Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 403 - 378: Martial Arts Training
Qin Shouren and his wife left, but Xiong Youxin was determined to stay. However, this summer vacation was far from the fun she had originally envisioned, as Su Yan planned to teach the children something during the break.
Hence, the teacher became Su Yan, with the twins, Gu Niannian, and Xiong Youxin as students, and of course, there was no class monitor.
At home, Leng Qing and Hu Zi were too busy to pay attention to anything else because their chili sauce had developed many flavors, including the sweet and salty taste suitable for the south, the salty and spicy taste for the north, with shredded chicken, and beef cubes, among others. The factory was continuously expanding, and the sales territory was also growing, even exporting to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Su Yan’s company had commenced operations as the Hong Kong general distributor.
Old Sir Gu from the Gu Family also came to the county and formally discussed with Su Yan about the ham business.
The old man from the Gu Family was delighted to see so many children and immediately declared that during his days in the county, he would bring Gu Niannian to the Qin Family house every morning to teach the children martial arts. Gu Niannian’s face soured at the prospect, but the twins hi-fived and cheerfully agreed with a round of applause.
The twins had recently been watching Japanese animated series "Ikkyu-san," which featured martial arts and kendo. The brothers would often imitate the moves at home, so upon hearing Old Sir Gu’s offer to teach them martial arts, they couldn’t contain their excitement, which kept them awake at night.
Li Xianglu glanced at the clock; it was already ten o’clock, and the two children were still excitedly horsing around in bed, leaving her at her wit’s end.
Qin Xi brought a newspaper over, turned off the overhead light, switched on the lamp, which dimmed the room, but the two youngsters still couldn’t sleep and kept murmuring something. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Upon seeing Li Xianglu staring at the children’s bed, Qin Xi quickly coughed and said, "Ba Yi and Ba’er, go to sleep now. Tomorrow you have to wake up early for martial arts practice!"
The children promptly lay down and stopped talking, proving Qin Xi’s words were more effective than Li Xianglu’s lengthier attempts.
However, in the morning, they were taken aback: before learning martial arts, they had to start with the horse stance, which meant staying completely still for half an hour without moving a muscle.
Since it was the weekend, Li Xianglu also got up later and, seeing the four motionless children in the yard, approached with bowls of porridge to check on them, especially her younger son who was sweating profusely on his forehead but didn’t dare to wipe it off, which made her laugh as she continued to eat her breakfast.
Aside from Gu Niannian, the other three children were initially very enthusiastic, especially after seeing Old Sir Gu perform a set of military boxing, but after holding the horse stance all morning, their enthusiasm waned.
By lunchtime, Ba Yi and Ba’er were so exhausted they started to doze off before they finished eating. Li Xianglu found it amusing and took over feeding the children, making sure they were full before carrying them off to sleep.
But the tough days had only just begun. At four in the afternoon, Old Sir Gu arrived punctually to resume their martial arts practice. Seeing this, Su Yan had no choice but to put down the English book she was reading and avoid interrupting. In her eyes, having a strong physique was a prerequisite for learning cultural knowledge, so she did not object to Old Sir Gu teaching the children martial arts.
On the second day of practice, Ba’er couldn’t get up, and even cried when Ba Yi came to call him in the morning. However, Li Xianglu was not indulgent. She reminded him that it was he who had clamored to learn, and now he wanted to give up just because he was tired. There was no such easy way out. She directly carried the crying Ba’er outside, where he stood awkwardly, watching his brother, Brother Niannian, and Little Aunt, all standing in position, motionless, their lips pouted so much they could hang oil bottles.
But when he saw Old Sir Gu teaching the basic movements, he felt the urge to join. Yet, Old Sir Gu was not willing to allow it unless Ba’er could hold the horse stance for half an hour, otherwise he wouldn’t be eligible to learn.
Ba’er felt aggrieved and wanted to cry, but noticing that no one around was paying attention to him, his saddened tears dripped down, and he began to hold the horse stance.
Li Xianglu carefully peeked out and saw Ba’er’s small figure squatting there, his little bottom sticking up, trying hard to maintain his stance. She couldn’t help feeling sad, her tears ready to fall, wanting to take the child back, but reason kept her from moving. As the saying goes, one can see an old man in a three-year-old and one can foresee an old age in a seven-year-old. This was the critical time for a child’s character formation. If she were to give in due to her momentary soft-heartedness, the child might develop the habit of giving up halfway. What isn’t difficult to learn nowadays? Apart from those who are exceptionally intelligent and have photographic memory, most people possess an average to above-average intelligence and require hard work to reap rewards.
Thus, Li Xianglu simply stood there quietly, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes, turned, and went to the kitchen to prepare some dishes that the children loved.
Meanwhile, Su Yan had discussed with Old Sir Gu, and they decided that he would teach the children martial arts in the mornings when the air was fresh, and in the afternoons, she would teach them cultural knowledge.
The two children were already three and a half years old and could start learning how to interact with others and to discern right from wrong.
Old Sir Gu had thus spent more than half a month with them, and the matters concerning the ham business were also nearly settled. The Gu Family, besides the eldest son, Gu Congsheng, had a younger son who had just graduated from university and was assigned a job in the county hospital. His major did not match the field well; mainly because the younger son was very keen on the medical profession and did not wish to engage in business. Therefore, the Gu Family would only hold a twenty percent technical stake, and the rest of the management and factory facilities would be handled by Su Yan’s side.
After all, Su Yan was getting on in years, with limited energy, and now her primary motivation was her two great-grandchildren, leaving other affairs to the people below.
Thus, Xu Wu sent Da Li over, but this project would not be conducted in their own county but in the other county where Chen Zhong was located.
As it happened, Chen Zhong’s distillery had begun operations, and the first batch of liquor had started selling. Due to imported brewing equipment, the quality of the liquor was exceptionally smooth, and there had even been a temporary shortage.
Such profits made the villagers envious, and a group of them felt that Chen Zhong was not suitable to be the factory manager, urging him to relinquish his position.
Chen Zhong had mentioned it in passing when he called Li Xianglu to announce the baby’s full-moon celebration. It seemed likely that there would be a village election to decide the matter the next month.
Li Xianglu, on the other hand, thought that Chen Zhong would be a good talent to extract from the distillery, to become the manager of their ham factory, and to offer him some shares instead.
Qin Xi also felt that Li Xianglu’s suggestion was good, but they would have to wait for the outcome of the election at Chen Zhong’s distillery first. Chen Zhong was a man dedicated to enriching the village, and unless he was utterly disheartened, he would always prioritize the villagers.
Chen Zhong’s wife, Liu Chunhua, had given birth to a daughter weighing over six pounds, and the family doted on her like no other. Since Li Xianglu could not visit in person, she mailed an ample amount of fabric and food.
In early August, everything was settled, and Old Sir Gu left Huai County to return to his rural hometown, but the children continued to persist in holding the horse stance and practicing martial arts as if it had become a part of their lives.
