Return to the Village

Of course, he had to visit his aunt's home first. Zhao Feng slung a huge sack over his shoulder and headed to his aunt's house in the outer city.

Ever since his first visit after arriving, he had never entered this house again. Usually, he only went to the embroidery workshop to find his aunt and Qiao'er. This was his second time here.

When he entered the courtyard, his uncle-in-law was chopping firewood. Seeing Zhao Feng arrive, he acted as though he had not seen him, not even lifting his eyelids. Much less greeting him.

Zhao Feng ignored him and called out loudly:

"Aunt! Qiao'er!"

His aunt and Qiao'er came out of the kitchen, wiping their hands. When they saw Zhao Feng, they ran over with delight written all over their faces.

"Feng'er! Cousin!"

"Aunt, I brought these for you." Zhao Feng took two live, fat chickens from the sack, and the atmosphere instantly turned strange.

"Ah!" Zhao Youfang stared blankly for a long while before crying out.

"Feng'er, I can't take these. They must have cost a lot, right?"

"Aunt, I've successfully broken through the barrier. I'm a Bright Force martial artist now, and I have a salaried post." Zhao Feng smiled.

Seeing that his aunt did not quite understand, he put it another way. "I'm a martial artist now. I have a job and receive a monthly stipend. These things are just small change."

Hearing her nephew say this, Zhao Youfang's mouth fell open. "Feng'er, is that true?" she asked quietly. Zhao Feng smiled and nodded. Once she received confirmation, the corners of her weathered face, which had long drooped downward, slowly began to curve up. Trembling, she covered her face with her rough hands as tears streamed down.

"Feng'er is a martial artist now. He has a job in the city! He's made something of himself." She murmured to herself.

"Cousin, that's wonderful!" Qiao'er jumped with joy.

Hearing that Zhao Feng had become a martial artist, Tao Qing, his uncle-in-law, who had been scowling all along, also forced out a small smile. He came over and asked cautiously, "Xiao Feng, you really became a martial artist?" He could hardly believe it. His family had always said the Zhao family were nothing but worthless mud-legged peasants. Had they really produced a martial artist?

Rather than answer his question, Zhao Feng said coldly:

"Uncle-in-law, my aunt hasn't had it easy. If anyone bullies her, my fists won't recognize friend from foe." He rolled his shoulders and limbs, his joints cracking and popping.

Tao Qing's expression changed at once. He nodded repeatedly in embarrassment, then hid inside the house.

"Aunt, don't worry. I'm a martial artist now. With me around, no one will ever think of bullying you again. If anything happens, come find me at the Huo Family Martial Arts School." Zhao Feng deliberately raised his voice toward the main hall.

With his sharp senses, he detected a burst of panic and arguing from inside the main hall.

Zhao Feng turned back to his aunt, his expression softening. He pulled Zhao Youfang aside and stuffed two taels of silver into her hand. "Aunt, take this money. I'm paying you back."

"Xiao Feng, Aunt was only joking. You don't need to pay me back," Zhao Youfang hurriedly said.

"Aunt, if I need money in the future, I'll borrow from you again. Borrow and repay, and borrowing again won't be hard. If you don't take it, I won't borrow money from you again," Zhao Feng said.

"But I only gave you one tael of silver. Feng'er, I was joking with you. I can't take interest," Zhao Youfang said anxiously.

"It isn't interest. The other tael is for Qiao'er. Buy her more good food and some cloth to make clothes. Aunt, don't use this money on anyone else. And when that old hen lays eggs, let Qiao'er eat them to build up her health," Zhao Feng instructed.

Zhao Youfang had no choice but to accept it, secretly wiping away tears in delight.

Qiao'er happily saw him out of the courtyard. Zhao Feng gave her several illustrated storybooks, and she beamed with joy.

After leaving his aunt's home, Zhao Feng had originally wanted to give them more money and goods. But judging by the situation, most of it would not end up in his aunt's and Qiao'er's hands. He would bring them more things when he visited the embroidery workshop in the future.

As long as he did his best to back his aunt up and give her some face, that would be enough.

Greenhouse Township, Jiazi Ravine Village. Several villagers had gathered at the village entrance, and the atmosphere was heavy.

"This year, the war with the northern barbarians is tense, and the government wants to levy an additional spring tax. They'll start collecting it in a few days. How are we supposed to live?"

"Last year was a disaster year. We were just hoping for a better harvest this year, but now the government has added a spring tax. Heavens, when will this ever end?"

The sallow-faced villagers all wore bitter expressions. Ever since the village head had announced the additional spring tax, every household had been shrouded in gloom.

Originally, nearly sixty to seventy percent of each year's harvest went toward all kinds of harsh taxes and levies. With the added spring tax, it became an enormous burden for farming households. They had thought that if they endured last year, things would get better, but it seemed this year was the true ordeal.

Just then, a series of bright clinking sounds came from outside the village. Everyone knew Old Ding, the peddler, was driving his donkey cart back from the county seat after delivering goods.

"Zhao Youlin's youngest boy is back!" Old Ding shouted from the front of the cart.

"Zhao Youlin's youngest boy? Isn't that Zhao Feng, that good-for-nothing?"

"Wasn't that boy sent to the city to learn martial arts? Did they send him back?"

"Yeah, he must have failed to learn anything and been sent back. Him? Were you actually expecting him to become a martial artist?"

The villagers at the entrance all shook their heads. Zhao Youlin's family really could not see themselves clearly. They had squandered their little bit of family property into ruin.

When the donkey cart drew near, the villagers discovered that the sturdy young man sitting atop it, dressed in a fitted blue outfit, looked somewhat familiar around the brows and eyes.

"Is that really Zhao Youlin's son? He doesn't look like him."

"He's changed so much after being gone for three months."

What shocked everyone even more was that, upon a closer look, they saw a full half pig carcass on the cart, along with a sack of white flour and two chickens tied beside it. The villagers' eyes turned green with envy, though they were also astonished. Whose things were these?

Curious villagers could not help following behind the donkey cart, and their numbers steadily grew.

When the donkey cart reached the open ground at the center of the village, Zhao Feng spotted his niece and nephew, Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai, playing there with other children.

"Your father isn't coming back. You're children without a father," a half-grown child with a runny nose shouted at them.

"We don't play with children who don't have fathers."

"You're the one without a father! Our father will definitely come back!" Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai shouted, their faces flushed red.

"Bao'er, Zihuai!" Zhao Feng called as he climbed down from the donkey cart.

Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai looked over. The moment they saw Zhao Feng, they were overjoyed.

"Second Uncle! You're back!" The two little ones hurried over to greet him.

After three months apart, Zhao Feng saw that their faces had become a little more sallow, and his heart ached.

He pinched their little cheeks. "Hungry, aren't you? Here, eat." He took a bag of fried fruit pastries from his clothes.

"Second Uncle, what are these?" Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai stared eagerly at the fried fruit pastries. Smelling their fragrance, they drooled as they spoke.

"They're fried fruit pastries. Eat up." The two little ones carefully put the pastries into their mouths. The crisp, fragrant, sweet, flaky taste made them freeze on the spot.

They had never eaten anything so delicious. Once they came back to themselves, they began scrambling to eat more.

Meanwhile, the group of children who had mocked them earlier only dared watch from afar and drool. After all, Zhao Feng's notorious reputation as a rogue madman still lingered.

"One handful each. Stop fighting, there's more."

The two little ones each grabbed a handful, eating as they tore wildly toward home.

"Slow down! Don't fall! Don't run while eating!"

Zhao Feng climbed back onto the donkey cart and headed toward his home at the eastern end of the village.

"Grandpa! Grandma! Mother! Second Uncle is home!"

Before he even reached the door, his father Zhao Youlin, mother Yang Shi, and sister-in-law Tian Cuihua, alerted by the two little ones, had already come out to meet him.

"Father, Mother, Sister-in-law, I'm back!" Zhao Feng jumped down from the cart and hoisted down the half pig carcass, which weighed a full fifty jin. His family was instantly stunned.

"Feng'er, where did you get the money to buy all this?" Zhao Youlin asked in a trembling voice. What he feared most was that his son had gotten involved in some crooked business.

"Father, I was just about to tell you, Mother, and Sister-in-law. I'm a martial artist now. I found a salaried post in the inner city. I bought all of this," Zhao Feng announced loudly.