Chapter 42: New Year

Xu Ning left and went straight back to his study.

He completely lied about Master Qu having something for him to do.

The situation was obvious: Chen Ren was dissatisfied with Xu Ning.

If Xu Ning wanted to continue surviving in the Maple Lane Guard Station, he would have to use Qu Dayou’s name.

When Xu Ning returned to the small courtyard, he noticed that Pan Du was gone.

He wondered if Pan Du had woken up by himself, or was carried away by someone else.

Anyway, Xu Ning didn’t really care. He just went straight back to his study.

.

An hour later, the city guard who had just sent Feng Sigua to the hospital returned.

He brought over the bill for Feng Sigua’s treatment at the hospital.

“Twenty taels…”

Xu Ning took note of the cost of Feng Sigua’s treatment.

This was less than Xu Ning expected. It seemed that Feng Sigua’s injury might not be as serious as it seemed.

This was good news, but it was obvious that Feng Sigua had to rest for a while.

“Go and take this bill to the accountant and let them sort it out…”

Xu Ning said to the city guard.

“Okay.”

The city guard took the bill, turned around, and left.

…

Over the next two weeks, Xu Ning stopped going to the guard station every day. He only showed up once every few days.

Qu Dayou met up with Xu Ning again during this time period.

This time, Qu Dayou talked about the feud with Cai Qinghan.

Ever since Qu Dayou became the captain of Camp Site Three, the alliance of Qu Dayou, Xia Yuanxing and Ning Fengwen finally surpassed Cai Qinghan’s overall power.

But Cai Qinghan obviously didn’t intend to just let others overrule him. He seemed to be planning something in the meantime.

Qu Dayou urged Xu Ning to pay attention to his own safety and watch out for any sneak attacks from Dayuan Trading Company.

When the two parted ways, Qu Dayou gave Xu Ning 500 taels of silver.

Xu Ning did not decline.

He knew why Qu Dayou was giving him money.

After all, it would cost a lot of money to fight against the Maple Lane Guard Station and Chen Ren.

…

A few days passed by.

It was the end of the year.

The atmosphere of Chinese New Year was evident in Kangyun County.

The newcomers of Camp Site Three also received their subsidies corresponding to their performance.

Xu Ning received a subsidy of 200 taels of silver and a Swallowtail Flower. In addition to this, he also received his salary from the Maple Lane Guard Station.

However, compared to the subsidies given to newcomers, his monthly salary was a lot less. It was only 50 taels of silver.

In the past, Xu Ning had an income of 250 taels a month. But luckily, after entering the Black Armored Guards, Xu Ning had quite a lot of money saved up in his hands.

Xu Ning had nearly 800 taels of silver saved up.

Xu Ning did not intend to use all of it to buy spirit medicine.

One reason was because the energy points supplied by spirit medicine could no longer fundamentally increase his strength anymore.

The second reason was because Xu Ning also needed money for his livelihood.

A few examples of this would be for maintaining relationships, or just sending money home to his family in order to improve their lives.

The new year was approaching.

At night.

Inside Camp Site Three.

“Xu Ning.”

Tao Qingping, Xu Ning’s roommate, opened the door. After seeing Xu Ning, he said, “The new year is coming soon. What are your plans?”

Xu Ning heard his words and thought for a second. “No special plans.”

In fact, Xu Ning wanted to go home, but that was not possible right now.

Camp Site Three had regulations for newcomers. Only after completing the first assessment, were they allocated five days of leave.

In addition, no one was allowed to leave Kangyun County unless it was required by their task.

“We are all on break the day after New Year’s Day. Tao Qingyuan is going to invite twenty of us to the Runfeng Restaurant for a celebration gathering.”

Tao Qingping said, “I talked with him just now, and he asked me to tell everyone.”

“Good.”

Xu Ning was supportive of this idea.

The twenty individuals from the Tao Village hadn’t gathered together ever since taking on their tasks.

This time, the New Year celebration would allow everyone to gather together, uniting the hearts of the Tao Village people.

As the candidate for the next leader of Tao Village, Tao Qingyuan was obviously the organizer.

…

New year.

Xu Ning woke up from his sleep. There were already the sounds of crackling firecrackers outside his house.

“Get up, Xu Ning!”

Tao Qingping had already put on his clothes.

Today was New Year’s Day, so they didn’t have to wear the Black Armored Guards uniform.

Tao Qingping put on a brand-new cotton coat, which he had bought on the streets a few days ago.

“After eating breakfast, Master Wei will come to the school field to celebrate the New Year. Although it is not mandatory, it is better not to be absent.”

Tao Qingping said.

“Got it.”

Xu Ning rubbed his eyes.

This was his first New Year’s Day in this new world. There were no relatives to celebrate with him, but fortunately, he was not alone.

After washing up, Xu Ning put on a brand new cotton coat as well.

His sister Xu Lian had bought the coat before Xu Ning came to the county city.

After changing his clothes, Xu Ning and Tao Qingping went outside.

Red lanterns were hung in the air over Camp Site Three, couplets were pasted on the doors, and various festive decorations were also placed in the camp site.

Regardless of whether they knew each other or not, everyone took the initiative to greet each other.

After eating breakfast at the dining hall, everyone went to the school field together.

After waiting for a while, Wei Changqing stood on the platform and congratulated everyone on the new year.

After giving out a congratulatory message, Wei Changqing encouraged the newcomers in Camp Site Three to practice martial arts, perform their duties seriously, and live up to the reputation of the Black Armored Guards.

After that, Wei Changqing left. Afterwards, everyone disbanded and went to celebrate the New Year by themselves.

“Everyone from Tao Village, come here!”

After disbanding, Tao Qingyuan yelled to the crowd.

Soon, he was surrounded by newcomers from the Tao Village.

“I’m inviting everyone to celebrate at Runfeng Restaurant! Today at lunch!”

After Tao Qingyuan finished speaking, the Tao villagers around him began to cheer.

They didn’t care much about the food.

There were plenty of delicacies at Camp Site Three.

The reason why everyone was excited was because they could celebrate New Year’s Day together.

“Come, let’s go now!”

When Tao Qingyuan saw that everyone was in high spirits, he had a big smile on his face.

“What time is it? It’s still too early for lunch!”

Someone said to Tao Qingyuan.

Tao Qingyuan smiled. “I know… We’re just going to the restaurant now, not to immediately eat. I have already booked the room in advance. We have tea, dried fruits, and nuts waiting for us.”

“Qingyuan, you’re so thoughtful!”

The crowd cheered again.

Xu Ning was in the crowd. He was completely drowned in the festive atmosphere.

Recently, he was busy feuding with the Maple Lane Guard Station and Dayuan Trading Company, so it was rare for him to feel completely relaxed.

“Let’s go!”

Tao Qingyuan led a group of twenty people towards the restaurant.

Xu Ning walked at the end of the line, and Tao Jin was walking next to him.

“Happy New Year, Xu Ning.”

Tao Jin said to Xu Ning out of nowhere.

“You too. I wish you great fortune in the new year.”

Xu Ning smiled as he responded.

Tao Jin was taken aback when she heard Xu Ning’s words. A smirk suddenly appeared on her face.

“As a warrior, shouldn’t you congratulate me on my martial arts?”

“Same thing, same thing…”

Xu Ning responded.

Tao Jin saw that Xu Ning didn’t want to converse, so she stopped talking.

She walked half a step behind Xu Ning and looked at him from behind.

‘I sense changes…’

Tao Jin noticed that Xu Ning’s temperament had changed a lot.

Now, Xu Ning looked more confident and capable than before.

‘I wonder how much his martial arts has progressed after coming to the county city…’

Tao Jin thought in her heart.

After arriving in Kangyun County, Tao Jin’s own strength had not improved much.

She had been stuck in the inner enrichment realm for a long time, and she was still far from reaching the qi realm.

However, Tao Jin was not in a hurry, because there was a large skill gap between the inner enrichment realm and the qi realm. It took time and diligent practice to break through the realms.

Additionally, she also needed a fortuitous opportunity in order to break through.

Even Tao Qingyuan had yet to reach the qi realm.