“You can take a rest now, but you will be getting up at 6 o’clock tomorrow morning for training!” Zhao Feng glanced at the clock and said loudly.
“What? Only four hours of sleep?” Many people started howling.
They usually slept until noon!
But his words did encourage everyone who wanted to chat to go to bed immediately. They needed to take advantage of these four hours, or else they would be even more tired if they didn’t get enough sleep.
However, they had no idea that Zhao Feng slept for merely three hours.
After getting up at five o’clock, he went to Mount New Moon to take an adequate amount of chickens, ducks, and geese back, then processed them and made a fire to roast them.
After he finished the roasting, Zhao Feng glanced at the sea level, then looked away to stare at the sky as it gradually brightened. After clenching his fist to make out the growth of his strength, he chuckled and began to practice various difficult movements on the beach.
“Whoosh…”
After accomplishing the first movement, he glanced at the stopwatch and smiled, “13 seconds. I’ve made relatively rapid progress.”
After a day’s training, Zhao Feng went from holding on for five seconds to thirteen seconds. Although he only lasted six more seconds, Zhao Feng could clearly feel a considerable increase in his strength. If he continued this kind of high-intensity training, he would become a martial artist with Inward Strength by the time Ah Hu and the others entered the Obvious Strength Stage.
“Hey? Elder Brother Feng, you’re up.”
Ah Hu woke up because he needed to pee and saw Zhao Feng training alone after he got up in a daze, which shocked him after all. He sighed with emotion at Brother Feng’s painstaking effort.
“Well, time is nearly up. Wake everyone up and we’ll start training again after breakfast,” Zhao Feng said as he continued to practice his movements.
“Okay.” Zhao Hu nodded. After coming back from the privy nearby, he walked to the tents one after another to wake everyone up,
“It’s time to get up. Hurry up, Brother Feng has prepared breakfast for us.”
People came out of the tents in succession. Upon seeing that Zhao Feng was already training, lots of people remained silent, but there was a desire to work harder slowly growing inside them. When they saw the food which was almost done cooking, they were moved and admired Zhao Feng even more.
About five minutes later, everyone packed up and Zhao Feng came over with sweat pouring down his head. After having breakfast with them, Zhao Feng asked everyone to check their strength with the dynamometer.
The result satisfied Zhao Feng. With the exception of the six women, everyone else had reached the standard required for the special forces. In particular, Xu Yong, Ah Hu, and Elder Meng all broke through the 100 kilograms mark, which showed that their qualifications were not bad.
Simultaneously, Zhao Feng found that the strength of these people had increased by more than 30% after yesterday’s training. Of course, it was mostly due to the Yang Qing Water that improved their physique. Zhao Feng firmly believed that with such high-intensity training, many people would reach the Obvious Strength Stage in no time.
“Attention. Stand in line according to yesterday’s position. The first round will be 2,000 push-ups, start!”
Zhao Feng, therefore, decided to enhance the training.
Zhao Feng learned from Zhang Han that under the nourishment of the Yang Qing Water, people would be able to bear the pain of high-intensity training, and that they could even reach the Obvious Strength Stage in only a few days.
This situation was because of the insufficient resources. There were no spirit treasures other than the Yang Qing Water, so they could not directly be promoted to the Obvious Strength Stage like Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng thought that the process of cultivation was just like a 100 meter race. If they leapt into the Obvious Strength Stage then their foundations would not be good enough. And, in the end, the effect of the Yang Qing Water was limited since it was not as effective for people at higher levels.
So Zhao Feng had made preparations. After helping them reach the Obvious Strength Stage in a week, he would require them to start doing other types of training, including rules, etiquette, foreign languages, and other knowledge, as well as professional firearms, investigation, camouflage, and so on. What Zhao Feng needed to do was to assist everyone in surpassing the level of soldiers!
Moving away from the intensive training on the beach.
In Shang Jing, Zi Yan and Zhou Fei put on sunglasses to disguise themselves and left the hotel.
“Elder Sister Yan, shall we have breakfast?” Zhou Fei asked.
“No, I don’t have much of an appetite. Let’s wait until noon. Unless you’re hungry, then I’ll accompany you,” Zi Yan said in a low voice.
“I may as well eat with you at noon. I’m not accustomed to eating the food here since I always eat the dishes cooked by brother-in-law.” Zhou Fei shook her head and gave a wry smile.
Zi Yan spruced herself up a fit today. She wore a white T-shirt with a pair of light blue denim cropped jeans that hugged her form tightly and made her long legs stand out more than usual. Moreover, she tied her hair in a simple ponytail, with a light pink cap and a pair of sunglasses.
This outfit brought out a feeling of liveliness rather than dullness to Zi Yan.
Zhou Fei was dressed in a sports suit, which looked simple, and wore her hair down around her shoulders. She did not dress herself up carefully but directly wore a pair of large sunglasses.
Even so, the two charming ladies attracted more attention while walking on the street. Judging from the parts of Zi Yan’s cheeks which were not covered up, people could tell that she must be a very beautiful woman.
Zhou Fei caught a cab on the street. After they sat in the back seat, Zhou Fei said directly,
“Drive to No.234, Dongfen Street.”
“Okay!” The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties. After hearing her words, he directly started the car. He looked at them in his rearview mirror while waiting for the traffic lights, then said with a smile, “Do you beautiful ladies plan to buy clay sculptures?”
“How did you know?” Zhou Fei was somewhat shocked.
“Ha, ha. I’ve been a taxi driver in Shang Jing for ten years now, so I know the addresses of a lot of places.” The driver laughed, then started the car and made a turn.
“Oh.” Zhou Fei nodded her head.
“No. 234, Dongfen Street. I think it’s the headquarters for Shengyuan Clay Sculpture,” the driver said after thinking for a while.
“Yes. We booked a flight out yesterday and are going to buy some clay sculptures,” replied Zi Yan. Her wonderful and melodious voice surprised the driver a little.
The present Zi Yan was planning to bring back this time was a clay sculpture.
When it came to clay sculptures, Clay Figurine Zhang was the most influential in the North. It was said that Clay Figurine Zhang was a very capable man in those years. He could knead the clay into figures in an instant with his hands as long as he talked to the customers face to face, and the sculptures looked so real that they almost seemed to come alive.
Clay sculpture making was a Chinese folk traditional art. It was a type of handicraft which shaped various images using clay.
Zi Yan planned to get a colored sculpture based on the image of her, Mengmeng, and Zhang Han overlooking the scenery on Mount New Moon. She believed that Mengmeng would like it. Furthermore, she guessed that Zhang Han would like it too.
When she had been on the way to the restaurant yesterday, Zi Yan had searched for places that made clay sculptures in Shang Jing. After finding out that the headquarters for Shengyuan Clay Sculpture was very popular, she directly made an appointment this morning.
At this point, the driver became quite after he heard what Zi Yan said. With some hesitation, he finally shook his head and said with a smile, “In reality, the sculptures at the large stores aren’t always top quality.”
“Oh? Do you know a better place that makes clay sculptures?” Zhou Fei came to her senses and realized that the driver was insinuating something with that remark, so she asked.
“It’s not a large place, only a small store. Although the owner is at his seventies, he is a master in clay sculpture making. Many people invited him to be a manager a few years ago, and some others even asked him to make clay sculptures for them four times a month, but he refused because he is too old and doesn’t want to leave his small store.”
“Why did he refuse in the face of such good treatment?” Zhou Fei asked with curiosity.
“Because…” At this moment, a glint of bitterness passed across the driver’s face as he said, “That small store is something he cherishes because it contains the memory of him and his wife. I heard that the store was run by the two of them. They stood together through the ups and downs over several decades, but his wife died seven years ago. That store, therefore, not only carries many memories, but also brings him agony. His children have tried to get him to leave, but they have failed every time. He has been there for so long, so he doesn’t want to leave.”
This remark inspired Zi Yan, so she murmured,
“Never wants to leave…”
She was deeply moved while thinking about it. These four simple words revealed a moving love story. She did not envy ideal young couples, but the couples who had lived together till they became old and grey.
“Let’s go there now,” Zi Yan said in a firm tone while looking out of the window.
“Okay,” said the driver, then he increased the speed.
Upon reaching Dongfen Street, the driver entered an alleyway, behind which were many alternate paths. Eventually, the car stopped in front of a bungalow with a plaque reading “Liuhe Clay Sculptures” on a street outside the alleyway.
“Here we are. You can just walk in. The master’s surname is Liu, but you can call him Master Liu,” said the driver.
“Okay. Here’s the money and you can keep the change.” Zhou Fei directly passed over a fifty-yuan bill and got out of the taxi with Zi Yan after she finished speaking.
They felt like they were back in the 1990s when they entered the store because all the decoration and furniture were relatively shabby.
In the innermost area sat an old man in a rocking chair, quietly drinking tea. He was staring at the wall on the right with slightly squinting eyes, as if he were recalling something.
Zi Yan and Zhou Fei looked over and noticed that there was a series of clay sculptures on the wall. Every sculpture only contained two people, one man and one woman. The figures in the sculptures were young on the far left, and the man looked like the old man. As they moved to the far right the two people in the sculptures gradually grew older and had grey hair. However, they still sat together happily. It was such a heartwarming picture.
Zi Yan and Zhou Fei stood by and waited in silence. Neither of them disturbed the old man since he seemed to be recalling his happy memories.
About ten minutes later, the old man discovered the two people who were standing nearby when he drank his tea. He broke into laughter and said in a hoarse voice, “How long have you been waiting?”
“We just arrived,” Zi Yan answered with a chuckle.
“Ha, ha, ha…” The old man stood up, shook his head and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m getting older and like reminiscing. Come over here and sit down.”
“It’s no problem, no problem,” Zhou Fei said repeatedly.
Following the old man to the right side, Zi Yan and Zhou Fei sat on the short stools for guests while the old man sat on a taller chair with a variety of tools on the side.
“What do you want to make?”
“Can I show you a photo?” Zi Yan asked in a low voice.
“Yes.”
Zi Yan took her mobile phone out, found the photo she had prepared, and said, “This one, this one, and this one. The three of us should be on the mountain.”
“How big do you want it to be?”
“About this big.” Zi Yan gestured with her palms and drew a circle which was as big as an eight-inch cake.
“I’ll make a ten-inch clay sculpture.”
The old man nodded, accepted the phone, put it on the shelf, and then began to sculpt the image as displayed in the photo.
