Chapter 26

Zhao Zhenxing was stunned again. This sentence, originally an innocent truth from a child, made him feel there was more to it. The young nephew, Zhao Jin, was quick-witted and could no longer be treated like an ordinary teenager. A smile appeared on Zhao Zhenxing's face as he bent down and asked, "Xiao Jin, who taught you these things? Your father?"

Zhao Jin shook his head. He couldn't lie about this, as it would be easily exposed. "No one taught me. I thought of it myself."

"By yourself?"

"Uh-huh. After I recovered, my mind became clear, and I understood a lot of things."

Zhao Jin's answer made Zhao Zhenxing pause again. He then nodded and said slowly, "I really didn't expect it. I really didn't expect it. This is a blessing for our Zhao family!"

Recovering from a serious illness and becoming clear-minded seemed like a myth, but such stories were common throughout history. This explanation was easily accepted. In fact, Zhao Jin had vaguely revealed the truth.

As Zhao Jin had predicted, Zhao Zhenxing accepted his explanation. With this reason, the drastic change in Zhao Jin before and after the illness could be explained.

Zhao Zhenxing glanced at the little girl beside him and said seriously to Zhao Jin, "Don't tell anyone else about what you said just now, not even your friends. Understand?"

Zhao Jin nodded with a smile.

The next day, after lunch, Chen Sheng and his brother came to the Zhao family as usual to meet Zhao Jin. Seeing Chen Sheng's spirited appearance, Zhao Jin knew he had won first place the day before.

On the platform, Zhao Jin raised Chen Sheng's arm and shouted, "Chen Sheng is the first place!" The children and teenagers below shouted, "Chen Sheng, mighty!" Chen Sheng's face turned red with excitement. After so many competitions, this was the first time he felt so glorious.

More children participated in the competition that day, about a dozen more than the previous day. Word of mouth had spread, and the teenagers knew that the cargo yard was a fun place where they could win snacks by competing.

This time, Zhao Jin made it to the top eight. His opponent was unfamiliar, about two years older than Zhao Jin, faster, and stronger. Despite Zhao Jin's quick defense, he was kicked in the thigh and had difficulty moving. However, Zhao Jin's fist hit the opponent's chin hard, knocking him down and winning the match.

This time, Zhao Jin did not leave immediately but entered the semi-finals, where he faced Sun Dalei.

Only when he got closer did Zhao Jin realize how fat Sun Dalei was. Compared to the mostly thin teenagers at the cargo yard, Sun Dalei's body was even more noticeable, about three times as thick as Zhao Jin.

His body was full of fat, and he could withstand punches, but when he hit others, they couldn't take it.

Zhao Jin's thigh still hurt, but he knew he couldn't give up. He used the fighting techniques he had learned before, circling around Sun Dalei, then bowing and rushing forward to grab his legs, headbutting his stomach. Sun Dalei instinctively pulled back, and Zhao Jin lifted his leg, knocking him down.

At this point, Zhao Jin called Sun Dalei up, saying he was going back to practice, and then left. On the other side, Chen Sheng had defeated Ji Xiang.

Before leaving, Zhao Jin turned back. Making it to the top four meant he could get two snacks. He took two, broke one for Chen Hong, and then called the younger children who couldn't participate in the competition. He broke the snacks into small pieces and distributed them, saying with a smile, "We need help with the competition. Will you help us collect the tokens and be judges tomorrow?"

The children nodded eagerly as they put the snacks in their mouths. They had been envious of the older children winning snacks every day. They couldn't even get to the front to grab tokens, but now they had a chance to participate, which made them very happy.

"Whoever wins first place, leave a few snacks for these children. We need their help," Zhao Jin called out.

Chen Sheng and Sun Dalei, who were about to start the match, didn't hesitate to agree. The first place winner had over twenty snacks, so giving a few away was no big deal.

"Truly righteous..." one of the teenagers said, and the children all smiled happily.

Since Zhao Jin had spoken to Zhao Zhenxing the day before, Zhao Zhenxing no longer came to watch the competition at the cargo yard. The daily martial arts training also became boring again.

The next day, which was the sixth day of the tenth month of the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the first snow fell in Xuzhou. Zhao Jin heard from his parents that the snow was late this year; it had snowed in September last year.

The snow stopped by morning, and both Zhao Jin and Mu Shulan put on more clothes. After lunch, they learned that Chen Sheng had won first place again the previous day.

When they arrived at the cargo yard, there were about a dozen more people. The snow had melted under the trampling of the crowd, leaving the ground muddy.

"Let's not rush into the competition. First, we need to clear a clean area. Otherwise, we'll be covered in mud and get scolded when we go home," Zhao Jin called out.

The teenagers agreed without hesitation. They were getting used to Zhao Jin's leadership.

"You go borrow a basket," "You go clean the snow off the platform. There's dry soil underneath," Zhao Jin issued commands, and the teenagers followed his instructions.

Having once been a middle manager, Zhao Jin was experienced in organizing and directing. The children and teenagers at the cargo yard lacked this ability, and they were impressed by Zhao Jin's orderly arrangements.

The new teenagers immediately deduced who was in charge here.

That day, Zhao Jin left after making it to the top eight. The next day, he learned that Chen Sheng had won first place again.

Fifteen days passed, and Xuzhou had two more snowfalls. The weather became increasingly cold. During these days, the number of teenagers at the cargo yard doubled.

In these fifteen days, Chen Sheng won first place ten times, Shi Manqiang three times, and Sun Dalei twice.

The competition time was much shorter than before because over twenty younger children helped as judges, allowing many matches to be held simultaneously.

Zhao Jin always left after making it to the top eight. Coincidentally, he and Chen Sheng never faced each other, as the randomness of drawing tokens was too high.

After nearly a month of competition, the participating teenagers had a general idea of the situation. The top two spots were usually the same few people, and everyone was competing for the top eight and top four.

The youth competition at the Xuzhou North Gate West Cargo Yard had gained some fame. The competitive and ambitious teenagers in the city wanted to try their luck. Chen Sheng was too strong, Xiao Tiesmith was too muscular, and Sun Dalei was too fat—these were widely recognized facts.

It wasn't just Chen Sheng and Zhao Jin who were learning martial arts. Xuzhou had a strong martial arts culture, and many teenagers were learning, but they didn't have an advantage here.

Chen Sheng had practiced martial arts since childhood, and his practical experience had greatly increased over the past month. He had been diligently training, fearing being surpassed. His mindset had changed from playing for fun to competing for victory. Zhao Zhenxing once commented, "Chen Sheng has made great progress."

Sun Dalei, from a wealthy family, had hired a martial arts instructor half a month ago. Although his movements were still slow, they were becoming more systematic. He often feigned a weakness to lure opponents close before attacking.

Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong, who were relatively strong, came from poor families and couldn't afford instructors. Someone had started the trend of watching Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng's matches intently and then asking for advice afterward.

Chen Sheng felt it was very honorable to teach others, and Zhao Jin was enthusiastic about helping. Both were very patient and detailed in their explanations.

Zhao Jin was mentally mature but had a short time learning martial arts. Even with his past fighting experience, his explanations were limited. Chen Sheng had been practicing for a longer time, but as a teenager, his understanding was not deep, so his explanations were similar to Zhao Jin's.

Although there was little to teach, Shi Manqiang and the others learned with great dedication and practiced just as hard.

No one relaxed; everyone was striving to improve. After a month, despite the constant influx of new participants, these few always remained in the top eight.

Gradually, a "hero list" formed in the hearts of the cargo yard teenagers. Being in the top few was a matter of pride.

However, there were debates about who was the strongest. One thing everyone agreed on was that Zhao Jin was the one who had the final say at the cargo yard. Whatever he arranged, everyone followed. They never considered Chen Sheng the strongest because Zhao Jin had never lost, though he always left to practice and didn't fight to the end.