In the afternoon, Qiu Yan carried the herbs and took her younger siblings to Old Man Zhao's house again.

Old Zhao sat alone in front of the door, his brows furrowed with worry as he gazed into the distance.

Even when he saw Qiu Yan coming over, he still had a miserable expression on his face.

Qiu Yan was puzzled, so she asked, "Great-Grandpa, are you waiting for someone?"

Old Zhao got up, leaning on his cane. "Qiu Yan said she wanted to learn how to process herbs from me, but it's already this late and she still hasn't arrived."

Qiu Xu looked at his sister, Qiu Ling'er, who smiled slightly.

Qiu Yan slowly shook her head at her younger sister, "Great-grandfather, I am Qiu Yan."

"Are you Qiu Yan?" Old Zhao looked at Qiu Yan suspiciously, but soon the worry on his face disappeared.

Qiu Yan helped Old Man Zhao into the courtyard.

Inside the basket, Old Zhao picked up a medicinal herb, examined it closely, and muttered to himself, "This is Scutellaria baicalensis. It is suitable for harvesting in early spring. Remove the soil and dust, put it in a pot and steam it for half an hour or boil it for half a cup of tea, then take it out and let it sit for a while. Cut it into thin slices or pieces and dry it."

Old Zhao didn't do it himself, but instead instructed Qiu Yan to do it.

Qiu Yan did as she was told, with Old Man Zhao occasionally offering pointers.

Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er watched from the side, helping to clean the dirt off the herbs.

The three of them spent the entire afternoon at Old Man Zhao's house. Qiu Yan studied very diligently, while Old Man Zhao smiled kindly.

Before leaving, Qiu Yan thought of Old Man Zhao, who was all alone and helpless, and said to him, "Great-Grandpa, don't cook tonight, come to my house for dinner."

"I'm not going. I don't eat dinner." Most villagers eat two meals a day. Besides, Old Zhao is comfortable at home and doesn't want to go.

Qiu Yan couldn't persuade her, so she stopped insisting.

Qiu Yan originally approached Old Man Zhao with a try-it-out attitude when she learned how to process herbs, but unexpectedly, she learned quite a lot.

Qiu Yan was grateful to Old Man Zhao and respected him.

After returning home, all she could think about was preparing the herbal medicine.

After dinner, Madam Ye brought Gu Xiaoran over for a visit.

Gu Xiaoran was able to calm down a lot once she had a playmate.

"Qiu Yan, I saw your third aunt's cousin come to your house in a menacing manner. Judging from his posture, he wanted to tear down your courtyard gate. If your Uncle Li hadn't come back in time, your house would be without a courtyard gate now."

Ye also heard about Qiu Yan having her younger brother teach Qiu Xiaobao and the other two a lesson that afternoon.

Qiu Yan's personality made her like her more and more. Being weak all the time would only embolden others.

Qiu Yan thought to herself, if they really dared to tear down her courtyard gate, they would be courting death. "I have to thank Uncle Li for this. I need to thank him in person."

"Hey, you little rascal, why are you always so polite to your aunt? Haven't you helped us enough?" Madam Ye sat at Qiu Yan's house for a long time until Gu Xiaoran fell asleep.

Seeing that Aunt Ye was not in good spirits, Qiu Yan helped carry Gu Xiaoran to the Li family.

Before leaving, she saw Li Zheng standing alone in the courtyard, staring blankly at the bright moon. She stood in front of him and asked, "Uncle Li, it's so late, aren't you asleep yet?"

"I'll go to sleep soon." Li Zheng's face was cold and he seemed preoccupied.

"Back then, I owe it all to you."

"It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

On the other side, Qiu Xu noticed that Gu Xiaoran had forgotten his coat, so he thought of bringing it to him.

When he arrived at the Li family's door, just as he was about to knock, he heard the older sister inside say:

"Uncle Li, I have a favor to ask..."

Qiu Xu's heart raced, and his hand froze as he tried to push the door open, before slowly lowering it.

Li Zheng was puzzled and asked curiously, "What is it?"

"I would like to ask you to take Ah Xu as your apprentice." Qiu Yan had been thinking about this for a long time.

Because of the conflict between Li Zheng and his apprentice Gu Qian, Qiu Yan felt that Uncle Li would probably be unwilling to take on any more apprentices.

But today, as she watched her younger brother being humiliated, her desire for him to become stronger reached its peak.

Although she has her own advantages—she can help her younger brother improve his physical fitness, teach him military techniques, and cultivate his strong will—

But she still wanted her younger brother to learn martial arts for self-defense. Who wouldn't love a boy who is both scholarly and martial? Qiu Yan wanted to raise her younger brother to be a true man.

Qiu Yan looked up at Li Zheng, waiting for his answer.

Qiu Xu, standing outside the door, felt uneasy and dared not enter the courtyard.

Li Zheng recalled his past moments with Gu Qian and remained silent for a long time.

"Qiu Yan, I'm sorry."

Qiu Xu's heart sank; it was just as he had thought.

Qiu Yan looked at Li Zheng earnestly, "Uncle Li, I promise that A-Xu will take good care of you from now on."

Li Zheng slowly shook his head. He didn't want to refuse Qiu Yan, but he really didn't want to take on any more apprentices.

Qiu Yan's goal was not achieved, and she was unwilling to leave. "Uncle Li, Ah Xu has always admired your skills, could you... give him a chance?"

Li Zheng shook his head again. He coughed lightly a few times while clutching his chest, and finally went back into the house.

Qiu Yan knew that Uncle Li was a man of principle, and it was normal for him not to agree.

But she still felt a little uncomfortable.

She was determined to raise her younger brother to be proficient in both academics and martial arts, and she never gave up.

Before his sister came out, Qiu Xu ran back home without even bringing his coat.

As soon as Qiu Yan opened her courtyard gate, she noticed a dark figure sneaking up behind her.

She suddenly turned around, raised her foot and kicked, thud... The person was kicked and rolled twice, looking miserable, "Qiu Yan, it's me."

Qiu Dayu slowly got up. "Qiu Yan, why are you always resorting to violence lately? That kick just now almost killed me."

Qiu Yan looked at Qiu Dayu with disapproval, "What are you doing here so late at night?"

"Xiaoyan, Uncle... I have nowhere to stay. Could you let me stay for the night?"

"No!" Qiu Yan said firmly, and immediately tried to close the door.

“Xiaoyan…” Qiu Dayu stuck one foot in, “I know you don’t like the Qiu family, but I’m different from your third uncle and the others…”

This old house was built by my own grandfather, your great-grandfather. Surely I can stay here for a while...

I heard that your brother-in-law caused trouble at your house today. Your old courtyard isn't safe either. Your uncle will bring you a dog tomorrow to guard the house. How about it? In exchange, can you let me stay for the night...?

Bring a dog? This run-down yard definitely needs a dog.

"No!" Qiu Yan pushed Qiu Dayu out of the courtyard gate and quickly locked it from the inside.

Qiu Dayu wore a bitter expression, pondering what to do next.

These past few days, he's been practically chased around like a dog by the village chief's wife.

Now, unable to pay back his debts, he's too ashamed to stay at his brother's house. Even if he did, the brother's mother wouldn't want him there.

Thinking about how much money he lost gambling last time, he wished he could chop off his own hands and feed them to the dogs.

He was broke and tried to borrow money everywhere, but after going around in circles, he couldn't borrow a single penny.

His third brother and sister-in-law wished he were dead, and even his sister in the county town refused to lend him money.