Chen Ye handed the bags of small beans in his hand to Da Ming, shouldered the rice, and directed the Shop Assistant towards the Yu Ying Hall.
Da Ming lowered his head and honestly followed behind Chen Ye.
The street was full of pedestrians. Chen Ye suddenly saw several black-robed Constables standing by the street, questioning a woman.
The woman wore a light yellow dress, her eyes were red and swollen, and she kept crying and sobbing.
"Oh, my poor child..."
"He disappeared in just the time it takes to turn around."
"Song Butou, please..."
The woman became more agitated as she spoke and couldn't help but kneel down.
Among the Constables, a black-faced, burly man quickly helped the woman up.
Chen Ye glanced at them and shook his head slightly.
There were also human traffickers in ancient times. Kidnapped boys were sold as house servants, and girls were sold to brothels.
This was very common; once they were kidnapped, they basically couldn't be found again.
Thinking of this, Chen Ye quickly turned around and looked at Chen Daming.
Chen Daming noticed Chen Ye's gaze and chuckled foolishly, "Dad!"
Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Human traffickers shouldn't kidnap Da Ming, right?
Da Ming is so foolish, which blind human trafficker would kidnap him?
He was really worrying too much.
The Shop Assistant, carrying the mixed grain flour, glanced at the crying woman and sighed, "It's only been a few days, and another one is lost."
"Including this one, nearly twenty children have been lost in Yu Hang County this month."
Hearing this, Chen Ye was a little surprised.
"Is it that serious?"
"Can't the Constables find them?"
The Shop Assistant pouted and said, "These Constables are just freeloaders."
"When something happens, don't count on them. Besides arresting villagers, they can't handle any big cases."
The black-faced Constable who was comforting the woman not far away suddenly turned his head and glanced at Chen Ye and the Shop Assistant.
The Shop Assistant, who was carrying the flour sack on his shoulder, didn't notice this scene.
Chen Ye was slightly startled. The distance between the Shop Assistant and the black-faced Constable was nearly ten meters.
At this distance, plus the sound of pedestrians talking around, could the black-faced Constable hear what the Shop Assistant said?
While thinking, Chen Ye couldn't help but take another look at the black-faced Constable.
The black-faced Constable seemed to glance unintentionally and quickly turned his head back.
A coincidence?
Or does this world really have masters of the Martial Arts World?
A trace of doubt arose in Chen Ye's heart.
They continued along the long stone-paved street.
Arriving in front of the Yi Hong Courtyard.
The sweet chirping sounds of women came from upstairs. Charming women waved their handkerchiefs, their round fans half-covering their faces, their eyes flowing with emotion, occasionally casting seductive glances at pedestrians.
A faint scent of powder permeated the air.
The Shop Assistant stopped to watch, his face full of envy.
"If I could go in and experience it once, this life wouldn't be lived in vain."
Hearing the Shop Assistant's words, Chen Ye found it amusing: "What? Brother Zhang, is the consumption at Yi Hong Courtyard very high?"
The Shop Assistant's surname was Zhang. The two had learned each other's names through conversation along the way.
"Ten taels of silver for one night."
The Shop Assistant looked at the gorgeously dressed women upstairs and swallowed, saying.
Ten taels of silver?
Chen Ye's expression couldn't help but change.
Is this inlaid with gold or silver?
So expensive!
Chen Ye immediately dismissed his previous idea of going in to look around, donate, and do some good deeds.
Chen Daming followed behind Chen Ye. Seeing both adults stop to watch, he also looked up at the building.
He was still young and didn't understand what was so interesting about this.
"When I have money in the future, I must come and experience it." The Shop Assistant said resolutely.
Chen Ye also couldn't help but nod: "We'll talk about it when we have money."
Da Ming blinked his eyes and scratched his head.
He understood this sentence.
We'll talk about it when we have money...
Da Ming looked up at the building intensely and remembered it.
The Shop Assistant put down the rice sack on his shoulder, switched to the other shoulder, and said breathlessly, "Chen Gongzi, are we almost there?"
Chen Ye was also sweating profusely. He wiped the sweat from his face and said, "It's just ahead."
The location of the Yu Ying Hall was indeed a bit remote, located on the edge of the city.
It's no wonder that next to it were brothels. Places like brothels couldn't be located in the city center.
Chen Ye and the Shop Assistant quickened their pace and walked to the entrance of the Yu Ying Hall.
The Shop Assistant put down the sack, looked up at the imposing words "Yu Ying Hall", and fell into deep thought.
He glanced at the Yi Hong Courtyard not far away, and his expression suddenly became very strange.
The Shop Assistant opened his mouth, his face peculiar, but said nothing.
Chen Ye knew the other party had misunderstood but didn't explain. He carried the rice and walked into the courtyard.
The Shop Assistant quickly picked up the mixed grain flour and followed him in.
After putting the rice and flour in the side room, Chen Ye gave him some tip money and sent the Shop Assistant away.
After finishing these chores, Chen Ye sat on a chair, poured two cups of water from the teapot, and gave one to Da Ming.
"Hoo..."
After drinking the water in one gulp, Chen Ye rested for a moment, then took Da Ming out to buy vegetables.
After procuring all the daily necessities, it was already evening.
The setting sun hung diagonally on the wall, and the orange-red afterglow shone on the ground.
A wisp of cooking smoke rose from every rooftop, and a faint aroma of food drifted throughout Yu Hang County.
Chen Ye stood at the entrance of the Yu Ying Hall, the afterglow shining on his face, warm with a hint of coolness.
From now on, he would truly live in ancient times.
After rushing around for two days, arriving at the Yu Ying Hall meant he finally had a place to stay.
For Chinese people, having their own house counts as having a home.
Chen Ye felt a little emotional. He lowered his head and stroked Da Ming's head beside him.
A new life was about to begin.
He also had an extra child under his care.
Raising orphans... it was a heavy responsibility and a long road.
Da Ming felt Chen Ye's rough, warm large hand, raised his head, and said blankly, "Dad, I'm hungry."
This sentence instantly broke the nice atmosphere, and Chen Ye's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Eat! Eat your fill today, eat until you drop, there's plenty."
Chen Ye grumbled as he led Da Ming into the courtyard and closed the gate.
Before long, a wisp of cooking smoke also rose from the small courtyard with the five words "Yuhang Nursery Home" written on it.
Time flowed, and night fell.
In the dim hut, Chen Ye took out a flint and carefully lit the oil lamp.
The lamplight was like a bean, flickering twice before giving off light, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
Da Ming sat by the table, staring at the oil lamp with wide eyes.
"It's really inconvenient without electric lights in ancient times..." Chen Ye sighed.
The night was long. Inside the hut, Chen Ye and Da Ming just stared at each other.
The Da Wu Dynasty had a curfew at night, and unauthorized people couldn't go out.
Those debauched fellows from the brothel next door could only stay overnight and couldn't go home.
"Being idle isn't good."
Chen Ye suddenly remembered the System mall.
He adopted Da Ming and was rewarded with 100 points, just enough to spend.
Opening the System mall, it was divided into four areas: Medicines, Books, Daily Life, and Entry Draw.
The Medicines section contained not only pills and capsules from his previous life but also various ancient elixirs and powders.
The Books section covered all kinds of books. With a glance, Chen Ye saw *The Plum in the Golden Vase* and *The Carnal Prayer Mat*.
The Daily Life section included various clothes, rice, flour, grains, oil, kitchen seasonings, toilet paper, and similar items.
The final Entry Draw was to spend points to draw orphan entries, 5000 points per draw.
After looking around, Chen Ye found that the exchange prices for items were not expensive. Daily necessities and medicines were around 10 points, while books were more expensive; even a comic book of shui hu zhuan cost 50 points.
"The entries are too expensive..."
Chen Ye couldn't help but complain as he looked at the Entry Draw that cost 5000 points per attempt.
Chen Ye spent over ten minutes looking through most of the System mall's functions.
Da Ming sat across the table, quietly staring at the flickering flame on the oil lamp, very well-behaved.
"Stop looking, you'll ruin your eyes if you keep looking."
Chen Ye waved his hand in front of Da Ming's eyes, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Let's look at something good."
Da Ming shifted his gaze to Chen Ye's face, looking foolishly blank.
Chen Ye's left hand flickered, and a book appeared in his hand, reducing his point balance by 50.
He took the book to the table and laid it flat open.
"Let's look at it, and I'll teach you to read characters at the same time."
"You're already ten years old, it won't do if you don't even recognize characters."
"You can be anything, but you can't be illiterate."
Da Ming followed Chen Ye's gaze. With just one look, his eyes widened, and he leaned in a bit.
On the page, several colorful little figures held various weapons, fighting together.
"Come, these three characters are pronounced 'shui hu zhuan'. Repeat after the Dean."
Seeing Da Ming's interested look, Chen Ye couldn't help but smile.
"Dad!"
Da Ming called out foolishly.
"No, it's 'shui hu zhuan', not 'Dad'."
"Dad!"
"Shi wei shui, he wu hu, zhi wu an zhuan."
"De ye die!"
"Hey, you little brat!"
"..."