PCJ – Chapter 242 Martial Arts Competition

“There’s meat to eat,” Zhang Jiagen couldn’t care less, and grabbed a bowl of rice to sit at the table. He was pulled back by Zhang Wenrong and reluctantly handed the bowl to Zhang Wenrong, then obediently took another bowl for himself.

“We’re all of the same surname; do you think you’re so impressive? Out there, you’re nothing,” Zhang Jiaohua said with disdain.

Zhang Wenrong clenched his fists, wishing he could punch Zhang Jiaohua.

“Ah, this meat is delicious. Brother Rong, look at this wild boar meat—it’s neither too fatty nor too lean. Just right. If you add some dried bamboo shoots, it’ll be even more flavorful,” Zhang Hanggou quickly held onto Zhang Wenrong. Several hunting dogs were squatting nearby. Winning against Zhang Jiaohua was one thing, but dealing with these dogs was another matter. If there was any commotion, all the hunting dogs would probably come over. Zhang Hanggou gave Zhang Wenrong a look, indicating that they should avoid trouble.

Zhang Wenrong relaxed his clenched fists. It was frustrating to be completely at the mercy of a kid.

“Brother Rong, why aren’t you eating? This wild boar meat is really good,” Zhang Jiagen, who was focused on eating, hadn’t noticed what had just happened. He devoured the fatty meat like a starving person, with oil dripping from each bite. Although the fat was greasy, it carried the rich flavor of the meat, with a smoky aroma from the firewood that added to the taste.

Zhang Hanggou couldn’t help but kick Zhang Jiagen, “Even while eating, you can’t keep quiet.”

Zhang Jiagen only then realized something was wrong but didn’t know what had happened. He scratched his head and continued eating, but this time he kept his head down and said nothing.

Zhang Wenrong, who was burning with frustration, could only vent his anger on the food, eating as if the dishes were his enemies, not enjoying any of it.

“After you’ve eaten, continue working for me. You need to come here on time every morning. I’ve arranged the meals for you. You’ll have to cook for yourselves. I’ll let you go once I’m satisfied. But if you don’t meet my standards, don’t blame me,” Zhang Jiaohua said, putting down his bowl and glancing at Zhang Wenrong and the others.

“Jiaohua, since we’re working for you, you should at least give us some wages. When others work for you, you pay them. We came to your place because we didn’t have money. There’s no other way to earn money. Now you want us to work for you, so you should pay us something. Actually, we wanted to go to Guangdong to work and earn money, but we don’t have the travel expenses,” Zhang Jiagen wiped his mouth with his sleeve and played the pity card.

“Jiagen, don’t try to fool me. You’ve already deceived your family several times, saying you were going to Guangdong, and every time you got travel money, you spent it all on gambling,” Zhang Jiaohua said disdainfully.

“But if you really want to go to Guangdong, once you’ve worked enough to cover the travel expenses, I’ll buy the tickets for you and send you off. I’d rather not have you causing trouble in Meizi’ao,” Zhang Jiaohua had already planned an exit strategy for these three.

Zhang Jiagen looked at Zhang Jiaohua resentfully, knowing he was thoroughly stuck this time.

“You shouldn’t be wandering around every day. It’s better if you stay here for a while. In the mornings, practice martial arts with me. Otherwise, with your skills, you’ll embarrass us Meizi’ao people when you go out,” Zhang Jiaohua added.

Zhang Jiaohua was acting on a whim. Practicing martial arts alone in the morning was indeed boring, and now he had three idle guys to train with. Of course, Zhang Jiaohua was only teaching them some basic skills. Zhang Wenrong and the others had practiced martial arts with a master in the village before and thought they were skilled. However, in Zhang Jiaohua’s eyes, their skills were rudimentary.

“Don’t be resentful. If you don’t believe it, come with me to the Plum Blossom Poles now,” Zhang Jiaohua beckoned to the angry Zhang Wenrong.

“Jiaohua, I’m not afraid to fight you. It’s not that I can’t win, but I’m worried you might use underhanded tricks later. I admit defeat,” Zhang Wenrong said gruffly.

“Is that so? Wenrong, I’ll make it clear. If you can hold your own on the Plum Blossom Poles, I’ll let you go immediately and won’t hold anything against you. You three can go up together,” Zhang Jiaohua said dismissively.

The garden area was spacious, and Zhang Jiaohua had already moved the Plum Blossom Poles from the yard to the garden. There were twenty-three poles, each about 1.5 meters high, resembling a cluster of short trees.

Zhang Jiaohua leaped onto the poles and waved to Zhang Wenrong and the others, “You three should come up together. Otherwise, you’ll regret it later.”

Zhang Wenrong took off his long sleeves, leaving only a white vest underneath. He handed his clothes to Zhang Hanggou, “I’ll go up!”

Zhang Wenrong was really enraged. Zhang Jiaohua’s provocation made him furious, wanting to tear Zhang Jiaohua apart.

Standing on the Plum Blossom Poles was a common practice for martial arts training, similar to a match in a ring. Whoever fell off the poles lost. Because of the height, fights often resulted in broken limbs.

“Jiaohua, it’s still not too late to apologize. If I injure you, don’t cry later!” Zhang Wenrong said coldly, seeing that Zhang Jiaohua was much shorter than him, feeling somewhat unfair.

“Enough with the talk. If you don’t take the opportunity now, you’ll regret it later,” Zhang Jiaohua said, assuming a horse stance and preparing his stance.

Zhang Wenrong assumed a similar stance, and the two exchanged a push to greet each other.

“If you won’t cry until you see the coffin, don’t blame me!” Zhang Wenrong, who had practiced martial arts for a few days, stood firmly on the Plum Blossom Poles, his fists making a strong wind with each punch, showing some impressive form.

“Brother Rong is really angry this time. I hope he doesn’t end up injuring Jiaohua,” Zhang Hanggou said with concern.

“As long as we win, we can leave,” Zhang Jiagen said with a smile.

“You don’t know anything. If you upset Jiaohua, can you guarantee he won’t retaliate? He’s from Meishan Mountain; he could use some trick to make us suffer,” Zhang Hanggou had been worried about this.

“We’ve started fighting, so worrying won’t help,” Zhang Jiagen said, putting on a curious look.

“I’m attacking now,” Zhang Wenrong said, seeing Zhang Jiaohua just standing there without moving, thinking Zhang Jiaohua didn’t know how to fight.

“Stop talking nonsense,” Zhang Jiaohua suddenly moved, raising a foot and directly kicking Zhang Wenrong, who flew off the Plum Blossom Poles and fell down.