People like Brother Lewis, ordinary folks, may have had poor talent as children, only reaching the first or second level of Body Tempering, but as long as they work hard and train, as they grow up, they can naturally reach the third or fourth level of Body Tempering.

The third and fourth levels of Body Tempering are the common strength of adults.

This is why Henry Young has never doubted that he could become a martial artist. He has already reached the peak of Muscle-Easing before turning sixteen, so reaching the eighth level of Body Tempering as an adult is not difficult.

As for the even higher ninth and tenth levels of Body Tempering, reaching them is beyond difficult.

……

Along the way, occasionally someone would greet Henry Young.

Though it’s called a courtyard, in reality, more than a dozen families live in the whole compound, with nearly a hundred people.

Henry Young followed Brother Lewis to the shelter in the courtyard.

“Brother Lewis.” Henry Young put down the firewood and asked, “Has my big brother not come back yet?”

“Your brother met a restaurant manager at the dock today. He might get a big job, so he went to talk with that manager and will be back later.” Brother Lewis smiled and said, “He asked me to tell you and your sister-in-law to eat first, don’t wait for him.”

“Okay.” Henry Young replied.

“Oh, right, remember to come out tonight. Today is the thirtieth, the end of the month, we have to pay respects to Immortal Xu.” Brother Lewis called out as he walked away.

Henry Young replied with a smile, “Alright.”

After that,

Henry Young walked toward his home.

“Clang~” The door wasn’t locked, so he pushed it open.

“Uncle’s back!”

“Mom, it’s uncle!”

Two little heads popped out from the kitchen doorway. When they saw it was Henry Young, they immediately cheered—one shouted into the kitchen, the other stepped over the threshold and ran toward Henry Young.

“Uncle!”

Seeing this, Henry Young couldn’t help but open his arms and hug the little chubby one who ran up to him, smiling, “Ha, Xiao Hao, are you happy that uncle is back?”

“Hee hee, happy.” The little one giggled.

At this moment, the other little one also ran out, shouting, “Uncle, I want a hug too.”

“Alright, get ready, here we go.”

Henry Young picked up his nephew Harold Young with one arm and his niece Monica Young with the other, striding toward the kitchen while calling out, “Sister-in-law, I’m back.”

The house was divided into an outer room, an inner room, and the kitchen. The outer room was for storing sundries and daily necessities, and also had Henry Young’s bed and books.

The inner room was where his brother and sister-in-law lived, and the kitchen was for cooking.

It sounds complicated,

But in reality, the total area of the whole house was not even as big as Henry Young’s training room at the martial academy. Five people living here was actually very crowded.

In the kitchen, three large pots sat on the earthen stove, the air filled with the aroma of steaming rice. A young woman, who was making soup, looked up when she heard the noise. Seeing it was Henry Young, she smiled and said, “Ah Hong, the food is almost ready, just wait a little longer.”

The young woman was Henry Young’s sister-in-law, Clifford Dean.

“No rush.” Henry Young smiled, his gaze falling on his sister-in-law’s messy hair, and he couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart… He remembered when his sister-in-law first married in, her beautiful hair was adorned with many ornaments, and she was very beautiful.

Back then, she was famous in Sanqiu Town, and matchmakers wore out the family’s doorstep.

But after marrying his big brother these past few years, his sister-in-law hadn’t had an easy life, always busy, and still had to take care of two young children, so she had no time to care about her appearance.

Suddenly, Henry Young remembered something. He put down his nephew and niece, took a pouch from his pocket, and placed it on the kitchen counter: “Sister-in-law, this is this month’s martial academy allowance.”

“Mm.” Clifford Dean responded at first, but as soon as she picked up the pouch, she felt something was off. She opened it and exclaimed in surprise, “So much? Now I can buy you more spirit rice.”

“Yeah, I did some extra training tasks at the academy this month and got extra rewards.” Henry Young explained.

Clifford Dean’s smile faded. She looked up at Henry Young, a hint of anger in her voice: “Ah Hong, didn’t I tell you? Your brother and I can manage at home. The most important thing for you now is your martial arts training. The Six-County Competition is coming up soon.”

The Six-County Competition is the key to whether one can enter the county academy.

In Clifford Dean’s eyes, this was the most important thing for Henry Young right now.

“Sister-in-law, I know.” Seeing that his sister-in-law was a bit angry, Henry Young quickly said, “This training task was assigned to me by Instructor Yang.”

Ever since coming to Donghe County, his big brother had been busy making money at the docks, so it was mostly his sister-in-law who educated and took care of Henry Young.

So,

Henry Young was very respectful to his sister-in-law.

“Instructor Yang?” Clifford Dean was taken aback; she trusted Instructor Yang very much.

“Alright, Ah Hong, go read for a while. I remember the day after tomorrow is the written exam. It’s not that important, but you still need to pass.” Clifford Dean said, “Spirit rice takes longer to steam than regular rice. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“I’ll go fetch some water first.” Henry Young said, and as if afraid his sister-in-law would get angry, he added, “It’ll be quick.”

Saying that, Henry Young picked up the water bucket and walked outside.

Clifford Dean seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she didn’t.

“Brother, let’s go watch uncle fetch water.”

“Hee hee, okay.”

The two little chubby ones followed Henry Young out, giggling.

Water had to be drawn from a well far away and then poured into the water vat outside the door. The vat was very large; once filled, it could last several days. In the past, it was big brother Eugene Young who fetched the water.

Now it was always Henry Young who did it.