Liuhe Town is a big town in Qinghe County. It is neither far nor near from the county seat, but it is about three or four miles away. Today, after Su Chang and Qi Donglai finished their preliminary exams, they ran from the county seat to Liuhe Town and informed Yan Dechang. Yan Dechang then ran directly with the two of them to the National Martial Arts Museum in Qinghe County.
Normally, this distance was nothing for Yan Liqiang. He would run at least ten miles every day to exercise at home. But now, with an injury, he could only get on the ox cart called by Yan Dechang, and leave the county town with Yan Dechang and return to Liuhe Town.
Outside the gate of Qinghe County is a vast expanse of farmland, and the road leading to Liuhe Town runs between those farmlands.
The moving oxcart made a creaking sound as the hardwood wheels rolled over the compacted dirt road. The entire body of the cart shook slightly, but it was still relatively stable.
At this moment, the sky was already dark. There were no farmers working in the fields anymore. Only the croaking of frogs could be heard. As the fragrance of rice wafted over, three bright moons of different sizes gradually appeared in the sky. Bright stars began to appear in the sky. The mysterious and endless void seemed to be filled with infinite spiritual energy, dominating the rise and fall of the stars in the sky.
Yan Dechang, who was sitting in the car, was somewhat silent and in a bad mood, but Yan Liqiang was in the car with his head raised, looking at the starry sky in the night, his whole mind was immersed in it, savoring the great beauty and vastness of the universe. For Yan Liqiang, although he lost the competition today, and might even have been ambushed by others, he was not too depressed in his heart, but felt a little excited. For him who could live again, he was already lucky to be able to stand here and look up at the starry sky.
The driver knew Yan Dechang. He was sitting in the front driving the car. He didn't see the expressions of the father and son behind him. He kept talking while driving the car. "Today is the preliminary examination of the Qinghe County National Martial Arts County Examination. I have heard that Master Yan, your son is one of the best in Liuhe Town at a young age. He will definitely be among the top in this preliminary examination. When your son officially participates in the county examination in the future, if he performs well, he will have the opportunity to enter the Pingxi County National Martial Arts Hall, meet famous teachers, and learn more advanced martial arts. Once he advances to become a warrior in the future, it will be like a carp jumping over the dragon gate. It will truly bring honor to the family and a meteoric rise is just around the corner. Master Yan, you are very proud of yourself in Liuhe Town and Qinghe County. By the way, I wonder if your son made it into the top three today..."
"No!" Yan Dechang replied sullenly without saying another word.
Hearing what Yan Dechang said, the coachman turned around and looked at Yan Dechang. Finally, he realized that Yan Dechang's face was not very good. Knowing what he said, he smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.
When they were halfway along the way and less than two miles away from Liuhe Town, a crisp sound of hooves came from behind the ox cart where Yan Liqiang was sitting. The sound of hooves gradually came closer and closer. Yan Liqiang turned around and saw a steward and two servants of the Hong family riding three rhinoceros horses catching up from behind. When the three rhinoceros horses passed the ox cart, the steward of the Hong family pulled the reins, and the three horses slowed down all of a sudden and moved forward slowly with the ox cart.
The steward of the Hong family wore a blue robe, had two small mustaches on the sides of his lips, and had a shrewd face. The two servants wore gray shorts and had knives hanging on their waists, which made them look quite majestic.
The steward of the Hong family glanced at Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang, father and son, and smiled like a weasel greeting a chicken. He greeted Yan Dechang and said, "Isn't this Yan the blacksmith? What a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you here again!"
"Well, Manager Hong, is he going out for something too?" Others took the initiative to greet him, and Yan Dechang couldn't pretend not to hear him, so he responded in a sullen tone.
"Hahaha, didn't my son Hong Tao rank among the top three in today's martial arts preliminary exam? The master got the news early this morning and immediately sent me to Yuntao County to report the good news to Hong Tao's eldest uncle and third uncle. In two days, the master will hold a banquet at home to celebrate that Hong Tao ranked among the top three in the preliminary exam. It is a foregone conclusion that he will enter the Pingxi County Martial Arts Hall. By the way, I heard that your son was knocked off the stage by my son Hong Tao today and fainted on the spot. He was seriously injured. He only competed in one match in the preliminary exam before going to the hospital. Is your son okay now?"
Yan Dechang's face darkened instantly. He clenched his fists tightly and then replied stiffly, "My son is fine. Thank you for your concern, Manager Hong!"
"That's good, that's good!" Manager Hong still had a smile on his face. "My master always said that we are from the same hometown, and we should help each other when we have problems. We have a lot of good healing medicines in our pharmacy. If your family needs anything, you can come to our master. Our master has always been eager to help others and will not refuse to help..."
"Hmph..." Yan Dechang responded directly with his nose.
"The rhinoceros horses of the Hong family have run a long way these days, and their horseshoes are a little worn. I'll have to trouble you, blacksmith Yan, to make a few good horseshoes for these beasts of the Hong family someday. If your son does not do well in the county exam this year, you can consider coming to the Hong family to be a servant in the future. Our master has always admired young people like your son who are willing to work hard and make progress. Hahaha..." Manager Hong laughed and was about to ride away without caring about Yan Dechang's expression after saying this.
"Could you please tell Master Hong Tao a message..." Yan Liqiang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, causing Master Hong to slow down. He stopped and looked at Yan Liqiang with strange eyes, asking curiously, "What message do you want me to tell Master Hong Tao?"
"Please ask Manager Hong to tell Master Hong Tao that Yan Liqiang thanks Master Hong Tao for his teachings on the ring today!" Yan Liqiang smiled neither servilely nor arrogantly, with an elegant demeanor and a calm demeanor. He did not show any resentment at all, but a sincere face. "Victory and defeat are common in the military. Li Qiang was defeated today because he was not as skilled as others. Li Qiang admires Master Hong Tao's methods and has no complaints in his heart. With Master Hong Tao's encouragement and motivation as an example, Li Qiang will work hard in the future and work harder to live up to the name my father gave me. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to learn from Master Hong Tao again!"
Butler Hong, who had a relaxed look on his face just now, changed his expression slightly and became a little solemn when he heard what Yan Liqiang said, because Yan Liqiang's words revealed the spirit and endless fighting spirit. How could such a young man be defeated by a preliminary test
He did not laugh at Yan Liqiang anymore. Instead, he stared at Yan Liqiang seriously, as if he met Yan Liqiang for the first time. Then he nodded and said nothing more. Instead, he rode away with two servants, leaving behind the sound of hooves. He disappeared from Yan Liqiang's sight in the blink of an eye.
Yan Dechang also looked at his son in surprise. He had never expected that his son was usually taciturn and seldom said anything, but just now, the words Yan Liqiang said surprised him, as if they touched his heart. Listening to what Yan Liqiang said, the annoyance and frustration in his heart suddenly lessened a lot.
The ox cart stopped on the road for a while, and only started to move slowly towards Liuhe Town again after the dust raised by the three rhinoceros horses settled on the ground.
The Yan family and the Hong family are both in Liuhe Town, but one is a big family that has the final say in the town, and the other is just a blacksmith in the town. The conflict between the two families actually originated from Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang was forced by Yan Dechang to practice martial arts since he was a child. He worked hard every day and gradually became famous among the teenagers in Liuhe Town. Unfortunately, the Hong family also had a young master who was about the same age as Yan Liqiang. Under such circumstances, the Hong family naturally could not allow the reputation of a blacksmith's son in Liuhe Town to overshadow their own young master. Especially after Yan Liqiang turned ten, the Hong family targeted the Yan family in Liuhe Town openly and secretly, and their Hong Tao wanted to suppress Yan Liqiang everywhere...
…
Yan Liqiang's home in Liuhe Town is easy to find because it is right next to the Liuhe River. The entire home, including the yard, houses, stables, and Yan Dechang's blacksmith workshop, covers a total area of more than three acres. From a distance, you can see the big chimney above his blacksmith workshop.
In addition to Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang, there were two other people living in his house. One was Zhou Tiezhu, an apprentice of Yan Dechang in the blacksmith workshop, and the other was Wu Ma, an old servant in the family.
Wu Ma is a mute. She has lived with Yan Liqiang since he could remember. According to Yan Dechang, Wu Ma was a refugee. The year Yan Liqiang was born, Wu Ma fled from the north and came to Qinghe County. She had no relatives or friends to rely on. In the middle of winter, she caught a cold and almost died on the roadside. It was Yan Dechang who took her in, hired a doctor to cure her illness, and finally let her stay at home, responsible for doing chores like washing clothes, cooking, and sweeping. From then on, Wu Ma stayed in this family.
When Yan Liqiang returned home, Wu Ma had already prepared the meal as usual and was keeping it hot in the pot. When she saw Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang coming back, the mute Wu Ma hurriedly brought out the hot meal.
There were four people at the meal, Yan Dechang, Yan Liqiang, Zhou Tiezhu, and Wu Ma. I heard that when Wu Ma first came to Yan Liqiang's house, she refused to sit at the table no matter what. But after staying in the Yan family for a long time and working hard, Yan Dechang let Wu Ma sit at the table and eat, just like a family.
The meals for Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu and Wu Ma were very simple, including beans, cabbage, radish soup, rice, and a dish of fermented bean curd that was deliberately salted a bit.
Yan Liqiang's meal was much richer. In addition to the ordinary home-cooked dishes on the table, there was a small pottery jar in front of Yan Liqiang. As soon as he opened the pottery jar, a strong aroma of quail stewed with ginseng wafted out of the pottery jar...
This was specially prepared by Yan Dechang for Yan Liqiang. Yan Dechang himself was determined not to eat it. Wu Ma, who fled to Yan Liqiang's house, heard that she had seen cannibalism in the past, so since An, Wu Ma has not touched any meat at all. As for Zhou Tiezhu, as Yan Dechang's apprentice, he was very honest and would naturally not break the rules at the dinner table. He would eat whatever Yan Dechang ate, and even if he saw dishes that Yan Liqiang liked, he would naturally avoid them and take less or no food. The broth in the pottery pot was only eaten by Yan Liqiang.
The family's entire source of income was Yan Dechang, a blacksmith who supported four people and a rhinoceros horse. Even though Yan Dechang's income was good, more than that of ordinary people, the family still did not live an affluent life, especially since Yan Liqiang also had to practice martial arts. As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts, and the expenses of practicing martial arts were even greater, so the family became even more tight.
In this family, except for the holidays when Yan Dechang would ask Wu Ma to add a few dishes and eat meat with Yan Liqiang and Zhou Tiezhu, Yan Liqiang was the only one who could have fish and meat for three meals a day, and he was never lacking in nutrition...
As a blacksmith, as long as he can eat enough and have enough salt, he doesn’t have to eat meat or fish, but people who want to practice martial arts cannot do that - this is what Yan Dechang told Yan Liqiang.
Looking at the clearly separated dishes on the table and the special treatment he had received for more than ten years, and then looking at Yan Dechang who only had two sets of clothes to change all year round, Yan Liqiang couldn't help but feel a little sour in his nose, and the chopsticks in his hand felt inexplicably heavy...
(End of this chapter)