Chapter 4 Ma Quezi

The place where Ma Laizi's family lives is even worse than Uncle Chen Luo's. It was a tiled house, the kind that would collapse if the wind blew. There was a boiler in the house next to it. When Chen Luo and his uncle and nephew came over, black smoke was coming out of the boiler next to it.

Ma Laizi was sitting alone at the door, holding a file in his hand and repairing an iron pot. The file was sharpened on the bottom of the pot, and large pieces of black iron powder fell to the ground, revealing the damaged location.

"Cripple, I'm here to see you."

Chen Laosan looked at the lame horse working over there and started shouting from afar.

Ma Laizi didn't even move when he heard the sound. He continued to rub the iron pot with a hunting rasp. The patch in the stove next to him was almost burned, so he picked it up and placed it at the hole in the iron pot. There was a clanging sound.

It wasn't until the iron pot was completely repaired and put aside that Ma Laizi looked up at his uncle and nephew.

His eyes mainly fell on Chen Luo.

Because this is a new face.

I don't know if it was due to psychological effects, but when Ma Laizi glanced over, Chen Luo became nervous subconsciously, and the hairs on the surface of his body stood up. This feeling is like walking alone in the forest and being stared at by a beast.

"My nephew, Chen Luo! The third generation of the old Chen family."

Chen Luosan's words interrupted the atmosphere, and at the same time he did not forget to put the gift in his hand on the table next to him.

"Say it."

Ma Laizi finally looked away, his voice was a little low, and his face was like a wooden man, without any change.

"My nephew wants to learn martial arts."

After Chen Laosan sat down, he went straight to the point and stated his purpose without saying any polite words.

Upon hearing this, the movement in Ma Laizi's hand paused for a moment.

After that, it seemed as if he didn't hear anything and started minding his own business. Chen Laosan was not in a hurry and was waiting nearby. He waited until Ma Laizi had repaired all the iron pots and sickles in his hands before he spoke again.

"Why do you want to learn martial arts?"

This sentence was said to Chen Luo, and Chen Laosan next to him did not interrupt.

He knew the temper of the lame horse.

"I want to become stronger."

Chen Luo expressed his wish.

He has never felt safe since he came to this world. Especially after knowing that this world has ‘martial arts’, this feeling of insecurity becomes even stronger. So he desperately wants to master the power to protect himself and those around him.

"Learning martial arts may not necessarily make you stronger, this is the way of the world."

Ma Laizi seemed to have remembered something and said something. But then there was no sound again. He silently packed up the tools, placed the used pliers against the corner of the room, and put the file into the tool box next to him.

"Come tomorrow, I'll teach you for an hour every day. It's up to you how much you can learn."

Just when Chen Laosan thought that this matter was going to fail, Ma Laizi picked up the tool box and got up to go back to the house. When he was closing the door, a voice came from inside.

Done!

Chen Laosan breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Luo was also very excited!

No matter what Ma Laizi's temper is, for Chen Luo at this stage, this is his only chance. As long as he can enter the gate of martial arts, he believes that he will definitely be able to find a way to reach heaven later. Using those damaged brains to learn martial arts is the last option. For a beginner, this choice is still too risky. If the details are missing, it will be fatal.

It's already dusk after all the work here.

When the uncle and nephew came back, the nearest street was still blocked, and people from the yamen were searching back and forth, as if they were looking for someone.

Chen Laosan was naturally cautious and took Chen Luo back home directly.

"Old Liu Tou! Here are two bowls of noodles, add more sesame and less spicy."

Neither uncle nor nephew were good at cooking. When they arrived at the alley, Chen Laosan and Chen Luo sat down in front of Lao Liu's noodle stall, tapped the table with their hands, and shouted loudly.

They were all old acquaintances, and Old Liu knew they were coming when he heard the sound.

After a while, Lao Liutou came over with hot noodles, and a piece of braised pork specially added for them.

“We’ll tie the knot together after eating.

Chen Laosan replied, took out the chopsticks from the bamboo tube, stirred it twice, and then started eating. Chen Luo was not slow, and he was full in a short time.

Lao Liutou has been running his noodle stall for more than 20 years, and his noodles are famous for their honesty.

Not to mention that the uncle and nephew also added braised pork.

After having enough wine and food, Chen Laosan threw two big coins on the table and took Chen Luo back home.

Chen Laosan has been living like this all these years, spending money whenever he can and never treating himself badly. Chen Luo also learned from his third uncle in this regard. No matter what he did, he would never treat him badly. The worst he could do was to be a bachelor for the rest of his life. It’s not like he hasn’t been beaten before!

After returning home, Chen Laosan took out the key and was about to open the door when he saw a black bamboo stick falling out from under the copper lock.

Um?

The moment he saw the bamboo stick, Chen Laosan's expression changed.

"Third uncle, do you want to help?"

Chen Luo knew this kind of bamboo stick. It was the mark of the corpse buryer when he came to do business. Every time Chen Laosan came to live in the past, Chen Luo was watching from the side. Naturally, he had seen similar bamboo sticks. It was just a black bamboo stick. This was the first time he saw it, and he couldn't help but be curious.

"You can help me so much! Learn martial arts well and don't waste all my hard work."

Chen Laosan cursed and put the bamboo stick in his arms, then opened the door and returned to the house.

"Go there by yourself tomorrow."

Seeing this, Chen Luo had no choice but to return to his house.

There are many taboos in the corpse burial business. If the third uncle is unwilling to tell, he will never be able to ask. If he asks too much, he may be beaten by the third uncle.

These are all words of experience.

‘Let’s wait and see when I am stronger. Now I can’t even protect myself. ’

Lying on the bed, Chen Luo couldn’t help but think of the street closure he saw today.

‘I just hope it’s not a big deal. ’

He fell asleep in a daze. That night, Chen Luo didn’t dream and slept very soundly.

No words all night.

Chen Luo got up early the next morning.

Strangely, the third uncle next to him had already gone out. The door in the yard was still open, and no one knew where he went.

“Auntie Wang, have you seen my third uncle?”

After washing up, Chen Luo came to the old Liu’s noodle stall at the entrance of the alley and asked the aunt who was cooking noodles. Auntie Wang is the wife of the old Liu. The couple does business in the evening and in the morning. I heard that the old couple bought a house for their son in the provincial capital with this unique skill.

"Your third uncle? He went out before dawn and took two white steamed buns from me." Seeing that it was Chen Luo, Aunt Wang smiled and said a few more words.

Business was busy in the morning, and after a few words, Aunt Wang went to her own business.

Chen Luo didn't ask much. After eating two buns and drinking a bowl of soy milk, he set off to Ma Quezi's house.

He went there with his third uncle yesterday.

Know the way.

After passing the alley and coming to the intersection of yesterday again, Chen Luo found that the street was still blocked. Not only was there no sign of unblocking, but the scope of the blockade became larger, and several households around were blocked. There was a special policeman guarding the door. Seeing Chen Luo looking around, one of them glared at him directly.

"Get out of here quickly, the road is blocked here, take a detour!"

Chen Luo, who was scolded, shrank his neck and hurriedly changed the way he took yesterday.

'It's not an epidemic, right? In this broken era, a plague will cause a big mess. ’

Chen Luo thought about it and felt that it was impossible.

If it was really a plague, the blockade would not be at this level.

Judging from the attitude of the messenger who scolded him just now, many people should have thought of taking a detour from here this morning, and he scolded people with ease.

After passing the blockade area, it didn't take long to arrive at Ma Quezi's house.

Just like yesterday, Ma Quezi was still repairing daily necessities for the neighbors, from kitchen utensils to farm tools, and he could even help nail horseshoes.

After Chen Luo came over, he didn't say much and started to help directly.

It wasn't until the sun was high that Ma Quezi stopped his work.

"Come in with me."

Maybe because of his performance in the morning, Ma Quezi's attitude towards Chen Luo was much better.

Push open the wooden door.

Chen Luo found that the yard of Ma Quezi's house was actually bigger than that of his uncle's house. It looked shabby on the outside, but it was very bright inside.

After passing the middle door, there was a separate small yard inside. There was a weapon rack and a sandbag on the side. The surface of the sandbag was a little weathered, and it seemed that no one had used it for a long time.

"Practice martial arts first, and learn as much as you can by watching my movements."

Regardless of whether Chen Luo heard it or not, Ma Quezi started to practice boxing on his own. After completing a set of movements smoothly, he finally settled on the pole.

Although he had a lame leg, he gave people a sense of stability.

Seeing this, Chen Luo immediately imitated it.

The boxing method he performed the first time could not be said to be exactly the same, but it could only be said to be completely irrelevant. None of the key nodes were stepped on correctly, and the breathing was also messy, which made Ma Quezi frown beside him.

"Practice again."

Ma Quezi suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice.

He knew that Chen Luo's aptitude was not good, but he didn't expect it to be so bad. He didn't remember anything after practicing once, which was simply a waste among wastes!

Chen Luo immediately raised his hand after hearing this, and recalled the previous movements and practiced again.

This time, Ma Quezi pointed out several mistakes in his movements. Every time Chen Luo stood wrong, he would hit him with a bamboo stick. Over and over again, until night fell, Chen Luo barely remembered this set of movements.

"Let's practice here today. In the next month, come to me after you have mastered the standing practice."

Throwing the bamboo stick in his hand aside, Ma Quezi walked away without looking back.

He was afraid that if he watched for a while longer, his heart disease would be irritated.

"Thank you, Master."

Chen Luo kowtowed to Ma Quezi respectfully, and then stood up to leave.

"Hiss"

I didn't pay attention when I practiced before, and now I feel pain all over my body when I move. Ma Quezi really didn't hold back when he hit people, and Chen Luo couldn't remember these movements if he held back.

In the stage of laying the foundation of martial arts, if you practice wrong, it will be fatal.