Under the fist

Chapter 50: Four seasons have passed, and another autumn has arrived.
……

"Captain, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, the brothers wouldn't have been able to survive... My kind and lovely old captain..."

We want to eat meat…

Upon returning to the forest farm, Wu Kui and the others swarmed around him as if they had seen a savior.

When they arrived, they all spoke with accents from all over the country, but now they all speak with a strong Northeastern accent. Even Wu Kui, the young scholar, speaks in a rough voice, as if his voice has changed.

Lian Youming's trip back and forth, plus the few days of recuperation in between, took almost half a month, and the group of people hadn't seen any oil or meat for quite some time.

He quickly dealt with the situation and then hid the items he had brought back in the coffin in the dark room.

Tiger bones can be used to make medicinal wine, or prepared into medicine when he goes south to find Yan Lingyun later. As for the pearls, he planned to exchange them for cash in the capital when he returned to the city, but since they were burial goods and royal treasures, he probably wouldn't be able to sell them.

Why not write to Yan Lingyun and ask?
Lian Youming also didn't forget Xie Laosan's granddaughter. He made sure to fulfill his promises. He decided to take advantage of his trip back to Cangzhou, Hebei.

Since it is the hometown of martial arts, perhaps there are hidden masters among them.

The logging work on the forest farm was basically over, and a group of educated youth, just like when they first arrived last year, stayed in the dormitory, chatting and joking around.

Upon seeing him return, Platoon Leader Yang brought over several letters, all sent by Yan Lingyun.

Amidst the commotion of the crowd, Lian Youming lifted the cotton curtain of the dormitory and walked to a corner of the forest farm, where he found a tree stump to sit down.

The letter was quite long, a thick stack of about ten pages. It not only contained some interesting anecdotes about her life, but also some disadvantages of practicing martial arts that she had learned from some veteran martial arts masters from the Southern School. For example, one should not smoke or drink baijiu (Chinese liquor), as both damage the lungs, liver, and stomach, and more importantly, ruin one's spirit. Moreover, alcohol can make one's blood and energy run wild, which is especially harmful to martial artists with vigorous energy.

Before you've mastered the skills, these are all major taboos.

While one cannot drink baijiu (Chinese white liquor), one can enjoy a few cups of huangjiu (yellow wine) in moderation. It can also be combined with various herbs to make medicinal wine, which can be used externally to reduce swelling and bruising, and internally to relax muscles and tendons.

The text also mentions that in the past, warriors mostly drank yellow wine and rice wine, and that old wines mostly referred to yellow wine. Ordinary people, whose blood and energy were not yet strong, would not have any problems drinking white wine.

Lian Youming secretly memorized everything, and also noted down some of the medicinal herbs used to make the medicinal wine.

What remains is Yan Lingyun's opinion on that "witnessing technique".

This young girl truly lives up to her reputation as a descendant of a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Not only are her insights unique, but she has also explored and tested several Taoist methods for eye health cultivation.

The reason his eyes stung and watered that day was because he waited for the wrong time. The eyes should be tempered with the "qi" at the moment of yin and yang transition, just before sunrise. At that time, the "qi" is in harmony with yin and yang, with strength and gentleness complementing each other. Although the yang energy is there, it is not domineering. It is also filtered by the rosy clouds, so looking directly is naturally unobstructed. But if it is too late, it will be like raging fire burning the eyes, causing unbearable pain.

As for the method of visualization, Yan Lingyun explained in her letter that since it is to refine the eyes, the objects of visualization must be the sun and the moon. He was instructed to imagine the two as two divine blades, and to regard the morning light and moonlight as unparalleled sword energy. He was to use the formless to observe the tangible, and to integrate killing intent to condense his spirit.

Lian Youming was filled with emotion. His precious child was indeed his precious child, always bringing him surprises.

Of course, the letter couldn't forget about food, so Lian Youming was asked to send some Harbin red sausage and cured meat, saying that he had been craving them for a long time.

……

As the weather turned cold, things on the mountain were quickly mostly finished.

With winter fast approaching and the series of upheavals of last year still haunting him, Platoon Leader Yang decided to send everyone down the mountain early this year to return to the villages where they had been assigned to work.

But before heading down the mountain, they still managed to organize a group of educated youth to put on a show.

Everyone understood that once these people left the mountain, they would probably never see each other again. News always travels the fastest, and these educated youths were all from big cities. Coupled with the constant news from various places that educated youths were being approved for household registration and allowed to return to the cities, everyone realized what was going on.

After they had discussed it, Lian Youming took advantage of the break to go into the mountains again, where he caught two roe deer and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to get some roasted nuts and seeds like peanuts and melon seeds to give the group a snack and add to the atmosphere.

Two days later, everyone arranged the program to be performed. A group of people sat around in the canteen. The rough men who were previously covered in dirt and sweat all washed themselves from head to toe with soap, while the female educated youth changed into bright and beautiful clothes.

Wu Kui finally showed off his skills, playing "Katyusha" on his accordion under the watchful eyes of a group of female educated youth.

Looking at this group of young men and women, whose names he didn't even know, Lian Youming sat below, eating and drinking, clapping and cheering.

Some people were dancing, some were singing, and others were performing crosstalk, playing clappers, and reciting poetry...

"Wow, military dance?"

When they saw a tall, long-legged female educated youth dancing gracefully to Wu Kui's music, exuding heroic spirit, the atmosphere instantly became lively.

Lian Youming was eating sunflower seeds. He remembered that the female educated youth was named Zhao Xiaozhi. She was the one who was assigned a hunting rifle to go hiking with him. She was probably also a military dependent. She had tried to comfort him in Kaoshantun because of Qin Yuhu's matter, but ended up crying because of it.

I hadn't noticed it before, but now that I look closely, I realize that the group of people in the team are all very talented, and they all look adorable.

His mother came from a performing arts troupe, but unfortunately she injured her back and legs on the battlefield in her early years, which left her with chronic illnesses. She would feel terrible when it rained, but she could still occasionally walk around the yard.

"Captain, you should have one too."

Just as they were clapping, Yu Wen and Yu Wu started making a fuss on the side.

Lian Youming's face stiffened. He had no special talents since childhood. Unlike his younger siblings who were raised by their mother, he had only endured the hardships of being trained by his own father. He had only practiced martial arts and been whipped with a belt. He couldn't very well go up and perform breaking a boulder on his chest.

As a result, once one person spoke up, everyone else joined in the commotion.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Lian Youming was about to sing a military reclamation song when Liu Dabiao deliberately imitated the Shaanxi accent and said seriously, "Captain, I don't mean to say that, but you don't always sing those military songs. We're tired of hearing them all year round. How about a song from your hometown, something fresh? I want to hear 'Orchid Flower,' okay?"

"Lan Huahua doesn't know how to sing." Seeing everyone staring at him, Lian Youming blushed. Knowing he couldn't spoil their fun, he could only raise his hand to signal them to calm down. Then, he cleared his throat, thought for a moment, and then a desolate, deep, and hoarse Shaanxi accent slowly sang out, "Mountains can't stop...can't stop...clouds, trees can't stop...gods, can't stop...people longing for each other..."

His breath is now longer and deeper than that of ordinary people, penetrating his lungs. Even when sitting, he has a strong voice with a distinctive tone, exuding a cool and intense masculine aura and an intangible, peculiar quality.

"One is on that mountain... oh... one is in that ravine... we can't talk to each other... let's wave to each other..."

Lian Youming sang at the top of his lungs.

Some people applauded and cheered, some had tears in their eyes, and others listened in silence.

"Snowing."

During the song, someone said something.

Lian Youming turned his head and looked out the window, only to see the world outside suddenly turn white, with snowflakes falling in the wind.

Before I knew it, all four seasons had passed, and it was late autumn again.

It's time to go down the mountain.

(End of this chapter)