Chapter 172 - 168: Martial Arts Prodigy_1

Translator: 549690339

Next, Yingbao planted some muskmelons and cucumbers in the vegetable garden.

In addition to these, she planted a few rose and peony magnolia saplings in the yard.

To keep the chickens from pecking at the saplings, every day after releasing the chickens from their coop, Yingbao would herd them out of the yard and scatter some grain outside for the hens to peck at.

However, it seemed like a few chickens were preparing to brood, spending all day nesting.

Upon seeing this, Chunniang quickly placed over a dozen eggs in each nest, and also placed a bowl of water and a bowl of wheat grains and millet by the nesting hens to make them comfortable for chick hatching.

Seeing this, Mrs. Tang laughed warmly and asked, “Chunniang, can I exchange some eggs for chicks after they hatch?”

“You could just take a few chicks back then, no need to exchange,” Chunniang agreed immediately.

One could raise at most a dozen or so chickens at home, any more would be a nuisance, with chicken droppings everywhere, which was quite a mess.

The reason Chunniang was letting the chickens brood was also because the sister-in-laws and the mother-in-law all wanted a few chickens.

Even the nanny from Madam Wen’s family wanted to raise a few chickens, making it easier to eat eggs in the future.

“That wouldn’t do, the chicks also come from eggs,” Mrs. Tang said, “Let’s agree on this.”

“Alright, I’ll save more than a dozen for you then.”

The two chatted for a while more before Mrs. Tang excused herself and left.

In early spring, each household had a lot of chores. It was time not only to plow and plant beans, but also to clear the fields and prepare to plant cotton.

The mushrooms also had to be removed from under the straw curtain to aerate and receive sunlight. When the weather warmed up, they could begin to divide the mushrooms for propagation.

On her rest day, Yingbao hurriedly moved all the tree saplings out of her lair.

Like chestnut tree saplings, apple tree saplings, and loquat tree saplings.

This time, she didn’t tell her parents, but went by herself to plant them in the fruit garden.

Her family’s fruit garden was very large, half of it lay fallow and the other half was her father’s permanent farmland.

The chestnut trees planted before had grown taller, they were grafted last year and were expected to bloom and bear fruit this year.

Yingbao planted a dozen chestnut saplings next to a chestnut tree, and planted a few apple saplings next to two apple trees.

The other loquat saplings were all planted on the empty land at the edge of the fruit garden.

She watered the saplings and covered them with bamboo hoods to prevent the young plants from being pecked at by chickens.

Her father had said that he intended to cultivate all this wasteland, planting all kinds of fruit trees, and later building a pavilion on the high land. When the fruits ripened, their whole family could enjoy the fruits and cool off here.

Yingbao went around the fruit garden, admired the blossoming apricot flowers, and the radiant peach blossoms, and thought about the endless fruits in the future. Her smile widened.

The most enjoyable time was a life of stability, adequate food and clothing.

“Sister! Sister!” Jiang Jie frantically ran over, with two puppies trailing behind him.

“What’s happened?”

Yingbao hurriedly went to meet him, “What’s wrong?” If Jiang Jie, her eldest younger brother, was so flustered, something must have happened.

Jiang Jie grabbed his sister’s sleeve, panting, “The uncle living in our vegetable garden insists Xiaowu watch him perform a chest-breaking-stone trick, he won’t let Xiaowu go unless he watches, sister, you should go take a look!”

This what kind of nonsense is this? Such eccentric demands?

Yingbao immediately took off running back home.

When she reached her family’s vegetable garden, she saw that a man named Zhang Meng, dressed in thin clothing, was lying on the ground, rolling his eyes, with a lot of rubble and clay on his chest.

Xiaowu was crouched on the ground, staring at his chest in amazement, making amazed noises.

Xu Kun held a large sledgehammer in his hand and kindly tempted, “Would you like to learn martial arts with uncle? You’ll be very powerful in the future, and able to fight one against three.”

Jiang Wu blinked and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“What?” Xu Kun didn’t react at once.

Jiang Wu extended a finger and poked at the spot on Zhang Meng’s chest that had been smashed, “Does this hurt?”

“How could it?” Xu Kun chuckled, kicking Zhang Meng with his foot, urging him not to lie there like a corpse and to get up quickly.

Zhang Meng took a deep breath, slowly sat up, and glared at Xu Kun resentfully, “Where did you get that stone from?”

Couldn’t you have tampered with it? It took several blows to break it, almost making me puke out my dinner.

Xu Kun gave him a signal to keep quiet, then turned his head and said to Jiang Wu, “He doesn’t feel any pain at all, quite impressive, right?”

Jiang Wu said, “You’re lying. Uncle Zhang has turned pale and couldn’t get up for a while. He must be in agony.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Meng immediately got up, grimaced due to his pain, turned back and smiled at Jiang Wu, “It really doesn’t hurt. Your uncle has practiced the Unparalleled Divine Power, I’m quite tough.”

“What do you mean by Unparalleled Divine Power?” Jiang Wu had never heard the term before and was very curious.

Zhang Meng cleared his throat, “It’s the kind of skill that is formidable in a fight.”

“Show it to me then,” Jiang Wu was even more curious.

Zhang Meng glanced at Jiang Wu and his sister who were standing nearby, hesitating for a moment.

Xu Kun felt this was the perfect opportunity, signaling fervently to him, “Perform it, the kids are watching.”

Zhang Meng had no choice but to endure the pain and perform a boxing technique.

“That was amazing!” Jiang Wu clapped his hands in amazement, and kept shouting, “Do it again! Do it again!”

Zhang Meng was speechless.

This damn kid was treating him like a street performer.

Yingbao, however, was looking at the two men with newfound respect.

She didn’t expect them to be so skilled.

Although Zhang Meng only performed one set of movements, to Yingbao, his punches were strong, his movements agile, indicating that he is indeed a martial artist.

In her past life, she had practiced dancing and had seen fighters performing martial arts, so she was able to compare and spot true talent.

“Uncle Zhang, are you really going to teach my little brother martial arts?” Yingbao asked.

Zhang Meng immediately nodded, “Yes.”

“Why do you want to teach him?” Yingbao just could not understand.

Could it be they want to earn money by teaching martial arts in the village?

That wouldn’t be a bad idea. There were many children in the village and if each family gave some tuition fees, it would provide them both with a comfortable living.

Zhang Meng earnestly said, “Jiang Wu’s physique is exceptional, he is a great potential martial artist. Despite my disability, I have once fought in many battles and I do not want such a talent to be buried.”

Yingbao pondered this.

Her little brother learning martial arts could be beneficial, he wouldn’t get bullied and if he got drafted to the army when he grows up, he would have a means of self-defense.

Moreover, she knew that Xiaowu didn’t enjoy studying and she had tried many ways to change his dislike for studying.

But till now, his calligraphy still looked like caterpillars, nowhere close to Xiaojie.

“Uncle Zhang, are you thinking of opening a martial arts school in the village?” Yingbao asked.

Zhang Meng paused for a moment, then nodded, “That’s exactly what we intend to do.”

Yingbao: “Alright, I’ll go home and ask my parents about this.”

With that, she grabbed Jiang Wu and Jiang Jie and headed home.

Zhang Meng and Xu Kun exchanged glances and smiled, “We’re halfway there.”

Everyone in the village knew that the daughter of the Jiang family had some influence at home. Her parents always considered her opinions.

Initially, they intended to lure the kid to learn martial arts from him, only to find that the little fellow was not receptive.

Fortunately, his sister had no objections and intended to discuss it with their parents.

“This was worth it! Your suffering today wasn’t in vain,” Xu Kun chuckled.

Zhang Meng grumpily glared back at him, “I would have forgotten if you hadn’t brought it up. What was the deal with that stone earlier? Why didn’t it break after several blows?”

Xu Kun blinked, “I wanted to make it look realistic. The little kid from the Jiang family is too shrewd. He was observing every move I made, I couldn’t have sabotaged anything.”