Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chen Mo tapped the table twice with his index finger, suddenly remembering the well in courtyard number seven.

"evil?"

Recalling the scene of Lao Sun and his companion's mysterious disappearance, it does indeed resemble the methods of evil.

......

By the time the bell rang, the shadow of the old locust tree outside the window had already moved from beside my feet to the base of the wall.

Chen Mo came out of the classroom and followed the crowd toward the cafeteria.

The students in the left-hand class gathered in twos and threes, still discussing what they had learned that morning. Many of them were so hungry that they were only focused on rushing forward.

The cafeteria is on the east side, and there's a long queue at the entrance.

Chen Mo moved forward with the line, and when it was his turn, he glanced into the window.

Braised pork belly, stir-fried greens, and white rice.

Most importantly, it's free.

"So generous today?"

He paused for a moment, then got a serving and went inside.

The cafeteria was busier than usual, with many people discussing today's meals.

Chen Mo glanced around and spotted Shen Bao and a few others near the window.

Shen Bao was engrossed in eating his rice, with He Songling and Fang Cheng sitting next to him.

The plates in front of the five people were piled high, and they ate without ever looking up.

Chen Mo walked over and stopped beside them, greeting them, "Where did Fatty go?"

Shen Bao looked up, his mouth full, and mumbled, "Fatty...Fatty went back to the dorm to take a shower, he'll be back in a bit..."

Chen Mo nodded and looked away.

The cafeteria was getting more and more crowded, and there were hardly any empty seats left.

His gaze fell on a table in the corner, where three women were seated and there was one more seat available.

Liu Ruyan.

Chen Mo stopped, hesitating whether to go over.

Fang Yingxia was talking to her, and Liu Ruyan listened with a straight face. There was also an unfamiliar girl sitting next to her, eating with her head down and not saying much.

Perhaps influenced by his past life, he was somewhat reluctant to share a table with women.

There are no seats available right now, so I can't exactly squat to eat, can I?

He gritted his teeth, picked up the plate, and walked over. "Is this place taken?"

Fang Yingxia looked up and saw him. She was stunned for a moment, then gave him a warm, aunt-like smile.

"Chen Mo? Sit down, sit down, there's no one here."

Liu Ruyan's face visibly stiffened for a moment, but she didn't say anything.

Fang Yingxia leaned closer and whispered furtively in his ear, "Zhou Jiachang and the other boys wanted to sit here, but Ruyan scolded them away."

Chen Mo glanced at Liu Ruyan; this damned woman was indeed capable of such a thing.

At this moment, Liu Ruyan was also looking at him, her eyes filled with hostility.

"Then go ahead and insult me."

Chen Mo looked away, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of meat, and put it in his mouth.

Liu Ruyan raised her eyebrows, about to speak, when she remembered something.

Her expression changed, and she swallowed back the words that were about to come out, lowering her head to eat without looking at him.

Fang Yingxia's eyes lit up. She looked at Liu Ruyan, then at Chen Mo, and smiled meaningfully.

"Chen Mo, are you and Ru Yan so close? She didn't even scold you?"

Chen Mo picked up another piece of meat.

She owes me.

"What do I owe you?"

"I dare not say."

Liu Ruyan clenched her fist, then relaxed it.

Fang Yingxia laughed so hard she was shaking, and the unfamiliar girl next to her also looked up and glanced at Chen Mo curiously.

Just then, a few more people entered the cafeteria.

The leader was a young gentleman, dressed in a moon-white long robe, with a jade pendant of excellent quality hanging from his waist.

Behind him were three or four boys who looked like lackeys, each one burly and with a smug look in their eyes.

"Huh, this spendthrift son of a bitch is here for the training camp too?" Fang Yingxia muttered under her breath as she looked at the leader.

Who is it?

Chen Mo also looked up.

"Wang Boyan, the second son of the Wang family," Fang Yingxia said softly.

Chen Mo picked up a piece of braised pork, eating while watching the spectacle. "Very rich?"

"It's more than just being rich." She curled her lip. "This guy is notorious for being a spendthrift. Last year in Shanghai, he spent 20,000 yuan in one night to compete with someone for an actress, which made his father so angry that he almost fainted."

"As a result, he turned around and spent three thousand silver dollars to buy a Ferghana horse. He rode it around the streets for three days, but then complained that the horse ate too much, so he gave it away."

Liu Ruyan rarely spoke up, but she added, "He really is a spendthrift."

"That's for sure." Fang Yingxia shook her head. "I don't know what the Wang family was thinking, sending such a thing here for training. I'm afraid they just want him to get some experience."

Chen Mo didn't say anything more and lowered his head to eat.

Wang Boyan led his men to the food window, skipping the queue and standing directly at the front.

Some of the students in line frowned, but upon seeing his attire and the few followers behind him, they all silently took two steps back.

"What's good today?" Wang Boyan knocked on the window.

The chef at the window looked up and said, "Braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, and rice."

"That's it?" Wang Boyan frowned. "Nothing decent at all?"

Just as the head chef was about to speak, the kitchen curtain was lifted, and a fat chef came out with a big smile: "Oh, Young Master Wang has arrived."

Yes, yes, yes, there's also a pot of braised fish simmering in the back. It was delivered this morning and used twelve kinds of medicinal herbs; it's specially for replenishing qi and blood.

"Then bring it up!" Wang Boyan casually handed over a few silver notes. "Bring a few more of your signature dishes. Don't try to fool me with this pig swill."

The chubby chef readily agreed and turned to run inside.

A short while later, several helpers came out carrying plates, the first of which was a large pot of braised croaker, steaming hot and with a fragrant aroma.

Following behind were braised pork knuckle, stewed chicken, and roast goose, filling two trays.

Wang Boyan glanced at it, barely satisfied, "Alright, find a place to sit."

He turned around and glanced around the cafeteria.

My gaze fell on the table by the window, where Shen Bao and his group of five were engrossed in eating, their plates piled high.

Wang Boyan raised his head, gesturing for his underlings to come over.

A burly man with a thick back quickly stepped forward and walked to Shen Bao's table. "Gentlemen, please give me a seat."

Shen Bao looked up, a piece of braised pork still dangling from her mouth, and stared blankly at him, then around, making sure he was being spoken to. "What did you say?"

"Give me a seat," the big man repeated. "Our young master wants to sit here."

Zhou Fengchun put down his chopsticks and looked up at him.

Fang Cheng didn't move either.

He Songling looked up and said with a smile, "This table only has five seats, and we're full. You can find another place."

The big man frowned, about to speak, when Wang Boyan stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't talk like that." Wang Boyan smiled, the jade pendant at his waist swaying gently. "Brothers, please be accommodating. Here's what we'll do: make room for me, one hundred silver dollars per seat."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of silver notes from his money bag and patted them in his hand.

Niu Dezhi swallowed the food in his mouth, his eyes fixed on it.

Shen Bao scratched his head, looked at the silver note, and then at the others.

He Songling put down his chopsticks and was the first to speak: "Is what you say true, young master?"

"When have I, Wang Boyan, ever been unserious?" Wang Boyan swung the silver note in his hand, making a crisp sound.

He Songling glanced at the others and lowered his voice, saying, "Brothers, we have a hundred yuan. That should last us a while. We can just eat somewhere else anyway."

Zhou Fengchun remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Niu Dezhi quickly replied, "I agree."

The three looked at Shen Bao and Fang Cheng.

Shen Bao scratched his head, looked at the half-eaten food on the table, then at the stack of silver notes, and hesitated for a moment: "Well... alright then."

Fang Cheng didn't say anything, but he also stood up.

All five people stood up, making room for each other.

Wang Boyan smiled slightly, but didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he slowly walked to the table and ran a finger across it.

"Dirty." He withdrew his fingers and wiped them on the handkerchief his henchman handed him.

He turned around and looked at the five people standing there, his gaze sweeping over their faces one by one before finally landing on He Songling.

"Want money?"

He Songling forced a smile: "Didn't the young master say..."

"I did say that," Wang Boyan interrupted him, pulling out the silver note. "One hundred per person, that's quite a lot of money."

He held the silver note in his hand and waved it around.

"But for five of you to just stand there and beg for money, isn't that a bit too lenient?"

As Wang Boyan spoke, he threw the silver note on the ground.

The hundred-dollar note floated gently to the ground.

"If you want money, pick it up yourself."

The cafeteria quieted down.

He Songling looked down at the silver notes at his feet, then looked up at Wang Boyan, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.

A number of people were already watching the spectacle, and whispers were rising from the crowd.

He gritted his teeth, bent down, and picked up the banknotes.

Wang Boyan laughed, then pulled out another card and tossed it to the ground. This time, he threw it further, landing about a meter away from Shen Bao's feet.

"your."

Shen Bao stared expressionlessly at the silver notes on the ground, remained silent for a few moments, then walked over and bent down to pick them up.

Wang Boyan laughed loudly as he pulled out silver notes one by one and threw them on the ground.

Some landed on the table leg, some at someone's feet, and some were thrown far away.

Niu Dezhi jogged over to pick it up, while Zhou Fengchun bent down with a grim expression.

Fang Cheng stared blankly at the silver notes on the ground, then at Wang Boyan, and finally squatted down.

Five silver notes, five people, all bent over to pick them up from the ground.

Wang Boyan stood still, looking down at the viewer with a smile on his lips.

"That's right," he said slowly and deliberately. "If you want to make money, you have to learn to bow your head when necessary, don't you agree?"

The henchmen burst into laughter.

"Young master is right!"

"These guys are pretty sensible."

"If you ever need money again, you can come to our young master."

Laughter echoed through the cafeteria.

The five men stood there, clutching silver notes in their hands, each with a different expression.

Wang Boyan waved his hand and swaggered down with his followers.

"Come on, set the dishes out. This fish won't taste good if it gets cold."

"But you guys, is there another profitable business opportunity you'd like to try?"