Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7. The Effect of the Vein-Nourishing Soup?
In the little house, Xu Yuan sighed softly.
Back when the family had still been doing fairly well, the original owner of this body had been attending a private school. After that, he had been forced to go out and struggle for survival all on his own, despite still being so young.
His elder brother had always felt somewhat guilty about that. He believed that an elder brother ought to be like a father, yet he had never managed to help much.
But Xu Yuan knew very well that, in times like these, being able to enter the Shangyang Family was already an excellent opportunity.
Once word spread that servants there could learn martial arts, people probably would not even be able to fight their way into a servant’s position there in the future.
“Hoo...”
After suppressing those unpleasant emotions, Xu Yuan slowly let out a breath.
He then went to the back yard where the firewood was stacked. With a casual motion, he split a few large logs into wooden rods, then began practicing his Tai Chi Exercise.
Because of his aptitude, he had run into many problems with the stance training, and Instructor Feng naturally could not possibly explain everything to him one by one.
After all, the Shangyang Family was only willing to teach the servants because it wanted to sift out the hidden gems.
If he went asking whenever he did not understand something, once or twice might be acceptable. But if he did it too often, people would only think his aptitude was terrible, and they might simply choose to give up on him altogether.
So the only thing he could do was draw inferences from one thing to another: improve his own aptitude first, then continue practicing the stance training.
Now that he had finally found some free time, he naturally could not waste a single moment of it.
His movements were neither hurried nor slow, and every posture showed complete familiarity.
Before long, Xu Yuan became fully immersed in it.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly looked up and saw his elder brother watching him curiously.
“Why didn’t you call me, Big Brother?” Xu Yuan could not help smiling when he saw the probing look in his brother’s eyes.
“I saw that you were completely absorbed in your practice.”
Xu Zheng’s gaze flickered slightly. He waved a hand and said, “Come get ready to eat. Your sister-in-law is back too.”
The two brothers went into the main room. Seated at the square table was a young woman.
She was only a little over twenty, with wheat-colored skin. Though she wore no powder or cosmetics, a trace of natural prettiness still could not be hidden.
When she saw him come in, she gave him a bland glance before withdrawing her gaze, and there seemed to be a hint of dislike in her eyes.
“Hello, Sister-in-law.”
Xu Yuan gave an awkward smile. He could see that she was displeased, so after only a few hasty bites of rice, he set down the fresh meat he had brought. Ignoring his elder brother’s attempts to make him stay, he claimed there was business waiting for him at the residence and prepared to leave.
“Wait.”
Xu Zheng suddenly called out to him, picked up a bundle from the side, and handed it over. “There are some clothes in here. The weather’s been getting colder lately, so be careful not to catch a chill.”
Xu Yuan nodded at him. “Thank you, Big Brother. Then I’ll be off.”
“Mhm. Since you’re on your own in the residence, be a little more tactful when you do things. And when you talk to people, remember to say things they like to hear. No one dislikes kind words, so you should remember—”
Listening to him, Xu Yuan suddenly felt his eyes sting. He quickly cut him off. “All right, all right. Since when did you get as fussy as Mother? I’m going now.”
“Hoo...”
When he reached the alley, Xu Yuan’s expression turned complicated. He touched the hard spot inside the bundle, then pulled it out to look. Beneath the old clothes were three mace of broken silver.
At that moment, the muffled sound of his sister-in-law arguing drifted to his ears.
“You’re the only righteous one, aren’t you? You only earn three mace a month doing labor for others, and with one wave of your hand you’ve given all of it away? I already married into the Xu family even though you were burdened with debt. I must have been blind!”
“We still have a little money left, don’t we? Besides, he’s my only younger brother. Just look how thin he’s gotten. What’s wrong with me helping him a little as his elder brother?”
“That brother of yours refused to go learn a proper trade and instead ran off to do menial work. What great prospects could he possibly have in the future?”
“You don’t know this, but A-Yuan said there’s a chance to learn martial arts at the residence now.”
“Learn martial arts? Auntie Wang next door has a nephew who practiced for half a year and still produced nothing at all. And your brother, with that blockhead of his...”
“That’s enough. At worst, I’ll just take on more work. I’m not going to let you go hungry...”
Xu Yuan pressed his lips together, but he did not go back to break up the quarrel, lest he only make the conflict between husband and wife worse.
Although his sister-in-law had always looked down on him, he still admired her quite a bit.
She had been promised to his elder brother since childhood.
After the Xu family fell into ruin, she had not broken off the engagement. Instead, she had brought her dowry and married his brother anyway. A large part of the family’s earlier debts had been covered with her dowry.
“It’s said that once you enter the First Meridian Realm, you can become a retainer. By then, the stipend should be quite substantial.”
He clenched his fists, his eyes resolute... Martial arts. Only by practicing martial arts could he change his circumstances.
Xu Yuan closed his eyes and looked at the panel in his mind.
[Name: Xu Yuan]
[Skills: Tai Chi Exercise (Minor Mastery 8%) Stone Platform Stance (Beginner 2%)]
[Aptitude: 3 (average talent)]
“There’s still plenty of time left today. Once I get back to the residence, I’ll keep practicing!”
Xu Yuan glanced at the sky, then quickly made his way back through the streets and alleys to the Shangyang Family.
By the time he returned to the residence, many of the servants had already come back from their homes. Taking advantage of the spare time, they were all steadily practicing their stance training in the courtyard.
Of course, there was also a small group sitting off in the distance, only watching. Laughter and chatter drifted from them now and then, and they looked utterly relaxed. Clearly, they did not have the drive to pursue martial arts.
“Brother Xu, you’re back?”
At that moment, a booming voice rang out. Li Shan strolled over, and judging from his expression, he was in an excellent mood.
“I just got back.” Xu Yuan nodded.
“This time when I went home, I got some money from my family. I’m going to try that Vein-Nourishing Soup. Want to come with me?”
The Vein-Nourishing Soup?
Xu Yuan felt his heart stir as well, but when he thought of his flat purse, he shook his head and refused. “Forget it. I can’t afford it.”
Hearing that, Li Shan’s thick brows drew together. After a brief struggle, as though making up his mind, he said, “Brother Xu, if money’s tight for you, I can scrape together a bit on my side.”
His father ran a small business back home and had taught him since childhood that a man had to make friends far and wide, because wherever there were people, there were connections and circles.
Relationships between people were like a seesaw. If both sides supported each other, neither would fall, and one day, when trouble came, someone might be able to give you a lift.
Over the past two days, he had seen that although Xu Yuan was quiet and sparing with words, he handled things steadily and carefully. Li Shan found that very much to his liking.
Spending a little money for that was probably not something his father would blame him for.
“Thanks, Brother Li.” Xu Yuan gave him a surprised look, then politely declined. “There’s no need for now. If I really need it, I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”
Seeing that, Li Shan did not insist any further, and the two of them parted ways.
When Xu Yuan saw that the kitchen was still closed and the meal had not yet been served, he went alone to a secluded corner.
Once he was sure no one was paying attention, he set his stance and began diligently practicing his exercises.
After several repeated sets, heat was steaming off his entire body and sweat was already pouring out, but his stomach also began to feel emptier and emptier.
So he could only practice for a while, then rest for a while, so that he would not exhaust himself completely.
It was not until the hour was approaching You, when the sky had started to darken, that Xu Yuan finally withdrew his form while breathing heavily and slowly walked out of the corner, preparing to eat.
By then, the servants had already begun gathering together.
Li Shan was among them. The moment he saw Xu Yuan, his eyes lit up, and he hurried over in a mysterious manner. “Brother Xu, that Vein-Nourishing Soup really is incredible!”
“I’d been feeling cold and kind of weak before, but after just one bowl, guess what happened? My whole body turned so hot it felt like I’d just come out of a steamer, and I had so much energy I couldn’t use it all up!”
“No wonder Instructor Feng said it’s best to practice stance training together with the soup. It really lets you do twice the work with half the effort!” By the time he finished, Li Shan’s face was full of amazement.
Xu Yuan felt envious when he heard that, but the intense hunger rising from his stomach made him dizzy as well.
Honestly.
Brother, you smell really good.