Silly Zhu Asks to Fight, Each Has Their Successor

Lin Zhen, while protective of his own, wasn't a bully.

He was just there to scare Xu Damao.

Xu Damao had been beaten into submission by Silly Zhu since childhood.

He was good at trash talk and dirty tricks, but he didn't have the guts for a real fight.

The staff Lin Zhen swung, empowered by his max-level body techniques, nearly scared Xu Damao's soul out of him.

His legs went weak, and he was about to kneel.

Lin Zhen smiled faintly.

He brought the rolling pin down, then pushed forward, pinning it against Xu Damao's chest.

"Grandson, if you dare to curse my son again with your blind mouth, I'll castrate you, believe it or not?"

"I believe it! I absolutely believe it!"

Xu Damao, hearing a chance to escape, nodded his head like he was pounding garlic.

"Get lost!"

"You got it!" Xu Damao bolted, pushing his bicycle away as if he'd been granted a great pardon.

"Hahahaha..." Silly Zhu at the doorway laughed so hard his mouth wouldn't close.

Qin Jingru's eyes widened, and she looked at Lin Zhen with utter admiration.

She thought, City people are really something else. Is he a martial artist?

"Lin Zhen, not bad. Want to spar sometime?"

Seeing Lin Zhen scare Xu Damao off, Silly Zhu felt a surge of eagerness.

Silly Zhu, you see, had been the troublemaker of the entire alley since he was a kid.

He not only defied the three elders' authority but also disregarded the neighborhood committee.

Fighting was his daily bread, and he'd been beating up Xu Damao since they were small.

Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangtian, and even other kids their age from different courtyards.

They had all taken beatings from Silly Zhu when they were young.

Now, as adults, they had toned it down.

But he still bullied Xu Damao and looked down on Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian.

His fighting prowess was even hailed as the Siheyuan War God.

However, in Lin Zhen's eyes, all of that was nothing.

To Lin Zhen, who had mastered body techniques, Silly Zhu was just trash.

But Lin Zhen had never shown off his body techniques.

Among his four sons, only five-year-old Lin Guo and Lin Jia had learned some martial arts.

It was mainly to beat up Bang Geng.

Therefore, Silly Zhu didn't know that Lin Zhen knew martial arts.

Seeing Lin Zhen's clean and swift staff technique today, he felt an uncontrollable urge to spar.

He coaxed, "Let's spar, let's spar, a little push hands, just for fun!"

Lin Zhen scoffed, "I don't have time to play with you, I'm going to the market."

"What's the rush? Let your wife, Lou Xiao'e, go. It's rare for me to have a day off, let's spar, brother. I haven't had a chance to beat up Xu Damao in the past two years, my hands are itching."

Lin Zhen's four sons, hearing their father was going to spar with Uncle Silly, clapped their hands in delight.

Bang Geng also ran out to watch the excitement.

Seeing this, Lin Zhen's heart stirred.

He smiled, "Silly Zhu, do you really want to compete?"

Silly Zhu threw his padded jacket on the ground and grinned, "Really want to!"

"What kind of proper behavior would it be for us two grown men to fight? If Second Elder from the back courtyard finds out, won't he use it as an excuse to lecture us both and satisfy his desire for authority?"

Silly Zhu scratched his head, "That's true, he's such an official-wannabe. But it's okay, we'll finish quickly."

Lin Zhen chuckled mischievously, "Forget it, I have a better idea."

Silly Zhu's eyes lit up, "What idea?"

Lin Zhen pointed towards the Jia family's door, then pointed at Lin Guo and Lin Jia.

He smiled, "See? We have replacements for us two brothers. You teach Bang Geng, and I'll teach my sons. They can spar whenever you want. Don't worry, a formal competition won't be a two-on-one."

Silly Zhu's face lit up with joy, "Hey! As expected of a cultured person, this method is great. You snatched my apprentice, Ma Hua, who was learning cooking from me, and I've been feeling frustrated about it. Bang Geng, come here!"

Bang Geng quickly ran over, "What is it, Uncle Silly?"

"I can teach you how to beat up Lin Guo, Lin Jia, and the Lin family's sons. Want to learn?"

Bang Geng secretly glanced at Lin Guo, Lin Jia, Lin Dong, and Lin Liang. He felt both hatred and fear in his heart.

Upon hearing Silly Zhu's words, he quickly nodded. "Thanks, Uncle Silly. I'll learn!"

"Good! Go inside and ask for permission. I don't want anyone saying I'm causing trouble later."

Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting inside, heard everything.

She was furious that Lin Zhen's four sons would gang up on Bang Geng whenever they pleased.

She wished that the brawling maniac Silly Zhu could teach him a few moves.

Before Bang Geng could even run inside, Jia Zhangshi was already nodding repeatedly and winking.

"My good grandson, learn well. Adults don't interfere when kids fight. Learn from your Uncle Silly, and beat up those four brats every day!"

Bang Geng nodded. "Okay! I'm going to beat them all until they cry!"

Although Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng's voices inside the room were quiet, Lin Zhen could hear them perfectly clearly. His hearing had been trained to the point where he could hear a leaf fall from ten meters away.

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Lin Zhen found it amusing.

From now on, he wouldn't have to worry about people complaining when his four sons beat up Bang Geng.

If Bang Geng cried again, he would only have himself to blame for Silly Zhu not teaching him well.

In a way, this was giving his sons a legitimate reason to beat up Bang Geng.

Silly Zhu immediately took Bang Geng inside to teach him, even closing the door for fear that Lin Guo and Lin Jia would see.

Lin Zhen laughed heartily. "Silly Zhu, when's our match?"

"We can have it tonight!"

"Alright, teach him well. I'm going to the market!"

Lin Zhen hadn't truly celebrated his promotion to engineer at home yet.

Taking advantage of his day off, he planned to make a delicious meal.

"Lin Zhen, I'll go buy the groceries. I've already brewed some tea, you can rest at home."

Lou Xiao'e had already wiped down the bicycle and brewed a pot of tea.

Every Sunday when he was off work, she never let her husband do too much.

"You usually go, but I'll go on Sundays. I like going to the market."

Lin Zhen said as he rode off on his "erba dagang" bicycle in a flash.

Lou Xiao'e smiled.

"What's so great about the market? I really don't understand my husband."

Every time he came to the market, Lin Zhen marveled at the cleanliness of the ingredients in this era.

The vermicelli was guaranteed to be 100% sweet potato starch, with no added gelatin.

The freshly slaughtered live chickens were guaranteed to have never eaten any feed, and they were all free-range.

The pork was all flavorful, locally raised pigs that had been fed for over half a year before being sent to market.

Wild fish and shrimp could be easily bought, and the water they grew in was absolutely clean and pollution-free.

There was no need to worry about pesticide residues on the vegetables either.

Buying groceries and cooking in this era was a pleasure.

Of course, these were feelings only Lin Zhen, who had traveled from the future, possessed.

Only Lin Zhen knew how rare these ingredients were.

Lin Zhen exchanged his meat coupons for a pound of streaky pork and two pounds of fatty pork.

Using his non-staple food card, he got half a pound of old soy sauce and half a pound of white sugar.

He spent one yuan to buy a large rooster.

He then spent eighty cents on seasonal vegetables and twenty cents on sweet potato vermicelli.

Finally, he spent ninety-two cents to buy a two-pound carp.

When he returned to the Siheyuan, Third Master Yan Bugui was drying peanuts in a winnowing basket at the entrance.

Seeing Lin Zhen return with a large fish, meat, and a rooster, he immediately became envious.

"Oh, Lin Zhen, what's all this? Celebrating the New Year early? Oh! I know, you're celebrating your promotion to engineer, right? Heh! Third Master here forgot about that. My apologies, my apologies. I'll bring a bottle of wine over to your place tonight. You better not be thinking of taking my good wine!"

Lin Zhen felt like giving him a big slap.

As a people's teacher, he really knew how to talk.

Was he calculating to take his wine, or was Third Master calculating to take his food?

"Third Master, you jest. I would like to drink your wine, but not today."

"And why is that?"

"Today is a small celebration for our family of six. It's not a banquet. If we were having a large banquet with several tables, it would definitely be you! Yan Jiecheng is getting married in just over a month, and the whole courtyard is watching you. See? You need at least chicken, fish, and meat on the table, just like I have today. If you can't see clearly, why don't you come over to my place now?"

Yan Bugui pursed his lips, feeling awkward. "I won't go. I still have homework to grade later."