Life and death are of no concern

  Xiao's daughter's face is hard to produce tears, peach leaf eyebrows are easy to get worried.

  Under heaven's vastness, three parts are clear moonlit nights; two parts are rogues, and that is Yangzhou. Tang · Xu Ning 《Recalling Yangzhou》

  The green hills are faintly visible, and the water is distant; autumn has ended in Jiangnan, but the grass has not withered.

  Twenty-four bridges under the bright moonlight, where is the jade person teaching how to play the flute? - Du Mu

  "A Letter to Judge Han of Yangzhou"

  Yangzhou, since ancient times, due to its unique geographical location and rich products, has been a synonym for prosperity and flourishing, attracting countless literati and wealthy guests to leave behind their writings.

  Footprints, countless talented men and beautiful women have met here, leaving behind a moving and delightful story.

  Even a lush tree has withered branches; even the most ferocious tiger may have a weak son. In prosperous Yangzhou, there are also poorly managed shops.

  In a jewelry store called Jinyu Shi's House on Jinshui Street, Manager Yuan was holding a long and tough rattan stick, whipping a naked boy of 14 or 15 years old who was lying on the ground with his buttocks exposed. The boy was his apprentice. While whipping, he scolded:

  "Look at you still being lazy, I told you to make silver buttons, and out of the five you made, two are defective. Are you a pig? Watch me teach you a lesson today, see if you dare to be lazy again."

  "Master, I don't dare anymore."

  "Master, spare my life! I'll definitely listen carefully next time."

  "Ah... Master, I'm dying of pain..."

  The apprentice who was lying on the ground was still a child, and the rattan rod was long and tough. Every time it was pulled out, it left a deep scar. Each pull was heart-wrenching pain, but he only cried and begged for mercy, not daring to dodge or evade.

  Yuan Zhanggui's full name was Yuan Fugui. Due to excessive drinking, he had almost gone bald and people who knew him called him "Bald-headed Yuan". As the business of his shop was not doing well, his wife died in childbirth when giving birth to a daughter, which made him a middle-aged widower. His temper became even worse and whenever he was in a bad mood, he would take it out on the apprentices in his shop, often beating or scolding them.

  Upon hearing the apprentice's plea for mercy, Yuan Zhang showed no sympathy whatsoever and instead struck him twice more with increased force. Panting heavily, he said: "It would be even better if you died from this beating. I'll drag your corpse to the paupers' cemetery and feed it to the dogs. That way, I'll have one less worry."

  Yuan Zhanggui was also getting a bit tired, holding the rattan stick in one hand and pointing at the two timid apprentices standing aside with the other, saying: "If you two don't listen, your senior fellow apprentice will be your example, do you understand?"

  The two apprentices immediately lowered their heads and responded in unison: "Yes, Master."

  These two apprentices, one named Liu Yuan and the other named Li Fang.

  In Li Fang's eyes, there was a mixture of reverence and mechanical responses. The one called Liu Yuan, who was only 13 or 14 years old, had eyes that darted back and forth with great agility, clearly an extremely clever kid. Although he hung his head low, his gaze conveyed disdain, depression, and a hint of helplessness.

  Liu Yuanqi is a veteran technician of Jinyulianyuan, a leading jewelry company in China. Starting as an apprentice, he has done various processes such as hand-inlaying, wax-inlaying, micro-inlaying, making molds, and polishing, and has excelled in each one. At a young age, he became the head of the handicraft department, with a high salary and great respect from his superiors, and was once the most popular figure in the industry.

  At a young age, he was proud of himself, which was originally a good thing. Unexpectedly, once he had power and position, he became arrogant and his mind wandered, and his heart also became flirtatious. After exchanging flirtatious glances with a beautiful female subordinate several times, the two of them rushed to a hotel on a Sunday evening for a "heart-to-heart" encounter. Just as they were enjoying themselves, the door was kicked open by a muscular man covered in tattoos, who wielded a baseball bat and started beating them mercilessly, cursing as he hit. It was only then that Liu realized that this man was the husband of his female subordinate, who had become suspicious of his wife's unusual behavior and had followed her to the hotel.

  Unexpectedly, they caught the adulterer in the act. Before Liu Yuan could say a word, he was hit on the head by the sturdy man, followed by a severe pain, and then blood kept gushing out of his head. His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, and his consciousness became blurry. Then, he felt himself being lifted up and thrown out of the window on the 13th floor.

  I thought it was all over, but then I let out a loud cry and when I came to, I had crossed over into the Tang Dynasty, inhabiting the body of an apprentice who also happened to be named Liu Yuan. Whether it was coincidence or the Judge of Hell's mistake, Liu Yuan somehow took possession of his body, merging with some of the memories that belonged to that hapless ghost Liu Yuan.

  The shell of the old society has quietly changed into the 21st century.

  It has been more than a month since Liu Yuan possessed the body, and he had always been low-key in doing his own things. Under the circumstances of not drawing attention to himself, he first slowly understood the knowledge of this society and its living habits, so as not to expose himself.

  It took Liu Yuan more than a month to get familiar with the current situation, and the result was a mix of joy and worry: The good news was that he had traveled to a good dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, where Emperor Taizong Li Shimin ruled, and it was now the seventh year of Zhenguan. Cattle and horses were everywhere, people were well-fed and clothed, doors were not closed at night, and roads were safe, with a dou of rice costing only two or three coins, indicating great prosperity. Liu Yuan knew that this was just the beginning of the Tang Dynasty's prosperity, and he estimated that even if he lived to old age, there would be no war disasters.

  Unfortunately, his parents had passed away and he was sent to this place as an apprentice by his unwelcoming brother and sister-in-law. He had a master who looked down on him, so whenever he was in a bad mood, he would take it out on Liu Yuan, Li Fang, and even Zhao Yuan, the senior apprentice who was always kowtowing to him. Liu Yuan never dared to talk back or fight back, simply because:

  When each apprentice worships the teacher, a contract must be signed. In addition to not paying wages and unconditionally listening to the master's words, there is also an additional clause: if you don't listen to the teachings, the master can punish on behalf of your parents, and it doesn't matter if you are beaten to death.

  This is also the reason why the three apprentices are afraid and dare not resist.

  In ancient times, there were two ways to learn from a master. One was to pay a large sum of money for him to teach you, which was the privilege of wealthy families. If students did something wrong, they would be punished by copying texts or being hit on the palm with a ruler, but they would not be severely beaten.

  The second way is the practice of poor families, who can't afford to pay tuition fees, so they send their sons to a master's house, doing all kinds of chores, and becoming an unpaid servant in the master's household. They do whatever they are told to do, with the goal of learning a skill to make a living and establish themselves in society. If they encounter a good master, that's great; but if they encounter someone like Yuan Fugui, Liu Yuan and his two companions can only consider themselves unlucky.

  That was just a living example.

  Free lunch isn't always delicious.

  The name of this jewelry store is not bad, called Jinyu Shi Jia, very grand. In fact, in the prosperous Yangzhou, it's just a small shop that doesn't enter the mainstream. The jewelry they make are all low-end goods, with outdated styles and unrefined craftsmanship. They mostly make inexpensive jewelry, adorned with small, worthless pearls or green agate stones, specifically sold to those poor but fond of dressing up girls.

  Not to mention gold jewelry, even silver ones, in order to save costs, many are paired with copper, the lower the grade, the worse the business, the rich look down on this place, and the poor are afraid of being cheated here, so life is not easy.

  It's been three days since yesterday, and not a single deal has been made, not even a small one. Yuan Zhangang is in a bad mood, so he found an excuse to vent his anger on Zhao Yuan, who was the first to join the company and also Liu Yuan's senior fellow apprentice, which led to the scene just now.

  Liu Yuan felt a deep sense of depression in his heart.

  Others who cross over, if not the descendants of kings and nobles, are either a dandy or a rich second generation. As soon as they wake up, they can chase chickens and dogs, and when they have nothing to do, they tease the beautiful maids in their rooms. When they feel like it, they take a group of lackeys to the streets to flirt with virtuous women, how great is that?

  But Liu Yuan is now just a low-ranking apprentice, following a master with no future but a violent temper, it's simply a miserable life.

  "Dad, I've brewed the tea you bought the day before yesterday. Go and drink it quickly, or it will be cold and not good to drink." Just as Yuan Zhang was about to scold Zhao Yuan, a girl of about 12 or 13 years old, tall and slender, with a beautiful face, walked out and said to Yuan Zhang with a smile.

  This is Yuan Fugui's daughter, also his darling, Yuan Kexin. Her nickname was Xiaoniang. At a young age, she was as beautiful as a flower and intelligent and studious, deeply loved by everyone.

  Seeing his favorite little girl, Yuan Zhang's originally tense face suddenly turned into a smile.

  "Alright, alright, my little daughter is still the most obedient. Alright, Papa will go and drink now." said Yuan Zhanggui with a smile.

  This doesn't look like a harsh master and shopkeeper at all, but rather an image of a kind father.

  "All of you, be more careful! Whoever is careless again, I'll beat you to death!" After finishing speaking, Yuan Zhangzi kicked Zhao Yuan on the ground with great force, as if he hated that iron couldn't be made into steel. Only then did he go to the back room, huffing and puffing, to enjoy the tea that his precious little wife had brewed for him.

  Yuan Zhanggui walked into the inner hall, and the people present finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Master Zhao, are you okay? Get up quickly, my father has a bad temper, don't be angry." The little girl saw that her old father had left and wanted to help Master Zhao get up after being beaten.

  Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuan pushed the little girl away and got up awkwardly, saying coldly: "Don't bother about it, miss. We servants are thick-skinned, nothing's wrong."

  Mouth says nothing's wrong, but eyes are full of resentment and venom.

  In his eyes, the Yuan father and daughter were like two opposing forces, one playing the red face and the other playing the black face, neither of them having a good heart. Working here was worse than being a servant or a house slave. Every day was either beatings or scoldings. Most importantly, Boss Yuan guarded his core technology extremely tightly, not to mention teaching it, but even just looking at it was forbidden. Each time he worked on it, he would either hide in a secret room or shoo away the three apprentices.

  Preventing disciples is more severe than preventing thieves.

  The little girl didn't expect that Zhao, who had always been affectionate and loving towards her, would push her away. The coldness on his face and the resentment in his eyes made him seem like a different person altogether.

  It's his own father who did wrong, not taking the apprentice as a human being. Xiao Niang knew that Zhao Yuan hated herself, it was also a matter of course, biting her lips and saying softly:

  "Zhao Shixiong, wait a minute, I'll help you carry the wine."

  "No need, I'll just suffer through it, don't waste medicine." Zhao Yuan again refused Xiaoniang's kindness, turned his head to Li Fang and said: "Xiaofang, it's time to sweep the floor and carry water, let's go."

  "Alright, Brother Zhao." Li Fang responded with a single word and didn't say anything else. He turned around and went to do the household chores together with Zhao Yuan.

  Zhang Yuan and Li Fang are very close, with a good relationship. Liu Yuan and Xiao Niang call each other brother and sister, but they address each other as brothers.

  The little girl looked at the two brothers with a bit of grievance after they walked away, pouting her small mouth and walking close to Liu Yuan, calling out in a spoiled tone: "Liu brother"