"We insist, we insist. This is a token of my master's goodwill, to congratulate your son on finding a renowned master."
"This is a joyous occasion; you absolutely must not refuse, ma'am."
Steward Liu, beaming with enthusiasm, ordered the household servants to set down the gifts.
"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
Then, without waiting for Ms. Chen to refuse, he and the household servants departed swiftly.
"Wait, Steward Liu! Steward Liu, this..."
By the time Ms. Chen reacted, Steward Liu and his men were already far in the distance.
She stared, dumbfounded, at the various gifts piled by the courtyard gate.
'What is going on?'
Eldest Master Liu was the only landlord in Da Liushu Village. He was high and mighty, someone even the Village Chief had to treat with deference. 'So why would he send gifts to her family?!'
And so much at once! It was worth several years of her wages.
"Mother, are all these for us?"
Fang Lan had been stunned speechless, only now coming to her senses. She had never seen so many fine things in her entire life.
'And that piece of silk! This wasn't coarse linen, but the kind of silk only a landlord could afford. It felt so delicate, and the color was gorgeous. It would look amazing made into clothes.'
But the joy on her face quickly faded, replaced by worry. 'We won't get in trouble for taking so much from the Liu Family, will we?'
"Mother, Master Liu... Steward Liu... They must have delivered these to the wrong house. Why don't we return them right away?"
Village folk were cautious and timid; in this world, they could not afford to weather the slightest storm.
'With the Liu Family's status and position, how could they possibly be sending gifts to the likes of them?'
'It was completely unrealistic. They must have made a mistake.'
"Lanni'Er, you're right. We can't keep these."
Ms. Chen felt a great reluctance to part with them. The gifts were incredibly valuable, worth even more than the sky-high bride price the Zhou Family had mentioned.
Besides, these were all fine things that only a landlord's family would use. It would be a waste for a common farming family to have them.
Deep down, she was completely unwilling to send them back.
"Wait... perhaps we should wait for your father to get back before we decide anything."
"Mother, who was here just now? What was all that commotion?"
At that moment, Fang Yue's voice rang out. He had just finished dealing with the two large pieces of tiger meat, cutting the portions to be dried into long strips and hanging them from the rafters.
The meat to be cured also had to be cut apart and sprinkled with more salt to ensure it was thoroughly preserved.
Of course, he had also cut off a fresh piece and put it in the pot to cook.
Tiger meat was very tough, making it hard for his parents and siblings to digest, so it had to be boiled until thoroughly tender.
By now he had done all this and set the meat to simmer over a medium flame, so he didn't need to watch it constantly.
'Unfortunately, we only have garlic. No green onions, no ginger, and no cooking wine. I won't be able to make it taste very good.'
'As for how a Fang Yue who's never cooked before knows how to prepare meat this way... I'll just say my master taught me.'
While the meat was simmering, Fang Yue went out into the courtyard and immediately spotted the pile of gifts next to his mother.
He realized then that the commotion from earlier was clearly not a neighborly visit.
"Mother, who sent all this?"
Ms. Chen started, then came to her senses. Seeing Fang Yue, she slapped her thigh. "Zhi'Er! Right, Zhi'Er is home."
"Steward Liu just brought these. He said they're gifts from Master Liu... for you."
'Master Liu sent them to me?'
A single piece of silk was worth five taels of silver. Then there was all the food and pastries... Fang Yue even spotted a box containing ten taels of silver.
All together, the gifts were worth no less than twenty taels.
Twenty taels of silver could buy two acres of prime irrigated farmland, or even four or five acres of less fertile land.
His family hadn't managed to save that much money in over a decade.
'Why would Master Liu be so generous?'
'And Mother said they were for me?'
'What's the meaning of this?'
Fang Yue couldn't help but speculate. There's no reward without merit, and he had no ties to the Liu Family. In fact, he had once taken the blame for the young master of the Liu Family and been whipped by the village elders for it.
'If this was compensation, it was far too much, and it wouldn't have come so long after the fact.'
"Oh, right," Ms. Chen added. "That Steward Liu also asked if you had become Fang Hu's disciple, and if you had gone to Xiahe County Town with him."
"They asked about that, Mother?" Fang Yue asked.
"Yes, Zhi'Er, that's what he asked." Ms. Chen found it strange, too, wondering why they would ask such things.
'Could they be sending gifts just because he went to Xiahe County Town with Fang Hu?'
'That can't be right... What reason is that?'
"Zhi'Er, what do you think we should do with all this? Should we wait for your father to come home and then return it all to the Liu Family?" Ms. Chen asked urgently.
She didn't know why—perhaps it was because he had gone to Xiahe County Town with Fang Hu, or perhaps it was because of Steward Liu's visit—but when Ms. Chen looked at Fang Yue now, she felt that her Zhi'Er was different. He had an air of someone you could trust.
"I think I understand now. Let's keep these things in the house for now. I'm going to go see Mr. Fang Hu. We'll decide what to do when I get back."
Fang Yue had a gut feeling. The Liu Family's gifts had to be related to his trip to Xiahe County Town and becoming a disciple.
After all, his trip to Xiahe County Town had been eye-opening.
He had learned that Mr. Fang Hu's status was far from ordinary: he was a disciple of the White Tiger Boxing Hall, a Martial Master who cultivated the Martial Dao.
The City Guard Army, who were known to kill men as easily as cutting grass, had been polite to them. They didn't even have to pay the fee to enter the city.
All of it proved that there was more to Fang Hu than met the eye.
And now Master Liu was sending him gifts—it had to be out of respect for Fang Hu.
Therefore, he needed to ask Fang Hu how to handle the matter.
"Quick, help me move all this inside! And shut the courtyard gate."
After Fang Yue left, Ms. Chen snapped back to attention and immediately had Fang Lan help her move everything from the courtyard into the house.
Then she shut the courtyard gate, looking for all the world as if she were afraid of being seen.
~~~~~~~
Fang Yue's family didn't live far from Fang Hu's, and Fang Yue was a fast walker.
He was out the door and at Fang Hu's home within minutes.
After explaining what had happened at his home, Fang Yue sat properly and looked to his master, Fang Hu.
"The Liu Family's network is surprisingly fast," Fang Hu remarked. "Since they sent the gifts to you, just accept them. Consider it compensation for that business at the ancestral hall."
"Master, are you saying the Liu Family sent me these things because I became your disciple?" Fang Yue asked.
Fang Hu's answer only strengthened his conviction.
'This was definitely because of Fang Hu. It had to be because I became his disciple.'
"Yu'Er, you know that the imperial court holds examinations, right? They're divided into the civil and martial tracks. In your opinion, who is more distinguished: a Civil Scholar or a Martial Scholar? Who holds more power and status: a Civil Servant or a Military Officer?"
"I... I do not know," Fang Yue answered honestly.
'According to his own assumptions, Civil Servants were definitely more distinguished than Military Officers, and the civil examination had to be more prestigious than the martial one.'
But the way Fang Hu had pointedly asked the question sparked a new thought in his mind.
'Could it be... that in this world, Military Officers are more distinguished?'