Lao Pang

The call connected quickly, Beichen explained Xiaobao's situation to Lao Pang amidst the noise.

The impatient old lady, seeing Bei Chen's unhurried Beichen, snatched the phone away. "Lao Pang, where have you been! Come quick, Xiaobao fell down! Hurry up!"

"Right away!" Lao Pang's voice came through the phone.

After about fifteen minutes, Xiaobao was probably tired of crying. Tears still clung to his eyelashes, and he stopped sobbing.

At this moment, Lao Pang came in from outside, and Su Ziyang finally met the person in charge of this trip.

Seeing Lao Pang, Su Ziyang was speechless. He had assumed that Lao Pang would live up to his name and be a fat man.

But the person who came in was a thin, wiry old man, dressed in a military green uniform from the 1950s or 60s, and wearing a pair of liberation shoes.

"What happened? Why are you crying..." Lao Pang asked as he entered the room, looking at the still-crying Xiaobao.

The Lao Pang wasn't exactly scary-looking, but he certainly wasn't kind-faced. But when Xiaobao saw Lao Pang, he stopped even sobbing and buried his head in his grandmother's arms in fear.

"Come here! Let me see!" The Lao Pang's commanding tone made Xiaobao obediently come over.

"Come here, you little rascal. Let me touch it, let me touch it! This guy, you can't hurt his neck! When you grow up, you'll have to get married, right!" Lao Pang said, his rough hand giving Xiaobao's neck a slight tremor.

With a soft click, Xiaobao's tilted neck straightened instantly.

Lao Pang chuckled, revealing his yellowed teeth from years of smoking, as he watched the Xiaobao straighten his neck. "All done. See if it still hurts!"

The masterful technique of repositioning the dislocated cervical vertebrae while chatting and laughing impressed Su Ziyang, who knew in his heart that his master had truly found the right person to bring him here.

"You old fool, look what you've done to the child!" The old lady clearly didn't tolerate the Lao Pang Lao Pang, scolded him, and then picked up the child and walked out.

"My family is making braised pork belly for dinner tonight, come over for dinner!"

As she reached the door, the old lady left a message and departed.

"Are you two getting haircuts?" The Lao Pang ignored the old lady's words, rubbed his hands together, and asked Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei.

"Ah! No. We were introduced here by Xuhui. My name is Mengfei. I called you earlier." Mr. Mengfei smiled at the Lao Pang.

"Xuhui! That's a good friend. Okay, a friend of a friend is a friend. Come on, come inside!!!"

In these small towns, the storefronts are typically located with shops in the front and living quarters in the back, making it very convenient.

Lao Pang led Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei through the back door of the barbershop and into a large courtyard.

There were many straw mats laid out in the courtyard, and some Chinese medicines were drying on them. Su Ziyang recognized some of these medicines, while others he did not.

The four large brick houses were built in a very grand manner. Su Ziyang didn't look at them much and followed the Lao Pang into the house.

The room was simply furnished with only an old-fashioned color TV, a refrigerator, a single bed, and a square table with a ceramic tea tray containing teaware and a thermos.

"You want to learn bone setting, right!" Lao Pang didn't waste any time or invite Mr. Mengfei and his companion to sit down; he went straight to the point.

"Okay!" Su Ziyang nodded.

"Western hospitals are well-equipped now, and people go to hospitals for surgery when they have injuries. Very few people come to us for bone setting anymore. So very few people want to learn bone setting. You're young, so I need to explain the pros and cons to you clearly. If you want to learn, I'm not stingy with my teaching, but how much you learn depends on your aptitude!"

"I understand. If the child wants to learn, then let him learn! He can learn as much as he can." Mr. Mengfei did not explicitly state the master-disciple relationship between the two, but rather said that Su Ziyang was his own child.

"Understood! You'll live and eat here with me! You'll pay 1000 yuan a month for food and lodging. Besides, you must obey orders and do whatever I tell you to do! If you think it won't work out, or if you try to rebel, leave right now! The door is over there!"

The Lao Pang pointed to the gate behind him.

"Okay! Okay! Here's a thousand yuan for food and lodging this month. Please keep it!"

As soon as the Lao Pang finished speaking, Mr. Mengfei took out the envelope he had prepared in his pocket and placed it on the table.

The Lao Pang didn't even glance at the envelope; he just snorted coldly and stood up from his chair.

"Then let's have lunch together! It's on me. Are there any restaurants in your town?" Mr. Mengfei looked at the Lao Pang 'Lao Pang strange temper and couldn't quite figure him out. After paying, he suggested they go out for lunch together.

Let's go!

Lao Pang Lao Pang. This time, instead of going through the small door to the shop, he opened the main gate of his courtyard and led the master and apprentice towards the east side of the town.

Not far away, there were two single-story houses with a sign outside that read "Biansheng Snack Shop".

Lao Pang pushed open the door and entered, followed closely by Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei.

The room wasn't very spacious, with many small tables crammed together. Lao Pang sat down near the window, while Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei sat opposite Lao Pang. These small tables were just right for four people; any more would make it feel cramped.

"Uncle Pang's here. Same three dishes as usual today?" A slightly plump woman behind the counter saw Lao Pang arrive and came out with a smile, wiping the table that Su Ziyang and his group had chosen with a rag.

"No, someone's treating us today. Let's have a bowl of braised pork, a plate of cold beef salad, a plate of peanuts, and a roast chicken! And half a jin of your homemade sorghum liquor." Lao Pang didn't shy away from Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei at all, and directly ordered four dishes.

"Alright! Coming right now!"

In a small town like this, this was considered a big meal. When the owner saw that the old man had ordered several hearty dishes, his smile widened even more, and he hurried off to the kitchen.

While waiting for the food, Lao Pang didn't speak to Su Ziyang and his apprentice. He took out a crumpled plastic bag from his military green clothes, opened Lao Pang to find it contained tobacco, took out a stack of papers, rolled a pipe of tobacco, and started puffing away.

The smoke from the dry tobacco was already quite thick, and the cigarettes rolled by the Lao Pang were even thicker, so the room was soon filled with smoke.

Su Ziyang glanced helplessly at Mr. Mengfei, but Mr. Mengfei remained expressionless, sitting quietly and watching the Lao Pang smoke.

"Here it is, Uncle Pang: half a jin of sorghum liquor, cold beef salad, and peanuts. Please have a drink first. The other two will be ready in a bit!"

The owner put the dishes on the table and went back to the kitchen to get busy.

"Aren't you two going to eat?" Lao Pang took a few bites of the cold beef salad and a big gulp of liquor before noticing that Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei hadn't touched their chopsticks.

"Please start eating first." Mr. Mengfei chuckled and nudged Su Ziyang gently with his elbow, indicating that Su Ziyang should eat.

However, seeing the Lao Pang's frantic eating habits, Su Ziyang completely lost his appetite.

Lao Pang ate nearly a third of a plate of cold beef salad in just a few bites, chewing with his mouth full while making muffled noises, but that didn't stop him from drinking!

"Tsk~" In one gulp, half of the two-and-a-half-ounce cup was gone.

"I ate it all even if you didn't want it!" Lao Pang wiped the grease from his mouth with his hand, then took another sip of wine. "Oh dear, I forgot to ask you two for wine!"

"It's alright, please drink. Please drink! We don't drink alcohol." Mr. Mengfei refused directly, picking up a piece of beef and putting it in his mouth.

Watching his master start eating, Su Ziyang also picked up a piece of meat from the side that the Lao Pang hadn't touched and put it in his mouth.

"That's great!"

Su Ziyang couldn't help but say, "Don't let the small size of the shop fool you, the taste is absolutely authentic."

"Hehe, so many bosses drive here just to eat his cold beef salad! Later you should also try the braised pork and roast chicken, those are absolutely amazing! So delicious you'll probably swallow your tongue!" Lao Pang looked as proud as if he had made the dishes himself.

"Let me tell you, kid. To learn bone setting, you need strength, dexterity, and power. You eat like a woman, how can you possibly have any strength?!"

Lao Pang glanced at Su Ziyang and picked up a beer bottle cap from the table.

Extending his rough thumb and forefinger, he rolled the hard beer bottle cap into a metal tube as easily as paper.

Mr. Mengfei's eyes lit up when he saw the Lao Pang man's unique finger strength. He hadn't expected that the Lao Pang was actually a peerless master.

Su Ziyang is indeed strong, and after channeling his inner energy, his strength is several times greater than usual. However, it's absolutely impossible for someone like Lao Pang to twist a beer bottle cap into an iron pipe as easily as he did!

"Let's eat." The Lao Pang looked at the two surprised people and said it casually, as if it were a very ordinary thing.

"Uncle Pang, your roast chicken and braised pork!" The owner then brought out the remaining two dishes!

The roast chicken has been shredded and placed on a plate, with sea salt and cumin powder on the side.

The braised pork was served in a large bowl, topped with a sprig of bright green cilantro, which looked very appetizing.

"Shengjia! Bring me two more steamers of pork and scallion buns. Staple food, please!" Lao Pang mumbled incoherently, his head down.

"Alright!"

"Uncle, can we eat now?"

Yes! Eat it!

No matter how delicious the food is, your stomach has a limit.

Because it was all meat dishes, Su Ziyang felt full after eating very little, and Mr. Mengfei did the same, putting down his chopsticks after a few bites.

Then the master and apprentice watched as the Lao Pang devoured the food at the dining table with lightning speed and overwhelming force.

Lao Pang swung his chopsticks so fast they left afterimages, and soon all the plates on the table were empty. Then, Lao Pang even picked up the bowl of braised pork and took a big gulp of the oily broth!

Su Ziyang was already tired of looking at it.

"Let's pay the bill and go!" The Lao Pang wiped his mouth, having finished his meal.

The meal cost over two hundred yuan, which is definitely a high price in such a small town. After paying, Mr. Mengfei and the three of them Dada out of the snack bar.

"Master, he can eat so much! A whole roasted chicken, a huge bowl of braised pork, a plate of peanuts, a pound of beef, and he even drank half a pound of baijiu! This guy is certainly capable, but he's also incredibly strange!"

Lao Pang ignored the master and apprentice and kept walking ahead, and at a faster pace. Seeing that they had gained some distance, Su Ziyang whispered to Mr. Mengfei.

Mr. Mengfei squinted at the Lao Pang's retreating figure and whispered to Su Ziyang, "When we came here, Xuhui told me that this guy was an extraordinary person. I didn't take it seriously at first. But now that I see him, he really is an extraordinary person!"

Seeing his master squinting, Su Ziyang assumed he was using a special technique called "Looking Up and Looking Down." He quickly gathered his True Qi and focused his eyes on the Lao Pang's back. However, after looking at him, Su Ziyang was somewhat disappointed. The Lao Pang's aura was no different from that of an ordinary person.

This made Su Ziyang even more puzzled, so he asked in confusion, "Master, what's so strange about this?!"

"Haha, you'll see for yourself! Whether you can learn real skills depends on your own luck and destiny!" Mr. Mengfei patted Su Ziyang on the shoulder and quickly caught up with the Lao Pang man.

Su Ziyang was completely confused, shook his head, and quickly followed.

After the three returned to the shop, Beichen was eating a steamed bun, while a very plump woman sat in the barber's chair, looking down at her phone. The woman had dyed blonde hair, wore heavy makeup, and had manicured nails. From a distance, she appeared very fashionable.

As soon as the Lao Pang entered the door, the woman who had been playing on her phone put it down, stood up, and said softly, "Dad."

"Yes! You brought food to Beichen!"

"Yes, these are steamed buns I made. Would you like to try one?" The woman smiled and pointed to the bowl on the table.

"I'm full, I'm done eating," the Lao Pang waved his hand.

Su Ziyang was slightly surprised to see the woman call Lao Pang" Dad". If the name and body type were to correspond, Lao Pang's daughter should be called Lao Pang, Lao Pang should be called Lao Shou.

"Young man, come here!" Lao Pang's words pulled Su Ziyang out of his YY (a Chinese online gaming platform) state.

The three went back to the courtyard. Lao Pang pointed to the medicinal herbs on the straw mat on the ground and said, "Take a look through these herbs, and pack them up separately before sunset this afternoon!"

That's it... that's how you get started?

Su Ziyang hesitated for a moment, then Lao Pang frowned. "What? You don't want to do it? If you don't want to do it, then please leave!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Su Ziyang quickly went to the herbs and started turning them over.

"I'm sorry to trouble you! I'm entrusting the child to you now, so I'll be leaving now. Let's get together again sometime, with Xuhui, and have a meal!" Mr. Mengfei bowed and clasped his hands in a traditional Chinese greeting to the Lao Pang.

The Lao Pang, who seemed quite boisterous and impolite from the moment I saw him that morning, immediately returned Mr. Mengfei's greeting with a clasped-hands gesture. "The master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. Don't worry, the child is here!"

"Ziyang, I have other things to do, I'm leaving now!" Mr. Mengfei said goodbye to Su Ziyang and strode away.

Su Ziyang knew that Mr. Mengfei couldn't be with him every day, so he didn't say anything and continued to look at the herbs in the sun.

After Mr. Mengfei left, in the barbershop, Beichen said to Lao Pang's daughter, "Tingting, your dad has a new apprentice!"

"Fine, I'll take it. I never concern myself with my dad's petty affairs." Tingting continued looking down at her phone.

"Why is this old man bringing up an apprentice again!"

"What! You're afraid your junior brother will steal your thunder in front of my dad? Hehe!" Tingting chuckled.

What are you thinking!...