I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Old acquaintance not seen for long, but upon returning, still a youth.

Zhou Yi pinched his fingers and calculated that Old Bai had passed away for one thousand six hundred and thirty years, even his grave had been moved away from the capital.

"Then you can work as a waiter!"

"Eh, thank you for taking me in, Shopkeeper."
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Bai Shiyu gritted his teeth in agreement, feeling as though he was stripped naked under their scrutiny, his heart insecure, nervously rubbing his hands and stomping his feet.

Yang Li's eyes bulged with a hint of resentment as he looked at Bai Shiyu, as if he owed him a great deal of money.

Avoiding Zhou Yi's strange gaze, Bai Shiyu said, "What's wrong with me helping you out, you little tyke?"

"But I came here first!"

Yang Li's voice had a crybaby tone as he had just heard that he could come to the tavern every day; he was so excited he almost cheered. Besides being a paperboy, he now had another stable job, and he could sell peanuts to supplement his family's income.

With the spread of new weaving machines, the demand for cotton, linen, and wool grew inexorably, inevitably causing countless commoners to lose their land.

Landless farmers, in order to eat, had no choice but to work in the city workshops, or else they would not only starve or freeze to death but also violate the Imperial Court's laws.

For the sake of local stability and to ensure the workshops had enough labor, the Imperial Court legally deemed the homeless to be criminals. If one did not have stable employment for a month, they would be captured by the constabulary and taken to the mines to dig for coal.

The low income from the workshops, along with the extremely high unemployment rate, made any job that could steadily earn copper coins extremely precious!

Suddenly understanding, Bai Shiyu's eyes filled with sympathy and regret as he said, "Don't worry, I'm a waiter, not a menial worker, so you'll still have to clean up and take away those peanut shells yourself."

"Really?"

Yang Li exclaimed with surprise, patting his chest as he promised, "I'll make sure it's clean. A few years ago, when I cleaned machines at Wang's Cloth Store, they told me I worked diligently and kept things spotless."

Bai Shiyu smiled and said, "The roasted peanuts are mediocre. I'll teach you how to make secret recipe aniseed beans."

"Thank you, Big Brother Bai!"

Yang Li bowed repeatedly in thanks and, hearing someone wanted to buy peanuts, swiftly carried over a large basin.

Rubbing his hands, Bai Shiyu made small talk, "Shopkeeper, from now on I'll be working as a waiter here. How should we arrange the accommodations and my salary?"

"There are a few rooms in the back courtyard; apart from the master bedroom, pick any you like."

Zhou Yi said, "As for your salary, let's start at two taels per month. If you work well, I'll give you a raise, and there's a bonus at the end of the year."

Since Bai Shiyu had pretended to be a poor man upon arrival, Zhou Yi did not deliberately expose the disguise but instead planned to work him hard.

Having done his homework before arriving, Bai Shiyu adopted the tone of a young waiter and said, "Rest assured, shopkeeper, I'll be sure to satisfy the patrons. So, shall I start working now?"

Zhou Yi nodded slightly and then added,

"First go change into clean clothes!"

...

At night.

The last group of patrons left.

Yang Li swept up the trash, Bai Shiyu tidied up the tables and chairs, and Zhou Yi leisurely read a storybook.

"Shopkeeper, Big Brother Bai, see you tomorrow."

Having finished his work, Yang Li waved goodbye cheerfully, filled with youthful energy seemingly untouched by any hardship.

Perhaps centuries later, Yang Li would become a mere backdrop in history, used to prove the workshops' relentless exploitation of the common people— and indeed it was so. However, the current Yang Li had no such awareness, enduring exploitation and excitedly seeking to earn a few more copper coins each day!

After finishing up with the tables, chairs, and doors, Bai Shiyu said, "Shopkeeper, after a long day, I'm off to sleep."

Cultivation in martial arts to a profound level meant a mere waiter's work couldn't exhaust him. Yet, he always felt Shopkeeper Sun quietly sizing him up, leaving him trembling and with a chill down his spine.

Zhou Yi closed the storybook and smiled, "Today's a good day, how about we go to the brothel and listen to some music?"

Bai Shiyu asked puzzledly, "What's so special about today?"

"It's my twentieth birthday."

Zhou Yi was exactly 1,700 years old and reunited with an old friend, which was a cause for celebration.

Bai Shiyu's face turned slightly red, "I've never been to a brothel..."

Zhou Yi said, "How about Qingqing, the Oiran of the Full Moon Pavilion?"

"Too skinny, can't compare to Miao Yu from the Spring Breeze Building... cough cough."

Bai Shiyu coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment and hurriedly explained, "It's all hearsay, just rumors!"

Zhou Yi didn't call him out, but said with a smile.

"Then we must go and see to verify the truth of the rumors!"

About half an hour later.

Spring Breeze Building.

Zhou Yi stood at the entrance, clicking his tongue in wonder. In just two hundred years, such a big change had occurred.

The girls wore oddly styled clothes, with quite innovative designs. There were silk ones, leather ones, cat ears, fox tails, flirting and posing at pedestrians, clashing with the long robes and scholars' gowns on the street.

"This is truly..."

Zhou Yi had never imagined that simply giving history's wheel a gentle push would result in such a chaotic and mixed scene.

Bai Shiyu said, "I heard these clothes are designed by scholars and every so often, the Spring Breeze Building hosts a competition for new styles, that is the real... tsk tsk!"

"When scholars start getting inventive, they are truly unrivaled!"

During the year Zhou Yi came out of seclusion, he had heard plenty of rumors in the taverns.

The tide of epochal transformation was rolling in, and the old scholars who still clung to the classics knew their knowledge was becoming useless, that they were being abandoned by the times.

With no answers to be found in the canonical texts they had held as standards, these people could only change and explore in confusion, including some radicals whose ideas were even more extreme than the newly emerging families.

Changing clothes and norms was just one aspect.

Some scholars in despair burned books in the streets, let their hair grow wild, swearing to become new sages!

"Setting aside the rest, these new clothes are indeed very appealing."

Zhou Yi stepped inside. Arriving late, the private rooms on the second floor were full, so he could only sit at a common table in the hall.

Although the interior decoration of the Spring Breeze Building hasn't changed much, a closer look revealed historical calligraphy left by famous patrons, intentionally highlighted to emphasize its antique charm and heritage.

Zhou Yi's gaze swept over the signatures, recognizing many, even old friends with whom he had once enjoyed a hearty conversation.

After all, having frequented the Spring Breeze Building for centuries, one couldn't always be celebrating. Even a Golden Elixir True Monarch couldn't handle it, he would exchange insights with interesting people he met.

"These guys, each a libertine, relying on a few strokes of writing and painting, actually have the honor to hang on the wall!"

The calligraphy and paintings of the celebrities showcased the Spring Breeze Building's thousand years of heritage, its profound legacy. Wealthy patrons were particularly impressed. Thus, amidst the transition of eras, not only did it prevent competition from overtaking them, it became more renowned as time went on.

Bai Shiyu started out awkwardly but after a few drinks, he revealed his true colors, expertly feeling the girls' bones.

Zhou Yi called over the madam, gave her several exchange drafts, and requested a change to the music being played.

The melody of string and woodwind instruments was harmonious and melodious.

Zhou Yi suddenly asked, "Little Bai, what do you think of this piece?"

"The performance posture is poor, the voice is overly coquettish, barely listenable. The piece itself is somewhat old-fashioned."

Bai Shiyu's critique was quite professional, obviously a frequent patron of brothels: "This generation's Oiran is rather lackluster. I heard she's been pushed by the Zhao family's business investment to promote their new fabric, and the effect is quite good!"

"Hmm, not bad."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, feeling somewhat relieved inside, and subtly changed the subject.

In the old days, Bai Shiyu used to love this song the most. Every time there was music, he had to request it, saying he could not forget it even after hundreds of reincarnations.

"It seems that, in the end, they are just similar flowers; the talk of reincarnation remains illusory. This is fine, too. I've seen an old friend without any significant risk, otherwise I would have considered fleeing..."