Chapter 79: A Grand Gesture

◎Miss Yu Lian is up to something big again◎

While the Hua family was having their meal, the courtyard had already become the scene of a hog slaughter. Butcher Zhang was an expert in his craft, and before long, the pig was ready. That noon, the entire village enjoyed a special wild boar feast.

The villagers, with grease on their lips and contented hearts, naturally developed a fondness for Zhu Ying, the hero who had slaughtered the pig. Especially after learning that he was the very hero who had saved Hua Tianqu, Hua Zhan, and others, they showered him with praise, addressing him as "Hero" at every turn.

Yu Lian observed this situation, concluding that if the young hero wished to stay in the village, it would pose no problem. The village chief, who usually wore a sour face towards her family, was surprisingly courteous to this skilled martial artist, Zhu Ying.

After the hog roast, it was already late afternoon. Seeing that there was still daylight left, Yu Lian and Mrs. Chen called the three children over for a chat.

They asked what the trio had been up to that day.

The twins hesitated, reluctant to speak.

But Little Guo'er whispered, "We went to collect honey. Second Brother and Third Brother said the honey would help Grandma, Mother, and Sister-in-law regain their strength. It's sweet."

The twins blushed; they were also eager to taste the honey themselves.

Upon hearing this, the three elders' hearts softened, and they couldn't bear to blame the children anymore.

Yu Lian scooped Little Guo'er into her arms, observing how the twins' tails were practically wagging in the air after receiving their grandmother's praise. She pulled them over as well for a collective lesson.

She said, "It's not wrong to have good intentions when doing something, but you must also consider your capabilities. You're still young, and your skills are not even comparable to an amateur's. How could you dare take your younger sister up the mountain? If danger were to arise, who among the three of you would be able to protect her? Just like this time when you got lost and encountered a wild boar. If Brother Zhu Ying hadn't passed by, you might have lost your lives. Have you thought about how your grandmother and parents would feel?"

"From now on, you must consider if you are capable of doing anything before attempting it. If you can't, you should seek the advice of adults and not act on your own initiative. Do you understand?"

The trio nodded so vigorously that their heads seemed about to fall off. It seemed like Little Guo'er had truly taken the lesson to heart. However, Yu Lian noticed that the twins were still rather heedless. She sighed, then an idea suddenly crossed her mind: If Zhu Ying intended to stay here, his martial arts prowess could make him an excellent martial arts tutor for the three children.

Changing the habits they had formed wouldn't happen overnight; it would require patience and gradual teaching. But if they learned powerful skills to protect themselves, it would mitigate many potential dangers.

She kept this thought to herself for the time being and decided to observe whether Zhu Ying would indeed stay.

At that moment, the dark-skinned, handsome young man was chatting with her father-in-law in the courtyard.

After a while, he entered the house hesitantly, without saying much. Instead, Hua Zhan spoke up, "After our home was rebuilt, we have more space and empty rooms. There's even an unused courtyard. I thought we could let the young hero stay there temporarily."

As he spoke, he glanced at the matriarch and his wife.

The elder lady had no objections but merely expressed curiosity, "Young Hero isn't traveling anymore?"

Zhu Ying's dark face flushed slightly, and nobody noticed. He whispered softly, "I've traveled enough. I want to find a place to settle down. You see, my entire family is gone... there's nowhere for me to go."

His face turned even redder after finishing his words. His backstory was not entirely fabricated; it was actually the tale of another underling named Zhu Qing. Zhu Qing hailed from a martial arts clan. When he was young, his family was embroiled in a conflict within the martial world, leading to their demise. Only he survived, saved by a blind servant, and later encountered their master.

In reality, Zhu Ying was an orphan with an unknown origin. He survived by begging and stealing, wandering the streets. By chance, his innate talent led him to steal their master's purse, which eventually landed him under the master's tutelage.

Their master was only a few years older than him back then.

Recalling this, Zhu Ying deeply regretted not using Zhu Qing's name. Once their master returned, he could reveal his true identity, and Zhu Qing would take the blame. He could always disguise himself if necessary.

Listening to his story, the elder lady felt sorry for the young man. He had lost his family and had no home to return to. The homeless were always objects of sympathy. With a kind smile, she said, "Then you can stay here. If you feel at home, you can purchase some land from the village chief in the future and settle down. It would be best if you marry a wife and have children, creating a family of your own."

Zhu Ying was moved to tears, responding loudly with an enthusiastic yes!

Yet, Yu Lian's eyes sparkled with amusement. She believed that the young man had planned from the beginning to play the part of a pitiful soul to gain sympathy and stay. She didn't expose him, as the elder lady had already begun considering which village girls would be suitable for Zhu Ying.

The empty courtyard was adjacent to the one where the children studied, nestled even closer to the foot of the mountain. Beyond its walls lay a slope.

Zhu Ying resides here, distant from the ladies, which is quite suitable.

He happily moved in with his sword, then went to a cave on the mountain to retrieve his belongings. Every time he needed to bathe or change clothes, he had to journey to this cave, making it rather inconvenient. Now that everything has been brought to light, life seems more promising.

The next day, Hua Tianqu arrived early to teach the children. Before commencing his lessons, he first paid a visit to the Hero's courtyard as a courtesy, then proceeded to the classroom.

Despite their fright the previous day, the three children were unharmed and full of energy, eagerly seated around a small table, awaiting Little Master Teacher's class. Little Guo'er was the most attentive listener, while the twins kept stealing glances outside the courtyard.

Frowning, Hua Tianqu asked them what they were looking at.

In unison, the twins replied, "Watching the Hero!"

Hua Tianqu glanced outside and saw the Hero lounging on the wall, one leg resting on the knee of the other, munching on a vibrant green cucumber, an aura of leisure and contentment surrounding him.

Hua Tianqu frowned, observing the twins' persistent gazes outside. With his hands behind his back, he stepped out and stood beneath the wall, looking up. "Hero..."

Zhu Ying looked down with a grin. "What's up?"

The young man's face was serious. "I'm teaching, and the children are reading. Your presence here might disturb us."

In the morning, the young lad had come with reverence, but now he was chasing him away with a serious expression. Zhu Ying found it increasingly amusing. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What if I don't leave?"

The youth scowled. "Then I'll tell Miss Lian."

Zhu Ying promptly jumped down from the wall, almost losing his balance and spoiling his heroic image. Before he landed, he said, "I didn't know about your rule against outsiders watching your lessons before. Now that I do, I'll leave. Just don't go making false accusations."

With that, Zhu Ying leaped away. Hua Tianqu turned back to his room with his hands behind his back, thinking that Miss Lian indeed held a special place in the Hero's heart. The Hero was afraid of leaving a bad impression on her, hence his fear of the youth's report.

The twins sighed in disappointment. They had wanted to learn martial arts, especially lightness kung fu and swordplay, from the Hero. When he rescued them, his posture had been so cool.

Having retreated from there, Zhu Ying hastened to the front courtyard to curry favor.

He knew that playing the sympathy card could only gain temporary compassion. To genuinely win over the master's family and secure his position, he needed to take concrete actions to prove himself as a good person, a truly good person!

By the end of the day, his efforts hadn't been in vain. At least, he had scored full marks with Concubine Mei and the old matriarch. Concubine Mei praised the young hero as a fine boy, diligent and hardworking. He helped chop wood, stoke the fire, fetch water, and even bathed and shaved the pigs. He was a boy unafraid of hardship, fatigue, or dirt.

She felt that having the young hero around was a real benefit to her. Normally, when she did all the work by herself, it felt exhausting, taking a whole day to finish. Today, he completed everything in just half a day, and she no longer had to wait for Lord to return for heavy tasks like chopping wood. In conclusion, the young hero was a good person!

The old matriarch also thought highly of the young hero, a fine boy who even offered to massage her shoulders.

Indeed, martial artists were knowledgeable about the body's acupoints; they could easily identify and alleviate discomfort. Little Bamboo massaged my head and neck, and I felt much more relaxed. This child is truly sensible.

The term "Little Bamboo" was now used affectionately.

For dinner, we had noodles with simple boiled eggs and vegetables. Those who preferred a stronger taste added some pickled vegetable bits to their bowls. Aunt Mei deliberately gave Hero an extra half egg from her own share as a token of gratitude for his help today.

Grandma warmly urged Zhu Ying to eat, constantly praising him as a good child. Hua Zhan treated him politely, while the children looked at him with admiration.

Yu Lian observed all this and concluded that this young man was skilled in social interactions. He seemed to have won over everyone in the family in just one day.

However, she was unaware that Zhu Ying was actually quite worried. The person he most wanted to please was the young mistress! After all, she was his master's wife, and in the future, his master might even be henpecked. If the master turned out to be a henpecked husband, everything would depend on his wife's decisions. What would become of them, his subordinates? If he could win the young mistress's favor first, perhaps his master would have to curry favor with him in the future!

Zhu Ying believed his strategy was sound, but the young mistress was too capable and beautiful, making it inconvenient for him to get too close or know how to approach her.

Fortunately, he was not as straightforward and unyielding as Zhu Qing; he was quite resourceful. He quickly realized that the young mistress was troubled by the situation on Mount Pan. She had spent the entire day dealing with it. Why not help alleviate her worries and naturally gain her favor?

Moreover, upon feeling the warmth of the two thousand taels of silver in his pocket that his master had sent previously, he knew it was ready to be put to use.

However, he couldn't simply flash the silver notes around, for fear of arousing suspicion.

What idea did Zhu Ying come up with? He went to the village chief's house, sword in hand, and the next day, the village chief approached Yu Lian himself, offering to lease them the mountain temporarily until they could afford to buy it. The lease would last three years, during which the mountain would belong to their family and they would have priority to purchase it.

Thus, Yu Lian managed to rent the mountain for three years at the cost of fifty taels of silver. Both she and her family were perplexed; the village chief had always disliked them, so it was unexpected that he would change his mind.

The village chief's son, Tong Luo, was out for a stroll when Yu Lian caught up with him for an explanation. Tong Luo replied, "My father... holds great respect for the hero. He said it's all because of the hero's favor."

In Tong Luo's eyes, his father seemed to have a tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong. He was intimidated by the skilled hero. When the hero visited their home and had a private conversation with his father, his father emerged looking worn out, with no clue about what the hero might have said.

Only then did Yu Lian realize that Zhu Ying was also involved in this matter. She sought him out for clarification, and the young man waved his hand dismissively. "I just told him that if there's anything in the future, he can count on me. I'm not good at much, but I do know some martial arts."

He didn't mention the following part: "I can take lives as well as save them."

Zhu Ying initially planned to buy the mountain outright, but later deemed it unwise. As a man of the Jianghu, carrying such a large sum of money and suddenly offering it to someone else would raise suspicions, even if the village chief was afraid of him. Zhu Ying had no choice but to resort to the tactic of intimidation.

Furthermore, he had observed that the young mistress didn't actually need external help; she was quite capable on her own. As long as he could support and watch over her on behalf of his master, and protect her when necessary, she would thrive admirably.

After descending the mountain, Yu Lian secluded herself in her quarters for several days, commandeering the kitchen. Finally, she successfully concocted her first batch of fruit preserves, revealing to her family her ambitious plan.

Simultaneously, Yu Lian embarked on a large-scale recruitment drive.

Only then did the villagers realize that Miss Lian was up to something grand once again.

The first person Yu Lian hired was Hua Sanduo. She instructed him to procure sapling seeds for fruit trees and engaged others to commence clearing land on the mountain for an orchard and apiary. The focal point would be the wild apricot grove where they had previously spotted bees, expanding outward from there, eventually connecting to the riverside plot at the foot of the mountain.

Since the storyline involving business ventures is not the main focus, it will be condensed and accelerated. It's rather unfortunate that the male lead has yet to make an appearance after nearly 300,000 words!