The next day, the golden sun rose in the east as usual.
The traps were also all dismantled to prevent anyone from accidentally triggering them.
In the courtyard, Xu Chuan and his son Xu Mingwei practiced the Lesser Dragon Elephant Technique together.
"Bang bang bang~"
The sounds of the two sparring continuously rang out, waking Bai Jing.
She walked out wearing her clothes draped over her, yawning as she said, "Husband, Shitou, what time did you two get up?"
Xu Chuan laughed heartily, "It's still early. Wife, you can go back and sleep a bit more."
"I'm not the lazy type. Since you're both up, husband, I should be too. Are there any clothes to wash? I'll go wash them first."
"Yes, I put them in the usual place."
"Father, will Mother discover anything?" Xu Mingwei looked at Xu Chuan with some worry.
Xu Chuan smiled, "Although we dealt with it simply, it's not foolproof. But if she discovers it, it doesn't matter. Your mother is sensible, and besides, you have your father here."
"Mm." Xu Mingwei responded, then called out, "Father, be careful. Watch my Fire Dragon Tail Sweep move!"
His left leg in a bow stance, he inhaled and raised his right knee, then exhaled as his lower leg swept horizontally like a flaming whip.
This was it, tail sweep of a thousand jun burns evil filth, foot treads to refine true fire.
The two sparred for two or three quarters of an hour, their bodies drenched in sweat, but their expressions showed no signs of fatigue.
One with Innate Divine Strength excelled in tendons, bones, and physical power.
One with Dragon Vigor and Tiger Strength excelled in sustained blood and qi.
"Poof~"
Xu Mingwei's body suddenly emitted a strange phenomenon. The next moment, he said joyfully, "Father, I've opened another acupoint."
"Youth is wonderful." Xu Chuan stopped his movements, "Practice a few more times, then rest."
"Mm."
Xu Mingwei was young with abundant vitality. In less than two years, he would be able to surpass from behind. However, Xu Chuan didn't just have Dragon Vigor and Tiger Strength, he also had Heaven Rewards Diligence.
Accumulating strength for a breakthrough.
Others became slower as they progressed, requiring assistance from blood and qi medicinal materials to open acupoints but even without assistance from blood and qi medicinal materials, Xu Chuan's speed wouldn't be slow, in fact it would be even faster.
Days passed one by one.
Recently, more and more refugees had appeared.
Some surged toward Qingjiang County city, while some simply stayed in Dongxi Village, begging for food.
The Chen Ergou family rented thirty mu of farmland and, together with their previous twenty mu, used it all to plant the fruits and vegetables Xu Chuan designated.
The green jade pear trees on the thirty mu of mountain forest were also all removed and replaced with other fruit trees.
This workload was considerable, so they also hired over a dozen refugees as temporary workers.
"Mother, there are refugees at the door." Xu Mingyuan's voice rang out.
Behind him, Xu Mingxuan poked half his head out, looking somewhat timidly at the man in tattered clothes outside the door.
The man was also pulling along a skinny, skeletal little boy of three or four years old, his eyes vacant and lifeless.
Bai Jing came out to look, swept her eyes over them, and said to Xu Mingyuan, "Ahyuan, go get some water and some dry rations for them."
"Yes, Mother."
"Thank you, lady bodhisattva!"
The man knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, his head making thudding sounds, also pulling the little boy beside him to do the same.
"No need, no need, get up quickly. The child is here, you'll frighten him like this."
"Yes, yes, yes."
The man responded repeatedly and stopped kowtowing.
Soon, Xu Mingyuan came out with food and dry rations.
After the man received them, he ate in large mouthfuls, not forgetting to let the little boy eat as well.
Xu Mingxuan suddenly thought of something and also ran back into the house, bringing out refined pastries.
These were little snacks Xu Chuan had made for him in his spare time, sweet and soft.
"This is for you. My father made it for me, it's really delicious."
Xu Mingxuan handed the pastry to the little boy.
The little boy blankly accepted it, looked at the filthy man, and only began eating after seeing him nod.
After eating one bite, brightness immediately appeared in his murky eyes.
Xu Chuan had taught him to learn to share. Xu Mingxuan hadn't felt much about it before, but after doing it this time, he felt especially happy inside.
Bai Jing comfortingly stroked Xu Mingxuan's head.
Under Xu Chuan's education, every child was extremely outstanding, making who knows how many common folk in Dongxi Village envious.
After seeing the man eat one large flatbread, Bai Jing asked, "Are you also fleeing from disaster?"
"Yes, we came from Xishan County. There was a once-in-a-century flood there. Many people were swept away by the flood, houses were destroyed, and farmland was submerged.
We were left homeless and could only leave our homes and head south."
"How pitiful. So what are your plans for the future?"
"None." The man sighed heavily, "On the way here, my eldest daughter starved to death. His mother saved the dry rations for us and also starved to death."
Thinking of something, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed again, pleading, "Please, lady bodhisattva, show compassion and take in this father and son. We're willing to be slaves and servants, just for a mouthful of food."
"Even if you can't, at least have pity on this child."
"He doesn't eat much food."
Xu Mingxuan tugged at Bai Jing's clothes, saying sympathetically, "Mother, they're so pitiful."
Xu Mingyuan watched quietly without speaking.
Whether to take them in or not, nothing they said mattered. If Father didn't speak up, Mother couldn't make the decision either. Moreover, there were said to be hundreds of thousands of refugees this time. How could they possibly help them all?
Bai Jing was somewhat troubled. After hesitating for a long while, she said, "Then you wait by the door for now. I can't make decisions. I must wait for my husband to return and let him decide."
"Yes, yes, yes. We're willing to wait. Even if it doesn't work out, it's fine."
…
Noon.
When Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei returned home, they saw the refugee father and son at the door and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"
Bai Jing walked over and briefly explained to Xu Chuan.
Xu Chuan thought for a while, "About this matter, let's talk about it again tomorrow. However, you father and son can stay first on the empty ground beside my house. This afternoon I'll have my son bring you a simple tent."
"We'll also give you some food."
"Even if we don't keep you, we'll send you off with some dry rations and water for your journey."
"Thank you, master. Thank you, master."
The Xu family had indeed reached a scale where it should gradually develop, naturally needing to take on household servants and guards but he wouldn't take just anyone.
The second day, after Xu Chuan woke up, he began using the Daily Divination talent from his destiny.
[Today's divination: Auspicious]
[You took in the Li father and son. They were once a prominent family in Xishan County. Both have martial Dao talent. Father Li's talent is average, but his son's talent is good, with hope of reaching the innate level.]
"Prominent family?"
"That skinny, skeletal little boy actually has innate-level aptitude?"
"No wonder it's auspicious. As long as I take them in, they'll be of great help to the Xu family's future."
"But if they were a prominent family, how did they fall to such a state? Most refugees are ordinary common folk, unless it was a vendetta killing."
Xu Chuan lay in bed, pondering for a long while.
Xishan County was thousands of li away. To survive and reach here, they probably had some measure of fortune on them.
"Since it's auspicious, there probably won't be any trouble behind this."
"An influence spanning several commanderies, probably only some of the great families in the commandery capital could achieve that."