Chapter 55: A Heavy Past
Today, Eldest Son also hopped out from his room.
Although his left leg couldn’t walk, the good news was that his right leg could barely manage.
The family eating together could be considered harmonious.
“Eat more, look how thin you are!” Huang Meizhen kept serving food to Shufen. “Take whatever you like yourself.”
“Mom, I want some too!” Chen Wuqi directly extended his bowl over.
“So grown up and still need to be fed?” Chen Hanliang gave him a sideways glance, and Chen Wuqi immediately pulled his bowl back.
Upstairs, there was a burst of wailing and howling, cursing and crying, all mixed together.
Huang Meizhen didn’t know what happened and immediately opened the door to watch the excitement, then opened the iron gate and went out to inquire.
She turned back in no time, mysteriously saying:
“That old hag surnamed Yu upstairs got her retribution. Someone just dumped a room full of shit on her! She can’t even eat her New Year’s Eve dinner now.” Huang Meizhen glanced at Shufen while speaking.
“We’re eating, can you not talk about this?” Chen Hanliang said irritably.
“I have to say it, you can’t be too wicked, or you’ll get retribution sooner or later!” Huang Meizhen muttered.
“I used to work at the martial arts school before, but now I’m busy with martial arts practice, working takes too much time. I’ll ask Senior Brother and let Shufen go clean there, she can stay overnight at the martial arts school. 1500 bucks a month.” Chen Wujun suddenly said while eating.
“Just cleaning at night and includes lodging, 1500 a month, that’s a good deal, ask the Martial Arts School Owner!” Huang Meizhen immediately became interested.
Shufen also looked up at Chen Wujun, her eyes full of expectation.
At such a young age, she already understood the ways of the world and could distinguish good from bad.
“I’ll ask later, probably no problem.” Chen Wujun said.
“You’re going to the martial arts school later?”
“I have to go to Master! Back at midnight.” Chen Wujun said.
“Then I’ll cut some preserved meat, you take it over.” Huang Meizhen said.
“Get two bottles of beer too, those two on the shelf.” Chen Hanliang also said. The beer on the shelf was his stash, he wouldn’t even drink it himself.
Chen Wujun had received a lot of care at the martial arts school, and since he used to work there, going to see Master at the martial arts school at night, he certainly couldn’t go empty-handed.
Huang Meizhen quickly finished eating and opened the door again to watch the excitement.
After half an hour, she came back satisfied, cut some preserved meat for Chen Wujun, and took down two bottles of beer from the shelf and packed them together.
Chen Wujun picked up the stuff and went straight to the gambling den.
At this time, there were fewer gamblers in the gambling den.
But after eight o’clock, it would liven up, and during New Year, it was even busier than usual.
Although there weren’t many guests, the gambling den wasn’t quiet; idle henchmen were all in the gambling den, and meals were prepared.
“Brother Jun, I’ll toast you! Brother Jun is young but has great skills and a sharp mind, I’m the most admiring!” Ah Fei directly picked up a wine glass.
“You’re guarding the gambling den over New Year, I came to eat New Year’s Eve dinner with you guys.” Chen Wujun smiled and clinked with Ah Fei, drinking half a glass of beer.
After Ah Fei, it was Curry, then henchmen successively toasting.
After eating at the gambling den, Chen Wujun picked up quite a few things and left the Walled City.
Not just what the family asked him to bring; he had prepared more earlier.
He arrived at Ma Tou Wai all the way, full of old tenement buildings, even livelier than the Walled City.
Knocking on Zhou Qing’s door, it was opened by Senior Brother Li Yaozu.
“Thought you’d come tomorrow!”
“I brought some food!” Chen Wujun smiled.
“Come in!” Senior Brother Li took the stuff from Chen Wujun’s hand and carried it to the kitchen.
“Master!” After entering, Chen Wujun saw Zhou Qing watching television on the sofa, a recently popular TV series called《Star Space Adventure Record: New Generation》.
“Find a seat yourself.” Zhou Qing glanced up at him.
“Master, you watch this too!” Chen Wujun sat on one side of the sofa, interested.
He didn’t expect a person like Master to watch sci-fi shows.
While watching, Chen Wujun chatted idly: “Master, when do you think we can go to space? Like in the TV, piloting a starship…”
Zhou Qing’s eyes flickered a few times, and he didn’t respond for a long time.
In no time, Chen Wujun went to help Senior Brother Li move the table and set all the dishes on it.
To Chen Wujun’s surprise, with just three of them, Senior Brother Li set four sets of bowl and chopsticks.
“Senior Brother, someone else coming?”
“No.” Though Senior Brother Li said that, he placed four stools.
Moments later, Master Zhou Qing took a photograph out from the room and placed it at one spot, then picked up a wine glass, poured a glass of beer, and put it in front of the photo.
Chen Wujun then realized, curiously leaning over to look. The photo had thirteen people in total, men and women, ten men and three women.
Some looked like old farmers, holding tobacco pipes, faces full of worry; some like ordinary people, wearing sportswear, unremarkable looks; also glamorous women in trendy clothes, yet full of vigor…
These people had one thing in common: broad shoulders, sturdy builds, full of energy and spirit, with their own flair.
One look and they were martial arts practitioners.
Chen Wujun looked several times before finding Master Zhou Qing; in the photo, Zhou Qing looked about thirty, much younger than now, full of youthful vigor.
“Master… they are… Martial Uncles and Martial Elders?” Chen Wujun asked curiously.
“No!”
Zhou Qing picked up the wine glass, toasted to the air, then downed it.
After a long while, he picked up chopsticks, pointed at the old farmer in the photo, and calmly said: “He’s Zhuang Huai, just like he looks, a farmer. The Wolf Fist you learned is his specialty kung fu.”
Then pointed to a man in a suit wearing glasses, looking somewhat refined: “He’s Yin Zhou, the Agile Ape Hangs from Beam stance you learned is from his family…”
Then to a man with a bear-like sturdy build: “He’s Yang Dianqing, practices Intent-Form Fist, the Old Bear Hugs Tree you learned is from his branch…”
Next to a woman in sportswear looking in her thirties: “She’s Cheng Lin, the Swimming Dragon Palm you learned is passed down from her branch…”
Zhou Qing plainly pointed out a few people, but Chen Wujun felt a heavy weight in his heart.
It was as if every word Zhou Qing said, every person he pointed to, carried immense weight.
“Master, they now…” Chen Wujun asked softly.
“Dead!” Zhou Qing said calmly. “So don’t mention these people’s names to anyone.”
“Got it!” Chen Wujun nodded.
He vaguely felt that Zhou Qing was likely involved in some major event.
So when he first became a disciple, he was told not to reveal who his master was.
The kung fu he learned was all passed down from these people; they must all have been great masters, but all dead, and their names couldn’t be mentioned outside.
From now on, he absolutely couldn’t let anyone know who his master was, or he might get killed.
“Master, what’s your specialty kung fu?” Chen Wujun felt the atmosphere heavy and quickly changed the subject.
“You’ll know later.” Zhou Qing said leisurely.
Chen Wujun didn’t pursue and shifted the topic to some issues he pondered on Swimming Dragon Palm these past days.
Zhou Qing answered them one by one.
At 11:30 PM, after leaving Zhou Qing, Chen Wujun walked home while thinking.
‘Don’t know what trouble Master got into, what kind of big event he was dragged into.’
‘So many great masters, all dead.’
Chen Wujun couldn’t figure it out and put it aside moments later.
‘Whatever it is, it’s none of my business.’
‘Just don’t let others know who my master is.’
Back at the Walled City, Chen Wujun suddenly thought of something fun.
‘They say Shufen is eating from a hundred families, but unexpectedly I’m learning a hundred-family fist!’
……
Early the next morning, Chen Wujun carried a small bag to the gambling den.
The small bag was stuffed with a stack of red envelopes.
“Brother Jun, Happy New Year, great luck, booming red fire!” The henchmen saw Chen Wujun and immediately spouted a string of New Year Visit greetings.
“Such sweet words… yours!” Chen Wujun directly handed over a red envelope.
Each red envelope had 100 bucks.
Staying at the gambling den for over an hour, handing out red envelopes to Curry and his men, Chen Wujun then went to find A Hao to go to Sister Sha Jiu together.
Sister Sha Jiu’s place was on the twelfth floor above Jin Di Finance, five houses knocked through, about 1600 square feet, a luxury house in the Walled City.
“Sister Sha Jiu, Happy New Year, great luck, booming red fire!” Chen Wujun grinned at Sister Sha Jiu with New Year Visit greetings.
“Grinning like that… so grown up, not waiting for red envelopes, are you?”
Sister Sha Jiu took red envelopes from the cabinet by the door and gave them to Chen Wujun and A Hao, clearly prepared in advance.
“Come in!”
Chen Wujun squeezed the red envelope; it was thick, probably 1000 bucks.
After entering, he looked around; the whole house floor was cement, one bedroom, one bathroom, besides that just a living room. In the living room, besides one sofa, nothing else, empty.
This house was big but otherwise very simple.
However, Chen Wujun hadn’t walked a few steps when his gaze sharpened.
In the middle of Sister Sha Jiu’s living room floor were circles of footprints sunk in, as if carved there, crystal clear.
Brothers, double monthly tickets at the start of the month only two days left, begging for monthly tickets!
Update this way unavoidable, I’m over 5000 words a day now, have to strictly control daily updates.
Even controlling updates like this, probably before going on sale, it’ll hit 200k words and drop off the new book list.
