On the day Li Rongzhou emerged from his breakthrough seclusion, the Li family prepared a lavish feast—plentiful fish and meat, seasonal wild vegetables, and the indispensable mushroom soup, managing to assemble nine dishes and one soup, truly a "grand banquet."

The entire family celebrated joyfully together. 

Li Pingfu, at his growing age and with martial arts training, ate like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, devouring a large bowl of rice without satisfaction, his appetite seemingly bottomless.

Li Ping'an also had no small appetite.

Even little Li Pingcan stuffed himself until his belly was round and full.

By the end, the table was spotless—even the meat juices had been mixed into rice.

"Half-grown boys will eat their father poor!" 

Li Rongzhou laughed and scolded, though secretly worried. If not for the occasional gold dust supplements, family savings, and the peach trees planted three years ago finally bearing fruit, they truly would have been spending beyond their means.

But as the children grew, expenses would only increase. How many peach trees would they need to plant to afford it all?

........

Night fell.

Li Rongzhou held Lady Qin in his arms, breathing in her warm, soft fragrance of soapberries. The excitement from his breakthrough melted into contentment. 

A loving wife, children, and warm bed—wasn't this stable life exactly what he'd worked so hard to achieve?

"Darling, you smell wonderful."

"At your age, saying such shameless things!" Lady Qin chided, though her face glowed pink in the warm candlelight, her delicate frame even more beautiful now that her husband's presence cured her previous sleepless nights.

Li Rongzhou's heart itched with desire. "I don't just say shameless things—I do them too."

"Shameless man~"

Afterwards, the couple lay comfortably together.

"Darling," Li Rongzhou said seriously, all other thoughts cleared from his mind. "I want to plant more peach trees."

Their ten acres of dry fields grew double-crop rice, yielding forty dan per acre in good years—twenty taels total income. This was their food supply, not lightly sold for silver.

The real profit came from the peach grove—about five hundred jin per acre. Their four acres earned over thirty taels, before taxes. 

But peach cultivation required heavy initial investment—expensive land, expensive saplings, long growth cycles. Three years were needed before saplings bore fruit.

The original 360 tael investment would take seven to eight years to recoup, requiring favorable weather, abundant yields, and reasonable taxes.

Li Rongzhou had calculated clearly—in his prime with Pingfu as half a laborer, present hardships would secure their descendants' future. 

Besides, money stored couldn't breed, while planted in earth it brought peace of mind.

Lady Qin calculated silently. "We have 230 taels left." She hesitated. "Won't it be too exhausting?"

Fieldwork was brutally tiring—enough to kill an ox.

"Martial training is true exhaustion. Farming is nothing!" 

Feigning nonchalance, Li Rongzhou decided: "Tomorrow I'll ask the village head about available peach land."

........

News in Peach Blossom Village spread like wind.

Word of the Li family's new four-acre peach purchase reached every household, spawning much gossip.

"Truly landlords—fleeing disaster yet keeping such wealth! Who knows how much they squeezed from tenants?"

This came from jealous rumor-mongers.

"Exactly! I tell you, that family's unnatural. Granny Wang's family lived peacefully for forty years until they arrived—then disaster struck. Strange, no?"

This from conspiracy theorists.

"Tsk, these outsiders bring no good. Even the mushrooms they gave me had worms—I didn't dare eat them!"

This from those biting the hand that fed them.

"Heaven strike them! Planting so many peaches—outsiders stealing locals' livelihoods!"

Such words were never spoken to their faces. Villagers exchanged polite smiles when meeting, yet Li Pingcan's little mushrooms heard much.

Fuming, his joy over the new peach trees faded. The locals were truly unwelcoming.

After Granny Wang's family fell into decline, relations worsened further, leaving them isolated.

Now Li Pingcan understood why his father had avoided conflicts—words could truly destroy reputations!

"Forget anger—better grind skills until they're beneath our notice!"

Having successfully helped his father's martial breakthrough, Li Pingcan grew even fonder of [Nature's Gift], dedicating himself fully.

To increase his mana pool, he began practicing basic martial forms—merely calisthenics he'd mastered three years prior.

Seeing this, Li Pingfu frowned. "Little brother, you're too young. During physical development, early training risks qi-blood depletion and foundation damage—not worth it." This was common knowledge.

"Don't worry, brother. I know my limits." Li Pingcan puffed his cheeks seriously while stretching. He wasn't truly a child.

With max-level [Moonlight Microbeams] doubling nighttime growth, his physique surpassed peers', remaining robust and illness-free for years.

Knowing his brother's usual wisdom, Li Pingfu still watched carefully until certain he wasn't overexerting before leaving.

Watching his elder brother depart, Li Pingcan simultaneously activated [Spore Growth] and [Spore Sense].

A tiny gray mushroom sprouted on his brother's clothes.

This wasn't to spy on family—the villagers' hostility bred unease. Even with martial training, Li Pingfu might struggle against malice.

As the "central monitoring system," Li Pingcan could respond fastest if trouble arose.

........

Zhou Family Training Grounds.

Though surnamed Zhou, Zhou Enxian earned village respect through his martial prowess.

Currently instructing twenty-odd village children aged eight to sixteen—all from wealthy families—he remained stern-faced.

"[Black Tiger Technique], First Form, begin!"

His sharp gaze caught every mistake, punishing errors with stinging bean flicks.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Cries echoed across the grounds as Zhou Enxian lectured: "The first form is foundational—without it, you're building houses without foundations!"

"Martial arts demand persistence—you there! No slacking!"

"Is that 'Hungry Tiger Pounces'? More like 'Lazy Donkey Rolls'!"

"Strikes must be fast, fierce, ruthless! 'Black Tiger Plucks Heart' doesn't mean literally plucking—it signifies the tiger's lethal ferocity!"

After multiple repetitions and demonstrations, he had them continue practicing.

Scanning the group, his eyes lingered approvingly on Li Pingfu—good bones, but rarer was his endurance for hardship.

Diligence brought rewards.

Present suffering became future martial advancement.

Though impulsive and competitive—unwilling to lag behind—he resembled Zhou Enxian's younger self. 

Typical youthful flaws—what was youth without spirit?

"A little tempering will polish him," Zhou Enxian mused.

But before he could devise how to refine this uncut jade—conflict erupted!