17. The abdomen is the other half of marriage (upper)

  On Sunday morning, Jiang Zhihan rushed to Lao Yezi with excitement to report the good news and also to clean up the courtyard, but was met with a basin of cold water.

  This cold water must have come from Old Man Yang. Before Jiang Zihan could even start telling his story, the old man asked about his practice this week. Poor Jiang Zihan had been on edge all week, and apart from calming his nerves through meditation, he had stopped practicing in the morning. The new footwork and breathing exercises he had learned not only hadn't improved, but had actually regressed a step or two.

  In my impression, Old Master Yang was never a strict teacher, but today he showed no mercy. He didn't listen to any explanations and only made Jiang Zihan practice the footwork repeatedly. Jiang Zihan felt embarrassed about his poor performance, but had no choice but to continue. After three repetitions, the old master asked calmly, "How do you think you did?" Jiang Zihan replied honestly, "Terrible." The old master asked again, "How many days have you practiced your morning exercises this week?" Jiang Zihan lowered his head and said, "Two days." The old master scolded, "Three days fishing, two days sunbathing, what kind of practice is that? First, squat in a horse stance for three hours here and reflect on yourself."

  When Lin entered, Jiang Zhihan was still squatting in a horse stance, reflecting. Lin winked at him and smiled with schadenfreude, then walked into the main house to chat with Old Master over tea. After a while, Jiang Zhihan had lost all sense of time. Lin came out, patted Jiang's shoulder, and said, "Go on in. I've put in a good word for you; you owe me one." Jiang's legs were numb, so he moved his limbs to get the blood flowing again before following Lin into the main house.

  For the first time, Jiang Zhihan saw the old man's stern side and didn't dare to sit down. He stood carefully on one side. The old man asked, "Have you figured it out?" Jiang Zhihan respectfully replied, "For practicing martial arts, persistence is the most important thing, and a restless mind is absolutely taboo. I made both mistakes." The old man said, "Is there anything else you've realized?" Jiang Zhihan respectfully said, "You once said that Yang-style boxing cultivates internal energy and external movements, but more importantly, it's about cultivating one's character and nature." The old man nodded and said, "Don't think that just because you handled things well in the past few days, whether it was saving people or helping to solve difficulties, you were able to remain calm and composed. But when faced with matters closely related to yourself, you easily become flustered. As for not being swayed by external events and not being sorrowful about personal matters, you are still far from achieving this state." The old man continued, "Don't think that I'm being too harsh on you just because you're young. You started practicing martial arts too late, and your foundation in internal energy and boxing is insufficient. If you can't work harder on cultivating your character and nature, your future achievements will be limited." Jiang Zhihan respectfully acknowledged this. The old man's expression softened, and he said, "Let bygones be bygones. Don't make the same mistake again. Sit down."

  Three people sat around the table, drinking tea and chatting. Jiang Zhihan was completely ignorant of tea culture. But Ma Bu had been squatting for an afternoon, thirsty and terrible, and gulped down two bowls. The old man shook his head and continued to teach Jiang Zhihan: "Living in this society, not everything can be controlled by you. First, you must keep your heart, ask yourself without guilt. Second, when there are troubles and obstacles, you must calm down and not let yourself get confused. Third, even if there are family members and friends, they will not let you suffer injustice easily." Lin took over the conversation and said: "The old man has already made arrangements after hearing about the situation. When it's time to reveal the truth, he won't just sit back and let you suffer injustice." Jiang Zhihan thought to himself that he hadn't even mentioned it, but was just scaring himself. The old man waved his hand: "There's no need to tell him too much. Young people should still take responsibility for themselves when they encounter things, don't always think about relying on external forces." Jiang Zhihan felt the master's care and was deeply moved in his heart.

  Lin said, "Old master, I'm not just flattering you to your face. Your eye for picking a disciple is top-notch. As for the future of martial arts, it's hard to say, but in terms of ability in handling matters, he far exceeds his age. Take this matter of publishing the supplementary issue, whether it's attention to detail or execution, there's nothing to criticize. Even at my current age, I wouldn't dare say I'm better than him." Lin finished flattering and turned to Jiang Zihan, "I heard that one of the people involved in this incident is someone you know." Jiang Zihan nodded, saying it was a friend of a friend. Lin said, "This might be the case, but the other party will probably retreat with their tail between their legs. However, I've made some inquiries and found out that among those people, there are two who are scoundrels from the judicial system, not high-ranking officials, and their brains may not be very sharp, but they have endless tricks up their sleeves and can stick to you like gum. In theory, the closer the relationship between the person providing evidence and you, the easier it is to raise doubts. Logically speaking, your friend's friend doesn't count as a close relationship, but we still need to guard against the other party's cunning tactics. So, it would be best if there were one or two more witnesses who are completely strangers and willing to come forward to provide testimony." Jiang Zihan shook his head with a bitter smile, and Lin quickly said, "I'm just speaking from a cautious perspective. You don't need to worry, I've also discreetly inquired about this matter, mainly to sound the alarm for the other party and let them know they can't cover up everything."

  After sitting for a while, Jiang Zhihan went out to sweep the courtyard and bid farewell with Lin Suo. At this time, Jiang Zhihan again solemnly thanked Lin Suo, saying: "Recently, I've been troubling you, and it's really made me feel uneasy." Lin Suo said seriously: "Although Master says you're not a formal disciple, he cares about you deeply, and indeed treats you like a closed-door disciple. Our branch has few true disciples who have entered the door; once they enter, they are like brothers, connected by the same root. It's not comparable to those superficial friendships outside. I can help you now, so I'll help you; you don't need to thank me. In the future, when you soar to great heights, I will definitely come to ask for your help." Jiang Zhihan smiled and said: "Thank you for your kind words."

  Lin said, "That day you mentioned the 110 emergency response system. I had also heard of it before. But listening to you talk about it with such confidence, I went and checked a lot of internal materials, did some thorough research, and indeed found that what you said makes sense. However, my level is not high enough, so I'm not in a position to make such suggestions, so I'm currently looking for possible channels."

  Lin actually held back, he had already found a key figure. Yang Deputy Director, who had just arrived at the Municipal Bureau, was transferred from outside with the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee. In Zhongzhou, it can be said that there is no foundation below, but above, there is great power. Deputy Director Yang is young, educated, and ambitious. To move up, he must make some unusual political achievements. Deputy Director Yang knows that he has just arrived in Zhongzhou and has no foundation, so for grassroots cadres, he has selected a few to prepare for the gift of wisdom, to accept them well. Lin is on this list, and the two sides have had contact twice at work. Deputy Director Yang attaches great importance to him. Now Lin is just waiting for an opportune moment to propose this suggestion, believing that if it can be implemented, it will be a great help to both parties' careers and mutual relations.

  The new semester is approaching, and there are many trivial things to deal with. Some boring summer homework that hasn't been finished needs to be copied, and the dropped practice progress also needs to be made up for. So in the last week, Jiang Zihan adjusted his time going to the library to half a day.

  On Tuesday afternoon, as soon as he arrived at the reading room, Xiang Xiang came over to greet him and said, "Let's have dinner together tonight." Xiang Xiang had helped him out a lot this time, so Jiang Zhihan readily agreed. He borrowed her office phone to call his mother at the factory to ask for leave.

  In the late afternoon, Jiang Zhihan and Xiangxiang met at the entrance of the library. Xiangxiang only told him then that today was Xiaoqing treating them to dinner. Jiang Zhihan said: "How can we accept this? She's a great benefactor, it should be me treating her instead." Xiangxiang said: "You don't know, this time Xiaoqing became very popular in the department because of this report. Her director said that such reports not only care about what happens to ordinary people but also guide social trends and promote our city's spiritual civilization construction. Many readers called our hotline to give feedback, comrades, such reports that attract readers without being lowbrow are the typical examples that our supplement's society section should establish." Xiangxiang imitated Xiaoqing's middle-aged female director, speaking in an official tone with a full flavor. Jiang Zhihan couldn't help but laugh loudly, and he actually agreed with Xiaoqing's evaluation of his girlfriend. Xiangxiang was easy to get close to, looked beautiful, had a good personality, and had good relationships - it seemed that this wasn't accidental. After this incident, Jiang Zhihan felt much closer to Xiangxiang, her identity was no longer just the girlfriend of a friend, but a good friend.

  Jiang Zihan said to Xiangxiang, "Xiangxiang sister, that day you patted your chest and guaranteed that what I said was credible in front of Xiaoqing sister. I was really touched." According to Jiang Zihan's current understanding, when it comes to praising girls, thanking them, or saying heartfelt words, one should dare to say them, say them face-to-face, and say them often. Indeed, Xiangxiang heard this and saw Jiang Zihan's sincere expression, feeling extremely happy. Jiang Zihan continued, "Last time we had dinner together with Mingting brother, I originally wanted to treat you, but instead, you said it was my turn to pay, so I ended up saving 30 yuan. Normally, I wouldn't carry that much money on me. It's all because of this 30 yuan that I paid for the taxi fare and registration fee, and even left some money for someone to return, which eventually led to endless trouble. So today, no matter what, I have to treat you. If I had a few more yuan in my pocket, who knows what new troubles would come my way." Xiangxiang giggled, "It turns out that it's all our fault after all."

  Xiao Qin was still the same, punctual as always, and handed Jiang Zihan a newspaper as soon as they met, today's Zhongzhou Evening News. Flipping through the supplement, there was a follow-up report on an incident.

  The Truth Behind the Elderly Woman's Injury Incident Revealed

  Subtitle: "Interrogating Social Conscience, Encouraging Delight in Helping Others"

  Jiang Zhan quickly scanned the article, which was different from the previous one. The point of view was very strong and had already made a conclusion about the matter. There were several witness interviews, including an interview with a nurse from the emergency hospital, a detailed restoration of the entire incident, as well as Xiao Qing's thoughts and comments. Righteousness and evil were clearly distinguished.

  Jiang Zihan sincerely thanked her. Xiao Qing threw away her usual habit of pretending to be cool in front of strangers and said with great expectation: "This article will definitely be very popular, more popular than the last one. Ordinary people like to know the truth, they like to see justice being upheld, and they like to condemn those who repay kindness with ingratitude." After a while, she added to Jiang Zihan: "This time we are helping each other out. To thank you, I am preparing the third article in this series, which is an investigation into the background of the incident and interviews with the parties involved. You will have to accept my interview, but those guys will probably refuse. However, I can conduct a side interview with their colleagues and neighbors. According to my preliminary investigation, the old lady lives alone and has difficulty taking care of herself, she has also been ill several times before, but her three children are economically well-off and do not want to take on the responsibility of caring for their mother. Once I dig deeper into this topic, haha, even if we can't do anything to them, we can still make them infamous in the streets. I'm telling you, don't underestimate the power of public opinion, rumors can kill people." Xiao Qing was so excited that she not only expected to become popular with one article but also hoped to have a series of three hits, and she couldn't help but talk more and eat more, dominating the conversation for the whole night.

  Xiao Qin's prophecy proved to be completely correct. The follow-up report caused a huge reaction. Everyone will scold the ungrateful and lament the decline of morality, and some people will also use the newspaper to educate their children or spouses, saying that good people can't do bad things, doing bad things will bring trouble to themselves.

  A few days ago, due to the police coming to their doorstep and her son being wronged, Li Rongrong couldn't help but complain to her familiar colleagues. Because of this, someone saw the newspaper and knew that the Jiang boy mentioned in the article was indeed Jiang Zihan. Like all other news, it quickly spread throughout the factory. After the sulfuric acid incident, Jiang Zihan once again became famous in the printing factory, even increasing his mother's reputation within the factory. The elderly women in the dormitory area couldn't help but praise him whenever they saw him, and would ask about the details of what happened so that they could have something to brag about later. Even those who had argued with Jiang Zihan a few days ago praised him greatly when they saw him, saying he was kind-hearted and would definitely be rewarded, while scolding those who were ungrateful and disloyal. They had already forgotten that Jiang Zihan used to be the traitor of the working class in their hearts. Jiang Zihan was extremely annoyed by this, and every time he entered or left his home, he would quickly slip away when there were fewer people around.

  This Saturday was the last weekend of summer vacation (when Zhongzhou still implemented a one-day rest system). Chen Yimeng had originally agreed to go out and play together, but his mother insisted that Jiang Zihan accompany her to attend a dinner party, which seemed to be an invitation from two old neighbors before they moved. Jiang Zihan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he went to Shi Lin's house and called Chen Yimeng to say that he couldn't go. Li Rongrong was determined to bring Jiang Zihan along, saying it was because the old neighbors wanted to see him, but in reality, she was probably proud of her son's recent behavior and secretly wanted to show him off.

  The dinner and gathering that night turned out to be a torture of over three hours for Jiang Zhihan. There were no peers of his age at the table. That was still okay, as he had already gotten used to participating in adult conversations. But those people were insipid and detestable. They talked about what new appliances they had bought, whose nephew had been promoted to section chief, or whose kid had scored a certain grade on an exam, and they compared with each other, almost to the point of fighting. They had already forgotten that Jiang Zhihan was just a child, and since he wasn't a typical top student, it was hard for him to get attention in their habitual way of thinking. Jiang Zhihan didn't feel angry about being ignored, but rather felt extremely depressed by the unwholesome conversations. Recalling Old Man Yang's teachings, he could only treat this as an opportunity to cultivate himself and calm his mind, so he started practicing breathing exercises with his eyes half-closed at the table.

  After the meal, Jiang Zhihan couldn't help but complain to her mother. Lü Jiongjiong was actually not in a good mood today either. She didn't like the attitude of these people and felt they looked down on her, thinking she had nothing to be proud of. She comforted Jiang Zhihan saying: "Some people are annoying, but living in this world you can't avoid interacting with them, how can everyone cater to your temper? You'll have to deal with it in the future too." And then said, tomorrow noon she had arranged to meet a few friends to hike Western Mountain on the outskirts of town, and this kind of situation definitely wouldn't happen again. Jiang Zhihan felt a headache coming on, but after some persuasion, she still agreed to accompany her mother, after all, during the entire summer break, she had been busy practicing and studying, and hadn't even spent weekends with her mother.