Lunch was roasted pinecones and elm bark flour noodles.
Zhao Lin had gathered the pinecones the day before. The elm bark flour was made by grinding corn and grain husks into a powder, creating a coarse meal to stave off hunger.
This coarse meal had poor viscosity and wouldn't form a dough with just water. It had to be mixed with ground elm bark to be made into something edible.
The elm bark meal was filling, but eating too much of it made trips to the latrine excruciating.
As the food settled in his stomach, the Spirit Beast Scroll in Zhao Lin's mind began to change.
A faint white mist appeared in the first grid, like condensation on a windowpane in winter, pooling at the bottom.
The white mist slowly released outward, and Zhao Lin felt a stream of heat flow down from the top of his head.
His neck, chest, arms, back, waist, and abdomen... Wherever the warm current passed, a vibrant vitality bloomed.
After a moment, the white mist was completely depleted, and the changes in his body stopped.
'I didn't eat well, so I only got this little bit of Primordial Qi!'
Zhao Lin wasn't surprised. According to the memories in his mind, the white mist was the Primordial Qi that the Spirit Beast Scroll extracted from food.
The Essence Soul guided the Primordial Qi, causing his body to evolve.
The old ox's Essence Soul guided this Primordial Qi to strengthen his physical body, increasing Zhao Lin's strength.
If he had absorbed a dog's Essence Soul, his olfactory system would have been the one to evolve.
However, his current strength was still a far cry from a real ox's. This was a gradual, continuous process.
"Father, Mother, I want to go to the county seat to find a job."
Zhao Lin said to his parents with a serious expression.
He wanted to earn money and eat meat!
Only by eating his fill, and eating well, could he provide the Spirit Beast Scroll with enough Primordial Qi.
"The county seat?"
Zhao's father and Mrs. Zhao were both stunned to hear this.
Mrs. Zhao was the first to react. "The county seat is too far, and you don't know anyone there. If you're going anywhere, it should be the town."
"That's right, your brother worked for the wealthy Jin family. We could ask someone to put in a good word for you; that might work."
Zhao Lin shook his head gently. "The Jin family only hires temporary laborers. They're always rotating people, and I heard there are a lot of people looking for work lately, so the wages are really low."
"There are a lot of people heading to the city, too..."
Zhao's father picked up the thread of conversation. "Of all the surrounding villages, I only know of two people who've made a living in the city. One is a blacksmith, and the other knows how to make tofu."
"We're farmers. We don't have any special skills. If you go to the city, all you can do is sell your labor. You only just turned sixteen this new year; I'm afraid you won't be able to compete with those strong, able-bodied men."
Zhao Lin suddenly smiled and said, "Father, Mother, you don't know yet, but after my big illness, my strength suddenly increased."
To put his parents at ease, he decided to reveal his strength.
"Your strength increased after you recovered?" His parents looked at each other in confusion.
"If you don't believe me, watch."
As he spoke, Zhao Lin walked into the courtyard. His parents, not understanding, followed him out.
There was a stone roller in the courtyard used for grinding grain. Zhao Lin grabbed the bottom of the roller's trough with one hand and hoisted the entire thing over his head.
The stone roller wasn't excessively heavy, but casually lifting it with one hand was something that even the strongest men in the village might not be able to do.
Zhao's father was dumbfounded. "How did you..."
Mrs. Zhao's eyes were poor. She tilted her head and asked, "What did Lin'Er do?"
"He lifted the stone roller with one hand."
"Put it down quickly! Don't hurt yourself!"
Zhao Lin set the stone roller down and dusted off his hands. "Father, Mother, do you believe me now?"
Zhao's father nodded repeatedly. "Good. With strength like this, my son might really be able to find work."
Mrs. Zhao said, "It's almost noon. Why don't you go tomorrow instead?"
Zhao Lin took a gourd from the rack, filled it with water, and tied it to his waist. "I'll go and ask around first," he said. "The sooner I can make a deal, the sooner I can start earning money."
Mrs. Zhao hurried back into the house and came out with a few husk-pancakes. "Take these. Eat them if you get hungry on the road!"
Zhao Lin's eyes grew warm. He tucked the pancakes into his shirt and turned, striding out the door.
"Do you even know the way?"
"This child... Be careful on the road."
His parents called out warnings from behind him. Zhao Lin waved and said, "Father, Mother, don't worry! Just wait for me at home."
...
Qinghe County was over twenty *li* from Three Families Village. Zhao Lin had been to the city once with his older brother last year when they went to pay their grain tax.
He had thought it over last night. Although he could earn money in the town, if he really wanted to understand this world, he should be in the bustling, populous county seat.
He walked briskly and arrived at the county seat's east wharf around the Hour of Wei, which was about one o'clock in the afternoon.
Qinghe County was nestled by mountains and water, boasting an excellent geographical location. It was considered one of the major counties in Ying Province, with a registered population of over 200,000 including the surrounding villages and towns.
In winter, the smaller rivers froze over, but the great river remained navigable.
Many fishing boats, passenger boats, and merchant ships were moored at the wharf. A bustling crowd moved back and forth, creating a lively, clamorous scene.
A group of strong, able-bodied men, busy hauling cargo, caught Zhao Lin's attention.
These men were all uniformly dressed in white vests, with black sashes tied at their waists and sweat towels draped over their shoulders. They were clearly part of an organized group.
Zhao Lin watched for a while and confirmed that these were the dockworkers he was looking for. In this era, they were called *lifu*.
"Big brother, who's the person in charge here?"
Zhao Lin asked, stopping a laborer with an honest-looking face.
The laborer paused for a moment, then, without asking why, looked toward the riverbank. "This section of the wharf is run by Boss Bang. He's the one in the silk robe."
Zhao Lin followed his gaze and saw a wide folding chair set up on the bank, where a large, purple-faced man was seated.
The man had one leg crossed over the other and held a teacup in his hand, sipping from it slowly. Two attendants stood behind him, giving him an imposing air.
Zhao Lin offered his thanks and walked straight up to the large man. Cupping his hands in a salute, he said, "Boss Bang, I'd like to work here. Would that be possible?"
Boss Bang didn't even give him a proper look, just snorted through his nose. "My men are all strapping fellows. A skinny frame like yours won't cut it."
An attendant standing behind him chimed in, "The work here is all back-breaking labor. You can't handle it. Go on home."
Zhao Lin was currently about 1.7 meters tall, which wasn't short for this era, but he had a rather thin build due to malnutrition.
"I'm strong," Zhao Lin said in a low voice.
Boss Bang waved his hand dismissively. "Kids and their big talk. Go on, go on, don't cause a scene here."
Zhao Lin knew that words alone were useless. He scanned his surroundings and saw a laborer passing by, pushing a wheelbarrow filled to the brim with coal briquettes.
"Excuse me!"
Zhao Lin stopped the laborer and took the wheelbarrow from him. Grabbing the edges of the barrow with both hands, he summoned all his strength and lifted the entire thing—cart and coal—to his chest.
Boss Bang could no longer remain calm. His hand trembled, spilling tea, and he asked in astonishment, "You... you've trained in martial arts?"
'So there are Martial Artists in this world…' A thought flashed through Zhao Lin's mind, but he replied, "I haven't. I was born with it."
"Innate Divine Power?"
Boss Bang's eyebrow twitched. 'Don't tell me this is some young master from a rich family messing with me,' he thought. He asked, "What's your name, and where are you from?"
Zhao Lin replied, "My humble name is Zhao Lin. I'm a farmer from the foot of Baitou Mountain. It's the slack season for winter, so I came to the city to find work. I ask for Boss Bang's favor."
Seeing Zhao Lin's sincere expression, which didn't seem fake, Boss Bang was momentarily unsure of his background. He mused, "With that kind of strength, you can indeed handle this line of work."
"Thank you, Boss Bang."
Zhao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "May I ask how the wages are calculated?"
"Wages are paid daily, right after work. But you have to give half of your earnings to me as my cut."
"Half?"
"Don't you complain it's too much. The rule's the same everywhere. Besides, that money is used to smooth things over with both the authorities and the underworld. Not much of it ends up in my pocket."
"Then we'll follow the rules."
Zhao Lin had heard about his father's and brother's experiences working away from home and knew this was how the world worked. He then asked, "So, can I start now?"
"Of course you can."
Boss Bang said, holding out his palm, "First, a one-hundred-coin deposit."
"This... I am penniless."
Zhao Lin patted himself down to show he had no money.
"No money? What if you run off with the cargo?"
Boss Bang frowned, then waved his hand. "Forget it. I'm a kind-hearted man. I'll have someone get you started. But I'll deduct five coins from your wages every day for twenty days."
After speaking, he beckoned over a short, stocky man. "Ma Jiu, you'll be in charge of him today."
The short, stocky man grunted in acknowledgment, handed Zhao Lin a white vest, and led him toward a grain transport ship.
"Boss Bang, what's that kid's story? You didn't even take a deposit?"
After Zhao Lin left, the attendant behind Boss Bang asked.
Boss Bang didn't speak. He just raised his hand, and the attendant quickly passed him a long-stemmed pipe and helped light it.
"That cart of coal... it had to be at least three hundred *jin*."
Boss Bang took two puffs from his pipe and said slowly, "He said he's never trained in martial arts, but I don't quite believe him. Wang Dana of the Tiger Head Gang is known as a Power Realm expert, but if we're just talking about raw strength, I doubt he's much stronger than that kid."
"In this entire east wharf area, which commoner's legs don't tremble before me, Boss Bang? Now look at his demeanor."
"For those of us in the underworld, we have to keep our eyes peeled. You don't want to offend someone whose background you don't know. And taking a step back, even if he is just an ordinary farmer like he says, isn't he still working for me?"
At this, Boss Bang smugly blew a smoke ring.
"He's strong, so he'll do more work. Doesn't that mean I'll get a bigger cut?"
The attendant's face was full of admiration. "A brilliant insight, Boss Bang!"