The dusk at Zhangjiashan was dull and monotonous, with a few barks of dogs, wisps of smoke from cooking, an old man in tattered clothes squatting on a birch stump in front of a dilapidated house. He had seen this scene for many years, took a sip of his homemade liquor, puffed on his strong tobacco pipe, narrowed his eyes and gazed at the sunset falling into the Changbai Mountains. Next to him, a child about six or seven years old was playing with two earth dogs. The old man looked at his thin grandson and muttered: "In life, what Northeastern tigers fear most is not the thick-skinned black bear, nor the 600-pound wild boar king, but the mountain guard dog that has gone up the mountain."
The child, although weak and thin, had a strong and fierce spirit. He was rolling around on the ground with two dogs, fighting and tumbling about. Not far away, an older child sat on the threshold of a mud hut, his body sturdy and robust, supporting his cheeks with his hands as he smiled foolishly. The two dogs were clever and gentle, their mouths light and careful not to hurt the child. An old man puffed on his dry pipe, humming "Farewell My Concubine", and the silly child seemed to enjoy listening to the old man's Peking Opera singing. He ran over to sit by a birch stump, concentrating intently as he listened. When the song was finished, the child asked: "Grandfather, you seem especially happy today - did you find some good ginseng in the mountains for Floating Life?"
"A friend is coming from afar." The old man took a sip of wine and patted the child's head, his eyes benevolent. "Fu Gui, I want to give you something. In the future, when Grandfather closes his eyes and lies in that grave, it will be up to you to take care of your mother and younger brother. Fu Gui, do you still remember what I told you?"
"It's okay to be considered a fool by everyone else, but you can't be foolish with your own family."
"Remembering is one thing, doing is another." The old man took a sip of his wine and gazed at his grandson playing with the two dogs, his eyes blurry from drink. He looked up at the darkening sky and smiled wistfully. "It's not hard to be clever, to show off your skills and wit, to go with the flow and become someone important. But alas, we all come into this world and leave as dust. We're all just fleeting moments of victory or defeat, ultimately reduced to nothing but earth. Perhaps it's better if we're a bit foolish, a bit more simple-minded. It's better to be able to put down what you can't hold onto, to save lives rather than take them. These truths may not be worth much, but by the time you reach my age, if you still don't understand, then you truly are blind."
The child blinked his eyes, seeming to understand yet not quite.
An old man in his seventies, carrying a large bundle on his back, arrived at Zhangjiashan Village, finally finding the most dilapidated house at the top of the village. The old man who was smoking a dry pipe stood up and looked at the pale-faced traveler from afar. This old man, who had come a long way in a hurry, untied his large bundle and pulled out a pair of giant cow horns wrapped with hemp rope, handing them to Grandfather Chen Fusheng, saying: "With this, the Li family owes you nothing."
"Sit down and have a drink of water?" said Grandfather Chen Fugui with a smile.
The old man, as dry as a withered bamboo stick, shook his head and said respectfully: "I'm not worthy of the task, afraid it would shorten my lifespan."
"This child is called Fu Gui, what do you think?" Grandfather Chen didn't force it either, and pulled over Chen Fu Gui.
"He's a good material for the Eight Extremities Fist. If you're willing to teach him, and give him 30 more years, I won't be his match." The old man casually pinched Chen Fugui's bones, sighing: "Unfortunately, it's no longer an era where martial artists rule the country, and it never will be again."
"No matter if it's useful or not, being able to defeat Li Yin Qiao is an achievement." Chen Fu Sheng's grandfather laughed loudly, "Our Chen family has produced two generations of outstanding talents, I couldn't tame Chen Long Xiang, so before I lie in my coffin, I must do something for the ancestors of our Chen family, otherwise I won't have the face to see them after I die."
"Who is he?" The old man looked at Chen Fusheng, who was playing with the two mountain guard dogs named Qing Niu and Bai Que, and then looked down at the ground, his face slightly changing.
Because they didn't have enough money to buy a lot of paper and pens, in front of the mud house, there was an empty space filled with fine sand that the three generations had brought back from the Egunna River bit by bit. With just one stick, they could practice calligraphy. At first, the old man didn't pay attention, but as he walked over to take a closer look, he was shocked to see that it was a passage from "Laozi's River Inscription", with every word and sentence written in an exceptionally rigorous manner: "To be brave in doing what one dares to do, then kill oneself. To be brave in not daring to do what one does not dare to do, then live." Every character had strong bones and muscles, although the brushwork was a bit rough, but it won out in its grandeur and majesty, like a goat hanging from a horn.
The old man looked at the three of them, ignoring the child who was only playing with two mongrel dogs. He walked over, and before he even got close to Chen Fusheng, the two guard dogs immediately became vigilant as if facing a great enemy. The old man remained unmoved and continued forward. The guard dog nicknamed "White Sparrow" pounced at the old man but was easily swatted away by the white-haired old man with a single swipe of his sleeve. Chen Fusheng's grandfather stopped the young ox from making any moves, and the old man halted in his tracks, looking at the pale-faced child. The old face that was not good at smiling was still sallow, and he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Did you write this?"
The child whistled, and the white sparrow immediately jumped to his right side, while the green cow stood on his left. The child stared intently at this old man outside Zhangjiazhuang. For him, who was still in his tender years, people close to the old drunkard were mostly not likable. The old man nodded in surprise and turned back to look at the one who was drinking wine and smoking a pipe, considered an old immortal by many big shots, saying: "What's this child's name?"
"Floating life, Chen Floating Life."
An old man who had already reached the state of being unmoved by material things and untroubled by personal misfortunes, burst out laughing and said: "When this child was born, a big white chicken that had been raised for three years without ever making a sound finally let out a cry. It's really true that 'a single crowing cock can make the whole sky bright'. They say that you can tell how a person will turn out by the time they're three years old; this child was born and I immediately took a liking to him. If it weren't for his weak constitution from childhood, which made him susceptible to illness, and if he hadn't been held back by his health problems, then given 30 years' time... even if Yama himself came to fetch me, I wouldn't be willing to die until I'd lived to see this child's accomplishments. Chen Longxiang? Two Chen Longxiangs aren't worth a single Chen Fusheng!"
"It's fate." The withered old man who brought the ox horn sighed.
Grandfather Chen's expression was also gloomy, then relaxed, and he said: "No matter what you say, being alive is a blessing. The children and grandchildren have their own blessings, I won't worry unnecessarily. As long as the incense of the Chen family continues to burn, that's enough."
"If I have a chance in the future, I'll bring you some Jiaohe cigarettes." The old man didn't sit down to rest and drink water, but instead left Zhangjiashan heavily.
Two old men were clear in their minds that they might not see each other again, and at most, one would pour a few cups of good wine for the other's tomb. Chen Fusheng's grandfather sat back on the wooden stool, stroking the huge cow horns, while Fu Gui sat nearby with his cheek propped up, staring at the thin figure of Li Yin Qiao in the distance, and asked: "Grandfather, what is Jiaolong River smoke? Is it also tobacco?"
"Jiaohe smoke used to be a tribute, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who left a stench for ten thousand years, smoked it. I had a sheep's leg bone tobacco pouch before, people in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia did it that way, when smoking, light a lantern, because only a small pinch of tobacco was loaded, after taking one puff, blow out the smoke ash, so it's called 'one mouthful fragrance'." Old man Chen Fusheng said with a smile.
"What does that old man do?" Chen Fugui asked curiously.
"When you leave the black land, you will know that China's 60s had a troop code-named 8341. As for the origin of this name, no one can tell accurately, only Grandpa knows. Once you know about 8341, you will naturally know Li Yin Qiao. China is vast and has many hidden heroes, don't be a frog in a well, no one can be invincible forever, there's always another mountain higher than the previous one."
The old man said with emotion, handing over the ox horns to the child, "I'll help you make a bow from these ox horns, for future hunting trips. If Floating Life wants to follow, don't stop him, but take good care of him."
The child nodded vigorously.
The old man patted the child's head and said with a smile: "Fu Gui, before you're 30 years old, don't mention the name 'Long Xiang' to anyone. That man can't help our Chen family get back on its feet, it's up to you and Fu Sheng. You two brothers must support each other in the future. As long as Fu Sheng can make it past the big hurdle of 18 years old, he'll be able to leave this village by the time he's 26, and after 28 years old, he'll be able to help you out. Before I die, I want to raise you with a proud and arrogant attitude, and when the time comes, make a name for yourself."
"As for fleeting life."
The old man smiled and said: "With such a majestic aura, I don't believe he can't live to see 60 years of prosperity."
——————————————————
Chen Ergou intermittently told Cao Jingyu about his fragmented childhood memories, and when the tea was finished, it was already 1:30 in the morning. When Chen Ergou happened to glance at Li Yinqiao, Cao Jingyu, without a hint of fatigue, blinked her autumnal eyes and gazed at Chen Ergou with interest, saying: "I want to confess something to you."
"Huh?" Chen Ergou was confused, his eyes began to wander unscrupulously over Cao Jing's body, drooling three feet. This figure, these curves, this face... even if Chen Ergou were to die the next morning, he would be willing, and besides, he kept telling himself that it was his own wife, not giving her any attention would be a waste of heaven's gift, and would deserve to be struck by lightning.
"I first heard the name Chen Fusheng when I was 7 years old, and knew that there was a child prodigy in Northeast China who could write 'Laozi River Public Sentence' at a very young age. All of this came from Li Yin Qiao's mouth, who would tell me every day about how talented that child was, and how he would be destined for greatness." Cao Jingxian smiled brightly, with an unparalleled beauty.
"I don't believe it, there's no such coincidence in this world." Chen Ergou said with a smirk, but his heart was shocked beyond words.
"Don't believe it then." Cao Qiang also learned from him and curled his lips, looking very much like a couple.
"If it's really like that, then does he know or not what my grandfather used to be and where he was from?" Chen Ergou asked anxiously.
"No," Cao Jingyuan shook her head.
Chen Ergou was greatly disappointed, sighing. Then he smiled and asked: "Now can you see any heroic spirit or majestic aura on me?"
"Listen to the truth or a lie." Cao Jingyao smiled and said.
"The more false it is, the better." Chen Ergou said shamelessly.
Cao Jingrui was helpless in this regard and did not make trouble with Chen Ergou, Chen Ergou's shameless and cunning move had struck her weak point.
"Wife, it's getting late." Chen Ergou reminded with a sly smile.
Cao Jing's expression didn't change, she held a book and read it seriously.
"Hey wife, staying up late is a woman's arch-nemesis. Don't you want to avoid becoming an old hag in your thirties or forties?" Chen Ergou said with a smile, threateningly.
Cao Cao's heart is as firm as a rock.
"Wife, the moonlight is so enchanting, let's lie down and whisper some sweet nothings to each other?" Chen Ergou's pitiful language skills could only manage to get this far.
Reeds and rushes bent by eight winds remain unmoved; the mind is like still water.
"Wife, don't force me to use my killer move." Chen Ergou's malice was growing.
"Out it comes." Cao Qiangying batted her eyelashes.
Chen Ergou suddenly hugged Cao Jingjian tightly, with a nose full of snot and tears: "Wife, I've been holding it in for almost a year, just be nice to me, have some pity on me." (To find out what happens next, please log in, more chapters available, support the author, support the official version!)
