My great plan of getting women off my back did work for some time until that stupid brother of mine decided to go over to Banks and work. I actually think it was a smart move for him. Working the ferry there will let him get a feel for the trade downriver and prepare him for running the mill. We had to redesign the mill, again, this time to put in a small grindstone for the harvest. Turns out no one like ground bark in their flour, understandably. Therefore we put in a reverse over the top water system since we did not want to redesign all the equipment. Bringing in the new grindstones was a hassle, but with the help of many strong backs and some ingenuity from the foresters we managed. The new grindstone is for the bark and we cleaned the old one.

“This thing is a fiddle piece of unwilling shit” my brother growls at the last part after another day working with the shaker he is frustrated and tired. He likes the idea, but not so much all the work. “Yeah, well I think it will work this time,” I say and look at it, it should work. My brother snorts and laughs “So you have said four times.” I have nothing to say to this other than it is true. “It is the first try building something this complex.” I try to defend myself, the mill is not as complex even though it has more gears and levers. “I know, I know, and I agree that it should work now. But like all the other times I just don’t know.”

This work was backbreaking and since it was my idea I had to work on it. My pampered lifestyle did not come as expected since I kept finding new stupid ways to squander my earnings. The grindstone was one thing, another was the shaker to sort the different grades of ground bark. Not because it was all that heavy or large, which it turned out. It was all the revisions we had to do to the design. I worked on it all winter and it did not work before the start of summer. My brother came back from Bank village with the foresters, and the new foreman, to help me with the work. The foreman turned out to be another nephew of the Lord's merchant.

We sit down and have a breather while looking at our latest fix for the system. “I like the idea and I think it will pay for itself since the merchant spoke of different grades with different prices.” My brother says while munching on a sausage he had with him back from Banks. It is a good sausage and he will not share. “Yeah, started since I just could not sit still,” I tell him and smile at the thoughts of him and his sausage. These thoughts have been more frequent as of late. “Whatever.”

“So brother when are you going to introduce your new girl to the family?” My sister asks and to my great delight, my brother jumps out of his skin. “Sis, don’t scare me like that.” He exclaims when he sees who it is. “Little old me scare a big strong guy like you?” She asks and smiles at him entirely insincere. I look back and see the lack of tracks in the snow behind us. I felt her coming, but she has gone her own way with her cultivation.

“Don’t know, maybe spring.” My brother finally says and looks down. “Her father would not let her come alone and the snow is just too deep at this time of the year. That was the other thing happening over the summer, my brother finding a girl. He met her down in Banks, the daughter of the butcher. It is where he got the sausage, I think he spent all his time there chatting up her father. “Too bad, I am really looking forward to meeting her.” My sister says the butcher's daughter has a reputation of being a hard knuckle badass by all regards. “Me too, but winter happens.” Is all my brother has to say to this. “Come, Su, everyone else has gathered,” Sister tells me and so we pack up and go back home.

I look over the nine students I have at the moment. A feeling of pride and accomplishment sits in my stomach when I look at them working diligently by themselves or together. After much work with my sister and seeing her develop I have relaxed my teaching in certain regards. My vision of a body free of impurities and perfect control is not for everyone. Rather I have worked with each pupil here to find their own path. Some grow fast because they have a strong idea of themselves and others slower. The fast growers also lack work purifying and take in a lot more impurities than the more careful cultivators. My theory is that this will hinder them later, but I have decided it is not my place to stop them. Even a small amount of growth now is better than the slow buildup over their whole life.

I have confirmed that all living creatures buildup heavenly energy in their bodies unconsciously their whole life. The energy goes to their most used muscles and help them both not deteriorate and maybe remember so they can get back in shape faster. There is also a slight healing factor, but this is a slim part of it. For those that do not cultivate it is not much help. Monsters are also just animals that have either cultivated in some way or are born of people who have cultivated. This might be the main difference between the nobility and the common man, it is my theory that cultivation is to some degree hereditary.

“Okay everyone, good work,” I tell the gathered people, well my fellow children. Eight of them are between twelve and fifteen and only the old priest manages to follow. We have begun gathering in the temple to work and after some sessions, the priest joined us. Both because he is an old perv, but also because he has tremendous ability in concentration. He is not by any stick I would measure him against holy, but he can meditate and when I have worked with him he has made progress. He is one of the fast growers though focusing on gathering as much energy as fast as possible. His method of work is also interesting since he does manifest a more “holy” aura these days. He prays while working and even if I don’t see him as holy, he does, and that makes all the difference.

The reason I call him a perv though is that the first thing he fixed with his new vitality was his erectile dysfunction. On the other hand, that might just be prejudice on my part, what man would not do so?

“Thank you for your teaching.” All of them, even the priest, say at the same time and I just have to smile. There is a good feeling you get as a teacher from grateful students. “My pleasure,” I tell them. I teach them cultivation and massages. Both is great fun and good learning for myself. It is also fun to be able to spend time with many of the prettiest girls in the village my age. Don’t judge, I am twelve.

Walking back together with my sister shows me how much the village has changed in the last two years. The increased vitality and strength of almost everyone has meant more work and with it some prosperity. Houses that earlier was sagging and old have been either rebuilt or renovated. There has been created what I would call the main street where the ground is covered with planks on poles. When the snow melts and during rain, there is no longer a mud bath, but we can walk on the side. It is a nice feeling having helped my family and fellow villagers to do this.

The biggest change is in our own house. Formerly it was just as big as any of the other houses with just the main hall, my parent's room and the loft for the children. We kept the goats inside in a manger in the corner of my parent's room and hall. Everything was put as close to the fireplace as possible. Now our house has three fireplaces and no goats. The main house is in the middle with a kitchen and hall. The loft has been taken out to create room. The family sleeps in a cosy addition on one side and in the other end, with my own entrance is my own office and place to sleep if it is needed. In the winter I, of course, sleep with my family to stay warm. But I have my own place to see clients and bed. It is the house with the most fireplaces in the village. Inside there are wood carvings and decoration, but my father was very careful not making the outside nicer than the village chiefs house.