Investment

Fortune Comes Restaurant!

As Qiu Wenjie pushed open the door to the private room, Xu Yang saw a fair-skinned, very plump middle-aged man.

He wore a thin, drooping mustache and bore some resemblance to Qiu Wenjie. His smile was exceptionally warm.

He was Qiu Wenjie's father, Qiu Yongqiang.

"Greetings, Master Qiu!" Xu Yang said, cupping his hands.

Qiu Yongqiang rose with a smile. "The Qiu Family is only a modest household. I hardly deserve to be called master. You and Wen Jie study under the same teacher. If you don't mind, just call me Uncle Qiu."

"Greetings, Uncle Qiu!"

Beaming, Qiu Yongqiang urged Xu Yang to sit, then went outside to order the food before returning to his seat.

"Uncle Qiu, Wen Jie told me..."

"Let's not talk about that just yet. You and Wen Jie must be hungry. Eat first, and I'll explain everything afterward."

Xu Yang had wanted to ask about the offer to fund his martial training, but he could only hold his questions back.

Soon, the dishes began arriving: black chicken stewed with ginseng, braised pork, steamed sea bass...

More than ten dishes were served in succession, all meat. The sight made Xu Yang's mouth water, but he restrained himself from picking up his chopsticks first.

Qiu Wenjie had no such reservations. He grabbed his chopsticks and helped himself to a large meatball.

Qiu Yongqiang laughingly scolded him for his lack of manners, then invited Xu Yang to start eating.

In truth, Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie did almost all the eating. Qiu Yongqiang mostly drank, only occasionally reaching for something with his chopsticks.

After a while, Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie had filled their stomachs somewhat and began eating more decorously. Qiu Yongqiang took the opportunity to ask Xu Yang about his family.

When he learned that Xu Yang had been raising his younger sister alone since he was eleven or twelve, his smile grew warmer.

At last, the meal ended, every dish swept clean. Qiu Wenjie leaned back in his chair, stuffed, and Xu Yang was rather full himself.

Still, someone else was treating him. Worried about making an embarrassing spectacle of himself, he had stopped short of eating until he could barely move, as he did at Mighty Far Hall.

"Yang, I imagine Wen Jie has told you that I'd like to fund your martial training. What do you think?" Qiu Yongqiang went straight to the point.

What did he think?

Having someone pay for his martial training was naturally a good thing.

But he had been selected and trained by the Huang Family. Would accepting someone else's support not amount to betrayal?

Once he became a martial artist, would he serve the Huang Family or the Qiu Family?

Frowning, Xu Yang voiced these concerns.

To his surprise, Qiu Yongqiang laughed heartily. "Yang, you're overthinking things. It's true that the Huang Family is training you, but I'm certain that even if you break through and achieve qi gathering someday, they won't ask you to become an Attendant."

The Huang Family only needed Lu Ren!

Xu Yang fell into thought.

"But what if they still want me to become an Attendant?" Xu Yang asked.

The Huang Family had given up on him because they thought Lu Ren was enough. But who could say what the future held? After all, they had never publicly stated that he would no longer need to honor their original agreement if he became a martial artist.

"Then become an Attendant for the Huang Family."

Qiu Yongqiang smiled. "The Qiu Family is only a modest household. We might not be able to support a genuine martial artist anyway. Even if you do become one someday, we may not have the means to hire you as our martial artist Attendant.

"To be honest with you, we're hoping to get a bargain-to earn your goodwill while you're struggling, so we can ask for your help if we run into trouble in the future.

"And you can rest assured of one thing: we won't tell anyone about this, nor will it affect the Huang Family's training of you."

His words were blunt, but they dispelled Xu Yang's doubts.

The Qiu Family needed a martial artist but lacked the money to retain one, so they were taking a risk by investing in him now to earn his goodwill.

Even if he became a martial artist someday, the Qiu Family might still be unable to afford his services.

That meant there would be no conflict with the Qiu Family even if the Huang Family still needed him in the future. The Qiu Family did not require him to become their officially retained martial artist.

"Then thank you, Uncle Qiu!" Xu Yang cupped his hands.

Qiu Yongqiang waved a hand. "Don't thank me just yet. We can't offer you much-only three taels a month. If you think that's too little, we can forget the whole thing."

Never mind three taels. Xu Yang would not have considered even one tael too little.

"This is a kindness. How could I possibly call it too little?" Xu Yang said earnestly.

When nobody else believed in him, Qiu Yongqiang was willing to invest three taels of silver in him every month. Even if Qiu Yongqiang was gambling on getting a bargain, Xu Yang would still remember this kindness.

"This is for the first month." Qiu Yongqiang took out a few pieces of silver and handed them to Xu Yang.

Seeing that night was falling, Xu Yang grew worried about Xu Qing. He rose, said his farewells, and left.

"Dad, aren't you afraid Senior Brother Xu Yang might never achieve qi gathering, and your money will all go down the drain?"

Only after Xu Yang had been gone for a while did Qiu Wenjie voice his doubts.

Xu Yang's circumstances were widely known at Mighty Far Hall. Even though his performance in every respect was not much worse than Lu Ren's, nobody thought he would succeed in gathering qi.

The Qiu Family was a modest household. Three taels of silver was no small sum.

"You might never achieve qi gathering either, yet I still spend more than ten taels on you every month. If his success were guaranteed, would our measly three taels buy us a chance to befriend him?

"It took you ten days just to get started with the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. If you showed even a little promise, would I have to worry so much?"

Qiu Yongqiang stood. "Let's go home."

When Xu Yang returned home, Xu Qing had just finished eating.

"Xu Lao'er came again today," Xu Qing said as she cleared away the dishes.

Xu Yang frowned. "What did he want this time?"

"He wanted to borrow a chicken. He said he'd return it once Yang Jun became a martial artist, but I didn't lend him one."

Xu Yang nearly laughed in anger. Only Xu Lao'er could pull something like asking to borrow a chicken.

Xu Qing hesitated for a while, then said softly, "Brother, why don't we tell him you're training in martial arts? Once he knows you're training and could become a martial artist too, he won't be so biased."

"Remember this: we've already cut ties with him."

The little girl immediately stopped talking about Xu Lao'er and moved on to other matters.

The Three Harmonies Gang's newly assigned men had come to White Stone Ward that day, notifying everyone that they had three days to pay their Residence Fee in full. Following Xu Yang's instructions, Xu Qing had not shown herself, so Xu Yang would have to pay it himself.

"Oh, and I heard the aunties say that the Three Harmonies Gang's men were asking about you in the village," Xu Qing added at the end.

Xu Yang's brow furrowed deeply. Had killing Li Hu not put an end to this?

It seemed buying Xu Qing had not been Li Hu's idea, but the Three Harmonies Gang's.

There had long been rumors that the Three Harmonies Gang trafficked people. Those rumors were probably not wind blowing from an empty cave.

But even if the Three Harmonies Gang had not given up, they probably would not act just yet. He could still

buy himself a few days.

With Qiu Yongqiang's support, becoming a martial artist this month should not pose much of a problem. Once he became one, the Three Harmonies Gang would no longer dare provoke him lightly.

"I'll pay the fee tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, remember to buy a catty of pork at the market every day for me to eat when I get up in the morning," Xu Yang instructed Xu Qing.

He had originally had three taels of silver, and killing Li Hu and his two companions had brought him another tael. With the three taels Qiu Yongqiang had given him that evening, he now had seven.

Since he might attempt his breakthrough within the month, he could no longer afford to scrimp.

A catty of pork cost thirty copper coins. One tael of silver would cover exactly one month.

That left six taels. He would keep one in reserve, then take another from the remaining five to spend on more Body-Strengthening Soup. The final four would be just enough for Health-Nourishing Soup and a Medicinal Bath before his breakthrough, cleansing and tempering his body to lay the foundation for breaking through.

Adding it all up, he would have eleven taels to spend on martial training this month, not much less than Lu Ren.

Besides, his real source of confidence was still the panel. By the end of the month, his innate aptitude should rise to B-Grade Lower. Even if it fell short of Lu Ren's B-Grade Upper, he would at least have entered the B-grade range, and becoming a martial artist would not be too difficult.