up a large bag, neatly arranged all the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and stuffed them inside:

"These things are useless now, let's sell them and get some money."

I've been fishing all day, and I'm only 33 skill points away from breaking through!

[Technique: Fishing (Beginner)]

Progress: (67/100)

[Ability: None]

[Demon Soul: None]