Chapter 27: Limelight

"Ping’an, this..."

The strained smile Old Pan had managed to force onto his face froze completely.

"When we borrowed the silver, you never said we had to pay interest!"

"That’s right! We’ve already paid you back the silver, so why are you bringing up interest? Fifty small coins—this is extortion!"

Aunt Pan pointed her finger, accusing him.

"If word of this gets out, you’ll be scorned by everyone!"

Watching the couple before him, Chen Ping’an’s patience was wearing thin.

"Extortion? If I were extorting you, we’d be talking about loan shark rates, not a mere fifty small coins!"

"Paying interest on a loan is only natural! No matter who hears about this, I’m the one in the right. How could I possibly be scorned for this!?"

Chen Ping’an’s eyes were bright and piercing as he stared directly at the two of them, an indescribable aura emanating from him.

Aunt Pan, who was used to throwing tantrums, was stunned into silence. Beside her, Old Pan lost all his nerve.

"Ping’an, she’s just a woman spouting nonsense. Don’t mind her."

Old Pan said with an awkward smile.

"Wait here a moment, I’ll go get the money."

With that, Old Pan went into the inner room. A moment later, he came out with a handful of small coins and handed them to Chen Ping’an.

After taking the coins and confirming the amount was correct, Chen Ping’an’s expression remained calm. He showed no gloating satisfaction at getting the interest, nor any desire to mend the relationship now that they had fallen out.

"Then we are even."

"Ping’an, this was all your Uncle and Aunt Pan’s fault. Please don’t take it to heart." Old Pan chuckled drily, wanting to say a few more words to ease the tension.

But Chen Ping’an didn’t wait to hear the rest, turning and leaving with the silver coins.

Forced to swallow the rest of his words, Old Pan sighed heavily. "The young are truly to be feared! I misjudged him. That kid from the Chen family is a force to be reckoned with!"

He had always thought Chen Ping’an was easy to talk to. Even though he worked for the Garrison Commandant’s Office, he still seemed to care about his reputation with the neighbors. Old Pan thought a little emotional manipulation would make him swallow his grievances. Who knew the young man could be so sharp? The tricks he was so proud of were completely useless against him.

This time, not only had he soured their relationship, but he’d also lost both principal and interest. It was a case of suffering a double loss!

"Old Pan, that Chen Family’s kid was really out of line. I’m going to go and tell everyone, let all the neighbors know what he’s really like!" Aunt Pan sidled up and said.

"You damn woman! Long hair, short on brains!" It would have been better if Aunt Pan hadn’t come over. Her arrival gave Old Pan the perfect outlet for his pent-up frustration. "Why did you have to provoke him for no reason! If we had just spoken nicely, we might not have had to pay the fifty small coins in interest. Now look what’s happened!"

"I provoked him!? Wasn’t it you, you old coot, who insisted the Chen family only has one young man, so we didn’t need to hurry to pay back the silver! And now you’re blaming me for everything!"

Aunt Pan was no pushover either. She put her hands on her hips and retorted angrily.

"You damn woman! Before is before, now is now. Tell me, if it wasn’t for you, would things have turned out like this?"

"Get lost!"

Old Pan and Aunt Pan began to argue incessantly.

Watching his parents and parents-in-law act like this, their son and daughter-in-law standing nearby felt their faces burn with shame.

"Dad, Mom, please, just say a little less," Xiaopan tried to mediate.

"Get lost! Shut up! Wasn’t this all so you could get a wife!?"

"..."

...

When Chen Ping’an returned home, Chen Erya had already set the table and was just waiting for him.

"Brother, you’re back!"

Seeing Chen Ping’an, Chen Erya hurried forward to take the bowl from his hand.

"Yes, I’m back," Chen Ping’an nodded.

"What took you so long? The food is getting cold." Chen Erya put the bowl away and came back to uncover the dishes she had been keeping warm.

Chen Ping’an smiled and briefly told Chen Erya what had just happened.

"How could they do that!?"

The little girl’s chest puffed out in anger as she listened.

"It’s a big world, full of all sorts of strange things! There are plenty of people like them," Chen Ping’an said calmly.

’If everyone followed the rules, what would be the point of the Garrison Commandant’s Office!?’

"Hmph! We were the ones who lent them money, but in the end, it’s as if we’re the ones in the wrong."

"Haha, it’s fine. It’s resolved, isn’t it? Oh, right, take these silver coins. Remember to buy some more meat tomorrow."

Chen Ping’an smiled and gave the bag of silver coins to Chen Erya.

With these coins, they could supplement their household expenses. He was eating meat every night now, which wasn’t cheap.

Salt, fine rice, meat... none of it was free.

Now that the family had paid off its debts, their savings were at their lowest. But things would get better from now on.

After dinner, Chen Ping’an helped Chen Erya wash the dishes. Then, he went out into the small courtyard to stretch.

Once he was properly warmed up, Chen Ping’an began to practice his Iron Cloth Shirt in the sand pit.

’Practice, practice. The key is to be tireless, day after day!’

As he rolled about continuously, his Qi Blood and skin were constantly stimulated.

An hour later.

Name: Chen Ping’an

Realm: Qi Blood First Level Perfection

Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt Minor Achievement (13/40)

...

"Refreshing! So refreshing!"

Chen Ping’an emerged from the sand pit, his skin flushed red and covered in broken capillaries. But his mood was ecstatic.

Two experience points in the morning, three in the evening, for a total of five points a day.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take more than a few days to reach Great Success in Iron Cloth Shirt. On the morning of the sixth day, he would have accumulated the 40 experience points he needed.

"Brother, let me help you."

Chen Erya ran up with a basin of clean water to help Chen Ping’an wash himself.

"Yes, Nannan is such a good girl." Chen Ping’an smiled.

The night was once again warm and peaceful.

The next morning, after practicing Iron Cloth Shirt twice, Chen Ping’an went to the Garrison Commandant’s Office for duty.

While waiting for the pre-shift meeting to start, he noticed that the crowd of constables gathered around Zheng Shiyong had grown considerably larger than before.

’What’s going on?’ Chen Ping’an was a little curious.

Logically, even though Zheng Shiyong was Constable Zheng’s nephew, he had only been at the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office for a short time and was still just a temporary constable. He shouldn’t have been able to attract such a large following.

After all, many of the constables had kept a respectful distance from Zheng Shiyong.

However, Chen Ping’an’s confusion was soon cleared up during the meeting.

Constable Yan was presiding over this pre-shift meeting. He stood on the high platform, looking down on the crowd.

"Our Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office is truly a blessed place, brimming with talent. Everyone knows Zheng Shiyong. He’s only been here a short while. But just the day before yesterday, he achieved Martial Arts Introduction and formally stepped into the Qi Blood First Layer! I hope everyone can learn from Zheng Shiyong, train hard, achieve your own Martial Arts Introduction, and contribute to our Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office."

As Constable Yan’s voice fell, a wave of cheers erupted from the crowd, all praising Zheng Shiyong and the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office.

"It is all thanks to the excellent guidance of our superiors that I was able to achieve my breakthrough the day before yesterday."

Zheng Shiyong seized the opportune moment to stand up and say a few words.

"In the days to come, I will certainly do my utmost to fulfill my duties and shine for the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office."

Zheng Shiyong’s words were met with another round of cheers from the constables, as well as a nod of approval from Constable Yan.

It was just unknown how many of the constables’ cheers were truly sincere.

Beside him, Monkey Head curled his lip but said nothing.

Chen Ping’an watched Zheng Shiyong, who was soaking up all the attention, and felt neither joy nor sorrow.