Not every ant struggling at the bottom is destined to be mediocre, those with good luck, given a fulcrum, may be able to lever and move an elephant.

  At 5:00 AM sharp, Chen Ergou and Zhang Sanqian's biological clocks would wake them up. After a quick stretch, they would get out of bed and stand together to wash their faces and brush their teeth. Then, Chen Ergou would take Zhang Sanqian for a morning run around the Shan Shui Hua Men community three times. Finally, they would practice some Baguazhang or Piguaquan techniques near a villa in the south. Chen Ergou had learned a Yang-style Taiji routine from Wang Huzei, who was well-versed but not very skilled. Although Zhang Sanqian looked weak and slender, he had no interest in Taiji or Wing Chun. He was obsessed with Baguazhang. When Chen Ergou struggled to practice the Yang-style Taiji, a young boy would often be seen running around a pine tree that had been transplanted from elsewhere, shirtless to avoid wearing out his clothes. Zhang Sanqian's skin was as pale and delicate as his face, and Wang Huzei would say that he could sell for a good price in the city, like a rare commodity that could be sold to a wealthy family even at the age of ten. However, ordinary human traffickers would not dare to lay hands on Zhang Sanqian when they saw Wang Huzei, who had washed his hands clean many years ago and was still respected as "Young Master" by some people with good eyesight.

  Although Wang Hu's moves were not bad, Chen Ergou had been practicing Tai Chi for a period of time and didn't feel much shock. He still hadn't figured out the concept of "qi sinking to the dantian". As for Wang Hu's technique of "using four ounces of force to move a thousand pounds", Chen Ergou didn't even touch it. Chen Ergou knew that Tai Chi emphasized the idea of "water dripping through stone", and this internal martial art was not something that could be mastered overnight. But Chen Ergou couldn't help feeling anxious, thinking about Zhang's ferocious face, he felt a chill in his heart. Power and money can bring about great changes, but in life, there are often situations where one has to rely on pure strength. Who has the harder fist? Who has the more powerful moves? Who has the most courageous tactics? Chen Ergou didn't want to lose miserably.

  Practicing Tai Chi without a calm and peaceful state of mind is pointless. Chen Ergou chose this secluded lakeside location because in one of the villas, which had been handed over to its owner not long ago, there was a window through which he could see a quiet girl reading every day at this time. All he could see was her profile, a book, and a slender figure. She got up very early, always earlier than Chen Ergou. She read with great concentration, undisturbed by the blooming and falling flowers outside the window. Chen Ergou had spent twelve years in school, but it wasn't until now that he truly understood what it meant to be completely absorbed in one's work. Whenever Chen Ergou felt anxious or distracted, he would take a glance at her, and then he could take a deep breath and focus his mind. Occasionally, when sitting on the grass, chewing on a blade of dogtail grass, Chen Ergou would also wonder who that young girl with the elegant and refined demeanor was, what her parents did for a living, what experiences she had had, or whether any man had ever entered her heart. For Chen Ergou, indulging in such fantasies was also entertaining, but he knew that maybe even when he left Shan Shui Hua Men, she still wouldn't turn around to notice him practicing Tai Chi.

  "Third Uncle, thinking of women?" Zhang Sanqian finished washing up and put on his clothes with a satisfied heart, running to Chen Ergou's side, accompanying him to sit by the lake, staring blankly, having stayed with Wang Huzi for a long time, Zhang Sanqian also learned some petty thoughts.

  "You don't know squat." Chen Ergou said with a smile.

  "Third Uncle, guess who I like the most among Li Wei, Mu Xiaoyao and Zhang Xixi." Zhang Sanqian learned from Chen Ergou to pull out a dogtail grass and put it in his mouth. For this kid, the worst thing about big cities is that you can't find sweet grass roots. In the mountains of Zhangjiashan, Zhang Sanqian could easily pull out several kinds of herbaceous plants and chew them to extract the sweet juice.

  "Li Wei." Chen Ergou said without hesitation, in his opinion, Mu Xiaoyao and Zhang Xixi were too far away from Zhang Sanqian, Li Wei's face and figure were relatively inferior, but being ordinary also had its advantages, at least it wouldn't put too much pressure on Zhang Sanqian, besides, the child had only seen Mu Xiaoyao and Zhang Xixi once or twice, what impression could he have?

  "Wrong, I'll give you another chance." Zhang Sanqian smiled with a wide open mouth, this smile would make Chen Ergou involuntarily think of wealth and nobility.

  "Die young."

  "Wrong again."

  "Zhang Sanqian?" Chen Ergou was slightly surprised, turning his head to look at Zhang Sanqian who looked serious and not like he was joking. Was he actually influenced by Wang Hu's absurd theory that only girls with big butts are good?

  "Third Uncle, I think Li Wei's sister is not very generous, just like a native Shanghainese, she's very shrewd, just like her mother. If we play a game of mahjong, she'll definitely win more than lose. But Xiaoyao's sister is different, she'll definitely lose at the mahjong table, but actually, she's won. I don't understand your adults' feelings, but I think Xiaoyao's sister is quite clever and down-to-earth, maybe it's because she's practiced calligraphy for a long time, so she's not frivolous. But I still like Zhang Xixi a bit more." Zhang Sanqian said with a smile.

  "It seems you've learned a lot of big principles from following Wang Hu, and it looks like there's no other benefit to it. In the future, you'll definitely be able to make a living just by talking."

  Chen Ergou smiled wryly and said: "Speak up, what's the reason."

  "Ass big, they say women with big ass can give birth to boys." Zhang Sanqian said with a sly smile, suddenly lowering his voice, "Third Uncle, don't you think Zhang Xixi's ass looks like two large watermelons? You should touch it once and get addicted. Xiao Yao is pretty but her ass is a bit small, not powerful, just like Baijiu that doesn't have enough degree, Zhang Xixi is better."

  "King Tiger Left, Screw You."

  Chen Ergou scolded with a smile, rewarding Zhang Sanqian with a solid chestnut, "You're learning from that good-for-nothing person, stay away from him from now on. If you dare to think about these romantic nonsense all day, I'll strangle you to death, you little rabbit."

  "Third Uncle, you can't do anything to Tiger Brother's grandfather, even if you dig up his ancestors' graves for eighteen generations. Tiger Brother said he was born without a heart and doesn't know the meaning of 'filial piety'," Zhang Sanqian smiled, her delicate androgynous face quite endearing. A child like this would have no problem receiving love letters in school, although the handwriting might be crooked and there might be many misspelled words.

  "Little master, little master."

  Chen Ergou sighed, took a deep breath, spat out the chewed-up dogtail grass, and stood up saying: "Let's go back for breakfast, whoever gets there first will cook."

  Zhang Sanqian suddenly spread his legs and ran wildly, leaving Chen Erdou far behind.

  The child's greatest pleasure, apart from practicing calligraphy, listening to Chen Ergou tell stories of the rise and fall of dynasties, and listening to Wang Huzi talk about Feng Shui, was cooking for Chen Ergou.

  Chen Erdog, who was jogging at a moderate pace, suddenly felt a surge of emotion as he gazed at the back of Zhang Sanqian.

  Although Yang-style Taiji didn't allow him to burst out in a short time, there are still benefits. In fact, both Chen Ergou and Fugui knew that Grandpa understood Taiji, but saying it out loud might have shocked Wang Hu again, who was already startled. The Taiji that Grandpa was familiar with wasn't the simplified version that's widely spread today, but rather the Chen-style Taiji of Nanlengjia. When Sun Dajye was still alive, Chen Ergou had mentioned something about Taiji while playing chess with him, and Sun Dajye said that the Taiji from Wenxian Nanlengjia was the most orthodox one at present. The old man's evaluation was four words: "most ancient style". It was known that Grandpa practiced Nanlengjia Taiji because when Fugui was injured from practicing Baguazhang too hastily, Grandpa had him practice Taiji for a short period of time. Once while smoking his pipe, he mentioned that the Taiji was a routine from Nanlengjia, but it also included some old frames from Chenjiagou, also called "big circle fist". At that time, Chen Ergou remembered how much he resented Grandpa's drunken antics, and as a child of around ten years old, he didn't have the capacity to learn Grandpa's mysterious and unorthodox skills, which were viewed as strange by the Zhang family. Moreover, it seemed like Grandpa intentionally avoided teaching Chen Ergou Taiji, and also forbade Fugui from practicing it for too long. After Grandpa passed away, Fugui didn't practice Taiji for over a decade, and instead became obsessed with researching Baguazhang and Piguaquan.

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  Wang Huzi felt very carefree and happy, if he could sleep with Li Wei or Zhang Xixi at night, it would be a truly divine day. Although there were no women to warm his bed, he had surveillance videos to watch, with his legs raised and smoking Nanjing cigarettes, admiring some women who walked out of their rooms for a stroll in the neighborhood. Wang Huzi was quite pleased, but the only annoyance was that a pretty female owner in Shan Shui Huamen had taken a liking to Wang Jiefang, that coward. This made Wang Huzi very unhappy, seeing her deliberately flirting with Wang Jiefang who was on duty at the gate of the neighborhood, Wang Huzi wanted to kick that useless thing and give him a good scolding.

  There was also a Jiangsu native on duty with him in the monitoring room. The relative of the security manager looked down on Wang Huren, thinking that this outsider who spent all day grooming his traitorous hair and had a sycophantic face wasn't worth looking at directly. Wang Huren, on the other hand, would never bother to acknowledge such an insignificant person. They didn't get along, but Wang Huren was happy with the peace and quiet, smoking and dozing off while watching women. He couldn't care less about workplace relationships or etiquette in this small circle, which wasn't worthy of his attention as the great General Wang Huren.

  Nanjing is Chen Ergou's lucky place, so he came.

  Wang Huzi was also very satisfied with Chen Ergou's current state, who was preparing for the adult high school entrance exam in an orderly manner. He spent some time every day learning card tricks and magic with him, and even had time to discuss bedroom skills with Wang Jiefang. Although Wang Huzi seemed to be a nobody, he was actually a seasoned veteran of life-and-death struggles. The people who dealt with him were either wealthy or desperate fugitives. He saw something in Chen Ergou that reminded him of the spirit of Huan Wen from the Eastern Jin Dynasty - a kind of unyielding determination. Chen Ergou may not have yet learned to be ruthless and cunning, but in Wang Huzi's eyes, he was more promising than those spoiled rich kids who wasted their time on frivolous pursuits. Wang Huzi knew that when people couldn't see their own future clearly, they often squandered their time, energy, and money on unimportant things, such as hobbies that were detrimental to their life goals. The wealthy played with cars, collected things, or chased women, while the poor played video games, indulged in cynicism, or played word games. Perhaps it couldn't be called failure, but they had lost opportunities that could have made them rise above the crowd and become famous. What was most frightening was that they didn't even realize they had missed their chance to make a name for themselves.

  A frog is thrown into not-so-boiling water, and it won't think of jumping out until it's slowly cooked to death. Only those frogs that are suddenly thrown into boiling water will know to jump out immediately. This is one of Wang Hu's many life epiphanies that stands out, and it applies perfectly to Chen Erdou. The demon bear cub is like a pot of scalding hot water, and in his heart, Wang Jiefang is actually grateful for the young master's appearance, because he has completely eliminated Chen Erdou's chance of becoming a good citizen or an ordinary person. Of course, these are things that Wang Hu would never say to others - great accomplishments are not discussed with the crowd, this is an unshakeable truth since ancient times. Although Wang Jiefang is stubborn and obstinate, for Wang Hu, that pig-headed brain knows too much and will only cause trouble. In Wang Hu's eyes, Wang Jiefang is just a pawn, to be used as he sees fit, even if it means sacrificing him, he cannot let the chess piece know whether it's a dead or alive position.

  Chen Ergou was not very willing to talk about his grandfather's story, so Wang Huzi changed the subject and asked Zhang Sanqian, a very competent bystander, whether the deceased old man was the legendary Chen Banshan who was said to be as elusive as a dragon. What was important was that such an old man who was willing to die in silence had taught Chen Ergou and Chen Fugui, his grandsons. As soon as Wang Huzi thought of Chen Fugui, a big man with a smile on his face but few words, he got goosebumps, which was an instinctive fear. He took a hard drag on his cigarette, narrowed his already small eyes, and stared at the monitor screen, muttering: "Apart from Northeast Tigers coming out of Northeast, Liaodong can also produce Ha Dongqing."

  There was one thing that Wang Hu would never mention to outsiders for the rest of his life. On the train heading south, he first laid eyes on Chen Ergou, and at first, he didn't pay much attention, simply passing the time by having Chen Ergou's fortune told. But as soon as he took a look, it made the worldly-wise Wang Hu break out in a cold sweat. The blind master had once gotten drunk and explained to Wang Hu a certain type of fate.

  Not many, just 15 words.

  But it left Wang Hu with a tingling scalp and a chill running down his spine.

  "His grandfather was like an old turtle, his father like a lean tiger, and his brother like a hungry hawk."