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墨書 Inktalez
The sky finally cleared up. Regardless of how poor the wheat harvest was this year, it had to be collected, as it was the staple food for every household and also needed to pay the Grain Tax.
Some families had already cut down their wheat but hadn’t yet brought it into the Wheat Field. The children were mobilized by the adults to use wooden forks to turn the wheat over little by little to dry it out. Then they loaded it onto carts and took it to the Wheat Field to spread it out evenly. The next step involved a person wearing a straw hat standing under the sun, guiding livestock that pulled a heavy stone roller over the wheat countless times, a process commonly known as "the threshing ground." In between, they would repeatedly use wooden forks to sift out the Wheat Straw, and only when mixed husks and grains were left could they finally see some results.
However, this was still not the final outcome. They had to pile up these mixed grains, husks, and awns, and when the wind picked up, they would use wooden shovels to toss them into the air, allowing the wind to blow away the husks while sweeping away the remaining Wheat Straw, leaving only the sifted grains.
Every step of this process was labor-intensive and dirty work.
This year, much of the wheat lay flat on the ground. Even those families willing to spend money on a Harvester found it useless; they had to rely on manual labor with sickles, bending low or squatting down, which was even less efficient and more exhausting.
For the oblivious children, they hoped that while adults were cutting wheat, they might stumble upon a rabbit's nest and catch a few bunnies. In reality, however, what they most often encountered were hedgehogs and snakes.
During this time, Hu Ruoyun was desperately trying to remember the subjects of this year's Entrance Examination at school but regrettably could not recall any of them.
The time for middle school students to advance to high school and elementary students to move up to middle school exams was approaching. Thanks to a successful wheat harvest, Hu Ruoyun became the "hero" of his family, prompting Hu Qihua and Zhao Meirong to encourage him to focus on preparing for his exams at school.
Although he couldn’t remember what subjects would be tested this year, Hu Qihua recalled another incident from his memory: during the Entrance Examination in town, after finishing the first exam, his classmate Jiang Qiuying was harassed by some street thugs on her way home. Xiong Debiao, who was sturdy and simple-minded, saw this and stepped in to stop them. Unfortunately, he was stabbed in the abdomen by one of these thugs with a Triangular Bayonet. If not for timely medical attention, he could have lost his life!
Due to his injury, Brother Biao couldn’t participate in the remaining subjects and thus missed out on high school. Jiang Qiuying was so frightened that she performed poorly on her remaining exams and ultimately failed as well. The class flower and top student whom their homeroom teacher and school had high hopes for fell from grace.
The thugs were reportedly children of officials from the County Government Compound; the leader was even the only son of the Deputy Director of the County Public Security Bureau. After the incident, these privileged youths faced no real consequences aside from paying some compensation through their families’ influence at school—a common advantage for those with power or wealth in that era.
Since he could remember it now, perhaps there was a chance for change.
In the dead of night, Hu Ruoyun quietly got up, dressed, and tiptoed out to the playground without disturbing the other students sleeping in the dormitory. He began to practice the Vajra Fist.
As he moved through the techniques, Hu Ruoyun found himself flowing effortlessly, his movements powerful and dynamic.
The Vajra Fist, also known as the Vajra Arhat Fist, is one of the older and more representative traditional martial arts styles from Northern Shaolin. Its complete system, rich martial arts connotations, unique technical forms, and practical self-defense applications have established it as a significant presence in the realm of traditional martial arts.
The Vajra Fist is a close-combat style that emphasizes "every move has force, every force has method, and every method is useful." This ancient martial art, which embodies the efforts of several generations and retains its "original ecology," features a vigorous and powerful stance with fierce decisiveness and exquisite precision. The overall technique is divided into four sections, comprising eighty-one movements characterized by heavy power, speed, stability, solidity, and clarity. Its application is marked by simplicity, quickness, mutual use of fists and legs, simultaneous offense and defense, evasion of direct attacks while striking at vulnerabilities, and a harmonious blend of hardness and softness.
In terms of technique, it excels in "rapid successive strikes with heavy hits, swift movements in both directions, unexpected forceful strikes that are decisive and overwhelming." It focuses on close-range combat with low kicks as a priority, short punches and elbows for quick changes, grappling throws for control, and seizing opportunities for submission. Thus, its techniques emphasize "long-range punches and kicks, close-range knees and elbows, grappling for control when necessary."
Although Hu Ruoyun practiced smoothly without any real combat experience to assess its effectiveness in a fight, he was determined to change the fates of Xiong Debiao and Jiang Qiuying—or rather their life circumstances.
At just fourteen years old, he felt the weight of planning this endeavor with the wisdom of someone aged forty-six. He aimed not only to help Brother Biao and Jiang Qiuying resolve their issues but also to ensure that those scoundrels paid for their misdeeds.
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