Chapter 96 - 93: Borrowing Silver
Chapter 96: Chapter 93: Borrowing Silver
The next day,
Father Fang took Fang Cheng and handed the idlers who had climbed into their home last night to steal grain over to the clan.
However, Fang Yue’s Family was, after all, the largest landlord in the village.
Most of the Fang Clan Members had entrusted their land to the Fang Family, so naturally, no one objected to Father Fang’s decision.
Although the idlers escaped having their hands broken, they wailed as soon as they heard they were being sent to dig a well.
One by one, they cried out incessantly, claiming they had been led astray, that they weren’t the masterminds, that they were just unbearably hungry and had no other choice.
They only did it because they were starving.
In the ancestral hall, some of the other Fang Clan Members felt a deep sense of empathy upon hearing this.
Famine, hunger... when a person is starving, are they still human?
Can someone about to starve to death still be considered a person? As long as you can stay alive, what won’t you eat? What won’t you do?
For now, their own families could barely scrape by. But what if it still didn’t rain? What if there still wasn’t enough water?
They wouldn’t be able to grow crops. A day would come when they couldn’t survive, a day when they would starve.
What would they do then?
Would they do the same thing?
Would they risk everything for a bite to eat?
And right now, who had grain? The Fang Family, of course.
The Fang Family was the biggest landlord in Da Liushu Village!
In that moment, a myriad of thoughts ran through the minds of the crowd.
~~~~~~
Noon.
At the Fang Family home, during lunch.
"Sigh... I’m afraid our peaceful days are numbered. Shouldn’t we move to the county seat sooner rather than later?"
This morning, when they were dealing with those idlers, the villagers and clan members had all been very supportive. Some had even gone up and beaten the men in their anger.
But Father Fang wasn’t happy.
He was an honest, duty-bound farmer, but that didn’t mean he was a fool. He understood that the human heart was hard to fathom.
It was just like before Zhi’Er was injured.
Back then, every family in the village would greet them with genuine respect and courtesy.
But ever since Zhi’Er’s injury, although these people seemed no different on the surface, the look in their eyes when they saw his family held a little less awe.
If this continued, he knew that if any trouble arose, these people might very well do what those men did last night.
"Why on earth should we leave? What would we do in the city? If we move, what about all our land? What about this courtyard?"
Ms. Chen hadn’t thought that far ahead. In recent years, the family had accumulated so much wealth.
If they just up and moved to the city, she wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it all for someone else to manage.
"No, we have to go."
Father Fang rarely ever contradicted Ms. Chen. On a matter this important, one couldn’t be muddle-headed or hesitant. One had to be decisive.
Ms. Chen was about to say more, but seeing the unusually grim expression on Father Fang’s face, she swallowed her words.
She simply said, "I’ll go wherever Zhi’Er goes."
Fang Cheng, naturally, didn’t voice an opinion; he didn’t really have one anyway.
And so, everyone’s gaze turned to Fang Yue.
"I don’t think things are that bad yet," Fang Yue said with a small smile. "It’s not time. If it really comes to that, we can still leave then without any trouble. Who knows? The situation might change in a few days."
Fang Yue’s calm and confident demeanor was enough to quiet even the anxious Father Fang.
In truth, none of them wanted to leave.
This was their home, their roots.
It was hard to leave one’s homeland. Otherwise, someone like Scholar Liu wouldn’t make a point of periodically returning to stay in his old village house.
~~~~~~
A few more days passed.
Ms. Chen’s older brother arrived in Da Liushu Village with his son, Chen Liang—the very son who had been recommended to train at the White Tiger Boxing Hall.
"Dad, why are we coming here again? And if we had to come, why did we bring a chicken from home?" Chen Liang questioned as they reached the village entrance.
’That cousin of mine, Fang Yue, is already a Wastrel. He’s a nobody now. Good thing I didn’t start training with that useless cousin back then. Otherwise, my future would be ruined by now.’
Despite this, Chen Liang still held a grudge against his cousin.
After all, back then, his cousin had looked down on him and refused to teach him martial arts.
"Liang’Er, my boy, you need to train hard for the upcoming Martial Examination, and that costs money. Where would our family get that kind of silver? We can only try to borrow a little from your aunt."
"When we get there, be a little sweeter with your words. We’ll leave as soon as we borrow the silver," Chen Kang said, smacking his lips.
’Since we’re here to borrow money, is bringing a chicken really the right move? Besides, it’s the smallest chicken we have. If we can borrow two or three hundred taels of silver, it’ll be a good deal.’
Chen Liang’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t argue.
Soon, the two of them arrived at Fang Yue’s Family home.
With visitors from her maiden family, Ms. Chen naturally gave the two a warm reception.
After they had lunch, Chen Kang didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, "Little sister, you see, Liang’Er is going to take the Martial Scholar exam in three months. He’s been working very hard at the Martial Arts Hall and is sure to pass."
"So, you see, the Martial Arts Hall is organizing some intensive training for the disciples before the exam. This will cost quite a bit of silver. Could you lend me five hundred taels first? Once Liang’Er passes, I promise we’ll pay you back right away."
Chen Liang couldn’t help but glance at his father. ’Didn’t he say three hundred taels would be enough before we came? What’s this? Asking for five hundred taels right off the bat?’
At that moment, Chen Kang shot him a look, and Chen Liang reluctantly chimed in, "Aunt, once I pass the Martial Scholar exam, I’ll pay you back."
Ms. Chen hesitated. Her nephew was taking the Martial Scholar exam, so as his aunt, she felt she should lend him some money.
However, five hundred taels was truly a bit much.
Although her family had some spare silver, it was all earned by Zhi’Er.
She had to discuss such a large sum with Zhi’Er.
"I’ll have to ask my Zhi’Er about this," Ms. Chen said.
"Perfect! It’s been so long since I’ve seen my nephew. Let’s go see him together."
Chen Kang wanted to strike while the iron was hot, not giving Ms. Chen any time to think.
Besides, if he went over, with his uncle present, Fang Yue would surely be too embarrassed to refuse.
Soon, the two followed Ms. Chen into Fang Yue’s courtyard.
Ms. Chen explained the situation to Fang Yue.
"Heh heh, nephew, that’s the gist of it. If he trains with the Martial Arts Hall for these three months, Liang’Er’s chances of passing will be very high. Once Liang’Er becomes a Martial Scholar, our family will have someone to lean on."
"I also heard from your mother that you had a break-in recently. In the future, with Liang’Er around, what petty thief would dare come to our home?"
Chen Kang smiled benevolently, but his meaning was clear: ’Lend me the silver so Liang’Er can become a Martial Scholar. Then in the future, Liang’Er can look out for this side of the family. With a Martial Scholar backing them, no one would dare cause trouble.’
"Yes, what uncle says is right. However, uncle, you see, my family just built a new house. And with the water shortage these past two years, we haven’t been able to collect any rent. We really don’t have much spare silver."
Fang Yue was put off by his uncle Chen Kang’s words. ’There’s no way three months of training would cost five hundred taels of silver. Two hundred taels at most. This is for the Martial Scholar exam, not the one for a higher rank. A crash course in training doesn’t cost that much money. Besides, and more importantly...’
Fang Yue could see that Chen Liang had only just reached the threshold of the Skin Grinding stage. Even with another three months of practice, he would, at best, barely enter the Skin Grinding realm.
’With that level of cultivation, he wants to take the Martial Scholar exam? How could he possibly pass? The Martial Arts Hall would definitely not let him take the exam. Moreover, even though he was in his current state and had been effectively ’abandoned’ by the Martial Arts Hall, he was the one who had recommended Chen Liang. The people at the Martial Arts Hall wouldn’t try to scam Chen Liang out of his silver. So, there’s definitely something wrong with them asking for this much silver.’
Naturally, Fang Yue wasn’t going to lend them the money.
Otherwise, if something happened down the line, it would be difficult to face Ms. Chen, and she might even end up heartbroken over her maiden family.
"That’s right, that’s right. Big brother, you see, I don’t manage the finances, but I know we’ve really been spending more than we’re making these last two years. We don’t have much silver left."
"How about we just give Liang fifty taels this time?"
Of course, Ms. Chen listened to her Zhi’Er. If Zhi’Er said they didn’t have money, then they definitely didn’t have much money.
As the saying goes, in bad years, even the landlord has no spare grain.
"Hmph! Aunt, if you don’t want to lend us the money, just say so. Don’t give us some excuse about having no silver. I heard the Martial Arts Hall gave you three thousand taels when Zhi was injured. It hasn’t been that long, how could you have no money!"
When Chen Liang heard they would only get fifty taels, he could no longer hold back.
His expression changed instantly, and he spoke aggressively.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was a creditor coming to collect a debt.
After speaking, he stormed off in a huff.
"Little sister, I’m so sorry. Liang’Er is still young and foolish, I apologize on his behalf. About the silver... do you think you could spare a little more?"
In the end, Chen Kang shamelessly persisted in trying to borrow the silver.
Ultimately, Ms. Chen couldn’t refuse him and gave him another fifty taels, lending Chen Kang a total of one hundred taels.
Fang Yue didn’t say anything, of course. This was his mother’s maiden family.
It wasn’t good to completely burn all bridges.
’In any case, after this incident, we definitely won’t be lending them money again.’
~~~~~~
At high noon that day, Fang Yue finally hammered the Bone Forging Pass to Perfection.
’Now, I can begin,’ Fang Yue murmured to himself.
Immediately, lines of text appeared before him.
[Cultivation Technique: White Tiger Fist (Bone Forging) (Perfection)]
[Talent: 2106 (One in a Thousand)]
[Talent: Advanced Boxing Mastery, Intermediate Copper Skin and Iron Bones]
[Note: 350 Talent Points can be consumed to upgrade Intermediate Boxing Mastery to Advanced.]
Just as he had thought, the change in his Fist Technique’s cultivation realm allowed his Talent to be upgraded further.
With a single thought, a familiar warm current immediately emerged within his body. This time, the warmth lasted longer than before.
But when Fang Yue tried to sense it carefully, he felt nothing in particular.
A moment later,
Fang Yue felt a tingling numbness in his injured areas. Then, he pushed off with his feet and immediately stood up straight.
Fang Yue immediately performed a set of his Fist Technique.
’I’ve really recovered.’
Fang Yue took a moment to assess himself. Compared to before his injury, his body was stronger, his bones were harder, and the resilience of his skin had increased once again.
Most importantly, his body had no lingering side effects. It was as good as new.
Just then,
the smell of smoke drifted over. Fang Yue saw a plume of smoke and dust rising from the Northwest of the village.
There was a fire.
However, the fire probably wasn’t too big, as the smoke quickly subsided.