Investment

Fulin Restaurant!

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

He had a pair of drooping moustaches and features somewhat like Qiu Wenjie's. His smile was exceptionally kind.

He was Qiu Wenjie's father, Qiu Yongqiang.

"Greetings, Master Qiu!" Xu Yang cupped his hands.

Qiu Yongqiang rose with a smile. "My Qiu Family is just a small household. I'm no master. You and Wenjie studied under the same teacher, so if you don't mind, call me Uncle Qiu."

"Greetings, Uncle Qiu!"

Beaming, Qiu Yongqiang urged Xu Yang to sit down, then stepped out to order the dishes. He returned once he had given the instructions.

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

"Let's not talk about that yet. You and Wenjie must be hungry. Eat first, and then Uncle Qiu will explain everything."

Xu Yang had wanted to ask about the offer to fund his martial arts training, but hearing that, he could only hold back his questions.

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

More than ten dishes were served, all of them meat. Xu Yang's mouth watered, but he still held back and didn't reach for anything first.

Qiu Wenjie, on the other hand, couldn't wait. He grabbed his chopsticks and picked up a big meatball.

Qiu Yongqiang chided him for his lack of manners, then invited Xu Yang to dig in.

In truth, it was mostly Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie who ate. Qiu Yongqiang mainly drank, occasionally reaching for a dish.

After a while, Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie had partly filled their stomachs and began eating more normally. Seizing the opportunity, Qiu Yongqiang asked Xu Yang about his family.

When he learned that Xu Yang had been living alone with his younger sister since he was eleven or twelve, his smile grew warmer.

At last, the meal ended, every dish wiped clean. Qiu Wenjie leaned back in his chair, stuffed to the brim, and Xu Yang was quite full too.

Still, someone else had treated him to dinner. He didn't want to make a spectacle of himself, so he hadn't eaten until he could barely move, as he had at Wei Yuan Hall.

"Ah Yang, I imagine Wenjie has already told you about my offer to support your martial arts training. What do you think?" Qiu Yongqiang got straight to the point.

What did he think?

Someone willing to pay for his martial arts training was certainly a good thing.

But the Huang Family had selected him for cultivation. If he accepted someone else's support, wouldn't that be tantamount to betrayal?

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

Xu Yang frowned and explained his concerns.

To his surprise, Qiu Yongqiang laughed heartily. "Ah Yang, you're worrying too much. It's true that the Huang Family is cultivating you, but I can say for certain that even if you succeed in breaking through to Qi Gathering someday, they won't ask you to become an Attendant."

The Huang Family only needed Lu Ren!

Xu Yang considered this.

"But what if they still ask me to become an Attendant?" Xu Yang said.

The Huang Family had given up on him because they thought Lu Ren was enough. But who could predict the future? The Huang Family had never openly said that, even if he became a martial artist, he wouldn't have to honor their original agreement.

"Then you can serve as an Attendant for the Huang Family."

Qiu Yongqiang smiled. "My Qiu Family is just a small household. We might not even be able to afford a genuine martial artist. Even if you do become one someday, we may not be able to hire you as an Attendant.

"Uncle Qiu will be honest with you. We just want to get in on the ground floor. By helping you when you're struggling, we hope to earn your goodwill, so that we can ask you for help if trouble comes our way in the future.

"And there's one more thing you can be sure of: we won't tell anyone about this. It won't affect the Huang Family's cultivation of you, either."

He was blunt, but his words dispelled Xu Yang's doubts.

The Qiu Family needed a martial artist but couldn't afford to support one, so they were taking a chance by investing in him now in hopes of earning his goodwill.

Even if he became a martial artist someday, the Qiu Family might not be able to afford his services.

That meant that even if the Huang Family still needed him in the future, there would be no conflict with the Qiu Family. They didn't need him to become an Attendant in name for the Qiu Family.

"Then thank you, Uncle Qiu!" Xu Yang cupped his hands.

Qiu Yongqiang waved him off. "Don't thank me just yet. We can't give you much, only three taels a month. If you think that's too little, we can forget the whole thing."

Xu Yang wouldn't have considered three taels too little—not even one.

"This is a kindness I couldn't possibly turn down!" Xu Yang said earnestly.

When no one else had faith in him, Qiu Yongqiang was willing to invest three taels of silver in him every month. Even if Qiu Yongqiang was hoping to get a bargain and was taking a gamble, Xu Yang would remember this kindness.

"Here's the first month's payment." Qiu Yongqiang took out several pieces of silver and handed them to Xu Yang.

Seeing that night had fallen, Xu Yang began to worry about Xu Qing, so he rose to take his leave.

"Father, aren't you afraid Xu Yang might fail to achieve Qi Gathering someday, and the money will go down the drain?"

Only after Xu Yang had left for a while did Qiu Wenjie voice the question on his mind.

Xu Yang's situation was widely discussed at Wei Yuan Hall. Though he hadn't performed much worse than Lu Ren in any regard, no one believed he would succeed in achieving Qi Gathering.

The Qiu Family was a small household, and three taels of silver was no small sum.

"You might fail to achieve Qi Gathering too, but I still give you more than ten taels a month. If he were guaranteed to succeed, would we even get the chance to win him over with these three taels?

"It took you ten days just to get started on the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. If you'd show even a little promise, would I have to worry myself sick over you?"

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

When Xu Yang returned home, Xu Qing had just finished eating.

"Xu Laoer came by again today," Xu Qing said as she cleared away the bowls and chopsticks.

Xu Yang frowned. "What did he want this time?"

"He wanted to borrow a chicken. He said he'd return it once Yang Jun became a martial artist, but I didn't lend him one."

Xu Yang was almost laughing with anger. Only Xu Laoer would come up with something like borrowing a chicken.

Xu Qing hesitated, then said softly, "Brother, why don't you tell him about your martial arts training? Once he knows you're training and might become a martial artist someday, maybe he won't play favorites anymore."

"Remember, we've already severed ties with him."

The girl immediately stopped bringing up Xu Laoer and changed the subject.

The Tri-Union Gang had sent new people to White Stone Ward today. They had ordered everyone to pay their residence fees in full within three days. Because Xu Yang had told her to stay out of it, Xu Qing hadn't gone to meet them, so Xu Yang would have to pay the fee himself.

"Oh, and Auntie and the others told me the Tri-Union Gang's people have been asking about you in the village," Xu Qing added at the end.

Xu Yang frowned when he heard that. Had things not ended with Li Hu's death?

It seemed buying Xu Qing hadn't been Li Hu's idea. It had been the Tri-Union Gang's.

Rumors had long circulated that the Tri-Union Gang dealt in human trafficking. It seemed they weren't baseless.

Even if the Tri-Union Gang hadn't given up, they probably wouldn't act right away. He could still buy a few days.

Now that he had Qiu Yongqiang's support, he had a good chance of becoming a martial artist this month. Once he did, the Tri-Union Gang wouldn't dare provoke him so casually.

"I'll pay tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, remember to buy a pound of pork from the market every day. I'll eat it when I get up in the morning," Xu Yang told Xu Qing.

He had originally had three taels of silver. He had gained one tael from killing Li Hu and the other two men, and with the three taels Qiu Yongqiang had given him tonight, he now had seven.

Since he might attempt a breakthrough this month, he couldn't keep pinching pennies.

A pound of pork cost thirty wen, so one tael of silver would be just enough for a month.

Of the six taels left, he would set aside one for emergencies. He would put one more toward the Body-Strengthening Soup, then use the final four taels on Health-Nurturing Soup and medicinal baths to cleanse and temper his body before attempting the breakthrough, laying a solid foundation.

By his calculations, he would have eleven taels to spend on martial arts training this month, not much less than Lu Ren.

And his confidence came from the Status Panel. By the end of this month, his Bone Root should improve to Grade B, Lower. Even if it still fell short of Lu Ren's Grade B, Upper, he would at least have entered the Grade B range, and becoming a martial artist shouldn't be too difficult.