Reborn during the early days of China’s reform and opening, the narrator finds himself in the 1980s countryside. In this setting, the past is still a cold reference, yet it is also a fresh start....
Xu Meilin saw that he was closer to her than her mother, so she held Wan Feng's hand tightly and refused to let go.
I bought two bottles of wine at the Wanfeng Supply and Marketing Cooperative as a gift to my master, and then bought some milk candy worth fifty cents. I gave half of it to Xu Meilin, and the remaining half was naturally given to Zhang Guangpu's two children.
"Go home by yourself, I have something to do."
"Will you come to my house after you finish your work?" Xu Meilin asked.
"Not necessarily. If you come back late, you won't come. Don't be naughty when you get home, okay?"
"Um!"
After seeing Xu Meilin off home, Wan Feng rode his bike to Zhang Guangpu's home in Liutun.
Children have very deep memories of food. As soon as Wan Feng stopped his bicycle in front of Zhang Guangpu's house, two tiny figures rushed out of the house.
"Mom! That brother is here again." Zhang Guangpu's daughter shouted loudly, her joy beyond words.
The two children of Zhang Guangpu's family rushed to Wan Feng like two puppies, each holding Wan Feng's hand, with expectant looks on their faces.
Zhang Guangpu's lover also came out of the house.
"Hello, Master, isn't my master back yet?"
Although Zhang Guangpu did not formally accept him as his disciple, Wan Feng still called him Master, so his lover was naturally Wan Feng's master's wife.
"Your master hasn't come back yet, but I think he'll be back soon. Come in and sit down."
Wan Feng did not enter the house. He handed the wine in his hand to Zhang Guangpu's lover, and then distributed the milk candy in his hand to the two children.
"Just come if you want to. Why bring anything? It's so awkward. Oh! It's not good for children to eat too much candy. Each of you leave one piece for me and I'll save the rest for you."
Children who have been deceived before usually don't believe this kind of lies. Zhang Guangpu's two children must have been deceived many times before, so neither of them gave the candies they got to their mother. Instead, they rushed out with a whistle.
"These two are damned." Zhang Guangpu's wife beat her chest and stamped her feet behind the child.
Wan Feng watched and laughed.
"You have to eat here tonight, no, no, and if you don't, don't come here again."
Since his master's wife had given the order, Wan Feng did not refuse but helped with the work.
Zhang Guangpu came back from work at around five o'clock. As soon as he walked into the house, he saw Wan Feng sweeping the yard.
"Oh! Why do you let Wan sweep the yard?" Zhang Guangpu complained to his daughter-in-law.
"I don't let him sweep, but he can't sit still and insists on sweeping. What can I do?"
Zhang Guangpu grabbed the broom and said, "Come in, come in."
Now that Zhang Guangpu was back, Wan Feng naturally no longer had to do voluntary labor and followed Zhang Guangpu into the house.
"Wan, how's that book going?"
Zhang Guangpu asked before entering the house.
"I've already mastered the first short routine, and the second long routine is pretty much memorized. I'm now learning the third routine."
"Oh! So fast!" Zhang Guangpu looked surprised.
There are only three routines in his book. Except for the first routine which has only ten moves, the other two routines are large routines with more than forty moves. How come this guy has already learned the last routine after just a few days?
"Come on, let's demonstrate it to me in the back." Zhang Guangpu didn't believe it and wanted to test it out.
Arriving at Zhang Guangpu's training ground behind the house, Wan Feng first practiced the short routine called Empty Hands.
"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect you to be able to practice this routine to this level in such a short time. It's just that two of the gestures are not standard. That's it."
Zhang Guangpu corrected the two gestures.
Then Wan Feng practiced the next long routine called Lueyun.
He could only practice this routine skillfully, but he had not yet mastered it.
"You need to practice the second routine more until you can perform it instinctively without thinking. Now I will explain the purpose of these moves to you."
Zhang Guangpu began to explain to Wan Feng the practical effects of the various variations of these routines, practicing them while explaining, and sometimes even sparring with Wan Feng.
Even when Zhang Guangpu's wife called them to dinner, they were still discussing at the table.
After dinner, they went to the back of the house to practice and exchange ideas for a long time.
It was already around evening when Wan Feng returned home.
Through Zhang Guangpu's words and deeds, Wan Feng's understanding of wrestling has been further improved. He believes that as long as the physical conditions of ordinary people are not too different from his, they are no match for him.
In the morning, after breakfast, Wan Feng delivered the bicycle to Lao Li's house, where Luan Feng was already waiting.
"When you get to the clothing store, be more discerning and do more work when you have the goods. No one can do you any harm. Do you understand?"
"Yeah! Got it."
"When you have nothing to do, chat with your master more often and build a good relationship with him. Don't make yourself look so distant."
As he spoke, Wan Feng took out five yuan and slapped it into Luan Feng's hand: "Buy some popsicles and watermelon when it's hot. Don't be reluctant to spend money."
Qian Luanfeng didn't take the money: "I have money."
"Here, stop fussing and let's go!"
Wan Feng sent Luan Feng away as if he was instructing a child.
Luan Feng started her study career, and Wan Feng's life returned to normal, entering the boring pattern of going to and from school again, as if entering an infinite loop, and just like this, another week passed.
As agreed, this was the day when Wan Feng took Luan Feng to visit Yan Shufang's home.
The straight-line distance from Wahou to Sunjiabao is only four or five miles. Sunjiabao is located by crossing the river from Laodaokou and passing through the cornfield on the HB bank.
Although there is a large road in the cornfield, it is not suitable for large vehicles to ride on the field road, so Wan Feng and Luan Feng chose to walk to the school.
After wading through the old trail and crossing the beach, the two of them walked onto the main road leading to Sunjiabao.
The main driveway was just two ruts about ten centimeters deep. Due to low utilization, the grass on the driveway was almost half a foot high.
On both sides of the driveway are cornfields taller than people, which rustle when the wind blows.
The two of them walked and chatted.
"How are you doing in the clothing store? Are they satisfied with you?"
Luan Feng had already been in the clothing store for four days. She hadn't been chased back, so she probably left a good impression on people, and the possibility of her staying had greatly increased.
"Not bad! I do everything you say. I fetch water, sweep the floor, and mop the table whenever there's work to do. The people in the garment department all have a good impression of me. Even the watch repairman next door has a very good impression of me."
"That's because you're pretty, idiot!"
Luan Feng's face began to glow again: "Am I beautiful?"
This is the bad thing about women. Why do they love to hear people say they are beautiful? Every year, countless stupid girls in the world are deceived by sweet words.
Why don’t they learn from their experience and become more careful?