They had a very simple breakfast, just some batter. Zhuang Yan was going to take out the things in his backpack, there was a lot of food in it, but they were going to go out later, so it would be too conspicuous to take them out and leave it lying around. They’ll talk about it later after they get back from the city.

After eating breakfast, Wan Tianning raked at a corner of the house. He started to dig up the earth after he had removed the dry grass from the ground. Seeing this, Zhuang Yan also went over to help, and the two of them dug out a wooden box in a short time.

When Wan Tianning opened the wooden box, Zhuang Yan found several sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, some scattered silver, a silver bracelet and a silver finger ring inside. The clothes were stacked on top of each other and he could not see the style, but the silver bracelet was very beautiful.

After taking out the clothes and shoes inside, Wan Tianning took out another piece of broken silver and left the rest untouched. He closed the wooden box before then he put it back again and restored the floor to its original state.

Zhuang Yan looked at the clothes and shoes that were handed to him and knew that they were for him. He looked at the boy because he wanted to thank him. He really needed a set of clothes like this, otherwise he would be treated like an eccentric person if he went back in this outfit.

But when he looked at him, he saw a pair of eyes that turned red and a dark face that showed a strong sense of loss and sadness.

Zhuang Yan looked at the clothes and shoes in his hands. It must have belonged to a man of considerable height. The clothes were not very new, they were worn. The shoes, however, were new. Both smelt of clothing that had been left there for a long time.

“Tianning, these are your father’s clothes right?” And the silver jewelry must have belonged to his mother ba. After his parents’ death, he had carefully kept his parents belongings, and hadn’t even pawned them, even when life was so difficult.

Zhuang Yan is not a type of person that is good at comforting people. He is somewhat helpless however that person who is immersed in memory stepped back, then smiled, nodded and shook his head, gesturing to Zhuang Yan before he went out.

Zhuang Yan knew that Tianning was telling him that the clothes were indeed his father’s, and also telling him that he was fine. At the same time he was telling him to change his clothes and that he should avoid doing anything that may arouse suspicion as he is going out to give him space.

Zhuang Yan did not nag and hurriedly changed his clothes. After changing, he did not even look at himself carefully but hurriedly rushed out.

After the two of them entered the city, Zhuang Yan finally realized what kind of a world he had come to. This was really not his original home.

The streets are even more simple and unadorned than those in ancient costume TV dramas, with plainly dressed pedestrians, shops with little trace of modern technology and science, roadside restaurant, cloth shops and embroidery houses, wine shops and bookstores, theaters, and even county Yamen (government office in feudal China) ….

On the first night, he thought that this was just a mountain village far from home, but he didn’t realize that it was not just far away from home but unreachable, that the two places were separated by time and space, therefore in his lifetime, he would never be able to return.

It was only when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve that Zhuang Yan came back to his senses, not knowing that he had been standing there in a daze for a quarter of an hour.

Looking at the worried look of the person in front of him, Zhuang Yan gave a bitter smile and was about to reassure him that he was fine. Suddenly, his stomach growled again. He was a little awkward. Zhuang Yan was indeed hungry, he had not eaten anything for two days but at the moment, he didn’t have money to eat now, so where could he find the money to buy food?

Zhuang Yan was embarrassed, but Wan Tianning smiled at him and led him to a noodle shop, where he exchanged small pieces of silver for copper coins, and then took the coins to the bun shop and bought three large steamed buns.

Zhuang Yan looked at the copper coins he had handed out and was in a trance. In the future, he would have to earn this kind of thing for living? And in this place, how could he make money?

Wan Tianning gave Zhuang Yan two large steamed buns and kept one for himself. As they ate the buns and walked along the road, they unknowingly came to a slightly cooler street.There were not many pedestrians on this street, they were all walking in pairs or groups of three, not like the street that was swarming with people as it had been earlier.

Although the street was quiet, there was a long queue in one part of the street. Perhaps it was the nature of the people of Zhuang Yan’s hometown to enjoy watching a bustling scene so after he went to see them, only then did he realize that they were all waiting in line to read or write letters.

“Big Brother, can you show me the letter you have in your hand?” Accepting and digesting the fact that he had to live in an unfamiliar time and space, he now had the opportunity to learn about this world again and wanted to know if the writing here was the same with the writing in his world or not. 

While Zhuang Yan was trying to make sure whether the ink in his stomach was still useful, the elder brother in the queue looked at him with excitement and, after taking a look at the long queue in front of him, immediately handed out the letter in his hand.

When the handwriting on the paper caught his eye, a big stone fell from Zhuang Yan’s heart, “Good, still good, his those more than ten years of study were not in vain, the writing here was the same as what he had learned.That’s good. Being educated is an advantage wherever you live.

“Big Brother, do I need to help you read it for you or do you want to keep waiting?” Zhuang Yan knew that in ancient times not everyone had the opportunity to receive an education, most people were illiterate and those who could read and write were not only respected, but also had more ways to support themselves.

When the elder brother saw that Zhuang Yan could really read, he rushed out of the queue and stopped lining up. He even pulled Zhuang Yan further away from the line, and when Zhuang Yan slowly read out the contents of the paper. The man’s eyes slowly turned red. It turned out that the letter in his hand was from his little brother who was far away.

After rubbing his red eyes, he fished two copper coins out of his pocket. He put them in Zhuang Yan’s hand and thanked him before he was ready to leave. At this time, four or five more people gathered around Zhuang Yan.

Some of them wanted to read the letters and some wanted to write them, but since Zhuang Yan did not have a pen and paper, therefore he naturally could not write it for them. Those who wanted to write a letter had to go back obediently to the queue. After Zhuang Yan read the letters to three more people and earned another eight wen, the shop in front of him finally got quiet and the people in the queue also lined up honestly, and no one came to see him anymore.

No more business, Zhuang Yan naturally had to leave, and in just a few moments he had made a profit of ten wen. Zhuang Yen was quite happy. When he read the letter to the first person, he didn’t think about making money. That was why, when he was given money by that big brother, he was also surprised.But his surprise was soon replaced by astonishment, he didn’t know that he could make money only by reading letters. 

He handed over the money he had earned to Wan Tianning who was beside him, “Tianning, we are so lucky. I can’t believe it, we made money.” Zhuang Yan remembered that they had spent five wen on the steamed buns. He had not only earned back the money for the steamed buns but there was a lot left over too. 

Zhuang Yan was happy. Wan Tianning beside him was also happy and even surprised. Zhuang Yan didn’t even notice that from the moment he started to read the first letter, the person beside him had been looking at him with big, shiny eyes, starry-eyed.

Because he had made some money on his own, Zhuang Yan was in a much better mood. His panic and uncertainty about being stranded in a different world had faded. The panic he felt was more about survival than anything else. He didn’t know how he was going to survive in this strange place, and now that he had made money, his fears had naturally dissipated.

The two of them wandered around a lot more, and Zhuang Yan found that the town called Yang Shu was not at all like a town, but even more prosperous and spacious than a county town. The town had a very large shipping dock with a lot of porters on it. Zhuang Yan looked at the size of the porters, and then at himself.He felt as if he could find a job.

There is no way to make money for the time being, but he can’t just sit there and eat for free. He is not afraid of being tired, and if he can make money from mental work, then he can make money from mental work, and if he can make money from physical work then he can try to make money from physical work too. 

Zhuang Yan was tall and fit, so when he went to the pier to ask if they were still looking for workers, a man who looked like a steward took a look at him and immediately agreed. After hearing that he would be paid more for more work (work more and get more). Zhuang Yan was even more motivated. After asking the laborer about the day’s earnings, he felt even more secure.

Carrying goods on the pier, they can earn from ten to a few dozen a day. Some of the strongest and hardest workers can earn 40 to 50 yuan a day. Compared to the price of the buns just now, Zhuang Yan felt that he would have no problem supporting himself in the future, and he would have no problem supporting Tianning too. 

Thinking that there was nothing to do back there, Zhuang Yan immediately went to work. Naturally, the steward was willing to do so. It was the end of the autumn harvest and the county was a major grain producer. The warehouses are full of grain that needs to be loaded onto ships and shipped to various places. It was a time when labor was in short supply.

Zhuang Yan wanted to do the work, but Wan Tianning was a bit reluctant and kept trying to pull Zhuang Yan away, thinking that the boy did not want him to suffer, so he repeatedly explained that he was used to doing rough work so it was fine.

Wan Tianning gestured at the man for a long time, and wrote and drew with his fingers on his palm for a long time. Zhuang Yan thought he was asking him to write letters to people to make money, so he explained to them that they didn’t have any paper and pencils, nor did they have any ink. It costs money to buy those things. Besides, where could he find customers to write letters to? It is not possible to rely on luck alone.

“Tianning, this is the most profitable job at the moment, don’t worry, I have plenty of strength. Oh that’s right ah, it’s windy here, so why don’t you go back first? I can find my way home. The pay here is daily, and I’ll buy you something delicious to eat at night.” Zhuang Yan didn’t know how old Wan Tianning was, but looking at his figure, he was at most 13 or 14 years old, and the bag of stuff on his shoulder was 50 or 60 pounds, which Tianning couldn’t afford to carry therefore it would be better for him to go home rather than let him stay here in the cold.

Zhuang Yan refused to listen to him, so Wan Tianning had to leave. After he left, Zhuang Yan was able to work in peace.

But Zhuang Yan didn’t know that instead of going back to the village, Wan Tianning went to the cloth shop. When he returned, he had several feet of cloth and some embroidery thread in his hands.