Ethan Brooks was deeply in awe of these wandering heroes and usually didn’t dare come to the Tianying Inn alone.

In this inn, Ethan Brooks was only familiar with the young attendant Sam.

Sam was the same age as him, with a bluish birthmark on his cheek that made him look a bit ugly. He had no friends either in the Tianying Inn or in the county town, and was often bullied by the senior attendants.

However, Ethan Brooks knew that although Sam looked a bit ugly, he had a good heart. That’s why they became close brothers, and every time Ethan Brooks came to the county town, he would look for Sam to play with.

“Brother Chen, what brings you here!”

Sam was wiping chairs and clearing away the leftovers on the tables. When he saw Ethan Brooks appear outside the inn, he was both surprised and delighted, and wanted to run out to greet Ethan Brooks.

Suddenly, a large hand came down from above, grabbing Sam’s ear and yanking hard. Behind him came the furious voice of Mr. Foster Sr., “Sam, you lazy rascal, always slacking off! Hurry up and clean the tables!”

“Ow, my ear’s coming off, coming off~! Please spare me, boss!”

Sam screamed in pain like a pig being slaughtered, begging Mr. Foster Sr. for mercy.

Inside the restaurant, the many meat-eating, wine-drinking heroes burst into laughter at the scene, slapping the tables in amusement.

Ethan Brooks didn’t dare approach the Tianying Inn any closer. He just waved at Sam from a distance, signaling him to keep busy, and then huddled in a corner across the street, waiting for the inn to close for the night.

As a menial attendant, Sam was busy nonstop, serving tea and water to the inn’s guests. He probably wouldn’t be free until the inn closed at night.

Ethan Brooks looked at the sky—it was already evening.

He figured that by nightfall, once these heroes had eaten and drunk their fill, they would leave.

He wasn’t familiar with other places in the county town, and worried about getting lost, so he didn’t dare wander around at night. He just stayed in the corner by the street, enduring his hunger.

Working as an attendant at the Tianying Inn was no easy job. Sam served dishes to the guests, and if he was even a little slow, the boss would scold him harshly.

Some of the heroes had violent tempers. If the attendants were even slightly negligent in serving tea or food, they’d get slapped hard across the face.

Ethan Brooks shrank into the corner, watching from afar, feeling deeply sorry for Sam.

Being a young attendant at the inn was truly pitiful—busy and exhausted, and constantly subjected to the boss’s and the heroes’ beatings and scoldings.

Back in Zhouzhuang, life was tough for Ethan Brooks, and he often didn’t know where his next meal would come from, but at least he wasn’t insulted or beaten like this.

Usually, his parents were busy fishing in the big lake, leaving him free to catch fish in the streams, climb trees for bird nests, or pick wild vegetables in the fields to feed himself. He was used to this freedom, with no one to restrain him.

Ethan Brooks sighed in his heart, not knowing whether it was for Sam or for his own future.

If he found a job as an attendant or menial worker in the county town in the future, he’d probably end up living just like Sam, bullied every day.

……

The sun set in the west, and night fell completely.

By late night, the Tianying Sect men in the Tianying Inn had eaten and drunk their fill. Drunk, they clasped fists in farewell and left one after another, and only then did the Tianying Inn close for the night.

Sam’s face was covered in bruises, his ears red and swollen—clearly, he’d been beaten and scolded plenty by the boss and those Tianying Sect heroes. But at least he’d made it through to closing time, and his face was full of excitement.

The Tianying Sect heroes ate and drank as they pleased, leaving behind plenty of food.

There was a large amount of leftover food and rice that couldn’t be finished. Today, Mr. Foster Sr. was uncharacteristically generous and allowed the cooks and attendants to pack it up and take it home.

Even the lowest-ranking attendant, Sam, got a fair share.

He used a big lotus leaf to wrap up the leftover dishes, along with a big lump of leftover rice and bits of fine meat, then called out to Ethan Brooks, who was sheltering from the wind in the corner outside the inn, and together they excitedly returned to the back courtyard of the Tianying Inn.

The back courtyard of the Tianying Inn was large—a place where the cooks and attendants cooked, washed vegetables, and did odd jobs.

In the corner of the yard was a woodshed piled with straw and firewood, which was where Sam lived.

When Ethan Brooks saw Sam’s bruised and swollen face, he felt guilty and said, “Sam, I’ve caused you trouble! Made you get beaten by Mr. Foster Sr..”

“What are you saying? We’re brothers. Even if you didn’t come, I’d still get beaten by the boss every day. Come on, Brother Chen, it’s not often you come to the county town—tonight I’ll treat you to something good! There’s half a stewed pork trotter bun in here, and half a braised crucian carp! These are the specialties made by our inn’s head chef, totally different from the plain boiled fish we make at home. He added several big spoonfuls of vegetable oil, pure white salt, and more than ten spices, stir-fried over high heat—it smells amazing!”

Sam said excitedly, his eyebrows dancing, as he placed the bundle of food on the ground.

Ethan Brooks smelled the strange and tempting aroma and swallowed hard.

His family were fishermen in Zhouzhuang, so of course he often ate lake fish and river shrimp. Most of the fish and shrimp at the Tianying Inn were delivered by Zhouzhuang fishermen.

But the fish cooked at home and the fish fried at the inn were completely different.

At home, the fish was cooked very simply—just boiled in a clay pot, and once it was done, they’d fish it out and eat it.

The taste was plain and light, very fresh and a bit fishy.