Fulin Building!
As Qiu Wenjie pushed open the door to the private room, Xu Yang saw a middle-aged man with a fair, round face.
He had a handlebar mustache, bore a slight resemblance to Qiu Wenjie, and smiled with extreme warmth.
This was Qiu Wenjie's father, Qiu Yongqiang.
"Greetings, Master Qiu!" Xu Yang said, cupping his hands.
Qiu Yongqiang stood and chuckled. "My Qiu Family is just a small, humble household. I'm not worthy of being called 'Master.' You and Wenjie are from the same school. If you don't mind, just call me Uncle Qiu."
"Greetings, Uncle Qiu!"
Beaming, Qiu Yongqiang urged Xu Yang to sit down, then got up to go outside and order the food before returning to his seat.
"Uncle Qiu, I heard from Wenjie that..."
"Let's not talk about that just yet. You and Wenjie must be hungry. I'll explain everything in detail after we eat."
Xu Yang had wanted to ask about the matter of sponsoring his martial arts training, but hearing this, he could only suppress his questions.
The dishes soon began to arrive: Ginseng and black chicken soup, braised pork belly, steamed sea bass...
A dozen or so dishes were served one after another, all of them meat. The sight made Xu Yang's mouth water, but he restrained himself from being the first to pick up his chopsticks.
Qiu Wenjie, however, couldn't hold back. He grabbed his chopsticks and immediately snatched a large meatball.
Qiu Yongqiang laughingly chided him for his lack of manners before inviting Xu Yang to start eating.
In truth, it was mainly Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie who were eating. Qiu Yongqiang mostly drank his wine, only occasionally reaching out with his chopsticks.
After a while, once Xu Yang and Qiu Wenjie had eaten their fill and their table manners returned to normal, Qiu Yongqiang took the opportunity to ask Xu Yang about his family situation.
Upon learning that Xu Yang had been living alone and raising his younger sister since he was eleven or twelve, his smile widened.
The meal finally ended with every dish wiped clean. Qiu Wenjie was so full he leaned back in his chair, face-up. Xu Yang was also quite stuffed.
But since someone else was treating him, he was worried about making a scene and didn't eat until he was unable to move, unlike how he ate at Weiyuan Hall.
"Ah Yang, I expect you've heard from Wenjie that I wish to sponsor your martial arts training. What are your thoughts on the matter?" Qiu Yongqiang got straight to the point.
'What are my thoughts?'
'Someone offering to pay for my training is naturally a good thing.'
'But I was selected and groomed by the Huang Family. Accepting another's sponsorship would be tantamount to betrayal.'
'If I become a Martial Artist in the future, will I serve the Huang Family or the Qiu Family?'
Xu Yang frowned and voiced these concerns.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Yongqiang burst out laughing. "Ah Yang, you're overthinking things. It's true that you're being groomed by the Huang Family, but I can assure you that even if you succeed in Breaking the Gate and Gathering Qi, the Huang Family won't have you as a Tributor."
'The Huang Family only needs Lu Ren!'
Xu Yang became lost in thought.
"But what if they still want me as a Tributor?" Xu Yang asked.
The Huang Family had given up on him, thinking Lu Ren was enough. But who could say what the future held? After all, the Huang Family had never publicly stated that he wouldn't need to fulfill his original agreement even if he became a Martial Artist.
"Then you can be the Huang Family's Tributor."
Qiu Yongqiang smiled. "My Qiu Family is just a small, humble household; we likely can't afford to support a true Martial Artist. Even if you do become one, we probably won't have the means to hire you as a Tributor Martial Artist."
"Let me be honest with you, Uncle Qiu is just trying to seize a good opportunity. We hope to earn your friendship while you're in need, so we can ask for your help if we face difficulties in the future."
"And you can rest assured about one more thing: we won't tell anyone about this, nor will it affect the Huang Family's training of you."
He spoke bluntly, but it dispelled Xu Yang's doubts.
'The Qiu Family needs a Martial Artist, but they don't have the money to retain one as a Tributor. So they're taking a risk and investing in me now to earn a bond of friendship.'
'Even if I become a Martial Artist in the future, the Qiu Family probably won't be able to afford me.'
This way, even if the Huang Family still needed him in the future, there would be no conflict with the Qiu Family, as they didn't require him to become their Tributor Martial Artist in name.
"Then I thank you, Uncle Qiu!" Xu Yang cupped his hands.
Qiu Yongqiang waved his hand. "Don't be so quick to thank me. We can't give you much—only three taels of silver a month. If you think that's too little, we can just forget the whole thing."
'Too little? I wouldn't even think one tael was too little, let alone three!'
"This is an act of kindness. How could I dare think it's too little!" Xu Yang said earnestly.
When everyone else had written him off, Qiu Yongqiang was willing to invest three taels of silver in him every month. Even if Qiu Yongqiang was just looking for a bargain and taking a gamble, he would remember this favor.
"Here's the first month's payment." Qiu Yongqiang took out a few pieces of crushed silver and handed them to Xu Yang.
Seeing that the sky had already grown dark, Xu Yang worried about Xu Qing, so he stood up to take his leave.
"Father, aren't you afraid that Senior Brother Xu Yang won't be able to achieve Qi Gathering in the future, and your money will go down the drain?"
Qiu Wenjie only voiced his doubt a while after Xu Yang had left.
The news about Xu Yang had spread widely in Weiyuan Hall. Even though his performance in all aspects wasn't much worse than Lu Ren's, no one was optimistic about his chances of succeeding in Qi Gathering.
The Qiu Family was a small household; three taels of silver was not a small sum.
"You might not be able to achieve Qi Gathering in the future either, but don't I still spend over ten taels on you a month? If he were a guaranteed success, would we even have the chance to befriend him with a mere three taels of silver?"
"It took you ten days just to reach the Entry Level of the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture. If you had just a bit more ambition, would I need to worry so much?"
Qiu Yongqiang stood up. "Let's go home."
...
When Xu Yang got home, Xu Qing had just finished eating.
"Xu the Second came by again today," Xu Qing said while clearing the table.
Xu Yang frowned. "What did he want this time?"
"He wanted to borrow a chicken, saying he'd return it after Yang Jun becomes a Martial Artist. I didn't lend it to him, though."
Xu Yang was so exasperated he almost laughed. Borrowing a chicken—only Xu the Second would be shameless enough to do something like that.
Xu Qing hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Brother, maybe you should tell him that you're practicing martial arts. If he knew you were training and could also become a Martial Artist in the future, he wouldn't be so biased."
"Remember this: we have already cut all ties with him."
The little girl immediately dropped the subject of Xu the Second and brought up something else.
The new men sent by the Sanhe Gang came to Bai Shi Workshop today. They notified everyone to pay the residence fee within three days. Because of Xu Yang's instructions, Xu Qing didn't show her face, so Xu Yang would have to be the one to pay the fee.
"Oh, right. I heard from the aunties that the Sanhe Gang's men were asking about you in the village," Xu Qing added.
Xu Yang's brows furrowed at this. 'I killed Li Hu, but the matter isn't over?'
'It seems trying to buy Xu Qing wasn't just Li Hu's idea, but the Sanhe Gang's.'
There have always been rumors that the Sanhe Gang deals in human trafficking. 'It looks like those rumors weren't baseless.'
But even if the Sanhe Gang hadn't given up, they probably wouldn't act for now. He could still buy a few more days.
Now, with Qiu Yongqiang's sponsorship, becoming a Martial Artist this month shouldn't be a major problem. Once he became a Martial Artist, even the Sanhe Gang wouldn't dare to provoke him lightly.
"I'll go pay the money tomorrow. And starting tomorrow, remember to go to the market every day and buy a pound of pork for me to eat in the morning," Xu Yang instructed Xu Qing.
He originally had three taels of silver. He got one tael from killing Li Hu and his two men, and with the three taels Qiu Yongqiang sponsored him with tonight, he now had seven taels.
Since he might have to attempt Breaking Through this month, he couldn't afford to be frugal anymore.
A pound of pork cost thirty wen. One tael of silver was just enough for a month's supply.
That left six taels. He would set aside one for emergencies. Of the remaining five, another tael would go toward his Strengthening Soup. The final four taels were for right before he attempted to Break Through, to be spent on Health Soup and a Medicated Bath to refine his body and lay the foundation.
All told, he would be spending eleven taels on his training this month, not much less than Lu Ren.
Besides, his true confidence came from his stat panel. By the end of this month, his Root Bone should improve to Grade B Lower. Even if that wasn't as good as Lu Ren's B+, it was still in the B-class realm. Becoming a Martial Artist wouldn't be too much of a strain.