Chapter 1: Bloodline Family Tree
Dongxi Village.
On the small path at the head of the village, Xu Chuan, wearing a straw hat, a coarse linen vest, and with his trousers rolled up, carried a hoe on his shoulder and two large green fish tied with straw in his hand as he walked into the village.
The afterglow of the sunset stretched his shadow long, and his bronze skin shimmered.
"San Shu, time to go home."
Under a large Sophora japonica tree ahead, an old man with slightly graying temples gently fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan.
Upon seeing Xu Chuan, he greeted him warmly.
Seeing the large green fish in his hand, the old man smiled slightly, "Good harvest today."
"Chen Bo, enjoying the cool air again?"
"It's just the mischievous Heavenly Dao. On such a hot day, only your physique can endure this long under the scorching sun."
Xu Chuan grinned.
He was over 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure. Among the men in Dongxi Village, he wasn't considered burly; in fact, to others, he might have seemed a bit slender.
However, Xu Chuan had never been sick since childhood.
The villagers all said that Xu Chuan was blessed and favored by the Heavenly Dao.
But that wasn't actually the case.
Xu Chuan was a Transmigrator.
He had a bit of talent.
He was born into an ordinary commoner family. His Father, Xu Ping, was a long-term laborer for the wealthy Xu family in Dongxi Village.
When he was three years old and still naive, his mother passed away.
At fifteen, Xu Ping also passed away due to overwork.
With the wisdom of his previous life, Xu Chuan learned things very quickly and was excellent at farm work.
The Xu family also valued him greatly. After his Father passed away, to retain him, they doubled his wages.
But Xu Chuan still resolutely resigned from the Xu family's work.
He used almost all of his savings to buy ten mu of rice paddies.
The villagers all said that Xu Chuan was short-sighted. The Xu family was a famous wealthy household within a ten-mile radius, and it wasn't easy to become their long-term laborer.
Xu Ping had worked for the Xu family his entire life, and at first, Xu Chuan was only able to be a long-term laborer for the Xu family because of his own Father.
Now, he had simply resigned, making way for others.
But Xu Chuan didn't think so.
How could working for others compare to the drive one had when working for oneself?
Of course, he also felt that after fifteen years of low-key development, it was time to establish his own household.
As a Transmigrator, Xu Chuan was born with a 【Bloodline Family Tree】, but currently, the family tree only had one page, and on the first page, there was only Xu Chuan's name.
To be on the family tree, one had to drip Blood on it for the name to appear.
Xu Chuan accidentally discovered this when he was six years old, and he was still a 【Three-Noes Youth】.
【Xu Chuan: Xu Family, first generation】
【Spiritual Root: Incomplete】
【Talent: None】
【Bloodline: None】
Afterward, the 【Bloodline Family Tree】 spawned three talents: 【Dragon's Vigor and Tiger's Might】, 【Daily Divination】, and 【Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence】.
All of them were used on himself.
【Dragon's Vigor and Tiger's Might】 kept him energetic and full of Qi and Blood every day.
Naturally, he was free from illness and disaster.
【Daily Divination】 allowed him to divine good and bad fortune once a day.
Most of them were neutral readings, neither good nor bad.
This was also related to Xu Chuan's low-key nature and his avoidance of trouble.
【Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence】: As long as one perseveres in anything, one will gain something.
Even if the amplification was ordinary, year after year, it far surpassed ordinary people.
In terms of farm work, he was now an expert in that field, and many commoners in Dongxi Village had sought his advice.
Farmland was the lifeblood of commoners, so he had good interpersonal relationships.
In addition, Xu Chuan was also skilled in woodworking, cultivating fruit trees and medicinal herbs, and knew a bit about archery.
Through his own efforts, Xu Chuan got married at the age of twenty. His wife was also the eldest daughter of an ordinary commoner family, named Bai Jing.
She was three years younger than him, had a delicate appearance, and was diligent and kind.
They were a perfect match.
Six years passed, and Bai Jing bore him two sons. Currently, she was pregnant with their third child, and in two more months, it would be time for the birth.
"Chen Bo, I won't chat with you anymore; I still need to go home and see my wife."
"Go, go. Just remember to call me for a drink when the baby is a month old."
"Then you remember to bring a gift."
"You never want to lose out, haha."
Xu Chuan immediately walked towards his home, arriving shortly.
Grayish-white walls, dark green tiles, a square courtyard. In the northeast corner of the courtyard, there was a tall pear tree, laden with large green pears, bending its branches.
As he reached the doorway, he saw two children with their bottoms sticking up, crouching in the corner of the courtyard wall, their two pairs of dark, round eyes looking at something unknown.
Hearing footsteps, the two turned their heads.
Upon seeing Xu Chuan, they immediately broke into bright smiles, running and shouting, "Father, you're back!"
"Father, it's big green fish! I want to eat big green fish!"
"No problem, but the first bite of fish soup must go to your mother, understand?"
The slightly older child nodded sensibly and said, "Mother is pregnant with little brother, and she's very tired, so naturally, Mother should eat first."
"Shitou is so well-behaved."
"What about me, Father?"
The slightly younger child looked up and asked, his eyes blinking, full of anticipation.
"You're well-behaved too."
The older one was named Xu Mingwei, five years old this year, nicknamed Shitou.
The younger one was Xu Mingyuan, three years old, nicknamed A Yuan.
"By the way, what were you two just crouching on the ground looking at?"
Xu Mingwei pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "There are many small ants, crawling in neat lines on the ground."
"Are the ants moving house? It seems it will rain tonight."
"Father, what is 'ants moving house'? Will it rain tonight? How do you know?" Xu Mingwei tugged at Xu Chuan's clothes, asking incessantly.
Xu Chuan smiled wryly, "Do you still want to eat fish soup tonight?"
"If you keep blocking Father, you won't get any."
Upon hearing this, the two looked as if the sky was falling and quickly moved aside.
Then they pushed Xu Chuan towards the kitchen, eagerly saying, "Father, hurry, hurry!"
At this moment, Bai Jing, with her big belly, walked out, supporting herself on the doorframe, her face still showing the red marks from just waking up. "Husband, you're back. I overslept. I'll go make dinner now."
"No need, wife, you rest. Tonight, your husband will make dinner."
Xu Chuan smiled gently and entered the kitchen.
First, he washed rice, lit the fire, and cooked, then used a cleaver to scrape off fish scales and clean the entrails.
After finishing, he made seven or eight cuts on each side to allow the fish meat to absorb more flavor when cooked.
Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan stood quietly by the side, watching, their mouths watering, the drool audibly dripping onto the ground.
"Shitou, go check the chicken coop, see if there are any eggs."
"Okay, Father."
Xu Mingwei scurried over, his small hand fumbling in the chicken coop, pulling out two eggs, then excitedly ran back to Xu Chuan's side.
"Father, here."
Xu Chuan took them, placed them aside, planning to make scrambled eggs with scallions later.
"Also, you and A Yuan go herd all the chickens in the yard back into the chicken coop."
Xu Mingwei pulled Xu Mingyuan's small hand, and they went to herd the chickens again.
A moment later.
Xu Mingyuan's crying could be heard.
Xu Chuan stopped what he was doing and ran over to see Bai Jing holding Xu Mingyuan, gently patting his back, comforting him.
"What's wrong?" Xu Chuan asked.
Xu Mingwei said, "Father, A Yuan was knocked down by the rooster's wing, fell to the ground, and then cried."
"A Yuan, a true man doesn't cry. In a few days, Father will get revenge for you."
Xu Mingyuan sniffled twice and indeed stopped crying. "Father, you promise?"
"Has Father ever said something he didn't do?"
"Come, let's pinky promise."
"Mm."
Xu Chuan went back to continue cooking.
More than half an hour later, the family happily began eating at the Eight Immortals table.
The two little ones remembered Xu Chuan's words and gave the first bite of fish soup to their mother. Bai Jing was very touched.
Night.
It began to pour rain.
Inside the room, Bai Jing suddenly said, "Husband, soon, the third child will be born. Why don't you add another layer to that bunk bed?"
"No rush for now." Xu Chuan smiled slightly. "The third child can sleep in an infant bed first."
"As for later, I plan to expand the house in a few years, adding at least three more rooms. The courtyard is also a bit small. When the population grows, the children won't have enough space to play."
"I'll listen to Husband." Bai Jing nodded, then thought of something. "Then, do we need to rent a few more mu of land? After all, there will be another mouth to feed, and Shitou and A Yuan's appetites are getting bigger and bigger."
"Wife, you've considered everything very thoughtfully." Xu Chuan looked at Bai Jing and smiled again. "However, renting is out of the question. Starting last year, the fruit trees on the ten mu of land have begun to bear fruit, and this year's yield will only be more."
Bai Jing said no more.
A wife follows her husband; everything in the Xu Family was naturally decided by Xu Chuan.
Moreover, she knew that Xu Chuan was extremely capable. Since she married him, the Xu Family's life had visibly improved each year.
Of course, more importantly, Xu Chuan cared for her immensely.
She had not married the wrong person.
There was only one thing she regretted.
That was, despite Xu Chuan's Dragon's Vigor and Tiger's Might, she couldn't completely satisfy him.
Bai Jing's gaze kept moving downwards, and she said somewhat shyly, "Husband, tonight, let your concubine help you."
"Thank you, wife."
Not long after, faint panting and appreciative sounds could be heard in the room.
The sound of the Xiao was rustling.
The lingering melody echoed.