64: Chapter 64 With your beauty, Madam...

[You watched them wolf down the porridge, the bowls emptying faster than you could draw your sword.]

["Where are you from?"]

[The older boy wiped his mouth, lowering his head. "From Jizhou. Our parents died, and we escaped with our younger siblings."]

[He spoke calmly, as if discussing someone else's affairs.]

["Can you write?" you asked again.]

[The older boy shook his head, and the others did too.]

[You thought for a moment.]

["Come eat again tomorrow." You said, carrying the empty pot back to your shop.]

[The next day, not six or seven came, but twelve.]

[The third day, twenty.]

[By the seventh day, thirty or forty children of all sizes were squatting in front of your shop every morning, like a nest of sparrows waiting to be fed.]

[You sighed.]

[Alright, I'll raise them. Consider it accumulating virtue for the next life.]

[You tidied up the courtyard behind the bookstore and then rented two empty rooms next door. Over thirty children, ranging from three to twelve years old, all squeezed in. Every day, you cooked two large pots of porridge and steamed a basket of buns to ensure they were full.]

[After they ate their fill, you taught them to read. You whitewashed a wall in the courtyard and used charcoal as a pen, writing stroke by stroke, making them follow along and recite.]

["Heaven. Earth. Man."]

[More than thirty childish voices followed you, some children couldn't even straighten their tongues.]

[Once they recognized the basic characters, you began to teach the older children horse stance. It wasn't any profound martial art, just the most basic standing meditation and boxing techniques for strengthening their bodies.]

["Straighten your back, don't let your knees go past your toes." You kicked the wobbly older boy – his name was Shitou, and he was the oldest of the first group.]

[Shitou grimaced as he adjusted his posture, muttering, "This is more tiring than fleeing from famine."]

["Fleeing can save you for a while, this can save you for a lifetime." You said expressionlessly.]

[Shitou dared not speak.]

[Life went on like this. During the day, you taught the children to read and practice martial arts. In the evening, you progressed in your Cultivation of the Green Vessel Hundred Forging Record in the Cultivation room. Occasionally, when you went out to buy supplies, you would also inquire about news of Immortal Cultivators.]

[The children gradually put on weight, their faces regained color, and their eyes brightened.]

[A few of the younger ones started calling you "Mama."]

[You paused the first time you heard it.]

[A three-year-old girl hugged your leg, looked up, and childishly cried, "Mama, hungry."]

[You looked down at her, feeling something was off.]

[You are thirty-nine this year, but your Great Grandmaster Cultivation makes you look at most twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Being called Mama by a three-year-old... it wasn't impossible, but it felt strange.]

["Don't call me Mama." You picked her up. "Call me Jie Jie."]

["Mama."]

["Jie Jie."]

["...Mama."]

[You gave up.]

[Shitou watched this scene from the side, a rare laugh escaping him.]

[You glared at him.]

["What's so funny?"]

["N-nothing." Shitou immediately stopped laughing, then whispered, "But... Sister Lin, everyone wants to call you Ma—"]

[Your sharp gaze shot over.]

["Jie Jie." Shitou changed his words with the speed of an Innate expert's sword strike.]

[This matter eventually ended with your compromise: children under five could call you Mama (you simply couldn't correct them), while those five and older had to call you Jie Jie, or their dinner would be halved.]

[Once the rules were set, no one made a mistake again.]

[It's true that children of the poor mature early. After eating their fill, these kids showed astonishing maturity and cleverness. The older ones took care of the younger ones, those who could work eagerly volunteered, and the quick learners taught the slow learners. The courtyard was messy every day, but it was an organized mess.]

[Soon, two months passed.]

[That afternoon, you were copying books in the shop, while Shitou and a few older children were sweeping the entrance.]

[A flurry of footsteps came from the alley entrance.]

[Seven or eight people. At the front was a bald man with a brutish face, his chest bared, revealing a green snake tattoo. He carried an iron rod. Behind him followed several ruffians dressed similarly, all scowling.]

[Shitou stopped sweeping and blocked the shop entrance.]

["What do you want?"]

[The bald man glanced at him sideways and swung his rod horizontally.]

[Shitou had learned martial arts for a few months and instinctively dodged, but he was only twelve and far too small. The iron rod grazed his shoulder and struck past him, knocking him to the ground.]

["You little brat, what's with the attitude?" The bald man spat.]

[The other children rushed forward to block, but the ruffians pushed and kicked them. A seven or eight-year-old boy was slapped, his mouth bleeding. Another girl was pulled by her hair and dragged away, crying and calling for Jie Jie.]

[The brush in the shop was put down.]

[You walked out.]

[The crying and cursing in the courtyard stopped simultaneously. The bald man looked up and saw you.]

[Then he clearly froze for a moment.]

[He hadn't expected the person who adopted orphans to be such a woman. After a moment, he grinned, his gaze sweeping over your face and body twice.]

["Oh, so this is the woman who runs the bookstore? Quite attractive." He hoisted the iron rod onto his shoulder and took two steps towards you. "I'm Liu San of the Green Snake Gang, Madam, let's discuss something."]

[You didn't look at him. You squatted down to check Shitou's injury. His shoulder was grazed by the rod, a flesh wound, no bone damage.]

["Jie... Jie Jie, I'm fine..." Shitou tried to get up, supporting himself on the ground.]

[You pressed him back down.]

["Sit still."]

[You straightened up and looked at the bald Liu San.]

[Your expression was very calm, overly calm. When Shitou saw that expression, a chill ran down his neck. He had been with Sister Lin for several months and knew that the calmer she appeared, the more dangerous she was.]

["These little beggars," Liu San pointed his iron rod at the children huddled in the corner, "used to beg for food in our Green Snake Gang's territory. The gang even arranged work for them every month so they could eat. But you, you just came and took them all. All my manpower is gone. How am I supposed to explain this to the gang leader?"]

["So?" You spoke.]

[Liu San held up three fingers.]

["Three conditions. First, these brats must give half of their monthly income to the gang from now on; that's the rule. Second, when the gang has work, you must release them. And third..." He smiled even more suggestively, tilting his head and stepping closer, "Madam, your shop is on our territory, so you have to pay protection money, right? Twenty taels a month, not too much, is it? If you can't pay, with Madam, your looks..."]