Small Clique

After Feng Xiao left, he left the Laborers to practice where they stood.

At this moment, Fatty Wang walked over, casting a cold sideways glance as he said:

"Remember this clearly: you only have this half hour of free time each day. Once you're done practicing, go work. Don't delay the proper business."

He had absolutely no faith that these Laborers could ever rise above their station.

Just look at what they ate day after day.

Where would they find the extra strength to train and break through the bottlenecks in their meridians?

Still, that was something for the higher-ups to discuss. He did not dare voice his opinions in private.

As they watched Fatty Wang enter the kitchen, the Laborers' gazes instead grew increasingly resolute, and the spirits that had begun to slacken tightened once more.

Xu Yuan recalled the movements and slowly practiced them to reinforce his memory. Once they had more or less taken shape, he planned to perform a complete set.

But just then—

A small, skinny Laborer came over, his face carrying the slick, worldly smoothness of a merchant. He grinned ingratiatingly and said:

"Brother, my name is Chen Sanli. How about we practice together?"

Xu Yuan was taken aback and lifted his head to glance in the other directions.

Seeing that quite a few people had gathered around the Laborers and maids who had gone up earlier, he immediately understood.

He shook his head and said to himself:

"Sorry, I'm rather slow-witted. I still haven't figured out the movements Master Feng taught earlier, so I shouldn't mislead anyone."

Chen Sanli wanted to say something more, but Xu Yuan had already walked into another corner, clearly unwilling to partner with him.

He rubbed the tip of his nose, his smile unchanged. Anyway, he was just casting out two poles, whether there were dates to knock down or not.

After all, time was tight. The more familiar he could become with the moves, the better.

Watching the other man leave, Xu Yuan's mind was crystal clear. His family had been poor in his previous life, and during school breaks he had done plenty of sales work and the like. What sort of person had he not seen?

That man made it sound nice, talking about practicing together. But only a few of them had gone up for instruction—wouldn't they end up giving him one-on-one guidance?

His abacus was clacking away. With neither friendship nor benefit between them, he wanted others to spend their time teaching him for nothing.

Not to mention—

What if he failed to learn it properly in the end and tossed all the blame onto Xu Yuan?

For Laborers, this was an opportunity to change their fate. If something went wrong, the consequences would certainly not be pretty.

Xu Yuan had only practiced a few moves when two more people came over, offering money in exchange for his guidance. He sent them away one by one.

Naturally, he did not want to take on any risks for such trifling scraps.

"Brother, I'm Li Shan. How should I address you?"

All of a sudden, a rather sturdy Laborer walked over, wearing an honest, simple smile.

Seeing that the other man had also gone up for instruction, Xu Yuan nodded and introduced himself. "Xu Yuan."

"Brother Xu, Master Feng taught too quickly. There are always some parts we aren't quite familiar with. How about we compare notes?"

"That's right. The few of us understand the stance work best now, so naturally we should pool our knowledge."

The female maid also silently squeezed over. Her voice was crisp and clear. After speaking, she gave a respectful salute, revealing a slightly delicate face.

"My name is Sun Rong. I hope you two older brothers will guide me."

Xu Yuan raised a brow. After pondering for a moment, he felt that this was actually quite good. There were some things he did not understand either, so he agreed:

"All right, then. Let's team up and practice together."

The three formed a small group and began practicing with great enthusiasm.

In truth, once they actually started, Xu Yuan did not have much he could help with. The two had already gone up and received guidance. There were only a few places they had not remembered clearly, and after a reminder, they each continued practicing.

Still, they could complement one another to some extent.

Outside the group of three—

Quite a few Laborers and maids were also watching and learning. Xu Yuan naturally had nothing to hide; it was not as though he could shut himself indoors to practice.

But unless one possessed extraordinary talent—

Imitating from afar was naturally nowhere near as effective as having Feng Xiao personally identify shortcomings and fill in the gaps.

During the process, some people gathered their courage and came forward to ask questions, but Xu Yuan and Sun Rong both ignored them.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Only Li Shan generously went over and pointed out each person's mistakes and omissions.

And when they saw someone willing to teach them, a large crowd immediately surged over to ask for guidance. Li Shan naturally refused no one who came.

Xu Yuan and Sun Rong exchanged glances, then both shook their heads.

By the time Li Shan finished teaching the others and returned, the half hour had already passed, and the Laborers had to begin work again.

As Sun Rong left, she complained to Li Shan:

"Brother Li, we already have so little time to practice, yet you still went to teach others. How much time did you waste for nothing?"

Li Shan froze for a moment, then gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"Couldn't be helped. They're all friends from the same dormitory, so I really couldn't refuse them. I'll just squeeze out more time to practice at night."

Xu Yuan secretly shook his head. Li Shan was warmhearted, but he had used that kindness in the wrong place.

This was precisely the crucial period for Laborers to change their fates. Everyone else wished they could split their time in two for practice, yet he had forcibly thrown his away.

"You..."

Sun Rong stamped her foot angrily. She said no more and turned to leave.

"Sun Rong, she...?"

Li Shan looked toward Xu Yuan, utterly baffled.

Xu Yuan merely spread his hands and said nothing else.

They were not close enough yet. If he said something inappropriate, it would only sour their relationship.

Li Shan did not think much of it. Rubbing his abdomen with his left hand, he said with some feeling:

"This stance work really burns through your strength. I only ate this morning, yet in such a short while, it's all been used up."

Xu Yuan nodded, feeling this deeply.

After completing one entire set of stance work, his strength poured out of him in torrents, as if he had run two kilometers of cross-country carrying a load. Hunger surged up wildly, and he felt as though he could swallow an entire cow.

"Eating only vegetables won't do from now on. We still need some meat, or we'll only grow more exhausted the more we practice, and our efficiency will be low."

After saying this, Li Shan arranged with Xu Yuan to meet again next time, then walked to the area under his responsibility and began working.

Xu Yuan turned to look around.

The other Laborers all reacted differently as well.

Most of them were tangled in hesitation, wondering whether they should grit their teeth and spend money on a few meals with meat to replenish such intense consumption.

Those with families wondered if they could go home and ask for some support. Those without families could only muster all their strength and squeeze it from their own bodies.

Moreover, Xu Yuan even saw one or two people wearing confident expressions. As they spoke, the words Meridian Nourishing Soup occasionally popped out.

"Even among the Laborers, their family circumstances vary greatly."

As Xu Yuan sighed over this, he was also somewhat puzzled.

Logically speaking, if they had such family circumstances, why come be Laborers at all? Couldn't they simply enter the front courtyard and become Martial Students?

The key was that they would have plenty of time to practice.

During the lunch break, when he curiously asked Li Shan about it, the latter grinned and explained in detail:

"You mean that? Of course it would be best to study martial arts in the front courtyard, but the fees are also very expensive. Every monthly term costs one tael of silver. If you haven't broken through to the First Meridian Realm by the end of the term, you still have to roll up your bedding and leave."

"By comparison, Meridian Nourishing Soup costs only two qian per bowl. Though it's still quite expensive, it offers many benefits for martial arts training..."

At this point, Xu Yuan nodded and continued along those lines:

"So, families with some means but not much send their children to the Shangyang Family as Laborers."

"If they have a chance to learn martial arts, they scrape together money and go all out. If they lack the aptitude, they obediently work as Laborers. If they perform well later, they can still climb to certain positions.

After all, leaning against the great tree that is the Shangyang Family is always better than doing all sorts of miscellaneous work outside. It can be called a cost-effective choice."

Seeing that he understood at a single hint, Li Shan praised him. "Brother Xu, you have a sharp mind. That phrase, 'cost-effective choice,' is very fitting."

"For people like us, there aren't that many options. When an opportunity comes along, we go up and grab a few handfuls. Even if we can't grab anything, at least we won't be left with no road to walk."

"The Shangyang Family operates the same way. Every few months, they recruit a new batch of Laborers and regularly sort them into different places according to their aptitude. The good ones climb upward, while the poor ones go serve those clan members and martial masters."

"The Shangyang Family really does value talent."

Xu Yuan thought this to himself, then could not help sighing. Practicing martial arts was purely a money-burning endeavor. The more money one had, the more routes and chances one had for success.

It was clear that those Laborers with a little family wealth were, at the very first step of seeking qi and blood, already far ahead of many others.