Meeting everyone's probing gazes, Zhang Da Tou looked both amused and exasperated.
"I don't know what's wrong with my mother, she goes to the village committee several times a day."
When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was learning to read, and she insisted on forcing me to learn... You have no idea, these past two days at home have been worse than being in prison..."
Seeing Zhang Da Tou's bitter face, Zhang Cheng almost couldn't hold back.
It's really difficult for these wild mountain kids to learn to read.
But times are changing. If I can't even read, how am I supposed to get by in the future?
“I’ve got it all. Anyone who wants to work for me from now on must be literate,” Zhang Cheng decided.
"Brother, I'm good at everything else, but I'm really bad at learning to read!"
Zhang Jianhao's voice was trembling with tears.
Back then, he would get up before dawn and walk more than ten miles of mountain road to go to school in Huangdian Village. And what was the result?
He can't even write his own name properly. He still wonders why his parents didn't name him Zhang Yi, which would have been much easier to write.
"I'm telling you right now, if you're not going to learn, then don't work for me!" Zhang Cheng shrugged and spread his hands.
Where does motivation come from without pressure? In his past life, he was also illiterate, but when he joined the army, he still learned while training.
"Er Gouzi!"
A shout suddenly came from the doorway.
"Old blind man, what brings you here?"
"Hey, old blind man, it's so dark, how can you still find your way?"
Despite their joking words, everyone's actions betrayed their words, and they all got up to help him up.
The old blind man held a special position in the village, being the only traditional Chinese medicine doctor of his kind.
"Old blind man, sit down!"
Zhang Da Nao helped the man to a chair by the stove, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and peeled them for him. "Old blind man, do you need to see Er Gouzi?"
The old blind man sat steadily, his hands resting on his cane, his eyes narrowed to slits, his face covered with wrinkles and dark spots. He chuckled and said, "I see that Er Gouzi is becoming more and more promising, so I want to ask him for a favor."
"Old blind man, just tell me if you need anything, and I'll do my best to help," Zhang Cheng said, cracking sunflower seeds.
"My time is up, I'm afraid I don't have many days left!"
Upon hearing this, the room fell completely silent.
"Old blind man, what nonsense are you talking about! You're even stronger than my father!"
"It's the Lunar New Year, don't say such unlucky things, spit it out!"
"Hahaha!" The old blind man laughed even harder. "They say a doctor can't heal himself, that's nonsense. I know my own body, whether it's good or bad. Besides, who can escape birth, aging, sickness, and death? I've lived to such an old age, so my death will be a happy one."
Zhang Cheng frowned. In his memory, the old blind man was perfectly fine before he joined the army.
The butterfly effect?
"You little brats, let me finish, and shut up!" The old blind man tapped his cane on the ground, his smile unchanged, his squinting eyes filled with reminiscence. "Back in my youth, I was quite a figure. In the Sanguang region, which martial arts practitioner didn't give me some face..."
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long, and the foreign devils came.
"Those foreign devils are truly vicious. They can't beat me, so they resort to opium..."
Zhang Cheng's eyes widened as he listened to the old blind man's mutterings, his heart pounding. The foreign devils have arrived? When did that happen?
Could this guy have lived from the late Qing Dynasty to the present day? At that age, his umbilical cord must be braided?
"After what happened in Guangzhou, I was alive but dead inside. One person can't change anything. I just drifted along aimlessly and ended up here. Come to think of it, I'm actually two cycles older than that old guy Li Xingshan."
"Two rounds older than the old man? You blind old man, are you over a hundred years old?!" Li Qiming's jaw almost dropped.
The old blind man smiled and said, "I can't remember exactly how old he was."
He turned to Zhang Cheng, who was frowning, and said, "Er Gouzi, originally, I had no regrets. Living and dying are just the same thing. But for some reason, when it comes to the end, I feel a little unwilling. I, Liu Yubai, am a person of some stature. How can I just go to see the King of Hell in such a muddled way, leaving nothing behind!"
Liu Yubai?
An unfamiliar name.
"Old blind man, what do you need my help with?"
"Watch closely!"
The old blind man suddenly stood up, and an indescribable aura burst forth from him, causing Zhang Da Tou and the others to lose their balance and almost fall over.
With a flick of his wrist, the old blind man's cane spun around in the air a few times before he caught it firmly.
"These are things I've figured out over the years. Remember as much as you can!"
The old blind man raised one hand, thrusting his cane forward with a sudden movement, then slashing downwards halfway, brushing against the top of the stove and creating a gust of wind that made the stove shake.
Zhang Cheng's expression was solemn. He knew that there were still people practicing ancient martial arts these days, but he never expected that the seemingly frail old blind man was actually a master.
pity.
The old blind man was really too old.
He had only performed twelve moves when he could no longer hold on. He clutched his chest, coughed violently, and leaned on his cane, unable to speak.
"This...this is too scary!" Zhang Jianhao's eyes widened as he stared at the panting old blind man.
A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the old blind man's mouth, but he smiled. "Er Gouzi, how much have you remembered?"
"I've memorized them all!"
There are only twelve moves; they're not hard to remember.
"Now that you've memorized the moves, I'll teach you the mental techniques."
The mental techniques taught by the old blind man are not as mysterious as those in novels. They mainly rely on medicinal herbs to temper the body and stimulate qi and blood.
Zhang Cheng also understands this method, but he doesn't have the opportunity to practice it right now.
"Er Gouzi, now that you've learned the Iron Fan Twelve Strikes, go and make a name for yourself for this old blind man. Look carefully at this."
The old blind man threw away his cane, suddenly assumed a one-legged stance, bent over, but kept his head still...
Zhang Cheng's pupils suddenly contracted.
He'd seen this pose before in his past life!
That plainclothes mission was to maintain order at the funeral of a high-ranking member of the Shanghai Green Gang.
Phoenix nods three times!
Zhang Cheng was completely stunned. This was the highest level of courtesy in the martial arts world!
Moreover, this ritual is for elders to commemorate younger generations. Why would the old blind man teach him this?
"Huff...huff..."
The old blind man, panting heavily, probably because his eyesight was failing, didn't see Zhang Cheng's expression clearly. He grinned and said, "You can use this gift to pay homage to me on behalf of my descendants, Liu Yubai."
Liu Yubai is you, and so is the old blind man.
What do you mean by asking me to represent Liu Yubai's descendants to pay respects to you, the old blind man? What kind of nonsense is this?
"Cough, cough, cough!" The old blind man coughed violently, and Zhang Cheng quickly stepped forward to support him. "Old blind man, who exactly were you back then? And what about this Phoenix Three Nods..."
"You know about the Phoenix's Three Nods?" The old blind man was startled and looked up at Zhang Cheng in disbelief.
"Yes, I've met him."
"You've seen it? How could you possibly have seen it? Where did you see it? In the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there are very few people who are qualified to use this kind of gift."
Zhang Cheng remained silent.
Seeing that Zhang Cheng was unwilling to talk more, the old blind man didn't press him. He raised his hand and patted Zhang Cheng's shoulder heavily, grinning to reveal two rows of uneven, yellowed teeth. "It's worth it for Liu Yubai to have a successor like you. It's even more worthwhile for me, the old blind man, to receive the Phoenix Three Nods from Liu Yubai's successor after I die, hahahaha!"
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