Chapter 56: 55. Completely Different Approaches

55. Completely Different Approaches

Chen An sized up the widow before him.

She looked to be in her early thirties; although her appearance was not as charming as the three wives and concubines in his home, her curvaceous figure was exceptionally alluring, and her entire being exuded the flavor of an experienced young matron.

He had some impression of this widow; she was a female cultivator who lived in the sixth house on the right, named Mo Lifang.

Her husband was a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator who had died on the battlefield a few days ago.

Now, only she and her three-year-old son remained to depend on each other for survival.

"Alchemist Chen?"

Seeing that Chen An did not respond for a long time, Mo Lifang could not help but purse her sexy red lips, which she had deliberately applied rouge to, and said with a pitiful expression on her face.

Chen An only liked young virgins, so he could only smile and politely decline:

"Is Fellow Daoist Mo looking to change professions to a matchmaker and earn some extra money by introducing women to me?"

"It is a pity that I am living frugally right now and have no thoughts of taking in a concubine for the time being."

"When I have such thoughts in the future, I will come to patronize you, Fellow Daoist Mo."

He left Mo Lifang some face, and after finishing his sentence, he walked directly around her, not wanting to entangle himself with her any further.

However, the other party clearly did not care about face; she immediately grabbed her son and chased after him, quickly moving to stop in front of Chen An, and said with a bitter smile:

"Alchemist Chen, you should know that my husband died on the battlefield a few days ago, leaving this pair of orphans and widows to depend on each other."

"With only my Qi Refining First Layer cultivation, it is truly difficult to survive in this Core Area."

"While I am still young and can still bear children for a man, I want to find another family for myself."

As she spoke, Mo Lifang plopped down on her knees and begged humbly: "Alchemist Chen, please be kind and take in our mother and son!"

Whether intentional or not, the moment Mo Lifang knelt, two buttons on her bodice fell off, revealing a bit of her proud assets in a half-hidden, half-exposed manner.

Chen An was not tempted; instead, he felt a sense of revulsion in his heart and could not help but smile and decline again:

"Fellow Daoist Mo, I am barely able to take care of myself right now, so I really cannot take in you and your son."

"I have recently seen Fellow Daoist Zhang, who lives in the third house on the same lane, and Fellow Daoist Xu, who lives in the ninth house, both looking for wives and concubines."

"If you want to find a family to rely on, Fellow Daoist Mo, you can go and ask those two."

Hearing Chen An say this, Mo Lifang could not help but knit her willow-leaf brows.

She had seen this Fellow Daoist Zhang and Fellow Daoist Xu.

Not only were they ugly, but they often did not treat their wives and concubines like human beings.

They would scold them at the slightest provocation and beat them for more serious matters.

If a widow with a child like her married into such a family, she would surely suffer.

But Chen An was different.

Not only was he handsome, but he was also a respected Alchemist.

Moreover, he treated his wives and concubines with mutual respect and did not mind at all that his primary wife was a mortal woman.

Since he did not even mind a mortal woman, he certainly would not mind a widow who, despite having a child, was at least a female cultivator.

Besides, many men had a preference for married women.

Therefore, in many cases, the status of being a widow might not be a disadvantage, but rather an advantage.

And as luck would have it, Chen An had taken in an older concubine some time ago.

All signs indicated that he was a magnanimous man who favored married women.

Based on this, Mo Lifang decided to pester Chen An relentlessly, and said with a pitiful look:

"I have been a wife for over ten years and a mother for three; whether it is serving a man or taking care of a child, I am very capable at both."

"And I have a son; if we live under the same roof in the future, he can just happen to be a playmate for your daughter, so that the child's childhood won't be so lonely."

"Alchemist Chen, for the sake of our pitiful mother and son, please be kind and take us in."

"My son is only three years old; he cannot be without a father at such a young age."

"Our mother and son will kowtow to you!"

Having said that, Mo Lifang made her son, who was at her side, kneel down as well, pressing his head to make him kowtow to Chen An with her.

They kowtowed very hard, making a series of thumping sounds.

Using a child for matchmaking, insisting on turning a disadvantage into an advantage, and playing the moral kidnapping card so skillfully—this widow truly had excellent verbal techniques...

Chen An shook his head, not even having the inclination to help the mother and son up, and left a single sentence: "Fellow Daoist Mo, you had better look for someone else, farewell," before walking around them and leaving quickly.

Although this widow surnamed Mo was very alluring, she had too many ulterior motives; taking her in would be no different than inviting a wolf into the house.

It was true that Chen An was lustful, but he was not so lustful that he could not weigh the pros and cons.

"Mom, it hurts!"

"My head hurts so much!"

"Wuu wuu wuu..."

The three-year-old boy had a bump on his forehead from the kowtowing, and tears streamed down his face from the pain as he cried out.

Mo Lifang hurriedly used her hand to rub his forehead and comforted him:

"Dabao, don't cry, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, Mom will rub it for you."

While comforting him, she looked at Chen An, who was gradually moving away in the distance, and then looked at her son in her arms, realizing that the reason she had failed to hook him just now might be because she had a burden with her.

Otherwise, her son had even kowtowed along with her, so why was Chen An not moved at all, not even helping them up?

This did not fit his persona at all.

Thinking of this, Mo Lifang, who had previously looked loving, gradually showed a struggle on her face, and her gaze toward the son in her arms held less heartache and more indifference.

She pulled up her still-sobbing son and led him toward a grove of trees ahead.

"Dabao, stop crying, Mom will take you to pick snake berries to eat."

……

On the other side.

Chen An had already returned home.

Just as he entered the house, he saw his daughter Chen Yuejian squatting on the ground, picking flowers and fiddling with grass.

She was playing all by herself.

She looked quite lonely.

"It's fortunate that Zhiyun is already pregnant; when the child in her belly is born, the two children can be playmates."

Chen An murmured with a look of gratification on his face.

But soon, his brows furrowed slightly.

In these short two years, his life had undergone earth-shaking changes.

From being all alone at the start, with no one else to worry about once he was fed, he had become the head of this five-person household, needing to take care of three wives and concubines and one daughter.

In another ten months, when the child in Wen Zhiyun's belly is born, it will be a six-person household.

Three wives and concubines, two young children.

And now, the world outside is becoming more chaotic day by day.

With his current cultivation of only the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, the difficulty of protecting this family well is not ordinary.

"In half a month, become a Second-tier Alchemist."

"Within two years, become a Foundation Establishment expert."

"Only by achieving these two goals can I have enough confidence to protect my wife and daughter."

Chen An thought secretly in his heart, and was immediately filled with motivation.

At this moment, Chen Yuejian, who was squatting on the ground playing with flowers and grass, saw him, immediately ran over with a beaming face, opened her arms toward him, and said in a crisp voice:

"Daddy, hug!"

"Alright, let me hug my little Xiao Yuejian."

Chen An scooped up his tiny daughter, rubbing his stubbly chin against her little face, teasing her until she giggled non-stop.

Looking at his daughter's smiling face and feeling her increasing weight, he couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness in his heart.

The trace of annoyance that had just arisen due to the pressure of survival instantly vanished into thin air.

……

PS: Setting out my bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!