Enameled Tea Jar

After a night of heavy rain, the whole ridge completely changed its appearance the following day.

The rain washed the mountain path continuously, and its original trail was no longer visible. Trees and grasses looked ravished, and the leaves were still wet with the rain.

Drip.

Drip.

Pulling on his rubber shoes, Chi Qiaosong came to the farmhouse to check on his acre of field.

"Good thing the trellises holding the lentils didn't fall." After the inspection, he felt much more relieved. The protection of the field was adequate. The drainage ditches were dug deep enough.

Each trellis was pounded into the ground for at least fifteen centimeters to ensure they were firmly anchored.

The lentil seedlings were fine, but the farmhouse had a problem. A stone tile on the brick roof cracked, causing the water to leak inside the house and soak all the old newspapers.

Chi Qiaosong had not had a chance to read many of these old newspapers.

He had no choice but to take these old newspapers out and hang them on the bamboo fence to dry. The small stove used to warm up the medicine was also soaked and needed to be dried. Then, some pelts required air drying outside.

There had been no big games.

The pelts were no more than the skins of coyotes and rabbits. They were tiny in size, and it would take him a long time to get enough together for a fur coat. These were the pelts that he had prepared for Mrs. Chi. The winter of Jiangyou Province was usually cold and wet, and Mrs. Chi was mainly afraid of the coldness of the winters.

Because of the rain, neither Chi Qiaowu nor Wen Moshan came over for practice.

After Chi Qiaosong cleaned up the farmhouse and replaced the broken stone tile on the roof, he began to practice. He felt uncomfortable if he didn't practice at least a little bit every day. Furthermore, martial arts must be maintained consistently in the grand scheme of things. Otherwise, the body would slowly lose its ability to maintain its muscles and inner strength.

A martial arts master would lose strength and muscle tone after idling for a few years.

But if one was diligent daily with the practice, even if one lived to be seventy or eighty years old, or even one hundred years old, one could still maintain one's plane and strength. At the very most, the stamina might deteriorate a little bit.

There was something else.

What Chi Qiaosong realized, with some disappointment, was that the practice of martial arts could not obtain immortality. Even the supreme and invincible masters, no matter what martial arts they practiced, could, at the very most, only prolong their lifespan by sixty to one hundred twenty years.

In the end, none of them could escape from being a pile of bones in the tomb.

But there was also some good news. Among the treasures of heaven and earth, some could improve one's health and prolong one's life.

Mountain Drum was not included on this list. The claim that the meat of the Mountain Drum could prolong one's life by one year was just a rumor propagated by the hunters in the olden days, mainly to exaggerate the power of the Mountain Drums.

If they could prolong someone's life span, their price would not stop at simply three dollars a pound.

...

...

...

Time passed by quickly. A week had passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Chi Qiaosong dressed in brand new clothes, carrying the snakeskin bag, and took an anti-tricycle into town. An anti-tricycle was a tricycle with the carriage in front; slow and steady was its appeal.

A ride only costs fifty cents.

But there were not many people who took it. The rich liked to take chartered sedans or rickshaws; the poor had no money to spare for such luxury.

In the past, Chi Qiaosong would not have taken the anti-tricycle either. But now, the nine hundred dollars in his pocket gave him confidence. He eschewed his previous consumption habits and focused more on enjoying the moment.

Through the crowded and chaotic streets, he came to the military academy, located next to the train station.

Sure enough, the gate was wide open, and some classmates who knew each other had already arrived with their luggage.

"Chi Qiaosong!"

He heard someone calling him from a distance.

Chi Qiaosong got off the tricycle with his snakeskin bag and walked toward the voice. It was a boy of the same age whose hair was meticulously coiffed, and his face was full of shining pimples.

"How come you just got here? I arrived yesterday already." The young man was Li Weiwei, whose family ran a rice shop back home.

"Are the teachers back?"

"They came back yesterday, and not one of them is missing. Last night they had dinner at the Grand Ink Ridge Hotel. I heard that the teachers had gone to the battlefield with the commander and took over three counties without much fighting!"

Li Weiwei's martial arts aptitude left much to be desired, but he had a lively personality and was well-informed. "Oh, by the way, our chief lecturer has not returned."

"Huh?" Chi Qiaosong was surprised, "What happened to Chief Luo?"

"He was transferred to the Municipal Martial Arts Institute and promoted to professor. I heard he had a breakthrough during battle and entered the Guardian Plane. My goodness, there is yet another guardian under the commander."

The Three Disciple Planes were Wrestler, Warrior, and Knight. The Three Master Planes were Guardian, Master, and Grandmaster.

Knight to Guardian was only one plane's difference, but it was really a chasm. Throughout the journey of martial arts, countless people were stuck in the Knight Plane without being able to advance.

Few people could find the key to breaking through and gaining the qualifications of being a master.

"Then, who is the chief now?"

"Mr. Zhou, I guess. Mr. Zhou is a veteran knight. Before Chief Luo, Mr. Zhou was in charge of the daily operations." Li Weiwei shrugged. "But who is to be the chief lecturer has nothing to do with us... I suspect I will be in the next round of students to be dismissed... Fortunately, I have you to keep me company."

The military academy was not a place to mess around. It was not a place where one could hang out just because tuition was paid.

One had to show progress to continue staying on to study.

Of course, Chi Qiaosong was no longer at risk of being dismissed again. He shook his head. "I'll go to the dorm first."

"Well, you go on. I'm still waiting for someone," Li Weiwei said with a lewd smile. He had been pursuing a female student in the military academy. In his thinking, he had to have satisfaction in at least one thing, either martial arts or love.

...

...

...

In the dormitory, Chi Qiaosong was not the first to arrive.

Two people had already arrived in the four-person room. The two were chatting animatedly, but neither acknowledged Chi Qiaosong when he came in.

Chi Qiaosong didn't mind it, either.

These two were from wealthy families in the county. They were very arrogant and only socialized with people from the same socio-economic status.

So, after he put away his luggage, he went to the reading room at the military academy. The reading room had subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. He was not fond of reading before, but now he liked it very much.

As he flipped through the books and read through the newspapers, before he knew it, it was noon.

When he returned to the room, the third roommate was there, clad in crumpled and patched-up clothing, and was sweeping the floor with a broom. "Chi Qiaosong, where have you been? I couldn't find you."

He was a tall and large boy, but his voice was soft and gentle. His character was also honest and loyal, which could also be considered a little weak, just like his name: Wang Minzhong.

"I went to the reading room to read the papers. Have you eaten yet? Shall we go together?"

"Okay, wait until I finish sweeping the floor."

Their other two roommates interjected to instruct him. "Wang Minzhong, before lunch, ensure you sweep the floor on our side and make sure it's clean. There is a checkup of the dormitory this afternoon."

They were very bossy and not at all courteous.

Wang Minzhong nodded cowardly. "Oh, okay."

Chi Qiaosong frowned slightly and grabbed the broom from Wang Minzhong's hands. First, he quickly swept the floor around his bed and then threw the broom at the feet of the other two. "Sweep your own area yourselves, or arrange a schedule, and we'll take turns cleaning every day."

"Damn it, Chi Qiaosong, what is the meaning of this?!" Among the two, the square-faced kid got up from the bed and glared at Chi Qiaosong.

The other, with a round face, also stood up and glared at Chi Qiaosong.

In the past, although Chi Qiaosong was not cowardly at the dorm, he did not speak too loudly either.

Chi Qiaosong looked at them calmly and replied, "Chen Hai, Mao Sanjian, do you not understand what I just said?"

The one with the squared face was Chen Hai, and the one with the round face was Mao Sanjian.

Wang Minzhong tugged Chi Qiaosong's arm a little bit and said, "It's okay, I'll do it."

Chi Qiaosong ignored him and continued, "There are laws for the country just as there are rules in every household. Since we live in this dorm, we must also set the rules. I am not going to repeat myself in the future. From now on, we will follow the rules I set."

"Hehe, are you feeling all right? Are you joking?"

"Who the hell are you that you will set the rules?!"

Chen Hai and Mao Sanjian laughed scornfully.

But in the next moment, they couldn't laugh anymore.

Chi Qiaosong simply picked up the enameled tea jar on Chen Hai's table without saying another word. One squeeze with his hand and the enameled tea jar that a hammer could not damage immediately deflated.

Then, Chi Qiaosong pulled with his hands again, and the deflated enameled tea jar returned to its previous shape.

He put it down on the table with a clang.

The tea jar did not break, but now it had a few new cracks, suggesting that this enameled tea jar had been through quite an ordeal just moments ago.

Things quieted down presently.

Chi Qiaosong patted Wang Minzhong on the shoulder and called out, "Let's go, let's go get some food."

Chen Hai and Mao Sanjian were left to stare at the enameled tea jar with uncertain expressions on their faces. However, neither of them dared say anything more. An occasional demonstration of one's strength was beneficial.