Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

Ma Jia patted Yan Jiecheng's shoulder and said, "Hey, don't say such strange words. Meeting is fate, not to mention that you and my brother have a special fate. When I see you, it's like seeing my brother."

Ma Hu also spoke up, "Yes, brother Jie Cheng, you don't know how excited I was when my brother told me that there was a way to cure the disease. I spent all my money on the treatment, not to tell others how rich I am, but to tell them that I, Ma Hu! I am also an upright man!"

Yan Jiecheng nodded vigorously. Yes, he is a man, an upright man!

Without saying much, everything is implied.

Yan Jiecheng held the medicine bag in his left hand and the medicine bottle in his right hand, and set off on the road home like a triumphant soldier.

After he left, Ma Jia and Ma Hu couldn't help laughing.

"Brother, is this guy so easy to fool? He trusts us so much after just a few meetings?"

Ma Jia shook his head, "It's not that he trusts us, but he has no choice."

"Oh, just now on the road, I wanted to stab him to death, and then go directly to his house to look for the deposit slip, how much easier. I really don't know why Brother Xia did this? We have to play along, this is more tiring than when we were in the mountains."

Ma Hu drew a knife from his waist. Under the moonlight, the blade flashed with cold light, which made people shudder.

……

"Of course, they're making such a big fuss to make money."

In the immortal's room, Xia Lao Hu had already changed out of his Taoist robe and put on a gray suit. He looked almost exactly like an ordinary worker.

"Back in the mountains, our boss had a mentor. Do you remember?"

"remember."

"Our master doesn't actually have much talent. He just relies on his eloquence and a few tricks to fool the boss and his men, and he's swindled a lot of money out of him..."

Jiang Fan was still lying on the roof, listening to Xia Lao Hu telling stories from the past.

"I did this because, firstly, we can't always rely on jumping around with Ah Zhu to make money. If we meet someone shameless, we'll be in trouble. Besides, since ancient times, bitches are ruthless and actors are disloyal. Maybe Ah Zhu will bite us one day, so we have to be on guard."

Xia Lao Hu smoked a cigarette and spoke earnestly.

After listening to it, the two brothers Majia also felt that it made sense.

"A honey trap is too risky and can easily lead to accidents. We don't have the connections to run a black market or an underground casino, and we're afraid that if we follow two of them, our business will conflict. There's no need to take the risk. So I thought hard and came up with this idea: become a great fortune teller like a legal advisor and tell fortunes for others."

"Brother Xia, feudal superstitions are being cracked down on everywhere now. If ours is exposed, I'm afraid we won't be able to get away with it, right?" Ma Hu said worriedly.

"Ma Hu, your worries are justified." Xia Lao Hu looked at him with appreciation.

Chapter 178 Xu Damao Finds Lou Zhenhua

Xia Lao Hu stood up. "What you said makes sense. That's why I was so cautious and planned for so many days before letting you meet Yan Jiecheng. I even blindfolded him on the way here. Everything was for safety."

"Ma Jia Ma Hu, you have to understand that we can't always rely on honey traps to make money. But what about working in a factory? Let's not talk about whether you can buy a job quota. Even if you really did buy one, are you two really willing to go in and work hard?"

Ma Jia and Ma Hu looked at each other. They were twin brothers and knew each other very well. If they really wanted to work in a factory, they would not have taken the initiative to go into the mountains to become bandits.

"Hmph, only a few dozen yuan a month. Work? Only a fool would do that." Ma Hu snorted coldly. He didn't want to work in a factory. When they were bandits, they had a lot of fun in the mountains, doing whatever they wanted. Even after being separated and following Xia Lao Hu to the city, the three of them had never suffered much hardship and had no shortage of money.

Although you need tickets to buy things now, on the black market, what can't you buy with money?

Ma Jia has the same idea. He used to earn one or two hundred yuan in a few days, so how could he be willing to work hard for a month and only earn a few dozen yuan?

Xia Lao Hu nodded in satisfaction. He wanted to establish a personal image for himself and take over the job of a great immortal, but he couldn't do it alone. The two Ma Jia brothers were his left and right protectors, and he had to rely on them for many things.

Then he continued, "Yan Jiecheng is just my test subject. If it succeeds, it means that my routine is effective. If he notices something wrong, then..."

Xia Lao Hu didn't continue, but his meaning was already very clear. If Yan Jiecheng realized that this was a setup against him, then he would send him to Hua Tuo for treatment.

There was a cruel look in the eyes of the two Majia brothers. This was not the first time they had done such a thing. Not to mention the people they killed in the mountains that year, even after coming to Sijiu City, they had lives on their hands.

For people like them, killing is not a difficult thing.

"Ma Jia Ma Hu, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on Yan Jiecheng for the next few days to see how he reacts."

"No problem, leave it to us. We'll even note down what color underwear he wears." Vest patted his chest and guaranteed that it was just a matter of targeting a disabled person.

"By the way, Brother Xia, what kind of medicine did you give Yan Jiecheng? It won't kill him, right?"

"That stuff is just some wild grass roots, tree bark and some other stuff I picked up on the roadside. If you have to say what its use is, does it count as filling? Hahahaha."

……

In the darkness, Jiang Fan ran through the alleys, his feet like the wind, his speed extremely fast. There were no surveillance cameras, so there was no fear of being caught on camera. No one was on the road, and even if there were, in such darkness, with Jiang Fan's speed, others would just think it was a gust of wind, and at most, a ghost story would be spread. There were many ghost stories in the Forbidden City.

Back in the courtyard, outside the back room where Yan Jiecheng lived, Jiang Fan listened to the movement in the room. Yan Jiecheng had not gone to bed yet.

But it's true, today he has hope of being cured, and he must be very excited, so how could he sleep?

Jiang Fan lay on the bed and fell asleep quickly.

……

the next day.

This morning, Yan Jiecheng came into the courtyard with dark circles under his eyes and asked whose house the medicine pot was in. He hadn't slept all night, lying down with the medicine bag in his arms.

After receiving the medicine pot, he cleaned it carefully over and over again, scrubbing it until it was shiny and gleaming. A strange expression appeared on his face. He wanted to laugh, but he suppressed it.

On the way to work, Xu Damao ran over to Jiang Fan, pulled him aside, and told him about Yan Jiecheng's strange behavior this morning. "What do you think he wants to do? He's like a psychopath?"

"What could a cripple need a medicine pot for? He might have gotten some folk remedies from somewhere, just to heal himself."

"Heal the body? Didn't they say that his thing was broken? Can this be cured?" Xu Damao was a little bit unbelieving.

"Just believe me when I tell you. What if he's sick and needs medicine?"

"No, no, no, I don't think that's right. Yan Jiecheng is definitely not trying to treat minor illnesses like colds and fevers. There must be something else going on." Xu Damao's brain was working frantically. He seemed to have grasped something, but he didn't really grasp it.

"Since you're so curious, why not check it out? There's not much projection work going on at the factory right now, so you're pretty free. If you find something truly remarkable, you'll make a killing."

Hearing Jiang Fan's suggestive words, Xu Damao felt as if he were being scratched by a pack of monkeys. He wanted to investigate, hoping to uncover something, perhaps earning him merit. But he was also afraid that if he did find out, he would be exposed, potentially getting hurt or even killed. What would he do?

He has only been married for a few months and his child is not born yet. What will happen to his wife and children if something happens to him?

For a moment, Xu Damao was extremely conflicted.

Jiang Fan looked at Xu Damao and couldn't help laughing. "Da Mao, you always call me idiot. I think you really are an idiot now. You can't do it, don't you still have a powerful father-in-law?"

A word of advice can wake a person up from his dream. When Xu Damao heard this, a different light suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Yes, I still have a father-in-law!" He looked at Jiang Fan gratefully, "Brother, there's nothing more to say. Just wait and see how I perform."

Xu Damao turned and left. He was going to find Lou Zhenhua and ask him to help investigate Yan Jiecheng. If there was something, that would be great; he could report it and gain merit. If there wasn't anything, that would also be fine; it would also improve Lou Zhenhua's favorability and show how much he, as a son-in-law, cared about this matter.

"Why did Xu Damao leave? Isn't he going to work?" Jiang Daniu asked when he saw Jiang Fan coming back alone.

"Well, he's not going today. He asked me to take a leave and said he'd treat us to dinner in a few days."

"Treating us to dinner? They're burning their own money?"

Now, let alone inviting others to dinner, even eating by yourself is a problem. If you can't even afford it at home and still want to pretend to be rich, then that's pure stupidity.

"Who knows?"

After entering the factory, Jiang Fan first went to the Propaganda Department to ask for leave for Xu Damao, and then returned to the office to slack off (crossed out) at work.

In fact, there are not many classes to attend. The workload in the steel rolling mill is not as high as before, and the probability of failure is much smaller.

If a machine used to run 100 revolutions a day, now running it 60 times a day is considered a lot.

In the past, the mill's machines often broke down, mainly due to poor equipment and the high-intensity operation, which made the machines unable to withstand it. But now, the mill's machines are fully capable of withstanding this level of intensity.

As for Xu Damao, he first returned to the courtyard and rode his bicycle. On his way out, he glanced eagerly at Yan Jiecheng's house. Then he ran to Lou Zhenhua's door like the wind.

Chapter 179: Find Lou Zhenhua Again

"Da Mao, you mean that you didn't do any investigation, but just based on Yan Jiecheng's strange expression, you felt that there must be something behind him, and then you came to me?"

Lou Zhenhua looked at Xu Damao, and his expression was not very good. If Xu Damao was not his son-in-law, he would have had him kicked out long ago.

"Ah, Father-in-law." Xu Damao was a little speechless. He was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Scratching his head, he thought of Jiang Fan again, "Father-in-law, my brother Jiang Fan also supported me to investigate this morning, but I was afraid that something might happen to me, so I came to you."

After hearing what Xu Damao said, Lou Zhenhua's frown relaxed. He was not very angry that Xu Damao came to him about this matter, which showed that Xu Damao had always kept the matter of meritorious service in mind, which was a good thing.

He was dissatisfied that Xu Damao came to him for help without thinking for himself. He was very unhappy about this. Having come from troubled times, he knew that relying on the mountain would lead to its collapse. Only having strength and brains was the most important thing.

Those who work hard govern others, and those who work hard govern others.

A person without brains will never achieve anything great in his life unless he can say, "My mother gave birth to me."

"So it was Jiang Fan who asked you to come to me?"

"Not really. He just reminded me that I still have someone like you who can help me."

Lou Zhenhua began to think. If it was just Xu Damao's idea, he wouldn't take it too seriously. But if Jiang Fan intentionally guided him, it would be different.

Although he and Jiang Fan had only met once, he knew that Jiang Fan was a smart man. Dealing with smart people was either very tiring or very simple.

"Lao Luo, follow Damao to their courtyard to identify some people, and then go check on Yan Jiecheng. Be careful." Lou Zhenhua ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Da Mao, go to the steel mill and ask for a few days' leave. Follow Lao Luo throughout the investigation. If there is really any problem, take Xiao E with you to report it."

"Father-in-law?" Xu Damao looked at Lou Zhenhua in a daze. He knew that Lou Zhenhua wanted to put all the credit on him and Lou Xiaoe.

You have to know that as a big capitalist, Lou Zhenhua needs more credit than Xu Damao and his wife.

Lou Zhenhua just smiled and said nothing, asking Xu Damao to do as he said.

After Xu Damao and Luo Hu left, Lou Zhenhua sat on the sofa for a while and then went up to the study on the second floor.

……

Inside the rolling mill.

Jiang Fan grabbed his lunch box, ordered two vegetarian dishes, and a steamed bun. The food at the steel mill was becoming increasingly vegetarian; it had been ages since he'd seen any meat. He'd only been eating eggplant and beans every day, not much in the way of oil or fat. Even with Master Fan's cooking skills, it hadn't improved much.

"It's the same dish of eggplant and beans again, without any meat at all." Ding Lei sat opposite Jiang Fan holding a lunch box.

"If there's food, eat it quickly. There are so many people who want to eat but can't get it right now. Go outside and see how many people are waiting for relief food."

Zhao Wen also sat with them with his lunch box.

The three of them looked at each other, sighed at the same time, and started to eat. No matter how bad the food was, they had to eat it.

In the kitchen of the steel rolling mill, Sha Zhu looked around and found that no one was paying attention to him, so he quickly put a smaller lunch box inside a larger lunch box.

There are a few more mouths to feed at home, a pregnant woman and a teenage boy, but there is only enough food for two people, and the other one is a student's food. Even if Sha Zhu is a cook, he has to find a way to get some food for the family, otherwise there will not be enough food.

In the past, Sha Zhu could still take on some private work to earn some extra money, but in the current situation, few people get married, and even if they do, they don’t have a wedding banquet. Sha Zhu hasn’t taken any work for a long time.

time flies.

After work, Jiang Fan and his family returned home together.

"Oh, I was walking around the city today, and many people said that the situation this year might not be much better." Uncle Jiang's work of collecting scrap has not been carried out much for a long time. No one would ride a tricycle around at this time just to collect junk. It is such a waste of food.

The other employees at the scrap yard would ride their tricycles and find a place to rest, rather than wandering around. Uncle Jiang, knowing Jiang Fan liked to collect books and such, would wander around, but he wouldn't go too far.

No one else said anything, but instead grew even more worried. The bad situation was a natural disaster, not something human power could change.

Jiang Daniu felt fortunate to have brought his brother and his family to the city so early. Having lived in troubled times for decades, he had witnessed many natural disasters. No matter how one looked at it, the city was ultimately better than the countryside.

"This year isn't good either? Then the next two years won't be good either."

Last year, natural disasters caused a significant drop in grain production in many areas, resulting in many people fleeing for their lives and a severe food shortage. Everyone is looking forward to this year, hoping a good harvest will give them a break and help them find peace of mind. Things will get better and better.

But if it is true as Uncle Jiang said, and the situation this year is not good, then I don’t know how big the problems will be in the next two years.

Looking at the bowl of black medicinal soup in front of him, Yan Jiecheng felt a little conflicted. He thought of the shit and urine that his brother in disguise had told him last night.

After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Yan Jiecheng gritted his teeth and drank the bowl of bitter medicine soup.

After taking the medicine, Yan Jiecheng felt as if he had eaten a mixture of feces and urine. The unpleasant smell was like a long spear, shooting up from his throat to the top of his head, making him open his eyes wide as if his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets!

It went straight down into the stomach, and it was like pouring a bucket of hot oil into the stomach, causing unbearable pain.

With the combined force of both upper and lower parts, Yan Jiecheng fell to the ground and rolled around, holding his stomach in pain.

"What the hell is this? Why is it so disgusting? It's uncomfortable. It feels like eating shit!"

Yan Jiecheng twisted his body on the ground, sometimes hunching like a shrimp, sometimes curling up like a watermelon worm, but no matter how his body shape changed, the ferocious expression on his face never changed.