Surviving in the chaos of battle, I'm grinding for proficiency.

The next morning.

Li Nian limped out of the breakfast shop, looking at the rising sun, and couldn't help but sigh.

Compared to the bustling shops next door, their own place was practically deserted.

"If this continues, we'll barely be able to afford Ah Chuan's basic food expenses of one tael a month, let alone the money needed for that damn gate-knocking..."

Li Nian looked back.

Wearing aprons, Qin Sanfeng and Wang Xiumei were staring intently at the passersby.

Li Qing wiped the table again and again.

Even if you wipe the table until it shines, it won't help.

"Xiumei, don't bother preparing any steamed buns. Let's eat them ourselves and go back to rest later."

Li Nian's voice was weary.

Wang Xiumei's eyes seemed unfocused:

"Dad, is the breakfast stall closing down? Where will A-Chuan get the money to learn martial arts?"

Li Nian sighed again:

"We can't open a shop even if we wanted to, preparing ingredients is an expense, and we can't sell them anyway. What can we do?"

Grandma Lin kneaded the dough silently, but she didn't seem as energetic as usual.

"Old Li, give me two steamed buns, I haven't had your breakfast in ages, I've been craving it!"

A middle-aged man walked in from outside and said loudly.

"Liu Zi? Aren't you afraid of Liu Hu...?" Li Nian was somewhat stunned.

Thinking of Liu Zi, who was usually timid, but who disregarded Liu Hu's threats in order to support his family business, Li Nian couldn't help but feel moved.

This is what neighborly affection is!

"What are you thinking, Lao Li? Our friendship isn't that close. If Liu Hu were still around, I guarantee he wouldn't even give us a second glance!"

Li Nian's face darkened, he glared at him, and was about to hurl a curse:

"You...wait, what happened to Liu Hu?"

Liu Zi picked up a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling:

"Liu Hu is dead! Just last night, he and his wife were burned to death in their house!"

"Tsk tsk, you can't believe how badly you fared. I heard that after the fire was put out, they found you were completely unrecognizable!"

Li Nian was somewhat lost in thought, and murmured:

"Liu Hu is dead...who did it?"

Liu Zi rolled his eyes at him:

"How would I know? Maybe it's the Iron Tiger Gang coming for revenge, or maybe it's someone seeking vengeance. Anyway, he has a lot of enemies!"

Liu Zi left quickly.

His position was quickly filled by someone else.

Liu Hu often mooched off men and women on these streets, and his acts of bullying and oppressing women were common occurrences.

The news of his death spread quickly!

"Old Li, three sesame seed cakes, please!"

"Xiumei, it's been so long since I've had your noodles!"

"Sanfeng, get me a glass of water. I haven't had steamed buns for days, and I'm choking!"

Familiar voices rang out, and many neighbors came to visit one after another.

Everyone bought more than usual.

First, Li's shop uses high-quality ingredients for its breakfast, never cutting corners, which has earned it a good reputation.

Secondly, the crowd also wanted to help them recover.

The bonds of neighborly affection might not have supported their fight against Liu Hu, but everyone was willing to do what good they could.

Wang Xiumei's smile has never stopped since the beginning.

Li Qing had been lifting stones at home for several days, and now they were finally coming in handy.

He served the noodles quickly and steadily; one man could do the work of three workers!

Grandma Lin wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, then slammed the dough onto the cutting board and kneaded it vigorously.

"I promise you'll get the chewiest noodles ever today!"

Sitting on the bamboo stool, Li Nian could no longer contain his smile and burst into laughter.

He hurriedly called over Li Chuan, who had come over:

"Ah Chuan, come here, I have some good news for you!"

Li Chuan seemed to know nothing at all:

"What good news?"

Li Nian's eyebrows danced with excitement, then he paused:

"you guess."

Li Chuan: "..."

Grandpa, you're so old, why are you still playing these kinds of tricks!

Li Nian stroked his beard and smiled smugly:

"You wouldn't believe it, Liu Hu is dead!"

"Liu Hu is dead! Who did it?!" Li Chuan's face showed a look of shock at the right moment.

Li Nian smiled with satisfaction:

"I heard he's a righteous man who's eight feet tall and whose hands reach past his knees. If I ever see him, I'll definitely kowtow to him."

Why is this news getting more and more bizarre?

Li Chuan said, "There's no need for that."

Li Nian glared at him:

"You silly boy, they really helped you a lot, you should kowtow to them!"

Li Chuan nodded helplessly in agreement.

Go back and do a quick bow in front of the mirror.

After joking, Li Nian said seriously:

"Achuan, I know you were worried about home, which is why you asked for leave early to come back. Now that things are temporarily stable at home, you can go to the martial arts school and focus on your training."

"I'll take care of everything, including the household matters, so you don't need to worry."

As he spoke, Li Nian slipped one or two taels of silver into Li Chuan's hand, feeling somewhat guilty:

"I know you need a lot of money to get through that stage soon, and I wanted to save up more for you, but because of Liu Hu's actions these past few days, this is all I have."

"That's enough, Grandpa," Li Chuan comforted him.

Liu Hu has already made up for the missing silver.

"Go to the martial arts gym soon, don't keep thinking about home." Li Nian waved his hand.

"Chuan'er, wait!"

Wang Xiumei, who was cooking noodles, ran over and grabbed Li Chuan's hand tightly:

"I heard from others that you need to eat meat at every meal when you come to the pass, and one tael of silver is not enough. Take this."

Li Chuan opened his palm and saw that it contained a tael of silver.

"Mother, where did you get this?" Li Chuan asked in surprise.

"Don't worry about that, go on your way, Mom needs to go back and cook noodles!"

Wang Xiumei patted Li Chuan on the shoulder and then ran back.

Li Chuan noticed that the bracelet his mother was wearing was missing.

That was a gift from my father, Li Dahai, when he got engaged.

Now that her father and eldest uncle have gone to perform corvée labor, this is probably one of the few things Wang Xiumei can rely on.

Li Chuan held the two taels of silver in his hand, feeling as if it weighed a ton.

He made up his mind:

"I must break through to the Ming Jin level as soon as possible so that I can take up a position on my own and no longer rely on my family for support!"

……

A hidden, dark room.

A gloomy man with a bandage wrapped around his right arm angrily smashed a teacup on the ground.

"Snap!"

The porcelain cup shattered, scattering in all directions.

"The Iron Tiger Gang, led by Song Jin, has gone too far!"

The shadowy man stood up, his tall figure completely blocking the candlelight.

This was none other than Cao Yan, the leader of the Black Bear Gang!

Two henchmen stood to the side, their faces pale, not daring to breathe!

"Relying on their superior numbers, they're gradually encroaching on my territory; they're pushing me to the brink!"

Cao Yan coldly swept his gaze over the two of them:

"Fortunately, Brother Zhou will be back from the prefectural city in a while."

Upon hearing Brother Zhou's name, one of them trembled slightly, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

That's a master of internal energy!

No matter how strong the Iron Tiger Gang is, how can they be stronger than the hidden strength?

Cao Yan smiled, then suddenly grabbed the man who was sweating profusely and punched him to death.

"You bastard, this is what happens when you betray me!"

Cao Yan casually remarked:

"Qiangzi, how's the Liu Hu matter going?"

Qiangzi raised his head, not daring to look Cao Yan in the eye:

"Liu Hu's house burned down. I went to see it; he and his wife were charred to death!"

"Who did it?"

"Could it be the Iron Tiger Gang?"

Cao Yan spoke calmly:

"If they did it, they would just hang Liu Hu's head in front of the door as a show of force."

"Find out what other enemies he has. Liu Hu works for me; killing him would be a slap in my face."

Qiangzi quickly agreed and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute." Cao Yan thought for a moment, "Did Li Nian's grandson go to Songfeng Martial Arts School to learn martial arts?"

"That's true, but we've investigated, and this guy is just a good-for-nothing who drinks and carouses; he shouldn't have that ability."

Cao Yan narrowed his eyes:

"Investigate him too. Let Ah Liang take over that shop; he's broken through to the Ming Jin level."

"Yes, boss!"

Qiangzi was about to leave.

"Wait, there's no need to call Ah Liang. We need him right now, but he's too busy. We'll talk about the shop later."