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

"Your master also has another master in name, named Lu Songgao."

My master, Song Guobin, and I are fellow disciples and sworn brothers. We both mainly teach Xinyi Liuhequan.

"I'm now taking on apprentices and passing on my skills in Shanghai. Just keep that in mind." Li Xinggong gave Shazhu a brief introduction to the origins of his school.

He continued, "Today we'll mainly practice standing meditation, which should last at least forty minutes. If you can't keep going, you can stop and rest for a while before continuing."

After explaining the movements to Sha Zhu, he went to the side to practice his own boxing techniques.

Sha Zhu stood for more than ten minutes following his master's instructions, but then felt sore all over and his calves trembled weakly.

He managed to hold on for a while, but had to stop to catch his breath. Li Xinggong glanced at Sha Zhu a few times after he stopped, then continued practicing.

Sha Zhu felt embarrassed by his master's gaze, rubbed his legs, and continued to maintain his stance.

Once I stand in the stance, I'm determined. I refuse to believe in evil spirits. With divine water in the space to help me, what am I afraid of? As long as I don't die from training, I'll train like crazy.

I must master the real skills. That way, as long as I'm in the right, I won't be afraid to fight in public, and as for fighting in secret, I won't be afraid of that silly Zhu either.

Those who plot and scheme will die quietly.

And so, with a fierce determination in his heart, Sha Zhu was willing to lose both his legs but persevere, and he completed the task assigned by his master in one go.

I felt like my legs weren't mine anymore. I was sweating profusely, with beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. I felt sticky all over, and my clothes were soaked.

If I hadn't drunk the divine water before, what I'm expelling now would be impure marrow.

Even so, Shazhu still felt uncomfortable; his clothes were sticking to his body.

Li Xinggong found it incredible that Sha Zhu could complete the entire stake-standing process in one go.

Back then, it took me more than two months to go from standing in a single stance for ten minutes to standing for forty minutes at a time.

"Zhu Zi, stand up slowly and take a break before moving. Your blood circulation is poor, so don't fall if you move around."

The master reminded him, "Zhu Zi, where did you practice this?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu quickly explained, "Master, I only practiced wrestling with others under the overpass when I was a child. I also practice when I have nothing to do, so maybe my lower body is relatively stable."

Upon hearing this, the master said, "Alright, not bad, you have some perseverance. Stand there for a few more days. Once you get used to it, I'll start teaching you the boxing techniques. That's enough for today. I thought you would practice on and off for two hours today."

I didn't expect you to give me such a surprise. During the day at work, I make sure to practice the standing meditation posture whenever I have free time.

"Okay, Master, I follow the points you taught me when I walk, stand, and cook," Sha Zhu hurriedly replied.

When Li Xinggong heard Sha Zhu say this, he knew that Sha Zhu had taken it to heart.

"Okay, you can try to walk around slowly, go wash up, and change your clothes. It's still early, go return your lunchbox later, rest for a while, and then it'll be time to go to work."

"Okay, Master." Sha Zhu obeyed his master's words. He just wanted to take a shower and change into some dry clothes.

As I gradually felt my legs could move again, I went to collect the clothes that had dried last night and went back to tidy up.

I grabbed a towel, went to the sink, and did a quick cleaning. I took the breakfast box from the stall, told the cook, and left.

After leaving the alley, Sha Zhu first returned the lunchbox to the breakfast shop owner, then packed ten large meat buns, settled the bill with the owner, and left the breakfast shop.

He found an empty alley, threw the steamed buns into his spatial storage, and started strolling around the streets. Since it was still early, Sha Zhu didn't want to miss the opportunity to spend money, so he bought whatever he could. If he didn't buy now, the buns would expire.

Most shops are open for business now, so they try not to attract attention.

Sha Zhu disguised himself slightly, altering his appearance, and pretended to be a purchasing agent, buying items that could fit in a backpack.

I browsed the shops' main businesses—cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and regular ready-made clothing—and noted their locations so I could rent a warehouse when I had time.

Buying items in bulk and having the seller deliver them to your door is much more convenient.

After wandering around the streets for a while without seeing any training clothes for sale, I realized it was almost time and went back to my master's courtyard.

Just as he returned to the courtyard gate, he heard voices inside. Sha Zhu hurried a few steps and saw two craftsmen chatting.

When Master Wang Yijun saw Sha Zhu, he asked, "Zhu Zi, where have you been? You've kept me waiting for so long. Don't you know it's time to start work?"

Sha Zhu replied, "Master, I just saw that all the shops on the street were open, so I just wanted to take a stroll." Then he said, "Master, I'm going to get my bicycle."

Master Li Xinggong said, "Zhuzi, take these buns with you."

Chef Wang Yijun quickly said, "Why bring steamed buns? It's not convenient to ride a bicycle on the way. We won't go hungry when we get to the kitchen. Alright, Chef Li, it's almost time. You should go to work too. We're leaving now."

Without waiting for Li Xinggong's reply, he walked out. Sha Zhu was already outside pushing his bicycle, waiting for his master.

Seeing the master come out, he got on his bicycle and rode towards Fengzeyuan with the master on his back.

"Master, could you let my second senior brother and I take turns cooking? My legs felt like they weren't even mine after I finished practicing this morning. It took me a long time to feel better," Sha Zhu pleaded with his master as he rode his bicycle.

Upon hearing this, Master Wang Yijun was furious. "No way! I see you're perfectly fine. You ride pretty fast, so you have time to practice martial arts, but no time to properly practice your cooking skills."

Upon hearing his master's words, Sha Zhu quickly explained, "Master, I don't need to practice my cooking skills anymore. Didn't I spend all day on the stove yesterday?"

Actually, I was hiding my true abilities. My skills are at least 50-60% of my master's, and I'm only 16 years old this year.

If someone is too young and has too good a cooking skill, wouldn't that just cause trouble for themselves and their chef?

"What if the owner of Fengzeyuan Restaurant sees how good my cooking is and gives me some assignments outside the area? What if I'm such a blabbermouth? What if the manager sees how young I am and how good my cooking is and tries to poach me, causing you trouble?"

“Ride your bike properly. You're so young, yet you're already hiding your skills. I was wondering why the dish you cooked yesterday was just so-so. You still need to practice. You and your second senior brother should talk about taking turns.” The master said after considering for a moment.

"Okay, Master," Sha Zhu quickly replied upon hearing his master's words. He thought to himself, "Second Senior Brother isn't so hard to deal with. After a few more drinks, he'll have to listen to me in everything."

Upon arriving at the kitchen of Fengzeyuan Restaurant, Sha Zhu found his second senior brother and, after promising to treat him to more drinks, the second senior brother relented and promised to cook more meals for him.

Sha Zhu went back to his master's side to assist him. Master Wang Yijun saw that Sha Zhu had returned.

He said irritably, "Let me teach you more. What's the use of just watching? Here, there are some soaked sea cucumbers over there. Make me a stir-fried sea cucumber with scallions. Let's see if you're bragging or hiding your skills. If you're bragging, then be honest and go practice more at the stove."

Sha Zhu had no choice but to obediently listen to his master. He immediately got to work.

Rinse the soaked sea cucumbers with clean water and cut them into appropriately sized pieces. Cut the scallions into sections and slice the ginger. Pick up the large iron pot...

Heat oil in a pan until it reaches about 50% of its maximum temperature. Add scallion segments and ginger slices, and slowly fry until the scallion segments are golden brown to make scallion oil.

Remove the fried scallion segments and set aside, leaving the scallion oil in the pan.

Add sea cucumber to scallion oil, along with cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and allow the sea cucumber to fully absorb the flavors of the seasonings.

Sha Zhu's small eyes darted around; he knew he had to hide his shortcomings a little. So he deliberately simmered it a little longer.

Once the sea cucumber has been stewed until it is flavorful, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce. At this point, you can add the previously fried scallion segments.

Finally, thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch slurry, drizzle with scallion oil, and serve.