Chapter 4: Horse Cripple

Ma Quezi's home was even more dilapidated than that of Chen Luo's uncle. It was just a tiled house that would collapse if the wind blew. The family next door had a boiler, and when Chen Luo and his nephew came over, the boiler next door was emitting black smoke.

Ma Quezi was sitting alone at the door, repairing an iron pot with a file in his hand. The file was grinding on the bottom of the pot, and large pieces of black iron powder fell to the ground, revealing the damaged part.

"Cripple, I'm here to see you."

Chen Laosan looked at Ma Quezi who was busy over there and started shouting from a distance.

Ma Quezi didn't move at all when he heard the sound, and continued to rub the iron pot with the file in his hand. The patch in the stove next to him was almost burned, so he picked it up and put it on the hole in the iron pot. It started to knock.

Only after the iron pot was completely repaired and put aside did Ma Quezi look up at the uncle and nephew.

His eyes were mainly on Chen Luo.

Because this is a new face.

I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but when Ma Quezi's eyes swept over him, Chen Luo subconsciously tensed up, and the hairs on his body stood up. It felt like a person walking in the woods and being stared at by a wild beast.

"My nephew, Chen Luo! The Chen family has only one son for three generations."

Chen Laosan's words interrupted the atmosphere, and he did not forget to put the gift in his hand on the table next to him.

"Go ahead."

Ma Quezi finally looked away. His voice was a little low and his face was like a wooden man, without any change.

"My nephew wants to learn martial arts."

After Chen Laosan sat down, he stated his purpose directly without any polite words.

Hearing this, Ma Quezi paused for a moment.

After that, he pretended not to hear anything and went about his business. Chen Laosan was not in a hurry and just waited on the side. He did not speak again until Ma Quezi had repaired all the iron pots and sickles in his hands.

"Why do you want to learn martial arts?"

This sentence was said to Chen Luo, and Chen Laosan next to him did not interrupt.

He knew Ma Quezi's temper.

"I want to become stronger."

Chen Luo expressed his wish.

Since he came to this world, he has always felt insecure. Especially after knowing that this world has "martial arts", this insecurity has become stronger. So he urgently wants to master power to protect the safety of himself and those around him.

"Learning martial arts doesn't necessarily make you stronger, this world is like this..."

Ma Quezi seemed to have remembered something and said something. But then he was silent again. He quietly packed up his tools, placed the used pliers against the corner of the room, and put the file into the toolbox next to him.

"Come tomorrow. I'll teach you for an hour every day. It's up to you how much you can learn."

Just when Chen Laosan thought that this plan was going to fail, Ma Quezi picked up the toolbox and went back to the house. When he was about to close the door, a voice came from inside.

Done!

Chen Laosan breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Luo was also very excited!

Regardless of Ma Quezi's temper, for Chen Luo at this stage, this is his only chance. As long as he can enter the door of martial arts, he believes that he will definitely be able to find a way to success in the future. Using those broken brains to learn martial arts is the last choice. For a beginner, this choice is still too risky. If there are mistakes in the details, it will kill people.

It was already dusk when we finished all the work here.

When the uncle and nephew came back, the nearest street was still blocked, and people from the government office were searching back and forth, as if they were looking for someone.

Chen Laotian was naturally cautious and took Chen Luo back home by a detour.

"Old Liu! Give me two bowls of noodles. Add more sauce and less chili."

Neither the uncle nor the nephew knew how to cook, so when they reached the alley at the entrance, Chen Laosan took Chen Luo to sit down in front of Lao Liu's noodle stall, tapped the table with his hands, and shouted loudly.

They were all old acquaintances, and when Old Liu heard the voices, he knew it was them.

A moment later, Old Liu came over with a bowl of hot noodles, and specially added a piece of braised meat for them.

"Let's tie the knot after we finish eating."

Chen Laosan replied, then pulled out chopsticks from the bamboo tube, stirred it twice, and started eating. Chen Luo was not slow either, and soon he was full.

Lao Liu's noodle stall has been open for more than 20 years, and his noodles are famous for their authentic taste.

Not to mention that the uncle and nephew also added braised meat.

After eating and drinking, Chen Laosan threw two big coins on the table and took Chen Luo home.

Chen Laosan has been living like this for these years. He spends money whenever he has it and never treats himself badly. Chen Luo also learns from his uncle in this regard. No matter what he does, he never treats himself badly. The worst that can happen is that he will be single for the rest of his life. It's not like he hasn't done that before!

After returning home, Chen Laosan took out the key and was about to open the door when he saw a black bamboo stick fall out from under the copper lock.

Um?

The moment he saw the bamboo sticks, Chen Laosan's expression changed.

"Uncle San, do you want to help?"

Chen Luo recognized this kind of bamboo stick. It was the mark of the corpse burial. Every time Chen Laosan came to do business, Chen Luo watched from the side, and naturally he had seen similar bamboo sticks. But it was the first time he saw a black bamboo stick, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

"You can't help me at all! Just learn martial arts well and don't waste my hard work."

Chen Laosan put the bamboo stick into his arms while cursing, then opened the door and went back into the house.

"You will go there by yourself tomorrow."

Seeing this, Chen Luo had no choice but to go back to his room.

There are many taboos in the business of burying corpses. If Uncle San refused to tell him, he would never be able to find out. If he asked too much, he might get beaten by Uncle San.

These are all based on experience.

"We'll see when I'm stronger. Right now I can't even protect myself."

Lying on the bed, Chen Luo couldn't help but think of the street closure he saw today.

'Just hope it's nothing serious.'

He fell asleep in a daze. That night, Chen Luo did not have any dreams and slept very soundly.

No words were spoken that night.

Chen Luo got up early the next morning.

What was strange was that the third uncle next door had already gone out a long time ago, the door to the yard was still open, and no one knew where he had gone.

"Aunt Wang, have you seen my Third Uncle?"

After washing up, Chen Luo came to the Lao Liu's noodle stall at the entrance of the alley and asked the lady who was cooking noodles. Aunt Wang was Lao Liu's wife. One of them did business in the evening and the other in the morning. It was said that the old couple relied on this unique skill to buy a house for their son in the provincial capital.

"Your third uncle? He went out before dawn and took two white steamed buns from me." Seeing that it was Chen Luo, Aunt Wang smiled and said a few more words.

Business was busy in the morning, and after a few words, Aunt Wang went about her own business.

Chen Luo didn't ask any more questions. After eating two buns and drinking a bowl of soy milk, he set off for Ma Quezi's house.

He went there with his uncle yesterday.

Know the way.

After passing the alley, Chen Luo came to the intersection again. He found that the street was still blocked. Not only was there no sign of unblocking, but the scope of the blockade became larger. Several households around were blocked. There was a special policeman guarding the door. When he saw Chen Luo looking around, one of them glared at him.

"Get out of here right now, the road is closed, take a detour!"

Chen Luo shrank his neck after being scolded and hurriedly walked the same way he did yesterday.

"Isn't this an epidemic? In this day and age, a plague would cause a lot of trouble."

Thinking about it, Chen Luo felt it was impossible.

If it was really a plague, the lockdown wouldn’t be at this level.

Judging from the attitude of the messenger who scolded him just now, many people must have thought of taking a detour here this morning, and he just scolded them naturally.

After passing the blockade area, we soon arrived at Ma Quezi's home.

Just like yesterday, Ma Quezi was still repairing daily necessities for his neighbors, from kitchen utensils to farm tools, he could even help nail horseshoes.

After Chen Luo came over, he didn't say much and started to help right away.

It was not until noon that Ma Cuzi stopped his work.

"Come in with me."

Maybe because of his performance in the morning, Ma Quezi's attitude towards Chen Luo became much better.

Push open the wooden door.

Chen Luo discovered that Ma Quezi's yard was actually bigger than his uncle's. It looked shabby from the outside, but it was very bright inside.

After passing the middle gate, there is a separate small courtyard inside. There is a weapon rack and a sandbag on the side. The surface of the sandbag is a little weathered, and it seems that no one has used it for a long time.

"To practice martial arts, you must first practice standing still. Watch my movements and learn as much as you can."

Regardless of whether Chen Luo heard it or not, Ma Quezi started punching on his own. After completing a set of movements smoothly, he finally settled down.

Although he has a limp in one leg, he gives people the impression that he is very stable.

Seeing this, Chen Luo immediately imitated it.

The boxing technique he used the first time could not be said to be exactly the same, it could only be said to be completely unrelated. He did not hit any of the key points correctly, and his breathing was also a mess, which made Ma Quezi frown beside him.

"Practice again."

Ma Quezi suppressed his anger and spoke in a deep voice.

He knew Chen Luo's talent was not good, but he didn't expect it to be so bad. He didn't remember anything after playing it once. He was simply a loser among losers!

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo immediately raised his hand and recalled the action just now and repeated it again.

This time, Ma Quezi pointed out several mistakes in his movements. Every time Chen Luo made a mistake, he would hit him with a bamboo stick. Over and over again, until night fell, Chen Luo barely memorized this set of movements.

"That's all for today. Come back to me after you've mastered the standing practice in the next month."

Throwing the bamboo in his hand aside, Ma Quezi walked away without looking back.

He was afraid that if he looked at it any longer, his heart attack would be triggered.

"Thank you, Master."

Chen Luo kowtowed respectfully to Ma Quezi before standing up and preparing to leave.

"hiss"

I didn't pay attention when I was practicing before, but now I feel pain all over my body when I move. Ma Quezi really didn't hold back when he beat people, and even if he did, Chen Luo couldn't remember these moves.

During the foundation-laying stage of martial arts, if you practice incorrectly, it can be fatal.

(End of this chapter)