I began to understand the myriad things by chopping wood

Chapter 2 Hope
This is?

Could this be his long-lost relative...the golden finger?

Xie Yuan, who was well-read on Qidian, reacted immediately and became extremely excited.

The fortune I drew on Tianmen Mountain was actually true?
"I prayed for smooth study and got a very good fortune. The Taoist priest explained that the fortune means I can learn anything..."

At that time, Xie Yuan felt that it was a bit exaggerated, and thought that these Taoists were really good at saying nice things, but he was still happy and donated one hundred yuan to the merit box as a good start.

The Taoist priest was very happy and said that he would definitely be rewarded, but Xie Yuan did not take it seriously.

As a result, did the fortune really come true?

"Every path has its own rules, every rule has its own technique, and all can be learned."

Xie Yuan murmured:
“Doesn’t it mean that as long as I find the right way, I can learn anything?
"The first skill is, uh, chopping wood?"

He looked at the floating characters in front of him, thoughtfully.

"There is a prophecy below... It means that as you become proficient in chopping wood, you will also be able to understand the benefits of axe weapons!"

Xie Yuan's eyes lit up.

If you master weapons, can't you become a warrior?
No, more than that!

With the help of this magical ability, how could becoming a warrior be a problem?
You can live a better life, have a place in this world... and even have the opportunity to reach higher scenery.

A road appeared before him, and it all depended on how he walked.

Xie Yuan's heart suddenly warmed up, and the cold wind in late autumn didn't seem so chilling.

Looking at the words [Chopping Wood (1/100)], Xie Yuan raised his axe, gathered all his strength, and started chopping.

Duo, Duo, Duo.

The sound of an axe splitting wood continued to ring out.

Xie Yuan swung the axe vigorously, seemingly without any sense of fatigue.

Soon, half of the firewood pile in the yard was gone. He finally stopped and felt his hands and feet slightly weak.

"My body is still too weak..."

Xie Yuan shook his head, then looked at the font that appeared as he thought.

【Chopping wood (14/100)】

"In just a short while, it's grown 13 points! It won't take long for it to grow to points."

Xie Yuan was extremely excited and wanted to chop all the remaining firewood.

Unfortunately, my body really doesn't allow it.

I haven't eaten, I'm thirsty, hungry, and weak; plus I've been sweating a little. Although I don't feel very cold now, once the autumn wind blows, if I don't avoid the cold in time, I will inevitably get sick, which will make the situation worse.

But I don’t even have a piece of clothing…

Fuck Li Mazi.

Let’s get something to eat first.

Xie Yuan glanced at the freshly chopped firewood, which almost filled up a large backpack.

But the firewood from the bald tree is not valuable, and I'm afraid that so much of it can't even be sold for ten cents.

Unlike the iron poplars on the mountain, if they are chopped into fine firewood, they are very useful. The restaurants in the county town come specifically to buy them, and a small half basket can be sold for dozens of coins!
Unfortunately, he was too weak to cut the iron poplar, let alone the better wood that city dwellers used as firewood or even to make furniture.

Forget it, don’t be in a hurry, good days are yet to come!
If I sell or exchange this basket, I can at least buy a few sesame cakes and not go hungry...

Xie Yuan was planning to go out when he suddenly heard footsteps beside him.

Outside the courtyard wall surrounded by a simple fence, a village girl in her thirties called out:

"Yuanzi, come and eat...Ah! Why aren't you wearing cotton clothes? It's so cold."

In the mountain village, the village girl Li Lan's facial features can be considered pretty, but her complexion is dark, her skin is rough, and there are calluses on her hands, which show that she has been working hard for many years.

Xie Yuan looked at his neighbor's sister-in-law and said subconsciously:
"It's okay... Sister Lanhua, why should I always go to your place for free meals?"

"What do you mean by rubbing or not? It's just about having an extra pair of chopsticks. Come with me!"

Li Lan tried to grab Xie Yuan over the fence. The village woman was very strong and Xie Yuan was dragged to the next door like a chicken. He felt helpless.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw a kind-faced man and a chubby little boy sitting at the table. On the table were two plates of vegetables, a bowl of brown corn rice, and a large plate of scrambled eggs, which was quite a feast.

Xie Yuan smelled the oil smoke and subconsciously moved his throat. He was really hungry.

The man saw Xie Yuan coming in and nodded:
"Yuanzi is here, please sit down."

Xie Yuan greeted him a little embarrassedly:

"Brother Shitou, excuse me."

Wang Lei showed no expression, just shook his head slightly.

"Ignore him! He's just so dead. Sit down and eat."

Li Lan pushed Xie Yuan onto the chair and directly picked up a large piece of scrambled eggs for him with chopsticks.

"I just picked it up from the chicken coop today. It's fresh!"

"Thank you, Sister Lanhua. I can do it myself."

Xie Yuan thanked him gratefully, but Li Lan rolled her eyes at him:
"Why are you being so polite to me? Eat your food. You look so skinny."

Xie Yuan held the chopsticks, a little reserved at first, but he couldn't resist Li Lan who kept picking up food for him, and he was really hungry, so he gradually let go, except for Wang Xiaohu, the son of his neighbor's brother and sister-in-law.

Li Lan, Wang Lei and eldest brother Xie Lun grew up together.

Sister Lanhua and the eldest brother were childhood sweethearts, and it seemed that both of them would become his sister-in-law.

Later on, for some reason, they never got together, and Brother Shitou and Sister Lanhua became a couple instead.

It was not until her eldest brother passed away that Sister Lanhua started crying and told the whole story.

When the two of them talked about marriage, Xie Lun felt that Xie Yuan was too young and needed care. He was also afraid that if Li Lan and he started a family, she would gradually get tired of this younger brother. Even if Li Lan promised to treat him like her own brother, it was of no use and he never agreed.

A girl couldn't afford to delay, and coupled with Xie Lun's attitude, Li Lan got angry and married Wang Lei, who had always liked her.

Later, Li Lan came to her senses and realized that Xie Lun did it on purpose. He felt that his conditions were poor and he didn't want to delay Li Lan, who was considered a village beauty. Wang Lei's family had two acres of paddy fields, which was much better than the two brothers of the Xie family.

However, the matter was done, and Li Lan gave up the idea and devoted herself to managing the family, supporting her husband and raising children. They were all open-minded people, and the three of them remained close neighbors and visited each other frequently.

At the funeral, Li Lan cried and swore that Xie Yuan would be her biological brother from now on and she would take good care of him.

"Yuanzi, why don't you put on more clothes?" Li Lan suddenly asked while eating, and then she said suspiciously:

"Could it be that it was stolen by those bastards again?"

Xie Yuan opened his mouth, then nodded silently.

"God damn bastards! A bunch of fucking dogs!"

Li Lan's face was immediately filled with anger. She slammed her chopsticks and shouted:
"When Brother Lun was here, these bastards didn't dare to say a word! As soon as Brother Lun left, they bullied Yuanzi for not growing up yet!"

Wang Lei also frowned and said in a muffled voice:
"These people are really going too far. It's a pity that Yuanzi is not as tall and strong as Brother Lun..."

"What do you know? All the young men in the city look like this! Their skin is finer than that of girls, and their eyes are big and bright. They don't look like people who grew up in the mountains like us. They are so rare!"

Li Lan had been saying that Xie Yuan was thin, but she turned around and refuted her husband.

To be fair, Xie Yuan had very handsome facial features and an excellent appearance, but he looked a little thin and listless due to malnutrition. However, he had a calm temperament, and many girls in the village liked to talk to him.

"What are you standing there for? Go get Yuanzi a cotton coat!"

Wang Lei stopped talking, got up and went into the house, muttering quietly:

"I only have two pieces of clothing..."

Xie Yuan felt a strong warmth in his heart, and thought silently:

"No matter how good Brother Shitou and Sister Lanhua are to me, I can't eat for free every day. Besides, the harvest is not good this year, and they are under a lot of pressure..."

But he wanted to repay, but he had nothing, so he sat on the stool for a long time, feeling very uncomfortable, before he suddenly stood up:
"Sister Lanhua, I chopped a few bundles of firewood today. I'll bring them to you right away."

Although the firewood from the bald tree is not very useful, it is a token of my thoughtfulness.

"Eh? No, no, don't waste your energy..."

Before Li Lan finished her words, Xie Yuan ran out the door and came back a short while later with a large basket of firewood on his back.

Wang Lei was a little surprised when he saw this:
"Yuanzi, did you chop all this this morning?"

"Yes."

Wang Lei heard this and smiled innocently:
"It seems that you are much more skilled than before."

"Yuanzi has great potential!"

Li Lan smiled happily.

Xie Yuan smiled implicitly, then gratefully took the cotton coat and put it on.

Phew, now I have enough food and warm clothes.

He did not refuse, firstly because it was useless to refuse, and secondly because he really needed the clothes.

He just kept this affection firmly in his heart.

After Xie Yuan left, Li Lan was cleaning the house. Wang Lei touched his nose and whispered:

"Yuanzi is now better at chopping wood than before. It's good to be able to support yourself sooner."

Li Lan didn't even raise her head and hummed:

"He can't support himself, but we can support him anyway! Tell me, what do you want to say?"

Wang Lei sighed:
"I know. But the harvest this year is poor, and we don't have much surplus food... We also have to save money for Hu Wa's private school, and pay the annual tax next year."

He paused, his voice lowered:
"Besides, Zhang Laoer is talking about wanting our land again."

Li Lan raised her eyebrows and chopped the kitchen knife on the chopping board, frightening Wang Lei and the tiger boy crawling on the ground.

"No way! Ignore that fucking dog!"

Wang Lei hesitated and said in a low voice:

"That's for sure. But..."

Seeing her husband in trouble, Li Lan also slowed down her voice:
"Boss, I know you're having a hard time, but we can't let Yuanzi starve to death! How much has Brother Lun helped us since we were little? When you fell into a pit in the back mountain when you were little, did he ask an adult to pull you out? That time when Zhang Da beat you half to death, did he beat you back to vent his anger?
"He's gone now. Yuanzi is all alone. If we don't take care of him, who will?"

"Of course. As long as we have food, we will give Yuanzi something to eat. But..."

Wang Lei opened his mouth and sighed:
"Zhang Lao Er said he would take Yuan Zi with him and recommend him to work in the city, or even work with his eldest brother. Zhang Lao Da is now a warrior official. Do you think it would be a good idea for Yuan Zi to follow them? At least he won't starve to death."

Li Lan frowned:

"Is this happening?"

She thought about it and shook her head uncertainly:

"If Yuanzi could go to the county town to make a living and have someone to take care of him, it would be fine.

"But why do the two Zhang brothers suddenly think highly of Yuanzi? As the old saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. It's a bit strange.

"Besides, with the character of the two Zhang brothers, if you follow them, you will become a crooked person. I don't think it will work... but you should ask Yuanzi yourself after some time."

Wang Lei nodded in agreement:

"You're right. Well, the autumn harvest is over anyway. I'll go to the county town to find a job in the winter. That way we won't have to go through hard times."

"Thank you for your hard work, Boss."

……

Xie Yuan returned to his own courtyard, where he was well fed and well-dressed, and his cotton-padded clothes were warm. He immediately became full of energy and started chopping wood again.

Seeing the progress gradually increasing, he didn't want to stop. After chopping the firewood in the yard, he went to the foot of the mountain to chop wood.

There were bald trees everywhere, so Xie Yuan didn't have to run far. He just brought the wood back after chopping them down, chopped them into piles, and tied them into firewood. In addition to giving them to Wang Lei and Li Lan, he also exchanged them for a little money from other villagers.

He was now more skilled and could chop more firewood. The weather was getting colder, so even if the firewood from the bald tree could not be sold at a good price, he could always exchange it for a few sesame cakes a day, which meant he would not starve to death.

"It's good that the weather is cold... This is 'Poor man, with only thin clothes on, worried about the cheap coal, wishing for cold weather'."

Sleeping in a leaky wooden house, Xie Yuan had a personal experience of this famous quote that has been passed down through the ages.

Relying on the help from Wang Lei and Li Lan, as well as the pennies he managed to earn, Xie Yuan spent three busy days chopping wood.

Three days later.

铎。

With one blow of the axe, the wood broke in two, and the progress finally increased the last bit.

【Chopping wood (100/100)】

(End of this chapter)