Chapter 6

"What kind of family? He's not your own son. Don't forget how he kicked you out before. You have your own son; if you want to cultivate a martial artist, cultivate your own son."

Xu Qing's voice was sharp and filled with uncontrollable anger.

She cared more about Xu Laoer as a father than Xu Yang did, and at this moment, she was the most furious. Xu Yang, the main person involved, hadn't said a word, and she had snatched the opportunity to speak first.

Xu Laoer was choked until his face turned red. When he first got together with Zhang Cuiting, every time he came here, Yang Jun would beat him with a stick. That was also the reason he didn't move here to live directly at first.

"Him? Just based on him wanting to practice martial arts? A-Jun's father was once a martial artist, so he has the possibility of becoming one. Your brother is a mud-legged peasant who digs for food in the dirt, a lower-class person. Wanting to practice martial arts is just laughable."

Zhang Cuiting laughed loudly, as if she had heard a joke, her words full of mockery and sarcasm.

Xu Qing was trembling with anger and was about to continue speaking, but was stopped by Xu Laoer's shout.

"Shut up, let your brother speak. Adults are talking; what are you, a child, interrupting for?"

Being repeatedly scolded and exposed by his daughter, his face darkened. He looked at Xu Yang and said: "You say it yourself, are you willing to pay this money? Think clearly. A-Jun doesn't necessarily need your help to become a martial artist; it'll just take a bit longer.

If you don't help A-Jun now, when he becomes a martial artist in the future, it'll be too late for you to curry favor with him."

As for what Xu Qing said about Xu Yang wanting to practice martial arts, he didn't take it to heart at all, also treating it as a joke.

Having stated the pros and cons, as long as Xu Yang wasn't stupid, he believed that Xu Yang, who had suffered so much in society, would make the right choice.

"You think clearly too. What Dorgon couldn't do, why do you think you can!"

Leaving behind a sentence that left Xu Laoer confused, Xu Yang pulled Xu Qing away without saying any more nonsense.

Even if the money he earned was used to feed dogs, he wouldn't use it to support Yang Jun.

"Rebellious son!" Xu Laoer's roar came from behind.

At this moment, the sky had already turned dark, the evening glow was red, and the earth looked as if it were covered in red armor.

The siblings stepped out of Zhang Cuiting's house, and Xu Qing, the little girl, couldn't help but sob, heartbroken and tearful.

At home, she said they were going for a free meal, but in fact, she wanted to see her father. What happened was hard for her to accept.

"Don't cry, just pretend he's dead," Xu Yang comforted.

He had anticipated this before coming, so he wasn't sad.

"I'm not crying for him; I'm worried that you'll miss the time to practice martial arts." The little girl didn't admit she was shedding tears for Xu Laoer.

"Don't worry about the money. If he doesn't help, I'll find a way myself. Don't worry, Brother will definitely bring you to eat well and live well."

Xu Yang looked toward the horizon. He would definitely practice martial arts. He didn't care much about the fact that he couldn't practice after eighteen. The main thing was that the Sanhe Gang seemed to have set their sights on the little girl, and he had to quickly become a martial artist to get out of this predicament.

In this kind of world, it wasn't a good thing for a girl at the bottom to be born beautiful.

The Sanhe Gang acted viciously; once targeted, all kinds of vicious means would be used.

It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened in the neighborhood. Those who complied were fine, but those who didn't would eventually end up with their families destroyed.

Although this might just be something Li Hu mentioned casually, he couldn't gamble.

He pondered in secret how to get money to practice, but he had no clue for the time being.

"Brother, why don't we borrow from someone? We'll go find Uncle later. If we borrow a little from each relative, I know you care about face and don't want to ask, but this is a hope after all. If we miss it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

It's just a rejection, right? We've lived like this, we've long since lost our face."

The little girl suddenly spoke: "And Uncle. I heard people say he became an accountant for the wealthy Huang family, with a salary of two taels a month. He should be able to lend us some."

Even a beggar has a few poor relatives; Xu Yang's family naturally had some relatives.

"Okay!" Xu Yang said.

Now that he was in a crisis, he could only swallow his pride and ask for help. In his memory, this uncle was still quite kind, and if he had the ability, he should help a bit. As for whether it would work, he had to try to know.

Although they hadn't had much contact since his mother passed away, blood ties wouldn't disappear.

"Where did you hear these things?" Xu Yang asked curiously.

The reason he hadn't thought of his uncle was mainly because in his memory, his uncle, Zhou Shunchang, was also living a miserable life, struggling on the poverty line.

"I heard it from Uncle's eldest daughter. She saw Uncle at the Huang family's shop..."

Xu Yang didn't expect that before he could go to the city to find his uncle and borrow money, he would soon see his long-unseen uncle, Zhou Shunchang, at his doorstep.

Under the glow of the evening sun, Zhou Shunchang was carrying a piece of pork belly and standing at the door wearing fine silk.

Standing beside him was a woman with a scholarly air, who was his cousin, Zhou Xia.

"Uncle! Cousin!"

A mother's brother is like a father; the two stepped forward quickly, bowed deeply to their uncle, and then respectfully invited their uncle and cousin into the house.

"You've suffered all these years. That animal Xu Laoer, if I had known he was such a person, I wouldn't have agreed to let your mother marry him back then."

Looking at their simple home, Zhou Shunchang couldn't help but curse Xu Laoer for not being human.

"I came today not just to see you, but because there's something I want to tell you, A-Yang." After some pleasantries, Zhou Shunchang brought up the main point.

Xu Yang was stunned. Another thing to tell him? Could it be that he was eyeing his money again?

But thinking about it, his cousin was already over eighteen, so he shouldn't be asking him to pay for martial arts training.

"You might not know, but the Huang family I'm attached to has started to rise in recent years, and their business is getting bigger and bigger..." Zhou Shunchang slowly revealed the true purpose of his visit.

In this world, no matter what business you do, as long as it's a profitable one, you can't do without a martial artist to escort you. Just like nuclear bombs in his previous life, you might not use them, but you can't be without them.

The Huang family had only started to rise in recent years, and the martial artists they supported were insufficient, not matching their growing business.

Ready-made martial artists usually had loyalties to other forces. Digging them away would not only offend other forces but also come at a high cost.

So the best way was to cultivate their own. But if they cultivated their own, not everyone in the Huang family had the potential to become a martial artist. The Huang family came up with a way: to look for people outside who had the potential to become martial artists but no money to practice.

The Huang family would pay for the cultivation, on the condition that they become the Huang family's retainers after becoming martial artists. So Zhou Shunchang thought of his nephew, Xu Yang, who was of the right age.

"Tomorrow morning, go to the Huang family courtyard. There will be an old master there to check your bones. As long as your innate talent is okay, the Huang family will send you to a martial arts school."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Xu Yang bowed deeply to Zhou Shunchang, not asking deeply whether it was selling himself or whether he had to be loyal to the Huang family for a lifetime.

For him now, as long as there was an opportunity to practice martial arts, what did it matter if he sold himself?

"Dress decently tomorrow!"

Looking at Xu Yang's patched clothes, Zhou Shunchang left half a silver tael.

Xu Yang wanted to refuse because he still had one piece of clothing that was still okay, but under Zhou Shunchang's glare, he had to accept the money.

"Alright, it's getting late, and the road isn't safe. Your cousin and I have to go back."

He didn't say any encouraging words to Xu Yang because innate talent was something one was born with. He came here just to try his luck and see if his nephew had a chance to change his fate.

"Take care, Uncle, Cousin!"

The siblings sent Zhou Shunchang and his daughter all the way out of Bai Shi Neighborhood before returning home.

"Brother, you can practice martial arts."

After a turn of events, returning home again, the little girl could no longer suppress her excitement and jumped up, not realizing that one still had to have their bones checked to see if they had the innate talent to get the Huang family's support.

"Yeah, I can practice martial arts," Xu Yang said softly.

He didn't know if his innate talent, which had been raised to twenty-two, would meet the Huang family's support requirements tomorrow.