Chapter 55

When Zhao Zhiqiang bought this gift, he didn't think much about it. Now, seeing Lin Xuerou's face suddenly turn red, he remembered that they had only just met a short while ago. Feeling awkward, Hua Xuemei took the gift from her son's hand, smiled, and gently pulled Lin Xuerou's small hand, "Child, this is just a small token of my appreciation. If it weren't for you today, I..."

As she spoke, she continued to hold her hand and walked forward.

The Zhao brothers followed behind with the items. The younger brother, Zhao Zhigang, came up to his brother's ear, excited, "Hehe, Mom is taking charge..."

Zhao Zhiqiang was deep in thought about a plan, "Oh? What..."

Zhao Zhigang shook his head, "Sigh, looks like I won't join the army after all..."

At the parking lot, it was unclear what his mother had said to Lin Xuerou, but the scarf was not returned. From her car, she handed over twenty-four doses of Chinese medicine and a prescription with the preparation method.

Before driving off, she suddenly remembered what the old lady had said about Zhao Zhiqiang running for village chief, and the person who seemed to have a grudge against him, "Zhao Zhiqiang, be careful of Zhao Tiejun, whom you met the other day. His face was swollen and he was hospitalized. He has a relative who might come after you, a township chief, surnamed Li."

Zhao Zhiqiang smiled calmly, "I was the one who hit him. Li is the head of our street, his maternal uncle."

"Oh, just be aware. I'll be going now, see you."

"Hehe, I'll wish you a happy New Year in advance..." Zhao Zhiqiang waved goodbye as Lin Xuerou drove her small Smart car out of the parking lot.

He then went to the opposite China Mobile office to get three phones, and returned to the market to buy things for the New Year. By five in the evening, it was already dark. After delivering the items, Zhao Zhiqiang headed to the city retirement home and arrived at the residence of Elder Li Desheng.

Apart from the nurse, Gao Hu, there was no one else.

While treating the elder with acupuncture, Zhao Zhiqiang also used his spiritual energy for experiments, and the two chatted about family matters.

"Third Brother, I heard you're planning to run for village chief? Why do you want to be a village official?" Li Desheng still had the authority of a former leader, speaking in a questioning and formal tone.

"Oh, Big Brother Li, I just want to do more for the villagers," Zhao Zhiqiang smiled, but his hands didn't stop, and he missed the acupuncture point.

"Ouch, that hurts... Well, being a village chief is a special job. Ha, didn't Liu Bang start as a village chief?"

"Big Brother, you can't compare me to him. I just want to do more, I have no interest in being an official!"

"Hmm, that's good. Actually, with your abilities, being an official would be a waste. You don't need to learn medicine from Old Lin."

"Medicine? I don't want to write, but learning acupuncture can help treat you and my mother!"

"Ah, that's not... But you're right. The Qi-guiding technique isn't something you can just use. Isn't it hard to practice? How did you learn it?"

"Hard. Very hard. Uh, how I learned it, this—"

"Hehe, I won't ask. Master and disciple, one master, one path. I understand... As long as you can help me sleep better, ha."

After a short while, the treatment was finished, and the old man felt much lighter, even better than the last time, "Hehe, I hope this lasts for seven days."

"No need, I'll come to wish you a happy New Year and treat you again. Hehe, this time I really learned something, acupuncture is better than massage." Zhao Zhiqiang worked for an hour, finally guiding the spiritual energy to the silver needles, and his joy was no less than Li Desheng's.

One willing to give, the other willing to receive, the two laughed heartily.

"Right, you said you were an armorer. I have a few old antiques here, come and take a look..." Like showing off a treasure, he led Zhao Zhiqiang into an inner room.

On the wooden table were several types of Type 38 rifles, Hanyang-made rifles, and Wabao pistols, polished to a shine. Although some were worn and old, they were spotless.

Zhao Zhiqiang's eyes lit up like he had found a treasure!

"This one is a Hanyang-made from 1935..." He spoke each word with precision, detailing the origin, power, manufacturing year, and even the possibility of repair. Then he picked up the Wabao pistol and disassembled and reassembled it like a magician, playing with it happily.

The old man watched with a squint, truly impressed!

"Good! Good boy, ha, you're really an armorer! These are my treasures, more valuable than my son. They are the guns I used back then! Ah, seeing them brings back memories. You play with guns so well, how's your shooting?"

"Pretty good. But my shooting is just a hobby..." Zhao Zhiqiang smiled, "My main job is managing this, hehe."

"Humble, armorers don't have bad shooting! They are the captain's hand and the political instructor's heart, ha!" The old man laughed heartily, this young man was really skilled, but why was he discharged? Saving a comrade in battle shouldn't result in discharge unless there was a major mistake?

Zhao Zhiqiang didn't eat at the old man's place but went home to eat a meal his mother had worked hard to prepare. He then called his father, who usually turned on his phone around eight in the evening.

Sure enough, it connected.

"We'll be back tomorrow morning, should arrive by noon." A simple sentence, but the tone was very low. He spoke a few words to his son, seemingly uninterested in the eldest son's return, and even asked about the early discharge.

"Your dad, no matter what, just come back. It's New Year's Eve tomorrow, family reunion is important," Hua Xuemei took the phone.

"The money hasn't been given. The boss hasn't paid us, how can we go back!"

"Money? Sigh, let's talk about it later. We're not short of money now. Daqiang is a consultant for a big company, with good pay. Just come back first, we have everything at home, we're just waiting for you..."

Zhao Zhiqiang listened, feeling a bit choked up, but still wanted his father to come back quickly. He took the phone and comforted him, "Dad, maybe the boss is short on cash. Let's talk about it after the New Year. Come back first, don't worry about this. The government is handling the issue of unpaid wages for migrant workers. Come back for the New Year, we'll talk about it after."

After a while, he hung up. His father's mood seemed to improve, and Zhao Zhiqiang was a bit worried, "Mom, should I go pick him up tonight?"

"No need. Your dad, though stubborn, is not unreasonable. The whole village's construction team hasn't returned, he's waiting for them to come back together."

After dinner, Zhao Zhiqiang found an excuse and drove up the mountain to the half-ruined resort to soak in the hot springs.

The temporary guards were all gone, and there was nothing to guard. The door was left unlocked to prevent local people from breaking in to use the hot springs. Valuables were taken away, and even the slippers were gone. Zhao Zhiqiang didn't care, stripped down, and got into the water. Soon, he was immersed in the slow absorption of the faint, glowing spiritual energy.

While soaking, he chatted on his phone with Gu Quanyou, who was working on the initial design for the resort, planning to stay up all night. They discussed the main ideas and decided to send people to survey the site the next morning. They talked for over two hours, and Zhao Zhiqiang discovered that as long as he lay in the water, the tiny glows of the spiritual spring would be slowly absorbed, whether he was awake or asleep!

What was most bizarre today was that after assigning tasks to Gu Quanyou and giving him ten million, the twenty times the energy was absorbed but produced nothing. There was no prompt, could it be that the copper coin needed to pay taxes? Also, Lin Xuerou's appearance made him very grateful to this girl, otherwise he would have been known for arguing with women, which his mother would definitely disapprove of. He really didn't know how the girl and his mother got along so well?

While converting spiritual energy, Zhao Zhiqiang felt increasingly drained.

However, his body seemed to be getting better and better each day. The benefits of the Heavenly Copper Coin were not just this simple, but he received very few hints. Unconsciously, it was already past two in the morning.

No one was around. Zhao Zhiqiang focused on absorbing the spiritual energy from the water, and the speed gradually increased. By two in the morning, the ten units of energy that were left were all converted into spiritual energy, one of which was used to benefit himself, and the rest gathered at the Qihai point below his navel.

Zhao Zhiqiang was about to study this new discovery when he suddenly felt something strange.

Within thirty meters, there was someone.

Wasn't it empty? Even the guards had left, who could be here to bathe?

Damn, could it be a thief?

Zhao Zhiqiang immediately became alert.

It was very quiet at night, and even with average hearing, Zhao Zhiqiang could tell that there was more than one person.

"Help!..."

A shrill female voice came from a wooden house about ten meters away.

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