I Have the Power of Money

"Fei Hung!" Elder Zhang, who had been talking with an old friend in the inner room, saw Wong Fei Hung come in and warmly went over to greet him.

Wong Fei Hung recognized his godfatherly uncle calling to him. Supporting the old man by the arm, he said, "Godfatherly uncle, it's been years. You look even more sprightly!"

"Thanks to good fortune, thanks to good fortune! Fei Hung, look who came back with me this time!" His godfatherly uncle pointed into the room. Wong Fei Hung followed his gaze and saw two young women in Western-style clothes and hats, one Chinese and one Western, fiddling with an old-fashioned camera.

Thirteenth Aunt stood up just then. Seeing Wong Fei Hung come in, delight flashed in her big eyes. Smiling, she walked up to him and called, "Fei Hung!" She also extended her right hand, intending to shake his.

Wong Fei Hung didn't understand what Thirteenth Aunt meant, so he simply clasped his hands together, ready to greet her with a traditional cupped-fist salute.

But Thirteenth Aunt grabbed Wong Fei Hung's right hand and shook it up and down.

Afraid he didn't understand, Elder Zhang explained, "She wants to shake your hand!"

"Shaking hands is how Westerners greet each other!" Thirteenth Aunt explained too.

Seeing Wong Fei Hung's bewildered expression, Thirteenth Aunt smiled, then pointed to Hao Shuai and Joanna beside her and introduced them. "Fei Hung, let me introduce you. These two are both good friends of mine."

"This is Joanna!"

"How do you do!"

Still utterly bewildered, Wong Fei Hung had no idea what the blue-eyed, blond-haired foreign girl was saying. He quietly asked Thirteenth Aunt, "Do what?"

"She's greeting you. She's asking how you are," Thirteenth Aunt explained for him.

Elder Zhang was quite a character, too. He immediately coached Wong Fei Hung: "Quick, say, 'fresh braised pork!'"

"Braised pork! Braised pork!" Wong Fei Hung said, shaking Joanna's hand up and down. Joanna and Thirteenth Aunt couldn't help giggling.

"Fei Hung, this is Mr. Hao Shuai, whom I met on the ship back to China. Mr. Hao came back from England, and he helped me a great deal on the ship!" Thirteenth Aunt introduced Hao Shuai to Wong Fei Hung.

Hearing that Hao Shuai had helped Thirteenth Aunt, and with Hao Shuai's face that seemed to add ten points to anyone's goodwill toward him, Wong Fei Hung immediately took a liking to him. He bowed to Hao Shuai and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hao, for stepping in to help!"

Hao Shuai hurriedly reached out to support Wong Fei Hung's hands and said, "We're both Chinese. It was the least I could do. Why be so polite, Master Wong?"

Hearing how modest Hao Shuai was, Wong Fei Hung's favorable impression of the tall young man in Western clothes with short hair grew even stronger.

"I've long heard that Master Wong is renowned for excelling in both medicine and martial arts. I've always admired China's traditional culture, and I've come back specifically to study it. I hope I can learn from you in the future. Please give me your guidance, Master Wong. I'd be most grateful!"

"You're too kind, Mr. Hao. If you don't mind, we can learn and improve together from now on!"

"Thank you, Master Wong!"

Wong Fei Hung smiled and nodded.

Just then, his godfatherly uncle came over, looking enthusiastic. "Fei Hung, Shao Jun brought a camera back from overseas. We're here to take a picture with the bird!"

Wong Fei Hung hadn't yet figured out what Elder Zhang meant when the old man pulled him over and sat him down by the window.

A tea table stood between them, with a birdcage on top. Inside was Boss Zhao's beloved Imperial Consort sparrow.

Elder Zhang pointed at the camera with his folding fan. "Fei Hung, taking a picture is easy. Just look over there."

As Elder Zhang and Wong Fei Hung sat down and Thirteenth Aunt prepared to take the picture, Hao Shuai knew what was about to happen. Wanting to win Thirteenth Aunt's favor again, he stopped her and said, "Shao Jun, check how much magnesium powder you put in the camera. I saw you adding it just now, and it looked like you used a little too much."

"Really?"

Knowing that Hao Shuai had also studied abroad and wouldn't warn her without reason, Thirteenth Aunt said, "Then I'll check again."

"Oh! I really did put in too much!" Thirteenth Aunt checked and cried out in surprise. "Thank you, Hao Shuai. If you hadn't been so observant and warned me, something terrible might have happened when we took the picture!"

Something terrible, indeed. Not only would Boss Zhao's Imperial Consort sparrow have been roasted, but her own father might have ended up with a soot-black face, too. And Wong Fei Hung would have made a huge impression on her. But now, thanks to Hao Shuai, the picture went off without a hitch, and Elder Zhang got to show off in front of all his friends and relatives back home.

After all, returning home in finery was better than wearing it unseen.

Once Elder Zhang had finished showing off, he took Wong Fei Hung aside and said, "I'll be leaving in a couple of days. Your Thirteenth Aunt went to England for two years and kept clamoring to come back to Foshan. That's all well and good; it'll keep her from mixing with foreigners. Do me a favor and keep an eye on her!"

"Keep an eye on her?" Wong Fei Hung looked back at Thirteenth Aunt. Just then, she happened to be looking at him, too. Hao Shuai saw them exchanging glances and sensed the thick air of romance between them. He immediately realized he still had a lot of work to do if he wanted to steal her away!

Elder Zhang had no choice but to ask Wong Fei Hung to look after Thirteenth Aunt. She was determined to stay, but he really couldn't bear to leave her alone in Foshan. He knew things were a little unsettled in China, and it simply wasn't safe for her to be on her own.

As one of the few "relatives" Thirteenth Aunt had in Foshan, Wong Fei Hung was still someone Elder Zhang could trust, even if they weren't related by blood. Elder Zhang had once hoped Wong Fei Hung and his daughter would become a couple, but now Hao Shuai had appeared, and he was an excellent prospect in every respect. Elder Zhang could only leave things to fate.

As for his "cabbage," and which "pig" would end up devouring it—

That was for the young people to decide.

Hearing this, Wong Fei Hung nodded. "All right. Don't worry."

Elder Zhang left with Thirteenth Aunt. After being away from Foshan for so long, they had plenty of people to visit.

Wong Fei Hung, meanwhile, took his disciples back to Baozhilin.

After leaving the teahouse, Hao Shuai planned to buy a house near Baozhilin. He would be staying in Foshan for a long time, and it would be inconvenient to go about his business without a place of his own.

Hao Shuai hadn't gone far when he saw a bare-chested, burly man standing by the roadside, his queue wrapped around his neck. He had a rag clenched between his teeth, with two red-tasseled spears pressed hard against his throat. It looked like he was performing the iron spear-through-the-throat stunt.

Judging by the man's face and the hard qigong he was demonstrating, Hao Shuai was sure he was Yan Zhendong, the man in the story who practiced the Iron Cloth Shirt.

Yan Zhendong had been a tragic figure in the story. He'd come to Foshan full of ambition, hoping to make a name for himself, only to end up performing on the street, enduring contempt and humiliation before meeting a violent death.

Hao Shuai decided to do a good deed and help Yan Zhendong. Of course, the main reason was that he was very interested in Yan Zhendong's hard qigong.

So after Yan Zhendong finished his performance, Hao Shuai went up to him as he was picking up coins from the ground and said, "Master, I'm Hao Shuai. Are you free right now? I'd like to buy you a meal and have a chat."

Yan Zhendong eyed Hao Shuai, this fake foreign devil, warily. "I'm Yan Zhendong. We're not related, so why are you buying me a meal?"

"Master Yan, I've simply taken an interest in your martial arts. I'd like to discuss a deal with you."

Yan Zhendong instinctively wanted to refuse. He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. But he was in a tough spot, too. He hadn't had a proper meal in a long time, so he figured he'd get a full meal first. If Hao Shuai made some unreasonable demand afterward, he could refuse. With his martial arts, Hao Shuai wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

Having made up his mind, Yan Zhendong clasped his hands. "Then I thank you for the meal, sir."

Hao Shuai smiled. "You're too kind, Master Yan."

The two of them went straight into a nearby restaurant, got a private room, and ordered a whole tableful of dishes.

Perhaps because he hadn't eaten such a sumptuous meal in a long time, Yan Zhendong didn't hold back and dug right in.

After Yan Zhendong finished eating, he said, "We've finished the meal. Just tell me what you want."

Hao Shuai didn't answer his question. Instead, he asked, "Master Yan, your hard qigong is impressive. What style do you practice?"

"I practice my Yan family's Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt."

"With martial arts like yours, how did you end up performing on the street?"

Yan Zhendong sighed and said, "My Yan family used to run a martial arts school in the north. But times were hard, and the school couldn't keep going, so we came to Foshan hoping to make a living. Who knew we'd run out of travel money as soon as we got here? I had no choice but to perform for a living."

"If you're willing, I can pay to help you rebuild your martial arts school," Hao Shuai told Yan Zhendong bluntly.

"Really?" Yan Zhendong jumped to his feet in excitement.

"Of course. To be honest, the money it'd take to rebuild the school means nothing to me. But I have one condition: I want you to give me the Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt manual and teach it to me," Hao Shuai said plainly.

"My Yan family has a rule: we pass it down to men, not women, and to family, not outsiders. This..." Yan Zhendong's expression changed as he hesitated.

"Rules are dead, but people are alive. Think about it: you can't even afford to eat, let alone get married and have children. If you starve to death, your Yan family line will end. Who will inherit your family's manual then?" Hao Shuai reminded him.

Yan Zhendong realized that made sense. Better to pass the manual outside the family than let the Yan family die out.

Seeing that Yan Zhendong was already wavering, Hao Shuai brought out his greatest skill—throwing money at the problem!

"This is an advance. I'll give you another bar when the deal's done." Hao Shuai put his hand in his pocket, pretending to take something out, but actually pulling it from his storage space. He tossed a one-kilogram gold bar down in front of Yan Zhendong.

Yan Zhendong's attention was immediately drawn to the gold bar. He was too distracted to wonder how Hao Shuai had concealed something so heavy on his person. The moment he heard it was an advance for him, he snatched it up, bit it to make sure it was real gold, and agreed on the spot to sell the manual.