PCJ – Chapter 129 Horse Stance

In the morning, Dumb ran to Zhang Jiaohua’s house to call him to go to school, and immediately saw the wooden stakes in the courtyard.

“Jiaohua, you practice kung fu?”

Dumb’s eyes lit up. What kid doesn’t dream of being a martial arts master?

“Yes.” Zhang Jiaohua nodded without saying much.

“If I put wooden stakes in my yard, my dad would probably break my legs with a stick.” At this point, Dumb’s expression darkened.

Zhang Jiaohua casually asked, “Are you really your dad’s son?”

“I also suspect I’m not his biological child. My mom said I was picked up. She said that the year I was born, there was a famine, and everyone in the village was begging for food. A female beggar carrying a baby came to our village, afraid that the child would starve to death, so she gave me to my mom. My mom, being soft-hearted, took me in. As a result, due to strict family planning policies, since they adopted me, they couldn’t have their own child. My dad, without his own child, always looked at me unfavorably and would beat me often.” Dumb told a sad story. Do adults not consider children’s feelings when making up stories? Sigh, this cast a shadow over the child’s heart.

Zhang Jiaohua was deeply moved, his eyes, like Dumb’s, were already filled with tears. “Are you still going to look for your biological parents?”

Dumb shook his head resolutely, “Why look for them? They didn’t want me.”

Then he added, “If Zhang Benrui dares to hit me again, I’ll go look for them.”

Nearby, Liu Qiaoye couldn’t help but laugh at the conversation between the two kids.

“Mom, how can you do that? Dumb is already like this, and you’re laughing, with no sympathy at all.” Zhang Jiaohua was dissatisfied with his mother’s reaction.

“I can’t be bothered with you two kids. You were also picked up, that’s why you’re called Jiaohua.” Liu Qiaoye glanced at her son.

“What?” Zhang Jiaohua suddenly felt very bad.

Zhang Jiaohua and Dumb exchanged a look, both kids were completely stunned.

Children’s sadness comes quickly and goes quickly. They soon forgot their sorrow as abandoned children. Each carried a green military-style bag with a red star printed on it. As they ran, their bags flew behind them.

“Jiaohua, yesterday my aunt said a wild boar broke into the neighbor’s yard, and their pig was squealing from being bitten. Later, people from the neighboring mountain tried to block the wild boar. The wild boar charged around, knocking several people over without leaving a single hair behind. Some had broken arms, some had broken legs.” Dumb, despite his slight stutter, was very articulate.

“Where did the wild boar come from? How did it run into the village?” Zhang Jiaohua was curious.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of a wild boar running into a village. It’s a pity, if they caught that wild boar, there would be hundreds of pounds of meat.” Dumb said regretfully. His mind was full of thoughts about meat, completely forgetting that those who wanted to eat pork ended up with broken arms and legs.

Everyone initially thought the wild boar was in heat, desperate for food, and came to the village looking for a sow. But later events made people feel something was not right.

Zhang Jiaohua and Dumb arrived at school. Their classmate Liu Gusheng was proudly demonstrating the kung fu moves he had learned to his friends on the playground.

“Let me teach you a move. This is what my master just taught me. Horse stance! My master said the horse stance is the foundation of boxing. Standing in a good horse stance is not easy. Hands on hips, legs apart and squatting down, shoulder-width apart, thighs level, knees not exceeding toes, toes slightly inward, left fist in front of the nose, right fist with elbow straight and shoulder level, shoulders relaxed, body slightly bent, anus lifted, abdomen in, breath to the dantian, body relaxed, eyes looking forward.” Liu Gusheng posed grandly, but Zhang Jiaohua saw it at a glance and knew it was just a fancy pose. Not to mention gathering energy, even the basic posture was not completely correct.

“Look, they’re also learning kung fu!” Dumb said enviously.

“Get out of the way. There’s nothing to see here.” Ma Sibao pushed Dumb, almost knocking him down. Fortunately, Zhang Jiaohua caught him. But Ma Sibao, being a sixth-grader, was much stronger than Dumb and Zhang Jiaohua. They both took several steps back to steady themselves.

“What are you doing?” Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t help but get angry.

Ma Sibao was a bit scared when he saw Zhang Jiaohua, hesitating for a moment. Zhang Yuanbao suddenly charged out from behind Zhang Jiaohua, pushing Ma Sibao forcefully, knocking him to the ground.

Ma Sibao seemed stunned, actually feeling a bit afraid of Zhang Jiaohua. Ever since the last incident, he deeply understood Zhang Jiaohua’s strength. Zhang Yuanbao, thinking he had scared Ma Sibao, proudly patted his hands and said to Zhang Jiaohua, “Jiaohua, if this guy dares to bully you again, just tell me. See how I’ll deal with him.”

Zhang Yuanbao, being well-fed and chubby, was actually quite weak, relying only on his bulk. Without Ma Sibao’s guard down, he wouldn’t have had a chance.

Dumb was surprised by Zhang Yuanbao’s help, “Why has this guy changed? He used to bully you often, didn’t he?”

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head, “How should I know.”

Ma Lisong came to the school and saw the kids gathered together. He immediately shouted, “What are you doing? Planning a rebellion? Liu Gusheng, it’s you again! Today, go stand in a horse stance on the ping-pong table, and don’t come down until I say so!”

The group of kids scattered. Liu Gusheng, however, didn’t feel embarrassed at all, proudly jumping onto the ping-pong table to stand in a horse stance. This guy was too eager, acting as if he’d been injected with adrenaline, which made Principal Ma furious. He immediately went to his office, took out his teaching rod, and whacked Liu Gusheng’s butt.

“I told you to stand in a horse stance, not squat on the ping-pong table like you’re using a toilet!”

At this, Liu Gusheng protested, “That’s how my master taught me.”

“I say it’s wrong, so it’s wrong. I’m the principal, not your master!” Principal Ma whacked him again. He wasn’t worried about parents complaining about corporal punishment. Parents in Meizi’ao would always agree verbally, “Teacher, feel free to hit my child. If you hit them, I’ll even bring you water to wash your hands.”

What kind of parents are these, really? Are these children all picked up?

Liu Gusheng, being stubborn, argued, “Principal Ma, you don’t know martial arts. How do you know my horse stance is wrong?”