People often said that the children of poor families learned to shoulder responsibilities early, and that saying couldn't have been more true of Zhang Tie. Ever since elementary school, he had helped with the housework. His father worked hard at the factory while his mother stayed home, relying on her fairly decent brewing skills to run a small business and supplement the family income. For more than a decade, they had worked tirelessly to raise Zhang Tie and his big brother.
In the past, Zhang Tie hadn't known how to care for his parents. Then, two years ago, one weekend at home, he watched his mother close up the shop for the night and immediately set about mopping the floor without a moment's rest. From behind, her figure looked suddenly plump and heavy, no longer slim and lovely as he remembered from childhood. A wave of sorrow welled up in Zhang Tie, and overnight, he seemed to grow up. He began to understand his responsibility as a man toward his family and his parents. From then on, every weekend, while other kids his age bounced around outside, Zhang Tie stayed home and helped his mother with the housework. Naturally, he learned her brewing skills, too. A year ago, the rice brew he made was indistinguishable from his mother's. Even the longtime customers had no idea that, by then, Zhang Tie was making nearly half of the Zhang Family's rice brew.
Strangely, he hadn't dreamed at all the previous night, and Zhang Tie had slept especially well. When he opened his eyes in bed at six in the morning, it was still dark outside. A faint, hazy whiteness had only just begun to show in the east. Zhang Tie glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed. It was a quarter past six. At his age, young men were usually reluctant to get out of bed. As far as Zhang Tie could remember, he had almost never gotten up before seven in the morning, except on rare occasions. He closed his eyes, and out of habit, tried to sleep a little longer, but he couldn't. His mind was clear, his body brimming with energy, and he wasn't the least bit sleepy. He felt fresh as a Chinese cabbage that had just been pulled from the water after soaking all night. There was no way he could fall asleep. Usually, his mind was a little foggy when he woke in the morning, muddled and hazy. But this morning, his head was as clear as a newly polished crystal, without a speck of impurity.
After struggling to stay in bed a little longer, he realized that he really couldn't fall asleep again. Zhang Tie simply sprang out of bed. Wearing nothing but his underwear, he stood beside the bed and began to wiggle his hips with a flourish. There was nobody around to see him, so he didn't care how ridiculous or infuriating he looked. Sixty circles clockwise, then sixty counterclockwise—he had picked up the habit from his father, who said that a man could strengthen his virility by twisting his waist in the morning. Zhang Tie had remembered that. Later, once he was old enough to understand a few things, he had once walked in on his big brother and a woman going at it like a piston. After learning what virility was for, he had secretly started practicing the movements alone each morning. Though Zhang Tie was still a virgin, and his little brother hadn't gotten any action in more than a decade—he had only had a few muddled nocturnal emissions in his dreams—well, a man, cough... cough... who didn't want to be a little more powerful in that department? It was understandable.
He hadn't known until he started exercising. When Zhang Tie looked down, he saw that his underwear had tented high. The little guy in the tent was having a serious case of morning wood. He pulled open the waistband and looked. The little guy had become a big guy, standing proudly at attention, veins bulging, and bristling with such a fearsome aura that it was a little alarming. He bent it with his hand and tested its hardness. It was just like a wooden club.
"Hey, just hang in there for now. Who knows when you'll get to put yourself to another use!"
After finishing his hip rotations, Zhang Tie opened the small attic window, then exercised a little indoors, lifting his legs, bending at the waist, and doing a few random movements. Once he had gotten dressed, he tiptoed down from the attic. After washing up, he started making breakfast for his family. Given the Zhang Family's circumstances, Zhang Tie's breakfast wasn't anything fancy; today, it was just rice porridge. The rice had been soaked the night before, and when he checked it that morning, it had softened. The grains were white and plump, and especially appetizing.
The rice had been soaked, so all that remained was to start the fire. The area around Black Flame City was rich in coal, with huge reserves, so coal was very cheap there. A small cartload of coal briquettes made from discarded coal dust cost only a few dozen copper coins. Briquettes were easy to buy, but starting a fire in the stove and getting them burning was a real skill. Fortunately, after years of "practice," Zhang Tie had become quite adept at it. In the past, he had needed to add a little pine oil to help the fire catch, but now he could get it going in ten minutes without any.
Ten minutes later, Zhang Tie had lit the stove, washed the pot, and started boiling water. The water soon came to a boil over the bright red flames. He rinsed the soaked rice into the pot, put on the lid, and checked the fire. A smile spread across his face. He realized that wholeheartedly choosing to serve his family and surprise his parents, making them happy, gave him a real sense of fulfillment.
The porridge would take at least another hour to cook, so he had plenty of time. After looking around the kitchen, Zhang Tie had an idea and fetched several empty, large earthenware vats from the rice-brew shop. He drew well water in the backyard and carefully scrubbed each vat until it was spotless. Then he set them under the eaves to dry. By then, dawn had broken. After nearly an hour of work, Zhang Tie's forehead was damp with sweat. He was setting the last vat beneath the eaves, thoroughly pleased with himself, when he noticed his mother standing at the doorway between the kitchen and the backyard, staring at him in slight bewilderment. He had no idea how long she had been there.
"Guoguo, what are you doing?"
"Ah, Mom. I got up early this morning, so I came down to do a bit of work."
"Silly boy, you're still growing. How can you not get enough sleep?" His mother came over with concern and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Then she lifted the lid and checked on the porridge. One look at the pot told Zhang Tie's mother what time he had gotten up. "Be a good boy and go back to bed for a while. You've already done most of this morning's work. Come down to eat whenever you wake up."
"Mom, I'm really not tired," Zhang Tie said helplessly.
"Come on, tell Mom. Have you made some friends outside lately and run out of money? You seemed a little strange last night..." His mother leaned closer and whispered with a knowing, gossipy look. "If that's the case, come to Mom when you need money. A man has to be generous to attract a young woman. You can't be too stingy. Mom's secretly saved a little of her own money, but don't tell your father!"
Zhang Tie looked at his mother, speechless. What did that have to do with anything? In the end, his protests were useless, and his mother nearly dragged him back upstairs by the ear and kicked him into his little room. She wanted him to go back to sleep and "make up" for lost rest...
"You're still growing at your age. The more you sleep, the taller you'll be!" As he watched his mother's retreating figure, still chattering away, Zhang Tie felt both touched and helpless. He returned to his little room and pretended he was going to take a nap.
But once he was back in his room, Zhang Tie couldn't possibly fall asleep. After thinking it over, he shut the doors and windows, then entered Castle of Black Iron again with a thought. Thanks to his first two visits, he had become more in tune with the castle. This time, as soon as he closed his eyes and thought "Castle of Black Iron," the door appeared naturally in his mind. He fixed his consciousness on it and silently said, "Enter." In the next instant, Zhang Tie was inside Castle of Black Iron.
—Welcome, handsome and majestic Fortress Master, to Castle of Black Iron!
The same dialogue box appeared before Zhang Tie, then disappeared on its own. He had to admit that the title he had given himself was a little corny, but every time he saw it, it put him in a great mood.
Handsome—majestic—master—hahahaha...
With his chest puffed out, Zhang Tie stood where he was and surveyed his territory. To the naked eye, it looked exactly as it had the night before, without the slightest change: a strange little tree, a vast stretch of flat land, and the steel rod he had planted as a marker the previous day. Those were the only things in sight.
He circled the strange little tree, the one called the Manjusaka Karma Myriad Fruit Tree, twice. It still hadn't changed, and after a moment, Zhang Tie lost interest in investigating it further. He might as well check on the seeds he had planted the day before. At the thought of the corn and potatoes he had planted, he perked up and ran over to the patch of land he had marked. He squatted down and examined it closely.
The corn seeds he had planted the previous night showed no signs of change after just one night. Zhang Tie wasn't in a hurry. According to the agricultural knowledge he had learned at school, corn usually took about a week to sprout after being planted. It was much too soon. That was when he suddenly smacked his forehead. He had been so excited when planting the seeds the previous night that he had forgotten to water them. What a rookie mistake! Still, it wasn't too late. He could bring a couple of buckets of water over later. After checking the corn, he moved over to the potatoes. They were hardy and could grow in almost any soil, and sure enough, they gave Zhang Tie a tremendous surprise. The potatoes he had buried had already begun to sprout. When he planted them the previous day, he had made sure to point the sprouted parts upward. Now, after just one night, some of the tender shoots had broken through the soil and grown a little bigger, like bean sprouts soaked overnight. The potato with the largest shoot had even sent out two tiny buds, each about the size of a grain of rice—there was hope!
Zhang Tie grew excited. Damn it, with this patch of land, even if I could only grow potatoes, I'd never have to worry about starving to death! That was the only thing on Zhang Tie's mind at that moment.
After his excitement had settled a little, Zhang Tie opened Castle of Black Iron's basic attributes panel.
—Castle of Black Iron —Length: 1 Krosha —Width: 1 Krosha —Spirit Qi Value: 0.3 —Merit Value: 3 —Basic Energy Reserve: 0.2 —Special Output: None
Merit Value had increased by 1, just as he had expected. But the number in the Spirit Qi Value column, which had still been at zero the night before, immediately caught Zhang Tie's attention...