Elder Chen, his steps unsteady, arrived at Mute Bay.
"Daughter-in-law… Ah Qing…"
The straw curtain was pushed aside, and Ms. Han poked her head out.
Seeing it was the old man, a flicker of surprise crossed her face, quickly followed by a hint of wariness.
"Father?"
Ms. Han said with a smile, "What brings you here? Please, come in and sit."
She turned sideways to clear the narrow entrance, her movements somewhat stiff.
Elder Chen stooped and squeezed into the boat cabin. The heavy smell of rice bran mixed with damp wood washed over him.
He instinctively reached for his tobacco pouch, but after a glance at the cramped little boat, he silently put it away.
"Father, have some water."
Ms. Han brought over a chipped earthenware bowl filled with cloudy, cooled boiled water.
The old man took the bowl, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Daughter-in-law…" Elder Chen finally mustered his courage and said in a low voice, "I came here today because there's something…"
Ms. Han didn't speak. She already had a sinking feeling she knew what it was about.
Elder Chen avoided Ms. Han's gaze and began with difficulty, "It's about that boy, Xiaoheng. He says he's at a critical point for Breaking Through to the Dark Force level and is in urgent need of a Blood Qi Pill…"
"A Blood Qi Pill?"
Ms. Han exclaimed. "I hear those things are ridiculously expensive!"
"I know, I know it's expensive!"
The old man cut in hastily, his face burning with shame. "But Xiaoheng said this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! He… he's the Chen Family's only hope!"
"The only hope?"
Ms. Han repeated the words, her voice trembling.
Years of grievances, bitterness, and injustice surged forth like a bursting dam.
She shot to her feet, gesturing at the dilapidated boat cabin.
"Father! Look! Just look at the life we live, my son and I! In your eyes, only Xiaoheng is the Chen Family's hope. But what about Ah Qing? Isn't Ah Qing your grandson too?! His father was taken to repair the canal, and we don't even know if he's dead or alive! He left us, a widow and an orphan, here in Mute Bay, relying on a broken-down boat. My eyes are nearly blind from weaving nets just so we can scrape by! Ah Qing has made us proud—he found a master and studied martial arts on his own, struggling his way to the Manifest Force level, but we can't even afford a decent meal with meat! The sweat he sheds in training is fueled by rice bran gruel!"
Tears streamed down her coarse cheeks. "Do you have any idea how we've survived? To save a few copper coins for salt, we lick every last drop of grease from the vegetable soup! The silver for Ah Qing's apprenticeship—that was from Hui Niang's dowry, which the poor girl had been secretly saving! We're indebted to her. How can we ever repay that?!"
"And now, because Xiaoheng needs to 'break through' some level, you come to our wreck of a boat to borrow money? Where would we get money from?! Can we pry silver from these leaky floorboards? Or pour gold out of this rice sack?!"
Elder Chen's face was ashen. His lips trembled, unable to form a single word.
The old man shakily got to his feet, seeming to have aged another ten years in an instant.
"Mother, I'm back."
Just then, a voice called from outside the boat.
"Grandfather!"
As the cloth curtain was drawn back, Chen Qing saw Elder Chen at a glance.
"I… I'll be going now…"
Seeing Chen Qing, Elder Chen felt a pang of guilt and scrambled out of the cabin.
Before Chen Qing could react, Elder Chen was already gone.
He looked at Ms. Han's red, swollen eyes and quickly asked, "Mother, what happened?"
"It's nothing."
Ms. Han calmly and deliberately wiped the corners of her eyes with the edge of a cloth. Her "swollen" eyes, though still moist, were now clear and bright.
"He came to borrow money to buy some Blood Qi Pill for your dear brother Heng. I cried poor and sent him packing."
She then walked to the small stove in the corner and lifted the pot lid. The simple, honest aroma of mixed grains and beans filled the air. "Eat up while it's hot."
Her tearful outburst just now—about 'weaving nets until her eyes were nearly blind,' 'licking the very grease from the soup,' and 'owing Hui Niang for her dowry'… every word was heartbreaking, every sentence agonizing.
It wasn't an uncontrolled outpouring of emotion, but a blade aimed precisely at the old man's soft spot: his guilt!
She knew the biased old man all too well. Arguing with him directly would only earn her accusations of 'disregarding the bigger picture.' Only by tearing open her own bleeding wounds could she shut the mouth that was begging for his favorite grandson.
Chen Qing nodded in understanding.
Ms. Han placed a steaming bowl of mixed grains and beans on the table, then sat back down at her weaving station and picked up her shuttle.
She snorted. "Trying to pry money from between our teeth to pave his precious grandson's road to riches? Not a chance. He can forget it!"
...
「The next day, at the River Department.」
Chen Qing had just finished morning roll call when Cheng Ming walked over.
"Ah Qing,"
Cheng Ming got straight to the point. "I've seen you training even more diligently lately. How is your qi and blood accumulation coming along? Have you touched that 'membrane' yet?"
He was referring to the bottleneck between the Manifest Force and Dark Force levels.
Chen Qing smiled. "I'm still building it up. It feels like I'm still missing a little something."
Once he had accumulated enough qi and blood, he could attempt to break the barrier.
Cheng Ming nodded, sighing with the experience of one who's been there. "This second breakthrough requires more than just patient grinding. It needs real 'firewood'! Hefty supplements of meat, high-quality Blood and Qi Powder, or even Blood Qi Pills—all of that is built on piles of shining silver!"
"At your age, you're in the golden period for Breaking Through. If you miss this chance, it'll be much harder. The Martial Arts Examination is coming up, and relying on just your salary from the River Department and your family's meager means is a drop in the ocean. The Cheng Family… perhaps we can help you out again."
He had been observing Chen Qing closely during this time and found that his skills far surpassed his peers; he was no ordinary Manifest Force practitioner.
Moreover, he was diligent, hardworking, and mentally tough. If he was lucky enough to succeed in his second breakthrough, he could very well become a formidable expert. His potential was not to be underestimated.
Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Cheng Ming. "Boss, you mean…?"
He desperately needed tonics to speed up his progress.
"I'll go back and discuss it with my family."
Cheng Ming didn't make a firm promise, but his eyes were serious. "I'll see if we can spare some more Blood and Qi Powder for you. But I can't make the decision on my own. I have to ask my older sister."
The Cheng Family had a rule: sponsoring a promising youth had to be approved by the Patriarch.
"Thank you, Boss!"
Chen Qing cupped his fist solemnly, a warmth spreading through his chest.
Cheng Ming's kindness toward him was genuine.
...
「That night, in the Cheng Family's inner hall.」
The flickering lamplight illuminated Cheng Huan's somewhat stern face.
After listening to Cheng Ming's account of Chen Qing, she frowned slightly, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the tabletop.
"Ah Ming."
Cheng Huan began, "It's not that I'm being stingy, Ah Ming. Sponsoring a Manifest Force disciple with ten catties of meat and one tael of Blood and Qi Powder a month was already a favor to you. Now you're asking for more? The Cheng Family doesn't run a Charitable Hall!"
She paused, her gaze sharp as she looked at her younger brother. "You've sponsored several promising youths before. Which one of them ever amounted to anything? Weren't all the silver coins we invested just thrown down the drain? That Blood and Qi Powder costs one tael of silver a packet—it doesn't grow on trees! We have two boats to maintain, rent to pay on a hundred mu of fields, and dozens of mouths to feed. Where doesn't money need to be spent?"
Cheng Ming grew anxious. "Big Sister, this time is different! Chen Qing, he…"
"How is it different?"
Cheng Huan cut him off, her tone chiding. "His Root Bone is average at best, and it took him nearly three months to break through to Manifest Force! You can find a dozen practitioners with that kind of aptitude in any Martial Arts Hall! You expect him to break through to Dark Force? Even if he gets lucky and succeeds, so what? Is the Martial Arts Examination so easy to pass? Look at those old Patrols in the River Department. A few of them are at the Dark Force level, yet haven't they still wasted half their lives? We're just a small family, the Cheng Family. We can't afford for you to keep throwing silver into the river!"
She stood up and walked to the window, gazing out at the heavy darkness. Her tone softened slightly. "Ah Ming, for the Cheng Family to establish itself, to climb higher, every single coin must be spent wisely. When sponsoring someone, you either cast a wide net to catch a big fish, or you find someone with real potential who can bring a return on the investment! This Chen Qing… I don't see how he is that 'wise investment.'"
Cheng Ming opened his mouth, but then he saw the few strands of white hair at his sister's temples and thought of all the years she had toiled and worried for the Cheng Family. The words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.
'His sister's concerns weren't without reason, after all.'
'A small family like the Cheng Family really couldn't afford too many failed experiments.'
He sighed and said in a low voice, "Big Sister, I… I understand."
With that, he turned silently and began to walk away, his steps heavy.
Watching her brother's dejected figure, Cheng Huan's heart softened.
'This brother of mine,' she thought, 'he values relationships and loyalty. He took the post at the River Department just to open another door for the family.'
'But in this world… how can loyalty alone support a family?'
Just as Cheng Ming's hand touched the doorframe, Cheng Huan's voice rang out again.
"Wait."
Cheng Ming froze, turning back in surprise.
Cheng Huan didn't look at him. Her gaze was still fixed on the window outside, her tone flat but decisive. "If you really think this kid is promising… it's just a pittance. The family can spare it."
Cheng Ming was stunned for a moment, then immense joy flooded his heart. "Big Sister! You agree?!"
Cheng Huan turned around, her expression unchanged. She just waved a hand. "Go on, go on. But don't make a habit of it."
"Yes! Thank you, Big Sister! I'll go tell Ah Qing right now!"
The gloom clouding Cheng Ming vanished, and he rushed out of the inner hall with light steps.
'It's only a few taels of silver, after all. So be it.'
Cheng Huan let out a silent sigh, as if trying to convince herself.
She sat back down at the table and picked up the account book, but her mind had already drifted far away.
...