Chapter 89: I Wish to Take You as My Honorary Father!

Wu Chen returned to Luzhou and first went to the United Will Exchange to collect the Barbaric-Force Bull Tendons he had asked Manager Liu to procure.

Manager Liu had packed up the stock from several branches around Luzhou and sent it all to Wu Chen, who readily paid the bill.

Afterward, Wu Chen left the exchange and headed for the teleportation array on Sefeng Plain.

But as he walked along the street of the trade district, a figure by the roadside suddenly lunged at him.

After being strengthened by elven vitality and tempered through countless battles, Wu Chen had become highly alert; his body instinctively sprang aside, and he avoided the attack.

The figure missed its mark and fell to the ground, then burst into loud, heartbroken sobs.

Between the cries, it shouted, "You brat have ruined me!"

Wu Chen studied the figure uncertainly, then suddenly remembered who it was.

It was the burly, bearded peddler he had met when he first came to the trade district.

Wu Chen had bought several bronze-grade pieces of equipment from him and, through the system's reversal, earned his first fortune.

"Brother, why are you crying? And how have I ruined you?" Wu Chen asked in confusion.

The bearded man cried and complained bitterly.

It turned out that after Wu Chen had bought a few pieces of equipment with no bonus skills from him that day, the man had assumed that young people these days lacked money and preferred such gear.

So he had gone on a buying spree, stocking up on many trash items without bonus skills, intending to make a killing.

The result was predictable: the goods now sat in his hands unsold, his family was nearly unable to put food on the table, and he could not even pay his son's tuition at a private school.

His wife had recently begun threatening divorce, and the bearded man had fallen completely into a middle-aged crisis.

After hearing his lament, Wu Chen felt utterly speechless.

"Brother, you made that decision so rashly that it's hard for me to sympathize. I almost think you deserve to compensate me instead," Wu Chen said. "Otherwise, it'd be disrespectful to the free market."

"I didn't want this either, but in my life I've encountered too many chances that I let slip away because I hesitated too much," the man said with a mournful face. "The brothers who set up stalls with me at the same time have all become small bosses, and I'm still just hustling at the stalls. Back then I told myself that no matter what, I could not let this opportunity pass."

Wu Chen sighed and said helplessly, "Let me see the equipment you bought."

The man lit up with joy. "You're willing to buy it?"

Wu Chen frowned. "How can anyone tell right now? I have to look first, don't I?"

"Look! Take your time! Look boldly! Look carefully!" The man led Wu Chen to his stall, then turned to a short boss at the neighboring stand and said, "Thanks for watching my stall, Qingzi."

The short boss waved it off. "Everyone has to run to the restroom sometimes. No need to mind it."

After a few polite words, the man hurried Wu Chen to inspect the equipment.

Compared with the roadside stall he had run last time, this one was much more out of the way. No need to say it was because money had become tight; he could no longer afford a good location.

Wu Chen picked through the items on the table, setting some aside, then looked at the bearded man.

The man had been staring at him eagerly all along, and now he immediately blurted out, "You want all of those?"

When Wu Chen shook his head, the man became anxious. "Don't do this. I'll give you a discount. Think of it as a tip to help a couple of brothers buy groceries!"

Wu Chen laughed. "You don't have an ounce of ambition, do you? Is this all the spirit you've got?"

He pointed at the stall and said in a thunderous voice, "Aside from the pieces I've picked out, I want every other item on this stall!"

So satisfying. Far too satisfying. Was this what it felt like to be a spoiled young master?

He could finally understand their happiness.

While Wu Chen secretly reveled in it, the man was stunned. After a long while, his eyes reddened and he asked tremblingly, "Really?"

Wu Chen nodded. "Really. My word is truer than a seal!"

"Ahhh—"

The man lunged out from behind the stall and slid to his knees before Wu Chen, clutching his leg and wailing.

"Since you do not despise me, I am willing to acknowledge you as my godfather! Not for your wealth, only because I admire the innocent beauty in the way you speak!"

Wu Chen hastily reached out to help him up. "No need for that. If you were a few years older, you'd be my uncle."

As he supported the man, he glanced at the man's knees and wondered if they were made of iron. With that sort of talent, why bother running a stall? He should be performing on the streets instead!

After that aborted display of filial devotion, the man began calculating the bill.

"All together, it's five million and seventeen thousand Sky Dragon coins. I'll round it down for you, young master, and call it five million flat," the man said, bowing and scraping with a grin so broad it seemed his face might split.

Well then, he was being called young master now. He really was experiencing the life of a spoiled rich heir.

Wu Chen muttered to himself.

The price was not expensive. Although most of it was bronze-grade equipment, he was buying dozens of pieces at once.

Wu Chen took out his phone and transferred the money. Ever since he had taken the time to send money to Lin Lekan, he had enabled large transfers through online banking.

After the transfer went through, Wu Chen put away his phone, intending to say something to the man, but then he noticed the short boss nearby looking eager to kneel.

So he leaned toward the bearded man and said quietly, "Step aside with me. Let's talk business."

"Of course!" The man turned and shouted to the short boss, "Qingzi, help me watch this a bit more... never mind, these few things don't matter anyway."

The short boss flushed red and immediately replied, "Sure thing. I'll just keep our brother company first!"

He directly ignored the latter half of the bearded man's sentence.

The two of them walked to an unoccupied stretch of road and sat on the curb.

"Um... what should I call you?" Wu Chen asked, suddenly realizing that despite dealing with the man twice, he still did not know his name.

"My name is Hu Lie. Friends usually call me Old Hu or Bearded Hu, and the younger folks call me Brother Hu," the man said with a shy smile. "Young master can just call me Little Hu."

"I'd rather call you Old Hu." Wu Chen pretended not to see the man's alarming shyness.

Then he said, "Old Hu, here's the deal. Help me collect similar trash gear and sell it to me. Fifty pieces a week. How about it?"

Hu Lie's eyes lit up, and his whole body grew excited; his beard nearly stood on end. "Really, godfath—"

Why did this man keep wanting to become his adopted son? What a decline in public morals.

Wu Chen raised a hand to cut him off. "Don't talk nonsense. Are you taking this business or not?"

"I guarantee completion of the mission!" Hu Lie declared solemnly. "I will definitely find the trashiest equipment for godfather—the kind so awful it makes people want to puke, the kind that turns to trash just from being glanced at!"

"...That won't be necessary. Just collect at today's level," Wu Chen said, getting to his feet and brushing off the dust. "It's settled, then. Call me when you've got it."

With that, he left the secluded stretch of road.

Hu Lie returned to the stall beaming with joy. The short boss hurried over at once. "Beard, how was it? Any business to be made? Take your brother along."

"Take you along?" Hu Lie said, standing with measured dignity and giving the short boss two scrutinizing looks from head to toe.