003 The First Skill: Tai Chi Boxing

“Yes, I know.” Although he was aware that his plot of land was the smallest among his father's generation, and that he hadn't been allotted any farmland or vegetable gardens, Chen Anquan harbored no resentment toward his second uncle and the others. “I plan to fix up the old house.”

“Your grandfather’s old house is built of mud and bricks. No one’s lived there for decades. You'd be better off staying with us,” his second uncle said as he walked toward the liquor cabinet in the main hall.

A moment later, he took out a rusty key and handed it to Chen Anquan. “No one has lived in your grandfather’s house all these years. Your aunt and I have been looking after it, so we’ve stored quite a few things there.”

“I’ll need it. I might sleep at your place tonight, but I’ll move into Grandpa’s house tomorrow,” Chen Anquan replied with a nod.

It all made sense. The house had been unoccupied for years, and the main door key was kept at his second uncle’s home. They were using it as a storeroom, keeping odds and ends there—it wasn’t unreasonable.

Key in hand, Chen Anquan left the main hall. His backpack and suitcase, for the time being, he left at his second uncle’s house.

“There’s quite a lot of stuff; I’ll come help,” his second uncle said to his wife before following Chen Anquan outside.

At the doorway, he called back to his wife inside, “Don’t forget to make dinner for Anquan tonight.”

The two of them left the courtyard, walked along the edge of the pond, and reached the basketball court, where at the far west end stood his grandfather’s mud-brick house.

This so-called mud-brick house had walls about a meter high made of fired bricks as the foundation, with the upper walls fashioned from earthen bricks of yellow clay, and a roof of black tiles.

Chen Anquan examined the nearly vanished courtyard, then approached the door with the rusty key.

He inserted the key into the blackened lock, turned it, removed the lock, and began pulling at the iron bolt.

This hand-forged door bolt was not only sturdy and reliable, but also particularly difficult to open.

Chen Anquan gripped the handle, gathered all his strength, and managed to slide the bolt open only with great effort.

The bolt screeched, issuing a sound as harrowing as the wail of a slaughtered dog.

“This door is rarely opened; it’s a bit rusty, so it’s tough to get open,” his second uncle explained.

Chen Anquan nodded; he understood. Still, even with his strength slightly above average, it had taken a surprising amount of effort.

He put the matter out of his mind and pushed open the twin wooden doors.

At that moment, a massive swarm of bees burst forth from the main hall.

They filled the air, nearly occupying the entire space.

“So many bees!” Chen Anquan was startled, instinctively retreating out of the hall.

Bees could sting. He’d heard that being stung by hundreds at once could be fatal.

“Don’t worry! They won’t attack unless provoked,” his second uncle said calmly, striding into the hall and pointing at the beam overhead. “Look, there’s a beehive up there.”

Chen Anquan watched the thick swarm buzzing around his uncle, noticing none made any move to attack. Summoning his courage, he stepped inside.

The constant hum of bees in his ears made him uneasy.

He looked up. Sure enough, where the wall joined the ceiling was a beehive the size of a large watermelon, with bees busily coming and going.

Satisfied that these were docile honeybees, Chen Anquan finally turned his attention to the furnishings of the hall.

Mountains of old, battered furniture and farm tools were piled up, nearly filling the entire space; only a narrow path remained, just wide enough for one person to pass, leading to the rooms on either side.

He glanced left and right and found those rooms were also occupied by old furniture and tools.

Chen Anquan frowned.

How on earth was he going to clear all this out?

His second uncle chuckled. “Anquan, you’ve been living away for years, and no one stays here, so we ended up storing a lot of things.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just clear out one room for now.”

He had no intention of staying long-term at his uncle’s house. Though his uncle’s single-story home was far more comfortable, this house was his own; he’d feel more at ease living here.

The two worked for several hours before they finally cleared out a larger room.

Now, the room was empty, with a floor of uneven yellow earth, covered in dust and wood shavings.

Seeing the room was nearly ready, and dusk was creeping in, his second uncle suggested, “Anquan, let’s head back for dinner and tackle the rest tomorrow.”

“All right,” Chen Anquan agreed.

Much as he wanted to sleep here tonight, it simply wasn’t possible. The house was still full of furniture and tools, and the one empty room wasn’t clean—there wasn’t even a bed.

On the way back to his uncle’s house, Chen Anquan pulled up his status panel:

Name: Chen Anquan
Age: 24
Strength: 1.21
Agility: 1
Spirit: 1
Constitution: 0.82
Unused Attribute Points: 0.01

His strength had increased by 0.01, his constitution likewise by 0.01, and he’d gained an extra 0.01 in unused attribute points.

Chen Anquan was astonished. He’d merely spent a few hours cleaning, and his attributes had improved?

Hauling out all that furniture and equipment was certainly hard labor. It wasn’t unreasonable for his strength and constitution to rise.

He hadn’t expected, though, that exercise alone could boost his stats. The thought filled him with anticipation.

Back at his uncle’s house, he saw the Eight Immortals table in the main hall already set with dishes.

His aunt glanced at his uncle. “I was just about to call you for dinner, and here you are.”

Chen Anquan quickly finished his meal, then went to take a hot bath.

Bathing required first heating water over a coal stove, then mixing it with cold water in a bucket.

As his aunt leisurely ate her meal, sipping watered-down rice wine, she remarked to her husband, “Jintang, why has Anquan suddenly come back? The old house is full of our things. If he moves in, where will we put our stuff?”

Her husband, cheeks flushed and a bit tipsy, shook his head and replied, “The house was allotted to him. Now that he wants to live there, we can’t really stop him.”

His wife rolled her eyes, unwilling to accept that their storage space was being reclaimed. “I bet he’ll only stay a few days before leaving again. Just clear out one room for him—don’t touch the rest.”

“Well…”

“Anquan will sleep in Zhengzheng’s room tonight; I’ll go make up the bed.”

Meanwhile, Chen Anquan was fiddling with his attribute panel in the bath.

He’d be living in the countryside for some time, and with such poor constitution, how could he adapt?

He allocated his unused attribute point to constitution, raising it to 0.83.

After his bath, Chen Anquan came into the main hall and was taken aback by the sight of a 19-inch square Changhong color TV on the liquor cabinet.

“White Crane Spreads Its Wings…”

Suddenly, a new entry appeared on his attribute panel:

Skill: [Taiji Fist LV0 (0/100)]