Winning Hearts

"Boss!"

At Qin Yan's home, Qin Xiaoyi hurriedly bowed when he saw Qin Yan return.

He then hurried over, hoping to take the load Qin Yan was carrying on his shoulder.

"So heavy!"

The moment Qin Xiaoyi took hold of the cloth sack, his expression changed. With great effort, he set the grain down on the ground.

"You really are amazing, boss."

Qin Xiaoyi's face was full of respect.

Qin Yan glanced around the house and asked without giving anything away, "Aren't you going home?"

"Home?" Qin Xiaoyi lowered his head slightly, his voice bitter. "My family is already so poor we have nothing left to put in the pot. If I go back, I'm afraid the whole family will starve to death."

Qin Yan gave Qin Xiaoyi a long look. He knew a little about his family's circumstances.

There were four sons and two daughters in the family, and Qin Xiaoyi was the eldest. Now that the floods had struck, he could only make his own way and ease the burden on his family.

Qin Yan had already promised to give him food, so he naturally wouldn't go back on his word.

"I understand."

Qin Yan nodded and looked at him. "From now on, as long as I have a bite to eat, so will you."

With that, Qin Yan set aside a sack of brown rice, weighing around thirty or forty jin, and handed it to him.

"Boss!"

Qin Xiaoyi stared at the grain held out in front of him, stunned.

"I know things are hard for your family. From now on, just focus on working for me. Take this home first and make sure your family is settled. It should be enough to feed them for a while."

Qin Yan spoke as though it were nothing.

Thump!

Qin Xiaoyi immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Qin Yan three times, each one striking the ground with a solid sound.

"Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss!"

Qin Xiaoyi kept thanking him, but Qin Yan impatiently cut him off.

"All right! Take it home, get things sorted out, and then come back!"

Qin Xiaoyi accepted the grain with a grateful expression. "Boss, from this day on, I, Qin Xiaoyi, owe you my life!"

After Qin Xiaoyi left!

Qin Yan looked at the dilapidated old house and muttered to himself, I'd better rebuild it!

Living in this place was simply too troublesome.

Now that he had taken over the fur business and ransacked the Qiao Family, the silver he had amounted to more than a hundred taels.

Taking out a portion to rebuild the old house would be more than enough.

The next day!

Early in the morning, Qin Yan began his morning body-tempering cultivation!

[After an hour of basic body tempering, maximum strength increased by 0.1]

[After diligent cultivation and tempering, maximum spirit increased by 0.1]

At this point, all three of his basic attributes had surpassed five, and his body felt unusually refreshed and comfortable.

His perception, in particular, had grown sharper, and its range had increased considerably.

Qin Xiaoyi had now become Qin Yan's loyal underling, and while Qin Yan cultivated, he prepared a pot of rice porridge.

Since he began following Qin Yan, the most immediate difference he felt was that he no longer went hungry.

He always ate until he was full.

That feeling of a full belly was something he had never dared imagine before.

There were many people in his family, and as the eldest, he often let his younger brothers and sisters have some of his food.

Especially yesterday, when he returned home.

His parents had been so excited at the sight of the grain he brought back that they nearly wept.

With disasters breaking out everywhere, grain was now in very short supply.

The grain he had brought back was enough to help them get by for a while.

His parents had earnestly urged him to follow Qin Yan and work hard for him.

"Boss, what are our plans for the future?"

Qin Xiaoyi asked quietly.

"For now, you just need to practice what I taught you. Once you're able to protect yourselves,

I'll take you to Qinghe Town!"

Qin Yan spoke calmly after polishing off most of the rice porridge.

Whether it was Song Bao, Qin Xiaoyi, or the others, they had only just begun learning martial arts. It would take some time before they could become a fighting force.

"Qinghe Town!"

Qin Xiaoyi's eyes lit up. The town was nothing like the countryside; though called a town, it was as large as a small county seat.

It had walls to keep the rioters out and more food than one could ever eat.

They all dreamed of moving to Qinghe Town one day. Looking at Qin Yan, they became even more determined to follow him.

Early in the morning!

On the training ground cleared out on the mountain behind the village, a group of young men drilled under Qin Yan's instruction, sweat dripping steadily from their bodies.

Basic physical training and fighting techniques: they practiced every movement over and over until it became instinct.

Qin Yan constantly used words to influence them little by little, letting words like unity and loyalty reach their ears.

He quietly watched the group continue to train.

Suddenly, Qin Yan looked in one direction, and an old man appeared before him.

It was the old man called Uncle Chun.

"Old sir, what wind blew you here?"

Smiling, Qin Yan walked slowly toward him.

"Hehe, I still owe you my thanks for what happened yesterday, young Brother Qin."

Uncle Chun looked at the young men sweating like rain. A strange expression flashed across his aged face, but he concealed his feelings and chuckled.

"I didn't expect you to have the leisure to train these young men, young Brother Qin."

Uncle Chun's words were laden with meaning.

"The world is in chaos. If we want to survive, we have to learn something."

Qin Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and replied with a light chuckle.

"Yes!" Uncle Chun nodded in agreement. "Oh, right! You saved my madam and young miss yesterday. This is a small token of our gratitude!"

As he spoke, he held out a brocade pouch to Qin Yan. The pouch was bulging.

Qin Yan weighed it in his hand. It contained at least fifty taels of silver.

"Many thanks, old sir!"

Qin Yan was in a good mood. Fifty taels of silver was enough for him to build a new courtyard of considerable size.

"No need to stand on ceremony. Just call me Uncle Chun!"

Uncle Chun smiled. "Well then, I won't disturb you any longer."

With that, he turned and walked down the mountain.

As soon as he left, Song Bao and the others crowded around.

"Boss, wasn't he with the family you escorted here yesterday? The two of us said so, that family's madam and young miss are both very beautiful.

Even the maid is prettier than the girls in our village."

Song Bao looked curious. "Boss, tell us, just how beautiful are that family's madam and young miss?"

"Stay away from those people."

Qin Yan warned them sternly, "Hurry up and get back to training. Or do you want to spar with me?"

At those words, everyone turned pale and ran straight back.

Qin Yan's strength was enough to drive them to despair. Even when they all attacked together, he easily beat them into the ground.

When he fought, he showed no mercy.

As two flowers bloom, let us turn from one to the other.

"Madam, the gift of thanks has been delivered to that young man. He truly is different."

Uncle Chun spoke respectfully.

"Oh?" Madam Chen looked at Uncle Chun in surprise, her interest immediately piqued. "Tell me about it!"

"When I went to find the young man today, although he lived in a humble house, his ambitions were far from small.

At such a young age, he has already begun learning to cultivate forces of his own.

I had a vague feeling that he was not as simple as he appeared. He understands the art of training troops.

But I also asked around the village, and he has never studied military strategy.

He must have taught himself, and his comprehension is excellent. He has grasped some of the essence of training troops."

Uncle Chun recalled the young man he had seen, his emotions visibly stirring.

Madam Chen was shaken when she heard this. She had not expected such an extraordinary young man to emerge from a remote rural place.