Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

"Besides, I'm so tired every day that I don't even want to move. I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed. I don't have your energy for martial arts training," the second senior brother said reluctantly.

“Alright, then I’ll treat you this weekend, senior brother,” Sha Zhu said after thinking for a moment. “Okay. I’ll wait for your message. Are you going to the kitchen this afternoon?” the second senior brother asked.

Master Wang Yijun, standing nearby, squinted and said, "Let Zhuzi go. I think he's got plenty of energy. He rides his bicycle, sparks flying everywhere. Zhuzi, get ready, it's time to get to work. We have guests in the front hall."

"Alright, Master, I'll get back to work now," Sha Zhu said reluctantly as he stood up.

At 5 p.m., as workers finished their shifts and the evening rush hour began, Fengzeyuan once again saw a surge in customers.

Although most ordinary people were poor in this era, there was no shortage of wealthy people in any era. Take the more than 800 businesses on Qianmen Street, for example; although some were taken away by the iron fist of socialism.

But those merchants who weren't taken away were all wealthy people. Most of the people who came to Fengzeyuan to eat were these merchants and some political figures.

Sha Zhu threw himself back into his busy work, and it wasn't until around nine o'clock in the evening, when the customers had all left, that he finally finished his day's work.

Sha Zhu was completely exhausted and didn't want to move. He took off his chef's uniform and needed to hurry up and get his bedding from the dormitory.

As I passed through the lobby, I told the manager that I wouldn't be staying in the dormitory anymore. Then I went back to the dormitory, grabbed my bedding, and went back with my supervisor.

When we arrived at Master Li Xinggong's house, a room had already been prepared for us; the room was clean and tidy.

It seemed the room had already been cleaned. Mr. Wang glanced at the room, gave a brief explanation about his work tomorrow, and then left.

Master Li Xinggong helped make the bed. "Zhuzi, hurry up and go to the pond in the yard to wash up and get some rest. You need to get up early tomorrow morning."

After giving Sha Zhu his instructions, he went back to his room to sleep.

Sha Zhu thought for a moment, and seeing that his master had gone back, he closed the door, locked it, and slipped into the space.

Sha Zhu wasn't worried; he could sense any commotion outside from inside the space.

Sha Zhu rushed into the lake and took a bath. He then put on his shorts.

Use your mind to wash your dirty clothes, which you've worn all day, into the lake, and then spin them dry.

Then, taking the washed clothes, I left the space. Stepping out of the room, I went to the sink and pretended to give them a quick wash.

I wet the washed clothes, rubbed them five, six, seven, or eight times, and then hung them in the yard where clothes are specifically dried.

This is a crazy move, even a fool like Zhu can't do anything about it, since he doesn't live alone. He still needs to be careful and not give himself away.

Back in his room, Sha Zhu didn't dare go back into the space to sleep. He was exhausted after a long day and was afraid that if he slept too deeply, he wouldn't be able to react in time if something happened outside.

Sha Zhu entered the space, found two large buckets, cleaned the two cows, milked two buckets of milk, stored them in the warehouse, and then left the space.

These two buckets of milk weigh eighty or ninety pounds. If we don't drink it often, we won't have enough containers in just a few days. We'll need to get some more containers.

I set the alarm, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning, as the alarm clock rang, Shazhu opened his eyes, and all his fatigue vanished.

The sounds of Master Li getting up and washing up could be heard from the courtyard outside. Sha Zhu quickly got up and put on his spare clothes.

I stepped out of the room and greeted the chef. "Master, you go wash up first, I'll go see if any breakfast shops are open."

Without waiting for the master's reaction, he walked out, opened the courtyard gate, and stepped out of the alley. There were already pedestrians walking on the street.

Not far from the alley, there are two or three breakfast stalls side by side, and the aroma of various foods wafts in the wind.

Sha Zhu took a deep breath. Steamed buns, fried dough sticks, tofu pudding, wontons, millet porridge, fermented mung bean juice, fried dough rings, fried dough sticks, fried liver, steamed buns, mutton offal soup, sesame seed cakes, etc.

A few tables were set up at the entrance of the breakfast shop, and a few people were sitting there eating breakfast.

Sha Zhu walked into a steamed bun shop and ordered six large meat buns and two servings of tofu pudding.

Because I was in a hurry to leave and didn't bring my lunchbox, and it wasn't convenient to take one from my spatial storage, I discussed with the owner about paying a deposit to borrow the lunchbox from the store.

The shopkeeper chuckled and said no problem. He wrapped six steamed buns in oil paper, filled a thermos with tofu pudding, and handed them to Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu saw that the lunchbox was so big, it could easily hold two or three bowls. So he quickly paid the money and deposited the money.

He then filled his bag with some pickled vegetable shreds before leaving the breakfast stall and heading back.

Back in the courtyard, Master Li had already washed up, put on his shorts and was ready to practice his skills. He saw Sha Zhu come in, carrying steamed buns and a lunchbox.

He said, "Zhu Zi, hurry up and wash your face. Why did you buy so many buns? You can't eat too much before practicing. Eat less later. I'll teach you the basics first."

Sha Zhu heard his master's words. As he walked, he said, "Okay, master, where is the kitchen? I'll get two bowls. You can eat first, I'll be quick."

"Alright, just put your things on that table over there and go wash up. Don't worry about it, I'll get them." With that, she walked towards the kitchen.

Sha Zhu had no choice but to put the breakfast on the table in the yard and go wash his face and brush his teeth.

After washing up, Sha Zhu went to the table. Master Li had already started eating. Seeing Sha Zhu approach, Master Li...

He asked, "Zhu Zi, where did this lunchbox come from?" Silly Zhu Zi was afraid of encountering this situation. Fortunately, he didn't take out anything from his spatial storage, so he couldn't explain.

"Master, this belongs to the breakfast shop owner. I left a deposit with it. I'll just return it to the owner when I pass by on my way to work," Sha Zhu said as he sat down at the table.

Upon hearing this, Master Li said, "Okay, remember to get your deposit back. Hurry up and eat. Eat only a little first, just one steamed bun is enough; you can eat the rest on the way."

Sha Zhu replied while eating, "Okay, I understand, Master."

The two finished breakfast a little past six. Master Li said to Sha Zhu, "Today I'll teach you the basics first."

Looking at Sha Zhu, he said, "The clothes you're wearing aren't very convenient for practicing. You could find some shorts or training clothes when you have time."

"The main martial art I teach is called Xinyi Liuhe Quan (Heart-Mind Six Harmonies Boxing). Before teaching you the boxing techniques, I will first teach you a set of stances, also known as Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation). Observe how your master stands,"

The master got into position and then explained, "The basic stance for standing meditation includes feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, body weight lowered, hands bent in front of the chest or abdomen with fingers touching, and keeping all muscles relaxed."

When practicing Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), it is essential to concentrate, clear your mind of all distractions, and breathe naturally. You can use abdominal breathing to help relax your body and mind.

"Watch closely, Pillar, you come here," the master stood up, instructing Sha Zhu on the stance as he continued.

"Standing meditation is a traditional Chinese martial arts practice. It mainly achieves the effect of exercising the body by maintaining a specific standing posture and coordinating with breathing and mental focus. If practiced well, it can also have the effect of treating diseases."

Standing meditation not only improves balance and lower limb muscles, but also helps to enhance concentration.

The practice of Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) is quite flexible and not limited by time, place, or conditions. It can be practiced while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. It is a simple and easy-to-learn exercise that can be integrated into daily life.

If practiced correctly, it can unblock the meridians, harmonize qi and blood, promote the interaction of yin and yang, balance water and fire, enhance the spirit, strengthen the body, and increase strength. It can even prevent all diseases.

"If you master the stance training, the exercises I'm about to teach you will be much more effective and easier." After introducing the stance training, Master Li continued...

“I studied under Song Guobin, a native of Bengbu, Anhui, who is also your grandmaster. He mainly taught Ten-Road Spring Leg and Long Fist, as well as spear, sword, and halberd. However, he was more conservative in teaching Xinyi Liuhequan and was very strict in selecting disciples. Only a very few people could be included in his Xinyi lineage.”

Seeing that Sha Zhu was focused and showed no other unusual expression, Li Xinggong continued.

"Teaching you Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) is to lay the foundation for you. If you don't practice it well, can't persevere, and don't practice diligently, you probably won't be able to master Xin Yi Liu He Quan (Heart-Mind Six Harmonies Boxing). I will only teach you some ordinary boxing techniques and the Ten-Road Springing Leg technique."

To learn Xinyi Liuhequan, one must master the techniques of hand, eye, body, method, and footwork, as well as form, spirit, intention, energy, strength, and skill.

Only after you've accomplished all this can I teach you the basic techniques of Mind-Intent Internal Kung Fu, up to the Ten True Forms; from the Ten True Forms to the ultimate fighting techniques," he said, pulling a book from his person.

He tempted, "See? This book contains the manual for Xin Yi Liu He Quan. If I show it to you a few times, you can practice it yourself based on the manual."

Seeing the gleam in Sha Zhu's eyes, Master Li said, "Of course, it's useless for you to have the book now. You still need to practice it in conjunction with the mental techniques and incantations of Xin Yi Liu He Quan. As for the mental techniques and incantations..." He pointed to his head as he spoke.

"It's all here, and can only be passed down orally. Your grandmaster passed it down to me orally back then. The mental techniques can't be written in the boxing manual, and there's no way to express their meaning, so it can only be passed down orally."