I Don't Believe It—I Want to Spar with Brother-in-Law

Lin Feng went to Steward Li's house for a meal, during which he asked about the Black Market.

Steward Li knew about the Black Market and was qualified to enter it.

But the Black Market only opened at night.

Lin Feng still had to return home that evening, so he could only leave it for another time.

Steward Li had also been present when the courtyard changed hands. Knowing that Lin Feng was a local, he intended to invite Lin Feng to serve as a guard at his home.

Lin Feng had no plans to move into town anytime soon, so he could only put the matter off for now.

Once he moved into town in the future, working as a guard for Steward Li would not be bad. After all, the two households were neighbors and could look out for each other.

But for now, he had to study martial arts with Mr. Hong and could not come to town yet.

After eating, Lin Feng headed out of the County Town.

He checked behind him and found that no one was following him.

Those people really had been after those 2,500 taels of silver. Once he had spent the silver, no one bothered with him anymore.

It seemed that solving problems did not always require fighting and killing. He still had to use his brain more.

Lin Feng returned home safely and spent several more peaceful days there.

During this time, he still went to Mr. Hong's home every day to discuss matters related to martial arts training, as well as events in the martial world.

He learned that the martial world of this world was divided into two camps: the Righteous and Demonic Factions.

The Righteous and Demonic Factions used Big Black Mountain as their boundary, dividing up their territories.

After learning this, Lin Feng immediately felt that even the County Town was not very safe. It was too close to Big Black Mountain.

The Righteous and Demonic Factions could not possibly remain at peace forever. Sooner or later, they would come to blows.

If they truly fought, Qinghe County would become the front line.

When he had the chance, he still needed to move farther into the rear of the righteous camp.

What Lin Feng and Mr. Hong discussed most was still matters related to martial arts training.

What Mr. Hong emphasized most was building a solid foundation.

Only with a stable foundation could one walk farther along the path of martial arts.

Lin Feng took it all to heart and planned to build himself a perfect foundation.

One day, while Lin Feng's family was eating lunch, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

They heard a woman shouting outside, "Is Chunlan home?"

Joy appeared on Zhou Chunlan's face when she heard the voice. She hurriedly put down her chopsticks and said, "It's my mother. My mother has come to see me."

Ever since Zhou Chunlan had refused to remarry, no one from her maternal family had come to visit her.

Hearing her mother's voice, Zhou Chunlan was as happy as a little girl.

Mother Lin also set down her chopsticks and said, "Xiaofeng, hurry and open the door."

Lin Feng went out and opened the courtyard gate.

His mother-in-law, Madam Zhou, stood outside with a basket hanging from her arm, while his brother-in-law Zhou Haitao stood beside her.

When the two saw that Lin Feng had opened the door, contempt and disgust appeared on both their faces.

In their minds, Lin Feng was still that gluttonous, lazy, stinking drunkard.

When Zhou Haitao saw the new, patch-free clothes on Lin Feng, he could not help roaring, "You stinking drunkard! My sister and those nephews of mine were starving until they were skin and bones, yet you still had money to buy new clothes!

"If I find out that you beat my sister again, just see if I don't beat you up."

His brother-in-law was concerned for his wife, so Lin Feng did not take offense. He stepped aside and let them enter.

Zhou Chunlan and Mother Lin also came out to welcome them.

Mother Lin greeted them with a smile. "In-law, you haven't eaten yet, have you? The food is still hot. Hurry inside and eat."

Zhou Chunlan also linked arms with her mother, Madam Zhou. "Mother, hurry inside and rest."

Then Zhou Chunlan turned and glared at her younger brother Zhou Haitao. "Xiaotao, how can you speak to your brother-in-law like that? Act like a proper brother-in-law."

Zhou Haitao was a little stunned.

Why was his sister defending that stinking drunkard Lin Feng?

And his sister was wearing new clothes too.

Soon, several children rushed out of the house.

Madam Zhou and Zhou Haitao did not think much of Lin Feng, but they treated the children quite well.

Dabao grabbed Zhou Haitao's hand. "Uncle, why did it take you so long to come see us?"

Zhou Haitao smiled and said, "Didn't Uncle come to see you as soon as he had time?"

Zhou Haitao took several pieces of candy from his clothes and handed them to the children. "Uncle brought you candy. Take it and eat."

Each child took a piece of candy and put it into their mouth.

Xiaoyueyue grabbed Madam Zhou's clothes. "Grandma, hurry inside and eat meat. We had meat for lunch."

Madam Zhou doted on Xiaoyueyue the most. She handed the basket to Zhou Chunlan, picked Xiaoyueyue up, and said with a smile, "After not seeing you for a few months, our Xiaoyueyue has turned into a chubby little girl."

Madam Zhou saw that Zhou Chunlan and the children were not only well dressed, but all had rosy complexions. It seemed they had been eating well too.

The children were no longer as skinny as before, their frighteningly swollen bellies sticking out. Each had become a delicate little chubby child.

Madam Zhou looked at Mother Lin. "Xiaofeng's mother, has your family suddenly become well-off?"

Mother Lin smiled proudly. "In-law, you can't keep looking at our Xiaofeng through old eyes. Our Xiaofeng has long since changed for the better.

"He often goes up the mountain to hunt and has earned quite a bit of silver.

"Our family's life improved long ago."

Zhou Chunlan pulled her mother inside. "Mother, sit down and have a bite to eat first. We can talk afterward."

Madam Zhou and Zhou Haitao were led to the table, and Lin Feng brought over two stools for them.

During this time, Lin Feng also did some carpentry whenever he was free and had made many wooden stools.

After Madam Zhou and Zhou Haitao sat down, they were stunned again by the food on the table.

Pork ribs stewed with green beans, white-flour flatbreads, and thick millet porridge.

Madam Zhou said, "In-law, what day is it today? Your family is eating so well."

Foodie little Sanbao said, "Grandma, our family eats meat every day. These ribs are Wild Boar ribs, and they smell so good.

"Daddy hunted the Wild Boar in the mountains."

Madam Zhou glanced in front of Lin Feng and, seeing no alcohol, believed it somewhat.

But she still could not accept it for the moment. Not long ago, the Lin Family had barely been able to put food on the table.

Even if Lin Feng had quit drinking, their life should not have improved to this extent.

Madam Zhou looked at her daughter Zhou Chunlan and noticed the silver hairpin tucked into her daughter's bun.

"Chunlan, what is going on?

"How did your family's life suddenly become so much better?"

Zhou Chunlan said with a smile, "Xiaofeng is even better at hunting than my father-in-law was. Ever since he quit drinking, he has gone up the mountain to hunt almost every day.

"He sells the game in town and earns quite a bit of silver every day.

"Little by little, our life improved."

Of the five hundred taels of silver contributed by Wang Shanxiong, Lin Feng had taken several ingots to town and exchanged them for loose silver.

Whenever he went hunting, he would bring home a few taels of silver from time to time.

Once Mother Lin and his wife had silver in their hands, their standard of living rose without them realizing it. Recently, they had already said goodbye to coarse cornbread.

When Madam Zhou heard that Lin Feng's hunting skills were even better than Lin Feng's Father's, the way she looked at Lin Feng changed instantly.

Back then, she had been willing to marry her daughter into the Old Lin family because Lin Feng's Father had been a famous hunter throughout the surrounding villages. If her daughter married into the Old Lin family, she would have meat to eat.

But she had never expected that not long after her daughter married over, Lin Feng's Father would disappear in the mountains, while Lin Feng became a hopeless drunkard.

Now that Lin Feng was even better at hunting than his father, her daughter had hope at last.

Zhou Haitao was still somewhat unconvinced.

"Even if Brother-in-law quit drinking, he can't possibly be this capable.

"Two months ago, I could knock Brother-in-law down with one hand."

Zhou Chunlan hurriedly defended Lin Feng. "Your brother-in-law has talent for martial arts. He's not someone you can compare with."

Lin Feng could earn money, protect himself, treat her gently and thoughtfully, and patiently care for the children.

To Zhou Chunlan, the current Lin Feng was a perfect husband. She could not tolerate anyone questioning him.

Zhou Haitao ate a rib and said, "I don't believe it. I want to spar with Brother-in-law."