From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 12 Birthday Banquet

The next day.

Xu Fugui returned to the village from Baihe Mountain early, carrying 200 kilograms of firewood to Liu's house and sold it for 90 coins.

I stopped by the butcher's and bought pig's trotters and pig's ears, and weighed two pounds of pork, which cost me 180 wen. This year's drought and poor harvest have caused the price of pork to rise sharply.

When I got home, I saw Jiazhen boiling water.

He went to the chicken coop and caught an old hen, killed it, plucked its feathers, and cleaned it.

The couple worked for two hours, and when it was almost dark, they finally prepared a table full of delicious food.

Xu Xiaogou just returned home after evening practice and everyone was there.

"Children, serve the food!"

The greedy children drooled as they brought the dishes to the eight-immortals table in the main hall.

Today is Xu Xiaoan’s third birthday party, and Wang Qian arrived on time again.

She came dressed up specially, with thick rouge and powder on her face, and carrying a few boxes of cakes in her hands.

"Sister Qian has arrived just in time. Please take a seat."

Xu Fugui warmly welcomed Wang Qian into the house and sat her in the main seat.

"Auntie."

Xu Xiaoniu greeted shyly.

"Aunt Qian, you look so beautiful today. You are dressed so beautifully. I will dress like this when I grow up."

Hearing Xu Xiaoxia's words, Wang Qian felt sweet in her heart and giggled, "Xiaoxia is really good at talking. Auntie is old now, not as good as she was when she was young."

She is one year older than Jiazhen and is thirty-four this year.

At this age, many village women have become old and pale. Although she takes good care of herself, it is difficult to hide the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

As she spoke, Wang Qian glanced at Jiazhen and saw that she was still as beautiful as ever, not at all like a mother of five children. She kept sighing in her heart: Time never defeats beauty.

Jiazhen is busy on weekdays, but it's all housework. Xu Fugui never lets her do farm work or heavy work that doesn't expose her to the wind and sun.

There is another important reason: love between husband and wife.

Seeing Jiazhen’s rosy complexion, Wang Qian thought that their married life must be harmonious and fulfilling.

----

While they were chatting, the sumptuous birthday banquet began.

The children ate with relish and enjoyed themselves very much.

Xu Xiaoniu remained silent and concentrated on eating.

Xu Xiaoxia had a new hairpin in her hair that Xu Xiaogou bought for her. She ate while taking care of six-year-old Xu Xiaoyun.

Xu Xiaogou ate while standing. Wang Qian knew why: he must have been beaten up yesterday.

Three-year-old Xu Xiaoan was holding a rattle in his hand and shaking it, making a dong dong sound. No matter how Jiazhen coaxed him, he refused to put it down.

Wang Qian looked at the lively scene at the Xu family and felt that although raising many children at home was difficult, it created a different atmosphere.

After dinner, when Wang Qian was about to leave, Xu Fugui winked at Jiazhen.

Jiazhen took out three taels of silver and said, "Sister Qian, these three taels of silver are for buying tonic medicine for Sangou. Just ask Brother Du to give him a dose of tonic every ten days."

A set of tonic costs three hundred coins, and three taels of silver means ten sets.

After Xu Fugui beat up San Gou last night, he discussed it with Jiazhen. Since he was practicing martial arts, he had to become famous.

From then on, they bought three tonics for Xu Xiaogou every month, and he took them once every ten days, the same frequency as other children who practiced martial arts.

"Well, you are really willing to give up on your children."

Wang Qian accepted the silver.

Xu Xiaogou next to him was both excited and confused. He didn't understand why his parents bought him tonic even though he was beaten yesterday?
----

After seeing Wang Qian off, washing the dishes, and cleaning, Xu Fugui took Xu Xiaoan to a secluded side room. "I can nourish the precious tree with my offspring's bloodline again. I wonder what changes will happen this time."

Xu Fugui sat on the chair and put Xu Xiaoan on his lap.

"Xiao An, be good and don't move."

After coaxing Xu Xiaoan into submission, he gently placed his hand on his head and muttered, "I, Xu Fugui's fifth son, Xu Xiaoan, am three years old today! May he be safe and sound, have everything go smoothly, and be free from illness and disaster in his life!"

A faint breath emanated from the Baihui point on the top of his head, flowed into Xu Fugui's body, and then entered the space inside his body and merged with the family's treasure tree.

Xu Fugui looked inward. The treasure tree was now 3.3 meters tall, and the area around it had expanded to a 3.3-meter radius. From the top of the tree, four branches branched out, each representing one of his children.

Xu Xiaoniu is 13 years old, and the branches are 1.3 meters long. Xu Xiaoxia is 12 years old, and the branches are 1.2 meters long. ...

At this time, the fifth branch is emerging from the crown of the tree.

Slender green branches emerged from the trunk, growing to 30 centimeters long in the blink of an eye, and dotted with a few tender green leaf buds.

At the same time, a green fruit the size of a quail egg grew at the top of the tree, in the middle of the five branches.

"Initiation Spiritual Fruit?"

Xu Fugui thought of the first time the initiation fruit appeared. This was the case. Seeing that the fruit was no longer growing, it was obvious that it needed more blood from descendants to ripen.

"It's a shame we can't afford to raise more children."

he thought.

Raising five children was already the limit, and now Xu Xiaoyun and Xu Xiaoan were still young, and the family income was enough to support them. But when Xu Xiaoyun and Xu Xiaoan grew up, teaching them martial arts would be even more difficult.

"When the children grow up, let them have children. All my grandchildren are my descendants, and their blood and energy can nourish the treasure tree."

This is his plan.

It will definitely be difficult at the beginning. He and Jiazhen will have to work hard to raise the children, and then things will be easier in the future.

According to the information about the "family treasure tree" in Xu Fugui's mind, his offspring can only be the children of male members of the family, not female members.

For example, Xu Xiaoxia is the daughter of Xu Fugui, and she is considered to be his descendant.

But this is not the case with Xu Xiaoxia’s children, whose bloodline cannot nourish Xu Fugui’s precious tree.

Similarly, if Xu Xiaoniu had a daughter, then her daughter, Xu Fugui's granddaughter, would also be a descendant of the Xu family, but her granddaughter's children would not be.

The common understanding is: if a woman wants to get married, her offspring will not be considered as the bloodline of the Xu family.

----

Another two months passed in the blink of an eye.

In the depths of winter, a heavy snow suddenly fell, easing Xu Fugui's worries.

In the early morning, he and Xu Xiaoniu walked out of the courtyard and looked at the ankle-deep snow outside. They exhaled hot air and said, "Finally, it's snowing. Auspicious snow means a good harvest."

"With such heavy snow, there will definitely be no drought next year!"

Xu Xiaoniu expressed his vision for next year's weather and walked towards the fields.

After the heavy snow, there was definitely no farm work in the fields, so the two of them were used to getting up early to practice standing meditation.

Xu Fugui opened up the Ren and Du meridians a few days ago, and he was only one point away from completing the first level of standing meditation.

"I'll try to master it today."

he thought to himself.

The two hadn't walked far when Xu Xiaoniu noticed something was wrong: "Dad, what's going on over there?"

In the direction of his finger, the white snow and dirty soil mixed and gathered together, standing out in the vast expanse of white.

Xu Fugui looked in the direction and saw a series of footprints extending from the field to the distant village.

"Oops!"

He quickened his pace and ran over there, stepping into the field with one foot deep and one foot shallow, making a rustling sound on the snow.

(End of this chapter)