After lunch, Zhang Tie diligently cleaned up the house before pushing his parents out. His dad worked six days a week and stayed in the workshop of the factory every day. Even his breath would be covered with dust. His mom was even worse. She stayed in the rice brew store at home every day. In such a small space, it was hard for her to even turn around. Therefore, on weekends, Zhang Tie would always try to drive his parents out of the house to breathe fresh air as he didn't want his parents to feel too gloomy in their lives. As for Zhang Tie, he would stay at home to look after the rice brew.
Seeing that their son was so obedient and sensible, his parents were naturally happy. However, before they left, his mom still reminded Zhang Tie, "Remember not to increase the price of the rice brew. When you meet regular customers, tell them about the increase in the price of rice and other ingredients. Tell them that if the price of the goods we purchase next week doesn't decrease, we will raise the price of the rice brew. They are all regular customers. Don't let them think that we're greedy and offended them!"
"I know, mom. You've said it more than 30 times. How could I be so immature?" Zhang Tie felt wronged. He was already 15 years old, yet his mom always nagged him like a kid or an imbecile. It really hurt his self-esteem.
"More than 30 times? Five times at most!" Zhang Tie's mom pretended to be angry and glared at Zhang Tie, intending to pull his ears. Zhang Tie hurriedly slid away and made a face at his mom before running into the rice brew shop and shouting, "Zhang's freshly brewed rice brew! It's fragrant, sweet, and tasty. Men will become stronger after eating it, and women will become more beautiful after eating it. Don't miss it! 6 copper coins for a bowl, and the more you eat, the better it will be..."
"This brat …" His dad shook his head with a smile.
… …
Seeing his dad and mom disappearing into the street hand in hand, Zhang Tie rubbed his slightly fluffy chin with one hand. After a long time, he withdrew his weird gaze. Although his dad and mom had been married for dozens of years, whenever they went out together, Zhang Tie always felt that they were not a couple who had been married for many years, but a pair of youths who were in love instead of a couple who had been married for many years. Zhang Tie always felt that they were more like a couple who were in love than a couple who had been married for many years.
Is this what love looks like? Zhang Tie didn't know. To be honest, his life experience was not enough for him to have enough feelings and understanding about this. But looking at his parents, he felt a strange sense of happiness in his heart.
After his dad and mom left, Zhang Tie sat in the rice brew shop, feeling bored. With a fly-whisk in his hand, he would drive away flies from time to time. Rice brew was sweet, which attracted flies, especially when the weather was hot. In a few months, when it was summer, bamboo curtains would be hung outside the rice brew shop to drive away the annoying flies that always buzzed in one's ears. However, as soon as the bamboo curtains were hung up to cover the meticulously prepared displays on the shop's counter, the shop's business would drop. This happened every year without exception.
It was afternoon, and the sun was high up in the sky. The birds on the parasol tree, which had been silent for the whole winter, seemed to have drilled out of their nests and jumped onto the parasol tree, chirping merrily. The mottled parasol tree leaves cast mottled light spots and shade on the street which was filled with the atmosphere of a marketplace.
Outside the Zhang family's rice brew shop, there was a sign written by Zhang Tie's dad last night, "Due to the rising prices of grains and raw materials, we will raise the price next week. Please understand, new and old customers..."
My cute dad, if it were Donder, he would definitely raise the price on the very first day the price of rice brew would rise. He would never delay it for a week.
After sitting in the shop for half an hour, Zhang Tie made several small deals and sold seven or eight bowls of rice brew. He then put the remaining copper coins into the drawer and soaked the bowls and spoons of rice brew that had been eaten by others in the dishwashing bucket. Watching the rising sun, Zhang Tie's hand that was waving the fly-whisk became more and more powerless. Zhang Tie couldn't help but feel bored. He was at the age of carefree. Who could stand sitting here on a weekend to drive away flies? However, the more bored he felt, the more Zhang Tie admired his mom. He felt bored after sitting here for only a short while, but his mom had been sitting here for twenty years.
When people were bored, they would always find something to do. What Zhang Tie did was to practice "Mental Arithmetic by Abacus". There were many realms of "Mental Arithmetic by Abacus". The lowest one was the one that Zhang Tie practiced last night. He had to close his eyes and spend half a day visualizing the abacus in his mind. After that, he could calculate the abacus in his mind. In the second realm, he didn't need to close his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he could visualize the abacus in his mind and calculate the abacus in his mind. After all, this was a practical mental arithmetic skill. If it took him several hours to visualize the abacus and he still couldn't open his eyes, then it would be useless. In the 3rd realm, the visualized abacus in one's mind would be vague, and the answer would appear in one's mind when one saw any calculation question. This was the secret of "mental arithmetic by abacus". Then, based on this foundation, he could visualize the abacus in his mind from three to twelve, or even more. Finally, he could multitask and visualize several abacuses or divide a multi-file abacus into different areas. At the same time, he could add, subtract, multiply and divide the abacus and get the answer in the blink of an eye. This was the highest realm of "Mental Arithmetic by Abacus". Once he mastered it, he would be called a humanoid supercomputer.
Actually, Zhang Tie doubted whether the "Mental Arithmetic by Abacus" written in the book could reach the highest level of being a humanoid computer. However, the moment he thought of the vague words "Recommended Reading for Primary School Students", Zhang Tie became frustrated. He felt like comparing himself to others would make him angry. "What kind of primary school could be so awesome?" Zhang Tie even doubted that what the old man had said was true — this "Mental Arithmetic by Abacus" might really have been found in the relics before the Catastrophe. In the age before the Catastrophe, there were all sorts of bizarre things that could be found in the relics. In this age, the expensive crystals used for cultivation were just common decorations. Many people didn't even care about them. Perhaps this strange book was really a commonplace reading for primary school students before the Catastrophe?
"Whatever, I'll practice it first. It seems that this" Mental Arithmetic by Abacus "could help me recover my spiritual energy. Zhang Tie wanted to confirm whether it really had this effect. However, the moment he thought of the word" by the way ", Zhang Tie became flustered. The two files of the abacus in his mind instantly collapsed...
"It's so difficult to cultivate spiritual energy, but by the way …"
This was truly difficult to accept.
When Zhang Tie's eyes were half closed as he tried to comprehend the three files of the abacus from more than ten minutes to five or six minutes, two unexpected people appeared in front of Zhang Tie.
Fatty Barley and Doug were riding a bicycle. The silly, dark-skinned Doug was working hard on the bicycle, sweating profusely as he giggled happily. Barley, the cunning fatty, was sitting on the back of the bicycle. When Zhang Tie caught sight of them, Fatty Barley, who had been patrolling on both sides of the street, also caught sight of Zhang Tie.
"It's here. Brake!" Fatty Barley shouted as he jumped down from the back seat of the bicycle and landed on the ground with his feet.
After Barley got off the bicycle, Doug, who had been riding happily just now, suddenly screamed, "Ah, brake, where's the brake? How can it stop? Ah … help …"
Bang …
"Bastard, this is the new bicycle that my dad just bought for me!" Barley also screamed out of heartache.
Zhang Tie helplessly covered his forehead with his hands and painfully closed his eyes …
Two minutes later, Doug and Barley, who were grinning and rubbing their butts, stood in front of Zhang Tie's small shop. Seeing Doug forcefully swallowing his saliva while smelling the aroma of the rice brew and Barley's annoying smile, Zhang Tie swore inside. He then took out two bowls and spoons from under the counter, opened the clay pot, and scooped a bowl of rice brew for each of the two guys with a big spoon. He then ferociously pushed the bowls in front of the two guys.
The two guys immediately smiled. Without saying anything polite, they picked up the bowls and quickly licked them clean. Seeing Doug sticking out his tongue and circling in the bowl, Zhang Tie really wanted to smash the spoon on his head. "Could you be more disgusting? No, this guy's bowl has to be sterilized with boiling water. "
Seeing the flattering smiles on the two guys' faces, Zhang Tie hurriedly took back their bowls and spoons. With a serious face, he said, "Since it's my treat just now, it's six copper coins per bowl. Do you still want it?"
Doug immediately glanced at Barley for help. Fatty Barley patted his waist and put a handful of copper coins on the table. "It's really yummy, one more bowl for each of you!"
Zhang Tie didn't refuse and swept the money into the drawer. He then poured another bowl for each of the two guys. Under Doug's reluctant gaze, Zhang Tie put their bowls and spoons into the basin of water. When Doug glanced at Barley for help again, Barley automatically ignored him and turned to talk to Zhang Tie.
"Ahem … ahem … what's this? Rice brew?"
"Yes, rice brew! What's up? "
"Heh heh, home visit is a good tradition of our Hit-Plane Brotherhood!" Barley smiled.
"Alright, let's get to the point. I'm making hundreds of thousands of yuan per second …"
"Have you heard of the Red-scarf Burglars?"
Hearing Barley's words, Zhang Tie became a bit curious. "Yes, I've heard of it. What's wrong?"
Barley looked around and lowered his voice, repeating the news that Zhang Tie had heard from his elder brother. "I also learned about it last night. Today, I'm here to inform you guys. I'm afraid that not many people know about it. Anyway, be careful these days. Don't wander around at night and don't leave the city. The Red-scarf Burglars are all butchers who kill people without blinking their eyes. Don't you have a proverb in your country? Every time the city gate is on fire, there would be some unlucky fish in the moat. I don't want any of our Hit-Plane Brotherhood to be those unlucky fish! "
"You're here for this?"
"Of course. Otherwise, do you think it's fun for me and Doug to come out under such a hot sun? After informing you, I have to inform Sharwin and Hista. Well, I won't affect your business which is worth hundreds of thousands of yuan per second … "
Looking at the fatty's face, Zhang Tie was slightly moved. "Thanks, brother!"
"Then treat us to another bowl!" Barley said with a salivating face.
Zhang Tie stretched out his hand and twisted his fingers, making a gesture that everybody understood.
"Ha … ha … let's go, there's another one!" Patting the back seat of the bicycle, Barley urged Doug to get on the bicycle. Doug pushed the bicycle a few steps before turning around and looking at Zhang Tie. He wanted to say something but stopped. "Barley said … learning to ride a bicycle would help me pick up girls!"
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else. Your riding skill is really good!" Zhang Tie raised his thumb.
Doug was satisfied. He nodded, got back on his bike, and left with Barley …
Zhang Tie had not imagined that the news about the Red-scarf Burglars would spread so fast. In only two days, it had already made everybody in Blackhot City restless …
'Why am I thinking about these useless things? I'd better practice my' Mental Arithmetic by Abacus'. What Red-scarf Burglars? What does it have to do with a small figure like me? ' Zhang Tie revealed a self-deprecating smile.
In the evening, his dad and mom came back with a piece of news. Blackhot City had started to be stricter. In the evening, people would need to check their IDs before entering or leaving Blackhot City.
After supper, Gregory, the magistrate of this district, knocked on the gate of the Zhang family with a lantern in his hand and sent a notice to every household, telling them that no strangers were allowed to stay overnight. If they met any suspicious person, they should immediately report it. Additionally, from 12 o 'clock tonight, Blackhot City would be under curfew …
Less than half a day after Fatty Barley left, the news about the Red-scarf Burglars finally spread throughout Blackhot City, causing a restless atmosphere to become restless.
However, none of these had anything to do with Zhang Tie. After supper, the magistrate left. After washing up, Zhang Tie returned to his room and entered the Castle of Black Iron. After throwing a bag of garbage into the Pool of Chaos, Zhang Tie dusted his hands and opened the Basic Attributes Panel of the Castle of Black Iron. He then looked at the latest attributes of the Castle of Black Iron with a satisfied look — — — — — —
— — Castle of Black Iron
— — Length: 1 Krosa
— — Width: 1 Krosa
— — Aura Value: 1.8
— — Merit Value: 43
— — Basic Energy Storage: 0.5
— — Special Output: None
… …
After letting his dad and mom go out to play, Zhang Tie had been guarding the store for a whole day and gained 5 merit value points. Adding the cleaning and cooking, he had gained 8 merit value points in total. The potatoes continued to sprout, increasing his aura value by 1.1. A bag of garbage had been exchanged for 0.3 basic energy storage. This was his harvest today …
Zhang Tie then looked at the Manjusaka Karma Fruit Tree.
There were still 103 hours before the first Leakless Fruit became ripe …
Zhang Tie was no longer sleepy. Taking out the crystal that had been exposed to the sun for a whole day, Zhang Tie sat down in the Castle of Black Iron with crossed legs and started to cultivate his Shrine burning point. Through his experience in the Castle of Black Iron these days, he found that looking at the moving trajectories of the colorful mists in the Castle of Black Iron, he could easily enter the state of cultivation …
As it was Zhang Tie's first time to cultivate his surging points in Castle of Black Iron, he soon entered the state. With the help of his breathing and the effect of the crystal and his spiritual energy, Zhang Tie's Shrine surging point soon lit up with cyan light...
Only by constantly improving one's strength could one survive in this age. To improve one's strength, there was no shortcut other than hard work. This was the belief that Zhang Tie had followed for the past 15 years.
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