The next morning we checked out early and the four of us set off for Zhaowang Hotel.
More than ten years ago, Zhaowang Hotel was regarded as the most upscale hotel in Handan. Now this hotel is still there, but the business is not as good as before.
We took the city bus from the train station and it was not a long journey. It took about an hour to arrive at the place. I ran to the front desk to ask if there was a man named Liu living here. Could you please let me know and say that someone is looking for him.
The front desk waitress said sorry, but it is not convenient for us to proactively disclose guest information. You can ask the guest to call the front desk.
He shook his head and said that he had tried but could not contact the beggar Liu.
"Changchun Club." With the mentality of giving it a try, I looked at the waitress and said these three words carefully.
The waitress's expression changed, and she immediately changed her words and said, "Wait a moment, and I'll check it out for you."
At that time, computers were not widely available for registration at the front desk. They were all handwritten in a thick black notebook, including ID number, name, and so on. There was no such thing as Internet monitoring.
The waitress flipped through the registration book for a few minutes and said: "Mr. Liu has an annual card with us, room 406, but Mr. Liu should not be here now. He goes to Nanminghe Park to exercise at 5:30 every morning, maybe at noon Come back, or you may not come back all day.”
After thanking the front desk clerk, we went to Nanminghe Park to look for Liu, the beggar.
I really found him this time, but he wasn't exercising in the park...
To the north of Nanminghe Park is the ticket office. There is a small fitness square next to the ticket office. The beggar Liu is sitting on a chair in the square. His clothes are shabby and ragged. There is an equally worn enamel tea jar at his feet, which he is holding in his hands. He was napping in his sleeves... His enamel jar was full of fifty-cent change, and even one dollar was very small.
The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. Beggar Liu must be rich, and he is not ordinary rich. He can get an annual pass at the most upscale hotel in the area. I really can't figure out why he does this.
Later I asked the boss and he told me the reason.
In 1992, a movie was made called Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qier. This was originally a comedy movie that was nonsensical and funny. Very few people knew the prototype character behind the story.
The beggar Liu’s real name is Liu Changsheng. His great ancestor once won the first place in the martial arts competition in the 19th year of Qianlong’s reign, which is commonly known as the martial arts champion. At that time, the examination for Wu Zhuangyuan was very difficult, definitely much more difficult than the current civil service examination.
At that time, the first test was a horse riding and archery test, the second test was a skill and courage test, and the third test was a literary test.
"Skills and bravery" include drawing the bow, dancing the sword, and lifting weights.
The knives and stones that need to be danced are divided into three levels, and the bows are also divided into three levels, namely: eighty, one hundred and one hundred and twenty (kg). There are requirements in the assessment process, that is, "the bow must be fully drawn three times, the sword must be close to the chest front and back, and the stone must be lifted one foot off the ground, and it must be at shoulder level."
Beggar Liu's great-great-grandfather ranked first in all three exams, and set a record of 320 kilograms in lifting stones.
After passing these three levels, you will basically be admitted to the martial arts examination. The literary examination is just for the purpose. It consists of two symbolic questions. However, beggar Liu's great-grandfather was not only illiterate but also had a bad temper. He thought that the examiner was deliberately making things difficult for him. He was so angry that he kicked the examiner on the head and gave him a concussion. Afterwards, his great ancestor was arrested and brought to prison for two years.
So now if we check the Qing Dynasty archives online, we will find that Wu Zhuangyuan is not the beggar Liu Gaozu. Instead, what we find is that the first Wu Jia in the Jiawu Branch in the 19th year of Qianlong (1754) was a man named Gu Lin. His great ancestor was originally number one, but because he kicked someone and gave him a concussion, Gu Lin, who was number two at the same time as him, became number one.
The family he caused a concussion in was very powerful. In order to retaliate, they paid for their connections to break the legs of his great-great-grandfather in prison. Later, he became a lame when he was released. Those who practiced martial arts in those days paid great attention to appearance. His great-grandfather's martial arts skills were still there after he was released from prison, but because of his disability, his life was not easy, and he later became a beggar in his family.
Things turned around in the 24th year of Qianlong's reign, when Qianlong was 49 years old. His favorite thing to do was to go to the south of the Yangtze River to pick up beautiful women. In the twelfth lunar month of this year, Qianlong dressed up and walked to Yuanze Mountain (in the northern area of Shaoxing) when he was suddenly robbed by bandits. Seeing that the king of a country was about to die at the hands of bandits, a man in clothes suddenly emerged from the grass on the roadside. A ragged middle-aged beggar. Although this beggar was lame on one leg, he was very skilled in martial arts. He was able to defeat the bandits and save Qianlong with just three strokes.
Qianlong was very grateful to this man afterwards. Qianlong said: "You have done a great job in saving me. Just tell me what kind of reward you want."
Qianlong originally thought that he would ask for some ten thousand taels of gold, or a high-ranking official. Unexpectedly, the beggar said: "Long live my life, I want a golden rice bowl to use when begging for food."
Qianlong laughed loudly after hearing this, and was rewarded with a rice bowl made of pure gold. With this gold rice bowl, he was asked to beg for food. From the princes and nobles to the local gentry, no one dared to refuse to give him food.
At the same time, his great ancestor felt lucky to see the real dragon. In his later years, he passed down a family motto that the descendants of his Liu family would only be beggars in the future.
After learning about his origin from the leader, I couldn't help but sigh, no wonder a beggar can be so skilled in martial arts and still have a lot of money.
It turned out that he was from a famous family and was given a golden bowl by the emperor, making him the king among beggars.
He pushed his head in the wheelchair by himself and coughed twice.
Beggar Liu squinted his eyes and saw that it was us, and he immediately woke up.
"It's Wang Xiansheng, I was shocked. You guys came faster than I thought." After saying that, he looked at Douyazai and Zhao Xuanxuan again, and asked the leader who these two children were.
The leader said: "Master Liu, don't be offended, these two are new members of our team."
"Oh?" Beggar Liu looked at Dou Sprouts and said, "What about the girl and the two brothers?"
With a gloomy look on his face, he said: "This is why we came to see you, Mr. Liu. After all, I am in a wheelchair because of the revenge of the Changchun Society. The whereabouts of Xiaohong and Sun Da are unknown now,"
The beggar Liu put away the small enamel jar he used to beg for money and said with a gloomy face: "It seems that Xiao Tuantou is not dead. Those people have escaped. The coastal area is the weakest point of the Changchun Society. You will be followed wherever you go." Well, it seems things are more difficult than I expected."
After a moment of pause, the beggar Liu stretched out his hand and said: "Xian Sheng, as an old friend, I will give you two unilateral suggestions regarding your matter."
"First, I'll find someone to take the lead for you and ask what the Changchun Society wants from you. Personally, I'm not afraid of the Changchun Society, and they don't dare to do anything to me. You can stay in Handan, and there's no problem with me protecting you for the time being. , but if you want to solve this matter from the root, in the final analysis, you still have to rely on your team. The role I can provide can only be regarded as a middleman at best. "
"Second, the road is dark, and you choose to fight to the death with the Changchun Society. The Changchun Society is no longer the Changchun Society fifty years ago. Most of the people who left in 1988 are still alive. You join them to keep warm. It’s better than fighting alone.”
After listening to what beggar Liu said, he looked at me and nodded.
I looked at the beggar Liu and bowed and said: "Back to Mr. Liu, Xiao Tuantou is a sinister person and has repeatedly persecuted our team. After Sister Hong's incident, there is no possibility of reconciliation between us and the Changchun Society."
"So, we choose the second path."
"I, Xiang Yunfeng, am young and have no power, but our industry is the most profitable. By joining that group of people, we can provide financial support and seek our own safety."
"Haha," beggar Liu laughed and said, "Okay, you are Timely Rain Song Jiang. What that group of people lack most now is money, and I promised to help you introduce him."
At this time, he raised his head and tried to ask: "Mr. Liu, I guess among the people you mentioned who left in 1988, there was someone named Zhao?"
The beggar Liu nodded and said: "Yes, Ms. Zhao Qingwan, the 31st grandson of Wu Guanhou Zhao Kan, is here."
Seeing the excited expression on the leader's face, the beggar Liu waved his hands and said: "In addition to the descendants of Wu Guanhou, there are many other people. As long as this group of people let me know, I will protect you."
"Even those old immortals in the Changchun Society will never dare to touch you."
