Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

Marry a wife together?

What belongs to the elder brother is yours.

What do you mean?

Polyandry?

Qiu Zhen was shocked by his elder brother's words.

After achieving Foundation Establishment at the hundred-day mark, his ears did not gain divine powers like his eyes, failing to activate 【Heavenly Ear】, but his hearing did become exceptionally sharp.

Even in a noisy environment, he could hear clearly and would not misunderstand.

Seeing his elder brother, Qiu Qing, looking serious, even with a hint of pleading, he understood that his elder brother was not joking but had made a serious decision after careful consideration.

"This…"

Qiu Zhen's mood was incredibly complex.

Marriage in this world is relatively diverse. Most ordinary families are monogamous, while wealthy families have one wife and multiple concubines.

As for polyandry, it mostly exists in remote areas, among extremely poor families.

With little farmland and no good livelihood, the brothers are so poor that they resort to the special situation of two or even several brothers sharing one wife.

Relying on two or three adult laborers, supporting a family and having children is not a problem.

The emergence of "polyandry" is a desperate choice under harsh circumstances.

However, the Qiu family is not poor enough to be in this situation.

The family owns ten acres of land, and with careful cultivation and some odd jobs and side hustles, supporting a family is not a problem.

The two brothers were raised this way.

Regardless of the national laws or clan customs, the heir to the Qiu family's ten acres of ancestral land is the elder brother, Qiu Qing. At most, the younger brother can divide the parents' property equally with the elder brother after their death.

Qiu Zhen is truly propertyless and unemployed, while his elder brother is not.

With Qiu Qing's conditions, having ten acres of land, it wouldn't be difficult to find someone to arrange a marriage and take a wife properly. There's no need for the two brothers to share one wife.

"Brother, there's no need to do this."

Qiu Zhen shook his head repeatedly, resolutely refusing his elder brother, Qiu Qing.

However, he felt a faint sense of gratitude in his heart.

Everyone has selfishness and possessiveness.

Qiu Qing, the elder brother, is just over eighteen, with a simple nature and little experience in the world. His words are somewhat childish and haven't been considered deeply or for the long term.

However, just having this intention is very rare.

Even Qiu Zhen, with his steadfast Dao heart, was somewhat touched.

"Brother, you should marry and have children. You don't need to worry about me."

After speaking, Qiu Zhen's tone was extremely firm as he said:

"I will definitely become a martial master and make a name for myself."

"Alas ~"

Qiu Qing was not surprised by his younger brother's reaction. He sighed and said:

"Little brother, I know you're strong-willed and want to make your own way, but don't force yourself too hard. You have a handsome appearance and the skill of concocting medicine. With your medical knowledge, opening a small pharmacy and running it would solve the problem of finding a wife. That's also a path."

"You practice martial arts every day, and your savings are probably not enough to open a pharmacy. Mom and Dad have some money. Setting up a pharmacy wouldn't be a problem."

As he spoke, Qiu Qing became energetic and talked incessantly:

"You don't need to worry about Mom and Dad. They can't really be angry with you. I'll step in and smooth things out. You just go home and open a pharmacy."

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of a twig snapping under a knee rang out.

In the firelight, Qiu Qing's dark face was full of excitement and sincerity.

Qiu Zhen was stunned.

In fact, in the previous ten years or so, he had a good relationship with his parents.

Parents love their youngest son, and he was good-looking and obedient from a young age, so his parents naturally doted on him.

However, the relationship deteriorated after he became enlightened.

It's not that he, with two lifetimes of experience, didn't know how to behave and please his parents.

It was just that the "generation gap" between them was too big, separated by an entire world.

In some small matters, Qiu Zhen went along with his parents, and they lived in peace.

However, on certain major life choices, he would never compromise.

Speaking of which, he, with his handsome looks, had been noticed by a wealthy family in a neighboring village a few years ago, who wanted to recruit him as a live-in son-in-law.

Qiu's father was overjoyed when he heard this, thinking it was a good way out and readily agreed.

Qiu Zhen was shocked.

The glamorous, freeloading live-in son-in-law is mostly a product of artistic embellishment, like the scholar who falls in love with a female ghost or fox spirit in the stories told by storytellers in the market.

A "live-in son-in-law" is essentially a "tool" recruited into a family with daughters but no sons to reproduce and continue the family line. They are dependent on others, have a low status, and are truly insignificant.

Good things don't come their way, but corvée labor and border service are indispensable.

In the woman's family, they have to endure grievances and contempt, and ultimately, all their labor belongs to others.

Perhaps, in the eyes of Qiu's parents, this was a way out.

But in Qiu Zhen's eyes, it was undoubtedly a mire of life, a pitfall.

Once you fall in, it would be difficult to climb out, and you would have to take many detours and spend a lot of effort.

Therefore, he went to the wealthy family's door as soon as possible and canceled the engagement.

This incident caused Qiu's parents to lose face, and it was the beginning of the breakdown of their relationship.

However, what truly made it impossible to repair the relationship was not the "cancellation of the engagement" but the fact that after Qiu Zhen started working at Qingmu Pharmacy, he didn't give all his wages to Qiu's parents but kept most of it for martial arts training.

Before the family was truly divided, all money was "common property."

The earnings of Skinny Monkey Shen Liang and Big Head Zhao Dou from working at Qingmu Pharmacy, except for basic expenses, were basically all brought home and given to their parents.

Qiu Zhen's behavior of "withholding" and only occasionally supplementing the family was undoubtedly "unfilial," selfish, and showing no regard for his parents or family.

This world is not as enlightened as later generations. All parents are "patriarchs."

Parents' words, arranged marriages, control of finances, and absolute authority.

Qiu Zhen didn't do many "disobedient things," but each one was fatal. Any one of them was an outrageous "scoundrel's act."

Judged by outsiders, he was a complete "unfilial son," a selfish act.

If it were an ordinary teenager in his teens, even with a steadfast Dao heart, it would be difficult to withstand the pressure of worldly public opinion.

Qiu Zhen was different.

With two lifetimes of experience, he deeply realized that now was the most critical period for him to accumulate initial capital and grow rapidly.

His own resources were not enough, and giving all the surplus from his labor to supplement the family would undoubtedly cut off the path to advancement, making it difficult to turn things around in his life.

Even if he encountered a good opportunity and had ideas, the result would be that he was short of money and couldn't put them into action, and he would easily miss the opportunity.

The reality was also true. Without savings, he couldn't rent a small courtyard in Xiangyang Village. If he cultivated the Golden Silk Immortal Technique in Qingmu Pharmacy, there would be too many people and eyes, and if he was exposed for seeking immortality, it would definitely leave hidden dangers.

What changing fate against the heavens all turned into illusions.

This is like encountering a dangerous shoal, and Qiu Zhen is venturing across the river alone.

As long as he crosses, he will have experience, and the whole family can cross the river by feeling the stones.

But it is basically impossible for a whole family to cross the river together. Qiu's parents would not take the risk and would only wait in place, living a mediocre life.

In the end, the entire family can only stagnate and find it difficult to turn things around.

Many people in later generations can understand this view, but in this world, there are few who understand it.

"Brother, the matter of opening a pharmacy in our hometown can be discussed later."

Qiu Zhen shook his head and refused, without explaining too much, but changed the subject:

"By the way, big brother, why do you have time to come to town today? Has something happened at home?"

"Nothing happened at home."

Seeing that his younger brother didn't take his words, Qiu Qing didn't continue to preach, but just sighed in his heart:

"The mountains are a bit uneasy. There are many more ferocious beasts around than usual. People from several villages in our township came to town together to buy some weapons and ferocious beast traps. I came to see you by the way…"