Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 2 Family
The weather was getting colder, but it was still warm at noon.

Yang Jing sat on an old square stool, leaning against the door of the main room, basking in the sun while considering his future plans.

"Feng Lei, you don't need to say anything more. Our family has no plans to sell the land."

Suddenly, a quarrel broke out outside the courtyard gate. Some of the voices were familiar; they were none other than my grandparents' voices.

"Hmm?" Yang Jing frowned, stood up, and was about to go out to take a look.

He had just stood up when he saw his mother, Liu Cuiling, wearing a gray apron and carrying a kitchen knife, rushing out. At the same time, she didn't forget to tell Yang Jing, "Jing'er, don't come out, wait at home."

Yang Jing didn't actually hide at home. He followed her to the courtyard gate. Liu Cuiling glanced at Yang Jing who had come out, said nothing, but simply moved her body to block Yang Jing's way.

Five men stood in front of the courtyard gate, all dressed in coarse cloth short jackets. The burly man in the lead had his chest open, revealing a tuft of black hair on his chest, and his face was menacing.

Yang Jing received the original owner's memories and knew the identities of these people. They were all local thugs who ran rampant in the village. The leader, a burly man with black hair, was named Feng Lei, and the other four were his henchmen.

"Yang Shouzhou, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

“The two acres of land in your northern area are now all under Master Ning’s control. I advise you to be smart and keep your eyes open.”

"There are some people you can afford to offend, and some you can't."

“Master Ning is kind and willing to pay for your land. If it were any other wealthy and powerful man who took a liking to your land, he could easily use any means to make you lose not only those two acres of prime land, but also not a single penny.”

Feng Lei crossed his arms over his chest, highlighting the thick muscles on his arms, and made a threatening statement with a forced smile.

Upon hearing Feng Lei's threat, the faces of the Yang family members all paled slightly.

They knew very well that what Feng Lei said was not an exaggeration. In this day and age, some landlords and powerful families would stop at nothing to seize land.

"My patience has its limits," Feng Lei sneered. "Master Ning said he'll give you another month to think it over. After a month, Master Ning won't want these two acres of land anymore. Then, hmph—"

Feng Lei's fierce gaze swept across the faces of the Yang family members, his threat evident in his words.

Standing in front of his courtyard gate, Yang Jing clearly heard Feng Lei's words. "Is this what they call 'courtesy first, then force'? If the Yang family refuses to sell those two acres of prime land to that Master Ning a month from now, I'm afraid these people will start using harsher methods."

Feng Lei turned around, his gaze finally landing on Yang Jing, who was standing to one side behind Liu Cuiling. Under Yang Jing's gaze, he grinned slightly, revealing a cruel sneer.

He knew that the Yang family's son had joined a martial arts school in the city, and he was initially somewhat hesitant.

Just half a month ago, this young man from the Yang family actually fainted from fright in an old house. He knew that old house, but it looked a bit eerie and there was absolutely no way there could be any ghosts there. When he was down on his luck before, he even slept in that abandoned house for a few nights.

With a mindset like that of the Yang family boy, even if he really practices martial arts, he won't amount to anything and will be expelled from the martial arts school sooner or later.

Feng Lei's concerns lessened considerably, and he began to exert further pressure on the Yang family.

This kid's such a coward, maybe I could scare him with just a glare. A thought popped into Feng Lei's mind, and he quickly looked away, raising his left arm and beckoning lightly, "Let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the four henchmen followed Feng Lei away, leaving only the Yang family members in front of the courtyard gate.

Only then did the neighbors dare to gather around to comfort him, while also condemning Feng Lei and his ilk for their wicked acts of aiding and abetting evil.

After exchanging a few words, the old man, Yang Shouzhou, called the group back to the courtyard.

Back home, everyone looked preoccupied.

Feng Lei's threat just now cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

Old Master Yang Shouzhou took out a pipe, frowned, and sat on the steps of the main room door, puffing away.

Mother Liu Cuiling lowered her head and went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

"If all else fails, we'll sell those two acres of farmland. Jing'er needs money to practice martial arts anyway," the old man said, tapping his pipe.

“Circumstances are beyond our control. Master Ning wants to connect the land in the north of the village into a whole, so he must have his eyes on our two acres of land. Sigh,” Grandmother Qin sighed.

"Let's wait and see. Didn't Feng Lei say he'd give us another month? Let's try to find some connections and see if we can get Master Ning to give us more time." The old man said with a deep frown, "It seems that Yan'er's in-laws have some connection with Master Ning's housekeeper. I'll have Yan'er inquire about it later."

“Alright, I’ll have Yan’er ask,” Grandmother Qin nodded, her eyes falling on her grandson standing to the side, and she felt a little more at ease. “Once Jing’er has mastered martial arts, what are a few acres of land? Our family might even be able to achieve the same prosperity as the Ning family.”

As Yang Jing listened to his grandparents' conversation, his heart sank slightly.

The Yang family had accumulated 22 mu of land over several generations, including 5 mu of superior land and 17 mu of inferior land, making them one of the largest families in the village in terms of land holdings.

In order to support Yang Jing's martial arts training, they have now sold off only the last two acres of upper-grade land and ten acres of lower-grade land.

Only the Yang family had a solid financial foundation; even after selling so much land, they were still able to support their family.

However, those two acres of fertile land have now been coveted by local powerful figures.

"Father, Mother, Jing'er, let's eat."

The mother, Liu Cuiling, poked her head out of the kitchen, looked at the three people in the yard, and called out.

Then, the food was brought from the kitchen to the stone table in the courtyard, and the family sat around the table to eat.

Yang Jing sat down next to his grandfather and looked at the food on the stone table.

His bowl contained glistening white rice.

The other people's bowls contained brown rice mixed with some wild vegetables.

There were two more dishes on the table. One small plate had seven or eight pieces of pork ribs, another small plate had steamed unidentified wild vegetables, and a small bowl contained some pickled vegetables.

"Jing'er, eat meat."

Grandpa Yang picked up the small plate containing the ribs and placed it directly next to Yang Jing. Then, he picked up a piece of dark green cornbread that looked very hard, took a bite, and then put a piece of pickled vegetable into his mouth.

Yang Jing felt a pang of sadness watching his grandparents and mother eat only wild vegetables and pickled vegetables that were clearly unpalatable. But after spending time with them, he knew he couldn't go against his family's wishes and had no choice but to accept it.

dong dong dong.

While the four were eating, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

The group's expressions changed, fearing that the villain Feng Lei had returned.

"I'll go take a look." Liu Cuiling put down her chopsticks and was about to get up.

"Don't go, old woman, you go." Old Master Yang looked at his grandmother.

Grandmother Qin was not fat, but rather tall. However, her back was already somewhat hunched, making her appear shorter. At this moment, she was wearing a faded coarse blue shirt, and her gray hair was loosely tied up with an old wooden hairpin.

Grandmother nodded, stood up briskly, and tiptoed to the back of the courtyard gate. She looked out through the crack in the gate and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to Grandpa Yang and said, "It's the eldest son's."

After she finished speaking, she opened the courtyard gate.

Two figures walked in from outside the courtyard gate.

One was a middle-aged woman with a sallow complexion, her hair haphazardly tied back with hemp rope, and her brown robe covered in patches, with the cuffs worn so that the cotton wadding was showing.

Beside the middle-aged woman was a similarly thin boy. Because he was so thin, his cheekbones protruded slightly, and his lips were almost bloodless. However, his back was very straight at the moment, and his gaze was on the food on the stone table, or more precisely, on the small plate of ribs.

"Father, mother."

"Grandpa, Grandma." The middle-aged woman and the thin boy bowed to Grandpa Yang.

As the two entered, Yang Jing and his mother, Liu Cuiling, also stood up.

Liu Cuiling watched the ragged mother and son warily, especially noticing the boy's gaze fixed on the ribs on the table, her expression darkening slightly.

"Sister-in-law is here," Liu Cuiling said casually.

Yang Jing's gaze also fell on the two people who entered the courtyard.

He gained the original owner's memories, and naturally also learned the identities of the two people in front of him.

Grandpa Yang and Madam Qin had two sons and one daughter: their eldest son, Yang Guang; their father, Yang Gang; and their youngest daughter, Yang Yan.

Of the three children, Old Master Yang favored his youngest son, Yang Gang, who was Yang Jing's father. When the family property was divided, most of the land and belongings were given to his second son.

After the family split up, she lived with Qin Shi and her second son.

A few days ago, the government was transporting grain and fodder to the front line in Caozhou to the east. They recruited some strong and brave men from the local area to help with the transport and offered them a high price.

Considering Yang Jing's extravagant lifestyle, the father and family discussed it at length. Unable to reach a consensus, he disregarded his family's objections and directly signed up to join the grain transport team.

It was only a few days after the grain transport team had set off that Old Master Yang learned that his eldest son, Yang Guang, had also signed up to join the grain transport team.

The mother and son in front of us are Xue, the wife of Yang Guang, the eldest uncle, and Yang An, the son.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Old Master Yang said, looking at the two of them. "Sit down and eat with us. Old woman, move over so that your eldest daughter-in-law and Xiao An can sit there."

Old Master Yang knew about his eldest son's family situation; they were barely scraping by, if not starving. Otherwise, his honest and dutiful eldest son wouldn't have signed up for the team that was going to the front lines in Caozhou to transport grain.

Xue and Yang An sat in the seats arranged by Old Master Yang. Whether it was a coincidence or not, they were facing Yang Jing directly, and were also the furthest away from the plate of spare ribs.

"Brother An, have some meat."

At this moment, Yang Jing pushed the plate of spare ribs in front of him forward, a natural smile on his face, and looked at his cousin Yang An.

Having received the original owner's memories, Yang Jing knew that his uncle's family was now living such a miserable life because of his family. When the family divided the property, Old Master Yang gave most of the superior and ordinary fields to his second son, Yang Gang's family, while his uncle's family received very little land and belongings.

If it weren't for the fact that Yang Jing's martial arts training took so much to spare, his family would be living a much better life than they are now.

Yang Jing's sudden action startled everyone.

Mother Liu Cuiling frowned, a hint of anxiety flashing in her eyes.

Grandpa Yang also paused slightly.

In this day and age, meat is incredibly precious. Old Master Yang only invited Yang An and his mother to have a meal with him, but he didn't intend for them to eat meat. In this family, only Yang Jing was entitled to eat meat because he was practicing martial arts. Once he succeeded in his martial arts training, the entire family would rise to prominence, changing the future of the family.

Both Xue and Yang An were extremely surprised.

They were surprised that Yang Jing would offer them meat.

In the past, when Yang Jing occasionally saw them, although he did not show it obviously, he had an air of arrogance and would never speak to them.

“I don’t want to eat it,” Yang An shook his head, took a bite of the dry and hard cornbread in his hand, “You eat it, you need to eat meat to practice martial arts.”

Yang An originally longed to eat meat, but Yang Jing's sudden modesty made him reserved. After saying no, he wished he could hit himself a couple of times.

The next moment, he saw a pair of chopsticks holding a piece of pork rib, which was placed in front of him and on top of the steamed bun in his hand.

Gulu.

Yang An swallowed hard, then looked up at Yang Jing opposite him, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

"Xiao An, eat up, eat up." Old Master Yang waved his hand. Although he felt it was a pity to let Yang An eat the rib, he was also very gratified to see the two brothers who seemed much closer to each other.

"Mrs. Xue, is there something you need?" Old Master Yang turned to Mrs. Xue and asked.

Madam Xue raised her head and said, "Father, I would like to borrow some money from you. Xiao An also wants to practice martial arts, but his father and I are still short of six taels of silver for the apprenticeship fee we have saved for him. I would like to borrow six taels from you."

After Xue finished speaking, everyone present was stunned.

puff.

Liu Cuiling couldn't help but laugh out loud. She looked at Xue Shi and shook her head, saying, "Sister-in-law, do you think anyone can practice martial arts? It's not that simple. Martial arts requires innate talent. Without it, even if you practice for a hundred years, you won't master anything. When Jing'er became an apprentice, his innate talent was specifically checked. He was only accepted as an apprentice after he was deemed qualified to practice martial arts."

Grandmother Qin nodded in agreement. "What the second son's wife said makes sense. If learning martial arts were so easy, there wouldn't be so few people practicing it in our village. Besides, the cost of learning martial arts is too high. We've already sold our cattle and land to support Xiao Jing's training alone. We can't afford to support Xiao An's training any longer."

Grandpa Yang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He didn't speak, but his attitude was clear.

Clearly, they did not support Yang An's martial arts training, nor did they lend Xue any money.

"Father—" Madam Xue exclaimed anxiously upon seeing this.

When the family divided their property, the old man only gave the eldest son six acres of land. Over the years, they encountered several difficulties and sold four acres. In addition, the harvest has been poor in the last two years, and the family's rice and grain are almost gone. They are struggling to make ends meet. As Yang An grows up, the two acres of land alone are not enough to support the family. Whether Yang An goes to the city to become an apprentice or to practice martial arts, money is needed.

My husband went to the front lines in Caozhou, but I don't know when he will be able to return.

Now, her father-in-law is Xue's only hope.

“Auntie, why don’t we let An’ge practice with me first? Although I can’t pass on the martial arts of my sect, I can teach An’ge some methods to temper his qi and blood. This can be considered as laying a foundation. Later, when we have saved enough money, he can formally become an apprentice. With a foundation, he can progress faster.” Yang Jing looked at Xue Shi and said.

After the sound faded, the courtyard fell silent.

Yang An, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared intently at Yang Jing. He had never imagined that Yang Jing would be willing to teach him martial arts; it was as if he were meeting his cousin for the first time.

Madam Xue was taken aback, and then she couldn't help but get excited.

At this moment, Liu Cuiling frowned, turned to look at Yang Jing, and said seriously, "Jing'er, don't be silly. You are at a crucial time in your martial arts training. How can you be distracted? The most important thing for you now is to master martial arts. Only when you have the skills can you take care of the family. That's how you live up to the expectations of your grandparents, uncles, aunts, your father, and me!"

"Mother, I know what I'm doing,"

Yang Jing shook his head and explained to his mother, "What I taught Brother An were just some simple methods for strengthening the body and qi. It mainly depends on Brother An's own efforts. It won't interfere with my own martial arts practice. Moreover, the master said that the process of teaching others is also a process of reviewing, deepening and mastering the skills. It can only benefit me and not harm me."

Liu Cuiling looked at Yang Jing with a skeptical expression, "Really?"

"Really!" Yang Jing nodded with a smile.

Liu Cuiling didn't say anything more, and looked at Old Master Yang.

Although the old man is old, he still holds the highest position in the family. Many important decisions are made based on his authority, including the division of the family property, Yang Jing's martial arts training, and the subsequent sale of land.

"Hmm—" Old Master Yang pondered for a moment, and finally nodded. "Alright, for now, Jing'er, you will teach An'er martial arts. But remember, you must not neglect your own martial arts training. Only if you master martial arts can our family have a future."

"Yes, Grandpa," Yang Jing nodded solemnly.

“Jing’er, you come home to collect money on the first and fifteenth of each month, so why not use that time to teach your brother martial arts?” said Old Master Yang.

(End of this chapter)