The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 17 Hard Work
In any case, the beautiful weather and high housing prices foreshadow a day where hard work will pay off.

Zhao Xiaochui's breakfast consisted of donkey meat sandwiches with donkey offal soup. He ate three of them, which were a mix of lean and fatty meat, and then had two more flatbreads and three more bowls of soup.

After having eaten and drunk his fill, Zhao Xiaochui went to the massage parlor.

Hello, welcome.

Amidst the shrill sound of the electronic doorbell, the plump receptionist handed her an envelope with a smile.

Zhao Xiaochui took the envelope; it was quite thick, and he could barely hold it in his right hand. He turned and went out, heading towards the police station next door.

There's a bank ATM there, which is arguably the safest place to deposit money.

"5, Secretary Liu is really generous."

Zhao Xiaochui was overjoyed and went back to the massage parlor to start making weight loss packages for the chubby receptionist.

"I guess that old man thought about it all night. He was afraid that if he gave you too much, you would run away; but it wouldn't be right to give you too little either."

The chubby receptionist said with her eyes closed, feeling the heat from Zhao Xiaochui's fingers, and knew in her heart that the child was working hard to massage her.

Zhao Xiaochui scoffed: "Where could I possibly run off to?"

"Go to a bigger platform, like Fuqiao, Liangzi, or Wuzhisheng. These chains all have high-end flagship stores. With your skills, don't even think about selling if the starting price isn't 800."

Zhao Xiaochui shook his head: "I have to make sure I don't starve to death if I go there."

New platform, new boss, new colleagues, new customers, a 19-year-old newcomer.

Zhao Xiaochui had experienced far too much of how difficult it was to break through in this situation in his previous life.

The weight loss package had been ordered, and the overweight receptionist stood on the scale, waiting for the data to update on the mobile app. Seeing the data curve steadily decreasing, both of them were very satisfied.

"Go straight to the cupping room later. From now on, both beds there are yours."

Zhao Xiaochui asked in surprise, "What about cupping and scraping?"

"I'm not doing it anymore!" the chubby receptionist waved her hand dismissively. "20 yuan per project, and at least 20 minutes per session, it's not worth it."

Well, the elderly people in need nearby will have to find another place.

"What are you looking for? There's a community hospital just 100 meters away. It's just that the TCM physiotherapy department is on the second floor. They come here because they're too lazy to climb the stairs."

These are things I didn't notice in my previous life.

At that time, he was focused on learning a skill and was also burdened with debt, so he had no energy to pay attention to anything else. He didn't even know that the fat receptionist was the shop owner.

Now that I've noticed, I should naturally do something to repay the kindness of being taken in by you in my previous life.

Zhao Xiaochui said that in addition to the weight loss meal, breakfast is also included.

The chubby receptionist rummaged through the plastic bag Zhao Xiaochui had brought: two donkey meat sandwiches, mostly fatty with a little lean meat, a tea egg with donkey offal soup, rolled her eyes at the chuckling Zhao Xiaochui, opened the door, and handed it to the little guy sitting in the shadows in the corner.

Zhao Xiaochui had never noticed before. He looked closely through the glass door and then realized it was a child.

"Whose child is this?"

"A brat who was born of a father but not raised by one." It sounds like an insult, and it is indeed an insult, but it's not directed at a child.

"Where's mom?"

"stepmother."

"clear."

Zhao Xiaochui glanced at the child again, pursed his lips, and said nothing.

In his previous life, how many things did he miss out on?
"By the way, don't bring me breakfast anymore. I usually eat at the police station canteen." The chubby receptionist glanced at Zhao Xiaochui seemingly casually. "The head chef there retired from Tianfuhao, so you can eat as much braised meat as you want."

Zhao Xiaochui's mouth was watering.

"Want some?"

Zhao Xiaochui nodded repeatedly.

“Go to the police station for volunteer work once a month, and your Uncle Qiao will let you have free breakfast.” With your friends, your customers, your social circle, and your community of interests all here, let’s see how you manage to escape, the fat receptionist thought slyly.

Unaware of the fat receptionist's 'sinister intentions,' Zhao Xiaochui patted his chest and agreed.

Of course, the specific time will be discussed separately.

Good news came out of the blue: free breakfast every day from then on. Zhao Xiaochui forgot to ask the chubby receptionist why she had so much energy.

He threw himself into his work with great enthusiasm.

The two massage beds greatly improved his work efficiency, as most of the customers were regulars.

After several sessions of Zhao Xiaochui's services, their physical symptoms were greatly relieved, and they no longer needed to enter deep sleep to recover.

Zhao Xiaochui controlled the flow of heat, seeking solutions from different angles for customers with different symptoms. As his experience increased and his understanding of the dialectical thinking of traditional Chinese medicine deepened, Zhao Xiaochui even began to carefully control the flow of heat in the customers' bodies.

First, start with small cycles, then carefully and slowly expand them.

The warm current was very friendly to the customers below. Before Zhao Xiaochui could pay attention, he watched helplessly as the uncontrollable flow of people turned the few white hairs on the back of the customers' heads black in an instant. He quickly and quietly stopped.

Time seemed to pass slowly at work, but Zhao Xiaochui was completely absorbed in exploring the various uses of heat flow.

Gradually, he discovered that the heat could also be unfriendly to customers.

They were two strangers, a middle-aged man and an old man.

The middle-aged man had tattoos, and the symptoms were caused by prolonged sitting while looking at his phone or using a computer. Zhao Xiaochui treated everyone the same and used a newly developed, more efficient combination of acupoints. However, the heat flow did not cooperate.

Even a faint sense of disgust and resistance emanated from the depths of Zhao Xiaochui's heart.

What does he do?

Zhao Xiaochui, who received a negative review for being "all show and no substance," asked the chubby receptionist.

“Hey, the debt collector, he’s my old friend’s son. If you don’t want to entertain him, fine.”

Zhao Xiaochui shook his head and explained, "When I was massaging him, my mind was not clear, and my technique stalled."

The chubby receptionist instantly understood what she meant. She assumed it was the magic of practicing internal energy cultivation in traditional Chinese medicine, so she nodded repeatedly and said, "We won't serve people like this anymore."

“We don’t accept people from the financial sector,” Zhao Xiaochui added, but then reluctantly added, “Bank tellers and the like are acceptable,” feeling that the implications were too great.

This young man is quite principled, the chubby receptionist said, suppressing a laugh.

Besides the middle-aged man chasing after debts, another old man brought a sense of resistance to the warmth.

His chief complaint was lower back pain from prolonged sitting, but two old, open lesions near his lower back were like hungry wolves, greedily trying to devour the heat. Zhao Xiaochui turned off the heat valve and stopped the service.

"And who is this person?"

Zhao Xiaochui is now considered an expert-level technician at the massage parlor. Anyone allowed to enter the massage room has been screened and approved by the chubby receptionist.

"Old Lou, the night shift gatekeeper at the police station."

"..." Zhao Xiaochui blinked at the chubby receptionist who was trying to remain calm, and nodded, "We won't serve this person anymore."

His tone was serious. Recalling the two unusually old wounds, he worriedly advised the plump receptionist, "Sister Pang, you should avoid associating with him in the future."

The chubby receptionist said nonchalantly, "He's a model of reformation among released prisoners; he's not that bad."

Zhao Xiaochui is willing to listen to other people's advice, but when it comes to Reliu, that's his foundation. He won't listen to anyone's advice. If Reliu resists, he'll refuse.

Apart from those two people, all the other guests were normal. Zhao Xiaochui combined theory with practice, quietly accumulating knowledge and making progress.

This is to prepare for Li Ying, our distinguished guest tonight, and also to prepare for more and more distinguished guests like Li Ying in the future.

For more money, for a better life.

Account balance: 65380.8
Chapter 16 contains a bonus chapter, and the text mentions that Li Ying resembles weightlifter Li Huizhen, who is a real-life weightlifter. Readers are encouraged to take a look at the image.



(End of this chapter)