Learn martial arts!
The moment Lin Yan said it, the atmosphere in the courtyard changed.
His aunt Liu wiped the water from her hands, suddenly at a loss. She had never imagined her nephew would say he wanted to learn martial arts.
"Mother, I got beaten up."
Just as Liu struggled to find an answer, a little troublemaker pushed open the door and came in.
Lin Mo's eyes were red, and several black finger marks streaked his face. He had clearly been crying; the marks had been left when he wiped his tears with fingers barely any whiter than coal.
Though the boy had called out to his mother, his eyes stayed on Lin Yan.
The brothers were close. Whenever someone bullied Lin Mo, his elder brother had always been the first to avenge him.
But today, Lin Yan did not move.
With his mother ignoring him and his elder brother unmoved, Lin Mo felt terribly wronged and burst into loud sobs.
Liu glared at him. "Wash your hands and go eat. Keep crying, and you won't get any food today."
The crying stopped at once.
Lin Mo's eyes darted about. Sensing something was wrong, he went to the well, sniffling as he washed his hands obediently, then headed for the main room.
"Yan'er, why do you suddenly want to learn martial arts?"
Liu studied her nephew. She had to find out whether someone outside had tricked him.
"Aunt, while I was at the shop, I heard a customer say a county in Qingzhou Prefecture had suffered a disaster. Grain prices had soared severalfold. Even many families that had been fairly well-off were struggling to survive. Guangping County has had favorable weather these past few years, but who knows when a flood or drought might strike?"
"Even if disaster strikes, a family can get through it if they've stored grain in advance. Isn't that how everyone has always managed?"
Liu did not understand why her nephew had brought this up. What did it have to do with learning martial arts?
"Aunt, even if stored grain gets us through a disaster, life will only be harder afterward. If disasters come year after year, staying alive will become difficult."
Liu's face paled. "That... that would be Heaven devouring people. Surely... surely Heaven is merciful. It wouldn't go that far. Besides, the weather in our county has been good these past few years."
"Aunt, our county hasn't had any disasters in years. By rights, even if grain prices didn't fall, they shouldn't rise. But prices at the rice shop keep climbing because there are more people. A family has two sons, and those sons have four sons of their own... The land stays the same size, and it won't produce more grain. More people, less grain—of course the price goes up."
Seeing that his aunt still looked puzzled, Lin Yan sighed inwardly.
It was not that she was foolish. She had simply had a different education.
She did not understand what happened when production could not keep pace with population growth.
Liu knew nothing about production, but she understood what her nephew was saying.
Her own family was an example. There had been four siblings in her generation, but her nieces and nephews already numbered more than a dozen. They certainly needed more grain.
"Aunt, the money we earn in a month can buy three sacks of rice now. Later, it might buy only two. If a natural disaster really comes, I'm afraid it won't buy even one."
Lin Yan's expression was grave. "In every major disaster the county has suffered over the years, the only families left untouched were those with martial artists. If the Lin Family wants its bloodline to endure, one of us must learn martial arts and become a martial artist."
To the people of this world, preserving the family line mattered deeply.
Just as Lin Yan had expected, the mention of their bloodline dying out left his aunt visibly alarmed.
"That's right! Big Brother should learn martial arts. Once he does, nobody will dare bully me again."
Lin Mo appeared in the doorway holding his bowl, his eyes shining. "Wang Dachui only dares hit me because his sister married a man who practices martial arts."
"Go back and eat. All you do is cause trouble and fight with people. Has it been so long since your last beating that your skin's itching for another?"
Her son's words made Liu furious. All these years, wanting to do right by Lin Yan's parents, she had disciplined Yan'er strictly. In turn, she had been somewhat lax with Mo'er.
"I... I didn't start anything. Wang Dachui and the others called you a widow, Mother, and... and said Big Brother sleeps in the same bed as you at night."
Liu's face went white. Lin Yan's expression darkened. "Little brother, be quiet."
There was no escaping idle gossip, wherever one went.
It was especially common among those at the bottom. Only by inventing rumors and dragging others through the mud could they gain the slightest sense of superiority.
"Yan'er, come with me."
After a long moment, Liu made up her mind and walked toward the side room on the left.
Besides the main room, the Lin house had a side room on each side. Lin Mo still lived with his mother in the main room, while Lin Yan lived in the room on the right. The room on the left housed the memorial tablets of the Lin Family's ancestors.
Lin Yan followed his aunt inside. Along with the Lin Family's ancestors, his parents' memorial tablets were enshrined there.
Liu took incense from the altar table, lit three sticks, and placed them in the burner. She carefully straightened the slightly crooked burner before speaking. "Yan'er, your grandparents had three sons and a daughter. Your second uncle and third aunt died young, leaving only your father and your uncle."
"Your grandmother passed away early. Your grandfather died in the second year after your parents married. Your father was only eighteen then, and your youngest uncle was nine. Before he died, your grandfather told your father to raise his little brother."
"An elder brother is like a father. Your father took that duty seriously, and your mother was a good sister-in-law. They put off having a child so they could raise your uncle. Only after he grew up and married me did your mother become pregnant and give birth to you."
Reminiscence softened Liu's face. "During my first two years of marriage, I couldn't get pregnant. The neighbors gossiped endlessly, saying your uncle had married a hen that couldn't lay eggs. Your mother stood up for me. She went to their doors and scolded those wagging tongues, then kept comforting me. When I finally conceived, your uncle was clumsy and didn't know how to care for me. Once again, your mother took care of me, from pregnancy through childbirth and confinement."
"Your uncle once told me that, to him, your mother was more than a sister-in-law. She was a mother."
"And he wasn't alone. In my heart, she was a mother too."
Listening to his aunt, Lin Yan finally understood why she cared for him so much.
She and his uncle had repaid everything his parents had done for them by caring for him.
"I'd hoped that, since you can read and write, you'd find steady work instead of hauling loads for a living. In another year, I planned to arrange your marriage. Once you had a wife and children, I could answer to your parents. But you want to learn martial arts, Yan'er. It isn't that I don't want you to. I'm only afraid... afraid you'll spend years trying and get nowhere. Then I'll have failed your parents and broken the promise I made your uncle before he left for compulsory labor."
Liu looked at Lin Yan earnestly. The path she had planned was the one ordinary people like them walked. She could see where it led.
Practicing martial arts held too many uncertainties.
"But the fact that you could explain all this today shows you've grown up."
Liu was comforted, yet helpless. "Learning martial arts costs a great deal. Martial arts schools charge dozens of taels just to enroll. We don't have enough money, and we cannot sell the house your parents left you."
The house her elder brother and sister-in-law had left behind absolutely could not be sold. On that, Liu would not yield.
"Aunt, I don't plan to go to a martial arts school yet."
Liu froze. If he did not go to a school, where would he learn?
"Aunt, Fourth Aunt at the Cai Mansion must have martial artists in her household. Could we ask her for help?"
From the moment he had raised the subject, Lin Yan had known how he wanted to begin his journey in martial arts.
The Lin Family was ordinary, but didn't every family have a wealthy relative somewhere?
In the original Lin Yan's memories, the Cai Family's Third Mistress was the Lin Family's wealthy relative.
The Third Mistress's mother had been his grandmother's younger sister. By kinship, he could call the Third Mistress his cousin-aunt.
Unfortunately, both sisters had died early, and the two families were not close. Lin Yan had no memory of ever meeting her. His aunt, however, visited the Cai Mansion on holidays to offer New Year's greetings and a gift.
Lin Yan could guess why his aunt maintained that connection. She did not hope to gain anything from the Cai Mansion; she simply wanted a safeguard against trouble.
A widow raising two children might someday face a problem she could not solve. When that happened, this family tie might prove useful.
Liu looked at the nephew before her and, for a moment, found him unfamiliar.
First, Yan'er had said he wanted to learn martial arts. Then he had spoken of rising grain prices and growing populations, of grain becoming dear while human lives grew cheap.
His reasoning had been clear and orderly. How could an eighteen-year-old boy speak like that?
What surprised her even more was that Yan'er had thought to seek help from the Cai Mansion.
She had visited the Cai Mansion on holidays to preserve that slender family tie, thinking that if a calamity ever struck their household, she would have somewhere to turn.
But she had never told Yan'er what she intended. How had he known?
Or had the boy been quietly watching and remembering all along?
Liu's lips parted slightly. Her feelings tangled together.
She was glad Yan'er had grown up and formed ideas of his own.
But the change had come so suddenly that it stunned her.
It was as though he had become a different person overnight.
Even the way he spoke and acted reminded her a little of her elder brother.
Could her elder brother and sister-in-law truly be watching over him from beyond?
"Aunt?" Lin Yan called when he saw her staring into space.
"Ah... yes." Liu came back to herself and drew a deep breath. "Since you've made up your mind, I'll take you to the Cai Mansion tomorrow. But a great household like theirs has many rules. Once we're there, you mustn't speak out of turn or forget your manners."
"I understand, Aunt."
Liu nodded, then turned toward the memorial tablets on the altar. Elder Brother, Sister-in-law, can you see him? Yan'er has grown up. He's more sensible than you ever imagined. If your spirits are watching, please protect him...
"Yan'er, offer incense to the Lin Family's ancestors and your parents. We'll go to the Cai Mansion first thing tomorrow morning." Liu steadied herself, her voice much firmer than before.
On the bed in his room,
Lin Yan could not sleep. It was not that the bedboards were too hard; he was simply too excited.
His previous life had been so ordinary that mediocre would have been a fair description.
In this life, he had a special advantage and a chance to learn martial arts. How could he possibly sleep?
Even in his previous life, he had dreamed of wandering the martial world as a boy. Give him a wooden stick, and every patch of roadside weeds would take a few blows.
If he could not sleep, he might as well figure out his special advantage.
"System?"
"Great System, are you asleep?"
"Brother Tree, are you awake too?"
"Father Tree."
The next day,
Lin Yan accompanied his aunt to the South District.
Compared with the dilapidated North District, the South District was lined with streets and shops. The pedestrians and vendors alike had a spirit the North District's residents could not match.
They stopped before a residence with three courtyards inside an alley. Though it was called an alley, it was wider than the street where the Lin house stood.
The Cai Mansion.
Liu explained their purpose to the gatekeeper. He led them inside to a side hall in the front courtyard and served tea.
"Please wait a moment. The Third Mistress will be here shortly."
Liu did not sit, so Lin Yan naturally remained standing too.
Before long, footsteps came from behind a screen, and two figures emerged.
The woman in front had a graceful figure and fair skin. In that outfit, she would have fit the stepmother look popular in his previous life perfectly, with viewers filling the screen with cries of "Mommy, slay me."
Lin Yan took only a glance before lowering his head.
According to his aunt, this cousin-aunt was the same age as she was. Yet judging by appearances alone, anyone would have thought Liu nearly a dozen years older.
Wealth and comfort truly did preserve a person's looks.
"Madam, this is my nephew, Lin Yan, the eldest grandson of the Lin Family."
Liu made the introduction, then turned to Lin Yan. "Yan'er, greet your Fourth Aunt."
"Greetings, Fourth Aunt." Lin Yan bowed as a junior should.
Li Min sat in the seat of honor and raised a hand. "What a good child. Cui'er, go to the kitchen and bring some pastries."
After instructing her maid, Li Min looked at Liu with mild reproach. "Liu, I told you long ago to bring my aunt's grandson to meet me. Yet you waited until now."
"Madam, Yan'er was young before and didn't understand proper manners. So many distinguished people come and go from your home. I wouldn't dare let him embarrass you."
Li Min smiled at that. Liu's words were flattering, but she liked hearing them.
Unlike some of her other relatives, Liu did not behave crudely and disgrace her.
They chatted about family matters for a while. When a servant brought the pastries, Li Min changed the subject. "Is there something you need, bringing Yan'er here today?"
Li Min knew Liu must have come with a request, and one concerning her nephew.
Judging by his age, it was probably time for him to marry. Did they need to borrow money for the betrothal gifts?
For Liu's sake—she knew her place and was pleasant to speak with—Li Min would not mind lending them some silver.
"Madam, there's been no word of my husband since he was sent away for compulsory labor. The North District is growing more chaotic. I hoped Yan'er might learn some fighting skills from your household guards, so our family won't be at others' mercy in the future."
Liu's voice was full of sorrow. Thinking of the Lin Family's circumstances, Li Min sighed inwardly.
No word from a man sent away for compulsory labor meant he had lost his life.
With only Liu, a widow, to care for two children, life in the North District was indeed difficult.
So be it. In light of the gifts Liu had brought over the years, she would help.
"A family does need a man who can shoulder its burdens if it's to avoid being bullied. But the master hired our guards personally. I'm just a woman of the household; I can't order them to teach anyone. I'll ask him when he returns. Stay and have lunch here."
"Thank you, Madam. Yan'er, hurry and thank your Fourth Aunt."
"Thank you, Fourth Aunt," Lin Yan said.