A heavy thud came from the cloth bundle and the tabletop.
Su Cheng's heart jolted.
Not copper coins—this was the sound of silver.
"So much?"
Forcing his trembling hands steady, he carefully untied it.
Inside were silver cakes, silver ingots, and a heap of broken silver bits. Large and small, of varying purity.
Altogether, there had to be at least forty taels.
"Xiao... He..."
Su Cheng felt his throat go dry.
Hadn't all the family money been spent on buying martial arts manuals? How was there still so much left?
Had he known earlier, why would he have risked his life with the Brotherhood?
"Brother, where did you get so much money?"
Su Haitao felt as though he had suddenly risen into the clouds.
The greatest difficulty they had faced had suddenly vanished like smoke.
The faint resentment he had held toward his elder brother for being swindled away also vanished without a trace.
"Xiao He, you..."
"Ah..."
Chen Guilan's heart clenched sharply, and her legs went weak.
She had not seen the silver, but she had heard that heavy impact.
A pair of steady, powerful hands supported her.
"Mother, last time I told you I'd signed a contract with the Brokerage Guild. This is the money I earned working for them over the past half year."
Su Xinghe supported his mother and helped her sit back down at the table.
"For the past half year, I've actually been working under the Brokerage Guild. I just didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd worry."
"Brother, are you a martial artist?"
Su Haitao's thoughts skipped about, and he immediately recovered from his delight.
Su Xinghe shook his head.
"How could becoming a martial artist be so easy? How long have I even been training?"
"Then you..."
"I'm only a guard working under the Brokerage Guild..."
"Then why didn't you tell us, Brother?"
Su Cheng silently gathered up the bundle, a glimmer of moisture at the corner of his eye.
A guard...
The Lu Family Farm outside the city had them too.
It was a highly paid profession, but also one that meant facing bloodshed and death at any time. Even a family as strong as the Lu Family occasionally had Head-Chopping Bandits brazen enough to come knocking.
He lightly patted the tabletop,
cutting off Su Haitao's endless chatter.
"Why aren't you helping your mother cook!"
In the end, they decided on it.
The wedding date would be the eighth day of next month.
The Su Family ancestral home was only thirty square meters, divided by wooden boards into front and rear rooms.
The ground floor contained the courtyard, kitchen, and main hall. In the loft, the two elders had one room, while the brothers shared another.
But tonight,
the original single bed had become a double bed.
After their reunion following such a long separation, Chen Guilan stroked her husband's chest, which had become rough and gaunt enough for the bones to show.
It felt both familiar and strange.
As though time had passed in the blink of an eye, and the two of them had grown old. Even their children were about to marry and have children of their own.
"Brother Cheng, I'll go to the farm with you from now on. Like before, I'll wash your clothes and cook for you. We can work the fields together, and you won't have to struggle alone anymore."
Su Cheng did not answer.
Their younger son was getting married. They truly ought to free up a room. Though it was only a tiny space, it would be the foundation for their son's future family in the city.
He raised his callused hand and gently stroked his wife's hair, which had turned mottled gray without either of them noticing.
"Sleep."
"Mm."
In the courtyard.
The two brothers were still enjoying the cool night air.
"Brother, is the Ascending Dragon Stance we learned really that powerful?"
Holding the stance, Su Haitao asked with an excited expression.
"Don't you already know whether it's powerful?"
Su Xinghe leaned against the edge of the well, amusement and helplessness in his voice.
His younger brother had learned this virility-enhancing technique and had now gone and gotten some girl pregnant. The sounds from the two elders upstairs had only just stopped as well.
Was it powerful?
Did he really have to ask him, a single man, to verify it?
Unfortunately, the Golden Ape Fist was a secret transmission of the Brokerage Guild and could not be practiced privately. Furthermore, his younger brother was already past the age at which the Martial Arts School accepted students, and a Registered Disciple slot cost one hundred taels.
They could only wait until he became a martial artist before thinking of another way.
A rustling came from the courtyard wall, and a petite figure climbed over it and carefully descended.
"Little Sister Ya!"
Su Haitao called softly.
He was not surprised. When they were children, the four of them often visited each other this way to play. It was only as they grew older that they had not secretly gathered beneath the moon to chat in a long time.
"Second Brother."
She replied quietly and crept out from the shadow beneath the wall.
"Where's Sister Jing?"
Su Haitao looked up at the empty wall. In the past, the two girls had always come together.
"My sister... she's asleep."
As Zhao Ya spoke, her gaze swept restlessly around the courtyard.
At last, she spotted Su Xinghe sitting by the well in the corner.
"Brother Su!"
In a flash, she ran over and sat down beside him.
"Second Brother, I heard you're getting married?"
"Mm, on the eighth of next month."
"Your family has to invite us over for drinks then."
Putting aside his worries, Su Haitao said with a smile he could not suppress.
"I'll definitely come see the bride. Don't forget to have her call me Sister then."
"Yu'er is older than you!"
"Hmph, I don't care..."
Listening to the two of them chatting and teasing each other beside him,
Su Xinghe looked up at the sky, his thoughts slowly drifting away.
When he came back to himself again,
only the two brothers remained in the courtyard.
"Brother, don't you like Sister Jing anymore?"
Su Haitao had also sat down by the well.
He nudged his silent elder brother with his elbow.
Su Xinghe tilted his head back slightly,
his gaze falling beneath the pitch-black eaves of their home.
This house was about to welcome a new mistress for the next generation.
His parents would certainly remain in the city, and his younger brother's family could not be cast out to live beyond the city walls.
Where was he supposed to go...
After considering it over and over, he could only imitate the old hands in the gang, find a corner in the warehouse, and stay there for a while.
Once he had money later, he could buy a small courtyard.
Then the entire family could live together, bustling and lively. How wonderful would that be?
"Get some rest early. I'm going to stand watch at the Brokerage Guild."
With that, he stood and prepared to leave.
Su Haitao froze, then hurriedly rose after him.
"Brother! We're heading back to the farm first thing tomorrow morning."
The two had not seen each other for half a year. He had still wanted to chat with his elder brother, tell him amusing stories from the farm, and hear about the wonders of martial arts.
Su Xinghe turned around and looked at the youthful boy before him.
In his previous life, someone this age would still have been a high school student. Yet here, he was already about to become a father.
"Tell Father for me that I won't be rushing back tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he raised a hand and patted the other's shoulder.
The night was deep as water. A figure walked slowly away down the pitch-black alley with firm steps.
At the courtyard gate behind him, Su Haitao watched that tall back gradually disappear and sank into thought.
His elder brother had become so quiet. Did all men become like this once they grew up...
The back alley of Eight-Zhang Street.
Inside the warehouse hall, drunkards reeking of alcohol lay sprawled in every direction. In a partitioned room nearby, people were gambling through the night.
"Brother Blackie, what brings you here tonight?"
Six had an arm around a ponytailed girl in a tight long dress as he swayed to his feet from beside the window.
The girl's gaze was cool, though her face carried a trace of a young girl's shyness. She hid herself in the shadow behind the candlelight, secretly watching this uninvited guest.
"Carry on. I'm heading to the rear courtyard."
Six was one of the few in the Great River Gang who knew Su Xinghe had been summoned by the Brokerage Guild out front.
He had his suspicions too,
so he was not surprised.
"Then go ahead and get busy. Just call if you need anything. I'm on door duty tonight."
Su Xinghe nodded, crossed the hall, and pushed open the door to leave.
There were no girls in the Great River Gang. These rough men usually had nothing but cards and drink to pass the time.
He had not expected that on this rare night back, he would see such a different scene.
It was the same door duty, yet others certainly knew how to enjoy themselves better than he did.
"Anyone practicing in public will receive one hundred strokes of the rod!"
With the three harsh prohibitions in place, he had nowhere else to go.
Because tonight
was the night he would break through to Inner Tempering, and he did not want to delay it.
Side courtyard, training ground.
When Su Xinghe stepped through the gate, he found several disciples still practicing their fists beneath the moonlight.
Among them was a youthful martial artist.
The young master, Zhou Hao.
He had only learned that name after coming to the training ground.
He was the third son of the young gang leader Zhou Yingjun. At only eighteen, he had already completed Body Tempering and begun Bone Forging.
It was said that he cultivated a Grade-Eight True Art. With the abundant resources of the Brokerage Guild and exceptional talent, he was far ahead of his peers.
Watching the youth sweat beneath the moonlight, even Su Xinghe could not help admiring his diligence.
He had family backing, and he was willing to work hard.
Only then could the Veteran's Trade House pass on from generation to generation and preserve this vast century-old family enterprise.
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