"Take care!" Returning from another district wholesale market, Zhang Guodong opened his shop to greet his regular customers. In less than an hour, all the vegetables and seafood were sold out. Zhang Guodong politely saw off the last customer.
He counted the money and then started cleaning the shop. Although his daily income was basically fixed, Zhang Guodong hadn't changed his habit of counting money. The value of this simple life lay in its authenticity; he was experiencing life, and with a net profit of around 20,000 yuan a day, he could hold onto it tightly.
These days, with the "Green Treasure Pavilion" sign removed, it's definitely much quieter. They restock every two or three days, mostly seafood with fewer vegetables. Afterwards, they change the produce. Once their regular customers have picked up their vegetables and seafood at a set time, Zhang Guodong closes the shop, and the day is free. He spends most of his time exercising, especially practicing the martial arts he secretly learned.
Of course, the money for the medicine was spent very quickly.
However, the effects are obvious. When Zhang Guodong runs again, his thighs generally don't hurt for more than a few days; at most, they feel sore and weak due to over-fatigue. Now, his body feels much lighter, and his strength has increased significantly.
Zhang Guodong feels that his physical fitness has improved by at least 30%, bringing him a big step closer to becoming a regular athlete. This is a welcome change!
The first month of 2010 is about to end, which is mid-March in the Gregorian calendar.
Green Treasure Pavilion has completely faded from public view. As usual, Zhang Guodong got up at six o'clock in the morning. It was a bit cold today, so Zhang Guodong put on his sportswear and jogged downstairs.
Upstairs, Li Yun was still asleep, drool still at the corner of her mouth. It's said that women age faster if they don't get enough sleep, so Zhang Guodong dared not disturb her. If he disturbed Li Yun's morning beauty routine, he knew he wouldn't have a good day; he'd learned this the hard way.
Once, he disturbed Miss Li's sleep and was 'resented' by her. As a result, she would nag him all day, muttering and grumbling, never letting him have a moment's peace, and occasionally slapping him with her little hand. Zhang Guodong had no choice but to surrender. Only then did Li Yun go to work triumphantly.
It was a small act of revenge, but it was incredibly torturous. Zhang Guodong was in immense pain, but Li Yun seemed to enjoy it.
Although she has temporarily escaped her family's pressure to get married, she has no intention of moving out of Green Treasure House. Every day, Zhang Guodong buys her breakfast, cooks for her, and then she happily goes to her beauty salon. If she goes out with Lin Yue or others, she doesn't forget to call Zhang Guodong; she's used to this lifestyle.
In fact, during her stay with Zhang Guodong, Li Yun's skin seemed to have become more radiant and elastic than before, which made many women envious, including the shrewish Lin Yue. Although Lin Yue looked serious and cool in her police uniform, she also talked with Li Yun about women's topics in private, with beauty naturally being one of the main conversations.
Sometimes Lin Yue wondered if this was one of the reasons why Li Yun didn't move away from where that person lived.
But as much as they envied, only Li Yun could enjoy Zhang Guodong's services. Others didn't have that kind of luck. Not only did she eat wild-grade vegetables and seafood every day and every meal, but Zhang Guodong would also occasionally stew a wild medicinal herb in it, such as He Wu. Once stewed, the effect was much better than that of ordinary He Wu. However, Zhang Guodong never compared them and overlooked the fact.
Therefore, these are not things that ordinary people can enjoy; only Green Treasure Pavilion and Zhang Guodong can produce such good things.
Speaking of this, Li Yun became even more smug, and it had become a part of her life to provoke and annoy Lin Yue from time to time.
"Huff!" Zhang Guodong ran into the square, feeling slightly out of breath and with a little sweat on his forehead, but his body felt warm.
The distance from the store to the square is over 3,000 meters, and I can now run it in one go without much effort, only breaking a light sweat. That 'Yellow Medicine' medicated oil is truly amazing!
Looking at his skin, it has a healthy bronze color, which is somewhat similar to the color of the medicated oil. Especially after strenuous exercise, the absorption of the medicated oil is much faster. And now, after about twenty days of exercise, Zhang Guodong's physical fitness has improved rapidly.
However, the medicated oil has become less effective over the past ten days or so, and even now, using five times the dosage only has a minor effect. It seems that if I want to continue to improve my physical condition, I will need a more effective medicated oil.
But Zhang Guodong also knew that.
Many medicinal herbs on the market today are cultivated, much like radishes, and are not very old. Their effects are also very different from wild herbs, which are much harder to find, especially older wild herbs. Due to environmental destruction, many precious wild herbs have become extinct, making them difficult to buy even with money.
As for the few precious medicinal herbs in Taoyuan, Zhang Guodong is currently reluctant to use them.
Taking advantage of his body heat, Zhang Guodong stopped in a corner of the square, did a few stretching exercises, and then focused intently, gradually calming his breathing, and began to practice the skills he had secretly learned, which was actually a basic set of internal martial arts.
Zhang Guodong learned this boxing style by chance and practiced it for about ten days. Although he didn't have a famous teacher to guide him, he actually learned it quite well. Of course, he only imitated the form and it was very rough. He had no spirit at all, let alone the most important aspect: the cultivation of strength. There was also the cultivation of basic skills such as stance training.
Zhang Guodong finally learned the name of this set of boxing techniques online: Five Elements Boxing, one of the basic internal martial arts techniques in Xingyi Quan.
Xingyiquan is a martial arts style, also known as "Xinyiquan," "Xinyi Quan," or "**quan." There are differing accounts of how Xingyiquan got its name. Most scholars believe it was created by Ji Longfeng from Puzhou, Shanxi, and has a history of over 300 years. However, some attribute it to Yue Fei of the Song Dynasty. Xingyiquan uses the Five Elements Fist (劈, 崩, 钻, 炮, 横) and the Twelve Forms Fist (龙, 虎, 猴, 马, 鸡, 燕, 蛇, 鼍, 骀, 鹰, 熊) as its basic techniques. Its stance training is based on the San Ti Shi (三体式). Weapon training primarily uses knives, spears, swords, and staffs, often named after techniques like Sanhe (三合), ** (**), Lianhuan (连环), and Sancai (三才). It has the following characteristics: 1. Simplicity, unpretentiousness, and naturalness. 2. Tight and compact movements. 3. Composure, swiftness, upright posture, and stable footwork. Xingyiquan places great emphasis on strength training. It contains rich combat theories and tactical content. It emphasizes a fighting spirit of daring to fight and win, and a relentless pursuit of victory.
This is based on research and verification.
Zhang Guodong learned the Five Elements Fist from that person, but he only used it for physical training.
In the Five Elements Fist, regardless of the five forms—splitting, collapsing, drilling, cannoning, and horizontal—the emphasis is on the coordination between fist techniques and stance training, as well as the cultivation of power. A stable lower body is essential for fluid, powerful, and explosive punches that can defeat an opponent in a single move.
However, Zhang Guodong is currently unable to do so.
Despite the abundance of information online, without a master's guidance, it's very difficult to even begin to learn Xingyi Quan. In essence, it's about exercising your hands and feet, getting your blood flowing, and strengthening your body.
Take strength training, for example. Zhang Guodong doesn't even know how to do it. Is it just about building muscle? That's clearly not the essence of internal martial arts. True masters of internal martial arts are never just muscle bulges; they all possess restrained inner energy and inner spirit.
But once a move is made, the internal energy surges forth with each breath, becoming extremely powerful.
For beginners like Zhang Guodong, the Five Elements Fist is a powerful tool that affects the whole body, and it plays a significant role in strengthening the meridians and muscles.
"Young man, are you practicing the Five Elements Fist?" Just after Zhang Guodong roughly demonstrated the Five Elements Fist he had stolen a couple of times, a voice came from the side.
After two rounds of the fist technique, sweat appeared on his forehead, a result of the body expelling impurities. This fist technique is truly extraordinary, repeatedly expelling impurities from the body, strengthening tendons and bones, and refining flesh and skin, ultimately leading to the generation of internal energy and entering the acquired realm.
Of course, this is a very high level. Nowadays, I haven't heard of anyone reaching the Acquired Realm and cultivating internal energy.
Zhang Guodong put away his boxing technique and saw that the person who came was an old man with a half-white beard, but he was in good spirits, had a ruddy complexion, was wearing a white Tai Chi training uniform, and was looking at him with a smile.
Zhang Guodong recognized the old man. The old man practiced Tai Chi in the square almost every morning, but he would only practice once each time before stopping, chatting with people, and then getting into his car and leaving.
"Sir, hello. This, I suppose, counts?" Zhang Guodong blushed and said awkwardly, feeling embarrassed. People who practice Tai Chi, especially those who are highly skilled, usually have some understanding of various schools of martial arts. He himself didn't know if his stolen Tai Chi technique was correct or not; it was very likely to be full of flaws.
Therefore, Zhang Guodong's crude boxing skills were simply no match for a skilled opponent. The old man's Tai Chi was so good that it made people feel very comfortable, and even Zhang Guodong, an outsider, could tell that the old man must have a deep understanding of Tai Chi.
As soon as Zhang Guodong spoke, the old man smiled, but there was no hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Young man, you've practiced well. You've grasped the basics in just over ten days, very good!" the old man nodded and said. "However, learning internal martial arts requires the guidance of a renowned master; otherwise, it's difficult to achieve true mastery!"
Zhang Guodong was immediately delighted. "A true expert!" he thought. He quickly asked, "Old man, do you mean I've grasped the essence?"
The question was a bit immodest, but the other party didn't seem to mind, laughing heartily and saying, "Its form is the simplest, but also the most difficult. If you can't grasp the optimal way to strike at first, it becomes a habit over time, which is hard to change. And the range of its forms is very broad, with both correct and incorrect aspects. However, you've learned to this level in just over ten days, and although there are many errors, it's still quite good! But you're still far from creating the optimal way to strike, one that suits your own physical condition—"
P.S.: Second update! The protagonist needs to be strong, hoho! Please vote if you're satisfied, hehe!
Also, thank you to 'monitoring001' for the generous donation! Another apprentice has joined the fan rankings, hehe. Thanks also to '1uiz' for the second donation, and to 'veinyu' for the support. Will the third apprentice or the first disciple appear soon?
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