Substitute Service Silver

At this moment, his brow was relaxed and his breathing steady, revealing some of the handsomeness a young man his age ought to have.

A faint blush quietly crept across Liu Wanwan's face.

Come to think of it, they had only been married for three months, and it had been a rushed affair arranged by the previous owner of this body to ward off ill fortune.

Fang Yuan had previously kept his head buried in books, his heart knotted with gloom. With their home bare to the four walls, although the two lived under the same roof,

they had never consummated their marriage and barely even spoke.

Now that she had to take his measurements to make him clothes, close contact was unavoidable... Liu Wanwan only felt her heart racing and her palms beginning to sweat.

Like a thief, she glanced around. Little Bean Sprout was sitting obediently on a little stool, playing by herself with the small wooden stick Brother had carved for her.

She took a deep breath and moved closer as lightly as she could. Picking up the measuring tape, she first measured Fang Yuan's shoulder width, then carefully lifted his arm,

and measured its length... Her movements were incredibly gentle, afraid she might wake him.

Whenever her fingertips brushed his body through the thin fabric of his clothes, she could feel the firm, warm contours of muscle beneath,

making her cheeks burn even hotter until even the roots of her ears turned scarlet.

She had never thought taking a few measurements could be so agonizing. It left her more flustered and breathless than half a day of farm work.

After finally recording several key measurements, she practically fled several steps away and let out a long breath, feeling a thin layer of sweat on her back.

Little Bean Sprout seemed to notice something strange about her sister-in-law and tilted her tiny head curiously at her.

Liu Wanwan hurriedly put a finger to her lips, signaling that Brother was asleep.

Little Bean Sprout immediately covered her mouth with her little hand, blinking her big eyes to show that she understood.

She did not know what she understood, but Sister-in-law must have had her reasons for doing so. All she had to do was listen obediently.

For the rest of the day, Liu Wanwan sat beneath the window, using the daylight as she lowered her head and focused on cutting and sewing.

Little Bean Sprout watched quietly at her side. The only sounds in the room were the faint whisper of needle and thread passing through cloth, and Fang Yuan's steady breathing.

Fang Yuan slept deeply, only slowly waking when the sun had slanted westward, close to noon.

When he opened his eyes, he felt refreshed and invigorated, all the exhaustion of recent days swept away.

Hearing the movement, Liu Wanwan raised her head and met Fang Yuan's freshly awakened, slightly bewildered gaze.

The blush that had just faded from her face flared up again. She hastily lowered her head, pretending to concentrate on stitching a shoe sole, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"The food... the food is warming on the stove..."

Fang Yuan did not notice anything unusual about her. He only felt hunger gnawing at his stomach, so he answered and climbed down from the kang bed.

He went to the kitchen and lifted the pot lid. Inside were a bowl of rice and a small basin of still-warm stewed meat.

He served himself and ate in great mouthfuls. As his gaze swept across the spotless stove and tidy room, something stirred in his heart.

Even during the hardest days when he had been away, Liu Wanwan had kept this household in perfect order. It had never truly fallen into chaos.

After quickly finishing his meal, he returned to the yard.

The skies had cleared after the snow, and the air was cold and fresh. He picked up the chopping knife and began practicing again.

The blade tore through the air with a whooshing sound. This time, he could clearly feel the difference!

A full night's sleep and the replenishment from all that meat had filled his blood and vitality to the brim. His arms were steadier, and his exertion smoother and more fluid!

With every swing of the knife, he could clearly feel his muscles gathering strength and growing stronger,

while the proficiency of his Basic Saber Technique steadily rose!

He recalled Hu Lao San's words: what martial artists trained was their blood and vitality.

His [Basic Saber Technique] and [Basic Footwork]—one focusing on explosive power and strength, the other on coordination and endurance—

both tempered and mobilized the blood and vitality throughout his entire body from different angles!

Didn't this mean I was cultivating two complementary cultivation methods at the same time?

Fang Yuan suddenly saw the light, and a surge of delight rose within him.

Those apprentices at Martial Arts Schools probably could only focus on one cultivation method for tempering blood and vitality, while he possessed the system's dual tempering!

This meant his foundation might become firmer, his blood and vitality refined more thoroughly. At the same realm, he might be stronger than someone who cultivated only one method!

This discovery doubled his motivation. The chopping knife in his hand whirled with tiger-like force, and he immersed himself in the exhilaration of his steadily increasing strength.

In the yard, snowlight reflected off the agile figure of the young man;

inside the house, the young woman sewed winter clothes stitch by stitch, her face flushed as she occasionally lifted her eyes to steal a glance out the window.

The chopping knife's whistle through the air came to an abrupt halt.

Fang Yuan felt as though his arms had been filled with molten lead, sore and numb. Every lift was exceptionally difficult, and his muscle fibers seemed to groan under an unbearable burden.

He knew that today's tempering had reached his current limit. If he forced himself to continue, he would instead damage his foundation.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the stone mill in the yard and sat down. From his robes, he took out the Snow Ginseng wrapped layer upon layer in soft cloth.

He carefully broke off a Ginseng Tendril slightly thicker than a strand of hair, hesitated for a moment,

then pinched off a little more ginseng flesh, about the size of a grain of rice, and placed it in his mouth.

The Ginseng Tendril was slightly bitter upon entering his mouth, but a cool, sweet, crystalline juice immediately spread out and slid down his throat into his stomach.

Almost at once, a gentle yet vast Warm Current rose from the sea of qi in his Dantian and swiftly spread through his Limbs and Bones!

The sore, numb, swollen ache in his arms faded as quickly as if brushed by a spring breeze, and his exhaustion vanished without a trace.

In its place came a brimming sensation of abundant energy and jubilant blood and vitality!

"Good stuff!" Fang Yuan's eyes lit up in delight.

The Snow Ginseng's medicinal effects were even gentler and more powerful than he had imagined!

Without hesitation, he grabbed the chopping knife again and resumed swinging!

This time, he felt his power gathering more tightly and his arms becoming more stable. Every chop seemed to stir the newly born medicinal power flowing within him,

making the tempering several times more effective than before!

He persisted for another hundred or so swings, only stopping in satisfaction when the fullness brought by the medicinal power was gradually replaced by renewed soreness in his muscles.

His consciousness sank into the System Panel.

[Name: Fang Yuan]

[Realm: None]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Saber Technique Proficiency 1000/10000.]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Footwork Proficiency (30000/100000)]

[Skill: Basic Trapping Technique Proficiency (80/100)]

[Skill: Basic Beast Language Proficiency (20/100)]

Looking at the clearly increased proficiency, a satisfied smile appeared on Fang Yuan's face.

"There's half a wild boar at home now, so we won't be short of meat for the time being. With enough nutrition and the Snow Ginseng's help,

I won't risk going up the mountain for the next few days. I'll focus on absorbing the medicinal power and raise my strength as quickly as possible!"

He swiftly laid out his plan for the coming days.

Strength was the foundation, but there was another pressing problem before him: silver! The Substitute service silver needed to exempt him from Military Service.

So-called Substitute service silver meant that if a man in the household was ill or did not wish to serve, he could pay a sum of silver in place of performing corvée labor.

Whether it was Military Service or corvée labor, the conscripted men had to work, which was why Substitute service silver existed.

He calculated carefully. "I heard it took five hundred copper coins in previous years."

Five hundred copper coins! That was no small sum.

In the city, a strong laborer doing the hardest work could earn one hundred and fifty copper coins a month at best, and that was before food and drink expenses.

In the village, many households never saw much ready cash all year round. Saving five hundred copper coins was harder still.

"This time, selling half the wild boar earned me two taels of silver. I bought rice, salt, cloth..."

He silently calculated the expenses. "After deducting the eight hundred and ninety copper coins I spent, I still have one tael of silver and one hundred and ten copper coins."

Even if this year's Military Service silver had risen due to the pressing war situation, this money should be enough to pay it, perhaps even leaving some left over.

With the greatest stone in his heart finally falling to the ground, Fang Yuan immediately felt much more relaxed.

But he did not rest. The Snow Ginseng's medicinal power was still circulating through his body, and he could not waste it.

He put down the chopping knife and began jogging in circles around the yard.

[Basic Footwork Proficiency +1]

Running could likewise mobilize blood and vitality, speed up the absorption of medicinal power, and temper the endurance of his lower body.

His steps were steady and rhythmic, his breathing deep and unhurried. The gentle medicinal power within him surged along with his blood and vitality,

thread by thread merging into his muscles, tendons, and bones, transforming into a more solid foundation of strength.