Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8. The Master Family’s Benevolence
“So in the end, you really do have to drink the Vein-Nourishing Soup!”
Li Shan spoke with great enthusiasm, completely unaware that he had nearly turned into rations in his brother’s eyes and been rolled around on his tongue twice already.
Xu Yuan frowned and looked toward the martial instructors’ dining area nearby.
Should he go spend some money and buy himself a bit of meat?
Just as he was weighing the idea, a burst of cheering suddenly erupted up ahead.
“Great! There’s meat today!”
“There’s even rib soup? Damn, that smells amazing!”
“Hurry, hurry, hurry, before all the meat gets scooped out!”
There was meat?
Xu Yuan was delighted as well, and he stared eagerly toward the front.
At that moment, Fatty Wang strode out in big steps. His little eyes swept across the crowd, and in a shrill voice he said, “The master family is benevolent and virtuous, as merciful as Bodhisattvas. Seeing that all of you servants have been exhausting your strength these past two days, they could not bear it, so they have specially decided to take care of you. During these two months of martial training, you will receive one meat dish every day.”
“Many thanks for the master family’s grace!”
“We can never repay the master family’s kindness!”
The servants were all so overjoyed that some nearly burst into tears. Their voices shook the surrounding walls until they hummed.
Under normal circumstances, the thin gruel and plain soup they usually got would have been one thing.
But once martial training began, the drain on their physical strength was immense. Without meat, it was very hard to keep going.
Now the master family was not only giving them a chance to learn martial arts, but also providing meat to eat. Naturally, the servants were overwhelmed with gratitude and wished they could repay the favor even with their lives.
Xu Yuan felt grateful as well, but only then did he notice just how skillful the Shangyang Family was in handling people.
First, they gave the servants a chance to learn martial arts and openly stated that they were selecting those with talent.
Then they let things sit for a few days. Once the servants had been worn down by hunger, they brought out the meat. The timing was measured just right, without seeming excessive.
Tightening and loosening the reins in turn, they won over the servants’ goodwill as naturally as breathing.
With his bowl and chopsticks in hand, Xu Yuan stepped closer for a look.
Today’s meal was stir-fried cucumber with meat, paired with a light soup made from boiled bones. There still was not much actual meat to be seen, but it was far better than before.
It was exactly enough to satisfy the servants without adding much cost.
No wonder the Shangyang Family had risen to become the faintly acknowledged number one great clan in the prefectural city in less than a hundred years. They really did know how to calculate everything down to the last detail.
After sighing in admiration, Xu Yuan quickly finished his meal. Feeling grounded again, he headed to the back courtyard and resumed his practice.
...
The next day.
Xu Yuan was practicing his fist forms and stance work alongside the others when a young male servant suddenly ran over and said that someone was looking for him outside.
“For me?”
Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that aside from his elder brother, there was probably no one else.
When he reached the back gate, he saw a man standing there in an old padded jacket, his movements somewhat stiff and restrained. If it was not Xu Zheng, then who else could it be?
“Big Brother.”
Xu Yuan hurried over. “Why did you come here?”
Xu Zheng glanced around, then pulled him over to stand in a corner before carefully taking a cloth bundle out of his robe and handing it to him.
The bundle had a bit of weight to it. Xu Yuan opened it and saw a tael of fine silver lying quietly inside. His heart tightened, and he quickly wrapped it back up.
“Big Brother, where did you get so much money?”
Rice prices fluctuated often these days. One dou, about twelve and a half jin, cost roughly eighty copper coins, while coarse salt was even more expensive, close to three mace of silver per jin.
That one tael of silver in his hand would be enough to support an ordinary two-person household for several months if they lived frugally.
He knew his elder brother had found work with a labor gang through an acquaintance, but he only earned three mace of broken silver a month. There was no way he could have saved this much.
“I took an advance from the master craftsman,” Xu Zheng said with a smile.
Xu Yuan said nothing and merely handed the money back to him.
Xu Zheng’s brows drew together, and in a low voice he said, “Just take it. I know people who practice martial arts need to eat more meat to have the strength for it. This is a rare opportunity, so you have to seize it properly.”
Seeing how firm his brother’s attitude was, Xu Yuan had no choice but to take the money back. Then he grabbed Xu Zheng’s hand again. “Big Brother, tell me the truth. Did you borrow money from someone?”
“How did you...”
Xu Zheng’s expression changed. He turned to glance around before finally lowering his voice in resignation.
“I borrowed some money from Li Daqiang on Front Street. The monthly interest is 2.7 percent, which is the normal rate. I just have to pay it back within five months.”
“Don’t worry. I earn regular wages every month, and although our family has fallen on hard times, we still have a little left to stand on...”
Xu Yuan still wanted to ask more, but at that moment one of the gate servants suddenly gave a heavy cough and looked in their direction.
“That’s enough. Go back and focus on your martial training. You don’t need to worry about things at home.” Xu Zheng waved a hand at him, then turned and left the alley.
Xu Yuan walked back through the gate, but his thoughts were still turning.
“Li Daqiang on Front Street? He seems to be involved with some small gang. A monthly interest rate of 2.7 percent does count as fair by the standards in my memories.”
Thinking that, he relaxed slightly.
His elder brother might be simple and honest, but he was steady and reliable. He had managed to pay off some of the debts their late father had left behind all by himself, so he must have thought things through before doing this.
But even so, what kind of good person ever made a living lending money at interest?
Remembering all those notorious debt-collection scenes from his previous life, Xu Yuan’s heart sank, and his sense of urgency grew even stronger.
Money! He still needed money!
With money, his elder brother and sister-in-law would not have to work so hard, and he himself would have sufficient resources to practice martial arts.
But before that, I need to raise my Tai Chi Exercise to Major Mastery first!
And so Xu Yuan’s life continued in the same simple cycle, a straight line between two points. He practiced martial arts and did his work without neglecting either.
It was somewhat monotonous, but it was also incredibly fulfilling.
...
Very quickly, a month passed.
Without affecting his work the next day, Xu Yuan spent most of his time practicing his Tai Chi Exercise, while in the mornings he trained in stance work with everyone else.
Although Li Shan had said he would stop giving pointers to others, once his friends pleaded with him enough, he could never help softening. Because of that, quite a bit of his time was spent on them.
During that time, Chen Sanli came over again and said he wanted to practice stance work with them, only to be rejected once more.
He did not get angry about it, however. He still wore the same smiling expression, and in order to build goodwill, he would voluntarily share bits of gossip and scraps of news he had picked up.
As for Liu Hong from the same dormitory, without fail, every single night he had to ask the others how far they had progressed. It was as though only by doing that could he feel at ease.
Tian Yang, on the other hand, only became more and more impossible to rein in after that. Whenever he got the chance,He would show off his progress and bask in the praise and envy of his dormitory companions.
Xiao Sheng remained exactly as before.
Silent as ever.
Ignored by everyone.
...