Desperate Counterattack
I woke up from a nap and could still hear the gentle sound of rain, as if strands of hair were caressing my cheeks. I went outside and saw that the sky was still overcast, with no sign of dawn. I stretched and went back to my room to light the charcoal stove. I wondered how much longer this rainy season would last.
Sitting in front of the charcoal stove, he scraped the whole pig's face that he had bought yesterday. Yesterday, he had only simply cleaned it to remove the dirt. As for the ears, eye sockets, nostrils, and lips, he still had to scrape them carefully. Every now and then, he would pick up a piece of charcoal and burn the pig's head, which would produce a stench of burnt hair.
After the pig's head is cooked, the meat is scraped off. Pig's head meat is considered the essence of the pig's meat, and it is extremely delicious whether stir-fried or served cold.
The pig's face naturally needs to be smoked dry. It just so happens that during the rainy season, charcoal is always burned in the room to remove dampness. Liu Chang'an plans to smoke a cured pig's face. Unlike the traditional smoking method, Liu Chang'an's will be extra crisp and chewy. People with bad teeth are not suitable to eat too much. For example, children like Zhou Dongdong who can't stop eating once they start will definitely experience tooth and chewing muscle pain after eating it.
After finishing my work and checking the time, I realized that my phone hadn't been charged since I bought it yesterday and had automatically shut down. While charging it, I turned on the radio, made a topping with braised pork head meat, and a bowl of spicy noodles with ginger and garlic. In this humid weather, I drank about half of the soup, and instantly felt refreshed.
When Liu Chang'an turned on his phone while it was charging, he received a flood of messages, mainly from An Nuan, as well as from many classmates, including Bai Hui, Bi Wanwan, Luo Pin, Lu Yuan, Zhao Chenchen, Ma Yilin, and Zhang Taole, among others, some familiar and some not. Also present were his homeroom teacher, Huang Shan, and the school's vice principal Qian Shangxue. It seemed that Liu Chang'an's social circle had suddenly become much richer overnight.
Or perhaps someone becomes a big celebrity or has encountered some great joy, and the tradition of crowding together to share the good news or inquire about it has remained the same throughout history, just like the endless stream of people coming to announce Fan Jin's success in the imperial examination.
There was too much to read, so Liu Chang'an turned off his phone again. Anyway, he had already arranged a time to meet An Nuan.
"How was the crayfish last night?" Zhou Shuling asked Liu Chang'an as she came downstairs.
"It's great, much better than the late-night food stalls outside."
"What do you think about me setting up a late-night food stall?" Zhou Shuling asked hesitantly.
Where's your breakfast stall?
"I'll set up a breakfast stall in the morning and a late-night snack stall in the evening," Zhou Shuling said through gritted teeth.
"You can't handle this. You have to think about how your body isn't just yours alone. What will happen to Zhou Dongdong if you collapse from exhaustion?" Liu Chang'an said earnestly and seriously.
"But I want to pay back the money as soon as possible." An independent woman, who is naturally a bit stubborn, doesn't like to owe others anything. For Zhou Shuling, only by paying back the money as soon as possible can she truly breathe a sigh of relief.
"What's the rush?" Liu Chang'an waved his hand. "Your decision is an impulsive one, stemming from the pressure and anxiety you've accumulated over this period. You think this is the only way to get rid of external pressure. But exercise can help too."
"Exercise?" Zhou Shuling gave a wry smile. Where would she find the time to exercise?
"Come on, do some exercises with me, and I guarantee you'll feel refreshed afterwards." Liu Chang'an began demonstrating his Seedling-Pulling Technique.
Zhou Shuling couldn't help but laugh as she watched Liu Chang'an do his exercises. After Zhou Dongdong ran down, she stood under the awning and tried to imitate him, swaying left and right and twisting haphazardly.
Zhou Shuling covered her mouth and laughed. Oh well, Liu Chang'an was right. He wasn't chasing her for money. Actually, apart from his 200,000, she didn't owe much else. She could take it slow... If something happened to her health, she really didn't dare to think about what would happen to her daughter in the future.
After Zhou Shuling left with Zhou Dongdong, the baby hen was delivered, but today it was Ma Benwei who delivered the baby hen.
"Brother Liu, Brother Liu, I'm out. I was just released yesterday." Ma Benwei handed the little hen to Liu Chang'an with a big smile. He was wearing glasses, which gave him a more refined and gentle air.
"Going to jail is actually a kind of experience," Liu Chang'an said with a touch of nostalgia.
"Brother Liu has a story to tell!" Ma Benwei remarked, thinking to himself, "How old are you? You didn't have to go to jail for your crimes before this year."
"That was administrative detention, not jail time," Ma Benwei insisted. Jail time sounds awful; it leaves a criminal record. As for detention centers, who hasn't been young and impulsive? It's no big deal!
"Is there any labor reform?"
"No, labor reform is slightly less serious than imprisonment. If it's too serious, it'll leave a criminal record. Usually, people like me who get into fights and disrupt public order, but actively surrender and admit their mistakes, just stay in the detention center for a while and then get out." Ma Benwei chuckled.
"Oh, is it possible to broadcast live from a detention center?"
Speaking of live streaming, Ma Benwei was quite frustrated. "How could that be... You can't use your phone in the detention center. Every day you just stand there doing nothing, receiving 'education,' reading the Four Great Classical Novels, watching the news and two episodes of a TV series. If the food is even slightly good, you have to pay for it yourself. The worst part is, there are so many idiots in there. If I could live stream, it might be a good topic. But after so many days... I've lost a lot of popularity..."
Liu Chang'an nodded, slightly regretful. He had helped him attract so many viewers that night; the live stream was so lively.
"By the way, Brother Liu, you're super popular now! Overnight, tons of marketing accounts and promoters are sharing news about you. A top student and a martial arts prodigy, you even risked your life to save others, and your girlfriend is that famous... well, you know, internet beauty. You're practically an idol!" Ma Benwei even thought Liu Chang'an could debut as a celebrity. He originally thought he would never mess with someone like Liu Chang'an again, but last night during his live stream, he found that his stream had really gone downhill, and he was immediately depressed. He accidentally discovered that Liu Chang'an had become popular, so he decided to look for an opportunity. He had provoked him last time, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who would be completely unreasonable.
"Priests always say they are shepherds, and in ancient times, local officials were also called shepherds, which ultimately shows that many of the people's behaviors are no different from those of livestock—running around in a swarm, shouting in a swarm." Liu Chang'an wouldn't care about these things. "Ignore them; after a while, their attention will naturally shift to new hot topics and people."
"Brother Liu, you're right in thinking, but not entirely. The key is to make good use of this opportunity. We can't waste it! Look how lively our collaboration was last time, our popularity skyrocketed! This time, if we plan it well again, with my control and experience, and your popularity and attention, we'll definitely reach the top and become the number one streamer on Fighting Bear Live!" Ma Benwei looked at Liu Chang'an eagerly. Judging from what Liu Chang'an had done last time, Ma Benwei felt that he was very interested in live streaming.
"Fine, you've started a live stream, I'll beat you up again."
"No... that's not what I meant..." Ma Benwei was startled.
"Goodbye." Liu Chang'an walked away on his own.
Liu Chang'an's reputation soared. Compared to the affairs of the martial arts world, a persona with a lot of hype is more popular and can get more attention. However, as an important factor in Liu Chang'an's rise to fame, Pu Shougeng also received more attention, even though his fame was mostly negative. Ultimately, many more people knew about him.
People have had enough of the spectacle of traditional martial arts being brutally defeated by MMA fighters. Any more performances of traditional martial arts "masters" behaving like monkey shows, lacking any real hype, are unlikely to generate much buzz. It's time for traditional martial arts to stage a comeback, using the rekindling of public confidence in them as a starting point. This will undoubtedly garner immense attention, leveraging the public's inherent goodwill, affinity, or even pride in traditional martial arts to create a surge of hype.
Pu Shougeng was thinking the same thing, preparing for a rebound. Although Liu Chang'an was strong, he had already received help from a mysterious organization this time. Even the Third Miss was just one of them, and he didn't necessarily have to obey her completely.
Thank you everyone. Xia Hua is going home tomorrow, so I can update a little more. I'm only a few dozen votes away from being in the top ten of the new book's monthly ticket rankings! Various Requests out. There won't be any updates tonight or tomorrow morning; my flight was delayed by three hours, and I just finished writing this at the airport.