Bloodline Genealogy

Dongxi Village.

On the small path at the village entrance, Xu Chuan walked toward the village wearing a straw hat and a coarse hemp vest, his trouser legs rolled up. He carried a hoe over his shoulder and held two big green fish tied together with straw.

The lingering glow of the sunset stretched his shadow long, making his bronze skin gleam.

"Sanshu, heading home?"

Beneath the great locust tree ahead, an old man with graying temples gently fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan.

When he saw Xu Chuan, he greeted him warmly.

Seeing the big green fish in his hand, the old man smiled faintly. "Not a bad harvest today."

"Uncle Chen, cooling off again?"

"Isn't it that thieving Heavenly Father tormenting us? In weather this hot, only a body like yours can endure under that blazing sun for so long."

Xu Chuan grinned.

He stood over 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned build. Among the men of Dongxi Village, he was not considered particularly burly; in others' eyes, he could even be called somewhat thin.

Yet Xu Chuan had never been sick from childhood to adulthood.

Everyone in the village said Xu Chuan was blessed, favored by Heavenly Father.

But that was not the case.

Xu Chuan was a transmigrator.

He had a bit of talent in him.

He had been born into an ordinary common folk household. His father, Xu Ping, had been a long-term laborer for the wealthy Xu Family of Dongxi Village.

When he was three and still ignorant of the world, his mother died.

When he was fifteen, Xu Ping also passed away from overwork.

With the wisdom of his past life, Xu Chuan learned quickly and was a skilled hand at farming.

The Xu Family valued him greatly as well. After his father died, they doubled his wages to keep him.

But Xu Chuan still resolutely quit his task at the Xu Family.

He used nearly all his savings to buy ten mu of paddy field.

The villagers all said Xu Chuan was short-sighted. The Xu Family was a renowned wealthy household throughout the Ten-Mile Eight Villages, and becoming one of their long-term laborers was no easy feat.

Xu Ping had worked for the Xu Family his entire life. At first, Xu Chuan had only been able to become a long-term laborer there because of his father.

Yet now, he had simply quit and yielded his place to someone else.

But Xu Chuan did not see it that way.

How could working for someone else possibly give him the same drive as working for himself?

Besides, after keeping a low profile and building himself up for fifteen years, he felt it was time to establish his own household.

As a transmigrator, Xu Chuan had been born with a [Bloodline Genealogy]. However, the genealogy currently had only one page, and the first page bore only Xu Chuan's name.

To be entered into the genealogy, one had to drip blood onto it before a name would appear.

Xu Chuan had stumbled upon this at the age of six. Back then, he had still been a [three-no youth].

[Xu Chuan: Xu Family Generation 1]

[Spiritual Root: Incomplete Five Elements, no Cultivation Aptitude]

[Talent: None]

[Bloodline: None]

Afterward, the [Bloodline Genealogy] produced three talents: [Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might], [Daily Divination], and [Heaven Rewards Diligence].

He used them all on himself.

[Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might] kept him brimming with energy every day, his blood and qi vigorous.

Naturally, he was free of illness and disaster.

[Daily Divination] allowed him to ask once a day about fortune, misfortune, and the course of fate.

Most of the time, the result was an ordinary divination, neither lucky nor unlucky.

That was also related to Xu Chuan's low-key nature and his habit of never causing trouble.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence] meant that as long as he persevered in anything, he would gain something.

Though its enhancement was average, cold came, heat went, and over time, it still far surpassed ordinary people.

When it came to farming, he was now an authority in the field. Many common folk in Dongxi Village had sought his guidance.

Fields were the lifeblood of common folk, so he was quite well-liked.

Besides that, Xu Chuan was skilled at carpentry, cultivating fruit trees and medicinal herbs, and knew a little archery as well.

Through his own efforts, Xu Chuan married at the age of twenty. His wife was also the eldest daughter of an ordinary common folk family, named Bai Jing.

She was three years younger than him, with delicate features, and was hardworking and kind.

They were a match in social status.

Not long after marrying, Xu Chuan bought another ten mu of mountain woodland and planted rare Green Jade Pear trees.

The villagers said Green Jade Pears were delicate and not an ordinary variety. They said Xu Chuan would never be able to grow them and told him not to waste his effort.

Xu Chuan merely smiled at that.

Six years passed. Bai Jing bore him two sons and was currently pregnant with her third child. In another two months, the melon would ripen and fall from the vine.

"Uncle Chen, I won't chat with you any longer. I need to go home and see my wife."

"Go on, go on. When the child is born and reaches the full-month celebration, just remember to invite me for a drink."

"Then remember to bring a gift."

"Not willing to suffer even the slightest loss, haha."

Xu Chuan then headed toward his home and arrived not long afterward.

The walls were grayish white, the tiles blue-black, and the courtyard square. In the northeastern corner stood a tall pear tree, its large green pears bending the branches low.

The moment he reached the entrance, he saw two children sticking their bottoms up as they lay by the courtyard wall, their two pairs of dark, round eyes staring at something unknown.

Hearing footsteps, they turned their heads.

The moment they saw Xu Chuan, radiant smiles appeared on their faces. They ran toward him while shouting, "Father, you're back!"

"Father, big black carp! I want to eat big black carp!"

"No problem, but the first sip of fish soup goes to your mother. Understand?"

The slightly older child nodded obediently. "Mother is carrying little brother and working very hard. Of course Mother should eat first."

"Shitou is so good."

"What about me, Father?"

The younger child raised his head and asked, his eyes blinking with great anticipation.

"You're good too."

The elder was named Xu Mingwei. He was five this year, and his childhood name was Shitou.

The younger was Xu Mingyuan, three years old, with the childhood name A Yuan.

"By the way, what were you two looking at while lying on the ground?"

Xu Mingwei pointed at the corner of the wall. "There are lots of little ants on the ground, crawling along in a neat line."

"Ants moving house? Looks like it'll rain tonight."

"Father, what does ants moving house mean? Will it rain tonight? How do you know?" Xu Mingwei tugged at Xu Chuan's clothes and fired off question after question.

Xu Chuan smiled. "Do you still want fish soup tonight?"

"If you keep holding Father up, there'll be nothing for you to eat."

At those words, the two looked as if the sky were falling and hurriedly moved aside.

Then they pushed Xu Chuan toward the kitchen, urging anxiously, "Father, hurry, hurry!"

At that moment, Bai Jing came out with her large belly, one hand supporting herself against the doorframe. There were still red marks on her face from sleep. "Husband, you're back. I overslept. I'll go make dinner right away."

"No need. Wife, rest today. I'll make dinner."

Xu Chuan smiled gently and entered the kitchen.

First, he rinsed the rice, lit the fire, and started cooking. Then he used a kitchen knife to scrape off the fish scales and clean out the innards.

Once he was done, he made seven or eight cuts on each side so the flesh would absorb the flavor better while cooking.

Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan stood quietly at the side watching, drool dripping from the corners of their mouths onto the ground with a patter.

"Shitou, go check the chicken coop and see if there are any eggs."

"Okay, Father."

Xu Mingwei scampered over, felt around inside the chicken coop with his little hand, pulled out two eggs, then ran excitedly back to Xu Chuan.

"Father, here."

Xu Chuan took them and set them aside, planning to stir-fry them with scallions later.

"Also, go with A Yuan and drive all the chickens in the yard back into the coop."

Xu Mingwei took Xu Mingyuan's little hand and went off to herd the chickens.

A moment later.

Xu Mingyuan's crying could be heard.

Xu Chuan stopped what he was doing and ran over. Bai Jing was holding Xu Mingyuan, gently patting his back to comfort him.

"What happened?" Xu Chuan asked.

Xu Mingwei said, "Father, A Yuan got knocked over by the rooster's wing and fell to the ground, then he cried."

"A Yuan, a real man must not cry. In a few days, Father will avenge you."

Xu Mingyuan sniffled twice and truly stopped crying. "Father, you have to keep your word."

"When has Father ever failed to do what he said?"

"Come, let's hook fingers."

"Mm."

Xu Chuan went back to continue cooking.

More than half an hour later, the family happily began eating around the eight immortals table.

The two little ones both remembered Xu Chuan's words and gave the first sip of fish soup to their mother. Bai Jing was deeply moved.

Night fell.

A torrential rain began to pour.

Inside the room, Bai Jing suddenly said, "Husband, Old Third will be born soon. Add another level to that bunk bed."

"No rush." Xu Chuan smiled faintly. "Old Third can sleep in a crib first."

"As for later, I plan to expand the house in a few years, adding at least three more rooms. The courtyard is a little small too. Once the family grows, the children won't have enough room to move around."

"I'll listen to Husband." Bai Jing nodded, then seemed to think of something. "Then should we rent a few mu of land? There'll be another mouth to feed, after all, and Shitou and A Yuan are eating more and more."

"Wife has thought it through very thoroughly." Xu Chuan looked at Bai Jing and smiled again. "But there's no need to rent any. Since last year, after all these years of effort, the Green Jade Pears in those ten mu of mountain woodland have started bearing fruit. This year's yield will only be greater."

Bai Jing said nothing more.

Once a woman married, she followed her husband. Naturally, Xu Chuan was the one to decide everything in the Xu Family.

Moreover, she knew Xu Chuan was an exceptionally capable man. Ever since she had married him, the Xu Family's life had visibly improved year by year.

Of course, more importantly, Xu Chuan cherished her dearly.

She had not married the wrong man.

"Husband, this concubine will lend you a hand tonight."

"Many thanks, Wife."