014 Willing to Be Free Labor

Chen Anquan switched on the light and selected what looked to be the sturdiest wooden bed, carefully moving it into the room he had just cleared out for himself.

As for why he chose the sturdiest bed, well, everyone probably knows the reason... Heh heh.

After a quick sweep of the floor, Chen Anquan checked the time—it was already past eight in the evening.

He still hadn’t bought a mat, mattress, or bedding, so it was clear he wouldn’t be able to sleep in his old house that night.

“Anquan, we’ve brought your things over!”

Just then, his second aunt’s voice rang out from outside the door.

Surprised, Chen Anquan stepped outside to see his second aunt and uncle, each holding a pile of bedding as tall as themselves.

He recognized all these items—they were the ones he’d used before, belonging to his cousin Li Anzheng.

“Uncle, aunt, how can this be? What will Anzheng sleep on when he returns?”

His aunt laughed, carrying the stack of items inside. “Don’t worry, we have more at home. When Anzheng comes back, we’ll just make up another bed.”

About half an hour later, Chen Anquan’s new bed was ready.

He went back to his uncle’s house to wash up and gather his things, then returned to his old home.

Although the brick and mud house left to him by his grandfather was already dilapidated, the room was much more spacious than his cousin Li Anzheng’s.

Standing by the bed, Chen Anquan stretched out his arms and found he had plenty of room to move—perfect for practicing Tai Chi.

He glanced at the time. It was already after nine. Chen Anquan opened a short video app on his phone and began to follow along with the contemporary master of Chen-style Tai Chi.

Three hours later, as midnight approached, Chen Anquan slowly straightened his legs from a bow stance. He looked at his attribute panel and saw his Tai Chi had improved to: Tai Chi LV0 (30/100).

Still five proficiency points per hour—not fast, not slow, but steady!

* * *

The next day.

Before dawn, a faint orange glow appeared over the eastern hills.

A cool morning breeze brushed against Chen Anquan’s face.

Standing on the basketball court, he gazed at the two adjacent ponds not far away.

The moonlit water occasionally bubbled, each pop followed by a soft crackle.

Listening to the distant, intermittent barking of dogs, Chen Anquan closed his eyes slightly.

“Starting posture... step out... bend knees... relax the hips... both hands slowly rising...”

He played the instructional video aloud, set his phone on a brick, and began his practice.

Time slipped by as Chen Anquan immersed himself in the spirit of Tai Chi, forgetting the world around him.

As dawn brightened the sky, the country women, up early to wash clothes and pick vegetables, were startled to see him practicing Tai Chi on the basketball court.

Most of them didn’t recognize him; the sight of a stranger practicing Tai Chi there was quite novel.

Soon, a crowd of dozens of curious onlookers, both men and women, gathered around him.

“Anquan, why are you up so early? Let’s go have breakfast!” Just then, his uncle’s voice sounded from the crowd.

His uncle wasn’t surprised to see Chen Anquan practicing Tai Chi. He just thought it a bit odd for a young man to be out there so early; shouldn’t young people be enjoying a good lie-in on their days off?

Snapping back to himself, Chen Anquan stretched his slightly tired limbs, bent to pick up his nearly dead phone, and glanced at the time. To his surprise, he had been practicing Tai Chi for two hours!

Practicing outside, surrounded by mountains and water, felt entirely different from doing so in his room. He truly sensed a communion with nature, the unity of heaven and man. He felt the clear energy rising, the turbid descending, fully immersed in the world of Tai Chi, as if he himself were the master from the video.

As he followed his uncle, he checked his stats in his mind.

Tai Chi LV0 (50/100)

In two hours, he’d raised his proficiency from 30 to 50—ten points per hour, twice the speed of last night!

So it turns out, to truly master Tai Chi, you need the harmony of heaven, earth, and man!

After breakfast, his aunt shared her thoughts with him.

They still had three acres of rice fields left to harvest. His uncle had strained his back and might not even be able to cut the rice, so she hoped Chen Anquan could help.

He readily agreed.

After all, where else could he find exercise that boosted four different attributes at once?

Running only improved constitution and unused attribute points—nothing compared to harvesting rice!

Chen Anquan dragged the heavy threshing machine by himself along the field ridge, heading down toward the terraced paddies.

His aunt helped steady the machine at his side.

The fields, stretching out in one broad expanse, covered three full acres—among the most fertile in the whole village.

Looking at the heavy rice swaying in the wind, Chen Anquan listened to its soft rustling and muttered, “I wonder if the fields meant for me are somewhere around here.”

His voice was barely audible, but his aunt still heard him.

She gave a sheepish laugh. “Anquan, a man should have ambitions beyond his home village. There’s no future in just clinging to the family fields.”

Chen Anquan nodded. “I understand, aunt.”

He truly did think that way.

His father had four brothers. The eldest had lived in a coastal city for decades and hadn’t returned. The third lived in town and hadn’t farmed in years. The fourth also lived in town and had left the village after junior high, leaving all his land to the second brother to tend.

As for the fifth, Chen Anquan’s own father, it wasn’t possible that he’d been left without any land—his share had simply been taken over by someone else.

Chen Anquan picked up a sickle and began harvesting on his own.

Just then, his uncle, bent and leaning to the right, came over to his aunt. He glanced at Chen Anquan in the distance, judged that he was out of earshot, and said, “Zhaodi, should we give Anquan back his fields?”

The smile froze on his aunt’s face as she looked at her husband, eyes wide. “Are you crazy? Can you name a single young person within a twenty-mile radius who still makes a living farming?”

Her words left her husband speechless; he simply couldn’t think of a comeback.

“Jintang, I’m telling you, to us farmers, land is life! You want to hand over our life to Anquan? Absolutely not!”

Her husband tried to argue, “But he’s been working so hard helping us harvest these days...”

“We’re giving him food and shelter—that’s more than enough! Don’t forget, even his eldest uncle doesn’t recognize this nephew, and his third aunt actually threw him out herself.”