Chapter 74

Chapter 74: The One Who Didn’t Get a Single Bite in the Video...

He Xin watched the short video three times with great hesitation. During that time, more comments appeared under the video.

Some of the comments were exactly what she was thinking.

“Put me in this martial arts hall, I’d go in standing tall but come out lying flat. Either beaten down or starve because I can’t grab any food.”

“This blogger posts training videos every day, works so hard, and in the end can only eat a bowl of plain rice with some soup?”

“Did you notice that little Taoist? He’s really sneaky. He manages to grab food every chopstick, but you can’t feel he’s skilled in martial arts, just feels like he’s got a thief’s luck…”

He Xin stared at the comments section for a long time and made up her mind.

It’s time to send those useless men out to scout!

If it was easier to snatch food in this martial arts hall, even if she had to enter and learn martial arts to eat, she wouldn’t tell anyone.

But the food table was as chaotic as a martial arts tournament; she really felt like she wouldn’t get anything but plain rice at the table.

He Xin took a deep breath, opened the “Food Werewolf” group chat, sent three dramatic actor emojis in a row, then finally sent a message:

“I found Chen Ran!”

“What?”

“So fast?”

“What shop is it this time?”

Although it was already very late, none of the other three people in the group were asleep. It was unclear whether they were still scrolling social media looking for Chen Ran or mourning the brain drain from charging their cards earlier in the day.

“Not far from that barbershop, 13 Chang’an Road, called Tang’s Martial Arts Hall.”

The mention of “Tang’s Martial Arts Hall” caused a brief silence in the group.

The Cook and the Photographer were fine, but Wang Zhaoshan, who had just sat up, lay back down again.

Although he often felt like he could still keep fighting as a middle-aged man, after all, he was already in his fifties...

Rubbing his somewhat aching old back, Wang Zhaoshan sighed.

Just left the haunted house, now the martial arts hall—Is it really this hard to get a good bite to eat?

“Hahaha, why is Old Wang silent now?”

Seeing the Photographer teasing him in the group chat, Wang Zhaoshan got angry in his heart: “What are you teasing about! At least I practice a set of Vajra Skill every day. You guys don’t even have that foundation, right?”

The Cook wanted to retort but paused, realizing Wang was actually right!

Among these four people in the group, maybe Old Wang really had the best health.

“No matter what, we’ll check it out tomorrow. He Xin, you coming with us?”

Although He Xin shared the martial arts hall’s info in the group, she still kept one thing to herself: the intense food-snatching video from the table wasn’t shared in the group.

“You guys go first tomorrow. I’m feeling a bit unwell; I’ll rest for a day.”

The Cook felt something was off but since they knew the address now, there was absolutely no way they would let Chen Ran slip away.The next day, the three of them arrived at the entrance of Tang’s Martial Arts Hall just after five in the morning.

This martial arts hall wasn’t well-known locally; even the taxi driver didn’t know there was a martial arts hall here when they arrived.

When Wang Zhaoshan got out of the car, he saw the Cook was already there, and the Photographer was carrying the camera filming.

“How’s it going? Can we get in?”

The Cook shook his head with difficulty, then waved Wang Zhaoshan over.

“Just take a look for yourself.”

The students at the martial arts hall all got up very early. When they arrived, the students were paired off practicing “shua jin” (testing strength).

The term “shua jin” sounds mysterious, but it basically means figuring out the pattern of how the human body exerts force.

The famous Tai Chi principle of “using four ounces to move a thousand pounds” boils down to understanding the body’s force patterns — predicting how the opponent will exert strength by observing muscle movements before they actually do it.

For example, when a person is about to kick, they usually twist their hips and lower their shoulders. If you notice this early, you can use a small amount of force to break their move in advance, which is called “responding later but arriving first.”

Shua jin is about practicing detecting these signs of exertion from other students.

But this kind of practice terrified the three fans from Chen Ran’s fan group!

What’s going on? Two people were holding hands, and suddenly one jumped up and the other twisted and threw him out?

And it was a real throw! The dull thud of the body hitting the ground made the Cook’s face go pale.

After following Chen Ran’s schedule so many times—even braving the haunted house—this was the first time Wang Zhaoshan wanted to give up!

But thinking about that bowl of pure, simple chicken porridge that was almost impossible to eat anywhere else, Wang Zhaoshan took a deep breath and walked toward the door.

The Cook grabbed him in fright: “Old Wang! Take it easy! Take it easy!”

The Photographer also held him back: “Hold on, let’s watch a bit more!”

He quietly complained to the Cook, “Chen Ran really learned some bad habits—okay, haunted house was one thing, but this martial arts hall move is way too harsh!”

The two of them pulled hard on Wang Zhaoshan, who was trying to go knock on the door, afraid that Old Wang, overwhelmed by the porridge, would rush in and get thrown to pieces.

Wang Zhaoshan struggled fiercely, “Let me ask! I have to ask, right? And these are professional students—if I get thrown, I won’t be thrown so neatly. Do you really think in a place like this you just show up and they’ll accept you as a disciple?”

Having learned some Vajra Skill, Wang Zhaoshan knew a bit more about the martial arts world than the other two.

Tang Yang, who had been practicing martial arts for a long time, had already seen the group outside the door but didn’t approach because she didn’t like the camera the Photographer was carrying.

Now Wang Zhaoshan finally struggled to the door and knocked. She walked slowly to the door with her hands behind her back and asked through the gate, “What’s going on?”

Tang Yang had practiced martial arts for a long time; her skin was tight and didn’t show her age, but she had a commanding presence.

Under her gaze, Wang Zhaoshan almost forgot what he wanted to say.

“I want to ask if we can come in to eat… and to learn martial arts…”

Learn martial arts?

Tang Yang squinted, scanning Wang Zhaoshan from head to toe: “Brother, you must be in your fifties or sixties, right?”

Wang Zhaoshan nearly jumped in shock!“Fifty-four! Fifty-four!”

Tang Yang nodded, completely unfazed by Wang Zhaoshan’s nearly furious reaction. “Look at the atmosphere in this courtyard. You want to come in to learn martial arts?”

Wang Zhaoshan followed Tang Yang’s finger and saw Tu Xiaoning fiercely kick Sister Han with a sleeve-under-foot technique, but before the move was fully executed, Sister Han used her right hand to deflect and led Tu Xiaoning to fall straight to the other side.

Seeing Tu Xiaoning split and sit on the ground, Wang Zhaoshan felt his cheek twitch uncontrollably, his legs go weak, and the ligaments in his thigh throbbed painfully.

“You want to learn?”

Before Wang Zhaoshan could answer, Senior Brother Zheng called the students to eat.

“All right, everyone, clean up and wash your hands, it’s time for breakfast! Chicken porridge this morning!”

Chicken porridge!

Wang Zhaoshan’s newly formed intention to give up was instantly shattered by this simple phrase!

A surge of passion rushed to his head.

“Teacher, although I’m a bit older, I really want to learn! I practiced Vajra Skill for a long time before. Even if you just teach me some basics so I can practice at home, that would be fine.”

Tang Yang was eager to go drink porridge, but after hearing this, she looked Wang Zhaoshan over again. “Show me a stance.”

Not knowing exactly what a stance meant, Wang Zhaoshan obediently performed a few Vajra Skill moves he knew.

Tang Yang pursed her lips; he did three moves, and half of them were off.

“A bit of spinal scoliosis? Lumbar muscle strain? When you walk fast or long distances, do your front calves often ache?”

Wang Zhaoshan nodded vigorously.

“All right, then come in and practice with us. At least I’ll help you correct those Vajra Skill moves.”

Tang Yang wasn’t particularly obsessed with taking in disciples. This was a martial arts hall, not a sports school—no zero-base beginners accepted. But this old man’s Vajra Skill was obviously wrong and could only get worse with practice. Giving him some guidance was okay.

“I’ll give you two weeks. I’ll teach you standing postures. When you’ve learned them, you can go home and practice on your own. Any questions? Do you have time?”

Wang Zhaoshan was overjoyed—he didn’t expect to get in after all. And it was during breakfast time when they served chicken porridge!

Seeing Old Wang enter without looking back, the Cook and Photographer grew anxious.

Both of them pounced on the big iron gate: “Teacher, we want to learn martial arts too! I have a foundation!”

“Yeah, look at me! I’m more than twenty years younger than him!”

Tang Yang was annoyed to death; she wanted to go drink porridge!

This morning she had already seen Chen Ran chopping chicken on pigskin with such skill that she thought even her own superb Tai Chi couldn’t mince chicken without damaging the pigskin.

How could she miss this chicken porridge?

Moreover, this porridge was so painstaking to make, Chen Ran only made one pot. Even if she didn’t worry about fighting for it, at best she could get a few spoonfuls.

“No!”

Having been delayed several minutes by Wang Zhaoshan, Tang Yang’s tone grew stiff.

“Look at you two! Weak lower body, wandering eyes, heavy dark circles. Don’t talk about no foundation for martial arts—probably you get out of breath just climbing two flights of stairs, worse than ordinary people!”

“Forget martial arts, go home and run!”Tang Yang waved her arm, the sleeve of her practice clothes swung fiercely, creating a sharp crack in the air.

Cook Man was startled; the two of them stepped back, helplessly watching Tang Yang disappear in just a few strides.

“Old Wang actually managed to sneak in!”

If none of the three had gotten in, Cook Man would have felt better inside. But now that Wang Zhaoshan got in, it felt like several little cats were scratching at his heart, unbearably uncomfortable.

He couldn’t be the only one feeling bad!

He sent three exclamation marks in the group chat, tagged He Xin, then messaged: “Can you believe it? Old Wang got in smoothly!”

“Oh? So neither of you got in?”

He Xin immediately saw through Cook Man’s unwillingness: “Neither of you got in?”

The Photographer was complaining loudly to He Xin in the group chat, but Cook Man seemed to notice something.

No, why wasn’t He Xin anxious at all after hearing this?

Could it be that there was a trap in this martial arts hall?

However, maybe because Wang Zhaoshan was just too excited to have gotten in, he didn’t notice this bug at all.

He excitedly messaged in the group: “Who would’ve thought! Young people nowadays don’t have bodies as good as a middle-aged man like me. Cook Man, I heard Teacher Tang say you get out of breath just going up two flights of stairs, hahaha.”

After mocking Cook Man, the overly excited Wang Zhaoshan turned to challenge He Xin: “Xiao He, it was right that you didn’t come today. Judging by the martial arts hall’s requirements, probably none of you three can get in. I’m about to eat now, and this meal has Chen Ran’s chicken porridge!”

He Xin sneered.

“Is that so?”

She wasn’t anxious at all.

After sending two characters, He Xin slowly sent another message in the group: “I really envy you. If you get to eat it, eat a couple more bites for me.”

Wang Zhaoshan laughed heartily.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try some extra dishes for you all.”

This trip to the martial arts hall was really worth it!

Besides being able to eat Chen Ran’s food, they also helped him correct his Vajra Skill moves.

He retracted his previous inner complaints about Chen Ran. Coming to this martial arts hall was definitely the right choice!

This was a true chef of the people!

Not only could she cook well, but she also found him a martial arts hall with real skills!

Calming down a bit, Wang Zhaoshan looked over at the table.

This breakfast wasn’t really about the chicken porridge; after all, the porridge’s making process was really troublesome. Chen Ran only made the porridge to practice her technique.

Besides chicken porridge, the egg-filled flatbread and a few small dishes were the real highlights.

Tu Xiaoning looked at the old man assigned to sit at her table and kindly reminded him: “Eat quickly later. If you eat slowly, there won’t be any left. Oh, and remember, only start eating after Teacher Tang announces it.”

Wang Zhaoshan nodded.Several dishes were laid out, and everyone had been given their utensils. Seeing everyone at the table pick up their chopsticks, Wang Zhaoshan even felt a bit of warmth.

He secretly took a picture and sent it to the group chat.

“See that white porcelain basin in the middle? It looks no different from plain porridge, but that’s the chicken porridge I wrote a long review about.”

“Oh wow, this atmosphere of rushing for food looks really familiar. I have to say, Chen Ran’s dishes being fought over by so many people is a trouble, but it’s a sweet trouble. When so many people scramble to eat, it means it’s delicious!”

The little Taoist on the side felt a bit sorry and patted Wang Zhaoshan: “Big brother, stop looking at your phone and get ready to eat. Also, a personal suggestion: you should try to grab the flatbread first...”

Before he could finish saying “flatbread,” Tang Yang interrupted.

“Start—meal!”

From the moment the word “start” came out of her mouth, Wang Zhaoshan felt the previously warm dining hall instantly fill with a killing intent!

When the word “meal” was finished, Wang Zhaoshan, who was still holding a spoon ready to scoop porridge, suddenly felt a gust of wind brush past the side of his face.

That was the wind from people grabbing food, their sleeves brushing through!

Wang Zhaoshan was terrified and hurried to scoop porridge, but during the process, the spoon clanged about ten times!

The porcelain spoon was still in his hand, which was proof of his effort. But by the time he finally reached for the white porcelain basin, the porridge had already been cleared out.

Wang Zhaoshan didn’t even have time to be shocked. He quickly switched to chopsticks to grab some side dishes, but as soon as he reached out, the chopsticks were broken by the little Taoist next to him!

Others, when using chopsticks, know to hold them loosely so that if hit, they can release some force.

But Wang Zhaoshan didn’t know this; he gripped his chopsticks tightly, and after a light tap from the little Taoist, the chopsticks snapped.

Don’t be fooled by the little Taoist’s graceful moves; the force was not small at all, just well controlled to appear elegant. In fact, the little Taoist wasn’t deliberately breaking his chopsticks, just casually brushing past.

Wang Zhaoshan almost cried.

You guys are really bullying me!

Only then did he understand why, before the meal started, the little Taoist in the robe kindly told him to grab a flatbread first.

If he couldn’t get chicken porridge or side dishes, at least he couldn’t miss Chen Ran’s egg-filled flatbread!

Fortunately, since everyone at the martial arts hall had big appetites, Chen Ran had made plenty of the egg-filled flatbreads.

Wang Zhaoshan threw away his chopsticks and tearfully grabbed a flatbread.

While biting into it, he rubbed his fingers that were faintly numb.

The egg-filled flatbread was very fragrant; even just one was an S-rank recipe given by the system.

However, accompanied by the nearby aroma of chicken porridge, it was hard not to feel a bit dissatisfied.

Although the chicken porridge had been instantly cleared out, everyone still paid attention to hygiene, only using spoons to scoop porridge from the big porcelain basin into their own small bowls.

Otherwise, using a spoon that had already been put into their mouth to scoop porridge again would get them scolded by Teacher Tang.

So, just as Wang Zhaoshan bit fiercely into the egg-filled flatbread, a fresh chicken porridge aroma drifted over.

Along with the scent came everyone’s lively chatter.

“This chicken soup porridge is really delicious!”“So strange, why does this rice taste like it has a meaty flavor?”

“Porridge cooked with chicken broth—of course the rice grains would have a meaty flavor. I saw Chef Chen got up early; maybe the porridge has been simmering a long time… I’ll try cooking porridge with chicken broth instead of water sometime!”

Wang Zhaoshan couldn’t take it anymore!

“This is chicken porridge! Take a good taste of these rice grains—this isn’t rice cooked with chicken broth to have a meat flavor. This is chicken meat chopped into a paste and, through excellent heat control, cooked into the shape of rice grains!”

“When tasting chicken porridge, you must first drink the soup; after swallowing the soup, then separately feel the elasticity of the chicken paste formed into rice grain shapes…”

Everyone at the table sensed this elder’s anger and, surprised, began following his method to drink the porridge.

“Really!”

“My god, this is actually made of chicken? It looks exactly like white rice grains.”

“But this porridge has no oil at all—how can the chicken still be so tender? Won’t it be dry?”

Wang Zhaoshan bit down hard again, drowning his saliva and appetite in the egg-filled flatbread.

Tu Xiaoning saw the elder looked a little upset and comforted him, “It’s okay, Chef Chen’s staples are delicious too. I can eat three of these egg-filled flatbreads easily!”

“Yeah, and after Chef Chen found some people couldn’t get any dishes and had to eat plain rice, the steamed rice always has some peas and meat bits inside now—it’s super fragrant!”

After comforting the elder with the senior sister, Tu Xiaoning kindly reminded him, “Your phone keeps ringing. Take a look, anyway, there’s no food left to fight over.”

Wang Zhaoshan didn’t want to look at his phone.

Now he understood why He Xin’s words sounded a bit sarcastic and why she excused herself as feeling unwell and didn’t come to the martial arts hall with them.

She definitely knew that even if she got into the martial arts hall, she wouldn’t get any food!

Still wanting to maintain good relations with classmates nearby, Wang Zhaoshan took out his phone and glanced at the group chat.

He Xin had @-mentioned him countless times, constantly asking in the group:

“Foodie, how’s it going? Have you tasted the chicken porridge yet? Want to describe its deliciousness to us again?”

Wang Zhaoshan wouldn’t lose face! He immediately took a photo of the egg-filled flatbread: “I got to eat Chen Ran’s egg-filled flatbread!”

After sending the photo, he immediately muted his phone and continued silently gnawing on the flatbread while the aroma of chicken porridge wafted nearby.

While eating, Wang Zhaoshan comforted himself in his heart:

This is Chen Ran’s egg-filled flatbread—those who queued at the stall must be envious!

After finishing the flatbread, seeing a few teachers walking out, Wang Zhaoshan dashed over.

“Teacher Tang! I can’t get a single bite of food this way!”

Tang Yang shrugged, “That’s why I said, the martial arts hall isn’t suitable for you… Want me to escort you out?”

The smell of chicken porridge still lingered at Wang Zhaoshan’s nose! He would never leave!

After getting a soft refusal from Tang Yang, Wang Zhaoshan didn’t dare persist and instead stopped a kindly-looking Taoist behind who was coming to register.

“Taoist, can you teach me a couple of tricks so I can get some food? If this goes on, I’ll starve.”

The Taoist chuckled lightly, stroking his long beard: “It’s simple. You channel your spirit and energy into your chopsticks, think in your heart that you will get food, and just reach out to grab it. You must hold chopsticks in your hand but have no attachment in your mind.”Wang Zhaoshan wanted to cry but had no tears. Taoist, is your kind of idealism really okay? He just can’t learn it!

He gloomily followed everyone out, and soon Tang Yang caught him to learn standing postures.

After a whole day, Wang Zhaoshan ate one egg-filled flatbread in the morning, two bowls of plain rice at noon, and in the evening Tang Yang, feeling a bit pity, gave him a pack of pickled mustard.

“Can I have some of Chef Chen’s side dishes instead…”

Tang Yang frowned deeply: “Eat or not? If not, forget it! You’re only here for two weeks anyway. You have tea to drink and cucumbers and tomatoes to eat, and eating plain rice every day is enough to give you vitamin C!”

“I’ll eat! I’ll eat!”

Eating the pickled mustard and the peas that Chen Ran kindly added to the rice, Wang Zhaoshan walked back to the dorm with a worried face.

Tu Xiaoning rushed over: “Uncle, I want to post a video, can I cover your face?”

Wang Zhaoshan hadn’t seen Tu Xiaoning’s previous videos, and now with his whole body sore, he just wanted to go back and collapse on the bed for a big sleep.

He waved his hand: “Sure, go ahead and post it, just don’t show my face. I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m going to rest.”

“Okay! You rest well!”

Tu Xiaoning happily ran back to the dorm to edit the video. She gained many new followers and wanted to post the morning, noon, and evening videos all together today!

Many fans left comments wanting her to post more!

Among them was He Xin.

At night, He Xin ordered a table full of barbecue, ready to find a video to watch while eating, and just saw Tu Xiaoning had updated.

She clicked the video and immediately couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Even though Tu Xiaoning had pixelated the face, she could still recognize that the one who didn’t get a single bite the whole time was none other than Lao Wang.