Dongxi Village.
On the path at the village entrance, Xu Chuan walked toward the village wearing a straw hat and a coarse hemp vest, his trouser legs rolled up. A hoe rested on his shoulder, and he carried two large black carp tied together with straw.
The rosy afterglow stretched his shadow long, and his bronze skin gleamed.
"San Shu, heading home?"
Beneath the great pagoda tree ahead, an old man with graying temples gently fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan.
When he saw Xu Chuan, he greeted him warmly.
Glancing at the large black carp in Xu Chuan's hand, the old man smiled. "Looks like you had a good catch today."
"Uncle Chen, enjoying the shade again?"
"What can I say? That damned Heaven is making sport of us. It's so hot, and you're the only one with a strong enough constitution to work under this blazing sun for so long."
Xu Chuan grinned.
He stood over six feet tall and had a well-proportioned build. Among the men of Dongxi Village, he wasn't particularly burly; in fact, others even considered him a little thin.
But Xu Chuan had never been sick in his life.
Everyone in the village said he was blessed, favored by Heaven.
But that wasn't the case.
Xu Chuan was a transmigrator.
He did have a bit of talent.
He had been born into an ordinary commoner's family. His father, Xu Ping, had worked as a long-term laborer for the wealthy Xu Household of Dongxi Village.
When Xu Chuan was three and still too young to understand the world, his mother passed away.
When he was fifteen, Xu Ping also died from years of overwork.
With the wisdom of his past life, Xu Chuan learned quickly and was highly skilled at farming.
The Xu Household valued him greatly, and after his father passed away, they doubled his wages in an effort to keep him.
But Xu Chuan still resolutely quit his job with the Xu Household.
He used nearly all his savings to buy ten mu of rice paddies.
The villagers all said Xu Chuan was short-sighted. The Xu Household was famous throughout the surrounding area, and it wasn't easy to become one of their long-term laborers.
Xu Ping had worked for the Xu Household all his life. At first, Xu Chuan had only been able to work there because of his father.
Now he had quit for nothing, making room for someone else.
But Xu Chuan didn't see it that way.
How could working for someone else ever compare to working for himself?
Of course, he also felt that after fifteen years of quietly building himself up, it was time to establish his own household.
As a transmigrator, Xu Chuan had been accompanied by a Bloodline Genealogy. But as it stood, the genealogy had only one page, and Xu Chuan was the only name on it.
To be entered into the genealogy, one had to drip blood onto it; only then would the name appear.
Xu Chuan had discovered this by accident when he was six. He had also turned out to be a "three-nothing youth."
[Xu Chuan: First generation of the Xu Household]
[Spirit Root: Incomplete Five Elements, no aptitude for cultivation]
[Talent: None]
[Bloodline: None]
Afterward, the Bloodline Genealogy produced three Talents: Dragon Vitality, Daily Divination, and Heaven Rewards Diligence.
He had used all of them on himself.
Dragon Vitality kept him full of vigor every day, with Qi and Blood surging through him.
Naturally, he never suffered sickness or disaster.
Daily Divination let him ask once per day about good or bad fortune.
Most of the time, the result was neutral, neither good nor bad.
That also had something to do with Xu Chuan keeping a low profile and never making trouble.
With Heaven Rewards Diligence, as long as he persevered at something, he would reap rewards.
Even though its boost was only ordinary, year after year, through winter and summer, he still far surpassed ordinary people.
He had become an expert in farming, and many commoners in Dongxi Village had sought his advice.
Farmland was the lifeblood of commoners, so he got along well with people.
Besides that, Xu Chuan was also skilled at woodworking, growing fruit trees and medicinal herbs, and using a bow.
Through his own hard work, Xu Chuan got married when he was twenty. His wife was also the eldest daughter of an ordinary commoner's family, named Bai Jing.
She was three years younger than him, with delicate features, and was hardworking and kind.
They were a well-matched couple.
Not long after they married, Xu Chuan bought another ten mu of woodland and planted the rare Jade Pears.
The villagers all said Jade Pears were delicate and not an ordinary variety, and that they wouldn't survive if planted. They told Xu Chuan not to waste his effort.
Xu Chuan merely smiled.
Six years had passed. Bai Jing had given him two sons, and she was now pregnant with their third child, who was due in two months.
"Uncle Chen, I won't keep chatting. I need to get home and check on my wife."
"Go on, go on. Just remember to invite me over for a drink when the baby's a month old."
"Then make sure you bring a gift."
"You won't let me get away with anything, will you? Hahaha."
Xu Chuan then headed home and arrived shortly afterward.
The walls were gray and white, the tiles dark blue-black, and the courtyard square. In its northeastern corner stood a tall pear tree, its branches bent beneath clusters of large green pears.
As soon as he reached the gate, he saw two children bent over with their bottoms in the air, leaning against a corner of the courtyard wall. Their round, black eyes were fixed on something.
Hearing footsteps, they both turned around.
The moment they saw Xu Chuan, their faces lit up with bright smiles. They ran toward him, shouting, "Father, you're home!"
"Father, it's a big black carp! I want to eat some!"
"Of course. But the first bowl of fish soup goes to your mother, understand?"
The older child nodded sensibly. "Mother's carrying our little brother. It's hard on her, so she should eat first."
"Shitou is such a good boy."
"What about me, Father?"
The younger child tipped his head up to ask, his eyes blinking expectantly.
"You're a good boy too."
The older one was Xu Mingwei, five years old, with the nickname Shitou.
The younger one was Xu Mingyuan, three years old, with the nickname A Yuan.
"By the way, what were you looking at on the ground?"
Xu Mingwei pointed at the corner. "There are lots of little ants on the ground, crawling in a neat line."
"Ants moving house? Looks like it'll rain tonight."
"Father, what does it mean when ants move house? Will it rain tonight? How do you know?" Xu Mingwei tugged on Xu Chuan's clothes and fired off one question after another.
Xu Chuan smiled. "Do you still want fish soup tonight?"
"If you keep holding Father up, you won't get any."
At those words, the two looked as if the sky were falling and hurriedly moved out of the way.
Then they pushed Xu Chuan toward the kitchen, urging him impatiently, "Father, hurry! Hurry!"
At that moment, Bai Jing came out, her big belly protruding. She steadied herself against the doorframe, and the red marks of sleep still showed on her face. "You're home, husband. I overslept. I'll go make dinner now."
"No need, wife. Go rest. I'll make dinner tonight."
Xu Chuan smiled gently and went into the kitchen.
First, he washed the rice and lit the fire to cook it. Then he scraped the fish scales off with a kitchen knife and cleaned out the entrails.
When he was done, he made seven or eight cuts on each side so the fish would absorb more flavor while cooking.
Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan stood quietly to one side, watching. Droplets of drool fell from the corners of their mouths onto the ground.
"Shitou, go check whether there are any eggs in the chicken coop."
"All right, Father."
Xu Mingwei scampered over, reached into the chicken coop with his small hand, and pulled out two eggs. Then he ran excitedly back to Xu Chuan.
"Father, here."
Xu Chuan took them and set them aside, planning to make scrambled eggs with scallions later.
"Also, go with A Yuan and herd all the chickens in the yard back into the coop."
Xu Mingwei took Xu Mingyuan's little hand, and the two went to herd the chickens.
A moment later,
Xu Mingyuan's crying rang out.
Xu Chuan stopped what he was doing and hurried over. Bai Jing was holding Xu Mingyuan and gently patting his back, comforting him.
"What happened?" Xu Chuan asked.
Xu Mingwei said, "Father, the rooster knocked A Yuan over with its wing, and he fell on the ground. Then he cried."
"A Yuan, you're a grown man. How can you cry? Give it a few days, and Father will avenge you."
Xu Mingyuan sobbed twice, then truly stopped crying. "Father, you'll keep your word, right?"
"Have I ever failed to do what I said I would?"
"Come on, let's hook pinkies."
"Mm."
Xu Chuan went back to keep cooking.
A little over half an hour later, the whole family happily gathered around the square table to eat.
The two little ones had both remembered Xu Chuan's words and gave the first sip of fish soup to their mother. Bai Jing was deeply moved.
Night fell.
A torrential rain began to pour.
Inside the room, Bai Jing suddenly said, "Husband, Third will be born before long. You should add another level to the bunk bed."
"No need to rush." Xu Chuan smiled slightly. "Third can sleep in the crib for now."
"As for later, I'm planning to expand the house in a few years. We should add at least three more rooms. The courtyard is a little small, too. Once our family grows, there won't be enough room for the children to play."
"I'll leave it to you, Husband." Bai Jing nodded, then thought of something. "Should we rent a few mu of farmland, then? We'll have another mouth to feed, and Shitou and A Yuan are eating more and more."
"My wife has thought this through very carefully." Xu Chuan looked at Bai Jing and smiled again. "But there's no need to rent any. Starting last year, after all these years of effort, the Jade Pears in our ten mu of mountain woodland have begun to bear fruit. This year's harvest will only be bigger."
Bai Jing said no more.
A married woman followed her husband, so Xu Chuan naturally had the final say over everything in the Xu Household.
Besides, she knew Xu Chuan was a very capable man. Ever since she married into the family, the Xu Household's life had visibly improved with every passing year.
Of course, more importantly, Xu Chuan cherished her deeply.
She had married the right man.
"Husband, let me lend you a hand tonight."
"I'll trouble you, my wife."