novelapdf Chapter 3 Dream
Chapter 3 Dream
A tiny, orange flame flickered in the darkness, casting an indistinct glow on a face.
There was no timekeeping device at home, so Zhou Qiuyuan didn't know what time it was. Based on his experience from the previous two times, it was probably around midnight.
The first time I entered the dream world was right after I transmigrated. The events that happened the next day seemed familiar, as if they were happening again yesterday.
The second dream about the future completely convinced him that his dreams could predict the future. He used the information he knew in the dream to intercept the mutated egg and save his father's life.
If the experience of a future dream is too real, will there be any abnormalities in reality if one is injured or dies in a future dream?
This is the hope for cultivating immortality through body refinement; we must obtain more information about the future dreams.
Instead of waiting for the rooster to crow at dawn, Zhou Qiuyuan tiptoed out of the door, opened the latch, and went out.
The night was as dark as ink, and everything outside was swallowed by darkness. The oil lamp in my palm seemed to be the only source of light in the world.
Using the dim light, Zhou Qiuyuan walked forward along the old city wall on the left.
The people in the courtyard were fast asleep, and all was quiet except for the sounds of footsteps and breathing. Just then, a crashing sound came from the left, originating from the direction of the city wall.
He held the oil lamp high, aiming it at the city wall.
The orange light was faint, barely illuminating an area of more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), where a ferocious face could be vaguely seen emerging on the city wall barrier.
The monster had a head that resembled a human face, six small black eyes, and a mouth that occupied half of its face, filled with fine, black, sharp teeth. Behind it were a pair of black wings like those of a bat.
It sensed the light source in the distance and desperately rammed into the array barrier.
Is this what kills people in the darkness?
More and more monsters with black wings appeared, ten, a hundred, a thousand... They gathered more and more outside the barrier, like a dark tidal wave. Before Zhou Qiuyuan could make a move, he suddenly felt footsteps rapidly approaching from behind, and the light of the oil lamp went out.
The sudden turn of events made his body tense, and he clenched his left fist, instinctively ready to throw a punch.
Zhou Chengwu withdrew his hand from the lamp wick and said sternly, "Nighttime is different from daytime. You can't bring a lamp near the city wall, or you'll attract unclean things."
"Midnight curfew. If the city guards discover any anomalies in the array barrier, you will not only suffer imprisonment, but also have to pay a hefty fine."
"It's getting late. There's a urinal for urination, and an outhouse for defecation."
Zhou Qiuyuan had intended to explore the darkness in his dream, but since his father had discovered him, he could only return to the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest, feeling rather dejected.
As dawn broke, Zhou Chengwu carried buckets to fill the water vat in front of the door.
Shen Wan was cooking rice porridge in a large pot, with a little wild vegetable added.
"Son, you will come with me to the Zhou residence today."
"good!"
After breakfast, the two changed into their unpatched, respectable clothes, which they only wore during festivals, and headed towards the east side of the city.
The outer city of Kuromasa is quite large, accommodating two to three hundred thousand people, with nearly 90% of the population residing in the western, southern, and northern areas. The eastern city, located near the inner city entrance, is lined with shops and is a well-known affluent area, frequented by the wealthy and powerful.
Carrying the mutated egg, Zhou Chengwu viewed everyone as a thief, proceeding with extreme caution. After wandering around for a while, he arrived at Dongliu Street and knocked on the side door of the Zhou family's house.
"Who is it!"
The gatekeeper yawned, glanced sideways at the newcomer, and seeing his plain clothes and emaciated face, assumed he was a pauper. He impatiently waved him away, saying, "Go back to where you came from! The Zhou family doesn't hire servants anymore!"
Impoverished families who could not survive sold their children into slavery to wealthy families in the city, hoping that their children could stay in Black Swamp City and survive.
The world was in hardship, and more and more families were selling themselves into slavery; the Zhou family's servants were already at full capacity.
Zhou Chengwu quickly said, "Please inform them that I am looking for my uncle, Zhou Jintai."
Uncle?
Upon hearing that the man was a relative of the master, the gatekeeper dared not neglect him and hurriedly entered the mansion, saying, "Please wait a moment."
Half an hour later, the gatekeeper returned and welcomed the two inside.
Zhou Jintai, the head of the Zhou family, sat in the main seat of the reception room, with a middle-aged woman sitting to his right. The two of them carefully examined the newcomer.
"You must be Chengwu? It's been over ten years. What brings you here today?" His tone lacked warmth, as if he regarded the two as poor relatives trying to freeload.
Zhou Chengwu appeared slightly reserved and said, "Uncle."
Zhou Qiuyuan also stepped forward to greet him, "Great-Grandpa."
"Uncle, your nephew has discovered a fortuitous opportunity..."
When Zhou Chengwu described the prospects of the mutated eggs, he was basically just repeating what Zhou Qiuyuan had said.
Zhou Jintai stroked his beard and nodded approvingly: "It's good that you still think of the clan after good things happen."
With household expenses increasing and a need for new income, the mutated eggs arrived just in time.
Zhou Jintai put away the mutated egg and instructed his servant, "Xiao Qi, go to the storeroom and get a thousand coins."
"Uncle, this isn't appropriate..." Zhou Chengwu's smile was stiff. Compared to the promising future of the mutated egg, a thousand coins was far too meager.
"Too little?" The middle-aged woman, who had been observing from the sidelines, said with dissatisfaction, "Whether mutant chickens can even be raised is another matter entirely. A thousand coins is ten times the price of the same weight of mutant meat on the market!"
"Since you believe that breeding mutant chickens has a good future, why don't you raise them yourself?"
Zhou Chengwu's face turned pale and then red, but he didn't want to contradict his elders.
Zhou Qiuyuan disregarded the thinning family ties and coldly snorted, "I'm not selling! There are plenty of wealthy families in the city; someone with discerning eyes will surely recognize its value!"
The middle-aged woman caught the veiled sarcasm in his words, and her face darkened. "You sharp-tongued little brat!"
Zhou Jintai raised his hand to interrupt the argument, and said with a warm smile, "Hatching and raising mutated eggs are both problems, and the owner also has to bear the risks."
"Business is business, but Uncle will not mistreat his own family. If the business of raising mutant chickens succeeds, the Zhou family is willing to help his grand-nephew Qi Ling and find him a job in the family."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Zhou Chengwu accepted the thousand copper coins handed to him by the servant, feeling inexplicably at ease. Wasn't the reason he sold the mutated eggs to the Zhou family to pave the way for his son's future?
The best outcome would be to get Qi Ling and the Zhou family job.
Zhou Qiuyuan had seen many bosses make empty promises to their employees, so he didn't care at all.
When is the business of raising mutant chickens considered successful? Is it when the hatched mutant chickens can reproduce? Or when mutant chicken farming reaches a large scale and becomes incredibly profitable?
Even if the Zhou family keeps their promise, will he have to wait three years? Or five?
Zhou Qiuyuan did not place his hopes on the Zhou family's reward, nor was he willing to wait a long time for an uncertain outcome.
However, he did not refute it and waited to see how things developed.
Zhou Jintai picked up his teacup, blew on the rising steam, and said, "A feast has been prepared at home, please stay for dinner!"
It was still early before noon, and Zhou Jintai ostensibly invited the guests to stay for lunch, but in reality, he was serving them tea and seeing them off.
"We have other things to do, so we'll be leaving now." Zhou Chengwu didn't understand the implied meaning, but he was concerned about his reputation and didn't want to leave the Zhou family with the impression that he liked to take advantage of others.
As the two men left, the middle-aged woman said with displeasure, "Master, are you really planning to secure a future for them? If our poor relatives in Black Swamp City find out, won't they all come knocking on our door begging for our money?"
Zhou Jintai put down his teacup, his smile gentle, and said, "How could I allow someone who disrespects his elders to take a place in the Zhou family's household?"
"This move is merely to appease them. The situation in Blackswamp City is turbulent; the poor don't live long!"
As soon as the Zhou father and son left the Zhou residence, Zhou Qiuyuan bid farewell to his father, saying, "I don't know when the business of raising mutant chickens will be successful. I'll find a suitable job in the city first."
Zhou Qiuyuan looked at the vendors hawking their wares along the street and pondered how to make money.
Whether it's food, clothing, shelter, or even secretly raising the spirit without his father's knowledge, everything requires financial support.
This isn't the world before I traveled through time; otherwise, with lotteries, stocks, forex, futures, and cryptocurrencies, making money would be too easy!
While others would be driven to despair by leverage of ten or a hundred times, Zhou Qiuyuan, through information obtained from future dreams, can easily earn astonishing profits and become rich overnight.
Black Swamp City has no lottery or stock market, eliminating any chance of making a fortune through numbers or mysterious codes.
The only thing associated with it is the gambling den.
Gambling requires start-up capital, and Zhou Qiuyuan didn't have a single copper coin in his pocket, so he couldn't quickly earn his first pot of gold.
He tried hard to recall the original owner's memories, and suddenly a bold idea came to him.
"I was so stupid!"
"You can get it for free!"