Chapter 230

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The food had been prepared long ago. Guo Sufei watched her little son sit there, unable to wake up. She was powerless and could only feel anxious by his side. Fearing that he might wake up hungry, she prepared fresh meals every day, ensuring he would have something delicious to eat the moment he woke up.

However, Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t woken up for several days, and the braised pork belly ended up being a treat for Zhang Xiaohu instead.

Seeing the steaming food before him, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel his appetite stir. But when he started eating, he didn’t consume much before feeling full. Even his favorite braised pork belly was only eaten a few bites, while he ended up eating more of the fresh vegetables.

Noticing that her son put down his chopsticks after only a few bites, Guo Sufei quickly asked: “Xiaohua, is the food not to your taste? I’ll make you something else. Just tell me what you want to eat.”

Seeing his mother’s flustered expression, Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly stopped her and said: “Mother, I’m really not hungry. Even though my stomach growled, after just a few bites, I don’t feel like eating anymore. Really.”

Guo Sufei didn’t believe him. She anxiously prepared to head out again, but Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to hold her back. He sat down and began eating the vegetables with exaggerated enthusiasm. Only when she saw her son devouring the food did Guo Sufei finally calm down.

After finishing his meal and drinking two sips of water, Zhang Xiaohua finally felt at ease.

As the others looked at him with curiosity, Zhang Xiaohua was just about to say something when Guo Sufei interrupted: “Xiaohua, don’t say anything yet. We know you’ve been practicing martial arts. You’ve been training continuously for such a long time—you must be exhausted. Go take a nap first.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Mother, I’m really not tired. I don’t need to sleep. When we practice internal martial arts, it can substitute for sleep.”

Of course, Guo Sufei didn’t believe him. Even though Zhang Xiaohu stood by and patted his chest in guarantee, it did nothing to sway her maternal concern.

In the end, Zhang Xiaohua was forcibly dragged by Guo Sufei to the east wing, which was Zhang Cai and Guo Sufei’s own room. She pressed him onto the kang bed and insisted that he rest.

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t want to close his eyes at first, but seeing his mother sitting by the bed, looking at him with such heartache, he had no choice but to shut his eyes.

At this moment, how could Zhang Xiaohua possibly fall asleep? Feeling bored, he thought about the divine sense he had just acquired. With a single thought, his divine sense spread out like a vast net, encompassing the entire Zhang family courtyard within its range. It felt as if he were standing atop the roof, observing all the happenings in the courtyard from above.

He saw his mother gazing at him with tender affection. He also saw his father and Mr. Liu in the main hall, chatting over tea. His eldest brother and sister-in-law were asking his second brother something, and the second brother responded with laughter, occasionally joining in the conversation with their father. The horse they had ridden back was tied to the large tree in the yard, contentedly munching on its feed. Behind the house, in the pigsty and chicken coop, the livestock and poultry were calm and peaceful.

When Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense swept over the main hall again, he was astonished to discover that he could sense the Yuan Qi in the tea. This realization made him even more curious, so he directed his divine sense toward the kitchen. As expected, there was a faint trace of Yuan Qi in the water tank, which came from the spring water drawn from the well.

This discovery filled Zhang Xiaohua with excitement. From now on, he no longer needed to sit cross-legged and rely on practicing the [Carefree Heart Sutra] to sense Yuan Qi. With his divine sense, he could perceive it anytime, anywhere.

After playing around with his divine sense for a while, Zhang Xiaohua grew restless and sat up, opening his eyes.

Guo Sufei chided him gently: “Xiaohua, why are you up already? You’ve only rested for a little while. How can that be enough? Lie down for a bit longer.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Mom, I just remembered something and really can’t sleep. Let’s go out—I need to talk to Dad about something.”

Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua was determined not to sleep and guessing that he really had something important on his mind, Guo Sufei stopped insisting and led her son back to the main hall.

Once inside, Zhang Xiaohua took out his coin pouch from his chest. He poured out some loose silver pieces and then retrieved a few small-denomination silver notes. Smiling, he handed them to Zhang Cai and said: “Father, these are some silver coins and notes I earned at Huanxi Villa. Please take them.”

Zhang Cai glanced at the silver and smiled, saying: “There’s no need, Xiaohua. Your second brother already handed over the silver coins from both of you a few days ago. You should keep these for yourself. When you’re away from home, expenses can be high, and both you and your second brother will need money. I’ve already accepted what your second brother gave me; these you two brothers should use as needed.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t respond and instead turned to Zhang Xiaohu, asking: “Second Brother, you didn’t touch the small bundle I left on the kang bed, did you?”

Zhang Xiaohu replied: “I’ve never touched your things. It should still be on your bed. These past few days, we’ve been so worried about you that I haven’t paid attention. Why? Is there something valuable inside?”

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled but didn’t explain. He stepped out to retrieve it.

When Zhang Xiaohua returned, he placed the small bundle on the table. Untying the knot, he revealed the contents, leaving everyone utterly stunned.

Inside the small bundle was nothing but a stack of silver notes!

Once everyone recovered from the shock, Zhang Cai’s expression turned icy as he asked: “Xiaohua, what’s the meaning of this? You didn’t…”

Before he could finish, Guo Sufei interrupted him: “What are you thinking, Husband? Do you really think Xiaohua would do something like that?”

She then looked at her son with a mix of surprise and joy and asked: “Xiaohua, what’s the story behind this? Tell your mother clearly.”

Meeting his mother’s trusting gaze, Zhang Xiaohua explained: “Father, Mother, all of this was given to me by Piaomiao Sect and Huanxi Villa. You don’t have to worry; everything is clean and legitimate.”

Zhang Xiaohu, recalling how Zhang Xiaohua had extorted bandits in the past, wasn’t entirely convinced. He cautiously asked: “Why don’t I know about these silver notes?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied irritably: “Second Brother, if you had the skills to beat Yuan Xing, Sect Master Ou would have rewarded you just as handsomely.”

Zhang Xiaohu shrank back and chuckled: “Hehe, I knew your time on the arena stage wasn’t wasted.”

“Arena?” The rest of the family was puzzled. Zhang Xiaolong, curious, asked: “What’s this about? Xiaohu, Xiaohua, why didn’t you mention this a few days ago?”

Zhang Xiaohua, feeling a bit embarrassed, said: “I didn’t mention it earlier because I didn’t want to worry you. It wasn’t really a big deal, just a friendly competition between two sects.”

“Tell us everything—everything!” Guo Sufei said sternly.

Reluctantly, Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to explain everything about participating in the martial arts competition from start to finish, even telling them about Chang Ge and the others.

Zhang Xiaohua was actually indifferent about the matter, but when he mentioned Chang Ge’s name, Zhang Xiaohu suddenly felt a surge of heat in his chest. His face turned a little red, and his expression became awkward. While everyone else listened intently, Liu Qian was the only one who noticed Zhang Xiaohu’s strange behavior. You couldn’t help but marvel at how sharp a woman’s sixth sense could be!!!

After hearing Zhang Xiaohua’s recount, Guo Sufei grew even more fearful, her face turning pale. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua quickly added: “Oh, I almost forgot to mention—those I fought against were all around ten years old. Don’t worry.”

Hearing this, everyone finally relaxed. After all, Zhang Xiaohua was fourteen years old—fighting children younger than him wouldn’t exactly be fair. They had momentarily forgotten that Zhang Xiaohua had just started learning martial arts, but the issue of age was more pressing in their minds.

Guo Sufei, still a bit hesitant, asked: “So because you defeated those two younger monks, the leader of Piaomiao Sect rewarded you with so much silver?”

Then she turned to Zhang Xiaohu, asking: “What about you? Why didn’t you win?”

Zhang Xiaohu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said: “Mother, that monk was older than me.”

Guo Sufei seemed to understand and said: “Oh, I see.”

Zhang Xiaohua laughed: “It wasn’t exactly like that, Mother. Piaomiao Sect rewarded me with a thousand taels, all in silver notes of ten taels each. The two thousand taels were a reward from Huanxi Villa, in silver notes of five taels each. Actually, the thousand taels was already plenty. The Villa Owner said the key was that I helped her last time. She felt bad about giving me only a hundred taels, so she gave me an extra thousand taels.”

“Three thousand taels!!!” Everyone was stunned, including Mr. Liu.

This was an enormous amount. The shock from the five hundred taels last time had not yet worn off, and now Zhang Xiaohua had brought back three thousand taels. This was truly enough to leave the Zhang family in a daze.

After a long pause, Zhang Cai finally came to his senses, realizing that this vast amount of silver was truly theirs. He signaled Guo Sufei to put the silver notes away. However, Guo Sufei hesitated for a moment, trembling as she tightly clutched the small package in her hand, then went back to the east room. It was a long while before she returned.

By the time Guo Sufei came back, her expression had regained its calm. She held a few silver notes in her hand, walked up to Liu Qian, and handed them to her. “Qianqian, you’ve been part of our Zhang family for so many years. You’ve truly worked hard. Here are two hundred taels of silver, use it to buy some jewelry.”

Liu Qian blushed when she heard this and quickly declined: “Mother, please don’t say that. I came to Guo Village not for money, you’re treating me like an outsider.”

Zhang Cai nodded and said: “Qianqian, just take it. Originally, this silver should have been used by you, but Xiaolong’s two younger brothers aren’t married yet, so we need to keep the silver. Let your mother hold on to it for now. You can consider it as pocket money.”

Liu Qian glanced at Zhang Xiaolong and then accepted the silver notes, tucking them into her chest.

At this moment, Guo Sufei’s face turned slightly gloomy, and with some worry, she asked: “Xiaohu, you’re learning martial arts in Pingyang City. Who knows when you’ll be back at Guo Village? Several families have already approached me about marriage for you. You’re not young anymore, it’s time to think about it. Your mother is getting anxious, wanting grandchildren.”

Zhang Xiaohu’s face darkened, and he angrily replied: “Mother, I’m still young! Let’s talk about this later. Besides, where did those girls run off to back then? Now that I’m back, they just want to join the excitement. I’m not interested!”

Hearing Guo Sufei’s words, Liu Qian lowered her head, tightly clutching the silver notes in her hand without saying a word.

Zhang Cai sighed deeply and lit up a dry cigarette. Mr. Liu, awkward, picked up his teacup and kept drinking water.

Zhang Xiaolong, on the other hand, gazed affectionately at Liu Qian.

For a moment, the room was silent, so quiet that even a needle falling to the ground would have made a sound.
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