The teahouse's business was not good; the general environment was like this. Even though Jiang Wan had the tea from that century-old tea tree as the shop's treasure, the customers who came were few and far between.
Jiang Wan was not in a hurry. Instead, she let Jiang Xiao accumulate more management experience while the place was still busy, so that when business recovered in the future, she wouldn't be flustered.
Jiang Xiao thought it made sense, so she dedicated herself to the teahouse. As for Xiao Bao, he was taken by Jiang Wan to practice martial arts.
Xiao Bao was too weak, and this weakness was not physical. With Jiang Wan around, Xiao Bao's deficiencies had long been resolved. Xiao Bao's weakness was reflected in his personality and psychology.
This child was not old, but he had experienced quite a lot, so Xiao Bao was extremely timid and fearful of trouble.
This kind of flaw could not be improved with superpowers; it could only be slowly guided to make him stronger.
However, if he continued to stay by Jiang Xiao's side, Xiao Bao's personality would develop more and more in the direction of weakness. Jiang Xiao doted on the child too much, which was understandable, but Jiang Wan felt that she could not let it continue.
Xiao Bao was still young, and it was a good time to cultivate his character. He couldn't wait until his personality was set before trying to correct it, as that would be very painful.
So, Jiang Wan took Xiao Bao away.
She thought Jiang Xiao would be heartbroken and try to stop her, but to her surprise, Jiang Xiao only shed tears of reluctance before resolutely turning around and handing Xiao Bao over to Jiang Wan.
She knew it was unlikely for her to have the heart to teach Xiao Bao herself, but she had taken to heart what the divine doctor Jin had said that day.
She couldn't shield Xiao Bao from all storms for her entire life, so Xiao Bao had to learn to grow.
Jiang Wan was known for being "ruthless." Xiao Bao was terrified of her. After the first day of training, Xiao Bao was exhausted and scared, and he developed a fever that night.
Chen Yuezhi prepared medicine for Xiao Bao and, while boiling the medicine, said to Jiang Wan, "Xiao Bao is still young, don't train him too hard."
Jiang Wan said, propping her feet up, "Don't worry, his fever tonight isn't from exhaustion, it's purely from fear. This child is too cowardly. If he's not trained out of it, my eldest sister will be dragged down by him to death in the future."
This was indeed the case.
Chen Yuezhi still felt more sorry for her own daughter, so she didn't say anything else. After boiling the medicine, she took it to Xiao Bao.
Xiao Bao originally thought that since he was sick, he wouldn't have to learn martial arts from his demon aunt anymore. But the mother who had held him and cried the night before pushed him in front of his aunt again the next morning. Xiao Bao was devastated.
"Mom, I don't want to learn martial arts, I want to stay with you."
Jiang Xiao hardened her heart and pushed Xiao Bao away. "Xiao Bao, if you don't learn martial arts with your aunt, what will happen if Mom encounters danger in the future? Mom is counting on you to protect me in the future. You are a man, you must stand tall."
Xiao Bao refused to listen, crying and refusing to go.
Jiang Wan didn't bother arguing with him. She directly dragged him away. "Little brat, if you keep crying, today's training will be doubled!"
Xiao Bao was so scared that he immediately stifled his cries.
While training Xiao Bao, Jiang Wan did not slack off herself. She pulled Gu Chenzhou over to be her coach and taught her Qinggong.
Jiang Wan had never neglected the practice of tying weights to her legs. After tying them for more than half a year, she had long grown accustomed to the weight on her legs. When the weights were removed, Jiang Wan felt lightheaded and almost fell over.
Gu Chenzhou quickly supported her. "Be careful. When you first remove the weights, you must be careful. Being too impatient can lead to injury."
Jiang Wan held onto Gu Chenzhou's hand, seizing the opportunity to absorb some energy. After she got used to it, she let go of Gu Chenzhou and began to move.
Her feet felt unprecedentedly light. Jiang Wan felt as if she was floating when she walked. As long as she picked up speed, she could levitate, but only for very short distances, about a meter.
She tried jumping up, and good heavens, she could easily jump three to four meters high.
Gu Chenzhou exclaimed after watching, "Your talent in learning martial arts is astonishing. If you put in the effort to learn, you could surpass me in less than two years."
Jiang Wan waved her hand. "I don't want to inflict suffering on myself. My current skills are more than enough for self-preservation. With this Qinggong, I also have escape skills. Why learn anything else? Do you expect me to roam the martial world in the future?"
She had no such intentions. She just wanted to live a peaceful life and be a wealthy and leisurely rich woman.
Gu Chenzhou thought she was too unmotivated, but then he realized she really didn't need to live such a hard life.
Although her family's conditions were average, her parents were loving, her brother and sister-in-law were harmonious, and her entire family doted on her. Such a life was something many people could only dream of.
Making her practice martial arts was indeed asking for trouble.
So, Gu Chenzhou said no more, and only focused on teaching her Qinggong.
To learn Qinggong well, it must be combined with internal cultivation methods. Gu Chenzhou was initially worried that Jiang Wan would not understand, but after listening a few times, Jiang Wan easily grasped and mastered it.
Gu Chenzhou was somewhat discouraged.
In the past, people around him all said he was intelligent and had high comprehension, learning everything quickly. But when he learned Qinggong, it took him several days to grasp the essence of the internal cultivation method.
At that time, his master and father praised him extensively, saying he would surely achieve great things in the future.
He had always believed this.
As a result, this slightly plump young girl in front of him understood it in just half an hour.
The gap was not ordinary.
Jiang Wan saw his dejected look and didn't know how to comfort him.
In fact, the main reason she could understand it so quickly was that her actual age was much older than when he learned internal cultivation methods.
But was this something she could say?
So, she could only let him continue to be depressed.
Time passed quickly with the family's efforts, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of February.
At this time, it was already the season for sowing.
Although the situation remained grim, the people of Yao County still sowed their crops on time. After all, grain was their fundamental means of survival. Although they didn't know when this chaotic era would end, if they didn't sow, they would face starvation.
They couldn't do nothing just because they were afraid of unrest.
On the eve of sowing, the villagers approached the Jiang family, wanting to rent the ten mu of land that the Jiang family had reserved for themselves.
"Da Pan, you don't have enough people to farm now. You rely on the restaurant and teahouse, and the money you earn in a day is enough to buy a year's worth of grain. There's really no need to bother with farming."
This logic sounded reasonable.
But Chen Yuezhi still did not agree.
Jiang Wan did not understand. "Mom, I think they have a point."
Chen Yuezhi tapped her forehead. "You are still too young. If what he says were true, why would those wealthy families keep hoarding land? No matter what the food is, grain is the most important. If things get truly chaotic, even if we have money, we may not be able to buy grain."