Li Nian managed a smile.
"A-Chuan, I didn't scare you, did I? Don't worry about the family's affairs. I'll take care of them."
Grandma Chen came over and lovingly rubbed Li Chuan's hand.
"My poor Chuan'er, you've suffered. The autumn wind's picking up, so don't catch a chill."
As the youngest grandson in the family, and the one with a chance of earning an official title, Li Chuan was dearly loved by his grandparents.
To earn the tuition and medicinal tonics for his martial arts training, the elderly couple, who should have been enjoying their retirement, had also come to help at the breakfast shop.
They worked from dawn to dusk every day, and their figures had gradually grown thinner.
After all, a family like theirs couldn't make enough money by working only in the mornings.
His uncle's household also included his aunt and cousin.
There were six people in the family, and then there were his martial arts expenses.
The breakfast shop sold buns in the morning and noodles in the afternoon and evening.
Even so, they could barely afford to send him to the Martial Hall.
He'd heard that they sometimes had to borrow silver from others just to get by.
It could be said that the whole family had pinned their hopes on him.
Li Chuan couldn't help cursing himself again.
How many people would give anything for a family like this?
It was bad enough that his former self hadn't cherished them. He'd even spent their hard-earned money trying to win a beauty's smile.
He truly deserved to die!
"Xiumei, call San Feng and A-Qing over for dinner," Li Nian said to Wang Xiumei.
Before long, Qin Sanfeng, dressed in grayish-white hemp cloth, sat down with Li Qing.
His aunt, Qin Sanfeng, and cousin, Li Qing, helped run the breakfast shop with them.
Ever since his father and uncle had been taken away for corvée labor, the two families had depended on each other.
Ordinary people without any backing had to band together to survive.
Li Chuan lowered his gaze and saw blisters of all sizes on Qin Sanfeng and Li Qing's hands.
They'd been worn there by working day and night at the breakfast shop.
He noticed worry in his aunt Qin Sanfeng's eyes, as if something was troubling her.
"Sit down and eat," Li Nian said.
Li Chuan shifted his gaze to the square table in front of him.
He could just make out that the table was made of good-quality wood.
But with no money to repair it lately, cracks had appeared across the surface, making it look rather shabby.
The other five had bowls of coarse rice and pickled vegetables in front of them.
Only Li Chuan had fine white rice and red-braised pork set before him.
The rich aroma of meat filled the air.
Li Chuan could hear the others swallowing, one after another.
The family had once been fairly well-off, but after the two men were taken for corvée labor, and with Li Chuan's Martial Hall expenses to cover, they'd started pinching pennies and ended up like this.
Looking at Li Nian and Grandma Chen, both nearing sixty, still eating mouthfuls of coarse rice and pickled vegetables, Li Chuan felt a sudden pang of heartache.
His cousin Li Qing stared at the tender, soft red-braised pork and couldn't help drooling. After hesitating for a moment, he said,
"Grandpa, I want some meat too."
Li Nian thought it over, then spooned some of the sauce into Li Qing's bowl. At the last moment, he shook half of it off.
Qin Sanfeng objected,
"Father, you're being far too biased. Hasn't A-Qing done enough for this family all these years? You won't even let him have a piece of meat!"
Li Nian glared at her.
"San Feng, A-Chuan is the hope of the whole family. A-Qing can hold on a little longer. Once A-Chuan earns an official title, will he forget how you all helped him?"
Once A-Chuan, always A-Chuan. Did that mean her own son was just supposed to suffer and toil?
Qin Sanfeng's eyes reddened.
Ever since her husband left, the pressure of running the breakfast shop had surged.
A-Qing worked alongside her every day, and all the money they earned went toward Li Chuan's martial arts training. Her own son couldn't even get a piece of meat to eat.
Seeing his mother's red eyes, Li Qing seemed to make up his mind. He said in a low voice,
"Grandpa, I want to learn martial arts too!"
Wang Xiumei looked surprised and hurried to dissuade him.
"A-Qing, not just anyone can learn martial arts. You need the right bone constitution."
Li Qing's voice was hoarse.
"A few days ago, they tested me too. I have Low-Grade Bone Constitution."
Li Qing looked at Li Nian, hoping for an affirming answer.
Instead, Li Nian frowned.
"A-Qing, don't be silly. You know our family's situation. We can only afford to support one person's martial arts training, and that's A-Chuan."
Li Qing gritted his teeth.
"We both have Low-Grade Bone Constitution. Why should I work myself to death at the breakfast shop while A-Chuan gets to train at the Martial Hall? When it comes to what we've contributed to this family, I've done far more than he has!"
Li Nian said coldly,
"A-Qing! A-Chuan has already been learning martial arts at the Martial Hall for four months. He's nearly at the critical point of Gate-Knocking. His chances of breaking through are much greater than yours!"
Qin Sanfeng wiped her tears and stood up.
"Father, you're always so biased. A-Chuan is your grandson, but isn't A-Qing too?"
"If that's how it is, then let's... split the family!"
The Li family's money had always been managed by Li Nian. When Qin Sanfeng spoke of splitting the family, she meant that each household would earn and keep its own money.
But family ties were often held together by money.
If they split the family, it would mean severing those ties.
It meant taking the road that forked in two directions, each going their own way, never to meet again.
Li Nian trembled with anger and slammed his hand on the table as he stood.
"You've all turned against me! Do you think I want your money? I'm doing this for the family! I could have stayed in the countryside and rested without lifting a finger, but for A-Chuan's chance to make something of himself, to reduce the taxes and exempt us from corvée labor, so we wouldn't have to suffer the pain of being separated from our loved ones, I've dragged my old bones here to work at the shop!"
"Have I ever acted out of even the slightest selfishness?"
Li Qing bit his lip until it bled.
For the family, for the family—every time, it was always for the family.
He didn't need to stay in a family like this!
Just as Li Qing was about to get up and leave, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Big Brother, if you want to learn martial arts, I can teach you first. Once I earn an official title, I'll send you to the Martial Hall."
Li Chuan looked at the red-faced people around him and spoke slowly.
"What?" Li Qing froze.
In his memory, ever since this younger brother had joined the Martial Hall, he'd looked down on him and couldn't even be bothered to call him "Big Brother."
Wang Xiumei panicked at once.
"A-Chuan, your priority is to train properly. Don't let a small thing make you lose sight of the greater goal!"
Li Nian nodded too.
"A-Chuan, don't be silly. You mustn't let this affect your training, or you could end up with nothing."
Li Chuan smiled.
"It won't interfere with my training. I only need to teach Big Brother a few tricks."
After Li Chuan talked it over with them, Li Nian reluctantly agreed.
"Fine. Whenever you come home, take an hour or so to teach A-Qing. Just don't let it go on too long."
Once everyone had sat down, Li Chuan picked up a piece of red-braised pork and put it in Li Qing's bowl.
"Big Brother, have some meat."
Li Qing was usually a quiet man. Li Chuan's words earlier had filled him with guilt, and this gesture touched him even more.
Li Qing shook his head.
"You eat it, A-Chuan. I was reckless earlier. You're the one with the best chance of earning an official title in the family. You can't let me hold you back!"
Li Chuan couldn't persuade him, so he had to eat it himself.
The tension at the dinner table gave way to warmth and good cheer.
As Li Chuan ate the delicious red-braised pork, he felt a little wistful.
Often, it was little things that led to a family falling apart.
But everyone was in a different situation, and it was hard for them to understand one another. No one was willing to give an inch,
and in the end, the family fell to pieces.
Sometimes, all it took was a small concession to bring understanding and ease the tension.
It was only after he'd struggled his way through life in his previous world that he'd learned this lesson.
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