This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 2: Everyone Has a Rich Relative

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Everyone Has a Rich Relative

Learn martial arts!

When Lin Yan said this, the atmosphere in the courtyard changed in an instant.

His aunt, Madam Liu, wiped the water from her hands, feeling a bit lost. She never would have imagined her nephew would say he wanted to learn martial arts.

"Mom, I got beat up."

Just as Aunt Liu was at a loss for how to respond, the figure of a rowdy child pushed open the door and came in.

Lin Mo’s eyes were red, and his face was streaked with black fingerprints. He had clearly been crying, the marks left behind by fingers that were hardly any cleaner than coal.

Although the little guy was shouting for his mother, his gaze was fixed on Lin Yan.

The two cousins were very close. In the past, whenever he was bullied, his older cousin would always be the first to get revenge for him.

But today, Lin Yan didn’t move.

Seeing his mother ignore him and his older cousin remain indifferent, Lin Mo felt incredibly wronged and burst into tears.

Aunt Liu glared. "Go wash your hands and then eat. If you keep crying, you won’t get any food today."

The crying stopped abruptly.

Lin Mo’s eyes darted around. Sensing the tense atmosphere, he began to walk toward the well, sniffling. He obediently washed his hands and headed for the main house.

"Yan’er, why the sudden desire to learn martial arts?"

Aunt Liu looked at her nephew. She had to find out if someone had been deceiving Yan’er.

"Auntie, when I was at the shop, I overheard a customer say that a county in Qing State Prefecture was hit by a disaster. The price of grain skyrocketed several times over, and many families who were once reasonably well-off are now struggling just to survive. Guangping County has had good weather for years, but who’s to say a flood or drought won’t come one day."

"Even if a disaster strikes, as long as the family has stored some grain in advance, we can always get through it. Isn’t that how everyone manages?"

Aunt Liu didn’t quite understand why her nephew was bringing this up. What did this have to do with learning martial arts?

"Auntie, even if we have enough grain stored to survive, life will only become harder than before. If it goes on for several years in a row, it will be difficult to even stay alive."

Lin Yan’s words made Aunt Liu’s face turn pale. "That... that’s the heavens devouring people! But... but surely the heavens are merciful. It won’t get that bad. Besides, our county has had good weather for years."

"Auntie, our county hasn’t had any disasters in years. Logically, the price of grain shouldn’t be rising; it should be stable or even falling. But the price at the rice shops keeps going up. It’s because the population is growing. A family has two sons, and those two sons have four grandsons... But the amount of land is fixed, and the grain yield doesn’t increase. With more people and less grain, the price is bound to rise."

Seeing the confusion that still lingered on his aunt’s face, Lin Yan sighed inwardly.

’It’s not that Auntie is foolish, she’s just had a different kind of education.’

’Auntie doesn’t understand the consequences of production failing to keep up with population growth.’

Aunt Liu indeed didn’t know what "production" meant, but she understood what her nephew was saying.

Take her own maiden family, for example. In her generation, there were four siblings. But now, the number of her nieces and nephews totaled more than a dozen. They certainly needed a lot more grain.

"Auntie, the money we earn in a month can buy three bags of rice now, but in the future, it might only buy two. If a natural disaster really does strike one day, I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford even one bag."

Lin Yan’s expression was serious. "In all the major disasters that have hit the county over the years, the only ones unaffected are the families of Martial Artists. If the Lin Family wants its line to continue, the only way is to learn martial arts and become a Martial Artist."

The continuation of one’s family line was a matter of utmost importance to the people of this world.

Just as Lin Yan expected, when he mentioned the family line being cut off, his aunt’s expression grew panicked.

"That’s right! Older Cousin should learn martial arts! Once he does, no one will dare to bully me anymore."

Lin Mo appeared at the doorway, holding his rice bowl, his eyes shining brightly. "Wang Da Chui only dares to hit me because his older sister married someone who practices martial arts."

"Get back to your food! All you know how to do is cause trouble and get into fights outside. Has it been so long since your last beating that you’re itching for another one?"

Listening to her son’s words, Aunt Liu was fuming. All these years, in order to do right by her brother-in-law and his wife, she had always been strict with Yan’er, but in turn, had been somewhat neglectful in disciplining Mo’Er.

"I... I didn’t start it! It was Wang Da Chui and his friends! They said... they said Mom is a widow, and... and that Older Cousin sleeps in the same bed with you at night."

Aunt Liu’s face turned pale, while Lin Yan’s expression darkened. "Little brother, shut your mouth."

Vicious gossip was unavoidable, no matter where you went.

This was especially true among the lower classes. Spreading such vile rumors and speaking ill of others was the only way for them to feel a sliver of superiority.

"Yan’er, come with me."

After a long moment, Aunt Liu made her decision and walked toward the side room on the left.

Besides the main house, the Lin Family home also had side rooms on the left and right. Lin Mo currently lived with his aunt in the main house, while Lin Yan occupied the side room on the right. The left side room was used to house the ancestral tablets of the Lin Family.

Following his aunt into the left side room, he saw that it housed the ancestral tablets of the Lin Family, as well as those of his parents.

Aunt Liu first picked up the incense sticks from the altar table, lit three, and placed them in the incense burner. After carefully straightening the slightly crooked burner, she finally spoke. "Yan’er, your grandparents had three sons and one daughter. But your second uncle and third aunt died before they could grow up, leaving only your father and your uncle."

"Your grandmother passed away early, and your grandfather passed away the year after your father and mother were married. Your father was only eighteen then, and your little uncle was just nine. Before your grandfather died, he tasked your father with raising your little uncle to adulthood."