Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 278 Door-to-Door Delivery
As Chen Fan emerged from the alley, he was still pondering what Master Lu had said.

The so-called "Four Great Skills" are certainly useful, but they are not a panacea. The reason is simple: times have changed!
What was popular during the Republic of China era may not be suitable for today. Who knows what those in power now like? What if they happen to come across someone who dislikes these things?
However, he couldn't just let Master Lu's good intentions fall to the ground; he not only had to catch them, but also remember them for a lifetime.

Moreover, learning the "Four Great Skills" won't be in vain; the only difference is where they are used.

If, like playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, it's used to cultivate one's mind and body and treated as a hobby, then it's actually quite good.

Go back and learn some fancy things like burning incense and tasting tea, cultivating flowers and plants, and add wine tasting and opera singing, and you can pretend to be a cultured person.

Or perhaps these skills will definitely come in handy after a few years when the system is opened up.

As for Master Lu's concern about getting along with influential people?
Chen Fan had no intention of going at all!

Rather than worrying about any important figures, he focused more on brewing wine.

Now that I have the wine recipes given by Master Lu, it seems that my winemaking plan will have to be put on hold for a few more days. Wouldn't it be better if I could thoroughly understand these recipes and then brew a few pots of good wine?

……

Chen Fan, carrying the wine recipe book and using a drawing board to cover it, hurried back to the brigade headquarters. As he passed the office, he even took a special look at it.

Lin Yuanxiang was sitting inside, chatting and smoking with Captain Xiao. When he saw Chen Fan peeking in, he immediately snorted, looked up at the ceiling, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Chen Fan's face fell. What did that mean?
I was the one who got thrown, not you, so why are you angry?

When he looked at Xiao Liewen again, he grabbed the news report he had read eight times and began to study it carefully.

Chen Fan curled his lip and scoffed. "Tch, fine, I don't care. Anyway, I don't want to learn your kung fu. What's so great about it?"

Not at all!

Then I went straight inside.

The broadcast had already ended, but Zhang Cuie was still engrossed in her work in the broadcasting room. When she saw Chen Fan return, she immediately got up.

Chen Fan gestured, "You write yours, don't worry about me."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “Think about the writing methods I taught you before. If you don’t know how to write, just start by writing down a list of events, then visualize the scene in your mind, then turn that scene into words, and finally polish it.”

Zhang Cuie smiled and nodded, "Okay, I understand."

He then continued typing away, looking distressed.

Chen Fan put the sketchbook bag away, silently took out his own cloth bag, put several books inside, and then walked away with a flourish.

Riding his mare back to the educated youth settlement, Jiang Lili had already prepared the ingredients. Seeing Chen Fan return, she immediately leaned on her crutch and prepared to cook.

Chen Fan didn't stop her today. After all, if she wasn't allowed to do anything, she would become restless. It was better to let her do some work that she could manage.

It's just not lunchtime yet.

He waved his hand, "I'm not hungry now, let's wait for Huang Ying and the others to come back before we cook."

He then beckoned to her, "Come here, I'll change your dressing."

Jiang Lili slowly moved over, leaning on her cane. She saw Chen Fan come out of the room with a medicine bottle and then walk into the general office before she slowly followed him in.

Chen Fan pulled over two chairs and placed them facing each other. He sat down in one of them, turned to look at her, and said, "Come here."

Jiang Lili blushed and said softly, "Maybe I should change the dressing myself."

Chen Fan looked at her speechlessly, "You injured the sole of your foot, how can you change it yourself? You need to disinfect it with strong liquor first, then change the dressing, and then re-bandage it. I can do it for you in two minutes. If you change it yourself, it will take ten minutes and you'll still make a mess of it."

Then he pointed to the chair, "Stop talking nonsense and sit down."

Jiang Lili pouted, moved to the chair and sat down, then slowly took off her shoes.

Chen Fan shook his head at her, grabbed her foot, unwrapped the gauze that had been bandaged yesterday, and then used a cotton ball soaked in alcohol to clean the wound.

While washing her, you could clearly feel her feet trembling.

He looked up at her and said softly, "Now you know why I insisted on changing your dressing. Foot injuries are very painful. If you change the dressing yourself, it will hurt even more, and you might not even be able to clean the wound properly."

After examining the wound, he said, "It's healing well, with no signs of inflammation. It should be almost healed in another four or five days."

Jiang Lili pursed her lips. "It'll take that long?"

Chen Fan applied the medicine to her foot and re-bandaged it, saying with a smile, "Don't think it's too slow. This is a wound. Some people get a crack on their heel in winter, and it takes a day or two to heal even after applying ointment. You can't rush it."

Jiang Lili glanced at him secretly, a slight smile playing on her lips, and muttered to herself, "I'm not in a hurry."

Chen Fan turned his head. "Huh?"

Jiang Lili looked up in alarm, "Huh?"

Did I just speak?
Chen Fan blinked. "What did you just say?"

Jiang Lili's eyes darted around wildly. "Did I say anything?"

Chen Fan looked her over and saw that even her ears were red, and her face was almost dripping blood. He was a little confused. What was wrong with her? Why was she so shy?

However, since Jiang Lili didn't say anything, he stopped asking and continued bandaging the wound, tying it into a pretty bow just like yesterday. He said, "I'll make some fish soup later, and you can boil an egg for yourself. Eating these will help the wound heal."

Seeing that Chen Fan was no longer looking at her, Jiang Lili finally came to her senses and quickly nodded gently, "Oh."

But he couldn't even hear what he was saying.

After Chen Fan finished bandaging her foot, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly when he saw that she still hadn't taken her foot back. He wondered what this girl was thinking.
Forget it, she's injured now and needs to be taken care of, so let's not talk about her anymore.

He then grabbed her foot and helped her put her shoes on.

Only then did Jiang Lili realize what was happening, and her pretty face flushed red again.

Chen Fan packed his things, stood up and said, "Don't rush, sit for a while and wait for the medicine to be absorbed."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

After throwing away the trash and putting away the medicine, Chen Fan took out a book from the cabinet and sat down in his room to read it.

He originally thought his kung fu was decent enough to hold his own against Captain Xiao and suppress Zhang Wenliang, but he never expected that he would run into the 60-year-old Mr. Lin today and be exposed for what he was made of.

Old Man Lin made more than twenty moves in a row, each one different. I only recognized two of them, which seemed to have the shadow of Xingyi Quan. I couldn't even understand the basics of the others.

This dealt Chen Fan a huge blow.

This is outrageous!
He now has good reason to suspect that Captain Xiao did not teach him real kung fu, otherwise how could he have lost so badly?

Since the kung fu taught by Captain Xiao was not working, Chen Fan decided to try something else.

I just happened to buy a book called "Tai Chi Exercise" yesterday. Since my martial arts skills have already reached level 3, I think I can level them up after using this book.

At the very least, I could catch him off guard and at least manage to get a chance to strike him, instead of just getting beaten up.

This book, "Tai Chi Chuan Exercise," was compiled by the Martial Arts Section of the Sports Department of the Sports Commission. It includes the basic principles and health benefits of Tai Chi Chuan...

Health benefits?

Chen Fan saw the words on the catalog, and although the sun was blazing outside, his heart was ice-cold.

Where's the promised martial arts manual?

Isn't it said that all the martial arts manuals from this era are genuine?
Chen Fan was still a little unwilling to give up and continued to look through the pages.

After the basic explanation, the Tai Chi routines begin, starting with the "24-Form Simplified Tai Chi" compiled in 1956 by several Tai Chi "masters," followed by the 88-Form Tai Chi, the 32-Form Tai Chi Sword, Tai Chi Push Hands, Tai Chi Footwork, and so on...

Chen Fan skimmed through the entire "secret manual" in no time, having thoroughly mastered it.

The notification sound in his mind kept ringing as his experience points increased. By the time he closed the book, the simplified Tai Chi Chuan, the 88-form Tai Chi Chuan, the 32-form Tai Chi Sword, as well as the Tai Chi Push Hands for sparring and the Tai Chi Chuan footwork for actual combat, were already engraved in his mind.

He threw the book on the table and, without going out, began practicing in the small space of the room.

The first stance is to stand with feet together, eyes looking straight ahead, shoulders relaxed, left hip pulled down to the right, left foot stepping to the left. ...

The movements of the hands and feet fully demonstrate the relaxed, calm, gentle, and slow characteristics of Tai Chi.

After practicing the two sets of boxing techniques, I felt completely refreshed, as if every muscle and tendon had been exercised. This was a completely different feeling from the fatigue mixed with a sense of well-being after practicing Xingyi Five Elements Boxing and the spear stance.

However, it was of no use.

There are no techniques for training internal strength or actual combat in this book.

However, after carefully sensing the movements, Chen Fan recalled the moves that Old Man Lin used when he sparred with him that morning, and it seemed... hmm? It seemed that two of the moves were Tai Chi?
He scratched his head, trying to recall the two moves Lin Yuanxiang had used. It felt like Tai Chi, but it had nothing to do with "relaxation, calmness, gentleness, and slowness"! Judging from his stance, it seemed even more powerful than Xingyi Quan. What kind of Tai Chi was that?
However, based on his understanding after learning Tai Chi, Chen Fan felt that it was indeed Tai Chi. This contradictory feeling drove him a little crazy.

"Teacher Chen?"

Huang Ying stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and called out softly, "You... is there something you need?"

Chen Fan let go of his hair, turned around and looked at her casually, "It's nothing, what's wrong?"

Huang Ying silently pointed to the kitchen, "Dinner's ready."

Chen Fan said "Oh", "You go ahead, I'll be right there".

As soon as Huang Ying left, he immediately tidied his hair, then coughed and walked out with his hands behind his back.

When they got to the kitchen, they realized they had forgotten to make fish soup, so they killed and cooked the fish on the spot and served a pot of fish soup before they could officially start eating.

Chen Fan glanced at Liu Dan beside him and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

Liu Dan quickly lowered her head, glancing at Huang Ying.

Huang Ying glared at her, then looked up and grinned dryly, "No, we were just a little curious, did you encounter any trouble just now?"

Chen Fan immediately denied it, "No."

Huang Ying was immediately puzzled. She put down her chopsticks and reached out to scratch her head, asking, "Then why...?"

Chen Fan glared at her intently. "You're mistaken. I'm fixing my hair."

Huang Ying shrank her neck and obediently picked up her bowl and chopsticks. "Then I must have seen it wrong."

Noticing the strange looks in their eyes, Chen Fan coughed and served fish soup to Jiang Lili while saying, "So, seeing is not necessarily believing. For example, now that I'm serving fish soup to Xiao Jiang, do you think there's something between us? You'd be wrong."

As an injured person, drinking fish soup would help her wounds heal, which is why the first bowl of soup was served to her.

Jiang Lili blushed, lowered her head, and imitated the buzzing of a mosquito, "Thank you, Teacher Chen."

Chen Fan nodded formally, "You're welcome."

Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan remained silent, their gazes somewhat unfocused, it was unclear whether they had believed Teacher Chen's nonsense.

Chen Fan continued serving soup to Huang Ying, saying, "You'll see, if you keep reading, you'll see that I'm not just serving soup to her, I'm serving soup to all five of us. The only difference is the order in which we serve it."

The three women, including Huang Ying, looked away and nodded in unison, "Oh."

Chen Fan glanced at them, then tossed the soup spoon aside. "Take it or leave it."

Yang Ju and Liu Dan quickly replied, "We haven't yet."

Chen Fan picked up his rice bowl and started eating. "You don't believe me? Then serve yourselves."

Yang Ju and Liu Dan felt wronged, "We didn't say we didn't believe it."

Then look at the soup bowls in front of Jiang Lili and Huang Ying. Why do they have them, but we don't?
Like a fox that has just eaten a chick, the oriole couldn't stop the corners of its mouth from turning upwards.

Chen Fan swallowed the food in his mouth, looked at them, and said seriously, "Life is full of lessons. Sometimes you can see the whole leopard from a glimpse of a spot, while other times you can't see Mount Tai because you're blinded by a leaf. So whether it's studying or being a person or doing things, you must first understand the whole picture before you can draw conclusions or make decisions."

Yang Ju immediately raised her hand, "I know, it was Mr. Li who said that one has no right to speak without investigation."

Liu Dan quickly added, "We still need to conduct investigations and research even after ten thousand years!"

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction. "That's exactly right."

Huang Ying quickly lowered her head in repentance, "Teacher Chen, I was wrong. I will never guess randomly again."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, "Well, you're not bad either. It's great that you can admit your mistakes and correct them. Just remember the lesson."

Chen Fan glanced at Jiang Lili, who was chuckling to herself, and continued, "You'll wash the dishes today."

Huang Ying's expression stiffened slightly. "Oh."

Chen Fan then coughed lightly, "Let's eat."

However, she still took the initiative to serve soup to Yang Ju and Liu Dan.

On the surface, they must be treated equally; otherwise, they will go back and tell their parents, and Captain Yang will criticize them again.

After dinner, Huang Ying stayed to wash the dishes, Yang Ju and Liu Dan went back to their rooms to rest, Jiang Lili went to the general office to study, and Chen Fan went back to his room to pick up his book again and start studying.

Old Man Lin's two moves didn't seem to have anything to do with Tai Chi, but why did they feel like they were moves from Tai Chi?
His own feelings might be wrong, but the skill board couldn't be wrong. This intuition from Deep Blue told him that this was the truth!

As he pondered, he put down the book and silently mimicked Lin Yuanxiang's movements while recalling them.

At first, he was not used to it, but when he tried to use Tai Chi techniques, he suddenly understood.

Lin Yuanxiang used the Tai Chi Peng Jin (warding-off force).

The book doesn't describe the methods for cultivating internal strength, but it does introduce the eight strengths of Tai Chi.

Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, Kao – among these, Peng is fundamental and must be used at all times. As for its application, Zhou is the core. Except for the last one, Kao, all other techniques are related to the elbow.

Today, he was almost knocked unconscious by Lin Yuanxiang's elbow.

That's why he couldn't believe those two moves were actually from Tai Chi.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan simply got into a fighting stance and silently recalled Lin Yuanxiang's moves from that morning, reproducing all twenty-four moves he had used.

So far, he has learned Xingyi Five Elements Fist, mastering the five fist techniques of chopping, collapsing, drilling, cannoning, and horizontal striking. He has also mastered the five forces of stepping, pouncing, wrapping, binding, and decisive strike. After practicing the spear stance, he has fully mastered these five forces. In addition, he has just learned Tai Chi, and by applying the forces of Xingyi Fist, he has mastered most of the 24 freehand techniques.

Of course, its power is no match for Lin Yuanxiang's, and it only looks somewhat similar.

But no matter what, if it happened again, Chen Fan was confident that he would not be knocked down by a single punch.

That should allow them to hold out for at least three to five more moves!

Just as he was feeling smug, a loud rumbling sound came from afar.

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, then immediately got up and walked out.

Almost simultaneously, Jiang Lili and the other three girls also came out.

Chen Fan glanced back, walked straight outside the courtyard, and stared blankly at the village road behind the woods.

Unfortunately, we couldn't see anything.

After walking a little further, we finally saw a large tractor roaring towards us.

Chen Fan stood motionless, watching the tractor move at a speed comparable to that of an ox pulling a cart.

At that moment, half a body popped out of the tractor window and shouted at him, "The cement and steel bars have arrived, where do we unload them?"

This person was none other than Anquan, who had gone to buy building materials for Chen Fan.

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, climbed onto the tractor's side using the pedals, and offered the driver a cigarette, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."

He then pointed to the intersection ahead and said, "Please turn left and go around to the back of this courtyard."

The tractor driver, in his thirties, smiled and took the cigarette, tucking it behind his ear, then said with a laugh, "No problem."

He then shifted gears and drove forward.

Chen Fan didn't get out of the car; he just rested his hand on the window and walked forward.

He even had time to look back at the carriages being towed behind him.

It was a large truck bed filled with a huge pile of cement bags, with several bundles of steel bars on the side, and the rest of the space was also filled with several large sacks.

Chen Fan asked curiously, "What's in those bags?"

Anquan waved to him, took a cigarette, lit it, and said, "What else could it be? You're making glaze ore, right? This was brought from the county by a water transport company. If it weren't for me, most people wouldn't be able to handle it."

Chen Fan grinned and chuckled, "You know, it really takes Brother An to step up."

Anquan shook his head smugly, his whole body swaying with the tractor. "The glass has already been arranged. Just come and get it when you need it. Secretary Yang said the team has the timber, so we don't need to look for it outside. Sigh, everything's almost ready. When are you planning to build the house?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait until after the double harvest. My house is a bit complicated, so let's give it more time."

Anquan nodded. "Sure, just let Lao Yang know in advance."

(End of this chapter)