Investment

Fulin Restaurant!

As Qiu Wenjie pushed open the door to the private room, Xu Yang saw a middle-aged man with a fair, remarkably round face.

He wore a pair of thin, drooping mustaches and bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Qiu Wenjie, his expression radiating a warm, amiable smile.

This was Qiu Wenjie's father, Qiu Yongqiang.

"Greetings, Master Qiu!" Xu Yang said, cupping his hands in a salute.

Qiu Yongqiang stood up and laughed, "My Qiu Family is but a small household; I am no 'Master.' Since you and Wenjie share the same teacher, if you don't mind, just call me Uncle Qiu."

"Greetings, Uncle Qiu!"

Beaming, Qiu Yongqiang urged Xu Yang to sit down before stepping out to order the meal, returning shortly thereafter.

"Uncle Qiu, I heard from Wenjie that..."

"Let's set that aside for now. You and Wenjie must be hungry. We shall discuss the details after you've eaten."

Xu Yang had intended to ask about the sponsorship for his martial arts training, but upon hearing this, he had no choice but to suppress his thoughts.

The dishes soon began to arrive: ginseng-stewed black chicken, braised pork belly, steamed sea bass...

Over a dozen dishes were laid out, all of them meat. Xu Yang's appetite was piqued, but he held back, waiting for his host to start.

Qiu Wenjie, however, stood on no such ceremony; he grabbed his chopsticks and immediately snatched up a large meatball.

Qiu Yongqiang scolded him with a laugh for his lack of manners before gesturing for Xu Yang to begin.

In truth, it was mostly Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie doing the eating, while Qiu Yongqiang focused on his wine, only occasionally reaching out with his chopsticks.

After a while, as Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie began to feel full and their table manners returned to normal, Qiu Yongqiang took the opportunity to ask Xu Yang about his family situation.

Upon learning that Xu Yang had been living alone with his younger sister since he was eleven or twelve, his smile grew even wider.

The meal finally came to an end with every plate wiped clean. Qiu Wenjie leaned back in his chair, stuffed, and Xu Yang felt quite full as well.

However, since he was a guest, he was careful not to appear unrefined, avoiding the gluttonous state he often fell into at Wei Yuan Hall.

"A-Yang, I imagine Wenjie has already told you of my intention to sponsor your martial arts training. What do you think?" Qiu Yongqiang asked, getting straight to the point.

What did he think?

Having someone pay for his training was naturally a good thing.

However, he was a candidate selected and cultivated by the Huang Family; to accept sponsorship from someone else felt akin to betrayal.

If he became a martial artist in the future, would he serve the Huang Family or the Qiu Family?

Xu Yang frowned and voiced these concerns.

To his surprise, Qiu Yongqiang laughed heartily. "A-Yang, you are overthinking this. It is true that you are being cultivated by the Huang Family, but I can guarantee that even if you successfully break through to gather your Qi in the future, the Huang Family will not require you to serve as their retainer."

The Huang Family only needed Lu Ren!

Xu Yang fell into deep thought.

"But what if they do require me to serve as a retainer?" Xu Yang asked.

The Huang Family had sidelined him because they felt Lu Ren was enough, but who could say what the future held? After all, the Huang Family had never publicly stated that they would release him from his original agreement should he become a martial artist.

"Then you shall serve as the Huang Family's retainer."

Qiu Yongqiang smiled. "My Qiu Family is but a small household; we may not even be able to afford a true martial artist. Even if you do become one, we likely wouldn't have the means to hire you as a retainer.

"I will be honest with you, Uncle Qiu is simply looking to gain an advantage. By offering help during your time of need, I hope to earn your goodwill so that you might assist us should we ever face trouble in the future.

"Furthermore, rest assured that we will not speak of this to anyone, and it will not interfere with the Huang Family's cultivation of you."

His bluntness dispelled Xu Yang's misgivings.

The Qiu Family needed a martial artist but lacked the funds to retain one, so they were taking a gamble by investing in him now to secure his loyalty.

Even if he became a martial artist, the Qiu Family likely couldn't afford him anyway.

In this way, even if the Huang Family still required his services later, there would be no conflict with the Qiu Family, as they did not need him to be their official retainer.

"Then many thanks, Uncle Qiu!" Xu Yang said, cupping his hands.

Qiu Yongqiang waved him off. "Don't be so quick to thank me. We cannot give you much—only three taels a month. If you think that is too little, then we shall let the matter drop."

Three taels? Even one tael would not have been too little for Xu Yang.

"This is a great kindness; how could I think it too little!" Xu Yang said earnestly.

At a time when no one else had any faith in him, Qiu Yongqiang was willing to invest three taels of silver a month. Even if there was an element of opportunism and gambling involved, he would remember this favor.

"This is for the first month." Qiu Yongqiang pulled out several pieces of silver and handed them to Xu Yang.

Seeing that the sky had already turned dark, Xu Yang grew worried about Xu Qing and rose to take his leave.

"Father, aren't you afraid that if Senior Brother Xu Yang fails to gather his Qi, your money will have been thrown into the sea?"

Once Xu Yang had left, Qiu Wenjie finally voiced the doubt in his heart.

Xu Yang's situation was widely known at Wei Yuan Hall, and even though his performance in all areas was not much worse than Lu Ren's, no one believed he would succeed in gathering his Qi.

For a small household like the Qiu Family, three taels of silver was not a small sum.

"You might not be able to gather Qi in the future either, but I'm still spending over ten taels a month on you, aren't I? If he were guaranteed to succeed, would it even be our turn to befriend him with just three taels of silver?"

"The Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and it took you ten days just to get through the door. If you had any drive at all, would I have to worry this much?"

Qiu Yongqiang stood up. "Let's go home."

When Xu Yang returned home, Xu Qing had just finished her meal.

"Xu Laoer came by again today," Xu Qing said while clearing the dishes.

Xu Yang frowned. "What did he come for this time?"

"He came to borrow a chicken, saying he'd return it once Yang Jun becomes a martial artist, but I didn't lend it to him."

Xu Yang nearly laughed in anger; only Xu Laoer could come up with something as ridiculous as borrowing a chicken.

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Brother, why don't you tell him about your martial arts training? If he knew you were training and could become a martial artist in the future, he wouldn't be so biased."

"Remember this: we have already severed ties with him."

The young girl immediately stopped talking about Xu Laoer and moved on to other matters.

The new representatives sent by the Tri-Union Gang arrived at White Stone Ward today, notifying everyone to pay the residence fee in full within three days. Because of Xu Yang's instructions, Xu Qing had not stepped forward, so Xu Yang would have to be the one to pay.

"Oh, right, I heard from Auntie and the others that the Tri-Union Gang members are asking about you in the village," Xu Qing added at the end.

Xu Yang frowned deeply upon hearing this. After slaughtering Li Hu, was the matter still not over?

It seemed that buying Xu Qing wasn't just Li Hu's idea, but the Tri-Union Gang's.

There had always been rumors that the Tri-Union Gang was involved in human trafficking, and it seemed those rumors weren't groundless.

However, even if the Tri-Union Gang hadn't given up, they likely wouldn't make a move immediately, which bought him a few more days.

Now with Qiu Yongqiang's financial support, he shouldn't have any major issues becoming a martial artist this month. Once he reached that level, the Tri-Union Gang wouldn't dare provoke him so easily.

"I'll go pay the money tomorrow. From tomorrow on, remember to go to the market and buy a catty of pork every day for me to eat in the morning," Xu Yang instructed Xu Qing.

He originally had three taels of silver, gained one tael from killing Li Hu and his two companions, and with the three taels Qiu Yongqiang provided tonight, he now had seven taels.

Since he might need to break through his bottleneck within this month, he couldn't afford to be stingy with money anymore.

A catty of pork cost thirty wen, so one tael of silver was just enough for a month.

With six taels remaining, he would keep one in reserve. Of the remaining five, he would add one to his Body-Strengthening Soup, and the final four would be used right before his breakthrough to purchase Health-Nurturing Soup and medicinal baths to refine his body, laying the foundation for his advancement.

All things considered, he would have eleven taels to spend on martial arts this month, not much less than Lu Ren.

Moreover, his true confidence lay in his status panel. By the end of this month, his aptitude should reach low-tier Grade B. Even if it wasn't as good as Lu Ren's high-tier Grade B, he would at least have entered the Grade B realm, and becoming a martial artist shouldn't be too difficult.