Bastard 02

Seeing the family’s expressions as if facing a deadly enemy, Fang Zhiyi realized how awkward the situation was.

“Well, I went out for a walk and noticed quite a few street vendors recently. Business seems pretty good,” Fang Zhiyi said.

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Eldest Brother Fang frowned and said, “Be more specific.”

Fang Zhiyi chuckled, “I don’t have a job right now, so I’m thinking of trying my hand at vending.”

Li Cuixia sneered, “So you’ve just been waiting around, all for money, huh?”

Fang Zhiyi smiled, “Yeah, I need some capital.”

As soon as money was mentioned, the whole family fell silent, and Second Sister buried her head even deeper.

After a long moment, Fang’s Father asked gloomily, “How much do you need?”

Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath and held up a hand.

“Five hundred? You might as well go rob someone!” Li Cuixia exclaimed.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head.

Eldest Brother frowned, “Fifty? That’s still quite a bit…”

Fang Zhiyi smirked, “Five.”

Several pairs of eyes locked onto him sharply.

“Five?”

Fang Zhiyi nodded, “Five is enough. I can make some things myself.”

Achievement unlocked! Hand-cranked flashlight! (Drawing on experience from previous worlds, Fang Zhiyi had improved it further.)

In the end, it was Fang’s Mother who pulled out a crumpled five-yuan note from her pocket and handed it to Fang Zhiyi.

No one in the family said a word.

After dinner, as Fang Zhiyi was tidying up to head out, he overheard Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law arguing.

“What can he even do? Do you really think he’ll live a proper life? How many times now? Since I married into your family, I’ve been cleaning up his mess every day!”

“What can five yuan even do?” Eldest Brother’s voice sounded uncertain.

“That’s because he knows you can’t afford to give more! Just wait and see!”

Fang Zhiyi lowered his head and left in a hurry. Having traveled through so many worlds, he had never felt so ashamed as he did today.

With five yuan in hand, he went to the scrap yard and patiently sifted through the junk. The old man running the place looked at him with a smile, “Fang kid, you’ve got time to come treasure hunting today?”

Fang Zhiyi smiled, “Yeah, just a little hobby.”

“Oh? I thought you were all about slacking off, no other interests.”

Fang Zhiyi kept quiet. Honestly, the original owner’s notorious reputation had probably spread pretty far by now. In this era, with few entertainment options, dancing and gambling were on the rise, along with gossiping about others.

The old man, seeing him silent, continued on his own, “I’m old, but I still gotta say this—you’ve got a good life at home, but you’ve managed to mess it all up.”

Fang Zhiyi stood up, glanced at the old man, and grinned, “You have to take some losses to learn your lesson.”

The old man was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the kid to not only not get angry but to be so straightforward. Maybe the rumors were wrong?

Fang Zhiyi knew full well that in the original story, this old man had also lectured the original owner. Holding a grudge, the original owner had teamed up with other small-time thugs to steal a lot of stuff from the scrap yard late at night. Looking back, Fang Zhiyi felt a bit guilty toward the old man.

One of them bent down rummaging through things, while the other sat smoking, chatting casually. The old man had a strange feeling—this young guy’s tone and manner of speaking reminded him a lot of those old scholars, no, even steadier than them.

But he still shook his head; he was getting old after all.

Fang Zhiyi had been digging around for quite a while, and sure enough, he found quite a few useful parts.

“Old man, how much do these things cost in total?”

The old man glanced at the pile and waved his hand. “Take them. Just promise me you won’t cause any trouble from now on.”

Fang Zhiyi looked down, then without another word, pulled out some money and handed it over. “If this isn’t enough, that’s all I’ve got. I’m heading off now!”

“Hey?”

The old man watched his back, then looked at the money in his hand. Rumors were unreliable, but this kid really wasn’t as bad as people said.

The Fang family saw Fang Zhiyi come home carrying a heap of junk. He locked himself in his room, tinkering away with a constant clinking and banging. During that time, he came out a few times to borrow some tools from Fang’s Father. The whole family was a bit puzzled.

But no matter what, at least he wasn’t out gambling—that was a good thing.

Early the next morning, Fang Zhiyi left without even having breakfast.

At the Fang family’s breakfast table, the atmosphere was still heavy. Fang’s Father quickly finished his rice and went off to work. Eldest Brother Fang and his wife also left together. Second Sister Fang was working the late shift today; after doing some handcrafts at home, she headed out.

As she passed through the street, she noticed a crowd gathered in tight circles. At first, she didn’t pay much attention, but as she got closer, she heard a familiar voice.

“Come take a look! Whether you buy or not doesn’t matter, just come support the scene!”

Second Sister Fang froze. That was her little brother’s voice?

Surprised, she pushed through the crowd, and there she saw her brother, holding some oddly shaped little gadget, enthusiastically explaining it.

“This thing doesn’t need electricity! Just a shake of the hand and it lights up.” Fang Zhiyi began demonstrating.

People in the crowd gasped, then more and more expressed amazement.

“How much for this little gadget?” someone asked.

“Not too expensive, not too cheap—ten yuan each.”

“Too pricey, isn’t it?”

“Pricey? If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy it. I’m buying! You have to spend money on batteries for a flashlight, right? With this, I can save the cost of several pairs of batteries every month!”

That comment made the onlookers suddenly understand.

“I want one!”

“Me too!”

“Sold out? Will you come again tomorrow?” someone asked.

Fang Zhiyi nodded. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

He glanced at Second Sister Fang’s retreating figure.

That night, Fang Zhiyi came home with another batch of parts. As soon as he stepped inside, Fang’s Father frowned.

“What were you doing today?”

Fang Zhiyi was taken aback. “Setting up a stall.”

“Selling what?”

Fang Zhiyi smiled. “You want to know? I’m selling some little inventions—a hand-cranked flashlight, you know?”

Fang’s Father’s face remained dark. “I heard from your sister that you were up to no good again with those ruffians, scamming people, right?”

Fang Zhiyi understood immediately. “How can that be called scamming? They were just helping me gather a crowd.”

“Gather a crowd? Why would you need a crowd for setting up a stall?”

“You say that, but if no one comes, what kind of stall am I running?”

Fang's Mother quickly stood up, sensing the tension, and urged, “Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let’s eat first.”

Eldest Brother Fang also spoke up, “Third brother, how much did you make today?”

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand dismissively, “Didn’t make any money. I spent it all on parts.” He pointed to the bags on the floor.

Eldest Brother Fang was taken aback, “You bought all this?”

Fang Zhiyi almost choked, “No, do you think I’d go stealing?”

But seeing the doubtful looks around the room, Fang Zhiyi could only offer a few words to defend himself.

After he went back inside, Fang's Father wore a stern expression and said, “Tomorrow, you all come with me to have a look. Second brother, you lead the way.”