As time went by, more and more people from the village came to this open space north of the village to practice martial arts during their free time. At first, it was just some young and strong men—the main force—but now, gradually, some middle-aged and even young boys could be seen, the youngest being only seven or eight years old.

Danny Goodwin also wanted to join them, but unfortunately, he was just too young and could only sit on the side and watch.

“Danny Goodwin, your mom is calling you home for dinner!”

Just as Danny Goodwin was watching with great interest, he heard someone calling him from behind.

“Got it!” Danny Goodwin shouted, glanced at the open space, stood up from his little stool, hugged it to his chest, and thumped his way home.

“Hey, wait for me!” The neighbor Emma, who had come to call him for dinner, shouted from behind. Emma was a bit older than Danny Goodwin, five years old this year, and lived right next door. The two families got along well.

“My mom told me to go home for dinner, she didn’t say to invite you! Why are you running?” Danny Goodwin hugged his little stool and ran faster and faster. Inside his three-year-old body lived the soul of someone over thirty. He already looked young enough; he didn’t want to get entangled with other little kids and end up really acting like a three- or four-year-old.

“Danny Goodwin, you’re always like this. Emma goes to call you, and you don’t even wait for her!”

At the door of Old Johnson’s house, Danny Goodwin’s mother happened to see Danny Goodwin running home with his little stool, with a panting Emma not far behind, and couldn’t help but complain.

Danny Goodwin said nothing, ran straight into the house, skillfully set his little stool on the ground, sat down, and waited for dinner. Seeing this heartless look on the boy’s face, Danny Goodwin’s mother could only sigh helplessly.

There were guests at home today, so it wasn’t the right time to scold this little rascal.

“Come on, Eddie, drink!”

The long-missed aroma of meat mixed with the smell of wine drifted into Danny Goodwin’s nose. His throat twitched, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Meat! There was meat today—because there were guests, there was meat.

Sitting on their little stools at the big table, Old Johnson’s Sam Goodwin and Danny Goodwin stared unblinkingly at the bowl of braised venison on the table, drooling uncontrollably.

“Come here, Old Sam and Old Sid, come to Uncle Edward!”

Seeing the two little ones looking so greedy, the guest laughed heartily and picked up a few pieces of fatty meat, putting them into their bowls.

“Thank you, Uncle Edward!”

Danny Goodwin said very obediently, which earned him another round of praise from Uncle Edward.

“Brother, your Danny Goodwin is really something, so clever!” Uncle Edward patted Danny Goodwin’s little head and said to Old Mr. Johnson, “So, about what I mentioned last time, can it be done?!”

At this, Old Mr. Johnson smiled happily, picked up the wine cup in front of him, and took a gentle sip. “The child is still young, let’s wait a bit longer!”

“True, Danny Goodwin is only three, right? Haha, after the New Year he’ll be four. So you agree?!”

“This little rascal has been clever since he was little, a well-behaved kid. With you looking after him, I’m at ease!” Old Mr. Johnson chuckled.

Danny Goodwin’s ears keenly sensed that what these two were talking about seemed to concern his own future.

Sure enough, as he kept listening, he finally understood: this Uncle Edward was Old Mr. Johnson’s brother from the same clan, making a living at Qingyang Market, more than fifty li from here.

Danny Goodwin had heard of Qingyang Market—it was a market town, basically a small town. For these mountain folks, a small town was like how he viewed a city in his previous rural life. He really admired the life in a market town.

This Uncle Edward had quite a few connections at Qingyang Market. Seeing that Old Mr. Johnson’s Sam Goodwin and Danny Goodwin were both good kids, he suggested they go to the market town to become apprentices, learn a trade, and secure a livelihood for the future. After all, Old Mr. Johnson had four sons and was just an ordinary mountain villager. With only a few acres of thin land and whatever wild game he could hunt, it was hard to feed four sons.

Old Mr. Johnson agreed, but although he agreed, Sam Goodwin and Danny Goodwin were still too young, so he wanted to wait until they were older. That was basically the idea.

“Qingyang Market, huh?” After wolfing down all the rice and meat in his bowl, Danny Goodwin hugged his little stool and sat outside the house again.

To him, going to Qingyang Market to work as an apprentice was neither here nor there. He was born with memories of his previous life, so he didn’t feel much attachment to this life’s family. Besides, the relationship between parents and children in ancient times didn’t seem as close as in his previous life. Old Mr. Johnson had many sons—one more or less didn’t make much difference. Staying in this little mountain village or going to Qingyang Market was all the same to him, and it wasn’t like he was leaving right away.

So, after this matter circled around in his mind, it faded away, and he threw all his attention back into martial arts.

Chapter Six: The Role of the Cheat

The warm winter sun shone comfortably on his body. Danny Goodwin leaned against the sun-facing mud wall at home, his whole body bathed in the warm sunlight, breathing gently.