Chapter 80

In the third year of the Yingli era, on the twelfth day of the third lunar month, Wang Xiaojun, Zhang Weixin, and Xu Shaoran were discussing daily affairs in a small meeting room. Wu Peng, who was standing guard outside the meeting room, reported that a Taoist priest named Qingfeng from Yuxu Palace had come to visit and was already waiting in the gatehouse, arranged by the steward Deng An. Upon hearing that someone from Yuxu Palace had come, Wang Xiaojun and the others thought something must have happened there, as Yuxu Zi would not send someone otherwise. They immediately stopped the meeting and asked Wu Peng to bring the visitor in to see them.

Soon, Wu Peng led a young Taoist into the meeting room. Everyone recognized him as Qingfeng, the junior disciple of Qingchen. After entering, Qingfeng respectfully bowed to Wang Xiaojun and the others, saying, "Nephew Qingfeng greets the three uncles."

Seeing that Qingfeng looked calm and did not seem to be in a hurry, Wang Xiaojun and the others felt relieved and gestured for him to sit down. Qingfeng sat on the edge of a chair, then bowed to the three again, saying, "Uncles, I have come this time on my master's orders to inform the uncles here that our Great Master arrived at Yuxu Palace yesterday. If the uncles wish to pay respects to the Great Master, you can come at any time."

Hearing that the Great Master had arrived at Yuxu Palace, everyone present was very pleased. If it were not already late in the evening, they might have set out immediately to pay their respects. Wang Xiaojun and Zhang and Xu discussed for a moment and then said to Qingfeng, "This is wonderful news. Since the Great Master has arrived, we naturally need to pay our respects. It's a bit late today, so we can't make it. Why don't you stay at 'Qingyuan' for the night, and we'll go back to the temple with you early tomorrow morning?"

Qingfeng had no objection to this and respectfully agreed. He was then led to the guest room by Wu Peng. Wang Xiaojun and the others immediately informed all the穿越者 who had taken the Great Master as their teacher, even those responsible for training the bandits at Feilong Fort, who were informed via radio. Everyone was naturally very pleased to hear the news. Qian Yuanshan, Zeng Zhilin, and others at Feilong Fort even expressed their desire to go down the mountain to pay respects to the Great Master. Their request was partially granted, with Qian Yuanshan and Lu Yue staying behind to guard the fort, while the other five were allowed to go down the mountain to meet the Great Master. They agreed to meet up with the others near Yuxu Palace and then enter the temple together.

The next morning, all the穿越者 who had taken Fuyaozi as their teacher at "Qingyuan" got up early, put on their long-unused Taoist robes, and tidied themselves up. After breakfast, they set off in a vehicle. Zhong Ziqi, as the Great Master's unofficial disciple, also went with them.

Around noon, the group from "Qingyuan" arrived at a crossroads not far from Yuxu Palace. They didn't have to wait long before seeing three horses and a carriage coming from another mountain path, which turned out to be Zeng Zhilin and the others. After a brief greeting, they set off again, heading straight for Yuxu Palace.

Soon, the group arrived at the gate of Yuxu Palace. The two young Taoists guarding the gate immediately recognized the uncles and one of them went inside to report, while the other came forward to greet them. He then led them into the temple and to the rear hall.

Upon entering the rear hall, the young Taoist who had gone to report was already waiting. Seeing the uncles arrive, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Uncles, the Great Master and Master invite you to Master's meditation room."

The穿越者 quickly straightened their clothes, formed a line, and followed the young Taoist into the Great Master's meditation room.

In the meditation room, the old immortal Fuyaozi was sitting cross-legged on a mat, his face rosy and his features clear and sharp, his eyes slightly closed, looking no different from half a year ago, still as thin and as if he had never fully woken up. The穿越者 entered, formed a line, and knelt down, saying, "Grand disciples pay respects to the Great Master." After saying this, they all bowed.

After the formalities, Fuyaozi said, "Rise." The group then stood up and paid respects to Yuxu Zi. Due to the limited number of mats in the meditation room, after the formalities, only a few committee members could sit, while the others had to stand by, waiting for the Great Master's teachings.

After a while, Fuyaozi, who had been half-closed-eyed, finally opened his small eyes and scanned the faces of his grand disciples, pausing longest on Wang Xiaojun's face. Fuyaozi was momentarily stunned and his eyes flashed with a sharp light, but it quickly faded, and he returned to his calm state.

Although Fuyaozi's eyes were closed, his mind was rapidly working, pondering the differences in the faces of his grand disciples compared to half a year ago.

From the appearance of the group, there was not much change from half a year ago. Except for Zhong Ziqi, everyone still had two completely different destinies, one ordinary and one wealthy and noble. The only difference was that the ordinary destiny had become almost negligible, while the wealthy and noble destiny was now very clear and almost certain.

The only one who surprised Fuyaozi was Wang Xiaojun's face. His original ordinary merchant destiny had disappeared, leaving only a noble and extremely prestigious destiny, indicating that his future was boundless.

Seeing this, Fuyaozi felt somewhat relieved that he had taken these overseas returnees as disciples. Although he was not a person who coveted wealth and fame and was quite indifferent to fame and profit, as a Taoist, the belief in spreading Taoism was deeply rooted in his heart. He knew that with his own efforts, even if he could live for two hundred years and travel everywhere to spread the spirit of Taoism, the impact would be limited. If these grand disciples could rise to prominence in the future and spread his teachings from the top down, the future of Taoism would be very bright, and it might even become the largest religion in China.

Of course, Fuyaozi would not share these thoughts with the穿越者. After deep contemplation with his eyes closed, he opened them again and said to the group, "Your Master Yuxu Zi told me that in the past half year, you have been quite diligent, practicing every day, and your martial arts have improved significantly. This is very good, and I am very satisfied. This time, I have come to see your progress in martial arts and to teach you the Tai Chi martial arts that I have improved and supplemented. This fulfills my promise and also gives you a skill to support yourselves."

Hearing that the Great Master was going to teach them the improved and supplemented Tai Chi, the group was naturally very pleased. They all knelt down and bowed to Fuyaozi in gratitude, and even Yuxu Zi did the same. Only Zhong Ziqi stood there, unsure whether to kneel or not, looking very distressed. She was very willing to learn martial arts from the old immortal Fuyaozi, but to learn martial arts, she would have to become a disciple. In her view, this Tai Chi martial art was the old immortal's secret technique, and it was impossible for her to learn it as casually as she had learned from Master Yuxu Zi.

However, if she were to become a disciple, she would be a generation younger than Master Yuxu Zi, making her a niece to her husband Wang Feng. Not only would she be inferior to him, but the relationship of being a master and disciple and then becoming a couple would be against the so-called ethics.

After much thought, the young Zhong family girl was at a loss. Just as she was hesitating, Wang Feng, who had already stood up, seemed to understand her thoughts and whispered a promise in her ear that he would teach her the Tai Chi once he learned it. This made the young Zhong family girl turn from worry to joy, sending covert glances to her husband. The other couples in the room pretended not to notice and continued to listen to the Great Master's teachings.

Fuyaozi did not seem to mind Zhong Ziqi's presence and then explained the principles and doctrines of Tai Chi martial arts to the group. Of course, as a martial arts system, the content of Tai Chi is very profound and cannot be explained in a few words. What Fuyaozi explained today was only the basics, and it would take at least three to five years to become proficient in this martial art. Whether they could ultimately master its essence would depend on their own comprehension.

Since the穿越者 now had their own jobs and could not stay at Yuxu Palace to learn martial arts full-time, they stayed at Yuxu Palace for only three days, listening to Fuyaozi explain some basic knowledge, before they had to bid farewell to the Great Master and return to "Qingyuan." Qian Yuanshan and Lu Yue, who had been left behind at Feilong Fort, also went down the mountain to Yuxu Palace to study with the Great Master for three days after the other members of the留守小组 returned to the fort.

Three days was too short to even step into the door of the profound Tai Chi martial arts, so the task of comprehensively learning and passing on Tai Chi, and promoting it, naturally fell on Yuxu Zi and Qingchen, who had not left the fort after returning from Feilong Fort.

These two disciples studied Tai Chi martial arts diligently under Fuyaozi, especially Yuxu Zi, who was more engaged. He not only had to understand the essence of Tai Chi but also had to digest and absorb it so that he could pass it on to his junior disciples as the eldest disciple when the conditions were right.

After the穿越者 left Yuxu Palace and returned to "Qingyuan," good news came one after another, whether by coincidence or due to the blessings of the old immortal Fuyaozi.

The first piece of good news came on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month when several fishermen from Wucheng County's fishing village brought the first batch of "sea cucumbers" to the穿越者. Four fishermen came to deliver the goods, led by Ma Si, the new clan leader appointed by Uncle Sun Er before he left. They brought a hundred pounds of fresh "sea cucumbers" and a hundred pounds of dried "sea cucumber powder."

As the person in charge of this matter, Fan Wucheng warmly received the four fishermen, and Uncle Sun Er and Xie Tian, who was still on convalescence, also came to welcome them. At the banquet, everyone toasted and chatted happily. Ma Si told Uncle Sun Er, Fan Wucheng, and Xie Tian about the process of collecting the "sea cucumbers," saying that through everyone's efforts, they had already collected about 1,500 pounds of "sea cucumbers." Apart from the hundred pounds of fresh products they brought this time, the rest had been dried according to the requirements. The hundred pounds of "sea cucumber powder" they brought was the first batch of dried products, and more would be sent continuously to ensure the restaurant's needs.

For this, both Uncle Sun Er and Fan Wucheng and Xie Tian expressed their sincere gratitude. Ma Si and the others humbly said it was nothing, and Ma Si even congratulated Uncle Sun Er, believing that his current comfortable life was due to his good deeds, which had moved the heavens, allowing him to enjoy his old age.

Ma Si, being a man of his surname, flattered Uncle Sun Er so much that Uncle Sun Er was in a great mood, drinking heartily and turning red-faced. Although Xie Tian and the others did not like Ma Si's flattery, they did not show their disgust to avoid spoiling the old man's joy.

Fan Wucheng, as a businessman with many years of experience, was used to dealing with people like Ma Si. He knew the reason Ma Si was doing this was to get more benefits from Uncle Sun Er. He was experienced in handling such people and knew how to use them to his advantage.

After the banquet, Fan Wucheng invited Ma Si and the other three to stay at "Qingyuan" for the night and arranged for them to rest in the guest rooms. Ma Si and the others thanked him repeatedly and were very satisfied with the arrangement.

The next day, when they left, Fan Wucheng gave each of the three villagers 200 coins as a travel allowance, and Ma Si received 500 coins as a hard work reward. This amount was insignificant to the穿越者 but was a considerable income for Ma Si and the others. They initially tried to refuse, but under Uncle Sun Er's insistence, they "reluctantly" accepted the money, promising that the "sea cucumber powder" would be delivered to Liangxiang continuously without any problems. They then left happily and served the穿越者 wholeheartedly in the following days, without any issues.

The second piece of good news came on the eighteenth day of the third lunar month when Xie Tian and his three brothers finally passed the physical examination by Doctor Lin and ended their nearly one-month convalescence, officially joining the team's work.

According to the original decision, Xie Tian resumed his old profession, taking over from Fan Wucheng and working with Sun Yangyang, who was already regarded as a "food god" by the staff of "Tianfoulou," to manage the restaurant comprehensively.

Fan Wucheng returned to his main job, overseeing the entire trade group. Song Feiyang, who had been Fan Wucheng's deputy and assisted in managing "Tianfoulou," was reassigned to manage the team's two shops, replacing You Yuan, allowing him to focus more on managing the team's supplies.

Previously, with Sun Yangyang being borrowed to work at "Tianfoulou" and Hong Yan having already transferred to the finance group, You Yuan had to manage both the shop and the warehouse, which was quite challenging. You Yuan had repeatedly told the committee that, according to convention, the shop manager and the warehouse manager should not be the same person, as this was not conducive to management. This time, his part-time job was canceled, fulfilling his wish. He handed over the work to Song Feiyang smoothly and focused on being the team's manager.

Huang Hai, the former naval officer, joined the security group as he wished. However, the addition of fresh blood did not alleviate Xu Shaoran's concerns about the shortage of personnel. Huang Hai had not received any true teachings from the old immortal Fuyaozi and was not as skilled in martial arts as the existing members of the security group, so he could not yet participate in security work. Therefore, Xu Shaoran suggested that Huang Hai go to Yuxu Palace after Wang Xiaojun's wedding, where he and the other committee members would introduce him to the old immortal Fuyaozi to learn martial arts. After gaining a certain foundation, he could then formally participate in security tasks.

Although the premise of this plan was that the Great Master would accept this new disciple, both Xu Shaoran and the other committee members were confident that the Great Master would accept Huang Hai. Knowing the Great Master, he would not refuse the request of someone with excellent physical potential like Huang Hai.

Huang Shan, a professional technician, naturally joined the technology group. Although the team did not yet have the capability to develop a maritime industry, his knowledge and experience in mechanical processing and manufacturing could still help the technology group in the development of various processing tools in the near future.

Among the four brothers, the only one who was not assigned a substantive job was Gao Jun. As a high school student, he did not have any outstanding skills to contribute to the team's development. Although his physical condition had improved significantly during his convalescence, he had no interest in learning martial arts and thus could not join the security group. Therefore, his final job was twofold: one was to take care of his adoptive father, Uncle Sun Er; the other was to receive training from relevant members of the technology group according to his interests and hobbies, to learn professional