Chapter 2: Five Animals of Medicine At the entrance of Xiangyang Village, a huge stone archway stands tall. The top of the archway is paved with glazed tiles, with flying eaves and brackets. On the left and right, there are two wooden carved ferocious beasts shaped like tigers and leopards. They look stern and gaze silently, blending into the small village with curling smoke behind them. "Wang Wang~" A group of dogs of various colors heard the noise and rushed towards the village entrance, barking one after another. When they saw that it was an acquaintance, a group of dogs wagged their tails and circled around Qiu Zhen to try to please him, then they dispersed, and the village returned to peace and tranquility. The village is built on a hill, with houses and courtyards arranged in rows and crisscrossing each other. The rich families live in blue brick and tile houses, which are tall, solid and quite imposing, while ordinary farmers mostly live in thatched earth houses. The house that Qiu Zhen rented was just an ordinary thatched mud house, but fortunately it had its own door and yard and was located in a corner of the village, so it was very quiet and undisturbed by outsiders. "Brother Zhen, you got off work so early today." Qiu Zhen pushed the door open and perhaps made some noise. Soon, a cute little head with pigtails popped up from the wall. Its eyes blinked, like the starry sky at night. "I miss Xing'er. Hurry up and get back to work."
Xing'er is a girl from our neighbor Uncle Li's family. She is five or six years old, innocent, pretty and sensible, and very lovable. "A real brother knows how to coax people." Xing Er giggled and said: "Daddy asked me to invite you to our house for dinner. We're having fish today. It's almost ready." "No, I ate in town." Qiu Zhen smiled and declined, then took out two candied haws wrapped in oil paper from the bag behind her back and handed them to Xing'er on the wall: "Here, one for you and your brother Da Zhuang." Xing'er was somewhat tempted, but she didn't reach out her hand. "I'm a real brother, not a fake one. Take it." Qiu Zhen stuffed it into the little girl's hand and then walked into the house. Soon, the voice of neighbor Uncle Li was heard. "Brother Qiu, you bought candied haws for the child again. What a waste. It's not easy to make a living outside. You should save the money for marrying a wife in the future." "Uncle Li, I know." "Come to my house for dinner. One of the fish we caught today was injured. It doesn't look good and can't be sold at a high price. Ask your aunt to make fish soup. Come to my house for dinner." "Uncle Li, I've really eaten it." Qiu Zhen exchanged pleasantries with his neighbor and landlord Uncle Li for a while, then politely declined his kindness. He has a big appetite, so one fish is not enough for him. He didn't stay in the house for long. He walked through the house and came to the backyard. Although the thatched courtyard he rented was a house, it had a front yard and a back yard.
Because it was built on the mountainside, the backyard was recessed into the rock and shaded by the mountain. There were big trees shading it from above and lush bamboos all around. It had excellent privacy and was a little world that belonged to him alone. When he first rented the courtyard, what he was most satisfied with was the backyard. With this little world of his own, it was much easier for him to practice. As the saying goes, before learning boxing, you must practice martial arts for three years first. Qiu Zhen performed standing meditation as usual. With his hands clasped in front of him, towering trees stand in the wilderness. The proper spacing makes it look like a full bow, and the overall shape is full and round. About an hour later, Qiu Zhen's blood and strength flowed smoothly throughout his body. His eyes were like those of a tiger, highly alert and ready to pounce on its prey at any time. "It's hot enough." Qiu Zhen moved his body slowly, brought his heels together to assume a correct posture, let his arms hang naturally, and looked straight ahead. Suddenly, he bent his knees and squatted, shifting his weight to his right leg, and stepped forward with his left foot, with the sole of his foot touching the ground and resting on the inner ankle of his right foot. At the same time, he raised his fists to both sides of his waist, with his palms facing up, and looked forward to the left. The left foot takes a step forward diagonally to the left, and the right foot follows half a step forward, with the center of gravity on the right leg, the left foot touching the ground, and at the same time, both fists are raised along the chest, with the palms facing backwards, raised to the front of the mouth, the two fists face each other, turned and pressed forward, at the same height as the chest, with the palms facing forward, the two palms facing each other, and the eyes look at the left hand. At first glance, he seemed to have turned into a tiger, pouncing left and right, with sharp eyes, shaking his head and wagging his tail, pouncing and fighting with extraordinary ferocity. Soon, he seemed to transform into a mountain elk, stretching his body and running through the mountains and forests. Sometimes he is as solid and steady as a giant bear. This is exactly the "Medicine King Five Animal Exercises" taught by the martial artist Qingmu Pharmacy in Medicine King Valley. It trains the tendons, skin, bones and muscles externally and the breath internally, replenishing the energy and nourishing the mind. It is an extremely comprehensive introductory health-preserving exercise. If you want to learn this skill outside, you will probably have to pay a large sum of money to the martial arts school, but apprentices in the pharmacy are taught for free, which can be considered a hidden benefit. Although the Five Animal Exercises is only an introductory exercise, it is said to have been passed down by immortals and is profound and extensive. Even the legendary martial arts masters and martial saints, many of them started with the Five Animal Exercises to build their foundation and refine themselves, which is quite amazing. However, Qiu Zhen’s martial arts roots were average, but after three years of hard training, he made some progress and became strong and healthy, free from all diseases. The health care is okay, but there is still a long way to go before you get the hang of it and reach the right level. This is far from his talent in "pharmaceuticals". People with a natural talent for martial arts are rare wherever they are. It is highly likely that he has no talent for martial arts, and Qiu Zhen has nothing to say. As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature but the rich are good at martial arts. Even if one does not have a talent for martial arts, if one has a wealthy family and has the money to spend on supplements, one can still become famous and become a respected martial artist in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, he didn't either. His family lived in Haitang Township, eighty miles away from Qingmu Town. He had an older brother, Qiu Qing, who was three years older than him and had not yet married. My parents were farmers, making a living by trading a few acres of land, and it was not easy for them to raise two brothers. To cultivate children to study and practice martial arts is something that we dare not even think about. After Qiu Zhen, who has lived two lives, understood his own situation, he went out to work hard early to try to break the predicament of his life.
Three years passed in a flash. Reality poured cold water on him. Even though he worked like crazy in the pharmacy, crushing all the apprentices and making them submit to him, and standing out from the crowd, he was unable to change the situation. The wages are slightly higher than those of ordinary apprentices. The average apprentice earns 400 to 500 copper coins a month, and 700 to 800 copper coins a month. On weekdays, the manager will deduct money from the salary. His salary was 1,200 wen, and he received the full amount every month with very little deduction. However, to no avail. One thousand copper coins equals about one tael of silver, which is less than fifteen taels of silver a year. These wages were more than enough to support him. If he didn't spend lavishly, he could save money to start a business and get married in the future. But for a martial artist, these were just a drop in the bucket. In Qiu Zhen's situation, it would probably take him more than ten years, as his body develops and he enters middle age, to develop the vigor of his masculine energy and blood to a certain level. This is the most optimistic expectation deduced based on the growth stories of many martial artists. It is difficult for poor people to practice martial arts. Originally, facing the slap in the face from reality, Qiu Zhen couldn't help but feel a little depressed. However, the word "fate" is always so mysterious and unexpected. Just three months ago, the opportunity came. Moreover, this opportunity was beyond his imagination. It is not some rare treasure, nor is it a secret manual of magical skills. Qiu Zhen finished his practice, took a deep breath, and walked into the house with a serious expression. He carefully took out a piece of gold and silk from his arms and threw it into a wooden basin filled with water. At first glance, the palm-sized piece of gold and silk looked ordinary and nothing special. But when the gold and silk entered the water, it shone brightly, like the golden surface of a lake sparkling under the scorching summer sun. The faint golden light twisted and turned into four large characters. One hundred days to build the foundation! (End of this chapter)
