From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 39 World War II
When Xu Xiaogou learned that the exemption money would not be accepted, he and Xu Xiaoniu hurried home.

I pushed the door open and saw the whole family in the yard.

Xu Fugui sat on the steps, Jiazhen and Xu Xiaoxia stood beside him, Xu Xiaoyun leaned against the wall, and Xu Xiaoan moved a small stool and sat at the foot of the wall.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaogou who had returned.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going."

Xu Xiaogou said in a deep voice, with an expression of fearlessness and preparedness for death. However, beneath this fearless expression, he concealed his inner panic and helplessness.

He was fifteen years old and had grown up with his parents. The farthest place he had been to was Tonggu County.

Now that he is asked to go to a battlefield thousands of miles away where immortals are involved, how can he not be afraid?
But he had no other choice.

He works the least and spends the most at home, and all the extra money at home is used to train him in martial arts. Now that he has acquired all the skills, if he doesn't go, should his elder brother go?
"..."

There was no response from the courtyard, and Xu Fugui remained silent. Jiazhen quietly wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm serious, Dad. I'm not afraid. Just let me go."

Xu Xiaogou's voice spread to every corner of the quiet courtyard.

"Hu~~"

Xu Fugui exhaled: "Erxia, what do you think?"

Xu Xiaoxia's eyes lingered on her eldest brother and third brother dozens of times, and she said, "Third brother, go. He's practicing martial arts."

Although the consequence of being conscripted is a life-or-death situation, strong strength can definitely increase the hope of survival.

"Siyun, what do you think?"

Xu Fugui asked Xu Xiaoyun again.

Xu Xiaoyun knew that his father and eldest brother practiced standing meditation every day. His answer was different from that of his second sister: "It would be more appropriate for my eldest brother to go."

"What?"

Xu Xiaogou questioned, why would the fourth brother think it would be better for the eldest brother to go?

Xu Xiaoyun spoke frankly, expressing his inner thoughts: "Third brother, you are too arrogant, proud, and easily get carried away. You will easily die on the battlefield."

"I……"

Xu Xiaogou was speechless. What his fourth brother said was right.

The scene fell silent again.

Xu Fugui was thinking, Da Niu is honest and low-key, but inflexible, San Gou is smart but easily gets carried away.

It's difficult to choose anyone.

"Dad, let me go."

Xu Xiaoniu, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

He is the eldest son of the Xu family and the eldest brother to his younger brothers and sisters.

What is a big brother? When things go wrong, he takes the lead. That's what a big brother is.

"No, brother, you still have to get married. I'll go."

Xu Xiaogou used the matter of "getting married" as an excuse.

"Xiulian hasn't married yet, so forget about the marriage."

"..."

Xu Fugui's voice interrupted the two of them: "Let's draw lots."

Drawing lots, fair and just, just like eight years ago.

"Third brother, let's not draw lots, let's decide in a different way."

After Xu Xiaoniu finished speaking, he walked into the kitchen and took out half of the firewood that had been burnt into charcoal from the stove.

Walking out of the kitchen, in front of everyone's puzzled eyes, he drew a circle with a diameter of ten feet on the ground.

"Brother, what is this?"

"Let's fight, and the winner goes."

Xu Xiaoniu's tone was calm, and he didn't sound like he was joking.

"what?"

Xu Xiaogou wondered, why did his elder brother compete with him?
Who in Baihe Village didn't know his kung fu? Among the younger generation, no one could beat him.

Could it be that Big Brother was looking for a way out? He thought so.

"Ok?"

"it is good!"

Xu Xiaogou agreed without thinking.

----

The two stood in the middle of the circle, facing each other.

This was the second fight between the two, the first being five years ago.

That time, Xu Xiaogou won by a slight margin and defeated his elder brother.

This time, the two men were almost the same height, but Xu Xiaogou's back was thicker than his elder brother's because of the characteristics of the Bear and Tiger Posture.

The three-year age difference was bridged as the two grew up.

On the surface, Xu Xiaoniu has no chance of winning and will lose even more miserably than he did five years ago.

"Brother, be careful and don't get hurt."

Xu Xiaogou bowed and clasped his hands, which was the customary etiquette before a fight.

Xu Xiaoniu cupped his hands and said only four words: "Go all out."

They each took three steps back.

"Brother be careful!"

Xu Xiaogou took the lead and attacked Xu Xiaoniu's shoulder with a simple tiger roar punch.

This punch only used 50% of its strength.

Even if he used 50% of his strength, it was enough to knock Xu Xiaoniu out of the boundary with one move.

But Xu Xiaoniu didn't move, as if he hadn't reacted. At the critical moment, Xu Xiaogou withdrew some of his strength.

Xu Xiaoniu moved, dodged the punch with his shoulder, and at the same time grabbed Xu Xiaogou's wrist with his right hand.

The grab was quick and sharp, like a pair of pliers firmly clamping Xu Xiaogou's right wrist.

Then he turned around, twisted his waist, and threw it over his shoulder!

"what?"

By the time Xu Xiaogou realized something was wrong, it was too late.

He couldn't move his right hand and lost his balance because of the pull of Xu Xiaoniu.

What power is this?
Xu Xiaogou was no longer arrogant and quickly supported Xu Xiaoniu's waist and back with his left hand, trying to block the over-the-shoulder throw.

But his strength is far inferior to Xu Xiaoniu's.

Strength can defeat skill. With one hand clamped, he faced the absolute disparity in strength and was unable to resist. He could only watch his strong body being thrown into the air.

Xu Xiaoniu did not hold back and used all his strength in this move. He knew he only had one chance to strike.

"call--"

Xu Xiaogou's body drew a circle in the air and fell heavily to the ground.

boom!
The blue bricks in the yard trembled, raising a cloud of dust.

"Third brother, you lose."

Xu Xiaoniu said calmly.

Xu Xiaogou, who was knocked unconscious by the fall, shuddered and turned to his feet. Seeing that he was indeed out of bounds, he said, "I...you...brother, how could you possibly?"

He knew how powerful he was, so how could he not be able to compete with his elder brother?

"I have already mastered the second level of Zhuang Gong and am now a high-level warrior."

"..."

Is his elder brother's progress in standing meditation faster than his?
"Brother, when did you start practicing martial arts? How come I didn't know?"

Not only Xu Xiaogou, but Jiazhen and Xu Xiaoxia were also surprised.

Xu Xiaoniu looked at Xu Fugui, waiting for his father to explain.

Xu Fugui knew that the secret of his martial arts training should be revealed, and he had already prepared a story: "When San Gou started practicing martial arts, Da Niu and I also started practicing martial arts.

My father, your grandfather, passed down to me a martial arts manual. It has no name, only posture diagrams and breathing techniques.

I didn't know its origins, nor did I understand the practice of standing meditation, so I sent Sangou to practice martial arts and learn the basics of martial arts.

Since then, I have taught Zhuang Gong to Daniu, and we practice Zhuang Gong every day in the orchard. More than a year ago, I also taught it to Siyun.

Jiazhen was Xu Fugui's bedmate. She finally figured something out: "Husband, no wonder you still get up early every day to go to the fields even when you're not busy."

"This is our family secret. You are not allowed to tell anyone else. Otherwise, it will cause trouble. Sangou should be aware of this."

"Yes."

Xu Xiaogou nodded. His master Du Hai had said this many times: "Master said that you can't practice other people's skills casually, otherwise you will get into trouble if you are discovered.

For example, I learned the Xionghu Zhuang Gong from my master, who was a disciple of the Xionghu Sect in the county town. He paid money and was qualified to teach the skills.

My master said this is called orderly inheritance, and I can now fully display my kung fu.

But if someone else doesn't have the inheritance, but practices the Bear Tiger Posture and uses Bear Tiger Body Techniques, they will be in trouble if they are discovered. Who knows where their technique came from?"

"The advantage of our family's Zhuang Gong is that it has no obvious features on the outside, so others can't see it. You must keep it a secret when you are outside, and never show it unless it is necessary."

After Xu Fugui finished his explanation, he returned to the matter of conscription: "Since Daniu won, then Daniu can go."

"No, no!"

Xu Xiaogou was unconvinced: "I was careless just now. I held back because I was afraid of hurting big brother. If you do it again, that won't count."

"Third brother, if this had been a battlefield, you would have been dead. There's no second chance. Besides, I told you at the start of the fight to give it your all."

Xu Xiaoniu defeated Xu Xiaogou after some calculations, so of course he was unwilling to do it again.

"Can……"

Xu Xiaogou suddenly remembered his fight with Du Meng a few years ago. He had also lost because of carelessness, and his master had even scolded him for it.

"I don't accept it. Big brother, you are not as strong as me. It's my turn to go."

He acted like a rogue.

"Dad, my third brother is cheating."

Xu Xiaoniu looked at his father.

"If you lose, you have to admit it."

Xu Fugui's words made the final decision on the recruitment of soldiers for his family.

"No, we can't let Big Brother go. He has to get married. Let's compete again, wuwu... compete again..."

As Xu Xiaogou was speaking, he suddenly burst into tears.

He claims to be the best among the younger generation in Baihe Village, but how come his progress in standing meditation is not as good as that of his elder brother who doesn't have the nourishing medicine?

He was invincible in fighting, so how come he lost to the eldest brother?
He vowed to be the pillar of the Xu family and to develop great skills to protect the whole family, but why did it end up being his eldest brother who protected him?
Scenes flashed through his mind.

Eight years ago, the eldest brother said he wanted to help his father with chores and not practice martial arts. Five years ago, he defeated the eldest brother in a duel and was very proud of himself.

He had played games with his elder brother countless times and won countless times, but in this most crucial game, he lost.

"Woo~~"

Xu Xiaogou was wailing.

Xu Fugui was too lazy to listen to his chatter and turned back to his room.

Jiazhen couldn't bear to watch, so she followed Xu Fugui back to the bedroom and closed the door.

Xu Xiaoniu, Xu Xiaoxia and Xu Xiaoan all returned to their rooms.

Only Xu Xiaoyun and Xu Xiaogou, who was crying like a child, were left. "Third brother, stop crying. I told you that you're too cocky and that you'll easily die on the battlefield. Now you believe me, don't you?"

After hearing this, Xu Xiaogou cried even harder.

(End of this chapter)