Wu Qiuyue sighed: "Actually, my parents don't want their children to go to the county. They want to stay in the town to attend middle school. Although the middle school in the town is not very good, it is better than Yunshan No. 3 Middle School. Mainly because of my sister-in-law. I can’t get along with my mother, so I have to keep my child with me, no matter what I say.”
Zhang Yongsheng expressed his understanding: "Every family has its own difficulties, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been like this. Your family is pretty good. Most of the divorces in our family area started from the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law."
Wu Qiuyue also had a headache: "Who says it's not? It's really a troublesome matter. Tomorrow my family will worship ancestors and treat guests to dinner at noon. Xuewen and I are going to go. Can you also go and see the child by the way? That child I’m only two years younger than you, but I feel so far behind you.”
Zhang Yongsheng nodded and said, "It's no problem at noon. All the preparations have been done. Anyway, I have nothing to do."
As the Ghost Festival approaches, every household begins to worship their ancestors one after another. Those in the town arrive earlier, while those in the surrounding countryside arrive later. In two days, Zhang Yongsheng and Zhang Xuewen will also go back to Zhangwan Village to participate in the annual Hungry Ghost Festival to worship their ancestors. After the ancestor worship, there will be a running-water mat, where folks from big families eat together to bond.
Although Zhang Yongsheng's family lives in the county town, they are also famous in the family ancestral hall. After his great-grandfather became successful in the town, the first thing he did was donate a large sum of money to the ancestral hall. Therefore, his great-great-grandfather was also at the forefront of the ancestral hall where the memorial tablets of his ancestors were enshrined.
The next morning, Zhang Yongsheng sorted out various ancient books left by his grandfather as usual. He selected some martial arts secrets and Jianghu skills and made an index directory, and found a large wooden box to pack them into categories in case of emergency.
These books are very useful to Zhang Yongsheng. Many of them are unique skills that have been lost among the people. I don’t know where his grandfather got them. He had already found the atlas of Taizu's Changquan and Coiling Dragon Staff. He also found a book of atlases of plum blossom piles and took them back to Zhao Yunfei for use.
At present, Zhao Yunfei's martial arts is still in the basic stage. Zhang Yongsheng asked him to learn step by step to prevent him from biting off more than he can chew. One disciple's boxing technique and one equipment were enough for him to practice for two years. Together with the plum blossom pile technique, it was enough for Zhao Yunfei to persist until the early stages of college.
Plum blossom pile is a very famous lower body kung fu. It can be used for actual combat or for practicing light kung fu. It is very famous in the world. Even in modern society, plum blossom pile performances are often performed in Chinese New Year temple fairs. It's just that this kind of performance has moved away from actual combat and towards the level of acrobatics.
Zeng Yi's philosophy of life of giving priority to learning life-saving kung fu is very useful, so Zhang Yongsheng also plans to add plum blossom pile practice to Zhao Yunfei. As long as the foundation of the plum blossom pile is laid, you can learn other skills with less effort in the future, and you can escape in time when encountering sudden dangers.
After being busy for a while, Zhang Xuewen and Wu Qiuyue came over, carrying gifts in their hands. Zhang Yongsheng got ready as soon as he got up, changed into new clothes and brought souvenirs. The three of them set out for Wu Qiuyue's natal home. His home was not far from Zhang's home, not even a block away.
Wu Qiuyue's natal family is an old resident of Zizhu Town. It was the most prosperous a hundred years ago and was well-known as a scholarly family. It is said that some of her ancestors were county officials. Although the Wu family is now in decline, the yard they live in is still quite small, equivalent to the two yards of the Zhang family.
At this time, the Wu family was already very busy. In addition to Wu Qiuyue's family, relatives from all over the country were here. Tables of banquets were set up in the front yard. After the sacrifice, everyone had a meal together to connect with each other. Wu Qiuyue took the Zhang brothers into the house, saying hello along the way.
Zhang Xuewen knew many of them and greeted them with a smile. Zhang Yongsheng didn't know them at all. They were all strangers he had never met before. When he met people and greeted them, he could only smile awkwardly. They entered the main room under the leadership of Wu Qiuyue and met several elders, including Wu Qiuyue's father.
Under the leadership of Zhang Xuewen, Zhang Yongsheng presented souvenirs and then said hello one by one. Although he didn't know any of them, they were all elders, so he left the main room with a simple courtesy. Then Wu Qiuyue took the two brothers to sit at a table in the courtyard, waiting for the sacrifice to begin.
The courtyard was very lively, with many people sitting at each table, all relatives and friends of the Wu family. The table brought by Wu Qiuyue was close to the main table. A couple were eating melon seeds and chatting, and a teenager sat next to them. The young man looked thin and timid, as if he was not used to this kind of scene.
Wu Qiuyue introduced Zhang Yongsheng that this family was his eldest brother Wu Chunlei, his wife and children. Wu Chunlei stood up emotionally and greeted his wife Huang Cuifen warmly. Their child Wu Xilin was timid and nodded silently, sitting next to him without making a sound.
Zhang Xuewen nodded and said: "Brother and sister-in-law, you're welcome. I've already contacted you about what you said. My classmate has already agreed. You go to him before school starts and he will help you with the procedures. It mainly costs three thousand yuan. , this is indispensable, you must be prepared.”
Wu Chunlei agreed: "It would be great if you can transfer to another school. Just spend some money. Xilin was bullied so much that he couldn't help it. Several people in his grade bullied him and didn't even let go of breakfast money. Let's find him The principal didn't care and watched them take revenge on Xi Lin."
Wu Qiuyue couldn't help but said: "Actually, it's good to transfer Xilin back to the town. Now the school in the town has full teachers, and his parents are helping to take care of him. No one will bully him. People in the county bully students. , Xilin is also timid and afraid of getting into trouble, so life will definitely be difficult."
Huang Cuifen shook her head and said: "Sister, you don't have a child, you don't understand. This child is the flesh that fell from the mother's body. How can we say that we should separate it? Now that the county is developing very fast, Xilin can also grow in the county. How could my knowledge be better than in this small town in the mountains?"
Wu Qiuyue wanted to persuade, but Zhang Xuewen interrupted: "It is also good to be in the county. It will be easier to find a job in the county to support yourself in the future. It is also difficult to find a job back in the town. Our Zizhu Town is too small and cannot accommodate too many children. .A Sheng is studying in No. 2 Middle School. He is familiar with him, so there should be no problem."
Wu Chunlei cupped his hands gratefully and said: "Brother Asheng, I'm asking you to help me. Your sister-in-law and I wander around the streets every day, working from dawn to dusk just to sell some fruit. We really can't take care of you. You are from the county. If you have connections and connections, please pay more attention.”
Zhang Yongsheng patted his chest and promised: "No problem, I'll take care of this. I don't dare to say anything else. I still have some say in the No. 2 Middle School. The new principal of our school has been rectifying the school ethos and discipline, and he will definitely do it next semester. Even better, No. 3 Middle School is really too messy, and it would be best if we could transfer it out."
Huang Cuifen complained about Wu Chunlei: "I went to No. 3 Middle School because of a friend of his, but the money was spent and the children were bullied. It was really annoying. Especially because there was a Seven Star Club in their junior high school. In fact, they are just seven little losers who are extremely domineering because of their family's wealth and power."
