Many different scenes were flashing by outside the car's window, but Lou Cheng was not in the mood to enjoy the view. He chatted with Yan Zheke on QQ and browsed the web forums, Weibo, and other apps while listening to the chit-chat between his parents, uncle, and aunt. Occasionally he would jump in and make a comment.
After the building-demolition fight that night, Lou Cheng discovered that his fighting ability was enhanced. He had better control over his Spirit and had also developed a stronger resistance to fear and stress. Even his skills and judgment during the battle were sharper.
He was still unhappy about the attack he had experienced, but he was not angry anymore.
As for the endorsement contract for the martial arts shoes, Wu Qinggui, who was on a business trip, agreed with the alterations to the terms. As soon as he returned, both parties could sign the contract and continue forward with other procedures. Once that was accomplished, Lou Cheng would receive a large amount of money, around 700,000 yuan, in endorsement fees!
Lou Yuanwei was playing games on his phone, while Ma Xi was enjoying some music. Time passed and the car turned off the high-speed road onto a small country road. After traveling through all the winding lanes and curves, they finally arrived at Liang Tian village.
"We're almost there," said Lou Zhisheng, reminding his wife, brother, and sister-in-law, who almost fell asleep.
"Really?" Lou Cheng was looking out of the window curiously. This was his so-called hometown.
Lou Yuanwei put down his phone, moved closer to the window, and gazed far into the distance. Ma Xi was entirely unaware because she was listening to music and possibly asleep.
Outside was a two-lane country road with some two or three-storied houses nearby. The house owners had built yards for themselves as well, and some of them had their cars parked within.
"They can already afford to own cars..." Lou Yuanwei mumbled to himself with complicated emotions.
Lou Cheng found it funny because he could understand his cousin's feelings. Returning to one's hometown was a great opportunity to show off their superiority. However, his cousin noticed that the villagers here owned their own cars. Even though they were ordinary cars, it was still something his family could not afford yet.
"The villagers are fairly rich ..." Lou Yuanwei's mother, Wang Lili, said in a similar tone.
Lou Cheng's father, Lou Zhisheng, laughed and said, "Times have changed. Demand for laborers has reached its peak. Here, anyone with some skills could earn far more than I do, plus they do not pay taxes. But that also means their jobs and social welfare are not secure."
"Right. I have heard that an unskilled laborers could make a considerable amount of money, let alone a carpenter or bricklayer," said the driver.
"Not all of them are carpenters. How can they make so much money?" Lou Zhiqiang, Lou Cheng's uncle, spoke out his doubts directly.
"That is for sure. Think about it, when anyone builds a house or buys a car, it is not a secret from the rest of the village. No one wants to be left behind, nor to be looked down upon. The villagers made every effort to keep up with others." The driver had traveled extensively and seen similar situations elsewhere.
"I knew it!" said Lou Zhiqiang as he smiled.
"It is a common practice for villagers to want to keep up with those around them..." Lou Yuanwei tried to reassure himself, but Lou Cheng still noticed his disappointment.
His cousin was always discontent with his life. He was always thinking about starting a business and getting rich quickly. Therefore, when he was stimulated by his surroundings, he would start to feel uneasy.
——Lou Cheng neither supported nor rejected Lou Yuanwei's entrepreneurship so as to avoid his uncle or aunt's complaints.
They kept moving forward, passing by more trees on both sides of the road as well as more houses all over the place. It seemed that they had arrived at the core area of the village.
After several turns, the Lou family made it to the ancestral hall, where an old and grey-haired man was standing at the gate.
"Debang, you came so early, so you didn't encounter a traffic jam." The elderly man greeted them with a smile and spoke to Lou Cheng's grandfather, Lou Debang.
Lou Debang was also excited and replied, "My brother, you need not welcome us. We had a smooth journey."
Hearing the word "brother", Lou Cheng was sure he knew who the elder was. He was the cousin of Lou Cheng's grandfather, Lou Deguang, who had summoned the whole family to revise their family records and rebuild the ancestral hall.
Luckily, Lou Cheng's mother kept nagging about the donation for the family records. Otherwise, Lou Cheng would not have remembered the elder's name.
"Debang, I am so excited today. It has been such a long time since our last meeting. We should cherish our remaining years!" Lou Deguang was obviously joyful as he held Lou Debang's hand while walking into the ancestral hall, saying, "Now you should burn some joss sticks and present yourself in the hall, then we can deal with the family records. As soon as Zhilin returns, we will have lunch. This afternoon we will go to the mountains and sweep the tombs."
"Zhilin is so busy. Must he make a special trip home?" asked Lou Debang with astonishment.
"You are a rare visitor here, how could he not come back? When he was a child, you doted on him and gave him pocket money every time you met." Lou Deguang was in high spirits as he continued saying, "The second son is taking care of most of his businesses, so he has lots of leisure time."
Lou Cheng followed along and listened to them quietly, as did Lou Yuanwei and Ma Xi.
Lou Cheng's mom also mentioned Zhilin's story before. Zhilin, the eldest son of Lou Deguang, recruited some of his fellow villagers into a decoration company, and then Zhilin worked on his own and became a successful and well-known businessman.
Now Zhilin had settled down in the city, but Lou Deguang did not want to live there, making the excuse that he hated to part with his old residence.
The second son, Lou Zhilin's only child, was Lou Cheng's cousin. Although Lou Cheng's mother had not mentioned his name, he was more successful than his father and had expanded the family business to the city of Lening.
"The second son is still single?" asked Lou Debang.
Lou Deguang felt resentful, saying, "Yes. He is not even in a serious relationship. Let us wait and see. If he does not get married in two or three years, I will make him kneel down in the ancestral hall."
... When he heard this, Lou Cheng's lips twitched a little bit. Marriage or having a baby was purely a private matter. Lou Deguang overlooked the individual's wishes, forcing the ancestors' desires on the entire family, which reminded Lou Cheng of some awful ancient stories.
Fortunately, Lou Cheng could not care less. He only listened to sensible people and sensible advice.
They entered the ancestral hall, worshipped their ancestors represented by the memorial tablets, and then handed over their money for revising the family records. Lou Deguang found a huge piece of red paper and asked Lou Zhisheng to write down the names of their family members. It would be included in the revised family records afterwards.
Later, the rest of the relatives appeared. They gathered around a square table, chatting and exchanging messages about each other's lives, such as what kind of job their spouses had and the relationship status or studies of their children ...
Lou Zhiqiang and Wang Lili felt awkward, only saying that Lou Yuanwei was in a work unit with a stable income and previously had a girlfriend but they did not work out. Meanwhile, Qi Fang, Lou Cheng's mom, was extremely excited, retelling the story of how Lou Cheng had passed the exam and got admitted to Songcheng University.
"My dear Cheng is an undergraduate at Songcheng University ... Haven't heard of it? Do you know the University of Xing Province? Well, Songcheng is way better!"
"My dear Cheng won the championship at the Youth Tournament ... Haven't heard of it? Well, the award money was nearly 100,000 yuan!"
The relatives shouted out in surprise. Even the thick-skinned Lou Cheng could not bear such a compliment after noticing that his cousins Lou Yuanwei and Ma Xi were blushing with shame. Then Lou Cheng asked Lou Debang,
"Grandpa, may I go for a walk? I will be back soon."
While talking, Lou Cheng got up. Lou Yuanwei and Ma Xi could finally breathe a little. They both followed Lou Cheng and left.
Stepping out of the hall, they loitered aimlessly and calmed down, enjoying the view of the neighborhood.
"This is my first time in a village." Ma Xi looked at the river nearby, full of swimming fish, which made this city girl excited.
Lou Yuanwei was also excited. Everything was fresh here.
"It's cold, but the river is not frozen solid. Boring." Lou Cheng just took a picture and sent it to Yan Zheke.
Lou Cheng's maternal grandparents lived in the village, so they must be familiar with such a scene.
While talking, they passed by a house. There was a middle-aged man practicing martial arts in the yard. His punches caused some noise, loud and clear, and his movements seemed overbearing.
"Let us move on. He will be offended," urged Lou Cheng, patting Lou Yuanwei and Ma Xi on their shoulders.
After a moment's silence, Lou Yuanwei lowered his voice and asked, "He was a good fighter, wasn't he? Cheng, can you beat him?"
You are being so blunt, so I have nothing to hide. Lou Cheng smiled and said,
"He was obviously a Ninth Pin fighter since his Qi and blood remained affluent."
Lou Cheng did not explicitly point out who was a better fighter, but their rank spoke for him.
"Oh, you have defeated a fighter of Seventh Pin, so you must be better!" Lou Yuanwei suddenly understood.
"Needless to say, my brother," Ma Xi replied.
At this time, they saw a group of kids raising toy guns, swords, and sticks, playing around. They shouted and quarrelled with excitement.
When he saw this, Lou Cheng recalled the past, saying, "I remember I had my own sword and sheath made of bamboo, and every time I drew it out, I felt like a hero. However, the sword was left in my maternal grandpa's home and has been lost for years."
"I do remember. Once, you carried the sword and made a show of it. I begged you to make one for me, but you never did." Lou Yuanwei smiled, "Look, that kid's move was quite presentable."
He pointed to a sturdy boy holding a toy sword.
"He is good, isn't he? He is my son," said a man as he came closer. He was the one practicing martial arts in his yard earlier. He had a square face and rough skin.
Lou Cheng had already noticed him. He said with a smile, "Was that martial skill handed down by your family?"
"Correct. The Yue family has been huntsmen for generations. This is my youngest son. My eldest one earned the title of Ninth Pin and served as a substitute in the Bat team. Have you heard of the Bat team?" The middle-aged man told them the whole story without reservation.
"I'm sorry. No." Lou Yuanwei and Ma Xi shook their heads.
Lou Cheng had heard of the Bat team but did not feel like giving a response.
Then the man changed the subject and asked, "So, are you here to join the Lou family memorial ceremony?"
"Yep." Lou Cheng nodded.
At that moment, they heard the roar of an engine. A black car was out of control, rushing from the corner and about to run into those kids.
The kids were astounded and could not move. The middle-aged man jumped to his youngest son and took him away. There was not enough time for him to save the other kids.
The man pressed down with the foot and leaped forward. When he reached his boy, the car's motor roared like thunder. The black car was already very close.
Having seen the driver's red face and eyes full of panic, the father was outraged and knew he could not make it.
Damn it! The drunkard had mistook the gas for the brake!
The father was caught in a hopeless situation. Suddenly, he saw the shadow of a human figure crossing and heard the deep sound of a collision.
Bang!
Lou Cheng, using and releasing his Dan force, raised the front of the car off the ground with his bare hands.
The rear wheels of the black car were still spinning against the ground, bursting with sharp noises and sparks. Nevertheless, the car was unable to move any further.
Crack!
The cement ground was cracked where Lou Cheng was standing, and the black car that could no longer move was stuck in the same place.