Selling Oneself

"Though it's only a few poor acres, it's still the family fortune. You... truly want to sell?"

Inside the antiquated hall, a middle-aged man in robes, dressed like a wealthy landowner, sat in the seat of honor. He looked at Xu Yang and the other two below, then at the land deed in his hand, his expression carrying a trace of amusement.

Xu Yang nodded and said in a deep voice, "Not just the land. My siblings and I are all willing to sell ourselves to the Lu Family as slaves. We only ask Lord Lu for mercy and a place where the three of us can shelter from the wind and rain!"

"Hmm~!"

Steward Lu stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes as he examined Xu Yang, then smiled. "I've heard about your family's situation. They truly went a bit too far. Fine, I'll take these acres. As for the three of you... you can come work for my family as a hired hand. Your family can still tend these few acres of land. What do you say?"

"Thank you, Lord!"

Hearing this, Xu Yang said no more and immediately lowered his head in thanks.

Steward Lu glanced at him with a smile at the corner of his mouth, then handed the land deed to the steward beside him. "Zhang Fu, I'll leave this matter to you. Explain it properly to the Li Family. Don't let any misunderstandings arise!"

"Yes, Lord!"

Steward Zhang Fu took the land deed and turned to Xu Yang and the others. "Follow me."

Xu Yang nodded, led Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, and followed him out of the hall.

Xiao Huang Village had two major clans: the Li Family and the Lu Family.

The two families lived in the same village, but their relationship was far from good. They even had disputes from time to time.

That was why Xu Yang had decisively brought the land deed and his younger siblings to seek refuge with the Lu Family, even going so far as to sell themselves into slavery.

He had no other choice. That bastard Li Lao Jiu had some connection to the prominent Li Family of their Li Clan. Xu Yang had also just extorted a hefty sum of dues money from those people exploiting the deceased's estate, thoroughly offending nearly everyone of the same clan and surname.

In the Li Clan, where else could he possibly stay?

To avoid Li Lao Jiu's retaliation and all the troubles that would follow from the Li Clan, Xu Yang decisively sold himself to the Lu Family.

The Lu Family and the Li Family were both major households in Xiao Huang Village. They competed often and could be called old rivals.

As a great benefactor renowned throughout the surrounding villages, Steward Lu naturally did not mind taking in a Li Family Member whom everyone had turned against.

That way, he could earn a good reputation, suppress his old rival, and gain several acres of land. It was killing three birds with one stone, gaining both fame and profit!

As for the trouble Xu Yang had caused in the Li Family and his ruthless methods, he did not care at all. Mountain folk were fierce by nature; it was only reasonable, especially for a hot-blooded youth.

Seeing people come to his home to exploit the deceased's estate, getting heated and lashing out was perfectly normal. There was no need to worry that taking in such a family slave would bring hidden dangers or threats. Besides, with the land deeds and all their lifelines firmly in his hand, they could not make any waves no matter what.

If someone like that was properly trained, he would become a loyal hound. After a few generations, the Lu Family would gain several more house-born servants of clean origins and unwavering loyalty. What could be better?

After half a day of bustle, the matter was finally settled.

Xu Yang sold the land deed, the house, and even himself and his younger siblings to the Lu Family. They were now family slaves of the Lu Family.

The Lu Family also honored its promise, stepping in to settle the matter with Li Lao Jiu and making the Li Family lose no small amount of face.

The Li Family would certainly bear a grudge over this, and the Li Clan would surely stab him in the back behind the scenes. They might even seek trouble with him behind the scenes.

But Xu Yang did not care in the least. So long as they did not make an open move on his life, he would not take it to heart.

All he needed was time—a period of stable development.

"Big Brother!"

That night, at home, Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, who had sold themselves along with Xu Yang, looked at their eldest brother in confusion. "Is this really all right? That Lu Family... may not be good people either!"

"Whether they're good or not isn't important."

Xu Yang shook his head and said with a faint smile, "What matters is that they can deal with the Li Family. Understand?"

"This..."

The two still wanted to say more, but when they met Xu Yang's gaze, the words lodged in their throats. They could only nod. "We understand."

"It's good that you understand."

Xu Yang nodded and said quietly, "Endure for a few years. I already have a plan. Don't worry!"

Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu could hardly be blamed for their worries. Xu Yang's actions were indeed difficult to approve of. The Li Family was not good, but neither was the Lu Family. Yet Xu Yang had sold his entire household to them. No matter how one looked at it, he seemed to have lost his mind.

Now, the three siblings had not only lost their land, but also their freedom. Their very lives were in the Lu Family's hands, their lives and deaths dependent on a single thought from the other side.

Having come this far, they might as well have swallowed their earlier humiliation and played along with Li Lao Jiu and the rest.

After all, he was also a member of the Li Clan. No matter what, the Li Family would not go too far. The Lu Family, however, was another matter. Abandoning his clan and selling himself to the Lu Family over a moment of anger was simply foolish beyond measure.

But that was only how ordinary people saw it.

To Xu Yang, land and contracts were all bullshit.

They were not the foundation he relied on, much less the vital point of his life!

His foundation was the Attribute Panel and its skill traits. So long as he could cultivate powerful skills and traits, no one would be able to control him.

Unfortunately, the Attribute Panel had one flaw: he could not allocate points to it on his own. To develop a skill, he could only practice and accumulate progress until the skill was formed.

Therefore, what Xu Yang needed was time—a period of peaceful development in which he could cultivate powerful skills and traits.

For that reason, he had decisively beaten Li Lao Jiu, forced everyone to pay dues money, and even fallen out with the Li Clan. He had fashioned himself into the image of a reckless, hard-to-handle brute to intimidate those with ill intentions. Otherwise, after dealing with one Li Lao Jiu, another Li Lao Ba or Li Lao Shi would emerge.

Good people were bullied, and gentle horses were ridden. That was the way of the world!

With that deterrence in place, then selling himself to the Lu Family and using them as a backer, he could certainly sleep easy for the next few years.

Besides, selling the land and themselves had earned them a sum of silver, which could serve as startup capital.

Next, he would use this precious period of development, along with the startup funds gained from selling the land and themselves, to practice skills with all his strength. He did not seek to become a king or conquer the world; he only wanted to ensure that he could gain a foothold in the village.

With the Attribute Panel, so long as he could firmly establish himself in the early stage, he could grow stronger, gradually explore this world, and use its various resources to change the difficult circumstances of the real world.

So...

"It's too late. Sleep!"

After soothing the worried Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, Xu Yang lay down on the bed and fell asleep at once.

At the same time, in the real world, aboard the Black-awning Boat...

Xu Yang opened his eyes, swiftly got up, took out the unpolished rice he had bought yesterday, grabbed a handful, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing hard.

Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly—the time difference between the two worlds was simply too great. He could not remain in reality for long, or "Li Qingshan" over there would either die of thirst and hunger or be buried alive after being mistaken for a corpse.

So he had no time to cook. He could only swallow and chew the raw rice, finish eating as quickly as possible, and return to the Dream Butterfly World.

Unpolished rice was rough to begin with, and chewing it raw was even more difficult. Fortunately, Xu Yang's Eating Skill possessed the trait of "Chewing." His powerful teeth easily crushed the coarse grains, and soon half a sack of unpolished rice had entered his stomach.

After swallowing half a sack of unpolished rice and gulping down several ladles of water, his previously empty stomach immediately swelled full.

Seeing this, Xu Yang said nothing and lay back down on the bedboard, falling asleep again.

His current Eating Skill allowed him to make one meal count as ten. This single meal could sustain him for three or four days, perhaps even five or six. In the Dream Butterfly World, that meant five or six years—enough for him to complete his early development plan.

In the Dream Butterfly World, the crow of a rooster woke Xu Yang.

It could not really be called waking, because he had not slept at all. With a three-hundred-and-sixty-fivefold time difference, he had only just finished eating in the real world when a whole night had passed in the Dream Butterfly World. He had no time to sleep at all.

Yet he was still full of energy. After getting up and washing, he bade farewell to Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, then headed out for the Lu Family.

He intended to find a job, which would help him cultivate skills.

As for what sort of job, he had already made plans.

The Lu Family was a wealthy landowning household. One of their ancestors had even passed the provincial examination. After several generations of accumulation, their family fortune was exceptionally substantial. They were renowned not only in Xiao Huang Village but throughout the surrounding villages.

In an agricultural society, land was the foundation, but a great landowner's income did not come solely from farming or rent and taxes on leased land.

Growing grain and collecting rent?

How much money could that make?

For true landed gentry and powerful local families, leasing land and exploiting tenant farmers was merely one of many sources of revenue, only enough to guarantee a basic supply of grain.

To grow bigger and stronger, they needed other methods: rent collection and usury, forcible seizure and plunder, land annexation, salt and iron smuggling, raising slaves and maidservants, human trafficking, tax evasion...

After several generations of such accumulation, they could amass wealth and become influential local families. They might even establish monopolies, forming the foundation of the ruling system and governing the realm alongside imperial clans and Noble Families and Influential Clans.

Though the Li and Lu Families of Xiao Huang Village had not reached that level, they could barely be considered local powers and engaged in quite a few gray dealings that were neither fully legal nor illegal.

To keep such a family fortune secure, martial protection was indispensable. Both families maintained many guard servants and even hired Martial Masters and instructors.

Xu Yang had originally wanted to become a guard servant and learn some martial arts from the Martial Masters, but he quickly abandoned that idea.

It was not that he did not want to learn martial arts. Rather, he knew his own limits. For such guard servant positions, the most important requirements were a clean background and absolute loyalty. They were filled with house-born servants. As an outsider with the Li surname, even if he had sold himself to the Lu Family, he was not qualified for that job. Asking for it would only bring humiliation upon himself.

So...

"Steward Zhang, I'd like to find work as a butcher. Please help me out."

Xu Yang found Zhang Fu, the steward who had handled his contract of sale yesterday. Getting straight to the point, he explained his purpose and handed over a small money pouch.

"Oh?"

Zhang Fu did not avoid the matter. He accepted the pouch, weighed it in his hand for a while, then looked at Xu Yang. "You know how to butcher pigs and cattle?"

"Not very well!"

Xu Yang shook his head and replied with a smile, "But I have plenty of strength. I've hunted some wild beasts before, so it shouldn't be difficult to learn."

"I see... Fine. They happen to be short-handed over there. I'll arrange for you to work as an apprentice!"

Zhang Fu weighed the money pouch in his hand, pondered for a while, and ultimately agreed.

"Thank you, Steward Zhang!"