Chapter 19 I am your direct disciple

Zheng Wenjie picked up the cakes on the stone table and said to Gong Ruomei, "Master!"

Gong Ruomei stopped when she heard the voice and turned to look at Zheng Wenjie: "How did you find this place?"

"Master, I kept in mind the rules you set for me yesterday. I resigned as soon as I arrived at the police station. I came to see you early this morning."

Gong Ruomei turned around and said, "That's the rule of the martial arts world. What are the rules I set for you?"

Zheng Wenjie, who was following behind Gong Ruomei, said with a smile: "Master, you didn't even have time to set any rules for me on the train."

Gong Ruomei didn't want to pay any more attention to Zheng Wenjie: "Come back to me when you think of it."

"Master, you are leaving tomorrow. Can I help you these two days? You said yesterday that I have to do everything for you."

Gong Ruomei, who was already upset, now just wanted to go back to her room quietly. Listening to Zheng Wenjie's annoying voice behind her, she became so angry that she stopped talking and only wanted to leave school to teach him a lesson.

Zheng Wenjie raised the cakes he was carrying and quickened his pace to walk beside Gong Ruomei: "Master, you have worked hard in your studies, so I bought these cakes especially for you. Please try them later. If you think they are delicious, I will bring them to you every day in the future."

Gong Ruomei glanced at Zheng Wenjie with her clear black and white eyes.
"The rule I told you on the train is that you should swallow all your glib words. Aren't you a police officer in Anqing County? What job did you quit in Qincheng?"

"Master, please don't disbelieve me. If I really resign, I plan to leave with you tomorrow." Gong Ruomei's words reminded Zheng Wenjie that he should write a letter in the evening and ask the postman to send it to Qi Yu tomorrow.

Gong Ruomei nodded: "Then remember my second rule, now shut up."

Zheng Wenjie didn't say anything, but stretched out his hand and stroked his mouth to indicate that he should shut up.

Gong Ruomei frowned, thinking about what happened on the train. She couldn't stand Zheng Wenjie. If she wanted to learn martial arts, she had to suffer first. She remembered the tumbler her father gave her when she was sulking as a child. "Come with me. I'll teach you today."

Zheng Wenjie was delighted. As expected, one had to be thick-skinned when dealing with girls.

When passing by the Four Corners Pavilion, Liu Yuanyi and the woman were gone. Zheng Wenjie didn't care. He just wanted to ask Gong Ruomei if she had any secret manuals that he could practice by himself.

Leaving Northwestern University, I followed Gong Ruomei into a small courtyard.

"Stand here." Gong Ruomei ordered Zheng Wenjie to stand in the yard and went into the main house alone.

Standing in the yard holding cakes, Zheng Wenjie looked around. The yard was not big, with only a main house and a side room, but there were many flowers planted along the wall.

After a while, he saw Gong Ruomei carrying a fist-thick short stick out of the main house. Zheng Wenjie began to feel bitter and said, "Master, if you want to teach me kung fu, then teach me. Why are you holding such a thick stick?"

As soon as she left the main house, thinking about teaching Zheng Wenjie a lesson, Gong Ruomei couldn't help but smile. When she heard what Zheng Wenjie said, the smile on her face immediately subsided: "Does the master need you, the apprentice, to take care of what the master does?"

Zheng Wenjie waved his hand and smiled bitterly: "Master, before you teach me, you have to let me put the cakes away first, okay?"

"Aren't you strong? Lift the table out of the room and bring a chair." Gong Ruomei said as she stood aside holding a stool.

Not being sure of Gong Ruomei's thoughts, Zheng Wenjie entered the main house. The doors of the two rooms on the left and right were closed. He placed the pastries on a stool. The table was not big, but it was a tea table. Zheng Wenjie picked it up with one hand and, at Gong Ruomei's signal, placed the tea table and chair next to the flower field.

"There's also a kettle warming in the kitchen." Gong Ruomei sat on a chair and put the stick on the table. "Don't forget the cup."

Zheng Wenjie had no choice but to be polite when asking for help from others. So, just serve me!
Gong Ruomei gently picked up the teacup filled with warm water by Zheng Wenjie, raised her chin slightly, poured the water into her mouth, put down the cup and looked at Zheng Wenjie who was waiting on the side: "Go stand on a pile first and let me see."

Zheng Wenjie stood confidently in the middle of the yard. Isn't standing still the same as doing horse stance? He knew how to do it. He did it a lot when he was in school.

Gong Ruomei put her hands in her sleeves and looked at Zheng Wenjie's horse stance with many mistakes. She scolded him angrily: "I asked you to stand still, but you did not do the horse stance at all? And what school of martial arts is this horse stance from?"

Zheng Wenjie stood up straight: "Master, isn't standing still the same as doing horse stance?" "There is a saying that goes 'If you practice boxing without practicing kung fu, it will all be in vain'. Kung fu is standing still, and horse stance is the foundation of boxing. If you want to get started with Tongzi Kung Fu, you have to do standing still first."

Zheng Wenjie smiled and said, "Master, with my physical fitness, do I still need to stand still? Why don't you just teach me how to practice boxing?"

Gong Ruomei nodded calmly and stood up: "Then let's help each other and see how strong your physical fitness is."

When Zheng Wenjie heard Gong Ruomei wanted to attack, he felt a chill in his lower body: "Master, please don't use cheap techniques when sparring."

Upon hearing this, Gong Ruomei was so angry that she laughed again: "Tai Chi is cunning, Bagua is dark, Xingyi is poisonous, Wing Chun is fierce, and Level 8 is fierce. My Gong family's sixty-four moves are cunning, poisonous, and darker. If you don't want to learn these lowly skills, leave now!"

"Master, I am your direct disciple. You can't chase me away. I will learn whatever you teach me. Let me teach you how to stand in a stance first. Please teach me." Zheng Wenjie said hurriedly.

Gong Ruomei picked up the short stick with a cold face and walked to Zheng Wenjie: "Spread your feet forward and backward."

Zheng Wenjie obediently spread his legs forward and backward, and was still waiting for the next move when he was hit on the back with a stick.
"The right foot is behind, why are you left?"

Zheng Wenjie was hit by the stick, but he only felt a little pain. His body remained motionless. He obediently changed his feet: "Master, how about you finish reciting the formula first?"

"If you don't do this, how can you remember it? Turn your toes out and bend your knees to half squat."

'Snapped'

"It's the right leg that's bent at the knee, and the left leg that's on the heel."

'Snap' 'Snap'...

After being beaten with sticks for more than ten times, Zheng Wenjie finally stood in the standard posture.

Gong Ruomei happily sat back on the stool, drank a sip of water and said, "Don't you think you are strong? Stand still for a stick of incense, and I will teach you how to practice boxing."

Seeing Gong Ruomei, who was obviously much more cheerful, Zheng Wenjie complained in his heart that she had a tendency to be a traitor, and asked, "Master, we are leaving tomorrow, aren't you going to pack your luggage?"

"Where did you hear that? I'm a student at the medical school and I'm not leaving. Only the Agricultural College and the Engineering College are moving."

Zheng Wenjie shut his mouth and cursed Wu Qi inwardly for not explaining the mission clearly.

More than an hour passed in a flash. Zheng Wenjie's legs were shaking and his lining was soaked with sweat. Seeing Gong Ruomei still staring at him intently, he asked, "Master, hasn't the incense stick passed yet?"

"It's already past."

Zheng Wenjie sat down on the ground: "Master, why didn't you tell me when the time came?"

Gong Ruomei was shocked. She knew that Zheng Wenjie was very strong, but she didn't expect that he was so outstanding in all aspects of his body. She didn't call a stop because she wanted to see how long Zheng Wenjie could last. Without any martial arts foundation, he could stand still for such a long time and be compared with the famous generals in the ancient stories.

The way he looks at Zheng Wenjie is like looking at the flowers he planted with his own hands.

"Standing in a posture is like 'learning from insects'. In winter, insects burrow into the ground and die. In spring, the soil comes alive and the insects come back to life. Standing in a posture is to restore and strengthen your physical fitness."

After a moment of silence, Gong Ruomei looked at Zheng Wenjie seriously with her black and white eyes: "From now on, you will learn from me."

Zheng Wenjie smiled and asked, "Master, I was your only direct disciple yesterday."

"It is now!"

(End of this chapter)