Jin Bao's voice boomed across the noisy market square.
"Medicinal Balm! Freshly refined! Cures sore muscles and joint aches! A genuine Tier 1 Muscle-Ease Balm!"
His shout, full of newfound confidence, cut through the haggling all around the market. A few people paused, their curiosity piqued.
"Isn't this Jin Bao, the noodle shop owner who has not seen a single customer for months now? Why is he selling medicinal balm?" a woman muttered to her companion. "What nonsense is this?"
"Look at him, he's just a fatty. He probably ate all his noodles and came to sell garbage in the market," another man joked, and the small crowd chuckled.
"But who is the person next to him? Is he an accomplished?"
Lei Feng, who had wandered off to inspect a stall selling shiny, useless rocks, paid them no mind.
An old man with a sour face and a hunched back pushed his way to the front. He tapped his cane on the dirt. "A Tier 1 balm, you say? Boy, do you know what a Tier 1 balm is? You look like you just sell noodles."
"Sir, it's genuine!" Jin Bao said, puffing his chest. "My... My master refined it himself!"
"Master? Charlatans always have a 'master'," the old man scoffed. "You're selling snake oil. It's people like you who cheat us common folk."
"It's not snake oil! It works!" Jin Bao insisted.
"Oh, hush, you old goat," a woman next to the man, clearly his wife, snapped. She was hobbling and rubbing her shoulder. "My shoulder has been aching for a week. What's the harm in looking?"
Jin Bao saw his chance. "Madam, please! Just a small sample. It is free! If it doesn't work, I will shut down this shop and leave immediately. Everyone here can be a witness."
The old man sneered. "Fine! But if you poison my wife, I'll have the city guards on you!"
Jin Bao nervously scooped a tiny dab of the green balm. "Please, madam. Just rub it where it aches."
The old woman took the balm, gave her husband a glare, and rubbed it deep into her shoulder. She winced at first, then her eyes slowly widened.
She rotated her arm. Once. Twice. The pained grimace on her face vanished, replaced by pure shock.
"It... it doesn't hurt," she whispered. She rotated it again, faster this time, swinging it in a full circle. "The ache! It's gone! It's really gone!"
The old man's jaw dropped. "What? Impossible! You must be in on his trick! Is he your secret lover from outsi…."
WHACK!
The old woman spun around and slapped her husband square on the back of his head. "You old fool! What nonsense are you blabbering? I've been complaining for a week! This is a miracle balm! Stop talking nonsense!"
She turned back to Jin Bao, her eyes shining. "How much, young man? How much for the whole bowl?"
The crowd, having witnessed the entire exchange, surged forward.
"It really works?" "My back has been killing me from the docks!" "Let me try! I'll pay!"
Jin Bao was suddenly swamped. "One silver coin for a small portion! Five silver for a large scoop!"
"So Cheap? Give me all of it…"
"Old woman Martha, this is not fair. How can you take all the good things for yourself?" Another similarly old woman cut her immediately.
"I'll take a large scoop!" "Give me two small ones!" "Don't push! I was here first!"
The small table was quickly surrounded. One moment, everyone was making fun of Jin Bao. But now that the evidence was clear, everyone wanted some of it.
Lei Feng was still bored. Most of the people in this location were old people. He could not see a single beauty to flirt with. He watched as Jin Bao frantically scooped balm into small pouches and handled the transactions.
Silver coins kept piling up on the table in front of them.
In less than ten minutes, the ceramic bowl was scraped clean.
"Sold out! We are completely sold out!" Jin Bao shouted, holding his hands up. "Please, everyone, come back tomorrow! We will have more tomorrow!"
The crowd groaned in disappointment but began to disperse. Some were happy that they got this good thing for cheap, while others urged Jin Bao to bring more the next day.
As they walked back to the noodle shop, the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.
Jin Bao hastily started counting the silver coins in his pouch.
…99…100…101…102.....107
Jin Bao could not stop glancing at Lei Feng.
"Young Master... Young Master, you are truly a god!" Jin Bao's voice was full of reverence.
He hefted the coin pouch; the clinking sound was music to his ears. "I counted it... One hundred seven silver coins! I've never made so much money so fast in my entire life!"
"This is more than my shop has earned since its inception in this town, and we did it in less time than it takes to eat a meal!"
Lei Feng just shrugged. "It's just hundred odd silver. Barely anything."
Jin Bao choked on his words. 'Hundred silver is nothing to him? Truly, his master treated mundane things like dirt. His awe for his new master deepened. He became even more sure of his choice.
When they reached the dark, empty noodle shop, Jin Bao lit a small oil lamp.
"Young Master, it is late," Jin Bao said respectfully. "Where will you be staying tonight? Do you have a residence in the city?"
Lei Feng paused. "Residence? I just arrived today. I don't have one. I will just sleep under a tree."
Jin Bao immediately offered. "What! Young Master, you... How can that be?"
He immediately bowed. "Please, stay here! My shop is humble, but there is a clean spare room upstairs. It is not worthy of you, but you can take it!"
Lei Feng took an involuntary step back, looking at Jin Bao's large, earnest figure with a flash of disgust.
'Stay here? With him?' Lei Feng thought, a shiver running down his spine. 'People will think I have strange tastes... A man's reputation is important.'
"Absolutely not," Lei Feng said flatly.
Jin Bao flinched. He misunderstood the refusal. 'Ah, of course! He is a great man. It seems like he does not want to impose on me.!'
"Young Master, I understand!" Jin Bao said, suddenly enlightened. "How about you rent a room in an inn?"