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Chapter 2: A Genuine Personality
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 10:42:41 +0000 UTCThe wages at Taxue Xunxian Pavilion were quite generous. A regular worker earned sixty copper coins per day, while senior workers like Zhao Erhu earned only twenty coins more. In contrast, many other jobs in the area paid fifty copper coins a day at most.
Chen Xiao also worked the night shift at the store, which brought him an additional income. Altogether, he earned a hundred copper coins a day. This high wage meant that even in a bustling city like the county capital, supporting a family of three wouldn't be a problem.
When Zhao Erhu said he spent money recklessly, Chen Xiao admitted it was partly true—but he also felt misunderstood.
Back in his previous life, Chen Xiao had achieved great success at a young age. He wasn't accustomed to luxurious feasts, but he'd certainly moved far beyond plain meals. Now, in this world, what he ate wasn't just simple; it was downright unbearable.
The staple food for common folks here was coarsely processed millet. The rough texture was like sandpaper to Chen Xiao's throat, and after just two days, he couldn't take it anymore. Though health shows back in his old life always promoted whole grains, there was a limit to how coarse they could be.
From then on, he only ate finely processed grains. Of course, this type of food cost two or three times more than regular staples. And Chen Xiao didn't just indulge once in a while—he followed the habits of wealthy families and ate refined meals every day, every meal.
On top of that, Chen Xiao ate a lot. Likely due to recovering from a serious illness and being in a phase of physical growth, his appetite was insatiable. Three full meals weren't enough—he also needed an afternoon snack and a late-night supper. If he didn't eat on time, his stomach would growl loudly. Even the rarely-seen owner of the shop had heard of the worker with a voracious appetite.
As a result, more than half of Chen Xiao's monthly wages went toward food.
When it came to his other expenses, people accused him of being picky.
But Chen Xiao wasn't intentionally extravagant. He could endure hardship when he had no choice, but why should he now, when he earned his money fair and square?
Moreover, this second chance at life was a gift he didn't understand. For all he knew, it could be taken away at any moment. Why save money for someone else to benefit from after he was gone?
For instance, he insisted on wearing undergarments made of fine cotton rather than coarse hemp. His winter coat wasn't just padded with cotton but also lined with soft lamb wool. While others managed with one warming pot, he purchased two more. Unlike his colleagues who washed their faces with cold water in the morning, Chen Xiao went out of his way to craft a cover for his copper kettle to keep water warm.
These habits made him seem less like an ordinary worker and more like a pampered young lady.
Still, Chen Xiao felt he had valid reasons. He wasn't picky by choice. Except for coarse hemp, which he genuinely couldn't wear, his other "luxuries" were simply a matter of adapting to the northern climate. As someone originally from the south, he found the county capital's winters unbearably cold.
Even more strangely, Hanwa, the body's original owner, had spent over a decade in this place and had no trouble enduring the cold. But after Chen Xiao took over, his sensitivity to the cold matched what he'd experienced in his previous life. This puzzled him, and he wasn't sure whether it was a blessing or a curse.
After finishing his meal and tidying up, Chen Xiao went to the area he was responsible for to organize the shelves.
The store's name, Taxue Xunxian Pavilion, was so pretentious that it immediately suggested the owner was an overzealous fan of immortals. Otherwise, why hang such an overly poetic name on a signboard? Of course, this was just Chen Xiao's internal critique—maybe this was the aesthetic standard of the Dai Kingdom.
Judging by its popularity, the shop was one of the most successful antique stores on the street.
The street where Taxue Xunxian Pavilion was located was a bustling hub, wide and long, lined with shops showcasing a dazzling array of goods. There were even street vendors with carts on the roadside. When Chen Xiao first arrived, he felt like he had stepped into an ancient market street back in his home country.
The street wasn't overly crowded on regular days, but during special occasions, it became lively. For instance, when an immortal sect opened its gates to recruit disciples, the locals would swarm to the shops, buying anything they could. They believed it brought good luck and a touch of immortality.
The scene reminded Chen Xiao of parents back home praying at temples before their children's exams. It wasn't about actual results—just peace of mind.
Stepping into the shop revealed even more differences from the antique stores of his past life.
Here, the stores didn't just sell historical artifacts from the country's history but also relics believed to have been used by ancient immortals.
Much like the antique market of his previous life, where real treasures were rare among fakes, the so-called immortal relics here were likely no different—ten out of ten were probably frauds.
Still, the locals pursued these items with unrelenting fervor.
They wanted anything connected to the immortals—anything. Chen Xiao had even seen items like bamboo chopsticks and soup spoons displayed as relics.
Among the shop's cluttered and overwhelming inventory, Chen Xiao's gaze settled on something truly unusual.
The item was a jade pendant, its luster dulled by the passage of time, but adorned with intricate carvings. Due to its lackluster appearance, it was placed among a pile of other unremarkable trinkets.
Chen Xiao noticed it because he could perceive faint, concealed fluctuations emanating from it—an aura he was all too familiar with. It was Qi!
The ability to see Qi was Chen Xiao's unique talent, the cornerstone of his success as a Feng Shui master at a young age. The rigorous training it took to develop this skill wasn't worth recounting now, but discovering an object imbued with Feng Shui Qi in this unfamiliar world left him utterly astonished.
However, the shop's staff, emboldened by its prestigious reputation, looked down on Chen Xiao's plain attire and dismissed him outright. When he inquired about the pendant, he was met with sneers and mockery before being unceremoniously shown the door.
Chen Xiao wasn't one to dwell on insults. He memorized the shop's name and continued exploring other stores. Yet, objects with discernible Qi were exceedingly rare. After scouring the entire street, he found only a handful of such items, most of which were in Taxue Xunxian Pavilion, the very shop where he eventually sought employment.
At the time, Chen Xiao had little understanding of the world's cultural and spiritual norms. The shop's poetic name didn't immediately strike him as significant. After securing the job, he diligently worked while subtly gathering information. Yet, despite his best efforts, the experienced shopkeepers revealed nothing of real value.
It wasn't until a stove owner casually mentioned the origins of a particular object that Chen Xiao pieced things together—the items with Qi were remnants of the immortals.
The realization hit him like a thunderclap.
In his previous world, items carried by accomplished monks or Taoists over long periods would acquire a distinct aura. Here, it seemed natural that objects linked to immortals would exhibit a similar phenomenon.
No wonder the shopkeepers were so secretive. The ability to discern authentic immortal artifacts amidst countless mundane items was an invaluable skill, one they had no intention of sharing with a lowly assistant like him.
When the truth dawned on him, Chen Xiao was exhilarated. His unique talent meant he could easily identify such items. Selling just one genuine immortal relic each year could provide him with a comfortable livelihood.
Better yet, as a Feng Shui practitioner, tools imbued with Qi were vital components of his craft. The thought of finding such items effortlessly in this world filled him with excitement.
But his joy was short-lived.
The first time Chen Xiao stepped out of his temporary residence after recovering from his illness, he looked up at the night sky and froze. It felt like he had been struck by lightning.
The constellations were completely alien.
He soon discovered that even the celestial terminology in this world was different. What he had known as the Sun was referred to here as the Solar Star.
A sense of disorientation and dread consumed him.
In Feng Shui, the alignment of the stars is crucial for determining directions. Without familiar constellations, how could he be sure that north, south, east, and west were even accurate here?
Feng Shui, after all, is an art where a single miscalculation can lead to disastrous consequences—not just rendering a setup ineffective but potentially wreaking havoc on the environment and the fates of future generations.
The collapse of his meticulously studied knowledge system left him bitter and lost.
But Chen Xiao was resilient. He accepted his new reality, bid farewell to the family that had cared for him, and set out to find a way to survive in this strange new world.
When he realized that immortal artifacts carried Qi and could serve as Feng Shui tools, his excitement returned briefly—only to fade again when the practical challenges dawned on him.
He couldn't risk experimenting recklessly. A mistake would not only damage the Feng Shui of a place but also harm his own karma, potentially cutting his second life short.
He had once been arrogant and paid dearly for a misstep in his previous life. He wasn't about to gamble with his hard-won second chance.
Now, in Taxue Xunxian Pavilion, Chen Xiao carefully polished the items on display using a soft cloth. The shelves he was responsible for were filled with miscellaneous objects—pen racks, seals, bamboo carvings, wooden sculptures, and ivory pieces.
He moved systematically from one item to the next until he paused at a particular ivory plaque. Among the shop's stock, it was one of the rare immortal artifacts.
Over the months he'd worked there, not a single customer had shown interest in the plaque.
Because it was in his designated area, Chen Xiao had secretly resolved to recommend it to a discerning collector just before leaving the job. The commission he'd earn from the sale could serve as travel funds for his next journey.
Every time he cleaned the ivory plaque, he treated it with meticulous care, as if it were his lifeline.
While he spent freely, Chen Xiao was just as adept at making money.
