"Don't make a move on the 19th and 29th, but walk on the ice on the 39th and 49th."

While the elderly stayed at home to sleep or leaned against the wall to bask in the sun, the children of all ages in the neighborhood were having fun. In just two days, Ping An had already made many friends.

No matter how cold the weather, it couldn't stop the children from running wild at the entrance of the alley. On snowy days, the fun was even more intense, from snowball fights to skiing after the snow had been compacted. Zhou Jiao couldn't bear to see the children until dinnertime in the evening.

Thanks to these children, their family quickly integrated into the hutong community. With the childlike Zhang Guoqing tinkering with all sorts of ice skating contraptions, within a week, the neighbors were calling out "Little Five Little Five" whenever they saw them. Even Zhou Jiao, who had been recuperating, often received a small dish of appetizing pickled jujubes and a head of pickled cabbage.

Before dawn that day, Zhang Guoqing started his morning exercise around the moat again. He greeted and chatted with the old men he knew, then slowly ran back.

He passed by a restaurant, queued up to buy a few fried dough sticks and was about to leave when unexpectedly a man wrapped like a bear with two pairs of eyes showing stopped him and stared at the fried dough sticks in his hand.

Zhang Guoqing wasn't reluctant to give it away; he was convinced that if he casually gave it away, it would surely draw criticism. These days, food is a lifesaver, especially fried dough sticks.

He took the initiative to move aside, but after a few steps, he felt a little reluctant. He had just seen the figure, and it seemed to be an elderly person. Who would live to such an old age without being destitute and seeking charity?

If his family was also short of food, he couldn't pretend to be kind for the sake of his wife and son. Sighing, Zhang Guoqing turned his head to look at the man and saw him following behind him.

Zhang Guoqing stared at him twice in surprise. There were so many men and women in the queue, so why did he choose him? Could it be that the word "good man" was etched on his face?

Seeing him stop, the "ball" quickly rolled forward a few steps. Zhang Guoqing's eyes twitched, and he was really worried that the other party would fall.

"What are you looking at? It's me, are you the only one who's blind?"

Zhang Guoqing's eyes widened immediately. This voice was so familiar. Even though it had been several months, this was probably the only time he had willingly been taken advantage of.

"Old man, you..."

He pulled down his scarf with one hand, revealing the old face of the man who had scammed him last time. Seeing Zhang Guoqing recognize him, the old man immediately changed his attitude and snorted proudly.

It was freezing cold, and seeing the old man wearing a thin cotton-padded jacket, Zhang Guoqing was still willing to be polite and said, "Can I treat you to breakfast?"

"That's more like it. If you don't respect the elderly and love the young, you will regret it. Lead the way, and we'll talk about it when we get to your house."

Zhang Guoqing smiled as he saw him talking to himself. He didn't know who this old man was, but he seemed to know his family's finances inside and out.

The wind from the north was whistling, and it felt like needles pricking his face. Zhang Guoqing, who was young and strong, didn't feel anything, but this harmless old man was not wearing much.

He didn't say a word along the way, and tried to avoid the icy places on the ground and take him home early.

His subconscious action made the old man behind him smile. He stared at his back and nodded and shook his head from time to time.

Zhang Guoqing opened the courtyard gate and walked around the screen wall to see his son already doing horse stance in front of the main house in the cold wind. He didn't bother the child and knocked on the window outside the west room: "Wife, we have guests."

In the blink of an eye, the old man looked around Ping An and saw that except for the initial glance at him, the child ignored him the whole time and just kept doing horse stance.

The old man was unhappy and started to mutter: "What a fool! A big fool gave birth to a little fool. It's freezing cold and he doesn't want to lie down in bed to warm himself up. He's just making a fuss."

Ping An smiled at him and immediately closed his eyes.

"Oh, you're not stupid. Come on, come on, tell me how old you are? How many years have you been practicing? Is this breathing of yours some secret technique?"

After Zhang Guoqing got Zhou Jiao's response, he came to the two of them and heard these words. He was immediately amused. This guy was really good. Just by looking at him, he could tell that his son was practicing the mental method.

Experts are so weird! I wonder if being targeted by them is a blessing or a curse?

"Old man, let's go sit in the study and drink a cup of hot water to warm ourselves up. We'll have breakfast soon."

The old man waved his hand: "Don't disturb me, I'm having a great time chatting with this little guy."

Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes speechlessly. "How boring you must be, telling lies with your eyes open." If he hadn't seen the other person's harmlessness, he would have suspected that he had come to steal his son.

"...Inhaling too forcefully on the third breath can damage your lungs. You need to vary the frequency throughout the year. ...I'll teach you, that bastard, if you know the difference between young and old... Yeah, smart. Suppress the Qi in your Dantian, exhale slowly, and count to ten... Repeat this cycle over and over, beginning with a deep, quiet breath..."

Zhang Guoqing followed his instructions unconsciously.

The old man glanced at him and said, "How old are you, you fool?"

Zhang Guoqing burst into laughter after being scolded.

"I'm awesome, right? Even though I don't know any martial arts, these are just bullshit. I guess it's okay for me to eat your bowl of noodles, right?"

"That's right, you are an expert at first glance."

"Stop flattering me. I'm probably secretly cursing this old fool who's trying to get free food and drinks."

"How is that possible? Please don't wrongly accuse me."

"Okay, I won't leave anymore."

"ah?"

"What? I'm just saying that you're not sincere. I'm such a poor fellow, not even a drop of blood relative. I'd rather die soon and be reborn soon..."

Ping An was surprised to see the old man's sudden change of expression. Who was this person? What was going on?

"Old man, I will support you!"

The old man turned around immediately upon hearing this and saw a little girl standing behind him with a bright smile. His eyes lit up. Finally, the real person had arrived!

"Are you serious?"

Zhou Jiao looked at him with a smile: "Didn't you already know this?"

"Do you know who I am?"

Zhou Jiao shook her head. "I've never met you before. But you smell like medicine, and you can point out the flaws in a child's mindset right away. Even if you don't come from a medical family, you're still a famous doctor."

The old man walked around Zhou Jiao after hearing this and asked, "Is it true that he has a photographic memory, as people say?"

Zhou Jiao's eyes flashed: "It's a bit exaggerated, but I can barely say that my memory is slightly better than that of an average person."

As soon as she finished her words, her right hand was immediately grabbed by the other party. She subconsciously wanted to resist, but suddenly saw the other party observing her fingers. She frowned and endured the discomfort.

"What a pity. The Huang family was an expert in acupuncture back then, but now there is no one to carry on the tradition." The old man shook his head and sighed.

Zhou Jiao withdrew her hands, spread them out, glanced at the old man, and said, "From your accent, you say you are from Bashu. May I ask who you are?"

Zhang Guoqing pulled her aside, extended his palm to the old man, and asked him to move forward. He smiled and said, "It's cold outside. Let's go into the living room and talk."

Zhou Jiao glanced at the two people who left and touched her son's head: "The time is up, let's stop here for today." The child usually does boxing, so she was worried at this time and didn't want her son to expose too much.