Flourishing

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

At nine, Xu Mingwei had shot up to nearly four and a half feet. He looked like a young lad now.

He had learned the breathing method and all twelve forms of the Little Dragon Elephant Art and could practice on his own.

But the greatest changes were in his strength and his eyes.

His Natural Divine Strength fate talent was no empty promise. Many adults could no longer match him.

His eyes had grown sharper and deeper, too.

Boys his age felt a chill when they saw him.

Even adults quailed when they caught him with a grim expression.

His gaze felt as sharp as a knife driven straight into their hearts.

Most of the time, though, Xu Mingwei kept his edge hidden.

Like Xu Chuan, he was steady and low-key.

March came.

Spring rain passed.

The rain-washed earth gleamed dark brown. Wild shepherd's purse along the field ridges held beads of water on its tender leaves.

An egret skimmed over a rice paddy filled with spring water, then plunged its pointed beak beneath the surface and snatched up a silver crucian carp.

A field mouse crept out of a damp haystack to nibble on new pea shoots. The old yellow dog guarding the water chased it off in a spray of mud.

Across the boundless paddies, villagers in bamboo hats bent to fill gaps in the seedlings. Their bare feet sank into the mud with wet squelches.

Xu Chuan worked in a paddy, with Xu Mingwei planting seedlings beside him.

Xu Mingyuan came toward them carrying a large teapot and two lidded cups.

"Dad, Big Brother, Mom sent me with some cool tea for you."

Xu Chuan looked up and smiled at Xu Mingyuan, then turned to Xu Mingwei, who was planting with care. "Shitou, come up and take a break."

"Dad, I'm not tired. I'll finish this row soon. I'll rest once I'm done here."

"As you like."

Xu Chuan chuckled and climbed onto the bank.

He took the tea Xu Mingyuan poured and gulped down a mouthful.

Xu Mingyuan watched Xu Mingwei and sighed. "Big Brother really takes things seriously."

"Unlike you, you little monkey. You can never settle down." Xu Chuan laughed as he scolded him.

Xu Mingyuan stuck out his tongue and grinned.

"I'll go help Big Brother too."

He took off his cloth shoes, rolled his trouser legs up to his knees, and stepped into the paddy. As he walked toward Xu Mingwei, he called, "Brother, I'm here to help!"

Xu Mingwei looked up and smiled. "Thank you, A Yuan."

"Walk slowly. Don't fall."

Watching the brothers get along so well filled Xu Chuan with pride.

His eldest son was steady as a towering mountain, more than capable of carrying on the family.

His second son was restless, but quick-witted and adaptable.

As for his youngest, he was three now, able to walk and run, cheerful and lively.

Xu Chuan had practiced the Little Dragon Elephant Art for three years. Now, whenever he practiced, a warm current flowed through his body.

That was Inner Force.

To become a Third-Rate Martial Artist, however, he had to open at least thirty-six Apertures.

So far, he had opened only a little over thirty.

According to the Inner Force Manual,

opening all three hundred and sixty-five Apertures in the body meant reaching the Houtian Peak. Inner Force would circulate through the Apertures of the entire cycle, flowing without end.

A First-Class Martial Artist needed three hundred open Apertures; a second-class martial artist needed one hundred and eight.

Xu Mingwei was progressing a little more slowly, but he had already opened twenty Apertures.

His youth was an advantage when it came to opening them. In time, surpassing Xu Chuan would be no problem.

With Xu Mingyuan helping, they finished planting the seedlings that morning. The father and sons went home in high spirits.

As they reached the door, delicious aromas wafted toward them.

"Chicken soup, and braised carp..."

Xu Mingyuan had barely muttered the words when his stomach growled.

Under the eaves,

Xu Mingxuan saw his father and brothers return and called in his childish voice, "Mom, Dad and my brothers are back!"

Then he ran toward Xu Chuan, calling, "Dad! Dad!"

"Charcoal Head, all you ever call for is Dad. What about us?"

Xu Mingyuan rubbed Xu Mingxuan's head and narrowed his eyes.

"Second Brother, you're always taking my things. I'm not calling you."

He turned away and smiled at Xu Mingwei. "Big Brother."

"Hey, I'll show you!"

Xu Mingyuan pulled Xu Mingxuan into his arms and tickled him mercilessly.

Xu Mingxuan giggled without stopping. Only when he begged for mercy did Xu Mingyuan let him go.

"All right. Go wash up, then come eat."

Xu Chuan looked in on Bai Jing in the kitchen and found her busy.

She saw him and smiled. "Go eat, husband. This last dish is almost ready."

"I could smell it from far away. Thanks for the trouble, dear. Marrying you was my good fortune."

"Such a smooth talker!"

Bai Jing scolded him with a smile, but she was clearly pleased. Her face bloomed like a flower.

That night,

"Husband, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Xu Chuan looked calm as ever, though he was thinking about Xu Mingyuan's future.

The boy was seven now. It was time.

But Xu Chuan planned to ask Xu Mingyuan first, then consider the matter carefully.

Bai Jing took his large hand and placed it on her stomach.

Xu Chuan froze, then turned to look at her and blinked.

"You're pregnant again?"

Childbirth was hard, and Xu Chuan understood that. He had not intended for her to have another child.

"But didn't we..."

Bai Jing gave him a coy glare. "Whose fault do you think that is?"

"Once we do it, there's no way to prevent it completely. Even if you pull out, there's still a chance. Don't tell me you don't want the child?"

"Of course I do!" Xu Chuan said at once, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close.

"Since the child has come to the Xu Household, it's fate. Of course we'll have it. Even if seven or eight more came along, we could afford to raise them now."

Two years earlier, Xu Chuan had bought another twenty mu of farmland and forty mu of wooded hillside.

The farmland was not rice paddy and generally cost a little over ten taels per mu.

The wooded hillside was cheaper still, at seven or eight taels per mu, but he had to fell the trees and clear the land before planting fruit trees.

He planted several kinds of fruit on the farmland and hillside: strawberries and loquats in spring, watermelons, lychees, and peaches in summer, persimmons and pomelos in autumn, and sugarcane and winter jujubes in winter.

The trees might need another two years before they bore fruit.

But under Xu Chuan's careful cultivation, the watermelons, strawberries, sugarcane, and others produced plenty each year.

Those fruits alone brought in several hundred taels a year.

The main reason was Xu Chuan's skill. His fruit was better than what ordinary households grew, so people bought from the Xu Household first.

Only then did they buy from others.

The Xu Household now had sixty mu of rice paddies, twenty mu of farmland, and forty mu of wooded hillside.

In Dongxi Village, they certainly counted as a comfortably prosperous family, with ample food and clothing.

A few days later,

at Chen Ergou's home,

Xu Yan returned from inspecting the wooded hillside. When she saw Er Gou lying idle in a reclining chair, looking perfectly at ease, anger flared in her chest.

She snatched up the broom behind the door and swung it at him.

"Whoa!"

Chen Ergou sprang out of the chair and fled. The movement was practiced to a fault.

"Xu Yan, what are you doing?"

"We can talk! No need to get physical."

"Don't think I can't beat you. A good man simply doesn't fight a woman!"

"Hah! If you were as capable as Xu Chuan, I'd give you your way in everything."

"Poor me. I must've been blind to fall for a good-for-nothing like you. You can't fight, you can't study, and you're no good at farming. What can you do?"

"Sit around until you've eaten us out of house and home?"

Chaos erupted.

Their son and daughter returned from school. Used to the sight, they headed straight for the Xu Household.

"Daniu, Fangfang, what brings you here so close to noon?"

In the courtyard,

Xu Mingwei stopped what he was doing and looked over.

Hearing the voices, Xu Mingyuan came out. He saw them and gave a soft laugh. "Are Uncle Ergou and Auntie at it again?"

Daniu sighed. "My dad really can't compare with Uncle Chuan. Mom chased him off with a broom."

"What was it this time? Is Auntie still upset that Uncle Ergou never does anything?"

Chen Fangfang stared at him in surprise. "A Yuan, you're so clever. You guessed it right away."

"Mom's always comparing Dad to Uncle Chuan."

"My dad's the most capable man in Dongxi Village. How could Uncle Ergou, lazy as he is, compare?" Xu Mingyuan admired Xu Chuan as though he were a god.

"Daniu, tell me what happened. Maybe I can think of something."

Daniu recounted everything Chen Ergou and his wife had said.

Xu Mingyuan thought for a moment. "Dad told me Jade Pears aren't easy to grow. Auntie is aiming too high and hoping she'll get lucky. Sooner or later, that'll cost her."

"Your family must have put a lot into Jade Pears these past three years. Now that you're facing the loss of it all, her moods have turned unpredictable, and it's causing trouble between them."

"I think you should persuade Auntie to stop growing Jade Pears."

"If we don't grow those, what should our family grow?" Daniu asked curiously.

Xu Mingwei listened quietly too, wondering what idea his younger brother had in mind.

"Grow some ordinary fruits like our family does. You'll have plenty for yourselves, and you can sell the rest."