The Infinitely Upgradable Ancestral Home

Xu Family Village, Ping'an County, Song Kingdom.

Under the old banyan tree at the village entrance, several farm women sat chatting.

The season had entered the eleventh lunar month, and the last batch of late-maturing radishes had been moved into the cellars.

The fields were resting, and the farmers had finally found some leisure time.

However, Jiang Fu'an did not let himself idle.

He calculated that the first snow of the year would arrive soon, so he had to make a few more trips into the mountains before it fell to hunt some game for the winter.

His three children were at the age where they were growing rapidly, and their little mouths were hungry all day long; he could not let them go without food.

That afternoon, just as he reached the village entrance carrying two pheasants with colorful plumage, he heard a commotion coming from the threshing floor.

"Big Goose! Big Rooster! Peck hard! Don't let them get away!"

He heard one crisp, bright voice very clearly.

It was his second daughter, Yue'er.

Jiang Fu'an frowned, his pace quickening involuntarily.

Rounding a haystack, the scene before him made him freeze.

A "great battle" was unfolding on his own threshing floor.

On one side were six boys around seven or eight years old, looking familiar as if they were from the neighboring village.

On the other side were a dozen white geese with their necks stretched out aggressively and two large, glossy-feathered roosters.

The boys were being chased around in chaos, each of them hunching their shoulders and shielding their heads, crying out in pain.

Most of the noise he had heard earlier came from them.

Standing side by side at the edge of the threshing floor were three small figures.

A little boy of about seven or eight and two little girls of five or six.

They were Jiang Fu'an's three children.

His second daughter, Yue'er, was waving her little fists, loudly directing the geese and roosters in their "battle."

Seeing this, Jiang Fu'an felt his anger flare up, and he shouted in a deep voice:

"Yue'er! Who told you to incite the geese to bite people?"

Yue'er turned her head at the sound, and seeing it was her father, she pouted and pointed at the disheveled boys to complain:

"Dad! They teamed up to bully little brother first! That's why I called the big geese to help!"

Beside her, the slightly taller eldest daughter, Wanqing, quickly urged:

"Stop talking, look, Dad is already angry. Go call the geese back."

Yue'er glanced at her father's darkened face and, though reluctant, turned to chase after the geese.

Jiang Fu'an watched his daughter's retreating back, feeling a sense of lament:

Children are fun when they are small, but once they grow up, they really don't let you rest easy.

He turned around first and handed the pheasants he was carrying to an elderly man with a hunched back who had been walking with him:

"Uncle Xu, I've let you see a joke. Take this game back and have Wanqing stew it. I need to properly discipline these troublesome ones."

Uncle Xu took the pheasants and smiled gently:

"Master, they are just children; they are lively at this age. Having spirit is a good thing, don't truly lose your temper."

After speaking, he carried the game and slowly walked toward the small blue-brick courtyard not far away.

Jiang Fu'an turned his gaze to his eldest daughter, Wanqing. This girl was usually the most sensible and steady, yet today she had joined in the fray.

His tone carried dissatisfaction:

"Wanqing, you have always had a sense of propriety. Why didn't you stop Yue'er from acting so recklessly this time?"

Wanqing explained calmly:

"Dad, I tried to pull her back. Yue'er originally wanted to call Big Yellow to bite them, but I firmly stopped her.

"Although it hurts when the roosters and white geese peck people, it won't leave any serious injuries.

"I just wanted to let those boys learn a lesson so they wouldn't keep bullying Stone in the future."

Jiang Fu'an glanced at the sturdy dog wagging its tail at his feet, Big Yellow, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

This Yue'er was truly becoming more and more lawless.

If she had really let the dog bite them, there might have been a tragedy today.

He thought to himself that he would have to give this girl a good lecture later.

Then, Jiang Fu'an turned his gaze to his youngest son, who was sturdy but the smallest of them all, and his tone softened slightly:

"Stone, why did they hit you?"

His youngest son had always been honest and the most worry-free of them all.

Jiang Fu'an did not believe he would go out of his way to stir up trouble, so his attitude softened somewhat.

Stone lifted his small face, which was full of grievance:

"Today at the school, Second Dog argued with me, insisting that people only eat two meals a day.

"I said our family eats three, but he didn't believe me, called me a braggart, and hit me first.

"Later, when he couldn't win the fight, he called over those other boys and blocked my path on the way home..."

After hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Jiang Fu'an's face.

He never would have expected that the cause was something like this.

Come to think of it, this matter had something to do with him as well.

Jiang Fu'an was a transmigrator, having arrived in this world, which resembled the ancient times of his previous life, exactly eight years ago.

Grain yields here were low, and to save resources, farming families generally only ate two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening.

However, Jiang Fu'an had never been able to get used to that; if he didn't eat at noon, he would feel faint with hunger.

Once he had established a foothold here and saved up some family assets, he resumed eating three meals a day.

Ever since Stone was born, he had been raised on three meals a day.

In the little guy's understanding, people under heaven naturally ought to eat three meals.

Although Stone was honest, he was stubborn to the bone and stuck to his principles.

It was not at all strange that he would argue with someone over "how many meals a day one should eat."

"Dad! What delicious food did you prepare for us for tonight's birthday feast?"

A crisp, bright voice approached from afar, and Yue'er was seen leading a group of "victorious troops," running back with light, quick steps.

Her face was beaming with smiles, completely unaware that she had almost caused a disaster just moments ago.

Jiang Fu'an pulled a long face, feigning severity:

"All you think about is eating! Do you know what kind of trouble you almost caused today? Be careful or I'll tell your mother!"

The brilliant smile on Yue'er's face froze instantly.

She darted over with a "whoosh," grabbed Jiang Fu'an's arm, and shook it vigorously:

"Dad! I was wrong! Please don't tell Mom! I promise to be obedient from now on; if you tell me to go east, I won't go west!"

When Jiang Fu'an first transmigrated, he was only twenty-two years old himself.

By the standards of his previous life, he was still just a "baby."

Even though he had started a family and had children here, he had never truly prepared himself to be a father.

Most of the time, he acted more like a playmate, running wild with the children, and rarely pulled a long face to lecture them.

This had led to the children being close to him, certainly, but they didn't really fear him at all.

But today's incident touched upon the deepest secret he held—the golden finger he had brought with him through transmigration.

He pondered that it was time to have a serious talk with the children and set some rules.

"Follow me, all of you!"

He kept his face stern, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to walk toward the outskirts of the village.

The three children looked at each other; no one dared to ask questions, so they hung their heads and followed him obediently.

Jiang Fu'an chose the small path leading to the fields.

At this time of year, the crops had long been harvested, and the field ridges were empty, with no one in sight.

He was afraid that if he said what he had to say in the village, there might be walls with ears.

Speaking of his golden finger, it was actually a ball of white light in his mind.

When he first transmigrated, the light ball contained only a piece of wasteland, empty and vacant.

Only on the surface of the light ball did a few lines of Chinese characters from his previous life float:

[Ancestral Home lv.0]

[Upgrade condition: take a wife]

The original owner's family assets were not substantial, consisting of eighty mu of poor farmland, just enough to keep them fed and clothed, with no money left to save.

Fortunately, in this world, taking a wife and starting a family required neither a new house, nor gold and silver jewelry, nor a high bride price.

Jiang Fu'an was diligent and had a decent appearance, so within a month, he had brought home a virtuous and hardworking wife from a neighboring village.

On the night of their wedding, the light ball in his mind trembled slightly and successfully leveled up to one.

The upgraded golden finger filled him with hope for the future.

[Ancestral Home lv.1]

[Inheritance duration: 1 year]

[Owned Buildings]

[Bedroom (Selective Breeding): The probability of offspring conceived within the bedroom possessing a Spiritual Root, destiny, or special constitution is significantly increased.]

[Personal Rewards]

[Lifespan: +10 years]

[Copy Count: +1 (used to copy the destiny or special constitution of offspring)]

[Upgrade Requirement: Give birth to a child possessing a Spiritual Root with three or more attributes, and raise them until the age of seven.]